Little you hid behind the couch, smirking as you waited for the large man to pass by. Your father entered into the living room casually, not expecting for you to tackle one of his legs. "YAH!" You shrieked, giggling, your fingers curling like claws around his pant sleeves. "Dzdzzdzdzzdz! I'm electrocuting you, Daddy! Dzdzdzz!"
Your father played along, muscles contracting and body stiffening, barely shuffling along, reaching out for the sofa in his struggling. "Ogh! You..got me." Voice purposefully strained. "Your quirk is...so strong.. I can..hardly keep...my strength." He dragged you over the carpet until he could go no further, making his slow, pained descent. You giggled as the man dropped onto his knees. You stood up again and tackled his back, which to you at the time was equal in size to a mighty beast!
"I use a- I use a ice quirk to keep you from moving! Chshchshchsh!!"
"O-" The elder's joints all locked into place, frozen on his knees long enough for you to crawl high enough to wrap your arms around his neck. Then, he started making cracking sound effects with his mouth, his arms starting to twitch. "Tcha!" Shattering noises. "Aha, my right arm is free!" You squealed as he reached back to grab a hold of you.
"Fire quirk!! Fffffff!!"
"Aghh!" The man's hand recoiled. "Blast! The terrifying (Y/n) Shigaraki has accumulated too much power! I cannot stop her on my own! But, none of the other heroes are available to call for backup!" Your father gasped. You laughed loudly, clinging onto his neck still.
"No! Daddy, I'm the hero! You're the villain!"
"Whaaa? Nawhhh! With how things are set up, you wouldn't be allowed as a hero with your quirk! It requires stealing from others, after all."
---------------
Sliding your back horizontally against the wall so you had to deal with less people, you shoved up to the front of the crowded, dark room. It wasn't exactly polite, but neither would mowing down countless children be once the race started.
Everyone waited anxiously, a mix of low murmurs. You lost track of Iguchi and Tenko a while ago. Occasionally, you spotted someone from your class, but that was about it. It was everyone for themselves out here anyways. Time to focus on winning for once. After all, you had a dad to prove wrong.
The entire wall opened up, bright sunlight shining into the place, startling everyone. At the same time, the alarm to get going blared, signaling the start of the race.
You pushed past s couple more kids and sprinted into the wall of light at once. When your eyes adjusted, you were bombarded with hurtling objects and short spurts of pain. Drones hovered in the sky, spraying the pouring students with rubber balls. At least they weren't lasers. Gloves off now, you caught one and turned it to dust, refusing to let this first obstacle slow you down. It was just pain, after all. Pain you were used to by now.
Present Mic's voice blared in the form of commentary through the speakers. Wait.. Mic?? He wasn't even working here yet! But there he was, up in the sound booth filling in for the previous guy who caught a cold or something, his friend Lady Midnight sitting legs crossed in the chair beside him. They both fed into each other's energy. A vicious cycle. It was hard to make out anything they were saying since you had to pay attention to running, dodging as many balls as possible, and not tripping on any already on the ground, but you chuckled at the sound of their voices.
The path narrowed after passing all those drones. You raced on ahead, one of the only students to be so far ahead. The others, like Honda, had quirks that somehow had to do with shielding themselves. Spinner wasn't far behind. His tough skin allowed him to ignore the pain for the most part. Behind both of you, Tenko grabbed a ball and flew it into one of the drones. He ran along the sides of the court, following the flow of people which doubled as a human wall. He was alright with remaining behind for now. All he was aiming for was simply passing. He didn't have to place first for this and he didn't really want to either. After all, the closer he got to first place, the more he imagined his father's judgemental eyes boring down on him. He wanted to be involved and have fun, but that image was seriously stressing him out!
The narrow path broke off into several paths, that weaved around trees and rocks, then vanished, leaving everyone to weave through the dense forest and underbrush without any guidance. Everyone, including you, simply pushed forwards, hoping this wouldn't turn into a maze. Honda ahead of you yelped, falling through a pile of leaves and into a hidden pit. You bit your lip and jumped onto the nearest root. Not wanting to risk falling in yourself, you parkoured on the roots of the trees. Took a little longer, but you still kept at a pretty good pace. As long as you took control of your breathing, you could actually run pretty fast without the help of any quirks. You weren't really concerned about winning either. In fact, remembering how the anime went, you'd actually prefer getting something more like second or third place. Iguchi fell into a pit, but, luckily his quirk made climbing back out super easy! He was probably the only one of you three actually aiming for first place!
You were the fourth to break out of the forest. Before you were Senjiro, Honda, and a couple kids from class 1B, one of whom had simply flown over the forest with his retractable jet wings, the other appearing to run at a tragically low framerate, which apparently made him go faster. That student was kinda scary, now that you thought about it.
Once free from the forest, a massive gorge stood before you. "Crappp, I forgot to grab a snack from the vending machine!" You panted terribly. Drats.. Your new quirk would be next to useless. Your breakfast was too healthy!!
"YYYAH!" Through the corner of your eye, you spotted Iguchi leaping past. His eyes set in a glare, teeth bearing, eyes ahead, unmoving from his goal. His sheer determination to win no matter what was impressive!
Your classmates flung forward and dropped, grabbing onto one of the pillars of rock and holding on tight with the help of his quirk. He crawled up the rock until at the top, then jumped to the next, repeating that same process over and over again. You stood there catching your breath, then smiled some. "Hm!" You smirked, then turned back to the forest. You tore off some vines and folded them, then slung them around the trip wire provided like a rope. Great as you were at fighting and running, your balance was still something that needed work. Using the vines as a safety feature at least, you started to speed-walk across the tightrope. Iguchi was long gone by the time you crossed it. In fact, when you at last finished and turned around for a look, your eyes widened to see the wave of racers approaching. Craaaap, the normies were catching up!
The next obstacle involved a lot of climbing as well. Boulders thrown carelessly into large piles formed some kind of mountain range to cross. Wedged between the rocks were more of those rubber ball throwing guns! This was where Iguchi had overtaken two other racers. Low framerate guy and Honda were left in his dust. By now, that kid was a force of nature to be reckoned with! Ya loved to see it.
You were pretty decent at climbing, but still not the best. Relied on a lot of jumping until you eventually got so tired of this you just dug a tunnel through the rocks and crawled through. It would make this part a heck of a lot easier for other racers, but whatever.
Though Tenko had a pretty rough time in the forest, the gorge was a piece of cake! He used his (Y/n) given quirk on his shirt and jumped over the backs of people shoving to cross on the trip-wire, then leaping from person to person of those already crossing, his floating shirt helping him along so he wouldn't need to worry about falling.
""There he is!! Shimura Tenko!! Taking a massive leap in the rankings... LITERALLY!"" Mr. Mic's voice blared enthusiastically. Hearing his own name, Tenko's whole body suddenly shook, his quirk deactivated, which tore his body off course and into the gorge instead. ""OH NO HE'S FALLING!"" Before one of the many drones with nets could catch the boy, however, Tenko thought quickly and activated his quirk, on his shirt again, floating back up to where he fell.
A loud slap sounded from the announcer booth. ""That poor boy must be camera shy!"" Lady Midnight's voice growled.
""Hey, how was I supposed to know!?!.. S-sorry, kid!"" In response to Mic's apology, the teen stuck up his thumb high enough for anyone to see it. Well, there was no turning back now. If there was any doubt before, there was definitely none now that his name had been called like that.
There was no going back. He'd made his choice.
----------
This minefield of guisers was supposed to be a hindrance?! Nahhh! More like a save! By simply jumping into one and using the vantage point to your advantage, you were able to swoop in at incredible speeds! Falling with style, you targeted the boy with jet wings and grabbed his right one, crumbling it with just a touch. That threw him off, meaning you got to sweep in and take his spot! Framerate guy was still far behind by the boulders, Honda caught up at the guisers, and Senjiro's paper had finally melted in this minefield of water, meaning your only real opponent now was Iguchi.
You landed seamlessly into a roll, kicking dirt up behind you as you transitioned smoothly into another sprint. Sharp breaths hissed through your teeth in a controlled, well trained rhythm. Your long legs paced well, still possessing plenty of energy. Iguchi, on the other hand, was now struggling. His breathing wasn't quite as well trained, his running pace was sporadic, arms mimicking swimming motions even, and he was sweating bullets! Raspy breaths after raspy breaths fought for enough oxygen to fight off the blurriness in his eyes. That biting urge to faint now and give up. Clearly, he'd pushed himself too hard for too long and was now paying for it.
But the finish line was directly ahead! He could make it if only he kept on going. And he could win if only you weren't a challenger. Your sprinting slowed into a jog. Iguchi's entire body tilted, nearly toppling as he glanced over his shoulder, spotting you. A strong burst of energy hurried his pace, but that didn't last long. Only a few feet away from the finish line, he suddenly stopped, placing his hands on his knees as he panted harshly, so drained that spit was literally dripping from his mouth. A shaky arm rubbed the saliva away as his head turned to you. "Well hurry up!! You said you wouldn't go easy on me, right!?" The animorph glared. You pretended for a moment to run a little faster, but that was all a ruse and it didn't take long for the other to notice. "HEY!.. I said stop going easy on me!!" Eventually, you jogged up to his side and stopped, unable to fake your desire to win anymore. Ighchi's entire body was shaking so bad, he wasn't even sure he could take another successful step. You, on the other hand, looked fine. Just a little fatigued. "...You always have to be perfect, don't you?" Face down, speaking in barely even a mumble. "...We get it. You're nice. Now step over the line already!.. I don't need your pity."
You nudged the other kid's back forward. "I was impressed, man. You really showed me up when it comes to raw determination. Something I could never match." You tried to be kind, to build him up and help him along, but that only seemed to make things worse.
"And that's all I'll ever be good at, won't it?" His arms slipped off his knees. His entire body plummeted with them. You stepped in to catch him mid fall. Spinner's voice was so full of pain. "...You're so far ahead that you don't even see me as a threat... I can try and try all I want, but the gap between us will never shrink... It's pointless. The only way I can win is if you let me." A couple tears fell from his face. "...You're not even trying to win and yet you still beat us all... What exactly are you, (Y/n) Shigaraki..?" He went completely limp after that, giving up.
You picked up the barely conscious Iguchi, determined to cross with him over the finish line. He just watched as the finish line neared. Glaring at it through the corner of his eyes, your classmate didn't want to finish this way... But he didn't even have the strength left in him to fight back.
Who was he to think he could become a hero like this..?
With a grim expression and a foot hovering over the finish line, you were sure to win when suddenly-
Zzzeeeewwwwwww!
A gust of air blew past. You couldn't even make-out who until they landed and rolled in the dust. You gasped.
""WITH A SUDDEN TURN OF EVENTS, SHIMURA WINS THE RACE!""
Only his left leg was half fried and destroyed this time. Instead of purple, it was more of a dark reddish, the bones not bent out of shape any. Somehow, he'd managed to reduce the damage by a lot...but still.
You placed Iguchi down on the other side of the finish line and ran over to Tenko, falling on your knees beside him. "I thought I told you not to do that!"
The other moved a leg, seized up and hissed through his teeth as pin drowned him. "M' sorry.. I just had to beat you." His pain filled eyes opened, a smile breaking through. Through all your anger and worry, a smile pierced your lips too.
You settled on just slapping his shoulder for now. "You seriously need to get better at controlling that quirk!"
Chuckling, "I know.. I know."
----------
You were one of the only kids who didn't need to visit the nurse's office after that race. Everyone involved has pushed themselves so hard, it was cute to see them all caring about a silly little game like this so much, but you respected them for that all the same.
The free time you had gave you some time to sit in your class' designated section of the stadium to watch the second years racing the same course. You rarely got to see the second and third years, so watching the second years was fun. There sure was a lot less fumbling around among their grade compared to the first years! You sat back, sipping a cold brew of sugary soda as you watched the race play out.
Iguchi hobbled down the steps and scooted inbetween the bleachers, finally sitting beside you. He huffed, arms limp, not even watching the racers as you did. "...I'm not competing in the next challenge." You flinched, upper body turning his way.
"Wha?! How come?! You made it so far on your own! I only had to carry you the last few feet!"
"And it was embarrassing. I still hate that you did that."
"..oh..." You set the can on your knee, fingers still curled around it. "Well, I think you should keep going." He didn't respond. Elbowing him, "Come onnn, man! You still beat everybody else! So what if you lost to me! I've been training far longer than you! You even passed up that Senjiro kid!"
Iguchi shoved you away. "Give me a break. I don't care about second or third place! No one does!.. No one would give a rip about another animorph almost winning.." His hands clenched into fists on his lap. "No, I have to prove that with enough determination and practice, we animorphs can do anything!.. You're fighting for your kind...and I'm fighting for mine."
"...So.. why are you giving up, then? If you're fighting for more than yourself."
Iguchi scoffed. "I'm not giving up, I'm--! You're right. Why AM I giving up?! The Sports Festival's only just started! Hold up! I need to go talk to Tenko about something!"
"O-oh, speaking of him!" You turned on your chair to the teen, who was already on the stairs. He stopped mid scrambling to listen. "..You noticed something's wrong with Tenko too today, right? Something he's not willing to tell us about?"
"Yeah.. I've been meaning to ask him about that, but we've both been too busy."
"I already tried talking to him about it. He just kept saying he was fine."
"Yeah that's...concerning. I'll have to talk to him about it too." Iguchi continued his scrambling up the stairs. You chuckled, watching him leave.
After the third years started along their same race, you watched for only a little while, then decided to stand up and grab more sugary snacks to munch on. It was a good idea not to get too many snacks and risk your muscles bulging too much, but just a little extra sugar on the side was already proving to be working in helping your body grow stronger. Strength which you would desperately need if you wanted to last long in a fight against someone like Tenko.
-----------
Tenko turned a corner, catching you grabbing your third cinnamon roll of the day from the vending machine. "(Y/n)?"
Like some wild animal caught digging through the trash, your neck twisted suddenly, bulging eyes staring at the other teen, a cinnamon roll already sticking out your mouth. You pressed the last button needed for this latest purchase, then removed the treat to speak. "Oh, hey, buddy! Feeling better already?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, ambling your way. "Ugh.. yeah. Just a little sore from all the running... What are you..doing?"
"Stress eating." o_o
"Huh?? You're the most carefree person I know!"
"Well then everything you know is a lie, the sky is falling, and the government genetically mutated the sweet strawberries to brainwash us all!"
"Pff! Cut it out, (Y/n)! What's wrong?--" He slapped your arm, his hand sticking to the cloth, then rubbed the shape underneath. "Woah.. I don't remember you being this toned-!.. (Y/n)?" He stared up at your face. You side eyed him a couple times. "Is this a new quirk?" You scanned right then left down the hall. No one.
Quietly, "..Yes."
Tenko stepped away from you and gasped. "I knew it!! You stole that kid's quirk yesterday, didn't you!?"
Your hands flew up in front of you. "Shshshsh!! Wh-hat are you even talking about, man?! What kid?!"
"The kid at the mall!!" Pointing in some random direction. He glared at you now. A soft glare, but still one so unlike him. "Don't lie to me! I saw you! You stepped on a kid's foot and stole his quirk before he even knew what was going on, didn't you!?"
"L-listen, I step on a lot of people by accident!"
"You're doing it again.." The boy's eyes shifted away, a slight whine in his voice.
"Doing what?-"
"-Lying to me!!. Listen, I know what you meant when you said that a lot of people don't trust you because of your quirk; I know some of them! But this whole time I've been promising them that you're a good person!!. How am I supposed to keep that promise if you're stealing quirks from innocent little kids!?" The boy was fuming. You hadn't seen him this angry in, well, ever! You stood there, still as an object, staring down at the floor. He sniffed, wiping his nose with one hand. "...Return the kid's quirk..okay? It isn't that hard.." His voice lowered to a near whistler. "I don't even... I don't even want to know how you got all your other quirks... But thinking about it makes me wanna be sick."
You gasped quietly, a hand jumping to cover your mouth. Inside, it felt like a hurricane had just been unleashed. You wanted to cry so bad, but the tears were trapped, your body too shocked and confused to even process the concept of expressing yourself. ... They came out as flames. Your emotions. Bright blue fire eating away at your sleeves. There was something so gentle about the fire, though. Even as it stung your skin.
Tenko's eyes widened when he saw the fire. He stumbled back a couple steps, ready to scram as he peered up at your face. What he saw bewildered him. Sadness. Some strange, grim sadness.
You inhaled a thin, shaky breath. "...You don't know what it's like to be me. You don't know half of what's going on in my life while I'm not here at UA..." Eyes narrowing, "So don't pretend returning a quirk I desperately need is easy. You get to feel all high and mighty because you were given a quirk... You never had to even think twice about the cost of that quirk. Where it came from. What it took to bring you that power in the first place." Arms trembling, you clenched your fists tightly, killing the flames at once. Patting the blue flame out of your sleeves, "You wouldn't even be in UA today if it weren't for me...so quit complaining." You turned the other way down the hall, growling bitterly. "Power is never free. Even if you're born with it."
----------
The next event flew on past for you. Just like in the anime, they had everyone team up, form human vehicles, and try to steal points from the other teams. Even though your team won in the end, which consisted of you, Moritsuka, Kiomi, Ito, and a girl from the tech support class with a water duplication quirk at the top, you just weren't feeling the hype. It was worse than before when you simply didn't care... Felt more like you couldn't care, which was very different. Tenko was similarly deep in thought through all of it. His team wound up in third place, having lost the insane amount of points he'd been given for winning the race. Spinner's team made second.
About your team: you basically just went around asking that they return favors for you, especially from Ito, who helped you convince the others to join. Several kids in your class purposefully sided against you in the hopes that you'd wind up on a losing team. You didn't. Because being nice and committing acts of service turned out to be a great form of currency.
----------
After that game, it was finally time for the battles themselves. Which, there were a lot of, following the break allowing the second and third years to compete. No one really spoke to you in this time. Or, was it the other way around?.. Both. Definitely both.
. . .
Honda V. Tejinn, aka framerate guy, and lost. His quirk allowed him to lower or heighten the framerate of his body while he's moving. He can move faster and easier at lower frame-rates, allowing greater fighting capability on top of just being really confusing to look at. Sorry, Honda, but his quirk came out on top.
Daiki from Class 1B, with a laser finger quirk, V. Fuyu with Yeti quirk. Fuyu wound up on top, though she stopped to complain halfway through about Mic accidentally mis-gendering her.
Moritsuka V. Iguchi was a real mess. Spinner, though appearing like he was gunna lose most the fight, wound up on top by the end, impressing you all. "WOO! GOO, SPINNER!!" You cupped your hands around your mouth as you stood to cheer on the animorph walking off of the platform. He glared up at you.
"I SAID STOP CALLING ME SPINNER!" You got his name wrong so many times in the past it was more of an inside joke at this point. One only you were fully in on.
Ito V. Tenko was just painful for you. Because right now, well, you were routing more for Ito than Tenko, so you were pretty bummed when Ito ended up losing.
You still cared about Tenko, but...
Yeah, it was frustrating.
You V. Genevieve with a water duplication quirk was a pretty interesting fight, since you can only turn solid matter into dust, and well, water isn't exactly solid. Thanks to your strength boost, however, you were able to withstand the water pressure of the girl's water jets and shove her out of the ring. Hey, at least she was able to show off the support items she had made.
Komi V. Senjiro was next. Poor Komi never stood a chance. At least she lost with dignity.
Ibaraki V. Cego, aka jet wing guy, who apparently took some real damage from your attack earlier, since those things literally grow out of his back. Not to worry, though. They could also heal like his own flesh and bone. Both fighters were from class 1B and appeared to know each other pretty well. And though both were fine fighters, Ibaraki wound up on top, winning by a hair.
Tezuka V. Reminston were the last contestants of the first round. Tezuka allowed him to sever his own body parts, and as long as his main torso was in the ring, he was officially in. So, this fight, though fair, fell into his favor in the end.
Finally, they'd weeded out the first bunch. Time for the slightly more serious matches.
. . .
"Bro, what happened between you and Tenko?!" Iguchi swung over the back of the chair beside you, plopping into the seat. "I've never seen you guys so distant like this before!" In the complete opposite side of the section of seats designated to your class was where Tenko sat, presently being bothered by Chikara.
You rubbed your scalp, staring down. "I'm sure we'll clear things up between us in time. Just...now... Hhhh. Really got on my nerves earlier."
"What'd he say?"
"It's...a bit personal. Sorry."
"Huh, well okay. Just don't get a divorce or anything, alright? Division in the family is never good."
"Pff. Divorce?!" You snickered. "If we're married then what're you??"
"The fun uncle, obviously!" That made you wheeze.
. . .
Tejinn V. Fuyu. Tejinn won. He's pretty good at kicking.
Iguchi V. Tenko? Now that was a trip.
The fight started already and still the two were just staring each other down. You leaned in some. This could be any man's game. Tenko had raw power on his side, but was he willing to use it on his best friend was the question. Iguchi, meanwhile, wasn't the kind of person to hesitate shoving his friend out of the ring, and he also had more experience in these one-on-one fights as well.
Iguchi clicked his tongue, a toothy grin on display. "Don't go easy on me, Tenny."
Tenko smirked back. "Wasn't planning on it." He aimed his hand and flicked air, crushing that finger in the process. Iguchi rolled out of the way, standing up just in time to see his friend aiming already. Tenko used both hands at the same time to flick on either side of Iguchi, forcing his peer to jump back into the center of the arena. As Iguchi landed, Tenko's shirt was under the control of his quirk, shooting himself forward and right at Iguchi, prepared to kick.
The animorph contorted his body in a strange, quick motion to evade the attack. He dodged by less than an inch, following up with a jump and flip in the air. Iguchi landed into an immediate sprint, jumping over the next gust of air Tenko shot at him. "You'll run out of fingers soon enough!! What will you do then, huh!?" Iguchi knew already. He knew how Tenko's quirks worked. All of them. He knew that if he let Tenko touch his shirt or anything, he was good as doomed. But then HOW?? How could he beat a kid with so many quirks!? Well, first of all he needed to close in the gap.
Iguchi rolled over his shoulder as Tenko flicked at him again. There goes the last finger on his right hand. He slipped a little, having to catch onto the ground with his hand until the wind ceased. Again, he sprinted, spiraling around Tenko.
"I have no idea what you two were arguing about earlier, but I do know (Y/n) still cares about you! We both know you're stressed about something and we both want to help!!" He jumped and rolled again, narrowly dodging another attack. In his spiraling, Iguchi was steadily getting closer and closer to his target. Tenko tightened his jaw. Panting, "But we can't do anything if we don't know what's wrong!! We're still your friends! Maybe we can help!!"
"I don't need a pep-talk, Iguchi!!" Glaring at his friend, Tenko fired again. This time he predicted and aimed accordingly, knocking his friend into the air. The teen shrieked as his body was flung toward the painted line. No! He couldn't go out so soon! Spinner straightened his body like a diver aiming at the wind's source, twisting himself to drill through it. Then he aimed down at the last second and dove into the ground. He caught hold of the ground, his feet mere inches away from the line! Iguchi gasped. What a terribly close call! Tenko still stood in the center of the ring, except now he was p###ed. "Would you shut up about (Y/n) already?! I don't care about her anymore!"
"That's a lie!!" Starting into another sprint. "Wanna know why I know that?? Because I was there when she left!" Flipping over another gust of air. "I was there all the days you mourned for her, all the nights you wondered where she was!! I knew from the start I was only your backup friend; I was only there to help you get over her!!" As Tenko jumped in to touch his approaching opponent, Iguchi jumped into the air, twirling upsidedown over the other and grabbing two fists fulls of his black hair. Crunching every muscle in his body into one finishing mid-air flip, Iguchi flung Tenko through the air and held on still, slamming the other boy onto his stomach. Iguchi stood over Tenko's aching body, panting hard as he let go of the other's hair. Tenko wheezed, the air knocked out of him, and rolled onto his back. The two pairs of eyes met. Mumbling now, "..Even when she was gone... I knew I was just the third wheel for you two..... So don't give me that crap! I know you still care about her just as much as she cares about you, probably even more!" Tenko rubbed his neck, hazy vision staring up at the animorph over him. His heart hurt most of all.
"Iguchi... You...really feel that way?"
His arms limp in front of him, "Hhh... Yes... You can't tell me it isn't the truth, either. Just like you can't lie to me about being fine. We know you have negative emotions, Tenny... You don't have to be happy and smiling all the time.. It's okay to admit when something's gone wrong... Tch.. After all, what would I be if not your personal therapist?"
"You're my friend.." Eyes watering, he stared up at Iguchi's blurry head. "You're not just a third wheel. You're my best friend too. If it were you who vanished instead of her, I'm sure I would have bothered (Y/n) about missing you just as much." Iguchi gasped faintly, holding his breath. He stepped back, but not fast enough for the other to stretch his hand out and touch his pants. Iguchi fell over as the cloth took on a life of its own, dragging him toward the edge of the yard. He gripped a firm hold of the concrete with one hand and with the other hand held firmly the cloth around his waist. Tenko stood up, all his fingers but one completely shattered, swollen, and discolored. "You're right, Iguchi... I know I don't have as much of a reason to complain as you and (Y/n) do...but I'm a wreck.. And I have been for as long as I can remember." Tenko's bottom lip quivered. Iguchi's fingers sticking to the concrete started to slip. He didn't exactly want to fight pantless, though.
Tenko's right hand controlling the cloth, Tenko extended his left, prepping for one final flick with the singular finger that hasn't been destroyed yet: his pinky finger. Iguchi saw no way out of this other than to ditch his pants, which he again wasn't willing to do! He stared up at Tenko, who stood with a slight sway, a little blurry in the head still. Tenko stared at his friend with the most sincere form of compassion. "...You were there for me just as much as (Y/n) was. Even though both of you had your own, way worse problems... You took on mine as well.. It's why I've always felt bad about over-sharing.. My problems are nothing compared to yours, after all... So..thanks." Tilting his head intentionally, Tenko smiled. The half-sad kind. "Love you, man."
BAM!
That last blast knocked Iguchi out of bounds. The quirk's hold on his pants, though, set him down gently. Tenko dropped to his knees and hunched over his lap, cradling all his tortured fingers.
Laying on his back, Iguchi smiled up at the sky. "Teh... And that's why I like you too... You gave it your all.... Guess..I still got a long way to go myself.."
Tenko Shimura won, at the cost of Iguchi's dream of victory... There was one thing that mattered more to him than victory, though. That being the wellbeing of his friends. So, this was a fair trade-off in his eyes.
----------
Ohhhhhh, this fight was so satisfying! All you had to do was stick out your hand and the massive paper dragon fell to ash. The satisfactory tingle in your fingers rewarded you while swatting away all of Senjiro's paper eagles, frogs, and other paper animals. It didn't matter what he fought with, they were not human, meaning you could destroy all you wanted. An impressive display to the audience. Now they knew why you so sparingly used your quirk. Now they were begging to put a picture why your quirk would be considered villainous. You kicked Senjiro to the ground and held him under your shoe. Out of options, the other student was forced to give up. Easy victory. The hardest part about all this was holding back.
. . .
When it came to Tezuka V. Ibara, Tezuka wound up on top, simply due to the fact that his quirk made himself a little broken in this game. Literally lol. You were glad he won. Because using his quirk often made his classmates a little queasy, like you, Tezuka used it as sparingly as possible.. Too bad. You rather enjoyed seeing it in use! It was very strong and versatile! Already, you could imagine over a dozen ways you would use it yourself! ..Hmm.. Too bad you can't simply borrow his quirk...
. . .
At last, it was time for the semi-final rounds!
Tenko V. Tejinn was mega hype! You were almost sure Tenko was going to lose there for a second, but he managed to figure out his opponent's secret strategy of attack and use that to predict his next moves, granting him a good shot at touching Tejinn's shoe, which he then plucked off the other's foot and used as a weapon against him. After some more flipping, running, and jumping around, Tejinn lost to Tenko and his own shoe. Victory for him!.. Oh wait.
. . .
You half dreaded the thought of winning now. Shouting sorry to your opponent every time you dusted one of his disembodied, floating arms, you considered letting Tezuka win so you wouldn't have to face off against your childhood friend turned bitter rival.
The round ended with you putting Tezuka in a head-lock and holding him there until he yielded, granting you victory. The audience roared. You soaked in their praise like a sponge. Took you back to the underground fighting rings. Even deeper. To the previous Underground Masquerade. It was a passing thought, but your mind started doing the math as your victory was announced.
How much of this crowd could you kill right here with your Hellfire Wings? You meant nothing sinister by the question. Eventually, you concluded you could take out about a third of them before the heroes stopped you, including Endeavor. Yes, you noticed him... Ohh, who were you kidding? Your chances were far higher than that with Hellfire Wings! The heroes wouldn't stand a chance!
Wait, why were you still thinking about this?.. Were you really...? Were you really this evil?.. So bad you didn't even notice?
Tenko... You managed to make Tenko, of all people....sickened by your quirk...
The friend who was like the sunshine itself. With a strong sense of justice and a righteous sense of morality. Your newfound moral compass. He...hated you.
...That wasn't a good sign...
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You began your stride toward each other. Bright blue eyes locked onto your target. Bright red eyes locked onto his.
When you were within speaking range without having to shout so those in the crowd could hear it, you opened your mouth. "How about, if you win this fight, I give this quirk back to the kid? If not, I get to keep it? Then, we can stop squabbling over something so pointless."
"Guh!" Tenko skipped into a running start, reeling an entire arm back at you. "What would the point of that be if you're not returning it out of the kindness of your heart!?" He was really doing it. He was punching at you with all his might. You leaned into the punch, catching his fist with your hand.
BOOM!
CRACK!
Your feet dug into the ground, cracks webbing throughout the arena to compensate. An insane amount of force tugged your hair and clothes back tightly. You clenched your eyes shut until the wind pressure subsided. Your fingers curled around Tenko's fist.
After the wind was gone, Tenko opened his eyes. His now red arm was numb, so imagine the shock when his view traced that limb..finding none other than your own fingers curled around it. He gasped. 'Holy CRAP!! (Y/n just caught my punch!!?'
Your words slipped out in a low growl. "Then tell me why it matters!" You simply lifted your hand holding his fist, resulting in a series of cracks and pops. Tenko gasped got agonizingly, reaching up for your gripping hand. "..If it isn't the quirk, then what are you so angry about!?" You tossed Tenko down the long end of the court. He flew, crashed, and rolled over the concrete. Finally, he slid to a stop just in front of the painted line.
Tenko shot back up and sprinted toward you with a mighty shout. He touched his shirt and used his quirk to help him zigzag around the court. You sprinted in to meet him. Tenko flew over you. You reached out and grasped the cloth of his shirt as he passed overhead, disintegrating it in a second. Tenko stumbled, falling mid-air. He twisted his body and kicked off of your back. Underneath was a black tank-top, like he prepared for this. You threw out a hand, targeting that shirt as well. So he'd have as little materials to toss around as possible. Tenko dodged to the right, then to the left as you struck out again. He managed a slap on your sleeve and your whole shirt started to drag you back. Heels scraping against the ground, you grabbed your shirt and destroyed it, then rolled over your shoulder as you fell back. Standing up, you huffed loudly. Luckily, you came prepared too, wearing a white tank-top underneath!
Tenko stood facing you again, huffing and puffing, all the emotions reaching him at once. "We made a promise to each other, (Y/n)!! The day you left, we promised each other that we wouldn't become villains!!" Your eyes widened slightly. "I'm SCARED!.. For YOU!. Because I don't WANT you to break your promise! I don't WANT to have to fight you like this..but-but for real!" His voice started to crack, cradling his broken arm as he stumbled your way. "Please!! If not for you, then for me; don't become a terrible villain like your father!!!"
You gasped, eyes growing wide. You could feel your heart thumping in your chest. Did he...did he know?? Did he know who you really were?! It was so quiet. Like everyone was holding their breaths. Tenko stole back his breath, realizing a little late what he just said.
How...many...people...heard...that?
"(Y/n)...?" Tone soft, the boy questioned your confused staring. He searched your face for anything hopeful, finding nothing.
You clenched your feet and gritted your teeth. You glared down at the ground. "...It's too late for that..." You mumbled. The other stepped a little closer to hear it. Tears filled your eyes. Your mouth quivered and quaked, unable to bring yourself to look at Tenny. "...If you think this is bad, then there's no hope for me... I'm going to Hell.." Tenko stopped in his tracks.
"...(Y/n).."
Pointing at the other. "DON'T.. even start that!... Listen, I know I'm a bad person. I've known that for years now." Placing a hand on your chest, you stared directly at Tenko with pained, tear filled eyes. "I now kno-w why my own mother tried to kill me! I'M A MONSTER!.. I was born to become one, and no matter what, I always make things worse!.. I AM THE REASON ALL MIGHT IS DEAD!! He died trying to save ME!" Tenko gasped. He couldn't believe his ears. She was... there!?
Cracks tore through your shoes, then the whole things fell apart. Now free, your feet started to create cracks in the ground. Like shattering ice over a frozen lake, the cracks crept across the rock hard surface, seeking out people it may devour. You gasped. "Tenko, RUN!" Your quirk was hard to control when the emotions fueling them were to this caliber. You began to back away, your bare feet digging into the ground underneath, creating even more craters in the earth.
But Tenko only ran towards you.
"NOO!" You shrieked, the image of him crumbling to dust running through your mind. Tenko ran up to the edge of destruction and jumped into the air. He pulled a risky move, activating Float for the first time to help, using his main quirk to bring himself to you faster. He was coming at you...really fast. You had no idea what he planned to do, so when he aimed himself to full-body kick you. Yeah...that made a little sense.
Whap!
You flew back, rolling over the ground dangerously close to the edge. "Why are you at UA then?! Surely, you still think you can become a hero!!" Tenko stood over the ground. You dug your hand into the ground, fingers carving out a large rock to throw at your opponent. Tenko twisted out of the way. You repeated this, standing again and jogging steadily towards him. Tenko continued to dodge, slapping some of them with his hand and controlling their projection back toward you. The game of throw and dodge commenced, Tenko remaining in the air where your quirk had no affect on him, you running around on the platform throwing things and watching with wonder. He really had grown, hadn't he? Both as a fighter and as a caring lad with a big heart.
You began to smile while picking up speed and throwing even harder. Tenko was the boy he was today because of you. There was no doubt about it. As the two of you fought, your worries, anxieties, fears, and anguish all seemed to disappear. You started to laugh, tucking and rolling to dodge a rock flung your way, then flinging another his way. It was all like a game now. A game just like the others, back when you and Tenko used to play on the field with quirks. Before any of this bad crap ever happened. Tenko seemed to be brought back into the same mindset, visibly having fun as well, even laughing a little when he heard your bursts of joy.
Like with any competitive game, though, a winner had to come out on top eventually.
You grinned, charging directly at your friend now. He copied, flying towards you! Like a game of chicken, you waited for a collision or a dropout. Tenko rose suddenly, wrapping his arms around your neck and tackling you in a hug. "YOU CAN BECOME A HERO, (Y/N)!!.. You're still a good person!" You, flying through the air, dug your feet into the ground. The concrete tore your feet up just as much as your feet tore up the concrete, leaving behind two trails of blood. You were too shocked to care. Tenko's words touched you so dearly. As you two approached the line, the other's back curled, shoes planting on your stomach. At the last second, he kicked you with the strength of One For All, flinging you out of the barrier! Dust kicked up and swarmed the field, following your trail. Your back slammed into the wall. Above, all those in the stadium jumped.
Dust settled gently on your skin. You coughed, wheezed, and sat up with your back to the wall. Tenko marched through the settling dust to greet you. Next thing you knew, he was extending his hand out to you, smiling softly.
Chuckling, "What was that you said about winning?" The boy smirked. You playfully swat his hand away.
"I demand a rematch."
"Tch. Maybe next year, then." He offered his hand again. This time you grabbed it. He leaned back, trying with all his might to pull you up.
You watched with amusement. "Go on.. You can do it. It's only three-hundred fifty-three pounds of muscle, man."
"You're...gunna.. need to help me out a little bit."
You laughed.
""TENKO SHIMURA IS THE WINNER!!!""
All of you won a little something today.