A thick wall of ice surged into the sky, nearly blotting out the sun as it came down with an intense chill—right down at a boy with green hair.
The boy took in a sharp breath, watching the mountain of ice with narrowed eyes.
'Is this the end?' He wondered, biting his cheeks so hard that he tasted iron.
Deku had trained tirelessly for this day. He had pushed his body to its limits, dragged himself through hell and back just for this moment…
And yet, it seemed he wasn't the only one who trained.
Shoto, Kacchan… everyone was performing better than they would have ever done.
He had promised himself to request that All Might give the quirk to someone else if he failed to win the sports festival, and so this decision ignited within him like an undying flame.
'I can't lose here!' He screamed within himself, green currents sparkling across his skin as he began to glow cyan.
He held his last good finger…
His breaths were raspy, his body quaking from both exhaustion and pain, and yet… he unleashed his quirk once more.
"Argh!"
BANG!
The battle raged on for a few more minutes, but in the end, both students were knocked out of bounds, resulting in a double elimination.
Only one student could go to the finals, so the plan was to set up a new match… but at the end of the day, Deku was too banged up to continue.
He had already damaged all his fingers and both arms, leaving him in need of medical attention.
So Todoroki won by default.
•••
Deku was assisted to walk back to the infirmary by one of the school staff, his body wobbling with each step.
He had fainted at first, but a few minutes later, he was back on his two feet, although he was aching all over.
'I lost…'
It had been a draw, but there was no way to win the festival anymore, meaning he had broken his promise to himself.
'Why am I so weak?'
Deku felt his eyes moisten with tears, the floor blurring in his vision.
Was he always doomed to remain at the bottom? He was quirkless and rendered unfit to be a hero, but he managed to get a quirk, and it's not just any but the greatest of them all.
Why then…
'Why am I still this weak?'
'I want to get stronger. I want to be a pro hero like All Might… but can I even do that?'
"Midoriya!" Came a loud voice from the other side of the room.
Midoriya recognized the voice at once and immediately turned to stare at him.
"A—All Might??"
Scratching his hair nervously was a lanky man in an oversized suit. His blonde hair was untamed, and his stance was weak, but there was a warm smile on his face as he saw Deku.
All Might was meant to anchor today's event, so he was made to stand where everyone could see him, to encourage the crowd and have them feel a sense of safety, and yet, here he was.
"Did he abandon his post just to see me?"
The tears Deku had been holding back fell free… even though he did his best to hold them back, it was as though the dams in his eyes were let loose.
All Might instructed the staff member to leave them and then slung Deku's hand over his shoulder.
"Can you walk, Young Midoriya?"
Deku nodded, avoiding his gaze as they began walking towards the infirmary.
Now that they were alone, All Might patted Deku on the head and smiled. "You did well, Young Midoriya."
Deku's eyes were teary as he spoke, and his heart felt right whenever he would receive praise from him.
"But… I failed…" Deku said, his voice barely above a whisper.
On the way, he went on to tell him his resolutions, explaining his frustrations as well as why he felt he was unfit for the role of his successor.
All Might listened to him patiently but frowned when Deku told him to find a new successor.
Then he stopped, grabbed Deku's shoulder, and gave him a gentle shake. "Young Midoriya… a hero is not determined by just their raw power alone. Being a hero is more than that."
"A hero is a beacon of hope, a symbol of not just peace but love, compassion, and honesty."
He paused, allowing his words to sink in.
"You already have that part, Young Midoriya. Now all you need to do is cultivate your strength. Don't be impatient; everything will turn out all right."
The two of them spoke, but the conversation was brief. At the end of the day, All Might rejected his decision to pass on One for All, leaving Deku a little conflicted.
Although he wanted to speak more about his decision, they had run out of time.
All Might was an anchor in today's program, so he had to change back to his large form and present himself once more to keep up appearances.
They were already a few steps away from the infirmary, so he quickly entered one of the closets and changed back, returning to his big form, after which he tapped Midoriya's shoulder.
"Let me escort you to the infirmary before I go."
With All Might's support, they both got to the infirmary less than a minute later, but just as they arrived, All Might seemed a little concerned.
"All Might? Is something wrong?" Deku asked, his voice low due to exhaustion.
His eyes narrowed. "I don't know… but there are meant to be guards here."
He pushed the door open, but the moment he did, his eyes widened in shock. The room was a mess of cracked concrete, blood, and scattered debris.
And lying in the mess were the pro heroes that were meant to be laying an ambush.
"What the—? What happened here?!"
'Weren't they meant to capture the Midnight Vigilante? Is he that strong that he took out all these pro heroes?'
All Might had been briefed on the plan, so he knew exactly how it was meant to go, but it seemed their plan had backfired.
"The students!"
He cut through the distance between himself and the door in seconds, pushing the broken door open.
Deku, on the other hand, stared at the scene with wide eyes. 'Are… we… under attack?'
His mind went back to the man who had arrived at USJ, and he gritted his teeth. 'Is it him?'
•••
All Might entered the room and sucked in a sharp breath when he saw his students lying unconscious all around him.
He moved from student to student, confirming that every single one of them was all right before he stood up.
'He played us for a fool…'
Their plan was to have Mirko engage him, then call for support from the heroes positioned here, but it seems he found out their secret hiding spot without any issues.
'How is that even possible? Is there a spy amongst us?'
Even the students had no idea where the new infirmary was until they were going for treatment, and only those eliminated from the tournament received treatment here.
Those who had matches were being treated in another section of the arena.
All Might's fist tightened. 'All we did was gather everyone in one place for him…'
He quickly found Recovery Lady, who had been knocked out like the rest of them. Thankfully, her condition wasn't as bad as the other teachers.
After gently shaking her and using water, her eyes snapped open.
"A-All Might?" Her voice trembled, her eyes wary as she stood up.
"I… I'm sorry, he was too fast…"
"No need to apologize. He is no ordinary foe. Can you stand?"
She nodded slightly and stood up.
"Sorry for demanding this after you just woke up, but can you treat the teachers and students?"
Recovery Lady nodded, a look of determination in her eyes. "Leave it to me, All Might!"
All Might nodded.
He elevated from the floor and turned towards the door.
"He might not have gone far. I'll have to get him before anything worse happens!"
Whoosh!
The wind blew Recovery Lady's hair back as he sped away, crossing through the door.
"Stay here and protect your classmates, Midoriya! I'll be right back!"
Wasting no time, All Might sped past the bare halls of the area, not even seeing the lightest trace of the culprit.
But when he got to the last floor, he stopped and stared ahead of him, his expression hardening.
Someone was walking towards him… a man with a lanky frame, bloodshot eyes, and a strange whispering sound coming from his lips.
Initially, he looked like he was in a daze, but the moment he saw All Might, he grabbed his shirt and tore it off.
"?!"
Wrapped around his chest was what looked like a bomb detonator as well as an old phone.
The phone… was ringing.