When Nezu returned to the staff booth, he found his staff still sitting down, watching the arena and conversing among themselves.
When All Might saw him, he said "Sir, how is it?"
The other staff members fell silent, their gazes settling upon the small principal.
"Bakugo is fine," Nezu replied calmly. "He requires rest for a period of time, but there is no permanent damage."
All Might nodded lightly then asked again. "And about Junsei's brutality?"
Nezu answered. "The two had a confrontation prior to the match. That resulted in Junsei acting as he did. I have already warned him against such behavior even if he didn't break rules, and hopefully it will be the last time. But we will need to address his less than friendly approach to people" His eyes flickered toward the arena. "What about the matches?"
All Might glanced back at the arena and said with a smile. "Young Midoriya and Young Mori both made it to the final. You arrived just in time, they're about to enter the arena."
Nezu moved to sit beside him, peering down at the wide stadium and the arena below where the final two contestants were stepping into position.
"I admit," Nezu said, "I never expected to see your successor make it this far."
All Might let out a booming laugh as pride shone plainly in his eyes. "I knew Young Midoriya had the potential, and with time he will become a great hero. But even I am surprised by his performance today." His smile softened. "He has made me proud."
Nezu regarded him sidelong. "Do you hope for him to win?"
"I do," All Might admitted. "But it may prove difficult with Young Mori as his opponent."
Below them, the stadium audience were in an excited state, and soon Midnight declared the start of the final match.
In the arena, Izuku Midoriya lifted his arm in a quick flicking motion toward Junsei Mori.
To the astonishment of everyone watching, Junsei mirrored him.
He lifted his arm in the exact same flicking motion.
The next instant, both flicked at the same time.
A thunderous explosion cracked across the arena, the shockwave rippling outward with violent force. Concrete split and spiderwebbed beneath at the center of the impact.
Midoriya staggered, clutching his arm with a strangled gasp of pain.
On the other side, Junsei remained standing calmly staring at Midoriya.
All Might's eyes widened. "What the…? How? What does his quirk do?"
Nezu wanted to know that.
——————
In nature, there existed creatures capable of releasing sudden, devastating bursts of force, the pistol shrimp snapping its claw to create a shockwave, the mantis shrimp striking with explosive speed and power, certain frogs and even fish capable of abrupt bursts using different parts of their bodies.
If the aspects of such creatures were merged and amplified into a single motion, something as simple as a finger flick, the released power could be extraordinary.
Junsei had considered this the first time when he saw Midoriya's quirk in action.
Now, standing opposite him in the final match, he had put this to the test.
The results were undeniably impressive.
He had cancelled Midoriya's attack perfectly.
Junsei continued to regard his opponent without expression, though there was a flicker of interest in his eyes. Midoriya stood hunched, clutching his arm, shock written plainly across his face.
Junsei's eyes drifted briefly to the discolored fingers.
"You injure yourself when attacking?" he observed. "So your quirk is a trade of power for self harm… You lost a finger in the last match. So you can attack six more times, eight at most."
Midoriya took an unsteady step back.
"How can you do that?" he demanded. "How did you do it?"
"You showed me," Junsei replied. "I repeated after you."
He lifted his hand again in that same flicking posture.
Despite the pain, Midoriya clenched his teeth and mirrored him.
Another violent shockwave burst forth as their attacks collided, rocking the arena once more. The ground trembled. Midoriya stumbled backward, groaning as fresh pain spread through his arm.
Junsei stepped forward.
Midoriya's eyes widened, panic flickering across his face. He launched another desperate flick.
Only for it to be cancelled out once again.
Junsei continued advancing expressionlessly through the dust unhindered, while the crowd erupted in cheers seeing the sight.
Midoriya's thoughts raced as rapidly as his pulse.
[There has to be a way. There has to be something I can do.] Midoriya thought.
Then his expression turned serious with new resolve. He raised his other arm and prepared another flick. Across from him, Junsei mirrored the movement without delay.
The explosion erupted between them once more, explosion-like power splitting the air, dust billowing outward in a choking wave.
But this time, the instant the shockwave burst forth, Midoriya ran.
He darted sideways, circling the edge of the explosion as fast as his body would allow and trying to not trip by the fractured concrete.
The dust thinned just enough for him to glimpse Junsei turning.
Midoriya lifted his hand again to flick, only to see Junsei already pointing at him.
The twin shockwaves collided midair once again, detonating with a deafening crack. More dust surged upward, swallowing the arena in a dense white-grey cloud.
Gritting his teeth, Midoriya raised both arms.
Each hand now bore only a single finger beside the thumbs remained.
He unleashed a double flick.
Junsei answered with a single flick from behind the cloud.
This time, the shockwave did not erupt neatly between them. It washed over Junsei's position in a violent rush of compressed air.
For a heartbeat, it seemed promising.
Then Midoriya collapsed to his knees.
A broken sound tore from his throat as pain overwhelmed him. Tears blurred his vision while he stared at his mangled fingers. Only his thumbs remained intact.
From within the rolling cloud of dust came the sound of footsteps. Midoriya's head snapped upward.
Junsei emerged from the cloud, walking toward him completely unharmed.
"I used two," Midoriya gasped hoarsely. "And you used one. How are you not harmed?"
Junsei regarded him with the same distant calm. "One finger is not enough to harm me."
He continued forward.
As he drew close, Midoriya's breathing quickened as desperation filled his chest. With a sudden motion, he thrust his thumb into his mouth and using the inner side of his cheek against his thumb, he fired another attack at point-blank range.
The explosion was violent.
The recoil alone sent Midoriya hurtling backward across the arena. He halted near the edge with a cry of agony. Junsei took two steps back from the blast before resuming his steady advance.
Midoriya forced himself upright despite the pain screaming through his ruined hands. He sank onto his knees, chest heaving, and watched Junsei approach.
He remembered the reason Junsei had given for fighting. And deep down, just like Bakugo, he refused to accept that such a reason should decide his defeat. Not when he was so close to win the festival, first place was within reach!!
Across from him, Junsei had no such thoughts nor felt this turmoil. He had allowed his opponent opportunities to fight back, curious to see whether something new might be revealed. But now, seeing Midoriya's helplessness, he knew there was nothing left to learn.
He was going to end the fight now.
Then a fragment of conversation drifted from the stands.
"Matsu, does he not remind you of that little freak who bit the boss's arm off years ago?"
Another voice replied, low and dismissive. "I suppose. But that freak is dead. Ashes like everything else."
Junsei's head snapped toward the sound, his eyes scanning the crowd.
He had heard the name Matsu before on the night Kikyo was killed, he was among the men back then.
But he couldn't find them as there were hundreds in that direction, and whoever had spoken had fallen abruptly silent.
At that moment, Junsei had completely ignored Midoriya and focused on finding the speaker.
"Plus Ultra… SMASH!"
Junsei's head whipped back.
Midoriya was already upon him, punching with all the power he could muster.
Junsei's eyes widened. He felt this attack would kill him.
He crossed his arms instinctively, stepping back while pulling as much aspect and life as he could muster toward defense.
Midoriya's full-powered punch connected.
The impact carved through the arena, its concrete split into two halves. And a devastating gale burst outward, slamming into the stands and ripping debris into spirals. The audience cried out as the overwhelming force washed over them.
For a moment, there was nothing but smoke and wind.
Then Midoriya fell.
He hit the ground screaming, his arm utterly destroyed. He laid there shaking, tears mixing with the dust on his face.
And despite all of that, he slowly lifted his head toward the settling smoke.
Hope flickered in his chest that he had won.
But as the smoke thinned, he froze at what he saw and at the same time silence fell all over the stadium.
Across the arena, through the thinning veil of smoke, Junsei stood.
He had been thrown to the far side by the force of the blow. Both arms broke and hung uselessly at his side. His chest had been carved inward, the impact was so brutal that fragments of rib protruded grotesquely from torn skin. Blood streamed steadily to the cracked concrete below. It dripped from his mouth and nose in dark rivulets.
The whites of his eyes had turned red.
In the stands, faces turned white.
Among the students, Momo stared as if the world had shifted beneath her feet. Her lips parted, but for a moment no sound came. Her mind could not understand what she was seeing.
Around her, classmates watched frozen, they had fallen into the same state of disbelief .
In the staff booth, even the teachers were struck by the sight.
Nezu rose slowly from his seat.
"Ao…" he murmured weakly, the name barely leaving his mouth.
Junsei lowered his gaze to his own body very slowly.
There was a look of shock on his face.
A single thought surfaced in his mind, quiet and cold.
[I am dying again…]