Chapter 27: The Storm.
"Well... shall we finish this?"
The words hung in the air, heavier than the humidity. As Aokiji spoke, the temperature around him didn't just drop; it plummeted. The moisture in the air crystallized instantly, turning the very atmosphere into a weapon. Every step he took left a footprint of deep permafrost that cracked the concrete beneath it.
Shoto Todoroki pulled his left arm back. His fist was clenched so tight the knuckles were white. Flames licked up his forearm, swirling in angry, vibrant ribbons of orange and red. His eyes—turquoise and gray—were narrowed in calculation.
He can freeze fire, Todoroki thought, his mind racing. If I use a direct blast like before, he'll just neutralize the energy again. I need to be unpredictable.
He stomped his right foot. But instead of a glacier, a low, creeping wave of frost skittered across the floor, barely an inch high. It raced toward Aokiji like a fast-moving shadow.
Aokiji looked down, unimpressed. "Hmm?"
Then, Todoroki thrust his right hand upward.
BOOM.
From the low-lying frost, a massive pillar of ice erupted directly beneath Aokiji's feet. It launched him Twenty meters into the air, a ragdoll against the blue sky.
Kuzan's black, curly hair fluttered in the air as he spoke, "So… what's the point of that pitiful move?"
Todoroki raised his left hand toward the sky. The fire around him intensified.
"Since you're in the air," He shouted, "I can release everything without worrying about the crowd! TAKE THIS!"
"FLASHFIRE FIST: JET BURN - VOLCANO!"
Todoroki punched the air.
A column of fire, thicker than the pillars of the stadium, roared upward. It wasn't a stream; it was an eruption. The sheer volume of heat distorted the light, turning the entire arena into a haze of shimmering red and orange. The students in the stands felt the heat wash over their faces like opening an oven door.
"It's too hot!" Kaminari yelled, shielding his face.
"So hot!" Midoriya gasped, the fire reflecting in his wide green eyes. "He's turning the air into plasma!"
The glow of the flames continued to ripple across the faces of those in the stands, their light dancing over the crowd. Endeavor's smile was plainly visible, even as the spectators murmured complaints about the rising heat.
In the middle of the fire attack, Aokiji opened his mouth and roared.
"ICE AGE: WINTER SOLSTICE!"
He thrust both hands downward.
What came out wasn't just ice. It was a localized blizzard of absolute zero.
CRACK-BOOM.
The collision of extreme heat and extreme cold created a shockwave that shook the foundations of the stadium. The column of fire didn't just go out; it froze mid-explosion. The chaotic, swirling flames turned into a jagged, chaotic sculpture of red ice before shattering into a billion pieces under the pressure.
A blast of freezing wind swept through the stadium.
The audience gasped as the chill hit them. Spectators in the front row found frost forming on their eyebrows, some of them watched the juices they were holding freeze solid right in their hands.
Up in the commentary booth, Present Mic shivered violently. "I... I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! THE WINDOW IS FROSTED OVER! ERASER! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR STUDENTS?!"
Aizawa, wrapped in bandages, narrowed his visible eye. "They are pushing past their limits. That's all."
In the stands, Midoriya shivered, brushing snowflakes from his green hair. Beside him, Mineta was vibrating with cold, his teeth chattering like castanets. Jiro hugged herself, her earphone jacks retreating into her collar.
"What... what just happened?" Jiro whispered.
"Kuzan... he released enough cold to neutralize a volcano," Tokoyami murmured, brushing snow off his beak. "He didn't just block it. He erased the heat."
Bakugo Katsuki stood up from the stairwell leading to the student section. He had just arrived to watch the end. He felt the residual heat fading into the biting cold.
"Kacchan?" Midoriya asked. "I thought you were prepping."
"This fight is dragging on too long," Bakugo grunted. His red eyes locked onto the figure falling from the sky.
Aokiji landed on the highest peak of Todoroki's ice pillar. He slid down, landing on the arena floor with a heavy thud.
He looked wrecked. His UA sport suit was torn at the shoulder and chest. The left sleeve was burned away entirely, revealing his pale skin. A scorch mark blackened his cheek. But half of his face was encased in a thick, protective layer of ice, and his breath came out as a dense fog.
"I've never seen Ice Scum use that kind of output in training," Bakugo muttered, his voice low. "He's actually trying. That bastard..."
The students of Class 1-A stared in awe.
"He's still evolving?" Kirishima asked. "In the middle of a match?"
High above in the VIP box, Soichiro Kuzan leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with a dark satisfaction.
"That's right," Soichiro whispered. "He can freeze even the flames of Endeavor's masterpiece. You see, Sayuri? Your mother and I... we are the purest bloodline of the Kuzan clan. Our marriage was an acquisition of genetics. The goal was always to create a hero who would elevate the family name."
Sayuri frowned, her hands gripping her dress. She was happy her brother was winning, but the word "project" made her stomach turn.
"Endeavor thought our clan had no eligible women," Soichiro continued, his voice cold. "But there was your mother. Hidden away by the elders solely for this purpose. To birth this... asset."
Down in the arena, the floor was a wasteland of ice.
Aokiji stood panting. Opposite him, Shoto Todoroki was on his knees. The frost covered him almost completely. His red hair was white with snow.
Steam hissed from his left side. He was trying to reignite his fire, his face twisted in frustration.
"Damn it..." Todoroki growled.
Aokiji raised his left hand. A small, concentrated whirlwind of frost began to spin above his palm. It hummed with a terrifying sound.
"Todoroki-kun," Aokiji said, his voice raspy but calm. "This was fun. Honestly... fighting you helped me understand my own quirk better."
He looked at the spinning vortex.
"I always thought of myself as 'Ice'. Solid. Matter. But that's not quite right. I am 'Cold'. I am the absence of energy. I am the storm that just hit this place."
FOOSH.
Todoroki forced a burst of flame from his shoulder, standing up. "I won't stop here!"
Aokiji flicked his wrist.
"COLD STORM: PRISON VORTEX."
He threw the miniature tornado.
It didn't hit Todoroki like a punch. It surrounded him. The vortex expanded, spinning violently around Todoroki's body.
Every time Todoroki tried to ignite his flames, the vortex sucked the heat away instantly. The wind whipped his hair and clothes, depositing layer after layer of heavy ice onto his limbs.
"It... extinguishes it..." Todoroki thought, panic rising in his chest. Before I can generate heat, he steals it. Is this... is this the limit of my left side too?
The ice grew thicker. His knees locked. His arm froze against his side.
In thirty seconds, Shoto Todoroki was gone. In his place stood a statue, trapped in the eye of a freezing storm.
The stadium was silent.
Aokiji stood there, watching the statue. He waited. Ten seconds. Twenty. Without stopping the storm around Todoroki.
"Referee," Aokiji called out, not looking away. "How long do I have to keep this up?"
Midnight looked at Cementoss. The cement hero nodded.
"TODOROKI IS IMMOBILIZED! KUZAN AOKIJI ADVANCES TO THE FINALS!"
The crowd exploded. It was a release of tension that had been building for twenty minutes. Class 1-A cheered, jumping out of their seats.
"HE DID IT!" Mineta screamed.
"HE BEAT TODOROKI!"
Bakugo closed his eyes. He turned around and walked back down the stairs. "Finals," he muttered. "I'm going to kill him."
In the VIP box, Sayuri let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her father smiled—a cold, arrogant smirk of victory.
Near the arena railing, the metal bar melted under Endeavor's grip. Liquid steel dripped onto the concrete.
"All of this..." Endeavor growled, turning away from the sight of his frozen son. "All of this because you neglect your left side. You are weak because you are stubborn."
He turned and walked toward the exit.
"That is enough. I will polish you myself. You will choose my agency, Shoto. I will make sure of it."
In the ring, Aokiji let out a long exhale. He looked at his hand. It was trembling uncontrollably.
"I've never reached that temperature before," he whispered to himself. "My core is freezing."
He snapped his fingers.
The vortex around Todoroki dissipated. The statue shimmered.
A burst of gentle, controlled flame erupted from within, melting the ice. Todoroki fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air, shivering violently.
He looked up at the giant screen.
WINNER: KUZAN AOKIJI.
The fire on his left side flickered and died.
He looked across the melted, ruined arena at Aokiji. Aokiji looked back.
For a few seconds, they just stared at each other—two sons of ambition, two products of legacy.
Then, without a word, they both turned and walked toward their respective tunnels.
.
.
.
.