UA Stadium - Class Viewing Areas
The students who hadn't advanced to the finals had been given their own dedicated viewing sections, organized by class. Class 1-A sat together in one area, Class 1-B in another, with the general studies and support course students filling out the remaining sections. It gave the tournament a different energy classmates could cheer for their own, creating natural rivalry and support.
Tsubaki sat with the other Class 1-A finalists, his blue eyes fixed on the arena below where the first match would take place. Around him, his classmates who hadn't made it to the finals settled into their seats, disappointed but eager to watch their friends compete.
"Man, I can't believe we're really doing this," Kaminari said, bouncing his leg anxiously. He was scheduled for the third match. "One-on-one matches in front of the whole country."
"It's gonna be so cool!" Mina added, though her voice carried a hint of nerves. She was fighting in the fourth match against Tsubaki himself.
Bakugo sat with his arms crossed, his red eyes locked forward with intense focus, silent and brooding.
"Don't underestimate Uraraka," Kirishima said to him. "She's tougher than she looks."
Bakugo just grunted in response.
Shoto sat several seats away from Tsubaki, his expression distant and unreadable. Their confrontation in the hallway still hung between them like a physical thing, unresolved and heavy.
Yaoyorozu glanced between the brothers, concern clear in her expression, but she said nothing.
"Go Midoriya!" Sato called out encouragingly.
"You got this!" Hagakure's invisible form waved enthusiastically.
Across the way, in the Class 1-B section, students were equally animated
.
"Shiozaki's in the third match," someone noted. "She's got a good chance!"
"And Tetsutetsu in the eighth! Class 1-B representation!"
Monoma's voice cut through. "Just watch! Class 1-B will show everyone we're not living in anyone's shadow!"
The Arena
Midnight stood at the center of the newly constructed ring, her whip coiled at her side. The arena floor had been transformed—a large circular platform with clearly marked boundaries, surrounded by a shallow pit that would indicate a ring-out.
"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE!" Midnight's voice carried across the stadium. "LET'S GET THIS TOURNAMENT STARTED!"
The crowd erupted into cheers, their excitement reaching a fever pitch.
"THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS!" Present Mic's voice boomed from the commentary booth. "IT'S TIME FOR ONE-ON-ONE COMBAT! SIXTEEN STUDENTS! EIGHT MATCHES! ONE CHAMPION!"
"The rules are simple," Aizawa's dry voice cut in from beside him. "Win by knockout, ring-out, immobilization, or surrender. Midnight will stop the match if she determines a student can't continue safely."
"And speaking of which," Present Mic continued, "let's introduce our first competitors!"
The massive screens displayed two faces one with tired purple eyes, one with determined green ones.
"FROM GENERAL STUDIES, THE STUDENT WHO SHOCKED EVERYONE BY MAKING IT THIS FAR WITH A NON-COMBAT QUIRK—SHINSO HITOSHI!"
Shinso emerged from the tunnel, walking with measured steps toward the arena. His expression was carefully neutral, but his hands were clenched at his sides. The crowd's cheers were supportive but notably quieter than they'd be for a hero course student.
'This is it,' Shinso thought, his mind focused despite his outward calm. 'My chance to prove I belong in the hero course. That my quirk isn't villainous. That I can be a hero.'
"AND HIS OPPONENT!" Present Mic's volume somehow increased. "THE STUDENT WHO CAME IN SECOND IN THE OBSTACLE RACE WITH THAT INCREDIBLE MINE STRATEGY—FROM CLASS 1-A, MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Midoriya walked out from the opposite tunnel, and the crowd's response was significantly louder. His green hair was slightly wild, his expression set with determination despite the nervousness in his eyes.
The Class 1-A section erupted
.
"YEAH, MIDORIYA!" Kirishima shouted, pumping his fist.
"Show them what you've got!" Sero added.
Bakugo remained silent, his red eyes fixed intently on the arena.
'Don't respond verbally,' Midoriya reminded himself, his internal monologue running at full speed. 'Shinso's quirk activates when someone answers him. If I stay silent, he can't control me. '
'I can do this. I have to do this.'
The two students faced each other across the arena, the contrast stark Shinso with his tired, calculating expression, Midoriya with his nervous but determined energy.
Midnight raised her whip.
"READY?"
Both students nodded.
"THEN... BEGIN!"
The whip cracked.
The Match Begins
For several seconds, neither moved.
Midoriya stood in a fighting stance, his fists raised, his mouth firmly shut. His green eyes were locked on Shinso, analyzing, waiting.
'He's not talking,' Shinso observed, completely unsurprised. 'Of course he's not. He knows how my quirk works. Everyone saw me use it to steal from Todoroki.'
This was expected. This was why he'd prepared mentally for this exact scenario.
'I need to make him talk. Need to provoke a response. Find what makes him react emotionally.'
Midoriya began to move forward slowly, maintaining his fighting stance, still silent. If he could just get close enough to push Shinso out of the ring without speaking.
"So you're just going to stay quiet?" Shinso called out, his voice carrying clearly across the arena. "Smart. I'd do the same if I were you."
Midoriya didn't respond, continuing his careful advance.
The crowd murmured with confusion.
"Why aren't they fighting?" someone asked.
"The purple-haired kid is trying to get him to talk," another voice responded. "His quirk is brainwashing he needs a verbal response to activate it."
In the Commentary Booth
"Interesting strategy from Midoriya," Aizawa observed. "He's aware of Shinso's quirk mechanics and adapting accordingly."
"But Shinso's not going to make it easy!" Present Mic added. "This is going to be a battle of wills!"
Class 1-A Section
"Come on, Midoriya," Uraraka whispered, her hands clasped together nervously. "You can do this. Just stay quiet."
Iida spoke sounding anxious. "Midoriya's strategy is sound, but Shinso will undoubtedly attempt provocation."
Tsubaki watched with analytical interest. 'Midoriya understands the threat. But Shinso's made it this far for a reason. He knows how to find weaknesses.'
Tokoyami's dark eyes were focused. "This battle will be won with words, not fists."
"Unless Midoriya can reach him without talking," Jiro added.
Midoriya was halfway across the arena now, still silent, still advancing with his fists raised.
Shinso shifted his stance slightly, preparing himself. He had no combat training, but he wasn't defenseless either. And he had words his real weapon.
"You're from Class 1-A, right?" Shinso said, his voice taking on a different tone harder, more cutting. "Must be nice. Getting into the hero course because you have a flashy quirk."
Midoriya's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond. Three more meters to close.
"Some of us weren't so lucky," Shinso continued, and now there was real bitterness in his voice not entirely faked. "Some of us got told our quirks were 'better suited for villainy.' That we'd never be heroes no matter how hard we tried."
Two meters.
"But I guess you wouldn't understand that, would you?" Shinso's voice grew sharper.
"You hero course students, with your perfect quirks and your perfect opportunities. You get everything handed to you while the rest of us have to fight twice as hard for half the recognition."
Midoriya was close now close enough to grab Shinso if he lunged forward. His fists were clenched tight, Shinso's words hitting nerves he didn't even know he had, but he kept his mouth shut.
'Don't talk. Don't talk. Almost there—'
He charged forward, his arm drawing back for a punch.
Shinso didn't flinch. Instead, his voice cut through the air like a whip.
"You know what I think? I think you're a coward. Hiding behind your knowledge of my quirk because you're scared of a real fight."
Midoriya's punch came fast. Shinso barely managed to raise his arms in a crude block, the impact sending pain shooting through his forearms. He stumbled back but kept talking.
"That Todoroki guy the one with white hair at least he had the guts to make a declaration!" Shinso dodged another swing, his movements awkward but desperate. "To put everything on the line! But you? You're just trying to survive!"
Midoriya swung again, this time catching Shinso's shoulder. The general studies student grunted in pain but pressed forward verbally.
"Is that really what you want?" Shinso asked, backing up toward the ring's edge, his tired eyes locked on Midoriya's face. "To win by hiding? By running away?"
They were grappling now Midoriya trying to push Shinso out of the ring, Shinso using his words like weapons even as he struggled physically.
"Your classmates are watching," Shinso said, his voice strained from the physical exertion. "Your parents are probably watching."
Midoriya's movements faltered slightly, his green eyes widening.
"And what are they seeing?" Shinso pressed, feeling the opening. "A boy too scared to even speak. Too afraid to defend himself. Too weak to—"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
The words burst out before Midoriya could stop them, raw and desperate and honest.
And the moment they left his mouth, his world changed.
Midoriya's green eyes went blank.
His body went rigid, his fighting stance dissolving into mechanical stillness.
"MIDORIYA!" Uraraka screamed from the Class 1-A section.
"No! He responded!" Iida's hand gestures were frantic.
The crowd erupted into shocked noise.
"MIDORIYA FELL FOR IT!" Present Mic shouted. "SHINSO'S BRAINWASHING ACTIVATED!"
"This might be over," Aizawa said quietly.
Bakugo leaned forward slightly, his red eyes intense as he watched Midoriya's frozen form. His expression was unreadable, but his focus was absolute.
Teachers area
In the stands, All Might's skeletal form went rigid, his sunken eyes wide with shock and horror.
'Young Midoriya! No!'
He half-rose from his seat, his hands clenched. The boy he'd chosen, the one he'd given One For All to, was now under enemy control, his will completely suppressed.
'He knew about the quirk. He was doing so well. But Shinso found his weakness—his heart. His need to prove he's not a coward.'
All Might's expression was anguished as he watched Midoriya stand motionless in the ring.
'Please, my boy. You have to fight it. You have the strength inside you!'
Midoriya Household
Inko Midoriya sat in her living room, her hands clasped over her mouth, tears already forming in her eyes.
"Izuku," she whispered, watching her son's blank expression on the television screen. "Oh, Izuku, no..."
She'd been so proud watching him advance through the earlier rounds. The clever mine strategy. His determination. His growth.
And now he stood frozen, controlled by someone else's quirk, unable to fight back.
"Please," she whispered to the screen. "Please be okay. Please..."
The Arena
Shinso stood a few feet away from Midoriya's frozen form, breathing heavily from their brief physical exchange. His shoulder throbbed where Midoriya's punch had landed, his forearms ached from blocking.
But relief flooded through him. It had worked. His quirk had activated.
"Turn around," Shinso commanded. "Walk toward the boundary line."
Midoriya's body moved mechanically, turning to face the edge of the ring. His feet began to shuffle forward, each step bringing him closer to the line that would mean defeat.
"MIDORIYA, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Kirishima shouted from the stands.
"Come on, dude!" Kaminari added.
But Midoriya couldn't hear them. Couldn't hear anything except Shinso's commands in his mind, overriding his own will.
'I'm going to lose,' some part of his consciousness thought distantly. 'I'm going to disappoint everyone. All Might. Mom. My classmates. I'm going to—'
And then he saw something. Shadowy figures in his mind. Indistinct. Barely visible. But undeniably there.
One of them looked almost like... All Might?
'Who...?'
He didn't understand what they were. Didn't know why they were there. But their presence was a jolt a shock to his system.
And deep within him, One For All stirred.
Power surged through Midoriya's body not controlled, not refined, but raw and overwhelming. It concentrated in his finger without his conscious direction, like the quirk itself was responding to his desperate need to break free.
CRACK!
The finger broke with an audible snap, the bone fracturing under the explosive force of One For All's power. The pain was immediate, excruciating, white-hot.
And the shock of it the physical trauma shattered Shinso's control like glass.
Midoriya's eyes cleared, awareness flooding back. He gasped, stumbling forward from the momentum of his controlled walk, stopping just inches from the boundary line.
"MIDORIYA BREAKS FREE!" Present Mic screamed. "HE BROKE HIS OWN FINGER TO ESCAPE THE BRAINWASHING!"
The crowd went absolutely wild.
"HE DID IT!" Kirishima was on his feet, pumping his fist. "THAT'S SO MANLY!"
"He broke his finger?!" Mina looked horrified and impressed simultaneously. "That's insane!"
"Tactical self-harm to break mental control," Tokoyami mused. "Desperate, but effective."
Iida's smiled with excitement. "Incredible willpower under pressure!"
Uraraka had tears streaming down her face, relief and pride mixing together. "Deku..."
Bakugo's eyes narrowed, watching intently as Midoriya clutched his broken finger. His expression remained unreadable, but he leaned forward slightly, completely focused on the match.
Tsubaki watched with sharp interest. 'He broke free. That shouldn't be possible with just pain alone. There's something else—something about his quirk that resisted the control. Interesting.'
All Might collapsed back into his seat, his skeletal hand over his chest where his heart was racing.
'He did it. He found a way. That's my successor!'
Pride swelled in his chest, even as worry remained. Breaking his finger was drastic, and the match wasn't over yet.
"IZUKU!" Inko screamed at the television, now on her feet. "MY BABY BOY!"
She was crying harder now, but these were tears of relief and pride rather than fear.
"He's okay. He's fighting. He's—" She pressed her hands to her mouth again. "Please be careful, Izuku. Please..."
Shinso stood frozen, his tired eyes wide with disbelief.
'He broke free. He actually broke free. But how?'
He'd used his quirk on dozens of people during training, during exercises. Once someone was under his control, they stayed under until he released them or they received a significant external shock from another person.
'He did something. Used his quirk somehow. But his quirk is strength enhancement—how did that break my control?'
There was no time to figure it out. Midoriya had turned back to face him, broken finger cradled against his chest, determination blazing in his green eyes.
'I can't use my quirk again. He won't fall for it twice. This comes down to physical combat.'
Shinso raised his fists in a crude defensive stance. 'And I've got no training. But I'm not giving up. Not when I've come this far.'
Midoriya charged forward, his good hand drawn back for a punch. Pain radiated from his broken finger, but he pushed through it.
His fist shot forward. Shinso tried to block, but the blow caught him on the shoulder the same shoulder Midoriya had hit before. Shinso grunted, pain shooting through his arm.
He swung back wildly. Midoriya ducked under it, then drove his shoulder into Shinso's midsection, trying to push him toward the ring boundary.
Shinso grabbed Midoriya's uniform, using the grip to keep his balance and prevent being pushed back. They grappled, neither with formal training, both fighting on pure determination and instinct.
"THIS IS TURNING INTO A REAL BRAWL!" Present Mic shouted. "NO QUIRKS NOW, JUST PURE FIGHTING SPIRIT!"
The crowd was eating it up, cheering for both competitors as they struggled against each other.
Shinso managed to hook his leg behind Midoriya's, trying to trip him. Midoriya stumbled but stayed upright, using the momentum to spin them both around.
They broke apart, both breathing heavily.
"This is intense!" Kaminari was leaning forward."Neither one's backing down!"
"They're both giving everything they have," Shoji observed.
"Midoriya's doing better than I expected in hand-to-hand," Yaoyorozu noted. "His physical training is showing."
"Yeah, but Shinso's not making it easy," Kirishima grinned. "I love seeing people fight with this much heart! This is what being a hero is about!"
Bakugo watched silently, his arms crossed, his expression intense and unreadable.
They circled each other, both looking for an opening. Midoriya's broken finger throbbed with every heartbeat. Shinso's shoulder was bruising badly, his movements on that side becoming stiffer.
Midoriya feinted left, then went right, getting inside Shinso's guard. He grabbed Shinso's arm, used his momentum and what little technique he knew, and managed to throw him off balance.Shinso hit the ground hard, the air driven from his lungs.
Midoriya didn't hesitate. He pushed forward, using his body weight to drive Shinso toward the boundary line, his broken finger forgotten in the rush of determination.
'I won't lose. Not here. Not now. All Might is watching. Mom is watching. Everyone is watching.'
Shinso struggled, his hands scrabbling for purchase, trying to stop his momentum. But Midoriya was relentless, pushing harder, refusing to let up.With one final desperate shove, Shinso's body crossed the boundary line.
The buzzer sounded.
"SHINSO HITOSHI IS OUT OF BOUNDS!" Midnight announced, her whip cracking. "MIDORIYA IZUKU IS THE WINNER AND ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!"
The crowd exploded into applause and cheers. The Class 1-A section was on their feet, screaming their support.
"YES!" Uraraka was jumping up and down. "HE DID IT!"
"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Kirishima roared.
All Might was standing, clapping with tears streaming down his skeletal face. 'Well done, my boy. So well done.'
At home, Inko was sobbing with relief and pride. "My baby won. He won! Oh, Izuku, I'm so proud of you!"
Midoriya stood over Shinso, breathing heavily, his broken finger cradled against his chest. He extended his good hand to help Shinso up.
Shinso looked at the offered hand for a moment, then took it, allowing Midoriya to pull him to his feet.They stood there for a moment, both battered and exhausted.
Then Shinso stepped back, and something in his expression shifted disappointment, resignation, but also a grudging respect.
'I lost,' he thought, looking at Midoriya's determined face. 'I had my chance to prove myself, to show everyone my quirk wasn't villainous. And I lost.'
His mind drifted back to the hallway confrontation he'd witnessed. To Todoroki Tsubaki's cold declaration.
'I will win.'
Shinso's jaw clenched. 'I couldn't prove you wrong, Todoroki. Couldn't show that someone from general studies could stand at the top. I failed.'
But he kept his expression neutral as he nodded to Midoriya, then turned and walked out of the arena, his shoulders straight despite his defeat.
Midoriya stood alone in the center of the ring as medical personnel rushed in to check his finger. The crowd's cheers washed over him, and despite the pain, he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face.
He'd won.
He'd proven himself.
And this was just the beginning.
To Be Continued...
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Author's note:
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.