Chapter 14
If the opening moment had intended to shock Shirou, no such surprise came across his features. Instead of a look of horror, there was simply a single eyebrow raised in curiosity.
His opponent, the third year student who had earlier introduced himself as Mirio, seemed to only smile in response. Whether the boy had been expecting a larger or more dramatic response from Shirou it seemingly no longer mattered.
It was an opening move Mirio had used against all first time sparring partners, getting a psychological advantage before a punch had even been thrown. Whether or not Shirou had encountered somebody with a similar quirk to his own, Mirio didn't know. What he did know was that he could practically feel his blood boiling.
The tension in Shirou's feet was the opening sign that something was about to happen before the weapon creator charged forward, crossing the distance between the two competitors in a flash. In his hand, Torashinai roared through the air with the will to deal damage to the person before it.
The strike struck true but there was the surprising lack of weapon on flesh which usually came when a blow connected. Many on the sidelines could only watch in curiosity but in the middle, Shirou had already garnered something of an understanding of Mirio's quirk.
Mirio, feeling like he had already given too much away, pressed on the offence, his fist cocked back with his target in sight. Shirou reacted in time, gliding slightly to the left to avoid the blow which had threatened to imbed itself into his stomach. He watched as his retaliation strike went over Torashinai's prey but not by his own merit, but rather Mirio having sunk into the ground.
It took only a handful of moments for Mirio to have completely submerged himself from view before Shirou swung out behind him, adjusting slightly to the fact that Mirio was several feet off the ground.
Like his previous assault, Torashinai phased through Mirio but Shirou halted his attack midway, keeping the weapon fixated in Mirio's body. The third year student landed on the ground and Shirou got the answer in that moment he required. It was only when Mirio went to attack him, did he allow Torashinai to glide out of Mirio's body.
Mirio's oncoming attack was a twofold one from what Shirou could tell. The hand reaching for his face was merely a distraction to the fist cocked and primed to strike him in the chest once more. Ignoring the fingers mere inches away from his eyes, Shirou conjured his counter for what was about to happen.
Mirio meanwhile felt himself freeze for the briefest of seconds as his phased fingers didn't necessarily go through closed eyelids, but rather the very wide opened eyes of Shirou who seemed to have realized that he had no intention of permanently blinding a fellow student. Mirio pressed on however and launched his fist forward, this time managing to connect with Shirou's torso.
Only to pull back his hand in shock and pain, blood openly oozing from several nasty cuts he had received. It had been a while since he had felt such pain though he didn't try to let the emotion show on his face. Those on the sidelines could only watch on in confusion, partially because of what had happened and the pace of everything. The entire bout had so far lasted no longer than six seconds and so much had already happened in such a short period of time.
"You crafted weapons underneath your clothes," stated Mirio, having worked out what Shirou had done.
"You aren't always intangible, you have to focus on what part of your body you want to be at any given time," retorted Shirou, mildly reeling from the blow which had pushed the steel he had crafted into his abdomens. The boy could pack a punch that was for sure.
While the words couldn't be heard by those standing in attendance, it was clear that there was some sort of understanding between the two combatants, the following clash was clear as day. Again, it was an incredible display of agility, skill and cunning as Shirou did his best to try and strike down an enemy he couldn't hit while his opponent tried to get an upper hand on a swordsman who was prepared for blows coming from his blind spots.
Breaking apart momentarily, Shirou altered his course of action as Torashinai vanished from sight. Mirio figuring something was afoot, allowed himself to slip beneath the surface once more, forcing his body to reappear several feet behind where Shirou was standing, having expected a trap of some sort. What he hadn't expected to see was that his opponent was not in his line of sight. As his feet hit the ground, Mirio turned around to protect his back and gain some leverage of sight of where Shirou would attack him from. Yet again however, he saw nothing.
Once more, the unfamiliar sensation of pain pierced through his body as an arrow struck his foot, grateful that the tip hadn't pierced his flesh. It would seem as if his opponent had opted not to use a tipped area, choosing to use one with a rubber end. Considering the accuracy of which it was shot, Mirio knew that it had been Shirou's target, his opponent already having utilized the times they had collided to work out several vantage points. Most people out of force of habit, aimed for the torso and head, two of the major targets.
While he could manipulate his quirk to allow blows to phase through when he knew they were coming, having his quirk permanently activated on his torso would prevent him from seeing or hearing anything. Perfect timing was required for him to utilize his quirk to the fullest.
His feet however, as soon as he allowed his quirk to flow through that part of his body he would lose his footing and begin to fall. Shirou had worked out that anytime they were standing across from each other was a time Mirio could be struck.
Shifting his gaze, Mirio looked above him to where Shirou hung more than thirty feet in the air, a black bow in his hands and another arrow notched and ready. Upon the loosening of the projectile, Mirio sunk into the ground beneath him, already having worked out the necessary amount of time to fall in order to find himself next to where Shirou was.
It was with little surprise that once light was once again accepted into his eyes to find Shirou facing him, the two of them on the descent towards the ground. In that brief moment when Mirio had been absent from sight, Shirou had changed weapons once again. The behemoth of a weapon was something which sent shivers through Mirio's system.
The club was nearly the same size as him and seemed to be some sort of hybrid between an axe and a club. Crafted of seemingly solid stone, Mirio prepared himself, watching the swing arc to see where Shirou would try to strike him with the weapon.
Yet it wasn't coming at him.
Shirou plummeted downwards, doing a complete front flip and bringing the club down with all the force he could muster. The moment that the weapon struck the ground the results were instantaneous. For those on the sidelines, they could do little more than scream in panic and shield their eyes as debris was sent in every feasible direction, crashing into the walls of the gymnasium.
Mirio landed on the ground as the dust was subsiding to discover the sheer destruction that Shirou had just displayed. The ground was in tatters, chunks of the ground stuck up from the floor while severe cracks more that half a foot wide spiderwebbed their way to the walls. Yet that was only the surface damage, Mirio could only imagine what had happened beneath ground level.
"You got me," he said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here," said Shirou as he hefted the colossal weapon so that it sat on his shoulder. "When you go beneath the surface, distance, timing and angle have something to do with where you next find yourself. You've only ever had to worry about beneath surface areas which were flat. If you were to fall now and try and reappear when your body would theoretically be where a crack of open space was, your trajectory would drastically change."
"You're not far off, when I deactivate my quirk and relocate myself, as far as I know it is only due to two objects of mass not being able to exist in a single location," explained Mirio. "With what you have done to the battleground, I sincerely doubt that I would be able to accurately predict where I would appear."
"Would you like to continue?" asked Shirou.
"No, I think you have given me enough to think about, though if you ever wish to spar again I will be more than happy to be your opponent," said Mirio giving Shirou a genuine smile.
"Very well, until we meet again," said Shirou as the massive weapon he had been holding vanished into nothing. He watched as Mirio went about putting his clothes back on, much to the relief of those who had been in attendance. Shirou had to admit that the student's ability was powerful when used correctly, though the mindframe he'd have to constantly be in would have taken an incredible amount of time to get to the level he was at.
"What's your name?" asked Shirou as Mirio finished dressing himself. For a couple of seconds, Mirio didn't respond considering he had given his name before the two of them had begun to combat one another. Slow realization came through before he gave his answer.
"Lemillion!" he boldly declared.
"Lemillion," repeated Shirou.
"Yes, the hero who will save a million people," said Mirio as he clenched his fist in front of his body, emphasising his declaration.
"Best of luck," said Shirou, Mirio giving him a farewell gesture before making his way across the desolation towards the exit.
While Tamaki followed behind Mirio, Nejire watched on for a little bit longer. Ryuko, the professional hero whom she trained under, had asked her to get any sort of intel that she could about the individual who had battled against her peer. What she had witnessed was something that she had kept rapt attention to and her usual bubbly demeanour had found itself silenced at the feat she had seen. Such things like the ability to leap as high into the air as Shirou had without a quirk that boosted him in such a way were definitely things that Ryuko would wish to be informed about. With those thoughts in her mind, she left the gymnasium following behind her fellow third year students.
With them now gone, Shirou turned his attention to his classmates, many of them staring at him standing in the middle of the destroyed landscape. "So, who's next?" he asked casually.
Understandably, nobody was keen to go first.
...
Principal Nezu sat in his chair, watching the footage from the gymnasium with his paws pressed together beneath his chin. To say that what he was watching was outstanding was putting it lightly. Also in the room were a vast number of the school faculty who had gone to the aid of the first year students when they had been under attack only to arrive at the scene too late.
"Kid's got some power," commented Snipe, analyzing the damage done to the establishment. Cementoss nodded in agreement, already preparing himself to fix the damage that had been done.
"I think that's putting it lightly," said Ectoplasm as she scratched at her cheek. "The force necessary to deal that level of damage is something which shouldn't be possible for someone with his quirk."
"Which means that he did that with just raw strength," stated Snipe.
"Raw strength, the ability to react to the difficult situations placed before him and adapt accordingly, incredible bursts of speed and we haven't even gotten to his quirk," listed Nezu as the camera showed Kirishima stepping forward to challenge. "At this stage if he felt like leaving on his own accord I don't believe that we'd have the ability to stop him."
"But All Might..."
"Isn't here all the time," said Nezu as he turned from the monitor. "The question is how do we keep him here? He was forced here through no will of his own and while he will be wanted by the authorities, he could fend them off if he so wished and only perhaps the top thirty heroes could stop him."
"Should we increase our security?" asked Snipe.
"No, that would make it too obvious that we are watching them," said Nezu. "I dare not set up cameras watching their lodgings under fear that they would be discovered and it could trigger them. Having Hound Dog doing perimetre checks should be enough for the moment."
"Well considering there is no school records for him, should we offer him some Quirk Counseling?" suggested Cementoss.
"I don't think that would be a wise option," stated Nezu, dreading the idea of one of his staff trying to talk to Shirou about when and where to use his quirk. "No, for now I think it best we wait and watch, act accordingly when the time is right. Plus we cannot focus on a single student when we have the Sports Festival approaching."
"And what's to prevent him from wiping out the competition?" said Snipe, pointing to the monitor where Shriou had successfully dispatched Kirishima with ease before beckoning the next student to step forward. The faculty members watched Midoriya approach, the green haired boy nervously moving forward before standing in front of Shirou. There was a brief exchanging of words, Shirou saying something that seemed to trigger Midoriya into action.
It was almost comical, how Shirou dodged the first three punches with ease and on the fourth blow simply extended his foot causing Midoriya to trip over it. There had been a good chance that the boy could have maintained his balance until Shirou gave him a moderate nudge with the end of the non lethal weapon he was holding. Midoriya fell to the floor and as he turned, the tip of the training Shinai found itself pressed to his chest, right where his heart was.
Shirou, his point having been made, turned his attention to where the rest of his peers were located, signalling for the next one to step up to him. As Momo came forward, the members of the staff could understand that this wasn't a training exercise for Shirou per say but he was pointing out the most obvious flaws with his opponents plans of attack.
"Something tells me that he won't go all out in the festival," commented Nezu, hoping that he was right in his beliefs.
...
Shirou took the empty dishes to the sink, he and Rin having finished their dinner for the evening. The sun had long since set and their homework was done for the day (as ridiculous as it was to do homework, though it helped them learn more about the world around them) but Shirou could see a look in Rin's eye informing him that there was something she wished to discuss. Placing the empty dishes down and opting to clean them later, Shirou returned to the table where Rin was resting, one hand holding her head up as her elbow rested on the wooden top.
"Are you aware there is a sports festival coming up?" she asked.
"First I've heard of it," said Shirou as he knelt down. "I take it, it's not your standard school sports carnival."
"Over the top is putting it lightly," said Rin. "We were shown last year's event in class today and it is essentially a platform for everyone to show off their abilities. The flashier your moveset, the higher the opportunity that you will get scouted by a pro. It's basically a giant promotional event staged as a festival."
"Okay, and what do you want me to do?" asked Shirou.
"It's not so much what I want you to do, but what you're going to have to do," said Rin as she sat up straight. "They have a tradition where the highest ranking student has to do an opening speech."
"Yeah, what's the problem with that?"
"The problem is that I know you Shirou," stated Rin, her eyes sharpening. "I know that given the chance, you will say something that will irk the entirety of the world to the point where you are the most hated person on the planet."
Shirou remained silent but didn't dismiss the thought that that was a distinct possibility. "So, with your help to ensure it at least sounds like you, we're going to spend the night working you what you're going to say to ensure we don't get lynched down the street."
"We? So you're participating in the event as well," said Shirou picking up the single word used.
"Of course," said Rin as she flicked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I have my own agenda at the moment."
Shirou wasn't even surprised.
...
The following two weeks passed quicker than anybody in class 1-A could have realized. Between classes and the extracurricular training they did with Shirou almost daily after school had finished time seemed to just fly by. To say that the majority had improved would be an outright lie on the surface. None of them could say that they had witnessed improvement in their battles against Shirou but it had all been a good learning experience about the difference between where they were now and what their ultimate goal was.
One thing that the training that they had gone through was surprisingly helpful was that they were no longer afraid of failure. The almost repetitive nature of getting knocked know and then to force themselves to get up and do it again and again was something they hadn't particularly counted on. It was an awkward conundrum for the faculty to find themselves in when during practical sessions the students who took the loss seemed to learn more from how they had failed then from those who succeeded. On a handful of occasions, members of the teaching staff had overheard conversations of how students had felt that they were so close to a breakthrough, if they were a touch faster, a smidgen smarter or even a little more mentally prepared they could last longer. They weren't focused on actually being able to overcome the obstacle in front of them, just to be able to stand in its presence for just a touch longer.
Understandably, this mindset had ruffled a few feathers and one of the teachers had actually marched in and demanded that Shirou stop what it was he was doing. Present Mic had laid down the challenge and Shirou had instructed the class to wait outside while the two of them, 'talked it out like adults.' From outside the building, they had heard the destructive wails that Present Mic could produce for all of twelve seconds before he went silent and a minute afterwards, walked out of the gymnasium, clutching his right arm whilst walking with a noticeable limp and rightfully looking ashamed as he made his way to see Recovery Girl.
Surprisingly, after the encounter with Present Mic, Shirou did alter his training a bit. When a student got knocked down, they had to do twenty push ups before joining the line again. A little change but a change nonetheless.
A small alarm went off in the room where the room that the students of 1-A were gathered in, signalling that it was time. For a few it was at that moment when their nerves started to kick in. However, the first person to move was where all eyes caught on. Shirou stepped out of the room and was swiftly followed by the rest of the class. The walk behind him was more than a little symbolic as they watched him march on without hesitation. They forced themselves to remember that this was their chance, their opportunity to show just what they were capable of in front of an audience. The world knew what Shirou was capable of, now it was their time to show just what they could do.
Chapter 15
Bakugo growls were inaudible compared to the roar of the crowd that surrounded them. They had gotten the biggest pop which was rightfully given. It didn't matter that Present Mic was upselling their achievements thus far, the masses weren't aware of it but they had come to see them anyways. They were the prized students of the year. Half and Half Bastard, Raccoon Eyes, Shitty Hair, Four Eyes. They might have all been pebbles in his path towards greatness but they had scrambled their way to be standing alongside him above all others who may have tried. They were the best of the worst and they deserved to be acknowledged for that.
Then there was Shirou.
Other than the Half and Half Bastard, he was the only one who hadn't gone to get their ass handed to them over and over by Shirou. That didn't mean that he had been sitting down doing nothing with his time. He'd found himself pushing himself, harder than he ever had before. For years he had been worshipped with the belief of those around him pushing him forwards. Now he realized that he should have been exerting himself harder.
Bakugo knew that he was at the peak of the opportunities he had given himself, of that there was little doubt. The issue was that he hadn't chased up certain opportunities that he wasn't aware existed. Spending his youth bragging about how he was going to be the best when he didn't spend that time working himself to become the best. He knew that the last two weeks of intense training would have only closed the distance a little, but it was a start.
And a start was as good as anything.
...
"Now for the student representative, Emiya Shirou!"
The crowd didn't applaud him as much as they would have any other student and Shirou was more than aware of it. They knew who he was, what he was capable of and he could see those in attendance whispering amongst themselves. Thankfully, he didn't ultimately care about the opinions of the masses but he had a script to follow and he knew that to stray away would lead to more trouble than it was worth.
Stepping up to the podium, his eyes found Rin in the crowd of general studies students. He also had managed to find a small banner in the crowd with her name plastered on it. It seems as if some of the students who had opted not to compete had decided to throw their support behind her, whether from manipulation or her charm he wasn't fussed. She had never had a problem with people showering her with support before so why would it be any different in another world?
Allowing himself to exhale slightly, Shirou recalled what he and Rin had prepared and spoke. "Ladies, Gentlemen, Heroes, Civilians," he started, his words causing all those watching to go silent. He paused for several moments before he announced the final group of people that this speech was meant for, "And Villains."
That single word caused a murmur of discontent to spread around the arena but it didn't phase Shirou as he continued. "We are gathered here before you today to compete against one another for your entertainment. I'm sure you will take joy in children injuring themselves all for the sake of trying to show off what they are capable of. We will throw ourselves against whatever obstacles are in our way and if someone is to maim or perhaps even kill themselves, well that's amusement I guess."
"Those gathered before you are the future heroes of this world and if what I have said has already caused their nerves to come into question then they should forfeit their right to study here effective immediately," declared Shirou. "Grit and determination are a necessity in this line of work and even those who have signed themselves into other courses must be prepared for the consequences of failure. Not every mission is successful and it is never just the one who failed who has to deal with the fallout."
"These burdens are not what teenagers can even begin to comprehend, for the media only ever shows about how the hero valiantly saves the day. Never do we have an in depth look at the psyche, to work out just what is left of the person who spends every day in the limelight knowing that their successes will garner them fame while their failures will have them lynched in the streets. Will we garner success in the future or will we succumb to the wills of society?"
"Finally, I leave you with a final question which I know you all have an answer for. What is a hero? To me, a hero is someone whose name will be etched into legend. History will remember a true hero not for the amount of subordinates under them, or the fact that they spent time with those who adored them. They won't be the most famous or most sought after. The true heroes will be remembered by the fact that they never rescued anyone for the money or glory, but simply because it was the right thing to do."
His final part said, Shirou stepped away from the microphone he had been speaking into and made his way down off of the platform. His footsteps down the handful of stairs almost echoed in comparison to the silence which filled the arena. The words he had spoken resonated with the crowd to the point they were almost afraid to whisper their opinions to those next to them. It was no real surprise that they were quiet. He had poked the hornet's nest in a sense. The civilians of this world felt safe because there was an oversaturation of heroes patrolling the streets and help could arrive within minutes. The sad fact of the matter though, was sometimes those few minutes it took for the hero to arrive already meant that it was too late. Nobody liked to address the issue unless they were pointing fingers about who was to blame and unfortunately the blame wasn't always on the culprit.
"Okay...with that being said," started Midnight, a bit flummoxed by what she had just heard but doing her best to roll on ahead. "It's time to move on to our first event! The preliminaries as they are better known! This year's first round is...this, an Obstacle Course! It's a race between all eleven classes with the course making a nearly four kilometre ring around this stadium! We sing about freedom on campus so you're free to do anything so long as you remain in the course."
Midnight felt herself pause at the end of her statement, preventing her from telling the children to take care. It was something she never would have even contemplated beforehand but Shirou's speech had even sent cold feelings deep down into her soul. She still remembered when she had been a third year student right here in the Academy and was interning under Purple Highness in a lead up to her graduation, how she had worked side by side with a second year student she had called a friend.
And how it had all gone so terribly wrong.
Shaking her head lightly, she focused on the start of the obstacle course where the students had crowded behind one another, cramming as close to the start as they could. As the first light flashed on, she called out, "On your marks!"
...
"Start!"
The opening of the event saw those at the back of the pack watch on with mild entertainment as those at the front tried their hardest to squeeze through the narrow opening. This was where Shirou and Rin had found themselves, in no real rush to force their way to the front of the crowd. It was unsurprising for Shirou to find that a number of his peers had chosen the same course of action. Apparently a number of them had learned in the last couple weeks not to charge ahead without a plan.
At least they were taking something from his lessons.
Their patience was well rewarded with Todoroki having taken the lead and in doing so, freezing the field beneath him and trapping those who had thought to get an early start. Those who found themselves lucky enough to not have their feet stuck to the ground had to suffer the humility that came with falling face first into the ground, their footing ill prepared for the change in surface friction.
"So that was the opening act," said Rin as she leapt up, far higher than anybody had the right to and landed gracefully atop the starting gate, Shirou joining her side only a moment later. They paid little attention to the masses that were sandwiched beneath them, scrambling over one another in an attempt to get a step ahead of the rest.
"It was the simplest way to weed out those ill prepared, Midnight stated anything was far game," added Shirou. "If they fall at the first hurdle that just shows where they are." Shirou's attention shifted slightly to where his peers from Class 1-A were making their way forward, following after Todorok and towards the next obstacle. "Oh it's those things again."
By 'those things,' Shirou was referring to the gigantic machines that stood in the path of those who had gotten to the front of the pack. Shirou's ears perked up, hearing one student cry out that there were way too many to slip past. That to him sounded like a good warm up, certainly not a challenge but it would provide some entertainment.
...
Todoroki stared at the second obstacle and the drop that surrounded the handful of safe platforms. The rope that hung between the few havens differed greatly from spot to spot, meaning he would have to pick and choose which paths he took carefully.
"Well, that was easy," said a female voice behind him, Todoroki mildly surprised thinking that he had had quite a large gap between him and the rest of the field. Turning to look over his shoulder, Todoroki spotted Shirou accopaning said female, one whom he could mildly recall having fought alongside Shirou some time ago.
"So what's next?" asked Shirou as he came to stand by Todoroki's side, no sign that he was in anyway exhausted from having caught up to the lead with seeming ease. Not that Todoroki found this surprising in the slightest.
"Hmmph," scoffed Rin, ignoring the sounds of explosions and disaster raining on behind her as the rest of their year level did their best to make their way through the robot inferno. Without a second thought, she leapt forward, the abyss not terrifying her in the slightest. At first glance, Todoroki thought such reckless actions would lead to disaster and was already preparing some way in which to catch the general studies student.
His fear filled thoughts were unwarranted however, Rin crossing the gap with the simplest of ease, landing before leaping once more in a fluid motion, crossing the darkness without any fear for what lay beneath her. Before Todorki could even allow some manner of surprise to seep in, he could only watch as Shirou crossed the gap without hesitation though taking a slightly different path to the one that his companion was taking.
A momentary thought of panic came into Todoroki's mind as he questioned whether the sword crafting student would sabotage those behind them and cut the ropes connecting the platforms together. Thankfully it seemed as if fears were misplaced, Shirou seeming to have no need to destroy the hopes of those behind him.
Biting at the inside of his lip, Todoroki realized that he had spent far too long simply staring at the obstacle in front of him and began to press forward. Humorously he wondered if Endeavour was having an aneurysm watching him get so easily overtaken.
...
"First place goes to Tohsaka Rin from the general studies department, closely followed by Emiya Shirou in second place, the two having completed the third obstacle while many are still struggling their way through the second! They really are showing the difference in strength here."
Present Mic's commentary caused many of the students outside of 1-A to panic slightly the realization that two of the coveted spots were already claimed. For those who studied alongside Shirou, they simply weren't surprised by this outcome in the slightest and simply chose to press on.
Midoriya clung onto the rope he was traversing tightly, the large chunk of scrap metal he had claimed from the first obstacle hanging from his back and weighing him down as if trying to drag him to the depths below. In his mind he could still recall the lecture that All Might had given him, about how this was his chance to show the world that he was here. He didn't quite know how he was going to do so at this stage but he knew that if an opportunity came his way he would have to take it.
He struggled to pull himself up to the platform he had just made it to and on his hands and knees was able to see that he still needed to cross two more gaps to make it to the finish of this obstacle. Judging from the number of people in front and behind him, Midoriya made the deduction that he was roughly midfield which considering he had yet to make use of his quirk wasn't a terrible spot to be in.
A familiar scream nearby however caught his attention.
He couldn't help but look as Ochako's balance faltered and she fell, her fingers swiftly pressing against each other to slow her descent considerably. She would float there and rise a touch but chances were that she would be unable to reach the rope she had fallen off. Midoriya knew that she couldn't maintain her composure long without getting nauseous and falling however further down into the darkness the pit stretched. While it might have been completely safe with a net or something similar prepared to catch a falling student, Midoriya didn't see it that way, he saw someone in danger.
His mind raced as he took the large chunk of scrap metal off of his back and using the wiring that had the steel hanging from his back to tie the metal on to his feet. Pushing himself to a standing position, Midoriya looked at the rope before him and the falling figure of Ochako who was visibly starting to get a bit queasy.
Then he leapt.
Miroriya allowed no fear to spring into his mind as his hands gripped onto the former balancing device and thrust his feet downwards as hard as he could, the metal connected to him shearing through the rope with ease. He fell, his grip on the rope solid as his eyes focused on the objective ahead. "Grab on!" he shouted, his voice reaching Ochako who saw the rope coming her way.
She released her quirk with precision timing, grabbing onto the rope that was swinging at her and allowed the motion to push her towards the nearby pillar. Down the bottom of the rope, Midoriya had awaited this moment as he angled his legs and drove the sharp edge of the metal sheet straight into the pillar, creating a platform for him to stand on. His motion forced him to bounce off the wall quite painfully but he focused instead on the form of Ochako above him, the girl having managed to keep her grip on the rope.
Seeing that Midoriya was standing beneath her, Ochako began the slow descent down, climbing down one hand after the other step by step. The rest of the competition seemed to just go by without noticing the development going on beneath them. It didn't take too long before Ochako found the safety of Midoriya's arms, the boy freezing momentarily at the fact that there was a girl in his arms before focusing on what was needed.
"A...A...Are you okay?" he asked, stuttering slightly.
"Yes, thank you," said Ochako, slightly unnerved that despite being so far down the pillar she still couldn't see the bottom beneath her. "You didn't have to save me."
"No, I did, it was the right thing to do," said Midoriya realizing that while he may have blown his chances at making it through the obstacle course he had made the right choice overall. Shirou's words from earlier rang through his mind at that moment as he wondered how many professional heroes would have done the same thing if they had seen the situation he had.
Ochako meanwhile was mildly panicking, wondering why she had opted to climb down the rope as to why she had chosen to go down as opposed to climb upwards and give herself a chance of victory. Even if she was to secure a spot however, she felt that she wouldn't have deserved it after having been saved by someone who was unable to make it to the end themselves.
Midoriya meanwhile was making plans. Utilizing One for All, he could easily throw Ochako towards the end of the second obstacle and allow the girl a chance to continue. He couldn't use the full strength he was capable of, such power would send the student flying out of the stadium. No, he'd have to use a portion of his strength, the tiniest amount which would send Ochako in the right direction at a speed which she could float herself to safety.
"How's your stomach?" he asked of the girl in his arms, a situation that was still causing his body temperature to rise.
"A little queasy but nothing I haven't been able to handle before," admitted Ochako. "What do you have in mind?"
"I'm going to throw you up there," declared Midoriya. "I'll need you optimizing your quirk to adjust your landing but you can make it."
"Midoriya," said Ochako softly, finding it hard to believe that even in this situation the boy holding her was still trying to find a way to help her. Before he could start telling her what to do, she stopped him before he started his spiel. "Don't. Too much time has passed, I won't make it in."
"You could still..."
"Deku," she said, using the name he had given her permission to use. "Let's just wait here, okay?"
Midoriya blinked several times as he wondered why Ochako opted not to continue but chose to simply nod in acceptance. If she simply wanted to wait out the rest of the time here in his arms then...then...
The darkness covered the shade of red his face went.
...
All Might watched on, awaiting the next portion of what was to happen. Midoriya's brave efforts had likely gone unnoticed by a majority of the people in attendance but his actions would not have gone unseen by those that counted. Many of the audience were members of the hero community who were scouting for potential students to put under internship. While the first year student who came through the tournament in the top position was always the one that garnered the most attention, professionals were always looking for something they could work with.
To ignore the objective to save a single life, it was admirable and something that would be taken into consideration for sure. Though not once during the showing had Midoriya utilized his quirk. Whether this would work in his benefit or not was difficult to say as he hadn't technically shown anything other than his determination to help those in need. He wouldn't get many proposals but there would undoubtedly be some who saw the potential.
It wasn't technically the way for him to announce that he was here, but it was still a way nonetheless.
...
"The forty two at the top have earned the right to advance!" announced Midnight, the names of those who had made their way into the second obstacle being displayed on the screen behind her.
"Forty two seems such an odd number," said Rin as Midnight continued her spiel.
"I don't know how many students are in our year throughout the classes, perhaps it is divisible by forty two," said Shirou offering an answer to the unspoken question.
"As improbable as it sounds, you might be onto something," said Rin casually as Midnight accounced the next conquest to be a cavalry battle. "Don't you think for a second that I'm carrying you."
"Wouldn't dream about it," chuckled Shirou as he momentarily scoped the rest of the competition. As entertaining as it would be to have Rin sitting atop his shoulders for the entirety of the bout, there was a chance that she would fall from up there and the two of them would be disqualified. So he needed to find someone willing to join them that wouldn't slow them down.
"With the exception of first place whose head is worth TEN MILLION POINTS!" exclaimed MIdnight, upselling just how valuable the leading position was. Along with how much of a subsequent target it now was.
"What!" shouted Rin in shock as all eyes turned to her.
Shirou meanwhile chuckled at the turn of events and now had to try and figure out who would be willing to join their team with the fact that everyone else would be hunting them down.
Chapter 16
Jiro swallowed nervously as she approached the trio in front of her, her invisible classmate having already approached the top two of the obstacle course, unphased by the fact that would result in her being on the most targeted team. Recalling how Hagakure had acted when she had been partnered with Shirou for their first Battle training assignment and how starstruck she was at that moment, the possibility of working alongside both him and Rin likely overpowered anything else.
As for her, she had to consider the best options for getting through to the third round. With forty two students having made it through this far, she knew those of her peers in 1-A would stay clear from Shirou. Day after day of being tossed around had likely ingrained into their brains to stay well clear from him if they wanted to make it through. Likely with the exception of the two that had chosen to not join them day after day but they would have to convince their team members to throw their chances of proceeding down the drain.
As for her, she had to consider what she could offer the two who were going to be targeted by all those from the other classes who had no idea of what facing Shirou was like. While the jacks hanging from her ears could be utilized as a ranged weapon, there was no way that she could use them to grab the points off of other teams.
She shook her head from side to side before lightly slapping at her cheeks. She knew she could help, somehow when the moment arrived she would know what to do. She didn't spend time after time just getting knocked to the ground to learn nothing from it. If she had figured anything out during those difficult times it was that you had to act the moment an opportunity came.
Jiro figured that if Hagakure was going to be able to convince her to join them then she should have no issue.
...
Todoroki looked at those who stood by his side. His team was well built, with both offensive and defensive capabilities to help ensure that they made it through to the next round. As he tied the headband that contained their collective points atop his brow, backwards so that the point totals weren't visible, he scanned the competition.
Safe to say that he hadn't done much in the way of making connections in his class. He was a cold character, no pun intended, and as such didn't make much of an effort in engaging with his peers outside of lessons. He was more than aware though that those who would serve as his chariot would likely not wish to engage with the team which contained Shirou.
Yaoyorozu, Kaminari and Iida all engaged with the weapons crafter regularly after class and as such would be more than hesitant to combat against him in the upcoming battle. He could understand that and as such would not be spurring his team in that direction, as tempting as the million plus points were. His team would appreciate that but also he himself had a reason to do so.
Emiya Shirou was by far the biggest name in the competition, the person who everyone in the audience would be paying attention to. Including his father. As such, were he able to take him down using only the power of his cold side, it would be a successful attack against his old man. Hence, he wouldn't be challenging Shirou just yet.
After all, the finale was yet to come.
...
Shirou adjusted his grip ever so slightly at the front of the trio supporting Rin. Hagakure he was pretty sure just wanted to join them because she semi idol worshipped him and adding Rin to the mix had nearly blown her mind into overload. Watching Rin's reaction to the rabid fangirl had been enough to cause him to chuckle lightly.
Two others had approached them shortly afterwards, one whose real objective had been plain and obvious to see. He hadn't minded the go getting attitude Hatsume had, the sole member of the support class to make it through to this point in the competition, but it was clear that she wanted to simply use the attention that would be centred on them for her own benefit.
Taking Jiro over her had been an easy option.
The countdown began and Shirou lazily rolled his neck to the side, several vertebrae popping as a result. "That's disgusting," commented Rin from above him.
Shirou paid it little attention as Midnight bellowed out for the competition to begin. His sharp eyes scanned the nearest threats, essentially those who didn't know what he was capable of first hand. As the first group approached, Shirou watched warily as the ground surrounding them begin to shift in density, causing the three of them supporting Rin to slowly sink.
"Don't struggle," he ordered, knowing that with most traps like this the more you panicked the more likely you were to make a mistake. Their mistake was charging head forward at an enemy who was more than happy to pick them off from a range when they were charging straight forward.
The Gandr shot that Rin unleashed, struck the lead member of the B team's cavaly squad square in the chest. Shirou had had more than enough experience with being struck with said attacks over the years to know that the result effectively meant that that team member would no longer be able to play a part in the rest of the event. This also meant that his quirk deactivated, the soft ground that they had been sinking into becoming solid once more, with their feet firmly planted beneath the surface.
"If you would be so kind Jiro," said Shirou, not bothering to look back as he kept his eyes forward.
"Right," said Jiro as her earjacks drove into the ground beneath her before she sent out her heartbeat vibrations. Three times it was necessary before the ground beneath them began to respond, cracking ever so slightly at the intense jarring. With the first cracks being developed, Shirou ripped his feet out of the ground one by one, the consequential damage allowing Hagakure and Jiro to step out of the floor as well.
"Have you got any targets in mind? Or do you want to stay on the defence?" Shirou asked of his team.
"The other kid from my class, Shinso, leave him be," stated Rin boldly. "He has a statement to make in this tournament that has my approval."
"Any chance that he and his team will approach us?" asked Hagakure.
"No, he already knows not to mess with me," said Rin recalling how the general studies student had already tried to get her to talk in the past. While his quirk was impressive, she had encountered far worse in the past and had crafted defences for such tactics, tactics which had rendered Shinso's quirk effective for only a handful of moments.
"So defence then?" said Jiro.
"Defence," confirmed Shiro.
...
Uraraka watched from the stands, shouting out her support for her fellow class members. Beside her was Midoriya but he had entered his zone, pencil and pad in front of him as he jotted down points on nearly everybody who was competing at this moment in time. It would be almost adorable however the never ending incoherent jumble of words the leaked out of his mouth was downright terrifying.
Still though, she was saddened by the fact that she had been the one to ultimately cause him to fail. She had found herself rushing to make her way through the obstacle course, so much so that she had lost her footing resulting in her sitting here compared to competing out there. The strange thing was though, that she wasn't sure why she had found herself competing almost against herself, as if she had something to prove. She knew that she had had to come at least within the top ten, just making it in just wouldn't have been enough.
The real question at the end of the day was that she didn't know where this determination to prove herself had come from. Her quirk was ill suited for a race of that nature unless she had been determined to make herself completely sick and incapable of competing in the following events. Even when going with her classmates to compete against the juggernaut that was Shirou, her hand to hand abilities were miserable. Most enemies all she would need to do was to touch them and let her quirk make them float to a position where they were no longer capable of fighting. Since Shirou could simply summon a bow to his side, that tactic was completely invalid.
Not that she had ever gotten remotely close to being able to utilize her quirk against him.
Was that why she was pushing herself harder? To show that she wasn't simply a background character?
Shaking her head from side to side, Uraraka focused on the contest happening beneath her. She would contemplate her own shortcomings later on. For now she wished to give her all in supporting her friends.
...
Ryoku watched the cavalry battle with the interest she assumed many of the professional heroes had, though she herself was watching from the comfort of her living room as opposed to being with her peers. A lot of people would have assumed that she would have been paying rapt attention to the third year students in order to support her intern. Her choice of viewing however was centred around the first year students and how they were progressing through the cavalry battle they had found themselves in.
The idea that they had to make up a team on the fly, trying to negotiate quirks combinations that would compliment one another was something she wasn't surprised to see. UA always seemed to have a way of trying different things while following something of a formula. The first test was also to weed out the majority and then the second forced those who often found themselves without close friends and allies trying to make something out of those around them.
She had found little surprise that instead of staying away from those who would likely be targeted, the two students whom had her interest had found no issue with people approaching them. They had even had enough students approach so that they could turn some away, which was saying something about their level of charisma along with their reputation and strength.
What she couldn't understand about the team layout however was why Emiya Shirou had opted to take the frontal position as opposed to sitting on top. He was a weapons crafter and being unable to utilize his hands by having to carry the woman atop reduced his combat ability severely.
Which from listening to Nejire, Shirou's combat skills had been enough to even push her intangible teammate into something of a stalemate. Luring him into traps, striking his vulnerable points and even destroying the landscape they were standing on during the bout were more than impressive feats and all strategically sound. Sadly it also sounded as if Shirou was deliberately going out of his way to show Nejire's close friend his weaknesses as opposed to trying to end the fight.
This kid had the potential to go all the way.
So why was she so wary of him?
She still recalled sitting in the penthouse that Rin and Shirou had shared, one which Midnight of all people had invited her to. The verbal sparring between Rin and the R rated Hero was still something that caused her to chuckle from time to time but the read stand out point of the evening was when Shirou had returned from having been abducted by the League of Villains. The very same group which had recently launched an assault of UA itself.
Understandably when he had arrived and said those words there had been a moment of shock and horror that resonated throughout the room. At least the panic had been shared by the three heroes who had taken the situation in a professional manner. Rin had been so nonchalant about the whole thing. Then Shirou himself, describing to them and the officials how he had been kidnapped and subsequently got away unscathed, his lack of emotion at first had been seen as him being in a sense of shock.
Now she knew it was something different.
He had been bored.
He had rolled out the details of his kidnapping as if they were dot points in a business meeting, as if they were simply facts that had no outcome to his health and wellbeing. Rin as well, as carefree as she had been when chatting with the three professional heroes, had shown no sympathy for what should have been a terrifying ordeal. It wasn't as if they could have expected such a circumstance to happen and something of that nature should have scared them to some manner of degree.
It had meant nothing.
She didn't know what it was but these two teenagers were not governed by any rational thought process that could be remotely seen as normal. In this competition, they had breezed through the first round as if it was nothing, which while it wasn't surprising, they had shown no joy in their accomplishment. No happiness in their success of being at the top of their grade. Even now, with only a handful of minutes left and a number of groups out of commission thanks to the orbs that Rin shot from her fingers, they simply looked content with their position.
They just didn't care and the main issue she feared for, was what if they did find something to care for. Someone of a villainous nature offered them something that actually gave them some manner of excitement or joy. To potentially give them a desire to actually push themselves, take something seriously as opposed to simply remaining forever neutral in their reactions. Heroes in the past had fallen to corruption though the government did their best to announce such happenings as 'extreme circumstances' to not put fear into the general public. If professional heroes could fall into villany for whatever reason, it was very possible to think that a couple of teenagers could be persuaded to fall down that dark line of thinking.
She didn't know what could persuade those two to fall into such a life, but if they were she didn't know who would be able to stop them if they found something worth getting serious over.
...
"They seemed to have learnt their lesson, haven't they," said Jiro in a bored tone, her feet still remaining incredibly close to where they had started the game. Four groups had attempted to take their points and all four groups were currently incpacitated, those who hadn't been struck by Rin's attacks doing their best to try and spur their friends on for the final couple of minutes. The only time they had moved was to collect the headbands of the fallen groups before returning to their starting spot to await the next group.
"I thought teaming with you two would have been waaaaay more exciting," declared Hagakure.
"Efficiency does not necessarily equal entertaining," said Shirou from the front of the trio holding up Rin. "You could be using this time to analyze the people who you're going to fight in the next round."
"Wait, the next round is going to be students fighting against each other?" asked Hagakure, shocked at how Shirou could possibly know such a thing.
"It's common sense really," said Rin, her chin resting in her palm as she waited to see if anybody else was stupid enough to come near them. "You don't go through this entire thing of weeding out the competition and not have some tournament or battle royale to work out who the number one is at the end of the day."
"Number one," repeated Jiro as she looked up at the form she was carrying to the male body standing only a couple feet in front of her. Her whole class knew just who the number one was amongst them, they had felt his power on more occasions than many would assume necessary. At no time however had he ever fought them with all the strength that he had at his disposal. Not once had he used the same strength to crush the gymnasium floor or moved so fast that their eyes struggled to keep up with him.
She didn't know why, but she wanted him to go all out, show them everything that he had to offer. To take off the kiddie gloves and prove just how strong he was. There were only a handful of people that she could think of that could potentially cause him to take a fight seriously, one of which currently sat above them. Jiro knew the two of them had fought side by side before. The two of them combatting one another on an open playing field?
That was something she knew everyone would want to see.
"Now, pay attention to what is happening around you," declared Shirou, snapping Shirou and Hagakure into attention. "Analyze, learn and understand those who you may come against."
It was a simple enough instruction but one that Jiro could see that it was things like that which she could have been doing instead of standing there only bracing to defend from an assault. She took this as an opportunity to see a bit of the insight as to what Shirou was seeing. Not only had he been prepared to defend against any oncoming assault, but he was scouting all threats. True he had seen what most of their class was capable of, but they made up less than half of those still competing. He was working out what everyone was capable of, how to counter any unexpected threats. Not once since this competition started had he taken a single moment easy, choosing to spend his entire time mentally crafting ways to take down everybody that came at him with the highest chance of taking no damage.
Was this what it was like to be on the level of the professionals? Was she overthinking things, or worse, underthinking? Even looking beyond those who had assaulted them and still immobile, half the surface was frozen with a number of teams being rendered immobile by Todoroki utilizing his ice. Bakugou was currently leaping through the air at a team from Class 1-B only to collide with an invisible platform.
All these things happening right in front of her that she had paid minimal attention to because it didn't affect her directly. This all was a lesson going on right now and she had only taken in enough to get a passing grade, if that. She needed to learn from this, all of this and take it with her from here on out.
...
"Time's Up!" bellowed Present Mic, his voice carrying over the stadium. "Now to see who our top four teams are. Sitting in first place is Team Tohsaka who seemed to have gotten through way too easily if you ask me. Second place is Team Todoroki, followed by Team Bakugou. Rounding off the top four is...Team Shinsou? When did they get up so high? Anyways, those four teams are those moving through to the final round! The event will take place after an hour's lunch break."
"So Shinsou huh, he's the one you wanted to get through?" Shirou asked of Rin as many of those around them questioned how they had failed to make it through to the final room. For some they were finally able to get medical assistance from having been able to nothing but clutch at their stomach and struggle to crawl out of harm's way.
"It will be much more beneficial for him if the next round is a collection of one on one battles," said Rin as she threw her hair behind her shoulder. "I'm going to assume you've picked up the confused looks of those he worked with."
"Yeah, he controlled them somehow didn't they, they probably weren't even aware that they'd gotten through until it was over," said Shirou as he stretched his hands over his head. "Still, they made it through and if they felt like they didn't get a chance to show off before they get the chance now."
"Yo, Shirou, you coming to get some grub?" asked Kirishima from nearby who was standing nearby with some of the other members of their class.
"Look at you getting all chummy," said Rin, gently nudging Shirou's shoulder playfully.
"Yeah, yeah," said Shirou as he took a step forward only to find one of the other members of Class 1-A had stepped towards him. "Can I help you Ojiro?"
"Can we have a word, in private?" asked the teenager who brandished the overly large tail. Seeing no reason against it, Shirou gestured for Ojiro to follow him, the two of them moving away from the main group in order to get a bit of privacy. Rin chose to simply follow Shirou's classmates not so much for the lunch, but to see if they had anything to say about him.
...
"From four teams, sixteen individuals have made it through to the final round for the tournament!" shouted Present Mic, pausing momentarily to let the applause slow down just the barest of margins before continuing. "We're pitting them against one another in one on one combat! The bracket has been selected at random and we will have the recreational events occur first to allow our combatants time to prepare for their first bout!"
Shiro couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, not believing those words for a second. Out of everyone he could have been put up against, he was scheduled to fight Rin in the opening bout.
"Random my ass."
Chapter 17
To say there was unease for those scheduled to fight was an understatement. Not so mostly because of the people they themselves were scheduled to fight, but rather that they would have to go on after the top two engaged one another in what they felt would be a spectacle like nothing else. For many, they felt as if this would be something on the level of watching a couple of the top twenty professional heroes go at it and this was the only time they would get the chance to witness such an event.
Ojiro sat in the waiting room, fully knowing that his bout would be the first to follow and considering that the winner between him and Aoyama was set to fight against the winner of Shirou and Rin, the chances were almost impossible. It was sad that he was partially hoping for the two of them to do so much damage to one another that it would be possible for him to potentially put up a decent contest against the winner. Provided he got past Aoyama and his naval laser in the first place. In theory he just needed to outlast him until he reached his limit, dodge everything that his classmate threw at him but sadly that wouldn't exactly provide a standout performance, and considering what he had discussed with Shirou beforehand, he needed to stand out.
Ojiro had been toying with the idea to pull out, to withdraw from the competition due to him not exactly recalling how it was he made it this far. He didn't know why he had asked Shirou for advice in the situation but had considered the possibility that if anyone could give him some answers, it would be him. Turns out he had quite a bit to say on the matter. Shirou told him that even if he didn't remember doing it, he had still played his part in the contest and as such had reached the objective. Shirou told him that there was a possibility at times where, if he were to be part of a joint venture, he would be unaware of what everyone else was doing and that his own goal would only serve to help the group as a whole. In the present and now though, even if he didn't feel like he deserved to stand on this stage, Shirou had told him that his teammates in the previous event had helped him get here. As such, he had just as much right as anyone else in the back to be where he was now.
While it left an awkward taste in his mouth, Ojiro couldn't fault Shirou's reasoning. It was why he was still where he was. He would go into the bout with Aoyama with everything he had at his disposal, ignoring the safe way to victory in exchange for the chance to show off what it was that he could do. For if not now, when would he get another chance to stand in a similar position.
...
Bakugo ground his teeth together as he ignored the events being played on the tv. Here he was, in the top sixteen of the school but it wasn't enough. He wanted to be ranked higher! To be seen as the elite that he was.
Unfortunately, fighting against raccoon eyes and her acid would not give him the true chance to truly show the world what he was capable of. To do that, he would have to go against him later on, which judging by the bracket, meant he would fight him in the semi finals. Win or lose, that was where he would get the greatest chance to prove himself.
Then the final would likely be against the half and half bastard. The hot and cold teenager would be competing with the vice president of their class, the girl who made stuff from her body. She was the same as him in that she had gotten through via recommendations.
Not that it mattered. Half and half would crush her before she could make anything worthwhile. He only wished that he had a higher chance of confronting the hot and cold shithead himself.
Still though, he would make a statement. He hadn't been training for nothing after all.
...
Midoriya returned to his seat, after having competed in the events that were held to give those competing time to devise strategies. On his lap, he had his notebook and pencil already prepped and ready for action.
He knew that the first bout itself would be something amazing to witness but he had to get some sort of intel for future use. All Might had requested of him to prove himself and he had failed to do that. It wouldn't be the only chance he had to show that he was here however. Both second and third year students were currently competing as well and he would get the chance to do just that a year from now.
For now, he had to use his knowledge and information gathering skills to his advantage.
Shirou vs Rin was just the first match he was going to monitor. He had no intention of missing out on a single moment.
Would Ashido find someway to be able to compete against Kaa-chan?
Could Ojiro find a way to close the distance in his battle against Aoyama?
Would Iida underestimate his opponent just because he was in the general studies department?
Those questions didn't even cover half of the bouts in the first round and then there would be match after match after that. He needed to know what everyone was capable of, and just see how great the distance between him and the top of his peers truly was. Despite having one of the greatest quirks in the world, he sincerely doubted that in singles action against anyone down there he would come out victorious.
He still needed to learn how to properly control One for All. At this stage, throwing himself against Shirou time and time again had helped him learn that he didn't even have a base fighting style to work with. All Might rescued people with a single punch, but said punch still had to land.
Midoriya's thoughts were shattered as Present Mic's voice rang out, announcing that the first bout was going to commence. Here, Midoriya was going to learn and study something which many would never even consider.
Did Shirou have a weakness known by his long term friend, and if so, would she use it to walk away victorious?
...
Shirou paid little attention to the applause give to him and Rin as the two of them stepped atop the platform that they would compete in. He could guess the list of rules that were going to be announced, this wasn't exactly his first time competing in some form of tournament after all, though thankfully this time it wouldn't end in too much bloodshed. As he and Rin finished only a dozen metres apart from each other, Shirou spoke up. "You know we could really piss them off by simply standing here and waiting out the fifteen minutes doing absolutely nothing."
"True, but I'd rather not be known as the woman who threw away the tournament," said Rin with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Oh, you think you're going to win?" said Shirou in a condescending tone. In the background, they could hear Midnight commence the match but neither of them paid too much attention to it.
"Please, we both know that the chances of me winning are minimal," said Rin. "If I go all out, catch you by surprise I might be able to give myself an opening but I rather not show these people what I'm actually capable of."
"So what, you're just going to forfeit," said Shirou, coming to the conclusion.
"Eventually, but you're going to have to make me," said Rin, placing a single hand on her hip.
"Make you huh," repeated Shirou before closing his eyes, anticipating what it was that Rin truly was trying to accomplish right now. Shirou knew that Rin always had a plan in place, even if he wasn't really sure what said plan was or how she intended to enact it. She wanted him to do something here in front of all these people, and whether or not it was in this round or the next few towards the title he wasn't certain.
He knew that Rin had been controlling things for a while now, as soon as she had discovered what this world was capable of she had been using it to her advantage. Shirou was observant, frighteningly so. He had deciding that interfering with whatever it was that Rin was working towards would only turn on him in the long run. It was just part of the game that she played.
The main problem with her game though was that she was still playing by the same set of rules that had governed them for over half a century. Rules that had harsh penalties attached to them. She seemed to forget that they weren't being watched over meticulously by Clock Tower, that their skills and abilities could be used in the open and even if they weren't a quirk they just had to say it was. It was the wonders of being in a world where nearly everybody was born with a remarkable power at their disposal.
Rin though still didn't see it that way. She was planning and plotting something involving him since before they had gotten caught all those months prior. Even in the police station, he could have thought of a number of ways that Rin could have gotten them out of that cell that didn't involve destroying one of the surrounding walls. Yet that had been the option that she had told him to do. It was all part of the game she was playing with him and the world around them as her pieces.
If she wanted to play games though, he could play just as fairly, or unfairly in this case. It was time to throw in something that she couldn't possibly have planned on.
He could hear the crowd in the background starting to get riled up, the lack of action for the first couple minutes of the match clearly grating on their nerves. Even Present Mic on the commentary was demanding some sort of action to take place. He pushed all of that out of his mind, focusing solely on his breathing as he lifted up his right hand so that his palm was facing Rin.
"I Am The Bone Of My Sword."
While those in the audience may not have been able to hear what had been said, they could certainly feel it as a wave of something indescribable washed over them. For Shirou's peers in Class 1-A, they could immediately feel a change in the atmosphere which informed them that they were about to see something spectacular.
Rin meanwhile couldn't help the shocked look that crossed her face. She had expected Shirou to do something outlandish but this...THIS! Bringing out one noble phantasm in front of this crowd would have likely been more than enough but to try and do this! She hoped that it was all some elaborate bluff, a part of the game they were playing and he had played the biggest piece he could find to try and get her to forfeit.
It was a bluff, it had to be.
"Steel Is My Body and Fire Is My Blood."
Another pulse of magical energy surged throughout the arena and Rin couldn't help but feel like she had misjudged the level of stupidity that Shirou had at his disposal. To go and use his trump card in a televised match where everyone across the country could watch, just what was he thinking.
"I Have Created Over a Thousand Blades."
Rin unleashed a Gandr shot, the bright red bullet surging forward only to collide against a blade that forged in the path of her trajectory before it pierced into the stone below. It was then that a daunting thought crossed her path.
Shirou was serious.
"I forfeit!" she yelled out, doing her best to attract the attention of Midnight who was standing at the edge of the stage. The professional hero however didn't seem to acknowledge Rin the first time, forcing the magus to call out a second time and managing to get her attention this time.
"Winner by forfeit, Shirou!" shouted Midnight. With the announcement made, Shirou allowed his powers to subside and the pressure around the stadium lifted. It was then that those in the audience seemed to notice what the surges had caused. For the civilians, many of them had remained seated more so out of confusion than anything else. The urgent feeling to flee had welled up within their bodies but the curiosity as to what would happen before them had kept them rooted to their seats.
As for the heroes, that was another story entirely.
A good number of the professional heroes had found themselves tensed, some even standing up from their seats. A few had been prepared to stop whatever unspeakable force it was that Shirou was prepared to unleash while the majority were ready to protect the citizens and help evacuate where necessary. These people had encountered villains as part of their profession, but none of them had ever felt as threatened as they had just then.
Having been as close to the source of the power as she had been, Midnight had found herself shivering where she had stood, almost oblivious to the world around her. She had been so focused on what was happening before her that she had barely been able to hear Rin's cry of forfeit, one which she announced out of desperation in order to get Shirou to stop. His quirk was to craft weapons, ones that he had seen before if the reports from Aizawa were correct. That begged a simple question.
What was he trying to craft?
...
To say that Midoriya was shocked would be an understatement. He didn't even know how he still had some sentiment of a grip on his writing utensil. Beside him, Ochako was still, almost deathly so. Both of them had watched with bated breath only to have been confronted by that...whatever that was.
Now that he had something resembling an actual thought process cross through his mind, Midoriya had to try and come up with a single answer to the conundrum he now faced.
Why?
He recalled how when they had been pushing Shirou to train them he had specifically made mention that he would not hold back. For all intents and purposes, considering none could last even ten seconds against him, they thought it to be true. Yet he had been holding back...that! Was it his secret move? A special weapon that could only be used once? Since he had struggled to move from this distance, would he have been able to do anything if he had been closer? Could he have even be able to keep conscious in front of such raw strength?
Midoriya found himself looking down at his hand and how it had yet to start shaking. He held one of the most powerful quirks in existence, gifted to him by All Might himself. Yet never before had he seen the number one hero exert that kind of pressure before. Not to say that he wasn't capable of it, were All Might to unleash all of his power it would be astronomical in force and Midoriya was thankful that there wasn't an opponent around that could push him to that limit.
With that in mind though, could he exert that kind of power? All Might had stated that at the moment he could achieve five percent of his power and that was still enough to break bones if he had a lapse in concentration or simply used it improperly. A little over a year ago, it had practically been impossible for him to become a hero and he was merely chasing a dream. The All Might had appeared in his life and now he actually had a chance of accomplishing said dream.
Right there, in the arena, that was the goal line. Not to beat Shirou, that still seemed like an impossible task and only more so after that display. No, what he needed to achieve was the level of commitment the heroes in the stands had been able to accomplish despite the waves of power flowing over them. The true heroes had been ready to help those around them, while he had sat frozen in his seat for what very well could have been an eternity, waiting for the pressure to end.
If anything, that was as good a stepping stone as any on making his way towards becoming a hero.
...
Ojiro felt like smashing his head against the wall. He really did. The tailed student knew that he would have to follow Shirou, the man whom he had yet to land a single hit on. He had expected to be able to put on a performance against Aoyoma that would be able to showcase what he was capable of. He had expected Shirou and Rin to put on some sort of physical display that would showcase their brilliance and technical prowess, but how could he follow that?
Shirou had won, by simply exerting his power. Not a single attack had been thrown by him. He had made his friend forfeit without even moving from his starting position. What it was he was trying to do, Rin knew what it was and had chosen to forfeit rather than face whatever it was that he was attempting.
Now he had to go out and try and entertain the crowd. He knew what they would only be paying him the barest attention however, likely using their time to whisper to one another, discuss what they had just witnessed or more importantly, felt. Only those who were looking for a specific intern and saw some sort of potential in him and his quirk would be watching wholeheartedly.
If that was all that would be properly paying attention, then that was the group of people he would direct this fight towards. Every hero was different after all. Some had visually stunning quirks while others had simple quirks which barely made them different from everyday civilians. At the end of the day however, whether their quirk was flashy or not, they were still heroes, those who put their lives on the line to save others.
Ojiro knew that his tail was an extension of himself, an extra limb that he could use to fight with if necessary. Was it something stunning that would draw attention away from other heroes and on to himself? No. That didn't mean that he couldn't do just as good a job, if not better than other heroes in the field!
With newfound determination filling his being, Ojiro's eyes sharpened as he looked down the corridor leading to the arena where he would face off against his classmate. Before he had been looking forward to simply showing off his abilities. Now he had a true reason to win and show that a more mundane quirk could win against something fancier. Aoyama's naval laser was indeed something fancy, and he was going to show everyone that it could be bested by a tail.