The journey down the tunnel to the final arena felt completely different from before. Against Kaminari, I was filled with strategic certainty. Against Tokoyami, I was filled with a doubt I had to conquer. Now, walking out to face Shoto Todoroki, I felt only a cold, heavy calm. There was no more room for doubt or tricks. This was the final test, a final ascent up a seemingly impossible mountain. I could feel the residual pain from my fight with Bakugo, a constant throb that reminded me I was not at one hundred percent. In my chest, my dragon's heartbeat felt slow and tired. We were both wounded.
I stepped out into the blinding light and the roar of tens of thousands of people. Across the repaired concrete stage, Todoroki was already waiting. He stood with the same composure as before, but there was something different in his eyes. His fight with Midoriya had changed him. He no longer just radiated a cold aura from his right side; there was a faint, almost invisible heat that now pulsed from his left. He was no longer shackled; he was a complete force of nature.
"THIS IS IT, FOLKS! THE MATCH WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE FINAL ROUND OF THE U.A. FIRST-YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL!" Present Mic's voice boomed, heavy with anticipation. "IN THE SOUTH CORNER, THE MIRACLE OF ICE AND FIRE, THE MAN WHOSE POWER CAN CHANGE THE CLIMATE, TODOROKI SHOTO! AND IN THE NORTH CORNER, THE UNEXPECTED CLIMBER, THE MYSTERIOUS STRATEGIST WHOSE POWER IS STILL OUR BIGGEST ENIGMA, TATSUMI!"
I looked at Todoroki. He looked back at me. There was no hostility in his gaze, only a cool assessment. He saw me as the final obstacle to his undeniable victory. I, on the other hand, saw him as the embodiment of everything I didn't have: incredible inherited power, near-perfect control, and limitless potential.
'My body won't last long in a war of attrition,' I thought, analyzing the situation. 'I can't let him dictate the pace of the fight. I have to win quickly, or I won't win at all.'
"ARE BOTH FINALISTS READY?!" Present Mic roared. "FINAL... BEGIN!"
Todoroki didn't waste a second. He stomped his right foot on the ground. "This will be over quickly," he said, his voice flat.
The entire surface of the stage between us instantly erupted into a giant wave of ice. It was the same opening attack he had used to incapacitate Sero, a massive, jagged wall of ice that shot toward me with incredible speed, designed to end the fight before it began.
I had expected it. I couldn't shatter it like Midoriya, and I couldn't block it like I did Bakugo's explosion. I had to evade. 'Partner, give me legs!' I thought, sending the now-familiar command.
A sharp but controlled pain shot through my legs as Incursio's shin guards and boots formed in an instant. Using that instantaneous boost of power, I leaped high into the air, soaring over the wall of ice as it rushed beneath me. The frigid air from the ice bit at my skin.
But as I was at the apex of my jump, I saw that Todoroki had already anticipated it. He raised his hand again, and from the wall of ice below me, smaller, sharper pillars of ice shot upwards, like heat-seeking missiles aimed right at me. I was trapped in mid-air, an easy target.
I didn't panic. 'Arm!' Incursio's right gauntlet formed, and I used it to slam into the nearest ice pillar. The impact didn't shatter it, but it was enough to change my momentum. I let my body pivot, using the ice pillar as a momentary foothold before leaping again, landing hard on the glacial surface Todoroki had created. The entire arena had now been transformed into a treacherous winter landscape.
"All you can do is run and defend," Todoroki said from across the ice field, his breath fogging. "Show me the power you used to defeat Bakugo. Or was that your last bluff?" He was trying to provoke me, to bait me into a power struggle I knew I couldn't win.
"I don't have to show you anything, Todoroki," I retorted, my voice steady despite my slightly ragged breath from the exertion. "I just have to win."
A game of cat and mouse began. He constantly changed the battlefield, growing walls and spikes of ice to trap me, while I kept moving, using my agility and my Incursio-powered leaps to stay just out of his reach. I could feel my stamina draining, each partial manifestation eating away at my already limited energy. I knew I couldn't keep this up.
Seeing that ice alone wasn't enough to catch me, Todoroki changed tactics. He raised his left arm. "Then let's see how you handle this."
A wave of searing orange fire shot from his hand, not at me, but at the area around me. The fire melted the ice rapidly, creating thick clouds of steam that obscured my vision and made the surface beneath my feet incredibly slick. He was trying to limit my movement and force me out of hiding.
But something unexpected happened. As the heat from his flames washed over me, I didn't feel pain. Instead, I felt something else. The warmth in my chest, the ember of Incursio, began to pulse stronger. It didn't feel threatened; it felt... drawn to it. As if it were finding a familiar source of energy. The dragon inside me was reacting to the fire.
In the heroes' lounge, Ryukyu leaned forward, her eyes glued to the screen. "Resonance..." she whispered. "I knew it. The boy's power... it reacts to heat. Of course. It's a dragon's armor. It's instinctively drawn to fire."
I felt a new wave of energy flow through the armor on my arm and legs. The pain subsided slightly, replaced by an invigorating warmth. I landed on a remaining pillar of ice, steam rising from my black armor, which now felt more alive.
Todoroki narrowed his eyes, sensing the change in my aura. "So, you have other tricks as well."
He misunderstood. He thought this was my ability. He had no idea that his own power had just given me fuel. Seeing that I appeared stronger, he decided to end my resistance. He gathered the energy on his left side, preparing the largest blast of fire he could muster. A raging inferno shot straight toward me.
The giant wall of fire approached, threatening to swallow me whole. My instinct screamed at me to jump, to evade. But the dragon inside me said otherwise. It felt no fear. It felt excitement. For the first time, I decided to trust that instinct completely.
I stood tall on the ice pillar, unmoving. I didn't summon more armor. I just raised my right arm, already encased in Incursio, using it as a shield. I braced myself for the searing pain, for the impact that would throw me out of the ring.
The fire hit me.
But what I felt was not pain. It was the strangest sensation. The intense heat touched my black armor, and instead of melting it or burning me, the armor seemed to drink the flames. The red gem on the back of my hand glowed brightly, and I felt the energy from Todoroki's fire being absorbed, channeled into me, replenishing my drained stamina and soothing the ache in my muscles. The armor wasn't just fire-resistant; it devoured it.
As the wall of fire subsided, I was still standing in the same spot, the armor on my arm glowing with a faint red light. I felt better than I had before. I felt strong.
Across the arena, Todoroki stared with an expression of pure shock on his face. It was the first time I had seen his cold composure completely shatter. His strongest fire attack had not only failed to harm me; it had helped me.
I lowered my arm, a grin spreading across my face behind my now steady breath. "Thanks for the energy, Todoroki," I said. "Now... it's my turn."
I stomped my foot on the ice pillar, shattering it into dust, and launched myself toward him with a speed I had never shown before. The fight had just begun again, but this time, the rules had changed.