Tomura had been laughing for a solid five minutes. The pure shock factor was hilarious! "He...he just eats it without hesitation! Like, none at all! What the hell kind of stomach can he have!?"
"An iron one." Kurogiri shrugged. "I remembered a man who once ate a lot of … strange things … but his face is foggy." The man shook. "Stray thought, I suppose."
"I can see why you found the boy interesting, Tomura. I don't think any hero would think of a plan like that." Sensei was laughing as well. If the kid called All Might Bunny-sensei on live T.V, he may be able to die happy right there and then.
"Yep, outside of the box thinking." Tomura smiled. "I want it, I want to see a picture that doesn't even exist. To watch that boy do things I couldn't imagine and grow doing it." A man as smart and wise as Sensei. "He doesn't think like any of those kids, or any of those asinine heroes. Even with that pledge at the beginning, he cut out the long ass speech. No bullshit about inspiring people."
"But he still said annoying words, didn't he?" His sensei seemed to take a weird stance when it came to the kid. "Plus Ultra? Invented by that bastard known as All Might."
"Yeah...but it just means to improve." Tomura's head was starting to form an itch, and not the usual irritating one's he couldn't satisfy until he killed something annoying. "When All Might says it, people think of being a hero….what if a villain said it….what would Plus Ultra be to people like us?"
"Mocking or deranged usually." The doctor talked this time. He never liked the man, always a know it all. "Villains only mean it when they act like they're victims or trying to make a ludicrous philosophical statement about quirk usage or something."
"Acting like victims, huh?" Did that mean there was a chance there were actual victims of Plus Ultra, people like him, who reached out a hand and were ignored every time...at least, that's what he thought what happened to him. The hands helped...but images in his head always felt fuzzy. "... Sensei, what were the three types of villains again?"
"... The victim, the workers, and the bullies." Sensei started. "The first is an animal fighting for freedom in a corrupted society, the second is just doing a job for money, the third is the kind of person that truly revels in pleasure."
That meant there was a spark of a plan here. That smiling bastard All Might didn't create the perfect world. He didn't create a world where everyone was safe, a world full of victimless fights and battles. A world where a kid covered in blood could be helped the moment people looked at him….
"How soon will it be until we get a hold of the Hero Killer?" He needed that conversation.
"We've tracked him down to Hosu, but we don't know his next target quite yet." Pros in Hosu … bound to draw headlines at the very least.
"Kuroguri, keep an eye out for the Hero Killer and bring him here if you spot him."
"Yes Tomura." The mist man nodded before warping away.
"And doctor...how many nomus do we have ready to go?"
"Enough to level a small city on their own." Perfect.
==
Kinoko shook in place, hiding behind big sis Reiko. It was a shame that they couldn't compete in the final round at all, but the recreational games were a lot less stressful. "To think Monoma's plan almost worked. We were so close."
"Yeah … then he got himself killed." Well not literally, but the fact that he went out on a stretcher spoke volumes for the damage he received. No student reprimanded Bakugou because A) The boy looked more relaxed than ever and B) Monoma … may have deserved it. Bit of an ego complex.
"It's not all bad." Big Sis Kendo tossed a horseshoe using her quirk. "Ibara made it to the final round. Give the girl a prize for actually going out on her own and not just following the rest of us. I knew I should've chopped Monoma's head more."
"To be fair, she teamed up with a crazy man." Big Sis Rei used her quirk to move the horseshoes straight onto the poles without even tossing them. "Ate his own headband."
"Okay, I admit that was as insane as it was funny." Big Sis Kendo snickered. "He's also the only one that got Monoma to stop one of ego rants by complimenting him." That was quite the feat. "I see why Ibra likes the guy so much."
"Oh really, so the little church girl isn't so innocent after all~?" Big Sis Setsuna came in with a teasing grin.
"She's more innocent than whatever nightmare you and Bakugou cooked up." Big Sis Kendo shivered.
"Hey, what can I say, aggressive power is my play." That didn't sound right at all. Please get normal problems. "And if he can act like that much of a douche and still make it to the final round, then he's gotta be doing something right. Speaking of, where is Class 1-A's MVP?"
"Playing ball toss with the others." Big Sis Rei pointed at the boys who were rolling balls three times their size across a ring, shouting and hooting. "Testosterone is as dangerous as Gamma Radiation."
"Do you argue with the results?" Big Sis Setsuna pointed to the Suzuki guy, holding up a ball over his head effortlessly as Ibara tried not to oogle the boy like he was a piece of meat. Other girls, and a few men, clearly did not have that level of restraint.
"I say he earned it, just a bit disappointed Monoma had a small point." Big Sis Kendo pouted. "Compared to 1-A we're outclassed."
"Eh, it's not the end of the world. We still made a mark during the Cavalry battle." Big Sis Setsuna shrugged with a grin. "And there's always the cultural festival and joint joining."
"Our time will come, shroom." Kinoko nodded, before throwing her own horseshoe, making mushrooms on the ground it could bounce across. They just had to wait a little longer before they could sprout in full.
==
Redestro had mixed feelings about the Sports Festival. A constrained facility where only a select few were chosen to openly use their meta ability how they liked? He was not a fan. However, it gave ample opportunity for those that sought to let loose. They could observe those that were tired of holding back, tired of keeping what was naturally shut off!
"So we're agreeing to connect our support to Shiketsu academy?" A board member asked him. Working ample free time and business is easy when you've been in the business for as long as he has. Also pays off that no one would willingly miss an event like this.
"Of course, all students should be able to enhance their gear, correct?" Yotsubashi smiled. Yes, find new targets in new schools to use and control.
"Absolutely. Our numbers have grown widely within the last year, the time for our ascension is coming, my brethren." The Meta Liberation army was set and ready to go.
"As soon as our resources are high enough, we'll overcome it, we just need a tipping point." As if on cue, the TV shouted. Reporters managed to get across the barrier and were bombarding students with questions.
"Why are you so violent?"
"Is your hair color natural?"
"What does your sensei teach!?"
It wasn't like they were going to get any real answers. The kids were either too nervous or impulsively angry to gain anything of real insight…"Why haven't you used your quirk!? Are you actually quirkless?" A quirkless student? Bah, the general studies were all dreamers.
"No, I have a quirk, I just chose not to use it. It's not like I needed to." The blue haired boy answered with innocent eyes...the same boy that kept getting first place.
"Are you saying quirks are useless in terms of heroism?"
"What, no, I'm just saying there's no difference between a quirked and a quirkless person, they're both great, you know." What was that?
"What makes you say that?"
"Well being a hero just means helping people. You can do that without a quirk."
The room grew deathly silent. The leader of the Meta Liberation Army, Redestro, stood up. "Silence him." He commanded his legion. "Deny the traitor to meta abilities the right to live."
"Actually, we might not have to do anything, not yet at least." Some walked into the room. It was Curious. "I've been doing a little digging into the boy since I've managed to interview him. There's something truly fascinating here, I can feel it. Can we delay killing him for now? I'm on the verge of a breakthrough."
"... You know the rules." He stated. "If you want to go against the logic of the world." IE, the Meta Liberation Army. "You must bring forth your own logic to oppose it. Don't leave us in suspense, Curious."
"The kid was Quirkless up to around a year ago. Somehow, he managed to gain one at fifteen."
Gain a quirk … "I think I know the source." Some boogeymen were truly immortal, weren't they? "He can live, but get results before this gets out of hand."
"Of course, Redestro." She saluted him. The future seemed unsure now. What plan of All For One involved a quirkless child?
==
"Who's the queen now?" The bitch asked with a tease. "That's right, me, Mount Lady! Ya queen of the future heroes everywhere!"
"You win one lousy bet and you suddenly think you're the king of the world." Death Arms wished he could drink now, but he had to remain sober while on duty. The downside to being an upstanding hero. "If the brat didn't cheat you would've lost!"
"The kid didn't cheat. It wasn't against the rules." Kamui played the middle man, which would've been fine in any other case. "No one before now would've thought to eat the headband."
"Because no one was a brainless and god lucky moron." Death Arms argued.
"Hey, it worked for All Might." … Damn it she was right. "You're just jealous that you didn't think to count on the luck of underdog fools like I did!" Why did they choose to team up with the newbie again? "In fact, I'm still feeling lucky. I say he wins his first fight."
"Okay, now I know you don't really believe that!" He didn't have anything against quirkless, he didn't but this was stretching logic a little. It was all pure luck! It had to be!
"Eh, who can say, I just like this winning streak I'm on." She smiled. "If he does well enough I'll even offer him an internship."
"Yeah, the kid will probably need it. Even if he wins the whole festival, not many people will be willing to send offers. There's not much to work with there." At least Kamui had some common sense in that wooden head of his.
"Fine, I'll take that bet." Death Arms growled. "I'm certain there's no way for him to actually beat any of those students one-on-one."
"You're on then, Kamui?"
"I'm gonna wait until they actually announce the fights, thank you very much." He spoke, watching the chaos. "... Speaking of, your 'prized student' is missing." Oh, was he now?
==
"Ah Todoroki? What are we doing here? It's lunchtime now." Right, he forgot he was also dealing with a gluttonous lucky moron. This kid was just too big of a headache for him to think about all the time.
"I wanted to talk, alone, just the two of us, no distractions." He stated, placing a hand next to the boy to stop him from escaping.
"... Todoroki, I think you're a cool guy, but I don't swing that way." What was the idiot talking about this time? "I mean it's cool you're acting out the scene from first love memory and all but …"
"What the..no!" How did he confuse that for what he was trying to do! "Look, do you know who my father is?"
"....Should I?" Maybe he wasn't lying about never watching T.V, but even then it felt like a stretch to never...EVER hear about Endeavor at all…..suddenly Todoroki felt really jealous of that level of ignorance.
"My father is the number two hero, the flame hero: Endeavor."
"That's super cool, I learned about numbers recently, even though it's kinda stupid. All heroes are good and important, right?"
"You're really too stupid to live, you know that?"
"I understand." The boy nodded.
"But we're on the same wavelength aren't we?" He responded, causing the boy to look at him confused. "After all … you have All Might's DNA in you, right?"
"How did you know he had me eat his hair?" … What the FUCK did that mean?
"No, I mean your his secret love child."
"I'm a secret love child!? Does that mean anytime someone calls me a bastard they're right?"
"What..no, I'm saying I figured you that All Might's your father!"
"Bunny-sensei...no he's not. I mean, I wish he was, but all I have are my mom and dad at home. I haven't slept on a bed in...ever. It was only because I was living on the beach for a while that Bunny-sensei met me."
"What the …" He growled. "Then why does he give a crap about you?"
"I..I don't know! I don't question when people do something nice for me for real!"
Todoroki left the wall partially frozen. "You're useless." He thought he found someone that understood the life of pro's family, but no, he guessed wrong.
"Why do you and Bakugo keep telling me that!? I've never been useless in my life! All my life until I came to U.A, it's always been about helping my parents because their too stupid and lazy to do anything on their own! It's always 'Please Iruma, go to the arctic and skin a polar bear alive! Iruma, please be the bait for our fishing trip! Iruma, please let us sell you to this shady gangster for a week and steal his suitcase!' What have your parents ever asked you to do?"
Todoroki snapped, turning around. "To be better than All Might no matter how many people have to suffer for it!" Shit, he told someone. The boy finally shut up, at least he could have a moment to explain. "I suppose you've never heard of Quirk marriages before." The boy nodded. "It's a form of arranged marriage that appeared when quirks first appeared. It's illegal, but when you have enough money…" He wanted to shower in hopes of getting his bastard father's blood out of his body. "My father bought my mother in order to have a child who would be born stronger than him, strong enough to surpass All Might one day. I'm child number four."
"... Alright." There was no horrified revelation, no anger at what his father did, there was no real emotion behind it other than … acceptance.
"... Alright?"
"Yeah, I mean, it makes sense. Your father did a bad thing to his wife and now he's doing bad things to you." That was a fucking understatement. "But what does that have to do with you?"
"What..the..IT'S EVERYTHING to do with me!" He desperately wanted to freeze this kid and never look at him again. "I swore to never use that bastard's power, to never use my left side!"
"So you still care about what he thinks of you?"
"Every action in my life is to spite him!" He shouted. "He ruined my childhood, drove my mother so insane she scarred my eye, and will never, ever, let me go!" He growled. "The only way to truly spite him is to reject his quirk, so I don't become that 'perfect' being he wanted to raise."
"You're not his perfect being, you're Shoto Todoorki, my classmate." Suzuki looked at him with oddly determined eyes. "I'm stuck with my parents now because I have nowhere else to go, but I'm going to live on my own someday. I don't care about them, so eventually I'll forget about them."
"There is no 'forgetting' my father, he's the number two hero. In terms of connection and power he's only beaten by All Might."
"..I'm sorry if I don't understand this, but it sounds like you don't want to be a hero."
"Coming from the idiot who has no idea why he's even here." This was a waste of time. "If, and IF we face each other in the tournament, you'd be better off quitting before it starts." Todoroki began walking away. "Or else you'll end up dead."
"You won't win with only your ice!" He could hear the brat shout. "I'll be overcooking the chicken to counter you!" Why did he think this boy would understand anything at all?