"Bring it on, Shoto!"
"Bring it on, Hideki!"
Shoto attacked Mato with his ice, but he blocked with his dark and rolled aside, searching for a blind spot to attack Shoto.
(The only way to defeat him is to find a blind spot...)
Mato lunged forward, attacking Shoto bare-handed.
The two exchanged powerful blows before Shoto used ice again, and Mato was forced to jump back.
Shoto tried to trap Mato with his ice, first by cornering him, and then by immobilizing him.
(He's trying to use the same technique he used against Tokoyami... I won't let him.)
Just when two ice walls had cornered Mato, he infused his punches with darkness and created a hole in one of them.
"SHIRAKAWA BREAKS FREE FROM TODOROKI'S TECHNIQUE!"
"A technique never works twice in a row!" Mato landed on the fighting stage and created a dark shield, which he blocked Shoto's ice with.
(Dammit... he's strong...) thought Shoto.
Mato jumped in the air. "Dark Cannon!"
Mato threw a dark blast from his hand, but Todoroki rolled forward and dodged. The explosion created a hole in the fighting stage.
(I revealed another technique of mine... no good, now only one remains... I have to keep it secret for the final...)
Todoroki threw his ice in the air, but Mato landed safely and lowered his body to avoid an ice shard.
(He's trying to outspeed me...)
Mato got up, infused his punch with darkness, and shattered an ice shard.
"IS THIS THE BEST MATCH SO FAR?" Present Mic asked loudly.
Shoto froze the floor, but Mato used both punches to shatter it.
(My fists hurt... shatter ice is no easy work...)
Mato slid down and avoided an ice shard aimed at his face. Then, he reached Shoto and tried to punch him, but his opponent blocked with ice.
"INCREDIBLE! EITHER SHIRAKAWA NOR TODOROKI LANDED A BLOW ON EACH OTHER YET!"
"Use your left side if you want to defeat me, Shoto!" Mato provoked his opponent. (If I defeat him with him holding back, I won't feel victorious...)
"I won't," said Shoto, generating ice on the floor again. Mato jumped to avoid being frozen.
He landed on the floor and attempted to punch Shoto again.
Once again, Todoroki tried to block with ice, but Mato jumped and kicked him in the face.
"SHIRAKAWA FINALLY LANDS A HIT ON HIS OPPONENT!"
Shoto stumbled a few feet away.
"You... you hit me... You actually hit me..." he wiped away dirt from the corner of his mouth. "No, I won't use my left side... not even if I'm dying..."
Mato attacked again. This time, he had his punches wrapped in his darkness.
"Dark Punch: 20%!"
SBAM!
Shoto dodged. Mato punched the floor.
"You said you didn't want me to hold back," said Shoto. "But you're the one who's holding back in the first place!"
"I'm not holding back," said Mato, extracting his punch from the hole he created. "A 20% Dark Punch is the maximum I can handle. It's a miracle I didn't break my arm when I used it against Izuku."
The two continued to clash, with Mato beginning to gain a bit of an upper hand. Though it wasn't one-sided at all.
(At this rate, I'll lose...) thought Todoroki. (No... I won't use my left side... not yet!)
Todoroki used even more ice in the attempt to block Mato. Mato jumped back and destroyed the ice with a smack of his dark-infused index.
(Damn... even if I endure them with darkness, my fingers hurt...)
"INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF POWER BETWEEN THE TWO OPPONENTS!"
(Just shut up, Present Mic, I'm dying down here...)
Shoto used his ice once again, and Mato blocked it with darkness.
"You're trembling, Shoto," said Mato. "I know there's a limit to how much cold your body can take. Why don't you solve it by using the heat of your left side?"
Shoto's eyes widened. "What are you talking about...?"
"I don't want to win against someone who uses only half of his power! That victory wouldn't feel mine!"
"You're not giving it your all, either..."
"Let's use the 100% of our Quirks then! Even if we break some limbs, Recovery Girl will heal us!"
On the stands, Endeavor was watching his son when Oro approached.
"Seems like my Hideki is giving your son a hard time!"
Endeavor snorted. "Shut up. Victory will be Shoto's."
"We'll see..." Oro smiled and turned to see the fight.
__________
Yokohama
"Is he crazy?" Shigaraki wondered. "Why doesn't he win already?"
"Before having a mission, he has pride," Dabi muttered. "He doesn't want an easy win. If you knew him better, you'd know, Tomura."
"Stop making fun of me just because I don't know Mato well," Shigaraki said, annoyed.
"Please, Mato-kun..." muttered Toga. "Don't hurt yourself too much..."
"Don't tell me you're worried about Mato," said Shigaraki.
"Of course I am! He's my best friend!" replied Toga. "You're the one who sees him just like a tool to your projects."
"Himiko's right, Tomura," Dabi added.
"Okay, stop right there, or I'll fire you," said Shigaraki.
__________
Fighting Stage
(My body hurts, and I feel sleepy... I overused my Quirk...) Mato clenched his fist. (If I don't end this with the next blow, I'm done for.)
(Once, my mother told me, "You don't have to be a prisoner of your blood." If I want to win, I have to use it.)
Mato and Todoroki stared at each other for a while. Then, they shouted:
"FIGHT, SHOTO!"
"FIGHT, HIDEKI!"
FLASH!
Mato wrapped his entire body with darkness, while Shoto finally used his left side.
(His entire body is wrapped in darkness... knowing him, he'll probably fall asleep or face collateral effects afterwards...)
(He's using his left side... this means I either convinced him, or he remembered something about his past.)
"SHIRAKAWA AND TODOROKI ARE GIVING US PEAK FIGHT! CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT?"
"Hey, Endeavor!" Oro exclaimed. "See? Shoot's using it!"
Endeavor smiled. "SHOTOOOOO! YOU FINALLY ACCEPTED YOUR DESTINY!"
"Don't complain if I hit you too hard," said Shoto.
"Yeah, you neither," smiled Mato. "Let's end this."
Mato sprinted forward, aiming to punch Shoto with all of his strength.
(I don't care if I break my arm... I have to win, no matter what! I'll get healed by Recovery Girl!)
The fighting stage got wrapped in flames as Shoto prepared for the counterattack.
"Dark Punch: 100%!!"
(No, don't use it again, you'll hurt yourself!) thought Shoto.
Mato dodged the flames and passed through them. Some of his clothes burned, but now, Mato was in front of Shoto.
"SHOTOOOOOOO!"
Shoto wrapped his body in flames and prepared to counter.
"HIDEKIIIIIII!"
BOOM!
SBAM!
CRASH!
A huge shockwave resounded throughout the whole place. Present Mic and Aizawa flew off their chair, the stands almost flew away, and most of them had to cover their ears due to the explosion.
Present Mic slowly got up and spoke up. "Something exploded! Who won?"
On the stands, Itsuka, Tetsutetsu, and Setsuna were all looking at the huge dust created by the impact.
"Hideki-kun..."
"Shirakawa-kun...."
"Brother..."
Finally, the dust settled, and Present Mic made his announcement.
"TODOROKI IS OUT OF THE FIGHTING STAGE! HE'S NOT EVEN CONSCIOUS ANYMORE! SHIRAKAWA IS STILL STANDING! HE ADVANCES TO THE FINAL!"
He turned to face Aizawa. "THEY DESTROYED HALF OF THE FIGHTING STAGE, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?"
(I've... I've won...) Mato clutched his right arm. It was broken due to the full use of the Dark Punch.
The crowd exploded in applause. "GOOD JOB, SHIRAKAWA!"
Mato looked at Todoroki's unconscious body and felt a bit guilty. (Maybe... I punched him too hard...)
Mato spat blood and fell asleep on the floor. Or maybe, he fainted.
"HE FAINTED! SHIRAKAWA HAS FAINTED ONCE AGAIN! BUT VICTORY IS HIS! PLEASE, SOMEONE, BRING HIM TO RECOVERY GIRL. I CAN SEE HIS BROKEN ARM FROM UP HERE!"
Mato was injured, with a broken arm, and asleep -- but victorious.
__________
A few minutes later...
Endeavor went downstairs, disappointed. He punched the wall.
"Dammit! How the hell did Shoto lose to that brat!?"
Oro approached.
"Seems like my pupil beat your son, huh?" he laughed.
Endeavor tried to punch Oro. "DON'T YOU DARE MAKE FUN OF MY SON!"
Oro dodged. "I wasn't! Calm down, Enji!"
Oro looked at the wall Endeavor had punched.
"Your son Shoto is incredible, you know I respect him," he said. "But I intend to take Shirakawa under my wing, no matter what."
Endeavor sighed and calmed down.
"Your pupil might have defeated Shoto," he said. "But it won't happen again. When he becomes a Pro Hero, he'll surpass even you, Oro!"
"I hope so for him," muttered Oro. "Now I gotta go outside. The next match is about to begin."
Chapter 18 - End