The Analytical Hero: Ace

Chapter 12

The suffocating silence was broken by Present Mic announcing the next match-up as Todoroki vs Monoma. Apparently this was all that was needed for the rest of 1-A to erupt into a rapid fire questioning.

"Are you really quirkless?"

"I thought that was like, super rare these days!"

"Yeah! Aren't all quirkless people old?"

"You still want to be a hero?"

"What if you get hurt?"

"It's too dangerous!"

"Should he even be participating in the Sports Festival?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"SHUT UP!" Kacchan's booming voice was barely enough to break through all the noise in the booth. Thankfully, everyone quiets enough for him to continue without yelling. "Let the nerd breathe, dammit. He'll answer what he wants to. He doesn't owe you guys shit." He set a firm, but reassuring, hand on my shoulder, glaring around the room.

"Yes, I am quirkless. I kept it to myself because I've been pretty badly bullied ever since I was 'diagnosed' and was hoping to start fresh here. I still want to be a hero because it's been my dream for as long as I can remember, and I'd like to think my stubbornness on the matter is one of my better qualities." Everyone looked at me with hesitance, still unable to speak.

"Plus, he's already made it to the final round and won two fights. He has just as much right to participate today as the rest of us." Shinsou placed a hand on my other shoulder, further grounding me and keeping me from stressing further.

No one else was able to find proper words to reply so the booth was once again coated in silence. Todoroki ended up winning his match against Monoma, though it was a very close match. Monoma held his own until the time limit of his copied quirk was reached. If he had just another minute I'm sure he could have won, Todoroki was beginning to visibly stiffen from overuse of his quirk, something that was getting worse with every round he fought.

The following match was Iida vs Tokoyami, the latter being the winner. And to finish
the bracket was Kacchan vs Kirishima. While Kirishima's hardening is a good counter to Kacchan's explosions, his limit was hit first, costing him the match. Another short break was issued in between brackets, I decided to leave the awkward silence that was still filling the viewing deck.

I went on a short walk around the inside of the building before going to my designated waiting room. After everything that's happened today I need to try and clear my head a bit before getting into a fight, especially going against Todoroki. He's quite the powerhouse, plus it's obvious he has extensive training with his quirk.

He does seem to rely on his quirk greatly though, plus he has a pretty apparent limit. His body begins to stiffen and his movements become slower the more he uses his quirk, his breath even starts getting foggy!

Based on his split hair and different colored eyes, plus Kacchan's loving nicknames 'half n half' or 'icyhot' that I've heard, he's clearly been holding back part of his quirk. Half ice is obvious, and the 'hot' probably corresponds with a fire quirk, further supported by who his father is. Speaking of... his father seems to be walking right towards me...

I felt the heat radiating from Endeavor before I even looked up to see him, keeping me from running into him and getting both a scolding and scalding. While his face was mainly indifferent, his body was stiff as he approached me.

"Ah, there you are." I blinked at him multiple times before responding. What could the number 2 hero want with me?!

"Um-hi Endeavor... w-why were you looking for me?" I couldn't help but feel nervous, not only was this an actual pro-hero, cue fanboy moment, but he's also extremely intimidating!