My Huntsmen Academia

Chapter 12: Izuku Midoriya

"You're Izuku Midoriya, right?" Shinoso asked.

Midoriya began to respond, but Neptune covered his mouth.

"Don't respond to anything he says." He instructed.

Midoriya nodded. He started to leave, but Todoroki grabbed him and dragged him away from everything.

"We need to talk." He said as he shoved Midoriya against the wall. "All Might's got his eye on you, right?"

"Uh, ye-um-well, I guess."

"You two have extremely similar powers."

"Um, well-"

"You know my father is Endeavor, the number two hero." Todoroki looked at his left hand. "I assume you're familiar with quirk marriages. When someone with a powerful quirk marries someone with for their quirk so their children would be even more powerful. My mother was forced to marry my father and produce four children. I was the last and the 'best'. My father trained me since I was a child. All I remember of my mother is that she was always crying. Always afraid of my left side. One day, she snapped and poured boiling water on me. She realized what she'd done and tried to help, but she just made it worse by freezing it. That was the last time I ever saw her."

"My father raised me to defeat All Might. By defeating you with just my right side, I'll be denying him everything."

"I- I'll do my best to beat you. Good luck." Midoriya said nervously.

Todoroki looked pleased, then left. Midoriya went to find All Might before his match against Shinso.

"It took a while, but you're finally getting the hang of using one for all!" All Might congratulated him.

"I'm still uneasy about it. Given the level my body is at even when I control it, it only gives me a small increase in power." Midoriya said glumly.

"Well right now, your body is only capable of wielding 5 percent of one for all's power." All Might explained.

"Five?" Midoriya exclaimed. "If you put it that way, then I've just gotten lucky at everything!"
"That's where you're wrong, my dear prince of nonsense. You aren't just lucky; you try your hardest at everything you do. Now, put some pep in your step and get out there!"
Midoriya entered the arena to face Shinso. The bell sounded.

"Ready to settle this? Maybe win with honor like that idiot kid with blue hair. What kind of loser wears goggles?" Shinso asked.

"He did the right thing." Midoriya defended.

After the words came out, it was like a fog machine went off in his mind. Midoriya stopped moving. He was vaguely aware of Shinso yelling about how privileged he was to be born with an extraordinary quirk. He was angry at Shinso for assuming his power was what got him there instead of the people that supported him. Still, he didn't move. His thoughts were slow and foggy. Then, like an alarm bell, something cut through the fog.

"Now turn around and walk out of the ring."

Midoriya instantly began walking toward the edge. He tried to stop himself, he had to win. But there was nothing he could do. His body wouldn't listen to him. He was losing hope when several bright lights flashed in his mind. A moment of clarity passed through him, and he remembered what he'd overheard Neptune had said; He had come out of the brainwashing when he had crashed into Tetsutetsu. With no time to waste, Midoriya used one for all to break his finger. The fog in his mind went away and he realized he was still in the ring just barely. He turned around to face Shinso. He ran at him, ignoring everything Shinso was saying. He took a few punches, threw a few punches, and managed to throw Shinso out of the ring. Shinso lied there as Midoriya was announced the winner. He got up, looking crushed.

"Shinso, why do you want to be a hero?" Midoriya asked genuinely.

"We don't get to choose that which we naturally admire." Shinso replied grimly.

As Shinso left, the crowd was cheering for him, envying his power, and questioning why he wasn't in the hero course.

"Maybe I failed this time, but I'm not giving up. I'll show them I've got what it takes to make the hero course, and I'll become a greater hero than all of you!" Shinso announced.

"Right." Midoriya said. The fog returned to his mind, not quite as strong.

"I could mess everything up for you right now. Just promise me you won't lose in a sorry way out there."

The fog retreated again without any pain. Midoriya stood in shock, then nodded. He left to get his finger fixed.

"I couldn't smile at all." Midoriya said guiltily.

"Given what Shinso was saying, it must have been a tough battle." All Might comforted.

"That doesn't mean it's okay for me to lose."

"You train this boy in odd ways." Recovery Girl said, slapping All Might.

"Oh, I have something to tell you! When Shinso brainwashed me, I had a vision of sorts. There were eight or nine of them, one of them had hair like yours. They had really bright eyes. It helped me snap out of the brainwashing. Could it have been the souls of the past one for all users?" He asked.

"What the- sounds scary."

"What? I was sure you'd know!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"Well, I saw them once when I was young. It's a clear sign you're getting used to one for all. It was your will that snapped you out of it, not their appearance."

"I'm still not convinced." Midoriya mumbled.

"Don't dwell on it! You should be thinking about your next match!"
Midoriya thanked All Might and Recovery Girl, then left to watch the next match. Midoriya sat between Uraraka and Ida, in front of Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang and behind Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren. Todoroki and Sun began their match. Sun created several clones that ran with him at Todoroki. Todoroki used his right side and froze half the arena. Midoriya had to lean in his seat to avoid it.

"Sun, can you move?" Professor Goodwitch asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Sun asked.

"Todoroki is the winner."

Todoroki went to unfreeze Sun. Midoriya saw that he looked sad. The next match was Kaminari and Ruby. Kaminari used his electric attack, but Ruby dissolved into petals, then reformed next to Kaminari after he had fried his brain. She shoved him out of the circle. Midoriya took notes. The next match was Ida versus Hatsume. Hatsume had tricked Ida into wearing her gear and spent ten minutes advertising it. She stepped out of the ring eventually, letting Ida move on. Uraraka stood up to prepare for her match. Midoriya thought and began to write a strategy for her. He watched as Penny and Blake fought, with Penny beating Blake after an intense and interesting fight. Tokoyami overpowered Yaoyorozu almost immediately. When Yang and Kirishima began, Midoriya had finished his idea and went to find Uraraka. He found her talking to Ida.

"Oh, uh, I made you a strategy to beat Kacchan with zero gravity. It's a bit on the fly, but-"
"Thanks, Deku, this is really sweet. But I need to do this on my own. I can't always rely on you or anyone else to do things for me." Uraraka said, pushing Midoriya's notebook away.

Midoriya nodded and left, trying to stop himself from feeling unneeded. Uraraka should win on her own, not because Midoriya told her what to do.