Wings of Awakening

Part 32

As the finals began, Izuku and Shinso stood at opposite ends of the arena, tension thick in the air. Present Mic's booming voice echoed, announcing the start of the match with his usual excitement. Izuku spread his wings, readying himself for a swift approach.

"Your friend was going on and on about his 'pride,'" Shinso started, his voice carrying a sneer, "but don't you think he was dumb for throwing away his chance like that?"

Izuku's smile remained calm, though it didn't reach his eyes. He could tell Shinso was baiting him, but he'd learned to keep quiet through years of enduring taunts. He was no stranger to controlling his emotions under pressure.

With a surge of telekinetic energy, Izuku launched himself forward, fist cocked back. In an instant, he closed the distance and struck Shinso with a telekinetically enhanced punch, sending him flying out of bounds and crashing into the nearby wall. The crowd gasped as Izuku was declared the winner, but he felt a small twinge of guilt for how hard he'd hit Shinso.

As Recovery Girl's bots came to carry Shinso to the infirmary, Izuku assisted in getting him onto the stretcher. Recovery Girl shook her head as she approached him, sighing.

"You need to control that strength of yours, young man," she scolded.

Izuku offered a sheepish apology, promising to be more careful. He stayed nearby as Shinso regained consciousness a little while later.

"Hey," Izuku greeted, watching as Shinso slowly sat up.

"You here to gloat or something?" Shinso muttered.

"No," Izuku replied earnestly. "I wanted to apologize for hitting you so hard. I let my anger get the best of me." He paused. "I know you wanted to win, but insulting Ojiro wasn't the best way to do it."

"What do you know about it?" Shinso shot back, bitterness in his tone. "You're probably praised for a great quirk like yours. They call me a 'villain' for mine."

Izuku's expression softened. "Maybe I don't know exactly what you've been through... But I do know what it's like to be bullied. I was called 'Deku' for years because I didn't have a quirk at all. And when it did awaken, I had to train really hard to catch up." He noted Shinso's thin frame. "It looks like you've focused a lot on mental training, but maybe some physical training would help too."

"Are you mocking me?" Shinso asked, taken aback.

"Not at all," Izuku replied. "Actually, I'd like to train with you sometime. My way of saying sorry and... helping you get strong enough to join the hero course."

Shinso looked stunned, clearly unprepared for the offer. Izuku handed him his phone. "Let's exchange numbers. Also... you should apologize to Ojiro. You don't want any hard feelings between classmates when you transfer in, right?"

After a moment's hesitation, Shinso entered his contact info and nodded.

As Izuku got up to rejoin his classmates in the stands, he added, "See you later. I've got more matches to win!"

Reaching the observation stands, Izuku sat down beside Uraraka and Iida, catching the tail end of Todoroki's match against Sero. Todoroki's ice swept across the arena, creating an enormous glacier that easily overpowered Sero and left him trapped against the wall.

"Whoa," Izuku murmured. Todoroki looked in no mood to go easy on anyone.

"How did the matches go so far?" he asked, turning to Uraraka.

"Kaminari lost to Ibara. And now Sero just lost to Todoroki," she explained. "Kirishima's up next against Tetsutetsu, then Iida goes up against Mei."

Izuku nodded, watching intently as Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, both armed with hardening quirks, clashed in a fierce brawl. Each punch they threw was met with an equally powerful counter, neither yielding to the other. After a brutal stalemate, they were both exhausted, leading to a draw that would be decided by an arm-wrestling match. Kirishima ultimately won, emerging as the victor.

When Iida's match against Mei began, it took on a very different tone. Mei wasted no time using Iida's speed to her advantage, attaching gadgets to him as she demonstrated each invention's potential to the audience. Iida tried to keep up with her, but it was clear Mei's goal was simply to use him as a living advertisement. After a few more impressive displays, she finally stepped back and gave a small bow to the spectators, forfeiting the match with a satisfied smile.

The remaining matches continued quickly. Uraraka's battle with Bakugo had the crowd on the edge of their seats as she relentlessly attacked, using her quirk to send debris hurtling toward Bakugo. He dodged and countered with explosions, ultimately winning but acknowledging her tenacity with a nod. Tokoyami's Dark Shadow overpowered Momo's defensive maneuvers, and Mina managed to outwit Aoyama with her agility and acid manipulation.

With the first round complete, the quarterfinal matchups were set: Izuku would face Todoroki, Bakugo would take on Kirishima, Iida would go up against Ibara, and Tokoyami would face Mina.

Izuku took a deep breath as he watched the final matchups. Todoroki stood across from him in the arena, his expression intense. Izuku knew this would be one of his toughest fights yet.