- Location
- Leeds
Oooooh, my first reading of the other sentence was that you intentionally try and make it unapproachable for new readers.
Dragonspawn (My Hero Academia SI)
- Thread starter Blackout
- Start date
Hierarch
High Councilor
- Location
- High Charity
Then let me be the third, since I've barely even watched a full episode of My Hero Academia. Truly, a story worth reading.
There is a term out there I find quite fitting;
'Draconic Racism', I believe it was. Everyone is equally inferior to a dragon, eh?
Chapter 21 - Ignition
Blackout
Fed By Comments
- Location
- Who knows?
"LAAADIES AND GENTLEMEEEN!" Mic's eardrum-piercing voice burst from the commentators' cubicle. "I hope you guys are excited as I am, because the Quarterfinals of the UA Sports Festival are about to begin!"
We had returned to the stands after the break, and the crowd was going wild.
There were eight contestants in the Quarterfinals. Out of all the prospective heroes of our age group, it had been whittled down to just eight people.
And I was one of them. Even if I made it no further than this, nobody could say that I hadn't proven myself. Not after my last match. It was a comforting thought, and went a long way towards calming my own nerves.
But I had no intention of letting that lure me into complacency. I knew that I could win, now. The other contestants would be no pushovers, especially Todoroki, but I felt like I had a chance at victory.
And I'd aim for it with everything I had.
"For our very first match, we've got something quite special for you!" Mic spoke, shaking me out of my thoughts. "It's Hiryu Rin from 1-B, versus Izuku Midoriya from 1-A! They may not have been the flashiest fighters we've seen today, but I think they've still got a few aces up their sleeves! Ready, set, go!"
This time it was Midoriya who moved first, rushing towards Rin. Both of them had seen each others Quirks by now, and had made their battle plans accordingly. Sharp, spine-like scales grew along Rin's arms once more as he swept them out, firing in a careful pattern. This time the scales landed between the two combatants: having recognized the close-range nature of his opponent's Quirk, he sought to keep him at an arm's length.
Midoriya swerved to the side but Rin kept firing, forming a semicircle wide enough to cut off more than half of the arena and too deep for any regular human to leap across.
I saw Midoriya crouch and try to pick up one of the scales, only to yelp and drop it on the ground, a few droplets of red staining his hands. Rin could control the shape and composition of the scales he produced, and must have laced them with tiny barbs and sharpened edges. And if you put your weight on one, they would make easy work of an unarmored shoe.
In just a few moments Rin had created a barrier all but impossible to cross by foot without injuring yourself. Midoriya could try to carefully pick his way through, but he'd be a sitting duck to Rin's attacks.
But if he didn't cross, Rin could wear him down at his leisure. It was a well-laid out trap, and I didn't see much that Midoriya could do about it.
Still, something didn't quite sit right with me. I couldn't help that nagging feeling that there was something I wasn't seeing, some connection I wasn't making.
The standoff continued for a short while, Rin firing single shots to conserve his own strength while Midoriya dodged them one after another, desperately throwing himself back and forth. It could not last forever, and soon enough he overbalanced and fell, landing roughly on the concrete.
But he picked himself up, his expression set and determination burning in his eyes. He glanced off to the side, just for an instant, even as one of Rin's scales hit him in the thigh, piercing through the fabric and sinking into flesh. I saw him bite back a yell, but his face remained unchanged as he raised his hand.
His thumb was holding his index finger as if he was about to snap it, and right there, I saw it. The same flash of light light, the spark of energy that I'd seen in the previous match. Only this time it was much more intense, dancing around his finger like electricity.
And then-
"SMAAASH!"
It was like a bomb had gone off, the shockwave slamming into my face as real as any punch. Not a very strong one by my standards, but the fact remained that I had felt it, from hundreds of meters away. Blinking, I saw Rin go flying, buffeted by gale winds far beyond anything I had seen even from Yoarashi.
I blinked again, but the impossible sight did not dissipate. As a matter of fact it only grew sharper. Silence reigned.
"Please tell me that was aerokinesis." I said as I turned to Yoarashi. "Please tell me I didn't just see him do that by flicking his fingers."
"N-no." He shook his head, looking uncharacteristically shaken. "That was no aerokinesis that I have ever seen."
"That's bullshit!" I exclaimed. "Nobody's that strong! That's- that's All-Might level of strength. That's impossible."
"Tatsuma." Kendo said, putting a hand on my shoulder and looking me in the eyes. "You're my friend, so I hope you know I mean no offense, but you are quite possibly the last person here allowed to complain about other people's Quirks being too powerful."
"But-"
"You are a dragon." She cut me off, emphasizing her words by gesturing towards me. "Your argument is invalid."
I made an indignant huff, but couldn't actually refute her words.
"Well, can I do it in her stead?" Tokage asked pointedly, with a look of lingering shock on her face. "Because that was bullshit."
"Shut up with your yammering, extras." Bakugo called out. Turning my head, I noticed most of 1-A didn't look too surprised about what had happened either. "You're giving me a headache."
"Did anyone ask for your opinion, bastard?" Tetsutetsu threw back. "If you ain't got anything useful to add, just shut your mouth!"
"Use your eyes." He said, pointing down towards the arena.
We followed his direction to Midoriya, clutching his hand in obvious pain. His index finger was bent out of shape and rapidly turning to a stomach-turning shade of purple, clearly badly broken.
Had that been caused by his Quirk? It had to have been, it was the same finger he'd used for the snap. But I'd never seen a Quirk that harmed its owner when used. Could it be that his Quirk was somehow malfunctioning, like mine?
Still, the pragmatic part of me breathed a sigh of relief that there was some kind of drawback to that kind of strength. It also explained why he hadn't used it before now, and why he'd been so secretive about it. If I'd known about his power before accepting his proposal to join my team…
Regardless, it didn't look good. I didn't doubt that a hit like that could send even me flying, and I wasn't agile enough to avoid it. I had a few tricks I hadn't revealed yet, but I'd only face Midoriya if we both made it to the finals, and I couldn't afford to hold back if I wanted to get there...
"Hey! Tatsuma!" I was shaken out of my thoughts as Tokage called out while getting up from her seat, pointing a finger at me. "I'm going to see you in the final match! Watch me!"
"Alright…"
As the brackets narrowed down the gaps between matches got longer, to give each participant time to get patched up and rest a little, but even so soon enough it was time for the second match.
"For our next match, we have Setsuna Tokage versus Katsuki Bakugo!"
Both of them sported confident grins as they walked up to the stage, sizing each other up. As much as I didn't know how to feel about Tokage, in this specific instance I was one hundred percent rooting for her. While I may have only first met him a few hours ago, I felt like I could pretty confidently Bakugo was an asshole. No two ways about it, if he had redeeming qualities he hid them deep.
But what he did have was a strong Quirk, and the skills to match it. He had good power, speed, range, area of effect, mobility... I didn't envy Tokage's odds.
"Start!"
I saw Tokage break apart like a jigsaw puzzle, but a massive explosion lashed out nigh-instantly, smashing apart the concrete where she had been standing only an eyeblink prior. Most of her had made it out of the blast zone, but the speed and size of the attack had caught her off guard, and smoking pieces of her torso fell to the ground.
I saw her wince in pain as her head floated above the stadium, but her counterattack didn't falter. Dozens of her pieces curved around to each attack Bakugo from a different angle, splitting his attention. The attacks were staggered so that one large blast could not catch more than one, but not so far apart as to give him room to recover. From the position of the spectator, I could appreciate the coordination and focus that went into her assault.
It was like Bakugo was being pelted with baseballs, hammering into him from all directions at a machine-gun pace.
It wasn't enough.
He fired off a blast that deflected one attack and propelling him backwards to dodge out of the way of several others. It soon became an aerial duel, Bakugo striking down the attacking body parts as he pivoted mid-air to fire off blasts in multiple directions with pin-point accuracy. That wasn't to say Tokage didn't get any hits in, I saw more than one slip through Bakugo's defence, but her biggest weakness had always been her low striking power. They hurt, but isolated hits wouldn't be enough for a knockout blow, whereas Bakugo was taking out a body part with every explosion that found its mark.
One by one, with every exchange, he was whittling her down. Smoking, soot-covered pieces of Tokage littered the battlefield, while Bakugo was only getting faster by the moment, his explosions covering more space.
I assumed he had a maximum to how much sweat he could produce, but Tokage had split herself more times than I'd ever seen from her. She had to be nearing her own limit already, and regenerating new parts took time and energy.
Which Bakugo didn't seem inclined to give her. The moment her offensive began to slacken he started his own, rocketing towards her and zeroing in on her head. I saw a bit of desperation in Tokage's movements as she intensified the speed of her attacks, but he simply took the opportunity to blast several of her pieces at once with one massive detonation.
That was the harsh mathematics of it all. In a flat, open battlefield Bakugo could see her coming and intercept her attacks at range, leaving her with little in the way of options. I saw the frustrated curl of her lips as Bakugo pressed ever closer, but there was nothing she could do.
Bakugo brought both of his hands forward and hit her with the biggest explosion he'd shown so far, the blast covering the arena from view for a brief moment. When the smoke cleared Bakugo was left standing triumphantly, with Tokage's head pinned beneath his foot.
"1-A's Bakugo takes the win with style! What speed, what power!"
Once the winner was announced he released her, her head floating off to put herself back together, her uniform singed and blackened in many places. Still, she held her head high as she walked off, leaving Bakugo to bask in the crowd's cheering.
"Well, I guess I need to head out." I said as I rose from my seat, only to notice something odd. "Where's Kendo?"
"She bolted off during the match." Pony said. "She looked concerned."
Hm. That was odd. Had something come up?
Returning to the cramped hallways, I sniffed the air and found Kendo's familiar scent easily enough, leading down towards the contestant preparation area. Now I was curious.
Seeing as I needed to go there anyways I followed the trail, until finally leading me to the door of the ready room, near the entrance to the arena.
Standing outside the door, I heard… muffled sobs?
"...couldn't do anything." I heard Tokage's voice speak in a murmur, sounding as if she'd been crying. As if she was crying.
"Sssh. It's alright." I heard Kendo's voice in a low tone. "You did everything you could. You got into the Quarterfinals, the top eight! That's amazing!"
Oh. Oh. Oh.
"Not good enough."
"What even is good enough?" Kendo said. "I bet whoever wins the tournament is still going to feel like they could've done better."
"I guess." I heard Tokae reply with a teary laugh. "Why does everyone in this class have to be so goddamn nice? 1-A got all the brooding assholes. You're like a big sister to everyone, Pony's the most adorable thing I've ever seen, Yoarashi's basically just a big kid… even Tatsuma's at most aloof. I just want one proper rival, is that so much to ask for?"
"She's not aloof, she's just awkward." Kendo replied with a sigh. "I wish you two would just get along. You're both my friends, you know?"
"Hmph."
"Look, if you just got to know her-"
"I get it."
"No, you don't." Kendo retorted, not harshly but still firmly. "You've built up an image of her in your head, and interpret what you see to match it."
I stepped away, feeling like this wasn't a conversation I should really be privy to. Thankfully they didn't seem to have heard me, but the lack of prep room meant that I had to wait in the empty hallway impatiently tapping my claws against the concrete floor, accompanied only by my thoughts.
I didn't have to wait for long, but the interruption didn't come in the form of the call for the match to begin as I had hoped.
Instead, I heard a pair of footsteps approaching, resolving into a familiar shape as it rounded the corner.
"Ryuuzaki." Ryuo said, his expression one of distaste.
"Ryuo." I growled in reply, my mood instantly dropping. "What do you want?"
"You didn't take long to blab to your sister." He replied with a positively acidic tone. "I met her earlier, trying to pry into things that don't concern her."
"Did you really expect me not to tell her about Shinso?" I shrugged my shoulders. "You expect me to believe you just coincidentally happened to have some business with a student who had an obvious grudge against me after the Cavalry Battle?"
"I gave him a chance at a future." He said. "One that you and UA would deny him, just because of the nature of his Quirk. Is that a crime?"
"With no strings attached? No ulterior motives?" I asked. "Here's the thing. I just don't believe you."
"Believe what you will. It gives you and your sister no right to interfere in my business."
"If you're not doing anything unsightly, why do you care that she's looking into it? Now, I know you might not have anything better to do than to be jealous of others, but I have a match to win." I said, forcing my way past him. "Some of us have to keep up prestige of the family name while you go around harassing high schoolers."
A cheap shot, certainly, but the sharp intake of air I heard behind me was more than worth it.
"What is there to be jealous of?" He bit out. "Everything that you are is because of your sister."
I growled in annoyance, but let it pass. It wasn't an argument worth getting into.
"And everything she is, she is because she is a thief."
…
I stopped in my tracks and, very slowly, turned around.
"What did you just say?" I growled, my mouth filling with the taste of smoke.
"You heard me." Ryuo said and folded his arms, his face twisting into a smug grin as he saw my reaction. It only made me angrier. "Ryuko stole something that did not belong to her. Ryukyu. The Ninth Dragon Hero. A name with weight, prestige, power. She chose it, knowing that she had no right to bear it, and used it to forge a reputation that would catapult her into the top ranks of the hero scene. Work placements, internships, sponsorships, media coverage, sidekicks, everything. Without it, she would be nothing. And so would you."
With every word that came out of his mouth my anger grew, until it was hard to force out the words as smoke streamed out of my throat.
"How dare you?" I growled as I leaned forward, feeling the floor vibrate with the force of my anger.
"How dare I speak the truth?" He said. "How would you feel like if somebody one day decided to put 'All-Might 2' as their Hero name?"
"You- That's not even- You can't just-"
"Competitors of the third match, report to your gates." A robotic voice came over the speaker system. "Competitors of the third match, report to-"
An extremely punchable grin etched itself on Ryuo's reptilian features. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"
I'd never wanted to punch somebody so hard in my life, but I couldn't miss the match. I could not.
Trembling with impotent anger, I turned away towards the gates.
-----
How dare he?
I fumed as I stared at the metal gate in front of me, claws scraping on the floor as they closed and opened. Thin streams of black smoke continued escape between clenched teeth.
It was all bullshit. Retorts sprang to the fore of my mind, unbidden.
Ryuko wasn't a thief. Ryuo didn't own a name. Ryuko had as much of a claim to the title of Dragon Hero as he did. She had brought more prestige to the Tatsuma name than anyone before her. It had been Ryuunosuke who had kicked our mother out. Ryuko didn't need the name to get where she was today. The difference between her and somebody claiming to be the next All-Might was that she had a legitimate claim as a direct descendant, and she had actually lived up to it. Ryuo was delusional to even suggest the comparison. And I wasn't just an extension of my sister. I wasn't.
But no matter how many I could come up with after the fact, they might as well have been farts in the wind. When it had come down to it, I'd barely managed to string words together.
I punched a wall in frustration, only to apply too much force and put my fist through it.
I stared at the hole I'd made in the concrete. I'd probably have to explain that to someone. The thought of that conversation did exactly nothing to improve my mood.
Finally the gate clicked open, admitting me to the arena. I just needed to get this over with, and I could find a secluded place to sort myself out.
"From last round's monster mash, we have Ryuuzaki Tatsuma! And on the left we have Fumikage Tokoyami! He's not been in the spotlight too much, but after eliminating a Recommended Student last round there'll be no return to the shadows for him! He's had a good run so far, but can he put a stop to thus draconic juggernaut?!"
Tokoyami bowed deeply, his avian features as calm as could be as he spoke in a grave tone. "May the greater warrior achieve victory."
I said nothing and instead grunted in reply, not trusting my voice at the moment.
"And… START!"
"Go, Dark Shadow!" Suddenly, an oily-black tendril of purest black seemed to emerge from Tokoyami's chest, its tip taking the shape of a beaked humanoid torso with two glowing yellow eyes. It rushed out to meet my charge head-on, which suited me just fine. I was in no mood to play around.
Just before making contact, however, it suddenly darted to the right, bypassing me completely. No matter, I would just take it out at the source.
I ignored the shadow-creature and lunged for Tokoyami, ready to end this match with one attack. But, of course, it just couldn't be that easy.
"Now!"
"Got it!"
A moment before impact he suddenly bolted forward far faster than he had any right to move, diving between my legs before I could catch him, and I skidded on the concrete before coming to a halt before
"Tatsuma's pulling no punches, but it looks like this bird is fleeter of foot than he seems!"
Turning my head around I saw Dark Shadow, claws embedded in the floor, reeling Tokoyami in via the thin tendril connecting it to his stomach before coming to a halt on the other side of the arena.
I snorted angrily, smoke pouring from my nostrils. What the hell was wrong with me? I should have seen that coming as soon as Dark Shadow went around me. Of course he wasn't just going to stand there. He'd seen my Quirk, just like I had his, and he'd come up with a plan.
I growled as I accelerated for another charge, more cautious this time. Once again he used Dark Shadow to boost himself out of harm's way at the last moment, but this time I was prepared, beating my wings to redirect my momentum upwards. As I took to the air, trailing smoke, I rotated my body around before coming down again, diving at Tokoyami with the force of an angry comet.
He wasn't there when I landed, of course, whisked away by his Quirk.
I scrambled after him, but I was. Not. Fast. Enough.
I was built like a living tank, I couldn't turn on a dime like a human or move with the effortless grace that Ryuko was capable of. Every change of direction and velocity was torturously slow, my own body working against me.
When I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, there was a visible heat-shimmer in the air around me, and every time I opened my mouth more black smoke emerged. I was getting angry now. Well, angrier.
Mic said something, but I wasn't listening.
I pounced forward again, but I didn't aim for Tokoyami this time. I crashed into Dark Shadow head-on, slamming it into the floor. It was they key to his mobility, and if I restrained it I would also restrain Tokoyami. In theory, a good plan.
But the practical side was proving more difficult. Dark Shadow trashed around in my hold, the shadowy mass compromising its body proving difficult to keep a grip on. More than that, it was… surprisingly strong. Not as strong as I was, but based on what I had seen of it in the Cavalry Battle it shouldn't even have been a challenge, and before I could adjust it had already wiggled free of my grip.
I eyed the creature suspiciously as it withdrew to Tokoyami's side. Had it always been that large? It just didn't make sense. Yoarashi was able to fend it off without much trouble earlier, so why-
Of course.
Dark Shadow. I glanced around, seeing the thick smoke permeating the battlefield, reducing the overhead sun into a dim glare.
Of fucking course.
What happens to a shadow when you reduce light? It grows.
Ryuo- it had to have been intentional. It had to. There was no way that was a coincidence. But- I'd been the one to throw the first insult. And how could he have known about Tokoyami's Quirk in advance? But it was exactly the kind of thing that he'd do.
I was so distracted that I almost didn't react in time when Dark Shadow suddenly surged forward, going on the offensive for the first time. It crashed into me and forced me back a step or two, definitely stronger than it was before. I reared on my hindlegs and slammed it to the ground, but it was visibly billowing larger by the moment and threw me off.
Fuck. Fucking fuck.
The situation was changing, and I needed a new plan, fast.
Right. Just calm down. Deep brea-
Dark Shadow crashed into me again with bone-jarring force, knocking me sprawling. I knocked him off of me with a swipe of my tail, but the living shadow seemed undaunted. I felt another burst of frustration, accompanied by a cloud of smoke forcing its way out of my throat.
Shit shit shit.
I tensed my hindlegs and jumped into the air, beating my wings rapidly, the smoke billowing around me. I saw Dark Shadow's form, now matching me in size, flickering and fraying at the edges as bits of sunlight peeked through. That was it. I just needed to get out of range and use my wings to disperse it.
"Dark Shadow! Stop her!"
Of course, they weren't going to just sit idle while I did it.
"On it!"
I tried to avoid it, but once again I just wasn't fast enough. Dark Shadow caught me before I could ascend out of reach, wrapping itself around me like a snake, restraining my wings. We crashed into the ground in a heap, grappling for position.
And I was losing.
As I felt myself being overpowered, I felt a cold chill run across my spine. I was going to lose. If I'd lost fairly, because my opponent was better than I was that would be one thing- but I should have been able to beat Tokoyami without much of an issue. Instead, I was going to lose because of- because I couldn't keep a handle on my temper. In front of millions upon millions of people, who would all see me sabotage myself- it wasn't exactly hard to make the connection that the smoke was helping Tokoyami. And it wasn't like- like I could just go in front of the world and explain what had happened, and air all of the family drama for everyone to know.
Just the thought of it made more smoke escape between my teeth.
Which was the damn problem. It was a damn feedback loop. I was angry. The angrier I was, the more smoke there was, and the stronger Dark Shadow became. And the stronger it was the more frustrated I became.
I also recognized it as a feedback loop. Which only made me angrier at my own inability to control my emotions and break it. But I couldn't just flip a switch and make all the anger and frustration go away, no matter how much I wanted to.
-----
"What is that shitty iguana doing?" Pony flinched as the abrasive 1-A student shouted, but she had to admit there was a kernel of truth to his words. "If she's not going to fight for real, she should just piss off from the tournament."
"No." All eyes went to Yui, the silent girl having suddenly spoken up. "Tatsuma's not sandbagging. She only makes smoke when she's genuinely angry."
"Yeah." Kendo backed her up from the row below. "But never this much. Not even when-" She suddenly caught herself, before shaking her head. "Well, it doesn't matter. The point is, she must be livid."
-----
I roared in frustration as I slammed into the ground.
The smoke was so thick that I couldn't see the stands anymore, only Dark Shadow's oily black form. It wrapped around me like some monstrous anaconda, holding me down with crushing force. I growled and scrambled on the floor for leverage, my claws gouging deep wounds into the concrete, but it had me in a vice-like grip.
I roared again, trying to claw at Dark Shadow, but my claws could find no purchase in the shadowy mass.
"I thought she was supposed to be tough?" It asked Tokoyami with a tone of voice that made me want to break something. "This is easy!"
Tokoyami, for his part, actually looked concerned for some goddamn reason. Was that pity?
"Dark Shadow…"
"I mean, the way you were talking, we had almost no chance, but I'm just cleaning her clock here!"
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami said sharply. "Focus."
"What's the matter?" The shadow-creature said with a note of defiance. "I beat her, like you told me to."
"You did." He said placatingly, before looking around. "The smoke is obscuring everything, but I think Midnight lies this way. Please, bring her over so that we can finish this."
"Yeah yeah, let's drag her out and show everyone how tough she really is."
I saw red.
I roared again, trashing around in Dark Shadow's grip as I glared towards the bird-headed boy. I managed to throw myself forward, my claws coming within inches of reaching him before his Quirk forced me down to the floor again, close enough that I could see the red glow of my eyes reflected in his black feathers.
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami shouted, sounding increasingly worried as he took several steps backwards. "Stop taunting the angry dragon!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" It snapped back, but I wasn't listening anymore.
I was angry, more than ever before. And why shouldn't I be? I had every right to feel that way.
To hell with it all. I'd been insulted, humiliated, beaten up and now I was about to be embarrassed in front of the whole world. Trying to calm down wasn't working, and it's not like stopping the smoke now would turn things around. So why hold it back? Why not give in? It can't make things worse, at this point.
It was like a dam had broken down. All the anger and frustration I'd felt crashed down on me like a tidal wave. Ryuo's insults. My own failures and inadequacies. Fujiwara. A small, irrational part of me even felt anger towards Ryuko.
For the first time in over two years, I felt genuinely hot. Not a pleasant warmth, but blistering, uncomfortable heat in my chest, as if I was in a fever.
It almost felt like I was burning.
-----
"...Hey, does anyone know what "Perkele" means?" The plug-eared girl's question hung in the air as she turned towards the others, looking perplexed.
"...It's finnish." Everyone's eyes went to Bakugo, who just shrugged his shoulders.
"How do you know that?"
"...It's a swear word. About equivalent to "shit"."
"Of course." The electric blonde-haired boy from 1-A rolled his eyes.
"Look!" Pony suddenly heard Tetsutetsu shout. "Something's happening!"
Everyone turned back towards the stadium floor. It was all but impossible to see through the roiling mass of smoke and shadow, but-
"There!"
Pony followed Kendo's pointing, and heard a gasp run through the audience. It was only barely visible, but a distinct orange light could be seen in the smoke, shining dimly through the grey clouds.
"Is it just me, or is it getting warm in here?"
Sure enough, Pony could feel a hot breeze on her face. Down in the arena the dull glow intensified and brightened, illuminating a familiar shape in the darkness. With a jolt, she realized the light was coming from Tatsuma- from within her, glowing through her scales.
When it began moving, traveling up her chest and throat, Pony realized what was going to happen an instant before it did.
"She's going to bre-"
Flames spilled out from Tatsuma's mouth with explosive force, the wave of intense heat washing over the audience. The word "flamethrower" did not properly do it justice- it was more like a high-pressure jet of fire, burning eye-searingly bright blue.
The blast of hot air instantly dissipated the smoke, revealing Tokoyami struggling to stand upright, his Quirk receding into his chest under the intense light. Tatsuma threw her head back, directing the spiralling stream of flame upwards where it reached a good hundred meters into the air above the stadium before dissipating.
Even up in the stands it was like standing in front of an open oven, and Pony had to avert her eyes from the fireworks.
Pony wasn't sure how long it lasted, perhaps twenty, thirty seconds? Finally the stream of fire began to lessen in intensity, before slowly dying down. Tatsuma visibly sagged as it ended, and Pony could have sworn her usually vibrant and bright white scales almost looked ashen grey.
But her eyes still burned with a furious red light as she snapped her jaws closed and leaned forward, looming over Tokoyami, looking for all the world like she was about to eat him with one bite. Even though he had scrambled to the edge of the arena the tips of the bird-headed student's feathers had been charred by the fire, and his Quirk companion lurked between his feet, looking meek and defeated.
"I give up." He said, raising his hands in surrender. Tatsuma looked absolutely furious, but after exhaling a final puff of smoke from her nostrils she turned around stomped off towards the exits, not even waiting for Midnight's stunned announcement.
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma wins!"
We had returned to the stands after the break, and the crowd was going wild.
There were eight contestants in the Quarterfinals. Out of all the prospective heroes of our age group, it had been whittled down to just eight people.
And I was one of them. Even if I made it no further than this, nobody could say that I hadn't proven myself. Not after my last match. It was a comforting thought, and went a long way towards calming my own nerves.
But I had no intention of letting that lure me into complacency. I knew that I could win, now. The other contestants would be no pushovers, especially Todoroki, but I felt like I had a chance at victory.
And I'd aim for it with everything I had.
"For our very first match, we've got something quite special for you!" Mic spoke, shaking me out of my thoughts. "It's Hiryu Rin from 1-B, versus Izuku Midoriya from 1-A! They may not have been the flashiest fighters we've seen today, but I think they've still got a few aces up their sleeves! Ready, set, go!"
This time it was Midoriya who moved first, rushing towards Rin. Both of them had seen each others Quirks by now, and had made their battle plans accordingly. Sharp, spine-like scales grew along Rin's arms once more as he swept them out, firing in a careful pattern. This time the scales landed between the two combatants: having recognized the close-range nature of his opponent's Quirk, he sought to keep him at an arm's length.
Midoriya swerved to the side but Rin kept firing, forming a semicircle wide enough to cut off more than half of the arena and too deep for any regular human to leap across.
I saw Midoriya crouch and try to pick up one of the scales, only to yelp and drop it on the ground, a few droplets of red staining his hands. Rin could control the shape and composition of the scales he produced, and must have laced them with tiny barbs and sharpened edges. And if you put your weight on one, they would make easy work of an unarmored shoe.
In just a few moments Rin had created a barrier all but impossible to cross by foot without injuring yourself. Midoriya could try to carefully pick his way through, but he'd be a sitting duck to Rin's attacks.
But if he didn't cross, Rin could wear him down at his leisure. It was a well-laid out trap, and I didn't see much that Midoriya could do about it.
Still, something didn't quite sit right with me. I couldn't help that nagging feeling that there was something I wasn't seeing, some connection I wasn't making.
The standoff continued for a short while, Rin firing single shots to conserve his own strength while Midoriya dodged them one after another, desperately throwing himself back and forth. It could not last forever, and soon enough he overbalanced and fell, landing roughly on the concrete.
But he picked himself up, his expression set and determination burning in his eyes. He glanced off to the side, just for an instant, even as one of Rin's scales hit him in the thigh, piercing through the fabric and sinking into flesh. I saw him bite back a yell, but his face remained unchanged as he raised his hand.
His thumb was holding his index finger as if he was about to snap it, and right there, I saw it. The same flash of light light, the spark of energy that I'd seen in the previous match. Only this time it was much more intense, dancing around his finger like electricity.
And then-
"SMAAASH!"
It was like a bomb had gone off, the shockwave slamming into my face as real as any punch. Not a very strong one by my standards, but the fact remained that I had felt it, from hundreds of meters away. Blinking, I saw Rin go flying, buffeted by gale winds far beyond anything I had seen even from Yoarashi.
I blinked again, but the impossible sight did not dissipate. As a matter of fact it only grew sharper. Silence reigned.
"Please tell me that was aerokinesis." I said as I turned to Yoarashi. "Please tell me I didn't just see him do that by flicking his fingers."
"N-no." He shook his head, looking uncharacteristically shaken. "That was no aerokinesis that I have ever seen."
"That's bullshit!" I exclaimed. "Nobody's that strong! That's- that's All-Might level of strength. That's impossible."
"Tatsuma." Kendo said, putting a hand on my shoulder and looking me in the eyes. "You're my friend, so I hope you know I mean no offense, but you are quite possibly the last person here allowed to complain about other people's Quirks being too powerful."
"But-"
"You are a dragon." She cut me off, emphasizing her words by gesturing towards me. "Your argument is invalid."
I made an indignant huff, but couldn't actually refute her words.
"Well, can I do it in her stead?" Tokage asked pointedly, with a look of lingering shock on her face. "Because that was bullshit."
"Shut up with your yammering, extras." Bakugo called out. Turning my head, I noticed most of 1-A didn't look too surprised about what had happened either. "You're giving me a headache."
"Did anyone ask for your opinion, bastard?" Tetsutetsu threw back. "If you ain't got anything useful to add, just shut your mouth!"
"Use your eyes." He said, pointing down towards the arena.
We followed his direction to Midoriya, clutching his hand in obvious pain. His index finger was bent out of shape and rapidly turning to a stomach-turning shade of purple, clearly badly broken.
Had that been caused by his Quirk? It had to have been, it was the same finger he'd used for the snap. But I'd never seen a Quirk that harmed its owner when used. Could it be that his Quirk was somehow malfunctioning, like mine?
Still, the pragmatic part of me breathed a sigh of relief that there was some kind of drawback to that kind of strength. It also explained why he hadn't used it before now, and why he'd been so secretive about it. If I'd known about his power before accepting his proposal to join my team…
Regardless, it didn't look good. I didn't doubt that a hit like that could send even me flying, and I wasn't agile enough to avoid it. I had a few tricks I hadn't revealed yet, but I'd only face Midoriya if we both made it to the finals, and I couldn't afford to hold back if I wanted to get there...
"Hey! Tatsuma!" I was shaken out of my thoughts as Tokage called out while getting up from her seat, pointing a finger at me. "I'm going to see you in the final match! Watch me!"
"Alright…"
As the brackets narrowed down the gaps between matches got longer, to give each participant time to get patched up and rest a little, but even so soon enough it was time for the second match.
"For our next match, we have Setsuna Tokage versus Katsuki Bakugo!"
Both of them sported confident grins as they walked up to the stage, sizing each other up. As much as I didn't know how to feel about Tokage, in this specific instance I was one hundred percent rooting for her. While I may have only first met him a few hours ago, I felt like I could pretty confidently Bakugo was an asshole. No two ways about it, if he had redeeming qualities he hid them deep.
But what he did have was a strong Quirk, and the skills to match it. He had good power, speed, range, area of effect, mobility... I didn't envy Tokage's odds.
"Start!"
I saw Tokage break apart like a jigsaw puzzle, but a massive explosion lashed out nigh-instantly, smashing apart the concrete where she had been standing only an eyeblink prior. Most of her had made it out of the blast zone, but the speed and size of the attack had caught her off guard, and smoking pieces of her torso fell to the ground.
I saw her wince in pain as her head floated above the stadium, but her counterattack didn't falter. Dozens of her pieces curved around to each attack Bakugo from a different angle, splitting his attention. The attacks were staggered so that one large blast could not catch more than one, but not so far apart as to give him room to recover. From the position of the spectator, I could appreciate the coordination and focus that went into her assault.
It was like Bakugo was being pelted with baseballs, hammering into him from all directions at a machine-gun pace.
It wasn't enough.
He fired off a blast that deflected one attack and propelling him backwards to dodge out of the way of several others. It soon became an aerial duel, Bakugo striking down the attacking body parts as he pivoted mid-air to fire off blasts in multiple directions with pin-point accuracy. That wasn't to say Tokage didn't get any hits in, I saw more than one slip through Bakugo's defence, but her biggest weakness had always been her low striking power. They hurt, but isolated hits wouldn't be enough for a knockout blow, whereas Bakugo was taking out a body part with every explosion that found its mark.
One by one, with every exchange, he was whittling her down. Smoking, soot-covered pieces of Tokage littered the battlefield, while Bakugo was only getting faster by the moment, his explosions covering more space.
I assumed he had a maximum to how much sweat he could produce, but Tokage had split herself more times than I'd ever seen from her. She had to be nearing her own limit already, and regenerating new parts took time and energy.
Which Bakugo didn't seem inclined to give her. The moment her offensive began to slacken he started his own, rocketing towards her and zeroing in on her head. I saw a bit of desperation in Tokage's movements as she intensified the speed of her attacks, but he simply took the opportunity to blast several of her pieces at once with one massive detonation.
That was the harsh mathematics of it all. In a flat, open battlefield Bakugo could see her coming and intercept her attacks at range, leaving her with little in the way of options. I saw the frustrated curl of her lips as Bakugo pressed ever closer, but there was nothing she could do.
Bakugo brought both of his hands forward and hit her with the biggest explosion he'd shown so far, the blast covering the arena from view for a brief moment. When the smoke cleared Bakugo was left standing triumphantly, with Tokage's head pinned beneath his foot.
"1-A's Bakugo takes the win with style! What speed, what power!"
Once the winner was announced he released her, her head floating off to put herself back together, her uniform singed and blackened in many places. Still, she held her head high as she walked off, leaving Bakugo to bask in the crowd's cheering.
"Well, I guess I need to head out." I said as I rose from my seat, only to notice something odd. "Where's Kendo?"
"She bolted off during the match." Pony said. "She looked concerned."
Hm. That was odd. Had something come up?
Returning to the cramped hallways, I sniffed the air and found Kendo's familiar scent easily enough, leading down towards the contestant preparation area. Now I was curious.
Seeing as I needed to go there anyways I followed the trail, until finally leading me to the door of the ready room, near the entrance to the arena.
Standing outside the door, I heard… muffled sobs?
"...couldn't do anything." I heard Tokage's voice speak in a murmur, sounding as if she'd been crying. As if she was crying.
"Sssh. It's alright." I heard Kendo's voice in a low tone. "You did everything you could. You got into the Quarterfinals, the top eight! That's amazing!"
Oh. Oh. Oh.
"Not good enough."
"What even is good enough?" Kendo said. "I bet whoever wins the tournament is still going to feel like they could've done better."
"I guess." I heard Tokae reply with a teary laugh. "Why does everyone in this class have to be so goddamn nice? 1-A got all the brooding assholes. You're like a big sister to everyone, Pony's the most adorable thing I've ever seen, Yoarashi's basically just a big kid… even Tatsuma's at most aloof. I just want one proper rival, is that so much to ask for?"
"She's not aloof, she's just awkward." Kendo replied with a sigh. "I wish you two would just get along. You're both my friends, you know?"
"Hmph."
"Look, if you just got to know her-"
"I get it."
"No, you don't." Kendo retorted, not harshly but still firmly. "You've built up an image of her in your head, and interpret what you see to match it."
I stepped away, feeling like this wasn't a conversation I should really be privy to. Thankfully they didn't seem to have heard me, but the lack of prep room meant that I had to wait in the empty hallway impatiently tapping my claws against the concrete floor, accompanied only by my thoughts.
I didn't have to wait for long, but the interruption didn't come in the form of the call for the match to begin as I had hoped.
Instead, I heard a pair of footsteps approaching, resolving into a familiar shape as it rounded the corner.
"Ryuuzaki." Ryuo said, his expression one of distaste.
"Ryuo." I growled in reply, my mood instantly dropping. "What do you want?"
"You didn't take long to blab to your sister." He replied with a positively acidic tone. "I met her earlier, trying to pry into things that don't concern her."
"Did you really expect me not to tell her about Shinso?" I shrugged my shoulders. "You expect me to believe you just coincidentally happened to have some business with a student who had an obvious grudge against me after the Cavalry Battle?"
"I gave him a chance at a future." He said. "One that you and UA would deny him, just because of the nature of his Quirk. Is that a crime?"
"With no strings attached? No ulterior motives?" I asked. "Here's the thing. I just don't believe you."
"Believe what you will. It gives you and your sister no right to interfere in my business."
"If you're not doing anything unsightly, why do you care that she's looking into it? Now, I know you might not have anything better to do than to be jealous of others, but I have a match to win." I said, forcing my way past him. "Some of us have to keep up prestige of the family name while you go around harassing high schoolers."
A cheap shot, certainly, but the sharp intake of air I heard behind me was more than worth it.
"What is there to be jealous of?" He bit out. "Everything that you are is because of your sister."
I growled in annoyance, but let it pass. It wasn't an argument worth getting into.
"And everything she is, she is because she is a thief."
…
I stopped in my tracks and, very slowly, turned around.
"What did you just say?" I growled, my mouth filling with the taste of smoke.
"You heard me." Ryuo said and folded his arms, his face twisting into a smug grin as he saw my reaction. It only made me angrier. "Ryuko stole something that did not belong to her. Ryukyu. The Ninth Dragon Hero. A name with weight, prestige, power. She chose it, knowing that she had no right to bear it, and used it to forge a reputation that would catapult her into the top ranks of the hero scene. Work placements, internships, sponsorships, media coverage, sidekicks, everything. Without it, she would be nothing. And so would you."
With every word that came out of his mouth my anger grew, until it was hard to force out the words as smoke streamed out of my throat.
"How dare you?" I growled as I leaned forward, feeling the floor vibrate with the force of my anger.
"How dare I speak the truth?" He said. "How would you feel like if somebody one day decided to put 'All-Might 2' as their Hero name?"
"You- That's not even- You can't just-"
"Competitors of the third match, report to your gates." A robotic voice came over the speaker system. "Competitors of the third match, report to-"
An extremely punchable grin etched itself on Ryuo's reptilian features. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"
I'd never wanted to punch somebody so hard in my life, but I couldn't miss the match. I could not.
Trembling with impotent anger, I turned away towards the gates.
-----
How dare he?
I fumed as I stared at the metal gate in front of me, claws scraping on the floor as they closed and opened. Thin streams of black smoke continued escape between clenched teeth.
It was all bullshit. Retorts sprang to the fore of my mind, unbidden.
Ryuko wasn't a thief. Ryuo didn't own a name. Ryuko had as much of a claim to the title of Dragon Hero as he did. She had brought more prestige to the Tatsuma name than anyone before her. It had been Ryuunosuke who had kicked our mother out. Ryuko didn't need the name to get where she was today. The difference between her and somebody claiming to be the next All-Might was that she had a legitimate claim as a direct descendant, and she had actually lived up to it. Ryuo was delusional to even suggest the comparison. And I wasn't just an extension of my sister. I wasn't.
But no matter how many I could come up with after the fact, they might as well have been farts in the wind. When it had come down to it, I'd barely managed to string words together.
I punched a wall in frustration, only to apply too much force and put my fist through it.
I stared at the hole I'd made in the concrete. I'd probably have to explain that to someone. The thought of that conversation did exactly nothing to improve my mood.
Finally the gate clicked open, admitting me to the arena. I just needed to get this over with, and I could find a secluded place to sort myself out.
"From last round's monster mash, we have Ryuuzaki Tatsuma! And on the left we have Fumikage Tokoyami! He's not been in the spotlight too much, but after eliminating a Recommended Student last round there'll be no return to the shadows for him! He's had a good run so far, but can he put a stop to thus draconic juggernaut?!"
Tokoyami bowed deeply, his avian features as calm as could be as he spoke in a grave tone. "May the greater warrior achieve victory."
I said nothing and instead grunted in reply, not trusting my voice at the moment.
"And… START!"
"Go, Dark Shadow!" Suddenly, an oily-black tendril of purest black seemed to emerge from Tokoyami's chest, its tip taking the shape of a beaked humanoid torso with two glowing yellow eyes. It rushed out to meet my charge head-on, which suited me just fine. I was in no mood to play around.
Just before making contact, however, it suddenly darted to the right, bypassing me completely. No matter, I would just take it out at the source.
I ignored the shadow-creature and lunged for Tokoyami, ready to end this match with one attack. But, of course, it just couldn't be that easy.
"Now!"
"Got it!"
A moment before impact he suddenly bolted forward far faster than he had any right to move, diving between my legs before I could catch him, and I skidded on the concrete before coming to a halt before
"Tatsuma's pulling no punches, but it looks like this bird is fleeter of foot than he seems!"
Turning my head around I saw Dark Shadow, claws embedded in the floor, reeling Tokoyami in via the thin tendril connecting it to his stomach before coming to a halt on the other side of the arena.
I snorted angrily, smoke pouring from my nostrils. What the hell was wrong with me? I should have seen that coming as soon as Dark Shadow went around me. Of course he wasn't just going to stand there. He'd seen my Quirk, just like I had his, and he'd come up with a plan.
I growled as I accelerated for another charge, more cautious this time. Once again he used Dark Shadow to boost himself out of harm's way at the last moment, but this time I was prepared, beating my wings to redirect my momentum upwards. As I took to the air, trailing smoke, I rotated my body around before coming down again, diving at Tokoyami with the force of an angry comet.
He wasn't there when I landed, of course, whisked away by his Quirk.
I scrambled after him, but I was. Not. Fast. Enough.
I was built like a living tank, I couldn't turn on a dime like a human or move with the effortless grace that Ryuko was capable of. Every change of direction and velocity was torturously slow, my own body working against me.
When I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, there was a visible heat-shimmer in the air around me, and every time I opened my mouth more black smoke emerged. I was getting angry now. Well, angrier.
Mic said something, but I wasn't listening.
I pounced forward again, but I didn't aim for Tokoyami this time. I crashed into Dark Shadow head-on, slamming it into the floor. It was they key to his mobility, and if I restrained it I would also restrain Tokoyami. In theory, a good plan.
But the practical side was proving more difficult. Dark Shadow trashed around in my hold, the shadowy mass compromising its body proving difficult to keep a grip on. More than that, it was… surprisingly strong. Not as strong as I was, but based on what I had seen of it in the Cavalry Battle it shouldn't even have been a challenge, and before I could adjust it had already wiggled free of my grip.
I eyed the creature suspiciously as it withdrew to Tokoyami's side. Had it always been that large? It just didn't make sense. Yoarashi was able to fend it off without much trouble earlier, so why-
Of course.
Dark Shadow. I glanced around, seeing the thick smoke permeating the battlefield, reducing the overhead sun into a dim glare.
Of fucking course.
What happens to a shadow when you reduce light? It grows.
Ryuo- it had to have been intentional. It had to. There was no way that was a coincidence. But- I'd been the one to throw the first insult. And how could he have known about Tokoyami's Quirk in advance? But it was exactly the kind of thing that he'd do.
I was so distracted that I almost didn't react in time when Dark Shadow suddenly surged forward, going on the offensive for the first time. It crashed into me and forced me back a step or two, definitely stronger than it was before. I reared on my hindlegs and slammed it to the ground, but it was visibly billowing larger by the moment and threw me off.
Fuck. Fucking fuck.
The situation was changing, and I needed a new plan, fast.
Right. Just calm down. Deep brea-
Dark Shadow crashed into me again with bone-jarring force, knocking me sprawling. I knocked him off of me with a swipe of my tail, but the living shadow seemed undaunted. I felt another burst of frustration, accompanied by a cloud of smoke forcing its way out of my throat.
Shit shit shit.
I tensed my hindlegs and jumped into the air, beating my wings rapidly, the smoke billowing around me. I saw Dark Shadow's form, now matching me in size, flickering and fraying at the edges as bits of sunlight peeked through. That was it. I just needed to get out of range and use my wings to disperse it.
"Dark Shadow! Stop her!"
Of course, they weren't going to just sit idle while I did it.
"On it!"
I tried to avoid it, but once again I just wasn't fast enough. Dark Shadow caught me before I could ascend out of reach, wrapping itself around me like a snake, restraining my wings. We crashed into the ground in a heap, grappling for position.
And I was losing.
As I felt myself being overpowered, I felt a cold chill run across my spine. I was going to lose. If I'd lost fairly, because my opponent was better than I was that would be one thing- but I should have been able to beat Tokoyami without much of an issue. Instead, I was going to lose because of- because I couldn't keep a handle on my temper. In front of millions upon millions of people, who would all see me sabotage myself- it wasn't exactly hard to make the connection that the smoke was helping Tokoyami. And it wasn't like- like I could just go in front of the world and explain what had happened, and air all of the family drama for everyone to know.
Just the thought of it made more smoke escape between my teeth.
Which was the damn problem. It was a damn feedback loop. I was angry. The angrier I was, the more smoke there was, and the stronger Dark Shadow became. And the stronger it was the more frustrated I became.
I also recognized it as a feedback loop. Which only made me angrier at my own inability to control my emotions and break it. But I couldn't just flip a switch and make all the anger and frustration go away, no matter how much I wanted to.
-----
"What is that shitty iguana doing?" Pony flinched as the abrasive 1-A student shouted, but she had to admit there was a kernel of truth to his words. "If she's not going to fight for real, she should just piss off from the tournament."
"No." All eyes went to Yui, the silent girl having suddenly spoken up. "Tatsuma's not sandbagging. She only makes smoke when she's genuinely angry."
"Yeah." Kendo backed her up from the row below. "But never this much. Not even when-" She suddenly caught herself, before shaking her head. "Well, it doesn't matter. The point is, she must be livid."
-----
I roared in frustration as I slammed into the ground.
The smoke was so thick that I couldn't see the stands anymore, only Dark Shadow's oily black form. It wrapped around me like some monstrous anaconda, holding me down with crushing force. I growled and scrambled on the floor for leverage, my claws gouging deep wounds into the concrete, but it had me in a vice-like grip.
I roared again, trying to claw at Dark Shadow, but my claws could find no purchase in the shadowy mass.
"I thought she was supposed to be tough?" It asked Tokoyami with a tone of voice that made me want to break something. "This is easy!"
Tokoyami, for his part, actually looked concerned for some goddamn reason. Was that pity?
"Dark Shadow…"
"I mean, the way you were talking, we had almost no chance, but I'm just cleaning her clock here!"
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami said sharply. "Focus."
"What's the matter?" The shadow-creature said with a note of defiance. "I beat her, like you told me to."
"You did." He said placatingly, before looking around. "The smoke is obscuring everything, but I think Midnight lies this way. Please, bring her over so that we can finish this."
"Yeah yeah, let's drag her out and show everyone how tough she really is."
I saw red.
I roared again, trashing around in Dark Shadow's grip as I glared towards the bird-headed boy. I managed to throw myself forward, my claws coming within inches of reaching him before his Quirk forced me down to the floor again, close enough that I could see the red glow of my eyes reflected in his black feathers.
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami shouted, sounding increasingly worried as he took several steps backwards. "Stop taunting the angry dragon!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" It snapped back, but I wasn't listening anymore.
I was angry, more than ever before. And why shouldn't I be? I had every right to feel that way.
To hell with it all. I'd been insulted, humiliated, beaten up and now I was about to be embarrassed in front of the whole world. Trying to calm down wasn't working, and it's not like stopping the smoke now would turn things around. So why hold it back? Why not give in? It can't make things worse, at this point.
It was like a dam had broken down. All the anger and frustration I'd felt crashed down on me like a tidal wave. Ryuo's insults. My own failures and inadequacies. Fujiwara. A small, irrational part of me even felt anger towards Ryuko.
For the first time in over two years, I felt genuinely hot. Not a pleasant warmth, but blistering, uncomfortable heat in my chest, as if I was in a fever.
It almost felt like I was burning.
-----
"...Hey, does anyone know what "Perkele" means?" The plug-eared girl's question hung in the air as she turned towards the others, looking perplexed.
"...It's finnish." Everyone's eyes went to Bakugo, who just shrugged his shoulders.
"How do you know that?"
"...It's a swear word. About equivalent to "shit"."
"Of course." The electric blonde-haired boy from 1-A rolled his eyes.
"Look!" Pony suddenly heard Tetsutetsu shout. "Something's happening!"
Everyone turned back towards the stadium floor. It was all but impossible to see through the roiling mass of smoke and shadow, but-
"There!"
Pony followed Kendo's pointing, and heard a gasp run through the audience. It was only barely visible, but a distinct orange light could be seen in the smoke, shining dimly through the grey clouds.
"Is it just me, or is it getting warm in here?"
Sure enough, Pony could feel a hot breeze on her face. Down in the arena the dull glow intensified and brightened, illuminating a familiar shape in the darkness. With a jolt, she realized the light was coming from Tatsuma- from within her, glowing through her scales.
When it began moving, traveling up her chest and throat, Pony realized what was going to happen an instant before it did.
"She's going to bre-"
Flames spilled out from Tatsuma's mouth with explosive force, the wave of intense heat washing over the audience. The word "flamethrower" did not properly do it justice- it was more like a high-pressure jet of fire, burning eye-searingly bright blue.
The blast of hot air instantly dissipated the smoke, revealing Tokoyami struggling to stand upright, his Quirk receding into his chest under the intense light. Tatsuma threw her head back, directing the spiralling stream of flame upwards where it reached a good hundred meters into the air above the stadium before dissipating.
Even up in the stands it was like standing in front of an open oven, and Pony had to avert her eyes from the fireworks.
Pony wasn't sure how long it lasted, perhaps twenty, thirty seconds? Finally the stream of fire began to lessen in intensity, before slowly dying down. Tatsuma visibly sagged as it ended, and Pony could have sworn her usually vibrant and bright white scales almost looked ashen grey.
But her eyes still burned with a furious red light as she snapped her jaws closed and leaned forward, looming over Tokoyami, looking for all the world like she was about to eat him with one bite. Even though he had scrambled to the edge of the arena the tips of the bird-headed student's feathers had been charred by the fire, and his Quirk companion lurked between his feet, looking meek and defeated.
"I give up." He said, raising his hands in surrender. Tatsuma looked absolutely furious, but after exhaling a final puff of smoke from her nostrils she turned around stomped off towards the exits, not even waiting for Midnight's stunned announcement.
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma wins!"
And there we go.
This has been in the works for quite some time, I can only hope that it was satisfactory.
It feels crazy to think that I started writing Dragonspawn a year ago, on this very day. I had extensive plans for where to go with it, but I was entirely expecting it to receive zero attention and for me to lose interest after only a few Chapters. And now, over 130,000 words later, I'm still here, and people keep telling me they actually like what I write. And that's just a little bit insane.
This has been in the works for quite some time, I can only hope that it was satisfactory.
It feels crazy to think that I started writing Dragonspawn a year ago, on this very day. I had extensive plans for where to go with it, but I was entirely expecting it to receive zero attention and for me to lose interest after only a few Chapters. And now, over 130,000 words later, I'm still here, and people keep telling me they actually like what I write. And that's just a little bit insane.
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- Location
- Canada
Until this chapter in my mind i kinda just viewed her as a large dragon, but after that fire breath it kinda changed into a full fledged Kaiju.
- Location
- Canada
... What part of 'fire breath' makes you stop thinking of her as a dragon?
Khona Moshr
Pink Flamingo Cabal Healer(they/them)
- Location
- Alabama
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Is it wrong that the fire breath scene made me think of the many atomic breath scenes in Godzilla movies?
- Location
- Canada
I somewhat agree, and while this is highly subjective when i think of "Flamethrower" i think of Dragons, when its "high-pressure jet of fire, burning eye-searingly bright blue" that lasts 20-30 seconds i think Kaiju.
- Location
- Planet Earth
I don't think we've seen any indications of fire breath from any of the various other dragon heroes, thus its highly unlikely it was his plan, but yeah that would be the sort of move I'd expect from him.
Don't you dare run away Ryuuzaki! Go in there and tell her she is the only rival for you! She needs to know that you love her! 😡
As a rival. Love having her as your rival...
- Location
- Singapore
- Pronouns
- He/Him
On one hand it's weird that she's never breathed fire before, on the other hand blue flame is overkill for most heroic purposes in MHA. At least it's a good weapon against robots, manifestations and non-humans, as well as for lethal combat.
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- Location
- Leeds
I think words got dropped here.
If crazy people keep saying they like what you write, maybe it reflects on what you write.
But don't you dare change.
Chapter 22 - Inasa Yoarashi
Blackout
Fed By Comments
- Location
- Who knows?
When an angry dragon the size of an elephant growls at you, it's not just a noise, you can practically feel the vibration in your chest.
Or at least that was Inasa Yoarashi's experience while clustered in Recovery Girl's office, entirely too small to accommodate himself, Kendo, Pony, Kodai and one very angry dragon, while they waited for her to return. Tatsuma was pacing around with her tail sweeping back and forth agitatedly, making the room feel even smaller than it already was.
"-nd then he makes it look like I was about to attack him!"
"You did look like you were about to attack him." Kodai told her friend bluntly, unfazed by her fury. Tatsuma huffed furiously, and Yoarashi took the opportunity to redirect the conversation.
"Who cares what it looked like? What matters to a Hero is the passion in their heart!" He clapped a hand to her shoulder. "That fire breath was super cool! Did you know that you could do that?"
"No." She grumbled. "Not before today. I didn't know for sure if I'd inherited Mom's breath weapon, like Ryuko had. She always said that I was too even-tempered for it. Shows what she knows."
"Hold on, that wasn't intentional?" Pony piped up, taking a nervous step back as Tatsuma's burning gaze shifted her way, looming over the tiny girl.
For an instant the massive dragon looked almost taken aback, before closing her eyes for just a moment. She lowered herself to the floor, bringing herself eye-level with the others, lifted her ears and stilled her tail, holding it up almost like a dog.
"No." She said, exhaling deeply and shaking her head. "It wasn't."
An awkward silence filled the room for a moment, Tatsuma seemingly unwilling to elaborate further.
"Hey, ummm…" Pony piped up to fill the quiet. "Are you sure you're alright? You still look kinda pale..."
"I'm fine."
"You're shivering." Kodai pointed out. "You never get cold."
"Well, maybe I feel a little chilly, but-"
"You should, considering your body temperature dropped by over twenty degrees." Everyone's eyes turned towards the door to see Recovery Girl return, looking down at a notepad. "If you were a normal human you'd be dead already, but that's the trouble when dealing with Mutant and Transformation Quirks, conventional medicine flies out the window. Why, one wonders what we go to Medical School for..."
She cleared her throat. "But, near as I can tell, your physiology seems to be resistant against such extreme shifts, and is already well on its way to recovery. It seems as if whatever metabolic process your body uses to maintain its normally high internal temperature was momentarily supercharged to create that fire blast, and requires some time to adjust."
"So… it's like a super attack that uses up a lot of mana so it should be used carefully?" Pony asked.
"...Yes." Recovery Girl replied exasperatedly. "If you must put in such terms."
"But it's not dangerous for me to use it?" Tatsuma pressed.
"Dangerous? Of course it's dangerous! I have Tokoyami in the next room over nursing burns just from standing near the flame!" She fired back, and Tatsuma slunk down before the diminutive teacher's glare. "But to you? No, I do not believe so. Quirks are typically quite self-contained and safe to use. Though there are always… exceptions. But in truth, there's not much more I can tell you. It is your Quirk.
Tatsuma bowed her head and muttered something inaudible, glancing around herself.
"You'll have to speak up young lady." Recovery Girl tutted. "My ears are not what they used to be."
"...I don't know a whole lot about how the fire breath works beyond that it's activated by strong emotions, alright?" She bit out, looking increasingly uncomfortable. "Ryuko breathes lightning and Mom doesn't… she's not a Pro-Hero."
"Well, the Tatsumas are a famous Hero family with dragon-related Quirks." Yoarashi mused idly. "Surely there's somebody you can ask for advice?"
Tatsuma made a choking noise, looking like a deer in the headlights.
Kendo suddenly sprung to her feet, clapping her hands together. "Look at how time flies! Yui, Pony, Yoarashi, why don't we get going? We wouldn't want to miss the next match, right? Especially since one of us is participating in it."
"But-" Yoarashi began, but Kodai suddenly elbowed him in the side and dragged him out into the hallway.
"Aren't you excited? It's time for your long-awaited showdown with Todoroki, isn't it?"
Yoarashi sighed, his demeanour slumping. Yes. That.
"Something wrong?" Kendo asked.
"Nothing at all!" Yoarashi said, waving her off. "Just planning how I'm going to beat Todoroki!"
"Well, give him what he's got coming!" Pony told him as their paths separated. "We'll all be cheering you on!"
Once they were gone, Yoarashi glanced at the clock on the wall. He still probably had a minute or two. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts before finding the one he was looking for.
His finger hovered over the "Call" button for a few seconds, before he shook his head and pressed it. It went through in only a couple of seconds.
"Inasa?" A gruff voice answered from the speaker.
"Hi Dad."
"Do you really have time to be calling home?" Haru Yoarashi asked. "They're saying on the TV your match is starting any moment now."
"I have enough time to talk. Is mom there?"
"Yep. I'll put you on the speaker."
"Inasa?!" Hikura Yoarashi's voice yelled out, as if from across the room. Knowing his mother, she probably was. "Is that you?!"
"Yeah, it's me. Hi Mom."
"...What's wrong, sweetie?" His mother's voice shifted into one of concern as soon as she heard him speak. "It's not like you, to sound so glum."
"You know who my opponent will be, right?"
"...Ah. That's right." His father said. "Endeavour's son."
"We know how much this means for you, but please remember!" His mother told him. "A Hero's true worth is not measured by how many fights he wins, but by the passion in his heart! As long as you've given it all you've got, there's no shame if it's not enough!"
"I know, I know." He said. He'd told Tatsuma and the others as much during the Cavalry Battle. Yet even so… "But it's him. I can't lose. Not this one."
His father sighed. "You're dead set on this, huh? Well, do you have a plan?"
"I do."
"And a backup plan?"
"Of course."
"And if those both fail, do you have the fiery passion to pull through anyway?"
"Yes!"
"Then you've already won." Yoarashi could hear the smile in his father's voice. "Now go out there and show it to the world."
"Yeah!" Yoarashi replied, grinning. "Sorry for that, I just-"
"Don't mention it, son. Everyone needs a little bit of a boost sometimes. Even you."
-----
"For the fourth match of the second round, last but certainly not least, we've got this pair! Having amply demonstrated his overwhelming power and needing no introduction, it's Shoto Todoroki! And fresh from his dominating display of skill last round, it's Inasa Yoarashi!"
Yoarashi glared across the arena at his opponent as they took their positions.
"Todoroki."
"..."
"You are going down."
"Hmph."
"Looks like both fighters are ready to go. Get ready… Start!"
A wave of ice flashed out from Todoroki's right leg, a mere probing attack compared to the massive glacier from before, but Yoarashi was already far gone, carried into the air by a wind-assisted jump. Glowering down at his opponent he brought one arm down to send a blast of hurricane gale at the shorter boy, but Todoroki simply raised an ice wall behind his back, bracing against it.
Yoarashi swept his hand left, snapping the windstream to the side, but after sliding several meters Todoroki simply raised another wall- and then he had to redirect his attention to softening his landing, as the arc of his boosted leap came to its conclusion.
Todoroki went on the offensive immediately, launching a much wider wave of ice: he had gotten the measure of Yoarashi's maneuverability during the Obstacle Course, and knew how much area he needed to cover.
"That won't work!"
Yoarashi had been planning this since the Entrance Exams. There was no way he could match Todoroki in raw power, but… he brought his hands close together, compressing the air between them, concentrating all of the power he could muster with his Quirk into a razor-thin stream.
He felt sweat on his forehead as the wall of ice closed in but he needed just a little bit more… more… there!
"Spiraling Typhoon Slash!"
At the last possible moment he swept his hands out and the ultra-high pressure air slashed through the ice and the concrete beneath like a laser beam, cleaving Todoroki's attack in two vertically. The two halves streamed either side of him, before slamming into the arena wall with a mighty crash.
Yoarashi grinned widely for a moment, before his expression soured again. Even the momentary victory felt hollow.
Lightning-fast, he sent another wind-slash at Todoroki, but the technique lost power at a distance, and scored little more than a shallow gouge in the ice-shield the other boy raised in his defence. The counterattack came an instant later, but Yoarashi was already elsewhere. The ice crashed against the walls of the arena, but there was something different about it. It was slower than the previous one.
"You're getting cold, aren't you?!" Yoarashi yelled out, pointing an accusing finger at his opponent, flakes of frost having begun to appear in his right side.
"Do you ever shut up?" Todoroki replied with a hint of annoyance, as two more streams of ice lashed out from his right side, snaking across the arena to attack Yoarashi from multiple angles.
"A real Hero uses both his actions and his words to inspire others!" The taller boy replied as he cut through one attack and dodged the other as it came at him from on high, letting it slam harmlessly against the floor. "But what would you know about that kind of stuff?!"
"What the hell is your problem with me?!" Todoroki yelled out in frustration, hands clenched into fists. "Since the Festival began, you've singled me out in every contest."
"You don't even remember?" Yoarashi asked, taken aback, before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. It's not about what you did. It's about what you're doing, right now, to everyone here! Everyone else is reaching for their dreams with everything they have, to become Heroes! Even Bakugo, who is the second-furthest from a real Hero here, at least tries! But you! You won't even put in the effort!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You will never use your left side in combat! Even though it would help you heat up after using your right side! Isn't that right?!"
Todoroki took in a sharp breath, looking shocked, but Yoarashi pressed on.
"You think that this is some sort of game, not training to become a Hero. You think that you can coast through using only half your Quirk, because you think you're so much better than the rest of us! Well it won't work! You can graduate from UA, you can receive your license, but it won't make you a Hero. A Hero is someone motivated by a fiery passion to help and inspire others! What will you do when your ice is not enough?! What will you do when innocent lives are on the line?! What would you think of a firefighter who only used one hand to carry people out of a burning building?!" Trembling with anger, he pointed an indignant finger at Todoroki. "You do not have the heart of a Hero. And that is why... I will never acknowledge you as one!"
"...You have no idea what you're talking about." Todoroki bit out, hands clenched into fists. "You do not know a thing about me. You do not get to judge me."
For just an instant, Yoarashi's mind wandered, wondering what kind of life he would have lived, had he been born son of Endeavour. Then he shook his head, dismissing the thought. "I don't need to. Let's finish this!"
"Yes. Let's."
More and more ice spilled forth from Todoroki's right foot, even as a thin layer of frost covered most of his body. It wasn't quite as large as the glacier he'd thrown at Mina, but with how many attacks he'd used already Yoarashi judged that he should be nearing his limit.
All the better! He only needed a few more seconds.
Yoarashi leaped into the air, rocketing up and away from the ice wave. However, just as he did so, there was a great creaking noise from behind his back, and before Yoarashi could turn his head something massive and white slammed into him, enveloping the right half of his body and ensnaring him in place.
Looking down, he saw that a section of the ice wave had twisted away, curving upwards to follow him. It seemed like Todoroki had a few tricks of his own. But it mattered not!
He still had one hand free.
"It is finished." Todoroki announced. He was visibly shuddering now, the red half of his hair almost indistinguishable beneath the frost. But even so, he gathered strength for one last attack, to seal Yoarashi in the ice.
But Yoarashi had another idea.
"As if!" He roared, pointing his index finger skywards. An audible wave of gasps ran through the audience, as the last of them caught on to what he was doing.
When Todoroki had created an entire glacier and then turned it into steam, that water vapor did not simply disappear into the ether. It had risen into the air, until it reached such a height that it condensed into a cloud, where it had hung ever since.
In terms of raw power concentrated into a small target area, Yoarashi had always been lacking. But area of effect, range and precision? They were his specialty.
He had tugged the cloud lower and lower, and now he drew it over the arena, sending a stream of hot air to meet it. With the two air masses forced against one another, tiny water droplets and ice crystals were bumping into and hanging against one another. Creating static charge.
"Now! Witness my Finishing Move!" Yoarashi yelled as he brought his finger down to point squarely at Todoroki. "Heaven-Splitting Thunderstrike!"
The instant he realized what was coming, Todoroki had aborted his attack and thrown as much ice as he could make into a shield, but it was not enough.
Lightning flashed from the cloud, following the channel of ionized air Yoarashi had directed, and there was a mighty boom of thunder as the shield was vaporized in an explosion of steam.
And when it cleared, it revealed Todoroki, slumped on the ground, having been thrown well clear of the holoboundary.
"Yoarashi!" Midnight called out. "Can you move?"
"Yes!" Using his one free hand and the last of his stamina he created another wind-blade, much smaller than the previous ones but just enough to cleave him free of the ice, landing on the thick layer of ice below.
"Shoto Todoroki is out of bounds! Inasa Yoarashi wins!"
While the crowd cheered Yoarashi looked down towards Todoroki and a bitter taste filled his mouth. He jumped down and began walking over to the other boy, who was struggling back to his feet, covered in ice and shivering.
"What do you want now?" Todoroki asked, his tone acidic. "You've won."
"Hot air rises."
"What are you talki-" Todoroki snapped, but Yoarashi interrupted him, going on.
"Your fire. Heat makes air rise. You could have disrupted my wind with your left side, while attacking with your right." He bit out from between clenched jaws. "You would have won, if you'd actually taken this seriously."
Without another word he spun on his heel and marched out of the arena.
Or at least that was Inasa Yoarashi's experience while clustered in Recovery Girl's office, entirely too small to accommodate himself, Kendo, Pony, Kodai and one very angry dragon, while they waited for her to return. Tatsuma was pacing around with her tail sweeping back and forth agitatedly, making the room feel even smaller than it already was.
"-nd then he makes it look like I was about to attack him!"
"You did look like you were about to attack him." Kodai told her friend bluntly, unfazed by her fury. Tatsuma huffed furiously, and Yoarashi took the opportunity to redirect the conversation.
"Who cares what it looked like? What matters to a Hero is the passion in their heart!" He clapped a hand to her shoulder. "That fire breath was super cool! Did you know that you could do that?"
"No." She grumbled. "Not before today. I didn't know for sure if I'd inherited Mom's breath weapon, like Ryuko had. She always said that I was too even-tempered for it. Shows what she knows."
"Hold on, that wasn't intentional?" Pony piped up, taking a nervous step back as Tatsuma's burning gaze shifted her way, looming over the tiny girl.
For an instant the massive dragon looked almost taken aback, before closing her eyes for just a moment. She lowered herself to the floor, bringing herself eye-level with the others, lifted her ears and stilled her tail, holding it up almost like a dog.
"No." She said, exhaling deeply and shaking her head. "It wasn't."
An awkward silence filled the room for a moment, Tatsuma seemingly unwilling to elaborate further.
"Hey, ummm…" Pony piped up to fill the quiet. "Are you sure you're alright? You still look kinda pale..."
"I'm fine."
"You're shivering." Kodai pointed out. "You never get cold."
"Well, maybe I feel a little chilly, but-"
"You should, considering your body temperature dropped by over twenty degrees." Everyone's eyes turned towards the door to see Recovery Girl return, looking down at a notepad. "If you were a normal human you'd be dead already, but that's the trouble when dealing with Mutant and Transformation Quirks, conventional medicine flies out the window. Why, one wonders what we go to Medical School for..."
She cleared her throat. "But, near as I can tell, your physiology seems to be resistant against such extreme shifts, and is already well on its way to recovery. It seems as if whatever metabolic process your body uses to maintain its normally high internal temperature was momentarily supercharged to create that fire blast, and requires some time to adjust."
"So… it's like a super attack that uses up a lot of mana so it should be used carefully?" Pony asked.
"...Yes." Recovery Girl replied exasperatedly. "If you must put in such terms."
"But it's not dangerous for me to use it?" Tatsuma pressed.
"Dangerous? Of course it's dangerous! I have Tokoyami in the next room over nursing burns just from standing near the flame!" She fired back, and Tatsuma slunk down before the diminutive teacher's glare. "But to you? No, I do not believe so. Quirks are typically quite self-contained and safe to use. Though there are always… exceptions. But in truth, there's not much more I can tell you. It is your Quirk.
Tatsuma bowed her head and muttered something inaudible, glancing around herself.
"You'll have to speak up young lady." Recovery Girl tutted. "My ears are not what they used to be."
"...I don't know a whole lot about how the fire breath works beyond that it's activated by strong emotions, alright?" She bit out, looking increasingly uncomfortable. "Ryuko breathes lightning and Mom doesn't… she's not a Pro-Hero."
"Well, the Tatsumas are a famous Hero family with dragon-related Quirks." Yoarashi mused idly. "Surely there's somebody you can ask for advice?"
Tatsuma made a choking noise, looking like a deer in the headlights.
Kendo suddenly sprung to her feet, clapping her hands together. "Look at how time flies! Yui, Pony, Yoarashi, why don't we get going? We wouldn't want to miss the next match, right? Especially since one of us is participating in it."
"But-" Yoarashi began, but Kodai suddenly elbowed him in the side and dragged him out into the hallway.
"Aren't you excited? It's time for your long-awaited showdown with Todoroki, isn't it?"
Yoarashi sighed, his demeanour slumping. Yes. That.
"Something wrong?" Kendo asked.
"Nothing at all!" Yoarashi said, waving her off. "Just planning how I'm going to beat Todoroki!"
"Well, give him what he's got coming!" Pony told him as their paths separated. "We'll all be cheering you on!"
Once they were gone, Yoarashi glanced at the clock on the wall. He still probably had a minute or two. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts before finding the one he was looking for.
His finger hovered over the "Call" button for a few seconds, before he shook his head and pressed it. It went through in only a couple of seconds.
"Inasa?" A gruff voice answered from the speaker.
"Hi Dad."
"Do you really have time to be calling home?" Haru Yoarashi asked. "They're saying on the TV your match is starting any moment now."
"I have enough time to talk. Is mom there?"
"Yep. I'll put you on the speaker."
"Inasa?!" Hikura Yoarashi's voice yelled out, as if from across the room. Knowing his mother, she probably was. "Is that you?!"
"Yeah, it's me. Hi Mom."
"...What's wrong, sweetie?" His mother's voice shifted into one of concern as soon as she heard him speak. "It's not like you, to sound so glum."
"You know who my opponent will be, right?"
"...Ah. That's right." His father said. "Endeavour's son."
"We know how much this means for you, but please remember!" His mother told him. "A Hero's true worth is not measured by how many fights he wins, but by the passion in his heart! As long as you've given it all you've got, there's no shame if it's not enough!"
"I know, I know." He said. He'd told Tatsuma and the others as much during the Cavalry Battle. Yet even so… "But it's him. I can't lose. Not this one."
His father sighed. "You're dead set on this, huh? Well, do you have a plan?"
"I do."
"And a backup plan?"
"Of course."
"And if those both fail, do you have the fiery passion to pull through anyway?"
"Yes!"
"Then you've already won." Yoarashi could hear the smile in his father's voice. "Now go out there and show it to the world."
"Yeah!" Yoarashi replied, grinning. "Sorry for that, I just-"
"Don't mention it, son. Everyone needs a little bit of a boost sometimes. Even you."
-----
"For the fourth match of the second round, last but certainly not least, we've got this pair! Having amply demonstrated his overwhelming power and needing no introduction, it's Shoto Todoroki! And fresh from his dominating display of skill last round, it's Inasa Yoarashi!"
Yoarashi glared across the arena at his opponent as they took their positions.
"Todoroki."
"..."
"You are going down."
"Hmph."
"Looks like both fighters are ready to go. Get ready… Start!"
A wave of ice flashed out from Todoroki's right leg, a mere probing attack compared to the massive glacier from before, but Yoarashi was already far gone, carried into the air by a wind-assisted jump. Glowering down at his opponent he brought one arm down to send a blast of hurricane gale at the shorter boy, but Todoroki simply raised an ice wall behind his back, bracing against it.
Yoarashi swept his hand left, snapping the windstream to the side, but after sliding several meters Todoroki simply raised another wall- and then he had to redirect his attention to softening his landing, as the arc of his boosted leap came to its conclusion.
Todoroki went on the offensive immediately, launching a much wider wave of ice: he had gotten the measure of Yoarashi's maneuverability during the Obstacle Course, and knew how much area he needed to cover.
"That won't work!"
Yoarashi had been planning this since the Entrance Exams. There was no way he could match Todoroki in raw power, but… he brought his hands close together, compressing the air between them, concentrating all of the power he could muster with his Quirk into a razor-thin stream.
He felt sweat on his forehead as the wall of ice closed in but he needed just a little bit more… more… there!
"Spiraling Typhoon Slash!"
At the last possible moment he swept his hands out and the ultra-high pressure air slashed through the ice and the concrete beneath like a laser beam, cleaving Todoroki's attack in two vertically. The two halves streamed either side of him, before slamming into the arena wall with a mighty crash.
Yoarashi grinned widely for a moment, before his expression soured again. Even the momentary victory felt hollow.
Lightning-fast, he sent another wind-slash at Todoroki, but the technique lost power at a distance, and scored little more than a shallow gouge in the ice-shield the other boy raised in his defence. The counterattack came an instant later, but Yoarashi was already elsewhere. The ice crashed against the walls of the arena, but there was something different about it. It was slower than the previous one.
"You're getting cold, aren't you?!" Yoarashi yelled out, pointing an accusing finger at his opponent, flakes of frost having begun to appear in his right side.
"Do you ever shut up?" Todoroki replied with a hint of annoyance, as two more streams of ice lashed out from his right side, snaking across the arena to attack Yoarashi from multiple angles.
"A real Hero uses both his actions and his words to inspire others!" The taller boy replied as he cut through one attack and dodged the other as it came at him from on high, letting it slam harmlessly against the floor. "But what would you know about that kind of stuff?!"
"What the hell is your problem with me?!" Todoroki yelled out in frustration, hands clenched into fists. "Since the Festival began, you've singled me out in every contest."
"You don't even remember?" Yoarashi asked, taken aback, before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. It's not about what you did. It's about what you're doing, right now, to everyone here! Everyone else is reaching for their dreams with everything they have, to become Heroes! Even Bakugo, who is the second-furthest from a real Hero here, at least tries! But you! You won't even put in the effort!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You will never use your left side in combat! Even though it would help you heat up after using your right side! Isn't that right?!"
Todoroki took in a sharp breath, looking shocked, but Yoarashi pressed on.
"You think that this is some sort of game, not training to become a Hero. You think that you can coast through using only half your Quirk, because you think you're so much better than the rest of us! Well it won't work! You can graduate from UA, you can receive your license, but it won't make you a Hero. A Hero is someone motivated by a fiery passion to help and inspire others! What will you do when your ice is not enough?! What will you do when innocent lives are on the line?! What would you think of a firefighter who only used one hand to carry people out of a burning building?!" Trembling with anger, he pointed an indignant finger at Todoroki. "You do not have the heart of a Hero. And that is why... I will never acknowledge you as one!"
"...You have no idea what you're talking about." Todoroki bit out, hands clenched into fists. "You do not know a thing about me. You do not get to judge me."
For just an instant, Yoarashi's mind wandered, wondering what kind of life he would have lived, had he been born son of Endeavour. Then he shook his head, dismissing the thought. "I don't need to. Let's finish this!"
"Yes. Let's."
More and more ice spilled forth from Todoroki's right foot, even as a thin layer of frost covered most of his body. It wasn't quite as large as the glacier he'd thrown at Mina, but with how many attacks he'd used already Yoarashi judged that he should be nearing his limit.
All the better! He only needed a few more seconds.
Yoarashi leaped into the air, rocketing up and away from the ice wave. However, just as he did so, there was a great creaking noise from behind his back, and before Yoarashi could turn his head something massive and white slammed into him, enveloping the right half of his body and ensnaring him in place.
Looking down, he saw that a section of the ice wave had twisted away, curving upwards to follow him. It seemed like Todoroki had a few tricks of his own. But it mattered not!
He still had one hand free.
"It is finished." Todoroki announced. He was visibly shuddering now, the red half of his hair almost indistinguishable beneath the frost. But even so, he gathered strength for one last attack, to seal Yoarashi in the ice.
But Yoarashi had another idea.
"As if!" He roared, pointing his index finger skywards. An audible wave of gasps ran through the audience, as the last of them caught on to what he was doing.
When Todoroki had created an entire glacier and then turned it into steam, that water vapor did not simply disappear into the ether. It had risen into the air, until it reached such a height that it condensed into a cloud, where it had hung ever since.
In terms of raw power concentrated into a small target area, Yoarashi had always been lacking. But area of effect, range and precision? They were his specialty.
He had tugged the cloud lower and lower, and now he drew it over the arena, sending a stream of hot air to meet it. With the two air masses forced against one another, tiny water droplets and ice crystals were bumping into and hanging against one another. Creating static charge.
"Now! Witness my Finishing Move!" Yoarashi yelled as he brought his finger down to point squarely at Todoroki. "Heaven-Splitting Thunderstrike!"
The instant he realized what was coming, Todoroki had aborted his attack and thrown as much ice as he could make into a shield, but it was not enough.
Lightning flashed from the cloud, following the channel of ionized air Yoarashi had directed, and there was a mighty boom of thunder as the shield was vaporized in an explosion of steam.
And when it cleared, it revealed Todoroki, slumped on the ground, having been thrown well clear of the holoboundary.
"Yoarashi!" Midnight called out. "Can you move?"
"Yes!" Using his one free hand and the last of his stamina he created another wind-blade, much smaller than the previous ones but just enough to cleave him free of the ice, landing on the thick layer of ice below.
"Shoto Todoroki is out of bounds! Inasa Yoarashi wins!"
While the crowd cheered Yoarashi looked down towards Todoroki and a bitter taste filled his mouth. He jumped down and began walking over to the other boy, who was struggling back to his feet, covered in ice and shivering.
"What do you want now?" Todoroki asked, his tone acidic. "You've won."
"Hot air rises."
"What are you talki-" Todoroki snapped, but Yoarashi interrupted him, going on.
"Your fire. Heat makes air rise. You could have disrupted my wind with your left side, while attacking with your right." He bit out from between clenched jaws. "You would have won, if you'd actually taken this seriously."
Without another word he spun on his heel and marched out of the arena.
Whoo, that was difficult to write. So, I just wanted to say that Yoarashi doesn't have access to all the facts and as such what he says about Todoroki, while not totally wrong, is not entirely right either. He's a biased and fallible person, and has no idea about the real reasons behind why Todoroki acts the way he does.
I also wanted to say that this is not the last we've seen of Todoroki and his issues here on Dragonspawn, I simply wanted to approach his situation from a different direction than canon and most MHA fanfics that I've seen. As a matter of a fact he'll be playing a major role in the next story arc.
That aside, writing Yoarashi is hard.
I also wanted to say that this is not the last we've seen of Todoroki and his issues here on Dragonspawn, I simply wanted to approach his situation from a different direction than canon and most MHA fanfics that I've seen. As a matter of a fact he'll be playing a major role in the next story arc.
That aside, writing Yoarashi is hard.
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- Location
- Elsewhere
Booze and chicks.
The licensing board might be getting a kickback too, but mostly Medical School is about booze and chicks.
PAGDTenno
Verified Warmind. Probably on fire.
- Location
- South Carolina
Hoo boy. While Yoroashi isn't wrong...
That's about the worst way he could approach that with Todoroki.
Plus he does need to grow up and recognize that FIERY PASSION really isn't the best approach for introverted people.
That's about the worst way he could approach that with Todoroki.
Plus he does need to grow up and recognize that FIERY PASSION really isn't the best approach for introverted people.
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Tranquil Zebra
Equid of Peerless Tranquility
- Location
- Norway
Yeah, those two will either kill each other, or come to understand each other and develop a mutual respect. I hope.
Chapter 12
bokunoheroacademia.fandom.com
hun... Thirteen is a woman/female XD
Anan Kurose
Overview Gallery Synopsis Anan Kurose (黒 (くろ) 瀬 (せ) 亜 (あ) 南 (なん) , Kurose Anan?), also known as Space Hero: Thirteen (スペースヒーロ・13号 (ごう) , Supēsu Hīrō Jūsan-gō?), is a Pro Hero who specializes in search and rescue, and a faculty member of U.A. High School.[5] Anan is a young woman with short, navy...
bokunoheroacademia.fandom.com
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Wasn't that dialogue taken straight from the anime?
I think its just a case of people mistaking her gender which isn't commonly known.
People refer to 13 as a male within the story itself, the English VA has stated that 13 is androgynous and uses they/them, and apparently 13 was listed as female in a recent? art book.
I just pretend that the space suit itself is 13's body
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Characters within the context of the story don't have access to Thirteen's wikia page... hun.Chapter 12
hun... Thirteen is a woman/female XD
Anan Kurose
Overview Gallery Synopsis Anan Kurose (黒 (くろ) 瀬 (せ) 亜 (あ) 南 (なん) , Kurose Anan?), also known as Space Hero: Thirteen (スペースヒーロ・13号 (ごう) , Supēsu Hīrō Jūsan-gō?), is a Pro Hero who specializes in search and rescue, and a faculty member of U.A. High School.[5] Anan is a young woman with short, navy...
Chapter 23
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"I am going to kill Ryuo."
"You can't kill him." I muttered drowsily to Ryuko, who was standing beside me looking for all the world like she was just about to put her words into actions. We were still in the medical ward, I was curled on the floor with my head resting on my tail, while she leaned against the wall. "You'd go to prison, and what would I do then?"
She sighed, and then smiled fondly at me. "You're right. I won't kill him. But we do need to do something about this. Have you talked to Mom and Dad yet?"
"No." I said with a yawn. Recovery Girl had ordered me to eat something to restore my energy, and after devouring a bucket of meat one of her robot assistants had brought up from the cafeteria I was fighting off sleep. "I should call them, shouldn't I?" I muttered, starting to rise to my feet.
"No, I'll do it. You stay right there and rest." Ryuko said, and I let her push me back down. "Don't worry about Ryuo, just focus on the tournament. He already interfered with one match, don't let him throw off your game for another."
"Still won."
"And I'm proud of you for that, 'Zaki." She smiled at me. "I was starting to think maybe you hadn't inherited the breath weapon after all."
"Guess there's a silver lining to my public humiliation, at least." I replied, sombre. "How do you… do it? Get that angry on demand?"
"...I think about you getting hurt." She admitted with a sad smile.
"That's, ummm…" I stumbled for words, feeling a lump in my throat.
"So, how are you feeling? Nervous?"
"...Tired."
"Then go to sleep, you doofus." She said, poking me in the snout.
"Can't. Need to fight."
"They announced an hour's break while they clean up. You have plenty of time for a nap."
"But-"
"I'll go call home and then talk to the teachers about Ryuo. I'll be back to wake you up before your next match, and if for whatever reason I can't make it Recovery Girl will. You'll be fine, trust me."
A part of me still felt a little dubious, but the leaden weight on my eyelids brooked no counterarguments. "'kay."
I was out cold before Ryuko had left the room.
-----
Awareness returned with a jolt, and I sprung to my feet like a startled cat. In my haste my tail knocked over a trolley behind me, which clattered to the floor loudly.
Once I realized I wasn't being murdered my heartbeat began to slow down, and I checked myself over. All limbs still attached, still a dragon. Right. Deep breaths.
A glance at the clock on the wall told me it hadn't been more than twenty minutes. What had woken me up?
Spreading my ears, I heard somebody just outside the room standing still, but their heartbeat and breathing betrayed them.
Lumbering over to the door I pulled it open, to reveal Tokoyami standing frozen with his fist held out. He must have been about to knock, before his footsteps woke me up.
Well. This was awkward.
Tokoyami blinked up at me, then reasserted his composure. "Greetings. I wished to speak with you, if you are available?"
"...Yeah." I said, shrugging off the last vestiges of sleep. "I need to talk to you as well. Come in." I moved aside to let him in, sitting back down so that we were at eye level.
"I wanted to apologize for what was said during our match." Tokoyami said, bowing deeply. "Dark Shadow?"
The shadowy creature extended from his chest, it's yellow eyes downcast as it repeated the bow. "We're sorry."
"I, uh, it's alright." I said, stumbling for words. This was not what I'd been expecting. "If anything, I should apologize to you. I shouldn't have gotten so angry. It wasn't… you I was really angry at." I swallowed. "Recovery Girl said you were burned, are you…?"
"I am fine now." The bird-headed boy said with a shake of his head, his Quirk retreating within him again. "She healed me. And regardless, we should not have said what we did. But thank you."
There was a moment of silence.
"So…" I began. "Dark Shadow grows stronger the darker it is, right?"
"Indeed." Tokoyami sighed. "He grows stronger in the absence of light, but also less controllable. Once that happens he feeds off of my negative emotions, to the point that he might disobey my orders."
"I see." Feeding off of his emotions… so Dark Shadow still acted on what Tokoyami felt, even if it was a twisted and amplified reflection… "...What would happen in complete darkness?"
"I do my best to ensure such a situation does not come to pass." Tokoyami said gravely.
That was… some pretty heavy stuff.
"So, we're good?"
"Of course." He nodded. "You won fairly. I suspect it would have come to pass even absent what happened. It was a humbling yet inspiring experience."
I squirmed in place, unsure how to respond. "...The trick with using Dark Shadow to pull you was really good."
"Thank you. I shall now take my leave, and allow you to prepare for the challenges ahead." He said, pushing himself off the wall and walking towards the door. "I hope we meet again. Farewell."
"See you." I mumbled, my weariness returning. I should still have at least another half an hour, so I curled my tail around myself and soon began drifting off again.
-----
I woke up again to the familiar sound of Ryuko's voice, murmuring something incomprehensible.
I blinked my eyes open to see Ryuko standing by me, smiling at me as soon as she saw I was awake. It was out little ritual, Ryuko's way to wake me up without startling me.
"Is it time yet?"
"The semifinals are starting. You're not up yet so you could continue the nap, but I thought you might want to see the other match."
"I do." I confirmed, pushing myself to my feet. "I feel fine now, and I wanted to talk to my classmates anyway. Who won the last quarterfinal, by the way?"
"Yoarashi. I didn't see it myself, but from what I heard he called down a lightning strike on Todoroki." Ryuko said with obvious glee. "Endeavour must be pissed."
"How did he do that?" I asked, bewildered.
"I don't know. I guess he must have felt the need to show off after you stole the thunder with that fire breath."
"That pun was actually terrible, please stop." I grumbled. "Did you talk to Mom and Dad? What did they say?"
"Dad told me to tell you he's proud. Mom was… well, you know how she gets about this stuff."
"...Yeah."
Very little was said after that, Ryuko departing for the VIP stands as I trudged back towards the competitors' area. With nothing to occupy my mind, my thoughts turned towards what had happened.
I had, well, there was no putting it mildly, I'd lost my temper in front of everyone. Nobody knew about Ryuo or the real reason I was angry. A cold chill ran through my spine. I was supposed to make my impression on the big stage today, and I'd given one of unprovoked rage.
So lost was I in my thoughts that I didn't hear the incoming footsteps or the loud arguing until the two 1-A students almost barrelled into me.
"Kacchan-"
"Don't call me that!" Bakugo yelled at Midoriya, who looked for all the world like a beaten dog. "And stop following me!"
"But-"
"But nothing." The ashen-blonde boy snarled. "Just leave me be. And when we get down there, you come at me with everything you've got, understood? I don't want some limp-wristed victory because you felt bad or something stupid like that."
With that he stormed off, leaving Midoriya looking forlornly at his wake. After a few more seconds he seemed to realize I was there, and with a blink he was smiling again, looking up at me. "Oh, hi Tatsuma!"
I noticed that the finger Midoriya had sacrificed against Kirishima had now been bandaged, probably having been healed by Recovery Girl. At the very least, he didn't seem to be in pain.
"Yeah. I'm alright. Tokoyami, too." I said, before looking past my shoulder where Bakugo disappeared behind a corner. "What was his problem?"
"Oh, don't mind Kacchan, he's just a little abrasive sometimes!" Even I could tell that Midoriya's smile was strained.
"That seems more than just 'a little abrasive' to me."
"..."
"Well." I said as Midoriya averted his gaze, looking down. "I won't keep you any longer, you need to get ready for your match. Good luck!"
"Thanks!" The green-haired boy replied, his expression a little more genuine. "You too!"
-----
I almost dreaded to step out the door and into the stands. What were the others going to do when they saw me? Would they think less of me, for having lost my temper? Almost certainly. And I'd almost burned Tokoyami. And then there was the crowd. Would I get booed?
I fidgeted nervously for a moment, before swallowing and pushing through. It'd be even more embarrassing to be caught here in front of the door, and I did want to see the match.
My eyes adapted to the harsh sunlight all but instantly as I made my way towards my sea, not looking at anyone. Just act natural, don't make a big deal out of it and others will be less likely to. That was one of the things that Kawaguchi had taught me.
"Hi Tatsuma!" Pony said as I sat down, curling my tail around my feet. "Are you feeling better now?"
I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Yeah. I talked to Tokoyami too, he's fine as well."
"You missed Yoarashi's match!" Pony said, bouncing up and down in her seat. "It was awesome! Todoroki was line "Grrrr!" and Yoarashi was like "I will smite theee!" and called down thunder from the sky and-"
"I merely exercised my passion." Yoarashi commented, though his demeanour seemed a little more subdued than usual.
"So…" I exhaled deeply. "Yui, be honest. How bad was it?"
The others seemed lost as to what I meant, but Yui shifted slightly, showing me her phone, several live commentaries running on it.
"Not as bad as you think. Your body language isn't exactly easy to read, so not a lot of people caught on to how angry you were. I think most people are guessing you were giving Tokoyami a fighting chance."
"Great…" I lowered my head to the floor, wishing it would open up and swallow me. Now everyone would think I was being arrogant.
"That reminds me, what was up with that?" Tetsutetsu asked from the next row over. "You seemed to be mad even before the match started."
I sighed miserably. "I'd rather just forget about it."
The gray-haired boy seemed unsatisfied, but a firm look from Kendo deterred further questions and soon enough Mic's voice boomed out once more.
"We've had a long and eventful day here at the UA First Years' Sports Festival, but I hope you're still with us because we've still got some real zingers for you guys! For the first match of the semifinals, we have Izuku Midoriya versus Katsuki Bakugo!"
The two contestants walked out into the arena, Bakugo glowering as per usual, while Midoriya almost seemed… sad, for some reason.
"Ready, set... go!"
"Die!" Bakugo blasted forward with a leer on his face, aiming straight for Midoriya. The other boy seemed morose, but there was a spark of determination in his eyes. As I watched, I saw him mouthing something, and strained my hearing to the utmost.
"I'm sorry."
Then, I saw his entire left arm light up with energy as he drew his fist back, before throwing a punch in Bakugo's direction.
Only, the word "punch" didn't seem to do it justice.
If the finger-flick had been akin to a bomb going off, I wasn't even quite sure how to describe what happened when he put his whole arm into it. The air pressure was immense, and I saw Shieldwall's forcefields forming around the arena only to shatter like glass. Loose items went flying, people were knocked over and left gasping for air.
And as the wind cleared, the entire stadium gasped as Bakugo was revealed, slumped against the far wall of the arena with an expression of utter shock on his face.
A shout of pain drew my eyes back to Midoriya, clutching his very obviously broken arm against his chest, bent at odd angles and the skin turning into an ugly colour of purple.
What the hell was that Quirk of his? I'd never seen anything like it.
But, teary-eyed and hurt though he may have been, he was unequivocally the only one left standing.
"Izuku Midoriya wins!" Midnight announced.
"Wow, that was fast! Midoriya didn't pull any punches, but I gotta say I was expecting something more than just blasting his opponent."
"He saw his best chance at winning and took it. It's only logical." The other commentator replied to Mic. "Bakugo has exceptional mobility and firepower, and if he let him close in, as it is, the match wouldn't have lasted long either. But using only a single finger wouldn't be enough at that range, when Bakugo could counteract the wind with his explosions, so he went for full power. He accepted that pain without hesitation, and it afforded him victory."
"Huh, so there is still tactics involved here!"
"Of course."
-----
"And now, for the second half of the semifinals, we've got the real deal for you guys! It's Ryuuzaki Tatsuma versus Inasa Yoarashi!"
I walked into the field once again, feeling the butterflies jittering in my stomach, but… it wasn't as bad, anymore. Ryuko was right, it did get easier.
"Alright! I knew you'd make it here!" Yoarashi hollered, pumping his fist. "Let's have a passionate match!"
"Yeah." I replied, his excitement infectious. "Let's go!"
"Begin!"
I buried my claws in the concrete just as the wind slammed into me head-on, howling against me with the force of a hurricane. But I anchored myself in place, an immovable object in the face of the storm, and Yoarashi could not budge me, not even an inch.
"Very good, Tatsuma! As expected, in a direct clash of strength I cannot overpower you!" Yoarashi yelled over the wind. "But can you move?! You cannot win by playing defence!"
"Watch me!"
I am not agile. Never have been, and likely never will be. But "not agile" is not the same thing as "slow". My acceleration or maneuverability may not be the best, but my particular kind of speed is like a boulder rolling down the hill. Once I get going, I am near-unstoppable.
I took a step forward, my claws sinking into the concrete.
"It takes more than mere wind to halt my advance."
Another step. Then a third. I began increasing my pace.
The power of his attack grew in strength as I got closer to Yoarashi, but I had momentum on my side now, and cut through the wind like a freight train in motion, drawing inexorably closer to Yoarashi. I could see the individual drops of sweat on his skin.
But for all that, he was faster still, and just as I swung at him he gracefully somersaulted over me, reversing the direction of the wind and blasting me in the direction I had been going, trying to push me towards the edge.
"You'll need to do better than that!"
I knew he wouldn't just stand there and let me hit him, so I'd been waiting for him to make his move. And when he did, I whipped my tail like a lash, clipping Yoarashi's side and sending him flying.
"It's a good plan, but predictable!" I told him as I skidded to a halt, my claws leaving deep imprints in the concrete. "Shishida and Tokoyami already tried to use my momentum against me! It's too obvious!"
To his credit Yoarashi recovered with astonishing speed, arresting his flight with a sharp crack of air pressure.
"Just wanted to make sure!" He replied with a grin even while he gasped for air. "Are you ready for me to get serious?"
"Bring it!"
I was already moving, my feet pounding on the concrete. This was… fun. It was hard to not get swept up in the enthusiasm of the fight, just push all of my worries away. Even Mic's commentary faded into the background. The only thing that mattered was my next move.
I spread my wings, trying to use them to give myself that extra bit of speed that I lacked, but Yoarashi was wise to it. He punished me with a gale wind that caught on to my wings and almost pushed me back before I folded them again, holding them tight against my body. That wasn't going to work.
Yoarashi's mobility was phenomenal, and his aerokinesis would immediately punish me if I tried to take flight myself. Thankfully, for all his speed and range, Yoarashi lacked raw power, at least in comparison. He'd need to get close if he wanted to have any chance of affecting me.
I continued my charge, and sure enough, instead of running Yoarashi begam to charge up some sort of attack, holding his hands slightly apart and compressing wind between them.
I saw it coming, but dodging would slow me down. Unacceptable. He would not hurt me. He could not.
"Spiraling Typhoon Slash!"
The concentrated beam of air hit me dead-on, slamming against my chest with surprising force that knocked the wind out of my lungs. But that was the worst of it, and after several seconds it dissipated, leaving only a shallow blemish on my scales. It might be able to shred my wing membranes, if this had been that kind of fight, but it could not move me.
But it did slow my charge enough that there were no prospects of catching Yoarashi as he rocketed off.
"Seems like your defenses are as impeccable as ever!" He said, coming to a halt on the other end of the arena. "It appears that we have reached a stalemate!"
"You cannot hurt me, I cannot catch you." I concurred, before glancing upwards. "I don't see any stormclouds- not going to call lightning down on me?"
"Ah! That technique is still experimental. I cannot maintain the cloud once it has been discharged, and I don't have a way of making a new one from scratch." Yoarashi admitted. "Aren't you going to breathe fire on me?"
"I'm not sure I could manage to." I replied candidly in kind, shaking my head. "And I wouldn't use an untested attack if I could help it."
"I see. We are at an impasse."
I was running low on options. I could try to tire him out and go for an endurance victory, but between the two of us, in a contest of stamina… based on what I knew of his capabilities over the last month or so, it was a coin flip at best. At best. And the point of the Sports Festival wasn't just beating your opponent.
I want you to make an impact so big that when I see the headlines on Tuesday they'll be talking about "Ryuuzaki Tatsuma". Not "Ryukyu's sister,'' you.
I needed an opening. Just one good, hit, and this match would be over.
I glanced towards the stands, and then back to Yoarashi. Accepting pain in order to achieve victory, huh?
...This was going to suck. But I needed an opening, and I couldn't think of anything else.
Without a word I accelerated into another charge, but Yoarashi was far too good at this to be taken off guard by the sudden movement, and I saw the instant change in his stance as he prepared to rocket away before I got within reach. But there was no blast of wind to meet me; he'd already come to the conclusion that he couldn't meaningfully shift me, and so conserved his energy for his own mobility, knowing I couldn't catch him.
But I had one last trick left to play.
I got as close as I could, and as I saw Yoarashi's legs tense to jump into the air I tucked my ears tight against my skull, drew a deep breath and then roared right at him with everything I had.
It wasn't an application of my Quirk that was immediately obvious but, well, I was a giant dragon. When I wanted to be, I could be really, really loud. Kendo occasionally used me as a loudspeaker when she needed to get a message out to the rest of the class.
Of course, there was a glaring, obvious drawback to this tactic. A lance of pain resonated through my head. It felt like my ears were on fire. My vision swam. Even with my ears folded to protect them, I'd wager that I felt a lot worse than Yoarashi did.
But I'd been prepared and braced for it. He hadn't.
For just a moment he stood there, stunned by the burst of noise, his concentration broken. His hands instinctively flinched upwards to his ears, rather than directing his Quirk to carry him away. It was all the opening I needed.
I could have let momentum alone carry me forward, but I could not risk crushing him. I refused to allow it. And so though I staggered, feeling nauseous and wanting to puke, I stayed on my feet and caught Yoarashi in a firm grip around his torso. Awkwardly holding him with one arm I slowly came to a halt, trying to hold back vomit.
I'm not actually hurt. It's only pain. It'll go away. It's just the ears. I'm not hurt.
Little by little, the world stopped spinning, and sound returned. There was a roar of noise from the stands, in the distance I could hear Mic's commentary, but the first sound that really struck me was… laughter.
Yoarashi hadn't even tried to struggle- he knew full well that in terms of physical might, I could overpower him with one taloned finger. Once I had him in my grip it was over. So instead, he'd thrown his head back with laughter.
"Taking advantage of your own weakness to catch me off guard, knowing that I'd never expect a sonic attack from you! What a passionate path towards victory!" Yoarashi gushed in his typical fashion. "I have been bested, and so I concede!"
Midnight swung her whip, and that was that.
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma wins!"
I was in the finals.
"You can't kill him." I muttered drowsily to Ryuko, who was standing beside me looking for all the world like she was just about to put her words into actions. We were still in the medical ward, I was curled on the floor with my head resting on my tail, while she leaned against the wall. "You'd go to prison, and what would I do then?"
She sighed, and then smiled fondly at me. "You're right. I won't kill him. But we do need to do something about this. Have you talked to Mom and Dad yet?"
"No." I said with a yawn. Recovery Girl had ordered me to eat something to restore my energy, and after devouring a bucket of meat one of her robot assistants had brought up from the cafeteria I was fighting off sleep. "I should call them, shouldn't I?" I muttered, starting to rise to my feet.
"No, I'll do it. You stay right there and rest." Ryuko said, and I let her push me back down. "Don't worry about Ryuo, just focus on the tournament. He already interfered with one match, don't let him throw off your game for another."
"Still won."
"And I'm proud of you for that, 'Zaki." She smiled at me. "I was starting to think maybe you hadn't inherited the breath weapon after all."
"Guess there's a silver lining to my public humiliation, at least." I replied, sombre. "How do you… do it? Get that angry on demand?"
"...I think about you getting hurt." She admitted with a sad smile.
"That's, ummm…" I stumbled for words, feeling a lump in my throat.
"So, how are you feeling? Nervous?"
"...Tired."
"Then go to sleep, you doofus." She said, poking me in the snout.
"Can't. Need to fight."
"They announced an hour's break while they clean up. You have plenty of time for a nap."
"But-"
"I'll go call home and then talk to the teachers about Ryuo. I'll be back to wake you up before your next match, and if for whatever reason I can't make it Recovery Girl will. You'll be fine, trust me."
A part of me still felt a little dubious, but the leaden weight on my eyelids brooked no counterarguments. "'kay."
I was out cold before Ryuko had left the room.
-----
Awareness returned with a jolt, and I sprung to my feet like a startled cat. In my haste my tail knocked over a trolley behind me, which clattered to the floor loudly.
Once I realized I wasn't being murdered my heartbeat began to slow down, and I checked myself over. All limbs still attached, still a dragon. Right. Deep breaths.
A glance at the clock on the wall told me it hadn't been more than twenty minutes. What had woken me up?
Spreading my ears, I heard somebody just outside the room standing still, but their heartbeat and breathing betrayed them.
Lumbering over to the door I pulled it open, to reveal Tokoyami standing frozen with his fist held out. He must have been about to knock, before his footsteps woke me up.
Well. This was awkward.
Tokoyami blinked up at me, then reasserted his composure. "Greetings. I wished to speak with you, if you are available?"
"...Yeah." I said, shrugging off the last vestiges of sleep. "I need to talk to you as well. Come in." I moved aside to let him in, sitting back down so that we were at eye level.
"I wanted to apologize for what was said during our match." Tokoyami said, bowing deeply. "Dark Shadow?"
The shadowy creature extended from his chest, it's yellow eyes downcast as it repeated the bow. "We're sorry."
"I, uh, it's alright." I said, stumbling for words. This was not what I'd been expecting. "If anything, I should apologize to you. I shouldn't have gotten so angry. It wasn't… you I was really angry at." I swallowed. "Recovery Girl said you were burned, are you…?"
"I am fine now." The bird-headed boy said with a shake of his head, his Quirk retreating within him again. "She healed me. And regardless, we should not have said what we did. But thank you."
There was a moment of silence.
"So…" I began. "Dark Shadow grows stronger the darker it is, right?"
"Indeed." Tokoyami sighed. "He grows stronger in the absence of light, but also less controllable. Once that happens he feeds off of my negative emotions, to the point that he might disobey my orders."
"I see." Feeding off of his emotions… so Dark Shadow still acted on what Tokoyami felt, even if it was a twisted and amplified reflection… "...What would happen in complete darkness?"
"I do my best to ensure such a situation does not come to pass." Tokoyami said gravely.
That was… some pretty heavy stuff.
"So, we're good?"
"Of course." He nodded. "You won fairly. I suspect it would have come to pass even absent what happened. It was a humbling yet inspiring experience."
I squirmed in place, unsure how to respond. "...The trick with using Dark Shadow to pull you was really good."
"Thank you. I shall now take my leave, and allow you to prepare for the challenges ahead." He said, pushing himself off the wall and walking towards the door. "I hope we meet again. Farewell."
"See you." I mumbled, my weariness returning. I should still have at least another half an hour, so I curled my tail around myself and soon began drifting off again.
-----
I woke up again to the familiar sound of Ryuko's voice, murmuring something incomprehensible.
I blinked my eyes open to see Ryuko standing by me, smiling at me as soon as she saw I was awake. It was out little ritual, Ryuko's way to wake me up without startling me.
"Is it time yet?"
"The semifinals are starting. You're not up yet so you could continue the nap, but I thought you might want to see the other match."
"I do." I confirmed, pushing myself to my feet. "I feel fine now, and I wanted to talk to my classmates anyway. Who won the last quarterfinal, by the way?"
"Yoarashi. I didn't see it myself, but from what I heard he called down a lightning strike on Todoroki." Ryuko said with obvious glee. "Endeavour must be pissed."
"How did he do that?" I asked, bewildered.
"I don't know. I guess he must have felt the need to show off after you stole the thunder with that fire breath."
"That pun was actually terrible, please stop." I grumbled. "Did you talk to Mom and Dad? What did they say?"
"Dad told me to tell you he's proud. Mom was… well, you know how she gets about this stuff."
"...Yeah."
Very little was said after that, Ryuko departing for the VIP stands as I trudged back towards the competitors' area. With nothing to occupy my mind, my thoughts turned towards what had happened.
I had, well, there was no putting it mildly, I'd lost my temper in front of everyone. Nobody knew about Ryuo or the real reason I was angry. A cold chill ran through my spine. I was supposed to make my impression on the big stage today, and I'd given one of unprovoked rage.
So lost was I in my thoughts that I didn't hear the incoming footsteps or the loud arguing until the two 1-A students almost barrelled into me.
"Kacchan-"
"Don't call me that!" Bakugo yelled at Midoriya, who looked for all the world like a beaten dog. "And stop following me!"
"But-"
"But nothing." The ashen-blonde boy snarled. "Just leave me be. And when we get down there, you come at me with everything you've got, understood? I don't want some limp-wristed victory because you felt bad or something stupid like that."
With that he stormed off, leaving Midoriya looking forlornly at his wake. After a few more seconds he seemed to realize I was there, and with a blink he was smiling again, looking up at me. "Oh, hi Tatsuma!"
I noticed that the finger Midoriya had sacrificed against Kirishima had now been bandaged, probably having been healed by Recovery Girl. At the very least, he didn't seem to be in pain.
"Yeah. I'm alright. Tokoyami, too." I said, before looking past my shoulder where Bakugo disappeared behind a corner. "What was his problem?"
"Oh, don't mind Kacchan, he's just a little abrasive sometimes!" Even I could tell that Midoriya's smile was strained.
"That seems more than just 'a little abrasive' to me."
"..."
"Well." I said as Midoriya averted his gaze, looking down. "I won't keep you any longer, you need to get ready for your match. Good luck!"
"Thanks!" The green-haired boy replied, his expression a little more genuine. "You too!"
-----
I almost dreaded to step out the door and into the stands. What were the others going to do when they saw me? Would they think less of me, for having lost my temper? Almost certainly. And I'd almost burned Tokoyami. And then there was the crowd. Would I get booed?
I fidgeted nervously for a moment, before swallowing and pushing through. It'd be even more embarrassing to be caught here in front of the door, and I did want to see the match.
My eyes adapted to the harsh sunlight all but instantly as I made my way towards my sea, not looking at anyone. Just act natural, don't make a big deal out of it and others will be less likely to. That was one of the things that Kawaguchi had taught me.
"Hi Tatsuma!" Pony said as I sat down, curling my tail around my feet. "Are you feeling better now?"
I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Yeah. I talked to Tokoyami too, he's fine as well."
"You missed Yoarashi's match!" Pony said, bouncing up and down in her seat. "It was awesome! Todoroki was line "Grrrr!" and Yoarashi was like "I will smite theee!" and called down thunder from the sky and-"
"I merely exercised my passion." Yoarashi commented, though his demeanour seemed a little more subdued than usual.
"So…" I exhaled deeply. "Yui, be honest. How bad was it?"
The others seemed lost as to what I meant, but Yui shifted slightly, showing me her phone, several live commentaries running on it.
"Not as bad as you think. Your body language isn't exactly easy to read, so not a lot of people caught on to how angry you were. I think most people are guessing you were giving Tokoyami a fighting chance."
"Great…" I lowered my head to the floor, wishing it would open up and swallow me. Now everyone would think I was being arrogant.
"That reminds me, what was up with that?" Tetsutetsu asked from the next row over. "You seemed to be mad even before the match started."
I sighed miserably. "I'd rather just forget about it."
The gray-haired boy seemed unsatisfied, but a firm look from Kendo deterred further questions and soon enough Mic's voice boomed out once more.
"We've had a long and eventful day here at the UA First Years' Sports Festival, but I hope you're still with us because we've still got some real zingers for you guys! For the first match of the semifinals, we have Izuku Midoriya versus Katsuki Bakugo!"
The two contestants walked out into the arena, Bakugo glowering as per usual, while Midoriya almost seemed… sad, for some reason.
"Ready, set... go!"
"Die!" Bakugo blasted forward with a leer on his face, aiming straight for Midoriya. The other boy seemed morose, but there was a spark of determination in his eyes. As I watched, I saw him mouthing something, and strained my hearing to the utmost.
"I'm sorry."
Then, I saw his entire left arm light up with energy as he drew his fist back, before throwing a punch in Bakugo's direction.
Only, the word "punch" didn't seem to do it justice.
If the finger-flick had been akin to a bomb going off, I wasn't even quite sure how to describe what happened when he put his whole arm into it. The air pressure was immense, and I saw Shieldwall's forcefields forming around the arena only to shatter like glass. Loose items went flying, people were knocked over and left gasping for air.
And as the wind cleared, the entire stadium gasped as Bakugo was revealed, slumped against the far wall of the arena with an expression of utter shock on his face.
A shout of pain drew my eyes back to Midoriya, clutching his very obviously broken arm against his chest, bent at odd angles and the skin turning into an ugly colour of purple.
What the hell was that Quirk of his? I'd never seen anything like it.
But, teary-eyed and hurt though he may have been, he was unequivocally the only one left standing.
"Izuku Midoriya wins!" Midnight announced.
"Wow, that was fast! Midoriya didn't pull any punches, but I gotta say I was expecting something more than just blasting his opponent."
"He saw his best chance at winning and took it. It's only logical." The other commentator replied to Mic. "Bakugo has exceptional mobility and firepower, and if he let him close in, as it is, the match wouldn't have lasted long either. But using only a single finger wouldn't be enough at that range, when Bakugo could counteract the wind with his explosions, so he went for full power. He accepted that pain without hesitation, and it afforded him victory."
"Huh, so there is still tactics involved here!"
"Of course."
-----
"And now, for the second half of the semifinals, we've got the real deal for you guys! It's Ryuuzaki Tatsuma versus Inasa Yoarashi!"
I walked into the field once again, feeling the butterflies jittering in my stomach, but… it wasn't as bad, anymore. Ryuko was right, it did get easier.
"Alright! I knew you'd make it here!" Yoarashi hollered, pumping his fist. "Let's have a passionate match!"
"Yeah." I replied, his excitement infectious. "Let's go!"
"Begin!"
I buried my claws in the concrete just as the wind slammed into me head-on, howling against me with the force of a hurricane. But I anchored myself in place, an immovable object in the face of the storm, and Yoarashi could not budge me, not even an inch.
"Very good, Tatsuma! As expected, in a direct clash of strength I cannot overpower you!" Yoarashi yelled over the wind. "But can you move?! You cannot win by playing defence!"
"Watch me!"
I am not agile. Never have been, and likely never will be. But "not agile" is not the same thing as "slow". My acceleration or maneuverability may not be the best, but my particular kind of speed is like a boulder rolling down the hill. Once I get going, I am near-unstoppable.
I took a step forward, my claws sinking into the concrete.
"It takes more than mere wind to halt my advance."
Another step. Then a third. I began increasing my pace.
The power of his attack grew in strength as I got closer to Yoarashi, but I had momentum on my side now, and cut through the wind like a freight train in motion, drawing inexorably closer to Yoarashi. I could see the individual drops of sweat on his skin.
But for all that, he was faster still, and just as I swung at him he gracefully somersaulted over me, reversing the direction of the wind and blasting me in the direction I had been going, trying to push me towards the edge.
"You'll need to do better than that!"
I knew he wouldn't just stand there and let me hit him, so I'd been waiting for him to make his move. And when he did, I whipped my tail like a lash, clipping Yoarashi's side and sending him flying.
"It's a good plan, but predictable!" I told him as I skidded to a halt, my claws leaving deep imprints in the concrete. "Shishida and Tokoyami already tried to use my momentum against me! It's too obvious!"
To his credit Yoarashi recovered with astonishing speed, arresting his flight with a sharp crack of air pressure.
"Just wanted to make sure!" He replied with a grin even while he gasped for air. "Are you ready for me to get serious?"
"Bring it!"
I was already moving, my feet pounding on the concrete. This was… fun. It was hard to not get swept up in the enthusiasm of the fight, just push all of my worries away. Even Mic's commentary faded into the background. The only thing that mattered was my next move.
I spread my wings, trying to use them to give myself that extra bit of speed that I lacked, but Yoarashi was wise to it. He punished me with a gale wind that caught on to my wings and almost pushed me back before I folded them again, holding them tight against my body. That wasn't going to work.
Yoarashi's mobility was phenomenal, and his aerokinesis would immediately punish me if I tried to take flight myself. Thankfully, for all his speed and range, Yoarashi lacked raw power, at least in comparison. He'd need to get close if he wanted to have any chance of affecting me.
I continued my charge, and sure enough, instead of running Yoarashi begam to charge up some sort of attack, holding his hands slightly apart and compressing wind between them.
I saw it coming, but dodging would slow me down. Unacceptable. He would not hurt me. He could not.
"Spiraling Typhoon Slash!"
The concentrated beam of air hit me dead-on, slamming against my chest with surprising force that knocked the wind out of my lungs. But that was the worst of it, and after several seconds it dissipated, leaving only a shallow blemish on my scales. It might be able to shred my wing membranes, if this had been that kind of fight, but it could not move me.
But it did slow my charge enough that there were no prospects of catching Yoarashi as he rocketed off.
"Seems like your defenses are as impeccable as ever!" He said, coming to a halt on the other end of the arena. "It appears that we have reached a stalemate!"
"You cannot hurt me, I cannot catch you." I concurred, before glancing upwards. "I don't see any stormclouds- not going to call lightning down on me?"
"Ah! That technique is still experimental. I cannot maintain the cloud once it has been discharged, and I don't have a way of making a new one from scratch." Yoarashi admitted. "Aren't you going to breathe fire on me?"
"I'm not sure I could manage to." I replied candidly in kind, shaking my head. "And I wouldn't use an untested attack if I could help it."
"I see. We are at an impasse."
I was running low on options. I could try to tire him out and go for an endurance victory, but between the two of us, in a contest of stamina… based on what I knew of his capabilities over the last month or so, it was a coin flip at best. At best. And the point of the Sports Festival wasn't just beating your opponent.
I want you to make an impact so big that when I see the headlines on Tuesday they'll be talking about "Ryuuzaki Tatsuma". Not "Ryukyu's sister,'' you.
I needed an opening. Just one good, hit, and this match would be over.
I glanced towards the stands, and then back to Yoarashi. Accepting pain in order to achieve victory, huh?
...This was going to suck. But I needed an opening, and I couldn't think of anything else.
Without a word I accelerated into another charge, but Yoarashi was far too good at this to be taken off guard by the sudden movement, and I saw the instant change in his stance as he prepared to rocket away before I got within reach. But there was no blast of wind to meet me; he'd already come to the conclusion that he couldn't meaningfully shift me, and so conserved his energy for his own mobility, knowing I couldn't catch him.
But I had one last trick left to play.
I got as close as I could, and as I saw Yoarashi's legs tense to jump into the air I tucked my ears tight against my skull, drew a deep breath and then roared right at him with everything I had.
It wasn't an application of my Quirk that was immediately obvious but, well, I was a giant dragon. When I wanted to be, I could be really, really loud. Kendo occasionally used me as a loudspeaker when she needed to get a message out to the rest of the class.
Of course, there was a glaring, obvious drawback to this tactic. A lance of pain resonated through my head. It felt like my ears were on fire. My vision swam. Even with my ears folded to protect them, I'd wager that I felt a lot worse than Yoarashi did.
But I'd been prepared and braced for it. He hadn't.
For just a moment he stood there, stunned by the burst of noise, his concentration broken. His hands instinctively flinched upwards to his ears, rather than directing his Quirk to carry him away. It was all the opening I needed.
I could have let momentum alone carry me forward, but I could not risk crushing him. I refused to allow it. And so though I staggered, feeling nauseous and wanting to puke, I stayed on my feet and caught Yoarashi in a firm grip around his torso. Awkwardly holding him with one arm I slowly came to a halt, trying to hold back vomit.
I'm not actually hurt. It's only pain. It'll go away. It's just the ears. I'm not hurt.
Little by little, the world stopped spinning, and sound returned. There was a roar of noise from the stands, in the distance I could hear Mic's commentary, but the first sound that really struck me was… laughter.
Yoarashi hadn't even tried to struggle- he knew full well that in terms of physical might, I could overpower him with one taloned finger. Once I had him in my grip it was over. So instead, he'd thrown his head back with laughter.
"Taking advantage of your own weakness to catch me off guard, knowing that I'd never expect a sonic attack from you! What a passionate path towards victory!" Yoarashi gushed in his typical fashion. "I have been bested, and so I concede!"
Midnight swung her whip, and that was that.
"Ryuuzaki Tatsuma wins!"
I was in the finals.
Just one more Chapter to go in the Sports Festival.
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Darchias
Pokemon Professor
- Location
- Texas
I mean... For a split second, Bakugo Katsuki wasn't fighting Midoriya Izuku. For one, shining moment, he was fighting The Ninth Wielder of One For All, the latest in line of the one of the oldest, most powerful quirks ever obtained, the next best thing to All Might himself. Midoriya's body could only take that brief instant, but Bakugo didn't stand a chance. If he knew the truth... would Bakugo even honestly think he could win? Probably, he's an egomaniac, but it would soothe a whole lot of his anger.
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