MosesArk Reborn2000
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Chapter 29: Nature vs Machine
🕑 Added 2024-07-12 15:14:08 +0000 UTCIida frowned at the statement. “And why is that?”
“Because,” Midoriya smiled at him, his cat ears flicking in anticipation. “I won’t be so easily bested.” Iida's gaze sharpened at that statement, watching Midoriya's body shift ever so slightly; he wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't looking for it.
That statement sounded arrogant, something akin to what Bakugo would say. But much like his rude and aggressive classmate, Iida was sure that Midoriya could back it up. But unlike Bakugo, Midoriya's confidence wasn't loud or flashy; it was quiet and subtle. Was it a byproduct of his quirk? No, he could think about that later. Right now, he had to keep his head in the game.
'He's incredibly fast and has an impressive reaction time. I can't overwhelm him with speed like I did Shiozaki. Should I use Torque Over – -Recripoburst? No, he's a smart person; he must be expecting that. I must save it for a surprise when I have an opening to exploit.' Thinking about what he knew about his foe, besides his cat-like teasing and prodding personality, he had displayed numerous abilities. However, few were applicable in the field they were facing off in.
‘Keeping that in mind, his fight with Tokoyami did reveal two things about him. The first is that his ranged attacks would have little effect, and as risky as it is, I need to engage him up close.' His brutal single-hit victory over his classmate made facing Midoriya in a close-quarter fight less than ideal, but his only option.
'The second is that he can't create wood like Mina makes acid or Todoroki makes ice. So I can leave that off the table.' Iida suspected that if he could have used wood, he would surely fended off Tokoyami from a distance or even created barriers like he did during the chariot race. Meanwhile, Midoriya's smile grew, flashing teeth as Present Mic declared:
“And let the third match of the quarter-finals, Midoriya vs Iida start!” Midoriya didn't waste a moment as he rushed Iida in a burst of speed; jumping into the hair, he pulled back his hand, held in a clawed position for a direct strike, no doubt another attempt to win via a single knock-out. However, while he was as fast as when he closed the distance between himself and Tokoyami, he was still fast.
But Iida was used to fast as he dashed to the side, evading the blow as Midoriya came down, his palm slamming into the concrete with a heavy thud. 'He's not going to give me time to think? Well, two can play at that game!' Iida thought to himself, turning on a dime and rushing back towards Midoriya with his back turned to him. Midoriya's eyes, however, remained on him as he shifted his body onto his hand, and as Iida approached, he got into a 1-hand handstand, bent his elbow till he was nearly kissing the arena before launching himself away, evading Iida's sweeping kick.
Flipping mid-air, he wasn't even on the ground again, but Iida was on the move, running to intercept him as the speedster leaped into the, snapping a kick at Midoriya; the cat boy raised his hands in a classic X block; Iida's foot impacting hard with Midoriya but he didn't seem to feel pain as he sent back. Falling back, Iida landed on his feet, and so did Midoriya, with Present Mic calling it. "And Iida takes the first strike of the match, but Midoriya is still on his feet!”
“Oh yeah, first blood!” Kirishima cheered.
"Come on, Iida, make the semifinals class A exclusive!" Kaminari, Mina, and Sero cheered.
“You got this, bro!” Tetsutetsu was just as loud as class A.
"It's just one lucky hit; show him what class B is made of!" Kamakiri yelled with him, Tokage and Awase always cheering their support. If either heard this on the field, they didn't react to him as Midoriya spat into his hands and grabbed them together.
Iida wondered why he did that now but still went on the offensive, rushing Midoriya and going for another kick. This time around, Midoriya caught him, using his momentum against him to throw him aside. Iida, seeing the boundary line, quickly rebalanced himself and rushed to put distance between himself and it.
Turning to Midoriya, he saw that the green-haired boy had already closed the distance. Still, at that moment, he saw something off with how Midoriya was attacking as his off-hand was held out like he was holding something. Still, he didn't see anything, Midoriya only had his closed fist. Wait, didn’t he spit-did he?
Iida didn't have time to realize what was as Midoriya's clenched fist glowed faint green-reddish before he was hit right in the gut by a pole; the wind knocked right out of him as Midoriya twired his staff around and swung it into Iida's side, knocking him off his feet but away from the boundary line. Iida got up with a rough cough, that blow to his gut hurting almost as bad as the follow-up but that left him and the audience with a question.
“How?” Iida asked as Midoriya smiled, flipping and twirling the staff around his body like it was second nature.
"I had a lot of fruits for lunch; all I had to do was keep a few seeds in my mouth for just the right moment." He ended his reveal by opening his mouth and showing Iida that he still had a few seeds resting on his tongue before he retracted it and the seeds back into his smiling mouth.
“So, he smuggled them onto the field?” Present Mic summarised
"Is that even allowed?" Hagakure asked, like much of the audience, and she was confused. Everyone waited on Midnight's judgment, for as referee, her word was law. The rated-R hero seemed to be thinking about it, sparing both combatants a glance before she spoke.
Striking out her riding whip, she made her judgment. "It’s an odd situation, but it’s technically legal as the seeds from their lunch can’t be considered a support item.”
“Lucky me, so let’s keep up this dance, shall we?” Midoriya asked Iida as he went on the defensive, using the reach of his staff to attack Iida, forcing him to evade and retreat, but even in this melee, the trained eye could tell the difference between them.
Both were fast, incredibly so in their offense and defense, but Kendo noted that Iida was much stiffer and slower to adapt, as it was like he was a robot with a set number of movements trying to mix and match them to an encounter he wasn't programmed for. Meanwhile, Izuku seemed to dance as he moved, as he shifted his feet and balance, his hands moving up and down the body of his staff as he thrust, parried, swung, or blocked Iida's counters.
It was like watching a root or branch grow and shift on fast forward as Midoriya took advantage of every weak point, every pause or wrong move Iida made. Iida bent his head to the side just in time to avoid a spear thrust to the face, but he could still hear it pass by his ear. He needed to break from this melee and think of a counter fast. When Midoriya pulled back, he didn't go on the offensive but powered up his quirk and jumped back.
“It seems that Midoriya is putting Iida on the defensive with a weapon on hand!" Present Mic fed into the hype as the crowd was in awe at the battle. Many having put a lot of faith into the Iida name, they were no doubt expecting that he would have defeated this nobody by now, but it was quite the opposite.
Iida huffed, feeling the bruises forming on his arms, sides, and chest from how many blows he had endured, watching his foe, who looked fresh to the fight, plant his staff on the ground, shrinking it till it was the size of a cane so he could lean on it. "Come now, Iida. There has to be more in the tank than that. Be more creative, be aggressive!" He cheered for him, and Iida didn't know if he was being insulted or not, as Midoriya's face and eyes gave nothing away.
Midoriya insulted him when, despite being in a fight, he had the gall to turn his attention back to the stands, to where their classmates sat. Even with the distance between them, he still managed to find Todoroki and Kendo and lock eyes with both of them. Those 2 were the real price as he ignored Bakugo, a fact the blonde picked up on as he yelled something, but Midoriya didn't pay attention.
Turning back to Iida, the boy glaring at him a little, though he hadn't tried to capitalize on his distraction. 'A smart move. He knows I can keep up with him, and I got a good hearing; I don't need to see him counter.' Midoriya mused to himself as he decided that it was time they ended this. He had given Iida a chance to perform. Still, he was far too unimaginative and afraid to break from whatever customs he held about combat.
"It was a fun fight, but one that needs to end," he stated as he threw his cane up, lengthening it again to staff size before rushing Iida to take him out. Iida had bowed his head in the meantime, seeming to accept, but then Midoriya heard him speak.
"Yes, let's end this." He stated that, far from defeated, he was defiant and strong. His engines roared to life a moment later, blasting out a familiar blue jet of flames. "Torque Over – Recripoburst!" He cried as his speed jumped to another tier, just like the chariot race. Midoriya barely saw him move, but he did see movement. Enough that his training and instincts had him move his staff in front of him as a guard, sending more tenet to strengthen it.
That proved for naught as Iida's kick shattered his staff and crashed into his chest, leaving him wide-eyed as he felt the force of the blow travel through him and nearly shoot out his back. Being blown back, he was still flying when Iida continued the attack. Rushing him, he kicked him again, this time in the gut, bending him like a closed book as Midoriya coughed out most of his breath, struggling to keep Iida in sight.
Iida finished off the combo by chasing him again and jumping into the air, twisting his body, letting the force of his engines carry his leg forward as he brought it down like a hammer into Midoriya’s back, rocketing him into the ground. “Iida's made a comeback and lands not 1, not 2, but 3 direct hits!” Present Mic yelled as Iida's kick came down like a hammer to the crowd's awe.
“What the heck?” Tokage cried out in shock.
“That’s insane!” Komori was with her, not just from shock but also concern, as Iida didn't hold back from those strikes.
“Is Midoriya even still awake after that?” Awase asked; their class worried that Midoriya would be eliminated.
“No way, I barely saw Iida move!” Tsuburaba declared as Iida, in that time, grabbed onto the downed Midoriya by the shirt and sprinted towards the boundary line. At his current speed, he knew he'd reach it in moments, but in his mind, it felt like it was taking forever, his time limit at the front of his mind as his mental clock counted down his time before his engines stalled.
‘6 seconds left! He’s not down yet, but if I get him over the line!’ He thought to himself, victory within his reach as he looked down at Midoriya, suspecting that even he would still be dazed after all three of his hits, but instead, what he saw was Midoriya's gaze locked onto him, not a once of confusion to be found, but a raw, bright light that made his eyes feel like they glowed like those of a cat in the dead of night.
“No.” Midoriya didn't say more. He didn't need to as that one word, his declaration carried the weight of a lion's roar as he gripped the floor, and to Iida's shock, his hold on him was severed as Midoriya locked himself in place, with Iida tearing his top, skidding to a stop, he turned to Midoriya and saw him, still on his hands and knees with his hands planted firmly on the ground.
With literal seconds left before time ran out, Iida's mind raced to figure out how Midoriya escaped his drag, as his hands didn't look like they were digging into the floor, nor were they signs that he had done. Either way, he didn't have time to think about that; he knew his plan was a bust, so he went for his last resort, a knock-out blow. Clearly, Midoriya was much more durable than he thought, so he'll have to hit him harder and put as much force as he could into his next and final strike.
Racing as fast as he could towards Midoriya, he pulled his foot back to kick him like Midoriya was little more than a soccer player. But again, Midoriya raised his head and revealed that his gaze was locked onto Iida. Pouncing just as fast as Iida, Midoriya revealed to the speedster that the two halves of his staff had been rejoined together into a pair of nunchaku, which Midoriya was already swinging.
With momentum carrying him and caught off guard by Midoriya countering not only his first but also his second attempt to take him out, Iida could only raise his arm to block as the nunchaku crashed into his arm, the wooden shaft smashing into his flesh like a tree. The speedster was knocked off course as he crashed into the floor side first, rolling to a stop in a hemp as Midoriya landed in a crouch, his hand still outstretched with his nunchaku.
With the crowds once more made silent by this unexpected twist, Midoriya stood up, turning to Iida, his face scratched up and his nose red from when he was made to eat concrete but not broken as one would expect. Iida, in turn, could hardly raise at all, his engines letting out the last puff of life in them before they stalled, leaving him kneeling as Midoriya approached him.
"You were so focused on my weapon that you forgot that I can do stuff like this, or did you forget that I can stick to walls?” Midoriya asked as he approached; each step measured but light, as he didn't weigh at all, and not a single step made a sound.
"The…tight rope, but then you were just keeping your balance," Iida asked, trying to buy himself time to try and restart his engines. Still, a part of him knew it was futile, as there was no way Midoriya would be so foolish.
Coming to a stop, Midoriya towered over the typically taller boy. Almost casually, he started spinning his nunchaku, one that Iida could see wasn't connected by a string or a chain, but an incredibly young-looking sprout. "Wrong, I was doing the same as before and sticking to it so I couldn’t fall. Same thing I did just know.”
As Iida looked down in defeat, Midoriya frowned. “I warned you that you couldn't beat me like you did, Shiozaki, but it seems you didn't listen.” He grunted, reaching for his gut and chest where Iida had managed to hit him. Feeling the areas with a frown, he could tell that he'd need to see Recovery Girl about that. He could have easily been knocked out if he hadn't instinctively reinforced them with tenet.
"Still, I was trying really hard to avoid those kicks. It's been a while since I've been hit that hard." He praised Iida before deciding it was time to clear the field as he held his nunchaku together, fusing them back into a single staff. From the two ends, branches grew and reached towards the immobile Iida, wrapping around his torso, arms, and legs.
Within seconds, Iida was left restrained, his hands held in place behind his back by wooden cuffs, while his feet were encased in a single knee-length boot. Midoriya could have gone on further, but he felt that he had made his point, and it would seem that Midnight agreed.
“Iida has been rendered unable to continue! Midoriya moves onto the semifinals!” she declared as the silence of the spectators was replaced with cheers and applause. Midoriya didn't face that. Instead, he again ignored the defeated and demoralised Iida to focus his gaze on the two he considered to be of greater importance. This time around, the rest picked up on it as well.
"Oh man, does he have a look on his face? He's not even angry looking, and I still feel happy I'm not fighting him next." Kaminari leaned back in his seat.
"Was…was he focusing more on Kendo and Todoroki than Iida? Did he even see Iida as worth it?” Hagakure asked, as those eyes looked so much like an alley cat’s she liked to feed, the look Benny would get whenever he saw a rat.
"He's locked in on you two." Sero felt a little nervous for them, as he wanted to call Midoriya cocky if he wasn't paying as much attention to his fight with Iida as he should have, but the results spoke for themselves. He had now cleared both Tokoyami and beat Iida in a speed contest.
Todoroki didn't share that concern, only narrowing his eyes on Midoriya as he released Iida from his timber confinement and walked off the field. Iida was walking off behind him with his head down and shoulders slumped. A pity, but he doubts that the Iida family would be nearly as harsh as his old man would be at him losing.
"He can look however long he wants; when we fight, I'll win." Todoroki declared, sans arrogance, that it was just a fact of life. His confidence made Yaoyorozu feel worse as he spoke about himself like his victory would always be assured…did he think that when he fought her? Or did he see her like how Midoriya saw Iida, a mere obstacle to the actual fight?
Kendo, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as awed by Todoroki's statement as some of the others were. Standing up, she walked over to him and met his icy gaze with a firm one. “Those are some confident words, Todoroki. Seeing how you first need to beat me.”
She didn't like flaunting it, but she and everyone else knew she was the strongest. But that was strength that came through dedication and hard work, years of it. It was strength she was taught to be humble with, so she never bragged as strength was meant to lift up others, to light the spark in everyone's hearts and protect them. It was why Bakugo got to her from the first day, as he was all about bragging, grandstanding, and demeaning others just because he valued strength and saw himself as the strongest in class.
Todoroki was someone she came to have issues with as the semester went on, as where Bakugo was…Bakugo, with his arrogance, Todoroki was the quiet kind; he didn't shout, he didn't need to, as everything he did told her and everyone else what he felt about them and his apparent superiority to them. He rarely spoke with others, and even then, it was like he didn't value them enough to carry a decent conversation; his responses blunted, chipped, and as if he wanted you to leave but didn't wish to sound any ruder than he was by telling you that.
When they got him involved in group projects, he acted like he had during the first hero class. He did all the work with his ice or just did as instructed, hardly contributing to plans. She frowned at all that, as she might have learned more about him and his messed up family, but that just made it worse, as whether he realized it or not, he was acting just like his father.
“I will, Kendo. That’s a promise.” He met her gaze, though she could see a rage burning behind the ice.
She took a moment to reply, the tension building between them as she kept looking into his eyes, trying to find something, but she didn't see it. Sighing, she walked past him to make her way to the waiting room. “With just your ice? You’ll end up just like Iida down there.”
Her back was turned as she walked away, so she didn’t see how his face pinched in anger at her jab to his promise as he got up and left without a word, class A being worried about the apparent rivalry between those two that had brewed without anyone noticing.
"Okay, you all saw that, right?" Kaminari asked after a moment of tense silence.
“(Kero) What was that about?” Asui asked, as that seemed out of character for Kendo to be so…combative with someone, especially Todoroki, who rarely gave anyone issues.
"You got me. They barely speak to each other, and unlike Bakugo, Todoroki isn't all that insulting." Sero thought aloud, getting Bakugo’s ire turned on him as he had already been pissed by the fact Deku didn’t even look at him as a threat.
“The hell was that?” Bakugo yelled at Sero, but he ignored him like everyone else.
"I did see them heading to talk after the last event. Maybe he said something to offend her then?" Aoyama offered his two cents to the conversation, and few were surprised, as Aoyama was quite observant.
"So what? He put his foot in his mouth, and now Kendo wants to smack some sense into him? Seems like a stretch as she’s not one for violence.” Jiro noted.
"Maybe that's part of it. She hasn't acted angry, and they're about to fight anyway. Maybe she just waited for this to settle things." Sato theorized.
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Midoriya was getting ready to leave Recovery Girl's temporary office a few minutes later, having had his minor injuries and bruises taken care of. Putting on one of the many spare shirts she kept on hand, he bowed to her. "Thank you for your help, Recovery Girl."
"Just be sure not to get too badly hurt out there. I swear, just because I'm here, they like to abuse that fact and forget heroes aren't meant to just be meatheads that bash heads together." Recovery Girl turned back to her notes, grumbling all the while, which made Midoriya feel like there was something more to ask, but it was not his place to ask.
"I'll be sure to remember that going forward, though with my next match, it might be a bit hard to do that." He honestly replied that it didn't matter who it would be; his next fight was assured to be his most brutal, more so than Bakugo's, as he was sure he would make it to the finals.
Recovery Girl looked over her shoulder at him, the aged heroine having a frown, but she didn't dispute his claim. "Maybe, but it's time you get back to your classmates." Taking that as it was, he bowed again and walked out the door, gently closing it behind him.
Walking down the halls back towards the student seating, he thought about his match with Iida. He could have ended it much faster than that, masked his presence, and just knocked him out; he didn't do that against Tokoyami because he wasn't sure if Dark Shadow could be affected by that.
'So why did I do that? Why'd I get so…sloppy?' He asked, looking at his hand as he clenched and loosened his fist, recalling how his head wasn't in the head, not as much as it should have been. Iida stood before him, yet all he could see was the coming fight with Kendo. In fact, he had been focused on her this entire festival over everyone else.
'I barely know her, yet I want to fight her, to test my skills against her.' He mused, wondering if there was something deeper to this desire, as a part of him sang for that fight, that challenge over all others. Was this because of that day in the cafeteria? Did that fire in her eyes, that inner strength, enrapture him so thoroughly? Was it concerning that he was so drawn to this girl when he already had a girlfriend?
'No,' He stopped in the middle of the hallway, smiling as he came to a conclusion, a possible reason for this feeling deep in his soul. "This is different. There is no romance, there is no carnal lust, but a battle lust." His smile grew, teeth flashing as his tenet pulsed. This… was what it meant to have a rival, right? Was this what Endeavour felt towards All Might? What the athletes of old felt towards one another? It must be because just the thought of her stroking the flames within him made him want to be better than her, to keep sharpening his skills to keep pace with her.
His revelation was cut short when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Blinking, he pulled his phone out to read the message.
Master: Meet me in my private viewing box. We need to chat. Room C13. 29/04/XX: 13:48 PM
He wondered what the master wished to talk about but didn't question her order as he texted back that he'd be there soon; turning around, he walked deeper into the stadium, looking for the stairs that led to the civilian viewing area. Finding those, he scaled them, and before long, he found himself walking through halls that were much higher quality than the lower ones, these designed to be more opulent and decorative, fitting as this part of the stadium was meant for VIPs.
Outside many of those doors stood men and women in suits, some wearing sunglasses to complete the look of a bodyguard, stereotypical as it might have been. He wondered if it was insulting for U.A. who went far above what they usually did for security to still need to account for VIPs bringing their own people, but brushed it aside. It was just a normal thing for these people. Besides, they weren't giving him any reason to focus on them as many noted his arrival, a glance or head turn in his direction, but that was all.
His destination was the one door without a guard posted out front; taking a breath, he knocked.
"Enter," came the response as he did just that, entering the private booth and closing the door behind him. He saw his master seated close to the glass, her back to him, as he took a couple of steps forward before kneeling, his head bowed. He didn't bother stating that she requested his presence but remained silent and waited for her to address him.
"Your performance was…below what I wished to see in that last match. Explain." She didn't praise him, going straight for the throat of the issue. Midoriya thought it would have been nice to hear good work from her, but he had already accepted that he had made errors in his match and preferred that his master not cuddle him.
With his head still bowed, he answered, "I allowed myself to forget the opponent before me and instead focused on the one that could come after." She hummed but remained silent as she considered his answer.
“You’re that eager to face off against Bakugo?” She spoke, watching as the final match of the quarter-finals was about to start, both competitors taking to the field.
“Not him, my master…Kendo.” That admission got her to turn to observe him over her shoulder. Even with his head down, he could feel the weight of her gaze on him.
"You see it too, then?" she asked but then smiled when she seemed to catch onto his confusion over the question. “Perhaps not, or perhaps you do, but don’t know what it is yet.” He wondered what she meant by that.
Turning back to the match, she waved off the issue. "Whether you know or not at this point will change nothing, so I'll allow you to figure it out." Snapping her fingers, Midoriya stood up and walked closer to her, standing at her side as she turned her eye to him, a smile on her face that reminded him so much of a tiger, a queen of the jungle, powerful and so readily capable of defeating all that would challenge her.
"To move into other issues, I wished to tell you of a bet I struck with Endeavour and All Might. And your role in it."
Line Break
“Where’s Midoriya?” Awase asked as the final match of the quarter-finals was about to start, and he had yet to return. He would assume that the mischievous cat would want to see how his would-be opponents handled a foe comparable to them.
“He should be back by now; you think he was hurt worse than expected?” Komori asked, worried for him.
"Iida's already made it back here, so I doubt that," Yanagi replied, as the speedster's return had been easily heard by them, with his classmates assuring him that he had done all he could and indeed impressed some pros.
Kamakiri crossed his arms with a smirk. "He better get back in; I want to pat him on the back for keeping our class in the running."
"I still wish he didn't have to get kicked so many times; that wasn't fun to watch," Kodai commented.
"Unsettling as that was, we can partake in watching two juggernauts battle to see who will have the honor to fall by his hand," Kuroiro added, which got a reaction from their sister class.
"Wait a second there. Do you seriously think he can take one or any of those two?" Mina asked, as sure Midoriya was this super strong fighter and trickster, but no way that'd stack against Todoroki or Kendo, especially Kendo.
“Why not? Midoriya placed in the top 5 while carrying someone else on his back. If I remember correctly, he was just behind Todoroki on the board." Monoma asked, with Tokage joining in.
"Oh yeah, he totally was. And seeing how he's beaten both Iida and Tokoyami, I don't know, his chances at beating any of them one on one is pretty darn high." The Lizard Tail Splitter added, with both boys flinching as they recalled their losses to the cat and how easily he managed to do both.
Despite his anger over how quickly and easily he was defeated, Tokoyami couldn't just let them downplay his class. "Defeating Iida and myself was impressive. We don't deny that, but that doesn't change the fact both Todoroki and Kendo are in a league of their own. I'm not ashamed to admit that they could easily defeat him."
"That just means they're comparable in power, but that still gives Midoriya the advantage," Honenuki stated, with Yaoyorozu frowning at the words of her fellow recommendation student.
“How?”
Honenuki shrugged. "Todoroki's entire thing is ice, while Kendo has a few more tricks up her sleeve. Midoriya might as well be a Swiss army knife of them.”
"You equate variety to quality," Aoyama stated, to which Monoma smiled.
“It’s served him well enough so far, and trust me, you haven’t seen everything he can do.” That last fight made him reveal that he could use seeds to rapidly grow wood and repair them if they were damaged. But he had seen what Midoriya could do; just making a staff/nunchaku was child play to him.
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Trying a new thing where the author note that's normally at the top is moved down here, at least when I post on Patreon.
I get that AFO loves fucking with his foes, but considering we know that he had no part in Toya becoming Dabi other than saving his life, it feels like this was what Hori was gonna do with Shigaraki. That said, Endeavour lost himself to his rage, and he and All Might now share a similar wound.
That said, it's hard for me to take AFO seriously when he keeps bringing up 'how this reminds me of a comic I read.' We get it—you're a nerd who decided to LARP and make it everyone's problem, but you have long since lost whatever intimidation points. It's not as bad as when he fought S&S and admitted that, like an idiot, he didn't even bother finishing the story that inspired him, so IDK—do not make the same mistakes as the villains tend to do.
LIne Break
And that is that! This chapter was meant to have the beginnings of Kendo vs Todoroki, which I was really excited about, but I decided that since it's as impactful to the story as Midoriya vs Iida, it should get its own chapter. Also, for a while now, I wondered how I'll handle stuff about the plot. Still, then I recalled that while Izuku and Itsuka are similar, they're different in others, which should be made apparent in the next chapter.
