Chapter 19: Life
"Alright then, thank you for your time, Tatsumi-san, Nagisa-kun. We'll look into this. We'll escort you and the others home. If you'd follow me." And the detective led them out of the little victim interrogation room.
They've been at the police station for almost an hour answering questions from the officers. After what Aizawa had told them about the missing girl—Himiko—Nagisa and Izuku decided it was vital enough to call at least All Might about it. Their teacher was there almost immediately with his detective friend Tsukauchi in tow. He had also notified Aizawa of the incident, and the fact Nagisa was attacked. And of course, their parents were called as well, and suffice to say, both their parents were very much freaked out by the incident, especially when they saw the angry hand-shaped bruises on Nagisa's neck, now covered by an ice pack to calm down the swelling. It still felt like his windpipes were threatening to cave in.
Kaede had left already, she didn't have much to say except for what she did to protect Nagisa and what she knew of Himiko already. Izuku knew more anyway; Himiko had taken special interest in Izuku and Nagisa after last year. She was delusional like that.
Izuku surprisingly finished right after Nagisa did, his mother following after and looking particularly distressed. The two parents gave greetings to each other before they were escorted back home.
It was going to be a long night.
---
It was tense when they got home. Not… angry tense, but it still managed to stir Nagisa's stomach nervously.
Dad set the keys down and hung his coat on the hanger in the front closet. Nagisa did the same with his jacket. Then he tried to scurry off to his room without being seen—funny thing about that, when only two people with a ton of snakes on their heads live in the same home, it's hard to be ignored by the other tennant. And Nagisa could sense when some unfavorable emotions were stirring; it gave him enough anxiety that his snakes curled into buns in his hair, hiding their faces in their own skin and scales.
"Nagisa."
The boy froze, his hand on his door handle. His stomach clenched nervously, fearing the puppeteer eyes of his mother when he turned around obediently—instead meeting the panicked and sad eyes of his father.
Ah, that's right—Dad's not like that.
And yet, the fear still lingered—he hasn't… lived with Dad for that long . Compared to how long he's lived with Mom, their time spent together was nothing, but he knows the reasonable voice in his head screaming that Dad would never do anything she did , still did nothing against the instincts that were literally beaten into him by that woman.
He swallowed, as did Dad. The sadness in his eyes were so potent, it clenched at Nagisa's heart. Dad drew closer, and the shorter teen stayed where he was, absorbing his father's body language before deeming it safe to come into his arms. He felt their snakes mingling above, nuzzling each other and making soft squeals.
Dad's hand came to rest on his head, petting him firmly. "Nagisa," he began again. "I know last year was hard. Whatever that was, it changed you—and that's a good thing, but—I would just like to know what happened to you and that class, alright?"
Nagisa's grip tightened on his father's shirt.
"I'm not going to force you to," Dad then whispered. "But that one representative came around the other day and once again offered those sessions for free. I really do think talking about it would do you a world of good, Nagi."
Tears burned at his eyes and he screwed them shut for a moment before nodding. "I'll think about it."
---
It was by some miracle that Nagisa and Izuku got any ounce of sleep that night and even made it to school on time.
Right away after roll, the students were all ushered to change into their gym uniforms then led to UA's sports stadium behind the school. It was nothing like Kunugigaoka's sports festival, that was for sure. While Kunugigaoka had their school field for the sports and an area for vendors and for the other clubs for signups, UA owned an entire street around the arena for food vendors and other street stores to set up, not to mention three different arenas for the first, second, and third years. None of the students were allowed to browse the vendors until lunch—hardly any were completely set up since the line for bag checks was so long despite how many pros showed up for security. Class 1-A was deposited straight into the first year's stadium and into their own designated locker room—the waiting room, where they could put their things in while the festival roared.
Nagisa had a wrap around his neck, icy hot slathered under it to help soothe the bruising that had formed from the night before. He had to see Recovery Girl before school started to get it examined—she didn't use her quirk since it wasn't vital to heal and the sports festival was that day anyway. Who'd want to be drowsy and limp-armed during that? Nagisa had enough foresight to bring an old choker to cover the wrap and make it seem like a fashion choice rather than something students could pick out and eyezoom on.
The boy felt like he had three adrenaline shots waiting for him on that field when they get out. Everyone was buzzing around the waiting room and the snake boy spotted Izuku returning from the bathroom, heading toward his locker next to Kirishima. The locker door opened and Nagisa was about to turn away and continue his people watching before the bubbly redhead's arm shot into Izuku's locker and pulled out Minizuku from his hanging backpack.
Izuku gasped, eyes blown wide with a sudden nervousness, about to ask for it back until Kirishima raised the stuffed rabbit in the air, gaining everyone's attention. "BEHOLD! THE RABBIT OF LUCK!" he shouted, startling everyone. "SIMPLY TOUCHING IT WILL GRANT US THE POWER OF AWESOME AND WE WILL BE THE VICTORS OF THE FESTIVAL!"
Silence.
Then Kaminari and Ashido rushed him, stretching to reach the rabbit. "Gimme that! I need its luck!"
"Dude, just touch it! It's fine- ow, you stepped on my foot!"
All of a sudden, Sero, Uraraka, and Katsuki threw their chairs back and ran for the rabbit, still high in the air held by Kirishima.
"MOVE, LOSERS, GIMME THAT LUCK!"
"Hey! Don't hog it all! OW! MY EYE!"
"OH MY GOSH, WHY!?"
Izuku had been taking steps backward and toward Nagisa and Tokoyami, watching the… well, it wasn't a fight, but he didn't know what to exactly call it. Oh, wonderful, even Aoyama and Hagakure had joined in. The door then opened, Iida charging in with his boisterous voice announcing, "Everyone! We'll be starting soon!"
Nagisa and Izuku glanced at each other nervously, then dove in to get a grab at the rabbit too. Izuku snaked his way under everyone and swiped his beloved doll from Kirishima's grasp, then army crawling away before anyone could realize he swiped it. Then he sat down at the edge of the closest chair with Minizuku on his lap. Nagisa sat by him, hand on the fuzzy head of the doll. Yeah, they needed this.
"What, wait, where'd it go?" Kaminari squawked after realizing the 'lucky rabbit' was gone from Kirishima's grip. The group halted and spun around, eyes targeting the doll on the green haired boy's lap almost immediately. Izuku froze and guarded the rabbit against his chest.
"Hey, it's mm-mine!"
Kirishima nodded then deflated. "Yeeah…. Hey, can it be our class mascot?"
"Dude, no," Satou moaned.
"Dude, yes," Kaminari grinned.
Izuku gave a blank stare, unamused by the antics of his classmates before his name was called, a stoic Todoroki standing in front of Izuku and Nagisa. Curiosity filled Izuku's mossy eyes, his head tilting just a tad. "Todo-T-Todorok-ki-kun?" God, he couldn't have a shorter name?
"Objectively speaking," the bi-colored teen began with confidence drenching his voice. "I'm stronger than you."
Confusion kicked the curiosity out of Izuku's expression, narrowing his eyes and jutting his jaw out. Well then. "Um, ye-yeah," the green haired teen admitted finally, brows knitting together. Nagisa simply watched with idle wonder. He didn't budge when the Half-and-Half user turned his icy gaze to him, then back to Izuku.
"I won't pry," he began, "but you two have seemed to catch All Might's eye. I'll beat you."
They both gave him a hard stare, lips tightening into a thin line. Great—everyone had their attention on them.
"Uhhh, a declaration of war from our strongest?" Kaminari commented while Katsuki scowled at the scene, almost offended by the exchange. Then Kirishima came up behind Todoroki, a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, man, let's not start a fight, especially before the festival begins…"
Todoroki shifted his shoulder, throwing the hand off him and a sharp glare was tossed at the redhead. "I'm not here to play nice and make friends." He turned to leave to his corner.
"Look," Izuku started, standing up and placing the rabbit doll onto the table next to him before Ashido sneakily leaned over the table to snatch it. It went ignored, and Izuku gave the bi-colored teen a hard stare. "I kn-nnow you're probably ss-stronger than me. You're puh-probably stronger tha-an a lot of people too, ss-so I don't really underss-stand why you would sa-ssingle us out like tha-at."
Kirishima moved to comfort him, obviously not liking the self-deprecating tone he took, and yet Nagisa stayed where he was. He knew Izuku didn't think poorly of himself—not anymore. Not like that. There was a glint of determination in his eye that Nagisa knew wasn't about to break just because some punk hero-in-training said a few mean things. They've had worse, afterall. So Nagisa waited.
Izuku's hands clenched into fists at his side, a new fire in his eyes. There was respect in the air as he struggled with his words, meeting Todoroki's eyes without wavering and never backing down. "Everyone—even kids ff-from oth'r cou-courses are tur-trying their best. Aiming ff-for th… the top with all their- mm, all their might!"
He glanced at Nagisa, who smiled and nodded before standing up as well. Granting him his turn. Icy blues met Todoroki's bi-colored hues, and his snakes uncoiled from his head. "We're not ones to be intimidated," the blue-haired boy began. "We've given it a Plus Ultra for too long to be backing down from a little challenge."
Izuku smiled and turned back to Todoroki. "We're going at it w-with all our mm-might too."
Todoroki cocked his head up. Nagisa could sense in his eyes, there was a fire full of determination and—interest.
Today was definitely going to be… something.
---
The field was larger than Izuku thought it would be. Well—he's seen the field on TV before, of course he has. Just the same as he's seen a football field, but never really thought about how huge it was. Myriads of visitors filled the stands as Class A entered the arena, Present Mic's voice announcing the student classes and departments fading into a white noise in Izuku's ears as his nerves ate away at him, the situation finally catching up to him and suddenly the news reporters that had flooded them at the end of the school year combined with almost everything else seemed so small in comparison.
This felt like being under a microscope, and if he wasn't careful, he might trip and end up on YouTube in some 'Top 10 Fails Caught On Camera' compilation video, and that is not how Izuku planned to be remembered as, so he made sure his feet didn't drag and weren't scraping ankles with each other. Everyone had their eyes on Class A after the USJ incident, huh? They had to make a good impression. They were future heroes, after all!
As more and more students funneled out into the arena, Izuku and Nagisa kept their eyes peeled for Rio and Karma. Ko and Roka uncurled from their host's head and pointed in a specific directly, probably catching a familiar scent and Izuku's moss gaze gravitated to the cold and tired stare of Shinsou before he was blocked by another student. He turned around, then locked eyes with Rio suddenly, who smiled and waved after the hero-in-training nudged Nagisa and jutted his chin out in the blonde's direction. At least another familiar face in the crowd.
They assembled toward the middle stage, where Midnight stood, waving the short whip around in her hand to calm the roaring audience as Present Mic gave her the mic.
"Thank you, Present Mic! Now, for the opening speech, will Bakugou Katsuki come up to the stage!"
Izuku jumped, bug-eyed as he sputtered softly, "K-Kats'ki's our rep??"
Sero leaned over to mutter, "He placed first in the entrance exam, remember?"
An eavesdropping Gen Ed student grumbled back, "Yeah, the heroics entrance exam…"
Izuku and Sero smiled awkwardly, crossed with a grimace. The green-haired teen caught Nagisa's gaze locked with the student Shinsou again before the latter student broke contact as Katsuki coughed over the mic, the crowd silencing then turning their full attention to him.
Katsuki's scarlet glare washed over the student body, calculating and cold—intimidating. They fell on Izuku, narrowed and turned back up. He felt a chill pass through him.
"No matter what," he began. "I'm placing first."
An uproar tore through the students in outrage as the ash blond descended the stairs, boos and insults being thrown about. Izuku narrowed his eyes. What was he thinking? This display of overconfidence… Then Katsuki met his eyes, a fire lit by hard determination, sharper than any glare he's given—and that's when it clicked.
It was a challenge, declared in his own way.
He wasn't going to be left in the dust.
Izuku's brows folded down as he grew to understand the other and he nodded at the explosive teen as he passed by, their shoulders bumping and he watched Katsuki melt into the crowd.
No holding back.
Midnight took back the stage immediately, not letting a moment to breathe pass by. "Alright! Time to move on to our first event: the preliminaries!" She gestured to the giant screen above her. "Now, now, what will our first event be, you wonder? Pull the lever, Mic!"
The display above almost played like a slot machine, options blurring across the screen and finally the words "Obstacle Race" settled in place, Midnight shouting the announcement aloud. The pro hero then delved into explaining the rules of the race; Anything goes, stay within the course boundaries, try not to die. Well then.
They were ushered toward the starting line after she was done, but the nervous buzzing in Izuku's chest never wavered.
He and Nagisa glanced at each other for a moment before they caught Rio snaking her way through the crowd toward them and Karma right behind her. Nagisa perked up.
"Wait, Business course is participating?"
Karma stopped and stared at him. "Is that a serious question because if it is, I'm totally kicking your butt for that."
Izuku snickered, "But it'ss a valid quesss-stion?"
He turned his attention to the green-head then. "Blocked."
"W-wait, no, un- um, unb-block me, I-I gotta tell you ss-somethin'."
"...Fine. Unblocked."
"C-coward."
Karma covered his face while Nagisa and Rio laughed. "Dammit."
Rio waved her hand up and down to calm them. "Okay, okay, seriously though, what's the deal with Business course?"
"We're allowed to participate, it's just most of the students would rather not, so almost all of my classmates are going to throw the first match," the horned teen explained with a shrug. "All except Fuwafuwa and Mr. Pressure-o-matic."
Nagisa raised a brow. "Fuwafuwa? Isn't that the girl—"
"The very same."
"Why is she..?"
"I pissed her off this morning."
Izuku and Rio shook their heads in defeat. Some things will never change, huh?
"Okay, in my defense, it was an accident."
"Sure…"
The crowd stopped walking, already reaching the starting line, and Izuku's stomach flipped. This was it. It was beginning—too fast for his brain to comprehend and for his emotions to catch up, but now it was starting to and his legs felt empty and jello-y. He could not afford to screw this up, not with his unpredictable quirk. He had to remember to balance. Like an egg on a spoon balancing from his mouth. Not too much force, not too little.
There were so many people watching from the stands, from all around Japan—their eyes narrowing in on Class A: the class with the marks for heroics, for greatness in the world. There were so many people waiting on them , watching. It was Izuku's turn, Nagisa's turn, Katsuki's, Uraraka's—everyone's turn to show the world.
WE ARE HERE.
The starting lights lit red….
Don't break your bones, don't break your bones. You can do this. You've got this.
Red….
It's okay. Don't worry. Just ease the pressure. Get ready… And…
Green.
"STAAAAAART!"
A battle cry from the crowd, pushing and shoving to get the first lick of pavement—chaos, and Izuku had to fight not to let his breath escape from him, to stop the panic that rose in his chest like the day of the school alarm. He refused to be set down again, and he shoved back, forcing his way to the outdoor area. The starting entrance was so narrow…! He thought he saw Nagisa spin around as well, then a few squeals of panic behind him—ah, his quirk.
Present Mic's announcements rose above them all, "HERE WE ARE LADIES AND GENTS, BROADCASTING TO YOU LIVE! ARE YOU READY TO COMMENTATE, MUMMY MAN— WHOAA , THERE SEEMS TO BE A STALL IN THE CROWD AT THE STARTING LINE, FOLKS! WHAT'S THIS? COLD FEET, HUH?"
"That would be the work of Shio- Tatsumi Nagisa of Class 1-A," came the dull drawl of Aizawa, Izuku vaguely registered as he finally got past a large sum of students and through the narrow entrance. Sparks of electricity laced across his form in small bursts, just above the surface and not completely on. Just balancing.
Behind him, he heard the grunts of students being tumbled over, along with startled yelps, and he swore he heard someone shout, "MY PANTS!"
Karma and Rio.
Ahead of him, he felt the cold of ice before he saw it—the excited commentating of Present Mic following right after, "AND IT SEEMS THAT TODOROKI SHOUTO OF CLASS A HAS TAKEN THE LEAD, FOLKS!"
Students were stuck in the ice, scowling and yelling in rage, he realized—Izuku grit his teeth, setting his jaw straight. Oh no he doesn't.
Now or never. Just please don't break my bones—
"Watch out!" he shouted. Keep the balance. Don't go over. A surge of power through his legs, and the ground beneath him was crushed, the students beside him yelping in panic as he shot out in the sky, the electricity flying off behind him like a tail while he screamed. He could see Todoroki up ahead, farther than any of the other students around them—and if it couldn't get more interesting, explosions set off behind him, followed by the familiar roar of Katsuki.
"NOT ON MY WATCH, TWO-FACE!"
Before he could touch the ground, Todoroki only barely spared them a glance and an anger lit up in the green-haired boy's chest. "SCREW YOU!" he shouted as he landed hard, just narrowly managing to turn the rough landing into a barrel-roll before scrambling up to his feet and shooting off right behind Todoroki and Katsuki. He could hear Kirishima's shouts, Yaoyorozu's Creation setting off, and the sparkling shots of Aoyama's laser shooting through the sky. It seemed most of his class were getting around Todoroki's trap just fine—he wondered how Nagisa was faring, leaving him in the dust like that. He felt bad but he couldn't dwell on that now.
He ignored the intense ache that now throbbed in his legs, straining his bones, and how his ribs suddenly felt so fragile, and he knew he couldn't afford to try that again with how his emotions were suddenly so heated.
"LOOK AT THAT, FOLKS! IT SEEMS A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS ARE EITHER FROZEN SOLID OR FROZEN STUCK! I BELIEVE SOME HAVE EVEN LOST THEIR PANTS! IS THIS THE WORK OF CLASS 1-A?!"
No doubt, there wasn't any hesitation with his classmates, it seemed. The adrenalin was starting to feel familiar—making him feel much less nervous than before. That's right, this wasn't so different than training with Korosensei, was it?
That's it. That's it. Realization dawned, and he felt as if he had sunken deep within his element. This was no different than the roof jumping exercises, the stealth, the speed races, every ounce of training—this was his time to shine.
He forced his legs to run faster despite the protest from his ribs and his lungs. Todoroki wanted a challenge? He got it.
The two-toned teen ahead of him glanced back again, noticing many more of their class had gotten through his ice trap. His eyes narrowed and he commented, "Of course some of you would make it past, but more of you were able to dodge than I thought."
Suddenly, the ground shook, halting the crowd of runners for a moment when gigantic robots blocked their path. Even Todoroki was taken aback by their presence.
The large one before them maneuvered its head, a red light shining bright in the middle of its face and a robotic voice came out saying, "Targets detected… Multiple!"
"WHOA-OH, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'VE MET THEIR FIRST OBSTACLE!"
Wait, Izuku recognized these machines— the zero pointer from the exam…!
Well. Plus Ultra, huh?
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BlackSwanna
BlackSwanna fanart !! both by the wonderful Pangolinplant on Deviantart!! Thank you doll!
https://www.deviantart.com/pangolinplant/art/Sad-doodle-784811151
https://www.deviantart.com/pangolinplant/art/Izuku-HEROISM-785007581
& This one below is by my own flesh & blood, my wee lil sister on tumblr!
https://s0lsticedraws.tumblr.com/post/184069438893/blackswanndraws
everyone in the server & the comments in AO3 loved torch guy so much, he became canon :/
https://blackswanndraws.tumblr.com/post/182146793249/everyone-loved-torch-guy-so-much-from-chapter-14
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone