Deku the Anti-Hero

One on One

"So, who do you think will win?" Kaminari asked the group in the stands.

"As long as Todoroki can follow my warning, I'd say he's got this in the bag," Ojiro suggested, recalling the discussion he had with the off-putting classmate.

Then again, who knew if he would take anyone's advice.

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for what you've all been waiting for! The tournament!" Mic cheered through the speakers. For the umpteenth time that day, the crowd lost their collective minds in the uproar of excitement.

"First up, one of the four students that got in through recommendations, it's Shoto Todoroki! And his opponent will be, from the general course, Hitoshi Shinso!"

The two opponents walked onto the stage Cementoss had constructed while Mic gave the rules.

"There are three ways to win: Force your opponent out of bounds, immobilize them, or get them to surrender. They're encouraged to go all out, but Midnight and Cementoss will be there to stop them if things begin to get out of hand!"

Down on the stage, neither of the combatants looked like they were all too eager to be where they were.

"So, you're Todoroki, son of number two hero, Endeavor?" Shinso asked with a grin of malice.

"Ready! Start!"

Without a second's hesitation, Todoroki shot a barrage of ice at his opponent.

"Quick and violent, you are like him after all," the purple haired teen declared after barely dodging the first attack.

"I'm nothing like him," Todoroki angrily seethed, only to go blank faced.

"Uh, is he okay? Or is that Shinso's quirk?" the announcing hero asked.

"I overhear a little of your conversation with your friend. That gave me all I needed to know. Now, walk out of bounds," the teen commanded.

Some of Todoroki's classmates shouted at him to stop moving, but what they didn't know was he wasn't the one controlling his body.

For all the anticipation Shinso had started feeling, a simple slip on the icy floor was an embarrassing way to be undone. Once he hit the ground, Todoroki felt his head clear up and realized he should have tried to take Ojiro's advice.

"Are you okay? That looked like a nasty fall," Shinso asked, only to receive silence as a response. Todoroki turned around and sent a blast of ice at his enemy before they had a chance to ask another question. When the dust settled, everyone got a look at Shinso encased in ice from the neck down.

"Shinso has been immobilized!" Midnight shouted with a flick of the whip.

"I wouldn't recommend bringing up my father again," Todoroki offered as he melted the captured teen from the ice. "Next time I might not go as easy on you." The two silently left the stage and were quickly replaced by the next two.

"Well, that wasn't half bad for the first match. Next up is the hero course's plainly student, Hanta Sero!"

"Was that really necessary?" the teen asked with a crack of his knuckles.

"His opponent is the one who's scored first in both of the preliminaries, Izuku Midoriya!"

"This might be fun," Izuku sighed with a final stretch.

"And... go!"

At the indication to start, Sero shot a band of tape at his opponent. He knew Midoriya was quick; he just needed to be quicker.

Izuku, on the other hand, already expected the move given his opponent's quirk and easily flipped over the strand. Sero shot another one, but was just as successful as the first time.