Reset and Rewind

Chapter 9 - Tournament Troubles

Like they somewhat expected, the brackets weren't the same as in their previous lives. Ojiro and one of his teammates had stepped out again, and Yaoyorozu was taken out due to her injuries, so now Shiozaki, Tetsutetsu, as well as Kendo joined the frame. Midoriya was still fighting in the first match, only now it was against Shiozaki instead of Shinsou. The brainwasher would be fighting in the sixth match against Kendo. Izuku didn't know whether or not Ojiro would warn her for his quirk, she wasn't part of class 1-A after all.

"You've got this, Deku-kun," Ochako smiled, pumping her friend up for his match.

"Yeah, kick her ass," Katsuki grinned. "And don't you dare lose, got it? I want to fight you in the final this time around."

"I'll try my best," Izuku smiled, waving them goodbye as he left for the arena. He knew the only reason Kacchan wanted him to win and get to the final was so he could have a satisfying victory, one that wouldn't be handed to him like the one during their original first year sportsfestival. Because even if Shoto had his memories back, he was still refusing to use his fire as a matter of principle. That and he wanted to spite his father. Izuku couldn't blame him for that, honestly.

His fight with Shiozaki was over quickly. Izuku used his full cowling to zoom past her vines and kick her out of bounds. She'd started babbling about Christ and other religious metaphors Izuku couldn't relate to, but he still felt bad for eliminating her like that. He warned Shoto not to go too hard on Hatsume-san, since she wasn't part of the hero course and her quirk would be no match for his. Katsuki, on the other hand, convinced Shoto to go along with the support gear Hatsume offered, allowing the battle to turn into a commercial while Katsuki laughed from the stands.

"You did that on purpose," Izuku pointed out.

"What? It's fucking hilarious," Katsuki laughed. "Besides, icyhot deserves to be humiliated for burning Momo, don't you think?"

"Yeah, there's no harm in having a little fun, Midoriya," Eijirou smiled, also laughing as Hatsume demonstrated her babies for the whole world to see. And okay, yeah, Izuku had to admit it was funny to see Shoto being dragged around and used as a test dummy. Maybe he laughed, too, you know, a little bit. After Hatsume showed off all her inventions, she stepped out of bounds, giving Shoto the win. That would mean he was Izuku's next opponent... Oh great, of all the possible fights he could have gotten himself into, the universe decided this was a good one to do over.

He tried not to think about it as the next match started, Ashido versus Tetsutetsu. Eijirou was torn between rooting for his best bro or his best gal pal, while Katsuki was full on rooting for Ashido to melt his ass off. Ochako was screaming something about girl power, too, while Shoto made his way back to the stands, mumbling something about realizing how Iida must've felt.

"It looks like we'll be recreating our match, Izuku."

"Only this time I'll win," Izuku promised.

"We'll see about that," Shoto smiled, a glint of ambition and determination in his eyes. In the end, Ashido won her match, using her acid as a perfect counter to Tetsutetsu's metal quirk, as well as her agility, to her advantage. Eijirou wasn't there to see the end of it though since he was up to fight next. His opponent would be Aoyama... Izuku frowned, clenching the fabric of his pants. He wanted to save him, to change his fate... But doing so would activate a chain of events Izuku wasn't sure he was ready for. He'd been confronted with enough bad consequences to know that his interference wasn't welcome.

Eijirou didn't hesitate to take him down though, and a part of him was glad for that. Izuku was relieved he didn't have to fight him, it would tear him apart. The next fight tore their little squad apart on a whole other level. Iida versus Kaminari. Of course the Dekusquad was all for Iida, but the Bakusquad was cheering for Kaminari.