Timeloop Trouble

Chapter 24 - Fated Matchup

It seemed like fate really liked this fight, didn't it? Because once again, Izuku was up against Shoto in the second round of the brackets. He'd won against IIda in his first match, the fourth fight of the first round, so now he'd be facing Izuku. Shinsou had also won his match against Honenuki from class B, and Shiozaki had wrapped up Ojiro before he could wrack any real damage. Eijro, on the other hand, totally wrecked Awase. Lastly, Momo had outsmarted Mina, which was good for her, honestly. Izuku wished he could bring back her confidence without running the risk of bringing back her memories, too...

He tried not to think about it as he watched Kacchan beat the absolute shit out of Kaminari, making his way to the waiting room when he saw this fight wouldn't drag on much longer. Yeah, not being able to bring Momo's confidence back was going to weigh on him, but not as much as not being able to save Shoto. Because that's what this was, wasn't it? Fate teasing him, throwing a rock at his face knowing Izuku wouldn't be able to catch it. He wouldn't be able to save Shoto, wouldn't be able to yell at him, to tell him his quirk was his and no one else's. Izuku wouldn't be able to do so without triggering his memories to come back.

So here he was, standing face to face with one of his best friends, one of the kindest, most generous people he knew, and all he received was a stone cold glare. Izuku was just a pebble on the road for him, after all. He hadn't even given him his declaration of war this time around. No, why would he? There was no resemblance with All Might, so why should he care about who Izuku was? He was just some quirkless support course student who happened to bullshit his way into the last round. There was nothing more to it.

That didn't mean Izuku wasn't going to beat his ass, though.

When the first wave of ice came his way, he reflected it with little to no problem, only being pushed back about a foot or so due to the recoil. Shoto, on the other hand, had to put up a wall being him so he wouldn't be blasted out of bounds while shattering his own attack as it was being thrown back at him.

"Your usual tactics are not gonna work, Todoroki!" Izuku called out, charging at him. It was better to get this over with quickly, before Izuku changed his mind and tried to remind Shoto of who he was. "How are you going to convince Endeavor of your strength when you can't even beat a quirkless brat, hah?!"

That seemed to stun him for a moment, giving Izuku the chance to punch him in the gut. He couldn't push Shoto out of bounds, not directly, not with that wall in the way. But he could punch him and follow it up with a throw, smashing him onto the ground with everything he got.

"Don't think you're all that just because you have a fancy quirk!" Izuku yelled, and wow, where did that suddenly come from? He'd never been jealous of Shoto, never envied his situation. So why was he saying all those things now..? He almost didn't flinch back when fire shot up into the air, scorching some of his hair as he stumbled away. Huh, that's right, Shoto hadn't used his fire against him in the cavalry battle. Izuku hadn't expected him to use it now, either. "Fire, huh? Didn't know you had it in you, Todoroki-kun."

"You don't know anything about me," Shoto hissed, trying to sweep his leg as he got up, but Izuku darted back in time to avoid the attack. He'd like to argue with that. Izuku knew a lot about him. But it wasn't the time nor the place to do so. No, because flames were a little harder to redirect and reflect, turns out. Some of them made it past his arms, little embers burning holes in his uniform and burning away a few strands of hair. He hissed when some of it hit his face, but he braved the pain knowing Recovery Girl would be able to heal those small burns in no time.

Shoto wasn't having an easy time either. The reflected flames pushed him back, and when he tried his ice- probably a reflex, Izuku thought- it was enough to send him flying out of bounds. Izuku was still breathing heavily as Midnight announced him the winner, wincing when he touched his face. God, he must look awful right about now... But his support item worked, it held up against Shoto's quirk, and that was the most important part. Although, looking at his bracers now, he could tell they'd been damaged quite a bit.