The two recommendation students stood on opposite corners, waiting for Present Mic to finish hyping them up. Todoroki’s expression was darker than his shadow in the sweltering afternoon sun, while Felix kept his arms folded with a cheery expression on his face.

“Let’s put on a show, shall we?” The psychic grinned at his opponent just as the airhorn blasted.

Todoroki responded by taking the offensive, sweeping a rageful blast of ice at his opponent.

A gigantic wall of ice covered the opposite half of the field, sweeping past the audience line and poked out of the entire stadium. The crowd went silent at the overwhelming display of raw power.

The shivering Midnight raised her flag, preparing to announce Todoroki’s instant victory-

Ha… hahaha…

Todoroki flinched at the creepy laughter emanating from the iceberg. It sounded as though the very ice itself was speaking.

“Very well played…” The vibrations in the ice were somehow being manipulated in a way that imitated human speech. “But not good enough.”

It burst into pieces without warning, blowing the ice user back with the sheer power of the explosive force. Todoroki grunted as he stopped himself from going out of bounds with a block of ice supporting his back.

Two glowing points of pink illuminated Felix’s smirk as he stepped out of the ice menacingly. Todoroki sent another line of ice at him. His opponent swatted his hand casually, vaporising the ice.

“I noticed something about your power, Todoroki,” Felix said as the surrounding ice began levitating around him. “You can only create ice but you cannot telekinetically manipulate it, can you?”

Todoroki stepped back in shock.

“That’s too bad for you.”

He reacted quickly, encasing himself in an igloo. It saved him. Chunks of ice pelted against the igloo like a freak hailstorm as he frantically generated more ice, racing against time to reinforce his frozen shield.

A fist burst into the igloo without warning. Todoroki choked as Felix seized him by the neck and tossed him to the other end of the field again. Ice burst from his feet as he skated in a graceful arc, landing on the floor safely.

Felix moved forward with blinding speed, but the ice user was prepared this time.

“Big mistake, Pagonis.” Todoroki grabbed his opponent’s wrist and encased his whole body in ice. Frosty air escaped his lips, his body temperature dangerously low. He had overexerted himself, but at least he had immobilised his opponent for now. He still needed some time to recover before-

The world spun around him as a fist greeted his jaw squarely. Todoroki crashed hard on the ground. He coughed, the taste of iron rapidly filling his mouth. The boy scrambled backwards from his opponent in shock; he had not expected him to break out of the ice so quickly.

Blows rained all around him repeatedly as Felix moved in a blur. Todoroki tried to dodge the hits, but was only punished with even heavier blows on his open flesh. His vision darkened quickly.

Is that...Capoeira? What kind of training did this freak- Ugh… this is bad. I’m losing consciousness…

The beatdown stopped abruptly as though in response to his plea, and Todoroki’s vision slowly focused itself again. Felix’s hand was outstretched, now telekinetically holding him up. Todoroki struggled, kicking against the air futilely.

“My, my… Shoto Todoroki. When will you come to your senses?” Felix chuckled darkly, almost sounding like a villain by this point. “When will you realise that you are hopelessly outmatched?”

The psychic flicked his hand, slamming the boy to the ground again.

“How can you stand up to a villain if you can’t even stand up to your left side?!” Felix roared, tossing him closer to the boundary line. “How dare you call yourself a hero who only uses half his power?!”

“I won’t… let him win…” Todoroki gritted his teeth, struggling to get to his feet.

He screamed in desperation, blasting yet another beam of ice back at his opponent. A pink beam of psionic energy clashed with the ice, pushing it back towards the boy.

“Pathetic.”

Todoroki’s feet slid backwards slowly as the psychic pushed him back with his own ice. His breath picked up its pace as his eyes shook in fear. He was almost out of bounds by now. The boy’s eyes flitted to his left side.

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“You’re still refusing to acknowledge your father’s power, aren’t you?” Felix was now close enough to whisper to him. “Who are you, really? Are you merely Endeavour’s son?”

The mist cleared for a brief moment, and he locked eyes with his opponent.

“Or are you… Shoto Todoroki?”

“Enough!”

Fire exploded from Todoroki’s left side, accompanied by his yell. The ice melted instantly, and Felix leapt backwards from the licking flames. Puddles of water boiled away as the heat seared through the entire field.

“You’ve made your point… Felix,” Todoroki croaked in a raspy voice, but a small smile was hanging on his lips.

“What a beautiful power…” Felix leaned against his force field, taking the time to admire the cacophony of colours painting the air. “Finally, it’s showtime. Have at you!”

“Shoto!” Endeavour’s yell butted in randomly from the stands. “Have you finally accepted yourself? That’s it! Good! It all starts from here for you! With my blood, you will surpass me. You will fulfil my desire!”

The boys ignored him, clashing in a brilliant dance of fire and ice. Waves of orange and streams of white mixed in a perfectly balanced concoction of chaos and elegance. Streaks of pink trailed behind the playful figure dancing around in the colourful portrait, weaving elegantly between the ice and fire. The crowd cheered, thoroughly entertained by the spectacle.

A genuine laugh of joy escaped Todoroki’s lips. All his life, he was forced to use his quirk only for the purpose of training. Poisoned by the toxic ideals of his father, he had almost forgotten how much he enjoyed his powers.

He slid to the side, and pointed his left side at the back of his opponent.

“Thank you, Felix.”

Fire exploded from his palm. It was over-

“Well done, Todoroki. But the show’s over.”

The boy turned back in shock as Felix vanished in a flash, reappearing from behind him. A pained gasp burst from his mouth as the psionic beam struck his back, blasting him out of boundaries immediately. He crashed into the stadium wall.

And everything faded to black.

~ ~ ~

“Congratulations for the win. That might have been the scariest match I have ever watched,” Izuku greeted Felix as the boy returned to the player waiting room. “Is Todoroki alright?”

Felix chuckled, putting his hand on his head sheepishly. “He’s just knocked out. I didn’t hit him that hard.”

“You were terrifying, Pagonis.” Tenya walked into the room as well, closing the door behind him. “I’m actually worried for Midoriya now. With both of you advancing to the next round, you’ll be fighting each other very soon.”

“Thank you for breaking Todoroki’s shackles for me.” Izuku hung his head. “I know I probably don’t stand a chance against you, but I’ll do my best.”

Ochaco slumped on the table as her face further contorted itself.

“What’s up with her?” Felix asked.

“Don’t you know? She’s going up against Kacchan next.” Izuku patted her gently. “It’s a shame she’s on the other side of the bracket, or we would actually get to battle each other.”

“Calm yourself, Uraraka.” Tenya walked up to her. “I don’t think even Bakugo would use

a full-powered explosion on a girl.”

“Actually, he would.”

Izuku took out his hero notebook again, looking at it intensely. “Everyone’s trying to become number one; to make their dreams come true. It’s not just Kacchan; no one would think about holding back.”

The boy handed his notebook to her.

“You’ve helped me so much, Uraraka. That’s why I thought maybe I could help you a little; a plan to use your Quirk against Kacchan,” Izuku said. “It’s rough, but I came up with something.”

There was a pregnant pause as Ochaco stared at the book.

“Thanks, Deku. But it’s fine.”

Tenya and Felix looked at her in surprise.

“You’re amazing, Deku. I keep seeing more and more amazing sides to you. During the cavalry battle, I told you that it’d be easier to team up with friends,” she said solemnly. “But now that I think about it, I might’ve just been trying to rely on you.”

“Uraraka…” Izuku tilted his head down slightly.

“That’s why it’s fine. Everyone’s facing the future and trying their hardest.” Conviction glowed on the girl’s face as she pumped her fists. “Let’s meet in the finals!”

“Bravo! What a rousing speech!” Tenya chopped the air approvingly again, but a loud buzz interrupted him. He took out his phone, staring at a message as his face fell considerably.

“What is it, Iida?”

“It’s my brother, Tensei,” Tenya replied quietly. “He texted me to apologise for not being able to watch my upcoming match. Tensei has just left his agency for a very important mission.”

“Are you worried about him?” Izuku asked in a concerned voice.

“Not in the least. He is Ingenium, after all.” Tenya smiled brightly, but it was obvious that he was hiding his true feelings. “He’s been assigned to apprehend a criminal called ‘The Hero Killer’, a vicious man who killed over forty heroes. I can’t wait for him to return and bring us the good news.”

“You really admire him, don’t you?” Ochaco said brightly. Another beeping phone notification came in as well, and Felix stepped out to take the call.

“Everyone’s so busy with phone calls,” Izuku commented as Ochaco stretched. “Well, go ahead and prepare yourself, Uraraka. We’ll be wishing you all the best!”

Izuku stepped out of the room and looked around at the empty long corridor. He tilted his head a little in confusion, before leaving the place.

Felix sure left the hallway quickly, didn’t he?