Chapter 16: The Logic of Sacrifice.
The U.A. Stadium was a cauldron of noise. The cheers of thousands of spectators created a physical wall of sound that vibrated against the chest. The sun beat down on the fresh concrete of the fighting stage, baking the gray surface until heat waves shimmered in the air.
"ARE YOU READY FOR THE MAIN EVENT?!" Present Mic's voice boomed, rattling the speakers. "THE FIRST MATCH OF THE FINALS! THE BATTLE OF ICE VS. POWER! LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE!"
From the eastern tunnel, Izuku Midoriya walked out. He looked small against the vastness of the arena. His sport uniform was dusted with dirt from the previous rounds, and his face was pale. He walked stiffly, his eyes darting around the stands, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the moment.
From the western tunnel, Kuzan Aokiji emerged. He didn't walk; he strolled. Hands in his pockets, shoulders slouched, his yellow sleeping mask hanging loosely around his neck. He looked less like a gladiator entering a coliseum and more like a man looking for a vending machine.
They met in the center. Midnight stood on the referee platform, her whip raised.
Aokiji looked down at Midoriya through his amber-tinted shades. He saw the trembling in the boy's knees, but more importantly, he saw the bandages wrapped tightly around Midoriya's two fingers.
"Midoriya," Aokiji said, his voice low enough that only the two of them could hear over the crowd. "Did you figure out a way to use that quirk of yours without blowing your limbs off? Or are we doing the self-destruction routine again?"
Midoriya flinched, looking down at his scarred hand. "I... I haven't mastered it yet. Not completely."
Aokiji sighed, a puff of cold mist escaping his lips. "I saw you in the Cavalry Battle. You broke two fingers just to clear the ice. Your bones aren't made of steel."
"START!" Midnight shouted, cracking her whip.
The crowd roared, expecting an explosion of movement. Midoriya dropped into a combat stance, his good hand raised, his eyes fierce.
But nothing happened.
Aokiji didn't move. He didn't take his hands out of his pockets. He didn't create an ice saber or a blizzard. He just stood there, towering over Midoriya, looking utterly uninterested.
Five seconds passed. Then ten.
The roar of the crowd began to die down, replaced by a confused murmur.
"Uh... begin?" Present Mic said uncertainly over the speakers. "FIGHT!"
Aokiji tilted his head. The silence in the ring was heavy, suffocating.
"I don't feel good about this," Aokiji said finally, breaking the silence.
Midoriya blinked, confusion replacing his focus. "What?"
Aokiji took a step closer, leaning down slightly to look Midoriya directly in the eyes. His own black eyes were bottomless, devoid of the burning passion that fueled everyone else in this stadium.
"I'm looking at your face," Aokiji said calmly. "And I see a look I don't like. You're ready to break every single finger on that hand just to push me out of bounds. You're doing the math in your head right now—'If I sacrifice one finger for a smash, I can move him two meters.' Right?"
Midoriya gasped. That was exactly what he had been thinking.
"Do you want this win that badly?" Aokiji asked. "Is a high school sports festival worth permanent nerve damage?"
"It's not just a festival!" Midoriya shouted, his voice cracking. "It's my debut! I have to show to All-- I mean to everyone that I am here!"
Aokiji stared at him for a long moment. Then, he shrugged.
"Hmmm.. Fine. You can have it."
The stadium went dead silent.
"What?" Midoriya whispered.
"I forfeit," Aokiji said, turning his head toward Midnight. "Referee. I'm out. He wants it more than I do. Give him the win."
"HAAAAAAH?!"
The sound came from the crowd, the students, and the teachers alike.
In the VIP section, Soichiro Kuzan slammed his tablet onto the railing. His face, usually a mask of corporate stoicism, twisted into a scowl. "Foolish boy... what is he doing? The investors are watching!"
Down in the stands, Sayuri Kuzan gripped the railing. "He's trying to save him?" she whispered. "He doesn't want to fight a boy who hurts himself..."
In the faculty box, All Might in his skeletal form leaned forward, his skeletal hands gripping the chair. "Young Kuzan..."
Back in the ring, Midoriya was shaking. But not with fear. With anger.
"Are... are you making fun of me?" Midoriya asked, his voice low.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Aokiji replied lazily. "I'm tired. You're desperate. It's a logical conclusion."
"STOP MESSING AROUND!"
Midoriya screamed. The sound echoed through the stadium, his expression was furious.
"Everyone here... Uraraka-san, Iida-kun, Kacchan... everyone is fighting with everything they have! They are giving 100 percent to reach the top! And you... you stand there with that power, that amazing quirk, and you treat it like it's nothing?!"
Midoriya took a step forward, One For All crackling around his middle finger like red lightning.
"If you're going to stand in the ring, then FIGHT ME! Don't look down on my resolve!"
Aokiji stopped walking away. He turned back slowly. The air around him dropped lost some degrees. The boredom in his eyes shifted, replaced by a cold, sharp annoyance.
"You're loud," Aokiji muttered. "And you're stubborn."
"Here I come!"
Midoriya didn't wait. He placed his thumb against his middle finger on his right hand. He aimed directly at Aokiji.
"SMASH!"
SNAP.
Midoriya's middle finger broke. The sheer force of the air pressure released was like a cannon blast. A shockwave of wind ripped across the arena, tearing up the concrete and slamming into Aokiji.
Aokiji didn't dodge.
CRASH.
Aokiji's body shattered. His torso, head, and legs exploded into thousands of sparkling ice chips. The wind carried the shards backward, scattering them across the ring.
"He got him!" Kaminari shouted from the stands. "He blew him away!"
But the wind died down. The ice chips stopped moving. Then, they reversed.
Like a video playing backward, the ice swirled together. Aokiji reformed in seconds, standing on his feet. He brushed a speck of frost off his shoulder.
"That was a strong breeze," Aokiji said.
"I'm not done!" Midoriya yelled. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the throbbing pain in his middle finger. He raised his ring finger.
"SMASH!"
Another blast. Another snap.
Aokiji shattered again, his ice body dispersing into mist to let the shockwave pass through, then solidifying instantly.
"So that's your plan?" Aokiji warned, taking a step forward. "Seriously?"
"NOT YET!"
Midoriya raised his little finger. His hand was a ruin of purple and red. The pain was blinding, but he couldn't stop. He had to make Aokiji fight. He had to prove he was worthy.
"SMASH!"
The third blast in a row. It sent a hurricane of wind and dust. Breaking Aokiji one more time.
After few seconds, Aokiji stood up again like nothing happened. He looked at Midoriya, who was panting heavily, clutching his broken hand, tears of pain streaming down his face.
"You forced me to do this," Aokiji said. His voice was no longer lazy. It was absolute. "I can't watch you mutilate yourself anymore. It's irrational."
Aokiji raised his right hand. He didn't fire a projectile. He simply reached out toward the space between them.
"Ice Time."
The cold didn't travel. It simply was.
Midoriya tried to move, tried to load up another smash, but his body wouldn't respond. His feet were heavy. He looked down.
Solid, thick, white ice encased his legs. It rose rapidly—past his waist, past his chest, locking his arms to his sides. It covered his neck.
In less than a second, Midoriya Izuku was a statue. Only his head was left free, his face frozen in a mask of desperation.
The stadium went silent. The fight was over.
Aokiji walked slowly toward the frozen Midoriya. He stopped a foot away. He looked at the boy's broken hand, now encased in ice which acted as a splint, stopping the swelling.
"What a pathetic way to fight, Izuku," Aokiji said softly. The words were harsh, but the tone was filled with a strange, cold pity. "Your power is amazing. But using it to destroy your own body... that's not heroism. That's just a suicide."
Aokiji turned his back on the frozen boy. He looked at Midnight.
"He can't move. Call the match."
Midnight hesitated, stunned by the abrupt end, then raised her hand.
"MIDORIYA IS IMMOBILIZED! KUZAN AOKIJI WINS!"
The crowd erupted. It was a mix of cheers for the victory and gasps of horror at the overwhelming difference in power.
Aokiji walked toward the tunnel. He didn't wave to the crowd. He didn't smile. He just adjusted his sleeping mask and muttered, "Finally. I can have some time to sleep before the second round..."
.
.
~ Feel free to support me and read more Chapters;
pa tr eon. com/kazuha0
- Apple users should subscribe through the website, not the app, because the app costs about five extra dollars due to Apple's fees. That's why I strongly recommend using the web version. -