A Young Teleporter's Heroic Journey

"Shinso's Quirk could certainly be useful for a variety of situations…" Shota mused up in the box. "But he, like Monoma from Class B… failed to count for the drive found in my students."

𖦹𖦹𖦹

"Shinso, why do you want to be a hero?" Izuku asked.

The boy sniffed and turned away. "You can't help the things you long for."

Izuku held a hand up as he walked off. I… I don't know what to say… 

He was gone.

𖦹𖦹𖦹

Len looked down at his hands, suddenly feeling rather empty.

"He looked so sad…" he mumbled. Shinso had just disappeared into the opening under the stands.

"Gotta go, guys. Wish me luck," Sero was saying, as he stood up and stretched.

"You can't win against Todoroki, dude," Kaminari told him.

"Yeah… we'll see, I guess." The tape boy left. Todoroki was already below, getting ready to go on.

"Deku-kun won!" Uraraka said with an excited grin, holding up her fists.

Iida nodded, smiling. "And he has managed to hold off on relying on his Quirk so far. His restraint and creativity has been admirable."

"He heeded my advice…" Ojiro sighed, and relaxed. "I was kinda worried. Midoriya can let his emotions get the better of him sometimes, I think."

"It's like a victory for you too, Oji-kun!" Hagakure exclaimed.

"Ah… I wouldn't go that far."

"Len?" Mina asked, leaning in. "Are you alright?"

"Man… I feel kinda bad, actually." Len leaned back in his seat, smiling sadly. "I was being unfair to Shinso. He may have been too cold or abrasive in his pursuit… but it was because he was such an underdog. Now I feel sorry for him."

Mina turned her nose up. "Meh. I'm glad someone from our class won, anyway."

"Ribbit," said Tsu.

Speaking of… Len narrowed his eyes. Someone with the same personality problem is up next… and they're decidedly not an underdog.

𖦹𖦹𖦹

"I mean, he's good, but he's gotta work on being so plain! From the hero course, it's Sero Hanta!"

"Damn, that's kinda rude," Hanta said, smiling and stretching his hands against each other. One of his advantages had always been his lankiness… now all his body felt loose, ready to spring. He was ready to go.

I got into the top ten in the obstacle race. Don't let that have been the peak of my day! I may not have stood out much in the cavalry battle, but here I'm the underdog! Let me do my best!

"And up against him, the cold warrior who's made quite a statement today! Second in the first event and first in the second! From the hero course, it's Todoroki Shoto!"

Todoroki walked out onto the platform, staring Hanta down. Hanta just grinned back at him.

Second fight with another classmate, after Asui. Won that one. Let's see if I can keep up my winning streak! The odds are against me, but I want to challenge my friends! Ashido… and Kagamine!

"Second match!" Present Mic boomed.

"Man, I don't really think I can win…" Hanta scratched at his neck sheepishly, trying to briefly distract the ice user.

"STAAAAART!"

"BUT I DON'T FEEL LIKE LOSING, EITHER!" He shot out tape with both elbows, wrapping Todoroki up and constricting him. Releasing one side, Hanta began to spin, trying to throw his opponent out.

"Oh! A swift attack from the underdog! Will this be the day's first upset?!"

As he was being spun, Todoroki locked eyes with his opponent, and Hanta froze, his heart skipping a beat. The boy's eyes had killing intent.

"Sorry," he growled.

He drove his right heel into the ground, and the arena filled with ice.

𖦹𖦹𖦹

The entire Class A box was stunned in silence. An ice wall had just filled their vision.

"That power is practically unfair!" Kaminari whined.

"The darkness only grows," whispered Tokoyami.

Len leaned forward, his jaw practically on the floor. Todoroki broke the tape by freezing it and then shattering it. He'd sent out an ice pillar taller than the arena, and almost as wide. With just one heel.

Midoriya, who'd returned right before the match started, was muttering up a storm. Bakugo had a similarly analytical expression on his face.

All the pros in the crowd were stunned. "He did that much?"

"Such power…"

"Damn, man…" Sero's teeth chattered, trapped in the heart of the pillar. "Wasn't that a little overkill?"

"Sero, can you move?" Midnight asked.

"What does it l-look like?"

"Sero is immobilised! Todoroki advances to the quarterfinals!"

"Sorry again," Todoroki said as he began to melt the ice around Hanta. "I was… angry." He glanced up in the stands, where Endeavor stood watching.

𖦹𖦹𖦹 

Sero and Todoroki returned to the box as Iida and Hatsume got ready to face off. "Tough luck, Sero," said Len as the tape user sat down.

"Ehh. It was just how the random bracket stacked. Shame we couldn't meet later on, though. My battle plan in such a scenario was to ask you about girls again."

"Gah!" Len trembled, and Mina and Sero both laughed.

Tsuyu's vacant eyes followed Todoroki as the ice user went and stood behind the back row. "Sero-chan. What did he say to you when he was melting you? We can't hear from up here, ribbit."

"Oh… he said sorry, and that he'd gotten a little angry. I don't know if he was angry at me for bothering to try against him, or if it was something else."

Len folded his hands under his chin. If it was the former, I have all the more reason to fulfill my promise. If it's the latter… Len found Endeavor in the stands. It wasn't hard. The number two hero's flaming facial hair stood out like a sore thumb.

Todoroki has been glaring up at him periodically. Perhaps his refusal to use his fire is connected to his dad? When he'd said to the boy "just like your father," that had clearly pushed a button. If he's angry like Sero says… good. I need him to be unstable.

He was really going all in on this, wasn't he? He almost chuckled to himself. Go big or go home.

There was some confusion down below about Iida using support items.

"You have to sign a petition to use those!"

"I apologise! I forgot! I thought… since Aoyoma had a belt…"

"He signed a petition for that!"

"Prior planning, monsieur." Aoyama winked in his seat, as if anyone was listening to him.

"Iida's up against Hatsume, huh?" Shoji wondered aloud.

Sato nodded. "I wonder what sort of skills support students have that factors into this."

"She has those gadgets," said Len. If only I'd been up against her, I might have had objects to work with. As it stood, the platform the fights were taking place on was completely bare. There was nothing he could warp via his arms.

Midoriya leaned forward, muttering. "Iida's best bet in any match is to attack right away, with his speed, but without knowing what he or Hatsume are wearing or what those gadgets do, it is impossible to truly tell… mutter mutter mutter…"

"Erm… Deku-kun…" Uraraka gave him a cute, nervous glance.

"Gah! Deku! Shut UP!" Bakugo roared from behind.

"Ah! Sorry, Uraraka, sometimes I get carried away…"

Len leaned forward and pointed at the burned packet of paper he saw next to Midoriya. "What's that?"

"Huh? Oh, Kagamine! It's, um… my notebook. I have notes on heroes and Quirks and stuff."

"Why's it burned?" Len asked plainly.

"Uhh…" Midoriya's frightened eyes flashed in Bakugo's direction, for half a second. Len got the gist. HE did it.

"Actually, I have notes on Quirks from people in the class as well…" Midoriya began to thumb through the pages. "Kagamine, would you like to see yours?"

Len's eye twitched. "I think I'm good, thanks." He's written about me.

"Wow, Deku-kun, that's amazing!" Uraraka praised. "You're so logical and thoughtful!"

"Huh? Ah, it's n-nothing!" he sputtered, waving his arms around and turning the color of a tomato.

Mina leaned forward, smiling at Len, and then looking at the antics of the two people in front of them. "Ah, young love."

Len snickered. "This one's so obvious even I've noticed it." They weren't listening to them, of course.

Iida and Hatsume's match was a bit of a joke and a bit of a disaster. Hatsume utterly embarrassed Iida for the sake of showing off her gadgets, and then threw the match by walking out. Len found himself getting mad at her as well. Iida's a good guy under all that… personality of his. He deserved better! He'd earned them the win in the cavalry battle.

"Len, something wrong?" Mina asked.

"Oh, nothing. Besides the fact that I'm getting way too into this and getting upset about the result of every match in one way or the other, everything's fine."

Mina giggled. "You want justice for Sero and Iida, don't you? That's pretty heroic, you know."

"Good to hear. I don't feel particularly heroic." As Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami walked out onto the stage, he stood. "My match is soon. I'd better get ready."

Mina gave him a coy look. "Sure you don't wanna stay and cheer for Yaomomo?"

Len looked down at Tokoyami, and shivered, rubbing the cuts on his arms. "It's no use. She's going to lose." Dark Shadow is too much.

As he walked out of the box, Shoji and Tsu and Hagakure wished him good luck. He nodded to them. Todoroki was not present by the tunnel door like before. Must have gone off somewhere.

He headed for the player waiting room. "Kagamine, wait!"

Len turned. It was Midoriya.

"Hey man. What is it?" The guy was holding the notebook. "Listen, whatever you've written in there, I really don't want to…"

"Just please listen for a second," the boy said, not stuttering at all. "You… when you saved me at USJ… I was thinking about that. During my fight with Shinso. I thought about your restraint and your strategy. How you know when to hold back. And that's how I managed not to fall for his Quirk. So… thank you."

Len grinned. "Hey, that's all you, man. You didn't HAVE to take my actions into account. Besides… I don't know if…"

"You've really been holding back?" Midoriya finished. Len's eyes widened.

"I don't know either. You've confused me for a while, Kagamine. I just recently started your notes, along with everyone else's, but… I wanna know. Why do you want to become a hero?"

"Because, because I…" the old motivation, the old excuse, it wasn't cutting it anymore. Not for this competition, not for this school. Things had changed already in such a short period of time.

"Once I just thought I wanted to use my natural power where it could be of the most help. But… it's more than that. I… want to be a champion of the downtrodden. The underdogs. The people who don't believe they can win, but try anyway. People like Sero, who keep a smile on their face even in defeat. People like Shinso, who work through the disadvantages of their Quirk to achieve their dreams. People who understand what it's like to be at the bottom, who understand the value of things beyond powers and competition. Like friendships."

Midoriya was grinning, ear-to-ear. "I knew it. I won't ask what may have happened to you in the past, Kagamine. I already heard enough of the darkness of the past today." He clenched his fist, and Len wondered what he meant by that. "I don't know what your circumstances were with your Quirk, but someone put you down, didn't they?"

Len could only nod. I haven't even told Mina and them the truth about my parents, but this guy's nearly figured it out on his own.

"But… I, like you, was in some way part of the 'bottom' for a long time. That's how we can respect the top for what it is, in a different way than some who've spent their whole lives up there might. That's why… I just want to offer this one piece of advice."

Len sniffed, barely keeping his emotions in check. "Go ahead."

"I don't know a lot about your powers, Kagamine. But… the limits you've imposed on them? They may not be as hard as you think."

Then the boy turned around and headed back for the box.

Len swallowed. Midoriya… you really are amazing. I'll… think on your words.

As he went down the steps and across the hall to the waiting room, he encountered…

"Ohmygod." Len stopped short. Looming over him was a massive muscular man with a flaming beard and piercing blue eyes. Todoroki's father. Endeavor.

"You. I have been looking for you," he said deeply, looking down at Len. Len was five-foot-nine, taller than all but three in his class, but Endeavor towered over him. The warping boy's face began to twitch uncontrollably. The yellow energy sputtered. "I might begin to spit nonsense," he squeaked. "If that happens, sorry in advance."

Endeavor raised a confused eyebrow. "I expected you to be a strange one, but… I wanted to ask you something. How did you convince my Shoto to let YOU take the rider role in the cavalry battle?"

"H-huh?" Len gulped. "Sir, he… um, yes. Endeavor, sir. He told me to be the rider, Endeavor. It was his, um, idea. Because I could warp people's…" he spontaneously circled a finger around his own head. Damn it! Words! "The headbands. I could warp them if I got close enough."

Endeavor narrowed his eyes. "I see. And did he explicitly volunteer to carry you from the right?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

"Grrr." The hero clenched his fists.

"I'm… sorry I couldn't be of more assistance."

"It's not your fault," the hero mumbled, already walking away. "Not your fault my most prized creation is rebelling."

Creation? That's a weird way to talk about your son. That almost spilled directly out of Len's mouth, but he'd forced it down.

Endeavor looked back over his shoulder at him one last time. "You wouldn't happen to know where I might find Midoriya Izuku, would you?"

"N-no, sir." A lie, of course. But he didn't really want to send Endeavor up to the Class A box or even know if it was allowed. I suppose the number two hero probably just does whatever he wants, but still.

The two of them parted ways.

When Len walked into the waiting room, he accidentally stumbled upon Yaoyorozu, sitting alone at the table. Her face and eyes were faintly red, and she was sniffling.

"How many weird meetings am I going to have on the way to my match?"

"Huh? Ah!" Yaoyorozu started, leaping out of her seat upon seeing him. "Kagamine-kun… you…"

"Hello. I didn't see your match because I kept getting held up by people in the hallway, but I assume you lost it?"

She sniffled again. "… Yes."

Damn. Other than Midoriya, pretty much everyone he'd rooted for had lost. Iida's win didn't count since Hatsume basically toyed with him the whole time.

"Dark Shadow is tough," Len said awkwardly. "We found that out in the cavalry battle."

"Yes, but…" she put a hand on her chest, looking sadly down at the table. Her lip was trembling. "I was able to block and counter him then, because I had all of you with me. You and Todoroki and Iida. You're the wonderful ones, truly. All by myself, I couldn't do anything…"

"Well…" Len felt really awkward. He'd never had a conversation with this girl before today, and they'd had several… moments over the course of the day. "Your Quirk is better suited to coming up with a plan beforehand, right? So you know exactly what to make. I'm not real good at planning, so I wouldn't get it too much, but…" he scratched his head. "If your instincts are your weaker side of things, then that's what you train to improve, I guess. And… have more confidence in yourself. A lot of the Creation you did in the cavalry battle was instinctual, and most of it involved saving my ass. I should be the one praising you, in all honesty."

Yaoyorozu rubbed her eyes and stood to face him, appearing surprised. "You… you can't mean it…"

"Why would I lie about something like that, Yaoyorozu?"

"You… you can call me Yaomomo, if you like." She smiled. "That's what all the girls call me."

Len sweatdropped. Fuck. Not this again. One of the girls indeed.

"Oh!" Momo's eyes widened in shock. "My match ended ages ago! You're probably up any second, Kagamine!"

"Shit." She had a point. "Well, wish me luck. And don't stay in here crying forever. Everyone up in the box misses you, probably." He left the waiting room, giving her a parting thumbs up.

𖦹𖦹𖦹

"It's time for the fifth match!" Present Mic shouted. The crowd went wild, ready to see another battle. The first match had been rather underwhelming, with no powers used. The second had been one massive burst of excitement before ending. The third had been a joke, and the fourth had ended too quickly. The crowd was starving for some real action.

"On one side, the graceful assassin of Class B! A recommended student, so her abilities are certified! From the hero course, it's Ibara Shiozaki!"

Crowd cheered. Len let out a deep breath, and stepped from the tunnel to the open arena, afternoon sunlight shining in his eyes.

"On the other side… the flashy rider and star of the cavalry battle! His powers kinda confuse me! From the hero course, it's Kagamine Len!"

Len smiled and waved at the crowd, playing the part a little. He spotted Mina's pink skin and horns high up in the box, and tried to wave specifically in that direction, hoping she got the message.

"Pardon me," Shiozaki was saying, raising a hand toward the announcer's booth.

The entire crowd fell silent.

"What did you mean by assassin? I come not to murder my fellow students, but to nobly challenge them in the field of battle, with the hope of a desirable result."

"Oh…" Present Mic mumbled, as the crowd whispered among themselves. "Sorry…"

A halo seemed to appear over her head. "I have entered UA High to become a shining light and help others, not to push others down. I do wish my introduction would reflect this."

"I said I'm sorry, okay?!"

What the hell is her deal? Len wondered as she turned to face him, equidistant from the center of the platform. Is she some kind of joke character?

And I still don't know how her Quirk works. Apparently she was a recommended student like Todoroki and Yaomomo. Which means… well, I don't know what it means.

In an empty open platform like this, without any objects to work with, Len only had one option. Dodge attacks with his own warps, and warp in close enough to push the other person out. I'll just have to give it my all, he thought. Like Midoriya, and Sero, and Yaomomo, and Iida… and most of Class A!

"Are you ready, my loves?" asked Midnight.

"Ready," said Shiozaki.

"Ready," said Len.

"Fifth match!" Present Mic yelled. "STAAAAART!"