Ice-Zuko vs Suzaku 2

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…

As the heat intensified on the stage, with both contestants glaring at each other with fierce determination, Cementoss spoke to Midnight from the other side of the field, using his earpiece as he glanced at her.

"Hey, don't you think things are getting a bit out of hand…? Todoroki's attacks were already plenty devastating with only ice. If he starts to use fire, won't it be too much for Suzuki? Even if he's good at martial arts, there's a limit to what a human body can handle…"

Midnight nodded, her gaze wary. "We'll need to be ready to intervene if things go too far."

Back in the arena, Todoroki squinted as Suzaku's posture shifted. What had been a relaxed stance now transformed into a focused, disciplined form as he gripped his staff with both hands, the air of a martial master radiating from him.

As the two stood in a face-off, Todoroki stole a glance at his own right arm. The ice forming there was already melting, ceasing his earlier shivering and finally letting him harness his ice powers without a problem. 

With both sides of his Quirk now balancing each other, Todoroki could finally go all out without worrying about overusing one.

He was finally letting go.

"..." Without realizing it, a small smile appeared on his face. A smile that represented the excitement he felt about finally getting to fight without holding himself back due to grudges, traumas, or hatred… to finally fight for the thrill of it.

Even if he himself didn't realize it.

However, as his heart was drifting apart from the mess of his family life, focusing only on his opponent and finally enjoying the thrill of the battle ahead, the voice of the man he so-dreaded snapped him out of his daze.

"SHOTOOOOOO!!!"

["Eh?"] 

Even Present Mic seemed taken aback by the sheer force of the yell.

All eyes snapped to Endeavor, who was striding to the edge of the stands, his face lit with a manic grin.

"Have you finally accepted yourself?! Good, that's it! From here on, your true path begins! With my blood, you'll surpass me!... YOU WILL FULFILL MY DES—"

-Swooosh!-

-Bang!-

"—Agh!"

But before Endeavor could finish his dramatic declaration, a chunk of ice the size of a fitness ball shot from the arena, slamming into his face with incredible speed and sending him staggering backward.

However, Endeavor managed to hold his footing, the ice melted almost instantly, revealing a face twisted with fury. Without missing a beat, he stormed back to the edge of the stands, searching for the culprit.

His eyes locked on Suzaku, who was grinning unapologetically—no, smugly—as he waved with faux innocence.

"Oops! Sorry, sorry! The arena's so full of ice, I thought I'd clean up a bit. I'll be more careful next time!"

"You!!!"

["Mr. Endeavor, please refrain from interrupting in the match."] Aizawa's stern voice echoed from the speakers, forcing Endeavor to grind his teeth as he returned to his seat, fuming.

["And you, Suzuki, no throwing things at the stands."]

"Sorry, sorry! I promise it was completely unintentional!" Suzaku laughed as he scratched the back of his head. Though, the smug look on his face showed that it certainly hadn't been unintentional at all.

As Suzaku refocused on the fight, he caught Todoroki staring at him in surprise. However, instead of saying anything, Suzaku simply shrugged and chuckled, slipping back into his stance. 

Todoroki tensed immediately, but a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Right, this isn't the time to worry about my shitty old man," he thought wryly as flames flared on his left side and ice began spreading from his right. "First, I have to be careful of this guy!"

Wasting no time, Todoroki bent forward and pressed his palm to the ground, his injured legs too weak to generate the needed ice.

-Swooosh!-

As a result, a massive surge of ice, as large as the opening attack he'd unleashed at the start of the match, surged toward Suzaku—this time even more potent with his newfound balance of temperature.

"Hah!"

Faced with the incoming ice calamity, Suzaku sprang into motion, darting across the arena with remarkable speed. Then, just as the ice was meters from reaching him, he jammed his staff into the ground, extending it to launch himself sideways just in time to avoid the rushing glacier, as it was too tall to simply vault over.

-Fwoooosh!-

But Todoroki was ready. The moment Suzaku landed in a seeming safety, a torrent of flames roared in his direction.

-Bang!-

However, once again Suzaku's staff saved him, using its extending function to propel himself out of harm's way, narrowly escaping the searing heat as he flew sideways through the air.

-Tap-

Then, mid-flight, he landed atop the ice formation, using it as a foothold to kick off and launch himself toward Todoroki. The boy reacted instantly, conjuring a towering ice wall to halt Suzaku's advance. Not planning on letting him get close like last time.

-Swish!-

-Bam!-

However, Suzaku wasn't so easily shaken off. As soon as the ice wall emerged, he swung his staff and embedded it firmly into the icy surface. 

"Hup—!"

Then, with a practiced twirl, he used the leverage to vault over the wall, propelling himself higher than before.

Once he reached the peak of his jump, staff still in hand, Suzaku began his descent, aiming for Todoroki with a focused, almost gleeful intensity. The staff whistled through the air, ready to deliver a punishing strike.

Thanks to the ice wall obscuring his view, it took Todoroki a moment to realize the impending danger

'Crap!'

He only noticed Suzaku when the redhead was already mid-swing, reacting purely on instinct. With a burst of ice beneath him, Todoroki propelled himself out of harm's way.

—Clang!!!—

The next second, Suzaku's staff smashed into the ice he had stood on just moments before, shattering it into a dozen fragments. The blow narrowly missed Todoroki, who stared at the shards with a nervous grin, fully aware that could've been him.

"Ack—!"

But the escape wasn't clean. Unable to rely on his legs, Todoroki tumbled across the ground, coming to an unceremonious stop after conjuring a small ice wall to halt his momentum.

As soon as he recovered, he turned his attention back to Suzaku—who was already charging at him with blinding speed.

With no time to think, Todoroki launched a wave of fire in Suzaku's direction.

The flames forced Suzaku to halt his advance, who deftly dodged to avoid being consumed by the inferno, using his staff to propel himself again, and barely escaping the roaring fire.

However, he didn't escape unscathed. Due to the proximity between the two, the attack left his clothes singed and his arm slightly burned.

But whether the pain affected him or not, Suzaku showed no sign of it. Without hesitation or mind for his injuries, he resumed his attack.

The lingering smoke and blinding light product of his own flames made Todoroki lose track of Suzaku for a moment, allowing for a moment of carelessness that Suzaku didn't waste.

'Shit!'

By the time Suzaku reemerged from the haze, his staff was already swinging toward Todoroki's left side—too fast for him to try and block using his ice from his other side.

In a desperate measure, Todoroki tried using his fire as an opposing force to at least slow down the attack.

-Bam!-

However, whether it worked or not, he wasn't sure, as the next second the staff connected with his arm with a ferocious force, sending a jolt of shattering pain through his body.

"Aaaargh!" Todoroki cried out.

However, pain was a good motivator.

Desperate, and with adrenaline running through his body, Todoroki immediately swept his uninjured arm in Suzaku's direction, unleashing a wave of frost that forced the redhead to retreat momentarily.

"Hngh."

As Todoroki gained a brief moment of respite—albeit at the cost of his arm—he turned to assess the damage, attempting to move the injured limb, wincing sharply the moment he tried. 

The arm was indeed heavily injured.

With both legs rendered useless and one arm teetering on the verge of the same, Todoroki squinted, a nervous smile tugging at his lips. His chances of victory seemed slim.

If he had gone all out from the start… Would his current situation have been different?

'Probably,' Todoroki sneered at the thought.

Despite his newfound balance between fire and ice vastly boosting greatly his attack power, Suzaku had already taken away his mobility by the time he reached that point. That disadvantage, combined with Suzaku's sheer agility and uncanny ability to evade everything, left Todoroki at a severe disadvantage.

He couldn't run, and also had it really hard preventing Suzaku from getting close.

Even now… even after using ice to push him away several meters, Suzaku was already rushing at him at an annoying speed. 

If he didn't act before the redhead closed the distance, he was certain to be struck down again… Maybe for the last time.

"..." Todoroki stared at his injured hand in silence. It could still move, but the pain was excruciating.

However, despite that, he needed to use it

Using his ice alone wouldn't be enough to keep Suzaku at bay for long, the guy was too slippery to use only one type of attack. He needed both arms.

However, with his right arm so damaged, he couldn't imagine himself being able to force it to move through the pain more than one time. So simply keeping Suzaku at bay was out of the question.

He needed to end the fight in one go.

Todoroki gritted his teeth. His only chance lay in combining his fire and ice into one devastating, all-out attack. One that was to end the match in a single move.

But could Suzaku endure it? That was the question.

If it had been someone like Midoriya, whose Quirk offered immense firepower and resilience, he might have stood a chance against such an attack. But Suzaku, for all his extraordinary martial skill, didn't seem to possess a Quirk or any particular ability that could withstand it.

Todoroki's mind turned to Recovery Girl. She was the safety net for students who sustained severe injuries, but even her Quirk had its limits. What if she couldn't heal Suzaku in time? Worse, what if Suzaku didn't survive the attack at all?

He didn't even want to consider it.

However, the reality was undeniable—if he didn't use everything he had in one go, there was no way he could keep fending off Suzaku with just his ice. 

It came down to a single choice. Risk delivering an attack that could cause serious harm—or keep fighting a futile battle using only his ice.

Todoroki's mind churned in turmoil, the weight of his decision pressing down on him. 

However, before he could think any further, Suzaku was upon him, forcing him back into action.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Todoroki unleashed a powerful wave of frost in a single swing of his hand, an expansive surge that swept outward in all directions. The towering wave of ice loomed high, designed to block Suzaku from vaulting over it.

-Swooosh!-

But as the icy wave surged forward, Todoroki's sharp eyes caught Suzaku's reaction. 

"...!"

With barely human agility, Suzaku leaped onto one of the ice formations from earlier, balancing precariously as he waited for the attack to pass beneath him in safety.

Seeing Suzaku's inhuman agility, and remembering all the crazy stunts he had been pulling since earlier, Todoroki gritted his teeth as he had a realization.

He realized Suzaku had probably been playing with him until now.

Despite the overwhelming power of his Quirk, that damn old man of his had never neglected his training in other areas—martial arts, strategy, and discipline. He had made sure to prepare Todoroki thoroughly and not just rely on his son's Quirk to guide him to the top.

And a very important lesson in combat that he had been taught during spars with Endeavor, was to always protect the vital points.

Suzaku had struck him hard, targeting his arms, legs, and solar plexus. Yet, he'd never gone for Todoroki's head, even when he'd had ample opportunity. It was as if he was methodically wearing Todoroki down, weakening him without truly finishing the fight.

"... You."

The prick had actually dared to lecture him about holding back when he himself had not gone all out.

And what annoyed him more of those thoughts, was the question of what'd happen if he allowed Suzaku to close in once again.

Would he continue hitting him in non-vital places, or would he put an end to this match in one single blow?

Suzaku had more than enough strength to do so.

Todoroki was caught between the sword and the wall.

"Damnit…" his eyebrows furrowed, only for his eyes to widen slightly at the next second.

It hit him then, just how foolish he'd been to hold back earlier. Suzaku had given him a chance—a chance to fight freely, to embrace both sides of himself without caring for all the family stuff that had been weighing him down until now.

As the realization hit him, he looked at his right hand, trembling from the pain in his arm.

Could he allow himself to hold back again?

No.

Not if he wanted to win this.

"Hey," Todoroki called out, his voice sharp and clear, causing Suzaku to stop mid-rush. "Would you say you're resistant?"

Suzaku raised an eyebrow for a moment, before smirking. "Yeah."

"Is that so?" Todoroki let out a short, almost amused laugh, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "Then I hope you can survive this..."

-Fwooosh!!!-

With those words, the fire and ice around him surged to unprecedented levels. Ice spread rapidly across the floor from his left side, while flames roared to life on his right, blazing like a blowtorch around his kneeling figure.

"Oh shit." Suzaku's smirk faded faintly, and he took a step back.

—SWOOOSH!!!—

The next moment, a colossal mass of ice erupted from Todoroki's left, twice the size of his previous attacks, hurtling toward Suzaku with terrifying force.

"Damn!"

With his reflexes working at full power, Suzaku leaped to the side just in time by using his staff like other times, narrowly evading the oncoming wall of ice. However, even then, it grazed him, swallowing his staff and frostbiting his hand as he rolled across the ground.

But Suzaku barely flinched. The instant he regained his footing, his focus snapped to Todoroki, who now radiated a blistering heat that scorched the air itself.

"If you don't think you can survive this… then dodge it," Todoroki said, his voice steady despite the pain wracking his body. Slowly, he raised his hand, flames spiraling around it. His lips curled into a faint, bittersweet smile. "And... thank you."

The next second, an eruption of fire surged forth, roaring like a rocket engine as it consumed everything in its path.

"Midnight!" Cementoss shouted in panic, his hands slamming into the ground as thick concrete barriers shot up in Suzaku's defense.

"Shit!" Midnight cried, tearing part of her costume to unleash her sleep-inducing pheromones into the air.

—BOOOOM!!!—

Then, with a deafening explosion, the firestorm consumed the barriers Cementoss had raised. The first wall shattered instantly, sending chunks of molten concrete flying cross all around the stadium. 

The second and third barriers followed in quick succession, disintegrating under the relentless firestorm. Each collision sent shockwaves rippling through the arena, shaking the ground beneath the spectators'.

Each wall crumbled as if it were paper before the overwhelming force of Todoroki's flames. The inferno carved a path of destruction, its heat scorching everything in its wake. The metallic scent of superheated air mixed with the acrid stench of burning debris made it difficult to breathe.

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the arena, rattling the stands and forcing spectators to shield their eyes. Dust and smoke rose in a suffocating plume, swallowing the entire stage in an impenetrable haze.

"..."

…

..

.

For a long, agonizing moment, silence reigned.

The crowd stared in stunned disbelief at the cloud of smoke, their eyes wide and unable to draw a breath.

"Did he…?" someone whispered, unable to finish the thought.

On the commentator's cabin, Present Mic leaned closer to Aizawa, his normally exuberant voice subdued. "Oi, Aizawa… Do you think…?"

Aizawa didn't respond. His sharp gaze was locked on the battlefield, his jaw tight.

The expression of worry on the face of someone usually so laid back showed the seriousness of the situation.

"Haaah… Haaah… Haaah…"

Inside the smoke, Todoroki knelt on the scorched ground, his breaths shallow and haggard. Half of his uniform was burned away, his exposed skin slightly red and sweaty due to the heat. His trembling eyes remained fixed on the spot where Suzaku had stood.

"Did he somehow get away… or did that finish him off?" Todoroki muttered to himself, his voice barely audible over the fading crackle of flames. Cementoss' barriers had blocked his view, leaving him uncertain of the outcome.

…

..

.

"..."

The longer the silence stretched, the heavier it weighed on him. The darkness that came with the smoke that shrouded the battlefield seemed to seep into his thoughts, amplifying the gnawing guilt that began to creep in.

"Did I…?" he whispered again, his voice cracking. The possibility that he might have gone too far began to claw at him, tightening his chest.

He lowered his gaze to his trembling right hand. The overwhelming intensity of the fight had pushed him to act on raw emotion rather than logic. And now, the thought struck him like a hammer: Maybe my fire really is something that shouldn't be used.

"Dammit…" Todoroki cursed under his breath, glaring at his right half as if it were the source of his shame.

However—

"Why are you cursing out of nowhere? That should be my line."

"...!?" Todoroki's head snapped up, his eyes widening at the unexpected voice that seemed to come from behind him.

In a rush, he turned around, and for the briefest moment, his breath caught. Through the swirling smoke, Todoroki could swear he saw Suzaku's feet rising off the ground, almost as if he were emerging from a liquid pool rather than standing on solid earth.

But Todoroki didn't have time to process the surreal image.

—BAM!!!—

"Ugh—!"

The next second, a heavy punch drove into his gut, forcing the air from his lungs and sending him staggering backward. His vision blurred, and his mind went into disarray.

Then, just as his eyes began focusing on his opponent one last time, the last thing he saw was a footsole.

-Bang!-

After that, everything went dark for him.

And, as if cued by his collapse, the dense smoke began to dissipate, slowly revealing the battlefield to the onlookers.

There, standing over Todoroki's unconscious form, was Suzaku.

His frostbitten hand trembled slightly, his burns glowed an angry red against his skin, and his gym uniform hung in tattered ruins. Shattered remnants of his glasses barely clung to his face. Yet, despite his battered appearance, Suzaku stood tall, his expression calm but victorious.

The crowd erupted into murmurs and gasps, the air thick with disbelief.

Then, with deliberate effort, Suzaku turned to face the crowd. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he raised his fist high into the air.

["I can't believe it!"]

Suzaku had won.

...

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: And Todoroki has been defeated. Now, only one opponent stands in Suzaku's way to get first place. What kind of epic battle will unfold? See you in the next chapter!)

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