Chapter 22 : Fire, Ice, and the Soul of a Hero

The entire stadium felt like it was holding a collective breath as Izuku Midoriya and Shoto Todoroki faced each other on the cold concrete stage. This wasn't just a fight between two powerful contestants; it was a clash of two ideologies, two unseen past burdens. I could feel it from where I sat. I watched from the Class 1-A stands, no longer just as an analyst, but as a transfixed spectator. On one side was Midoriya, a boy fighting with every ounce of his being to prove his worth, carrying a legacy greater than himself. On the other was Todoroki, an ice prince shackled by hatred, rejecting half of himself as a form of rebellion against his father, the Number Two Hero, Endeavor, who stared down from the stands with a burning expression.

The fight began with an immediate explosion of power. "Don't underestimate me," Todoroki said, and with a single swing of his arm, a massive, jagged wave of giant ice shot toward Midoriya. The attack was so large and fast it would have ended most fights before they began.

But Midoriya didn't back down. "SMASH!" he yelled. He flicked his finger, and I saw a concentrated blast of green energy explode from its tip. The resulting shockwave was powerful enough to shatter Todoroki's ice mountain into millions of glittering shards. But it came at a great cost. His index finger was broken, turning purple and hanging limp.

The fight continued in this painful pattern. Todoroki, with the same cold expression, would send an even larger, more ferocious wave of ice. And Midoriya, with a roar filled with pain and determination, would destroy it at the cost of another finger. One by one, the fingers on his right hand were shattered. Around me, my classmates watched in horror.

"He's… he's destroying himself," Uraraka whispered, tears beginning to well in her eyes. Iida gripped the back of the seat in front of him, his face tense.

I could only watch in silence, a cold, terrifying respect growing within me. I knew pain. I knew what it was like for your own power to hurt you. But there was a fundamental difference between us. Incursio forced that pain on me as a price to be paid. Midoriya, on the other hand, consciously chose that pain. Every broken finger was a choice, a calculated sacrifice to stay in the fight, to reach his goal. He wasn't just fighting Todoroki; he was fighting his own limits in the most brutal way imaginable.

Todoroki was starting to look frustrated. He wasn't used to this kind of resistance. "Why are you going so far?" he growled, sending another ice attack, this time from below, trying to trap Midoriya's feet. Midoriya leaped away, sacrificing the last finger on his right hand to shatter the ice. He landed awkwardly, his entire right arm now useless.

"You're trembling, Todoroki," Midoriya said, panting heavily. "Quirks are physical abilities too. There's a limit, isn't there?"

He was right. I could see it now. A thin layer of frost was beginning to creep up the right side of Todoroki's body, a result of overusing his power. His movements were becoming slightly slower, his breath coming out in white puffs. He was reaching the limit of his cold side.

He lunged forward, intending to end it with close-quarters combat. But Midoriya, even with one shattered arm, still had fight in him. He countered with a punch from his good left hand, straight to Todoroki's gut. The force he used was minimal, but it was enough to make Todoroki backpedal.

"I will help you!" Midoriya yelled, and the words echoed through the stadium. "By relying only on my own power! I will defeat you!"

That's when I understood. This fight was never about victory for Midoriya. From the beginning, his goal was something else, something deeper. He wasn't trying to defeat an opponent. He was trying to save a friend from himself.

Todoroki, enraged by Midoriya's words, charged again. But Midoriya was ready. He prepared his last finger, on his left hand. He would destroy his whole body if he had to. It was then that Midoriya shouted the words that would change everything.

"EVERYONE IS FIGHTING WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT! TO WIN AND GET CLOSER TO THEIR DREAM! ONLY YOU! ONLY YOU ARE TRYING TO WIN WITH JUST HALF YOUR STRENGTH! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" He looked straight into Todoroki's mismatched eyes. "IT'S YOUR POWER, NOT HIS!"

Those words hit me like a physical blow. It's your power. All this time, I had been treating Incursio as a separate entity. The "dragon" inside me. A power I borrowed. A curse or a gift that wasn't mine. I tried to negotiate with it, feared it, tried to control it as if it were a wild beast. But what if I was wrong? What if, like Todoroki's Quirk inherited from his father, this power, wherever it came from, was now a part of me? Not "the dragon" and me, but "us." Not its power, but my power.

In the arena, something inside Todoroki broke. Memories of his traumatic childhood—his mother, the boiling water, his father's hatred—flashed in his eyes. But then, his mother's own words, long forgotten, resurfaced: 'It's okay to be the hero you want to be.'

And then, it happened.

A tremendous explosion of fire erupted from the left side of Todoroki's body. The flames were so hot and powerful, they twisted toward the sky like a solar flare. The entire stadium was stunned into silent awe. He stood there, one half of his body wreathed in jagged ice, the other engulfed in brilliant orange fire. He had finally used his father's power. No, he was using his power.

"Thank you, Midoriya," Todoroki said, a strange, small smile on his battered face. "I… want to be a hero, too."

In the stands, Endeavor roared with joy, a twisted victory radiating from his face. But I knew he didn't understand. This wasn't a victory for him. This was Shoto Todoroki's moment of liberation.

Both of them prepared their final attacks. Todoroki created a giant wave of ice while preparing an equally massive blast of fire. Midoriya, with a broken left arm and shattered right fingers, channeled all the remaining power of One For All into his still-intact right thumb. It was a crazy final gamble.

"This is dangerous! Stop them!" Midnight screamed. Cementoss, who was refereeing, slammed his hands on the ground, creating thick concrete walls between them. But it wasn't enough.

Their attacks collided. Ice and fire against pure wind pressure. The resulting explosion was catastrophic. The entire stadium shook, and a wave of freezing and searing air washed over the stands. As the thick smoke began to clear, the scene was shocking. Most of the concrete walls were destroyed. Midoriya was blasted against the arena wall, unconscious, his body battered. Todoroki was still standing, though panting heavily and with parts of his clothes burnt away, protected from the worst of the impact by his own shattered ice wall.

Midnight announced the result with a trembling voice. "Midoriya… is out of bounds. The winner is… Todoroki Shoto!"

The stadium was silent for a moment, before erupting in the loudest applause I had ever heard. They weren't cheering for a victory, they were cheering for the fight itself, for the spirit they had witnessed. Medics rushed in to retrieve Midoriya, whose body was broken but whose spirit had won something more important than a match. He had saved someone.

I sat there, processing what I had just seen. Being a hero wasn't just about beating villains. It was about reaching out to people who were hurting, even if that person was your opponent. It was about pushing yourself beyond your limits, not for victory, but for someone else.

"Next up," Present Mic's voice boomed, snapping me out of my reverie as the repair crew quickly fixed the arena. "The winner of the Kirishima and Tetsutetsu showdown is… Kirishima Eijiro! And the next match in the second round is… TATSUMI VERSUS TOKOYAMI FUMIKAGE!"

My name echoed through the stadium. The time had come. I rose from my seat. The fear I had felt about fighting Tokoyami was still there. He was strong, and Dark Shadow was a terrifying opponent. But now, there was something else inside me. A new resolution, forged by Midoriya's fight.

As I walked past my classmates, Momo put a hand gently on my shoulder. "Tatsumi-san…" she began, her voice full of concern after the horrifying battle we had just witnessed.

I looked at her, and she must have seen something different in my eyes. "I'll be fine," I said, my voice calmer and steadier than before.

I walked down the dark tunnel toward the blinding light of the arena. I no longer felt alone. I closed my eyes, ignoring the sound of the crowd, and focused inward. I reached out to the sleeping heat in my chest. This time, I didn't ask or demand. I didn't try to control it. I simply offered an invitation, an acknowledgment.

'You are a part of me,' I thought, a silent statement that resonated in my soul. 'You are not a monster to be feared. You are my strength. Our strength. So, let's face this together, partner.'

I didn't get a response in words. But I felt it. The dragon's heartbeat within me, once faint, now beat a little stronger, a little steadier. It was an agreement. A promise. I opened my eyes as I stepped into the light. I didn't know if I could call on it. But for the first time, I wasn't afraid to try.