Shoto had been less than thrilled about who he'd ended up with as a partner. Although he could do everything just fine on his own, having a bit of assistance from someone with an actual useful Quirk may have sped up the process a little.
Eight more minutes, he thought, watching the southeast entrance closely. He was pretty sure they'd appear at that one; in fact, he thought he had heard someone near the ice wall a few minutes before. Perhaps they had backed off to formulate a plan? It didn't matter. He wouldn't be letting them through.
Shoto wished he'd been on the hero team. With an objective to go after, he'd have ended this in less than two minutes. Instead, he had to defend, and wait it out.
All was silent on the comm. Perhaps Aoyama really did leave the building. Shoto was getting antsy; he wanted to see the faces of his opponents. What could they be up to?
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind the northwest entrance ice wall. A male voice. "Ashido!" Ojiro was saying. "I'm in position!"
Speaking into an earpiece. Shoto's head whipped back toward the southeast entrance. That's where Ashido is; they've split up and gone for both entrances together. Okay, I'll go for Ashido, she's clearly the bigger threat. Ojiro cannot break my ice with his tail.
Shoto dashed toward the southeast entrance and stopped short in front of the ice wall. Melt through my ice, huh? I'll just have to beat you to the punch. He'd shock Ashido by melting the wall in front of her, giving him time to freeze her so completely that she'd have no way to use her powers.
Shoto held up his left palm to the wall and used heat to melt through it. The wall, having already sat deep in a heated building for several minutes, melted quickly into water… revealing no one on the other side.
"Huh?" Shoto whipped his head around, and saw a burning hole forming in the northwest wall. They were both over there the whole time! "Heyyy, Todo!" Ashido's voice sang from through the growing hole. "Mind if we stop by?"
Shoto clenched his teeth in fury, and ran back toward the northwest entrance. The wall broke down just as he arrived, and he slammed his right foot into the ground, sending a wave of ice at Ashido.
She hopped aside nimbly, but she was in a bottleneck position at the edge of the hallway, and his ice was all-encompassing. Shoto watched it envelope her up to knee-level. He could have gone all out with a full freeze, but that was probably overkill to use on a fellow classmate.
Mina struggled, and tried to shoot acid at him from her stuck position. He dodged it easily. Wait, where's the other? Where is Ojiro?
She smiled upon seeing the look on his face. "We haven't lost yet, Icy-Hot!" Ashido hovered her palms over the ice that had frozen her legs, and began to burn through it with acid.
That will take time; the ice is thick. Meanwhile, Shoto dashed back to the other entrance. Damn, he said that thing about getting into position and then immediately began running for this entrance? They predicted what I would do?
It didn't matter. He just had to hold them off for a little longer.
Ojiro was coming up the southeast hallway, bounding forward with his tail. Shoto placed his right hand on the wall and his right foot on the floor, sending out a thin coat of ice over half the hallway. Ojiro bounced to the other side, running closer and closer, trying to reach him in time. Shoto switched sides, coating the other wall as well. The tail boy stopped short, shivering in his loose, light costume, his breath emerging as vapor.
Shoto flicked his mismatched eyes down at Ojiro's bare feet, now pressed against the ice. "I wouldn't take another step if I were you. Unless you want to lose some skin in a painful way."
Ojiro grimaced, shakily closing his eyes. "Damn you. ASHIDO! GO!"
Shoto turned, running back across the room for the last time. The acid girl had just gotten free of his trap, and in his rush to get over there… he accidentally got in close to her. Much too close.
He slid to a stop and tried to back-pedal. In that instant of turning point, Ashido smirked in victory, raising her hand to give him a faceful of acid… and faltered, her face falling in confusion.
In that moment, Shoto regained his bearings, and STOMPED the floor with his right. Another wave of ice enveloped her, this time up to her torso, and much thicker.
"You will not get free before time runs out," said Shoto plainly, even as she tried to melt it down like before. A minute later, his point was proved, and the timer sounded.
***
"Villains win!" All Might announced.
The whole class was put off.
"Todoroki is that powerful?" asked Kaminari, stunned.
"Even after all their strategy and running him back and forth, the heroes couldn't stand up to the ice…" Iida muttered, disquieted. He and Uraraka had returned to the video room halfway through the match.
"He's another recommended student, after all." Jiro shrugged.
Bakugo, who'd returned almost immediately, glared at the video screen with an angrily determined expression, watching the footage of Todoroki closely.
Len swallowed, as the ice user freed Mina and Ojiro from their positions now that the match was over. "Does he have heat in his other hand?" he asked, gulping.
"He has fire in his other hand," said Sato, "and he didn't even need to use it once."
Jesus H. Christ. That is power on another level. He doesn't even need technique! Len watched carefully as Mina walked out of the building, a certain spring having left her step. "She's not okay," he said frankly to the person standing next to him, who happened to be Tsuyu.
"Getting frozen twice in the span of five minutes will do that to you, ribbit."
"No, I mean…" Len frowned. She had the chance to beat him for a moment. I saw it! But she didn't take it. She had hesitated.
Also, something about Todoroki seemed off to him. The way the boy just kept a straight face through all of that? It was like he didn't respect his opponents at all. Mina was nothing more than an annoyance to him.
"Lenny," said Tsuyu, poking him in the shoulder, "your fist is clenched, ribbit. Why might that be?"
"Sorry, Tsu." He relaxed.
"Is it because Mina-chan lost her match?"
"Gah!" The bluntness of the question took him off guard. "Noooooo. Whyyyyever would you think such a thing?"
"You're being extraordinary unconvincing. I've heard that when boys see something bad happen that's out of their hands, they get angry." Her face was still completely vacant as she did this analysis of him.
"I'm not angry. Really, I'm fine."
"I'm sorry. I'll lay off." She turned back forward.
"Anyone want to tell me who the MVP of that match was? …Besides you two?" All Might shut down Yaoyorozu and Iida, whose hands had both shot into the air.
"Uhh, Sensei? I'd say Ojiro." It was Len's partner Sero speaking.
"Oh! And why would that be, young Sero?"
"Because he came up with the strategy to deceive Todoroki with the doorways. Mina's power helped a lot, too, but he was the real planner of the team. And same with Todoroki, all he did was use his Quirk. Ojiro showed the best critical thinking in the battle, and it would have worked if not for Todoroki's incredible power. And Aoyama… umm…" Sero trailed off.
"Wait," said Len, "did anyone actually go to get him?"
In sync, everyone in the room turned to one of the cameras, where Aoyama was still out cold on the floor of the hallway.
All Might sweatdropped. "Well put, Sero-shounen!" he praised hastily. "In the meantime, I will go grab young Aoyama. After that we will start the next match. Team C will be the heroes, and Team H will be the villains!" Then he sped from the room.
"Let's get a move on, big fella," Jiro said to her teammate, Sato, jabbing him lightly with an earplug.
"Hoh! I'm up next!" Hagakure exclaimed. "Tokoyami-kun! We're the heroes! Let's go!"
"Indeed," the bird boy intoned with a sage nod, his arms crossed.
The four of them walked out of the door, just as Mina, Todoroki, and Ojiro re-entered.
Len raised his eyebrows, and had to resist the urge to call out to her. For a moment she seemed super depressed, but he blinked and she was smiling again, giving him and Tsu a thumbs-up and walking over to them.
"Well, I lost, but it's no big deal!" she declared. "Anyone would have been up for trouble with that Todoroki." The boy in question had gone back to leaning against the wall, speaking to no one.
"You sure you're good?" Len raised a concerned eyebrow.
"Yep! Just a little tired and cold. Getting frozen twice is zero out of ten, would not recommend." Her smile was indeed a bit weary.
"Just like I told you, Lenny," said Tsuyu. "There was no need to worry."
Len gave the frog girl a panicked oh my god why would you say that face just as Mina made a noise of surprise. "Oh! Were you worried about me, Lennyyyyyy~?" She made a show of leaning into him, blinking excessively with her eyelashes.
I refuse to be fazed like this. Len's eye twitched and he kept a straight face. "Slightly. People can die from being frozen like that, you know. Their nerves begin to wear down and such. Now, would you mind evacuating from my personal space?"
Mina giggled and backed off. "Whatever you say, Lenny."
All Might had returned. "I have sent young Aoyama to the infirmary. Anyway, let us continue with the next match!"