Collector Hero: Synthesis Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Collector Hero: Synthesis! Another randomization for the Semi-Finals! Who will face whom? We’re closing in on the end of the Sports Festival!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 21 – Semi-Finals

“Are you ready for the Semi-Finals?!” Present Mic questioned the stadium and got a loud cheer from the crowd. “Then let’s get started with the first match!” He called out to the stadium as the jumbo screens lit up with two names. “For the first match, we have our Speedster from Class 1-A, Iida Tenya!”

“Let’s have a good match, Yaoyorozu.” Iida nodded to his opponent politely.

“Facing him is the Creation Genius, Yaoyorozu Momo!” Present Mic introduced Momo for the match. The Vice-Rep of Class 1-A gave Iida a small smile.

“I’m looking forward to our match, Iida.” Momo returned the sentiments while rolling up her sleeves and unzipping her gym uniform top to expose her stomach.

“Are both competitors ready?” Midnight questioned, looking between the two teens.

“Yes, Miss Midnight!” Momo nodded as her arms began to glow with her Quirk.

“Yes, ma’am!” Iida dropped into a runner’s position and his engines roared.

“You may begin!” Midnight cracked her whip and in a blink, Iida launched himself forward at Momo.

“Straightforward,” Momo threw her arms wide and from the glow of her Quirk makibishi rained down on the ring between her and Iida. Momo continued to create the sharp metal caltrops as she swung her arms in a full circle. Almost half the ring was now littered with the sharp spikes. “But even you can’t run with holes in your feet, Iida.”

“Tch…” Iida had to swiftly change direction to avoid running through the metal spikes and putting himself out of the match instantly. He kept his engines revving as he looked at the widespread caltrops.

“I’m not giving you time to come up with a plan, Iida!” Momo produced multiple canisters from her stomach and started tossing them at Iida. For his part, Iida was already gone by the time the canisters got to where he was previously standing. The cylinders exploded into thick smoke that obscured a good portion of the ring. In the haze, Momo created a gas mask for herself and strapped it on.

“Wait…this is tear gas, isn’t it?!” Iida backpedaled further from the spreading smoke. The thick smoke was already obscuring the ring floor, making approach even more perilous with the makibishi now hidden from sight. Breathing the tear gas would also hamper his vision and breathing. In this setting with clear out of bounds rules and a limited space, Momo was effectively sealing his speed.

‘Now to drive him back!’ Momo created three new items from her stomach. With a smile at her new creations, she set them up facing Iida’s side of the ring. She tossed two more canisters of tear gas during the set up to keep the smoke thick and prevent Iida from getting a read on her location. “Firing.” Momo clicked the button that she’d linked to the three devices.

Everyone in the stadium heard a loud bang go off. Iida cried out as dozens of hard rubber pellets peppered his body and sent him stumbling. Many were wondering just what the First Year had created under the cover of tear gas smoke. Some thought they knew form the sound and what had happened to Iida.

“What was that? Just what kind of device has Yaoyorozu created this time?!” Present Mic’s voice blared over the speakers.

“If I had to guess, probably a set of riot claymores.” Aizawa replied evenly as he watched Iida stagger and try to remain standing. “They use rubber pellets to defend important buildings from mobs of people without killing anyone. They’re a form of crowd control device. Yaoyorozu can’t see through her own smokescreen. So, she took the chance to make a widespread attack that was guaranteed to hit her opponent.”

“Momo is doing awesome!” Camie cheered as Class 1-A watched the match.

“She’s making incredible use of her Quirk and was quickly able to nullify Iida’s speed advantage by playing to the rules of the match.” Izuku was quickly writing in his notebook again. He didn’t want to miss anything that he could potentially go over with Momo later.

“Can Iida still win?” Tsuyu watched as the bespectacled teen was quickly losing ground.

“It would have to be a leap.” Ochako looked thoughtful. “If he just used that Recipro thing from his match with Kirishima, then he could leap over the caltrops.”

“That’s like rolling the dice though,” Camie mentioned of that idea. “Iida doesn’t know where Momo is. If he does make a jump, he could easily just be sending himself out of bounds.”

“Camie’s right, without a solid line of sight, Iida would have to get incredibly lucky to actually land an attack on Momo.” Izuku agreed with the Glamor Quirk user. “Momo has given herself all of the advantages she could in this match.”

‘What can I do?’ Iida grimaced as he stood up from the pellets hitting him. He was losing space on the ring and be forced closer and closer to the edge. The Engine Quirk user felt the pain from the pellets all over his torso and legs. ‘Yaoyorozu knows my Quirk rather well and she’s done everything possible to render me ineffective. Think Tenya, think! There has to be a way to still fight back!’

His time to figure anything out was taken away when very familiar tubes bounced across the ring floor from the thick smoke. Iida rushed to cover his ears, but the flashbangs went off before he could fully cover them. He’d managed to save his sight by closing his eyes, but the ringing in his ears was disorientating. He didn’t even notice the canisters rolling along the floor until they erupted into more clouds of tear gas.

“Iida is out of bounds!” Midnight declared a second later when everyone saw the teen fall out of the cloud and off the edge of the ring. The boy was hacking, sneezing and coughing from the tear gas and his eyes were watering heavily. “The winner is Yaoyorozu!” She pointed to the slowly fading clouds of smoke where Momo stood with her gas mask on. The audience roared in applause for the winner of the match. Momo felt her cheeks redden slightly beneath her mask at all of the positivity and praise.

“Just like that, we have our first Finalist!” Present Mic nearly yelled into the microphone. “Yaoyorozu Momo takes the first spot in the Finals for this year’s Sports Festival!”

“Is there anything she can’t do?” Kendo blinked at the match they’d just seen. The orangette was nearly gaping at how well the other girl could make use of her Quirk.

“Not gonna lie…I’m starting to get nervous.” Juzo admitted as he stood up from his seat to head down to the ring for his match against Izuku.

“Do your best man! If you can catch him in the ring like you did to Sero, then you might win.” Awase offered his support. “We haven’t seen a Quirk from his that’ll let him escape being sealed in concrete, right?”

“What about that Warp Quirk?” Setsuna raised her eyebrow at Awase.

“He seems to need to be able to pass through it physically.” Shoda mentioned thoughtfully. “If he can’t move, then he probably can’t use it to escape.”

“So just drop him as soon as the match starts and capture him!” Monoma grabbed Juzo’s shoulders. “You’ve got a winning strategy, Juzo! Take down the head of Class 1-A and Class B will still have a major upset victory!”

“Must you put so much pressure on him?” Shishida questioned the blonde with a grimace. “He’s already guaranteed a spot in third place on the platforms just for getting this far.”

“Third place isn’t bad, but…” Monoma was cut off.

“But nothing!” Ren spoke up more than he usually did. “Juzo made it farther than all of us. He’s the one that’s proven himself most capable. Not you, not me, not any of us besides Yui. If you wanted to show Class A up so badly, then you needed to have made it to the Final Round yourself, Monoma.” He didn’t like being so harsh, but even his patience was being tried by Monoma’s over competitiveness.

“I’m heading down for my match.” Juzo waved over his shoulder and was followed by well wishes from his classmates. Monoma dropped into his seat a moment later with a heavy sigh.

In the Class 1-A section, Izuku handed his notebook to Camie with a hug before hugging Tsuyu and Ochako too. He was out of the seating area and walking down towards the stadium floor quickly. On the way he met up with Momo. The two smiled brightly at each other. A hug was shared without words, and the two enjoyed their closeness.

“You were amazing out there, Momo.” Izuku praised her warmly.

“Thank you, Izuku.” Momo squeezed him a little tighter. “All of our practice has really paid off.”

“You’ve worked hard and improved so much, Momo.” Izuku returned her squeeze before pulling back a bit to smile at the beautiful girl. “I always knew you’d be an amazing Hero in the future ever since the first day of class.”

“Izuku…” Momo’s face was bright red and her eyes welled up with happy tears. She leaned forward and their lips met for the first time. Izuku did his best not to lock up in surprise. He softly returned her kiss and when they pulled apart, both of them had full face blushes. “I…I’m really happy right now.”

“Me too, Momo.” Izuku almost stuttered but kept it together. “Wish me luck?”

“Of course!” Momo squeezed him again. “Good luck, Izuku, I know you’ll win!”

“Thanks, Momo, I’ll do my best!” Izuku’s smile made Momo’s heart flutter and she very nearly kissed him again. They separated and Momo watched him go for a short moment before heading up the stairs to their seating area. She didn’t want to miss a second of Izuku’s match.

“In our second and last Semi-Final match, we have the Property Manipulating, Honenuki Juzo!” Present Mic hollered over the speakers as the Class 1-B student walked onto the ring.

“Do your best, Juzo!” The rest of Class 1-B was cheering for the Softening Quirk user to give it his all.

“I got it.” Juzo waved to his cheering classmates. Adopting a serious, focused look he turned his attention on his opponent.

“His opponent for this match is the Combination of Quirks himself, Midoriya Izuku!”Present Mic crowed as Izuku stepped into the ring and took his place across from the other First Year.

“Let’s have a good match, Honenuki.” Izuku gave the other guy a competitive grin.

“I have a feeling it might be a short match.” Juzo cracked a grin of his own.

“Are you boys ready?” Midnight asked both teens, looking to each one for confirmation.

“I’m good to go.” Juzo acknowledged while widening his stance a bit.

“Ready.” Izuku agreed as he took a stance too.

“Then you may begin!” Midnight started their match with another sharp crack of her whip.

The ring quickly turned a different color as Juzo’s Quirk changed it into a thick muck. He dropped down into the semi-liquid cement and began to swim through it at speed. Izuku hadn’t been caught unaware though. He’d had plenty of chances to see how Juzo’s Quirk worked. Beneath his feet, a large square Barrier had formed. It gave him stable footing and space to move as well. He wasn’t called a Quirk Nerd for nothing. Giving Izuku time to analyze was the worst thing an opponent could do.

‘Air Compression’, ‘Force Projection’, ‘Amplification’ Izuku compiled one of his go to combos together quickly. He launched a barrage of air bullets from each hand at the swimming Juzo. The other teen sank below the surface of the semi-solid ring and the air bullets splashed the muck around without touching him. ‘Mental Boost’, ‘Enhance Function’, ‘Efficiency’ Izuku boosted his cognitive abilities to allow him to parallel think at speed. He needed to split his focus to maintain the Barrier beneath his feet and still fight.

‘Got to keep him off balance,’ Juzo thought to himself as he swam beneath the muck of the ring. ‘One good shot from a crazy combination of his and I’m probably out of the match.’ He was a Recommended Student for a reason. Juzo had a very good head on his shoulders along with skill with his Quirk.

“How long can he stay down there?” Izuku mumbled to himself as he didn’t see Juzo resurfacing from the muck of the ring. He needed a combination of his Quirks that could force Juzo above the muck he’d turned the ring into. Most of his Quirks that could force a form of compliance required the other person to be able to hear him or for him to be close enough to make eye contact.

Juzo popped up to the left and slightly behind Izuku. He was at the edge of the Barrier that Izuku was suing as a floor. He chucked a large glob of the softened ring at his opponent before dropping back into the muck. Izuku sidestepped the glob of semi-solid cement easily but grimaced as he noted that Juzo could play cat and mouse with him in a war of attrition.

‘He’s probably guessed that all of my Quirks and combinations require energy to maintain. He is a Recommended Student. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s been watching and studying what I can do.’ Izuku thought to himself. He also made a mental note to try and get a copy of a Quirk that could either manipulate the ground in some way, or allow him to keep track of hidden opponents.

The game of cat and mouse continued for a few minutes as Izuku went through his options. Each time Juzo emerged in a random location, he’d launch a glob of semi-liquid cement at Izuku before dropping back down into hiding. Izuku could easily dodge the muck, but he couldn’t retaliate without wasting energy. He was also noticing that Juzo was slowly but surely covering his Barrier with the semi-liquid cement. He wondered if Juzo wasn’t playing the long game to try and trap Izuku even atop his Barrier floor.

“Let’s see how much heat Honenuki can take.” Izuku grinned after the other teen had dropped back into the muck. ‘Fire Breath’, ‘Gas Manipulation’, ‘Heat Generation’, ‘Temperature Fluctuation’, ‘Amplification’ he compiled the Quirks together before exhaling his widespread and incredibly hot flames onto the semi-solid ring.

Izuku didn’t know all of the structural aspects of cement and concrete, but Cementoss did. The teacher watched on as the flames roared across the surface of the cement. All cement, and thereby all concrete, had water trapped inside from how it was made. When that water reached its boiling point it naturally expanded and tried to escape as steam. Given that he was feeling the intense heat from where he was sitting. Cementoss could easily say that the flames that were being exhaled by Midoriya were magnitudes hotter than a mere 100 Degrees Celsius.

As the muck erupted with bursts of steam here and there, all of the onlookers were gaping in shock. Most of Midoriya’s combinations had been tactical in application up to now. A few could be considered shock and awe, like his Tornado Fist was. But this was outrageous! It was something most of the Pro Heroes in the audience would expect from Endeavor!

“Hot!” Juzo burst from the far side of the semi-solid ring as steam rose from the cement. He touched down onto the grass with heavy breaths and tried to get cool air into his lungs. He’d been trying to hold out. Waiting for Midoriya to have to stop and breathe. But the cement had simply gotten too hot for him to stay inside.

“Agkh!” Izuku coughed as the flames guttered out and he experienced the kick back from overusing the Fire Breath combo. His throat was horribly dry and sore now. He might also be slightly overheated from the prolonged exposure. He coughed out some smoke before gently massaging his throat with his right hand. Healing Aura could be seen glowing if one looked close enough. What would greatly help was water though.

“Honenuki is out of bounds!” Midnight declared after a moment to check on the boy and make sure he hadn’t suffered any significant injuries. “Midoriya is the winner!” The crowd began to clap. After a few moments cheers rang out and then the entire audience roared in excitement of the match they’d just seen.

“With an amazing show of fire, Midoriya Izuku secures his place in the Finals!” Present Mic hollered over the speakers. “It’ll be a showdown between Class Rep and Vice Rep! What a Sports Festival this year has been!”

“Holy hell…it was like watching Endeavor there for a bit.” One Pro mentioned as both students headed off the field.

“Right?” A different Hero shook her head in disbelief. “These kids are something else this year.”

“Midoriya Izuku…” Endeavor himself watched on as the verdette disappeared into the tunnel that would take him back to the waiting rooms. “You have quite a bit of potential.”

There would be an intermission period before the Finals. It was to give the competitors time to recuperate from their Semi-Final matches. This was also a time for the audience to once more make use of the restrooms and other facilities.

-Midoriya Household-

“That’s my boy!” Hisashi cheered wildly at seeing what his son could do with his Fire Breath Quirk. It was to a level so far above his own that he could scarcely believe that his Quirk was the basis of the combo.

“Izuku! We’re so proud of you baby!” Inko was crying tears of joy as she watched her son make it to the Finals of the Sports Festival. Hisashi pulled her into a hug as Inko got another tissue to try and stem her fountain of happy tears.

-Rundown Bar-

“That damn cheat!” Shigaraki growled while clawing at his neck. He hated that guy! He was just a cheap knock off of Sensei! He couldn’t wait to get his hands around the little punk’s throat! He’d watch in glee as the boy turned to dust before his eyes!

“Are you alright, Shigaraki Tomura?” Kurogiri questioned the young man who’d been growling and cursing at the TV in front of him almost all day.

“I will be…” Shigaraki muttered as he glared hatefully at the picture of Izuku on the screen.

-An Unknown Location-

“So you can be more ruthless when you need to be,” All For One chuckled lowly after watching Izuku’s Semi-Final match with his Electric Imaging Quirk. “It’s too bad you want to play the Hero, boy. I could’ve used a subordinate like you amongst my ranks.”

He mused on the teen once more. He’d been doing that a lot since getting the Genealogy results back from Doctor Garaki. He’d never thought he’d see some remote branch of the family survive into the current day. He knew his younger brother had never had children of his own. Yoichi had always been frail and sickly. He’d never had the time or energy to become romantically involved with a woman. As for himself, he’d done everything in his power to prevent any children from his own indulgences during his younger days.

“Yet here you are, Midoriya Izuku.” All For One shook his damaged head slightly. “To find out that she had another life away from us, how unexpected.” He tapped the name ‘Shigaraki Megumi’ again with a slow exhale. “Did she do it because she couldn’t bear what I’d become? Or perhaps the fighting between Yoichi and I was what drove her away from both of us? The Dark Ages was not a time that I had concerns for family. I lacked the network to find her after she disappeared too.” The old Villain took as deep a breath as his injuries would allow. Perhaps he’d set all of this into motion purely by chance. “Wouldn’t that be amusing? My actions giving rise to not only One For All, but also a hidden offshoot of the family.”

All For One relaxed back into his chair when the intermission was announced. He’d take a short nap as the medicines made him drowsy sometimes. He’d have to see how well Tomura did against the Midoriya boy in the future. If his ‘successor’ proved himself incapable, then it would be on to phase two of his century-long plan. He’d get what he wanted in the end. He always did; one way or another.

-Stadium Waiting Rooms-

“Shouldn’t you two be in separate rooms to prepare?” Ochako questioned as she, Tsuyu, and Camie had come to see Izuku before the match and wish him luck. The plan had been to go see Momo after that. But when they opened the door to Izuku’s waiting room, they’d found him and Momo sitting together closely and enjoying an innocent cuddle session.

“I’m happy here.” Momo replied with a warm smile as she leaned into Izuku’s arms more.

“We’re both a lot more relaxed this way.” Izuku agreed even though his freckled cheeks were tinged red.

“We can see that, kero.” Tsuyu mentioned with a smile of her own.

“Sneaking a little alone time together, nice.” Camie approved with a flirty wink at the two. Now Momo’s cheeks were just as red as Izuku’s.

“Room for more?” Ochako asked with her whole face red.

“Yes.” Momo extended her left arm out towards her three friends.

“Always.” Izuku took one hand from around Momo’s waist and opened their hug more.

The three girls quickly joined in on the hug making a large cuddle pile. Izuku was smiling more than he could remember. To have four pretty girls that liked him wasn’t something he’d ever expected, but he was beyond happy nowadays. Camie, Momo, Tsuyu, and Ochako all snuggled close, pressing their bodies against him as they relaxed into their shared embrace.

Their relationship was uncommon, but none of them could say they were unhappy with it. They all complimented each other and it made for a very fulfilling relationship. The girls adored Izuku’s kind and helpful nature and he had all that a girl could want in the boyfriend category. A warm and caring personality, cute looks, and his trained body was just a very nice bonus. The fact that they’d all seen Izuku being the epitome of a Hero was the icing on the cake.

“Lower Izu~” Camie breathed into his ear, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“Camie…” Momo pouted at her friend cutely.

“What?” Camie questioned innocently, blinking her long lashes at the Creation Quirk user.

“Don’t rush Izukun.” Tsuyu snuggled into Izuku’s chest.

“I’m not…” Camie denied with a saucy grin. “I’m just letting him know he can.”

“We should just enjoy the cuddles.” Ochako hid her face in Izuku’s fluffy hair. “The intermission isn’t too long.”

“I’m sure there’s enough time…” Camie giggled before kissing Izuku’s cheek.

“Ochako,” Izuku turned to face the brunette with a smile. Ochako smiled back only to find their lips pressed together. She leaned into the kiss even as her whole face went red again. When the two pulled apart a few moments later they were both smiling at each other with warm eyes. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while.”

“Me too.” Ochako admitted before burying her face back into his hair to hide her flushed appearance.

“Cute~” Tsuyu and Momo both cooed at Ochako.

“Come here, Lover Boy~” Camie captured Izuku’s lips next and the two kissed slowly. When Camie deepened it a bit, Izuku was startled for a second, but he quickly got into it. “Hmm, another step forward.” She teased happily, a bright smile on her pouty lips as they leaned into each other.

“Izuku…” Momo clearly wanted a kiss now too.

“Izukun…” Tsuyu was also giving him a look.

“Come here.” Izuku was far too happy at this point to be nervous anymore. He pulled both Momo and Tsuyu closer before capturing Momo’s lips in a gentle kiss. When they separated a moment later, leaving a beautifully smiling Momo to cuddle back into his arms, he was quick to lean into Tsuyu’s lips. Their kiss was gentle too, soft and slow and full of their affection for each other. When they pulled back, Tsuyu let out an adorable croak as she joined Momo in snuggling into Izuku.

“Oooh~” Camie purred out as Izuku’s hand trailed down her back to rest on her shapely butt. “That’s the way, Izu~”

All five of them would actually be annoyed when the intermission ended and broke up their cuddle pile.

-End Chapter-

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Semi-Finals complete and it’ll be Izuku vs Momo for the Finals!

Momo is becoming a whole bag of tricks, isn’t she?

Now their little group is getting closer and closer with each other.

How dare the rest of the world interrupt their cuddles!

The Sports Festival is almost over! What will come next?

With how much the placements in the Sports Festival have changed, what changes will be brought about by this?

More Internship offers? New Internship offers? Perhaps a character or two appears sooner than Canon?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!