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CHAPTER START---
Horizon stepped into the arena to the sound of the crowd trying to deafen him with cheers. Looking around he saw people frantically waving at him giving them a polite wave in response before placing both his hands back in his pants pockets.
His PE Uniform shirt was still open, exposing the white body glove below and the blue logo printed across its chest, matching the black version on the back of the shirt.
Throughout the entire competition, everyone could tell that he's been completely unbothered, strolling past the finish line while everyone else was fighting to survive.
And nothing changed as Shinso entered the arena to stand opposite him, wild purple hair and dreary eyes accented by a frown on his lips.
Midnight quickly declared the match to begin, setting off the first match of the semi-finals.
But neither student bothered to move, Horizon stayed rooted in place looking down at the shorter boy, and Shinso looked up at his visor with a bored expression, even as the crowd fell silent in anticipation, they did nothing.
Shinso looks up at the announcer's booth and groans, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess since Eraser Head revealed how my quirk works...I certainly can't expect mister miracle himself to be dumb enough to actually talk to me, right?I mean, you're supposed to be a genius even compared to everyone that's ever attended UA...so maybe I should just surrender rather than pushing my luck, right?
Even with a Quirk like yours, once I get you to talk it's game over, but that'll never happen now that you know how I operate, I just hope I've done enough for the Pros to see how useful I can be...."
Beneath his visor Horizon rolls his eyes, "and why would I ever be concerned about some weak, untrained, one-trick-pony, that can't do anything without his Quirk?"
The crowd gasps in shock and horror, people all around the world who placed bets on Horizon felt like crying.
But Shinso looks confused, shaking his head, not understanding this anomaly.
"Why...why isn't my Quirk working on you?" he asks, feeling his Quirk connecting but being shrugged off.
"Tch, in what world do you, or anyone else for that matter, ever get to tell me what to do?"
Again Brainwashing connects and is shrugged off, "this...this doesn't make sense, I felt it connect!" Shinso begins panicking.
"Did you honestly think your Quirk was invincible?" Horizon asks, a small chuckle leaving his mouth as he shakes his head. "There is no such thing as an invincible Quirk or person, everyone and everything has a weakness...unfortunately for you, the weakness to your Quirk, is me."
"Weakness?" Shinso asks, taking a step back in surprise.
"Your Quirk operates on a Telepathic foundation, same as Eraser Head, or actual telepathy and body manipulation Quirks. Those simply don't work on me without my permission," Horizon shrugs. "I've shrugged off people a hundred times more powerful than you," he recalls Mind-Binder, from the day his parents were taken.
"That's impossible!" Shinso growls out.
"Yes, I am impossible, I get that a lot," Horizon gloats. "My Quirk allows me to simply reject Quirks that try to manipulate my mind or body, pathetic little things trying to tell me what to do, as if they have any right. See the only boss of me, is me, I simply exist beyond control...so how about you get off my stage, because you're all out of tricks..."
Shinso feels his emotions swelling, being looked down on once again by someone with a more 'heroic' Quirk, by UA's new golden boy from the sounds of it.
All logic demands he take the opportunity to walk away, escape unharmed, he's already proven how useful he is by getting past Sero.
But he drops into a fighting stance, untrained and sloppy, but determined, gritting his teeth, charging forward.
Wanting nothing more than to prove himself, by taking on the top Hero Course student.
"Takt," Horizon takes his right hand out of his pocket and flicks his pointer finger toward the sky.
One word and no effort seemingly crushes a dream as a thin pillar of cement is raised from the ground and quickly slams into Shinso's torso.
Lifting him a few meters in the air, folded over the top of the pillar, completely blacked out.
"Shinso is out!" Midnight announces, causing the crowd to go wild yet again. "We'll be taking a five-minute break before the next match to repair the stage!"
Cementoss begins walking over to the stage, intent on using his Quirk to safely retrieve Shinso and repair the floor Horizon uprooted.
Horizon takes bored steps off the stage, making his way back into the tunnel and to his seat, at least that was his plan.
He saw Todoroki standing in the tunnel, ready for his match against Kaminari, intending to pass by his classmate without saying a word.
"Wait," Todoroki raises a hand to block Horizon as Cementoss begins working on the stage. "I want to talk to you."
"The feeling isn't mutual---"
"It's about my father," Todoroki says.
Horizon decides not to simply push past him or warp away, curious about what he could learn about Endeavor, the only person with perfect Quirk Mastery, to his knowledge atleast.
He takes a step away, almost leaning against the opposite wall, hands still in his pockets, "I'm listening..."
"I recently became...inspired, by my new friend, to overcome my past."
"What?"
Todoroki takes a deep breath to calm himself, not quite sure how Deku was able to reach out and help people so easily, but determined to do the same thing for Horizon.
"My Quirk, Half-Hot Half-Cold, is the result of a Quirk marriage."
"I already knew that," Horizons says.
"What?" Todoroki looks shocked, not expecting Deku to blab about this. "How?"
"Seriously? What are the chances of the most powerful fire Quirk making a kid with a Quirk that perfectly compensates for its weaknesses?"
Todoroki nods stiffly, "I see, that makes sense, well. The purpose of all of this, was for me to be a stronger Hero that All Might himself, something my father could never be, so he forced me into that role. He wanted to create the perfect Hero, someone who could do things that nobody else could dream of matching."
Horizon nods, prompting Shoto to continue.
"Because of this, I've been trained since the day I manifested my Quirk, non-stop, relentless, torturous training. Until my mind and body couldn't take anymore, and he just kept going. Eventually, it became too much, and my mother tried to stop it," Shoto winces at the memory of Endeavor hitting his mom. "Things only got worse from there."
"Mhm," Horizon just nods, not really paying much mind to any of this story, simply not seeing how any of this family drama would involve him.
Shoto raises a hand to his scar, drawing Horizon's eyes to it. "The suffering and torment I went through, it left scars that can't be seen as easily as this one, the kind of things that I'll be trying to heal for a very long time, on my entire family." He glances to the arena to see the preparations near complete. "My friend reached out a hand, to help me move forward and heal from my past, so I'd like to be someone that can do that for you, so that we may move forward together, I want to be someone like him..."
Horizon blinks a few times, completely confused but seemingly unaffected from what Shoto could see because of his visor. "What?"
"To become as strong as you are, even stronger than me...I can't imagine the hell and torment you must have endured from your parents, the way you always speak of them harshly training you, since you were very young...I believe you and I are the same, forced to carry out the desires of our cruel and abusive parents...so we can walk forward together. To carve our own path in this world, as heroes."
Betraying all the rage and fury Horizon felt, he simply leaned forward and rests a hand on Shoto's shoulder, "good luck in your match," he says before walking away, leaving Shoto completely confused.
Fighting outside of the arena would get him in trouble and put his contract at risk, so he'll save it for when they fought in the next round.
Shoto just frowned, looking at Horizon's back as he walks away, oblivious to the surgery preparation already happening, to the operation room he was already standing in.
"I guess I'm not as good as saving people as you, Midoriya," Shoto mutters as the next match begins...
END CHAPTER---
pat.reon (5 Chapters ahead): Keanu_Eugene
So if you're surprised that he can just ignore Shinso's Quirk...he already shrugged off a top 20 hero that was all about telepathy like 6 chapters in, now you know how it works.