Recap:

The sound of a sizzle reverberated through the dome and into the stands; it stood for a few seconds before, with a sudden ROAR, a BOOM that shook the entire foundation of the stadium occurred under that dome.

If he hadn't actively added more cement and reinforced the dome, it would've collapsed, and the explosion would've spilled out long ago.

However, even though an explosion occurred, the sound everyone heard clearly didn't come from it.

Almost simultaneously as that BOOM occurred, a HISS and a loud CRACKLE took the auditory battle, with all the audience heard before all screens around the world went static.

_________________________________________________________________________________

[Before the Collision]

'He really wants to kill me.'

Suijin looked ahead, squinting as a myriad of colors were being produced from the combination of flames and ice.

“I’ll die.” The weight of those words is felt now.

Simultaneously, his plan of only using Bile went out the window; instead, he dug into one of his more unsavory storage rooms.

Mixing the yellow into the total liquid, creating what could only be described as rainbow-colored, the boy wished mercy on Todoroki should this shot hit him in the face… or worse, the mouth.

He also swore to raise the pH level of his bile so he wouldn’t have to delve into another liquid high in acidity in the future.

Twisting his nozzle to the maximum of the thin section and loading the liquid like a catapult, Suijin was ready to spring off.

Yet…

‘This isn’t enough.’

Rationally, he should try to hit Todoroki before the boy could get his super powerful attack off.

But Suijin felt, had a gut feeling, that this current shot wouldn’t be enough, that he'd come up just short, unable to reach his goal.

Logical analysis went out of the window in the face of such a feeling; it was one he'd long been acostomed to, and one he no longer wished to hold such an intricate relationship with.

So he did what should be impossible.

Using all the determination he could muster, he gripped his hands around his nozzle until they turned white.

He pushed his facial muscles harder than he ever had before, going beyond the limit his body seemed to screem to him.

‘More.’

His face churned, giving off a waining sound in addition to the waves of pain, foretelling him of the future consequences of his actions.

But that deeply understood feeling hadn't left; it clung to the pits of his stomach, still telling him that he wouldn't be enough.

‘More.’

Pain surged through his mind as his eyes automatically shut, hoping the familiar darkness would give him some much-needed reprieve.

So when the burst of pain kept going, he felt like his eyes would soon roll and that his mind would go blank; however, even though all of that, he still kept twisting.

At some point, blood started dripping down from the nozzle, covering his hands and staining the floor.

Then, when his body felt its life in danger from the impending explosion, it pushed as much as it could, letting a shot of death off.

‘Needleoint.’

BOOOOOOOOOM

The screens of everyone watching went white from the explosion; anticipation, worry, dread, and emotions alike rose as everyone waited in trepidation as to the outcome.

Cementoss hoped his impromptu preparations were enough; he built a dome he had to constantly reinforce to protect the outside audience.

Inside, he constructed a wall between the boys and the explosion, shielding them from the fallout, and he followed that up with a cocoon-like shell around each of them.

But…

‘That boy, Todoroki...he was too close to the explosion; my cocoon probably wouldn’t hold, and if it didn't,

He didn’t even want to turn his head to the fiery gaze locked onto the center of the stadium.

His hopes, like the rest, though most unaware, lied on that blurry figure he barely noticed had made it inside with the boys.

‘If anyone can save them, it’s him.’

His thoughts calmed down as the smoke started to clear, thanks to the prompt use of a few of the pros in the crowd.

Still, even with their help, it took a few more moments for the smoke to fully evaporate from Ground Zero.

“LOOK!”

A stray shout from the crowd prompted hundreds of gazes, not counting those televised, to look past the disappearing veil.

As the wisp of gray and white blew away, a fig—no two figures were seen!

With a hand raised in the direction of the previous explosion and a surprising figure to the unsuspecting, All Might stood in front of Todoroki, who was currently on one knee.

It was obvious what was happening; All Might was protecting him!

With white mist coming out of his mouth as his chest took in labored breaths, Todoroki seemed defeated but otherwise wise, ignoring the injuries that accumulated between his battle with Suijin and alleviating the worries of many.

As the many minds processed the heroic deeds of Number 1 and the downed form of Todoroki, excited expressions overtook their faces.

Anxiousness turned to glee as supporters of the two-haired boy and the number one started displaying their emotions.

Whistles and shouts started appearing in distorted numbers, sometimes loud in unison and other times so quiet that you could determine the speaker's position.

Inside the mind of the man, who by now had lowered his arms, his thoughts weren’t as peaceful as his face showed.

Internally, he frowned, hiding his opposite hand behind his back, hiding its shaking form.

‘This power,’

He was strong, and despite his withering abilities, he still managed to perform the duties expected from Japan’s Number 1.

So his surprise was almost palpable when a high schooler, a 15-year-old, managed to make his arm shake as a dull pain started to present itself.

He questioned himself, wondering if maybe he was getting weaker than he thought.

Ignoring the crowd's reactions, he turned to see the downed boy; he knew if he hadn’t managed to block most of that shot...He didn’t want to imagine the state the young Todoroki would find himself in.

His current chest injury was from a slight deviation of the shot, which happened in All Might's stupor at the power behind it.

The yellow-haired man's mind was confused, but the most prominent emotion was worry.

Not for the student behind him, but for the one in front.

'Power like that cannot be easily expressed, to make me shake? The consequences must...'

Ignorant of his thoughts, the crowd continued to ramp up the noise, yet it only took a few seconds later for the mood to plummet.

Smoke on the opposite end started to clear up, showing the victor?

Suijin Shimizu knelt on the ground, his upper body standing but slouched. Blood dripped from the lowest point on his nozzle, falling onto the pavement.
Horror etched itself onto the faces of those who took in his current appearance, and like rain had appeared amidst a sunny day at the park, the noise dissipated much like a crowd would.

Slowly, the stadium quieted down as the unaware took notice of Suijin's current state.

Shocking gasps could be heard collectively, and hushed, chocked sobs could be found in the section where Suijin's family was present.

The boy himself felt his mind in tatters, confusing all of his senses; his eyes were stained with red, and his touch only relayed a cold chill ever present around him.

‘M-More…More…Mo...re–’

He reached his hands forward, wanting to grasp onto the light ahead, a future he could take hold of, a fate of his own dictation.

When he thought he was close enough, he tried to close his fist, holding the light in the middle of his palm.

Similar to his dream, formerly a young boy whose hopes were dashed early and scarred, he reluctantly accepted the harsh reality.

Then, with a chance, he grasped onto new opportunities, making the most out of his desires and making his dreams a reality.

Yet…

Crack

With his right hand spread forward, trying to grasp in a direction he didn’t know held the Number One, Suijin’s eyes widened as he felt it.

Rapid cracks spread, a symbol of his impending future, and a dark feeling was felt in the pits of Suijin's stomach.

The red centerpiece that he’d worked so desperately for, his nozzle, was the symbol of his power and of his future.

‘Why is it on the ground?’

Suijin had a hollow feeling on the front of his face before his mind succumbed to the exhaustion that’d been plaguing him.

With a thud foretelling his body colliding with the pavement, his world grew dim.

Onlookers would proceed to speek on his performance at this festival for years to come.

___

[A/N: End of Vol 3!!!!! Seriously, this volume was wayyyyy too long. But anyways were done, Suijin's hit both the highs and yet again another record of his lows. How will he climb out of this one? WILL he climb out of this one? Can the boy so scarred get back up after facing yet another failure?

Tune back in in about 2 weeks, as I'm taking a break for a moment. I hope you enjoy the novel, and I hope I can see some new reviews.

[Especially on ScribbleHub; Imean,n I don't even have one Yet!!!]