Back again with another chapter!

I'm actually really excited about the final tournament section of this Sports Festival arc. There is definitely some fun stuff in store for y'all, so be ready.

I can't sleep anymore cause it's so fucking hot so hopefully, that means more time to write.

Enjoy!

Todoroki Enji was never fond of reminiscing.

To him, it was a waste of time and energy to dwell on the past. To dwell on things that could not be changed. Staying stuck in the past brought nothing but distractions and unhappy memories.

So he didn't feel particularly jubilant as he walked through the halls of UA's First Year Arena. It had been almost 30 years since he was in this building, having competed here when he was attending UA as a teenager. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed his three years at the prestigious Hero Academy, but so much had happened within and around Enji that his youth felt almost imaginary.

To add to his already foul mood, he had sat through two of the Festival's events where his disobedient son had failed him yet again. Not only did Shoto fail to come in first both times, but he had also lost to some random kid with no heroic affiliations as far as he knew. It was shameful.

Rapid footsteps coming from down the hall made Enji pause on the staircase he was walking down, and he turned around in time to see a familiar annoying oaf slide into view.

"Endeavour! Greetings, old friend!"

"We have never been and never will be friends. Now what do you want, All Might?"

The blonde man stood up straight and thrust his hands onto his hips to strike a pose, "Oh come on now! It's been far too long! We haven't had a good ole' fashioned talk since we had that chat ten years ago, right?! I just thought it would be nice to give you a shout!"

Enji rolled his eyes impatiently, "Well are you satisfied, then? Now, leave me. I need to piss."

He tried to turn and walk away, but All Might appeared in front of him at the base of the staircase, blocking his path towards relieving himself.

"You know your son, Young Todoroki was able to put on quite the display out there! Even without using half of his power. You must have trained him well, Endeavour!"

Enji felt his flames growing hotter as his temper started to flare. He was never in the mood for All Might's stupid antics and having to urinate lowered his tolerance of the Number 1 Hero exponentially.

"You gotta tell me! I'm dying for your advice and expertise in raising the next generations of great heroes!"

"You'll never let go of that easy-breezy little attitude of yours, huh? How vexing." Enji brushed past All Might, slightly singeing the sleeve of his suit jacket. "You're more delusional and moronic than I thought if you think I'll teach you a damn thing about anything. Just remember, you buffoon...There will come a day when I'll have moulded that boy into a hero that shall surpass you and leave you in the dust where you belong. That ridiculous cretin is going through his rebellious phase right now...But he will grow out of it soon enough and he will surpass you…"

Without another word, Endeavour stomped off. All Might let out a weary sigh. "Well, that went well…"

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

"Looks like it's almost time…"

Izuku sat in his assigned waiting room waiting for the final tournament of the Festival to officially start. Leaning back in his chair, he rolled his neck as he gazed up at the small television mounted on the wall.

Cementoss was in charge of transforming the field in the stadium into a 1-on-1 arena. Using some sort of large tubing, the teacher masterfully guided the cement to his will. Under normal circumstances, Izuku would be taking rigorous notes on this display of one of the almost infinite uses for Cementoss' quirk.

He let out a deep breath. Leaning his elbows on the table, he tented his fingers to give a place for his chin to rest. "Shinso Hitoshi, huh?"

Ojiro had just finished explaining what he believed Shinso's quirk to be to Izuku. From what he could tell, the purple-headed teen had some sort of mind-control quirk that was voice-activated. As long as he finished the match quickly, he wouldn't be in any real trouble. At least he hoped so. Things never seemed to go as easy as they seemed for Izuku.

His train of thought was derailed as the door to his room swung open.

"HEY!"

"Oh, All Might!"

The scrawny man sauntered into the room and sat down across from Izuku.

"How are you holding up, Young Midoriya? Ready and raring to go, I hope!"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that…" Toshinori raised an eyebrow at his protege's somewhat downtrodden demeanour. He reached across the table and patted the young man on the shoulder.

"Hey, hey! What's with the look, Young Midoriya?"

Izuku sighed deeply, "Sorry, All Might. It's just...there's kind of a lot on my mind right now…" He didn't really want to get into it any further, but his mentor held a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Try me, kid." Moving back into his own seat, All Might crossed his arms on the table. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? We share the eternal bond of carriers of the sacred quirk that is One For All; as beacons of hope and pillars of justice for each and every person we vow to protect!" Holding out an open hand, Toshinori balled it into a fist as he bulked up for a moment, "And in addition to that, it is a teacher's duty to aid his student with every fibre of his being with any issues, school-related or otherwise!"

Izuku chuckled lightly at his mentor. He was pretty sure most teachers weren't expected to aid students with every fibre of their being with any issue, but he definitely appreciated the sentiment. Besides, he and All Might weren't your average teacher and student anyway.

"Well…" He began, twiddling his thumbs, "I'm kind of nervous for the tournament, but not exactly in the way that you think. It's not really my place to go into detail about...But I kind of got into some stuff with Todoroki-kun. At the time I was pretty confident and promised I'd beat him, but maybe it was just me getting caught up in the heat of the moment."

All Might listened patiently, nodding in understanding as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I believe I know what you are referring to, Young Midoriya." This made Izuku look up in surprise, "Endeavour doesn't necessarily keep it a secret. Most top tier pros that have been around long enough are aware of his...erm...troubled family life. It's a shame really. Endeavour is such a great hero. His skills are top-notch and he's about as determined to succeed as they come. But...as a person, there leaves quite a bit to be desired. I don't know if he will ever be able to defeat the villain within him that has plagued him for so very long, but I suppose this isn't a conversation we need to be having. Especially right now." All Might cleared his throat in hopes of breaking the tension he had unintentionally created. "You know, Young Midoriya...It's admirable that even at this point, you can find yourself sympathizing with Young Todoroki about all this. But let's not forget about everything you've experienced up until this point. Remember...To want to be the best like I've heard you proclaim before, you need to find it in yourself to focus. I can see that competitive fire within you fighting with your conscience for control right now. Just trust your instincts and keep your eyes on the prize." He got up to leave and paused in the doorway, "Put a smile on, kid. Push down that uneasiness and puff out your chest with pride! If you look confident, you'll feel confident. We'll be rootin' for ya." He said with a wave, shutting the door behind him.

After a few minutes, Izuku heard a knock on the door. A security bot peered into the room and motioned for him to follow. It was time for the first match.

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

"Welcome back, everyone! Are you ready for the main event to end all main events?!"

Four pillars of flame shot up at each corner of the newly created stage around the fighting ring to add to the excitement Present Mic was stirring up with the crowd.

"The stage has been set! Literally! Down there within those white lines are where the true test begins! It's there that our wonderful competitors will duke it out! The only person you can rely on is yourself! Even non-heroes have to face things like this in life! Strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, charisma! All of these key attributes will be put to the test as our students lay it all on the line for glory! Now let's get ready to RUMBLLLLLLLE!"

The crowd erupted as the first two competitors made their way into the arena from the opposite entrance tunnels.

"On this side, we have the young man who's been tearing up the Festival all day long! Will he keep his hot streak up? You'll have to just wait and see! He is Department of Heroics Class 1-A student rep: The lean, mean, green, fighting machine...Give it up for...Midoriya Izuku!"

Smiling brightly as All Might had advised him, Izuku cracked his knuckles as he walked forward up onto the platform he was meant to fight on. He felt his nerves creeping up, but managed to stay cool as his opponent walked up across from him.

"On the other side, we have another class rep! From the Department of General Education: Hitoshi Shinso!"

Izuku had to suppress a grimace after hearing how lacklustre Shinso's introduction was compared to his. The purple-haired teen calmly walked up to his place across from him, his hand rubbing on the back of his neck.

"The rules are pretty simple! This will be a 1-on-1 match that can be won in 3 possible ways! Having your opponent step outside of the ring, immobilizing them, or getting them to give up! Feel free to go all out! We have Recovery Girl and our medical staff at the ready! Oh, and this goes without saying, but you're not allowed to endanger each other's lives! That's wack! That would be an automatic DQ!"

From his freshly created cement lounge chair off to the side of the ring, Cementoss nodded, "That's right. If anything wack happens, I'll intervene and put a stop to it."

"And I…" Midnight greeted as she leapt down from the rafters, "Will be your sexy, youthful, gorgeous referee! Anything I say goes! If I call a match, it's over right then and there!"

As Midnight basked in the cheers being thrown her way, Hitoshi lowered his hand and glared right at Izuku.

"I'm sure you understand, Midoriya. This tournament is meant to test our will and determination. If you have a goal that you're dead set on achieving, then you have no time to worry about how you're going to achieve it...That stupid monkey talked a lot about his 'pride' and why he didn't feel like he should be in this event...You don't think he's a fucking dumbass for throwing away his chances like that?"

Midnight called for the match to start and it took everything in Izuku not to immediately open his mouth.

Shinso was baiting him. He was trying to goad Izuku into responding just like Ojiro warned him he would.

"Uhhh, helloooo? Match started!" Mic voiced everyone's thoughts as the two competitors merely stood there staring at each other.

Not getting a rise out of Izuku like he had hoped, Hitoshi carried on his taunting, "You Hero Course kids get everything you want in life at every turn...So I guess you can't appreciate an opportunity even if it slaps you right in the face, huh?"

'This bitch…' Izuku narrowed his eyes, clenching his jaw to keep him from reflexively replying. He felt his anger bubbling up more and more as Hitoshi continued.

"You see, that's the problem with how all this works. People like you, like that chimp-boy, like everyone else in the Hero Department...You've never struggled for a damn thing...With that silver-spoon in your mouths, you have no idea what people like me are about."

Having had enough, Izuku growled and stepped forward.

"Worst of all is that guy who gave the opening speech today."

This caused Izuku to freeze mid-stride.

"He thinks 'cause of the position that he's in that he can treat people like garbage. That's the kind of person we are supposed to rely on to be a hero? Don't make me laugh. A selfish prick like that's got no business being in the Hero Course while the rest of us waste away on the sidelines. A villainous hero-in-training?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU DON'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT KACCHAN!" As soon as the words left Izuku's mouth, an inner version of himself in his mind slammed his head into a brick wall.

"Now, victory is mine."

"No, Midoriya! I told you! I warned you!" Mashirao held his head in his hands as his tail rapidly thumped the seat behind him.

"The fuck are you talking about, monkey boy? What did that shitstain do to Deku?"

The rest of Class A were all equally curious and confused. Sans Ochako and Eijiro (Who had already left to prepare for their upcoming match, everyone had listened to the words Shinso had thrown at Midoriya followed by the latter freezing in place like a statue.

"That guy, Shinso. His quirk gives him some kind of mind control over people. From what I could tell, it activates when you reply to anything he says. I told Midoriya all of that and he still got caught up in Shinso's quirk."

"That retard! Damn it Deku! Only you could screw up this bad! He couldn't even get his head out of his ass fast enough to morph so he wouldn't be able to reply and get caught!" Katsuki leaned over the railing and screamed down into the arena, "Deku, you fuck! Get outta that brainwashing shit and kick this purple-headed bitch's ass!"

Hitoshi rolled his eyes as he heard Katsuki yelling down at him from the stands. "How obnoxious." Turning back to the still petrified Izuku, he made a shooeing motion, "It must be nice to be so blessed, Midoriya. Now turn around and walk out of the ring."

Against his will, Izuku's body complied with Shinso's command.

'Crap! Crap! Crap! Come on, body! Stop, damnit!' The edge of the ring was getting closer by the second. 'Ojiro-kun even warned me about this and I still couldn't keep it together! It can't end like this! Not this pathetically!' Despite his best efforts, he could not find any way to bring his body back under his own control.

Still rooted in his original position, Hitoshi simply stood there waiting for the inevitable. He really just wanted to get the match over with and move onto the next round. Now that his gimmick was all but revealed, he had to come up with a new plan moving forward.

'Ain't your momma ever tell you it was rude to enter somebody's home without permission?'

Hitoshi widened his eyes. His head snapped around, but he couldn't figure out where that voice had just come from. It was almost as if…

'Oh, so you're gonna barge into here and just ignore me? Some houseguest you are!'

"That voice…" Hitoshi began trembling wildly. That voice was coming from him. But it sounded different? His eyes snapped to Izuku, who had stopped walking towards the edge of the ring. 'How the hell did you break free from my quirk?! How are you talking to me?! Answer me, Midoriya!' He screamed in his head. Not once had anyone under the effect of Hitoshi's quirk had been able to communicate with him telepathically. As he understood it, his brainwashing blocked the target's consciousness from the rest of their body. They still knew what was going on around them but just didn't have control over themselves. He wasn't supposed to be able to hear their thoughts...So what was this?"

He heard the voice begin laughing hysterically. 'You wish I was that freckle-faced fuck, kid! No...I'm much worse.'

Hitoshi paled as the arena left his vision and he found himself standing in an almost pitch-black room. A dark green wolf emerged from the darkness, startling him onto his butt. The beast bore its razor-sharp fangs at the teen as it hovered above him, snarling angrily.

'Boo.'

The purple-haired teen jolted backwards in fear, finding himself now back in the ring and shaking like a madman. Much to his dismay, his fear had made him lose focus on his quirk, freeing Izuku.

'I'm free? I'm free!'

Hitoshi's opponent turned around to face him, eyes now back to their normal selves, growing brightly like shining green jewels. Still petrified by fear at what he had just experienced, he was not able to react when Izuku ran straight at him. He was punched right across the jaw and tumbled to the ground.

Hitoshi spit out a gob of blood and looked up at Izuku, who had a stone-faced expression.

"W-W-What the hell did you do to me?! Say something!" Shinso leapt back to his feet. "Your quirk truly is amazing, huh?! It could even get you out of mine? Someone with a blessed quirk like you would never understand my situation!" When Izuku didn't take the bait and say anything, Hitoshi growled in frustration. "Say something, you piece of shit!"

He threw a right hook as hard as he could, but Izuku easily caught it in his hand.

Izuku threw Hitoshi's hand back and grabbed him by the collar with both hands. He then ran in the direction of the edge of the ring, swivelling on his heel and flipping Shinso over his head and slamming him out of bounds.

The General Ed student felt the air escape his body as his back collided with the hard ground.

Midnight immediately threw an arm straight in the air. "Shinso-kun is out of bounds! The winner of the first match is Midoriya-kun!"

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

"Thanks." Hitoshi put his tracksuit top back on as Recovery Girl's quirk finished healing his bruised back.

"No problem, dearie. You're free to go." The old woman said as she hobbled off.

He was about to get up to leave when the door to the infirmary station opened.

"Here to rub it in, Midoriya?"

Izuku sighed as he entered the room, sitting down in the empty bed next to Hitoshi's. "Lemme ask you something, Shinso-kun. What did you do when you found out that the UA Entrance Exam was going to be defeating robots?"

"The hell do you mean, 'What did I do?' I applied for Gen Ed. What other choice did I have?"

"So you immediately just gave up? That's it?"

Hitoshi narrowed his eyes, "You got a fucking problem with me, Midoriya? Is this what you came here for? To talk down to me even more? Lemme tell you something—"

"No, let me tell you something." Izuku's harsh tone made Hitoshi shut his mouth, "You found out that your quirk wouldn't help you do well on the exam and so you just decided that was it. That's the kind of person who thinks he'll somehow usurp a spot from the Hero Department? I suppose you've never met some of the people in the Hero Course that might have more in common with you than you'd think. Hagakure Toru is in my class. She passed the exam even though all her quirk does is make her invisible. No power enhancement or offensive capabilities of any kind. Koda Koji is another person in my class. His quirk gives him the ability to communicate with animals. But the only animals that could have been in those training sites are maybe rats. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? Not everyone's quirk is built equally, that's obvious. But they took the cards they were dealt in life and tried their best to make up for their disadvantages. You took the cards you were dealt and folded. Beating the villain-bots also wasn't the only way to pass the exam either. If you helped any of the other participants, you got rescue points that were worth just as much as villain points.

Hitoshi stared at his lap, grimacing. His knuckles were white from how hard he was clenching his fists.

"Not everyone is born equal. And I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I know what you've had to deal with for you to be the way that you are. But if this is the best you can do, then the Hero Department doesn't need you." Izuku then got up and left for the door without another word.

Just as he was about to exit the room, Hitoshi jumped to his feet. "Fuck you, Midoriya! I'm gonna qualify for the Hero Department and show you all up as a great fucking hero! Just you wait and see!"

Not turning around, Izuku continued to walk away, briefly mimicking a talking mouth over his shoulder with his hand before turning down the hallway out of sight.

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

Izuku returned to his seat with the rest of his class to see that the first round was already almost completed. Things were going much faster than many people expected it would. Honestly, though...he wasn't entirely surprised. Oftentimes, a straight-up fight could be determined easily based on how the combatants' quirks matched up with each other. Especially at this skill level.

Uraraka's quirk made it so that Kirishima couldn't get near her, giving her a relatively easy victory.

Todoroki had immediately overpowered Sero with his ice. Definitely expected.

From what he was told by Ojiro, Iida's fight was much less of a fight and more of a glorified infomercial, but at least he still won.

Shiozaki's vines were able to ground Kaminari's electricity and gave her an easy win once he short-circuited himself. Izuku made sure to add that to his notes on her.

The one result so far that did surprise him was how quickly Yaoyorozu had been defeated by Tokoyami. Sure, he and Dark Shadow were definitely a force to be reckoned with, but Izuku assumed Yaoyorozu would've been able to at least put up more of a fight than what he was informed had occurred.

"Midoriya-kun! Please enjoy some of this thirst-quenching orange-juice!" Tenya tossed him a bottle from a cooler he had brought to share with everyone. "You must stay hydrated and energized as much as possible for the battles to come!"

"Oh, thanks, Iida-kun!" Izuku took the drink gratefully, savouring the refreshing tang as he downed the entire bottle. "Whoa! This is the best orange juice I've ever had! Where'd you get it?" He grabbed another bottle and read the brand label. "Iida Family Farms?"

"That's right! You see, much like a real engine, I require fuel in order for my quirk to properly function! And nothing is better than an ice-cold bottle of Iida Family Farms Orange Juice! No added sugar or other additives, only 100% pure citrusy goodness! Drink up, my friends!"

Deciding to not mention the irony of Iida's pitch of his family's juice after his match with Hatsume, Izuku and the rest of the class gladly took the bespectacled teen up on his offer as the 7th match was about to begin.

"Alright folks! Our next pair of combatants are ready to go! On one side we have — Is something going to come out of those horns? Who knows? From the Hero Course, Ashido Mina!"

Mina smiled brightly as she limbered herself up or the match. "It's finally my turn to show my stuff!"

"And her opponent — She looks like she wouldn't hurt a fly with that innocent look and those blonde pigtails! From Gen Ed, it's Futaba Kaede!"

The small girl walked up into the ring, hiding the lower half of her face within her top's collar. Trembling slightly, she took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She cast a glance up into the stands where the other Gen Ed students were sitting, where her classmates began shouting words of encouragement. Scanning the seats, she smiled when she caught sight of a familiar head of messy purple hair. Before her match, Kaede had gone to visit Shinso in the infirmary and was surprised to see him so determined. He had always talked about trying to get into the Hero Course, but this was the first time she had seen that kind of look in his eyes. It was awe-inspiring.

Kaede had never aspired for very much in her life. Neither of her parents were heroes and they had not enormous expectations for her either. She was content with simply getting a decent job once she graduated and would live out a normal civilian life. There was also the issue of her quirk. She had never been too fond of using it, but her time at UA had begun to affect her. Meeting people like Midoriya and Shinso who were so dead-set on their goals got her thinking that maybe there were greater things she could achieve. 'I'll do my best, too, Shinso-kun!'

"You girls ready? Start!" Once Midnight swung her arm down to signal the start of the match, Mina coated the soles of her shoes with her acid and began skating around the ring as if she were a figure-skater.

Kaede watched as Mina weaved all around her, keeping her head on a swivel so as to not leave herself open for a blindside attack. Once she felt as though she picked up on the movement pattern, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Sorry, but I wanna win and move on to the next round!" Mina materialized some acid in her palm, hurling it towards the blonde. Much to her surprise, the ball of acid stopped midair, falling harmlessly to the ground a few feet away from her target.

Kaede's eyes slowly opened, revealing a pair of glowing white orbs where her once normal blue eyes were. "I have to do my best, as well!"

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

"Hn. It seems as though there are multiple hidden gems outside of the Hero Course."

Mic looked over at Eraser, who was holding Kaede's profile sheet in his casted hand.

"Futaba Kaede. She applied for the General Education Course at UA. Her grades are alright, but it seems she didn't have any desire to join the Hero Course. But with a quirk like that...It's hard to think about what she couldn't accomplish if she put her mind to it…"

"Huh? Whaddya mean, Eraser? What's her quirk?"

Aizawa peered back down to the ring. "Look for yourself."

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

Mina skidded to a stop after several of her acid attacks failed to hit Kaede.

The blonde stuck both of her arms straight out at her sides as a small whirlwind began to pick up around her. The wind then lifted the girl off the ground, suspending her in midair.

"What the heck?! That quirk is wild!" Mina yelled as she shot a barrage of acid balls forward, crying in dismay when each one was repelled by the mini-tornado that had formed beneath Kaede's feet.

"Futaba Kaede! Quirk: Atmokinesis! She can manipulate different aspects of the weather! From twisters to snowstorms, she'll put you under the weather in no time! She feels the effects of the extreme weather to a degree, as well!"

"Yikes!" Mina cried as a gust of wind blew her up into the air. Thankfully, she was able to recover and flipped gracefully onto her feet. As soon as she landed, a sharp gust of wind blew by her face, leaving a small cut on her cheek. Mina sighed in relief. That was way too close for comfort. Kaede was a lot stronger than she looked. Controlling the weather?! That was overpowered!

"I'm very sorry, Ashido-san. But I have to do my best!" That layered voice that she now had also made the petite girl way more intimidating.

Kaede waved her arms, bending the violent streams of air around her to her whim. A dark, spherical cloud the size of a watermelon began to form before her. Small pieces of ice began to orbit around the cloud ball, which was now beginning to spark with an electric current. "Weather Ball!"

The orb was launched forward, impacting Mina head-on. The pink-skinned girl cried in pain as she was sent flying by the wind, pelted by hail and struck with lightning the entire way.

"What a power move by Futaba! Her Weather Ball attack sent Ashido flying! Who saw such power from such a cute girl, folks?!"

"She created a thundercloud and hailstorm out of thin air. That requires the ability to control the humidity and temperature around her. Very impressive." Eraser added some analysis to Mic's flashy commentary.

Mina landed flat on her back, still in the bounds of the ring, but out cold with a dazed expression on her face.

"Ashido-san is unable to continue! The winner of this match is Futaba-san!"

As the crowd exploded in cheers at the amazing display, the blonde girl slowly floated back down to the ground, collapsing as soon as her feet touched the ring.

The medical team carried both unconscious girls away, leaving the viewers of the match to excitedly discuss the results.

"Damn, who knew that Futaba girl would have such a strong quirk?"

"Yeah, it's surprising that she is in General Education and didn't apply for the Hero Department, kero."

Kyoka and Tsuyu's conversation halted when they heard a violent stream of mutters coming from Izuku, who had been scribbling madly in his notebook as soon as the match between Kaede and Mina had begun.

"Atmokinesis is an incredibly powerful and versatile quirk! Futaba-san was able to generate strong enough winds to lift Ashido-san off of the ground and suspend herself in the air. Going off of that, there's no telling what kind of maneuverability she can pull off! Maybe she could even use it to fly long distances or deflect bullets! And that Weather Ball move allowed her to combine several different forms of weather manipulation in one fell swoop! I wonder what the exact limits of her weather manipulation and control are…' Izuku ceased his muttering when he looked up and saw his classmates all staring at him. "Oh...Hehe...Sorry." Izuku's eyes then widened to the size of saucers. "BATHROOM!" Knocking over the dozen bottles of orange juice he had drunk, Izuku sprinted out of the seating section in hopes of finding a restroom to relieve himself.

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

*BAM*

The door flew open, almost coming off its hinges as it swung and slammed into the wall framing it.

"Hm?"

"Hm?"

Katsuki and Itsuka both stared at each other blankly, the former standing in the doorway with his foot out from just kicking open the door, the latter sitting at one of the tables in the waiting room.

"Fat hands? The fuck're you doing in here?!"

Itsuka rolled her eyes, "Can't you call me by my name, even once? You know what, whatever. What does it look like I'm doing? Our match is next, isn't it?"

Katsuki narrowed his eyes and plopped down in the chair across from Itsuka.

"What are you doing, Bakugo? It's kinda weird sitting and waiting with my opponent before a match. Can't you just—"

"The fuck's your problem?" Katsuki blurted out, staring at her with his arms crossed.

Itsuka gazed back with a frown, "Did you not hear what I just said? I said—" She paused when Katsuki leaned forward towards her, his face now uncomfortably close with hers.

With a slight blush on her face, Itsuka leaned back slightly with her hands held out in front of her, "Umm...you're kind of close."

"You're scared."

Her mouth opened in surprise, "Bakugo, please. I'm not—"

"You are. I can see that you fucking are." Itsuka clamped her mouth shut, annoyed at being interrupted for the umpteenth time. "Get that deer-in-the-headlights shitty ass look out of your eyes. It's pathetic. If this is how it's gonna be then your sorry ass might as well quit now and save me the trouble of kicking the shit outta you." Itsuka looked on wordlessly as Katsuki gruffly got up from his seat. "We both know I'm way fucking stronger than you. Either get your head out of your ass and take the beating that's coming to you with some goddamned backbone or quit now like the little runt sitting in front of me right now. Tch." He stomped out of the room, sparing one last distasteful glance before slamming the door behind him.

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

Izuku exited the door to the men's room with an expression of pure bliss on his face. That was too close for comfort! He almost didn't make it in time and that would've been a big problem.

"Wait…" Looking around, he realized in his hurry to find a toilet, he didn't know where exactly in the arena he was. "Crap. Which way did I come from…"

His ears perked up when he heard something faint coming from around the corner. It sounded like...Crying?

He went to investigate and when he peeked his head around the corner he saw a familiar spike of dark black hair atop a head buried within a pair of crossed arms.

"Yaoyorozu-san?"

The girl's head immediately shot up, clearly startled. "M-M-Midoriya-san?!" She quickly tried to wipe away the tears and snot that had been dripping down her face. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I...had to go to the bathroom? What are you doing here? And why are you crying?"

Izuku immediately flinched as those words left his mouth. 'So not smooth, you idiot!'

Momo averted Izuku's gaze, beginning to emit a noise that he faintly recognized as laughing? It may have been the absolute worst attempt at fake laughter that he had ever heard of in his entire life.

"D-Don't be ridiculous, Midoriya-san! I wasn't crying! I was...I was...just checking the arena's infrastructural integrity!" Momo began vigorously patting the cement wall she had been sitting against, "Hmm! Hmm! Feels very sturdy to me! Very sturdy indeed! You know, tens of people are injured every year in accidents involving inadequate arena infrastructure!"

"Uhh….Yaoyorozu-san?"

"In fact, I believe that since I have already started this task, it shall be my responsibility to check every square inch of the arena! I must get to work immediately, so if you'll excuse me, Midoriya-san!"

Just as she was about to flee, Izuku managed to grab her by the wrist and hold her in place.

"Please let go of me."

The fake bubbliness Momo had just displayed was completely gone. Her voice was low and weak, almost as if she didn't trust herself to get out another word without breaking down. She was trembling from head to toe. Izuku's grip on her wrist was definitely weak enough for her to break free if she really wanted to, but she remained still.

"Yaoyorozu-san...Please tell me what's wrong."

Her arm still hung loosely in his hand, but she refused to look at him. "You wouldn't understand."

For some reason, those words rubbed Izuku the wrong way. Shinso had told him the same thing...But they barely knew each other. Paring that with Shinso's unique circumstances, it was pretty reasonable for him to not want to share or explain himself to Izuku.

But he and Yaoyorozu were friends...Weren't they? He didn't have a lot of close female friends before he met, so he wasn't all that used to talking about feelings and things like that. With Kacchan it was especially rare for either of them to really have a heart to heart like he'd hear about his female classmates mentioning.

"Yaoyorozu-san...I...I know I'm probably not the person you wanted to see right now...I bet if it was Uraraka-san or one of the other girls than it would be a lot easier for you...But we're friends, right? I hope you know that you can talk to me about anything. Well, most things…" He scratched his cheek with a slight blush before continuing, "You say that I wouldn't understand. But...Well, help me understand, then! I want to be able to help you or at least try to...Besides...A hero would never abandon a lovely young woman in need!"

After a few moments of silence, Momo turned so that her back was once again leaning against the cold concrete wall. She crossed her legs and stared down at her lap.

Izuku stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to finally say something. When she finally broke the silence with a weak fit of laughter, the greenette fell flat on his face.

"I'm sorry, Midoriya-san…" Momo's laughter died down and she sniffled, "That last line was...really lame. But I do really appreciate your concern. Please don't believe that I don't see us as friends! It's just…You saw what happened in my match earlier with Tokoyami-san, right?"

Izuku shifted so that he was sitting identically to Momo, him looking straight ahead at the far wall. "I heard about it, more or less…"

Momo's shoulders tensed and she began running her thumbs over each other, "You must think I'm pretty pathetic...I talked so much about wanting to be a rival to you and seen as an equal adversary..Then I lose in such an embarrassing fashion like I did in front of thousands of people…What pro hero agency would even look at someone like me after that?" More tears began to stream down her face and her voice began to tremble. "M-Maybe...M-Maybe I-I-I'm not cut out for this...We did so well in the Cavalry Battle thanks to your leadership, and the minute I was on my own without you there to rely on...I was a helpless little girl...M-Maybe I don't have what it takes to succeed as a hero…"

She was startled when Izuku grabbed her by the shoulders. He was holding her so firmly that she couldn't help but stare back at him as his piercing gaze bore into her. He looked...angry?

"M-Midoriya-san?"

"Don't you dare say that!" Izuku's tone was equally as intense as his expression and his iron grip held Momo locked in place. "Don't give me any of that crap!" Izuku shut his eyes, breathing in and out deeply before he let go of Momo. "I'm sorry, it's just…" He paused for a moment as Momo rubbed the spots on her arms where his fingers had painfully pressed down on them. He calmed himself down. That kind of talking wouldn't work with Yaoyorozu-san like it would work with people like Kacchan or Shinso. He needed to be clear and concise. Get his point across calmly. "Look, I want you to listen very carefully to what I have to say, Yaoyorozu-san. And please take what I say as genuine and honest from the heart as possible. What you said just now may have been the most ridiculous and idiotic thing I have ever heard anyone that I've ever met say."

"E-Excuse me?" Despite her state of sadness and self-pity, Momo still found it somewhere within herself to be shocked.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. Let me rephrase that. What you said just now was definitely and without any shred of possible doubt the most ridiculous and idiotic thing I have ever heard anyone that I've ever met say." His expression softened, keeping Momo from interrupting him again. "You cannot sit here and try to tell me that you think that you don't belong here or that you won't be an absolutely incredible hero. You might be the smartest person I've ever met. The fine control and sheer knowledge needed to utilize you quirk as well as you do is nothing short of amazing. For UA to get you as a recommended student is one of the best investments in the school's history! Everything about you is so incredible and the most impressive part about any of it is how kind and humble of a person you are! You never let any of it get to your head and still did your best up until now. I've fought with and against you and I don't think there's anything clearer than the talent and potential you possess."

"B-But against Tokoyami-san, I…"

"Yeah, you lost. So?" Izuku's bluntness stung a little bit, but she still listened attentively. "It was one fight and he got the upper hand. It's not like Tokoyami-kun isn't really strong in his own right. If we all gave up on our dreams as soon as we failed, who would be left to help the world? If you can learn from your mistakes and become better because of it, you haven't really lost. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

Momo managed a small smile, "Winston Churchill."

"See! Knowing who said that proves how smart you are! I read that from a fortune cookie!"

Although he was trying to be sem-serious, he couldn't help but let out a few chuckles once Momo started laughing.

"In all seriousness, Yaoyorozu-san...You have no right to think that you wouldn't make it as a hero. Are you forgetting what you did at the USJ? You made a freakin' bazooka and saved my life! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now. The same could be said for Kacchan and Todoroki-kun. And All Might told me about how you even helped him defeat the Nomu after we got beaten. Don't you get it? You're already a better hero than most actual pro heroes!. So stop being so hard on yourself."

Izuku sat back down beside Momo, slightly out of breath from his speech. He had hoped that his words helped at least a little. Much to his gleeful surprise, Momo suddenly wrapped her arms around him from the side. Her face hidden in his shoulder, he could feel dampness beginning to form on his arm.

"Thank you, Midoriya-san." She said, squeezing him around his waist. She sniffled before releasing the boy, both of them having small blushes on their faces once they realized what she had just done.

Momo recoiled back to her original position, coughing into her fist. "Ahem. Sorry about that...I...I just felt like I needed to do that."

Izuku chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head, "Don't worry about it."

Momo brought her knees up to her chest, locking her hands under her thighs. "I really mean it, Midoriya-san. Thank you." She turned her head to him and smiled. He returned her smile with one of her own, suddenly bringing warmth to her chest.

Was his smile always that bright? It was like she was staring directly at the sun for All Might's sake! Momo never really noticed before, but at this distance, she could see that Izuku's freckles were oriented in the shape of little diamonds. 'Cute…'

Momo snapped her eyes away from Izuku and looked forward with wide eyes. 'Did I just…'

Her face heated up as she realized her sudden thoughts. She was not blind to good-looking men, okay? She was a healthy young woman just like any other girl her age. She just didn't tend to care much about those things relative to much more important things like tea or reading. And yes...it may have been entirely possible that her absolute favourite things to read were mushy, over the top romance novels. So yes...It was possible that Momo considered herself a romantic of the highest degree and like any other normal girl she occasionally pictured herself in situations that the stories always stereotypically depicted. This made Momo realize that the current situation she was in with Midoriya might as well have been taken right out of one of her books. The cute boy consoling the distressed damsel, melting away all of her worries with his comforting words and in turn melting away all of the inhibitions around her heart. The girl sees how amazing the boy is and that they are all alone together, the mood being set perfectly without either of them even realizing it. She throws her caution to the wind, acting purely on passion as she grabs him by the collar, smashing their lips together in a spontaneous combustion of intense emotion and…

'Wait wait wait wait wait! TIME OUT!' Momo had to physically restrain herself from yelping as her mind had almost taken a very, very, very wild turn. Her face was burning and she could feel her heart threatening to burst out of her chest.

Thankfully, she was saved from any further crisis as Mic's voice boomed over the PA system.

"Alright, folks it is finally time! The final match of the first round is just about ready to start! The question is...are YOU ready?!"

"Oh, it's time for Kacchan and Kendo-san's match!" He turned to look down at Momo, who would look anywhere but back up at him. "Do you want to watch? It's okay if you're not ready to go back out there. I can—"

"NO! I mean…" Momo got to her feet, straightening her tracksuit anxiously. "Ahem. Let's go watch the match."

"Are you sure? I don't really m—"

"I insist, Midoriya-san!" She spun him around and began pushing Izuku forward down the hall. Partly so he would stop resisting and partly so that he would not be able to see the flustered expression she was wearing.

He finally relented and began walking in front of her on his own, allowing her to sigh in relief. As they made their way down the corridor, Momo stared at Izuku's back the whole way. The butterflies in her stomach refused to subside, and she mentally groaned as she could see where this could be going.

"Oh dear…"

B ~ E ~ A ~ S ~ T M ~ O ~ D ~ E

Much to her annoyance, Ms. Joke had not allowed Tatami to go and talk to Izuku at any point during the Festival. Apparently she was worried that she "would be a distraction" and that there would be time later in the day to find him before they left.

"Nakagame, Shindo. What do you think about this last matchup?"

Being the one actually paying attention, Yo pondered the question. "Well that Bakugo kid seems to have some pretty sharp skills. And under most circumstances, it would probably be a little worrying to think about how loose this guy's screws are...But with his quirk...It honestly is beneficial for 1-on-1 combat. The girl he's facing seems to be geared towards close-quarters fights as well, so it's probably a bad matchup since she may not be able to keep him at a distance."

Emi rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment before nodding, "Well said, Shindo! What about you, Nakagame? What say you?" She had to stifle a giggle as Tatami ignored them completely. The young blonde seemed to be scanning the stands for someone. 'Someone.' Surely she was searching for a certain green-haired UA student who had captured her heart.

"Uhh...Nakagame?" Yo was totally lost as to what was happening. Tatami was completely ignoring their conversation and looked really distracted. Joke-Sensei didn't seem to mind though, finding it funny for some reason. Well, Sensei found a lot of weird things funny, so...I guess that was normal.

"Don't worry about her, Shindo. It's a girl thing." He shrugged, accepting her half-assed explanation. He figured it was better not to pry into whatever 'girl things' were.

Tatami continued to search high and low among the bleachers to try and find Izuku. She grew excited as she caught sight of a small sea of UA tracksuits sitting in the lower bowl beside the announcer's box. She went down the rows of students, smile dropping more and more as each one failed to resemble her crush. 'Aha!' She finally caught sight of that adorable little green head of hair. He was just returning to his seat...With an incredibly beautiful girl?!

She squinted to try and get a better look...and her heart sank. That black-haired bimbo was sitting right next to Izuku!

Tatami ground her teeth as the barely visible scene burned its way into her mind.

Did she trust her not-boyfriend-but-pretty-much-almost-totally-might-as-well-be-her-boyfriend to not flirt around with other girls? Of course!

But she had no mercy for any bitch who wanted to get with her Izuku! That Yaoyorozu chick was no exception!

Was she possibly jumping to conclusions and completely overreacting to what might be a purely platonic friendship between two classmates that happen to be a boy and a girl? Sure. But there was also a non-zero chance that that big-titted, silky-haired, amazoness-legged skank was trying to put the moves on her man!

"I need to use the bathroom!" Tatami quickly scrambled to her feet and shimmied through the aisle.

"But the next match is about to start!" Yo called as she dashed up the stairs into the tunnel. His shoulders slumped and he turned back to sit down in his seat. He looked to see his teacher giving him an expectant frown. "Girl thing?"

She nodded with a smile, patting the sulking teen on the head.

"Alright, party people, we've waited long enough. Here are your fighters for this epic final match of the first round! On this side — The boy who's been famous since he was attacked by a sludge villain in middle school! But he's got a face only a mother could love! Look at that scowl! It's Bakugo Katsuki of the Hero Department!"

Completely ignoring Katsuki's anger over his introduction, Mic swung his arm over his head, pointing to the other side of the ring. "And his opponent, also from the Hero Department — Give a big hand —- See what I did there? It's Kendo Itsuka!"

As the two of them walked up to their spots in the ring, Katsuki gave Itsuka a cold stare.

To his slight surprise, she returned his look with a determined gaze of her own.

"You won't intimidate me, Bakugo. I'm gonna make you eat your words and beat you!" Her defiant aura faltered a little when she caught the slightest hint of a smirk make its way Katuski's face.

"You wanna talk all that shit, but you ain't gonna be talking once I kick your sorry strawberry-headed ass. Oi, Midnight! Start this shit already!"

"Hey! I'm the referee here! Not you! See this?!" She yelled, holding up a little silver whistle, "This means referee! Got it?!" She huffed when Katsuki completely ignored her and her authority, cracking his knuckles as he stared down Itsuka. "Fine! But I'm not starting the match because you told me to, you got that?! I'm starting it because I decided that the match should start now!" She threw her hand up, quickly swinging it downward, "Begin!...lousy brats…"

Katsuki immediately lunged forward with a battle cry. He thrust his sparking palm forward, aiming to strike Itsuka head-on.

She was no push-over when it came to hand-to-hand combat, however. She managed to deflect Katsuki's attack, repeating the action several more times as the explosion-quirk user attempted to follow up his initial strike with a barrage of blows.

Itsuka managed to backpedal to a safe distance, wincing as smoke trails rolled off numerous spots on her singed arms and tracksuit.

Katsuki gave her no time to rest, charging back in for more. "Where's all that talking now, huh?! Not even gonna use your fat hands, fat hands?!"

With a growl, Itsuka weaved to the side of one of Katsuki's overextended swings. "Take this!" She activated her quirk, expanding both her hands and interlocking her fingers, then swung at Katsuki with a giant axe-handle smash.

Katsuki reacted in a flash, throwing both of his hands forward and meeting her strike with a pair of explosions. The force repelled the pair of hands, leaving Itsuka wide open for Katsuki to slam her with an explosion in her side.

She gasped in pain as she was sent tumbling across the ring. Gripping her side, Itsuka slowly pushed herself up. 'I can't let him keep this up! I have to strike fast before he overwhelms me…'

Katsuki slowly walked towards her as the cloud of dust formed by her impact with the ground mixed with his quirk began to disperse. "Get up! You ain't dead yet!" Itsuka attempted to throw a giant jab at Katsuki but he easily sidestepped it. "Too damn slow!" He swept an explosion up at her that sent her flying backwards. As she lay in a heap on the ground, Katsuki began slowly advancing once more. "You had enough, yet?!"

Itsuka somehow managed to get up to her hands and knees. Her fist clenched as she gritted her teeth. Her body was aching all over. She felt dizzy. "Not yet….I'M NOT DONE YET!" She threw a handful of dust up at Katsuki, who grimaced in pain at the cheap shot.

"GAHH! You little bitch!"

Now with an opening, Itsuka mustered the strength to rise to her feet. She reared her giant fist back, dashing forward at Katsuki. "ORAAAAAAAA!" Her large punch landed square, sending Katsuki rocketing backwards. He landed hard on the ground with a resounding CRASH.

Itsuka shrank her fist back to normal size, panting and barely able to stand. She had put everything she had into that last attack. Was it enough?

"Finally!" Katsuki yelled, sitting up and wiping his jaw. "Finally you show some fucking spine! It's about damn time!" He rose to his feet, now with a sadistic grin on his face. "Keep coming at me with that shit or you got less of a fucking chance than the no chance you already had! Bring it!"

Pushing herself to the absolute limit, Itsuka ran forward. 'I only have enough strength left for one more attack, so I have to make it count!' She enlarged her hands, using them to propel her up into the air. Now high above Katsuki, Itsuka spun forward, intent on hammering down on Katsuki with her giant fist. "HAAAAAAAAAA!"

Katsuki had not budged from his position. He held his arms out, looking upward and poised to combat Itsuka's attack with one of his own.

The two teens clashed as Itsuka's hands slammed down against Katsuki's explosion. However, the ash-blonde kicked his quirk into high gear, pushing out even more sweat into his palm. With one hand gripping his other forearm to support the blast, Katsuki roared as he sent a massive explosion upwards, completely enveloping Itsuka.

The crushing blow sent Itsuka to the ground, negating her all-out attack and incapacitating her in one fell swoop.

Katsuki slowly lowered his spasming arm, breathing heavily all the while.

Midnight ran into the ring, checking on the fallen girl. She shook her head and waved for the medical staff. "Kendo-san is unable to continue. Bakugo-kun is the winner!"