My AB Alliance

by DrawingDoc

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

Chapter 1: How I Met Your Classmate

-UA Mess Hall-

It was another ordinary day at the UA High School; everyone was mingling within the cafeteria, celebrating the halfway point of their day. They discussed everything about their lives from pro hero training to local hobbies. However, in this area, there were three students focused on a unique topic.

It started with Izuku Midoriya. He was a plain-looking teenager with an average height for a fifteen-year-old. But, he did bear a few unique features such as: curly green hair, round emerald green eyes, freckles on each cheek forming a diamond pattern, his school uniform - though perfectly in tact - bore a red necktie that was tied in such a manner that its tip pointed at the center of his chest rather than his belt buckle, and to bring his entire attire together, he also wore a pair of red high-tops. He sighed over his current role.

“Guys, I’m kinda worried about the whole class rep thing. I don’t think I’m qualified.”

A girl across the table, Ochaco Uraraka, responds to this comment with a mouthful of rice, “Sure you are!” She was a fair amount shorter than Midoriya, with a brown bob cut, brown eyes of the same hue, and rosy cheeks; the only thing that separated her from being an ordinary girl was the soft pads on her fingertips that activates her quirk every time she pressed all five fingers onto an object with one hand; which would explain her unique method of flexing one finger while holding a bowl of rice.

“You’ll be great. Your courage and quick thinking under stress will help make you a worthy leader. Not to mention the strength you’ve demonstrated. Those are the reasons I voted for you, at least,” Iida assured his green-haired friend. The final member of this trio, sitting next to the girl, Tenya Iida, was far taller and more muscular than his two companions. He had straight, disheveled, dark blue hair parted to the right with blue eyes hidden behind a pair of rectangular glasses. Like his compatriots, he also appeared just as normal as the others; only the top half of his body followed that rule, however. If you took a look at his legs, you would notice the six exhaust pipes on each of his muscular calves.

“You were one of the three?”

“Didn’t you want to be rep really badly? I mean, you do look the part. ‘Cause of the glasses,”

A sweatdrop forms on the back of Izuku’s head as he says, “That’s not how we should be voting for others.”

“Wanting a job and being suited to it are quite different things. Observing the Iida family’s hero agency has taught me that much,” Iida responded.

“Agency?” The two asked in unison.

“Hold on, what does your family do?” Izuku questioned his spectacled companion.

“Uh- Oh, it’s nothing,” Iida answered.

“Y’know, I’ve been wondering something about you. Admit it, Iida! You’re filthy rich!” Sparks crystallized around Ochako’s eyes as she connected the dots.

“Uh- I was afraid people would treat me differently if they knew about my family,” Iida sighed.

Pressure resonated from both cinnamon roll students as they continued to stare at the spectacled speedster.

Iida shook his head. There was no turning back. He slipped one detail about himself; now, he has to explain the rest of his story.

“You see, the Iidas have been pro heroes for generations. It runs in our blood.”

“What!? That’s awesome!” Midoriya and Uraraka exclaimed.

“Are you all familiar with the Turbo Hero, Ingenium?”

“I know all about him! He’s a super-popular pro with 65 sidekicks working alongside him at his Tokyo Agency!” Izuku burst out with his eyes lit up.

Suddenly, the boy pieced together the connection between Iida and the famed pro hero, as shown by his widening eyes.

“Don’t tell me…”

“He’s my elder brother!” The speedster student proclaimed.

“Your family’s family’s famous!”

“I can’t believe it!”

Iida was clearly on a roll, bearing the others’ attention.

“Ingenium is an unmatched commander who honors the hero code. As the second oldest Iida son, I strive to be just like him,” Iida said with a smile. “However, I think it might be a bit soon for me to be in a real leadership role.”

He turns his attention to Midoriya as he presses on. “You, for example. You figured out what the judges were looking for in the practical exam. A rep needs that sort of insight.”

Both stared at Iida, gasping lightly.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile, Tenya! You should do it more,” Uraraka remarked.

“What are you talking about? I smile all the time!”

It wasn’t that Iida was super strict. He wants to emulate his brother, much like Midoriya, regarding All Might’s legacy. Though at the same time, Izuku believed their classmate shouldn’t be so hard on himself, given how clueless the green-haired teen was back in the practical test.

Unfortunately, before Izuku could explain what happened back then, the school bells turned on out of nowhere, surprising everyone in the cafeteria.

“Warning. Level three security breach. All students, please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion,” A voice called from the school’s PA system.

“What’s a ‘Level three security breach?’” Iida asked one of the nearby students.

“It means that someone’s managed to get past the school barriers! This hasn’t happened in my three years here! We should get going!” The student then bolted for the exit without another word.

From there, utter chaos filled every corner of the halls; shoulder to shoulder, everybody shoved against one another, and the students transformed the inner walls of the school into a battle of survival.

“Ow! This is a total mob!” Ochako strained as she kept getting sandwiched between students.

“Everyone was quick to react. As I’d expect from UA students,” Iida admitted.

“Yeah! But everyone’s causing a huge panic! Isn’t this too much of a reaction?” Before he knew it, Izuku was caught by the current of students and swept away within the crowd. The constant pushing and shoving proved too much for the ‘One For All’ wielder to handle as he was knocked off his feet and pulled further away from his friends, “Crap! I can’t stop!”

“Oh no, Deku!”

“Godspeed, Midoriya!”

Within seconds, the greenette was slammed face-first into the windows of the hall, “What the? What is the press doing on campus grounds? Did somebody help them break in?” Little did he know that in another area, Iida was wondering the same thing after swimming through the crowd to get a better look.

-UA Courtyard-

Meanwhile, out on the school’s courtyard, about three dozen reporters and cameramen swarmed two of the teachers/pro heroes. The one on the right was Present Mic, a middle-aged man with a slick radio/DJ getup and long blonde hair slicked back and up for some reason. The other was Eraserhead, a plain, dark-haired guy about the same age as his coworker, but unlike Mic, this guy was so lazily dressed in a black tracksuit that you’d think he was a trespassing homeless man if it weren’t for his long grey scarf loosely wrapped around his neck.

“All you have to do is give us All Might! He’s here somewhere!” A female reporter pressured the two pro hero teachers.

“We said it’s his day off,” Present Mic remarked.

“Just give us one good comment on record and then we’ll leave!”

“I know how you people work, we give you an inch and you’ll want a mile,” Eraserhead deciphered.

“They are trespassing. That means they’re kinda like villains. Why don’t we just beat ‘em up?”

“Don’t you even think about it. Unless you want your name dragged through the mud. Let’s wait for the cops,” Aizawa advised, to which Present Mic groaned.

‘Mic, you better not have gotten that idea from Vlad King. I know he loves his students, but he can be a real firestarter when you don’t want him to be.’ Aizawa thought.’

-UA Hallways-

Meanwhile, back in the school halls, the swarming of students only continued to worsen.

“I was afraid that it was some kind of attack on the school, but there’s no need to worry, everyone!” Iida attempted to deliver the news before he was shoved face-first against the glass.

“Guys! Calm down! There aren’t any villains outside! It’s just the press!” Midoriya tried to get the news across, but suffered the same luck as Iida, as his back was pressed into another section of the glass wall. Suddenly, he spotted something strange. Somebody’s right arm was sticking straight up in the air.

‘That’s odd. Why is somebody’s arm pointing up in the air?’ Midoriya thought. His eyes widened when he realized the arm wasn’t moving, meaning its owner was stuck in place. ‘Oh no! They’re trapped! Whoever’s in there is going to suffocate at this rate! I gotta do something!’

With one hand latching onto a pillar for support, he reached out with his other hand to grab the trapped student’s arm as he thought, ‘C’mon! C’mon!’ He tried to grab it, and failed, ‘Damn it! They’re still too far away!’ He tried again and immediately caught them by the hand. ‘Yes! Finally! Now I just have to pull them back and we should be good!’ Midoriya started pulling on the arm in the hope of moving the student to the wall with him. A few times, he tugged the arm, and each effort failed. ‘Almost… there…’ Then, with one more attempt, Midoriya shut his eyes tightly as he pulled the arm with all his might to save the fellow UA student. And then, POP! He succeeded in pulling something towards him. ‘Yes!’ Midoriya thought, ‘I did it! I saved them! I saved …’

Midorya opened his eyes for one moment, only to realize that he didn’t save the person; rather, the only thing he acquired was an entire right arm from the hand to the top of the shoulder. Midoriya started to freak out more and more. The boy’s eyes widened, pupils vanished, and a high-pitched scream of terror erupted from his throat as only one thought came to his mind.

‘HOLY WOAH! I RIPPED AN ARM OFF!’

“LISTEN UP! EVERYTHING IS OKAY!”
All of the students gasped, including Izuku, as they halted in their tracks, looked up, and gave everybody the space to breathe.

“It’s just the media outside! There’s absolutely nothing to worry about! Everything’s fine! We’re UA students. We need to remain calm and prove that we’re the best of the best,” Iida delivered his message to the masses, immediately calming them down.

Izuku watched Iida with admiration. He took a stand when things got rough, reassured everyone, and demonstrated true leadership skills in the moment when everything fell into chaos. Nothing else could’ve shown Iida’s abilities to lead a class, no, an entire student body, better than that moment.

Shortly thereafter, the cops finally arrived to detain the press. The trespassers were forced to comply as Present Mic shouted obscene farewells to the unwelcome visitors. The crowd within the building disperses shortly thereafter, as they all return to their normal routines. Everyone except Midoriya, that is. Since that fateful moment, the boy remained where he stood as he continued to stare at the severed appendage with pure dread. ‘Oh crap. What am I going to do now? I committed mutilation in UA! I can’t just confess that I did the work of a villain. What would I say to them? To mom? To Mr. Aizawa? Iida? Uraraka? All Mi-’

“Hey! Deku! Where are you?” Uraraka shouts in the distance. Midoriya freaks out and immediately hides the arm within the backside of his blazer before blurting out, “Uraraka?!” Both Iida and Uraraka rush over to the greenette upon hearing his voice. The tallest of the three students speed walks through the dissipating crowd to Midoriya as he exclaims, “There you are, Midoriya! We were wondering where you slipped off to.”

“O-Oh! Hey guys! How’s everyone doing?” Midoriya asked nervously.

Iida answered with pride, “Everything has gone back to normal. Thanks to Uraraka’s assistance, we minimized student injuries. Now that the police have arrived to reroute the trespassing reporters, they have all returned to their daily routine.”

Midoriya relaxed as he thought, ‘Ok… That’s a relief…’

Uraraka noticed that Midoriya has been sweating, or at least, more than usual. This prompted her to ask, “Are you okay, Deku? You’re not hurt, are you?”

Midoriya blurts, “AHHH!!! NO! WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?!!”

Iida notices his friend panicking more than usual. So he throws in his prompt, “You appear to be sweating more than usual. Do you need to see Recovery Girl?”

“NO! NOT REALLY! I’m fine!” Midoryia tried super hard to put both of his friends at ease, “It’s just that…”

Suddenly, as the green-haired boy subtly lifted his blazer by raising his hands in defense, he noticed something was off. Midoriya pats himself a few times before realizing one thing.

“AHHH! OH CRAP! MY NOTEBOOK’S GONE!” Midoriya blurts out loud. “I have months of work stored in that thing!”

“Months?” Iida wondered, “What was in the book, if I may ask? Can it be replicated?”

“REPLICATED?! OF COURSE NOT! I have footnotes for all sorts of quirks and hero work in that thing! Damnit! I can’t lose all my hard work again!”

Uraraka watches the boy panicking more and more, so she asks, “Oh my gosh! That’s awful! Do you want us to help you find it?”

Midoriya stopped panicking as he faced his two friends, “You want to help me find my notebook?”

Uraraka nodded as she admitted, “Yeah! Totally! It’ll be a lot better if we team up to look for your book together.”

Iida follows along as he waves both of his hands robotically, “She’s right, you know. We only have 15 minutes before the bell. And none of us can afford to lose recent knowledge found only within a single document. Can you describe to us what this journal of yours looks like so we can begin our search?”

Midoriya takes note of how earnest both of his friends are after confessing a new habit of his. Realizing this may be his one chance to reacquire such a priceless item, he agreed to it. He then answers, “Oh... okay then. Uh- Well, the notebook I need to look for is blue, with a few scorch marks on the cover. Oh, and there’s a title taped on the front, labelled ‘Hero Notes for the Future #13.’ Does that work?”

Iida straightens up as he announces, “Of course! That’s perfect! Let us begin the search for the missing documents! Uraraka and I will search the cafeteria given the greater area. Midoriya, you track the book in the hallways! Any questions, you two?”

Midoriya and Uraraka answer at the same time, “Nope! Sounds good!” The boy then looks away, embarrassed at their synchronization.

“Very well then! Let’s move out!” Iida shouts as he struts back to the cafeteria, as Uraraka follows along with her farewell, “Right! Good luck, Deku!”

Midoriya watches the two friends leave as he mutters, “O-Okay! Sounds good! T-Thanks, guys!” The boy then looks around the hall for anyone remaining. Upon confirming no one was around, he sighs in relief as he draws the missing arm out of his blazer. With certainty that no one will track him down, he begins his search.

Midoriya rushes across the hallway, hoping to find the owner of the arm and his notebook. He begins muttering to himself with the severed appendage in hand, “That was too close. I'd better return this while Iida and Uraraka are occupied. Although now that I think about it, the arm doesn’t look like it broke off by accident. The cut is perfectly straight, and no blood has left it so far, meaning the owner must have a transformative type of quirk. Not to mention, there’s still a pulse, and it feels warm too, which implies the limb can still move. It feels lighter than usual, too, so maybe there’s a secondary element to the quirk, like flight or telekinesis. Man, it would be a lot easier if I met the owner of this-”

“Hey! Excuse me? Can I have that back, please?” exclaimed a voice along the hall.

The boy was yanked out of his thoughts upon hearing a girl about fifty feet away and in front of him, asking for her arm back, and he immediately froze. Any words that came from her were immediately silenced as Midoriya analyzed the person coming closer to him while asking for her arm back.

From a distance, the girl was wearing the female version of the UA uniform: a white blouse, a red necktie tied correctly (unlike Midoriya), standard grey UA blazer, green pleated skirt, black calf-length socks, and brown slip-on shoes. She looked about his height and age, albeit about a few inches shorter. And both her eyes and hair were green, similar to Midoriya’s. However, the girl’s eyes were a deep, dusky green, and her hair was closer to a moss green, wavy, and extended a bit below the shoulders, minus one short clump of hair hanging at the center of her forehead. All of her locks of hair followed the same format of turning wavier and thinner as it reached the bottom. Her figure appears slender at first glance, yet as she came closer to the boy, Midoriya noticed she was also athletic and bore a fair level of curves, especially in her legs and waist. To the untrained eye, she appeared to be like any other high school girl. However, to Midoriya, this wasn’t the case, as the feminine greenette has the right sleeve of her blazer trailing behind her like some misshapen cape. That one last detail transformed the boy from bashful to terrified in an instant.

He grows even redder as he thinks ‘Oh my gosh! Another girl is coming over to talk to me! She looks so pretty and kind of… W-Wait! Hold on! Her sleeve’s empty! That’s got to mean she’s the owner of the arm! Oh crap! She’s gonna kill me at this rate! Okay. Stay cool! Stay cool! Just talk to her like you would with a friend!’ He straightens his posture as he attempts some decent form as the new girl finally stands in front of him. The girl spoke up as she leaned forward and waved her remaining hand, “Hello? Anybody home?”

Midorya wakes up from his stupor and squeaks, “Oh! H-Hi there! Didn’t see you there!” ‘DAMMIT!’ thought the boy, ‘Why is it so hard to talk to girls?!’

The girl smirks at the boy’s shy behavior, “Not much of a talker, are you, big guy?”

Midoriya goes a little redder as he replies, “U-uh… I-Is it really that obvious?”

The girl originally thought the thief of her missing limb was some two-bit jerk putting up an act. The fact that the guy she tracked down was only a stuttering, shy boy put her mind more at ease. She then claims as she shrugs both of her shoulders, “Eh. I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s not everyone’s strong suit.” Midoriya begins to calm down as the blush on his cheeks slowly fades away, “Well, y-you’re not wrong. I-I guess.” She then returns to the topic and asks once more, “Speaking of which, can you give me my arm back, please?”

“O-OH! R-Right!” Answered Midoriya as he almost forgot why the girl was here, “H-H-Here you go!” He then passed the severed limb by the elbow back to the girl. The girl grins at the notion, giving Midoriya the chance to discover that the girl possesses sharp teeth. They weren’t razor-sharp and shark-like like his classmate Kirishima, but rather pointy yet soft like a lizard. She then gave him a simple “Thank you” in sing-song dialect as she grabbed her missing arm by the wrist and tossed it in the air. It then split into seven pieces as each flew around her and slid back up within the empty sleeve. Most people would have been shocked or put off by the display of power. But Midoriya, he was fascinated as he thought, ‘Woah. So, her quirk lets her divide herself into smaller pieces and fly them around at will. That would make her very mobile in the field. Although I don’t think the floating pieces have much weight while in a fight. Maybe she makes up for it by moving her parts super fast-’

The girl looks back at the fellow greenette and slyly remarks while posing, “What? Did something catch your eye?”

Midoriya freaks out over staring for so long as he exclaims, “W-W-WHAT!? NO! I-I-IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE I SWEAR! I WASN’T CH-CHECKING YOU OUT AT ALL! I-I JUST THINK YOUR Q-QUIRK IS SUPER COOL! NOT THAT I DON’T THINK YOU’RE C-CUTE! YOU’RE SUPER CUTE! V-VERY PRETTY EVEN-”

The girl chortles at Midoriya’s outburst, so much so that she leans into a nearby wall to keep herself from falling and rolling all over the floor in laughter. The boy stops the rambling notion, confused over her response. The feminine greenette reels in her laughter and replies, “Oh my gosh! You’re a riot, man! You’re funny when you’re flustered!” The boy looked away to avoid embarrassing himself any further in front of the cute stranger. She starts to calm down and straighten herself while brushing away any wrinkles in her blouse and skirt with her hands.

The girl then walks over to him and admits, “Hey, don’t worry about it, man. I know I’m a looker. There’s no need to be ashamed about that.” She then asks, “So, care to introduce yourself?”

“I-Is this a good time to do so?” the boy questions while sweating, “I-I mean, I don’t mind introductions, but I tore off your arm a few minutes ago. Wouldn’t that make things… a bit… awkward?”

The girl understood what he meant, but she didn’t want the guy to blame himself for the rest of the day. So, she answers, “Eh. It’s fine. You didn’t mean any harm with that stunt of yours. I only popped it off cause I thought my arm got snagged by some school equipment. So, let’s call it water under the bridge. Besides, you do have a better name than the ‘UA arm thief,’ right?”

Midoriya chuckled at the cheesy nickname as he admitted, “Y-Yeah, y-you do make a good point.” He then reaches out his hand to the girl and says, “I-I’m… erm… I’m Izuku Midoriya from Class 1-A. I-It’s super nice to meet you.”

The girl grins at the boy’s introduction as she shakes his hand, leans towards him, and replies, “Setsuna Tokage from Class 1-B. Pleasure’s all mine, cutie.”

Midoriya fell into another blushing mess the moment she called him ‘cute,’ albeit slightly more than before. Tokage noticed this move as she began to giggle and think, ‘Oh yeah. This guy’s going to be fun to be around.’

Tokage then steps back as she asks, “So, it looks like we have some time left before the break ends. Care to walk around with me?” At first, Midoriya wanted to turn her down because he still needed to look for his notebook. However, seeing the girl smile at him with such a carefree and lighthearted attitude left him entranced. It wasn’t the grand and bombastic smile he was used to seeing from All Might, yet, for some reason, he was drawn to it and wanted to see it some more. Thus, he decided that befriending someone from the sister hero class would be a good idea, so he replies, “U-Uh, O-Okay then. If you insist.” and tags along with the girl to what he can only hope to describe as a casual stroll.

The two start walking around the halls while Midoriya struggles to come up with a conversation starter. He thinks, ‘Crap. What do I do now? This is my first time talking with a girl since Uraraka. What do I say? Wait! Don’t panic! Just ask a question and go from there.’ He turns to Tokage and asks, “So… uhh… Tokage… I saw how strong your splitting quirk was earlier. What’s it called?”

The girl was a bit perplexed over how the boy began their conversation, but chose to roll with it. “Hmm… My quirk? Oh, I call it Lizard Tail Splitter.”

“Lizard Tail Splitter?” Midoriya pondered over the answer, “Is it because you have a minor mutation?”

“Nope. No mutation.” The girl cheerily exclaimed, “I just call it that cause it reminded me of how some lizards tend to split off a piece of their body to escape. It started as a joke in my family, and I’ve been using it ever since.”

“Oh, I see.”

“So what about you, big guy?” Tokage turned to Midoriya as she prompted her question, “Since you asked me about my quirk, care to tell me the name of yours?”

“M-M-My quirk?” Midoriya suddenly realized that this was the first time anyone had asked about the name of his power. However, he knew he couldn’t just spout the name ‘One For All’ without putting her in danger. So he fibbed, “Well, i-it’s a-a… It’s a power type.”

“Power Type? That’s it?” Tokage didn’t quite understand the simplicity of the name: “Why do you call it that?”

“Well, you see. My quirk manifested recently, and I haven’t used it much. When I do, it makes my attacks super strong, but at the cost of breaking my bones.”

“So you’re a late bloomer?” Midoriya nodded to Tokage’s question as she continued, “Ahhh… That explains a lot. The entrance exam must’ve been hell on Earth for you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it kinda was. I’m just glad I found a way to pass the practical component despite the odds. I mean, in the end, I made it to UA, so that’s a relief.” Midoriya sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “So, how did you get in, Tokage?”

“Reccomendat-” Tokage slammed her hand against her mouth, realizing what she was about to answer with. She slowly turned to the fellow greenette, anticipating a face of dread, disturbance, distaste, or something. Instead, this happened.

“You… You got in on a Recommendation?” Izuku asked with a blank stare.

“Erm… Yeah, I did. I guess it does sound a little… off-putting. Don’t you think?”

“Oh my gosh! That is awesome!”

“Wait!? You don’t think that’s weird at all?”

“No! I think that’s amazing, Tokagel! You must’ve worked hard to get into UA through a tougher exam! Who recommended you?”

“Who? Oh, it was… he was…” Tokage struggled to answer as she never expected anyone to ask for further details on the topic. Finally, while stroking her hair with both hands, she throws out an answer, “He’s a Support Item Engineer. He used to go to UA back in his day. Sorry, I guess you were expecting a Pro Hero or someone wealthy, right?”

“Nope. Not at all. Support Item Engineers are always working on the sidelines to help out heroes, no matter what. The guy who supported you must be pretty smart to send you in.”

Tokage giggles at that last compliment as she responds, “Well then, guess I’ll have to introduce you to him and his place when I have the chance.”

“Sounds like- Wait? For real!? Y-You’re not joking, right?”

“Nope. Consider it the VIP tour hosted by yours truly.” Tokage confesses as she flutters her eyelashes and flashes her sharp, pearly whites to the boy once more. Midoriya smiles awkwardly as he answers the offer with, “S-Sure! S-Sounds cool. I-I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

The bell then rings, signifying 10 minutes remaining before class begins. Tokage slouches as she complains, “Awww man. Already?”

Midoriya turns over to Tokage, who now has a cartoonishly gloomy cloud above her head, leaving him to ask, “Tokage? Are you alright?”

The girl rotates over to the boy to reply, “Yeah… I’m fine. It’s just… Dammit… Now I have ten minutes left before class, and I have to spend them doing something else. What a killjoy.”

“And what’s that exactly?”

The girl then opens the left side of her blazer to pull out a blue notebook with a slightly charred cover: “I have to find the owner of this book; I kinda stumbled upon it while looking for my arm.”

Midoriya adjusts himself with an embarrassed look on his face, something Tokage picked up as she asked, “Uh... You okay there, dude?”

“Uhhh.. yeah! I’m fine! It’s just… w-well… That’s m-m-my… n-notebook.” Izuku answered as he looked away while his face bloomed a crimson hue, “C-Can I… h-have it back, please?”

Tokage realized that her job became a lot easier as she replied while lightly blushing, “Oh- Uh- S-Sure. Here you go.” She passes the notebook back into the boy’s hands as she quips, “Looks like we’re even now.”

“Uhh… yeah… Thanks so much for your help.”

“Don’t mention it. Just happy to help. Well then, we'd better head back to class now. See you around, Midoriya.”

“Ohh… Okay then… See ya!”

A short time later, a realization kicks in as Midoriya internally exclaims, ‘Holy woah! I just talked to another girl!’

A text from out of nowhere announces, “No joke; he talked to one this time.”

Midoriya starts getting excited over his achievement as two figures approach him from behind.

“Deku!” “Midoriya!” Both students call out the boy in unison.

“GAAAAAH!” Midoriya squeaked in absolute shock.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you alright?” Uraraka approached the boy and stopped a little too close for comfort.

Iida continued the conversation while waving his arms around robotically, before finishing off with a dramatic bow, “I apologize for the intrusion. Uraraka and I have searched everywhere for the notebook. Unfortunately, we came out empty-handed. Forgive me for not acquiring your needed journal sooner.”

“It’s okay, guys! It’s all good! I found my missing notebook. Well, at least someone else did.” Midoriya answered as he pulled out the particular item from his blazer.

“Really? Who was it, Deku?”

“Uh- it was somebody from Class 1-B. She stumbled upon it while wandering the halls. We even chatted for a bit.”

“I see. Bravo, Midoriya! I expect nothing less from our class rep! You not only acquired what we were tasked to search for, but also started relations with our fellow heroes in training from Class 1-B! I knew you were the perfect candidate!” Iida congratulated with more robotic movements and a boisterous smile.

‘CLASS REP?!’ Oh man, in the entire rush of the security breach, his current title completely slipped his mind!

“Oh! Uh! Thanks guys! It was nothing. W-We better head back to class now.”

“Of course! Let’s head back to the homeroom, everybody!”

“Right!” Announced Uraraka.

Midoriya trailed behind his friends as he contemplated his situation. Though, come to think of it, an idea slowly formed in his mind, leaving him with a slight grin as he walked with his friends back into the Class 1-A homeroom. He then tried to calm himself down by writing everything he could think of about Tokage’s quirk in his notebook.

“Okay. So she calls her quirk ‘Lizard Tail Splitter.’ A mobile, transformative power that lets the user divide their body into several pieces that fly around at will. On the surface, it seems very useful for flight, stealth, and general-purpose movement. It may not be the best for hand-to-hand combat, so she might move her pieces around really fast to make up for the low mass. Now that I think about it, her initial rushed attitude might imply that her separated piece runs on a timer before she has to return it to her initial cut. Otherwise, the piece might become inert, making her less useful in the field overall. If that’s the case, she might have a regenerative ability as a countermeasure. Though I can imagine it takes a lot of stamina out of her, which would at least explain why she never brought it up. Also, how many pieces can she split into? I already counted at least eight, so maybe more pieces are harder for her to manage and not lose overall. Oh, man, that also leaves the design of her costume. How is she supposed to use her quirk without becoming overly revealing-”

Both Iida and Uraraka watch their green-haired friend from behind fall into another mumbling tirade as one thought crossed their minds simultaneously.

‘There he goes again.’

-UA Front Gate-

“How were ordinary members of the press able to bypass our security systems? Someone else must have been behind this. Some villain actually managed to infiltrate our school. But was this purely a show of power or a declaration of war?”

Their principal, Nezu, a short, well-dressed, anthropomorphic rodent, wondered with a sense of dread as he and the other UA faculty members stared at the door. Or at least, what was left of it, as all that remained of it was a pile of dust.

To be continued…

Chapter 2: Life in Class 1-B

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

During her walk back to Class 1-B’s homeroom, Tokage thought back about her time meeting Midoriya.

‘I can’t believe I didn’t get more time to talk to the guy. He’s pretty skittish, but he was fun to hang out with. At least he held a decent conversation with me, not like some earlier guys.’

She then stared at a door six times her height, labelled 1-B at the top, signifying her destination. Another thought then crept into her head.

‘Oh well. I can always try to meet up with him after school. I’m sure he won’t mind.’

She then opens the door to notice most of the class is currently indoors, chatting with one another, all except for one other person.

-Class 1B Homeroom-

“Ah, the prodigal student of Class 1-B has returned. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up.” A boy with short, disheveled blonde hair parted to the right and blue eyes appears before the girl.

“Hmm? Oh hey Monoma.” Tokage replied, “Sorry about the wait. Had to take care of a couple of errands first.”

“Oh, no need to worry your head about that. You are Class 1-B’s deputy after all. It is quite the burden that many side characters, such as myself, would never take.”

Tokage was still a bit irritated that Monoma, since day one, kept on referring to himself as a ‘side character.’ However, she only knew him for a few days and noticed how much he warmed up to the rest of the class, so she decided to cut him some slack. That being said, she wanted to eradicate the habit while it was fresh, so she replied, “Come on, Monoma. Stop bringing yourself down so much. Your work matters just as much as everyone else here.”

“You’re too kind, Tokage. Too kind.” Monoma chuckled at the compliment. “If it’s not bothersome for you, may I ask what kind of errand you had to take care of?”

“My errand? Oh, I had to deliver a notebook back to its owner.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, turns out it belongs to a guy from Class 1-A.”

A cartoonish crack resonates from Monoma as his entire body turns black and white for a few seconds. He cranks his neck towards Tokage as the top half of his face goes dark, “Heh Heh. I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch that. Can you repeat to me who the figure was again?”

“Uh- a guy from Class 1-A? He’s pretty nice. I think you’ll like him.”

“Class… CLASS 1-A!? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, TOKAGE!?”

“What are you talking about, Monoma?”

“DON’T BE RIDICULOUS! CLASS 1-A IS THE ENEMY! WE SHOULD BE DOMINATING THEM IN EVERY TURN! WHY WOULD WE EVER RESORT TO SUCH CALLOUS VULNERABILITY AS THIS!?”

“Monoma, cut it out already. It’s just one guy I met earlier. There’s no need to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

“ONE GUY IS ALREADY A BIG ENOUGH THREAT TO OUR PLACE IN THE STORY!”

The argument kept on growing from there, with Tokage doing everything in her power to calm down the 1-B fanatic, who kept on hollering obscenities about Class 1-A. Everyone stopped mingling with one another as they slowly turned to the duo. One group of three was unlucky enough to witness the argument up close. Such a group included: a boy with long spiky black hair, grey eyes, and a white headband with blue zigzags; a pale slender girl with dark prussian-blue eyes and a silver bobcut while raising her hands around her upper torso in a ghostly manner; and a tall burly young man with brown fur covering most of his body except for his face which bears sharp teeth and golden eyes behind a pair of thick glasses.

The girl, Reiko Yanagi, was the first to notice Monoma’s iconic rant, “Monoma is being scary again.”

The first guy, Yosetsu Awase, stared at the scene in disgust while commenting, “Seriously, it’s not even five minutes and he’s already doing this again? What the hell?”

The taller male, Jurota Shishida, threw his two cents in to relieve his classmate, “Please calm yourself, Sir Awase. It is not worth the effort to fight Sir Monoma after what occurred earlier today. After all, we all know his charade will not last much longer.”

“So you want me to let that blonde baboon run his damn mouth off!? You know what? Forget I asked! I’m going after him!” Exclaimed the headband-wielding student as he rose from his seat to confront the blonde in question. At least, that was what he wanted to do until another student stepped into the classroom and laid her hand on Awase, prompting him to stand down as she stepped closer and closer to the scene. With one fell swoop, she neck-chopped Monoma, knocking him out cold.

Tokage stared at the whole scene playing out as she watched her classmate drag Monoma back to his seat. ‘Itsuka Kendo. Who else but you would’ve stepped in to stop 1-B’s resident troublemaker?’ Kendo, the girl in question, was a few inches taller than Tokage and bore a similar build to her with slightly more muscle. She also had sharp teal eyes and long orange hair, which was currently tied into a ponytail on the left side of her head. The orange-haired girl noticed her friend looking down after the argument, so she walked over to check on her.

“Sorry about that, Tokage. I didn’t think Monoma would pull off that stunt after I left the room for a bit.”

“It’s fine, Kendo. We both know the guy has a hole where his brain is supposed to be.”

“I’m pretty sure the hole is where his heart should be, not part of his head.” Kendo lightly laughed as a comedic sweatdrop appeared on her head. All Tokage replied with was an eyeroll.

“Hey, you doing alright there?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m fine, Kendo. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Tokage, I know we met each other a couple of days ago, but I’ve seen that look you give enough times to understand something’s wrong. What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.”

“Tokage, don’t be a child.”

“I’m not a child!”

“Then stop acting like one.”

“Then mind your own business!”

“My business is looking out for all of my classmates. That includes you, too. What’s going on?”

“... You wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me.”

Tokage wanted to deny once more, but one stoic glare from Class 1-B’s big sis was enough to get her to cave in. She then proceeds to huff before answering, “Okay. Fine, fine… It’s… well… It’s this class I’m worried about. Half of them here are causing enough trouble as is when we’re not around. Heck, the first week isn’t even done, and Monoma already has plans to make everyone square up with Class 1-A.”

“So you’re concerned that Monoma is going to kickstart a rivalry with our sister class? I can help you quell the idea to keep it from happening.”

“No, I’m not worried about that. Monoma only got three people at most into the plan, and even then, they only want to fight one other guy. That’s nothing your trademark ‘neck chop’ just can’t fix. It’s… I mean…”

Tokage took a moment to think her words carefully over the recent feeling she’s been having. Then, when she figures out what she wants to say, she finishes her thought, “I’m at a loss with the guys. Most of them don’t tend to think things through; the ones that do are either docile or worse. It’s bad enough we have to babysit one guy all day in school. How are we supposed to keep everyone else in line? I mean, am I even qualified to handle this… well… this sort of thing?”

“Tokage, you’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. The fact that you’re willing to think for a lot of us is the reason why they voted for you as our class deputy. You’re going to do great, and I'll always have your back when push comes to shove.”

“You mean it?”

“Sure do. Besides, remember our time in battle class yesterday? The one where All Might was in charge?”

Tokage laughed at the memory as she responded with, “How could I not, Kendo? The guy was hilarious the whole time. I mean, flashcards and shouting our school’s motto every 20 seconds? For a guy who’s called ‘The Symbol of Peace,’ he can be a real mess when he’s supposed to be teaching us the ins and outs of the job.” She then cackles harder at the last line she spelled out.

Kendo, meanwhile, glares in frustration as she pinches the bridge of her nose over the greenette’s answer. “I mean, do you remember your turn at the battle trials? Not All Might’s… whatever teaching style he was going for.”

“Well, yeah. I got to partner up with Bondo over there during my round,” Tokage then points to a tall, bulky young man with straw-yellow skin and a unique head shaped like a glue dispenser with a lappet on top, seven eye holes, and a wide zipper-like jaw. “Shiozaki and Rin may have been trouble for any other team, but not us. The plan I crafted with our cemedine colossus was flawless.”

“You mean the plan where Bondo spewed glue all over the enemy team while you snuck around to slap capture tape on both of their arms? That was pretty dirty, even for you.”

“H-Hey! I resent that! I was in a villain team, remember? And I’ll use as many dirty tactics as I have to if it gives me the edge. Besides, Rin may have figured out what my plan was after shooting his scales at me, but by then, it was a little too late. We won out of brilliance.”

“More like you won because you got lucky with your only strategy. All Might criticized you for that move during your review, remember?”

“Don’t remind me, Kendo! It’s bad enough that the big guy scolded me for relying on one plan! I’m not great at improv; you know that!”

Kendo only smiled at Tokage’s outburst, which provoked the latter enough to retort with a tic mark on the side of her head, solid white eyes, and pointier teeth, “Quit staring at me like that! It’s not funny!”

Suddenly, the bell rang once more, signifying a new period had begun. The classroom door slides wide open as a tall, muscular, broad-shouldered, middle-aged man enters the homeroom. The man in question has short, spiky gray hair mostly directed upwards; small, dark red eyes; a faded, X-shaped scar around his left mandible; and a wide mouth with prominent lower fangs. For his outfit, he was wearing a skin-tight crimson bodysuit with a U-shaped collar in the front, a black Y-shaped trim around the same area, broad black arrows pointing diagonally downwards across each shoulder, white above-knee boots, thick white vambraces over the forearms, a three piece metal belt, a transparent orange mask covering the top third of his face, and a thin wire of the same shade as his vambraces snaking from his left forearm to the back of his neck.

“Alright, maggots! Back to your seats! Class is about to start!”

All of the students rushed back to their desks upon noticing the return of their teacher, Vlad King.

He then pats Kendo and Tokage on the shoulder, “Except for you two. I need you to make some announcements first before we continue.”

Tokage then quips to Kendo, “Well, rep, let’s get started then.”

Kendo then releases a visible sigh. This is going to be a long day.

- Some time later…-

“Alright, class, that’s enough indoor lessons for now. It’s time to move out for field work.”

“Field work?” A student with a comic bubble for a head asks as several question marks appear on his face.

“The third day, and we’re jumping back into hero training? I should’ve guessed that if means beating class 1-A in their own game.” Monoma commented with his usual smug charade.

“Sir Kan.” Shishida questioned the teacher, “What category of training do you have in mind for us today?”

“Stealth!” The crimson teacher pulls out a violet flashcard with the title of today’s lesson. “You’ll be working today on hiding, pursuit, and every element necessary for a surprise attack against the villains!”

“Is this a good idea to teach everyone?” Asked a short, round young man with icy blue hair and black eyes, “This type of lesson only seems to be suited towards students with espionage-based quirks. How is this meant to benefit everyone else?”

“You’re not wrong to bring that up, Shoda. Not everyone possesses quirks best suited for an espionage mission, myself included. However, that doesn’t mean these lessons can’t be used for everyday work. Something as simple as catching a purse snatcher off their guard will be effortless if you know how to be discreet. Take the heroes Eraserhead and Hawks, for instance.”

The bluenette, now known as Shoda, nods as he quietly replies, “I see… My apologies, sir.”

“Don’t worry your head about it. Now then, suit up for hero training and meet me at Ground Omega.”

“Yes, sir!” The whole class responded.

A few seconds pass, and nothing happens.

Vlad King slams both his palms onto the desk as he shouts,

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, MAGGOTS!!? WE HAVE A LESSON PLANNED OUTSIDE!!! HOP TO IT!!!”

This sent all of the students scrambling out the door as everyone headed to the changing rooms.

-UA Ground Omega-

Everyone dashes to the site known as ‘Ground Omega.’ Tokage was the first to arrive to the site in her hero costume: A medium-green skin tight body suit with a scaly texture; black fingerless gloves with beige cuffs; jet black calf-length boots with silver racing stripes facing the outer legs; a dark green domino mask with a black border; a thin black belt around the waist with a round gunmetal buckle; and large pieces of black armor on her elbows, shoulders, knees, chest, and hips. The site before the girl was a circular, rocky, forested area with thick, concrete walls surrounding it and a golden Omega letter signifying its only entrance and exit.

“Hey! Slow down, will ya! This isn’t a race!”

Tokage turns around to see her close friend Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (yes, that is his real name) rush towards her with several heavy pants. The boy in question had a highly ripped physique despite his young age; messy, chin-length, steel-colored hair; black eyes surrounded by thick tan eyelashes; and razor-sharp teeth. The hero costume he was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination as it only contained: A dark green pale, baggy jumpsuit that extended up to below the chest; X-shaped metal suspenders with a red oval gem in the center; thin metal bands around the middle of his biceps; a steel jaw-guard with the letters ‘Fe’ etched on either side of his jaw; and black ankle-length boots with metallic plating on the soles, heels, and front.

“C’mon, Tetsu. You know how much I love the outdoors. Don’t you think the fact you're falling behind means you’re getting… I don’t know… slow?”

“Hah?! You’re calling me slow!? You’re the one who sped off to leave the rest of the class behind, again! That’s so unmanly!”

“Hey now. No one batted an eye when I did that yesterday; I don’t see why you would complain now.”

“That’s not what I meant! And you know-”

A pair of head chops silences the two of them as a third student enters the conversation.

“Knock it off, you two. Can’t you guys save your energy for today’s lesson?”

Meanwhile, everyone else arrived in their hero costumes, ranging from elaborate skin-tight clothing to… a pair of slacks for some reason.

“HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR KENDO!? THAT HURT!”

“OW! WHAT THE HELL KENDO?! YOU ALMOST CHOPPED ME BEFORE I TURNED ON MY Q…”

Tetsutetsu wanted to complain to Kendo over her violent intervention, only to gawk with a red glow on his cheeks once again upon viewing her costume. The orange-haired girl’s costume consisted of: a teal, short-sleeved, knee-length qipao with simple gold trimmings; black short pants; a double-breasted corset around the waist; a loose brown belt with a gold buckle; and white-heeled navy blue boots with wide vamps. Tokage turned to her steel-color-haired friend as she thought one thing, ‘I knew it!’ while she snickered over the interaction between the two.

“Aaaaaah…” was the only thing that exited Tetsutetsu’s mouth for the next minute or two.

Kendo grew concerned over her gray-haired classmate, wondering if she hit him too hard, “Erm… Tetsutetsu? Are you alright?”

“IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU MAGGOTS SHOWED UP!”

Everyone looks up to witness Vlad King on top of one of the observation towers linked to the training grounds. He hops off the railing, shouting in front of everyone while falling, “WELCOME TO STEALTH TRAINING!” and lands in front of everyone with his right fist, right knee, and left foot firmly planted into the ground, kicking lots of dirt in the process. The dust quickly dissipates as anyone unlucky enough to be close to the landing coughs their lungs out. As the dust settles, everyone in Class 1-B gawks at the two figures before them. To their surprise, they discover their blood-based teacher standing tall and proud alongside another teacher to his right, Present Mic.

“WHAT’S UP, LADS OF CLASS 1-B! GLAD TO SEE YOU CAN JOIN US FOR THE SPECTACLE AT GROUND OMEGA!” Present Mic announced as he stepped in front of Vlad King, “ARE YOU READYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!!”

The whole class remained silent over the introductions, while Vlad King stared at his coworker with heavy concern while covering both of his ears, ‘Damn, Eraserhead. How are you not deaf after hanging out with this yeller for so long?’

“Ooooooohhh… Tough crowd… Anyways, as my blood bro was saying, welcome to your first day of Stealth Training! The silentest, yet deadliest part of hero work!”

“I can easily think of worse, Present Mic.”

A holographic projection of the map is displayed behind the pro-heroes and high enough for everyone to see. The map took the form of a large circle with an Omega symbol written on top, several red dots randomly moving within the ring, and a larger green dot at the center.

“In case nobody knows, here’s what y’all gotta do! Ground Omega is crawling with scary robots patrolling the field; the kind that’s hard-wired to attack anyone in its line of sight! And hosting in the center of the grounds will be your objective!”

The projection zooms in to showcase a large, light gray, cylindrical podium containing 5 colored sticks pointing upwards: red, blue, yellow, green, and white. More robots come into view behind the podium to better signify the challenge.

“The center of this stage has the most amount of robots guarding a stand with 5 colored batons, each signifying a specific team color! All you gotta do is get to the center of the field, grab your team’s stick, and rush out of the field as swiftly and secretly as possible!” Present Mic exclaims while comedically dancing in place.

Vlad proceeds to chime in, not wanting to risk being smacked by the DJ’s flying fingers, “To keep the exercise interesting and to make sure nobody is slacking off, we’ll have two random teams of four enter the forest per round, and we’ll keep going until all teams do the exercise at least once, with one team going twice for an extra challenge! You’ll also be monitored by us in one of the watch towers, as well as a scoring system created by the one and only, Principal Nezu! Don’t think a high score will get you anywhere; it’s designed to tally up the total number of mistakes made per team. You’ll get one point for every robot that spots you, five points if you happened to be spotted with a baton, eight will be rewarded for each sign of environmental damage, ten points if you leave any evidence of yourself being present in the woods, fifty points if you fail to deliver the baton outside the field on time, and seventy-five for every teammate left behind by the end of the challenge. Also, don’t you dare think about leaving any of your comrades behind before time runs out! Try it, and your team will get fifty more points for every teammate dumb enough to commit this unforgivable act! GOT IT?!!!”

That last part shook everyone to their core. Even if some of them weren’t as good at math as the others, all of them knew that abandoning even one of their teammates would cost them greatly in the long run.

Present Mic stepped in, equally terrified of the punishment, “As my partner was saying, yes, leaving one of your teammates behind on a dangerous mission is a serious no-no in this line of work! Even if it's training, it’s still taboo! Fortunately, there is one way to dock your score in case you get caught. Since the exercise is meant to be completed as soon as possible, every second your team has to spare after exiting this field of carnage will drop your overall score by one whole point! I know, I know, we’re being generous here; there’s no need to thank us. The team with the lowest score at the end of each round will be declared the winners! Now, are there any questions from our colorful audience?”

More silence follows from everyone, be it from total understanding or complete shock.

‘Wow. They’re way quieter than Eraserhead’s kids. What did you do to them, Vlad?’ Mic turns to look at the other teacher who gave the loud hero a thumbs up. The vocal hero wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he chose to roll with it to be safe.

“Alright then. Now that we’re all up to speed-”

“GET READY TO DRAW MAGGOTS!”

“HEY! NOT COOL MAN! DON'T STEAL MY THUNDER!”

Two drones carrying a closed crate of colored balls flew down in front of the heroes, signifying that the entire class must come forward and draw their lots. The teams created were as follows:

Team Red) Neito Monoma, Kosei Tsubaraba, Sen Kaibara, & Nirengeki Shoda

Team Blue) Hiryu Rin, Togaru Kamakiri, Kinoko Komori, & Jurota Shishida

Team Yellow) Juzo Honenuki, Pony Tsunotori, Reiko Yanagi, & Manga Fukadashi

Team Green) Setsuna Tokage, Itsuka Kendo, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, & Shihai Kuroiro

Team White) Ibara Shiozaki, Yosetsu Awase, Yui Kodai, & Kojiro Bondo

The green, steel, and orange trio are relieved that all three of them are together for the exercise, or at least Tetsutetsu is, since he trusts the judgment of his other two friends. They soon realize that they need to search for their final member within the crowd. Fortunately, someone reached out to them first, “Ahem… Pardon me… Are you guys… Team Green?” prompting all three to turn around to witness Shihai Kuroiro standing before them. The guy in question was a fairly tall young man with fluffy white hair and dull gray eyes. What stood out the most about him was his pitch-black skin tone, dark enough to allow no light to reflect off of him. Even though his attire mostly consisted of a black high-collar jumpsuit, he also wore light grey wrist guards and shoes to at least show where he was standing.

Kendo greets the new member, “Oh, yes. Hello there. You must be Kuroiro, right? It’s nice to meet ya.” while waving her hand to him as she smiles.

The orange girl expected Kuroiro to be a bit shy, given his loner tendencies from yesterday, but the boy’s response threw her for a loop: “Uh… yeah… that is me.” He then elaborated in a hushed tone while heavily blushing, “Oh great, I didn’t know she had a crush on me.”

“Pardon?” That was all that came out of Kendo’s mouth as she didn’t quite hear the last part. Tokage then shoved Tetsutetsu towards the remaining teammate while telling the metal man, “Here, you talk to him.” Tetsutetsu didn’t quite understand his greenette companion’s motive at the time, but agreed to the plan as he greeted Kuroirio. He was surprisingly easy to talk to, even though half of Kuroiro’s dialect consisted of dark, gothic, and edgy content. While that was going down, Tokage trotted over to Kendo, who was still reeling since her introduction to their fourth teammate.

“Hey, are you sure it’s a good idea to have Tetsutetsu talk to him? I mean, I get he’s a social guy, but he’s pretty loud too, right?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. Tetsu’s dense, but he has enough wits to dial it down a notch when needed. Besides, even if it wasn’t, I doubt Kuroiro would listen to either of us.”

“What is that supposed to mean, exactly? I’m not trying to scare him off, you know.”

“Relax, Kendo. Don’t take it too personally, or cover your face with your ‘handy’ quirk for that matter. I don’t know much about our class’s prince of darkness, but I have watched him enough times to know that he prefers to either spend time alone or with other guys. On that note, I did hear him wonder if you had a crush on him. It’s kinda of adorable if you ask me.”

“A crush?” Kendo blushed heavily at the idea, “You’re not serious, are you?”

“I am. Anyways, social cues aside, he may be our best bet at winning the exercise. After all, his quirk lets him merge and travel within shadows. We can use it to sneak past the guards without bringing everyone too near the checkpoint. The key here is to get him to trust us, without him wondering if we have ulterior motives.”

“And I take that you don’t have any ‘ulterior motives’ yourself? You did call him ‘adorable’ earlier.”

“Nope. Nice try, Kendo. I know a good-looking guy when I see one, but Kuroiro ain’t my type.”

“Really now? And what is your ‘type’ exactly?”

Tokage blushed a bit at the idea, as a brief silhouette of someone popped into her mind. She quickly responds with, “That’s classified,” and spins away from Kendo while walking towards the male duo.

Kendo remains dumbfounded as she utters, “Classified? What’s that supposed to entail?”

Several horns go off to garner everyone’s attention.

“ALRIGHT EVERYONE! That’s enough intro mingling for now! Let’s give a warm welcome to the first two teams of this maniacal matchup!”

A holographic projection appears behind the vocal hero once again with two spinning wheels on each side and a ‘vs’ tag in the center.

“Who could it be, you may wonder? Your guess is as good as mine, folks!”

The wheels begin to slow down more and more, leaving everyone in anticipation.

“And the results are-”

Both wheels stop at once to signify the first two contestants that Present Mic shortly thereafter announces.

“TEAM GREEN VERSUS TEAM YELLOW!”

“You heard him, lads! Anyone in those teams, line up at the start. You have one minute!”

The projection then transfers into a digital clock showcasing the amount of time left before the round begins. All eight members of each team gather at the marked entrance of the field. While they were lining up, a boy from Team Yellow walked over to Tokage, “Well, looks like our first rival match is about to start. Feeling nervous?” The girl turned to her right to witness the one who asked her, Juzo Honenuki, the other student in Class 1-B, to enter through recommendations. He was fairly tall, with pale skin, ash blonde hair, and sharp black eyes that darted at the girl. Tokage could tell that the boy was giving her a smile that resembled a mix between relaxed and confident, even though the lower half of his face was covered by a black mask with orange-colored side plating and a dark gray nose guard. As for the rest of his hero costume, he wore a black bodysuit with orange armor plating on his chest, arms, legs, and shoulders alongside a pair of orange shoes with white soles, grey front plating, and green backsides.

“Oh, don’t you worry your skullified face about me, Honenuki. I got the perfect plan that will blow you and the rest of your team away.” The greenette smirked back as she turned her attention back to the starting line.

“You better hold on to that promise, Tokage.” Honenuki gave a light chuckle, be it from the nickname or the declared rivalry, “'Cause I don’t plan on holding back on anyone. Least of all you.” He then paces back to his male teammate, whose outfit looks fairly comfortable with the sweater and slacks at first, but bears more ‘comical’ features thanks to the blank manga template mask and ink bottle-shaped armor pieces on his feet and chest. Since the guy has a comic bubble for a head, the design ended up looking more complete than anything.

From then on, everyone was dead set on waiting for the timer to count to zero; all except Kendo, who had one last thing to say.

“Tokage. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Ready…” Mic announced at the watch tower’s radio station

Upon hitting zero, the horns blared as the projection switched to the word ‘START!’ with a timer set to fifteen minutes down below.

“Begin!”

“And they’re off, ladies and gents. With both students who got in on recommendations leading the charge!”

Both teams dash into the woods with all of Team Yellow following Honenuki to the right and everyone in Team Green following Tokage to the left. As the two teams venture further into the training grounds, several drones watch over the eight heroes in training, while Present Mic’s voice dominates the broadcast.

“Oh wow! It hasn’t even been ten seconds, and they’re already splitting off! I can’t wait to see what plans they've got cooking down there!”

Tetsutetsu was still unsure what Tokage’s strategy was, so he prompted a question, “So, care to explain what your crazy plan is? I get you and Kuroiro have quirks suited for stealth, but Kendo and I don’t! How the heck are we all supposed to sneak over to the center without getting caught?”

“That’s the neat part, Tetsu! We don’t!”

“Huh?! What do you mean by that? Mr. Mic said we need to grab our baton and then head back!”

“Yeah! I remember that, but he never mentioned we all had to be there! I’ll send Kuroiro to the site to grab it for us!”

Kendo then chimed in, “So you’re telling us that your entire strategy is to send Kuroiro by himself to get the baton? Please tell me that’s not all there is to it.”

“C’mon, Kendo! That’s ridiculous! That’s where I come into play! I’ll have Kuroiro hitch a ride into one of my palms while I fly him over to the spot. I’ll also send one of my eyes to keep a lookout for any trouble! Meanwhile, you two are on guard duty in case any robots start peeking in our direction. But no attacking, got it?”

“Alright! Alright! I get it! No smashing this time!” Tetsutetsu complained, not wanting to incur the splitting girl’s wrath.

“Kendo?”

“Alright. Sounds reasonable. I can work with that.”

“How about you, Kuroiro? You good with the plan?”

Everyone pans to the ebony edgelord in question as he blushes once again while looking away from the girls, “I… I guess I don’t mind holding hands, if that’s all there is to it.”

“Perfect!” Tokage then spots a couple of fallen trees with plenty of leaves for coverage, “Over here, guys! Let’s camp here for now!”

“Oooh. Looks like Team Green is going into hiding before hunting for their objective. An unorthodox attempt, but then again, there are creaky crawlies everywhere, so I can’t blame them. What do you think they’re up to, Vladdy Boy?”

“They’re crafty kids, but there’s no way they’d run off that easily. C’mon, kids, stop floundering in the dark and show the others what you can do!”

All four head over to the foliage, but not before covering their tracks. Afterwards, Tokage splits her left hand from her body, prompting Kuroiro to touch the floating glove and hide within it. From there, she splits off her left eye from her head and floats both pieces above the canopy and towards the center of the stage.

“Woah! Looks like Tokage is sending a couple of pieces of herself after the baton! I get that she would hide in the canopies, given we have no flying bots, but wouldn’t it be easier to send her whole body then?”

The ride was pretty short, fortunately, as there weren’t any aerial enemies to contend with, as Mic said beforehand. She quickly spotted the stand in the middle of a ditch with about three dozen one-pointers and two-pointers keeping it company. She then lowers both her eye and hand behind a nearby tree, allowing Kuroiro to leap off the hand as Tokage calls on her earpiece, “Alright. We’re here. You know what to do, right?”

The boy responds by clicking on his earpiece, “Yes… Copy that… I’ll be back in a minute.”

Kuroiro then warps into the tree’s shadows, using it as leverage to jump from dark spot to dark spot and sneaking past all of the guards.

“Woah! I don’t believe it! Tokage used her quirk to help Kuroiro sneak past all of the guards in little to no time! Now that’s clever!”

“AHA! THAT’S HOW IT’S DONE, GIRL! SHOW ‘EM WHO’S BOSS!”

“Uhhh… Vlad. You do realize that no one else is here to witness this, right?”

Then, when all of the guards looked away for a moment, he sprouted from the shadows. He then rushes over to the stand, grabs the green baton from the holster, and stuffs the item into his suit so he doesn’t drop it on the way back.

“Good work, Kuroiro. Now, head over to where my pieces are so we can get out of here.” Tokage instructed the shadowfied student.

“On it.”

Kuroiro proceeds to extend his hand back down to activate his powers again. However, before he could merge back into the grass, someone shouted,

“POOF!”

Suddenly, a huge fog in the shape of katakana rolls from one direction and covers the surrounding area of the baton stand. The shadow walker freaked out over the move he’s witnessing, hearing all of the robots panic over the smokescreen.

“What is the meaning of this fog?! This wasn’t in the fleshy lady’s forecast. ”

“No idea! All units, activate your shutters. The dust is damaging to the lenses.”

“Tokage! We got company!” He tried to reach into the ground once more, hoping to at least hide within the shadow of a blade of grass, but things started to go from bad to worse. Soon enough, the ground started melting underneath him as the liquified dirt proceeded to swallow everything from the confused robots to Kuroiro himself. Then, the ground solidified, leaving the boy trapped from the waist down within the earth.

During this time, Tokage was forced to move her floating eye upwards to keep any dust out of it. She also squinted her eye, just in case her reflexes proved to be a bit too slow. With both pieces higher up in the air, she opened up her eye once more. The girl then glared towards the direction of the steamy smokescreen, discovering the two who were responsible for the mess: Juzo Honenuki and Manga Fukadashi.

“OOOOOOH! LOOKS LIKE TEAM YELLOW IS MAKING A COMEBACK WITH HONENUKI’S SOFTENING SKILLS AND FUKADASHI’S SFX! NOW THAT’S GOTTA THROW A WRENCH INTO THE WORKS!”

Even when far away, something told Tokage she could hear her recommended rival quip, “Sorry. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She then looks a bit to the right to see Reiko Yanagi, whos hero outfit followed that of a Japanese horror movie ghost with her pale blue, long sleeved kimono, a white fluffy hood, a black and white striped haramaki wrapped around her upper waist, a black mask covering her lower face and neck, and a pair of long black socks fitting underneath a pair of beige geta. The greenette found the other girl floating to be a bit unnerving, until she realized Yanagi was riding on what appeared to be a pair of horns, most likely belonging to their fourth teammate, Pony Tsunotori. ‘Oh no.’ Tokage thought as she continued to stare at the greynette who hovered above the target pedestal, telepathically lifted all the remaining batons into the air, and then dropped all but the yellow one before collecting it herself and flying back to the team. After she spent enough time gawking at the ghostly student, gritting her teeth, and cursing, ‘Damn you, Honenuki!’ Tokage redirected her attention back to locating Kuroiro via her earpiece, realizing she had lost track of her teammate.

“Kuroiro?! Hey! Can you hear me?”

“Tokage? Are you still here?”

“I am, but I can’t see you anywhere in this fog. Where are you right now?”

“I… I don’t know! My eyes are still burning like hell down here, and I don’t see any shadows I can reach out to.”

“Oh great… Okay. I can see the fog lowering from up here. Raise one of your hands and I’ll come to you! Once you feel my hand, just turn on your quirk, and I’ll take care of the rest. Is that clear?”

“Erm… Crystal clear… mam.”

“Good”

Kuroiro then does as she orders and lifts his right hand as high as he can go. Fortunately, it was enough for Tokage to recognize one of his fingers nearby. She floats her appendage over to Kuroiro’s hand and grabs it, prompting the shadow user to merge with her glove. Both then proceed to float back towards the safehouse to regroup.

“Wooowee! That was a close one! The stealthy members of Team Green got out of that ‘foggy’ situation in no time. Can they keep this up?”

“I told you those kids were tough. It’s gonna take more than a little smoke and mirror stunt to take them down.”

Unfortunately, before they can make it back to the hideout, the worst-case scenario occurs in Tokage’s plan. Her hand goes limp and starts to fall; her eye follows shortly thereafter, signified by its iris turning dull and cornea going opaque. To add insult to injury, both pieces descend into a creek, forcing Kuroiro to ditch the hand before he drowns.

“Ooooohhhh, Tough luck. It looks like Tokage’s splitastic quirk has reached its limit, leaving Class 1-B’s resident edgelord in the middle of nowhere.”

“Hmmm, that’s not a good situation for them. I’m sure they’ll recover. It’ll take more than a good soaking to pin them down.”

The shadow student in question was drenched, but he at least recalled the direction they were flying. He was about to make a run back to his team, only to hear mechanical whirring growing louder.

“Who goes there?”

“Filthy human trash. You have no place in this sacred ground.”

The robots didn’t spot him, but he was too far away from the trees to make a run for it. So he merged into the shadow of one of the nearby rocks before any of the mechanical guards came too close.

-Meanwhile, back at the hideout-

“Shit!”

“What’s wrong, Tokage? Did we lose Kuroiro?” Kendo asked the greenette.

“No! Worse! I lost track of Kuroiro and the timer for my hand and eye just expired! Dammit! I knew I should’ve recalled my pieces earlier.”

She proceeded to facepalmed herself with her remaining hand, before turning on her earpiece to contact the missing teammate.

“Kuroiro! Can you hear me? Are you alright?”

“Errr… yeah. I’m fine. T-Thanks. A bunch of robots closed in on where I’m at, but I managed to find some cover under a rock before they spotted me.”

“Okay. Good to know. Do you see any nearby landmarks we can use to track you?”

“Well, I know there’s a creak nearby, and about 8 other robots scanning the area. Sorry. That’s all I can offer.”

“Alright. We’re coming over. Stay where you are.”

“Uh, Tokage. Did you mean to call Kuroiro under the ‘call everyone’ tab?”

Tokage then hung up the radio in total shock as she turned over to Kendo, who finished scouting through the leaves for any guards.

“No… Not really. Wait! Where’s Tetsutetsu?”

“Tetsutetsu? Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard him for a…”

“HOLD UP! WHY IS TETSUTETSU RUNNING OUT OF THE HIDEOUT?! DOES HE HAVE A PLAN TO SAVE KUROIRO?!”

Both were close enough to hear Present Mic’s announcement for Tetsutetsu’s disappearance, leaving both to wonder, ‘Oh no! Where did he run off to?’ They then hear a steely shout in the distance, “HOLD ON KUROIRO! WE’RE COMING!” Both girls look outside in the direction of the noise, to then spot Tetsutetsu dash over to find his shadowfied friend.

“IDIOT! YOU’RE GOING TO GET SPOTTED THAT WAY!” Both girls holler in unison.

“Quick! Let’s go after him!” Kendo announced. “Right! Hold on tight! I’ll give you a lift!” Tokage nods to the idea as she divides her body in half from the waist, wraps her arms around her friend, and flies in the direction Tetsutetsu was dashing towards.

“Hmmmm… I guess not. I don’t know what happened between the three, but it looks like somebody decided to go rogue.”

“Mic. Remind me to yell at the kid after the round is over.”

“Uhhh… you do realize this thing is still on, right?”

“... Whoops.”

All of the students outside spawn a comedic sweatdrop on their heads, be it confused or scared at Tetsutetsu’s upcoming punishment.

One of the robots in the area, a one-pointer, turned to the rock Kuroiro was under. “That’s peculiar. My database doesn’t recall rocks having such misshapen shadows.” The boy starts sweating, wondering if he should ditch the rock for another piece of cover. “What are you? A man or a mouse? Show yourself, human.” The mech’s limb drew closer to the shadow student, its metallic fingers turning the rock’s darker side towards the sun, forcing Kuroiro to traverse away from the rays. Realizing the rock spinning isn’t doing it any good, the robot’s camera lens began to close its shutters more, implying its frustration, “Resistance is futile.” It then winds one of its fists backwards, preparing to smash the rock instead. “You will be terminated.” It rockets its massive fist towards the hiding spot, and then-

-SMASH!-

Before the mechanical beast’s fist touched the rock, Tetsutetsu showed up in time to demolish its hand with one steely punch. The robot pointed its camera towards the intruding student, who activated his quirk by transforming his skin into steel. “Intruder alert!” The damaged mech announces, before Tetsutetsu retorts, “Nobody messes with my friends! YOU HEAR ME?!” He then throws another punch, this time right into the mechanical monstrosity’s beady red eye, obliterating its head; the rest of the body falls backwards shortly thereafter, before breaking down further into scrap metal and crackling circuit boards.

“Who goes there?” Says one of the robots on the other side of the rock.

“You just said that already.”

“Don’t you sass me, X-27. There is a human on our grounds.”

“Ah. You are correct. Attention all units within 50 meters of our signal, come forth for battle and destroy the pesky human.”

Tetsutetsu squares up his stance, ready to brawl with a bunch of bots, eyes tightening and fists trembling over what he had done, ‘Sorry, Tokage. I know you didn’t want me to fight, but I had no other choice. This is how I save others.’ He looks back up at the mechanical mob and charges forth while hollering, “COME AT ME YOU BUCKETHEADS!” He proceeds to smash all of the robots, with his steel quirk at full throttle; cameras shattered, circuits snapped, and armor torn to shreds with his bare hands. The number of robots he destroyed turned into double digits before the remaining half of the team came over, but by then, Tetsutetsu was at his limits; his quirk was about to shut down.

One last robot got the jump on the metal boy and smacked him from behind, shutting off his quirk entirely. He tried to get back up, only for the mech to deck him in the face and pin him by his chest with one of its gigantic hands, “A valiant effort, human. But this is as far as you go.” It proceeded to press so hard, Tetsutetsu felt his ribs begin to crack while he forced himself not to scream in pain through gritted teeth. “I would have loved to feast on your liver with fava beans and a bottle of Chianti, but my overlord requires all prisoners to be taken alive.” The robot proceeds to wind up a massive punch with its other hand, “Say good night, you pest.” Tetsutetsu braces for impact, trying his best to activate his quirk one last time. Suddenly, the punch stops within an inch of his face.

The robot backs off of the metal boy as it writhes in pain, trying to reach for something at the base of its neck. “What is the meaning of this. Get off me. You pesky runt.” It wasn’t until the robot turned its back that the metal student was able to recognize someone with a black body and white hair riding its back. Turns out, while Tetsutetsu was fighting all of the robots, Kuroiro escaped the rocks' shadow to take a breather. By the time he got his bearings, he noticed his steely classmate was about to be put down, so he rushed behind the robot and latched onto the shadow of its neck in an attempt to cross its wires within the shadows. It was a valiant effort, but unfortunately, the boy was so tired that the robot easily shook him off, forcing him to tumble in the grass.

“I should have expected you would come out of hiding to save your comrade, typical human error. I will eradicate-” The robot fell into monologue again, only to be cut short when a gigantic hand dropped out of the sky to crush the mechanical monstrosity into a metallic pancake. Tetsutetsu leaned back up and noticed both of his remaining teammates had arrived. Kendo turned around as she shrank her fist back to normal to see and run towards her metallic friend, “Tetsutetsu!” She picked the metal boy off the ground while checking his vitals. Tetsutetsu, meanwhile, greeted her in a hoarse voice, “Hey, Kendo.”

“What were you thinking? Are you trying to get us caught?”

“Sorry, it was the only way to save Kuroiro on time. Those metal punks were about to expose him from the rock he was hiding under. I didn’t know if he could fight back or not, but I had to do something. It would be very unmanly not to.”

Kendo wanted to critique Tetsutetsu some more, but given he was willing to step up for a guy he met recently, left her smiling more than anything, ‘Well, I can’t say I disagree with this side of you.’

“Hey! You two! What are you doing?! We've got to bail, now!” Tokage exclaimed while wrapping Kuroiro’s arm over her shoulder.

“Sorry, Tokage. I just checked Tetsutetsu, and he looks too injured to walk. We’ll have to carry them from now on. Although I’m not sure how long we have-”

“One minute and thirty seconds left, folks! Better head back to the finish line while it’s still fresh!”

Kendo produced a sweatdrop, “Well, this is bad timing.”

Tokage felt her knees begin to buckle as she subconsciously dropped Kuroito. Her hand grew sweaty, her breaths shortened, and her senses blurred. ‘There is not enough time!’ She soon dropped down onto all fours, ‘I can’t make another plan fast enough! Not like this! Not like this!’

“Tokage? Are you alright? Tokage!” The girl heard someone’s voice call out to her, but was so distraught that the voice felt more like warbling than anything.

-Flashback-

Back at hero training yesterday, everyone cheered over the last round. The villain team, Tokage and Bondo, defeated their opponents in record time. Despite everyone’s cheers, only one thing remained relevant the following minute.

“I WAS TOO RECKLESS!?” Tokage shouted!

“That’s right, Young Tokage!” All Might elaborated. “Though you are the MVP of your round by embracing the challenge as the villain, as well as confronting the heroes with an airtight strategy right away, you were still reliant on one plan at the end of the day. Most heroes and villains will never make that mistake. They often create more than a few strategies, and will even improvise more to get the drop on their opponent.”

The girl looked down at the ground with her fists clenched, understanding what the teacher meant.

“Think of it this way. You exploited the other team’s expectations by confronting them head-on rather than defending the weapon as they expected. If they anticipated both you and Bondo to ambush them within the first level or had sent someone to pursue you from the rooftops, both of you would’ve been captured, and the heroes would be free to recollect the now undefended weapon.”

Tokage slouched more over her performance, her eyes slowly dimming. She got to showcase her skills as an upcoming hero in front of the number 1 hero of Japan, and here he is, tearing apart her entire work faster than an overstacked Jenga tower. All Might noticed this and placed his left hand on her shoulder while kneeling until he was eye to eye with her.

“Still, at the end of the day, you got your partner to trust you in an all-out gambit no one anticipated, and pulled through in the end, hero or not. You are a clever girl, embrace it. Brains such as yours are hardly seen in the hero industry. Keep improving and you’ll eventually craft plans on the fly that no one can predict.”

Her eyes rekindled at the gigantic hero’s words as she straightened herself up for the ‘Symbol of Peace.’ The hero, meanwhile, stood up to continue his congratulatory speech, “That being said, well done, everybody! You’ve earned passing remarks for going Plus Ultra today! And with that out of the way, onto the next round!”

Everyone in Class 1-B cheered over All Might’s speech, yet Tokage remained motionless over the hero’s words. ‘I can craft plans that no one can predict?’

-Back to the Present-

“Team Yellow has escaped Ground Omega! Well done, kids!”

Tokage didn’t understand why her mind suddenly went back to that time yesterday. But whatever the reason, something hit her, “GUYS! WAIT! I have an idea!”

The rest of the team panned over to her like she had grown a third eye. Tetsutetsu was the first to respond, “Huh? What are you talking about? You’re not going crazy, are you?”

“I’m serious, guys! I got something that might work!” Tokage cheered, the light now returning to her remaining eye. “Hey! Kuroiro! Do you think you can use your quirk one last time?”

“Erm… I think it’s doable… My head is starting to fade into darkness, again.” Kuroiro responded, feeling a bit dizzy from overusing his quirk so much. “Perfect! Here’s the plan, guys!”

“One minute left! Hurry up ALREADY!”

A short time later, everyone proceeds to follow the strategy as follows:

“First, everyone will rush over to a shady section of the woods so Kuroiro can use ‘Black’ at full speed without having to turn for any manner. Next, Kendo will use ‘Big Fist’ to secure Tetsutetsu so he doesn’t get more injured, while her other hand will latch onto Kuroiro, who, in turn, will partially submerge himself and dash across the woods. Finally, when the three of you are fast enough, I’ll grab Kendo by the legs and lift her off the ground so that any locomotion we have depends entirely on Kuroiro’s quirk.”

The plan worked perfectly, as the whole team flew across the shadows of Ground Omega in a makeshift parasail formation. Most of Team Green were excited over the amount of distance they were clearing. Kendo, on the other hand, though excited, was worried about one thing.

‘I hope nobody thinks we look foolish doing this stunt.’

Little did the ‘Big Fist’ girl know, Present Mic announced to the rest of Class 1-B, including Team Yellow, “BOI! Do they look foolish!”

All four made a mad dash for the finish line, no longer caring about the robotic guards. As soon as the exit was in sight, everyone in Team Green kicked it into high gear to make it to the finish line in time. And then…

“BEEEEEEEEP!”

“Woweee! What a close one, everybody! Team Green escaped Ground Omega’s clutches in the nick of time! What a killer scene to conclude Round One!”

All four members of Team Green escaped on time. However, since they were moving so fast, all four collapsed and tumbled all over the grass; they were all coated in dirt and scuff marks by the time they stopped rolling… everywhere. Honenuki walks over to the rival team, mainly towards Tokage.

“Hey. You good?” Honenuki asks as he gives her a hand.

“Tch. Never better.” The girl slyly remarks as she latches with her remaining hand and is pulled up, “You didn’t think I was going to keep you all waiting, did ya?” He grinned at his classmate’s mannerisms, though it was hard to tell at first since he took off his mask earlier to reveal the toothy, lipless lower half of his face, “Hardly. Though it seems like you didn’t come back in one piece this time.”

“Hah hah, that’s hilarious, Honenuki. I’ll be fine. My stamina’s shot, though, so I’ll need to munch on something to grow back my missing parts. Speaking of, did you get any snacks while you were here?” The skull-faced student shook his head while waving his hand, “Sorry, pal. Not this time.” Tokage pouted while looking away and crossing her arms, “Bonehead.” He wasn’t sure whether she accidentally split off a section of her brain with her quirk or not, hence her ‘munchie’ state. Either way, Honenuki was glad he averted the subject from the match.

Both Vlad King and Present Mic exit the tower shortly thereafter, just as the remaining members of Team Green get back on their feet.

“Alright, kids! Now that both of our teams are back out of the ring. It's time to announce the score!”

The projection then shifts to a scoreboard with randomly generated numbers underneath the two names.

“And the winner is…”

The scores kept spinning for the next ten seconds. Once the scores calmed, the DJ Radio Hero announces,

 

“A TIE?!!!!!!!!”

 

Everyone goes blank as both teams earned the same score, 52. Present Mic proceeds to shift his shades up and down while looking at his notes, “This can’t be right. Vlad, am I seeing things again, or did we miscalculate something?” Vlad crosses both his arms and reassures his coworker, “Nope. You got the numbers right. They did score a draw.” The Blood Hero pans over to both recommended students, “I expect nothing less from my students. Well done.” As Honenuki gives Vlad King a thumbs up while Tokage looks away slightly flushed, the board proceeds to list the various penalties.

Team Yellow:
Robot Spotting(s): 19
Baton Spotting(s): 8
Env. Dmg: 6
Hero Evidence: 2
Delivery Penalty: 0
Hero Abandonment Penalty: 0
Timer Bonus: -75
Total Score: 52

Team Green:
Robot Spotting(s): 32
Baton Spotting(s): 0
Env. Dmg: 0
Hero Evidence: 2
Delivery Penalty: 0
Hero Abandonment Penalty: 0
Timer Bonus: 0
Total Score: 52

While everybody was asking both teachers what happened and where they could improve, except for four people.

Tetsutetsu and Kuroiro were escorted to Recovery Girl’s office due to the number of injuries they received earlier; as for the other two, Honenuki and Tokage stared at the screen in awe, recognizing where both teams had gone wrong.

Honenuki smirked at the score, “Well, I’ll be. I was hoping for a close match with you, but I didn’t expect it to end in a draw.”

Tokage scoffed at the idea, “I find that hard to believe. Are you sure you’re not getting ‘soft’ on me after splotching parts of the arena with your quirk?”

“I doubt it. Fukadashi was a bit nervous at the start, and ended up activating his quirk at random times during the journey.”

“So you blame your comical companion then? That’s not very leader-like of you.”

“Hardly. In fact, we played it to our strengths by having him ‘WHOOSH!’ everybody past the guards. It was a pretty fun ride, all things considered; Yanagi did too, since she described the move as “Spooky.” You should try it sometime.”

“Hmm… I’ll take a rain check on the idea. Thanks.”

Present Mic gathered everyone’s attention once more after answering questions with Vlad for a minute. “Alright, lads. Now that all questions are taken care of, let’s-”

Suddenly, before the next round could commence, somebody in white armor minus the helmet rushed over to the two teachers,

“Present Mic! Vlad King! We have a situation at the USJ!”

Vlad King panned over to recognize the figure. It was Tenya Iida, the newly appointed class rep of Class 1-A. “Hmm… What is it, boy? Can you elaborate?”

Iida straightened himself in front of the blood-themed hero, “Of course, sir! We have-”

“Not in front of my class, you dolt! Whatever is going on, keep it between me and Present Mic if you can.” Vlad King pinched his nose, not wanting Eraserhead’s model student to spook his students. Iida nodded in response as he drew in closer to whisper the situation to both teachers. As soon as both heroes heard that the USJ was under attack by villains with Eraserhead and Thirteen suffering injuries to protect the rest of the students, their pupils shrank.

Vlad whispers, “How many teachers know about this?”

Iida responds via whisper, “All of them, you’re the only ones left I had to reach out to.”

“I see. Head back to the UA entrance. We’ll be right behind you.”

And so, the white knight student nods at the request and rushes out of sight towards the desired location.

The vocal hero proceeds to announce,

“Change of plans, Class 1-B! Due to technical difficulties elsewhere, Stealth Class is canceled for the time being!”

“HUUUUUUH!!!” was the response they got from the entire group.

“But that’s not fair! Only eight of us took the exercise! How is everyone else supposed to keep up!?”

“Sorry, kids! As much as we want everyone to join in the activity, your safety is our number one priority!”

“Everyone, get changed and head back to Class 1-B’s homeroom at once! Do I make myself clear?”

“No! No, Mr. Vlad King! Sir!”

“Good! Now get moving, maggots!”

Everyone proceeded to do as they were told, as both Vlad King and Present Mic rushed out to rescue the hostages of the USJ. Monoma proceeded to comment, “Such a shame. It appears that Class 1-A has proven themselves more troublesome than I could’ve ever imagined. They are, after all, a class full of idiots-” but was cut off after Kendo knocked the fanatic student out cold with another neck chop. Meanwhile, only Tokage remained behind for a bit as she turned to face the horizon, where she recalled the USJ was located. Out of all the students, she was the only one who listened to the conversation between the teachers and the boy, whom she assumed was from Class 1-A, given his suit. The girl was ticked that the rest of 1-B’s teams didn’t get to participate today. But at the same time, she felt just as bad for 1-A, who was stuck fighting a bunch of villains. She then walks back to the rest of her class as one thought crosses her mind.

‘Please be safe, Midoriya.’

To be continued…

Chapter 3: End to a Rough Day

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

All of Class 1-B went back to the homeroom as instructed. They tried not to think too much about the cancelled event and instead focused on other topics to keep themselves occupied. Kendo remained on standby near Monoma in case he tried to pull something. Yanagi was having the quietest conversation in history with two other girls: one with cerulean eyes and a black bob cut, and the other with green eyes and vines for hair. Meanwhile, Honenuki was chatting with Tsunotori, Class 1-B’s resident American-exchange/horse-themed student, given her long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and equestrian legs; though, the girl didn’t quite fit the stereotype perfectly, as there were a pair of tall horns protruding from the top of her head. And Kuroiro, who has just been released from Recovery Girl’s office for scrapes and bruises, got to chat with Awase.

The only one who didn’t go into small talk was Fukadashi, who was resting his voice after using his quirk so much during training; the comic-themed classmate also took the time to nap, given that the teachers weren’t here. He raised his head off his desk to witness a platter of sandwiches and cracker wraps all over a desk in front of him, Tokage’s, to be precise. ‘Where did she get all that food? Did somebody tip her off about a snack bar?’ Little did anyone know, the girl discovered a concession stand during the trip back; she used her spare time to snatch as much grub as she could carry to help speed up her regeneration. It was a comedic sight to witness, but Tokage didn’t care since the task helped her grow back both her missing eye and hand.

The speakers then go off, “Attention all students of U.A., due to technical difficulties, all classes are dismissed for today. I repeat. All classes are dismissed for today. Please exit the campus and return home in an orderly fashion.”

Half the class groaned at the announcement, including Tokage, who complained as she pounded both fists on her desk, “Seriously? At least give us details!” Unfortunately, a Katsu Sando was stuffed in her mouth at the time, so her response came out as, “Suh ro so? Ah ra gib uff deef hils!” Everyone panned to Tokage, who stared back at them after swallowing her food, “What?”

“It appears that our attempts to grow stronger have been thwarted.” Monoma chuckled, “No matter. This is but a minor setback. Just you wait. We will have our opportunity to rise again and defeat that class full of idiots!” The boy then slipped out the door before anyone could interject, cackling at the top of his lungs.

‘Dammit.’ Kendo thought, ‘I can’t believe I let him rant about Class 1-A this time. I knew I shouldn’t have turned my back on him again.’

“Alright. You heard them, everyone. Let’s exit the school this time in an orderly fashion.”

“Okay.”

Everyone proceeds to exit the door to head home, either in groups or all alone. An hour later, the entirety of Class 1-B left the campus; all except for Kendo and Tokage, who opted to wait for Tetsutetsu outside the Nurse’s office, who was still being treated for his injuries.

“So… Do you think he’s gonna pull through?”

“He’ll be fine, Kendo. I’ve seen the guy take on worse before.”

“Worse? The guy took a beating after fighting dozens of robots. How are you not worried about him?”

“I am worried about him. Though not as much as you are right now. What? Are you having the hots for Class 1-B’s man of steel?”

“Huh?!” Kendo freaked out over the green-haired girl’s comment. “W-What are you- t-talking about?”

“Oh? Don’t be coy with me, Miss Rep.” Tokage cooed, “I’ve seen how you’ve been eyeing him for a while. You even took the time to check on him more than once, today.”

“Yeah, as a friend.”

“You sure about that? I can pull a few strings to make something better happen.” Setsuna smirked and winked at her classmate. Kendo was unable to respond to the offer. Her cheeks turned completely red, steam came out of her ears, and she enlarged both of her hands to cover her face. Fortunately, the event didn’t last too long as Tetsutetsu slid open the door as he walked out, now donning his school uniform and several bandages wrapped around his arms, neck, torso, and forehead.

“Tetsutetsu!”

“Huh?” The boy responded as he wasn’t aware that some of his classmates were nearby while stretching his neck. He turned his head over to them, “Oh. Hey guys.”

“Don’t you ‘hey guys’ us, you metalhead. You’ve been out cold since the stealth match.” Tokage angrily exclaimed.

“Right. Sorry about that. At least I’m all better now. Just had a few cracked ribs patched up thanks to Recovery Girl. Although…” The boy proceeded to yawn, “I am not gonna get used to that granny’s kisses. I need to lie down again after that.”

Everyone remained silent for a few seconds before Tetsutetsu broke the tension. “Sooo… What did I miss?”

Tokage was about to answer, only for Kendo to speak up first. “A lot. One of U.A.’s facilities, the USJ, was attacked recently. Thanks to that, the school cancelled the rest of the day for everyone. We were waiting for you to be discharged before heading home together.”

“You guys took time out of your day to wait for me!” Tetsutetsu exclaimed with tears coming out of his eyes, “That’s so manly!”

Both girls stared in disbelief at the masculine compliment. The boy suddenly recalled the former part of Kendo’s answer and asked in pure rage, “Wait! U.A. was attacked?! Who was it?! Let me at them!”

“We’re fine, Tetsutetsu. Nobody in our class was hurt. Class 1-A was the one that got attacked.”

“1-A? Well, that would explain the kid in bed. His leg and hand looked pretty messed up.”

“His?” The greenette wondered, “What did he look like? Did he have any unique features?”

“Features?” The steel student was puzzled over the green girl’s curiosity, but then put one of his hands under his chin to think of what he could remember. “He was pretty plain looking, but I do recall him having some green hair and freckles. Why do you ask?”

Her eyes widened upon hearing Tetsutetsu’s description, “Oh- Uh- No reason.” She scratched the back of her head, not wanting to be interrogated for her latest answers. Tokage then grouped both of her classmates and pushed them down the halls. “Why don’t you two go on ahead? I’ll catch up in a minute.”

“A minute?” Both classmates questioned.

“What could be so important that you need a minute?” Kendo followed up.

“Don’t worry about it. I just realized I have one last thing I need to take care of before leaving. I’ll meet you two at the entrance.”

“Okay, then. Well, don’t keep us waiting for too long.” The orange-haired girl added.

“Heh. Wouldn’t even dream of it.”

With both classmates now out of sight, Tokage looked both ways before coming closer to Recovery Girl’s door. Before she could knock on it, though, her phone started ringing in one of her pockets. She pulls out the device to check the screen, revealing the word ‘Mom’ before her. Hoping the event won’t take long, she heavily sighed before hitting the answer button.

“Yes, hello.”

“Setsuna? Where are you right now? I received an alert that U.A. was attacked a couple of hours ago.”

“I’m fine, Mom. I’m still in U.A. There’s no damage here; it was just an attack in one of the outer facilities.”

“Okay, that’s good to know. Anyways, I need you to head home right away. I just got called in to take up another late shift and won’t be back home until later.”

“I understand. Just need to take care of something real quick-”

“Don’t give me the ‘something real quick’ excuse, young lady. There were villains involved in the attack today.” Setsuna sweated at the answer. “The description of the group included somebody with a rare ‘warp’ quirk. Nobody knows where they are, and I’m not waiting for them to attack anyone on the school grounds, least of all you.”

“But mom-”

“No buts! If you have something to do there, you can do it another day. Understand?”

“... Fine.”

Tokage hung up on the call, threw her hands up in the air, and screamed, “GAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” before storming off to reunite with her friends.

-Recovery Girl’s Office-

Shortly after the 1-B students left the vicinity of the Nurse’s office, the two remaining patients began to stir. The first one to do so was All Might; he wasn’t in his strong superhero form everyone was familiar with, so he currently looked more like a gangly old man with medium blonde hair and two groups of long bangs surrounding his face. At around eye level, part of his face looked sunken in and almost black, and slowly opened a pair of bright blue eyes. He first turned left towards the other patient, Izuku Midoriya, and then to the right to see the U.A. nurse, Recovery Girl, a short old woman wearing a white lab coat over a red, white, and yellow dress with an open pink helmet bearing a grape-colored visor and a syringe-pin holding a netted bun in place.

The elderly woman in question spoke first, “Well, I guess I won’t scold you for him being back here since it wasn’t your fault.”

All might responded in a faint breath while Midoriya opened his eyes, “I can’t be sure yet, but I think I shortened my time limit again with that fight. I hope I can at least still hold the form for an hour.”

“I’m so sorry.” The boy finally turned to the blonde teacher, feeling bad for his condition.

All Might sat up in his bed, showcasing all of the bandages wrapped around his torso. “Well, no use worrying. These things happen.”

At around the same time they finished, the office door slid open, with a tall, well-groomed man entering the doorway. He was wearing a tan overcoat with a matching fedora, over a dress shirt, green necktie, dark slacks, and matching dress shoes.

“Excuse me,” the man introduced himself while removing his fedora, smiling when he spotted who he came to see, better showcasing his short hair and rectangular eyes, both of which were black. “Hi, All Might. Been a while.”

All Might coughed up some blood upon hearing his hero name. He expected some visitors, but not this guy. “What the hell? I didn’t know that you were investigating.”

“Whoa, All Might! It’s okay, he’s seeing you like this?” Midoriya questioned.

“Oh, yeah, it’s fine. This guy’s all right,” he reassured. “Naomasa Tsukauchi, my best friend on the police force. He’s legit. I trust him.”

“That’s quite an introduction,” Tsukauchi started as he approached All Might’s bedside.

“Sorry to cut to the chase, but we could really use any information you might have.”

“Hold on. Before all that. Tell me all of the students are okay. And Aizawa--Er-Eraser Head, and Thirteen.” Toshinori inquired. He needed to know so he could rest easy for today.

“Not counting this boy, the only student injuries were scrapes, and both of the teachers are in stable condition right now. Relax,” Tsukauchi said.

Both All Might and Izuku let out a heavy sigh in relief.

“That’s good to hear.” All Might continued to calm down.

Tsukauchi then jumped in with his praises, “If you heroes hadn’t risked your lives, the students would never have made it. You three saved that entire class of kids today.”

All Might didn’t want to count out the other members of Class 1-A after hearing that, “That’s not it, Tsukauchi. Those students also risked their lives and fought just as hard as us.”

“Thank you, All Might.” The greenette gave his thoughts, trying his best not to tear up.

“There’s never been a group of first-years who experienced a real fight like this so early in their training. They not only survived but learned what it means to be a Pro Hero. Those villains made a big mistake attacking them.” All Might then stared at the setting sun to emphasize his point as the detective nodded at his words. “This class is strong. They will persevere no matter what happens.”

His words shook everyone, though the detective only nodded his head, expecting such a speech from his friend.

“Mark my words, my friend. They will become great heroes.”

Midoriya then looked at his unbandaged right hand and closed it into a fist. He then turned to the number one hero, who gave him a thumbs up for his efforts, leaving the boy even more motivated as he stared out at the window.

The detective also stared outside before returning his gaze to the blond hero. “Well, that’s good to hear you have a lot of faith in your students. Now that their safety has been verified. Let’s begin, shall we?”

“Of course. What would you like to know, old friend?”

“Let’s start with the leading villain, or rather, the one with a disintegration quirk. What have you learned about him?”

“Hmm.. That’s a good question…” All Might pondered. There was no telling how many questions both he and his protégé would have to answer, but neither of them seemed to mind, fortunately.

-Meanwhile, at the Saitama District-

The rest of the walk bored the green-haired girl. She had some small talk with Kendo and Tetsutestu before they all went their separate ways. Starting with Kendo, as she took the train to the Chiba district, Tetsutetsu left shortly thereafter, as despite living in the same prefecture as her, his family lived in a different neighborhood. The greenette now stood before a mid-sized modern suburban house, with a flower and Zen garden surrounding the front entrance and her family name etched in Kanji at the gate. Tokage thought no one was home at the time, but she rang the doorbell, just in case. “I’m home-”

 

“WAAAAAAGUH!!!”

 

The girl produced a comedic sweatdrop on the side of her head as the echoes of a surprised man, clanking metal, and falling boxes resonated within the home. She tried not to think too much of it as she reached for the handle, only for the front door to be yanked wide open, revealing a middle-aged guy a bit taller than Setsuna wearing a pale green shirt with both sleeves rolled up above the elbows, auburn slacks, a silver nametag on the upperleft side of his chest reading ‘Hatsuumi Tokage’ in Kanji, and a dark necktie tied horrible wrong as its tip pointed low enough to reach the zipper fly. What stood out even more to the girl was that the man was wearing a cardboard box over his head with a dinosaur face painted over the front.

“Who goes there?! We’re closed! If you want an appointment, then come back tomorrow!”

Setsuna released a visible sigh at the scene before her, “Calm down, Dad. It’s just me.”

“Setsuna?”

The man took off the box on his head to reveal the contents of his face: wavy musk green hair with several grey streaks mostly tied in a loose man bun with eight locks dangling on the front and sides of his head; a dark green soul patch, sharp dusky green eyes and sharper teeth like his daughter, large round glasses with dark green frames, and several wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. To complete the look, he also had a couple of grease marks across his forehead, pointy nose, and one of his cheeks. Guess he forgot to wash his face, again.

“Sorry about that, I wasn’t expecting anyone at this time. Come on in.”

The girl followed suit as she entered the house to take off her shoes, while the man closed the door after her.

“So… What brings you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in U.A.?”

“School’s cancelled. One of their facilities had some trouble, so everyone had to bail early.”

“Oh… Y-You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m fine, Dad. I didn’t get hurt from the attack.”

“An attack!? You don’t seem too thrilled about it, though.”

“Because the other hero class of my year got hurt. How can I not be mad about it?”

“Other Hero Class? Oh. You must mean Class 1-A; my bad. I wasn’t referring to the facility. I meant the part about leaving early. What happened, exactly?”

“Uh- well, there was…”

An electronic beeping suddenly resonated from the kitchen, catching both greenettes off their guard. Hatsuumi straightened his posture, now with his lenses fully white, as he rubbed the back of his head. “Whoops. Almost forgot I left the kettle running. Why don’t we talk about it at dinner?” as he marched over to the kitchen.

“Uh, sure. Sounds good.” Setsuna was a bit annoyed at her father getting so easily distracted, but relieved that she didn’t have to answer right away. She then followed her father to the kitchen, walking past several photos on the wall, mostly of the rest of the family, with a larger one around the middle.

The dinner Hatsuumi had in mind for the two of them was super plain: a bowl of seafood-flavored instant ramen, some rice crackers, and a cup of matcha for each person.

“Why do you always go for the instant stuff? Last I checked, you know how to cook, right?”

“Don’t be silly, my little Sets. This brand is the best and easy to make at any time! Besides, even if I wanted to, we don’t have any holidays this week, or even guests for that matter. What’s the point of working harder when working smarter pays off every time?” The father answered before returning to slurp some more noodles.

The girl couldn’t bring herself to argue about it, given that their mindsets are relatively similar. “I guess that’s true.” She then went back to finishing her food.

“But enough about me. You admitted you didn’t enjoy leaving early today and got worried for Class 1-A. What happened?”

Setsuna blushed a bit about the thought as she finished swallowing more food. “Erm…” the girl was struggling to come up with the right words, so she started stroking her hair to calm herself, “Well… you see… There was this boy from 1-A I met at school.”

“A boy?” Hatsuumi’s face went dark as his glasses started to glow brightly while leaning closer, “Was he hitting on you?”

“What?! NO! Don’t be ridiculous, Dad!” The girl facepalmed over her dad’s clichéd instinct to protect her. “He’s not a flirt!”

“He’s not?” The father questioned as he leaned back on his chair. His face was no longer darkened, but the glasses were still white, alongside the rest of his appearance turning cartoonishly simple.

“NO! He’s a nice guy! I mean, he’s pretty meek and panicky, but was easy to talk to, given he asked about my quirk for a bit. Not to mention, he has a personal collection of handwritten ‘Hero Notes.’ If anything, he enjoys U.A. and everything it has to offer.”

“Ah. That’s cool. How did you meet him, then?”

“I met the guy at today’s lunch break; we chatted for a bit after we bumped into each other, at least until I had to go back to class. I planned to talk to him again after school, but then the school drop happened, and we had to leave. The only thing I got to hear about him since then was that he got roughed up from the attack, and only because Tetsu had to get patched up at the nurse’s office earlier today. I wanted to wait a bit to at least check in to see how he’s doing, but noooo… Mom had to step in and ordered me to go home!”

“That’s pretty messed up… I can see why you’re so torn up about it.”

“Well, duh. It’s not like I wasn’t going to stay at his place, but Mom… she just… Why the hell does she always get in the way?” The girl demanded through clenched fists and gritted teeth.

“Sets, dear. Your mother is only trying to protect you because she loves you. Her job doesn’t allow her to see us that often, so it’s not like she knows what you’re going through all the time-”

“I know!... I know… Sorry…”

The girl looks down, feeling bad that she yelled at her father, who only wanted to talk to her. The man was taken aback at first, however, seeing the gloomy face his little girl was making, his expression turned from fear to pity. He then detaches one of his hands, letting the dismembered limb walk itself across the table, run along Setsuna’s arm, and rest on her shoulder to squeeze it. The female greenette took notice as she faced the split-off hand and then her parent.

“Setsuna, I understand it doesn’t feel that way to you. Your mother can be… a lot sometimes; I get it. She’s stubborn, blunt, and cold to the point that it seems that she doesn’t care about anyone. She’s not the best at showing love to others, even I struggle to understand her sometimes, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t trying. Just give her some time; she wants you to be happy just as much as I do.”

The girl remained there in silence, uncertain if she could respond to what he had said earlier. She then glanced at the wall loaded with family photos filled with dozens of memories within them. They were all given a thorough look, but the one that caught her attention the most was a mid-sized frame containing a picture of the entire family: Setsuna herself- albeit at least a few years younger than now and with blonde hair; her dad with fewer grey hairs; a tall, slender middle-aged woman with long moss-green hair and black eyes wearing a standard police uniform; and a high-school girl about the mother’s height, but a couple inches shorter with long, wavy, musk-green hair tied back in a pony tail, black eyes, sharp teeth, and dark-green rectangular glasses. The girl huffed the moment she stared at the main photo.

Noticing the persistent plight, Hatsuumi decides to change the subject to something else. The man’s severed hand leaps off the girl’s shoulder and walks to the center of the table before turning its point of severance to the host. He then casually reattaches his hand before walking to open a nearby drawer containing several card decks and board games. He spots a deck of UNO cards with a Jurassic Park theme and carries it to the table.

“Since the others are out for today, how about a card game? Just the two of us.”

“Erm… I don’t know-”

“Oh! Wait here! I almost forgot.” The man exclaimed before rushing back into the kitchen. Several clanks and bangs followed suit during his time in the pantry.

Setsuna could only stare in disbelief, uncertain if she should check if he had hurt himself again or not. Before she could leave her seat, though, the guy came back out to plop in front of her, a large red, white, blue, and yellow bag of crackers titled ‘Dino-Mighties, Jumbo Edition’ with several dinosaur-shaped crackers with different hairstyles of popular pro-heros covering the front alongside smaller text announcing, ‘I AM HERE IN DINO FORMATION!’

“Your mom and sis aren’t around, so we can have this whole bag all to ourselves! What do ya say?!”

Setsuna snickered at her dad’s means of bribery, knowing full well this was her favorite brand. “Alright. Let’s go, old man!”

“There we go! That’s my girl! Choosing to go beyond ‘Plus Ultra’ like the U.A. student you are!” The father exclaims as he rubs the top of the girl's head with one hand.

“H-Hey! Cut it out! Do you have any idea how long it takes to do my hair?!”

“Nope! And it doesn’t matter! I’m still going to coddle my little girl!”

“I’M FIFTEEN, DAD!!! NOT LITTLE!!!” The girl's eyes go sharp and white while the father chuckles at his daughter’s expression.

After washing some dishes, Setsuna heads to her room to change out of her uniform into more comfortable attire. Namely, a pale yellow T-shirt with a green cartoon dinosaur print, a pair of neon pink sweatpants with a burgundy racing stripe on the sides, and Thulian pink slippers. Meanwhile, Hatsuumi sets the table up for gaming, which went surprisingly well as he split off both of his hands to shuffle the cards, while the rest of his body set aside some of the tableware without stumbling or breaking anything.

Upon setting everything up, they played UNO for several chaotic rounds while scarfing down the entire bag of hero-themed dinosaur crackers. Each round lasted for quite a while, for despite her tactical genius, her dad was one of the only people Setsuna could never overcome with dirty tricks or over-the-top strategies.

They then settled down by watching one of the pre-quirk movies about a guy armed with a shield joining the army to fight an evil organization in World War II, as the girl thought back on her day.

‘Not exactly how I wanted things to end. Oh, well. It’s not like it’s the last time I’ll ever see the guy. Hopefully, I run into him again soon.’

-7:00 p.m. Back at U.A.-

Night fell on the school with Midoriya back in his school uniform. Both his leg and hand were bandaged still, but he could move around just fine.

“Goodnight! Thanks so much for your help!”

“My pleasure. Be careful on your way home.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He then rushed towards the main entrance, given that it was now nighttime.

‘What a day! I hope my mom isn’t too worried that I’m not back yet.’

He finishes his journey to the main steps of the brick pathway. Despite how late it was, Uraraka and Iida stood waiting for him near the benches. Their faces lit up upon noticing their friend.

“Deku! You’re here!” The brunette jumped up in excitement.

Izuku’s eyes glistened with life as he joined the pair to walk down the hill on their way to the train station together. It was good news that the trains operated late that night, so no one had to stay at U.A. He then waved goodbye to the gravity girl and speedster as he boarded the line headed to his family’s apartment. The rest of the trip home didn’t take long as U.A. was in the same prefecture as his home, so he only had to walk for a few minutes to reach his destination.

His mother was worried sick that he came home late tonight since the announcement, but was able to assure her that he’s alright and that nobody got hurt. Fortunately, his explanation was enough to calm her down as the two had dinner together before going back to his room. Unfortunately for the boy, despite his optimism, his troubles were only beginning.

To be continued…

Chapter 4: Rising Declarations

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

Since the event at the USJ, the whole staff agreed to cancel class for the next day while they discussed the attack led by the League of Villains. As far as they know, the group consisted of 72 common thugs, a brutish monster named Nomu, a warping villain, and a disintegrating guy wearing way too many hands. They could only get a read on the thugs and Nomu after some sleuthing. Unfortunately, for the remaining villains who escaped, they couldn’t find any records of the two individuals, probably because they had acquired false identities. Regardless, they agreed to increase the security for good measure. Their search for the last two villains will take far longer than any of them had hoped.

-Two Days Later, Class 1-A-

Everyone returned to school the following day from what the news is now dubbing ‘The USJ incident.’ Some found it tough to unwind after a horrifying experience despite the break. Even though they were teenagers eager to become professional heroes, none of them expected to face a life-or-death situation within the first week. Their victory took a toll on them, both physically and mentally.

All of 1-A spent the start of homeroom discussing the incident and the amount of press the news media gave to the attack. Some developed a boost of confidence from the headway they made, ready to tackle whatever hill of schoolwork or lifework that would come today. Others, well, let’s just say they were still camera-shy.

Suddenly, the clock ticked to 8:24 a.m. A minute before the start of their first period. Within that moment, Iida rushed from his seat to the podium for one announcement.

“ATTENTION! Homeroom class is about to begin! Everyone, stop talking and take your seats!”

“Uh, we’re all sitting,” one redhead corrected.

“Yeah, you’re the only one standing,” Another student with round dispenser-shaped elbows remarked.

Iida quickly sat back down, fully embarrassed over the irony he had committed.

“Dang… IT!”

“Don’t sweat it.” Uraraka consoled behind him.

“Hey, Tsu,” a nearly pink girl with horns leaned back towards her classmate, Tsuya Asui, without attempting to fall off her chair, “Who do you think is going to teach class today?”

“No idea, Ashido. Last I heard, Mr. Aizawa is still in the hospital recovering from his injuries, ribbit.”

Then the entrance door slid open to reveal… a mummified Eraserhead. His face and both hands were now wrapped to the brim in bandages, yet his hair was still exposed, and his eyes were somewhat visible through the wrappings.

“Morning class.”

“MR. AIZAWA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!” Everyone shouted in utter surprise.
“Damn. What a pro.” One of the students added.

“Mr. Aizawa, I’m glad that you’re alright!” Iida stood up from his desk.

Uraraka wasn’t too sure that was the best thing to comment, “That doesn’t look ‘alright,’ Iida.”

“Forget about my well-being. We have more important things to discuss right now. Your fight isn’t over yet,” was the first thing that came from Aizawa’s wrapped-up mouth.

“Our fight?”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Not more bad guys!”

Aizawa waited for a moment before bringing in his announcement: “The UA Sports Festival is coming in two weeks.”

“Yes!” One student exclaimed, only to be drowned out by everyone else, “Ugh! Don’t scare us like that!”

A red-haired student cheered at the top of his lungs, flashing his sharp pearly whites, “Let’s go kick some ass!” This was interrupted by a blonde student with a black lightning streak in his hair, shoving his palm into the guy’s face, “Hold on a sec, Kirishima. This sounds suspicious.”

“Is it really such a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after the villains snuck in here?” A girl with earphone jacks for earlobes asked.

Then a guy with a massive tail threw in his two cents, “They could strike again once we’re all in one spot.”

Eraserhead understood the concerns as he answered, “The administration thinks this is the best way to show that the threat has been managed and that our school is safer than ever. Plus, they’re ramping up the school’s security compared to past years. After all, this event is a huge opportunity for every student at UA. It’s not something we can cancel because of a few crooks.”

He was going to continue, if not for a dwarfish student with what appeared to be massive grapes for hair, “Uh, I’m sorry, but why not? It’s just one tournament.”

Midoriya turned around to his classmate, “Huh? Mineta, don’t you know how important this competition is?” leading to a response from the aptly named student, “Of course I do! I just don’t wanna die.”

“Our Sports Festival is one of the world’s most-watched events. In the past, the Olympic Games held the largest audience. Now, with the rise of quirks, that event has dropped in scale and popularity. For anyone who cares about competition, this is the only game that matters. The UA Sports Festival.”

A tall girl seated behind Mineta added while clenching her fist. “That’s right. And top heroes everywhere will be watching. This is our chance to get scouted.”

“Not unless you’re dead.” The grape boy retorted with a gloomy mood.

“Yaoyorozu’s right! Plus, after graduating, it’s common for students to join Pro Hero agencies as a sidekick. It’s the perfect opportunity to show the world we’re Hero material.” The blonde with the black lightning bolt highlight from earlier added, only to be roasted by the earphone-jack girl next to him, “Yeah, but that’s as far as some people go. They miss their chance to make their debut and stay eternal sidekicks. Chances are, that’s probably where you’re headed, Kaminari. You’re kinda dumb.”

Said blond cringed over the jab, “Not cool, Jiro.”

“It’s true that joining a famous hero agency can garner you greater experience and popularity. That’s why the festival matters. If you wanna go pro one day, then you need to take this tournament seriously. You get one chance a year and three chances in a lifetime; no aspiring hero will ever turn down this event. That means you'd better give it your all in your training. Go beyond, Plus Ultra. As our motto goes.”

Everyone else in the room was jazzed up as they answered, “Yes, sir!”

The hero then dismissed everyone shortly thereafter.

-Three Periods later-

Everyone returns to cheering about the games, hoping to get scouted after putting on a show. Most of the students were excited, but a few were shy about getting noticed. That’s not to say all of the excited students garnered attention. One blonde in particular, who was constantly wearing a massive belt, got totally ignored, despite modeling where everyone could see.

Midoriya remained in his seat, dumbfounded over the level of discussion between everyone. “This is nuts. Everyone is so excited.”

“Well, yeah! Of course we are.” Iida replied to his green-haired companion while starting a robotic dance. “We enrolled at this school with the sole aim of becoming heroes. So naturally, we’re all getting fired up. You’re excited, too. Right, Midoriya?”

Only Tsuyu Asui, Class 1-A’s resident frog girl, took notice of the dance. “Wow, Iida. Those are some interesting moves. Ribbit.”

“Well, yeah, of course I am! And also nervous.”

“Deku! Iida!” Both names pan over to Uraraka, now donning a dark and serious face, “Let’s do our best at the Sports Festival.”

“Uraraka, what happened to your face?” Midoriya asked.

“Seriously, what’s up? You’re normally like the most laid-back girl ever.” Ashido asked, noticing the brunette going all dark and serious.

Out of nowhere, Mineta wanted to chime in with an answer, only to be slapped by Asui’s tongue to keep him quiet. Given his reputation, it was probably something perverted.

Uraraka doubles down by pumping her fist in the air while shouting, “Everyone! I’m going to do my best!” Everyone in front of her got fired up by the exclamation. She did the same thing a second time after turning around, but it wasn’t as effective as the students started to worry about her.

‘Now that I think about it,’ Midoriya wondered, ‘There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask her.’

-A few minutes later, in the halls-

“S-say, Uraraka?”

“What’s up?”

“I-I’ve been wondering, what made you decide to come to UA? You know, to become a Pro Hero?”

“O-Oh, ermm… I… well it’s…” The overflowing level of confidence radiating from the bubbly brunette evaporated in an instant. “It’s for money.” The girl emphasized her level of embarrassment by scratching the back of her head.

“I’m sorry if it sounds greedy! I-I know it’s not noble like you or Iida, but… well… I hope you guys don’t think less of me, now! “

Uraraka then clasped both of her hands into her cheeks as she turned away from both friends, her embarrassment now at a new all-time high.

“Not at all! Your goal is to support your well-being, which is an admirable ambition to have!” Iida interjected for Ochako’s sake.

“Yeah. It’s just kinda surprising… Is something wrong?” Midoriya wondered, noticing the girl still fidgeting over her answer.

“Well, you see, my family owns a construction company. We’re not doing so well and are flat broke. Please don’t tell anyone.

“Construction, hmmm…” Iida pondered over the idea.

“Oh, that’s right! If she got licensed, then she can use her quirk to cut costs.”

“Exactly! They can also sell their heavy lifting equipment, while she floats everything for them.”

“I know, right!” Uraraka started bouncing up and down. “I’ve always told my dad that since I was little, but even then, they turned me down.”

She clenched her fists in frustration before looking up again with a dashing smile and full confidence, “That’s why I decided to become a Pro. That way, I’ll sign up for a good agency and make plenty of money. Then I’ll be able to let my parents live an easy life they deserve.”

Everyone stood there for a moment, before…

“THAT IS BEAUTIFUL! SO NOBLE! BRAVO! BRAVISIMO!” Iida applauded, his claps so loud they caught both students off guard.

Midoriya stared back at Uraraka in amazement, ‘I get it now. She’s not here for a hero fantasy. If anything, she’s more grounded than the rest of us.’

Suddenly, an unexpected, yet iconic laugh emerged within the ambiance, cutting everyone else off.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The intruder swerved from around the corner, revealing All Might, now donning a bright yellow suit. “YOUNG MIDORIYA… IS HERE!” The hero announces, pointing towards the male greenette, surprising everyone even more in the process.

“All Might? What are you doing here?” The boy being pointed at wonders.

“Lunch! Ya wanna eat with me?” The pro hero offered while holding a small lunchbox in his right hand.

“THAT’S ADORABLE!” Uraraka burst into laughter nearby. The level of sweetness in the proposal proved too much for the gravity girl.

“Whaddaya say?”

Izuku debated for a bit if he would accept the offer, but given that All Might personally sought him out, he accepted. After getting affirmation from his friends, he responded. “Sure thing!”

Despite the joyful demeanor, something gnawed at the back of the greenette’s mind: ‘Is something wrong?’

-U.A. Cafeteria-

“So, Iida, do you know what he wanted with Deku?”

“I heard that when All Might was attacked by villains back at the USJ, Midoriya tried to stop them himself. Perhaps, that’s what this is about.”

“Oh, yeah! I remember that! He was pretty cool!”

“Also, remember what Asui said on the bus?”

“The part where Deku’s power is a lot like All Might’s?”

“Indeed! Since their quirks are so similar to each other, All Might’s likely taken an interest in him. It’s quite impressive!”

“I know, right!” Uraraka shifted the conversation as soon as they were nearing the front of the line. “So, do you want to sit at our usual spot?”

“I’ll have to decline this time, Uraraka. I promised Yayorozu that we’d meet with the Class Reps of 1-B at lunchtime. We originally planned to have our first meeting after school a couple of days ago, but had to postpone it due to the USJ incident.”

“Oh, yeah. You mentioned that when we were waiting for Deku before. That’s a bummer.”

“No worries. I will let you, Midoriya, and the rest of Class 1-A know if we have any other upcoming events.”

After receiving his lunch, Iida splits off from Uraraka for the meeting. Despite the number of strangers, he only needed to look for Momo Yaoyorozu, the deputy of Class 1-A and one of four students to enroll in Recommendations. She was easy to detect as she was the tallest girl in class, paired with sharp, dark eyes and long black hair tied back into a ponytail, akin to a crane’s tail feathers. He approached his classmate, who was currently seated with two other girls: one with orange hair tied into a side ponytail and another with wavy green hair similar to Midoriya. The third girl’s face was resting on the table for some reason, with both arms wrapped around it, almost as if she were napping. The orange-haired student turned to Iida and stood from her seat to greet him.

“Oh. Hi there. You must be Tenya Iida, right?”

“Yes, that is correct. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope I didn’t delay the first meeting of the year too much, Miss…”

“Kendo. Itsuka Kendo, the Class Representative of 1-B. Don’t worry about it. Yaoyorozu informed me you had to take a tangent and discuss a few things with some classmates.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

“OH MY GOSH!!!”

Both turned to their respective deputies upon hearing the noise. They notice Yaoyorozu freaking out, only for the greenette to jab back while seated upwards, “C’mon, Yaomomo. You do know how my quirks work, right?”

Kendo then facepalmed over the situation. “Tokage. I thought I asked you not to spook Class 1-A’s Reps during our initial meeting.”

“I’m not. I told you, I’m using my quirk to survey the area, remember.” The green-haired girl turned to both students, forgetting that both of her eyes were missing.

“GOOD LORD!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE!?” Iida hollered, his body turned black, white, and straight all over. Kendo pinched the bridge of her nose as a pair of green eyes floated back down and into Tokage’s face. She blinked a few times before continuing, “Whoops. Sorry about that, guys. I didn’t know how long it would take until our last guy came over, so I did something else to keep me occupied.” Tokage waved as she got off her seat and walked to the boy, “Tenya Iida, right? Nice to meet ya.”

Iida woke up from his stupor as he bowed to her, “Yes, that is me. And must be Setsuna Tokage, I presume?”

“The one and only.” Tokage grinned.

“I see. Yaoyorozu has told me a lot about you, given that you also got in on Recommendations.”

“Oh, yeah… I never knew.” The girl muttered while rubbing the side of her neck.

“Erm… Tokage” Yaoyorozu wondered, now out of her seat, “You mentioned earlier that you were surveying the cafeteria. What was it for?”

“I was looking for someone. Apparently, this place is short one greenette for some reason.”

“Greenette? Ah, you must mean Midoriya. He won’t be attending the mess hall today. All Might invited him for lunch, most likely due to what happened at the USJ two days ago. Do you know him?”

“Kind of. I met him a bit after the whole evacuation thing for UA’s trespassers. He was pretty nice. It’s not every day you meet someone with a personal collection of hero notes, let alone someone All Might has taken a liking to.”

“Ah. That explains everything. It’s a pleasure to hear you’re well acquainted with my classmate.”

“Acquaintance is a strong word, Iida. I for one prefer the term-”

Kendo chopped the greenette’s shoulder, not wanting to get sidetracked even if Tokage yelped in pain.

“I’m all in for small talk, but you do realize what we’re all here for, right?”

“Of course. Apologies Kendo. Let us begin.”

-All Might’s Breakroom-

POOF!

All Might shrank back into his skinny form upon escorting Midoriya into a teacher’s lounge. He proceeded to tell Midoriya that the time limit for his superhero form has now dropped to…

“Only 50 minutes?” The boy exclaimed in bewilderment.

“Yeah. That’s about how long I can use my power now. I overdid it again. That Nomu was a tough customer. I’m surprised I didn’t fall to my knees right after dishing out so many punches at it. At this point, I can’t even be All Might for an hour and a half.”

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve just- AAAAAAAHHH!” Midoriya squealed before finishing his thought, now witnessing All Might chuckling with blood coming out of his mouth.

“You don’t need to apologize for anything, kid! Man, we are so much alike. Here, have some tea,” All Might responded before placing a cup on the table for the green guest.

“Thanks.”

“I brought you here because of the upcoming festival. The only problem is, you don’t have full control over One For All yet. So what’s your plan?”

Midoriya thought for a bit before recalling something, “Well… Wait a sec! I was able to control it one time! When I landed a hit on that brain villain, I didn’t suffer any backlash.”

“Oh yeah, you did mention that before I fought that guy. What was different from that smash?”

“Let’s see… We were facing real villains, and I had almost no time to think… maybe that was part of it, since I knew this wasn’t training like last time. Plus, I recall Thirteen warning us about exercising our powers without caution in the field.” Midoriya stares at his hand during his thought process. “If I had to put it best… It was because this is the first time, ever, that I used my power against someone else.”

“Hmmm… Sounds like you found a way to decrease your power, even if by instinct. At least that’s some kind of progress. By the way, you’re tea’s going to get cold.”

“Oh, right.”

All Might walks over to the outer window, “To be honest, I don’t have much time left before I retire as the World’s Symbol of Peace. I’ll have to put that title to rest, sooner or later. A lot of villains out there are starting to catch wind of that. Someone has to step up and prove them wrong. And to show the people that they are still safe.”

Midoriya stands up in awe.

“This is why I gave you my power, young Midoriya. You will be the one who takes my place. Do you remember our first meeting? Do you still want to become a hero?”

“Yes, more than anything,” Midoriya announced without a second thought.

“Excellent. Now’s the time for you to prove it. This Sports Festival: it’s what the Pros, no, the whole country will be watching. I want you to think of that day as your debut. Your introduction as the new Symbol of Peace, the next All Might. Izuku Midoriya. I want you to show yourself to the world and proudly tell everyone, ‘I am here!’”

“But, All Might, that’s your catchphrase! I can’t take that from you. Besides, what can I do?”

“You remember how the Sports Festival is set up, right?”

“Yes, it’s easy! All students from UA are separated by class year, and then the Hero, Support, Business, and General Studies courses face off against each other in a series of preliminary trials. Anyone who passes the initial games gets to face off in the finals. It’s pretty much a round-robin tournament before shifting into one-on-one matches.”

“Right! That means, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to present yourself.” All Might stated as he sat back on the couch.

“I don’t know about that.”

“DOH!” All Might faints backwards onto the couch he’s seated on, coughing more blood in the process as well as fully tilting the furniture onto its back.

“AAAHH! Sorry! I mean, you’re right there, All Might!” Midoriya apologized, only to fall into another wordy ramble, “It’s just that… honestly, it’s kind of tough to get excited about this after everything that went down at the USJ. After all, I’m being taught by the world’s greatest hero, so I have more than one way of getting scouted. Not to mention, I don’t know if I can stand out now, considering how lousy I performed on Mr. Aizawa’s Fitness Test and struggle to control One For All that well-”

“Geez, nobody spouts word vomit like you, kid!” All Might retorted with more blood.

“Oh, hey, are you okay?”

The hero perked up from his fallen seat as he walked to the boy. “Don’t worry about me. I understand how you feel; I admit that I may be projecting a bit of myself onto you. That said, I hope you haven’t forgotten the emotions you’ve shown back at the beach during our training. Remember, some heroes aim for the top; others will happily settle for less. The difference between those two mindsets has a great impact on how far you’ll go in the real world.”

Midoriya nodded to the sentiment as they continued their conversation.

-End of the day, in Class 1-B-

With the final period finished, everyone left to go home. Kendo and Tokage opted to stay behind to finish some paperwork before calling it a day.

“Welp. That should be the last of it on my end. You all good there?” Kendo asked while straightening some papers.

“Yep, all good. I can’t believe this is going to be a weekly thing for us. Oh well, the event accommodations were a piece of cake.” Tokage got off her seat after filing her papers, now heading for the door.

“That’s true. Oh hey! You want to check out the new cafe down at Baker Street? It might be a good place to study.”

“Eh, I don’t see why not. My parents and sis won’t be back home for a while, so I guess I can give it a…” Tokage opened the main door to exit the classroom, only to witness something strange upon turning to the right. The top half of her face went dark upon noticing the situation.

“What's wrong, Tokage?”

“You might want to take a look for yourself.” The greenette turned to her friend briefly before returning her gaze to the situation, not once lifting the shadow from her face.

Kendo walked to the front door and turned in the same direction as her friend. “Oh god.”

What they witnessed was a swarm of students in front of Class 1-A’s homeroom. Neither of them could understand what they were arguing about besides somebody calling the crowd ‘extras.’

“We should probably help them out,” Kendo noted, with a comedic sweat drop on the side of her head.

“Yeah. Let’s go-”

“HEY YOU! I’m from Class 1-B next door to you all! We heard you fought some villains, and I came to see if that was true. But all I see are a load of jerks who think they’re better than us!” Tetsutetsu rings loud and clear within the mob. The comment ticked the green-haired girl off so much that she stomped towards the steel student and detached one of her hands to fly at her target.

“Hey! I’m coming for yo-aaaaugh! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!” The hand snatches the steely student by the ear and drags him out of the crowd. He then finds himself face-to-face with his Class Reps.

“What the hell are you doing!? Are you tryin’ to start a war here?”

“That hurt, Tokage! And they started it! That blonde jerk just called all of us extras!”

Kendo replied, not wanting the situation to escalate. “We can’t start on the wrong foot with the other hero class, Tetsutetsu. I get some guys aren’t that polite as you hope, but that’s not an excuse to antagonize everyone.”

“Why the hell not?! Someone’s gotta call them off for being a load of idiots!”

“Idiots?! Did Monoma put you up to this?”

Suddenly, from amongst the crowd, somebody is shuffling through the group, pardoning and excusing the people he brushes into. Tokage takes notice as she recognizes the iconic fluff of green hair approaching them. “Excuse me. Sorry. Coming through. Pardon me-” The boy pops out of the mob, only stopping the moment he lays eyes on the female greenette.

“Midoriya?” Tokage was now shocked to see the boy she wanted to see two days ago now in front of her.

“Huh? Oh, hey Toka-”

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!” Tetsutetsu interrupted Midoriya out of the blue, throwing the latter into a panic. “What do you have to say for yourself about your classmate, you-Ahhck!”

A neck chop from Kendo silences the boy as soon as she catches up. “This is not how I wanted the day to end.” She turns to Midoriya. “I apologize for that. I hope our classmate didn’t scare you too much. Are you good, Midoriya?”

“Classmate? Oh, there’s no need to worry about that. I’m fine. Thanks.” The boy blinks upon remembering the student called him by his family name. “Also, how do you know my name?”

“Oh, Tokage here told me all about you. She mentioned you earlier at lunch today.”

‘Woah. That was fast.’

“Midoriya! There you are!” Iida chimes in after swimming through the crowd and meeting the quartet. “Ah, I see you found the Class Reps of Class 1-B. How did you know they were here?”

“Reps?” Midoriya wondered before turning to the two girls and back to Iida, “Well, I saw Tokage use her quirk earlier to pull one of her classmates out of the crowd. So I followed her. To be honest, I had a feeling Class 1-A would develop a reputation since the incident the day before, but I didn’t expect all of 1-B to get so hostile.”

That’s when Tokage shook out of her stupor and turned to the 1-A boys, “Not all of us, just the angry ones. Sorry about that. Tetsutetsu here is pretty friendly once you get to know him.” She pointed to the boy who was still holding his neck in pain. “Not sure why he and a bunch of other classmates dropped in to harass you guys. It’s not very ‘manly’ if you ask me.” She threw that last line with a load of scorn, anticipating that the metal man would be ashamed of his actions.

Tetsutetsu now had a gloomy cloud over his head while Midoriya thought, ‘I think she broke his spirit.’

“Not to be rude,” Kendo chimed in. “But your classmates are still inside 1-A’s homeroom. Do you guys need a hand?”

That’s when Midoriya recalled what he had to squeeze through before, “Oh, sure. We could use some help with that. What do you say, Iida?”

“Of course! This mob behaviour is unbecoming of a school training the next generation of Pros. Please assist us in any means necessary.”

Both girls nod to the plan, with Tetsutetsu following along, wanting to apologize for his behavior earlier. The crowd was easily dispersed as it mostly consisted of students from both General Studies and Business. There were some from Class 1-B, including Monoma, but Tetsutetsu and Kendo opted to take them home and scold them for their behavior.

-UA Courtyard-

“That was a close one. Clearing a swarm of students away from my class was not on my bucket list.” Midoriya started, now exhausted from the chore.

“Yeah, you tell me. It’s a good thing not many people know how my quirk works, so popping my head off was great for spooking them off.” Tokage added while stretching her arms in the air.

“Tokage! Scaring other students is unbecoming of an upcoming Pro,” Iida scolded Tokage for her plan while furiously chopping his hands at her. “That being said, it was an effective method of clearing the hallways. I must commend you for that.”

The girl smiled at the compliment, rubbing the back of her head in the process.

“So, Iida. Do you want to come with us to the station?”

“Very tempting, Midoriya. But I’ll have to decline the offer this time. I still need to head back inside to handle paperwork with Yaoyorozu. You’re welcome to walk with Tokage if you’d like.”

“Uh… I’m not sure if that-” Midoriya wanted to reject the idea and wait here instead, only for Tokage to butt in. “Sounds great! I’ve been meaning to chat with Midoriya about something on the way out. Be sure to tell Yaomomo I said ‘Hi.’”

Iida nodded and bowed to the duo before heading inside, while Midoriya remained confused over walking with the 1-B girl once again. ‘She wanted to talk to me about something? Oh, that’s right. She was bummed out that our conversation was cut short a couple of days ago. Maybe that’s what this is about.’

“So…” Tokage asks, turning to Midoriya while subconsciously swinging her hips to make her skirt flow in rhythm to the wind. “Ready to head to the station?”

Midoriya blushed a bit over how the girl asked him, given that she was posing for him like a professional model, but was happy to spend time with her again, regardless. “Yeah. Erm… Let’s get going.”

The two walk out of the U.A. gate, continuing their conversation.

-Later, the Municipal Train Station-

“Wow, I never knew Tetsutetsu fought with so much honor for your class; he sounds a lot like Kirishima if you ask me,” Midoriya said with his eyes sparkling.

“I know, right? I was this close to commenting to him that I found his long-lost twin the moment I spotted that red head.” Tokage admitted while closing her finger and thumb as close as possible without touching them. Both got a good chuckle at the idea of how much their classes have in common.

“I never even thought of that. They might actually be related, given how quirks work. Speaking of your friend… Tetsutetsu… Will he be alright after he… well… what he said to my class earlier?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. His pride will recover, though he looked pretty pissed when I caught him berating your classmates. The way he phrased the word ‘extras’ makes that red-eyed blonde sound like a complete asshole. Just what is his deal anyway?”

“Red-eyed blonde? Oh, you mean Kacchan. I-I’m so sorry about his behavior. Please don’t take what he said personally. He’s the only one in my class who acts like that.”

“Eh, it’s fine. I’ve heard worse insults. Also… Kacchan?”

“It’s a nickname I made for Bakugo… We hung out as kids… Well, we used to, at least.”

“So you were friends with Class 1-A’s jerkwad?” Tokage grew confused over Midoriya’s choice of words: “How did you put up with him for so long?”

Midoriya understood where her confusion stemmed from, so he elaborated as best as he could. “Not sure, though I wouldn’t exactly call myself friends with him anymore. We’ve kinda grown distant ever since he developed his quirk.”

“His quirk? Why would he…” The girl suddenly recalled an aspect of Midoriya as she rubbed the back of her neck in shame. “Oh. Right. You were Quirkless back then. Sorry, Greenie. That was… uncalled for.”

“It’s alright. You didn’t know.” Midoriya assured her as he stared at one of his fists while Tokage grew wide-eyed over his response. “We both wanted to be heroes growing up, even if for different reasons. I just hope the hard I put in pays off for the Sports Festival.”

“Well, you did get All Might to invite you for lunch today. That has to count as something.”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

“Iida told me about it during a Rep meeting.”

“Oh… That makes sense…”

“So… Why did he invite you today? I’m no expert on the guy, but I’ve never seen him actively seek out a student before, let alone outside of class.”

“Uh… Well, the thing is… he saw how nervous I was getting, given the upcoming event. So he gave me some words of encouragement to hype me up.”

“That’s all? You didn’t get anything else to sweeten the deal? A selfie? A tour? Not even an autograph on your stuff?”

“No. Not really; I do have his autograph in one of my notebooks, however. He managed to sign so big that you could probably see his handwriting from space. Thanks to him, that book is now a family heirloom for generations to come.”

The girl then cackles so hard that she leans onto a rail to keep herself from falling onto the floor. “You call one of your notebooks a ‘family heirloom’ just because All Might signed it? Are you the president of his fan club or something, Greenie?” Tokage teased.

“Huh? What does that even!? No! You got it all wrong! I love all heroes! I only have All Might’s because I ran into him one time! I swear!” Midoriya panicked, his face now totally red. The girl then calms down as she stands up straight to dust herself.

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. It’s cool you like the guy so much, Greenie. And…” Setsuna then twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she looked away a bit while blushing, “I have to admit… You’re pretty cute when you talk about the stuff you like.” Meanwhile, the boy’s blush grew stronger, thanks to her calling him ‘cute’ a second time.

“Uh… Thanks… I guess. Wait a minute… What do you mean by Greenie? I mean, I get the nickname, but you do realize you’re green too, right?”

“Oh, yeah, good point. We should start calling ourselves the ‘Green Duo’ from now on.” She snickered at her comment while Izuku followed along, finding the new name amusing. On that note, he recalled something before leaving UA with the girl. “So, Tokage. What did you want to talk to me about?”

Tokage's voice swiftly calmed down over what she heard. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, before we left UA, you told Iida that you wanted to talk to me about something. What was it?”

“Oh… It’s… Nothing big, really. I just like chatting with you.”

“Huh? That’s it?”

“Yeah. I had so much fun on the day we met… that… I wanted to meet you again after school. At least, until the USJ thing happened. And well, when I heard you were in the nurse’s office with a busted leg and finger, I tried to check in to see how you were doing since… I heard you got roughed up by some bad guys.” Tokage clenched her fist, realizing what she was about to say next.

“Oh. I see…”

“So uh,” Tokage paused, wanting to keep her next question light, “How’s your leg feeling after the… well… the thing two days ago?”

“Oh. It’s all better now, thanks to Recovery Girl. I usually go to her every time I use my quirk at full power,” Midoriya answered as he rubbed his right arm, leaving Tokage squirming and wondering how often he visits the old nurse. “I need to hurry and get this ability under control. It’s the only way I can get stronger before the Sports Festival begins.”

“Stronger? Are you sure that’s all you need?”

“Huh? What do you mean, Tokage? Isn’t that why we’re all here in UA?”

“Well, yeah, when you simplify the process, it is the end goal. But when you have other factors to consider, that can’t be your only skill, right? Power’s great and all, but what do you do when you face off against an opponent that’s smaller, faster, or even smarter, for that matter? Not to mention, villains rarely play by the rules and will take any advantage they can get their hands on.”

“Huh. I never thought of it like that. I guess I forgot about the other aspects of hero work.”

“Hey. Don’t sweat it, man. We may have met a couple of days ago, but from what I heard from your classmates, you have a lot more skills under your belt than you give yourself credit for. And you got into the best hero school in the country, if not the world, with the best Pro Hero in history seeking you out. You’ve come so far, Greenie. Be proud of it. I’m sure you’ll do great at the Sports Festival.”

“Y-You really mean it?”

“Sure do. And hey, if you need help with anything, you’re more than welcome to reach out to me if you want.”

“A-Are you sure? I-I mean, I’m flattered, but… I don’t want to burden you with my stuff. Aren’t we all competing against each other in the Sports Festival?”

“We are, but that doesn’t mean we can’t grow stronger together. Even if we’re in different classes, cooperating will be a lot better for everyone in the hero course down the road.”

“That’s true. We all have our reasons to become heroes. It’s kind of pointless if we fight over small details.”

“See!? You get it!” Tokage chuckled at the comment she made, ‘Cute, clever, and considerate. I’m so glad I finished my rep work early.’

Both students now stood on top of the train dock, in silence. Then Midoriya’s train arrives, calling out to him.

“Now boarding, all passengers from station G 02 to G 01. Again. Now boarding, all passengers from station G 02 to G 01.”

“Well. I guess this is my stop. Sorry, we didn’t get to talk more.”

“Hey, there’s no need to apologize, Midoriya. I enjoyed our time together, even if it’s just for a bit. I’d love to do this again sometime.”

“Y-You really do?”

Tokage nodded at the claim. “Definitely.” She then got a particular idea just as his door was about to open. “Although. If you want, I don’t mind sweetening the deal for you next time…” She gets closer to the boy as she flutters her eyes and seductively sways her hips. “We could do something together after the festival… just the two of us… What do you say, cutie?”

Midorya grows redder by the minute. ‘What’s gotten into her? I-Is she asking me out on a date?! But we just met a couple of days ago! That can’t be it! Wait! Hold on! Maybe she’s playing a game with me to get our minds off the event? No! That’s not it! She seems more excited than stressed! Oh crap! I never had a girl seek me out before, let alone ask me out! What do I do? What do I do? What do I-’ Steam poured out of his ears, and his eyes went blank. The girl stared at the boy for a bit before tilting her head to the side to ask, “Erm… Are you okay?”

Midoriya snapped out of his blushing state, “Oh, sorry. I must’ve gotten sidetracked for a moment.” He then saw his train was about to leave. “Shoot! I almost forgot! I gotta get started on training for the festival, Tokage! GOTTA GO! BYE!” He then dashes towards the train, just as its door is about to close. The last thing Tokage saw from the boy was him covering his tomato-red face with both of his hands while seated.

“Uh, yeah. See ya.” Tokage quietly answered, waving at the boy. She stood there for a moment. ‘I guess I laid it on a little too thick back there. Oh well. I’ll clear up the misunderstanding tomorrow. Hopefully he doesn’t think too much of what I said while we prepare for the Sports Festival in… Two…’

It then dawned on her that she forgot one crucial detail, which was…

‘OH SHIT! THE SPORTS FESTIVAL IS IN TWO WEEKS! AND NO ONE WILL BE ATTENDING CLASS DURING THAT TIME! I’M SUCH AN IDIOT! NOW I WON’T GET TO SEE HIM WHILE HE GETS THE WRONG IDEA ABOUT ME!’

The girl grows redder as she cups both of her hands over her face while her hair fans out in every direction. It was a peculiar sight, or at least enough for a nearby kid to call her a “rhubarb.”

‘AND TO MAKE THINGS MORE AWKWARD, I DIDN’T EVEN ASK FOR HIS NUMBER SO I CAN’T EVEN CLEAR THIS MISSTEP SOONER THAN I’D LIKE! WAIT! CALM DOWN SETS! THERE’S STILL TIME! YEAH! THAT’S RIGHT! I’LL JUST RUN INTO HIM BY CHANCE! IT WORKED TWICE, IT’LL WORK AGAIN! According to the train maps, he should be living in the same district as UA. Well, I do plan to run on new tracks for my training, so this works perfectly. Alright! Time to commence Operation Green Duo Reunion!’

“Now boarding, all passengers from station G 02 to C 03. Again. Now boarding, all passengers from station G 02 to C 03.”

Two weeks pass as everyone trains in the gym, the UA training grounds, indoors, and even on open fields to avoid hurting others with their quirks. As for Midoriya, he trained at the beach where his entire journey started, with All Might’s words of becoming the next Symbol of Peace ringing in the back of his mind. Little did he know, Tokage ran far and wide across his district, hoping to run into him at least once, and to increase her speed both on the ground and in the air.

-Two Weeks Later, UA High School, 8:15 a.m-

Fireworks blasted into the morning sky in a variety of colors, with scattered clouds complementing the pleasant day for Japan’s greatest tournament event: The UA Sports Festival. People waltzed around the grounds of the three great arenas on campus, with vendors selling food, merchandise, and more to heroes and civilians alike. No celebration could ever come close to today.

The first years seemed to be the round everyone was most excited for, especially given the publicity of 1-A’s USJ incident. Naturally, this garnered everyone’s attention on them the most. Not that the other years were completely eclipsed, they’ll be performing later after their event is over.

The stadium was filled to the brim with guests, so everyone struggled to get a seat, especially the press, given they were part of the reason behind the enhanced security. Even if they weren’t aware of what they’d done, they indirectly helped the League of Villains break into the USJ facility, so nobody was too fond of their presence. Regardless, everyone shared the same sentiment for the upcoming event.

-Class 1-A’s waiting room-

“Awww man! This sucks! I wanted to wow the crowd with my costume today!” Ashido whined as she adjusted her UA gym uniform.

“Look on the bright side. Everyone will be wearing the same uniform. That way, we’re all on the same level, right?” The tail-quirk man of the class consoled his classmate.

Meanwhile, other students mingled to share their excitement about today’s event.

“I wonder what will be in store for us in the first round.”

“No matter what they prepare, we must persevere.”

“Indeed.”

Iida barges into the room announcing, “Everyone! Get your game faces on! We’re entering the arena in a few minutes!”

This brought some students into a panic, but not Izuku. He took some breathing exercises to calm his nerves, though it couldn’t prepare him for what he heard next.

“Midoriya”

To be continued…

Chapter 5: Let the Festivities Begin

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

-Class 1-A Waiting Room-

“Midoriya”

The green-haired boy shuddered upon hearing his name. He turned to the left to witness the one person calling out to him, and upon doing so, his pupils shrank. The guy was significantly taller than the greenette by at least four inches. His short straight hair was split down the middle in two separate colors, snow white on the right and deep crimson on the left. His eyes followed the same format, being cold grey and turquoise respectively. To complete the look, his face also bore a massive burn scar around his left eye. He wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill hero course student, but one of the four candidates to enroll in UA through Recommendations.

“Todoroki? What’s up?”

The heterochromatic boy squinted his eyes harder as if he were studying the greenette before him. “From an objective standpoint, I think it’s clear that I’m stronger than you.”

“Uh- okay then.”

“However, from what I heard, you’ve got All Might helping you out on the sidelines.”

Izuku gasped at the accusation, ‘How does he know about that? Was he spying on me? No, I can’t jump the gun yet. I'd better hear him out first.’

“I’m not here to find out what’s going on between you two. But know this. I will beat you today.”

“Woah.” Kaminari noted from a distance, “I didn’t think Todoroki would declare war on anybody here, let alone Midoriya.”

Kirishima jumped in to ease the tension, “Hey. Calm down, man. Let’s just save our energy for the Festival. We haven’t even started-”

“I’m not here to make friends.” Todoroki interjected before walking away, “Whatever we have out here is not a team effort.”

Midoriya stirred a bit over what his new rival said before speaking up, “Wait, Todoroki. I don’t know what you’re thinking, or why you believe you need to tell me that you’ll beat me. I know you’re better than I am; heck, you’re even more powerful than everyone else here. It’s no surprise you got in so easily.” Todoroki halts in his tracks to hear the boy elaborate.

“C’mon, Midoriya. Don’t be hard on yourself.” The redhead tried to butt in again.

“No. It’s fine, Kirishima. He’s right. Everyone from our year is ready to give it their all for this event. We’re all fighting each other to get noticed in the end of the day.” Todoroki finally turns around as Midoriya says one last thing. “That said, I’m aiming for the top as well. Count on it.”

Todoroki glared at him for a bit before leaving the waiting room, “Fine then.”

Just as the heterochromatic teen left, Midoriya's legs shake as he leans onto a table while Kirishima and Iida rush over to his side.

“Midoriya!”

“You okay, bro?”

“I’m fine, guys. Thanks. Just need a minute.” He takes a few breaths to calm his nerves.

“Be careful not to rush yourself. If you need more time, let us know.” Iida informed his friend while chopping the air with one hand.

Midoriya stands back up a few seconds later, nodding, “I’m ready. Let’s go, guys!” He then walks out the door with everyone else.

-Sports Festival Stadium-

Present Mic appears on the big screen next to the bandaged Eraserhead to announce the festival, “Hey yo! Make some noise, you rabid sports goers! And prep those cameras, media men! Cause we’re bringing you some of the hottest performances this year in UA festival history! Now, before we begin, I’ve got one question for you all! ARE YOU READYYYYYYY?! Give it up for our lineup of students this year on the main stage!”

“Why do you have to be so noisy in the morning?” the bandaged hero interjects.

All Might sits with the rest of the teachers, anticipating the arrival of all of the students to walk in on stage, or more specifically, one student. ‘Come on, young Midoriya. Show yourself to the world and proudly say, “I am here!”’ As on cue, Midoriya shows up on stage first with the rest of 1-A following behind as the boy whispers, “I hope you’re watching All Might. I won’t let you down.”

“This first group is no stranger to the headlines! You know them for surviving a villain's attack. They’re the dazzling students lighting up your TVs with pure star energy. Give it up for the Hero Course students of Class 1-A!”

Midorya freaks out during the stroll, “Holy woah! That’s a lot of people! I should’ve expected this, though.”

Iida consoles his friend, “Indeed. I hope we can give it our all for this day. All of the heroes are watching, so I guess it’s another aspect of the career we must get used to.”

Kirishima looks around too with a red-eyed guy with spiky, platinum blonde hair, “Wow! Present Mic sure loves hyping us up. Feelin’ nervous, man?”

“Tch. Not even close,” the blonde responds as he lifts his head with a devilish smirk. “I’m even more ready to win.”

“Next up! They didn’t get as much spotlight as their compatriots, but this next group is still loaded with talent! Say hello to the Hero Course, Class 1-B!”

While Mic proceeds to announce the three General Studies courses, the three Support Item courses, and the three Business courses, only one 1-B student had something to argue regarding the Voice Hero’s comments on his class.

“Fufufu. The festival has already begun, and they’re already resorting to mocking us? A big mistake on your part, Pro Heroes.” Monoma mentions as he dramatically averts his eyes away from 1-A.

Kendo follows behind the 1-B hype man, gripping one of her hands to make sure she doesn’t risk disqualification by neck-chopping him. “Remember what we talked about, Monoma. I’m not in the mood to reel you in this early.”

Meanwhile, while everyone else in 1-B was either admiring or growing shy of the crowd, Tokage was smiling and waving to the audience, ‘It’s a good thing the rest of the family made time to watch the festival today. Hope they’re ready for it.’ Suddenly, before she stops in place, the girl trips on her feet with a feminine squeak.

“Watch out!” A familiar voice comes near as he grabs Tokage's hand before she can fall over. “Are you alright?” Her eyes widen as she turns to see that Midoriya has saved her from a bad trip.

“Huh? Wha… How did you…” Tokage stumbled a bit while blushing slightly before clearing her throat as she stood back up. “Yo, Midoriya. Fancy meeting you here. How’s it been?”

“Uh- I’m doing well. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Nope. Not at all. I’m good. Thanks. I should’ve guessed you’d reach out and save me again. Want me to keep fallin’ for ya?”

Midoriya’s face turned red at the idea, “Huh… What… No! Why would you do that!?”

“I’m kidding. Thanks for the save. I owe you one, again.”

Both chuckle at the concept before Midoriya steers the conversation, “So, how was training for the Sports Festival?”

“Hmm, not too bad. I tried out a few new tracks in another district for training.”

“New tracks? Do you not have one where you’re from?”

The girl recalled why she trained in the Municipal district in the first place, but didn’t want him to find out. So, she fibbed a bit, “Nah, the usual track was starting to bore me. Didn’t wanna risk getting soft before the big day. How bout you, Greenie?”

“Pretty good, all things considered. I mostly did a standard workout and went through all of my hero notes again. Wait. You just called me “Greenie” again. Don’t you remember our last conversation?”

The girl’s face turns cartoonish while sticking out her tongue to the side, “Maybe… But the nickname suits you, am I right?”

Midoriya produces another comedic sweatdrop, “I don’t even know where to begin with what you said.”

“Anyways, how did you squeeze in some brain stuff before the festival? I know we need to keep up with our studies even though we had no classes for two weeks, but I don’t recall there being a course where we need to take notes on Heroism.”

“Well… Remember that Hero Notebook you found when we first met?”

“You mean the burnt one with the number thirteen? Yeah. Why?”

“Well… The thing is… I’ve been observing hero fights for years, so I thought it would be a good idea to study their patterns beforehand. You know, before I go pro and start working in the field with them...” Midoriya stared at the girl for a bit, who looked back with wide eyes, “I-Is something wrong?”

“No, no, not at all. I think that’s pretty cool that you do that.”

“Y-you really think so?

“Sure do. It’s about time this festival featured a genius such as yourself.” Setsuna smirked as she leaned a bit closer to the fellow greenette.

Izuku’s cheeks bloomed red at the comment as he scratched the back of his head, “I… I don’t think that’s the best way to put it.”

Someone then interrupts their conversation from the middle of the stadium, “Now! For the introductory speech!” Everyone turns to the source in question, only for most of the guys, both students and heroes, to heavily blush at the scene.

At the center of the stage stood the first year’s umpire, the R-Rated hero, Midnight. She was a tall, voluptuous, middle-aged woman with long, thick, spiky, purple hair, piercing blue eyes with a beauty mark beneath the left, and long red nails. Her costume didn’t leave much to the imagination as it was made of thin, skintight white fabric, a black, breastless leotard, transparent thigh-high black stockings, a gold and burgundy utility belt, black knee-high boots, a thin red mask over her eyes, and handcuff-shaped bracelets. To complete the look, she carried a flogger whip in her right hand. All in all, the scandalous woman before them looked less like a Pro Hero and more like a lead dominatrix for a local night club. That being said, it didn’t stop the majority of heroes from staring at her with scandalous comments and whistles.

“Uh. Someone should talk to Ms. Midnight about what she’s wearing.”

“Yeah, no kidding. That thing needs a warning label.”

“This is inappropriate for a high school tournament.”

“I BEG TO DIFFER!!!”

“Silence, everyone!” The heroine on stage calls out to the spectating crowd. “We will now present our student pledge of the first year, Katsuki Bakugo!”

All students turned to an unamused, muscular, platinum-blonde with piercing red eyes as he slowly walked up to the podium to reach the microphone.

“Kacchan?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Tokage snarled.

“Are they seriously letting him do the speech just because he scored first in the entrance exam? The other classes hate us enough already; yours too.”

Tokage wanted to argue, but knew that the fellow greenette was right. Deep down, she did not wish the abuse of Class 1-A to persist any further.

Bakugo now stood before the mic for a minute. The air fell so quiet, even a faint gulp proved audible to everyone. He then announces in a flat tone, “I’m here to win. Later.”

All of Class 1-A thought the same thing as everyone else booed at him, ‘I knew he would say something like that!’

“What is wrong with you?!” Iida appears behind Bakugo while hand chopping, “Why would you be so disrespectful to the rest of the students? You’re supposed to be representing us all!”

Bakugo turns around with the same monotone while giving a thumbs down, “It’s not my fault the rest of you are stepping stones to my victory. Deal with it.” He then trots down without another word as 1-A’s Class Rep trails behind him.

“That foul-mouthed freakshow! Why the hell is he in the Hero Course?!” Tokage shouts, forgetting Midoriya is standing right next to her, as his face goes white over her accusation. The girl panics as she turns to the boy, “Sorry about that. I forgot you were still there.”

“I-It’s alright. I-I’m fine.”

She sighed heavily, “No wonder the rest of the first years hate you guys, that cocky asshole is not doing you any favors.”

“Kacchan’s not being overconfident here, Tokage. There’s something else going on.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“If it were that, he would have laughed while saying all of that was a joke. This is a new guy we’re dealing with, and a nasty one at that.” Midoriya stated while squinting his eyes and clenching his fists at the blonde. Tokage noticed how agitated he was, so she placed one of her hands on his shoulder, immediately calming the boy to focus on her.

“Kick his ass for us.”

“Huh? But he just called your class stepping stones. And I think Tetsutetsu is swearing to tear him to pieces over there. Wouldn’t it be better if you confronted him yourself?”

“Don’t worry about me and my class. We’re way tougher than that jerk gives us credit for. Just take a stand and show the crowd what you’re made of! You got this!”

Midoriya was stunned over the girl’s choice of words, bewildered that she was cheering him on despite everything today. That said, he felt more fired up thanks to it, so he gave her a confident smile before nodding, “I will. Thanks.”

The girl nods back, “Well, I gotta go check in with my class, make sure they’re not stirring up too much trouble. Good luck out there.” She then walks to the steel student to console him.

After the… introduction, Midnight takes back the microphone, “Anyways, without further ado, it’s time to get started! This is where the pain begins! Now behold! The first fateful game of the festival!” As on cue, a holographic roulette wheel appears behind the heroine, spinning between different games. “What could it be, you wonder? The answer, ladies and gents, is…” The wheel stops as she then announces, “TA DA! AN OBSTACLE COURSE!”

‘Oh boy.’

“All 11 classes will participate in this cataclysmic contest. The track you’ll be running on is 4 kilometers around the outskirts of the stadium and littered with devastating challenges. I won’t restrain anyone, at least not in this game. So long as you remain within the course, you’re free to do as your heart desires. Now, contestants, take your places.”

Everyone lines up for the marked gate, signifying the start of their journey. The door counts down slowly to keep everyone on their toes.

-BEEP-

‘I have to be smart about this. I don’t have full control over my quirk. So I need to be careful if I ever need to use it.’

-BEEP-

‘Time to go beyond… Plus Ultra!’

-BEEP-

‘Watch over me, All Might! I’ll make you proud!’

-BEEEEEEEEEEEP-

“Begin!”

Everyone immediately rushes through the entrance.

“And we’re off to a racing start! How ‘bout some colorful commentary, Mummy Man?” Present Mic announces as he turns to his erasing friend.

“How did you rope me into this?”

“Tell me. What should we pay attention to for the early stages of the race?”

“The door.”

“What do you-oh oh… I get it.”

Just as the Eraser hero predicted, all of the students were crammed to the brim within the doorway. Every single one of them complained about getting squashed and trampled. Midoriya wasn’t any better. As the boy squeezes closer to the front, he recalls something.

-Flashback-

“Power’s great and all, but what do you do when you face off against an opponent that’s smaller, faster, or even smarter, for that matter? Not to mention, villains rarely play by the rules and will take any advantage they can get their hands on.”

-Back to the present-

‘Now I get it. They’re testing us, seeing how we’ll make it through this entrance. And Midnight did say that as long as we stay on the track, then anything goes. Okay, here goes nothing.’

The boy starts climbing on top of the students; as soon as he stood on top of their heads and/or shoulders, he dashed forward on the humanoid track. Granted, this didn’t make him any more popular with them, as he received complaints during the run.

“OW!”

“SORRY!”

“HEY!”

“SORRY!”

“WHAT THE HELL!?”

“I’M SO SORRY!”

“YOU 1-A ASSHOLE!”

“SO- HEY! THAT’S MEAN!”

Meanwhile, another student near the front of the crowd had a similar thought.

‘So this is the first obstacle. Kind of underwhelming.’ Todoroki thought, ‘Better make this-’

Just as he was about to dial in and make a move, his whole world began to slow down as Midoriya landed his foot on top of his head. He then leaps off the heterochromatic teenager, out of the doorway, and into the field as he shouts, “SORRY, TODOROKI!”

“WHOAAA! LOOKS LIKE WE’VE GOT A WILD GREEN BUNNY THAT’S MAKING A FOOL OUT OF THE STUDENTS! MIDORIYA JUST HOPPED TO THE LEAD OF THE COMPETITION!”

‘Damn it! He’s going to be out of sight at this rate!’ Todoroki cursed as he watched the Greenette rush out on the track. ‘Not on my watch!’

Suddenly, a swarm of ice coats the doorway and floor and flows out of its exit, with Todoroki skating across the newly formed terrain, exclaiming, “Apologies.”

“And look at that! Class 1-A’s Shoto Todoroki clears the door next as he puts the rest of the competition on ice! That’s one chilling entrance!”

Midoriya turns around for a bit to witness the mess Todoroki created before focusing on the track once again, ‘That was too close. If I didn’t get out of the crowd sooner, I would’ve been caked in ice like those guys.’

Back at the entrance, most of the students complained about having their race cut short thanks to the trap. Unfortunately for Todoroki, all of Class 1-A evaded the attack, fully familiar with his plan of action.

“Nice try, Todoroki!” Yayorozu exclaimed as she produced a pole vault from the palm of her hand.

“You won’t get away that easily, you icy-hot bastard!” Bakugo shouted as he flew with explosions coming out of his palms. He then glares harder, noticing the Greenette ahead of him, “DEKU! GET BACK HERE, YOU!”

“I didn’t expect so many people to dodge that. Especially the other classes.” Todoroki noted as he watched a general course student mount a group of students like a cavalry unit.

Meanwhile, at the back of the crowd, some of Class 1-B were able to escape the attack in time. Tokage, for instance, split her body to carry two of her classmates, Kendo and Fukadashi, away from the trap. “Is everyone alright?” She exclaimed.

“I think so, thanks.” Kendo groaned as she released her grip on the splitting girl’s legs.

“Okay, let’s go-” Tokage was about to announce the next plan of action, only to witness her classmate Honenuki soften the ground to swim across, followed by another girl with dark green eyes and vines for hair using her quirk as stilts to traverse the ice.

In complete shock, she called out to them, “Honenuki! Shiozaki! What do you think you’re doing? Our classmates are in trouble!”

“Sorry, Tokage! This is a competition after all. And I don’t plan on losing, not to this guy.” Honenuki announced as he swam across the softened ice and dirt.

“Forgive me! But I must punish the ice man of 1-A for imprisoning our classmates.”

Tokage slouched over her skull-faced and vine-haired classmates, abandoning them. Kendo, meanwhile, walked over to the girl’s floating top half. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. This is a competition after all.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get the others out of the ice.” She then turned to the student she was still carrying, “Hey! Fukadashi! Can you give us a hand here and thaw the others?”

The comical classmate looked up to the girl as he saluted with an exclamation point appearing on his bubbly face, “You got it, ma’am! Time to turn up the heat!”

The student took a deep breath before shouting,

“SIZZLE SIZZLE! SIZZLE SIZZLE!”

Just like that, his words came to life in the form of fiery katakana as they shot out to melt the ice and free the members of Class 1-B. All of the classmates cheer for their ingenuity and selflessness.

“Good thinking!” Kendo announced, “Now the whole class is free to continue the course.”

“Thanks. Let’s make sure we keep it that way.” Tokage smiled as she set Fukadashi down and conjoined her body back together. At the same time, however, all of the melted ice turned into vapor and rose in the air, leaving everyone in a makeshift smokescreen. Fortunately, another student approached them from within the steam.

“Ah. I see now.” Monoma walked to the trio with a mischievous grin, “You want us to hold back while we, the rest of 1-B, observe the 1-A hooligans from a distance. How clever.”

Kendo wanted to interject, but Tokage knew they didn’t have time to argue. So she responds with, “Just copy Fukadashi’s quirk and check if anyone else needs to be freed.”

“Way ahead of you, my friend,” Monoma announced after touching Fukadashi’s bare forearm. He then took a deep breath before shouting, “Swoosh!” creating a huge gust of wind to clear the fog.

Meanwhile, at Midoriya’s location, he and Todoroki were now face to face with the next obstacle.

“No way. It’s the robots from the entrance exam. I should have known they would appear here,”

Three gigantic green robots stood before them, all of them glaring their beady red eyes at them, ready to strike at a moment's notice. “Target Acquired.”

“Ohh. Looks like the guest of the next challenge has finally arrived! We’re in for a treat now! Behold the test of strength and cunning, it’s the Robot Inferno!”

“What the crap?! What are the zero-point villains doing here?”

“Seriously? Not again!”

“Where does the school even get the funding for these things?” Momo questioned as more of the contestants came to a halt. Most of them caught up, but they were still too far away from the leading two. The rest of Class 1-B was not too far behind after traversing the ice, though most still held back thanks to Monoma’s insistence.

“So this is what everyone else faced in their entrance exams. They clearly went through a lot of trouble to set all of this up,” Todoroki’s voice reverberated as he walked behind Midoriya. The dual-Quirk user outstretched his right hand. “But I wish they’d prepare something a bit more challenging.” His hand touched the ground as several blocks of ice crackled around him, “Especially while the old man’s watching.”

“Behind you!”

Izuku turned around and noticed Todoroki was about to launch another icy attack, and with him at point-blank range. He hopped to the left, fully knowing that staying in place would more than guarantee him losing the race. During that time, the half-and-half student fired a massive wave of ice at the robots and imprisoned the one closest to Midoriya within the frozen substance. He barely dodged the attack, but Todoroki was not too pleased with the result.

‘Damn it. Who told Midoriya to get out of the way? No matter. I put the robots on ice; that should keep him busy for a while.’

Todoroki proceeds to run between the robot’s legs.

“Yes! He stopped the robots! We can go through now.”

Midoriya came back to his senses as he stared at the frozen behemoth. ‘That can’t be right. Why would Todoroki freeze the zero pointer if it means the others can go through? There has to be another motive…’ He looked up as he heard the ice covering the robot beginning to crack. His eyes widened at the noise. ‘Oh crap!’ He then made a mad dash through the legs towards his classmate.

“C’mon! Let’s get moving, guys!” Awase shouted to the rest of the group.

“Wait! Something’s not right!” The headband dude turned to Tokage.

“The hell you talkin’ about? The robots stopped dead in their tracks. We can slip past them now.”

“Tokage has a point. That zero-pointer doesn’t seem to be balanced at all.” Both turned to witness Monoma with a more serious face. “It’s a trap.”

More and more cracking flooded their ears as all three turned back to the robot, as shards of ice and metal fractured off the mechanical behemoth.

“What the crap is going on?”

“I froze them while they were off their balance… on purpose,” Todoroki announced ahead without looking back. As on cue, the mechanical beast begins falling to the ground.

All three go wide-eyed, knowing that if this continues, it will crash into countless classmates, including their own.

“Tsubaraba! Give us a hand here!”

This got the attention of a spiky brunette with round eyes, “What? Why? We need to get out of the way.”

“There’s not enough time. Make an air wall to protect the class from that thing.”

Both of the brunette’s eyes bulged out of his skull upon hearing the request regarding the collapsing robot, “SERIOUSLY?! THAT THING'S HUMONGOUS! I CAN’T BLOCK THAT”

“Just do it! It’s our only chance!”

Tsubaraba remained stunned for quite a while, palms sweating, knees weakening, and breaths shortening. Then, Monoma placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, “We believe in you. Let’s show those other idiots what Class 1-B is capable of.”

Underneath the frozen zero-pointer, meanwhile, Midoriya dashed forward, trying not to think of the behemoth above him. The sounds of crackling ice and creaking metal rang in his ears as the rest of the robot plummeted to the ground. As it landed with a massive thud, a tsunami of dust, dirt, and ice rose from the earth and swallowed any unlucky student nearby.

“Would you look at that! Todoroki from Class 1-A stole the lead from Midoriya and is pushing on through with a devastating display of power! Is this the end for Class 1-A’s wildcard? Whadya say, Mr. Eraser?”

“His attack was both offensive and defensive. A necessary strategy to take the lead.”

“No wonder he got in on Recommendations! He never fought those Robos before, and he’s already showing them who’s boss!”

Unfortunately for the heterochromatic student, someone coughed, “That was too close.” Todoroki’s eyes widened as he turned around and witnessed the green-haired rival getting off the ground. “I had a feeling he would do something like that.” Midoriya noticed a piece of metal sticking out from the ground, likely from the fallen robot. Believing there may be more in the field, he picked up the piece of metal next to him as a makeshift weapon and dashed through the rest of the course, slaying any machine in his way.

“Wowee! I don’t believe it! Class 1-A’s Midoriya survived the attack and is tailing behind his classmate as we speak! He just doesn’t know when to quit, does he?”

‘Impossible. First, he dodged my ice at the entrance, and now this? This is bad. If I let up now, he’ll take the lead back for good.’ Todoroki thinks as he runs as fast as he can with Midoriya tailing him.

Back at the robot’s corpse, everyone kept coughing and getting back on their feet as the dust began to settle. Class 1-B seemed to be the most fortunate, as at least half of them hid behind a massive wall made of solidified air. Kendo spoke first during the aftermath, “Is everyone alright?”

“Yep. We’re good.” Tokage wheezed within the dust cloud, “It’s a good thing Monoma helped Tsubaraba with these air walls. I don’t think we would have made it without them.”

“Fufufu. Always finding a way to bring Class 1-B back to the proper level. I expect nothing less from you, deputy.”

Tokage smiled a bit over the compliment, only for it to disappear upon noticing something. “Hold on. Where’s Tetsutetsu?”

As on cue, something bursts out from the carcass of ice and steel, “I’m alive!”

Most of the class turned to witness Kirishima, who used his quirk to harden his skin to survive the collapse.

“Is it me, or did Tetsutetsu turn red?”

Tokage, Kendo, and Awase facepalm over the question, “Wrong hard man, Tsubaraba!”

Then, from another spot on the robotic corpse, “Class 1-A really is full of jerks!” Tetsutetsu reveals his true location, who used his quirk to survive in the same format. “I’ll smash that ice guy once I get my hands on him!”

“Oh. There he is. Hey! Tetsutetsu! Good to see you made it!”

Unfortunately, for the spiky brunette, Tetsutetsu was too blinded by rage after the robot's collapse. Shown even more so as he tailed Kirishima while calling him “a damn copycat.”

“Wait! What are you doing, man? Come back!”

“What the hell, Tetsutetsu!? You said you wouldn’t do this!” Tokage hollered. Steam erupted from her body while her teeth turned razor sharp, her eyes glowed white, and her hair spiked up from every direction of her head like a giant green flame.

“Man, how lucky are they? They don’t have to worry about being crushed!” Kaminari exclaims.

Another student with lightly tanned skin, black hair tied into a low braid, and sharp reptilian eyes responds to the electric user while extending his hand, “We’re racing each other, but we can team up for now. Let’s carve a path.” Everyone panned to witness the decision was made by none other than Class 1-B’s Chinese exchange student, Hiryu Rin, who activated his quirk by growing greenish scales on his left arm.

Tokage was ecstatic about her classmate’s decision, ‘Finally, one of the guys is willing to cooperate with others. Then again, Rin was against the rivalry idea from the start.’

“He’s right. C’mon everyone. Let’s clear a path so everyone can cross!”

Back at the front, both Todoroki and Midoriya stood before their next challenge: a massive chasm dotted with several large plateaus, all connected with thick steel wires.

“For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy. Let’s see how you like the next challenge. If you trip here, you’re out! Get ready for “The Fall”!”

“Note to self, never let Vlad King name an obstacle course again.”

Midoriya gulped at the massive chasm, ‘Well, there’s no turning back now.’ He then grabs onto one of the wires and starts climbing underneath it. Todoroki, on the other hand, produced ice to railgrind across another wire. He was still holding the lead, but Midoriya was not too far behind. By the time they were halfway across the canyon, the rest of the students had finally caught up after battling robots and bypassing a zero pointer’s metallic husk.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. How are we supposed to cross that?” Ashido whined.

“When did they have time to build this canyon?” Uraraka followed.

“Hehehe! Finally! This is my chance to showcase my skills. Now my support items are gonna steal the spotlight from the wannabe heroes. Behold everyone! Observe what my brilliant gadgets can do!” Both turn around to another pink-haired girl suited head to toe in gadgets ranging from goggles to massive boots. However, unlike Ashido, whose hair was short and curly with a pair of small horns sticking out, this new girl’s hair consisted of thick dreadlocks reaching to her shoulders, kind of similar to a chibi octopus’s tentacles. She fired a grappling hook attached to her hips to one of the platforms.

“Hold on. A Support Course student?”

“Why are you carrying all of that stuff?”

“Since students from the hero course get all kinds of training for their quirks, the school decided to keep things fair by allowing us to take whatever gadgets we want as long as we have made them ourselves!” The support student proudly confessed as the grappling hook continued to extend until it stopped, confirming it reached its target. “This is the perfect opportunity to show off our ingenious ideas and creations to any companies looking to recruit us! I hope you’re watching, dear employers! Cause my cute little babies are going to make one helluva show!” The girl activates her boots as they push her off the ground, and cackles as the grappling hook pulls her forward.

Uraraka charges forward as she activates her quirk on herself to float above the plateaus. “I won’t lose.”

During that time, on another section of the obstacle, Bakugo was foaming at the mouth, ‘I flew past all of that ice and bucketheads and I’m still behind Deku and that Icyhot bastard.’ He saw that both Todoroki and Midoriya had finally crossed “The Fall,” with the latter still carrying the scrap metal from the last challenge. ‘Do they think they can beat me when this is my chance to win? Not on my watch!’ He fired more explosions from the palms of his hands and propelled forward while shouting, “DEKU! ICYHOT! GET BACK HERE! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!”

Todoroki and Midoriya turned around to see the explosive classmate tailing them,

‘Kacchan?’

‘Took him long enough to get fired up.’

“YOU SUCK!”

Back in the crowd, everyone kept cheering on Todoroki due to the skill with his quirk as well as his heritage as the son of Endeavor, the number 2 hero, and the only candidate closest to All Might in terms of raw firepower. As soon as the leading two reached the next course, they both stopped to catch their breath. Midoriya looked up to see the next challenge and squeaked a bit at the sight.

“And now, it’s time for the last obstacle. Tread carefully, everyone. Cause you’re final challenge is a minefield!”

The site before them was an open dirt field speckled with darker colored circles throughout its surface, likely the location of the “mines” in question.

“If you look carefully, those little bombs are buried in special locations, so keep your eyes on the ground, folks. Don’t you worry, though. The mines are designed for the games, so the explosions aren’t lethal… But they’re strong enough to make you wet your pants!”

“Get a hold of yourself, Mic.”

Todoroki looked up to see the field before him, ‘So this is the final obstacle. Very clever. This will put anyone in the lead at a disadvantage.’ He decided it was best to walk around the mines rather than use his ice again, not wanting to set them off like the others behind him or risk clearing a path for others to cross.

Meanwhile, Midoriya observed the students traverse the course with varying levels of precision. Anyone who wasn’t careful was flung up into the air with a trail of pink smoke. Then, from his right, he witnessed Bakugo fly past him and over the mines.

“Ha ha. I got you now!” The blonde announced as he flew towards Todoroki and attacked him. “Bastard. You declared war on the guy here!” Both proceed to trade blows with and without their powers.

“Just like that! Another student is threatening to take the lead! Nothing beats entertainment like an upset!”

Midoriya stared more at the two in disbelief, ‘Crap. They’re getting too far ahead.’

He clenched onto the scrap metal he was still holding and thrust it into the ground, “No! This isn’t over! Not on my watch.” The metal sheet pierces through the dirt as he comes up with an idea.

On another spot, Tokage and Fukadashi were using their quirks to get as many classmates across the minefield as possible. The girl looked to her side to witness Midoriya in front of a pile of mines, ‘What is he doing over there? Wait a minute… don’t tell me…’

“Thanks for the idea… Kacchan!” Midoriya charges forward with the metal shield in front of him and then jumps as high as he can before landing on the explosive pile. Tokage’s eyes widen, knowing what will happen next.

“EVERYONE! GET DOWN!”

“Huh? Why?”

“JUST DO IT!”

She tackles Fukadashi to the floor all of a sudden, and as soon as everyone turned to Midoriya’s direction, they followed suit.

KABOOOOOOOM!

A massive pink dust cloud erupted from Midoriya’s location, gathering everyone’s attention. Even Todoroki and Bakugo turned around mid-fight to witness the explosion. This was followed by a massive gust of wind pushing anyone too slow to brace for impact off their feet.

“What’s with that huge explosion in the back?! I thought Bakugo was in front of the pack!”

Tokage squinted her eyes shut, not wanting to get blinded; as soon as she opened them, one thing came to her mind: “No way.”

In the air, Midoriya was flying up, using the metal sheet as a makeshift shield and glider, soaring past the rest of the competition.

“I don’t believe it! What just happened?”

“Yes,” All Might cheered back at the stands.

“It looks like Class 1-A’s Izuku Midoriya is making another comeback, and is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!”

-Flashback-

‘I gotta be careful. These landmines go off if I step on them.’ Midoriya thought as he used his metal scrap to shovel out mine after mine. During that time, everyone was either treading the field carefully or staring for a bit, wondering what he was up to.

‘They’re not powerful on their own, but they can turn into a huge disaster if you activate multiple at once. This isn’t something you can just rush through. Naturally, it’s better to slow down and avoid them entirely. That will minimize injuries; even the people with great agility can’t be too reckless. Not to mention, the amount of mines is even denser at the front. No one is going to traverse this field very quickly. That said, I can use that to my advantage! Everyone was careful to avoid them at the entrance, so there are still plenty buried around here. Okay, here goes nothing.’

His finished product was a pile of mines grouped up at one spot. He then backs up for a bit with his shield raised, preparing for the next step. “Thanks for the idea, Kacchan! Go beyond! Plus Ultra!” He then makes a mad dash to the pile of bombs, before landing on top of them.

-Back to present-

The female greenette smirked at what Midoriya just did, “Clever boy.”

“I don’t believe it! Midoriya has taken back the lead!”

Midoriya continues to fly over the rest of the students while using the scrap metal as a makeshift glider. “Perfect! I flew over them just like I planned! But the force was much stronger than I expected, and I forgot to plan out how I was gonna land!”

“Deku! What the hell do you think you’re doing, taking back the lead, huh?” Bakugo yelled while propelling forward with more explosions.

Todoroki, meanwhile, forged an icy path in front of him, so the mines don’t detonate underneath him. “This path will help the others get across. But that’s a risk I’ll have to take if I want to keep the lead!”

“Check out the plot twist! They’re not fighting anymore! It’s now a mad dash to the finish line after Midoriya, folks! Now that’s what I call a competition!”

Suddenly, Midoriya begins to slow down as he plummets back to the ground. ‘Oh crap. I’m running out of speed here. I gotta think of something, or I’ll fall behind again. Wait! I still have a chance! I need to time it right, though.’ The boy latches tightly onto a cable attached to the metal board as he flips forward, plants his feet onto the Class 1-A rivals, and hurls the metal plate onto the mines again with all of his might. “Take this!” he shouts as the scrap strikes the mine below. This set off another explosion powerful enough to not only propel Midoriya forward again, but also knock Todoroki and Bakugo off to the sides. He then rolls onto the ground, careful not to lose too much momentum, before getting back onto his feet for one last sprint.

“There you have it! Midoriya has blasted past his classmates from 1-A and is keeping the lead all to himself! I don’t believe it! He cleared that minefield in record time!”

Behind him, both rivals shot out of the smoke, chasing Midoriya with everything they had left.

“Tell me, Eraserhead. How are your students so amazing? What the heck are you teaching them?!”

“This has nothing to do with me. They are all powered by their drive to succeed. It doesn’t matter what obstacle they face. These kids are insane.”

“There’s your answer, folks! These students are amazing because Eraserhead SUCKS!”

“I what?!”

All three students remained in a mad dash as the finish line drew closer than ever.

“Who would’ve guessed this race would include a hodge-podge of surprises?! I’m at the edge of my seat here, as we speak!”

Before long, all three were a hair away from victory: “And the first person to clear the obstacle course is…”

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the moment of truth.

“The one and only…”

A red high top clears the finish line, “IZUKU MIDORIYA FROM CLASS 1-A!”

The crowd went wild over the Greenette’s victory. Cheers left and right roared throughout the stadium as they all congratulated the underdog, who slowed down to witness everyone shouting his name in triumph. The boy was about to burst into tears, but chose to hold them in for now as he made a huge smile, pumped his right fist into the air, and exclaimed, “I AM HERE!”

“That’s the spirit, young Midoriya! I knew you could do it!”

The cheers were so massive that some of the Pro Heroes stationed as guards turned around to witness the winner of the race on screen.

“Huh? It’s that kid from two years ago!”

“Oh yeah! The one who fought the sludge monster. That’s incredible.”

Meanwhile, Midoriya panted like crazy as he looked around the site of the stadium. He turned to All Might, who struggled to contain his excitement from the near top of the audience seating as he clapped and stood up from his seat, cheering the boy on. The tears persisted, so he used one of his hands to wipe his face as more students came barreling into the finish line.

All Might thought to himself, ‘This Sports Festival is a competition to showcase your skills to the world. The kind where everyone aims to be at the top. Even if it means trampling your friends and your classmates, popularity is what makes you the cream of the crop. Naturally, you’d only survive if you want to be the best; it’s a cut-throat world, after all. Your core has always been helping others. That’s why I chose you to be my successor, young Midoriya. Even if your selflessness proved to be a weakness as well, you proved me wrong. I’m glad I was only worried for nothing! Well done! Next time, though, dial the waterworks down a notch.’ He proceeds to stare down at some Business Course students, who were debating over Midoriya’s marketing potential.

In another spot on the stadium, Bakugo stood alone and heavily breathing over what had happened. “Deku… There’s no way... Not again… I lost to both him and Icyhot… and in public this time.”

Todoroki was also recovering in another area, utilizing the icy half of his quirk to expedite the cooling process. He then looks up to stare at Midoriya, who was watching the others flood back into the stadium before walking away, ‘I can’t believe he bested me without his quirk. No matter, I’ll get him in the next round.’

“Deku! That was amazing!” Uraraka panted as she approached Midoriya.

“Uh, Thanks!”

“I can’t believe you got first place! I’m so jealous! How did you do that?”

Midoriya blushed like crazy as he wrapped his arms around his face, “Uh! It was nothing! Really!”

Back at the finish line, Yaoyorozu walks in heavily panting, with her UA jacket unzipped, exposing the black sports bra underneath. “How could this happen?”

Something suddenly cackles from Yaoyorozu’s back. Turns out, Mineta hitched a ride on his classmate by attaching his purple hair balls onto her back. He showed himself proud of the achievement as he looked up to the sky with a nosebleed, “Two birds with one stone! I’m a genius!”

The pony-tailed girl swatted the purple midget off her back. “You are the worst.”

Meanwhile, at another spot, more and more Class 1-B students were barreling in behind everyone from 1-A, with Tokage and Fukadashi coming out last.

“Is that everyone?” The comic boy asks as Katakana for huffing appears on his face.

“Heh… heh…” Tokage pants as she stands back up, “I think so. It’s a good thing the rest of our class made it before us.”

“Aren’t you worried that you scored too low in this course? This seems like the perfect place for you to make a killing here. You could have easily scored in the top ten. Heck, maybe even first.”

“Tempting, but I’ll pass. Everyone in our class worked their butts off for this competition. It’s only fair I give you guys a fighting chance with the skills I possess.”

During their sudden talk, the geared-up girl from “The Fall” appears next, showing an expression between disapointment for scoring so low in the race and excitement for getting more time to showcase her “babies.”

“That’s odd. I thought you only stayed behind because you wanted to observe 1-A.”

“Seriously? Why would you think that?”

“Uhhh… No reason?” Fukadashi produced an ellipsis on his face, hoping the girl wouldn’t see through his lie.

Suddenly, another blonde shoots past them, propelled by a laser from his stomach.

“Holy smokes! Who was that!” He shouted as an exclamation point replaced the ellipsis.

Both turn to witness the student clutching his stomach in pain while groaning in another language. “Who’s that guy? He seems… French?” Fukadashi wondered as the blonde student continued rolling on the grass.

“I think he’s from 1-A. It looks like he barely passed with that move. Poor guy.” Fortunately, an invisible-looking person came over to check on him. Tokage then turns to Midoriya, who holds his hand in a fist while looking up for a bit. She then grinned for a moment, ‘I had a feeling he would get first place.’

She lightly punched Fukadashi in the shoulder, “C’mon, man. Let’s go check in on the others.”

Some time later. All of the students gather in front of the podium with Midnight at the center.

“That concludes the first game. What an exciting performance that was! And now for the leaderboards.”

A giant projector appears behind her, numbering the first forty-two participants to pass the course from first to last.

Group A: Izuku Midoriya #1

Group A: Shoto Todoroki #2

Group A: Katsuki Bakugo #3

Group B: Ibara Shiozaki #4

Group B: Juzo Honenuki #5

Group A: Tenya Iida #6

Group A: Fumikage Tokoyami #7

Group A: Hanta Sero #8

Group A: Eijiro Kirishima #9

Group B: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu #10

The list continued downward until it reached Yuga Aoyama, who barely passed at rank 42.

“Only the top 42 will advance to the next round! But don’t feel bad if you didn’t cut it! We have plenty of other opportunities for you all to shine. Now, let’s see what game awaits you all next!”

The projector spun another wheel as it cycled through dozens of potential games.

“Prepare yourselves for the next challenge…”

The wheel on the projector stopped as it displayed one name among the remaining forty-two contestants.

“Behold! The Cavalry Battle!”

Kaminari cringed at the sight, “That game? You've got to be kidding me, I suck at those.”

“Oh ho ho ho. Nice!” Tsubaraba cheered in another spot in the crowd, “That takes me back!”

“Interesting,” Asui added, “I wonder how they’ll split us up.”

“You will all band together in teams of two to four, and assemble into a horse-and-rider formation. Think of it as the classic playground game, but there is one key difference. Each of you has been assigned a specific point value with headbands based on your performance in the previous event. All you have to do is work together and use your quirks to steal the other team’s headbands and build your overall score. The person in 42nd starts with 5 points, the person in 41st will have 10, and every subsequent placement increases your score by the same amount. That said, there’s only one exception to the rule here. That is to say, the person in first place will start with…”

‘This better not be what I think it is.’

“TEN MILLION POINTS!”

All of Izuku’s adrenaline coursed from his body straight into his brain.

“That’s right. This will be a survival of the fittest. A chance for those at the bottom to make their way to the top!”

He shorted out so quickly to the shock that the only thing his mouth could process was,

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

To be Continued…

Chapter 6: Green Duo, Assemble

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as a strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

-Sports Festival Stadium-

Midoriya panicked as he heard his name would be worth ten million points due to scoring first place in the last game. All the other contestants surrounding Midoriya stared daggers at him. Flashbacks of his past began ringing back into his ears; the kind where everyone doubted his potential.

‘Why did it have to be that number? This isn’t Junior High anymore. A lot has changed over the past two years. Yet, I’m a target again, and only because I scored first place through dumb luck. Is this what they meant when they said it’s hard being at the top?’

“Here are the rules.” Midnight announces. “The game itself will last 15 minutes. Points from each of your team members will be summed together for your team's starting number. That score will be printed on the headbands your leader will wear at the start of the game. Grab as many headbands as you can to boost your score; any new bands you steal must be worn from the neck up. Don’t worry, if your headband gets stolen or if your team falls over, you are still free to keep playing until time runs out. This will be a rough time, boys and girls, so use your quirks to your heart's content here. However, there is one rule you must abide by! If you make a team fall on purpose, I’ll slap you with a red card and disqualify you! Got it?”

All that was heard after that was Bakugo being visibly pissed at the last rule.

“Now that that’s out of the way, build your teams! You’ve got 15 minutes, so hop to it.”

Midoriya ponders to himself, ‘Let’s see here, so there are 42 contestants left in this round, including myself. Given the rules of the cavalry battle, that implies there will be 10 to 12 teams total. Regardless of my team, my score is what everyone will be paying attention to in the end. Okay. Time to make a team.’

Izuku started reaching out to his classmates, but every time he did, they turned him down. Each failed attempt left him feeling more hopeless than he could ever imagine.

‘This is bad! I can’t get anyone to join my team. Not that I blame them, since it means I will be the primary target. It makes way more sense to grab any points you can by the end. And unlike Todoroki or Kacchan, I didn’t even use my quirk in the first round, so no one has any con-’

He then bumps into someone.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Midoriya panicked before turning to the student he ran into.

“Oh. No worries. You’re good.”

Both soon realize who they ran into.

“Midoriya!?” “Tokage!?”

“H-Hey! Good to see you, man. Congrats on scoring first in the last game.”

“Oh… uh thank you… It’s uh, good to see you made it too. I saw you barely passed in the last round. What happened? The obstacle course seemed to be up your alley.”

“I had no problem with the course. Just wanted to make sure the rest of my class survived. They worked just as hard to get here, after all.”

“Ohh. That makes sense.” Midoriya gulps loudly before making a request. “So… erm… do you… want to team up?”

“Oh. I was going to, well-”

“I understand…” The male greenette falls into a slump with a gloomy cloud above his head, “This is what I get for not using my quirk at all in the last round.”

The girl waved both of her hands, not wanting Midoriya to blame himself for the rejection, “No! No, no, no! It’s not that at all, Midoriya! I swear!”

“Huh? Then what is it?”

“Well… The thing is-” Tokage was about to mutter her answer, only for someone else to join the conversation.

“Hey! Deku! There you are!” Uraraka pops in from the side.

“Uraraka! Why are you here?” Midoriya squeaked upon turning to his classmate and jumped a bit closer to the other greenette.

“I want to team up with you, that’s why.” Uraraka smiled at the prospect. She then grows curious upon spotting the other girl, “Oh. You found a teammate, already?”

The two fall into a panic, each trying to explain to themselves that they only bumped into each other while searching for teammates to partner with. However, they stumbled and talked over each other so much that neither answer could even translate as jargon.

Uraraka stared back, dumbfounded over their initial answer. “Wait, what?”

Midoriya and Tokage sweated over everything they said, though they were relieved Uraraka didn’t comprehend what they were talking about. Tokage shifts closer to the boy and quietly asks, “What do we do, now? She's going to get the wrong idea at this rate.”

“I’m not sure,” Izuku whispered. “Let’s start from the beginning and go from there. It might help our case.”

Meanwhile, back at the teachers' stands, All Might analyzed his protege’s strategy now that everyone will be targeting his score.

‘That’s odd. Why is young Midoriya teaming up with young Tokage from Class 1-B? I get that he would struggle with the next round. After all, when you’re at the top, everyone will be gunning for your position, so it’s a safe bet to work with people you are familiar with. But this, this seems a little unorthodox. Is it possible that he plans to team up with her because of his unfamiliarity with the other hero class?’

Back at the main field, Uraraka’s face lit up upon hearing the two Greenettes out. “Oh! I get it now! You’re Deku’s friend from 1-B! Sorry about getting confused earlier, Tokage.”

“Uh yeah, that’s me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Uraraka. Wait a minute. Why did you call Midoriya ‘Deku ’? Isn’t that the same name Bakugo calls him?”

“It is; I like the name, though. It gives off a ‘you can do it’ vibe, so it kinda stuck around.”

Tokage turns to Midoriya, “Can you give some context here?”

“Well, when we were young, ‘Deku’ started as something Kacchan called me to make fun of me. It was his way of calling me weak or useless. But thanks to Uraraka, I started to see the name in a new light.”

‘Now I’m starting to despise this Bakugo character.’ Tokage thought as she produced a comedic sweatdrop and turned back to Uraraka, “That explains a lot.”

Then, a thought came into the brunette’s mind upon discovering Deku’s new friend, “Wait! I have an idea! Let’s all team up.”

“You can’t be serious, Uraraka! I have ten million points to worry about!”

“As long as we all run away, then we win, right?”

Tokage hopped in with her thoughts, “Not to be a downer about this, but Midoriya needs more than speed if he’s going to win.”

“I know. That’s why it’s better to team up with people you like.”

Tokage went wide-eyed over Uraraka’s answer as she gawked, “You… you can’t be...That’s your takeaway? We just met each other. How is this supposed to work?”

“We both know Deku, and he told me what a good person you are. It should still be possible.”

Only groans spawned from the female greenette’s mouth from here on out. A similar situation happened with Midoriya as he understood both viewpoints. Then, something dawns on him.

-Flashback-

“Aren’t we all competing against each other in the Sports Festival?”

“We are, but that doesn’t mean we can’t grow stronger together. Even if we’re in different classes, cooperating will be a lot better for everyone in the hero course down the road.”

-Back to the Present-

“Wait! I think Uraraka’s on to something.”

“Huh? What do you mean, Deku?”

“Communication will be the deciding factor for this round. Look around us. Everyone else is playing it safe by teaming up with classmates. They’re not familiar with what quirks or other abilities exist, so their knowledge is limited to half the contestants at most. But, since we know each other despite being in separate classes, we can counter pretty much everyone.”

“Oh yeah. That’s right. Tokage’s in 1-B, so she knows pretty much everyone there. That means if we team up, we’ll have an easier time avoiding them as well. Good thinking, Deku.”

Midoriya nods at the sentiment before turning to the greenette, “And besides, you said it yourself. Classes A and B will be stronger if we work together. This can be your chance to prove it to everyone.”

“Oh my gosh! You want to work with us despite the class rivalry?! That’s amazing!”

Setsuna utters, “I don’t think I should-”

“C’mon! This could be your chance to prove our classes can get along. Pleaaaaaaase…”

Tokage wanted to oppose, but soon realized Uraraka was right.

‘Oh geez. What am I thinking? I wanted our classes to get along, and here I was, about to join Kendo’s team, just like the others. I’m such an idiot. What’s the point in standing up for a belief I won’t back up? I better fix this.’ Thus, Setsuna caved in.

“You know what? What the heck. I guess I can mix things up. I’m in.”

“Nice! We got a third member!” Uraraka cheered.

“Oh my gosh! Thank you, Tokage! Thank you!” Midoriya followed as tears erupted from his eyes.

Tokage grinned a bit over her new teammates' praises, ‘Well. I asked for this to happen. I might as well see it to the end. I didn’t expect Midoriya to cry like that. Then again, everyone’s gunning for his score, so I guess I can’t blame him for being stressed out.’

Uraraka pumped her fist into the air as she turned around, “Alright! All we need to do now is get Iida, and we’re all set!”

Midoriya stopped the tear ducts upon hearing this, “I… I don’t think that’s going to be possible, Uraraka.”

“Huh? What do you mean, Deku?”

“Well, for one… Iida joined another team.” Midoriya points in the direction where he spotted their friend alongside Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari.

“Oh, Darn. That’s not good.”

Tokage threw in her two cents, not wanting the brunette to commit to something irrational. “Midoriya’s right, even if Iida were available, we can’t bring him in given our current setup. Think about it. We’re starting with the highest valued headband, which means our priority is to protect it at all costs to remain in first place. Unless one of us can provide a strong enough defense to keep the other teams at bay, we’ll not only lose our points in an instant, but won’t be able to get them back.”

“Oh, right. I didn’t think about that.”

Midoriya then adds his comments while looking around some more, “Yeah, that makes sense. And to add insult to injury, a lot of the heavy hitters from Class 1-A have already formed teams with each other. Our only hope is to find someone from Class B who can serve as a defense specialist. What do you think, Tokage? Does anyone come to mind?”

The girl in question puts one of her hands underneath her chin to help with brainstorming, “I can think of a few guys, but defense is a broad term in our case. We need someone with a good amount of range to ward off enemy attacks.”

“Yeah, and with the variety of potential quirks, we might find some that can also serve a secondary function.”

“Exactly! Not to mention, anyone we don’t take will count as another obstacle we need to watch out for.”

“So we’ll need someone who can adapt to quirks from both classes in an instant. Like someone with an omnidirectional power.”

“Wait, could you two slow down a bit?” Uraraka tried to butt in, “Did you say omnidirectional? What are you two trying to look for?” Unfortunately, both greenettes remained in a muttering banter ‘Oh... They’re completely ignoring me. That’s okay, I guess. At least they get along well.’

A couple of minutes later, inspiration struck Tokage: “I got it! I know just the guy!” She announced as she slammed one of her fists into her palm.

“Huh?... Can you fill me in on what your plan is?”

Both students shift their gaze to Uraraka with Midoriya summarizing their talk, “Oh. Tokage found someone who can serve as our fourth teammate.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“Wait here. It’ll be easier to explain if I bring him over.” Tokage replies before separating the top half of her body to float into the air and begin searching. The move did freak out Uraraka, though, as she mutters, “What the? D-Did she just cut herself in half?”

“Yep. That’s Tokage’s quirk, Lizard Tail Splitter. It lets her divide her body into multiple pieces that fly around at will. It’s pretty amazing, am I right?”

“Y-Yeah! L-Looks super cool.” Uraraka tries to reply enthusiastically, ‘Well, Deku didn’t freak out about it. I should’ve guessed that would happen.’

Midoriya stares back at the different teams he will have to contend with, ‘So it will all begin soon. Everyone’s an enemy, and I’m at the top. No matter what happens, I’m their primary target. I hope this setup works.’

Thirty seconds pass, and Tokage’s upper half is still out there.

“Huh. She’s been gone for a while.”

“Yeah… Do you think she-”

“FOUND HIM! FOUND HIM!” Tokage exclaimed, freaking out the two 1-A students as they turned around at her voice.

“Who did you find?” Uraraka asks before looking up in awe and shock.

“Midoriya, Uraraka! Meet our fourth teammate!”

-Sometime later-

“Oooooh. Time’s up, everyone!” Midnight cheers as the timer beeps at zero. “Let’s get this party started!”

Over at the radio station, Mic wakes up Eraserhead to prepare him for the next round.

“After 15 minutes to pick teammates and strategies, we now have 12 cavalry teams ready to go head to head!”

Eraserhead looks a bit forward to witness the groups before him, “I see some unusual student combinations. Especially Midoriya’s. What is he thinking with that setup?”

“Come on, everyone! Put your hands in the air for the next round! It’s time for a UA battle royale! Let me hear ya scream!”

Everyone cheered at the top of their lungs for the newly formed teams, most of whom showed expressions of varying confidence. Tetsutetsu’s team, for instance, had most of their members look ready to crush 1-A. It made sense given his teammates included Shiozaki, Honenuki, and Awase, all of whom scored highly in the last game.

“Yo, Tetsutetsu.”

“Huh?” The steel boy wondered as he gazed at Monoma’s team, which consisted of Kuroiro, Tsubaraba, and another guy with short dark brown hair and dark eyes.

“No hard feelings, okay?”

“Not at all! Let’s do this!” Tetsutetsu announced.

Then, as soon as the blonde turned his head to Team Midoriya, his blood ran cold as he twitched both of his eyes, ‘Tokage… Why the hell are you with those 1-A degenerates?’

During the cheers and Monoma’s grudge, Izuku wraps the headband worth 10,000,245 points around his forehead. Below him stood Kojiro Bondo, the student Tokage recommended for their team. However, what made their setup bizarre was that rather than have all three teammates assist their rider like the others, they opted to have Bondo carry all three teammates at once, with Tokage on Midoriya’s right, and Uraraka on his left. The male greenette blushed heavily over the idea of being sandwiched between two pretty girls, but chose to ignore it to maintain his cool.

“You ready, Uraraka?”

“Yeah!”

“Tokage?”

“Let’s go!”

“Bondo?”

“I-I’ll do my best!”

“Let’s do this, everyone!”

“HOPE YOU'RE READY WITH YOUR TEAMS CAUSE THIS IS GOING TO GET WILD!”

“Just get the round going already.”

“Let’s have one final countdown before the game begins!”

“Three!”

“Get him,” Bakugo growled.

“Two!”

“He’s ours,” Todoroki declares as he squints his eyes at Midoriya.

“One!”

“We’ll see about that,” Midoriya replies as he leans forward.

“BEGIN!!!”

All of the teams rush into Midoriya’s in a mad frenzy, freaking out the boy.

“It’s one big battle for the first-place headband! Let’s get him!” Tetsutetsu shouted at the top of his lungs.

“HAHAHAHAHA! You’re mine now, Midoriya!” An invisible girl shouted above her team of 1-A students. Unfortunately, her battle cry came out as less intimidating and more scandalous, thanks to her decision to remove her UA jacket, which made her invisible from the waist up, if you ignore her headband.

“Uhhh, guys? C-Can we go now?” Bondo freaked out.

“Not yet. Wait for our signal.” Tokage patted the tall man.

“This is it. Ready?” Ochako thought as everyone drew closer to them.

Once they were close enough, Honenuki from Tetsutetsu’s team softened the ground with his feet as the effect spread towards them. Upon noticing the attack, Midoriya shouted, “Uraraka! Now!”

“Right!” The girl replies as she activates her quirk on the entire team by touching each of them with all five fingers on one of her hands. As soon as that happened, everyone started to feel weightless, prompting Bondo to leap off the ground just as the softening effect reached his feet.

‘That was too close. At least we know what that guy’s quirk can do.’

“Tokage’s team is getting away? Damn it! After them!”

“Jiro!”

“On it!” Jiro responded to the invisible girl as she flew her earphone jacks towards the leading quartet.

Unfortunately, before they could close in, Bondo spewed a glue-like substance from his seven eye holes, which, while it warded off the jack girl, also served a secondary function of propelling Midoriya’s team further away from their attackers. Jiro jumped back squeamishly as soon as Bondo’s glue splashed nearby her.

“Gross! What is that stuff?”

“Nice going, Bondo! That was a brilliant move to use your quirk for both defense and thrust! It was just what we needed!”

“Huh? Oh, thanks, Midoriya. I’m happy you found the move useful.” Bondo muttered while bashfully looking away from the other male on the team.

Midoriya then turns to his right, “Tokage. Do you see anyone tailing us from below?”

The female greenette splits off both of her eyes to check the surrounding area underneath them. Certain that no one was following them, she responded with, “Nope. We’re all good here. Bring us down, Uraraka.”

“On it. Get ready for landing, guys.” Uraraka chants as she presses all of her fingertips together to deactivate her quirk.

‘Tokage, Uraraka, Bondo. Your quirks are so amazing.’

Bondo then lands onto the ground with a massive thud, kicking up a small cloud of dust around them as they dash out of the fog.

“So, how do you like the progress so far? If we keep this up, first place will be ours.”

“It’s amazing, Tokage. You’re a genius to make this team setup and strategy. I couldn’t have made it this far without you.”

“Aw, thanks. You’re such a sweet talker. You know that?” Tokage grinned while lightly blushing and scratching the back of her neck. Midoriya blushed too at the compliment as he covered his face with his hands while looking away, “Uh- I-It was nothing.”

Uraraka did not enjoy the interaction as she turned her head away from the two while puffing her cheeks, “Hey. I’m the one making everyone float here.”

“They’re not too far away! C’mon, guys!” The invisible girl shouted, not wanting to miss the opportunity for first place.

“Wait! Hagakure! Your headband’s gone!” Exclaimed one of her rear teammates.

“What? When did that happen?” She squealed upon touching the top of her head. “No. No. No. Where did it go, guys?”

“Fufufu. Too easy.” Monoma snickered as he twirled the girl’s headband around his finger.

“Hey, Monoma.” Tsubaraba wondered, “Any reason why we’re not pining after Tokage’s team? You looked pretty ticked off upon noticing her with the 1-A guys.”

“I’ll deal with that traitor at another time. She’s far too clever to duel in our current condition. Besides, I have a better way to get us all into the next round.”

“Wowee! It’s not even two minutes, and everyone’s already at each other’s throats! Better watch those headbands, kids! Cause even if you don’t get the ten million points, you can still qualify for the next round if you go after the other chart toppers!”

Team Midoriya proceeds to run some more, evading team after team. Unfortunately, their movement came to an abrupt halt as soon as Bondo stepped on something.

“WOAH!” The yellow giant shouted before catching himself with his other foot, careful not to drop his teammates.

“What’s wrong, Bondo? You’re not hurt, are you?” Midoriya wondered, to which the teammate replies, “I’m fine. I think I snagged my foot on something. Can someone take a look?”

Both Tokage and Uraraka looked down, noticing that Bondo’s left shoe was trapped by a sticky purple orb the size of a grapefruit. Tokage freaked out first, “What the? What is that thing?” Noticing her teammate’s confusion, Uraraka answers, “That’s one of Mineta’s balls. He must’ve thrown it while we were distracted!”

Tokage cursed under her breath before detaching both of her hands and head to float towards the giant’s left shoe, “I’ll get him out of here. You two watch our backs while I untie his shoe. You good with that, Bondo?”

“D-Do what you have to. I’m okay with that.”

She looks down at the scene, only to internally curse, ‘Crap. Why did it have to be a double-knot? Better make this quick,’ before getting to work.

“WAHAHAHAHAHAH! Prepare yourselves! For this isn’t a fight! It’s a massacre!” That one sentence garnered both Midoriya’s and Uraraka’s attention towards a gigantic student wearing a mask over the lower half of his face, with six massive arms joined together through flesh-like webbing. He was currently using most of his arms to cover something above him like an organic tent.

“Huh? That’s Mineta’s voice, but I only see Shoji over there. What’s going on?” Midoriya noted as he heard yelling from another team on the opposite end, “Shoot! Tetsutetsu’s team! They found us!”

“Tokage! Hurry!” Uraraka pleaded.

“Hold on! I’m going as fast as I can!” The other girl retorted as she was still struggling with the knot.

Both Midoriya and Uraraka sweat heavily as they hear Mineta’s voice once again. “Hi Midoriya.”

They soon figure out that Mineta was hiding within Shoji’s arms the whole time. To make things worse, a long tongue sprouted from within the hiding spot, barely missing Midoriya, Tokage, and Tetsutetsu in the process before reeling back in, which could only mean one thing.

“Oh man. Asui’s in there too?”

“I told you to call me Tsu, ribbit.”

“Hope you had your fun between the chicks, you bastard, cause you’re going to pay with those ten million points in full!” Mineta cried out in jealousy over Izuku’s position. Both he and Asui proceed to attack again, with the former tossing more purple balls at his opponents and the latter firing her tongue again.

“Team Mineta’s coming in hot like a tank while making clever use of their quirks!”

“Oh crap!”

“I got it!” the glue giant responded as he formed a glue wall towards the assaulting team, effectively stopping both the balls and tongue.

“And Team Midoriya counters the assault thanks to Bondo’s Plamo Powers!”

“Dammit! He’s thought of everything!” Mineta gritted his teeth.

Asui follows along with the sentiment as she uses her gym jacket to clean off the excess glue coating her appendage. “Ugh! And I got glue all over my tongue. I'd better wipe this off before I accidentally digest it.”

At that same moment, Tokage unties the last knot in Bondo’s left shoe while returning her pieces to her main body, “All done. We’re free to go now, guys!”

Midoriya nods to the announcement, “Right! Let’s get out of here!”

Uraraka activates her quirk on the team, prompting Bondo to jump away with one less shoe. The brunette notes, “That was too close. Sorry, we had to get rid of your shoe, Bondo.”

“I-It’s alright. I packed plenty in my locker for times like these. My Cemedine quirk is good at messing up clothes, so it’s nice to have some spares.”

The girl sighs in relief that the giant 1-B student came prepared. Suddenly, some explosions grab her attention. “Uh oh. We got company.”

All four turn to witness Bakugo propelling himself in the air.

“Oh crap! Kacchan!”

“Don’t think you’re safe from me, DEKU! YOU’RE MINE!”

“I don’t believe it! Bakugo jumped off his horses! Is that even allowed?”

“It is, Mic. As long as he doesn’t touch the ground, Bakugo’s team is still in the game.”

“Bondo!” Tokage shouts, prompting the glue giant to shoot glue at the explosive teen. The cemedine colossus produced so much of the substance that it not only stopped Bakugo’s explosions but also coated him from the waist up.

“What the hell is this crap?! Get it offa me!” Bakugo shouted as a stream of tape caught him before reeling him onto his teammates, who consisted of Kirishima on the front, Ashido on his right, and a dark-haired teen with tape dispensers for elbows on the left. Fortunately, the glue hardened before the tape teen caught him, so it didn’t transfer into his clothes.

“Woah! Nice catch, Sero! Too bad we have to clean off that junk from our leader now.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Can you give us a hand here, Ashido?”

“Sure can. I’ll melt this stuff off in a jiffy.”

However, before the pink girl could activate her quirk, Bakugo grunted with all of his might before using his explosions to liberate himself from the artificial glue shell. He then climbs back on top before shouting, “After them! That gluified golem isn’t going to get away with this!”

“That was too close. Are you alright, Bondo? You’re starting to slow down here.” Midoriya asks his teammate as they land back onto the ground.

“I-I’m fine, Midoriya. J-Just a bit spooked by that Bakugo person, that’s all.”

“Are you sure it’s not because you’re carrying all three of us?” Uraraka chimed in, “You can put Tokage and me down if you want to.”

“No! Don’t worry! I’m fine! I made a promise to carry all three of you at the start, and I’m going to keep it!”

-Flashback-

Back during the team setups, Tokage introduced Midoriya and Uraraka to her classmate, Kojiro Bondo. She proceeded to explain how his quirk works, which was that he can fire a liquid, glue-like substance from his face. That said, Midoriya did have a question.

“Okay. I can see why you picked him. So, how are we going to set up the horse formation? Bondo’s super tall and perfectly fits at the front, but that will limit the visibility of both you and Uraraka.”

“Good point. We could have him lean forward or even squat, though that will limit his mobility.” Tokage added.

“What if we just grab onto his legs?” Uraraka pondered, “That way, we can let Bondo move freely without limiting our sights.”

“Bondo’s not that tall. Besides, don’t you need both of your hands to use Zero Gravity effectively? You might accidentally make him weightless if you wrap your arms around him.”

“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot.”

Then, Bondo chimes in, “H-Hey guys. I may have an idea that could work.”

All three turn to the giant of 1-B, “Hmm… What’s your idea, Bondo?”

“Well, what if I carry all three of you on my back? That way, my height won’t get in the way, and you three can use your quirks as much as you like.”

“Uhh… That sounds like a good idea, but wouldn’t that tire you out? We don’t know if your back has enough room for two of us, let alone everyone here. You might even need to hold someone in your arms.”

“Yes. I’m sure. My quirk, Cemedine, allows me to shoot glue from the orifices on my face. However, I am not limited to one type. I have complete control over its viscosity, tensile strength, and even the curing rate. But the substance only comes out from my face and not my arms, legs, or any other body part. If I have to use both of my arms to carry you guys, that won’t be a problem for me.”

“Wow. Okay, then. If you insist. Thanks for the idea, Bondo.”

“Uh, thanks, I’m… happy to help, that’s all.” Bondo nervously replied before thinking, ‘I suppose it was a good idea to follow Tokage after all.’

-Back to the Present-

“Woah. Is he always like this?” Midoriya wondered.

“Not really. I’ve never seen Bondo this determined before.” Tokage noted as she grew impressed by the guy’s level of bravery. ‘Is it possible Midoriya is rubbing off on him? Well, regardless, we made it to halftime with our initial score, so that’s a good sign. Just need to keep this up and first place should be all ours.’

“As expected, everyone’s still after the first-place team and giving them no time to breathe. What a show! Now that it’s half-time, let’s take a look at the scoreboard of all of the teams so far.”

A projector shows the current scores on screen, only for the entire audience to grow flabbergasted at what they’re witnessing. As it currently stood, Midoriya’s team was in first place, followed by Monoma, Tetsutetsu, Kendo, Todoroki, and Rin, with everyone else having a score of zero.

“That’s weird. Other than Midoriya’s team, Class 1-A isn’t doing so hot. What’s going on here? Even Team Bakugo has it rough!”

Meanwhile, Monoma twirls another headband as his group waltzes away from their last target, Team Bakugo. “Your class is too small-minded. You should consider thinking bigger.”

“No way! He got our headband!” Ashido shrieked as Bakugo turned to the 1-B team, “What did you say?! Get back here!”

“Sorry. That’s not going to happen. Midnight said the obstacle course was only the first game, and we had a feeling they wouldn’t cut all of us right off the bat. So, assuming at least 40 contestants survive for the next event, all we had to do was hold back until we had our opportunity to shine. Not to mention, since we had a few members make the middle ranks, we were easily able to study your patterns while 1-A pursued the top. You’ve made a grave mistake going for first place in the preliminary rounds. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

Bakugo grits his teeth even harder as he utters, “You planned this as a class this whole time?”

“Not all of us. Though I’d say the ones that did got the job well done.”

An unnamed brunette underneath him whispers, “Hey, quit stalling. They’re coming for us.”

“Patience, Kaibara. We’ll get there. After all, what else can I say but that this is the same guy who was kidnapped by the sludge monster two years ago? You’ll have to tell me more about it. Being a damsel must be quite terrifying for the likes of you. Oh well, maybe some other time. Ta ta.”

Monoma’s team finally leaves, with half of them muttering how their leader shouldn’t waste his time monologing his opponents.

“Kirishima. New plan. Forget Deku. Let’s kill these 1-B idiots first. Then we’ll go after the rest of them.” Bakugo demonically mutters before setting his sights on the 1-B blonde. The aura grew so dark that all three teammates halted in their tracks. However, their leader despised this behavior and shouted, “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GET THEM!”, prompting them all to charge.

Back at Midoriya’s location, “Holy, whoa. Class 1-B had a long-term strategy that involved the last round. That would leave a lasting impression with the audience.” He then recalls two of his teammates, “Did you and Bondo know about this?”

“Ack!” Tokage snarled at the accusation while crossing her arms in an X formation, “For your information, I never agreed to anything Monoma said! I may have spied on a few of you guys, but only to make sure your classmates don’t end up harming my own!”

“Oh. That makes sense. Sorry if what I said sounded a bit insensitive.”

Tokage huffed as she calmed down, “It’s fine. He’s been giving us trouble since day one anyway. He got Bakugo’s attention alongside some other guys from my class; we can use that to our advantage. At this rate, they won’t come for our headband for the rest of the match. We can rest a bit easier now.”

“Yeah. That makes sense. It’s never a good idea to provoke him, especially in a competition.” Midoriya responded as he huffed a visible sigh.

Then, Team Todoroki pops in front of them, their leader glaring icicles at the male greenete.

“Oh great. Look who finally decided to show up.” Tokage groaned, “Get ready, guys.”

The other three nod as Present Mic continues to announce the halftime reports, with Todoroki preparing his right hand to make a move.

“I’ll be taking that headband, now,” Todoroki announces.

“Geez. What’s his beef with you, Midoriya? Did you kill his dog or something?”

“No. Todoroki declared war on me this morning. Keep your guards up. We’ll jump away at my signal.”

“Now, Iida. Charge.” Todoroki declared.

“Yes, sir!” Iida activates his quirk as the boosters from his calves ignite into a roaring orange.

Midoriya stares intensely at the team before him, alongside at least 4 other teams at their flanks. Then, Yaoyorozu created a massive blanket from her bare midsection that Todoroki grabbed to shield the group, followed by a grounding wire she planted into the ground with her right arm. Their last teammate, Kaminari, glowed yellow with sparks all over his body as he chanted, “Indiscriminate shock! 1.3 million volts!”

“Jump!”

Bondo bounced as high as he could thanks to Uraraka’s assistance. All of the groups who were woefully unprepared remained stunned at their location, some of them even cursing at the electric user.

“Not this time!” Todoroki shouts as he covers the grounding wire in ice, which spreads to the four teams. “That should keep them busy. Let’s move.”

“Look at that, folks! He stopped all four of those teams cold in their tracks!”

“Yes. But only after Kaminari immobilized the students with his electricity. He’s adapting since the last round.”

“Nice commentary, mummy man!”

“That said. Only one team managed to adapt in time.” Aizawa added as he observed Midoriya’s team still in the air. They were using Bondo’s quirk to thrust themselves away from Todoroki as well as parry their attacks.

“This is bad, Deku! Iida’s too fast for Bondo to target with his quirk. And we can’t touch the ground, or else Kaminari will shock us into submission. This is a terrible matchup.”

Tokage intervenes with her thoughts, “I don’t think that’s the best way to put it, Uraraka.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Kaminari isn’t the one we should be worried about. Yaomomo is. The only reason we’re still in the air is because she hasn’t created anything to pull us back down. If we get too close to Todoroki’s group, she might produce a cable to drag us out of the air or worse. Unless another team intervenes, staying far away and in the air is all we can do. Assuming Bondo doesn’t start having problems from overusing his quirk.”

She then looks at the goliath below her, whose face is starting to grow pale. ‘Hang on a little longer, big guy. Just five more minutes to go.’

Suddenly, Bondo stops floating, bringing Tokage out of her thoughts. ‘Huh? Why are we stopping all of a sudden?’

“Uh oh. Team Midoriya is cornered!”

Tokage turns around, noticing they were inches away from clearing the border, “Shit! So much for running away! And Bondo is starting to tucker out here.” Midoriya looks at Bondo’s face and freaks out upon noticing how dry his face has become, ‘Oh no. His face is cracking up. That must be a side effect of overusing his quirk. So much for relying on glue propulsion.’

She turns to the boy, “So what do you say? Another jump?”

“Yeah. We’ll need to be careful with where Bondo jumps exactly. Todoroki used his ice to wall off our flanks so we can’t run away from him again. Our only hope is to hurdle over Todoroki’s team until time runs out. If possible, let’s stay in the air for as long as we can in case Kaminari tries something.”

Tokage silently nodded to the idea. They proceed to leap over Todoroki’s team over and over again. Every time Iida charged at them, Bondo evaded the entire group. It was starting to annoy the half-and-half user more, especially given they had about one minute left on the clock.

‘He keeps jumping over me, no matter how many times we close in on him. Dammit! At this rate, he’ll secure first place again. I can’t let that happen.’

“Todoroki, I have an idea. I’m going to do something that will render me immobile for the rest of the game, but it’ll secure our win for sure.”

“What’s the plan, Iida? What are you going to do?”

“Just sit tight. Get that headband and I’ll handle the rest.” Iida announces as he fires all of his engines even hotter than before. “Torque OVER! RECIPROBURST!” He rockets his entire team at a blinding speed. Midoriya’s group was helpless as Todoroki sped past him and swiped the headband clean off his forehead.

“What just happened? That was one helluva blur from Team Todoroki! And they secured the 10 million points! Holy smokes!”

“What the hell?! Where did that speed come from?!” Tokage exclaimed as she reattached her head after dodging the assault. She turns to Midoriya, who was equally shocked, “Did you know he could do that?”

“No, I’ve never seen Iida use that move before. He must’ve developed it while we were training for the Sports Festival in secret. I knew Iida was determined to win and take our headband, but this is taking things to another level.”

“What an upset! Todoroki’s team is now in first place, and Midoriya’s doesn’t have diddly-squat!”

“After them!” Midoriya shouted before Tokage interrupted, “Wait! That won’t work!”

“Huh? What do you mean? We have to get our points back!”

“I know! But we didn’t plan how to recollect our points against someone faster than us. Besides, there’s no way Todoroki is keeping the 10 million points without hiding them.”

Midoriya comes to his senses, realizing that she was right. He knew hiding the values of the headbands was a valid strategy as long as they remained from the neck up.

Uraraka chimes in, “Then let’s grab as many headbands as we can carry! Surely one of them is our old headband!”

“No way! That’s too risky! Todoroki will freeze us if we get too close!” Tokage adds in, now biting her nails. She tried super hard to come up with a new strategy, but all she could come up with were blanks. ‘C’mon, Tokage. Think. Think. Think. What are we gonna do?’

During that time, Midoriya noticed something. ‘That’s odd. Why are his legs smoking? Is this a side effect of using Recipro Burst? It doesn’t seem like he can do it more than once in that condition. Wait! That’s it!’

“Guys! I have an idea!” Both girls and Bondo turn to Midoriya, who now has a more serious look on his face, “We still have a chance to take the headband back! But I need everyone’s help here to pull it off!”

“You can’t be serious! What if Iida runs off again? Heck! What if one of the other guys immobilizes us? Unless we skedaddle and grab points from another team, we’re done for!”

“No, he won’t!” Midoriya declared, shocking Tokage

“What do you mean he won’t?”

“Look over there,” The One For All user points towards Team Todoroki, specifically Iida, “I don’t know how Iida acquired this new move to make himself faster than usual, but it’s not something he can do repeatedly, given the smoke sputtering from his legs. Kaminari and Yaoyorozu aren’t doing so hot either; they’re losing focus after using their quirks for so long. The only one who still poses a potential threat to us is Todoroki, but as long as we stay on his left side and grab the correct headband, we can take back the 10 million without them pursuing us again.”

Uraraka grew determined at this, “Right. Let’s get the points back, Deku! I know we can do it!” This bewilders Tokage as she asks, “Do you even know if Midoriya’s plan is going to work?”

“Yes! I believe in Deku! He never gives up, no matter how bad the odds are! If he has a way for us to secure first place, then I’m going to help him no matter what!”

The female greenette’s eyes remained wide upon hearing this, before shifting to Bondo when he spoke, “I think we should go with Midoriya’s plan. He hasn’t failed us yet, and I don’t want to disappoint him now after all the progress we've made! I’m ready when you are, sir!”

Tokage took a deep breath, knowing that she was the only one left to agree to the idea. “Alright. What’s the plan?”

“We’ll charge at Todoroki, but keep their focus on me. Tokage, split off both of your eyes and hands, and search for the headband within the pile. Bondo, if any of the teammates try anything, shoot them with as much glue as you can. Once I’m close enough, Tokage will swipe back the 10 million points, then we’ll make a run for it with Uraraka’s Zero Gravity. How does that sound?”

Tokage nods to the idea, deciding that the gambit may be their last chance to pass. “I can work with that. Though, how are you going to distract Todoroki for long enough?”

“Leave that to me,” Midoriya announces as his right arm starts glowing with red streaks and green sparks. “He put all of his focus into taking me down. Let’s use that against him.”

All three nod to the idea as Uraraka shouts, “Charge! Let’s get our points back!”

They close in on Todoroki’s team, surprising all four of them with their final gambit. Like he planned, Midoriya forced all of the teammates to focus on him by activating One For All while Tokage’s pieces snuck around undetected. Once he was close enough to the half-and-half student, Todoroki instinctively activated the flames on his left side. Midoriya took notice and swiped his hand at Todoroki’s neck, snuffing them out in seconds.

‘What is he doing? And why am I using his side?’

“Tokage! Now!”

Then, from behind Todoroki, the splitting greenette yanks the headband marked for 10 million points as she floats her pieces back to her main body. “Got it! Let’s get outta here!”

Upon hearing this, Bondo makes a mad dash away from the enemy team as Todoroki asks, “They did all of that for a headband? Unbelievable.”

“Todoroki! We've got a problem!”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Yaoyorozu?”

The pony-tailed girl slowly turns to her partner on top, “Our ten million points… It’s gone. They took it back!”

Todoroki checks all of the headbands around his neck, noticing the most valuable one is now missing. He then shifts to team Midoriya, who is now reattaching his headband around his neck and then focusing his attention on Tokage, “Now I get it. He never planned to take the headband back by himself. He was creating a diversion and let Tokage handle the rest. Dammit. I was so focused on him, I forgot about how dangerous her quirk is in this situation.”

“What a recovery from 1-A! While Team Bakugo stole their points back from Team Monoma, Team Midoriya is back in the lead with their ten million!”

“That was awesome! I never knew you were such a strategist, Midoriya! Major props!”

“Thanks. I just hope our efforts are enough so nobody else comes after us.”

Suddenly, Bondo falls forward and lands on one knee, shocking the trio above him.

“Oh my gosh! Bondo!”

“I’m okay…” The yellow giant wheezed, “I’m okay… Don’t worry about me.”

“Hold on a little longer! We’re almost done!” Midoriya begged, not wanting his teammate to faint early.

“G-Guys! Bakugo’s coming back around,” Uraraka utters as she notices Bakugo fly up in the air once again. He propels himself towards Midoriya, exclaiming, “Deku! This isn’t over! That 10 million is mine!”

“Uh oh! Bakugo’s not done yet! Only ten seconds are left, and he still has his eyes peeled for first place!”

‘Oh no! What do I do now? Bondo is too tired to move.’ Midoriya gawks at Bakugo before looking at his shaking fist, ‘I have no choice! I need to use One For All and shoot him away!’ He raises his fist towards the blonde as he cocks his middle finger back, letting the power flow within the appendage, then it hits him. ‘Wait! He’s too far away! I’ll have to use my full power to reach him. But what if I hurt him too much with the blast? What if I hit one of the spectators instead, or even the ice behind him? No. I gotta focus. It’s now or never!’

“You’re dead!” Bakugo shouts as he inches closer to the green team. Everyone sweats bullets over the explosive teen’s tenacity. And then,

“Time’s up!”

The explosive teen stops dead in his tracks as he falls face-first into the ground.

“And with that, folks, the second round has come to an end!”

The three members of Team Midoriya slide off Bondo, with the latter getting on all fours. Uraraka turns to her giant teammate, “Bondo! Are you okay?”

The bulky student wheezes, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit winded, that’s all.”

Meanwhile, both greenettes slouch in unison while huffing visible puffs of air, “That was too close. I thought I was a goner.”

“Yeah. No kidding. I think I had enough close encounters with that bomber guy for one day.”

Over where Bakugo flopped, his teammates rushed over to him. “Bakugo! You okay there, man?”

The platinum-blonde grumbled super loud while slamming one of his fists into the dirt repeatedly. Thanks to witnessing the scene firsthand, Sero quipped, “I’ll take that as a no.”

In Todoroki’s team, the leader got off his teammates, muttering, “Damn it. He beat me to the punch again.”

“Now, let’s take a look at who our top four teams are!”

“In first place, we got Team Midoriya!”

“Hell yeah! We’re in, guys!” Setsuna cheered while pumping both of her fists next to Midoriya. She turns to the boy and raises one of her hands for a high five, “Up top!” but immediately stops as she notices Midoriya’s head facing the ground, “Greenie? Are you okay?”

The boy slowly grins as wide as possible while turning to the girl, “Tokage…”

He rapidly wraps his arms around her with tears of joy sprouting from his eyes, “THANK YOU! WE WON FIRST PLACE BECAUSE OF YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!”

Tokage tries to maintain her cool over the fact that Midoriya was embracing her like he hadn’t seen her in years. “Uhh… Yeah… Thanks… It was… It was…” But it was slowly failing as her face glowed red, her hair flew in every direction, and steam erupted from her ears as she thought, ‘OHHHH MYYYY GOOOOOOOOD! He’s as hard as a rock under those clothes! Why didn’t anyone tell me he’s ripped?’

“Uhh- should we join them?” Uraraka asks from nearby, heavily blushing over Midoriya hugging another girl in front of her.

“Give me a minute. My head’s still spinning.” Bondo replies as he turns his head up to the green duo, “That’s odd. I've never seen Tokage turn into a rhubarb before.”

“Yeah. Me neither,” Uraraka follows as she stares blankly at the scene, ‘He’s hugging her… Just like that.’

“In second place, it’s Team Todoroki!”

“We ended in second place. I never should’ve underestimated those four.” Yaoyorozu noted, fully ashamed of their hollow victory.

“I apologize. I let everyone down, didn’t I?” Iida gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

“That’s not true. You’re the reason we came so far in the end. That special move of yours worked wonders.”

Kaminari didn’t add anything as he was too busy walking around with both thumbs pointing up and making a face that can only be described as… derpy; Likely a side effect of overusing his electric powers, for sure.

“In third place is Team Bakugo!”

“Oh man. I can’t believe we got all riled up for nothing.” Ashido whined while shaking her hands in discomfort for using her quirk so much.

“True. But at least we’re moving onto the next round, that’s all that matters.” Sero added while smirking.

“I doubt our leader would agree with you, there,” Kirishima notes as he watches Bakugo sit back up. One minute, the guy sat there motionless; the next, “GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” was the only thing that came out of his mouth as all three teammates stepped back.

“Uh- Should we talk to him?” Ashido wonders.

“Hard no, sis!” Sero crosses his arms while adding, “I ain’t touching that guy. Not even with a 39 and a half foot pole.”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

“And in fourth place is Team- what? I don’t believe it! Team Shinso from General Studies scored in the top four! When did they rise back from the dead?”

The scene pans to a slender teenager with messy, violet hair and pale, purple eyes, most likely the leader. He smirked at his accomplishment as he turned to his three teammates, including the pink girl of the Support Course.

Shinso tells them, “Thanks for your help, lads. Later.” And walks away, with two of them confused over what happened, and the pink girl groaning, “Darn it! I didn’t get to show any of my babies to the big shots tuning in! That General Studies guy was bad for publicity!”

“These four valiant teams will advance on to the final round!”

All Might at his stand sighed heavily over everything he witnessed, ‘I don’t know how you did it, young Midoriya, but you managed to score first place again with people not from your class. Good job.’

Meanwhile, during Midoriya’s hug on Tokage, the girl slowly utters, “Hey… uhh… Midoriya?” This caught the boy's attention as he recognized swirls emanating from her eyes. “The hug’s nice and all… but can you put me down, now? It’s kinda embarrassing up here.”

Midoriya sweats heavily while glowing red as he puts the girl down while bowing repeatedly, “OH MY GOSH! I’M SO SORRY, TOKAGE! I DIDN’T MEAN TO GET INTO YOUR SPACE LIKE THAT!”

Tokage took notice of this, waved back to him, and said, “Erm… Don’t worry about it! It’s all good! You were emotional back there! I get it!” She then rotated her body away from Midoriya while rubbing one of her arms and blushing slightly, ‘What the heck has gotten into me? He hugged me one time, and my heart is already going wild… I mean, I like it, but still…’

Midoriya blushed like crazy as he stared back at Setsuna, who was currently facing away from him. Given that she was in a gym uniform, he got a front row seat to witness more of the girl’s curves. He blushed redder than ever, trying hard not to think about how good she looked in gym clothes. Fortunately, no one noticed, even after the girl turned back to the fellow Greenette.

“There you are.” Both teens witnessed Iida marching over to them, “Congratulations, you two.”

The green-haired girl was sucked out of her thoughts as she looked up at the speedster student, “Hey! Nice to see you made it to the next round, Iida. You really kept us on our toes back there.”

“I must thank you for your praises, Tokage. Though I cannot say I contributed much. I only hoped that I’d assist Todoroki in any way I could manage. That said, I’m quite surprised you teamed up with Midoriya as opposed to your classmates. What was your reasoning behind it?”

Midoriya noticed Tokage didn’t respond right away, so he chimed in with his answer, “Tokage wants Class A and B to work together more. We thought that teaming up this round would be a good way to demonstrate that it’s possible.”

Tokage added, “Erm, yeah. That’s right! Didn’t want the rest of your class thinking 1-B was loaded with haters.”

“I see. That was quite the bold decision you two made. And I wholeheartedly agree. Given the rising tensions, this may be just what we need to quell this unheroic behavior. We should do this more often as upcoming Pros.”

“I know, right?!” Uraraka popped in next to her green teammates, “Deku and Tokage got along so well in the last round! We need to get more people on this!”

“Speaking my language there, sis!” Tokage agrees as she leans onto Midoriya. The latter blushed at the action, but let it slide, treating it as payback for the hug.

“Okay, everyone! Let’s take an hour off for lunch break before we start the afternoon activities! See ya!”

Mic then turns to Eraserhead as he’s getting off the air, “Hey, Eraserhead. Let’s go grab some grub.”

“Hard pass. I’m taking another nap.”

“Oh no, you don’t! You’re not getting off that easy! Come here!”

“What! Hey! Put me down, Mic! I’m still-”

Back at Tetsutetsu’s team, everyone was suddenly down in the dumps. “What the hell just happened? We were in third place a minute ago, and we dropped to zero points out of nowhere.”

Shiozaki muttered, “Perhaps it was karmic punishment for taking the little one’s headband. I’m so ashamed of deceiving him.”

“Damn it all! Give us a redo!”

Most of the contestants continued to huff in defeat as they foiled each other in the second round.

“C’mon, guys! Let’s feast!” Uraraka cheered, wanting to fill up,

“That’s probably not a good idea, Uraraka. We’re all in the finals, remember?” Tokage grinned.

Iida threw in his two cents. “She’s right, you know. It’s important to maintain a balanced meal when we have so many tasks ahead of us in today’s tournament.”

“Awww…”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, guys,” Izuku added, “Lunch Rush’s food is filling, no matter how much we eat!”

Something then dawned on him, “Oh yeah! Tokage! You want to join us for lunch?”

“Sure! I've got to get Bondo over to the Nurse’s office, first, though!” Tokage answers as she wraps one of the glue guy’s arms over her shoulder.

“We’ll come with you!” Uraraka responded as she grabbed the other arm.

“Huh? You don’t need to worry about him, Uraraka. You need to spend some time with your friends.”

“True, but Bondo’s my friend too, and he helped out so much in the last game.”

“She has a good point.” Both pan to Iida as he casually hand-chopped the air, “Bondo was quite the formidable player in the former round. I doubt anyone else carried their team more so than he did. It’s only fair we assist your classmate on the way to the Nurse’s Office together.”

Bondo blushed a bit over the praise he’s getting despite the paleness on his face. Tokage, though surprised as she was, also grinned at her 1-A friends’ generosity, “Alright. You guys can tag along, too. It can’t be helped, I guess.”

All four students proceed to escort Bondo over to Recovery Girl to make sure he isn’t experiencing anything too life-threatening.

As for Todoroki, he stared at Midoriya for a bit before looking at his raised left hand and slowly making a fist, ‘I swore I’d never use his side to attack. Yet, he managed to overwhelm me and make it happen. I need to have a word with him.’

To be continued…

Chapter 7: Begin the Finals

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

-UA Main Campus-

Everyone proceeded to exit the stadium upon Present Mic announcing the break. Midoriya, Tokage, Iida, Uraraka, and Bondo moved into small talk to pass the time as they walked to the cafeteria. However, they needed to escort Bondo over to Recovery Girl first after the last round; he was holding up well, though, so to be safe, Iida and Midoriya offered to carry Bondo over their shoulders. They then dropped him off to be examined by Recovery Girl and even offered to stay until he was feeling better; however, the elderly nurse insisted they eat up since they’ll be participating in the finals. Fortunately, the yellow giant of 1-B was only dehydrated and needed to consume electrolytes to reduce his headache. She healed his face cracks with her Quirk, so he was out of the clinic the next minute and left the group shortly thereafter. The quartet was now wandering in the cafeteria, each carrying a plate of their favorite meal: Beef Stew, Katsudon, a mochi platter, and Shrimp Tempura with udon.

“So, do you think Bondo is going to be okay on his own?”

“He’ll be fine, Uraraka. You heard Recovery Girl’s report on him. Bondo will recover as long as he hydrates. Besides, he mentioned earlier he wanted to call his family during the downtime, so it’s best we give him some space.”

“Makes sense. All of our families are watching today’s event. I’m sure they’re proud of him for making it to the finals.” Iida noted, balancing his meal with one hand while caressing his chin with the other.

“Yeah. Totally. I know my mother certainly is, though I have a feeling she may have passed out a few times from all the close calls I had.”

“Oh yeah… Like that time you flew over everyone in the mine field. That was intense, coming from you, Greenie.”

All four remained in silence for a bit before Midoriya spoke, “So, where are we headed, Tokage?”

“We’re going to find a spot with some of my classmates. You introduced me to a couple of your friends in 1-A; it’s only fair I return the favor with you guys. You don’t mind, right?”

Iida responded first, “Not at all. This will be an excellent opportunity to bond with fellow heroes in training. I’m certain they could use the interaction after so much competition came into play.”

Tokage noticed Tetsutetsu at one of the tables, eating a pasta dish with lots of meat and spinach. The only other person at the table was another girl with blue eyes, a neutral expression, and a black bob cut, eating a plate of what appeared to be a Pizza Margherita with extra tomatoes. The female greenette reached out to them.

“Yo, Tetsutetsu! It’s good to see you, man!”

The steely boy looked up in excitement, “Oh, hey Tokage! What’s…” his demeanor immediately shifted upon seeing the 1-A students as he uttered with a shadow covering his upper face, “...up…”

Uraraka and Midoriya shivered at the last part while Tokage eyerolled over her friend’s resistance. She decided to take the lead before things got too serious.

“Not much. Just wanted to introduce my new friends to you guys.”

The girl at the table perked up upon hearing the offer, “Mhm?”

Uraraka, wanting to meet new people, opted to sit across the girl to start things off,

“Hi! Uh… my name’s Ochako Uraraka. It’s nice to meet you!”

Iida smiled as he sat next to Uraraka, awaiting a response from the other girl. Meanwhile, Tokage and Midoriya sat closer to Tetsutetsu, who couldn’t tell if the latter was fuming or embarrassed.

“Mm… Yui Kodai,” The girl responded with a straight face. The brunette was a bit put off by the blunt response and turned to Tokage, “Uhh… Is she okay?”

“Don’t worry. Kodai’s always been quiet. She’s actually happy to meet you. Just keep talking to her.”

Uraraka was having trouble continuing the conversation. Sure, she was used to talking to shy people like Deku back in Junior High, but uber-quiet people were a challenge she was not used to. Seeing the trouble the brunette was having, Midoriya decided to help out. “So, what’s your quirk, Kodai?”

“Mm?” The girl wondered at the unique, but then swiftly answered, “Size.”

“What does it do?”

Kodai grabs a nearby fork and places it in the palm of her hand; it then glows a pinkish hue before enlarging to three times its size. All 3 1-A students gazed in awe over the move, with Uraraka adding, “Whoa. That’s amazing! Can you do that with anything?”

“Mhm… but only nonliving things.”

“Can you make them smaller, too?”

“Mhm,” Yui replied as she shrank the fork down to half its original size.

“So cool! How do you change it back to normal?”

“Like this…” She pressed her fingertips together and chanted, “Release.”

The fork then returned to its original size, but what stood out to Uraraka the most was the method behind it: “You press your fingers together to turn off your Quirk?”

“Mm?” Kodai was curious about what she meant by it.

“My Quirk works the same way, too! Check this out!” Uraraka answers cheerfully as she presses all five fingers onto the fork, making it float in midair.

“Yeah, and release!” The brunette pressed her fingers together like Kodai did earlier. Upon release, Kodai watched the fork come tumbling down back onto the table. “Mm… Interesting.”

Iida was not too pleased about the scene before him, so he exclaimed while hand-chopping, “Uraraka! Kodai! We came here to dine for the final round! Stop playing with your Quirks, this instant!”

Midoriya, Tokage, and Uraraka chuckled at Iida’s method of maintaining order, with Kodai giving a slight smile on her neutral face. Tetsutetsu, meanwhile, was baffled at the scene before him. He already despised 1-A thanks to Bakugo and Todoroki, yet here he was witnessing three of their members casually chatting with his classmates. He thought to himself, ‘What the heck is going on? Class 1-A is full of jerks. I saw it myself. Why are they acting so friendly?’

He stared at Midoriya, who was currently chatting with Tokage, ‘Is this an act?’ The longer he stared at the Greenettes, the harder he gripped the fork he used for eating. ‘Is it possible I misjudged these guys?’

Tetsutetsu didn’t like 1-A at the moment, but he didn’t desire to spend the day stewing in hatred. If Tokage and Kodai can get along with the sister Hero Course, then so can he. However, before the steelified student could say a word, another familiar voice arrived.

“Midoriya.”

Everyone turned to witness Todoroki stationed nearby Midoriya, again. The male greenette spoke first.

“Oh hey, Todoroki. Do you need something?”

“We need to talk.”

“If that’s all you need, you’re more than welcome to join us.” Iida chimed in, wanting to maintain friendly relations.

“Save it, Iida. I’m not here to make friends with anyone. What I need to discuss with Midoriya has nothing to do with you or anyone else here in that manner. This is private.” Todoroki leaned in on his former teammate.

Iida wanted to interject, but Tetsutetsu beat him to the punch as he rose from his seat to confront Todoroki. “Hold it right there, you jerk! We just got out of two rounds of today’s event, and some of us need to rest for the final match. And you have the nerve to yank your classmate out on a whim? What’s your problem, huh?”

“Calm yourself, Tetsutetsu. We mustn’t cause trouble during the break.” Iida brought up.

“He’s right.” Uraraka tried to chime in. “Todoroki’s in the finals. We can’t risk a fight and get disqualified.” The steely student only growled as he placed himself between Midoriya and Todoroki. The students shivered in response, or at least Uraraka did.

“My problem?” Todoroki answered more irritated than usual, “I need to discuss something with Midoriya, and here you are trying to defend him just because you don’t want me around.”

“Why shouldn’t I? You’ve been nothing but a jerk ever since the start of the Sports Festival. At least these guys here have manners and are trying to make up for yours and that explosive guy’s sorry ass! What? Did one of your parents freeze off part of your head as a child?”

That last line triggered Todoroki to no end as frost started forming on his right side, “What did you say?”

“I said, beat it, snowflake! Stop wasting your time here and go bug someone else! Unless you want a shiner on your good eye, I’d leave if I were you! Cause what you’re doing right now is incredibly unmanly!” Tetsutetsu cracked his knuckles, ready to fight for his new acquaintances.

Iida got up from his seat to separate the two, “Calm down, you two! Hostility is poor form for-” Todoroki ignored his Class Rep’s pleas as he steps closer to the Steel Man, “You’re the one wasting time here. I only wish to speak with Midoriya about something, and I’m well aware that he needs to be in top condition for the next round. Whatever you think I plan to do to him is not going to happen anytime soon. So for the last time. Back off, right now!”

“Enough!” Everyone panned to Midoriya, who stood up and got in between the two students. A thick shadow covered his eyes, and he turned to the heterochromatic teenager without a sound or a twitch, almost as if his body were a machine rather than human. He moved past his surprised classmates before standing face to face with Todoroki, “I’ll go with you. Just leave them alone.”

Both teens proceeded to step into a separate hall, the remaining five and the surrounding students dumbfounded over what had happened. Tetsutetsu tried not to cry as he muttered how manly Midoriya was today. Tokage, meanwhile, clenches both of her fists, her face set in a scowl over the events that occurred.

‘What the hell was I doing? Greenie, Iida, Tetsu confronted Todoroki on their own, and here I am sitting down doing nothing? I’m pathetic.’

Iida took notice of this and consoled her, “Don’t worry about Midoriya. I’m certain whatever Todoroki had to discuss with him won’t last too long.”

Tokage huffs a bit as she looks at the exiting teenagers and then back to the spectacled student, “I hope you’re right, Iida. I hope you’re right.”

Ten minutes later, Midoriya returns to the Cafeteria, a bit horrified over what occurred earlier. He returns to the table, noticing everyone except Uraraka is still present. Tokage was the first to turn to the Greenette, “Oh, there you are, Midoriya. You alright?”

“Yeah. I’m all good.” He answered as he sat back next to Tokage.

“What did Todoroki wish to discuss with you?” Iida wondered as he too turned to his classmate.
Midoriya recalled something from the private conversation,

“Don’t you dare tell anyone else about this. Not Iida, not Tokage, not anyone in our year. You understand? I came only to you for a reason.”

Remembering this tidbit, he opted to fib instead. “He wanted to know how I got my Quirk under control. He recalled that every time I used it, I always broke myself. But during the Cavalry Battle, he witnessed that I didn’t get injured that time.”

“Mm?” Kodai wondered with Tetsutetsu asking, “Break what?” Neither knew what the male Greenette meant by that. Tokage took notice and turned to her classmates, “Oh, Midoriya’s Quirk makes him stronger but damages his body if he goes above a threshold.”

“Mm…” Kodai nodded, content with the answer.

“Oh. That makes sense,” said the Steel student.

The feminine Greenette had a sense that Midoriya was lying to the group. Then again, she knew firsthand Todoroki's stern behavior, so she decided not to press further on the topic. That said, she was curious about something else, “You know, now that I think about it, I do recall your arm glowing red before when confronting Todoroki, but you didn’t break anything that time. What gives?”

“Well… If I had to put it best…” Midoriya noted as he closed his left hand. “I reminded myself that I was using my power on another person, so I guess my body subconsciously lowered the output to avoid killing anyone. I’ve done it a few times before, but not enough to make it a habit.”

“I see…” Tokage noted.

Midoriya then turned to his left, noticing one student still missing from the table, “Wait a minute. Where did Uraraka go?”

Iida answered. “Yaoyorozu and Jiro arrived earlier. They spoke about something the first-year girls needed to do during the intermission.”

“Mm?” Kodai tilted her head in confusion.

“Intermission?” Tokage jumped in, “That’s the first time I heard of it. Do you know what it’s about?”

“Not quite. Though I’m certain whatever it was must be highly important.”
Midoriya noticed Tokage and Kodai had baffled looks on their faces, so he asked, “Do you think something’s off?”

“Mm…”

“Definitely. If all the first-year girls were involved, Kendo and I would’ve at least heard about it. Who told Yaomomo, anyway?”

“You do make a good point. She mentioned that the request came from Mr. Aizawa. But as the Class Rep of 1-A, he would’ve at least informed me about it.”

“Crap! We'd better go after them!” Tokage rose from her seat, but Iida intervened before she could go any further.

“I doubt that will be possible, Tokage. Yaoyorozu exited the cafeteria with Jiro a few minutes ago. If they’re gone, then chances are so are the rest of the female students of 1-A. I only hope they don’t get into too much trouble until we head back.” The spectacled student sighed at the last thought before taking another bite of his beef stew. Midoriya followed suit, knowing his Class Rep was right. He decided to kill time by asking Kodai and Tetsutetsu more about their Quirks. He was worried the latter wouldn't answer at first. Fortunately, Tetsutetsu tried to be more talkative this time after watching him confront Todoroki and his cold behavior.

-UA Sports Festival Stadium-

“Welcome back, everyone! Let’s get those foam fingers back in the air! Cause it’s almost time for the last round! But before we get into that, I have good news for everyone who didn’t get into the finals. Since this is still a Sports festival, we’ve got some super-fun side games everyone can join in!”

After the lunch break was over, the entire group of first years stepped back into the stadium to continue the festival. Tokage was currently with Tetsutetsu and Midoriya as Iida left to discuss matters with other 1-A students. She turned to her right to witness a group of exchange student girls in skimpy cheerleader outfits.

“Hey, check it out, Tetsu. Cheerleaders.”

Tetsutetsu growled, “I’m not a child, Tokage. You don’t need to hype me up.”

She cooed at her friend, noticing he was blushing a bit, “Ohhhhh… Are you sure? You’re not thinking about another girl in that getup, are you? Perhaps, someone a bit more… orange?”

The steel student shouted, “Shut up!” He wasn’t too delighted getting teased by his friend like that again.

“What is she talking about?” Midoriya grew curious as his eyes stared blankly at Tetsutetsu.

“Ignore her. She’s been pullin’ off this same crap since we were kids.”

“Oh, not much. Tetsutetsu has been crushing on someone in our class since the start of the year.” Tokage cheered while ignoring her classmate, who was turning red and shouting, “Hey!”

Izuku sweated at the answer. The male Greenette then looks past the two 1-B students and notices one thing behind them, or rather, six things. He blushed heavily over the scene and cried, “W-What? What’s going on over there?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Both Tokage and Tetsutesu wondered as they turned towards Midoriya’s direction. Turns out all of the girls from 1-A dressed in the same cheerleader outfits as the guests on the other side. The former’s eyes grew wide over what they were wearing, followed by Tetsutetsu blushing as heavily as Midoriya.

“Hold up. Looks like Class 1-A is going full-on fan-service!”

“Whose idea was this?”

The trio then turned to see Kaminari and Mineta snickering over their accomplishment, with Yaoyorozu exclaiming while super red, “What?! I can’t believe you tricked us! Unbelievable!”

Tokage facepalms over the scene, ‘God dammit, Yaomomo! I get you’re innocent, but this is taking it too far.’

Tetsutetsu blew a blood vessel over the perverted duo’s actions and wanted to storm at the two, but the Greenettes held him down.

“Let me at 'em!”

“No! Stop! You’ll get in trouble!”

“I don’t care! These perverts need to be taught a lesson!”

“And they will, Tetsu! But we can’t confront them like that!”

“Huh? Why not!”

“She has a point.” The steel boy turned to Midoriya, “We need to handle this in a more adult fashion. We’ll tell the teachers about it, and they’ll handle the rest. I know my classmates are causing some trouble, but we can’t stoop to their level. We have to be better than this.”

Tetsutetsu was astounded by the boy’s words as he stopped resisting. Tokage followed with her thoughts, “He’s right. We’ll report this to Eraserhead and Vlad King. They’ll get their just rewards the right way if we do.”

“F-fine,” Tetsutetsu responded begrudgingly. He didn’t like waiting to commit justice, but trusted the judgment of his green-haired friends regardless.

As soon as everyone stepped foot into the field, a pyramid with 16 descending branches appeared on the big screen.

“Anyways! Have fun with the side games, everyone! After they’re over, the final 16 students of the top four teams will duke it out in a one-on-one fight to the top! Trust me! You don’t wanna miss these matchups!”

“A classic one-on-one battle, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s weird. Last year, all of the contestants duked it out with foam swords. I didn’t expect it to be plainer this time.”

Midnight walks back up to the podium to make the following announcement, carrying a small yellow box with the label ‘Lots’ on the front, “Gather round, everyone! It’s time to draw lots to see who you’re up against. Afterwards, you’re free to enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games until the next event. All 16 participants have the option to join the activities or sit out to prepare for battle. I’m sure you all want to conserve your stamina. Now, I’ll start with the first-place team.” The teacher proceeded to descend the steps until one student raised his hand.

The student in question had short blonde hair, a fairly muscular frame, and small brown eyes. He appeared normal at first glance, until you realized he had a massive tail growing out from the base of his spine. “Excuse me. Sorry, but I would like to withdraw.”

Everyone gasped at the request.

“Ojiro!” Midoriya turned to his classmate, “What are you doing?”

Iida, equally confused, also turned to the tailed student. “This is your chance to get scouted. Why would you drop it all of a sudden?”

Ojiro lowers his right hand as he elaborates, “It’s not right. I barely remember participating in the Cavalry Battle until the very last minute. I… I think it was the Quirk of my team’s rider.”

Midoriya slowly turns to search within the crowd. He then notices a slim male with dishelved purple hair and violet eyes turning to him, ‘Wait. Who did Ojiro team up with? This guy?’ His answer was confirmed as the dude in question slowly looked away.

“I understand this is an excellent opportunity. I wish I could take advantage of it, but my heart won’t allow it.”

“C’mon, man. Think about it. This is your chance to get noticed by more Pros.”

“I have, Midoriya. Everyone gave it their all in the last round, but I barely did anything. It was like I was someone’s puppet the whole time. I can't accept this. There’s no way I’ll advance to the final round if I didn’t put the hard work into it. It would be cowardly.”

Hagakure pleaded to Ojiro not to do this, understanding the stakes. Ashido also pulled her two cents in, aware of how little she contributed to Bakugo’s team, but Ojiro wouldn’t budge. Then, as Iida and Midoriya gawk at the scene before them, someone else steps up.

“Nirengeki Shoda here.” Another student's voice pulls Midoriya out of his thoughts. He immediately recognizes the portly guy as another member of Shinso’s team. “I would also like to withdraw from the finals for the same reason.”

All of the Class 1-B students surrounding him stood in confusion over what he said, yet he continued regardless, “It doesn’t matter how strong I am, this isn’t how I wanted to get into the finals. It goes against the values of the festival to advance without doing anything to earn it.”

“Listen to these guys! They’re so manly!” Kirishima cried out as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Ooh. This just got interesting. I wonder what Midnight will have to say about that.”

Midnight stood there for a moment, eyes staring blankly at the requests before her. Then, she answers, “This kind of talk is incredibly naive, my boys. That turns me on!” Midnight cheers her following answer as he raises her whip in the air like a cheerleader’s pompom. “Shoda! Ojiro! You’re withdrawn!”

Everyone sweated over the answer as they thought the same thing, ‘Seriously? Did she say it turns her on?’ Only the pinkette from Shinso’s team thought otherwise, eyes gleaming over the prospect of new students to test her equipment on.

“Alright then… Let’s see…” Midnight pondered as she stared at the pool of students, “We’ll have to move two students from the fifth-place team. How does that sound, Team Kendo?” Her point was emphasized as she stared at their orange-haired leader, who was currently with her cavalry team consisting of Yanagi, Kodai, and another girl who looked like Uraraka at first glance, but was much shorter than the floating brunette and had heavy bangs in her thick bob cut covering the top half of her face.

“Sorry. I’ll have to turn down the offer.” Kendo spoke up, “We were frozen in place for most of the round. Honestly, we barely did much in the Cavalry Battle. Is that right, Komori?”

She turned to the brown-haired girl in question, “Uh-huh.”

She then peered to her left to ask Yanagi and Kodai the same thing. Both nodded at the idea, fully content with passing the honor to someone else.

“We would like to give that offer to someone who kept fighting the whole time. Therefore, I request that you allow Team Tetsutetsu to advance.”

The steel boy gawked over what he heard, “Kendo! What are you doing? This is your chance to advance.”

“I’m not doing this as a favor. It’s only fair you guys move ahead after everything.”

Tetsutetsu looked like he was about to burst into tears as he locked his eyes tight, “You guys! THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU!”

A minute later, both Midoriya and Tokage watched the team debate over who would advance. In the end, both heard their final answer from Midnight.

“Looks like Tetsu and Shiozaki are moving on, then.”

“Yeah. It's surprising that Kendo would throw away her opportunity to advance to the finals. I hope she doesn’t get mad at her decision.”

“Kendo’s a tough girl. She knows her worth along with the rest of 1-B. Besides, her team got caked in ice while Todoroki’s group hunted us down after half time was announced. I would’ve done the same thing if we were stuck in one spot the whole time.”

“That’s true. Well, I wish them luck in the finals.” Midoriya grinned at the opportunity while Tokage followed the guy’s mannerisms.

“Now that the final contestants are squared away, give a good look at the bracket, my dears. These will be your opponents!”

Eight of the 16 finalists proceed to draw their lots during their chat. Then, the screen projecting the tournament pyramid changes as the blank slots fill into the following brackets.

Match 1: Izuku Midoriya vs Hitoshi Shinso

Match 2: Momo Yaoyorozu vs Setsuna Tokage

Match 3: Shoto Todoroki vs Hanta Sero

Match 4: Ibara Shiozaki vs Denki Kaminari

Match 5: Eijiro Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Match 6: Kojiro Bondo vs Katsuki Bakugo

Match 7: Tenya Iida vs Mina Ashido

Match 8: Ochako Uraraka vs Mei Hatsume

The crowd goes wild over the results, eager to witness the upcoming battles. That said, the reactions of the remaining contestants varied.

For instance, in Match 5, Tetsutetsu and Kirishima yelled simultaneously, “Seriously?! What the crap?!”

In Match 2, Tokage leaned to her opponent, “Well. Better give it your all there, Yaomomo.” The pony-tailed girl responded in tandem with, “Indeed. I ask of you to do the same, Tokage.”

In Match 7, Ashido cheered, “Can’t wait to melt your speedy butt, Iida!” Iida, meanwhile, responded while chopping his hands, “That is highly inappropriate for a high school match!” Nobody told them how common smack talk would be in a tournament.

For Match 6, Bakugo did what he did best socially, “Bondo? Who the hell’s that?” The giant yellow student shrieked over how callous his future opponent's response was.

Midoriya too stared at the lineup, ‘I’m the first one in the bracket. That means I might fight Yaoyorozu or Tokage next. If I survive that, then Todoroki will likely be next. Great. Just my luck. Anyways, I'd better figure out how to handle this Shinso guy.’

In another spot, Todoroki thought the same thing, ‘He could be my third match. You'd better advance, Midoriya. So I can beat you without his help.’

“Izuku Midoriya? That’s you, right?” Midoriya freaked out upon hearing the purple-haired male from behind him. He jumped away as one thought crossed his mind, ‘It’s him!’

“You-you’re from General Studies.”

“A pleasure to meet you. Are you excited?”

“Uh… Y-” Suddenly, before Midoriya could respond, Ojiro wrapped his massive tail around the Greenette’s mouth while Tetsutetsu jumped in front of the two, “Hey! Back off! You tryin’ to start something, you punk!?”

“Heh. Not really. See you in the first round,” Shinso smirked as he turned around to walk away. Once he was gone, the tailed-blonde released his grip on his classmate as the latter turned to face him and the 1-B student, “Ojiro? Tetsutetsu? What’s going on?”

“Don’t say a word to him.”

“That guy’s a total dirtbag! He was going to make you lose early!”

Midoriya was perplexed over what he heard, “What do you mean by that? Can either of you explain?” Both Ojiro and Tetsutetsu looked at each other for a bit before nodding and escorting Midoriya to one of the break rooms inside the stadium. “Come with us.”

In another spot, Tokage searched throughout the crowd. ‘That’s weird. Where did Greenie go?’

Kendo reached out to the girl, “What’s up, Tokage?”

“Have you seen Midoriya anywhere? He was here a few minutes ago.”

“Not really. He probably went back inside to prepare for the matches. Why?”

The Greenette whined as she tugged at her hair, “Ughh… I wanted to play with him in the side games! And now he’s gone!” She then fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Kendo sweated at the answer, “You do realize you’re in the finals too, right? It might be best to conserve your energy and head back inside.”

Tokage only responded with some more groaning and still in pieces, “I get that, but still. Is spending time with him so much to ask?”

“I’m sure he’ll come back soon. If you're going to join us, then at least try to take it easy.”

"Ugh... Fine," Tokage groaned as she pieced herself back together, "But if he comes back, you'd better tell me. Got it?"

Kendo stared blankly as she thought, 'I didn't think you'd be that excited to work with him again.'
The screen then shifts from the pyramid to bold text stating ‘Recreation.’

“Okay, everyone! Now that the matches are lined up, let’s begin the interlude! So before the battles begin, it's time to start some heart-pounding side games!”

Everyone immediately split to do different things. The 1-A girls opted to continue the cheerleader trend, some more enthusiastically than the rest. Others left the stadium for some alone time. Everyone else joined in for a variety of games, starting with a scavenger hunt, followed by a series of ball games.

-Meanwhile, in the Break Room-

The trio arrived at the designated waiting room and settled at one of the tables. Both Ojiro and Tetsutetsu opted to sit across from Midoriya, who looked more confused than anything.

“So… Can either of you explain why we’re here?”

“It’s about Shinso.” Ojiro answered first, “He may not look like much, but he’s more dangerous than you think,” while Tetsutetsu nodded next to him.

“Okay, I get that. I mean, he got this far, so that must mean he has a pretty strong Quirk. I know it’s something to watch out for, but I didn’t think it would put either of you on edge. How dangerous are we talking?”

“Very dangerous. If I had to guess, then I’d say Shinso has a Brainwashing quirk?” Ojiro answered.

“Brainwashing!?” Midoriya exclaimed, goosebumps sprouted all over his body. “You’re not joking, right?”

Tetsutetsu opted to confirm, “We’re not. During break time, I tried to figure out why my team didn’t win the Cavalry Battle. Then it hit me. As it turns out, the guy who passed the second round is is the same one who stole all of our points. One minute, I was yelling back at him for mocking my classmates; the next, POOF! I stopped dead in my tracks, along with everyone else! So you better watch yourself with that guy!”

“Ok, then. I’ll keep that in mind. What was it like to be affected by the Quirk?”

“I’m not sure how best to put it. It didn’t have the usual effects like you would expect from a comic book or a movie. When I got hit, I had no idea what I was doing. I could “feel” what was going on outside in a sense, but that’s about it.” Ojiro admitted.

“Same here. Though my best way of putting it was I felt like I was strapped to a chair. I couldn’t move my arms, my legs, or even my neck. All I could do was stare at whatever screen I was facing while listening to a bunch of warbles. It wasn’t until one of the guys carrying me bumped into me hard enough that I started moving again. So annoying.”

“I see… Physical contact is enough to break free. All that's left is figuring out the trigger. How do you think it activates?”

“My best take would have to be execution. When I got hit, it was after he asked me a question. He may not even need to ask you anything. If we take into account Tetsutetsu’s story, he may only need you to respond to anything he says. Sorry, that’s the best explanation we can offer.”

“No, no, this is alright! So all I need to do is not respond to him, and he should be easy to take down. That should be plenty to work with.” Izuku noted as he brainstorms a plan.

“It better be!” Tetsutetsu declared, “That guy fights dirty! So chances are he’ll spout anything to get under your skin!”

“I understand. Thanks so much, guys.”

Izuku opted to stand up first before turning to Tetsutetsu, “So, are you going to head to the stands? Or do you need the breakroom for your match still?”

Tetsutetsu said nothing as he rose from his seat and slowly walked towards the boy.

Midoriya muttered, “Uh- Is everything all right?” Tetsutetsu gripped his shoulders and shouted, “Kick his ass for us!”

“Huh?”

“You heard me! That guy messed with both of our classes! That means one of us has to go down there and teach him a lesson!”

“He’s right.” Ojiro added as he stood up from his chair and walked next to the 1-B student, “We all worked hard to make it this far in the finals. It wouldn’t be right if we let him get away with it.”

“I mean. I get that. But, Tetsutetsu, he cost you half of your team’s members from advancing to the final. Wouldn’t it make more sense to confront him yourself?”

“Unless we both advance to the final round, I won’t get my chance to rip into him in a fight! I’m fine with that! As long as you take the honor for us, that's good enough for me!” The steel boy exclaimed while slightly tightening his grip on the 1-A boy. Not enough to make Midoriya wince in pain, but enough to feel the difference. “I already misjudged you from two weeks ago, and I deeply regret it! From what Tokage told me about you, you’re way more of a man than I ever gave you credit for! It doesn’t matter if you’re leading the pack or trailing behind; you never gave up despite the odds! That’s why I want you to get out there and show that purple punk how we do it in the Hero Course!”

Midoriya was stunned by Tetsutetsu’s choice of words. Earlier, he wanted nothing to do with anyone from Class 1-A, let alone him. And yet, here he is, cheering him on to win the first match for the sake of their classes. He couldn’t help but feel reminded of Kirishima’s optimism every time someone from 1-A felt down. So, he drew the boy and nodded, “I will! Thanks!”

That was all Tetsutetsu needed to hear as he nodded in return, took his hands off of Izuku, and both students exited the break room to meet with their classes at the stands. This left the Greenette all alone as he sat back down to resolve a plan.

-Some time later-

All of the side games have finished, meaning it was time to start the final event. Midoriya stood near the entrance of the ring, closing his eyes and taking slow breaths before heading out to his next task. Before he could leave though, someone else reached out to him.

“Hey.” Midoriya turned around to witness All Might in his default form, “Sorry, I haven’t said hi before. You’ve been great. You’re getting the hang of One For All!”

“No, not quite. I’m… still worried about using it. I tried imagining the egg in the microwave or how it felt to strike that villain earlier. Yet, despite that, I don’t have full control over the Quirk. It feels too unpredictable, like I might get ripped apart if I let my guard down for even a moment. After so much training, I’m nowhere near ready for 100 percent.”

“Makes sense. If we’re talking about how much of One For All you can control at this point, my best guess is that you’re closer to 5 percent than anything.”

“Just five!? That’s all!?” Midoriya squeaked at the low number. “I guess I have been getting by through dumb luck and friends.”

All Might got irritated at the concept, so he ear-clapped his protégé to knock him out of his guilt. The younger of the two squeaked, “Ack!” at the pain.

“Enough! Stop feelin’ so bad for yourself! Just get out there and do your best, dammit! There’s no such thing as luck in this line of work. You’ll never become the hero you want to be if that’s what you think.”

Midoriya shakes himself off as he looks up to see All Might increasing in size, muscles bulging, and bangs sticking straight back up in the air in the iconic V-format. He was now in his hero form.

“Listen. Whenever you’re scared or nervous about a fight, face it head-on with a proud smile on your face! You’ve come so far, kid! Even if you worry, you must stand tall! Don’t forget that I’m counting on you, and cheering you on! Now, go out there and tell everyone you are here!”

The Greenette smiled at the hero’s resolve, silently thanking him, before turning around to enter the arena.

After the side games ended, the teachers set up the stadium to begin their one-on-one fights. They opted for a massive rectangular concrete field with a smaller platform at the center, signifying the boundaries. Midnight stood at the side to spectate the ongoing fights and was paired with another teacher by the name of Cementoss: a middle-aged man with a prism-shaped head, blocky body features, stone-gray skin, narrow black eyes, a wide mouth, and light gray hair tied into a short ponytail. His costume was a sleeveless brown jumpsuit that reached above the knees, featuring a high collar that covered his neck and yellow stripes on his shoulders and hips. Dull gray boots with yellow soles finished the look. He not only served as a secondary umpire, but also as the one responsible for constructing the ring, thanks to his Quirk allowing him to manipulate cement with a touch.

“That’s it. I’m all done here.” Cementoss announced as he stepped away from the newly created platform.

“Thank you for the assist, Cementoss! Alright, sports fans! Are ya ready?!”

The crowd roars in approval, ready to witness the final event of the day.

“After all the action you’ve witnessed, let’s get the real battles going! From now on, all of our remaining competitors are on their own! After all, sometimes a hero has to go at it alone. Heart. Skill. Strength. Wisdom. Courage. They’ll have to use every skill listed and more to reach the top!”

As soon as Midoriya entered, flames blasted from the four corners of the stadium, with the crowd cheering in excitement.

“Let’s get the finals rolling! Behold our first fighters to enter the ring!”

“On the left, we have the crafty wonder from the Hero Course, Izuku Midoriya! He got out to a fantastic head start to winning the first round and secured first place once again in the Cavalry Battle!”

Midoriya gulped loudly as his eyes analyzed the countless rows of live viewers. After all, he made a good impression in the first two rounds, so he'd better keep up the momentum here. He turned his gaze towards the front. He’d come so far because of a lot of people today, and he isn’t going to let it go to waste anytime soon.

“And on the right, we have the last man standing from General Studies, Hitoshi Shinso! Many people like him didn’t cut it in the Obstacle course, but he held strong the whole way through. Will he be able to topple the reigning champ of today? Let’s find out!”

“The rules are simple. All you gotta do is immobilize your opponent or force them outta the ring! You can also win by getting your opponent to forfeit the duel! Do any of that, and you win the match!”

“I’ll jump in in case anyone tries to do anything funny,” Cementoss added as he forged a cement chair to spectate on the opposite side of Midnight.

“Tch… Forfeit? Not likely.” Shinso smirked as he turned to his green-haired adversary.

“Oh, and one more thing! Don’t do any of that killing crap, got it! It’s bad enough heroes do it in the movies! We don’t need that kind of publicity here! Anyways, enough talk! Without further ado… BEGIN!”

The crowd rose from their seats for the beginning of the final event… only to then witness something odd. Izuku and Hitoshi were standing there, doing nothing. They stared at each other for what felt like minutes, waiting for the other to make a move. Then, the latter spoke up.

“So, you plan to give up? After all, this is a test to see how strong your spirit is. If you know what you want for the future, you'd better not worry about what other people think. What do you say about that? You'd better not drop out of pride like that monkey. He was a fool for throwing away his chance like that.”

Midoriya wanted to speak up, but held his tongue upon remembering something.

“One minute, I was yelling back at him for mocking my classmates; the next, POOF! I stopped dead in my tracks, along with everyone else!”

He covered his mouth with a hand to keep himself from messing things up.

‘That was too close. If I spoke up then, I would’ve been a goner like Ojiro and Tetsutetsu.’

As soon as he was certain Shinso was done talking, he lowered his hand, ready to continue fighting. He marched towards Shinso with both fists tightened and produced a glare sharp enough to cut through steel. The following thought soon crossed the Purplette’s mind, ‘Damn it, so much for an easy win. I should’ve known this would happen. He’s more clever than that monkey and tin man from the last round.‘

He then peered up to the bleachers where Class 1-B was seated, ‘Then again, there is always more than one way to skin a cat.’ Shinso thought as he stared closely at Tokage. He turned his attention back to Midoriya.

“Tch… Who am I kidding? Ever since watching you in the Cavalry Battle, it’s clear that you’re the last guy who would give a rat’s ass about pride. I mean, what kind of hero stoops so low as to reach out to total strangers, and from a class that despises your own? Let’s see here… What were their names again? Tokage and Bondo… am I right?”

‘Huh?’ Midoriya stopped moving and grew confused, ‘Why is he bringing them up?’

“You know, both of them only got in the finals because of your status as a first placer. What, did you take pity on them because of how poorly they’ve done in the first round?”

The Greenette began to grit his teeth, ‘No… you’re wrong…’

“Come on, now. You know it’s true. All of those 1-B punks only got into the final round because of you and the monkey. That splitting shrew is probably aware that if she stayed with her class, she would be stuck up there watching us with the rest of those idiots.”

‘Shut up! Shut up!’ The Greenette felt his blood boiling from underneath. He became certain it was hot enough to rupture from his flesh and burn everything around him, including his opponent’s face.

“I mean, does that bitch have no honor or shame? She’s probably getting called a traitor now by her classmates as we speak. We’re all against each other in the end to become number one, so what’s the point in bringing everyone else up to the top?” Shinso sneered, a wry smile pried open as he peered closer at Midoriya’s eyes, “She’s wasting her damn time on making a fantasy come true. Guess I should’ve lowered my expectations for a coward such as herself.”

Izuku charged at his opponent. One For All activated by instinct as red veins glowed all over his exposed skin while he yelled, “YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW YOU BASTARD!!!” He was about to land a blow on the guy, until-

-WHOOSH!-

…

…

“Wow! Did you see that?”

“Yeah! Where did that speed come from? He cleared half the ring in a few seconds!”

“Since when was Midoriya a speedster like Iida?”

Comments such as those spread throughout the 1-A balcony, along with the rest of the crowd. Shinso thought the same thing, though he didn’t share the same enthusiasm as they did.

“That… was too close.”

Shaky breaths flowed from the Purplette’s mouth as he gazed at Midoriya’s fist an inch away from his nose.

‘Dammit. I warned him.’ Ojiro thought as he witnessed the scene.

“What’s going on?” Tokage wondered, “Why did Midoriya stop all of a sudden?”

A vein appeared on Tetsutetsu’s forehead over what he witnessed, “Hey! Snap out of it! Get rid of that William Afton knock off already!”

“THAT’S INSANE! SHINSO FROZE HIS OPPONENT BEFORE HE COULD LAND A PUNCH! AND WHAT A CLOSE ONE, THAT WAS! I CAN’T IMAGINE THE DAMAGE IF MIDORIYA’S FIST CONNECTED TO HIS SCHNOZZ!”

While Present Mic freaked out over the scene, Aizawa drew some papers on the competing students. Midoriya was one thing; he was impressed that the boy was not relying on his quirk and instead using his wits to get ahead. It reminded him of his younger years back in high school.

Hitoshi Shinso, meanwhile? He was on the same boat, maybe even worse, when it came to the Hero Course. The class was ill-suited to recruit people with non-physical Quirks such as Brainwash. It was a good thing he also applied for General Studies as a backup. Otherwise, his hero dream would never see the light of day. If he had it his way, Eraserhead would’ve taken Shinso under his wing without question.

“Sorry for all the low blows, it’s nothing personal. We are free to fight dirty after all. You were blessed with a powerful quirk any hero would want, while I got stuck with one fitting for a lowly villain. I always wanted to be on the hero track, but had to settle with General Studies after failing the practical. So I’ll do what I must to win.”

‘Dammit! I let my guard down! So much for their warnings! He got what he wanted!’

The indigo-haired teen sighed before approaching his opponent’s ear.

“Now, be a good hero and walk out of bounds.”

Unable to resist the command, Midoriya’s body straightened up, made a 180-degree turn, and slowly marched towards the boundary.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?! Why’s Midoriya waltzing outta the ring?! Eraserhead, who is this kid!?”

“Someone who fell through the cracks. Be it arrogance or irrationality, Hitoshi Shinso is on par with students from the hero course, but had to settle for General Studies as the Practical Exam is only suited for those with physical quirks.” The bandaged hero answered with his mic turned off on purpose.

Midoriya, meanwhile, kept walking straight without hesitation. ‘Crap! They warned me about him, and now I’m going to lose! I’m such an idiot! I gotta snap out of it and fast!’ His mind was in a fog, a misty world, so to speak. He noticed people in the stands from both hero classes yelling at him, but that’s all he could detect.

“No, Deku! What are you doing?”

“He can’t walk out of the ring! He’ll lose the match if that happens!”

“Wake up, already! You can’t give this dirtbag the win!”

“C’mon! Shake it off and get him already!”

‘Come on! Come on!’

He was peering closer to the edge, all of that hard work about to go to waste in an instant.
“Get back in there, kid! You gotta show 'em what you’re made of!”

‘Somebody help! ANYONE!’

In that instant, One For All started flowing into two fingers of his left hand, intriguing everyone in the audience.

“That’s interesting. What do we have here?” Mic wondered the same thing as everyone else. Shinso though the same thing too, though he was more startled than curious.

‘Huh? What's… going on?’ Midoriya asked himself as his vision gazed upon seven hazy figures within the tunnel he had entered. The fingers flowing with potent Quirk slowly cocked back into his palm. Before he could step outside,

FWOOSH!

His fingers sprang back downward, summoning a massive burst of wind from his position.
Everyone else in the field either latched onto a solid object or squatted closer to the ground to avoid getting blown away. Midoriya gasps in pain as he now stands an inch away from the bounds.

“WOW! INCREDIBLE! Midoriya broke himself out of whatever spell Shinso put him under by smashing up his fingers! OOOOHHH!!! That’s gotta hurt!”

The crowd went wild over the insane recovery.

“That’s the way to do it!”

“Whoa. That was too close! I almost freaked out!”

“Hell yeah! He’s free, guys!”

‘Finally, now he can finish the job! But man, that's looks like it hurts like hell. He warned me about the drawback, but this is horrifying to watch.'

Izuku stood there for a moment; the two fingers he used One For All on to break free were now heavily bruised.

‘What just happened? I didn’t use One For All that time. Maybe it was one of those people in the tunnel? Who were they?’

He then slowly turned around to face Shinso once again, gawking at the scene before him.

‘No. That’s impossible. How did he break free?’ Shinso clenched his teeth and fists. His plan backfired again. “That wasn’t supposed to happen! What did you do? Answer me!”

Learning from his mistake, Izuku kept his mouth shut as he turned around, ‘I’ll ask All Might later. Right now, I gotta throw this guy outta here!’

He dashed forward while the brainwashing student stood there perplexed, ‘Crap! If I don’t get him to talk again, it’s over! There’s no way I’m not going down like this!’

“Well. What are you waiting for? I never knew how much power you have in just your fingers. I gotta say, I’m quite jealous. You have to tell me how it works.”

‘I know that feeling too well. I felt that way my whole life with Kacchan.’

“You’re lucky to have a heroic quirk! Reaching your goal should be a piece of cake!”

‘That’s why I’m here!’

Midoriya shoved into the Purplette, pushing him closer to the boundaries as the latter kept talking.

‘That’s why I have to win!’

“Say something, dammit!” Shinso punched as hard as he could into the Greenette’s cheek, enough to force his head to turn and his nose to bleed, but it didn’t deter him. Midoriya kept pushing him closer to the bounds with all of his might. Shinso then jabbed into his left hand, where his fingers were damaged. It was enough to turn the tables as got behind Midoriya to push him closer to the bounds.

“Get out of this ring already!”

But even that desperate act proved futile. Midoriya grabbed Shinso by his jacket and forearm and threw the opponent over his head before slamming him into the ground, knocking out any wind left in Shinso's lungs. By the time the act was finished, the opponent’s feet laid outside the boundary. Midnight took notice as she called out, “Shinso is out of bounds! Midoriya advances to the next round!”

“You heard her, folks! Thanks to that expert overhead throw, we now have our first victor in the finals! Izuku Midoriya from Class 1-A!”

The crowd went wild over the victory as Midoriya wheezed over his accomplishment.

“Ugh, that was nerve-wracking!”

“He turned the tables at the last moment. I expected nothing less from our classmate!”

“Check it out, Bakugo! He pulled that same throw on you before, huh?”

“Shut it, Sparky. That Purple Guy didn’t stand a chance.”

“Well, that was an underwhelming first match, kids. But you both fought bravely, regardless. Show 'em some love, everyone!”

"Hell yeah! That's how it's done, man! Way to go!"

"I know, right!? That was awesome! Well, I'd better get ready for my match. Wish me luck, guys."

Shinso slowly woke up, his eyes now facing the partly cloudy sky, and made a fist with one of his hands. He walked back with Midoriya to bow to him in the center of the stage and left with a scowl etched onto his face.

“Hey, Shinso. Why do you want to be a hero?”

Shinso grunted as he stopped moving, “Why do you care? You can’t help what your heart longs for. There’s no other way to put it.” He stepped off the platform without another word. All of that drive, all of that planning, made worthless in an instant. Midoriya tried to follow him, but knew deep down that whatever he said to Shinso won’t help him budge. However, before the Purplette could enter the tunnels, someone else called to him.

“You were awesome out there, Shinso!”

Shinso stopped as he gasped at the compliment. He looked up to see his classmates cheering him on from the stands.

“You were amazing!”

“Yeah! You’re the star of the program! Thanks for putting in a good word for the General Studies kids!”

“You put up such a great fight, and against the dude who won first place twice earlier!”

Some of the heroes also took notice of that, equally bewildered over Shinso’s situation.

“What the hell is he doing in General Studies? With a Quirk like that, you can catch dangerous villains without breaking a sweat. Wish I had something like that.”

“Yeah. What were those idiots thinking?”

“Well, there are lots of applicants this year. Guess he must’ve slipped through the cracks.”

“With more combat experience, he’d be formidable as a Pro.”

“Indeed.”

Shinso stood in awe over what he heard. His power was villainous by nature, and yet, both students and Pro Heroes alike were praising him.

“Shinso…”

“... Sorry for what I said earlier. I hope you don’t take any of it personally.”

“It’s alright. I get it. We don’t get to decide what powers we start with. Sometimes, we have to make do with what he have. My Quirk is strong, but I have to careful with it for every waking moment, or else I’ll destroy myself like I have here.” Midoriya raised his injured left hand to emphasize his point, “So I understand where you’re coming from. That said, whatever you do, don’t give up now. It’s not too late.”

Shinso sneered at the sappy comment, but couldn’t bring himself to mock Midoriya over what he said. After everything that went down, he agreed. Though, he did have to get something out of the way, first.

“You know, depending on how well we do, they might transfer new people into the Hero Course.”

Midoriya nodded and grunted behind Shinso, “Yeah, I do.” Shinso’s powers activated again as he froze in place where he stood. ‘Aww, come on! Why did he do that? The match is over!’

“Don’t worry about me. Even if I failed here, I’m not giving up. I want to become a Hero like you guys, no matter what.”

He released Midoriya from his power as he walked back to him, “Before I go, promise me this from now on. Everyone here is gunning for the top, and they’ll take any advantage they can get their hands on to beat you. So, whatever you do, don’t you dare lose and make me look bad. You hear me?”

Midoriya was about to answer he won’t, but remembered Shinso may have activated his Quirk again as a test. He instead settled to nod his head and held his fist in front of the purple teen to confirm his promise. Shinso smirked as he returned the gesture to complete the fist bump, ‘Well, at least he learned from his mistake.’

He then walked back into the tunnel, content with his loss.

-A few minutes later, Recovery Girl’s office-

“Mmmmwah! That should do it.”

Recovery Girl kissed the boy to heal his new injuries. She then wrapped up his two fingers in bandages to finish her work.

Midoriya glumly noted, “That last match. I couldn’t smile through it like you did.”

All Might sighed at the response, “It can’t be helped, I guess. He said some pretty nasty things to you. It must’ve been painful to hear after the progress you made in the Hero Course, no matter how much you relate to him.”

“Yeah. But I couldn’t hold back on him. I have to aim for the top like you said.”

“Hehhhh… Poor darling.” Recovery Girl sighed. She turned to All Might in utter frustration and slammed her fist into the hero’s ribs, “Can you not go one day without pressuring the boy?”

“Oww! I had to, and that hurt like hell!”

“If you keep him stressing him out like that, he’ll come back with more gray hairs than green.”

Something then sparked back into the boy’s mind, “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” He turned to All Might to emphasize his point. “I… I had some sort of vision in the last match. I saw… people. About eight or nine, give or take. My brain was foggy under Shinso’s control, but when the vision appeared, they completely drove that feeling away, allowing me to control One For All, even for a moment. One of them even looked like you. Is it possible they were One For All’s predecessors? Spirits, maybe?”

“Spirits!?” All Might shivered at the prospect of being mistaken for an undead.

“Huh?! I thought you’d have answers!”

“Oh, wait. Now that you mention it, I saw something like that, too before. When I first had One For All.”

Midoriya grew curious as he let the old hero elaborate.

“It’s a sign you’re getting closer to making One For All your own Quirk. I believe it’s a trace of the user’s spirit. Or rather, what’s left behind when it’s passed on. Don’t worry. It’s completely normal. It won’t interfere with your progress. That said, it wasn’t responsible for removing the brainwashing effects. Your passion is what helped you break free in the end, even if it only affected a small part of you.”

Midoriya sighed as he scratched the back of his neck, “Okay. That answer was useless.”

“Never mind that. Besides, shouldn’t you be worrying about who will be your next opponent?”

“Huh?” The Greenette realized All Might had a point. “Oh! That’s right. I’ll be fighting one of the girls who got in on Recommendations next! Thank you both very much!”

“You’re welcome!” Recovery Girl replied as Midoriya dashed back up to the stands, shouting, “Goodbye!”

After closing the door, the old nurse turned to All Might, “So, he saw you there as well. Are you worried?”

“Not at all. It’s a good sign, that’s all.”

-1-A Stands-

Midoriya walked back up to the seating area; some of his classmates sent him congratulations for winning the first round.

“There you are, Deku! You were awesome!”

“Have a seat with us! We saved a spot just for you!”

“Oh. Thanks, guys!”

Midoriya walked over to Uraraka and Iida, but not before noticing Ojiro giving him a thumbs up for winning, as well as seeing Tetsutetsu pump his fist into the air, crying his eyes out over by the 1-B seatings. How he managed to climb the wall between the two Hero Classes was beyond the Greenette. But he was happy to see him, regardless.

That said, two didn’t share the same excitement. Bakugo was indifferent to the situation. And Todoroki looked at the boy before turning away, ‘Of course, he won. What else did they expect?’

A few minutes later, the corner flames erupted once again as the next competitors entered the fray.

“Okay, folks! It’s time for the next round of fighters to enter the field. And look at that, our lovely ladies for the second match have just arrived. On the left is the walking armada herself! A top-performing student who got into the Hero Course on Recommendations. From Class 1-A, it’s Momo Yaoyorozu!”

Yaoyorozu said nothing as she glared at her green-haired adversary in the ring, who was currently stretching her arms and back for the match.

“Versus, in the right, we have the splitastic seductress. She’s also a high-performing student who enrolled in the Hero Course on Recommendations. Say hello to Class 1-B’s, Setsuna Tokage!”

Tokage cringed a bit over Mic’s announcement, ‘Seriously? At least give me a different intro.’

“Alright! Now that we have introductions taken care of, let’s get the second match rolling, everyone. Ready? Begin!”

The Greenete smiled as she put her hands behind her back, then started walking to the side. This got Momo to raise her guard, ‘I have to be quick about this. In terms of firepower, I have the upper hand on Tokage. Though that hasn’t deterred her before, if the Cavalry Battle is anything to go by.’

“You know, it’s kinda funny actually,” Tokage remarked while continuing to stare at her opponent.

“What do you mean?” Momo grew confused that Tokage was choosing to talk rather than to fight.

The splitting girl gestured by looking up, “Take a look around us.” This prompted Yaoyorozu to look up to all of the Pro Heroes as the former continued, “Even though We’re in different classes, we have so much in common. Neither of our Quirks is geared for combat and is super complex, and all of our peers look up to us with high regard. However, only one of us can continue on this journey. So, tell me. Does this remind you of anything?” Tokage then looked back down.

Nobody, both students and Pro Heroes, understood why the girl opted to talk. It was starting to look like the last match; maybe even worse.

“What is she doing?” Uraraka wondered, “Is Tokage talking to Yaoyorozu?”

“Yes, she is. Though I doubt she can continue distracting Yaoyorozu for long with that method. The latter still has plenty of options to immobilize her opponent.” Iida noted.

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Izuku noted, confusing his two friends.

The One For All wielder understood where they were coming from, so he elaborated, “Take a look down there. Tokage’s plan is already in motion.”

Back in the field, Yaoyorozu looked back at her opponent, “I don’t understand what this has to do with here. This is a battle, not a leisurely chat in the halls. We’re here to get scouted, remember?”

“I know. I know.” Setsuna admitted, “I can’t help but think about it. It reminds me of a certain line in a movie. You know, the kind where an old pro is training a new superhero with the same powers.”

The 1-A girl finally lowered her hands, albeit by a slight amount, “And what line is that?”

“Don’t watch the mouth…” Tokage smirked, “Watch the hands.” She emphasized the second half of her sentence by moving her arms back in front of her, indicating that both of her hands are missing.

Before Yaoyorozu could respond, something flew at her and jabbed her in the right cheek. This freaked out the girl as she exclaimed, “Not again!” The girl finally pieced together that Tokage was distracting her by talking; that way, she could sneak one of her fists in for an attack.

She had enough time to conjure a metal shield to barely block another fist flying towards her left. Not missing a beat, Tokage split up her forearms into six pieces and barraged the creation girl in multiple directions.

“I don’t believe it! Tokage just went on the offensive after pulling a literal sleight of hand on her opponent! How clever!”

Midoriya smiled at the scene before him, “If raw power was all that was needed, Yaoyorozu would have beaten Tokage already. Even so, she still has options to work around it.”

“What do you mean, Deku? Tokage is strong, but how is she supposed to overpower Yaoyorozu?”

“That’s the thing. She isn’t.” Izuku continues staring at his classmate, who is currently raising her shield to block Tokage's rapidly moving pieces of flesh. “Yaoyorozu can easily make a weapon strong enough to incapacitate her opponent, but she needs time and focus to create the object she wants. Tokage understood that, knowing that the best way to counter it is to keep her attention occupied long enough to form a trap.”

“That makes sense.” Iida jumped in, “As long as Yaoyorozu can think about the molecular structure of the object, she would have no problem creating a net or blunt object to immobilize her enemy. That said, it still leaves out the part where Tokage secures her victory.”

“I think she’s about to do just that, Iida.”

Back in the ring, ‘I can’t keep this up much longer. Tokage’s pieces aren’t that strong on their own, but they’re still super fast. I can barely move this shield quick enough to block even half of her attacks. Perhaps I can craft some armor while she’s occupied.’

She then notices Tokage snickering as she sets most of her pieces in front of her to attack Yaoyorozu head-on. All of the pieces charge at once, forcing the latter to raise her shield before they could reach her. She blocked the attack, but she was starting to move backwards. Tokage didn’t let up as she kept firing her pieces straight into her opponent, driving the pony-tailed girl further back, with the latter being unaware of how much she was being pushed away. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped.

Not feeling any more pieces hitting her shield, she lowered the bracer to look at Tokage with six pieces surrounding her. ‘She stopped attacking? Why?’

The Greenette said nothing as she continued to smile. Yaoyorozu was irked at the act, not wanting to get distracted a second time. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she thought as she created a steel bowstaff from her right hand, ‘Now’s my chance to take the offensive!’

“Yaoyorozu!” Her attention panned towards Midnight as the heroine continued, “You’re out of bounds!”

“Huh?” The pony-tailed girl thought. She looked down to notice one of her legs sticking outside the boundary line. “How is that possible? There isn’t much power behind-” The girl questioned further, only to look at her front to realize both of Tokage’s hands pushing on the former’s hips the whole time.

“Tokage’s the winner! Add her to the next bracket!”

Turns out the Greenette created another diversion with her pieces and allowed her hands to slip past her defenses while the rest of her body kept her busy. Tokage grinned at her easy victory as she summoned all of her pieces back to her main body. The crowd went wild over the fight they witnessed.

“That girl’s a dynamo! She outfought and outsmarted her opponent in under two minutes!”

“I see. She knew she couldn’t overpower Yaoyorozu. So she opted to create a diversion. How intriguing. I can see why you teamed up with her.” Iida noted while hand chopping.

“I wouldn’t put it like that, but thanks.” Midoriya slightly grinned with a small blush. He proceeded to stare at the green-haired girl, fully enamoured by her cheerful attitude and bright smile. ‘Tokage’s not strong like Todoroki or Yaoyorozu, but she made do with whatever skills she did possess. Fast, perceptive, smart, she’s amazing in a way I’ve never seen from All Might before.’ He beamed a little more, not aware that his cheeks were reddening or that his chest was thumping harder.

Yaoyorozu dropped her weapons as she stared at her former adversary, who was still waving at the cheering crowd before her, “I lost… Impossible…” She looked back down and slowly walked back into the tunnel. Only Midnight and a few 1-A students noticed the girl heading back inside.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” All of Class 1-A turned to the wall on the left to witness Monoma peeking above, yelling, “Serves you right, Class 1-A! You may have won the battle but lost the war to one of 1-B’s finest students!”

“Tch. Not this clown again.” Bakugo muttered, only giving the 1-B blonde nothing better than a bombastic side eye.

“Hope you’re ready to lose some more, 'cause we’re just gettin-” A hand then strikes Monoma in the back of the neck, knocking him out cold as he slumped back down the wall. Kendo then peers up next to say, “Sorry about that, guys! Don’t mind him!” before coming back down to place Monoma back into his seat.

“Wow. That was weird.” Kaminari noted. He then looked at Mineta seated beside him, who was frustrated at what he witnessed, “What the hell was that?”

The electric blonde decided to throw in his two cents, “I know, right? I didn’t think Yaoyorozu would lose, let alone that fast.”

“Not that, Kaminari! There were two sexy chicks on stage, but no catfight or clothes being torn off!”

“Seriously?! Why would want to see that?!” Kaminari shrieked, both expecting and not expecting the response from the purple midget.

Mineta shouted some more, “What do you mean, ‘Why would you want to see that’?! Two of the Hero Course’s hottest babes took the stage and you want them to fight fully dressed!? This is an outrage! Blasphemy! The moment of glory never came into-” Suddenly, one of Jiro’s earphone jacks lodged itself into the side of the grapeboy’s head. Upon contact, the jack cut his incessant yapping short as he cried in immense pain over the intense vibrations. He then collapsed back into his seat while foaming at the mouth, as Jiro responds while retracting her jack appendage, “That’s enough out of you.”

Everyone then remained in silence, awaiting the next battle to begin.

-Sports Festival Halls-

After the last match ended, Todoroki proceeded to walk through the halls. He never watched the second match and instead opted to spend his time in the breakroom.

‘It doesn’t matter if Tokage or Yaoyorozu won the last match. You'd better win the next round, Midoriya. Neither of the girls will suffice for what I must prove.’

However, during his stroll, he encountered someone. Shoto then uttered to the hulking figure, “What do you want?”

The man before him was another Pro Hero built similarly to All Might, leaning against a wall. However, where All Might’s frame would give viewers peace of mind, this guy radiated fury, ready to take down any villain that stood in his way. He had short crimson hair spiked up from his head and blazing turquoise eyes. His beard and moustache appeared to be made of fire, as well as the makeshift mask over his eyes. He wore a dark navy bodysuit with flames streaming across his chest, ribs, arms, shoulders, and outer legs, surrounded by scarlet stripes. His costume also had knee-high boots encased in flames while leaving their white soles untouched, white cage-style bracers at the forearms, and a blue belt with a pouch on opposite sides. This was Endeavor, the Number Two Hero of Japan, and Shoto’s father.

“You’re acting disgraceful again, Shoto.”

The young student continued to tread past him as the flaming hero continued.

“If you simply used the power from your left side, you would’ve earned an overwhelming victory in both of the first rounds as opposed to the other kid. It’s time to end this rebellious phase of yours. I gave you a duty to surpass All Might. Don’t you dare squander it. Understand? You’re my masterpiece, far superior to your elder siblings.”

Shoto stopped walking and turned to face the parent for a moment, “Is that everything you have to say, you bastard? I’ll win this match with Mom’s Quirk, not yours.”

He proceeded to stomp through the hall with a more bitter scowl than before as Endeavor replied with, “Even if it earns your victory in the tournament, it won’t guarantee that you will go far in the real world. A grudge such as yours will prove costly in the end.”

Back at the stadium, everyone roared in greater excitement over the third match. Probably because this one starred the son of a famous Pro Hero. The corner flames burst once again to introduce the competitors.

“Alright! Enough standing around! Let’s welcome our players for the next match. On the left, we have the guy with swinging skills, but at the expense of some creepy-looking elbows. It’s Hanta Sero!”

“Hey! That was uncalled for.” Sero barked as he stretched his hands.

“Versus, in the right corner, an early frontrunner in the competition with an OP superpower! Someone who got into the hero course through Recommendations! Shoto Todoroki!”

“And now! Let’s get this third match moving. Ready? Begin!”

Sero stretched his neck for a bit while he quipped, “Like hell I’m going to win this fight.”

He then smirked as he fired tape from his elbow, perfectly wrapping the sticky substance around Todoroki’s arms and legs as he shouted, “That said, I don’t feel like losing here!” He then tugged onto the heterochromatic teen with all of his might, opting to get him out of bounds like the last two matches.

“Wowzers! That attack could throw Shoto out of the ring! A brilliant move from the underdog of today! Way to go, Sero!”

Then, Todoroki muttered, “Apologies,” as he cast a vast amount of ice from his right foot. The amount was so great that everyone beneath the field suspected an earthquake was occurring. The ones on the stands, meanwhile, leaned back against a mountain of ice that soared above the stadium’s rooftop.

Shoto exhaled slowly, content with the move as he froze the tape surrounding his body to break free.

“Dude… That was… a bit overboard.. Don’t ya think?” Sero shivered as most of his body was now covered in ice.

Midnight's situation was just as bad, given half of her body was also encased in the frozen substance. “S-Sero…” she shivered at the overwhelming level of frost, “Can you move at all?”

“Are you kidding me? Hell no… I can’t feel my legs.”

“Sero has been immobilized! Todoroki advances to the second round!”

Everyone was awestruck over what occurred as Shoto walked to his classmate, “Sorry about that. It was a bit much.” He placed his left hand onto Sero’s chest, slowly thawing the taping student from his frozen prison.

“I was angry, that was all.”

As the Pro Heroes cheered Sero on for his “Nice try!” Midoriya continued to stare at the half-and-half teen as one thought crossed his mind.

‘Todoroki… He looks… sad.’

To be continued…

Chapter 8: Bonds and Explosions

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

-UA Stadium-

After the devastating display of power Todoroki expressed, UA opted to take a short break to clear the gargantuan ice wall. The good news was that Sero, Midnight, and Cementoss didn’t suffer any long-term damage such as frostbite, but they will be a bit numb for the rest of the day, especially the former. Seeing everything is back to normal, Present Mic went back on air to continue the Sports Festival.

“And welcome back to the finals, everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Clearing that load of ice took longer than we thought, so thank you to Shoto and all of the Pros for thawing things out. So, without further ado, let’s welcome the next competitors to the stand!”

The corner flames turned on once again as Mic continued. Everyone in the crowd cheers the new arrivals as they enter the arena.

“On the left, we have the beautiful flower with thorns from Class 1-B! From the Hero Course, it’s Class 1-B’s assassin, Ibara Shiozaki! Versus, the boy whose powers are as electrifying as his personality. It’s Denki Kaminari from Class 1-A! Keep those eyes peeled, y’all! It’s time for another flashy battle!”

“Excuse me!”

Present Mic breaks out of his DJ trance to look down at the questionnaire. As it turns out, the Vine girl of 1-B wished to discuss something with the loud Pro Hero before continuing.

“Please pardon my interruption. I do not understand. Why do you wish to call me an assassin? I’ve come to the Sports Festival in pursuit of victory, not bloodshed on my opponent. That isn’t in line with the values of heroism at all, sir.”

The hero panics a bit, “Right. Sorry about that.”

Shiozaki continues as a heavenly light shines upon herself, “I implore you gentlemen, I didn’t enter UA for a wicked or selfish purpose, I only wish to deliver salvation to others! I humbly request to spread goodwill across this world.”

“I get it, miss! I’m sorry! It was an honest mistake! You gotta believe me!”

The green girl smiles at Present Mic’s plea for forgiveness, understanding the error wasn’t intentional. The light disappears as she tells the announcer, “I thank you for your understanding, kind sir.” She then bows to the announcer and returns to her corner.

Kaminari stares in awe at what he saw, ‘Wow. And I thought everyone in 1-B was a jerk. Then again, Midoriya did team up with a couple of their guys in the Cavalry Battle, so I guess I shouldn’t have been quick to judge. I mean, look at those beautiful eyes, that hair, she looks pretty strong too… Wait! Get it together, you dummy! Remember, this is a competition. Then again, she’s pretty cute. I gotta ask her out sometime. Okay, I’ll do it after I win this,’ he smiles at the last thought as he suddenly views his adversary through a rosy screen, typical teenager behavior. As soon as both were in position, Present Mic continues,

“Anyways. Now that that’s outta the way, begin!”

At the start of the match, Kaminari jabs, “What do you say you and I go out after this? I’d be happy to treat you to a bite.”

“Hm?”, Shiozaki hummed in confusion, not accustomed to the blonde’s flirty demeanor.

“Don’t worry if you lose this fight, I’ll be more than happy to comfort you. So let’s wrap this up in under two seconds, baby!” Kaminari cheers as he begins to glow once again with yellow sparks. He fires at the ground, shouting, “Indiscriminate shock. 1.3 million volts!” Countless streams of electricity rush across the stage, attacking anything slow enough to remain in its path. Unfortunately for the sparky blonde, Shiozaki was unfazed. She turned her back on him as the vines in her head grew at an insane rate and broke off to form a shield to protect her from the attack.

Kaminari responded with, “Uh?”, surprised that his move was efficiently countered. Then, the ground begins to crack, leading him to ask as he loses more cognitive function, “Uh, what’s that?”

Suddenly, vines erupted from the platform, shattering chunks of cement as they latched onto Kaminari, wrapped around his body, and lifted him into the air, effectively neutralizing the electric user, as all he could do now was yelp.

“Welp! He’s immobilized! That’s all, folks!”

“Shiozaki is the winner! Advance her to the next round!” Midnight follows, pointing her whip at the botanical Greenette. The crowd cheers at her victory, heavily impressed by her speed and bravery.

Shiozaki clasps her hands together as a light shines upon her, “I’m thankful I was able to make the most of this opportunity I was given today.”

“Oh yeah! Way to represent Class 1-B!” Tetsutetsu cheered as he got up from his seat for his classmate. Everyone else around him continues to smile at Shiozaki's performance, although not everyone celebrates in the same manner.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! We got you again, you idiots!” Everyone in 1-A and 1-B pivoted to Monoma as he was now on top of the wall separating them. He proudly rambles more, not learning from last time, “He was right that the match would end in two seconds, but only we came out on top! I’m starting to wonder if his real Quirk is being an oracle instead of a shocking failure like the rest of you! I thought you guys were supposed to be better, huh?” He chortles manically as Kendo approaches the blonde and neck-chops him. The attack knocks him out again as she climbs up to apologize to 1-A, again. She drags his unconscious body back to the seats before sitting next to Tokage, who facepalms again over Monoma’s bad manners. She then opted to talk with Kendo to pass the time as Tetsutetsu leaves his seat for his match.

“Remind me again, how many times did you knock him out today?”

Kendo thinks about the question for a bit before answering, “If I recall correctly, this is the third time today. I believe the first one happened after he tried to interrogate you for chatting with some guys in 1-A.”

Tokage groaned at the answer, equally unsurprised and disappointed as she leaned back to face the sky, “The hell is this guy’s problem? Does he think it’s illegal for us to be friends with 1-A or something?”

“You know it’s not like that. Monoma is proud of everyone in our class, that’s all.”

“I get that part, but this is starting to seem less like pride and more like a delusional fantasy. At the rate we’re going, the number of times you knock Monoma out will reach three digits before we graduate. Maybe even four.”

Kendo tried to shrug it off, “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. Everyone still pitches in to keep him in line.”

“True. But no one does it as fast or as well as you. You might need to teach me that move after the festival is over.”

Kendo sweated at the thought, not wanting the splitting girl to develop a bad habit, “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

Then, both girls hear some muttering from the 1-A side. They stared at the wall for a bit and prepared to investigate, only for the event to cease before either of them could stand up. Kendo then asks, “What was that?”

“Don’t know. I think that was Midoriya over there.”

“Really? Is he that much of a talker?”

“Not exactly. It depends on what subject we’re discussing and what we have to focus on at the moment. Though I do wonder what he was rambling about?”

“I did hear something about Shiozaki and Kamui Woods. Maybe he was thinking out loud on how similar their moves are?”

“I guess you’re right.” Tokage returns her focus to the front.

“Now that you mention it. What did you think he was talking about?” Kendo wondered.

Tokage blushes a bit, freaking out as she stammers, “Uh? Nothing! Nothing at all! Don’t worry about it!” She then giggles a bit before looking away while her cheeks glowed red. Kendo didn’t know how to best respond to the answer, so she turned her focus back to the stadium. A few minutes later, both the previous competitors and vines were cleared off the stage, prompting everyone to cheer for the next battle.

“Let’s get the ball rollin’ with these hits and move on to the fifth fight! Oh boy, and we got a palette swap match this time! On the right, we have the passionate manly fighter who’s as hard as steel. From Class 1-B, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! Ack, that’s a mouthful!”

“Bring it OOOOOOOOOOOONNN!!!!”

“And his opponent, we have the passionate manly fighter that’s hard as a rock. From Class 1-A, Eijiro Kirishima!”

“Aww, come on! Even our intros are the same?”

“Make us proud, Tetsutetsu! Win just like Tokage and Ibara did!”

Tokage looks to her right to see that the cheer came from Kendo and snickers, knowing full well what’s going on.

“Let’s see how this one turns out, folks! Begin!”

Both Hero Course students charge at each other full throttle, Quirks fully activated. As soon as their fists collided, sparks immediately flew as the two Hero Course tanks traded blow for blow. Ojiro was happy to see the fight turn out as epic as everyone thought, but then he noticed something peculiar up front.

“Huh? Where did he go?”

He turned to his left to ask Sero, “Hey, have you seen Midoriya?”

“Not really. Why? Do you need notes on who will win?”

“Not quite. I have a feeling this will be a close match, even with Midoriya’s input. I’m saying he disappeared from his seat out of the blue. Do you think he got bored or something?”

“Unlikely. Uraraka’s not here either, so chances are he went after her instead. They are close after all.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right. He’s probably trying to comfort her for her upcoming match.”

-Outside Waiting Room #2-

Ojiro was half-right about Midoriya. He followed Uraraka after noticing she was not in her seat, thanks to the orange refreshment in her place. However, what he didn’t know was that the Greenette was here to see someone else as well. As soon as he spotted her, Midoriya called out to the brunette.

“Hey, Uraraka. What are you doing here?”

“Huh? Deku? Why aren’t you out there watching the matches? Don’t you want to see Kirishima fight?”

“Kirishima’s match is likely going to drag on for quite a while. It’ll likely end in a draw at this point.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I hear Bondo’s match is coming up. I thought I’d pop in to see how he’s doing.”

“Oh yeah. What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.”

They both chuckle at their like-minded approach as they open the door to the waiting room, where they suspect someone is present. The resident in question looked up upon noticing the guests.

“Huh? Oh- Hey guys. How are you two doing?”

Both look over to the giant of 1-B, “Hey Bondo. How’s it-”

They immediately freak out as soon as they notice a dark aura surrounding his head, which was noticeably sharper than usual, “Holy whoa! What happened to your face!?”

“My face?” Bondo realizes how sharp he was looking and immediately softened his features, “S-Sorry for scaring you guys. Just t-t-trying to psych myself up for my match.”

“Oh. Are you nervous?” Uraraka asked.

“A-A little…” He responds, still visibly shaking.

“I get it. You’re up against Bakugo, after all. He’s not exactly an easy opponent.”

“Y-Yeah. I-I don’t know how you do it, Midoriya. How can you stand up to someone so t-t-terrifying? But ever since I worked with you in the last round, I started to feel a little braver. Even more so now that you’re here. I-I’ll need it when I come up next.”

Midoriya smiles, knowing that he’s done something to put the glue giant at ease, even if it’s only a little.

“Yeah. I’m sure you’ll do great! With your size, Bakugo will have a hard time knocking you down, right?”

“I think he’ll need more than that for his match, Uraraka. Everyone’s trying to win in the end in these games. Even if Kacchan was fighting you, me, or anyone else for that matter, he still won't hold back.”

Bondo gets a bit glum upon hearing this. A cheer up was nice once in a while, though it helps to stay grounded in reality. Midoriya then recalls that he was still carrying his Hero Notebook and starts flipping through pages.

“Oh yeah. Before I forget, you’ve helped me so much in the last round, Bondo. It’s only fair I return the favor.”

He turns to a page containing information on Bakugo and his Quirk before continuing.

“I-I have some notes on how Kacchan fights. Maybe I can repay you with this. I can even give you a plan on how you can use Cemedine to take him down.”

Bondo stands up in response, “T-Thank you, Midoriya. You’re too kind… I-I-I can’t accept this offer. I’m Sorry.”

Both squeak, “Huh?” With Uraraka adding her thoughts.

“What do you mean by ‘you can’t accept this’? Deku has the best notes on everyone! This is perfect!”

“I-I understand that. You’ve both been a great help to me, way more than you can imagine. Thanks to you two, I made it into the final round, met new people, and learned new ways to use my Quirk. I couldn’t have done any of this without you two. That said, Midoriya’s right. We can’t hold back, not on each other. Besides, I have my reasons to fight Bakugo. If I’m going to beat him, I-I-” Bondo stammered for a while before closing his fists and declaring to both of them, “-I want to win through my own merit!”

That last line shook both of the 1-A students to their core. They don’t know much about the guy, but the fact that he spoke his mind with so much energy left them both awestruck. Bondo walks over to the door past the students and turns around one last time before giving them a thumbs up, “I-I’ll see you two at the finals! G-Good luck!”

-UA Stadium-

The battle between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu ended in a draw after knocking each other out. As the robots escort the two, Midnight announces that as soon as they recover, the official winner will be decided through an arm wrestling contest. After getting some positive comments from the Pro Heroes, Present Mic proceeds to take center stage.

“Well, looks like the last match was a bit more drawn out than I thought. While we wait for Tetsutetsu and Kirishima to recover, let’s bring out the contestants for match numero seis.”

“Ribbit. This isn’t going to end well.”

“I know, right? I heard his opponent is tough, but just thinking about it is making my skin crawl.”

During that time, both Deku and Uraraka come back up to the stands to watch the next match unfold. They gasp upon seeing Bondo come out to the field, still shaking after everything, but still walking regardless. Both think in unison, ‘Do your best. You got this.’

“Time to get this match rolling. On the right, we got a bit of a hotshot from middle school paired with a scary face! From Class 1-A, it’s Katsuki Bakugo! Versus a gentle giant with an iconic face, ready for battle. From Class 1-B, it’s Kojiro Bondo!”

Bakugo stares daggers at his opponent, locked in and ready to take him down. Meanwhile, Bondo gulped loudly at seeing Bakugo’s blood red glare. His palms were sweaty, his knees were shaking, his skin grew pale, and his heart raced to burst out of his chest. Then, he slapped his cheeks as hard as he could. That nervousness went away as he turned back to face his opponent, now ready to take him on. As everyone cheers like crazy for the two, Bakugo speaks up first.

“So you’re the big guy who screws around with glue. Isn’t that right, Bottle Head?”

“Huh!?” Bondo panics over the nickname, “B-Bottle Head?”

“Well, you'd better give up now while you still can. Cause I don’t hold back on anyone here.”

Bondo shakes a bit over the request to forfeit; however, this time, he was less scared of the proposal and more furious. He wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste. The two proceed to stare off at one another for a little longer. During that time, Uraraka asks her friend a question.

“So. Deku…”

“What is it?”

“I was wondering... What was the strategy you came up with to give Bondo a fighting chance against Bakugo?”

“Honestly, I didn’t come up with much of a plan. Both of their Quirks are natural counters to each other. That said, Kacchan’s pretty strong. In terms of close quarters, he rarely has an opening, and the more he moves, the more he sweats, which amplifies his strength tenfold. Not to mention, he has a variety of movement options, including flight, so pinning him down will be rather difficult. The only thing Bondo can do to win this fight is to cover his opponent in as much glue as possible and immobilize him. A small amount’s already enough to stop his foe mid-flight. Thus, burying him with his power is the only way to get the upper hand.”

“And without further ado… begin!”

Bondo charges as fast as he can towards his opponent, throwing everyone off their guard, including Bakugo. The giant shouts with all his might, “Sorry. I’m not going down! Not without a fight!”

“Wow. He’s pretty fast!”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect him to do that. Given the nature of his Quirk, it’s natural to stay on the defensive, so why is he doing the opposite?”

“Maybe he’s trying to throw him off guard?”

“...Wait… That’s it! You’re right. If he can get his opponent to falter long enough, he can win. Though Bondo’s speed seems to be above average for his size, the fact that Kacchan isn’t dodging worries me. At this rate, he’ll be ready to counterattack him.”

As Midoriya expected, Bakugo raised both of his hands to ready his Quirk. He calmly snarks, “Big mistake. Now you die.”

However, what he didn’t anticipate was for Bondo to fire his glue at him. The substance spread everywhere, creating a shotgun/netting effect. That said, Bakugo calmly countered by throwing an explosion that completely engulfed the yellow guy.

“Bondo!” Both 1-A students shriek.

The rest of the students in their class follow their thoughts.

“He blasted him!”

“I don’t think he was fast enough to dodge it.”

“Yeah. No kidding. Bakugo’s not showing that 1-B guy any mercy.”

Fortunately, Bondo didn’t fall off the ground. Rather, he only stumbled back a bit, coughing up a little thanks to the newly created smokescreen. ‘Okay. That stung a bit. I didn’t expect a huge dust cloud to come from it. Maybe I can use it.’

Bakugo scoffed as the dust cloud spread, “You should’ve dropped out while you had the chance.” He notices another flurry of glue comes at him, “You can’t beat me, you big oaf!”

Another explosion blocks the attack, enough to blast away the glue and clear the area in front of him. Unfortunately, Bondo was nowhere to be seen, shocking his foe.

“Whoa! Look at that! He’s using the dust cloud as a hiding spot for his attacks! That’s incredible!”

From another area on stage, Bondo shoots another stream of the adhesive substance. Bakugo notices it just in time and hurls another explosion to counter the move. The attack was strong enough to falter Bondo, but he was too big to be launched out of the hiding spot. He dashes to another location in the fog, irritating the blonde even more. This cycle kept going a few more times before Bakugo burst a blood vessel.

“You coward! Stop hiding and face me already!” he shouts as he hurls another explosion greater than the last. Bondo yelped in pain, but he still held his ground, hiding within the cloud.

Sero quivered at the display of power and speed, “Damn! Look at that reaction time!”

Kaminari also followed with his thoughts, “Yeah! That dude’s insane. You can’t catch him off guard at all. That glue guy’s Quirk is fast, but it’s nowhere near the same caliber as Bakugo’s lightning-fast reflexes! That smoke screen is his only advantage right now.”

Hearing the cry of pain, Bakugo switches to an offense and charges in the direction of the noise. As soon as he spots the 1-B student, he hollers, “There you are!”

Bondo was staggering from the last attack, so when he spotted his opponent, he only had enough time to spout another wave of glue at his pursuer. That said, it wasn’t enough to deter Bakugo, “That won’t work!” The blonde fires a bigger explosion, knocking Bondo off his feet. The big guy rolls around in the cement before getting back up and hiding in the fog. Bakugo chases him, knowing full well his intention as the two continue to trade blows of adhesive and nitroglycerin.

“Oh, geez. Is he okay?”

“Poor guy. He looks so scared. I can’t watch.”

“I knew it. Bakugo’s a sadist.”

The blonde in question keeps getting closer and closer to Bondo. Every time the latter turns around to shoot another stream of glue, the explosive student inches closer to him. Still, even when he was panicking and got hit with more attacks, Bondo didn’t let up and fired more glue to keep his opponent occupied. Despite the tenacity, he didn’t come out of the attacks unscathed. His face and both of his arms were covered in scuff marks and bruises, and blood was starting to ooze out of his mouth. Even a few cracks were coming off the guy, indicating he may have broken more than a few bones. Tokage and Kendo were left wide-eyed over their classmate’s plight, fearing for Bondo’s life. No one in 1-A or 1-B could bring themselves to say a word about the brutality.

“Take this!” Bondo cried out as he fired another ball of glue at Bakugo. Unfortunately, for the glue golem, the blonde was now too close to him. Bakugo tackles Bondo to the ground, forcing the latter onto his back.

“Looks like’s Bondo’s hit and run tactics are coming to an end. Bakugo finally has him pinned down.”

The explosive blonde, now seething in pure unbridled rage, glares heavily at the glue user as the latter sweats heavily over what will happen next. The former raises one of his hands, ready to attack, only for Bondo to attempt to fire glue one last time to get Bakugo off of him, but it was too late. He hurls another explosion into Bondo’s face, screaming, “Not this time!” He continues to fire more explosions on the yellow guy’s face, each more devastating than the last. The only hope Bondo had was to block the explosions with his arms. Everyone remained speechless over the scene; only Midoriya could think under the brutal takedown.

‘Hiding within Kacchan’s dust cloud isn’t working anymore. Now he’s stuck on the ground, forcibly taking every explosion to the face.’

Then, a comment from Monoma emerged from the Hero Course crowd as he snickers, “Fufufu. You idiots. Look closer. Bondo isn’t done yet.”

During the beatdown, one of the spectating Pro Heroes speaks up, “Hey, shouldn’t one of the teachers step in to break them up?”

More comments sprouted from there, “Yeah, this is getting too rough. That big guy probably isn’t going to make it.”

Bakugo doesn’t waver as he fires another explosion onto Bondo. The act prompts more bitter remarks to come rolling in.

“This is a disgrace. He’s treating his opponent like a monster. Hey kid! Do you really wanna be a hero after that display? Then stop bullying that heteromorph!”

“Yeah. If you were so good, then throw the poor guy out of bounds already.”

Again, Bakugo doesn’t listen to the complaints. His beating only adds more fuel to the fire as the slander increases.

“You savage! Stop beating up the mutant and end the match already!”

“Yeah! You heard him! Leave him alone! What has he ever done to you?”

More and more heroes within the audience booed at the platinum blonde who was currently huffing on top of Bondo as the latter was now bleeding all over his face and forearms. It even looked like he was squinting a couple of his eye holes in pain.

“Oh boy! The crowd is now booing Bakugo and calling him obscene names! Not that I blame them, I kinda agree with-” Before Present Mic could finish his commentary, Eraserhead elbows his coworker as hard as he can to stop him. The former didn’t take too kindly to the interruption as he yelped while holding his cheek, “What the crap, dude?” Eraserhead ignored the vocal hero as he turned his attention to the crowd.

“Tell me. Where is the man responsible for this uproar? Are you really a Pro Hero?”

“Huh?” Present Mic grunts as he focuses on his coworker.

The Pro Heroes responsible for the mess stopped their ramble as the erasing hero continued, “If you’re being serious about this, then go home, hang up your cape, and find another career that suits you.”

All of the 1-A and 1-B students turned to Eraserhead as he continued, all of whom were curious about what he was going on about.

“Despite the level of violence, Bakugo’s fierceness here is an acknowledgement of his opponent's strength. He knows his adversary deserves to be here as well, and is making sure he does whatever it takes to come out on top.”

As the hero finished his explanation, Bondo came to his senses and grabbed Bakugo by the face as hard as he could. The blonde staggers for longer as Bondo gets back on his feet and raises him in the air, “No way. He can still stand, even after that beating?”

Bondo calmly breathes as he winds his body up to throw Bakugo. The latter irks at the move and shouts within the giant palm, “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” He throws another explosion, but given that Bondo was grasping his face, he had no idea where to attack and missed his target. Bondo hurled Bakugo as hard as he could back into the smoke, forcing the latter to roll all over the ground. Bakugo tries to get back up, but soon finds himself trapped. He was now covered in a web of stiff glue, hardening around him in the last minute. He screams, “Hey! What the hell is this stuff!?”

Bondo wheezes a bit before facing his enemy to answer, “An epoxy resin.” Bakugo gasps as the yellow giant continues, “T-They’re well known to be used in environments where high temperatures are an issue. I knew I couldn’t beat you right away, so I developed a formula that takes a while to dry and spread it across as much of the arena as possible. I must thank you for making me face my fears, but now I have to end this.”

He leans back as he fires more glue, further burying the explosive man in his contents. He continues firing more globs as Bakugo writhes in disgust. Meanwhile, Monoma elaborates on his confidence.

“I don’t blame the explosive punk for not noticing earlier. But to have a Pro Hero ignore it and waste it on booing Bondo’s adversary is embarrassing beyond all belief. Anyone from the stands can notice the long-term strategy. He knew he couldn’t win in a straight fight, so he prioritized area denial by coating the stage with as much glue as possible. Bakugo was too worried about getting coated since the last match; he wasted his time on defense, completely ignoring the fact that his blasts can be used against him. Rather than defeat him, the blonde not only crafted a smokescreen for Bondo to hide under, but also the perfect cover for our classmate’s trap. And after Bakugo went on the offensive, our classmate kept his priority straight on making more epoxy resin. Even the beatdown proved to be against the 1-A punk’s favor as the glue was still fluid enough to coat him.” He then stares at Bondo, who was now huffing after his last glue attack while smiling, “No one messes with 1-B and lives to tell about it.” As he mentions that final comment, the smoke finally clears to showcase the wide matting of glue all over the ring.

“What the? Is that a spider web made out of Bondo’s glue?”

“Took you long enough to notice.”

Bondo cries out once more as he leans back for another attack. The move was enough to make him balance on one foot as he continued the battle cry. Then, he stomps his raised foot back into the ground to make the cement shatter and fly away from it. He leans forward and, with all of his might, shoots as much glue as he can from his face, shouting, “GLUE SQUALL!!!”

The result was a massive stream of adhesive firing straight at Bakugo.

“IS THAT A GLUE-BASED KAMEKAMEHA!!?”

“Holy whoa! He had a plan the whole time!”

“Yeah! That’s amazing! Now he’s got Bakugo on the ropes!”

Bondo thinks to himself, ‘This much glue is enough to push me back, but that doesn’t matter anymore! As long as I continue to bury him with my Quirk, he won’t get back up! Everyone gave it their all to make it this far, and I will make the most of this opportunity! TOKAGE! URARAKA! MIDORIYA! THANK YOUUUUUU!!!’

Then, from the mountain of glue, another great explosion bursts out of the shell, ceasing Bondo’s attack and sending him flying along with several fragments of dried glue. The blast proved so great that everyone in the stands felt the burst of wind and fragments. Meanwhile, the giant tumbles like crazy as he thuds against the ground over and over again. When he stopped rolling, he found himself facing the ground, covered in blood and debris. He looks up to witness the clearing smoke and Bakugo free from his adhesive cell, with pieces of dried glue all over his hair and clothes. The explosive user spoke up, “I had a feeling you’d have some stupid plan to beat me. You teamed up with that damn nerd after all.” He lowers his hands as he thinks, ‘That was too close. Any longer and I would’ve lost the match.’

“Holy cow! Bakugo blasted out of both his sticky prison and Bondo’s Ultimate move! Even though he's covered in glue frags, he’s still unfazed!”

Bondo said nothing as he started coughing blood. His nervousness was beginning to return; all of his hard work… now up in smoke. Then, he stands himself back up, muttering, “I don’t care what you think of me, or Midoriya, or the rest of my friends.” As soon as he was back on his feet, he continued, “Everyone here is giving it their all to win this tournament. If they can fight till their last breath to reach the top…” He wheezed a bit before starting to run, “... then so can I! RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Bakugo smirks at the claim before charging, “Alright then. You want to get serious? Let’s do it then! Come at me, BONDO!”

Izuku thinks to himself, ‘Oh, man. The plan may have failed, but he still won’t give up. Kacchan even called him by his real name. He’s incredible.’ Tokage thought the same thing, ‘Bondo. You’ve grown so much since the beginning.’ Then, they gasp upon noticing something. During his mad dash, Bondo collapsed. Bakugo noticed this and stopped in his tracks, watching the glue giant drop back into the ground with a massive thud. The giant was now coughing and wheezing from his injuries. He tried to perch himself up, but it was no use. His body was giving in to the strain.

“Bondo’s down!”

The giant thinks to himself, ‘No, I can’t give up, yet. C’mon… I can still fight…’

“No…” Uraraka mumbles, “He can’t take any more.”

“Yeah. He’s reached past his limit.” Midoriya responded.

All of the 1-B students stared in shock at their classmate’s plight. They tried to cheer him on to get back up, but it was no use. Tokage clenched her legs with both hands. She knew it was over; there was no chance for him to recover.

Even when Bondo pushed himself up for a moment, he fell back down twice as hard over and over. Bakugo readies his stance in case his opponent gets back up for good, only for the 1-B student to groan, “I’m… not… done… yet!” His vision begins to fade as Midnight walks over to assess the damage while keeping Bakugo on standby. Upon finishing her observation, the dominatrix hero reveals her verdict, “Bondo is knocked out. Therefore, Bakugo moves on to the next round!”

The crowd cheers again, though not as enthusiastically.

Midnight then orders the robots to place Bondo in a hamper and send him to Recovery Girl. Bakugo doesn’t say another word as he turns around to his tunnel.

“Well, that’s it for the sixth round. Let’s take a little break to clean things up and set up the tie breaker between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu.”

Present Mic gets off the microphone as he huffs, “Aww man. I was rootin’ for that big guy. But I guess Bakugo’s movin’ on instead.”

“Watch it. You’re supposed to be unbiased.”

During the chatter, both Midoriya and Uraraka nodded at each other before getting up from their seats and telling their classmates, “We’ll be right back.” They then walk out of the stands, with some of them questioning their motives.

“What are they doing?” Kaminari wondered, “Are they going to check in on that big glue guy?”

Sero responded with, “Maybe. They did get along well back in the Cavalry Battle.”

A short time later, Bakugo shows up back in the stands with a bitter face. If anyone had to guess what happened, he was likely lectured for his brutal behavior.

“Hey there, Bakugo!” Sero sneered, “Had fun playin’ the villain, huh? Must’ve been rough, especially with that gunk in your hair.”

Asui added in her two cents, knowing how violent her classmate was and is, “Even if it was just a bad hair day, you did make a convincing bad guy. I doubt any of the Pros will scout you after that display.”

“Shut up, you idiots! Or else!” Bakugo growled, having had enough of the ‘villain’ impression.

“For real, dude.” Kaminari responded nonchalantly, “I’ve no idea how you managed to aim so many powerful blasts and not kill the 1-B guy. At least I held back against that angel Shiozaki.”

“No, you didn’t. She overpowered you in your last match.” Asui corrected.

“Hey! Let me have this moment!”

Bakugo sat back down begrudgingly, “Don’t be stupid, I wasn’t going to kill that ‘1-B guy’.” He then notices the hardened glue still stuck in his hair and proceeds to pick at it angrily.

-UA Stadium, Outside Recovery Girl’s Clinic-

Both Midoriya and Uraraka rush as fast as they can to the clinic, hoping their 1-B friend is alright. During their run, however, someone else spots them. “What are you doing here, guys?” Both look up to see Kendo at the other side of the hall.

“Huh? Oh, hey, Kendo. You here to see Bondo, too?”

“Yeah. That was the plan. Everyone in 1-B noticed how roughed up he got, so I volunteered to check on him. Did 1-A send you guys, too?”

“Not exactly. I know how scary Kacchan can be in a fight. We’re so sorry for what he did to your classmate in the last fight.”

Kendo raises one of her palms to cease the apology, “Don’t blame yourselves. Bakugo’s the one responsible for going too far.” She then softly knocks on the door to the office, “Besides, I’m sure Bondo would love to see you two after what went down. ” Recovery Girl responds to the call and opens the door. Without a word, she let the three of them inside the room.

As soon as they entered, all three gasped at the sight. Bondo was resting on one of the beds, but he looked like he had gotten out of a collapsing building. Due to the heavy injuries he sustained, he had to remove his jacket so Recovery Girl could treat everything. His right arm was in a huge cast and had several wrappings around his head, neck, chest, left arm, and fingers. A thick, heavy pad rested on his right cheek, and IV fluid was hooked to his left arm. Some parts of his body not covered in bandages had several discolorations ranging from purple to black. Only Midoriya uttered, "Bondo..." upon seeing the damage. Noticing the discomfort of the three Hero course students, Recovery Girl explained his condition.

“He’ll recover, but his opponent has done quite a number on him. Several lacerations and burn marks across his face, arms, and torso, a black eye, three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone, a fractured jaw, and his right humerus and radius are shattered. What were you thinking, young man? Normally, you avoid hurting yourself during training, and here you are doing the exact opposite today. The least you could’ve done was forfeit when Bakugo pinned you to the ground.”

“I-I’m sorry, ma'am. It wasn’t my intention to scare anyone.”

“Scare anyone?” Kendo responded in a harsh tone, “Bondo, the whole class was worried sick about you. You looked like you got out of a failed stuntman scene by the time your match was over. I had to come over here myself so everyone in 1-B would calm down.”

The yellow giant glumly looked down, feeling bad for scaring his classmates.

Midoriya thinks back to his previous conversation with the yellow male and comes up with a question for him, “Now that I think about it. You said you wanted to fight Kacchan through your merit, regardless of what he thought about you. Did… Did you think you wouldn’t be able to beat him?”

“N-No... Not really…”

“Then, why did you push yourself like that?”

Bondo remained silent for a moment, thinking hard about what he’d say. Then, as soon as he came up with an answer, he softly spoke, “As a heteromorph… I had a feeling I would face opposition as a Pro Hero despite my dream. I thought that if I fought Bakugo head-on, I… I would have an easier time facing that challenge in the field.”

“Dream? What dream are you talking about?” Uraraka asked. Curious about the giant’s motives.

The latter faced the brunette before answering, “W-Well… my family runs an Arts and Crafts Store in the Kyoto Prefecture. You probably haven’t heard of it. They struggled when they first opened. Back in grade school, my little sister and I helped out whenever possible. I wanted to take on their business when I got older, but they turned me down, saying I should follow my dreams. Since that day, I decided to use any money I make as a Pro to help them out. Anything else I earn, I would put into helping out other local businesses in my area. I… I understand if what I say sounds small, more so than you guys.”

“Not at all.” Uraraka spoke up, “I kinda get it.”

Bondo tilted his head, not knowing what the brunette was talking about, so the latter elaborated, “My parents run a construction company, but they aren’t doing so well at the moment. I wanted them out for similar reasons, but they also wanted me to pursue my dream, so I kinda followed the same path you did.”

“I see…” Bondo nodded before perking up for a bit, “Hold on… Now that you mention it… When you say construction company… Are you referring to the… Uraraka Builders?”

“Y-Yeah, you know them?”

“They come to my area all the time. The two of them even fixed my family’s shop a few times.”

“Oh my gosh! Really? What’s the shop’s name? I think my dad said it once or twice before.”

“Erm… Bondo’s Craft House.”

All three standing students perk up to the answer, “Wait! Bondo’s Craft House?! That’s your family’s business?!”

“Y-You… You guys know them?”

Izuku answered first, “Know them? I used to go there all the time! They make some of the best Pro Hero modeling kits!”

Kendo gave in her two cents, equally surprised, “Yeah! Same here! Your family’s place has awesome scale models of motorcycles. I once blew my monthly allowance getting a limited edition of the Honda DAX 125. Still the best decision I ever made.”

Bondo blushed, hearing how much the three of them knew of his folks and their place. Not once in his wildest dreams did he anticipate such an event. He then asked himself, “Wow… I never knew… How did we not meet each other until now?”

Uraraka quipped, finding the situation a bit funny, “I guess it’s one of life’s greatest mysteries.”

All four chuckle at the exchange, not realizing how small their world was until now. Then, Midoriya thinks back to something Uraraka mentioned at least two weeks ago.

-Flashback-

“That’s why I decided to become a Pro. That way, I’ll sign up for a good agency and make plenty of money. Then I’ll be able to let my parents live an easy life they deserve.”

-Back to the Present-

‘Bondo’s just as grounded in reality as Uraraka is. It’s no wonder they get along so well.’

Kendo then decided to steer the conversation after understanding her classmate’s motives. “You know, you don’t need to worry about doing this alone, Bondo. We’re more than happy to help you out with your goal.”

This left Bondo curious as Recovery Girl pitched in. “The young lady here is right. You don’t need to hurt yourself to prove a point. There are better ways to help others in a community. I would know after healing so many students for so many years. Some even more than others.”

Midoriya cringed at the last line, fully aware of what she was talking about. Then, he added while raising his fist to Bondo’s left hand, “Yeah, we’ll be there for you whenever you need us. Let’s become great heroes, together.”

Bondo was still a bit bashful over everything. Even though he lost, he felt more accomplished than ever. So, he smiled at the idea, fist bumped the Greenette, and responded with, “T-Thanks, guys.”

Kendo recalled how long they were standing there, so she told the 1-A students, “You two should probably head back. Tetsutetsu’s tie breaker is coming up soon.”

Midoriya chirped, “Huh? Are you sure you want to stay here? You sound eager to see your friend compete.”

“I am, but someone has to keep an eye on Bondo. I don’t think he’ll do too well if we all leave.”

Then, Uraraka pitched in, “Why don’t you two go on ahead? I can stay a little longer with Bondo.”

Midoriya gasped, “Uraraka.”

Kendo followed, “You don’t have to do that. I can handle watching over him.”

The brunette held firm to her idea, stating, “I’ll be alright. I’m sure you two want to watch the tiebreaker more than I do. Besides, I still gotta get ready for my match.”

Midoriya nodded in content, followed by Kendo as she replied, “Right. Thanks so much for your help. Good luck with your match.”

-UA Stadium-

After the meeting in the Nurse's office, Midoriya and Kendo head back to their stands to witness the rest of the matches. They chatted a bit more during their walk together. They didn’t have much to discuss, besides Midoriya apologizing on behalf of Bakugo and Todoroki, with Kendo forgiving his class, knowing full well the stakes of the tournament. Uraraka stayed at Recovery Girl’s office for a little longer, not noticing All Might hiding behind one of the curtains. Midoriya returns to his seat in the stands, knowing both of his closest friends won’t be present for a while. He shies away from looking at Bakugo, but fortunately, the latter chose to ignore him, be it from pride or frustration from the last fight. Either way, he made it in time to watch the tie-breaker, which Kirishima won after Tetsutetsu’s Quirk cracked under the pressure. A bit disappointing, but from what the Greenette saw, the redhead was still a good sport and showed chivalry towards his opponent, something Midnight thoroughly enjoyed watching.

“Looks like Kirishima won the tie breaker and capped things up with his opponent with a manly display of chivalry. I bet our first-year umpire loved to see that. Anyways, let’s charge along to our seventh match. On the left, we have the kid born with engines in his legs. From Class 1-A, Tenya Iida! And on the left, it’s the pink lady with things coming out of her head. Also from Class 1-A, Mina Ashido!”

“Hehehe.” Ashido snickered. “This is going to be a piece of cake.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that if I were you,” Iida responded as he got into a running stance.

“C’mon, Mina, you can do it!”

“Show her no mercy, Class Rep!” Everyone turns to witness a wailing Mineta who continues his cheer, “Speed past her and blow her clothes away like in those old cartoons!”

Jiro cringed at the idea, “You pervert! Iida would never do that!”

Over in Midoriya’s spot, he peers through his notes while muttering, “A match between Iida and Ashido. Considering what their powers are, Ashido will probably try to keep her distance and move as fast as she can with her acid. Even so, Iida has the upper hand in terms of speed. Unless she melts the ground enough to limit his mobility, she doesn’t stand a chance.” He sighs at the data he gathered, fully knowing the outcome.

“Now then. Let’s get this party started! Seventh match… Begin!”

“Recipro-” Iida announces as his engine legs start to glow blue, “-BURST!”

Once again, the speedster blitzes towards his opponent. Ashido shrieks as she produces as much acid as she can to toss at Iida, but he proves himself too fast for her. He whips around her and pushes at her back as she is quickly shoved. As soon as she came to her senses, Ashido found herself outside the ring with Iida bowing behind her and Midnight concluding the match with, “Ashido is out of bounds! The winner of this match is Iida!”

“That was dynamite! Iida finished things lickety split! That’s an indisputable victory if I’ve ever seen one, sport fans!”

Most of the crowd cheers and gawks over the sudden victory. Everyone except Midoriya, who quietly announced while closing his book, “Yep. That was the ending I predicted.”

All of the 1-A students were shocked at how easily Midoriya figured out the outcome of the fight, except for Mineta, who was complaining in defeat about how he didn’t get to witness any R-rated activity. After both students cleared the stage, Mic returned to announcements.

“Time for the eighth and final match of the first round! Get ready to watch these two players duke it out! From the Hero Course, on the left, we have the bubbly floating girl who puts smiles on everyone’s faces, Ochako Uraraka! Versus, the fully-equipped gadget dynamo with plenty of tricks up her sleeve! It’s the support courses, Mei Hatsume!”

“Hero class vs Support, huh?” Jiro noted.

“I wonder how this fight will turn out, ribbit,” Asui added.

“Hey guys,” another bulky student with full lips questioned, “What’s Uraraka wearing?”

Everyone pans closer to the girl in question, who finished buckling a large accessory with huge wings to her backside with a determined look on her face. She was also wearing large metallic boots, bulky forearm guards, and leg braces. Her opponent on the other side was just as geared up now with a steampunk headset, another set of boots, a metallic backpack, and a pair of holstered guns.

“Where did she get all of that gear from?”

“Hold it right there.” Midnight turned to the zero gravity student, “Hero course students aren’t permitted to use support gear unless they have to. You didn’t even fill out any of the proper paperwork for that, didn’t you?”

Uraraka freaked out at the rule, “Ahhh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that rule existed! I saw Aoyama is still wearing his belt, so I thought it was okay.” She points to a blonde within the 1-A stands, an androgynous male with long, well-groomed hair, long eyelashes, and bright indigo eyes. His most striking feature was the large silver belt with a large golden ring and bright blue crystal, wrapped around his waist. The blonde in question smiled as he winked in a particular direction while pointing at his belt, likely at a spectating camera.

Midnight clarified, starting to understand the brunette’s circumstances, “Aoyama turned in the proper forms before the festival began. Therefore, he’s allowed to take the belt with him.”

Uraraka bowed to her teacher, still embarrassed over her mistake.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Midnight. It's just that…”

Uraraka turned to the pinkette across the stage, who was currently calibrating some of her gear,

“...my heart was moved by my opponent’s sportsmanship.”

She thinks back to the announcement of the finals.

-Flashback-

While Uraraka was staring at the lineup, another person called out to her, “Hey, floaty. You’re Uraraka, right?”

“Hm? Yeah, that’s me.” She responded as she turned to witness the pink-haired girl she was going to fight, “Wait, you’re the girl from the obstacle course. The one with all of the gadgets.”

The engineer girl proudly admitted as she pointed one of her thumbs at herself, “That’s right! The name’s Mei Hatsume!” She then drew closer to the brunette with her eyes sparkling despite wearing goggles, “And I got just the babies for you!”

“Wait! Hold on. Did you bring babies here? Or-“

“Feast your eyes on this contraption! I bet you’d love to give this thing a whirl!”

“Oh, that’s what you meant…”

-Back to the present-

“Even though we are from different classes, she wanted this to remain an even fight after everything we’ve gone through. She didn’t get much of a chance to showcase her skills in the Obstacle Course or even the Cavalry Battle, for that matter. Therefore, I offered to borrow some of her equipment for our match. I admire her ability not to give up. That’s why, to honor her hard work, I would like to wear this gear for our fight! Punish me as much as you need, I will stand by to help my new friend!”

“Such youthful vigor! SO CUUUUUUUTE!” Midnight giggles and cheers upon hearing Uraraka’s pleas. As soon as she calmed down, the heroine gave her final verdict, “Very well! I’ll allow it.”

“Wait? For real?”

“Sounds like it. If everyone agrees, then I guess it’s okay. Right?”

Back in the 1-B stands, Kendo asked her green-haired friend about Uraraka’s opponent, having only seen her a few times.

“Hey, Tokage. Do you know that girl?”

“Kind of. I saw her trying to approach my team back when we were setting things up. She backed off as soon as I brought Bondo over.”

Meanwhile, Iida had the same question for Midoriya as soon as he returned from his last match, except his was geared towards their classmate.

“That’s odd. I’ve never seen Uraraka commit to so much Support Gear before. Do you know what the occasion is for, Midoriya?”

“Not quite. I’m not sure what that girl from the Support Course is thinking. If she wanted an even match with Uraraka, she wouldn’t loan her so much gear, or any for that matter. Unless…” Midoriya peers closer to Hatsume, noticing a small microphone attached to her headgear, “... she has an ulterior motive.”

His suspicions grew stronger as the pink girl softly giggled.

“Anyways, if everyone’s on the same page, let’s get the last match started!”

Upon hearing the announcement and the crowd cheering, Uraraka charges at her opponent, and much faster, thanks to the leg equipment supporting her movement. Hatsume grins at the scene as she turns on her microphone to announce the following: “Well, well, well. Bet you love how fast that gear is making you! Am I right? Uraraka?”

“Huh? Where did she get a mic?” Uraraka wondered as she continued dashing.

“Did Hatsume come with speakers?”

“What is she planning down there?”

“I bet your legs feel lighter than usual, now! Well, of course! That’s to be expected. Those leg parts are specifically designed to increase the user’s speed and mobility. That said-”

Two metallic rods from Hatsume’s backpack launch diagonally to push her out of the way of the charging brunette, effectively dodging out of the way while nearly tripping her pursuer.

“-I can easily evade you thanks to my hydraulic attachments!”

Hatsume peers into the crowd, her yellow crosshair eyes zooming in on the special boxes near the top of the stadium.

‘There they are. The boxes for the support companies tuning in live.’ As soon as her eyes zoomed in enough to witness the well-dressed guests discussing her work thanks to her ocular Quirk, she squealed, ‘Yes! Finally! I got their attention with my babies, and they love them! Just need to keep up the momentum and I’m all set!’

Uraraka recovers her balance and pursues her adversary once again. This time, she opts to touch Hatsume from behind, believing she can still end the match with her Quirk. She reaches out with her hands, only to hear Hatsume’s backpack beeping and blinking to signal her advance. The rods fire once more as Hatsume swiftly dodges the attack, not giving the brunette any attention whatsoever.

“Since I’ve got sensors for every direction, sneaking up on me becomes a pipe dream for any opponent I come across!”

Uraraka trips once more, almost about to land on her butt hard. Seeing this, she activates her boots, which whir to life as they generate a gust of wind at the bottoms of her feet. It was enough to keep her off the ground, but now she had a new problem as she was now gliding full speed ahead towards the boundary lines. ‘Oh no! Not good!’

Suddenly, the equipment on her back activates as the cylinders on the wing-like structures pump and release gas to pivot her away from the boundaries.

“What is going on here!?” Uraraka asks as she slows down to turn off the boots.

“Look at how adeptly Uraraka is hovering above the ground and changing her course! It’s all thanks to the ingenious hover soles and auto-balancer I created. And the best part is that there is absolutely no lag time for either of them!”

“Uraraka…” Midoriya muttered.

Iida was equally baffled, “Unbelievable. She desecrated the match and turned it into a long commercial!” He then rises from his seat and furiously chops the air with both hands, freaking out everyone around him, shouting, “How dare you exploit our classmate for your selfish schemes!”

Meanwhile, Uraraka charges at her opponent again, now a bit more aware and furious at her enemy’s game. She growls as she tries to float the support course girl, but to no avail, as Hatsume proudly dodges once again.

“Oh, and in case you were wondering, the auto-balancer strapped to your backside is equipped with a customized 32-axis gyro sensor!”

The auto balancer pumps air again as it twirls Uraraka around like a spinning top, barely reaching the boundary lines as she is reeled back in. Once she stopped spinning, her cheeks began to swell, indicating she was about to vomit. Fortunately, she doesn’t, as she swallows the contents back into her system.

“And as you can see, it keeps the user from falling unless that was the intention.”

Uraraka comes at Hatsume again, now more baffled, “This doesn’t make any sense. I thought you said you wanted a fair fight!”

This time, however, Hatsume jumps up super high thanks to her boots clearing what looks like at least 20 meters into the air. She cackles on the way down as she explains the footwear she’s pointing at,

“That’s right, ladies and gents! I’m flying in the air thanks to these electromagnetic induction shoes, perfect for evasive maneuvers or lightening the load. I call them electroshoes.”

Uraraka activates the forearm guards and two hooks attached to steel cables to reach the opposite end of the field. As soon as it latches onto the concrete, she charges forward again, shouting, “I’ll use these grapples to pick up speed. As soon as she lands, I’m putting a stop to this!”

Unfortunately, that didn’t go to plan. As soon as Hatsume lands on her feet, she turns to her opponent, whips out a gun-like piece from its holster, and shoots a large red net at Uraraka. The item stops the girl dead in her tracks as she falls onto the ground, backside down.

“Huh? What is this thing?” Uraraka panics as she struggles to remove the net; both wires from her guards were unreeled, so the closed net ended up binding both of her hands behind her back.

“I see you gave my grapple-guards a spin! Pretty nifty, huh? They have a maximum range of 100 meters and are perfect for aerial and on-the-ground maneuvers. As for your question, this is a capture gun to use against villains! The nets are loaded into small cartridges at the base, with each carrying up to five nets a pop, and can be easily reloaded!”

Hatsume peers closer to Uraraka, who is still struggling with the net. She decides to give her a helping hand by announcing, “By the way, those grapple-guards come with retractable blades. Perfect for self-defense or emergency maneuvers!”

As soon as she hears this, Uraraka takes notice of a glowing red button with what appears to be an icon for a blade. She leans into it to press it, and from underneath, three razor-sharp steel blades sprout from the forearm guard, cleanly cutting through the red netting like wet noodles. Proud that her opponent has successfully liberated herself, she turns her attention back to the stands.

“And to answer your questions, all of these are developed by yours truly! The one and only Mei Hatsume, the Support Course prodigy! So, to any companies out there looking for strong recruits, the choice is clear. You want me! H-A-T-S-U-M-E.”

One of the Support Course businessmen notes, “Wow. She’s something.”

“Yeah. No kidding. I’ve never seen marketing like that before.”

“And now, let me introduce you to the rest of my babies.”

“Wait, she’s got more?”

This sporadic charade continued for another fifteen minutes, all of which remained the same as the start. By the time she went through all of her gear, Uraraka fell onto all fours, winded from her endless pursuit of her opponent. Meanwhile, Hatsume, proud of her achievement, confidently steps out of the boundaries as she turns off her microphone, “Whew! That was fun, but I think that’s all of the babies I have to show. Time to wrap things up.”

Seeing the chaos finally subsided, Midnight announces, “Erm… Hatsume stepped out of bounds. So Uraraka advances on to the next round.”

Despite hearing her victory, Uraraka shrieked, “You tricked me into advertising all of your stuff!”

Hatsume shamelessly turns around, confessing, “Sorry about that. You were my last chance to make a name for myself.”

Uraraka perks back up with tears, comedically flowing from her eyes, “I looked like a fool in front of everyone!”

At the 1-B stands, Kendo uttered, “Poor Uraraka. That Support Course student was using her the whole time.”

Tokage didn’t say anything, but opted to create a mental reminder for the future, ‘Note to self, keep that octopus-haired madwoman far away from Midoriya.’

Meanwhile, back in the 1-A stands, Midoriya muttered, “Uraraka’s so sincere, she trusted Hatsume’s motives. She must’ve made it sound like she was doing her a favor. That Support Course girl is so driven and straightforward. And from what I can tell, she’ll pretty much do anything to reach her goals.”

“Yes. A horrifying sight indeed.” Iida responded, now pale head to toe, “What has turned from a fair fight has devolved into a cautionary tale. I only hope that Uraraka recovers after that gaudy performance.”

“Yeah,” replied Midoriya. He then puts away the Hero Notebook and pen he’s been carrying since his return from the match against Shinso and stands up. “Well. I'd better get ready for my next match. I have a feeling it will be a hard one.”

“That’s right. You’ll be facing off against Tokage soon. I wish you the best of luck, Midoriya.”

Midoriya nods to Iida’s cheer as he heads back inside to formulate a plan.

“Well then, now that the last fights of the first round are finished, we’ll be taking a small break. After that, it’s back to new matches!”

-UA Stadium, Waiting Room #2-

Midoriya opted to spend the break alone. He needed the downtime, knowing how dangerous an opponent Tokage can be. Looking through his notes gave him some insight into how her Quirk works, but not much else. Even then, he doesn't know her limits. The Cavalry Battle and her match with Yaoyorozu proved that if he lets his guard down for even a moment, she will wipe the floor with him. That thought was made even clearer as he recalled his promise to Shinso.

-Flashback-

“Before I go, promise me this from now on. Everyone here is gunning for the top, and they’ll take any advantage they can get their hands on to beat you. So, whatever you do, don’t you dare lose and make me look bad. You hear me?”

-Back to the Present-

Then, he’s pulled out of his thoughts upon hearing the speakers blare,

“Wa-hoo! Break time’s over, everyone! Now that we've got a full roster for the next part of the finals, let’s get this party started now, ya dig?”

“Already?” Midoriya sighed. ‘Well, it can’t be helped, I guess. It’s time to head to my next match.’ He pries himself off his seat and heads out down the hallways.

However, during his stroll to the arena, he crosses paths with a massive flaming man.

“AAAAAHHH!!! Endeavor!” Midoriya shrieks, seeing the Inferno Hero in person for the first time.

Endeavor, meanwhile, pans to the Greenette, “Ah. I was looking for you.”

“Oh, yeah. Hi there. So uh, what are you doing back here?”

The Pro Hero steps closer to elaborate, “I watched your fight against the brainwashing student. Your power is quite impressive. The fact that you can produce so much wind pressure by flicking your fingers is impressive enough. It reminds me of another Quirk. Like the one coming from All Might.”

“Uh, well, I-” Midoriya sweated at the thought of another person knowing about All Might’s power, “I guess I never thought of it that way. That’s a coincidence. Sorry, but I need to get going.”

As he trots past the flame hero, he thinks to himself, ‘Is it possible Endeavor knows about One For All, too? No, he would’ve mentioned the name at some point. Regardless, I can’t let him find out.’

“My Shoto has to surpass All Might as the Number One Hero. And his match with you will be a good trial to test how much training he has left to go. So don’t hold back on him. Anything less will be disgraceful for the likes of you and my boy.”

‘Why is he telling me not to hold back against Todoroki? I’m not fighting him yet. I still need to take on Tokage beforehand. Not to mention, Todoroki has to contend with Shiozaki first.’

“That’s all I wanted to say. I apologize for bothering you.” Endeavor finishes before walking in the opposite direction from Izuku. The latter, however, couldn’t stand how the hero brushed his kid as a little project, amongst other things. The thought alone made his blood boil. So, he spoke up. “Endeavor. I am not All Might.”

That line halted Endeavor as he turned around, “What are you talking about?”

Midoriya pivots to face the hero for a moment, “The same thing goes for Todoroki. He may be your son, but he isn’t you. Also, don’t you dare count out Tokage when I haven’t fought her yet. She’s just as likely to face your son next as I am.” He turns back around and continues down the hallways. Neither of them says a word to each other afterwards.

-UA Stadium field-

Uraraka finally makes it back to the stands. However, she wasn’t too pleased as noted when Iida gawked at the girl rubbing one of her shoulders. He ordered her to go see Recovery Girl, but Uraraka softly replied with, “I already did. This is just… straining from the auto-balancer gear.” She sits between Iida and another student, a short young man whose head resembled a black bird- likely a crow or a raven, with a yellowish beak and thin red eyes. Iida nods, understanding Uraraka’s predicament, “I see… If I were you, I’d be frustrated too after that display.”

The bird-headed student spoke up, not wanting the two to feel discouraged, “There’s no time to wallow. Use this next fight as a source of encouragement.”

Uraraka gleefully nods, “Right,” while Iida responds blankly with, “Tokoyami. You’re so wise.”

As everyone reenters the stands, the corner flames reactivate to signal the start of the next round.

“Welcome back, everyone! I can feel the anticipation radiating within the stadium! And that’s because the second round’s first match is about to begin! The fight will be green, and it won’t be easy, I can tell you that!”

The two green-haired hero course students walk up to the stage as Present Mic continues his introductions.

“From the left, it’s the guy who won the first two games by a landslide despite the chilling competition and made a stunning comeback in his first match with some impressive moves! Class 1-A’s, Izuku Midoriya! Versus, the femme fatale and former partner with killer strategies and moves! From Class 1-B, Setsuna Tokage!”

As both take center stage, the feminine greenette leans forward a bit before fluttering her eyes at Izuku, “Nice to see you again, cutie. And here I thought you were going to keep me waiting.”

Midoriya blushed heavily, and steam ruptured from his ears over the girl’s obvious tease. He tried to keep things professional as he responded with, “N-Not at all. It’s nice to see you made it too, Tokage. I was hoping you would make it to this match.”

Tokage blushed back at Midoriya’s response, but jabbed back anyway, finding their banter quite amusing, “Oh? You were worried for me, too, Greenie? Be still, my heart.”

Both green-haired teens, both red, stared at each other for a bit, not knowing Midnight was watching the two closely before softly giggling, “Oh my. Such young love.”

The two prepared their stances as Present Mic continued introductions.

“Both of these heroes-in-training have been duking it out both together and on opposite ends during the festival! It’s time to see which of these green-haired geniuses will come out on top. Ready? Begin!”

To be continued…

Chapter 9: Battle of the Greens

Summary:

The two students from rival classes, Izuku Midoriya and Setsuna Tokage, were never given the chance to meet, but what if they did? What if they did get a chance to cross paths early in the story? When a simple idea brings them together, a quiet bond begins to grow. And from there, what starts as a strategy may become something more personal, and even more dangerous to share.

Notes:

Written by: DrawingDoc

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The story, MHA, is owned by Toho Animation and Kohei Horikoshi.

-UA Stadium-

Everyone gathered around upon hearing the next rounds taking place. Before Present Mic announced the beginning of the next match, another figure entered the 1-B stands. The current members turned around to see Kojiro Bondo now free from the clinic, wearing a new UA jacket, but still had his right arm in a cast, as well as several bandages wrapped around his left forearm and face. Awase spoke up first upon witnessing the yellow giant.

“Wah! Bondo! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Recovery Girl’s office?”

“I-I’m okay, guys. Recovery Girl discharged me recently.”

“Recently?” Kendo jumped out of her seat, “Bondo, you look like you’ve been through H-E double hockey sticks. And your good arm is still in a cast.”

“I know. My stamina is low for now, so she recommended I rest for a few hours before coming back to finish the treatment.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you be doing that in one of the waiting rooms?”

“We-Well, I was about to, but then I heard Tokage’s and Midoriya’s fight was coming up. And I didn’t want to miss it.”

Kendo sighed, believing she wasn’t going to talk the glue giant out of this, “Alright, have a seat with us. But if you’re not feeling alright, let us know. Okay?”

Bondo nodded to the terms before taking one of the back seats for easier access, and nearby Kendo so she can better monitor him. As soon as everyone returned to their seats, Present Mic continued introductions.

“It’s time to see which of these green-haired geniuses will come out on top. Ready? Begin!”

Upon hearing the match start, Tokage slyly grinned as she casually strolled around the ring. The girl then turned to Midoriya, “So, we got a big crowd today.”

“Huh?”

That was the first thing to come out of the boy’s mouth. He kept his guard up as he found the tactic a tad familiar. For good measure, he chose to play along to figure out what she was getting at, “Well, yeah. It's kinda scary now that you mention it. Why are you bringing it up now, exactly?”

She peered up into the audience, “Hmmm… No reason. It is a pretty sweet theme to witness when you think about it. Two geniuses from separate classes finally duking it out after everything. I mean, look around us. Who isn’t gonna watch this?”

Midoriya started looking up into the crowd, lowering his guard. However, before he fully committed to the act, he thought back to Tokage’s last match with Yaoyorozu for a bit. Realizing the parallels, he refocused on his opponent, who was still muttering about the situation they were in.
‘I have to be careful. Tokage used the same strategy to take down Yaoyorozu. I don’t see any of her parts anywhere. Guess that means she didn’t have enough time to pull another sneak attack.’

The female Greenette looked back at Midoriya, only to discover he was staring at her rather than the crowd. Deep down, she was frustrated that she didn’t get to take him down the usual way. Nevertheless, the Greenette decided to switch to a new tactic, even if it involved the same method as before.

“What’s wrong? Is the crowd getting too boring for you?” She slowly catwalked towards Midoriya while swinging her hips, “Did something else catch your eye? I’ll gladly hear you out.”

The One For All user started to blush again, but he did his best to keep the girl’s teasing out of his head. ‘This is going to drag on forever at this rate. I gotta finish this right now!’

He charged his Quirk on his right arm to 5%, making the appendage glow a faint red. Once ready, he dashed towards Tokage, freaking out the girl.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

Setsuna’s adversary wasn’t talking back, causing her to sweat profusely. She wildly waved both of her hands in front of him before shielding her face with her arms while yelping, “WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! NOT THE FACE! NOT THE FACE! NOT THE FACE!”

As soon as he drew near enough to the girl, Midoriya threw a punch towards Tokage’s unguarded midsection.

“Smash!”

However, just as it reaches its target, the girl splits her body from the waist, floating her top half high enough to evade the punch. The male’s thought process crashes upon missing; he then realizes that, despite her regular clothes, Setsuna still has plenty of movement available to dodge the attack. During this time, Tokage smirks as she whispers in a sing-song, “Gotcha,” as she hurls a punch into Midoriya’s right cheek, knocking him flat on the ground. Setsuna cackles as she floats the rest of herself into the air, ‘I tricked you into attacking an area I can easily dodge. Smart, huh?’

Midoriya soon comes to his senses as he spots Tokage flying in the air while chortling. He thinks to himself, ‘Of course, she would float her entire body. That would put me at an enormous disadvantage since I can’t fly. That said, her clothes don’t split with her; that’s her primary downside. I’ll use that to my advantage.’ He rushes over to Tokage’s floating top half in an attempt to grab onto her jacket to pull her back down. Unfortunately, before he could jump, the girl stripped her UA jacket mid-flight. ‘Great,’ Midoriya groaned, ‘There goes that idea. Now she’s got more pieces to work with.’ Setsuna smirks while Midoriya looks up with a heavy blush upon seeing her in a black sports bra, ‘Hope you’re enjoying the view, cause I’m coming at you now!’ As soon as she fired parts of her arm and midriff, the male Greenette shook himself out of his stupor to dodge the incoming pieces.

“Ooooh. Tokage is in the air, giving Midoriya an aerial beatdown. Look at those parts circling the poor boy.”

What soon followed was a hodgepodge of parts attacking Midoriya from every direction. The boy was forced on the defensive as he did his best to weave through flying parts attacking from both above and below his field of vision.

‘Just as I thought. Speed’s the key factor in this fight, so she’s going to give me as little breathing room as possible. I gotta focus on dodging for now until I can come up with a plan.’

“She is not giving him any breathing room! This splitter queen has now trapped Midoriya in a ‘Feminine Flesh Flood!’”

“Don’t ever use those words together again.”

The stadium roared with a variety of comments over the attack, ranging from complimentary to flabbergasted to jealous.

For instance, in the 1-B stands, Monoma cackled, “HAHAHAHAHHA! That’s the spirit, Tokage! Show that 1-A idiot how it’s done!”, wanting nothing more than to witness 1-A’s downfall.

Kendo reprimanded the blonde with a neck chop, stating, “Cut it out, Monoma. That’s not funny!” She turned to look at the fight while thinking with a strong blush, ‘This is horrifying. Why am I not surprised she would do that?’

“SANTA MARIA! What are you doing to that poor boy?” Shiozaki shrieked, her hands covering her mouth while thoroughly blushing. The rest of the students in 1-B were also blushing over the scene for various reasons, even Kodai, who was only slightly red and widened her eyes a little.

As for the members of the 1-A stands, there were similar comments and reactions.

“Oh my gosh! Deku!” Uraraka exclaimed from her side of the stands, both embarrassed and worried over her friend’s predicament.

“AAAAAAHHH!!! THIS IS SO LEWD! HOW THE HELL IS MIDORIYA NOT FAINTING FROM THIS?!” Jiro chimed in, her hands now covering her deep crimson face.

“I don’t know. He’s taking the situation better than I thought. Ribbit.” Asui added while also blushing slightly.

Sero threw in his two cents, “I know, right? I didn’t think Midoriya could hold it together for that long. Then again, Bakugo’s uber intense too, and he’s managed him before, so I shouldn’t be too surprised.” fully anticipating the platinum blonde in question to burst a blood vessel.

“Dammit! It should’ve been me, not him!” Kaminari cried out as he slammed his fists onto his seat, equally jealous and worried for his classmate.

“That bastard.” Mineta fumed from pure jealousy, “First, he gets that hottie to sit next to him, now she’s taking off her clothes while rubbing her sexy figure all over his face?! What the hell is Midoriya doing that I’m not?!”

“HANG IN THERE, MIDORIYA!” Iida shouted while chopping the air with both of his hands, “SUCH A PERVERTED ACTION IS NOT BEFITTING OF A UA STUDENT! DO NOT LET IT DISSUADE YOU!”

The rest of the teachers were also blushing over the scene before them, though all of their reactions paled in comparison to Midnight, who thought to herself, ‘Oh my! So spicy! My younger self would be jealous of this bold move! Mark that boy as yours, Setsuna!’

Back in the fight, Midoriya was still holding his ground against the splitastic onslaught. Despite not landing a punch, he finally figured out his opponent’s moveset. ‘Judging from how she’s spreading herself across, Tokage seems to have a limit of 20 pieces. They’re not that strong on their own, but that won’t stop her from trying to pummel me through other means. And those parts aren’t just attacking at random. They serve different roles. Her arms are being used for attacking; her stomach and neck aren’t as damaging, so they’re clearly being used for fake outs or to trip me; she’s even using pieces of her hair to create blind spots. That leaves three pieces floating high in the air. The head, I understand, since she needs a good vantage point to plan her attacks. The chest also makes sense, as she needs to protect her vital organs and can't split them for various reasons. But why keep her legs out of reach? That can give her extra attack options. Maybe she's keeping them up since her clothes can't divide. Wait a minute. I just realized. I haven’t seen her hands for a while. Where is she hiding them?’ Suddenly, almost as if answering his question, Midoriya feels himself moving backwards.

‘Huh? Why am I moving all of a sudden?’ After looking at the girl grinning in the air, Midoriya looks down at his waist to spot two severed hands pushing him at his hips. His eyes go wide at the tactic, ‘That’s the same move she used to push Yaoyorozu out of bounds in the last round. Of course, she would use that same trick on me.’ Irritated at this, he slams his fists onto the invading limbs as hard as he can before tossing them away. The fellow Greenette yelped over the pain of the counterattack, unknowingly lowering her legs closer to the ground. Midoriya takes notice of this, ‘Now’s my chance,’ and dashes over to her floating lower half and leaps up as soon as he is close enough. However, just as he was about to latch onto his intended target, Tokage shakes off the pain and, upon noticing Midoriya’s charge, splits off both of her legs by the knee to escape the attack in time. Midoriya falls back down into the ground as he watches the lower section of the girl’s leggings drape lifelessly. Just as he gets back up, he only has enough time to dodge the girl’s severed legs as the latter chortles at her opponent.

“HAHAHAHAHA! C’mon! Is that the best you can do!? You won’t win with that shoddy plan! Not if I have my way!”

“Oh boy! Midoriya’s attempt to bring Tokage down backfired hard. Now, his opponent is putting her foot down with heavier hits!”

From there, Tokage proceeded to attack Midoriya with larger pieces, including both of her legs. She knew she had to wrap this up now that she’s going on a greater offensive. While getting barraged by the greater attack, Midoriya kicked himself over what he’d done.

‘Damn it! She’s right! That was poor planning on my part. Why did I go for her legs when I was free to throw one of her hands out of bounds?’

He dodges an entire arm as he continues to analyze his opponent. He stares at the girl’s lower half for a bit.

‘Hold on. Why isn’t she putting her legs back together? Is it because she realized that it would require too much focus, and allow me enough time to counterattack? It would explain why she’s firing larger pieces this time. They’re a little slower than the smaller parts, though that probably doesn’t matter much when there’s more mass behind the attack.’

He then thinks back to his notes on her Quirk, checking everything from applications to potential limits. More parts come crashing into Midoriya, some of them even attacking him from opposite directions. Then, he watches the lower half of Tokage’s pants flapping against the wind, noticing how much smaller the entrances are. He looks down and spots Tokage’s jacket on the floor, sparking a eureka moment.

‘Wait, that’s it! Of course! Her Quirk doesn’t synergize with regular clothes. That means she’ll prioritize taking me down before her time limit kicks in and renders some of her parts unusable. Maybe while she’s attacking recklessly, I can trap one of her pieces with her jacket and throw it while she’s distracted. No, she’ll see it happening and change the trajectory. I gotta find a way to toss her out of bounds without getting noticed, but how…’

Tokage, meanwhile, not aware of Midoriya’s plan, taunts the boy, “You’re being too quiet for my taste, Greenie. If you’re not going to yelp for me, I’ll force one out of you!” As she exclaims this, she fires her right arm in five separate pieces, all barreling towards the boy. Midoriya stands there, unwavered, before staring at the attacking limbs. At the last moment, he lunges forward and grabs the hand while dodging the other pieces. This confuses the girl for a bit as she peers closer to the boy. Then, as soon as she notices Midoriya winding up for a throw, she panics.

‘No! My hand!’

She fires her left arm at Midoriya, ‘I gotta stop him before he throws it away!’

However, while she was correct that Midoriya was gearing up for a throw, she didn’t account for his target. While charging his right arm at 5% of One For All’s power, he shouts “Smash!” as he hurls the girl's fist into another target, her face. The fist connects to Tokage’s left cheek, earning an “AIIII!” from her severed head as it comes plummeting towards the ground. During this time, Midoriya grabs Tokage’s jacket, rushes towards the cranial part, and catches it within the UA gym garment. He briefly congratulates himself, ‘Gotcha!’ while fully wrapping Tokage’s head in her own jacket. Unsurprisingly, Tokage was not too happy about this as she yelped, “Huh? I can’t see! What’s going…” She immediately connects the dots as she continues, “Oh, you did not just trap my head in my clothes! That won’t hold me for long, you know!”

Midoriya stands up with the wiggling appendage, ‘She’s right. I won’t be able to keep her here forever. I gotta throw her head away while she’s trapped.’

As he prepares to launch with a standard pitch, he reels the head back into his chest so it doesn’t escape, ‘No. I can’t throw it like that. She can float her head out of the way in time. What’s more, even if I stand here, she’ll continue to attack me with her other pieces, assuming she has the spatial awareness for it. So how am I supposed to win this?’ Then, he notices the sleeves of Tokage’s jacket and thinks, ‘That could work.’

Midoriya plants his feet onto the ground just as her parts come barreling towards him. While latching onto the girl’s sleeves, he begins to spin himself faster and faster, with the girl’s trapped head trailing behind. All of the remaining pieces stopped moving as the Greenettes gained rotational momentum. It didn’t take too long for the audience to finally realize that Midoriya plans to hammer throw Tokage’s head out of the ring.

“Wowee! Midoriya is taking Tokage’s head for a ride! Look at him spin her right round right round like a record baby!”

“Why did you have to quote Dead or Alive?”

The girl didn’t take the unexpected ride too kindly to the move as she wailed,
“WAHWAHWAHWAH!WHATISGOINGONOUTTHERE!?”

‘Sorry. Tokage. I can’t lose here!’ That was the last thing Midoriya thought to himself before releasing his grip on the jacket, sending the object flying. During the short ride, Tokage shakes off the garment covering her head. However, as soon as she does, she realizes that she is now on a one-way collision course towards one of the stadium walls. Understanding she has no time to steer, she shuts her eyes and grits her teeth, wishing she had kept the jacket on for impact. And then,

-SMASH!-

-CRACK!-

“Ack!”

A huge cloud of dust forms from the impact of the girl’s face, with the rest of Tokage’s pieces falling lifelessly into the ground. As soon as the dust settles, Midnight releases her verdict upon seeing Tokage’s face still lodged within the cement wall.

“Tokage is out of bounds! Midoriya moves on to the next round!”

The crowd cheers in awe thanks to Midoriya’s ingenuity. Many pointed out that he didn’t use his Quirk much, not like the last round. Yet, that sparked some debate with more introspective members of the audience.

“What an incredible fight to kick off the next round! Midoriya tossed out the competition and is now moving on to the semi-finals!”

The One For All user peers at the spot Tokage’s head crashed into; his eyes go wide upon realizing her head is still lodged in the wall. Not wanting her to remain trapped, Midoriya dashes over to the location, grabbing the girl’s jacket along the way. Upon drawing close enough, he pries the piece out of the wall with all of his might, earning a little yelp from the girl in the process. He asked her as he rotated her head to face him. “Tokage! Are you alright?”

There was no blood, but she did have a few scuff marks on her face, and her eyes were spinning. The only thing the splitting girl answered with was, “weoiwpaojfijckxlnvs…”

A few seconds later, she corrected her eyes to better focus on the boy. Her vision was still blurry as she was currently seeing Midoriya’s face at least five times. She gleefully slurs, “H-hey, Greenie… H-How you doing?” She squints a bit while giggling, “S-say… W-when did y-you get four more cute faces? I wanna pinch them all.” This made the boy’s face glow red upon hearing the compliment. The expression was made even stronger as the rest of her body floated over to them while slowly piecing itself back together.

Izuku tried to maintain some dignity as he placed her head back onto the severed neck, earning a thanks from the girl. Unfortunately, this act got him even redder now that he saw her complete figure. Even though he saw her in a sports bra a few times, those happened when she was far enough away that he could pay attention to their match. Now, he had an up close view of Tokage’s upper figure, and the fact that she was glistening with sweat made her face, arms, bust, and midriff even more appealing. The girl was still a bit woozy, but had enough focus to notice Midoriya’s reddening face, so she cooed while leaning forward, “What? Is something wrong?”

“AHHH!!! N-N-No! Nothing’s wrong, Tokage! I’m fine!” Izuku soon realizes he was still carrying the girl’s jacket over his shoulder, so he drapes it around her while looking away, “H-Here! I-I believe this is yours!”

Setsuna blushes too at the act as she looks away while uttering, “O-oh… Thanks.”

Midnight squealed from a distance, “OOOOOH! What a gentleman!” Cementoss also grinned at the act of kindness while watching the two walk over to the tunnel together to see Recovery Girl.

“Aww! Look at those two coming together after a fierce battle. We’ll be taking a short break to clean things up before starting up our next match.”

Many of the students remained flabbergasted as the two Greenettes walked out together. None was more shocked than Monoma, whose entire body turned cartoonishly blank. A few of his classmates tried to shake him to wake him up, but to no avail. Meanwhile, some of the students in Class 1-A left more complimentary comments for Midoriya.

“Yes!” Uraraka cheered while pumping her fist into the air, “Deku won again!”

Iida nodded to his classmates' excitement, “Indeed. He cut it close once again, but he still found a way to overcome his opponent. He never ceases to amaze me.”

Kirishima, meanwhile, hollered at the top of his lungs for a different reason, “HELL YEAH! WAY TO REPRESENT CLASS 1-A, MIDORIYA! THAT RESCUE AND ACT OF CHIVALRY IS THE EPITOME OF MANLY!” If you peered close enough, you could also hear Tetsutetsu cry out for a similar reason.

Hagakure and Ashido, meanwhile, fawned over Midoriya’s act of chivalry even more, “Oh my gosh! That was so cute!”

“I know, right! Midoriya’s such a gentleman!”

Bakugo said nothing during the cheering, only taking the time to glare at Izuku while he was exiting. The only other one who did something similar was Todoroki, but he didn’t watch the fight as he remained in the waiting room, again. Even as he heard the announcements, he did not comment whatsoever.

-UA Stadium, Recovery Girl’s office-

Midoriya and Tokage headed over to the Nurse’s Office under the stadium to get treated. Midoriya only suffered from a few scrapes and bruises, so it didn’t take him too long to recover. Tokage, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. She suffered a major concussion after getting thrown into the wall, so as soon as Recovery Girl kissed her with her powers, the female Greenette immediately passed out.

“Mmmmwah! There we go. A concussion will take time to heal. But she has good stamina, so she’ll be back on her feet in no time.”

The elder nurse pivoted to All Might, who was talking with Midoriya. She was a bit taken aback by the scene, so she spoke up.

“What are you doing here, boy? Shouldn’t you be seeing who your next opponent will be?”

Midoriya squeaked, “Oh. I saw that Tokage was still knocked out. So I figured I’d stay for a little longer. I still feel bad for what I did to her back in our match.”

All Might sighed, “Well, you did swing the girl’s head into a wall. So I guess you can’t help but feel a lot of guilt. That said, young Tokage has shown herself to be a resilient girl. I’m sure she’ll forgive you once you bring it up. On the bright side, you didn’t break anything this fight, even if it meant using your Quirk as minimally as possible.”

Recovery Girl scowled at the Pro Hero’s verdict, “Better that than to have to treat two students after your reckless means of teaching.”

All Might sweated at the lecture, ‘Seriously? Are you not going to let that go?’

The nurse then shifted her gaze to Midoriya, “Regardless, I must thank you for not being so careless with yourself this time. I was a bit worried you would break yourself again.”

The Greenette nodded while Recovery Girl shifted her gaze back at Tokage.

“I’m quite surprised you worked with this girl back in the Cavalry Battle. How did you know about her?”

“Erm… Well, you see…” Midoriya stuttered for a moment, “I kinda stumbled into her before we left for the USJ. After that, we talked here and there outside of class; even if it was for a little bit, I always had fun spending time with her. She’s smart, fierce, and looks out for her classmates. I don’t think I’ve met anyone like her before.”

All Might added in his two cents, “No surprise there. She has shown herself to be quite brilliant every time she was in my class.”

Recover Girl smirked at this, ‘Of course you two would be impressed. And I hope that girl will keep you from returning to my office so much, Midoriya. At the rate you were going, you were beginning to arrive as often as Hatsuumi. That boy was a piece of work back when he was your age.’

“Huh? Is something wrong?”

“Oh. Don’t you worry about me, young man. Just having a bit of deja vu. That’s all.”

Suddenly, Tokage began to stir. She sat up in her bed, removing the bindings around her forehead, and peered to her right while still a bit woozy, “M-Morning… How long was I out?” She then stared at the three before her, but her vision was a bit blurry at the time. The green-haired girl rubbed her eyes to recognize an old, blonde, gangly male, prying her attention away from Midoriya and the elderly nurse. “Who’s this guy?”

Both Midoriya and All Might freaked out at the question, with the latter answering as he stood up, “Err… Don’t mind me, young lady. I-I was just leaving.” He creakily turned around and walked out the door, leaving the female teen more confused than anything as she chirped, “Huh?”

Recovery Girl answers, “He’s a faculty member of UA, though he isn’t seen that often. As for your other question, you were asleep for a couple of minutes. You’ll likely feel some dizziness for the rest of the day, so I recommend visiting me later and not using your Quirk in the meantime.”

Midoriya sighed in relief over Tokage’s stability and Recovery Girl’s quick save.

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad you're doing alright.”

Tokage panned over to Midoriya, “Huh? You’re still here, Greenie?”

“Yeah. I saw you weren’t doing so well, so I thought it would be best if I stayed a little longer.”

Setsuna grinned at Midoriya’s answer, “Oh? You were worried for little old me, still? Just how sweet can you be, hot stuff? You’re gonna give me diabetes at this rate.” This response got Midoriya flustered again, still not used to her teasing. That said, Recovery Girl wasn’t too pleased at the banter, so she slammed her cane into the floor, earning a yelp from both high schoolers.

“That’s enough, you two! I did not set up my station here so that I can watch you lovebirds flirt with each other.”

Both blushed heavily at the thought, with Midoriya squeaking, “What? No! We’re not together! You got it all wrong! I swear!”

The elder nurse was not amused as she nodded her head while continuing, “That’s what they all say at the beginning. If you two have the energy to chat, then I would like you two to leave immediately. I have a busy day today, and the last thing I need is teenager fluid smothering my equipment.”

The Greenettes nodded their heads in unison, “Y-Yes ma’am! T-Thank you for the treatment!” They then walked out the door together, still red over Recovery Girl’s accusation. The old nurse leaned back on her chair while subtly grinning.

‘Fifty years of doing this service and I still got it. Now that I think about it, I never knew the girl could be as wild as her father.’

-Sports Festival Halls-

After Izuku and Sestuna left Recovery Girl’s office, they resorted to some mild chatting to pass the time. It was mostly light jabs and Midoriya apologizing to Tokage for throwing her head into a cement wall.

“C’mon, Midoriya. I already told you. It’s fine. I’d be more upset if you held back on me in that match.”

“Yeah, I know… It’s just… well…”

Tokage interrupted, understanding his situation while adding a sly remark. “Don’t worry. I get it. Your Quirk’s self-destructive. It’s only natural to be concerned. That said, it’s gonna take way more than a bash to the face to bring me down. And I gotta say, that was quite a mean throw you made back in our fight. You must be hella ripped under the hood.”

Midoriya blushed at the compliment and tried to steer the conversation before it evolved into full-blown teasing, “We should be at our stands soon. I don’t want to miss this next fight.”

“Hoh? You tired of me already? You’re breaking my heart here, cutie.”

“What? No! It’s not like that at all! I enjoy talking with you!” Midoriya yelped out of embarrassment. As soon as he calms down, he pulls out his current Hero Notebook, “It’s just that… I want to watch both Todoroki and Shiozaki fight. Their Quirks are vastly different, and I am curious about how a match between them would turn out, given what I wrote down on them.”

Setsuna raised an eyebrow upon seeing the book, “Wow. You never leave without that thing, do you now?”

Midoriya chuckled as he continued, “Yeah. Not really. I have tons of information written down in this notebook alone.”

“Oh yeah. You mentioned that back at the start of the Sports Festival. What do you tend to write in there?”

The boy was a bit surprised that she asked him that question, but he was happy enough to elaborate as he flipped through the pages, “M-Mostly Quirks. I’ve always been fascinated by them since I was little. It’s always fun to learn about new powers, like from your class, so I always make sure to write down as much as I can about it, as well as brainstorm special moves and applications.”

He paused for a moment upon turning to the section featuring the splitting girl’s power and faces the pages towards her, “Oh yeah. Take this, for example. This is what I wrote down on your Quirk, Tokage.”

The girl in question gazed at the pages before her; pupils shrank, posture slouched, and jaw dropped to the floor– not literally, fortunately. She chirped, “Wait… You wrote all of this about me?”

“Err… Yeah… I did.” Midoriya paused for a moment, “Is something wrong?”

Setsuna’s grin quickly spread across her face, and her eyes sparkled like diamonds as she snatched the book from his hands, “Are you kidding me? This is awesome! There are so many details written down here in just two pages. Surveillance, agility, weight limit… Heck! You even wrote down my regeneration and DNA costume. Half of my class doesn’t even know about the latter yet.”

Midoriya sheepishly responded while rubbing the back of his neck, “Oh. Yeah, that part took me a while to figure out. Had to stop for a bit to do some extra research on materials that will match well with your Quirk.”

“Well, your research has paid off. I can give you that.” Tokage giggles. Her pupils dilate upon looking at the boy while her heart rate rises. Then, an idea forms in her mind as she looks down at the notebook while softly biting her lip. She slowly pans to Midoriya while slightly blushing behind the pages, “Say… Can I add… one more thing to my page?”

“Uhh…” Midoriya was a bit confused. He expected some level of shock, like what he got with his other friends. But this... this was different. The boy slowly answers, “S-sure. I-I mean. I don’t mind, but… are you sure you want to do that?”

“Sure do. After everything you’ve done for me and my class, you’ve earned it. Besides, this is the most important info you’ll ever get out of me, and I trust you.” Setsuna confessed while zipping her jacket down to pull out a pen from somewhere.

Midoriya was bewildered at what he heard. Aside from All Might, she was the first person to write something in his notebook. Tokage softly grins as she jots down the new information, keeping the book’s pages away from him so he wouldn’t peek. Then, as soon as she was done, she closed the book and handed it back to its owner.

“There we go. All yours.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

She casually turns around as she stores her pen, softly chanting, “Well, I'd better head back to the stands. I’ll be rooting for you in the semi-finals, handsome. Good luck.”

“Huh? Uh. Yeah. I’ll do my best… Thanks.”

Tokage grins at Midoriya one last time before walking down the hallway leading to her stands, leaving Midoriya all alone. He stares at his notebook, wondering, ‘Now that I think about it, I wonder what she listed. Lizard Tail Splitter is a rather versatile Quirk; maybe she gave me a practical application I haven’t thought of yet.’

He slowly opens to Setsuna’s page, and upon doing so, his eyes widen and his jaw slackens at the new information. ‘Wait a minute... That’s not a move… That’s… That’s…’

Written on the top left corner of the page was a ten-digit number with a heart at the end in lavender ink. Upon realizing what she gave him, he immediately blushes at the new information,

‘HOLY WHOA! I GOT A GIRL’S NUMBER!!!’

He covers his mouth so no one will hear his screams, even if it is Todoroki passing down the halls for his match.

-Sport Festival, 1-B stands-

Tokage returns to her class’s seating, hoping they weren’t mad at her loss. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, as shown with the following cheers.

“Hey, look, guys. It’s Tokage!”

The girl was confused as she responded with “Huh?”

“Congrats on making it to the top eight.”

“I can’t believe you held your own against Midoriya. That guy’s wicked skilled.”

“Totally! Way to go on representing the guys in 1-B!”

Tokage blushed over the several compliments. She didn’t make it past the second match, yet they were congratulating her like she had won the finals. That said, not everyone shared the same sentiment.

“Tokage! What happened down there?!” The girl in question panned to Monoma, who was frothing at the mouth for some reason. “You were so close to taking down that 1-A punk you turned on! What gives?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose, anticipating something like this from the boy, “No one’s turning on anyone, Monoma. I just underestimated him. That’s all.”

“That’s all!?” He dramatically turns away to continue his speech, “I told you we cannot let those 1-A students get the better of us. They’ll start thinking they’re the stars of the story, and leave us on the sidelines to dry! This was our opportunity to overcome those idiots, not fraternize with them! I thought you were going to take out that green-haired buffoon for good!”

Setsuna began to feel her blood boil upon hearing Monoma continue his tirade. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about our opportunity to get scouted! We worked just as hard as they did for this special day. And yet, here they are moving on just because they think they’re the superior class! No matter, since he barely used his powers in the festival, none of the heroes would bother to recruit him. They’ll consider him a liability just like the rest of those idiots!” The blonde cackles like there’s no tomorrow, throwing everyone off their guard. Tokage, meanwhile, burst a blood vessel after hearing everything her fanatical classmate had to say. Noticing Monoma’s back was still turned towards her, she threw a neck chop at his neck… only for nothing to happen. Monoma flinched, but he didn’t turn around and instead asked, “That’s odd. Why is my neck hurting all of a sudden?” Before he could piece it together, Kendo stepped in to finish the job with her neck chop. The Orangette turned to Tokage while carrying Monoma’s unconscious body in one hand, “Sorry about that. Maybe I should teach you that move I use on Monoma.” Setsuna said nothing, and instead resorted to an eyebrow raise that anyone can translate as “You think?”

A minute later, the corner flames erupted once again, signaling the next match. Shiozaki and Todoroki stepped up to the platform while Present Mic continued introductions as usual, being very careful not to use any harsh descriptions on the vine girl.

“Begin!”

Upon hearing the match commence, Shiozaki thrusted as many vines as she could towards her opponent, furious over the boy freezing her classmates time and time again. Todoroki became entangled within the botanical power, but remained unfazed.

“Look at that! Mother Nature has taken the upper hand with such impressive speed. This could be over soon!”

Todoroki, meanwhile, gazed fiercely at the girl before uttering, “Apologies.” He then uses the vines as leverage to freeze as much of the arena as possible. Shiozaki tried to cut off the vines before the frost reached her main body, but was a little too slow. By the time the heterochromatic student finished his freezing attack, the whole arena was covered in ice. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as his last match, but his opponent was still caked in ice. Shiozaki knew it was over, so she whispered, “I… I yield.”

Upon hearing that, Midnight announces, “Shiozaki has forfeited. Todoroki advances.”

“Well. There you have it! The Ice Age user persists and will advance to the semi-finals.”

The boy then shattered his frozen vine bindings before walking towards his former opponent. The girl was unable to form words as the frostbite destroyed the vines that covered her scalp. She wanted to scold Todoroki for his excessive display of power, only for the latter to use his left side to melt the girl free while muttering, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go this far.”

All of Class 1-A and 1-B remained shocked over the outcome, be it due to how quickly the fight ended or how much pain the plant-based Greenette was in. Only Midoriya, Tokage, and Monoma figured out that Shiozaki would lose rather quickly. Setsuna opted to excuse herself, deciding it was best to check in on her classmate.

-Outside Recovery Girl’s Office-

Tokage knocked on the door to Recovery Girl’s office, expecting Shiozaki to be there. The nurse, not anticipating visitors, slowly opened the door, stopping as soon as she spotted the teen.

“Oh. Ms. Tokage. Can I help you with anything?”

“Yeah. Hi. I wanted to check in on Shiozaki on behalf of everyone in 1-B. Is she doing alright?”

The nurse anticipated something like this, knowing how much pain the vine girl would likely be in. She decided to keep it simple,

“The girl is in a lot of pain, but she will recover. I had to remove most, if not all, of her hair to minimize injuries. Fortunately, that’s where she was damaged the most. Only her scalp and other parts of her skin suffered minor frostbite damage. Is there anything else you need?”

“Not at all. Thank you for telling me. I’ll be sure to inform the rest of my class.” Tokage then bowed, followed by the nurse as the latter closed her door.

However, before the green-haired girl began her journey through the halls, she peered to her left to spot Todoroki. She has been pretty ticked at him ever since their time at the cafeteria, and opted to confront him.

“Care to explain yourself?”

Todoroki stopped, turning to the splitting girl, “Hmm… What do you want? I have no business with you.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Todoroki. You know what you did. You’re lucky your little ‘Frozen’ performance didn’t damage anything past Shiozaki’s skin.”

“I already apologized for that and thawed her out to make sure none of my ice penetrates her vital organs or limbs.”

“And you think that excuses you for being a cold-hearted brute?” Tokage scowled as she drew closer to the other student.

"I don’t care what you think of me, Tokage. I didn’t come to UA to make friends."

"So you came here to make enemies, instead?"

"What?" The half-and-half student raised an eyebrow, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're being ridiculous! First, you push everyone away back in the Entrance Exams, then you drag Midoriya away to who knows where without ever explaining why, and now you're freezing our classmates left and right with a half-assed apology. Just what the hell are you trying to prove?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh, really? What is your business, then? Callously hurting everyone so you can focus on becoming the next Endeavor?"

“Enough!” Todoroki barked at the girl as frost sprouted from his right side, covering part of the hall in his ice. He slowly pants as he steps towards the mess, before melting it away with his left hand. Tokage didn't move during that time; she didn't know how to react, as this was the first time she had witnessed Todoroki express some kind of emotion.

The boy stepped close to the girl and calmly replied, “You don't know me, Tokage. You have no idea what I have to do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must prepare myself for my match against Midoriya.”

He coldly walked away, finishing with, “I need to prove to him I can win without my left side.”

Tokage said nothing as Todoroki disappeared down the halls towards the 1-A stands. She walked down the halls to the 1-B stands while clenching her fists so tightly that blood was about to spill. ‘Just what is his problem?’

-Later, UA arena-

A few minutes passed after the fight against Todoroki and Shiozaki. Fortunately, there wasn't as much ice to clear as last time, so the festival didn't have to go on another intermission. Once the ice was gone, Present Mic called out to the next two contestants to take the stage.

As soon as Kirishima walked off for his match, Midoriya stared at Kacchan’s empty seat. He noticed that every time he had an upcoming fight, he would always sit in the waiting room. He was taking the Sports Festival seriously, too seriously. The Greenette understood why, given that he scored third place twice behind him and Todoroki. Izuku didn’t know what the outcome for the finals would be, but he knew it was going to get rough when he faced Todoroki, even more so if he advanced to the final round.

Five minutes later, Kirishima’s match against Bakugo began. Tetsutetsu at his seat cheered for his rock-hard doppelganger, much to the dismay of some of his classmates. At the start, the hard student had the upper hand on Bakugo thanks to his hardening Quirk, shielding him from the latter’s explosions. Along with staying on the offensive, the bomber barely had options for evading. He was way tougher than Bondo, given that the redhead landed a scratch on Bakugo’s cheek within a minute.

Then, despite doing well so far, disaster struck. Kirishima opted to keep his Quirk active for the entire match, something the explosion user took notice of. Upon discovering Kirishima toning his Quirk down by a few degrees, exposing parts of his body, he took action. Bakugo blasted at the redhead’s weak spots, dismantling Kirishima’s defense even more with each successive strike. He landed one last blow, knocking the hard man to the floor.

“Kirishima is knocked out! Bakugo moves on to the next round.”

While some of the students groaned over Kirishima’s defeat, Midoriya went back to writing down more notes, “Now that I think about it, I wonder how fast Kirishima could transfer parts of his hardening throughout his body. He likely would have won if he had done that instead of spreading the power all over his body. Not to mention, the Quirk seems to make its user less mobile, so hardening on parts that aren’t covering specific joints would’ve made him faster and last longer in the fight, even if it’s only a little-”

Unfortunately, for the rest of 1-A, no one was able to stop Midoriya’s muttering rampage on time, given Iida and Uraraka had to prepare for their match. It wasn’t until Present Mic took to the stands again, announcing the arrival of Midoriya’s two close friends, that the Greenette ceased his mumbling. He looked at his notes for a bit and then closed them, knowing full well how the match was going to turn out.

In short, Iida announced another Recipro Burst before dashing behind his opponent to push her out of bounds. Unfortunately for him, Uraraka didn’t want to go down without a fight, not like last time. So, upon feeling Iida’s hands on her back, she used her Quirk on the speedster to make him float. The result was a wild one, as even though Iida finished pushing her out of bounds, he kept rocketing around the arena in mid-air like a busted firework. It wasn’t until Uraraka realized how much trouble her friend was in that she turned off her Zero Gravity. The spectacled student then fell into the grass, backside down, and muttered, “Why did you activate your Quirk at a time like this?” before passing out.

Seeing the random rocket show was finished, Midnight uncovered herself while announcing, “Uraraka fell out of bounds first! Iida moves on to the next round!”

The male Greenette didn’t have much to say after that wild performance, even as robots escorted Iida and Uraraka on hampers. As Present Mic announced break time and the rest of his classmates went on to discuss the bizarre performance, he decided now was a good time to exit the stands.

-UA Stadium, Waiting Room #2-

Midoriya spends the entire break alone in one of the waiting rooms. He knew Todoroki was going to be a challenge, given how much trouble his ice created. That said, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that Todoroki is holding back, especially when he thought back to his discussion with him back in the UA halls.

-Flashback-

After Todoroki escorted Midoriya out of the cafeteria, he brought him to one of the empty halls, hoping for some privacy. The half-and-half student stood across the Greenette, with both eyes peering into his classmate’s soul.

“Alright, you brought me here.” Midoriya started, “What do you want?”
Todoroki stood there for a moment, not making a sound or a move.

“If you don’t have anything to talk about right now, maybe we can pick up the conversation later. The cafeteria is going to be full soon, and I’m sure you don’t want to attend the finals on an empty stomach.”

Again, not a sound came from the other student.

“Uhh… Hello?”

Still nothing. Izuku gulped loudly at the scene before him. Todoroki’s type of intimidation was far different from what he’s used to with Bakugo. This guy was cold, calculating, and uncompromising. Then, the heterochromatic student spoke up.

“I was overwhelmed in the last round. You made me break a promise I made to myself years ago.”

‘A promise? Is that why he never uses his flames? It would’ve given him an enormous advantage. I doubt anyone would even be able to counter it, least of all me.’

Todoroki stares at the raised left hand, “Iida, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Bondo, Uraraka, even Tokage… None of them felt it back then. Yet, in that moment, I was the only one who experienced your true power. It reminded me of All Might back in the USJ.”

“Okay… What is your point, Todoroki?”

“I’m saying the power emanating from you felt the same as All Might’s.”

‘Oh crap. He figured it out, didn’t he?’

“Midoriya, tell me.” Todoroki glared harder for a moment and asked with the straightest face possible, “Are you All Might’s secret love child or something?”

Midoriya’s mind went completely blank upon hearing the accusation. ‘Am I… WHAT?’ He expected Todoroki to ask him tough questions, but not this. The boy wasn’t even sure he could answer without laughing.

“Well, are you?” Todoroki pressed further.

“What? No! That’s not it at all, I swear. I mean, I get why you’d think that, but at the same time, I don’t. That said, I doubt you’d believe me either way. I promise you, any similarities I have with All Might are merely coincidental. Also… Why would you think that was the case?”

“‘That’s not it all,’ is interesting wording, I’ll give you that much. It at least implies that something is going on between you two.”

“And… Your point is… what exactly?”

Todoroki looks down for a bit before continuing, “My father is the Flame Hero Endeavor. I’m certain you’ve heard of him.”

“Y-Yeah, the number two hero, right behind All Might.”

“Exactly… So if you’re connected to him in any manner, then it gives me all the more reason to beat you today. My old man is ambitious and has been aiming for the top since his debut. He used his power to make a name for himself, yet he never came close to the same caliber as All Might. The Symbol of Peace is nothing but living proof of failure according to himself, yet he persists.”

“I’m not sure why you’re bringing your father up. What’s this about, Todoroki?”

“Are you familiar with… Quirk Marriages?”

“Yeah… I am… They were a problem within the first few generations after Quirks were introduced. The theory behind it was to search for potential mates so that their kin would bear even stronger powers. Most of it was due to coercion and was highly unethical, even when some defended it as merely old-fashioned. Wait… does that mean…”

“My father has not only a rich history of accomplishments, but also plenty of wealth to manage his issues. He bribed my mother’s relatives so he could gain access to her Quirk. Now, he’s raising me to usurp All Might.”

‘Whoa. That’s dark.’

Todoroki's voice subtly started to crack, “I refuse to be a tool for that bastard. And to make things worse, the only memories I have left of my mother are those of her crying. I even recall that she once called my left side unbearable, before she poured boiling water over my face.” He emphasized the last line as he covered his scarred eye with his left hand. “That’s why I chose to fight you. It’s all to show that bastard what I can do without his damned firepower. I’ll prove to him that I can take first place without it.”

‘I see. The life he’s led is far different from mine. Yet, he suffered just as much as I have, maybe even more. It’s strange how we want the same thing despite having different pasts.’

Todoroki slowly exits the hall as he continues his statement, “You’re connected to All Might in some way, even if you won’t admit it. Regardless, no matter how fiercely you come at me from now on, I will defeat you with only my mother’s side. I can assure you of that.”

‘So that’s why Todoroki’s so focused. His motivation is straight out of a comic book. A hero with a tragic backstory is fighting to rise above it.’

“Oh, and Midoriya. One more thing.” Todoroki added while turning his head slightly.

The Greenette looked up to the half-and-half student, “What is it?”

“Don’t you dare tell anyone else about this. Not Iida, not Tokage, not anyone in our year. You understand? I came to you for a reason.” He left without another word while Midoriya exited shortly after to reunite with his friends back in the Cafeteria.

-Back to the Present-

Midoriya thinks to himself, ‘It doesn’t matter if I beat him or not, he’ll still try to use half of his power to fight, even if it costs him his life. I can’t let that happen.’ He tightens his fists upon finishing the thought.

Suddenly, the door opens, grabbing his attention. A girl walks in, though Midoriya couldn’t tell who it was at first, as she had bandages completely wrapping the top of her head. It wasn’t until he recognized her dark green eyes and long lower eyelashes that he figured out the visitor.

“Shiozaki?”

The girl perked up upon hearing Midoriya’s voice,

“Pardon?” As soon as she turned to the fellow Greenette, she panicked as she bowed to him, “I apologize. I didn’t know this room was occupied. I will see myself out.”

She tried to exit the room, only for the boy to intervene, “N-No! It’s alright! You can stay here if you like.” Shiozaki pivoted back to Midoriya upon hearing him out, “Are you certain? I do not wish to interrupt your preparations for your upcoming battle.”

Midoriya nodded in assurance, “Y-Yes. I’m sure. I’m all done with making a plan. Just thinking about something else, right now.”

The girl bowed before taking a seat across from the boy, “I see. I thank you for your hospitality, Midoriya.”

The boy couldn’t help but notice the wrappings around Shiozaki’s scalp, as opposed to the lush green vines reaching to her lower waist. He didn’t want to be rude; she likely left Recovery Girl’s office recently. Yet, some part of him wanted to check in on her. So, he spoke up.

“How… How are you feeling after your… match with Todoroki?”

Shiozaki was a bit surprised that he spoke to her on such a topic, but agreed to the conversation, given that Kendo, Tetsutetsu, and Tokage vouched for him.

“I’m alright. Thank you for asking. I have fully healed thanks to Recovery Girl’s blessed powers. Though I cannot say the same for my hair.”

“I… I see. I’m sorry for what Todoroki did to you. The recovery must’ve been painful for you, especially on your head.”

“I understand your concern.” Shiozaki raised an open palm to the boy while closing her eyes, “And I do not blame you for what your classmate has done to me.”

She lowered her palm as she continued, “The vines that form my hair are 90% water, so it is natural they suffer the most from the frost. Recovery Girl merely had to remove them fully before continuing her treatment on me. With enough water and sunlight, my hair will fully regrow within the next day or two.” The girl then looked down at the table while softly clenching one of her fists, close to shedding a tear. “That said. I cannot help but feel he is suffering far more than I have today. Nothing but sorrow and agony crossed my mind upon gazing into his eyes.”

Midoriya glumly looked down, but felt some comfort, knowing he wasn’t the only one who noticed how much pain Todoroki was in. He then slipped, “Oh. You saw it too?”

“Hmm?” Shiozaki looked back at Midoriya, “What do you mean?”

The boy suddenly realized that he had messed up by telling Shiozaki what he saw in Todoroki. Fortunately, he didn’t spill anything on his classmate’s past, though he did feel like he had to confess to someone, “W-Well. After the Cavalry Battle, Todoroki pulled me aside to talk in private. I can’t go into detail, but after our conversation, I couldn’t help but worry about him. I have a feeling he’s going to get himself hurt, or worse.”

“Hurt? Does it have to do with his ice powers?”

Midoriya silently nodded as he gripped the table. He continued in a low tone, “I… I know we’re fighting against each other in this tournament. But, I gotta do something.”

“Do something?” Shiozaki shrieked, “Are you saying you wish to forsake the match for Todoroki’s sake?”

The boy piped up in response, “N-No! That’s not what I meant by that at all!” He calms down before finishing his thought, “I’m saying I want to talk to him about this because I don’t want him to make a mistake that will cost him in the end. Before UA, I… I spent my whole life dealing with my problems alone… and… now that we’re both here… I don’t want him to suffer the same fate. What he’s going through right now is beyond competition at this point.”

Shiozaki was shocked by the answer and was unable to make a response beyond, “I understand. That makes sense.”

She looks at the boy again before thinking to herself, ‘Midoriya has a kind and wise soul deep within. He not only saw through the hatred of his classmate, but also the bitter rivalry between the two Hero Courses. Is it possible he could settle the feud Monoma has initiated?’

“Alright, sports fans! Get those foam fingers back in the air, cause it’s time to start the semifinal round! Two GROUND-BREAKING matches will take place to determine who will come out on top for the grand finale! Fighters! Take your places within the next 5 minutes!”

Midoriya stood up from his seat, “Well, I guess that’s my cue.”

Shiozaki followed shortly thereafter, “Wait! Are you sure you will be alright? I did not wish to waste your time discussing another person.”

The male Greenette shook his head, not wanting the girl to feel guilty, “Not at all. I had a feeling I needed to talk to someone about this. I’m glad I was able to do it with you.”

He was about to leave upon opening the door, only for the vine girl to intervene one last time, “Midoriya!”

The boy turned around to see Shiozaki before him, “What is it?”

She decided it was best to end their heavy conversation on a good note. So, while facing the boy, she clasped her hands together as a heavenly light shone upon her, “I wish you the best of luck on your endeavor.”

Midoriya was stunned, be it from the random light or from the cheer of a student he’s never spoken to before. Yet, he couldn’t help but smile at Shiozaki’s blessing, so he nodded and answered with, “Thank you.”

The two Hero Course Students then exited the waiting room, with Midoriya heading out to the arena and Shiozaki to the 1-B stands, knowing how concerned her classmates were about her since her previous bout.

-Sports Festival, Arena-

“Looks like the crowd is going wild, and I can’t say I blame them. Cause it’s time for the semi-final matches. Two exciting fights to determine who will advance to the final match of today! On the left, it’s the relentless green-haired combatant who kept on scoring first time and time again. From the Hero Course, Izuku Midoriya!”

The Greenette stepped up to the platform, fists tightened for battle. He watches his half-and-half opponent take the stage as Present Mic continues while performing vibrant poses at his station.

“Versus, the icy runner-up who’s always tailing behind his latest adversary. Also from the Hero Course, Shoto Todoroki! This is going to be one helluva match, ladies and gents! Because it stars the top two performing students of today!”

Todoroki spoke up upon finishing his journey to the ring, “So, here we are.”

Midoriya nodded in response, “Yeah. And only one of us can win.”

“Both of these heroes in training have been neck and neck since the start of the festival! They’re not just fighting for the sake of it. This is Todoroki’s last chance to take down Midoriya in a fight after trailing behind twice already!”

Back in the 1-A stands, Iida and Uraraka return to their seats while Present Mic announces the upcoming match. The former turns to the bird-headed student upon sitting down.

“Tokoyami. How do you think this match will go?”

“That depends on whether or not Midoriya can get close enough to him.”

“Yeah. That’s the problem.” Uraraka agreed, also in her seat, “Todoroki has shown himself to be a powerhouse so many times now. How will Deku manage his ice?”

While in the 1-B stands, half of the class was getting scared off by Tetsutetsu’s intense rally.

“Kick his icy ass, Midoriya! Show ‘em how it’s done!”

Awase and Tsubaraba didn’t take too kindly to the cheer given they were sitting next to the steel student, with the former remarking, “The hell, dude? Since when have you been so fond of the 1-A guys? I thought you hated them.”

Tokage spoke up, not wanting everyone to get dragged into a pointless argument with Monoma pitching in, “Don’t worry about it, Awase. It’s fine. The match is focused on the top two guys of the festival after all.”

She squinted her eyes at the Greenette as she thought to herself, ‘Go get ‘em, tiger! Show that Todoroki punk what you’re made of!’

Little did anyone in the stands know that Shiozaki was also praying for Midoriya’s safety, hoping he would get through to the heterochromatic classmate.

-Meanwhile, in an undisclosed area-

“Pay close attention to these two, Shigaraki. They could prove to be formidable obstacles to you one day.”

“Heh. I’m not worried about a couple of ankle biters. Not after my last run-in with them.”

-Recovery Girl’s office-

Recovery Girl recalls while looking up to the screen showcasing the match, “Ah, yes. Those two saved you back at the USJ.”

All Might nodded, knowing the weight behind the upcoming battle, “Indeed. They both have such an intense aura about them. Yet neither of them realizes how much they have in common.”

-Sports Festival Arena-

Both of the upcoming heroes in the ring prepare their fighting stances, waiting for the vocal hero to announce the start of the fight.

“It’s time to see which of these two comes out on top! Will Midoriya keep his winning streak against his opponent? Or will Todoroki finally take down the grennified Goliath? Let’s find out in… Midoriya vs Todoroki! Begin!”

To be Continued…