Kirishima thrusted your form upward giving you leeway to fly and flip as if the air could suspend your gravity. Those momentary seconds felt like a halt in the universe until you finally came back down only to be reunited with yours and his hands intertwined. You stood as opposites with your body hanging upside down and Ejirou keeping you right side up.

A flurry of applause and gasps murmured throughout your friends as you gave the red head a strained smile. He returned his own and then signaled a warning as he threw your figure up and again. This time, he caught you in his arms by the underside of your knees and upper back.

"Wow! That's incredible! I've never seen anyone perfect those moves so quickly!" Hagakure reveled in awe. "You guys must really trust each other!"

You laughed as Ejirou let you down and kept an arm wrapped around your shoulder. "Yeah, I would say so. I mean look at the guns on this guy," You teased, pointing to a Kirishima who followed your joke and was now openly flexing in front of everyone.

"The bigger your muscle, the manlier you are." You rolled your eyes and playfully smacked his bicep.

"Ha? You call that a stunt? I could do better than that. Oi, mochi face, come here!" Katsuki barked at the brunette. Uraraka cocked an alarmed brow at the male, but still hesitantly walked toward him.

"Let go of those pom poms, we're gonna show these losers how it's done!"

"Eh!?"

"Oh no..." Mina sighed, biting her nail. "We can't say 'friendly competition' because all Bakugou hears is 'competition'."

Jirou nodded in agreement and then turned to the new duo. "Hey, weren't you the one that said you didn't want to participate?"

"Shut up, I'm not! I just can't stand seeing you dumbasses fail so miserably!" Katsuki retorted.

"He's gonna drop her," Sero mused negatively.

"Aw, don't say that," You defended, though the way they were struggling was concerning. You dismissed the ache in your chest as worry as well while you watched Katsuki put his hands on Uraraka's waist. You couldn't help but avoid looking in their direction, keeping the painful jab from pulsing harder.

You heard them garner a couple claps from your group when feedback from the stadium speakers drew everyone's attention.

"Okay, okay, okay! That was the last of the recreational activities! Let's have everyone out on the field head back to their respective seats!" Present Mic exclaimed to the roaring crowds. "The tournament is about to begin!!"

"We'd better get going," You shrugged as the other students began to huddle towards the stands.

"Yes, but not without a verdict! Bakugou is disqualified as a judge so we'll have Hagakure take his place, and the new guy will still be our second judge," Mina grinned, referring to Shinsou. She turned to your invisible coach using her pom pom as a mic. "Thoughts?"

"Oh it's so hard to pick! Everyone did so well! But...I think I'll have to go with (l/n) and Kirishima! They were able to pull off stuff I've only seen after a couple weeks of training!"

The pinkette nodded with a solid pout. "Well said! Alright, now how about you, Dude-Who-I've-Never-Met-Before?"

He let out a breathy chuckle. "It's Shinsou, and I don't know much about cheerleading so I don't think I have any authority on the matter." The lavender male's gaze then wandered over to you. "But, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by what (l/n) and Kirishima did. You sure you weren't in cheerleader before?"

You waved your hands profusely, shaking of your head as Mina hummed in agreement. "Righto! I'll cast my vote in too since I didn't participate. Looks like Team (y/n) and Kirishima won by a landslide!"

"HAH!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE LOST!?" Katsuki fumed. You jumped with excitement and hugged Kiri in congratulations. The red head picked you up and spun you, a cheery beam on his face.

"Better luck next time! Now, I suggest we go before Cementoss makes us a part of the stage!" She proclaimed with a nervous giggle, glancing over to the Pro who was using his quirk to bring in a slush of cement onto the field. You all hurriedly dashed into one of the exits and made your rowdy escape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After donning your UA gym uniform again, you hung back in the shadows of the tunnels. Nezu had to be aware of your presence by now given your name was displayed all over the arena's screens. Just in case he sent out teachers to come look for you, you decided the safest spot would be where you would need to come out of next.

It was a bit nerve-wracking having to be constantly vigilant, but at least you got a good view of the stage from where you hid.

Cemetoss was just about finished crafting the stage when you heard footsteps approach you from behind.

"You know, I kinda miss the cheerleader look on you, not gonna lie," Shinsou smirked, making himself known as the light from the outside finally revealed him.

You put a hand over your frantic heartbeat. "Ahh...give me a heart attack, why don't you?"

"Pfft, sorry," He snorted, raising his hands in defense. "So this is where you're gonna hide until it's your turn?"

"You got any better ideas?"

"Touché."

You glanced out to the boisterous crowds. "So, you're up first?"

He shrugged. "I guess so."

"You're not nervous at all?"

"Why? Should I be nervous?" He probed playfully.

You raised your brow at him. Shinsou was joking around, but he couldn't hide the sharp edge behind his sluggish gaze. You crossed your arms and pressed your back against the wall. "I would just think you want to be careful. Izuku's quirk has some kick to it. Although I'm not entirely sure how your power works so maybe that's why you're not sweating it."

"Curious aren't we?" Shinsou hummed, leaning his shoulder where you were taking refuge.

A knowing smile curled its way onto your lips. "Maybe a little."

He nodded, his grin becoming a little more tense. He gestured towards you as he spoke. "Well, uh, my quirk is a type of hypnosis. You've seen it."

"Right, but is that what it is? How does it work?"

Shinsou rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes looking at anywhere but you. "It allows me to command whomever I activate it on. I have to wait for a verbal response in order for it to work. Quirk records affectionately named it Brainwashing."

"Oh wow," Your eyes widened. His quirk was incredible yet he didn't seem too keen on discussing it. "It isn't the most appealing sounding name, but still...that's crazy strong. No wonder you're not worried about your match."

The lavender male watched you with curiosity. "You're strange, you know that?"

"I compliment you and you insult me? Rude."

"Who said mine wasn't a compliment?" Shinsou retorted.

Just then, you two were once again made aware of the current stasis when the audience outside began chanting with excitement. You turned to him with a sigh. "Looks like your crowd's calling out for you," You said, pushing off the wall to stare out towards the brilliant light.

"I don't need a crowd if I got you cheering for me," Shinsou teased, giving your shoulder a squeeze. He took in a deep breath as he stretched his arms across himself. His stance was more confident than any of the ones you had seen from him previously. "Are you ready?" You asked.

"Yeah...well, ready as I'll ever be," He shrugged.

"You'll do great. Like you said, I'll be here cheering you on," You smiled with encouragement. As much as you wanted to be equal with both of your friends in this battle, you could tell Shinsou was the one who was struggling the most. Not physically of course, seeing as how Shinsou could literally command Izuku to do whatever he pleased, but mentally. Your somber companion didn't believe his quirk was good enough to do what Pros did. You begged to differ.

He got this far and he was so close to achieving what he wanted which was entering the hero program. He just needed an extra push. Izuku already had his win in the first event; you kinda wished Shinsou would be the next one to accomplish a feat like that. You wished them both luck, but your heart still held a soft spot for your violet-haired friend.

His tired his gaze couldn't hide the warmth your words gave him. He nodded and hid his expression. "Thanks." And with that, he stalked off towards the arena.

The matched revved up for gear as you got close to edge of the tunnel without being in the line of vision. You got a clear sight on Izuku and Shinsou who were facing off on the opposite sides of the stage. They were also on opposite sides of the emotion spectrum since Izuku looked like he might fumble from nervousness and Shinsou was as calm and collected as ever.

Present Mic's voice resonated into the stadium, bringing your heartbeat to a thumping pulse. "ARE, YOU, GUYS, REEEEAAADDDYYYYY!!?" The lively masses boomed in response.

"The moment you've been waiting for, folks! The tournament has begun!! To the right, making a weird face despite his excellent performance so far, we have Midoriya, Izuku from the Hero course!!"

"Aaaand down our left...uh, sorry! He hasn't really done anything to stand out yet, it's Shinsou, Hitoshi from General Studies!!"

You shook your head with indignation. Did he have to be so blunt? This just made your resolve in your friend more resilient. "Show 'em what you got, Shinsou," You mumbled, biting your nail as you watched the scene unfold.

"The rules are simple. Force your opponent out of the ring, immobilize them, or get them to give up!" Present Mic went on. "Bring on the pain! Because we've got good ol' Recovery Girl here on standby! So fight as dirty as you'd like! Ethics have no meaning here!"

"But of course, anything life-threatening is a no-no and will earn you disqualification! Heroes' fists fly only when in pursuit of villains!"

You quirked a brow as you watched Shinsou's lips move. He was saying something to Izuku but you couldn't quite hear it over the rumble of the crowds and Present Mic's hyping. Oh how you wished you knew how to read lips in that moment.

Whatever he had uttered, it couldn't have been could judging by the passive aggression against his features. Present Mic called the start of the battle, giving way to the noise which let you catch the tail end of Shinsou's commentary.

"...what kind of dumbass throws away a chance like that?"

You blinked in confusion just as Izuku garnered an uncharacteristic scowl. "What did you say!?" The shorter male sprinted forwards only to stop right in his tracks after a few paces. The muscles in his face relaxed, having been dulled to a mute expression. After receiving the knowledge you did, you knew exactly what was going on.

Shinsou stared at him hard. "This is my win."

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on here? This battle's just started, show us a little more spirit! Mere seconds into the fight and Midoriya's frozen in place!?"

Shinsou needed a verbal reply so he could to activate his quirk, and in order to do that he needed to get Izuku talking. No wonder he was prepping him with conversation before the match initiated. This was going to be a walk in the park for Shinsou.

"The boy isn't moving a muscle! Could this be Shinsou's quirk!?" Present Mic sputtered out. "We were barely aware of this guy's existence, but now he sure is one to keep your eye on!"

This elicited a frustrated groan from Aizawa, the other host. "I always said the entrance exam was a flawed system."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

You heard your teacher sigh. "Well, here's some of their basic specs. Shinsou failed the practical exam, losing his chance to be in the hero course. But since he also applied for general studies, he probably knew that would happen. His quirk is extraordinarily powerful...however given the requirements of the entrance exam, his ability didn't really help him out."

"The exam gives an advantage to those with physical attack quirks."

Suddenly, your memories were flooded.

"The hero's entrance exam, you mean."

"Well, don't you think it's a little unfair that the rep of the entire first year student body is chosen by the hero course?"

"You deserve a chance just like the rest of us."

Your heart ached remembering those words. You never realized how much they meant for him. All your sadness could do was form his name on your lips as you watched from afar.

"Must be nice having everything handed to you, Midoriya, Izuku," Shinsou spoke though his expression never turned scornful. "Now turn around and walk out of the ring."

Seeing him as stood there now, you couldn't connect the person who had comforted you in the library to the cold, calculated man that had won this match in less than a minute. His quirk didn't scare you, but seeing it in action was different from being told about it. He was far stronger than you had ever acknowledged.

Izuku followed his instruction and turned on his heel. The audience as well as Present Mic went ballistic. "WHHAAAA!? Midoriya's being so obedient!"

This was the end for him.

You felt sympathy for Izuku as he neared the edge of the stage. He would have won in physical fight against Shinsou any day, but he was just too outclassed in this instance. But at least he got some spotlight in the beginning. There were sure to be tons of agencies wanting to take him on after—

All of a sudden an enormous gust of wind erupted from Izuku, almost knocking you off your balance. The sensation left you dumbfounded for two reasons: 1) How the hell did he do that and 2) it was the same flicker of energy you had felt from All Might. The very same one that had caught you off guard during the cavalry fight with Todoroki.

Just what exactly was Izuku's quirk?

The curly haired male hunched over, gasping for air as he halted right in front of the white line designating his potential doom. He turned to glance over his shoulder, a fervent look in his eye.

"This is...! Midoriya has stopped!!!" Present Mic roared with the crowds who boomed louder than ever before.

The resolute expression on Shinsou's face had vanished. His brows furrowed into a glare of confusion. "How...? You shouldn't have control. What did you do?"

The tides had turned. You knew quickly that Shinsou no longer had the element of surprise with him, rendering him unarmed in this next stage of the battle. Getting Izuku to reply to him again was going to be a feat that proved to be much more difficult this time around.

But what grasped your attention even more than this tip in the scales was what was shown when the dust cleared from Izuku. He stood there, one hand over his mouth and the other at his side as he shifted to face Shinsou. The unmoving hand bore two fingers, both severely bruised and charred with whatever he had pulled off earlier.

You'd never seen anyone's quirk react like that before.

"Nothing to say for yourself, huh?" Shinsou huffed, clearly baiting the smaller male. When he didn't answer, he tried again. "That's impressive though! Just moving those two fingers can produce that much power? You must be the real deal."

Izuku didn't falter, making Shinsou's features grow more tense.

You saw what he was trying to do, but in your heart you knew it was too late. Midoriya's wasn't dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice. He was smart, and after this he probably figured out what Shinsou's quirk did with the help from that kid who had dropped out earlier, Ojirou.

You couldn't bear to think of what the outcome of this match would be.

Without warning, Izuku darted towards Shinsou, but your friend kept trying to play his last card. "Thanks to my quirk, I couldn't even enter the golden gates! But you wouldn't understand that. You're naturally blessed."

Midoriya began closing their distance just as Shinsou's calm façade dropped, exposing the true anger behind his mask. You had felt hints of it along the way and yet you didn't understand the magnitude of what tortured him until now. You wished there was something you could do.

"You people...born with your ideal quirks! Getting to reach all your goals with no interference!!" Shinsou shouted just as Izuku arrived. He pushed him back with little effort, dragging across to the other end of the stage.

The lavender male bared his teeth as he pulled back his arm and connected his fist with Izuku's cheek. "Say something already!" Despite drawing blood, Midoriya remained silent and instead returned his action with a savage scowl.

Seeing that Izuku wasn't going to budge, Shinsou twisted his broken fingers, causing the other to hiss in pain. In this short slot of time, Shinsou swatted him away before he could be shoved out of bounds. "No way I'm losing now! You get out!" He growled, forcing his hand over Izuku's face and driving him to the edge.

In the quickest switch you had ever seen, Izuku yelled above the sore ache of his injury and used both hands to grip Shinsou by the shirt and forearm. He flipped him over his shoulder so swift his opponent appeared weightless, only to slam him down hard against the concrete.

The arena was speechless as Midnight raised her arm. "Shinsou is out of the ring! Midoriya moves on to the second round!"

The silenced audience quickly recovered from their shock and erupted into a symphony of cheers despite the rapid turn of events. Even Izuku seemed stunned by his own actions.

A sinking feeling flowed through you as you regarded Shinsou who was lying on his back, a cross grimace on his lips. You knew what it was like to be so close and lose it all, but in this instance, there wasn't much Shinsou could do to retaliate. You only wished you could help him how he had helped you.

"Looks like our victor is Midoriya, Izuku of Class 1-A!" Present Mic exclaimed. "This first match was pretty uneventful, but we should still praise them for a battle bravely fought! Give these two a hand!"

The crowds complied as Shinsou rose to his feet and kept his gaze to the ground. You were surprised to see Izuku with a soft unsettled expression. He gave a respectful bow and fiddled with his injury. Even though he rightfully won that fight, you had a sneaking suspicion that he felt somewhat guilty for coming out on top. Though you knew there was no need to be.

Both males did their best and had equal value in their abilities, however nothing could have predicted how the dice would roll. All that was left now was to walk away and learn from the experience.

But before that could happen, Izuku caught your attention when he spoke up. "Shinsou...why do you want to be a hero?"

The lavender-haired male was taken aback by this and the only reason you could tell was because his shoulders visibly tensed. But you couldn't see his features as he shifted his face elsewhere and replied. "You can't help the things you long for."

And without another word, he swiveled around and paced back to the tunnel.

Shinsou's brow was rigid with a forlorn anger. He was almost back to you when a couple of cries from the stands above called to him. "You were really cool, Shinsou!"

You couldn't see the faces the voices belonged to but you did see the breathless surprise that registered onto your friend's. He glanced up to them and stopped.

"Good job!" Came another.

"You're the star of the General Studies program!"

"You had us on the edge of our seats!"

"You did just as well as that guy who placed first in the obstacle course!"

The voices were followed by a few deeper ones that could only belong to Pros who were here scouting during the Sports Festival. The loud murmur of attendees were complimenting his talents and reprimanding the school for not considering him in the hero course.

"You hear that, Shinsou? You're awesome!"

The male was quiet for a moment before he opened his mouth again. This time, he addressed Midoriya. "Depending on the results here, they'll decide whether we transfer into the hero course," Shinsou informed. "Remember that."

He grit his teeth. "Even if I failed this time, I won't give up. I'll get into the hero program, get certified, and I'll definitely become a greater hero than all of you!"

"Right!" Izuku noddled firmly. However, you noted he wore that funny look on his face from earlier when Shinsou ensnared him with his quirk.

He must have done it again because Shinsou flashed him a smirk. "You know most people are wary when they talk to me...At this rate, someone'll easily trip you up. Just do me a favor and don't lose in some sorry ass way."

"Okay!" You blew your lips together with a chuckle as Midoriya once again fell for Shinsou's trick. Izuku's quirk might be a mystery to you, but his personality was still as innocent as you knew it to be.

That moment of levity was shortly lived when Shinsou reentered your hiding place. The confidence he exuded outside was fading and reverting back into a state of frustration and disappointment. He avoided your gaze as his feet dragged across the floor.

You walked up to him, but he was hesitant. He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh. "Guess my luck ran out near the end there, huh?" Shinsou murmured.

"No...guess I just wasn't cheering hard enough." You offered a tentative smile. The corner of his lip upturned weakly, his tired eyes brewing with a storm of emotions.

The momentary stillness was broken when you reached out, taking hold of his hand in yours. "You were still incredible though. Better than I could have imagined."

He didn't respond. His figure stood pensive and frail.

You didn't think it would hurt as much as it did seeing him like this. You connected with his sentiment, and perhaps that was part of why it saddened you, but the other part was due to another reason. He was your friend. He had helped you through so much and not being able to do the same was heartbreaking. Shinsou deserved a lot more.

Your emotions got the better of you, and without thinking, you wrapped your arms around him. He felt warm from bathing in the sunlight and though his frame was lean, he still felt comfortable. "You're going to be an amazing hero one day," You spoke, nuzzling into his chest.

Shinsou's eyes widened. Your hug had caught him off guard, but the words you uttered were a far greater shock to him. Maybe it was because he wanted someone else to say it....or perhaps it was because he believed it when you did.

Shinsou couldn't stop himself from embracing your smaller form. Oddly enough, he didn't expect for you to do this, but he was glad you did. It felt natural to him.

He rested his chin on your head and exhaled deeply. The weight of the events slightly lifted off his shoulders as he let himself bask in your hold.

"Thanks."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After making sure Shinsou was okay, you two soon realized he would have to depart. While you had to be in sneak mode, Shinsou didn't and would have to return to his seat with the General Studies students. He wished you luck on your match before he left, a wistful smile on his lips.

While you weren't up next yet, Sero was. Coincidentally, he ended up exiting through your tunnel which gave you a chance to give him your best in his battle against Todoroki.

And ooh, boy did he need it.

You had noticed it as soon as he stepped out into the arena. Shoto appeared eerily stern, an emotion that wasn't common for the male who always had his feelings under control. And just like this abnormality, the fight followed in the same style.

Todoroki unleashed the most devastating, unwarranted attack on Sero that stupefied the entire stadium. Even the hosts were baffled by the sheer power Todoroki could produce. He had set off a mountain of ice on an entire quarter of the arena, freezing Sero in place after only a couple minutes of the match starting.

You knew Shoto's quirk was more astounding than he let on, and you had seen bits and pieces of it, but never to this extent. This was overkill.

And yet, even after the fight was called in his favor, he stepped over to Sero and helped melt him from the ice.

Something changed in his expression when he did this. It seemed like he was apologetic about taking it that far. He was upset about something else...

After meeting his father, you worried over what could have caused him to react like this.

Unfortunately, your curiosity would have to be postponed because Present Mic's booming voice filled the arena once again. "Ooookay! We've finally managed to thaw out the main stage, so let's move on to our next match!"

You peeked out of the tunnel and towards the large monitors. Your heart raced when you saw your image displayed on the left side of the screen, right across from Kaminari's cheeky face.

"Coming in with all sorts of surprises this year, it's our infamous, starry-eyed wonder girl, (l/n), (y/n)!"

You broke out in a cold sweat as he called out your name. You were willing to do whatever it took to be in the competition, but that didn't mean you couldn't be nervous about it either.

Swallowing your anxieties, you stalked into the arena with a mock steel gaze. The crowds responded with thunderous applause, and while you were grateful for it, you believed they would be receptive to anybody at this point. This was the draw of the Sports Festival.

"Aaaand let's not forget the sparky killing boy of the hour, Kaminari, Denki!"

Again, the audience came to life as that electric, blond male walked onto the stage, a smug grin on his mouth. He cocked his head at you in acknowledgement.

"You're goin' down, (l/n). After you humiliated me earlier, all hopes of mercy from me are looong gone," He smirked.

You pursed your lips. "You know, I seem to recall you falling on your ass the first time we ever fought."

"That was then. This time we've got our quirks," Kaminari continued confidently. "And now, I know your weakness."

You furrowed a brow at him right as your conversation was cut short. Present Mic yelled through the speakers, riling up the audience. "Now!! The flashy battle you've all been waiting for!! ......STAAAART!!!"

"Maybe I'll let what you did slide if you let me take you out on a date," Kaminari said, bracing himself. "You know, after I win this fight."

Your mind was mulling silently over his words, but you didn't dare let it convey on your features. You thought you knew your opponent well enough to form a strategy; however, you never took into account that he would know something to hold over you.

You rolled your eyes at him and raised your fists. "Don't get cocky now."

Perhaps this wouldn't be as simple as you thought.

Hey everyone! I feel like I died and came back. And I have an explanation for that if you would like to listen. But first I'll brief you on how the upcoming chapters will play out. 

So I feel that these chapters which feature tournament fights are a bit predictable. We know what happens and we know the development that takes place. So in order to not retell you what you already know, I will keep things concise like I did with the Todoroki Sero fight. Some, if not the majority, will have this narrative structure where it's still present and feels like a full story, but isn't over staying its welcome. The reason I won't do this with ALL the battles is because I have my own development I would like to enhance or add to. Don't worry, there aren't too many I will be doing this to, but just a few select ones like in this chapter with Shinsou.

The other thing I wanted to run by you guys is a choice I'm trying to make. I can continue updating each chapter as frequently as I can OR I can finish this arc on my own and update the whole thing in one go. Keep in mind I don't know how long this will take nor how many chapters (my guess is 3 or 4 max). I know how long it must feel since I don't update as quickly as you'd like me to and also how tired you must be of this arc. I tried alleviating that with some original content and character development, but I realize that it must still be tiresome.

So I kindly ask for your input on this!

That should be it for the story bits; this next part is something more serious I'd like to discuss. If you want, hear me out.

So I've been struggling for a while now with something I'm not too sure about. I've had troubles with this since before covid so unfortunately I can't blame it on that. 

And I think it's bleeding over a lot more into my writing now. I have been feeling very unmotivated and like I don't have time for things I enjoy. For example, I love writing this story. That has never NOT been true. However, I find myself feeling like I don't have time to write or that I don't have the energy to try and get something out onto paper. Which shouldn't be a problem because I still have A LOT of story I want to tell, but lately I find it increasingly difficult for me to find inspiration. Also noteworthy to mention is that I DO have time as well. 

There's a bit more to it, but I don't want to self diagnose or make any claims. That's just what I've been going through. And I felt like I should come clean about it. I've been trying to get help on this but it's not easy on a student salary lol Just know that I'm doing my best on this and please be kind.

Sorry to get all serious on you. I don't mean to cause a stir. 

Thank you guys so much for your support and I hope you look forward to the next chapter!