The ten minute break passed far too quickly for Izuka, who spent it pouring over her notebooks, thinking up strategies on how to beat Momo. The Problem with Momo was that she could literally pull out anything so long as it was inorganic. Momo's genius allowed her to understand extremely complex chemical compositions and mechanical creations, allowing her to make complex items with only a moment's thought, and that's when she isn't using Plus Ultra Mode, which allowed her to whip out almost anything in an instant. Izuka had overwhelming strength, the manoeuvrability of flight and powerful flames, but that all meant nothing if Momo could simply nullify them. Izuka only had the most basic of plans put together when she was called down to the arena, ready to battle. Katsuki was watching from the Prep Room as he readied himself to fight Todoroki, but he had wished her good luck with a kiss, or more accurately, he'd demanded she win and then kissed her breathless before sending the crimson cheeked girl on her way.

Momo had spent her ten minutes of prep time in a similar fashion, carefully thinking up plans and items to fight Izuka, then transferring the items' construction information from her own mind to her Quirk's consciousness. She had a fair few plans and contingencies in place, but when facing a foe of Izuka's power, it wouldn't do to become self-confident, so she remained cautious as she stood and went to the arena. Momo didn't like the idea of fighting Izuka very much, since the girl was like her little sister and had been a valued companion during their work for the Class Council, but she also recognised Izuka as a rival, competing with her every step of the way, especially in Academics, which was one of the few areas Izuka had yet to earn a victory in against Momo.

Finally, the time came and the two stepped out into the ring, bowing and shaking hands as they met in the centre before backing off and waiting for the fight to begin.

"AS THE FIRST OF OUR TWO SEMI-FINAL MATCHES, WE HAVE A DUAL BETWEEN CLASS 1-A's PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT! THE QUEEN OF CREATION MOMO YAOYOROZU WILL FACE THE FIERY ANGEL IZUKA MIDORIYA!"

"Are both fighters ready?" Midnight asked, looking between the two girls.

"I am ready!" Momo called.

"I am too!" Izuka added.

"Then let the match... BEGIN!"

Izuka struck first, jumping forward at incredible speed with a burst of fire and One for All. Her best bet was still to catch Momo before she could create something, as even at the incredible creation speed of her Plus Ultra Mode, Momo still needed a moment to create and use her items. Momo had anticipated this and rolled to the left of Izuka's dash, allowing her to dodge beneath the girl's outstretched wings that would have caught someone just dodging normally. Izuka stopped her dash just as Momo swung a metal staff at the back of her legs, hoping to topple her over the side of the arena. Izuka quickly flew up to evade the blow and was almost immediately hit in the back by a mystery projectile. Looking down, Izuka noticed her opponent pointing a small paintball gun at her, which was loaded with small blue pellets. Before Izuka could puzzle through what the pellets were, she suddenly felt her wings dissipate and drop her to the floor, forcing her to use One for All and a burst of fire to cushion her fall.

"What on earth?" Izuka complained, reaching back and scooping a wad of blue foam from her back.

Momo grinned, "These Pellets are filled with a similar formula to the inside of Fire Extinguishers. As soon as the membrane of the pellet breaks, the liquid rapidly expands into a foam that extinguishes fire, and I just soaked your back with it."

Izuka scowled; her flame wings were useless so long as that foam was on her. She considered just taking off her soaked jacket, but opted to save that for later, as if Momo hit her shirt too, she'd have to be basically topless to get another chance at flying. Izuka leapt at Momo instead, aiming a punch at the girl's jaw. Her blow struck Momo, though the other girl turned at the last instant, turning the strike into a glancing blow and allowing Momo to spin around and crack Izuka across the head with her metal staff. Izuka winced at the blow; even with One for All bolstering her defence, a metal pole to the head still hurt like hell. Despite her dizziness, Izuka attacked again, this time purposely baiting Momo into spinning again to deflect some of the force. As Momo turned to repeat her early strike, Izuka opened her fist and grabbed Momo's face, then used her strength to toss the girl into the air. Once Momo was in the sky, Izuka peppered her with her Phoenix Feathers, producing them from her hands instead of her wings. Momo's hand-eye coordination was top notch and she was able to shoot some of the projectiles with the pellets even while creating another weapon that resembled the rocket launcher she'd used on Kirishima. Unfortunately for Momo, Izuka's feathers were simply too numerous and they struck her, exploding with some fairly low intensity fire.

Momo hit the ground hard in a shower of flame, her created weapons flying from her hands. Izuka was sure it was over, until the other girl shakily stood up, her clothes destroyed to reveal another set underneath, namely a skin tight outfit with numerous zippers along the arms, legs and torso.

"Ugh, almost got me. I underestimated how many feathers you could shoot without using your wings. I had to make this suit under my clothes at the last second." Momo said, ignoring the pain in her ribs. Her face was very slightly burned since it had been exposed, but the fireproof suit protected the rest of her... it just didn't protect her from the fall.

"That's pretty incredible!" Izuka praised, before her face turned crimson as Momo began undoing the zippers. With all the zippers opened, the sleeves, legs, and abdomen were all removed, leaving Momo wearing what was essentially a fireproof sports bra and boy shorts. "W-Whoa! Too daring!" the younger girl squeaked.

Momo laughed; "I need exposed skin to make my items. As such, I've developed quite a confidence in my body and feel no shame in being exposed."

"That explains your Hero Gear... honestly, I feel like blushing just looking at you." Izuka complained, still blushing and trying to simultaneously watch her opponent and avert her eyes, which resulted in her looking shifty eyed and embarrassed.

"Well then, feel free to look away, it'll make this easier!" Momo declared, diving for the rocket launcher she'd made. Izuka's eyes widened and she quickly reacted, shooting some flame at the weapon, but Momo had grabbed her paintball gun while Izuka was distracted and shot enough pellets for the foam to quench the flames. Ending her dive with a roll, Momo grabbed the rocket launcher and immediately pointed it at Izuka. Expecting a net, Izuka prepared to dodge, but Momo just smirked and fired the launcher upwards instead. The rocket it fired flew up a few feet then exploded with a bright flash, similar to Katsuki's Stun Grenade attack. Izuka had kept her eyes on it, so she was immediately blinding. She heard the telltale sound of Momo creating something (an odd pixelated noise) and then Izuka knew nothing but a strange wetness and horrible stinging pain.

Izuka screamed and clawed at her eyes, trying to get the odd foam off of herself. This was different from the previous foam, yet it still prevented her from making fire. "W-What is this stuff!?" she cried, her hands stinging from pulling the foam from her eyes. Momo didn't answer, instead using Izuka's momentary disability to create some rubber gloves, then grab the girl by the waist and throw her towards the edge of the arena. The moment Izuka felt she was airborne, she growled and unleashed One for All from every pore of her body, causing all the foam to fly off and allowing her to conjure her wings and fly upwards while she rubbed her eyes. Her vision was foggy and her body stung worse now, as she'd used a bit too much of One for All in her urgency. Once she could see again, Izuka looked down at herself. Her uniform, on top of being fireproof, was designed to be resistant to tearing, so it was in one piece (though looser) following her use of One for All, but her exposed forearms and face were red, like she'd been sunburned.

"What did you shoot me with!?" Izuka yelled. The sting had lessened now, but not faded.

Momo looked sheepishly up at her friend; "A modified version of the Extinguisher Formula. I hybridised it... with pepper spray." Izuka grumbled in reply; she was used to worse pain thanks to Tomura, but she wasn't used to such irritating pain, the kind that made her want to claw at her skin despite the pain.

"Okay, well that was awful." Izuka said, "So I'm going to take things up a notch!" she declared. Her body became completed coated in flame, making her look like an angel made of fire. Even her hair was coated in flame, and her body crackled with green lightning as she channelled One for All at 20% through every cell of her body. "Phoenix Shroud!"

In the audience, Katsuki smirked; the Phoenix Shroud was a technique Izuka only used when she was really serious. It was dangerous since it was hard for Izuka to maintain control over the flames and One for All when they were used in tandem on such a large scale, so it was easy for Izuka to mistakenly use too much and either injure herself or cause a lot of damage to her opponent.

Momo's eyes narrowed and she pulled out the paintball gun to pelt Izuka again, but this time Izuka was ready for it and easily dodged the attacks or struck them with Phoenix Feathers. Izuka flew to the centre of the arena then flew upward, almost out the top of the stadium (if she left the Stadium, it would count as a loss). She stopped at the apex of her flight and spread her wings to their full span and began to absorb sunlight or more specifically, the heat of the sun. She drew all the heat in the stadium towards her slowly, lowering the temperature to the point that those in light clothing were shivering (including Momo). "Let's test how fireproof that suit actually is." Izuka smiled, focusing some fire into several small spheres, each the size of a bowling ball; "Here's a trick inspired by Ochako! OPHANIM SQUALL!" she yelled, sending dozens of the fire balls raining down on Momo, who used her athleticism to dodge and dance around them, taking care to also evade the small explosions they made on impact. Just as it seemed Momo was about to be cornered by several of the balls, she shocked the entire audience by pointing her palm at the closest orb and extinguished it with a jet of water.

"What the heck!? Yaomomo can create water too!?" Kaminari yelled, his jaw practically hitting the floor.

"She can make any inorganic material. Water is technically inorganic." Shoto said, not truly surprised.

"Yeah, don't you shits listen in science?" Katsuki sneered, "Organic Material has to include Carbon in it. Fucking Water is just H2O, it's like the easiest fucking inorganic substance to make."

Back in the arena, Momo was using all her energy to dodge or shoot water at the continuous rain of fire, but it was becoming clear that while she was weakening, Izuka was still going strong. Momo knew Izuka could recharge by absorbing heat, so while she was in an area with a lot of people and direct sunlight, she could siphon off their heat to replenish herself. On the flip side, Momo was running low on both stamina and raw material with which to create. She had deactivated her Plus Ultra Mode, which meant she couldn't access the knowledge she'd stored within it and thus the formula for the Extinguishers, not that she had the reserves to use them, which was why she was just using plain water. Izuka took notice of Momo's weakened state and decided now was the time to end things. The same feeling she'd had when fighting Tenya returned; a flickering spark in her soul that grew with each passing instant. It pulsed with her every heartbeat and she felt it on the verge of overflowing.

"Time to finish this, Momo! You may be like my big sister, but I'm going to beat you!" Izuka declared, raising her arms above her head and focusing her remaining fireballs into a single giant fireball, similar in size to the small moon Ochako had made when fighting Shoto. "I told you this was inspired by Ochako! OPHANIM SUN!" she yelled, sending the tiny sun directly at Momo. The move looked deadly, but to the trained eye of fire users and those with a lot of Hero Experience, it became clear the move was more about rigorous control as opposed to power. The attack wasn't a solid sphere of fire, but rather several hollow balls of fire inside one another, an inch of air between the layers of flame, which was dark orange due to being fairly low temperature. Without realising it, Izuka had not only made a move inspired by Ochako, but made one inspired by Momo and her love of Russian Nesting Dolls.

Momo shot all her remaining pellets and what water she could muster at the attack, but only succeeded in shrinking it a bit before it impacted her, popping like a fire balloon and blasting her out of the arena. The taller girl sighed in defeat, allowing her body to flop spread eagled on the ground as she panted. Izuka slowly landed, her Phoenix Shroud dispersed. Midnight nodded to her and called the match: "Yaoyorozu is out of bounds! Midoriya wins and advances to the finals!"

The crowd roared, but Izuka ignored them and ran to help Momo up, healing any burns on the girl. "That was a wonderful fight. You really had me a few times... I panicked when I got hit by that pepper spray foam."

"Thanks, but I lost outright. I bet Combat Heroes everywhere are torn between wanting to recruit you and thanking god that you don't want to become a Combat Hero yourself; you'd put them out of work!" Momo complimented. She was upset at losing and her pride definitely stung, but against the raw power Izuka held, it was probably inevitable. It would take a devoted fighter to pose a threat to the girl, and sadly, that wasn't Momo. Still, she was damn proud she'd pushed Izuka to using a trump card!

"THAT BATTLE WAS SO AMAZING I CAN BARELY FIND THE WORDS!" Present Mic's voice boomed; "BOTH GIRLS FOUGHT HARD AND PULLED OUT A LOT OF TRICKS AND PLANS! THIS YEAR'S HERO COURSE REALLY IS FULL OF WONDERS!"

"Yaoyorozu and Midoriya have had a friendly competition for the top spot in most exercises and tests since school began. They push each other quite well. Makes my job easier." Eraserhead said, making both girls blush and sigh at their teacher.

After a quick visit to Recovery Girl, Momo and Izuka returned to the stands, and were predictably swamped by congratulations. Momo received so many cheers and hugs that she almost forgot she'd been the loser of the fight. Katsuki grinned at Izuka and hugged her tightly the second the girl strayed within his reach.

"Kacchan!" Izuka giggled as Kacchan peppered her cheeks with kisses.

"Damn it Izuchan, that fight was fucking... UGH! If I wasn't afraid of All-Might killing my ass, I'd take you right here and now!" he growled huskily, his teeth bared in a lustful grin. Izuka squeaked and turned red as a tomato, then promptly swooned and fainted, her face steaming.

"Holy crap! I don't know if that was Manly or Scary!" Kirishima said, his hand twitching a bit as he was torn between high-fiving his friend or punching him for saying things like that about his little sister figure. Tsuyu had no such issue and slapped the back of Katsuki's head with her tongue.

"No corrupting the Class Cinnamon Bun." she said, completely serious.

Katsuki just flipped her off as Shoto frowned and used his ice to cool Izuka off and wake her up. She promptly growled adorably and meekly pounded on Kacchan's chest in embarrassment, her angry retorts reduced to embarrassed whines while Katsuki just smirked. Once she'd calmed down, Izuka found Ochako watching her teary eyed, having just got out of Recovery Girl's office before the fight began.

"Izuka..." she began, before promptly bursting into happy sobs and hugging the girl; "You...you made a move inspired by me! And you won with it! I love you so much Izuka! You're my best friend ever!"

Izuka smiled warmly, her face glowing with so much warmth and happiness, Tokoyami had to hide from it's light. "I love you too! You and Momo were the first girl friends I ever had and I care a lot about you both! Plus, you're both bigger than me, so as your little sister figure, I have to learn from you."

Ochako snorted, "Everyone in class is bigger than you! Except Mineta."

The two girls looked over to the Grape Boy, who was currently scrunching his eyes shut tight and muttering a Buddhist mantra to distract himself from Momo's exposed body. He was apparently quite devoted to his new "Non-Pervy" attitude, with the exception of the Cheerleader incident, but he's said that was an opportunity too good to miss... plus old habits die hard.

Turning back to her boyfriend, Izuka took Katsuki's hand; "You and Shoto are fighting next. Whoever wins will be fighting me in the finals." she said with a confident grin, "I'll walk you both down to the ring!"

Katsuki just grinned, still pumped from watching Izuka's fight, while Shoto shrugged and walked on the side of Izuka not currently occupied by the angry (and disturbingly aroused) blond. The walk was mostly in an awkward silence as the two boys refused to speak... no matter how hard she had tried in the last two weeks, Izuka hadn't been able to get the two to get along! Katsuki was usually someone who respected strength above all else, so she thought that with Shoto being strong and no longer holding back, they'd get along, but for some reason the two still seemed to hate each other.

"Hey, Kacchan, Shoto? Just so you know, I'll be supporting both of you out there. Kacchan as my boyfriend and Shoto as my friend. I'd be happy to face either of you in the finals, so fight hard! I'll be cheering for you!" she said, grabbing Shoto's hand so she was holding both.

Before either boy could respond, they were suddenly met by a tall, flaming figure coming around the corner. "Hey." Endeavor greeted.

"En-Endeavor!?" Izuka shrieked in surprise, torn completely between her anger for the man and her fangirl side wanting to meet a Pro Hero.

"What are you doing here?" Shoto demanded, subtly releasing Izuka's hand before his father noticed.

Endeavor raised an eyebrow as he looked at his son, then his eyes flicked towards Katsuki, who was openly sneering at the Number Two Hero. The disrespect irked him, but he was equally annoyed by the fact this boy was holding hands with the Midoriya Girl. A prior relationship might eventually mess up Endeavor's plans. "I'm here to talk to Midoriya, you two leave." he demanded imperiously.

"Better idea, how about you crawl back into whatever flaming asshole you crawled out of." Katsuki growled, stepping between his girlfriend and the hero.

"Leave, Father. You are not wanted here." Shoto said coldly.

Before Endeavor could reply, a voice echoed over the speaker system; "BAKUGOU AND TODOROKI, PLEASE REPORT TO THE ARENA IMMEDIATELY."

Endeavor smirked, "You two better run along, or you'll be disqualified."

"Fuck that! I ain't leaving Izuka with you, Shit Stain!" Katsuki yelled.

"Kacchan, Shoto, both of you need to go." Izuka suddenly interrupted, making both boys look at her like she was crazy. "Endeavor won't dare doing anything to me, he still has to worry about his reputation, and All-Might would destroy him if he hurt me. Go and have your match; I refuse to win today because of a technicality!"

The two boys growled and muttered under their breath, but ultimately obeyed, walking around Endeavor (though Katsuki made sure to slam his shoulder into the man) as he went. Once both boys were gone, Izuka turned to Endeavor with narrowed eyes; "What did you need?" she asked with forced politeness. Truth be told, she'd normally be intimidated by a man of this size, but the flames that Endeavor used to look intimidating only served to reassure Izuka and make her feel safe.

"I saw the power you wielded out there. You took down the Brainwasher, the brother of Ingenium and the Politician's daughter with incredible moves and no matter how injured you were, you always appeared back at the stands with full health and your energy restored. Power like that... it reminds me of a mix of All-Might and myself! If I didn't already know better, I'd have assumed you were that fool's biological child." Endeavor said, pointing at her.

Izuka frowned at the insult to her Papa, "What are you getting at? If you've nothing else to say, I want to watch this match."

"I owe you thanks." Endeavor said, "You ended my Shoto's foolish rebellion. Now he can finally begin achieving the goal I created him for. When he crushes that explosive boy in the next match, I hope you'll consider a relationship with him; you'll not find a better partner, and your quirks will ensure your child is God among Men."

Izuka's jaw hung open, her face colouring. She knew Endeavor was a supporter of Quirk Marriages and knew he was a real bastard, but to say something like that so brazenly! It made her skin crawl. "Don't count Kacchan out so easily. He's gotten just as far as Shoto!"

Endeavor scoffed; "My boy, Shoto has a duty to surpass All-Might. He won't lose to someone like that. When he fights you in the finals... it will prove his power to you, prove he is the better man. And it will prove a valuable test. Be sure to give it your all; our family doesn't need another weak woman, so put up a good fight."

Izuka's shock and disgust turned into rage, the kind of which she hadn't experienced before. It burned like a black flame inside her gut and her eyes narrowed dangerously on Endeavor. He had just managed to push every single one of her buttons in just a single conversation; first he insults her father, then he dismisses Kacchan and his hard work, then he talks about Shoto as if he's a tool, assumes Izuka will just drop the person she loves for the strongest person to come along, openly admits to encouraging a Quirk Marriage between her and Shoto, then insults Shoto's mother by calling her weak when it was HIS fault she was her current state. Izuka could barely contain her hatred, a feeling that scared her more than she'd like to admit.

Endeavor raised an eyebrow at her glares, "That's all I have to say. I hope you and Shoto end up in a profitable position." he said, offering his hand for her to shake.

Izuka schooled her features into a neutral expression. "It's rude to offer your hand to shake while wearing gloves if the other person isn't too." she said, emotionless. That was a piece of etiquette she'd learnt from Aizawa-Sensei when she was 11.

Endeavor scoffed but removed his glove, now offering his bare hand for her to shake. Izuka took it, then promptly clamped down tightly with One for All, ensuring Endeavor couldn't just pull free. "You know, I hate you." Izuka said, as if discussing the weather. "Shoto is such a nice person, but he has no idea how to act around others because of what you've done to him. He has the spirit of a true hero, but your actions have meant his every deed has your shadow over it like a black stain. He uses his fire now and has resolved to try and live his life according to his own wishes, without you influencing his decisions, but I still see him struggling with it."

"Tch, you even talk like that damned All-Might." Endeavor growled, lightly struggling to pull his hand free. Why was this girl so strong?

"I'm not All-Might... and Shoto isn't you! He's fighting his hardest because he wants to be Number One for his own sake! Maybe he'll beat Kacchan and fight me, or maybe he'll lose. But whatever happens, whether I face Shoto or Kacchan in the finals, I want you to stay. I want you to watch me win and become Number One, just like All-Might would..." her hands began to heat up, her flames crackling beneath the surface of her skin, "and once you've seen me win... I'll be calling you down. The final event is an Exhibition Match between the winner and a Pro Hero. I'll face you, and I'll show you exactly how wrong you were to dare hurt my friend!"

She abruptly dropped Endeavor's hand, as if it was something filthy, then turned and stalked off to watch the match. Endeavor stood, shell shocked as she walked away. He hadn't expected that kind of resistance from the timid girl. He idly went to put his glove back on, when he noticed a twinge of pain. Looking down, his eyes widened; there on his hand, where Izuka's thumb had been, was a small burn. Endeavor was only immune to his own flames, but his resistance to heat and other fire was second to none! Yet for the first time since he was a small child, he had been burned. The cold hand of dread gripped his insides and he had a sinking feeling that he had just made a dangerous enemy.

When Izuka reached the stands, she was relieved to see the match hadn't begun yet as Katsuki and Shoto were stood glaring at each other. She gently pushed passed her classmates to reach the railings and shouted to them; "KATSUKI! SHOTO! DO YOUR BEST!" she yelled.

The two boys looked up and their expressions immediately filled with relief to see she was fine and unharmed. Present Mic began his announcements: "OHO! SOME WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FROM OUT FIRST FINALIST MIDORIYA! NOW FOR THE FINAL SEMI-FINAL BATTLE, WE HAVE THE FURIOUS ATOMIC BLASTER; KATSUKI BAKUGOU VERSUS THE HOT AND COLD KING OF CALM; SHOTO TODOROKI!"

Midnight stepped forward: "Are you prepared to fight?"

"I'm going to conquer this Two Faced Fuck. He can be an eternal loser, just like dear daddy." Katsuki growled.

"Try it, you thug. I'll leave you as a popsicle." Shoto retorted.

Both boys were so much more fired up, their earlier arguments and the brief encounter with Endeavor fuelling their anger and irritation. Midnight chuckled at their spirit and raised her arm; "In that case, match... START!"

The word hadn't even finished when Shoto suddenly ducked to the ground and slammed his right hand into the floor, creating a huge wave of ice that completely engulfed Katsuki. For a moment, it looked like the fight was already over, but Katsuki soon burst out of the ice, having used an explosion to prevent the ice from covering his arms and torso (though his legs had been caught). Glaring, Katsuki put his hands to his frozen legs and exploded them, freeing him and launching himself at Todoroki just as the other boy aimed his left hand to bathe Katsuki in flame. With another explosion, Katsuki flipped over the stream of fire, grabbing Shoto by the hair as he flew over him, then the moment Katsuki's feet hit the ground, he twisted his body and tossed Shoto with a small explosion. Shoto flew towards the edge of the ring, but managed to touch his hand to the ground as he went to create a wall of ice, which soon became an ice ramp that allowed Shoto to correct his position and slide directly towards Katsuki. Katsuki dodged the end of the icy road and leapt to hit Shoto with an explosion, but the dual-coloured boy managed to dodge to the right and grab Katsuki's outstretched arm with his left. With a smirk, Shoto ignited his hand and burned Katsuki, but the boy just growled and kicked Shoto in the face, loosening his grip and allowing Katsuki to shoot himself backward, landing on Shoto's ice wall and using it as a perch.

"Dumbass." Katsuki sneered, showing his burned wrist. The burn was really just a slightly reddened patch of skin. "I create literal explosions and spent my childhood fighting with Izuka! I'm fucking resistant to fire!" he yelled. Raising both hands high in the air, Katsuki slammed them down with a massive explosion, launching him into the air, where he began using smaller explosions to make him spin in mid-air and create a smokescreen. Katsuki was coming right at Shoto, hidden within a cyclone of ash and smoke. Shoto growled and raised both hands, activating Plus Ultra Mode and igniting himself with cold fire. He had wanted to hide this from his father, but... but he wanted to win!

"HOWITZER IMPACT!" Katsuki roared.

"NINTH CIRCLE FLAME!" Shoto roared back.

A massive burst of icy blue flames shot from Shoto and collided with Katsuki, who's hands ignited a huge explosion. The arena was engulfed in a massive sphere of flame, which was split perfectly down the middle; the right side being blue and cold while the left was red and hot. In the crowd, Izuka couldn't help but see the resemblence to Shoto and his dual coloured hair. When the flames dissipated, the arena was in ruins; the left side was a wasteland of ash, dust and glowing hot rubble while the right was like all colour had been drained away as everything was coated in a sheet of pure white frost. On the left, Katsuki struggled to stand, his body burned by the backlash of his attack. On the right, Shoto was in a similar position, though he was almost frozen solid and shivering violently. The force of their attacks had been equal, so when they collided, they were both forced backward and Katsuki and Shoto ended up as victims to their own techniques.

Katsuki smirked through the pain of his burns... "Shit... I haven't been burned this bad since Izuchan learnt to control Phoenix Shroud..." he chuckled. Once again, he'd lost his shirt from the fire; it seemed he was destined to be bare chested in today's fights.

Shoto shuddered; "I c-c-can't believe my attack was blown b-b-back... D-d-d-damn it..." he shivered violently, trying hard to light his flames beneath the layer of frost. Technically speaking, if Shoto could thaw himself out, he'd be in a better position health wise, since Katsuki couldn't shake off his burns, but his stamina had taken a hit, since he'd used Plus Ultra Mode while Katsuki hadn't. It took a moment, but he was finally able to stoke enough of a fire within himself to begin thawing the frost, the boy sighing with relief as the ice melted off him. Suddenly, Shoto found himself being blown backwards by an explosive punch he hadn't seen coming. Katsuki had charged just as the steam from his melting ice covered Shoto's eyes. The Ice User groaned as he just barely managed to stop himself from falling out of the ring with a wall of ice; Katsuki's battle instincts were second to none.

Despite his pain, Katsuki wasn't going to give Shoto an inch, and immediately ran forward to punch Shoto again. The other boy ducked beneath the punch, so Katsuki only managed to smash the ice before he was punched in the gut by Shoto's frozen fist. Katsuki was winded, but shook it off quickly and kept going, throwing punch after punch at Shoto, who was fully on the defensive and with nearly no windows to counter attack. Katsuki read his every move and always positioned his legs and non-attacking arm in the proper position to block or deflect Shoto's counter attack and to make things worse for Shoto, he was being forced to create more and more ice to defend himself so his temperature was lowering, and Katsuki's rapid movement and activity was making the Explosive Boy sweat, so his attacks grew stronger. As a last ditch gambit, Shoto reactivated Plus Ultra Mode and poured both fire and ice into both arms, allowing him to blast cold water at Katsuki, who was pushed back by the force of it. Once there was some distance, Shoto unleashed all the ice and cold fire he could, freezing the entire arena in a gigantic mountain of ice with Katsuki at the centre.

"This... match... is... mine!" Shoto declared, panting hard. His stamina was at it's lowest point, his skin was deathly pale and his lips were blue. He was on the edge of hypothermia, but it was worth it! He'd won!

Or so he thought.

Before Midnight could call the match, the ice mountain shattered and then suddenly melted to nothing in a massive sphere of heat and fire as Katsuki repeated his earlier move against Honenuki: the Atomic Flash. Katsuki landed hard on the ground a few feet from the astonished Shoto, his body reddened and overheating. The Atomic Flash was an amazing move, but it consumed all his sweat and also pushed his heat resistance to the absolute limit. After using it, Katsuki was unable to use his quirk again for a little while. Shoto growled.

"Oh come on...! You've got no strength left and can't even muster the sweat to use your quirk! Just give up." Shoto yelled, exasperated.

Katsuki looked up at him, his cheeks bulging out as if he was going to throw up at the very thought of surrendering, but no, the real reason was much grosser and more terrifying... he opened his mouth and a mass of clear fluid with a strong chemical smell splashed onto Katsuki's fists.

"What the...!?" Shoto yelled while Katsuki grinned.

"Do you think I'm fucking dumb? I know how Atomic Flash works and what it does to me, which is why I saved some of my Nitroglycerin and held it in my stomach to stop it detonating with the rest. Leaves a fucking bad taste in my mouth, but not as bad as losing to you!" Katsuki declared, his hands dripping with explosive sweat. "Now do me a favour and fucking die!" he roared, jumping towards Shoto by igniting the sweat that had slipped through his fingers and hit the floor. He was directly above Shoto now, and the Icy boy couldn't move, his body too stiff and cold. Katsuki put his hands together and intertwined his fingers, slamming his twin fists down on Shoto with all the explosive power he had left: "MEGATON HAMMER!"

Shoto felt no pain or heat, as the sheer force of the blow knocked all his senses out of whack, leaving him on the floor with an expression of pure shock. After a few seconds, Midnight examined the boy then nodded; "Todoroki is unable to continue! Bakugou wins and will face Midoriya in the finals!"

Katsuki shot his fist into the air, grinning widely at his girlfriend. Izuka was screaming louder than the rest of the crowd, cheering and celebrating happily. Both were eager to face each other... it'd be the first no holds barred match of their lives.

Shoto tried to get up, but his strength was too low. To his surprise, Katsuki offered his hand; "Get up, Half n Half. You walked in, so walk out."

The other boy just stared for a moment, before taking Katsuki's hand and being roughly pulled to his feet. When he stumbled, Katsuki groaned and put Shoto's arm over his shoulders and helped carry him out. "W-Why are you helping me? I thought you hated me?"

"I did. But like I said, I ain't fucking dumb. You and my Rabbit are friends, so even if I don't like it, I'm not going to be a major asshole, since it'd upset her. Stupid Deku making me act all mushy and shit..." Katsuki grumbled. He took a couple of steps before speaking again; "I'll be real with you; I fucking despised you for not using your fire to save Izuka from those villains at the USJ. But I fucked up that day too, so I can't judge you too much. I'd have forgiven you already after Izuka did, but I couldn't... not without kicking your ass first. Now I've beaten you into the dirt, I can let myself forgive you... but I won't forget it."

Shoto chuckled weakly; "Does this make us friends?"

"Fuck no! This makes us acquaintances at best." Katsuki spat.

Shoto nodded, then looked Katsuki in the eye, "You know, if I'd won, I'd have confessed to Izuka."

Katsuki's expression turned... odd. His mouth was set in a line and his eyes looked almost bored. "Feel free to confess anyway."

"Think she'd refuse just 'cause I lost?"

The Explosive Boy barked a mocking laugh; "You dumbass... Izuka ain't the kind of girl to go for the strongest. To be honest, I've got no fucking clue why she loves me, but I trust her. So confess all you like; I've got nothing to worry about."

Shoto nodded thoughtfully. "Hey, Bakugou, do me a favour and face me towards my father."

Katsuki made a non-committal grunt and looked around, spotting Endeavor just a few feet to the left of the Class 1-A box. He turned the two of them to face him. Shoto grinned weakly and struggled to lift his left hand, shakily giving the middle finger to his dad, a tiny candle flame on the tip. "N-not quite the giant flaming finger I had planned, but it'll do." Shoto smirked.

Endeavor scowled furiously and Katsuki laughed; "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually almost fucking proud of you, Half-n-Half." Shoto chuckled in response and the two walked to Recovery Girl. When they arrived at the office, they found Izuka had already raced there and was waiting for them. She didn't give either a moment to say a word as she forced the two into bed and began healing them with Pink Flames while Recovery Girl observed. Shoto was back to almost full capacity by the time she was done, since he wasn't actually that badly hurt, just tired, and Katsuki only took a little while longer. He'd need to wait about 15 minutes before fighting again, so his sweat glands could start working properly again.

"You both did great out there. I'm really proud of you both!" Izuka smiled.

Shoto smiled softly; "Even though I lost?"

Izuka nodded; "In a fight like that, so long as you gave it your all, it's fine to lose. Just remember that in the real world, you'll need to go beyond your best!"

"Huh, Plus Ultra." Shoto said, "Izuka... could I have a word with you alone?"

Izuka tilted her head; "Sure. I think they're planning a Third Place Decider Match, so you'll be facing Momo in about twenty minutes. Let's go outside. Kacchan, are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes; "Yes mother. I don't need you to watch me every moment of every day." he sassed.

"Don't get cheeky with me, or you'll get no dessert!" Izuka joked with a playful waggle of her finger before taking Shoto by the hand and leading him out of the office. Once the door shut behind them, Recovery Girl looked towards Katsuki, who was lounging with his hands behind his head.

"You aren't worried about leaving your girlfriend with another boy?" she said with a knowing smile.

"I trust her. Izuka's not the type to ditch me... if she had the slightest feelings for another guy, she'd talk to me about it. I've got nothing to worry about." Katsuki said dismissively, idly watching the monitor which was displaying highlights of his fight with Todoroki.

Elsewhere, Izuka led Shoto to the small grove of trees just outside the Sports Festival Stadium, since it was the only place they wouldn't likely be disturbed. Izuka knew Shoto well enough to know that if he wanted to discuss something alone, he'd get embarrassed or upset if someone overheard. Once safely hidden beneath the canopy of the trees, Izuka turned to Shoto with a smile, her skin illuminated by the beams of light that broke through the veil of leaves. Shoto gulped; Izuka looked really cute like that; her face was lit up, highlighting her freckled cheeks and making her bright green eyes shine even more.

"I... I have to confess something. Izuka, I feel like... I've developed feelings for you." Shoto confessed, trying to speak evenly despite the nerves making his voice crack a bit towards the end.

Izuka blushed and gasped; "S-Shoto! R-Really? You're not messing with me, are you?"

"No. I'm serious... I had hoped to confess after defeating Bakugou and facing you in the finals. I felt that if I faced you seriously, then I'd earn the right, but... I lost, so this is all I could offer."

Izuka gulped; "Shoto, I'm flattered, I truly am, but I can't return those feelings. Please believe me when I say you really are important to me, you're a great friend and I don't want to lose that, but... but I can't be your girlfriend. I'm sorry."

Shoto frowned; to be honest, since speaking with Bakugou, he had been prepared for this. Oddly, he had feared the inevitable rejection would rip his heart out, but instead, he just felt... sad. Not cripplingly miserable or heartbroken... just sad. "I see..." he finally said, "I understand. That's disappointing, but not overly surprising I suppose. Bakugou... you really love him, don't you."

"Yes, I do." Izuka said, not embarrassed at all about admitting it. "Since I was a baby, I've looked up to him. I felt proud that someone as amazing as him could want to be friends with me, and after I was rescued from All for One, Kacchan never wanted to leave me alone. He was so scared of me being taken again... Shoto, can I ask a slightly personal question?"

"Sure. I've said about the most embarrassing thing I could, so go ahead." Shoto half-joked.

"Have you ever been friends with a girl before? Not liked them romantically, but just been a friend?"

The boy frowned; "You're my only friend. The others in class are getting there, but I don't really know how to talk to girls, so I'm still a bit of a stranger to them."

Izuka smiled kindly; "Then how do you know your feelings for me are like that? I had a similar fear a while back, when I became friends with Tenya when school started. I liked him a lot and wanted to spend time with him, so I started to be afraid that I had a crush on him. Then I became friends with you and Eijiro and suddenly, I realised that what I felt for Tenya was just how I felt towards male friends. When you don't really have a lot of friends growing up, it gets confusing when you suddenly have a lot. Heck, I thought I had a crush on Momo for like an hour before I made friends with Ochako, since they were my first female friends!"

Shoto chuckled, "Honestly... you're too much sometimes, you know that? But I suppose you're right. I don't know what it means or feels like to have friends. But I have to ask; what if it is different from what I feel? What if what I feel for you really is love?"

Izuka looked him in the eye; "No matter what Shoto, I will be your friend. I'll be by your side; it might not be what you want, but it's the best I can offer. I won't abandon you so... do you think that'll be enough?"

Shoto nodded; "Yes... I think that would be good. Thank you Izuka."

"You're welcome! You know it's funny, when you wanted to talk after the USJ, I was afraid you were going to confess to me then! I was such a nervous wreck 'cause I didn't know how to deal with boys yet! It was before I got to spend time with all the other guys and become pals! You were the class cool guy, so I was scared witless!" Izuka giggled.

"What do you mean "were"? Aren't I still the class cool guy?" Shoto teased.

Izuka laughed; "Nah, you're a big dork on the inside. Tokoyami is the new class cool guy." she retorted. Shoto laughed as well and soon, the trees were full of echoed laughter as two young souls briefly forgot about all their burdens and pain. When they finally returned to the arena, Shoto felt truly content; he hadn't won Izuka's heart like he hoped, but he was happy to have her friendship; he decided that was enough.

It was starting to get late now, and it was decided the Finals would take place after dinner, but before hand, the Third Place Decider Match between Momo and Shoto would be fought. The arena had been repaired again and Izuka waved to Shoto as he left for the ring and she continued on to the class box. When she got there, she briefly saw Endeavor standing a few feet to the left of the box. He looked pissed, which warmed Izuka's heart.

"Hey Izuka." Ochako smiled, waving for her to come and sit between her and Tenya.

"Hi Ochako. Did I miss much?" Izuka asked.

"Nope! Bakugou and Todoroki were both awesome! I guess Bakugou is still in the infirmary though? Are you going to be okay fighting him?" Ochako said worriedly.

"Yep, but it's fine. Kacchan and I have fought lots of times. We trained together since we were ten. This will just be the first time we got to go all out. We both want to win though, so we'll be fighting hard." Izuka grinned, more excited than she wanted to admit. While the concept of fighting didn't turn her on like it did Kacchan, she was still enjoyed the exhilarating feeling of both watching and participating in a good battle; nothing got the blood flowing quite like it.

"I am impressed! You and Bakugou make an odd pair, but you fit together flawlessly. You are inspiring to watch, though I hope you win! I lost to you after all, so I'd like to have lost to the best!" Tenya declared.

"Right!" Izuka chirped.

Suddenly, a loud buzzing was heard and Tenya's entire body vibrated violently. Ochako and Izuka nearly jumped out of their skins, before Tenya pulled his phone from his pocket. Still, the two girls couldn't help but wonder why he had the vibration set so high! Tenya looked at the caller Id, seeing his mother there.

"Ah, this is my mother. Please excuse me." he said, heading to the back to answer. Putting his phone to his ear, he spoke; "Hello Mother. I regret to say I lost earlier. I apologise if I disappointed you..."

"Tenya! Oh my son, no this isn't about that. Tenya, I need you to stay calm and listen to me; it's Tensei..." Tenya's body went rigid; "Your brother... a villain got him. We're at Hosu General Hospital... it's bad Tenya."

"Mother, say no more. I'll be there soon." Tenya said mechanically, hanging up. He power-walked to Izuka and Ochako, "My friends, I'm afraid I must cut out ahead of schedule. My brother was attacked by a villain."

Ochako gasped and Izuka frowned. "It's fine Tenya, go be with your brother." the green haired girl said, "If... if the doctors have trouble or Tensei can't be healed by regular means, then call me. I don't care what time or where I am or what I'm doing; call me and I'll come running." she said seriously.

Tenya hesitated, then nodded, "Thank you Izuka." he said, then dashed off as fast as he could. Izuka turned her attention back to the arena, hoping with all her heart that Tensei would be alright.

In the arena, Shoto and Momo went to shake hands. "Fighting for Third Place feels kind of strange." Shoto admitted as he shook Momo's hand.

"I agree. Apparently this is the first year were they've done it. The Battle Tournament is the most popular and longest event, so it gets a lot of attention and the TV stations running it get a lot of ad revenue. U.A is probably extending it to earn more money." Momo said. While Shoto and Momo wanted to do their best, they both felt it was difficult to get hyped when fighting for third place. It really only meant who got to stand on the podium with Izuka and Katsuki, and which would get to wear the bronze medal.

"Hey, since this match is basically just an excuse to get more revenue from advertisers, why don't we put on a show." Shoto suggested.

"How do you mean?" Momo asked.

Shoto smirked, "We fight, but instead of going for victory with every move, we show off our quirks and use a lot of flashy moves for the sake of entertaining the crowd. Kind of like a stage fight."

Momo whistled, "That's an interesting idea, and to be honest, I didn't expect that from you!"

"It isn't something I'd normally consider, but I'm already out of the running for the top spot, and my father hates showy fights that aren't fought seriously. I just want to piss him off." Shoto admitted, completely shamelessly.

Momo giggled; "Well alright then! I can't say I like Endeavor either. Let's just have fun with this." she said. With a shared conspiratorial smile, the two seperated and headed back to their sides of the arena to await Present Mic's announcement.

"OKAY BOYS AND GIRLS, IT'S TIME FOR THE THIRD PLACE DECIDER MATCH! THIS IS A NEW EVENT FOR THIS YEAR'S BATTLE TOURNAMENT, SO LET'S GIVE OUR TWO FIGHTERS A BIG HAND! THIS FIGHT IS BETWEEN MOMO YAOYOROZU AND SHOTO TODOROKI! LET'S SEE WHICH ONE IS DESERVING OF THE BRONZE MEDAL!"

The moment Midnight started the match, it became clear to the audience that this fight was going to be... odd. Rather than the usual beginning where one of the fighters would immediately launch an attack, both fighters began charging large moves in full view of each other. Shoto was the first to finish (whatever Momo was creating was taking a lot of time) so he activated Plus Ultra Mode and coated himself in both the red hot flames and the icy blue flames in a similar fashion to how Endeavor had his costume... only instead of Endeavor; the red and blue flames were shaped to resemble All-Might's hero costume (complete with two fire prongs like All-Might's hair). The white of the costume was ice and the yellow was the hottest flames Shoto could muster. Shrouded in his "All-Might Flame", Shoto posed like the Number One Hero, complete with a dazzling smile. It wasn't an All-Might smile, but a real, open Shoto smile and it warmed Izuka's heart to see it. She also didn't miss how Endeavor scowled in the audience. Momo smirked at the get up and decided to play along, recreating her heatproof suit from earlier in All-Might colours and style. However once the costume was finished, it became clear what she had really been making, as four massive missile pods appeared from behind her. The four pods were connected to a backpack that Momo wore, with two pods being clipped to Momo's belt and two being clipped to her shoulders. Two prongs came out from the backpack and lined up with Momo's arms, allowing her to grasp the joystick like ends which housed the triggers.

It was a bizarre All-Might Mirror Match, with a Fire All-Might and a Missile All-Might.

Shoto attacked first, running forward to throw a flurry of elemental punches at Momo, using both fire types and ice, all while screaming "Red, White and Blue SMASH!". Momo giggled even as she sluggish dodged (those missile pods weighed a ton) before counter attacking. The Missile Pods on her hips began to rapidly shoot small missiles which exploded into various brightly coloured chemicals that painted the plain white concrete of the arena as Shoto dodged around them. By the time the hip pods were empty, the arena looked like a massive abstract painting. However, the chemicals weren't just colours... they all had strange effects based on formulas Momo had learned to create (some of which had been donated by Mei Hatsume after Momo agreed to help sponsor her with her family wealth). The chemicals included the bouncy, slippery and accelerating goo, but also included liquid stink bombs, the extinguisher foam in a paint-like form, sticky slime and an ominous red liquid that released a haunting smell that made Shoto want to pause just to smell it. The chemicals weren't too dangerous, but they made it inconvenient for Shoto to move around the arena, so he was forced to prioritize which chemicals to step in, which usually meant stepping in the liquid stink or the red stuff.

"This is just disgusting." Shoto groaned as he got another whiff of the horrible smell mixing with the intoxicating stench.

"Oh, I'm not done just yet!" Momo grinned, aiming the shoulder missile pods into the sky and unleashing a massive barrage. Half the missiles exploded in mid-air as fireworks in red, white and blue while the others homed in on Shoto. Naturally, Shoto dodged them as best he could, but when he had to choose between blocking a shot and stepping in some sticky gunk, he chose to block, where upon he discovered the low powered explosives were full of funny little beads that appeared to be made of some kind of glass or crystal. Upon closer inspection, Shoto discovered the beads were actually just a very thin layer of crystal surrounding a hallucinogenic powder that he accidentally inhaled in his surprise.

He wasn't sure exactly what the powder did, but he suspected it had something to do with the fact that their were now eleven multicoloured Momos, the clouds above now looked like elephants with sausage links for trunks and the ground was apparently trying to eat him. Momo laughed as Shoto stumbled and wobbled around the arena, dodging missiles without even seeming to mean to. He evaded one because he got stuck and ducked to pull himself free and jumped over another one because he fell face first into the bouncy goo. It was an insane thing to watch; the son of Endeavor covered in All-Might themed flames essentially bumbling his way through the missile barrage. Class 1-A was laughing themselves sick watching it and nearly everyone could hear Katsuki's loud mocking laughter from Recovery Girl's office.

Eventually though, the powder wore off and Shoto snapped back to reality, red-faced and with a twitching eye. "Oh, now it's on." he growled, leaping at Momo. Momo hadn't expected her hallucinogen to wear off so soon, so she was caught off guard as Shoto landed beside her and encased the missile pods on her left side in so much ice that the weight caused Momo to topple over. Because the backpack they were attached too was clipped tightly to Momo's back, all she could do was flail in vain and eventually give up with a pout. She was basically like a turtle and every time Momo tried to unclip herself from her weapons, Shoto would shoot a spark at her fingers than make a tutting noise like she was a small child constantly having her hand swatted for trying to grab a sharp object.

"You're not going to let me up, are you?" Momo pouted.

"Nope." he replied.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

Shoto frowned; "You drugged me. Suffer."

Momo gave one last meaningless attempt to get back on her feet before finally giving up for good. "Fine... I surrender."

Midnight, who was red faced from stifling her laughter, stepped forward, "Yaoyorozu has surrendered. Todoroki wins and claims Third Place!"

The crowd roared as Shoto finally allowed Momo to unclip herself and stand up. The two then did a show bow to the audience, making the audience laugh again.

"WELL THAT WAS SOMETHING!" Present Mic laughed, "IN POSSIBLY THE FIRST COMEDY FIGHT IN U.A SPORTS FESTIVAL HISTORY, TODOROKI HAS WON AND CLAIMED THE BRONZE MEDAL!"

Izuka grinned, both from amusement at the match, a vindictive pleasure at seeing Endeavor so angry, her Papa's proud face as the two fighters donned his colours, and eagerness for the next battle. Present Mic dismissed everyone to eat dinner, before they gathered for the last fight.

It was nearly upon them... soon Izuka and Katsuki would battle for First Place; a small scale replica of their inevitable perpetual battle for the rank of Number One. Izuka clenched her fist; she would win... she'd be Number One!