~{Breakroom}~

Kamui stared at the television screen, just finishing to watch the cavalry battle end.

"Wow, that kid was crazy. Blasting himself back that high into the air." Death Arms chuckled.

"I kind of thought that he was gonna splat." Mount Lady said without even looking that worried.

Death Arms turn to Kamui, "So... What did you think?"

"I think he's rather... interesting." Kamui entwined his fingers. "But I hope that we can see his full potential in the next round."

"Well, we're going to have to watch it from outside. We have to get back on shift." Death Arms said as he stood up.

"..." Kamui turned his head away, "Damn it..."

_________________________________________

~{One Hour Intermission}~

The students were leaving the stadium and heading for the cafeteria, so many hungry after the cavalry battle.

Hagakure walked up to Mina rather cheerfully, "Great job on making it to the next round Mina! I'll be rooting for you!"

Mina smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, even though Bakugo only included me on his team to counteract Todoroki's ice, I still say I really helped the team out."

"Did you see Midori fly, though? Wasn't that insane!? He was like 'boom!' and then went 'weeeeee!' in the air!" Hagakure said, her arms sleeves energetically moving around to show how excited she was.

Mina laughed, "Yeah! He was so cool! He's done so many amazing things since I've met him!"

Although invisible, Hagakure was grinning, "You mean when he made your heart skip a beat during the hero lesson battle?"

Mina's cheeks formed a dark shade of lilac color, "H-Hey! You said you wouldn't bring that up!"

Hagakure squealed. "But it was the first time that I've ever seen you blush because of a guy!"

"Q-Quiet! I was just caught off guard, okay!?" Mina looked rather mad, "One moment he's acting all wimpy and then the next he acted so...so cool!"

"Exactly, that's why he's amazing!" Hagakure said, blushing herself despite not showing on her invisible face.

"Let's just go eat..." Mina pouted, marching off ahead.

"Eh? Wait for me!" Hagakure ran after her.

At the same time, Ochako started running in place right beside Iida, cheeks puffed out and pouting angrily.

"Iida, I didn't know you had a special move like that! No fair!" she said.

Iida adjusted his glasses, "It has nothing to do with fairness! I just never said anything about it until now!"

Momo walked up to the two, "Still, despite having Iida's special move, we were caught off guard by Izuku suddenly flying right at us. I should've known that he would've done such a thing." She chuckled.

"He didn't tell us about his plan either, he just came up with it on the spot once we got our points taken." Ochako chuckled.

"But I didn't expect to see him flying so high, I got anxious." Iida said.

"Speaking of Izuku, have either of you two seen him?" Momo asked, realizing that Izuku wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Actually... where is Deku?" Ochako repeated while looking around as well.

__________________________________________

~{Faculty and Student Entrance}~

Izuku and Todoroki stared at one another from opposite sides of the corridor in silence. Todoroki had both of his hands in his pockets, whereas Izuku had his own hands straight at his sides, shaking nervously at the cold teen's emotionless stare.

Both teens were alone, as everyone else was off getting food.

Izuku gulped down air and asked, "Wh-What did you want to talk about?"

Todoroki remained silent as the shadows on his face seemed to make his eyes shine at Izuku.

"U-Um, if we don't hurry, the cafeteria will probably be crowded."

The cold teen said nothing once more.

Izuku took a deep breath and formed a stern expression, "L-Look, if you're not gonna say anything, then I'll just leave."

He took a step to go outside, but that was when Todoroki spoke.

"I was overpowered."

Izuku stopped and looked at him, shocked to hear that.

"Overpowered so much that I broke my pledge."

Izuku glanced at Todoroki's left hand, "He didn't want to use his fire even if it would clearly give him an advantage..."

Todoroki pulled his left hand from his pocket and glanced down at it. "Iida, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu... none of them felt it..."

He looked up at Izuku, "At the last instant when you came flying at me, I was the only one who was overpowered..."

His eyes narrowed, "Only me, someone who's lived with a person who's been obsessed with All Might's power for so long, that I know how it would feel to experience it after just hearing descriptions from 'him'..."

Hearing All Might get brought up in this, Izuku tensed up.

"What... Wh-What does that mean?"

"It means that I felt something similar from you based on what my old man has said about All Might's power..."

Izuku's pupils shook in fear of what Todoroki was implying.

"A force that can move any immovable object, a force that can overwhelm you easily, with one move, even your quirks look similar in a way..."

Izuku kept his mouth closed and stared intensely at Todoroki.

"Midoriya... are you...?" Todoroki formed a glare as he was going to ask his question.

Izuku shivered but prepared for the worst.

"...All Might's secret love child?"

Izuku's face deadpanned and turned comedically black and white. "Eh?"

He blinked.

"Secret... what now?"

His mind instantly flashed back to what Todoroki before the start of the festival.

"All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?"

"THAT'S WHAT HE WAS THINKING!?!"

"Well... are you?" Todoroki asked again.

"N-No, of course not!" Izuku stuttered. "After all-!"

Izuku stopped himself as he remembered something, then looking down at the ground and rubbing his own arm with a sad look on his face.

"Even I wouldn't know if he's my father or not..."

Todoroki raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?"

Izuku glanced up as he genuinely thought about it.

"Well... I never knew my father was growing up. I was just told that he disappeared when I was young. My mom... never told me anything about him. All I ever knew was his name..."

Todoroki raised an eyebrow.

Izuku sighed as he remembered, "Hisashi... Midoriya... That was all I was told."

Todoroki's cold expression still didn't change. "I see... But then there is still a chance that All Might may be your father-"

"No, that's not possible." Izuku deadpanned without hesitation. "His real name is Yagi Toshinori, it was given out to the public many times. Look at him, then look me, there are so many differences between him and me that it wouldn't even be possible for him to be related to me in any way of blood."

Todoroki sweatdropped, "He shot down my thinking so fast..."

He then closed his eyes, "But... 'any way of blood'? So that means that there is a different way that the two of you are connected that you can't talk about, right?"

Izuku flinched.

"I see, so that's the case." Todoroki concluded just by Izuku's action.

Izuku nervously averted his eyes away now.

There was a moment of silence between them. Todoroki stared intently at Izuku while Izuku just averted his eyes from a direct gaze from him.

Todoroki spoke again:

"I'm sure you know that my old man, Endeavor, has been stuck as the number two hero for a long time."

Izuku turned back to Todoroki, looking confused.

He continued, "So if you have something from the number one hero... then I have an even more reason to beat you."

"He really thinks me as that important for him to beat..." Izuku thought as he closed his mouth nervously.

"My old man has a strong sense of desire to rise in the world. As a hero, he won a name for himself by using force... Because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore for him."

"B-Because he wasn't stronger than All Might?" Izuku concluded that to be the only case.

Todoroki turned his head to the side.

"Yes... Since he couldn't surpass All Might, he moved onto a backup plan he had."

"N-Next plan? What sort of plan would he think to have? And why tell me this?" Izuku asked worryingly.

Todoroki made eye contact with Izuku with a glare.

"You've heard of quirk marriages, right?"

Izuku's pupils shrunk. "Wh-What? Wh-Why would the number two hero...?"

"You seem to know about them. Well, they became a problem for the second and third generations of superhumans. Choosing a spouse based only on strengthening your own quirk and passing it onto your children..."

"F-Forcing people into marriage." Izuku stuttered. "Y-You're not saying that Endeavor-?"

"It's exactly what you think." Todoroki cut him off, a tone of anger in his voice. "He had the money and accomplishments, able to win over anyone he wanted by using it. Including..."

Todoroki looked down, shadows on his eyes.

"My mother."

The world darkened around Izuku and Todorki, with Izuku's mouth agape and eyes widened all the way.

"S-So, he really did..."

"My damn old man is only trying to fulfill his own desire... Repeatedly trying again and again in order to raise a child that had the potential to surpass All Might."

Todoroki's pupil shrunk, and his eyes narrowed in pure anger as he said this aloud.

His fists started shaking, "It's so annoying... He acts as if he owns me as if I'm sort of tool for him to use..."

"T-Todoroki?" Izuku whimpered.

The boy just continued, "In my memories, my mother is always crying.

He raised his left palm up to his face, feeling upon the large scar on his face.

"'Your left side is unsightly'... This was what she said to me..." He grit his teeth, "...as she poured boiling water on me."

Trails of sweat came from the side of Izuku's head, pupils shaking as he took in all of this disturbing information. He didn't know how to react...He didn't know what to say. He was too shocked to speak, only able to listen.

Todoroki lowered his hand from his face with his eyes focused on Izuku now.

"This is my reason for picking a fight with you. To show 'him' what I can do, without using that damn old man's quirk. No..."

His eyes almost seemed to flash.

"I'll reject him completely by winning first place without it!" He finally declared.

They both stood in a passing moment of silence.

Izuku thought about just how different his and Todoroki's worlds were, it honestly terrified him how a 'hero' was able to do this type of thing by using his status.

"I don't care if you can't tell me how you're connected to All Might. No matter what you are to him, I will rise above you with just my right side..."

Seeing that he said everything he had to say, Todoroki turned and started walking out of the tunnel.

Izuku stared at Todoroki as he walked away from him. "To think he went through so much..."

His hands clenched into fists, "But... If he keeps going on this path, if he keeps rejecting his own power, then..." Izuku's fists tightened more. "Then...!"

He formed a serious look on his face.

"Then he'll never be at his full potential. It'll get in the way of his hero career forever."

Izuku ran out of the tunnel and caught up to Todoroki, stopping a few yards away from him.

"Todoroki!"

The fire and ice boy stopped walking, yet he didn't turn around.

Izuku put a hand to his own chest, "I'm here right now because of all the people who have supported me..." He saw flashes of everyone that has ever helped him go through his mind. "Even now, I was only able to make it to the next round because of my team."

Todoroki looked back at him, looking unamused.

"My goal right now isn't to beat you, it's to beat someone else..."

He thought about his own declaration to Enso.

"For the rest of this time, I'm going to find a way to beat you. I'm gonna fight through you and whatever style you throw at me! I'm going to win the festival. I'm going to make sure no one forgets me! I'm... I'm going to show the world that... 'I Am Here!"

Izuku glanced at his own hand, "But in order to beat that person, it's clear that I have to be able to beat everyone else."

He balled his fists, "That includes you, Todoroki."

Todoroki narrowed his eyes.

"Now that I made it this far from other's support, it would be a disgrace for me not try my hardest, for me to not put everything I have into whatever next challenge we have. I'm going to give it my all..."

Izuku then pointed at Todoroki, "So I hope you do the same. Otherwise, you'll never become a true hero."

Both of their hair started to blow with the breeze, Todoroki glaring at Izuku while Izuku showed just how serious he was.

Todoroki then turned around and continued to walk off.

Izuku lowered his finger and watched as Todoroki made his way to the cafeteria, leaving himself standing alone outside.

"I hope you don't stay on this path Todoroki..."

As Todoroki ended up by himself in the U.A. halls, he stopped as he realized something.

"I was so engrossed in talking about Midoriya's connection with All Might and my old man that I forgot to ask him about those red eyes..."

He looked up as his mind flashed back to the red eyes when Izuku grabbed his headband. The next moment, another headband disappeared right after he saw those red eyes.

Red eyes that weren't Izuku's.

"I suppose it doesn't matter... No matter what, I'll beat him. There won't be a single flame seen from me."

__________________________________________

Izuku walked in the direction of the lunch area with his head down, still looking concerned after his confrontation with Todoroki. An hour was rather long for lunch, so he knew that he would have plenty of time to eat, yet he didn't feel as hungry as he thought he should've been.

"I might've lost a bit of my appetite..."

*Groooooooowl*

"Ooooooor, maybe not..." He sweatdropped.

Izuku went into the cafeteria and, not surprisingly, the lines were packed.

"I didn't even speak with Todoroki that long!... Did I?" Izuku sighed and headed into the line.

"Midoriya-kun!"

"Eh?" Izuku poked his head out of the line and saw Lunch Rush energetically wave a hand at Izuku from all the way in the front.

"Come here, come here!" He said.

"Wh-What?! Me!?" Izuku nervously pointed to himself.

Many students of the line curiously turned to the boy as he nervously made his way all the way to the front.

"They're all looking at me! They're all staring! I know that I wanted everyone to look at me at the festival, but right now, it's just nerve-racking!"

He went to the front and shyly waved, "H-Hi Lunch Rush, wh-what did you need me for?"

Lunch Rush suddenly appeared next to Izuku and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Just wanted to see how my friend's 'little student' is doing!" Lunch Rush chuckled.

Izuku started sweating nervously with an agape mouth and bulging eyes, "Wh-Wh-Wha-!?"

A star came from what Izuku presumed was Lunch Rush's eye, indicating that he was winking at him.

"Don't worry! He wants me to help with that! You'll get the details soon! But for now..."

Lunch Rush dashed into the kitchen and immediately came out with a tray of food in hand, plopping it into Izuku's arms.

"Here you go! Enjoy these meals while they last! Toodle-loo!" He then disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Izuku nervously shaking in place.

"Wh-Wh-What just happened!? What did he mean by 'enjoy these meals while they last!? Enso told Lunch Rush of all people about me training him!? Wait, he wants Lunch Rush to 'help' as well? But what could Lunch Rush teach me!? All he knows is-!"

Izuku connected the dots.

"C-Cooking!?"

"..."

He formed a straight face. "Actually, I've learned not to question anything Enso wants me to learn ever since he taught me how to dance."

He turned around to head to the seats, only to find everyone in each of the lines glaring menacingly at him for cutting.

Izuku started sweated nervously again, quickly ushering himself through the lines.

"G-Gomenasai, gomenasai, gomenasai!" He repeatedly uttered as he passed by everyone.

When Izuku came upon the seats of the lunch area, he found the place to be completely packed, leaving no sign for any place for him to sit.

"Oh, boy..."

He started walking past the tables, searching for his friends, or just any table for him to sit in general.

Mina was munching at her food when she saw the bush of green hair looking around, making her swallow her food and smile.

"Hey, Midori! Over here!" She stood up and energetically waved her hand side to side.

Izuku turned his head and saw the girl sitting with all of the girls in his class. Mina, Hagakure, and Tsu sat on one side, while Momo, Ochako, and Jiro sat on the other.

Seeing all of the girls of his class at one table, Izuku couldn't help but feel nervous as he walked over to them.

"H-Hey, everyone." Izuku greeted them.

"Oh, hey Deku! I was wondering where you were!" Ochako beamed with a smile.

"Yes, you disappeared immediately after the intermission started." Momo also added.

"S-Sorry, I..." Izuku remembered his encounter with Todoroki and looked down, "I had someone to talk to..."

Mina eagerly tugged at his sleeve.

"Come sit with us, Midori! We have room for one more!" Mina gleamed.

"E-Eh?! M-Me? B-But..."

"Ashido, don't you think a table full of girls is a little too much for him? Kero?" Tsu bluntly asked.

"Awww, how cute, he's gonna be shy around a bunch of pretty girls?" Hagakure teased.

Izuku shivered nervously with a red blush, turning around. "I-I'll just go over there-"

Mina held him by the sleeve with a pout.

"Sit." She said in a somewhat scary and demanding tone.

Izuku sat down, shaking.

"Good boy!" Mina then smiled, patting him on the head and making him flinch.

"Like a dog!?" The rest of the girls thought with perplexed expressions.

Izuku nervously started eating his food before asking, "U-Um, Ochako? Where's Iida and Enso?"

Ochako put some rice in her mouth before using her chopsticks to point to the right of Izuku as she chewed.

Izuku glanced in the direction she pointed and saw Enso sitting at a small, two-person table sitting with a familiar girl with pink hair.

"H-He's sitting with Mei?" Izuku said, surprised.

Ochako nodded as she swallowed her food, "Yeah, they both seem to be... getting along. Or rather, they both really seem to be into whatever they're talking about, seems important."

"Hey, that gadget girl was the last member on your team, wasn't she?" Jiro asked.

Izuku turned to her, "Yeah, she was the one who lent us her gadgets, so we used to move around better. We couldn't have won without them."

He then remembered something, "Ah Jiro! I-I'm sorry about before!"

Jiro raised an eyebrow, "About what?"

"Well, during the cavalry battle, I grabbed your earlobes and it looked like you were in a lot of pain." Izuku said shamefully.

Hagakure turned to her, "Oh yeah, you were really red. Grabbing your earlobes must've hurt."

Jiro's face turned from ordinary to utterly red in mere seconds, her mouth opening up as she remembered the feeling her earlobes had when Izuku had grabbed them.

It wasn't pain that she had felt at the time.

She turned her head away and did all that she could to keep her composure, face scrunching up a bit.

"I-I-I'm completely fine..."

"She's really angry, isn't she!?!" Izuku thought nervously from her reaction.

Momo looked slightly confused at Jiro, "Why does she look so embarrassed?"

Tsu spoke out, "What kind of girl is Mei?"

"Her last name is actually Hatsume, Deku is just doing his thing again." Ochako chuckled.

Izuku realized his first name habit and covered his face with his arms with a blush.

"Kawaii..." A few of the girls thought.

"W-Well, Mei *ahem* Hatsume is pretty... interesting. She's really smart but doesn't really seem to know the concept of personal space. She got up close and spoke so much about making 'babies' for 'big companies'-"

"Hold up, you wanna run that by us again!?" Jiro asked with a horrid look on her face, the other girls, other than Ochako, looking just as shocked.

Izuku blinked and realized what that sounded like, flailing his arms in a panic.

"N-Not like that!! When she means 'babies,' sh-she actually means gadgets that she makes!"

"Oh, I got scared for a moment by how it sounded..." Momo sighed.

"I-I should've explained that first, my bad." Izuku chuckled embarrassingly.

He turned his head and gazed at Enso and Hatsume talking.

"What could they be talking about?"

_________________________________________

Enso was across from Mei at the table they were sitting, crossing his arms as the girl in front of him excitingly wrote things down in a notebook she had.

"Are you even listening to me?" Enso asked impatiently.

"Nope! I'm already trying to make improvements on the jetpack and speed boots we used at the cavalry battle!" Mei grinned as she continued to write.

"Yet, you answered... Is her mind on autopilot?"

Enso thought about what to say to her as she continued to write.

"I need to have something that would appeal to someone like her..."

He leaned slightly forward in his chair, entwining his hands.

"Hatsume, how would you like a place to endlessly work on your gadgets and be provided material for them that I know you've never seen before?"

Mei stopped writing and instantly closed her notebook with her usual smile.

"I'm listening." She leaned in.

Enso leaned back on his chair as he saw that he got the girl's full attention.

"Hatsume, would you like to work personally under me?"

"Hmmm? Asking me to be a personal baby maker is kinda big, you know?" Hatsume grinned.

"Don't word it like that, please." Enso said with his right eye twitching.

He sighed before speaking again, "Tell me, Hatsume, how is your 'workplace' like?"

"Oh, it's great! I used to work at home, but after some of my babies blew up some of the house, my parents banned me from ever building babies there ever again! Luckily, now I got a better workplace that's the Development Studio here at U.A!"

"Development Studio? Is it exactly what it implies? A place to build things?"

"Yup! My center of operations!" Mei proudly grinned.

"But..." She stared curiously at Enso with a smile, "I'm interested in what you said before. I know every type of element, every type of material in the world. Yet I can tell that you're not lying when you say you might have something new to work with. So..."

She started twirling her pen in her hand, "Whatcha got?"

Enso closed his eyes.

"I'd be risking to expose a lot if I try to involve her... But then again, I knew that when I talked to her after the cavalry battle. Having someone who is an expert in inventions would be a highly valuable ally for us, even if she's a first-year, her intellect with machines is much high above any person here, even if... some of them blow up."

He opened his eyes and stared at Hatsume's mischievous smile.

"All she seems interested in is to build her gadgets, so perhaps if I just keep appealing to that, then she would keep working."

Enso turned his head to Izuku nervously speaking to the girls.

"..."

He turned back to Mei to speak, but she spoke first.

"So, this is for him?" She asked rather curiously, smiling as she gazed at Izuku too.

"She caught me staring."

"Somewhat. We're in a.... 'peculiar' situation." Enso answered her.

Mei stared at Izuku and grinned, "He was so excited when I showed him my babies, but he also seems like a really smart and analytical. I wonder how good he would be to making babies with me?"

"Now, you're staring at him rather intently..." Enso pointed out.

"Yeah, because I'm kind of interested in how he would be making babies with me-!"

"Stop wording things like that, please." Enso sighed.

Mei laughed before focusing on Enso again.

"So red-eyes-"

"Call me Enso, at least."

"-what's this 'material' you told me about?"

Enso was momentarily quiet before deciding to go with it.

"Have you ever heard of Vibranium?"

Mei grinned.

___________________________________________

"Hey Deku, I never did ask, but why did you decide to keep hold of that metal piece during the obstacle race?" Ochako curiously asked Izuku.

"Hm? Oh, I only took it with me after Kacchan blasted me right by the beginning of the race. I knew that if I ever got close to passing him again, then he wouldn't hesitate to blast me, so I decided to take it as a shield."

"How vexing..." Momo said upon hearing what Bakugo did.

"So, you weren't even planning on blasting yourself sky high over the entire minefield?" Jiro then asked.

"N-No..." Izuku awkwardly scratched his cheek, "I didn't know that the minefield was the last obstacle, no one did I'm sure. I just got kind of lucky and came up with a plan to get ahead on the spot."

"That was awesome, though! You went 'boom!' and then flew through the air like 'nyoom!' and won the race!" Hagakure said as her arms mimicked the actions.

"Speaking of 'blasting yourself sky-high,' you did it again during the cavalry battle." Mina pointed out.

"O-Oh yeah..." Izuku embarrassingly rubbed the back of his head. "I-I knew there wasn't much time left, so I had to jump in order to get our ten million points back..."

Yeah! You were able to get our points back just like I knew you would!" Ochako exclaimed happily.

"Still, it was shocking that you were able to leap that far and then go frighteningly high when you propelled yourself into the air using the force of your quirk." Momo said.

"U-Um... Thanks to Ochako using her quirk on me, I was able to move even farther and fly higher than I expected." He raised up his finger, bandaged after becoming healed by Recovery Girl on the way to the cafeteria. "A-A little too high for my liking..."

"But, I'm surprised that you were able to grab two headbands in such a short moment, kero." Tsu threw out her own thoughts.

Izuku stopped eating, his head staring down into his food as he remembered.

"But... I don't remember- How did I even?"

Momo noticed his reaction.

"Is something wrong, Izuku?"

Izuku raised his head and looked rather doubtful.

"I... I didn't grab two headbands..." He said with complete honesty in his voice.

The other girls turned to him, surprised by that claim.

"What do you mean? You grabbed it when you passed by Todoroki, I saw you." Momo said, somewhat confused.

Izuku shook his head in disagreement, "No, I only grabbed one headband at that moment, the 70 point one. All the way when I sent myself flying into the air to the end of the cavalry battle, I only had one headband in my left hand. I only noticed a second headband wrapped around my shoulder when Present Mic announced it."

"What if it accidentally got caught on your shoulder when you passed by Todoroki? Kero?" Tsu theorized.

"No... There's no way. It was wrapped around my shoulder, if it had gotten caught on it, then the force from me flying would've knocked it off. It had to have been wrapped." Izuku said.

"So... what difference does it make?" Jiro asked. "Either way, you still got the ten million points?"

"What Izuku is saying..." Momo started, looking rather serious now. "...Is that someone helped him."

Mina was shocked by the claim, "Ehhh!? Who!? Are you sure you aren't overthinking on it, Midori?"

Izuku felt slightly foolish, but he was indeed thinking what Momo said was a possibility.

"I-I just know that I didn't grab the ten million points... I was tricked into thinking that I did, but I didn't..."

Momo sighed, "Izuku, it would've been impossible for someone to have taken the headband from Todoroki and given it to you. No one else was around other than you and my team. We were walled together because of the ice, and everything happened too fast for anyone to know when to take Todoroki's headband and give it to you."

Izuku nervously scratched the back of his head, "M-Maybe you're right... B-But I can't just shake the feeling..."

Mina grinned, "You're just stressed out, Midori."

"Yeah, maybe your right..." Izuku sighed.

By this point, many people had begun to leave the lunch area, leaving much space and making it easier for people to spot others.

This caused one of the boys from class 1-A to see Izuku sitting with only females at the table.

"Whoa, check Midoriya. He's quite the ladies man." Sero joked with a chuckle.

The other guys at the table turned their heads to see that he was right.

"Really? Such a timid guy like Midoriya!? How?!" Kaminari blurted out.

"Eh!? No fair, why does he get a harem!?" Mineta cried out, comical tears going down his eyes.

Izuku flinched as he heard them being unnecessarily loud, even feeling their eyes basically piercing the back of his head.

He didn't feel safe.

"I-I'm just gonna go now..." Izuku said as he shakingly stood up.

"Eh? Why Midori? Come on, don't get so nervous." Mina reached up and grabbed Izuku's arm as he tried to get up, suddenly pulling him back.

But she pulled him a little too hard, resulting in him falling with his back on Mina's lap, and the back of his head on Hagakure's lap.

"Eep! Don't surprise me like that!" Hagakure yelped.

"Whoopsie!" Mina said, looking down at Izuku.

The other girls at the table had gaped expressions, except Tsu, who simply blinked.

Izuku turned red and panicked, "I-I'm sorry!"

He attempted to lift his head back up, but he felt Hagakure put her hands on it to keep him in place on her lap.

"H-H-Hagakure!?!" Izuku uttered out, shaking nervously.

"Now, now Midori, I think Mina was right before. You seem to be really stressed. In fact, you're shaking quite a lot right now." Hagakure said as she patted his head.

"Why do you think that is!?!" Izuku screamed in his head as he felt the girl's thighs even with her U.A gym pants on.

"Hey, you know his back is laying on my lap as well." Mina said.

"Oh? Are you bothered by it?" Hagakure asked her.

"Well..." Mina started twirling her hair with her finger, "I guess not..." she said with a lilac blush.

"Um, Hagakure. I don't think Izuku is very comfortable with this." Momo said, trying to remain in a calm tone.

"I agree. He looks really tensed up, kero." Tsu said as she observed Izuku head next to her.

"M-Maybe you should let him go Hagakure." Ochako suggested.

Izuku just kept shivering with his head facing up.

"Hm... Oh, I know!" Hagakure reached down and used her hand to caress Izuku's hair gently. "Hush little baby, don't say a word..." she sang.

"She's treating me like a baby!" Izuku thought with a deadpanned expression.

Hagakure stopped her singing nearly immediately when she felt Izuku's hair, stopping her movements as well.

"Whoa!"

"What is it?" Jiro asked.

"His hair is super fluffy!" Hagakure expressed, feeling it with her hand again.

Momo flinched and blushed as she knew fully well how Izuku's hair felt, slightly shaking as she recalled the feeling.

"Eh? Is it? Let me feel it!" Mina reached over with her hand and felt Izuku's hair, much to the boy's fear. "Oh, wow! It is!"

Momo turned her head away with her cheeks slightly puffing up, "Don't be tempted, don't be tempted..."

"Let me feel it." Tsu reached down and patted Izuku's hair as well. "It is."

"What do you do to make it this way, Midori?!" Hagakure asked excitingly as she and the other two girls continued to stroke his hair.

"I-I um, I don't know, b-b-but... C-Could you please stop?" Izuku asked, feeling much too nervous from multiple girls touching his hair.

Jiro lightly blushed as she watched them feel his hair. "Is it really that soft? I'm kind of curious, but..."

She turned to her left but was shocked to see Momo looking really tense and Ochako with an emotionless look on her face as she stared at them.

"Girls... I suggest you stop right now. Deku isn't comfortable with this."

"Eh?" Mina and Hagakure looked at Ochako and saw her face.

"Scary!!"

Tsu, on the other hand, just put a finger to her chin in thought, "Don't you want to join Ochako-chan? Kero?"

Hearing that, Ochako's emotionless look turned completely flustered, cheeks turning red and eyes growing in shape.

"Wha-Wha-!!" She turned her head away. "N-N-No..."

"So obvious..." Everyone else but Izuku thought.

Izuku, in the meantime, was sweating nervously and going through his own thoughts.

"What do I do!? It doesn't seem like Mina or Hagakure would listen to anything I say, and being this close to a girl is more than I can handle!"

Momo now, despite shaking and resisting the urge to experience the feeling of Izuku's hair once again, coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Ashido, Hagakure... I-I think you should release Izuku now."

"She stuttered? She must really wanna feel his hair as well..." Both Mina and Hagakure thought.

Deciding to test this, Mina grinned, "What? Jealous that you can feel his soft, fluffy hair with your own hands?"

"N-No! I'm saying that this isn't appropriate for us! And I clearly think that Izuku doesn't find this appropriate!" Momo snapped back, her light blush still forming.

Mineta and Kaminari both slid right by their table, looking rather serious. "Midoriya!" they both shouted.

Izuku shot up from Hagakure's lap and sat up straight, "W-Wait! This isn't what it-!"

The two of them then bowed all the way down the ground with their heads touching the floor.

"Please teach us your ways!"

"EHHH!?!" Izuku cried out, not expected to hear that.

"Why are both of you idiots here!? Get lost!" Jiro stood up from her seat with her earphone jacks threateningly shining.

"Teach what!?" Ochako cried out in confusion as to what Mineta and Kaminari were implying.

By this point, most of the cafeteria had shifted their attention towards Izuku and his table.

"For Midoriya to be able to tame the hearts of girls... How manly!" Kirishima yelled.

"I don't think that's right..." Ojiro sweatdropped.

"Wha-What the hell is going in!?!" Izuku shouted in his mind.

Bakugo was sitting a few tables away, cross veins appearing on around him in frustration.

He had about enough of the noise.

He jumped on top of his table and his palms sparked, "Would you all shut the fuck up!? Why the fuck are you even getting like this for that nerd!?"

The girls all turned their heads and glared at Bakugo as they yelled:

"Shut up!!"

"Huh?! You all wanna fucking die!?" Bakugo retaliated as sparks came from his hands.

"They even shouted at Kacchan!? I think I have to leave before this escalates any further!"

Izuku quickly jumped to his feet and bolted away as fast as he could without using his quirk, not looking back as he desperately ran to the school halls.

"Hey, Midori wait!" Izuku heard Hagakure call behind.

"Midoriya, teach me please!!" he heard Mineta call.

Enso and Mei turned to see Izuku running away, with many groups from their tables glaring at him as they did.

"What happened to him?" Mei asked curiously.

"I'd rather not find out..." Enso sweatdropped as he saw the girls of the table hissing at Bakugo.

Izuku kept running through the halls until he got to the teacher's lounge, frantically knocking on the door.

"A-All Might, are you there?!" he called out.

Toshinori slid open the door, "Ah, Midoriya. What brings you-?"

Before he could finish, Izuku rushed in and slid the door shut behind him. He quickly locked it and placed his back along with both of his hands on the door, panting and sweating with bulging eyes.

"Midoriya, my boy!? What's wrong?!" Toshinori worryingly asked.

Izuku then looked up at his hero, "G-Girls are scary..."

Toshinori deadpanned. "Come again?"

_____________________________________________

"Now that lunch is over, it's finally time to reveal the last game!" Present Mic shouted, resulting in everyone cheering.

"But before that, there's good news for all of you who didn't make it to the finals! This is just a sports festival, so we've prepared recreational games that anyone can participate in too!"

Izuku nervously walked back onto the field by himself, still a little shaken up by what happened during lunch. He could again feel the piercing gazes of many people as he walked onto the field.

"I'm so glad that we're on the last game already. If it had been earlier, then everyone would've gone after me... Wait a minute, that did happen." Izuku realized as he got back onto the middle of the field by himself.

"We've even brought real cheerleaders from America to liven things up!-huh?"

Present Mic cut himself off as he and Aizawa saw something.

"Hm?" Izuku turned his head as well, "WHAT ARE THEY WEARING!?!"

Each of the girls of Izuku's class wore a two-piece cheerleading outfit consisting of orange, green, and white colors. They had yellow pom-pom and had the letters, U.A, across their chest.

Of course, the crowd cheered like mad, especially the men.

"What are they doing?" Aizawa sweatdropped.

"What's the matter, class A? What kind of fanservice is that?" Present Mic asked rather curiously.

Izuku turned left and saw Kaminari and Mineta giving thumbs to each other.

"Mineta! Kaminari! You tricked us, didn't you!?" Momo yelled at them.

"Oh, boy..." Izuku sighed. "What could they have possibly said that could've convinced the girls to wear those things?"

Enso overheard him and facepalmed, "Those girls almost didn't believe those idiots, but they actually had a trump card... moment Izuku was brought up..."

"I'll gonna kill those idiots!" Jiro remarked as she threw her pom-poms to the ground, visibly irritated.

"Well, there's still time before the finals, and it'd be a pain if things got tense! So..."

Hagakure then shook her pom-poms up and down, "... let's do it!!"

"What!?" Jiro shouted.

Izuku saw everyone's eyes focused on the cheerleaders, making him let out a breath of relief. "At least everyone's attention is off me now..."

Suddenly he felt a long tongue wrap around his waist.

"Eh?"

He was yanked towards someone.

"Ah!" He shouted as he got pulled above the crowd and then plopped onto his feet. "Wha-Wha-!?"

Izuku looked to see Tsu standing right in front of him, wearing the cheerleading outfit Momo made her.

"Hello, Midoriya-chan, kero."

Not sure where to look, Izuku's eyes just went to the side as he frantically scratched the back of his head, "U-Um, h-hey Tsu! D-Did you need something from me?"

"I wanted to ask, what do you think of these outfits?" The frog girl asked, looking down a little nervously with her pom-poms behind her.

Mina appeared next to her with a grin, striking a seductive pose. "Yeah, Midori! What do you think? Do we look se-xy?" She asked, putting emphasis on that last two syllables.

Izuku had his hands to his sides and was stiff as his eyes hesitantly gazed upon the girls and all their glory.

"I-I-I think they look g-g-great on all of you!" Izuku stammered, steam coming from his head.

"Awww look, he's blushing! So kawaii!" Mina grinned with mischievous eyes and a concerning grin.

"Mina suddenly looks so scary for some reason!" Izuku thought, feeling shivers down his spine.

Mina got behind Izuku and started pushing him towards the other girls, "Come on now! Compliment them as well!"

"Wha-Hey!" Izuku uttered as he got pushed to Momo and Ochako, the gravity girl comforting the creation girl that was crouched on the ground in embarrassment.

"Why am I always caught up in Mineta's schemes? I even used my quirk to make these outfits..." Momo said, depressingly with her head down.

Mina did one last shove that resulted in Izuku stumbling right at the two, managing to stop directly in front of them.

Ochako looked up to Izuku and immediately blushed, "D-Deku! Th-This isn't what it was supposed to be! I-I mean-"

Momo also suddenly jolted back to her feet, "Izuku!? I have a good explanation for this!"

"I-I heard it..." he said, trying not to stare too much, "Y-You got tricked by Mineta and Kaminari..."

Izuku looked back and saw both boys giving him a thumbs-up, "Is this like their offering to me!?"

Enso then came behind them and knocked them out with two karate chops.

Izuku sweatdropped.

"I'm just ashamed that I fell for such an obvious trick..." Momo sighed, looking down into her pom-poms.

"B-But I think it looks a-amazing on you though..." Izuku muttered nervously.

Momo blushed but couldn't help but smile, "Thank you..."

Ochako pouted at Izuku's praise to Momo, then shyly rubbing her arm with a pom-pom and avoiding direct eye contact, "H-Hey Deku...?" she said nervously with a lovable blush. "H-How do you think it looks on me?"

Seeing her adorable actions, Izuku didn't even hesitate.

"C-Cute!" He declared despite shaking too much.

"Eh!?" Ochako was taken aback from his immediate response and blushed even harder.

She turned around so that her face with both of her pom-poms, "This is so embarrassing!!" Then she ran off.

"Eh!?" Izuku uttered, shocked that she ran away.

"Oh dear, it seems she got too embarrassed. I'll see if I can calm her down." Momo said, despite looking as equally flustered as Ochako, then walking after her.

"O-Okay?" Izuku awkwardly watched her walk off and then noticed Jiro, who was crouched on the ground with her head buried into her arms.

He nervously walked up to her and crouched down as well, "H-Hey, Jiro. Are you alright?"

He heard her groan, "No... I'm pissed off, I can't believe I fell for something like this... those two are so dead." She said with vigor in her voice.

Izuku flinched from her tone but still comforted her.

"B-But, at least it'll bring even more attention to you." He nervously chuckled.

Jiro raised her head up and glanced at the other girls of her class.

She saw curves, curves, and more curves.

Then she looked at herself.

A depressing blue aura grew around her.

"Eh!? What's wrong!?" Izuku cried out when he saw her state.

"They'll look at the other girls wearing this instead of me..." The girl muttered.

Izuku quickly tried to cheer her up, unable to see people looking sad, "Y-You shouldn't say stuff like that! Y-You're just as good looking as the other girls!"

Jiro rose her head up and somewhat glared at Izuku, "As if I'd believe that from you so easily, you're just too nice to agree with them."

"N-No! I-I'm not being nice! I genuinely think you're great too!" Izuku said despite turning a little red from saying that.

"Oh yeah, what about me makes you say that?" Jiro asked, standing back up and staring intensely at him.

"That's obvious! Your-!" Izuku immediately covered his own mouth as his face deepened in red tone, stopping himself from saying what he was going to say.

Jiro obviously noticed this, dropping her pom-poms and grabbing Izuku by his shirt collar.

"What is it!? What were you gonna say!?"

Izuku avoided looking at Jiro as he spoke, "U-Um, I-I don't think..."

Comedic tears formed in the corner of the girl's eyes, "I knew it! You don't think anything about me is good, do you!?"

Izuku faced her, despite being uncomfortably close, "I-Its not that! I-I just don't think it'd be o-okay for me to say!"

Jiro's head moved even closer to his, "Tell me!"

"B-But-!"

Shadows appeared on Jiro's face as her earlobes threateningly shined next to Izuku.

"Now."

Izuku felt chills go down his spine and closed his eyes, bracing himself as he shouted.

"You have a great slender waist!"

"..."

Jiro blinked. "H-Huh?"

Izuku shivered with eyes comically white.

Jiro let go of Izuku's collar and backed up, mouth agape and cheeks red.

"Wh-Wh-What!?"

She shook as she glanced around at the other students, but luckily no one else had heard Izuku's statement as they were speaking to each other while waiting for the rest of the students to hurry back.

Izuku covered his red face with both of his hands, head down in embarrassment and disbelief by what he had just said.

"I'm gonna die... She's gonna think I'm a pervert..."

Jiro looked down with shadows over her eyes to go along with her blushing cheeks.

She stroked her own arm, clearly flustered. "Do... Do you mean it?"

"She's really asking that!?!" Izuku thought.

He gulped and nervously fiddled his fingers while looking away.

"O-Of course I mean it... S-So d-don't sell yourself short..."

Jiro reached down and picked up her pom-poms from the ground, then using them to cover her face.

"Th-Thank you... I-I guess you really are an honest guy..."

"U-Um, I-I'm glad to... help?" He nervously uttered.

Present Mic then shouted again.

"Sorry about that short wait! We still had to wait for a few more students to come back! But let's have fun competing in the recreational games!"

The crowd cheered and clapped.

"When that's over, the sixteen from the four teams that made it to the final round will... wait for it..."

A sudden tournament bracket template then appeared on the screen.

"...duke it out in a one-on-one tournament style!!"

The crowd hysterically screamed in excitement.

"Blood lust, much!?" Izuku thought nervously about their reaction. He turned back to Jiro was saw the girl gone, running frighteningly fast with her pom-poms over her face as steam came from her head. "So fast!"

"A one-on-one tournament, huh?" Kirishima's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I'm gonna stand on the stage that I watch every year on T.V!" His teeth preciously grinned.

Midnight stepped onto the stage.

"Now, let's draw lots to determine the bracket. Once the bracket is determined, we'll have the recreational games and then start the bloodshe-I mean fighting!"

The students sweatdropped.

"The remaining finalist can choose whether or not they want to participate in the recreational games!"

Hearing this, Ojiro raised his hand. "Excuse me..."

Many people turned to him, including Midnight.

Ojiro looked unsure as he said, "I'm withdrawing..."

"EHHHHHHH!?!" Everyone cried out.

"Wh-What!? Why?!" Izuku was the first to ask.

"This is a rare chance for the pros to see you!" Iida added.

Ojiro lowered his hand, looking rather serious.

"I know that, but... I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until the very end. I know it was someone's quirk..."

Enso glanced at Shinso, remembering that he was with Ojiro. "Don't tell me..."

"I know that this is a great chance and that it's foolish to waste it, but..."

He clenched his hands into fists.

"Everyone here gave it their all, but I know that I didn't give it mine. I know that I didn't do anything to get here..."

"You could just prove yourself right here." Enso suggested.

"No... I'm talking about my pride here..." Ojiro whimpered.

"He's earnest..." Izuku thought with sadness. "I wonder the same thing happened to Aoyama?" He glanced over at the blonde teen, only to see him turn away. "Guess not..."

"This is an unusual turn of events..." Present Mic said, rather surprised.

"We'll have to see what the chief umpire, Midnight, has to say about this..." Aizawa said.

Everyone turned to Midnight, who looked calm about this.

"Youthful talk like that is something-"

She cracked her whip with a smile.

"-I like!"

She then pointed her whip at Ojiro, "Ojiro! I accept your withdrawal!"

"She decided based on her own tastes!?!"

"Does she enjoy that 'youthful talk' before she can no longer have that?" Enso asked himself rather curiously.

Midnight cracked her whip even louder than before.

I HEARD THAT! DON'T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE YOU LITTLE-!!"

"Midnight! PG! PG!" Present Mic cut her off desperately.

"You say that, but she's the R-rated hero for crying out loud..." Aizawa sweatdropped.

Midnight glared at Enso before clearing her throat.

"Anyway, if Ojiro is withdrawing, then we need someone from the fifth place cavalry team to take his spot."

Monoma suddenly appeared next to Kendo, "In that case, may I nominate Kendo here to take his place? She led her group rather well, and I believe she is the most deserving of her team."

"Monoma!?" Kendo exclaimed, shocked to hear him say this.

"Right, you three?" Monoma asked Kendo's other three teammates.

They nodded in agreement.

"You guys..." Kendo said with a sweet smile.

"Then Itsuka Kendo will take the spot to make the 16th finalist!"

Midnight then pointed her whip at the screen.

"And now we will randomize the pairing and immediately display them on the screen! Here are the results!"

A 16-player bracket appeared on the screen, showing all the pairs.

1) Izuku Midoriya V.S Itsuka Kendo

2) Shoto Todoroki V.S Hanta Sero

3) Enso Ureshi V.S Hitoshi Shinso

4) Tenya Iida V.S Mei Hatsume

5) Katsuki Bakugo V.S Ochako Uraraka

6) Kirishima V.S Kaminari

7) Mina Ashido V.S Yuga Aoyama

8) Fumiikage Tokoyami V.S Momo Yaoyorozu

"Oh? It seems pretty coincidental that you and I face off against each other so early." Shinso remarked with a grin to Enso.

Enso turned to him.

"I-" Before he could say anything, a tail covered his mouth.

"Ureshi." Ojiro said with a serious look.

Shinso chuckled and walked away.

Enso turned to Ojiro as the boy moved his tail away.

He narrowed his eyes, "What was that for?"

Ojiro frowned. "Don't answer him."

"Hm?" Enso raised an eyebrow now.

Bakugo saw his name and his opponents. "Huh? Uraraka?" He said, as if not even knowing who that was.

"EEEP!" Ochako shivered in fear.

Izuku stared at the screen as he realized:

"If both Todoroki and I win our first battles... then..."

Izuku took a glimpse at Todoroki, who also glanced at him back.

"We'll face off against each other...

Izuku shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Calm down Izuku, worry about that later, for now, worry about your current opponent."

Izuku focused on the screen again but was shocked, "KENDO!?!"

"Yo! Midoriya!"

Izuku turned and saw Kendo walking towards him with a smile.

"H-Hey Kendo!" He nervously waved.

"This is such a great chance that we get to fight!" The girl beamed.

"I-It is?"

Kendo nodded and showed her fist, "Of course! I've been itching to fight you seriously ever since you told me that you did martial arts! This is the perfect chance to show each other what we can do!" She smiled.

Izuku was surprised by how excited she was, but that made him smile with a determined look on his face.

"Yeah, I'll give it my all!"

Kendo laughed, "Of course you will!"

"All right! Let's leave the tournament aside and have fun with the recreational games!!!" Present Mic shouted with hands in the air.

"YEAH!!!" The crowd cheered as fireworks started to soar into the air and explode.

Kendo gave Izuku a thumbs up, "I'll see you in the arena!" and with that, Izuku waved her goodbye and turned to head to the preparation room.

"Izuku."

"Eh?" Izuku turned around and saw Enso there.

"Are you heading off to prepare?" his trainer asked him.

"Yeah, I am. You are too?"

Enso nodded, "Then this where we walk alone from here."

Izuku looked curious. "Alone?"

"This is where we fight using our own thinking, our own strengths, our own strategy. I won't be helping you, you won't be helping me. The rest of the path for this festival will be fought using our own abilities. This is where you apply everything you've learned so far to rise up. So..."

Enso held his fist in front of him.

"Don't disappoint me."

Izuku looked astonished to hear him say this but understood.

He smiled. "Thank you... for teaching me up to this point."

He fist-bumped him, and the two walked in opposite directions.

_________________________________________

~{An hour later}~

Cementoss controlled the last of the cement to form the arena, then standing up.

"Okay! It's pretty much done!" He called up.

"Thank you, Cementoss!"

Present Mic pointed to the audience.

"Hey guys!? Are you ready!?!"

Pots around the arena erupted in flames, and the audience got riled up.

"A lot has happened so far, but now it finally comes down to this! A serious battle! A battle by yourself, with no one to help you whatsoever!"

Izuku stood within the corridor with the arena just outside, listening to the cheers of the audience.

He took multiple deep breaths, hand atop his chest as he did.

"Hey!"

Izuku turned around and saw Toshinori there.

"A-All Might?"

"Sorry to come see you right before your first battle, but I felt that I should wish you luck." Toshinori said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Th-Thank you All Might." Izuku said nervously.

Toshinori noticed this.

"How are you feeling?"

Izuku took a deep breath again and smiled.

"P-Pretty nervous. I'm sure that my first opponent is powerful."

"Ah yes, Itsuka Kendo correct? I've heard that she's quite the fighter." Toshinori said.

"Yeah... So I have to be on my toes." Izuku said.

Toshinori grinned, "But even if she's a fighter..." he walked up to Izuku and planted a hand on his shoulder. "...so are you."

Izuku chuckled and formed a small smile.

"Just remember to stand proud with a smile! Don't forget that I have high hopes for you! Kick ass out there!"

Hearing him say this, Izuku laughed this time.

"Thanks All Might... I'll make you proud." Izuku said with more determination this time.

He turned around with a grin, "Let's do this."

"Audience! The finals that you've been waiting for is finally starting!"

Present Mic clapped his hand, "Match number one! Booyah!"

The screen showed a versus screen of Izuku and Kendo.

"He's been first in both games so far, but will his winning streak keep on going!? From the hero course, it's Izuku Midoriya!"

Izuku walked out of the corridor with Toshinori watching from afar.

"Versus-!"

Mic pointed at the other side of the arena.

"The big sister that keeps Class B in check! From the hero course as well, Itsuka Kendo!!"

Izuku and Kendo stepped into the arena as Present Mic continued to speak.

"Rules are simple! Force your opponents out of bounds, or immobilize them! Or you could win if your opponent says, 'I give up!' Bring on the action, the suspense, and the injuries! Because we got Recovery Girl waiting on standby!"

"But no life-threatening things..." Aizawa growled.

"Oopsies! Forgot to say that!"

"How irresponsible..." Izuku and Kendo sweatdropped.

"I'll stop things if they get too far." Cementoss added as he made a cement chair outside and sat down.

Kendo and Izuku stared at one another a good space away, Izuku stretching his arms and Kendo rotating her shoulder.

"So, we're finally here..." Izuku said.

"Yeah, may the best fighter win."

Kendo formed a serious look on her face as she got into a fighting stance with her palms open and straight.

Izuku got into his own fighting position, slightly bending his knees and clenching his hands into fists.

"Are our fighters ready!?"

Izuku grinned.

"Always have been."