"Enter The Heat Of Battle!"

The flames in the pots erupted.

"Fight!"

Izuku's body lit up in orange, red, and green colors.

"Full Cowling, 5%!"

He dashed forward with a fit of speed towards Kendo.

Kendo stood her ground and took a deep breath as Izuku came towards her.

When he closed in on her, Kendo pulled her right arm back before thrusting her palm forward, enlarging it with her quick at an attempt to slam it into Izuku.

Izuku saw this and jump over it, landing on the other side of her and immediately turning around to perform a right hook swing.

Kendo simply used her enlarged hand to swing it around and swatted Izuku away, sending him a few yards away before he landed in a crouching position.

Izuku had a stern look on his face.

"Her quirk lets her enlarge her hands by nearly up to three times the size of her body! But seeing how she moves them confirms to me that their size doesn't affect how heavy they are to her... It's as if she's telling gravity to screw itself."

Kendo jumped at Izuku with her right hand above her head in a karate-chopping position.

"Ki-ai!" As she yelled this, Kendo swung her hand down with it enlarging abruptly, aiming right down at Izuku.

"WHOA!" Izuku jumped back, and Kendo's hand chopped the ground, cracking the cement easily under the destructive force.

Upon landing, Izuku dashed forward and jumped up, swinging his leg down at an attempt to ax-kick her.

Kendo once again shrunk her fist back to standard size and lifted up her other hand at the same time.

Her other hand enlarged not as big as before, but it was large enough to suddenly catch Izuku's foot right into it, taking the kick and gripping down to grab hold of him.

"Crap! She's got me!"

Izuku didn't hesitate to point his fingers down at her.

"Delaware smash 10%!"

He flicked his fingers, and the sudden force basically slammed into Kendo and caused her to let go of Izuku while getting sent back.

Izuku fell to the ground on his back but immediately performed a kip-up, kicking the air and jumping back to his feet.

"Oho! It looks like we got some action already!"

Izuku felt a small sting of his finger, "I couldn't risk her keeping hold of me, I had to use more percent than intended right there, but it's only a little sting."

Kendo regained her footing and put on a stance one again, waiting for Izuku to move.

The boy took a deep breath, "I gotta move faster."

He coursed more of his power throughout his body, showing by some more intense colors.

"7%!" Izuku moved in a flash, circling around Kendo rather quickly as to confuse her.

Kendo kept her stance still as her eyes tried to follow the boy, waiting patiently for a moment.

At one moment, Izuku stopped circling around her and dashed towards her from behind.

Kendo heard him and turned around while thrusting her palm forward, suddenly expanding her hands once again to add momentum and increase the power of her strike.

Seeing this, Izuku instinctively did some fancy footwork.

By using Full Cowling's speed and applying his dance lessons, Izuku was able to suddenly step to the side and spin around Kendo's massive palm strike.

He appeared right next to Kendo, surprising her.

"How did he-!?"

She shrunk her hand and tried to defend, but Izuku had already stopped and thrust his palm forward. He struck her side with a powered blow and sent her back several yards away with the 5% of the power he used.

"Midoriya lands a solid blow!! What are those moves!? He's got this under control so far!"

Mina's eyes lit up in the crowd, and she stood up from her seat, leaning forward with even more growing excitement than before.

"No way..."

Hagakure glanced up at her with her hands clapping excitingly, "You saw it too, didn't you, Mina!?"

Mina just kept staring down with a smile.

"There's no doubt about it..."

She watched as Izuku shuffled his feet for a moment as to keep a rhythm, then striking another fighting stand.

"He was dancing!"

Mina's eyes sparkled.

Kendo landed on her behind but didn't waste any time getting back up to her feet.

"Not bad Midoriya!" She yelled with a smile, getting back into another stance.

Izuku dashed forward in a flash towards the girl once more, fist swinging.

Kendo swung her own arm but enlarged her hand to the max.

Both of their punches collided, creating a small gust of wind, and creating a standstill between the two trying to overpower the other.

However, with Kendo's much large hand and the added momentum and power she added from expanding it, she was currently winning the power struggle.

With one last push, Kendo's fist got through and pushed Izuku's arm back while slamming the boy, sending him flying back.

"Midoriya seems to be having a bit of trouble against the big sister!" Present Mic commentated.

"Weren't you just saying that he had this under control?" Aizawa sighed.

"KICK HIS ASS KENDO!" Monoma screeched from the audience.

All the classes sweatdropped.

While being sent back, Izuku slammed his palm to the ground to flip himself up, landing on his feet and sliding back a bit before stopping.

"Even with 7% of One For All, Kendo's large hands are still stronger... I can't raise it up higher. Otherwise, my muscles may end up tensing up at a critical moment..."

Kendo walked up to the already cracked part of the ground she had made before, then enlarging her hand right over it.

She karate-chopped the already cracked ground with enough force to suddenly send up many bits of stones from the concrete. And using her same enlarged hand, she swiped the many pieces of debris and sent them scattering rapidly in Izuku's direction.

Izuku just dashed forward with his head low, occasionally moving left or right to avoid the stones and closing in on Kendo.

At one point, he jumped and spin kicked a larger stone from the air, shattering it and sending the smaller stone hurtling towards his opponent.

Kendo expanded her palm and swatted away all the stones to the side fairly easily, clearing the way for her to defend against Izuku.

Izuku still kept pressing on and jumped forward with his legs in a dropkick fashion, picking up speed as he neared.

Kendo had no time to swing her arm to punch or swipe away Izuku, so she just put her hand in front of her and expanded it to shield her whole body.

Izuku's feet slammed into Kendo's large palm and had enough strength to drag Kendo's feet back slightly.

Kendo tried to close her palm on Izuku, but Izuku used that same palm to jump off and land a few yards away.

"Man, Midoriya is doing great! I haven't seen those moves before!" Sato said.

"I'm surprised he didn't even hesitate to fight her even though she's a girl!" Kirishima said, somewhat knowing how nervous Izuku can get.

"Izuku doesn't realize he's fighting a girl yet." Enso remarked from his seat.

His class turned to him with rather blank looks.

"That sounds kind of terrible..." Ojiro was the first to say.

"Not like that, you idiots." Enso sighed. "Think about it. Coming first place in both games, stressing to rise to the top, and aiming to show everyone just how much he can do. Right now, he's trying to keep this up and isn't thinking about anything else but to win with his most high-grade skills. Right now, he only views Kendo as an opponent, gender doesn't matter."

Izuku leaped over Kendo's large hand swinging at him.

"All he sees..."

He saw Izuku's serious expression.

"...Is a challenge to overcome."

Kirishima started crying, "That's... SO MANLY!"

"But afterward... He might freak out when he processes that Kendo is the first female he's ever fought."

"Probably right after the match is over..." Everyone sweatdropped in agreement.

Kendo parried a high kick Izuku aim at her face, then creating space between them by thrusting her palm and expanding it.

Izuku barely backed up enough to avoid Kendo's hand from hitting his face.

"I never knew Midoriya had such... movements." Iida said rather intrigued when he saw cartwheel into a flip.

"He's dancing! He's dancing!" Mina jumped up and down excitingly.

"He is? I thought he was fighting. Kero." Tsu said.

"I know dancing when I see it!" Mina gleefully cheered.

Izuku, in the meantime, was slightly panting.

He ran towards Kendo once more at blazing speeds.

Kendo flatted her large palm on the ground and used it to swipe along the ground at an attempt to swipe Izuku off his feet.

Izuku jumped up in the air and over the sweep, attempting to get Kendo from above.

Kendo grinned and had her other palm already pointing up.

Enso narrowed his eyes, "That's what she wanted."

Kendo suddenly thrust her other arm up and expanded her hand right as Izuku fell towards her with his leg out.

She caught the boy and clenched her hand around nearly his whole body, leaving just his chest and head poking out.

"Midoriya!" Iida shouted.

"Deku!" Ochako said in worry as well.

Kendo wrapped her other large palm around the one had held Izuku, holding him even more secure.

Izuku visibly squirmed in Kendo's large hands, not showing signs of being able to escape.

"Look's like the big sister has the upper hand! Midoriya is in her clutches! Can he escape this!?"

"Sorry, Midoriya! Give me a moment!" As Kendo said this, she turned around and started running towards the end of the arena, intended on just releasing him to the out of bounds.

"Midori's in trouble! We gotta save him!" Hagakure said dramatically with a hand in the air.

"Um, this is a sports battle, you know?" Sero said.

"..."

"Crap!"

Momo looked worried and confused.

"I don't understand... Izuku should've seen that attack coming from her. I'm sure he even could've maneuvered somehow."

"Of course, he should've seen it coming." Enso said, right next to her.

"Is this the end of the line for Midoriya!?" Mic pressed his face against the glass.

"Then, why would he-!?"

"Watch and find out." Enso interrupted Momo.

Momo turned back to the arena as Kendo was nearing the out of bounds with Izuku.

Izuku was glancing behind him, paying attention to how close he was getting to losing. But when he saw that he was nearing the edge of the border:

He stopped struggling.

"Okay, now's the time to do it!"

Izuku relaxed his body, as if he struggled, then Kendo would no doubt squeeze him even tighter than she currently was holding him.

He started taking deep breaths.

"Remember what you've learned, don't concentrate power into just your lungs! You have to have power in your body already before focusing on your organs! Don't let them explode, don't let them explode! Just breath and release in a concentrated direction!"

Izuku focused on Kendo.

"One For All..."

Izuku's body lit up in orange and red, green electricity light up.

"Houston..." Izuku mumbled, cheeks puffing up a little.

Kendo looked up to Izuku when she heard him, nearing the edge of the arena.

Her eyes widened. "What is he-?"

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWL!!!!!!"

Izuku's voice exploded from his mouth in a violent and concentrated sound wave right downward at Kendo.

Once the soundwave hit Kendo, she felt her eardrums violently vibrate and cause pain in her ears. She felt the force of Izuku's scream slam into her too.

"What the hell is this!?!"

Despite the pain, Kendo still firmly held her ground and tried to keep her grasp on Izuku, clenching her teeth and trying to bear through the pain.

"NANI!? What's with this projection of voice!? It's just like mine! Midoriya man! We should hang out and talk after this festival ends!" Mic grinned.

Momo was stunned, "What is that!? How is Izuku yelling in such a manner!?"

Enso turned to her, "You know how Izuku can focus power around his whole, or certain parts of his body?"

"Yes?" Momo said.

"Well... He's just doing the same thing with his lungs and vocal cords."

"He can do that!?" Sero asked in shock.

"Assuming he doesn't accidentally blow them up."

"WHAT THE HELL!?!" Everyone thought with a sick feeling.

Kendo struggled to keep hold of Izuku, barely able to move from the pain her ears were facing as her body visibly shaking from the force the boy let loose on her. She tried to tighten her grip around Izuku to make him stop, but the girl felt herself growing dizzy and losing her grip.

At the same time, Izuku was feeling just as dizzy and tired.

"Just... a little... longer..."

Letting out one shout for so long without breathing could only be so long.

"Come on... Come on!"

At one point, Kendo's ears started to bleed, and she had about enough. She let go of Izuku, shrinking her hands and falling to the floor while covering her ears and closing her eyes in pain.

"Kendo couldn't take the pain! Is this Midoriya's chance!?"

When Izuku fell too on the ground, he landed on his knees.

"*GASP*!" He took large deep breaths but didn't hesitate to take a step forward towards the girl, despite being so dizzy.

"I feel like... I"m gonna pass out..." Izuku thought as he struggled to breathe, yet he still reached down and grabbed Kendo by the arm.

The moment Kendo felt contact on her arm, her eyes shot open as she saw Izuku there.

She immediately tried to push him out of bounds, sticking her arm out to push him.

But Izuku used that arm against her.

He spun around her hand right before it could touch him, putting his back on her and grabbing her arm with both of his hands.

Bakugo's eyes widened.

"That move-!?"

Izuku felt his vision fading but still focused his power.

"One... For all, 5%..."

Izuku pulled Kendo over his shoulder.

"Wha-!?" The girl's eyes widened.

"SLAAAM!" Izuku slammed Kendo's back right over the out of bounds line.

"Ack!" Kendo let out a cough as she bounced off the ground.

Bakugo grit his teeth, remembering when Izuku used that same move on him during the first hero lesson training lesson.

Everyone was in stunned silence by how fast everything seemed to go.

Until Midnight raised a hand.

"Kendo is out of bounds! Midoriya moves on to the next round!"

The crowd cheered madly as Izuku finally caught his breath, crouching over the ground and taking deep breathes.

"I was gonna pass out if I wasn't careful!"

"The first person to advance to the second round is Izuku Midoriya from class A!" Present Mic shouted.

"He did that shoulder toss on you too, didn't he Bakugo!?" Kaminari asked.

He got punched.

Iida put a hand to his chin in thought, "He let Kendo catch her in order to catch her off guard with that... 'technique'."

"It caught all of us off guard! I didn't know Deku could do something like that!" Ochako smiled.

In the meantime, Izuku caught his breath and wiped his face of the sweat that was forming up.

"That was so close... It was way too risky for me to let Kendo carry me to the edge, but her quirk gives her more strength than the amount of power I could use of One For All right now..."

Izuku heard some of the crowd around him.

"That was outstanding!"

"He didn't hold back on her at all!"

"I respect that he brought his all against a female opponent."

"Wasn't trying to dropkick her in the face a little too much, though?"

"..."

Izuku blinked.

"Wait."

He looked as Kendo sitting up from the ground and rubbing her head.

"Th-This...!"

His head erupted.

"THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I FOUGHT A GIRL!"

Enso saw his reaction.

"Oh look, he realized."

"Oh, boy..." His class thought.

Izuku internally panicked with his hands on his head.

"I just fought a girl! Oh my god, I tried to DROPKICK A GIRL IN THE FACE!"

Kendo wobbly stood back up to her feet, still feeling pain in her ears.

Izuku nervously spoke, "K-K-Kendo? I-I'm-!"

"What!?" Kendo turned to him and shouted rather loud, yet she didn't look angry or shocked.

"Eh?" Izuku saw her ears bleeding. "Ah! We gotta get you to Recovery Girl!"

He grabbed her hand and started pulling her off the field.

"What!?" Kendo shouted with a confused look once again, unable to hear anything as she let Izuku guide her.

"Oh look, there they go." Aizawa said as he and the audience watched the boy take her away.

"Ah, but we didn't even have them shake hands, say 'GG' or anything!" Mic said.

"Just move on you idiot..." Aizawa sighed.

_______________________________________________

In an old abandoned warehouse, in front of a TV screen that broadcasted the events of the sports festival, two unique people were watching the events unfold.

One of them was a tall, slim young man with dark spiky hair and turquoise eyes. He had sections of his skin that were purple-colored and wrinkled, looking to be held together by surgical staples and stitches. He wore dark blue pants that were torn just above his ankles, a matching dark blue coat over a simple white shirt, and some black shoes.

Sitting next to him was a young high school girl with blonde hair that was styled in messy buns on both sides of her head, also cut in an uneven hime cut-like style with two stray strands of her hair on each side of her face. Her eyes were yellow, and she had what seemed to be two fangs in her teeth.

Her outfit consisted of a Japanese schoolgirl uniform that had an oversized cardigan that covered most of her skirt. Also included were knee-length black socks and even Japanese school loafers.

The blonde teen looked unamused as she laid her head on the shoulder of the couch.

"Dabi... why are we watching this? It's so boring!" She complained.

The one called 'Dabi' turned to her.

"You can leave me alone, you know?..." He replied calmly.

"You're mean, Dabi!" Toga pouted.

"Would you just shut up if you're not gonna leave? I actually wanna know what kinds of heroes are gonna be on these streets in the future..." Dabi responded as he turned back to the old television screen.

Toga grumbled a bit as she put her head upside down over the shoulder of the couch, staring at the television screen this way.

But a hint of green caught her eye.

"Hm?"

She slightly adjusted her head right side up and saw a green-haired boy with freckles on the victory screen.

"Dabi, who's that?" she asked with a bored tone.

"You really weren't paying attention to anything happening, were you?" Dabi sighed.

"Not really... I was thinking of where should I find my person to stabby-stab." Toga answered.

"You little- Fine... His name is Izuku Midoriya, he's been causing a bit of commotion lately."

"Hmm..." Toga had a bored look on her face.

There wasn't really much to say about this 'Midoriya' in her eyes. He didn't look ugly. In fact, he looked pretty cute to her, especially the shining green hair and eyes. But he also seemed rather dull.

Without blood, that is.

Toga positioned herself back to normal on the couch and crossed her arms.

"I don't really got anything better to do... Might as well watch this."

____________________________________________

"S-Sorry..." Izuku apologized as Recovery Girl finished healing up Kendo, pulling her lips from her arm.

Kendo use wipes to clean her ears of the blood.

"Hm? For what?" She asked him.

"W-Well um... I-I kind of... really hurt you..." Izuku answered.

Kendo stared curiously at the boy who had his head down with his hands in his lap. Although he had won, Izuku apologized about hurting her, despite that being impossible to avoid for a battle.

She smiled, "Hey, what would've happened if you didn't hurt me?"

Izuku rose his head up to look at her nervously, "Um... I mean, well..."

"You would've lost." Recovery Girl snapped.

Kendo nodded, "I definitely agree. If you got all worried about hurting your opponent each time you fight, then just how would you win? You did what you could to win, tricking me into thinking I had the upper hand before... screaming?" She chuckled.

Izuku nervously scratched the back of his head, "I-It's a technique I-I made..."

"Well, it was an amazing one. I didn't expect it."

"Th-Thank you..."

Kendo looked pretty happy.

"Hey... thank you too."

"H-Huh? For what?" Izuku stammered.

"For fighting me like any other opponent. Whenever I fought a guy, it always made me angry that they always seemed to either look down at me or try to act 'considerate'..."

Izuku stared at her.

"But you... You didn't hesitate to fight me, you didn't look down on me. Even if you forgot you were fighting a girl-"

Izuku flinched, "She knew!"

"-I'm still glad that all you saw was an opponent."

Kendo closed her eyes and shined as she smiled.

"KAWAII!" Izuku was shook.

*BOOM!!*

The area started shaking unexpectantly.

"Whoa! What was that!?" Izuku uttered.

Recovery Girl glanced at the television screen.

"Midoriya... Why does your class have some crazy students!?"

Izuku and Kendo both glanced at the television screen, their eyes widening upon seeing a giant wave of ice that had spread outside the top of the arena.

"What... What?" Kendo uttered in shock.

Izuku stared with a grim expression as he Todoroki with a look of anger, along with Sero wholly frozen in that giant wave of ice.

"S-S-Sero is i-immobile! T-T-Todoroki wins!" Midnight yelled, her body feeling chilly from being partly frozen over as well.

Izuku gripped his hands tightly.

"Todoroki was angry..."

Izuku stood up in his seat, "I should be getting back..."

"Alright, I'll stay here a bit longer. Thank you for that fight Midoriya." Kendo responded.

Izuku bowed and left the room, leaving Kendo and Recovery Girl alone.

Kendo let out a small sigh after her left, still smiling.

"He really is a nice boy, isn't he?" Recovery Girl chuckled.

Kendo looked down and placed a hand over her heart, feeling it beat faster and confirming something she had been debating about internally.

"Yes..." She had a longing smile. "He is..."

_____________________________________________

"Let's wait for the next round a bit!" Present Mic shouted.

Izuku walked to the area where his class was sitting, looking around at all of the seats.

"Deku! Good work!" Ochako waved to him.

"We saved a seat for you!" Momo waved to him as well.

He glanced at an empty seat in the middle of his entire class, with Ochako seated on the left of the empty seat and Momo on the right.

He smiled and walked over to them, saying "Thank you." and sitting down between them.

He looked to the right and saw Enso sitting at the end of the row, attention focused on the arena.

"Midori!"

Izuku turned to the seat behind him, seeing a familiar pink-skinned girl.

"Hi Mina, did something happen?"

The girl was visibly excited, "You never told me that you knew how to dance!"

"Eh? U-Um..."

"Ashido did mention that before. Were your movements from dancing? Kero?" Tsu asked next to her.

Izuku awkwardly moved his arms, "U-Um! Well-"

"And you were able to scream so destructively too! Did all that singing really help you with that!?" Hagakure gleefully cried out.

"Midoriya sings?" Sato asked.

"He dances?" Tokoyami added.

Izuku nervously shivered. "I-I do..."

Mina got closer to him, almost nose to nose, "You gotta dance with me sometime!" she smiled.

"Eh? You dance too?"

"Hell yeah! I wanted a partner for so long!" He could see the excitement bouncing from her.

Izuku turned red and looked away, "I-I'll think about it..."

"All right! Now that all this ice has been cleared up! Let's move on to the next battle!"

Izuku formed a grim expression on his face now, his previous embarrassment fading away.

"This is Enso's fight..."

___________________________________________

Enso walked down the entrance tunnel of the arena, both of his hands in the pockets of the U.A gym pants he wore.

His red eyes shined in the dark tunnel, which would give an average person a scare if they saw, but luckily the boy was there by himself.

He stepped into the light and glanced up at the crowd cheering at him.

"How annoying... Half of these people are only here to enjoy the bloodshed of the students fighting each other."

"On one side, the one who got the highest points on the entrance exam! The hero courses' Enso Ureshi!"

Enso closed his eyes and sighed as he walked up the stairs of the arena.

"Versus-!"

Shinso walked onto the arena as well, looking much more determined than before.

"Sorry, he hasn't done anything to stand out yet! From the general studies, it's Hitoshi Shinso!"

"This next battle... I don't even know who's going to win." Izuku remarked.

Mina heard him and went over his shoulder, "What do you mean? Can't Enso just kick his ass?"

"He might not..." Ojiro intervened.

Everyone turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Jiro asked.

The tail master looked down with a sad expression.

"I tried to tell him..."

________________________________________

~{Earlier- Contestant Preparation Room}~

Enso and Ojiro walked into the room, both taking seats without any delay.

"So..." Enso said as he placed his elbows on the desk and entwined his fingers. "What is it that you had to speak to me about?"

Ojiro stared at Enso with a stern expression.

"It's about your first opponent. Shinso."

Enso raised an eyebrow, "What about him?"

"Right before the cavalry battle, before I blacked out and couldn't remember anything... He-"

"Stop right there." Enso cut him off, suddenly standing in his seat.

"Huh?" Ojiro looked confused.

"I don't want to hear it."

Ojiro shot up from his seat, "But Ureshi-!"

"Enso."

"What? *Sigh* Enso... Right now, you'll lose if you fall for his quirk!" Ojiro tried to explain.

"And does it matter if I do?" Enso narrowed his eyes at him.

"What?"

"If I lose here, then it just means that I was meant to lose. Do you think I wish to win by gaining an unfair advantage by obtaining knowledge against his quirk?"

Ojiro looked shocked.

Enso continued to speak. "I told Izuku that he would be fighting for the rest of this tournament using his own strength and technique, that he would be fighting alone without help."

"What does this have to do with Midoriya?!" Ojiro said, his voice rising a bit.

Enso pointed a thumb at himself, "I told him that I would do the same. I'm fighting on my own here, so I'm not going to receive the help of others in this. I'll figure things out myself, as I've always done before..."

________________________________________

~{Present}~

"He said that!? That's... so manly!!" Kirishima cried.

"But the moment he says something, this match may be over." Ojiro said in a sad tone.

Izuku was surprised, turning his head back to the present battle.

"So you really did mean it, Enso... You even rejected Ojiro's help..."

Izuku tightened his hands into fists.

"But..."

"This oughta be a match to remember!

"If you lose here... then I can't beat you."

"Fight!"

Enso immediately flared up his blue aura around him, eyes matching the color as he kept his attention on Shinso.

He, nor Shinso, moved at all. They simply stared at one another.

Shinso was the first to say something, though.

"Must be nice, being blessed right from the start with a gift that lets you become a hero... For those like me, who lack the ability of a 'proper' quirk in the eyes of society... We don't have a future as heroes."

Enso tilted his head curiously by what he said.

Shinso raised his arms out and open. "I know that you're an understanding guy. So don't you think it's unfair that those of us don't get that chance?"

Enso's closed his eyes as he finally understood.

"I see... So that's how it is..."

Izuku stared intensely at Enso and Shinso below. He, along with his whole class, was wondering what was going to happen.

Enso sighed, slightly bowing to Shinso.

"I'm sorry..."

"He responded!" Sero said.

"Damn it!" Ojiro yelled.

Izuku stared in concern.

Shinso grinned, feeling his quirk going in to paralyze his opponent's mind.

"I should be the one apologizing, even though you're a nice guy, I have something to prove. So right now, I need you to walk-"

"That won't work..." Enso interrupted him.

Hearing him talk back, Shinso's grin turned into a look of confusion.

"What?"

Izuku and his class were as equally as shocked.

"It didn't work!?" Ojiro cried out, shooting up from his seat.

Enso raised his head back up with a cold expression.

Izuku's eyes widened, not just from the fact that his mentor somehow wasn't controlled, but also because he saw that despite the cold, emotionless look Enso maintained...

Izuku could swear that Enso was feeling bad for Shinso.

Shinso balled his hands into fists, "Turn around and walk off the stage!" he shouted angrily.

Enso sighed as his blue aura remained.

"My telepathic powers stop any attempts of others from breaching into my own mind..."

Shinso's eyes widened as he heard this, and he could feel his dream shatter right in front of him.

"You can't control me... If it was anyone else, then you would've won." Enso said.

Everyone in the crowd was silent, as they had been waiting for some sort of action to happen to get riled up, but they didn't get that.

"No way..." A pro hero said in the crowd.

"He has a brainwashing quirk?" A spectator said.

"But it doesn't work against his opponent... How unfortunate." Another sighed.

"How unlucky..."

Hearing the words of others in the crowd, Shinso lowered his head with shadows over his eyes, fists shaking violently.

"This is bullshit... Do you know how careful I was to get here? I was going to prove everyone wrong..." His voice was shaky now.

"I'm sorry." Enso repeated.

"You don't get to apologize!" Shinso suddenly shouted.

Shinso rushed forward directly at Enso with fury in his eyes.

"'Unlucky!?' Don't screw with me!" He performed a massive right swing aimed at Enso's face.

Enso raised his left arm, blocking Shinso's punch effortlessly without any sign of an effect.

"I was screwed from the start!" Shinso shouted.

He swung his left arm this time, but Enso just stepped aside and let him pass, causing him to stumble.

Shinso turned around and attacked again, "You weren't born like me! You can actually reach your goals!"

Enso caught Shinso's next punch in his palm, then using his other palm to strike the boy's chest and sending him stumbling back a few feet.

Shinso panted and sweated harder than before, letting his emotions overtake him.

"You... you...!" He rushed at Enso one more time.

"You weren't ever feared because of your quirk!"

A punch echoed through the arena.

A few people's eyes widened.

Enso had stayed completely still, letting the punch connect to him. Yet he still wore the same cold expression as before despite the fist in his cheek now.

Shinso had his head down and stopped moving, only panting now after finished releasing his anger.

Enso reached up and gently grabbed Shinso by the wrist, removing the boy's fist from his face.

"Shinso... Why do you want to become a hero?" He finally asked.

Shinso seemed to freeze at that moment as if his breathing had stopped to take in that question.

At this point, the two were so close and their voices were so soft that no else could hear what they were saying, leaving much of the crowd confused.

Shinso took a deep breath, calming down.

"A villain's quirk, they said..."

Enso narrowed his eyes.

"Because of this quirk, everyone around me feared me... They thought I was some villain in the making. 'It's good for being a villain, huh?' Everyone had that same idea, it was just what the world was like..."

Enso looked down, "Of course... Anyone would be foolish enough to judge others based on their quirk..."

"But... Even though they say that... I-I..."

Shinso slightly raised his head up, revealing to Enso a gaze that had seen before from Izuku.

The face of someone with a dream.

"I just wanna become a hero... because I want to prove everyone wrong... I wanna show them that I'm no villain, I wanna prove that I can help people..."

Enso closed his eyes.

"I see... It seems you've had it rough."

He heard Shinso chuckled, "Ya think?..."

"I know someone who's had it even rougher than you..." Enso turned his head to the crowd and made eye contact with Izuku, surprising him.

"What are you doing, Enso?"

Enso turned back to his opponent.

"Shinso, I can't lose this battle right now..."

Shinso grit his teeth, "I know that..."

"But... I'll make sure your dream isn't a fantasy. Just like 'his.'"

"Huh?" Shinso backed up with a new look of confusion. "What do you-?"

Enso suddenly appeared in front of him in sudden speeds, his palm right at Shinso's chest.

"For now... go to sleep."

He thrust the heel of his palm into Shinso's chest, suddenly blasting the boy all the way across the arena and passed the out of bounds. He just kept going, and his back slammed into the wall.

Shinso felt his consciousness fade away.

Midnight raised her whip, "Shinso is out of bounds! Ureshi wins!"

Enso didn't know whether the crowd was cheering or not, but he didn't care. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and marched off the stage, leaving the area with what almost seemed like a glare.

"How many times am I going to be reminded of the irritating reality of this world?"

Izuku was in stunned silence as he watched his mentor disappear into the tunnel.

"What did you say to each other, Enso?"

Present Mic stared at the arena, looking more depressed than before.

"That was... A unique match." He then grinned, "But let's move on!"

"He immediately shrugged it off..." Everyone sweatdropped.

___________________________________________

~{Match 4: Mei Hatsume V.S Tenya Iida}~

"Poor Iida..." Everyone thought with shadowy blank expressions.

"Since I've got sensors in every direction, I can even deal with attacks from behind!" Mei shouted with her own microphone, flying around Iida and forcing him to run with her gear.

"She's advertising her gadgets." Izuku thought with a deadpanned expression.

He saw some people with suits frantically writing down things with keen interest.

"And it's working..."

"Hey Aizawa, wanna play a game of poker while we wait?" Mic asked him.

"...Fine."

The crowd was somewhat split on this 'fight.' Some of them were slightly interested in Mei's gadgets, but others looking bored that there was no action going on.

When Mei presented every gadget in her disposal, she simply walked out outbounds and wiped the sweat from her head.

"Phew, I've presented every single one of my babies... I did it!" Mei giggled.

"*Snore!!*" Midnight was sleeping on the cement chair Cementoss had made before he shook her.

"It's over Midnight..."

Midnight stumbled up and weakly pointed her whip, "Hatsumes is... *Yaaaaaaaawn* out of bounds... Iida moves on..."

"YOU TRICKED MEEEEEE!!!" Iida shouted.

Mei turned her head away with shadows over her, "I'm sorry, I used you."

"I HATE YOUUUUUUUU!!!" Iida shouted with his hand chopping the air madly fast.

Mei cheerfully walked towards the exit tunnel before spotting making eye contact with Izuku.

She grinned and winked at him.

"Eh!? Midoriya! Why is a hot and busty babe winking at you!?" Mineta asked. "Teach me!"

Ochako turned slightly annoyed, "Izuku, why-?"

Everyone saw Izuku turn blue in shock, hugging his own body, and shivering to his core.

"Are you okay!?!" Ochako then cried out.

Izuku stumbled with his words. "I-I-I suddenly h-have a really, really... REALLY bad feeling!"

Enso looked away, "Sorry in advance Izuku..."

___________________________________________

~{Match 5: Mina Ashido V.S Yuga Aoyama}~

"The way Aoyama thrusts with his hands over his head each time he fires his laser seems... wrong..." Enso thought with a twitching eye.

"Nn!" Aoyama moaned as he fired his laser.

"This is so inappropriate..." Enso sweatdropped.

This went for about a minute, until-

"Now!" Mina threw a ball of acid at Aoyama's belt, melting it slightly.

"Oh no! My precious belt!!"

His pants then fell.

"Ah! My precious pants!" He reached down and pulled them up.

Mina slid right at him, "I'll finish it!"

She then clenched her right hand into a fist and rose it up.

"Shor-yu-ken!" She uppercut Aoyama right underneath his neck.

"Oahhhhhh!" Aoyama moaned as he fell back, landing on the ground, unconscious.

"Aoyama has fainted! Ashido advances to the next round!" Midnight declared.

Enso facepalmed, "About time..."

"Mina's got such amazing agility..." Izuku muttered as he wrote in his notebook.

He then turned to Momo, "Your match is next, right? How are you feeling?"

Momo took a deep breath, "I'm actually feeling rather nervous. I don't know how I can compete against Tokoyami's dark shadow. It comes out without any lag at all."

"I'm sure you'll find a way, you're one of the most amazing students in our class after all." Izuku smiled.

Momo smiled back and stood up, "Thank you, Izuku... I'll do my best!" she said with more confidence.

She then walked off towards her match, leaving Izuku and Ochako sitting next to each other.

Izuku turned to Ochako, "How are you feeling- YOU'RE NOT OKAY!! YOUR BROW'S ALL WRINKLED!!"

Ochako had a purple aura around her with eyes completely open and a furrowed brow as she formed an odd smile.

"Eh? I am?" She asked, her smile fading and looking much more nervous.

"Y-Yeah, you're really nervous, aren't you?" Izuku asked, closing his notebook and investing his full attention to the girl.

Ochako looked down and gripped onto her clothes, "I-I can't help it, Deku... I'm going up against Bakugo after all... Ever since he hit you with that explosion during combat training... I-I've been terrified of him."

Izuku saw the look of fear in Ochako's eyes, making his mind flashback to how many times he feared Bakugo.

As kids, as middle schoolers, and even as teenagers.

Izuku clenched his palms, "Ochako, I know that you can beat Kacchan. If you keep remaining afraid of him, then he'll keep walking all over you."

Ochako turned to Izuku.

The boy formed a sad smile at her.

"I know that all too well..."

Ochako had a look of sympathy before looking more determined and nodding her head.

"Yeah, I guess your right Deku, I'll do my best!" she said much more confidently than before.

Izuku chuckled, "Show Kacchan what you're made of."

The two sat in silence for a moment, glancing ahead at the empty area and cheering crowd.

Despite the encouragement from Izuku, Ochako couldn't help but still feel nervous about her upcoming battle.

She had a small thought and turned to Izuku, her cheeks reddening a bit.

"H-Hey Deku?..."

Izuku turned to her. "Yeah?"

"C-Could you... um..." She looked down more, her blush spreading.

Izuku noticed this and tensed up. "Y-Yeah!?"

Ochako suddenly started flailing her hands in embarrassment, "N-Nothing! Forget I said anything!" She turned away from him.

"Eh?" Izuku grew concerned. "Ochako, if you need something from me, or there's some way that I could help, then just ask."

Hearing him say that, Ochako flinched.

"R-Really?

Izuku nodded.

"U-Um in that case... c-could you..." She slowly turned to him with her head down and face red. "...hold my hand?"

"E-Eh?!" Izuku almost jumped out of his seat, immediately turning red himself. "Wha-Wha-?"

Ochako quickly explained, "It-It's just that... whenever I felt scared or nervous, my parents would always hold my hand..." She glanced away, "I-It would always help calm me down..."

Izuku gulped nervously, letting his good and helpful nature answer.

"I-I-If it r-really h-helps you... then, I'll... d-do it..." He mumbled pretty low.

Ochako's eyes lit up, and although she felt happy that Izuku said yes, she was nervous about actually holding his hand.

"Th-Thanks..."

The two of them turned and stared at the arena. Ochako slowly reached for Izuku's hand, shaking a little as she did. Izuku did the same and reached out his hand, even then more freaked out than Ochako was.

Both their hands met on the armrest, causing both to flinch.

Ochako was the one to wrap her hand around Izuku's hand and firmly grasp it, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

Izuku, on the other hand, just kept on freaking out.

"I-I-I'm holding hands with a girl!!"

"Offense and defense in one body! The dark samurai accompanied by Dark Shadow! From the hero course, it's Fumikage Tokoyami!"

Izuku blinked and glanced down, already seeing Momo standing with Tokoyami standing across from her.

He forgot everything about his hand and focused with a sharp gaze on the battle below.

"Versus! All-purpose creation! She was admitted through recommendations, so her abilities are certified! From the hero course, it's Momo Yaoyorozu! Let's start match six!"

Izuku noted that Momo didn't look sure of herself.

Enso narrowed his eyes, "She's going to lose. She's unsure of herself even before the match has even started."

"You won't live to regret this!"

Momo tensed up

"Let's rock!"

"Go Dark Shadow!"

"On it!" Dark Shadow came from Tokoyami and towards Momo at fast speeds.

Momo created a shield and blocked Dark Shadow, making him bounce off and go up.

"A weapon! I need a-!" Momo tried to manifest a staff in her hand, but Dark Shadow had already circled around.

He slammed into her shield again, forcing her back more.

"I can't collect my thoughts!"

Izuku was worried, "Oh no..."

"Sorry!" Dark Shadow knocked Momo's shield out of her hand, then circled back to hit her.

Momo made another shield, but Dark Shadow slammed into her again with enough force to send her sliding back a significant distance away.

"Nngh!" Momo slid back, and upon stopping, she got her shield ready.

But Dark Shadow had also stopped.

She formed a staff in her hands, "Now is my chan-!"

"Yaoyorozu is out of bounds!"

"Huh?" Momo blinked with a look of shock, looking down to see her foot over the line.

"Tokoyami wins!"

Dark Shadow retracted back as Tokoyami bowed.

Momo dropped her shield and staff, eyes widened.

"An overwhelming victory!"

All other noise cut off from Momo's ears, hearing only her own thoughts.

"No..."

Tokoyami walked off the stage.

"I couldn't even..."

She looked down and started walking off the stage.

"Nothing..."

Izuku let go of Ochako's hand and sprung up from his seat, looking completely serious.

He turned to her.

"Ochako, I-"

"I know..." Ochako smiled, "Go."

Izuku bowed, then running off.

Ochako watched as the boy ran, then she got up from her seat and took a deep breath.

"My match is up soon..."

__________________________________________

"I've got to find her!"

Izuku frantically ran through the halls, heading to the entrance tunnel for the arena.

"I know Momo... This loss is killing her on the inside!"

He panted as he came to the entrance, only to not see the girl anywhere.

His head glanced at all the directions of the hall she could've gone.

"There's no doubt that she's finding a place to be alone right now and dealing with this herself..."

Izuku went deeper down the halls, "She must be around here somewhere."

Soon, he heard a sniffle.

Izuku stopped in his tracks and listened, hearing the sobs of someone in need to the left of the hall. He started walking, and the cries grew louder until Izuku reached the end and peaked around the corner.

He saw her.

The mature girl was near the end of the hall, crouching against the wall with her knees pressed against her chest, tears streaming down her face, and a hand on her mouth as she wept.

Izuku stared in shock as he saw the pain the girl was going through.

Failure, something that he had experienced for so long, something that everyone referred to him.

Izuku wasn't freaked out, he already knew what to say.

He started marching towards her.

Momo heard him walking and suddenly turned her head with a new look of shock.

"I-Izuku!?"

Izuku kept walking to her.

"N-No! Th-This is-! *sniffle* I'm fine!" Momo quickly stood up, not wanting to look any worst, "I-I don't... Don't look at me like this!" Momo cried, trying to use her arms to wipe away her tears.

He kept getting closer.

"Don't... *Sniffle* look at me..." She whimpered, covering her face with her hands. "I-I know, I failed... I lost completely-"

She felt his warm arms embrace her tightly.

"Huh?" She moved her hands from her face, discovering that Izuku had wrapped his arms around her back and placed his head on her shoulder.

"I-Izuku?" She whimpered.

"I know exactly what you're thinking... But don't let it get to you!"

Izuku tightened his hold on her.

"I felt the same way for the last ten years of my life... To feel the disappointment of others in you, to feel disappointment in yourself. It takes away your confidence, you think you can't do anything, you think you'll fail everyone, it... it makes you think that you are a failure..."

Momo's eyes widened.

"But you're one of the most amazing people I know! You're intelligent, mature, and considerate of others! You've helped lift my spirit more than I could ever keep it up myself! You've never looked down at me, so don't start looking down at yourself! So you've lost against Tokoyami, so what? Not even I know how I would be able to go up against his quirk, and I've been studying quirks for years!"

Izuku let go and slightly backed up and stared up at Momo, the girl still teary-eyed and a light shade of pink forming of her cheeks.

"Don't let this battle drag you down!" He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Instead, use it as a chance to improve yourself! From here on out, we'll only get stronger! You'll only get stronger! Don't let your emotions drag you down! After all..."

Izuku gentle cupped Momo's cheek and used his thumb to wipe away a tear in the corner of Momo's eye, smiling as he did so.

"...Everyone's counting on you. I'm counting on you to become an amazing hero."

Momo's eyes watered up more.

"*Sniffle* Izuku!"

This time, Momo wrapped her arms around Izuku's neck and pulled the two of them as tight as she could, putting Izuku's head on top of her shoulder and resting her own head against his.

Izuku felt his body stiffen. Despite being perfectly calm when he was the one to hug the girl first, now Momo hugging him back just seemed to cause a natural reaction of embarrassment.

However, he then heard her cry again.

But not out of grief...

"Thank you, *sniff* Thank you, Izuku..."

"N-No problem..." Hands still wrapped around her, Izuku gently patted Momo's back to comfort her.

They both stayed this way for what felt like a minute, Momo keeping a hold on Izuku while the boy nervously wondered how long the hug was going to last.

"The seventh match of the first round will start in just a minute! Get those cheers ringing everyone!" Present Mic shouted.

Hearing this, Izuku remembered that Ochako's match is after this one, and against Bakugo at that.

"U-Um, Momo...? The next match is going to start, w-we should go."

"Mmm... Just a little longer..." Momo said.

"E-Eh?" Izuku felt Momo nuzzle her face against the top of his head.

Izuku then blinked as he realized.

"Hold on... Are you feeling my hair?"

He felt Momo's facial muscles form into a smile.

"Maybe."

Izuku couldn't help but smile, "Is it really that fluffy?"

Momo chuckled, "You have no idea..."

They both laughed.

__________________________________________

~{Match 7: Kirishima V.S Kaminari}~

Momo and Izuku ran back on time to see the start of the next match, quickly taking their seats to watch.

"Both are in the hero course, both have K's in their names, both got somewhat spikey hair! But they're very different!"

Mic pointed in one side, "On the left, we have the master of phone chargers, Denki Kaminari!"

"Don't describe me like that!!" Kaminari yelled.

"And on the other side, we got the master of hardness, guaranteed to make any woman-!"

"Don't you dare finish that!" Aizawa shouted as a bang was heard.

"ACK!" They heard someone tumble to the floor.

"..."

They heard the microphone get readjusted.

"..."

"Eijiro Kirishima is his opponent, just start already." Aizawa mumbled.

"What happened to Mic!?" The entire stadium asked.

Kaminari grinned. "No hard feelings, right Kirishima?"

Kirishima gave him a thumbs up, "None at all- Wait a minute! Did you just make a joke about my quirk!?"

Kaminari was already letting loose, electricity sparking around him.

"Indiscriminate shock..."

He waved his hands down.

"1.3 Million Volts!"

Electricity shot all over the arena.

Kirishima activated his hardening quick and covered his face with his front with his arms.

The lightning essentially slammed into Kirishima, his body getting a shocking feeling.

"NGGGGHH!!"

"Oh dear, Kaminari is letting everything loose at once?" Momo said.

"Can Kirishima take all that at once?" Shoji asked.

Bakugo scoffed, "As if that'll be enough."

Izuku glanced in Bakugo's direction rather curiously.

The shocks lasted for a few seconds until Kaminari finally fried his brain and put on a dumb expression.

"Yay, yay..." Kaminari said with two thumbs up with his dumb face.

Everyone then paid rather close attention to Kirishima.

The boy was literally steaming and in obvious pain, his muscles tensing up, but he was still standing.

"Hold it... Hold it... You were made to take anything, so don't let this mean the end for you now!"

Kirishima was still with his quirk active, stiffened in his current stance.

"No way! He stood through all of that!?!" Mineta cried out.

"Like he'll go down to something like that..." Bakugo growled.

"Seems Kacchan has a friend..." Izuku chuckled.

However, despite Kirishima still standing, he wasn't moving.

"What's he waiting for?" Jiro asked.

Everyone wondered the same thing for what felt like a minute, wondering if Kirishima would have the strength and will power to finish the battle himself, wondering if he was going to march up to Kaminari and end-

"Kaminari is out of bounds, Kirishima wins!" Midnight yelled.

Everyone blinked.

"Eh?"

They looked at Kaminari, who had walked out of bounds.

"HE JUST WAITED FOR KAMINARI TO WALK OUT HIMSELF!?!" All of Class A mentally shouted.

Izuku looked to where Ochako was sitting before and saw her gone, obviously to prepare for her next match.

"Good luck Ochako..."

__________________________________________

~{Match 8: Bakugo vs Ochako}~

"He was kind of famous in middle school! This isn't the face of a regular person! From the hero course, it's Katsuki Bakugo!"

Bakugo had a glare.

"Versus! (she's the one I'm rooting for) From the hero course, it's Ochako Uraraka!"

Ochako took a deep breath, putting on a determined expression.

Izuku and Momo just ran back to their class right on time, panting as they saw Ochako already on the field.

"Do your best Ochako!" Izuku thought, looking tensed up.

"This battle is about to explode!!"

Bakugo held his palms out to his sides.

"Let's rock!"

Izuku watched as Ochako rushed over at Bakugo, trying to predict his right hook swung.

But Bakugo swiped his arm fast and blasted her away.

Ochako was sent back, yet she got back up and rushed forward again into the smoke Bakugo made.

He watched as Bakugo blasted in another direction, only to see her U.A jacket there and Ochako behind him.

"She can get him-!"

Yet Bakugo immediately turned around and blasted her back again.

"No! Kacchan's reactions are too fast!" Izuku gritted his teeth with a face of worry.

Bakugo just kept blasting Ochacko back.

Ochako kept getting up and running back.

He blasted her again.

This pattern kept going on, bruises and a few burns forming on the gravity girl, yet...

"Not yet!" Ochako shouted, rushing once more.

*Boom!!*

"I can't watch..." Someone in the crowd spoke.

"How can you say that you want to be a hero like that! If there's such a huge difference in abilities, then just send her out of bounds!" Someone else yelled.

Izuku looked down with shadows over his eyes.

"That's not it..."

Bakugo unleashed two explosions.

"Kacchan isn't fighting to bully her..."

Ochako nearly grazed him, but Bakugo blasted her back while sending himself back.

"He's acknowledging her as an opponent... He knows that if he makes one wrong move, then he's out..."

"You really know him that well..." Momo said next to him with a solemn look.

"Eh?" Izuku blinked and saw his class staring at him.

"You muttered that to be clear." Jiro was the one to say.

"I thought Bakugo just had a kink in that direction..." Mineta said.

He got slapped by a long tongue.

Ochako was still standing, breathing hard, and then narrowing her eyes.

"I'm gonna win!!"

She pressed her fingertips together.

Everyone's eyes turned back to the arena and widened in shock to see the sky literally raining with stones.

"She made Bakugo hit the ground low to create debris to float!" Izuku exclaimed in awe.

"Then she used his own smoke and constant vigilance on her to keep him from noticing above..." Momo added with a hopeful smile.

"..." Enso stood up from his seat with his hands in his pockets, walking away.

"This battle is basically over..."

Ochako ran at Bakugo as the floating stones suddenly rained down. At the same time, the blonde boy raised his hands up in the air rather than at her.

"I can do it! I can win! I can win and be like Deku!"

Enso turned the corner into the hall as the sound of a giant explosion burned out all hope left.

"You had your chance Uraraka... But the moment you pressed your fingertips in front of Bakugo... You sealed your fate."

"Uraraka is out of commission! Bakugo wins!" Midnight announced.

"But you sure put up a good fight." Enso thought one last time.

__________________________________________

Izuku stared in horror as Ochako laid on the ground, utterly unconscious with Bakugo standing a few feet in front of her.

"She nearly had it... but Kacchan has so much destructive force..."

He watched as the medical robots carried the girl away.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to Momo, who smiled at him.

"Go to her."

Izuku smiled and ran off again.

He ran until he got into the nurses' office, opening it.

"Excuse me-!"

"She's not here, she just left." Recovery Girl answered immediately.

"That fast!?!"

"She went to the right of the hall." Recovery Girl pointed.

"Thank you!" Izuku bowed before closing the door and kept on running.

Recovery Girl chuckled, "I wonder who he'll choose..."

Izuku kept running until he heard her voice.

"Sorry about not picking up earlier, Dad..."

Izuku screeched to a halt, trying to become as quiet as possible.

"It's fine, sorry for calling when you're busy. Your mom and I watched you on T.V, you were amazing!" Izuku heard a faint voice from a phone.

He heard Ochako sigh, "It wasn't that close... and I wasn't that amazing... I rushed too much and didn't a plan after my original one failed..."

Izuku didn't like the way she talked about herself.

"Oh, come on now, just because you lost doesn't mean that everything's completely done. It doesn't mean that you can't be a hero, does it? There's always next year."

He heard Ochako tearing up.

"The scouts won't be able to tell how good I am from just one match... They won't think I'm great like the others..."

"But why the big hurry?"

Ochako whimpered, "I-I really wanna help you guys already..."

There was a chuckle, "Ochako, it's fine. Don't rush things. Just by knowing that you keep thinking this way shows just how much of a kind person you are... No matter what, we'll always be proud of you. You're already our hero."

Ochako started bawling her eyes out.

Izuku smiled and closed his eyes.

"It looks like I didn't have to do anything after all."

"Now we've got everyone who's advancing to the next round! Let's get started!"

Izuku flinched, "Oh no! I'm up first!"

He ran off to his match.

_________________________________________

Izuku ran down the halls and towards the entrance tunnel for the arena, feeling nervous as he thought about his next battle starting in just a few minutes.

His battle against Todoroki.

He stopped running as he thought about the half-n-half boy, thinking deeply about his situation.

"There must be something I could do..."

He started walking down the hall, nearing his destination.

But someone intercepted him from the corner.

"E-Endeavor!?" Izuku shouted, shocked to see the buff pillar of flames.

"Oh, there you are." Endeavor said as he glanced down at Izuku as he towered over the boy.

"E-Endeavor... wh-what are you doing here?" Izuku stuttered in his question before regaining his composure.

The flame hero pointed his finger at him, "I watched your fight. You have a remarkable quirk, being able to create so much wind pressure by just a flick of your finger. Not only that but you able to create such powerful sound waves by screaming. If we're talking about power alone, yours would seem comparable to All Might's if you went all out."

Izuku was a little shocked, "What... What are you trying to say? A-Actually, don't answer. I-I have to go get ready for my match." Izuku quickly ushered himself past him.

Until Endeavor spoke to him again, "It is my Shoto's duty to surpass All Might."

Izuku stopped in his tracks as he heard him say that.

He continued, "His match with you will be a very instructive test. Please don't disgrace yourself in it, or it'll discourage my son as well."

Izuku's mind flashed back to everything Todoroki had said before, making him clench his hands into fists.

"That was all I wanted to say. I apologize for bothering you right before your match." As he finished, Endeavor started walking away, heading back towards the audience section.

But this time, Izuku was the one to say something to stop him, "I am not All Might..."

Endeavor paused and turned his head to him, "That's obviou-"

Izuku interrupted him, "That's obvious, right?"

He then turned his head at Endeavor with a glare.

"Todoroki isn't you either."

Endeavor returned the glare to Izuku, but didn't say anything and continued to walk away.

Izuku took a deep breath, clenching his tight fist, and continued to make his way down the hall until he made it into the tunnel.

_________________________________________

Momo carefully looked for any sign of Izuku on the field before hearing someone's voice.

"Those two haven't started yet?"

She turned her head and saw Ochako, only to reel back in surprise from Ochako's swelled-up eyes.

"I've gotta watch." Ochako stated, despite her eyes being puffy.

"Were your eyes hurt!?" Iida shouted in concern.

"No, I'm fine! This...is different." As Ochako said this, she sat down beside Momo.

Momo smiled, "You too, huh?"

Ochako turned to her and smiled, "Yeah... We both lost after all."

The pots in the arena suddenly flared up intensely.

"Thanks for waiting everyone! The first match of the second round will be a big one!"

The two combatants came out of the tunnels.

"The man who won a huge victory in the first round and literally left the audience frozen, Shoto Todoroki!"

Mic pointed to the other side.

"Versus the broccoli-haired boy who might become my next sidekick if he screams the way to victory! It's Izuku Midoriya!"

Both of them stepped into the arena and stopped a reasonable distance away.

"So...you're here, Midoriya..." Todoroki said.

"Yeah... We met up pretty soon..." Was all Izuku could respond with a sad look.

__________________________________________

Shigaraki narrowed his eyes into a glare at Izuku again.

"Watch carefully and prepare, Tomura Shigaraki. They may become obstacles for you one day." Shigaraki's 'sensei' spoke.

Shigaraki scratched his neck and scoffed. "That's a load of crap."

His sensei chuckled.

"They'll be more than just obstacles..."

_________________________________________

Inko had tissues filling up the entire living room as tears still kept waterfalling down her eyes.

"Izukuuuuuu...." She muffled behind a tissue on her face.

________________________________________

Toshinori had his eyes glued down below, knowing how strong both of these students of his were.

"They're both pretty amazing, aren't they?" Nezu chuckled.

Toshinori gripped his hands tightly.

"But I'm worried... There's more to Todoroki than he lets on. And I'm wondering if Midoriya figured out what it is..."

"Because then the boy might go out of his way to help him, even in this battle?"

Toshinori sighed, "Not 'might'... He will."

__________________________________________

Izuku and Todoroki stared at one another with serious expressions on their faces.

But one's cold expression only had a message saying that he would beat his opponent mercilessly.

The other was a look saying that he wasn't going to lose, but was going to help.

Izuku took a deep breath, getting into a fighting stance, ignoring the cheers of the crowd or the gazes of the people he knew.

Right now, it was only him, and Todoroki.

"I'll save you Todoroki, but I won't lose!"