A/N: SURPRISE! It's an update! Bet you didn't see this one coming~! Today's update is a long one, which is why it took so long. I've never written the Sports Festival, so forgive me.
That said, this chapter has a LOT of stuff going on. This is the longest chapter in this story yet, sitting at a nice comfy 13,558 words and 28 Microsoft Word pages. Phew! :D

Please stay safe during these uncertain times. Right now, work's been working me like a horse, so expect updates to be smattered here and there. One job (the one I like) has me M-F. The other job decided to schedule me EVERY FUCKING WEEKEND. so I now have a grand total of 0 days off in the foreseeable future. Fuck me.

My TikTok has reached over 1.6k! WOW!! I never realized so many people would like my Aizawa cosplay! :D

I've pre-started two new bnha fics (and by pre-start, I mean jotting down the first few chapters that I'll later go back and rewrite into ACTUAL detailed chapters). One is called Instinct, a BnHA/Jurassic Park crossover where Izuku lives for 3 years on Isla Sorna. Featuring brother!Hawks and friend!Hatsume.
The other is the Code Lyoko/BnHA crossover where Izuku went to Kadic Academy for two years before returning to Japan to attend U.A. :)

A new fic is getting closer and closer to being put up. It's a BnHA one called Hated by Life Itself, and features Dadzawa, Dadmic, and UncleTsukauchi! Mainly focused on UncleTsukauchi at this point, though. Izuku will still attend U.A., though. :) Oh yeah! And Izuku's got an immortality Quirk, did I forget to mention that?

Please enjoy, and let me know what you think~! Any fanart should be sent to [email protected]

FANART:
Thank you to Sapling who drew the Green Nomu! You rock!
https://imgur.com/dwvvccg
https://imgur.com/hnJxygh

I'm sorry if I missed your fanart submission, I'm a scatterbrain and sometimes forget to eat. I tend to forget what I've already posted and what I haven't, so if I've missed yours, please PM me or email me to let me know and I'll put it up on the next chapter. *grins*

~~~

Izuku was released from the hospital after only a few hours. Hisinjuries looked worse than they were. The gash on his arm needed stitches, and the gash on his leg had been badly infected (likely the reason for the fever he'd developed while with Dabi in the First Run, and was also to blame for him being so out of it during the crash). Luckily, there'd been a nurse on duty with an antibiotic Quirk and she took care of the infection in an hour.

It hurt like a bitch, but it was better than spending the next few days holed up in the hospital. A quick trip to Recovery Girl thereafter with Nezu helped him recover completely. He was excused from his classes for the day, though, not that Izuku particularly minded. Despite his protests, he wasn't that worried about missing classes; he just didn't want to go to the hospital.

So here he was wandering around U.A.'s campus. Just because he didn't have to go to class didn't mean he wasn't going to explore. Besides, he made support items for a living in the First Run, and he was itching to create a few new toys. He'd been scraping by as Viridian thus far on civilian-level goods and stuff he could snag from the dump he lived in, but broken and abandoned materials could only get him so far. If he was going to be prepared, he needed some real support gear.

And there were only two people he trusted with his stuff—himself, and Hatsume Mei.

The girl had been a fellow inventor and friendly rival for him during the First Run. They hadn't necessarily been close, but they understood each other well enough.

And Izuku knew Mei well enough to know how to interact with her eccentric side. Once she realized he was going to make 'babies' with her, she'd accept pretty much whatever he wanted to make. Plus, her energy would help keep his mind off the confusion that happened earlier. He really didn't want to question reality more than he already had today.

One mid-life crisis was enough for him, he didn't need a second one yet.

Izuku grinned at the permission slip he'd managed to talk Nezu into giving him. So long as Power Loader watched him, he was okayed to work on support items with Nezu's blessing. Though Izuku privately thought that the principal was just curious to see what his brilliant mind could cook up in the support workshops.

He loved that little mouse.

He was wandering around the Support Course's building (which was separate from the rest of the campus in the case of unexpected explosions) when he heard a distinctive bang!

Instinctively, Izuku fell into a defensive position, sai in hand and at the ready as he surveyed the area for danger. Then he abruptly realized that it was likely just a student dealing with volatile substances. But who would be stupid enough to—

"Hatsume." He grinned to himself and took off in the direction of the explosion.

Izuku cautiously pushed open the door to the classroom. Smoke was quickly dissipating due to the many fanned vents in the room (likely created for this express purpose) and Power Loader was glaring at a familiar pink-haired girl. They were the only two in the room, leading Izuku to recall how First Run Hatsume had once admitted to having her own lab at U.A. because other students kept complaining about her constant explosions.

Power Loader noticed him first. "Midoriya?" He blinked in surprise. "I thought you were excused for the day?"

"I am." He grinned. "But since I don't have classes, I thought I'd work on some support gear!" He handed Nezu's note over to Power Loader as Hatsume took an interest.

"I haven't seen you around the support course. Hero Course?"

"Yep. Class 1–A." Izuku grinned. "Midoriya Izuku. I've dabbled in support items in the past. If I hadn't made the Hero Course, I would've ended up here."

"Oh~ Do you want to see my babies?!"

"Sure, if you'll help me with mine." Her grin matched his as Power Loader paled.

"Please... please don't blow anything up." He begged.

"We'll do our best!" Hatsume said with a cheerful grin.

"No promises." Izuku stated at the same time.

"God, help me."

Haha,we'retotallygoingtogivePowerLoadergreyhairs

Maijima Higari, better known as Power Loader, wasn't happy. Well, he kind of was, but at the same time he was royally annoyed. Higari typically had a hard enough time reigning in Hatsume, what with her propensity to cause an explosion every fifteen minutes or so, but he'd never expected to have to deal with Aizawa's Problem Child, too.

Midoriya wasn't as bad as Hatsume. No, he was worse. Hatsume was thrilled. The two set off some kid of volatile reaction every five minutes, and it was driving Higari up the wall. He'd been ready to kick Midoriya out after the first forty minutes, until he saw the contraption the kid had created. A fucking ray gun. An actual working ray gun.

It was then that he realized that as adept at heroism as Midoriya was, he was an even better inventor. He'd kick-started a competition with Hatsume, much to Higari's horror. That'd been two hours ago.

Now, he was mostly hiding under his desk with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Aizawa could be angry with him later for letting Midoriya consistently blow himself up, but right now Higari needed to protect whatever sanity he had left.

"Look, Hatsume!" Midoriya's cheerful voice sounded. "Now I've got a ray gun, a Lightsaber, an electrified grappling gun, a sound-based knockout device, and a jetpack~!"

"Oh please! That's child's play!" Hatsume huffed, before listing off some of the stuff she'd made over the last two and a half hours.

"You know what would be really cool?" Midoriya asked with a grin as Higari slowly peeked over the edge of his desk. God, I'm too old for this. Maybe I should retire?

"Oh? And what would that be, Greenie?"

Midoriya didn't say anything. Instead, he passed Hatsume a piece of paper that had the pink-haired girl raising an eyebrow.

"You really think something like this is possible?" Now, Higari was curious. Hatsume had been willing to try just about anything, but here she was skeptical.

"What, have ye so little faith?" Midoriya taunted. His face, hands, and arms were covered in soot and mild burns, and only the area around his eyes were clean from the goggles he'd been wearing.

"Teleportation?" Hatsume raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Teleportation." Midoriya's grin widened, teeth shining white against marred skin. "I had a feeling you'd be skeptical, so..." He pulled out two small disks. He put one on one end of the table and the other on Higari's desk. He may have sent Midoriya a glare that caused the kid to chuckle.

All the boy's timidness that he'd witnessed up to this point was gone from the moment he'd walked into the support shop. This was a side of the boy he was sure even Aizawa hadn't seen. Perhaps he'd invite the Heroics teacher down here some time so he wouldn't suffer this alone.

He cautiously backed away from the device. It might explode, after all. Midoriya powered on the two items, causing three small metal rings to float in a blue light. Midoriya then casually tossed a small rubber bouncy ball into the device on the table.

Hatsume and Higari watched in slight awe as it disintegrated, only for the particles to reassemble within the device on Higari's desk. The ball was misshaped and looked more like a miniature spiked mace, but the particles had definitely teleported.

Now, Hatsume's eyes gleamed with something that terrified Higari to his core. "Well, then, Mido-chan. Let's get to work, shall we?"

"Let's."

Higari internally screamed.

So,we'vefinallyreachedtheSportsFestivalArc.TheAuthor'sneverwrittenforitbefore,sopleasebekind!

Shouta groaned as he sat down at the table. Another meeting, though this time it was one he'd set up. Midoriya had agreed to talk about the hero thing he'd mentioned at the movies, and he felt that it was information that the staff should hear. The kid had agreed to it, but the heroics teacher still felt bad.

They'd been having meetings at least once a week this year. Normally, meetings were monthly unless something happened, but this year had already been beyond hectic.

When Power Loader walked into the room, looking mildly traumatized, followed by a soot-covered Problem Child, Shouta actually let his head hit the table. "Do I want to know?" He was going to cry. He swore to god, if his Problem Child had gotten hurt again, he was going to lose it.

"Midoriya and Hatsume are terrifying together." Power Loader shuddered. "Your student is an incredible inventor, but he needs to tone down the explosions."

Shouta's brows furrowed. Didn't Midoriya hate explosions? Wasn't that a trigger for him? No, that's right. It was the silence thereafter and buildings collapsing. So smaller explosions that he controlled himself might not set him off.

Midoriya looked at Power Loader with a raised eyebrow. For the first time, Shouta saw a confidence in Midoriya that bordered on cockiness. It was a good change from the timid and occasionally traumatized boy he'd gotten used to seeing.

"I'd like to see you make a working Lightsaber without blowing it up at least once. Do you have any idea how volatile those things are?! And don't get me started on the port-machines!" Midoriya crossed his arms with an annoyed huff.

"Port machines?" Nezu leaned forward in interest.

"Hatsume and I are working on teleportation machines. We've got the basic concept down, but about 30% of the particles seem to get lost between Port A and Port B. The further apart they are, the more are lost. Plus, we're still trying to figure out a way to reform the object in the same image it originally was. The particles can't seem to remember where they're supposed to be, so it's taking a lot of trial and error to figure out how to fix it. Though I wonder if it might be better to try to tear a hole in the fabric of space instead, but that could cause a myriad of problems... if it's treated like Kurogiri's Quirk, though... that's got some merit... but that wouldn't be instant teleportation... His Quirk opens a connection between Point A and Point B... it doesn't deconstruct the particles of an object or person, and he's implied that there's space between the two tears, thusly a pocket between the portals... pockets... spatial pockets... pocket... dimensions? Maybe something that can be utilized for storage? There's an idea. If it's easy enough to tear through the fabric of space, then perhaps one wouldn't need to open a second portal to store items? And would time even pass in that stored space? Or would a form of stasis exist? But then there's the issue of accessing that same spatial pocket consistently..."

Midoriya trailed off into incoherent mutters as the room stared at the boy in shock as Nezu grinned exuberantly. For the first time, Shouta saw the mind of a powerful inventor and analyst in his student. The boy was scribbling furiously in a small green notebook as he continued to mutter under his breath.

"Oh! S-sorry... I just get caught up in my ideas sometimes." Midoriya abruptly apologized, putting the notebook away. Shouta watched him melt back into the familiar somewhat timid boy he'd grown so protective of. "A-actually, if I hadn't gotten into the Hero course, Support was my second choice." That was an interesting tidbit of information. Maybe Shouta would let Power Loader have his student more often.

As if sensing his thoughts, said teacher sent Shouta a glare, as if daring him to act on it. Don't test me, Maijima. I still haven't forgiven you for last April Fool's.

"At any rate, we can discuss this in our class later, Midoriya." Nezu smiled, and the Problem Child smiled back. "Now, Aizawa said you mentioned being discriminated against by a hero?"

"Er... yeah." Midoriya admitted, and many staff members straightened their posture. "More than once, actually." He scratched the scar Shigaraki had given him. "Uh... I think the biggest one was during this villain attack when I was... twelve? I can't remember clearly, sorry. Um... My school had caught on fire in the midst of a nearby villain attack. I think Endeavor had caused the fire, but he wasn't part of the active rescue efforts. School had been in session, and some kids had locked me in an old unused classroom as a bad prank. So when the building caught fire, I was stuck and alone. Well, a hero was running down the hall with a couple of other kids he'd rescued and I called out for help. I remember seeing his silhouette at the door, but then I heard one of the other kids out me as Quirkless. He left and didn't come back."

"You mean he left you to burn alive?" Midnight choked out. Shouta felt himself shake a little with rage.

"That's right." Midoriya said with a nod, as if this was normal. "I really didn't think much of it at the time. Instead I hid under the teacher's desk, which was luckily reinforced enough to shield me when the ceiling collapsed."

Well, that could contribute to why the Problem Child disliked fire so much. But something was wrong, here. He spoke about the event as if he was discussing some game he'd played at recess as a kid, not like the traumatic event it no doubt had been for the boy.

If nearly burning alive was something this nonchalant for him, what the hell had the kid so traumatized that he outright refused to talk to Hound Dog about it?! Shouta wasn't sure he wanted to know anymore (he did, he needed to know what his Problem Child had gone through). The thought was terrifying.

"Didn't think much of it...?" Thirteen echoed. "Midoriya, do you know who that hero was?"

"No, but I recognized his voice as a hero. I just can't remember anymore. The cameras might've caught him before they burned... I think they were hooked up to a wireless system."

"This was Aldera, right?" Nezu had a sharp gleam to his eye as Midoriya nodded.

"Yeah, my first year there."

"Rest assured, I'll find the video surveillance. He won't be doing that again." Nezu said, and Midoriya relaxed with a smile.

"Thank you. I'd hate for him to leave another kid in a situation like that. Not everyone's as lucky as I am."

A moment later, a pink-haired girl opened the door, poking her soot-covered face into the room. "Mido-chaaan~" She whined, and Midoriya tilted his head.

"Hatsu-chan? I thought I told you I had a meeting."

"But I think I've had a breakthrough on Project Lens!!"

"Really?! Did you manage to fix the overheating portion or the glowing problem?"

"The glowing, it still gets too hot if used for too long, but I'm working on it..."

"Go on, Midoriya. Unless you've something else you need to tell us, you're free to go." Nezu chuckled as Midoriya bolted out of the room.

"Good to see he's got a friend." Shouta smiled softly.

"You mean he doesn't have any in your class?" Hizashi frowned.

"He's got friendly acquaintances, but I wouldn't necessarily call them friends. He's such an introvert, and after USJ, he seemed to pull away from them even more. It seems that Hawks and this Hatsume are his only actual friends. I've never seen him act so familiarly with anyone else."

"That's concerning." Cementoss made a face.

"On another note, for those of you who haven't heard, Hanatabi was confirmed by both myself and Detective Tsukauchi as the culprit for both the flower and the laced bracelet. He's been expelled and blacklisted from all hero schools. Legal action has also been taken."

"Swift and merciless, how like you." Shouta shook his head, but he agreed with the actions the principal had taken.

"Now, the Sports Festival starts this Thursday, so I'm going to go over all the added security measures I've taken..."

Ahhh...weallloveNezu.Andwhodoesn'tlikeanEXPLOSIVEMidoriyawholovesmessingwithsupportitems?

Izuku leaned against the window. Keigo hadn't let him take another train since the accident on Monday, so he'd insisted on driving him to and from school (and occasionally flying him to and from school, depending on how late they were running). Thus far, nobody had seen the two of them together, except Hatsume (and, obviously, the teachers). Mei, as she's told him to call her, was quickly becoming a good friend of his. She was a lot more outgoing and spontaneous than she was back in his timeline, and he suspected that to be due to the isolation she felt from her peers during her time at U.A.

Well, that was that problem solved, at least. Shinsou was also another unexpected variable. The kid had come up to him on Tuesday during lunch and the two of them ended up talking the whole time. Izuku tended to avoid his classmates for multiple reasons. He realized that they didn't really care about his Quirkless status, but at the same time, they sort of babied him. Plus, it was weird to hang out with young kids when he was essentially half a century old. Shinsou felt more like a kid brother, and Hatsume was someone he knew in his original timeline, so they were somewhat different.

Perhaps that was why he enjoyed hanging around Aizawa and Naomasa so much.

"Be careful out there, Zukkun." Keigo said as he parked. "I don't want to get another call from Recovery Girl asking for your mother."

"Well, you're my mother hen, does that count?"

"I'm gonna show you how much of a mother hen I can be, if you don't knock it off." Keigo sent him a mild glare, causing Izuku to laugh. "But more than that, have fun, 'kay kiddo?"

"I'll have you know I'm not a kid." Izuku huffed, offended. He got out of the car as the two of them started walking towards the Sports Festival.

"You're a kid right now." Keigo smirked, ruffling his hair.

"OI!" Izuku protested, pouting. "Do you think it's fair if I go all out in this thing? I mean... I've got way more experience than these kids."

"Go for it. Win this, Izuku." Keigo grinned. "Show 'em what you're made of."

"All right, all right. You know when to head out, then?"

"Of course. You've explained the plan to me about a million times. Don't worry, Zukkun, everything'll turn out okay."

"Forgive me for being a pessimist." Izuku deadpanned. "Apparently my optimism died with the majority of the human population."

"Yeah, say that a little louder, I don't think Power Loader heard you over in the arena." Izuku snorted.

"It's cute that you still think I care what people think."

"Nah, cute is you trying to get out of your vigilante outfit at six in the morning on twenty minutes of sleep." Keigo laughed as Izuku recalled the time he'd nearly headed out to U.A. with his Viridian mask still on.

"That was one time." He defended, causing Keigo to laugh harder.

Izuku and Keigo fell quiet as they approached the check-in area for the event. The lady looked at Izuku and Keigo with a raised eyebrow. Keigo just flashed his Hero License, as heroes were allowed entrance for the purpose of scouting, while Izuku passed over his Student ID.

"Good luck in the festival, Midoriya-san!" She smiled, making Izuku blink. "I'm rooting for you, personally. My mother's Quirkless. Go show 'em what you're made of!" She beamed, and Izuku found himself grinning back exuberantly. He also saw her giving Keigo an appreciative smile. Hm... maybe Hawks would gain more fans?

They had to go their separate ways once inside, but Keigo gave Izuku one more hug of reassurance, and a feather for good luck (and maybe to listen in for trouble, as the winged man could read the vibrations of his feathers and translate them into words).

"Midoriya!" Iida came over with a stern and sharp hand chop. "You're nearly late! We've been worried!"

"Sorry, I had to say goodbye to my brother." Izuku smiled. "He's watching me today, so we came together."

"Be that as it may, the festival will be starting soon! Come on, our rooms are this way!" He was quickly led down the twisting and mildly confusing hallways until Iida finally stopped before a door.

Izuku entered to find his entire class there. He smiled and waved at those who greeted him before taking a seat. He'd changed into his gym uniform at home, opting to keep his scars a secret from his classmates. He always changed where nobody could see him. Though there wasn't much he could do for the scars on his arms, but his classmates had seen those enough times to learn not to ask about them.

"Good, everyone's here." Aizawa's voice made him turn to find the exhausted (and still bandaged) teacher leaning against the doorframe. Izuku idly noted that the man should have his bandages off very soon, likely within the week. Which was a good thing, because he was sick and tired of doing Eraserhead's patrols. Even if the man was back on active-duty, Viridian still did half of his patrols to encourage the idiot to rest. The green-haired boy was ready to hand all the patrols back to his teacher, because he was sporting even darker bags below his eyes than before, and that was saying something.

At this point, Izuku had taken to sleeping on the weekends. He was just glad that U.A. had homeschool days on Saturdays instead of normal school days like most of Japan. Apparently Nezu had realized that six days of intense physical and/or academic training was too much, even for General Education, and changed the policy as soon as he took up the position of Principal. A lot of people had been skeptical at first, but Saturdays were 'open days', meaning students could use school facilities such as gyms, training areas, and libraries.

After adopting this policy, U.A.'s grade point average skyrocketed. Turned out working your students into the ground wasn't the best way to encourage academic growth. Huh. Go figure.

Izuku only half-listened as Aizawa gave them something that he wouldn't exactly call a pep talk. "Oh, and Midoriya, as the one who took First Place in the Entrance Exams, you'll be expected to open the festival." Aizawa added as an afterthought. Izuku let his head hit the table with a resounding thunk.

"Damnit sensei, you couldn't give me more warning?" He groaned, but he knew Aizawa was already gone.

"Midoriya." Todoroki stated firmly, drawing his attention. "Frankly speaking, in terms of power, I believe I'm stronger than you." If Izuku wasn't used to how Dabi had been at first, he might've been offended.

"Okay."

"But you've proven yourself to be more than you first appear. I'm going to defeat you."

"Do whatever you want." Izuku saw the flash of surprise in the dual-haired boy's eyes. "But I'm going to give this festival my all. Are you, Todoroki?" He challenged back, making the room hold their breath.

Before anyone could do anything, the call went out for them to head towards the arena.

"...CLASS 1–A!!" Present Mic announced after adding in something about their villain encounter. Izuku was somewhat disappointed that the blond didn't add on anything special for the other courses. Well that's biased as hell.

Iida nudged him gently, and gestured to the stage where Midnight was holding the mic out to him. Oh, he must've zoned out a bit. Keigo was probably snickering in the stands.

He took a deep breath and took the stage. He'd never spoken in front of so many people before, and never on Live TV. He hoped that nobody could see his hands shaking.

"First off, I want to acknowledge all of my peers. Yes, my class had a villain encounter, but that doesn't make the other courses' experiences any less valid or important. Everyone is equal here." He started, and he saw several appreciative looks from the other courses. "Secondly." He found a camera and looked right into it. "This is a message to everyone at home. Those of you who dream of becoming something that everyone says you can't become. To those of you who are weak, powerless, Quirkless. Do not give in to the darkness. There will always be a light so long as you chase it. Give it everything you have, and never stop running. You are the one with the power to rewrite the future; never let someone else have that control. If a door is slammed in your face, then break the window. And know this..." He grinned. "My name is Midoriya Izuku. And I am Quirkless." He heard the crowd mutter and gasp at his bold proclamation. "And here... today... I will prove to the world, that Quirkless is not worthless! Dreams are achievable! So to those watching, please enjoy the show. And to my competitors and fellow students, let's all Go Beyond!"

"PLUS ULTRA!" He shouted with over half the student body. With a grin and a cheering crowd at his back, he handed the microphone back to Midnight and hopped off the stage.

Once he was back beside his peers, Izuku let out a shaking breath. "Wow, Midoriya! I didn't know you could be so inspiring!" Uraraka grinned.

"I felt like I was going to throw up. There's so many people." His gaze found Keigo who gave him a big thumbs up.

"Nice job Izu-chan~!" Mei grinned as she skipped over. Several 1–A members eyed her suspiciously, as Izuku grinned back.

"Mei-chan!" Izuku bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. He could feel Power Loader's shudder from here. "Did you bring our babies today?" He thought he heard a few people choke, but that wasn't really his concern. Though Todoroki's face was funny.

"Of course! Though I'm the only one allowed to use 'em."

"I know, I know." Izuku waved her off easily. "But I'm excited to see them perform!! Did you bring the jetpack?!"

"Psh! Who do you take me for?! Of course I brought the jetpack! And the wondershield."

"See, this is why I should name things." Izuku sighed. "Wondershield? Really?"

Mei opened her mouth to reply, when he noticed that the first event had been decided. He smirked. "Mei. What'dya say to a little show-and-tell?"

"If you can make it into the final round, I'll tell you who the best... showman would be."

"I knew I loved you for a reason."

"Break it up, gearheads." Shinsou sighed as he came over. "And here I thought you two would be able to control yourselves in public."

"Control? What's that?" Izuku tilted his head.

"It's something Power Loader wished he had over us in the lab." Mei nodded sagely.

"Just shut up, we're about to start." Shinsou shook his head. "And good luck, you two. As my only friends, I hope to see you on the other end of that finish line..." he smirked as Midnight called for the start. "EATING MY DUST!" Shinsou shot off like a bullet.

Izuku laughed as he bolted forward, jumping over the initial icy blast Todoroki sent out as he ran along the walls in a way that was familiar to him as Viridian.

He tuned out Present Mic's announcements, vaguely recalling the course and following events from the First Run. So... yep. Giant robots. Then a pitfall and then the minefield, if I remember correctly... though there was something about first place...

Izuku hadn't been allowed to bring anything with him. But he may or may not have gotten Momo to agree to create a small sword for him in exchange for a cookie recipe that he'd purposefully gotten the girl hooked on. Ah, bribery. A formidable foe.

He brandished the blade with a grin as Present Mic cried out in surprise.

"And Class 1–A's Midoriya Izuku somehow has a sword?! I thought Hero Course students couldn't bring in weapons?!"

"He didn't bring it in, it was an item created by the Quirk of Yaoyorozu Momo, of Class 1–A." Aizawa explained. "If you paid attention, you'd know that." Izuku snickered. He loved Shouta's sass.

Izuku easily cut down a Zero Pointer. Honestly, he held back a bit in the Entrance Exams, not wanting Shouta—who he'd known would be watching closely—to draw any real parallels between himself and Viridian. But now, considering he was going to explain himself after the festival, it really didn't matter much.

He privately wondered if Nezu and Aizawa would let him keep his Provisional License. He hoped so. It'd break his heart to have it taken away, now.

The pitfall was laughable. He didn't slow down in the slightest as he continued running across the wire. He'd faced farther drops on the edges of skyscrapers as Viridian, and landing on the ledges beneath windows was a very hard-earned skill—he had the scars to prove it.

"Holy crap! Midoriya Izuku just flies by on the Pitfall! Look at him, he's not even slowing down! What is this kid?! And he's not the only one, either! Todoroki Shouto of Class 1–A still holds the lead as current Second Place Bakugo Katsuki of 1–A flies over the obstacle like it isn't even there!"

Izuku grinned. Todoroki and Bakugo were ahead of him, which was the plan. He wanted them to get ahead. He had a plan, after all. Once he reached the mines, he started digging. They were small enough blasts on their own, but together? They'd pack one hell of a punch. And Izuku wasn't a support maker for nothing. He disassembled a couple of them quickly, creating a small sled-like platform for him to hold on to.

"What is Midoriya doing? He's falling behind." Mic warned, but Izuku smirked. Now, if he was a normal support-inclined fifteen-year-old boy, he might just jump onto a pile of volatile mines and pray for the best.

But Izuku isn't a normal fifteen-year-old boy. He's a time-traveling fifteen-year-old boy with PhD in computer science and a long history of making support items for a living. There's nothing normal about him. So he'd already calculated the trajectory and best angle to jump onto the pile. And he may have deactivated the safety on the mines that control the output of the blast. Whoops.

He grinned, knowing that the cameras would be able to read his lips, even if he did speak in English. "Yippie-ki-yay motherfucker." And he jumped.

Allright,sotheAuthorcouldn'tresistaDieHardreference.Sorry.ButIhavetosaythatIreallylikehisopeningspeech....it'sbetterthanBakugo's,atleast.

"I'm going to kill him." Shouta muttered to himself as he watched Midoriya soar through the sky like a rocket. The blast shook the stadium, and he knew right there that the kid had somehow bypassed the safety features on the mines. Even piled together, they should never emit a blast that strong. If the kid didn't seem to know what he was doing, Shouta would be legitimately concerned for the boy's physical health. Well, more than he already was.

"WHAT?! MIDORIYA IZUKU IS FLYING ACROSS THE FINAL OBSTACLE! AMAZING!! HE PILED THE MINES TOGETHER TO CREATE A LARGER BLAST! Don't try this at home, kids!"

"Can you just shut up for once?" Shouta glared. It was annoying, being trapped in a soundproof booth next to one of the loudest men on the planet. Even with earplugs it was giving him a migraine. Why did he have to do this again?

"I'm the announcer! It's my job." Hizashi looked very satisfied. Shouta made sure his husband's hands were away from the red button before he spoke.

"I love your voice, I really do. But it's a little loud and it's giving me a headache. Think you can tone it down a little?"

"All right, Shou... Sorry." Hizashi risked a quick peck on the cheek that had Shouta scowling in embarrassment.

"Zashi... we're in public."

"Relax a little, Shou~ Not like anyone's paying attention to the announcing booth when there's that kind of action going on down there... Besides; it looks like the Little Listener's taking first place." He smirked before clicking the microphone back on. "AAAAND FIRST PLACE GOES TO MIDORIYA IZUKU!!!"

The crowd cheered, though several jeered. He glared at them, wishing he could say something about it, but right now he couldn't. He couldn't coddle the boy. He'd announced himself Quirkless on live TV all on his own—and that'd given Shouta and the rest of the staff a heart attack. They hadn't expected the boy to announce it, and had planned on implying that he had an intelligence Quirk of some kind.

But he supposed it was the logical decision, in the end. It wasn't something that could be hidden for long, and while he was sure the kid had been scared shitless, he looked perfectly calm—almost challenging. It was as if he was daring the world to shove him down so he could prove them wrong.

And he was proving the world wrong. While his actions had been shocking, Shouta knew that his announcement was going to garner tons of support from people who had weak Quirks, or no Quirks. People like Midoriya and Viridian.

Speaking of... he glanced down at his phone.

ViridianChaos: Midoriya's got guts, saying what he said on National Television.

Dadzawa: National? You do realize that the U.A. Sports Festival is a global event, right? It's mostly a big deal in Japan, true, but people from all over the world tune in.

ViridianChaos: ... come again?

ShadowSlayer: Hahahahahahahhahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahaha

ViridianChaos: SHAY! NOT COOL!! YOU KNEW AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!

Fury: I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like you're in the festival.

ViridianChaos: Something tells me the kid didn't know.

Scream: I'm sure he didn't. We didn't want to freak him out too badly, so we never bothered to correct it. It's why we didn't tell him he'd be opening the festival until about five minutes before hand.

ViridianChaos: That's cruel. Couldn't give him time to form a speech?

Dadzawa: He did fine. I don't see what you're complaining about. Speaking of, are you attending, or watching?

Scream: Yeah, I'd love to meet you! Come join us for the show in the announcer's booth! I'm sure the crowd would love a surprise guest, especially from such a new and popular hero!

ViridianChaos: Actually, I'm streaming it on my phone. I'm out of town for a little bit, got some leads in Hosu to look into.

Dadzawa: Hosu?

Fury: That's new, what kinds of leads. Wait... didn't you mention Hosu to me before?

ViridianChaos: Yeah, I had you implement the buddy system over there.

Tsuragamae: I'm actually in Hosu, as well. The Chief over here is taking a well-earned vacation, so I'm covering for a couple of weeks. Drop in some time and have some lunch with me.

ViridianChaos: Will do. I'm actually looking into rumors of Stain.

Shouta startled.

Dadzawa: Stain?! As in the Hero Killer that nearly killed you several months ago?!

ViridianChaos: Yep! That's the one~!

Scream: Wait, you've met him?! Are you going in alone?!

ViridianChaos: I've asked a few other heroes to help out, I'm not stupid or suicidal, thanks. And I've given them all SOS badges with built-in trackers. If anyone runs into him, the signal will go out immediately and alert local heroes and police.

Dadzawa: You've thought this out.

ViridianChaos: Of course I have. He almost killed me once. I'm only alive because he let me live. Guy's got some pretty hard-core ideals with determination of steel. He won't come quietly. If I remember correctly, he can paralyze people by ingesting their blood.

Scream: Creepy. That explains why there's rarely signs of struggle, though.

ViridianChaos: I'll let you guys get back to announcing. Intermission's almost over, and I would hate to keep you.

Dadzawa: Please check in with us often. I don't like the thought of you chasing after Stain.

ViridianChaos: Will do.

ShadowSlayer: I'll keep you guys posted, no worries.

Somehow, Shouta wasn't convinced.

At any rate, the second round was starting—the cavalry match. He smirked when Problem Child's points were announced, but paled when he paired with Hatsume and Shinsou. Their fourth player was Tokoyami, a good mid-to-long range fighter. Shouta was interested to see what the plan was.

Despite what he expected, Midoriya did not keep the headband on himself, but gave it to Shinsou instead. Shinsou became the rider, while Tokoyami was the horse. Hatsume and Midoriya were the flanks, and Midoriya was quick to break off from the formation and go out to attack other teams.

He grinned. The kid was fast enough on his own to snatch headbands and occasionally knock riders off, disqualifying teams, while Tokoyami and Hatsume were plenty to keep a solid defense. Especially since Hatsume's inventions got them airborne.

It was a fairly solid strategy, and Shouta found himself impressed at the speed with which Midoriya moved. In fact, sometimes Shouta lost sight of the kid, even though he was sure he hadn't looked away. He was vaguely reminded of Viridian.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. Did Midoriya know Viridian? Were they perhaps related? Now that he was really looking for it, it was clear as day. Midoriya's movements were identical to Viridian's. Was... was Midoriya Viridian's son?! The man could certainly be old enough to have kids, but one Midoriya's age?

But it made sense. The way Midoriya was secretive about his living arrangement, and his reluctance to let anyone meet his parents. And Viridian's reports were too damn detailed. There's no way the man could learn that much from just watching. No, it had to be something like this. Viridian was either Midoriya's father or his uncle (possibly brother???). There was really no other explanation. Plus, Quirklessness could run in a family, so it'd make even more sense, in that case. Not to mention the fact that Viridian—for whatever ungodly reason—wanted Shigaraki's head on a silver platter. And Midoriya seemed to have a similar dislike for the man... had he, perhaps, killed someone dear to them?

Shouta shook his head. There was no point in over thinking this right now. Maybe Midoriya's explanation after the festival would help shed some light on things. For now, he'd just have to wait. He'd inform Tsukauchi of his suspicions later.

He smirked when the second round finished with Midoriya not only keeping his headband, but nearly stealing Todoroki's as well, causing the boy to instinctively activate his fire.

Oh, today would be an interesting day indeed.

Hahahahahahahahahaha...Shouta'sconfused.Andit'shilarious!HethinksIzukuishisownson...well,he'snotwrongaboutIzukuknowingViridian,atleast.

"Midoriya. We need to talk."

Izuku wasn't sure what he was expecting when Todoroki called him to a private location to speak. He certainly hadn't been expecting the kid to dump his entire life story on him. Quirk Marriage, huh? Poor Touya... that explains a lot.

"So what'dya want me to do about it?" Izuku leaned against the wall, and Todoroki glared.

"You're saying you don't care? I'm not expecting you to do anything."

"I'm not saying I don't care, I'm asking you why you told me. You act like there's something you want."

"I want you to answer this honestly. Are you Viridian's secret love child?"

Izuku choked for a moment in shock before laughing at the absurdity of the statement. Was he his own love child? Ha! Keigo would bust a gut, too.

"S-sorry, that just really caught me off-guard. I thought you were going to ask me something serious." Izuku wiped away a tear. "No, I'm not Viridian's kid. Though I do know the guy." He smirked.

"I see..."

"Todoroki." Izuku said as the kid started to walk away. He paused. "If you ever need a safe place to stay, you can crash with me. My place isn't the best, per se, but it's safer than staying with an abuser. I know Endeavor can't be treating you right. You or your siblings. I've got a friend with a place to crash, too. He won't ask many questions, and knows how to keep a secret." He scribbled something down and handed it over to the kid. "My number, if you need to reach me."

"...Why?"

"Because you need help."

"I need no one's help." He glared.

Izuku stared at him for a long moment before Todoroki turned and walked away. He sighed and went back to the eating area. He sat down beside Shinsou and Mei as the two argued about something he wasn't quite in the headspace to comprehend.

"There you are! I was worried!" Mei huffed. "You need to eat more!!"

"She's right, you know. You're really skinny."

"Like you're one to talk." Izuku snorted.

"Yeah, that's coming from me." Shinsou crossed his arms.

"Ladies, ladies, please." Keigo sat down across from them, and Shinsou and Mei immediately went quiet. Several nearby 1–A students also became hushed. They obviously hadn't expected to see the Number 3 hero here.

"The only lady I see here is you." Izuku snarked back without missing a beat. He saw Iida stand up to reprimand him when Keigo snorted in amusement.

"Well, you do call me mother hen."

"Is that chicken on your plate?!" Izuku gasped in mock horror. "Keicchan! A cannibal?!"

"Oh, haha." Keigo rolled his eyes. "That's the pot calling the kettle black, I see a steaming pile of broccoli right there on your plate, Zukkun." He poked his fork towards the green pile of goodness.

"And I happily consume the tiny trees covered in delicious garlic butter." Izuku grinned, popping one in his mouth.

"W-wait, you know Hawks?!" Shinsou blurted out.

"Yep~" Izuku grinned. "Keicchan, this is Shinsou and Mei, my friends. Mei, Shinsou, this is Keigo, my brother in all but blood."

The two gaped for a long moment, and Izuku was beyond amused when Iida was frozen with his mouth hanging open in shock. He also thought he saw Todoroki muttering to himself about 'Hawks' and 'brothers'.

Cool. So he's a conspiracy theorist. Awesome.

Izuku may or may not have stolen a chicken wing off Keigo's plate when he wasn't looking.

After that, conversation seemed to pick back up, this time with Keigo joining in. It was only towards the end of their lunch break that Bakugo, of all people, approached him.

"We need to talk."

"Well, isn't this a familiar phrasing?" Izuku sighed. What was up with people and dragging him off today?

Regardless, he followed along, mostly out of curiosity. Bakugo led him into a small side-room, and Izuku tensed, preparing for a fight if need be. "You know, if you wanted a one-on-one, you could just wait until the finals."

"I'm not here to fight you." Bakugo said, looking oddly calm. "I..." He swallowed hard before glancing around, making sure they were alone.

Then Bakugo got down on his knees. Izuku blinked once. Twice. He pinched himself and bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. Nope, this... was fucking real.

"What?"

"I'm sorry." He spoke softly, as if afraid of Izuku's reaction. "I... I was fu– I was wrong." It seemed he was trying not to curse, either. A valiant effort.

"Wrong?"

"To bully you. Damnit! I... I was just like her." He realized abruptly that Bakugo was crying. That Kacchan was crying. "I... I can't believe I was ever like that, but... every time you looked at me with those eyes, I thought you were looking down on me, but now I realize... you were never looking down on me. You were afraid of me. What the hell kind of hero can I be if I only hurt other people?! I should've been protecting you, not hurting you." He looked up at Izuku, eyes shining brightly with tears. "I know I can't ever apologize enough for what I've done... for what I've said. But... IZUKU!" Izuku startled at his name coming out of Bakugo's mouth for the first time since they were five. "I promise!" Bakugo's voice broke as tears flowed. "I swear it... I'll become a hero that inspires others to be strong... for all the right reasons. To be strong enough to protect the ones who need protecting. I'm still aiming for number one... but... that can wait. That will always be there for me to reach for. But people... people won't. I don't want anyone to put someone through what I put you through. I vow to become a better person. I don't know how, yet. But I'll figure it out. Somehow..."

He stared. This was something he never thought he'd ever see. He blinked a couple times to clear his vision as tears ran down his own face. He kneeled down on the floor next to the blond.

"Kacchan." Red eyes widened in surprise at a nickname he never expected to hear again. A nickname Izuku never expected to use again. "It's been a while." He smiled a bit, reaching out gently and wiping away some tears from the startled blond's face.

"Y-yeah... It has, Kuzu."

Izuku chuckled at the old name. When they were kids, Kacchan had had trouble saying Izuku's name, and often mixed up 'Izuku' with 'ikuzo', meaning 'let's go', something Kacchan had said to him a lot when he wanted to go play and Izuku was taking too long. Eventually, due to childish mispronunciation, Kacchan decided that 'Kuzu' was close enough and started calling Izuku that.

If he hadn't heard Bakugo call him by his given name since he was pronounced officially Quirkless at five, he hadn't heard the old nickname since they were about four. He'd almost forgotten it, if he was being honest.

"I'm not saying it's right. Because it's not. And there are a lot of things I can't forgive you for. But..." Izuku looked at him... really looked. "If you follow through with this, then that's enough for me." He held out a hand, just like he had all those years ago at the bridge.

This time, Kacchan took it without hesitation. "C-can I still call you Kuzu?" He asked, cheeks tinged a light red. Izuku chuckled.

"Only if I can still call you Kacchan."

Kacchan's smile was light and carefree as he gave a small laugh. A laugh that Izuku was quite sure the blond hadn't made in nearly a decade, if the startled look on the boy's face was any indication.

Izuku grinned. "Come on. We've got a festival to finish."

"Yeah. Don't think I'm going to lose to you, Nerd." He teased, but the old jab didn't have the same venom it used to.

"You're calling me the nerd? Mr. bedtime's 8 sharp with no excuses?" Izuku lightly teased back, earning a friendly shoulder-bump from the boy.

Huh. Amazing... I never thought I could ever change the timeline this much. Maybe Kacchan won't die bitter and alone this time.

This time, he won't become a Nomu.

Yes.Authorwentthere.Also,asortahalf-assedbakugoredemption.TheAuthorapologizes.

Keigo had been enjoying the festivities, but all good things had to come to an end, and he had a promise to keep. He'd wanted to stay for the whole thing, but that wasn't an option. He was currently flying to Hosu, en route to the general area Izuku had pointed him in.

According to his charge, sometime this afternoon Ingenium would accidentally run into the Hero Killer, Stain. He'd be gravely injured and end up paralyzed from the waist down.

Keigo wouldn't let that happen. Izuku had been more than reluctant to let him go off and fight Stain himself. He supposed that knowing that the other man would survive vs. the unknown risk of his brother possibly dying was something to be concerned about. But Keigo reminded Izuku that they were heroes. The risk came with the job, and he couldn't—wouldn't—stand idly by when he could help somehow.

Obviously, any anonymous tips would be treated with either a ton of suspicion or outright rejected as a bad prank. This meant that Hawks would either 1, have to do this himself, or 2, find the trouble and then call for backup.

They'd spent countless hours going over all sorts of scenarios and analyzing the Hero Killer's Quirk and fighting style. Izuku hadn't had much to go off of, considering he only encountered the man once—in this timeline. But it was better than nothing, he supposed.

Izuku had also gifted Keigo with a ton of new gear, including a ray gun and a sound-based stun gun that would (hopefully) knock out whoever it was aimed at. Izuku had said the latter was untested and should only be used as an absolute last resort, as he wasn't sure if it'd knock out the user or not. It shouldn't, but there were no guarantees.

The vigilante-turned-legal hero had also provided him with an SOS beacon based off the one Nezu had gifted the not-boy with. Damn, time-travel was confusing, and he wasn't even the one travelling! He didn't know how Izuku kept everything straight.

Keigo smirked as he found Ingenium out on his patrol. For a moment, he sat on the edge of the rooftop and stared. It was so hard to believe that this guy he was staring at was about to nearly die. That today, if Keigo didn't intervene, would be the last day he'd ever be able to walk or run. That this simple, rather unremarkable day, would turn so dark.

He checked his phone, shooting off a text to Izuku through their private Group Chat (though it wasn't much of a group chat with only two people).

MotherHen: I've found him. Tailing him now.

BrokenClocks: Good. Keep a close eye on him. He'll attack in an alleyway—wait until he's alone. Call for backup as soon as you can. For the love of Time, Kei... be CAREFUL. I can't lose you, too.

MotherHen: I know. I'll be careful.

BrokenClocks: Gtg. I'm up against Shinsou. Wish me luck.

MotherHen: Luck? You don't need it. ;) Have fun, kiddo.

Yes.ItotallyputHawksinthelineoffire,what'reyougonnadoaboutit?

Todoroki Shouto wasn't a guy that was intimidated easily. After having gone through countless training sessions with Endeavor, one tended to grow very strong very quickly.

But he'd privately admit that Midoriya Izuku scared him. There was something about the kid that set him on edge, even when he wasn't doing anything remotely related to fighting. He'd known that he could fight, the battle trials were testament to that much. And he'd heard rumors that Midoriya had held off some villains in the USJ Incident, even going as far as killing some of them to protect Asui and Kirishima.

And speaking of, the two consistently tried to get close to the boy, but he kept pushing everyone away. It was like he thought they weren't worth his time, or maybe that he wasn't worth theirs. Though he noted that the boy had grown very quickly attached to that pink-haired girl in Support and the purple-haired boy in General Education.

But that wasn't the point. The fact that he'd fended off villains was nice and all, but it could've been luck. Or minor skill. It shouldn't have indicated that this Quirkless kid could be any sort of threat to him.

And yet... As he watched the boy fight, he could tell he was majorly holding back. Not because he was arrogant, but because he didn't want to kill his opponent. The realization sent an unwelcome shiver down Shouto's spine. Suddenly, it didn't really matter that this kid was Quirkless. That he should be easy to defeat. He hardly even listened to his father as he threatened him again to use his fire.

The image of Midoriya with those shining green orbs staring at him with such intensity... that was where his mind was. When he'd looked at him in that tunnel... he'd stared at him with an odd mixture of pity, sorrow, and understanding. It was a combination that Shouto had never really experienced before, and he had no idea what could've brought it on. But there was also a flash of anger.

That's when he stepped into the ring with said boy. At first, they traded blows on shockingly equal terms. But Shouto quickly grew frustrated when he realized the boy was holding back again.

"Why won't you fight me seriously?" He asked the greenette as he sent another wave of ice at him. The boy easily dodged the wave and slid down from the top.

"Why won't you?" He countered. Shouto saw red.

"Did he set you up to this?!" He'd thought that Midoriya was better than this.

"Endeavor? Hell no, I hate that guy." Midoriya snorted. "No, I'm not talking about him, I'm talking about you."

"I won't use his fire. I've told you that."

"It's not his fire, Todoroki. It's your Quirk. It runs in your veins! Your hair isn't his, it's yours. Your Quirk is the same."

"You don't understand!"

"You're right. I don't understand. You have an incredible gift, Todoroki! One I would kill to have! Do you have any concept of what it's like to grow up Quirkless?! We aren't even treated like human beings!" Midoriya spat, and Shouto abruptly recalled the Movie Theater Incident.

That'd been a rough wakeup call for a lot of class members, himself included. He had never thought people would treat a perfect stranger so cruelly based only on Quirk Status, or lack thereof.

And now the way Midoriya's talking about it... it's obvious that that wasn't the worst of his treatment. But he still didn't see what this had to do with his fire.

"You're insulting me and everyone else here. Everyone's giving it their all, but you're half-assing it, and it's really pissing me off." He glared. "You can't be a hero on only half your power, Todoroki. If you do that, you'll let people die. One day, your ice won't be enough, no matter how you train it. And you can't always end a fight before hypothermia sets in."

Shouto clenched a fist.

"It's your Quirk!" He repeated, and something about the way he said it drudged up an old memory. A memory of his mother, from just after he'd gotten his Quirk. He'd created a small spark of fire in one hand and made a bird for his mother, who'd smiled happily at the creation.

She'd told him the same thing. It was his Quirk. And she'd believed he could become a hero.

"You're one crazy son of a bitch." Shouto chuckled under his breath as flames sparked to life.

"There we go."

"Helping your enemies? Don't you want to win?"

"Oh, I plan on it." Midoriya grinned cockily. "But now that you're not holding back, I won't hold back either." He changed his fighting stance abruptly, and Shouto realized something very important.

Midoriya was left handed. This whole time, he'd been fighting right handed. Oh, shit. He charged his attack, and released.

Yes,Izuku'sbeenholdingbackthiswholetimeagainsthisclassmates,butthat'sonlytomakesurehedidn'tkillthem.

Shouta nearly had a heart attack when he saw Todoroki charge at Midoriya at full power. He'd never seen the boy use his flames before (damnit, Problem Child) and wasn't sure he knew how to control them as well as he did his ice.

Then there was also the fact that apparently Midoriya had been holding back, too. He'd only barely caught it, but the change in the kid's fighting style meant that he'd been using his non-dominant side as his primary means of fighting up until this point.

He vaguely recalled Midoriya using his left side during the USJ Incident. At the time, he hadn't fully registered that fact, nor had it come up again. Shouta had brushed it off as a side effect of his concussion, and left it at that.

The only thing that kept him from rushing out into the arena was Hizashi's gentle hand on his arm. "You can go check on him when the match is called." He reminded him.

He glared, but knew that it was the logical course of action. Midnight and Cementoss had tried to stop the fight there, too, but the two had somehow broken through the concrete barriers that had been hastily erected.

Everyone waited with bated breath as the dust settled. A figure stood just within the barrier of the circle, while another was laying on the ground just outside it.

You're shitting me. Shouta's eyes were wide.

"AND MIDORIYA WINS! AMAZING!! TODOROKI SHOUTO IS OUTSIDE THE RING!" Hizashi announced as the crowd roared, riding off the high of the fight.

Midoriya hopped down, looking moderately injured, but not as bad as Shouta feared. He offered Todoroki a hand, which the other teen hesitantly took.

The Erasure Hero then left the room, intent on meeting the two at Recovery Girl's temporary setup. He vaguely noted that Hizashi announced a forty-minute or so break to fix the fighting area. Probably for the best, then.

When he came into the room, Recovery Girl already had both Todoroki and Midoriya set up in beds.

"Sensei." Midoriya greeted.

"Problem Child." He sighed. "How bad?"

"Nothing too major. Just a sprained ankle and some mild second degree burns. Some bruising and I think a few cracked ribs." Midoriya listed off as Recovery Girl nodded.

"Sounds about right." She sighed. "Todoroki, on the other hand, has a broken arm, cracked ribs, a mild concussion and a hairline fracture to his cheekbone."

"Sorry." Midoriya apologized.

"Don't." Todoroki said, and Shouta noted that there was a lot more warmth in his tone than there used to be. "You've... made me realize a few things. If anything, I should thank you."

"Hmm... thank me sometime by hanging out with me outside of school, yeah? Grab an ice-cream with Mei, Shinsou and I."

What part of 'you're being targeted by villains' does this kid not understand? Shouta internally groaned.

A knock at the door drew their attention as Hatsume and Shinsou poked their heads in, alongside Asui and Kirishima. Midoriya tilted his head in confusion.

"Uh... hi?"

"Damnit, Izuku, you just keep getting hurt, don't you?!" Hatsume groaned. "But awesome win, by the way."

"You're up against Bakubro next, right?" Kirishima grinned, and Midoriya choked at the nickname.

"He lets you call him that?"

"I mean, he's gotten used to it."

Midoriya snorted. "Yeah, assuming he wins his fight against Uraraka."

"You gonna be okay? I know the two of you have a bit of a history." Shinsou asked softly, causing Midoriya to raise an eyebrow. "What? I can pick up on these things."

"We've actually sorta patched some things up recently, so... yeah. I'm looking forward to the match."

"Tch." Shouta eyed Bakugo as he stood in the doorway. "I'm gonna win. Don't doubt me."

"Kacchan!" Midoriya brightened with a grin. The blond huffed but accepted the childish nickname, making Shouta blink.

"Rest up, Kuzu, because I'm not going to go easy on you." He looked Midoriya in the eye and then gave him a tiny smile. Not a smirk, not a feral grin, but an honest to god smile.

Bakugo stepped out of the room a moment later, and Shouta followed him. "So you've found your answer."

"I think so."

"I'll ask you again, then. What kind of hero do you want to be?"

"One who protects." Bakugo answered with a steel in his voice. "I'll become the strongest so I can protect everyone." Shouta took a good long moment to look the boy in the eyes. There was a fire that wasn't there before...

No, that fire had always been there, but it'd been a raging inferno of anger up until this point. Now, it was controlled. It was bright and sure and it made Shouta grin. "You'll be a great hero one day, kid. Never lose sight of your goal."

He made his way back to the announcement booth. Midoriya was relatively fine, and had friends with him. Bakugo was changing for the better, and was now set on a much less violent and bloodthirsty path in life, and Todoroki seemed to have overcome some kind of internal blockade. In short, Shouta wasn't needed here right now, so he could go take a nap.

He texted Viridian instead, worried about his friend who hadn't checked in for several hours.

Dadzawa: @ViridianChaos you okay? Haven't heard from you for a bit.

He put his phone back in his pocket, keeping his hand wrapped around it as he waited for the reply. He walked over to Nemuri and Cementoss to inform them of Midoriya and Todoroki's conditions, and that Midoriya was able and willing to fight in his next match.

Hizashi greeted him when he stepped back into the booth. "No reply?" He glanced at his own phone that had the 'vigilante chat' open. Shouta frowned.

"Not yet. I'm getting worried. He's after Stain, but hasn't checked in for a bit."

"Maybe we should..." Hizashi's eyes flashed to his phone when a call came through. It was from Iida's mother. The two shared a look of trepidation before Hizashi picked it up.

"Iida-san?" He paused as the woman spoke. "Tensei?! Is he okay?! What happened?!" Shouta stiffened. Tensei was a good friend of theirs, and if something had happened to him... "Oh, thank God." Shouta relaxed minutely, the relief in Hizashi's voice told him he was at least alive. "A...are you sure? I mean, wouldn't Tenya want to... Yeah, I guess I can understand that. If that's what Tensei wants... Thanks for letting me know... Yeah, I'll tell Shou. Take care, and let him know to expect a visit from us soon." Hizashi hung up the phone.

"What happened?"

"Tensei was attacked by Stain."

"What?!" Shouta felt his blood go cold.

"He's fine! Somehow, he survived without any permanent damage!" Hizashi quickly amended. "He said that another hero was on the scene and saved his life. Hawks, apparently."

"Hawks? I thought he was here watching Midoriya?" Shouta's brows furrowed.

"He was. I saw him in the lunch room earlier." Hizashi shrugged. "I don't know what made him suddenly leave and go to Hosu, but he showed up and saved Tensei's life. He got banged up pretty nicely, too, so I'm expecting Midoriya to get that call sometime soon. Tensei doesn't want to tell his brother until after he's out of the festival."

"Of course he doesn't." Shouta sighed. Tensei was too softhearted when it came to his baby brother.

"Things'll be okay, Shou. Come on, the matches are picking back up."

"I swear, next year you are not dragging me into this stupid booth. You can announce with Nemuri."

"Shouuuu~"

IsavedTensei~!Yay!Becausehedidn'tdeservetobeparalyzed,soIfixedthat.Iidawillstillhaveathirstforvengeance,though.

Kayama Nemuri watched with a close eye as Midoriya and Iida stepped into the ring. Iida was her childhood friend's baby brother, and Midoriya was the U.A. Staff's (not so secret) favorite this year. If only because the boy had been wronged by the world in more ways than she could count. Either way, this was an interesting matchup, and she was looking forward to the results.

She eyed the crowd warily. Many people were holding signs supporting Iida, and a few people held up signs that put down Midoriya for lacking a Quirk. 'Quirkless Filth go home' 'Stop cheating' and other similar signs could be spotted all around the arena. Luckily, Ectoplasm and Thirteen were escorting those people out of the festival, so the signs were quickly dwindling.

In all honesty it'd taken them only 20 minutes to fix the stage, but they'd wanted to let the contestants rest a bit more. That fight had been brutal, after all.

She grinned as the fight started. Iida made his move first—a mistake. Midoriya nimbly dodged the attack, nearly causing the speedster to run out of the ring of his own accord.

"You can't reach full speed here. The space is too small." Midoriya taunted lightly. "You're fast, I'll give you that. But can you fight?"

"Of course I can!" Iida replied indignantly. She couldn't help but feel like Iida would've instantly lost to Shinsou. The poor kid hadn't gotten the opportunity to show off his Quirk since Midoriya kept his mouth shut.

It was a game of cat and mouse for a while. Midoriya kept dodging Iida's attacks and dealing light blows of his own. Nothing major—he likely didn't want to strain any injuries Recovery Girl had been unable to fix.

"Wow, smart kid." Cementoss noted.

"Huh?" Nemuri blinked. What was he talking about?

"You didn't notice?" He chuckled as Iida started to slow down significantly. "Look at what he's doing."

Abruptly, Iida's left leg just sort of gave out. Midoriya pounced on the opportunity like he'd been waiting for it, and quickly shoved Iida out of the ring, winning the match. "In terms of speed, I can't win. But I can use that speed against you." Midoriya said.

"I... I don't understand?"

"I may have looked like I was dodging randomly, but I wasn't. Didn't you notice how I kept making you turn on your left leg? You pivot too much on that one side, so I made sure to make you keep lower to the ground to exhaust you faster. I overworked one specific muscle cluster in your thigh, knowing that sooner or later, it'd give out on you."

Nemuri stared. The kid had that plan from the start?! Shouta was explaining over the intercom for the crowd and viewers as Midoriya explained it for them and Iida.

Iida laughed suddenly. "You're amazing, Midoriya! I never would've thought to use my opponent's own body against them! You truly are the better hero."

"You're great, too! Your Quirk is amazing, you know. Speed like that... I can come up with about a hundred different ways to use that in a fight. Mind if I bounce some ideas off of you?"

"Of course! I'd be honored!!"

Well, it looked like these two wouldn't be bitter over the match, at least. Though if Nemuri was being honest, she was fairly concerned about the next match of Midoriya's. Bakugo was rather violent, and despite Shouta's reassurance that the two were patching things up, she knew that a match like this could make all that progress disappear.

She hoped for the littlegreen bean's sake that things would turn out all right.  

Wow~!SomethingfromNemuri'sPOV,howunusual.IwashavingabitoffunflashingaroundtodifferentPOVsinthischapter.

and you'll get arthritis." Shinsou warned.

"I'll worry about that when I'm 30." Izuku shrugged. It had never bothered him in the First Run, so he doubted this one would be any different.

His phone rang suddenly, playing Keigo's ringtone. He swiftly picked it up. "You still alive?" He inquired, earning a raised eyebrow from his purple-haired friend.

"Yeah, somehow. Damn, Zu, how the hell did you survive that encounter with him?! I know you said he was fast, but... holy shit."

"Luck. Besides, didn't I tell you the first time? He let me live."

Shinsou's other brow rose to meet the first.

"He got away." Keigo said. "I wasn't able to catch him. He backed off when he realized who I was, but I did get a little banged up."

"Define a little." Izuku crushed the rising worry that tried to claw its way up his spine. Keigo would be fine. But he also hadn't really planned on Stain escaping Keigo's grasp, but he could improv this... he had to. Iida's life depended on it.

"Sprained wing and a few cracked bones. Minor lacerations and a nasty gash on my arm. That's about it. Like I said, a little. Unlike some people, my 'little' typically means non-life threatening."

Izuku let out a breath. "Hey, gimme some credit, yeah? I haven't died yet. How long is the hospital holding you captive?"

"There shouldn't be a yet." Keigo huffed. "The hospital is only holding me for a day or so. Iida's fine. Nothing permanent. Got there just in time."

"Got there...? I though you said you were tailing him?"

"I was, but the guy's fast. I nearly lost him a few times."

"Thank you, Keicchan." Izuku smiled. It was a huge weight off his shoulders that the elder Iida's hero career wasn't cut short this go around, despite the imminent danger that the younger Iida found himself in should he still feel the need for vengeance. "Any leads on that other thing?"

"Not yet. He's good at staying hidden."

"Keep an ear out, yeah?"

"Of course."

"Oh, and lemme know if you need me to bust you outta there. Hospitals suck, and I'll need my Support Chicken back soon."

Shinsou snorted at the same time Keigo spluttered.

"Support Chi—"

Izuku hung up, chuckling.

"I'm not getting an explanation for that strange and somewhat concerning conversation, am I?" Shinsou sighed.

"Nope~"

Izuku stopped when he saw Endeavor standing before him. He subtly moved so he was in front of Shinsou.

"I don't know what kind of trick you pulled to 'win' that fight, but I don't buy it." He growled. Izuku stared at the man impassively.

"Tricks? The only 'trick' I used was hard work and training. It's called 'skill', Endeavor. I don't need a Quirk to win."

"You think you can get away with talking like that to me, you Quirkless filth?!" He snarled, lighting one fist on fire. Izuku raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Oh, look. The trash is on fire, no wonder it stinks in here." He snorted quietly as a look of rage came over Endeavor's face. "Oh, sorry. I thought that since you insulted me, I was given a free card to insult you. Is that not how this works?"

"I'll show you how—" The larger man's flames abruptly cut out, as Izuku internally grinned. Right on time, Shou.

"Mind explaining why you're attacking two students?" Aizawa-sensei looked very intimidating with his glowing red eyes and floating hair.

Red eyes flashed in anger as his cheek stung.

He shook the thought away.

Endeavor looked ready to spout more crap about how he cheated, and there was no way the Quirkless filth had defeated his precious Shouto before thinking better of it. Izuku was mildly disappointed that the man seemed to have a few more brain cells than he'd given him credit for.

"Nothing. I was just congratulating him on his win." Endeavor sneered as he turned around and abruptly walked off.

"What an ass." Izuku sighed.

"Dude, you were so calm! He was about to punch you with a flaming fist." Shinsou looked dangerously pale.

"And?" Izuku raised an eyebrow.

"Problem Child." Aizawa took a deep breath. "Explain."

"He thought I cheated so he threatened me." Izuku shrugged. "I'll admit, I knew he was a flaming pile of garbage, but I hadn't realized he was a Quirkist flaming trashcan, too. Though maybe I should have." He scratched his chin as he thought, idly missing his stubble.

"Please try not to piss off Endeavor. He's known for being particularly violent." Aizawa looked like he was internally crying.

"If, by 'particularly violent', you mean 'kills 36% of villains he encounters' then yes; he's particularly violent. Especially when compared to the typical 3%–7% mortality rate of most hero-villain encounters."

"How do you know that?" Shinsou stared.

"I run a lot of calculations in my spare time. I get bored a lot and used to be a hero fanboy." Izuku shrugged.

"Used to be?" Aizawa asked.

"Erm... some things happened that disillusioned me when I was younger." Izuku winced, thinking of the rooftop conversation with All Might. Obviously, Aizawa's mind went to his little (true) story of the hero that left him to burn alive.

"Right. At any rate, your next match will start in about ten minutes. I wanted to check up on you and see how you were holding up."

"Careful, sensei. People might think you care." Izuku teased lightly. Aizawa blinked for a moment before Izuku realized his mistake. That was something that was rather out of character for Izuku, but perfectly in-character for Viridian. He supposed it didn't matter much, though, considering they'd know soon enough.

Aizawa gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair, making Izuku blink up at him in surprise. For a split moment, he saw Shou, not Aizawa-sensei. He blinked back the foreign wetness as his hand traced the burn scar on the inside of his left wrist.

"Maybe I do, Problem Child." It was so quiet Izuku almost didn't hear it. He could see Aizawa smiling softly into his Capture Weapon. "If you need anything, you can find me in the announcement booth with Present Mic."

"Thanks. I'll be fine, sensei." He grinned. "I'll see you from the winner's podium!" He called after Aizawa as he walked off.

Izuku swore he heard the hero laugh.

HemadeAizawalaugh.Achievementunlocked.ThisisLine-chan,bytheway.Sorryfornotsayinghiearlier.Line-KunandIhavebeenworriedabouteveryone!

Katsuki had been looking forward to this fight. He'd been looking forward to this fight for years, now. But this also wasn't quite how he'd imagined the fight to go.

It'd started normally enough. De–Izuku, it was Izuku, now. The little turd had anticipated his right hook, which Katsuki had expected. He may make fun of the nerd, but he knew he was really good at analyzing people. It pissed him off because Izuku was always right. The same tactics and tricks would never work on him twice.

But Katsuki had instincts that were made for a fight like this. He flew into battle ready to win.

Except he wasn't. He'd thrown his best, most volatile, strongest, fastest, and most intuitive and inventive moves at Izuku. And he'd dodged, tanked, or neutralized every single one. Every time, without fail. Now he was at a loss. What could he do now? He'd thrown everything he had at Izuku, and the guy just kept getting back up and throwing something new into the mix.

Since when was the nerd this good?! He'd never been adept at fighting before U.A.! His mind kept supplying him with the looks...

The image of Izuku that day he'd told him to jump off the roof... he would've described him as a young boy with bright, hurt, innocent eyes and a soft heart.

But when he'd seen Izuku again just a day or so later, he'd looked completely different. He had the look of a man, not a boy. He didn't know how, because he still looked the same, but it was more the aura that he gave off. There was a shadow in his eyes like he'd seen something horrible, but it'd only been a day. What the fuck could he have seen in such a short amount of time?!

He didn't buy the trauma card Izuku kept playing. It looked like trauma, but stuff like that didn't just suddenly appear over night! There was something more to this entire mess, and Katsuki wanted to know what.

Because the nerd had never fought like this, before. This was different than the Battle Trials, too. Like he was fighting with something more on the line than what Katsuki could comprehend.

He tried one more last-ditch effort. Fuck his wrist and shoulder—he could deal with the consequences later. He fired off the biggest explosion he'd ever made in his life. Right at Izuku.

And somehow... somehow... The nerd managed to duck under him enough that he could deflect the blast upwards, protecting both himself and the crowd.

He then kicked Katsuki hard in the stomach, and he knew... he could feel it. He glanced down.

His feet were just outside the white line. Bakugo Katsuki had lost. But for once, he wasn't bitter about it. He wasn't angry, not really. He was disappointed, but... there was a sort of relief there. Like suddenly, he didn't have to always win. Like all of a sudden, losing wasn't that bad... so long as it was to Izuku.

"You okay, Kacchan?" He held out a hand towards Katsuki. For a moment, he remembered that day at the river... the one scene he'd run over in his head over and over again, and had only recently realized was his first mistake.

"Damn, De—Kuzu." He corrected himself. "You hit hard." He took the proffered hand, this time, grinning. "I'm going to have to up my training."

"IT'S AMAZING FOLKS! THE WINNER OF THE FIRST YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL IS CLASS 1–A'S MIDORIYA IZUKU!!" The nerd grinned in a way that Katsuki hadn't seen since... he couldn't remember when.

Yeah... maybe losing to Izuku wasn't such a bad thing, after all... Not that he'd ever admit it out loud.

Okay,sotheauthortotallyhalf-assedthislastscene.Line-Kun,here.Buttobefair,theAuthordoesn'thavealotofexperiencewritingafight-scenelikethis.Urbanfightsareapparentlyaloteasier.

Keigo grinned from his hospital bed as he watched the broadcast on his phone. He was awkwardly propped up in the shitty bed with Ingenium in the bed next to him. They were both watching on his phone.

"Look! My brother took third!" Tensei stated proudly, pointing to his brother.

"And my brother took first." Keigo boasted, making the other hero choke.

"You have a brother?!"

"He's like a brother to me." He grinned, pointing to Izuku. "I'm so proud of him. He's going to change the world, some day."

All Might handed the medals to all the winners and Izuku was given the mic for the closing speech.

"I know a lot of you are angry. 'Why should the Quirkless kid win?', am I right? I can see it in your faces in the crowd. I won because I worked hard to get where I am now, not to say that my schoolmates didn't work hard, too, because they did. And every single one of them, whether they made it past the first round or not, deserves recognition." He paused to let people clap.

"Contrary to popular belief, nobody is born useless or worthless—we're all just born at a different starting line. Some of us need to run faster and farther and work a million times harder than others. And that's okay. Because it's these challenges that we face that ultimately shape us as people. We are never who we were yesterday, and we never will be. Every day, we are someone new, in some small insignificant way. And eventually, be it a week from now or a year from now, we'll be completely different people. And that's how it should be. We're meant to change, not stagnate. Sometimes, we change ourselves; and sometimes, we change others. Sometimes, a single insignificant act is all it takes to push someone over the edge, or pull them back from it. So reach out a hand to the people around you today, and become who you never thought you'd be yesterday. You never know how much a single word of kindness will change someone's life." He grinned right into the camera.

"I told you today, that I'd prove that Quirkless is not worthless. Now I challenge you to prove it to yourselves. To all of you out there who are put down for the way you were born. Quirkless, weak-Quirked, malformed, villains-in-the-making—whatever they call you, prove them wrong. Become a better you. If I can do it, so can you. No dream is unattainable if you're willing to reach for it."

Izuku handed the mic back to Midnight, cheeks flushing red as the crowd erupted in cheers (and several boos, but there were significantly more cheers than there were at the beginning of the festival).

"Your brother certainly has passion. And a way with words." Tensei grinned.

"He's been through a lot in his life." Keigo's smile dimmed greatly. "So, what'd your results say?"

"I have some minor nerve damage, but with physical therapy, I should be back on my feet in no time. I really can't thank you enough. They said if you hadn't gotten there when you did, the damage might've been irreparable."

"No worries." Keigo waved him off. "You're fine, now, and that's what matters." He paused for a moment. "You gonna call your brother?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna tell mine not to come."

"Why?"

"Because I'll be out of here tomorrow or the day after. He doesn't need to waste money on a train to Hosu."

"Understandable." Tensei smiled. "I actually have a couple of friends to call."

PeopleforgetthatIidaTenseiwenttoU.A.withShouta,Hizashi,Nemuri,andVladKing.

Shouta sighed as he hung up the phone. Tensei was fine. He shared a relieved look with Nemuri and Hizashi. The four had been good friends while they attended U.A. together. They'd all been concerned when they heard about the attack.

He was worried about Midoriya, though. The kid was really close to Hawks, enough to consider him a brother. Now, Hawks was hospitalized for a few days because of this same incident. He'd have to pull the kid aside later and ask if he was doing okay. He'd do the same for Iida, but he was already gone, off to visit his brother and assure himself that he's all right.

He nearly jumped when his phone vibrated.

ViridianChaos: Sorry I haven't been on, lately. I'm fine. Had to give Hawks a hand, is all.

Dadzawa: You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!

Scream: You know it's bad when Shou admits that aloud.

"OW!" Hizashi glared as Shouta whacked his arm again for good measure.

"Don't use my civilian name."

"Who're you textin?" Nemuri glanced over Hizashi's shoulder.

"Viridian." Shouta answered simply.

"As in the vigilante?"

"He's a legal hero, now." He corrected tiredly.

ViridianChaos: I'm not hurt, but my phone kinda died. Can't exactly charge it on a stakeout, ya know?

Dadzawa: You're incorrigible.

Scream: Oh yeah!! We're gonna have a meeting soon with Midoriya, wanna come along? Eraser wanted to invite you!

Dadzawa: The kid's going to explain a few things, and we'd appreciate your presence there. Tsukauchi's also coming along, as per the kid's request.

ViridianChaos: Yeah, I'll be there. Just lemme know the day and time. ;)

Shouta didn't know why, but he felt like Viridian was laughing at him. At any rate, it was long past time to go home. He was tired, and he no longer had any obligation to stay awake. He had a feeling that he'd need as much sleep as he could get.