Not much to say this week. Stuff is still good, you guys are still great and we're making some good progress here. I'll re-iterate both here and down below that there will not be a chapter next week due to Xmas stuff on my end. I'll be out-of-state for the entire weekend, so I won't be able to write until the week after.

Review time:

Slayer76, uchihaNaruto247, Naruffoku, avidreaded, Jack Inqu, The 0bservanc3, D3lph0xL0v3r, C_J_Robbins: I'm glad that people are liking the enhanced version of the Eijiro vs. Tetsutetsu fight. I really wanted to take this one and shake it up given Eijiro's bigger role in this story. Hopefully you all enjoy the conclusion!

Mrguy22594: I feel like Ojiro is either underappreciated or underpowered in canon. If the guy's whole shtick is martial arts, then he should probably be, you know, good at martial arts. It makes no sense to me that 1-A isn't taking more advantage of this fact, but I guess stuff like that is why I'm writing Torchbearer so...thank you canon?

Reverseflash: The Overhaul arc will indeed be different. I won't claim that I've gotten as far as actively planning it out yet (we've still got a TON of ground to cover before then), but it will be different.

avidreaded: Present Mic and Aizawa have indeed been giving more commentary than what I show here. I'm trying to strike a balance where they show up often, but not SO often that they interrupt the pacing of the story. OFA does indeed tweak itself a bit for each wielder. It's a living, evolving Quirk after all. There will be more development with Fight Club for sure.

The 0bservanc3: I don't mind the long reviews. In fact, I like them!

I do enjoy working with Mezo. I'm not sure about the inhalation hazard on some acids. Since it hasn't been brought up in canon, I think I'll steer clear of that. There's a lot of potential for friendly fire there. Mezo certainly has a limit on how many duplications he can do at once, but here he's only doing six which should be within his limit at this point. If he started trying to increase his overall number of limbs or something a-la Octo Blows as seen in canon, then he'd have some issues until he's trained more. Yeah, the mixture of thoughts and flashbacks can get a bit weird at times. The quote marks are the key for sure. I also have to be really careful when I'm using both electronic voices and flashback voices in close proximity to each other, since they're formatted the same.

I constantly worry that I'm putting Mina through too much and it looks like I'm picking on her or something. It's good to see that nobody else seems to think this though, so maybe I'm just being paranoid. When it comes to Eijiro, I try to make him sort of the poster boy for the various aspects of "manliness." After all, being manly doesn't just mean being big, strong and confident: it also means being honorable, reliable and steadfast to those you care for, among other things. I do agree that the dynamic with the Big Three should be different given all that's happened.

As for my martial arts stuff, it's a split. I did have formal training for some years (I forget exactly how many) in Taang Soo Do, which is related to Tai Kwon Do. In that time I also got some basic weapons training in things like the bo staff, kama, club, nunchaku and spear. Aside from that, I've done some training on my own with various things that seemed fun/interesting, so it's given me a bit of insight into how certain moves might flow together (when I'm not sure if something would work, I'll just get up and do it). For things I'm not sure of, yeah, I head straight for the internet.

CaedmonCousland: There's certainly something to be said for the psychological/intimidation factor, especially against less-experienced types of opponents. I'm inclined to agree with your idea that 1-B has some sort of training outline for everyone in class. With people like Monoma, Kendo and Honenuki in the class, it just makes all kinds of sense to me.

For sure a good jab cannot be underestimated and I totally agree that the "snap" factor can be just as much (if not more) of a factor than actual damage depending on how they're applied. I've seen some people with jabs that are more like straights at times. In fact, that was a sort of game that I would use in spars sometimes. I'd use my left for mostly jabs so they'd be brushed off or ignored sometimes. When that happened, I'd put my shoulder in it and nail 'em with a straight instead.

I'm pretty much treating it exactly like you theorized: their Quirks and overall endurance help to reduce flinching from light attacks. The way I view Tetsutetsu as opposed to Kirishima is actually pretty straightforward: Kirishima's hardness is variable while Tetsutetsu's is constant. He's just...steel. Steel is steel. He can't just will himself into becoming harder like Kirishima can, but on the same note, his Quirk isn't dependent on his mental state. While this does mean that Kirishima might have a higher peak strength depending on his condition and how revved up he is at the time, Tetsutetsu's output is far, far more consistent. It's not a stretch at all to think that he would have the advantage over Kirishima, especially at this point before he figures out how to use Unbreakable. As for exactly how the damage reduction works...I don't really have an answer for you on that apart from what I've already said. I do know that Steel and Hardening both serve to improve their offense as well as their defense, which explains how they can actually damage each other.

Eramis8, ILiekFishes, CodeTalker69, Jack Inqu, Ezylryb, yousifkadri12 and everyone else: Thank you and I hope that you continue to enjoy!

Now, let's pick up where we left off, shall we?

Chapter Thirty-Four: A Good Kind of Weird

"Listeners, I apologize if my commentary has been slightly less frequent as this match has progressed, but at this point I, like many of you, am simply awed by the sheer tenacity on display here! Shota, how long has it been, exactly?"

"About twelve minutes. That's four rounds for those of you who prefer to think of things that way."

"Well, it's no wonder that they're starting to look tired! Twelve minutes might not sound that long to most people, but it's an eternity in a fight! Isn't that right?"

"It's a long time, yeah. Especially when you're going full-bore the whole time with no rest. It probably doesn't feel that way to those two though; they're so focused on the opponent in front of them that time probably doesn't have much meaning at the moment."

"Ah! You mean they're in a battle trance?"

This commentary was not because the fight happening on the arena below was uninteresting, unexciting or anything of that nature; it was simply due to the fact that there were only so many ways Present Mic could think to say "He got hit! He got hit again! He's down! He's up! He's returning the favor!"

The fight between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu had reached an equilibrium of sorts during the past four or five minutes. Where Tetsutetsu had initially seemed to have the edge, his second down at the hands of Kirishima had signaled a shift in the flow of the match whereby Kirishima was gradually reclaiming his lost momentum. It was a subtle process, insofar as two young men doing their best to beat each other senseless could be considered subtle.

To the layperson, it appeared as though Kirishima had found some sort of second wind and was powering through Tetsutetsu's attacks with sheer grit and while this was not altogether inaccurate, the reality of the situation was far more predictable for the more experienced or knowledgeable combatants in the crowd: residual damage. Tetsutetsu's attacks were individually much more impressive and brutal than Kirishima's, but the fact remained that Kirishima had landed around three times as many attacks over the course of the fight and what few big attacks he had landed were impressive in their own right.

It was a textbook strategy: keep your guard up and wear down your opponent with quick, sharp blows over time. When they give you an opening, take it, but don't get greedy. Rinse and repeat until they stay down. It was tried and true, proven to work time and again against all manner of opponents over the centuries.

Unfortunately, such a defensive strategy did not suit the tastes of Eijiro Kirishima. Under ordinary circumstances, he never would have used it. It was much more like him to charge forward and have a man-to-man slugfest until one of them dropped. From what Tetsutetsu had said and shown, it seemed as though he held a similar sense of distaste for any form of combat that wasn't direct and to the point. He was a kindred spirit and it stuck in both of their craws that they couldn't simply fight the way they wanted; the way men were supposed to fight.

No, it had been a complete and absolute sense of necessity that had caused Eijiro to bend his knees, raise his guard and do everything in his power to systematically dismantle his opponent one jab at a time.

He wasn't sure whether he should be feeling good or not about the fact that it seemed to be working.

Bite it, Riot. The only reason that you had to resort to this is because you aren't strong enough to take him head-to-head and have a guaranteed win. You made a promise to Mina as a man that you would win and that means that you have to win…no matter what it takes.

It was in this way that Eijiro hardened both his resolve and his body anew.

A pair of swift jabs, a blow to the body and a retaliatory strike to the side of his face that caused his head to snap around and his foot to shoot out in order to catch him before he fell yet again. Eijiro rose and delivered a blow to Tetsutetsu's liver as he did so, but he could feel that it hadn't been clean.

Damn…bastard rung my bell with that last one…I'm not used to feeling this beat up anymore…

There had been a time when Eijiro had lived the majority of his days in a haze of torn muscles and bruised bones as he worked to strengthen both his Quirk and his body. Pain had been a constant companion to him, serving as proof of both the work he had done and the distance that he had yet to cover. Eventually, he had found that the aches weren't quite as deep and didn't last quite as long. The day had eventually come where he had completed his usual exercises and found that he was in almost no pain at all, in spite of having just finished slamming his head repeatedly into a brick wall among other things.

It was not as though Eijiro had not felt pain in recent memory; the Battle Trial against Ojiro, USJ and, of course, Fight Club had all left him with no doubt that he had been in a rough fight, but against Tetsutetsu his entire body felt like one big bruise in spite of his Hardening. Eijiro had no doubt that if he let up on his Quirk for even a moment that the next time he went down he wouldn't be getting back up.

In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, Eijiro had the sudden impulse to step inside of his opponent's range even though every time he did so out of turn he was inevitably nailed with something or other.

But nothing happened. As his body followed his muscle memory and threw a haymaker at his opponent, Eijiro saw that Tetsutetsu was being slow to react for some reason. In spite of how telegraphed his punch was, the steel man was making no attempt to avoid it.

What's he doing?

His fist was nearing its target, yet there was still no reaction.

Why isn't he moving?

It would hit any moment.

Get out of the way, dumbass! Do you want to go down?!

*CLANG*

The impact reverberated through Eijiro's fist, down his arm, into his shoulder and through his back. All of his weight had been behind that one and, judging from how Tetsutetsu's body was sailing through the air, he had taken every single ounce of it straight to the face.

Present Mic was screaming his head off and the crowd was going wild, but Eijiro wasn't paying attention to any of the noise apart from the sound of his opponent hitting the concrete surface of the ring and skidding to a stop just within the bounds.

"How…how did that hit? Why did that work?" Eijiro couldn't stop himself from asking even though he was sure that nobody else heard him. His jaw felt heavy and his lips felt awkward as he formed the words, as though he were talking through some sort of thick syrup.

A sudden outcry from the onlookers brought his attention back to reality just in time to realize that Tetsutetsu's Quirk was still visibly active and that he was pushing himself up off the ground.

Eijiro knew that he should rush over and slam his opponent out of the ring while he still had the chance. He knew that, as things stood, his victory was practically guaranteed.

It was the smart thing to do.

It was the right thing to do.

It was what he was supposed to do for crying out loud!

But, as Eijiro locked eyes with his opponent one more time and received a knowing grin in return, he knew that he would regret it for the rest of his life if he sacrificed any more of his pride. This was the stage where he would show thousands of people just what sort of man Eijiro Kirishima was and he was not the sort of man that would kick his opponent while he was down, especially not an opponent like Tetsutetsu.

No, he deserved honor. He deserved respect. He was mainly through and through and Eijiro refused to taint their fight with underhanded tactics solely for the sake of his own victory, promise or no promise.

I'm sorry, Mina, but there are some things that a man just has to do! If things go south here…I just hope you understand that.

"TETSUTETSUUUU!" he packed all of his inner conflict and resolve into that one shout, hoping that at least some of those who heard it would understand.

"KIRISHIMAAAA!" his opponent responded in kind and Eijiro knew as he saw the man of steel run at him, swaying drunkenly from side to side, that he understood and would pay him the same respect that he had just been shown.

This wasn't a fight that would be decided by anything less than a K.O., no matter how long it took.

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"Shota, I'm all for a knock-down drag-out brawl and there's no doubt that the crowd is eating it up, but if this keeps up…" Present Mic trailed off, having momentarily muted his microphone so he could speak with his co-host in privacy.

"Yeah, they're gonna be sore after this for sure." Shota responded in the same matter-of-fact tone he used for everything.

"Aren't you worried that they might go too far?"

"That's what Midnight and Cementoss are for. Honestly though? No. I think that we're subconsciously projecting ourselves onto our students when, in reality, they can take the sort of punishment that would kill any normal person and keep on swinging. Besides, I don't see this lasting much longer. The next one to go down will most likely stay down."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because after a display like that, neither one is going to go down quite as easily anymore."

Present Mic turned his microphone back on as he finished processing what Shota had said to him.

"'We're' projecting onto our students, eh, Shota? Not just me?"

"Shut up."

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Both fighters had abandoned any and all premise of strategy at this point. Perhaps it was due to them being too fired up to care anymore or perhaps it was because they were too fatigued to do anything besides just swing their fists, but the fight had seemingly come full circle.

I won't regret this…

*CLANG*

No matter the outcome…

*CLANG*

No matter what happens afterwards…

*CLANG*

I'll hold my head high knowing that I gave it everything I had.

*CLANG*

I know I won't regret it…

*CLANG*

I know that.

*CLANG*

I know that, but…

*CLANG*

But…

*CRACK*

Eijiro felt his hardened skin finally crack as he exchanged yet another blow with Tetsutetsu. He had long lost count of how many there had been. He didn't even know how long they had been fighting for. It could have been five minutes or five hours. Time didn't mean anything in a fight like that.

Blood was running down his face from the wound he had sustained on his forehead, partially blinding him as it got into his left eye. Across from him, his opponent saw this and, excited by the possibility of victory within his grasp, he swung widely. Too widely.

*CRACK*

I still wanna win!

There hadn't been time to lift his arm and throw his fist. His legs were even more out of the question. That had only left Eijiro with one option: his head.

He was half-blind and his head was pounding, but he saw a crack in Tetsutetsu's armor as the man of steel reeled back, dazed from the sudden and unexpected counterattack.

This is it…I'm not gonna get another chance…and I can't take another hit…but my body doesn't wanna move…

Mina…I'm sorry…I guess my word as a man isn't worth much after all…

"How're you gonna say 'sayonara' to your old self when you're pulling a gloomy face like that?!"

"I kept going on and on about 'manly spirit' and having a 'manly heart,' but in the end, when the chips were down, I was all talk. Forget being a Hero, I wasn't even a man."

"Kiri…you're so much stronger than I will ever be. So, please, don't talk about yourself that way."

Snippets from various times were shooting through Eijiro's mind unbidden. Unconnected and yet closely related. It was as though his brain was trying to force him to realize something.

"I'm saying that I hesitated for a second. My heart was weak, so I couldn't save 'em."

"Honestly, I always kind of envied you."

"You should all be completely disgusted with me right now."

"All of us wish that we had done something different…If I could go back and do things over, not just today, there's more than one thing that I'd do differently."

"How many times do I get to screw up before people realize that it's something wrong with me?!"

"We're supposed to screw up. We're supposed to fail."

"If I do that, then do you promise to keep being Eijiro Kirishima: the guy with more manliness in his thumb than most people have in their entire bodies and a way with words that really isn't fair given that he looks like a hood?"

"You don't have anything to worry about. As long as you're around, it'll all work out in the end, so you don't need to change a thing."

"I'll never regret my inaction ever again! I'm gonna be…a Hero who can protect people. I'm saying 'sayonara' to my pathetic old self!"

Then there was one image, clearer than the others. It was of Mina just before their first day of U.A. She was giving him her trademark mischievous grin and leaning in conspiratorially.

"Tell you what then: When you've actually overcome yourself, deep down, come and tell me, 'kay?"

I still haven't. Not entirely. But…

There was a grating sound as Eijiro desperately reached for every last drop of strength remaining in his body and forced himself to take one final step forward just as Tetsutetsu was starting to regain his balance.

With this step…I've at least crossed the starting line!

"RAAAH!" Eijiro's mouth felt as though it might be slightly wider than usual as he let out his final battle cry and slammed his head once more into Tetsutetsu's.

There was no pain. His opponent's eyes widened for a moment before rolling back in his head as he dropped to the floor. The grating noise subsided as the last of Eijiro's strength left him. His Quirk deactivated as he fell to his knees, panting as Midnight ran over to Tetsutetsu before cracking her whip in his direction.

"Tetsutetsu is out cold and cannot continue! The winner by knockout is Eijiro Kirishima!"

The crowd exploded into applause and Eijiro felt a smile make its way onto his battered face.

"Yeah…that's right…I did it…"

"Don't move, Kirishima. I'm calling for stretchers for both you and Tetsutetsu."

"Yeah…that's…probably a good idea."

Eijiro wasn't sure he could have taken so much as a step right then anyway.

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Denki Kaminari had made a mistake. This was by no means an unusual occurrence; he was kind of a doof sometimes, which Jiro of all people would probably be quick to point out.

Like many mistakes, this hadn't seemed like one at first. In fact, it had seemed like a good, responsible course of action. Once Kirishima's match had started, Denki had watched for a few minutes before excusing himself and making his way to the waiting room. After all, his match was up next and he really didn't feel like having to run all the way to the field if he didn't have to. So, he had given Jiro a smile the peace sign, to which she had rolled her eyes and given him a shove which nearly caused him to fall down the steps.

What Denki hadn't counted on, however, was Kirishima's match taking for freaking EVER. The result of this had been Denki sitting in the waiting room and stewing in his own juices for nearly a quarter of an hour. Suffice to say that he had managed to sufficiently psyche himself out by the time Present Mic had declared Kirishima to be the victor.

"Oh, god. I should've just stayed in the stands. I could've been distracted up there! I wouldn't have had to try and wrack my brain about what to do or how to win! What was that ever going to accomplish anyway?! Who do I think I am, Midoriya?!"

Denki knew that he put on his best shows in the heat of the moment when he would only have at most a few seconds to formulate a plan and put it into action. When he took the time to try and plan things out, it all just fell apart. Ordinarily he wouldn't have even bothered, but this was different. This was important. It wasn't just his internship prospects riding on this; it was Jiro's too.

Denki had already let her down once that day. He would not do so again.

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Kyoka Jiro was experiencing a mixture annoyance and relief. She was annoyed at her inability to hear, which was fairly self-explanatory. She was also a bit relieved at her inability to hear because it meant that she wouldn't have to listen to Mina arguing with her as she dragged her back to her seat. The pink girl had immediately attempted to leave when Kirishima was taken away on a stretcher because he was too beat up to walk on his own, but several of her classmates had put the kibosh on that plan.

"Seriously, Mina!" Kyoka finally snapped at her, "What do you think is gonna happen? Recovery Girl is just gonna kick your pink ass outta there and tell you not to disturb her patients!"

Mina was saying something, but Kyoka pointed to the thick, cotton-stuffed bandages that were wrapped around her head.

"I'm deaf right now. Your argument is invalid. Now sit down before I have Sero tape you to your chair." Mina pouted, but complied. Kyoka took some pity on her friend and added, "Think about it this way: you need to stay and watch so you can tell Kirishima who his next opponent will be, right? He might not make it back in time to see the match, so you need to be able to tell him how it goes. He seems like the type of guy who'd be into that."

The pink girl considered this for a moment before giving Kyoka a quick hug and sitting upright in her seat, suddenly attentive.

"You're welcome. Sheesh, why is everyone so huggy with me today?"

As soon as Kyoka had said it, she realized how it might have sounded and was grateful that Mina was focused on the field below, where that Shinso kid was currently making his way onstage. Shortly after that, Kaminari followed suit from the other side of the field.

Kyoka still wasn't sure exactly what he had said when he had been talking to her in the infirmary when he had hugged her. She imagined that it was something corny that he had managed to make sound cool by sheer conviction. He had been a total mess back there. She hadn't been kidding when she said that he had nearly set her off too.

Still, his body language was totally different from his usual happy-go-lucky self, even when he was trying to put on a show. He looked grim and determined. Nervous, even.

Was it something he had said? Was it something she had said? She would have to text him later and ask him to explain himself.

Either way, she couldn't help feeling nervous for some reason. She wanted him to win, obviously, but there was something else to it. A nagging feeling that they had missed or misunderstood something…

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Denki stood across from Shinso, letting out a deep breath that he had taken in an effort to steady his nerves.

"Hey," he looked up to lock eyes with Shinso, who continued to speak when he knew that he had Denki's attention, "before we do this, I just wanted to apologize for what happened to that Jiro girl. That wasn't part of the plan. Monoma didn't say anything, but I could tell that he was taking it pretty rough too, so, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

That…meant a lot, actually.

"Thanks, dude." Denki managed a half-smile, "She's gonna be alright; there's no permanent harm done according to Recovery Girl."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." he looked it too. His shoulders were squared as though a weight had been lifted from them.

"Shinso, are you ready?" Midnight prompted.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Kaminari, are you ready?"

"You bet. It's showtime."

"Very well. Fourth Match: Hitoshi Shinso versus Denki Kaminari! Take your stances…and begin!"

Denki was about to run in when Shinso held out his hand and walked calmly towards him.

"It looks like I'm cashing in on that challenge I made to you a bit earlier than expected, but, no hard feelings, right?"

Denki took Shinso's hand and shook it.

"None at all. Let's give 'em a show."

Then Denki's mind went blank.

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Hitoshi Shinso released Kaminari's hand, which fell limply to his side as he stared ahead with a vacant expression.

It was a bit of a shame. He seemed like an okay guy and it chafed Hitoshi a bit that he had to trick him like that, but victory was what mattered here. He would show everyone what he was capable of and get into the Hero Course. Nothing and no one could be allowed to interfere with that, even if he had meant everything that he had said to the Class President of 1-A.

"Kaminari-san, turn around and walk out of the ring."

The blonde boy slowly turned away from Hitoshi and began trudging towards the far end of the ring with slow, shuffling steps.

"Oh my! Listeners, it appears that Kaminari has lost the will to continue and is going to step out of the ring! This would, of course, count as a ring-out and make Shinso the winner! But why? What could Shinso have said to him that could sap his fighting spirit so quickly?!"

"It's obviously his Quirk."

"HUH?! But if he has such a powerful Quirk, then how come he isn't in the Hero Course?!"

"Because the U.A. entrance exam is fundamentally flawed. His Quirk is the type that only works on people, not robots."

"Ah, he's like you then, Shota?"

"To an extent. I still managed to get into U.A. though, because the exams were different back in the day."

"Good times."

Hitoshi was starting to wish that he had added the word "quickly" to his command, because Kaminari was really dragging his feet. He was still a few steps away from the edge of the ring. No matter, he would be in the clear in just a few more moments.

"DENKI! ZAP!" a girl's voice suddenly rang out from the stands, catching Hitoshi's attention. It was difficult to tell from so far away, but it looked like that Jiro girl from earlier. Was she trying to cheer her friend on? Touching, but pointless. Once someone was affected by Brainwashing, you had to physically jostle them to snap them out of it.

Hitoshi was surprised, therefore, when electricity briefly sparked to life around Kaminari, followed by him falling backwards onto his ass mere feet from the edge of the ring.

"Kaminari, get up and walk out of the ring already."

Kaminari did indeed stand up, but then he turned to face Hitoshi, a grim expression on his face as he wreathed his body in electricity.

"No, I don't think I'm gonna do that, thanks."

He…he broke free? How?!

"How did you do that?! How did you break free of my control?!"

"It's a bit of a long story. Maybe I'll tell you some other time."

There! He answered my question again! He'll be back under my control and…

…why the hell is he still walking towards me?!

"You look surprised. I guess that means it wasn't the handshake that did it then. It must have something to do with talking to you." Kaminari continued to approach him, electricity crackling around his body.

"Come on, you wanted to put on a show, right? How can we put on a show if I can't even use my ability on you?"

"That's your problem. I do like putting on a good show, sure, but right now there's something more important that I need to do. I'm not just fighting for myself anymore."

This was one of the most bizarre conversations that Hitoshi had ever had because holy shit his Brainwashing wasn't working.

Kaminari was right in front of him by then and Hitoshi did the only other thing he could do aside from surrendering: he punched Kaminari across the face.

He instantly regretted this decision when an electric charge ran down his arm, causing it to snap away involuntarily. Kaminari capitalized on this opening by grabbing Hitoshi's shoulder, allowing the electricity to flow more freely.

There were pins and needles shooting across Hitoshi's body as the electricity surged through him, the feeling only intensifying when Kaminari added his other hand to the mix, punching Hitoshi across the face and returning the favor from a moment ago. Hitoshi fell to the ground, having difficulty getting his limbs to obey him thanks to the aftereffects of the electricity.

Then Kaminari was in front of him, his hand held mere inches from Hitoshi's face.

"I think you should give up, Shinso-san. I'd rather not electrocute your face if I don't have to."

There was nothing else for it.

"I…I surrender."

"By way of surrender, Kaminari has won the match!" Midnight announced.

Kaminari held out his hand to Hitoshi, the electricity from before now absent. Hitoshi took it, but it felt as though he had left part of his stomach on the ground when he stood up.

"Man, that was a close one!" Kaminari clapped him on the back, "If it hadn't been for Jiro, you'd have won hands-down!"

"It doesn't matter though." Hitoshi responded bitterly, "If I can't prove that I deserve it, I'll never get in to the Hero Course."

"Hmm…" Kaminari thought about this for a moment as the pair of them exited the field, "Hey, I know! I'm the Class President of 1-A, right? And you said before that you know that we have an empty seat, right? I'll just give my recommendation as Class President that Aizawa gives that seat to you! I mean, you're the only non-Hero Course student that made it this far, so that already says a lot about what you're capable of!"

Hitoshi hadn't been expecting that and he honestly wasn't sure how to respond to it. Usually when people found out about his Quirk, especially if he had used it on them, they immediately started to distrust him or at the very least they got mad at him. This…this was just weird. This guy was just weird.

But, he supposed, it might be a good kind of weird.

"Thanks, Kaminari-san. I'd really appreciate that."

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Denki Kaminari's heart was beating a mile a minute as he did his best to calm himself down. He had sent Shinso on his way, inviting him to sit with the rest of 1-A since he fully intended to have him be one of them soon enough.

"Are…are you sure?"

"Totally! I'll be right there. Just gotta grab my stuff first."

In reality, while Denki did need to grab his stuff, he also needed to take a minute to hyperventilate in peace because holy shit that had been way too close.

He had come this close to losing it all in the first minute of his first match and crapping out on his promise to Jiro without even making so much as a spark.

"I…I can't do that again! That was…that was…"

It had felt wrong. It was like he was recovering from frying his brain but he was still somehow completely lucid and his body was moving without him wanting it to and…

"Great. Now I'm shaking. Damn it, Denki, pull yourself together!"

"Hm? Who are- oh. It's you."

"Huh?" Denki raised his head from the table and saw Monoma standing in the doorway.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just taking a moment to prepare for my match against Midoriya. Feel free to have a post-victory breakdown if that's what you want to do, asinine though it may be. I'll have to ask that you not shock me again though."

"Oh, yeah. No problem. Shinso told me that you didn't mean to do that to Jiro, so it's all good."

"Tch. You wouldn't think a guy like him would be one to say unnecessary things. Talk about judging a book by its cover."

"It sounds like that classmate of yours put up a hell of a fight against Kirishima. I was in the waiting room for most of it, so I couldn't see." Denki tried to change the subject.

"That meathead. I told him that he couldn't afford to do things in his usual way, but did he listen? Of course not. Those types never do. He would have won if he could just take his head out of his metallic ass for more than a few minutes at a time. He's surprisingly articulate when he's not being muffled by his own rectum."

"Alright! Would the next two contestants please make your way to your designated entrance!"

"Well, that would seem to be my cue. If you were trying to prevent me from getting in some last-minute planning then congratulations, you seem to have succeeded. Not that it will matter in the long run, of course."

"Yeah, well…good luck?"

"Whatever."

Denki rubbed the back of his neck as Monoma exited the waiting room.

"Man…talk about a hard guy to read. Maybe he's just their version of Bakugo?"

Because that was just the thing that U.A. had been missing: a second Bakugo.

Woo! We not only managed to get through the Eijiro vs Tetsutetsu fight, but the Hitoshi vs Denki fight (however much of a fight it was) as well. Next time will be the much-anticipated Izuku vs. Neito.

For those of you who picked up on what was happening at the end of the Eijiro vs. Tetsutetsu fight, don't worry: Eijiro does not have Unbreakable yet. We know that his Quirk is heavily influenced by his resolve, so he had a minor breakthrough at the end, but he doesn't really know what happened and he'll be hard-pressed to duplicate that feat voluntarily, at least for a while. Also, if Denki breaking Hitoshi's Brainwashing left anyone confused, don't worry about that either: it will be further explained when he rejoins the rest of his classmates.

Now, just to make sure you are all aware, there will be no chapter next week. I am out-of-state for the entire weekend and will be unable to do any writing. No, I did not deliberately plan this gap to be right before the Izuku vs. Neito fight, but damned if it isn't a hell of a place to put it, eh?

You all have a merry Christma-hanuk-kwanzaa-whatever and I'll see you all again with one more chapter before the new year.

As always, thank you for reading!