"You gave me a heart attack!"

"It was a true miracle!"

"I can't believe you could still stand!"

And more comments from his classmates came to Midoriya, who was scratching the back of his head and laughing a bit. "Come on, guys, stop it, I get it already."

"No, I don't think you do," Monoma shook his head. "You just went face-to-face against the strongest student in all of Class 1-A, and you managed to outlast him!"

"And that's the keyword: I outlasted him," Midoriya pointed out. "I didn't really beat him, I just managed to hold on long enough for him to pass out."

"Dude, the fact he passed out before you is still amazing," Kendo remarked. "I still can't believe you did it... but most importantly, how did you do it?"

"Yeah, and where did the black feather on your head go?" Tsuburaba blurted.

Midoriya searched his mess of a hairstyle, and he soon realized that yes, the black feather he got from Yaoyorozu was nowhere to be found.

"Midoriya?"

The boy turned, and Class 1-B turned around to see Yaoyorozu peeking from across the wall set between both stands.

"Oh, Yaoyorozu," Midoriya smiled a little. "Hi. Sorry, I think I lost the feather you gave me."

Yaoyorozu shook her head. "No, you didn't lose it: you used it."

Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "Used it?"

"The feather I gave you was meant to be used similar to yours: as a token of protection. So, when you tried to block Bakugou's explosion, the feather activated and enhanced your wings so they could absorb most of the damage." she explained. "The feather vanished for good after that."

"That sounds like a big fat deus ex machina to me," Monoma spoke. "But who cares?! Midoriya's still in this thing! Suck it, Bakugou!"

Kendo slapped Monoma.

"Speaking of Bakugou, how is he?"

"Recovery Girl healed him, and he's already back at the stands," Yaoyorozu scratched the back of her head. "Now, I should get going back to my seat, Uraraka's going to fight next."

"Got it."

So Yaoyorozu returned to her seat, and both classes turned to see the next match.

"ON THIS CORNER, FROM THE HERO COURSE, WE HAVE THE QUEEN OF SPACE HERSELF, A YOUNG LADY WHO WILL BLOW YOU AWAY! CLASS 1-A'S OCHAKO URARAKA!"

"AND ON THIS CORNER, ALSO FROM THE HERO COURSE, A VERY EMBODIMENT OF METALLIC MANLINESS! IT'S CLASS 1-B'S TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU!"

"Why did you repeat his name twice?"

"I DIDN'T! THAT'S HOW HIS NAME'S SPELLED, APPARENTLY!"

"I'm just gonna let you know now," Tetsutetsu pounded his fists. "I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're a girl!"

Uraraka smiled wide. "Well, considering the number of guys who've told me to relax since they'd hold back against me, it's kinda refreshing that I'm fighting someone who'll take me seriously. That's quite a gentleman move, if I do say so myself."

Tetsutetsu blushed, but he quickly shook it off and prepared to fight, all while Uraraka lowered her eyelids and thought, It won't change the outcome, though.

"START!"

Tetsutetsu turned his skin to steel and pounded his fists once more.

"Take this! Steel Rush!"

The steel-skinned teenager rushed towards Uraraka, who responded by taking a couple steps forward.

He even has a special move ready? That's cool, but it's still not enough to change the outcome of this fight.

Once close enough, Tetsutetsu threw a punch that Uraraka easily dodged. She responded by tapping his back with all five fingerprints, causing the steel-skinned teenager to start floating forward.

"W-Wait, what?!" Tetsutetsu flailed his arms. "What's going on?!"

"I'm sorry, but rushing into me was never going to work," Uraraka pressed her fingerprints together. "Release."

The steel-skinned teenager remained on the air for a second before he plummeted into the grass face-first.

"Tetsutetsu is out of bounds!" Midnight exclaimed. "Uraraka goes to the next round!"

The audience roared with joy as Tetsutetsu turned his skin back to normal, and Uraraka walked up to him and offered a hand to help him stand up. And though hesitant at first, Tetsutetsu accepted the offer, stood up, then raised Uraraka's arm, causing the audience to cheer once more.


Tetsutetsu was the first to return to his class' stand, sitting down with an upset expression. "I can't believe I got beaten so easily!"

"I definitely can believe it," Shiozaki stated. "I know your Quirk doesn't give you much range, but rushing straight for an enemy is a guaranteed recipe for disaster."

"Mhm," Kodai hummed in agreement.

"Shiozaki, don't make Tetsutetsu feel worse than he already feels," Kendo chided. "He did the best he could without knowing what her Quirk was."

"Yeah, and even if I had explained to him what her Quirk was, I don't think it would've changed much," Midoriya interjected. "I mean, considering Tetsutetsu's short range, he'd need to get close to Uraraka anyway just to try get a hit in."

"Which reminds me," Shiozaki narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you give him a plan or strategy to try defeat that girl?"

"Because they'd involve the exact same "get close and hope you can hit her" tactic he used."

And as Class 1-B continued with their argument, Class 1-A got the return of Uraraka to the stands.

"You did great out there," Yaoyorozu remarked.

"Thanks, Yaoyorozu," Uraraka replied as she sat next to the winged girl. "I was rather surprised he went charging straight for me, though."

"His Quirk doesn't seem to have many, if any, long range applications," Mina brought up. "To him, it was get close or wait for you to get close, which was never going to happen."

Uraraka narrowed her eyes. "I see..."

A short silence followed, until Bakugou blurted, "So, Inventor Jr. and Handyman are going to fight next."

Everybody turned their attention to Melissa and Shimura, the latter shivering as he tried to think of what to do. Melissa put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and they both decided to head down for the fight.

Before they had even left, however, Tenko tripped with Mina's foot.

"Ashido!" Melissa snapped. "Why didn't you put your foot back!?"

"Why did you walk out at my row?" Mina responded sternly. "Besides, I wasn't even paying attention; I was trying to deduce which of you would end up winning."

Upset at the statement, but not having time to waste, Melissa helped Shimura stand up and they both left the stands...

And the acidic girl smirked, watching a pink blob of something going up Shimura's leg.


"ON THIS CORNER, THE DAUGHTER OF A FAMOUS SUPPORT SPECIALIST, AND A GREAT POTENTIAL HERO HERSELF! CLASS 1-A'S MELISSA SHIELD!"

"AND ON THIS CORNER, A MEEK GUY WHO HAS MANAGED TO SURPRISE US SO FAR! ALSO FROM CLASS 1-A, TENKO SHIMURA!"

The audience roared with joy, and Shimura flinched, covering his ears until the noises calmed down. He took a couple deep breaths and then uncovered his ears just in time to hear Melissa blurt:

"Tenko..."

The boy lifted his head and saw Melissa giving him a reassuring smile.

"It's going to be okay."

The guy nodded, and took an uneasy battle stance.

"START!"

Melissa charged her legs with some power from One for All, and immediately sprinted towards Shimura, who got ready to sprint as well. He took a couple of steps forward...

And an intense pain shot up from her leg that caused him to hit the ground face-first.

Seeing this, Melissa braked right in front of the guy and helped him stand up, only for him to scream in pain as he put force on his pained leg. Melissa raised his pants up, and he quickly noticed the reason why was because his foreleg had a nasty acid burn, even having a couple holes that showed visible bone.

"Oh my god!" Midnight gasped.

"IT SEEMS SOMEBODY HAS SABOTAGED SHIMURA! THAT REALLY LOOKS LIKE IT HURTS!"

"I can't watch!"

"TRUST ME, YOUNGLING, YOU DON'T WANNA WATCH!"

Melissa lifted Shimura in a bridal carry and left, leaving Midnight to shout:

"Shimura can't fight any longer! Melissa goes to the next round!"

But there were no shouts of joy, for the audience was too stunned for what had happened.


At Recovery Girl's infirmary, Shimura took several deep breaths as Melissa grabbed his hand and an enraged Recovery Girl shook her head.

"I just can't believe none of the board saw this coming. Heck, it's unbelievable the principal didn't see this coming!" she growled. "It appears that someone shot something on Shimura's leg and waited until the fight began to activate its acidic properties."

"Ashido!" Melissa stated sternly, clutching Shimura's hand harder. "She caused Tenko to trip before we headed to the arena! She must've been the one to do this!"

Recovery Girl took a deep breath. "Normally I'd be against the idea of blaming someone without evidence, but Mina Ashido's proved to be such a psychopath that I wouldn't be surprised if this was true."

Melissa released Shimura's hand, and once the two bid themselves farewell, she stomped out of Recovery Girl's office and began searching across the stadium for Mina.

"Young Melissa!"

The girl stopped and turned around, spotting not only All Might in his muscular form, but Gran Torino as well.

"Uncle Might! Master Gran Torino!" Melissa bowed at both of them. "It's nice to see you, but I'm kind of busy right now-"

"You're looking for whoever used acid on Young Shimura's leg, aren't you?" All Might guessed.

"Whoever-don't act stupid, Uncle Might!" Melissa snapped. "It was obviously Ashido who did it! There's nobody else with an acid Quirk and crazy enough to do something so cruel!"

"Perhaps, but what do you plan to do once you find her?" Gran Torino folded his arms. "Will you beat her black and blue before her fight with Kendo? That sounds like it'll give you more trouble than it's worth."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Melissa growled. "She hurt Tenko, blowing holes in his leg! She deserves some kind of punishment!"

"Listen, Young Melissa, Gran Torino isn't saying that Young Ashido doesn't deserve a punishment; he's saying that beating her up right now, when she still has to go up against Young Kendo, is going to make people wonder who did it," All Might explained. "And even if people agreed that she deserved it, it would still make people fear you at the expense of a short-term payback."

"What!? Why!?"

"That's just how the world works, kid: if you do something bad for a good reason, people will hold you accountable for it no matter how justifiable it is," Gran Torino folded his arms and sighed. "I've had enough experience with this kind of thing to know it."

Melissa gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes... before she frowned and slammed her fist against a wall, causing it to crack slightly.

"Damn you, Ashido!"


Leaning against the back of a hallway, Mina flinched and looked around with a raised eyebrow.

How strange, I could've sworn I heard somebody talking about me. But oh well, I should start looking for another place to watch the fights. I can't go back to the stands after Shimura's deal.

Mina put her arms behind her head and began walking down the hallway, searching for any windows that'd allow her a peek at the upcoming fights.

"I'm so glad you could come, Dad!"

The acidic girl stopped and walked closer to the source of the voice. She peeked from behind a corner, and saw Yaoyorozu talking with some guy with red wings and blonde hair.

"Well, when I heard you had reached the tournament portion of the festival, I kinda had to see for my "And no, winning the tournament won't change my mind about your wings, okay?

"But Dad-!"

"I still think it'd be better if you stopped trying to focus on both things at once, and clipped your wings," the man stated in a matter-of-factly tone. "I know it must sound cruel and unfair to you, but I'm only suggesting this because I want what's best for you."

"Keeping my wings is what's best for me!" Yaoyorozu stated. "I'm smart enough to make my Quirk work, I can figure out how to use my wings and my Quirk at the same time too!"

"Momo-"

"You want proof, don't you?! Just watch me during the tournament and you'll see what I mean!"

The man remained silent for a moment, then sighed. "Fine, if you can show me you can use both your Quirk and your wings, I'll consider not clipping them. And speaking of which, your match's about to start, isn't it?"

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Yeah, it is. I gotta go."

The man smiled. "Good luck out there."

Yaoyorozu returned the smile, and Mina managed to avoid being seen by her as she walked to the arena. She kept hiding as the man left as well, hands saved on his pockets.

I see, so Yaoyorozu's a daddy's girl. Very interesting, but who the heck is her father? I swear I've seen him before, but where?

"Shoto!"

Mina kept hiding as Todoroki and the muscular fire hero known as Endeavor walked down the same hallway. She was rather surprised at the coincidence, but she decided to keep quiet and watch.

"You've come this far without using my fire, but that can only help you so much!" Endeavor sternly stated. "You have to use your fire eventually, Shoto! If you keep up this silly rebellion-"

"Silly rebellion!? You traumatized Mom into insanity! You got Toya killed because you forced him to learn a technique his body couldn't handle!" Todoroki snapped, shooting an icy glare at Endeavor. "Your fire's nothing more than a curse, and I will never use it! I will win this entire thing without using your fire, and once you swallow your damn pride when I reach first place, you better start seeing your fire for the menace it truly is!"

With that said, the father and son separated, and Mina came out of hiding.

So one of the recommended students is a daddy's girl, while the other's got daddy issues. What an interesting dichotomy between those two.

Mina smirked maliciously.

And what a delightful fact's that Endeavor's just around the corner...


"ON THIS CORNER, A WINGED HEROINE WITH THE POWER TO CREATE ANYTHING! A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR CLASS 1-A'S MOMO YAOYOROZU!"

"Go Yaoyorozu!" Midoriya shouted.

"Why are you cheering for someone from a different class?!" Monoma snapped.

"Well, she cheered for him on his fight," Kendo pointed out. "I think it's only fair at least Midoriya does the same."

"AND ON THIS CORNER, HIS BURNING RAGE AND HIS COLD SHOULDER COMBINE TO CREATE A DEVASTATING COMBO! ALSO FROM CLASS 1-A, SHOTO TODOROKI!"

"Todoroki, before we begin, I'd like to tell you it's nothing personal," Yaoyorozu stated before crouching down and spreading her wings. "But my father's watching me, so I must come out of this fight victorious!"

Todoroki clenched his fist, his eyes obscured by his hair. "Your... father's... watching... you...?"

Yaoyorozu raised a concerned eyebrow. "Todoroki?"

He gritted his teeth. "Father's... watching..."

"START!"

Todoroki raised his right foot, and calmly exclaimed:

"Watch and gape, Dad!"

He slammed his foot down, and from the spot emerged what could only be described as a "fuck you" sized iceberg, almost covering the entire stadium. The audience reeled back, including both hero course classes, watching their reflections against the sharp, and dangerously close spikes of the iceberg.

G-Geez, that T-Todoroki went kinda overboard... Midoriya thought, sweating bullets.

I had a feeling Todoroki was strong... Melissa grimaced, catching her breath as a spike was inches away from her nose. But nothing like this!

This guy needs some kind of limiter ASAP! Hatsume mentally noted, writing down schematics for such a device without looking away from the iceberg.

Back on the arena, Todoroki took a couple deep breaths as he felt the right side of his body

"W-Well, it looks like Present Mic's been endered speechless, so I'll talk in his behalf! M-Midnight, where's Yaoyorozu?!"

Midnight, who got encased in ice as a consequence of the iceberg, tried to break free before responding, "Um, I'm kinda stuck at the moment, but-"

"I'm here!"

Everybody looked up, and to their absolute shock, Yaoyorozu was flying down the spiral of ice, her eyes meeting with Todoroki's as the half-redhead half-whitehead stared in shock.

"Unbelievable! Yaoyorozu has not only survived the giant ice attack, but seems to have prepared some kind of counterattack!"

It... can't be... Todoroki thought as Yaoyorozu flew closer and closer to him. She dodged my ice... nobody's ever done that before-

Todoroki's thoughts were interrupted when he was picked by Yaoyorozu, then flung out of the arena, with Yaoyorozu landing right at the edge before she retracted her wings.

"Todoroki is out of bounds! Yaoyorozu goes to the next round!"

"H-How..." Todoroki asked as he stood up. "How did you dodge my ice?"

"Simple, I flew up before you slammed your foot down."

Todoroki turned, and saw Yaoyorozu near him, offering a hand.

"And if it helps you feel a little better, if I had been a second too late, you probably would've encased me."

The half-redhead half-whitehead boy sighed and accepted the offer. "Good fight, Yaoyorozu."

"Hey, your little talk's sweet and all, but um," Midnight blurted loudly. "There's still a giant iceberg covering the stadium!"

"Oh, right, sorry, I'll take care of it!"

Todoroki ran up to free Midnight and melt the iceberg, and as he did, Yaoyorozu watched him go with a little smile, a sense of pride surging through her.


"Great work, Yaoyorozu!"

The winged girl turned around and saw none other than Midoriya approaching her. With him came the uneasy pair of Melissa and Hatsume; the former clutching her chest while the latter finished her schematics.

"Thanks a lot, Midoriya," Yaoyorozu replied, flashing a little smile. "Although, I'm a little bit upset that I couldn't use my Quirk during that fight."

"Right, we were told your Quirk was something completely different from your wings," Hatsume remarked, not taking her eyes off her schematics.

"But why would you be upset?" Melissa asked. "From the looks of it, your wings were more than enough to win that fight. Without them, you would've become a popsicle!"

"Perhaps, but..." Yaoyorozu took a deep breath and put a hand on her chest. "My father's got this idea that if I keep both the mutation and my Quirk, that I'll end up being subpar at both. So, he wants to clip my wings in order for me to focus more on my Quirk."

"Well, his idea is understandable: having two completely different powers would require you to ignore one to fully capitalize on the other, or try to work with boths and come out just average," Midoriya scratched his chin. "Still, though, you could just simply focus on your Quirk and that could be the end of it-"

"But I wanna focus on both, Midoriya!" Yaoyorozu stated, causing the boy to flinch and lean back. "I don't want to just be able to fly or just be able to create everything! I want to be able to both fly and be able to create everything!"

"That's quite an ambition you got there," Melissa scratched her chin. "But have you even managed to work around using both at the same time?"

"I... kinda have..." Yaoyorozu scratched the back of her head. "I need to focus on what I'm creating in order to make it, but I also need to focus on my wings in order to keep up my flight."

Midoriya lowered his eyelids. "Now I see the problem."

And as the group kept talking, Shiozaki and Kaminari walked past them, heading for the arena. Shiozaki stopped for a moment and turned to look at the sight of Midoriya conversing with the girls.

For some strange reason, what would normally upset her made her feel... indifferent, instead. She once shoved her vines up Mina's butt for getting too close to Midoriya, but now he was surrounded by three girls and she didn't even feel like lifting a finger.

Regardless, that would be something for another day. For now, she had a fight to do.


"ON THIS CORNER, THE ONLY THING MORE SHOCKING THAN HIS POWERS IS HIS CONSTANT FLIRTING ON THE BATTLEFIELD! CLASS 1-A'S DENKI KAMINARI!"

"AND ON THIS CORNER, HER FAITH IS HER ULTIMATE WEAPON! CLASS 1-B'S IBARA SHIOZAKI!"

"Say, I know we're from different classes, but would you like to go eat something when this is over?" Kaminari said before shooting a wink at Shiozaki. "I'll treat you!"

Is he seriously flirting with me before the fight? Well, if that's the game he wants to play... Shiozaki took a deep breath. "Fine then, I'll go on a pity date with you once I win!"

A short silence passed...

"W-Wait, t-that's not-!"

"START!"

"Alright then, let's see you win!" Kaminari smirked as electricity surged across him.

Shiozaki quickly turned around and created a wall of vines behind her, blocking Kaminari's barrage of lighting until it was safe to look outside. Shiozaki took a peek from behind the wall... and held back her laughter as she saw Kaminari, with an utterly idiotic look on his face, flash a pair of thumbs up while saying "wheeey!" with a notably deeper tone of voice.

"So, uh, I guess he's out of commission?" Midnight raised an eyebrow. "How long does it take you to go back to normal, Kaminari?"

"Wheey!" was all Kaminari said.

"Well, sadly, we don't have enough time for that," Midnight raised her whip. "Shiozaki goes to the next round!"

The audience cheered as Shiozaki calmed down, and eventually grimaced at her realization:

Dang it, now I'll have to go on a date with that guy!