The fallout of the cavalry battle had been absolute chaos. Besides Team Midoriya only Three teams had managed to hold on to any headbands whatsoever.
Hanto Sero had reacted quickly when the headbands had started flying, using his tape quirk to catch two out of the air as they flew off Bakugou's neck, netting 655 points, and a spot in the final event for Team Bakugou.
Shoto Todoroki had managed to freeze four headbands in his ice attack which the judges allowed to count for his team, earning a total of 980 points, as well as third place.
Team Midoriya obviously managed to have the most headbands by the end of the match, but surprisingly only managed second place with a total of 2545 points.
First place went to Team Shinso, who had somehow managed to keep the 10000010 point headband that Team Midoriya originally started with.
With so few qualified, the judges would have to decide who made it into the final event themselves, and to make matters worse, Hitoshi Shinso's entire team resigned, leaving their spots up in the air as well.
Izuku was resting in a waiting room as the judges discussed who would make up the last five participants of the final event, eyes closed as he leaned back in a chair.
He wasn't surprised that Shinso had made it so far in the tournament. Despite his Brainwashing quirk's subtle nature, it was incredibly useful for any head-to-head situation. He and Shinso weren't friends by any stretch of the imagination, but they shared a kinship of sorts, both having tried the practical entrance exam without any ability to combat the giant robots.
When it came down to it, the fact that two students from the general department had made it to the final of the sports festival was nothing short of a miracle. Just as the soreness in his back and shoulders was starting to dissipate, the door to the waiting room burst open.
"There you are!" Bakugou growled. "What the hell, Deku?!"
"Ka-chan," Izuku sighed. "What's up?"
"Don't play stupid, you damn nerd!" Bakugou stalked into the room, small explosions going off between his fingers. "We both know you're not!"
"You want to know about my quirk?" Izuku opened his eyes, pulling out a chair for his childhood friend.
"Not just that." Bakugou grumbled, sitting on the table instead. "What the hell is up with you? When did you get so…"
He waved his hands in circles before growling in anger and gesturing to Izuku.
"This?!"
"Well, I think it's a side effect of my quirk." He held up his arm, where the Omnitrix sat, blinking laggardly every now and then.
"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen." Bakugou sneered, pulling away from the pulsing, black growth.
"It's called Omnitrix." Izuku explained, pressing the knob that activated the dial, twisting it to show every alien silhouette. "I think it's some kind of… parasite. It allows me to turn into ten different creatures, each with a unique set of abilities."
"You should see a doctor." Bakugou groaned in disgust.
"I did." Izuku deadpanned. Bakugou's face became stern, nodding for Izuku to continue. "It… doesn't come off. They tried everything. They called in heroes with laser or blade quirks, Fourthkind tried to rip it off. They even..."
Izuku visibly prepared himself, taking a deep breath.
"They even tried amputating my arm."
Bakugou's eyes widened, his mouth opening slightly in horror.
"The doctors said the procedure was a complete success." Izuku explained softly, tugging his shirt away to show a jagged scar running around his arm, just under the shoulder. "They said the Omnitrix wilted and turned into dust after they removed it. When I woke up the next day, It… It grew back."
"Your arm grew back?" Bakugou paled.
"Omnitrix and all." Izuku nodded solemnly. "It's not like a tumour or a growth. The doctors think it's bound to my DNA."
He met Bakugou's gaze.
"They tried again, just to be sure."
Bakugou paled even further.
"After that, seeing as it doesn't seem to harm me in any way," Izuku explained. "They told me to just live with it."
"That's hardcore." Bakugou whistled.
"Yeah." Izuku nodded. "But on the bright side, now I finally get to be a hero, huh?"
"You just don't quit, do you?" Bakugou grinned.
"Learned that from you." Izuku shot back. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he steeled himself. "When did you get so…"
He gestured to Bakugou vaguely.
"Usually you'd have burned the hair off half my head by now."
"Yeah…" Bakugou hung his head, eyes growing dark. "I just… It's been… I've seen things in this school… I just… I realised that I have to change to be the best. I can't just drag everyone else down. I just have to get above them the hard way."
"What's the use being the best," Izuku started.
"If everyone else is weak as shit." Bakugou grinned. Izuku smiled back, causing Bakugou to sneer. "You'd better bring your A-game, Deku."
"You too Ka-Chan." Izuku smirked. "Wouldn't want to face anyone else in the final."
"Damn nerd." Bakugou barked in laughter. "Like you'd make it that far."
"We'll see." Izuku stated confidently. Bakugou's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Guess we will." Bakugou grumbled, his usual prickly attitude firmly in place. "You tell anyone about this and I'll-"
"Make me wish I was never born." Izuku finished. "I know the drill."
Without another word, Bakugou left, hands stuffed in his pockets. Tokoyami was leaning against the wall in the hallway and nodded to Bakugou.
"What are you looking at, Bird-Head?" He barked, though Tokoyami only rolled his eyes.
"That was quite the performance, in the cavalry battle." He said casually. "And yet I did not see you during any of the recreational activities. Didn't you wish to celebrate?"
"Yeah, well..." Izuku replied sheepishly. "Mei wanted to… give me a talking to about disintegrating her 'babies'."
"You… disintegrated… babies…" Tokoyami blanched.
"No!" Izuku replied, hurriedly waving his hands as if to fan the notion away. "No! I didn't mean it like that! It's- That's just what Mei calls her inventions!"
He laughed awkwardly.
"I see." Tokoyami said, though his expression toed the line between amused and concerned. "They're calling us to the Arena. I assume the final event is being announced."
"How did you find me anyway?" Izuku asked, falling into step with Tokoyami as they made their way out.
"I simply looked for the first room with its door still intact."
Eighteen students awaited Izuku and Tokoyami in the Arena. Izuku smiled at Mei, and nodded to Shinso. Bakugou glared at him in what counted for him as a 'friendly' manner.
"All right, listen up!" Midnight allured. "The final event will be… A one-on-one fight!"
The crowd ooh-ed and aah-ed while the assembled students displayed mixed reactions. Izuku's features set with focus, Tokoyami nodded in approval and Bakugou looked like a cat that had been let loose in the overweight chicken coop.
"The rules are as follows:" Midnight baited. "The match continues until either fighter leaves the arena, or cannot continue the fight. The teachers will also step in and intervene if the fight goes too far- yes? You have a question?"
"Yeah." Bakugou called. His face was twisted somewhere between a confident sneer and a hungry grin. "I just wanna know how much we can hurt our opponents?"
"What a… strangely violent question…" Midnight purred in concern. "If you injure your opponent too much you'll be disqualified."
Bakugou looked as if he'd swallowed a slug.
"Now then!" Midnight captivated. "Are there any more questions? No? Good! Check the board left of the stage to see when you'll be competing! The first round begins in 20 minutes!"
The assembled students ambled their way to the board, lost in thought, conversation and, likely most of all, anticipation.
"I see we're at different ends of the tournament, Izuku." Tokoyami noted. "Though that means I will have to defeat Bakugou if I hope to face you in the finals. Not a comforting thought."
"Ka-chan's not that bad." Izuku replied, reading the names on his end of the rungs. "Hey, do you know anything about Kosei Tsuburaba or Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu?"
"They're from class 1-B." Tokoyami replied, pondering the subject with a hand under his beak. "Of Tsuburaba that is all I know. Tetsutetsu, like my classmate Kirishima, has a hardening quirk though his turns his skin to steel instead of simply hardening it."
"If I end up facing him Lodestar could be the right pick." Izuku ventured, furrowing his brow in concentration. "Then again, it could be disastrous. If his body isn't affected by magnetic fields, I'll be at a severe disadvantage if I can't find any nearby metal. Four-Arms is probably my best bet. Even with all the equipment in the school gym, I haven't found a limit to his strength. Perhaps Canonbolt or Heatblast? I could always-"
"Do you always mutter like this or are you having a stroke?" Tokoyami asked in concern.
"Oh!" Izuku flushed bright red. "Sorry! I do that. I mutter. It's a thing I do."
"You're much more awkward in a casual environment." Tokoyami noted. He pointed a finger at the top of the board. "Did you notice that you're participating in the first round?"
"But that's against Hanto Sero." Izuku waved him off. "What's he going to do? Shoot tape at me?"
"Very likely." Tokoyami deadpanned. "But I caution you not to underestimate him. Every student from 1-A here faced the league of villains and lived to tell the tale."
Izuku sobered immediately.
"Oh YEAH!" Present Mic hollered. "Unless you're Izuku Midoriya from 1-I or Hanto Sero from 1-A you're not part of this track! Best find a seat in the stadium because this tune is about to get complex!"
Izuku confidently took the stage, nodding respectfully to Midnight and bowing to his opponent. Sero stretched, waving to the audience, a wide grin plastered on his face.
He doesn't even see me as a challenge. Izuku realised. He probably thinks he'll win this round by default because I'm in the support course! In that case, I guess it's my responsibility to show every single student in the hero course what I'm made of!
He activated the Omnitrix, twisting the dial to his most impressive transformation.
He's in for a big surprise. Izuku grinned maliciously. A Way Big surprise!
"Are you READY?!" Present Mic blared. "Go get it!"
Izuku slammed his hand down on the dial as Sero leapt into the air. He flung a strand of tape to the ground and yanked, using the pendulum movement to hurtle forwards at great speed. In a flash of green light, Izuku was replaced with a muscular red biped sporting not two, but Four Arms!
"This isn't Way Big!" He accused, so focussed on his transformation mishap that he failed to notice Sero's surprised yelp.
Sero had planned to ensnare his opponent with his tape and pull him through the air to throw him out of bounds. Instead, his tape ineffectually stuck to the towering crimson monster's bottom peck.
"Hey!" Four-Arms groused, yanking hard on the tape. Sero yelped at the force of the tug as he was sent careening out of bounds, making impact on the ground in a tangle of limbs and groaning in discomfort.
"Winner! Izuku Midoriya!" Midnight coaxed, thrusting with her whip.
"I didn't even get to do anything!" Four-Arms complained, slapping the dial on his chest. In a flash of red light, he was back in human shape. He raised a fist miserably into the air. "Plus ultra, I guess."
"Oh MAN!" Present mic bleated. "What can't that kid do?!"
"His quirk does seem extraordinarily versatile." Aizawa reasoned suspiciously. "Makes one wonder how he ended up in the general department."
"Do you always have to be such a downer?" Present Mic complained.
"Do you always have to be so extra?" Aizawa shot back. "No. You choose to be. Everyone has their thing. We're a diverse cast."
Harsh. Present Mic thought to himself privately.
"Hitori Shinso from 1-H and Shoto Todoroki from class 1-A prepare yourselves for a sick beat down!" He cried energetically. "So far we haven't seen a lick of flame from Endeavour junior! Why do you think that is?"
Seeing as facial expressions couldn't be heard, everyone in the audience felt Aizawa's glare.
"Students, are you READY?!" Present Mic was unphased. "ROCK IT!"
"Don't you think-"
Shinso never got to finish his sentence as he was encased in ice along with half of the arena.
"That was for Ojiro." He stated, unenthusiastically lifting his hand in the air before walking off the stage.
"Oh YEAHHH!" Present Mic cried. "Just how powerful is this kid!? Next up: Denki Kaminari and Fumikage Tokoyami! Two classmates from 1-A! They'll be familiar with each other's quirks, can't wait to see this play out!"
Izuku took notes of every winner in the tournament. Tokoyami had a gard time defeating Kaminari, but emerged victorious.
Looks like Kaminari has a limit to how much electricity he can spend before he becomes useless. Any opponent immune to electricity takes the win. Bloxx. He noted as he scribbled all his findings in Hero Analysis For The Future Vol. 17, making detailed observations for every person.
Dark Shadow seems to be weak to electricity, which explains why Tokoyami had a hard time. Is that its only weakness? It seems fast, nearly unbeatable, at range, but less useful if you can get in close. Fasttrack.
Mei barely even tried to win in her fight against Kaibara. She seemed to only be concerned with showing off her creations. Lodestar.
Kaibara's ability to gyrate his body parts seems pretty useful, but I doubt it would help much if an opponent kept at range. Stinkfly.
Ashido is likely a very credible threat with her ability to produce acid and her unpredictable movements. But in a situation like this where she needs to keep the damage to a minimum, and against an opponent like Tsuburaba who's quirk largely negates her, she struggles. She possibly could counter this by attacking her opponent's feet. Canonbolt.
Tsuburaba's quirk lets him harden the air he exhales, but his constructs seem pretty weak to physical attacks, seeing as Ashido managed to break one by kicking it. Perhaps she has a secondary, strength enhancing quirk? Getting in close and taking Tsuburaba hand-to-hand seems the best path to success. Four-Arms.
Yaomomo was completely outclassed by Iida, which seems strange. According to Tokoyami her quirk lets her create anything she knows the exact workings and chemical structure of. If anything she is held back by her lack of fighting prowess and poor affinity for improvising in the heat of battle. Upchuck.
Iida was incredible. His engine quirk is useful for quick attacks as well as pulling away from any counter his opponent tries. Being that fast and skilled with his quirk allows him to dictate the terms of battle very easily. Best bet is negating his advantage, as trying to outpace him could be disastrous. Canonbolt.
Kirishima and Tetsutetsu have quirks so similar I doubt they require separate entries. Their ability to be invulnerable to attack is incredible, but could be used against them if their opponent has superior mobility or the ability to confine them until they run out of stamina. Stinkfly.
Kendo seems to be able to enlarge her arms and hands. At least those are the only body parts she has demonstrated the ability with. She probably also has some enhanced durability of some kind, no other way she could have held out that long against Ka-chan. Heatblast.
He was terrifying in action, brutal and efficient, as always. His strength is his weakness. Heatblast.
Izuku clapped his notebook shut with a snap.
"Okay Sports Tournament fans… prepare yourselves..." Present Mic paused to ramp up suspense. "For a 20 minute break! All this action is making me HUN-GRY! Followed by the first match of round two! Tenya Iida vs Sen Kaibara!"