A/N:

Here we go! On to the second round of the tournament! Got some surprises in store for all of you folks this time around!

I hope you enjoy!

Ch 24: Bloodstained

Uraraka vs. Bakugo had absolutely been a sight to behold. The gravity heroine had tanked and dodged blast after blast from the blonde firecracker. The feed to the monitor in the prep room where Dax and Kyouka sat was a little hazy, mostly because of the sheer amount of dust in the air. When it all cleared, though, Uraraka's meteor shower looked to be a real showstopper.

Right up until Bakugo disintegrated it all with a blast so powerful that the rumblings could be felt throughout the stadium, even down in the prep rooms. Kyouka'd had her arm around Dax throughout the fight, but she tightened her hold when she felt her partner tense up at the rumble and distant sound of the explosion. The brunette leaned into the musician, taking solace in her presence.

By the end, Uraraka collapsed from exhaustion and Dax breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy to see Bakugo get to move on. In spite of what most of the class thought of the man, she'd found herself growing a bit attached to him thanks to their workouts.

"He's really not as bad as he seems… Just wish he would show that to the rest of the class instead of only me…"

She smiled at Kyouka, pressing a kiss to the musician's cheek. "Thanks for coming down here with me… Can I um… Will you come down for his next fight too? If Tokoyami doesn't land me in the infirmary with Recovery Girl?"

"You know I will… You don't have to ask, Mecha… I bet Mei will join too. Now that she's done with her product placement exhibition." The purplette smiled, standing and offering Dax her hand. "C'mon. Let's see if we can track her down during the break. I think we should have plenty of time considering how bombs-for-brains and Uraraka just obliterated the entire field."

Dax rolled her eyes, taking Kyouka's hand and pulling herself up. "You're probably right. Even Cementoss is going to have trouble fixing it after all the damage they did. At least Uraraka put on a good show, though. Plenty of people out there are gonna be impressed by her tactics…"

She trailed off, mentally kicking herself for still not having shown off much of what she was capable of. She'd only won her first fight due to a dirty move and exploitation. Nothing anyone would be impressed with, really. "Especially not Miruko…"

Dax was drawn from her spiral of self-doubt by one of Kyouka's jacks smacking her right on her crooked nose. "I know that look, Mecha…" The musician began, crossing her arms over her chest. "You are still hung up on what she said, aren't you?"

Dax opened her mouth, prepared to deny it, but faltered, letting out a sigh and toying with the end of her braid with her organic fingers. "Is it that obvious?... I mean… Can you really blame me? Everyone is out there showcasing their quirks and their talents and here I am hiding in the prep room after winning by molesting Mina's horns."

Kyouka blushed, jabbing Dax in the chest with her jacks. "First of all, never say that again. Secondly, so what? You knew your enemy's weakness and used that to your advantage." She sighed, cupping Dax's cheek with her hand as she looked up into her partner's eyes.

"You are an excellent fighter, Dax. And you'll be an amazing hero. Just… do what you do best. Think, plan ahead, and hit them where it hurts. Not every hero has a flashy quirk. Bakugo, Todoroki, Iida… They get a head start because everyone can see their quirk and understand it. Everyone knows already. But you and me? We're the ones the best heroes will be watching. The best agency recruiters are gonna see how you fight and strategize."

She smiled softly, her free hand lacing its fingers with Dax's. "They are going to want people who think and use their heads. People like you. So show them you've got a good one on your shoulders and you'll be golden. I promise you."

Dax couldn't help but smile, pulling Kyouka into a tight hug. "You always know the right thing to say to me… I don't know how, but you do." She pressed a kiss to Kyouka's lips, making the musician blush as she stepped back, tugging Dax toward the door.

"Heh… It's a trade secret. Now come on. I bet Mei's gonna want a chance to do a tune-up on that competition prosthetic of yours before the Tokoyami fight."

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming…"

As expected, the announcement came that there'd be a fifteen minute intermission while the arena was repaired. With a little searching, Dax and Kyouka were able to track down Mei along with the entire rest of her support department class. The group had set up an impromptu field workshop inside of their prep room. "Jeeze these folks really don't believe in breaks, do they?"

Almost as soon as Dax walked through the door, she was accosted by a multitude of engineers all grabbing at her competition prosthetic.

"Emergency field repairs!"

"Come on people, we've trained for this!"

"Indy 500 pit crew mode: activate!"

"Anyone know what the American is talking about?"

Dax disengaged her interface out of pure defensive instinct, watching as the mob of aspiring support technicians carried off her prosthetic toward the back of the jury-rigged workshop with Mei at the forefront directing repair and maintenance operations like an army commander issuing orders to her troops in a warzone.

Dax and Kyouka were left by the door stunned. They cast a glance at one another, both thinking the same thing.

"Our girlfriend can be scary sometimes."

After about a minute, the pinkette herself returned to her partners, proudly holding up the, apparently, freshly repaired prosthetic. The only real difference Dax noticed was that what few acid burns had been on the arm were now gone, the plating having been replaced in record time.

"All finished!" Exclaimed the inventor, a proud grin on her face. "Plating replaced, firmware updated, tattoo touched up, and I lubricated your joints myself! Our baby is as ready as she can possibly be given the mandated limitations!"

Dax interfaced with the prosthetic once more and closed her eyes, reading through the brief changelog. "How the hell did you manage to do all that in less than two minutes?" Kyouka asked, shaking her head and playfully shoving Mei's shoulder.

"My little cogwheel is just full of wonderful surprises… Aren't you, Mei Mei?" Dax grinned, pressing a kiss to the inventor's lips, eliciting a happy squeal from her. "Probably was a lot easier since this one doesn't have all the normal bells and whistles, huh?"

Mei nodded, pulling a notepad from her pocket and holding it up for the pair to see. It was filled with technical jargon, sketches, mathematical equations and notes upon notes of update ideas. "Sorry I wasn't able to do very much. Limitations are annoying. It did make me think of our time back in the shop before UA, though… Only way more lonely. Sure I have a team of engineers helping, but who cares when none of them are my Daxie?"

Dax blushed, toying with her braid and petting Mei's head with her mechanical hand. "You're amazing, Mei… Hey I was wondering if you'd be up to staying with me in the prep room when Bakugo's next fight comes up. You know… because of the um… yeah."

Mei nodded eagerly, hugging Dax's side tight. "Of course! Sorry I wasn't there for the last one. Had to plan for all the upgrades! Should be good enough to get you through to the finals now, though! Unless it gets physically damaged. Then we'll do another pit crew thingy. That's what uhhh…" She trailed off, casting a glance over her shoulder at a tall, blonde engineer with glasses and a ball cap on. The woman waved awkwardly at the trio. "Whatever the american girl's name is. She calls it that. Personally I'd just call it speed repairs or something! We're not even in a hole, let alone a pit! Americans are weird."

Dax couldn't help but laugh, rolling her eyes. "You know they probably say the same thing about us, right? Anyway c'mon. Don't you wanna watch the rest of the matches?"

Mei shook her head, gesturing toward her laptop on one of the tables. "Not really. I'm watching on the monitors while answering emails from support companies. Got a lot of attention from showing off my babies in round one!"

Dax nodded, giving Mei another quick peck before turning to Kyouka. "Well even if she's not gonna come watch, I know I don't wanna miss it. Lead the way, beautiful."

Kyouka blushed, giving Mei a peck on the cheek before taking Dax's arm in her own and heading off toward the stands once more.

The second round started off far more intense than the first. Izuku and Todoroki were truly going all out; the greenette destroying wave after wave of ice and eventually forcing the heterochromatic man to pull out his fire side in a fight for, what Dax was fairly certain was, the first time since class began. Ultimately that had been Izuku's downfall.

The arena was horrendously damaged by the battle, necessitating another brief intermission as it was repaired yet again. This gave Dax, Tsu, Iida, and Uraraka a chance to go check on their battered classmate and friend.

Tsu, Iida, and Uraraka burst into the infirmary with the force of an explosion with Dax lagging slightly behind. The trio bombarded Recovery Girl with an array of anxious questions. Dax's attention, however, fell on the oddly familiar, yet foreign, blonde man in the room at Izuku's bedside. The natural assumption might be that he was Izuku's father, except that Dax was aware Izuku's dad was out of the picture. No, there was something about this man that struck a familiar chord in the brunette.

Then, she heard him speak and it all fell into place. She had heard that voice before. In the school infirmary. Only this time it wasn't muffled by a wooden door. If her guess was correct, this was, against all odds, All Might himself. She'd overheard him mention his weakened state weeks ago and now she was confident she was seeing it for herself.

"Maybe it's finally time I confront them about this… I mean look at Izuku… The poor guy is out here busting his ass, literally, and it's all on some power he apparently got from our teacher. If he's breaking his bones because of All Might…"

Dax clenched her hands into fists, glaring at the weakened form of her teacher. She needed to talk with him. Figure out what the hell was up with him and Izuku… And see if there was some way she could help her friend.

Soon all four of them were ushered out of the room so that Recovery Girl could perform surgery to remove the bone fragments from Izuku's right arm. While the other three returned to their seats or, in Iida's case, to the prep room, Dax hung back and waited outside the infirmary. She listened in, confirming what she already suspected when she heard the green haired cinnamon roll refer to his mystery guest by name; All Might. She let out a sigh and rested her head back against the concrete wall she was leaning on.

"Time to confront the number one hero…"

Soon All Might exited and Dax made her move. She stepped up beside the tall man, walking casually. And pretending to check out the feed on the monitors they passed. After a minute, she broke the passing silence.

"I really hope Izuku's gonna be alright. World needs a hero like him… Hell after seeing what he and the others are capable of, I might just pack my bags and go home. I've got nothing on the rest of these heroes…"

Her feint immediately had the desired effect. All Might slowed his pace slightly and Dax slowed with him. "Just because other people have potential doesn't invalidate your own. Everyone is going all out. That's all that matters in the end. Doing the best you can with what you have."

"Yeah but… My quirk is totally useless in a fight unless I've got support equipment… Besides, I've already thought it through pretty well. I'm going to submit my withdrawal form to Aizawa-sensei before my next match… hopefully he'll let me just bow out of the tournament." Dax felt bad about lying like this to All Might's face, but she knew if she tried to just directly accuse him of being the number one hero out of the blue, he'd deny it and brush her off. This was her only shot.

The man's dark eyes widened and he put his hand on Dax's shoulder, bringing the both of them to a halt. "Young Malcor, you have come so far since coming to this school and, from what I understand, from where you were before ever making it here. Your cunning, courage, and creativity have already allowed you to make great strides. Do not throw this all away from passing discouragement. Your time in the light will come. With your participation in the tournament, it has already begun, in fact." He gave a wide, skeletal smile, some of the kindness and confidence of his hero persona shining through.

"Gotcha."

Dax smiled up at the much taller man, giving a thankful nod. "You know what, you're right. I do have the potential to be a great hero. Especially with someone like you teaching me, All Might-sensei. "

The man's smile vanished in a moment, rapidly replaced by a wheezy coughing fit which, to Dax's surprise and horror, included the coughing up of a decent amount of bright red blood. She put her organic hand on the hero's back, rubbing it in soft circles.

"Hey! Hey calm down. I haven't told anyone and… the only reason I know is because I overheard you and Recovery Girl talking after Izuku got hurt in our first combat training." She blushed, chewing her lip as she openly admitted to spying on her teacher. "I also know that apparently you gave Izuku your quirk."

The coughing fit had nearly subsided, but when Dax mentioned the last bit, it began anew, some of the blood even landing on Dax's gym jacket. All Might stumbled back, leaning against the wall and gripping his hair with both hands as if he were ready to yank it out.

"You… So you know the secret now…" He began after finally calming down. His dark, sunken eyes locked with Dax's and she felt a chill run up her spine. "No point in denying it… Yes. I gave my quirk to young Midoriya. The nature of the quirk allows its current holder to pass it on to another with each host adding to the strength of the quirk. It's called One For All."

Dax nodded, gesturing toward a small bench a short distance away. "Great. I figure I've got about another ten minutes before they get the stage repaired and the battles resume. Which means you've got ten minutes to explain to me why one of my best friends is constantly destroying himself with your power. And to tell me everything else too. I'll swear my secrecy to you, no need to worry about that. You've seen my lack of a background profile… You know that I know how to keep a secret, All Might-sensei."

The blonde man hesitated, gritting his skeletal teeth for a moment before nodding and putting his arm back on Dax's shoulder as they sat down on the bench. "Settle in, young Malcor. I'm going to use up every one of those minutes."

By the time All Might's tale had ended, Dax's head was reeling. Finding out about the man's injury, the details of his quirk, and how it had affected Izuku had been quite a shock. Additionally, finding out that Izuku had only had the power since the entrance exam explained a lot. Everyone else had been practicing with their quirks for their entire lives. Izuku'd only had his for a month or so. Her head was still spinning slightly even as she sprinted down the concrete corridors away from the man she now considered herself significantly closer to and toward the arena for her bout with Tokoyami.

Something about the number one hero having, and overcoming, a crippling injury like that spoke to her on a deep level. She touched her remaining right limb with her organic hand as she ran, suddenly viewing it as less of a handicap and more a statement of her determination.

She had assumed she'd have a little prep time, given how Iida's match had been before hers, but she was sorely mistaken. The man had ended the fight with Shiozaki in no time flat, simply pushing the woman out of the ring. Now it was Dax's turn once again and she was going up against one of the hero course's most formidable fighters.

As she finally found the exit onto the field, she breathed a sigh of relief, trying to calm her racing heart as she stepped up onto the platform. The avian-headed man was already waiting for her on the opposite side of the field. He gave a slight bow and Dax returned it in kind.

"Right… Time to show them what I'm made of."

The voice of Present Mic boomed through the stadium once again as he introduced the combatants. Apparently someone must have told him his introduction for Dax had sucked the first time around because, to her relief, he changed it up for the second round.

"Welcome back dear listeners! For the third match of our quarter-final round we bring back two familiar faces from hero course class 1-A! On the west side of the ring we have the man whose seemingly unbeatable quirk has already made quite the impression today! Offense and Defense in one! The dark samurai and his darker shadow! Tokoyami Fumikage!"

The crowd roared with applause, whoops, and hollers as the avian man gave another slight bow in the direction of the commentator's box.

"And back on the east side we have the rising star who snuck her way out of the qualifiers and into our hearts! The Mechanical Marvel! Malcor Dax!"

Dax sighed as the crowd roared once more… though decidedly quieter than they had for Tokoyami. She shot a glance up at the commentator's booth and pouted slightly. "I guess that introduction was better… not like… good. But at least it was better."

She shook it off and returned her focus to Tokoyami, studying the man. She'd seen him fight plenty of times during training. From what she'd been able to gather, he had a lot of reliance on Dark Shadow to keep opponents at bay and did very little fighting himself. Which she hoped meant the man wasn't terribly skilled at hand-to-hand combat. Only time would tell if that theory would hold water, though.

With a crack of Midnight's whip, the match began. Right out of the gate, Tokoyami called upon his quirk, striking a defensive stance. "Go, Dark Shadow!" The living quirk burst free from his chest and charged through the air directly toward Dax, it's yellow eyes seeming to stare directly into her soul. "I've got her!"

Dax struck a defensive stance of her own, letting the quirk get close. As Dark Shadow slashed at her with shadowy claws, she dropped low, skirting beneath it and getting behind the quirk. The plan was to keep Tokoyami distracted byt pretending to be distracted herself. She would engage with Dark Shadow for a short time and wait for an opportunity to get close to the man himself.

She had failed to anticipate the quirk's speed, however, as it rounded on her in the midst of her counterattack, swiping at her and launching her across the arena. She bounced off the ground and slammed her mechanical hand down, digging her metallic fingers into the cement to halt her momentum. Lucky thing too, she realized, as she had stopped just shy of the edge of the line.

Dax quickly rose to her feet just in time to dodge a follow-up attack from Dark Shadow. The quirk had followed her to the edge of the arena, coming at her like an attack dog. Dax parried the strike as best she could, relying on acrobatics and luck to keep her from being knocked the foot or so back that would end her run in the tournament.

Just as she was beginning to think it was hopeless, she found her opening. Dark Shadow had 'leapt' upward and was coming down for a pointed strike on her position. She took the chance and sprinted back toward her starting position, waiting for the quirk to change his approach. As soon as he was committed to coming down on her, she skidded to a halt and spinted directly for Tokoyami.

From the frustrated voice behind her, she knew Dark Shadow was hot on her heels. She'd have exactly one shot at taking down the avian hero. She had to make this count. When she was in range, she launched herself at him, watching in delight as his normally impassive eyes flew open almost comically wide. She slammed her metallic fist into the side of his head at the same moment her organic one landed a hit on his abdomen.

Tokoyami hadn't distanced himself from his starting position at all, meaning that he only needed to travel a short way to be out of bounds. Before Dax could see if her attack had been enough, Dark Shadow slammed into her back, knocking her well outside the ring. She hit the wall hard and flopped down to the grass, panting heavily.

Midnight's whip cracked, signaling the end of the match and Dax's heart sank. She was certain she'd just lost it all. Then she opened her eyes. Tokoyami was laying on his back, just barely outside the ring with Dark Shadow poking at him with a ghost of a concerned look on it's shadowy face. Dax's eyes widened and she looked over to Midnight, anxiety eating her up inside. They had both gone out of bounds. The question was, who had done it first?

Midnight's voice filled the stadium, her sultry tone delivering exactly the words Dax needed to hear.

"Both combatants are out of bounds! Upon review by the judges, Tokoyami was first over the line and is thus eliminated! Malcor moves on to the semi-final round!"

Dax only had to make a brief stop by the infirmary after her fight to get some scrapes and bruises taken care of. She quickly made her way down to the prep room to await Bakugo's match. Kyouka and Mei had gone off in search of food and would be joining her as soon as they could.

She jumped, her heart pounding in her chest as the door to the prep room blasted inward, the hinges screaming in protest as Bakugo entered. His palms were crackling and popping as he entered the room, but they quickly sputtered out when he saw her. He took a slight step back and checked the plaque on the wall outside before shaking his head and stepping in, pulling the door shut behind him.

"Fuckin' seriously? What the hell waiting room am I supposed to be in? You're in here, and that emo bitch was in the last one." He huffed, crossing the room and taking a seat beside Dax at the table, leaning forward on his elbows. "Well unless you're gonna kick me out, Cyborg, I'm stayin' here."

Dax sighed, reaching out and laying a calming hand on Bakugo's back. The man stiffened for a second and then relaxed, looking over at her. "You're where you're supposed to be… probably. I've been hiding out here or in the other rooms for all of your matches. Kyouka and Mei Mei are gonna be here as soon as they get done Eating. Mei missed her chance at food before the tournament because she was busy talking up support company reps." She fidgeted, nodding toward Bakugo's hands. "I'm here because well… your matches are fun to watch, but the audio is a little rough."

Dax gestured toward the muted TV on the wall across the room, live CCTV coverage of the sports festival playing with captions. "I uh… I had to come down here during Midoriya's match with Todoroki too." She sighed, shaking her head. "That green mop is nuts… I mean… I get it, getting Todoroki out of his shell like that but… Choosing to do it during the tournament?" She shivered, wrapping her organic arm around herself defensively as she remembered the sudden bursts of flame.

"Deku's always been a fucking idiot…" Bakugo responded, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers behind his head. "Even if the bastard did somehow manage to get a quirk, doesn't change shit. Still a worthless Deku…" There was something in the tone of Bakugo's voice that gave Dax pause. The normal viciousness he had when talking about Izuku, the bite that was always in his tone was gone. His insults sounded hollow, like he was just saying them out of habit.

"You don't really mean that, do ya, Kat? I know you two aren't exactly the best of friends, but even you have to acknowledge the guy is pretty damn smart. I got a look at one of those analysis books of his once… Felt like I was reading a textbook about heroes, not some notebook. Hell, he knew things about Miruko I didn't even know and I've been her biggest fan since I was a freshman in highschool."

She narrowed her eyes a bit, reaching out and grabbing Bakugo by the chin with her mechanical hand, forcing him to meet her eyes. All friendliness dropped from her tone for a moment as she spoke. "Speaking of nicknames, Kat… Skylar is my best friend. I'd appreciate it if you chose something other than 'emo bitch' for her. Otherwise, you and I are gonna have a problem. And explosions or not, I'll kick your ass."

Bakugo's eyes widened as he listened, his arm twitching a bit as he seemed to wrestle with something in his mind. Dax felt her cheeks flush as she noticed a slight tint of rose growing on Bakugo's. She dropped her hand, smiling and laughing awkwardly. "W-well um… Actually maybe you can keep calling her that, because when she beats you in this match, I'm not gonna get to face you in the semi-finals."

Bakugo recovered after a few moments, his cocky grin returning as he spoke. "Tch. Yeah right, Cyborg. Have Recovery Girl on standby for her, because I'm gonna blast her to pieces. Then you better be ready; I'm coming for you next."

"Heeeeeey there listeners! The time has come! Both contestants please make your way to the arena for the last of the quarter-final matchup!"

Dax smirked, giving Bakugo a pat on the back. "You heard the man… Get out there and give me a good show, okay?"

The blonde huffed, standing and cracking his neck as he headed out the door. "Right. Just watch closely, Cyborg. I'm gonna give you a little preview of the ass-kicking you'll get next round."

Dax felt sick to her stomach. She was still sitting down in the prep room, joined now by both Kyouka and Mei. The two had come down to support Dax while watching the match, but now all three of them were huddled together in shock and horror.

The match had started fairly normal. Skylar had bulked up a bit by channeling the emotions around her, holding her ground as Bakugo charged in with the signature right hook that Dax had noticed the man seemed to favor. He nailed Skylar's left side, but the woman seemed unphased, slamming the blonde's jaw with her own right hook and knocking him on his ass. For a second, Kyouka thought it was going to be like the common area all over again, a one-hit K.O., but the blonde started to get up.

It would have been better if he had stayed down, though. Soon what started as a seemingly fair fight devolved into a one-sided beat down. Skylar was positively fuming, screaming and snarling at her opponent, her signature braid undone with her singed hair fluttering wildly in the wind from Bakugo's explosions. The words were lost on the trio in the waiting room as the auto-generated captions failed to do anything close to making sense. Dax had never seen the woman this enraged.

She was tanking hits that should have knocked her on her back and pounding into the blonde like he was a punching bag. Every time she seemed to have an opportunity to end things, she just kept going. If Dax didn't know better, she'd think she was watching a recording of a villain attack. "Jesus… It's like she just wants an excuse to torture the poor bastard…"

As the fight progressed, Dax noticed that Skylar, on top of being unhinged, was bleeding. Not from her wounds, but from her nose and eventually her ears. She'd heard Skylar mention the mental strain of her quirk and how overuse could potentially cause brain damage. There were three warning signs. Bleeding from the nose, bleeding from the ears, and…

"Oh my god!"

Dax jumped as Kyouka yelled, her focus returning to the action on the screen as she quickly saw what was currently making her partner tremble against her side. Bakugo was laying on the concrete, struggling to get back on his feet. His face was beaten and bloodied, as was most of his body. But the thing the camera was currently focusing on was Skylar's blood-red eyes… and the blood that was trailing from her tear-ducts. The final sign signaling the start of brain damage from her quirk usage.

Dax was about to stand, ready to go running onto the field to stop the fight herself when a mist came across the screen and her old friend lost consciousness along with her battered opponent. Midnight's quirk had made short work of both of them. The feed cut back to an exterior view of the stadium as Midnight's voice echoed through the stadium PA speakers.

"Takada Skylar is disqualified on grounds of Quirk Exhaustion. Bakugo Katsuki is the winner by default."

Dax let out a sigh of relief, trembling in her partners' arms as they all recovered from the massacre of a match. Dax knew she needed to go to the infirmary after this, though she wasn't sure which room she should go to. Skylar was her best friend, but that best friend had just beaten another of her friends to a pulp.

Eventually she steadied herself, hugging both of her partners tightly before standing. "I need… I need to go. Thanks for staying with me through that… thing we just watched." She couldn't call it a match. It was a bloodbath.

Kyouka stood, taking Dax's hand with Mei rising on the other side of her and doing the same. "Wherever you're going, we're coming with you."

Dax chuckled, giving a nod. She had thus far avoided revealing her workouts with Kat to anyone, including her partners, let alone their unexpected friendship. Now, though, she figured the cat was about to escape the bag anyway, why not let it out.

"Alright… Walk with me. I have some stuff to explain that'll make you two flip."

A/N:

So... Skylar lost control a bit there. Emotional overload is a scary thing, especially if you're a blonde firecracker. I'm looking forward to finishing up the SF in the next chapter and then we'll be moving on to internships! Don't miss out, y'all!

Also please do remember to let me know what you thought of the chapter as always.

See ya next time!