Once, Kugisaki complained about the plots of the drama in this world's television. Both of them are more used to the typical 'shy female main character debating between the childhood best friend and the sudden appearance of the supposed bad boy or play boy' and the occasional live action adaptations from manga favorites that Kugisaki watched with a strange fascination. This world's drama is quite the same but quite different as well, especially with the aspect of Quirks to consider—in short, one of the most popular tropes is Quirk Marriage.

Once upon a time, there is a young and poor main character who is working hard to live by with what little money she has in order to support her younger siblings, and then comes the son of a popular hero searching for a way to preserve and to strengthen their Quirks and the main character just so happens to have the most overpowered Quirk to have ever existed—enemies to lovers trope that ends with a baby and nothing of sorts to address even the existence of Quirk Marriages itself, only that no, no, no, they never married because of their Quirks because they love each other. Dramas make sure to emphasize that part quite well and of course, another trope of 'villainous' Quirk also appears here and there but of course, those dramas are fictions and in reality, those Quirks they deem as 'Villainous' are shunned and, well, are Villainous.

One of the dramas that Nitta and Kugisaki are religiously watching is one of the more popular ones: a story about a girl whose parents are Villains and became a 'Villain' in her youth when really, she is a Vigilante at best but Villains and Vigilantes are synonymous in this world. A Pro-Hero, the male lead, eventually catches her and they work together to defeat the greater evil in the midst of falling in love, a tragic backstory from the Pro-Hero arrives to also bring 'depth' to his character and to lengthen the drama and now, Megumi is pretty sure that they are nearing the finale and Kugisaki won't shut up about it. She has nothing good to say about it, not much, but she still continues to watch it like a guilty pleasure. And around that time, Megumi finds out about the existence of Quirk Actors. CGI and special effects are out of the picture and considered as 'cheap' now and critics comment about 'they just can't find a person with the right Quirk' and Megumi does not get their point.

But it does make a good cultural study.

"Midoriya... you—are you All Might's illegitimate child?"

Pro-Heroes suddenly having bastards is nothing new. Megumi and Kugisaki, thanks to extensive research and thanks to Nitta's assistance and (alright, he will admit it) Hawks' inputs in the times he barged in their apartment to share dinner even though they have no room for him, finds out that Pro-Heroes cover up more bastard cases than people think. If Midoriya really is All Might's illegitimate child, then... then Megumi does not want anything to do with that big of a drama but judging by Bakugō's incredulous look, that is absolutely not the case.

In the midst of his wandering thoughts, Kugisaki finally tears away from Bakugō and resorts to mimicking in his listening to the conversation that they should not even be listening to. Megumi tries to say this but Kugisaki, having read his mind, grabs his wrist and shushes him. He tries to say something again but Midoriya's voice rises. "Yo—you've got it all wrong! I—well, of course that's exactly what a secret son would say, so I get it if you don't believe me, but I swear that's not it!" Megumi sighs. "Actually, I—I'm going to ask you something... why are you... I mean, wh—... why me?"

Megumi leans against the wall beside Kugisaki, relenting.

Todoroki partially ignores Midoriya's question. "The way you said it. 'That's not it'. In other words, you have some connection to All Might that you can't talk about. Whatever that might be. Then if so, you must know about my father, Endeavor," Todoroki begins, "He's been the Number Two Hero forever now. If you're connected to the Number One Hero then, that means..." He trails off. "I need to win all the more."

Kugisaki crosses her arms, Megumi catching the way she glances at Bakugō's reactions. Everybody in their class knows about his strange relationship with Midoriya: the bullied and the bully, the inferior and the superior, in a way. Whoever is inferior is up to debate because with how petty and angry Bakugō is sometimes, and how calm Midoriya is about his explosive anger, Bakugō is slowly looking like the inferior rather than the superior. But there is a reason why Megumi, despite his kindness for Midoriya, prefers Bakugō, and why Kugisaki agrees with this, regardless of a thousand and one arguments or not.

"He made a name for himself during his hero career firing on all cylinders but it was never enough to outpace a legend like All Might, who was an unmoveable might in his mind," says Todoroki but Megumi is not quite sure about that. He has no idea what Endeavor is in close doors but Endeavor used to be one of the most well-liked Pro-Hero in his early debut, because of his powerful Quirk and his no-nonsense personality. They called him the only Pro-Hero who was true, who did not lie for faces, and whose ambitions are clear and gold. Endeavor became the Number Two Pro-Hero for a reason and he maintained that position for a reason. But of course, no one can compare to someone like All Might.

Megumi and Kugisaki studied about the culture more than necessary, actually, even researching about the growth of Pro-Heroes in the general public and Megumi knows a few statistics here and there, thinking that it was going to show up in the entrance exams. And there are a few things that people consider in what they call the 'Hero Billboard Chart JP' and Megumi does not like that title one bit. The criteria are as follows: level of strength they have displayed, number of cases they have solved, their general popularity, and their overall contribution to society. And in accordance to that, All Might and Endeavor almost share the height of strength; Endeavor and Hawks towering over All Might's number of solved cases, but All Might stands at the top of the top, because of his contribution as the Symbol of Peace.

All Might is the hope of all Japan and no one can take that spot away from him. Not until the day he dies, or the day he retires, and when that happens, Megumi has no idea if Endeavor will be a good replacement for that unshakable figure of hope.

Todoroki continues, only cementing the fact that All Might must never retire: "My old man knew he could never hack it in by his own power so he devised a plan," Megumi can sort of piece things together. From Todoroki's powerful Quirk to the scar marring his face. It has become quite obvious.

"What are you talking about, Todoroki... what is it that you're trying to tell me, exactly?" Kugisaki scoffs from between Bakugō and Megumi, predicting the reason just as well as Bakugō does. Not surprising, Megumi thinks. Truly not.

"You know about Quirk Marriages, right?"

And at the end, Megumi sighs in surrender, it is like he is back in his original world again.

...

Kugisaki is silent as they eat their lunch. Megumi looks at the curry rice he had ordered and Kugisaki with her gyūdon. The usually order different meals to share between one another but neither of them have the mood to actually do so. They both know that, despite all their mockery and their disdain for their world, their world and this world's differences are only superficial. Just in the surface area but the intricacies, their depth—the only difference is that their world is shameless in admitting to it but this one puts up a face, almost gentle and terrified to admit its true colors. A world of white lies, he supposes. Well, mostly white lies. Because at the end, the Hero Commissions exist, people who die because of casualties from Pro-Heroes exist, illegitimate children exist, Quirk Discrimination exist, and people like Todoroki Shōto exists. People like Zen'in Maki exists, like Gojō Satoru, like Zen'in Naobito, like Gakuganji Yoshinobu, like Itadori Yūji and Mechamaru.

Both Kugisaki and Megumi are born from sorcerer families, mostly Kugisaki who was raised around them the moment she opened her eyes to this world and so, Todoroki is nothing special for them and Megumi does not like admitting that. Child abuse, manipulation of their naïvete and their need to be acknowledged, taking advantage of their abilities—that is not something new to them. In fact, it is their norm. Most sorcerers are not made but are born. Though many of the current sorcerers are recruited, those that came from notable families are still the ones who stand out.

"We shouldn't have eavesdropped," Megumi admits, not finding the appetite to continue eating.

Kugisaki glances at him before going back to eating. "Right," she agrees in a receding tone. And those are all the words they share until the arrival of Bakugō and his... 'friends', Megumi guesses. All he knows is that Sero, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Ashido are the ones who tag along Bakugō all the time, regardless of how much the blond shouts at them for being an eyesore. Megumi thinks they like teasing Bakugō a little too much.

Sero sits right beside Megumi, Ashido and Kaminari by Kugisaki, and Kirishima and Bakugō in their row, which is probably a wise idea. Megumi does not want Bakugō and Kugisaki sitting beside each other lest Bakugō throws himself across the table, or Kugisaki doing much worse. Megumi becomes tempted to finish his food right then and there. "Sorry about pulling your bird's leg earlier, Fushiguro," says Sero sheepishly, "You guys were about to fly to the finish line, you know."

Ashido groans. "Fushiguro and Kugisaki's Quirks are just so well-suited for everything!" She comments. Megumi denies this to himself. Kugisaki is more of destructive than 'suited for everything' and this is quite what Megumi lacks, in a way.

Kirishima grins, flashing all of his teeth. "Bakugō was also so manly at the end! But Midoriya—!" He breathes out. "His final act!"

"Right?! Why didn't I think of that?" Kaminari agrees quickly.

Megumi does not bother to ask why Sero and the others sat beside them, or why they dragged Bakugō with them. And the conversation continues with Kugisaki, Megumi, and Bakugō hushed out and silent the whole time, uncomfortable and thinking deeply of what had happened prior to their lunch time. Honestly, Megumi prefers not to think of the normalcy of Todoroki's situation.

...

Kugisaki begins talking again after lunch, grimacing at Present Mic's commentary and going on and on about how much she misses a 'normal' school festival. Jujutsu Kōtō will never have that. They are too busy with missions and too busy trying their best to survive to search for other ways to get adrenalin from. Even the yearly battle against the Kyoto branch ended up with most of them severely injured and high-ranking Cursed Spirits appearing out of nowhere and ruining what they deemed as 'fun' for them. The end of lunch time rings, Present Mic's deafening voice making Kugisaki's mood sour. "Alright, everyone! Compete your hearts out! Recreation!" He cheers. "From four teams, sixteen individuals have made it through! It's a tournament! We're pitting them against each other in one-on-one combat!"

Bakugō's groupie—this time just Ashido, Kirishima, and Sero—immediately expresses their excitement. "A tournament, eh? Finally, I'm gon'na have the opportunity to appear on the stage I see on TV every year!" Kirishima chimes.

"There was a tournament last year too?" Ashido asks.

Sero nods. "Some details end up changing but each year is always one-on-one."

Midnight calls for everyone's attention with a crack of her whip. In her hands is a box labeled 'lots'; "Now, we're going to do a drawing to determine the pairings. So, contestants, we're going to continue the recreational activities before beginning the tournaments!" A fair match, UA is trying to say. Everything is a matter of chance and with how Midnight adds that the moment they draw their cards, they are to pass it to one of the teachers immediately, Megumi and Kugisaki cannot change their cards. This is a matter of chance. Or so it seems.

Because as the matches are suddenly presented for all of them to see, Megumi becomes overwhelmed with a mild annoyance. The students that are deemed 'powerful' are at the other ends of each group, the ones who stand out partnered with those who do not and Megumi and Kugisaki—they stand at the other ends of their group, the first eight slots of the left side. Megumi and Kugisaki are going to be removed from the finals, only one of them will stand among the top three or neither of them for the the moment Kugisaki wins against her first and second fight, and the moment Megumi wins his own, they will be forced to compete against each other, the now-famous Duo from Class 1-A. The position of their match is well-placed, right in the Quarter-Finals Round, just enough to bring diversity into the Semi-Finals because the Duo both being in the Semi-Finals would be boring, wouldn't it? But the Duo competing for a position in the Semi-Finals where only one of them will have the possibility to win first place?

That would be interesting, wouldn't it? That would be 'more fair', wouldn't it?

Because Kugisaki and Megumi are affiliated with the Hero Commissions, the 'dark side' of the Pro-Hero world, the ones who do the dirty work, who groom children, who are probably trying to scout out students in Class 1-A too—suspicious little Kugisaki and Megumi. And so, they make it harder for one of them to achieve first place. A lot harder. Kugisaki and Megumi planned to take the top three spots, one of them getting the first place to be the focus of the screen and now, they are reduced to a single person. A single chance. A single opportunity, as Kugisaki's speech had said, and now, as their classmates stare at them warily, already seeing the problems with the fact that they will be fighting each other, Megumi's stomach churns.

They built themselves as a Duo. As the best of the best when they are together. And now, they are pitted against one another. Kugisaki Nobara or Fushiguro Megumi—who will win a fight between them?

He looks angrily at Midnight who continues on with her introduction to the various Recreational Activities without care. Before he knows it, the introduction ends and they are in the same place as they had been when they eavesdropped on Midoriya and Todoroki's conversation. Megumi angrily slams his fist against the wall, feeling the throbbing pain of doing so but all he can focus is their broken plans: they're going to fight. They're going to fighr after all the effort Megumi put through recruiting Monoma and Shinsō to that stupid cavalry battle, after all their preparations for the Sports Festival, the only reason why they are even here in the first place. He barely flinches when Kugisaki passes him a drink from the vending machine. "This isn't the first time we sparred against one another," Kugisaki makes up an excuse despite how tight she is clutching on her drink.

"We sparred," Megumi emphasizes. They were practically playing around because Kugisaki would never let her nails get close to any of her allies and Megumi does not even know where to start in using his Ten Shadows against his allies. And Megumi teaching Kugisaki a thing or two about blades was barely taken seriously by either of them because Kugisaki was best suited with light weapons instead of heavy ones like Megumi's own. "I'm not going to fight you, Kugisaki. This isn't part of the plan."

"Then we can come up with another one, idiot," Kugisaki is suddenly right in front of him. Megumi looks away. Her hair is still long. Black roots still peek out from the top of her head, but she is still Kugisaki. "Besides, if they want a show, then we can give them a show."

Megumi scoffs. "You're just saying that because you want someone you can't hold back to. You're angry," he grumbles.

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Kugisaki hisses back, pressing her own drink against Megumi's chest, "I'm still angry but I'm not going to talk about that now. I'm not dumb, Megumi—" Megumi twitches when he hears his given name outside of the public. His frown deepens. "We're in a tournament. And besides, if one of us ends up losing to somebody other than each other, that's definitely not me." And Kugisaki is still angry, still in the verge of exploding as she always is but Megumi is still jittery, still paranoid, still out of place in this world. He is not like Kugisaki. He cannot just adjust. He is slow in talking to others, even slower in saying what he wants. "But I'm still angry at yo—"

The click of a can falling down from the vending machine makes them stop their conversation. They look to where it had come from, seeing Shinsō picking up his drink. The dark-haired boy shares their look. "If you're going to fight, do it somewhere private," he says reminds them.

"Not now, Shin—"

"It's because of the match-ups, right?" Megumi straightens his back, pushing Kugisaki away a little to gather himself. Shinsō continues: "The Sports Festival is for individually selling yourself to Pro-Heroes and getting a sponsorship or—" He grins. "For losers like us to get a seat in Class 1-A. Of course they're going to get rid of you as soon as possible. One-on-one matches aren't for Duos after all." The word drips from his tongue as if it is something to be mocked and not taken seriously.

Kugisaki grits her teeth. "Then don't expect any help from us then, Shinsō-san," she spits out.

"Kugisaki," Megumi warns, unknowingly calling her by her surname instead of her given name as they are required to do so. The anger returns in Kugisaki's eyes, more directed to Megumi than to Shinsō.

Shinsō copies her animosity. "As if I'll need your he—"

Megumi attempts to change the topic, not wanting to speak more of his problem with Kugisaki and instead, focuses on Shinsō. He sighs, earning a flinch from his companion. "Shinsō-san's first match is with who again?" He asks, putting a hand on Kugisaki's shoulder to calm her down.

"Hatsume," Shinsō grunts, "And Fushiguro-san's is?"

"Īda."

"Of course." Shinsō glances at Kugisaki. And Kugisaki's first match is with Kirishima.

Megumi has no plans in letting Shinsō and Kugisaki interact more than this. Though Shinsō does not treat them as he does with Class 1-A thanks to their short team play during the Cavalry Event, Megumi does not trust Shinsō to treat Kugisaki the same way he hands of neutrality towards Megumi. So he tugs Kugisaki closer to him, and nods to Shinsō, "Good luck with your match, Shinsō-san, and don't listen to the Support Department. They're here to show off their equipment and would probably ask for a longer match with you but that's disadvantageous for you. I suggest to end the match as quickly as possible, Shinsō-san. It was nice talking to you," Megumi tugs Kugisaki away, not wanting this issue to get even worse than it actually is.

When they finally reached a rather private area, Kugisaki pulls away from his grasp and glares at him. "I'm going. My match's going to start soon," she grumbles.

And in a matter of minutes, the first match begins.

...

Kirishima is honestly quite scared of Kugisaki. At first, all he knew about her was the fact that she ranked first in the Practical Exams, triumphing both him and Bakugō in sheer power, he had concluded. And during the Quirk Apprehension Test and the Battle Trials, he narrows it down not to simply strength or Quirk but also skill. The Battle Trials showed Kirishima how manly Kugisaki had been, taking in the electricity coming from Kaminari and shrugging it off as if it is nothing but a tickle, hair falling above her eyes and bang! Sometimes, Kirishima looks at Kaminari and cringes, remembering the sound of Kugisaki's rubber mallet hitting him across the face and sending him to the infirmary for more than an hour.

But the USJ Incident is a whole different thing because Kugisaki aimed for a killing blow, her Quirk much more than some nail and hammer manipulation—or whatever her Quirk is because he has no idea what it is supposed to be aside from the fact it is called 'Voodoo'; she shares that air of mystery with Fushiguro. Something that Kirishima is unsure of how to respond to because they obviously want nothing to do with Class 1-A but it is not like how Bakugō screams at them and yells at them to bug off but in the 'untouchable' way. In pairworks in class, they gravitate towards each other, and in rare groupworks, they act like they have no other choice, share odd looks and go on. Kirishima does not want to admit it but he dislikes how Fushiguro and Kugisaki act better than them and they are! They really are but Kirishima... Kirishima is a weak boy. He is cowardly. He hides behind the shadow of the dark red burn of his hair and the layers of hardened skin, and he covers himself.

He covers little Kirishima from middle school whose knees shook and whose hands dripped in sweat, of fear, or cowardice that he refuses to acknowledge. And watching Kugisaki and Fushiguro dance with the Noumu, bones cracking, skin scraping, wounds grinding, and flesh warping; Kirishima feels helpless, reduced to the boy from middle school. And Kugisaki aims for the killing blow, spikes rising from the epicenter of the Noumu but the Noumu rises, Kugisaki pales wnd Kirishima wonders what she was trying to do. Was she trying to kill the Noumu? Was she really aiming for the killing blow? Why did she try to kill the Noumu? What was she trying to do? Aren't they heroes?

Kirishima does not know what to expect from Kugisaki and how his Quirk would work against his. All he gets from Bakugō are narrowed eyes and deep frowns: "Get rid of her hammer and nails. You can probably overpower her with your Quirk." And that is probably the most help he can get from his classmate and he makes sure to thank him eagerly.

Kugisaki is not particularly strong. Her arms are slender and she is shorter than himself, probably barely in her hundred and sixties in height, and if Kirishima lands a right hook on Kugisaki then he can probably have a chance but that is only if he manages to get rid of her hammer first. Their difference is obvious: Kirishima is a short-ranged fighter and Kugisaki is mid to long-ranged. It's going to be hard for the both of them, and with Present Mic's loud greeting to the crowd, he knows what is about to happen: "After so many events! Finally, the one versus one battles, those which we all really wanted to see! The only person you can count on is yourself! However, even without being a hero, you face situations like these in your everyday life, right?" Present Mic raises his hands in the air. "Will, ability, resistance, and justice... this is the moment to put all these in play and achieve a glorious victory!"

Kirishima does not like punching the fairer sex. He does not like punching girls like Kugisaki even more: appearing like a traditionally pretty Japanese woman with the exception of the color of her hair but she still has long lashes, pale skin, a flush of pink and she is rather shorter in height and slender. Kirishima does not want to bruise her but he thinks of what Kugisaki will do to him, how she had shamelessly picked a fight with Bakugō more times than not, and thinks of the supposed killing blow she dealt to the beast. And he thinks of himself: little Kirishima Eijirō from middle school who shakes, pales, and sweats. Cowardly little Kirishima Eijirō who will probably never be a hero.

But Kirishima Eijirō is here.

"First match! With a hardening Quirk and an unbreakable will, we have Kirishima Eijirō from Class 1-A—" The crowd cheers. "And in the other end; though we haven't seen much of her from the previous rounds, she's still the first placer in the Practical Exams and is the Player Representative: Kugisaki Nobara from Class 1-A!" It is deafening.

Kugisaki walks into the ring, hair tied tightly and face framed in annoyance and irritation. She glares at the direction of Present Mic. Kirishima focuses on the belt around her hips, containing her nails, as he remembers. Get rid of her hammer and nails, Bakugō's voice echoes as Present Mic announces the rules: "If your opponent leaves the ring, can't move any more, or says 'I give up', then the victory is yours! Don't worry about overdoing yourself! Recovery Girl is waiting prepared at the edge of the stadium! So leave your morals to the side and give it your all! Of course, to put the life of your opponent at risk for reason is not permitted. If you do, you will be disqualified immediately! Heroes should only attack without mercy when attacking Villains!" Present Mic grins. "Without further ado, ready—"

(Get rid of her hammer and nails. Belt. Bag. Hammer and nails.)

"Begin!"

only a fool deals with a fool