"Sir, what are we going to do about the Sports Festival events?" Toshinori questioned.

It was a fortnight before the festival was meant to take place, and this was a public meeting with all the faculty. Midnight turned her head and tilted it slightly. "We already discussed raising security, and the villains wouldn't try to attack twice anyway." Midnight pointed out.

"That's not what I meant," Toshinori noted. "I'm talking about the Hero course students having a possible advantage. More so than usual. It doesn't seem fair."

"You're talking about Nebulos Andros and his supposed future knowledge, right?" Vlad King, the muscular white-haired homeroom teacher of Class 1-B, commented. While his story had been told to Principal Nezu, Aizawa and All Might in full, Nezu had twisted and changed the story a bit to explain to the other teachers without risking too much: That Andros seemed to have been affected by a Quirk earlier in life to give him a sense of déjà vu. Nothing that could be used to benefit people consistently as it was random. With that Nezu hoped to minimize the chance of Andros being harmed or used while at the same time informing the staff so they can pass on anything Andros might remember.

"The kid's got a ruff enough guess of what happened to make it clear that something's up." Hound Dog criticized. "What makes you think differently?"

Vlad shook his head. "I'm not saying he doesn't have that knowledge. What I'm saying is it could be a whole host of other angles. His story is already outlandish, that he dropped in from out of mid-air, that he used to be older but now isn't… he seems to be acting like just a smarter, more mature kid." He replied.

"Five years of spending time with people his biological age would do that to someone." Ectoplasm remarked. "Crowd mentality, along with his body changing."

"But it could be something else to explain it. Maybe he's some punk kid plant that these League of Villains prepared for their plans." Vlad responded.

Aizawa nodded. "It's not a bad conclusion to come to Vlad, but your off course in this case. I can vouch that Andros is no Villain." The shinobi-esque teacher coolly commented. "But I believe that All Might's question is more about him knowing about the events at the Sports Festival."

"Indeed… although I will also vouch that Andros is what he says he is." Toshinori remarked with a nod.

Principal Nezu slowly lowered the cup of tea he had been savouring… and just smiled. "None of you need to worry about the Sports Festival." He remarked. "Even if Andros remembers parts of it, he'll only have half of the equation." The furry principal noted with a devious grin and a glint in his eyes. "After all, sometimes the biggest variable in a test is the human element."

Despite everything that's been mentioned before now, I haven't even gone into a fraction of what was being done to prepare for the Sports Festival. From what I had heard Monoma and Kendo had sorted something out with Class 1-B behind closed doors, Mei was a flurry of activity at home or school every day – although thankfully not making anything at home anymore, she seemed to be designing instead – and then there were individuals. Physical exercise is done in public or behind closed doors, refining one's Quirks… I even realized I could move the metallic tendrils on my arms in Blood Stalk form a bit, but it wasn't anything to rely on yet.

It was a bit hard to shake the feeling that despite the jump forward, I was starting to slip behind with my Quirk compared to some of the others in the class… but then I suppose anyone could feel like that. Bakugou and Izuku feel like that if I remember right. But there was also subterfuge… while no-one dared to try and record the sparring sessions, there were binoculars and hidden forms as students from each class – especially general and business studies – tried to scope us out. Sero had even slumped against a wall on Friday after exams admitting that the business course seemed to be focusing on him for some reason.

And then… some were big blanks. Todoroki never even tried to go for sparring, seemingly preferring to keep his own capabilities hidden. And while I remembered the look and Quirk of Shinso, trying to find and talk to him was a whole other story – it seemed like he was avoiding talking to anyone in the Hero course before the big day.

Which before long the day came. It was an interesting sight to be sure as Mei, Neito and I walked through the gates among the rest of the crowd, with the reporter from the second day even flinching as we passed by, apparently having been trusted to do the Sports Festival. Admittedly it had taken Mei grabbing both our shoulders and forcing us to keep walking to stop Neito and I from reminding her about journalistic ethics, but what can you do?

Of course, she wasn't the only interesting sight I noticed around the area. Among other heroes that had been called in as security or had come to observe, I spotted a very familiar seeming bunny girl hero – Miruko if the forums are any indication – that definitely seemed on the stronger side. And there was the Buster Hero Air Jet, who I'm sure Izuku would have never let me forget forgetting otherwise. But it was as we headed towards the changing rooms that I spotted one of the heroes that were the most familiar. A man with a centipede for a head. I don't remember his hero name, but I remember his boss thanks to a certain blonde encounter. Did Sir Nighteye ask him to scout things out, or is he keeping an eye on All Might for Sir, or is he doing it of his own accord?

Still, before long we had split up and all been sorted into respective waiting rooms. And of course, I should've expected this question.

"Hey Andros, ya sure you can't tell us what the first round is going to be?" Sato asked. "Ain't like they coulda changed it that quickly."

"It would be foolish to not ask at the least." Tokoyami admitted.

I shrugged at that. "You'd be surprised honestly… and I wouldn't be surprised if the Principal changed things around just enough to mess with my knowledge." I commented.

"So, it's not just Aizawa-sensei that's like that…" Shoji trailed off as Todoroki approached, having mostly stuck to the walls while we waited.

"Nebulos. A word?" Todoroki questioned with cool steel to his voice – definitely not icy, no, no terrible pun here. Still, after a shrug of my shoulders, I followed him over to one of the walls as the others chatted, clearly trying to calm their nerves. Which I get, the stadium here is HUGE, bigger than some sports events I've seen. Even with Cementoss to make the simulated buildings U.A.s budget must be immense!

Oh, wait, Todoroki is staring at me. "Sorry, just thinking about the scale of this place… what's up?" I asked.

Todoroki let the silence linger in the air for a moment before speaking. "Have you told anyone about…" He trailed off, his voice quiet as he shifted his head slightly, exposing more of his-

Oh. Ooooh. "No. Nonono." I insisted, shaking my head rapidly to emphasize. "That's not my place. And…" I could feel my face shift into a glare as certain scenes, phrases and the like, most half-remembered at best ran through my mind. "… your father deserves to be dumped in gasoline for what he's done."

Todoroki blinked and, for a slight moment, I thought I almost saw the hints of a smile, but nothing. "And I take it that Midoriya's…"

"Is the same thing," I assured. Before a thought came to mind. Maybe I can try and head some things off? "But… even with the situation, you using-"

And that was as far as I got before the door opened. "Everybody get ready! It's almost time for us to go out!" Iida called out.

And after that, nobody really got much of a word in edgewise as Todoroki made his declaration of 'I want to rub this in my dad's face that I'm better than him even though it'd be hard to be worse' or his declaration of war to Izuku. Not a great sign, but if nothing else… it makes it obvious even if you know as much as I do, you can't just 'fix' things like that.

Ok, this isn't LIKE a sporting event with the stadium to match, it IS one. An American one to be exact, given that they're setting off FIREWORKS DURING THE DAYTIME. Do they have someone on staff to just do that as their Quirk or what?

I have to admit though, it seems a bit unfair for most of the General Course students. I mean unless they've stayed dedicated – smart money says only Shinso's done so – they likely haven't been training their bodies, minds or Quirks to the level to keep up with both the Hero course and the Support course. And the Business course would be laughable if I hadn't brought that up in class only for Iida to correct me that they use it as scouting practice and such.

"It's time for the player pledge!" Oh right. Midnight is our umpire apparently. Most people would think that's because fan service but frankly given Izuku, Bakugou, Todoroki… me, Neito at times, Mei, Kaminari… wow, actually there's a lot of people who would benefit from someone to knock them out before they go too far.

"Is it ok for her to teach at a high school even though she's R-Rated?" Tokoyami asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I tilted my head to the side… before realizing for once I didn't need to be so exaggerated. "She's U.A. Alumni, so she probably got the idea here," I remarked.

Mineta grinned. "Maybe I could do that too…" He noted with a grin. "I'd be big with the ladies then."

"You're taking it too far, stop it." I countered.

"Quiet everyone!" Midnight called out. "To do the pledge… is Bakugou Katsuki, of class 1-A!"

Oh. Right. Suddenly this seems familiar, but maybe that's being exposed to Bakugou for a bit of time gets you expecting the most explosive and angry result.

"Bakugou did get the top marks in the entrance exam." Izuku exposited.

A general course girl snorted. "In the hero course." She derisively noted.

Yeah, ok, not letting that go. "Hero school. Plus, if it was the Support course that'd be Hatsume Mei." I explained back. "Who would turn it into a sales pitch."

The girl looked like she was about to shoot back another statement, but Shinso of all people turned around and glared at her, and she shrank back. Maybe he doesn't like the idea of being taken lightly? No, wait, he's glaring at me now. Just trying to be intimidating, I think.

And speaking of intimidating, Bakugou making a speech. He seemed silent at first… before tilting his head up slightly. "I pledge… to be number one."

And there's the booing immediately from the other classes. Goddamnit Bak-

"Because!"

u… gou? He spoke up suddenly. That wasn't his whole speech? I expected that to be his whole speech… mostly from having spent some time with the man. The booing stopped too.

"This is the first chance to do so without others complaining." Bakugou continued, before pointing a finger at the cameras. "No costumes to mess with things. No coward villains thinking they can mess with me. I'll show that I'm number one on my own!"

Ah… buh… I don't know what to say to that. And while there is a fair amount of booing from some in the other classes there isn't as much. I don't remember what he said before… but that wasn't it. So, what ch-

Bakugou shoved his shoulder against mine as he walked past… and said nothing. Ok, so something I did influenced him to change the direction slightly. But what? Damnit, this is why I prefer having answers!

"Start!"

And with that, the sound of the cheering crowd, of Midnight, of Aizawa and Mic's commentary which seemed to be unchanged -bar the nickname- was all drowned out by the sound of rushing people and the din as everyone crammed their way into the small space. Including me, incidentally, which makes me wonder if either the staff thinks I have more control over my gas than I do or that I wouldn't make any Smash with the amount I'd puff out due to stress.

Or I'm looking too far into it. Certainly, while people are struggling, I can see what I think is a spark of green, a flash of metal and –

A chilly sensation at my feet. Shit! I grab the shoulders of the two people closest to me and FORCE my way off the ground as a wave of freezing ice swallowed up their feet, before landing back down awkwardly and sliding along… before spotting a path of shattered ice, quickly following along it and after a not too far away Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, who it seemed had just hardened up and brute-forced his way out of the ice. As we made our way out – with me just behind at this point and the yell of Bakugou shouting

"-you half-and-half bastard!"

I grinned and leapt back onto a patch of ice that was at least more open than the rest. "Vaporize!" I declared eagerly, even as the Nebula Gas surrounded me, I could see a streak of green lightning as Izuku leaped out of the entranceway, clearly determined to prove his worth. He wasn't the only one racing out, however. As the Nebula Gas of the transformation cleared as fast as I could make it I spotted Shihai Kuroino (Quirk: Black) emerge from the darkness of the tunnel, followed by a grinning and ink-skinned classmate in Neito, and then Kinoko Komori (Quirk: Mushroom) who bounced off a mushroom made on the cold soil that Tetsutetsu had churned up.

"Shroooooom~!" Komori cried out as the surprisingly rubbery mushroom bounced her away.

Son of a bitch, Neito planned for this! And there's probably more on ahead, I need to stop thinking and start moving!

I smashed my feet down on the nearby ice, cracking it as I leaped into the air, using the enhanced strength in my legs to race along the frozen ground before repeating the process, similar to Izuku who seemed to be keeping close to the ground and bounding off the walls. He wasn't the only one making great strides though, with Tokoyami and Ojiro using Dark Shadow and their tail respectively to avoid the blasts of ice coming back their way, while Shishida (Quirk: Beast) was putting what parts of his quirk he couldn't have before to simply dig into the ice and force his way forward.

I pulled my legs in for a roll as I landed back onto the ground hard, wincing somewhere on my body – don't ask where – before pulling myself out of the impact and starting back up at a run. I had sheer physical prowess on my side compared to some of the others, but Bakugou was already ahead using his explosions to slide faster, with Izuku and Togaru Kamakiri (Quirk: Razor Sharp) – from 1-B – having formed a pair of blades after taking off his shoes as ice skates, of all things.

"Get outta the way 1-A!" Kamakiri declared, pushing forwards as Izuku reached back-

-before a sudden impact against the ground caused it to rumble and forced us all to look ahead. Aaaand there's the rub – a veritable army of robots. But unlike my hazy memories that told me that the zero pointers would come first, it seemed like they had been organized into a proper army, one and 2 pointers making up the front ranks while the zero pointers lead from the middle, three pointers likely at the back to provide a nasty surprise to anyone who just rushed ahead.

And as I barely get the time to process that, icy pillars burst forward, the spiked pillars either impaling or thrusting the robots into the air as Todoroki runs through a conveniently shaped hole… one that closes up not long after. Damnit, he's still figured out a way to rush ahead. Before I can shake my head and recover from that both Krisihima and Tetsutetsu have raced forward, Sato not far behind as they start smashing into the robots.

"Oi oi oi, these kids ain't hesitating, and it ain't just the 1-A kids who seem to be urgent to catch up." Present Mic's commentary, for a moment clear enough for us to hear, cut in.

"It's only logical." Aizawa cut in. "They've all grown since the entrance exam, using adversity or each other to drive themselves on."

I shook my head and let out a roar of frustration before running forward, aiming to use a combination of speed, jumping and raw strength to get through the cannon fodder quickly. Letting my hands do the talking as I grabbed one of the one pointers and tossed it into the two pointers behind it. As I springboard off another two pointer vines crawl along the ground and entangle a line of robots nearby as Ibara Shinozaki from 1-B raced forward, closely followed behind by a few students, notably Shinso riding a literal human chariot. Mina wasn't exactly doing badly either, tossing acid in front of her that, if the robots trying to dodge it was any indication, was far more dangerous to metal than it seemed – even if Juzo Honeuki (Quirk: Softening) from 1-B was doing just as good of a job as disabling them while melting the ground. I stuck out my legs this time and let the one pointer I landed on absorb the impact before I looked up ahead of me. Another couple of one pointer were either tossed aside or simply dodged around – while I'm not Iida speed, I AM faster right now

But then came the big obstacles that would likely test that speed. The zero pointers… two of which had toppled over with dustings of frost over them likely put there by Todoroki. For me… I'm probably too slow to get past an arm swing in time and I really wouldn't like to try, especially with one of the zero pointers having taken up a point just beyond the barricade. But I can take advantage of that.

It's more than just a single jump to get over the zero pointers usually but bouncing off the fallen ones lets me grab onto one of the arms of the other standing guard, then soon leaping off there to barely grab onto the head. For a tense moment, I can barely believe my own grip as I dig my hands into the metal of the face – I hadn't realized I could hold things that hard – before I spotted a massive had swinging its way up towards me! I quickly started to force some gas to build up in the two pipes and with a soft popping sound push my lower body out of the way of the swing… before I flopped back down. I pulled a hand out and dug another hand in… before I almost slapped myself for panicking too quickly and decided to try something I'd been too scared to do in sparring matches.

I thrust an arm out towards the top… and the metallic cable-like part of the suit shot out, shifting directions in the air a couple of times before it reached near the top and found purchase near the top of the robot's head. As it brought its other hand up for another massive swing, I kicked off of its chin before pulling in the cable, essentially pulling me to the top of the robot where I could scramble to get on top of it

By the time I have, I can see ice in the distance with bursts of green and two different trails of explosions following him – did Neito manage to get his hands on Bakugou's Quirk? I soon found myself not alone as Sero and on another robot nearby, Tokoyami… as well as the dust trail of a just leapt down Tsuyu as well Pony Tatsunori (Quirk: Horn Cannon) from 1-B who had just raced between their legs it seems while Mei follows her on what I remember her calling "Jet Boots", which seemed to be VERY different to the air boots from canon as they looked akin to rollerblades with jet boosters on them – possibly inspired by Iida who's hot on her tail?

I shook my head. Analyse later, move now! I push my legs forward and JUMP off the robot, not nearly far enough to get me to the next area, but far enough that by the time I pull myself out of the next impact crater I've made, I spot a giggling Mei racing alongside me. I flashed her a thumbs up and she flashed one back… before she looked forwards and grinned even wider. I looked forward and if I could my eyes would have widened. We already made it to… uh…

"The Fall!"

Thank you for announcing Present Mic, ahem. The Fall? How big was the robot battlefield? And yet as I slammed my feet down and felt the dirt under me be dug into, Mei if anything cranked up the speed of her jet boots!

"Support Companies! Watch now, the mind, the inventiveness, the technology of Hatsume Mei!" She declared at a volume I thought required speakers to reach. She went sailing over the edge… and before my eyes I watched on as the rollerbladed sections unfolded and seemed to come back together before forming into a pair of fan-shaped boosters, even as one of Mei's gauntlets shot forth, connected by cables to Mei's wrist guard, copying her hand as she adjusted it to grab onto the ledge, the glove itself clearly having dug into the rock face to do so! I clearly wasn't the only one who saw it as Neito – still using Bakugou's explosion to its fullest in mid-air – seemed to lose control at the sight of it. This was soon joined by a panting Kendo and a slightly wincing Mina – among a growing small crowd of students.

"Is that Mei?" Mina asked. "So, support gets their gadgets?"

As if to answer her the sound of springs resonated, Koji Koda soon LEAPING into the air and onto one of the rock platforms… before the force of the landing – which he clearly hadn't had the time to adjust for – sent him sailing back up into the air screaming.

"Guess they don't always get it right," Kendo noted with a wince… before she looked out at the rock face and started to run. I just chuckled and ran forward too before putting as much power as I could into my legs and leaped as she grabbed onto one of the ropes with her bigger hands. Admittedly this was the riskier of the plans I had considered for this section if it showed up… but if there was one thing I was putting into practice with this form, it was to have fun with it! Even so, I could see Uraraka take a running jump at the pit – smart, using her gravity to carry her across with the force of her jump. Heck, I can see Setsuna Tokage (Quirk: Lizard Tail Splitter) from 1-B splitting into five floating pieces while Shoji just grabs onto one of the ropes like a pro and starts flat out swinging across.

Oh, right, gotta land. And I'd be heading for a pit… so I swing out my right arm, the tendril shooting out wildly at the rock face – fortunately, nobody is there. Because the other reason I don't use this usually is that if these are close to the show, then I should be able to eventually control them perfectly… but they're also designed to inject people with Nebula Gas, either turning them into Smash or killing them. Not exactly a good thing to do after all. Still with the cord – I think I'll stick to that – stuck into the rock face I can use it to pull myself in!

… I should've thought about it for a second more. Then I'd have realized that meant slamming into the rocky floor of the platform face first. Ow.

"Oooh, that's what you get when you don't look before you leap folks!" Present Mic's voice rang out. "That's precious time he'll be wasting!"

Shut up Mic, I know! It definitely doesn't help that as I pull myself off of the rock face, I see Iida zoom past me in… a very uncool pose, leaping from the platform to another rope Overhead both Shoji, having apparently wanted some distance before gliding as he was now, and Aoyama pass, taking the same aerial approach. So many people from both Class 1-A and 1-B are pushing so hard, this is going to be extremely close… especially with Bakugou, Izuku, and Todoroki battling for first place right now. I take another running jump, smaller this time, and start to push my way to go from spot to spot – only for Tsuyu to leap past, her legs stronger and able to leap further while aiming her jumps, unlike my own more reckless leaps from before. Still, people are focusing too much on speed and not falling to try and sabotage each other, so before long, while I've lost time and my stronger position from the big jump after having to recover and play it safe, I'm still doing decently… but I need to do better. I push my legs and force myself forwards faster, trying my hardest to make up for the lost time.

"And now, we've quickly arrived at the final barrier! The reality is, it's a minefield!" Mic called out, the relative silence of the run between areas letting us hear loud and clear. "Of course, with how strong the fight is for first place, that might just be more of a hazard than the mines!"

I do my best to drown Mic out after that. Todoroki's probably there already, and by the sounds of it, Izuku and Bakugou aren't far behind. I force my legs down harder, forcing myself to run as fast as I can… but it's not long before I burst past a couple of people and onto the minefield itself-

Where with a single step a plume of pink smoke and force blasts out, sending me sprawling forward into another mine! The mine blasted me up into the air. Compared to some of the insane jumps I'd already made today it wasn't quite as bad… but it was letting me see just where some of the others were. Ice littered scattered patches of ground as Bakugou and Todoroki half-raced, half brawled. A trail of pink smoke seemed to follow Iida as he raced past, nothing odd there. There were even scattered explosions as a more cautious Izuku was clearly trying to balance speed and precision… but had stopped partway. What's he-

Realization hits me like a hammer. Even if there's no way I can know what Izuku might be doing, if he's stopped like that even for a moment, it means he's preparing for the final sprint. Which means if I want a chance at getting that position… I need to take a risk. I look around, forcing myself to right in mid-air, and on the way down from the blast I spot a section of ground relatively unoccupied… around about where Izuku is, between the brawling duo and the rest of the pack.

Now the thing about things you refuse to use is you don't know your own guidelines and limits for them. Todoroki has his fire for that, and I have the cords. I have no idea how far they can reach at max… but as I force one forward… it doesn't get anywhere near as far as I was hoping. That's fine, it's fine. At this point, I could probably play it safe and still get to the next round. But with the rush, the adrenaline, the all-out use of our powers… and the fact that I haven't kept this form going for so long before is making me feel excited, wanting to aim for the top! I pull my arm back and pull the cord with it, using the force of the pullback to add a bit of a spin as I come towards the ground… and I grinned and did the next most insane thing I could possibly do to try and win.

I slammed my feet down on the ground beneath me. Another minefield. The shock of the powerful explosion rocks through my body as it sent me tumbling through the air forward, less guided and more… vaguely aimed towards the front. Not long after I clear the smoke, I see a twin burst of pink smoke followed by a blur of green shooting out at Iida level speeds, Izuku racing forward… at least for the brief instants I can see him as I tumble. But I can't lose. I refuse, I won't lose!

I let loose a burst of gas from the pipes on my body that aims down, halting my tumbling through the air, and letting me land on my feet, gas still hissing out at a thin rate. I leaped forward in a shorter hop, even as a pair of horns races by carrying Tatsunori Pony. I push hard off the ground and force myself forward, no stopping, no slowing, nothing! Each time I see a mine ahead I thrust out an arm to the ground near it, digging a cord in to keep me grounded before forcing it out, taking hit after hit as I force myself after the ever-shrinking lead.

I could see green vines digging into the ground, I could see Iida pushing forward but still needing caution, slowing him down, and I can see blond hair and a big grin – Neito's still pushing. None of that mattered, I just needed to win. The mines are thinning out, we're getting to the final stretch, Todoroki can't do much more with his ice except stall Bakugou and Izuku, Izuku has the strongest chance but he and Bakugoou must be getting tired, I can beat them, I can reign-

And as I pass through another explosion and push myself further forward… there's a different kind of explosion as grey Nebula Gas blasted off my body, a feeling like a body-wide cramp passing through me, my body seizing up briefly as I stumbled. I felt tired, my body seemed to groan in pain, and my transformation seemed to have given up on me… had I hit the limit for just how much damage I could force my Blood Stalk form to take, or had it been because I had been transformed this entire time? Or had… had I done that myself? I-

"And here they come towards the finish line!"

Shit! I can't stop now! Even if I feel sore… I force my legs forward and start to run again. Even if I can't get first, I need to place. I'm not going to let my mistake drop me out of the race! One leg after the other, the soreness starting to fade slowly from my body as I managed to push myself into a half-hearted run… as I saw a blond-haired grin run up alongside me.

"Having some issues Andros?" Neito taunted in-between steps. "Ahrere~. I'll tell you how the finish line looks then." And at that, he continued to run forward… and I just grinned, before pushing myself into a full-fledged run. I wasn't going to let Neito go for even a moment, I WAS going to make it through to the next stage! As we start to run head to head in the hallway, we can hear cheering crowds ahead of us, with Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu not too far ahead, and I swear I could see a flash of pink in the crowd… was it Mina or Mei? I forced myself on and burst through the arc way… before stumbling and starting to fall.

"Whoa, hold on there!" Neito called out as he grabbed me by the shoulders, keeping me steady. "Ah… are you ok? You… went a bit weird there. I expected you to keep rocket jumping or just… take it slower. You acted like you were invincible at the end there."

I panted heavily as my whole body seemed to throb again but… it wasn't as sore. I flexed my hands as I looked up at the cheering crowd… and the openly smiling, if slightly frost-covered, Izuku. Mina was already coming over towards Neito and I – I hadn't even seen her since the start of the race, she did that well? Still… I forced myself to lean against a nearby wall and took a few steadying breaths.

"Yeah… just pushed my Quirk a bit harder than I expected." I excused… even as I cupped my chin. "And… I think I might have forced the change back too, somewhere. I was starting to feel… angry. Aggressive. Wanting to win at all costs – first place win, not just getting through." I cut in, seeing Neito going to ask.

"Couldn't that just be… you getting competitive?" Neito asked.

"Maybe… but sometimes Nebula Gas made people more aggressive in the show." I admitted. "… I didn't want to run the risk… maybe I should…"

And then my face stung as I felt Neito slap me. I pressed my hand against where he'd just hit, as Neito's face had turned from his usual grin to thunderous.

"Don't you DARE do that to yourself, Andros." Neito insisted. "If you back out here, you'd second guess yourself every time you want to use your Quirk. You couldn't help anyone second-guessing yourself like that. How long have you had that transformation, a month at best? Of course, you wouldn't know everything about it, of course you don't have perfect control. I feel that way with every Quirk I copy. But when I feel wrong, I remember something I was told once. That it's human to worry. And if my Quirk isn't bad… then yours isn't either."

I blinked at that statement… and I could see the area around us blur a bit before I wiped away the oncoming tears. "Thanks, Neito… I… I think I needed that right now." I confessed.

"Well, I can always slap you again if you need to." Neito insisted before we both just burst out laughing. Even so… it's a reminder that I need to keep a watch for what DID cause that. Why I suddenly got competitive. Was it the Quirk… or was it just me?

As everyone arrived bit by bit, the cut-off point was eventually announced… with poor Aoyama barely scraping in. Now, beyond certain people coming in close placing, I couldn't tell you much about how it compared to the story – my memory isn't THAT good. But as we stood together in scattered groups and looked up at the screen, I could see that Bakugou had actually tied with Todoroki for second – meaning that the three-way brawl must've been closer than I thought – And that the top ten had Iida, Ibara, Pony, Hoenzuki, Mina, Kirishima, and Tetsutetsu.

"We… came that high?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Well with the speed and the jumping you were pulling off, that's not a surprise!" Neito remarked. "And I was able to copy good Quirks all along the race – Pony's Horn Cannon really came in handy during the Fall."

I gave Mina a look with a raised eyebrow. She just grinned at that. "Wellll… I wasn't doing too well by the Fall, but when I saw the explosions, I got an idea to speed things up." She remarked… before letting a small bead of acid appear on her finger. "I threw super melty acid ahead of me to melt the mines! Put all that chemistry studyin' ta work."

And at that, my jaw dropped. Even so though, as I looked back at the screen… the results were very interesting. Class A and B were tightly intermixed, with at best blocks of two or three students from one class before switching to another. Mei had managed 21st, right behind Kendo and just in front of Tsuyu. Sato was only a few spots below where I'd placed at 16th, but the competition had been fierce. Poor Koda hadn't even placed sadly, apparently due to that mistimed super spring it had sent him into The Fall.

"You really pushed your class on huh?" I asked Neito.

All I got in reply was a wicked grin.