"So, it's Iida up against Tokage-san next, right?" Mina asked, even as she stood up. "Probably should get going now then. I gotta get prepared for my match."

Huh, that's a point, I never asked- and Tokoyami stood up too. Huh. I looked at Momo who… is currently going to town on an American style burger, with extra meat and cheese. "So… what happened during your match?" I questioned, even as I waved at the departing Mina.

Unfortunately, at that moment Momo had a mouthful of food and couldn't answer, leading to a sighing Jiro. Still, a good time to have a drink myself. "The two went back and forth for quite a while. Tokoyami had Dark Shadow attack her, she used a shield to block and then started sending out those Russian nesting dolls." Jiro explained.

I spluttered at that, spraying cola out to the side – I wasn't about to spray it on poor Jiro. "Mat… Matryo… Russian Nesting Dolls, with Flashbangs in them?" I demanded, wide-eyed.

Momo flinched back at the sudden insistence, before swallowing. "Um, yes, is there a problem with that?" Momo inquired.

"Are you kidding me? It's amazing YaoMomo!" I insisted… before I saw Jiro waving a hand down. Ah, right, too loud. "Ah… as I was saying… the you from the story didn't get the idea to try that until the end of term exams. But… what changed?"

Momo shook her head at that. "I… couldn't tell you. But if I had to hazard a guess… when you told us all that information after the USJ, and how more troubles were happening in the future… I decided to read some other books. Ones that covered how some heroes fought when relying less on their Quirks." She explained.

I snapped my fingers at that. "Gadgeteers," I stated.

Momo nodded. "There's still a few manga that use gadgeteer heroes, but I focused on what was used. I also talked to your friend Hatsume-san and her friends in Support." Momo explained.

"Sorry." Sato, Hagakure, Neito popping his head over the wall, and I all remarked.

"She… does have her own unique energy, I'll admit," Momo noted. "I could barely keep up with her… are all support-"

"Just Hatsume," We said in unison.

"A-are you sure?"

"… I kinda hope it's just her." Kaminari remarked. "She's a nice girl, but… didn't she accidentally turn you into an EMP Andros?"

I growled openly at that.

"Ah… sorry for asking."

Setsuna would openly admit she was nervous facing off against Iida. While Kaminari was an idiot – a cute idiot, but an idiot – Iida was class rep of their class. She was going to have to try and wear him out.

"START!"

Immediately she split her body apart as Iida came charging forward, forcing her main body to stay attached to her neck and head as they floated upwards, both legs floating off to the side… but her eyes widened as she saw Iida turn with little speed lost! He was going after a leg, and both were still close to the ground, he could just push it out if she wasn't careful. She growled as he grabbed at it-

Just as she thought.

She let her scowl turn into a smirk as she FIRED off her foot off the leg and right into Iida's stomach. While it only caused him to stumble, it was enough to let her split off her other body parts as well, both hands slamming palm strikes into his chest, while she brought the other foot towards his back. She needed to hit hard and hit fast, if Iida got any time to think it'd be over, as she kept flinging her hands, feet, legs, arms, and even at one point a wickedly careening headbutt at him, losing track of even her body parts in the storm of attacks-

"Tokage Setsuna is out of bounds!"

"What?" Both Setsuna and Iida questions simultaneously… only for them to pause and look at just where they had ended up. And Tokage groaned as she realized exactly what had happened. Her plan had been… almost faultless. Attacking from all angles rapidly stopped Iida from getting to respond in time.

… it was just a shame that she'd been so dedicated to landing blows behind him too because one of her feet had stepped just over the boundary line to go for the coup de grace.

I winced at that. "Yikes. Talk about a bad matchup going from good and then bad again." I commented. Or tried to, the cry of despair that Neito was giving was somewhat distracting.

"She had Iida utterly off guard – he's good at fighting, but if you overload him with too much at once he finds it hard to adapt," Momo remarked

"If ya put someone like Bakugou or Midoriya into that situation, they're used to having to look from all angles," Kirishima added. "Someone like Iida? He needs time and a clear angle to aim for. If he used his engines at the wrong time."

"Whoa~! Wipeout!" Kaminari declared.

Mineta, on the other hand, was shaking in… anger? "That lucky man… he got to feel the touch of her-" And before he could continue a strip of tape slapped itself across his mouth, leaving his nose able to breathe.

"Dude, time and a place." Sero criticized.

Neito pulled his head over the dividing barrier. "I… think Vlad-sensei is going to make her focus on situational awareness after this," Neito admitted, soon followed by Tetsutetsu poking his head over the wall dividing our classes.

"Oi, you two are fighting after the next match, right?" The man of infinite metal jokes asked, pointing at me and Bakugou. "Then Nebulos! You better win this one! Your Quirk might not be like mine or Kirishima's exactly, but after the manly fight you two put on before-!"

"Shut up already, you damn extra!" Bakugou roared, apparently a bit annoyed at being so blatantly ignored and dismissed by someone in the other class. Still, he was pulling out of his seat, and I did much the same, giving Bakugou a nod. With Mina vs Tokoyami, it wasn't that we thought either would stomp the other… but that whatever happened it'd be a fast fight.

… that's what I thought at least. Bakugou, who knows?

When someone looks into an apartment and sees nothing but endless white, one might assume many things. That the house was dirty. That someone had a snow-based Quirk. That someone was painting. Often times it'd be that someone was in trouble and that trouble was being hidden.

For the neighbours of Midoriya Inko? They had expected this. It was better than flooding issues.

"Izuuuukuuu, my baby boy… you're doing so well." Inko sniffled. She had only just now recovered from seeing the end of the fight between Izuku and that Todoroki boy… while she was terrified at the danger, the fact that a teacher – Izuku's HOMEROOM teacher no less – had been fast enough and quick-witted to grab her boy out of mid-air and place him on the ground… it did a lot to make her feel better about the school.

At the same time, it left her amazed at Izuku's Quirk. While a late manifestation wasn't unheard of, the fact that it could have so much power in it… her Quirk had always been attracting small objects to her hand and her darling husband wasn't that much stronger. At first, she had thought it was just him, but between Katsuki, that Todoroki boy and so many other classmates… it was like looking at a new generation of heroes already.

… well, she might be a touch hesitant to think of Katsuki like that.

One might think that Bakugou Mitsuki would be as reserved as Inko in her opinions, especially as she was mid-shoot.

"For fuck's sake, at least that Tokage girl didn't make it look like she was toying with her food like a certain brat of mine!" Mitsuki bellowed, before seeming to snap back into a model perfect post, a tablet with a livestream of the festival being held up so she could work and watch.

"Mitsuki, sweetie, you and I both know he was showing her respect." Bakugou Masaru, who had volunteered to direct this shoot when he noticed the dates, commented.

"For once in his ungrateful life yeah! But it still comes off as toying with her." Mitsuki countered.

Masaru sighed. "At least the next fight he has should be an interesting one… but I want to see how this turns out first. Acid against Shadows. It's almost metaphysical." He explained.

Mitsuki nodded at that. "And that Mina girl knows her moves… but it's not great for them if either of them wins. They have to go up against Katsuki after." She pointed out, before snapping back into a pose.

Masaru looked at the screen… as much as he loved his son, he wasn't quite as confident in his son's chances as his sweetie.

Of course, if Inko's tissue-laden getup was one thing and the Bakugou's working on the entertainment was another… it was probably a good thing neither Mei nor Andros was at home.

On one hand was Yubi, having donned a pair of goggles to look more like his daughter, with a pair of pendants, one for each of the kids they looked after, in his hands. "Shame that Iida boy took out Mei, but it was a heck of a display!" Yubi commented.

Te, who had a foam #1 finger on and a hat bearing the Night Rogue symbol – she had helped to design Andros' original costume after all – shook her head. "That's the tenth time you've said that so far Spin-fingers, I know it's annoying she got knocked out, but you don't need to go far to get something out of it. And Andros is still in it." Te insisted, trying to comfort her husband.

I walked along the halls, for the second time as of late. We'd been assigned specific waiting rooms so that we wouldn't try to mess with each other before the fight of course, but with Bakugou, aside from intimidation, I know he'd never bother. He wanted to prove he was stronger than me after all, couldn't do that by cheating.

Still, as I walked, I heard talking. Mei talking with a voice I didn't recognize, and as I rounded the corner. I recognized him immediately, but not due to any canon knowledge – or if he had shown up, I didn't remember him, so he was clearly minor. But with slicked-back red hair – orangey red, not red-red – that had three distinct spikes in the style, a fairly distinctive long face, and a nose that looked like it could break through ice with enough speed, I could easily recognize the CEO of one of the big support companies – not hero support, but Quirk support in general. The sort who, had it not been for Te, I'd have had to go to for my suits.

Yotsubashi Rikiya. I could tell by the slight stationary quivering Mei was doing that she was excited, getting to talk directly with one of THE big names in her field.

"… and really the fact that such unrelated gadgets used together could put up such a defence is astounding," Yotsubashi noted with a warm smile. "Tell me, have you ever done designs that are designed for more general support?"

Mei grins even wider. "Of course! Sweet Baby #5… ah, it's still in the lab, but I do have some footage of it in action!" She remarked as she manifested what I think was a prototype or first draft of the warning system she used in battle. It was essentially a frame that could limit the amount of strength one can push out into their body. "I'm working on something far better right now, but I also have-"

"Relax, you don't need to rush unless there's a match you really want to watch." Yotsubashi insisted… before he spotted me. "Oh, hello, are we holding you up?"

"Andros is fighting in the last match of the round so he's probably fine," Mei noted. "I've helped him out with his Quirk before… Andros, do you-"

At that, I sighed, rolled my eyes… and pulled out a blank Fullbottle. This wasn't for use in battle, I kept it on me in case my Quirk went out of control somehow or I let out a bunch of Nebula Gas during the tournament. The open-air should make it easier, but I don't want to risk harming my classmates or anyone else. "The Fullbottle. Based on a gadget with the same name, the Hatsume Mei reinvention can store any gaseous or liquid product inside the super-study container." I droned out.

"Atta boy!" Mei noted with a guiltless thumbs up.

Yotsubashi, on the other hand, had raised an eyebrow and maintained his smile. "Andros… as in Nebulos Andros, from the incident five years ago?" Yotsubashi questioned. I gave a curt nod, and his grin became toothy. "You'll have to excuse me; I followed your story when they first started showing it on the news. For one young man to lose control of a Quirk, but still show such heroism in the face of his own issues… if I hadn't found out you had been supplied one by that point, I'd have offered something to help control it. It IS a pleasure to meet you at last though."

I just rubbed the back of my neck at that. "Ah… well, I haven't done too much yet. I don't just want to be the 'gas monster kid' y'know…" I confessed.

"Rightfully so," Yotsubashi noted. "But the fact you didn't shy away from it, but instead embraced your Quirk, and practiced with it to turn it into a force for heroism… you're quite the example."

Mei, at this point, was tapping a foot, and I got the message loud and clear. She wanted to have more sales pitch time, and while I was flattered, this was a natural point to step out of the conversation. "I'm glad you think that Yotsubashi-san. But if you'll excuse me…?" I asked

"Ah yes, good luck with your match!" Yotsubashi remarked.

As I walked off, I could hear both him and Mei starting back into excited talks… and could only smile. It was about time someone who was both nice and in a good position recognized Mei's potential.

Taro grinned as he had seen every customer come in stare in rapt attention. He'd told them, he'd TOLD those big wigs that bringing a TV in that showed the Festival would bring more customers in. And seeing so many people as strong as that… even seeing how Andros Quirk worked on himself, it was amazing to see in action, and more than once he'd had a small section of onlookers cheering.

And these kids were driven. Driven to do whatever it took to show themselves off. He could understand that. Sometimes he felt heroes could be… indecisive, not really practicing heroism that could keep the day safe but… well, he wasn't even close to U.A. quality, so what did he know?

"Hey, keep in mind folks, there's still two matches this round ta go… and my bud Andros is up in the last match! Let's give him a cheer hey?"

Cheering. So much cheering. If he hadn't gotten used to the noises of the streets, Centipeder was sure he'd be nursing one hell of a headache. Of course, he wasn't here on work, he had genuinely come as a day off from hero duties, having reasoned to both himself and Sir that it would be a good idea to take a look at the Sports Festival – they'd found Mirio that way, hadn't they?

And yet the matches so far… very interesting. And very spirited students to call out other pros being obtuse as they were.

And so far… he had at least one recommendation to make to Sir. Perhaps the Nighteye Agency could do with a week of having another student.

A dark room. One void of light. Of hope. Of anything but a single screen currently showing the sports festival. Illuminating the face of a man who… really, only had half a face anymore, as well as the shifting mass of shadows next to him.

"I'd call that a personal bias Kurogiri." All for One noted snidely, a little smirk on his face. "I thought you were above that."

"Sensei, if you're allowed to bet on Izuku Midoriya to win to see Shigiraki's expression, you have no right to question me betting on Nebulos Andros." Kurogiri idly responded. "Although I do hear that Giran has an actual betting pool open."

All for One waved a hand casually at that. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. He's realized I could predict the odds too easily." All for One explained. "But these children… if it wasn't for Shigiraki watching I'd worry he'd be left behind."

"You think it'll push him forward?"

"I know it will."

To say that things didn't seem to be going well for either side of the Mina vs Tokoyami fight would be a vast understatement. On one side, you had Mina Ashido, panting, her uniform torn in places where Dark Shadow had to swipe instead of going for a punch, tears in the arms. On the other was an equally tired-looking but more reserved Tokoyami, Dark Shadow out in front of him, his uniform showing burnt or dissolved patches, where Mina had managed to land acid blows earlier.

But none of that defined it more than the series of islands and holes their so far short scuffle had managed to scatter all over the arena. It left Tokoyami with few places to safely escape too, needing to rely more and more on Dark Shadow, as a wad of acid was tossed at the two, Dark Shadow's non-organic nature allowing him to knock it away, the acid falling into a nearby hole. And as Dark Shadow prepared to race out to counter… he shrank back from the hole? Tokoyami looked down and stumbled back in shock. "Why is the hole glowing?" He questioned.

Mina grinned at that, forming her hands into twin peace signs. "Couldn't tell ya how it works science like… but I tried to make that bit of acid as reflective as I could. And because the sun's still going strong…" Mina remarked. "And now~" She leaped at that, clearly aiming to use that acid, even as she tossed out another couple of globs.

"Dark Shadow! Forget about me and get closer to her!" Tokoyami called out.

"Don't yell at me!" Dark Shadow complained, but he rushed forwards anyway, fists at the ready. If Tokoyami hadn't been making a desperate move, he might have had time to consider that Mina still had acid on her hands. He might have considered that she was trying to force Dark Shadow to be useless. But by the time he realized what was about to happen, it was too late.

"Acid Shine!" Mina declared, letting a thin layer of the acid show on all of her arms, leaping into the air… right in the right place for the sunlight to strike against the arms, sending a dazzling display down onto Dark Shadow. "And…" As Mina Landed, she ran past the recoiling Dark Shadow, covering his face from the display of light, before pulling herself down low. "Uppercut!"

An uppercut… that missed, barely, from Tokoyami pulling himself out of the way, before stumbling into one of the holes. Mina, for her part, ran her hands along her arms, scooping up the shining acid before tossing it away, the acid making an audible hiss as it landed… it seemed she needed an acid of some decent strength to make a shine like that. For a moment Tokoyami considered fighting… before shaking his head.

"It's clear that you're prepared for Dark Shadow, and there's no real way for me to turn the tables without stalling the match," Tokoyami remarked. "I surrender."

Mina grinned… but held out an arm to help get Tokoyami out of the hole. She wasn't going to mention that she didn't think she could pull off another Acid Shine this match.

And then she had to stop and realize she'd just volunteered herself to fight Bakugou or Andros in the next match. Only biting down on her tongue stopped her from swearing at the top of her lungs.

I have a tendency to tap my leg in place when I get nervous. With my time in this life, it's sorta been replaced with me venting off Nebula Gas… but right now I was holding that in as much as I possibly could, so I was busy tapping a hole in the floor. Oh, I was happy Mina had made it through to the next round… but Tokoyami is the type to recognize when he's beaten. Against Bakugou, who's far stronger? I'm… I'm not sure about my own chances.

But still… I pulled out of my chair slowly and headed to the door. Because I planned to win.

A/N: So. Remember how Todoroki vs Deku was it's own chapter? With both giving it their all.

... prepare for that again. I've had this planned for months. Next time. Bakugou vs Nebulos.