When the third event was announced, Izuku was pleasantly excited for the upcoming matches. That excitement was cut short when he saw that his first opponent was Shinsou Hitoshi. It wasn't that he was scared of the boy, far from it. When Ojirou and Nirengeki pulled themselves from the event (and were promptly replaced by Tetsutetsu and Tokoyami), he realized that the purple haired student's quirk must have been a mind-control quirk. When Ojirou pulled him aside and explained exactly what had happened to him, it made that inkling a statement of fact.

Izuku wasn't scared him, in fact he felt a strange connection with him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something in his eyes... the way Izuku was unceremoniously called out by him in the bathroom for his deceitful behavior. Sure, that's where he knew Shinsou was special, but he still couldn't quite tell why he felt differently around him. He needed to find out why. Midoriya resolved to find a way to speak alone with the other boy after their match.

Until then, he needed to focus on their match. It was likely a simple win, but Izuku was never one to go into something blind.

He walked out onto the field, with his same gentle smile that he presented his classmates day in and day out. The crowd cheered when he walked out from the shadow of the entrance, and after finding Class 1-A in the stands, he waved to them excitedly. He turned to see Shinsou staring him down.

"And START!" Present Mic called.

Neither moved from their starting position. They just gazed at each other.

Shinsou was, unsurprisingly, the first to speak. "So the dumb gave up before the competition before it started... don't you think he was an idiot for doing it?"

Izuku just blinked at the boy, before turning around and walking to the perimeter of the field.

The student from the General Education department just stood there with his jaw slack. "What do you think you're doing, you going to quit just like that?"

The green haired boy walked the perimeter line, corner to corner. After some time he nodded, but Shinsou could tell it wasn't in response to anything he said. He returned to his starting position, and began slowly walking to his opponent.

"Don't ignore me like that! Of course someone from the high and mighty hero course would be so arrogant."

Izuku was halfway across the field.

"You know, rumors fly about you. The famed late bloomer, huh? I bet you had a fun time growing up."

Midoriya winced, but kept his mouth shut.

"I remember a news story saying you live alone with your mother. Did your dad walk out on you, knowing his son was essentially disabled from birth?"

By the time he finished his sentence, the green haired boy was directly in front of him. However, he didn't reach out to push or attack. Instead, he opened his mouth, muttering something only Shinsou could hear.

"Do it." He whispered.

The brainwashing student was taken aback, so much so that he almost missed his chance at activating his quirk. Midoriya's face grew slack as his eyes lost their color. He limply stood ten feet away from Shinsou.

"I don't know what you're doing, but it's too late for you now. I've won." He smiled. "Turn around and walk out of bounds."

In the back of his mind, Izuku could see the horrified faces of his classmates in the stands as he slowly walked back to where he began. Ojirou especially seemed disappointed, no doubt after going through all the trouble of warning his classmate.

"And with that..." Shinsou boasted. "I've bested a student from the hero course without having to throw a single-"

He was cut off by the boom of a shockwave. He looked at the source to see Izuku flying back into the playing field, his back skidding along the ground.

It took only a second for the pain of being hit by his own quirk to snap Izuku back to reality. He grinned, wincing at the pain that coursed down his spine as he brought himself back to his feet.

"Phew... I'm glad that worked." He looked back to Shinsou, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sorry about that, I just had to check up on your quirk. I found its weakness."

He walked back over to a surprised Shinsou, grabbing him by the arms as he began forcefully pushing the boy backwards.

The purple haired boy wrested his arm free, sending a right hook straight into Midoriya's jaw.

"You... How did you break it?! Answer me!" He looked back, seeing the boundary line approach. "Someone like you... you can't understand what it's like to not be able to accomplish your dream! I was locked out of the practical exam before it even began!"

'You know that's a lie.' Izuku wanted to tell him. But he knew he couldn't. At least, not here.

Shinsou reached out, grabbing Izuku's face. He tried to roughly jerk the boy to the side, but Izuku kept his footing. The green haired boy let go of the other's arm, and landed a blow straight to Shinsou's gut. He caved in almost immediately. Shinsou might have desired to be in the hero course, but his strength and physical constitution were far below the standard that was required of the hero course.

Izuku snorted in disgust. 'Typical. He knew he couldn't make it to the hero course with his quirk, but he never bothered to train physically. I probably would have been the same had I not met Tomura.'

And with that, he sent a powerful kick to Shinsou's face, sending him sprawling on the ground on the other end of the out of bounds line.

The familiar sound of Midnight's whip cracked in the air, before she announced. "Shinsou is out of bounds! The winner is Midoriya!"

The crowd erupted into cheer. Cementoss approached the stage to assess the damage dealt and repair the field, but Izuku held out a hand.

"You may want to steer clear for a moment." He sheepishly replied.

The pro hero nodded, and after stepping back, a line of shockwaves rocked the perimeter of the field.

"I had set those up just in case I neared the boundary line. Sorry about that."

Izuku was carted off to see Recovery Girl, along with Shinsou. The bruises on his face and scrapes along his back were relatively minor, and a small kiss pretty much had him back to full health. Shinsou was definitely worse for the wear, especially with that final kick. It was clear on arrival that his nose had been broken. The kiss she gave him healed it with no problems, though he was definitely lethargic afterwards.

"I can understand wanting to win, Midoriya." She chided. "But that was a vicious attack, and an unneeded one, too!"

He nodded, scratching his neck. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I let the competition get the better of me."

"You're right, you did. They might encourage it out on the playing field, but I despise seeing unnecessary injuries. Do remember that."

He nodded again, and the small elderly woman ushered the two students out. After making it a decent distance away from her office, they both stopped. They both had something they wanted to hear from the other.

"You know..." Midoriya began. "You know that I know all too well what it's like not being able to achieve anything you want. I grew up quirkless."

Shinsou didn't say anything in response.

"Why do you want to be a hero, Shinsou?"

He opened his mouth, but the words couldn't come out. He stopped, in deep thought. "I... I can't help what my heart longs for. I want to be a hero. And yet..."

"People ostracized you for your quirk, didn't they? I can tell."

"Every time I told someone my quirk, I was treated differently. I was told that I would be a villain, and others would immediately beg me not to use it on them. The worst were the people who would become my friend just so they could use my quirk to their advantage. I almost got expelled because someone wanted to get better grades... and I went along with it because I just wanted a friend."

Izuku's eyes widened. 'I understand why I'm drawn to him now. He's even more like me than I thought. Others made him feel like the only home he could have was among the villains of society. I know that sentiment well, though it's obvious he didn't have the helping hands that I did.'

"Shinsou, I can understand what you went through to a degree. But I cant help but ask... can't most quirks be used for villainy?"

"...I don't understand."

"Well, take my quirk, for example. I compress air into a point, and when it's released it causes a shockwave. I can cause it remotely, but I can also set it to explode when something gets close to it. That's how I got around your quirk. I lined the entire side of the playing field with air proximity mines."

Shinsou's eyes widened as he realized how Izuku broke out of his mind control.

"But I digress. I don't have to use it for good, in fact one can argue that being a quirk that can only destroy would mean it's more suited to villainy than heroism. After all, I could kill quite a number of people if I wanted to." He looked Shinsou directly in the eyes, before saying "If I wanted to kill you, I could compress the air in your lungs until they shrivel like plastic bags. The resulting implosion would open a big hole in your chest, and there wouldn't be a single organ in your abdomen that wouldn't have at least ruptured or shattered. I could do it in seconds if I willed it."

The purple haired boy remained speechless at Izuku's rather cavalier manner he talked about killing someone.

"But quirks aren't like that. They don't have to be used for villainy or heroism at all. That's just what others expect of you. And to be quite honest... you didn't seem like much of a hero at any point of the competition."

Shinsou opened his mouth to protest, but Izuku held his hand up.

"Don't get me wrong, if you want to be a hero then give it your all. But you've done nothing but subjugate and trick others this whole competition. Even when you were in the obstacle run, you used others to carry you to the goal, probably because you lack the physical ability for the course. But can you tell me you didn't enjoy yourself doing that? You seemed to be having a lot of fun putting others down to achieve your goals. That's not something heroes do. It's not something heroes enjoy."

Izuku thought back to different events in his life. He could see the happiness of Sensei when Izuku infiltrated Sir Nighteye's computer system. He could see Kurogiri's subtle elation when he almost killed Thirteen by sending their quirk back on them. And of course, he thought of the happiness Tomura must have felt when he used his decaying quirk on a live person. Hell, Izuku felt the same about infiltrating Yuuei's records office and stealing the info on planned school events and the records of all the first year students. Of course, most of that happiness was from getting Tomura's approval, but it still came at the cost of giving the villains the ability to go straight to where his 'friends' lived and do whatever they wanted.

He looked back at Shinsou. The boy was looking at the ground.

"You're right. I enjoy putting others down more than I should. But I... I still want to be a hero." He looked up, resolve in his eyes. "I will get in the heroics course. And I'll be a better hero than any of you."

Izuku nodded, patting him lightly on the shoulder. "If that's what you want, then do it. But before you leave, I've got a secret for you."

Shinsou raised his eyebrow.

"You probably won't understand for a long time what exactly I mean... you may never know." He paused a moment, as if looking for the right words. "But because I like you so much, I'll let you in on something. If you truly do become a hero, then you'll already be a better hero than me. Even if you're ranked as the lowest of the low, I know you'll be a much better hero than I could ever be."

With that, Izuku left, leaving behind a confused Hitoshi.

Todoroki was walking to the waiting room when he encountered his father stalking the halls, no doubt looking for him. He looked less furious than he expected. However, that didn't stop him from blocking the student's path as he tried to avoid him.

"I'm disappointed in you, Shouto."

He didn't respond. Best to let his dad have his words and leave.

"If you don't watch out, you'll have your victories pulled out from under you again. Or do you wish to have another repeat when you fight Izuku Midoriya a second time?"

Todoroki clenched his fists. "It doesn't matter. It just means I need to practice my ice powers more afterwards."

"Oh? That just might work for now... but what's going to happen when you really make it out into the world of pro heroes? Do you think your competition is going to let you do that? Do you think the villains will let you do that?"

"Do you even care?" He looked back up at his dad.

"I care about you surpassing All Might. That's why you're here, Shouto. It's why I made you."

"Even if I refuse your power and still make it to number one?"

Enji snorted. "I remember Midoriya saying something similar to me not too long ago. Did he fill your head with nonsense?"

Todoroki gritted his teeth in frustration. "That's not an answer!"

"It's not something you need to think about Shouto. Focus on surpassing All Might."

With that, he left his son alone in the hallway. The boy looked down to his hands, shaking in rage he couldn't express. It seeped through him to his very core, and refused to leave his body.

When he made it back to the field, he immediately froze Hanta Sero in a large pillar of ice, winning almost immediately. He couldn't afford to be on the field. He begrudgingly used his left side to melt his opponent out of the ice, before muttering an apology and leaving the field to be alone. He couldn't think straight, he needed to be alone.

Izuku had correctly guessed the results of the matches in the first round, though occasionally something would happen that was refreshingly unexpected.

Kaminari stood no chance against Shiozaki. Her quirk was literally designed from the ground up to neutralize his abilities. In the end, what could have been prevented with basic knowledge on the nature of electricity ended up backfiring on him as he tried to unleash his full power. He fried his own brain without doing any sort of noticeable damage to the person he was supposed to be harming. Not like she needed worrying about in the first place. She probably could have used her vines to push him out of the arena if she wanted.

'I know Kaminari Denki isn't the smartest in the class but he better hope that the general studies test is far more forgiving than Shiozaki was with her vines. If it weren't for her humble personality she probably would be just as vicious as Present Mic was trying to make us believe she was, which would be bad for the League.'

Next up was Hatsume Mei and Iida Tenya. He had expected the hero division student to simply rush her out, but the resulting cat and mouse game that she had performed was much more comical and much more exciting. Izuku balked when Tenya gave little resistance to wearing her equipment, but it seemed to work out in both of their favors. Hatsume was wholly uninterested in actually winning, which considering how every time she spoke she sounded like she was giving a sales pitch was probably to be expected. Once she had neared the ten minute mark, she wrapped up her presentation and walked out of bounds.

'No doubt she should be considered the true winner of the match. Every one of her potential sponsors is going to be watching her now. Not to mention being the only support division student to make it to the third event probably made her an even bigger fish in a smaller pond. She's going to go far.'

After that was Ashido Mina and Aoyama Yuga, which ended just as it started. Mina used her acid to slide along the ground, deftly avoiding the reckless and underwhelming laser Yuga shot off. In the end she closed the distance between them just as he started getting a stomachache, and even if he fought through that he couldn't have done anything once Mina threw acid onto the belt's lens, causing it to malfunction and render his quirk unusable. She cheered at her win while her opponent simply bemoaned the loss of his gaudy accessory.

'In the end he probably should have actually moved around more. But considering that he flies back every time he uses it while in mid air, he probably would have just launched himself out of bounds. There's really no way he could have won against anyone with a semblance of mobility.'

The match between Yaoyorozu Momo and Fumikage Tokoyami was equally as short. It began in a standoff, but once Present Mic screamed at them to start, Tokoyami's Dark Shadow rushed forward. Momo quickly pulled a shield from her stomach to block, but it proved to be her only and fatal mistake. Dark Shadow pressed onwards relentlessly, giving her no time to do anything else. She had to keep both hands on her item just to stay in the field, but she knew that she was getting pushed back with every strike of the claws against her shield. In seconds she was pushed beyond the perimeter and thus eliminated from the competition.

'She had a decent chance of winning, had she not opted for a defensive item right off the bat. The worst part is that she didn't have to worry about time. She could have created it and held it in her stomach before the match began. She knew who she was fighting against. If she made something that helped her mobility, or even a long distance weapon would have worked. She could have made a simple pistol and shot- wait, no. Heroes don't do that, Izuku, don't get carried away.'

Izuku probably could have talked to Ochako in the waiting room during the next match, but he couldn't find a good reason why. It was between Kirishima Ejirou and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. This one felt like it went on for ages. They both met each other blow for blow, hardening quirk matching hardening quirk. In the end they both punched each other to exhaustion, collapsing against one another and rendering both of them incapacitated.

'I knew there was a reason I couldn't predict how this match ended. They're basically fighting themselves. I'm glad Tetsutetsu isn't part of Class 1-A, it would be mind-numbing listening to both of them drone on. I don't see them allowing Bakugou to advance two rounds though, so they'll probably find some way to settle this match later.'

The match between Uraraka Ochako and Bakugou Katsuki was probably the most exciting thing for Izuku to witness in the whole competition. As soon as the match starts, both of the fighters rushed each other. However, unlike Bakugou, it would only take one touch from Uraraka for her to win the match. He sent an explosion her way, only to reel back as the smoke cleared and the only thing that remained was her jacket. He circled around, causing another explosion just as she was about to touch his back. This pattern continued, with the girl finding blind spots and only just barely missing her mark. The wounds Katsuki caused were starting to show, and the crowed jeered at him in response. Aizawa had pacified them in record time by playing up Ochako's strengths, telling the audience that he was being tough on her because she was tough herself.

From Izuku's standpoint, he could see his classmate's strategy become clear. The green haired observer knew Uraraka was smart, and wouldn't keep trying at a strategy she knew wouldn't work. The rocks rising above the field made that a glaring point. She was using the rubble that Katsuki caused in a last ditch trap, designed to harm him at best and distract him at worst. When she deemed enough debris had been used, she released it all, causing a roaring avalanche quite literally out of thin air. However, she had underestimated Bakugou's abilities. He ignited all of the sweat on his body, creating a massive explosion that not only cleared the falling rubble, but also dealt a serious blow to the girl he fought. She succumbed to her injuries not long after, and was quickly sent to Recovery Girl on a stretcher.

'It was a shame that Kacchan wasn't eliminated in the first round, but I had expected this to happen. He's overwhelmingly strong at close range, and she had no choice but to get within reaching distance of him. Still, the trap with the rubble was very smart, despite the fact that she really only did the same things she does to the faux villains whenever they're in play. If it weren't for Kacchan's raw power, she might have managed to actually win. Now that I think about it, he wouldn't have any sweat left over with an explosion like that. Maybe if she held off for just a few seconds, she could have gotten within range without worrying about his blasts... but then it still wouldn't be a guaranteed win. Nevertheless, I shouldn't underestimate her, ever.'

With that, the first round had come and gone. After some time, Izuku decided to check up on Ochako. She had probably healed up at this point, and Izuku knew that he should check up on her, if only to keep up appearances.

She was back in the waiting room, doing her best not to cry.

"Oh, it's you, Izuku." She greeted, voice shaking. "I guess I'm not going to fight you in the next round, huh?"

Izuku shook his head, smiling. "Don't worry about that. You did everything you could. You just got unlucky with the match, that's all."

She did her best to smile. "I know, but... I just can't afford to lose like that again. What if I'm up against a villain?"

"Then you'll just have to do your best."

"My best wasn't enough!" She yelled. "It wasn't enough here, and it wasn't enough back at the USJ, either!"

"Don't say that." Izuku replied. "You helped Iida get to All Might!"

"And then you had to rescue me from that man with the disintegrating quirk! I couldn't do anything then. You even told me then that I was useless."

"Don't twist my words, I just said I was the only one who didn't have to go right up to him!"

"But I still couldn't do anything! Izuku, they know who we are. What happens if they decide to come to our houses?"

"They won't do that, otherwise they would have already. Just calm down, Uraraka. Do you need me to stay here?"

She winced. "I'm... sorry. I just... I'm fine. You should prepare for your next match."

Izuku didn't reply, he just walked to the door.

"Um..." She called back. Izuku paused before he left. "Thanks. For saving me. And checking up on me. I appreciate it."

Izuku smiled again, nodding. "Any time, Ochako. That's why we're friends, right?"

As he closed the door, he paused. He listened in as she called her dad and broke down. As she cried, he walked away.

Before Izuku could even worry about his next match, he was stopped by Bakugou.

"Deku." He hissed.

"Okay look, you're literally the third person with a fire related quirk who's stopped me in the hallway. It's getting old."

"You think this is a joke?"

Izuku just waved his arms in frustration. "Kind of, yeah! I'm tired of having to deal with you, Bakugou. Make it quick so I can focus on my match."

Bakugou had enough. He grabbed the other boy by the collar, forcing him against the wall. "You told her to do that, didn't you?"

"Do what, Bakugou?"

"That stupid thing with the rocks! That's something you would think of!" He yelled. "So did you?!"

"Of course not, don't be an idiot." Izuku hissed. "She could have been competition, and I wouldn't hurt my own chances of winning."

Bakugou paused, not saying anything. He simply stared into the other boy's eyes.

"Does it bother you that someone managed to get a leg up on you? Are you angry I'm not the source of your problems right now?"

His questions were met with a fist that bore a hole in the wall next to his head. Izuku was unfazed by this reaction.

"You're not in junior high any more, Kacchan." He taunted. "You're not going to get anything by throwing your fists around. Or did you forget the moment that stopped working? I might have switched classes, but I quite fondly remember hearing how people kept telling you to take a seat."

Izuku grabbed the hand clutching his gym uniform, pulling it off with some effort.

"I shouldn't have to tell you that you can't just threaten your way into the top spot any more. You should have realized long ago that almost everyone here is going to give their all to get to number one. And for once in your life they're all people who can match you."

Katsuki just glared at the boy. He never was one for words.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to focus on winning my match against Todoroki. I suggest you do the same for your match against whichever hardening twin gets to advance."

A/N: So it's a four parter, I guess. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! I'll be back as soon as possible to finish this arc up!

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Thank you all so much for reading!