Chapter 14

It turned out that there actually was a burger stall, and the merry group of 6 (Tokoyami and Kendo had joined them) had all begun eating. Kurono was also scrolling on his phone as he ate, and one particular thing on his phone got him very excited.

"I'm a meme!" Kurono exclaimed, which admittedly made everyone but Tokoyami jump.

"H-huh?" Izuku said. Kurono flipped his phone around to show them their screen. It was a picture of when Izuku and Kurono had been saved by Reiko, with a caption that read "That's sweet and all, and you guys should really get married and stuff, but can we get a move on?". Directly above it was another caption over a white bar, which read "when the romance keeps interrupting the action in the story". Izuku wasn't sure what was funny, but to his surprise, the ghost of a smile appeared on Reiko's face.

"And that's not all!" He then swiped to another meme, this one being far simpler. It was a picture of an old pre-quirk rapper, except they had Kurono's hair photoshopped on, and it was made to look like he was throwing a flashbang. For some reason, that made Izuku laugh, and he wasn't quite sure why.

"Oh, and people are already shipping the competitors," Kurono added, which made Izuku abruptly stop laughing.

"Wait, what?" Izuku asked. Kurono smirked.

"It truly is amazing what twitter can do. I mean, there's only been maybe an hour of content to pick through, and they're already shipping…oh lordy. They're shipping Shiozaki and I, Mei and I, You and Reiko, You, Reiko and I, Itsuka and Momo, Bakugou and that guy from your class called Kirishima, There's a particularly nasty drawing of Monoma's entire team having a foursome, Reiko and I, Todoroki and-,"

"For the love of god, please stop!" Momo and Kendo both pleaded at the same time. Kurono happily obliged.

"Alright. Just remember that by the end of today there's gonna be fanfics written about all these ships," Kurono warned. Izuku shrugged it off. After all, how many people would even care enough to write fanfics shipping him and Reiko together?

Izuku went to take another bite of his burger when he noticed out the corner of his eye that Todoroki was slipping away from the cafeteria into the hallways of the stadium. Curiosity quickly got the better of him and he stood up.

"I'm gonna go do something. If I'm not back before we have to go back out, then Momo can have my burger. Or Reiko. Anyone, really," And before he could hear any questions he had already left to go after Todoroki. After Izuku left, Kurono and Kendo turned to Reiko.

"So…," Kurono started.

"Do not even dare to think of it," Reiko warned.

"So…," Kendo started.

"If you are plotting to say whatever I believe you are about to say…," Reiko warned.

"When are you going to ask Izuku out?" Kurono asked. Reiko scowled, taking a massive bite of her burger.

"You know, you're only prolonging your suffering by stuffing your mouth," Momo stated, getting into her 2nd burger now. Reiko groaned and swallowed her burger.

"Even if I were to ask Izuku out, what are the chances he would agree to go out with a person such as myself?" Reiko asked. Kurono, Kendo, Momo and Tokoyami all looked between each other.

"Are you…serious, Yanagi?" Tokoyami asked.

"Of course! Why would a wonderful person such as Izuku want to date me? I am nothing but a creepy weirdo who is cursed with permanent eyebags, and my quirk is nothing to write home about," Reiko argued, "Plus, there are many other people who he would be better off with," Tokoyami raised an eyebrow.

"Like whom?" He questioned.

"Tokage-San from 1-B,"

"She was clearly weirded out by Izuku,"

"Kodai-San from 1-B,"

"Same as Tokage,"

"M-Maybe he's gay?" This response prompted Kurono to laugh obnoxiously loud, and it took a good 30 seconds for him to calm down.

"Izuku? Gay? HA! That guy is as straight as me!" Kurono said.

"See, Reiko? You're literally a perfect fit for Izuku," Kendo said. Reiko hummed.

"Even so…am I worthy of-,"

"Oh, for God's sake, YES! Izuku would DIE to be with a person like you! I've known the guy for years, and I know for a fact that you're the kind of person he's attracted to. How do I know that? Because he spent literally 10 MONTHS with Itsuka, and not ONCE did he show any sign of having a crush. Meanwhile with you, it was clear he had a crush from the start. So SHUT UP and ASK HIM OUT!" The table was left silent at Kurono's outburst, only broken when Momo gulped down a large bite from her burger. Reiko sighed.

"A-Alright…you win. I will…consider what you have said, and I shall try to create a scenario where I may tell him comfortably," Reiko replied. Kurono sighed.

"I suppose that's the best we are going to get. Anyways, where do you think Izuku went?" Kurono asked.

"Your performance was pitiable, boy! You only won that round because the timer ended at that specific time! You should have been able to crush that Midoriya boy, but now he's beaten you twice! I don't want any more failures, you hear me?" Izuku could hardly believe what he was hearing from the Number 2 Hero as he eavesdropped on his and Shoto's conversation. Was this how he always treated Shoto? How long had this been happening for?

Izuku needed answers.

"…I'll win, and I'll do it without your damn quirk. I'll win with only my ice, just you watch," Shoto bit back. There was silence between the two, and Izuku was worried that Endeavour might be about to burst with rage. Thankfully, the man just gave a 'tch' and walked off.

"If you think you can make it in this world with an attitude like that…you will be bound to fail," was all Endeavour said before he left. Izuku gave it a few moments, waiting for his footsteps to fully-

"I know you're there, Midoriya," Well, there went the element of surprise. Izuku stepped out from behind the wall to see Shoto standing in the hallway, looking more pissed than Izuku could have imagined.

"Alright, let's cut to the chase. What the hell is going on between you and your Dad? I've known Yakuza that were nicer than him," Izuku stated. Shoto hummed.

"Say, have you ever heard of Quirk Marriages?"

Izuku felt the blood drain from his face as he realized the implications of what Shoto was saying. Surely Endeavour hadn't purposely looked for a woman with an ice quirk just to make Shoto…right? But, deep down, Izuku knew there was no other logical explanation.

"I…yeah, I have," Izuku replied. Shoto hummed.

"Well, I'm the product of one. Endeavour created me specifically to surpass All Might. He views me as less of a human and more some kind of sick, twisted machine that he invented," Shoto explained. Izuku was clenching his hands into fists, rage overcoming his shock. How could a man who had done anything like this deserve to be a Hero?

"That's…I'm sorry," was all Izuku could get out. Todoroki hummed again.

"In all my memories…I can't recall a single one where my mother wasn't crying. In my last memory of her, she said my left side was ugly, and she poured a kettle of boiling water over my face. That's how I got the scar if you were wondering. And the funny thing is that I don't blame her for it. It was my father's fault for driving her to her breaking point

"I'm not aiming to beat you because I'm after personal glory or that I'm trying to set myself out as the strongest. I'm doing it to prove to him that I don't need his quirk to become number 1," Todoroki finished. Izuku was boiling with anger at this point, but once he realized Todoroki was leaving, he had an idea.

"Hey," Izuku called out, making Todoroki turn around. The two of them stared at each other before Izuku continued.

"If you left Endeavour's house right now…do you think you'd miss anything?"

The Boss was busy displaying his superior gag reflex to Irinaka and Nemoto by deepthroating Nigiri when he suddenly heard his ringtone. He finished his food before answering the call.

"Boss here," He answered.

"Hey, do we have any spare rooms?" The Boss was surprised to hear Izuku on the other end, but nevertheless answered the question.

"Uh, yeah? Why did you need to know that?" He asked.

"I may or may not be starting a permanent sleepover with my classmate due to their abusive father," Izuku explained. The Boss sighed; of course, that's what Izuku would do if someone he knew had an abusive parent.

"…Very well. We'll work out the details later," The Boss replied, before a devilish smirk came across his face, "Also, when are you going to bring that Yanagi girl over for dinner?" The Boss laughed when he heard Izuku splutter some nonsense about it 'not being like that'. He said his goodbye after that and wished him good luck before ending the call.

"What was that about?" Nemoto asked. The Boss sighed,

"Izuku's getting some kid away from their abusive father by bringing them here," The Boss explained, causing Nemoto to react by standing up, walking to the nearest wall, and slamming his head into it.

"I am going to fucking KILL that brat!" Nemoto groaned.

"What does 'fuck' mean?" The room went dead silent as the 3 adults turned to see Eri there who had seen the entire thing.

"A word you shouldn't be say-," Irinaka started.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Eri parroted, sounding far too joyful for anyone saying fuck. The Boss glared at Nemoto.

"The only one who's going to get killed will be you, Shin Nemoto," The boss growled dangerously low, and Nemoto knew then and there that he was fucked.

"Welcome back to the UA Sports Festival, ladies, gentlemen, and those who identify as in between or none at all! Right now, our lovely Midnight will be announcing the 1v1 battles via, you guessed it, a lottery! Midnight, would you take us away?" Present Mic announced everyone was present on the field. Midnight smiled and held up a box.

"All right, everyone, all 16 of your names have been placed in this box. Once we decide the matchups, we'll move onto some recreational activities before we continue. If you're competing in the 1v1s, it's up to you if you want to participate in the recreational activities, as I'd assume most of you would want to rest before the fights. So, starting from the-," Midnight explained, before someone put their hand up.

"Uh, excuse me, Midnight? I'd, uh, like to withdraw from the 1v1s," Ojirou stated, causing everyone in 1-A to begin shouting in surprise, "I know it's stupid, but I can't even remember what happened last round, probably because of that guy's quirk, and it just wouldn't feel right to take this from someone. I just can't participate without knowing how I ended up here. It just goes against everything I stand for,"

"I'd like to withdraw for the same reasons. Sorry, guys," a short, chubby guy from 1-B said, who was also on the same team as Ojirou. Interestingly enough, Mei (who was also on the same team) simply didn't care; I guess that's support students for you. Midnight hummed, glaring menacingly at the two boys that had dared to withdraw.

"How noble, to throw away your chance at showing yourself off to the Pro Heroes…I love it! Your withdrawal is accepted!" Midnight exclaimed, her attitude doing a whole 180, and the slight blush she was wearing made Izuku question exactly how the fuck she was allowed to teach at a High School.

"So, considering 2 people have dropped out, we need 2 more to fill that gap! That means that 2 people from our 5th placers, Team Bakugou, will need to take their places. Bakugou, if your team could figure that out, that would be-,"

"Me and Shitty Hair. The rest can rot," Bakugou growled, pulling Kirishima with him. Mina and Sero yelled at Bakugou for making the decision without him, but soon gave up when they realized no amount of shouting would get him to change his mind.

"Well, uh, I guess that's that! Bakugou and Kirishima will replace Shoda and Ojirou!" Midnight announced, to Izuku's immense displeasure. As far as he was aware, Bakugou was the only one who could cause a bit of trouble for him. Although, the conditions were more favorable this time, with Bakugou not having his gauntlets and Izuku not having to worry about other people, "Now, let's announce the matchups!" And with that, Midnight began pulling names out of the box. Eventually, she had all the matches done.

Izuku vs Shinsou

Todoroki vs Kaibara

Reiko vs Tsuburaba

Momo vs Kaminari

Bakugou vs Kurono

Monoma vs Kendo

Kuroiro vs Kirishima

Iida vs Mei

"So, you're Izuku Midoriya, right? Thanks for the help last round," Izuku nearly jumped when he heard the voice behind him, which was revealed to be Shinsou when he turned around.

"O-Oh, it-," Izuku replied before Ojirou's tail suddenly covered his mouth.

"Don't reply to what he says," Ojirou stated. Izuku was confused but listened to what his classmate said. Shinsou just gave a totally not evil smile and walked off. Once he was gone, Ojirou removed his tail.

"Okay…could you maybe tell me what the fuck that was all about?" Izuku asked. Ojirou sighed.

"Come with me, I'll explain it in a more private spot," Ojirou replied.

Izuku waited patiently to be called out, a plan for the round in his head. Honestly, Shinsou's quirk sounded incredibly terrifying, and it would be impossible to avoid if you didn't know it. It was also ridiculously easy to avoid if you knew about it though, which now Izuku thought about it must have made Shinsou's life hell. Who would willingly talk with the boy who could control your mind? According to Izuku's knowledge, very few, if any at all.

"And our first competitor is someone you're all familiar with! He's a maniacal mastermind, a manipulator of matter, it's 1-A's Izuku Midoriya!" Izuku, hearing his signal to enter the ring, stepped into the deafening roars of the crowd, and it took a moment for him to realize they were all cheering for him. Izuku wondered how much people would make from betting on him today if he won. Actually, he wondered if The Boss or Irinaka had been betting on this as well.

"And his opponent, sorry, you haven't been really notable today! It's Hitoshi Shinsou of the General Education Course!" Shinsou stepped out after that, to significantly less excited cheering. Izuku kind of felt bad for stealing Shinsou's spotlight. But hey, it's a tournament. Not everybody can win.

"So, you think you're gonna win with your flashy quirk?" Shinsou asked once they were in position. Izuku nodded, making Shinsou grimace.

"Now, boys, I want a nice and fair fight! If you go too far, both I and Cementoss will stop the fight. Are you ready?" Midnight asked.

"Yes!" Izuku replied.

"Sure," Shinsou replied, less enthusiastically than Izuku. Midnight flicked her whip.

"Begin!" She announced.

"Honestly, you Hero Course students are all the same. You only care about yourselves," Oh, how Izuku wanted to deny that. However, he instead put his hand to his mouth, and a quick overhaul later, even if he wanted to talk, he wouldn't be able to.

"Has Midoriya used his quirk on himself to stop himself from talking? Has he figured out his adversary's quirk?!" Present Mic questioned as Izuku began approaching Shinsou, who now had a look of 'oh, fuck' on his face. Judging by the lack of muscle on Shinsou, Izuku deduced that Shinsou figured nobody would be able to figure out his quirk, and he was planning on just using his quirk to win.

"H-Hey! That's not fair!" Shinsou yelled. 'Life's not fair' Oh, just great, now Izuku really was turning into Aizawa. Had he accidentally switched parts of their minds when he overhauled him 2 weeks ago?

"This is…uh, there really isn't much to comment on this round, huh?" Present Mic mentioned.

"Just because it's a boring fight doesn't detract any value from it," Aizawa commented.

"Hey! Stop that shit and answer me, god damn it!" Shinsou yelled, now looking seriously panicked. Izuku picked up the pace and soon reached him, throwing a punch to his gut. While he admittedly wasn't the best at quirkless combat, he felt like he should at least give Shinsou the chance to win. Shinsou buckled from the punch, and Izuku began to push him out. A moment later, Shinsou was trying to push back, but he wasn't having any luck.

"You fucking Hero Course students! Do you have any idea how lucky you are?! Just because you were born with the perfect quirks means that everyone treats you like a saint! You would never understand how I feel about this!" Shinsou was practically screaming. He swung a fist at Izuku's jaw, but due to the pain caused whenever he heals himself using his quirk, it really didn't hurt that much. They reached the edge of the arena, and with one clean throw, Shinsou was out.

"And with that, Hitoshi Shinsou is out! While it was a kind of anticlimactic round, it just means that the next rounds can only get more exciting!" Present Mic announced. Izuku undid his overhauled face and extended a hand to Shinsou, which he slapped away.

"Sorry," Izuku couldn't help but apologize.

"For what? Not being good enough?" Shinsou sneered.

"No, I'm, uh, sorry for how you…no, that sounds like I'm pitying you. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't deserve to be judged because of your quirk. Brainwashing sounds like a fantastic ability, and you'll be a fantastic hero," Izuku said. Shinsou looked at him in disbelief before shaking his head.

"Whatever. My chance to get into the Hero Course is over now. Come next year, everyone is probably gonna know how to avoid my quirk," Shinsou replied bitterly. He stood up, dusting himself off. Izuku just smiled.

"Nah, I think someone is gonna see your potential. You were the only person from General Education to make it to the 2nd round and the 3rd round. Anyone would be a fool to say you don't have potential!" Izuku said. Shinsou stood there, looking shocked for a moment before shaking his head and walking away. As Izuku walked back to the exit as well, he smiled upon hearing Shinsou's classmates congratulate him as well. Yeah, everything was gonna turn out great for Shinsou.

"Huh, Midoriya is far better at quirkless combat than I would expect," Tokoyami commented once the round ended.

"To be fair, Shinsou didn't look very athletic. Any average fighter would look great against a terrible fighter," Momo said.

"I think that he was rather superb. I myself would not be able to flip an opponent over onto their back as he did," Reiko said.

"Silence, simp," Kurono replied, which annoyed Reiko.

"I am not a simp, I simply see that Izuku's skills are far better than my own," Reiko defended. Kendo chuckled.

"Sure," She said, "Anyways, should we head down to meet Izuku? The next fight is gonna-," At the mention of 'meet Izuku', Reiko was already heading into the inner halls of the Stadium, leaving everyone else to catch up.

"You are seriously down bad for Izuku," Kurono said as they walked down a flight of stairs.

"Well, at least I know what to get you for your birthday," Kendo murmured.

"And what would that happen to be, Itsuka Kendo?" Reiko asked, an air of dread around her learned through hundreds of horror movies. However, Kendo was not easily scared, and she was having too much fun teasing Reiko to stop.

"An Izuku plushie made by-,"

"THINK FAST, CHUCKLENUTS!" A familiar voice yelled, as suddenly a golden scarf wrapped around Kurono's waist, and he was pulled towards a guy who looked like Aizawa but younger and with gold highlights in his costume and hair. As soon as Kurono was in front of him, he decked him in the face.

"Mitsudo, was that quite necessary?" The calm voice of Seigyo Funotenki asked the currently fuming Mitsudo Shiryoku.

"YES! I HAVE GLITTER EVERYWHERE! I HAVE TO STREAM TONIGHT! I CAN'T STREAM WHEN I'M COVERED IN GLITTER!" Mitsudo yelled. And covered in glitter he was. A dusting of pink glitter coated the front of his black and gold jumpsuit, and his face was sparkly as well.

"Uh, whoopsie?" Kurono said, lying on the ground.

"I'LL SHOW YOU A WHOOPSIE!" Mitsudo yelled at him, and with surprising speed and agility Kurono did a back flip and began running away, leaving Mitsudo to chase after him.

"Shouldn't we…help him?" Kendo asked.

"No, he was being far too annoying. This is simply his punishment for his past transgressions," Reiko replied.

"I wouldn't recommend stopping Mitsudo either. It wouldn't go well for you," Seigyo added. She was wearing most of her outfit, which looked like it was made of a dark gray metal with cloud-shaped shoulder pads and swirl patterns across the entire armor. However, her helmet was off, revealing a girl with rather pale skin and cloud-like white hair which was styled as two drills. Her eyes were a simple black, and she wore a neutral expression.

"Oh, weren't you one of the 2nd years from the first event?" Momo asked.

"Yeah. Mitsudo's been rabid basically ever since the event ended because he got glitter everywhere. Tataki and Chumoku are happy though because they got to fight and had the attention on them respectively," Seigyo explained. So far, the four 1st years liked Seigyo, probably because she wasn't insane or angry or loud.

"Where's Denryu-Senpai or Himura-Senpai? They seem like they'd jump at the opportunity to do this," Tokoyami asked. Seigyo hummed.

"They're both workaholics. Koryu's at his Work Study, same with Kyōsaku,"

"I wonder what it's like to work with Endeavour," Momo wondered. Seigyo chuckled.

"Well, from what he's said, he gets paired with Endeavour's sidekick a lot. Like, an unhealthy amount. He may as well be doing his internship with her instead of Endeavour," Seigyo replied. Reiko's eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh, damn! We were meant to be meeting Izuku!" She exclaimed, sounding worried for a rare moment. She immediately ran off, leaving the other 3 to say a hasty goodbye to Seigyo before running off. Seigyo watched them leave and then sighed; she supposed she may as well stop Mitsudo from murdering that other kid.

"I'M GONNA RIP YOUR FUCKING BALLS OFF!" Mitsudo yelled as he trashed the room looking for Kurono, who was hidden in the vent.

"Lesson learnt. Don't throw glitter bombs at people," He whispered to himself before he began crawling away.

Name: Mitsudo Shiryoku

Hero Name: Echoes

Quirk: Density – By focusing on something with his eyes, he can decrease or increase its density. If he blinks the quirk deactivates, and the higher/lower he increases the density the quicker his eyes dry out. A side-effect of his quirk is that when activated his eyes glow yellow.

Appearance: Mitsudo is 5'7" and has shoulder-length black and gold hair. He has a modest athletic build. His eyes are gold when his quirk isn't activated and have bags underneath them.

Favourite Hero: Eraserhead

Favourite Food: Takoyaki

Likes: History, Video Games

Other Information:

Mitsudo was inspired to become a hero after being saved from a villain by Eraserhead when he was younger.

He's a streamer on Glitch. Most of his fans like him because of his personality, insane knowledge of history, and stupid stories from school

His Hero Outfit is similar to Eraserhead's, but he made some changes such as adding knee pads and elbow pads and a mechanism in the goggles that releases a mist to stop his eyes from drying out as fast