Hiya! A New Pencil returns to the desk!

Underline is for English.

Italics is either thoughts, a flashback, or a song/poem.

I do not own Kingdom Hearts, My Hero Academia, OMORI, Final Fantasy, or any of its characters or music. They all belong to their respective companies and owners.

Chapter 21: Calm Before a Tournament

(Play: MHA OST - Each of Their Own Goals)

Nearly everyone was chowing down on food during lunch. Sora chose to sit next to Tenya, to make sure there wasn't anything bad between them.

"I should have accounted for you to also have a new trick up your sleeve," Tenya scolded himself, "I wasn't the only one who held back a secret move. I should have known that."

"Oh. My Thunder attack, right?" Sora asked, "Well, the only one who knew about it was Denki. I'm surprised he didn't tell you guys that, since he gave me instructions on how to summon stronger bolts of that attack."

"Wait a minute." the class rep stared at him, "He did that for you, and he didn't even tell us? I'm such an idiot!"

"Wait… why's that?"

"Because I should have known you've made other friends with your classmates besides Midoriya-kun, and they would have their own information regarding you. I could have used that, asked them, and formulated a plan to counter you."

"You've still got a chance, ya know. We both got into the final round." Sora reminded him, "I've got nothing against you making a counter strategy for me before then." Iida pondered, before remembering that detail.

"Are you sure, Sora-kun?" he asked him.

"Sure. I wanna see what you come up with to beat me." Sora grinned, "And this way, you can show the world you can make it to the big leagues!"

"You're making it sound like I could contend with someone of your combat prowess." Iida noted, "Your life-and-death experiences, combined with your Quirk utilization and training under Strife-san, make my chances of winning very small."

"Well, you know me better than most of the class," Sora noted, "And your speed and strength combined are hard to contend with. I think with that, you've got the best chance at taking me down at the moment."

After thinking a bit, Iida agreed with Sora, thanking him for his words. The two managed to finish their lunch, before they went their separate ways.

(Silence)

Sora then wandered the halls, before he suddenly bumped into Izuku.

"Oh, hey Izuku." Sora waved, before noticing that his friend's face looked… off.

"Hey." he muttered.

"You alright? You don't look that good."

"I'm okay. I-I got caught up with something, so I couldn't really make it to lunch."

"Oh…" Sora nodded, before adding, "If there's anything bothering you, you can tell me anytime."

"Huh?"

"Just saying," Sora smiled, "We're friends, after all."

"O-Oh. Thanks, Sora-kun." Izuku returned it. They noticed the rest of Class A walking back to the amphitheater, and they followed along, until Sora decided to check for any stragglers, as the girls had yet to show.

As he turned the corner, he found them all together hurrying to the theater themselves.

But… Why were they wearing cheerleading outfits? And weren't those skirts a bit too short on the legs? To save himself from turning completely red, Sora quickly turned his gaze towards his classmates' faces. They didn't seem… all too happy about this.

"Uhh… Hey," Sora tilted his head in confusion while rubbing the back of his head, "Is there something I'm missing here?"

Most of the girls before him froze and tensed up when they saw him staring at them looking completely lost, though the small blush on his face was visible for them to see. Momo spoke up, though she sounded quite nervous and embarrassed at being seen like this, "I-I was informed that a cheer battle would be starting up before the finals started,"

"Yeah, so Yaoyorozu made us these cheerleading outfits to participate!" Ashido said excitedly.

"Seriously?" Sora scratched the back of his head, "Who said this?"

"Aizawa-sensei, apparently…" Jiro grumbled, looking away.

"Huh." Sora raised a brow, "Wasn't Aizawa gonna take a nap? He wouldn't tell you that unless he's got telepathy or something."

Momo and Kyoka shared a look, as Sora continued, "And knowing him, he probably wouldn't be the guy to think like that and give you guys this particular match to participate in."

The two of them looked ashamed, seemingly due to not realizing this sooner.

"Who told you he said that, anyway?" Sora asked.

The girls looked towards Momo and Kyoka, whose gears were turning as they processed this question. They shared another look as the realization hit.

(Play: KH OST - Oopsie Daisy!)

Yaoyorozu gasped in shock, before she fumed, "That little pervert TRICKED US?!" She slammed a foot down as she said that, "OH FOR-! HE'S GONNA REGRET THIS!"

This was the first time they've seen Momo of all people lose her temper like that, so most of the girls were shocked to say the least.

"Ohhh…" Sora said, a little taken aback from the previous outburst, "Minoru tried to prank you guys, didn't he?"

Kyoka threw the pom poms she was holding down to the ground, sharing Momo's expression, "Ugh! I am going to kill them when I get my hands on them!"

"'Them?' It wasn't just Minoru?"

"No. It was him and Kaminari-san who told us." Momo admitted, calming down.

"Denki?" The Keyblade wielder looked at her surprised, "Whoa. I didn't think he'd be someone to do something like this."

"Probably why it was a little more convincing…" Jiro muttered, "Plus, there was a cheer squad passing us by during lunch hour."

"That would make it a little more reasonable," Sora nodded, "But you guys should hurry and get changed. We've got several minutes before they announce the stuff for the final."

"Got it. Let's go!" Ashido told the others, before they went sprinting off back to the locker rooms. Sora meanwhile, went off to search for Denki.

(Silence)

As the young women of 1-A got out of their cheerleader costumes in the locker rooms, Mina noted, "Funny. Now that I think about it, Sora-kun never once looked down after he saw us in those outfits."

"Huh?" Ochaco looked confused.

"He only saw our outfits and simply looked at our faces right after that for the rest of the conversation." she clarified, before looking to the ceiling admirably with a sigh, "What a gentleman."

"You're thinking too much into this, kero." Tsuyu sighed, "Let's hurry before we miss what the final round is about."

"Yes, let's." Kyoka immediately agreed, wanting to drop the topic right then and there.

(Play: KH 2.5 Remix OST - A Walk in Andante)

Once Sora was outside, he was able to find Denki fairly quickly.

"Oh, hey Sora." Kaminari waved, "What's up?"

"I kinda hit you hard back there. Still recovering from my attack from the Cavalry Battle?" Sora asked.

"Uh… not anymore. Why?"

"Well… what you did to the girls with Minoru wasn't really cool."

"HUH?! How did you know?" Denki looked shocked, "Nobody else was near us when we told Yaoyorozu and Jiro!"

"Where do you think they are right now?"

"Oh…" Kaminari sighed, before looking up to Sora, "Well… did they look cute?"

"C-Cute?" Sora repeated, baffled, "They looked the same to me as they would when they're wearing any normal clothing. And why the heck are you asking me that kind of question?!"

Though then again, it was really weird to see people he'd come to know in those outfits. For one, he would never think Kyoka of all people would want to wear it in the first place. Her reaction to when Sora found them backed this up.

"Look, I'm not trying to be perverted with what me and Mineta-san did!" Kaminari defended, "I meant it to be just a harmless prank!"

"And of all the people to pull a prank with, you chose Minoru?" Sora crossed his arms unconvinced, "Really specific person, Denki."

"Be real with me, dude," Denki continued, "It takes a good amount of people to convince someone something's up. And I didn't think anybody else in the class would do this with me, so who else was I gonna have as a wingman?"

Sora pondered those words, before sighing, "Well, you could've chosen a different person AND a different prank. Cos I think Momo and Kyoka are beyond furious for what you two tried to pull." He looked up for a second, before adding, "I'll do what I can to help you from their… wrath… but that's it. Then we'll be even for the paper you gave me that day."

"Well… why aren't you having Mineta join us?"

"He's the more perverted one out of you two, so he'll be more disatisfied." Sora explained, "Plus, he kinda deserves what's coming if we both know how Kyoka is." At that point, Denki understood how much Sora was letting him off the hook here.

"Well, back to what I asked-" he wondered, before Sora put a hand to his mouth.

"I won't stop Kyoka if you keep asking me that." he replied with a small smile, "I gave you my answer already. Be happy with that, at least."

(Play: FF7 Remake OST - Johnny's Theme)

"GET THOSE FOAM FINGERS IN THE AIR!" Present Mic shouted, "It's almost time for the final round! Good news for those who couldn't make it, this isn't the end of the road! We've prepared some fun little side games for you all to participate in! We've also brought cheerleaders from America to hype y'all up!"

Immediately after, the ladies of 1-A managed to make it in time. Mineta rushed over to ask why they weren't wearing their outfits, only for Jiro to get furious and use her jacks on both his ears. Denki tried to move, but Sora stopped him, allowing him to face the two angry girls he helped fool. Before they could dish out their punishment, Sora stopped them, explaining to them Denki's own reasoning. Both Momo and Kyoka were still annoyed at Denki, but they let him off the hook only because Sora told them to.

"And that's two times I saved Momo from Minoru's antics." Sora sighed.

"Two? When was the first?" Denki asked.

"When he stuck to her gym top on the minefield. I ripped him off her, and gave her my top to replace the one Minoru was attached to."

"Oh… remind me never to do any of that when you're around." Denki looked at him nervously.

"I agree. Don't do it at all, please." Sora told him, "I think our friends would really appreciate it, and maybe in this way, the girls might actually be nice to you for a change."

Denki looked thoughtfully at the boy's suggestion, before shrugging, "It's worth a shot."

"Have fun playing those side games, y'all!" Mic told the students from above, "Once they're over, the 16 contestants from the top 4 teams will be competing in a tournament-style fighting competition! I promise you, these match-ups are going to be wild and epic!"

(Silence)

"Aww, yeah." Eijiro grinned, "Finally, a chance to show what we're made of! I've seen these finals every year beforehand, and now I'm part of one of them!"

"Wait, so is it always a tournament?" Mina asked.

"It's always a 1v1 competition every year," Hanta explained to her, "But they switch it up every time. Last time it was a foam sword fight for each match,"

Midnight now took the podium once again, a box in her hand, "Now, then. Come closer and draw those lots to see who and what you're up against! Then you all can enjoy the pleasure of participating in the recreational games. The sixteen finalists can either participate as well, or sit out and conserve their strength. Now, let's start with first place!"

(Play: MHA OST - People Always Reaching for the Top)

"Um, excuse me," Mashirao raised his hand, "I'm sorry to say this, but I'm withdrawing."

Everyone present was shocked, and Izuku exclaimed, "Ojiro-kun?"

"But this is a rare chance for you to get scouted," Tenya told him.

"Maybe so, but it just wouldn't be right." Ojiro sighed, "I barely remember anything from the Cavalry Battle, from start to finish. I think it had something to do with that guy's Quirk," Sora noticed that he glanced at Shinso as he said this, before continuing, "This is a great opportunity, but… after what happened, my conscience won't let me."

Sora looked at him thoughtfully. He had a code of honor, it seemed, a lot like the samurai of old in stories he read and the Imperial Army in the Land of Dragons.

"Please, think about this." Midoriya urged him.

"No." was the reply, "You all did something and gave it your all in that battle. Me? I was just somebody's puppet. I don't want to advance if I don't even know how I got here. I can't."

"You might be thinking too much into it, Ojiro-kun," Hagakure told him.

"No. Let him go, guys."

Sora's voice made everyone present turn to Sora, whose eyes glimmered with respect, "His heart and mind have decided already. Nothing we can do or say can change that. We must respect his wishes."

He closed his eyes as he remembered how Ansem the Wise was willing to give his life to stop Xemnas's artificial Kingdom Hearts, and even his close friend King Mickey couldn't change his mind. Though he had later been revealed to have survived the resulting explosion, it was still a noble thing for the sage-king of Radiant Garden to do.

"Are you sure?" Mina asked, and he nodded.

"Thank you for understanding, Sora." Ojiro bowed his head, "I'm sorry it must be this way."

"It's okay, Mashirao." Sora returned it, "You're holding onto your pride, something you treasure greatly, and I have nothing against that. I know what it's like to want to hold on to something you treasure." The thought of Kairi's face came up in his mind as he said that. Her lucky charm felt warm in his pocket.

Suddenly, somebody else spoke up, "Nirengeki Shoda from Class B here." he said, "I think I wish to withdraw for the same reason. I know I am strong, but this isn't how I wanted to get this far. It would go against the values of the Festival without earning my spot."

Kirishima praised them on their manliness, while Midnight pondered on their requests.

(Silence)

"Such talk is incredibly naive, boys…" she mused, before putting a hand on her hip, "That turns me on! Shoda, Ojiro, you're both withdrawn!"

Sora, as well as every boy aside from Minoru, muttered, "Did she just say it turns her on?"

(Play: MHA OST - U.A. Corridors)

Yuga merely put a hand on Mashirao's shoulder, "Don't worry. I'll win it for you."

"Now let's see." Midnight thought aloud, "We'll have to move two students from the 5th place team to ensure we have enough contestants."

At that, Itsuka immediately spoke up, "Most of the time, we were just frozen. We barely did anything in that Cavalry Battle. Right girls?" The rest of her team nodded in shame, "If anything, you should give those spots to the ones who continued fighting. Team Tetsutetsu,"

"Kendo." The steel-themed kid looked to his class rep.

"I'm not doing this as a favor," Kendo smiled, "It's only fair."

"Seriously, you guys…" Tetsutetsu teared up with joy, "THANK YOOOOUUUU!"

"So… who's it gonna be?" Honenuki asked them.

"ME!" Tetsutetsu replied, "I'm in!"

"Zinnia-san," Ibara looked at Hanabi, "You should go."

"W-What?" she looked surprised at her classmate, "But-"

"It's alright. I've done what I needed to do. I'm not looking for glory," she told her, "Please."

Hanabi paused, before sighing, "Okay… if that's what you want to do."

Midnight called out, "So we have our two contestants?"

"Yep!" Tetsutetsu pumped his fist up.

"May the Lord guide you to victory," Ibara told them with a bow.

"Shiozaki, I-" Hanabi paused nervously, "I'll do my best."

"We both will!" Tetsutetsu put an arm around her with a grin. She returned it.

"Look at the brackets, dears," Midnight told them as all the lots were picked, "These will be your opponents."

Izuku Midoriya vs. Hitoshi Shinso

Shoto Todoroki vs. Hanta Sero

Denki Kaminari vs. Hanabi Zinnia

Tenya Iida vs. Sora Nakajima

Yuga Aoyama vs. Mina Ashido

Fumikage Tokoyami vs. Momo Yaoyorozu

Eijiro Kirishima vs. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Katsuki Bakugo vs. Ochaco Uraraka

The crowd cheered as the opponents were selected, while the students below reacted in various ways.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were shocked and furious, "HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!"

"I'll give it my all." Tokoyami declared to Momo, who nodded, "Good. That's all I ask of you."

"Mon cheri, I believe this is the end for you," Yuga told Mina

"Oh, I can't wait to melt your butt," she retorted.

"Welp." Sora looked to Tenya, "Looks like we're fighting earlier than expected."

"Then I guess I should prepare myself for that clash right now." Iida nodded.

"Uraraka? Who the hell is that?" Bakugo said without a care. Meanwhile, said girl looked terrified at who she was facing.

(Play: KH 3 OST - Bounce-O-Rama)

"Alright! Let's press pause for this momentary interlude!" Mic announced, "Before our battles begin, it's time for some pulse-pounding side games!"

Sora smiled, and decided to play along with the games to kill some time. The first activity was a scavenger hunt, and he was given a card that said to find an attractive girl. He had already interacted more often with the 1-A girls, so he decided to ask someone from 1-B. Setsuna instantly agreed to his request to walk with him when he showed the card.

He thanked her once his objective was done, moving on to the next game, which involved rolling a large ball as fast as he could to the finish line. Sora then decided to use his shugyo from San Fransokyo, hopping on the ball and backpedaling to accelerate. He didn't place pretty high, though.

It was pretty much a cycle. Play along in the games, letting others shine while having fun himself. It was a nice reprieve, almost like the activities in Pooh's Storybook and the fun activities in other worlds too. Well… most of them.

He noticed that Fumikage, Izuku, Shoto, and Katsuki weren't in sight, while Tenya was talking to those who had talked to Sora. Ochaco was trying to keep her nerves up while Momo watched her classmates play from afar.

Sora then stopped playing as soon as he noticed somebody near one of the exits. He walked up to the person, who turned out to be Cloud, with the Buster Sword now present on his back. The two went around a corner so they could talk.

(Silence)

"Hey," Sora acknowledged Cloud, "What are you doing here?"

"Just on patrol." Cloud replied.

"Patrol?"

"Yeah. I'm part of security here,"

"Oh, like Mt. Lady and the others?"

"You could say that."

Sora adopted a thinking posture, before asking, "Did Nezu hire you?"

"For a good price."

"I see." Sora nodded, "So you'll be on your way soon?"

"Soon. Tifa's somewhere here too. Went to another part of the stadium for her patrol."

"Got it. Guess I'll see her around too."

Cloud nodded, "Let me know if there's any suspicious behavior going on."

Sora agreed, "I will."

But before Sora could turn around, Cloud stopped him, "Kid,"

"Yeah?"

"That girl that was fourth in the obstacle course… keep an eye on her,"

"Hanabi? Why?"

"She's holding back."

"So was I," Sora said, "What's the difference?"

Cloud sighed, before saying, "You've felt it, haven't you?"

Sora's expression changed as his eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"Her light." he told him, "It's powerful. Maybe not like those Princesses and that friend you like, but powerful nonetheless. I… hate to admit it, but it's got me on edge. She might give you a run for your money, in the state you're in."

Sora looked at him concerned, ignoring the remark on that… thing about his friend. He pondered what Cloud was saying. Sora wasn't all that great in terms of sensing power other than Heartless. That was more Riku, Mickey, and Aqua's thing. If what Cloud implied was true, then he would have to watch Hanabi's fight with Kaminari closely.

"...I'll see what happens," Sora nodded, "Thanks for the heads-up, Cloud."

The SOLDIER merely grunted, and Sora took that as his time to leave and head back to play in more of the minigames, while Cloud went off back on patrol.

Once Cementoss was done with the stage, the minigames came to an end, and the students went to their assigned bleachers.

"Thank you, Cementoss!" Mic complimented, "NOW SPORTS FANS, ARE YOU READY?"

The crowd went nuts, and Mic continued, "After all the action you've witnessed, it's time to see some real action! Can you feel that excitement? Our competitors are on their own this time round. Sometimes, Heroes have to rely on themselves to win! Heart, skill, strength, wisdom, courage! They'll have to use all of those things to rise to the top!"

Sora watched from afar on the second row of his classmates seats, thinking on Cloud's words, but also excited to see what Izuku would be doing against Shinso. He knew his friend would win, and couldn't wait for the semifinals when they would meet up.

These are gonna be some good matches. he thought to himself.

(Play: Mario and Luigi: Dream Team OST - Dreamy Castle Rendezvous)

Short chapter today, guys, I'm sorry about that! The Sports Festival was mainly focused on matches as well as the small character moments, so don't expect the next few chapters to be super long.

Anyways, with Chapter 21 out and about, we get the matchups for the tournament!

And we've got two changes now! Sora's facing off against Tenya this time around, and Hanabi's taking Ibara's place in this tourney! You can probably guess where this is going, but until then, stay tuned!

And yeah... uh... Cloud's actually expressing concern now in regards to Hanabi. I feel like it's a bit OOC (For those who don't know, OOC means "Out of Character"), but given that Hanabi's an unknown to him (and us) currently, it kind of makes some sense for a veteran of war to be wary of one who has power to potentially rival that of a world traveler.

Off topic, but we've got two days (or one more day, depending on your time zone) till Ragnarok! Yeah, I'm a bit of a God of War fan, so I'm psyched about that! Haven't seen Sonic Frontiers yet, but I bet that game might be fun (even though I may never get the chance to play it) XD.

Enough of that, though. Onto reviews!

Jaded671: It took me a couple seconds to figure out what you meant in the second sentence, but thanks for the praise, Jaded! Perhaps, if Shoto will actually do such a thing.

Gamelover41592: Thanks. Though Sora does have a friendly rivalry with Riku, I'd think he wouldn't want rivalries to go too far after well... getting sent off-world for the first time. *coughs in KH1*.

Sindel34: Slow down, Sindel, slow down. Be patient. I cannot guarantee that it's all gonna happen. I've already got a plan, and I'm going to stick with it for the time being. In regards to Sora dating MHA characters, please look back on my response to WizardWolf's review in Chapter 4.

MK: Hmm... You make good points there. Especially with U.S.J.. I'd agree that if Heartless were there, Sora would've been more inclined to believe he can't take them all out, but I saved them so that they could deal with the leftovers and dine on the hearts of the Villains after Nomu gets Team Rocketed.

And in regards to darkness in this fic, I'd agree. We've clearly seen others in KH worlds enveloped in dark auras and even turned into Heartless. There's definitely no doubt it could happen here too.

And yes, I agree. Izuku and Katsuki aren't completely pure-hearted, though their intentions may be more so. Izuku and KH3 Sora share similar problems, like self worth issues, bleeding hearts, the classic good guy tropes, and had fate taken a turn for the worst, Izuku would most likely have jumped off that roof the day his dream was temporarily shattered, or yielded to the darkness and succumbed. Bakugo well... it's self-explanatory. Seasons 1-3 Bakugo is clearly an asshole. However, I think the suicide talk to Izuku was a bit OOC. The author of MHA said so himself. Regardless of that, he's still an asshole before he gets true development, and still kind of is.

keybladelight: Well... to put it in Vexen's words... you were half correct. But though this version of Sora is more knowledgeable in the ladies department and respectful in that regard, I don't think he's that kind of protagonist to think that way. In the manga, he was really embarrassed when he discovered Mulan was a girl, and he figured that out at... not a good time.

The OC Maniac: Thanks for that OC, and don't worry bout the writer's block you had for a while. We all get it every once in a while, but eventually, we get back in the groove of things. You probably already know this, but take your time with your stories. The KH community is definitely known for their patience. Hopefully.

And since I couldn't post a review last time, congrats on being a future uncle! Hope you and your niece get along and forge a strong connection in the future!

blueassassin996: It ain't over yet, blue. There's much more to come...

Guest: Thank you, Guest! And yeah, there's gonna be something in the deal that will surprise you! Stay safe out there too!

Shadow Tiger24: Thanks for staying tuned! Trust me, this is going to be a major turning point here. I said I was going to make this slightly different than May Your Heart Go Beyond, and I intend to keep it that way.

Guest: Oh yeah... oops. I guess I forgot to factor in the time zones when I posted this. Sorry!

tigerdancer21: Oh... that scene. You'll have to wait and see regarding that. I won't deny that was a little... much on OC's part, but considering the nature of Hero Society, stuff like this does happen, whether we like it or not. But don't worry. I'll say this: she isn't gonna act like a vampire here.

Guest: "That's the power of the Keyblade!" "Oh yeah!" "Nothing to it!" Yeah, I loved those as a kid. Who knows... you might see something like it.

What are your thoughts on this chapter? I'm happy if you enjoyed it, but if not, I'm sorry for not meeting expectations.

Welp. Pencil's down, and I'm out. Better get going and rest a while.

Thanks for reading my story, and until our paths cross again!

(Silence)