The arena was now ready and occupied by both a freckled boy standing near the middle and an unfamiliar purple-haired teen opposite him. Each was carefully sizing up their opponent.

"Midoriya's up first, huh? Alright then, time to show me what you can do," Rumi declares.

The kid hadn't really done anything special since the first round but maybe he'd pull off another surprise or two and reveal more of that mysterious hidden power or something.

Honestly, it was a shame this wouldn't be a proper cage-match like the ones she used to go to as a schoolgirl. Defeating your enemy by ring-out or forfeit? That was practically toddler level play-fighting. How were they supposed to learn?

A proper fight wasn't over til your opponent was unconscious and bloody as far as she's concerned - but then that was why the damn Commission was on her back in the first place.

"Makes it a little more palatable for the advertisers as well, I guess," she grumbles through a mouthful of beer.

All the suits in charge care about is saving face and making money, in the end. But even if she ignores the fact that the kid gloves were undeniably firmly on, the fight still isn't looking like it will be off to a promising start.

'What the fuck is he even up to?'

At the start of the match Midoriya had begun to rush his opponent but just a few words from his adversary had suddenly halted him in his tracks. Where was the clash of flesh on bone, the showmanship, the adrenaline?

Was this meant to be a battle or a goddamn staring contest?

The purple-haired boy was doing something, there was no other explanation. A Quirk was at work - perhaps some sort of paralysis effect holding him in place?

No. It quickly became apparent the situation was worse than that.

Midoriya's eyes were vacant, his mouth hanging open gormlessly as he began to walk towards the ring! He was going to straight-up forfeit without so much as a single attack being thrown?

Rumi frowns as Midoriya draws closer and closer to the ring's edge.

It has to be some kind of body or maybe even mind control, then. A pretty rare power to come across - and an absolute bitch to fight against. She's never met one powerful enough to truly take away her control and dearly hopes she never will.

"Guess that's that," she sighs in disappointment. "Oh well."

Hopefully at least some of these matches would be worth seeing - Endeavour's son and Bakugo would probably be much more fun to watch, maybe one of them will throw this brainwashing bozo into the dirt.

So far this whole thing had definitely tailed off. Maybe she should have just blown it off to go on patrol instead.

A gust of wind blew throughout the arena as Midoriya stopped before the edge. Waves of power were emanating from him now - whatever hold the purple-haired boy had over him no longer seemed to have any sway.

"Huh."

He wasn't looking so weak now.

Was it just a limited time effect that hadn't been capitalised on properly or had Midoriya perhaps broken free from it somehow?

Whatever the case, now faced with Midoriya's piercing glare and oncoming charge, purple-hair looked fairly distressed at the easy win slipping from his grasp.

The two boys grappled briefly, purple-hair viciously punching Midoriya in an effort to reclaim the victory he'd been denied but the blows didn't seem to phase him at all; instead he resolutely withstood his opponent's desperate struggle and decisively threw him out of the ring.

'Well. That was unexpected. Still not exactly much of a show though, he took much worse hits from that bastard in the grocery shop,' Rumi muses as she scratches one of her large ears.

Good on the kid for pulling through it but hopefully there would be some actual decent fighting ahead to perk her up.

Todoroki was the fighter up next, pitted against some guy who had some pretty weird-looking elbows but otherwise seemed fairly unremarkable.

Still, plain-looking or not, he was quick off the mark in capturing his opponent with his immobalisation Quirk. Totally secured in adhesive tape, the two-toned boy was being swung towards the edge of the ring.

Rumi snorts. Another yawnfest loss already? Her impatience is beginning to mount now; she'd been promised a spectacle but so far it had yet to appear-

Rabbit ears flatten against her head as she gapes at the screen in astonishment. A veritable glacier now juts clean out of the stadium, easily encompassing the whole screen.

What the fuck was that?!

No one could have been prepared for the sheer devastation Todoroki had wrought in just an instant; Tape-elbows never stood a chance at avoiding an attack of that magnitude. In fact, many fully-fledged pro-Heroes would have been totally caught off guard.

"Wow! Now that was something. I wouldn't mind sparring against that guy myself once he's sprouted up a bit," Rumi says, perked up by this second turnaround.

It was quite the statement from Endeavour's son and all future competitors now had a very high bar to match indeed.

Unfortunately for the next few fighters, none of them were quite up to the challenge of following that particular act - but they made an attempt at least.

The cocky electric boy had seemed certain of his win and indeed the powerful burst he unleashed would very probably have been enough to fry a normal opponent.

A shame for him then that the vine-haired girl he faced was not one of them, instead negating him utterly and wrapping him up tight as he overloaded into a drooling mess. Rumi cracks a smirk at the stupid look on his face as it pokes out from the cocoon of vines.

That brief amusement vanishes as quickly as it came with the next bout.

The boy with engines for calves had been controlled and utterly humiliated by the Support class girl from Midoriya's team who just wanted to show off for investors instead of fight; she'd even given him a pity win when she was done advertising her support gear.

Rumi personally has little sympathy for the boy clearly falling for some sort of ruse to put him in this position - it was a careless move on his part, really - but the whole thing almost made a mockery of not just the event itself but Heroes in general.

Certainly there were those connected to the business who cared more about glory, fame and fortune than anything else - but to join a tournament purely to market products was decidedly too shrewd for Rumi's liking.

Fortunately there was soon something to make up for it as the pink-coloured Mutant girl began to give her opponent the run-around, easily avoiding his laser attacks that he fired from his… stomach? That was a new one.

A clear use of agility and tactics is always a point in someone's favour and laying him low with a single punch definitely proves impressive - not to mention leaving the poor guy unconscious on the ground with his underwear on display was a vicious move indeed.

"I gotta say these chicks don't really hold back at all, at least," Rumi says with a laugh at the sad display.

The female domination of the field was not to last forever though, their streak becoming swiftly broken by a black-haired teen with who looked to have some kind of shield-creating Quirk or something. She'd been effortlessly shoved out of bounds by the bird-faced boy from Midoriya's team and his shadowy familiar in a quick and decisive win.

The girl had proved no match for such an aggressive, relentless fighting style. As the old saying went; the best defence was a good offence - and in Rumi's opinion truer words are never spoken.

Black-hair would need to be more proactive in the future if she wanted to stand any chance at making it big - there was no room at the top for those who cowered behind barriers until they lost.

The following round had looked to be exciting at first; the two boys who'd been crushed by the robot earlier had set about relentlessly pummelling each other. With how resilient each had proved themselves to be, how thrilling would it be to see which would prove triumphant?

Not very, as it turned out.

"Just get it over with already," she mumbles, stifling a yawn.

On the screen the two boys traded yet another blow, neither seeming all that worse for wear despite the many hits they've exchanged.

It had been kind of fun for a while watching the pair smack each other in the face and keep on standing but the satisfaction eventually petered away. They were so evenly matched in size, ability and power that it almost seems like she's watching two living brick walls clashing into each other.

It's practically a relief when the pair eventually fall down unconscious from sheer exhaustion. A draw, then. To be decided through arm-wrestling. Sure, whatever, that might as well happen.

After the less-than-exciting display was the blond-haired explosion boy, Bakugo. He was up against the other girl from Midoriya's team, though Rumi hardly recalls what role she'd been playing in the earlier event.

In any case, she certainly must have been confident in her chances to charge a clearly strong opponent without any hesitation at all. Unconcerned by her spirited approach, Bakugo was easily dominating the field by using his explosions to throw the girl back time and time again.

Despite the beating she was undoubtedly taking, the girl holds firm and keeps coming and Rumi can't help but respect that, even as weaklings in the crowd shout for her reprieve. The snarky announcer is right - not one of them knew a damn thing about what it took to stand at the top.

Why should Bakugo have to hold back against his opponent? Had she not agreed to the fight? Was she not a Hero in training? If she didn't have what it took to face an opponent of Bakugo's calibre, maybe she'd be better off trying for a different career instead.

But no, the girl clearly was in it for the long haul and had instead been secretly preparing her final move while hidden amongst the dust and smoke kicked up by Bakugo's explosions.

It was a sneaky trick, dropping rocks onto her opponent's head, but when faced with such a barrage there was no doubt many people would be unable to defend against it and swiftly defeated.

How unfortunate for her that Bakugo just wasn't one of them and simply disintegrated the entire onslaught with a single gigantic blast.

Rumi's lips pull into a pleased smile at the display. Some of these kids definitely were stronger than she'd been expecting.

The brown-haired girl's face after seeing her work go up quite literally in smoke tugs even at Rumi's heartstrings but her sudden collapse to the floor, clearly utterly spent, while her opponent still stands fresh and ready was just proof of the divide between them.

Tenacity was important for a Hero but power was generally even more of a deciding factor. An uninterested person with even a half-decent Quirk would always defeat the most motivated yet Quirkless one - it was just reality.

Still, it had been a fairly intense match unlike the arm-wrestling that followed it, with the metallic boy barely defeated by the red-haired rock-skinned teen.

The final lineup had been decided. The best of the best had been assembled. Whatever awaited from now on was sure to be the showstopper she'd been promised.

"Midoriya's second match is against Todoroki?" Rumi's teeth pull into a grimace.

That was some bad luck for the green-haired kid. He didn't stand a chance at all, judging by the pair's previous performances.

Midoriya had certainly looked strangely powerful at the end of the last bout, but there was no way his mysterious Quirk was going to save him from the walls of ice the two-toned boy could conjure.

Or so she thought.

Todoroki was immediately on the attack with a wave of frost but somehow Midoriya was easily able to smash through it with nothing more than a flick of his finger.

This was what he could do? That was no joke! The force he'd been exuding earlier was nothing compared to now. What was the reason for his hesitation before then?

Todoroki's attack might have been blunted but he was quick to send a few more waves his opponents' way - though each met the same swift fate at Midoriya's hands.

Unfortunately the hands in question weren't exactly faring well as a result, it appeared, the skin mottling and blood dripping from them despite never having been touched by the freezing waves.

'It's damaging him, that's why he's been holding it back!' Rumi thinks, staring at the screen in slight horror.

That was a serious drawback to what otherwise looked to be a powerful Quirk. No wonder he'd been refusing to utilise it before now.

If he couldn't even protect himself from his own attacks, being a proper Hero was going to be tough as hell for the kid, no matter how strong his hits against Villains actually were.

An especially big wave from Todoroki was forcing Midoriya on the back foot now, his whole arm hanging limp and turning the same ugly purple as his fingers from his efforts to defend against it.

Was there any chance he could turn this around before he lost the ability to fight back entirely?

Perhaps. Despite the injuries Midoriya stood firm, sending his own blast to meet the next ice wall and pushing his opponent near the edge.

Now the tide was turning. Midoriya seemed to be done tanking hits, surging forward to meet his opponent head on and dealing him a mighty blow to the stomach.

Yet though he'd landed the first actual hit of the match the kid was clearly suffering for it, his limbs incredibly bruised and bleeding, seemingly unable to even close his fingers now. Each defence further exacerbated his condition, wearing him down just as surely as if Todoroki's attacks had actually struck him.

Seeing his face, smeared with his own blood just as it had been when she'd saved him, Rumi can't help but stare. His eyes are so determined now, driven to give his all even as he fractures from within by his own power.

Suddenly the pair halts, their mouths moving furiously, and Rumi wrinkles her brows in confusion. Were they… having some sort of heated debate? In the middle of a match?

Midoriya once more struck against his opponent, sending the other boy flying backwards. Even so, Todoroki rallied quickly enough as the pair clearly began shouting at each other anew.

There were no microphones to pick up what the boys were yelling about but whatever it was, the end result was yet another unexpected twist; the right side of Todoroki suddenly bursting into flame.

There was that fire again. She'd been wondering about that brief glimpse in the cavalry battle, thinking that perhaps her eyes had been playing tricks on her. It was real, it seemed.

"Guess that's not too surprising considering his dad and all," Rumi mutters - and indeed the camera suddenly panned to the man in question clearly yelling some kind of encouragement at his son.

What a blowhard, always trying to take the spotlight - even though the younger Todoroki never spared him a glance.

To think that Todoroki had also been hiding his true power… It beggared belief.

Why had he chosen now to unleash it? Had Midoriya somehow goaded him into it? Surely he knew Todoroki could do such a thing, right? They were in the same class after all.

If he'd done so then he'd just made his job a lot harder for himself. If the dual-coloured boy had been powerful before with only ice at his command then adding fire into the mix was sure to heat things up in the most literal of senses.

But if it hadn't been his aim then Midoriya was surprisingly undaunted, clearly powering himself up as much as he could as Todoroki prepared a monstrous mix of frost and flame.

This was going to be the deciding blow and Rumi hardly blinks in her eagerness to capture the moment the two collide.

Midoriya rushes forward, his mutilated arm thrusting toward the elemental attack. The arena floor itself rises up, coming between the pair as their Quirks burst against the suddenly protruding walls, resulting in an ensuing explosion that was nearly deafening.

When the dust and steam clears it is apparent that there is now a victor…

And that it isn't Midoriya.

The freckled boy slides down the wall of the now-cracked and crumbling stadium, blown clear of the ring by Todoroki's final attack, to rest in a limp heap.

Todoroki himself stands against a patch of ice, missing some of his clothing yet still conscious and within the boundaries.

"Woah." Rumi gives a little cheer. "Now that was a match! Todoroki, damn, he sure is a beast. Midoriya too… you really gave it your all, kid."

She'd initially held no expectations for his success but he'd really blown her away at some points there. His Quirk seemed pretty damn good after all - except for the fact it was literally breaking him as he used it.

She wanted to fight Todoroki now more than ever though; he'd definitely give her a run for her money when fully trained up. It would be something to look forward to if she ever got the chance - Endeavour had always turned her down, the coward.

Such a fierce battle necessitated a break, both to calm down the spectators, address the injuries of the fighters and fix the severely damaged arena. Rumi leaves the video running while she went to grab another couple of carrots but when she returns it's to the tail-end of a match.

A quick check back revealed that this was in fact the second bout she's missed; the engine-legged boy had instantly overrun his vine-haired opponent to push her out of the ring and soon after the bird-faced boy had repeated the tactic he'd used the shield-user against the pink-coloured mutant, who also hesitated in the face of his aggression and was swiftly sent over the edge.

Well, whatever.

Kirishima, the winner of the arm-wrestling contest, was facing Bakugo - and scored a quick hit against him too. Bakugo's swift retaliation hardly seemed to faze the rock-solid boy one bit, and now the red-haired teen wasn't letting up at all in fact, viciously swiping for the other boy's face.

In an unexpected show of restraint Bakugo was actually holding back against his opponent, seeming content to merely avoid the rock-hard fists while his opponent began to tire himself out.

Rumi sniffs, a little put out by the display, until Bakugo grew tired of dodging and now the battle was being fought on his terms, the multitude of his explosive barrages were certainly having the desired effect now.

One final blow was all he needed, a massive detonation that sent his opponent crashing to the ground in a defeated heap.

'Just a few fights left to go…' Rumi thinks. 'Then I'll probably have a nap afterwards.'

Todoroki was up once more - now versus Engine-legs, who'd certainly not been able to prove himself in the first fight, and his second was over in a flash. Would this be a proper match-up?

Not if Todoroki had his way. Instantly there were waves of ice surrounding his opponent, hemming him in and reducing his range of movement.

That didn't stop the other boy though, he simply leapt clear of the trap and delivered a powerful kick to Todoroki's back.

"Hell yeah, was that Luna Fall? Kickers represent!" Rumi cheers, pleased by the familiar attack.

Unlike her own moveset however, Engine-legs didn't follow up with more brutal strikes to his fallen enemy but chose to grab a hold of him to drag the boy out of the ring.

He never made it. Ice began to creep up his body, forming a solid cocoon that froze him in place. As he was unable to free himself from the frosty entrapment, the match was over.

'Well, that could have been worse I guess.'

Todoroki's ice was certainly a dangerous force to tangle with… but where had his fire gone?

Hopefully it would resurface at the finale, but there was another bout to go before then.

The darkly shimmering monster attached to the bird-faced boy had rendered all his previous encounters trivial, easily able to overwhelm any defences in a storm of aggression.

Somehow that was no longer the case, the once-fierce beast now cowering under the heat of Bakugo's explosions. This wasn't a fight between the top students any more, it was a one-sided annihilation.

Unable to withstand the frenzied bombardment, Birdface had simply… given up. The first actual yielding of the whole tournament.

"Boy, that's a letdown. Just when things were looking to get really spicy as well," Rumi sighs.

Bakugo lay atop his opponent, clearly willing to blast him into submission had he not offered his surrender. It was just more proof of his willingness to ensure his victory, and Rumi is really beginning to admire the spirit he was showing.

"Last one. You've just gotta take down Todoroki. If you can make it… then I guess you've earned my respect a bit."

And her offer as well. The Commission wouldn't dare say no.

Rumi shifts, making sure she's extra comfy and has a carrot to hand. There was no way she's missing even a moment of what's sure to be a momentous confrontation.

Part of her is glad she hadn't just skipped to the end to find out who the best fighter was and had stuck out the whole thing - it wouldn't have been nearly as worthwhile.

Bakugo was grinning viciously, a stark contrast to Todoroki's aloof stare, and Rumi's own mouth is beginning to match it.

The fight was on. In an instant, a humongous wave of ice engulfed the blond boy, a move so reminiscent of Todoroki's first tournament attack.

"Shit. Come on, come on!" Rumi whispers.

Bakugo was not one to give up like the tape-elbowed boy had, surely?

Indeed, it was clear from the dull thuds ringing out from within the iceberg that he was not sitting idly by until he could be freed.

The ice cracked, splintered and then burst open, revealing the fighter within.

No longer encapsulated in an icy prison, in an instant Bakugo was bearing down on his opponent on the trails of his burning hands, deftly avoiding another attack.

In a flash he was blurring over his opponent to grasp him by his twin-coloured hair and jacket, ruthlessly yanking him up into the air and hurling him across the stadium.

Todoroki was tumbling but managed to arrest his flight before the edge, jetting away on an ice slide to return to the fight.

Bakugo was clearly eager to charge him again, avoiding another icy attack to lunge at Todoroki with another blast ready.

Todoroki had been ready this time, pushing his arm aside to return fire.

But somehow no fire arrived; instead he opted to merely fling Bakugo back a few feet and hold his position.

"Weak. Fight or fold… defence will only get you so far," Rumi frowns, displeased by the restraint.

Certainly Bakugo was not willing to let him have a breather for long, running back into the fray before launching himself skyward once more. As Bakugo rose, Todoroki's left side burst into flame once again.

'There it is!'

Bakugo spun through the air, unleashing a truly colossal blast against his opponent.

Todoroki's fire dissipated, throwing up another shield to protect him against Bakugo. It was torn asunder, dashing the boy against the gigantic ice wall behind him even as that too was rendered into chunks.

A tiny shriek escapes Rumi's throat as she beholds Todoroki lying amongst the wreckage, even as Bakugo begins to shake his clearly knocked-out opponent in disbelief.

"That was it? Really? Ugh. The hell's wrong with your kid, Endeavour?" Rumi says as she angrily waved a carrot.

The kid had buckled. The aggression, the drive… where had it all gone? What had he been trying to prove?

"Gahhh. All that for… whatever!" She snarls, tugging at a strand of her long, white hair.

It was almost over now, but she still has a lot of thinking to do.

Teeth gritted, she stares at the two boys lying unconscious on the stadium floor.

It takes her a few minutes to calm down but eventually she unpauses the video.

With the Tournament concluded, one way or another, afterwards came the Awards Ceremony - not really a thing she's a typically massive fan of herself, despite having taken the winning spot at more than a few.

Hanging about to bask in everyone knowing you were the winner wasn't all that fun for long when you could be going to find another fight somewhere else.

And there was definitely one winner unhappy to be there for this particular event; Bakugo was writhing upon the podium he'd actually been physically shackled to, his furious howling audible despite the metal muzzle they'd forced over his face.

Even his fellow runners-up look uncomfortable just being near the raving boy.

"Oh boy. Talk about rabid," Rumi murmurs as her nose wrinkles in distaste. "That's really not a heroic image at all."

There was some irony to that statement, she knows that, but it doesn't make it any less true.

She sympathises with him not getting the real deal, all-out fight that she'd certainly been expecting (and having an opponent refuse to give their all was an insult she'd personally resent herself) but his childish, over-the-top reaction to it wasn't really the way to go about it. It was only a school contest, after all, it wasn't like lives were on the line.

She gnaws at her bottom lip sourly, staring at him.

The fact was that he looked like he was going to be taken to Tartarus for a heinous crime any moment instead of having just won the top spot in a pretty prestigious event.

Did the boy forget this was all being streamed live to the entire country, the whole world even, or had he just not cared at all how he was showcasing himself to them?

All Might arriving to present the winners with their awards was an unexpected enough surprise to cause her to forget Bakugo's temper tantrum for a moment.

She'd vaguely heard what she'd taken to be nonsense rumours and gossip about him becoming a teacher at UA or something a while back, but paid it little heed. Seems it has turned out to be true.

It was such a weird thought that the Number One Hero who had spent so much of his time fighting Villains and saving lives would suddenly decide to take up a job in education instead, like some C-Lister who'd been broken down by too many bad fights.

Even so the Symbol of Peace was as stalwart looking as ever as he handed out the medals, gifting each boy with a pat on the back alongside it.

Once Bakugo's muzzle was taken off the blonde boy immediately redoubled his efforts to shout his grievances, utterly refusing to accept his win and the trophy that came with it.

All Might had taken it in stride though, leaving the medal dangling from Bakugo's mouth in a fairly comical sight. And then that was it, the Festival - or at least the video - was over.

What a rollercoaster of emotions it had been and she suddenly felt a little mentally drained.

"Damn," Rumi mumbles as she finishes her long-forgotten beer. "That didn't help at all."

She can admit to herself that she'd been rooting for Bakugo a fair bit at the end, begrudgingly impressed by his power and grit.

He was definitely strong and mobile and had a hell of a lot of drive to fight while not holding back at all. Those were all great points in his favour and had that been all there was to it she'd be sending her selection to the Commission in a heartbeat.

She can see a lot of herself in him - the love of battle, the will to defeat his enemies entirely without hesitation or holding back one bit.

There were limits though, as she had been so keenly reminded lately.

Maybe once he got older he'd calm down and make a fine Hero, possibly even Top Ten material. He had the raw talent in spades.

And clearly the ego to match.

The last few minutes of the event were a real eye-opener, enough to turn a nearly surefire candidate into a dangerous proposition.

Did she dare risk choosing him now?

While he might not necessarily hinder her much in a fight physically (his power and mobility were there for all to see), there were other ways to be a burden on her.

Would he listen to her orders or just go off on his own? Could she trust his judgement when protecting bystanders?

Her own actions could sometimes lead to more damage than was strictly necessary, generally to whatever perpetrator she faced more so than civilian collateral damage, but that led to more and more scrutinising eyes upon her.

She didn't need any more issues to arise as a result of someone under her command not obeying her instructions. He'd needed to be knocked unconscious to prevent him from attacking someone who clearly had already been defeated, after all.

As he was, choosing a temperamental teen with obvious issues was unlikely to help her credibility with the HPSC and even disregarding that, did she even want to drag around a volatile loose cannon for a week?

Not particularly.

With as much trouble she had in reining her own fuse in, dealing with a literal bomb waiting to go off was a guaranteed disaster in the making. There were plenty of other students out there, even if they hadn't taken the top spot in the Festival.

Todoroki was much calmer and just as strong if not stronger, again probable Top Ten material, if not higher. He'd been holding himself back though, refusing to use his full strength - whatever Midoriya had done to push him into using his flames hadn't seemed to last long at all.

That was worrisome - whatever the cause of his strange reluctance was, not giving your all as a Hero wasn't just an insult to the profession, it could prove dangerous as well.

If he didn't step up, he'd be stepped on. His ice was a versatile and incredible ability, no doubt about that, but was it enough that he could afford to use it exclusively?

No. Villains would take advantage of any hesitation or opportunity and lives could be lost as a result.

Plus there was the fact that he was Endeavour's son...

The way his dad had loomed over his fights, shouting and waving, is just another sign that there are some domestic problems that she has no interest in getting involved with. Whatever blowback might arise from their family squabbles, it was their concern and not hers.

She knew Endeavour - there was no doubt he'd see her taking on his son as getting involved. And while that might result in a fight she'd be more than happy to take on… that would be another blow to her reputation with the Safety Commission again.

Instead there were other options like Tokoyami, whose Quirk was pretty adaptable and strong, repelling most attacks levelled against it with ease. Maybe he wouldn't be so bad - he was a fellow mutant even.

On the flipside, he seemed to be pretty stationary, relying on his familiar's reach to attack his opponents. Could he even keep up with her? A limited-range Quirk with no physical bolstering didn't exactly match her style. And his hesitation in his last bout against Bakugo was another worry.

Or the Gravity girl - she'd had a lot of spirit, refusing to back down even while outmatched and trying clever moves to compensate. That was important, yet her Quirk just wasn't strong enough to help her close the gap and defeat her opponent, her tricks subsequently failing at the crucial point.

The two boys with the Hardening and Steel Quirks were resilient but couldn't withstand Bakugo or Todoroki's firepower and certainly weren't fast enough to follow in her wake, they'd only get left behind.

The engine-boy, the one who'd been missing from the Award Ceremony for some reason, his movesets seemed like they were similar to hers. Compatible fighting styles were rare and a point in his favour but his fights had hardly been stellar and he seemed to lack staying power.

Rumi drums her fingers against the laptop, contemplating the events she had just seen, the numerous faces and Quirks over and over.

Fast but not strong enough. Strong but not fast enough. Strong, fast but otherwise unsuited or problematic.

None of them were good enough.

"Ugh. This is why I hate teaming up," she murmurs, running a hand down her face.

She has to make a choice today; the Commission has handed her an ultimatum. They wouldn't just accept that she hadn't found a suitable candidate despite the extremely limited time she'd been given. Perhaps they'd just force some random student on her to teach her a lesson, someone sure to drag her down.

She chews her lip, stuck between rocks and hard places.

Maybe Bakugo could be wrangled without causing too much trouble if she kept a close enough eye and firm stance. It wouldn't be an enjoyable experience but it looked like biting that bullet might be the best option she has.

It wasn't like he had no redeeming qualities at all, at least. And she had said if he won the bout with Todoroki she'd give him the offer, it was only fair, right?

As she takes a bite out of another carrot, the green stalk catches her eye and she pauses, staring at it suspiciously for a moment.

Then she rewinds the video.

A familiar bruised and freckled face stares back at her on the screen, clearly in pain yet a determined fire blazing in his green eyes.

Midoriya maybe could have beaten Todoroki, fighting hard despite his injuries. He'd shattered those walls of ice like it was nothing, even through the damage it caused his body.

Like Bakugo, he hadn't been content fighting against an opponent who wasn't giving it their all - whilst fighting Todoroki he'd managed to provoke the other boy into using the fire he'd hesitated to show throughout the event. Twice, even.

It had totally cost him the match and probably a position at the winner's podium, but it was still impressive. He'd fought and struggled every step of the way, as many had, ultimately showing a true Hero's heart even if he hadn't won the day at the end.

Even so he too just hadn't quite hit the mark in her measuring up.

Maybe it was how unassuming he generally looked or how much he'd been crying through the festival. Possibly it was because she had rescued him and the fallout from that unfortunate event.

Had she been subconsciously rejecting him because of their connection or was it something else as well?

He had significant strength, anyone could see it. He'd destroyed Todoroki's ice nearly as easily as Bakugo.

Certainly the right drive; continuing on fighting even as his very bones cracked was no small feat. Personality-wise he was obviously on the softer side, there was no denying that, but with the right tempering he too could become something quite special.

The whole time she'd been looking for the one who was the strongest, the fastest, the most driven, the very best of them all - enough so that they wouldn't weigh her down as she did her job and she'd be able to get back to doing her thing solo as quickly as possible.

Was that really what she needed?

"Maybe I've been looking at this the wrong way," she ponders thoughtfully, tapping a finger against her lip.

She shakes her head in bemusement - had she forgotten that she was Mirko? No matter what chains she is bound with she will persevere and jump to greater heights than ever before!

There aren't really any Pros that measure up to her standards, a bunch of teenagers barely into Hero training never stood a chance. There was almost no point analysing them all so deeply, now that she thinks about it.

She would show the Commission exactly what they asked for; just a little restraint to get them off her back, and then things would soon return to normal. All they wanted her to do was let a prospective Hero follow her around for a week, that was it.

She picks up the empty can and crushes it in her fist before throwing it aside.

She's already met Midoriya, even protected him. He seemed like a good kid and hey, she could even admit to herself he was a little bit cute too. Not that such a thing matters at all, of course. But perhaps it was a tiny bonus.

Perhaps she could bring herself to help whip him into shape a bit while she was at it, he sure looked like he needed it.

It was only a week, after all. Who knows, maybe he could become the Number Two Hero some day and owe it all to her. It was an amusing thought.

Clicking back to her email again, she opens up the Commission's message to find the necessary forms.

"Alright, if I gotta do this then… Midoriya. Guess you're the lucky one," she says, typing his name.

For a moment she stares at it. Was this really the right choice? It wasn't too late to change her mind.

And then she shrugs, sighs and clicks send.

Mr Aizawa is talking but Izuku can't spare him the attention he normally offers his teacher.

Instead he is fixed by the words projected onto the blackboard, his thoughts going by so fast they almost seem to blur together. He can see it there at the very bottom. His own name… and alongside it a marker.

He's been chosen to intern with someone!

Sure, it's nothing like Todoroki or Kacchan, their names sitting at the top with offers in the literal thousands, but it was one more than he'd been able to bring himself to dare hope for internally.

Distantly he hears Mineta talking in his ear but he is so focused that the words simply bounce off him.

Had a genuine Pro Hero actually asked for him? It couldn't be. Maybe this was a ruse of some kind by Mr Aizawa?

Not even his occasionally-underhanded teacher was that cruel, surely.

And if he wasn't, then who was it that had made the request? Death Arms? Thunderspike? So many names flit through his mind as he smiles ear to ear.

Midnight's sultry voice barely pierces his frantic thoughts. He glances up at his other teacher who'd entered at some point, reluctantly abandoning his mental list. Speaking of names, of course. He'll need one of his own as well.

He's come up with so many as a child - but of course they were all born from his favourite heroes' own. Though at the time he'd never dreamed he would one day possess All Might's Quirk, he was now being prepared to take the Symbol of Peace's place.

Did that give him the right to take up his mantle as well?

It didn't feel like he'd earned that honour. Perhaps he never would - All Might was a true legend, the greatest Hero there ever was. To truly reach his level seemed impossible, a dream he'd always yearn for and never touch.

No. He'd need his own identity - inviting too much comparison between him and All Might could risk suspicions being drawn into One For All. Better to let it lie.

He muses and mulls over the matter though nothing seems to fit. At least he isn't the only one having a tough time of it, judging by the furrowed brows and murmurings of many of his classmates.

Even so, they gradually present their own choices - albeit some a little more inspired than others - and he happily cheers them on as his fingers drum against the desk.

He glances around for a moment and his eyes catch on his brown-haired classmate; the newly-announced Uravity. It is a fitting match, pairing well to give her a cute and approachable vibe - he definitely approves.

As he watches her return to her seat a memory comes to him; an event that almost seemed an age and yet was barely a few weeks past.

Ah, of course. There really is only one choice.

"It's gotta... be this." Izuku thinks as he writes it down proudly, taking care with his still not-quite-healed fingers.

His confidence rises as he walks up to present his new title. He can see the surprise and confusion in the eyes of his fellow Heroes-in-training and knows what they are all thinking.

Who would willingly call themselves after a demeaning nickname?

He stares out at the class, taking in Uraraka's beaming smile and also Kacchan's surprised scowl. Two diametrically opposed expressions and yet both somehow fill him with pleased satisfaction. He can't help but give a nervous smile as he explains his choice.

Once it had been just another bullet in Kacchan's personal insult arsenal. A constant reminder that he was clumsy, Quirkless and would never amount to anything; that he'd never become the Hero he'd always wanted to be.

Now it was a point of pride. He was proving that those who'd doubted him had been wrong, that the choice to hold on to that fervent, distant wish even in his darkest moments had been the right one.

He could do it.

He wouldn't bear his mentor's name but he'd do his damndest to embody his spirit so that one day those who had nothing could look upon him and let their eyes widen with wonder, their minds race with inspiration, their hearts beat full of joy.

And they too would be free to chase their own dreams, just as he had.