Todoroki and Izuku were once again shown to be standing in the empty hallway.

Both students and faculty picked up on the tense air between the two students. They all watched closely, wondering what exactly this was about.

Izuku tried to awkwardly start conversation, but Todoroki remained silent. Izuku thought to himself that Todoroki gave off a feeling of cold intimidation.

'Better cold than hot.' Todoroki thought, his mind going to his father's fiery quirk and appearance. Then again, his father certainly had his own level of cold indifference...

Finally, Todoroki spoke. He talked about how he had been overpowered during the cavalry battle, and how he'd noticed something in that moment. Something that made him think of when All Might had battled the Noumu in the USJ.

"Mon Dieu! Don't tell me he's figured it out just from that!" Aoyama cried.

"Figuring out the whole story from that seems like kind of a leap." Sato said doubtfully.

"Well, he probably hasn't figured out the whole thing, but it sounds like he's figured out something." Ojiro said.

Izuku was beginning to look nervous, even more so than before. His classmates here and now already knew, so this probably didn't matter so much...but the thought that someone could put it together from so little wasn't a good one.

On screen Midoriya was looking more and more nervous as Todoroki spoke. Then Todoroki asked if Izuku was All Might's secret love child.

There was a single beat of silence as the question sunk in. Then the entire room exploded with laughter.

"Oh my god, oh my god Todoroki you really just came out and asked that!" Sero crowed.

"And with such a straight face too!" Mineta yelled, holding his sides as he laughed. Kaminari was doing the same.

"Guys, guys look at Midoriya's face! I think his eyes might pop out of his head!"

Jirou had fallen back in her seat laughing, and ended up leaning against Momo's shoulder. "Wow, Todoroki. Just...wow."

"Dude we talked about this! A similar quirk doesn't mean they're related!" Kirishima yelled in exasperation.

"You said that to me, not future me." Todoroki pointed out. "And they are more than just similar quirks, it's the same exact quirk."

"Well, true, on both parts." Kirishima folded his arms. "But the other you doesn't know that, you just said they felt similar."

"I can understand how he came to the conclusion though." Momo mused. "Given the similarity and how All Might does little to hide their connection on school grounds. Honestly, I'm a little surprised nobody else thought of that."

"Maybe they did and just didn't ask." Kirishima suggested. "Because, come on, even if it's true you shouldn't just come out and ask something like that!"

"Why not?" Todoroki asked, looking genuinely puzzled. Kirishima's palm met his forehead.

Meanwhile, Midoriya was doing his very best to melt into the couch cushions.

"C-come on Midoriya, it's not that bad." Uraraka said, trying and failing to hid her own giggles.

"Indeed! Being strong enough and skilled enough to be assumed to be related to All Might sounds like quite the compliment!" Iida said, patting his friend's shoulder repeatedly.

"Secret love child..." Izuku whimpered.

"How's it feel to be a new father?" Present Mic asked on the other side of the room.

"I would be most proud to have a son such as young Midoriya! Though I'm not sure the boy's true father would approve." All Might joked.

The words caused pure joy to bubble up in Izuku's heart. Unfortunately it didn't manage to dispel the embarrassment he was feeling, so he was left with a very confusing mixture of emotions that made him want to disappear into the couch even more.

Bakugo had been ready to make a derisive comment, but the combination of Todoroki's words and All Might's made him think. When was the last time he saw Deku's dad? What was his name? What did he look like? He was pretty sure the man hadn't been blonde, but... Could he be...no, no way. Not shitty Deku. No way. It wasn't possible.

It wasn't.

At all.

Right?

At first all Izuku could do was stare at Todoroki. Then he started making awkward and hurried denials and saying that 'it wasn't like that'.

Forget the couch, Izuku was going to sink straight into the floor. He probably would have, if Uraraka and Iida didn't insist on keeping him at least somewhat in his seat.

"Given how you responded to this question, I believe it is paramount that you and All Might start practicing your reactions and explanations for such things." Iida chided.

All Might cleared his throat. "Yes, of course, we'll get started on that during one of the upcoming breaks."

"I would be happy to assist in the brainstorming process." Nedzu offered cheerfully.

"Thank you sir." It hadn't occurred to All Might when the topic was first broached, but if Todoroki had thought to ask such a thing after so little information, then it was critical that they get that sorted out thoroughly before appearing in public in the future. It was bad enough that his old nemesis might have gotten wind of his and Midoriya's connection via Shigaraki's description; the media getting a hold of such a rumor would be an absolute disaster!

Todoroki pointed out that the way Izuku phrased his words implied that they had a connection of some kind.

All Might sweat dropped. "A very astute observation, young Todoroki." Yeah, definitely going to start practicing as soon as possible.

"I'm so sorry." Izuku moaned.

"Quite alright young Midoriya." He thought back to a certain scene on a beach not so long ago, where he was almost recognized. "I can hardly blame you, considering I hadn't even given an alternate name to use for me in public. You should call me Yagi or Toshinori when I am in this form, especially when there are others around."

"Yes sir!"

Kaminari smirked. "Or you could just call him Dad."

Jirou leaned over and flicked the boy's ear.

"Hey!"

"Don't be a dumbass."

"I wasn't! If he calls All Might's skinny form his dad then people might not jump into thinking All Might is his dad."

"Huh." Jirou's eyebrows rose. "That actually kinda makes sense."

"Guys, I have an actual dad."

"You do?" Sero asked. "How come we've never seen him?"

"He works overseas, so he's not home a lot." Izuku said with shrug. "Plus, we haven't seen most of your parents on here, but I assume they still exist."

"Okay, good point." Sero nodded.

Izuku looked back toward the screen, but his eyes landed on All Might on the way. The man gave him an encouraging smile and thumbs up, which Izuku returned. A small part of Izuku's mind whispered that it was possible to have more than one dad.

Todoroki brought up that he was Endeavor's son, and that the man had been 'stuck' as the number 2 hero for a long time. Which meant that if Izuku was connected to All Might, there was even more reason for Todoroki to beat him.

"An interesting word choice, 'stuck'. Most would see getting so high in the rankings year after year as quite an accomplishment." Nezu observed.

"That's not how he sees it." Todoroki said.

"I see." Nezu's tone gave nothing away, but his eyes glittered in a strange way.

Izuku was becoming more confused than anything. Why would a connection to All Might be important to Todoroki? Because his dad wanted to be number 1 but couldn't beat out All Might? But that would be like avenging his father, which really didn't seem to be a thing Todoroki was concerned with, given how he talked and thought about him.

The scene switched over to where Endeavor and All Might were talking. All Might mentioned it had been 10 years since they'd really seen each other and that he wanted to say hello. Endeavor brushed him off and tried to go on his way. All Might jumped ahead to keep up with him and told him not to be so cold.

'So cold...cold intimidation...Even when I'm rejecting your power I still, somehow, end up being like you.' Todoroki thought bitterly.

"Ten years without seeing each other and that's all Endeavor has to say to him?" Hagakure asked in disbelief. She hadn't thought there was anyone who truly hated All Might, except for villains of course.

"Talk about rude." Ashido agreed.

"It does seem kinda weird they could go that long without seeing each other." Tsuyu agreed. "Even with All Might not spending all of his career in Japan."

"Wish I could go that long without seeing certain heroes." Aizawa muttered.

All Might complimented Todoroki's performance, saying he must have been taught well. When All Might asked for tips on teaching heroics to kids, Endeavor refused to give any and started to walk away again.

"Good." Todoroki said, with just a little more heat than he meant to.

"What is good, young Todoroki?" All Might asked.

"That you didn't get any 'tips'. His methods aren't worth passing on."

All Might looked at the other teachers, and saw that they looked about as concerned as he felt.

All Might apologized and Endeavor stopped walking. He told All Might that he would make 'that' into a hero that would surpass him, and it was the entire reason he created his son. He turned back to a disturbed All Might, saying that his son being in a rebellious phase wouldn't change the fact that he would eventually succeed.

Most of the room had expressions very similar to the one that All Might was wearing on screen.

"He just..." Kirishima started, anger taking the place of shock. "What the hell! He called you a 'that'! Like you were a thing! Who does that?!"

Present Mic piped up then. "Okay, gonna admit it now, I've always disliked Endeavor. And the more I see of him here the more intense that dislike gets."

Aizawa nodded sharply. There were so many red flags coming up around this man that he'd managed to lose count.

"That's...that's terrible." Izuku said

"He shouldn't talk about you like that!" Momo agreed.

"Indeed, Endeavor's behavior just now was disgraceful." Iida chopped his hands rapidly in his irritation. If he hadn't been so angry, he'd have been surprised when his exclamation was met with cries of agreement and righteous indignation.

Todoroki shrugged again, more than a little bemused. 'I've heard that from my father all my life. It's weird to hear other people getting so up in arms about it.'

Back with boys, Todoroki talked about his father's desire for status and power, and how it lead him to despising All Might. Since Endeavor couldn't beat All Might himself, he came up with a new plan. When Izuku asked what Todoroki was saying, the boy asked Izuku if he'd ever heard of Quirk marriages.

Todoroki's teeth clenched. 'No, not here. Not in front of everyone. Please...'

All Might's eyes went wide, and his breath stilled for a moment. Was Todoroki saying what he thought he was saying? Surely Enji wouldn't stoop so low as to do something like that! But with the way he'd been talking just now...

"Th-that- he-that-" for once, Iida was at a complete loss for words. Izuku didn't blame him one bit. He himself had no idea what to do with this turn of events.

"Pray tell, what are quirk marriages?" Aoyama asked. Some students looked curious while others looked highly uncomfortable.

"You know how humans got different dog breeds through selective breeding?" Shoji asked.

"Oui."

"Think of that, but replace the dogs with humans trying to get specific quirks."

After a moment of thought, Aoyama's eyes went wide. "Oh..."

"Yeah." Shoji turned to Todoroki. "I didn't mean any offense by the dog thing."

"It's fine. It was accurate."

"That still happens?" Tsuyu asked incredulously. "I thought that stopped being a thing ages ago..."

"Like many other unpleasant things, it's less that it stopped and more that most people became quieter and more subtle about it." Nedzu explained. Momo nodded gravely, hunching in on herself a bit as she did.

"I know it was a concern for my parents, at least. They've warned me before to be careful with who I choose to date, because there's a chance that some might try to use me to just get access to my quirk or inheritance. I've even heard a couple stories of relatives having to fend off their own parents attempts to set up such a thing, and not always succeeding. My parents were always adamant that I would never have to worry about that from them." she glanced at Todoroki, and wondered which story she'd heard sounded most similar to his mother's, since it seemed the marriage was Endeavor's idea.

'I wish my grandparents had done that for my mom.' Todoroki thought bitterly.

Todoroki explained it more, saying how people being forced into marriage to try and produce children with more powerful quirks became a problem after quirks had been around for a while, and how his father used his status and wealth to manipulate his mother into one. And how he planned to use Todoroki for his own ends.

"Dude, Todoroki, I'm so sorry." Kaminari said, face stricken. "I had no idea...I wouldn't have asked about your dad so casually if I knew he was this much of bastard."

Todoroki let out a heavy breath, but said nothing. 'He shouldn't know, not about this, none of them should. Clearly I only meant to tell Midoriya, and I probably only did that because being involved with All Might means he's involved in my old man's crazy schemes now too.'

"This is wrong." Jirou growled. "So wrong on so many levels."

Todoroki angrily declared that he wouldn't become a tool for his bastard of an old man.

"You tell 'em Todoroki! You deserve better!"

Todoroki lost his detached expression for a moment and looked toward Hagakure in surprise. When was the last time someone had said something like that to him?

Todoroki recalled how his mother was always crying, and what she said to him just before she poured boiling water onto his face.

"She WHAT?!" Uraraka cried. "How could she-"

"Don't." Todoroki cut her off coldly. "Don't talk about my mother."

"But you just said-"

"Don't."

Uraraka opened her mouth to protest again, but stopped when she saw how strained Todoroki looked. "I...I'm sorry, you're right. I don't know the whole story, so I shouldn't talk about it." Uraraka bowed to him. "My apologies."

Todoroki just nodded to her quickly. She sat back down, but fidgeted. Izuku looked back and forth between Todoroki and Uraraka, then cleared his throat.

"Uraraka is right, we can't judge without knowing your whole story. But whatever happened, you didn't deserve that." Uraraka nodded along with his words, and Todoroki glared at him.

"And how would you know?"

"Because you were a little kid." Momo interrupted softly. "No little kid deserves to be hurt like that, no matter what. Todoroki...have you told anyone about this before?"

"No one who didn't already know."

"Why not? You clearly know this isn't okay."

"He had enough money and resources to essentially buy my mother. He definitely has enough to get lawyers that will get him off of whatever I could accuse him of." Todoroki bit back.

Momo winced. "I can see what you mean."'He'd probably throw his status around too, being such a high ranking hero. People wouldn't want to believe he could do something so bad.'

Todoroki hunched in on himself, as though he could hear what she was thinking.

And that was the crux of it wasn't it? This being done at all was rage inducing in and of itself, but the fact that it was being done by a hero? By someone who they had all been taught to look up to and trust implicitly? That made it even worse, and left the class and teachers seething with anger and betrayal, and without a proper place to put it since the perpetrator wasn't in the room with them.

All Might's chest felt heavy in a way that had nothing to do with old injuries or phantom pains. Enji did all this, caused this suffering, all because of some rivalry with him? One he hadn't even been aware that the man still had with him? How could he be so blind?

Todoroki explained he picked a fight to prove something to Endeavor, that he could succeed without using any of Endeavor's power.

Aizawa took a deep, calming breath. There was so much to unpack here...he was going to need to think carefully before approaching Todoroki about this topic again. It would definitely take time to work through it all, but it would be worth it if it helped his student to get past this and reach his full potential. 'And hopefully we can find a way to take Endeavor out of the picture while we're at it.'

The camera moved to reveal that Bakugo was standing around the corner, hearing everything.

Todoroki huffed. It figured that even when he tried to have this conversation in private he wouldn't end up being as alone as he thought.

Bakugo had remained silent through the whole reveal, but that didn't mean he wasn't reacting to it. He took in the way Endeavor talked about becoming number one through any means, and how Todoroki talked about Endeavor. He knew his own goals, and he would be an idiot not to recognize how much they sounded like Endeavor's.

'But it's different, dammit. No way I'd shove all my shit onto a kid. If I don't reach my goals on my own then there would be no fucking point! Endeavor's a fucking dumbass if he can't even get that straight. Whatever Todoroki does will belong to Todoroki, not to him.'

Izuku thought about how different things were for him and Todoroki, despite having the same end goal. Before Izuku could respond to anything Todoroki had said, he started to walk away. He said that he didn't care how Izuku was connected to All Might, just the fact that he was meant Todoroki was determined to beat him with just his ice. He apologized for wasting Izuku's time.

"You didn't!" Izuku immediately protested, jumping up to face Todoroki. Said boy looked at him, as did everyone else in the room. When Izuku noticed that he lost some of his energy, but pressed on. "You didn't waste my time, I mean. You...you just trusted me with something really heavy and important and hard to talk about and I...I'm not sure what all to do with it yet, because it was a lot, but I know it wasn't a waste! So you don't need to apologize."

Todoroki's eyes narrowed. "I'm not looking for pity, not here and not there either." he bit out, but a moment later his expression went blank again "I think I just wanted you to understand where we stood, and that you deserved a warning."

Izuku's head tilted.. "A warning?"

"If my old man figured out there was a connection between you and All Might, he might start dragging you into his insane quest too. At least confronting you now means you have some forewarning, and you understand that what my father wants isn't what I want." 'Pretty sure that's what I must be thinking anyway.'

Izuku's hand went to his chin. "So, your saying that you still want to beat me, but that it's not personal between us. It's just because of your dad."

"Yes." Todoroki gave a small nod.

"Well...thank you for letting me know." Todoroki nodded again, and Izuku sat down. There was more he wanted to say, but he could still feel everyone's eyes on them. He couldn't exactly blame them, but he knew it was best to leave the rest until later. It was bad enough all of this got spilled to the whole class when Todoroki clearly hadn't wanted it to be.

Izuku thought that if this were a comic book, Todoroki would be the main character.

After how tense the last few minutes had been, Kaminari couldn't help but snort at such a line. "Little on the nose there, don't you think?" That earned him a few quiet chuckles, which he counted as a win.

Izuku wondered what he could possible say to all of that.

In that moment, he wasn't the only one. Most of the students wondered what they could possible do or say after hearing such a tragic story, especially after Todoroki outright stated that he didn't want pity. Would that mean trying to comfort him would just make it worse? Would he want to talk about taking his father out, like so many of them wanted to now? The teachers knew they wanted to get their student out of that situation as fast as they could, but they didn't currently have enough information to start truly planning. Well, most of them didn't. Nedzu's mind was already whirling with possible ideas on how to rectify the situation, but he knew he'd need more details in order to settle on the best one. Details that would likely be given in the 'show' or to individuals that Todoroki came to trust. So Nedzu would have to wait for that to come to pass, and hopefully he'd have a few plans to try by the time they left this place.

Despite those thoughts, Izuku started to go after Todoroki.

Yagi smiled when he saw his student move. It seemed Izuku really couldn't sit still when another was in trouble.

Bakugo had to resist the urge to sigh. Stupid nerd didn't know how to keep out of other people's business. Even if Icy Hot told him about the whole thing, he clearly didn't expect Deku to try and do anything about it.

Izuku told Todoroki that he had gotten this far because he had been supported by others, and his mind flashed back to the people who had done just that.

"Don't lump me in with the rest of them shitty Deku!" Bakugo yelled. Aside from an automatic wince from Izuku, he was ignored.

"Midoriya, my boy, I'm glad that you acknowledge all the help you've received and that it keeps you grounded, but I must ask you again not to discount your own efforts." Yagi said.

"If you hadn't worked for it, no amount of help would have gotten you this far." Aizawa acknowledged. "Don't forget that, problem child."

A part of Izuku wanted to protest, but seeing the encouraging faces of All Might and his friends made him swallow his words. Instead, he gave them a nod and a teary smile.

Izuku explained how he wanted to be like All Might, and to live up to everyone's hopes for him, so he was going to try to win too. He returned Todoroki's declaration of war.

"This is all so manly!" Kirishima cried.

"Weren't you the one trying to get them to get along and not declare war before?" Sato asked.

"That was when I thought it was just a sports festival! I had no idea it would turn into, you know, all of this!"

Tsuyu nodded. "I didn't expect things to get this complicated and personal."

"A fated battle between men." Uraraka muttered to herself.

"What was that?" Izuku asked.

"Nothing!"

Todoroki just stared at Izuku for a moment before walking away. Once he did, Bakugo was shown to be doing the same.

"Normally I'd say eavesdropping isn't very manly, but if I started hearing that story part way through I don't think I'd be able to stop either. It was just, so intense, you know?" Kirishima said.

Bakugo grunted in agreement, but his eyes stayed fixed on the screen. 'Deku may be connected to All Might, but I'll be the one to make it to number one in the festival. The the war may start with him but it will end with me!'

The scene returned to the festival at large, where Present Mic was announcing some games and introducing the cheerleaders for them. Before he could go on, he and many others were distracted by the sight of the 1A girls in cheer uniforms.

"What the hell?!" Jirou cried.

"No need for such language! You all look magnifique!" Aoyama said with a bright smile.

"Nobody asked you!"

"Well, he's still right, we look great!" Ashido held out a hand for Hagakure to slap and received her enthusiastic high five.

"You're not wrong." Ojiro said, pink dusting his cheeks. "But that doesn't explain why you're wearing the outfits."

"The reaction we're getting doesn't suggest it's a scheduled event." Momo observed, her monotone voice at odds wit h the way her eyebrow was twitching.

"Would the school schedule something like that?" Shoji wondered.

"Only if Midnight managed to sneak a last minute change into the roster again." Present Mic said, grimacing at some memory. "Maybe we need to keep a closer eye on her this year."

The next moment, Momo is yelling at Mineta and Kaminari about tricking her.

"Ah, so it's not her we need to keep an eye on." Present Mic sent a glare at the two boys.

"I should have known." Jirou growled.

Mineta and Kaminari were starting to look nervous. An angry Jirou was bad enough, but they didn't know Mic could glare like that.

There was a flashback to lunch time, where Mineta and Kaminari managed to convince Momo and Jirou that they were supposed to dress up as cheerleaders for an event, and that Aizawa had mentioned it to them.

"Ow!" "Ack!"

Tsuyu's tongue whipped out twice, first hitting Mineta and then Kaminari.

"Man, you can really pack a punch with that thing!" Kaminari complained, rubbing his face.

"You deserved it, kero."

"Not gonna argue that."

"Me neither." Mineta whimpered.

"I don't care how drugged up I am in the future, I wouldn't forget to mention a scheduled event to you. And even if I did I certainly wouldn't send the message with one of those two." Aizawa said, sending his own glare their way.

"I'll remember that in the future, sir." Momo said, rubbing her temples.

"As for you two, I realize that the 'you' we are seeing isn't exactly the same 'you' that is here. However, I hope you know that this action or any similar one could get you expelled if you do it in here or once we leave."

"Yes sir! Sorry sir!" They both yelped. Aizawa raised an eyebrow, and after a moment Mineta realized what Aizawa was waiting for.

"Come up here." Mineta said, grabbing Kaminari by the wrist and dragging him along as he made his way to the front. Once there he put his hands together and bowed. Kaminari caught on and did the same.

"We are both very sorry for what our future selves did, and we promise not to do it in our real future." Mineta said.

"Yeah, what he said. It was dumb. We're sorry!" Kaminari said. Both boys looked up hopefully.

"Well, I guess since they haven't technically done anything..." Momo started.

"Don't give me that, they still got to see us in cheer uniforms when we didn't want to be." Jirou groused.

"Well in that case...maybe turnabout is fair play?" Uraraka suggested, looking a little too innocent. Ashido had the exact opposite problem, as she grinned evilly.

"Oh I like how your mind works."

The two boys glanced at each other nervously.

"Ashido, do you mean, we get them to dress up in cheer outfits?" Hagakure asked gleefully. The boys' faces fell, and suddenly Jirou was cackling.

"Guys, come on, you can't be serious!" Kaminari complained.

"You've seen us in them, the whole class has, and it's your fault, it only seems fair." Momo said.

"Can we get them to do a cheer too?" Hagakure asked.

"Before this gets any further, I suggest we table this discussion for another time. Perhaps during the next break." Nedzu said. "We can have a more nuanced discussion of appropriate action once tempers have calmed a bit, and we see if there is any actual fall out for this event in this future."

The students all went back to their seats, with either reluctance or relief.

Momo bemoaned allowing herself to be tricked, while Jirou was just embarrassed in general. Hagakure actually tried to get some of the others on board with doing an actual cheer.

"If you like that sort of thing then why were you so into getting them to dress in cheer outfits as payback?'" Ojiro asked.

"Liking outfits like that doesn't change the fact that they tricked us." Hagakure huffed. "Future me probably just figured she'd make the most of it."

"Fair enough."

"Wait, Jirou, why were you in uniform at all?" Sero asked. "You didn't look like you believed Mineta and Kaminari, but you went with it anyway."

"Maybe I just didn't want to risk getting in trouble? I don't know, hard to say since we don't see what happened between the boys telling us and us showing up on the field." Jirous said with a shrug. Her eyes landed on Momo in the uniform again, and the thought 'She looks really hot' came to her mind, but she shoved it back before it could get anywhere near her mouth because coming out was not on her list of things to do in the weird alternate dimension viewing room.

Present Mic started to explain that, after some games for those no longer in the running, there would be a tournament set up among those that made it through round two.

"Awesome! A tournament is a classic event in the sports festival, and has a lot of potential for seeing creative uses of quirks up close." Izuku's eyes sparkled in excitement.

"I'll bet you filled up a few different notebooks by watching tournaments from the sports festivals before huh?" Uraraka said with a knowing smile. Izuku ducked his head bashfully.

"Yeah, at least a couple. It's harder to do analysis for the group activities because there's so much going on all at once, but with one on one fights you can pick up on a lot more details."

"But doubtless this future you will have a harder time taking notes for this one, since he will be participating in it." Iida pointed out.

Izuku's jaw fell open slightly. "You're right, the other me will be distracted...and because of us seeing them now these events might not happen again in the future. I've gotta take as many notes as I can now!" When Izuku jumped up to get another notebook, his two best friends shared a look of fond amusement.

"A tournament? Sweet! Who wants to start a betting pool once the matches are announced?" Kaminari asked.

"I'd be up for it." Sero grinned. Mina jumped up and waved her hands.

"Me too!"

"I'll only allow it if you aren't betting money." Aizawa called out, just loud enough to ensure he was heard.

"Can we bet favors?" Shoji asked.

"Within reason."

"I'd put something on Bakugo making it to the finals." Kirishima called.

"You should bet on me being first!" Bakugo growled.

"I'd bet on Ojiro getting past his first match at least!" Hagakure said, which made Ojiro blush slightly.

"Easy guys! I gotta prepare! And the matches haven't even been announced yet!" Kaminari complained. Now he was the one getting up for paper.

Midnight started explaining how things would move forward and how the matches would be set up randomly, but before she could assign any Ojiro raised his hand and said he was backing out.

Exclamations of surprise and confusion went around the room.

"What!? But you'd be great at one on one fights!" Hagakure complained.

"I'm not sure what's going on either." Ojiro said, frowning at the screen.

Ashido nudged Hagkure "Bet you're glad Kaminari didn't start the betting early, huh?"

The students on screen were just as surprised as the ones in the room, and wondered how Ojiro could throw away such a good opportunity. Ojiro explained that he couldn't remember what actually happened during the second round and that his pride wouldn't let him go forward because of it. A student from 1B did the same, saying it wasn't right for them to take a win when they did nothing.

Both the Kirishima on screen and the one in the room couldn't help but cry over how manly the two were being.

"Oh, so that's why..." Ojiro said, disheartened. At least he finally getting some answers for the weirdness surrounding his cavalry group.

"I don't really get that logic." Sato confessed. "I mean, even if you don't remember it because of whatever the purple haired kid did, you guys obviously didn't do 'nothing'. Your team wouldn't have made it through the battle if you guys did nothing."

"Maybe that's true, but I agree with future me. I have no way of knowing if we'd have made through without that gen ed kid's influence. Without knowing how I'd perform on my own, under my own power, I can't say I deserve to be on stage with everyone else." Ojiro explained.

"I guess I can see where you're coming from." Sato said slowly. "Still, if it were me, I think I'd just take the win and do my best to show I earned it during the tournament."

"I'd hardly judge you or anyone else for that, but I just can't do that myself."

Midnight accepted their decision. Aoyama said he was going to go ahead anyway, and Midnight started to choose which two students would replace them. A 1B group let Tetsutetsu's group go ahead of them, causing the steel haired boy to let out a cry at their sacrifice.

Jirou's eyebrows rose at the display, and Kaminari rubbed his chin.

"Are we sure he and Kirishima aren't related?"

"Not you guys too!" Kirishima groaned.

Despite all the errant feelings still running around Todoroki's head, a part of him couldn't help but feel vindicated.

"I certainly hope you don't think less of me." Aoyama said, wringing his hands. Ojiro smiled at him and shook his head.

"Of course not, like I said, I won't judge you for having a different outlook on it."

Once the replacements were settled, Midnight started announcing the first tier matches. The first to come up was Tetsutetsu vs Kirshima.

"I'm not going to jump onto the 'secretly related' conspiracy theory that seems to be forming, but I must admit that these two continually coming into such close contact with each other is a bit odd." Momo said with a slight frown.

"Midnight let the withdrawls happen because of her, uh, preferences. Maybe she picked a few of the matches based on them too." Sato suggested.

"But it was supposed to be random." Momo said, frowning even more. "Surely she wouldn't indulge in her likes to the point of ruining the spirit of the event itself."

Over with the teachers, Yagi, Aizawa, and Yamada shared a look. They would definitely be keeping a closer eye on Midnight once the festival occurred in real life. Just to be on the safe side.

Momo vs Tokoyami was announced next.

"Best of luck to you in the ensuing conflict, I'm sure I shall give it my all." Tokoyami said with a bow of his head.

"As will I!" Momo said, doing her best to smile despite her nerves. From what she'd seen so far, Tokoyami would be a fearsome opponent. She couldn't help but worry about how well she would do against him, especially with so many watching. At least her future self would have some time to plan...

Then Ashido vs Aoyama.

"Our battle is sure to be breathtaking!" Aoyama cried. "The combination of my sparkle and your exuberance will be a sight to behold!"

"The only 'breathtaking' I'm concerned about is how breathtakingly fast I'm gonna win." Ashido said with a grin.

Midoriya was shown looking at the matches. He saw that if he won, and if Todoroki won against Sero, then he and Todoroki would fight.

Todoroki frowned in thought. An early win against Midoriya would be nice, since then he wouldn't have to worry about his strong classmate later. But it might not make his point as well if he beat Midoriya after each of them only beat one person.

"Oh man, I'm against Todoroki?" Sero whined. Mineta patted him on the back sympathetically.

"Nice knowing you dude." Kaminari said.

"Hey! Don't count me out that fast!"

Midoriya saw who he was up against, Shinsou, remembering him as the purple haired boy that had challenged his class in the hallway. The boy surprised him by coming up behind him, and saying he was looking forward to the match. Izuku started to respond, but was stopped by Ojiro. Shinsou smirked and walked away, and Ojiro told Izuku not to answer the other boy.

"What the heck was that about?" Jirou wondered aloud.

"I must have figured out something to do with that kid's quirk." Ojiro said. Midoriya was nodding along.

"That would make sense, since you and Aoyama are the only ones in 1A to have spent any great length of time with him. And it must have something to do with talking, if you stopped me from doing that specifically."

"Hopefully I figured out enough to add a few details. Even if I'm not going forward, I'd hate for you to go into the next fight unprepared if I could do something about it."

"Thanks Ojiro." Izuku smiled.

"Would that count as unfair, kero? Sharing information like that?" Tsuyu wondered.

"No more unfair than Izuku happening to see Shinsou using the quirk himself, or any of the 1B kids using what they saw of us in the first round to do better during the next." Shoji said.

"Good point."

Todoroki was shown looking at the match pairings. He silently issued another challenge to Midoriya.

"He's really into this huh?" Hagakure murmured.

The intensity of Todoroki's thoughts and words, combined with Hagakure's comment, greased the wheels that had already started turning in Ashido's head.

It was shown that Uraraka and Bakugo would be paired up. Bakugo's reaction to this was much milder that Uraraka's.

"Well Uraraka, it was nice knowing you." Kaminari said.

"Dude, stop that." Sero griped.

"It- it's fine! I'll think of something, I'm sure of it!" Uraraka's words would have seemed a lot more confident if both her onscreen and real life self hadn't made such a distressed squeaking noise a minute ago.

"Yeah, sure, or the nerd will think of it for you." Bakugo said.

"Big words from a boy who probably had to ask around to figure out who she was." Jirou shot back.

"Shut it earlobes! I know perfectly well which extra she is!"

Hearing the argument, Uraraka quickly pulled herself together and sent Bakugo a challenging glare. She had no doubt her future self would do everything in her power to give Bakugo the fight he was always looking for.

"Um, I could help, you know. I bet my future self would anyway, especially if you asked." Izuku said quietly. She turned to give him a smile.

"That's really sweet, but I'm kind of hoping my future self doesn't ask. It's...it's kinda like Iida earlier, you know? I want to see how much I can do under my own power, especially since this is a one on one fight. But I bet any plan you did come up with would be amazing!"

Izuku smiled, and his face turned a bit red. Uraraka couldn't help but think it was kinda cute.

Elsewhere, Mei approached Iida, seemingly to talk about their match.

"...I have a bad feeling about that." Uraraka muttered.

"Me too." Izuku said.

"I'm sure she is just showing her usual enthusiasm for her chance to show her work." Iida said confidently.

A few snap shots of the recreational games were shown.

"Why would a cat be one of the things they are supposed to find during a scavenger hunt? Who would have a cat at the sports festival?" Shoji wondered in confusion.

"I believe Koda could summon a feline if need be." Tokoyami pointed out.

"Really? Even with all those people?" Sato looked over at Koda for confirmation. The boy nodded shyly.

"A lot of strays forage in garbage. The food stands would be a draw for them." Koda's voice was so quiet those around him could barely hear it.

"Still seems overly specific, but not as impossible as I thought." Shoji admitted.

"You could be overthinking it. A cat key chain or plushy would probably be accepted." Tsuyu pointed out.

Monoma getting dragged off as one of the 'found' objects got quite a few laughs.

Different 1A students were shown, each preparing for the tournament in their own ways.

"Th-that looks like a nice spot..." Koda whispered, upon seeing where Tokoyami was meditating.

"I'm sure we could find it once we leave here."

Koda smiled gratefully at him.

"What's with all the orange juice?" Kirishima asked.

"I've found that it fuels my quirk better than most other liquids." Iida explained.

"Really? I wonder if I have any foods like that..."

"You okay Midoirya? You look really intense." Ojiro commented upon seeing the two of them in a room together.

"I'm hoping it means you had more information for me to make a plan around." Izuku said with a helpless shrug.

The first match was about to start, and Izuku was shown trying to focus while Present Mic commentated. All Might came up to him and asked him about OFA, and Izuku confessed that, while he'd managed not to break his bones a couple times, he didn't feel confident in his abilities.

"At least you can recognize that managing not to break yourself twice doesn't count as having 'figured it out'." Aizawa said.

"It definitely counts as progress, but not as much as you'd likely want before a tournament like this." Present Mic said with a nod.

Izuku groaned. Even if it was what he suspected, that wasn't what he wanted to hear before he watched himself go up against an unfamiliar opponent.

All Might theorized that Izuku was currently able to use about 5% of his power safely. This causes Izuku to once again say he was there mostly due to support and luck. All Might's response to this was to give him a 'get a hold of yourself' smack and tell him he was speaking nonsense.

"Ow!" Izuku yelped, sudden pain shooting through his skull.

"My apologies young Midoriya, but you were talking yourself down far too much, and I know that sometimes a more physical jolt can be helpful in forcing oneself out of a toxic line of thought." he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Still, I didn't intend for the hit to be quite that hard. I guess you're not the only one who needs to keep better control of his strength."

"It's okay, I'm fine, it just hurt for a second." Izuku insisted.

"Be that as it may, I will still work on it. A true pro never stops trying to improve after all."

All Might then reminded him that the times when he is scared or worried at the times when he should smile to show off what a hero is supposed to be, even if it's a bluff. Izuku managed a wobbly smile.

Aizawa nodded slightly to himself. If nothing else, All Might knew how to inspire people, especially Midoriya. Perhaps because they were so similar.

"You guys...seeing you together always gives me such feelings. Manly feelings!" Kirishima cried. Bakugo rolled his eyes.

'At least he's willing to tell Deku he needs to cut the nerdy whining if he wants to be a hero.' Bakugo thought.

Izuku and Shinsou were shown walking up the battle area while Present Mic explained the rules. He had some fun introducing the contestants and the start of the fight.

"You ad lib too much sometimes." Recovery Girl commented.

"But people love my style and improv!" Yamada protested.

"'Put aside all morals'?" Aizawa parroted future Present Mic with a raised eyebrow.

"...okay, I'll admit I could have phrased that a bit better."

As the fight was about to begin, Shinsou started talking. He taunted Midoriya, and insulted Ojiro for his choice to drop out. Midoriya got angry, and ran forward yelling at him, then Midoriya suddenly froze.

"Huh?"

"What was that?"

"What just happened?"

Ojiro stood up in the crowd, alarmed, saying he'd warned Midoriya and everything. The camera moved to show that even Midoriya's expression was frozen, and his eyes were clouded and distant.

The episode ended there.

"Well, now I'm worried on a number of levels." Ojiro said distantly. He eyed Midoriya. "I still don't know what his quirk actually is or what we talked about in between events, but I do know I told you not to answer him."

"Yeah...you did." Midoriya admitted.

"And then you went and did it anyway. Right off the bat."

"I know." Izuku groaned. "I know you did. What I don't know is why I did that." He'd managed not to say things to his bullies in middle school! Well, he hadn't managed it often, he tended to start rambling, but he did it sometimes. So why couldn't he do that here? 'Maybe because it wasn't me being insulted this time?'

"I don't know man, if I heard that guy dissing your manliness I'd probably go off on him too. Especially after you just helped me." Kirishima said.

"Yeah but you're known for having more heart than brains." Kaminari teased.

"...somehow I feel both complimented and insulted."

"It's also rich coming from you Kaminari. Just how high do you think you'll rank once tests really start?" Jirou asked.

"Why must you be so cruel to me?" he asked, making a show of looking hurt.

"Whatever the reason, it's true that letting your emotions get to you during a fight can cost you." Tokoyami said. "Depending on just what Shinsou's quirk is, it could cost Midoriya the match."

Izuku gulped. He really hoped it didn't turn out that way. He didn't want to disappoint All Might and Ojiro!

"All right everyone, we'll have a quick break before moving onto the next episode." Nedzu declared.


While Aizawa, Recovery Girl, and Present Mic talked to the girls, Mineta, and Kaminari about what would be done about the cheerleader prank, All Might slipped away. He saw young Todoroki standing on his own. It seemed to be by choice, given some of the looks classmates were sending him. That was concerning, but it worked well for what he hoped to do.

"Young Todoroki."

"All Might." the boy said with a nod.

"I wanted to apologize. Your father's rivalry with me has clearly hurt you deeply, you and your family, and I can't help but think that if I'd been more present and aware of things around me that I could have...I'm not sure what I would have done. But if I was at all aware of what was happening and why I would have done my best to address the issue somehow. I'd have tried to find some way of convincing Enji to give up on this mad scheme. So I am sorry that I did not."

Todoroki looked at him for a minute, is face blank and unreadable. Eventually, he shook his head and looked away.

"It's not your fault. He'd have been this way about anyone who was better than him so consistently, and he's done plenty to make sure the more obvious stuff stays under wraps." He looked back up at All Might, his mouth set in grim line and his eyes alight with a steely resolve. "The only person to blame for my father's actions is my father."

"That last part is certainly true." All Might muttered darkly. His expression softened when he addressed Todoroki again. "If you ever need to talk, not just about issues with your father, but about anything else as well, I will be here to listen. I will listen, and I will believe you, and I know I'm not the only faculty member that would be willing to do so. I also know that myself and the others would be willing to help you leave that situation, if you are open to it."

Todoroki frowned. "Endeavor's my father and we have no evidence aside from what I say. What could be done?"

"We'd certainly need further proof if we hoped to take this to court and remove you or your siblings from custody. Is that what you would want, assuming we could get that evidence?"

Todoroki looked down in thought. The idea of his father being publicly known for what he truly was was incredibly satisfying, but it would also put him, his siblings, and his mother through so much. One thing he really did learn as the son of a hero was what the media could do to a story that got people's attention, and this would certainly qualify. And his father did save a lot of people while doing his job, despite what he was like at home...though he did cause more damage than necessary sometimes too. Especially in pursuit of a villain.

"I don't know." Todoroki admitted.

"That's alright. Just know, that if you decide that is something you want, I'll do my best to help you. Endeavor isn't the only hero with strings he can pull in times of crisis, you know. But even if we don't go that route, we'd be willing to help alleviate some of the burden. We'd just need to know which ways would be best to do it."

Todoroki was silent, but no longer unreadable. He looked conflicted and confused, and maybe just a tad hopeful. All Might gently placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Try to give it some thought when you can. We'll be here."

All Might walked away then. Izuku stood a little ways off. He'd wanted to talk to Todoroki, about what he'd said about not using his father's fire. After All Might had talked to him though, Todoroki looked like he already had so much on his mind that he doubted Todoroki would be up for suddenly talking about all of that. It would probably be better to wait until next time.


A.N.

Thanks again for all the support and reviews!