Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. Despite my best efforts, it is out of my reach.
Todoroki Enji stomped through the hallways, looking for Shouto. After seeing that near disgrace of a second round, he knew that he had to talk some sense into his masterpiece's head. If Shouto kept squandering his potential like that, then how could he hope to surpass All Might?
How could Enji make up for having indirectly killed his eldest son?
At least he hadn't mentioned any of his ridiculous conspiracy theories on television. Endeavour shuddered. At this point, every time Shouto mentioned a new, ridiculous theory Enji despaired. His whiskey decanter had gotten noticeably emptier over the last couple of months.
It seemed that Shouto had gotten wrapped up in another one. He'd been using Endeavour's name to get access to certain classified documents. Endeavour had too much pride to admit that his youngest child had figured out his password, so he dealt with the issue by claiming that he was doing research for an old case.
If there was one interesting thing that had come from today, it was seeing David Shield's daughter had apparently developed a Quirk. Endeavour may not have liked the man's primary customer but he respected Shield's work and had been invited to a couple of I-Island expos. Seeing that Shield's daughter had a Quirk remarkably similar to All Might's…
Endeavour shook his head. Down that path lay madness. At least she would be a suitably impressive challenge.
Maybe that would show Shouto the error of his way of thinking.
So much had happened in a short span of time. Shouto was still stubborn and spouting conspiracy theories, this League of Villains had attacked U.A, and the League of Supervillains, a group he'd considered marginally less annoying than All Might, were now major threats in their own right. This day couldn't get any worse.
"Hey, Endeavour!"
Endeavour scowled at the American on top of the staircase.
"It's been so long since I've talked to you in person!" All Might scratched the back of his head. "Must have been ten years, at least! Do you want to have some tea? I have a couple of questions about teaching, since you seem to have done such a good job with your son."
He resisted the urge to sigh, preparing to deal with All Might. Why did things that normally happened to bad people keep happening to him?
—
Todoroki watched Melissa's face as he revealed the truth. Confusion and shock passed over her face, before a sigh passed her lips. She pressed a hand to her forehead. "Todoroki, Uncle Might's not my father and this isn't the first time I've heard that theory. It's honestly a bit offensive."
He blinked. "Oh."
Most of his social interactions had been with Shinsou or staying quiet at press conferences, and he hadn't exactly had a lot of experience with this kind of thing. "I… didn't mean to offend."
Melissa simply shook her head. "Uncle Might's my godfather. And I don't look like my father, I take after my mother."
As if to try and hide the truth, she pulled out her phone, flicking through the pictures. She eventually found an image of David Shield smiling up adoringly at a tall, blonde woman built like a bodybuilder. A younger Melissa was swinging on her mother's outstretched arm.
Todoroki nodded. "I see." The truth had made itself apparent. "All Might is your mother then."
Her eyes widened. "Todoroki, that's-"
"Quirks can make what was previously thought impossible possible." Todoroki pulled out his portable book with conspiracies in it, opening the page next to his findings on the Man Society. "All Might could have been hit with a Quirk that made him female, then conceived you with David Shield and left you with him to avoid the paparazzi."
She crossed her arms. "Uncle Might was overseas when I was conceived."
That was only a minor blip. He moved to his other theory. "Okay, but then there's my other theory - genetic blending."
Melissa closer her eyes. "I'm afraid to ask."
He flicked to a different page. "David Shield, using his scientific genius, created a pregnancy machine-"
"There is no such thing as a pregnancy machine!" Melissa slapped a hand to her face. "Look, he's my godfather, nothing more. And while you could interpret me saying this stuff because it's true-"
Todoroki shrugged. "Well, if you don't want the truth to get out, I'll keep it a secret." Melissa frowned, then her face softened as he kept talking. "I understand that much. But I didn't want to talk with you about that."
His eyes hardened. "You know who my father is. Endeavour, the Number Two Hero in Japan."
Melissa hesitantly nodded. "The man with the most solved cases in human history. He's… dedicated to being a Hero."
Todoroki stared down at his fist. "Sure, he did solve those cases, if only because he's a bastard obsessed with strength. But for him, All Might's this unbeatable figure. He couldn't defeat All Might… so he came up with a plan."
"Todoroki… why are you telling me this?"
Todoroki felt as if his Quirk was active once again. "Have you heard about Quirk marriages?"
—
Around the corner, Katsuki stared at the ground. Next to him, Zombie slumped against the wall, lunch box held loosely in his hand. Neither of them really wanted to be here, but they just couldn't leave. Not with Half-and-Half talking.
Initially Katsuki had wanted to just leave Half-and-Half talking to the American, especially when he started talking about that crazy conspiracy theory. Then he talked about his father's Quirk marriage, trying to make a child with the best parts of both parents' Quirks. About Endeavour, a guy who Katsuki had a small measure of respect for, deliberately breeding him to be his successor.
Half-and-Half sounded dead inside as he talked about what his father had done. Discarding the rest of his siblings because they weren't good enough. Training him to take hits as soon as he was old enough to walk. Pushing his mother to the point of a mental breakdown that caused her to pour boiling water on Todoroki's face.
Katsuki actually felt bad for the icy bastard. Next to him, Zombie swallowed.
"...So that's why I'm never, ever going to use my fire in battle. I'll rise to the top without using it. I'll deny him everything."
He turned to leave. "Keep your secret lovechild status secret, if you want. But either way, I'll crush you with only my right side."
Bakugo traded a glance with Zombie. Half-and-Half was deliberately short changing himself for revenge? Sure, Katsuki felt bad for the guy. But deliberately underperforming, even if it was for a good reason, ticked him off.
As soon as he could, he was going to bash that guy's face in. If he thought he could beat Katsuki without giving it his all…
The American spoke, halting Katsuki as he prepared to give Half and Half a piece of his mind. "I've… had a lot of help, Todoroki. I've managed to get this far because a lot of people believed in me, in what I could do."
She gave him a determined stare. "I don't want to let them down. So I'm going to have to get a lot stronger if I want to do that. So I might as well return your declaration of war."
Shield clenched her fist, Half-and-Half staring back at her impassively. "I'm going to beat you."
Katsuki grinned. Seeing her stare that icy jerk down was pretty cathartic. Maybe in another life he would have given the jerk hell right now, but that could wait. Zombie stared at him as he rounded the corner. "Bakugo, don't do it."
He ignored Zombie, stomping forwards to their surprise. "See you bitches in the next round."
She stared at him. "How long-?"
He glared at the pair of them. "Long enough. It's a fucking hallway, you guys were kind of loud." He jerked a thumb back. "Oh, and Zombie heard it as well."
The American tilted her head. "Zombie?"
Zombie chose that moment to round the corner, glaring at Katsuki. "Really?"
He then turned to Half-and-Half. "Todoroki, what the hell. Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were friends!"
After a moment, Half and Half shook his head. "I didn't want to concern you with something that isn't your business. Anyway, there's nothing you can do about it."
Zombie shook his head. "Yeah, I might not be able to do anything about your jerk dad, but… I don't know, I thought friends tell each other this stuff even though they can't do anything. Pretty sure I would have told you."
"Well, you know now." Half-and-Half's face froze over. "As Bakugo said, see you in the next round. And I will win."
Katsuki watched him go, scowling. "Stuck up bastard," he growled under his breath.
The American watched Todoroki go with a sad look on her face. "He's… hurting badly. You probably shouldn't call him that."
Katsuki shook his head. "I call it like I see it. Guy thinks that just because he's hurting he can let other people get hurt? He wants to get into the wrong line of work!"
She paused. "...I wouldn't put it like that," she muttered.
Katsuki snorted. He was right and she knew it.
Zombie shook his head. "Well, I guess that's why he got so pissed off about his dad the first time we met."
He walked off. "See you guys later. If it's possible I'd like to help my friend, but if you guys get to him first…"
Katsuki snorted. "Yeah, alright. Later, Zombie."
There was a lot to unpack and not much time to do it. At least he could talk to Deku at lunch.
—
Izuku grinned, sitting across the table from Mei. Pieces of their Support gear were scattered across the table, being cleaned and checked for damages. "This is pretty impressive, Mei! So you got Power Loader's approval for all of this?"
Mei grinned, checking the straps on the harness. "Sure did! Power Loader-sensei was worried about the A.I. in this baby, but when I showed him all of my safety measures he approved of it!"
Izuku pulled out a gadget that resembled a miniature washing machine. "I didn't get to use this one in the last round, but hey! Third round!"
Internally he winced. He had thought that Kacchan would choose a different team member - maybe that tape guy would have been a better choice. But he'd chosen Izuku. At least Izuku had been able to demonstrate his other gadgets, since Kacchan had made that really loud declaration of war.
"Still don't know why you insisted I take my cape in. It's not that good-"
Mei shook her head. "Izuku, it got you into the Support course! Of course you need to show it off, really rub it in Mastermind's face!"
Izuku sighed, shaking his head. He had to thank Mei for helping drive him to improve and work on his gadgets further, but he hadn't wanted to use his cloak for obvious reasons. At least Kacchan had worn it rather than him, switching it out for the jetpack as necessary.
He really wanted to drop out, but knowing Kacchan and Mei would be watching made that option impossible. So he decided that he'd do as well as he could and hoped he would lose in the first round. Hopefully his first match would be a tough one.
Izuku blinked as he saw Kacchan flop into his chair, a curious expression on his face. "Are you alright, Kacchan?"
"Yeah, you alright, Mr. 'I'm gonna win'?"
Kacchan stared at Mei, then grunted. "I'm fine, dipshit." His gaze swept over the pieces of tech. "What the hell is this shit."
"Oh, it's our Support gear!" Izuku grinned, picking up the electrical whip. "Well, you saw this one, based on Livewire, the Electrification hero over in Tokyo! She can cause items she touches to generate an electrical current, so this one does much the same! Only as powerful as a taser though! And this one-"
"Deku, I've seen most of your stuff already. I don't need the commentary."
"Deku?" Mei frowned at Kacchan, wrench in hand. "That doesn't sound like a nice name."
Kacchan's face flickered between expressions - angry, contemplative and even… guilty? Then it settled on blank. "I fucking know."
Izuku hastened to clear it up between his two best friends. "I-it's okay, Mei! I-I really don't mind, and honestly if Kacchan stopped calling me that it'd be weird-"
Kacchan went to say something, then stopped. "...Whatever, nerd. I've got to eat."
Izuku blinked, watching his friend as he ate his lunch. Normally Kacchan was more competitive but… something must have shaken his game. Hopefully his archnemesis would be okay by the time of the first event.
He couldn't wait to see what his fellow competitors could do.
—
Meanwhile Kaminari sighed, morose. Seeing the cheerleaders had given him a good idea to try and convince the girls in his class to dress in cheerleader costumes. Then he'd decided against it. Sure, that would be a good idea, but he felt like if he made the suggestion they, or more specifically Jirou would get mad.
So here he was, watching cheerleaders get ready while mentally dressing Jirou in a cheerleader outfit.
"What's up, man?"
Kaminari looked around, then down at the shorter student. "Oh, hey there! Uh, it was Minoru, right?"
The shorter teen nodded. "Yeah." he looked over at the cheerleaders. "Have to admit, I never thought I'd be seeing the cheerleaders in the Sports Festival up close like this."
Kaminari nodded. "Yeah, it's kinda crazy."
Minoru grinned. "I mean, you guys actually got attacked by Villains! That shit's insane!"
Kaminari let out a breath. "I know, right?! I mean, sure I was able to handle it, but we almost died! How are we not freaking out more?!"
Minoru shook his head. "Yeah, I have to admit, if I have a choice about Heroics when I get in, I probably shouldn't go in your class. At the same time… I kinda do? I mean, you guys are super cool."
"Yeah, we kind of are."
Quietly, Minoru and Kaminari watched the cheerleaders for a few more seconds. Then Minoru spoke up. "...So, what's your type."
Kaminari paused. "Uh, well, I like all kinds of girls. Though my favourite type would probably be.,. A tall girl with big boobs!"
Well, that was kind of his type. Even if Jirou sometimes did that cute twiddling thing with her earjacks. And liked loud music.
Minoru smiled up at him. "I see you're a man of culture as well."
Kaminari paused, then grinned. "Yep! Nobody else really talks about girls in our class, even though we have so many really cute ones!"
The shorter boy nodded. "Tell me about it! I mean-"
He cut himself off by doing another pushup. Kaminari watched. "Hey, man, I just gotta ask. What's with the pushups?"
The shorter boy brushed his hands off. "Well, I kind of didn't pass the heroics exam since I got distracted by some really attractive girls, so I'm trying to manage my perversions."
"How?"
Minoru simply shrugged. "Well, I told myself that every time I have a perverted thought, I would do one push-up."
Kaminari stared at Minoru, then down at his surprisingly built body. He could swear that the guy was broader across the shoulders than he was two weeks ago. "Holy shit."
As they got back to chatting, Kaminari wondered if anybody else was going to make a friend in this sports festival.
—
Kirishima looked between Kuroyami and Tetsutetsu. "Oh, hey you guys!"
He paused. "It's kind of crazy to think about how similar our Quirks are! You guys were fantastic in the last round!"
It felt a bit weird, seeing two people with Quirks like his but flashier. But jealousy wasn't manly. Kirishima had resolved to live life in the manliest way possible.
Kuroyami grinned back. "Man, I thought me and that blonde guy had you! Still, that was some manly action out there! You, Midoriya, Ashido and that Bakugo guy really pushed yourselves!"
"Hell yeah!" Tetsutetsu shouted. "Ain't no sense in holdin' a grudge!"
Kirishima felt his eyes tear up. The manliness in the room was near overwhelming. "So what did you guys want anyway?"
"Well, Kuroyami and I were thinkin' of having an arm wrestling match."
Kuroyami nodded, arms folded. "Yeah, it was the MANLIEST way of bonding we could think of!"
Tetsutetsu grinned, sharp teeth flashing. "You wanna join in?"
Kirishima matched their confident grins with a huge one of his own. "HECK YEAH!"
The resulting mini tournament was sweaty and filled with a lot of manly yelling and grunting. The other students gave the boys a wide berth as they strained against each other's iron grips.
In the end, Kirishima was the ultimate victor. Tetsutetsu grunted, looking down at his hand. "Damn. Should have eaten more iron today…"
Kuroyami looked crestfallen. "I guess I won't be a Support Hero any time soon-"
They were pulled out of their moping by Kirishima offering his hand to each of them. "It was a good match!"
Smiling, they each took his hand, then pulled each other into a hug. Midnight, who had been called in as an impromptu referee for this challenge, let out a squeal of joy at their youthful enthusiasm. A bond as strong as their muscles had been forged that day.
—
Midnight cracked her whip, looking out at the students who had assembled. "After such a spirited display of athleticism in the second round, it's now time for the final event!"
She pointed her whip at the screen behind her. It flicked on, displaying a tournament bracket of sixteen. "This year, we're going to have a formal tournament, a series of one-on-one battles! To determine who you'll fight, we'll draw lots from this box."
Midnight held up the box in question for the students to see. "Once we've settled who will be fighting, we'll move on to the festivities and then the final match itself!"
She glanced out at the students who had gathered. "Now, since Minoru's team only had three members, we're one person short for a proper finishing bracket. So congratulations, Team Tokage! One of your teammates will be in this bracket!"
Tokage and Kendo stepped forwards. The splitting girl was the first to speak. "Well, while I personally want to go on… I have to admit, we didn't really do all that much in the last round."
Kendo gestured over to Shizaki and Tetsutetsu. "We talked about it, and we both felt that either Shiozaki or Tetsutetsu should be the ones going forward. No collusion or anything! It just wouldn't feel right."
Tetsutetsu blinked, then glanced over at Shiozaki. "Oi, Shio! Get up there!"
Shiozaki looked stunned, vines rippling as she turned to her teammate. "Are you sure, Tetsutetsu? I thought you would jump at this opportunity."
Tetsutetsu shrugged. "Nah, I had my own match beforehand." He shot a manly glance towards Kirishima, who returned it.
Midnight almost squealed, before coughing into her fist to try and recover. "Such youthful enthusiasm… very well! Shiozaki from Team Tetsutetsu will advance to the next round!"
And of course Nezu was correct about which team member would advance. At least she'd beaten his odds with Minoru. Even Nezu didn't know everything, and seeing Minoru working and trying his hardest… she'd had a good feeling about him, even with that slight problem a couple of days ago.
Each student filed over to the ballot box, some nervous, some determined. Midnight idly looked over each student, gauging their reactions. The green haired kid - Midoriya? - seemed especially nervous, which seemed at odds with his confidence earlier.
Eventually, every student had pulled a number out of the box. Midnight grinned at the students. "Okay, students! Here come the matchups!"
The display behind her flickered, then changed, displaying the various matchups. Some students wore calm expressions. Others, like Uraraka, looked like they were dreading the coming match when they saw their opponents' names.
Bakugo squinted at the name next to his. "Uraraka? Who the hell's that?"
Midnight briefly paused when she saw one particular matchup. She saw Bakugo glare at that pairing, looking at the opponent. A worried expression passed over his face as he turned to stare at Midoriya.
She felt a bit bad for the green haired kid. Getting an opponent like that was just unlucky.
—
Izuku wore a slightly worried expression as he saw his matchup. Internally, he was rejoicing. Finally, something had actually worked out today!
Todoroki Shouto vs Midoriya Izuku.
Todoroki gave him an impassive stare from across the small courtyard. The rest of the students gave Izuku sympathetic looks. Kacchan simply glared at him and Todoroki, the red and white haired boy matching Kacchan's stare. In spite of this, Izuku was pretty happy.
This is good - probably the best outcome I could have hoped for! I've seen Todoroki's Quirk and skills, so losing against him will be pretty believable!
Mei gave him a grin. "You show him, Izuku! I've got my own beautiful babies to prepare for this match!" Her opponent, Kaminari, swallowed nervously.
Kacchan glared at him. "Don't lose, nerd." Then he stomped off to get ready.
Izuku gave his friends a wide smile. "I don't plan to!"
As Midnight started to talk about the festivities before the third round, Izuku's mind was racing.
All I have to do is lose against Todoroki. How hard can that be?
—
AN: A bit shorter than the last one, and a necessary break from last chapter's excitement!
So! The initial brackets are here, as are some other things! Todoroki! Mineta! Kirishima!
I have the bracket, mostly to look fancy. Things are starting to heat up. Next time, it could be the third round… or it could be the festivities beforehand. I'm not sure which. The League of Supervillains hasn't had a major move just yet, but that will happen. They're waiting for the Festival to be at its peak.
Hopefully you've had a good week. See you next update!
Oh, and here's the list of matchups. I've got a fancy image but I don't know how insterting it into would work.
1. Mineta vs Tokoyami
2. Shinsou vs Ashido
3. Momo vs Shiozaki
4. Kaminari vs Mei
5. Izuku vs Todoroki
6. Melissa vs Shishida
7. Tsuyu vs Kirishima
8. Bakugo vs Uraraka
