Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. I do own a laptop and a word processor though.


Izuku smiled, waving to the crowd. The stage had been set for his greatest use of his alibi yet! He had it planned out. He'd use his gadgets a bit, show off the flashier ones, then lose to Todoroki. Easy!

Speaking of, his opponent walked onto the stage, head low and fists clenched. Izuku's smile slipped slightly. It was a bit rude of Todoroki to be acting like that - this was the Sports Festival!

Maybe he was angry because he wasn't facing Kacchan or Melissa? Rather poor sportsmanship on his part then.

Well, whatever.

Izuku gave him a cheerful smile. "Let's try our best, okay, Todoroki?"

Todoroki stared back. Izuku shuddered slightly when he saw just how angry Todoroki's eyes were. His instincts were telling him to take Todoroki out as quickly as possible - knock him flat before he could retaliate.

Izuku mentally shushed them. He had to lose, after all.

Midnight raised her whip, a worried expression flashing over her face before her natural confidence came back with a whip crack. "FIGHT!"

Izuku snapped his own goggles over his eyes, watching the display light up. It was similar to what he used as Mastermind, so it was comforting. "Hello, Sports Festival! Today, I'll be demonstrating my Support items based on my favourite Heroes! I wasn't able to get all of my favourites but I have enough!"

He would have to make this seem relatively convincing. Pointing his bracer at Todoroki, he tapped a button in his palm. A blast of vaguely warm air shot past Todoroki. Izuku winced dramatically, the bracer automatically sucking in more air to reload.

Heh. Little do they know that I missed on purpose while making it look like an accident! Now I have to promote my other gadgets!

"Whoops! Gotta calibrate the aim on this one - inspired by a local Hero, the Pressurised Hero Air Jet! Simulating his Air Cannon Quirk, this bad boy sucks in large amounts of air and heavily pressurizes it, but it takes a while to charge! I guess I'll have to use my other gadgets to try and take on Todoroki, such as the Livewire whip!"

"WHOA! MIDORIYA OPENS UP WITH A FUNKY BLAST OF AIR! AND NOW HE'S PULLING OUT THAT WHIP OF HIS! INSPIRED BY THE ELECTRIFICATION HERO LIVEWIRE, THIS BAD BOY PACKS A PUNCH!"

Izuku grinned at Todoroki, only to pause when he saw Todoroki tense. Was the air a bit colder now? The teen looked up and spoke in a coldly furious tone.

"Sorry about this."

Izuku's instincts screamed, and all thought of losing went from his mind. His hand immediately went for the Sonic Paralyser, dialling it to 11.

Unseen by either party, a certain student from Shiketsu was cheering Midoriya on. "YES~! GO, MIDORIYA! SHOW HIM THE FULL FORCE OF YOUR HOT-BLOODEDNESS!"

His cheers only got louder when he saw the results of Midoriya's attacks. He became so excited he headbutted his television, breaking it.

Shouto chose that moment to let off some steam. Stamping his foot, he unleashed his Quirk. Did Endeavour think he was too weak without fire? That he couldn't defeat a student with no combat training to speak of? He'd show him how powerful his ice was.

A flash of mist sprung up as he activated his Quirk. Shouto felt all of his anger and frustration pour into the ice, forcing it to grow bigger and bigger. It surged forwards towards Midoriya like a glacier's movement on fast forward, intent on engulfing him-

BWOOMPH!

Midoriya's sonic weapon was in his hands, and he'd fired it at the exact time Shouto had launched his attack. A pulse of sound slammed into his ice and smashed it like it was made of nothing but sugar crystals, covering the stage. The sheer force of the shockwave knocked Shouto backwards, only quick thinking and more walls of ice springing up behind him saving him from being knocked out of bounds.

Shouto blinked, frost crystallising on his skin. That was… unexpected. Of course a sonic attack could disrupt his ice but he hadn't thought that a Support item could match his Quirk. His whole body felt numb, and his efforts to stand up came to nothing.

On the other side of the arena Midoriya panted, support item in hand. His expression twisted from nervous to a feral grin, bracing both legs in a crouching position. Then he suddenly shot forwards, too quick for Shouto to try and freeze him.

It has to be emphasised that Shouto's upbringing was to mould him into being the perfect successor. Arguably his training started before he was born, with his mother eating a specialised diet. Once Shouto could walk and use his Quirk he had been trained by a variety of unarmed and Quirk combat tutors, with further harsh training from Endeavour himself. While it faltered regarding social skills and refusing to use his fire, Shouto's training had given him instincts better than the vast majority of Heroes.

As Midoriya's fist flew towards the left side of his face, Shouto's instincts screamed 'Run.'

He tried to block, but he couldn't move. His limbs twitched as Midoriya loomed overhead, goggles glowing bright green, fist coming down on Shouto's left like the wrath of some demonic figure-

Sheer panic drove him to forget his vow. For the first time since facing Melissa, his fire sparked.

Katsuki grinned as he saw Deku break the icy bastard's attack. "GO, DEKU! FUCKING KILL HIM!"

Next door, Copycat looked at the fight with an agonised expression. "On the one hand, Todoroki is in 1-A, so he's the enemy… but on the other hand, you're cheering for his opponent, so that makes him the enemy as well…"

Copycat's classmates ignored him.

Katsuki was about to give the bastard what he deserved when he saw it. Wide-eyed, Half-and-Half's Quirk started. Smoke. Sparks. And then Half-and-Half's fire came out, forcing Deku to retreat.

Katsuki grinned. Trust Deku to literally scare the fire out of the jerk.

Endeavour reared his head back and yelled to the heavens, "SHOOUUTO!"

Endeavour grinned, watching as his masterpiece ignited. Yes! The fatherly advice had worked! "So you've finally accepted it! Excellent!"

He stomped forwards, ignoring the other attendees. "With my blood pumping through your veins, you will surpass me! You will fulfill my ambitions!"

Rather than respond to him, his masterpiece sat on the ground, unmoving.

Endeavour stared at his son, then at his opponent. The other boy's sonic weapon must have paralysed Shouto after breaking his masterpiece's ice. Not bad, he had to admit. Still frustrating, to see his Masterpiece taken out so easily.

Present Mic cut in then, quieter than he normally was. "A sudden pep talk from Endeavour? A bit unexpected since they're not on the best terms, but I guess he's doting on his son?"

Present Mic switched his microphone off, then turned to his friend. "Okay, you agree with me that that speech was a massive red flag, right?"

Eraserhead nodded grimly. "Crimson."

For about a second, they sat in the booth. Present Mic cracked his knuckles. "We're going to be investigating the Number Two Hero for child abuse, aren't we."

"Of course."

Present Mic grinned. "Whelp. We'll have to get on it after these matches."

His grin turned feral. "I've always wanted to get Endeavour to join me for karaoke."

Midnight blinked, watching the wildfire in front of her. "Todoroki, can you stand?"

The boy paused, brow furrowing in concentration. Then his fire went out. "I… can't move."

Midoriya ran up to him, wide eyed. "Haha, what? Of… of course you can move! D-don't worry, the Sonic Paralyser doesn't inflict permanent damage! You'll recover in a few minutes and then you can really show me I was wrong!"

He turned to her. "I, uh, concede! I don't want to take this chance away from Todoroki, he was trying his hardest, just like the rest of his classmates!"

Todoroki shied away from making direct eye contact with Midoriya as he spoke.

"WOW! MIDORIYA'S TRYING TO CONCEDE BECAUSE HE DOESN'T FEEL LIKE HE DESERVES THIS WIN! THAT'S SO CHIVALROUS!"

Midoriya's eyes went wide. "N-no! I-I mean, Todoroki's a hero student, and this is his best opportunity and I can show off so much more at the Culture Festival-"

Midnight cut him off with a whip crack. "Todoroki is immobilised! Midoriya advances to the next round!"

Midoriya stared at her, then Todoroki, trying to find proper words. His eyes watered up and Midnight barely got out of the way as he burst into tears, the sheer force of them hitting Todoroki so hard he was pushed out of bounds by the salty deluge. Midnight grinned at such an honest spectacle.

"FOR THE SECOND TIME TODAY, MIDORIYA'S SO HAPPY HE'S BURST INTO TEARS! THIS KID WEARS HIS HEART ON HIS SLEEVE JUST LIKE ME! MAN, THIS IS SO HEARTWARMING I'M BURSTING INTO TEARS AS WELL!"

"Please don't."

Ah, seeing students in the springtime of their youth always excited her.

Shouto had just managed to get some feeling in his legs when Endeavour barged into his hospital room. "That last fight was a waste of your potential, boy."

Same shit as always then.

Shouto managed to push himself up as Endeavour continued. "You underestimated your opponent, and it cost you this whole tournament. If you had used your fire from the start-"

"I would still be here."

Shouto mulled over his thoughts. Midoriya had scared him. No, Midoriya had terrified him. In that single instant, Shouto had known with cold certainty that if that hit had connected he would have had a broken jaw at least.

Endeavour scowled. "When I said you would hit the wall of your potential, I didn't think it would be against a boy with no combat Quirk-"

"Hey. Asshole says what?"

Endeavour whipped around. "What-"

He stopped, swaying, furious scowl turned blank and placid. Behind him, Shinsou grinned, mouthpiece on his face. Melissa also stood there, a worried expression on her face. "Walk out of this room and leave us alone."

Blankly, Endeavour did just that. Shinsou breathed a sigh of relief, walking over to his bedside table. "Hey, I heard that there was a burning bag of dog shit in the nurses' room. Seems I got rid of it."

Shouto stared at his friend. A smile crossed his face, and stayed there. "Thank you." He paused, searching for the words. "I…"

Shinsou smiled. "I know. You're sorry you didn't tell me and you're going to buy me that giant chocolate cat I've always wanted."

Melissa gave Shouto a relieved smile. "I… I really wish I could help you, Todoroki. Are you… going to use your fire?"

Shouto winced. "I… I'm not sure. That was a spur of the moment thing, and thinking about it…" he tried to think of the left side of his Quirk as his own, and failed.

Melissa hesitated, then looked at him frankly. "I don't have an experience like yours, Shouto. But… When my Quirk first manifested, I had a hard time with using it. I know you've seen my issues with it."

She stared at her wrapped hands. "I always thought of it as… somebody else's. Not really mine, not a part of me, really."

Ah, because it's like her father/mother's. I knew it.

Her eyes snapped to his, passion blazing in them. "I get the feeling you've heard this before, but… that's your fire. Not his, not anybody else's. It's yours."

My fire, huh.

It wasn't a fix. Instinctually, Shouto knew that it was going to be a while before he properly thought of this fire as his. But it was nice to hear that she understood at least something about how difficult it was to use, nevertheless. "...thank you, Melissa."

She beamed at him, then blinked. "Sorry, Shouto. They're cleaning up the ice, and my match starts soon. See you later!"

As Melissa ran away, Shouto turned to Shinsou. "...Do you have any jokes about hospitals? I could use a laugh."

Inko smiled happily, seeing her son walk off stage with a shaky smile. "That's my boy."

Mitsuki whistled. "Damn, Inko! I didn't think Izuku had it in him to just take out that kid."

"Well, he did grow up with Katsuki as a best friend."

Mitsuku hummed. "Yeah, that makes sense. Must have learned something from my brat."

Present Mic coughed, greeting the crowd once again. "HEY, EVERYBODY! NOW THAT WE'VE CLEANED THE STAGE OF ALL THAT ICE AND WATER, IT'S TIME FOR THE NEXT FIGHT!"

Inko shook herself as the next round started. Then she cheered as she saw a familiar blonde girl walk on stage, arms and legs wrapped in dark red bandages. "There she is! Go Melissa!"

Any friend of Izuku was a friend of hers. Seeing this girl who had bonded with her son over their love of Support items and Heroes was refreshing. Mitsuki joined her cheering, happy to see another girl on stage ready to kick ass.

"COMING TO US FROM SAN FRANCISCO, AS STRONG AS SHE IS BRILLIANT, IT'S THE DEVASTATING MELISSA SHIELD! SHE'S GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH IN THIS TOURNAMENT, AND SHE'S READY TO FIGHT!"

Melissa waved to the crowd, a smile on her face. She took a deep breath, getting ready to fight.

Present Mic spoke as her opponent came up. "AND ENTERING THE RING NOW, HE MAY LOOK WILD BUT HE'S AS SOPHISTICATED AS THEY COME! FROM 1-B, IT'S THE BEASTLY TITAN SHISHIDA JUROTA!"

Shishida stepped up, bowing graciously to the crowd. He extended a hand in greeting. "Let us have a fair fight, Miss Shield."

"So polite. Thank you, Shishida - let's have a fair fight. " She shook him by the hand, then they went to their respective side of the ring.

One for All hummed beneath her skin, ready to fight. She adjusted her glasses, her opponent doing the same.

On the signal from Midnight, Melissa released One for All, sparks of burgundy energy rising off her body. A good thing too, since Shishida darted forwards, body swelling and growing to over twice his height, uniform stretching with him. She managed to roll out of the way of his swiping claws as Present Mic screamed in excitement.

"INCREDIBLE! WE'RE SEEING SHISHIDA'S QUIRK IN FULL USE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS TOURNAMENT! SEEING THAT HIS OPPONENT IS SO STRONG, HE'S CHOSEN TO UNLEASH THE BEAST!"

Shishida grinned wildly at her. "HECK YEAH! LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!"

Melissa smiled back at him, then shot forwards. "You're pretty excited, Shishida!"

She delivered a series of quick punches to his side, but Shishida just grinned. "What was that?! A mosquito bite?!"

He lunged at her, the concrete cracking beneath his huge fist. Melissa was forced backwards as he advanced at lightning speed, the once taciturn boy laughing uproariously. "YOU GOTTA HIT HARDER THAN THAT, MISS!"

Well, at least he's still polite.

Melissa grit her teeth. She would have to play this carefully. Once more, she darted to the side, aiming a kick at Shishida's leg as she did so. He staggered slightly, but turned around with a grin on his face, flexing. "That was a bit harder than before, miss Shield! But I'm still GRREEAT!"

She couldn't help but smile. Seeing a Quirk like his in action was fascinating. While it didn't seem based on any specific animal, his Quirk did give him massively boosted strength and speed. However…

She ducked under his arm, rolling under him as he tried to grab at her.

Melissa grinned. She'd been right - he was faster, but he was also proportionately less mobile due to his new mass. Melissa shot forwards, ready to duck under his body and deliver a blow to his stomach-!

He smirked. Then he suddenly started shrinking down to regular size. Melissa's eyes widened as he jabbed at her, the force of the blow knocking her down. He grinned, rolling his shoulder. "I haven't properly named this move yet, Miss Shield. Surprised you, didn't it?"

Melissa nodded, picking herself up, watching carefully as he transformed back into his full Beast form. I got careless - I didn't think he could shrink down to his regular size so quickly. Not just that, he's too tough in his larger form for 5 percent to do much damage.

I really didn't want to have to resort to this.

Melissa made a feint to Shishida's left, focusing her power in her right fist. She hadn't used One for All at full force yet, so her gauntlets would soak about three more full force attacks before breaking. As Shishida lunged at her again, laughing wildly, she raised her hand, and flicked her index finger with the full force of her Quirk.

Present Mic gawked as Shishida got blown away by a sudden, massive blast of wind, barely catching himself before he flew out of bounds. "HOLY - MELISSA'S JUST USED HER QUIRK AT FULL FORCE TO CREATE AN IMPROMPTU WIND CANNON! WAY TO BLOW AWAY THE COMPETITION, MELISSA!"

Eraserhead crossed his arms, a vaguely unimpressed look on his face. "Not a bad move. Although she doesn't have the best control of her Quirk, she's compensated for that using those Support items. These items were approved because the alternative was her breaking her limbs every time she used her Quirk."

"NOT A GOOD LOOK FOR NATIONAL TELEVISION!"

Shishida tried to get up, but Melissa was in his face. One kick from her, and Shishida was knocked out of bounds. Midnight swiped her whip down, calling the match,

For a second, the larger boy stared. Then he shrank back down to his normal size, adjusting his glasses. "That was more like it."

Melissa hopped down to shake his hand. "I can't do it too frequently - my Quirk only awoke recently due to the stress of the exams coupled with some strength training."

Shishida bowed deeply. "I hope we can have a rematch some time."

Melissa gave the boy a smile, shaking his hand.

Neito groaned, slumping into his chair with despair. The last hope of 1-B crushing the hated 1-A had just gone! "No, Shishida! Don't shake hands with her, she's the enemy-"

Kendo karate chopped him, frowning. "Really? He's being a good sport about his loss. You should too."

Rubbing his neck, Neito scowled. "I know, I know. IUt's still annoying, seeing one of our best get knocked away by such a ridiculous Quirk."

Honestly, he wished he had a chance to get his hands on it. The thought of turning one of 1-A's Quirks back on them was a tantalising prospect. He watched as the stage got set once more, scratch marks being filled in by Cementoss.

"THE PRELIMINARIES ARE NEARLY OVER, AND WE GOT A COUPLE MORE MATCHES FOR YOU WATCHERS! COMING IN FIRST, SHE MAY LOOK RESERVED BUT SHE'S READY FOR ACTION! CALM AND COLLECTED, IT'S 1-A'S VERY OWN ASUI TSUYU!'

Next to him, Tsunotori gasped. "Oh, it's the Motherfucker!"

Kendo gasped, then glared at Neito. "Monoma…" she growled.

Neito laughed nervously. "K-Kendo, she-she asked me to teach her how to swear-"

Kendo raised a fist. Neito did his best not to scream like a girl.

"IN THE OTHER CORNER, HE'S A REAL MANLY GUY! GET READY, FOR HE'S ONE HARD NUT TO CRACK! GIVE IT UP FOR… KIRISHIMA EIJIROU!"

Eijirou grinned, slamming his hardened fist into his palm. "Okay Tsuyu! I'm all fired up!"

Tsuyu blinked, crouching. "Kero."

"START!"

Eijirou charged forwards as Tsuyu leaped at him. Spinning in the air, she delivered a flying kick that hit Eijirou like a truck. His hard, manly body soaked the hit, but he was still forced to take a step back. He grinned, swinging at Tsuyu with a hard fist.

She leapt out of the way, tongue lashing out at him. Eijirou grinned, swinging a fist at her tongue, slapping the organ back. "Come on, Tsuyu! Let's go head to head in the manliest way possible!"

With a manly roar, he charged at her. Tsuyu carefully watched, then leapt to the side at the last moment. Eijirou gasped, seeing how close he was to the boundary line. Turning, he saw Tsuyu leap back at him, going for the same drop kick she had used before.

Eijirou grinned. A fight like this… was so manly.

Thinking quick, he hardened his legs, then stamped into the concrete below. Punching a hole, he secured himself as Tsuyu hit him in the chest. Her eyes widened. "Kero?!"

"Sorry about this, Tsuyu!" He yelled, before slugging her in the ribs with a hardened fist. He winced when he heard her ribs crack.

"OOH, THAT SOUNDED PAINFUL! KIRISHIMA TURNS THE TABLES ON TSUYU WITH AN IMPRESSIVE LAST SECOND MANOEUVRE!"

Tsuyu stumbled back up as he pulled his leg free from the concrete. She sucked in a breath, before shakily regaining her footing.

Eijirou just grinned. "Let's let our manly spirit out!"

A real man didn't use sneaky tactics, he charged straight in! So he went for her once again, trying to get her-

Tsuyu suddenly ducked, and he felt his legs get knocked out from under him. He blinked, before her tongue was lashing through the air, wrapping around his arms and pinning them in place!

Crashing to the ground, he tried to struggle out of her tongue to no avail. "Manliness… friendship…" he grunted.

Midnight looked to him. "Kirishima, can you move?"

Eijirou struggled, before sighing. "No… I can't break out."

As Midnight announced that Tsuyu had won, the frog girl unravelled her tongue, wincing as she held her cracked ribs. "Good fight, Kirishima," she managed to croak out, holding a hand out.

Eijirou started, then a tear came into his eye. "T-thank you, Tsuyu! You were amazing out there!"

It was a bit weird - for some reason, he felt like there were people specifically watching his every move in that fight. He shrugged - it was probably just people watching at home. He wasn't that special - there were like, two other people with his Quirk!

In a darkened room, a group of shadowy figures in robes watched the television, considering. "The Second Child has proven to have the necessary spirit," one of them pointed out to the others.

His neighbour nodded. "Indeed. Though I had my doubts after he almost failed his first test, he has demonstrated the proper values of Manliness after all."

"He must become stronger still," one argued. "Though his spirit is strong, he must still show greater power."

The figure in the centre of the circle held up a hand. "He will become more powerful in time. For now, we will maintain observation of him and the other candidates."

He turned to the most prominent decoration in the room, a poster of Arnold Schwazzenegger, David Hasselhoff and Sylvester Stallone surrounded by candles. "We will find the Manssiah soon enough."

"...And that's why I think there is a secret society devoted to manliness," Shouto explained to Shinsou as they sat in the stands, watching the next event.

He gave him an odd look. "Just because there are two other people with a similar Quirk and attitude in life doesn't mean that there is a group of people specifically selecting hardening Quirks and encouraging manly attitudes."

A business student came up to them, a girl flashing sharp teeth. "Scuzi, but could you introduce your friend to me? I mean, that fight… so manly."

Shouto paused. "...What's your Quirk?"

She blinked, then lifted an arm. "My Quirk's called Diamond - I can turn my body into diamond. Means that I shatter easily though."

"Sure. We can help." He sent Shinsou a triumphant look.

"...Coincidence."

Shouto huffed, turning to watch the stage. This last fight could be… interesting.

Present Mic clearly agreed. "OKAY, LISTENERS! FOR THE LAST MATCHUP OF THE FIRST ROUND, WE'VE GOT A REAL POWERHOUSE! WITH A QUIRK AS EXPLOSIVE AS HIS TEMPER, HE'S BEEN A CELEBRITY SINCE MIDDLESCHOOL! WITH A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE… IT'S BAKUGOU KATSUKI OF 1-A!"

Bakugo stomped on stage, perpetual resting bitch face on full display. The audience's reaction was split between cheering and booing him, which he didn't seem to mind. He shifted the sweatbands on his arms reflexively.

"HIS OPPONENT IS THE CHEERFUL, UPLIFTING URARAKA OCHAKO! BY THE WAY SHE'S MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE!"

"You're the announcer. Stop being biassed."

Katsuki cleaned out his ear, staring down his opponent. What was her name…? "Oi, Round Cheeks. You wanna back down, do it now. No crying uncle here."

Round Cheeks didn't respond, instead glaring at him with a determined expression. Katsuki smirked. Nice to see there was somebody in this tournament with balls.

Midnight glanced between them, then cracked her whip to signal the start.

Inko watched attentively when she saw the Uraraka girl charge forwards, aiming low. "Do you think-?"

Mitsuki shook her head. "I know my brat. He's not gonna dodge - he's gonna take her head on."

On screen, Katsuki did just that, unleashing a massive explosion with his right hand. Inko sighed in relief when she saw Uraraka emerge unscathed. "Oh, thank god…"

Her eyes widened when she saw a shadow in the smoke. "Wait…"

"OH! URARAKA FLOATED HER JACKET THROUGH THE SMOKE TO FAKE OUT BAKUGO! GOOD JOB!"

Katsuki smacked the shadow, only for Uraraka to lunge at him from the smoke. Mitsuki nodded approvingly. "She's the one with a gravity Quirk, isn't she? Not a bad move on her part. Shame Katsuki's too quick for that," she muttered as Katsuki, true to form, unleashed a massive explosion, hitting the other girl again.

Inko winced, seeing her pick herself back up. "This is possibly one of her worst matchups, isn't it? Katsuki's just too fast…"

"Too slow!" Katsuki screamed, another explosion smacking the other girl back.

Mitsuki couldn't help but nod. "I've seen how hard he trains. Kid's an asshole but he's driven."

Inko frowned. She knew that Katsuki tried his hardest, but this girl's strategy… she scanned the screen. There had to be something-!

Her eyes widened. "Mitsuki! Look!"

"What?"

Eraserhead couldn't help but nod approvingly at what Uraraka was doing. Next to him, Present Mic winced. "SHE KEEPS CHARGING AT BAKUGOU, BUT NOTHING WORKS! OH, THE HUMANITY!"

Down in the crowd, other comments filtered up. One person leaned down to Cementoss, concern on his face. "Hey, shouldn't you stop this match? This is getting painful to watch!"

Uraraka dodged Bakugo's attack again, seeming to stumble back but actually moving carefully. Another Pro stood up, and Eraserhead could see the disgust on his face from here. "I can't watch this! HEY, YOU LITTLE JERK! TOYING WITH SOMEBODY LIKE THIS ISN'T HOW A HERO ACTS!"

A group of people started booing with him as he continued. "If you're so much stronger, just toss her out of the ring! Stop toying with the poor girl!"

Oh, hell no.

"Well, personally I agree with you - HEY!"

Eraserhead grabbed the microphone from Present Mic. "Hey, you," he intoned. "The guy complaining."

When the idiot pointed to himself, Eraserhead glared at him. "How long have you been a Pro? Did you get your licence fairly, or did you just get it out of a cereal box?"

The asshole spluttered. "What-"

"If all you're getting from this is pity for Uraraka, then leave. Go on a job-hunting site, find a new profession."

Katsuki grinned, hearing the Hobo Teacher talk. He panted, staring at Round Cheeks as she glared at him. Fuckmunch in the stands had no idea about her. He saw it in her eyes - she was going to keep fighting him on this. She wasn't dead yet.

"Now, here's a fact you may have missed: Uraraka has made it to this third round on her own merit. Bakugo is treating her seriously as an opponent. There's no room for carelessness here. Not at this stage."

Round Cheeks glared at him, panting heavily. "Hey, Bakugo… thanks. For not going easy on me."

She pressed her hands together-

And Katsuki glanced up. His eyes widened as he took in the veritable asteroid belt of concrete chunks floating up there, hanging there in much the same way bricks don't.

What the fuck-?!

It started to drop on him. With barely a second to spare, Katsuki tore off the sweatbands on his wrists. He'd been meaning to save this for later in the tournament, but he needed it now.

Ochaco charged in, trying to reach Bakugo before he could take out too many improvised meteors. It was a risky plan, but if she could just touch him-!

BWOOM!

Ochaco nearly swore when Katsuki swung his arm up, bracing with his other hand and unleashing a monstrous explosion, obliterating the huge chunks of concrete in an instant.

He stared at her, flexing his hand. "I thought you were planning something… I didn't think you'd make me pull out my sweatbands like this."

Bakugo grinned at her like a feral animal. "What the fuck, Uraraka?!"

In spite of how exhausted she felt, she couldn't help but smile. He actually used her name! That was good. "I… had to try my hardest…"

She winced, looking at his hand. That attack had practically blasted it red raw. "Doesn't look like you can use your Quirk, Bakugo!"

In spite of everything, he sneered at her. "Same for you! Looks like you're gonna puke, Uraraka-"

She lunged at him, more thankful than ever for the training program that Yagi had given her. Otherwise, she might have collapsed. Bakugo grinned ferociously at her, swinging a fist at her.

Ducking under his blow, Ochaco smashed him in the jaw. Bakugo, roaring, struck at her, cutting her cheek with one of his nails. Ochaco responded to this by headbutting the blonde jerk, then trying to use her Quirk on him while he was stunned.

"HOLY SHIT! IT'S AN OUT AND OUT BRAWL! URARAKA'S TRYING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF BAKUGOU BEFORE HE CAN FULLY RECOVER!"

Unfortunately, Bakugo had nearly as hard a head as she had. He grinned viciously at her, forehead bleeding. "Fucking hell, that actually hurt!"

"Go down, you bastard!" Ochaco's Mei accent slipped out, and she tried to grab Bakugo again, trying to get him out of the ring.

But Bakugo slapped her arm aside, and there was a surprisingly remorseful look on his face. "Sorry 'bout this."

Then his fist smashed into her stomach.

Inko and Mitsuki winced, watching as Uraraka folded up from the force of the blow to her stomach. Her hand flew to her mouth as she desperately tried to keep her lunch down. "She did really well," Inko murmured.

Mitsuki smiled warmly. "Did well? She pressured Katsuki! She actually forced him to try against her! He actually bothered to remember her name!"

She pulled out her phone. "Oh, Masaru'll be so happy to hear that Katsuki's interested in a girl!"

Inko shook her head, anxiety going away. On screen, she saw Katsuki, contrary to all expectations, actually help Uraraka up. "It's nice to see that he's changed somewhat."

The pair of them were equally as bloody. Inko felt that Katsuki on screen looked unusually reserved for somebody in his triumphant position.

"...Oh, poor uraraka… taken out in the first round by Bakugo…"

"If you're an announcer, you have to be impartial-"

"Come on, Shota! Let me have my fun! BUT ANYWAYS! THE FIRST ROUND OF FIGHTING IS OVER! AFTER A QUICK BREAK, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE SECOND ROUND!"

Inko sighed. The next round would, hopefully, be better. Who could be interested in so much blood and violence?

In a stricken apartment, a girl sighed. "Man… they put too much naughty stuff on TV these days."

She pulled her underwear and skirt back on, wiping her hand on the sheets. "I mean, that last fight…"

A line of saliva passed through her lips and past her sharp fangs. She smacked her chops, watching a still of Uraraka being supported by Bakugo, their blood mingling.

Brushing her sweaty hair back, Toga Himiko glanced at her chosen victim, who struggled to break free of the duct tape holding them in place. "Uraraka and Bakugo, covered in blood… it's enough to make a girl wet, you know?"

She giggled. "I really want to become them now. Until then…"

Toga Himiko lifted a small knife and a straw, a lustful expression on her face. "You're so cute I could just eat you up!"

An: Wow, this one was hell. More specifically, the Todoroki vs Izuku fight was hell. I had so many ideas for how that could have gone! Some longer, some shorter. But since we had Uraraka vs Bakugo as a long fight, I decided to cut it short.

So! Now we've finished all of the first round fights. There's some filler stuff, some foreshadowing… all good shit. And now we have Toga!

What will come next? We have another four fights to bulldoze through. Some long, some short. And we're coming closer and closer to the heist… I haven't forgotten, don't worry.

Next time… The Second Round! And the Heist will start, and that's a promise!