As the rest of the teens began arriving at the finish line, gathering in a clump near the podium Midnight stood on, three of the pro heroes working security were watching from a television in one of the break rooms.

Death Arms sat back as he smoked a cigarette where he couldn't be seen by anyone that might make his sponsors upset. "Looks like this group didn't survive USJ on a fluke." He said once he'd let out a breath of smoke, much to Kamui Woods and Mount Lady's annoyance, considering they were in said smoke's path. "Especially that first place kid. Went in last, came out first, and made it look easy. That's the sort of showmanship and skill that'll get plenty of internship offers."

Mount Lady munched on some dango she'd 'convinced' a stall vendor to give her, watching the television idly. "He looks familiar."

Kamui Woods leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed as he watched the television as well. "Same here…" He thought about it for a few moments before making a sound of realization. "Oh, now I remember. The Sludge Villain Incident last year. He was the kid that rushed in to try to save the hostage."

Mount Lady blinked and paused in her chewing, turning her gaze from Kamui back to the screen, which happened to be showing all the students that had managed to qualify, the cameras catching how most of the Heroics students were gathered around the boy they were discussing, laughing and congratulating each other, the green haired teen smiling as he patted the shoulder of a girl with horns. "Seriously? How does a kid go from almost getting killed while desperately clawing at a bunch of slime to showing these kinds of skills? I know UA is supposed to be good, but there's no way it's this good."

Death Arms took another puff of his cig, his own brow furrowed. "You've got a point. If he had a Quirk that potent then he should have used it back then. I would have been less pissed at him if he'd at least showed he wasn't trying to commit Suicide by Villain."

The conversation was interrupted when Midnight begane to announce what the next event would be, followed by the rules. When it was announced that first place in the race would be worth a million points in the upcoming cavalry battle, Kamui Woods raised an eyebrow (not that many people could tell). "Wonder how he'll do now that most people won't want to work with him due to the target on his back."

When Midnight gave the students leave to start forming teams, however, he and the rest of the pros watching were caught by surprise.

"Wait, what? What's going on? This isn't how it usually goes…" Present Mic commentated as he watched most of those who had qualified swarm Midoriya, asking to be on his team, only a few staying away from the group.

Aizawa could be heard sighing in exasperation. "You really need to be more observant and keep on top of class dynamics, Mic." He said before expounding on his statement, blatantly ignoring Mic's offended 'Hey!'. "Midoriya has established himself as strong, reliable, and intelligent. He is the undisputed leader of the first year Heroics students, and not just because he's class representative for 1-A. He has had a hand in modifying their costumes to best take advantage of their abilities, displayed his skill and power during the USJ incident, and has been teaching most of the rest of the students martial arts after school. While nothing is guaranteed, I would imagine that his schoolmates consider working with him a better bet than working against him."

"That's so cool!" Hado Nejire exclaimed as she watched the First Years' events with her fellow members of UA's Big 3. "I knew he had to be nice! Everybody really wants to be on his team. I wonder how strong he is? Is he fast? Can he leap tall buildings in a single bound? Ooh, who would win if they fought, him or Mirio-kun?"

Mirio laughed at the questions. "I don't know, but it sounds like it would be interesting to find out!" He said with a grin. The blonde glanced over at the last but certainly not least member of the Big 3. "What do you think, Tamaki-kun?"

"He could probably win easily if he used that power from the time the press invaded." The shy, anxious teen known as Amajiki Tamaki said in response, shivering at the memory of feeling like some higher power was deciding whether he was worth the effort to squash.

"I don't think he will." Nejire said. "I mean, it's not really nice to use it if he doesn't have to." She brought a finger to her chin in thought as the teams on screen finished assembling. "I wonder how being able to stick to walls and float are going to help though…"

"Well, we don't know that those are the only things he can do, Hado-chan." Mirio said, still smiling, though that smile dimmed at his next words. "Isn't he the one that killed that Nomu thing in the USJ, after all?"

Nejire's lips pursed at that, her cheerful face darkening a bit as Tamaki nodded. "He is." The boy said quietly.

Mirio crossed his arms as he studied the screen with a serious look on his face as the cavalry battle began. "Sir looked into that. I don't know exactly what he found out, but he was out of sorts for about a week afterwards."

Tamaki and Nejire glanced at each other at that information, consternation on their faces.

At the Tython Homeless Shelter every single one of its regular residents was sitting around the television as they watched the UA Sports Festival, all of them cheering Izuku on as they enjoyed the spectacle.

Toga Himiko sat near the front of the audience, sipping lightly on a straw from a large thermos as she watched, her eyes riveted on Izuku each time he was focused on, leading his team against the others, primarily playing defense as that majority of the other teams fought each other, though the teams led by the explosive blonde and the boy with red and white hair seemed to be focusing on him more than any others, though they apparently weren't above attacking targets of opportunity.

"Somehow I'm not surprised that Midoriya-kun is considered the leader of all of the First Year students." One of the older residents, a woman named Paru with hair like strands of crystal, said as she reclined on one of the comfortable seats that had been recently bought using some of the money one of said students had donated. Normally all money would go to necessities like food and clothes, but it had been a large donation, so they were able to get some more furniture without impacting necessities in any way, even managing to set some extra aside for a rainy day.

"I know." Another resident, a large, beefy man with tusks called Butaken said as he leaned back in his own, more conventional folding chair, his arms crossed as he smiled at the children cheering and jumping around and excitement at the displays on the television. "I mean, it only seems appropriate, doesn't it?" He glanced over at Himiko, who he was sitting next to. "What are you drinking so happily?"

Himiko finished her latest sip before answering. "It's a special drink Izuku got me. I've been saving it, but I thought it appropriate to drink now." She said with a happy smile on her face.

"Oh good, mind if I have a taste?" Butaken asked, beginning to reach over only to pause when Himiko began to hold the thermos to her chest protectively, glaring at him in a way that would make it unsurprising if she started hissing like a cat. "Or not, that's fine too…"

Their attention was drawn back to the television when the kids let out a sudden cheer at a particularly impressive play by one of the teams, making them jump up and down with excitement. "That was amazing! He jumped up, and…!" "Yeah, then the pretty lady…!" "But it wouldn't have worked without that big guy!"

Inunaki-san, the woman in charge of running the shelter, smiled as she sat off to the side, sipping some tea as she watched everyone enjoy the sports festival. The fact that they knew some of the people involved, and thus had an actual stake in what was happening, just made things all the more exciting for everyone there. It was always a joy to her to see the residents in high spirits, especially the younger ones.

Himiko, for her part, continued sipping her drink as she kept her eyes riveted on Izuku, enjoying the coppery taste of the liquid he'd given her.

In a run down apartment in the Yamanashi prefecture an old man was eating a plate of taiyaki while he too watched the Sports Festival. He was chewing as he studied the green haired boy that was proving himself the one to watch in this event.

He had decided to watch in order to study his idiot pupil's own students, to see if the buffoon was actually any good a teacher, especially as he too had heard of the USJ attack and what the objective had been.

Now, however, he was focused on the boy the commentary had said was the leader of the First Year Heroics course. He recognized the name from the report of the USJ incident he'd gotten from a friend in the police force. He set aside his food and grabbed said file after a bit of searching, looking at the teen's profile, including Quirk registry. His eyes tightened as he considered the information, feeling a sense of unease similar to when he'd first read it.

There was something up with the situation, and he didn't like it. It sounded too much like someone with multiple quirks and a superficial way to explain it, and that just rang a variety of alarms in his mind.

Settling back down to continue watching he refocused on the teen that was making him uneasy, deciding to continue watching before making a decision, especially as the third round was always a tournament, which would showcase more of the boy's abilities.

Still, it seemed he'd need to be getting in touch with Toshinori sooner rather than later…

At the Nighteye Hero Agency, the leader of said agency was watching the Sports Festival with narrowed eyes, focusing on Midoriya Izuku. He had been wanting to observe this particular student for months now, so this appeared to be the perfect opportunity. He had even asked Bubble Girl and Centipeder to watch with him so he could get their opinions under the cover of wanting to determine how All Might's first class was doing.

What he saw was… concerning. All Might had told Nighteye quite a bit about the boy back when he had first chosen him to be the Symbol of Peace's successor, a decision Mirai still vehemently disagreed with, and the discrepancies with what he was seeing now had him on high alert.

He glanced at his computer, where he had the boy's profile and Quirk registry pulled up, and this simply didn't fit. All Might had told him that the boy was Quirkless and currently rather timid if determined. The easy confidence and leadership he was displaying didn't fit his psychological profile from the time, not to mention all of his abilities. One For All should have enhanced any original Quirk, true, but as the boy was supposed to be Quirkless then that didn't make sense.

Telekinesis, advanced combat skill, temporary item creation, surface adhesion, superhuman physical parameters, genius intellect… And that was likely just scratching the surface. One For All could not account for all of what the boy could do.

Not to mention his willingness to take lethal action. To be clear, Mirai wasn't condemning the decision itself. He was a seasoned enough pro to know that sometimes it was just the kind of action that had to be taken. But the issue was that such a mentality typically only developed with experience. Yes, in UA's Third Year they had extensive classes on how to determine and handle the necessity of lethal force, but the boy had only been in school for a week before USJ, without any exposure to combat against villains before that outside of the Sludge Villain incident that was noted in his file.

He could simply be a very mature teen that had been forced to grow up more quickly than most. That did happen, depressingly often, even. But when combined with all the other data Mirai had at his disposal, including what All Might had already revealed to him…

The only reason he wasn't more concerned than he already was came on screen at that moment as the cameramen briefly focused on the teachers, where Mirai could see All Might in his skinny form watching the cavalry battle with a smile on his face, his hands clasped in front of his chin. The camera didn't linger on him, as nobody knew who he actually was, but it reminded Mirai that All Might did not seem alarmed by the discrepancies.

As far as he could tell All Might didn't seem concerned at all with his protege's apparent impossibilities, which meant one of two things.

The first, and obviously most likely, was that the man had access to information that his former sidekick didn't. It would make sense, as he had known Midoriya for nearly a full year, and would thus know about any details that Sir Nighteye couldn't get his hands on.

The second, and infinitely worse but quite unlikely option, was that All Might had been compromised in some way. Mirai didn't want to believe it, an instinctive aversion to the thought of his former mentor being manipulated in any way rearing its head, but he didn't deny the possibility. For all of One For All's strengths, as far as Mirai was aware, it offered no true protection from mental manipulation. And even if it did, once it had been passed on there would be no guarantee that any such protection would remain. So if All Might could be tricked into giving it to someone with malicious intent…

Still, the latter option was incredibly unlikely for more reasons than him simply not wanting it to be. If something like that had happened, others would have noticed. Nezu alone would perceive it easily and have the connections to sound the alarm, most likely reaching out to Mirai himself. So unless Nezu had also been compromised, highly unlikely, then he was in on whatever information Mirai wasn't privy to.

He turned his gaze back to the television when Bubble Girl began to clap with a smile on her face, finding that the cavalry battle was over. He refocused his attention now as he waited for the tournament to begin. That should give more information to use to make a decision on what to do moving forward.

Have I mentioned how tired I am of always leaving my updates for the last minute?

I swore to myself I'd be better at updating this month, writing at least a few hundred words every day. Unfortunately various personal issues irl have sapped my creativity and motivation, not just for this, but other things as well. I've just been supremely stressed and not wanted to do pretty much anything.

Still, I've found that a deadline is really helpful in making me focus through my ADHD, which is why I actually managed to get this out, even if it's shorter than I'd like. Though that's also partly down to the content.

I wondered how exactly to make the cavalry battle interesting and not something we'd all already seen a million times, and in the end I decided to instead use this as an opportunity to focus on various other characters who have either had bit parts, mentions, or haven't been talked about at all. Not all of them are entirely substantial, but they all help set up things in the future. Most of them are about people becoming more curious about Izuku himself, after all.

Plus, the next chapter begins the tournament, and the fights are going to be the focus there. I have some plans to shake things up a bit, so I hope you look forward to it.

I think that's all I have to say for the moment, so I'll go ahead and give my usual reminders now.

As I've stated previously in some of my other fics, my best friend and their roommate have begun a podcast. Yes, I know, everybody and their mother has a podcast these days, but I beg you to hear me out. It's called 'Two Idiots and a Dog', and they talk about pop culture in general with different shows for different topics. So far they've primarily done 'Idiots on Film', talking about classic or important movies, but they recently started another one called 'Idiots Unleashed', where they just take a topic their Discord members vote on and talk/argue/rant about it without a filter. The latest episode of 'Idiots on Film' was on the 2014 Legendary version of Godzilla, and their latest 'Idiots Unleashed' was "'Cartoons Are For Kids' (Screw You, No They're Not)". So if you're interested, that's 'Two Idiots and a Dog' on most podcasting apps. Please check it out. For me? *puppy dog eyes*

Secondly, I am, as always, truly grateful for those of you who are willing to send a buck or two my way out of the kindness of your heart. It really helped my transition till I started working. I've got a steady income now, and am getting my feet underneath myself, but that doesn't mean your support isn't appreciated. Thanks to you I have more of a cushion to get things I still need or pay essential bills. Like Final Fantasy XIV. (Speaking of, Ryuma Hyurinmaru on the Coeurl Server, Crystal Datacenter, North America)

Of course, let us not forget that you do get something out of it. For each dollar that you donate to my Pat A Ron, you get a vote in my monthly update poll stating what you want to see updated next month. And if what you vote for doesn't win immediately, no worries! Non-winning votes roll over to the next poll, so a fic that only gets a vote a month will eventually win (though it might take a bit, to be brutally honest). No Good Deed was recently updated due to turtling the others, for example.

That said, if a fic hasn't won in a long time, I will take it off the poll and update it anyway, like I am in the process of doing for On Swirling Ashes, which is unfortunately taking me longer than expected but is making progress.

So yes, donate to my Pat A Ron, you get a say in what I update. Everybody wins! So that's Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis. The current poll ends on August 1st.

However, as something new, I have set up a Ko-Fi for those of you who don't want to use Pat A Ron to support me. The only caveat is that it won't count towards any voting, so I honestly don't see it getting much use. That said, it's there for those of you that prefer it. Seeing as I only created it a few weeks ago, please give me any feedback on it so I can make improvements. That's ko-fi dotcom /athanmortis78653 .

I believe that's it. Thank you all again for reading and reviewing. Hope you have a good one. Till next time!