Midoriya sat in the waiting room as he thought to himself. He was in the opening match against Shinso. Normally it would be a shock to see someone outside of the hero course make it to the tournament rounds of the Sports Festival. But from what his classmate Ojiro had told him from what happened during the cavalry battle, Midoriya had a good idea on Shinso's Quirk now.

'If I answer a question he asks, I'll get brainwashed.' Midoriya thought to himself. 'His goal will probably be to make me walk out of bounds once I'm under his control. I have to avoid that at all costs.'

The time for his match was drawing close. Midoriya rose from his seat and headed to the door. As he opened it and walked out, he was met with a few surprising guests. He recognized each of them as students from Class 1-C. It wasn't the entire class, but it was still a good majority of them.

"C-Can I help you?" Midoriya asked nervously, a little off put by being ambushed by a class that he didn't belong to.

Fiona walked forward and stood at the head of the group. A few brief moments of silence hung in the air as Midoriya wondered what she would say. To his surprise however, she bowed her head at him. "Please! You have to beat that Shinso guy in the next match!"

Midoriya blinked as he let Fiona's words register in his brain. "Huh?"

"That guy… he made Sakura lose all her confidence in herself and give up on her chance to compete in the tournament rounds." Fiona told him. "Sakura worked really hard for this. Not just for her sake, but also to try and act as a role model for all of us. To make her give up on herself just like that… it's really frustrating."

"It's not just her either." Marcus said. "We think another of our classmates Daiki was used by him too."

"They're both really strong, and Sakura's always there for us." Shiro added. "So we can't just let what happened go. No one deserves that."

Midoriya let the words of Class C sink in. This wasn't about them wanting to win. This was about them caring for their classmates who were unfairly used by Shinso. He understood their feelings all too well with the same thing happening to Ojiro.

"We don't know if it'll help, but we think we have an idea as to what Shinso's Quirk is based on what Sakura and Daiki told us." Hikari explained. "When you answer a question he asks you, you fall under some kind of trance and end up doing whatever he tells you."

Midoriya nodded his head. "Yeah. Ojiro said the same thing."

"We're begging you man, show that Shinso guy that he can't toy with other people like that." Shiro said. "Kick his ass."

Midoriya looked at the students and showed a fierce look of determination in his eyes. "I'll do my best."


With the recreational games finally over, it was time for the Sports Festival to move onto the main tournament. The crowd's cheers were louder than ever before. An area of the stands was set aside for the other students to watch in their own respective classes.

"Audience! The finals that you've all been waiting for are finally starting!" Present Mic shouted as fire began to burn in the four corners of the arena. The monitor showed the two students competing in the first match. "Match number one! Even though he's done well so far, what's up with that face? From the hero course, it's Izuku Midoriya! Versus- Sorry he hasn't done anything to stand out yet! From general studies, it's Hitoshi Shinso!"

Class 1-C looked towards Midoriya, clearly able to tell how nervous he was by the expression on his face. "Is he gonna be alright?" Shiro asked. "He looks less like he's ready to win and more like he's about to piss himself."

"We can only hope." Fiona said. "He's got a strength Quirk from what I saw in the cavalry battle. As long as he can avoid getting hit by Shinso's Quirk, it should be an easy win."

"The rules are simple." Present Mic explained. "Force your opponent out of bounds, or immobilize them! You can also win by making your opponent say 'I give up'! Bring on the injuries, because we've got Recovery Girl waiting on standby! Put your morals and ethics aside for a moment! But of course, anything life-threatening is crap! It's not allowed! Heroes should only use their fists for catching villains!"

Looking next to the ring, everyone could see Cementos sitting on a chair, ready to stop the fight if things went too far. Sarah looked at Midoiya and Shinso, noticing Shinso's mouth moving. She couldn't hear him since he was too far away, but he was definitely talking. "It looks like that Shinso guy is saying something to Midoriya."

"He must be trying to get a response out of Midoriya." Marcus suggested. "But Midoriya should know the trick to Shinso's Quirk now. All he has to do is stay quiet."

"Ready?" Present Mic said. "Start!"

Almost immediately after Present Mic announced the start of the match, a sudden glare was seen on Midoriya's face. He charged at Shinso. "What did you say?!"

The second the words came out of his mouth, Midoriya froze. He stood completely still, not moving an inch.

"That idiot!" Shiro exclaimed. "He had one job, and it was to do NOT THAT! How do you mess that up?!"

"This Shinso guy must be really good with his words." Satoshi noted. "Whatever he said, looks like it really got under Midoriya's skin."

"Hey what's going on?!" Present Mic asked. "It's the important first match! Liven things up! The match just started and Midoriya is completely frozen! He's got a blank look on his face and isn't moving! Is this Shinso's Quirk?! He didn't stand out at all, but could he actually be someone amazing?!"

Alicia sat back in her seat. "Well I guess this match is over. It's obvious what Shinso's next move will be."

Just as Alicia and many others predicted, Midoriya turned around and began walking towards the perimeter of the ring. Hyde let out a sigh. "I guess when it comes down it it, that Midoriya guy isn't anything spec-"

The rest of the statement died on Hyde's tongue as a shockwave erupted right from Midoriya as he neared the out of bounds area. Midoriya began breathing heavily, with his feet just barely still in the ring. Everyone gasped in shock, wondering what in the world had just happened.

"Did he manage to undo the brainwashing?!" Jill questioned.

"I think so. Maybe he was able to create a big enough shock and that did it." Lilina suggested.

Hikari narrowed his eyes. "Hey guys, look at his fingers."

Melody looked at her friend in confusion. "His fingers?" She closely looked at Midoriya and widened her eyes, seeing that two of the fingers on one of his hands were heavily bruised.

"Does his Quirk take that much of a toll on his body?" Dan wondered. "If so, it makes sense why he's barely used it this whole time."

Midoriya quickly went on the offensive and charged at Shinso. Faint traces of Shinso's voice could be heard by Class 1-C, proving he was attempting to brainwash Midoriya again, but Midoriya refused to answer this time. He shoved Shinso and began pushing him towards the edge of the arena. Shinso hit Midoriya with a right hook to the face, but Midoriya refused to give in.

"Yeah! That's the way!" Jill shouted. "Knock him out of bounds!"

Shinso managed to break away from Midoriya and avoid getting pushed out. He then lunged towards his opponent, attempting to get him out instead. However, Midoriya grabbed Shinso by the arm and threw him over his shoulder. Shinso hit the ground hard, with part of his body past the line.

"Shinso is out of bounds!" Midnight declared. "Midoriya advances to round 2!"

Cheers were heard around the crowd. It wasn't an overly fancy match, but it had been exciting nonetheless. Some of Class 1-C smiled, happy that Sakura and Daiki had been avenged.

"That guy's strong. But if using his power hurts his body that much, he won't be too hard to beat later." Hyde said with a smirk.

"It's more than just his power you should be admiring, Hyde." Dan said.

"Hm?"

"He was completely under Shinso's control. But he somehow managed to break free. That could have only been done through sheer willpower." Dan noted. "He's dead set on winning. He could be tough to beat if we underestimate him."

"I guess you've got a point." Hyde admitted. "But I still won't lose to him."

"Hey Dan, your match is after the next one, right?" Fiona asked. "Better get ready."

Dan nodded his head as he got up from his seat. "Yeah. You're right."

"Kick that Class A girl's butt, Dan!" Hikari told him as they watched Dan leave the stands and head towards the waiting room.


The second match was between two Class A students, Todoroki and Sero. Though it was hard to call what occurred a match. The second the fight began, Todoroki had created a huge slab of ice that encased his opponent. With Sero immobilized, Todoroki was declared the victor. After the ice was melted away, Dan was called for the third match. He was a little surprised at how soon it was, but it wouldn't make a difference in the end. He just had to make sure he won.

"Alright everyone, it's time for the exciting match three!" Present Mic declared. "Even though his team didn't make it into the top four of the cavalry battle, he showed great skill during the first two games! From the hero course, it's Dan Hiryo! Versus! Is something going to come out of those horns? Well? From the hero course, it's Mina Ashido!"

Dan and Ashido stood across from each other in the arena. Dan readied himself to fight. 'I didn't get much of a chance to observe her Quirk in the earlier games, but from what the others told me she can shoot out acid from her body. I'll have to be careful.'

"This should be fun. Let's see what Class C's got." Ashido smirked.

"Ready? Begin!"

Dan didn't waste any time as he quickly surrounded his arms with water before freezing it to make a pair of icy gauntlets. He then took off running towards Ashido.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Ashido said as she waved her arm and sent a small wave of acid at Dan.

Dan brought his arms up, letting the ice block the acid. It still hurt with the ice being part of the water that came from inside his body, but it was nothing he couldn't endure. Though part of his ice was gone now, he still had enough to dish out plenty of pain if they hit. He swung his right fist at his opponent but she moved to the side and dashed past him. Dan turned around, expecting her to be right behind him, but was surprised by what he saw.

Ashido slid along the ring, almost like she was in a skating rink. She moved quickly around Dan, trying to dissorient him with her speed.

'So she can expel acid from her feet too, and use that to skate along the ground due to the lowered friction.' Dan realized.

Ashido continued to move around Dan. Finally she went in for an attack. Dan saw her coming and sent a punch her way, but she quickly ducked under him. Placing her hand on the ground, Ashido nimbly balanced herself on her hand and kicked her opponent, driving her knee into his gut. She moved her body around, sending a flurry of kicks Dan's way almost as if she was dancing and fighting at the same time.

"Oh my! First Ashido was dancing around her opponent, but now she seems to be dancing on him!" Present Mic said. "Is there anything Hiryo can do besides be Ashido's punching bag?!"

"Hang in there, Dan!" Alicia called out from the stands.

"Come on! Counterattack already!" Shiro shouted.

'Easier said than done.' Dan thought, listening to his classmate's yell. 'Her movements are hard to predict, and she's not giving me any openings.' Suddenly, an idea came to his head. 'That's it!'

"What's the matter? Can't keep up with my moves?" Ashido smirked. She jumped up and swung her leg down for an axe kick. "Well then you might as well give up now!"

Dan quickly brought both his arms up to block Ashido's kick. But before Ashido could jump back for a follow up, water came out from Dan's arms and surrounded Ashido's leg. He quickly froze the water, trapping her.

"Gotcha." Dan said with a smirk, glad that his plan had worked.

"H-Hey! Let me go!" Ashido said.

"Amazing! Fantastic! Incredible!" Present Mic shouted. "Hiryo was on the receiving end of a one-sided beatdown from Ashido, but in an instant, he managed to turn the tables on her. Now Ashido is stuck and at Hiryo's mercy!"

"That's the way! Nice one, Dan!" Jill cheered.

Ashido struggled to get free from her opponent as she hung upside down with her right leg trapped in the ice from Dan's arms. Using her free leg, she kicked randomly, unable to see where she was aiming. But the feeling of her foot continuously hitting against something was all the proof she needed that she was doing something.

Dan struggled to endure the kicks that came his way, hitting his chest and sometimes his face. He freed one of his arms from his guard holding Ashido and used it to grab her other leg. He then spun around continuously, preparing to throw his opponent. When he finally had enough momentum, he threw her with all his might, sending her towards the edge of the arena.

Ashido quickly spun her body as she flew midair, attempting to create enough of a counterforce to keep her from falling out of bounds. Her plan worked as she slid and hit the ground, skidding to the point where she just barely stopped at the line. But before she could even think of what to do next, she gasped and saw Dan already inches away from her. His fist was reeled back and encased in ice.

"You're finished!" Dan shouted as he swung a powerful punch at Ashido. The girl from Class A was knocked back and fell out of bounds.

"Ashido is out of bounds!" Midnight declared. "Hiryo moves on to round 2!"

With the end of the match, cheers were heard throughout the crowd. The students from Class C were especially loud with their cheering. With only two members of their class in the finals tournament, every win mattered greatly to them.

On the concrete, Ashido let out a frustrated sigh. "Darn it! I thought I had you!"

Dan walked up to Ashido and reached out his hand. "Good fight. The way you moved was amazing."

"Thanks. You weren't so bad yourself." Ashido said as she accepted Dan's hand and got to her feet. "Don't get cocky though. Class A's gonna clobber you in the end."

"We'll see." Dan retorted.

Dan and Ashido both walked off the field and made their way back to the stands. As he walked through the halls alone, he let out a sigh of relief. His first round had been a tough win, and it was clear that there were even tougher opponents left in Class A. There was Midoriya with his amazing strength and willpower, Todoroki who commanded both fire and ice, and of course the hotheaded Bakugo with his explosion Quirk. If he kept winning, he was bound to face at least one of them. His thoughts were interrupted though when Dan came back to the area for Class C and found his friends all greeting him with a smile.

"Way to go, man!" Shiro said with a grin. "We're one step closer to proving Class C is number one!"

"That move you pulled on that Ashido girl was so awesome!" Hikari told him. "She didn't see it coming!"

"Thanks, you guys." Dan said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh, that wasn't bad I suppose." another voice said. All heads turned to Hyde, who looked towards Dan with a confident smirk. "Make no mistake though, when we fight I'm gonna be the one to win."

"You wish. Hope you're happy with second place." Dan replied.

"You should probably focus on winning round one first, Hyde." Nene told him. "It'd look pretty bad if after all your gloating you couldn't even do that."

"As if I'd lose so early on!" Hyde yelled. "I'm gonna show you all how the star of Class C does things! I'll get first place, no problem!"

"Yeah! Class C is gonna be number one when all's said and done!" Jill said with her fist raised into the air.


The tournament matches for the first round went on one after another. The fourth match consisted of Iida from Class A against Hatsume from the support course. Iida was declared the winner, though it was less of a victory rather than Hatsume showing off her nifty support items with Iida's help and then forfeiting the match. The next match featured Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, two students with nearly identical Quirks. It was a battle of power, and the end caught everyone by surprise when both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu collapsed, resulting in a draw. Match six was a battle between Tokoyami and Yayorozu. It was a close fight but in the end Tokoyami emerged victorious.

And then it was time for match number seven. Hyde against Class A's Kaminari.

"Time to get pumped once again, everybody! Cause it's time for match seven!" Present Mic announced. "He managed to turn the tables around in the second game for his team to make it to fifth place with a sudden twist! From the hero course, it's Hyde Gekido! Versus! Sparking Killing Boy! From the hero course, it's Denki Kaminari!"

"Hope you're ready to lose." Hyde said.

"You wish. You've got nothing on me." Kaminari replied.

"Ready? Begin!"

"Here goes, buddy!" Kaminari said as his body began to tingle with electricity. "Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 Million Volts!"

A wave of electricity discharged from Kaminari and headed straight for Hyde. However, Hyde wasn't planning on letting himself be beaten so easily. He slammed his hand onto the ground and created a half-dome from the cement ground to block the electric current.

"You won't win just by defending!" Kaminari grinned. He stopped his electric attack and prepared to rush towards the structure Hyde had created. But just before he could take off running, a pillar from the ground shot up and hit him right in the gut. Kaminari felt the air rush out of his lungs as he was sent flying back. He landed past the boundary line, resulting in the end of the match.

"Kaminari is out of bounds! Gekido moves onto round 2!" Midnight announced.

"I hope you didn't blink and miss it, viewers! Cause that fight was over in an instant!" Present Mic called out. "With a smooth transition from defense into offense, Hyde Gekido easily wins and goes onto the next round!"

"Hyde's vision of his opponent was blocked by the dome he created. He must have calculated the distance between them at the start of the match in order to have that pillar aimed just right." Satoshi noted. "That was a clever move."

Over by the area of the stands Class A sat in, Jiro let out a sigh. "Well that's two loses we have to Class C now."

"Oh my, maybe the so-called amazing Class A is nothing but a bunch of losers after all." a new voice said. All heads turned to Monoma, peeking his head over the wall and looking at them with a deranged smile. "After all that boasting, this is all you amount to? What a sad bunch of-"

Monoma didn't get to finish the rest of his tirade as a sudden chop to the neck knocked him out in an instant. Kendo peeked her head up to look at Class A. "Sorry about him."

'What was that just now?' the entirety of Class A thought silently.

As Hyde walked through the halls on his way back to his seat, he came across another person walking in the opposite direction as him. One of the participants of the next match, the final one of round one. Both Hyde and the other student glared at each other.

"Don't go thinking you're hot stuff cause you beat that idiot." Bakugo told him.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not thinking it because of that." Hyde quipped back. "I know I'm hot stuff cause I'm gonna be the winner of this whole thing."

"You wish." Bakugo said, brushing past Hyde and walking towards the field. "When we fight in round 2, I'll kill you."

"Go ahead and try." Hyde smirked, continuing on with nothing short of victory in his sights.

A/N: Hey readers, hope you're all hanging in there with this covid situation going on. The Sports Festival arc is nearing its end. Who's going to come out on top? You'll just have to wait and see.