I changed. Then I purchased and downed two more potions. I was planning to have a snack and meditate again, but there was something else I needed to do first.

I took the elevator up, hoping to save a little energy. The arena had ten levels. But the top one and bottom two were operations and utilities (the bottom two also being underground). And the main level was the arena floor. So there were six levels of seating. And the highest floor of seating was all luxury boxes. Boxes rented or occasionally owned by top hero agencies and support firms.

That's where Mom was. The company she worked for actually owned one of the boxes. And they were letting her use it. She was at the Sports Fest to watch me compete. But she was also meeting with Midnight-sensei again. As I understood it, Midnight making an exclusive deal with their company for Mom to design all her future costumes and the company to provide her support gear. Said deal was done except for the signing. But sensei had suggested they drag it out a bit. So the company would pay for Mom to keep wooing Midnight.

There were 24 of the luxury boxes, each labeled with a Greek letter. I walked around to box Φ, and knocked on the door. There was a click. The door swung inwards a few centimeters.

"Come in, Izuku," Mom called out to me. I walked in and shut it behind me.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked.

"Your knock, Nemuri's knock, and Toshinori's knock are all different," she told me, "And I don't think anyone else would be coming up here."

"Really?"

She chuckled, "No. Not really."

Then she pointed up to the corner. A small monitor showed the hall outside the box.

"Ah," I nodded sheepishly.

"So, is there a reason you came up?" she asked, "Did you want to grab some of the snacks they provided? You looked tired at the end."

"Thanks, but no," I responded, "They provided snacks for us, too. And I did buy two potions. I did one for Stamina and one for Psions, even though they are all the same to me. But so I don't have too much of one kind, and in case there are positive effects for each type that aren't related to recharging Energy."

She considered that.

"No," I repeated, "I really just came up to see you. To say thank you."

Mom looked at me in confusion.

"If you hadn't broken me out of my introspection, who knows how long I would have stood there? And I could have over thought myself into a stupid plan. Like trying to have Hikari distract all the other teams with an illusion."

"Well, I'm glad I could help," she said, "Even if, now that you mention it, it feels a bit like cheating."

"It's not any different that if you had been in the stands and yelled at me and I heard you," I shrugged, "And it is part of my power."

"That's true," she conceded. Then she looked depressed, "It is unfortunate about Tsuyu's team."

"Part of me is glad I don't have to fight them," I admitted, "And I'm hoping I don't have to fight Ami or Mikoto."

"Still, they must be devastated," Mom said.

"Tsu was," I agreed, "Until I asked her on a date tomorrow."

"Oh, really," a third voice purred from the door, "I guess that's one way to distract a lady. And I guess that also means the rumors are true."

"Nemuri, don't tease him," Mom said fondly.

I looked over. Unexpectedly, Midnight was in neither her costume nor the suit jacket and skirt she frequently taught in. It was a bit of a surprise to see her in simple a long-sleeved shirt and cargo capris.

"Sorry, Inko," Kayama-sensei grinned saucily, "It's just old habit for me to give my students a long, hard ribbing. Especially when that student is the first years' biggest casanova."

"Well, I should get back down to the waiting room," I said quickly, fairly sure I was blushing, "So I can get some rest and in case they need to tell us anything. Bye."

Midnight chuckled as I hurriedly slipped past her and out the door. But as I left, I saw them turn their attention to each other. And the looks they exchanged...

Well, good for them if I was right. But if Midnight hurt my Mom, teacher or not, pro hero or not...

My plot of potential revenge faltered as I nearly bumped into flaming mountain of a man. As in his hair and beard were literally on fire and raising the temperature in the hallway by at least five degrees.

Endeavour, the number two Hero, stood before me, heading for the door to box Π. He was in his full costume, like he had just come from a case. He stopped when he saw me, and glared at me. Sense Hostility pinged hard, and I got a notice that the skill went up another level.

"You are the Midoriya boy," he rumbled. I nodded nervously.

"Shouto has been fixated on you. Especially since the attack at Thirteen's little playpen. I thought that this distraction might be an issue. That he was focusing on you, instead of his proper goal. Wasting time on schoolground antics."

I was getting annoyed. But also wondered just what Endeavour meant.

"But I may have underestimated you, just because your parents are nobodies," he relaxed his glare and smirked slightly. I bristled at the insult.

"You have spirit and gave a good showing this morning," Todoroki-san continued, "Maybe you can be a proper stepping stone for Shouto after all."

I studied him. Part of me understood the logic of wanting to work together to grow stronger. To help and be helped. But the way he said it, both his words and his tone, rubbed me the wrong way. Even without Empathy active, I was fairly sure he had neither my nor Todoroki... kun's best interests at heart.

"It may be that you are strong enough to force him to abandon this foolish, self-imposed restriction," he lectured me, "You saw it back there. He almost used his fire, but stopped himself. He could have been the winner, the number one. But he held himself back."

That was true. Though I might have been more receptive if Endeavour had framed it in terms of Todoroki-kun's whole team, rather than make it sound like his son did all the work and deserved all the credit.

But it also meant that three of the Knights, plus Mo-chan who they were becoming friends with, got through. So I couldn't be overly upset about Todoroki-kun's hang up.

"I want you to crush him. To humiliate him if necessary. To show him how foolish and pointless this little rebellion is. That he is just being a child. Do so, and you will have a strong ally when you graduate."

Wow. Maybe two hours ago I was reflecting on how I barely knew or cared about my father. Now I could only think there were worse things than abandoning your family and running away to America.

"What kind of father are you?" I murmured in spite of my desire to stay silent, "Who asks someone to do that to their child?"

The elder Todoroki's glare returned, but this time it rolled off me. I couldn't even think of him by his so called 'Hero' name anymore.

"I see Shouto isn't the only childish one here," he dismissed me. Turned and resumed his walk to his luxury box.

"Analyze," I whispered harshly.

[Name: Enji Todoroki (Endeavour)
Race: Human (Quirk metagene positive)
Age: 45
Level: ?

Active Title: The Number Two Hero (And when I say number two, I'm not talking about his position in the Hero Rankings)
Health: ?/? (100%)
Stamina: ?/? (95%)
Ki: ?/? (85%)
Condition(s):
Heat Exhaustion
Asshattery]

I pondered his first condition briefly, knowing that there was nothing I could do to cure the second (since it was mostly just The Gamer being snarky, like it was about his title). Then I realized I was running out of time to digest and meditate. I hurried back down to the waiting room.


When called, we all walked back onto the field. The beach was gone. There was grass around the outer edge of the arena. In the center was an broad and slightly elevated cement platform. It was a ten by ten grid of one meter squares, with an addition one half meter thick border. Next to the stage was a tall seat, on which Cementoss was already sitting. Around the outer wall were sixteen small, numbered boxes of armored glass and titanium with a single, comfortable chair inside.

"Welcome contestants," Present Mic announced, "To the final round of the UA freshman Sports Festival. As per usual, it will be a single elimination, one on one fighting tournament. The rules are simple. You win if your opponent leaves the platform, if they fall unconscious, or if they surrender. You lose if any of the judges feel you have used lethal, or even excessive force. No more 'don't injure your opponents' stipulations. This is a fight, using all of your skills and Quirks. You might get hurt. At the same time remember, your opponents are not Villains and you are trying to be Heroes. Oh, and of course we have already determined what each of you is allowed to take into the ring with you."

I noticed Mikoto had the armband of coins she had worn in the previous round. Ami had four canteens on her belt this time, plus one under her gym jacket between her shoulder blades. Mei was still covered in all the gadgets she had used in the last two rounds. Kongou-san still had her fan. Mo-chan only had Clarent and her kukri floating next to her. But I wasn't sure if that meant she could only use the two blades, or if she was trying to fake us out. The rest of us only had our gym clothes.

"That's it," Mic-sensei finished, "And now, here are the first round pairings, as decided by random draw."

We all looked up at the giant screen. Eight matches appeared, with our names and pictures. There were four pairs on each side of the screen, with the standard tournament bracketing in the middle.

Midoriya Izuku VS Mizuno Ami
Tokoyami Fumikage VS Hitoshi Shinso
Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu VS Misaka Mikoto
Shimooka Hikari VS Kendo Itsuka
Penryu Modura VS Shoji Mezo
Cain Cassandra VS Hatsume Mei
Iida Tenya VS Todoroki Shouto
Kongou Mitsuko VS Kirishima Eijirou

I felt really bad for Tetsutetsu-san. But other than that, the matches would probably be interesting. I locked my eyes on Ami, who smiled at me weakly.

"Alright!" Present Mic yowled, "Contestants three through sixteen, to your booths. And one and two, get on stage so we can get this show on the road!"

'I can't beat you,' Ami told me over Guild Chat, as we walked into position.

'I don't believe that,' I told her.

'Don't misunderstand,' she shook her head slightly, 'If I had my costume... Or even just a bigger supply of water. But these four quart jugs are not enough.'

'Five,' I countered.

'And you didn't even miss that trick,' she sighed, 'If I had five gallons instead of five quarts, I would stand a chance. Especially with you limited in terms of what abilities you can display. But you already said you can hold back more than this.'

'Why are you using quarts and gallons?' Ochako asked.

'Because these canteens are US military issue and are 1 quart,' Ami explained, 'Also, my mom prefers US skim milk in gallon jugs, so gallons is more natural to me than liters. A quart is about point nine three liters anyway, and a gallon is 4 quarts, so it is close enough for conversion.'

'The obvious way to stop me is to go for a head-shot with enough force to knock me out,' I suggested, returning to the original topic. Then I felt like an idiot, but continued anyway, 'With your intelligence and knowledge of first aid and anatomy and such, you should be able to do that.'

'Maybe,' Ami conceded thoughtfully, 'Except with the water at this temperature and your defenses, it will be hard to strike the right balance between a mild concussion with no permanent damage, and a potentially lethal blow. The same with trying to choke you out.'

'You could grab him with the water when he stops it,' Momo offered, 'And then try to push him out.'

'That would be a contest of my hydrokinesis versus Izuku's telekinesis and muscle,' Ami explained, 'And I'm not sure I could win that with this amount of water at room temperature.'

'Also, it is fair for us to help Ami?' Tsu prompted.

'Why not?' I answered wryly, 'I already tried...'

We finally reached our starting positions on the platform.

"Match 1," Aizawa-sensei announced dryly, "Class 1-A Midoriya Izuku vs Class 1-A Mizuno Ami."

"Come on, Shouta," Present Mic complained, "You can do better than that."

"I refuse to give them stupid nicknames or titles, or to give away their Quirks," our teacher countered, "to anyone who doesn't know. It's fair and logical, and given the kind of epitaphs you'd probably give them, they are probably thankful."

Ami's expression matched mine. If life was an anime, we'd definitely have the comedically oversized sweatdrop to go with.

"Alright," Cementoss-sensei took over, "Are you both ready?"

We nodded.

"Then begin."

Ami brought her hands up into a fighting stance. She was no martial artist, but had started to learn the basics in our dungeon runs. More importantly, as she moved, the lids popped on the four visible bottles. The water within split into eight spheres, hovering in front of her. She could use them for attack or defense. She waited for me to act, ready to block my attacks and counter. It was normal for her, Ami was kind and wanted to be a healer. She was not aggressive.

It was a mistake here. With my non-tactile TK and my Ki projectiles effectively sealed, she had the advantage of range. She should have hit me with the spheres. Alternated between one and two at a time, targeting my legs, torso, and head as randomly as she could. If she hit me like that in rapid succession, she could have put me on the defensive and pushed me back to the edge. I probably would have recovered, but she would have been in control.

Instead I darted forward. Even as I did, I pulled my gym jacket and the tank-top underneath off over my head in one move. Ami blinked in surprise, and then... well, I'm pretty sure it was appreciation if not outright lust. Using my Tactile TK, I pinched the neck hole and left arm hole shut, and the waist hole open. I stiffened the right sleeve. I swung the two items of clothing overhead like a net.

I mentioned that the phys ed uniform jackets had snaps to attach a hood in the rain. If it wasn't clear, that meant they were highly water resistant. Rain would not go through them. The reason for the tank-tops, aside from a bit of extra modesty for the freshmen, was to soak up the sweat that couldn't get out, either. This meant I was now effectively wielding a large water scoop; the jacket would be hard for Ami's ammo to get through and the tank still inside would absorb it. I brought it down, and with a few TK twists in the descent, caught six of her eight orbs fully, and split another in half. But the jackets were not completely water proof, so that wouldn't hold for long. It didn't need to.

I spun like a hammer-thrower from the old Olympic Games. Then I added some TK force to it as I let go.

"Hogwarts Smash!" I shouted.

The ball of clothing and water sailed over the crowd. Above the outer wall. It vanished outside of the arena. Out of sight and also out of Ami's range. She had lost sixty-five percent of her ammo in one fell swoop. And I wasn't done. Though neither was she.

I continued my rotation, turning back towards her. I prepared to shift the momentum into my palms. That plus a bit of TK, both for power and the spread the impact, should launch her off of the stage. If I was right, she would arc just enough that she would land on the grass at the start of her drop, and thus very softly.

Part of me wanted to princess carry her to the edge and place her gently outside. But that wasn't fair and was even a bit condescending. Even if we both would have liked it.

Ami wasn't done, yet. She launched the smaller sphere at my eyes and the larger one at my solar plexus. She was trying to get me to blink, and to knock the wind out of me. Unfortunately for her, with only that much water, my TK Armor held. I was pushed back maybe half a centimeter. And covered in a light sheen of water. But my attack continued. My left palm hit her right shoulder and my right palm hit her stomach. The slight increase in distance reduced the impact, but she was still sent flying. The nearly flat inverted parabola would still drop her outside the ring, but her feet would probably hit the edge and send her tumbling.

Until the arc dropped unnaturally. A force on her back pushed her down. She landed on her knees and one hand. Ami skidded to a halt, and then forced herself unsteadily to her feet. Her knuckles had been scraped by the floor, but she wasn't bleeding freely. I hoped her legs were okay.

Then she unzipped her jacket and it was my turn to be distracted. For two reasons. First, because it made it clear what happened. Her tank-top was soaked. She had opened the hidden canteen. Pulled the water around her body into her vest, and used that to stop herself.

And I was distracted by how the semitransparent white cotton clung to her body. Ami was one of the most slender girls in 1-A, but the curves she had were toned, tight, smooth, and very lovely. And I shouldn't be paying attention to that. Not now and not yet. Yet...

'No, don't get distracted that you thought that,' I told myself.

I charged. Ami sucked the water out of her tank and drew the remaining splash off me. Just before I reached her, she formed the liquid into three slightly larger orbs.

I reached her. I punched one of her satellites, scattering it. She let me, because she focused on using a second one to block my attempt to sweep her legs. Then she smacked the other orb across my face twice. I shook the water on my leg off, and rose up, shoulder first, into her stomach.

"Sorry," I told her, as I wrapped my arms around her. Lifted her up. And then took a single step and dropped her onto the grass.

She did not look upset. She actually smiled. Then she blushed and studied my abs again. I remembered the Midnight-sensei taught a class to second years about how to avoid being distracted by wardrobe malfunctions, both personally and in those around you. It could cost you a fight, after all.

"We might need to work on that sooner," I muttered. She looked away. And I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard her whisper, "I look forward to it."

"Winner, Midoriya Izuku," Cementoss declared. Then he instructed, "Both of you go get checked out by Recovery Girl. Once she releases you, Midoriya-kun return to your pod to wait for next round. And Mizuni-chan can either observe from her pod, or go to the stands."

Recovery Girl dismissed us almost immediately, though I was scolded briefly about throwing away my jacket. We hurried back out onto the arean floor, and entered our pods before the second match started. Now that I was in the pod, I saw that it contained a mini-fridge with a small selection of drinks and snacks.

"So, the second match with be Tokoyami Fumikage of 1-A and Hitoshi Shinso of 1-C," Aizawa-sensei announced flatly. Ishiyama-sensei then told them to start.

"Well, let's have a good match," Hitoshi-san said, his expression and tone open. Tokoyami-kun just looked at him flatly, and said nothing.

"Oh, are you too good to talk to me?" the purple-haired boy switched gears quickly, "Hero course can't be bothered with General Studies?"

Again Tokoyami ignored him. Instead, my classmate studied his own fist as he opened and closed it, like someone testing out their recovery or a new ability.

"From the infinite depths, I call upon the," Tokoyami's chunni chant was directed at himelf and the crowd, and deliberately not at his opponent, "Arise, Dark Shadow!"

The phantom separated from its creator, and hovered menacingly over them. It was a fairly sunny day, so Dark Shadow was smaller and less opaque than on a cloudy day or in a dark room. But it was still impressive, especially if you were not familiar with it.

"How cute," Hitoshi-san laughed it off, "A little birdy. Polly want a cracker?"

"I'll give you a cracker," Dark Shadow snapped angrily, "Right down..."

Then its eyes shuddered. And turned into hearts. It shrank slightly, and rather than hovering menacingly, it just floated lazily above the two boys.

"Gotcha," Hitoshi-san smirked for a second. Then in a kind, almost subservient voice asked, "Dark Shadow, can you please do me a favor and take Tokoyami over to have a seat on the grass?"

Tokoyami's eyes widened, even as his familiar said happily, "Sure thing, boss."

"Dark Shadow, stop. Return. Wake up!"

It didn't work. Dark Shadow gently lifted his owner by the armpits, flew over to the largest area of turf, and set him down.

"That was unexpected," Present Mic was unusually flat and quiet, "But I guess this means Hitoshi-kun moves on to round two."

This time, Cementoss didn't even bother to tell them to go see Recovery Girl. Hitoshi-san returned to his pod and began casually drinking a bottled water. And Tokoyami-kun returned to the lockers, before heading into the stands.

Tetsutetsu-san vs Mikoto went about how I expected. He chose not to transform. So she just blasted him with two low speed railguns, knocking him out.

Hikari... or I guess I need to go back to thinking of her as Shimooka-chan now that the match was over... defeated Kendo-san. It might seem natural that someone with lasers and blinding light would beat a martial artist. But Kendo-san's hands were tougher than I thought. In the end, Shimooka was able to create an illusion that the stage was bigger than it really was, and Kendo-san stepped off accidentally.

Mo-chan took down Shoji-san in the longest fight of the first round. Her floating swords versus his ever changing and expanding limbs. They traded blow, and he normally ended up with a minor cut that he would then change that arm to remove. But that didn't change the fact that each slice took a drop or two of blood before it was closed. And over time it was enough blood loss to make him a bit woozy. That allowed Mo-chan to land the knockout hit.

Cassandra versus Mei was the longest match of the first round. I specify that, because it wasn't a fight. Mei kept showing off her gadgets, and takling about them. It was more like a fifteen minute product pitch, with Cassandra as the unwitting and unwilling test subject. In the end, Mei ultimately surrendered, once she was done. Leaving a very annoyed and confused Cassandra to advance.

I wouldn't have thought Cassandra could curse like that, but Guild Chat left our mental ears ringing.

The penultimate match of the first round was also the shortest. Todoroki-kun almost instantly covered about a third of the stage in ice. Iida-kun was trapped from the neck down before he could move. Todoroki-kun then asked him to surrender. The language he used was polite, but his tone and expression brooked no argument. Iida-kun wisely submitted.

Lastly we had Kongou-san against Kirishima-kun. She brought the winds, swiping with her fan incessantly and gathering up every scrap of natural breeze as well. But it wasn't enough to break through Kirishima's Harden. After a few minutes, and the second lost jersey of the day, he managed to corner her and force her out.

"Since it's a bit early to break for lunch," Present Mic said, "We'll just take five here. Then we'll be back with the first match of round two; Midoriya 'TK Tank' Izuku versus Hitoshi 'What is his deal?' Shinso."

The purple haired boy and I both cringed, and Aizawa-sensei sighed very deliberately into his microphone.


Status Changes for Midoriya Izuku:

Skills:
Physical Resistance (E/D): 74 → 75
Throwing (S/A): 13 → 14
Telekinetic Attack (I/A) LB: 27 → 28
Telekinetic Armor (I/E): 34 → 35
Telekinetic Aura (I) LB: 40 → 41
Meditation (W/I): 16 → 17
Tai Chi Quan (A/S): 20 → 21
Sense Hostility (I/C) - Hostile Aura: 34 → 36
High Speed Vision (W/Q) 14 → 15
Heroics General Knowledge (I/W): 63 → 64


Author's Note: Since the non-Izuku battles got so much flack in the Hero vs Villains arc, I'm glossing over most of them here. Also, the matches are randomized again, except that I made sure Izuku was in the top eight and Shouto was in the bottom eight...


Omake: Gaia hates Endeavour

"I see Shouto isn't the only childish one here," Todoroki Enji dismissed me. Turned and resumed his walk to his luxury box.

[Quest Alert
Destroy Endeavour
The public thinks he's an arrogant, selfish jerk. Prove them wrong. Find evidence of how much more of a vile person he really is, beyond what any tabloid has claimed.
Rewards:
Guild Hall
Failure Penalties:
Even greater public blowback when the truth comes out.
Time Limit:
30 days
(Accept) (Decline)]

I looked at it for a moment, and then hit (Decline). I started to leave, except...

[Quest Alert
Break Endeavour
The public thinks he's an arrogant, selfish jerk. Prove them wrong. Find evidence of how much more of a vile scumbag he really is, beyond what any hater or tabloid has claimed.
Rewards:
Guild Hall
2 Bonus Guild Perks
Failure Penalties:
Even greater public blowback when the truth comes out.
Time Limit:
30 days
(Accept) (Decline)]

I barely even glanced at it, before I refused again. But The Gamer didn't give up that easily.

[Quest Alert
Expose Endeavour
The public thinks he's an arrogant, selfish jerk. Prove them wrong. Find evidence of how much more of a vile scumbag he really is, beyond any hater or tabloid has claimed.
Rewards:
Guild Hall
2 Bonus Guild Perks
2 Bonus Talents
10 Bonus Skill points
Failure Penalties:
Even greater public blowback when the truth comes out.
Time Limit:
30 days
(Accept) (Decline)]

The insistence gave me pause. Why wasn't it just mandatory, if it was so important? I stared at the screen.

'What is your problem with Todoroki-san?' I demanded of my power. But I didn't get any kind of answer, not even a change in the quest log.

'I can't take down Endeavour,' I told The Gamer silently, 'I'm just a first year high schooler, and he's the number two Hero. I don't know that I can prove anything in thirty days, and I almost certainly can't do it without something more to go on. And I doubt I can do it without exposing my own abilities, which you keep telling me I must not do. And if I mess it up, he can and probably will ruin me. Ruin Mom. Besides, I already have the All Might quest, which is more important and I really need to start focusing more on it. And speaking of that, All Might may be the number one Hero, but Endeavour solves more crimes. So I also need to consider what will happen if I make the public lose faith in him. So tell me why, give me something to go on. Or I'll just keep refusing.'

'Oh,' I added a second later, 'And I also don't feel comfortable that it seems like you are trying to bribe me to do this.'

[It takes balls to say no to a Goddess three times. Determination +1]

That message replaced the quest screen. I wasn't sure if The Gamer was really the product of a goddess, but I wasn't going to argue. I glanced around for the stairs.

[Quest Alert
Pants Endeavour
Strip him of his trousers in public. The more public the better.
Rewards:
Guild Hall
Bonus Objectives:
100+ witnesses: Guild Hall Perk: Locker Room
Get his boxers, too: Guild Hall Park: Guild Leader's Office
Failure Penalties:
None (unless he catches you trying)
Time Limit:
30 days
(Accept) (Decline)]

I just sighed and ignored it. But in spite of myself, back in the depths of my mind, a plan started to form...