XI: Sports Festival Watch

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"Every year you try, and every year you fail. When are you going to learn, Ryu?" Rumi let out a little chuckle as she sat next to one of her only actual friends. She flipped her silver hair behind her with a quick movement from her hand, "Still, not exactly like I'm complaining about the day off. It's been boring as shit."

"Who knows?" Ryūko (The Dragon Heroine) smiled slightly at her sometimes-partner and occasional lover, "One of the kids may surprise you."

"That's what you said last year. And the year before that." Rumi rolled her eyes, "They have fat heads and the ones that don't couldn't handle it. Remember that one kid at the gym in third year? First and only time I gave the whole teaching thing a try. He didn't last even to the end of the first day. What a pussy. Sides, you know I hate partnering up."

"You do, huh?" Ryūko trailed a fingertip along her thigh, not even glancing at her as the First Years started entering the field.

Rumi smirked, "You best remove that finger if you want to do any actual watching." She put her feet up and threw her arms behind her back, getting comfy on Ryūko's couch.

Ryūko smirked lightly as she got comfortable as well, turning up the volume. Present Mic's voice blared through the speakers, "IT'S THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL! THE ONCE-A-YEAR EVENT WHERE OUR FLEDGLING HEROES PARTICIPATE IN THEIR GRAND BATTLE! AND UP FIRST NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION! THEY SURVIVED A FULL VILLAIN ATTACK IN JUST THEIR SECOND WEEK WITH THEIR WILLS OF STEEL! GIVE IT UP FOR 1-A!"

"Oh, that's right?" Rumi said lackadaisically, "Wonder if that dropped their balls a bit?"

"Oh, Hizashi." Ryūko shook her head in bemusement as, after that giant hype up for class A, he just introduced the other classes in sequence, and with more than a bit of boredom.

"I know he's the perfect commentator and everything," Rumi cackled beside her, "But damn if he doesn't get super biased. Oh hey!" Rumi grinned wider, "It's Nemuri! Wonder if she'll send any of them to the infirmary."

"I doubt it." Ryūko rolled her eyes, "She just loves to play it up." She eyed the screen as one of the students got called up, looking bored with the entire thing. His entire posture screamed nonchalance, "Katsuki Bakugō huh? Wasn't he in the news a while back?"

"Yeah, got caught by some sludge villain? All Might had to bail him out? Nasty."

"The athlete's oath..." the blonde began, "Make no mistake about it! I'm taking first place!"

The two pro heroines took it in for a moment, before groaning. "Well, that's one immediately eliminated," Ryūko groused, drawing a smirk from Rumi.

"What did I tell you? Kid thinks he has a big dick." She sneered playfully, "Oh I hope he gets his ass kicked. That would just be great."

"He could win the whole thing and I wouldn't take him." Ryūko replied, "Kid thinks the sun shines out of his behind. He's someone else's problem."

Rumi burst out laughing, "Bwahahaha! Oh, I HOPE Best Jeanist takes him. That would be a fucking riot!" Ryūko started to giggle beside her. "Well, time to get this shitshow started."

The leader immediately became apparent, with a boy with candy-cane hair coming out in front and leaving behind a trail of ice, "Oh? Not a bad Quirk." Ryūko commented, "Todoroki huh? Guess he's Endeavor's son."

"Froze the others with no hesitation. Not bad." Rumi replied, not really caring much. "Looks like the other brats didn't fall for it though. Not his classmates at any rate." The rest of 1-A easily evaded the trap Todoroki had left, with the midget leaping to try to throw some weird purple orbs from his head at the ice boy. Rumi again started to cackle as his 'ultimate attack' was cut short by one of UA's bots smacking right into him.

"EVERY OBSTACLE RACE NEEDS OBSTACLES!" Mic yelled gleefully.

"No shit Sherlock..." Three guesses who that was.

"AND HERE'S THE FIRST! IT'S THE ROBO INFERNO!" The blonde finished.

"Thousand Yen says ice boy freezes all of them." Rumi lightly elbowed her friend.

"Why would I bet on a sure thing?" Ryūko rolled her eyes, as Todoroki froze every one of them as expected. "Honestly, I'm not interested in him. He'll probably go to Endeavor anyway. I'm more interested in the other kids."

"Ouch. Damn those kids got flattened." Rumi let out a wince, before deadpanning as the two burst from the robot's corpse using very similar Quirks. The redhead seemed to have an existential crisis at that, running away from the one with the steel Quirk while looking like he was going to cry. "WAHAHAHAA! What did he say? What did he say?!" She shook Ryūko, who knew how to lip read.

Ryūko was also hiding a smirk, "I'm generic enough as it is!" The two started to laugh heartily.

"Oh man, at least I'll get my amusement for the week out of this." Rumi's ears quirked, "Huh, blonde brat has a literally explosive Quirk. That wasn't a bad move..."

"And it all falls into place." Ryūko shook her head, "Ten thousand Yen says whatever middle and elementary schools he attended pumped up his 'amazing Quirk.'"

"Sucked his dick more like." Rumi shook her head, "I really hope he gets that ass beat now. He probably needs it."

Aizawa spoke for the first time beside Mic as more kids followed Bakugō with their Quirks. Both Ryūko and Rumi winced when a small picture of him appeared at the bottom of the screen, showing his practically mummified body. No wonder he sounded muffled. "Class A knows there's no time to hesitate. They've had the outside world exposed to them and had that fear planted in them. And they've endured it. Overcome it. Each has grown from that experience… and forgotten how to hesitate."

The camera focused on a green-haired boy with freckles on each cheek in a diamond formation. He picked up one of the destroyed plates with surprising ease and used it to cut straight through one of the smaller enemies.

Rumi whistled, "Huh, that one must be pretty tough. An armor plate like that must weigh about a hundred pounds."

Ryūko smiled slightly, "He hasn't used his Quirk yet, has he? Wonder why."

The focus changed as more of the robots were destroyed, with a tall young girl pulling a whole cannon out of her stomach and one-shotting one of the behemoths. Ryūko blinked in shock, "Did...did she just?"

"Pull a whole ass cannon out of her tummy? Yeah, I think she did." Rumi grinned, "One for you to keep an eye on, I suppose."

"Oh, is that interest I hear, Rumi dearest?" Ryūko shot back at her, smirking.

Rumi grumbled, "Why the fuck would I be interested? What could I even teach her?"

"SO THE FIRST BARRIER WAS A PIECE OF CAKE? HOW ABOUT THE SECOND? FALL AND YOU'RE OUT! AND FALLING INTO A BOTTOMLESS PIT OF DESPAIR!" Rumi snickered at the commentary, "IT'S THE FALL!"

"Way to be creative." Rumi snarked, "Why not 'The Dark Chasm' or 'The Big Drop?' Or 'The Eternal Void?'" They watched as the kids started getting through the trap. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she watched a froggy-looking girl leap halfway down a rope in one bound, her momentum making her flip underneath it. She acrobatically let her momentum pull the rope taut, and when she was the right way up she jumped again, landing on the next platform. She chanced a side-eyed glance at Ryūko and bit back a groan when she saw her friend smiling somewhat knowingly. "Tch. The hell you smiling about?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ryūko's smile widened. They ignored the support girl, even if she had some cool gadgets. Support students who did well in these things generally weren't actually interested in getting into Heroics, so there wasn't much point. They could always watch her replays if they needed to. Ryūko's eyes lit up as they saw a brunette girl simply float across the chasm.

"Oh? Found someone to keep an eye on?"

"Oh yes." Ryūko replied with almost a purr. "That certainly seems like an interesting Quirk. She could have potential. Just as I'm sure you aren't interested at all in the Frog girl."

"Shut." Rumi scowled. Her friend knew her too damn well.

"-THE PROS WILL BE SCRAMBLING TO GET HIM AS THEIR SIDEKICK! THE LEADERS KEEP BREAKING AWAY WHILE THE REST OF THE PACK HAS BUNCHED UP! OUR RACERS HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY WILL MAKE IT TO THE NEXT ROUND, SO ALL THEY CAN DO IS AIM FOR THE STARS! AND OUR LEADER HAS FINALLY HIT THE LAST OBSTACLE! A MINEFIELD! IT'S A DEADLY AFGHAN CARPET! A QUICK GLANCE IS ENOUGH TO REVEAL THE LOCATIONS OF THE MINES, SO WATCH YOUR STEP!" Present Mic's voice blared through the speakers again, "I SHOULD MENTION: OUR MINES DON'T PACK A DEADLY PUNCH. A LOT OF FLASH AND BLUSTER, BUT NO INJURIES! STILL, THEY MAY MAKE YOU NEED AN UNDERWEAR CHANGE!"

"This one puts the leaders at a disadvantage. The more mines they trigger the easier it'll be for the stragglers to catch up." Rumi commented.

"Unless they can fly above them." Ryūko smirked, wanting to see one of her girls up on the screen.

"Booooo!" Rumi yelled at the screen, giving it a thumbs down as Bakugō took the lead from Todoroki. "Damn it, kick his ass!"

"They can't hear you." Ryūko said dryly, though she understood the sentiment. "Besides, the rest are catching up. Maybe it won't be either of these two who wins."

Rumi shook her head, "Yeah right. They're too far ahead."

Ryūko blinked, "What is he doing?" She asked faintly. Rumi focused again, tilting her head to the side as the kid who used the armor plate earlier was focused on. He seemed to be digging up mines and… grouping them together?

Rumi slowly grinned, "He's not going to…?" The two pro heroines watched, one in disbelief and one with sheer hilarity-fueled rapture as the green-haired kid ripped his shield off his back and dove onto the gigantic pile of mines he'd created. "FUCK YEAH KID! BEAT THEIR ASSES!" Rumi cheered, laughing like a maniac as the gigantic explosion flung the green-haired boy past all of the other competitors and placed him right next to Bakugō and Todoroki. The blonde's face was one of pure disbelief as the verdette flew over his head.

"Do my ears deceive me? Are you cheering?" Ryūko elbowed her playfully.

"Fuck it!" Rumi didn't even care, "Balls like that at least earn him some attention. Now what's your landing strategy kid?"

"You're saying that like he has one." Ryūko grinned, showcasing her sharp teeth with the motion.

The verdette started slowing down, and even coming off of his 'sled.' The other two stopped their pushing and shoving and were instead just focusing on racing as fast as possible for the finish line. Rumi's foot started thumping, "Come on, you brat. Don't get a lady excited and leave her hanging!" The boy flipped and grabbed the plate by a cord that was attached, slamming it hard on the ground and activating a bunch of mines at once, right between Todoroki and Bakugō. The two boys were flung to the side as Green's momentum carried him over the explosion and flung him forward, "FUCK YEAH! I LOVE THIS KID!"

"Oh? Are you going to be taking your first ever intern, hmm?" Ryūko leapt on her words like a tiger leapt at dinner.

"Let's not get carried away." Rumi scoffed, "Besides, balls by themselves won't help him if I train him. He'd be crying for mommy by the end of the first day. I'm not wasting my time."

But despite her words, Ryūko just smiled, 'You know, I might take you myself. Not like Rumi isn't around all the time anyway. Let's see what you can do… and can we get a name for the new leader?' She abruptly realized something, "Hey, has he used his Quirk yet?" Rumi blinked as she tried to think, realizing that no, he hadn't.

Meanwhile, Present Mic was screaming, "AND MIDORIYA BLOWS AWAY THE COMPETITION! YOUR CLASS SURE IS SOMETHING, ERASERHEAD! WHAT IN THE WORLD HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING THEM?!"

"Don't try to foist this on me. They're all pushing each other." Aizawa replied, and somehow they could hear the eye roll.

"IN ANY CASE, WHO WOULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS?! THE FIRST ONE BACK IS MIDORIYA IZUKU!"

'Midoriya Izuku huh?' Rumi kept her thoughts to herself, 'Keep me entertained, will you?'

"Can I kick the grape?" Rumi's eye twitched as she witnessed the TV. Yaoyorozu had just come into view, panting with her gym shirt open revealing her black sports bra. Attached to her back was Minoru Mineta according to Mic.

Ryūko snorted, "How has Shōta not expelled him? Sure, his Quirk seems useful but look at the berth literally all of the girls are giving him. Even the one from the Support Course seems to be avoiding him."

Rumi shook her head, "Anyway, who caught your eye?"

"Midoriya, obviously." Ryūko relaxed into the sofa, "Uraraka, Asui, and Yaoyorozu from 1A. Kendo, Komori, Tokage, and Shiozaki from 1B. None of the other boys really stood out. They don't seem to be students that I would work well with. Bakugō is a hair short of a trigger, and Todoroki has this look on his face. 1B seems to be sandbagging so they didn't stand out at all. Frankly, if it wasn't for Midoriya getting some focus I don't think I would have noticed any of the guys."

"Tch, Legs wasn't bad." Rumi conceded. She could see high kicking ability in the Iida son, "The muscle head seemed interesting, up until he seemed to hulk out with whatever that was he ate. Didn't look like he had two brain cells to rub together."

"What about the one with the tail?" The blonde asked, eyeing him as he stood there with a sheepish look on his face.

"Who?" Rumi blinked in confusion.

"The martial artist?" Ryūko turned to her in a bit of surprise, "Thought you'd at least give him a glance."

Rumi still didn't see him, so Ryūko pointed, "...Never seen him before." She concluded with an uncaring shrug.

"He popped on screen at least three times." Ryūko started to laugh, feeling bad for the poor kid.

"Yeesh, talk about forgettable. I noticed the invisible girl more than him." Rumi shook her head, "So, what's round two going to be this year?"

"Looks like Nemuri is about to announce it." Ryūko replied, watching as the Dominatrix Hero spun the wheel of fortune.

Rumi let out a groan, sagging into the sofa, "Fucking Cavalry Battle? Really?"

"You're just mad because during our Cavalry Battle you-"

"SHUT!" Rumi clapped a hand to her best friend's mouth, her head all but lighting on fire. Ryūko made some smug noises, before licking Rumi's palm, "Why you little-!"

"ALL EXCEPT FIRST PLACE! MIDORIYA IZUKU IS WORTH TEN MILLION POINTS!"

They collectively turned back to the TV; Rumi held in midair via Ryūko's foot as they blinked at the words. "That's new..." They both smirked, "How are you going to handle it, kid?"

Predictably, Izuku looked as if his soul had vacated his body, as everyone else turned to look at him all but licking their chops. Rumi started to snicker. And she felt slightly bad as everyone just pretended they didn't hear him when he tried to ask them to partner up, but not by much. This kind of pressure was what he would have to deal with if he planned to make it bi-, "HOLY HELL IS HIS QUIRK SUPER CRYING?!" She started to howl with laughter, falling off the couch as a veritable waterfall of tears came out of his eyes when Uraraka asked if she could be on his team.

"Oh!" Ryūko let out a little noise, "I forgot about that one. The one with the Bird Head. He's someone to keep an eye on as well." She said after Rumi calmed down and Izuku got Tokoyami to join his team as well. The support girl with pink dreadlocks rounded out the team.

"Alright kid! Let's see what you got!" Rumi grinned at the screen as Nemuri called the start to the Cavalry Battle.

A snot bubble popped and Rumi jerked awake, "Huh? Wuzzat?!" She shook her head and got off Ryūko, "Did it start yet?"

Ryūko snorted, "Start? It finished an hour ago. Took you all of 30 seconds to fall asleep once the Cavalry Battle started. The break before the third round is almost over."

Rumi's skin darkened a little, "Well it's not my fault it's such a boring event..."

Ryūko rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes. I don't know why I didn't just go and grab a blanket once it was announced."

"Shut." Rumi commanded again, "So who made it in?"

"Your boy did, if by the skin of his teeth." Ryūko casually ignored the exclamation that she had no boy, "Todoroki's team, Bakugō's team, and the team of some kid named Shinsō made it in from General Studies. Todoroki managed to steal Midoriya's headband, but Midoriya and Tokoyami managed to nab two of the headbands back. And I couldn't quite tell, but I think Midoriya finally used his quirk. Seems to be a wind one." She scowled lightly, drawing Rumi's attention, "And Todoroki has fire too. Midoriya got him to use it during their counter attack, but unless I'm very mistaken, Todoroki was staring at his arm like it had betrayed him afterwards."

"Seriously? Fire AND Ice?" Rumi's eyes widened, "Shit, you don't think that cunt Enji did what I'm thinking, do you?"

Ryūko scowled, "I damn well hope not."

"TIME FOR THE FIRST MATCH!" Mic interrupted their conversation as the Sports Festival tuned back in, "FROM THE RED CORNER, WE HAVE THE GREEN BEAN OF 1-A; MIDORIYA IZUKU!" The crowd erupted with cheers, but Izuku looked vaguely nauseated being up there. He looks like a scared little gazelle, barely a few days old and being eyed up by hungry leopards.

"Jeez, he needs some serious attitude training if he wants to make it as a hero." Rumi scoffed, losing a little bit of interest in the boy, "Seriously, when did this nervous wreck take over from the guy who rode explosions to first place?"

Ryūko shrugged, "If you recall, I was nervous too. Almost threw up on you. For some people, the lights are a little too bright." She focused on the TV, "Let's see if he can overcome it."

"VERSUS…! THE GUY WHO HAS… NOT REALLY DONE ANYTHING TO STAND OUT YET! IT'S SHINSŌ FROM THE GENERAL COURSE! LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A DARK HORSE THIS YEAR!"

"Hizashi..." Ryūko slapped her face, "Seriously, can someone just write out a list for him?"

"THE RULES ARE SIMPLE! KNOCK EM OUT, KNOCK EM OUT OF THE RING, OR KNOCK EM AROUND UNTIL THEY SAY UNCLE! THOSE ARE THE THREE WAYS TO WIN A ROUND! OF COURSE, IF MIDNIGHT OR CEMENTOSS SAYS A ROUND IS OVER, IT'S OVER! OF COURSE, GOING FOR THE KILL IS A NO NO!"

"Come on! Just get it started already! Show us some spirit!" Rumi yelled at the TV, drawing a sigh from her friend. She got her wish. Shinsō seemed to say something, and Midoriya dashed at him with an angry look on his face, yelling something back. And then he just froze. His momentum slowed and he started just standing there, staring blankly in front of him. "Huh? What's going on?"

"MIDORIYA SEEMS TO BE FROZEN IN PLACE?" Mic said what was on her mind. "HE LOOKS CONFOUNDED! HE'S NOT EVEN TWITCHING? COULD THIS BE SHINSO'S QUIRK? WE BARELY KNEW THIS GUY EXISTED, BUT HE SURE SEEMS TO BE ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON NOW!"

Aizawa stole the mic from Mic, "I've said it once and I'll say it until it sinks in. The Entrance Exam isn't logical. Shinsō failed the practical exam despite his Quirk. His quirk did not fit the format of the exam in the slightest. It's far too geared to destructive powers and lets excellent abilities fall through the cracks."

Rumi groaned in disappointment, and even Ryūko let out an unhappy noise, "Ability that won't affect the bots and caused him to fail. Must be mental, and whatever trigger it has, he nailed Midoriya."

"It's over." She scowled, "I hate how Shōta is talking it up though. Kid has a mental Quirk and yet looks as if he's never seen the inside of a weight room. He's riding his Quirk's coattails instead of bettering himself after failing the entrance exam. Sucks that he's going to win, but I don't think he'll go any farther now that the rest know about it." Rumi shook her head as Izuku turned and started to pace to the edge of the ring, "Damn, and I had even gotten a little excited for the kid too."

Ryūko said nothing, but inwardly she was scowling, 'So close! I was so close to finally getting her to take an intern! Damn it!'

Izuku reached the very edge and then, right before he could take the final step, their sharp eyes caught something that made them blink. Two of his fingers started to glow. A cloud of dust erupted in front of Izuku, forcing him back from the edge and causing what looked like an explosion in front of him. Izuku was thrown back into the ring, and he sprang to his feet, Shinsō's Quirk broken.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT DID HE DO?!" Again, Rumi grinned wide, before it dropped from her face in shock, "Ryūko..."

"His fingers!" Ryūko clapped a hand to her mouth. Izuku's middle and index fingers on his left hand were mangled. The skin was a raw red, and they were dangling and clearly broken.

"What the fuck?" Rumi breathed, "I thought you said he had a Wind Quirk?"

Ryūko lowered her hand as they watched Izuku fight through the pain and ring out his opponent. They didn't really pay attention as Hitoshi was consoled by the crowd and even Izuku himself. They were more concerned about the green bean. "I thought it was!"

Rumi grabbed her own chin as her foot started to tap, "No, it can't be. I think what you saw must have been a shockwave from a blow. Holy shit. How strong is his Quirk? That's the kind of shit All Might does! It must be too much for him! That's why he hasn't used it much yet!"

"He must have tripped his max limit." Ryūko concluded, "If you're right of course. Oh, my lord. His poor hand."

Rumi half-sneered, "I… I'm not sure what to feel. How in the world does he have such poor control after eleven years with a Quirk?"

Ryūko shook her head, "I'm not sure. But if his quirk even approximates a percentage of All Might's power…"

"Shit the size difference alone." Rumi shook her head as well, "Bad. I think I feel bad for the kid. How would he ever even be able to practice it? Quirks like RG's aren't exactly a dime a dozen."

"No… they're not." Ryūko agreed, "And he's going to be going up against Todoroki next… I'm officially worried."

"You… don't know that..." Rumi trailed off lamely as Ryūko gave her a look, "Yeah, F for the green bean."

Rumi had once again gotten bored as the rest of the first-round matches had gone on. Sure, Todoroki had shocked the entire stadium with the size of the glacier he was capable of producing, but after that, there hadn't been much excitement for her. The Froggy girl hadn't made it into the tournament because of Shinsō, and she hadn't really paid attention to anyone else. Kaminari vs Shiozaki had been over in a flash, revealing the blonde to be an idiot. The girl had a powerful Quirk but seemed to be a bit of a stationary fighter. Not something Rumi could work with and not one Ryūko had much interest in either. Iida had apparently gotten tricked into being a live billboard for the support girl, which had the two of them cracking up. Ashido had put up a good show honestly. She was acrobatic and had a cool quirk, but flew under the radar because she was probably weaker than she should have been. Perhaps she wasn't taking things fully seriously yet.

It was when Yaoyorozu stepped onto the field that both of them became incredibly disappointed. "Incredible Quirk, but can't think on her feet." Rumi groaned as she watched the piss poor match.

Ryūko was rubbing between her eyes, "Said it in fewer words than I could have. She could have created a flashbang and would have won with laughable ease."

"She off your list?" Rumi asked curiously.

"No." Ryūko replied resolutely, "If anything that showed why I should take her. I won't allow potential like that to be squandered." She eyed the devastated look on the girl's face, "She needs a serious wakeup call. If she got in on Recommendation and looks like that, perhaps this is the first time she's even lost at anything. Though if she doesn't shape up, then I won't take her a second time." The next match damn near put both of them to sleep, "How can two guys beating the shit out of each other be so damn boring?"

"Cuz they both suck at hand to hand." Rumi facepalmed, "They both suck. They're just punching with barely any skill."

"And a tie. How am I even slightly surprised?"

"Well, time to see how your girl will do." Rumi shrugged as the next match started. Both of them stared silently at the TV, with Ryūko smirking a bit as the match went on. "Damn, the crowd sure is full of fucking morons today." Rumi shook her head, "How have they not noticed? What cereal box did they get their licenses out of?"

"Shameful. And there goes Aizawa." They listened as the mummified man all but demanded the pro who had spoken out retire. "And this is incredibly annoying, because it might give Bakugō a clue." Ryūko groused, and then groaned when Ochako herself stupidly clued Bakugō in by mistake.

That extra second or two gave Bakugō enough time to react to the meteor storm as Ochako rushed him, intending to use the rocks as a distraction to get in close and use her quirk on him instead. Even Rumi's eyes widened when she saw the absolutely titanic explosion Bakugō unleashed, "Shit, there goes your girl."

"Great heart, excellent plan, but needs a LOT of work." Ryūko again affirmed her desire to send Ochako an offer, "I know this Sports Festival IS technically a game, but if that's what she does on the field it could be disastrous for her."

After the tiebreaker crowned Kirishima, it was time for the next match. The one they were both sorta waiting for and dreading at the same time. "BOTH OF THESE COMPETITORS HAVE WON TOP MARKS IN THE FESTIVAL SO FAR!" Mic screamed to pump the spectators up, "BUT THERE'S ONLY ROOM FOR ONE OF THESE GREATS IN THE RING! IT'S MIDORIYA VS TODOROKI!"

They both sat a little bit more on edge, as the ground in front of Todoroki erupted in ice. Izuku raised his hand in front of him, gripping his wrist with his other hand, "He's not…!" Ryūko gasped, eyes widening in shock as his finger glowed once more.

And then right before the ice engulfed him as it had Sero in Todoroki's first match, it came to a dead stop. Then it shattered into millions of pieces, before rocketing in the opposite direction. Icy cold gale-force winds buffeted Todoroki, who had formed a shield of ice behind him. He let out a grunt as the blast forced him into it, preventing him from just flying off of the arena. The wind blast took almost ten seconds to calm down, and the entire time the audience were losing hats, masks, everything that wasn't tied down.

"Fuck…" Rumi cursed softly, "He really just…" Ryūko was speechless, staring at the boy with her jaw dropped. Izuku's hand was trembling and he visibly looked to be in pain. Obviously, when he'd just shattered his finger. Todoroki didn't give him a moment of respite, sending another wave of ice at him, which Izuku again blasted apart along with a second finger, "That was a finger!" Rumi started chewing her own knuckle, "A fucking finger! That's not just approximating All Might's strength! If he wasn't shattering his own bones it would look exactly LIKE him!"

Down on the field, Izuku was quietly fighting through the agony as he analyzed the situation. He had no data. Todoroki's fights were always over too quickly. And it was clear that just using his fingers had been the right move. Todoroki's ice shield hadn't broken despite the boy being bashed into it. Izuku didn't know how much stronger a full punch would be, but there was a chance it still wouldn't have worked against it. He couldn't keep on just blowing his fingers up. He wasn't learning anything like this.

Todoroki took a step forward and breathed out, making Izuku's eye widen as he realized Todoroki's breath was steaming out of him. Was his own body temperature getting lower? Of course! Quirks were physical powers, not magical abilities! It was why Kacchan had made that gauntlet! The more Todoroki used his ice without countering with his fire, the more frostbitten and exhausted he would become from the cold. It was no wonder Endeavor had done what he did. The giant man must suffer from the complete opposite problem with his Hellfire Quirk. He abruptly realized that none of Todoroki's attacks had been that insane wide-area attack he used on Sero either. He'd been shooting him with smaller lines of ice! Was Todoroki probing him just as much?

Another wave of ice came forward, and Izuku took his position. But this time the outcome was different. He didn't change One For All into his finger. Instead, he charged just five percent into his right leg. 'The egg won't break! It won't, it won't, IT WON'T!' The second the ice broke line of sight between them, Izuku leapt.

Miles away, Ryūko opened her mouth, "Two fingers. He can't win this if he keeps-" She clenched her teeth tight inside her mouth, "-keeps…. Just blowing his hand apart!" She swallowed, her throat dry, "Just what is going on in that boy's head? He's already proved himself capable in his match against Shinsō and previously in the tournament! Why is he just… breaking himself!?" She yelled, utterly distraught at seeing what the child was doing to himself.

"Look at his face…" Rumi said quietly, "That's not the face of desperation. He's hurt. He knows he is. But he's studying his opponent. Trying to find a weakness. Idiot must think RG will just be able to heal him indefinitely. He needs a wakeup call on that front. But with what he's working with now… I think it might be his only option other than just bowing out."

Ryūko clenched her fists as they continued watching, and their eyes widened when Izuku dove to the left seconds before a wave of ice hit him, rather than sacrificing another finger.

Todoroki didn't see it, wondering for a moment if maybe the pain had gotten too much for Izuku and he'd been taken out. He quickly revised his opinion when he didn't hear a ring out from Midnight, and he abandoned his plan of rushing Izuku by running atop his pillars of ice, wondering what the verdette's next move was. He even glanced up, knowing Izuku could easily have sacrificed his legs to get an aerial shot at him instead.

His eyes bulged when he heard his opponent's signature "SMASH!" coming from his right side, whipping around but knowing he was too late. Wind buffeted his body, the shockwave bouncing him off of his ice shield and whipping him across the arena. He hit the ground and rolled uncontrollably, knowing he was unable to make ice from his left side! He was going to be ringed out! He turned his rough tumble into a somersault, his right foot hitting the ground and summoning a giant pillar of ice.

He smashed right into it, and the only reason he didn't hurt himself more than the jammed ankle was that Izuku hadn't been fast enough to get a direct shot from his exact right side. He'd come in at an angle, and once Todoroki had started tumbling he'd already been mostly out of the shockwave. He groaned as he got to his feet, his right leg wobbling slightly and screaming in pain as he put his weight on it.

"There we FUCKING go!" Rumi cheered, despite Izuku being down yet another finger. "He knew Todoroki could only make ice from his right side. Only reason he didn't manage to ring him out was that he couldn't jump or run into position fast enough and had to settle before Todoroki saw him!"

"He got him good too…" Ryūko let out a breath, relieved to see there was a brain behind the brawn. "He saw a weakness and immediately exploited it. Todoroki looks hurt. Probably a hairline fracture somewhere."

"Fuck!" Rumi hissed, seeing Izuku start talking with Todoroki instead of just blasting him a fourth time. "Fucking rookie mistake. Save the talking for AFTER you've won, kid!"

"That's what school and internships are for." Ryūko smirked slightly. Rumi just glared slightly at her. But despite the glare, she couldn't lie to herself. Her one BIG complaint had been blown up not once but THREE times in just this one fight. This was a kid who would absolutely never quit.

"What are they saying, anyway?" She asked, rather than responding. Ryūko focused on the screen.

Todoroki growled furiously as he iced his own leg, forming a pseudo cast. "You!"

"What's wrong, Todoroki-kun?" Izuku asked him. He was on one knee himself, his hand stuck out in front of him showing his third blown finger sharply on the cameras, "You look cold." He eyed him carefully, seeing the layers of ice forming on his body. Todoroki was covered in the stuff and was trembling.

Shōto growled, stomping his leg and sending out another line of ice. But it was slow. Way slower than even the last one. Izuku didn't even have to flick or charge One For All into his legs to get out of the way. He just ran to the right and dodged them entirely. Shōto's trembling had increased in frequency, and he gasped out a breath that steamed in front of his face.

"Quirks are physical abilities." Izuku yelled out, "You're covered in ice, and your attacks are slower than they were! You have a physical limit, just like me!" A slow grin formed on his face, despite the pain he was in, "Of course, you could just use your fire and warm yourself up, couldn't you?"

Shōto snarled, "Did my bastard old man put you up to this?!"

"Forget him!" Izuku yelled back, "I'm not fighting him! I'm fighting you! And you haven't put a scratch on me!" He clenched his fist, spiking the pain momentarily but also releasing more adrenaline. It had been starting to wear off. Adrenaline was pretty short-lived, after all. "Everyone else is here, doing their all to win! To become heroes! You want to win by using half your power?! You're insulting every single person here who gave it their all!" He raised his fist, "If you want to take me out, you're going to have to give me all you've got!"

"I already told you why I wouldn't use his power!" Shōto yelled back at him.

Izuku gritted his teeth in anger, "It's YOUR power, you idiot! Not his!"

In another world, Shōto Todoroki would have had the mother of all revelations at these words, remembering his mother's words from so long ago. And in this one, the same thing happened. Only Shōto wasn't the only one to freeze in shock. Izuku did as well.

'It's YOUR power...' The words echoed in Izuku's own head. He remembered every time he'd used One For all. Used All Might's quirk. Only that wasn't true, was it? It wasn't All Might's quirk anymore. He'd given it to Izuku. It was his now. He remembered the frost covering Shōto's entire body. Not just his right side. 'Your power...' Was it really that simple? Had he seriously been that stupid?

As Shōto was about to have his epiphany and his fire was about to start coming out, Izuku's uninjured hand came up and slapped himself in the face with a picture-perfect facepalm. "I'M AN IDIOT!"

"?" Rumi and Ryūko looked at each other in confusion. "Huh?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what he just figured out. I'm way more concerned with what I lip read." Ryūko growled after a shake of her head, "That conversation they had did not paint a very pretty picture."

Rumi winced, "Yeah, that's a fucking landmine waiting for someone to step on it."

'Why did I never realize it?! All Might bulks up his entire body, not just a limb! How was I THAT stupid?!' Izuku castigated himself.

In the meantime, despite remembering his mother's words, Todoroki did not start using his flames. Not immediately. Izuku's own declaration had stopped him before he could start using it and breaking his vow for good. But he was hesitant now. It felt like something had irrevocably been broken. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, trying to focus back on the match.

And for the first time, Izuku grinned at him. Full on, confident grin, "Thank you, Todoroki-kun." He set his feet, crossing his arms in front of his body.

"For what?!" Shōto asked, setting himself as well. He wasn't sure yet if he'd break his vow. One spanning years didn't just vanish in seconds because of one memory. But it was in the back of his mind now. Distracting him.

"For being stubborn enough to give me a clue of my own!" And then Izuku's entire body started to glow, his veins lighting up red beneath his skin and starting to shimmer. And then the glow vanished, with green lightning starting to crackle around Izuku's body. 'One for all, full body! 5%!'

"Wha-" Shōto's eyes widened, and then Izuku moved.

Shōto barely had time to react before Izuku had crossed the distance between them, shooting a wall of ice (bigger but slower than all of the ones that had come before on this watch) towards the green-haired boy.

And then Izuku shocked the entire stadium when he simply leapt far higher and faster than they had been expecting, jumped off of the ice wall and landed left of Todoroki. 'Can't get a good punch in with this hand! I'm already injured! So take this!' The thought ran through his mind as he set his left leg as best he could and threw his right leg forward in something that could approximate a Side Kick. If one squinted. It landed square in Todoroki's ribs, making him hack from the impact as he went flying across the ring. He hit the ground and started to roll, coming inches from just flying off the ring and onto the grass. He stared at Izuku in disbelief, making no effort to get up.

...

"What in the world was that?!" Ryūko couldn't believe her eyes, "If he can use it without breaking himself then wh-?" She choked on her words, "He's like a child…" She said, a note of something in her voice, "A child just learning to use his Quirk… How?!"

Rumi was staring at the screen, "...That was a shit kick." She said flatly. Her thumping foot betrayed her interest.

Ryūko turned back, 'Come on, Midoriya! You can do it!' She just barely kept herself from squealing.

Rumi groaned, "Fucking finish it and THEN talk, you idiot!"

"What the hell, Midoriya?" Shōto groaned as he got to his feet, "You're yelling at me about not giving it my all and the-"

"I told you!" Izuku grinned. His body was on fire. Not in a painful way. He felt more like he was going to vibrate out of his own skin, "I was being an idiot!" He bent his knees, "But that doesn't mean you aren't! Come on!" He ran forward.

Shōto still could barely read his new, speedy movements. He knew he needed to get away from the edge. He formed an ice platform and shot himself into the sky towards the middle of the ring. Yet to his shock, Izuku just jumped left, and then leapt straight at him, again aiming for his left side. Shōto couldn't get his arm around quick enough and had to block another kick to his ribs. This one was even more amateurish than the first and had no power, but it still forced him off his ice platform and back onto the ground. He tried to touch Izuku with his hand but Izuku tucked himself into a ball and avoided his swipe. They both landed jarringly, but Shōto had it worse due to the earlier injury. He cried out in pain as his leg buckled.

Izuku was panting, and the lightning disappeared. He fell to one knee, propping himself with his good hand, "Damn, that's exhausting."

"Who's messing around now?!" Todoroki growled through clenched teeth, "That's twice you could have won already!" He forced himself up.

"I could have." Izuku agreed. "I could have kicked you at a different angle and sent you off the platform, or I could have used one more finger just now while you were in the air." He got up as well, "But what would that get me? A spot higher in the festival? It wouldn't help you at all, and winning against someone half assing it would piss even me off."

'Help me?!' Shōto's teeth clenched, starting to get angry again.

"If a barely trained guy like me could knock you on your ass..." Izuku panted, "What would happen if you fought a villain with half a brain and some speed? All I have to do is aim for your left and I get free shot after free shot. You want to die?" Shōto froze, "Do you want other people to die when you fail?!"

'No...' Shōto thought to himself, a chill that had nothing to do with his ice filling his body. 'No, that's never been what I wanted...' But his thoughts felt hollow now.

"I can do this all day!" He was lying, of course. He was already staggering, and the pain in his hands was intense. Yet his spirit was overriding his body. Izuku turned on his full body usage again, the lightning crackling intimidatingly, "Either you fight me for real, or you walk out on your own." He grinned, his face tired. "Is your vow more important than your life? Than the lives of others? Do you want to be a hero or not, Todoroki-kun?!"

He swore he heard something shatter, his mother's voice echoing in his mind. Flames rose up out of his left side, driving the cold away in an instant, "You crazy bastard!" Shōto grinned back, tears in his eyes, "Do you want to win or not?"

Izuku's smile widened! He had done it! He'd got Shōto to break his self-destructive vow!

"What are you smiling about, huh?" Shōto asked, "I won't be held responsible for what happens next!" Neither of them even glanced in Endeavor's direction. Didn't pay the slightly deranged-looking man a single thought. He set his feet, ice forming on his right as his flames violently whipped around his left.

Izuku couldn't give it his all. Unlike Shōto. His full power would shatter his body. 5% was all he could use safely, by All Might's estimation.

Izuku dug deeper, One For All's lightning crackling a little bit more violently as he turned it up to 10%. He couldn't insult Shōto's new determination by just going with safe. He shot forward just as Shōto threw his hand forward at the same time as another ice wall formed protectively behind him.

The gigantic burst of flames engulfed more than half of the ring, and Izuku shot directly towards it at speed. Midnight and Cementoss had tried to stop the fight, but Izuku had moved faster than they had. The barriers rose behind him after he had already passed them. He hit the wave of fire, a shockwave forming around his feet and blowing them apart like a sonic boom. He planted both feet into Shōto's chest (One For All gone, its job done.) in his best imitation of one of his favorite hero's attacks: Miruko's Luna Spear. The two boys flew out of the ring, Izuku with a growl of pain as microfractures appeared on his leg bones and Todoroki hacking from having 75kg of ballistic Izuku crashing feet-first into his chest. Both boys landed in groaning heaps outside of the ring.

The crowd erupted in noise, as Present Mic was forced to bring up the slow-motion replay. Both boys had appeared to land at similar times, so they needed to check. And by a hair's breadth… the winner was revealed.

"Wasn't that your-" She turned to Rumi, but her question died in her throat.

Contrary to expectation, Rumi was (angrily) dialing something on her phone. Ryūko leaned closer, and her eyes widened as she recognized the faint voice coming from the other end, 'Am I a mouse, a bea-'

"Give me everything you have on Midoriya Izuku." Rumi cut across her former principal without a care in the world. Ryūko started to sparkle as Nezu started to cackle.

"Rumi, are you-?" Ryūko asked, glee infusing her voice.

"Like hell I'ma let some copycat go on live TV with such a half-assed effort at one of my moves." Rumi replied, her face giving nothing away. She couldn't have been more tsundere if she tried.

"YES! I LOVE YOU, MIDORIYA!" Ryūko literally jumped out of her seat and cheered, before glomping Rumi.

"ACK! Gerroff you little-"

-]|[-

XII: Alternate Quirk Assessment

-]|[-

"Your fates are in our hands!" Aizawa looked demented as he said this, having dropped the bomb that someone in their class would already be leaving before the day was out.

Izuku was panicking. Despite the weeks since the entrance exam and acceptance, he was no closer to controlling his power than he had been that day he made a fool of himself! He hadn't even touched One For All! How could he when it broke him?!

Ochako put his fear to words, "Expelled?! But it's the first day! Even if it weren't the first day, that's too unfair!"

"Natural disasters… rampaging Villains… freak accidents… The world isn't fair, Ochako Uraraka. Calamity is always just around the corner, and Heroes are the ones who correct that unfairness." He grinned again, "If you were planning on hanging out for the next three years, you're in for a rude awakening, kids. U.A. will do its best to put you through one hardship after another, because villains and disasters don't discriminate. The only way we can ensure you survive to be splendid heroes is by ensuring you are the strongest, so bring it on. That's PLUS ULTRA. Use your strength to overcome it."

"Trial by fire, huh?" Iida took a sip from his drink. 'If this is what it's like at the top, then we've no choice.'

"The demonstration is over." Aizawa said, his evil grin falling away, "Now it's for real."

Izuku was nearly hyperventilating, and it caught Ochako's attention. He was quaking like a leaf, and she put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, you got this!" She gave him a thumbs up, "After the exam, there's no way you won't do well!" She gave him a bright, sunny smile.

Izuku nearly went slack, 'She's the best!' He thought to himself, before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and trying to calm himself. Her words had erased much of it because someone believed in him. Someone other than All Might. And thinking of his mentor brought him back to the beach…

"Midoriya-shōnen…" All Might had just finished his explanation for how Izuku would grow and temper himself into the perfect vessel for their Quirk. "I know you feared I was disappointed in you, but the only disappointment I felt was in myself."

"Wh-wh-wh?!" Izuku was like a broken record. What in the world did All Might have to be disappointed in himself for?

"I did you a disservice, young man. A great disservice." Toshinori waved his skeletal hand all around the beach, "Look around you shōnen. Look at what you accomplished with nothing but your own blood, sweat, and tears. You worked harder than I ever expected, and you did it all without a Quirk. You even cleaned outside of where I told you!" Bidden, Izuku's eyes swept around the beach, "I wish to correct that mistake now, shōnen. Whether I had given you my Quirk or not, you would have made a great Hero."

Izuku's eyes started to water, and he choked, "Bu-"

"But nothing." Toshinori put both hands on his shoulders, "I spent so long on top I forgot what it was like. Forgot where I began. Midoriya-shōnen… years and years ago, I stood where you once stood. Quirkless, the same as you." Izuku stopped breathing, "I was chosen to accept the power and responsibility of One For All. The same as you. And it was a mistake to tell you that you couldn't make it there without a Quirk. A Quirk is only a tool. What truly matters is your spirit. And you have the spirit of a Hero, young man. No one will ever take that from you."

Izuku started to sob, his right arm flying across his face. "Th-thank you! Thank you, All Might!"

Toshinori grinned broadly, "Your training and performance during the exam has also shown me how deficient I am as a teacher. I spent so long helping you get to where you could use One For All that I forgot to train you in HOW to use it! We may not be able to get you used to it, but I will start rectifying that mistake. Prepare yourself shōnen. These next few weeks, I show you how to fight."

Izuku opened his and clapped his hands to his cheeks to wake himself up. He gave his best smile and thumbs up to Ochako, "Yeah! Let's do it!" No stutter? Score! She grinned back and started to focus herself, turning away from him.

Izuku practiced his breathing, calming himself further. He couldn't panic. He couldn't. He would NOT get tossed out of the Hero Course. Even if he couldn't control One For All, he still had all of his training. He'd spent months upon months doing everything from flipping tires to dragging entire vehicles across those sands. He could do this.

One step at a time.

He focused on the field, where Aoyama had just gotten a score of 5.51 seconds on the fifty-meter dash, falling behind Mina Ashido. Izuku momentarily felt a brain freeze because how the hell did a laser propel him backwards?!

No, focus! He could geek out on Quirks after he was not expelled! It was finally his own turn… and he was racing against Kacchan because of course he would be racing Kacchan. He took his mark, not noticing Katsuki staring at him because of his hyper focus on the finish line. He tensed, and the second he heard the starting gun he shot forward, running as fast as he could. He entirely dodged Katsuki's backblast, getting in front of the blonde and rapidly picking up speed. He crossed the finish line and slowed down, taking deep breaths, and hearing a roar of rage. He turned around, only to see Katsuki being restrained by white Capture Tape.

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing, Bakugō?" Aizawa drawled, his eyes glowing red.

"What the fuck!? Why can't I use my Quirk?" Katsuki strained.

"I've erased it." Aizawa said simply, drawing a gasp of recognition from Izuku, "Another outburst out of you and you're expelled. Now calm the hell down. Both of you, back to the rest of the class."

Izuku hurried away, "My word, Midoriya-kun!" Iida got in his face, "Where was that speed during the exam? You even beat my score!"

"I did?!" Izuku yelped in shock, "There's no way! I saw how fast you were going during the exams!"

"Yes way." Iida nodded seriously, "Your score of 2.99 seconds just beat my own. My Quirk has similar functions to the gears on a ca-"

"Car! You weren't able to reach top speed in only fifty meters, were you?" Izuku jumped ahead, eager to discuss Quirks.

"Correct." Iida smiled, "Were that a one-hundred-meter race, I doubt you would have come out on top. But beating me in any speed event is a feat all of its own!"

"It was totally awesome!" Ochako jumped in, "You totally left Blasty in your dust!" She rubbed her chin curiously, "I wonder why he got so mad though. Do you know, Deku-kun?"

Izuku felt his heart break, "Ah, that's… not my name." he finished, looking away.

"It isn't?" She blinked, "But that's what Blasty called you! Sorry, I didn't hear Aizawa-sensei say your full name. I just thought it sounded cute! Like "you can do it!" you know?" She punched the air. "Blasty also was all "What was that Quirk?!" What was that all about?"

"C-cute?!" Izuku flushed red, "M-My old school was pretty mean. It wasn't a nice name. They were calling me useless…" The two gasped in shock, and several other students narrowed their eyes as they overheard it. "M-My name is Midoriya Izuku." He poked his fingers together shyly, "But I suppose if you say it like that, it isn't too bad." Ochako's face brightened up gleefully.

"Enough chit-chatting." Aizawa cut across the talk, "On to the next event." Despite his words, he pocketed the new bit of information. Bakugō's actions and Midoriya's words painted a picture of possibly bullying. Perhaps he should have taken a closer look at Midoriya's file in particular.

Izuku eyed the grip strength tester. He'd gotten 40kg in middle school, but that had been long ago. He had barely started training the last time they did these tests. He squeezed as hard as he could, smiling slightly when he saw the number displayed; 200kg. Five times better than his last attempt close to a year ago!

"Whoa!" Kaminari gasped as he saw the result, "That's some grip! Please don't crush my hand if we ever shake."

Izuku smiled lightly, relaxing as he saw that he was in the upper echelons of the pack. Shōji had beaten him by far with 540kg, and Momo had utterly decimated the competition with her Quirk producing a hydraulic clamp. She had totally maxed out the sensor.

The next event was the standing long jump, where he cleared the sandbox, though he fell well short of Katsuki, Aoyama, Asui, and several other students. Seeing as how others landed in the sand, he felt he did well.

As they were headed back to the area where Katsuki had demonstrated the ball throw, Aizawa kept an eye on Izuku. Narrowed eyes. The boy was doing far better than he expected. He wasn't panicking at all, and for good reason apparently. He hadn't been using his Quirk either. After that first exemplary score in the dash, Aizawa had tried to erase his Quirk. But he'd gotten a good score on the grip test all the same. It was the boy's natural strength.

Aizawa clearly remembered the exam. He'd rewatched the file following only Midoriya. The boy had been a clown in the exam, not getting a single Villain or Hero point before his moment with the zero pointer. He'd been panicking literally the entire exam until that point. If it had been up to Aizawa, Midoriya would never have seen the inside of U.A. He'd been overruled like usual in the entrance exam, so he'd resolved to getting rid of the boy first chance he got. Better that than read his name in the obituaries.

The boy was clearly strong though, now that he was calm. But he still wasn't using his Quirk… He'd have to fix that.

The tests progressed. Izuku threw four hundred meters in the ball throw, performed admirably in the side-to-side jumps, and the final three tests. And before they knew it, the tests were over. "I won't bother explaining how things were calculated. I'm sure you can figure it out on your own time. Here you go." He held his device out and the standings were projected forward. Their eyes bugged out.

"WHAT?!" Several people screamed in shock.

Ochako led the pack, "HOW IS DEKU-KUN LAST?! HE DID AMAZING!"

Izuku looked pale as a ghost, and looked like he was going to fall over.

"Yes." Aizawa said carelessly, "His scores were quite good. And yet not once, in this Quirk Assessment Test did he actually use his Quirk." The class seemed to collectively suffered from brain freeze, "I would have known if he had. After his showing in the Entrance Exam, I was ready to stop him with my Erasure. And yet I never had to use it." He glared at Izuku, "An explanation, Midoriya?"

Izuku trembled, "Uhm…" He said nervously, "D-did you not read my file, sensei?"

"Skimmed." Aizawa replied blandly, "I don't read them in full until I'm sure you'll actually be my student. No sense if you'll just be expelled on the first day." He said, and Momo Yaoyorozu felt a chill drip down her spine, "I try to get any important information, but evidently I must have missed something."

"W-well," Izuku retreated into himself, "I… have no idea how to control it. I never thought I had a Quirk until it appeared during the entrance exam…"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?!" The wall of noise from half the class nearly blew Izuku over, Ochako and Katsuki the loudest of them all. The blonde looked like he was restraining himself from attacking Izuku again.

Aizawa himself stood there silently, with an open mouth hidden behind his scarf, "W- Are you telling me that the exam was the first time you ever used your Quirk?"

Izuku nodded shamefully, anticipating the incoming rejection. "Oh my god!" Ochako squealed, "And you used it to save me?! That's so stinking AWESOME!" She hugged him, and Izuku died on the spot. The rest of the class clamoring to talk to him all but finished the job.

Aizawa stood silently for a moment, before letting out a sigh, "I'm assuming you haven't used it since either? You're going to be a pain in my ass, aren't you, problem child?" He groaned, before grabbing another ball and throwing it to Izuku. Izuku looked at him questioningly, "I want to see it with my own eyes, so I can try to gauge your power and see if I can figure out what you're doing wrong. If you broke your bones being as physically strong as you are, I'm not sure I want to imagine what it would have been like if you used it as a child. After this, we'll set you up with Quirk counseling as well."

"Wh-" Iida sputtered, "But if he hurts himself shouldn't he-"

"Heroes get hurt." Aizawa said. It was a simple statement, "If you can't get used to that idea, then leave. Better he hurt himself here where we have Recovery Girl to heal him. At least that way we might be able to figure out how to help him control it so that he'll stop hurting himself." He stared at Izuku, "Go on, Midoriya. And at least try to do a better job than you did in the exam."

Izuku stepped back into the circle, eyeing the ball nervously, 'Maybe I can limit it to just a hand? No, better a finger. Minimize the damage.' One For All came to life in his arm as he reared back to throw. His sleeve blew off from the power, just as it had in the exam. As his arm travelled forward, he compressed all of the power just to the tip of his middle finger. "SMASH!"

A windstorm blew through the field, knocking the diminutive Mineta on his back and rolling him backwards. Shōji had to catch him and prevent him from flying off. When the winds died down, Katsuki looked like he had seen a ghost. The rest of the class was cheering.

Izuku himself was clenching his hand, biting his lip to keep from crying out. His finger was shattered, as expected, the flesh reddened with burst blood vessels. Even tiny cuts leaked blood. But he could still move, and he showed it to Aizawa.

Aizawa stared at the digit, before turning to the device in his hand. It beeped, "…Three kilometers." He held in a groan, "Good job kid. That was much better than your first attempt." Praise where praise was due. He couldn't in good conscience send the boy home. He clearly belonged in the class if he was able to instinctually limit the danger to himself on only his second ever attempt at using the Quirk. "Here's a note for the nurse."

"Th-thank you, sensei." Izuku said through grit teeth as he took the card.

"I'll show the revised rankings later." Aizawa said, "Or rather, the real rankings, with Midoriya's updated score." He glared at them, "For once, every last one of you impressed me, so no one is going home today. Congratulations." The class let out a collective sigh of relief, "Don't celebrate too fast. Remember, I can send you home any time I wish. Keep pushing and improving or the potential I saw today gets erased. Tomorrow's trails won't be any easier." He turned and walked away, "Off you go. Rest of the day is free. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

And then the class swarmed Izuku, before Ochako loudly reminded them he had to go to the nurse. She walked away with him, Iida following behind with Momo following too, creating a splint for his finger so that it wouldn't jostle his injury as they walked.

-]|[-

XIII: IzuMomo

-]|[-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Momo was startled when someone knocked on her door. Her brows furrowed, having not really expected anyone. They'd already had Mina's whole Room Competition last night, after all. Had something happened? She closed her math book after putting her bookmark between the pages. She could use a small break anyway. Even if it paid to be a couple chapters ahead during class, it could be a bit tedious at times.

She made sure her clothes were proper (she had yet to shower so she was still in her school uniform, just sans socks and her tie) and walked to the door, opening it. Her eyebrows raised slightly as she took in her surprise guest, "Midoriya-kun?"

"H-hello Yaoyorozu-san." She found his stammer pretty confusing at the best of times. How could someone with such an amazing, albeit dangerous quirk be so… easily frightened of everything? He had improved massively throughout the school year to be sure, but it never vanished entirely. "May I come in?"

She flushed minutely, trying not to let the sudden heat show on her face. A boy? Alone with her in her room? How improper! "W-well." Oh no! Now she was stammering too! Was it contagious? She cleared her throat, before standing to the side and letting him in, "Sure, Midoriya-kun." The room felt even more cramped with him inside and she felt herself flush a little more in embarrassment. How was she supposed to know the rooms would be so small? "My apologies for the lack of space."

He waved her off, "It's no problem." The silence after was a wee bit awkward.

Momo cleared her throat, "What can I do for you, Midoriya-kun?" She was no less confused than she had been when she'd first seen him.

The stutter disappeared, "I just wanted to check up on you..." He averted his eyes, "See how you were…holding up after..." He trailed off.

Oh. "Your strength is a product of endless training and a wealth of experience. But I don't need it. Because your Quirk isn't one that would suit Tomura." The sheer terror she'd experienced a few nights ago hit all over again. Terror so thick and malevolent that it had almost made her sick. A villain with the power of All Might and the malice to use it.

Izuku's arms wrapped around her, and it made her realize she had been trembling, her breathing hurried and heart hammering in her chest. She hadn't even heard him calling her name, multiple times. With almost a whine, she wrapped her arms around him as well, her head dropping to rest on his shoulder. She clenched him like a lifeline, and he rubbed her back, "I know..." He whispered, "I know… I was terrified too."

Momo took shuddering breaths, not caring that they weren't really close enough to be doing this. She hardly thought she was close enough to any of her peers to do this. But they had shared that experience. For better or for worse, he had been right beside her during their hare-brained rescue mission. Right beside her when she was so scared she had almost powdered the bones in his left hand, squeezing it. This was something only they could share. It hadn't been Kirishima, or Iida, or even Todoroki who had come to try to see if she was okay. It had been shy little Izuku.

Izuku just continued rubbing her back as she calmed down. Her heart stopped beating so fast, and her breaths evened back out. "I couldn't do anything." She finally whispered into the crook of his neck. Tears of frustration pooling in her eyes. "I-" She started to cry, "I can never do anything! I froze up in the sports festival and I froze up during the rescue too. How am I supposed to-"

"Yaoyorozu-san!" Izuku pulled away and held her at arm's length. "I can't believe what I'm hearing! Do you have any idea how amazing you are?"

Her mouth opened soundlessly, and clicked shut, "You're just saying that..." She replied bitterly. "I can never do anything outside of controlled settings. Who cares if I come in first in classes or if I do well in things like Aizawa-sensei's assessments? Whenever I have to fight I just fall apart."

Izuku looked bewildered, "Yaoyorozu-san..." He said slowly, "Have you trained as a combatant?" She opened her mouth again, but slowly closed it, "No. You haven't. You've trained to use your quirk. You've trained your mind. You've had mock battles where All Might put us against each other and all but told us to have fun. But you haven't trained in combat. Why would you expect to be amazing at something you haven't been taught to excel in? A musician isn't born with a violin in hand playing a symphony!" He sounded amused at the thought, and Momo smiled weakly as well.

She shook her head, "None of you were really taught either, but Todoroki-san and Bakugō-san-"

"Kacchan has known he would be a combat hero since he was a child, and Todoroki-san is Endeavor's son." Izuku replied so flatly she flushed a little bit.

"And what about you?" She challenged him, "I…no offense Midoriya-kun, but you came into this class breaking yourself at every turn, and now you're one of the best fighters we have-"

"A novice learns faster than a master." Izuku replied, cutting her off. He paused, and visibly had a debate with himself before he sighed, "Can you keep a secret? Seriously, I'd be trusting you with something really big here."

"I..." Momo hesitated. They… they really hardly knew one another. Could she trust herself with something like this? She bit her lip, before nodding. If he wanted to put his faith in her, she would never let him down.

"Until this year, I thought I was Quirkless. The first time I used my Quirk was the entrance exam. The second was Aizawa-sensei's test." He whispered, and Momo swore she felt her heart stop. That… that was impossible! She must have said it out loud, because he snickered a little bit, "Kacchan knows a little, obviously. We grew up together. That's why he freaked out and tried to attack me after I used it."

"Oh my god." She finally let out a breath, "No wonder you performed so badly to start with. A Quirk as powerful as yours…. You were like a child playing with a… a loaded gun!"

"More like a landmine." He smiled weakly, and she shuddered at the mental image. "So everyone else had over a decade of using their Quirk to figure it out. I've been playing catch up this entire time. Obviously once I got an idea of how to use it, I would figure things out quickly. To be honest… it still doesn't even feel like my Quirk."

"That's..." Her estimation of him had started at the bottom. She'd been weirded out by his Quirk and frankly terrified of his mental state when it came to the sports festival. It was one of the reasons she had never really approached him. His willingness to shatter his own fingers over and over to fight Todoroki had truly been something else. Something crazy. But now? Knowing what she knew? Having seen him in action; seen him improving all the while? Her admiration for him shot into the stratosphere. "You're amazing…. Izuku." He flushed, "It just makes me wonder even more if I deserve to be here." And she was back to being down on herself.

"Momo." Izuku was clearly not happy with her, "You. Belong. Here."

Momo broke, "But I DON'T!" She yelled in frustration, clenching her fists. "Every one of you got in on your own merit! You, Bakugō, Ochako, Tsu… All I did was mention offhand that I wanted to be a Hero during breakfast and my parents went and got me a recommendation for U.A! I didn't HAVE to prove myself to get in, and the first chance I had to do so, I blew it!"

"Momo." Izuku put his hands on her shoulders. She wouldn't look at him and he bit his lip, wondering if this would be too forward even for this new camaraderie they had. 'Plus Ultra.' He thought to himself, raising one of his hands to her cheek and forcing her to look at him. They both immediately flushed at the intimate act. "If you weren't here, Kacchan would still be in the League's hands and All Might would be dead. You're the reason we're not facing a total disaster right now!"

"What?!" Momo gasped, "No, surely no-"

"Even hurting and nearly unconscious, you had the wherewithal and intelligence to plant that bug on that Nōmu. If you hadn't done that, we wouldn't have been there, and All Might would have had to fight All For One alone while also protecting Kacchan! He couldn't do both and you know it! You were there." Izuku put his other hand back on her shoulder, "You saved All Might. Kirishima, Iida, Todoroki, and I may have done the work in the moment, but you're the only reason it was even possible in the first place."

Momo's lips trembled, "You're just saying that." Her voice warbled as she spoke, her eyes averted again.

Again, Izuku was daring, cupping her cheek, and making her look at him once more, emboldened by the lack of rejection from the first time, "I'm not. You DESERVE to be here, and everyone seems to know it but you." Izuku said, and blushed as her hand came up and grabbed his. He chuckled a little nervously, "Honestly, I'm the one who's supposed to be a mess wondering if I deserve to be here."

"No, you're not! You're amazi…" She stopped, "...oh."

He smirked, which was unusual for him, "Now you're getting it." He laughed in self-depreciation. "But let's put you to a little test if you still don't believe me." He pulled away and Momo was surprised to realize she missed the warmth of his hand on her face. Her blush intensified a little and she averted her eyes. Izuku noticed, but put it aside for now, "You say you want more combat ability? I had a lot of time to consider things and I have an idea. An idea I got based on the tracker you made."

"O-okay." Momo prepared herself. She'd listened to his (somewhat off putting) mumbling before, so she prepared for a potentially crazy idea.

"I want you to create a tiny little pellet of the heaviest material you can think of. Just a tiny little ball from the tip of your finger. Oh, and make sure it's not brittle too" Izuku told her.

She blinked, 'What use is that?' She wondered. It seemed pretty tame. But she inwardly shrugged, raised a finger, and out popped a tiny little pellet of Tungsten. Izuku picked it up and rolled it between his fingers, smiling softly. 'What crazy idea do you have, Izuku?'

"Good!" He chirped, and… walked past her? He opened the window, while Momo watched with question marks all over her face. "Come here!" Momo did so, still in utter confusion. "See that tree over there?"

"...Yes?"

"Good. Point your finger at it like a gun." Izuku told her, and hesitantly, she did so, "Now I want you to create that same pellet...except I want you to create it with a velocity already attached to it."

"What?!" Momo lowered her finger in shock, "That's not how my quirk works though! I can only create physical, non-living objects!"

"Oh? Then how did you create a full tracking device with a pre-paired instrument to track it, both with full batteries that never ran out despite going over a week without a charge?" Izuku asked her, and Momo felt her brain seize up.

"I-wah?!" She stammered, all but logic bombed.

"Perhaps your Quirk evolved already, or maybe it was just something you never had the knowledge to do previously." Izuku mused, "But whatever the case may be, you're so used to it and what you think are its limitations that you're incapable of looking at it objectively. There's no harm in trying it out. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and we can try something else."

We. We can try something else. Momo flushed, but to her own surprise she felt pleased at the idea. She hesitated for another moment, but swallowed her lack of trust down. She raised her finger and took aim, closing her eyes and visualizing. A crystalline lattice of Tungsten popped into her mind; the atomic structure apparent. She normally wouldn't have to concentrate so much for something so simplistic, but this was an entirely new idea. In her mind, the pellet warped into a more bullet-shaped object, one that was spinning. She had never tried that before either, but knew old timey musket balls were about as accurate as a malfunctioning pitching machine. And then she pictured it moving. Moving extremely fast. She wasn't sure how fast guns shot, but 1000 m/s should be plenty, right?

She opened her eyes and aimed for a branch, her finger starting to glow and sparkle. The both of them flinched as their eardrums popped, before the branch she had aimed for practically exploded, falling to the ground. Momo gaped in shock, having honestly not expected that to work. At all.

"How fast was that going?" Izuku asked faintly, massaging his ears.

Momo's face was on fire, having not considered that shooting something faster than the speed of sound would cause a sonic boom. They were lucky it was a tiny little pellet, "...1000 m/s?"

"..."

"..."

"Holy crap Momo, you're overpowered." Izuku said, his voice awed.

Momo legitimately wished she had Ochako's quirk so that when she clapped her hands to her face, she could just float away. It took her a good two minutes to calm down, and then she faced him with tears in her eyes. She rushed at him and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him for all she was worth. "Thank you." She whispered, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She just repeated herself.

Izuku smiled happily, one arm around her shoulder and the other around her waist, "This opens a lot of doors for your quirk, doesn't it?"

"SO many!" She replied ecstatically. She pulled back, sniffing, "And I never would have figured it out if it wasn't for you. It's like you said… I could not look at it objectively anymore. I knew what my quirk was capable of." The dry emphasis she put on the word told him all he needed to know about what she thought of herself from five minutes ago.

He pulled back from her, but surprised her by cupping her cheek instead of letting go completely. Both of their faces flamed up at his boldness. "You're better than you think you are, and everyone can see how much potential you have. No more being down on yourself, okay?"

Her hand came up, squeezing his. They both blushed even harder when she nuzzled into his hand before she seemed to realize just what she had done. Her voice was remarkably even despite being so clearly flustered, "The same to you. I know you doubt yourself, Izuku-kun. If I'm not allowed to do it anymore, then neither are you."

Izuku swallowed heavily, and his eyes dipped to her lips. She clearly caught it if the sharp little gasp that escaped her was any indication. 'Plus Ultra.' He thought to himself again, closing his arms and retightening the hug. He pulled her in, hand on her cheek sliding to the base of her skull. She came eagerly as their lips met for the first time. She moaned both from surprise and happiness into his mouth as they kissed, wet smooches sounding in the air. She pressed up into him, pulling him up with her own hand in his fluffy hair.

When they finally broke for air, she couldn't help but blurt, "This is so bold! Who are you and what have you done with Izuku!?"

"One of the others was bound to grow a brain eventually!" Was his breathless reply.

Doki doki

She lunged at him, sealing his lips with her own again and knocking the both of them to her bed. Her romance novels had not prepared her for anything like this, and it was so much better.

-]|[-

XIV: V-Zuku

-]|[-

"In your seats." Aizawa growled out as he stared at his new first year class, "If you're here to hang out or act up, you can leave." He shrugged off his sleeping bag and dragged it behind him as he made his way to his desk, "I'm your homeroom teacher. Aizawa Shōta. Nice to meet you, I guess." The students had hurried and made their way to whatever empty seats they could find; the tall blue-haired boy from the Iida family and the brown-haired Uraraka being the last ones to sit. "Fifteen seconds. That's 15 pedestrians that could have been injured while you were busy getting it together."

The class seemed to flinch at his words. Not all of them, though. The blonde who looked like he was allergic to hair gel was still slouching in his seat like he owned the place, feet up on his desk. He still had a look of haughty superiority on his face. As if his teacher's words wouldn't matter.

That one would have to either be broken or get kicked out. He wasn't the only one, but he was the only one that seemed to seep arrogance from his very pores. Aizawa took out one of the gym uniforms from his sleeping bag, making the class goggle momentarily. Why the hell did he have one in there?! "Get these on and make your way to training ground Alpha." He said, "You'll be getting started immediately. No time for any of the ceremonial nonsense."

The announcement seemed to suck the life out of some of them. He could already tell which ones probably hated academics. As they got up and filed out, Aizawa called out, "Oh, and I won't be the one doing this examination." They froze, and turned at him with quizzical expressions, "Nezu in his illustrious wisdom, has decided that some teaching experience will be invaluable for our last remaining third years. As such, two of our Elite Four will be assigned to either Heroics class."

"L-Last remaining?" Uraraka called out, putting a sick smile on Aizawa's face as planned.

"Oh yes, did you not know?" Aizawa continued smirking at them, "If you don't cut it in Heroics, you either drop out, get expelled, or get transferred out of the program by the time you graduate." The students paled to the color of snow. Well, most of them did, "And don't think talent will save you either. We're here to train heroes, not athletes. That's Plus Ultra." His eyes flash red, "So don't mouth off to your senpai, because we're affording them quite a bit of leeway. Go break a leg."

-]|[-

"Sensei was so scary..." Ochako mumbled to Yaoyorozu Momo, her new friend from the locker rooms. They were in an urban setting rather than a field.

Momo herself was feeling a little less self-assured than she had been all morning, "I thought he might have been bluffing, but I ran into an upperclassman after I left the locker room." With her ability to just create her own clothes, she had been the first girl out of the locker rooms, "They said that Aizawa-sensei was notorious for losing students throughout the year. Usually through expulsions."

The reserved Kodai Yui spoke softly, as if she were unused to speaking, "We have a better chance than most, don't we? Our senpai aren't Aizawa-sensei."

"Kero, hopefully they're nice."

The boys weren't quiet either. "Damn bro, I knew UA was rough but I didn't think they were 'threaten expulsion on day one' rough." Kaminari mumbled.

"If you don't think you can cut it, you should just buzz off now, Extra." Bakugō shot out with a nasty smirk.

"Jeez, let's all calm down, yeah?" Kirishima tried to placate everyone.

"Man, the girls are all so fucking hooootttt..." Mineta wasn't even paying attention, and was instead cursing that the gym uniforms weren't skirts for the girls. They weren't even yoga pants either!

He wasn't quiet enough, because several of the girls shot him dirty glares, immediately writing him off as boyfriend or even friend material.

Before anything else could happen, dust kicked up along with a burst of wind, "Hiiii, everyone!" A cute, bubbly girl descended on them, dressed in her full hero costume which consisted of extremely tight, blue spandex. Several of the boys nearly keeled over with nosebleeds. She was so hot. Her boobs were just as big if not bigger than Yaoyorozu's! "It's so nice to meet you!" She smiled brilliantly at them, making them all relax, "I have so many questions!"

'She's an airhead!' Most of the students who thought this relaxed further.

Momo diplomatically stepped up, "It's a pleasure as well, senpai. What is your name?" She smiled at the periwinkle-haired beauty.

Their senpai landed fully on the ground, "Hadō Nejire!" She cheered, "My hero name is Nejire-chan!" She shot twin peace signs at them with another beaming smile, making several boys (and at least one girl) fall in love immediately.

"It's a pleasure, Nejire-senpai." Momo smiled back with a short bow, "We were told that we would have two senpai administering this test. Has that changed?"

CLACK

"Your situational awareness could use work. I've been here all along." They all jumped as another CLACK rang through the air, and whirled around. A boy stepped out of the shadows, wearing what looked like a sleeveless leather coat that went down to his knees, with black slacks and combat boots. His coat was mostly open, revealing his pale skin and the fact he was covered in tattoos from the neck down. Something which immediately triggered Iida, who was all about propriety. He had dark green hair and eyes, which were piercing in their intensity. In his right hand was a cane; the reason for the loud clacking sound.

He made his way around them to Nejire, but one student in particular first stopped short in shock and then started boiling in rage, "DEKU?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Several of the other students gasped, horrified.

'Deku' stopped short, turning to stare at Katsuki, "Bakugō. They let you of all people in here?"

Oh. They knew each other. And clearly hated one another. This could be bad.

Katsuki's hands crackled with explosions, "What the fuck did you say to me?"

"Bro, calm down!" Kirishima grabbed his shoulder and tried to get him to stop, only for Katsuki to jerk his shoulder away.

"You should listen to Kirishima-san." Izuku said, looking away from the blonde and making his way to Nejire, who had a scowl on her face as she stared at Katsuki. "Before you lose your chance at this school entirely."

But Katsuki didn't stop, "Look who grew a pair the last three years, Deku. How the fuck did a useless, Quirkless bastard like you cheat your way into UA?!" He took a step forward, "You fucking think you're better than me?"

"As the air to a bird or the sea to a fish, so is contempt to the contemptible." Izuku replied, which went over some heads momentarily.

"Oh my." Momo was hiding her mouth behind a hand, a little mortified at the interaction.

"Enough!" The normally bubbly Nejire snapped, and seeing as how it felt almost like a crack of thunder, everyone flinched. "Mou, Izuku-kun. It hasn't even been a minute and you're already causing trouble?"

"My apologies." Izuku had a small little smirk on his face, "I'm afraid Bakugō always brings out the worst in everyone." Yet more crackles of explosions rang out from the blonde, who had an angry vein pulsing on his head, "Midoriya Izuku." He called out, "That is my name. On the field… you may refer to me as Vergil."

Todoroki stepped forward, "We've wasted enough time already." He stared blankly at the two, "We came here to UA because it was the best school in the world, and yet we've been pawned off to two students on our first day." He stared dispassionately at Izuku, "One of whom appears to be a cripple." Several students let out gasps at his rudeness, "What exactly gives you the qualifications to teach us?"

Izuku did not change his expression, though Nejire looked angry again, "I see you are as rude and unruly as your father, Todoroki-san." The heterochromic boy nearly let out a growl, squaring his shoulder and taking a more predatory stance, "But very well. You have no reason to trust us, after all." He grasped his cane by the middle of the shaft, "If you wish to test us first, then come at me."

Todoroki didn't even allow Bakugō a chance to move, stomping on the ground and sending a wall of ice spikes forward. The entire class let off shrieks of shock as Izuku was impaled multiple times by the attack, and even Todoroki looked shocked and regretful. And then Izuku faded away as if he were never there, and Todoroki let out a gasp of pain as his hair was grabbed from behind and yanked. He landed roughly on his back, the air escaping his lungs in a painful rush. And then Izuku's boot landed on his throat, pressing just lightly enough to make Todoroki realize he could have just died.

But Izuku wasn't idle. Katsuki had whirled to him, eyes wide in disbelief, but his arms sparking with his quirk nonetheless. He never got a chance to attack. Izuku's cane lashed out and hooked the blonde's ankle. Katsuki's leg was pulled forward, yanking him off his feet and landing him on the ground in an equally painful manner. Izuku pointed the cane at the boy, and then his tattoos came alive. They raced off his arm and down the shaft of his cane, before coalescing into a black panther with glowing red veins running through its inky fur.

The panther roared right in Katsuki's face, its fangs slavering.

The arrogant blonde nearly pissed his pants, covering himself with his arms in utter terror.

"Now, now, Shadow, no eating him. We don't want Nezu to complain again." Shadow moved away, following its master as Izuku took his boot off Todoroki's throat and turned away. The beast turned back into its namesake and crawled up Izuku's arm. He walked back to Nejire after shattering the ice with a wave of his cane, "Any other questions?"

No. There were not. Just terror.

-]|[-

Really glad the last one seemed to be basically universally loved. Raifu is waifu. Did get some complaints about the romance speed, but all I can say to that is FUCK IT. DEATH TO THE SLOW BURN.

Welp, I hope you enjoyed these four! They'd been sitting for quite a while with no more real ideas coming from any of them (or at least no ideas that didn't involve ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ), so I decided to get them joined together and posted.

On the third-to-last one: I'm well aware that the time between the kidnapping and the rescue wasn't that long canonically. Still, I DO believe Momo is totally underutilizing her Quirk and that's one of the things that bothered me. I just exaggerated it a tad.

For the last one: That is Devil May Cry's Vergil reincarnated as Izuku. He starts off using V's powers exclusively because his body obviously can't handle full Vergil.