Something interesting happens in this chapter, it took a lof of effort to write, I hope I did a good job... a part of Izuku shines, something that I admired even in his old canon self. Something that he repressed but did not lose... I hope you understand it's purpose here..

Nezu was a giddy little stoat, pleased that he had placed his bets on Izuku winning when so many others had bet against him. Though no one knew he was Quirkless, yet, people took one look at the soft boy and assumed that he was merely atheletic or analytic, especially after he proved to be from the Support course with that ingenious foam bomb of his. They bet against him, expecting him to lose in physical combat as so many Support students had over the years. His victory had been a total shock to everyone but enough of one that Nezu had made a pretty penny. He would reward the boy for that, perhaps giving him lessons...

'Yes, after his internship... he is certianly worth my time. The boy is a borderline genius, if not an outright prodigy. He would be utterly devistating with my aid... oh yes, this is going to be fun.'

Clapping his hands happily, Nezu turned his attention back to the field, hopeful that he would win the next round of bets. He usually did, spoiling his beloved staff with his winnings... even those that bet against him. The next fight was Tokoyami vs Kirishima, and he had a feeling that Tokoyami would be the winner. The boy's quirk gave him short, long and mid range, and allowed him to prevent the other boy from getting close... it was enough of an advantage that it may very well mean his victory.

He would not wait to see what was in store...

:::

"Offense and defense in one! The dark samurai and his darker shadow! From the hero course, Fumikage Tokoyami! Versus the living sword and shield himself. Also, from Class 1-A, Enjou Kirishima!" Mic announced.

Kirishima knew it wasn't manly, but he knew he was screwed. He had seen Tokoyami fight before, heard of his exploits at the USJ and watched him during the obstacle course and cavalry battle. While the hardening hero in training wasn't book smart, he understood fighting, and Tokoyami had ever advantage.

"Second match! Begin!" Mic announced.

"Go, Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami ordered.

Dark Shadow emerged from Tokoyami's chest, saying, "I've got him!"

Hardening instantly, he lashed, his strong fist slamming into the cold beasts face. Kirishima skidded back, the force running through his arm painfully. 'Damn beast is strong... I felt that through my Quirk... and by the look of things, that beast felt my punch. That's good, I can't let up.' Blasting forward, Kirishima dodged another strike from the shadowy creature before gripping it hard. "Take this!" He pulled hard, and twisted his body yanking Tokoyami off of his feet. With all his strength, he threw him after a single rotation, sending the other boy flying back.

Tokoyami tried to stop skidding but before he or Dark Shadow could do a damn thing, Kirishima charged them and slammed a fist into the bird boy's chest. The force was extreme, knocking him straight over the boundry line.

"Tokoyami, your out of bounds! Kirishima wins!"

As the crowd went wild, Kirishima leaned down and helped the other boy to stand. "You are wicked strong,.. but you might want to go to the Nurse's office, I think I heard a rib crack."

Tokoyami nodded, turning on heel and limping away.

"'

'Oh fooey, I lost the bet... pity... sigh...' Nezu pouted, his adorable face the picture of innocent sadness. 'At least I still can bet on wether or not he will manage to defeat Izuku.'

Leaning towards the arena, the Stoat watched with great interest, hopeful for the next battle.

''''

"Navel laser, activate!" Aoyama said as a laser shot out towards Ashido.

"Think again!" Ashido told him, dodging his laser. "We were on the same team for combat training, so I know all about your quirk, Aoyama," she said, skating around on her acid dodging Aoyama's lasers.

"I can say the same thing about you," Aoyama told her, continuing to fire lasers.

"Sure, but there's a big difference. I remember something you said," Ashido said.

"Shooting my beam for more than a second can sometimes hurt my tummy," Ashido remembered Aoyama saying during the quirk test on the first day of class.

"I know you're weakness!" Ashido told him. Aoyama fired more lasers, all of which Ashido dodged.

"Here's a big one!" Aoyama said, firing off a large laser. "Ow. My tummy," he said, shaking.

"There's my shot!" Ashido announced, throwing some of her acid at Aoyama's support belt.

"Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no! Not my precious belt!" Aoyama cried as the acid melted his belt. "My pants!" he yelled as they fell, also melted by the acid.

"For my finishing move... an uppercut!" Ashido yelled, skating up to Aoyama and punching him. Aoyama whimpered before falling backward, passed out.

"Aoyama has fainted! The winner of this match is Ashido!" Midnight announced.

"""

"Figured that would happen. He is a stationary fighter and Ashido is extremly agile and atheletic." Izuku smiled, jotting down quite a few note into one of the notebooks he brought with him. "She is quite a strong fighter, I wonder how she will fair against Kirishima?" Eager, Izuku leaned down. "This match is going to be the most interesting... what is it that allowed this General Studies kid to get so far..."

Fingers at the ready, Izuku watched with bated breathe, eager to see what Shinso was capable of. He listened carefully as the match started, wondering who would win... Sero or Shinso...

Shinso, naturally, started with shit talking. "So you can just give up huh? In a way, this is a test of how strong your spirit is. If you know what you want your future to hold, you can't worry about what other people think."

"Ready?" Present Mic asked.

"That monkey was going on about his pride earlier," Shinso said..

"Begin!" Present Mic yelled.

"But I just think he's an idiot for throwing his chance away like that," Shinso said.

Sero growled. "Hey, don't talk about him that way!" and then he stopped moving entirely, his body going rigid.

"That's it. I win," Shinso said, smiling.

Izuku frowned. 'A mind control quirk... that's... rare, and dangerous. He would and should be a shoe in for hero work with that power, if only to keep it being used for good.'

"I warned him not to say anything!" Ojiro yelled, standing up.

"You what?" Izuku growled at the tailed boy, making him pale. "You may have ruined his chances of winning, and for what petty revenge?"

"No, I ... uh... he cheated, controlling me like some vill-"

"No power is evil or good, it is how you use it. It's a competition, he was right to use it to win just as you use your tail. I am extremely disapointed in you." He mimicked his mother's disapproving face, and it seemed to work as the boy looked down and away, his tail drooping.

" I just wanted to help him win..."

"By robbing another's chances..."

Disgusted, he turned back to the match just in time to hear Present Mic screaming. "Shinso's crazy powerful! Who could've imagined this turn of events? That's the festival for ya!"

"This is a perfect example of why the entrance exam isn't rational," Aizawa said, and Izuku agreed entirely.

"Huh? Why's that?" Mic asked, confused.

"Since we're on to the individual matches, I had some information compiled about our final competitors. Shinso failed the practical exam to get into the hero course. Since he also applied for general studies, he probably figured that would happen. His quirk is incredibly strong, but that entrance test consisted of fighting faux villains. Robots. It gave a huge advantage to those who had physical superpowers they could show off. Despite his abilities, Shinso never stood a chance at passing," Aizawa said.

'Wrong, so wrong Aizawa... I don't even have a quirk and I passed. Relying on a quirk like that is why he failed... nothing more.'

"So here we are. You're lucky to have been so blessed, Sero. Now turn around and walk out of bounds like a good little hero," Shinso ordered.

Just like that, Sero turned on heel and marched away, towards the boundry line.

"Uh... what? Ah! Sero's obeying him!" Mic yelled.

"Not very flashy," Mic commented just before Sero walked out of bounds entirely. "And just like that, the match belongs to Hitsoshi Shinsou."

Izuku leaned back, happy with the match. 'The trigger must have been something vocal... I just have to shut my mouth and I should be fine...' Looking up, Izuku saw who the next match was... and felt a wave of worry. 'Please don't kill her, Bakugo... Please have really changed.'

:::

Katuski really had changed, he felt like a whole new person inside and out. The rage, while still there, did not control him, the anxiety and worry had faded to a dull whisper and he generally didn't want to see other's suffer for his own enjoyment. Not even Izuku... he was proud of himself, the meds had helped but he had worked hard to better himself and become someone he could be proud of. It had been bone difficult work, but progress had happened.

He hoped to apply those lessons to this match, and to fight the girl fairly but with respect for the skills he knew she had. He knew she had been training with Izuku, he could see new muscles etched into her already fine body. He could see it in her stance, he could see it in the confidence he knew she had lacked before. The girl was dangerous with her quirk, add in her new combat skills and who knew what she could do. Taking her easy would not be possible...

And so, he decided to listen to the lessons Present Mic had been drilling into his head for the last two weeks.

'Power is great, Bakugo, but it has to be tempered with wisdom otherwise it is nothing but trouble. When I was born, I obviously had control or wisdom, I ended up nearly deafening my parents and the doctor. By the time I was three, my parents lost their hearing entirely. I nearly killed my preschool class twice, and so I was muzzled by a very cruel teacher.

When you used your power before, it was always meant to harm, not to deflect or redirect or any of that. You need to learn to use your power and not harm others, or at least minimize the suffering you cause. That is what I will be teaching you from this point. So, you and I are going to spar and you are going to use your power to deflect my physical assult. I will try and kick your ass around your power, easy peasy.'

And it had been easy... for Present Mic, an amazing physical combatant it turned out, to rip him apart no matter how agressively he fought. It had been eye opening in more then one way, and Katsuki had learned so much. He may not entirely like the DJ hero, but he respected his capacity to teach and yeild with his power while still maintaining his level of danger.

The moment they were given the go, the girl blasted towards him at genuienly high speeds, her eyes filled with determinatin that would intimidate a lesser man. It was kind of hot to him if he was being honest, but that didn't matter, he had other things to worry about. Keeping his eyes on her, he readied himself, feeling his muscles tense, ready to strike out the moment she got close...

Three...

Two...

NOW!

He threw out his right arm, an explosion at his fingertips... only for the girl to baseball slide to her knees under his strike, popping up to uppercut him hard. He cought up blood, his lip busted by her strike. He set off a blast with both hands, moving himself back as she threw her finger pads at him. One hit was all it would take for her to win, to make it so he could not move.

That would never do.

'She predicted my strike... I should have guessed, she is Izuku's friend after all.' His face ached horribly, the girl had done real damage with that hit. He felt dizzy, lightheaded and achy all at once. He knew from experiance he might have a concussion, all from a single hit. 'Note to self, don't let her get a nut shot in. I'd rather not feel that... ever.'

There was no more time to think as the girl charged him again, her speed intense and eyes set.

Sighing, he knew he had to go hardcore to win... and so he did just that. The moment she got in close, he set off an explosion close to his feet, lifting him over her, allowing him to aim a blast to her back. The girl groaned, knocked forward by the blast, but he wasn't done. The moment he landed, he sent a strike to the back of her knees as Izuku had done to him during the battle trial. Reaching forward, he put a hand to her face.

"Any movements and I blast you to hell." Playing up his old crazy, that should scare her into submission...

Or so he thought until she smashed her head into his nuts, turning and sliding her leg around to knock him off his feet. His head slammed into the ground, and he knew for certian he had a concussion now. He could barely focus, his eyes swimming and blood rushing around. He felt her fingers gripping his ankles, and before he knew it he was flying in the air, well floating but her hands were still on his ankles.

"SECRET MOVE, URAVITY TOSS!" She bellowed, twirling him around and tossing him away like garbage.

And so he flew... straight into the boundry line and over it entirely.

Everything went dark as the crowd cheered for the girl who beat this new, calmer, more relaxed version of himself. He knew, as he passed out, that the old him would have won... but at what cost? Maiming or even killing the girl who honestly deserved to shine... She deserved it more then he did.

All of them did...

He was nothing but a monster anyway... a freak with a broken brain...

A beast of burden... who shamed even his parents with his presence.

"""

Despite his excitment, something rang false for Izuku about the match. 'She may have gained new skills, but she should have lost. Bakugo is far too powerful and I know he was still training... he barely fought at all, let alone fought back. Maybe I should check up on him, to be honest I am worried. That look on his face, just before he passed out... it's how used to look, before... it's how I felt when he told me to kill myself.'

Something cold ached in Izuku at that reminder, much as he loathed the person Bakugo was, it was clear he had changed... something in him had become better. Maybe he was on meds... maybe therapy had helped him...

It didn't entirely matter though.

Something was wrong and Izuku wasn't about to let him hurt himself, intentionally or not...

Choice made, Izuku stood up and walked towards the nurses office, desperate to safe a life or a heart, whichever one came first. He had been forced to do that for himself, but most people couldn't do that... and he had a feeling Bakugo wouldn't be willing to even try. Whatever had changed him had burned out his spark, so bully or not it was up to Izuku to help.

He had been there before... no one deserved to be there alone.

Not even Bakugo.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

The fights will take a few chapters... I hope I did well.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.