Izuku sat alone in the cafeteria while planning how to go about his matches in the tournament, he didn't know who he would be facing and therefore had to plan to face all of them. He was interrupted from his thoughts when Uraraka sat down opposite him, "Hey, Izuku. Are you okay? You kinda spaced out there."

"I'm fine. Just trying to plan for the next round," Izuku replied, "How are you finding the festival? You seem to be doing quite well."

"Yeah, I got 2nd in the last round," Uraraka said, "Sorry you didn't have a team. I did try to look for you, but I ran out of time."

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, teaming up with a friend just seemed right, you know?" Uraraka had a bright smile on her face. "I'm glad you made it even without a team. I would have felt awful if you lost because no one teamed up with you."

Izuku and Uraraka then finished their lunch, the recreational activities were finished and Cementos formed a large rectangular stage for the tournament. He was standing in the tunnel leading to the arena awaiting Present Mic's announcement for the first round.

"The first Match!" Present Mic Yelled, "Izuku Midoryia from the Hero Course versus Hitoshi Shinso from General Studies." Both contestants made their way onto the stage standing opposite each other with looks of pure determination on their faces. "The rules are simple! Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilising them or getting them to say 'I Give Up'!"

"'I give up,' huh? Get it, Izuku Midoryia? This battle's going to test your strength of will," Shinso said, "If you've got any kind of vision for your future, there's no sense in worrying about how you get there."

"Now let's get this thing started! Ready!" Present Mic announced.

"Like that monkey, babbling about his stupid pride," Shinso continued, "What kind of dumb-ass throws away a chance like this?"

"START!" Present Mic yelled.

Izuku dashed forward towards his opponent. "What'd you say?!" he yelled, angered by what he said about his classmate, he might not be friends with them all but he respects their goal to be heroes.

He immediately stopped with a vacant stare in his eyes, "It's my win," Shinso stated.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? This battle's just beginning. Show us some spirit!" Present Mic yelled through the arena speakers, "Mere seconds into the match, Midoriya's... Frozen in place?!"

Everyone was shocked.

"He's not even twitching! Could this be Shinso's quirk?!" Present Mic continued, "We were barely aware this guy even existed, but now... he sure is one to keep an eye on!"

Aizawa then explained that Shinso's quirk is extraordinarily powerful, but wasn't useful for the entrance exam since it was against robots, hence why he was in the General Education Department.

"You... must be nice to have everything handed to you, Midoriya," Shinso said with a bitter tone in his voice, "Now turn around and walk out of the ring."

Izuku turned and followed the instructions beginning to walk to the edge, Shinso said "You probably wouldn't think so but this quirk of mine is like a dream. Right. You Lose."

Izuku's left foot then stood on the lace of his right shoe, he went to take the next step and fell forward. He couldn't protect himself due to being mind-controlled and landed face-first on the concrete. Standing back up he looked over to Shinso, cheek grazed and nose bleeding from the impact.

"Midoriya! He seems to have broken free!" Present Mic announced.

"You're so lucky," Shinso said, "got nothing to say?"

Izuku stayed silent, having figured out it was based on his reply, he then started walking towards his opponent wiping the blood from his face.

"Thanks to my quirk's nature, I couldn't enter the golden gates. You wouldn't get that. Being naturally blessed, born with an awesome quirk... Getting to follow all your dreams!" Shinso yelled, getting angrier as he went on, the jealousy evident in his voice.

While Shinso was distracted by his emotions Izuku moved forward and began pushing him to the edge of the arena. Right as Shinso got to the edge he tried to switch positions with Izuku to push him out, he reached out his arm for the final push. Izuku grabbed his outstretched arm and flung him over his shoulder. Shinso landed roughly on his back, letting out a groan, his legs were out of bounds.

"Shinso is out of the ring!" Midnight announced, "Midoriya moves onto the second round!"

Izuku headed over to Shinso, offering his hand out to help him up, "You're wrong. I'm not blessed, I don't have a quirk. I got into the hero course through hard work. You've got a good quirk so stop being so resentful and be the hero I think you can be." He then left the arena, quickly visiting Recovery Girl to get healed before going to 1-A's viewing box. He sat next to Uraraka and pulled out his Hero Analysis notebook to take notes on the other matches.

The second match of the tournament was between Todoroki and Awase from 1-B. The dark-haired boy made an immediate dash towards his opponent but before he could even cross half the battlefield Todoroki had sent a large iceberg at him, encasing him and covering a quarter of the stadium. Izuku watched the match and took notes, mostly about Todoroki, from his brief observation he could tell that Todoroki had used his left hand to defrost himself as he left.

Izuku continued to make notes as he watched the next matches. Kaminari lost to Shiozaki from 1-B when he overused his quirk while his opponent used her vine-like hair as a shield. Iida won his match but only after Mei Hatsume from the support course had used him as an advertisement for her gadgets for a solid ten minutes. Ashido won her match by dodging Aoyama's laser by sliding on her acid while getting close enough to deliver a punishing uppercut. Tokoyami ended his fight with Yaoyorozu quickly by pushing her out of bounds with his quirk 'Dark Shadow'. The seventh match ended in a tie when Kirishima and Tetsutetsu knocked each other out at the same time after repeatedly throwing hay-makers at each other.

The final match of the first round was between Uraraka and Bakugo, Izuku headed down to the prep rooms hoping to see his friend before her match. He arrived at prep room two and walked into Uraraka and Iida talking, they both turned towards him as he walked through the door.

"You might know, would Bakugo go easier on a female opponent?" Iida asked, directing his question towards Izuku.

"No, he won't. Everyone here is giving their all to be number one and achieve their dreams, so I don't think he'd go easy on you. Anyway, I've got a couple of strategies that could help you against Bakugo, if you want them." Izuku replied while holding out his notebook for Uraraka to read.

"Thanks for the offer but I think this is something I have to do on my own. Everyone is fighting with their futures in mind, everyone's a rival right now." Uraraka then left sporting a determined look.

Izuku and Iida made their way back to 1-A's viewing box, as they were walking Iida asked Izuku for his opinion of the upcoming match to which he replied, "She's got a really bad match up. Uraraka's quirk would work better against a close-combat fighter like you or Kirishima, unfortunately, Bakugo can use his explosions at a longer range so she's immediately at a disadvantage. She could win this fight but Bakugo isn't going to give her many openings and even if she does use her quirk on him he can still manoeuvre mid-air."

Iida turned to his classmate, somewhat impressed by his analysis of the situation, "It is unfortunate that Uraraka's match is so unfavourable. The same could be said for your match against Todoroki since he's a long-range quirk user." The duo then took their seats in the viewing box right as Uraraka's match was announced.

Neither opponent moved for a couple of seconds, clearly exchanging words before their match. Uraraka moved first, darting towards Bakugo, he set off an explosion as she got closer. She managed to dodge the blast which created a cloud of smoke around the two combatants. Uraraka's next move was to remove her jacket and float it through the smoke as a distraction while she tried to get closer to Bakugo.

She was just about to touch him when he set off another explosion, sending her flying backwards and destroying some of the arena in the blast. Uraraka quickly scrambled to her feet and charged back at the boy, unfortunately, he was ready and sent her back with another fiery blast. She continued charging and being repelled for another minute or so, scrapes and burns marking her skin.

Meanwhile, some members of the crowd were beginning to get uncomfortable watching this one-sided match. One Pro Hero in the audience began criticising Bakugo stating that if he was so much stronger than her he should just throw her out of the ring and that this isn't how a hero is supposed to act and finishing his speech by shouting, "Stop toying with the poor girl!"

This angered Aizawa and he elbowed his co-host, Present Mic, when he went to agree. Aizawa began berating the audience member telling him to look for another job and that Bakugo is acknowledging Uraraka's strength by not being careless and as such has recognised her as a worthy opponent.

Aizawa's words proved true when Uraraka stood before Bakugo with a determined look on her scratched-up face. She then released her quirk. Izuku noticed that when Uraraka was charging she stayed low to the ground causing Bakugo's blasts to break up the terrain. She then used the smoke from the explosions as a cover to touch the broken ground and send slabs and shards of concrete floating into the air.

The concrete projectiles were all released simultaneously, falling like a deadly rainfall of stone. It seemed like Uraraka had won as the rocks continued to fall, gaining speed and getting closer to their target. Uraraka charged again, hoping that the distraction of her improvised meteor shower would give her an opening to use her quirk on him.

Bakugo raised his right arm and braced it with his left before letting out a massive explosion, easily three times the size of the one that he used in the 2v2 training against Izuku. The blast engulfed the projectiles and either pulverised them or scattered them away from the arena. The blast also took Uraraka of her feet and flying backwards onto the ground. She fought her way back to her feet, began to charge forward before collapsing face-first into the ground ending the match and making Bakugo the victor.

Izuku made his way down to the prep room as his match with Todoroki was approaching and as he passed the stairs he saw Bakugo. He was going to ignore his former bully but Bakugo spoke up first, "You suggested that didn't you?! That self-sacrificing scheme of hers, you caused me a lot of trouble out there."

"I didn't, that was all Uraraka so if it was a lot of trouble for you that was her messing with you." Izuku then stormed off not wanting to speak to Bakugo and hoping to catch Uraraka before his match.

He opened the door to Prep room 2 to see Uraraka sitting alone at one of the tables. She looked up as the door opened and put on a large smile before saying, "Guess I lost. I just got carried away at the end when I thought I could win."

Izuku looked a little dumbfounded at how upbeat she could be after such a hard-fought loss, "Uraraka... are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm healing bit by bit, so my stamina doesn't get drained. Just these little scrapes left," She motioned to her bandages on her face and arms. "But Bakugo's just so strong, I couldn't put a scratch on him. I lost but I won't lose again. Guess I just gotta try harder next time."

"That's not what I meant." Izuku then heard Present Mic start announcing the next fight, his. "I've got to go, wish me luck."

"Yeah... good luck," Uraraka answered slightly awkwardly. People couldn't usually read her so well when she hid her emotions. She then received a phone call from her Dad and immediately felt her emotions well up and tears fall from her eyes. Oncer her call ended she made her way up to the viewing area in time to see Izuku and Todoroki's match begin.

While Uraraka was on the phone Izuku made his way towards the arena. He was stopped when a large man stepped out around a corner. Izuku looked up at the man, seeing a blue costume with literal fire coming off it as well as a beard made of fire on his face.

"Hey. There you are. Either use your quirk against Shoto or forfeit the match, he's not here to waste time he has a duty to surpass All Might," the pro hero Endeavour said.

Izuku face changed from one of shock to a more determined expression before he spoke back to the man before him. "I have no intention of forfeiting the match." He then continued walking down the tunnel and onto the stage. Izuku and Todoroki stood on their respective sides of the arena, staring each other down.

"Both of these competitors have won top marks in this festival so far! But there's only room for one of these greats in the ring, its... Todoroki vs Midoriya!" Present Mic announced.

The yell of start came from Present Mic and Izuku sprinted forward as fast as he could. Hoping to close the distance between them before Todoroki could use his quirk. Shards of ice erupted from Todoroki covering the arena, Izuku dodged as best he could but a couple of the shards slashed into his skin. He continued sprinting forward and vaulted over some ice to deliver a strong kick to Todoroki's side.

Todoroki stumbled from the kick and used a wall of ice to stop himself from going out of bounds. Izuku followed after him ready to deliver another blow only for a wall of ice to smash into him head-on. Izuku pulled himself off the floor, aching from the hit. He got his bearings and found Todoroki moving around the wall of ice into the centre of the ring. Izuku lunged forward again, knowing that if he gave his opponent any time he would be encased in ice and lose.

Izuku had almost made it to Todoroki when another wall of ice slammed into him and pushed him back into the previous wall. Both walls shattered in the impact and Izuku dropped to the floor battered. Izuku forced himself to his feet again and noticed that Todoroki was shivering and had frost covering his right side. He lunged forward again and threw a couple of punches at Todoroki.

Todoroki dodged the first but got hit by the second, his reactions being slowed by the frost. Izuku dove forward, tackling him around the waist and slamming him to the ground, "You're shivering Todoroki. Why go that far? You've overused your quirk, there's only so much cold you can bear. Why not use your left side to thaw yourself out?"

Todoroki pushed Izuku off of him before scrambling to his feet. Izuku also got to his feet and started swinging more punches at Todoroki, "Everyone is giving it their all, to win... to achieve their goals. To make it to the top. And you're only using half your power... come at me with everything you've got."

"What are you planning? Did my bastard of a father pay you off or something?!"

Todoroki sprinted forward, angered by Izuku's words. When he got close enough he went to slam his right foot down to use his quirk but was interrupted by a sucker-punch to the stomach. He doubled over in pain and stumbled back away from his opponent. He sent another volley of ice at Izuku but he quickly dodged it. "It's not just you that's slowing down. Your ice is weaker too," Izuku said.

Todoroki sent another wall of ice at Midoriya. It moved slower than the others and when it got close enough Izuku punched it, a chunk shattered off with the impact. Within another few hits, enough of the wall was broken for Izuku to climb through. His hands were bloody and bruised and some of his fingers were most likely broken.

Meanwhile, standing off to the side of the arena, Cementos radioed to Midnight, "Should I stop the match? Seems like Midoriya's going all out because he knows he can be healed. And he's not even feeling the pain he's in because his adrenaline's pumping. But those injuries, a single healing session won't be enough for a full recovery... even if he wins here, he'll be in no shape for the next match!"

Up in the commentator's booth, Aizawa had his own thoughts about Izuku's actions, 'He's not just blindly going wild out there. In order to win, this is the best strategy for him at this point. Even if he does know he can be healed, putting himself through all that pain takes a hell of a lot of guts."

Back in the arena, Todoroki was continually throwing walls of ice at Izuku who in turn was kicking and punching his way through them in an effort to get closer to his enemy.

"Why are you going this far?" Todoroki asked after Izuku smashed his way through another wall of ice.

"I'm just trying to exceed expectations!" Midoriya yelled back as he dashed forward. "The first Quirkless Hero! That's what I want to be. I'm giving it everything I've got." He got close to Todoroki and shoved him back, pain spiking in his wrists as he did. "Your experiences... your determination, I can't even begin to imagine what it's like but if you become number one without giving it you're all then I don't think that you're serious about denying him everything."

Todoroki stood still, his mind racing threw memories of his childhood; of the torment, his mother and he went through. Midoriya's shout of "Your power is your own!" caused another memory to flood to his mind, a simple memory of watching TV with his mother. An interview with All Might talking about how quirks are passed from parent to child but that's not the only thing that matters. He then remembered his mother's words, "You want to be a hero, right? That's fine. You're not bound by his blood. You decide who you want to become."

The crowd grew silent as and inferno enveloped Todoroki, "I thought you wanted to win? So why are you trying to inspire me? Which one of us isn't taking this seriously now?"

I grin grew on Izuku's face as he muttered, "Incredible."

"What are you smiling about? With those wounds and this situation you know you can't win now." Todorki said.

Izuku knew he couldn't win, if it wasn't for Todoroki severely limiting himself he wouldn't have lasted this long but at least everyone would pay attention to this match. He charged towards Todoroki hoping that maybe if he was fast enough he could shove him out of bounds. As he got closer Todoroki shot a large wall of ice at him, forcing him to dodge right. He was at the edge of the arena now and Todoroki sent a column of fire towards him. His only options were to stand there and burn or dodge out of bounds and lose.

Cementos was already forming a wall in front of Midoriya when he stepped further right, crossing out of bounds and losing the match.

Present Mic announced, "Midoriya is out of bounds. Todoroki moves on to the third round!"

Now that the match had ended and his adrenaline went down Izuku felt the pain and exhaustion flood over him. He promptly passed out, collapsing to the grass and being taken to Recovery Girl's nurse's office.