A/N: Okay, several things to look forward to in this chapter, if you haven't already heard the audio version on YouTube! Cavalry battle is first up, of course, in which I've prepared some interesting confrontations, one of which I'm sure will take you by surprise, so be on the lookout for that. Secondly, yes, we will get to find out the lineup for the tournament brackets before this installment ends. Something you'll be happy to know, I think, is that the rest of the tournament arc will last for at least two month's worth of content, maybe a little more...

Now that I've got your attention with those tasty tidbits, dive on in to the main course! Read! Review! And as always, enjoy!

P.S. If you liked the art piece that I did for this story, go give it a like on my Instagram! Thanks to those of you that already did!

Phase 1: Chapter 11

Fight or Flight

"Ready?" Midoriya asked as he set his feet firmly on the ground.

"Ready," Uraraka answered as she prepared her quirk.

"Good to go!" Mina declared as she started secreting a mild acid from her feet.

"Let's do it," Kurai nodded as he wrapped the coveted headband underneath his hairline. Checking to make sure that his gauntlets were still properly secured, he conjured two glowing balls of energy just as the timer announcing the beginning of the cavalry battle went off.

Fifteen minutes, he thought as he cast his eyes about, noticing that everyone was already targeting their team. We can evade the others for that long… I think.

"We need some breathing room!" Mina exclaimed as the others began to get nervous from the proximity of the other teams closing in on them.

"I'm on it!" Kurai grunted as he flung his arms with intent, hurling a barrage of Energon blasts in front of their opponents. The purpose was to deter them from approaching with any great amount of speed, and since he couldn't actually hit them with the intent to make them fall, he made sure to aim carefully.

The series of small explosions that erupted across the field mostly did the trick, with a few notable exceptions. Todoroki's team charged through the debris, his group comprised of Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and Iida as acting the horses, with the bespectacled young man taking on the role of lead horse. Coming up from the left, also undeterred by the show of power was team Bakugo, the crazed blond student riding atop a combination of Kirishima in the front, with Sero and Hatsume in the back.

"Wait, why'd Hatsume team up with a guy that came in eighteenth?!" Uraraka shouted in surprise as Kurai urged them to get ready for a jump.

"Bakugo's attitude sucks, but his power is no joke!" Kurai replied as he checked to make sure that Midoriya was getting ready to make the leap with Full Cowling.

He was. "Kacchan's quirk is also easy to spot, so it stands to reason that Hatsume would team up with him if she wants to get noticed!" the green-haired boy added as verdant lightning danced across his body. "We're all set!"

"Sorry, Midoriya, but you're goin' nowhere fast!" Sero shouted before he extended his arm and wrapped up his target in strong tape from his elbow.

"I told ya you'd regret not teaming up with me!" Mei laughed maniacally as she fired off some kind of trip wire that wrapped itself around Mina, who squawked in alarm as she was caught. "If I take down the guy in first place, everyone'll see my babies for how brilliant they are!"

"The only one who's taking anybody down is ME!" Bakugo roared as he launched himself forward unexpectedly, leaving his team behind in a cloud of smoke that seemed to surprise them as much as his opponents. He stretched out his hand as he flew at Kurai, his eyes wild as he screamed, "DIE!"

"Reverse jump!" Kurai shouted.

"We're on it!" Midoriya yelled as he heaved mightily, flexing his muscles to snap Sero's tape like it was wax paper, while Mina melted through the wire entrapping her, even as Uraraka erased their group's gravity so that Midoriya only had to lift her weight as he jumped back and out of the reach of Bakugo, who cursed as Sero's tape snatched him back from hitting the ground. Underneath the escaping team, several groups looked up at them with surprise.

"Guys, we're gonna be landing soon!" Uraraka alerted them.

"Wait, how do we brace for a backwards landing?!" Mina asked desperately as she bent her knees to absorb the incoming impact.

"We don't," Kurai asserted as he readied his quirk. "Get ready for a forward landing, on my mark. Mina, calibrate- mark!"

"Set!" she called up almost instantly after that.

The phrase was used by them during training in order to coordinate each other's current reaction times, so that if one of them needed to call for a maneuver from the other, they would know exactly how quickly the other could respond. And in a situation like this, timing was everything. Judging distances with an eye that had been honed to a practitioner's level over the course of the last ten years, Kurai unleashed twin beams of Energon behind them, generating an explosion that changed their reverse descent into a forward one.

"Now!" he shouted.

Mina sprayed a coat of mild acid in front of her, allowing them to slide further forward, and away from a handful of student teams that were already chasing after them. Their opponents, not knowing entirely what it was, either tried to avoid the liquid entirely, or wound up slipping and sliding through the grayish substance. Kurai's team could smell burning rubber, but Mina had assured them that the substance wouldn't eat through their shoes as long as they didn't have to resort to such a tactic too many times.

The issue is, most everyone else is out to get us! Kurai thought as sweat lined his brow. Glancing at the clock, he realized that not even three minutes had passed since the second round had begun, and already they were having too many close calls.

We need to change tactics, he thought grimly. "All right, if we keep running away, we're just gonna tire ourselves out," he told the others. "New plan- go on the offensive!"

"Are you crazy?!" Mina shouted back at him. "We need to defend your headband to the death, not be going after other people when we've already got enough to worry about!"

"Precisely my point!" he countered as he blasted a spot in front of a charging trio that were aiming to sideswipe them, forcing the other students to swerve away from them. "We have too many people to worry about already! At this rate, one of us might make a mistake that costs us our ticket to the finals! We need a back-up plan for if we lose the ten-million headband!"

"He's right!" Midoriya agreed. "Pros always need to be planning ahead for fallbacks and unexpected consequences!"

"Who do we target, then?" Uraraka asked.

"Whoever comes near us!" Kurai roared as his hand shot out, punching a purple-haired student in the face when he came too close, using his other hand to grab at his headband and rip it free as they recoiled angrily. Tying the band around his neck, Kurai added, "If they know that we're taking headbands from people that challenge us, they might think twice about trying to take the prize. And if someone does manage to snag it, then we can still advance on our gathered spoils of combat."

"Wow," Midoriya said as he looked up at his teammate nervously. "That punch was kinda vicious, Hikari."

"Sorry, couldn't be helped," Kurai replied grimly. "I can't afford to second-guess my actions here, what with everyone after us."

"Won't they be after us even more now?!" Mina asked as she swerved to avoid another charging group, which Kurai zapped and then stole a pair of headbands from. "We're adding up to be an even bigger target than before! People are gonna want those back!"

"People will be after us either way," her boyfriend said with a negative shake of his head. "Like I said before, we need a fallback plan." Glancing at the numbers gathered in his hand, he muttered, "I think we have somewhere around eight hundred extra points now."

"I'd feel better if we had a little more than that, but I doubt we're gonna get the chance," Midoriya said nervously as the temperature around them began to drop. Kurai realized then that a wall of solid ice was forming to his left, the source coming from behind them.

"Crap, we gotta move!" he said as he twisted in his seat to look back at Todoroki's team, rapidly approaching them with grim faces. "Get ready for another jump!"

"I don't think so!" Iida shouted at them, even as another wall of ice, this one even higher than the other, sprang up in front of Kurai's team, effectively wedging them into a corner with no way out- or so their attackers would have liked to believe.

Approaching at a much more measured pace now, Todoroki declared, "I'll be taking your headband now, Midoriya, Hikari."

"Not happening," Kurai said stubbornly, noting that the half-and-half teenager had already gathered a few headbands himself in addition to his own, worth 665 points. In a lower voice, he added, "Stay to his left."

"How come?" Uraraka asked, even though she and the others moved to do as he asked.

"Todoroki doesn't ever use his left side in combat," Midoriya answered for him. "I don't know if it's because it gets harder for him to use the more he uses his ice, and that's what he prefers to do in combat, or it's something else entirely. Either way, he doesn't use fire to attack, and we can exploit that, right Hikari?"

"I'm surprised you managed to sum that up without throwing up a concordance," Kurai said with a grin and a thumbs-up to his friend, who reddened a little. "But yeah, he's right. And thanks to this ice wall, it'll take a while for any other students to get in, if they even can. By my estimate, we've got a little less than ten minutes to go, so the longer that this drags out, the better it is for us."

"Besides, if things get a little too tense in here, we can always just blast or melt our way out," Mina grinned while Todoroki frowned at them.

"Good point," Kurai nodded. Lowering his tone a little, he leaned forward and asked, "How are your feet doing? They aren't strained too badly from all the acid?"

"Nah, not when it's mild like the stuff I've been putting out," she answered. "Why, what's up?"

"Can you make some stronger stuff and put it between us and them?" he requested as he straightened up. "I'll feel a little better if Iida isn't so inclined to just jet over here at top speed." He had noticed that their opponents were wearing roller skates, which allowed them to slide along as fast as Iida's Engine Quirk could push them- Yaoyorozu's doing, he was certain.

"You got it, sweetie," she grinned as he reddened a little, her feet now oozing out a substance that coated the ground in front of them with an acid that hissed as it began to eat away at the concrete, causing their classmates to blanch at the sight.

"Are you crazy?!" Iida shouted at them. "That could really hurt somebody!"

"Not against the rules, buddy," Kurai smirked confidently as they maintained their distance. "See, if we threw the stuff at you and hurt you, it'd be on us. But now it's just sitting there, which means that if you step in it, that's your fault. And while Todoroki's long-range attacks are impressive, they get more imprecise with distance. He can't hit us with an ice barrage without risking us falling over due to the attack- you'd all be disqualified for that."

The grimaces that he received in response was all Kurai needed to know that he was right. Unfortunately, in his desire to isolate the team with the ten million-point headband, Todoroki had backed himself into an untenable position, a fact that he had realized just a little too late.

"What happened to your declaration of war?" Kurai said as he taunted the other boy. Shifting his gaze down to look at Iida, he couldn't help but add, "And you, pal? I thought you were gonna do your best to surpass me?"

"Be careful," Midoriya warned their rider, cautious of him becoming overconfident now that they had a few moments of respite from the other students. "He didn't get into U.A. on recommendation for no reason. He'll come up with something, given enough time."

"Yeah, good point," Kurai replied, realizing that he was growing dangerously close to acting in arrogance. "Thanks, Midoriya." Keeping his eyes fixed on his opponents', he asked, "How's everyone holding up?"

"I'm not even feeling nauseous yet, so I'm okay," Uraraka replied, even as Present Mic announced that there were only five minutes remaining in the competition.

"My feet are a little achy now, but I'll be fine," Mina assured him, her voice flavored with a cheeky grin.

"Full Cowling is working great thanks to all of our training, so I'm not even bruised from using my quirk," Midoriya added with a smile of his own. "We might actually be okay here!"

"Think again!" A warped, booming voice bellowed, even as a shadow obscured the sun.

"What the-?! Move!" Kurai shouted as he realized what was headed for them. They got out of the way just in time for Shoji to land where they had been, his arms wrapped around his back to form a dome made of flesh and bone, from which a monstrous shadow with orange eyes was erupting, bellowing at them with the head of a raven.

"Whoa!" Midoriya exclaimed as the three teams all took up positions to form a rough triangle. "Is that… Tokoyami's Dark Shadow?!"

"Looks like," Kurai nodded, his eyes flicking back and forth between their two enemy teams. "I don't remember it being that big and powerful, though." He had seen the quirk in action only once, back during their basic combat training with All Might, and that was through surveillance footage. Either he was holding back during his match, or that footage was of a lesser quality- and U.A. is able to afford all the nice toys, so I doubt that was due to a bad feed… But I also didn't think of Tokoyami as the kind of guy to hold back.

Regardless, Shoji and Tokoyami- they all assumed that the other student was hiding out in the flesh-dome that Shoji had made- were on the side of Todoroki that his ice powers came from, so even if they had almost taken Kurai's team by surprise, their position was now the most unstable.

Even so, Kurai had energy blasts at the ready, just in case the shadow monster came at them. He wasn't sure that his bolts would do anything against it, but there was no point in not trying if it came to that. Besides, since the thing wasn't really a student, he could probably let loose on it if it got too close for comfort.

"What're you-"

Whoosh. Kurai was cut off as the shadow erupted into a blur of motion that was too fast for even him to track; and he'd gone up against Nomu. A shallow scrape began to weep on his forehead, and when he clutched at it, he realized with a terrified start that the headband was gone. "The hell?!" he gasped as he looked over at Shoji, who hadn't even moved.

"Lookin' for this?" The shadow atop his back waggled the ten million-point band in front of the massive student before retreating into the shell that it was coming from. Off to the side, Todoroki's team looked just as shocked by the new turn of events as Kurai's team felt.

"Since when was he that fast?!" Midoriya gaped. Kurai could practically see the wheels turning in his friend's mind, so he tapped him firmly on the head, causing the green-haired boy to look up at him with wide eyes.

"Theorize later," he told him as he wiped more blood off his brow, ignoring the stinging that it produced. Clutching at his neck, he felt a measure of relief as he was able to say, "We've got the other headbands. We should have enough to pass on to the next round."

"No, we can't just settle like this!" Midoriya insisted. "We're supposed to be aiming for the top; plus ultra, remember?!"

"Midoriya, that thing just took my headband faster than Nomu took a swipe at my intestines, there's no way I can match him with my gauntlets on!" Kurai told him firmly. "I wanna come out on top too, but not at the risk of losing what we've already worked to achieve! Besides, blood keeps getting in my eyes- if I'm not careful, I'll end up blinded, and then how will I defend against any incoming attacks?"

Even as he spoke, Tokoyami's Shadow began tunneling through the ice wall to escape, Todoroki urging his comrades to follow them, Kurai's team already forgotten in the pursuit of the prize headband. Seeing this, Mina muttered, "We're probably better off just staying here, guys. We can defend ourselves easier, plus once everyone realizes that Shoji and Tokoyami have the ten million, they'll likely forget that we're even here."

"Yeah, I'd feel safer with that plan," Uraraka agreed.

"…Okay, then," Midoriya nodded, mindful of the scoreboard that he could see above one of the ice walls. "We're sitting at third place right now, and there's only a couple of minutes left in the game. If we maintain that until the last minute, then we're fine. But if we drop down to fourth, we can't afford to play it safe- we'll need to hunt for other headbands, too."

"I can agree to that," Kurai nodded, once again wiping at his forehead nervously, wincing as his abrasion protested angrily. "I still really want to know how Tokoyami powered up his quirk like that, though…"

The group made it to the final round, though it was a close thing. The team stayed inside of the icy fortress made by their opponent, Mina's guess about being forgotten by the other teams proving to be prophetic. In the last ten seconds, the scoreboard rearranged itself a few times, with the end results being something of a surprise.

First place was Team Shoji, which had been comprised of himself, Tokoyami, and Asui. The last member surprised the other students- they hadn't even realized that she was there in the first place. Although after a moment of thought, it did make sense that the two training partners would team up again.

Team Todoroki came in second quite handily, followed closely by Team Bakugo, who had made a last-minute comeback after being robbed of their points by a team from Class B.

There was a large gap in the numbers between the explosive boys' team and Kurai's, but they managed to scrape by into the finals with just sixty more points than the people in fifth place. Still, it was relief to have made it into the next round, where everyone would be able to stand out in a singular nature with the setting of a combat tournament.

"That was closer than I would have liked," Midoriya sighed as the team dissolved, Kurai finally ripping off one of the sleeves on his uniform to make a bandage for his head, which Mina helped him tie in place.

"Hey, we made it, and that's the important part!" Uraraka said cheerfully.

Midoriya smiled at her and replied, "Yeah… You're right, Uraraka."

"Good job, all of us," Kurai said as he grinned at the others, swaying a little dizzily as he stood in place, Mina moving to help keep him upright. "I'm really glad that we were able to… uh, work together to move on."

"Hey, are you okay?" Ashido asked him worriedly as they began to make their way out of the ice wall, him leaning on her for support.

"I feel pretty light-headed," he admitted. "I shoulda bandaged myself a lot sooner…"

"Ya know, you're the last person that should be needing a lecture about head wounds," she said with a mild frown.

"Sorry…" he sighed.

"Are you gonna be able to stay for the announcement of the tournament brackets, or should we take you to see Recovery Girl?" Uraraka asked worriedly.

"As long as I have help standing up, I should be okay," Kurai grunted. "But… I might need help remembering the match-ups."

"Yeah, you're going to see the nurse," Mina decided with a huff and a small grin as they stepped out of the cold barrier. "Come on, big guy."

"We'll let you guys know about the lineup when we meet up for lunch!" Midoriya told them as they walked off the field.

"Sure!" Mina called back with a wave. "See you guys in a bit!"

"Hold on!" The pair was surprised to see Tokoyami running up to them, short on breath as he stopped a few paces away. Looking at Kurai with a concern that surprised the couple, he asked, "Are you all right? I tried to hold Dark Shadow back, but I was only able to just barely control him as he was."

"He's gotta get to the nurse now, cos he's been bleeding pretty bad from his head," Mina said a little irritably. "Why'd you hit him that hard?!"

"I wasn't trying to hit him, merely have Dark Shadow grab the headband," the other young man replied earnestly. "The creature has a mind of its own, you see. Sometimes he's harder to control, especially when he's more powerful, and he was resisting my commands to remain docile." Bowing deeply to Kurai, the raven-headed boy said, "I am truly sorry for injuring you so badly, Hikari. I promise that it was a mistake, one that I will do my best to avoid in the future."

"It's okay," the other boy said tiredly with a smile. "You got me by surprise, that's for sure. But if we fight in the tournament, I'll be ready for you next time. Count on it."

"I will," Tokoyami said as he straightened up. "I wish you good luck, Hikari."

"Thanks," Kurai laughed as Mina led him away. "I think I'm gonna need it."

Fortunately it was only a quick visit to an irritated Recovery Girl that fixed him up, though she did mention that she disliked having such regular customers. After giving her a promise to be more careful in the future, Mina and Kurai were headed up to the cafeteria, where they would have a healthy meal waiting for them with their friends.

"I wonder who we're gonna have to fight in the first round," Mina thought aloud as she intertwined her hand with Kurai's, causing him to blush a little at the confidence of her grip. "Is there anyone in particular that you want to fight, Kurai?"

"Um, maybe Kirishima?" he answered. "His defensive powers would make for an entertaining match against me, let us both show what we're made of without needing to hold back too much. What about you?"

"I wanna fight Su if I can," Mina replied immediately. "She's super agile, so it'd be a good test to see if I've gotten more accurate with my acid. Plus I'm no slouch when it comes to dodging, either." Giving him an impish look, she added, "I gotta say that I'm surprised that you don't wanna fight Iida. Aren't boys always trying to outdo their friends and all that?"

"That's a given," Kurai chuckled. "I dunno, I guess I just didn't think too much about it, since we've always been rivals in that sense. It was just something I kind of felt like would happen anyway."

"I guess that… kinda makes sense?" Ashido giggled as they turned down the hallway to head for the main building. "Let's just hope that we don't have to fight each other, you know?"

"Why, are you afraid?" he tried to tease her, only to see the look in her eyes and realize too late that he had just walked into a trap.

"Yeah, afraid that I'll have to melt that cute butt of yours'," she laughed as he turned a deep scarlet, the sound ringing and redoubling down the passages.

"Stop doing that!" he begged.

"But you're just so adorable when you turn that color!" she giggled. "I can't help it!"

"Ah, Kurai!" Iida said with a welcoming smile as he waved the pair over once they entered the lunch room. They saw that Uraraka was with him, three empty seats surrounding them, but with Midoriya nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, pal," Kurai said as they approached to take their own seats, food already having been set aside for them. "Congratulations on making it to the final event."

"Likewise," his taller friend smiled back. "Sorry if I offended you before the match. It was not my intent to harm our friendship."

"Not at all, I get where you were coming from," Kurai replied before digging into his food hungrily. "All's well that ends well, huh?"

"Exactly my thoughts," Iida replied with a sharp nod. "I have to say, I didn't expect you to include Ashido in your team with Uraraka and Midoriya. Though I must admit, her acid quirk made it all but impossible for us to approach you with any sort of aggression."

"Uraraka and I have been training with each other, so we figured we could work together," Ashido half-lied quickly, before Kurai got tripped up. "It worked out well enough, right?"

"Yes indeed!" Iida nodded again.

"Speaking of Deku, have either of you guys seen him?" Uraraka asked a little worriedly as she looked at the empty seat next to her. "I haven't seen him since we finished the cavalry battle."

"Nah, we went straight to Recovery Girl's office, then came here," Mina shrugged. "I'm sure he's probably just updating that notebook he's always using to record data about quirks that he notices."

"Probably," Kurai nodded. "Hey, did they announce the brackets for the tourney yet?" Even though the first events varied from year to year, the Sports Festival always ended with a battle tournament.

"Not yet," Iida answered with a negative shake of his head. "I believe they mentioned something about extra activities for the teams that didn't advance, so it may be some time before we are told who it is that we will be fighting."

"Aw man, the suspense is gonna kill me…" Mina groaned.

"Here's to hoping that we can test our mettle against one another, eh, Kurai?" Iida asked his friend challengingly.

"Just don't go running home when I beat you," Kurai replied with a good-natured smirk. "I know where you live."

The hour-long lunch break passed by quickly enough. Midoriya joined them about fifteen minutes into it, but simply replied that he'd been in the bathroom when he was questioned about where he'd been. The five of them ate and talked, laughing at various stories told by Kurai and Iida at each other's expense. Kurai supposed it was fun getting to have some down time after a morning full of adrenaline and aching muscles.

Once their leisure time was up and Kurai had obtained a new P.E. outfit, the entirety of the freshman class was once again on the field of the arena. Midnight stood before them on the podium, the massive screen behind her coming to life with the image of a tournament bracket fully mapped out, save for the names missing at the bottom sixteen slots.

"Now that the preliminary matches are over with, it's time to announce the order in which the matches of the final event will be held!" she declared, brandishing her whip. "However, due to the uneven number of students that made it here, we have left it up to the team that came in fifth place to choose a member of their group to advance in the finals!"

While said group began to debate among themselves as to who should get to move on, Kurai and his friends all exchanged nervous glances. The reason for their apprehension was obvious- which of them would be pitted against one another? Who would they have to knock down in order to advance their standing in the tournament?

These questions burned in their minds with a fever pitch for a few minutes, until Midnight announced that a student named Tetsutetsu would be advancing. For some reason, this seemed to irritate Kirishima, but Kurai couldn't figure out why that would be.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Midnight declared as she pointed up to the screen, which began to fill in with the names of the students that would be competing in the battle event.

The rounds were arranged thusly:

Round 1: Kirishima vs. Tetsutetsu

Round 2: Shoji vs. Midoriya

Round 3: Todoroki vs. Sero

Round 4: Asui vs. Kaminari

Round 5: Iida vs. Hatsume

Round 6: Hikari vs. Ashido

Round 7: Yaoyorozu vs. Tokoyami

Round 8: Uraraka vs. Bakugo

Mina and Kurai immediately exchanged a look, she giving him an impish grin while he reddened slightly. For all his assurances before the festival, he hadn't actually expected to end up going head-to-head with her in open combat.

This thought process was interrupted by Iida, who clapped his friend on the shoulder as he said, "Best of luck to you in your first battle, Kurai. I hope to see you in round two."

"Y-Yeah," Kurai replied distractedly, looking up at him. "Same you to you, pal."

He noticed that Uraraka looked very nervous, and it was no wonder why. She has to fight him, of all people? He thought with a wince. I feel bad for her… There was no question in his mind that Bakugo would unleash all of his destructive powers against her, gender notwithstanding. Boy or girl, it didn't matter to the blond kid- he would crush anyone that stood against him.

Then again, if he and I both make it to the semi-finals, maybe I can show him what it's like when the shoe is on the other foot, he thought grimly.

He barely registered Midnight's announcement that there would be a series of mini-games for all students to compete in, if they so chose. Apparently it was an opportunity for students to stand out a little more to any scouts in audience if they had done poorly in the previous events, or if they just wanted to have a little fun. Kurai knew that it would be better for him if he skipped the bonus games, especially with how much he had been using his quirk for the previous events.

As he walked off the field, he was joined by Mina, who slipped her hand into his, much to his surprise. "Everyone can see-" he began, only for her to squeeze his hand tighter as she grinned up at him.

"Let 'em see," she told him. "I just wanted you to know that no matter which way our fight goes, I'm not goin' anywhere, 'kay? I meant what I said when this festival started. No hard feelings, no holding back. You gonna be okay with that?"

"S-Sure," he nodded, relieved when he saw that Iida was preoccupied with talking to Midoriya and Uraraka, and so hadn't noticed Mina's display of affection. "I just… I thought we were keeping this on the down-low?"

"I know," she smiled brighter at him. "But I also think it's important that you understand that what's coming up won't be a negative thing for us, too." Before he could say anything else, she tugged on his arm and said, "C'mon. Let's go chill out before the fights get started."

"…All right," he said as he allowed her to lead him off the field. "What're we gonna do while the bonus events are happening?"

"Dunno yet," she giggled. "We'll wing it."

"You know I hate doing that!"

"Yeah, but you like me enough that you'll put up with it."

"True…"

Kurai: This is because of all the fights I've picked backstage, isn't it?

Mataras: Could be.

Deku: That seems pretty harsh, making him fight Ashido right off the bat like that...

Mataras: What, would it have been better if I had them fight later on, letting their anxieties about said event build up over the course of several battles? Hmm... Now that I think about it...

Kurai: Don't you dare.

Mataras: I'm kidding. No, I think it suits the narrative best if I have them fight at the beginning.

Deku: I feel bad for Ashido, though. She won't even get to go to the quarter-finals like she did in the original.

Mataras: What makes you say that?

Deku: Well, I mean... No offense to her, but there's no way she can beat Kurai's quirk!

Kurai: Also, don't I get plot armor?

Mataras: You remember that this is the story of how you die, right? You get the opposite of plot armor.

Kurai: Dammit, he has a point.

Mataras: And as for the fight, I think you're giving Ashido too little credit. Maybe in other circumstances, she'd be in a tough spot, but while she might not be able to beat Energon, you should remember that she could well defeat Kurai.

Deku: Wait, doesn't that advantage work both ways?

Mataras: Maybe, but of the two of them, Ashido is a lot better at messing with him.

Kurai: And she'd definitely use that to discombobulate me during a fight... Aw man.

Mataras: Exactly, so don't count her out before the fight's even begun.

Deku: I guess I should be worrying about my match with Shoji- something tells me that he's not gonna be a pushover.

Mataras: Hehe... This is gonna be fun.

Kurai: Next time- The Fight Begins

Deku: Go Beyond!

Mataras: Plus Ultra!

Next time on Your Hero Academia...

The freckled boy stepped out into the sunlight amid a thunderous applause, a determined set to his shoulders as he held his head high. Walking up the steps, he thought, I can do this. All Might is counting on me, believes in me. And with all the training that Hikari has put me through, I've got control of One For All at five percent. I may not be able to handle All Might's power at its full capacity yet, but this'll be a good way to tell how well I can fight against unexpected opponents.

For he knew that Shoji, his classmate and opponent, would be tricky to deal with. As the muscular student walked up to the other end of the arena, Midoriya felt a sudden wave of apprehension wash over him. The six-armed young man was immensely strong, and due to his ability to change his hands into other sensory body parts, he didn't really have any blind spots. The only apparent weakness that Izuku could determine was that the other boy had no long-range capabilities.

I don't either, at least not at five percent of my power, he thought as he took a fighting stance, Midnight calling them both to the ready. If I hit him from long range, I'd have to break my fingers, maybe even my hand- I'll avoid that if at all possible.

"BEGIN!" Present Mic shouted at them, snapping Midoriya out of his reverie.

Shoji wasted no time, charging straight at his classmate while bringing his right arms back for a mighty blow that Midoriya knew would clobber him if it landed. Gotta get inside his reach! Green lighting dancing along his body, he shot forward at high speed, to his opponent's surprise, and punched him square in the gut, shouting, "Texas Smash!"