Chapter Five:

Chatter rose off the crowd of reporters. Fireworks exploded over the school. In the distance, Present Mic loudly announced the Sports Festival. Izuku could barely hear. He clutched his aching stomach. It had taken him nearly two weeks to crack the secret meaning behind All for One's words. During that time he'd trained for every single waking moment of free time, pressing his quirk to its limits until he was vomiting several times every day. He'd finished his new secret move just in time for the Sports Festival. And he was going to need it.

Izuku couldn't get away with revealing another of All for One's plans and keeping his mother alive. He had no choice but to win the Sports Festival. Late at night, Izuku had speculated about All for One's motives, trying to figure out if he could count on his classmates being spared if he won. He'd concluded this was all a big game to the villain. All for One was testing if Izuku was worth keeping around, punishing him, and enjoying the show. In other words, Izuku not only had to win, he had to do so in a manner adequately entertaining to his tormentor.

As if in response to his stress, Izuku's stomach groaned. He put his hands over the belt around his waist. No matter what, he had to hold on until the end of today. After that, he could collapse.

Popping up from behind, Katsuki slung an arm over Izuku's shoulder. He shouted, "Make way, cannon fodder! The future number one and number two of the Sports Festival have arrived!" He even delivered a few explosions to part the crowd.

Izuku groaned, partly because of the sloshing of his stomach acid. "Kacchan, if you must make everyone hate you, please leave me out of it."

Katsuki only slapped him on the back. "I've been planning to declare that I'll win to the crowd. Doesn't that sound cool? Then I won't be able to back down."

Izuku's blood ran cold. He hissed, "Don't! You'll make yourself look terrible when you lose!"

Katsuki laughed. "Look at you! Despite the fake modesty, you're confident that you'll win, just like me!"

Shoulders sagging, Izuku sighed. "Seriously, don't, Kacchan. You'll piss off our entire school for nothing. You won't look cool—you'll look like a jerk."

Katsuki spoke over him. "I've been training my ass off these last two weeks, nerd. You're going to face my new super move."

A twitch ran down Izuku's body. He'd been having nightmares nearly every night about Katsuki pulling out a super move to disrupt all his calculations and beat him. After all, Katsuki had always been the brilliant prodigy who sailed through life to claim first place. It had been insane for Izuku to think that he could win. Katsuki would pull off a victory at the last minute like a main character and destroy all of Izuku's plans. Izuku could clearly picture in his head what would happen after that: All for One would smile and tell Izuku that he could easily lure his childhood friend into a trap by inviting him on an outing away from U.A. The villain would force Izuku to pick between turning Katsuki over or watching his mother be tortured. Izuku had mapped out a thousand plans in his head, but if it reached that point, he'd already lost. He had to stop it from coming to that—no matter what he had to do or who he had to hurt in order to win.

I can break Kacchan's wrists, Izuku thought distantly. Lure him into an isolated place, hit him over the head once from behind. Wreck him so badly he can't use his quirk. He won't even be able to get out of the hospital bed until the Sports Festival is safely over.

"Yoooooooooo!" Katsuki stuck his face in front of Izuku and flipped up his bangs. "You're spacing out, nerd. Are your nerves getting to you? Relax! My rival can't possibly lose to a bunch of extras! It's going to be you versus me in the finals!"

Staring at his friend's wide smile, Izuku felt sick. What had he been thinking? It wouldn't even work. Recovery Girl could heal too effectively, and if Izuku got himself expelled for committing a crime then his mom was dead. He had to keep his shit under control if he wanted to win.

"I gotta go to the bathroom," Izuku mumbled, pushing Katsuki away. He ran for the toilet. In the nearest stall, Izuku threw up his breakfast. He cleaned his mouth in the sink. He'd been losing weight lately. Checking his weight every day used to be part of his training, but he'd stopped because watching the numbers tick down had been too stressful. His teeth had gotten yellower and he'd developed mouth sores from all the vomiting.

By the time Izuku rejoined the class walking outside, he had no time to talk to Katsuki again. He would swear Shouto Todoroki was shooting him a concerned look, but there was no time to worry about that either. The class was shepherded out into the stadium as Present Mic shouted, "It's Class 1-A!"

Bright lights shone down on Izuku, making him sweat. He felt keenly aware of hundreds if not thousands of eyes on him from the people sitting in the high bleachers. Izuku told himself that the crowd wasn't looking at him in particular. They would be watching all the students. Of course, if all went as planned, all eyes would be on Izuku by the end. All for One was watching him. His mother was probably watching him from her cell on her new television. Izuku's attempt to make himself feel better had completely backfired. Even though he'd already emptied his stomach, he felt bile crawl up his throat.

When Midnight called Izuku's name, he nearly jumped a foot in the air. Oh, right, he'd placed first on the Entrance Exam, so he had to take the athlete's oath.

Thinking of his mother watching, Izuku put on a brave face. He somehow got through the oath without stuttering.

Immediately after, Katsuki jumped up in the air with an explosive burst and shouted, "Class 1-A will be sweeping first, second, and third place!" An enormous, cocky grin spread across his face. "All of you extras, watch my debut as future number one hero!"

The crowd broke out into gasps and murmurs. Every other student turned to glare at 1-A.

Izuku leapt off the stage and grabbed the front of Katsuki's jersey, hissing, "I told you not to do that!"

Katsuki shrugged. "You said not to piss off the class, so I included everyone in my speech."

"That just means you dragged all of us into it!" Izuku did not need to be the focus of other classes' attention and wrath right now. "I told you not to boast that you'd win the Sports Festival so you decided to declare that you'd become number one hero instead? You made it even worse, Kacchan!" Izuku relaxed his grip with an exhale. What was the point? Kacchan was Kacchan. He'd do whatever he pleased, as always.

Kirishima laughed and slapped Katsuki on the back. "That's just like you, bro."

Sidling up to Izuku, Kaminari asked, "Won't you be in trouble if you win, Midoriya? All Might is giving out the medals, and you're Class 1-A's legendary antifan."

"Excuse me?" Izuku recoiled. "I am not!"

Kaminari shrugged. "Dude, it's school legend that you vomit at the sight of All Might."

"That was a coincidence! I have pre-existing stomach problems!" Izuku shrieked. "I'm a big All Might fan. Back me up, Kacchan."

"It's true." Katsuki jerked a thumb at Izuku. "The nerd has even more All Might merch than me, and that's saying something."

Sero mock-gasped. "Could it be that Midoriya is the true platonic tsundere of our friend group?"

Kirishima and Kaminari clapped and cheered together, "Tsundere!"

Izuku groaned and shook his head, yet he couldn't help a small smile tugging at his lips. At least his stomach had stopped screaming at him.

Then Izuku's attention hyper-focused on Midnight as she announced the first event of the Sports Festival: an obstacle course. At the words "all eleven classes against each other" and "anything goes" a certain deadly calm fell over Izuku. He did not know how much this event would count compared to the others, but he had no choice except to win at everything. A navel laser quirk did not advantage him in running, particularly when he could only use it for a few seconds. He knew what he must do.

The bell rang, and students exploded from the starting gate. Izuku was swept up in the crowd. Ahead of him, Shouto froze everyone around him with ice. Good. Izuku needed to make his move now, when everyone was close enough together that he could hit them all. He yanked his respirator over his mouth.

Closing his eyes, Izuku focused on shifting the output of his laser. Thanks to All for One's words, he'd finally realized that he could shift between different types of lasers. He'd also realized what might very well have been the underlying cause of his worst stomach troubles using his quirk.

Izuku activated his new ability: Carbon Monoxide Laser.

The belt around his waist whirred. Instead of the usual blue laser, a reddish light emitted, followed by a colorless gas. It was not pure carbon monoxide but rather a carefully designed cocktail, giving it a faint rotten egg smell.

Izuku could still only use his power for one second. But one second was all he needed. Once the gas spread around, it would linger in the air, and he'd experimented with his cocktail until it was very fast-acting. Every single student collapsed to the ground. Even Shouto, the furthest ahead, fell over, smacking into his own ice.

His stomach throbbing, Izuku staggered forward. He had to make it to the end of the obstacle course before everyone else recovered.

Shocked murmurs rose from the crowd. Present Mic could not conceal the astonishment in his voice as he shouted, "This…this is new! Class 1-A's own Izuku Midoriya has developed a new use for his laser quirk. Do lasers emit poison? Is this support equipment? Tune in for more! Midoriya has unprecedented confidence, strolling forward as if he has all the time in the world! Even the explosive Bakugo can't match this level of smug!"

It's not like that, Mr. Yamada, Izuku thought despairingly. My stomach hurts too much for me to run, and Todoroki littered the ground with ice, so I have no choice but to walk slowly.

Between the astonished eyes of the crowd and the angry glares of the students behind him, Izuku was sweating again. Drops dripped from his hair into his eyes. If not for Present Mic's announcement, he might not have noticed the robots rising up before him.

Cheerfully, Present Mic bellowed, "Because Midoriya left all his classmates collapsed behind him, he'll have to face dozens of robots alone. Is he up to the challenge?"

Frankly, Izuku had planned for worst. These were the same robots he'd already faced in the past. Of course he'd come prepared. Under his breath, he hissed, "Electromagnetic Pulse Laser."

After Izuku had realized he could adjust his laser to produce knockout gas, naturally he'd researched all other types of lasers. At the entrance exam, it had taken him all his power to destroy so many robots. But it took very little power to send out a signal that disabled all electronic equipment within range.

The belt whirred and flashed green this time. The robots fell down in a heap. Izuku leapt aside to avoid being crushed. Then he climbed over them.

In an astonished voice, Present Mic demanded, "Can a laser quirk do that? Hey, mummy-man, are you sure that your kid has a naval laser quirk?"

Yawning, Aizawa growled, "Of course it's a laser quirk, it just flashed out of his naval."

Izuku couldn't have used the full power of his gas without killing the closest students. How long would they stay down? He didn't dare look behind him to see if anyone else was catching up. Instead, he carefully crawled along the tightrope at the next stage of the obstacle course.

As Izuku reached the other side, Present Mic's voice became boisterous again. "Now our star student has reached the final barrier—a deadly minefield! What can lasers do against mines?"

That depended on if these mines were remote-controlled. If U.A. was concerned about student safety then they'd have remote controls to prevent the mines from detonating if it got too dangerous—a big if from what he'd seen at the entrance exam. But it was worth a try. He released another electromagnetic pulse. With practice, he'd been able to feel the vibrations of his laser. It sent a shiver through him as he cut the strings controlling the mines. Then Izuku strolled across the now-dead minefield.

Present Mic said, "Huh. We did set up mines, right? That's odd, very odd. Give me a moment. I'll be right back, folks." The microphone cut off.

Only when Izuku ran through the door into the stadium could he finally relax. His heart hammered. He felt exhausted. But he'd won. He'd survived the first round—in first place, no less. He tried to smile, but tears streamed down his cheeks. Turning around, Izuku checked who was behind him.

No one.

The screens around the stadium showed students fallen down on the ground. A few of those who had moved the fastest, such as Katsuki and Shouto, had been the furthest away from the gas. They were starting to totter to their feet. But the vast majority of all eleven classes lay on the ground. A not particularly happy silence had fallen over the crowd. Staff with stretchers rushed in to carry the fallen students away.

Izuku wondered if he'd gone too far.

Katsuki and Shouto tied for second place, bursting across the finish line in a blaze of explosions. His hair still singed, Katsuki stomped over to Izuku. His lips peeled back and spittle flew in all directions. For a moment, Izuku thought his childhood friend was about to punch him. Instead, Katsuki shouted, "Fine, I admit it! That was a cool secret move! But you haven't seen my plan yet. I'm still going to win in the finals." He stomped off.

Oh no, if Kacchan thinks that was cool then I definitely went too far, Izuku thought despairingly.

Seriously, though, Katsuki had matured a lot. The Katsuki from elementary school would have thrown a temper-tantrum about losing. This worried Izuku. Katsuki was easier to fight when he lost control of his emotions. In the old days when Izuku had struggled a lot with pain from his quirk, he'd only been able to beat Katsuki by provoking the other boy to lose his temper. A Katsuki who kept his cool would be a tougher opponent. Izuku's hand clenched into a fist.

More students were struggling across the minefield, but not very many of them. Another distant student fell down and didn't rise.

For the first time that day, Midnight sounded uncertain as she spoke into her microphone. "Next up is the cavalry battle…but it appears less than forty-two students were able to move on to the second round. We've never had that happen before…ahem. I'll need to consult with the rest of U.A.'s staff. For those students who didn't make it to the next round, you'll have another chance to show off your stuff…?" Her voice trailed off. "We'll be back after a short break!"

The crowd was unusually quiet. Izuku had watched many U.A. Sports Festivals before. Normally the teachers (besides Present Mic) had to fight to be heard over the audience. Quite a few people were leaving the stadium. Izuku knew his victory had been a boring one, but surely it hadn't been that bad?

Aizawa tapped Izuku on the shoulder. Izuku jumped a foot in the air. His nerves must be in bad shape. Face neutral, Aizawa said, "You need to come with me. Principal Nezu wants a word."

As Aizawa opened the door, Nezu sat behind the principal's desk with his paws folded. The first words out of his mouth were: "Midoriya, you're not in trouble."

I am in so much trouble, Izuku thought.

Principal Nezu continued, "You've done nothing against the Sports Festival rules. Anything goes! Dirty tactics are A-OK! However, I do wish you'd approached your teachers before the competition so we could assess the dangers of your new application of your quirk. That's our job."

Quietly, Izuku said, "I tested the gas produced by my laser in advance. I can adjust the type a lot. It's not any true gas that exists in reality, but rather my own variation. With practice, I was able to produce a variation of Carbon Monoxide Laser without permanent effects. Everyone will be fine after a kiss from Recovery Girl."

Aizawa swallowed. "Wait, do you mean you could have killed all the other students?"

Izuku shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head. "Frankly, I could have produced a far more toxic gas, enough to kill the entire stadium. But I'm not immune to my own gas. If I had done that, I could have killed myself too. My respirator is jerry-rigged from spare parts lying around my house, and it doesn't completely block out all gas. I've been exposed to my laser during practice enough to have a bit more resistance, which is why I was able to make it across the finish line."

"You've been exposed during your practice?!" Aizawa paled. "Midoriya, immediately after the Sports Festival, you will report to the hospital for an evaluation of the long-term effects on your body. No, go right now!"

"You can't remove me from the Sports Festival!" Izuku cried. Or could they? He gazed pleadingly at the principal.

Nezu said, "We're not removing you from the Sports Festival. Afterward should be fine. We brought you here out of concern. Media attention on your victory has…not been good."

"Already?" Izuku swallowed.

Nezu sighed. "The media reported that you used radiation to knock out your classmates. To them, that was a more understandable explanation. A lot of people know that some lasers emit radiation. Not many people have heard of gas lasers."

"What difference does that make?" Izuku asked. "I considered using radiation emitting lasers but they don't work fast enough."

"I'm afraid you've triggered the two deepest hatreds in Japan: hatred of nuclear weapons and hatred of quirks labeled as villainous. Japan has an entrenched terror of radiation ever since the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Our country even rejected nuclear power plants for generations. Then, of course, there was the massacre caused by Toxic Chainsaw and so narrowly halted by All Might. The public is…sensitive."

Izuku looked at the floor. The principal seemed to be expecting him to say something, but Izuku didn't know what. In truth, Izuku had already had some idea this would happen. He knew poison was looked down upon by heroes. However, All for One had ordered him to use gas, so Izuku had no choice. All for One had definitely anticipated this misunderstanding. The old villain would understand the underlying nervousness about radiation that ran through Japanese society as someone who remembered the nuclear power plant meltdowns during the dawn of the age of quirks. All for One had deliberately ordered Izuku to not only win, but to win in a manner that would lead him to be labeled as a villain. And Izuku had never had any choice except to step into the trap. If Izuku won in a cool way that got him loads of internship offers, then All for One might decide that he couldn't be converted into a villain and kill his mother. This was supposed to be a punishment.

After a pause, Nezu continued, "I'll issue a statement to try and calm the media hysteria. We were going to say that you can't use radiation—but since you can, we'll have to explain about the gas laser instead. I fear carbon monoxide does not have a great reputation either. I'll do my best to reassure everyone, but I'm not confident. We very carefully shield the audience at the Sports Festival using a complex technology that blocks anything from leaving the stadium, including radiation or gas. Even so, half the audience left."

Izuku looked up. "Wait, I thought the audience left because I made the first round boring."

Aizawa snorted. "The audience ran away because they think you gave them all radiation poisoning."

Izuku winced. "I'm sorry!"

Forcefully, Nezu said, "You've done nothing wrong. Students are supposed to use all their abilities to win at the Sports Festival. Todoroki froze his opponents and knocked giant robots down on them. Bakugo exploded mines in people's faces. Yet society has decided that blowing people up is heroic but poisoning them is bad, even though I have no doubt that the second and third place winners did more painful damage to their fellow students than you."

When put like that, Izuku wondered if the whole Sports Festival was a bit lacking in oversight and regulation, but it would hardly be in his best interest to say so since he planned to continue benefitting from the lack of rules restricting quirks. He shrugged.

Nezu said, "For your own self-interest, you may want to focus on flashy tactics in the next rounds. Your standard naval laser looks more like what people expect from a heroic quirk. If you want to attract internships, then you don't just need to win. You need to appeal to the public and obtain fans. I know that may seem unfair, but it's part of the job of a hero."

Except Izuku didn't care about internships. "Are you forbidding me from using Carbon Monoxide Laser again?"

"No, of course not, but keep in mind your fellow students will have support equipment counter-measures in the later rounds," Nezu said.

Aizawa growled, "I'm forbidding you from using any more poisonous gas until a doctor examines you. You've been sick in class a lot. We need to check the long-term effects on your body. This is just one Sports Festival, Midoriya. For the sake of your hero career, you need to protect your health."

"Okay, Mr. Aizawa." Izuku was lying between his teeth. He'd do anything to win.

Nezu's head sagged. He said, "Midoriya, I promise that U.A. will do what we can to shield you from unfair accusations."

Why did the principal's tone make it sound like Izuku was going to need all the help he could get?

Nezu coughed. "Also, I realize the next round of the Sports Festival might seem like it's unfairly targeting you. I promise, we decided on the next competition far in advance and it's too late to change the rules now. We are absolutely not trying to force you to drop out."

Why did Izuku suddenly have a very, very bad feeling?

Several members of the audience moved in a coordinated loop around the stadium, making certain every last member knew about the evil radiation quirk.

An elderly man collapsed gripping his heart and crying out loudly. As he was carried out in a stretcher, he made sure to grab cards from half a dozen eager reporters. Within the hour, he was giving a live interview about his close brush with death due to an out-of-control U.A. student.

The elderly man did not know why All for One wanted him to slander a random high school student, but it was a cheap price to pay for the favor he owed. Other agents worked to disseminate the news clip across social media.

Nezu released information proving no radiation had been used and no gas had reached the audience, but it was buried under the public outcry. Across social media, hashtag Expel Izuku Midoriya was trending.

As Izuku re-entered the stadium, he noticed that his fellow students weren't looking in his direction. No one besides Katsuki had greeted him or congratulated him. But he wasn't surprised at the anger. Everyone had been looking forward to the Sports Festival as a chance to show off their stuff. Izuku had taken that away in one sweeping move. He understood why people would hate him. It was one thing to win. It was another thing to destroy everyone's hopes and dreams.

A low boooooo rose from the crowd. In his concentration on the next round, it took Izuku a moment to realize this was directed at him. An audience member shouted, "Cheater!"

"Trash!"

"Villain!"

Someone thew a can at Izuku. It didn't even come close, clattering on the stadium stairs.

Present Mic bellowed, "None of that! Midoriya deserves to be congratulated on an astonishing victory. The next person to boo will be removed from the stadium."

A sullen silence fell over the crowd.

Izuku had known this was coming. Maybe he hadn't expected quite this much vitriol, but he'd take it with his chin raised high. It would be practice for how everyone would treat him if and when they found out about his spying.

Staff went around handing out gas masks to the other students. These were high-tech models, easy to breathe in with voice transmitters to let the students speak. Nezu had warned Izuku that there would be precautions at the next stage. Izuku couldn't blame them—a competition where one student kept knocking everyone else out would be boring. He couldn't blame them, but he could be afraid of the consequences if he lost.

Midnight hastily took the stage, barely bothering with her usual theatric announcement. "The second event will be a cavalry battle!" She gestured at the words flashing on the screen. "Form into teams of two to four and get into a horse-and-rider formation."

Izuku's heart sank. The second round was a team battle, and he'd just made all his fellow students hate him. Even for those not holding a personal grudge, no one wanted to be on a team with the kid hated by the audience. Everyone was here to establish their reputation as heroes and win internships. Plus, since his poison ability wouldn't be useful, he didn't even seem particularly strong. Izuku had plenty of plans, but in the eyes of people who didn't know much about his capabilities, he'd look like a deadweight.

Katsuki was the only friend Izuku had left, but Katsuki would never team up because of his obsession with being rivals. Sure enough, Katsuki had already formed a team with Shouto, Tenya, and Ochaco. Currently Katsuki and Ochaco were hopping up and down screaming about pulverizing the enemy. Izuku had never realized that Ochaco could be so intense.

Perhaps Katsuki's other friends would still have a bit of good feeling toward Izuku? Looking around, Izuku listened to Midnight's speech with half an ear. Sero had been knocked out in the first round. Kirishima and Mina had already formed a full team with Fumikage and Momo. Had any other members of Class 1-A survived? It didn't look like it. Whoa, it was going to be tough to face the rest of his class tomorrow. His classmates, who'd been closest to him at the gate, had taken the worse of the poison.

The rules seemed straight-forward: snag the opponents headbands without losing your own. Until Midnight shouted, "The headband of our first place participant is worth ten million points!"

Izuku's heart stopped in his chest. No wonder Nezu had looked so awkward. This was it. It was all over. Even if he groveled and begged, no one would be willing to form a team with him now. Oh god, oh god, he should have known that a hero competition would involve teamwork. This was all his own fault. He was a worthless failure. What would happen if one person alone had no team? Would they simply throw him out without even letting him try? That was probably what all the staff at U.A. secretly wanted.

Oh, no. Izuku was crying. He put up his hands over his face to hide it. No matter how he tried to stop, the tears fell harder. Snot soaked into his sleeve.

"Excusez-moi?" Aoyama waved a hand in front of Izuku's face. "Would you be willing to team up with me for the cavalry battle?"

"Thank you," Izuku said hoarsely, seizing Aoyama's hand. He knew his face looked like an ugly crying mess, and he didn't care.

Brushing Izuku's tears off his sleeve, Aoyama smiled ruefully. "Do not say that as if I'm doing you a favor, mon ami. The ten million point headband terrifies me as well. I tried several other people first, but they always ask what my quirk might be, and when I say that I have none, they make their polite excuses. My dear friend Hitoshi did not make this round. It appears we two are parias together."

"Then let quirkless and people with villain quirks unite." Izuku shook Aoyama's hand. "I've got a plan. Will you take the bottom?"

Aoyama flexed his bicep, revealing himself much more built than he first looked. He grinned. "I've been weight lifting every day since my quirkless diagnosis at age four."

"Tell me what your equipment can do."

Aoyama whispered rapidly, and Izuku had to tell him to stick to Japanese twice. By the end, Izuku's confidence had returned. He could work with this. Wiping off his face, Izuku made himself grin like All Might. Just like his hero, he wouldn't falter.

The other students all had gas masks on. Aoyama whispered, "Should I get one, too? We might be able to use your gas if we knock off someone else's mask."

"Actually, I hurt my own body last round. I can't use that again so soon." Izuku wondered if he should have given away such a weakness to someone who might be an enemy next round. It was too late now. He climbed onto Aoyama's shoulders. "I have to warn you, this won't be a cool battle. We're probably going to get booed again."

Aoyama smiled in a strained way. "It's two of us against every single other team looking to steal your headband. We don't have the luxury of fighting fair."

As Midnight counted down, Izuku watched all other teams swivel to stare at him. He rapidly assessed their quirks and the dangers they would pose. Midnight shouted, "Three…two…one!"

"Close your eyes, Aoyama," Izuku whispered. Aoyama obeyed. Izuku activated Flash Bomb.

The blazing white light from Izuku's laser perfectly hit the eyes of everyone who'd been staring covetously at his ten million point headband, blinding them.

Izuku had been saving this card for the inevitable one-on-one matches, but now he had no choice but to use it early. Gritting his teeth, he produced the widest, most eye-damaging light possible, spinning on Aoyama's shoulders to make sure he got everyone.

Then Aoyama activated the jets on his pants, and they took off into the sky.

The cavalry teams crashed around sightlessly. "How long can you stay in the air?" Izuku whispered.

"I've never tried carrying another person." Aoyama gritted his teeth. "Maybe twelve minutes?"

Not long enough to last until the end of the fifteen minute battle. "Let me know when you get close."

"Want me to try and grab headbands from above?"

"Not yet. We can't afford to have anyone notice us." So far, none of those below had recovered their eyesight. Izuku and Aoyama remained safely out of view overhead. Minutes ticked past.

Striving to keep his voice excited, Present Mic cried, "Todoroki has frozen the ground! If he holds everyone in place, then he might be able to find someone with a headband."

A murmur ran through the crowd. Watching a bunch of blind students fumble around made for a boring battle. But it was in Izuku's best interests to maintain the status quo.

Whining came from Aoyama's jets. He whispered, "I can't hold on much longer."

Izuku looked around for a good spot to land. Several teams were feeling their way around the wall, looking for opponents that way. Instead, the center was largely unoccupied. "Over there." He pointed at an icy patch. "Everyone else will avoid the ice. We can be safe for the last couple minutes."

Present Mic shouted, "A clash between A and B!" He pointed at the place on the wall where Shouto, Tenya, Ochaco, and Katsuki had run into a team led by Neito Monoma. Izuku couldn't help watching with curiosity the copying quirk. Ha, jumping right on top of his opponent's horse was just like Kacchan.

As Aoyama landed on the ice, spikes shot out of his boots and locked on.

"Nice job," Izuku whispered. He assessed if it would be possible to use his electromagnetic waves to disrupt Aoyama's gear if they fought in the one-on-ones. The spikes would be unaffected but did they retract by remote control or motion?

"Thanks," Aoyama whispered back. "Mei Hatsume makes amazing gear. I should introduce you two. She might be able to help with how your quirk hurts your body."

Izuku winced, feeling guilty but not sure why. Aoyama was nice, and Izuku was already thinking ahead about how to beat him. Of course, they were all planning to win. Izuku wasn't doing anything wrong…not unless he counted all the spying and lying and working for a villain.

Watching everyone else blunder around, Izuku knew that the other students would be bringing eye shields and sunglasses to the one-on-one matches. If only he'd been able to keep his trump card for one more round. Stupid ten million point headband. If Izuku had known, he wouldn't have prioritized the cavalry battle. At least he'd almost gotten through this round with just one minute left.

Someone in the audience screamed and pointed. "The villain kid is in the middle of the ice!"

Izuku's smile wiped off his face.

It was a faint cry at first, but several other members of the audience took up the shouting.

Present Mic bellowed, "Audience interference is not allowed! You'll be removed from the stadium." Staff came forward to take away the shouting people. But they were too late.

Katsuki's team turned toward Izuku, but they were too far away. A team of Class 1-B students charged forward, vines coming from a girl's hair. From behind, Fumikage took to the air with Dark Shadow, swooping down.

Izuku pivoted, shooting his laser at Dark Shadow. The bird recoiled from the light. "Aoyama, please do something about the 1-B team!"

Sweat dripped down Aoyama's forehead. "I guess you won't be the only one who has to reveal your trump card early, Midoriya." He drove his fist into the dirt, shouting, "Montjoie Saint Denis!"

An explosion ripped from Aoyama's glove. They fell into the hole created in the ground together. Wind rushed into Izuku's ears as he landed on top of Aoyama. "Sorry," he cried, scrambling off.

"Time's up!" Midnight cried. "It looks like Bakugo stole the only headband today…keeping him in second place." Despite her attempt to sound enthusiastic, even Midnight couldn't make a cavalry battle where everyone ended up at the same rank seem very exciting. "Uhhhh…the top four teams will proceed to the next round. Also two members of the fifth place team, since the winning team only had two members."

The crowd booed loudly. More empty cans were thrown.

It didn't matter. Izuku was not at the Sports Festival to compete against his fellow students. He was not there to attract internships. He definitely wasn't there to demonstrate good sportsmanship. He was going to win by any means necessary.

Izuku helped Aoyama climb out of the hole and over to the bench. "Hey, do you need to see Recovery Girl? Your arm is bleeding." He gasped when he saw the scars spread across Aoyama's right arm, peeking through the torn cloth of the gym uniform.

Aoyama laughed and held up his arm. "A battle from when I was younger."

"You used to be bullied," Izuku said flatly. He'd spoken without thinking, remembering the days when he'd been quirkless. Then he flushed and clamped his hands over his mouth. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Uh…it used to happen to me, too."

Aoyama rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, so you noticed. It was a one-sided battle. My parents took me to live in France for a while and attend a private school because they had so little luck handling bullying through the Japanese school system."

"My bullying stopped after my quirk arrived late," Izuku said softly. Once again, he had that same pinch of guilt even though he knew he hadn't caused Aoyama's bullying by getting a quirk himself. Frankly, he'd trade places with Aoyama in a heartbeat given what the naval laser quirk had cost him. "You know, you're really cool, Aoyama. Even though everyone says that quirkless people can't become heroes, you didn't let that stop you. I wish…" I wish I'd done that. "I hope I can be as cool as you."

Aoyama smiled. "I've worked hard, yet in many ways I've also been lucky. I wouldn't have my support gear without wealthy parents. Maman and papa got me martial arts tutors and hired lawyers to defend my right to use support gear at the entrance exam. But because I've been so privileged, I want to use my opportunity to become a symbol of hope for other quirkless people."

"That's a great dream." I wish I could still have dreams besides hoping my mother can live, Izuku thought.

"Merci." Aoyama stood up. "I think I will visit Recovery Girl before the next round. If we meet in the matches, then let's fight fairly as friends."

"Yeah. May the best hero win." Izuku's voice broke a little. He had no choice but to beat Aoyama next round using any tactics fair or foul. If Aoyama died at All for One's hand, then he wouldn't be able to become a symbol of anything.

Just as Izuku was about to sit down and start planning for his future battles against the remaining students, Shouto Todoroki grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him away.

Pushed against the wall, Izuku faked a smile, "Uh, if this is about my new laser, it's not nearly as harmful to my body." It's worse, actually. "It was approved by my mentor—"

"This is about your mentor at the quirk support group," Shouto interrupted. Cold radiated off him. "I think that he's my long-lost older brother, Touya Todoroki."

A leaf blew past the tunnel. Izuku blinked. "Huh?"

OMAKE TIME!

Author: It doesn't make any sense for Shouto to have a Dadmight conspiracy theory in this AU. All Might and Izuku don't have similar quirks, and they haven't been eating lunch together. I'll have to come up with something different for Shouto's conversation with Izuku.

Shouto: Nooooooo, not my beloved Dadmight theory! I'll always still believe it!

Author: Izuku vomited at the sight of All Might.

Shouto: How do you think my father makes me feel?

Author's Note: Happy New Year's! It's funny how the Sunday update schedule of this fic fell on three holidays in a row.

My use of lasers is not scientifically accurate but neither are any quirks in BNHA canon. Seriously though, there should be way more canon Aoyama can do with lasers than just blast stuff. At the least he could try adjusting the power setting to blind people like Izuku's flash bomb. Gas lasers occur when an electric current is discharged through a gas to produce coherent light. Since the naval laser quirk produces a laser from nothing it stands to reason that the user might be able to switch to a carbon monoxide laser with training. Also if a character from the OVAs can produce a gas that turns people into zombies, I figure Izuku's gas can do whatever he can imagine. I'm definitely in pseudoscience territory, but Ochaco's gravity quirk is even less scientific. Quirks break the laws of physics.

Just to be clear, Katsuki isn't listening into Izuku and Shouto's conversation. Katsuki has no motive to be skulking around Izuku eavesdropping in this AU.

Also, Mei Hatsume didn't bother to take place in the Sports Festival because she already had an agreement with Aoyama that he would showcase her gear. She never had any interest in the Sports Festival besides generating publicity for her products.

On an unrelated note, I've started a new collaboration with RianMoeru on Archive of Our Own where my account is katydid. This is my birthday gift for Hawks and, in the tradition of my other fics, I've gifted him with All for One as a dad. The title is "As the Hawk Flies Through the Funnel" and the summary is: Keigo Takami and Izuku are on the run from their father, All for One. They adopt a young Fumikage Tokoyami off the streets. But an outsider's perspective on his overprotectiveness makes Keigo aware that he's turning out a bit too much like his father.

On Archive of Our Own, I've also completed my collaboration with Gfan97: "What is Wrong with You?!–An All for One Christmas Carol."

Finally, coffeeandtoastforbreakfast drew amazing fanart for my fic "It's a Wonderful Quirk." I love it so much, delete the spaces to get the link:
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