A/N: New chapter! :D I wasn't able to draw much until today because I got my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday, but it's here now!

I swear, the sports festival has had the longest chapters so far...

Art-

[Complete Gallery] Add /21axlkt3bolc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

[Ch. 13] Add /28q8ett1jrk to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

"We'll proceed to the afternoon portion after a one-hour lunch break! See you then!"

The students headed out towards the cafeteria, Uraraka grabbing Hitomi once she exited the 1-A prep room.

She felt a vibration in her pocket, pulling out her phone to see she was getting a phone call.

"Uraraka, I'll be at the lunchroom in a bit. I'm gonna find someplace more quiet."

Uraraka nodded, before turning to follow her other friends to leave the stadium.

…

Hitomi walked through the quiet halls, answering her phone and holding it up to her ear.

"Hey."

"HITOMI!" Nari's loud voice rang through the speakers, Hitomi having to pull her phone back to save her eardrums.

"Woah, woah, Nari, no need to yell…"

"We're all at your house watching the sports festival! I saw you on the TV! You're moving on to the last round, huh~?"

"Ah, yeah. I was almost afraid we wouldn't make it, since my team's leader said to wait for the right moment. It was nerve wracking…"

"Well, you still made it! You're going to do great at the last round, I know it."

Hitomi heard the faint sound of her mother's voice on Nari's end.

"Ah, sorry Hitomi! Your mom wants me to help prepare lunch; I need to go now. See you on the TV!"

"Mm. Bye."

Nari then hung up, prompting Hitomi to put her phone away. She was approaching a stadium exit, deciding to leave through there and go around to the lunchroom instead of walking all the way back.

She tried not to wonder why Bakugou was standing against the wall, about to turn the corner before he grabbed her arm.

"Hey-!"

Bakugou covered her mouth, glaring at her as he pulled her close.

"Quiet." His voice was barely above a whisper. Hitomi shoved his hand off her face, about to retort before she heard voices by the exit.

"...why are you telling me all of this?"

Midoriya?

"Quirk 've heard of them, right?"

Todoroki? What are they…

Todoroki was explaining the history of quirk marriage.

"...with his wealth and fame, my father made my mother's family agree to the marriage."

Hitomi's eyes widened.

"All to get his hands on her quirk."

She really shouldn't be hearing this.

Todoroki continued, before he said something that made Hitomi's heart stop.

"I remember my mom was always crying. 'Your left side is unsightly,' she said, before pouring boiling water on me."

She really shouldn't be hearing this.

"In short, not using my left side against you was revenge on him. Never using my rotten father's quirk…

No… By rising to the top without using it…

...I'll have denied him everything."

The walk back to the cafeteria was silent between Bakugou and Hitomi from everything they'd just heard.

Poor Todoroki, having all that pressure pushed onto him…

"Damn half-and-half…"

Hitomi glanced at the boy walking in front of her, before the loud chatter of the cafeteria caught her attention.

"Hitomi-chan!"

Uraraka was waving at her from her table, a tray of pork cutlet sandwiches next to her own empty tray.

Hitomi stopped by her table, taking the empty seat next to the brunette. "Hey… you got me food?"

"Yeah! Since the line was really long and you'd probably be happy to come back to a meal instead of waiting for a while."

"Oh… thank you."

"Well, you'll have to eat quick! The girls are gonna be doing a cheer battle in the afternoon."

Hitomi choked on her food, coughing as Uraraka patted her back.

"Um, what?"

"Apparently Aizawa said we'll be doing a cheer battle against the cheerleaders UA flew in from America…"

Hitomi stood out on the field with the other girls from Class 1-A, dressed in a cheerleader costume with pom poms and everything.

Present Mic's voice was heard over the loudspeaker. "Huh?"

A horrible feeling wrenched in Hitomi's gut as realization dawned on her.

"What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?!"

Yaoyorozu cried out in frustration. "Mineta-san, Kaminari-san! You tricked us, didn't you?!"

The two boys were a distance away, sharing a thumbs up.

Ah.

So that's how it was.

Yaoyorozu fell to the ground in shame while Uraraka tried to comfort her. "Why am I always caught up in Mineta's schemes? I even used Creation to make the outfits…"

"Those guys are so dumb!" Jirou said as she threw her pom poms to the ground.

Tooru Hagakure's invisible arms waved her pom poms in the air. "Well, there's still time before the finals, and it'd be bad if things got tense."

The girls felt a dark aura behind them.

Fearing what was behind them, they slowly turned around, only to find Hitomi gripping her pom poms with a wry smile on her face.

"Hitomi-chan…?" Mina was almost too afraid to ask.

The bluenette's pom poms fell to the ground, the girl flashing a smile at the others before walking past them.

Jirou turned to Hagakure in worry.

"I think it's too late for that…"

Hitomi approached the boys that had tricked them, the two not noticing her presence.

Without warning, she smacked the two of them in the back of the head, that wry smile still on her face.

The two boys cradled their heads in pain, turning around to find Hitomi walking back towards the girls.

"I don't think I've ever seen her angry before…"

Present Mic called for everyone's attention, announcing that after the recreational games a one-on-one tournament with the top 16 from the previous round would take place.

Midnight called for everyone to draw lots to decide the bracket.

"Now, from the first place team-"

"Um…! Excuse me." Ojiro had his hand raised in the air.

"I'm withdrawing."

Everyone cried out in surprise, wondering why Ojiro would want to drop out when he'd made it this far.

Hitomi bit her lip, guilt building in her chest. She could make a guess on why.

She placed a hand on Ojiro's shoulder, looking at him with concern. "Ojiro, this is your chance for pros to see you. You may not make it this far next year…"

Ojiro let his hand fall to his side, looking at Hitomi with a furrowed expression on his face. "I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until almost the end."

Her hand recoiled.

Ojiro looked to the side, his eyes falling on Shinsou through the crowd. "I think it was that guy's quirk. I know that this is a great chance, and that it's foolish to waste it…"

Midoriya stepped forward, staring at him in concern. "Ojiro-kun…"

"But—" Ojiro cut him off, "everyone here competed by giving their all. I can't… I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened."

Hitomi was silent as the others tried to reassure him. Ojiro ignored them, covering his face in shame.

"That's not it… I'm talking about my pride here… I can't…"

Ojiro…

The Class B boy with icy blue hair stepped forward. "I'm Nirengeki Shoda from Class B. I also want to withdraw for the same reason. Regardless of ability, don't you think it goes against the goal of this sports festival for those who didn't do anything to move on to the final round?"

The air was tense as everyone awaited Midnight's answer.

"Youthful talk like that is something…

...I like!

Shoda! Ojiro! I accept your withdrawal!"

Hitomi grabbed the two boys as lots were being drawn.

"What did you want to tell us, Kanetsukabe-san?"

"Um, that is…" Hitomi bent over in a deep bow, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Eh?"

"I… I knew."

"You… what?"

Hitomi straightened herself, unable to look them in the eye.

"At the beginning of the cavalry battle, I was mind-controlled too, until your tail hit me in the back… I could've tried to wake you guys up, but I decided to trust Shinsou-san's judgment…

...Maybe that wasn't the best choice."

Hitomi bowed again, guilty over her decision to stay in the tournament while her teammates gave their spots up. "I'm sorry…!"

She felt hot shame as she stared at the ground, before Ojiro placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright."

Hitomi looked up in surprise, finding the boys were giving her melancholy smiles. "What?"

"It's not your fault we were mind-controlled," Shoda said. "Besides, if you wanted our team to win, it would've been hard trying to explain what happened while the cavalry battle was going on, wouldn't it?"

"But that's-!"

Ojiro interrupted her. "Seriously, Kanetsukabe-san, don't worry about it. I know you're not a malicious person. If you thought trusting our rider was the best choice in order to move on to the next round, we won't fault you for that."

"But..."

Midnight's voice echoed through the stadium. "And so, Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki have moved up to make sixteen! This is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!"

Shoda looked back at Hitomi. "You should go."

"Ah, yeah..." She bowed to them one last time in apology, before turning to join the others.

"Ah, Kanetsukabe-san!"

Hitomi stopped, looking over her shoulder. "Yes?"

Ojiro smiled at her. "Make sure you win for us, okay?"

Hitomi nodded, shooting them a determined smile before turning back around.

"Right!"

A/N: One-on-one battles are beginning next chapter! Who do you think Hitomi will be up against~?