The cafeteria set aside for the students was already packed when Izuku arrived. Grabbing a tray of food that Lunch Rush had prepared, Izuku spotted his friends waving him over.

"Hey, Mido-bro! I heard you went to see Recovery Girl-sensei. Nothing serious right?"

Izuku shook his head with a smile as he sat down. "No, nothing serious. I just didn't want any injuries at all going into the final event. And getting it done before lunch means I can eat up and get my energy back too. But enough about me. Iida-san, what was that move you pulled out there? I couldn't really see it where I was."

"Ah, that. I used my Recipro Burst technique. It is something everyone in my family can do. I can force my engines into overdrive for a massive ten second speed boost at the cost of stalling them and needing to cool down afterward."

Izuku nodded. That was a quite the ace to hold up his sleeve. "You must have been saving it for the Festival, right? That's why you hadn't told anyone before?"

"Indeed. And it paid off tremendously. Though, I suppose that cat is out of the bag now. And right before the finals as well."

"It really is unfortunate," Uraraka-san said. "But it just goes to show how strong Bakugou-kun is to force you to use it early like that. Actually, back to you Mido-kun. You called him Kacchan!? Where did that come from!?"

Izuku blinked at her. "We grew up together. Of course there's childhood nicknames."

"But to pull it out now?" asked Hagakure-san. "What possessed you to do that?"

"He doesn't think when he's angry," Izuku shrugged. "Though I don't suggest you mention it if you value your life."

Kirishima-san snorted. "And you don't think that's gonna bite you in the ass during the finals?"

"If he goes that far he's biting himself in the ass."

"At least you guys are going to the finals," Hagakure-san huffed. "I didn't even manage to get any points at the end."

"Don't be like that," Izuku said. "The Festival is just a bad match for you. It's honestly even worse than the entrance exam when it comes to playing fair in some regards."

"But I managed to pass the entrance exam! And now a student from Gen Ed and one from Support have both out done me!"

Izuku shrugged. "And practically the entirety of B class has been eliminated, too."

"Speaking of B class. What were you two doing working with them?" Kirishima-san asked.

Izuku shrugged. "Most of our class was either already pairing up, or looking at me like I was lunch. Shiozaki-san and Tetsutetsu-san both had useful quirks. I figured the hard sell would be worth it, given I at least had a chance there."

"I will say," Iida-san said slowly, "I expected more of a fight out of you."

Uraraka-san ducked her head. "I did, too actually. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be advancing, but I kinda agree with Tetsutetsu-kun. We could have done more."

"I guess I'm sorry for that, then." Izuku said, looking at Uraraka-san more directly. "I probably could have been more upfront about it, but you should know, the Sports Festival is always going to be really hit or miss for me. The first event played well enough to my physical skills for me to barely get first, but this event. Either I was going to be dead weight to a stronger team, or I was going to be a deciding factor to a lesser one. I was just focused on getting through to the next event. By playing it safe and getting rid of the ten million, I guaranteed passage to the next round. Trying to show off more and play aggressive would have been extremely risky with our group."

Kirishima-san frowned. "Are you saying your team wasn't strong enough?"

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Only if you equated it to direct physical conflict. Everyone has their strengths. I tried to focus on a team with high defense and long reach. Todoroki-san had a team focused on high mobility and wide area of effect. Bakugou made a team that allowed him to best utilize his quirk and banked on himself being strong enough to handle the problems, and the rest of you being fast on your feet to match his pace. Asui-san, Shouji-san, and Mineta-san had a team with extremely high defense and a focus on trapping their targets."

Iida-san nodded. "You were focusing on winning the war, not the battle. A perfectly valid strategy, especially as there is much more room to show off and gain supporters in the final event than in the first two."

"Uraraka-kun, Hagakure-kun." The table turned to Yaoyorozu-san. "It would seem that UA has planned a half-time event and expects the female students to participate. We should start getting ready."

"A half-time event?" Hagakure-san asked, exaggerating the questioning lilt in her voice.

"What kind of half-time event?" Uraraka-san continued.

"Um. Apparently, Aizawa-sensei forgot to mention a cheer leading routine we should be doing shortly."

Izuku frowned. "Aizawa-sensei forgot. Where did you hear this from, Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Mineta-kun and Kaminari-kun."

"And that didn't strike you as odd? Yaoyorozu-san, I'm pretty sure he would have told you about it weeks ago if there was a cheer leading routine. And if he forgot, he would have sent a staff member or come to find you directly."

Iida-san shrugged. "It's not that unusual for staff to have a student relay a message for them. Especially when they're busy."

"Sure, but Mineta-san. And when would he have been the most convenient person to tell? Aizawa-sensei probably hasn't left the commentator's booth all day."

"I… I think I understand what you're saying Midoriya-kun. And you're probably right. Mineta-kun is hardly a reliable source. But I expected better of Kaminari-kun."

"It's easy for people to loose sight of what's important and get dragged along by base impulses sometimes. If you'd like Yaoyorozu-san, I can handle the boys. You can talk to anyone else they've already gotten to."

"Uh. Yes. I. Thank you, Midoriya-kun. This is why you're the Class Representative and I'm just the vice."

"Trusting your classmates is not a weakness, Yaoyorozu-san. And you know I wouldn't last two seconds without you helping me through the logistical parts of the job. I'm gonna go hunt down the trouble makers. Just. Don't worry so much about this, okay."

Izuku stood and started to walk away, scanning the crowd for Kaminari-san's yellow hair. As he walked away, he heard Yaoyorozu-san say to herself, "But I should have known better."

Oh well. Izuku had done what he could, and he was certain Yaoyorozu-san would feel worse if she had actually gone through the effort of getting all the girls together and only learned it was a trick when they got on the field. Anything more Yaoyorozu-san was going to have to confront herself.

For now, he would busy himself with Kaminari-san and Mineta-san, who were laughing and looking far too proud of themselves for Izuku's tastes.

Izuku put his hands on their shoulders. "Hi, boys. I heard you had a massage from Aizawa-sensei for the girls," he said with a wide, predatory grin.

Both the boys in front of him paled rapidly. "Uh, yeah," Kaminari-san said, laughing weakly. "He forgot to mention it earlier. Not a big deal, but he's busy and all so he asked us to let Yaoyorozu-san know."

Mineta-san nodded rapidly along to Kaminari-san's words, as thought moving his head faster would make them more believable.

"And if I were to bring you up to Aizawa-sensei right now and check with him about this supposed 'last minute' change that he forgot about?"

"Th-that really won't be necessary, Midoriya-kun," Mineta-san said, waiving his hands in the air. "Aizawa-sensei is probably napping right now, and you know how he hates to be interrupted. Do you really want to wake him up for something as silly as this?"

"Yes." Izuku's hands moved to the back of their collars and he pulled them up, lifting Mineta-san clean off the ground. "Let's go. I'm sure he'll be delighted to hear about this silly little misunderstanding."

"Wait, Midoriya-kun, please! Have mercy!" Kaminari-san begged, his feet stumbling across the ground as Izuku walked them out of the cafeteria and down the halls. "It was just a stupid little joke! No biggy, right!"

"Yeah, Midoriya-kun, surely you want to see them in those cute outfits too, right?"

"They're people, Mineta-san. Not dress-up dolls for you to play with as you please," Izuku said with a glare down to the wriggling child in his grip. "How are you supposed to respect them as your coworkers if you can't even respect them as classmates."

Mineta-san whimpered.

"That's what I thought. And Kaminari-san."

"Y-yes, Midoriya-kun?"

"Yaoyorozu-san and I thought you were better than this. Be better."

"Yes, sir."

"I promise, Midoriya-kun, we've learned our lesson," Mineta-san pleaded. "Is it really necessary to bring Aizawa-sensei into such a petty little matter? Really. I think you've got this well in hand."

"You're not getting out of this."

Mineta-san went limp in Izuku's hand. "Did you have to make a spectacle of it?"

"You were going to make a spectacle of your classmates. At least this spectacle isn't being broadcast to the nation."

Both boys went quiet after that. Izuku eased up on Kaminari-san's collar and let the boy walk normally, but he still held Mineta-san dangling from his hand. No one said a word until they got up to the commentator's booth.

"Please," Kaminari-san tried one last time, looking up at Izuku with big pleading eyes.

Izuku ignored him and kicked the bottom of the door twice. The muffled conversation on the other side stopped, and there was some brief shuffling before the door opened to Present Mic-sensei in full uniform sans sunglasses.

He raised an eyebrow at the three students in front of him and Izuku's completely dead gaze and turned around. "Pretty sure this one's for you Shou."

A long weary sigh came from Aizawa-sensei just out of sight. "What is it this time," he grumbled walking up to the door. His eyes drifted over the group. "Do I want to know?"

Izuku dropped his hold on the other two. "Maybe not want to, but you definitely need to given they used your name."

Mineta-san dipped into a deep bow. "I'm very sorry, Sensei. I swear, it won't happen again."

Kaminari-san quickly scrambled to follow.

"Quit groveling, it's not going to get you out of anything." Aizawa-sensei turned his attention to Izuku. "What exactly did they use my name for?"

"Convincing the girls that they need to do a cheer leading routine in skimpy uniforms during the half-time break."

"Under my name."

"They claimed you forgot to mention it earlier."

Aizawa-sensei closed his eyes and visibly counted to ten before opening them to glare at the still bowed pair of hormonal teenagers in front of him. "Really? That's what you decided to do? You didn't stop to think about how this would play out at all did you. So focused on getting some masturbation material that you didn't stop to think about what it would mean for anyone else? I've seen some stupid things in my time, but I've never had a student stupid enough to think using my name in such a juvenile stunt wouldn't get back to me.

"Count yourselves lucky I still think you have some potential. You've both shown a capacity to learn, but you are scraping the bottom of the barrel. You will be going home immediately and you will be facing an in school suspension, and I expect a formal written apology to myself, Nedzu-san, and your female classmates. I will be meeting with Nedzu-san as soon as possible to finalize the details."

Kaminari-san paled under the glare. "But, Sensei-"

"Do you really think you have the right to finish the festival right now? These are the consequences of your actions. You will stay here and I will call Snipe-sensei to come escort you off the premises. You will go home and you will think about it."

Neither boy spoke for a long moment. "Yes, Sensei," they both said finally.

Aizawa-sensei seemed to let the last of his anger drain for the moment as he turned back to Izuku. "Thank you for bringing this to me. You did a good job, Class Rep. You can go now." He opened the door further. "Get inside, sit down, and do not speak," he told the other two.

Izuku nodded and gave a brief bow to his teacher and left to return to the light and festivities of the stadium below.

"Alright, alright, alright! Before we get to the final event, we've got some good news for everyone out of the running!" Present Mic-sensei's voice boomed from the speakers as the UA first years streamed back onto the field. "This is still a festival so we've got some recreational activities for everyone to have some fun! But before that, we've got some business to attend to. Between the sixteen members of the winning teams, we'll have a formal one-on-one bracket style tournament!"

"And to decide who goes where, you all will be drawing lots!" Midnight-sensei joined in, holding up a box. "Once we have our bracket nice and filled up, we can get on to the festivities."

"And before that, we do have one unfortunate announcement. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kaminari-kun will not be able to participate in this event, so we need someone to fill his place!"

"Um, excuse me."

Izuku looked over, frowning. He'd been largely tuning out the standard spiel. The third event was pretty much always one-on-one. And for the first years, usually just a straight fight. Only the upper years got to have fun.

But here was Ojirou-san changing the script.

"I'd like to drop out."

Really changing the script. Why in the world would someone choose not to compete? Well, other than underground students. But even that didn't account for much. They still needed to get scouted. And most of them would be transferring in from Gen Ed, so they really didn't have a choice.

"I don't remember anything from the Cavalry Battle," Ojirou-san continued, ignoring everyone else. "Not until the very end. I… I think I was under the effect of a quirk. I don't feel like I even did anything. How can I say I earned this spot if I didn't actually fight for it, just got handed it by someone else?"

Under a quirk? Probably Shinsou-san. His was the only one unaccounted for. And something like that, either mind control or a temporary stasis, would explain why Kendo-san stopped when Shinsou-san approached them.

But what were the limits? And the activation requirements?

"Oh, come on," Ashido-san said, "by that logic a whole bunch of us shouldn't be here."

"Please, you at least did something. You at least made the choice to be on that team, to trust those people. I don't even have that. How can I hold my head high and say I earned this spot?"

"I- I don't remember anything either!" Shouda-san spoke up. "This is a contest of skill, even picking your teams is a skill. I didn't do anything, so I don't think I should continue."

"Well, I guess this is up to Midnight."

"Hmm. So young and naive. I accept! Shouda-kun and Ojirou-kun have officially withdrawn."

"Well, that works out then. The fifth place team has three people to fill our three spots perfectly! Team Hatsume, you're in!"

"Alright then, let's get this show on the road and get those lots drawn! Team Todoroki, you're up first!"

Lots were drawn and Izuku got the joy of waiting until nearly the last minute to find out who his first match was going to be against. And, of course, he got the first seed.

And his opponent was Shinsou-san.

Probably one of the better case scenarios for Izuku, but, given Shinsou-san had managed to make it this far, Izuku had hoped he'd get a chance to actually show off before he got his ass handed to him.

Depending on how his quirk worked, and on whether or not Izuku even knew that going in, Izuku might have to take him down hard and fast.

"Midoriya Izuku. That's you right? The guy that got first in the obstacle course?"

Izuku smiled, turning to face Shinsou-san as he tried his best to sound intimidating.

Before he could get a word out, Ojirou-san's tail wrapped around Izuku's face, blocking his mouth. "Not a word, Midoriya-kun. Not if you want to win."

Shinsou-san huffed and walked away, an amused grin gracing his face.

Izuku cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Ojirou-san.

Ojirou-san unwrapped his tail and jerked his head to the exit. "Let's go somewhere private. I'll tell you what I know."

Izuku shrugged, but followed as Ojirou-san lead him back through the halls to their waiting room.

"His quirk," Ojirou-san started as he closed the door behind them.

"Mind control, right? With some form of verbal activation. Likely requiring a response from the target."

Ojirou-san stopped and gaped. "How in the world did you know that already? Did you also know a physical jolt?"

"That I didn't know, thanks for that." Izuku shrugged again. "I kept an eye on him as best I could during the second event. He used it on Kendo-san. Then you mentioned memory loss and prevented me from talking to him. It wasn't that hard a leap to make."

"Really?"

"And then there's the fact that he supposedly took and failed the heroics entrance exam, which points to a largely non-physical quirk. Something mental or that has precise requirements that can't be fulfilled by a robot."

"I'm glad I put money on you having an intelligence quirk."

"I'm sorry, you bet on me having an intelligence quirk?" Better to focus on the betting than the implication that he had to have a quirk.

"Um. Yeah. Sorry. Iida-kun and Yaoyorozu-chan didn't like it and tried to get us to stop. Obviously that didn't really work. We did rule that anyone with concrete information wasn't allowed to participate. Which meant no asking Bakugou-kun."

"What's everyone saying?"

"Well. It's a pretty even split between an intelligence quirk and some kind of prediction quirk. Uraraka-chan and Hagakure-chan suggested that one."

This. Was definitely going into the 3-E chat.

"Well, now I just want to see how long this lasts."

"Come on, man. I was going to tell you about Shinsou-kun and everything!"

"Nope. You get to suffer in uncertainty." Izuku stood and left the room. He didn't have anything else to talk to Ojirou-san about and he was just going to keep begging for an answer.

And with perfect timing, Izuku's phone buzzed.

Sugino: I don't see you on the field. Come say hi while you actually have time

Ritsu: I suggest you actually go see them before they do something drastic

Karasuma: Please don't do anything drastic

Karasuma: I can't help you if you get caught

Sugino: If Izuku gets his but over here no one needs to do anything.

Izuku: i'm on my way if you'll just wait for a few minutes.

Izuku: And where even are you guys. i don't have time for hide and seek if you actually want to see me

Ritsu, kind and gentle soul that she was, gave Izuku a map of the stadium with his classmates marked. And a route to them. Izuku gave a quick thumbs up and closed his phone.

They weren't far, hanging out just outside the stadium among the many stands of food and merchandise.

Tomohito threw an arm around Izuku's neck, pulling him into a headlock and grinding his knuckles against Izuku's scalp. "Final round for our UA student! Like there was ever any doubt!"

Izuku wriggled, pulling away from the hold and laughing. "Yeah, yeah. Third round was always a given. This round is gonna be the really hard one."

Kanzaki looked confused. "From what I've seen all of the contestants seem manageable?"

Izuku shrugged. "In a real fight, yeah. But this is a shit set up for me. No gear, nowhere to hide, no way to surprise them. I have to get in close and handle them myself and I have to be careful about not using too much force or I'll be disqualified."

"And there's the fact that he's a shounen protagonist to consider," Fuwa added on. "The way I see it, there are three ways this festival ends for Izuku. It is possible, likely even, that the festival will be interrupted by some grand calamity, given the known presence of the League of Villains. Ignoring that, if there's going to be more, which there should be, then Izuku will get some surprising wins, getting further than the audience in the stands could expect."

"Done that already."

"If there aren't going to be more festivals, then Izuku can win, but there's likely to be a cost. Him winning, regardless of the circumstances, is significantly less likely than an interruption or loss in the latter stages, given the current trends of subversion in the shounen genre."

"Also, I'm not a shounen protagonist." If anyone was the protagonist of this "show" it would be Kirishima-san. All Might's successor.

"How do you know? Make your case."

"I'm quirkless, Fuwa. Don't shounen protagonists always have some mythically strong ability? Shouldn't I have some quirk of legend or something if I were the protagonist?"

Fuwa shrugged. "Traditionally, yes. But again, with the current experiments with subversion, it is also common to have seemingly powerless protagonists that work hard for what they get. Though the reason for their powerlessness is also generally plot relevant. Maybe you had your quirk stolen before it manifested?"

That sure was a theory.

Okuda laughed. "Okay, I think that's enough Fuwa. It isn't possible to 'steal' someone's quirk. It's coded into their DNA."

"There's nothing magical about my quirklessness. It's just what I am." Maybe he should change the subject. "Weren't Karma and Nagisa supposed to be here?"

Tomohito shrugged. "Yeah, they were here a bit ago, they said something about going to find snacks. They haven't come back yet."

Izuku leveled a look at him. "I guess we hope that where ever they went they don't get caught."

"Hey, there's a chance."

"Nagisa does not count as supervision for Karma and you know it."

"I don't know Izuku," Kanzaki said, "Nagisa can definitely get Karma to behave sometimes."

Tomohito sighed. "We'll look for them. But you should get going. Your first match should be starting soon."

Izuku sighed. "Yeah. I honestly feel kinda bad for Shinsou-san. If he'd had better luck he'd actually have a chance to show off."

"What's up with him?" Maehara asked.

"Villainous quirk," Izuku answered. "Mind control. And between him being a stick and me knowing the activation requirements for his quirk, he doesn't really stand a chance. He wants to transfer to the Hero Course, so he needs to do well here."

All the End Class Assassins present winced. They knew how that went. "And a chip on his shoulder to go with it, I bet," Maehara muttered. "But he needs to figure out his second blade. Sounds to me like he's coasted through so far without a challenge just relying on his quirk. He needs to know how to handle people prepared for him if he wants to actually be a hero."

Izuku nodded. "I know, I just hate that I have to be the one to knock some sense into him. And so early into the last event, too."

Fuwa nodded. "He'll definitely be a recurring character, with all that backstory he's got. Worry about helping him next time."

Kanzaki gave Izuku a small nudge. "And you really should leave now. It starts soon."

"Right, right." Izuku turned and waved over his shoulder. "I'll see you guys at the at the classroom tomorrow right?"

They all waved him off and agreed as Izuku started to run back to the stadium. He really didn't have a lot of time to get to the field for his fight against Shinsou-san.

Hopefully Shinsou-san didn't take his loss too hard.

Yagi-san was waiting for him at the arena entrance.

"Where were you?" he hissed. "You're about to go on!"

"I know! I was chatting with some middle school friends."

His phone buzzed again.

Glancing down, Izuku saw the message. It was from Karma. It was a picture. A selfie. Of Karma and Nagisa. And in the background was the open door to the commentator's booth with both Aizawa-sensei and Present Mic-sensei in frame, oblivious, backs to the doorway.

"Alright, everybody! Let's get this show on the road with our first match up of the final event!"

Izuku cursed under his breath and locked his phone before shoving it into Yagi-san's hands. "Hold this for me!"

Yagi-san took the phone and ruffled Izuku's hair. "Good luck, shounen,. I'll be rooting for you!"

Yeah. Might not need luck to beat Shinsou-san, but now he had a time limit.

He was going to kill those two once he found them.

Fuwa is really weird to write.