Son of Justice: Night of Respite

by Jayme F. Midorikawa

An adaptation of the second MHA School Briefs light novel, takes place between Chapters 42 and 43 of the original story. After a first tumultuous day in the Forest Training Camp, the students of Classes 1-A and 1-B are treated to an impromptu slumber party, and a chaotic competition of skill and stubbornness. No one can predict what will unfold on this fateful night.

Hello again, everyone, and welcome to the second school Briefs spin-off from the 'My Hero Academia: Son of Justice' continuity. I'm sorry for having missed the previous deadline for this one the previous weekend. Real life keeps getting in the way, and time goes by faster and faster with each passing day, it seems.

Anyway, the stories I felt were best for adapting are here, and I aim for the future School Briefs to contain at least one fully original new story in order to keep things much fresher for those who've actually read the aforementioned light novels.

But until then, I'm now going to focus on getting the chapters covering this version of the Endeavor Agency Arc out there. Afterwards, I'll then work on the third and fourth School Briefs spin-offs, before moving on then to the arc covering the adaptation of the third MHA movie, so I hope you'll all be looking forward to all of that.

If you like what you read here today, please leave an honest review sharing your thoughts. I'd truly, truly appreciate it.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, and the original events surrounding them.

My Hero Academia: Son of Justice: School Briefs II

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Night of Romance

(Ночь Романтики)

Mina Ashido was still feeling in especially reignited high spirits as she and Kyouka Jirou finally had returned to the 1-A girls' dorms in the Forest Training Camp. This had ultimately still only been the end to their first day of full-time training, but so much had happened in it that it already felt like nearly an entire week's worth of personal, mental and emotional ups and downs among the whole class, with the delayed arrival of Class 1-B earlier this morning having only ended up compounding onto it, thanks to the interpersonal rivalries between some of the students of both classes.

Training in itself had proven to be physically demanding, but ultimately rewarding; none of the students had any doubt of that. And the guidance of the local Pro Hero team, The wild, Wild Pussycats, had proven to be a real boon for motivation when some of them were at their most exhausted. But the real difficulties had come earlier this evening, when some choice criticisms and insults from Katsuki Bakugo, had driven 1-A's resident Russian student, Nikolay Bezpalov, into pretty much throwing himself headlong into sparring against fellow classmate Izuku Midoriya.

And while their sparring had ultimately ended up revealing a potential game changer for Nikolay's Kinetic Absorption/Release Quirk; it had still come at the expense of being treated to three of Izuku's punches with his own overwhelmingly strong Quirk powered at only 1%, which had still ended up putting Nikolay in the nurses' office.

That had been an especially emotionally tumultuous moment for Mina, Nikolay and all their present friends as a whole, but to have heard her foreign bestie speak so resolutely about his goals of becoming a Hero that could protect them no matter what, had ended up giving the pink young Hero all the confidence in the world in his ability to get stronger with the right people training alongside him; an offer she had not hesitated to give to him in Izuku's place; even if the two boys in question had ultimately decided to see how far continued training through sparring could get them both.

Offer put aside or not; Nikolay's unwillingness to give up even in the wake of considerable injury had ended up leaving Mina with a swelling feeling of inspiration in her chest as she and Kyouka finally returned to their temporary home; where the rest of their fellow female students in their class; Ochako Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, Momo Yaoyorozu and Tooru Hagakure; were all clearly waiting with noted anxiety for their pink-skinned and purple-haired classmates to return.

"Mina-chan, Kyouka-chan, thank goodness! What'd Mandalay-sensei say?" "Yes, is Bezpalov-san going to be okay?" "Midoriya isn't in trouble, is he?" Ochako, Momo and Tsuyu all immediately asked; all looking just as worried as the returning two girls had just recently been, which was why it was so surprising for them to see the assured smile that Mina still had on her face.

"Yeah…Kolya-kun's going to be okay; it was mainly just some bruising along his chest…but Mandalaya-sensei said he'll be 100% again by tomorrow morning." "Yeah, and it doesn't sound like Midoriya-san's going to be in any trouble, either. The fact the whole thing was an agreed upon sparring match probably helped the most for that."

"Well, hopefully those two learned a lesson from all this. It sounds like Kolya-kun being a practice dummy for Midoriya-kun's Quirk is way more trouble than it's worth if 1% could do that to him." Tooru opined, earning a nod of agreement from Momo.

Mina took a deep breath, bracing herself for the reactions that were surely to come. "Actually…Kolya-kun and Midori-kun both agreed to keep going tomorrow. He thinks that since he was able to reflect a majority of his punching power with his Quirk the last time, it's just a matter of practicing it more and more. He feels he may even be able to start doing it from different parts of his body so long as he focuses on it enough before he gets hit. I'm honestly really curious to see if it's true, myself."

Mina tried to maintain the reassured demeanor about her, but that was understandably difficult when seeing the looks of even deeper worry on Momo, Ochako and Tsuyu's faces. "Seriously? Deku-kun even agreed to that after everything? That just sounds way too dangerous to be worthwhile; we all saw just how strong his Quirk is, even at its lowest power." "I'm surprised you didn't try to talk him out of it, Mina-kero."

"Actually, she did." Kyouka suddenly chimed in; surprising the rest of the girls besides Mina herself. "But Kolya-san's definitely gotten better at being convincing, if he wasn't somehow being super-genuine back there. He's really taking this whole training through sparring thing as seriously as possible, I think."

Nodding enthusiastically, Mina continued: "Yeah, he's come so far already, and the fact he was able to do what he was hoping to by the end, that's gotta be something worth his following up on. And if sparring with Midori-kun is the best way for him to improve that move, then at least we know Kolya-kun will be working with someone who'll know when to stop if it gets bad again."

Looking back the way they had just come from, Mina's eyes began shimmering with emotion. "The fact is Kolya-kun told us how much he wants to be able to be a Hero that can help protect us and everyone…and if we can't give him the benefit of the doubt to get there whichever way he thinks is best, then we might as well be telling him to stop trying to become a Hero with us, period."

While not exactly as verbose as Nikolay's own statement to her mere minutes before; the sincerity with which Mina was speaking was enough to make the rest of the girls take a mental step back. Mina had more reason than any of them to worry over Nikolay and how he chose to go about his training with them, and if she was this willing to at least give his and Izuku's continued sparring one more genuine chance, then what right did any of them have to step in the way instead?

As soon as she could hear her friends didn't have any further arguments for hers and Nikolay's respective decisions in the matter; Mina's smile became that much more excited as she then looked them all in the eye intently. "In fact, listening to Kolya-kun got me thinking even harder, and I already brought it up to Kyouka-chan, but why limit it to that?! If any of you guys maybe wanna spar with me for training some time, I'm more than happy to! I mean, Quirks or not, we all could always get better at real fighting if we have to, couldn't we? It could be tons of fun!"

Kyouka's expression looked definitely settled on her potential accepting of Mina's sparring offer; and to the pink girl's growing delight, she could see looks of genuine consideration on the other girls' faces as well.

Ochako was feeling progressively more confident in not only the weight threshold of what she could take gravity from, but also in her continued martial training in Tunguska's hand-to-hand fighting style, but to be able to actually apply both those traits together and to the test in an honest sparring match with the student with the best reflexes and some of the best Quirk control in their whole class, was indeed a very promising consideration to make.

For Tsuyu, to go up against Mina's Acid and her speed did at least sound like a good way to really test her own improved agility after having spent all day training herself against some especially unforgiving water currents.

And for Momo, it sounded like it could be a very promising way to test the durability of what new bigger items she could Create with the potential to withstand Mina's Acid, as well as to see just how much stronger the Acid she could actually make could now be. As the classes' vice president, it was her responsibility to see to the development of her peers just as much as her own, so this honestly sounded like a better idea the more she thought about it.

"AIIIIEEEEEEE!"

Suddenly, a high-pitched and blood-curdling scream echoed through the air; snapping Mina and Kyouka to full attention, while the rest of the girls were surprisingly still. "Whoa, did you all ehar that? It sounded like it came from the hot springs!" "Yeah, and it almost kinda sounded…like…Mineta?"

"Yes…because that's definitely who it was."

As soon as Kyouka realized just what it was they had most likely heard, just for Tooru to bluntly confirm it; she and Mina looked to the other girls, and realized that Momo was avoiding eye contact, holding a hand to her mouth in a show of shame. "Well, after the near-incident last night, and with everyone from Class B having now showed up, I felt it was only right that we inform their girls about the risk of Mineta-san pulling the same stunt with them tonight."

"It just stands to reason that they may have brought this up with the Pussycats, and they decided to intervene. It sounds like we were right to worry, too-kero." Tsuyu finished. And with that very understandable explanation, Mina and Kyouka both let out a sigh of pure aggravation.

"Honestly, what would it take to get that little perv to just give his dumb tricks a rest? I mean, we legit fought together against Vukodlak and on I-Island; you'd think that would actually mean something, wouldn't you?" As Mina vented this annoyance while starting to brush her hair for the night; Tooru likewise muttered:

"Right? Like, he doesn't even try to be subtle with it, like telling us that whole backstory of his on the bus, just to try and lure us into coming to his place; it's so frustrating."

"Well, whatever punishment the Pussycats decide to give him, I say it's not nearly enough." Kyouka ultimately concluded; already in the middle of fluffing her pillow in preparation for as much sleep as she could get before another hard day's worth of training and potential sparring.

And not a single one of the other girls even hesitated to voice their agreement.

"Hello? We're not intruding, are we?" Suddenly, the sound of the orange-haired representative of Class 1-B, Itsuka Kendo, broke the silence; catching all the 1-A girls by surprise. She was there in the doorway to their dorm, flanked on both sides by several of her other female classmates; namely the thorny vine-haired Ibara Shiozaki, the green-haired and sharp-toothed Setsuna Tokage (whom Mina, Tooru and Ochako were all very happy to see), the quiet black-haired Yui Kodai, and the silver-haired and sleepy-eyed Reiko Yanagi.

"I hope you all aren't already getting ready to hit the hay just yet. We bring gifts of sweets!" Setsuna announced with a toothy grin once she had instinctively met Mina and Tooru's incoming running hugs; while her classmates likewise made their way inside, with Itsuka handing over a sizeable plastic bag of the stuff to a surprised Momo and grateful Ochako and Kyouka.

"We really appreciated you giving us the warning about your classmate Mineta, so we decided to let the Pussycats know so they could reschedule our baths to an earlier time. It was only fair we give you all something to share and enjoy in return." Itsuka explained all of this with the same warm smile as Momo's classmates quickly looked to see just what delectable treasures they had to pick from; Ochako already visibly starting to salivate when she spotted mochi within.

Practically hopping with excitement, Mina and Tooru both suddenly exclaimed over each other: "THANK YOU SO MUCH, YOU GUYS, THESE ARE GONNA BE SO GOOD! Hey, why don't you all stick around and enjoy them with us?! It's not fair that we should be the only ones to get to eat these! YEAH, YEAH! THIS'LL BE JUST LIKE OUR VERY OWN SLUMBER PARTY! OH, PLEASE, STAY, THIS IS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!"

Itsuka was very surprised by the offer, while Setsuna was already more than happy to get in on it, with her example quickly spurring Yui and Reiko to join in as well. It was only when Itsuka finally accepted at Momo's further offering and invitation, that Ibara likewise decided to join in.

"Aren't there a couple other girls in your class, Kendo-san? Shouldn't we go and invite them over, too?" Ochako asked as the girls of both Hero Course classes ultimately sat in a circle on their pillows, with the pile of various candies sitting in the middle for them all to pick at their leisure.

"Oh, yes, normally I'd agree, but today's training was so taxing on Pony-chan and Kinoko-chan; they deserve to get as much rest as they can." Itsuka explained as she hurriedly grabbed a sour gummy and popped it into her mouth; momentarily shuddering with enjoyment while the rest of the girls likewise proceeded to partake in Class B's sugary offerings.

After a minute in which the girls got to satisfy their respective sweet tooth; Momo considered the silence having settled over all of them, and finally spoke out: "Um…I'm terribly sorry; this is actually my first time having anything like a slumber party, so I'm not entirely sure just what it is we should do."

The Class A vice president could already feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment when Mina, Tooru, Kyouka and Ochako all looked at her as though they couldn't believe what they were hearing; the purple-haired girl even exclaiming: "Are you serious, Yaomomo? But you're rich, smart, nice and super pretty; are you really saying you didn't have tons of friends to have parties with before?!"

As soon as Momo shook her head to confirm; Mina handily chimed in: "Well, never you worry about a thing tonight! That's the fun thing about slumber parties, is that we can do or talk about anything we want! Whatever comes to mind, you just let it out without a care in the world!"

The sound of that definitely seemed to ease Momo's awkward embarrassment, as though she were somehow failing her duties as a host. However, Tooru suddenly stepped in; the body language through her clothes exceptionally tense with anticipation: "Actually, for our first all-girls-no-boys party of the year, and especially with both our classes getting to hang out, there's something specific we just gotta talk about while we have this chance: we need to talk ROMANCE!"

Naturally, Mina grew an excited smile of her own that the invisible girl was practically reading her mind; but the rest of the girls across both classes looked far more nervous by comparison.

Of course, that wasn't going to stop Tooru, as she began eagerly rocking back and forth where she sat; her voice ringing with whimsy: "Soooo…do any of you have a secret boyfriend you never told any of us about?"

Naturally, just the thought had Ochako turning red and Kyouka going rigid as stone; but Tsuyu, Mina and Momo all resolutely shook their heads, just like the whole lot of Class B girls. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Tooru-san, but between all of my studying in order to make it through the recommendation version of the Entrance Exam, and then everything that followed after being accepted, I simply didn't have the time to ever even consider the potential for forming a romantic relationship."

As Momo explained her reasoning, virtually all the other girls gave the same exact reason, with Mina ultimately asking: "Hey, if you were the one who asked in the first place, then does that mean you've got a secret boyfriend yourself, Tooru-chan?!"

Alas, her suspicions went unfounded, as Tooru gave a teasing "nope" as her answer; glad that she'd managed to lure at least one of her classmates in with a fake-out. "Still, it's so hard to believe that at least you two never had a boyfriend before; Yaomomo, Mina-chan. I mean, you're both super pretty in your unique ways, and I'll bet you were both super popular at your old schools."

But, not wanting to focus on the past, Mina decided to instead play Tooru's little game one step further; resting her chin in her palms while playfully kicking her legs back and forth, lying on her stomach. "Well, if none of us have ever had an actual boyfriend…then is there maybe a boy in your classes that you have a crush on?"

Just as she'd silently been expecting, this got yet another intense kneejerk reaction out of Ochako and Kyouka; and it was far too tempting to resist, knowing that she had Tooru on her side in this singular obsession with romance, as both girl began leaning in closer and closer to their awkward-looking classmates: "Ooooh, you do, don't you, Ochako-chan, Kyouka-chan? You gotta tell us who they are now, y'know? C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, please tell us! Who're the lucky guys, huh? I'll bet we can guess pretty easy!"

Of course, Ochako's physical reaction was to start frantically waving her hands about in a frenzy of denial. "N-NO, YOU'RE WRONG! I-I-I just…I-I'm not used to the summer temperatures this high up! And I-I used too much spice in our dinner tonight! It's finally catching up with me, that's all, I swear!"

Mina's cheeky smile and adorably mischievous giggle made it clear to anyone who knew the history between her and Ochako, that she understood what was really going on behind the rosy-cheeked girl's manic reaction. On the other hand, Tooru simply couldn't resist digging a little deeper when seeing the awkward look on Kyouka's face and her rigid posture. "What about you, Kyouka-chan? Are you thinking of Kaminari-kun right now…or is it Kolya-kun?"

It was bad enough for Kyouka to deal with those same baseless and confusing accusations when they just came from Mina. Having them come from her and now Tooru as well, was simply too much, as Kyouka's Earphone Jacks began wildly flailing around: "No, no, no, no, no! absolutely not, there's no chance, not either of them!"

But while Tooru and Mina were both giggling in amusement at Kyouka's flustered reaction; Setsuna and Yui both had similarly surprised looks on their faces, as the lizard-like girl spoke up: "Really? Jirou-san and Bezpalov-kun? I would've bet all the money in my wallet that it would've been you who has the crush on him, Ashido-chan. I mean, considering what an emotional mess you were back in Erubi City when that Villain had him prisoner, can you really blame me?"

"Not in the slightest, I was thinking the same thing. It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Right? It's so much cuter when it's you two." This was the all-around response from Momo, Tsuyu and; to Mina's shock; Tooru as well, which caused the pink-skinned girl to start squirming about nervously where she lay under the eyes of her fellow girls.

"Aww, c'mon, that's not fair, you traitors! What'd I ever do? I told you already; it's not like that with me and Kolya-kun, I swear! He's just a super sweet, super awesome bestie, that's all!"

Of course, the sight of Mina acting anything like Ochako and Kyouka was simply too exciting for Tooru, as she once more threw an eager hand to the air: "Oh, I know what we can talk about next! Is there a single boy in your classes that you could see yourselves ever going on a date with? Don't answer all at once! I wanna know who you all come up with when you actually think about it!"

All the girls could tell that Tooru was not going to let this go. So, over the course of the next few minutes, she sat with growing anticipation as she saw the actual considerate and thoughtful looks on all their faces. And, of course, she too was following her own rules by trying to think of the candidate she felt strongest for.

In the end, though, to Tooru's considerable disappointment, one after the other, her fellow girls just let out a sigh of resignation, with Tsuyu answering: "I'm sorry, Tooru, but no matter who I think of in our class, I just can't see myself really dating any of them-kero."

"Yeah, I mean I could definitely hang out with them on a free day, but something like dating is, like, a huge commitment, and I just don't feel like I'd do something like that with any of the guys here." Kyouka added, all while awkwardly tapping her Jacks together.

"Yes, the boys in our class can definitely be called peers, friends, and perhaps even rivals if you think about it long enough…but I can't say I would consider them dating material." Momo surmised. The only reason Ochako didn't say anything, was because the more she'd thought about it, the more her thoughts had kept returning to Izuku, and every time it made her face turn a darker and darker shade of red.

And as for Mina; after where the last topic had landed her, she was too nervous to actually give her own answer, especially since she'd essentially already done exactly what Tooru was asking as a hypothetical.

And that memory likewise came back to the invisible girl, much to Mina's chagrin. "Wait a second, I'm such a dummy, I completely forgot! Mina-chan, you and Kolya-kun already technically went on a date right after the Sports Festival, didn't you? He was gone all day from his house that day and said he'd run into you and you both hung out the whole day!"

While Ochako was still too deep in her own head to likewise remember this, Setsuna similarly lit up with remembrance: "Oh yeah, that's right! The first day Tunguska-sensei was doing his Surrogate Internship Training program in his backyard! Oh man, Bezpalov-kun looked so red when he mentioned you, Ashido-chan! It sounds like you got a big head start on the rest of us, didn't you?"

While Mina was hesitant to lift her eyes from the floor; Momo and Tsuyu both had a contemplative look of understanding on their faces; the ponytailed girl crossing her arms contemplatively. "I can't honestly say it's too surprising. You and Bezpalov-san are together nearly every hour of the day, whether you're talking, studying or anything else." "Not to mention how enthusiastically you both cheer each other on whenever you take turns training at any of Aizawa-sensei's lessons-kero."

As Mina started hugging her pillow beneath her for dear life as her face grew warmer; she didn't realize how Momo likewise had started blushing, as her cat-like eyes suddenly shifted to an unsuspecting Kyouka. "Although…by that same merit, Kyouka-san…I do oftentimes see you and Kaminari-san together as well. You both seem to get along quite well, too. If Mina-san and Tooru-san are indeed wrong…is it perhaps slightly possible that it may be him you could feel for?"

Just like with the accusations of her having feelings for Nikolay; Kyouka reacted to Momo's words with her Earphone Jacks swinging and flying rampant throughout the dorm; stuttering in denial with a disgusted look on her face. And fortunately, for Mina's sake, that little distraction gave her the opening to press even further, and hopefully get the rest of the attention off herself: "That has to confirm it, right? If Kyouka-chan reacts like that at the thought of Kaminari-kun, then it must mean she's really got a crush on Kolya-kun! At least with him, she gifts him music all the time, even when she doesn't have to."

Kyouka had to forcefully bite onto the knuckle of one of her fingers in order to get her Jacks to calm down. Once they were hanging still at the sides of her head again, she stubbornly turned away to avoid making eye contact with her classmates. "It's not like that, for the last time! It's just a courtesy from one music lover to another. As for Kaminari, he'd be terrible boyfriend material. He's definitely the kind of guy who'd cheat on whoever was unlucky enough to be his girlfriend without any hesitation, I can just feel it."

While popping a piece of chocolate into her mouth, Tsuyu suddenly answered: "I actually have to disagree with you on that, Kyouka. In all the time I've known Denki, he's always been nothing but an absolute gentleman-kero."

And of course, the notion that Tsuyu and Denki had an apparent history was the last thing any of the girls of either class expected, as Mina and Tooru just as much exclaimed: "WAIT, YOU KNEW EACH OTHER BEFORE YUUEI?! WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER SAY ANYTHING BEFORE, TSU?!"

But while her friends were dumbfounded, and their Class B peers could only watch this display with varying expressions of amusement; Tsuyu simply gave a smile that looked as though it should've been obvious. "Well, because none of you ever asked-kero. Denki and I used to go to the same kindergarten together. We didn't see each other again after that until this school year started. I honestly hadn't even realized he'd gone to the Entrance Exam until the first day of school."

While the rest of the Class A girls were completely floored by this surprise revelation on Tsuyu's part; Itsuka and Setsuna both had considerably thoughtful looks about them now; the latter finally speaking up: "You know, it's funny you mentioned students with a history. That's pretty much just like your circumstances with Kirishima-san, isn't it, Ashido-chan?" "Yes, I believe I recall hearing that you two attended the same middle school together before being accepted into Yuuei."

Thankfully, having already been given this same line of inevitable questioning by her own classmates, Mina was able to breathe much more calmly and answer the two girls with confidence and sincerity: "Honestly, if it had been anyone else in my place, and I were looking at that from where you both are, I'd totes think they gotta be in love, too. Kiri and I might not have talked too much or spent a whole lot of time together back in our old school, but ever since then, I feel like we know each other super well by now…and to tell you the truth, I think of him way more like a twin brother that's a ton of fun to tease and hang out with, and that's it. He's definitely never given any impression he feels any differently as far as I've ever seen. Sorry to disappoint."

Itsuka looked perfectly accepting of such an answer, while Setsuna simply looked like it was the answer she'd expected, smiling knowingly to herself. But most surprising of all, was the fact that Tooru was suddenly speaking up in support of Mina's honest answer: "You know…the more I watch how Kirishima-kun interacts with you and the rest of us girls, compared to how he interacts with the rest of the guys, I honestly have to say I don't think he feels any differently about you than what you just said, Mina-chan. In fact, I have to admit I've been starting to wonder if he even likes girls that way at all.

"I mean, the guy's totally obsessed with any and all things even remotely manly, plus he gravitates to guys like Tunguska-sensei, Midoriya-kun and Bakugo like a magnet; especially the latter. I mean, can you think of anybody else that would want to be anywhere near a guy like that, with the temper he has? That kinda loyalty sounds a lot like some kinda crush, if you ask me."

Of course, none of the other girls were about to start voicing their opinions on such a possibility as Eijirou potentially swinging the way Tooru was hinting at…but the fact that Bakugo had now been brought up, pretty much forced all the girls of both classes to unanimously speak out: "A guy like Bakugo getting a significant other is a one in a billion shot!"

With Tooru being the one to put the final punctuation on her point: "I mean, if Bakugo were to also lean that way with Kirishima-kun, at least his Quirk would be able to keep him from getting hurt the next time he loses his cool, right?"

But not wanting to dwell any further on a topic they had no knowledge or right to speak on, Kyouka hastily cleared her throat, hoping to bring the whole discussion to a close: "Look, the point is that me and Kaminari is just a pipe dream. The way he always acts and hangs out with Mineta, he's just going down a road of terrible influences; not the kind that makes for good boyfriend material."

And, just like with Bakugo; the mention of Minoru once more spurred all the girls of 1-A to speak out in near perfect unison: "BUT LITERALLY ANYBODY IS BETTER THAN MINETA!"

Knowing now through Momo's earlier warning about Minoru's lecherous ways; the Class B girls couldn't help but laugh amusedly to each other; which ended up grabbing the Class A girls' attention. By now, Ochako had managed to calm herself enough to actually be a part of the conversation again: "Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but does your class have anyone at all like Mineta, too?"

Such a question was simply too juicy for Mina and Tooru to get an answer for; waiting with building anticipation as Setsuna gave a knowing look to Itsuka; with the rest of her classmates quickly following suit. The orange-haired girl looked to be deep in thought for a good several seconds. "Hmm…maybe not to exactly the same extent as Yaoyorozu-san made Mineta sound…but if I had to pick one, I'd honestly say Monoma-kun…but even then I'd take that with a grain of salt."

"Amen to that, Itsuka-chan. Even for us, that guy's harder to read than a foreign-language encyclopedia in that language's brail." Setsuna agreed with a bemused smile on her face.

And the thought of Class B's resident loudmouth, Neito Monoma, got all the Class A girls' skin crawling, before Tooru finally asked: "Darn, I was hoping you'd be able to give us a clue just what that guy's deal is. He's pretty handsome, but seems like he's got a total screw loose upstairs."

But before the Class B girls could apologize for having nothing more to give; Mina perked right back up. "Y'know, if we're talking about boys in class based on handsomeness; then you know the number one spot's gotta go to Todoroki-kun. He looks like he'd totally be all natural in a boy band or a host club once he grows up, doesn't he? I can't be the only one who thinks so, can I?"

To her delight, one after the other, the girls of both classes began voicing their full agreement on the fact that Shoto was by far the most conventionally handsome of the boys' lot. But, being the ever responsible one, Itsuka chimed in: "He is certainly a good-looking guy, but if we're talking about the potential for a relationship, we might as well stop right there. After all, he is Endeavor's kid, isn't he? That sounds like an automatic relationship killer to me; he's so imposing and frightening, even on TV or newspapers."

While the rest of the girls all bowed their heads and sighed in defeat, knowing Itsuka was absolutely right and Endeavor's presence would be too terrifying to even risk a relationship with Shoto; Ibara suddenly muttered quietly to herself, almost as though in prayer: "His heart, mind and soul are so thoroughly intertwined with such temperament and burden. Were that I could provide in order to cool such temperaments and bring his soul salvation."

While her classmates were used to her speaking in such a devout religious manner; for Ibara to have suddenly started saying this in context of their discussing Shoto, couldn't help but draw surprised looks from her peers; while the Class A girls looked similarly flustered, especially when Setsuna decided to voice what she knew they all had to be thinking: "Well how about that? It sounds like our O so pure Ibara-chan wants to get down and physical with Todoroki-kun, doesn't it?"

That was able to finally get Ibara to open her eyes, but somehow manage to maintain her calm composure, as she held a single protesting hand forward. "You are sadly mistaken, Setsuna-chan. I merely wish to ease him of his inner burdens, so that he may be able to live righteously, as all Heroes should, unfettered by anything. That is all."

Thankfully, Setsuna could let that disappointing clarification roll right off her shoulders, as Itsuka's reminder of Shoto's family had gotten her going down a much more interesting road of conversation: "You know; it's not exactly like Todoroki-kun's the only guy here with a super powerful Hero for a father. While Bezpalov-kun's family situation might be super similar, Tunguska-sensei's way less scary, and he generally seems like he'd be much better boyfriend material all around. Plus, he may not be as straightforward handsome; but I think he actually strikes that ultra-rare balance between being super adorable in how delicate he looks, and somehow managing to be his own foreign style of handsome at the same time. At least, I just know I certainly wouldn't mind getting a handful of him myself if nobody else were to jump on it."

For Setsuna to be so forward had left even some of her own classmates red in the face, but those weren't the reactions she was looking for the most. No, that came in the form of Mina, who much like Kyouka before, had suddenly gone completely stiff where she lay; her black-gold eyes widening just enough for Setsuna to notice, while still somehow managing to keep her pink cheeks from turning a single shade of red darker.

However, Momo and Tsuyu weren't nearly as blindsided so as not to answer, as they both spoke up: "Looks aside; Bezpalov-san may be a good person and have a truly courageous heart, but he does still have quite a great deal of maturing to do, if I may say so, myself." "Yeah, when things are serious, he doesn't hesitate to act; but in the times in between, he still lets new things overwhelm him a lot, and he still has a tendency to come across as really unsure of himself-kero."

"Frankly, if he doesn't manage to find a means to build his confidence to where he doesn't come across so intimidated as often as he has, I fear he may not grow to be appealing to anyone but the kind of women who prefer to…er…mommy-coddle their significant others, if I'm using that term correctly."

While Momo finished rather awkwardly explaining hers and Tsuyu's standpoints on Nikolay's potential as a boyfriend; neither of them saw how Mina's body involuntarily flinched again at the sound of it…until she impulsively spoke up: "I don't think that's true. Like, he's already gotten so much better up till now, I don't think any of us would have to worry about him getting stuck."

Mina could just feel the eyes of all the other girls once more bearing down on her; all the while not understanding why she'd just spontaneously spoken out like that, as though Momo and Tsuyu's dismissal was a sleight against him she couldn't help but instinctively speak out against.

But, not wanting the room to dwell on that last note any longer than it already had, she hurriedly got to sitting up on her knees again and going with the first other candidate she could think of to get the rest of the girls' heads whirling:

"What about Iida-san? He seems confident and powerful enough to draw a lot of girls' attention, doesn't he? Even those glasses kinda give him the potential for that whole 'alluring historical shoujo manga butler' look, right?"

But neither she nor any of the other girls could keep a straight face for long, as Setsuna couldn't help but comment amid her snickering: "No offense to Iida-san, but he seems way too straight-laced and intense to be a high school sweetheart."

"You're not wrong there, Setsuna-chan! He probably wouldn't be comfortable even holding a girl's hand until they were already married!" Tooru agreed, earning even more laughter from Kyouka and Ochako, with even Momo unable to help but giggle amusedly to herself at the thought.

Now on a roll with the rest of her peers, and unable to help her own curiosity regarding the boys of 1-A, Itsuka went next: "Well, what about that Midoriya Izuku boy? He's a real curious one, I think. He seems a lot different now than he did back at the Sports Festival."

Just like the last time, the mere mention of Izuku had Ochako instinctively turning red, much to the amusement of Mina and Tooru; only this time Tsuyu was kind enough to step in for her by answering: "Well, Midoriya is definitely a nervous sort like Kolya…they're both really hard workers, but there's something about him that's way more intense and focused; it's pretty hard to explain-kero."

With Tsuyu having taken the lead, Ochako was likewise thankfully able to find the courage to speak up as well: "I know what you mean, Tsu. I feel like there's a lot about him we still don't know…but more than anything, there's something about the way he carries himself in studies and Hero training that's super motivating. He's just able to inspire others to work super hard at everything without even knowing it. It's why I think that nickname 'Deku' really works for him. I mean, Bakugo-san uses it like an insult, but the fact he carries it still and works so hard, instead makes it sound like a word for never giving up. It's really cool, in my opinion."

Listening to the surprisingly collected sincerity in Ochako's tone, Mina was likewise smiling while hugging her knees to her chest. "That's exactly the kinda vibe I always get from Kolya-kun when watching him get so focused. From how he was at the start of the year to now, it's already like a complete transformation. You'd almost think he and Midori-kun were, like, long-lost twins or something. Still, though, he's not nearly as much of a total fanboy like Midori-kun or Kiri are about their Hero icons. I'm almost willing to bet Midori-kun would prioritize how much of a die-hard All Might fan his girlfriend is in a relationship over anything else. That's a pass for me."

As the rest of the girls besides Ochako ultimately voiced their agreement with their pink friend; Ochako let out a sigh of relief. If they could avoid talking about Izuku and risk making her say something she didn't mean to, then that was all she could ask for.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a momentary twist of annoyance in the pit of her chest that the rest of the girls could dismiss him so easily for his natural geeky personality towards the Symbol of Peace. If anything, that was actually one of the cuter aspects to him in her eyes.

Suddenly, Tooru snapped her fingers as though she'd just been stricken by a bolt of inspiration: "Hey, hey, this could be a real fun one! What if the girls and the boys were to suddenly switch places, like we were boys and they were girls!? If that happened, which of them do you think would make the best girlfriend?!"

Now that was indeed a very intriguing question, as the invisible girl watched her friends all go deep into thought over something they'd never once considered. Even Yui and Reiko, who until now had simply been sitting as observers, were now visibly thinking it over between themselves.

But not wanting to let the silence linger any longer, Tooru decided to break the proverbial ice: "Like, to me, I think Iida-kun could really fit into the whole morality club president with a secret tsundere-side archetype, y'know?"

The rest of the girls could only sigh in relief that she hadn't decided to go one indecent step further with that summation (or rather blind assumption) of how their president would be as a girl. But just as Tooru had hoped, with her having greased the wheels, Mina now felt comfortable enough giving her own answer, her very thought bringing a bright smile to her face: "Hey, if Kolya-kun is already really cute as a boy, just imagine how adorable he'd be as a girl! A girl looking like him, with as scared on the outside as he can look, but as brave and devoted to what he knows is right, and as willing as he is to fight for his friends as he is on the inside; you all gotta admit that sounds like the perfect picture of the best girlfriend, right?"

Before any of the other Class A girls could either answer or throw their own options in; Reiko suddenly raised a hand; her one visible eye focusing on Itsuka specifically. "Actually, Itsuka-chan would make for the best boyfriend from the start. She already looks after our whole class without fail."

"Damn straight! She's already Class B's honorary big sister; who wouldn't want someone like her for a boyfriend if given half the chance?" Setsuna eagerly agreed, with Yui and Ibara likewise nodding.

Even Momo couldn't help but chime in: "I must actually agree; Kendo-san was a splendid partner to have for our Field Training periods, and certainly possesses many universal traits that women would be deeply attracted to."

Just like that, the whole of the Class B girls, and nearly all of the Class A girls were now crowding around the embarrassed Itsuka like a veritable idol, all expressing thanks and admiration across the board for her while she couldn't think of a word to say to make it all stop, with Ochako and Kyouka unable to help but comment: "Could you imagine a boy that looks even a bit like Kendo-san protecting his girlfriend from something like a groper on a train?" "Oh yeah! She could totally fit in like a chivalrous knight-type role!"

Mina could only watch her friends get roped into this sudden turn-around with a puffed up pout in her cheeks. "Aww, c'mon, everyone; we're supposed to be talking about boys turned to girls; not fawning over the girls we already have turned to boys! You're totally missing the point here!"

Alas, it was obvious that everyone was past the point of hearing her protests, so Mina ultimately decided to let her friends have their moment of heaping their praises on Itsuka; all while she herself had a face even redder than her hair.

The fluster she was feeling ultimately became so much that she for once lost her calm and urgently shook her head. "Alright, alright, enough about all that; please. I know what we can talk about next! Out of all the boys in your class, who would you want to be, so that you could try out their Quirks for yourself?"

Unlike all the romance-related topics discussed so far, this idea had every single one of the girls aglow with inspiration, with Ochako's face becoming that Sports Festival-brand of intense when she brought a confident hand to the air. "I already know who I'd pick! Ever since fighting him at the tournament…I've been thinking a lot about how amazing it must feel to have Bakugo-san's Quirk. If I had to pick anyone, that would be it, even if it were just so I could be able to go nuts with it just once, without having to be all careful about not making myself sick after a while."

Even with the immensely surprised looks on everyone's faces, Ochako stood her ground on her decision. The fact that she was so ready with her answer brought an equally eager smile to Mina's face, as she practically sprang back onto her feet with an emboldened fist in the air. "If I had to pick, it would either be Kolya-kun or Sero-kun's Quirks! Mainly, I'd just love to feel what it would be like to practically fly like a bird through the air! It always looks like so much fun when they do it!"

With a delighted smile of her own, Momo raised her hand next: "I would honestly really like a Quirk like Kouda-san's. To be able to communicate with animals seems like such an enlightening ability…plus, it's something I've actually wished for more than once when I was little."

And to Momo's surprise, Yui silently raised her hand next, and subsequently pointed in Momo's direction; spurring Itsuka to ask: "Really, Yui-chan? You'd want Yaoyorozu-san's Creation? Admittedly, it is really impressive."

However, Yui resolutely shook her head, before jabbing her finger at Momo again, which was what finally clued them all in, as Setsuna grinned knowingly: "Oooh, I get it, your choice is the same as Yaoyorozu-san's, is that it?"

A single nod from Yui was all her classmates and their peers needed to know that she apparently was very drawn to Kouji Kouda's Anivoice Quirk as well, which just made Momo smile that much more that they were of the same opinion.

Rolling her eyes with resignation when nobody else immediately followed up, Kyouka gave a defeated sigh. "Alright…don't think too much into this, but I'd honestly…go with Kaminari's Quirk. He's so carefree a lot of the time, I can't help wondering if that burnt out Yay Mode of his had some lasting effects. You can't blame me for wondering what it must feel like to be in that state just once, can you?"

While the girls were all shaking their heads in reassurance, Tsuyu then just as quickly continued: "I'd go with Fumikage's Quirk, just so I could have Dark Shadow around. It's like having a friend you can actually talk to with you all the time, so you'd never ever be lonely."

Ochako and Kyouka both couldn't help but swoon at how cute Tsuyu's reasoning was, before Tooru had both her invisible hands up in the air. "My turn, my turn! I'd go with Sato-kun's Quirk, so then I'd have the know-how to make all the delicious sweets I could eat! That would make me soooo happy, I swear! He's so lucky!"

With all the Class A girls having given their honest answers, Setsuna eagerly grabbed a handful of tiny chocolates before giving her answer with a confident sharp-toothed smile: "I don't know if we have to stick with the boys in our respective classes or if we can choose between them both, but I'd honestly go with Monoma-kun's Quirk; that way I get to sample everybody else's by default. I can't believe none of you even thought of that."

With Ibara, Yui and Reiko all likewise looking embarrassed that they themselves hadn't thought of such an obvious winning Quirk; Itsuka couldn't help but laugh earnestly. "Well how about that? Everyone looked more or less nervous when we were talking about all this boys and girls and romance stuff, but the atmosphere really picked up once we went on to something completely different."

Mina and Tooru both gave a heavy sigh of defeat at the truth of this statement, especially as their friends were all eagerly nodding in agreement that this was a much easier conversation to carry. Tsuyu, seeing their mutual disappointment, answered: "You don't have to be sad about it, Mina, Tooru. That kind of talk was fun while it lasted, but it's just a little uncomfortable because we can't control when something like falling in love with someone will ever happen to us-kero. My mom always said that it's something that just happens when it happens. If it makes you feel better, maybe when it does happen to one of us, we can come back to it then."

As Mina and Tooru both smiled in gratitude for Tsuyu's understanding, as well as anticipation at just the idea of finding that special someone; Setsuna started grinning mischievously again. "Maybe that might've happened for more than one of us here already without the lucky girls even realizing it, Asui-chan."

It was like an uncontrollable jerking of the knee that Ochako turned red at what the Class B lizard-like girl was suggesting…but Mina likewise could feel her frizzy pink hair starting to stand on end when she could feel Setsuna's eyes land squarely on her with that devious smile.

And that look made the words come immediately flying out of Mina's mouth as she answered back in nothing short of desperation: "How many times do I have to say it, Setsu-chan?! I don't feel that way for Kolya-kun, cross my heart and all!"

But that just got a chuckle out of Setsuna that sent a chill up Mina's spine. "Hey, I didn't name any names, Ashido-chan. You did that yourself."

Mina instinctively put her hands to her mouth; eyes wide as saucers, before her heart leapt into her throat with overwhelming fluster and drove her to throw another accusatory finger at a surprised Kyouka's way. "I-I didn't mean anything by that! I already know it's Kyouka-chan whose heart he's got! Two music lovers, and with the way they helped us pass the Final Exam like they did?! You should've seen it yourselves; then you'd know I'm right!"

Crossing her arms in an X-shape over herself in a childish show of defense, Kyouka swiftly argued back: "Oh no, not again! We aren't talking anything about me, Mina-san, we're talking about you this time!"

With her one ace in the hole having just thrown her argument right back at her, Mina tried to square her shoulders while looking all her fellow girls in the eye so they could know how serious she now was: "Look, it's seriously not what you think it is, and I can prove it once and for all! You all really wanna know what kind of guy it is I like? My dream guy is someone who's strong, but with a childish side, who plays by his own rules, but always sticks by your side! Now you all know!"

Mina had her hands to her hips while sitting up tall with a proud grin on her face…for all of a couple seconds, before Tsuyu bluntly replied: "That pretty much sounds like Kolya to the letter, though."

"Yeah, I was about to say, if that was an argument against what I'm thinking about you two, then you definitely wouldn't survive a career as a lawyer." Setsuna instantly agreed, leaving Mina's face a much paler shade of pink, awash in a quickly growing cold sweat as every one of her classmates started voicing the exact same unanimous agreement as to just who fit in her description.

"When you think about it, Bezpalov-san may not be as physically dominating as someone like Midoriya-san, Bakugo-san or Kirishima-san, but his Quirk is definitely one of the more powerful in our class. Plus, if we're talking about spirit, then he's honestly as strong as anyone I've known so far."

"Yeah, and the super sheltered way he was raised before coming to Japan makes him look at every new thing he experiences with this adorable childlike energy that, along with that cute face, makes him just plain irresistible to most girls, I would think. That sounds like him having a childish side to me."

"He might not be all spontaneous about everything like you, Mina; but he definitely seems to have his own way of learning how to be a Hero that doesn't strictly follow the textbook like Iida-san; so maybe that counts as Kolya playing by his own rules-kero."

"And I don't think any of us can argue that he's proven absolutely loyal to all his friends when the going gets tough, even when he's clearly scared…so his ability to stick by your side is pretty much without question."

Mina knew she couldn't justifiably deny her friends' points, not a one of them. And that fact had her running her fingers through her hair like mad, as she bit her lip in strain to try and come up with some kind of way to steer the conversation anywhere else. She could just feel her heartbeat accelerating, and her body shrinking, as the rest of the girls were observing this involuntary reaction of hers with inescapable knowing eyes.

Mina knew that if it were anyone else in her position, and she were in the rest of the girls' place right now, she'd already be announcing her belief that they were the ones with feelings of overwhelming love for Nikolay from the rooftops until sunrise. But there was no use trying to imagine hypotheticals…especially since the fact that her friends' points were spot-on, were forcing her to really look inside herself.

It was true that Nikolay, in his own unique way, had already proven to possess all the traits she'd just honestly described in her ideal boyfriend…and yet she knew she didn't feel any stronger for him than any of her other friends whom all she loved with everything she was…or at least, she didn't think she did. But then, when asking herself what this all meant for the two of them, it all kept coming back to those two fateful instances when she'd let all of her previous inhibitions go, and actually give him both their very first non-familial kiss: in that photo booth, in his living room after returning from Erubi City?

And then, of course, just the previous night, right outside in the front yard of this very camp, when she'd felt the overwhelming desire to kiss him full on the mouth right there under the stars and moon. There had never once been an instance with any of her other friends, even among the boys, where she ever came close to feeling that same desire…so then why was it only ever with Nikolay, if her feelings towards him really didn't go any further than with anyone else? Why was the answer that seemed so obvious so hard for her to just grasp onto so she could put her own confusion to rest, along with everyone else's suspicions?

And if, by some astronomical chance she was actually wrong about her own current feelings, then what did that ultimately mean for Kyouka and her potential crush? Mina knew she couldn't possibly step all over that for her own sake, she would never forgive herself for something so selfish.

But then, just at the moment before Mina would be completely lost within her own frantic head, and blind and deaf to the outside world around her:

"You know, Mina-chan; whether you think you feel any one way about Kolya-kun or not, I at least wanna take the chance to say I'm super glad you're both back to talking to each other like normal again. Last night between you both was just plain unnatural."

"Hey, yeah, how did you end up fixing it all up so quick and neat, Mina-chan?"

Tooru and Ochako's wayward comment and question snapped Mina back to attention; only realizing what her invisible bestie had just brought up, as the whole of the Class B girls present all looked notably surprised, with Setsuna of course being the first to ask: "What do you mean, Hagakure-chan? What happened last night?"

Now finding herself in a real tight spot with no way to try and wriggle out; Mina sighed, braced herself for the explanation she knew she should've just given her friends right from this very morning, and proceeded:

"Yesterday when we got to our stop before our hike, Kolya-kun was talking about giving me a personal nickname between us like I did for him, Urara-chan, Yaomomo and you, Setsu-chan. He came up with something Russian for me, uh…he pronounced it like…'O-Ochi Ch…Ch-Chiyoruniye; but he didn't tell me what it meant until we'd gotten to camp. He said that it was the poetic version of their words for 'Dark Eyes'…and it really got to me…like, to the point of me not really talking to him after. It just got me thinking about a lot of really old painful stuff I hadn't thought about in a while."

Mina's awkward attempt at pronouncing any of Nikolay's Russian aside; the thought of him saying something that could manage to get under someone like Mina's skin just felt unreal for Setsuna; knowing them as well as she did by now. But as Mina continued from there; the shame evident in her eyes quickly changed back into the same heartfelt smile she always had with him since then today.

"The rest of the girls had to help me remember it for myself, but I knew Kolya-kun didn't really mean anything hurtful by it, and I couldn't stand the thought of us going to bed without explaining myself…so I did. And he…he had some explaining of his own he really wanted to tell me, too. So he…*gasp*…he told me what his nickname for me really meant. It wasn't about what it literally translates to…it's about what it actually belongs to. He told me that Ochi…oh, you heard what I said before, I can't pronounce it right yet!

"Kolya-kun told me that it's actually the name of, like, a super beyond plus ultra-level popular old folk song his people and everyone in all his old neighbor countries have loved a ton for, like, centuries! He said he picked it, because he wanted me to have a nickname of something all-around loved by his people, because it would reflect how much he said I mean to him. Oh God, even just talking about it's got me feeling all warm and ticklish inside!"

Mina was giggling sweetly to herself, not even aware of how red her pink cheeks were becoming; much like how Tsuyu and Kyouka both were instinctively turning deep red at the implication of Nikolay's words. At the same time, Itsuka, Yui and Reiko were likewise turning pink in the cheeks just picturing such a scene, while Ibara was instinctively making a praying posture in response, as though she were communicating giving her blessing; all while Setsuna, Momo, Tooru, and even Ochako were physically squirming where they sat with a deeply touched swoon emanating out of all of them.

"Oh. My. God! That is SO ROMANTIC, Mina-chan! How can you possibly say you don't have feelings for Kolya-kun if he could say something so sweet to you? I don't even care, I'd happily fall for anyone who would think of doing something like that just for me!"

While Tooru was almost going into a seizure, she was writhing with heartwarming delight for her pink friend so much; Tsuyu could see the heartfelt smile on Mina's face, alongside the equal shares of embarrassment and uncertainty in her golden irises.

So, being the ever-merciful one, the frog-like girl decided it was time to cut Mina a break after having gotten her to share so much. "You know, I've been thinking about everything you said about your ideal guy, Mina…and I think I realized someone else in class who fits those traits pretty well, too-kero: Dark Shadow. With Fumikage, he can be super tough and scary…but any other time, he's also really cute and sweet in a way you wouldn't expect. He's like a weird in-between of a loving partner and a puppy."

With such a sudden and drastic shift in the conversation, Ochako suddenly chimed in with equal enthusiasm: "Ooh, y'know, now that you mention it, Tsu, I think I've seen Tokoyami-san feed apple slices to Dark Shadow sometimes during lunch period, and he always looks so happy when he does. It's so cute! You'd never expect from a Quirk that can look so scary when he's mad!"

From there, practically all the other girls began likewise fawning and swooning over all the creative ideas of what it would be like for any one of them to have Dark Shadow for a partner in Fumikage Tokoyami's place.

But since delving into such a deeply personal place mere moments before had gotten Mina so engulfed in the overall romantic mood; to hear her friends now suddenly going in such an abstract direction with it, had her childishly whining again: "Ooh, c'mon, I thought we were actually getting back on track! Why are we suddenly all going ga-ga over Tokoyami-kun's Quirk?! How would something like that even work for anyone but him? Besides, having him for a boyfriend just to have Dark Shadow-kun around just isn't worth it if you ask me. The guy himself is just way too brooding and gloomy for my taste!"

Immature outburst aside; Mina bringing up Fumikage's deceptively scary demeanor had a light bulb going off over Itsuka's head, as she suddenly interjected with exceptional enthusiasm: "Hey, there's an idea! Have there ever been any Pro Heroes out there that you ever thought were scary when you were younger, but now think are actually much cooler? To be perfectly honest, I was pretty freaked out by Uwabami before we ended up training under her, Yaoyorozu-san. Snakes have always given me the creeps."

The rest of the girls couldn't have forgotten all the romantic talk any faster if they'd tried, as they were soon all happily chiming in to this especially personal yet entertaining subject with renewed fervor.

And this continuously unfolding and random circle of carefree chitchat and ultimate friendship-building between the girls of Hero Course Classes A and B continued on like this into the latest hours of the night, with nonstop laughter to be had until they had all finally fallen asleep comfortably with their hearts and spirits as light as a feather.

---

Night of Rivalry

(Ночь Соперничества)

After the considerable physical punishment Nikolay had endured at the hands of Izuku's 1%-powered Quirk in their first night of sparring; both boys and their class president, Tenya Iida, were more than ready to finally hit the sack and get a much-needed good night's rest. Hopefully, the rest of their classmates would have already turned in by now, just so they could avoid the repetitive process of explaining that their Russian's injuries would heal by morning.

But when they finally stepped into the boys' dorm for Class A, they were greeted by the last sight they ever expected: in the middle of the room, everyone's futons had been folded and packed aside, in order to make room for a single table that was low to the floor, with nearly all the boys of Class a gathered on one side; and most surprisingly of all, all the boys of Class B on the other; and all of them staring intensely at each other, before realizing their three new arrivals.

"Hey, you guys actually made it! Good, we could use all the muscle we can get tonight!" Eijirou happily greeted Nikolay, Izuku and Tenya; nearly everyone else but Shoto and Bakugo looking similarly pleased, while the whole of Class B were staring the same daggers at them as the rest before.

"Everyone, it's well past curfew! What is the meaning of all this?" Tenya firmly demanded an explanation as he made way for the center of the room, while Izuku naturally joined Shoto, and Nikolay simply stood among the rest of his classmates; both boys similarly curious.

Thankfully, Mezo Shouji was happy to fill them in: "Right, you three completely missed it cause of Bezpalov-san being in the nurse's office. Besides Mandalay-sensei; the rest of the Pussycats called us together and said we're going to have nikujiku for dinner tomorrow before that big game they mentioned for the night. But they also said that there was only enough beef and pork to completely feed one class each."

Before the tallest boy in Class A could finish, the boisterous and manically grinning blonde-haired Neito Monoma of Class B continued with pure malice in his voice: "I don't need one of you Class A riff-raff to speak on my behalf! I stand by what I said: pork is the definitively superior meat, so it shall go to the superior class! You rabble can settle yourselves with the subpar substitute you deserve!"

Being a lifelong lover of beef himself, Nikolay could immediately understand at least one side of the indignation he was sensing off of Bakugo; who was currently still staring at Monoma like he was trying to make his head explode with his mind. At the same time, Eijirou handily concluded: "Nobody wants a full-blown class brawl, so we ultimately agreed a competition of raw manly skill would choose who gets what meat. I mean, I'm not complaining about either one, myself, but there's no way I can just back down when being given a challenge!"

"ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN CHIT-CHAT, AND MORE GETTING YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT, HAIR-FOR-BRAINS! DAMN DEKU, FOUR-EYES, COMMIE; IF YOU THREE AREN'T JOINING IN, THEN JUST STAND BACK AND SHUT UP! I'LL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH THIS WHOLE CLASS OF SHITHEADS IF I HAVE TO!" Bakugo angrily snapped at Eijirou and the returning trio.

Izuku didn't even need to ask Shoto's feeling on the matter; as the enigmatic student was keeping his arms crossed over his chest while letting out a sigh of pure exasperation. Frankly, Izuku himself was likewise just too tired to jump into this thing wholeheartedly like he normally would've wanted.

At the same time, Tenya, having listened to the whole story, was surprisingly nodding his head. "I see…a friendly competition between Hero student colleagues would be a far better substitute to a full-on fight, and it may even help form genuine bonds of comradery to help us in the future! Understood! As Class A's president, and the only current president in this room, I shall hereby take the place of a fully impartial referee!"

While nearly all of Class A was excitedly cheering that Tenya was actually in support of them doing this, the whole of Class B wasn't willing to take him at his word that he would be impartial in his judgments. But if they were to simply call off this competition over that, they would never be able to lose that mark on their reputation, their goal to be seen as class A's equals, if not their betters. There was no backing down from this, and the boys of both classes knew it.

Having been the second most enthusiastic among his classmates to do things this way, the silver-haired and sharp-toothed Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu resolutely stepped forward; his beady eyes practically aflame. "THEN IT'S SETTLED! CLASS B AND A WILL SETTLE THINGS WITH THE MOST OLD-SCHOOL COMPETITION OF RAW STRENGTH THERE IS: ARM WRESTLING! LET'S GET OUR TEAMS ALL SET UP!"

Everyone in both classes were already quickly huddling together to try and pick who among them was best. Nikolay, having already gotten sucked in by the competitive air among his classmates and friends, spoke up surprisingly fast to them: "My wounds were all to my chest, and they're already starting to numb after treatment. It shouldn't have any effect on my arm strength. Let me join in."

But faster than anyone else could voice their agreement in taking him into their team, Bakugo all but literally spat in argument while whispering harshly so the other class couldn't overhear them: "Are you not getting what's at stake here? This is all about who's the strongest! If we're gonna win this, we need people who are whole, not flimsy barely-glued-together pieces of dead weight. Get back in your line!"

Before Nikolay could come up with an argument; already thinking back to their ugly encounter during dinner earlier this evening; Tenya suddenly spoke up with rigid authority: "Wait a second: Kirishima-san, Kaminari-san, Sato-san, Sero-san; don't you all have to be attending Aizawa-sensei's supplementary lessons tonight?"

Just like that, the four aforementioned boys went pale with shock and horror at their own forgetfulness; all of them immediately making a beeline for the dorm exit before it would be too late; with Eijirou hurriedly poking his ehad back in and hurriedly answering: "Look, I'll try to sneak back here when I get the chance! If I can't, though, then know I'm rooting for you all!"

With that sudden thinning of the ranks of students in Class A; Mashirao opined: "Damn, and Kirishima-san and Sato-san are some of our strongest melee hitters. That leaves two candidates out. I don't think we can afford to be choosy with that being said, Bakugo-san."

Bakugo looked like he was ready to wring the blonde tailed boy's neck for stating the infuriatingly obvious, before Nikolay bit the bullet and spoke up: "Look, I know I'm not at my best, and I know I'm not nearly as physically strong as them, but it's not like I've never arm wrestled once before. If Kirishima-san can make it back in time, then great. But if he doesn't, then at least let me fill in for him."

Figuring it was at least worth a shot, especially since Izuku and Shoto were both clearly not in the mood for volunteering in his place; virtually all of Nikolay's classmates were voicing their support and agreement in having him as a secondary if Eijirou couldn't make it back in time. Naturally, the only one who wasn't voicing his support was Bakugo himself.

"Hey, are you all done cowering in your little pow-wow now that most of your biggest muscle is gone?! My class already has the coordination of having picked its best representatives, so what's taking the ever rushing Class A so long?"

Like always, the sheer mockery dripping from Neito Monoma's words was enough to get everyone's skin crawling; especially since he was able to get the satisfaction of knowing he'd lit a fire under their tails, by having them hurriedly form up their own team: Mezo Shouji, Kouji Kouda, Mashirao Ojiro, Bakugo, and Nikolay. And across from them now stood Class B's selected team of Tetsutetsu; the large, bespectacled and hairy Jurota Shishida; the short, round and grey-haired Nirengeki Shoda; the shaggy-headed and skeletal-faced Juzo Honenuki; and the black-haired, bandana-wearing and intense-looking Yosetsu Awase.

"HEY! WHAT KIND OF SHIT IS THIS?! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT STARTED THIS BY RUNNING THAT FAT MOUTH OF YOURS, AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN GONNA STEP INTO THE RING?! YOU GODDAMN COWARD!" Bakugo nearly exploded the moment he realized Monoma wasn't among the Class B team; snapping his head on a near pivot to see the snarky blonde boy was already halfway out the dorm exit after Eijirou and the others. "Oh, I didn't mention? I've got my own supplementary class with Vlad King-sensei to attend as well! Do our class proud and wipe the smug looks off these barbarians' faces, my friends!"

The moment Monoma took off, Tetsutetsu proceeded to step in as his classes' de facto leader. "ALRIGHT, LET THE ARM-WRESTLING COMPETITION BEGIN! WHOEVER WANTS TO GO FIRST, STEP ON UP!"

Without hesitation, the first boys on both teams to take their places at the low table were Nirengeki and Mashirao, and the sight of the two that had formerly worked together against their will during the Human Cavalry Battle of the Sports Festival was an irony not lost on anyone else.

Nirengeki was short and stout, while Mashirao was taller with a slender build, on top of a lifetime of martial arts experience to build his own muscles. As a result, he had much longer and bigger arms by comparison. So when he and his opponent clasped their hands together and firmly planted their elbows on the table; everyone among Class A was just waiting for the fight to end as quickly as it would begin, once Tenya gave the motion for the match to start.

SLAAAM!

And the match did end just like that…except that it was Mashirao's hand being pinned to the table, while Nirengeki stood victorious, staring intently at his opponent with a serious look on his round face.

All of the Class A students had looks of complete shock on their faces, while Izuku was already busy replaying the split-second fight he'd just seen in his head, muttering anxiously to himself: "I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary from here, but Shoda-san must've had some kind of strategy in mind to gain him an advantage against Ojiro-san's strength and height over him."

But Izuku didn't realize how loud his mumbling was, as Nirengeki answered straightforwardly: "There was no strategy to it. I just arm-wrestled like anyone normally would. I know I may not look like a powerhouse like everyone else…but that doesn't mean I haven't been pushing myself to getting stronger any less. Not all muscles come out looking like sculpted Greek gods, you know."

That last comment quickly got everyone thinking back to the obvious image of the typical sumo wrestler; how anyone without knowledge of the sports could mistake them for being fat, when in reality they were simply human balls of pure muscle, with some having the raw physical strength to crush rocks into dust with their bare hands. Just like that, they all began to bow their heads in silent apology for having underestimated the diminutive boy of Class B…naturally, except for Bakugo, who was simply grinding his teeth and giving a fiery stare to Mashirao for having lost for their class right from the start.

Without further ado, the next students to step forward for the second round were Mezo and Juzo Honenuki. Much like the previous round; with the exception of Jurota, Mezo towered over everyone else in this room, so everyone in his class were silently expecting him to just as quickly win this round for them in order to tie up the score. For it to unfold any other way would be just plain humiliating.

SLAAAM!

For once, the predictions turned out to be right. Mezo's tentacle-liked arms were practically tree trunks, his muscles were so big. So with what looked like nearly no effort at all, he'd managed to pin Juzo's hand to the table, earning the same kind of cheers from Class A that Nirengeki had gotten from Class B. Now, the two bitter rival classes were 1 for 1.

With the third round, it was now the rocky-headed Kouji Kouda and Jurota Shishida taking their places at the table. This time around, while Jurota easily dwarfed his opponent, they both had a similarly powerful physique, which was easy to overlook when considering that Kouji was so withdrawn, shy, and prone to relying on his Quirk when in confrontations.

This time, once Tenya gave the motion for the third round to start, there wasn't a resounding sound of a single hand getting pounded into the wood. Everyone watching was instinctively holding their breath and watching intently, as Kouji and Jurota were exercising surprising strength and upper body control in order to meet each other head-on, barely inching in one direction over another. They were truly proving themselves to be evenly matched.

But even a match as even as this couldn't last forever, for as soon as Kouji's classmates could see he was actually starting to consistently inch Jurota's hand to the table, they were soon all eagerly cheering him on with growing fervor; completely ignoring Tenya's orders to keep the jeering to a minimum for the sake of fairness. By contrast, more and more of Class B were frantically calling for Jurota to do whatever he could to get his hand back up and get their class another win. But no matter how much he was visibly straining himself to do so; Kouji was practically in a whole other world, as he refused to give back a single inch. Before long, this match would finally be decided.

"HEY, WOULD SOMEBODY CLOSE THE DOORS?! WE GOT BUGS CRAWLING IN HERE!"

A voice called out from out of nowhere in a piercing volume; catching everyone off guard, but especially Kouji; whose veins once running hot with adrenaline, had now gone frigid cold with fright, as his entire body instinctively flinched; a lapse in concentration and pressure that Jurota instantly jumped on, as he pushed with all his physical might; subsequently slamming Kouji's hand to the table in a resounding cheer-filled victory for Class B.

At that very same moment; Bakugo's building impatience over the way the matches were going, had spurred him into looking to see who was calling out and breaking his concentration. As such, he heard the confirmation of Kouji's loss the very same moment he laid eyes on the grinning Monoma peeking through the exit doorway.

And both those things together had his blood burning white hot, as he was already lunging for him, only to get grabbed by Mezo just in the nick of time. "YOU CHEATING PIECE OF SHIT! YOU'RE NOT EVEN A PART OF THIS! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

But knowing that his destruction had just been averted, and particularly emboldened by his classes' win, Monoma was far from scared, as he made his way back inside. "I know I shouldn't be here…but the chance to see you Class A ruffians get put in your rightful place by your betters is simply too good to pass up for more of Vlad King-sensei's lessons. I'll gladly take whatever punishment he sees fit in exchange."

As Monoma took his place back among his peers, and Bakugo realized there was at least still a chance to rub his smugness right back in his face; he quickly turned his furious stare to an apologetic Kouji. "AND WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR DEAL, ROCKY?! I THOUGHT YOU GOT OVER BEING SCARED OF BUGS SO YOU AND EARLOBES COULD WIN AT THE FINAL EXAMS! WAS THAT ALL JUST ONE BIG BULLSHIT STORY?!"

Kouji's eyes sank downward, too ashamed and frightened by Bakugo's temper to give an answer, which naturally just made the explosive young man that much angrier. Thankfully, the crow-headed Fumikage Tokoyami was quick to speak up in his classmate's defense: "There's no point in staying angry with Kouda-san, Bakugo-san. Everyone has their more difficult demons to overcome, after all."

"Hey, how about instead of moping over your falling behind, how about we get this fourth round rolling, huh?" Yosetsu Awase suddenly exclaimed with building anticipation, having already taken his place at the table while eyeing Nikolay specifically, since he knew he was essentially standing in for Eijirou; whom it was quickly becoming clear wasn't going to make it back.

Grinding his teeth with even further anger, Bakugo spitefully answered: "Goddammit, if he has to represent us, then you bastards might as well just add a third win to your belt already!"

But as Nikolay clenched his fists and shot an insulted glare at Bakugo; Tetsutetsu suddenly answered: "Hey, for all we know, Kirishima could just be working his way back here. Why don't you and I have our round right here and now to give him some time, and Bezpalov-san a chance to breathe easy? C'mon, I'll take you on!"

Yosetsu was awkwardly looking from Tetsutetsu to the rest of his class; clearly unsure of who exactly was going up next now, while Tetsutetsu himself was eyeing Bakugo intently with a grin.

But, to the shock of everyone on both sides, Bakugo gave a spiteful 'tsch' while looking away with arms crossed. "Forget it. You and I are having our match for last, and that's all there is to it! I'm netting us a damn win, and I'm not letting anybody overshadow that by going after me!"

While several of the Class A boys were uttering nervously between themselves as to Nikolay's chances and Bakugo's attitude; Shoto likewise rolled his eyes with an aggravated groan. "Bakugo-san's attitude only seems to be progressively getting worse. He could earn the class a tie once more, instead of a resounding loss, and yet he lets his ego get in the way."

However, instead of aggravation, Izuku was actually chuckling; an undeniable nostalgia visible in his green eyes. "Actually, this really isn't anything new for Kacchan. It's honestly kind of scary just how normal this is to me to see him doing."

But while Shoto was annoyed, and Izuku was thoughtful; Nikolay spoke up with surprising aplomb about him: "We said I'd take Kirishima-san's place if he didn't make it back, and he hasn't made it back. I'm not scared, you know. I'm ready."

That steadfastness had Yosetsu smiling in approval; already kneeling at the table with his hand at the ready, while Nikolay breathed deep with his fists still clenched; ignoring the split-second pang in his chest from the bruises while kneeling down to get his elbow on the table…and all while avoiding eye contact with the scowling Bakugo.

"HEY! I'M BACK, I'M BACK, I'M BACK! SORRY I'M LATE! YOU DIDN'T START MY ROUND ALREADY, DID YOU?!"

Eijirou's voice was downright frantic, as he came sliding on his sock-wearing feet through the doorway; almost tripping on the tatami mats below before just managing to catch himself without knocking the table away.

The buff redhead's arrival brought many excited cheers from Class A, and a dual sensation of relief and disappointment in Nikolay that he couldn't get the chance to prove himself that he'd been hoping for.

But, regardless, the young Russian humbly stepped back with an encouraging smile, while Eijirou eagerly took his spot across from Yosetsu; who was now clenching his teeth tight in preparation for going up against Tetsutetsu's near identical equal in raw strength and Quirk alike.

With no further interruptions to be had, and knowing that asking why Aizawa allowed Eijirou to return from supplementary lessons so soon would just wear on everyone's patience that much more; Tenya once more gave the motion for the match to begin; and Eijirou and Yosetsu were now putting all of their physical strength into their clasped hands, pushing with one arm and trying to keep themselves sitting up straight and rigid with everything they had.

Both classes' worth of students were eagerly cheering their representatives on with growing intensity with each passing second. Over the next couple of minutes, it was truly a tooth and nail confrontation, as both boys' arms were steadily inched closer to defeat, before summoning up the inner fire to get themselves back on top, and inching their opponents that much closer to defeat. It was the perfect example of a real back-and-forth battle of brawn and unbreakable spirit.

But as both boys had started to break into a considerable sweat from how much their muscles were both burning; Yosetsu was actually starting to consistently gain ground, much to Eijirou's growing visible distress. Even Tetsutetsu was finding himself cheering his rival and best friend on to pick himself back up, just as much as he was cheering his classmate on to earn their class yet another win.

But for as much as Eijirou was truly grateful for his classmates and friends' cheering him on in his most desperate hour; it was the piercing murderous rage of Bakugo's voice that broke through everything else: "IF YOU LOSE THIS MATCH, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

SLAAAM!

With a furious, near animalistic roar of pure testosterone flowing through his veins, Eijirou made a comeback for the ages, as he suddenly managed to nearly flip Yosetsu's whole body over with how quickly he managed to push his arm all the way up and over into the table; earning the thunderous cheers of his classmates at the score having once again been tied.

But even that kind of overwhelming excitement couldn't help but turn into an incomprehensible confusion when, as soon as Eijirou got back to his feet, his very first expression of thanks was to Bakugo: "Thanks for the encouragement, Bakugo!"

How he could've been able to take what literally anyone else would have known as a genuine death threat as encouragement was simply a mystery for the ages that nobody but Eijirou Kirishima would be able to understand.

But there was no further time to lose, as the final round for the arm-wrestling competition had finally arrived. Bakugo and Tetsutetsu were both beyond ready for it, as they were already taking their places and clasping their hands together, just waiting for Tenya to finally give the word. But this time, where there had only been a simple competitive intensity in the respective opponents' eyes before; this time, Bakugo looked like he was genuinely ready to kill his opponent here and now in order to win.

And as hesitant as that expression made him to commence this round; Tenya knew he had a responsibility to this competition, and thus finally gave the signal to commence.

Every other round before had been swift and intense in their own rights, but this final match was already putting every one of those to shame. Before, whenever someone was starting to lose ground, the looks of strain and inner strength attained that they reflected in their desperate pushes were almost inspiring.

Here, the look of pure savagery on Bakugo's face as he refused to give Tetsutetsu the slightest inch was purely terrifying; while the sharp-toothed boy of Class B's own physical intensity was almost just as frightening to be on the receiving end.

It was literally like watching two mutually unstoppable forces brute forcing their way against two immovable objects, as every centimeter gained felt like a life and death struggle; both boys trying with everything they could muster to break the other; their mutual war cries threatening to tear the other to pieces as their veins pulsated across their muscles with adrenaline.

Just when it seemed like they would be at an eternal stalemate, however; Bakugo's arm finally began to steadily inch its way to victory, as Tetsutetsu's fierce beady eyes widened with disbelief; knowing he wasn't slacking in all the physical strength he was putting into it, and yet he could see he was slowly but surely inching towards defeat. "W-what…the…hell?!"

Daring to take his eyes off their joined hands for but a moment, Tetsutetsu's sharp teeth grinded angrily against each other, as he saw the fire in Bakugo's eyes accompanying the sadistic grin of assured victory on his face. "You didn't even think ahead that far, did you?! Your breathing! I caught on to your little rhythm…AND NOW YOU'RE MINE!"

Tetsutetsu couldn't waste another moment or ounce of focus on trying to talk, as he kept his eyes glued on their hands; trying to change the rhythm of his breathing in order to throw Bakugo off. But unfortunately, it was to no avail, as he could see his knuckles were almost parallel to the table already, despite his strongest attempt to push back. It would only be a matter of seconds until he would be defeated, and Class A would emerge the winners of their competition.

BLOOP!

Suddenly, Bakugo could feel the once sturdy wooden floor beneath his knees give way like quicksand, causing his legs to fall in; thus throwing off his entire sense of balance and leverage, and ultimately allowing all of Tetsutetsu's remaining physical strength to come through, as he instantly came right around and slammed Bakugo's hand resoundingly to the table; earning a deafening wall of cheers and excited cries from his friends as they began jumping around.

At the same time, as Bakugo got back upright while trying to catch his breath; everyone else in his class were instinctively taking a step back in preparation for the flurry of Explosions to inevitably follow.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! WHO'S THE SHITTY LITTLE INSECT WHO JUST PULLED THE RUG OUT FROM ME?! THAT VICTORY WAS IN THE BAG FOR ME, AND YOU THIRD-RATE LITTLE HACKS KNOW IT! WHOEVER'S RESPONSIBLE, YOUR HEAD IS MINE!"

And with everyone else being similarly confused as to what had actually happened, while not being as savagely angry by a longshot; Izuku was the one to help clear the air: "It all happened so quick, but I thought I saw the floor beneath the Tatami mats give way like liquid under you, Kacchan! I remember something similar happening to my team at the Human Cavalry Battle!"

"Yeah, Setsuna-san even mentioned back then that it's Honenuki-san who has that Quirk." The moment Nikolay likewise remembered Setsuna's previous passing comment from way back then; Bakugo's eyes landed on the skeletal-faced boy with murderous intent; much to Juzo's visible terror when he saw the explosive sparks already starting to emanate from his palms.

"WHOA, WHOA, HOLD UP, I KNOW HOW THIS LOOKS, BUT I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS, I SWEAR!"

"Well if it wasn't you, then who-?!" As soon as Bakugo began to ask; it all suddenly came rushing back, to him and his classmates alike.

Just like that, all of Class A's eyes were on the visibly grinning Monoma lingering at the exit doorway once again; clearly having just been waiting for this moment. Anyone who had been able to take their eyes off the last arm-wrestling match would have noticed how he'd been quietly slinking his way among his classmates before ultimately coming back here.

There was no other explanation for it. He'd ended up Copying Juzo's Softening Quirk without his realizing, and used it at the last second once he realized Tetsutetsu wouldn't have been able to win.

In his mad drive to prove his class the superiors; he resorted to cheating, and that kind of hypocrisy was bad enough in anyone else's eyes. But in Bakugo's accompanied with the damage to his ego over being robbed a certain victory; he was practically an animal, as he had to be physically restrained by virtually all his classmates this time: "YOU! I'M GONNA BURN YOU TO ASHES AND BURY THEM ACROSS THESE SHITTY MOUNTAINS BEFORE THIS IS DONE, JUST YOU WAIT!"

It was with another maniacal laugh of his own victory that Monoma finally decided to turn tail and run. After several minutes, it was still to be considered a miracle that anything Class A had done had ultimately managed to get Bakugo's white hot temper to cool down to where he wasn't at risk of blowing them all up in his blind rage anymore. But once they had finally released him and took a step back; his eyes were once more on Tetsutetsu. "THAT BULLSHIT DOESN'T COUNT! YOU OWE ME A DO-OVER!"

Unfortunately, Tetsutetsu still visibly trying to catch his breath and roll his shoulder was not a promising sign even before he answered: "You kidding? You really gave me a run for my money back there. If I was to take you on again so soon, and you won…it wouldn't be real. You gonna tell me you're the kind of guy who wants a cheap victory when I'm not at my best anymore? I think the Sports Festival has the answer to that."

Nobody among both classes could forget the scene Bakugo had made at the end of the Sports Festival if they'd tried; and neither could he. The feeling of having been cheated of a genuine victory after all of that still particularly stung away at his pride.

But all of that being what it was; anyone with eyes could see that there was no way Bakugo was going to take another ending like that lying down; no matter how much nobody else looked up for further arm-wrestling tonight.

So Nikolay, in a moment of sudden brilliance, was stricken with an idea as he hurriedly fished out his phone. "You know, I may actually have an alternative that could be just as challenging, and able to get rid of a lot of that frustration. This is actually mainly popular back where I come from, but I can't think of any reason it shouldn't work here. Check this out."

Holding up his phone for both class boys to crowd around and observe; they were all now being treated to a spectacle of two massive and burly foreign men standing across a tiny table from each other; dipping their right hands in bowls of chalk, and systematically throwing absolute haymakers of slaps across each other's faces, with some leaving with half-swollen, bruised or even bleeding faces.

It was hardly a surprise for Nikolay that the looks on his classmates' and their rivals' faces were incredulous at best; at least except for Eijirou and Tetsutetsu, who were both grinning with wide-eyed childlike excitement at what they were seeing. On the other side of the spectrum; Tenya and Yuga both looked utterly disgusted by such a barbaric display of physical violence in the name of sport.

But right now, Bakugo was the one they needed to get cooled down if they were going to have any chance of peace tonight. And to Nikolay's simultaneous relief and reluctance; he was actually starting to smile. Granted, it was the kind of smile a homicidal psychopath would wear, but it was a smile nonetheless.

Not wanting to risk leaving a chance for someone to argue; Nikolay proceeded with his reasoning: "The rules would be simple. Nobody moves from the spot they stand at, they wear chalk on their palms to help soften the blow even a little bit, nobody uses their Quirks, and each round ends either when one person goes down or forfeits. There's too much resentment brewing here, so why not just suck it up and let it out the old fashioned way like this?"

As confident as Nikolay felt that this would ultimately be for the best; even he couldn't fully believe his own reasoning when saying it out loud; even when Bakugo actually answered: "That's the first halfway intelligent thing you've said since you came to our damn school, Commie. But screw the chalk; I'm not softening my blows for ANYONE! YOU'RE ALL GETTING YOUR BELLS RUNG AS HARD AS YOU DESERVE!"

But undaunted by Bakugo's threats to his classmates; the speech bubble-headed Class B boy, Manga Fukidashi, suddenly produced a small box of chalk sticks. "I have some you can use, as long as you don't grind up all of them. I don't like leaving without at least some drawing supplies."

"Well then we can grind them up in a bowl while you all get your teams figured out! Don't go taking up all the slots, I want in!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed, with Eijirou excitedly echoing the same as they both proceeded to start using their respective Quirks on their hands to grind several sticks of chalk into powder into a nearby bowl.

Since it was clear Bakugo was not going to back out of this surprise second competition, and would most likely try to blow up anyone who would dare to call it off; the rest of Class A reluctantly huddled to figure out who should go for it, much like the rest of Class B was.

In what felt like longer than it actually was, the two teams had ultimately been decided: Bakugo, Nikolay, Eijirou, Mezo and Mashirao for Class A; and Tetsutetsu, Juzo Honenuki, the slender and black-haired Sen Kaibara, the large glue bottle-headed Kojiro Bondo, and the distinctly Chinese-looking long-haired Rin Hiryu for Class B.

As the two teams ultimately stood across from each other once all the chalk had been grinded, and the previous arm-wrestling table stood on its side in order to serve as a barricade between each pair of opponents; Tenya once more took his place between both sides as a much more reluctant-looking referee.

And just like their class president; Izuku this time couldn't hide his own skepticism and growing nerves when seeing the aggression in Bakugo's body language as he stood eagerly at the forefront. "I don't know about this; I think we should stop everything before someone gets seriously hurt. Kacchan's way too amped up and angry all at once; he might not be able to stop himself from going too far this time."

"I think we should at least give Bezpalov's idea the benefit of the doubt for now." Shoto suddenly disagreed; earning a look of disbelief from his freckled classmate; as his multi-colored eyes were closely observing the energy bristling between both teams. "He made a very good point earlier. Monoma's mockery and cheating, alongside everyone's desires to prove themselves against each other, has caused far too much resentment between our classes to just be left alone to fester. Having to get to a point where people are inevitably going to get hurt here is regrettable, but the fact is that people like Bakugo need something like this in order to vent that aggression out. Besides, with Iida keeping an eye on things, we may not have to worry about anyone going too far after all."

No sooner had Shoto finished saying this, that it had ultimately been decided that a coin toss would decide which side went first in the commencing first round, which happened to be Mashirao against Sen Kaibara. As the two boys silently stared into each other's eyes; potentially sizing each other up while they dipped their right hands into the chalk; Tenya silently begged for forgiveness as he motioned for the round to commence.

SMACK!

With Mashirao having managed to make the right call in the coin toss, he'd gotten the right to go first, and wasted no time going for the right amount of force against Sen's face, in the hopes it would be enough to either make him stumble out of place, or convince him to forfeit. As far as he was concerned, the sooner they could get through each match, the better for all their sakes. This thought became especially apparent when he could see the stunned look in Sen's eyes, alongside the prominent white handprint adorning the left side of his face. He was certainly proving much sturdier than Mashirao had expected.

SMACK!

Sen's resultant return slap came with such speed and force that Mashirao never saw coming, as with his head ringing as loud as it currently was; his vision had been sent spinning to the point he didn't even realize he'd been brought stumbling out of his spot, thus already disqualifying him in the end of the first round.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME, YOU BLONDE-HAIRED MONKEY?! WHAT KIND OF HERO CAN'T EVEN TAKE A SLAP TO THE FACE?!" Bakugo spat in furious disbelief, while Mashirao had finally just come back to his senses; realizing just how quickly he'd lost as he watched Sen be taken in with congratulations by his classmates.

"Unbelievable…his swing didn't even look like it'd be that strong…but his hand hit like a damn speeding truck." Mashirao muttered to himself as he returned to his classmates; just as the participants for the second match quickly took their places: Mezo and Kojiro Bondo. Given their mutual large heights; it was only natural that they would be pitted against each other.

With their hands dipped in the chalk, and Tenya once more sucking down his guilt as president in order to conduct the coin toss (Kojiro this time proving the winner) and subsequent start of the match.

Unlike the previous match, this one managed to match up to the energy they all saw reflected in the video Nikolay had shown them; as Mezo and Kojiro's height and masses managed to make so that they were still standing after ten whole rounds. Since Mezo's face was mostly covered by his mask, it was hard for anyone to see if there was any lingering damage visible on his chalk-covered cheek; just as it was with Kojiro and his nozzle of a head. The only indication that their match was taking any kind of toll on them, was the fact that they were both heaving their shoulders as they struggled to catch their breath after having taken ten powerful slaps to the face.

SMACK!

But in the end, with one final resounding clap of skin upon…whatever constituted his particular head; Kojiro was finally driven to the point of calling out his forfeiture after taking another practical tree branch of a strike to the face by Mezo; once more bringing both classes to a tie, as everyone in Class A cheered and helped take the dizzy Mezo back to their ranks.

Anyone with some sense would have wanted to pull out of this particular competition after having seen Mezo and Kojiro go at it for so long. But that couldn't have been farther from the truth for Eijirou and Tetsutetsu when they took their places across from each other; both of them grinning eagerly from ear to ear as they dipped their hands. "Man, am I the only one getting' all nostalgic now that we're facing each other again?"

"Not a chance, Kirishima…but this ain't gonna end like it did last time! It's time for me to finally redeem myself for that day, so prepare yourself!"

As the two friendly rivals wished each other luck; they had once more conducted the coin toss, with Tetsutetsu coming out as the winner. With that, and another wholehearted call to begin from Tenya; he immediately met Eijirou with a resounding SMACK across the face; leaving a white handprint…but nothing more, as the red-haired young man's whole body refused to even flinch.

Their respective arm-wrestling matches had already come across like physical matches of the century with just how valiantly they fought and resisted the urge to simply give in to defeat; but that had still been against far different opponents from themselves.

Now that the two near identical young Heroes were facing off against each other in a slapping match, everyone else was simply at a loss for words. With their mutual physical strength and resilience, even when told they couldn't use their Quirks, it was nothing short of insanity how rapidly they were both trading slaps with each other without any moments for catching their breath, or even any windup. It was like watching two lumberjacks try to cut down two unbreakable trees with nothing but their hands. It eventually got to the point where not even half their faces, but basically their whole heads and shoulders were coated in chalk, completely covering up whatever bruises they could've had; and even then they still were refusing to slow down, let alone stop.

Everybody had stopped even keeping count (aside from Tenya) after they had ended up going twenty five whole rounds. It wasn't until they had reached the thirty-ninth, that fate had decided to finally cut everyone else some slack, by having the two hardheaded best friends finally hit each other simultaneously in just the right spot, with just the right amount of pressure and force, to knock each other flat to the floor, in the most bizarre repetition of their original Sports Festival fight.

But after having gone for that long, everyone on both sides were more than happy to simply call that one a draw. As soon as Eijirou and Tetsutetsu were brought back to their respective classmates and revived back to consciousness (which finally allowed them to drop the tough facades and actually acknowledge how much the left sides of both their faces hurt); it was finally on to the fourth round, as Nikolay stepped forward, watching with a heavy lump being swallowed down his throat, as Rin Hiryu resolutely took his spot across from him.

With the fourth coin toss of the night, Nikolay could breathe a kind of relief that he managed to call the winning side of the coin, thus giving him a chance to gird himself and prepare for retaliation, as he got his hand coated in chalk, and quickly managed to land a resounding SMACK across Rin's face.

Just from the way he moved and stood, there was no question that Rin came from a similar martial arts background as Mashirao did. Had he not been the one directly facing off against this boy, Nikolay would've wanted to take the chance to imagine what the match could've looked like if they had faced each other instead.

But he couldn't afford to think on that, and he'd thankfully reminded himself of that just in time for Rin's hand to come flying in and flying hard across his left cheek, SMACK, which sent a cloud of chalk floating right beside Nikolay's head while his left ear was ringing sharply.

He could already feel his cheek tingling in the aftermath, as the stinging and burning spread all across the rest of his head. In realization of a moment of mental sluggishness, Nikolay had only now realized that after a competition like this, they were all going to have to wash up and get rid of all the chalk marks before turning in, or else they were going to have a hell of a lot of questions from their homeroom teachers and the Pussycats to answer.

But despite all of this, Nikolay was still managing to stand in his spot; silently expressing gratitude that Rin had taken his turn so quickly, as it was now his turn in their second round to try and hit hard enough to either make him forfeit or stumble out of his spot. The more he saw the utter focus reflected in his opponent's eyes, the more Nikolay realized he might as well just aim for the latter result and nothing else.

And yet, no matter how many times he kept trying to swing as hard as he could for the exact same spot, in the hopes of breaking down Rin's resilience so he could end up stumbling; round after round went by between them, where neither of them was managing to knock the other down, to the impression of their respective classes.

There was some relief to be had when Nikolay could see that Rin's breathing was starting to get as labored as his own, but it still wouldn't compare to the relief of seeing him go down so their match could finally end. At least he was still managing to stay up as well.

But it certainly wasn't for lack of effort to keep himself from folding or forfeiting. Every time Rin landed another devastating slap to his face, Nikolay had to all but literally scream to himself within his head that if he could manage to get back up after getting punched by Izuku three times, then there was no reason he couldn't be able to do the same here.

This whole arduous pattern carried on between Nikolay and Rin for a staggering eleven rounds. While it was practically nothing next to Eijirou and Tetsutetsu's match, it was still a very impressive thing for everyone to behold; considering neither Nikolay nor Rin were known to their classmates for being bruisers in a fight. Theirs was undoubtedly far more of a style suited for speed and swift conclusions.

But in the end, there still had to be one standing over the other, and in a turnout that even he himself couldn't say he expected after going for this long; Nikolay had finally managed to land a hit that broke the last seam of Rin's remaining sense of balance, as with one last resonating SMACK, he'd finally caused the ponytail-wearing student to stumble back from the strength of the palm to his sore and tingling face; only realizing what he'd just done in reaction far too late.

Nikolay could feel his knees give out as his classmates began cheering for his surprise victory. For the moment, he was indeed happy that he'd won, but for the most part, his mind was too preoccupied with just how much half his face was burning from taking so many hits; all that piled on chalk leaving an unbearable stiff feeling to his skin that he couldn't wait to get rid of.

Plus, there was also the lingering hope that, by his having won here, perhaps it would convince Bakugo to maybe back off with the insults from now on.

"Alright, enough flapping your gums about the opening act already! It's time for the final round, and I'm not getting cheated out of my victory this time! No way in hell!"

It just figured that Bakugo would want to rush to get to his match, in order to avoid acknowledging Nikolay possessing any kind of strength or resilience. That was just about the only thought he could have in reaction while having some ice applied to the side of his face, while watching his foul-tempered classmate take his place.

But the moment Bakugo was in place; Juzo immediately backed away to the rest of his class with a look of utter terror evident on his face. "You know what? No, I'm not doing this, I forfeit! I'm not getting my head blown off just because Monoma-san can't keep his mouth shut! Get him back over here and have him take my place! There's no way he'd actually risk Sensei's wrath by sneaking in and out of his lessons whenever he wants, so he's gotta still be out there listening!"

Bakugo had half a mind to just come lunging over the table and smacking Juzo for showing such cowardice and once more denying him his preferred victory. But, in either a moment of reckless insanity or selfless self-sacrifice; Monoma could suddenly be heard chuckling smugly to himself; snapping everyone back to attention as he resolutely made his way to Juzo's original spot on the other side of the table; his dark blue eyes meeting Bakugo's murderous red stare with a confident grin. "I'll be happy to step in, Honenuki-san. You've all been showing the resilient spirit of Class B admirably, and I simply can't stand aside and not show that my own strength is nothing to be scoffed at, either. What say you, O arrogant and pig-headed Bakugo?"

While grinning in sadistic anticipation; Bakugo's teeth were clenching tight enough to the point they almost threatened to crack. "Oh, this is more than preferable. I'm gonna wipe that shit-eating grin off your face for life right here and now! No running away this time! Now get yourself ready and let's do this! Don't bother with the stupid coin toss either, Four-Eyes! I'm starting this massacre here and now!"

True to his word, Bakugo didn't even wait for Tenya to motion for the round to begin; throwing an open hand straight into Monoma's face with enough force that it might as well have been a closed fist…however, the expected sound of cries for mercy didn't meet his ears, and before Bakugo could even mentally double back to make sure he hadn't missed it; Monoma had suddenly retaliated with a resounding slap across his cheek in return.

Where every other round had been especially exciting; this one was just downright terrifying, as everyone could feel their hearts hitch up in their throats every time Monoma struck back at Bakugo; all of them feeling their mouths go bone dry as the anger on his face twisted and morphed into something downright inhuman with each passing round.

It was soon getting to a point that virtually everyone was just begging for Bakugo to get the winning strike, just to avoid the chances of Monoma crossing the one remaining line that would have him still breathing by the time this would all be over.

Alas, with every round that passed in rapid succession, Monoma was refusing to go down, while Bakugo was still somehow managing to maintain that one bit of composure enough to keep his strikes to open-handed slaps and not full on punches, and especially to remember to not use his Quirk.

After over four rounds of this, and seeing the beginnings of sparks instinctively starting to emanate from Bakugo's hands; Izuku simply couldn't keep quiet any longer; calling out urgently from amid the wide-eyed crowd of his classmates: "Monoma-san, please just forfeit now! If you carry on like this much longer, there's no telling what could happen!"

But while Monoma looked to Izuku and the rest of the clearly terrified Class A with another smug grin on his face; Bakugo spat utter venom through his gritting teeth: "Shut your damn mouth, Deku! This shithead isn't gonna listen to a nerd like you! Besides…I figured it out!"

The silence that was already hanging between the two classes had now become like that of the grave, as Monoma gave another knowing smirk his way, as if daring Bakugo to just outright say it.

But the foul-tempered young man was beyond caring about anything else at this point, as he had his fists so tight that his knuckles were turning white. "You're built like a goddamn beanpole…yet you keep standing straight after I hit you with everything I got out of pure strength! That just doesn't add up…unless you're pulling another fast one with your shitty little bag of cheating tricks!"

Before anyone could even ask just what Bakugo thought Monoma had done; the explosive student threw another open hand straight at his head without any warning; drawing out several surprised gasps…only for him to hold back just before contact could be made; revealing the result of Monoma bracing himself for impact for everyone to see: his left cheek adapting just the most subtle crystal-like sheen…very much like the beginnings of Eijirou's Hardening.

The sight of this had Bakugo's eyes twitching with fury. "I knew it! You had to be slinking around in the shadows like the snake you are while everyone was busy watching the Commie's match; looking to Copy Hair-For-Brains' Quirk without him even noticing! That's why you were so eager to take that skull-faced coward's spot! You probably even mouthed for him to forfeit just so you could step in the whole time, didn't you?! You can't stop cheating to save your worthless life!"

The rest of Class B had been noticeably growing more nervous when seeing how angry Bakugo was getting when the game was going. Now that he'd just revealed Monoma to have pulled a cheap trick with his Copy Quirk in order to stay in it; Bakugo's face was the stuff of nightmares.

And yet, in the face of even that kind of wrath, Monoma just started laughing. "I meant it when I said I was tired of not personally having the chance to put you and your undeserving class in its place!"

After listening to all of this, Nikolay worked up the courage to step forward. "Monoma-san, just accept your disqualification; Bakugo, accept the fact you won by calling him out, and let's just let that be the end of it. This doesn't have to get any worse than it already is. Take the fact he couldn't stand up to you on his own without cheating as a win, and let it be over."

Instead, though; Bakugo stepped back to his original spot on his side of the table; staring Monoma down as he likewise took his original spot. "Mind your own goddamn business! There's not a chance in hell I'm letting it all end like this…it's been more than five minutes, after all. That shitty Copy Quirk of yours doesn't last for more than that; I read up on it after running into you at the Festival. Now you get to face me like a real man; just plain flesh and blood! It's time to finally shut you up for good!"

SMAAACK!

With lightning-fast reflexes, Bakugo's hand rang sharply across Monoma's face; this time leaving his blue eyes visibly spinning in their sockets, as he tried to ignore the piercing ringing in his head. The sight of the Class B loudmouth being in even this kind of state was enough to finally bring the beginnings of a satisfied smile to Bakugo's face; while everyone else on both sides winced.

But the smile still didn't leave Monoma's face, as he reached up and wiped away the tiny trickle of blood that had started to run from the corner of his mouth. "For once, one of you Class A rabble actually says something I can agree with…it is time to shut you up for good. Next time, read the fine print!"

The truth to Neito Monoma's Copy Quirk that Bakugo clearly didn't know about; otherwise he would have said something; was that he didn't even need to purposefully touch someone in order to Copy their Quirk. In fact, he could even end up Copying one from somebody he just happened to randomly graze against on the street. It had happened to him a couple of times in the past.

But this time, it was actually going to come in handy.

With no further hesitation, Monoma masterfully swung his hand to strike Bakugo's face with another resounding slap of his own…except this time his whole hand suddenly turned into iron at the moment before impact; thus striking Bakugo with enough unexpected force to go crashing down to the ground; his eyes wide with the stunning force to his head, while his mouth was open and speechless with shock.

And all the while, as his hand suddenly turned back to regular flesh and blood; Monoma was grinning in overwhelming victory to himself; completely ignorant of the dumbfounded looks on his classmates' faces.

After all, while Bakugo had correctly guessed that Monoma had sneakily crept in behind the Class A group and barely touched Eijirou enough to Copy his Hardening without his noticing; he failed to consider the fact that a mere minute later, Monoma had just barely grazed past Tetsutetsu on his way to begin their match; thus Copying his Quirk as well, and keeping it on standby for just this kind of occasion, in the near half a minute he still had it available.

Just like that, in the cheapest way imaginable in these given rules; while Tenya and the rest of Class A were cautiously approaching Bakugo's stunned form in order to make sure he hadn't been seriously injured; Monoma had secured Class B's second full-on win over their rival class, even if he was the only one feeling the need to gloat about it.

BKOOM!

In a sudden ignition of deafening fire, Bakugo took off into the air in a maddened lunge for Monoma; prompting the entirety of his class to hurriedly tackle him and pin him to the floor.

But even with all their weight upon his back, it was still a struggle for them to be able to keep him from reaching the still-gloating Monoma. "YOU CHEATING, SHIT-EATING PARASITE, YOU'RE DEAD! THERE'S NO GOD THAT CAN SAVE YOU, YOU HEAR ME?! THIS CAMP IS GONNA BE YOUR F-ING TOMBSTONE! YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY!"

Everyone from Class A had long since become accustomed to the risk of triggering the worst of Bakugo's temper; but to see him having been pushed this far had now stricken terror into nearly all of Class B in return…except for Monoma himself. In fact, he was looking at Bakugo writhe and shriek like a rabid animal as though he was just daring him to follow through on his threats.

But Izuku could feel in his gut that Bakugo was not exaggerating with his expressed desire to kill, and so was lightning fast in getting in between both classes; arms outstretched. "PLEASE, LET'S STOP THIS FOR A SECOND! There must be a way for us to compete with each other that doesn't involve hurting each other more than we already have! No direct violence, no Quirks, we can just let this settle everything!"

As soon as Bakugo's physical resistance had finally started to tone down, Tenya was finally able to stand back up, straighten his glasses and wholeheartedly speak his support: "I agree! I'm ashamed to have not spoken out against this second competition entirely when I had the chance! But yes, there must be some way for us to vent out all this hostility so we can continue our training with a clean slate!"

While everyone else wasn't about to start backing off of Bakugo until he said out loud he wasn't going to kill anyone; Izuku and Tenya were busily looking around and thinking of something else they could do that everyone could be satisfied with.

And when Izuku's eyes fell upon the pile of folded futons and pillows in the corner; his whole body paused, as it came rushing to him. "That's it! A pillow fight!"

As everyone looked up to make sure they'd heard the freckled boy right, he continued with growing confidence that this was the right decision: "We can all gather our pillows from our respective dorms, and have a pillow fight! Everyone vents their lingering frustrations, and nobody runs the risk of getting hurt this time. We can let this be the final competition, and then starting tomorrow, we forget whatever hostilities there can be between us. Agreed?"

Just the fact that they were being given one final chance to stand up against each other and prove themselves one way or the other was enough to convince virtually anybody. And considering that Bakugo wasn't vehemently telling Izuku to shut his mouth and further express his despite to blast Monoma to pieces, was about as good a sign as any of them could ask for.

So in practically no time at all, the boys of both classes gathered all of their pillows, holding them either like weapons or shields as they stood across from each other on opposite sides of the Class A dorm. Tenya once more took his place between as the referee; carefully looking over everyone to make sure they weren't standing too aggressively, or looked to have any further devious ideas running through their heads.

"Now, I'll go over the rules before you all begin! As Midoriya-san mentioned before, nobody is allowed to use their Quirks! We will treat this competition like a typical game of dodgeball. The game is to consist of simply throwing your pillows at each other. If you can either dodge it, or catch it, you're still in the game. However, if you are hit squarely in the torso or face, you are hereby eliminated. The game will continue until all members of one team have been eliminated. Do you all understand?"

"JUST SHUT UP AND LET'S GET THIS STARTED!" Bakugo snapped; eyeing Monoma alone amid the throng of Class B.

Unlike Monoma, Tenya at least knew that Bakugo wouldn't be the type of person to resort to cheating in order to get his much-desired win. So without further hesitation, he finally signaled for the game to begin.

And begin it did with gusto, as in the blink of an eye, there were pillows flying across the dorm to both sides at breakneck speed and power. With Nikolay standing at the frontline alongside his classmates, it was almost like trying to forcefully avoid and retaliate against an entire firing squad, everything was happening so fast, and he was already being forced to duck, bob and weave, even jump every now and again, in order to just avoid getting hit. He couldn't even take a chance to even throw his own pillow, even if at one point he was able to just barely catch one that had been coming for his head, thus leaving him armed with two.

And this was just about the same for every single student on both sides. What had once been promising to be an all out pillow war was quickly turning into the most miraculous of stalemates, as everyone was proving to have excellently honed reflexes and agility to be able to keep themselves from getting eliminated. And unlike the arm-wrestling or slapping competitions; this was a game that was clearly having no discernible emerging winner, as everyone was simply at the top of their hand-eye coordination game.

It wasn't like there was any lack of trying on either side when it came to trying to pull a fancy maneuver to eliminate even one player, either. While the rest of his classmates were fighting tooth and nail to keep themselves in the game and gain even a single win over someone; Izuku was studiously observing just how exactly every single person in both classes moved; who they prioritized as a target, and just how they used their classmates' own agility and reflexes as a cover to try and get a sneak shot in; never once knowing that this was exactly what Monoma was doing right now; hiding behind his whole class for an objective that only he knew.

"Impressive. On both sides, everyone is displaying such an in-depth understanding of how their teammates think and act, in order to utilize their own strategies behind the scenes. And yet the opposing side knows how to work around their own teammates in order to counter even the most well thought-out of sneak attacks. If they were to utilize this same kind of teamwork on the field, they could all be a genuine Heroic force to be reckoned with by even the toughest of Villains."

However, Izuku had let himself slip so far into his usual mindset of observant mumbling, that he'd failed to notice how Nirengeki Shoda had found an opening between Jurota and Kojiro, that left the green-haired boy wide open for an attack.

And it was only through Nikolay being in just the right place amid his line of classmates, that he'd seen what was about to happen, and thus dove right in, swinging the two pillows in his hands to deflect the two that had likewise just been thrown at Izuku's head by Nirengeki; thus allowing Mezo's outreaching Tentacles to grab them instead, adding to his own arsenal while Kouji and Eijirou were currently acting as his defense.

Nikolay's last second save managed to stir Izuku back to reality, just in time for Shoto and Bakugo, who had likewise seen what had almost happened, to call out to him: "GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR DAMN DAYDREAMING AND MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL, YOU DUMBASS!" "Stay focused, Midoriya. We can't afford having you space out again."

Thankfully, that close call kept Izuku thoroughly focused on the game, and thus the pillow war between Classes A and B commenced with only growing vigor as each round passed with not a single point added in either classes' favor, much to Tenya's growing concern that they were already overshooting their bedtime so severely. Plus, without a single point of advantage being granted, it was only causing the hostility and frustration between the students to ferment and grow more and more. As his classes' president, he couldn't have been more proud to see just how much all of his classmates' training was already improving their speed and agility. But alas, in a direct confrontation with each other, they were simply proving too good at their own game on both sides.

After five whole rounds of this, and still not one student in either class having been eliminated; Eijirou and Tetsutetsu both suddenly called for a time out; allowing their respective classes to catch their breath.

"Man…this is…insane! How are…how are neither of us hitting anybody?!" Eijirou exclaimed between his gasps for breath, while Yosetsu likewise called out from amid his classmates: "When I saw we were improving through our training, I didn't think it would mean we'd end up being too good at surviving a damn dodgeball game! We're gonna be stuck like this till morning if it carries on like this!"

"There's got to be some kind of new rule we could be able to add that can make the game as a whole go faster with an actual end in sight…otherwise we're all gonna be too tired to even train at all tomorrow." Nikolay bemoaned; earning several agreements from his own class, and even some from Class B.

As Tenya began proposing a timed elimination rule, wherein with each round that passed without at least one person getting eliminated, one would be eliminated by raffle; amid the lot of Class B, the green-haired praying mantis-looking student known as Togaru Kamakiri suddenly spoke up in a barely concealed muttering to Tetsutetsu: "We're slowly but surely wearing this lot down, I can feel it. Go ahead and show them what it means to step up to Real Steel, Tetsutetsu-san!"

But while the silver-haired student was grinning with rejuvenated motivation at his classmate's encouragement; Bakugo was sneering nastily after overhearing them. "What the hell kind of a Hero name is that? 'Real Steel'? Like you think you're the one real iron man out here? It makes you sound like you're overcompensating!"

Tetsutetsu grit his teeth in indignation as he and Bakugo once more began staring each other down; much to the rest of Class A's growing dread. "You don't know what you're talking about! It's meant to strike fear in Villains' hearts, cause they know they're standing up against a genuine wall of steel that lives up to the name and won't give in!"

"Hell yeah, man! I'm feeling daunted just hearing it!" Eijirou couldn't help but express his support for Tetsutetsu's reasoning. On the other hand, though, Bakugo remained visibly unimpressed: "And what exactly do you do if you're standing up to a Villain with a rust Quirk, huh? They hear that name, they're gonna laugh at you like the joke you present yourself as! You gotta go with a real Hero name that doesn't give those assholes anything to laugh at!"

"That's hilarious, coming from you! Last I heard, you're the only one in your class who doesn't even have a Hero name yet! Hell, Todoroki going with his name still counts for something, so what's your excuse?!" Tetsutetsu immediately argued back; and it was like dropping a carpet bomb on the entire game, as everyone went frigid with shock, and inevitable fear for how Bakugo was going to react.

And he did not disappoint, as with a shrieking battle cry of "DIE", Bakugo proceeded to unleash a miniature Explosion out the palm of his throwing hand, sending his now half-burnt pillow flying at the speed of sound for Tetsutetsu's face; whom just barely managed to get his own pillow up as a shield to block the strike just in time.

"Hey, what the hell, ref?! You said no Quirks allowed, remember?! Get with the disqualifying already!" Yosetsu exclaimed impatiently once it became clear what had just happened.

Had circumstances been any different, Tenya would have been doing exactly that. But when he saw the look of embarrassed anger on Bakugo's face at what he'd just allowed himself to do in his blind rage; he realized the truth. "My apologies, but I have to let it slide. It was simply an unintentional accident. Now let us please proceed before anyone else risk saying anything they shouldn't! From now on, we incorporate the timed elimination rule!"

In his naïve innocence, Tenya believed that his word would be enough to get everyone back to simply playing by the rules. But he was instead completely unaware of the train of thought he'd just planted into both sides' heads, as the two classes hurriedly huddled up amongst themselves.

As Nikolay was already in the middle of bracing himself for yet another high-octane round of pillow barrages; Mezo was the one taking charge of the discussion: "You all heard that. There is a way to still win, so long as we just keep the use of our Quirks real subtle. Ojiro-san, Midoriya-san and I; our Quirks are purely physical, so we could be able to incorporate them without anyone being the wiser. The rest of you could be able to use yours under the cover of us if need be."

Nikolay, Izuku, Kouji and Fumikage all looked amid their teammates with clear uncertainty, before the young Russian finally answered: "I don't know if even trying to do it behind all your backs would go unnoticed, though, Shouji-san. You all know how big and loud a lot of our Quirks are, even when we try to hold back."

"Then just make up the excuse that you lost focus if that makes you sleep better at night, dammit! I'm done playing with this bunch of clowns. We're ending this the winners this time, no matter what." Bakugo sneered impatiently; while Nikolay and Izuku exchanged a look that made it clear neither of them felt right about potentially cheating, after all of their complaints about Monoma doing the same.

Nevertheless, the stakes of the game were set, and Tenya's new time elimination rule had certainly instilled them all with that much more urgency to play with everything they had in them to win.

At Tenya's command, the game was once again in motion, as both classes began furiously throwing, dodging and deflecting each other's pillows with a renewed fervor. After more than half a minute of what was shaping up to be yet another stalemate; Mezo finally managed to find an opening, as he threw the multiple pillows in his Tentacles at the momentarily exposed black-eyed Kosei Tsuburaba; who only realized the position he was in when the multitude of pillows were already about to hit him and a few of his other momentarily distracted classmates.

And yet, despite the strength Mezo had put into his throws; he didn't see a single one of the pillows make contact and knock them down. Instead, it was like the pillows had all hit an invisible wall and slumped harmlessly to the floor. And upon remembering that Tsuburaba had a Solid Air Quirk, there was only one conclusion to come to, as he turned to Tenya. "Hey, Iida-san, Tsuburaba-san just used his Quirk to block a clear connecting throw!"

As Tenya turned with surprise on his face, Tsuburaba hurriedly brought his hands together in an apologetic gesture. "Sorry, sorry, it was an accident! A knee-jerk reaction! It won't happen again, I promise!"

Tenya unfortunately knew that to disqualify Tsubaraba for an accident after not having done so to Bakugo, would destroy the entire game with accusations of favoritism, so he was left with no choice but to let it slide; thus the game carried on.

Just as Mezo had suspected; the use of his Tentacles and Mashirao's Tail drew no criticisms from anyone in Class B, as they were simply physical extensions of their bodies. However, after just a minute, Nikolay was unknowingly in Kojiro's sights, as the large Class B students threw another high speed pillow at him from nearly out of nowhere.

However, much like Nikolay himself had done for Izuku; this time it was the curly-haired boy himself who jumped in with the kind of increased speed as his Quirk provided; holding a pillow out front to take the projectile in Nikolay's place.

But instead of the pillow simply falling harmlessly to the floor, the two boys very quickly realized that Kojiro's pillow was now stuck to Izuku's, with a quick-drying smattering of glue between them.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing; no Quirks, remember?" Nikolay exclaimed to Kojiro; to which the glue bottle-headed student shrugged his broad shoulders. "I don't know what to tell you, I can't really control it all the time when in this much excitement. I'll try to keep a bead on it from now on. You do the same, Midoriya-san!"

It wasn't even half a minute afterward, that Nirengeki was the next one to complain to Tenya about Class A breaking the rules, after getting knocked on his backside when defending against a pillow thrown by Shoto; unmistakably hardened by just a touch of his Ice.

From there it was then a complaint by the black-bodied white-haired Shihai Kuroiro that Fumikage was throwing more pillows than he was physically capable, by having Dark Shadow's claws throw more from behind his back; an accusation Tenya naturally couldn't prove, as his crow-headed classmate easily recalled his Quirk after every throw.

Then yet another accusation from Mashirao about the pillow thrown by Sen Kaibara hitting far too hard to be natural, as it came spinning at inhuman speed; thanks to his making his whole throwing hand spin at full speed before actually releasing his grip.

Then Nikolay found himself unable to help doing just the same as Izuku previously; as the realization he was guaranteed to get hit by multiple pillows being thrown his way had finally spurred him to send a Kinetic launching Blast out of his feet in order to dive out of the way in time, before then quickly following up by sending another accelerating blast out his throwing left hand, sending a high-flying pillow at just the right angle to hit Jurota in his blind spot; officially marking the first genuine elimination in the game…

…and all while, at the same time, Bakugo unleashed a sizeable Explosion out his throwing hand again, sending a flaming pillow straight across Manga's head, securing another elimination.

And with the rising rate of "accidental" uses of Quirks amid all of the flying pillows having now led to this sudden inch in Class A's favor; all pretenses of playing by the rules instantaneously went out the window, to Tenya's hopeless chagrin, as he realized he was now fighting a hopeless battle as lawman between these feuding classes.

What had already been a flurry of pillows had now turned into an all out war of pillows and Quirks alike; as both sides were going all out with their respective abilities to try and help their sides carve out a final win out of this most competitive night.

Eijirou and Tetsutetsu were both using their respective Hardening and Iron Quirks to try and add some physical momentum to their throws; Kuroiro was sneaking through the fluctuating shadows of his classmates and their opponents in order to try and get a sneak shot in on Kouji from behind his back, while Fumikage was using Dark Shadow to both deflect multiple pillows and throw them right back alongside Mezo's extending Tentacles.

And while Izuku was now resigned to using his Full Cowl to both guard his classmates and try and throw what pillows he could grab; Shoto, Bakugo, Mashirao and Nikolay were all using their respective Quirks to deflect all the pillows being thrown their way by the increasingly desperate Class B.

With each passing second, the odds were teetering in both classes' favor, as both their ranks were being systematically eliminated, while Tenya could only resign himself to watching as this war of feathery attrition ran its natural course.

Amid the chaos, Izuku was once more finding his already frantic mind awhirl with inspiration when observing all of Class B's respective Quirks working in conjunction with one another's so effectively, only for Bakugo to finally lose his patience after almost getting blindsided by a wayward pillow, and go leaping after him for his incessant mumbling.

On the other side of the Class A defensive line, Nikolay was now practically ricocheting off the walls and the ceiling with his Kinetics in order to keep from getting hit and defending his classmates. But amid the flurry, he'd come to realize something amiss: 'Wait a second…where's Monoma hiding at?'

But when he quickly spotted the loudmouth's blonde-haired head amid the ranks of Class B after asking; it was easy to understand why he'd simply think he was letting all the energy of the moment play tricks on his eyes.

Among the remaining students of Class B continuing to deflect every incoming attack and keep up their own counter-offensive; Yosetsu took stock of their eliminated classmates and their overall supply of pillows still available, and was stricken with sudden inspiration. "Shihai-san; grab all the discarded pillows you can and get them to me! I've got an idea for a finishing blow they'll never see coming!"

Keeping low and out of sight through his classmates' shadows, Kuroiro proceeded to do as he was told, while the offense of his class was able to keep what was left of Class A from seeing just what was happening. It was only when Yosetsu's plan was standing ready before their very eyes, that they all finally realized just what Class B had done.

Under the cover of chaos, Yosetsu Awase had put his Welding Quirk to work, and now the enemies of him and his class stood stunned and helpless before a gigantic amalgamation of all Class B pillows fused together to form one gigantic, unavoidable super pillow; too wide for any of Class A's pillows to reach the opposing class currently hiding behind, and too big for any of them to actually avoid once it would get thrown their way.

But none of them were willing to give Class B the satisfaction of even a moment's intimidation, as Nikolay stood his ground alongside the rest of his remaining classmates; all of them silently acknowledging they'd have to use their Quirks if they were going to be able to keep this special attack from ending the game with a resounding Class B victory.

However, as Bakugo and Shoto began to ignite their respective Explosions and Fire in preparation…they were met with absolutely nothing; much like Nikolay, Izuku and everyone else in their class still in the game; all of them looking in total confusion…before that infuriating chuckling from Monoma reached their ears.

Looking up, they all felt a chill when they saw the grinning young Hero squatting at the doorway mockingly before them; his once blue eyes now glowing a very familiar red.

A familiarity that filled Bakugo with all the same murderous rage as the last time, as he and every one of his teammates came to the same inevitable conclusion. Nikolay just knew he hadn't been seeing things. Monoma really had slipped away in the chaos of the pillow fight royale, and somehow had managed to Copy Aizawa's Erasure Quirk, in order to take away their one remaining line of defense.

"THERE'S NOWHERE YOU CAN RUN AND HIDE NOW! TIME TO TAKE YOUR WELL-DESERVED DEFEAT AT LAST, YOU UNDESERVING RABBLE! CLASS B IS AND ALWAYS SHALL BE YOUR BETTERS!" Monoma cackled in psychotic delight as his classmates all began to lift up their massive super pillow, preparing to flatten the whole of the wide-eyed Class A beneath it.

Bakugo looked like his head was the one about to explode this time, as his whole face was turning as red as Shoto's hair at the realization of what Monoma had pulled out of his sleeve again; while Shoto, Izuku and the others were all looking in frustration and desperation respectively at what they could possibly do to escape or deflect such a massive now-incoming projectile.

Nikolay was no different, as his eyes were darting from corner to corner, trying to think of what he could possibly do to either avoid getting eliminated, or gain some kind of advantage back. And it was at the very moment that the super pillow had finally gotten thrown, that he ended up backing away and nudging the corner of a forgotten pillow with his foot; forcing him to look down and see it.

He never would've been able to explain how this next idea came to him from just seeing a pillow. In all honesty, it was all down to pure blind desperation. All anyone would know for certain, was that Nikolay wasted no time hooking his right foot underneath that wayward pillow, and without a moment's thought wasted; proceeded to kick it up and across the room while Monoma was in the middle of his mad laughter; which ultimately distracted him enough to not notice the pillow now flying right for his face until the point of impact, to which he naturally blinked just like anyone would.

And as that one saving pillow still rested against his face; Monoma had realized what he had just done, just as the rest of Class A did, as the moment Bakugo could feel his Explosion Quirk come back sparking within his palms; he instantly leveled his right hand at the pillow that was about to flatten him and his team.

"DIIIIIIIIIE!"

BKOOOOM!

Nearly everyone could feel their hairs singe and their eardrums burst, as Bakugo unleashed a colossal fireball of an Explosion from his hand directly into the face of that incoming super pillow; instantly engulfing it in the blaze and sending smoldering chunks of feathers and down flying all over the place at near mach speed; forcing the whole of Class B's team to hit the deck in order to avoid getting hit themselves…

SSSHFT!

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!"

PMMF!

…only for the one closed doorway in the dorm to suddenly slide open for Aizawa and Vlad King to pop in; just to get met with a face full of smoldering pillow chunks; to the collective horror of both classes.

The moment those pieces fell from the two homeroom teachers' faces; Vlad King's square jaw was barely trembling with anger, while Aizawa's already tired eyes reflected a deathly rage that the rest of his face managed to expertly hide…which just made him that much more terrifying compared to his fellow teacher's outburst:

"I WAS WONDERING WHAT YOU ALL COULD'VE BEEN DOING THAT WOULD MAKE SUCH A RACKET THIS LONG AFTER CURFEW! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU ALL THINKING, USING YOUR QUIRKS SO IMMATURELY WHEN YOU SHOULD BE PREPARING FOR TOMORROW'S TRAINING?! AND YOU, MONOMA! IS THIS WHERE YOU'VE BEEN ALL EVENING INSTEAD OF MY SUPPLEMENTARY CLASS?!"

While Monoma was already scrambling to try and make an excuse for himself and his peers; the whole of Class A couldn't even get the chance for that, as Aizawa stared them all down like the judge, jury and executioner all in one.

"That goes just as much for all of you. I don't care who started it; you don't degrade yourselves to giving in to provocation by anyone, especially the people you're supposed to one day work alongside."

Looking over the residue of chalk and minor bruises still adorning many of the students of both classes, on top of the smoking remains of the once super pillow; Aizawa continued: "All of you are washing up, reporting to the nurse's office, and cleaning up this entire mess yourselves. Then, come morning, we're doubling your training workload. The Pussycats have gone far out of their way to accommodate you all for your training, and you're going to repay the damage you've caused to their property in kind."

"Here, here. You students are meant to represent a far higher standard. You're just embarrassing yourselves with a childish display like this. Frankly, we should have you all bow down and apologize to your hosts this instant for such flagrant ingratitude." Vlad King enthusiastically agreed within his anger; both teachers completely ignoring the looks of shock and dread on their students' faces.

'WHAT?! THAT LOUD-MOUTHED HORSE'S ASS OF YOURS STARTED THE WHOLE THING! HE'S THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE REDUCED TO BITCH WORK, NOT ME!" Bakugo reflexively argued; to the further pale-faced indignation of his classmates; only to be met by Aizawa's unforgiving stare.

"Right, never mind then. Now we're TRIPLING your training load tomorrow. If anyone here has any sense left to speak of, then you'll stay silent. Now I suggest you all get to work . We're not going to adjust the time for you all to wake up just because you decided to stay up all hours of the night."

Bakugo was still grinding his teeth with fury towards Class B while still miraculously having the self-restraint to keep any of his other venomous insults to himself, while everyone else on both sides bowed their head in guilt, and foreboding for just what tomorrow's training would have in store for them because of this.

Not wanting to push their luck any further; the students all began to begrudgingly make their way to the washrooms in order to finally get all the chalk dust off themselves. But as Aizawa and Vlad King stood watch at the doorway to make sure they didn't try to stir up any further trouble; Monoma simply couldn't help himself: "At least our score now stands at 2-0 over you bunch of cavemen. I said it before and I'll say it again: the superior pork goes to the deserving superior class."

Like a shot, Vlad King firmly answered: "Right, thanks for the reminder, Monoma. As further punishment for your misbehavior; tomorrow night, neither class will be receiving any meat with dinner."

Just like that, it was like a stone weight had come crashing down on every single one of the students' heads, as they all let out one collective groan of bottomless despair. They had all let themselves get so wrapped up in the competition, that up until now they had completely forgotten what started the whole thing to begin with. And now, just like that, with a single word of authority; the one prize they had been competing over in the first place had been snatched away. Now all any of them could ask themselves as they washed up and reported to the nurse's office for treatment and a further all-around scolding from Mandalay, was just what it had all been for.

Nothing; that was all they could answer their own questions with. It had all been for nothing.

Afterwards, the entire time they proceeded to clean up the utter mess they had left of the Class A dorm; not a one of them dared to speak up to one another while under the judgmental eye of Aizawa and Vlad King; lest they somehow manage to reach into the deepest depths of their sadistic creativity, and come up with an even worse punishment for any of their young charges speaking up out of turn.

But as the lot of them continued to restore some kind of cleanliness and order to their quarters for the night; there was an unspoken new air that could be felt between the majority of students between both classes. Unshakable rivalries aside; they both certainly felt like they had each gained a far greater understanding of just the kind of strength and inner resilience that both classes were made up of…and with that understanding came a profound sense of respect in the pits of many of their stomachs…

…Bakugo and Monoma being the sole exceptions, naturally.

Nikolay didn't even want to dare looking at the time on his phone by the time the two teachers had finally decided they were done cleaning for the night. Considering just how much Aizawa valued his sleep on a regular day, he didn't even want to think about what kind of foul mood he would be in for having been kept up this late because of their childishness.

With both classes having generally wished each other a good night before Class B finally returned to their own dorm; the lights had finally gone out, and as the boys all finally tucked themselves into their respective futons; Nikolay only had the reminder that his torso injuries would almost definitely be fully healed by morning, to comfort him enough to finally start slipping into a comfortable slumber.

And while that one thought had been enough to finally get him to slow his mind enough to start going under; it was the innocent curious thought of just what Mina and the rest of the girls had likely been up to during all of this madness, that finally got him to fall asleep completely; feeling about as optimistic for what tomorrow had in store as he possibly could in these circumstances.

The one thing Nikolay didn't know (but surprisingly, Tenya would, as he'd ended up waking up in the middle of that night to retrieve his glasses case and fix his classmates' blankets out of pure representative habit), was how thoughts of his pink best friend had ended up filling his subconscious enough to spend the whole night hugging his own pillow to his body like it was a whole other person; uttering her name in unintelligible unconscious mumbling under his breath.

I hope you all enjoyed the second Son of Justice-version School Brief spin-off, everybody. I will see you all with the first chapter of the Endeavor Agency Arc in the original story this Saturday, 06/17!

Until then, I hope you all have a great rest of your week!