Chapter 08: Making Connections

{Time is almost up folks!}

As if snapped out of a daze, Izuku sprang into action.

"We need to get our points back!" he exclaimed.

"Ya think?" May chided.

"It looks like Iida's Engines are stalling. We should hurry now!" Ochako exclaimed.

"It's now or never. Let's make it count!" Izuku stated.

"Right!"

Team Bakugo was quick to learn what Monoma's Quirk was. Copy: the ability to copy the Quirk of someone he touches.

And it annoyed Bakugo with every fiber of his being, with his Quirk and Kirishima's Quirk being used against them as they tried to get their points back, not to mention being blocked by a shield of solid air.

Luckily for Team Bakugo, their leader is a relentless one and pounded on the shield until it broke and he was able to get his points back.

Now that was taken care of, Bakugo set his eyes on the bigger prize:

The one who now holds the 10,000,305-point values.

"Can't you guys run any faster?" Weiss asked as they tried to keep up with Team Polendina.

"This is the fastest we can go!" Ren said.

Weiss gritted her teeth. She looks at the pale blue crystal in her hand again. "Well…let's see what this can do!" She holds down towards the ground and instead of her usual white Glyphs, a yellow one formed, looking akin to the face of a clock. The hands and gears of the clock began to turn and a soft yellow glow blanketed Weiss and her team.

Suddenly, Nora, Ren, and Tokoyami appeared to be running faster than before, speeding towards Penny and her team. By the time Penny realized what was going on, Weiss was reaching for a headband.

"Okay, Shiozaki! Get it now!" Tetsutetsu commanded. Shiozaki nodded and extend of the vines growing from her head towards the open gap between Shouji's arms.

Shiozaki gasped. "I got it!"

{30 seconds left!}

"Iida, can you move?" Todoroki asked him.

Tenya grunted. "…No, I don't think I can…My Engines are still stalling…"

Todoroki sighs through his nose. He looks in the corner of his eye and sees Izuku and his team coming after them. Team Bakugo as well from another direction. "We're cornered. We need to move, Kaminari."

Kaminari only responded with a goofy, "Yaaay."

"He's still short circuited!" Momo exclaimed.

Todoroki sees Izuku reaching out to him, his arm sparking green.

"Almost there!" Izuku thought desperately.

Bakugo takes into the air and blasts his way to Todoroki. "Those points are mine."

Todoroki left up his arm to block. Then, as Todoroki started to get desperate, he felt his left arm heating up and a bit of fire threatened to leak out.

"No…" Todoroki said to himself. "…I promised myself to never use my fire side." He remembered his mother, crying and shaking. "…Never." Somehow, Todoroki willed the heat in his arm down and instead smacked Izuku's arm away just as he was about to get the 10M headband.

Then, a buzzer goes off.

{Times up!}

Bakugo faceplants into the ground.

Izuku looked devastated at his empty hand. "…It's over…"

{Now that it's over, time to tally up the points! And just what we did for the number of competitors for this cavalry battle, we're doing the same here. In the past, only the top 4 teams could advance. Now, it's 8 teams! 1st Place goes to…Team Todoroki!}

Momo sighed as she put a hand to her chest.

Tenya looks down. "I'm sorry that I was a sitting duck."

"No, you have no reason to apologize," Momo assured. Meanwhile, Kaminari is in the background, shuffling around with his thumbs up, still in 'yay' mode. "It was thanks to your technique that we were able to get those points."

Todoroki stood off to the side, looking at his arm.

{2nd Place goes to…Team Rose!}

"What?! How?" Tetsutetsu asked.

"Um…I may have miscalculated," Shiozaki said, her vine holding up a familiar-looking blue cloth.

"Is that…Huh? Hey, my headband!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed, realizing his headband was missing, leaving him with his 200-points.

"Ribbit, we took it when you were trying to take ours," Tsuyu said, her tongue holding the 670-point headband and wearing Ruby's goggles. "Did you hear that, Ruby? We got 2nd place."

"Yeah, I heard!" Ruby springs out of Shouji's arms, showing that she had lost her gym shirt, revealing her black and red bra. "We did it!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR SHIRT ON!" Tetsutetsu screamed, blushing.

"Huh?"

Mirio let out a big belly laugh and Nejire cackled at the sight of Ruby in nothing but her pants and black bra plus the headbands around her neck and head. Even Yang couldn't hold it down. But poor Tamaki had his face in his jacket, blushing.

"Ruby! Didn't I tell you not to pull a Mirio!?" Yang laughed, tears coming out from laughter.

"Is that your daughter?" asked a hero sitting next to Taiyang Xiao Long.

Tai smiled. "Yes. Yes, she is…and Ruby PLEASE PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!"

Coco failed to keep in her laughter and Pyrrha covered her mouth in shock. Kamui covered his eyes and Death Arms stared at the screen, dumbfounded. "That's…one way to make an impact. At least it's not like Midnight's…"

"Oh, Ruby," Blake groaned, facepalming.

Toshinori had unknowingly done the same, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I never thought to use a gym shirt as a decoy. A rather brilliant move," Ozpin mused from his seat next to Toshinori's other side. He hears Qrow laughing.

"Really, Qrow?" Toshinori asked.

"Come on, it's funny," Qrow grinned.

Toshinori looked at him like he grown a second head. "…Are you drunk?"

"If I was, I wouldn't be sitting here," Qrow pointed out. "And it is funny because Ruby is so much like her sister."

"…Something tells me that would be exactly something Yang would've done."

"Without a shadow of a doubt, those two are definitely sisters."

Ruby was confused by everyone's reactions. "What's going on?" She yelps when Shouji closes his arms with her in them. "Hey, Shouji, what gives?!"

"I'll let you out when we get your shirt back on," Shouji said, his hidden cheeks tinted pink.

"Come on, Shouji! Let her out!" Mineta begged.

"No."

Shiozaki comes by with Ruby's gym shirt to give back to her. "Here." She holds it to where Ruby is. "I hope you can consider this as an olive branch of peace between us."

"If it means we can be friends, sure," Ruby said as she took back her shirt.

"Really? You're not mad?" Shiozaki asked.

After zipping her shirt on, Ruby emerges from Shouji's arms, now decent. "Why would I be mad? This is a competition. You were supposed to try and take our points."

"True, but what I did was underhanded," Shiozaki lamented.

"Hey, it's okay. Shiozaki, right? We're cool now. Really," Ruby insisted.

Shiozaki paused for a moment before finally smiling. "Okay."

Ruby smiled as Shiozaki left, happy to make someone feel better.

"Looks like my hunch was correct."

She faces Shouji. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Remember how we chose you to be the leader, Ruby?" Tsuyu brought up.

"Instead of me," Mineta muttered.

"Yeah, why?" Ruby asked.

"Well, it was because Shouji thought you could be a great leader, ribbit," Tsuyu said.

Ruby looked up at Shouji in shock. "Really? Why do you think that?"

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. Like I said before, it was more of a hunch, but I thought you could have good leadership skills since the Battle Trial," Shouji revealed.

Ruby quirked a brow. "Really? The Battle Trial? In case you have forgotten, but I disobeyed Midoriya and went off on my own and completely lost it when I fought Bakugo. That doesn't exactly scream leader-type material."

"On surface level, maybe, but you did show good leader type traits. Sure, you did lose your cool against Bakugo, but you were trying to be reasonable with him before the scuffle. And you only did that for the sake of another. At your core, you are someone who looks out for others. Even in this cavalry battle and before during the race, you continued to exhibit those traits." One of Shouji's mouths smiled. "That's why I was one of the three voters for you to be class rep."

"You…voted for me?"

"I wanted to see what you can do. And I'm glad you didn't disappoint. I knew I chose correct when I gave you that vote."

Ruby was shocked by Shouji's words. She had never seen herself as a leader. All she did was what she thought was the right decision. Still...she was grateful that someone had taken notice.

{Okay! Moving on from that! 3rd place goes to…Team Bakugo!}

Bakugo growled like a feral dog.

His teammates back away from him.

{4th place goes to…Team Polendina!}

Penny nods. "That is acceptable."

Weiss looks down in shame. She thought back to the moment: she had missed getting her headband and now she has none. Zero points. She had lost…

{5th place goes to…Team Schnee!}

Weiss whips her head back in shock. She looked up at the jumbo screen to see if her hearing was messing with her.

"5th…place?" Weiss said quietly. "But…I thought…"

"Schnee," Tokoyami said as he walked up to her. To her surprise, Tokoyami had Dark Shadow holding onto their original 795-points. "I was trying to get both when we caught up to Polendina, but all I could get back was our points. I hope this is sufficient enough for you."

"…Thank you, Tokoyami."

Izuku smiled at the sight. "Looks like Schnee was able to go on, and Rose too, but…I…" He clenched his eyes shut when he felt the tears welling up. "No…don't cry, Midoriya…don't cry…Damn it…"

{6th place goes to…Team Midoriya!}

Izuku gasped and looked up. "But how…" He hears a whistle and sees May holding the 725-point headband.

"Good to know that this was enough," May smiled. "I was tryin' to get our points back, but I guess this would have to do."

Izuku couldn't help but smile before a turret of tears gushed out of his eyes.

"You're the best, Marigold!" Ochako said with glee.

May grinned as she feebly shielded herself from the rain of tears. "This guy sure is a crybaby."

{7th place goes to…Team Shinsou!}

Shinsou smirked. At least he was able to advance.

Jaune was a little bit confused of how he was able to snatch Sun and Fionna's headbands so easily.

"I wonder what his Quirk is," Jaune said.

"Arc?" a familiar voice said, sounding confused.

"Ojiro! What happened during the cavalry battle? You and Aoyama didn't respond to me at all," Jaune said.

"I don't know what happened but…" Ojiro trailed off and glared at Shinsou.

{And finally, 8th place goes to…Team Tetsutetsu!}

"We gotta apologize to Kodai later," Tetsutetsu said, downtrodden.

"Yeah…"

[Kamino Ward: Abandoned Bar]

Shigaraki gritted his teeth as he scratched his neck harder, leaving marks. "Why can't we just attack the festival? All Might is there…"

"Doing so would be foolish, even for you," Cinder said. She was filing her nails, sharpening them to a point. "There is a large abundance of heroes there, and precautionary measures after your failed attempt at the USJ. You're in luck, however."

"How so?"

Cinder smiled at her cuticles. "We have allies on the inside…"

[Sports Festival Stadium]

Having to have lost the first event, being frozen in place by Todoroki's ice, a single general course student walked around the stadium halls until she found what she was looking for:

The door to the faculty box, only to find that it was being guarded by two androids.

With a silent scowl, the girl walked away until spotting the girls' restroom and went inside, proceeding to close a stall and lock it when she got in. She closed the toilet lid before seating on top of it.

And then, her image changed. Like shattering glass, the image of a black-haired, pigtailed, and green-eyed general course student was replaced by the pink, white, and brown Neo Politan.

Neo takes out her phone and plugged in a pair of earbuds before facetiming Roman.

The man answered, pleased to see his partner-in-crime.

{Ah! There you are, Neo. Nice to see a friendly face.}

Neo smiled and fluttered her eyes, showcasing her fondness of the flattery.

{So, were you able to get in?}

Neo signed that she was unable to because of the presence of androids, and she didn't want to take unnecessary risks. Roman clicked his tongue.

{That Ironwood loves to talk, but he sure knows how to show it. Typical. Well, continue with the mission. We might be able to get something out of this. Let's not forget that we still have an ally.}

Neo nodded and ended the call. She takes out the earbuds and reverts to her disguise before exiting the bathroom.

"There you are, Pista!" Neo froze at the voice. Great. Those two… A girl with the antennae in her – Shokka – and another girl with spots on her skin – Buchi, a pair of general course students who considered 'Pista' as a member of their little clique. "We were wondering where you ran off to."

Neo slapped on a sheepish smile at her 'classmates.'

"Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving!" Buchi said. Neo nods and follows the girls out.

[Sports Festival Stadium]

Shokka let out a scoff. "I knew I shouldn't have come today. Was it really a surprise that it'd be the hero students who get to advance?"

"On the bright side, that Shinsou guy got to advance," Buchi said.

"That guy? Puh-lease! He won't last the first round."

Neo rolled her eyes at the hypocrisy. It was starting to remind her of her own school days…

"Hey!" The trio were then stopped by a young woman with red eyes and bright green hair and dark skin. Accompanying her was a guy in grayish blue. "No way! Is that you, Pista?"

"Pista, do you know this girl?" Shokka asked Neo snootily. Neo nodded. She knew this act.

"She and I went to the same middle school together," the green haired girl said, beaming with joy by meeting up with an 'old friend.' "Hey, Pista. Since it's been a long time, wanna catch up?" Neo nodded and gave a silent wave at Shokka and Buchi.

"Kay, later, Pista," Buchi said. Neo follows the new pair in a different direction, where there were more trees. "I wonder who Pista's old friends are."

"I don't know…but that guy was pretty cute~," Shokka blushed.

"Right~?"

[Woods]

"So, you weren't able to get in?" Mercury asked Neo once they were far away enough from prying eyes and androids. Neo shook her head.

"Tch. Why can't you just turn into All Might and sneak in there?" Emerald asked, feeling impatient.

Neo gives her a pointed look before a shimmering shine comes off her, like broken acrylic glass, shifting into the large image of All Might. The physical illusion was just as imposing as the real thing. But it was clear there was some strain, as the illusion appeared to be struggling to be kept up until it shattered away, leaving a tired and annoyed Neo.

[Neo Politan! Her Quirk: Overactive Imagination! It allows her to create an illusion that everyone can see. However, she is very limited with the size of said illusions. The bigger the illusion is compared to her, the harder it is to maintain!]

"Looks like that plan is a no go," Mercury observed. Neo shifts back to her 'Pista' disguise.

"Maybe if I messed with some heads…" Emerald pondered.

"Didn't Cinder say not to do anything while we're here?" Mercury queried. "You know what happens when you go off on your own." Emerald growled at how right he was.

"…Fine," Emerald said.

"Now, if you'd excuse me, I'm gonna get me more popcorn before the fighting starts," Mercury said and walked off to the concession stands.

"I hate that guy."

[Sports Festival Stadium]

{Intermission time, ladies and gentlemen! A one-hour break! Now's a good time to do what you need to do and get what you need to get! Say, Eraser, wanna grab a bite?}

{I'm gonna take a nap…}

"Where are you heading, Toshi?" Qrow asked.

"I saw Endeavor earlier. It's been a while since I last saw him, so I think now's a good time to catch up," Toshinori answered.

Qrow arched a brow. "…Catch-up, huh?"

"Of course. It's been 10 years since we last saw each other, why not pay a visit to a good associate? That and I wanted to ask him about something. Don't wait for me!"

Qrow felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He was aware of Endeavor's animosity towards All Might, an animosity Toshinori seems to be blind to. There is just no way that a man as smart as Toshinori can't see just how much Endeavor actually despise him!

"Hey, Oz, is it possible to be so smart and clueless at the same time?" Qrow asked Ozpin as he was walking by.

"Toshinori has always tried to see the best in people. But yes…his judgmental skills are questionable," Ozpin responded.

Ironwood stood back, watching.

"Wanna eat with my family, Midoriya?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, sure. But, are they okay with it?" Izuku asked.

"Oh, yeah. They don't mind. They actually have been waiting to meet you."

"If you say it's okay, then all right. You've met my mom before, so what not?"

"That's the spirit! I'm also thinking about asking Schnee too… Oh! And a minor warning about my dad though."

"Like what?"

Todoroki walks up to them. "Midoriya. Can you and I have a talk? Alone."

"Uh…um." Izuku looks over at Ruby, who shrugged. "Uh, sure. I'll meet you later, Rose."

"That's cool. I'm gonna go look for Uncle Toshi."

"Alright."

The two part ways, with Izuku following Todoroki and Ruby heading out to look for one of her honorary uncles.

Now that it's intermission, perhaps now was a good chance for Endeavor to speak with his son. What he wasn't expecting was the No. 1 hero himself to appear behind him.

Great.

"Endeavor! It's been a while, yes? Last time we chatted, it was ten years ago during a press conference," All Might recalled.

"I am aware. What do you want, All Might?" Endeavor asked, glaring at the man.

"I was thinking that you and I can have a talk over some tea! What do you say?"

"I see…Well, we've talked. Now leave," Endeavor said and resumed descending down the stairs. "Tea? What an idiot…" He didn't go down far when All Might suddenly landed before him, striking a pose.

"Ha-ha! There's no reason to be cold. I'd just need to ask you something. That's all!" All Might insisted.

Endeavor fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Out with it."

"Your son, Young Shouto, has done phenomenal in the last two competitions! And without using his left side! Is it because he was taught well?"

"And?"

"I'm curious to know, how to raise the next generation of heroes?" All Might asked.

"Young Todoroki is clearly strong and has great control over his Quirk. I know that Young Midoriya has some handling over One for All, but he still has room to improve. Perhaps if I learned how Endeavor taught his son, maybe I can do the same for Young Midoriya."

"How to raise the next generation of heroes?" Endeavor narrowed his eyes on the man. "All Might…"

"Midoriya, are you…All Might's secret love child?" Todoroki asked in the vacant corridor, completely straight faced.

Izuku blinked, his eyes nearly bug wide at what he heard. "…I'm sorry…what?"

"I asked if you are All Might's secret—"

Izuku held his hands up. "No! You don't have to repeat that…Todoroki…why do you think that?"

"Well, are you?"

"No! I'm not! What makes you think All Might's my dad?" Izuku asked with a nervous grin. "I mean…that would be cool, but…Why do you think that?"

"I've already told you about the circumstances of my creation…" Todoroki grimaced. He had just told Izuku about the concept of Quirk Marriages and Endeavor's ambition to surpass All Might by any means necessary, even if it means training his youngest child even when he's on the verge of throwing up. "How annoying…I refuse to be that man's pawn…"

"This is deeper than I could ever imagine…" Izuku thought. His eyes focused on the burn scar over Todoroki's left eye. A scar given to him after his own mother poured scalding hot water during a breakdown. "I can only think what he had experienced. Even though my parents are divorced, I have nothing but good memories of my dad…Todoroki…he's…"

"Do you really think that I'd tell you?" Endeavor questioned coldly, passing All Might again. All Might moves back a bit to avoid the ever-present flames on Endeavor's person. "You're as clueless as ever and it's getting on my nerves."

"Sorry…" All Might apologized. "I wasn't expecting that…"

Endeavor pauses when he reaches the middle of the stairs. "Keep this in mind, All Might: I will make that into a hero to surpass you one day." An arrogant grin made an appearance on Endeavor's face. "That is the sole reason why I created him."

That made All Might drop his smile. "Created? What do you mean?"

Endeavor turned slightly to glare fiercely at All Might. "He's merely in his rebellious phase right now, but he will surpass you. And I'll make sure of that!" All Might was still at his spot on top of the stairs, taken aback by Endeavor's declaration. Seeing that All Might wasn't going to bother him again, Endeavor resumed his walk.

That was when Ruby suddenly appeared, stopping Endeavor in his tracks.

"Oh! Whoops! Sorry about that!" Ruby apologized, stepping back to give Endeavor room to pass. "I wasn't seeing where I was going! Oh, wow! You're Endeavor! You're so much bigger in person!"

But Endeavor didn't proceed. He instead stared at Ruby's face. It was all familiar to him. The eyes, the hair, that infuriating smile…

He saw Silver Line.

'Ohhhh, so you're Endeavor! Well, it's nice to finally meet the No. 2 hero!'

'We meet again, Endeavor! I wasn't expecting to see you here!'

'*gasp* I didn't know you had children, Endeavor! Looks like you and I have something in common!'

'Imagine our kids becoming friends. Wouldn't that be something?'

Endeavor could feel his lips curl into a snarl at the familiar sight of Silver Line. Before he could let it show, he leaves as briskly as he can.

"There is a clear connection between you and All Might, Midoriya, not that I care that you don't say what…" Todoroki said. "And…I can say the same about Rose and Silver Line." Izuku gasped. "Just like how your Quirk is similar to All Might's, Rose's Quirk seems similar to Silver Line's Scatter. I'd say…that Silver Line was Rose's mom. I'd express my condolences if that were the case, but…I plan to beat Rose, like how I plan to beat you. Be sure to tell her that when you see her again." Todoroki moves to leave. "Sorry for wasting your time."

"…Wait a minute, Todoroki," Izuku spoke up. "I've…always been supported by others and it was thanks to those people that I am where I am." His mother, Ruby, Toshinori, Aizawa, Ochako, Tsuyu, Jaune, May, Hatsume, and…even Bakugo. A breeze blew, ruffling through the trees and Izuku and Todoroki's hair. "All Might…I want to be just like him…In order to do that, I have to be strong enough to become number one." Todoroki turned. "My goal may be trivial compared to yours but…I can't lose, either. I have to live up to the hopes of the people who supported me. And so, that declaration of war from earlier, I'll throw it back to you! I'll beat you, too!"

Todoroki stared at him for a moment before leaving without another word.

Bakugo didn't know what he was in for when he followed Izuku and Todoroki out. In fact, he didn't know why he followed. Curiosity?

Well, that was a dumb decision because now he'd just heard one of the most screwed stories he's ever heard! It made him think about his own parents. Sure, his mother was loud and obnoxious, and his father was too passive for his own good but…they didn't push him to be a hero, that was Bakugo's choice, and any injuries he may have sustained were purely out of innocent negligence.

Todoroki…is secretly screwed up…

{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}

Ruby Rose

Quirk: Petal Burst

"She can burst into a swarm of rose petals and move at high speeds."

— Affiliation: UA High School Hero Class 1-A Student

— Birthday: 10/31 (Scorpio)

— Height: 162 cm

— Blood Type: O

— Likes: Support Equipment, Support Engineering, Sweets, Strawberries

— Color: Haute Couture

{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}

Weiss Schnee

Quirk: Glyphs

"Sigils unique to the direct members of the Schnee family, which gains new properties with each generation."

— Affiliation: UA High School Hero Class 1-A Student

— Birthday: 05/15 (Taurus)

— Height: 157 cm

— Blood Type: A

— Likes: Apples, Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

— Color: Heart of Ice (F7FBFF)

{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}

"That was weird," Ruby said, looking at the spot where Endeavor was. She turns around. "Hi, All Might!"

The sound of Ruby's voice brought All Might out of his stupor. "Oh! Young Rose! Fancy seeing you here! Congrats on making it this far! Do what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Yang, Dad, and I are wondering if Uncle Toshi is…" Ruby playfully cleared her throat. "…'available' to join us for lunch before intermission ends. Midoriya and maybe Schnee will be joining us."

"I see. Well then, I'll just go and 'check' if he is ready," All Might smiled, playing along. "He might be in the faculty box. I'll give you a call."

"Kay!" Ruby beamed before descending the stairs. All Might's thoughts returned to Endeavor's words.

"What did he mean by that…?"

"…No, father, I have no excuse…"

Ruby was looking around for the heiress and she was able to find her in the waiting room. When she saw that Weiss was on the phone, Ruby thought to go look for Izuku and leave Weiss be until the call got a little interesting. Perhaps it's from years of joining Yang in snooping on calls Tai or Qrow would take, but Ruby found herself hiding outside of the waiting room, peeking in.

"…I assure you that I have no intentions of backing down. You will see me standing on the pedestal for the award ceremony, I promise you that…have a good day, father…" Weiss hangs up her phone. She sighed, which is a common occurrence for her whenever Jacques called. Luckily, the call didn't last long and she still had enough time to get a meal.

She stepped out of the waiting room and was met with Ruby trying, and failing, to not look suspicious. "Huh? Oh! Hey, Schnee. How's it going?"

"Things could be better. It's okay now," Weiss said.

"That's good! So, um, you wanna join me and my folks for lunch?" Ruby asked.

"Why?"

"Well…you seemed a bit down. I could tell that you've tried really hard to get 1st place and I thought some good company might…cheer you up?" Ruby smiled sheepishly, unsure of how Weiss was going to respond.

"It's nothing that you should worry about. It's just…family stuff." Weiss' face grew sorrowful as she smiled. "…It's funny…"

"Hm?"

"…You'd think that being born with everything should make you happy, but…" Weiss recalled her childhood, where she had everything she had desired given to her…she was so ignorant…so blind…

"The value of a person you are isn't what you were born with, it's who you are," Ruby stated.

"What?"

"A hero told me that once when I was a kid and I agree," Ruby said. "Each person has their own value that could never be replicated. It's what makes us unique."

"Ruby Rose…" Weiss let out a soft laugh. "…You're…something else."

"Um…thank you?"

"It's a good thing."

"Oh, thank you!" Ruby looks at Weiss apprehensively. "Soooo….?"

"Sure, I'll join you and your family for this luncheon, if it's not too much trouble," Weiss accepted.

"Nope! No trouble at all! They should be waiting for us in the food court. Oh! And we should go looking for Midoriya. He's joining us too. And maybe Uncle Toshi…"

For some reason, Ruby's rambling nonsense made Weiss feel more at ease.

The pair was able to find Izuku and the three students headed over to the food court and met with Yang and Tai.

Upon arrival, Tai and Yang gave some confusing apologies to Izuku that he seems to understand while Weiss was left in the dark.

Sometime later, Toshinori arrived, apologizing for being late.

As Ruby had figured, Izuku gushed at the sight of Taiyang Xiao Long, hero Flame High, and asked the man all sorts of questions. Yang in turn started to ask some questions from Weiss, saying that as Ruby's older sister, she has the right to pry.

Weiss somewhat wonders if Winter does the same. Additionally, Weiss soon realized that she was jealous of how…tight knit Ruby's family is, even though her mother seems to be out of the picture – it's none of Weiss' business.

She did answer Yang's questions as best she could until Yang leaned close and asked her:

"Tell me honestly, what is Ruby to you?"

Weiss was very confused by Yang's question. Seeing the confusion, Yang explained that she meant what does Ruby mean to Weiss as a person?

It was still an interesting question…and a loaded one at that. Ruby and Weiss had been through a lot in a short span of time. Weiss had treated Ruby horribly while Ruby tried to be nice. Yes, Weiss is making amends, but…she had doubts about herself…

Weiss found that she couldn't give Yang an answer, which Yang was very understanding, thankfully. She had only wanted what's best for Ruby.

And deep down…Weiss wanted the same.

{And the intermission is over! Folks, it's time to return to your seats and the competitors to return to the field for word about the final competition!}

"Let's get going, Midoriya and Schnee! We don't wanna be late!" Ruby exclaimed.

"She's excited," Weiss observed as she and Izuku took time walking.

"Yeah, looks like it. She's probably surprised that she made it this far…as am I," Izuku said. "I'm surprised that I am here now…"

"…Hey, Midoriya?"

"Yeah?"

"You've met Yang Xiao Long before, right?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, yeah. I have. On the first day of school, actually," Izuku answered.

"Had she…asked you some questions?"

Izuku looks at her curiously. "Yeah, she had."

"Had she asked you some interesting questions? Like, Rose-related questions?"

"Well…There was this one question that I had to take time to answer."

"What was it?" asked Weiss.

"What did Rose mean to me," Izuku replied.

"And…if you don't mind me asking…what was your answer?"

Izuku paused, and Weiss did too. "…I said to her that Rose was an amazing friend. When people doubted that I could become a hero, she was the first person to believe in me. And I am grateful for that. If I'm being honest, she was probably my first friend…ever."

"I see."

"Schnee, why—"

"Hey! Come on, you slowpokes!" Ruby exclaimed from the end of the corridor.

"S-Sorry, we're coming!" Izuku called back. "Let's go, Schnee." Weiss nodded and followed Izuku down the corridor to meet back up with Ruby.

"Took you two long enough," Ruby grinned playfully. "Now, let's get back on the field and—what?"

Much to their surprise, the other 1-A girls are not in their gym uniforms, but instead in orange cheerleading outfits, the same as the cheerleaders who were hired.

"Ruby, Schnee, there you two are!" Ochako said, waving a pom-pom at them.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked when she and Weiss got closer to the girls.

"You two need to hurry and get dressed!" Mina insisted.

Momo hands Ruby and Weiss the same uniform. "Here, I've also made you two an outfit."

"For what?" Weiss asked.

"Some cheerleading competition, I think," Hagakure answered, enjoying her outfit as she danced around.

"I've never heard of it," Weiss said with a shake of her head.

"Who told you guys that?" asked Ruby.

"Kaminari and…Mineta…" Momo realized slowly.

Kaminari and Mineta snickered as they gave each other the thumbs up.

"You little weasels!" Jiro exclaimed, starting to chase after the boys.

"I can't believe that I was tricked…" Momo lamented. "I should've known."

"Do…we have time to change?" Ochako wondered, suddenly insecure.

{All riiiight! Let's have fun with some recreational games! And when that's over, the 32 from the eight teams that made it to the final round will duke it out in a one-on-one tournament!}

Kirishima's eyes practically glowed. "Holy crap! I can't believe I'm actually gonna be standing on the same stage I've seen on TV every year!"

"Wasn't it a tournament last year too?" Mina asked.

"It's different every year, but it's always a one-on-one tournament," Sero explained.

"I think last year was a sports chanbara match," Ruby wondered.

"You're right."

Midnight steps back on the stage again, carrying a lot box. "We're gonna be drawing lots to determine the bracket and once it has been decided, we'll get to recreational games and then start with the tournament. The thirty-two finalists can choose whether or not to participate in the recreational games, though I'm sure you'd wish to rest and save your strength. Now let's start with the 1st place team—" Midnight was about to move to Todoroki's team when Ojiro raised his hand.

"Excuse me…But I am withdrawing," he said, the shame evident on his face. His classmates look at him with shock.

"Ojiro…why?" Izuku asked.

"This is a rare opportunity," Tenya pointed out.

"I barely remembered anything of the cavalry battle up until nearly the end," Ojiro said. "I think it has something to do with that guy's Quirk."

"That guy? You mean Shinsou?" Jaune asked, looking over where Shinso is. Izuku follows Jaune's gaze to see the purple haired guy. Shinsou turned away.

"I know that this is a big chance that I am throwing away…" Ojiro said. "But I can't with good consciousness move on when I didn't do anything. I just...my pride..."

"Ojiro…" Ruby muttered. Jaune stared at his fellow blonde, saddened by his words.

Another hand was raised, angled flamboyantly. "I am withdrawing as well!"

"A-Aoyama?!" Izuku exclaimed.

"You're kidding," Mina said, shocked. And who wouldn't be. Since knowing Aoyama, everyone knew he loved to be in the center of attention and participating in a one-on-one tournament could give him that.

"I also bear very little recollection of the previous competition for I too was in the same team as dear Ojiro," Aoyama said. "So now, I must resign while I still have my dazzle intact!" He winks. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Of course, he is," Tokoyami muttered.

"Both Ojiro and Aoyama are quitting because of that guy's Quirk?" Izuku thought, looking back at the general course student. "Just what is it?" Izuku then turned to Jaune, who was also on Shinsou's team. "Arc, do you remember the cavalry battle?"

"Yeah, I remember everything," Jaune said. "I was wondering why Ojiro and Aoyama weren't responding to me."

"Then you are going to continue?" Izuku asked. Jaune stared at him for a moment, then looked at a worried Ruby before shifting his gaze to the despondent Ojiro and Aoyama.

"…I will," Jaune said. "I want to continue for my teammates." Ruby looked relieved, much to Jaune's happiness.

Ojiro smiled slightly. "Thanks, man."

And Midnight squealed at the sight. "Youthful talk like that is something that I like!" She whips her cat-o-nine tails down. "Ojiro and Aoyama, I accept the withdrawal!"

"…She accepted based on her tastes?" Kirishima asked.

"This school is weird…" Ruby muttered.

"In that case, we'll have to move up two people—" Midnight said.

Sun quickly raises his hand. "I can go, Ms. M!"

"I like your enthusiasm, Wukong! You're in!"

"Yes!" Sun exclaimed, pumping his fists. "I get to show off what I can do!"

"Well, that's one! How about another!" Midnight said.

"I would be happy to participate, Midnight!" Monoma said boisterously.

"Go right ahead!"

"Excellent! Wukong, we must overshadow 1-A and show how truly superior our Class 1-B truly is!" Monoma declared.

Sun blinked at him confusingly. "Uh…suuure."

"Seriously, what is that guy's deal?" Mina questioned.

Afterwards, the thirty-two competitors take their lots from the box. Once that was done, the brackets appeared on the jumbo screen.

[Todoroki vs. Marigold] [Yanagi vs. Sero] [Monoma vs. Rose] [Iida vs. Hatsume]

[Midoriya vs. Arc] [Valkyrie vs. Shinso] [Polendina vs. Mineta] [Asui vs. Ashido]

[Bakugo vs. Ren] [Tokoyami vs. Yaoyorozu] [Honenuki vs. Tetsutetsu] [Kamakiri vs. Kirishima]

[Wukong vs. Shouji] [Uraraka vs. Kendo] [Kaminari vs. Shiozaki] [Schnee vs. Komori]

Sero whistles. "That's a lot."

Mineta does a thumbs up. "First round and I'm going up against a girl. Yes!"

"There is something wrong with you, I'm just gonna say that right now."

"Hey, Ruby. Check it out!" Nora said, pointing at the screen. "If you win this fight and the next, you could fight Todoroki!"

Ruby took a glance at Todoroki and was met with a tense gaze. She felt her feet getting cold. "U-Um…let's not get too far ahead now…"

"Is that how you feel, Rose? Then why not forfeit now and save us both the trouble," Monoma smirked haughtily. Ruby actually contemplated that. She has seen what Todoroki's ice is capable of and he has yet to use his fire. Maybe she should forfeit…

"Woo-hoo! You're doing great, Ruby!" Yang shouted from the stands, waving her flag.

"Yang…" Ruby muttered. She moved her eyes up the stands to where the heroes are and she could see her father clapping and giving her the thumbs up. Ruby then looks over at the private stands and sees Toshinori and Qrow… "No…" She faces Monoma. "…I can't give up now. Not after I have gone so far."

Monoma's smirk merely grew. "Big talk." He shrugs. "But commendable." He holds his hand out. Ruby moved to shake it but was stopped by Kirishima and Mina.

"Don't shake his hand, Rose!" Kirishima said urgently, hold her arm in the air.

Mina has her arms wrapped around Ruby. "He can copy the Quirk of anyone he touches!"

"Oh," Ruby said.

Izuku kept his focus on the screen, seeing his name next to Jaune's. "I'll be going up against Arc, Rose's longtime friend. His Quirk allows him to transfer his own stamina to others to recharge or boost their stamina, boosting Quirks in the process, but I'm not sure if he could use it on himself. I'll need to be careful." Izuku moves to face Shinso. Shinso smirks at him and walks away. "And if I do beat Arc, I might wind up facing Shinso, if Valkyrie doesn't beat him."

Izuku decided not to participate in the recreational games, opting to rest One for All until the battle. He has gotten better at it, with 5% being his safe spot, but there appears to be a limit of sorts. He felt it first during the end stretch of the race and again during the cavalry battle. There was a dull ache in his legs and arm afterwards. He's not sure if his bones were about to break or what, but he needs to find Toshinori and maybe he has an inkling.

"All Might!" Izuku called out once he entered the nurse's office. Recovery Girl's office to be specific.

"Good day, Young Midoriya," Toshinori greeted as Izuku closed the door. "You've done pretty well out there. I never got the chance to say, but you've improved amazingly with One for All."

"Hah, thank goodness," Recovery Girl commented.

"Yeah…About One for All…" Izuku started.

"Hm?" Toshinori said.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but the longer I had One for All activated, a pressure starts to build," Izuku told him.

"A pressure?"

"Yeah, like an ache was forming…I'm not sure if my bones were about to break or what…but…"

"Hmmm…This is interesting…" Toshinori mused.

"Maybe I'm unconsciously increasing the percentage in stressful situations. I think it happened when I was running to the finish line and again when I tried to get my points back," Izuku said.

"If that's the thought we're going with, the best I can say is to be careful when you use it," Toshinori advised. "I've never experienced something like this before, so we're treading in new waters here." Izuku bows his head with knitted brows and moist eyes. "Don't look so glum, kid. You're doing great so far. You'll get the hang of it. All you need to do is train with it, like you've been doing before." Izuku stared at the man with misty eyes. He managed to give the man a grin before he used his arm to wipe his eyes and nod. "You should also work on the waterworks, kid." Just how much liquid does this kid contain?

"…Okay…"

"Not up for fun games, Ms. Rose?"

Ruby nearly jumped from her spot, sitting on the ground and up against the wall of one of the stadium's corridors.

"Ozpin," Ruby acknowledged. She looks out the corridor to see the other students playing some game, pushing giant balls around. "…Yeah…" The older man takes a seat next to her, placing his cane between them up against the wall, and drawing one knee up.

"Nervous about the tournament?" Ozpin asked her.

"Yeah…"

"What about it is making you nervous?"

"…Well…for one, the large crowd. That's anxiety inducing. And…" Ruby trailed off, fiddling with her goggles.

"Still not fond of fighting against your friends?" Ozpin wondered. It was like that moment during Ruby training for the Sports Festival, when she and Ozpin had that talk.

Ruby takes a deep breath. "Before all of this started, everything was great and now, everyone is declaring war left and right, the other students hate us, and I'm about to go toe-to-toe with one of them and I just really, really, really wish that we could just…get along again!" She panted from speaking all of that in one breath.

Ozpin smiled gently. "It can be a bit frustrating."

"Did that happen to you? Between you and Uncle Toshi?" Ruby asked.

"And the rest of our classmates," Ozpin answered. "There were some who were friendly, others who'd rather keep to themselves, and those who aren't fond of making a connection of any sort. And do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because everyone has their own story. Different thoughts and ideals, different memories and experiences, different emotions and personalities…" Ozpin said, looking off somewhere. "With all of these things varying wildly, it's hard to know who you'd get along with. Some could have an instant connection, whether from common interests or the like. Others could instead clash violently, due to colliding ideals and conflicting emotions. What I am trying to say, Ms. Rose, is that the world contains people of all kinds. And you'll be meeting those people on your road to hero."

Ozpin's smile grew fonder.

"You'll be surprised of who you'll connect with."

Next Chapter: One on One

"Good luck out there, Rose!"

"I wanted to wish you luck."

"I'll be…I…I-I'll be f-fighting…"

"I will get into the hero course."

"No…It's a good thing…"

I actually wanted to post this today because of some funny stuff and the cheerleader prank. Today isn't really my favorite 'holiday' because I'm usually the butt of the joke and I take things too seriously…