I don't own My Hero Academia or Kill la Kill, please don't sue.

"Welcome to the sixth match of the first round! Our first fighter is the kid with engines in his legs, it's Class 1-A's Representative, Tenya Iida!"

Tenya Iida fastened his helmet before stepping out into stadium's field. Spending all that time in the waiting room with no natural light made him slightly wince from the bright sun, but his vision quickly cleared up. The stadium was huge, he'd known that from the beginning, but now he was able to comprehend the sheer size of it. It held so many spectators that the individual people just blended together into a mass of different colors. Try as he might, he couldn't spot his classmates. The only person he could clearly make out was his opponent.

"And he's up against his classmate, who may just have the coolest quirk ever! Offense and defense in one, he's the dark samurai of Class 1-A! From the Hero Course, it's Fumikage Tokoyami!"

Tokoyami's costume was rather simple, a black cloak that covered everything except his head. While it may have been simple, it was certainly intimidating. Since his legs and arms were covered by a dark cloak, he looked like a wraith as he walked up to the center of the battlefield.

Tenya had brought his own costume though. It was his take on the Iida family's basic design, a suit of armor made out of a light-weight metal. While it wouldn't slow him down, it didn't offer too much in the way of protection. He was still confident that he could take at least a few hits from Dark Shadow though. There was one more thing that his costume offered, something that might even turn the match in his favor.

The two fighters met in the middle of the battlefield, about ten meters apart, and gave each other a respectful bow.

"Let the sixth match begin!"

"Engine Boost!"

Tenya fired up his engines and rushed at Tokoyami. Hopefully he'd be able to catch him off guard with his blitz and push him out of bounds, just like Sanageyama did against Yaoyorozu. But he wasn't ready to commit to a full Recipro Burst yet, which would leave him a sitting duck in the event his plan didn't work.

"Dark Shadow! Abyssal Black Body!"

It looked like he made the right choice, as Tokoyami had reacted far quicker than Tenya had expected. His quirk had completely covered him, acting as a sort of armor. This was the first time he'd seen the move used in one-on-one combat, but Tenya had a passing familiarity with the move inspired by Matoi. Midoriya had used it for himself in the cavalry battle to protect his headband from Tenya's team. There was no way he'd be able to get in close now.

Tenya skidded to a halt right before he got in Tokoyami's striking range. He turned around 180 degrees and took off in the opposite direction. Now he'd have to drop the armor and attack in his ranged mode. If he could just get his timing right, he'd be able to strike when his guard was down. But for now he had to focus on evading the barrage Tokoyami was sending his way.

Tokoyami himself was standing still, but his quirk shot after Tenya like a bullet. While he could outrun the shadowy beast in pure speed, it was actually much more maneuverable than him. He could only run in straight lines and changing direction quickly slowed him down significantly. Dark Shadow had no such weakness and as such, was able to get more than a few hits on Tenya as he had to change direction to avoid running out of bounds.

Luckily, his armor protected him well enough as he predicted. But small pieces of metal were starting to break off and a significant crack had formed in his breastplate. Dark Shadow or Tokoyami must have taken notice of this, as it struck him right in the chest. Tenya was already at the edge of the battlefield to maximize the distance between him and his opponent, but that last strike nearly knocked him out of bounds.

Tenya braced himself for the next hit, guarding his now unprotected torso, but it didn't come. Dark Shadow was retreating, hiding itself back under Tokoyami's cloak. But why? His thoughts were interrupted by the growing discomfort his helmet was causing due to the sweat trapped in his hair. That was one of the issues with his costume, with the exception of his legs, it was unbearable in the heat. The sun was absolutely brutal today and he almost envied Dark Shadow, it must have been pretty shady under that cloak.

Wait a second, was Dark Shadow weakened by light? Was that why it was hiding under Tokoyami's cloak? Tenya supposed it made sense that a quirk called "Dark Shadow" wouldn't fare too well in the light, but it couldn't have been that simple. It didn't really matter what the reason was, what was important was that Tokoyami couldn't keep attacking forever.

Tenya supposed now was as good a time as any to go in for an attack. He sped at Tokoyami, whose quirk was still hiding under his cloak. Tenya jumped in the air, his engine boost increasing his height. He kicked at Tokoyami's head as he descended, aiming to knock him out right then and there.

"Abyssal Black Body!"

Tenya's leg collided with a mass of inky blackness in the shape of a giant claw. Tokoyami grunted from absorbing the recoil, but he and Dark Shadow were uninjured. In fact, both of them had what looked like a smirk on their beaks.

"It won't be that easy to take me out Class Rep! Dark Shadow and I are fighting in sync now!"

Tenya jumped back, using Dark Shadow as a springboard. "You can attack from a distance or defend from up close. I'll admit that it makes you a challenging opponent."

"A wise observation. But defense isn't the only thing we can do in close quarters! Piercing Twilight Claw!"

Tokoyami swung an arm at Tenya, but he quicky moved out of range of the punch. But he wasn't out of Dark Shadow's range. The blackness covering Tokoyami's arm extended in the form of a claw and raked across his chest. He'd already chipped away at his armor for much of the match and that last attack finally broke through. Dark Shadows claws made contact with his skin for the first time, but it didn't leave more than some light scratches.

There was no way Tenya could keep up like this. Even without his Recipro, his engines would stall eventually. He needed to finish this fight quickly. Or maybe he could put Tokoyami on a timer too.

He ran straight for Tokoyami, who instinctively put Dark Shadow's claws over his face in defense. But that meant his lower body was completely unguarded. Tenya slid down to the ground and grabbed his cloak. He fired up his engines to increase his speed and ripped it away from his opponent. Before Tokoyami could even process what happened, Tenya ran to the edge of the battlefield and threw the cloak far out of bounds, so as to make sure that Dark Shadow couldn't retrieve it.

Tokoyami's expression changed to shock as he realized that he was only wearing a black undersuit now. "You stole my cloak, robbing Dark Shadow of its only source of darkness. Did you know my weakness beforehand?"

"Not a first and it was a bit of a lucky guess," Tenya admitted. "But you stopped your assault to have Dark Shadow hide under your cloak. I inferred that it was because being in the light weakens it. Now you don't have the luxury of trying to wait me out!"

"It seems that I don't. I'll just have to end this quickly then!"

Tenya fired up his engines again and charged at Tokoyami.

"Things are starting to heat up down there! Tokoyami looked like he was going on the offense at the start, but Iida's managed to push him back! This fight could still go either way, and it looks like it's just getting started!"

Ryuko Matoi was surprised by how the match had gone down so far. She expected that Iida would start out at max speed and try to push Tokoyami out of bounds, but he was actually taking a slower, more methodical approach. And she definitely didn't expect him to try and steal Tokoyami's cloak. For whatever reason, it looked like it worked though, as Dark Shadow's attacks were gradually getting slower and weaker.

Maybe Midoriya had an idea why that worked. He had to be writing up a storm by now. Though she hadn't heard any muttering, nor the sound of pencil tips snapping.

"Hey, do you know where Uraraka went?"

Ryuko stopped watching the match when Midoriya asked his question. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard anything from Uraraka ever since the finals started. She'd been right next to her almost the entire time, but now only her drink was there.

"I don't know," she answered.

"She's in the waiting room right now. Been there a while actually, she looked pretty nervous," Sanageyama spoke up.

"Oh do not tell me you can see all the way over there!" Jakuzure groaned.

Sanageyama shrugged. "I told you, I can see the entire world. Also I saw her get up and leave."

"You think she's nervous about the match?" Ryuko asked. "It is coming up pretty soon."

Midoriya nodded. "She is up against Kacchan after all. I can't really blame her. I don't even know how she would go about winning."

Ugh, Bakugo. Ryuko just noticed that he was also missing from the stands, though she appreciated his absence far more than Uraraka's. She just couldn't stand the idea of one of her friends losing to that asshole. The smug bastard would just be gloating the entire time, ranting about how strong he was and how weak she was. It made her blood boil. Ryuko quickly made a decision.

"Let's help her!" she announced to Midoriya's surprise. "I'm not just gonna sit and watch while Bakugo walks all over her and takes a free win, so let's come up with a plan for her to beat that jerk!"

"A plan? I guess you're right, she's helped me so much to get where I am. It's time I returned the favor," Midoriya agreed. "I have some notes on her quirk, but the problem is that I don't know how she can use it. There's nothing for her to touch and I don't think her costume has anything to help with that."

"Well she could always touch herself," Ryuko suggested.

She was cut off by the loud giggling of a certain pervert. Ryuko walked over to Mineta and whacked him over the head with the hilt of her scissor blade. No one seemed to have any objections.

"As I was saying, she could always float herself, but she told me that it makes her vomit if she does it for too long."

"Doing that wouldn't really help anyway since she'd just be completely out of control. She might even float herself out of bounds," Midoriya pointed out. "Wait, but that means she could do the same thing to Kacchan! She just needs to touch him once and he'd float away!"

"Awesome! Let's go tell her! Wait, why do you have notes on her quirk?"

Midoriya sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Oh, I take notes all the time whenever I see an interesting quirk. Actually, I have almost five pages on you if you're interested-"

Ryuko's face went blank as he flipped through his notebook, showing her pages of analysis and detailed drawings of herself. It was kind of flattering that Midoriya thought she was that interesting. On the other hand, it looked like something a stalker would write.

"That's pretty creepy," she interrupted him. "Let's just go now, the match is almost over."

Tenya Iida swung a roundhouse kick at Tokoyami, but he grabbed his leg out of the air. It wasn't easy for him though, as his brow was drenched in sweat. Even with both arms being reinforced by Dark Shadow's own claws, Tenya's engine boosted kick forced him to dig his heels into the ground.

Tokoyami had already confirmed that he got weaker when exposed to light, but now Tenya could really see the effects. At the start of the match he couldn't even make a dent in Dark Shadow while the beast was easily able to tear chunks off of his armor. Now he could barely feel Dark Shadow hitting him, if Tokoyami even went on the offense in the first place.

"This light is unbearable," Tokoyami grunted. "But you'll find that it'll take more than that to beat me!"

Still holding onto Tenya's leg, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow threw him into the air. While it wasn't very high, it gave Tokoyami enough time to slam his head into Tenya's chest, reinforced by Dark Shadow acting as a helmet. He flew back, landing several meters away. Instead of cushioning the blow, Tenya's armor actually made the damage worse, as the broken pieces dug into his skin as he slid across the gound.

Tenya coughed and groaned in pain as he forced himself to stand up. He had been foolish to underestimate his classmate and he paid the price. While the light may have been weakening Dark Shadow, it wasn't like he could go on forever himself. Either his engines or his body would give out eventually and he'd already taken a considerable amount of damage, while Dark Shadow had absorbed every blow aimed at Tokoyami.

It was time for him to finish the fight. Tenya didn't want to use it at the start in case Tokoyami was able to defend himself, but by now Dark Shadow was far too weak and slow. He needed his ace in the hole.

"Recipro Burst!"

Tenya forced his engines into maximum overdrive. The mufflers on his legs became red-hot as the exhaust changed color from orange to blue. He accelerated to top speed in almost an instant, making a sonic boom in the process.

But even with all his speed, there was still enough distance between him and Tokoyami for his opponent to hold up Dark Shadow's arms in front of him like a shield. It definitely helped that he already had Abyssal Black Body activated, allowing him to defend on pure instinct.

Tenya pushed against Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, but they put up a surprising amount of resistance. Recipro's time limit was quickly approaching and so was the boundary line. He just had a few more meters to go and he'd win!

"I'm all too familiar with this technique Iida, you won't catch me off guard like you did in the cavalry battle. Dark Shadow, dig your claws into the ground and anchor us! We only have to last a few more seconds and we win this!"

Just like Tokoyami ordered, Dark Shadow's claws broke away from Tenya and instead pushed against the ground. Tokoyami himself grunted in pain as his arms had to push back against Tenya without protection. His head was still covered though and he slammed it into Tenya's chest to provide more resistance. It didn't have to last long though, as Tenya's Recipro finally reached its limit and his engines sputtered out.

"That was a foolish mistake Iida, to put all your cards on the table when you were already so close to victory," Tokoyami said, panting heavily with each breath. "Now you're completely defenseless! Prepare to be taken by the darkness!"

Dark Shadow detached itself from Tokoyami and repeatedly struck Tenya wherever his armor had been broken. If it hadn't been in the sun for several minutes, that likely would have been the end of him. Tokoyami had a point though, there wasn't much he could do to defend himself now that his engines were out of commission for the rest of the fight. If he didn't have his costume that was.

The legs of Tenya's costumes had radiators installed in them to cool down his engines after a Recipro Burst. Cooling down still took a while, but he could still use it in a fight. And once his engines did cool down...

"Recipro Extend!"

Using a second Recipro after already pushing his engines into overdrive gave Tenya even more explosive power. The ground now shattered where he took off from the sheer force of his speed. With Dark Shadow away from Tokoyami and no way to catch up, he grabbed Tokoyami by the arm and dragged him to the boundary line, where he threw him out of bounds.

It happened so fast that to most people, it looked like they had just teleported away. Tokoyami himself seemed to think so, as he started blinking when Tenya used Recipro Extend and just finished opening his eyes. He was almost about to summon Dark Shadow to him when he looked down and realized where he was.

"Tokoyami is out of bounds!" Midnight declared. "The winner is Tenya Iida!"

"Now that was a close one! Both fighters gave it their all and for most of the match it looked like it could go either way, but Iida's second burst secured him the win!"

Tenya reached down to Tokoyami and helped pull him back on his feet. "You're full of tricks Iida, I need to remember to not let my guard down around you."

"You fought well yourself," Tenya replied, his helping hand having turned into a handshake. "To be honest, I think you should have won. I was lucky that things went so well for me."

Tokoyami shrugged. "Call it whatever you like, you still won fair and square. I told Midoriya the same thing after the cavalry battle, don't get hung up on what could have happened. It is what it is."

The two former opponents both bowed to each other before leaving to their respective waiting rooms. Even though his armor had been shredded and he was covered in scratches, Tenya had a smile on his face. One round done, three more to go. He'd make his family proud for sure.

Ryuko Matoi followed Midoriya into the waiting room, where Uraraka was sitting at a table by herself. Even though the TV in the room was displaying Iida and Tokoyami's fight, she wasn't watching. She also wasn't wearing her costume, instead choosing to stick with a blue UA tracksuit.

"Oh hey guys!" she said, turning her head towards the pair. "You did great out there Ryuko! And I'm sure you'll do amazing too Deku!"

"Thanks- Whoa what's with your face?" Ryuko exclaimed. "It's... so weird!"

In a stark contrast to her usually cheerful demeanor, Uraraka's brow was angrily furrowed and her face had a crooked smile. It was like she was trying as hard as she could to look intimidating, but she just made herself look constipated.

"My face? Oh, it's nothing! I guess I'm not great at hiding how nervous I am. It's kinda scary you know? Knowing that in a few minutes I'll have to fight Bakugo. But why are you guys here? Don't you want to watch the matches?"

"Eh, the match was about to end when we left anyway. I think it's actually over now. This is more important anyway!" Ryuko replied. "Also, why aren't you wearing your costume? You know that you're allowed to bring whatever support items you want."

"Well, I didn't want my costume to get damaged or anything. The tracksuit's also pretty comfortable and if I need to, I can take parts of it off. Can't really do that with a bodysuit," she explained. "But you didn't tell me why you guys are here!"

"Yeah, Midoriya and I were talking about it and-"

Ryuko never got to finish her sentence, as she was interrupted by a new arrival to the waiting room. Iida took off his helmet, revealing sweaty hair and cracked glasses underneath. If he was back, that must have meant his match was over. Which meant that Uraraka would be fighting soon.

"Hey Iida! Sorry I didn't get to see you fight out there. I was just worried about my match and all, so I came down here to clear my head."

"It's no problem. They still have to clear out the battlefield and Tokoyami and I have to check in with Recovery Girl, so you have a few minutes. I get why you're scared though. You'll be facing Bakugo, not exactly an easy fight."

Uraraka nodded solemnly. "I'm up next, so this is it. My fight."

"It'll be alright," Iida tried to reassure her. "I don't think Bakugo would use the full power of his explosion on a girl!"

Ryuko snorted. "Please, that asshole would blow up a puppy if he thought it looked at him funny. Remember when he almost killed Midoriya over a training exercise?"

"Even if it wasn't Kacchan, I don't think anyone here would hold back," Midoriya pointed out. "Whatever their reasons are, everyone's trying to get the top spot. Which is why Ryuko and I are here. You've helped me so much, so now it's my turn to help you. Ryuko and I came up with a plan for how you can use your quirk to defeat Kacchan! I know it's not much, but it was the best we could come up with so quickly."

"Hey! Well alright, this is perfect!" Iida exclaimed, holding a thumbs up.

Uraraka stared down at her feet for a few moments, then looked up with a smile on her face. "Thank you so much for doing that! But I can't accept that. I'm sorry."

Ryuko eagerly started to explain the plan, not realizing what Uraraka had actually said. "Great! So all you have to do is- Wait what? You're... not accepting the plan we came up with? Why?"

"Deku, you're wonderful. And so are you Ryuko. I keep seeing it over and over again. During the entrance exam, combat training, the USJ attack, even the previous events in the Sports Festival. During the cavalry battle, I said that it was good to team up with your friends. But now that I think about it, I might have been trying to rely on you to get by. That's why when Iida and Ryuko went with their own teams, I actually felt kind of embarrassed."

"Who cares about that?" Ryuko shouted. "You're up against Bakugo, you could get seriously hurt! No, you will get seriously hurt! Bakugo's gonna knock you around like a beach ball and I can't watch that happen, so please just listen! Don't do anything crazy!"

"This coming from you, the master of crazy!" Uraraka retorted, forcing a smile. "I appreciate how concerned you are for my wellbeing, but if I want to win the Sports Festival, I need to show that I can do it. And even if I did accept your help it couldn't last forever. You want to win this no matter what and so does everyone else. That means we're all rivals."

Midoriya tried reaching out to her, but she'd already walked to the exit. "Uraraka..."

Uraraka turned around and held a thumbs up. Even though her entire body was shaking in fear, she still had enough determination to put on a confident smile. She was no longer trying to conceal her fear, but she was acting in spite of it.

"I guess I'll see you in the finals!"

As Uraraka left the waiting room, Ryuko still couldn't understand why she didn't take the plan. She understood where she was coming from, but was proving she could win on her own really more important than actually winning? Or staying in one piece? It was the same thing when she tried to give Midoriya her points in the entrance exam, she was giving up the chance to achieve her goals for nothing!

"Ryuko, maybe you should worry more about coming up with a plan for your own fight," Senketsu interrupted her thoughts.

"I'd love to, but it's not like Inumuta gave me anything to work with! I swear, they didn't use their Goku Uniforms on purpose so I'd have to fight them blind! How am I supposed to make a plan when I don't even know what he can do?"

"Maybe you could ask Midoriya. If he's taken notes on you and your classmates, he's bound to have something on the Elite Four."

"Yeah you're right! Thanks Senketsu, you always have a good idea!"

Ryuko patted Senketsu on the shoulder as thanks for his advice. If Midoriya was able to come up with a plan for Uraraka, there was no reason he couldn't do the same for her. She walked up to Midoriya and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, you know about those notes you have on me? I was wondering if you have any of those on Inumuta. Do you think that... you could help me come up with a plan to beat him?"

Asking someone for help felt weird to Ryuko. It was something she'd never done before, due to not having any friends to ask. Even with all the friends she'd recently made it still felt wrong. She didn't want her friends sticking their necks out for her sake, she was supposed to be the one protecting them! If they had to help her, they might end up thinking less of her. But Midoriya's eyes lit up as soon as he heard her request.

"Oh yeah I'd love to! There is a slight problem though, I don't know much about Inumuta's Goku Uniform. No one does really. Not many people see him even during battles and when they do, most reports say he disappears almost immediately afterwards. But there is one thing I know: He's an expert at analysis. He can take one look at an opponent and know everything about how they fight, what their weaknesses are, and how their quirk works."

Ryuko smirked as a plan started to form in her head. "So he's one of those 'know everything you do before you make it' kind of guys right? I think I know just how to deal with him!"

"It's the seventh battle of the first round of matchups! He was kind of a hotshot in middle school and just look at that determined face! From the Hero Course, Katsuki Bakugo!"

Katsuki Bakugo could not have asked for a better bracket. Next round he'd either get to fight Icy Hot or put that damn Deku in his place. After that, he'd finally get his revenge on that Monkey Bastard, assuming he didn't lose to Four-Eyes in the next round. Not like that would ever happen though. And lastly, his showdown with Matoi in the finals. He couldn't wait for the chance to rub his victory in her stupid face, finally proving that he was better than her. Just thinking about it made him giddy with excitement.

"Versus the one I'm personally rooting for! Also from Class 1-A, Ochaco Uraraka!"

But before achieving his glory, Katsuki would have to take out the garbage. This wasn't even a fight, it was just a filler episode starring an extra. The stupid nerd's stupider girlfriend. Or was he with Matoi?

Whatever, it didn't really matter. That bastard Deku probably tried giving her some dumb plan, as if any amount of planning would make this anything more than a one-sided beatdown. This was nothing but a waste of both of their time. Hopefully he could get her to see that.

"You're the one who screws around with gravity. Right Round-Face?"

"Round-Face?" she exclaimed in shock.

Katsuki paid her no attention, as she was worth any. "Well if you're gonna give up, do it now. Because I'm not gonna hold anything back."

To his surprise, she didn't accept his uncharacteristically generous offer of mercy. She didn't say anything. All she did was close her eyes, take a deep breath, and match his fearsome gaze. At least she had a spine. Or she was an idiot. Probably the latter.

"Let the seventh match begin!"

"Giving up isn't an option for me!"

It was definitely the latter. Round-Face crouched low to the ground and started sprinting toward him. Or more accurately, tried to sprint toward him. She was pitifully slow, if it weren't for Deku, she would have easily finished last in the 50-meter sprint. Katsuki had more than enough time to wind up his right arm, preparing the famous right hook that Deku was always whining about.

"And now you die," he growled.

Round-Face instinctively ducked down, but it couldn't help her avoid the large area that Katsuki's explosion covered. In fact, it covered so much area that pieces of the battlefield were ripped up and sent flying along with his opponent. It was a double-edged sword though, as the smoke his explosions made obscured his vision for a few moments.

But Katsuki had learned since the cavalry battle. Even if he couldn't see past the smoke, he could still see movement within it. Combined with his excellent reflexes, there was no way she'd be able to get a sneak attack on him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Katsuki caught some movement in the smoke and something came out of it right at his face. Did Round-Face really not get it? Did she really think that there was a chance that she could win? It was up to him to change her mind.

"You should have dropped out of the match! There's no way you can beat me!"

Katsuki grabbed the thing that came out of the smoke and detonated a blast right in his hand. But it wasn't Round-Face, it was her jacket! She'd tricked him by using a decoy! He had to admit that was pretty clever. It was also pretty annoying.

While it was a clever trick, the shock had quickly worn off. It didn't make her any faster. Katsuki quickly reacted to her sneak attack from behind, blasting her and sending even more chunks of concrete flying.

"Too slow!" he roared.

Without her jacket to throw as a decoy, Round-Face had no other options left. She charged at him head-on, desperate to touch him just once. Katsuki easily repelled her pathetic attempts with explosions, but no matter how many times he blasted her, she refused to rest even a second between attacks. He actually had to give her some credit. He thought that he wouldn't even have to try, but she was actually kind of making him work for this win.

How was she still standing? How was she not dead yet? At this rate, he might destroy the entire battlefield. Come to think of it, Katsuki didn't actually see any of the rubble from his explosions. Maybe his explosions were so powerful now that he just vaporized it all.

Round-Face was panting heavily, her repeated attempts to get in close finally catching up with her. Katsuki refused to let his guard down though, by now he'd seen firsthand that she was a lot tougher than she looked. She took so many blasts that his right arm was starting to get sore. He didn't want to use his left arm just yet though, just in case she had some kind of trick up her sleeve. Something else caught his attention though, all the way from the stands. It sounded like... the crowd was booing him?

Ryuko Matoi was clenching her teeth and quivering with rage. She didn't expect anything else from that asshole, but actually seeing it happen pissed her off. Uraraka was getting destroyed down there, blasted over and over again by that egomaniac. It wasn't enough for Bakugo to just win, he needed to throw his weight around and make Uraraka feel weak and helpless in the process. He was nothing but a bully, just like he always was.

"Come on! My clone can't lose!" Mako shouted. "If my clone dies that means I die too! Ryuko, tell her to win or I'll die!"

"That's not how clones work Slacker," Jakuzure groaned.

"Bakugo lands yet another huge hit on Uraraka! It looks like she's not resting between attacks despite being exploded! The poor girl."

Ryuko's classmates all expressed shock and horror at what Bakugo was doing. Even Mineta thought he was taking things too far. Those reactions weren't limited to just her class either. All around the stadium, pro heroes voiced their concerns. Not everyone was so unhappy though.

"I don't get why this is such a big deal!" Sanageyama exclaimed. "Is it because she's a girl? Because no one seemed to care when Gamagoori was beating the crap out of Matoi during their fight!"

"It's not because she's a girl," Ryuko replied. "Yeah Gamagoori didn't hold anything back against me, but I'm strong. I can take a beating and everyone here knows it. I could fight back. Uraraka... just isn't strong enough to do that."

Sanageyama chuckled. "I guess you're not as observant as I thought you were. You'll need to look closer if you want any hope at all during our match!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Sanageyama opened his mouth to make a wise-ass comment, but he was interrupted by one of his (former) fellow Elites. Gamagoori had stood up to his full height and even used his quirk to put on an extra meter. He accusingly jabbed a finger at Bakugo, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"HOW DARE UA CALL ITSELF A HERO SCHOOL IF IT LETS A PETTY, ARROGANT THUG LIKE THIS INTO ITS HERO COURSE!" he bellowed. "ATTACKING SOMEONE WHO CAN'T FIGHT BACK IS SHAMEFUL ENOUGH AS IT IS, BUT TOYING WITH THEM IS UTTERLY DIGUSTING!"

While she never thought she'd agree with one of the Elite Four, Ryuko had to agree with every word Gamagoori said. Surprisingly, so did a lot of pro heroes. The stadium quickly erupted in a chorus of boos directed at Bakugo, one that Ryuko was all too eager to join.

"It looks like the crowd is booing Bakugo! And honestly, I kind of agree with what they're saying- Hey whoa what the crap!"

The stadium's speaker system started up again, but Aizawa's voice took the place of Present Mic's. "Ira Gamagoori was it? Your masters may be sponsoring this festival, but I request that you keep idiotic comments like that to yourself! Honnouji Academy has no idea what it means to be a hero and your speech proves it!"

The booing was replaced by complete silence. Even Gamagoori himself reverted to normal size out of sheer shock that someone tried to refute him like that, though he was now glaring daggers at the announcer's booth.

"Do you know what he's talking about?" Midoriya asked.

"Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgement of his opponent's strength! He knows she deserves to have made it this far. So he's making sure to do whatever it takes to keep her at bay and come out on top!"

While Ryuko was impressed that someone was actually able to make Gamagoori shut the hell up, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at Aizawa's speech. Was he really trying to defend Bakugo? Was he so naive that he actually thought Bakugo blowing Uraraka up was his way of showing respect? Please, he looked down on her just like he did to everyone else. The only person Bakugo respected was himself.

"I feel so bad for her. Even if she took our plan, it wouldn't have helped her," Midoriya said. "Trying to float Kacchan sounded like a good idea in theory, but he's just too fast and strong for her to actually pull it off."

"Faking him out with her jacket was pretty clever, but there wasn't anything she could do once it failed," Ryuko added. "Now she's just desperate, trying her hardest to hang into a match she can't win."

"You know, you were pretty helpless and desperate too when we fought Gamagoori," Senketsu pointed out. "But you were still able to come out on top in the end. Maybe Uraraka has an ace up her sleeve too. Don't you have a little faith in her?"

"I already explained that it's not the same! I was at least physically capable of beating Gamagoori, what can Uraraka do when she can't even use her quirk?"

Sanageyama had overheard her conversation and his smug grin was now so wide it nearly came off of his face. "Has no one noticed what she's been doing this entire time? Do you really need me to spell it out for you? She kept low to the ground every single time she charged, making the explosions tear up the battlefield as well. Which created the perfect weapons for her. The reason she attacked so relentlessly was to keep the focus on her, so her opponent was blind to what she was doing."

He pointed up at the sky, making Ryuko and everyone in her class look. The once clear sky was now dotted with chunks of concrete floating in place, waiting to be released at the right moment. Uraraka had a plan all along! Could she... actually win?

"Really, does no one ever think to look up once in a while?"

Katsuki Bakugo locked eyes with Round-Face. He didn't know how or why, but she was still standing, even matching his furious glare. This wasn't over. She wasn't dead yet!

"I think it's about time!" she said, panting heavily. "Thank you Bakugo, for keeping your eyes focused on me!"

"What?"

Katsuki looked up and saw hundreds of boulders floating above him. Round-Face let herself get hit by his explosions on purpose so she could touch something other than him! That was why he didn't see any of the rubble, because she floated all of it!

Uraraka touched the tips of her fingers together and the boulders began to fall. They picked up speed as they fell and Uraraka started to run at Katsuki once again. This was actually pretty bad, he couldn't afford to get hit by the meteor shower or Uraraka herself. And with so many things falling around him, something would inevitably hit him. But he still had a way out.

Katsuki pointed one of his gauntlets up and pulled the pin. Even though it wasn't aimed at her, the shockwave pushed Uraraka almost all the way out of bounds. The blast itself completely vaporized most of the rubble and launched the rest out of the stadium.

"I figured you had some stupid plan to beat me," Katsuki growled. "You are friends with that damn nerd after all."

"Bakugo bangs out a huge demonstration of power! He blasted apart Uraraka's finishing move with just one shot and remains untouched!"

Despite what the commentary said, it was actually too close for comfort. Uraraka was just about to touch him when he triggered the gauntlet blast, if he had pulled the pin a millisecond later he would have floated out of bounds. He was also lucky that he even had his gauntlets in the first place. Making a blast that large without them would have seriously hurt his arm, especially after using his quirk so much. Katsuki would never admit it, but there was a serious chance he could have lost.

But even after all that, Uraraka still managed to pull herself up. She was shaking, but she was still standing. Was she really still able to fight? Katsuki was actually starting to smile now.

"Alright, time for us to get serious! This is where the real fight begins! Uraraka!"

Katsuki charged at Uraraka, who was still struggling just to stand up. She turned around and moved to intercept him, but right as her foot left the ground, she collapsed. Katsuki stopped his sprint, feeling a little disappointed. She had put up a much better fight than he had expected, he almost wished it lasted a bit longer.

"Uraraka is down!"

Even though she was down, Uraraka wasn't out just yet. She clawed her way across the ground towards Katsuki, grunting with every movement. At any time before now, Katsuki would have burst out laughing at a sight like that. But now he was preparing for combat, adrenaline still flowing through his veins. As long as she could move, she was still a threat.

It took nearly a minute for her to stop moving.

"Uraraka is koed," Midnight announced somberly, checking her body to make sure. "Bakugo advances to the second round!"

"And that's it for the seventh match, we're almost done with the first round! I was really rooting for her. Oh yeah, I guess Bakugo's advancing on the next round."

"You're supposed to be unbiased you know."

"Anyway, let's try to forget that depressing outcome! It'll be a while before we clean up the battlefield for the next match, so feel free to get up and stretch those legs!"

Izuku Midoriya certainly felt pretty depressed after that fight. Uraraka had tried so hard, putting her all into a plan that not even he could come up with. Only for it to be destroyed by Kacchan in an instant. He had to go say something to her, but someone interrupted him as he got out of his seat.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ryuko asked. "You heard Present Mic, you won't be up for a while."

"Well, I thought I might as well hang out in the waiting room. I do need to come up with a plan to beat Todoroki after all. Also, I want to know how Uraraka's doing after that match. I can't imagine she's taking it too well."

Ryuko nodded solemnly. "I get it, tell her I'm sorry too when you see her. But if you want to make a plan for Todoroki, I thought I'd help you with that."

"Really? I didn't think that planning in advance was really your style."

"I guess not, but if I didn't help you, what kind of a friend would I be? Especially after I made you come up with a plan for me when I asked you to."

Izuku thought that she would still be a perfectly fine friend. In fact, it was a little embarrassing that she was trying to help him now. But he could tell that Ryuko really wanted this, so he might as well humor her.

"Quirks are just physical abilities right? So I was thinking that I could slowly wear Todoroki down to the point where he runs out of ice. I just have to keep destroying every ice blast he sends at me, which I should be able to do easily with a fully-charged finger flick-"

"I'm just gonna stop you right there," Ryuko cut him off. "That's a really dumb idea."

"What? Why?"

"You really want an endurance match against him?" she asked incredulously. "Dude, you break your own bones whenever you use your quirk. Todoroki doesn't. No matter what, he's gonna be the one to outlast you, not the other way around."

"I guess that makes sense from a practical standpoint," Izuku admitted. "But I was hoping that if I could get him to exhaust his right side, he'd be forced to use his left."

"And that helps you win how exactly?"

"Well, it doesn't, but I don't want to see Todoroki limit himself to using only half of his power just to spite his father. If I can just get him to see that-"

Ryuko groaned. "This again? Why do you care so much about Todoroki's motivations? Iida wants to make his family proud and Uraraka wants to make her family happy, you don't seem to have a problem with that! Why is Todoroki wanting to prove Endeavor wrong any different?"

"Alright I don't know why!" Izuku admitted. "But it just feels wrong to me! He's holding himself back. I know you think it's stupid, but I can't just do nothing while he does this to himself!"

"Let's just focus on winning the fight for now. And to do that, you need to be able to use your quirk without hurting yourself. Is there something you can think of that helps you turn the power down?"

"Yeah, whenever I use my power, I try to think of an egg in a microwave. I have to keep the microwave's power just low enough so that the egg doesn't explode. I've been able to do it a few times, but I still haven't got the hang of it."

"Uh, that's a really lame picture to think of. Maybe it would help if you had a better metaphor."

"I never liked microwaves anyway!" Mankanshoku chimed in. "Whenever I put my soup in the microwave, the edges are always super hot but the center's always super cold! Why can't it just spread the heat out evenly?"

Wait, spread it out... evenly.

"Mankanshoku you're a genius!" Izuku exclaimed, pulling her in for a hug.

"I get called that a lot."

"What, a genius?" Ryuko asked.

"No, Mankanshoku!"

Izuku bolted out of the stands and ran all the way to the waiting room bursting with excitement.

Ryuko Matoi watched Midoriya dash out of the stands while grinning like a madman. What was that all about? For some reason it was like something just clicked inside of him. She didn't understand what microwaves had to do with that though.

But that wasn't important now. A very irritating face had the nerve to show up in the stands and Ryuko was itching to give him a piece of her mind. She didn't care how much he "respected" her, he still tried to hurt her friend! Though it looked like she was gonna have to wait her turn.

"Hey Bakugo, playing the villain huh?" Sero teased. "Must have been tough!"

"Even if it was just because of who you were up against, you did make a pretty convincing bad guy," Asui said.

Kaminari leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Seriously, I don't know how you could go all out on her like that. I couldn't help but hold back when I fought Jakuzure."

"Try not to break an arm jacking yourself off too hard Moron," Jakuzure drawled. "You never had a chance to begin with."

"Come on! Can't you just let me have this?"

"Shut up you idiots! Or else!" Bakugo screamed, only proving their points.

Ryuko pushed her way past her classmates until she was face to face with Bakugo. She expected him to scream or hit her, but surprisingly his expression didn't even change. Even if she wasn't involved, it was unnerving to see him so... tranquil.

"Did it feel good?" she asked. "Did it make you feel strong to throw your weight around, hurting a frail girl who can't fight back? I don't care what Aizawa says, I know that you look down on her just like you do to everyone else! If we end up fighting in the finals, I'm gonna-"

"She was anything but frail."

"What are you talking about?"

"We both wanted to win, so we both didn't hold anything back. Anything other than going all out would have been an insult to her. I thought I could win without trying, but she was actually pretty damn strong. If anyone here looks down on her, it's you."

"What? I- I don't look down on her!" Ryuko stammered. "Don't try to change the subject, I'm not the one who could have killed her!"

"Yeah I could have. Because I had to go all out or she might have beat me. If you respect her so much and don't think she's weak, then why do you think she didn't have a chance to win on her own?"

Ryuko didn't have an answer to that.

"You're insulting her ability by acting like she's some fragile thing for you to protect. You're the same as that damn nerd, trying to help people because it makes you feel superior to them. It's sickening. Now get out of my way!"

Bakugo roughly pushed her aside with his shoulder. Ryuko wanted to go after him, but his words stuck in her head, rendering her unable to move or think about anything else. She didn't think Uraraka was weak! And protecting her friends wasn't something she did to make herself feel better!

"You know, he kind of has a point," Senketsu said.

"Are you kidding me? You're siding with him too?"

"Not entirely, but I do think you're not giving Uraraka enough credit. She's fully capable on her own, you saw how she almost won. If she's your friend, why can't you have a little faith in her?"

"Because she might get hurt! She can't handle herself!" Ryuko said without thinking. "That didn't come out right. It's just... she's my friend, so she needs me to protect her, just like Mako needs me to save her when she gets in trouble. If I can't do that, then why would she want to be my friend? It's also why I can't let my friends to be the ones to help me."

"Why not? You're willing to put your faith in me and you let me help and protect you," Senketsu pointed out.

"That's different. We're not just friends. We're so much more than that. We're the same, two halves of one whole. We have the same goals and we share the same burdens. I can't drag my friends into that, not when it's not their fight."

Izuku Midoriya rushed out of the waiting room, excited for his match against Todoroki. He spoke with Uraraka as well, who seemed oddly chipper considering she just lost. He climbed up the stairs so fast that he almost bumped into someone.

"Ah, I was looking for you."

"Ah! En- Endeavor!"

Izuku's excitement had instantly been overwritten by sheer terror. The number two hero towered over him, the flames on his face only adding to his imposing presence. He'd been ranked the number one on the list of "Heroes That Look Like Villains" for five years in a row and it certainly showed.

"Hey, so what are you doing here?" he stammered.

"I saw you fight in the cavalry battle. Your power is pretty impressive. To create so much wind pressure just by swiping your arm across the air. It reminds me of another quirk. You seem to have a lot in common with All Might!"

Endeavor pointed a finger accusingly at him, but by now Izuku had gotten more comfortable with standing his ground. Was it possible he knew about One For All? No, he probably would have mentioned it by name. He was one person he definitely couldn't let know about All Might's secret.

"Oh. I guess I never thought about it that way. Sorry, but I really got to get going-"

"It's my Shoto's duty to surpass All Might as the number one hero," Endeavor continued, not caring that he was trying to leave. "And his match with you will be a good testing ground for how much training he has left. I tried getting through to your girlfriend, but she was very... stubborn. Hopefully you'll be more reasonable."

Wait, was he talking about Ryuko?

"She's not my girlfriend-"

"So hit him hard! Push him to his limits, make him use my quirk! Don't disgrace yourself or him by holding back! That's all. I apologize for bothering you."

Was Endeavor really asking him to beat up his own son just so he could mold him however he wanted? Now Izuku could kind of understand why Todoroki was so set on defying his father, why he wanted to win without his help. But winning by using his left side didn't have to mean that he was relying on Endeavor! They both needed to realize that.

"Endeavor, I am not All Might." Izuku said. "And the same goes for Todoroki. He may be your son, but he isn't you!"

"All Might? What are you doing here?"

"Hey kid! Sorry we haven't been able to talk much, but I just wanted to come out here and wish you good luck before the fight! Looks like you're starting out with a pretty tough opponent already."

If running into Endeavor wasn't enough of a surprise, All Might had stopped him right as Izuku was about to enter the battlefield. It was a good thing he did though, since there was a question he needed to ask.

"I know I'm not ready to use One For All, I don't think I will be for a long time. But if you had to say, how much of it could I use without hurting myself?"

All Might put his finger to his chin and thought for a few seconds. "Your training has been coming along pretty well so far, but my best guess as to how much of One For All you can use safely is around 5%."

Izuku nodded. It was a lot less than he had hoped for. But if Mankanshoku was right, that might be all he needed.

"Thanks All Might. To be honest, I'm still pretty nervous about this fight. I mean, I've only got this far because of a lot of good luck-"

All Might lightly whacked him over the head, making him bite his tongue. "All I want to hear you say is that you'll do your best, damn it! There's no such thing as luck and you'll never be the hero you want to be if you believe in stuff like that!"

Steam was now rising up from underneath his clothes and he quickly transformed into his hero form. "LISTEN, WHENEVER YOU FEEL NERVOUS ABOUT A FIGHT, JUST TRY DEALING WITH IT BY SMILING! EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE NERVOUS YOU STILL HAVE TO STAND TALL! YOU'VE GOTTEN THIS FAR KID! AND REMEMBER THAT I'LL BE CHEERING FOR YOU THE WHOLE TIME!"

Izuku smiled and stepped out onto the battlefield.

"Thank you for your patience everyone! We've finally repaired the battlefield and it's time for the final match of the first round! You can just feel the anticipation in this stadium! And that's because this match is gonna be epic! Both of these competitors have been frontrunners in the festival, but only one of them can move on!"

The walk to the center of the battlefield felt like it took an hour. Despite how large the stadium was and the thousands of people cheering loudly, Izuku's eyes were glued to Todoroki the entire time.

"Our first fighter has one cool quirk! He got into UA through recommendation, it's the Hero Course's Shoto Todoroki! But his opponent packs quite a punch too! While he hasn't used it too much, it looks like he's finally gonna show us what he's really capable of! From the Hero Course, it's Izuku Midoriya!"

Izuku and Todoroki stopped with only a few meters between them. Their declaration of was finally about to reach its conclusion, one way or another. Todoroki was the first to speak.

"So here we are."

"And only one of us can win!"

"Both of the heroes in training have clashed quite a few times throughout this festival! But which one of these rivals will advance to the next round? Prepare for Midoriya versus Todoroki! Let the final match of the first round... begin!"

Izuku started channeling One For All at 5%. Not into his finger, or his arm, or his leg, but his entire body. His mistake was thinking of One For All as something special he could only call upon to specific parts of his body, leaving some parts "hot" and others "cold". He felt the surge of power spread evenly throughout his body, just like Mankanshoku said. Now he was ready!

"One For All: Full Cowling!"

A/N: Well, it's been exactly one year since I started writing this fic. I didn't really know what to expect when I set out to write this, but I'm pretty happy where it is right now. I will admit that I haven't gotten as far as I wanted to by this point, I definitely underestimated how long and hard it is to write these chapters. It's been an incredible journey so far, one that I'm sure will continue for years to come. Thank you for all your support!

Also there's a fight to break down, Iida vs. Tokoyami!

Gonna be honest, I think Tokoyami would win, especially now that he's come up with Black Ankh earlier than in canon. He's pretty darn fast too, so Iida would have to use Recipro if he wanted to ensure that Tokoyami couldn't react to him or hit him. Having access to their costumes made things more even than if they fought without them though, since Iida's allows him to speed up Recipro's recovery according to the wiki. I still think Tokoyami wins at least 7/10 due to his better defense and range with Dark Shadow, but I wanted Iida to win so he could have a speedster battle with Sanageyama in the next round.