Chapter 8: Onward and Upward

Midoriya shook himself out of the daze he was in. He could worry about how to knock some sense into Todoroki later, right now he needed food. Otherwise there was no way he was going to make it through the tournament. He rounded the corner, and nearly bumped into All Might. "Oh, All Might!"

"Ah, there you are, young Midoriya!" All Might said, with take-out box in hand, "I brought you some food since I didn't see you at the cafeteria. What kept you?"

Midoriya took the offered box and plopped down with his back against the wall. He just didn't have the time to find somewhere else to eat. He cracked the box open to find a tonkatsu with takoyaki on the side. Either his mom had told All Might what foods he liked, or he had been keeping track himself. After wolfing down two of the takoyaki, he started to explain. "Todoroki pulled me aside. He led with asking me if I'm your secret love child."

All Might had heard some wild theories about himself throughout his years as a hero ~the theory about him actually being Hawks and Endeavor in a trench coat was a personal favorite- but this one? It took the cake. "Oh."

"Yeah. I denied it. But he went on to tell me how he swore he would never use his flames, and why." He tore off a chunk of the tonkatsu, after chewing and swallowing, he continued. "Endeavor is an absolute bastard."

All Might knelt down beside his successor, "Young- Izuku, what did Shoto tell you?" Midoriya would never be that outright with vitriol normally. "What did Endeavor do?"

"Training Todoroki to the point of abuse. Pushing his mom so far into a nervous breakdown that she poured boiling water over the left side of his face because it looked too much like Endeavor."

All Might rocked back on his heels. Oh no. This... was not good. Then Midoriya pulled the ripcord.

"He did a Quirk Marriage."

All Might flopped down on the floor next to Midoriya and dropped his muscle form. It was a good thing that he was only wearing his suit and not his costume. The enormity of what Endeavor, the rival that he had never asked for or acknowledged was willing to do to surpass him crashed down on him. Abuse. Unethical practices. What amounted to eugenics in a superhuman society. "Izuku... I... I don't know what the right thing to do here is."

"I do."

All Might turned to look at Midoriya, "Kid, I don't mean this to be harsh, but how do you know what-"

"Whether he knows it or not, Todoroki is heading down the same path as his father, one where he inflicts his hatred and spite on everyone and everything in his path, all to surpass some stupid arbitrary ranking." Midoriya said, "I told him that he won't be able to beat me if he only uses his right side. I'm going to make good on that."

All Might put a hand on Midoriya's shoulder, "That means you'll have to make it to the final round. They released the bracket, and you and Todoroki are on opposite sides... and you most likely will have to beat Bakugo to get to him."

Midoriya ate the last takoyaki before responding. "Then that's what I'll do. After all, it's a hero's job to turn their promises into reality."

For a moment All Might wished that he had Sir Nighteye's Quirk, so he could see Midoriya's future, see the hero would that he would become. In his mind's eye memories flashed by. The powerless boy dashing towards a villain holding his childhood bully captive, when all of the heroes at the scene were more concerned with waiting for someone with a suitable Quirk to show up. The boy with a wild grin on his face jumping in at two of the most dangerous villains in the country, all to save... him. He pulled his pocket watch out of his pocket and checked the time. "It's just about time. You're up first, so you'd better get to the ready room."

"Wait, I'm first? Who am I fighting?" Midoriya jumped to his feet and offered All Might a hand up.

After Midoriya had hauled him back on his feet, All Might resumed his muscle form. "Hitoshi Shinso. Would you like some advice?"

Midoriya opened his mouth then closed it again, "No. I think I'll be fine."

All Might laughed, "Go on, kid. Show them what you can do."

Midoriya turned on his heel and made for the ready room. "Yes, sir."

He had his goal in sight. Now all he had to do was make another miracle, just like he did at the USJ.


Midoriya barely had time to text his mom, to tell her that he had made it to the finals before he was ushered to the arena entrance. He knelt down to check that his shoes were tied nice and tight, then stood ready. The crowd was starting to get noisy, which could only mean it was almost time to start.

"Alright, sports fans! Who's ready for this tournament to get underway?" Present Mic said. The crowd hooted and hollered, making it obvious that they were ready. "Hoo boy, it sure sounds like you're ready! Luckily., the first two fledgling heroes are too! To my right we have... well, he really hasn't done anything notable, but he's made it this far! It's Hitoshi Shinso!" The crowd cheered, but it was rather muted compared to earlier. Maybe they weren't sure how much to cheer?

After a few seconds, Present Mic started talking again, "On my left we have a man who will go to any lengths to win, no risk to life and limb is too great, whether he's dashing through minefields or clinging to cliffs! It's Izuku Midoriya!"

Midoriya walked down the path to the arena at a measured pace. Before the Obstacle Race, the cheers of the crowd had been distracting to the point of anxiety. Now he paid it no mind, it was just a distraction. He climbed the steps to the arena and immediately noticed the glare from Shinso. It almost reminded him of the glare that Aizawa-sensei would give the class when he wanted them to quiet down.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if Cementoss had patterned the arena off of a certain piece of pre-Quirk media that connoisseurs referred to as one of the 'ancient classics'.

Midnight had microphone in hand once more, "For the folks at home, I'll explain the rules. The time limit for the fights from here on out are fifteen minutes. Win conditions are as follows. If you ring out your opponent, get them to surrender, or beat them so bad that they are unable to fight, then you win. Also, these fights are no holds barred. Killing and maiming is prohibited, other than that it's all fair game!"

Midoriya adopted a boxing stance, learned from countless hours of cardio training with All Might. He took a deep breath in through his mouth and let it out through his nose. This was it.

Midnight slashed her riding crop through the air, "Begin!"

One For All: Full Cowling, at five percent!

Emerald lightning began to crackle along his body, and he dashed at Shinso at full speed. Shinso wasn't making any move to attack or dodge. Why? What was his game? His Quirk even? Since he hadn't used it yet there had to be some sort of trigger, right? As he got closer, he saw the bags under his eyes.

It hit him like a truck. No visible sign of mutations for an emitter type. Pronounced bags under his eyes. Maybe... Hayes-Wilczak Syndrome? A mental type Quirk? But what could it be, if Shinso thought that all he had to do to win was just stand there...

Shinso interrupted his train of thought with a question as Midoriya neared him. "You've got such an amazing Quirk. You've been so blessed, haven't you?"

Completely unexpected. The only verbal communication that Midoriya was used to during a fight was Bakugo's insults. "You're right, I have. But that's why-"

Midoriya came to a halt mere foot from Shinso. It felt like the entire world had been knocked off of its axis. Mentally he was screaming at his body, telling it to punch Shinso. One Detroit Smash would finish it! He knew how far back it would send a target because of his training with Yaoyorozu, so why couldn't he do it?

"Turn around and walk out of the ring."

Midoriya's body began to obey instantly.


Yaoyorozu watched from the stands with growing dread as she realized what was happening, Present Mic's commentary only cemented it.

Brainwashing, Shinso's Quirk. It allowed him to control the actions of whoever answered one of his questions.

"Midoriya, what are you doing?" Iida yelled, "You'll be disqualified!"

"Come on! Don't let it end like this!" Uraraka cried.

"Come on!" Mineta said, "This isn't like the guy that saved my ass in the USJ! WAKE UP!"

Soon, their whole class ~sans Todoroki and Bakugo- were on their feet, calling out to their friend.

He was a step away from the point of no return.

It had to be now.

Yaoyorozu shot to her feet, grabbed the railing in front of her, and screamed at the top of her lungs. "WAKE UP, MISTER MIRACLE!"


There was nothing that Midoriya could do.

His body wouldn't listen to him, his mind was in a fog. Worst of all, he could hear his friends all shouting encouragement, encouragement that would amount to wasted effort.

He couldn't even cry like he wanted to. All of his progress, finally standing up to Bakugo, his ultimatum to Todoroki... meant nothing now.

He recklessly reached for One For All, remembering what Yaoyorozu had told him during that first time she had helped with his training, that it was more mental and even emotional than other power up type Quirks...

He saw something through the mental fog. Eight people wreathed in shadow, their eyes glowing a bright yellow. One liked vaguely like All Might, and another had some sort of scar down the side of his face...

Were they the past wielders of One For All?

Help me! Please!

They simply pointed. Towards the student section of the stands. Then a voice that seemed to come from on high broke through and woke him from his stupor.

"WAKE UP, MISTER MIRACLE!"

Yaoyorozu!

The effects of Shinso's Quirk were swept away, whether by Yaoyorozu's call or by the power of One For All, Midoriya had no idea. All he knew was that he was back in the game. He sucked down several breaths as he carefully made sure to keep both of his feet inbounds.

"How the hell did you break out?" Shinso demanded, "That's not possible! What did you do?"

Midoriya clamped his hand over his mouth. That's it. Answering a question of his is the trigger. I've got this. Just can't say a word.

Once more, Midoriya charged. No mistakes this time. Shinso swung at him with a wild right hook, but he ducked out of the way and countered with a gut punch. While Shinso was still reeling, he started pushing him towards the arena boundary.

He received a punch to the face for his trouble. A punch from a largely untrained combatant. Even without One For All, Midoriya knew that he could handle those all day along. "Don't you see how unfair this is? I want to be a hero too! But I can't because my Quirk was completely unsuited to the entrance exam!" Shinso said, his desperation mounting, "The Sports Festival is my only way forward, and I can't do that if I lose here!"

Tears fell from Midoriya's eyes that had nothing to do with his bloody nose. He knew exactly how Shinso felt, but right now... in this moment, he couldn't accept his feelings. Because if he did, and lost, not only would he not be able to help Todoroki, but he would be letting down everyone who'd supported him so far! His mom, All Might, Aizawa-sensei... Yaoyorozu... no. He could not, would not lose here. He broke out into a grin as more punches landed.

"What the hell are you smiling for?" Shinso demanded, "You're no better than that Bakugo brat!"

Shinso made a critical mistake. He pushed the Bakugo button. He shouldn't have done that. Midoriya modulated One For All to ten percent and let loose with a barrage of punches, following All Might's example from the USJ. Each punch was targeted and contained all the power he could safely use right now.

Up in the faculty section, All Might was bursting with pride.

Midoriya finished his onslaught of blows with an uppercut, sending Shinso out of bounds.

"With a blistering barrage of blows, Shinso is finally knocked out of bounds!" Present Mic said, "Your winner is IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

Midoriya ran over to Shinso and offered him a hand up. "Are you okay?" He asked, "I'm sorry, I overdid it at the end there."

Shinso just stared at him. "Why do you care? This year was my only real chance at joining the hero course, now that everyone knows my Quirk..."

He was about to sway Midoriya's hand away when someone else spoke. "Take his hand."

Both of them looked to their left to see Aizawa.

"Why should I?" Shinso asked.

"Because it will be your next step forward." Aizawa said, "This will be your starting line, Hitoshi Shinso."

He looked back at Midoriya, then took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. The crowd when nuts, and Midnight said something about the enthusiasm of youth that Midoriya was about sixty-nine percent sure was an innuendo for something.

Aizawa nodded. "Good. Come with me, Shinso."

As they walked off, Midoriya was pretty sure he heard Aizawa tell Shinso that it will be hell.

Yeah, he had been there.


The next match was Tenya Iida versus Mei Hatsume.

Mei tricked Iida into using her support items, and as such, he became a walking billboard for the next ten minutes as she showed off all of her inventions to the support company reps that were watching.

Mei forfeited after she was finished. Iida was incredibly upset that she had taken advantage of him like that, and that he hadn't won his match fair and square.

It only made him more determined to beat Midoriya in his next match.


While Ochako Uraraka had been in the stands for Iida's match, all of her focus had been internal. She had a problem. She had only wanted to ever be a rescue focused hero, but now... she had to fight Bakugo. Who was probably the most battle focused person in Class 1-A. Who was standing in her way of making sure that her parents could stop working themselves to the bone so she could go to UA, so she could make sure that they could finally take that vacation to Hawaii...

Crap.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh?" She looked up to find the worried faces of Midoriya, Iida, and Yaoyorozu. "Oh... yeah. Just thinking about how I' and all." In the background, Present Mic was announcing the match between Kaminari and Shiozaki.

Midoriya produced a notebook and pen from somewhere. "Okay, I think that I can come up with something for you, you just have to-"

"No." Uraraka said.

"Uh, no what?" Midoriya asked.

Iida glanced at her, "Uraraka, if you go in without a plan, there's no way that you'll beat him!"

Uraraka looked at her friends again, meeting their concern with determination. "It's alright. I have a plan. I'll beat him."

Midoriya closed his notebook and studied her face, there was something specific he was looking for. There, in the eyes. That fire, that burning drive to win. "Okay."

Yaoyorozu did a double take as Uraraka waked off. "Midoriya, if Bakugo goes after her like she did you in the battle training..."

"It won't be like that." Midoriya said with confidence, "In fact, I'm going to make a prediction. When the media does their breakdowns and rankings of the fights like they always do, Bakugo and Uraraka's fight will be in the top ten."

"How can you be so sure?" Iida asked, "There's a large disparity in their combat ability."

"Only because Uraraka hasn't gone out of her way to hone it yet." Midoriya pointed out, "Sometimes a trial by fire is the only way to turn your weaknesses on their head and make them into strengths."

"You were looking for something in her just now, Midoriya." Yaoyorozu said, "What was it?"

"The one thing that will make Bakugo take any opponent seriously."

Yaoyorozu and Iida glanced at each other. "What's that?" Iida asked.

Midoriya looked at him, "Strength."


Bakugo cracked his knuckles. It was time for him to knock the first extra off of the board on his path to victory, on his path to being Number One. Present Mic was doing his thing, and it was just so annoying. Honestly, he'd prefer Aizawa-sensei kicking that loudmouth windbag out of the announcer's booth and do everything himself. At least then the match would have started by now.

He glared at... who was he fighting? Round Face, that's right. Remembering that only made him angrier. He couldn't remember her Quirk, but he did remember how excited she was about Thirteen. Even if she only wanted to become a Rescue Hero, she had fought her way here. That alone warranted caution. "You're the one that screws with gravity, right, Round Face?"

She blanched, "Round Face?"

Typical. Oh well, might as well give her an out. "I ain't gonna pull my punches, so if you don't want to get hurt, then forfeit." Besides, if she backs out, I won't have to worry about why I notice things like how her face lights up when- shit, I'm doing it again.

"Begin!"

Uraraka lunged, running straight for him. Bakugo blinked. He had not been expecting her to want a straight fight. Maybe this wouldn't be a total waste of time. Gotta counter. If she tags me while I'm dodging, I'm done. Just as she was about to reach him, he let loose with an explosion, blowing her back.

As soon as she hit the ground, she scrambled to her feet and charged again, full tilt and low to the ground. "You're not the only one who can't afford to lose, Bakugo!" She yelled.

There was something... something in that grin she had on her face. Something that pulled him in. What was it? His hand scraped across the arena floor as he set off another explosion, sending Round Face reeling again.

The smoke from his blasts from his explosions was going to make this difficult. She'd probably try to take advantage. He reacted to the next movement he saw and blasted away. Only to see the remains of a scorched UA PE uniform. Clever, Round Face. But-

A flicker of movement behind him.

He used explosions to send himself into a spin, then set off another once she was in sight, Again and again she came at him, always the same strategy. Damn, Deku. If this is the strat you gave her, you're either slipping or knew she didn't have a prayer.

The crowd began to voice their displeasure with Bakugo's tactics, namely the tactic of blow your opponent up until they can't move anymore. Whatever. They didn't get it. They didn't see the fire in Round Face's eyes. The determination in her smile. He glanced at the scoreboard. So, Uraraka's your name, huh? Alright then, Uraraka. Let's go.

"Hey, how do you think you'll be a hero if you just act like a bully! This isn't how a hero should act! If you're so much better, then stop toying with her!"

"Stop the match!"

Seriously? How was he the only person who got it? Even those D-list Sidekicks in the audience should get it!

"Who started this uproar?"

Bakugo froze when he heard Aizawa's voice thunder out of the speakers. Was he coming to his defense?

Aizawa continued, "Because if you're a Hero, you've forgotten how to fight properly. Rule one: Always take your opponent seriously. If you can't handle a first-year student understanding that better than you, go home and hang up your cape, you hack."

Bakugo grinned as Uraraka rose once more, "That's right, we ain't finished yet." His hands began to spark with mini-blasts as she wiped some grime off of her face. "You ain't dead yet, so show me what you're really made of! COME ON!"

Uraraka brought her hands together. "Be careful what you wish for, Bakugo." She said, "Release!"

Wait, what? Release? But that would mean... oh. Hahaha, you're no extra, Uraraka! You're the real deal! He looked up and saw all of the debris suspended in midair, falling towards him. Can't take any chances... this is gonna hurt. He thrust one of his arms skyward and screamed as he set off his strongest blast. The debris was reduced to pebbles, and the blast wave sent introduced Uraraka to the arena floor once more.

As she rose from the rubble, there was still that damned smile on her face. Teeth gritted, determined, wild...

Beautiful.

Bakugo glanced at his spasming arm. He was tapped out thanks to his full power blast. He would have to risk hand to hand. "The real fight starts now!" He yelled, "Let's go, Uraraka!"

He ran at her for the first time. She took two steps before falling down. Bakugo stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to make of this new emotion that made it feel like his heart was in a vise.

Uraraka tried in vain to push herself back up. "Come on, body! Move!" Her attempts to get back on her feet turned into her crawling towards Bakugo, "I can still fight!"

It didn't hit like a bolt from the blue. It wasn't one singular moment. The realization that he had been fighting against for weeks finally took hold now that they had fought.

Midnight called the match in his favor. The crowd responded. He didn't notice.

Bakugo didn't notice because the realization he had come to was dragging him down, just like a gravity well. He was falling for Ochako Uraraka. He then proceeded to articulate his acknowledgment of this fact with every bit of eloquence at his disposal.

"Fuck."


Uraraka opened her eyes to see the ceiling of the recovery room. To her right, Kaminari was still dealing with the aftermath of making himself stupid during his loss. Wait, why was Jiro sitting with him? And singing to him?

Jiro locked eyes with Uraraka, glanced back at Kaminari and shrugged. "He's cute, I guess?"

"Yaay!"

Uraraka rolled her eyes. Mina was going to have a field day when she found out about them.

"Uraraka?"

At hearing Recovery Girl's voice, Uraraka hauled herself into a sitting position. She winced at a twinge of pain in her midsection. She was definitely going to be sore in the morning. "Yeah?"

"You're free to go, I've healed the worst of your injuries." Recovery Girl said, "Take some candy. Do you prefer chocolate or hard candy?"

Uraraka gingerly tested her ability to put weight on her feet. "Uh, do you have lemon cough drops?"

Recovery Girl shot her a look before reaching into a drawer and handing her a cough drop. "Kids these days!" She monologued, "You offer them candy, and they ask for cough drops!"

"What did I miss?" Uraraka asked.

"Not much, to be honest." Jiro said, "Kirishima and Tetsutetsu went at it for ten minutes before Tetsutetsu went down. Apparently he has to worry about metal fatigue? And you just missed Sero, he got frozen solid by Todoroki. They're taking a break until they can clean up the ice."

A buzzing in her pocket told her that it was time to go. "Okay, guess I'll head up to the stands."

As soon as she made it out the door, she fished her cell phone out of her pocket and answered it. "Hey, Dad." She turned towards the wall and pressed against it. The cool concrete felt good against her forehead, and in a weird but comforting way reminded her of home.

"Hey, Ochako! The whole crew watched your fight!"

"You mean everyone saw me lose." Uraraka said, "I needed to win, Dad. That's how you get noticed, the difference between being an eternal sidekick and an independent hero."

Her dad chuckled on the other end of the line, "Well, I may not know much about the hero business, but what I do know is how to build something to last. And what's the first step to doing that?"

Uraraka laughed, "First, you cry a little."

"First, you cry a little. And then you get off your ass and start laying the foundation. By my estimation, you've already done that.I'm sure some agencies will notice how ingenious your plan was. Hell, from what Present Mic was going on about, none of the pros watching the match noticed until after. I bet they'll be chomping at the bit for you to intern with them for sneaking that one under their noses."

She smiled through the tears. Step one, after all. "Thanks, Dad. I just..."

"No worries, Jonouchi keeps going on about how you'll be a great hero. You know, one of his feelings."

Jonouchi was one of her father's long-time employees, a Japanese American who refused to give up his Brooklyn accent, and had a luck Quirk. Not powerful enough for hero work, but good enough to detect accidents before they happened. "Tell him he's right. Like hell I'll let this stop me."

"Atta girl. Gotta get back to it. We're starting on the I-Beams today, and you know how sketchy those can get."

Uraraka knew exactly what was going to happen. "Mom's going to insist on doing the tricky welds herself, isn't she?"

A snort from the other end of the line. "She's already strapping on the harness. Love you."

"Love you too, Dad."


By the time Uraraka made it back to the stands, Mineta was already needling Bakugo about the match. "Just what are you into, mister? Knocking around a frail girl like that?"

Everyone else went silent, because they could see that Uraraka had just walked up. The only person who didn't know that was Bakugo.

"And that's why you'll top out at D-List Sidekick, you creep." Bakugo snapped, "Because apparently you were watching a different fight. There ain't anything frail about Uraraka."

Bakugo looked around for a moment and saw that everyone else was looking at him. "What the hell are you extras looking at?"

Uraraka cleared her throat.

Bakugo froze then turned around. "Uh... you heard that?"

"Yep."

"Shit. Well, not shit. Like, I didn't plan on you hearing it. But it's fine. I still mean it."

Out of the corner of her eye, Uraraka saw Midoriya doubled over in silent laughter, or rather he was trying very hard to keep from laughing out loud. "I'm surprised you even bothered with the compliments. Aren't I a damned extra?"

Bakugo paled, then immediately shook his head, "Nah, I mean- No. You're strong."

Everyone was confused, even Kirishima. "Hey, Midoriya? You speak Bakugo, right?"

By some miracle, Midoriya regained his composure. His hand shot up to his head as if he had a headache. "Uh..."

"YOU SAY A WORD, DEKU, AND I'LL MAKE SURE THEY HAVE TO CARRY YOU OUT ON A STRECHER!"

Uraraka noticed the look of barely contained rage on Yaoyorozu's face -yeah, definitely a vein pulsing- and decided to take drastic action before she could. Namely, trying to copy one of her mom's lectures. Her dressing downs of disobedient employees were legendary,

"Bakugo?"

"Yeah, what?"

Now or never. And Uraraka dove right in. "Shut the fuck up."

Silence reigned.

"The hell did you-" Bakugo started.

Uraraka didn't let him get going. Never raise your voice, never raise your hand. "I told you to shut the fuck up. Ever since you've gotten to UA, you've done nothing but treat Midoriya like shit, and you know what? I'm sick of it. Am I as close to him as Yaoyorozu? No, but I am still his friend, and I am stopping this now. First it was the fitness test, then it was the battle training, and now this shit. I don't know why you hate him so much, and frankly I don't care. It. Ends. Now. Am I understood?"

"You don't understand-"

Uraraka cut right to the quick, "And what is it that I don't understand, Bakugo?"

Bakugo opened his mouth to say something, then decided otherwise, not meeting Uraraka's eyes.

"I see. Well, until you decide that you can explain to me why you treat Midoriya the way you do, you and I have nothing left to say to each other." She began to walk back to her seat.

Bakugo let out a strangled gasp, "What?"

She turned back, "You heard me. And another thing, as long as you treat the rest of your classmates that aren't me or Kirishima like they're extras in a shonen manga, I don't want your respect." She turned her back on him and returned to her seat next to Iida and Midoriya.

It was such an effective telling off, that no one dared to comment on it, not even Mineta. As it was, only Jiro -who arrived after the fact- heard Bakugo's response with her Quirk.

"Yes, ma'am." Bakugo mumbled. Shortly afterwards he left without comment.

Iida was the first to break the silence. "That was quite the display. Uraraka. If overly vulgar."

Uraraka shrugged, "Well, my parents are construction workers, so I... picked up the lingo?"

"Someone pinch me." Midoriya said.

"Why?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Because I need to make sure I'm not dreaming." Midoriya shook his head to realign himself, "Okay, serious now. We need to make sure to not make light of what just happened."

"Why?" Kaminari asked, "Seems like the perfect opportunity to take Explosion Boy down a peg."

"No, you don't understand " Midoriya explained, "No one has ever put him in his place like that before, this could be a catalyst for actual change."

"Let's say I believe you." Iida said. Bakugo overcoming his current personality defects would be crucial for his success as a hero, and as his class president, Iida did want to see him succeed. "What's the next step?"

"I beat you and meet him in the semi-finals. Sorry." For his part, Midoriya did actually look apologetic.

Iida raised an eyebrow, "You do realize that I I have no intention of throwing our fight, yes?"

"I would never ask you to do that, Iida." Midoriya said, "I know how important this is to everyone still in it. But..." He glanced over at Todoroki, eh I had been sitting on the opposite side, "There's someone who needs my help."

"And after that?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Right, Bakugo. It's simple, really." Midoriya grinned, but it was all teeth. "I provoke him."


The next match of the first round was Tokoyami versus Ashido. Using Dark Shadow to outmaneuver her, Tokoyami scored an overwhelming victory.

However, Yaoyorozu noticed that what acid did land on Dark Shadow not only affected them, but also Tokoyami, as he was trying to shake acid off of his arms that wasn't there. She smiled. She knew what she was going to do.

Assuming she beat Aoyama in the next fight.


To be fair to Aoyama, his Navel Laser was a powerful Quirk, but Yaoyorozu had... reflected on a plan to deal with him.

Present Mic continued to earn his reputation as everyone's hype man. "Well, my partner in announcing has fallen asleep, and will likely remain asleep until something exciting happens, so let's keep it going to the next fight! We have the one-woman armory, Momo Yaoyorozu versus the literal living laser, Yuga Aoyama!"

Aoyama struck a pose before attempting to trash talk her. "Pardon, Yaoyorozu, but you will not be advancing further."

Yaoyorozu didn't take the bait or respond to the taunt. She was too busy recalling how to construct the item she needed to win this fight.

"Begin!"

The instant the fight began, Aoyama let loose with a blast from his laser. Yaoyorozu rolled to the left and created a hand mirror.

For whatever reason unknown to gods or men, Aoyama decided to use this moment to gloat instead of having anything resembling situational awareness. "Just admit that you can't stop my twinkle!" He fired another beam.

Yaoyorozu held up the mirror, angled to reflect the beam back at Aoyama. Everything acted exactly like physics said it was supposed to. The laser bounced back and hit Aoyama in the chest, causing him to stumble back. Yaoyorozu stayed where she was. Aoyama could do nothing against her at range now, and if he decided to attempt to close to melee range, she would have the upper hand.

Aoyama looked at the mirror, then back at Yaoyorozu. Despite realizing that she had drawn him into a situation where it was impossible for him to win, he was still smiling.

Even if it was clearly fake.

He turned around and jumped, his laser sending him flying through the air. Yaoyorozu couldn't believe it. Why did Aoyama think it was acceptable to turn his back on an enemy? Unexpected? Yes. Foolhardy? Also yes.

She created twin sets of bolas and threw them at the rapidly approaching Aoyama. For whatever reason he had kept his arms at his sides, which enabled the first set of bolas to bind his arms, and the second to bind his legs. To his credit, he did land on his feet. For all of two seconds before he lost his balance and fell over.

"Aoyama is unable to continue!" Midnight announced, "Yaoyorozu is the winner!"

Yaoyorozu bowed to her opponent in the Classical Japanese style -she was a lady of refinement, after all- to the applause of the crowd. There was the first hurdle cleared.

She had no illusions about her next opponent. It would be a difficult fight. She needed to plan.


As it turned out, most everyone cleared out of the student section during the break before the next round. As fate would have it, this left Yaoyorozu and Midoriya alone. He was poring over his notes on Iida's Quirk, complete with his trademark rambling,

"He can keep pace with five percent Full Cowling with little effort, but his speed is almost all straight line. My turning radius is a lot tighter, plus I have Delaware Smash for quick direction changes... but if I'm not careful, I'll knock myself out of bounds..."

Yaoyorozu couldn't help but listen to his mutterstorm with a smile on her face. It was fascinating how Midoriya's mind worked, how he deconstructed a problem into its base components and rotated them around until he found a solution. It was also adorable. "How did you learn to do this? Analyze Quirks and situations like this?" Yaoyorozu asked when Midoriya finally took a breath.

"Oh, uh... I learned Quirk stuff from my mom, and everything else from Dad more or less." Midoriya said somberly, "Dad never stopped believing that I could become a hero, even when we found out that I was- well, we know I'm not Quirkless now, but..."

"What about your mom?" Yaoyorozu asked, "Did she stop believing in you?"

"For a while, yeah." Midoriya admitted, "At least when it came to being a hero. But after my Quirk finally manifested, she promised that she wouldn't lose faith again."

Yaoyorozu thought she already knew after overhearing Midoriya's mutterings during their first training session, but she had to ask. "What happened to your father?"

Midoriya swallowed, "Um... he died in a villain attack." He had recalled what details of the attack he knew instantly but waited a second until he could arrange them in a way that made sense, "Dad worked as a security guard at a Quirk research lab. Some real hush-hush stuff, since he had to sign NDAs and all."

Yaoyorozu's eyebrows shot into the stratosphere. That got her attention. What had they been working on that had brought villains down on them?

"It was the night of All Might's defeat of Gigantomachia." Midoriya continued to explain, "During the battle, villains attacked the lab. According to the cops, Dad confronted the villains, letting everyone else get away."

"Do you know how he died?" Yaoyorozu asked. That was something that the police usually shared.

"Mom wouldn't tell me. I'm pretty sure she just wanted to make sure I wouldn't have nightmares over it." Midoriya joked weakly, he looked back at Yaoyorozu, "I guess that's why I want to be a hero so badly. Because I want to be a hero who saves everyone, like All Might." He wiped away the tears pricking at his eyes, "And just like my dad."

Yaoyorozu used her Quirk to produce a handkerchief and wiped away a tear that had started to run down his cheek. "And I'll be right by your side, Midoriya." She blushed, "At least, that's my plan."

Midoriya smiled, "It's a very good plan. One I wouldn't change for the world."

"Good." Yaoyorozu said with a smirk on her face, "Because I already got it notarized. It would such an ordeal to change it now."

Midoriya wanted to banter back, but then he remembered what battles lay ahead of him. "I need to apologize in advance, Yaoyorozu."

"What for?" She asked, her head tilting quizzically.

"In the rest of my fights today, if things end up going the way I think they will, then it's a given that I'll get hurt. There's no way around it, especially for Todoroki."

Yaoyorozu blinked. Todoroki? What was going on there? He had pulled Midoriya away for a talk, sure. But... "Todo- What's going on between you two?"

Midoriya hung his head. "A lot of the stuff he told me he told me in confidence, so I can't repeat it." He ran a hand through his hair until his fingers got tangled up and he huffed in frustration. "He accused me of being All Might's secret love child."

Yaoyorozu's jaw dropped. While it was true that she had entertained that theory for about two seconds before realizing how absurd it was, the fact that someone would actually follow through on asking Midoriya about it was also absurd. "He.. what?"

"Yeah. Then he told me a bunch of stuff about Endeavor." Midoriya's voice took on an edge that Yaoyorozu hadn't heard from him very often. "Endeavor's a bastard."

Yaoyorozu laid a hand on his shoulder, "Midoriya, it's clear you need to get this off your chest. I won't tell a soul."

"Quirk Marriage."

Yaoyorozu's eyes widened in alarm, "Endeavor did what?"

"That's only the tip of the iceberg." Midoriya said, "And in his hatred of his father and refusal to use the fire half of his Quirk, Todoroki is unwittingly heading down the same exact path that led Endeavor to this point. I'm going to put a stop to it."

Yaoyorozu pinched the bridge of her nose, "And you have to beat Bakugo to get there."

"And to continue what Uraraka started, I have to score a decisive victory against both Iida and Bakugo." Midoriya explained, "It's the only way to get Bakugo to finally talk with me honestly."

Yaoyorozu ground her teeth. As far as she was concerned, Bakugo was a lost cause. "What if that doesn't happen?"

Midoriya's eyes clouded over as he recalled a time when everything was so much simpler. When his dad was still alive, and Bakugo hadn't replaced Kaachan. "I don't know."


Iida answered his phone. "Hello, Mother. Have you been watching the-"

"Tenya, it's Tensei. He's in the hospital."

Iida froze. There was no joking tone in his mother's voice, so it wasn't about the airbags that Tensei had installed in his suit. "What happened?"

"The Hero Killer."


A/N: I seem to be physically incapable of ending a chapter without a cliffhanger. Anyways. Some important things in this chapter.

Does Midoriya break out of Brainwashing with the power of love? Well yes, but actually no. It has to do with One For All's apparent resistance to being controlled or dominated by outside forces. It just happened that Yaoyorozu's shout was the catalyst that allowed Midoriya to use that particular aspect of One For All, instead of breaking a finger.

So, yeah. Bakugo finally realized his feelings for Uraraka as only Bakugo could. He's got some development he has to get through before there's any sort of progress there. Post-Stain arc at the earliest.

Speaking of Uraraka. Her reading of the Riot Act to Bakugo is significant. It marks the first time that someone has been able to put Bakugo in his place without resorting to smacking him around.

Yes. I said what I said there. I'm not treating that as a joke.

And the chapter closes out with some overwhelming cuteness from Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. ALSO, I finally reveal what happened to Hisashi Midoriya. But there's still questions. What was that lab working on? Who was the villain? Those questions will be answered in time.

Now, there's some reviews I need to respond to publicly.

For those that have informed me how I've accidentally mishandled All Might's diabetes, thank you. I'll be making edits where appropriate. However: To the person who told me that 65 is not a low blood sugar level. The CDC says that low blood sugar is from 55-69. That's what I'm going off of, and will continue to go off of.

Now, let's talk power scaling. Yes, Drexymord, I'm talking about your review. So, Yaoyorozu in canon is an actual literal case of wasted potential. One of the reasons I decided to write this fic was to give her a chance to shine. The instance of "Yaoyorozu keeping up with Midoriya and Bakugo" that you're complaining about was a glorified dodgeball game where neither Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are being completely serious during their face off.

Now, there are different kinds of power in My Hero Academia. These can boil down to three categories. Strength, Speed, and Intelligence. Yaoyorozu has the third type in spades, and that can enable her to keep pace (within reason of course) with the others. In the last chapter she even says to Midoriya that his lines of attack are too predictable.

Will Yaoyorozu ever go toe to toe with the likes of Shigiraki or All For One? No. That's absurd. Those are Midoriya/Bakugo or All Might fights through and through. But Toga? Twice? Mr. Compress? Oh yeah, she'll be able to play ball.

And Drexymord? Your assertion that "Why do we need heroes if soldiers equipped with top tier tech can beat the heck out of the strongest heroes - and therefore villains?" Makes no sense when heroes like Batman, Daredevil, Black Widow, and Punisher exist. They fill a role on the team, of a specialist that supports the heavy hitters but at the same time can hold their own.

I am in no way saying that Yaoyorozu will be able to match Midoriya in sheer power, just to spell it out for you. I'm not arbitrarily increasing her power either, all I'm doing is allowing her to use the powers she has in canon to their full potential. That doesn't invalidate the others, it can only make them all stronger.

If you don't like that, take your sexism elsewhere. Oh yes, I said that. Why? You didn't even mention Kaminari being able to keep up with Midoriya. Instead you went straight to criticism of Yaoyorozu. Why is that?

Last thing: Eagle-eyed readers will note that Midoriya thinks that Shinso might have Hayes-Wilczak Syndrome. This is a reference to Ties That Bind by Mirrond. They've given me permission to use what I want from their fics as long as I give credit. Which I am more than happy to do. Also, go read their fics. I can especially recommend Ties That Bind, as it's a wonderful example of a crack fic that ends up being played completely straight.

Anyways. Now that I'm done with my callout of people missing the point, I'll see you all in the next chapter.