Izuku followed Todoroki as they wandered the maze of corridors to an exit that was not being used by many people. It was eerily quiet on this side of the stadium, honesty.

Todoroki must have felt it was a quiet enough place because he stopped and said, "You made me break my oath."

Izuku was immediately lost. He said, "Huh?"

"I pledged to never use my fire in combat. I use it as little as possible. I felt your power, it is the same as All Might's. The others on my team didn't feel it but I did," Todoroki said. Izuku felt kind of strange. He really didn't know what was going to happen here or why Todoroki had called him out here. "Are you All Might's illegitimate love child or something?"

Izuku wasn't sure how to respond to make Todoroki believe it was not true, especially since his soul had left his body for a moment there. He had to deny it but he had to hide One For All too. "You've got it all wrong!" Izuku exclaimed in his panic.

"Of course. I wish I could say the same about my father. I wish he kept me a secret like All Might kept you. Maybe my childhood would have been better."

"I don't know, everyone believed I was quirkless, which is why Kacchan is always so mad at me. He thinks I lied to him."

"I see," said Todoroki who sounded like he didn't see anything at all. "You must know of my father, Endeavor."

That brought Izuku up short. But Endeavor's real name was. Oh. Todoroki Enji. He probably should have known this. Izuku knew Endeavor had a son his age but had never put them together with Todoroki. "I had no idea..."

Todoroki laughed. "You honestly don't know? When you commented in the battle trials I thought you were trying to get under my skin. I thought we were the same, but now I see that All Might is not only a better hero than Endeavor but a better father too."

"He's not... You're not going to believe me no matter what I say, but yes, All Might is a great hero, and I wish my father was as great as he is."

"Endeavor has been training me to be the number one hero, to surpass All Might, since my quirk came in." Todoroki paused, thinking over his next words. "Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?"

Izuku nodded at the seeming nonsequitur. "They were popular when quirks were new. Trying to combine different quirks to make more powerful children. They've been banned for a few generations—"

"They may be banned, but they are still done. I am the 'product' of one. My father bought my mother, who had a powerful ice quirk to combine with his quirk. My siblings all failed to pass muster with him. My eldest brother is dead, probably killed by old man."

"Todoroki-kun," Izuku said quietly, wishing he could comfort the other boy.

"In my memories, my mother is always crying. My father hurt her, especially when she tried to stop his 'training' of me. She told me my left side reminded her of him and then poured boiling water on my face."

Izuku was stunned and had no words for how terrible growing up must have been for Todoroki. Also a little stunned at the other boy's oversharing. They'd never had a conversation before, for goodness sake.

"The reason I am aiming to win against you is for a personal triumph. I'm not sure I will be able to, you're so powerful. But if I beat you, it will be without his quirk. This is how I prove to him that he is worthless to me. That I don't need him."

Izuku was overwhelmed. This was a lot of information from his quiet classmate. They really were from two different worlds. Even if Izuku was All Might's son... (Izuku was like 99% sure he wasn't at this point. But it had been a long time since he saw his dad. Maybe he'd talk to his mom?) He was sure that his idol would have been more present in his early years if this were the case.

"If you can't tell me, it's fine. I understand, All Might has enemies and you may need to be hidden. But know that I am going to come at you with the full power of my right side. Sorry for wasting your time." He started to walk away.

Izuku wasn't the kind of person who let this kind of thing stand. But what could he say? "Todoroki-kun, We've both lived different lives. I'm sorry Endeavor is such a pile of flaming trash, but you need to move beyond this if you want to surpass him, let alone All Might. Getting here, I had a lot of help. I am aiming to win this too, and if you don't come at me with everything you've got, you're going to lose."

Todoroki turned around to look at Izuku. He seemed to want to say something, but just shook his head and walked away.

Izuku stood there a moment, processing all he heard. He slowly made his way to the cafeteria where his friends would be waiting. He knew he wanted to help Todoroki, but how?

Izuku made it to lunch with a bit of time to spare. His friends had purchased him a bento and Iida would not let him pay him back because of his excellent performance in the first two events.

"What did Todoroki-kun want, Deku?" Uraraka asked.

"Oh, just to talk about the next event and stuff. Nothing too serious," he lied. Uraraka, Tsu, Iida, and even Shinso who he only met today stared at him. Was he that bad a liar? Think fast, think fast, think fast. Oh! "Ugh, fine, he thinks All Might is my father and confronted me about it."

Uraraka and Shinso laughed but Tsu and Iida looked at each other. "Is he not, kero?" Tsu ask.

"I thought it was obvious," Iida said.

And Izuku's soul left his body for the second time that day.

Uraraka and Shinso looked contemplative.

"I... Just because someone's quirk looks similar to someone else's doesn't mean they're related!"

There was brief silence at that proclamation. Iida cleared his throat, "I see. Forgive us for assuming." He paused not sounding at all convinced. How was this his life? "So what do you think the third round will be?"

Iida knew how to distract him because this was a perfect question for him to ramble on. "Well in 17 of the last 18 sports festivals there has been a 1v1 tournament each year. The only exception was twelve years ago when the second event was not timed and went for five hours. After it finished it was decided to forgo the normal bracket and instead have a Battle Royale. It was over in eight minutes. Brutal stuff."

His friends looked suitably impressed at his trivia knowledge and hopefully had forgotten about the fact that All Might may or may not be his father. Was this an existential crisis? It seemed like the whole world was telling him he was All Might's son. Could it be possible? Nah. People were just crazy.

They finished lunch discussing the tournament and made their way back to the stadium to get ready for the last part of the festival. Izuku was excited to see who he would be facing first.

Midnight announced that it would a series of 1v1s and the bracket was projected on the screen. Izuku saw his name at the top and he smiled. He looked around to see if he could find his opponent and he made eye contact with the blond and smiled.

Monoma Neito did not look as pleased as he did. He looked a little nervous actually. But it would be a good way to settle their bet. Izuku thought the other boy could copy quirks which could be dangerous for him if he copied One For All. All Might had said he needed to be a certain body strength in order to... not blow up. He hoped Monoma had it, if he copied his quirk. Well, One For All was a stockpile quirk at the end of the day, so his copy might only get the base stockpiling and none of the stockpiled power.

"You're smiling kind of scary at that 1-B kid," Shinso said as he inched away.

"Hmm? Oh, we have a bet going as to which class is better, 1-A or 1-B. Whoever gets further in the festival, between the two of us, wins."

"Did he not know your quirk when he challenged you?"

"I don't think so. But he has a copy quirk so he thought he could match anything I can throw at him. And he may be able to but it might kill or dismember him. Or do nothing at all. My quirk can be a little tricky."

"Tricky quirks. Right." He paused. "Well good luck. You should probably get to the prep room, you're up first. See you in the finals."

Izuku bade his friends goodbye and waited in the prep room until he was called out. "Welcome back to round three!" Present Mic said over the crowd. "First up on one side we have the overpowered green bean, the high scorer on the entrance exam, and the undisputed leader of the festival so far, Midoriya Izuku! And on the other side, we have Class 1-B's copycat, Monoma Neito!"

Izuku tried not to laugh at Monoma's face at the introductions. It was a little one-sided. But Present Mic did like him.

"You're going down, 1-A!" Monoma said.

Izuku just smiled back at the other boy. Midnight asked if they were ready, and they both said yes, and the match started. The first thing that happened was Monoma's skin turned into the steel of his classmate. He must have borrowed the quirk before the match. Smart.

Monoma ran towards Izuku who activated One For All. He wanted to know what would happen if Monoma accessed his quirk. This maybe wasn't the best time, but he didn't know when he'd get the chance to work with the 1-B student again. So Izuku turned on the durability of One For All and waited for Monoma's punch to his face. It didn't even budge him.

"Fool! Now I have your quirk and you'll stand no chance against me!" He laughed a bit maniacally.

"Just be careful! It can be pretty strong," Izuku said.

Present Mic's commentary continued in the background, "And Midoriya is just standing there and letting Monoma punch him in the face? Though it seems to have no discernible effect."

Monoma went to punch him again, the steel fading from his skin and he hit... like a somewhat in-shape fifteen-year-old. "Why can't I feel it? It's active and I used it. What the heck?"

"That's so interesting! Your quirk is so cool. I really wanted to know what happened when you copied mine. It's a stockpile, you see. So just getting the base of the quirk won't help you much. Thanks for being part of my experiment! Good match!" Izuku said and he pulled his arm back and punched at about 10% power.

Monoma's eyes widened and he reactivated the steel quirk and instead of flying out of the ring, skidded back a few meters.

"Wow, that hardening quirk is really strong! Your quirk is really strong, Monoma-kun! But will it be enough against more power?"

Monoma was rushing back towards Izuku to try to get another attack in but before he could even arrive, Izuku punched again, this time at 30%. He did not even hit the other boy, as he was out of arm's reach, and instead just punched the air in front of him.

This caused a huge gust of wind and pushed Monoma off his feet and flung him backwards. Izuku sprang forward with Full Cowl and grabbed Monoma by the arm and threw him out of the ring.

"And there we have it! With an impressive fight after an odd beginning, Midoriya Izuku moves to round two. Well done to both of you!"

Izuku walked over to Monoma who was laying on the ground staring up at the sky. He held out his hand as he heard Present Mic screech about sportsmanship. "You did really well, Monoma-kun!"

"Monoma got up without using the proffered hand and looked at Izuku. "I didn't do anything, you overwhelmed me. How are you so stupidly strong?"

Izuku patted the other boy on his shoulder and said, "My quirk is a tricky one. I wasn't sure if you would get my quirk's power or not. I wanted to give you the chance because, sure, I could have just punched you into lower earth orbit a second into the match, but where's the fun in that?"

They started to walk back to the stadium entrance and Monoma still was disappointed. As they were directed towards Recovery Girl as a percussion, Monoma said, "You're just lucky you have such a powerful quirk. You have no idea the kind of stuff I had to deal with growing up. I need to prove myself, that I don't need others to win my battles for me."

Izuku sighed. "Monoma-kun, I don't know the kind of things you went through, but I do feel like I might relate better than you imagine. We're there any quirkless kids at your school?" Monoma nodded, confused. "Since I have a stockpile quirk, I was thought to be quirkless all through grade school and part of middle school. It wasn't until about 10 months ago that I even began to train my quirk. It sucks and it's not fair how we were treated growing, but we're here at UA and we're going to be heroes no matter what those guys said back then."

Monoma looked at him hard as they walked. Still sullen, but maybe a bit lighter. "You know, you're not too bad for a 1-A loser."

"Thank you, you're not so bad yourself." They arrived at Recovery Girl who looked them over after tutting a few times and kissed Monoma to help some of his scrapes and bruises heal. "It was a good match, and you don't need to worry about the bet. It was all in good fun."

Monoma looked even more startled. "You don't care? But don't you want to prove your class is better?"

"I don't care which class is better... We all want to be heroes. Sure we might compete but I'd rather be friends than rivals. Or at least friendly rivals?"

"Friendly rivals. Hm, I think I can work with that. I'll beat you next time though!"

"I'll look forward to it!"

They arrived back at their class boxes and nodded at each other and went their separate ways. Izuku was congratulated by his friends and classmates for his win. He looked out at the state of the field and saw a giant glacier there. "Did I miss Todoroki-kun's fight?"

"Tch, what gave it away?" Bakugo said. "He owned soy sauce face in one attack. Didn't let his enemy get close, unlike some people."

"I wanted to know if his quirk would work on mine! It obviously was fine. I was glad it went the way it did because an unprepared body would not bode well for my quirk at full power."

No one commented after that or even inquired why his quirk didn't work when Monoma copied it. They waited a few minutes and the next fight came. Kaminari was fighting the girl with vines in her hair. It could go either way, in Izuku's opinion but her plants might not be susceptible to electricity so Kaminari could be in trouble.

And it turned out he was. He used his most powerful attack and it didn't take the vine girl out, but rather had him walking around going, "Whey." He saw Jiro facepalm at the fight as the vines gently moved Kaminari out of bounds.

Iida was up against Mei next. Izuku again was not sure how this one would go. Mei could have the perfect 'baby' to deal with Iida or Iida may finish too quickly.

It turned out that it was not a quick match, but Iida did indeed win. After Mei gave a fifteen-minute-long infomercial, hijacking the speaker system. Iida had made the mistake of using one of her babies which gave Mei control of the fight-and Iida too. After Mei finished explaining her gear, she walked out of bounds with a smile on her face while Iida looked rather defeated for a victor. He did not return to their box for a while.

Ashido vs. Uraraka was next. Izuku had wished his friend good luck before the previous match so she could go to the waiting room. He thought Uraraka had this one. Mina was strong but she liked to get in close, which would let Uraraka tag her and float her out of bounds. This played out pretty quickly after Uraraka had gotten a few acid burns. Her triumphant smile was brilliant and he could see Mina was pleased for her and congratulating her. It was a good match.

Yaoyorozu was fighting the girl from 1-B with large fists. Izuku thought that Yaoyorozu would win this one. From what he had seen before, Kendo had great control over her quirk and she seemed like she worked hard at martial arts but Yaoyorozu was just so versatile. It could go either way really, but because he was fond of his vice-rep he hoped she'd win. And win she did. She created something in a spray bottle that came out like silly string but quickly expanded. It hit Kendo's large hands and she tried to get it off, then tried to shrink her hands to get out of it, but whatever the goop was seemed to expand when her hands shrank, making it so they could not return to their larger size. Yaoyorozu had already created a bow staff and was going to town, attacking the movement-impaired redhead. Before long Kendo was knocked out and the match went to Yaoyorozu.

His class had been doing good so far. Bakugo just left to go get ready for his match. "Good luck, Kacchan!"

"Tch. I don't need luck against some gen ed loser. It'll be over in a minute."

"Don't underestimate Shinso, Kacchan. He's got a really powerful quirk!"

"If it was so powerful he'd have used it in the cavalry battle."

Well then. This could end poorly for Kacchan. But first, it was Kirishima vs. a silver-haired kid from 1-B. When the match started, Izuku saw that the other boy hardened into the steel that Monoma had used in their fight. So it was steel vs. rock? Basically the same quirk, though it depended on their training and endurance.

"This is going to be a long one."

A few of his classmates looked at him and some agreed and others disagreed. But in the end, Izuku was right. Just a slugfest, both of them attacking the other with punches to hardened parts of their bodies. One of them would have to give up or pass out or something eventually, right?

Ten minutes later Izuku was starting to doubt that. Finally, the match ended when both competitors collapsed. Izuku blinked as Midnight called it a tie which they would break when both were back on their feet.

Izuku was on his way to the preparation room when he saw that Kacchan and Shonso's match was going to start. Kacchan launched himself at Shinso as soon as Midnight started the match. Shinso dodge and said something to which Kacchan responded. Then his childhood friend stopped and walked out of bounds. Midnight declared Shinso the winner and Mic called a ten minute break before round two. Well, Kacchan was right, the match was short.

Izuku made his way towards the prep room but before he got there he ran into Endeavor. Who he really didn't what to talk to at the moment. Or ever, really.

"You, you're the one with the power similar to All Might, aren't you?"

"Um, I'm Midoriya Izuku, yes." Izuku put on his best crime-fighting smile. (If only so he didn't scowl at the other man.)

"Hmm. Well give my Shouto a good match, would you? The last challenger was rather lackluster. It's his duty to surpass All Might and ascend to the number one spot," The tall and flaming man turned and started to walk away.

"Endeavor. I may have a power similar to All Might's. I may be strong and fast and powerful but at the end of the day I'm not him."

Endeavor had turned to look back and sneered. "Obviously."

His grin turned slightly feral. "That's obvious, right? Well Shouto is not you either. He has his own path, and I for one am going to do everything I can to make sure he walks it."

Izuku turned away and walked on leaving the Number Two Hero standing there.

He walked towards the entrance and before he knew it he was called onto the field. He walked out and saw Todoroki doing the same. He smiled at the other boy who kept his face impassive. There was a hush over the crowd as two of the strongest first years faced off against each other, an excited buzz filled the air as Present Mic announced them.

The moment Midnight announced the start of the match, Todoroki sent an iceberg at him. He activated Full Cowl and jumped straight up, landed on the iceberg, slid down the angled side towards Todoroki and jumped another giant ice attack. While in the air he flicked his fingers at the ice (maybe using more a but more power than he needed) and both glaciers shattered into millions of pieces.

Todoroki fired some ice behind him to brace himself in the wind as Izuku landed on the now cleared battlefield, ice crystals in the air. "Nice attacks, but how many can you do before you freeze? Wouldn't a little fire warm you up?"

"What, did my father pay you off or something? There's no way I'll use my fire!"

"Ha, your father couldn't afford me. He just told me to give you a good match when he tried to intimidate me earlier. I was planning to do that anyway."

Todoroki fired off another ice attack, this one was smaller but more focused. Izuku just punched with One for All and it shattered before it even reached him. Izuku just kept smiling.

"You won't win if you don't give it your all, Todoroki-kun. You haven't even scratched me yet!"

Todoroki scowled and fired several ice attacks in a row. Izuku activated Full Cowl and jumped again, this time floating in the air. It was unplanned, but he was floating between Todoroki and the sun, casting him as a smiling, sparking shadow from Todoroki's perspective.

Izuku began to lower himself to the top of the ice and sat down on the small glacier. "Do you want to be a hero, Todoroki-kun?"

Todoroki paused and seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I will be a hero. My own hero, not my father!"

Shouto seemed angrier now. Good. "If you want to be a hero, if you want to win this completion, you can't half-ass it! You have to give it your all!"

Todoroki fired more ice which Izuku easily dispatched, not bothering to stand from the top of his iceberg perch. "I will be a hero without his power! I don't need it!"

"It's not his power, Todoroki-kun. It's your power, not his!"

Todoroki seemed lost in his thoughts again. Izuku gave him a moment, the other boy was also shivering pretty badly. Todoroki looked up at him and said, "It's my power?" Izuku nodded and smiled more genuinely.

"Let's do this right." Izuku smashed his hand on the ice he was perched on, shattering it towards the outside of the ring, clearing it. He floated there a moment before gently setting down on the ground. "Let's attack with everything we've got!"

Todoroki grinned and said, "Thank you, Midoriya."

Izuku charged forward as Shouto ignited and fired off a large fire attack towards him. In the background, he heard Endeavor shout Todoroki's name and cement walls came up between them. The walls were nothing for One For All and shattered with his attack and pushed a flaming Shoto out of bounds as a giant explosion overtook the stadium. Thanks to One For All's durability, he just stood there and took it, not even getting a scratch.

He wished his gym uniform was as lucky but alas it did not contain any One For All, so it was torn to shreds. Thankfully he still wore fireproof boxers after an incident with Kacchan when they were seven. He did wish he hadn't worn his lucky All Might pair today.

He stood there and waved as Midnight declared him the winner. He jumped over to where Shoto was still on the ground, conscious but looking up. He seemed cold too, but not as much as he had been. Izuku bent over to pick him up and carried him off towards Recovery Girl. The crowd was cheering very loudly. He assumed the fight looked pretty cool from the outside.

Arriving at Recovery Girl, she was annoyed. "You have no control, do you? Barbarity, just blood sport. You could have died. Look at the state of your uniform you crazy boy. And those boxers, why in god's name do you have that man's face on your boxers?"

"I'm pretty tough, but yeah my clothes are kinda ruined. Any idea where I could get a new uniform before anyone else gets a show?"

She huffed at him and told him to leave if he was uninjured. He shrugged and said goodbye to the semi-conscious Todoroki.

On his way back to the 1-A box, he ran into Yaoyorozu who congratulated him on his win. She also offered to make him a new gym uniform which he gratefully accepted. Thankfully she did not notice (or mention) his boxers. He wished her luck and left to change in a dark corner of the hallway. That was one concern off his mind.

Arriving back at the box, the next match was already in progress. The vine girl (he needed to learn her name) was not faring well against Iida's speed. Iida seemed determined to win after his fight with Mei. And Izuku didn't blame him.

Before long, Iida had forced his opponent out of bounds and was declared the winner.

Next up was Uraraka vs. Yaoyorozu. As much as Izuku wanted his friend to win, Yaoyorozu was probably a stronger contender. Her quirk was so versatile, and she was smart as a whip.

Uraraka charged Yaoyorozu this time. Hoping to get her with her quirk before Yaoyorozu could make anything. She was not fast enough, as Yaoyorozu created a bo staff quickly and used it to ward of Uraraka's arms. From there the two of them danced around each other, but Izuku knew was only a matter of time before Yaoyorozu created other items to help her win. After blocking an attack from Uraraka, Yaoyoroz's body started glowing and marbles were dropping to the field under their feet. It was a dangerous strategy as she could trip too, but it seemed to catch Uraraka first and she fell down. Yaoyorozu quickly created some capture tape and tied her hands together. Midnight called the match for Yaoyorozu.

It was a tough match, but he felt that both Yaoyorozu and Uraraka did well. Apparently, he had missed Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's tiebreaker, arm-wrestling. So the next match was between Kirishima and Shinso. Bakugo hadn't come back to the class box, so he wondered if Kirishima knew Shinos's quirk.

It turned out that he didn't actually know or if he did he still responded to the other boy. Then quickly walked out of bounds, leaving the audience confused as to how Shinso kept winning. Present Mic sounded like he was going to explain it but Aizawa cut him off saying that if the competitors don't figure out his quirk it's not the teacher's responsibility to tell them. After that Mic and Aizawa argued for a few minutes until the small break between rounds was called.

Izuku made his way down to the prep room after wishing Iida luck.

They were called out pretty quickly and Izuku was ready. Midnight started the match and Izuku fired up Full Cowl as Iida shouted, "Recipro Burst!"

Iida moved faster than he normally did and Izuku thought it must be a super move. Izuku easily dodged the other boy using his own speed. "That was really fast, Iida!" Izuku congratulated as the other boy slowed down. Smoke rose from his exhaust ports, he probably needed to cool down after using that. "You should be more careful with that cool down after activation. If you got me, it's all good. But now I am quite a bit faster than you."

Before Iida could respond, Izuku rushed him and knocked his feet from under him. Iida rolled away quickly and tried to attack Izuku from the ground. Izuku dodged and grabbed Iida's arm and hosted him towards the nearest boundary, which he crossed, ending the match. Izuku rushed over to his friend to help him up.

"Well done, Midoriya!" Iida said, more stilted than normal.

"You were great, Iida. It was a good fight!"

"Indeed. Thank you for giving me the chance to attack. I know you could have punched me out of bounds from the start."

"But where's the fun in that? It's still our sports festival. It's not all about winning. We're supposed to have fun too!"

Iida smiled at him. "Indeed. You are very wise, Midoriya. Do you think you can beat Shinso or Yaoyorozu?"

"Maybe! They're both strong in their own ways."

"But you know Shinso's quirk from working with him in the second event. Surely that will help you?"

"Perhaps. He's very good with it, that's how he got as far as he did. But I can see why he did poorly on the entrance exam with it. He has a non-physical quirk that would do nothing to robots."

They arrived at Recovery Girl's field office and Izuku went to check on Todoroki-kun who was still warming up. "How are you?" He asked.

"I'm doing well, thank you." He paused, awkwardly. "And thank you for talking sense into me. My father was so happy I used my fire he wasn't even disappointed I didn't beat you. He was murmuring about All Might so your secret might be out."

"Secret?"

Todoroki looked around and quietly said, "Your family situation."

It still took Izuku a few seconds to catch on to what Todoroki was saying. Then he turned red and said, "It's not like that, really!"

Todoroki smiled and winked. He winked? "Of course," he said.

Izuku just sighed. "I need to get ready for the finals. I hope we can be friends after this!"

Todoroki paused. Looked down at his hands in his lap and then looked back up. "I think I'd like that."

"It's settled then."

Izuku decided to forgo heading back to the class box because the battle between Yaoyorozu and Shinso would probably be short one way or another. He arrived in the prep room and looked at a monitor to see the match had already ended and that Shinso had won. Good for him. He hoped that Shinso would be another friend at the end of the day.

He looked up from his thoughts when the door opened and Shinso walked in. He stood there like a deer in the headlights and looked at the marking on the door and said, "This is my prep room, Midoriya."

Izuku flushed. "I'm so sorry. I had been using this one for my other matches and I just assumed. I didn't even check. I'm so sorry. I'll go."

"Wait, I know you didn't mean to. It's not like you came to intimidate me or anything."

"Of course not!"

"It's not as if I wouldn't already be intimated from your previous fights."

"Don't be intimidated, Shinso! You've done amazing today, you could totally win!"

Shinso gave him a long look. "You know how my quirk works. There's no way I'd win."

"So what? You're not going to always be facing people who don't know you. You need to overcome that. Find out what would make someone react to you. It's totally possible. I'm sure you did the same thing against Yaoyorozu because she's smart enough to have figured your quirk out too."

"She had a vague idea, but it's different."

"Of course it is, but don't give up. There's a lot you could say to get me to talk. It's not like I have a problem with talking, as you may have noticed from our short friendship."

"Friendship?"

"Of course! If you'll have me of course. Consent is important, I've been told."

Shinso snorted. "Friends, huh?"

"Yeah, no matter who wins! But let's both do our best!"

"I'll try but it's hard when you could just punch me to the stands," Shinso said.

Izuku sighed. He was pretty strong but Shinso could totally get him to talk. "Look, I'll give you a hint—"

"Wait, you're helping me? Why?"

"Why not? I've shown off a lot. I don't think my internship offers will be much different if I win or lose in the finals. I like to think I made a pretty strong impression. And there's always next year. Whereas you have so much more to gain from winning."

"I don't seem to be able to stop you, so I guess I'll take that hint."

Izuku grinned. "I love All Might and really can't stand Endeavor."

Shinso looks slightly disappointed. "That's it?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. I can't make it too easy for you, can I?"

"I can already tell this friendship is going to be annoying."

"That's the best kind, in my limited experience. Can't wait. Good luck!"

Izuku left and wandered to the appropriate waiting room and before long it was time to fight.

Present Mic announced them both and the crowd was cheering loud. It was overwhelming every time but this was the finals. Everyone was really excited for the fight.

Midnight started the fight and Izuku clamped his jaw shut. He was going to make Shinso work for it, if the other boy was going to win.

"So I hear you like All Might. Is it true that he bribes the hero commission to stay number one hero?"

Oh, that was making Izuku mad. There was no way. Izuku bit his jaw down hard and put 5% into Full Cowl and zoomed over to Shinso and tried to grab him but missed due to the other boy dodging. Shinso kept talking the whole time. Lots of drivel about All Might until he said, "I've always felt that Endeavor was the better hero, of course. Even before our prep room talk. I mean who wouldn't?"

That was low. It was all Izuku could do not to tell Shinso off. But he needed restraint. He couldn't stop a small growl (Shinso would to his dying day claim it was a whine) from escaping his throat as his inner fanboy fought to become his outer fanboy.

Shinso smirked. "Gotcha."

Suddenly Izuku was plunged into darkness. There were eight figures standing around him. Seven were vibrant and one was slightly faded. One of them said in a genderless ephemeral voice, "You're doing amazing kiddo. We could break you out of his mind control, but we can tell you feel your opponent deserves his victory." The voice became more feminine and the vision clearer, it was a woman, floating off the ground a little bit." This way we won't break your finger either. We're proud of you and tell Toshi I said hi and that I'm proud of the hero he became. A symbol," she smiled and paused. "I always knew he had it in him."

He came back to awareness and Midnight was declaring Shinso the winner of the sports festival. Izuku grinned and walked over to Shinso who tensed up a little as Izuku went in for a hug. "You did great! I had no idea something like the noise I made would be enough for you to take control."

Shinso smiled and said, "My quirk considered it a verbal response so..."

"So cool. You deserve to be a hero, Shinso. You're going to go places!"

"As attractive as this sportsmanship is, we need you to clear the field, please. Well done to you both," Midnight said as she shooed them towards Recovery Girl. Not that either of them needed it but it was the procedure.

The award ceremony was very nice. He was happy with second-place. As he said to Shinso, he made his mark. He felt like he did a good job saying he was here and that All Might would be proud.

Speaking of All Might, he came out with the awards and said some quiet words to Yaoyorozu and then hugged her, for some reason Iida was not present and Izuku hoped he was alright.

All Might came to stand next to him and said, "My boy, I am so proud of you."

"Even though I didn't win?"

"A hero cannot win every fight. You got second place out of over 200 of the best students in the country. You should be as proud of yourself as I am of you!" All Might's leaned in and hugged him. Izuku hugged him back unable to control his tears.

All Might said something to Shinso that caused him to choke up. Then he got a hug too. Even after everything he said about All Might. After the award ceremony, Izuku grabbed Shinso's arm and said, "I am still happy to be friends with you, Shinso-kun but only if you recant all the vile things you said about All Might. Endeavor being the better hero, ha. Give me a break."

Shinso snorted. "Well, I will say that I am not an Endeavor fan, but while I respect All Might, he's not my favorite."

"Oh, who's your favorite then?"

"You've probably never heard of him. He's really underground."

"Try me."

"Eraserhead."

Izuku burst out laughing. Shinso had a half-confused and half-hurt look on his face. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. It's not that you like Eraserhead, it's well. I don't want to say more. Only that you'll get it as soon as you transfer to my class. I promise. It's nothing bad. And it's really funny. You should totally say that when you join 1-A."

"I like that you think I'll join."

"Why wouldn't you? You literally beat all the hero course kids. They'd be stupid not to transfer you."

Izuku was interrupted from saying more when his friends came over to congratulate him. Uraraka and Tsu also congratulated Shinso, who was then swarmed by who Izuku assumed was his gen ed classmates.

It had been a good day. Long though.

Bonus 1:

Endeavor's could not get his mind off the somewhat unsettling meeting with Midoriya Izuku. Strange child. That grin...

He ran into exactly who he didn't want to. All Might.

"Endeavor! It's wonderful to see you! It's been too long. We should catch up."

"Ah, yes it has been a while. I trust you're well?"

"Older than ever, but I'm sure you can relate, eh old friend?"

Was All Might insulting him? The nerve. "Indeed," Endeavor said through gritted teeth.

"Your son, young Shouto has amazing hero potential! I can tell you trained him well. Perhaps you have some tips on training the next generation? I've had some success with one student I trained before I started teaching at UA, but any ideas you may have would be most helpful!"

His first thought was to brush the man off. Why would he help him? But the fact he trained a student before UA was... tantalizing. "I didn't know you had a mentee. Anyone noteworthy?"

All Might beamed. "Indeed! Young Midoriya. He's facing off against your son soon, I believe."

Endeavor's mind went back to the conversation he had previously with the green-haired boy. It couldn't be, could it? Could All Might have a hidden family? No one knew anything about his personal life, assuming he had one. Their quirks were similar. Perhaps the boy would be a good rival for Shouto.

He finished the meeting quickly after that, not wanting to be around the number one hero more than he had to be. He was disappointed in Shoto's loss but ecstatic that he was using his fire. Perhaps there was something to the Midoriya/All Might connection. All Might had always been a busybody. His son (?) would probably be the same. Plus that power...

On the way home from the festival, he sat in the back of the car next to his son. He said, "Shouto, about your match with Midoriya."

"I lost."

"Indeed, but it was a very good fight on both your parts. You showed what you could do against overwhelming power. It may not have been a lot, but it was longer than the others lasted. Do you notice anything about his power?"

"It's strong?"

"Indeed, but it feels like All Might's doesn't it?"

Shouto didn't reply right away, nodding eventually.

"Do you think they are related? Perhaps father and son."

Shouto let out an amused huff. "He denied it when I asked him that very thing."

"And you believe him?"

"Not at all," Shouto paused. "He is very similar to All Might in other ways too. They always smile for one thing. But they also act the same, and All Might has his eyes on Midoriya. They've had lunch together at school several times."

"Hmm, interesting. Keep an eye on him. He will be a rival for you to overcome, Shouto. It doesn't matter who his father is, it only matters what he can do."

Shouto laughed. Not a small laugh but almost a crazed one. Endeavor honestly didn't understand the irony of what he had just said, and how it only reinforced what Midoriya had said to him earlier that day.

Bonus 2:

"You should have seen it. It was hilarious. And more evidence."

Nemuri, Hizashi, and Aizawa were at latter's house taking over a few drinks. Shouta would not go out with them (for some reason) so they often hung out at Shouta's house when he didn't have night patrols.
"What do you mean?" Hizashi asked.

"The little green bean getting ready to go to town on poor Shinso. He was just as cocky as the others had been, though he knew Shinso's quirk. As soon a the match started Shinso just kept insulting All Might." She paused for laughter. "The look on Midoriya's face. The betrayal. Oh god, it was hilarious."

Aizawa rolled his eyes. Nemuri could go on and on.

"When Shinso said Endeavor is obviously a better hero than All Might and everyone knows it, Midoriya let out this whine, like that of a dying cat and that was it. Shinso had him."

"I was impressed with that listener! Is he going to be transferred to your class?"

"Yes, assuming he wants to. He won the sports festival, after all."

"Like someone else we know," Hizashi said fondly.

"I keep telling Nedzu the entrance exam is biased. Who knows how many potential heroes we've missed over the years."

"Indeed," Nemuri said. "Oh Hizashi, Thirteen and Snipe doubled their bets after sitting next to All Might at the festival today."

Hizashi pulled out a book and made some notes. "Done. This is a huge pot now. Can't wait to see who wins it."

"Same! We just need proof! It will come before too long, hopefully. I actually have some plans on how to get it," Nemuri said.

Aizawa finished his drink and got up to get another. He'd need it to survive this visit.

Bonus 3

Bakugo was pissed off. That in and of itself was not unusual. But he lost. To some gen ed loser. What the hell was up with that? First Deku gets superpowers and then he loses to some no-name extra? UA had not been living up to his expectations. At all.

"Ah, young Bakugo! I'm glad I found you. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. How do you think?"

"I see," All Might said awkwardly. The guy probably had no idea what to say.

"This is what you meant when you said brute force can't solve everything, isn't it?"

All Might smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Indeed my boy. Sometimes the heroes lose. It's a fact of life."

"So what now?"

"Why, you carry on! You can't stop, you have to keep pushing for your goal."

"Even fucking Deku is stronger than me now. How can I win?"

All Might sighed. "My boy, I sometimes feel that the hero commission and the billboard rankings have shrouded the true meaning of heroics. It's really not all about winning."

"What's the alternative? Losing?"

"Sometimes, yes. But a hero saves. I have let villains escape in order to save a person in need. Was this a loss?" All Might paused. "Not to that person's family and friends. I've also taken terrible injuries during fights I've won, but they don't always feel like victory. There's much to learn from loss, and I encourage you to not focus on winning or being the highest-ranked hero but to be the best hero you can be. You might be surprised at how fulfilling that can be."

"Sounds like a load of shit to me."

All Might laughed. "Young Bakugo, the world is full of shit. You just have to navigate yourself through it so you smell as good as you can!"

Bakugo just stared at him. "Ok, I'll be honest I have no idea what you meant at the end there, but the rest of the shit you said made sense. Kind of. I still want to be the best, but for now, you're right. I need to focus on being my best."

"Right! Now I must be off, but well done making it as far as you did. It looks like young Shinso may go far."

"He better fucking win if he beat me," Bakugo murmured as All Might left. Maybe there was something to be said for All Might's words. He would certainly think on them.