Hello again, everyone, and a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to every one of you! I hope you all can consider this chapter as my personal gift to all of you in the spirit of the season!

I would once more like to extend all my sincerest thanks from the bottom of my heart for all your continued readership and patronage; it truly does mean so much to me that I can't properly describe it. I can only hope this story continues to meet even one of your expectations.

I would also like to personally thank my three beta readers, consultants and friends, Mizu, Jonny and Carlos; as well as all contributing current DA artists helping to bring this story to life piece by piece: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost and Yumake. Their work is insanely good, and I would appreciate it just as much as them if you were to give their artworks a look.

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

A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.

Chapter 106

The Preparation

(Подготовка)

Yuuei Academy, Saturday, October 4th, 1-A Dorms

After Mina had invited Nikolay into her room to look over her current diagrams for the classes' school festival dance routine, he couldn't possibly hide his amazement at the variety and elaborate detail she had already managed to come up with, pages and pages worth. After what she'd already managed to come up with yesterday on a whim, this was her passion for dancing as an art form on an entirely different plain.

"So? What do you think? It's gotta work with any kind of beat, right?" Mina's anticipation for his opinion was unmistakable as she sat next to Nikolay, smiling warmly as she watched his eyes study her sketches intently.

"It definitely looks that way. You not only included all the moves you'd drawn up yesterday, but you even included different moves and wholly different styles altogether to accommodate everyone in classes' different weights and body types, and even assigned the move you couldn't do with your horns to someone who could. You've truly outdone yourself, Mina. I'm just surprised you hadn't thought this all up already once the performance had been decided. With your skills, I would've thought you'd have come up with all this on the spot."

Looking her way, Nikolay saw the deeply thoughtful look in Mina's eyes as she answered. "Well, originally I wanted to go with that routine I drew up before…but earlier, when Kyouka-chan started her auditions, and Kaminari-kun got Bakugo to show us his skills on the drums, he said something…like, surprisingly profound for a guy like him. He said how we should be doing this performance for ourselves before anyone else; otherwise it wouldn't feel completely real. Then I thought about what you'd said to Kyouka-chan yesterday, about how her happiness when playing music, doing her passion, would get through to the audience. Both those things together really got me thinking, so I just thought the only way to make our dance routine something truly special, was if we were all dancing the best we all can for our own enjoyment, and that excitement and happiness would reach out to everyone just like the band's music will. And so…these are all the best and most heartfelt dance routines for our whole class that I could come up with, acting on my love for it, just as much for myself as for all of us."

Nikolay couldn't ever deny the sincerity of Mina's epiphany as she described it, now silently wishing he'd been there to hear Bakugo's surprise moment of wisdom for himself. Still, the approving smile on his face as he looked over her dance sketches once more, made her face warm up even more with excitement and happiness, seeing that her passion was already coming through from that alone. "I know you'll be able to teach this routine to everyone in time, no problem, Mina. Never mind stuff like skills; that passion of yours will help every lesson you can give take root in them, I just know it."

Mina's grateful and loving smile might as well have been permanent, as she instinctively inched closer to Nikolay, taking his hand in hers and resting her head gently on his shoulder. "You don't have to lay on the sweet-talk that much for me, Kolya-kun…but thank you, anyway. You're such a sweetie. But…do you think maybe we can talk about…well, where we left off this morning? Why you've been so…hesitant, about the whole dance teaching thing?"

Nikolay let out a disappointed sigh, since he knew this conversation needed to happen before anything else. He couldn't just stand by and let any kind of uncertainty possibly derail all of their hard work they still needed to put towards making their performance the best it could possibly be. And for that, he needed to be as painfully honest as he could with Mina now. "It's not just because of how I fumbled my dance display before, if that's what it seemed like. We all know I'm not nearly experienced enough as you to be able to teach any kind of dancing to anyone out there. I don't deserve to teach, but I would happily learn with everyone with you at the lead. My hesitation back there…wasn't about me. It was about everyone out there…especially you."

Mina lifted her head off of Nikolay's shoulder; a desire to know his meaning, painfully evident in her wide black-gold eyes, while he himself felt an acute pain in his chest to have to do this to her past excitement for them both. "I'm just scared, Mina…about being up on the stage with you and everyone, after all the hard work you'd have put in, all of your passion for dancing you put into making the best performance we could put on. I'm scared that I'm going to mess it all up somewhere in there, and embarrass you and the whole class in front of who-knows how many people. Knowing how much you love to do it, I couldn't be able to forgive myself if I did that to you."

Nikolay couldn't hide the evident shame in his eyes now that he'd admitted the fear that had been slowly but surely wriggling its way into his stomach. And as Mina saw this evident pain in his eyes, she felt her heart once more go out to Nikolay, as she inched in that little bit closer, brought her warm and loving arms gently around his sides, and proceeded to pull him in nice and tight to where she could just slightly tilt her head and meet their lips together in a silent, supportive kiss.

Upon breaking that kiss, Mina immediately after rested her forehead against Nikolay's; giving her boyfriend no choice but to look deep in her lively golden irises so he could see how honest she was, as she always was. "Kolya-kun, I wish you'd just take a moment to give yourself a break. Yeah, I love dancing and I always have and always will, but that's a love totally unlike the love I have for you, and just how strong that is. Whether you were to trip up or not, you could never do anything to embarrass me, or make me even begin to regret being your girlfriend. You know that deep down, I know you do. *Chyuu* I love you, Kolya-kun; so, so, so much. More than anything.

"And if that still somehow doesn't make you feel better, then think of it like this: this whole festival is a way for every one of us to relieve ours and each others' stress, remember? Well, if we were to end up tripping up on stage, then wouldn't something like that be really easy for us or anyone else to laugh at? And what could be a better way to relieve stress than to laugh at something funny?"

Nikolay looked wondrously at Mina as she gave a sweet giggle of amusement at just the thought, rubbing their foreheads together all the while, whilst trying to ignore the jolting sensation going through her body as her horns barely nudged against her boyfriend's head. With another reassuring kiss, she continued: "One of the best things about festivals is the memories we get to make with all our besties, and that just sounds like an irreplaceable memory our whole class could be able to share if nothing else…so why let yourself get all worried over something like that, instead of just letting yourself be excited for when the time comes?"

The tingle that went up Mina's back when Nikolay's own embrace on her tightened in his gratitude for her emotional and moral support, was too pleasant for her to feasibly describe. The only thing that mattered to her was that she could just feel his once anxious heartbeat steady against her own as she continued to hold him in kind; the best sign she could've asked for that his confidence was coming back. "Thank you, Mina. I wish I didn't crumble like this so much, putting you in this position as often as I have…*gasp*…I love you so much."

*Chyuu* "I love you times infinity too, Kolya-kun. And don't even think of apologizing for this, either. You're my boyfriend, and I'll gladly always be here for you, no matter what, and that's a Pinky pinkie promise. Now c'mon, nothing gets me feeling better and fired up than a good old bit of dancing practice…and what better way to get you feeling it with me, than practicing together…maybe up on the roof? You watch my moves, and I'll be there to help you keep balance while you try and copy me. Just remember to throw all your body weight in the direction you wanna start with, keep whatever I say in mind, and your body will do most of the work for you!"

With a sweet little kiss on his cheek and a bold proposal, Mina and Nikolay were already making a beeline hand-in-hand for the stairwell that could take them all the way up to the dorm building's roof, with Nikolay both too surprised, and yet too similarly emboldened by her support, to even say anything to the contrary. If she truly believed he could improve to the extent she clearly thought he could, then what reason did he have to not at least try?

Outside, once the class hours had passed; Aizawa, Tunguska and Vlad King had all taken to patrolling the school grounds among the different student dorms, catching each other up on all that was being developed between their respective classes all the while. By this point, in fact, they were just passing by the front of the 1-A dorms, where the class B homeroom teacher was observing it passively, while Tunguska and Aizawa could somehow just feel the fluctuation in the atmosphere drawing their passing gazes up to the roof, as though they could just sense Nikolay and Mina enthusiastically conducting one-on-one dancing practice just out of sight.

"So, Class A is throwing together a whole music and dance performance, and on top of that, some of them are even going the extra length to make a food stand, and all for the sake of relieving all the other students' stress, eh?" Vlad King summarized, not even needing to ask if he'd remembered all he'd been told properly, to which Aizawa only slightly nodded, while Tunguska chimed in: "Well, I'm going to be aiding in the actual construction, while my son and his partners are brainstorming the actual food itself. Knowing their dedication, that whole side thing will be done and set up in plenty of time for them to catch up on practice."

Keeping his arms crossed, Vlad King answered in his usual gruff honesty: "Well, these student projects are supposed to be worked on entirely by the students themselves, but as a father, I suppose it's only natural for you to want to lend a helping hand wherever possible. Regardless, Eraserhead, your classes' work ethic is certainly admirable for being so young."

Aizawa had no intention of giving a verbal acknowledgment of his colleague's respect; knowing Vlad well enough to know he'd understand his sentiment was still appreciated through his persistent silence. But even that didn't prevent the fanged teacher from suddenly smirking in a knowing confidence that bordered on arrogance: "Of course, don't think this means that Class B is just gonna be slouching. I suggest you and Class A enjoy your time on the podium of favoritism while you still can. In time, my students, my class will be there to pull that rug right from under your feet."

With that, and an almost exaggeratedly determined swagger, Vlad King suddenly took his leave towards Class 1-B's dorm building, leaving Tunguska and Aizawa both in silent confusion between themselves as to just what on earth he was hinting at. Of course, Tunguska himself was in far too jovial a mood to even let a spoken declaration of class war like that get to him, as he simply answered: "I'm sure he's just getting wrapped up in the mood, Aizawa-san. That aside, with the security implements being put in place…well, I don't know about you, but I'm genuinely at a loss as to how this festival could possibly get infiltrated, let alone ruined."

"Yes, well, that kind of blind optimism has proven dangerous far too many times already, Tunguska. Even if you insist on helping your boy with his little side project, you still need to keep your eyes and ears open for anything that could be a potential risk, no matter what." Aizawa's point being made, he too began to pick up the pace of his patrol of the grounds, spurring Tunguska to quickly get his head back in the role himself, taking his own separate way to secure another section of the grounds; all the while never losing that confidence in their security, regardless what anyone else could have said.

Just as Mina had promised, she'd been keeping a close eye on every move Nikolay made while they had practiced at least the beginnings of each of her projected routines on the dorm building roof. He had certainly proved to be in need of improvement when it came to keeping his balance while being driven by the momentum of throwing his body weight into his starting moves, but with her being there to keep him from face-planting or spraining either his arms or his legs, this first little round of training could still ultimately be considered a success as far as she was concerned.

Once they had decided to go back down and check on everyone else still in the commons area, they were now met by the sight of the whole class, and a good number of Kyouka's more eclectic instruments having been removed, now simply leaving a standard rock band set up of her drums, her bass, a keyboard and two guitars. While everyone was naturally pleased to see their two classmates having finally decided to rejoin them, Nikolay noted: "Wow, for how excited you all were, I'd have thought you'd gotten the band all formed up by now."

Scratching the back of her head in personal relief, Kyouka explained: "Yes, well, figuring out a specific music was a bit more challenging than I'd thought. Just because we have a drummer doesn't mean we don't still have a whole world's worth of options to pick from. But we ultimately decided that basic club rock music would be much more universally appealing. Now we can actually start tryouts."

With the decision having just been made as soon as Nikolay and Mina had returned, Momo dutifully stepped forward. "I don't know if this is at all appropriate, but seeing the keyboard still out here, I have to say: as part of my upbringing when I was little, I developed an enthusiasm for the piano, myself. Could that be at all useful?"

The moment those words graced Kyouka's ear, her triangular eyes lit up with inspiration. "Oh, of course! All kinds of rock bands have keyboard players too, not just percussion and strings! You should totally play the keyboards for us, Yaomomo! If we're going for the club rock sound, we can't do without it! You can use mine no problem!"

At the sound of her proposal actually being accepted, Momo's cat-like eyes lit up more than anyone had seen from her yet, a bright and encouraged smile gracing her already beautiful lady-like face as she eagerly proclaimed "I'LL DO MY BEST!"

Of course, with everybody else's excitement at another role having been filled, Mina let out a childish moan of disappointment, half-heartedly tugging Momo by her sleeve. "Aww, whaaaat? Yaomomo, didn't we talk about you being part of the girls' dance squad? Oh, but I forgive you, cause your energy's so cute!"

With that having come and gone, Kyouka's fire was burning bright as she motioned to the bass hanging around her waist. "The bass is the instrument I'm most experienced with, so I'll play that. This just leaves us with two guitarists and a singer to fill in."

With that came the concrete realization among everyone that whoever wasn't going to be in the band were going to be in the dancing group, which left a fair number among them fairly uncertain of themselves; Tenya could easily sense that, atop one other major problem: "I feel that music and dancing still may not be enough, though."

Just as Shoto began to speak up about the same musical performance video he had shown them all yesterday again, Mina once more burst out in excitement: "WE NEED PROPS!"

Like a bolt of pink lightning, Mina was off like a shot, swiping Tenya's laptop right out of his hands before he could even react, rapidly typing with a fury before pulling up a similar video of a band performance, only this one had the added bombast of all kinds of stage effects that just seemed to get one raucous applause from the audience after another.

As she saw the looks of wonder fill her classmates' eyes, Mina could just feel her chest swell with inspiration as she began running her mouth with her train of thought: "See? Like this! Sparks and streamers and disco balls! We need this kinda stuff if we wanna make an atmosphere that can get everybody grooving and dancing with us!"

With an excited squeal, Tooru rang in: "Oooh, I get it! We could make it like a theme park parade!"

The emboldened grin on Mina's face assured everyone that their invisible friend was on the right track. "Yeah, plus it's another way for others to participate if they actually don't wanna dance! Yaomomo, we're borrowing the gym for the show, right?!"

"That's right, Aizawa-sensei's already confirmed it for us." As soon as Momo confirmed they had a stage to work with, Mina's eyes were glittering like stars as she began pointing selecting fingers at the first people she could think of, completely on a mental and emotional roll: "Awesome! So, like, like, Urara-chan could make Todoroki-kun and Kiri float, y'know?! And then—and then he could make a whole bunch of his Ice for him to chop up! And with Aoyama-kun firing his Laser from up above as our human disco ball, all that falling ice would look like stardust! I call it Team Snowmen! Remember those team-up ideas I was talking about?! It could be like Team Rain Day, but way more stylish and fun!"

Mina's boundless creative energy right now was near identical to when she'd started spouting out spontaneous team-up ideas mere days ago. Many of the others couldn't hide the clear impression they felt, knowing how creative she could really be with all of their Quirks when she was inspired enough. Plus, Nikolay likewise couldn't deny that the idea of a special effects team for the show was starting to get his own brain burning with some potential ideas, especially if they were actually going to be able to incorporate their Quirks into the mix.

"Well, before we can start dividing responsibilities between music, dance and effects, we'll still need to find the best people to fill the rest of the band positions." Tenya handily reminded everyone, which still managed to maintain the overall atmosphere of excitement among his classmates, as Ochako chimed in: "Aren't you gonna be singing, Kyouka-chan?"

As Kyouka began to turn on her heels to answer the rosy-cheeked girl, Minoru, Yuga and Eijirou all simultaneously spoke out behind her back: "I SHOULD SING! SINGERS GET ALL THE LADIES!" "I can sing as well as be the disco ball! To be truly multi-capable is the picture of grace, would you all not agree?" "Heck yeah! I can't play an instrument to save my life, but I KNOW I've got a great voice!"

With such enthusiasm on all their parts, Kyouka nor anyone else ever could have said no…although they were quickly left wondering if they should have, as one after another, they simply proved to not be up to snuff; whether it was Eijirou's voice being far too gruff for the kind of music they were looking for ("More suited for the theme song to a yakuza drama" being Nikolay's distinct critique), Minoru simply shrieking like a banshee into the microphone, or Yuga's singing voice being far too lofty and, distinctly, falsetto for the average human ear to tolerate.

"Y'know, I'm starting to agree with what Hagakure-san suggested before. If Jirou doesn't wanna sing, and if Kolya-san doesn't wanna help teach dancing, then why not let him sing? Enough of us have heard him to know he's probably the best among the boys for the job." With Denki's sudden endorsement, Nikolay now found himself being looked upon eagerly by most of his classmates, with Mina even excitedly nudging him over to the microphone being offered by an expectant Kyouka.

Even with the mic now in his hands, Nikolay felt like his legs were going to give out. "Really, guys, I don't think I'm cut out for it, I've never memorized any contemporary Japanese songs to work with yet."

"It's not like you're on stage right now, it's just an audition like everyone else is having! If two people are already vouching for you, then stop wasting our time babbling up there like a cowardly idiot, and show them just what the hell you can do! Do it for yourself, not them!" A sudden bark of abrasive and ultimately surprising encouragement from an impatient Bakugo at the back of the whole crowd had left them all dead silent, and Nikolay shaken…but altogether inspired.

Just like Mina, he needed to do his part and give everything he had to make a moment like this as fulfilling for himself as for anyone else, if not far more so. Nobody was heckling him, they genuinely wanted to see what he could do and support him through it, just like all of them always had been.

And so, with his hand upon the mic clenching into a white-knuckled grip, and his other hurriedly typing in a video of the song that came to mind for musical accompaniment, Nikolay closed his eyes in thought, breathed in deep but shakily, and went with the first song he could think of that followed Kyouka's past advice, of sticking with something more fitting his middle-of-the-road vocal range.

[Alexandrov Ensemble – In the Central Steppes]

"Step' da step' krugom, (In the Central Steppes)

Put' dalyok lezhit,(A long road lay ahead)

V toii stepi glukhoy (In those Central Steppes)

Umiral yamshchik. (A coachman was freezing to death)

I, nabravshis' sil,(He gathered his strength)

Chuya smertnyy chas, (Muttering all he can)

On tovarishchu (He grabbed his friend)

Otdaval nakaz. (He pleaded him to follow his mandate)

Ty, tovarishch moy, (You, my friend)

Ne popomni zla. (Don't worry and keep calm)

V toy stepi glukhoy, (In these Central Steppes)

Skhoroni menya.(Bury my dead body)

Ty loshadushek (Bring these horses)

Svedi k batyushke (To my loving father)

Pereday poklon (Send my mother)

Rodnoy matushke. (A bow and a kiss)

A zhene skazhi (Tell my pretty wife)

Slovo proshchal'noye, (My last words)

Pereday kol'tso (Bring her)

Obruchal'noye. (This golden engagement ring)

A skazhi ty yey – (Tell her to not cry)

Pust' ne pechalitsya, (Don't grieve)

Pust' s drugim ona (Marry and crown with good men)

Obvenchaetsya. (Until your life is at halt)

A pro menya skazhi (Tell her, your beloved has frozen)

Chto v stepi zamyorz. (In the Central Steppes)

A lyubov' yeyo (And that I will love her)

Ya s soboy unes. (Even in the heavens above)"

Somewhere in the process of singing that old Russian folk song for himself, Nikolay had all but forgotten just where he was, so when he finally opened his eyes again and saw the deeply moved shimmer in nearly everyone's eyes, he could feel his heart jumpstart within his chest, alongside his stomach twisting with embarrassment. He couldn't possibly ruin that sensation they were all feeling by revealing the utterly sad story that song was really about.

And even if he had, he never would've gotten the chance, because Tooru, Mina and Denki all were immediately exclaiming: "C'MON, HOW COULD WE PICK ANYBODY ELSE?! THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL! If Kyouka-chan gives Kolya-kun some lyrics that go with her music, he could manage it no problem!"

As he could see more and more of his classmates starting to nod in agreement, including Kyouka, Nikolay's next words came on autopilot: "Wait, before we start confirming anything, there's something about the staging for the dance group I wanted to suggest!"

Knowing he'd managed to put a pause on things for just a moment, the young Slav no longer hesitated: "I was thinking: even if we have the gymnasium to stage our performance in, depending how many people join the stage crew, having everyone else in the dance group forming a line across the stage to dance could still be pretty crowding; physically for us, and visually for the audience. So I was wondering if it might be better for the dance group to form up in pairs to dance a synchronized routine with each other, placed along the stage. And throughout the course of the performance, maybe each pair could rotate to where they get a good few moments to take the center of the stage and perform a standout routine with each other before the next pair moves in, that way everybody who isn't in the band gets a chance to really show what they can do with Mina's teachings; we could maybe even try setting up specific effects to go distinctly with each pair."

At first, he couldn't help but worry that he was forever dashing away the admiration or respect of his classmates for turning down their requests after all of their encouragement. But the more he spoke, the more he could see the light of inspiration within not only Mina's eyes and growing smile, but even within everyone else, all clearly seeing the sense in such an idea.

"Well, we may not have all the roles of the band filled yet, but a man's gotta know his limitations, and give his all where he knows he can make a difference. I can't play and I definitely can't dance, so if you all want me to work the effects team, then I won't let any of you down!" Eijirou's declaration and volunteering was as bombastic and heartfelt as he always was, pounding his fists together with a determined sharp smile on his face, filling his classmates with relief that the vacant spots were already starting to get filled. This feeling only grew stronger as soon Kouji, Hanta and Shoto all likewise volunteered their services alongside him, with Yuga giving a humble bow of acceptance in the human disco ball role he had been pretty much roped into.

"So with Kirishima-san, Kouda-san, Todoroki-san, Sero-san and Aoyama-san's volunteering, I believe that should more than make a big enough stage crew for the performance, and with myself, Bakugo-san and Jirou-san having filled half the roles of the musical group, that leaves thirteen of us, and if we're all on board with Bezpalov-san's idea for the dancing group forming into pairs, we'll need those band roles filled fast."

With Momo summarizing where their project and its members now currently stood, Nikolay immediately chimed in once more: "Yeah, about that, I'm grateful you all think I'm as good a singer as you do, but I really don't think I have what it takes to fill the singer role, to be honest. I'm sorry for the disappointment…but for what it's worth, I'll try my best to make up for it with the rest of the dance team."

There was indeed some definite disappointment evident among Nikolay's classmates at his turning down the role of singer, yet at the same time was there also a huge swelling of excitement among them at the fact he was confirming his involvement with the dance team; Mina especially looking like she was exercising all her restraint to take him off his feet in her arms in an ecstatic joy.

But before anyone could express their understanding, Tenya stepped forward: "Forgive me for risking spoiling the mood, Bezpalov-san, but doesn't yours, Sato-san's and Aoyama-san's responsibility to your food stand side-project inherently risk your abilities to fully commit to dance training with the rest of us?"

To his surprise, though, the three boys in question all looked suddenly reassured, despite the split in their responsibilities; Nikolay answering with a relieved smile on his fair face: "Actually, we got a real stroke of luck with that this morning. Dad has actually offered to help us with the whole construction and running of it once the time comes for us to join the performance. We've already gotten menu items and construction blueprints all written out and everything. We just need to practice our recipes under Lunch Rush's supervision, make sure they're as good as can be, and that'll be the whole side project planned and finished in plenty of time."

With that bit of reassurance given, Tenya gave an acknowledging nod, before Rikido suddenly stepped in with a large raised hand as well: "Actually, with that all being said, I hate to be a downer right now, but I've been giving a lot of thought to it, and the more I've been weighing my options for what to do during the festival, the more I've found myself gravitating to giving my all to helping maintain our classes' stand alongside all the other classes in the school who'd be doing something similar.

"I don't know if any of you have noticed recently, but I've been hearing a lot of our schoolmates in the general department whispering to each other about us, and not good things, for that matter. I can't help but worry that they think our class is conceited, thanks to what we're trying to do on top of the reputation we've already had so far this year, and having one of our teachers man our stand for us while we perform on stage is only going to strengthen those impressions of us. I don't know how much of a difference my being out there to pull my weight will make for that, but we're all still in this together and have to give our all to make this festival the best it can be for everyone…and for me, providing treats that can put smiles on people's faces is me doing my best, like all of us."

There was naturally a number of disappointed and sad looks among his classmates, but the sincerity and utter passion in Rikido's desire to do what he was best at for the sake of their school and the people ultimately counting on them, was similarly admirable. As such, his voluntary resignation from the dance team was officially recognized, and thus he stepped back with a grateful and motivated smile, and Tenya immediately returned his attention to the rest of class. "Well then; with the effects team formed, and Sato-san taking the helm of Class 1-A's food stand once his preparation work with Bezpalov-san and Aoyama-san is completed, and the position for singer still vacant, let us proceed again with the remaining auditions!"

Right on his tail, though, Tooru excitedly twirled all the way back to Kyouka, expertly managing to grab the microphone still in Nikolay's hand along the way, and giving the surprised purple-haired girl no chance to speak: "If Kolya-kun really doesn't wanna do it, then you should totally be the singer instead, Kyouka-chan! Just like his, whenever you sang while teaching me and Ochako-chan music, you looked so happy, so super-duper COOL! PLEASE?! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE?!"

With Tooru all but forcing the mic stand into her face, Kyouka at first looked to her classmates, as though silently begging for one of them to volunteer in her place, only to instead be met by the very same encouraging smiles they had all just given Nikolay before, including the young Russian himself. "Just think about what Bakugo said, Kyouka-san: do it for yourself before anything else."

With that and all other kinds of expressed desires to hear her sing from her heart, Kyouka's eyes reluctantly fell to the mic now in her hand; her Earphone Jacks instinctively coiling up in her embarrassment and fluster.

But then, with her eyes shut, a deep breath taken and her grip tightening, she proceeded to open her mouth, and before everyone's eyes and ears, let out a brief but infinitely moving display of her singing; a husky, even sultry voice that almost seemed to defy the very body type of the girl emanating it, and yet still sounding so perfect for her. Nikolay, Eijirou, Yuga and Minoru could all feel themselves being physically blown away with the heartfelt power in Kyouka's voice as she sang in perfect English, while everyone else could just feel their spirits automatically lift as emotional tears welled up in their eyes.

And, just as quickly as it had begun, Kyouka's display of easily the most beautiful singing any of her classmates had ever heard, had ended all too soon for any of them, while she herself let out a deep sigh of contentment and fulfillment at what she had just done, and that was even before she started getting showered with boundless heartfelt praise from every single one of her classmates, all unanimously crowding her and voicing their desire for her to sing after all.

With her own heart still racing from the utter rush she felt to sing in front of a crowd, as well as just how happy it made her feel deep down as it always did, Kyouka let out an easing sigh of acceptance. "All right…if you all really want me to sing…then I'll do it. Now…we just need two guitarists, then we'll have everyone we need for the music part of the show."

Denki and Minoru both couldn't have volunteered any faster once Kyouka's decision to sing and play bass had been made. Only, whereas Denki proceeded to wow his whole class with an exceptional level of shredding skills that even left Kyouka visibly impressed, it was poor Minoru who proved the odd man out, as his diminutive stature, especially his short arms, prevented him from reaching the strings of his guitar entirely, thus leaving him in a resentful curled up ball at the edge of the auditioning area.

But without a word of warning, Fumikage suddenly approached the discarded guitar, and with an exceptional intense focus in his already intense eyes, he proceeded to belt out before everyone, an especially melancholy but undeniably talented melody that practically rippled through the foundations of the commons area, before ultimately leaving them all in stunned silence, before Denki excitedly shouted in amazement: "DUDE, TOKOYAMI, YOU CAN SHRED, TOO?! WHY DIDN'T YOU SPEAK UP, DUDE?!"

"Alas, I had set aside the axe when the F-chord had bested me. However, if my abilities are needed, I cannot let my past failures hold me back any further." With this regretful and ultimately driven admission, the crow-headed boy looked each of his moved classmates in the eye, before finally setting his sympathetic gaze upon Minoru. "Mineta-san, if your journey is to end here, then I shall wholeheartedly play enough for us both."

"Do whatever the hell you want, man. This is so stupid, I just want this dumb festival to be over with. Buncha lucky long-limbed, golden-voiced bastards." The anguish and anger simmering in the grape-haired boy's mutterings were unmistakable to all ears around him, and as Nikolay looked sympathetically to his lascivious yet ultimately good-natured classmate; so too were Mina and Ochako, before exchanging silent yet knowing glances with each other.

Finally, as Minoru stayed balled up in his self-rocking pit of self-pity, Mina was the one to finally approach him, leaning in with an accepting, kindhearted smile. "Oh, Mineta; I know we said we'll have the dance team form pairs, but would you be willing to join us if I were to team you up with one of the girls, and maybe drum up a section where all of us girls circle around you like a harem? Does that sound good to you?"

And like a literal flip of a switch, Mina's incredibly generous, even selfless offer instantly brightened up Minoru's dreary mood; tears already flowing ceaselessly from his eyes as her words rang like a blessing from a bona fide goddess of mercy. "This is going to be the greatest festival ever."

That single statement was all the answer Mina and everyone else needed to know that Minoru was officially back in, and not only that, but every position for the band and stage crew had ultimately been filled, thus securing everyone else in the class to the dance team. Just like that, one of their biggest hurdles had at last been overcome, with still an entire month's worth of preparation until the big day, and right now, everyone's hearts were so light with excitement, the pressure didn't even serve as a passing thought.

As Tenya and Momo both happily confirmed that all positions had automatically been filled, and many of the students began to automatically celebrate their new roles, Nikolay was already leaning tiredly against the nearest wall, breathing a sigh of immense relief, just as Mina likewise rested herself right next to him in nearly the exact same pose, as though playfully trying to imitate him, but he could only smile at her presence. "I have to admit, I was really surprised back there, Mina. After all the perverted things he's tried to do before, I would've thought offering Mineta-san even a pretend harem would be the last thing you'd ever do. You're truly a bona fide angel in his eyes right now."

With a teasing giggle, Mina brought one arm around his, half-hugging him as they both looked upon their joyfully chatting classmates. "Between you and me, Kolya-kun; if he hadn't looked so brokenhearted, I don't know if I would've. I'd probably have offered it to you, though. What better way to make an unforgettable memory for your first ever school festival, right? I'll still take the little angel comment, though; I think I'd look super cute with wings and a halo, don't you?"

Just that harem idea being directed his way had Nikolay's whole body immediately shiver against her, causing Mina to giggle adorably once more, her tongue poking from her smiling mouth in a cute little tease as hers and Nikolay's eyes met once more. "But seriously, though, everyone deserves to enjoy this to the fullest, even Mineta…and you. I'm so happy you're gonna be dancing with us after all, Kolya-kun, you for really real have no idea."

The warmth emanating from her arms as she continued to hold his; had Nikolay instinctively bracing himself for Mina to suddenly kiss him, even on the cheek, right here where everyone else could easily see. But instead, she suddenly let go and eagerly clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention, but not even remotely dampening their eagerness when they saw the identical smile on her glowing pink face.

"Alright, everyone on the dance team! I've already drawn up a bunch of first draft sketches to give an idea for the different dance routines we can all do! But with Kolya-kun's idea of rotating pairs, once we know who to team up with who and where on the stage to set them up; and of course once we get the finished idea of the music Kyouka-chan and her band will have for us, I'll of course have to make some adjustments! So for starters, since we've still got lots of time today, I'm gonna make a whole buncha copies for us all to look through before we practice out front of the dorms, and you can all let me know which routines you feel most comfortable practicing! Once we've all gotten to see your base skills today, since we got our free day tomorrow, we can spend it all figuring out our pairs and running you through the routines of your shared choice! So get freshened up and go change, get your stretches in and limber up, cause it's time for us all to get movin' and groovin'! This is gonna be the funkiest, most fun time of our lives!"

And faster than light, Mina was already rushing back up to her room to print up as many copies of her dance routines and steps as possible for all confirmed ten members of the dance team. While her uncontainable passion and excitement to get their training started could have very easily come across as oddly intimidating or off-putting, everyone to be on the dance team wasn't about to let that stop them from meeting her passion and determination with their own, and especially not Nikolay.

With just how smoothly all the planning for today was already going, he was feeling truly prepared for anything for the first time since the school festival had even been announced, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make those feelings bloom into something truly unforgettable here with all of his friends and beloved girlfriend at his sides.

Sunday, October 5th

Deciding to forego his Hero costume for the first time in what felt like ever upon the Yuuei grounds, Oleg Bezpalov had gotten an appropriately early start when Sunday rolled around, especially since Nikolay had done the same, having already sent him a text containing the blueprints he, Rikido and Yuga had come up with for their projected food stand, measurements and all.

Seeing that, and subsequently ordering the appropriate supply of lumber from a nearby yard outside of Musutafu City, Oleg had wasted no time getting his sleeves rolled up and getting to work near one of the more forested areas of campus, away from where most everyone else would be hard at work getting their own preparations and projects together. The rhythmic buzzing of the old-fashioned hand saw he was cutting the wood to size with, alongside smell of it and the hammering of nails to follow, honestly couldn't help but instill the older Russian man with a real sense of nostalgia as he worked.

"Good morning, Oleg-san. I honestly didn't expect to find you out here." After just over an hour of working already, Oleg was suddenly greeted by Toshinori Yagi, pleasantly approaching his colleague while still dressed in a formal suit and tie, while Oleg himself was in nothing more than his aged tan overalls and dark blue sweater; his long and graying golden brown hair for once hanging freely over his broad shoulders.

"Oh, good morning, Toshinori-san. Yes, I wanted to just get a head start on getting Kolya and his partners' food stand actually physically made ahead of time. If you weren't so dressed up, I'd ask if you'd care to join me." Oleg offered, a good-natured teasing grin on his aged, rugged face, which Toshinori was quickly returning as well.

"I'd take you up on it, really, except you know that all festival preparation are supposed to be done by the students themselves, right? It's supposed to really help instill in them a proper work ethic." Toshinori couldn't help but instinctively shudder at just how much he sounded like Aizawa, recycling those very same words, while Oleg continued patiently sawing away at another wooden plank.

"Of course, and if Kolya and malenkie Sato and Aoyama weren't already dividing themselves between performance training with the rest of their class, as well as practicing their potential recipes for this very stand with Lunch Rush-san, I'd be letting them work on this as well. But it's precisely the fact they're all pushing themselves so hard, alongside all those other kids putting this elaborate performance of theirs together, while Aizawa-san himself is helping with the staging, that I just thought it would be good to give them a little help of my own. Plus, it honestly feels good, doing this kind of manual work myself again. Remember that log cabin you found me in back in Vladivostok? I built that entire thing with my bare hands back then, too. I'm not out of the workman's saddle just yet."

The sheer conviction emanating from every move Oleg made while hard at work, was something Toshinori could immediately relate to and deeply respect; his gaunt face still smiling approvingly at the Russian's attitude. Finally, with a good-natured sigh, the lanky blonde-haired teacher proceeded to undo his necktie and suit jacket, before rolling up his own sleeves. "Oh, what the heck, it's not exactly like my schedule is packed to the brim, either. If you've got an extra hammer, give it here."

For the next hour and a half, the two teachers and old friends worked diligently together in cutting every piece of wood to length and properly attaching them together, soon managing to get the skeletal frame for the stand all set up and standing, thus leaving them with only the filling in of the gaps, and subsequent painting to work with, though both older men, by now heaving for breath and savoring the feeling of the literal sweat of their labor, knew that last part could easily wait.

As they worked, however, Oleg eventually broke the driven silence between their requests for supplies or support, by asking the one question that had been consistently flickering around in his head: "Has there been any update from Gran Torino-san, Nighteye-san or Naomasa-san to speak of?"

Toshinori's noted pause was not lost on Oleg, but his focus still carried him through even as he proceeded to answer: "Well, good news first, I suppose: Nighteye has been wasting no time getting back into the field in his own way. He's renamed his Agency and passed it down to his sidekicks, and from what he told me, Togata-shonen has actually decided to stay with them as well. He himself is actually just starting to form his own detective agency to aid the police the best he can without his Quirk. I have no doubts we'll be hearing from him a lot more before long."

Oleg could feel the same kind of relief build in his chest as Toshinori no doubt had to be; the two of them continuing to work in perfect rhythm with each other. However, it wasn't too much longer before Toshinori continued, this time with a noted lower overall tone: "As far as Gran Torino and Tsukauchi-san, though…they are recovering well from the incident already, but unfortunately they still haven't had any progress as far as interrogating Kurogiri goes. That being considered, in comparison to the fact we haven't heard so much as a peep from the League of Villains after their attack on the convoy after the Hassaikai mission…I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic that they simply don't want to take any risks as long as we have their trump card in our hands."

Oleg could certainly relate to Toshinori wanting to be optimistic, cautiously or otherwise, but as a colleague, friend and fellow part of the League of Villains case, he couldn't keep his most lingering thought to himself: "Still, that doesn't change the fact that, with Vukodlak on their side, even if he didn't have all these new Quirks of his, however that's possible without him being turned into one of those monstrosities from before…his original Quirk made it impossible for any target whose blood he got a taste of from escaping his pursuit. With how badly he injured malenkie Kirishima, Togata and myself, it's impossible for him not to have gotten a taste of all…which means that, when the time inevitably comes that the League decides to come after us, he'll know exactly where to find any one of us. If malenkii Togata is going to be continuing Hero work like you said, he's always going to have that target on his back."

As Oleg continued hammering in another board that Toshinori was holding steady for him; the former Symbol of Peace himself lowered his gaze in serious contemplation. With everything Oleg had told him about Vukodlak, he had no reason to disbelieve anything he was saying, and with that came that choking concern for his friend, Eijirou, Mirio and ultimately everyone in this school. But it wasn't like he could simply have Mirio get reeled back into Yuuei and held there like all the other students were; not the least of which because it would've been spitting in the face of Nighteye's belief in his former sidekick's future, but so too would leaving him out and vulnerable. Right now, he was truly at a loss as to what the truly right thing to do would be.

Once the stand was finally fully built and safely stored away on the campus before it would be put outside the gymnasium for the festival, and all before it was even ten in the morning, both men decided to head for the staff break room for tea, before soon being spotted by Izuku, who had been busily searching the campus for just the two of them. "ALL MIGHT! TUNGUSKA-SENSEI!"

With their moods already as high as they could be after a good bit of hard work, both of Izuku's mentors were visibly pleased to see him already so energized so early. "Midoriya-shonen, good morning! You look a little more excited than usual." "Surely he's just eager to start practicing with the rest of the class for the festival, without any classes to get in the way and all. Am I right?"

Indeed, Izuku did look as excitable as they were both used to seeing, but once he'd come to a stop, Toshinori could especially pick up a glimmer of what felt like anxiety in his inheritor's body language, even before he answered: "Well, yes, I am. I know it's gonna be a lot of hard work until the day comes, but that's gonna be fun in its own right…but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. Do you think we could maybe talk about this in private?"

By now, both Heroes knew that when Izuku was like this, there was no doubt about how serious it had to be. As such, within minutes the three of them were seated in another circle within the privacy of the staff break room; Toshinori wasting no time once the tea was all set out. "So, what's on your mind, Midoriya-shonen? It's been quite a while since we've been able to talk with each other like this, hasn't it?"

Izuku's previous youthful excitement had quickly dissipated as he bowed his head, clutching his pant legs in bristling anxiety. "I don't know if Tunguska-sensei told you about this before, All Might; but back during our mission against the Hassaikai, I managed to take One For All up to 20% by forcing myself and really overdoing it. I could only maintain it for a little bit since it was so taxing. I even tried to force myself the same way to get to that level while sparring with Kolya-san, but I could only make it to 17% the last time, and the pain it was putting my body through was no less intense.

"But even when I had managed to get to 20%, and even when I had Mirio-senpai, Tunguska-sensei, Nighteye-sensei and so many others fighting with me…and even putting themselves on the line for me, it still wasn't enough for me to win. Chisaki was still able to read all my moves. More than that…if Eri-chan hadn't been there, I would've worn myself down almost immediately…and gotten myself killed. I didn't have any way to fight back against his long-range attacks, either. I've been thinking hard about it ever since, but I'm honestly not sure how I should be fighting, since I still can't control my Quirk fully. I just don't have an answer."

Both men could see this deeply reaching frustration tracing the edges of Izuku's words as his eyes remained glued to the floor. Exchanging thoughtful glances with each other, Toshinori finally answered, sounding and looking as though he'd simply been waiting for this very discussion to come: "So, you've finally hit a dead end, huh? Well, I've got just one thing to say to that, Midoriya-shonen: TRY DOING SOME LONG RANGE ATTACKS, YOURSELF!"

Toshinori's answer sounded like simplicity itself, which only served to make Izuku's frustrated impatience that much stronger. "UGH, IF ONLY TIME COULD GO FASTER SO I COULD GET STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE TO REALLY HAVE AN EFFECT LIKE YOU, ALL MIGHT!"

However, Toshinori likewise had expected his anxious young student to have this kind of reaction, as he instead beckoned Oleg to stand with him. "I honestly knew an obstacle like this would come to you sooner or later, Midoriya-shonen, so I've been thinking of a good way to help you as well. So how about a change of scenery so I can show you what I have in mind?"

At Toshinori's request, Izuku wasted no time getting changed into his P.E. uniform, and he soon found himself alongside his two teachers in Yuuei's official forest sector, where Toshinori had no hesitation in asking the boy to jump straight to his 20% level of his Full Cowl where he stood, regardless of Izuku's automatic argument about the strain it still had on his body.

With no other choice, Izuku had to steady his breathing and try to focus on that very same adrenaline he had felt back in that initial moment he had reached that new threshold. Before long, his entire body was illuminating with the sparking power of One For All; but even as he remained standing completely still as it activated, he could already feel his bones rattle, his muscles border on fraying.

Observing this aura of absolute power engulfing Izuku's body alongside his colleague, Toshinori commanded: "Now, while standing there: ATTACK!"

With Izuku's body postured as it was, the first kind of attack he could physically do was a high sweeping kick of blinding speed, the arc sending a sudden intense gust of wind in its wake outward, cleanly blasting away the bark upon one side of two trees in front of him. Having observed this effect just the same as Izuku and Oleg, Toshinori sighed in understanding. "Yes, that's what I thought. I was planning to teach you about this once your threshold had exceeded 15%. That was where I had to get, myself, before I'd finally realized and gotten the hang of it. From what was described to me about your last battle, you clearly haven't noticed because your fighting style has prioritized defense, but you can actually fire off a blast of wind without hurting yourself."

The moment Oleg saw the look of shock on Izuku's face at this explanation of what he could now do; he too chimed in: "As a matter of fact, if you really think about it, malenkii Midoriya; this new aspect to your Quirk is not at all dissimilar to what Kolya's Quirk primarily does. It's likewise not solely a long-range Quirk, but unlike your wind power; it rather utilizes the rapid absorption and release of kinetic energy channeled through physical attacks, absorbed and powered up through all vibrations; the resulting look of which could easily be mistaken as a high-pressure blast of wind to the uninformed. I dare say that if you two perhaps wished to continue sparring, it would be a great way for you to truly practice and get the hang of this new aspect to your Quirk, without running the risk of breaking your body apart."

As Toshinori saw the light of inspiration within Izuku's eyes at Tunguska's admittedly sound suggestion, he too stepped back in: "Think back on your journey so far, Midoriya-shonen; you know this is the next logical step from all you've already learned."

Indeed, as soon as he'd been told to, Izuku's mind was already racing through every major step forward he'd managed to reach and surpass since being given One For All; from his initial one-move self-annihilation of channeling 100% of his power into a single body part, to learning how to control exactly how much output of his power he put into that one part, to controlling that same output through his entire body at once through his Full Cowl, to the development of his signature Shoot Style, to raising his threshold between 5 to 8%; and finally to this very moment, of trying to go all out and maintain 20%, even if only for a short period of time. With all of that, to now try and master an automatic long-range attack from the sheer physical power of One For All was the best thing he could do next.

And as though their brains were perfectly in tune, Toshinori suddenly exclaimed: "This all now brings us to the heart of the matter: when I was your age, I—"You weren't actually using 100% all the time."

Izuku's sudden interruption, or better yet realization of his mentor's point, left Toshinori and Oleg both visibly shocked, while the boy himself was already too deep in his own train of thought to notice: "Of course, it all makes sense; if All Might was using 100% of his power all the time, every little action would constantly result in those huge wind blasts. That's it! I can't move around at 20% for too long, but if I were to, just for an instant at the exact point when I'm striking, combine steps two and six: controlling my output in one body part, and going all out to reach 20% at the same time!"

With an approving nod at the conclusion Izuku had come to, Toshinori surmised: "I agree that, with your wind pressure attacks mirroring Bezpalov-shonen's Kinetics Quirk, the two of you sparring those specific ranged attacks with each other will be your best way of gaining a handle on it. But you're still going to be pushing past your limit every time you wield that attack, so you're going to need to learn far more delicate control of your physical attacks while doing so, far more than you're used to."

Looking from his hands to his feet, Izuku was not intimidated, but only that much more inspired. "So I should focus on the parts of my body I can move more precisely, right? That's what I should be training…and I may already know the perfect person to help me gain that very control."

"A LITTLE SHARPER, MIDORI-KUN! IT'S POP-N-LOCK, SO DON'T FORGET THE L-O-C-K!"

Of course, with Sunday being their free day, and with Mina's decision having already been made to have it be all about dancing tryouts to figure out the specific pairs for the dance team; Izuku couldn't even begin to get the chance to ask her about the potential for learning her more signature break-dancing moves one-on-one, as she proved herself to be quite the force of authority when she was finally in full-trainer mode, currently putting them all through the wringer out in front of the 1-A dorm building.

Where her passion for dance as a whole had given her an intensity none of her friends were used to; when it came to helping her classmates unlock their inner dancing potential, Mina was an absolute fiend, coming across as outreaching and intimidating all at the same time, as whenever one student either got their posture over or under-extended, or their feet weren't meeting their intended positions with each step just as they needed to, she was immediately right there to manually get them into position with her own hands, all but brute-forcing into their heads just where they needed to push themselves to get to.

Since Nikolay had naturally been the first member of the team Mina had picked to show what he had learned (naturally needing to be manually corrected three different times before it was Mashirao's turn), he had the opportunity while everyone else was going through the rounds, to approach Momo, who thankfully had an opportunity to even speak with him while Kyouka was busy discussing a specific chord progression for Denki and Fumikage to work on, now that their actual set list for the show had been decided.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, and I know I should be talking with the stage effects team for this, but you're the best person I could think of to talk about this ahead of time, Yaoyorozu-san. See, I was thinking it would get a really nice reaction out of the crowd, especially in combination the idea to combine Aoyama-san's Laser with Todoroki-san's Ice to add a glittering effect; if we were to perhaps have a series of tiny glitter bombs on a synchronized timer lining the border of the stage, so that when the several dance routines and the music all reach their crescendo, I could try channeling the tiniest shockwave from my feet as they go off so the sparkles and glitter could fly even higher into the air than they normally would, thus adding multiple different colors to the ice crystal stardust effect Mina was talking about before."

From the beginning, it had sounded like an idea for an effect that could ultimately prove unforgettable if combined properly, but considering who he was talking to, as opposed to who he should have been talking to, Nikolay was progressively feeling more and more sure that Momo would consider the whole display to be a bit visually overwhelming for the audience…at least until he saw the genuine look of consideration in the vice president's studious eyes. "I see…yes, I can see how that all together could really draw a good reaction from everyone, perhaps even inspire a relieving sense of wonder. I understand Ashido-san has some experience making such things for pulling pranks, thanks to Bakugo-san, so I could perhaps ask her to show me how she makes them, then I can Create as many as we would need along with some timers. I still suggest you run this by the effects team before anything else when you get the chance…but good thinking overall, Bezpalov-san."

With one representative's blessing for his sudden idea, Nikolay wasted no time approaching Eijirou, Shoto, Hanta, Kouji and Yuga on the effects team with the very same idea, and with a majority reaction of absolute enthusiasm, and one reaction of borderline indifference that still ultimately amounted to approval; Nikolay was feeling damn good by the time he'd finally returned to the front yard, where all his fellow dance team members, excepting Mina naturally, were currently hunched over and trying to catch their breath after having all run through their selected routines under her instructive and watchful eye.

Of course, upon seeing Nikolay return from his momentary break, Mina's intense eyes somehow managed to match the emboldened smile on her face as she hurriedly pulled him back in with the rest of his teammates. "Just in time, Kolya-kun! Everybody's showcased the routines they feel most comfortable with, and we've already got a couple pairs decided! We just need to have you go through your routine one more time among our still-available members, so we can decide who you work best with…starting with me! Show me your moves!"

Suddenly being put on the spot, Nikolay found himself facing off against Mina expertly throwing herself in a back-flip into another on-ground dynamic spinning roll that turned into several pop-n-lock poses either on one of her hands, one of her shoulders, or one of her legs; each one incorporating her only slightly adjusting herself into lower or more extended stances with each one in a jerky, robotic fashion that showcased absolute control of her body.

With no choice but to try and meet her in kind, Nikolay likewise tried to throw himself into the dance he felt most confident in, even after just one personal training session with her on the roof yesterday; a testament to what an effective instructor Mina could truly be, as he likewise managed to squat down and spring himself up into a risky but altogether successful back-flip of his own, tucking himself into a cannonball shape in the air before just as quickly extending his limbs and meeting the ground with one foot on a squatted leg, keeping his other leg extended outward before breaking into the same squatting-kicking circular moving display he had shown to all his classmates before, keeping his arms extended and folding in repetition against his chest, before suddenly springing back up in a whirling motion onto his straightened legs, spinning on the tips of his toes with his arms flush to his chest.

His current display ultimately ended when in his spinning, he suddenly threw himself into a downward forward jump, meeting the ground with his hands before folding his arms to cushion the impact, using his forward momentum to roll onto his left hip before springing himself up with his hands again, swinging his legs all around on the ground in a figure-eight formation while alternating between his hands supporting him from below, all ultimately ending in him ultimately rolling himself backward and onto his knees with his arms extended outward, now likewise heaving to catch his breath.

While Nikolay had been focusing so intensely on his own routine; so too had Mina been focusing on both his and her own, actively comparing their ability to stay within one isolated spot during the course of the opening of their routine, their speed in order to stay synchronized with each other's moves, and overall sense of balance and control.

With her focused expression betraying nothing of what was going through her head at what she'd seen Nikolay manage to do, Mina's gaze darted to Tsuyu; the frog-like girl's expression showing nothing of her reaction once Mina called out: "Tsu-chan, your turn! Get in close with Kolya-kun, run your routines with each other again and let's see."

As soon as Tsuyu was at Nikolay's side, Mina once more hit the play button on the little stereo she'd brought out with some basic dance beats for everyone to try and keep pace and rhythm to. As soon as the music started, Nikolay breathed in deep and threw himself into the very same routine he'd just gone through, while Tsuyu similarly tried to emulate a similar kind of energy with her much more on-foot full-body dancing routine that more resembled a faster-paced waltz than Nikolay's attempted hybrid of Mina's break-dancing and his own native folk military dancing.

While Tsuyu's display was certainly cute in how rigid she naturally was with her back as slouched over as it was, while still managing to display an enthusiastic energy that was fitting with the music; Nikolay's wide-range of ground his routine ultimately covered ended up proving their two routines at inherent risk of colliding into each other, hence once the music ceased, Mina had her eyes now set on the only other girl still available, thanks to Tooru ultimately having been paired with Minoru (as per Mina's promise to the tiny boy). "URARA-CHAN, YOUR TURN!"

Nikolay and Izuku both couldn't help but instinctively blush similarly to Ochako herself as she timidly approached Nikolay while Mina was rewinding the track again. "I-I hope my moves don't mess with yours, Kolya-san. I kinda have been improvising them, to be honest."

"Alright, and let's see you two break it, break it down! One, two, three, go!" At Mina's excited announcement and press of the play button, Nikolay once more threw himself into the start of the very same routine, running through it just as he'd been trying to the last two times, while Ochako similarly began to throw her entire body weight and the resulting momentum into a series of focused mid-air rolls over and around his trajectory, allowing herself to pull off some brief but altogether impressive on-the-ground spins, rolls and poses that somehow managed to perfectly synch up with several of the momentary poses Nikolay too tried to strike, like two human pieces of a jigsaw puzzle perfectly fitting together in those split-second moments.

As soon as the music came to an end, Nikolay and Ochako were both being helped by Mina and Izuku back to their feet, both gasping for breath and having broken a sweat, but both soon looking and feeling utterly amazed when they saw the clear inspiration on Mina's face. "That was so groovy, you guys! You both moved around a lot, but managed to perfectly stay out of each other's moves, while still managing to strike poses in the air and on the ground that perfectly lock up with each other! Urara-chan, that looked totally different from the routine you picked from the choices I gave you!"

Ochako's face was already turning red with embarrassment when receiving such praise for something she herself had thought to be nowhere as impressive as Mina's display, or even Tooru's. "Oh, I-I'd actually tried including some of the close-quarter maneuvers Tunguska-sensei had taught me into the routine I picked, just cause it felt like it'd fit in, though I wasn't sure. Y-you really think I was that good, Mina-chan?"

Without a warning, Mina was grabbing Ochako and Nikolay's shoulders, before ultimately pushing them in together, and eagerly nudging them further with the other formed up pairs in the dance team, all the while exclaiming with a blinding smile: "Are you kidding, I might actually ask you to teach ME that if I can't get it down before the festival! I think you guys are our next confirmed pair! Congrats!"

While Mina's excitement was undeniably infectious; neither she, Nikolay nor Ochako could deny feeling a faint sensation of disappointment in the pit of their stomachs, after having the clear difference in their styles and movements proven so wide, that he could no longer look at the possibility of being able to dance with his girlfriend during the show, nor could Ochako be able to dance with Izuku; who ultimately ended up being paired alongside Mashirao, while Mina ended up ultimately being paired with Tsuyu, thanks to her much more masterful area of movement control with her own routine not risking upsetting that of the green-haired girl's.

"Alright, now that we've got all our pairs formed and the stage planned out, let's decide which pairs are going to be placed where, and what order we're gonna go for the center stage rotation!" Mina immediately ordered with another resounding clap of her hands, spurring everyone to gather round so they could start. But just before they could, a passing glance outside their group drew a surprised exclamation from Izuku: "Oh! Mirio-senpai!"

The sound of their long-absent third-year's name being called brought everyone in the dance group to a frozen halt, and in the split moment it took for Nikolay and Mina to turn and see for themselves; Izuku, Ochako and Tsuyu likewise exclaimed in shock with each other: "Wait…E—ERI-CHAN?!"

The first thing the whole dance team saw when they turned around, wasn't in fact the sight of Mirio Togata laughing raucously as he stuck his thankfully clothed posterior out of the bushes in an attempt at a childish prank; but rather the sight of a single adorable pale little girl with long silver hair, a single little nub of a pale horn barely protruding from the left side of her forehead, and the biggest pretty apple-red eyes any of them had ever seen; dressed in a white undershirt beneath a dress skirt and overalls of alternating red and pink with large yellow buttons, a dark red tiny purse slung over her right shoulder and resting at her left side, black leggings and a pair of almost comically large tan boots.

As she looked at all the unfamiliar teenagers before her like a total deer in the headlights, the small child whom they'd just heard referred to for the first time as Eri, nervously focused her sight on Izuku, muttering out a faint and nervous: "Hi, Mr. Deku."

While Aizawa was likewise making his presence known, telling Mirio to knock off his immature prank and stand up; everyone else was still simply too overwhelmed at the presence of this unfamiliar little girl, with Mashirao instinctively asking "Is this your kid, senpai?!"

But whereas the boys were all simply surprised at a new face, with Nikolay barely managing a similarly awkward "Hello, Eri-chan" when having picked up what Izuku, Ochako and Tsuyu had called her; the girls were all immediately fawning over the withdrawn Eri; Ochako and Tsuyu taking the lead in order to stop Mina and Tooru from rushing in too fast and potentially scaring her, while all four simply kept swooning together: "Hi, Eri-chan-kero. Stylish clothes." "So, so, so, SO cute!" "Urara-chan, Tsu-chan, who is this little gumdrop?! She's SO ADORABLE!" "Is this really Togata-senpai's kid?! So scandalous…OH, BUT SHE'S SO CUTE; CUTE AS A BUTTON, SO WHO CARES?!"

Thankfully, Mirio wasn't remotely surprised by the rest of Class 1-A not being fully aware of exactly who Eri was, as it had long since been decided after the Hassaikai mission had ended, that her name and details be kept away from the media and the general public, simply because the overflow of attention centered on her would have most likely only made her overall trauma that much worse. Hence, nobody would put the pieces together of who she really was, even when called by name; especially since it had likewise been decided once permission had been granted for her to be brought to Yuuei, that they would simply go with the story of her being the senior's estranged young daughter.

As such, Aizawa made no attempt to correct his students fawning over Eri, as he took the chance to explain: "We got permission from Nezu-san to bring her here. As it turns out, Eri-chan here hasn't had any real social interactions with other people before, and Togata wanted to bring her to the school festival, but we were of the same mind that such a spectacle of an event from the get-go would be too much, so we decided to bring her here today for starters so she wouldn't panic when the day of the festival arrives."

While Tenya was as polite and formal as he possibly could be when introducing himself (while miraculously managing not to let his voice get too loud and potentially frighten her), and Minoru not only introduced himself but even asked the small girl to look him up in the next ten years; Nikolay cleared his throat and nervously approached the similarly nervous little girl, kneeling down to be on the same eye level as her while offering a single open hand for her to take. "It's nice to meet you, Eri-chan. I'm Nikolay Olegovich Bezpalov…but my friends all call me Kolya…and you can, too, if you like."

As Eri looked nervously to the young Russian's open hand, almost as though she were afraid to reach out and touch it; Mina and Tooru together both nearly came rushing in, their faces both the very picture of fawning sisterly affection. "Welcome to Yuuei, Eri-chan! I'm Hagakure Tooru! Let's have lots and lots of fun together on festival day, okay?! I promise you're gonna love it!" "And I'm Ashido Mina; let's be the best of friends, Eri-chan! Aww, you've even got a little horn, just like me! Oh, senpai, Sensei, she's so cute! Urara-chan, Tsu-chan, Midori-kun, how do you all know about her and we don't?"

As Mashirao and Mezo (and subsequently the rest of the class once Eijirou burst out the door with the intention of talking to the dance team, and thus noticing Eri and Mirio's presence), similarly introduced themselves to Eri, Izuku hurriedly recycled the agreed-upon story to answer Mina and everyone else's curiosity: "Well, in the time I spent interning with Mirio-senpai, we naturally got to talking about things, and I found out about her living alone with her mother and grandparents from him, and I couldn't help but share a little of that with Uraraka-san and Tsu-san as well. It just kind of happened."

As Eri was visibly struggling to try and greet all the new students enthusiastically introducing themselves in welcome, Mirio naturally stepped in with an appreciative smile, motioning her back behind him in order to help her feel more comfortable. "Don't worry about her not answering you all, she's on the shy side, hence why I thought it'd be a nice idea to show Eri around Yuuei today. Oi, Midoriya, Bezpalov, would you wanna join us, too?"

While Izuku was definitely surprised he was being asked along; Nikolay looked as though he were hearing things; the shocked look on his face drawing an amused laugh out of his senior. "Hey, why don't all your pals who went to Hokkaido with you come with? I've been really wanting to hear how that whole mission of yours went once I'd heard about it, and who knows when I'll get the chance to come back to campus again after this and the festival?"

Nikolay, Mina, Tenya, Momo and Kyouka all exchanged conflicted gazes with one another. Not only did they likewise want to know how Mirio was holding up in the aftermath of his and Izuku's mission, but there was still all their overhanging responsibilities to getting as much practice in for the festival as possible. Nikolay could clearly see this in Mina and Kyouka especially.

"Oh…I wanna go with so bad, but we've still got so much training to do—"Yeah, but we can't just leave senpai hanging, either." As Mina and Kyouka muttered these facts, Nikolay was likewise continuously changing his gaze from his dance team partners to Aizawa, Mirio and Eri and back, similarly at a loss of what was ultimately best.

Finally, he found himself getting softly nudged forward towards them and Izuku by Mina, an understanding smile on her face. "Kolya-kun, Midori-kun, go ahead and go with senpai and Eri-chan. We can catch you up once you both get back, so you can start practicing with your pair partners, okay?"

Both boys were visibly surprised that Mina was actually allowing them to take even a little more time away from dance team practice; only slightly reassured when she suddenly called for the team to take a tea break immediately afterward. With that, and no other reason to hesitate any further, Nikolay and Izuku both gladly rejoined Mirio and Eri's side; the Russian boy still processing the fact he had been invited along personally at all (on top of the lingering regret that he and Mina weren't going to be dance partners after all), and soon they and Aizawa were making their way through the Yuuei dorms area together, taking in the numerous sights of every single other classes' different festival preparations, each one providing but a glimpse into just what they had in store for the big day.

Nikolay could easily see the look of confusion and wonder evident in Eri's eyes in response to virtually everything she was seeing, as though she had never even heard of any of it before. If Aizawa's explanation of her circumstances was correct, and her mother and relatives had kept her in virtual isolation from the world, then clearly Mirio had made the decision to bring her out into the real world none too soon. And with that, naturally, came the bitter question of just what kind of person he would've gone that far with to be able to have a child, how young he had to have been when it had happened, considering Eri looked to be around five or six years old from the looks of it, and finally, what on earth he could've seen in her mother to begin with, only for said mother to do something ultimately so cruel.

And, just as naturally, came his astonishment that Mirio had apparently gone all that way with a girl, and was still somehow able to stay as a student in Yuuei despite it. With that came its own bucket full of questions as to how he managed it, and the inevitable possible wonderings of what would've happened if he and Mina were to have one day lost track of themselves and crossed that hurdle before even graduating.

As to be expected, even beginning to mentally drift into that particular area had Nikolay's fair face already turning red, while Mirio was far more focused on explaining everything Eri was seeing to her as clearly as he could: "Sundays are usually a day off for students, but since we're still in the dorms, it's just to be expected everyone would be busy working on all their projects."

Eri was keeping a firm grip on Mirio's pant leg as she kept pace, but before he could explain anything much further, a couple other passing third-year students stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of their long-absent peer: "Yo, Togata! When did you get back?!" "Hey, since when did you have a kid?! Don't tell me THAT'S why you've been taking so much time off lately!"

Instead of actually saying anything, Mirio simply shut his eyes and reduced his normally beaming smile to only the faintest cheeky grin, leaving his fellows visibly put-off by his giving them no clear answer. Of course, even their indignation couldn't last forever in his uplifting presence, as one of them commented while hurriedly handed him a pamphlet, which he naturally took with sincere gratitude: "Well, all jokes aside, this eyar's festival is already shaping up to really outdo last year's. Class A among the first-years is sounding like it's gonna be real promising, especially. You've all certainly had your hands full so far, haven't you?"

With Nikolay and Izuku both visibly at a loss of what else to say to another senior's compliments other than "thank you," Mirio's expression once again lit up as he turned to address Nikolay personally: "Hey, yeah, this is the perfect chance! Tell me all about Hokkaido, Bezpalov-kun! It sounds like you and your classmates had a real banger of an experience just like Midoriya and I did!"

Of course, Mirio's energy was automatically overwhelming, as Nikolay naturally answered: "We already went through retelling everything to Hadou-senpai and Amajiki-senpai shortly after we'd told the rest of our class; couldn't you easily ask them?"

Even with Eri still clutching onto him, Mirio hooked an eager arm over the nervous Russian boy's shoulders, shooting an enthusiastic thumb up with his free hand. "Aww, we all know nothing compares to getting a firsthand telling from the one who lived it himself! I understand you took the reins of the mission a fair share, yourself; you gotta give me something!"

But while Nikolay grew increasingly uncomfortable and put-on-the-spot right now, Izuku thankfully stepped in, looking regretfully to his classmate and senior alike. "I think we both understand where you're coming from, Mirio-senpai; but Kolya-san and the others' mission in Hokkaido was no less intense than ours, to be honest. Could it maybe wait until another time?"

Of course, Izuku was quickly apologetically bowing for essentially speaking for Nikolay, but the sentiment was thankfully not lost on Mirio, as he instead phased his arm free through the Russian's head, letting him go with an apologetic grin. "Of course that's okay. Forgive me, Bezpalov-kun; anyone you ask will tell you I'm the excitable type. There's no rush, feel free to tell me whatever you feel like when you're ready."

While Nikolay could definitely appreciate Mirio recognizing the need for boundaries; Izuku's reminder of their own mission spurred him to similarly admit: "I'm sorry for not saying it earlier, Togata-senpai; but I wanted to give you my condolences for…well, for what happened to Sir Nighteye. I know it could have easily been far worse, but I know it still couldn't have been easy."

Mirio's smile reflected a genuine appreciation for his foreign junior's sincere feelings as he nodded in acknowledgment. "It was…well, still is, if I'm being honest with you both…but I know Sir wouldn't want me dwelling on his not teaching me anymore, so I'm just making sure I keep facing every day, every challenge with a smile on my face and a laugh in my heart…just like he and All Might both would be right now if things were different."

This being the first time Nikolay had gotten to really witness and hear Mirio talk about his and Izuku's former mentor, it was easy to see just how much he truly admired the man, and thus how hard it still was for him to talk about his current circumstances. But the fact that he could take that kind of professional loss and continue going this strong in order to honor his teachings, was similarly very admirable. Mirio, himself, was clearly quick to let the dips in his emotions simply come and go, as his eyes once again lit up alongside his smile. "Now c'mon, you two; enough with all this heavy talk for now; there's still so much to see!"

As Mirio began to take another step forward, he momentarily felt his pant leg get tugged, as Eri was only briefly not keeping pace with him; maintaining her hold on him, while her eyes were focused with great curiosity on Nikolay specifically. Of course, the young Slav couldn't automatically guess as to what about him got her attention so much, other than the fact he clearly wasn't Japanese like literally anyone else she knew. Coming from anyone much older than her, he easily could've guessed that to be a show of prejudice, but that kind of thinking was impossible for him when it was coming from such a young child.

Fortunately, Izuku and Mirio both noticed this show from her as well, as the freckled young Hero hurriedly knelt at her side. "There's no reason to feel nervous or curious, Eri-chan; Kolya-san is a good friend of mine, like everyone in my class. He actually comes from a whole other country with plenty of Heroes of its own as well."

Nikolay visibly appreciated Izuku thinking far enough ahead to spare Eri the grisly details of the truth, while Mirio similarly added: "That's right, do you remember that big glowing Hero with the bushy beard I told you about who worked with me and Midoriya? Well, he's actually Bezpalov-kun here's dad. You see? Everybody here in this school is real friendly."

Thankfully, Izuku and Mirio's words finally spurred Eri to give the tiniest bow of apology for staring, while Nikolay could only imagine Mirio having told her about Tunguska, as it was only natural for a father to tell their children about what they went through.

With that, his little group was soon on the move again, and the further they went, the more hustle and bustle among the third-years, second-years and first-years from all across the school became the norm, prompting Eri to once again retreat halfway behind his leg to try and keep out of too many people's view; while Nikolay and Izuku were both simply amazed at some of the elaborate props and decorations their fellow students were all working so intently on. It definitely left Nikolay especially excited to see what the whole school was ultimately going to look like when the big day finally arrived.

Rounding another corner, though, the four of them came to an immediate halt as a large plaster cast of a dragon's head came lunging from out of nowhere, drawing a surprised gasp out of the two first-years, before a familiarly gruff voice spoke out from behind it: "Oh, sorry, dudes—HEY! Bezpalov and Midoriya from Class A! Long time no see, man!"

Before either of their hearts could stop racing from surprise, they were met by the calmingly familiar sight of the grey-haired sharp-toothed Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from Class B, being the one carrying this large dragon prop from the start; his beady eyes immediately focusing on Nikolay once he'd realized who he nearly crashed into.

While Izuku was immediately attending to Eri afterwards, seeing the sad look in her eyes at the now-familiar sight of a dragon (undoubtedly from her memory of Ryukyu), Nikolay was immediately all smiles at the sight of one of the most familiar faces from their supposed rival class, already preparing to come in and shake Tetsutetsu's hand in greeting, before quickly realizing his hands were full.

But by the time he was halfway there, another very familiar, but far less pleasant voice, similarly called out from the other side: "WHAT'S THIS?! YOU ALL DAWDLING BACK HERE, CLASS A?! CAN YOU REALLY SPARE THE TIME?!"

Naturally, where one Class B student was, the ever-present and infinitely irritating presence of Neito Monoma was never far behind, and like a bad itch, the blonde-haired boy was staring his daggers of mockery into Nikolay and Izuku both, even as Nikolay answered back: "What gives, Monoma-san; after everything we went through, do you really have to stick with that tone?"

"MY FOCUS IS ON THE FUTURE, AS ALL YOURS SHOULD BE, CLASS A! I HEAR YOUR CLASS IS PUTTING ON A LIVE SHOW, CORRECT?! CAN YOU REALLY PULL THAT OFF?! BECAUSE BELIEVE ME, OUR ORIGINAL STAGE PLAY IS GOING TO BLOW YOUR WEAK LITTLE SONG AND DANCE OUTTA THE WATER! EVEN IF YOU SOMEHOW MANAGE TO CHEAT YOUR WAY TO THE TOP OF THE FESTIVAL REGARDLESS, YOUR PLACE OF ADVANTAGE IS SOON GONNA GET PULLED RIGHT OUT FROM UNDER YOUR FEET, AND THEN YOUR CLASS WILL GET THAT LONG-DESERVED EGG ON YOUR FACE, THAT'S OUR PROMISE!"

THWACK!

Neito's mockery was hardly anything new, but the fact he was even entertaining the idea of Class 1-A managing to potentially outdo Class 1-B's apparent stage play, only for something else to ultimately come and knock them down further in the future; naturally had Nikolay and Izuku's curiosity piqued. Alas, before either of them could ask what he meant, assuming he even would've said anything to spoil the surprise, the spiky black-haired, bandanna-wearing student of his class known as Yosetsu Awase, had dutifully come in and knocked Neito flat to the ground with a single hit of a bamboo practice sword; just as quickly picking him right back up like a listless crash-test dummy.

"Sorry about that, Class A guys. I have to fill in for Kendo-san in keeping Monoma reeled in while she's attending to the Miss Con Beauty Pageant part of the festival. Since I ain't this guy, I'll wish you two good luck with your show, cause you're gonna need it, going up against ours." His explanation was as blunt and to the point as could be, as he was already taking his leave, but the mention of the festival having an apparent beauty pageant had stricken Nikolay hot under the collar with a particularly powerful mental image of Mina, if not all the girls of Class 1-A, potentially participating, and just how much more irresistibly beautiful his pink angel of a girlfriend would look up there.

Undoubtedly, if they hadn't already been fully dedicated to their class-wide show, if she were to know of this, she would doubtless want every one of the girls to participate, too. But before Nikolay could dwell on that any further, Mirio had likewise been stricken with an idea at the reminder, as he eagerly urged his two junior companions along: "Sorry for introducing you to the dark side of Yuuei right off the bat, Eri-chan…but hey, speaking of the beauty pageant, I bet SHE'S going to go all out this year! C'mon, let's go pay her a visit, you guys!"

Izuku had to practically drag Nikolay by the arm as they both mentally struggled to keep up with what had so suddenly lit a fire under Mirio's feet: "Who's going all out, Mirio-senpai?!" "Who else? Last year's second place runner up, Nejire-san!"

Naturally, upon reaching the equipment room, they were quick to find Nejire and Tamaki, where he was currently and reluctantly helping a small team of other third-year students prepare her in her apparent choice of dress; a minty green piece that had enough frills at the skirt to be cute, but likewise really accentuated her sizeable chest that really solidified her exceptionally mature figure, to Nikolay and Izuku's mutual embarrassment, as neither of them could bear to make eye contact with her once she noticed theirs, Mirio's and Eri's unexpected arrival and eagerly flew over to them with her usual deluge of questions. Of course, her immediately knowing Eri by name didn't come nearly as much of a surprise to Nikolay, figuring that with the Big three being so tightly knit, they would surely know of Mirio's apparent hidden daughter before anyone else.

Of course, as soon as the opportunity had come, Izuku had barely managed to stammer out in response to the news of Nejire apparently having been in the school festival beauty pageant before: "I-I just find it hard to believe that with that flashy Quirk, those…l-looks, and those…t-those p-p-propor…proportions…*ahem*…t-that Hadou-senpai would only make it to runner up last year."

However, rather than the expected resentment of such a reminder, Nejire only seemed to be that much more encouraged as she immediately answered her visitors: "No, get this! Listen, listen! I haven't won this thing yet because of this one girl: the Pageant Queen, Bibimi Kenranzaki from Support Class 3-G!"

Having never even heard the name before, Nikolay and Izuku both gave unknowing shrugs in response, before Nejire eagerly fished out her phone and pulled up a picture, immediately presenting them with a picture of what looked to be a girl with massive curling golden locks, adorned in all kinds of jewelry; her face done up in what looked like an entire department store's worth of every kind of cosmetic, and the single biggest eyelashes either of them had ever seen, and all with her face contorted into a piercingly sharp open mouth smile that looked like it should've had a haughty upper-class lady's laugh emanating out of it by default. The fact that someone who looked like this somehow managed to win above Nejire in a beauty pageant of all things, for that moment, felt like a genuine sleight against the laws of nature.

Completely ignoring the two junior's expressions, Tamaki further opined: "Kendo from Class 1-B is only participating because she's apparently been building an underground following cause of some TV commercial she and your classmate Yaoyorozu did with Uwabami earlier this year. So with that kind of competition, Hadou's giving it all she's got. Still…to perform in front of such a crowd…just thinking about it is making me sick."

But Nejire's own excitement easily dwarfed Tamaki's nausea, as while he was already curling himself up into a fetal ball on the floor, she was eagerly declaring to herself just as much as her peers: "I honestly first started competing at our classmate Yuyu-chan's suggestion, but…either way, it's great; that thrilling feeling of victories or defeats! I can just feel it deep down, I'm gonna get the first place win this year! After all, it's my last chance to, right?"

"YOU GOT THIS, NEJIRE!" Mirio declared with as much gusto as though he were the one competing in Nejire's place. With her confidence properly being reciprocated, her smile was as bright as the sun, to the point that Nikolay, surprisingly, worked up the courage to look her in the eye and speak up: "I'm sorry to bring this up now of all times, Hadou-senpai. I just…I wanted to give you my condolences about…well…about what happened to Ryukyu. How…how are you doing?"

Thankfully, from what Nikolay could see, Nejire didn't look to be offended or downtrodden at the reminder of her departed mentor. Chancing a momentary glance in thought in Mirio's direction, she was momentarily surprised to see him making a gesture as though to signify to her to not be too specific about what actually happened for Eri's sake; the tiny girl thankfully just looking on in her withdrawn wonder at all the elaborate and pretty clothes hanging on the racks.

Nejire's bubbly personality was no indicator for how self-aware she was, though, as she simply smiled in appreciation for the Russian boy's sentiments before leaning down to gratefully pat his head without warning; her adorable smile completely out of place with the unintentional view she was giving him and Izuku of her cleavage with her low-cut dress as she answered: "Thank you, Bezpalov-kun…but I know I'm gonna be okay. In fact, I was recommended a place to look by Uravity-chan and Froppy-chan that apparently you and Ashido-chan went to for Workplace Training before. They actually just accepted me to intern with them just a couple days ago!"

Remembering that little detail from the last day of Izuku and the others sharing with him about the Hassaikai mission, Nikolay didn't need a moment to realize that Nejire was talking about the Kamuron Hero Agency, and the fact that they had actually accepted Nejire only made his nostalgic smile that much brighter and grateful…until Nejire suddenly went on another roll of questions again, never once taking the time to just stand up straight so she would stop putting him and Izuku at risk of a nosebleed: "Hey, hey, speaking of Ashido-chan, what's your class gonna do for the festival, huh? Is it interactive, a show, do you even know yet? Is it something involving couples activities? Is that what you all are gonna do with it? Isn't there kind of a gap between the number of boys and girls for that, though? Who's in charge?"

Just like every other time, Nejire's non-stop propensity for questions made it impossible for anyone, especially Nikolay, to get a word in, and whenever she brought up his and Mina's now cemented relationship in front of those who still didn't know, his fair face turned apple red, even more so than when getting an accidental look at his third-year's…assets, thus forcing Mirio and Tamaki both to cut the conversation short, so he could take Eri and his two juniors out of the equipment room, and on to the next stop of their Yuuei tour: the Support Department's warehouse.

While the rest of the dorms area had been plenty loud with all of the activity going on there, the inside of this place was borderline deafening, as countless students were rushing from one end of the labs to the next, with countless mechanical contraptions either being put together, or actually being used to build something even bigger. They all came in so many shapes and sizes, it was hard for Nikolay and Izuku to even pinpoint and identify one from another.

And Mirio, all the while, was undisturbed as he explained just what on earth it was that Eri was looking at, as he had likewise been forced to plant his hands over his ears, just to be able to think: "This is the place where all the Heroes get their equipment made! At the festival, students of this department from all years come together to put on a huge tech exhibition for the public, as well as potential companies to hire them once they graduate!"

"That's right! This festival's the one time of year the Support Department gets to really strut its stuff!" The unmistakable and bombastic sound of Mei Hatsume's voice rang out from behind Nikolay and Izuku's shoulders so suddenly, they both nearly had heart palpitations when they turned around to face her; their attention quickly going from the pink-haired genius' grimy appearance ("No time for bathing when inspiration strikes" being her go-to excuse), and instead to what looked to be a giant mechanical body with a glass dome where the head was meant to be, undoubtedly a cockpit from the looks of it.

And seeing that wonder fill those three boys' eyes (Mirio likewise unable to hide his boyish excitement at such a sight), simply had Mei's confidence soar somehow even higher: "You all like?! MY SUPER CUTE BABY, #202! I'm telling you, the ideas just keep coming to me nonstop! I've never had so much fun! The Sports Festival was my chance to make a little splash of my own in the Hero Course's shadow, as short-lived as it might've been! But this festival is our chance to be the stars of the show!"

Looking back to address the familiar faces, they could all see the heartfelt enthusiasm in her crosshair yellow eyes; so strong that it could somehow even burrow into their hearts as well. "Those Support industry bigwigs are gonna get an up-close and personal look at my babies this time! I've gotta raise them right to do their mama proud! By the way, Midoriya, how're those iron soles of mine treatin' ya?! And Kolya, what about that shock-absorbing/releasing material for your costume?! Let the others know I've gotten those energy shield wrist guards I made for you back in Hokkaido to take a whole ten minutes longer before their power cells would go out! If either of you or anyone else in your class has any ideas for Support items or improvements to the equipment I've already made, don't hesitate to let me know, y'hear?!"

Indeed, the spark of inspiration did take hold in Nikolay and Izuku both, but before either of them could get a chance to let Mei know; her at-work robot suit suddenly burst into flames within the cockpit, thus forcing her and the rest of her fellow Support students to hurriedly work to try and put it out, and likewise forcing the visiting students and Eri to quickly take their leave for her safety.

From there, it was a thankfully much less eventful but still ultimately informative experience of them showing Eri all the other educational departments and extensive areas of Yuuei. By the time they had finally finished, the little girl still hadn't uttered a word, but considering how new all of this still was to her, none of them could admittedly say they were surprised that she was too nervous to say anything.

But fortunately, in its own right, that silence that now hung between them didn't last, as after having spent the last near hour showing her around, Eri's little stomach let out a sudden growl, leaving her staring shyly at the floor while Mirio and Izuku both smiled, having pretty much expected something like this to happen while she was here. "Are you hungry, Eri-chan? You don't have to worry, our school chef, Lunch Rush, can make you absolutely anything you want, no problem."

With the decision being virtually unanimous without Eri even having to say anything, the four of them were soon on their way, with Nikolay especially having a prepared spring in his step. "You know, you all don't have to wait for me, but this'll actually be a good chance to get an idea how many supplies my side-project will need and when it can all get here! We've already got all our items decided and drawn up as it is."

With a curious smile on his face, Mirio immediately asked: "Wow, you're an industrious one, Bezpalov-kun; I would've thought this big project Midoriya told me you're all working on would be hard work enough! What else have you got going on?"

The genuine interest on his senior's part had Nikolay smiling with pure confidence for the first time today, as he looked back with a light in his eyes. "I've always been pretty handy in the kitchen, and while I know I'm nothing compared to Lunch Rush, I just thought it would be nice for some of us to work together to take some of the workload off of his shoulders when the festival comes by making a bunch of unique snack foods of our own for the guests to enjoy."

Just the sound of that had Mirio and Izuku both smiling with their own approval, but that paled in comparison to the feeling they all felt when Eri's voice faintly spoke out for the first time ever, not to either of them, but to Nikolay alone: "Like…c-candied apples?"

It took the young Russian a good moment to realize that the once so-silent little girl was actually speaking to him directly, and with that single question in accompaniment with the wondrous sparkles in her red eyes, he felt his own heart swell like everyone else's had in the beginning. With a sincere smile on his face in answer to her question, Nikolay nodded: "Candied apples sounds like an amazing idea, Eri-chan! We'll make sure to do that too, just for you. Does that sound good?"

Just like the last time it had been described to her, Eri was on the verge of drooling in hunger at the thought of finally getting to try something that sounded so heavenly. And with Nikolay confirming she would get to try one on the day of the festival, her once shy and withdrawn face visibly lit up with anticipation (but still no visible smile) as she nodded in return. Such a precious sight had Nikolay nearly feeling like he was going to start crying, knowing just his words had managed to make her so excited; all the while having no doubt that, had Mina been here to see this, she would be squealing for joy for her.

With that all having been confirmed, as well as Eri and the lot of them all being hungry, they soon made a beeline for the dining hall, where Nikolay had to take a temporary leave to confirm with Lunch Rush about his, Rikido and Yuga's confirmed menu items and what they would need to special order in time for the festival; while Izuku, Mirio and Eri were given a healthy smorgasbord of delectable foods to satisfy their appetites at one of the several empty tables.

With everything they had gotten to introduce her to today, both boys at her sides were visibly eager to hear what her feelings were about their school; Izuku finally asking the big question: "So, how was it all, Eri-chan? Are you feeling comfortable yet?"

As Eri pensively sipped at her cup of juice in thought, she ultimately answered with hesitation: "I…don't know." Of course, even if the two boys felt a pang of disappointment, they both knew that one single day outside of the hospital wouldn't be enough to fully bring a smile back to her face. But even then, Eri didn't stop, her voice ringing with genuine anticipation: "But…there are so many people…all working really hard, so…I wanna see how it turns out."

That was the one thing Eri said that filled both boys with the long-awaited joy they had been hoping to have her feel, as it was the single best response they could have hoped for. As Nikolay had finally returned, just to see these ecstatic smiles on his friend and senior's faces, he couldn't help but awkwardly smile in return. "Hey, what'd I miss?"

"SIMPLY THE MOMENT ALL OF US LIVE TO SEE, BEZPALOV-KUN: SOMEONE EXPERIENCING EXCITEMENT FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!"

Nikolay nearly jumped in surprise at the enthusiastic sound of Principal Nezu's voice. With him and Izuku both turning to greet him properly, they found the bipedal mouse sitting at the table just next to the one they had chosen; somehow having gone this long without having been noticed before; accompanied by none other than Midnight, while he himself was busily gnawing away at a wedge of cheese.

"NEZU-SENSEI, MIDNIGHT-SENSEI, GOOD AFTERNOON!" All three students simultaneously greeted their sudden visiting faculty members, with Nikolay being the only one immediately able to bow in kind, almost planting his face into his own tray of food with such quick reaction time."

With his own food quickly eaten away, Nezu sprung from his seat and landed cleanly on his feet, paws behind his back as he happily greeted his three students. "And a good day to you all, too! I'm glad to see you're all feeling the same excitement as I am for our upcoming festival! After all, it's my duty to encourage all students to create the best attractions they possibly can, to help you all help each other to enjoy yourselves! To do otherwise would reflect on my effectiveness as your headmaster."

"*Sip* It's an especially encouraging sight to see, after all that recent business with the police—"That's enough, Koyama-san!" Midnight had begun to chime in while casually sipping her coffee, only for Nezu to swiftly keep her from saying too much, of what, the three boys couldn't begin to guess.

"Now then, my apologies for having to leave you all so soon, but I've got places to be. I do sincerely hope you kids all have plenty of fun with this." With that, Nezu gave his students a humble bow of his own, and quickly turned on his heels, confidently striding his way out of the dining hall, and ultimately leaving just Midnight to speak with the visibly confused students.

"Sorry for spoiling the mood, boys. I can't exactly get into the details, but Nezu-san really put himself out there and ruffled some major feathers to help make this year's festival happen at all. Security is going to be even tighter this time, as I'm sure you'd all come to expect with the news going around. A major compromise we had to make with the police is that if even a single security alarm goes off over the course of the festival; for any reason whatsoever, even by accident; then the entire festival is officially off, and the whole of Yuuei will be completely evacuated. Those are the conditions we had to agree to in order to get this festival off the ground. Naturally, we're taking every precaution possible to keep that from happening, for the sake of all you students out there. We've even taken Hound Dog off his leash for once."

Despite Midnight's clear confidence in the full extent of Yuuei's security measures, it did little to quell the chill of worry that her precaution had now planted in their stomachs. Naturally, with all the increased Villain activity outside to consider, it only made sense that the school and the police would need to put their heads together to make an event like the festival as secure as possible, but to think that even an accident on the part of one of their own could bring the entire event to a screeching halt, was nothing short of chilling.

But, of course, seeing this change in demeanor, at least among the two first-years, brought Midnight to planting her coffee cup back on her table with enough of an impact to snap them all back to attention, as she finally got back to her stiletto-clad feet, putting on a smile of her own kind of anticipation. "But enough of that for now; like Nezu-san said, we teachers have to encourage your kids to give your all for each other when festival day comes. Speaking of which, not only have I heard that Class 1-A is pulling out all the stops for your presentation, but I've even heard from Tunguska-san that you're extending yourself even further for Lunch Rush-san's sake too, Bezpalov-kun. Why aren't you and Midoriya-kun out there putting your noses to the grindstone with the rest of your classmates right now, when the day's still so young, huh?"

Such a question coming from anyone else wouldn't have been intimidating at nearly the same level as when it came from Midnight, as neither Nikolay nor Izuku could tell if she was getting ready to introduce them to her cat o' nine tails, her riding crop or whatever other devious punishment tools she had hidden on her person or not, especially with that devious smirk on her face.

But before they could find out, Mirio suddenly shot up from his seat, bowing profusely her way. "It's my fault, Midnight-sensei! I wanted Midoriya-kun and Bezpalov-kun to join me in showing Eri-chan around the school for her first day, even despite knowing they had festival preparation duties! It's not their fault!"

While Midnight had her discerning gaze set on Mirio for the moment, Nikolay answered just as suddenly: "I don't know if this makes up for our being absent, Sensei, but Midoriya-san and I are actually going to be participating in practice with our pair partners for the rest of the day once we return to our dorms!"

While Izuku was vigorously nodding in agreement to prove his Russian friend wasn't making things up, Midnight began to lift a single corner of her mouth in another prodding smirk. "I see. Tunguska-san and Shota-kun likewise gave me an idea just what your class is preparing to do for the festival, and just who's in charge of what part. I take it you and Ashido-chan are gonna be one of these supposed pairs you're talking about?"

Midnight was so prepared to hear Nikolay confirm her guess, that to hear him suddenly say: "Actually, our styles don't mesh smoothly enough, so she actually partnered me with Uraraka-san just earlier today," had the Art History teacher physically recoil from complete mental whiplash, completely breaking her image of the 18+ Hero for the first time in front of any students. "WHAT?! You two have proven such an effective team at everything else, but you're telling me it's DANCING where you two can't somehow put your heads together and work around?!"

Needless to say, such an explosive reaction over such a detail was the last thing any of the three boys had expected out of Midnight of all people, and it certainly didn't help Nikolay's lingering sense of similar disappointment that he wasn't good enough at dancing to be able to effectively pair with Mina like he'd hoped. If anything, her emotions towards this were simply an amplified version of his.

And this sensation only continued to linger within Nikolay from there, all the way until he and Izuku had ultimately needed to bid Eri and Mirio goodbye before finally returning to the 1-A dorms, where the whole dance team was still in the middle of just finishing another round of pair training; all of them (save for Mina, naturally) visibly out of breath, yet relieved at their return.

"ALRIGHT, WELCOME BACK, YOU TWO! Now we can REALLY get our pair training rolling! Kolya-kun, since yours and Urara-chan's routines easily have you covering the largest area, we'll have you practice a tiny ways away so you don't crash into the others; same goes for Midori-kun and Ojiro-kun! Feel free to run any ideas you have with each other, or with me, or both with each round you practice! I can train you guys all we want, but we can only make this the groovy sensation of a lifetime if we put all our heads together, cool?"

At Mina's combined instruction and encouragement, all of the assigned pairs quickly took their positions once more, with Nikolay and Ochako taking their spots for practice just a couple extra feet away from the mass concentration of their fellow dance team members; the two of them stuck in a momentary awkward silence, as they tried to think of exactly where to begin.

But, knowing they couldn't simply do nothing while everyone else was working so hard, Nikolay finally broke that silence: "So, putting my routine together with yours, Uraraka-san, I think it might be possible for us to combine Mina's break-dancing, your physical fighting moves Dad taught you that you showed earlier, and the moves I showed you all while I was trying to do that Dance of the Soldiers yesterday. Especially if we utilize both our Quirks throughout it, I think we could be able to really effectively combine them into its own one thing."

Trying to prove his point, he quickly pulled up the titular video he had worked off of again for Ochako to see, and he couldn't believe how strongly he could feel his heart lift when he saw that same realization, and best of all agreement, light up in her eyes by the time the video had ended. "Hey, yeah, I think we could really pull this off, Kolya-san! Let's try running through that one dance together; you be one party and I'll be the other. Afterwards, we can try finding which places in that dance we could add our Quirks, and from there try adding it to our chosen routines in between!"

With Nikolay and Ochako miraculously on the same page as to how they would practice their routines today, the two of them proceeded to all but literally throw their all into it for the next several hours into the early evening alongside the rest of their teammates; metaphorical blood and literal sweat and tears being shed aplenty by all of them by the time Mina had officially decided they had done enough training for the day, still having somehow managed the miracle of not even breaking a sweat of her own the entire time.

In an example of miraculous happenstance, all of the work they had already put into the planning of their food stand side project, had ultimately inspired Yuga to showcase his own latent culinary talents, by wistfully and effectively whipping up a class-size meal of ratatouille for their dinner, which everyone was very quickly to happily accept and eat to their hearts content. With the autumn chill on top of their collective exhaustion from all their hard work in a single day, it was nothing short of perfect, and left Yuga looking more than a little self-satisfied when seeing the satisfaction and surprise on their faces.

After everyone had gotten to eat their fill, many on the dance and music teams were quick to retire to their rooms in order to try and rest away the aches in their muscles; Nikolay being no exception. But after having spent as much time practicing and eating alongside the rest of his classmates beforehand, there was no way he was going to be able to slip away without Mina all-but inviting herself in with him, undoubtedly to talk about their dance routine plans.

"So, one day in, and we've got pairs and routines picked for everyone, but we still got a long ways to go yet! What're you thinking about your pair with Urara-chan so far, Kolya-kun?" The moment Mina asked once his room door was shut, Nikolay let out a truly exhausted sigh as he collapsed flat on his back on his bed, staring at the ceiling while she naturally followed up by nearly pouncing onto his bed right next to him in a childish belly-flop and a laugh.

"Can I at least answer that once my legs don't feel like they're on fire anymore? My God, you loving this kind of thing your whole life must be the only possible reason you aren't even breaking a sweat after everything today, seriously." Nikolay groaned now that the burn in the muscles of his legs finally made itself painfully announced.

Of course, hearing her boyfriend admit so, earned a sweet giggle out of Mina as she just looked at his face while lying beside him. "Aww, don't worry, Kolya-kun, it's natural for beginners. I promise that by the time the festival rolls around, you're all gonna be dancing just as good as me, and it'll feel like the most natural thing in the world. Still, though, you want me to see if Yaomomo can Create another ice pack for you?"

A grateful sigh and a shake of his head was all Nikolay could immediately answer with, simply appreciative of Mina's confidence in his ability to improve, even if that didn't change the fact they couldn't form a pair together like they'd both hoped. But, not wanting to dwell on that, Nikolay finally could think enough to answer: "As for how we're doing as a pair, Uraraka-san definitely has promise. Nobody said we can't use our Quirks at all during the show, so we're thinking if we were to time using ours in synch with each other, it could make our part work that much better, especially once we figure out what order we want the pairs to take center stage in so the routines transition into each other more organically."

Half-expecting Mina to be squealing with excitement that her best friend among the girls and her boyfriend were working so well together; the silence that followed took Nikolay off guard, only to look and see she was now staring dreamily up at the ceiling with a gleeful smile on her face right beside him.

As though she could just feel his eyes on her, Mina started squirming with anticipation on his bed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kolya-kun, I know I said we should be talking about the dance team plans and all that…but I just can't get that little cutie Eri-chan out of my head! You and Midori-kun didn't find out if she's gonna be able to come back with Togata-senpai at the festival, did you?"

While Nikolay was definitely surprised that Mina was actually letting herself get distracted from the bigger picture; the fact that it was over Eri was hardly surprising, as he smiled in understanding. "I think we're both pretty confident she will be. She didn't even say a word to you, and you're already going nuts over her."

Mina gave him a playful little wrap against his arm, giggling in amusement all the while. "Oh, don't make fun of me, I've always loved playing and making friends with kids; you know that by now, Kolya-kun. I just feel like I wanna make her laugh and smile all day long if I get the chance."

Mina was already starting to daydream that very image of her playing with Eri, and Nikolay couldn't help but likewise smirk at the thought. "That's just so like you…but I think maybe that energy of yours might be a little much for her to begin with."

But this didn't discourage his girlfriend at all, as Mina simply rolled onto her side so they could look each other in the eye. "Maybe…but I can't help it, though! She was so adorable, so quiet and shy…she actually reminded me a lot of you from back when we first met, and look at where we are now together." With that little reminder, Mina playfully leaned in and planted a brief teasing kiss on the tip of Nikolay's nose, grinning in satisfaction to herself as she continued: "If anything, I think that's a good enough sign why I should go for it, become Eri-chan's friend. Heck, we could both do it, if we wanted. I've always wanted to be a big sister, or at least get along with kids to the point they could call me Mina-neechan one day. Just the fact Eri-chan has a horn too, has even gotten me thinking up a cute little name for us: Horn Sisters! C'mon, you gotta admit that's super-duper cute, right?"

With a mix between a tired sigh and a genuine chuckle, Nikolay relented: "Yeah…yeah, it is. Just, maybe try not to force it on her from the start, okay? I get the feeling that Eri-chan's been kept away from everything for way too long, she seems to get really scared pretty easy."

Just the fact that she wasn't being outright told to not get even remotely involved with Eri was good enough for Mina, as she sighed in satisfaction before cuddling up closer to Nikolay; the two of them soon bringing their arms around each other and simply relishing in the moment and each other's warmth. But as Mina soon opened her eyes to just look at her boyfriend lovingly, she saw a deeply thoughtful look reflected in his green eyes, piquing her own curiosity. "What're you thinking about, Kolya-kun? I thought we all have been having a pretty good day, to be honest…is it about the whole dance pairs thing?"

In truth, Nikolay's mind had been drifting more towards Eri's circumstances still, but such a broad guess on Mina's part snapped him to reality, just as her hug grew that much tighter and more affectionate, as she smiled happily while nuzzling her face into his shoulder and neck, inadvertently tickling his face with her hair. "You don't have to worry so much, Kolya-kun. I wanted us to be dance partners, too; but I know you and Urara-chan will knock everybody's socks off just like the rest of us will. So try not to let yourself get so worried…or else I'll come and just squeeze, cuddle and kiss all those worries away till you're all better!"

With no warning, Mina proceeded to do just that, refusing to release her hold on her now-laughing boyfriend as she began cuddling as up close to Nikolay as she could while mercilessly pecking all over his wildly blushing face with playful and loving kisses between her sweet giggles; effectively making him forget his persistent worries like magic.

With Mina still having the advantage, she couldn't even give Nikolay a chance to try and echo the same sentiments, wanting to free her of any stresses she could possibly feel as well; ultimately having to relent by playing her own teasing game with her and returning each of her kisses on his face with his own upon hers, even if he was nowhere as smooth and ready with it as she clearly was.

And it was with that sudden playful but affectionate display between them, that their free day of preparation for the school festival ultimately came to an altogether pleasant end. As far as they were both concerned, so long as things continued at this pace, it was going to be nothing but smooth sailing for the next month until the big day.

And there you all have it, everybody: this week's new chapter, and my official gift to you all for the holidays! I hope you all enjoy it!

If you're enjoying things here so far, feel free to leave your feelings in a review, and I will see you all with the final chapter of 2022 next week!