Author's note : Yey ! Even more reviews !
So, as someone wrote in their review, Tomura is becoming more Tenko/His own person than in canon and it will play an important role in the next small arc and Hoshu.
It is also the end of the Sport festival ! The next one is the Internship Arc who has two sub arc : the Triceps Corporation and Hoshu.
Meanwhile, enjoy.
Chapter 25: Climatic Battle of Epicness!
"HEY! EVERYONE, WE ARE BACK FOR OUR FINAL FIGHT!" Mic yells into his mic.
"Indeed. This fight can be interesting, though Katsuki knows well his opponent and his weaknesses. Unless he lets Izuku summon cards, he should win."
"Rooting for one student, Eraser? that's very unlike you."
"I am just being logical, Mic."
Izuku sighed as he entered the ring. The referee had decreed a 30 min recess so they could reconstruct the ring, as the last fight blew it. He took that time to rest as much as he could, but he also knew that Kacchan took it to heal. Katsuki's stamina should be down after everything he suffered, but honestly, Izuku was now reassured more than ever that he worked through sheer determination.
As a result, and as Eraser said, Izuku knew that his friend would try to beat him seriously. In other words, getting ready for his win condition and his biggest weapon against Katsuki would be hard.
Still, Katsuki shouldn't be able to put out , at least from the start, a Big Bang Attack or anything like that. So he would try to get to Izuku in close combat, something Izuku wasn't bad at. Not as good as Katsuki, sure, but if Yui could put him in such a bad state, so could he!
"Hoy! Nerd! Make it good!" The ash burned blonde demanded.
Katsuki had the biggest smile on his face Izuku ever saw on it. After all, it was logical. Katsuki's favorite quote came from a french drama, "The Cid". "A vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire." "To win without risk is to triumph without glory."This tournament? All of his fights were awesome, and he had to work through them with all of his might and grit.
He had Yui's blood-thirst to quench, Shouto's new passion lightened in him and Ibara's faith to carry on even knowing that she was doomed. Each enemy beat down was part of him. He couldn't afford to lose, by respect for them, and show to the world that they weren't weak. He was just too damn strong.
Katsuki also knew that Izuku totally got how he thought. So… It was high time to see what his friend had in store for him.
No word was needed for both of them, as Izuku began to play with his cards in front of Katsuki, making them fly. Truly, Izuku had mastered his craft over a year of training. He wasn't a nerd now. He was… He was his rival. His number one rival. His best friend…
When the "FIGHT" was announced, Katsuki darted toward Izuku with all the speed he could muster. As strange as it could appear, while several cards burned away from Izuku, nothing was summoned. Self-buff? It wouldn't be enough to fight him, and Izuku knew it, probably.
Even with his stepdad, Izuku was nowhere near his level of close combat. On both technique and pure strength, Izuku was indeed frightening, just behind the likes of Ojiro or Itsuka, but on strength and combat instinct, he wasn't there yet.
Still, Katsuki was surprised to see Izuku take his arm, eyes almost closed, as if he already knew what he was going to do. Prescience-card?! The nerd found shit like that?
Izuku flipped Katsuki away with a smile, while he continued to burn madly cards away. It was strange, as before, the master of cards seemed highly conservative of them… And why did nothing appear from them?
Katsuki had the feeling inside his guts that it was some kind of countdown before he was done. What was Izuku doing?
It was time to attack, and he wouldn't stop there. Katsuki rushed again to attack Izuku in close range, but Izuku seemed highly intent on only dodging. Even the openings Katsuki left him by wildly swinging were ignored. Sure, if Izuku was to fall for that one, he wouldn't have gotten up so easily from the counter.
Still… What was Izuku muttering?
"8 land of fire, 5 colorless… I should begin to tap in the Pokemon cards…"
Still, Katsuki was moving faster now that he began to sweat properly.
"IZUKU, STOP IGNORING ME!"
This time, the hit connected with Izuku's face. He even heard his nose break under his fist.
Somehow, it didn't stop Izuku from burning even more cards. Katsuki had the gut feeling something was coming.
"8 normal energy, 8 of fire…"
His smile. The nerd's smile that is now tainted with blood from his nose, it looks wrong. He's setting up something.
Katsuki prepared from his position one of his biggest single cell explosion he could do from his current state.
"POWER GRENADE!"
The explosive ball of energy rushed toward Izuku and exploded, leaving a cloud of dust where Izuku should be.
Katsuki, panting, wondered if he had stopped the attack… Before a gust of wind blew everything away and a silhouette stood aside Izuku, like a mighty protector.
Oh. That's what he meant by "I have a card with your name on it."
————————
"Did I ever say I think your cousin has great taste but that I also want to punch him like… real hard?"
Tomura was a bit surprised by how fired up Nejire was, by seeing her observing the fight.
"What? Why?"
"BECAUSE THAT GODDAMN CARD IS FUCKING AWESOME AND RARE! AND APPARENTLY HIS QUIRK DESTROYED WHAT HE USED AND…"
"Weren't you supposed to be a novice at the game, Nejire?"
Tomura was many things. Stupid wasn't one, and he knew someone wouldn't get that fired up unless they were in the hobby since a long time. So… It meant he got played by Nejire who was apparently a card nerd too.
"… I am just a real fan of Ryukyu's cards?"
All of her friends looked at her who blew up her cover. She wasn't that credible.
"That's why you somehow managed to land all of those combos. You already knew how to play the game!"
"Three times regional champion, actually."
The meek expression she had was highly adorable, and when she went close to his face, asking if he forgave her little prank, Tomura learned even more why girls held more power than men. Even a hardened villain couldn't say no! However, he did have an idea. Championships were recorded, and he could watch them at the bar to learn her patterns.
His vengeance would be perfect!
——————
On the field stood the mighty heroine Ryukyu, the Dragon, in what was clearly a dragon themed Chinese robe. Her wings seemed to be made of jade, and the power exuded from her in waves.
The SSR, limited edition, Ryukyu, Year of the Dragon.
The card that Katsuki gave to Izuku as an apology for the day he told him to jump.
"Hoy, Katsuki. I have wanted to say something to you ever since that moment all that time ago."
Izuku smiled as Ryukyu flew to Katsuki, punching him with an insane right hook.
"I forgive you."
Katsuki gritted his teeth, as he had barely managed to block the fist of the top ten hero, his heels dug into the concrete and it took both hands to stop the blow. It almost made him fly away from sheer force, and even by blocking it, he certainly felt some of his bones cracking as he held on.
Shit, the nerd had summoned something that powerful? It explained why he was so conservative during the tournament… And why Izuku was now sitting, resting, as his nose bled a little.
Damn. He grew up strong since their start in U.A.… That or he found a way to highly lessen the cost of his summon.
The second punch of the summoned heroine broke two of Katsuki's teeth under the impact, before a kick sent Katsuki flying in the sky. Was… Was that the strength of a top hero? What he was aspiring to be?
——————
"You. Earjack girl. You can amplify sound right?"
Jiro was a bit surprised when the beaten up girl from the first round reached up to her.
"Yes? You want to cheer?"
"Yes."
Jiro, at first, thought she was going to cheer up on Izuku, as he was facing the one who defeated her. She didn't expect her to yell,
"GO BAKUGOU! EXPLODE HER!"
Everyone looked at Yui, who seemed satisfied with that small outburst, before she began to eat a tomato like an apple.
——————
"GO BAKUGOU! EXPLODE HER!"
Katsuki was middair when he heard that one. Yui's voice. It made him smile, before he grabbed the leg of the summoned being, and used his explosions to project her on the ground… Or rather tried, since her wings weren't for nothing.
"I AM THE NEXT #1!"
Fired up, Katsuki collided foot first in Ryukyu's stomach. The summoned being clearly had a sour face because of that, and answered to that attack with a breath of fire directed point blank toward.
"I WON'T LOSE HERE!"Just as before with his fight with Shouto, Katsuki concentrated his explosion, but this time at the tips of his finger, before firing it. Once again, it divided the flame, but the scorching heat wasn't nice.
It was that time that the dragon chose to morph suddenly into… Well, her dragon form. A giant jade dragon and Katsuki was in its proximity. Even for him, it didn't spell 'well' out in any form.
It grabbed him in its talons before dive bombing into the stage below. There, it smashed him in the ground below them a few times before raising him up above her head and pushed down one last time.
Then, just before the impact, the jade claw exploded into an inferno of green shards and Katsuki got out of the attack at the last moment… but bloodied, and his left arm battered but not yet broken.
Izuku was still resting, meditating, but his hands were moving. Apparently, the player hadn't finished his turn yet, and Katsuki knew him enough to know that Izuku was clearly thriving for the victory too.
"I WILL WIN, KATSUKI! YOU WON'T BEAT ME EASILY!" The scream took the blonde off guard but it only took a moment before his mouth split into a manic grin.
Izuku once again began to burn cards away.
Katsuki was against one of the strongest heroes in Japan, though without her real battle style and probably not as strong yet, and Izuku was going to add more and more to this being.
"MOUAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS THE BEST!"
Katsuki was in pain, bloodied and probably with one broken rib, and his rival planned for more. He wouldn't have it any other way.
————————
All For One was observing the fight with a high interest. After all, it wasn't often he could see one of his grandchildren fight on screen tv! His bloodline produced strong quirk users but also, often, quirkless people. For late-bloomers like Izuku, he typically couldn't detect that before they were 8 or 9, hence why he missed him.
Oh, he would not throw him away, anyway. In fact, had he not joined U.A, AFO had planned to make a hero kill Inko by "mistake", before arranging through Seijin an obvious cover-up by the HPSC. Enough to break any positive sentiment he had for heroes, and make him join him. After that, AFO would have made him a member and supporter of Tomura, probably giving him an analysis quirk in the process. If Izuku had refused…
Well, he was sure that Garaki would have loved to have a quirkless yet with AFO compatibility to make a High End Noumu of extreme proportion.
Anyway, he was rooting for his grandson… for now.
————————
"THAT IS OUR BOY!"
"BEAT DOWN THAT BITCH, SON!"
"Mitsuki, are you speaking about the dragon or Izuku?"
"YES!"
————————
"Nejire, that is still a treason, from your side, as I bought you some cards, thinking you were a beginner and you didn't even take me seriously…"
While they were still observing the fight, Tomura was ranting to Nejire about how hiding they did have a shared passion and using him to get some rare cards wasn't heroic and a treason. Tamaki and Mirio found it low-key amusing, once Tomura managed to get enough immunity against Nejire's cute face.
"Tomura, I am sorry, okay?"
"This is still betrayal and I demand—"
Nejire managed to shut him up by kissing him on the cheek, chastely.
"…. Tomura.exe has stopped running. Please, reboot him."
It was Mirio who said that, smirking, as Tomura had indeed stopped working.
Another boom made them look at the fight again.
———————
The other boom was Katsuki who was on his knee, his left hand almost broken by his last attack, leaving him panting.
"Ok… Note to self… Charging a Big Bang attack one handed is fucking stupid…"
Though the result was promising. The dragon had prepared another breath attack, and Katsuki remembered an old boss in some video games he played. As a result, he used one hand to stabilize his arm and his shot and managed to throw his attack in the mouth of the giant jade dragon, just as it was going to attack. It did manage to blow all of its teeth, but honestly, it would not be enough if he wanted to win.
"I know I said I wanted a hero, but damn, you surpassed yourself, Izuku!"
"And wait for the second summon!!"
… The what now?
Just as Katsuki processed what Izuku said, a good chunk of his deck had disappeared in ashes.
Izuku was a quirk nerd. He loved to theorize about them and how they worked. As a result, he was often helping and fine tuning ideas his comrades had about them. It also meant he was experimenting with him, and especially when card games had a cost system, like Magic the Gathering with the mana. As a result, Izuku tried what was happening when he gained mana from a card, or energy points and things like that. The result was he could highly lessen the price of summoning powerful cards, and technically summon things he shouldn't be able to use yet. He knew that even with all the sacrifice he did, the next big card he would summon could be the last.
Honestly, Izuku was proud of his plan: Either Katsuki would have lost against Ryukyu, either he won but would be most likely too tired and injured to fight the second card he had readied for him.
Memories flooded the boys, as the truth goes unspoken between them, that they were friends and they would fight to the bitter end if need be. Even if it was for a moment, they forgot their name, or the reason why they stood there.
Katsuki was holding his good arm with his almost broken one, as the ring was becoming a more and more desolate place, with the dragon and him leaving the traces of concrete bricks into nothing but rubble..
All he could feel was the cold wind on his body, his sweat exploding and cracking the injured monster more and more. As he stood up and fought, Katsuki knew that there would be bloodshed, as Izuku was looking at him as if he was his reflection in the mirror.
So when Katsuki finally managed to break the SSR card representing all of his remorse for his past, he felt free. Free, as his exploding fist cracked a few fingers upon the dragon's back as the jade dragon fell into oblivion. Panting and smiling, Katsuki was now walking towards Izuku, to end their fight.
"So, NERD, I AM CALLING YOUR BLUFF!"
Izuku groaned, while getting up, as he faced his friend… Before throwing a card at Katsuki. The exploding man caught him with one hand, before noticing it was an arcana.
The Fool.
Getting punched in the gut by a mini-him with his own quirk wasn't something he expected when he got up in the morning. Apparently, Izuku wasn't bluffing, though if he was right about the blood coming out of his nose, it was definitely the last big card nerd would, and could, summon for a few days.
Katsuki dispatched the small arcana with a simple kick though. That small opening allowed Izuku to enter inside his vital space. Both kids exchanged a punch in the face with each other, both of them dead tired.
Izuku took that opportunity to hit his injured arm. The loud crack made everyone wince, before Katsuki answered to that with a kick in the gut. Sadly for him, despite the energy consumed by the card, Izuku was still fresher than him. After all, unlike Katsuki, he didn't have to be healed after each fight, and Recovery Girl's quirk drained away the endurance of the one she healed.
The blond boy exhaled before his axe kick went to Izuku's head. The green boy dodged it by a breath. Katsuki's feet exploded above Izuku's head before slamming right into his collarbone.
"Explosive Brazilian kick!"
Izuku could probably move his arm, but the kick almost put him down to his knees. Especially as Katsuki seemed to find a second wind and punched Izuku again in the face. His nose was definitely broken after that one, and Katsuki's fist was bloodied. As a result, Izuku did what he always did; he used his head.
Except this time, he was literal about it.
On the bright side, now Katsuki had the same nose as him. However, on the less bright side, Katsuki roared in rage before grabbing the dummy's face and slamming it into the ground.
"SHOW ME A GOOD TIME, IZUKU!"
His best friend's answer to that was by rolling on the destroyed ground. The punch colliding where he was, was proof enough he had been right to do that, despite his collar bone cracking in the process. However, he took that opportunity to pivot on himself, and grab Katsuki's uninjured arm with his whole body, and disjointed it. The sound, close to a breaking one, was audible and even more people winced, while wondering if the two of them were really friends.
The close-up on their smiling faces showed that yes, they are friends, just morbid ones.
———————
"IZU-KUN! YOU CAN WIN!"
"BAKU BRO, DO IT!"
"PUNCH HIM IN HIS PUNCHABLE FACE, BLUE FAIRY!"
———————
The excitation in the stadium was palpable, and both of them were not done. Then Katsuki did something that actually impressed Izuku. He slammed the disjointed arm in the ground… And somehow put his arm back into place in the process.
"AH! JOKES ON YOU! WHEN I LEARNED YOU COULD DO THAT, OF COURSE I LEARNED HOW TO POP BACK MY BONES!"
In hindsight, it was indeed obvious.
Izuku took another card. It was an Ace. His last big card. In fact, it was a gamble if he could summon it or not. Did he grow enough to do that ?
Before Katsuki could add anything, he threw it expertly on his face…
And Katsuki burned it before it could reach him. with over half the card burned and a good chunk just gone it fell to the ground with no effect.
Izuku smiled, as he felt his last strength leaving him.
"Ah fuck… So… Close…"
He heard Katsuki running, calling his name…
And then Izuku opened his eyes again in a respite, to grab Katsuki by his hair and bring him to the ground.
"I WON'T LOSE HERE!"
Katsuki answered that by an explosion from his broken arm another loud crack can be heard from it, which was just against Izuku's ribs.
It ejected Izuku, and when the fighter tried to get up once more… He lost his equilibrium, and he felt the ground once more. His strength was still draining from him, rapidly like something was sucking his soul from his body. Oh, and Katsuki was about to send a drop kick on his back too, to make sure he stayed on the ground, for good this time.
Right before Katsuki landed on Izuku, a pure white hand grabbed the explosive blond by the back of the neck and tossed him into the rubble with a puff of dust.
The blonde crawled his way back up and met face to face with the ace he burned. Its left arm was gone with a charred stump in its place.
It punched him again and he went rocketing back, each inch he rolled across the rubble cutted into Katsuki more and more as he left a trail of blood behind him.
Katsuki picked himself back up, his knees shaking and his arms feeling like lead but he NEEDED to win. He HAS to win. HE WILL WIN!
Katsuki slammed his hand down onto his chest, letting the small explosion hit his sweat covered body. His skin sizzled and popped but he paid it no mind as he charged his friend's final summon. Sweat came out more vigorously and his explosion ripped through the ruined Ace's defenses burning every crappy scrap in its wake.
His hand broken, he doesn't have the strength to care. His skin was splitting open and blood mixed with his sparks as red wisps of flame danced across his body.
Each step brought him agony. Each step getting him closer to victory, and another explosion blew away the smoke and dust, followed with another step, another spray of his own blood, both arms are broken now. His left eye went dark a few steps back. He kept walking as his body was engulfed in flame and sparks.
He was now two steps from Izuku, his arms definitely useless. His legs are unsteady but his fight ends here. Izuku threw up something around ten defensive cards Katsuki couldn't tell, they burned to ash but not from his explosions. Most likely from Izuku who was also low on energy.
Good he will need his explosion.
The blood now pouring from Izuku's nose like a dam has just opened and the river is running free. The green haired boy stood his ground, his arms weakly holding a X block.
The bloodied blonde raised his broken arms wide and copied the very basics of his quirk, his father making sparks by slamming his hands together.
"Germa Nova"
His words were soft, barely above a whisper from his still burning throat, but everyone in the stadium heard them clearly before he slammed his hands together and his skin charred as his entire body let off a blast akin to a solar flash.
It was the third time that day everyone was blinded.
When the light dimmed and the smoke cleared, the audience saw that Izuku was embedded into the wall behind him by a large spider web of cracks formed from his impact.
Medical bots were already pulling him out and his eyelids were falling as his hand reached for Katsuki, a thumbs up was not what anyone was expecting. Izuku passed out a moment later.
As for Katsuki, he stood in the crater of his own making. No more sparks, no more blood. just cracked porcelain skin rippled with blackened burns closing up each wound he had. His right arm rises to the air...and he manages three raspy words.
"I… am… next."
Katsuki Bakugo won the first year sports festival with an explosive finish
————————
The silence was eerie in the stadium, before it died under the applause.
Katsuki was at his center, his defeated final foe in recovery.
He screamed his joy, primal, bloody and battered, but he had won. For himself and all those he defeated. HE WON!
They didn't lose because they were weak. He won because he was strong, because he was better, now he must work to keep that advantage.
It was really different, and honestly… Honestly, there were so many close calls that Katsuki knew of, what about the ones he never saw, or if a different match led to his fall by him fighting someone else, he needed to learn from this to stay ahead.
Next year, it was going to be even more awesome and difficult.
He would win again.
Then, he joined Izuku in the land of the unconscious, falling forward into the rubble.
————————
The uproar in the stadium was deafening. Both kids went above and beyond their abilities, and everyone saw them fighting each other like finalists should do.
"Tsssk. I shall make Izuku train a bit with me, if he is going to lose like that."
Tomura, on the other hand, was upset by the loss, though not that much. He bet with Nejire that Izuku would be the winner, and if Katsuki won, he would have to treat her at the mall. Still, Tomura looked forward to the next two days, and promised himself to cheer as much as possible for his… New friends? He couldn't wait to tell Kurogiri about them! … Or not, seeing as they were heroes, and he was technically still a villain bent to destroy the society and fake heroes.
Wait. They were true heroes. So they wouldn't be destroyed.
The logic was totally sound. No killing kids or true heros!
What made a true hero though?
That was something to discuss with Stain.
—————————
"Torino?"
"Yagi? Finally, you decided to call me?"
"I have found Nana's grandson. He is the kid that ranked second in the UA festival."
"Wait. Wait. Does that mean that the Nana we saw was…"
"She told me she was proud of us."
It almost caused an infarctus to the old man.
"… Am I still eligible to take him for one internship? Not sure if my bones can take more, but…"
"Yes, you are. Since All For One is to remain hidden, I will recommend him later to compensate for your lack of notoriety."
"I shall not kick you in the face next time we see, thanks to this favor."
"Make it "Not kick me at all" and we have a deal."
Both men laughed, but not for the same reason. Yagi, because he reconnected with his old master and had the opportunity to make him connect with Nana's heir.
Torino, because All Might forgot to include "Punch" in the deal.
He would have so much fun, trauma… training another hero.
———————————
Loony was bleeding on the ground, paralysed.
"Ouch… You do hit hard."
Stain was faring better than her, mainly because he didn't underestimate her, unlike most of her opponents. He was still bleeding from one arm and was fairly sure he might have taken some hit in the head.
"Well, you are supposed to be an experienced fighter. Of course, I was going to be careful about your black spot and that hammer."
People described Stain as a coward for specializing in ambushes and surprise attacks. They forgot that Stain's quirk didn't enhance his strength, and he needed to do that to beat people stronger than him.
It didn't mean he couldn't beat them one on one. He was seeking effectiveness, and that was all.
He put the rabbit on his shoulder, as he brought her back to the bar.
"By the way, do the others know?"
"… About what?"
"About what you really are?"
It made chuckle Loony.
"Absolutely not! But I don't see the point. How did you guess?"
"The way you hop is too perfectly close to a rabbit."
Loony had to admit he had a point.
"I don't like your aim to kill Miruko, as she is a good hero, but…"
"SHE ISN'T A FUCKING RABBIT!"
Who was Stain to judge another species thought process?
In a way, Loony's anger was true and justified.
——————
Iida was next to his brother. Tenya was still comatose because of his wounds, and no one knew when he would wake up. All because of that damn Hero Killer.
On his brother's bed, Iida knew he would seek him and demolish him for what he did to his precious older brother.
————————
"GENTLE! The boss called!"
"Oh? What did he say?"
"Apparently, he found a new target for us! We will do a good old robbery apparently this time!"
"Can you both be a little less louder please?"
Sophie slept in Gentle's surprisingly large house (apparently, bought with most of his savings and inheritance) and she appreciated their hospitality, though their eccentricity was annoying sometimes.
"Also, what is the target, this time?"
"We shall rob a support company! Apparently, things are afoot about the quality of their goods, and Compress thinks it could have a link with some disappearances in that neighborhood. According to my hacking, some special gears for dangerous quirk disappear at the same time people with said related quirk disappear."
It instantly interested Sophie, who was suddenly awake.
"This one is going to be useful… And what is Compress' suspect? Human trafficker? Some quirk supremacists thinking they are the new Destro?"
"Human trafficker. But honestly, it shouldn't be too dangerous."
Optimism was such a beautiful thing to have.
———————
Meanwhile, at U.A.'s infirmary, Katsuki was slowly waking up.
"Finally, the lady is up?"
An emotionless tone, and a stoic face was looking at him. Her name was… Yui.
"Hey bitch."
"Hmmf. At least, you won."
"Hey, I promised you I would win, no? Couldn't make you appear as a weak girl."
The girl nodded, sitting next to him.
"If you had lost, I would have kicked your ass during the next sparring."
"And now that I won?"
"I am still going to kick it."
It made Katsuki laugh a bit, before he yelped in pain. Yep, probably a few things broken still, and from the tightness in his skin the burns are not yet gone. Yui sighed, before patting the blonde teen's head.
"Still a good fight. I really hope we get to do more things like that together!"
While both of them were smiling (well, Katsuki was smiling, Yui was more smirking than anything), both missed a certain Izuku, also awake, who was taking a picture of the scene, and send it to Mitsuki with the comment "He actually remembers her name and plans to spend time with her after school."
Sweet vengeance. If Katsuki thought of using Inko as a weapon of mass teasing, oh boy, he would not be prepared for what Mitsuki had in store for him.
The hardest thing was holding back the ominous laughing.
————————
On the Podium, once everyone was healed enough, stood a proud Katsuki still burned to shit but neck up, seemed fine due to Recovery girl wanting him to be presentable, and he wore long sleeves to hide most injuries; a smiling Izuku, proud of his performance despite his condition being near catatonic; and a Shouto doing a small victory sign with a smirk so small you wouldnt know if it was there if you didn't look..
Each of them got their medal from All Might himself, who was absolutely beaming at the result and how the tournament went. For a second he thought about how, if Todoroki's issue weren't discovered, it could have gone badly, with Izuku almost dying to reach him out, and Shouto being so much less at ease with his quirk that he might have not used it against Katsuki who wouldn't have taken such a win.
The picture of a restrained Katsuki on the podium floated in his mind for a second, but then decided no one would be dumb enough to do that, right?
————————
It was a grumbling Monoma, grabbed by the collar by a smiling Itsuka who was coming to Momo, full speed.
"Hey! We heard that 1A had a club to train themselves with their quirk afterschool, is that right?"
Momo was at a tea booth, and clearly appreciating it, before making a sign to invite them to join her.
"Yes, we do. Actually, at first, it was simply Bakugou, Izuku and their friends, but it quickly became the whole classroom. Why?"
"Well… We would appreciate it if we could join it and…"
Momo began to produce a stack of paper for the 1B president.
"Here is the application form. We had to create the club to continue to use the training ground appropriately. We might ask your homeroom teacher to come help supervise the training though. It would be nice to observe how Mr. Vlad teaches."
"Don't worry, I will convince him. Now, Monoma, what do you say to the kind 1A?"
For the record, Itsuka was using her insane grip strength to pinch Monoma around the neck.
"Thank you!" He choked out his response.
"Manners are a work in progress. Now, if you let me… I have someone who owes me some food."
Itsuka left afterward, though she exchanged numbers with Momo, leaving Monoma with her…
"So, should I leave too, to not bother you?"
"Oh, you can stay. I said we could drink tea once."
Noblesse obliged, and Momo wasn't someone to hold a grudge. Besides, it was always better to drink tea with people.
Monoma nodded, before beginning to sip the tea and wondering what they could discuss.
"… Can I ask you a question about your quirk? Because seriously, it is a shame they didn't allow you to make stuff before entering the ring."
"Of course! Though we might have to wait for the friend that was going to join me."
"HEY MOMO! READY TO PLAN SOME BABIES?"
Monoma, looking at Mei, thought for a second about running, but decided against it. Maybe the discussion would be fun?
"So, I was wondering if you could…"
——————
"I feel a disturbance in the force… Like a million Nedzu cackling, and then… silence."
Power Loader was seriously terrified, and worst of all, he knew who he had to blame for that.
——————
Finally, when Izuku went out of the infirmary, he was waited for by… quite a lot of people. Namely Toru, who jumped into him to attack him with a standing cuddle. Sure, he was still hurting a bit, but it was quite enjoyable. However, it is the four next people he didn't expect.
Namely the Big Three and… and…
"IZUKU. WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME YOU WERE A GODDAMN HERO?"
He instantly wanted to both run away from Tomura, but also get an explanation of how the asocial young adult managed to apparently befriend the Big Three of the school.
Also…
"Wait. So when you said you had a date today, it wasn't in a visual novel?"
Luckily for Izuku, Nejire, Mirio and Tamaki managed to restrain Tomura while Izuku ran away with Toru, laughing.
Though, they would have a debrief about the whole situation later, maybe during another day of the festival?
For now, though, Izuku was going to have fun with Toru, trying all the food and enjoying the mood.
——————
"Mother?"
"Shouto… I thought it would be nice if we spent the afternoon together. Oh, and I am so proud of you for the tournament!"
"Thanks, Mother!"
With binoculars, Endeavor observed the scene from afar, while Nedzu sat beside him.
"Looking at something?"
"Just my broken dream."
Both of them sat together, as Endeavor knew he would probably not be productive enough to be useful if he went back at the agency now. It was probably Rei's plot all along. To make him take a day off, as she often did when they were happier.
He pictured himself when he was younger, bringing Touya, Natsuo and Fuyumi. How they would enjoy the festival as a family.
Then he remembered that he never let Shouto know such a thing.
"That sounds rough, buddy."
It made Endeavor chuckle, before he looked at the U.A., the sun setting with him and his rat dad next to him. Nedzu was always an Iroh's fan.
"I allow you to call me dad again, Enji. You showed quite an…"
"Make that pun, and there is no All Might stopping me from tickling you."
Both beings looked at each other, before laughing, sitting on the building's edge.
Maybe the day wasn't a total disaster after all.
"By the way, your son is interning under you to make sure you don't do anything wrong with his mom. He also plans to kick you in the balls."
"Thanks for the warning."
——————
"Just as you expected, All For One, according to the data acquired through the television, it seems his quirk isn't fully developed yet. However, it does indicate a class 5 quirk, at the very least."
All For One, on his throne, smiled at Garaki's report.
Everything was going according to his plan. Well…
One of them.