I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.


After Mineta returned to the 1A seating area, he got filled in on the Todoroki and Sero fight. Apparently, before the former could get thrown out by the latter, Todoroki conjured what was effectively a glacier. And when Sero got back, anyone could tell that he was frustrated to all Hell and back. Not that anyone was saying anything, which made Mineta confused.

"Don't… The crowd was chanting 'good try' after what happened. And now Sero-kun's a little sensitive to encouragement right now." Midoriya whispered. The shorter boy looked to his partner and nodded. He proceeded to carefully step around Sero, without making that fact obvious to avoid damaging his ego more, and sat back down next to Tsuyu.

It then hit him, Iida was not there.

"Oh right, his match is next. Hatsumei Mei from the Support Department was it? She's pretty and has a good figure… But there's something off about her…" Mineta thought with a hum.

"Mineta-chan, good job on your fight. It must've been hard to stay quiet against him." Tsuyu said. The suddenness of her voice caused the shorter boy to jump, eyes snapping to her. Soon, he found several others looking to him as well.

"Yeah man! Based on what Ojiro said, that Shinso guy will try and get under your skin just to get you to talk back. I'm surprised you didn't let out a single word!" Kaminari said, jumping into the seat next to Mineta.

"Honestly, I was sure he'd get you. I'm guessing his taunts didn't have enough bite in the match proper." Ojiro commented. Mineta's mind went back to those taunts that the General student hit him with. And though Shinso admitted that it was just baseless slander, it still made the shorter boy feel pangs of anger. Mineta slowly turned to his tailed classmate and stared straight into his eyes. Without a word, anyone could tell that there was a heavy turbulence around the subject.

"That bad?" Midoriya asked, looking over with a frown on his face.

"That bad…"

Before the subject was explored any further, Present Mic's voice ripped through the air again. "I hope everyone's warmed up, because our next match is here and now!"

The crowd roared to life as the next two fighters took the stage. On one side, it was the pink haired tinkerer Hatsumei Mei and her cavalcade of support items. She faced the audience with a blinding enthusiasm that was borderline unnatural. And on the other side was the esteemed Class President of 1A. There he stood tall, his glasses shining brightly alongside his cavalcade of… Wait a minute…

Mineta rubbed his eyes and looked at Iida again; to make sure what he saw wasn't an illusion. Turns out, he wasn't hallucinating. On Iida's body were a few devices of unknown functions and origin. And as the crowd began to murmur to themselves over this, Midnight decided to vocalize the question in everyone's head.

"Iida Tenya, may I ask where you procured these items?"

"Of course, allow me to explain. Hatsumei-kun loaned me this equipment to, in her words, 'provide extra footing so that I can fight her as an equal'. Touched by her sense of sportsmanship, I couldn't refuse and so here I am in these strange devices. I apologize if this seemed confusing and out of the blue." Iida explained before taking a deep bow. And this wasn't just aimed at the R18 Heroine, but to the entire audience. Midnight hummed to that before turning to his opponent, who was waiting with an energetic patience.

"Is this true?"

"Absolutely! I mean, my babies provide me all sorts of advantages that could borderline unfair. So, to stop this from being utterly one sided, I gave him items suited to his Quirk. Don't tell me we're not allowed to do that, because I'm sure we are." Hatsumei answered.

"What do you think Eraser, Mic?" Midnight as she turned to the commentator's box.

"Both of them already have it, so why not? Can't delay the main event just for an unequip." Present Mic said.

"And both of them agreed to do the match like this, like Midoriya and Kirishima with their fight." Aizawa added.

"Then let's get on with the show! Iida Tenya versus Hatsumei Mei, begin!" Midnight shouted with the crack of her whip. Iida darted forward, using his Engine Quirk to quickly close the distance. Mineta knew that, once he gets right up to you, there was no escaping this methodical sprinter. And with a clean, flat space, it was only a matter of time before the Support girl would lose.

Or so the shorter boy thought.

"Woah Iida, what incredible speed you have!" Hatsumei said, her voice somehow projecting itself around the stadium. Excuse me?

"Don't your legs feel lighter than normal? That's thanks to those custom leg supports! They can keep up with any movement at any speed! It can let a sprinter like you spend less time running and more time catching poor villains like me!" Mei continued, almost like she was presenting… Something…

Oh Hell…

"I knew it! She's using him as a sales monkey!" Midoriya cried as he clutched at his hair. And as Mineta watched Hatsumei demonstrate some device called Hydraulic Attachment Bars, the shorter boy could safely confirm it. This was less of a fight and more of a sales pitch.

"This… This is going to be a disaster, isn't it?" Mineta asked.

"Definitely. Poor Iida-chan, he was too honest for his own good." Tsuyu answered.

So the audience watched as Hatsumei dodged circles around Iida. The latter was doing everything he could to catch the Support girl, but kept falling short as the girl made another demonstration. Mineta had a suspicion that, because she probably made Iida's items, Hatsumei knew how all those items worked. Ergo, was able to utilize that knowledge in her favor.

Whatever the case, Hatsumei surrendered the moment she exhausted all possible demonstrations. The girl simply walked off the ring as Midnight declared her the loser. But in all honesty, did she really lose? I mean, looking at Iida scream in irritation while she had this satisfied smile on her face… One could tell that, personally, it was the reverse.

"Well that was something. Anyhow, it's my turn to dance with Tsuyu-chan. Any bets to how it will go?" Kaminari asked as he stood up. Mineta avoided saying anything because he really couldn't choose between the two. Kaminari was his fellow man of culture while Tsuyu was the first girl who personally supported him.

But if the shorter boy were to objectively compare the two…

"Sorry Kaminari, but I feel Tsuyu's got you beat." Mineta answered, clapping his hands together as his head lowered a bit. He didn't have to look at the electric blonde to hear his jaw drop. As for Tsuyu, she simply let out a croak of humble gratitude.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Mineta-chan. I'll do my best."

"You traitor… What happened to bros before hoes?" Kaminari asked, head now hanging in defeat. That was a bit much. In fact, it was so much; Jirou had positioned her jacks to strike down their classmate if he utters another crass comment. Mineta was about to say something, but his partner interrupted. And seeing that it was Midoriya, the situation was pretty much diffused.

"Now let's not get so hasty with our predictions. Anything could happen once you two hit the field. I mean, did anyone expect my fight with Kirishima-kun to go the way it did?"

"Yeah dude! Don't worry about whose on your side or not! As long as you believe you can win, you've got a chance!" Kirishima said.

"Thanks guys… Okay, shall we?" Kaminari asked, making the 'after you' gesture to Tsuyu.

"Let's go, Kaminari-chan."

The two proceeded to leave and the wait for them to reappear on stage began. The wait would've been boring if it hadn't been for the conversations. Like with Kirishima and Midoriya, everyone was taking their sides and giving their reasons. But no matter what it was, it seemed that Kaminari was edging out over Tsuyu for one simple fact.

"Once Kaminari discharges, it's pretty much game over. And I don't think Tsuyu's got anything for electrical attacks. Man… I wanted her to win after that 'bros before hoes' comment… And for the nonsense you idiots put us through." Kyouka said as she glared at Mineta. The shorter boy turned away sweating.

It's probably best not to face her direction for a while…

"Who knows, she might have some secret frog biology that'll let her win." Sero chimed in, killing the rising tensions. As the arguments continued to circulate, Mineta looked to Midoriya for his thoughts. And as he came to expect from his partner, the green haired boy was muttering into his Hero notebook. Then there was Uraraka, who was watching him in abject horror.

Yeah, this was about right.

"Kaminari-kun's Electrification has a lot of raw power, as expected from an elemental type Quirk. But it has poor range, which could be attributed to the fact that air is a very poor conductor. To overcome that resistance, he has to discharge a lot of his energy reserves, effectively becoming an electrical bomb. This is a double edged sword as he can incapacitate himself if he uses it recklessly. But without–" Midoriya mumbled as his voice grew louder with each syllable. That was until someone broke him out and shattered everyone's ear drums with a well delivered shout.

"SHUT UP DEKU!"

Mineta looked over and saw Bakugou tapping his foot, his brows deeply furrowed. Okay, let's not piss him off any further. Turning to Midoriya, who was covering his mouth, the shorter boy could still see something dwelling within his mind. And luckily, he wasn't the only person to figure that out.

"Did you figure something out, Deku-kun?" Uraraka asked, leaning in to read his entry on Kaminari.

"Don't know… But I have this funny feeling that Tsuyu-chan will win this fight. Despite what I know about their Quirks, there's something that's stopping me from siding with Kaminari-kun." Midoriya answered as a blush formed on his face. Before Mineta could internally congratulate his partner on containing his nervousness, a new voice entered the conversation.

"Then let's watch this battle and figure what that factor could be."

The three turned to the source and found that Iida has returned. Although it looked like he had seen better days, as if there was some kind of weight on his shoulders. He then proceeded to robotically walk over to the empty seat to Mineta's right and sat down. He didn't say anything until Kirishima tried to strike a conversation.

"Class Pres, welcome back! Sorry about how your fight turned out."

"Why are you apologizing Kirishima-kun? You had no bearing on that mess. But please, do not remind me of that farce. The less I remember of that pink haired devil, the less my very being wants to scream." Iida said, shaking his head. Yesh, that Hatsumei girl really did a number on him. Mineta guesses he won't be hanging around any Support Department students any time soon.

Still Iida was right. Whatever factor was clogging Midoriya's thought process; it would reveal itself in this fight. And not too soon after, Tsuyu and Kaminari walked upon the stage. Whatever bombastic introduction Present Mic was giving them, Mineta wasn't paying attention to it. Instead, he was focusing on his amphibious classmate.

Tsuyu, unlike Kaminari, wasn't standing at all. Rather, she was looking very much like her Quirk's namesake. She was crouched down with legs fully bent, her arms supporting her front. She was also staring, unflinchingly, at her opponent like he was some form of prey. And Mineta could tell, Kaminari was a bit unsettled by the piercing glare of Tsuyu's blank eyes.

"Nice, a bit of psychological warfare to give her an edge." Mineta thought.

"Contestants, are you ready!?" Midnight asked.

"Ready." Tsuyu said, still intently staring at Kaminari.

"Ready!" Kaminari said, doing his best to not look fazed by his opponent.

"Then begin!" The Heroine yelled, cracking her whip.

Not even a millisecond after the signal, Tsuyu's tongue shot out her mouth at an incredible speed. However, instead of striking Kaminari directly, she wrapped it around his body. The frog girl then jumped straight up, tongue stretching as she went. And she just kept going, breaking whatever notion of height Mineta had about her.

"I know she's a frog with nice legs… But this is more than I'm familiar with…" Mineta thought, still watching Tsuyu go up. His eyes turned to Kaminari to check what he's up to. And imagine his horror when he saw the electric blonde emitting sparks. Mineta began biting his nails as he realized Tsuyu had nowhere to go.

Kaminari began his discharge. It was much smaller than his 5 million volt burst, but it was enough to leave a visible electrical silhouette on him. Tsuyu should definitely be feeling that… Except she wasn't. Looking up, where the girl was starting to slow down, she was showing no visible signs of electrocution. In fact, she maintained the same look on her face. Uh, what?

"The Hell?" Bakugou asked, his posture straightening. Kaminari's electrical silhouette began growing more and more, brighter and brighter. Electricity began to branch out from the blonde, arcing all around him. All of it made it seem like the field was experiencing a localized lightning storm. And yet, in spite of the light show that was going on, nothing was happening to Tsuyu. There wasn't even a spark coming off of her.

The audience murmurs of confusion grew louder as Tsuyu reached the apex of her impressive leap. And the moment she began her descent, Kaminari's sparks stopped flying. The electric blonde's head lolled back slightly as his nose began leaking a bit of snot. What's worse were his eyes, which had this incoherent glazed look to them. A dopey smile began to spread across his lips, one word managing to escape it that stunned the stadium silent.

"Wwwwhhhheeeeeyyyy~!"

Silence was the only sound in the air as Tsuyu landed back onto Terra Firma. The amphibious girl began to shake out her legs before looking to Midnight. The Heroine raised her whip and aimed it towards the victor of the match.

"Asui Tsuyu has incapacitated Kaminari Denki! She'll be advancing to the next round!"

But despite that announcement, no one could really applause through their bafflement. Mineta watched as Tsuyu simply left the field, trying to figure out what happened. Why didn't she get electrocuted? She's an honest person, so cheating was out the window. Does this have something to do with Midoriya's unknown factor?

"If you have time to be surprised, then use it to go study some Physics. I recommend the chapter on electricity and how it behaves." Aizawa said, his tired voice echoing through the stadium.

"AH! That's it!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed as she got to her feet. All of 1A's eyes went to her as she began to take on the airs of a teacher. Mineta paid extra attention, being the most curious about Tsuyu's victory.

"Asui-san made use of advanced electrical knowledge. Before Kaminari-san could discharge, she used her tongue to tag him and jumped high into the air. The latter was to stop the effects of grounding. And the former was to maintain the same electrical potential as him. Once Kaminari-san has run out of charge, all the energy in Asui-san would safely dissipate as well." Yaoyorozu explained. Mineta could hear about half of the class understanding that, including himself. The others blankly stared at the girl before Uraraka slowly raised her hand.

"Can… Can we break that down?"

"Simply put, Asu– Tsuyu-chan understood how his Quirk behaved and used it against him." Midoriya replied as Yayorozu nodded with a sad sigh.

"That's just sad. Your Quirk is your own. No one should know it better than yourself." Bakugou commented. Though there was a great degree of smugness in his voice, Mineta could feel the cautiousness surrounding him. Mineta swallowed the newly formed lump in his throat, eyes still on the human grenade. Yeah, he was really dangerous right now…

"Oh right! It's our turn next Aoyama!" Mina shouted, getting back onto her feet. Her opponent, the ever sparking faux Frenchman, stood up dramatically and bowed to the pink girl.

"I am in your care Mademoiselle Ashido."

"Before we go, any bets?" Mina asked as she began walking. There were no takers and Mineta knew the whole process was going to start up again. They both go as the class debates over the winner, the match plays out, one of them wins, and repeat. Both Mina and Aoyama should know this, yet still ask for the lines to be drawn. Maybe they just wanted to know who's on whose side.

Not that it seemed to divide the class in any way though. In fact, Mineta believed it brought 1A closer together as they discussed the odds. Sure, Todoroki isolated himself and Bakugou was Bakugou, but everyone else was treating each other as equals.

As it should be.


And that has been Chapter 29. I tried, but I couldn't avoid the filler chapter.

When planning for the matches, I had to include a new fight since Tsuyu in the running. However, I had no good way to do so without it feeling jarring. So I opted to include the canon fights except I included a lot of interactions between Class 1A. The pacing has gone into the ground, but I hopefully made it fun to read. Key word being Hopefully.

"It's alright. I mean, at least you're going places. Half the times, filler does nothing."

True, but I shouldn't take that sort of mind set. So to make up for this tragedy, I'll be posting two chapters in the coming 2 week. One update to get over the next hurdle. And the next being something I looked forward to when writing this arc. Just as a teaser hint, think about the tournament bracket and how things have progressed. The answer should excite you in some way some how.

"And here's hoping that's the good kind of excited."

Not now Eris. Anyhow, I've got no other news for you. So if you, my dear readers, would kindly leave your comments and questions in the usual place, I'd be able to get a gauge of your enjoyment. Not that it would stop me from writing, but it would certainly help.

"Comments are gold to a writer."

With all that said...

Until Next Time. T1.