A/N: The Heroes Rising movie finally came out! It was the last film I saw in theaters, and now I can watch again, and I'M SO HAPPY!

Er-hem... Sorry about that. Needless to say, I shall be very excited when it comes time to incorporate said film into this storyline. In case I haven't mentioned this before, I should say that the events covered in both films will be worked into the timeline of this fan fiction, so you can expect to see the Two Heroes arc come into play after the semester exams. It will probably be three or four chapters, and unlike the original story, the events in said arc will have a massive impact on what happens throughout the rest of this tale.

But that's all a way's off! For now, let's see what happens to Kurai and Mina after being caught out by our favorite class president!

Read, review, and as always, enjoy.

Phase 1: Chapter 13

The Fight Rages

Kurai froze. Iida glared. Mina looked between the two of them nervously, though she did not move from her boyfriend's side.

"I see that you ignored my advice, Kurai," the bespectacled student said sternly. "I told you that becoming involved in a romantic entanglement within our class could interfere with the dynamics of our class, maybe even put lives at risk! This is the height of irresponsibility!"

"I don't think that this is the height of irresponsibility," Kurai said with a slow shake of his head.

"Then what would say it is?!" Iida demanded indignantly.

"I dunno, how tall is Bakugo?"

"Kurai, I'm trying to be serious here!"

"So am I," Kurai deadpanned. "I'm failing. And I'm sorry for that. It's just that I seem to remember telling someone that it was none of his business, and here he is, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong!"

"Guys, can we not do this right now?" Mina requested nervously as the two boys glared daggers at each other. "Kurai and I both have injuries we need to have treated, so we should really be on our way to the nurse's office."

"While I'm tempted to argue against you due to this situation probably being your fault, I can agree that you need to have your wounds looked at," Iida grumbled as he adjusted his glasses. "I was coming down here to congratulate my friend on his win, but I suppose it'll have to wait until after I've given him a reminder of what's important."

Now Kurai was indignant. "Excuse you?!" he demanded. "First of all, don't go pointing fingers at my girlfriend when you don't know the whole story. Second, you don't get to determine which aspects of my life are more important than others!"

"I do when they concern the safety of our classmates, who I am bound by my position to protect!" his friend hurled back.

"Guys, please!" Mina begged. "This isn't the time or place for this. If you have some kind of problem with each other, settle it in the next fight, okay?"

Kurai and Iida glared at each other for a few more minutes before exchanging curt nods. "We'll settle it in the ring," Kurai confirmed.

"Very well," the taller boy said as he turned around and began to walk away.

Kurai let out a long, heavy sigh once he was out of sight. "And that is why I didn't want him to know," he mumbled.

"I'm so sorry, Kurai," Mina said as they resumed walking towards Recovery Girl's office. "I didn't mean to cause you trouble like this."

"No, I should've been more upfront with him," the boy replied dully. "At least then he would have found out from me, instead of walking in on us like that. I hope that once we can have a proper conversation without being all riled up, he'll come around to the idea. Or at least, he won't be lecturing me about it at every opportunity. Regardless, nothing that just happened was your fault."

"I still feel bad about it, though," she remarked. "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, let me know."

The two saw Recovery Girl, then returned to their seats, a little surprised when they didn't see Iida, Uraraka, or Midoriya sitting where they had been. "D'ya think Iida is interrogating them?" Mina asked as they took their places, waving in response to the greetings that their classmates were giving them.

Apparently during their time spent with the nurse, Tokoyami had already defeated Yaoyorozu, and the next round was set to begin in a few minutes.

"Ochaco went to go get ready for her match with Bakugo," Asui informed them from where she sat behind them. "Iida and Midoriya went to go check on her."

"Ah," Kurai nodded in understanding as he realized that Bakugo was also missing from their number. "That fight is gonna be hard to watch."

"You don't think that she can win, do you?" Mina asked him worriedly, to which he slowly shook his head.

"Her quirk isn't suited for fighting- leastways, not like Bakugo's is," he replied grimly. "The other issue is her attitude."

"Whaddya mean by that?" asked Jiro, who was sitting next to Asui. "You saw her getting pumped for the festival the other day. She's just as determined to win as the rest of you."

"I'm not talking about her drive in general," he replied quickly. "Don't get me wrong, I think she'll be a great hero someday. But she wants to be a rescue hero, not a fighter, you know? Bakugo lives for this kind of thing. That's the difference I was trying to highlight."

"He makes a good point," Shoji said as he folded his arms. "But don't you think Bakugo would hold back just a little for her?"

"Not likely," Asui said bluntly. "From what we know about him, Bakugo never holds back. It doesn't matter who gets in his way, he does everything he can to destroy them." The others all grimaced as she spoke, but none of them could refute her words.

"Still, she hangs out with Midoriya quite a bit, and he's good at coming up with some unorthodox strategies," Kurai said, trying to lift the spirits of the others. "Who knows? Maybe he's got a plan in mind that'll let her stand on equal footing with Bakugo- or at least, give her a shot at winning."

The next battle proved to be harder to watch than Kurai would have imagined, made only more so by the fact that Uraraka nearly defeated Bakugo. The blond student was relentless, unleashing blast after blast at his competitor, with her tenacity matching his own in nearly every way. Time and time again, she hurled herself into the explosions, heedless of the damage it had to be doing to her body, all while slowly building up to her own counterattack.

With the rubble generated by Bakugo destroying the stadium piece by piece, she gathered a meteor showers' worth of rocks high above the stadium before releasing them, gravity hurling them at a surprised Bakugo, who looked to be nearly taken aback for a moment. However, he quickly recovered and destroyed her attack with an explosion bigger than any that his classmates had ever seen him produce. With that, Uraraka hit her limit and was knocked out by her own exhaustion, leaving Bakugo standing victorious.

The whole match, Iida and Kurai spoke not one word to each other, with Midoriya and Ashido unable to think of a way to break the tension.

While she was taken to the nurse, and Cementoss worked to repair the stadium following the damage the last match had caused, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu had their rematch in the form of an arm-wrestling contest. At first it seemed to be just as even of a match as their combat had been, but eventually, Kirishima's Hardening quirk was able to outlast Tetsutetsu's steely build, and with a roar of victory, Kurai's classmate claimed victory. The two of them even seemed to reach a level of respect for each other after the fact, with Kirishima helping his former opponent to his feet, and leaving with a hearty handshake.

"Well, there goes the last person not in class 1-A," Kurai remarked as he leaned back in his seat. "I guess our experiences with the USJ incident gave us a bigger edge than I would have thought."

"Wow, puffing up on your hot air, are we?" Everyone in class 'A' looked up to their left to see a blond boy with condescending blue eyes looking down on them from above a wall that separated them from other classes' seating areas. "If you're really so much better than us, why'd it have to go to a tiebreaker, huh?!"

What's with that guy? Kurai thought, just before a large hand appeared behind his head and chopped him in a nerve point, rendering him unconscious.

Before anyone could ask what had just happened, a girl with orange hair popped up with an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry about that. He doesn't know when to stop sometimes." With that, she disappeared behind the wall.

"Who were they?" Kurai asked, their appearances having stuck a chord in his recent memory.

"They're from class 1-B," Kaminari answered for him, looking a little disgruntled. "Apparently Bakugo did something to make him mad, cos he's been out to get us the whole festival."

"Great…" Kurai muttered. As if we don't have enough competition already, having to go up against each other…

The next match to be settled was Kirishima against Midoriya. It took a little longer to set up, with the stadium having been so badly damaged, and with Kirishima needing a little time to recover from his consecutive matches, but before too much time had passed, Midoriya found himself standing a few-dozen yards away from his next opponent.

"Yo, Midoriya," Kirishima said with a friendly grin. "Think Bakugo might kill me if I beat you before he gets the chance?"

"Maybe," Izuku laughed nervously. "But I wouldn't count me out just yet."

"Never, man," his opponent chuckled. "I know you're strong, and you've gotten wicked fast since the USJ incident, but I'm betting that your punches are gonna shred your skin once they hit my quirk." As he spoke, he flexed and hardened his arms to the rock-like consistency that his powers allowed.

Crap, he's right, Midoriya thought as he took up a fighting stance that Kurai had shown him. Maybe if I can send him flying with a shot at one hundred percent? No, that's too reckless- the kind of thing that Mister Aizawa warned me not to do.

"BEGIN!" Present Mic bellowed.

With a raw-throated yell, Kirishima charged at Midoriya, fists ready to strike. "Let's do this, man-to-man!" he called out before he aimed a punch at his classmate's stomach.

In response, Midoriya leaped over him with Full Cowling, landing behind his attacker and swinging his legs to sweep Kirishima's out from under him. It was a dance move that Mina had integrated into her fighting style, and Izuku had taken careful notice of how she did it, even going so far as to getting her to give him a few pointers. Now his training had paid off yet again.

Pressing his attack, he aimed a kick that Kirishima rolled out of the way to avoid, throwing him off-balance for a second as he tried to regain his footing. The redhead disengaged his quirk to grant him more fluid movements as he made his escape, but immediately went back to his rocky state once he was balanced again.

All around them, the crowd cheered, with Present Mic providing his loud commentary to add to the hype. "Nice moves, Midoriya," Kirishima laughed. "How long can ya keep it up, though?"

"Long enough to beat you!" the freckled boy grinned back, charging into battle with lightning tickling his limbs. That's it, he thought as he and Kirishima began to exchange blows. All quirks have a limit. Mine is determined by how strong my body is, but Kirishima's is different. Is it a time limit? Is it based on his stamina? Or something else entirely?

Whatever the case was, he couldn't hope to outmuscle his classmate with only five percent of his power. This would have to be an endurance match if he was to have a chance at winning without breaking his bones.

Up above, Kurai, Uraraka- who had come up from the nurse's office- and Iida were on the edge of their seats, each of them hoping for the best for their friend. Mina, on the other hand, while becoming friends with Midoriya, still wanted her friend from middle school to do well, so she was cheering him on in spite of her boyfriend's choice for victor.

"Who do you think will win?" Iida asked of no one in particular.

Without thinking, Kurai answered the question. "Kirishima has an advantage with close combat since every time that Midoriya hits him, he gets the skin on his hands torn up, or at least bruised," he muttered aloud. "But Midoriya has shown extreme resilience to pain on a few different occasions, so that might not even matter. I think it's gonna boil down to whoever has more gas in the tank."

"Deku has this," Uraraka chimed in. "He's the most determined guy I've ever met- he won't let something like a little scrape or being tired stop him."

"I agree, his tenacity is something to behold," Iida nodded to the both of them, though he did not look directly at Kurai.

"Aw come on, give Kirishima a little more credit than that!" Mina pouted. "He took on some of those wackos from the League of Villains alongside Bakugo, and then he was still ready to go!"

"That may be, but I think he's just about hit his limit," Kurai said as he pointed down at the two combatants.

"Argh!" Kirishima grunted as one of Izuku's bruised fists slammed into his arm, causing a large red mark to appear on his softened skin that was already turning purple. "Dammit!" he growled as he backed away from his opponent.

"You gonna surrender?" Midoriya offered. "I don't wanna keep this up if it's gonna hurt you too badly."

"No way!" Kirishima said vehemently. "Real men don't give up just cos they got a little bruise! I'm gonna be a hero, and that means giving it my all until I drop, not before!"

"All right," Midoriya nodded, the energy of his quirk flaring brightly around him. "Let's do this, then!"

Kirishima grunted in acknowledgement, then started forward again, putting everything he had left into his right arm, the uninjured one. "You're on, Midoriya!" he cried as he swung his fist at his classmate.

Too late to dodge, Midoriya acted on reflex, shooting more power into his right hand as he countered, slamming Kirishima's hand with his own, even as he cried out in agony while his bones cracked. It wasn't one hundred percent of One For All's power- perhaps a third or so- but it was still enough to send Kirishima flying off the arena and against the wall next to the exit, knocking him out immediately while the wind howled from the force of Izuku's strike.

Gritting his teeth, Midoriya ignored the pain, the cheering crowds, and Midnight's announcement that he would be proceeding to the semi-final round, only seeing Kirishima's unconscious body hitting the ground as he stumbled toward him, his hand bleeding, throbbing, and discolored. "Kirishima…" he grunted out. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"Ha…" He was surprised when he heard his classmate letting out a weak chuckle from where he lay. "You… got me pretty good there… Midoriya."

"Kirishima?!" Renewing his efforts to reach his injured classmate, he found himself kneeling beside the battered student, who had a grin plastered on his face, despite the bruises covering his arms.

"I just managed to harden my back when I hit the wall, so I should be okay after I see Recovery Girl again," Kirishima explained. "Congrats on your win, buddy. You totally earned it."

"Th-Thanks…" Midoriya groaned as he sat down, cradling his injured hand while they waited for the paramedics to take them away.

"Aw man," Mina groaned as she leaned back in her seat. "I totally thought Kirishima had him there."

"It was closer than I would have predicted," Kurai admitted as he pulled out his phone. "I should ask Akarui to send his predictions to us, as well as any weaknesses that he notices for me to exploit."

"You can't do that!" Iida cried as he shot to his feet and began waving his arms wildly, though he seemed less hostile now than when he had confronted Kurai and Mina. "That's cheating!"

"Where in the rules does it say that I'm not allowed to ask for help in formulating a strategy?" Kurai said as he texted his brother without looking up. "If I recall, you had no issue with Uraraka getting help from Midoriya."

"That's totally different!" Iida protested. "Your brother has an I.Q. of over three hundred right now! He could probably predict what the play-by-play will be an hour before it happens!"

"Hey, good heroes surround themselves with people that lend to their own strengths," Kurai said as he put his phone in his pocket and looked up at Iida with a slight frown. "How many sidekicks does Ingenium have?"

"I-!" Iida paused, then sat back down. "All right, fair point. I suppose it is a hero's duty to collect as much information as he can before entering a dangerous situation."

"Besides, I'll share his intel with anyone that wants to see it," Kurai offered, turning to include the rest of his classmates.

"I'll take you up on that," Asui said as she raised a hand. "My opponent is Todoroki, so I'll need all the help I can get." The half-and-half boy was nowhere to be seen, though his classmates assumed that he was probably in one of the prep rooms, getting ready for his fight with the frog-girl.

"Of course the extras need help to get along further than those of us with actual powers," Bakugo sneered as he walked into their midst and claimed his seat.

"Says the one that almost got beat by one of our least combat-ready classmates," Kaminari snickered, triggering Bakugo's volatile temper.

"The HELL'D you say?!" he screamed. "I wasn't almost beat! I was just getting started!"

"Even so, to level your powers at a frail girl like that was pretty messed up," Sero commented, not seeing Uraraka's face falling at his words.

"You idiot," Bakugo grumbled, though less fiercely than they all expected. "I definitely wouldn't call her 'frail'."

Everyone looked over at him in surprise as he glared down at the arena without another word. Did… did he just hand out a compliment? Kurai thought, utterly shocked at their classmate's declaration.

He was snapped out of it when his phone buzzed with a text from his brother. Scanning the text quickly, he winced, then handed it over to Asui, whose face remained passive while she read her chances of victory. When she handed the phone back, she shrugged and said, "That's about what I expected. Still, gotta try my best, right?"

"You got this, Su!" Uraraka said encouragingly. "Plus Ultra!"

Tsuyu Asui most certainly did not have 'it'. Todoroki got her much the same way that he defeated Sero, though with notably less violence and grandeur. Since her biology was so similar to a frog's, she did not hold up well against his ice barrage, the cold putting her to sleep in less than a minute, thereby disqualifying her from competing anymore.

Like in his previous match, Todoroki took the time to free his opponent from the ice, and this time even went so far as to warm her back to good health before walking off the stage.

Asui looked disappointed in her performance, but it was really just a draw of horrible luck- there was no possible way that she could have withstood Todoroki's freezing attacks. Her body simply couldn't handle it.

As she was taken off the field on a stretcher, Kurai turned to Midoriya and muttered, "So it's you against Todoroki in the semi-finals. Good luck with that one."

"I'm gonna need it," his friend laughed nervously. "Do you mind asking your brother to draw up some stats for me? I've got my own notes on Todoroki, but I wouldn't mind a little extra help."

"Sure thing," Kurai nodded as he pulled out his phone.

"Don't take too long about it," Iida said as he walked away from his seat. Over his shoulder, he added, "Our match is next. We'll settle things there."

"Looking forward to it," Kurai replied without looking up.

Once Iida was gone, Kirishima- having rejoined them along with Midoriya, both of them having their injured arms wrapped in bandages- asked, "What's up with you guys? I thought you were tight."

"We are, but we're currently having a difference of opinion on something of a delicate matter," Kurai replied as he finished sending his text.

"Is it about you and Ashido?" Jiro asked calmly, nearly giving Kurai a heart attack.

"Seriously?!" he demanded as he shot to his feet and glared at her. "Why'd you blurt it out like that?"

"Dude, chill," Kaminari laughed. "I think everyone but Iida knew. You guys aren't exactly subtle."

"Wha-?! Everyone?" he gaped as he looked around at his classmates. "Seriously?!"

"Seriously," Tokoyami said flatly. "No one said anything because we all figured that it didn't really matter to us, nor was it any of our business."

"I guess Iida didn't get the memo," Mina giggled. "Guess the cat's out of the bag."

"Mon cher, you cannot deny the sparkles of rom-"

"Aoyama, you seem like a decent enough- if strange- individual," Kurai interrupted him swiftly. "But for the love of all things good, keep your commentary about my personal life to yourself."

"Ah, how gauche of me," the purple-eyed young man said dramatically. "My sincerest apologies, mon frere."

"Dude, are you even actually French?" Sero asked him.

As his classmates began to talk among themselves, Kurai's phone buzzed again, signaling a text from his brother. Pulling it out he was surprised to see a simple message. It read, 'Put your friend on. As for Iida, ditch the gauntlets.'

"Uh, Midoriya?" Kurai said as he prodded his friend's shoulder before handing him the phone. "My brother says to call him with this. I've got a match to get ready for."

"Yeah," his friend nodded as he accepted the device. "Good luck, Hikari."

"Yeah, do your best!" Uraraka grinned at him. "I'll be cheering for you and Iida both!"

"Hey, Saiyaman!" Bakugo's voice stopped Kurai just before he left. Turning around, he saw the red eyes of his classmate glaring up at him as he said, "You better not lose to Glasses down there. I'm wanna kill you myself." Standing up and pointing accusingly at him, Bakugo continued, shouting, "You, Deku, and that icy-hot bastard have been ignoring me this whole time, and I won't put up with it anymore! You hear me?! I'm gonna destroy you and prove that I'm the number one student here!"

"Good luck with that, Blasty McSplode," Kurai said with a dismissive wave as he walked away, Mina following him with a little laugh. "You've gotta make it past Tokoyami first."

"WHAT THE F-!"

"Calm down, dude!" From there on, they left the sounds of Kirishima trying to restrain Bakugo behind them.

Once they reached the prep room, Kurai set about removing his gauntlets, as Akarui had suggested. Seeing this, Mina's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Wait, are you sure about this, Kurai? You could-"

"Akarui suggested that I should," he answered calmly. "It's risky, I know, but Iida is not someone I should take on without needing to prepare for the worst. He's cunning, more so than most people give him credit for. I'm sure he's got a few tricks up his sleeve that even I don't know about."

"And what about your own trick?" she asked worriedly. "Are you sure that you'll have a good enough handle on it to not have a repeat of last time?"

"I am… ninety-two percent certain," he replied with a strained smile. "I wish I could be totally certain, but then, hardly anything in life is."

"Just…" She gripped his right hand as he freed it from the armor, and said, "Please make it off that field safely, okay?"

"I will," he said as he pulled her into a hug, still feeling a little awkward in doing so. "I promise I'll be careful."

Time to face the music once again, Kurai thought as he took to the field amid the thunderous applause, the concussive volume of Present Mic, and into the line of sight of his best friend, now rival for this battle.

"Good luck," he called to Iida.

"Same to you," he replied neutrally.

Adding a crooked grin to his face, Kurai allowed his power to begin flooding his limbs as he said, "Your concern about my relationship is that it'll prove to be a distraction to our pursuit of becoming heroes, yeah?"

"Correct," Iida said as he took a running position. "What is your counterpoint?"

"This match," Kurai answered confidently. "If my choices are distracting me from becoming a hero so much, then I imagine that you'll be able to beat me. However, if it doesn't factor into my ability to perform as a hero should, then I'd say that you're wrong."

"So am I to assume that if I win, you will end your relationship with Ashido?" Iida asked after Present Mic shouted at them to get started.

"I'll at least put it on hold for the remainder of our time at U.A." Kurai replied. "What happens after our education is complete is entirely up to me."

"Fair enough," Iida nodded, ignoring Present Mic as he demanded to see some action. "And if I lose, I am to cede my ideals concerning inter-student relations to you, right?"

"Yep," Kurai answered, energy beginning to swirl in his right hand, growing larger by the second. "So if you're so determined to see us apart, you'd better bring your A-game, pal."

"If you insist!" Iida shouted, sprinting forward at high speed, leaping up high as soon as Kurai unleashed a barrage of energy from his left hand, the orb in his right hand done growing, now swirling like a small globe, and getting faster and faster with every moment that passed. As Iida descended, he unleashed a devastating kick that would have sent Kurai flying out of bounds had it hit.

Instead, his opponent jumped out of the way with a speed that rivaled his own third gear, the orb in his right hand still gaining speed in its rotation. Iida hadn't seen this move before, but he knew it couldn't be good news if Kurai was focusing on it so much. It wasn't a Kamehameha, but something about it still seemed familiar…

He's getting uncertain, good, Kurai thought as he once again resumed his left-handed assault with Energon, keeping his right hand as still as possible. Almost there…

Iida began to run in an arc, trying to angle in on Kurai's right side, but the boy simply turned to match his opponent's trajectory, keeping the speedy hero-in-training at bay. However, the longer he kept Iida running in a circle, the more time he had to shift into higher gears, making him faster and faster as the seconds trickled by. But by the same token, the more that Kurai used his quirk without his restraints, the more powerful and aggressive he became.

Then, Iida accelerated to a speed that Kurai had never seen before, the ports on his legs spitting out blue fire and propelling him so fast that he was little more than a blur. "Recipro Burst!" Iida roared, charging directly at Kurai, dodging the Energon bursts with such finesse that Kurai knew this couldn't be a recent development.

He practiced this technique just for the festival, Kurai realized as his friend came within reach, a wild grin splitting his face. Too bad he's not the only one!

Certain that his new technique was at its maximum power, he thrust his hand forward to collide with Iida's leg, knowing that his friend would be aiming for his left shoulder. He always aimed to strike with his right leg, his primary attacking limb, and with the way that Kurai was standing, his left side was more vulnerable to attack.

There are some things that you need to work on, too, old friend.

Letting his power flow freely throughout his entire body, Kurai turned into Iida's strike, thrusting his right palm forward, the hand holding the swirling orb, as he bellowed, "Rasengan!" The orb repelled Iida immediately on contact, swirling energy streaming outward as it flung him away at rocket speed. The orb stayed attached to Kurai's hand, spitting out sparks and streams of energy until it finally fizzled out, Iida having been sent completely out of bounds.

"JEEZ, YOUR STUDENTS ARE INSANE!" Present Mic called out. "THAT MOVE WOULDA FLOORED ANYONE BUT THE TOP TEN!"

"Perhaps, but it takes too long for him to charge it up for it to be practical against anyone but a student," Aizawa countered, causing Kurai to glare up at him, annoyed. Unaffected, his teacher added, "Perhaps with time he can mold it into something formidable, but for now it's just a nice light show."

Instead of shouting up at his teacher like he wanted to, Kurai forced himself to restrain his temper and went to go check on his friend, grumbling to himself as he did. He did note that it was easier to do so than he had expected, and resolved to thank Midoriya once he had the chance. He was right about how to channel it.

About a week before the Sport's Festival, Midoriya had approached Kurai with a new method for triggering his quirk, one that might take the strain off of his frontal cortex.

"I've been doing some research in my downtime, and I came across something interesting," the freckled boy had told him during one of their breaks from sparring. "The frontal cortex is where a lot of reactionary stuff happens, like where our emotions transmit commands to the rest of our bodies, you know?"

"Yeah, I'm very much aware of that," Kurai had commented dryly.

"Right, sorry," Izuku had apologized. "But I also read that a lot of scientists think it's where short-term memories convert into long-term. I was thinking that might hold the key to you triggering your quirk safely, or at least with less risk than it usually carries."

"Oh?" Kurai asked, intrigued. This was the first time someone had brought up memory conversion in regards to his quirk. He was definitely interested now.

"Well, I was thinking, maybe your frontal cortex is doing too much of the work, and that's why you keep getting aneurisms," his friend explained. "What if even though the trigger is in the front of your brain, you could keep it going by using other parts of it- using older memories to sustain those emotions- to take the stress off at least a little bit?"

"Huh…" Kurai had mused, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. "That'll take a while to master, if it even works, since I've been using it this one way for so long. But it has merit… Thanks, Midoriya. I'll definitely give it a shot."

Now, as he helped Iida to his feet, he did have a headache, but it was nowhere near the excruciating levels of pain that had plagued him before now whenever he used his quirk so aggressively. It was hard, maintaining a flow of memories that sustained the emotions that he needed to fuel his quirk, but it had paid off.

"Seems I wasn't the only one keeping a secret move in mind for this," Iida grunted as he got up, grimacing as he put weight on his left leg, the one that was mostly uninjured. His right leg, on the other hand, was at least fractured, maybe even broken. "Well played, Kurai."

"So we're cool on the whole 'Me and Mina' thing?" he asked hopefully as he helped his friend to limp towards the robots that were bringing out a stretcher.

"I'm still not happy about it, but per our agreement, I will speak nothing further on the matter," Iida replied thinly. "Just bear in mind that I said what I did with good reason."

"Believe me, I tried to keep what you said close to heart, but…" Kurai shrugged as he laid his friend on the stretcher. "I guess the heart and reason don't go hand-in-hand."

"Hmph," Iida grumbled as he was wheeled away. "Congratulations on your victory. I suppose if I had to lose to anyone, it was best if it was you."

"Hikari will advance to the semi-finals!" Midnight announced amid a still-cheering crowd. "Let's find out who his opponent will be!"

"You were amazing!" Mina exclaimed as he walked into the hallway just outside of their seating area. "I could barely keep up with how fast you guys were fighting, but you sure know how to handle yourself, huh?!"

"That's because I had something worth fighting for," Kurai replied quietly, his eyes distant. While Mina looked a question at him, he silently mused on how foolish it had been of him to stake his relationship with this girl that had been nothing but kind to him on a test of arms.

What if I had lost? He thought grimly as his arm moved almost of its own will, wrapping around Mina and pulling her close to him. He'd have been bound by his word to do as Iida had requested, even as his friend was now obliged to stay silent on the matter of their relationship. She'd never forgive me for that.

"Hey, Kurai?" Mina said nervously. "You're kinda squeezing me. I need to breathe."

"Sorry," he apologized as he loosened his grip, but still kept her close. "I'm just… starting to understand something." He had never before realized that despite her energetic approach to everything, she was actually a soft, gentle person, someone he really enjoyed being around. Now that he had been at risk of losing this close proximity to her, it made him appreciate her presence in a way that was unfamiliar to him. However, he couldn't deny that it was pleasant, being able to be this close to her.

"What's up?" she asked him as she drew back far enough to look him in the eye. "Did you and Iida settle things out there?"

"Yeah," he nodded with a small smile. "We did. And now I have a better understanding about why you like being close to me, you know, physically." Her eyes lit up in surprise, so he added, "It's still new to me, this wanting to be close to somebody beyond a platonic sense, but I'm glad that I'll be experiencing these feelings with you. I just wanted you to know that."

"Aw, you're sweet," she giggled as she leaned back into the hug. "I'm glad to be with you, too. Life is way more fun and exciting this way."

"Get a room, you two," Tokoyami muttered as he walked past them, causing the couple to yelp in surprise. Apparently his match was set to start sooner than previous ones due to the minimal damage done to the battle stage.

"S-Sorry!" Kurai said helplessly as their classmate rounded the corner, ignoring them.

"I didn't realize that we'd been here that long," Mina remarked as they disengaged and began walking back to the seating area. "Let's get moving before Bakugo gets out here and yells at us."

"He might actually set me on fire after what I told him earlier," Kurai grinned. "Or at least, he'd try." Mina's laughter gripped him like a warm jacket as he led her back to their seats.

Deku: Did you just want an excuse to have Iida and Hikari fight each other?

Mataras: Uh... No? I mean, the festival easily provides an opportunity for that, so why would I-?

Kurai: I'm pretty sure he's talking about having Tenya come at me full throttle.

Mataras: Oh. Well, the answer is still no.

Deku: It is?

Kurai: Oh, yeah. Tenya may have been mad at me, but that doesn't change our rivalry in the physically competitive or academic sense. We would have fought as hard as we could, no matter what the circumstances were. My guess is that this just seemed like the most opportune moment to make my relationship with Mina officially public, as well as highlight some of the differences between Tenya and me.

Mataras: Bingo.

Deku: So... How many more chapters in this arc are left?

Mataras: Let's see... Three or four, I believe. We'll see what my musings deliver.

Kurai: Next time- The Fight Blazes

Deku: Me against Todoroki? I just hope that Full Cowling can make a difference...

Mataras: I'd be more worried about Kurai here running into Endeavor.

Kurai: What?!

Next time on Your Hero Academia...

Kurai immediately tensed up, adrenaline surging through his veins as he beheld a man who was nearly All Might's size, and with flames decorating every other inch of his body, obscuring his face in the place of a beard from which bright blue eyes stared down. Of all the people in the hero realm, he was the only one that Kurai genuinely hated, and to now have such an unexpected encounter with the man definitely startled him.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded a little more harshly than he had meant, but holding firm under the man's piercing gaze.

Endeavor's eyes narrowed as he said from above his crossed arms, "I'm here to see the boy about to face off against my son. I have something that needs to be said, if you're done in there."

"Leave a message," Kurai snapped, a small part of his mind shocked and appalled by his rudeness. "This area is for students and faculty members only, so take a hike."

"Who do you think you are?" Endeavored growled ominously, his flames growing in volume and heat as he lowered his hands to rest at his sides. "Where I go is my business, and you'd be wise to stay out of it, small fry. If you have some kind of problem with me, I suggest you-"