"The boy Izuku is fighting seems fierce, do you think he'll win?" Thor asks his brother, the second round set to begin any minute.

Loki takes his time looking at him, making sure to give him the most exaggerated eye roll he can muster. What a drama queen. "Do you ask me this because you truly believe Izuku will lose, or for some other reason? Perhaps having to do with your own son?"

The God of Thunder laughs, scratching his beard. "Always an open book to you, am I? If you must know, yes. I'm confident in Denki and feel Izuku is the only one who stands a chance of defeating him, so is it wrong for me to root for him to lose before they face each other?"

"Careful, brother." Loki can't hold back his smirk. "Your overconfidence is showing."

"Bah!" Thor takes a drink from his beer with his non-foam-finger hand. "This isn't battle, these are games! Let us indulge in them and have a little fun!"

Loki considers him for a moment before sitting up. "Very well, if you insist. Denki has as much of a chance at beating Izuku, as you do in-"

"And I'm stopping this before it starts," Inko interrupts, lightly patting her husband on the shoulder. "If we let you two start, you'll never stop."

"Why don't you try talking about some of the other fights so we don't have to listen to you two insult our sons," Mrs. Kaminari suggests with a tone that says it is definitely not a suggestion.

Having learned the great skill of self-preservation, Thor changes the subject. "It may have sounded like I was insulting them, but these other children have been impressive. The boy with the explosions is a fierce warrior, though his lack of cooperation would probably get him killed on a battlefield. The boy with engines, Iida I believe, was impressive as well. I bet Hermes would like him."

"Ugh." Loki makes a face of disgust. "If you're planning another trip to Omnipotence City, leave me out this time. And I suppose besides the brainwasher, the two girls who fought weren't bad. Especially the brown-haired one. She used a clever way to win, and her ability to keep going even after being hit so many times was admirable."

"Funny you should say that…" Inko gains a mischievous look on her face that would make her husband proud. "That girl was Ochako Uraraka. Izuku talks about her a lot."

"Is that so?"

Inko leans closer. "I mean, a lot, Loki."

It doesn't take long for him to understand what she means, raising an eyebrow. "You don't say?" He nods in approval. "Well, we should invite her over for dinner after the festival. I would love to meet this potential Princess of Mischief."

"Three weeks, Toshinori! You've only been his teacher for three weeks! How could he be this reckless already?!" All Might, the number one hero of Japan, the Symbol of Peace, the man whose smile can comfort all the people in Japan, cowers behind his chair in his shrunken form while Gran Torino rants in the teachers-only booth.

"For years I've been training that boy, and it wasn't easy either! Do you know how hard it is to get him off those damn computer games some days?! But I did, and whipped his butt into shape! And for what? For you to teach him how to get himself killed at the first opportunity?!"

"N-no…" Toshinori begins trying to defend himself.

"Don't 'no' me, you oaf!" Gran jabs his walking stick at him with malice. "Grabbing electrified wires to get an edge on his opponent, that screams you! There won't be a next generation of heroes if you have anything to say about it, will you?"

Swallowing his vomit that's threatening to spill as he remembers all the times he was socked in the gut, All Might replies, "that wasn't the best moment…but the boy has performed extremely well everywhere else, no?"

Gran looks ready to yell again, but sighs, shaking his head instead. "I suppose…still. With what you have planned, I will be involved. Is that understood?

"Yes, sir!"

—-

Katsuki can't be bothered to listen to whatever the cockatoo is screeching about when he walks into the ring for his match. He clenches his fists, feeling the already building sweat between his fingers, just waiting to be used.

This is it. No partners, no stupid objectives, and no excuses. Once he beats Deku here and now, the nerd can explain to him what the fuck was going on, and he can finally get over whatever the hell this feeling was that kept clawing at his chest. It was almost over.

Speaking of the nerd, here he comes now, staring Katsuki down with a small smile on his face. Tsk, yeah, right. Try whatever shit you want, Deku. He can see his arms and legs trembling slightly, he knows he's nervous. Good.

Midnight raises her whip, the crowd growing louder and getting harder for him to block out. Katsuki knows this won't be like last time. In the battle trials, he realized he had never seen Deku actually fight before. But now he had. And he knew what to do.

The whip cracks down, and instead of creating a huge explosion to start and giving Deku more places to hide in the smoke, Katsuki puts his hands behind him and rockets forward.

Deku gets in a fighting stance, knives ready. This could be a clone…unless Deku assumed he would think that and that's the real him…or-ah, fuck it. Katsuki reels back an explosion-laced punch, confident he could deal with whatever trick Deku pulls.

He could not.

There's a flash of green light, and Katsuki stops his fist before it can connect, because standing in front of him now is his old hag. Rationally, he knows this isn't his mom but he hesitates just enough for Deku to slice his right shoulder.

"Agh! Dirty trick, Deku!" Katsuki blasts into the air, using smaller explosions to keep himself airborne and above his opponent. "A future number one hero who's beat by someone who can get a little air? That's pathetic!!"

"And what kind of hero hides in the air from his opponent?" Deku fires back. He must've not been paying as much attention as he thought because when did Deku get balls like that? "How are you gonna prove you're better from up there?! You wanted to fight, Kacchan, then fight!"

Katsuki is smart enough to know when he's getting baited. And he's usually skilled enough to flip whatever shit's being thrown at him, and today is no different.

The explosion user blasts back down to the ground, fully aware he's talking to a clone but it doesn't matter to his plan. Katsuki eviscerates the clone and the ground beneath him, creating plenty of rubble.

And so the pattern went. Over and over, Katsuki took to the air to avoid Deku before dive-bombing and destroying whatever clone and the ground beneath him, ignoring Cementoss' repeated protests.

Eventually, he lands on what's left of the ground, which had been reduced to mostly rubble and debris and he waits, ignoring whatever jeers the clone was shouting at him. Katsuki prides himself on his observation skills, and it was about to pay off.

He waits. Then, in the corner of his eye, he sees some rubble move on its own. 'Gotcha, you bastard!'

Katsuki moves, first blinding the area with a bright light before launching an explosion. He sees green and has Deku by the collar in no time, landing punches, explosions, and whatever else he can onto the other boy. "You. Are. Beneath me!!"

Deku twists, littering Katsuki's arms with just as many cuts. He's tired, bleeding, and a little dizzy but Katsuki doesn't stop until Deku makes him.

While still under him, the fucker turns into a kangaroo and kicks him into the air, causing Katsuki to lose the ability to breathe for a moment. It's only a few seconds, but when he opens his eyes, the kangaroo is in the air with him, kicking him back to the ground, hard.

Katsuki groans, but Deku's on top of him already, throwing punch after punch he can't hope to block, not that he really wants to. "Who's beneath who now?!" Deku takes a breath. "Still not worth your time?!"

Gritting his teeth, Katsuki gets his hands under the other boy. "Why aren't you using your knives, fucker?!!" He roars, blasting Deku off him.

The two stand, both panting and covered in bruises and cuts while they bleed from multiple wounds. Midnight looks warily between them. "I told you to come at me with everything you got!" Katsuki yells.

Despite everything, Deku laughs a little, wiping blood from his nose. "But Kacchan, I can punch you a lot more times than I can stab you."

"PROVE IT!" Katsuki lunges, punching Deku over and over, forgoing explosions most of the time while Deku dodged, blocked, and countered him, even incorporating kicks. Something that gave Katsuki ideas for later.

There's no crowd or teachers. There's no one else but him and Deku, every punch and kick the nerd hit him with only fueling him to keep pushing. He can't tell the difference between blood and sweat anymore, but he doesn't care. This was a fight!

Katsuki has no idea what his face looks like but there's a part of him that thinks maybe, it's similar to the manic grin Deku wears when he uppercuts him. Katsuki's world spins and he's on the ground, his arms pinned behind him with palms pressed against him.

He knows Midnight is talking to him but it's all white noise and he doesn't care. He got his fight. 'And what you deserve,' a part of him whispers, looking at his hurt body.

"Katsuki Bakugo is pinned! Izuku Midoriya is the winner!" Deku lets him up immediately as the roar of the crowd thunders back to his senses. Katsuki doesn't bother listening to Mic or the crowd as he trudges back to the tunnel and toward the medical office, refusing the help of the bots. It's only when no one else is around does he allow himself to limp.

With continuing punishment from the universe, he and Deku get to the door at the same time. "That was…that was something, huh?" He asks sheepishly, leaning on his good leg. Recovery Girl was going to kill them when she saw how much blood they were getting on the floor.

"Yeah, well, I needed to get some shit out of my system and…I'm guessing you did too."

"You could say that."

Deku looks like he's going to say more but he cuts him off. "Don't bother. I'm not some pussy, I remember our deal. I won't talk to you anymore."

"Kacchan, I don't care about that. But I do know what I want you to do for me." Katsuki lets him continue, not looking at him. "It's a little unfair of me to ask because I'm still learning this myself, but it's helping. Start opening up to other people and learn to accept help. For both hero work and everything else."

Deku walks into the office, the immediate yelling of Recovery Girl there to receive him but Katsuki stands there, thinking. Learn to accept help? He doesn't need-

Oh.

Maybe he did need help? Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck! He wants to scream just thinking about it! FUCK!…that may be one of the things Deku's talking about. Whatever. Katsuki has never been one to back down from a challenge.

"Wow! I can't say I know exactly what happened but it looks like, whatever it was, caused Izuku Midoriya to win the match and move to the semi-finals!! Have you-"

Shigaraki walks back into the room wearing her blue-green textured bodysuit and white cape, turning off the computer. "Are you ready Kurogiri?" She asks while fitting her domino mask onto her face.

"Of course." Kurogiri steps forward. "I'm sure Master would be proud you are taking things into your own hands, but are you sure now is the best time to-"

"It's the perfect time," Shigaraki interrupts, adjusting her belt. "The heroes are using what we did to get people to watch their stupid festival, so do you know what that means?"

Kurogiri shakes his head.

"It means most heroes and cops are at the festival, being distracted, you heard them. Bragging about their five times security. With all of them at the festival, there's no better time to do this. But we have to be fast." She picks up a paper she printed and folds it up so it'll fit in one of her belt pouches.

"That means no interruptions. We go directly from one place to another. By the time they realize what we're actually up to, it'll be too late." She sticks the paper in her belt. "You have our first stop ready?"

He responds by opening a portal. "Ready when you are."

Shigaraki walks up, looking giddy. "Awesome, let's begin."

Hitoshi slams his fist into the wall. 'Dammit!' The purple-haired boy hisses, shaking his hand and trying to rub his knuckles. Great, he lost to Todoroki and now he might have a broken hand, perfect. Hopefully, Recovery Girl lives up to her reputation.

Making his way over to the heroine's office, he can't stop himself from seething. And why should he? 'I was so close!'

So close to finally proving to everyone he was right all along. That he could be a hero. He had made it to the third round all on his own! And even beat Yaoyorozu in the first round like it was nothing. Baiting her had been so easy. All he had to do was accuse her of bribing people at the festival and she was under his control almost immediately.

After that, it had finally seemed like actually winning the tournament was possible! That he could do it! And show his old classmates, teachers, and parents that his dream wasn't just hot air. But then Todoroki happened.

Hitoshi won't lie, he thought brainwashing the son of the number two hero would have been even easier. Just bring up some shit about never being able to live up to his dad and boom, another match his. But no.

That only seemed to make Todoroki mad. Which could be a good thing for him, people tend to not think straight when they're upset, but again, that's not Todoroki.

In a show of how scarily precise he is with his ice, Todoroki froze his entire body up to his mouth without a word. And being unable to move or talk, Midnight called the match.

Was it enough? Hitoshi always figured he'd have to win the tournament to be considered for the hero course like Eraserhead did in his day. Was that still a requirement? Or did he show enough to-

"Behind you!"

Hitoshi whirls around to face whatever poor soul pulled him from his brooding, but there's no one there. Huh? He knows he doesn't sleep enough, but hearing voices was a new one. Maybe he should up his caffeine intake? Probably not the healthiest thing, but who cares?

The brainwasher turns back around only to be assaulted by what he can only assume is a demon hiding under a bush. "Hi! Shinso, right? I'm sorry about your loss against Todoroki, but you did so well to get up to the second round! But now that we definitely won't be fighting, you gotta tell me about your quirk!!"

The demon uses its hellish magic to summon a notebook from seemingly nowhere. "So, my two biggest theories are you give some sort of boost to everyone around you, or a persuasion type quirk? Am I right? Am I close?"

"…"

Hitoshi finally realizes this spawn of Satan has chosen to disguise himself as hero course student, Izuku Midoriya. Bold choice. He's been healed up since his match, only a bit of gauze here and there left as a reminder. "Go away." He makes to move past the 'boy', but Midoriya is crafty. Choosing to step in his way again. He's gone from bold to foolish.

"C'mon, can't you just tell me what it is! Look, if you do, I promise not to tell anyone else if you don't want me to!" He holds his notebook and pencil close to his eager-filled face.

Raising an eyebrow, Hitoshi asks, "do you not understand the meaning of, go away?"

"I actually-"

Hitoshi feels the familiar pull of his quirk when it takes hold. "Go back to your stupid friends." Finally walking past the other boy, Hitoshi sighs, ready to get lost in his head again and figure how much extra coffee this will cost him until-

"Wooooow!" This time, the insomniac can't stop himself from jumping back as Midoriya appears in front of him again. "It's more than just persuasion! That's pure brainwashing! That's so cool! How did you activate it?! You didn't even touch me!"

He…didn't really register most of that, only waiting for the other boy to stop blabbering so he can ask the question on his mind. "How…how did you break through my quirk?"

"Pfff, oh that?" Midoriya waves him off as if he isn't freaking out right now. "I've had someone with a much stronger form of brainwashing make me practice defending myself from it."

Why does he say that like it's normal?!!

"Now! How do you activate it?!"

Hitoshi answers, mainly because he's afraid of what will happen to him if he doesn't. "It triggers when someone responds to something I say."

"Awesome! It looked like you could control multiple people, how would they break it normally? How many people can you control at once? Is there a maximum distance they can go away from you? What kind of things can't you make them do? Do they remember anything from when you had control of them?! Oh! Can you make them forget?! How about making someone tell the truth!? Or-"

"You're not afraid of me?"

Midoriya, for the first time, looks at him as if he said something crazy. "No? Why would I be?"

It was Hitoshi's turn to give him a crazy look. "Because of what I can do to people? Because I have the quirk of a villain," he spits out.

The green-haired boy shrugs. "I don't think it's a villain's quirk."

"Is this the part where you tell me all the heroic things my quirk can do?" Hitoshi asks sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Nope!" Hitoshi's expression drops and he has to back up a little as Midoriya gets closer again. "Why would I? You're trying to get into the hero course so you gotta already know all the ways you can use your quirk to be a hero! To tell you would be boring, and repetitive! And even if you didn't, then I'll help you once you join the class!"

Wait, does he-

"No no, I have something far better in mind for your quirk!" He's right in front of him now. "…pranks."

"…what."

"Pranks!" Midoriya screeches. "Your quirk is a treasure trove for pranks! Brainwashing without having to get close to someone, are you kidding me?! Do you know what we could do with that?! You could make Kacchan compliment everyone while we film it! Or Monoma copy that one kid's quirk who can weld things and make him stick himself somewhere embarrassing! Or make Endeavor walk into traffic!"

"What was that last one-"

"The possibilities are endless!" Midoriya stands back with…with Hitoshi's phone in his hand, when did he take that? He feels around his body to confirm yes, Midoriya had somehow swiped his phone. "I really wanna get your number so we can stay in contact and…"

For the first time in whatever this conversation was, Midoriya looks unsure. "I-I mean, is it okay if I get your number so we can talk? Sorry, I just got really excited, and well…"

The whiplash that is Midoriya's mood and all of this happening in under a minute are what Hitoshi will blame later when he thinks about why he nods here. Well, that and Midoriya looking like a kicked puppy.

"Great!" He smiles brightly and puts his number in Hitoshi's phone and vice-versa before handing it back. "Thanks! I'll text you my questions and ideas! Bye!" And in a flash of green light, Hitoshi is alone again.

…

Where was he going again? Right, Recovery Girl's office. Thank goodness, because now he really does need to lie down.

"Two matches down! Two to go! Midoriya and Todoroki are set to face off in the first semi-final match, but what about our second?! It's Uraraka vs Kaminari coming up!

Fumio cheers with the rest of his semi-drunk - or, let's be real, very drunk - co-workers. Were they supposed to be working? Yeah. But it was the day of the Sports Festival! Most of the country is closed anyway and nothing ever happens.

Besides, all they did was cyber security for the HPSC, and they were pretty low level at that. But most internet traffic today would be at sites relating to the festival, there was never anything to monitor.

"Hey!" Fumio chucks some popcorn from his cubicle to his coworker's, who throws him a dirty look in response. "Any of you guys heard from Sadao at the front desk? Wanna know if our food order has gotten here yet."

"Nah." One of the security guards stretches lazily across an empty seat. Those guys had it even better than they did. This was a data center, with nothing to steal so the guards get paid to usually just chill on their phones all day. "Tried to radio him a few times but no answer. Probably taking a piss."

"Well tell him to hurry the fuck up and answer!" Another coworker laughs from across the room.

Fumio hears a beep behind him and a notification pops up on his computer, letting him know Sadao had just used his security card to enter. He's probably showing the delivery guy to the room.

"About fucking ti-" Fumio spins around in his chair but stops, his popcorn dropping to the ground as his words get caught in his throat. The room quickly goes silent after him as more realize who just walked freely into their room without any alarms going off.

"Oh, the next fight's starting!" Shigaraki, one of the villains from the USJ, exclaims excitedly from the doorway, a man made of dark mist standing beside her. "Who do you guys think is gonna win?"

"You really think I did enough?" Ochako asks Deku in one of the waiting rooms after her match. She tenderly nurses a bruise on her arm. Her phone sits in front of her, mocking her as she was getting ready to call her parents before Deku came in.

"More than enough!" Deku chuckles from his spot across the table from her. "You made it through the obstacle course, flew around during the second event, and did that amazing judo throw on Honenuki in the second round!-"

"Something I wouldn't have had to do if someone wasn't being dumb…" Ochako knows he hasn't learned his lesson and she's gonna make sure to drill it in every chance she gets. She isn't going to let him run and hide anymore.

To his credit, Deku looks guilty. "Sorry…b-but still! You did that while flying around on hover boots! And then beat the president of our sister class in the first round of the tournament. And no matter how many times you got knocked down, you got back up again! Honestly, if a hero can't see all your accomplishments, they're the ones being dumb."

He says the last part like it's an absolute certainty and Ochako can't help but look down, her face heating up. "I still lost before I could get a medal…and we're first years! Agencies rarely look past the top four!"

"But we're different!" Deku counters. "We're the heroes that survived a villain attack! More heroes were watching us than in any other year. And you made it into the top eight!"

Ochako looks back at her phone. "Still…it's up to me to give my parents the life they deserve; what if they feel like I wasn't trying hard enough? What if I let them down?" She blinks back the tears threatening to form. "I feel like I let them down."

They're both silent for a couple of seconds before Deku calls for her attention again. "Uraraka…" it sounds like he wants her to look up but she doesn't. "Uraraka, if I had lost my last match, would you think I wasn't trying my hardest?"

That gets her to look up in shock. "What? Of course not!"

"What about my first match?"

"No."

"What about if I lost in the first or second round?"

"No, Deku." Ochako shakes her head. "Even if you did, I know you would've been trying your hardest."

"So what you're saying is…I wouldn't have let you down?" Deku asks, giving her some sort of look.

"Well, yeah!" Ochako throws her hands in the air. "Why would you-" she stops. Finally connecting all the dots of everything he just said. "Oh."

"Yup." Deku nods, giving her a small cute(strikeout) smile. "So if I couldn't let you down, why would you think you can let down your parents who have been there for you your entire life?"

"That's…" Ochako tries to think of anything to prove him wrong but…"not fair."

"Uraraka, when have I ever shown you a time I care about fairness?" Deku asks in a deadpan voice, causing the two to break out into giggles. They calm down a bit and she asks in a quiet voice. "So I didn't let them down?"

"Your quirk makes people weightless, I don't think it's physically possible for you to let anyone down."

Ochako can't help the snort and laugh that comes from her, covering her mouth with her hand. She knows there's still a small part of her that's screaming she didn't do enough but right now, she can't hear them over her and Deku laughing together, it's a good feeling.

"Anyways, I'll give you some privacy to call your parents." Deku gets up to leave but Ochako calls out to him. When he turns around, she's already there, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she says sincerely.

It takes him a second to recover, but Deku eventually puts his arms around her too. "You're welcome." They stand like that for what's probably a good twenty seconds before Ochako reluctantly lets go and waves to him as he leaves, smiling to herself as he closes the door behind him.

He was so good at pulling her out of her own head and making her see things differently. Is that how he sees the world?

Even so, it's like he has his own zero gravity quirk sometimes and knows just what to say to make her feel lighter and giddier. Like her problems are small and can't touch her. Ochako shouldn't be surprised since that's one of the reasons why she has a crush on him-

The brown-haired girl squeaks, slamming her hand over her mouth even though she wasn't talking, and accidentally floats herself.

What was she thinking?! She doesn't have a crush on-

Her thoughts stop. Okay, try again.

She does not have a crush on-

Again? Why?! Sure, Deku was nice, brave, funny, smart, always willing to help anyone who needed it, compassionate, driven, a hard worker, and really handsome with the poofiest hair that Ochako would love to run her hands through as she k-

Okay. She might have a crush.

…

She definitely has a crush.

Ohhhhh, what was she doing? Ochako puts her hands together, lowers herself to the ground, and leaves the room. She'll call her parents soon, she just really needs a walk right now to clear her head.

Because of this, all of the things she's feeling, that can't happen. It wouldn't be fair to Deku and him achieving his dream or to her! They're at UA to become heroes…not to date…

Ochako walks around for a bit, lost in her thoughts as she tries to come up with reasons and justifications for her not acting on her feelings. She soon realizes she accidentally wandered into the public section of the stadium.

Sighing, she turns down an empty hallway making her way back to the student-only section but is stopped before she can make it.

"I know that look! You like someone, don't you?" Ochako jumps and spins around, her hand over her heart, to find a young woman smiling behind her. Early twenties if Ochako had to guess, with pink hair and an orange top. How had she snuck up on her?

"W-what?" Ochako stammers out.

"Don't be shy!" The woman gets very close to her, breathing deeply through her nose. "I'm good at these things! You like someone, don't you?!"

"Uh…"

"Don't 'uh' me! It's bothering you, right? There's no one else here, it's okay!" The woman cheers her on.

Maybe this could be a good thing? Admitting it out loud will help her get the last of her denial out and let her move past this and not bother Deku. "Well…" Ochako scratches her hair. "Maybe there is…one boy…"

The pink-haired woman squeals. "I knew it! Oh! I knew it, I knew it!! But why'd you look so upset earlier? This is a good thing!"

"Maybe for most people…but I can't do anything about it." Her surprise conversation partner looks devastated, but Ochako was right, it did make her feel better to say it out loud, even if it didn't take the sting away. "We're both trying to become heroes, and I wouldn't want to distract him-"

"Wait wait wait!" The woman waves her hands in front of her, stopping Ochako. "Distract him? You think a relationship would distract you guys?" She gives her an uncertain nod.

"That's stupid."

Ochako immediately starts to protest but the woman cuts her off. "And a little selfish, don't you think?"

"How?" Ochako questions, not even sure how this talk happened anymore. "How can that be selfish, I'm putting my own feelings aside so we can both focus on being heroes!"

"By taking the choice out of his hands!" The woman waves her own hand around in emphasis. "And robbing yourself and him of something that could be great!" Did you ever stop to think this could inspire you?!"

Ochako's brain halts. "Inspire?"

"Yeah!" The stranger was seeing her advantage and taking it. "I'm willing to bet it makes you wanna be like that person, right? Use that! Use each other to inspire yourselves to be better! Love isn't a distraction, it's a gift!"

"L-love?!" Ochako's face turns red so fast, one might think she gained Deku's power to change his appearance.

"Oops!" The woman giggles. "Too far? Sorry, but the point still stands! Which do you think is better? You distracting yourself by trying to put your feelings away, or you leaning on this lucky boy and using each other to be the best heroes you can!"

Ochako doesn't get to answer, not that she had one, but someone new speaks up. "And what did I tell you about running off?" Behind the woman, a plain-looking man with brown curly hair in a black trench coat and dress shirt appears. "I must apologize, dear future hero, if my companion here has bothered you." He gives her a bow with a flourish and Ochako shakes her head.

"No! No, it's…okay. She's fine," Ochako answers, what the woman said still on her mind.

"That is a relief to hear," he stands straight. "Come, we should be taking our leave."

"But we're talking about love and crushes!"

The man gives her a fond but exasperated smile. "I understand, but was it not you who suggested you wanted to get souvenirs for the others with the money we were gifted?"

"You're right!" Ochako doesn't have time to react before the woman is pulling her into a hug. "I hope it works out between you two! I'll be rooting for you!" She lets go. "Bye!"

The woman skips away while the man shakes his head. "I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors." And he's gone with the woman before Ochako can respond.

The hallway is silent once more and almost robotically, she begins making her way back toward the student's section. Was that woman right about a relationship not being a distraction? Ochako has a lot to think about.

"This is like a battle between an unstoppable force and an immovable object! Iida is unstoppable and Shimura is unable to hit him buuuuut Shimura is immovable because Iida has to be wary of his hands! Don't worry folks, we got something to stop Shimura's quirk if he does touch Iida! But! Who will be first to break this gridlock!!"

Hirona ignores the tv, turning her attention back to the three men left in the destroyed office. Alarm lights flicker and body parts lay scattered across the floor. She feels so much satisfaction in how the blood stains her white cape. Hirona hopes her grandmother can see it.

"Same deal as everyone else," she tells the two security guards pointing shaky guns at her and the terrified tech guy behind them. "You two put your guns down and you can leave. You've seen…" she looks around the room. "Well, you've seen what happens when you don't."

"Shut up!!" The guard on the left opens fire and Hirona lazily stares at him while her shield stops the bullets.

"You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?" And with a flick of her hand, the barrier slices the man clean in half vertical ways.

The tech guy vomits and the other guard begins to cry. "Please…p-please…I have a family…"

"Children?" Hirona asks. He nods rapidly. "Then listen to me. As someone who knows a little something about absent fathers, your kids care more about you than you having this job. Put the gun down, go home, and hug them."

It takes him a few seconds but slowly he lowers his gun. Too slowly. "Hurry up!" The man shrieks, dropping the gun and very quickly side-stepping his way out of the room, never taking his eyes off her. "They never believe me…"

"Sensei does not like it when you let people go like that," Kurogiri tells her, as if she didn't know that. Hirona shrugs him off, turning back to the tech guy who was quaking from head to toe.

"Nice to meet you, Mr…?" she gestures to him.

"F-F-Fumio…"

"Fumio!" Hirona claps her hands. "Perfect. Here's the deal. You help me find the hero I'm looking for, and you can leave just like the last guy, what do you say?"

With shaking hands, he pushes a button on his computer and loads up the HPSC database. "W-who are you looking for?" Hirona smiles.

"Weeeeeeelcome one and all to the first semi-final match of the first year's festival, can I get a YEAAAAAAH?!…alright, digging the enthusiasm! First into the ring, he's lean! He's green! And he's a pranking machine! Izuku Midoriya!!

"Versus! He must've learned to 'let it go' at a young age to be as good as he is!"

"Seriously…"

"Because it sure looks like the cold never bothers him anyway, your snow Prince, Shoto Todoroki!!"

Izuku steps onto the ring and for the first time today for one of his matches, he feels ready. Not for the fight itself, but for what he knows he has to do for Todoroki, who stands on the other side. The only hint of emotion on his face being his slightly narrowed eyes.

As much as he hates it, Izuku pushes his other worries down for Uraraka and Iida. The latter hadn't come back after saying he had to call his parents after losing to Tenko. Decaying the arena under the speedster was a good move and Izuku hopes his friend is alright.

Midnight raises her whip as she's done many times today. "You boys ready? Know that we will step in if you take it too far." They both nod and she raises the whip just a little higher. "If that's the case…"

He tenses.

"Begin!"

It's as if the scene is playing out in slow motion in front of him. Midnight cracking her whip on the ground and the frost already building on Todoroki's right side with the ice beginning its journey from its master to engulf Izuku.

But thinking back, he's ready.

It's the morning after the USJ attack and Izuku had just spent the night at Kaminari's house. It was early in the morning and his Uncle Thor was getting ready to leave on a mission to take out the last remaining Dark Elves in the universe, but he had something for Izuku before he left.

"So, you didn't answer me before," Izuku reminds his uncle, his eyes on the tiny old book Thor had 'borrowed' from his father's private library. "Why doesn't dad want me to have this?"

Thor takes a few seconds to collect his thoughts before responding. "You know despite the teasing of my brother being adopted, your grandfather and I, as well as all of Asgard consider you both to be true Asgardians, yes?"

Izuku nods, unsure of where this is going.

"And no matter what, you always will be." Thor gives him a reassuring smile. "But that doesn't change the fact your origins are different from ours."

"You're talking about how I'm technically part Frost Giant," Izuku assumes.

"Yes," Thor says, his far-away look making Izuku nervous. It was one thing for a regular person to have that look, but for his uncle, the God of Thunder? "Loki was abandoned as a baby and left to die, as I'm sure you know, before Odin found him. Since then, he's always had a deep-seated hate for Frost Giants.

"He refuses to be associated with them in any way…including using any powers that directly relate to them…or…" he points at the book in Izuku's hand. "Teaching his son any of those abilities."

Todoroki's ice rushes Izuku faster than it has any right to, but as he said, he's ready. He raises both his arms, letting a cold fill his body from the inside out. The chill spreads from his core down to his legs and to the tips of his fingers, seeping into his bones.

He concentrates.

"A-abilities? Like what? And are you sure it's okay for me to be learning something like this without dad?"

The ice begins to slow and crack, much to Todoroki's confusion.

"Tell me, Izuku. Do you feel you can be the best hero you can be if you don't know everything you can do?"

…Dangit, his uncle got him. Izuku shakes his head.

"The way I see it, that book is your birthright, and as family, I have every right to give it to you as well."

"Okay…so say I do want to learn what's in here. What will it teach me?"

"The oldest and most prominent abilities of the Jotun."

When he feels like the cold inside him is about to burst, Izuku yells and lets it surge from him. Suddenly, Todoroki's ice changes course, heading right back to him.

The two-toned boy has no chance to respond before his own ice slams into him, sending him flying back. In a move that is probably a direct result of his training, the fire and ice user is able to create an ice wall to save himself.

"Woooooah!! What just happened?!!!"

Thor and Loki stand, along with many others in the audience. The God of Thunder cheers loudly for his nephew. "He did it!!! Wow, I knew you could, Izuku!!" Meanwhile, Loki looks even paler than normal.

"No…"

Finally, Todoroki looks back up, with more emotion on his face than Izuku had ever seen, the most prominent being shock. With his hair blowing in the frosty wind, the son of Loki can't help but smirk.

"It's called Cryokinesis. Or to make it simple, the power to manipulate ice."