Rewind

Chapter VI: In Their Own Quirky Ways

As the staff meeting about the USJ Incident wound down, Tsukauchi spoke up once more. "There's something else I need to bring to your attention," and then he set down a strange, red bullet with a needle at the tip.

"What's that?" Snipe asked. "I've never seen a bullet like that before."

"That's because this one is specially made by a yakuza group called Shie Hassaikai, and it's infused with a quirk-destroying drug. It's only a temporary effect right now, but who knows what the future holds."

Most of the UA staff were horrified upon learning what the bullet could do. Toshinori on the other hand was quite pleased. "So, you found it, that's great, Tsukauchi! I don't suppose you managed to find the source of the drug, or take down Shie Hassaikai?"

"No, we haven't done that yet, All Might," Tsukauchi stated. "But there's a reason for that: we only just discovered the bullets two days ago. What's more is that only the Shie Hassaikai oyabun and kumicho have them, and only sparingly at that. Moreover, they only received them within the last week."

Nemuri Kayama raised an eyebrow at that, and the shocked look in Toshinori's eyes. "I assume there's a significance to that?" she asked.

"All Might told me about this drug more than six weeks ago, and he said that he learned about it from rumors. I need to know the truth, All Might: how do you know of this drug?"

Toshinori was torn. He didn't want to lie to his old friend, but how could he sell Izuku out without at least hearing his side of the story? And how did he know in the first place anyways? "I learned about it from someone else, Tsukauchi, but I need to speak to them before telling you anything more."

"And how long will that be?"

"I intended to speak to them tomorrow, so you should have your answers soon."


The next day things happened basically the same as before, from Aizawa announcing the Sports Festival (though this time he wasn't bandaged at all,) to Uraraka's intensity surrounding the announcement and subsequent explanation of her back story. However, since Toshinori's existence had been explained, there was no embarrassing invitation to the 'lunch date' as Uraraka had been fond of calling it. Toshinori just showed up and asked Izuku to his office. "Let me guess, you want me to use the Sports Festival as my debut, to say 'I Am Here!' to the world, right?" Izuku asked once they had arrived.

Toshinori laughed at that. "Boy, we are on the same wavelength! Yes, I did want to talk about that, especially since I'm down to two hours at most, even with your mother's wonderful cooking. That Nomu was a real tough customer, and it hurt, a lot."

"Don't worry, I already have a plan for that," Izuku said with a smile. Even the first time, he was sure that he had made quite the impression due to his fight with Shoto. No one in the history of the Sports Festival had so utterly destroyed the arena before, let alone in one attack. He had checked.

"Good, then that's one problem dealt with. Especially since I don't have much time left as the Symbol of Peace, and villains are starting to notice that." Less time than even you think, sensei, Izuku thought, a frown growing on his face. There were only four months left until his rematch with All For One, assuming things went the same as before. "But there is something else that Tsukauchi brought up with me yesterday," Toshinori said. "How did you know about Rewind six weeks ago?"

"What do you mean?" Toshinori quickly explained what Tsukauchi had told the UA staff, and Izuku started cursing internally. Damn, he hadn't expected Overhaul to play Rewind so close to the chest. Had it really taken him six months to start distributing it as wide as Kirishima had reported? Or was he just playing it safe with All For One still at large and starting to move again? "Wait, why does he want to know?"

"I think he wouldn't be surprised if you had some connections to the yakuza."

Izuku laughed at that. "Me and the yakuza? Not a chance! But tell him I'm willing to tell him the whole truth, but it has to be in person, and it has to be after the Sports Festival."

"Oh, why's that?"

"Because of what the truth is and why I haven't said anything about it yet to anyone. I'm not sure he or you would believe it without his quirk. Oh, and I was kind of hoping to tell two people the truth about One For All at the same time, if you don't mind."

"Two people?" Toshinori asked. He leaned back against the couch and looked towards the ceiling, considering the possibilities. "If I had to guess, I'd have to say that young Bakugou is one of them."

"Yeah, we've known each other all our lives, and he's not accepting our cover story at all. He's been asking questions since Aizawa-sensei's test."

"And the second would have to be either Young Iida or Uraraka, am I right?"

Izuku smiled at that. "No, while I'd trust them with our secret, they aren't asking questions. But I'm certain that if Shoto isn't asking questions yet, he soon will be. I'm also certain that I would trust him with my life."

"You're planning on telling them after the Festival, right? Well then, in that case I have some time to think on it."


Everyone focused on training for the Sports Festival for the next two weeks, and when they had their Hero 101 classes, Izuku did his best to give ideas to his classmates, from hinting at Unbreakable to Kirishima to suggesting Shoto could form weapons with his ice to helping Momo better deal with more offensive quirks to helping both Momo and Shoto work on their physical fighting skills. When Jirou asked why he was helping them when they were going to be competition soon, he had an answer prepared. "First, you chose me as class president, and I think it's my duty to ensure we are all at our absolute best during the festival. Second, we're classmates, and everyone is gunning for us after the USJ and Kacchan's gauntlet throw, so we all need to be at our best. Third, I'm honestly hoping that we all make an impression on everyone watching."

During the final week of April, 1-A was deemed mentally recovered enough to return to the USJ and make up their rescue training. Uraraka, Jirou and Ashido excelled at the earthquake zone, Mineta and Tsu excelled in the shipwreck zone (partly due to their experiences there the first time around,) and to everyone's shock, Kacchan proved exceptional in the fire zones, using his explosions to put the fires out. "A little something I figured out after I realized why they sent the shrinks to meet with us. If you take away the oxygen in the air, the fire dies. I've been working on an explosion that's more flash than fire specifically for this," he explained when he saw the dumbfounded looks on their faces. He was given extra points for creativity as a result.

Since the opportunity was there, Izuku decided to ask a question. "If we come across an obvious case of abuse, and the abuser tries to take their victim back, what are we supposed to do?"

All Might and Aizawa turned to face each other, surprised at the question. "We are mandatory reporters, so if we see such a case, then we are not only supposed to report it, but we are also legally obligated to protect the abused person and take them to a hospital, no matter the circumstances," Aizawa answered.

"You shouldn't deal with too many situations, but that is part of the reason the government started licensing heroes," All Might continued. "In all my time as a hero, both here and in America, I think I've had to deal with such situations ... five times? So don't worry about it too much, young Midoriya."

After they had finished and changed back into their uniforms, Izuku stopped Momo and Jirou. "Could I get your help with the lockers?"

The girls stared at him in confusion. "What kind of help?" Jirou demanded.

"The kind that will deal with potential problems involving Mineta," Izuku replied. "Come on, we all know the staple of a peep hole in the lockers, so I think we can take the time to find any that exist. The two of you will look for holes in the wall, if you do, Jirou will guide me to where they are, and I can see if they go all the way through. If they do, then Momo can seal them." The girls were shocked at that, but quickly agreed.

That night, Izuku had become very thoughtful. Shoto had become quiet since the USJ, even more so than usual, and he always looked like he was thinking about something ... painful? But that almost didn't seem like the right word for the look on his friend's face. Had he been like that the first time around? Izuku couldn't remember, as they had only gotten close after Shoto's challenge to him right before the Festival actually started. He had left the other boy alone partly in hopes he'd be able to deal with it on his own, and partly because Izuku knew that Shoto didn't feel like they were friends yet and butting in on this problem might just push him away, which was the last thing Izuku wanted to do. Well, hopefully Shoto would be willing to speak about it during the Festival when the other boy spoke to him about his own tragic backstory. With that thought in mind, he went to sleep.

Izuku would have gasped in astonishment if he could. He found himself on a snowy plain with eight other people there, including Toshi-sensei. He would have spoken, but when he looked down, all he could see was his hand and a staticky outline. "Hold on, kid, let me help," Toshinori said. With that, he cupped Izuku's head in his hands before taking him in for a hug. "Thank you, my boy, for what you're doing."

"Toshi-sensei, what's going on?"

"Well, there's a bit of an argument about whether or not you deserve One For All considering what happened with young Eri and your actions since then," he explained.

"Wait, you know about that?!" Izuku exclaimed.

"Only this version of me, the part of me that imprinted on One For All, and that's because we have access to your mind, as you may remember from your first Sports Festival."

"So, you did help me break Shinso's control," Izuku whispered. Then the important part sank in. "Wait, what do you mean, argument? What would happen if I lost the argument?"

"You would lose One For All and my power would return to Toshinori to be passed on to someone more worthy!" a new voice said.

"Young Midoriya, allow me to introduce to you Shigaraki Yoichi, the younger brother of All For One, first wielder of One For All, and your main detractor."

"What do you have against me?" the greenette asked.

"Your manipulation of time and subsequent manipulation of the eighth wielder of One For All, not to mention the fact that you did not warn anyone of the villain attack on your fellow students."

"And we have all seen his memories, we know why he did all that," Shimura Nana argued.

"Yet if he had said something, two of All For One's most powerful disciples would have been caught and his plans thwarted for a time!" said a man with short, spiky hair and a large scar across his face.

"How can any of you support him when he practically stole the quirk?" another man asked. "He's no better than All For One. No, he's worse because he managed to do what All For One never could!"

"ENOUGH!" came the cry from a fourth individual, this one with two cracks over his left eye that came down to his lip. "Toshinori chose this young man of his own free will and all he has done so far is act so that he has an easier time adjusting to it. My own quirk would have told us if he was a threat, and I tell you not only is he not a threat, but I will actively support him!" With that, he turned to Izuku and linked their arms. "Young man, I believe in you, and if you haven't figured out my act of support by the end of your Sports Festival, I will speak to you alone the next time you sleep." With that, Izuku woke with a start ... and saw One For All active in the arm that the vestige had grabbed.


Due to the nature of the Sports Festival, it was actually a three-day event covering the first weekend that was fully in May, from Friday to Sunday. Class 1's events were held in the morning of the first two days, Class 2 had the afternoon and Class 3 took the entirety of the third day so that the pros could take a look at everyone competing and family didn't have to worry about missing something if they had multiple relatives in different classes. In addition, the first two events for classes 1 and 2 were held on the first day while the second day was saved for the tournament. Following each competition was when that year's Business and Support classes had their chance to shine, working together to sell new support items, or simply selling merchandise from the usual food products to hero memorabilia, including memorabilia of the older students.

1-A was waiting in their communal locker, mentally preparing themselves for the challenges ahead when Bakugou turned to Izuku. "Hey, Deku, I'm going all out this time, and you're going down!"

"Bring it on, Kacchan," Izuku replied with a smile. Yeah, that was probably an official challenge, but it was Kacchan, and they'd been challenging each other for years now, he was used to it.

"Midoriya." And now Shoto came for his challenge. Everyone knew this was going to be important, even if only Izuku and Shoto knew why, and only Izuku knew how important. "Looking at things objectively, I think I'm stronger than you. However, you have caught All Might's eye and he's been helping you. I'm not going to pry into that, but know that I will beat you."

Izuku nodded. "Todoroki, of everyone in our class, you are the one person that I think could defeat me. I also understand why you challenged me, but I'm going to make you a promise. I'm aiming for the top as well, and I'll go for it with everything I have, and even if you do beat me, I promise you're going to have to throw everything you have against me if you want to beat me."

With that, they walked out to the arena, with Present Mic talking them up during their introduction. Midnight was once again taking the stage as the referee, and once again Izuku was surprised that his only thought was asking if it was appropriate for her to be there with the youngest class. Why wasn't he at least physically interested in her? "Representing our first years is our highest ranked student in the entrance exam, Class A's president Midoriya Izuku!"

None were more surprised than Izuku. He'd beaten Kacchan's score? Then he remembered the extra bots he had destroyed and realized that, yes, he had. With that, he stepped up to the podium and pledged "My oath is simple: by the end of this festival, you will know who we are and that We Are Here." He stepped down to silence, no one knew just how to react to his pledge.

Midnight then announced the first task, and as Izuku had hoped, it was the obstacle course race. Everyone gathered towards the doors, and when the countdown finished, Class 1 charged in ... except for Midoriya himself. No one noticed him just standing there except for Midnight herself. "Don't you want to win?" she asked with her normal voice.

"Of course, but I also know my classmates," Izuku explained. "There's going to be a golden opportunity, and that's when I'll make my move." Just then there was an enormous blast of ice through the door. "That's my cue! See you at the finish line," he called as he charged through the door and bounced from wall to wall, using his speed and maneuverability to his advantage while also avoiding Shoto's ice. When he arrived at the Robo Inferno, he drilled straight through the scored villains before delivering a kick strong enough to knock down a zero pointer while also tearing a piece of its armor loose. (It also had the convenient side effect of knocking Mineta even further back in the field.) Soon he had caught up to Shoto and Kacchan. "Hey guys, how are things going?"

"Deku? What the hell are you doing? Why aren't you using your quirk?" the blond demanded.

"Because it's more fun this way!" Izuku replied, getting a smile from his friends. "Speaking of which, you get why it's set up this way, right?"

"Obviously," Shoto said. "The corridor represents how hard it is to get into the hero life in the first place, the robots are villains that we must defeat in order to prove ourselves true heroes. This entire race represents the fight for the recognition as the number one hero. And that," he continued, stopping at a cliff ledge, "represents the numerous pitfalls we face, and how tight a rope we must walk in order to both win and keep the public confidence." With that, he leapt onto one of the ropes and slid across it. Izuku just smiled and leapt from stack to stack, having the time of his life. It was nice to be able to use One For All for something that was purely there for fun.

Unfortunately, he made a few mistakes at The Fall, resulting in him falling behind. Oh well, that just meant he could use his explosive plan from his first life again. Sure, it didn't fit the symbolism of the minefield (which represented how dangerous the media was in their job,) but the symbolism wasn't important now, winning was. So once again, he used the explosions to propel himself forward and used Shoto and Kacchan as literal stepping-stones into first place and charged forwards.

"I don't believe it! Midoriya Izuku, the last to start is the first to cross the finish line!" Present Mic cried out. As soon as he heard that, Izuku stopped and raised his fist in victory, causing everyone to cheer the results. Once everyone had crossed (oddly enough, everyone who had made it the first time made it again,) Midnight declared the next phase of the festival, and Izuku looked over the field, hoping the people he chose would be willing to join him.

A/N: Yes, I know that canon suggests that the entire festival covers only a day, but that makes no sense whatsoever. Where are the other classes showing off their talents and how they've grown over the previous year? And if they are taking place at the same time, how is everyone going to be scouted? The pros would have to choose a single year to scout out, which then hurts the other two years. So no, a three-day event makes more sense. Each class getting a full day probably makes more sense, but I wanted to give the two younger years a chance to rest before doing their one-on-one fights.