Bakugo exited Recovery Girl's Temporary Office in silence, scowling at nothing in particular. Once he left her kept his down towards the floor and entered the long hallway. He placed his hands in his pockets and started to move. However, he hesitated upon noticing the silence inside the hall. He raised his head and looked down the hall. The image of Habanero standing behind the office door entered his mind. He twisted his head around and looked at the opposite side of the hall just in case Habanero was there. He saw the spot that Habanero once stood while waiting for him and was greeted with nothing. It was an empty spot. She wasn't there. He flared his nostrils and scoffed, walking away again. It wasn't like he was expecting Habanero to be there again. He shrugged off his annoyance and reached the stairs, walking up them with hands in his pockets. He almost reached the second floor when, to his annoyance, he saw the more annoying twin block his way.

"Hey, Kacchan!" Izuku awkwardly greeted, sweating a little. Bakugo stopped walking up the stairs and made eye contact with Deku. He stared at him for two seconds and narrowed his eyes, getting annoyed instantly.

"Great. Just what I needed." Bakugo thought, grumbling in frustration. He swallowed his rage and acted with calmness. Glaring at Deku with an intense glare that struck fear in him, making his nervousness shoot up. Izuku felt his lips curl into a slight frown.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bakugo asked, calmly.

"Oh, well. I'm up next, so, you know. I was gonna hang in the waiting room." Izuku stuttered, pointing at himself, " Um, also, congrats on winning your match. I'll see you around." Izuku stuttered, slowly walking away as if he was affected by twice the amount of gravity. Bakugo narrowed his eyes at him and scoffed.

"It was your idea, wasn't it?" Bakugo asked, walking up the stairs. He reached the top and stood in the center of the hallway. He stared at the back of Izuku's head and kept both hands in his pockets.

"That dumb plan of hers. You would come up with something that annoying. If we end up-"

"You're wrong." Izuku stated, interrupting him. He raised his head up and sneered at his interruption. Izuku twisted his head around and stared at Bakugo with a solemn look.

"That plan. Uraraka came up with it all on her own, I didn't know anything about it. If that battle was harder than you thought it would be, then it's because of her strategy, not mine." Izuku explained, causing Bakugo to narrow his eyes at him. He analyzed the solemn expression on his face and saw that he was telling the truth, annoying him even more. He glared at him in silence for a few seconds while Izuku stood frozen like a deer in headlights.

"Your next fight. It's with IcyHot, right?" Bakugo asked, confusing Izuku.

"Um...IcyHo- oh, you mean, Todoroki?" Izuku questioned, receiving a soul piercing stare from the blonde. A chill went down Izuku's spine and immediately nodded his head in understanding.

"Uh, yeah. He's my opponent. I'm fighting him next. Yup." Izuku replied, stuttering a bit. Bakugo continued to glare at Deku and held in his anger. He scoffed and turned his back on the green haired idiot. He stood there and contemplated leaving but decided to say what he had to say.

"Listen, Deku. That bastard's quirk is strong so you better be ready to crush him with yours, you hear me?" Bakugo said with a serious tone, surprising Deku.

"Uh.." Izuku stuttered, getting an annoyed growl from Bakugo.

"Do you hear me?" He repeated, frightening Deku. He stood up straight and nodded behind Bakugo's back. He instantly realized Bakugo didn't have eyes in the back of his head and immediately replied.

"Yes. I hear you, Kacchan." Izuku nodded, affirmatively. Bakugo heard his reply and lowered his head, nodding slowly at the floor. He formed a scowl on his face and relaxed his shoulders.

"Good. Win. Lose. I don't care, but don't make All Might's power go to waste, understand?" Bakugo warned, walking away with an irritated tone. Izuku stood there in the hallway and watched as Bakugo left and returned to the stands. He broke free from his frozen position and frowned in confusion.

"That was...peaceful.?" Izuku thought, relaxing his shoulders and taking a deep breath. He frowned anyway as he thought about it more.

Bakugo returned to the stands and walked down the steps with a scowl on his face. His classmates all turned to stare at him as he walked down the steps. Some of the students that sat closest to Shoji had nervous looks on their faces. An understandable reaction considering he decimated Shoji and Uraraka. His friends were also slightly nervous, but not as affected as the others. He glanced down at their faces as he walked down the stairs and saw Tape Arms smile at him with sweat dripping down his face.

"Hey, Bakugo! Playing the villain, huh? Musta been tough?" Sero mocked, making Bakugo grit his teeth.

"Even if it was just because of who you were up against, you did make a pretty convincing bad guy." Tsu interjected, irritating Bakugo even more.

"Shut up, you idiots. Or else!" Bakugo shouted, angrily.

"For real, dude. I don't know how you were able to aim a powerful blast at a frail girl like that." Kaminari pointed out, the only one dumb enough to speak out against him still. Bakugo heard the Duracell Batteries complaint and stared straight ahead at nothing, scoffing at his words.

"Hmph. I definitely wouldn't call that girl, frail." He whispered.

"C'mon, guys. We all heard what Mr. Aizawa said. I think the fight was awesome, Kacchan." Ami said in Bakugo's defense, raising her fist up and flexing her arm. Tokoyami listened to her defense and nodded silently in agreement. Sero and Kaminari both exchanged deadpan looks at each other upon hearing Ami's defense. Bakugo heard Habanero's voice and narrowed his eyes, making eye contact with her. He looked at her to make sure her defense wasn't some subtle attempt to mock him as well and saw the honesty in her face. Habanero noticed his attention was on her and flashed a smile at him, causing him to narrow his eyes even more. He flared his nostrils and quickly looked away, grumbling to himself.

"Mhm." He growled, crossing his arms and taking a seat in his chair. He kept the scowl on his face as he stared at the empty battlefield, catching sight of Habanero smiling at him through his peripheral vision.

Hey, Kacchan."

"Habanero."

"I meant it when I said it was awesome. I don't think you were doing it to look bad either. And I know for sure that Uraraka appreciates that you didn't hold back on her."

"...Yeah. Whatever." He groaned, hiding his approving satisfied smile behind a scowl.

"Besides, Uraraka really surprised you, didn't she?" Ami questioned, smirking at Bakugo. Bakugo felt a vein bulge out in irritation and glared at Habanero, looking at her with a face full of denial.

"Pfft. Yeah, right. You call that desperate plan surprising? She didn't surprise me at all." Bakugo denied, causing Ami to scoff lightheartedly, rolling her eyes with an amused smile.

"Well, what else could she have done? She didn't stand a chance against you and she knew it." Ami acknowledged. Bakugo heard her comment and raised an eye at her, somewhat surprised to find himself agreeing with Habanero.

"Even so, that plan of hers was stupid. She would've realized that if she knew how Six Arms lost." Bakugo explained, recalling his point blank explosion on Shoji's face. As he sat there thinking about the power he put in that blast against the meteor shower, he realized that he used the same level of power that sent Six Arms flying out of bounds. Ami stared at the glare in Bakugo's eyes and could tell he was thinking about his matches. She heard his insults at Uraraka's plan and smirked with stifled laughter.

"Mhm. If it was so stupid, how'd you fall for it?" Ami questioned, causing Bakugo to growl in annoyance. The question made Bakugo's eye twitch as he slowly turned his head to glare directly at her. He would destroy her later for that. Eventually.

"I didn't fall for anything. All she did was expose a temporary oversight. It won't happen again." Bakugo affirmed with a serious glare.

"Temporary oversight, huh?" Ami repeated, looking at him with her eyebrow raised, "Whatever. It was still cool." She shrugged, continuing to smile. Bakugo flared his nostrils and glanced at the bottom row. He noticed the empty seat next to Four Eyes and realized Deku's absence. He shifted his eyes towards where he last saw IcyHot sitting and saw another empty seat, confirming his thoughts.

"Shouldn't you be hanging around your brother, right now, Habanero?" Bakugo asked, staring at the floor.

"I will. After I see who wins in the arm wrestling match." Ami said, looking down at the battlefield,

"What?" Bakugo asked, raising his head up. He looked up to see Shitty Hair and Metal Brows walking onto the battlefield, smiling and waving at the crowd.

"Kirishima's match ended in a draw, like you said, so now it's being decided by whoever wins in an arm wrestling match." Ami explained.

"Great." He scowled, facepalming.

Waiting Room 2

"Man. I lost. Too bad." Ochaco smiled, rubbing the back of her head. When Izuku entered the waiting room, he wasn't expecting to see Ochaco sitting in the room all alone. When he saw Ochaco, he was expecting her to be sad from her match. However, instead of depression, the first thing he saw was a beaming smile coming from a recovered Ochaco.

"Uh- Huh?" Izuku stuttered, surprised by her presence as well as her emotions.

"Guess I got a little carried away at the end thinking I had it in the bag. Dang it!" Ochaco smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

"You seem fine. But weren't you injured?" Izuku pointed out, entering the waiting room.

"Yeah! Recovery Girl took care of me." Ochaco said, raising her hand up to her face. She pulled her hair and revealed the bandage on the side of her face under her cheek. She twisted her body to the left and stared face-to-face with Izuku.

"She was really careful not to drain my stamina too much, though. So, I've still got a few scrapes and scratches." She said, smiling with her eyes closed.

"Did you see Shoji there?" Izuku asked, wondering about his condition.

"Mhm. He's awake by the way. He told me all about what happened during his match, too." Ochaco nodded, recalling the exact words he said to her. She nodded and clenched her fist, lightly slamming her fist onto the desk.

"Geez, I didn't realize how powerful that Bakugo was! He wiped the ring with me. Now I realize how much more training I have to do." She whined, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth in slightly exaggerated frustration. She opened her eyes and looked at Izuku and noticed the confused look on his face.

"Eh?" She said, opening her eyes. She noticed the confused look on Izuku's face and composed herself.

"Are you sure you're good?" Izuku asked, concerned for her mental wellbeing.

"Oh, yeah, totally. I'm better than I expected." Ochaco assured, feeling her hand start vibrating. She looked at her right hand and saw her phone was vibrating. The small screen in the front of the flip phone gave her a notification on who was calling her. She saw the name on the phone and smiled, bringing it close to her chest.

"Even if you've lost, you always keep looking ahead to what's next, Deku. This just means I have to work harder now." Ochaco said.

"That's true." Izuku said, raising his hands. Before he could move the intercom turned on, alerting them of what was going on outside the room.

"Wa-hoo!" Present Mic exclaimed.

"We're finally about to learn who the true winner is from the seventh match! Kirishima or Tetsutetsu!" He announced, staring down at the battlefield. In the center of the ring, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were engaged in another tough battle. They were arm wrestling on the table with Cementoss and Midnight watching closely.

"Whoever prevails in this arm wrestling match will advance to the second round! Let's go!" Present Mic explained, receiving cheers from the audience. Kirishima held onto Tetsutetsu's hand with his quirk activated, putting all his strength in slamming Tetsutetsu's hand onto the table. Tetsutetsu struggled to keep his arm up and gritted his teeth, growling in an attempt to focus his strength into his hand. Eventually the metal in his hand began to crack and weaken, allowing Kirishima to secure the victory. Kirishima shouted like his life depended on it and slammed Tetsutetsu's hand onto the table, cracking the concrete table to pieces.

"Kirishima is the winner! Add him to the bracket." Midnight declared, raising her flag.

"Yeah!" Kirishima roared, throwing his fist into the air.

"Kirishima earns a spot in the second round!" Present Mic announced.

"Ah, damn my metal deficiency! Shoulda eaten more iron this morning!" Tetsutetsu strained, trying to stop his hand from shaking so much. He heard footsteps coming towards him and looked up to see Kirishima staring down at him with the hand that beat him.

"Hey, man. You put up a good fight." Kirishima said, looking beyond tired. The sun behind him made his red hair sparkle brilliantly.

"Ha." Tetsutetsu said, smiling at Kirishima's action. He accepted the hand and shook it, making Midnight squeal in delight.

"Oh! So chivalrous!" Midnight said, squirming suggestively.

"Now we've got a full roster for the next round of the tournament. Let's get the party started now, ya dig? Present Mic said, making finger guns with his hand.

"Already? Later." Izuku said, turning around. Ochaco watched Izuku turn around and frowned.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Deku. You weren't able to prepare since I was here!" Ochaco apologized. Izuku smiled back at Uraraka and shrugged in response.

"Nah. This was perfect." Izuku smiled, making eye contact with Uraraka. The sure look on his face convinced her that it was okay.

"I'll be watching. Good luck out there." She said, waving at him.

"Thanks." Izuku nodded, exiting the waiting room. When Izuku closed the door and walked away, Ochaco dropped her smile and stared at her phone. She opened her flip phone and answered the call.

"Sorry for not picking up earlier, Daddy." Ochaco apologized.

"No, no, it's fine. Sorry for calling when you're busy." Ochaco's dad apologized.

"Your mom and I watched you on TV. You almost won! You were amazing!" He complimented, making her smile. She quickly frowned and expressed her sadness with the tone of her voice.

"It wasn't that close. And I wasn't very good. I rushed it too much in the end." Ochaco said, criticizing herself. She put her hand on the desk and leaned on it. The pressure on her hand caused it to shake, curling them in response.

"I didn't have a backup plan for what I'd do if that big move didn't work out." She explained, letting go of the desk.

"I failed." she said aloud.

"You lost. But that doesn't mean you can't still be a pro hero. I know I don't have the best understanding of how all this works, but there's always next year, right? This isn't the end." Ochaco's dad said, giving her encouragement.

"I know, but I wish I coulda gone further in the festival so I would have had more chances to show what I'm made of. The scouts barely saw me do anything this time around." She said, frowning in disappointment.

"What're you in such a hurry for, huh?" Her dad asked, making her wince.

"It's just…I want to help you guys out as soon as I can." She sniffled, feeling her tears come out.

"Ochaco, there's no need for you to rush. The very fact that you feel that way shows me that you'll make a kind, caring hero one day." He said, knowing she was crying. Ochaco heard his comforting words and clenched her free hand into a tight ball.

"I am so proud of you." He said, causing her to fully breakdown. His words gave her strength and she bawled her eyes out afterwards.

Izuku left the waiting room with a conflicted face. Sure, Ochaco said she was fine but it seemed like she was holding in her true emotions. Thoughts went through his head as he left, thinking he should've said something more encouraging. Instead, Ochaco was the one encouraging him. He looked at the floor with a frown and kept walking until he felt hands grab the back of his shoulders.

"Boo." Ami said, startling Izuku. Izuku pointed his head up tall and straightened his posture in response to hearing Ami.

"Huh? Whoa, Ami?" Izuku questioned, twisting his head around. He looked at Ami and felt his feelings improve.

"Hey, Izzy." Ami greeted, glancing at the waiting room door where she heard muffled sounds of Ochaco inside. She couldn't hear a word through the door but she could tell she was talking to someone all alone. Pushing that aside, she raised her eyebrow and smirked at Izuku, nudging his shoulder.

"Talkin' all alone with Uraraka, eh?" she teased, making Izuku blush. He got flustered by the teasing, making him play with his fingers while he nodded nervously in confirmation. He wasn't even thinking about it, but he was talking to a girl without any help. The look on his face made Ami giggle in amusement.

"Uh, y-yeah. Guess I was." Izuku replied, laughing awkwardly. He brushed that thought aside and looked at Ami with confusion.

"Anyways, what are you doing here?" Izuku asked, changing the subject.

"Well, I would have gotten to you earlier, but I wanted to see Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's arm wrestle.

"Oh." Izuku nodded in understanding.

"And now that I'm here, I just wanted to see you off before your match. You are going up against Todoroki, after all. You must be nervous?" Ami replied, folding her arms together in concern. Izuku nodded and clenched his fists, gulping.

"A little. But-" Izuku said, stopping himself. His words to Todoroki went through his mind.

"You declared war on me earlier. Well, right back at you. I am going to beat you." Izuku remembered, returning to reality.

"-I think I am ready to fight him." Izuku admitted, causing Ami to raise an eyebrow at his answer. She stared at Izuku's face and saw the determination in them, causing her to smile.

"Hmph. Right." She smiled, nodding her head in understanding. Izuku smiled back at her, glad that Ami understood his feelings.

"Well, I guess I should head to the tunnel now." Izuku said, walking down the hall.

"You think they'd care if I followed you to the tunnel?" Ami asked, walking side-by-side with Izuku.

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind." He assured, shrugging his shoulders.

"But I should hurry in case the match is starting soon." Izuku said, sprinting off down the hall.

"Right, let's-" Ami said, running up behind Izuku. The twins ran down the hall and were immediately blocked by a powerful footstep that came walking around a corner. They stopped running to avoid bumping into the man and stared up at the imposing figure in front of them. Their eyes bulged out when they saw who it was standing before them.

"Endeavor?!" The twins exclaimed, freaking out at his presence.

"Ah. I was looking for you." Endeavor said, noticing Izuku first. He stared at him and noticed the panic in his face. He looked behind the boy and raised his eyes when he saw the girl behind him.

"How lucky I ran into both of them." Endeavor thought, looking down at the panicked reaction on both faces. He examined the twins for a moment and noticed the similarities they shared now that he was up close with both of them. The twins both shared the same plain look to them. There were some differences between them that he also noticed. The boy had freckles while the girl had none, her hair was only slightly darker than the boy's, and she also looked slightly taller, beating the boy by at least an inch.

"Oh, yeah, hi. So, uh, what are you doing back here?" Izuku stuttered, attempting to tone down his panic.

"Yeah…" Ami stuttered, shaking alongside Izuku. Endeavor stopped comparing their features and stepped forward, causing Izuku to stumble back a bit. Ami stumbled back as well and grabbed onto Izuku's shoulder while doing so. Endeavor looked at their panicked faces and pointed at Izuku.

"I watched your fight against the brainwashing guy. Your power is pretty impressive." Endeavor complimented, surprising the twins.

"To create so much wind pressure just by flicking your fingers. It reminds me of another quirk. You seem to have much in common with All Might." He said, making the twins sweat bullets.

"Oh. Well, I-" Izuku cut himself off, feeling a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head a little and saw the concern in Ami's face. His panicked expression faded and he immediately tensed up, forming a more serious face. They shared the same mind and nodded at each other in understanding. They couldn't talk to him. Endeavor noticed the panic in the twins' faces turn serious and raised his eyebrow at their strange behavior.

"Sorry, but I- we should get going." Izuku said, turning his back on Endeavor. Ami stayed close to Izuku and kept a serious expression on her face. Turning their backs on Endeavor, the twins exchanged glances and asked each other the same question in their heads.

"Is it possible that Endeavor knows about One For All?" They questioned.

"No, he probably would have mentioned it. He's one person we can't let find out about All Might's secret." the twins concluded at the same time, nodding their heads in understanding.

"It's my Shoto's duty to surpass All Might as the number one hero. And his match with you will be a good testing ground for how much training he has left. So hit him hard. Don't disgrace yourself or him by holding back." Endeavor said, getting Ami and Izuku to turn their heads and stare at him in stunned silence.

"The reason I picked a fight with you was to show my old man what I was capable of doing. Without having to rely on his damned fire quirk. You see, I'm going to show him that I reject his power, and I can take first place without using it." Todoroki's voice echoed through the twins' heads.

"That's all I had to say to you. My apologies for bothering you." Endeavor said, nodding at Izuku. Hearing the apology, the twins awkwardly nodded at him and resumed walking side-by-side. However, a cough from Endeavor quickly made them stop.

"But." Endeavor interrupted, "I still have some questions for your sister." he said, making Ami's heart stop twice. Izuku's eyes widened in response and looked at Ami with concern. Ami composed herself and took a deep breath, clenching her fists and sighing.

"Go. I'll talk to him." Ami whispered.

"Ami, you sure?" Izuku asked.

"...Yeah." Ami nodded, cracking a small smile at Izuku. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a quick hug.

"Good luck with your match, Izzy. Show him who's boss." she whispered loud enough for Endeavor to hear, showing her support.

"Thanks, Sis." Izuku smiled, pulling away from Ami. Ami smiled at Izuku before changing back to her serious face. She turned around and looked at Endeavor, crossing her arms and showing off a stern face. Endeavor looked down at her and narrowed his eyes at her upon noticing the stern look on her face.

Izuku stared at Ami and hesitated walking away. He glanced at Endeavor and thought about what he said to them.

"It's my Shoto's duty to surpass All Might as the Number One Hero." Endeavor's voice repeated through Izuku's head. He frowned at his words and clenched his fists.

"Endeavor. I am not All Might." Izuku blurted out, interrupting Ami and Endeavor's staring contest. Endeavor looked at Izuku with a confused look and tensed up.

"What? What are you talking about?" He questioned.

"And the same goes for Todoroki. He may be your son, but he isn't you." Izuku said, surprising both Endeavor and Ami. Izuku said nothing afterwards and walked away, leaving Ami alone with the Number Two Hero.

"Hmm. He acts like he knows what he's talking about." Endeavor thought, beginning to wonder if Shoto had said anything to him. He narrowed his eyes and stared directly at the girl in front of him, observing her reaction to him. The stern look on her face had quickly fallen apart in the middle of their impromptu staring contest. Needless to say, she was intimidated. Ami stared up at Endeavor and felt her heart come to a complete stop for a third time in a row. Endeavor was tall and frightening to look at.

"Wow, he's really terrifying. He's definitely a lot scarier in person than I previously imagined." Ami thought, quickly noticing the silence between them, "And I'm alone with him." She realized, gulping nervously. She was immediately intimidated by his presence. Seeing him stare down at her with a serious face was all it took to make her sweat anxiously in fear. It was a completely different feeling compared to when she'd look up at All Might in his muscle form. The differences between the Number One Hero and the Number Two Hero were becoming more apparent.

"Be cool, Ami. Be cool. You got this." Ami thought, trying to calm down. It took a minute of terrified silence before Endeavor spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Which quirk is the one that's mutated?" Endeavor asked, catching Ami off guard.

"Huh? Excuse me?" She replied, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"It's obvious that your quirks are nothing alike. So, the mutated quirk, is it the boy's or your's?" Endeavor asked, peering into Ami's soul. She quickly gulped before answering, making her voice as clear as possible despite her nervousness.

"It's, Ami. And no, my quirk isn't mutated. Izuku has the mutated quirk." She answered, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Hmm." Endeavor hummed, nodding lightly in understanding.

"What's your quirk called?" He inquired, showing interest.

"My quirk?" Ami questioned, acting dumb.

"Yes." He nodded. Ami stared blankly at him and thought it over in her mind.

"Relax, Ami. He's asking about your quirk, nothing else." Ami thought, trying to stop herself from shaking so much. She took a deep breath before looking back up at Endeavor.

"Fl-Flame Catcher." She answered, stuttering a lot. Endeavor heard the answer and nodded. Ami looked at the floor and took another deep breath, composing herself.

"I can't believe it. I thought Todoroki's glares were intimidating but this guy is on a whole nother level. Now I know where Todoroki gets his glare from." Ami realized, distracting herself yet again.

"Flame Catcher? Quite the name." Endeavor commented, receiving a surprised nod.

"Thank you." Ami said, finally getting control of her shaking.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed by your performance. I find the way your quirk functions to be rather interesting." Endeavor admitted, making Ami nod politely.

"Can you only breathe fire or can you produce flames elsewhere?" He inquired. Ami looked at the curious expression on Endeavor's serious face and shook her head.

"Just the mouth." She answered.

"How about when you breathe in flames? Can you control that?" Endeavor asked.

"When I inhale fire from my environment, I can choose to direct it towards any part of my body. But it can only enter my body through the mouth." Ami answered, truthfully. Endeavor put a hand on his chin and nodded slowly, starting to understand the capabilities of her quirk.

"I understand. That explains what I saw in the Obstacle Race. You brought the flames to your fists even though you inhaled. So, once the flames are attached to your fists they increase the strength of your punches?" Endeavor guessed.

"Yup. And flames stick onto me like glue until I inhale it all." She clarified, feeling sweat drip down her forehead.

"Does it really affect all the flames in your environment?" Endeavor questioned, peering into Ami's soul again.

"I don't know, you tell me?" Ami replied in a spur of the moment. She opened her mouth and inhaled, causing the fire on Endeavor to fly off his face and costume. His eyes widened at her action, surprised that she'd have the guts to use him for an example. The flames on Endeavor flew off him with no resistance and flew towards Ami's mouth. Endeavor watched her close her mouth and swallow the flames down in surprise. It was only after she did it did she realize the mistake she made.

"Oh my God, I just ate Endeavor's flames!" Ami thought, clenching her fists in fear. She took a look at the surprised reaction on Endeavor's face and took the time to look at the features on his face that were covered by the flames. With the flames on his face gone, Ami could better see the resemblance he shared with Shoto.

"Whoa. Without all the flames on his face, he kinda looks like an older Shoto." Ami thought. While she looked at his face, Endeavor's serious eyes turned into an annoyed glare. He flared his nostrils and instantly reignited his face with flames. She saw the annoyed glare on his face and gulped.

"Oh, no. I'm dead." Ami panicked.

"Hmph. Impressive. I couldn't do anything to stop my flames from flying towards you." Endeavor stated, visibly impressed. Ami spotted the slightest crack of a smile on his face and didn't know whether she should run or faint.

"Wait? Did he expect me to do that?" Ami questioned, thinking about it in her mind.

"All right. You've shown me how your quirk works, but don't do that again." Endeavor warned, lighting his costume on fire in an instant. Ami gulped and straightened her posture.

"Yes, Sir." Ami replied, nodding in his command. Endeavor flared his nostrils and glared down at the intimidated teen, thinking back to what Shoto had said to him.

"That girl with green hair. Her quirk lets her eat fire from her surroundings. Fire quirks, too. So, even if I used your power, it would've been more worthless to me than it is now." Todoroki said, reminding Endeavor of what Ami had done.

"Hmph. Don't mistake my praise as anything but. It's not why I'm talking to you." Endeavor said, making himself clear. He looked away from the teen and listened to the muffled roars of the audience through the structure.

"Right now, your brother is about to face off against my son. I expect nothing less than a victory from Shoto." Endeavor said, he looked down at the floor and grimaced for a split second, "Even if he rejects his flames." He thought, clenching his fists in frustration.

"As for you." He said, pointing at her with a piercing gaze. "You are far off from fighting against my son in the tournament. Because of that, I don't expect you to survive long enough to reach him in combat." Endeavor stated, honestly. Ami internally deadpanned at his comment.

"Well, that's nice of him." Ami thought, sarcastically. Glad to hear such encouraging words from the Number Two Hero.

"However, should you manage to survive and exceed my expectations, then I'll give you the same message I gave your brother. Hit him hard. Don't disgrace yourself or him." Endeavor stated.

"But don't you want him to use his flames?" Ami slipped out, causing Endeavor to raise his eye. He caught the implication in her question and knew instantly what she meant. He scoffed and shook his head in response.

"So, he's mentioned his little rebellion, has he?" Endeavor questioned, looking stern. Ami realized her mistake and darted her eyes away out of fear.

"Hmph. My Shoto doesn't see it now, but he needs to know the limit of his ice. I've seen the power your flames have. There's no doubt in my mind, his ice stands no chance against you. So, as ironic as it sounds, you have the power to draw his flames out." Endeavor said, surprising Ami.

"His ice stands no chance against me? I'm not so sure about that, Endeavor." Ami questioned, internally.

But, still. Even if it takes fighting you for him to see his limit, then so be it. But that's only if you somehow manage to get that far." Endeavor said, making Ami frown.

"Somehow? Ugh. He really knows how to demoralize someone." Ami thought, looking down at the floor to hide her contempt.

"That's all I had to say. You have my apologies for cutting into your time with your brother." Endeavor said, sounding polite. He turned his back on Ami and started walking away, leaving a conflicted Ami behind. She gathered all that Endeavor had to say in her thoughts and stared at the floor.

"His faith in his son is immense despite the fact he's going against him. Even so, going by what I overheard Todoroki tell Izzy, this guy is far from father of the year."

"My father has not only a rich history of accomplishments, but plenty of money to throw at his problems. He bought my mother's relatives to get his hands on her quirk. And now he's raising me to usurp, All Might."

"In every memory of my mother...I only see her crying. I remember she called my left side unbearable, before she poured boiling water on my face." Todoroki said in Ami's mind. The memory made her flinch, causing her to make a sad frown.

"He's responsible for that burn mark even if he didn't directly inflict it." Ami thought, clenching her fists tightly. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Endeavor's back as he walked away.

"What should I say to him?" Ami thought, questioning herself.

"I expect no less than a victory from my Shoto." Endeavor said, repeating through Ami's head.

"He thinks Izuku doesn't stand a chance against Todoroki. And even if he's bothered by the fact he's only using his ice, he sounds confident that his son will win." Ami thought, thinking about what Todoroki said.

"The reason I picked a fight with you was to show my old man what I was capable of doing. Without having to rely on his damned fire quirk. You see, I'm going to show him that I reject his power, and I can take first place without using it." Todoroki said, echoing through Ami's mind.

"You're obviously connected to All Might. Even if you won't tell me about it. But no matter how fiercely you come at me in the future. I will defeat you using only my right side. I can assure you of that." Todoroki stated, repeating through Ami's mind. She scoffed at his words, shaking her head in disagreement.

"Using only my right side?" She repeated, focusing on that part of his words.

"There's no way. He wants to beat Izuku and reject his power at the same time? That's wrong. It's not possible. Both of them are underestimating Izuku without even realizing it. But what do I say without mentioning One For All?" Ami thought, choosing her words very carefully.

"Wait." Ami sputtered, getting Endeavor's attention. He stopped walking and turned his head back, staring back at Ami with his glare. Ami stuttered for a split second upon seeing the glare but continued nonetheless.

"I won't pretend to know what's going on between you and your son, Sir. But with all due respect. I'm not the one your son has to worry about." Ami said, getting a stern look from Endeavor.

"I know you think your son can easily defeat my brother. But believe me, you're wrong."

"Everyone's giving it their all in this tournament. No one's holding back against anyone, even me. Before this festival started, I was ready to go up against my brother if it got that far. And I know my brother was, too. You might be impressed with my quirk, you might even believe my power will bring his flames out, but you haven't seen what Izuku is capable of. He's strong. He's always been strong. Even when I didn't see it." Ami stated, keeping a solemn expression. As she thought about what to say next, All Might's words entered her mind.

"I want you to think of this Sports Festival as your debut. You are the fledgling Symbol Of Peace. The next All Might! Izuku Midoriya. I want you to introduce yourself to the world and proudly say, "I am here!" All Might proclaimed. Ami remembered what All Might said and nodded to herself, slowly summoning up the courage to continue.

"You see, someone we've looked up to since we were babies will be watching this match. Izuku's been working hard to impress him ever since he got into U.A. And, honestly, it scares me from time-to-time. It's made him reckless and prone to danger, but it's also made him more determined and focused. Because of that, he's been getting stronger and stronger. Stronger than me, stronger than our friends, and stronger than Todoroki." Ami stated, causing Endeavor to raise his eyebrow at her in silent surprise.

"So, if your son thinks he can win at half power against Izuku, then he's sadly mistaken." Ami stated, keeping her solemn expression. Despite the piercing stare from Endeavor, Ami held in her fear and stared back at him with a determined face, refusing to back down. Endeavor narrowed his eyes at her and flared his nostrils.

"Hmph." Endeavor huffed, leaving Ami's sight. Endeavor turned a corner and disappeared, causing Ami to relax. She relaxed her body and leaned forward an inch, loudly exhaling in relief. She couldn't believe it, she just stuck up to her brother against the Number Two Hero. The thought made her proud. She took deep breaths and composed herself. Seeing that she was alone in the hallway, she decided to head back to the stands. Meanwhile Endeavor walked the halls going over what Ami had told him. He made a twisted smile thinking about her words.

"Glad you see it my way, Girl. You may exceed my expectations after all." Endeavor thought, walking away from that conversation with an impressed smile.

Stadium Exteriors - Battlefield - 1st Match of Round Two

The flames spewed out of the corners of the ring, exciting the crowd in what could go down as one of the most anticipated fights yet. The Twin Brother Izuku Midoriya vs. The Son of the Number Two Hero. It was a battle everyone wanted to see.

"Win. Lose. I don't care, but don't make All Might's power go to waste, understand?" Bakugo remembered, narrowing his eyes at Deku.

"Kick his ass, Deku." Bakugo thought, glaring down at the battlefield. He heard panting followed by loud footsteps behind him, breaking his concentration. He looked back and saw Habanero running down the stairs while keeping her hand on the rail. She saw the flames from the pyrotechnics shoot up into the air and caught her breath in relief.

"Oh, good. Made it back in time." She panted, getting the attention of her friends.

"What's up, Ami." Kaminari said, getting a wave from Ami. She scooted around Bakugo and quickly found her seat.

"Just in time for the match to start." Sero smiled, swiping his hands together in anticipation. Bakugo watched her fall into her seat next to him and noticed she looked rather startled.

"Get lost, Habanero?" Bakugo asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

"It's a long story." Ami said with a slight frown. Bakugo noticed the frown instantly and tensed up.

"Summarize it." He said, looking at her with arms crossed.

"Endeavor's scary up close." Ami replied, making Bakugo instantly realize what she was implying.

"He talked to you?" He questioned, straightening himself.

"Yeah, but he wasn't very nice to me or Izzy." Ami said, looking at the floor in disappointment.

"Hmph. Figures." Bakugo said, rolling his eyes.

"It's the first match of the second round! These two heroes in training have both been frontrunners in the Sports Festival!" Present Mic announced, hyping up the crowd.

"It's Midoriya! Versus...Todoroki!" Present Mic introduced.

"Well, you can tell me what he said later." Bakugo said, brushing the conversation aside.

"Right." Ami nodded, staring down at the battlefield. She glanced up across the hero stands and looked up to see Endeavor. She couldn't see his face but she was sure he was glaring at the battlefield. Staring at him made her frown again.

"Was what I told Endeavor the right thing to say? I got so caught up in defending Izuku that I might have ended up saying what he wanted to hear. I hope I wasn't wrong at the very least." Ami thought, second guessing herself.

"Good luck with your match, Izzy. Show him who's boss." Ami remembered, thinking about her last words to him. She gritted her teeth and flared her nostrils, shaking her head at herself.

"Don't worry about that right now. Focus on the fight. You can do this, Izuku. I believe in you." Ami thought, clenching her fists as tight as they could go.

"Begin!" Present Mic announced, sending the audience into an uproar. Todoroki didn't waste a second of the match. He narrowed his eyes and focused, dropping his hand down low and activating his quirk. A large glacier of ice sprouted off his right side, glistening in the sun. The glacier flew towards Izuku at extreme speeds, making several heroes' jaws drop. Ami saw the ice barrage and flinched in her seat, stepping on her own foot anxiously. It was gigantic. Almost like the ice barrage that took down the zero pointers in the obstacle race.

"Here it comes, Izzy." Ami thought, preparing herself for the inevitable.

Izuku stared at the ice glacier coming his way and narrowed his eyes, concentrating. He was expecting Todoroki to start off with a powerful attack like in Sero's match. Izuku raised his hand and activated One For All, watching his hand glow a bright orange. Ami kept her cool upon seeing the glowing arm, hoping he wouldn't waste an entire arm on a single punch.

"One finger, Izzy." Ami said, grimacing. As morbid as it sounded, sacrificing a finger seemed to be the logical choice in this situation. She heard her brother's voice rise in volume and continued watching him with slight concern.

"Smash!" Izuku shouted, flicking the ice with his finger. The ice glacier came to a complete stop in front of Izuku, shattering to pieces. The force created by One For All destroyed the ice in an instant, creating hurricane winds that blew around the entire stadium. Todoroki was hit first by the winds, squinting his eyes and scowling at the wind. He widened his stance and fought against the wind, firmly standing his ground as ice shattered all around him. His ice cleared the battlefield, allowing him to get a view of Midoriya. He stared coldly at the green haired teen and saw the damage he had put on him.

"Hmph. Just as I expected." Todoroki thought, staring coldly at Izuku's broken middle finger, "He's prepared to injure himself to counter me." He accurately predicted.

"Wow! Midoriya's managed to break Todoroki's insane opening move!" Present Mic commented, shocked by the power displayed by Izuku's attack. Next in the hurricane wind's path was the entire stadium, blasting the heroes with fast wind speeds, forcing them to hold on to the upper parts of their costumes and keep their other hand holding onto their seats.

"Whoa! So cold!" A hero said, getting jittery. The wind sent the freezing cold temperatures towards the heroes, causing them to hold themselves to get warm.

"Feels like this wind is gonna freeze me solid!" Another hero shivered. The wind impacted the students at the same time, forcing them to squint their eyes and block the wind as best they could with their arms. Ami blocked the wind with her wrist and looked at the battlefield with squinted eyes. All the other students did the same, none wanting to close their eyes and look away. When the winds stopped blowing, they raised their eyes and looked at the field with stunned looks.

"That powerful, huh?" Bakugo questioned internally, looking at Izuku with a scowl. So much wind created by a flick of a finger was impressive.

"His attack destroyed Todoroki's ice." Ami commented, looking for a positive in order to cope with the finger sacrifice.

"Yeah, if only the dumbass didn't break his finger doing it." Bakugo replied, getting a glare from Habanero. She looked back down at the battlefield as the wind cleared up, allowing her to get a view of Izuku's injury.

"It can't be helped." Ami thought, feeling her stomach churn at the sight of the broken finger. She looked at the pained expression on Izuku's face and frowned, making her clench her fists in anxiety. As she stared at Izuku, her past conversation with Bakugo played out in her head.

"I told him to get that quirk in control, yet he's still breaking himself. Has he been doing nothing for the past two weeks?" Bakugo criticized.

"He's been training by himself most of the time while I focused on my fire breathing. But, he didn't really activate his quirk during workouts because he didn't want to injure himself before the festival even started." Ami explained.

"With any luck, the most damage he'll give himself in this tournament will be a broken hand." Ami hoped. She returned to reality and narrowed her eyes, shaking her head at the memory. One finger was all it was, there was still a chance to win.

From the faculty stands, All Might watched Izuku's counter with a stunned face. The action Izuku made made him start to analyze the situation.

"He had no way of knowing how powerful young Todoroki's attack was going to be, so he abandoned restraint and fired off a shot at 100 percent." He assumed, staring at the injuries present on his hand. Not even 10 seconds have passed and Izuku's already broken something. It made him flinch in his seat.

"It's true that this was likely the only thing he could do against the ice barrage. However…" All Might thought, feeling his body tense up. He heard the sound of ice forming and looked back at Todoroki. Todoroki narrowed his eyes and concentrated, forming another ice barrage on the ground. The ice sped fast towards Izuku, who narrowed his eyes and grunted at the ice.

"Damnit. No time to think." Izuku thought, quickly reacting to it. He raised his right hand forward and kept it steady with his left hand, activating One For All.

"Smash!" Izuku blurted out, shooting off another gust of wind with a flick of his finger.

"He countered again!" Present Mic shouted. Ami blocked the wind from Izuku's attack and stared down at Izuku with worry. She could see the two broken fingers on his right hand and frowned. She flared her nostrils and waved it off in denial.

"Meh. It's only two fingers. What's he need two fingers for anyway?" She thought, justifying the injuries in her head. She looked at his injury and cringed uncomfortably at the sight of it. That had to hurt, but he could handle it. She knew he could. He handled it during the fitness tests. All she could do was sit in her seat and cheer him on.

"Izzy, take him down!" Ami shouted. Down at the battlefield, as the wind cleared up again, Izuku stared at Todoroki with a look of seriousness that matched his cold stare. He heard the faint sound of Ami's encouragement and grinned, pushing himself to try harder.

"I don't know much about Todoroki's fighting style. His attacks are so fast that it's hard to collect data on him. So, during this fight, I need to focus on finding an opening somewhere." Izuku thought, analysing . Despite his intense thinking and the seriousness in his eyes and the encouragement he received from Ami, he couldn't help but let his lips quiver slightly in response to the pain shooting out from his broken fingers. He looked beyond Todoroki's shoulder and stared at the ice wall behind him.

"The ice behind him is probably how he plans to keep from being blown out of bounds by my smashes. Which means…" Izuku said, looking down at his right hand, "I was right to break my fingers." He concluded, tensing up at the pain he felt from them.

"If I'd spent my whole arm on a full-powered smash and the ice held up. I'd be doomed." Izuku thought, thinking back to his devastating punch against the zero pointer.

"I can figure this out. Come on. Find a weak spot. I've only got six more chances." He said, holding his shaking wrist tightly.

"Let's continue." Todoroki said, his breath visible from the coldness of his ice. He went into action and made Izuku gasp. A third barrage of ice came towards him, slightly slower and smaller than before. Izuku grunted in pain and activated One For All again. He flicked the ice with another finger and blew it out of his way, sending ice flying everywhere around him.

"Five more chances." He stammered, blocking the wind with his arm. Ami gasped and covered her mouth in an instant, taking a couple deep breaths to calm down.

"That's three fingers, Izzy. Come on, don't push your luck. You've gotta do something." Ami begged, gulping saliva down her threat. Up at the top of the stands, Kirishima appeared with a frown.

"Oh, no, crap! I'm missing it!" He said, disappointedly. He rushed down the stairs and met up with his friends. He saw Ami's concerned face and frowned, realizing the importance of this fight to her.

"Hey, nice job making it to the second round, Kirishima." Kaminari said, smiling at him. Kirishima snapped out of his concentration and smiled at Kaminari.

"Thanks, man. Looks like I take down Bakugo next." Kirishima said, getting a raised eyebrow from Ami. Not even she could ignore a boast like that. Bakugo heard the comment and kept his arms crossed.

"I'll kill you." He bluntly stated, not bothering to look Red Hair in the eyes.

"Heh. Yeah, sure. In your dreams. No, but, seriously. It's crazy how you and Todoroki both have moves that blast the whole stadium!" Kirishima complimented, comparing their quirks, "Must be pretty nice." He jealously stated, stretching his arms out wide in emphasis.

"Plus, you don't have to pause between attacks." Sero said, leaning his head forward to look past Ami. Ami kept her body glued to the seat and had her face aimed at the floor, covering her eyes but still allowing her to see the fight. She listened into their conversation and scoffed at Sero's comment, blowing her hair in the wind.

"It's not as easy as you think, ya morons." Bakugo replied, keeping his glare towards the battlefield.

"Hm?" Kirishima asked, curiously. The students around him all listened to what he had to say.

"If you overuse your muscles you risk tearing them apart. If you sprint too much, you run out of breath-" Bakugo said, pausing to think about his own experiences.

"We all have a limit to how much power we can produce. That's why I designed my costume the way I did, so I'd be able to fire off bigger blasts than my body usually allows me to." He thought, finishing up his statement.

"Quirks are physical abilities, too. They can get worn out. You can't just use them nonstop." He finished.

"It makes sense when you put it that way. I wonder if that's how Midoriya thinks he's gonna beat Todoroki." Kirishima said, speaking before thinking. He glanced at Ami and noticed the worried face and unsure frown and dropped his smile.

"I mean. Not that he won't win, sorry, Ami." He apologized, clasping his hands together in prayer.

"It's alright." Ami said, nodding lightly. She inhaled a large amount of air and squeezed her gym pants tightly.

"He'll win. He has to." Ami prayed internally, watching the fight continue with anxiety.

"You want an endurance match, but I'll end this quickly." Todoroki said, launching another ice barrage at Izuku. Izuku saw the incoming barrage and strained his hand, struggling to hold it up despite the pain from three broken fingers.

"Smash!" Izuku shouted, destroying the ice. He gritted his teeth as he felt a rip in his hand, seeing blood fly out. The wind blasted through but was ignored by Ami. Her face turned blue and her mouth stayed open as she stared at the injury looking petrified.

"Blood?" Ami gasped, starting to freak out at the amount of blood that just spilled out of Izuku's hand. Even Bakugo couldn't help but raise an eye at the blood. He flexed his muscles and scowled.

"Move, you idiot." Bakugo thought, getting fed up. Izuku closed his eyes and seethed under the intense pain. He opened his eyes back up and scowled at Todoroki.

"That's all the fingers on my right hand!" He panicked, holding onto his right arm. Todoroki saw the pain in Izuku's face and darted forward, creating a ramp made of ice.

"Todoroki withstood Midoriya's power and is now rushing his classmate!" Present Mic said. Izuku watched Todoroki run up the ice ramp and flinched, knowing he'd have to act fast. He tensed his muscles and raised his left hand.

"No!" He shouted, flicking the ice with a finger from his left hand. The ice ramp shattered into pieces, leaving Todoroki to jump into the air. He looked down at Izuku and made eye contact with his stressed face. He clenched his right hand into an icy fist and dropped down. Izuku jumped back and dodged the icy fist as it slammed into the concrete, breaking it apart underneath. Izuku's jump sent him far back to avoid Todoroki's attack but was quickly outplayed as Todoroki shot off more ice towards Izuku in an instant. The smaller ice barrage made contact with Izuku's shoe, making him panic.

"Oh, no! Not good!" He thought, feeling his heart skip a beat. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Todoroki, clenching his left fist tightly. The fist glowed for all the audience to see, making Ami panic as well. Her anxiety spiked to an all time high, stress shooting up to dramatic heights.

"Oh, no! Izzy, don't! Not the whole arm!" Ami exclaimed, grinding her teeth in terror. Bakugo stared at the glowing arm wide eyed, angered by what he was doing. Izuku grunted and activated One For All, hitting the ice on his shoe with a force even stronger than before. Todoroki saw the glowing arm and tensed up, defending himself.

The ice shattered to millions of pieces before evaporating in an instant from the force of Izuku's punch. Izuku's classmates gasped at the power of his attack. Their faces were quickly filled with shock as they saw Izuku's left arm was now broken. Ami stared at the broken arm with her mouth still hanging open. She closed her mouth and grinded her teeth, trying to hold back tears.

"No..." Ami whimpered, getting Bakugo's attention. He glanced at her face and saw she was nearly crying.

"Izzy…" Ami whined in a low voice. Izuku held onto his left arm and panted. He screamed in pain and stared at his left arm with wide eyes.

"Crap. What was I thinking!?" Izuku panicked, looking up at the stands. He saw his class and stared up at Ami with a frown. He saw her face and felt pain shoot through his chest, making him wince. Ami looked down at the battlefield and saw Izuku staring up at her. She sniffled and raised her voice at him.

"Izzy, don't just stand there!" Ami shouted, cracking her voice. Izuku heard the shout from Ami and nodded. As the wind cleared up once more, Izuku stared at the battlefield with nervous anticipation.

"That was much more powerful than any of your previous attacks." Todoroki stated, making Izuku narrow his eyes. He was shocked to find Todoroki still inside the ring, leaning on a large ice barrage behind him.

"You're trying to keep me away. Smart." Todoroki said, pushing aside a large piece of ice out of his way. Izuku stared at him and grunted.

"It's not just that his quirk is powerful. His judgment, mobility, reasoning…All of his abilities…are incredible." He thought, feeling a sense of inferiority. He looked down at the floor and winced, feeling his emotions rise up. The power he was up against was stronger than he realized. Was he really as prepared as he should have been against him?

"It's only his ice, yet he's got so much strength to his attacks. Does he really have that much practice with only one side of his quirk?" Izuku thought, thinking about Todoroki.

"I'm gonna show that bastard that I reject his fire quirk-" Todoroki said, echoing through Izuku's mind. The word rejection stayed in his head. It was obvious why he used his ice. He thought about his reason and frowned. Every time he heard it, it made him sad. Yet, at the same time it made him feel frustrated for some reason. But, why? As he thought of the reason why, he remembered what Todoroki said about his past and felt his eyes widen upon realization.

An image popped up in the back of his head. Izuku shook his head upon seeing the image and felt his breathing come to a stop temporarily. He darted his eyes left and right as he contemplated the reason for why he saw that image and wondered why it had spawned frustration within him.

While Izuku stood there thinking, the audience looked at Todoroki with stunned looks. The heroes were the most impressed by what was going on.

"That kid's already better than the average pro." A hero said.

"Guess that's what you can expect from the son of the Number Two Hero." Another hero said. Sitting in the hero stands, Backdraft stayed silent and carefully watched Izuku.

"He's tired." Backdraft observed, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"What's the matter? Are you really that worn out from defending against my attacks?" Todoroki asked, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts. Izuku looked up at him and panted. Todoroki stared at his mouth and listened to his breathing.

"He's tired. That's good." Todoroki thought, feeling like he could end this finally.

Izuku looked at Todoroki and tilted his head slightly in confusion, stepping back an inch and stumbling a bit from the pain from his broken left arm.

"Why? Why did I look at you and see..." Izuku thought, stopping himself short upon noticing a detail about Todoroki.

"He's shaking!" Izuku realized, "Is he reaching some kind of limit?" He wondered, staring at the shaking on Todoroki's arm. The distraction removed the image from his head, making Izuku focus back on the battle.

"I've got to keep fighting." He thought.

"I'm sorry about this, but thanks for drawing it out." Todoroki said, glancing to his left. Izuku was taken aback by the apology, acting confused. He glanced over to where Todoroki was looking and saw what he saw. Standing at the very top of the hero stands was none other than Endeavor. He did not look happy.

"Look at him. He's furious I'm not using his power." Todoroki said, causing Izuku to groan. He gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles. Despite the pain, he started to feel it get overshadowed by a different emotion. He looked away from the stands and stared at the concrete, thinking about Todoroki's words. They were...so frustrating.

"I don't have to rely on his damn fire quirk. You see, I'm going to show that bastard that I reject his power and take first place without using it." Todoroki said, flashing through Izuku's mind. It seemed so different now. It gave him dejavu.

"With your hands like that, you can't fight anymore, can you? Why don't we end this?" Todoroki observed, looking at Izuku's broken limbs. He glared coldly at him and launched an ice barrage at him.

"Whoa! Todoroki continues his overwhelming attacks! Could this be his finishing move?" Present Mic said, making Ami scared.

"No. He's already broken so much." She said, her face starting to turn red from crying. The hope she held onto for so long had diminished. Todoroki had taken away her belief in her brother. The thought of seeing Izuku lose after getting this far made her lose her mind, causing Endeavor's harsh words to infiltrate her mind.

"Right now, your brother is about to face off against my son. I expect nothing less than a victory from Shoto." Endeavor's voice said, echoing through Ami's mind.

"I can't believe it. I thought Izuku stood a chance. More than a chance." Ami thought, thinking about what Izuku had accomplished. Memories of the two working out together played through her head, making her wince.

"This can't be how it ends." She muttered, gritting her teeth. Bakugo saw Habanero's face and flinched, cracking a frown at her. She was back on the verge of tears again and it was all because of Deku. Again. He glared at Deku and flexed his muscles, flaring his nostrils in increased rage. He stared at Deku's injuries as the ice came towards him and remembered the question he asked All Might in the Teacher's Lounge. He remembered the answer All Might had given him.

"Someday, young Midoriya will be far stronger than I ever was." All Might's voice echoed through Bakugo's mind. Then he heard his own voice.

"So get your borrowed quirk in control, Deku. And when we fight in the Sport's Festival, I'll be the one who wins! Got that?" Bakugo's voice shouted. He snapped back to reality and frowned with disappointment.

"Damnit, Deku." He frowned, shaking his head.

"I am not done yet!" Izuku shouted, getting Todoroki, Ami, and Bakugo's attention. Their eyes raised in unison upon hearing his voice. Todoroki watched as a giant hole drilled through his ice barrage, sending a gust of wind towards him that sent him flying back. The audience gasped as they realized what Izuku had done. Ami, most of all, watched Izuku with shock and horror, an unsettling feeling hitting her stomach. Izuku had used his quirk on a broken finger, turning the color into a dark purple. Todoroki grunted and held back as best he could against the wind. Feeling himself slide towards the border, he spread ice behind him and quickly stopped himself from ringing out.

"Damnit. With your broken finger? Why are you going this far?" He questioned, staring at Izuku as the wind cleared up more.

"You're trembling, Todoroki." Izuku said, huffing and puffing. Todoroki heard his comment and gasped.

"It's easy to forget that quirks are physical abilities, and that means there's a limit to the cold your body can take, right?" Izuku questioned.

"I get it. Usually you make up for the drop in temperature by using your left side. But you refuse to do that now." He added, making Todoroki groan in annoyance. Izuku looked at the annoyed look on his face and glared harder than before.

"Listen. We're all giving it our all… to try and win. To make our dreams into a reality. To become number one!" Izuku said, getting the attention of the entire stadium. The whole arena was filled with dead silence as they looked on in shock. He glared at Todoroki and tapped into his frustration, unintentionally thinking back to his childhood. The memories made him scowl. It bothered him that it frustrated him, but he needed it.

"You think you can win with half your strength?" Izuku shouted, weakly raising his right hand upwards. Ami heard his comments and froze, thinking back to what she had told Endeavor.

"Look at me, Todoroki. You haven't managed to put a single scratch on me yet." He yelled, clenching his right hand into a tight fist. He ignored the pain coming from his right hand and continued glaring at Todoroki. Todoroki stared at Izuku's face and recognized the crazed look in his eyes. It was like the face Ami made when she showed up to steal back her headbands.

"So come at me with all you've got!" He shouted, full of adrenaline. Ami stared down at him with her mouth slightly agape.

"His words...They're just like what I said to Endeavor." She thought.

"Young Midoriya…" All Might whispered, completely shocked.

"Hmph." Endeavor huffed, thinking about the words the twins had told him.

"He may be your son, but he isn't you." Izuku said.

"I know you think your son can easily defeat my brother. But believe me, you're wrong." Ami said. He narrowed his eyes even more when he heard the familiar lines uttered out by him towards his son.

"Everyone's giving it their all in this tournament. No one's holding back against anyone, even me."

"So, if your son thinks he can win at half power against Izuku, then he's sadly mistaken." The sister's words echoed through his mind. He looked at Izuku and flared his nostrils. His words were exactly the same as hers.

"That boy…" Endeavor thought, rethinking his opinion on the twins.

"Midoriya…" Todoroki said, casting a harsher glare at Izuku, "What are you trying to do here? You want my fire?" He questioned, wondering what was wrong with him.

"What, did my monster of a dad bribe you or something?" He asked, getting angrier than before. He didn't let Izuku speak before he started advancing towards him with arms lowered and a cold angry glare.

"Now I'm mad." He said, charging after Izuku. Izuku heard his questions and gritted his teeth, feeling more frustrated than before. He readied himself for an attack and analyzed Todoroki's speed. He gasped when he realized how much slower he was running.

"His movements are-" Izuku gasped.

"-slower." Bakugo thought, putting a hand over his mouth in thought. Bakugo had noticed IcyHott's speed as well.

"Is it because he's got so much frost on his body? Maybe his quirk is like a magic meter in a video game?" He theorized, staring at IcyHot.

"If that's true, he could be running on empty. Did he waste all his energy fighting against Tape Arms?" He guessed, recalling the colossal ice barrage that defeated him in an instant.

"In close quarters, there's no way he'll be able to dodge me." Todoroki thought, leaping forward with his right foot. Izuku saw Todoroki's leap and sprung into action, clenching his fist and letting it glow bright orange. Todoroki's eyes raised when he saw the glowing fist, making him gasp.

"The instant I lifted my right foot…he's coming!" Todoroki thought, gasping at Izuku's sudden movement. Izuku glared at Todoroki and activated One For All. This was it. He was going to hit him with his power. As he readied his fist, he remembered how it felt to try to punch the villain at the USJ. If he had it under control then, he could have it under control now. He growled and shot his fist forward, aiming for his stomach. He gritted his teeth and imagined the microwave.

"Imagine the egg in the microwave. It won't explode. I've got this. Come on, I've got this!" He internally shouted at himself, delivering a massive punch to Todoroki's stomach. Todoroki felt the devastating punch and felt time slow down. He felt the air escape his lungs and knew he didn't have much time to act. He threw out his arm towards Izuku and made contact with his skin. The contact allowed him to place some ice on Izuku's broken arm, making him wince in pain. A second later, the slow time ended for Todoroki. The force of the stomach punch sent him flying backwards once again.

"A solid punch!" Present Mic shouted, "That's the kinda action I like to see!" He complimented, hearing the audience gasp upon seeing Izuku punch Todoroki.

"Whoa. He landed a hit on Todoroki!" A hero said, astonished.

"Even though Midoriya looks way more beat up at this point." Another hero commented, "I can't believe he went on the offensive there!" He said, amazed by his attack.

"Jeez, Kid." Wyvern said, wincing with a stoic expression.

"He's really hurting himself fighting Todoroki like that." He thought, feeling the flame on his shoulder flare up in response. On the other side of the stands, Ami and Bakugo stared at Izuku with astonishment.

"He...punched him?" Ami said, softly. Her jaw hit the floor when she saw the punch. She stared at Todoroki as his body tumbled on the ground repeatedly. Once she saw him squirm, a sense of relief went through her.

"He didn't die." Ami said, relieved.

"So, he has improved." Bakugo muttered, getting a glance from Habanero. She looked at his face and cracked a tiny smile. Some small bit of hope returned to her at that moment. He was right. Izuku would never have done that if he didn't think Todoroki would survive. He was improving. But, why do it now?

"You really think you can win with half your strength?" Izuku shouted in Ami's head, making her gasp.

"He's seeing something." Ami assumed, thinking about the frustrated tone in his voice.

"Why?" Todoroki asked himself, standing back up with gritted teeth. He glared at Izuku and stomped his foot on the concrete, sending another barrage of ice towards him. Izuku saw it coming and easily dodged, confirming his thoughts.

"The ice attacks aren't moving as fast now." Izuku thought. He glanced at the ice and grunted, looking back to see Todoroki running at him. He raised his hand up and followed Todoroki as he ran towards Izuku's left. He grunted and flicked his finger while Todoroki shot off an ice attack on Izuku. The impact sent the both of them flying back. The ice from before blocked Todoroki from flying out of the ring, smacking into it with enough force to shatter it. Izuku got blown back by the power of One For All and quickly got to his feet. He glared at Todoroki and grunted, ignoring the pain shooting through his broken purple fingers. He raised his hand upward and aimed another flick of his fingers at Todoroki.

"Should I step in, Midnight?" Cementoss said, tapping the mic in his ear. Midnight heard the voice in her ear and listened to it.

"Midoriya knows that Recovery Girl will heal his wounds after the match, so he's being reckless and hurting himself." Cementoss said, watching Midoriya break another finger. He narrowed his eyes and frowned at him.

"He's full of adrenaline. He probably doesn't even realize how much pain he's in." He said. Todoroki jumped out of the way of the gust of wind created by Izuku's attack and shot off another ice barrage on Izuku. Izuku dodged it and grunted, struggling to lift his hand and fight. Cementoss stared at Izuku's limbs and saw how purple his broken fingers were getting with every use of his power. It wasn't pretty and it made him grimace.

"But those injuries are bad. They probably can't be healed in one go. Even if he wins, he might not be able to fight in his next match." He said. Midnight heard his analysis and nodded, staring at the boys fighting in front of her.

"He's sacrificing himself. At this rate, he might end up with permanent damage." Cementoss finished, looking very displeased by the situation unfolding in the ring. Up in the announcer room, Aizawa stared down at the ring in deep thought. He ignored the world around and tuned out Present Mic's annoying commentary. Keeping his eyes focused on Izuku. Even from up there, Aizawa could see Izuku was in a world of pain. As he sat there in the seat, a memory from class went by.

"Work harder. And don't give me that excuse that you don't have control over your quirk." He said, talking to Izuku. He remembered that and nodded to himself. Looking back down at the fight, he went back to his thoughts.

"His power has lessened, but he's gained some control." He said, watching the fight intently, "It's not that he's fighting recklessly. He's just doing everything he can to win the match within his current skill level." He thought.

"But, man. Even if it can be healed, to go through such intense pain and still be putting up a fight requires an absurd amount of resolve."

"What's driving him? Why's he so intent?" Aizawa wondered, watching Izuku walk towards Todoroki with gritted teeth and an angry glare.

"He's the greatest hero, and I wanna be just like him. In order to do that, I have to be strong enough to reach Number One." Izuku said. Todoroki gritted his teeth at the memory, glaring at Izuku as he sprinted towards him.

I know my motivation might seem stupid compared to yours…" Izuku said, angering Todoroki. He had enough and unleashed another ice barrage towards Izuku. He saw the ice and reactivated One For All, he tried to make a fist but the pain shooting through his hand made it harder to do so.

"I can't make a fist, but…" He said, raising his injured hand towards his mouth. Todoroki was caught off guard by his action and watched as he slipped his thumb behind his lip.

"Smash!" He shouted, flicking his thumb with his lip. Todoroki braced himself but was still knocked back by the blast. He stopped himself from getting knocked back by creating a small ice wall behind him. He groaned upon making contact with the wall. He couldn't believe what Midoriya was doing right now. It was annoying. It frustrated him. It made him angry.

"Why are you putting yourself through this?" Todoroki questioned, raising his low voice. He stood up to full height and stared forward as the wind cleared up.

"I wanna live up to people's expectations. I wanna be able to smile while doing something good for them. I wanna be a pro!" Izuku replied, charging after Todoroki. Todoroki heard his reply and felt himself get caught off guard.

"Whatever it takes to be a hero!" He yelled. Todoroki listened to his answer and frowned, looking at the ground for just a split second. In that split second, he thought he could hear a woman's voice say his name.

"Shoto." A woman said with a comforting tone. Todoroki recognized the voice. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the ground, forgetting where he was.

"Rahh!" Izuku groaned, punching Shoto in the chest. The punch knocked the wind out of him. He skidded across the concrete and recovered without falling over. Todoroki looked up at Izuku and saw the anger in his eyes.

"That's why I'll give it my all just like you should be!" He shouted, throwing Todoroki off guard. The two fighters stared each other down for a few seconds. Both fighters were panting in exhaustion from the pain shooting through them both. Izuku looked up at Todoroki and glared at him with untapped anger. He'd never felt so much anger towards someone his age before.

He flinched as his mind made him think back to what he saw earlier, causing Izuku to frown. He's never known a person like Todoroki. Or has he? As he stood there thinking, the image appeared back in his head.

"Why? Why do I see... Ami?" Izuku thought, wondering what his mind could see in common with Todoroki. He acted nothing like her. And she acted nothing like him. He looked deep into himself and pondered that reason, identifying it in his head. He looked up at Todoroki and stopped breathing, raising his eyes in realization. Todoroki saw the look in Izuku's eyes and could tell he was thinking about something.

"Listen to me. I think I get it." Izuku blurted out in a low voice. Todoroki narrowed his eyes and looked at him in confusion. Izuku ignored the look he received by Todoroki and continued.

"I know a girl who used to hide half her power once. An accident happened when her quirk manifested. And it…It changed her. I wanted to do something. Make her see her power wasn't something to fear. But I never could for the longest time." Izuku said, looking down at the concrete with a frown. He clenched his fist and winced at the pain it caused. The feelings pent up inside him were finally coming out. Todoroki raised an eyebrow at him and felt his concentration slip for just a moment when Izuku raised his head with a look of annoyance.

"But, eventually, she realized what she was doing wasn't right. And when she saw a friend in danger, she ran towards him and used her power without giving it a second thought. Because of that, she's been all the better for it!" He shouted, confusing Todoroki. He didn't understand what he was talking about or who he was referring to. He was lost in his words. Not knowing what to say or how to react. Up in the stands, no one could hear what he said to Todoroki. Ami stared at Izuku and knew he was saying something to him. Staring at him made her think back to his previous outburst.

"Listen. We're all giving it our all… to try and win. To make our dreams into a reality. To become number one! You think you can win with half your strength?" Izuku blurted out. Ami listened to those words repeat through her skull. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Izuku start shouting again.

"There's no way I can know what you've gone through, or why you're even here. Your life has been so much different than mine or hers, but right now. Stop screwing around!" He shouted, surprising him once more. The angry look in Izuku's eyes told him everything he needed to know.

"Or hers?"Ami thought. She heard what Izuku said and gasped, coming to a realization as well.

"He was talking about...me?" She whispered, squeezing her chest.

"If you wanna reject your father, fine, but you don't have the right to be Number One if you aren't going to use your full power!" He yelled, causing Todoroki to freeze. He let out a quiet gasp and felt a memory take hold of him.

Years Back

A punch to the stomach forced him to vomit. He fell to the wooden floor and started coughing and gagging. The pain coming from his stomach made him wince, holding it tightly as he fell. As soon as he dropped to the floor a deep demanding voice placed an order on him.

"Stand up. If you get hurt that easily, then forget about beating All Might, or even a small-time villain." Endeavor ordered, looking at him with disappointment. Shoto heard footsteps come rushing up behind him before feeling more comforting hands hold onto him.

"Please, stop pushing him. He's only five years old." She pleaded, looking up at Endeavor with tears. Endeavor rolled his eyes and scoffed, having enough of her protest.

"He can take it. Get outta my way." He demanded, slapping her away. He landed a blow on her that knocked her to the ground. Her comforting hand quickly left Shoto's back, making him scared. He heard the blow followed by a yelp and raised his head up to where she had been.

"Momma?" Shoto questioned. The memory faded away in an instant.

"Shut up." Todoroki growled, flinching at the memory. He felt his entire right side freeze up and form ice before another memory took hold of him. He was young, crying, and clinging to a woman with white hair. Her comforting hands held onto his back, making him feel safer.

"I don't want to, Mom." Shoto admitted, sniffling.

"Please, I- I don't want to be the kind of guy he is. I don't want to be someone who bullies you and hurts people, Momma!" Shoto protested, hugging his mother tighter. He hugged his face into her chest and cried, feeling her hand caress the back of his head.

"But, honey, you do still want to be a hero, don't you?" She asked, making him look up at her. He looked up at her face and saw her comforting smile. The way she smiled made him happy. It made him feel safer. It was the only warmth he wanted to feel for a very long time.

"Just remember, stay true to yourself. You can be the kind of hero you want to be when you grow up." She said with a warm smile that gave him hope. The memory faded away upon hearing Izuku's shouting. He looked at Izuku and watched as he delivered another punch to his chest that sent him flying.

"That's why I'm going to win this! I'll surpass you!" Izuku shouted. Todoroki didn't have a reaction to the punch. While in mid air, he stayed motionless as he allowed the punch to send him flying far. A memory went through him as he flew.

He could see them laughing. Watching them play with a ball without him. He stared at them with his hands holding onto the railing, wishing he could be with them. His siblings. Two older boys and an older girl.

"Ignore them, Shoto. They live in a different world than the one I'm training you for." Endeavor said, grabbing his wrist and dragging the boy along with him. Shoto didn't want to leave. He tried to stay in place but he was nothing to Endeavor's strength. He was easily dragged along without any hope of him losing his grip. He watched his siblings play with a ball and frowned. The memory faded as he hit the ground. He landed painfully, but nowhere near the border. Upon landing, another memory flashed through him. One of the worst memories of his life.

"Mom..." His mothers voice said in a whisper. Shoto could hear his mom talking on the phone with his grandma. As he got closer to the door, he slid it open and peeked inside. He stood there stealthily and listened to the pain in his mothers voice.

"I feel like I'm going crazy, I can't take it anymore. Every day. The children seem more like him. And Shoto. That child's left side sometimes looks unbearable to me. All I can see is his father. I can't raise him anymore. I want to run away from this life." She admitted, making Shoto frown. Her words came as a shock to him. He didn't know what to make of it.

"Mom, what're you saying?" Shoto asked, making his presence known. He heard a frightened gasp escape his mothers mouth, making him frown. He watched her start to tremble at the sound of his voice, frightening him as well. He watched her head slowly turn towards him as the tea kettle started whistling. When their eyes made contact, Shoto saw the fear in them. That was when he realized which side was peeking through and staring at her right now. The memory ended before the pain could start. He stared up at the sky with shock.

"I remember." He thought, thinking of memories he never wanted to see again. Another one played in his head as he stood up. Cloth covered his left eye as the voice of Endeavor let out his frustration in front of him. He circled around in front of Shoto with a displeased look.

"Moronic woman. To hurt you at such an important time." He said, angered by the assault on her own son.

"Where did Momma go?" Shoto questioned, causing Endeavor to stop walking.

"Huh?" He said, looking down at Shoto.

"Oh, she hurt my masterpiece, so I put her in a hospital to keep you safe." He explained, making Shoto wince. He felt tears fall down his eyes as he clenched his fists in anguish.

"That was your fault." He said, surprising Endeavor.

"Huh?" Endeavor asked, looking down at the boy in surprise.

"You're the one who made her hurt me!" He gritted, looking up at Endeavor with nothing but anger and scorn. Endeavor glared back at him, angered by his outburst. The memory quickly faded once Todoroki tried to stand. He was in kneeled position as he struggled to fully stand.

"I will reject you." Todoroki repeated, "I refuse to use my left side." He affirmed, angering Izuku. He gritted his teeth and gave in to his frustrations, yelling out at Todoroki like never before.

"It's yours! Your quirk, not his!" Izuku shouted, slipping Todoroki into another memory. An older memory. Something he hadn't seen before in a long time. His mom was with him, holding onto him with a comforting hand around his shoulder. The two of them were watching tv together to watch a special interview with the world's greatest hero.

"Yes. That's right. Children often do inherit quirks from their parents, or develop similar power sets. But the most important thing to remember is that a quirk is what you make of it regardless of your history. You decide how you'll use it. That's what I mean when I say, I am here!" He exclaimed, bringing a smile to Shoto's face.

"Only you can decide to become a hero, no one else. Take this to heart, kids! You've got it!" He said, smiling at the camera with a thumbs up.

"Honey, you still wanna be a hero, don't you? Just remember, stay true to yourself." His mother said to him with a warm smile.

"I didn't realize how much I'd forgotten." Todoroki thought, thinking about the past.

"You are not a prisoner of your lineage. It's okay to use your power to become who you want to be." She stated. The memory faded as reality set in. Todoroki was in shock as he fully stood back up. Her words were comforting. As comforting as the day he stopped hearing them. He looked at Izuku and felt his body tense up. A warmth overtook him as he stared at him. The fire inside him wanted out. Wanted to finally be put to use. All it needed was to remember. As his body temperature began to climb, he remembered his mother's smile one last time before his entire left side combusted in gigantic flames.

Izuku felt the heat of the flames from Todoroki's left side and instinctively flinched. He took a step back and stared at the flames in awe, the anger inside him trickled down as he stared into the flame.

"Whoa! Is that…?" Present Mic shouted, getting cut off by a gust of wind. The heat from his flames warmed the air around the stadium, making the audience flinch at the temperature change.

"He's using his fire!" Ochaco said in awe. Iida stared at the flames and felt his mouth open slightly in surprise. He looked at Todoroki and remembered what he said to him before the Cavalry Battle.

"When I'm in battle, I never use my left side." Todoroki said.

"Incredible." Iida commented, awestruck by the heat of the flames. Ami stared at the flames with her jaw dropped.

"His flames… they're gigantic!" She thought, feeling the heat of his flames touch her skin. The heat coming from the battlefield warmed her up. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and wiped away her tears. She looked at the tears on her hands and was astonished to see the liquid was evaporating in the palm of her hand.

"What the?" She whispered, breathlessly. She glanced at Izuku on the battlefield and saw the frustration leave his face. The sad frown on her face was replaced with confusion. After everything she heard Izuku yell at Todoroki, she started to understand what Izuku's real goal was.

"Izzy, you wanted this, did you? That's why you said all those things, isn't it?" She questioned, looking at Izuku with a concerned frown. She sniffled a bit and placed her hands on her lap. Up in the faculty stands, All Might was shocked by the power coming from Shoto's flames. It was like Ami's flames but turned to 11. He looked down at Izuku with confusion, coming to the same conclusion as Ami did.

"You made him use his father's power. Midoriya. Don't tell me you were trying to save young Todoroki this whole time!" He questioned, unsure of Izuku's goals.

Izuku looked at the flames with awe. The burning heat just from the close proximity warmed him completely, breaking into a sweat in seconds. He was amazed by it. Most of all, it made him happy. He cracked a grin as he stared into the flames. The way the flames moved on Todoroki's arm, it reminded him of Ami.

"Yes." He thought, getting a satisfied feeling inside.

"You're helping your opponent." Todoroki said, getting Izuku's attention.

"You fool. Even though you wanna win this battle. Now which one of us is screwing around?" Todoroki said, spewing flames on his left arm and forming ice on his right arm.

"I want it, too. I'll be a hero!" He said, solemnly. Izuku stared at the solemn look in his eyes and the crazed smile on his face and grinned. This was exactly what he wanted. Up in the hero stands, another hero was smiling at the situation unfolding.

"Yes, Shoto!" Endeavor shouted into the heavens. His shouting quickly gained all the hero's attention as he started walking down the stairs to get a closer look at the battlefield.

"Have you finally accepted your purpose? That's it. Very good. This is the dawn of a new era for us. With my blood in your veins, you'll surpass me. You will live up to the reason I created you!" He roared, grabbing onto the rails with renewed vigor. Backdraft and Wyvern looked down at him from their seats and raised their eyebrows in unison.

"Endeavor suddenly shouts words of...encouragement? What a doting father." Present Mic commentated, confused by what Endeavor was shouting. Back in the battlefield, Izuku kept smiling at Todoroki as his flames burned brighter and brighter.

"Amazing." He stated, watching smoke and dust fly away from Todoroki.

Why are you smiling?" Todoroki asked, causing Izuku's smile to slip.

"With those injuries… in this hopeless situation… you must be crazy." Todoroki stated, causing Izuku to grunt. He tensed his muscles and felt his adrenaline spike, getting back into the fighting mindset. Todoroki narrowed his eyes and prepared for his final assault.

"Don't blame me for what happens next." He warned, stomping his right foot into the ground. He concentrated and focused his powers, straining himself to fight with both ice and fire. Ice shot out of his foot while the flames on his left arm kicked up and burned even hotter than before. Ami saw them get into their fighting stances and felt her eyes bulge.

"No, Izzy. Don't!" Ami said, knowing exactly what Izuku was going to do.

"That's it, Midnight! One of them could be killed." Cementoss said, activating his quirk. Midnight nodded in agreement and ripped off a piece of her costume, revealing skin on her arm.

"His body won't hold up!" She stated, activating her quirk. Izuku watched as the ice covered the entire battlefield in seconds. He could ice walls forming from behind him and acted quickly. He ignored the world around him and took a step forward, activating One For All on his left foot. He focused hard and bulged his muscles. He leaped into the air with just a single bound, flying straight towards Todoroki with a look of sheer determination.

"Gotta try and get close and give it everything!" Izuku internally shouted, leaping himself straight towards Todoroki. Todoroki saw the incoming Izuku and glared at him. Izuku gritted his teeth and clenched his right fist, activating One For All.

"Come at me with your full power, Todoroki!" He exclaimed. Shoto delivered and flared his fires, reaching a burning point that melted even the floor beneath him. The ice in the battlefield evaporated instantly as his flame's temperature skyrocketed.

"I see now, Midoriya." He thought, calmly raising left hand forward. The open hand glowed a bright orange, resembling Bakugo's hand. The move he was about to use was powerful. He knew it would work.

"Thank you." He said, unleashing a gigantic blast of flames towards Midoriya. Izuku saw the blast coming for two seconds before walls of thick cement shot off the ground between them. Izuku saw the cement and narrowed his eyes. He was so caught up in the moment he didn't think to question why they were there in the first place. He roared a battle cry and slammed his fist through the first cement wall, shattering it to pieces. His body broke through the cement like nothing and didn't decrease his speed at all. He saw another concrete barrier and plowed through that one without any problems. He stared at the third cement wall and saw the flames shooting towards it from behind.

Todoroki's flames made contact with the cement wall and melted it easily. The blast burned through the first barrier and didn't even slow down or decrease in scale upon burning through the second cement barrier. The huge flames came right up to the third barrier and burned through it as well. Before the flames could make contact, a glowing fist pummeled through the third cement wall. Izuku stared straight at the flames and knew this was it. He felt his warmth burn his skin and closed his eyes. The last thing Izuku felt was pain as the fires hit him. Then a deafening silence followed by a massive explosion. Izuku screamed as he was engulfed in the explosion. A massive shockwave erupted from the center of the explosion, creating winds stronger than a hurricane. The shockwave slammed into the audience, sending the attendants reeling back into their seats as devastating wind speeds slammed into them.

Bakugo stared at the shockwave and braced himself, keeping his hands on his seat. As the shockwave passed, he saw the wind from the fight come towards them.

"Oh shit." He thought, keeping his head down. Ami braced herself as well and held onto the nearest thing she could grab for dear life. The rest of their classmates did the same, clinging onto their seats as best they could.

"Holy crap balls!" Mineta screamed, feeling his grip on his seat decline. The wind speed lifted him up out of his seat, making him scream. He cursed his short stature and panicked. Luckily, Shoji had returned from Recovery Girl's office at the perfect time. He grabbed Mineta with one arm and held onto three different seats with his other hands.

"This is crazy!" Kaminari shouted, avoiding Ami's hair as it smacked his face. He tried to cover his eyes with his arm but to no avail.

"What's happening down there?" Yaoyorozu struggled, keeping her head down and her hands tied to her seat. She gritted her teeth and bunkered down, counting down the seconds the wind lasted. 10 seconds later and the wind slowly settled down, reaching its end to everyone's relief. When the wind died down, the students looked straight down at the battlefield. Ami opened her eyes and stared at the battlefield, her body shaking in fear at what just occurred. She looked down at her arms to see what she was holding onto and raised her eyes instantly. Her arms were wrapped around Bakugo's arm. She was too preoccupied with having a mental breakdown that she didn't even blush when she pulled away from his arm. She shot up out of her seat in a panicked state, staring at the smoke covering the battlefield and hyperventilating. Bakugo glanced at her as she shot out of her seat and watched her start breathing rapidly. He was so shocked by what happened that he didn't realize what was going on around him. He didn't even notice Habanero was holding onto him because of the wind.

"Izuku!" Ami shouted, getting her classmates sympathy as they stared at the smoke. The massive amount of smoke shot up above the stadium, allowing Kamui Woods and Deatharms to see it from their spots outside the stadium. Down in the battlefield, Cementoss stared at the smoke with an emotionless expression. He couldn't see anything through the smoke. He looked around the battlefield and stared at all the debris that landed all over the field. Seeing the extent of the damage to the ring made him gulp.

"Having a great power doesn't mean you'll be a good hero. But these two are amazing." He said in astonishment. As much as he didn't want to admit it. The fact two students could break through two cement barriers and meet in the middle like that was nothing short of impressive. In the announcer room, the reactions were the same as below. Aizawa stared down at the smoke covered battlefield and tensed up. Present Mic meanwhile was hyperventilating by the sheer power of their attacks.

"What happened just now? What the heck is up with your students?" Present Mic asked in confusion.

"The air around the ring had been thoroughly cooled down, and then rapidly expanded when heated up." Aizawa answered, explaining the science. Present Mic turned his head towards Aizawa and stared him straight in the eyes in bewilderment.

"Wait, that's what caused the explosion? How hot did that fire get? Jeez I can't see a thing! Is the match still going on, or what, huh?" Present Mic asked, looking out towards the smoke. Midnight had been blown away by the explosion and the wind and fell to the floor. She recovered and slowly stood up, checking herself out for any injuries. Once she was done, she stared out at the smoke and saw debris all over the place. Looking at it all made her gasp in silence.

She gulped and started to worry about the student's conditions inside the smoke. She stared into it and watched as it slowly cleared up. She squinted her eyes when she saw a silhouette inside the smoke. Once it cleared up more, the figure was confirmed to be Shoto Todoroki, looking worse for wear.

He was taking deep breaths with scratches and bruises all over his body. His face was different than before. The usual cold glare from the teen wasn't there anymore, instead it was replaced with a look of stunned silence. Midnight could tell he was surprised about what happened. She frowned and looked around for the other fighter. Once the smoke cleared up in the ring, she noticed Izuku's absence.

Izuku didn't know what was going on. Smoke was everywhere, forcing him to keep his eyes closed. The unimaginable amount of pain he felt right now was unlike anything he ever felt before. He could feel he was stuck on something and knew immediately what it was, causing him to give up entirely. He frowned at his position. He couldn't move. At all. He thought about what he said, what he did, and what he saw. He whimpered through the smoke, disappointed in himself. He fought Todoroki and let out frustrations he didn't know he was holding onto. It was so confusing. He felt a sharp pain in his head and knew his consciousness was slipping.

"Ami...I'm so sorry." Izuku thought, slipping into unconsciousness.

Seconds later, Midnight saw another figure through the smoke. Squinting her eyes again, she let out a large gasp once she saw Izuku. The boy was hanging on the wall, unconscious. His body was literally stuck in the wall much like how Shoji's body was at the end of his match. Unlike Shoji, however, the damage on Izuku's body was even worse than his.

Todoroki noticed Izuku's body and stared at it with an equally shocked expression. Smoke was still cinching off his body, but luckily, there were no burn marks on him.

As the two stared at Izuku in shock, the smoke cleared away, allowing for the rest of the stadium to see the damage. As expected, the reaction was unanimous. Shocked gasps traveled through the stadium as Izuku's unconscious body sticking in the wall was visible for the world to see. To add insult to injury, his unconscious body fell out of the wall, landing on the ground with a thud. Midnight winced along with everyone else watching and remembered she had a job to do.

"There. Midoriya is...out of bounds!" She exclaimed, raising her flag up high. She looked up at the flag and gulped, wanting to get the announcement over with so he could receive medical treatment.

"Todoroki wins! He advances to the third round." Midnight announced. Todoroki heard the announcement and relaxed, feeling his legs wobble and his arms aching. He looked down at the floor and took a deep breath, thinking to himself.

"I...won after all." Todoroki thought, grimacing. The glare on his face lessened. He saw no reason to glare. It was over, he won. He stared up at Izuku's unconscious body and then glanced at his left hand.

"Midoriya." Todoroki thought, clenching his left hand, "I won't forget this." He thought, frowning.

He lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hair, turning his back on Izuku. The stadium watched him leave as medical bots entered the battlefield. He didn't bother listening to the audience and tuned it out, choosing instead to walk off in silence. As he reached the exit tunnel, he hesitated entering and stopped. Looking at the tunnel, he felt his hands shaking and parts of his body twitching from his injuries. Perhaps he was worse off than he realized. Either way, he was grateful. He clenched his fist and felt his knuckles crack, then he continued walking off.

"Thank you." He said, walking into the tunnel.

Up in the stands, Ami stared at the battlefield looking absolutely mortified. Tears were streaming down her eyes as she looked at Izuku's unconscious body. Her eyes never looked anywhere else but at Izuku. She grasped the top of the front row seat in her hands and visibly shook. The world felt heavier as she stood up, leaning on the seat for balance.

"You made him use his fire." She whimpered, her voice coming out low.

"I know you did it for a reason. But...why did you do it here?" She muttered, losing her ability to speak. Her voice cracked and gave out. Her frown was intense, frightening Kirishima and Tokoyami, who looked up at her with concern.

"Izuku…" Ami stuttered, losing her voice. The shaking and the voice cracks butchered her brother's name. Her shaking was profuse and it disturbed everyone around her. Within seconds she reached her breaking point. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, completely breaking down in tears and pained whimpers. Bakugo and her friends all stared at her with worry. Each of them stood up out of their seats in an attempt to comfort her. From the bottom row, Kirishima grabbed Ami's shoulder and comforted her, trying to hold back his own tears. Dark Shadow immediately sprang out of Tokoyami and frowned, nudging up right next to her. He nudged Ami's hand with his beak and placed it on the top of his head, letting her grip onto his shadowy face. Tokoyami stood by and let Dark Shadow do it. Both agreed that Ami needed to be comforted at the moment. Bakugo stared at Red Hair and Bird Face and crossed his arms, keeping his head low to the ground. He tried to focus on his anger towards Todoroki but couldn't. He tried to distract himself from Habanero but couldn't. He wanted to do something. He couldn't take hearing her breakdown in front of him again. He needed to do something. Raising his head up, he clenched his fists and stood up.

"Habanero." Bakugo said with a serious voice. Ami heard his voice and glanced at him, noticing the seriousness in it. She turned her head to the right and looked at him. To her surprise, he was standing up on the stairs to his right with a serious expression on his face. His expression was void of anger. The glare on his face was there but there wasn't any malice or aggression in it. The look of seriousness on his face was shockingly comforting. Bakugo stared at her and saw the pain in her eyes. The pain was everywhere in her face. Once he saw her eyes stare into his, he felt his heart step out of rhythm. It was like he had just seen the worst image of his life.

"Come on. Let's go." Bakugo ordered, calmer than ever before. Ami stared at him and felt her heart step out of rhythm. She sniffled and tensed her body, letting Kirishima remove his hand from her shoulder. Dark Shadow cooed and parted ways with her as well. Ami glanced back at them and nodded as best she could despite her shaking. The look in Bakugo's eyes was all she needed to see to understand what he was doing. He was taking her to her brother.

Author's Notes:

Hello, everyone! Happy New Year! Here's to having a great 2022! We are close to the end of the Sports Festival Arc! An arc I completely underestimated upon writing it. So much is happening this month, it's great! My Niece's birthday happened and now my birthday is coming soon at the end of the month. I can't wait for it! Also I think we're gonna hit 350k words upon release of this chapter. So, hurray!

Before the conversation begins, a while back I said that Ami's height was officially 5'6 without knowing that Izuku's canon height was 5'5. This was a total accident that I decided to roll with so, yes, Ami is taller than Izuku by an inch. Another thing that I don't recall mentioning is if Ami had freckles. I decided that Ami does not have freckles although I don't remember if I described her already as having freckles. If I mentioned anywhere that Ami does have freckles, I'll go back and correct the paragraph.

First, Endeavor's talk with Ami went through a billion rewrites which is partly the reason for why the chapter took so long to write. The other reason the chapter took a while was because January is a busy month for me. As I said above, my Niece's birthday was this month. My birthday is also on the last days of January, so I've been busy with that. The main thing that pushed me to get this chapter out though was the start of the next semester. College is once again starting soon so I had to work fast on this chapter so I could prepare. But, I guess all of the chapter was hard to write because I didn't want to write a straight repeat of the episode. I wanted Ami's feelings of the fight to appear in bits of the fight so hopefully it's not too invasive.

Second, what was Izuku seeing in Todoroki again? If you couldn't already guess. He saw Ami in Todoroki. I made a hint when Ami was spying on Izuku and Todoroki's conversation that she thought her and Todoroki's reasons for rejecting half their power was similar. Izuku was the first to fully realize it. In canon, Todoroki's whole reason for not using his flames frustrated Izuku. He admitted it after the battle was over in Recovery Girl's office. So, I thought, how would he feel about Todoroki's reasons if his twin sister also went through a majority of her life rejecting half her power? If anything, it'd frustrate him that he'd see it and get reminded of Ami. It's gonna be an awkward talk when he tells Ami about that one.

Third, I changed Bakugo's interactions with Izuku to show that he's subconsciously tolerating the twins. Its only a slight upgrade. Since he knows Izuku is the successor of One For All, he doesn't want Izuku to make a joke out of All Might's quirk. Since losing any match with the quirk of the Number One Hero would make anyone question how. Bakugo's opinion on the fight will show up in the next chapter.

Fourth, this is important. Part of me feels I may have overdone it with the quotes in this chapter. If I did, tell me and I'll hopefully fix it up.

Fifth, not related this chapter but a previous one. I'm currently editing chapter 2 for grammar and will be adding additional detail to it. So look out for that reedit in the coming weeks. It may arrive the same day chapter 26 releases.

Before I start answering reviews and questions, I think it's important that I mention that I don't have access to the official manga. I'm too poor to afford owning all of the volumes. I'm an anime only right now, so I have no idea what sort of stuff is going down in the manga. I have only a small amount of knowledge of what's going on in the manga. That's why I apologize if anything I write creates a continuity error or a plothole later on. So, if you're reading this story and you haven't read the manga, then you're in the same boat as I am. To my readers who are all caught up with the manga, I guess keep spoilers to a minimum in reviews so that others can't see them.

Now onto the reviews. Thanks for your kind messages as well as feedback! First, hello to my readers in France. And hello to my french reviewer that posted a review on Christmas day. It's amazing to hear from people in other countries! I'm happy to learn you've enjoyed reading my story. I'm always happy to hear what people in other countries have to say about my story. I hope you had a wonderful year and here's to making 2022 even better! And about who Ami will be romanced with. That question will finally have an answer in two chapters!

Second review, I'm glad you liked the fight with Shoji. I too think he's underrated so I wanted to show him off more in the story. And frankly, before I started writing it, I thought Shoji was one of those characters that stood a good chance against Bakugo. It was unfortunate that Team Mineta didn't tie with 4th place in the actual show.

As for the breaking of the wrist. Yes, I agree I overdramatized it a bit. It actually went farther on the dramatic side than I intended. Because while I feel that yes she would act this way, I also know it wouldn't have been that dramatic. For the sake of character development I decided I needed the scene to be there. I might try and tone it down a notch later so it becomes less of an overreaction. In that regard, I apologize for it and I'll do better.

Third review, thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you're looking forward to more.

Fourth review, I didn't think about Dabi when I wrote Ami vs Aoyama, but, yeah. I guess she can handle Dabi's flames.

To my Archive reviewer, you were on the spot with predicting Ami would talk to Endeavor. Good job for that. Luckily for Ami, Endeavor didn't ask her to do that.

That's all I can think of saying for now. Thanks for the reviews and I can't wait to finish writing this arc so I can move on with the next one. But, once again, I think I messed something up with this chapter and I keep feeling like I missed editing out something obvious. If you see any mistakes please mention it in your reviews. Leave your predictions on Ami's next fight. Here's the hint for the next chapter.

Next chapter: Mineta vs Iida and Ami fights a bird and his shadow.

Leave a prediction about what'll happen in your review and I'll be sure to consider it. I have hope that I can finish the next chapter in late January and finish up the arc in chapter 27. Much love to the people who ask me questions and post reviews, they make me feel happy. Thanks for reading and have a good day!

P.S. Next two chapters will be important to the season and the future overall.