Obi Wan frowned as his cell phone buzzed and he quickly muted his mic before he turned away from the windows. "Hello Anakin? Did you get lost looking for the UA?"

"No I did not get lost," Anakin retorted.

"Because that happens surprisingly often, I must say."

"Its not my fault!" Anakin whined. "Have you ever noticed that half the streets in this country are named after planets from where we are from? I got distracted by a Tatooine Street and ended up in Musutagu's Gay District!"

"Come now, Anakin, now need to be rude about that. I think it is lovely that there are areas where people who LGBTQ+ can gather freely. Society is accepting-"

"WHY ARE THERE EXPLOSIVES!?"

"…as far as I know there are none in the Gay District. I suppose someone could have planted some. Do I need to alert Present Mic?"

He could hear Anakin grinding his teeth. "Master, I am not in the mood for your playful banter. Why, oh why, did you decide in your grand wisdom to try and BLOW UP MY PADAWAN!?"

"Ah… the Sports Festival," Obi Wan said smoothly. "They are harmless."

"I just saw some purple kid with balls on his head get launched 20 feet in the air."

"Hmmm," Obi Wan spun back around and reviewed the footage on the monitor on the desk. "How odd. With his weight and size he should have gone 30 feet easily. Must be something about his quirk that adds extra mass-"

"Master!"

"It is fine, Anakin," Obi Wan assured him. "The mines are calibrated to fire off based on one's weight and are mostly smoke and a concussive force."

"Concussive as in concussion!" Anakin exploded.

Obi Wan sighed. "They are very similar to the ones we used to train you, Anakin. In fact they are actually dialed back from the ones you used before your knighting." One of the ways the Jedi would train padawans was through the use of similar concussive mines that would force them to react quickly to sudden changes.

"I had the Force, Master," Anakin stated slowly.

"And so does Ahsoka." Obi Wan watched as the students tried to figure out how to get through the minefield. "Ah, one moment, it appears young Todoroki is trying to fly over…" Obi Wan flipped a few switches in the booth and suddenly the Ice Quirk user was sent flying when the mines began to explode below him. "Had to switch them to proximity."

"I'm going down there and getting Ahsoka out of this."

"Don't be a mother tooka," Obi Wan complained. "She is fine. In fact she will be more upset with you not trusting her than she will be about these mines."

"She can only be upset with me if she is alive!" Anakin complained. "I am-"

"Anakin, one moment." Obi Wan turned and smiled at Eri. "Would you like to say hello to Anakin?"

Eri smiled and held out her hands, accepting Obi Wan's phone. "Hello?"

"…hey baby sis," Anakin said, his tone instantly switching to softer and lighter. "How are you?"

"Good," Eri said. "I'm coloring and playing with blocks."

"What are you coloring?"

Obi Wan turned back to Hizashi. "That will keep him distracted until they are done with the first round."

Hizashi chuckled at that. "Already learning to use the little listener's cuteness as a weapon, huh?"

"Anakin is a softy when it comes to younglings. How he grew up… children were to be protected." He didn't get into any more details; while Anakin was more open to talking about his time before the Jedi, as a slave, it was still HIS story and Obi Wan would not show him disrespect by sharing the tales without second thought. "How are the students doing?"

"About as well as can be expected," Hizashi stated. "There are a few trying to rush through the minefield but they are quickly seeing that they'll end up flying if they try that. So slow and steady has become the mantra." He glanced over at Obi Wan. "I actually muted my mic a bit ago because there was nothing really to report… not with the explosions going off all the time."

Obi Wan chuckled at that before narrowing his eyes. "Well, it seems that some are figuring it out."

Out in the minefield Izuku remained in a squatting position despite how it made his calfs and thighs burn. Around him people were crying out but he paid no attention to that, instead focused on using the long metal pole he'd strapped to his back ever since the Robo Hell section to prod the ground in front of him.

'The explosions can be triggered by a sudden increase in pressure or by detecting proximity,' he thought. 'But only if that proximity is directly above them… otherwise all the mines would instantly be going off. The blast radius is directly proportional to the weight of what activates it… that's why Kaachan and that purple kid from Gen Ed went flying the same distance.' He had been watching as others attempted to get through the minefield, remembering Rex's training on how to deal with a situation just like the one he now found himself in. Gather intel, observe as much as you could, then begin going as a steady pace. Not too slow… shinies who were too cautious were sniped. But not too fast as those that hurried were only rushing to ensure they blew up into tiny bits sooner. It was all about moving but at the correct pace. 'Now then… to test a theory,' he thought as he used the 5 foot long pipe to tap the ground in front of him, sweeping it to his right and le-

There was a small POP and the ground blew up roughly… but only sent up a small cloud that barely got a foot off the ground.

'Yes!' he thought, ecstatic. 'I was right!' Finally rising to his feet Izuku began to carefully walk through the minefield, tapping the ground with the pole. Whenever he set off one of the tiny explosions he purposely headed to that spot, knowing that it was now safe. All around him his fellow contestants were trying to bull rush their way through the field and sent flying. Kaachan in particular seemed to be trying to ignite the entire field, roaring as he forced himself through after each explosion. He was being sent back… but for the most part he'd figured out that if he timed things right he only lost half the distance he had gained, allowing him to make steady progress. Todoroki was making an ice bridge, having figured out that if he went slow enough it wouldn't trigger the mines. Yaoyorozu and Tsu were working together to throw out poles to destroy the mines and also create a rope bridge to try and sneak across. Shinsou had noticed what Izuku was doing and was now doing a similar tactic only he was tossing pebbles. He had Uraraka right behind him, keeping watch lest someone came flying at them and caused the mines around them to go off.

Soon, after about 5 minutes, he was nearing the end of the field. Kaachan and Todoroki were gaining on him and he had a feeling that they would probably end up beating him to the end but that was fine with him.

'If I can get in the top three,' he thought to himself. 'A quirkless kid managing to keep up with the two most powerful students in 1-A? No one will be able to deny Trooper training after that!' He set off another mine, now only about 15 feet away from the end. To his right he heard Kaachan roar as he rushed forward one more, mines exploding all around him, while to his left he could, see out of the corner of his eye, Todoroki finishing the last few bits of his ice bridge. 'Almost-'

"What is this!?" Present Mic cried out and Izuku looked back, eyes widening. "Tano Ahsoka has used her quirk to gather up twenty mines and… no… she wouldn't!"

Izuku watched, dumbfounded, as Ahsoka took a few steps into the minefield, took a breath… and then ran towards the pile.

The explosion that followed nearly sent him tumbled and Ahsoka let out a war cry as she was flung through the air, twisting like a corkscrew as she zoomed over Kaachan's head before landing with a roll. She sprung up and flashed them all a cheeky grin before to raced forward, Kaachan screaming out curses before he blasted himself across the field, shrugging off explosions while Todoroki ran across his bridge and dove off, forming a quick ice slide before he went off in pursuit.

Izuku forced himself to remain calm and finish the last 15 feet before taking off in a sprint, Yaoyororu and Tsu the closest ones to him. While the taller girl could cover a greater distance than him thanks to her longer legs Izuku had been running for nearly a year with Rex and thus it was nothing for him to put on a bit more speed and blast into the arena, panting as he crossed the finish line and got 4th place.

"What the fuck was that?" Bakugo screamed at Ahsoka, who merely stared at him with a look of utter boredom. "Fucking stealing my moves so you can take my victory!"

"I wasn't aware you had a patent on launching yourself forward, Blasty."

"Listen here, Shit Horns!" Bakugo roared, getting in her face, explosions popping on his palms. "That was my fucking victory and everyone knows it."

"What everyone knows is you are a baby throwing a tantrum because things didn't go your way," Ahsoka taunted. "The entire stadium isn't seeing a passionate student; they are seeing a brat upset because he didn't get a lollipop. Wonder how many pros are going to want you to intern with them after seeing you unable to accept losing to a girl."

"All of them will want me you bitch!" Bakugo roared. "No one gives a fuck about you! Thinking you are the best? How about I wipe that fucking smile off your face right now! You and me can go right here and I can put you in the dirt where you belong!"

"That's enough," Aizawa said coolly as he walked up to them. "The rest of the competitors are coming so get out of the way."

"Thanks sensei, glad to see that you are there to protect us when our classmates threaten us in front of thousands. Super heroic of you," Ahsoka said dryly before turning and walking off. Kaachan was already storming away to the guy's locker room so neither saw Aizawa wince at Ahsoka's parting comment. Izuku, for his part, decided to make himself scarce lest he get yelled at as well, which meant he didn't see the way Aizawa's jaw twitch at his hasty retreat.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Tempers were just up," Ishiyama stated as the rest of the students began to make their way in. "Heat of the competition and all that."

"You justifying us doing nothing about Bakugo using his quirk to try and intimidate another student?" Aizawa asked, voice low and, for those that didn't know him, sound utterly bored. But for Ishiyama he might as well have been stuttering and trembling. "Or dismissing that she was right?"

"…you know how these things are," Nemuri said, walking up to join the three as the student now truly poured into the arena, the crowd's cheers tampering off but still loud enough that they could talk without being overhead.

"Yeah, I do," Aizawa stated. "I know what its like for UA to favor only the strong and the powerful and ignore everyone else. And now I find myself doing the exact same thing." He settled his head deeper into the folds of his capture weapon. "We complain about how heroics nowadays is just a massive popularity contest and then let students like Bakugo do whatever they want because they have an impressive quirk that will draw attention."

"There is more to him than that," Nemuri said. "He is intelligent and passionate-"

"If it had been one of the Gen Ed students coming up to Tano and claiming she was a cheat and using their quirk next to her would you, or would you not, have put them to sleep?"

Nemuri was silent.

"I thought so," Aizawa said, slinking off to check on his students… and wondering if any of them would actually let him know if they needed help.

Kenobi's words about trusting him chased him the entire trip.

~MC~MC~MC~

"…let me go down to the field, Padme," Anakin said, eyes narrowed as he watched the loud mouth blond who had gotten in his Padawan's face stalk off. "I swear I just want to chat with him."

"Let's go," Padme stated, standing up.

"I mean it, I just- wait, really?"

She narrowed her eyes as she checked to make sure her jacket was straight, needing to do something with her hands. "He just screamed at our kid. If her teacher didn't give him at least detention for that I might reveal a few things right here."

Anakin tried to process that, for once, his wife wasn't trying to keep him calm and rational. And what she had just said… "Wait, our kid?"

Padme let out a huff of frustration. "Come on Anakin she's basically our daughter at this point."

"Wait… no," he shook his head. "I'm just teaching her-"

"Like Rex is teaching Midoriya?"

"Yeah!" He turned to the clone. "Just like that."

"Izuku is vod," Rex replied. Inko, who had been taught some of the mixture of Mandalorian and Jedi phrases that made up the Clone Language, smiled at that and squeezed his hand.

Anakin blinked at that. "Well… that's… that's great for you Rex." He hadn't be told that Rex saw the kid as a brother (as clones really didn't think in terms of fathers and sons) and already he was mentally revising the list of those he needed to protect in his head with that bit of news. Still, he had other matters to deal with and turned back to Padme. "Okay, so… maybe not that but-"

Padme sat back down and took his hands. "Ani?"

"Yes?"

"She lives with us."

"Right."

"We make sure she is fed and clothed and help her with school work."

"Right."

"We celebrate her successes, help her through failures, and discipline her when she does something wrong."

"Okay."

"We guide her to become an adult."

"Yea."

She smiled. "Ani, that's what parents DO."

That made him study her for a long moment.

"…nah. That's just what J-" he stopped, remembering that Inko wasn't in on the secret (though, considering how she was holding Rex's hand Anakin thought it might be time to let her in much as they had All Might), "-what we do with our students. Obi Wan did that for me!"

Rex spoke up. "Took care of ya? Raised ya?"

"Uh huh."

It was Inko who finally said, "That makes him your dad, Anakin."

"…oh." Anakin slumped down in his seat. "Obi Wan's my dad."

Padme patted his head. "Took you long enough."

Anakin stared out at the field. All his life he'd wanted a dad. His mother had told him he had no father when he asked and at first he had believed that she just didn't want him to know who it was because he was dead or had been sold to someone else. The former because it would be too sad, the latter because it would put ideas in his head that she didn't want; Anakin had met slaves that held the delusion that some grand hero was coming to save them (Anakin had preferred dreaming he himself would become that hero). But later on he'd come to realize she was telling the truth, that he had no father, and that had bothered him greatly. He felt like he was missing something in his life, a key piece that should be there.

He'd thought Qui Gon might fill that role but then the Sith had stolen him away. The Chancellor… well, he clearly WANTED to be Anakin's father figure but he been more like a kind uncle, listening to him before sending him on his way. Obi Wan… Obi Wan…

"Obi Wan's my dad," Anakin whispered before glancing at Padme. "If you'll excuse me."

He didn't even wait for an answer before using the Force to launch himself above everyone, people gasping in surprise.

~MC~MC~MC~

"You okay?" Uraraka asked Ahsoka as she paced the changing room.

"Fine," Ahsoka muttered to herself. "Annoyed."

"Bakugo does that," Uraraka admitted. "He has a very punchable face, you ever notice that?"

"I have," Ahsoka stated.

"I am not one to suggest violence without reason," Yaoyorozu stated as she swapped out her shoes, lifting the left up to inspect the destroyed bottom thanks to the mines tearing them up. Many of the girls were in the same position.

"…and?"

"That's it," she said with a smirk.

"I personally think his crotch looks rather punchable," Jiro stated dryly, getting all the girls to laugh.

Uraraka looked over at Ahsoka. "But you are okay?"

"Yeah, I am. More annoyed at myself than Bakugo, believe it or not." She shook her head in frustration. "He made me get angry… I should have better control."

"I think he thrives on that," Tsu replied. "I've told him plenty of times to back off and while he rants and raves he always comes back to talk to me later."

Uraraka and Ahsoka shared a look. No one quite understood HOW the plain speaking girl had become friends with Bakugo but whenever he needed a sparring partner he would choose her and if anyone from another class insulted her he was always quick to leap to her defense. And in turn they had never seen Tsu ever snap at him… not that she snapped ay anyone, honestly.

"Nothing wrong with passion!" Ashido said with a grin.

Ahsoka decided to stay silent; after all, she'd spent most of her life being told that passion was a bad thing only to have a master who practically bathed in it and a grandmaster who tried to hide his own passions and now was dating the X Rated Superheroine.

"Attention students!" Hizashi called out. "All those that made it to the second round are to report to the main arena for Round Two! You have-"

There was a sudden crashing sound over the PA.

"Anakin?!" Obi Wan's voice cried out.

"DADDY!" Anakin sobbed and then there was the cacophony of bodies hitting the ground.

"What the f-" Hizashi began only for there to be more bangs.

Then…

"Hello!" Eri chirped. "Daddy and Anakin are hugging and Mr. Hizashi is confused. Uh… could everyone go to the Arena now like he said? Thank you!"

"Not arguing with that," Uraraka said with a chuckle.

"By the way," Yaoyorozu said as she moved to walk beside Ahsoka, "thanks for the help in the first round. You can call me Momo, if you want."

"Ahsoka," she replied with a grin.

~MC~MC~MC~

"That was very impressive how you got through the first round," Inasa said with a grin, clapping Midoriya on the back as they walked towards the arena entrance. They were the last ones to leave the locker room as Izuku had needed to look over his gear and Inasa had come in later than most of their class. "I liked those wrist wire devices… very smart use of support gear."

"Thanks! I'm surprised you didn't beat me though. I thought for sure you'd be right there with Todoroki and Kaachan."

Inasa chuckled. "I ended up working with several other people to get through the minefield and that slowed me down. Not that I mind… I still got into the next round and that will be my chance to shine."

"Well, it will be a team battle," Izuku stated.

"Oh?" the taller teen asked, surprised. "You are sure?"

"Yeah. Every year its basically the same. I've been watching the Sports Festival on TV since… well, since I can remember. For the first years there is the race, then some kind of team battle, and that determines the tournament bracket."

Inasa at once was beaming. "Then let us agree to work together! I want your mind on my side and not against me!"

"Of course, Inasa!" he declared; pretty much after the first day the wind-quirk teen had told Izuku to call him by his first name. "Your quirk has a lot of applications… we can't plan until we know exactly what we are facing but-"

The two paused when they heard a sniff and slowly began to continue on until they found, hidden in a doorway, Iida hugging a man that looked to be in his twenties, tears running down his cheeks.

"I am sorry," he whispered, "I am getting your shirt wet."

"Never apologize for that," the older man said, catching Izuku's eye and silently twitching his head to the right. Izuku, realizing he was asking for them to back up and give Iida some privacy, retreated a few steps. "Come on, I think I hear some of your classmates… I'd like to meet them."

"Oh. Of course." After a moment Iida and the other man emerged, the teen looking like his normal self other than his slightly red eyes. "Ah, Midoriya and Yoarashi. May I present my brother, Iida Tensei."

"Nice to meet you," the elder Iida said, holding out his hand to shake theirs in turn. "Sorry about delaying my brother."

"Is everything okay?" Izuku asked. He'd never seen Iida so emotional before and frankly it scared him. What could rattle the bedrook that was Iida?

"Yes, of course-" Iida began only for his brother to cut him off.

"Just a close call," he stated. "Everyone is going to know about it anyway… I was attacked by the Hero Killer last night."

"The HERO KILLER!?" Izuku and Inasa both cried out in shook.

"Yeah," the older Iida said, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling.

"Tensei, you should not make light of that!" Iida scolded. "You were hurt!"

"A scratch," Tensei stated, lifting up his shirt to reveal the stitches on his side that did NOT look like a scratch. "I'm fine. This was proof I need to redesign my hero costume anyway… and you should too."

"Midoriya and Mr. Kenobi have both offered to help on that," Iida stated. "He uses a new kind of armor plating that is far more flexible."

"Oh really?" Tensei said, intrigued. "I'll have to check it out."

"Talk to my mentor, Rex," Izuku stated. "He's sitting with my mom and my friend Ahsoka's guardians… look for people with orange face paint on."

"I'll do that!" Tensei said.

Inasa spoke up. "HOW did you survive the Hero Killer? Not that I am not saying you aren't a great hero…" Everyone knew how proud Iida was of his brother and no one wanted to insult either of them.

Tensei chuckled again. "No need to apologize. Honestly I didn't survive… not on my own, that is. Not claiming I'm a ghost or anyone." He wiggled his fingers and went "oooooo!" before growing a bit more serious. "It was a vigilante who saved me."

"Tensei, you should not-" Iida began.

"Everyone is going to find out eventually," he repeated. "This way I make sure I control the narrative. Not let it get twisted that a good man is dismissed or treated as a criminal." He looked at the two teens. "A new vigilante, named Vader, saved me. He attacked Stain and held him off. I checked… he's not registered so what he did was illegal… but honestly considering it saved my life and gave us the best info on how to defeat Stain? He's a hero in my book."

"Tensei," Aizawa said, approaching them, "stop distracting the students. They have the next round."

That made Tensei laughed, something Izuku realized he did quite often. Maybe to make up for Tenya never laughing? "Look at you, actually caring about this thing!" His smile fell after a moment. "Sho?"

"We'll talk later," Aizawa said, Izuku's brow furrowing. What was he missing? "Let's go."

Izuku and Inasa shared a shrug and joined Iida in following after their teacher.