Ch6: A Declaration of War

Note: Hey everyone! Im back with another chapter for you guys. Full disclosure, the first 5 chapters were already written when I decided to upload the first chapter so I've been able to crank them out at a relatively fast pace. Now they are being uploaded the moment I finish proofreading them so the pace may slow down but I promise that I'm only talking an extra day or two tops.

That said, this is the last chapter before the start of the sports festival! I hope you guys are excited because I've been looking forward to writing it. This is one of my top 3 favorite arcs in the whole show so I'm definitely going to do my best to try and give it the attention that I feel it deserves so please bear with me through these next few chapters.

@spider of the leaf: I definitely hear what you're saying and i do already have in mind how i want the first round to play out! I hope you enjoy it!

@SulliMike23: Yeah they kinda are without taking the leap yet. Hopefully its been a fun dynamic to watch play out though. I really wanted to emphasize Momo and Peters friendship while showing that it goes much deeper and spills over from time to time. Pacing is tricky haha. One things for sure though, YaoMama is certainly on board with the whole thing though!

Thank you guys for continuing to take the time to read my fic. :)

I do not own any characters depicted in this story...

"What the heck are they doing here?" Ochako said as an infectious feeling of unease spread throughout the room.

Iida stepped forward, "Who exactly are you people? Do you have business with our class?"

The mob was silent. Peter and Momo looked at them with confusion. None of them looked as if they were in a state of irritation. Peter's sixth sense for danger that some of his classmates had taken to calling his "Spidey Sense" (after "Peter Tingle" was voted a hard no by him and many others) wasn't going off, so there wasn't any imminent threat posed by anyone. Still, the situation class 1A found themselves in was eerie.

"Uhh... why is nobody saying anything?" Kaminari questioned as he started to feel uncomfortable.

At that moment Bakugo rose from his seat with his trademark scowl and furrowed brow plastered on his face. He pushed his way past Denki and headed for the door. "They're scouting out the competition you idiots. We're the class that survived an actual villain attack with no injuries, except for Deku and his brittle bones."

He stepped between Peter and Momo and stood face to face with the large cluster of unfamiliar students.

"Uh oh, what's he doing?" Uraraka whispered to Midoriya.

The secret successor of the world's greatest power seemed to be bracing for the worst as he watched his rival step up to the crowd. "Let's just hope he doesn't explode anybody." He said with a nervous sense of humor.

Iida looked at Midoriya then quickly back to Bakugo and came to the decision that he needed to intervene, but it was a decision that was made too late unfortunately.

Bakugo's eyes drifted from left to right, "At least now they know what a future pro looks like. Now move it extras." He ordered the masses through his growing annoyance.

Peter's eyebrows raised as his eyes darted back and forth between Bakugo and the large crowd.

'Oh... shit.' he complained to himself as he calmly stretched an arm in front of Momo and pulled her back into the classroom before stepping in front of her. He mentally readied himself to break up a fight.

The majority of the class became as pale as ghosts.

"That was incredibly rude Bakugo! You can't just go around calling people extras just because you don't know who they are!!!" Iida shouted as he waved his arms frantically like a robot.

"Oh.. no." Jiro muttered to herself as she looked worriedly at her best friend who was dangerously close to the possible crossfire.

Shoto quickly got out of his seat and began to push through his classmates to reach his friend who was caught in the doorway as a wave of frustration was building amongst the group outside.

Just as tempers we're about to reach a boiling point, a young man with unruly purple hair slipped his way to the front and stood before Katsuki. He spoke with a tone that carried a striking similarity to Aizawa's. "So this is class 1A... I heard you were the group with the most potential out of all the first year hero course students... I was hoping to come here to find some respectable people, but you just sound like an ass."

Bakugo glared at the student but said nothing.

The students inside the classroom were frozen as they prepared for the worst possible reaction from their less than evenly tempered classmate.

The stranger continued his monologue. "I wanted to be in the hero course, but along with the rest of my peers, I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life... I, and many of my friends, planned on retaking the entrance exam when we heard there was a sudden vacancy in this class..." He turned his attention to Peter, "But it seemed that the school had already found its new golden boy. We never even got the second chance that we deserved as existing students."

Momo, Bakugo, and the rest of the class shifted their gazes to Peter awaiting his response.

"Such is life..." He parroted back at the boy coldly.

"So it seems... But your spot isn't permanent. None of yours are. As a new student it's only fair that I inform you that if we do well enough in the sports festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us into the hero course... And they will have to transfer some of you out to make room. Don't get too comfortable. I've seen the way you stroll around without a care in the world. It must be nice to have things handed to you at every turn. Consider this a declaration of war. If you don't bring your very best performance I'll steal your spot right from under you and punch your plane ticket back to America myself."

Shoto stepped up next to his friend. But was gestured by him to not get involved. The native New Yorker just stared daggers back at the boy. Bakugo who had finally grown tired of the interaction stepped forward, "Tch. What a joke..."

Just then another student with silver hair voiced his own grievance with the ill-mannered 1A student.

"HEY! I'M FROM CLASS B NEXT DOOR TO YOU! I CAME TO SEE IF IT WAS TRUE THAT YOU FOUGHT SOME VILLAINS, BUT YOU ALL JUST SEEM LIKE A BUNCH OF BRATS WHO THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN THE REST OF US!"

'Crap! Everybody hates us now!' was the shared thought of the majority of the class in question.

Bakugo rolled his eyes and began to walk off.

"HEY! DON'T YOU IGNORE ME! I'M COMING FOR YOU!!" The silver haired stranger yelled out as Bakugo pressed forward.

"Hey where the hell are you going?! You need to say something! It's your fault they're all hating on us Bakugo!" Kirishima shouted.

"These people don't matter." He called to the redhead behind him. "The only thing that's important is that I beat them."

With that remark, the blonde took his leave and pushed through the crowd, leaving his classmates behind to mull over his departing words.

Peter patted Shoto on the shoulder as Momo stepped out from behind him. She seemed to be irritated by the words her crush had been forced to endure. She looked at him and to her slight surprise he offered a determined smile that put her at ease.

"Dammit I hate that that was such an awesome exit." Kirishima said to himself.

"Well... He has a point, we do have to beat them." Tokoyami agreed.

Denki looked frantically between the two of them and tried to be the voice of reason. "Yeah... But this sucks!! He just made us everyone's enemy!! Now they're all gonna be gunning for us in the festival!"

"In case you still haven't noticed, I'll just go ahead and spell it out for you..."

The entire class turned their heads to see Peter staring back at Kaminari. The normally easy going jokester's voice had a cadence to it that they hadn't ever heard before. They were suddenly aware that there was a fire that had been lit inside of him.

"Bakugo didn't change anything. What you're upset about was always going to be the case. We're the standard everyone will be trying to measure up to. If you don't like it or it makes you nervous, then you should probably get to training."

Everyone looked at Peter as a sense of unshakable determination filled the air.

"Now that sounds like something a hero would say!" Iida said proud of his classmate.

"Yeah that was actually kinda hot." Toru said as Jiro dug her elbow into the invisible girl's ribs on behalf of her best friend. "Ow! I was just being honest!!!"

"Looks like we have some work to do then." Momo said sharing in Peter's determination. "You really weren't kidding when you told me you were good at putting a target on your own back."

"When have you ever known me to not be serious?" He smirked. "Let's get going." The pair pushed their way through the crowd and headed in the direction of the locker rooms.

"Those two sure have been spending a lot of time together haven't they?" Kirishima pointed out.

"Yeah are they like together or something?" Kaminari commented.

"They just seem like really close friends to me *ribbit... but I'm terrible at reading those kinds of things."

"They're quite an effective pair when they work together... Yaoyorozu has yet to lose a single match since Parker joined our class. If they plan on training together this week, I sure hope I'm not matched up against one of them during the tournament." Tokoyami uttered.

Shoto watched as the two disappeared into the crowd. He glanced behind him at a certain green haired individual before making his own exit.

Peter and Momo entered Gym Gamma, both wearing their blue UA gym uniforms, to find the area nearly vacant with the exception of a few students who were preparing to leave. On the way, Yaoyorozu had pulled up the official contest rules on her phone and discussed them with her partner. They wanted to train in accordance to the rules to acclimate themselves to any limitations or restrictions they might face during the festival.

"You know, I get the thing about no costumes, but I can't just wear my mask?... That just seems like over regulation." He complained.

Momo shrugged, "They just don't want anyone to be at an unfair advantage. No head covering that could provide any protection or upper hand."

"It's not like I'm wearing Iida's helmet, my mask provides zero protection. Remember when Bakugo gave me a concussion?... Cause for some reason I don't..." a sly grin spread across his face.

Momo giggled at the boy as they sat their belongings down in the corner and made their way into one of the marked off areas resembling a ring. "Well to be fair, not being able to see your eyes could be considered an advantage to some degree... And I'm sure harsh sunlight doesn't bother you when you wear it either..."

He conceded to her reasoning as the subject of his mask reminded her of a question she had been meaning to ask him for a while now... "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Why do you wear a mask?—Not that I don't understand the concept of heroes and masks— just why do you wear one? And why wear it during the festival?"

Peter began to limber up and Momo followed his lead. "Mostly just so I can keep a low profile out of costume. Originally, it was a way to protect my aunt from any villains who might want to get some sort of revenge on me." He explained without going into detail about the situation with his uncle or his previous vigilante activities. "Now I just kinda like it... I guess since Aunt May isn't around anymore there's no harm in going without it during the festival."

The two finally finished their preparations and were ready to begin their sparring session. They both put their feelings for each other in the back of their minds and faced one another.

"So, you ready to get started?"

Momo smirked as she created her signature bo staff from one of her forearms and the arduous training session began with her charging at him without restraint.

After a few hours of fighting the two were absolutely winded, but it didn't stop them from continuing on like they had only just begun.

Momo was keeping up with Peter far better than she had expected to. She had even managed to win a couple of rounds with a few creative techniques that caught him off guard. He was quite impressed with her fighting style which showcased both her combat abilities and her skillful mastery of her quirk in perfect harmony. He predicted to himself that by the time she graduated from UA, her talents could take her to any heights she set her sights towards. All her hard work was really showing as she quickly adapted to each new challenge Peter through her way.

"You know..." Peter began to say as he ducked and dodged away from her staff, "I really don't understand why you were so worried..." He blocked a kick to the side of his head with his forearm. "About your chances. You're definitely skilled enough to go far in the festival," he sprung backwards to put some distance between them, "It's okay to give yourself credit when you've earned it Mo."

He quickly shot three gobs of web towards her at bullet-like speed. She dealt with the threat as a shield sprouted from her free forearm and absorbed the ranged attacks. "Well you are handicapped by the settings of the ring. I have a feeling that fighting you in a city street would be a much different story."

The two pounced towards each other once more. After another flurry of attacks they separated once more. Their fights were like a perfectly choreographed dance, each in step with one another. "Besides, I know that with your strength, you have to pull your punches against your opponents more often than not, making things even more difficult for you."

"That's something everyone with a strength quirk has to put up with. It's actually a preference of mine." He said before jumping towards her and slinging himself down with his webs.

She managed to roll away to avoid his aerial strike and continued to keep her distance. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

He stood up and spun around to face her as they circled the ring. "Because if I stop pulling my punches it means things have seriously hit the fan."

Momo shuttered at the thought of what a full strength punch from someone capable of lifting twenty thousand pounds would feel like. Taking a full on hit from Peter was probably the equivalent of being hit by a Mack truck going a hundred miles an hour... Then the truck being crushed by an asteroid. She dropped her shield and created a grenade inside of a Russian nesting doll and threw it in his direction. "Here! Catch!"

The boy for some reason did as he was told and caught the doll with his right hand. "Hey this one looks just like me!" He said as he noticed the figure's design... It was of his hero costume. He opened it and his eyes widened at the contents inside.

"Oh you shouldn't have!!" the sarcasm dripped from his voice as he dropped the doll and leapt backwards, shooting a mass of web on top of it to contain the explosion.

A muffled burst was heard underneath the web. He whipped his head in her direction still looking frazzled to find her choking back laughter. He pointed at her, "You are both really good and really bad at gift giving. You know that?"

"Starting to see what Jiro was talking about huh? Don't worry that hardly contained any explosive material. Call it payback for taking it easy on me today." She smirked.

She wasn't lying, his Spidey Sense didn't go off but it still scared the life out of him. He narrowed his eyes and returned her smirk. "Who said I was taking it easy on you?... And who said we were done here?"

Before she could react a string of web was attached to her torso and she was launched towards him. Thinking quickly she created another doll and threw it at him causing him to lose focus for a slight moment. She landed on top of him and pinned his arms against the ground during his state of shock.

She smirked as she squeezed his wrists, "I did... because if we don't eat soon I'm gonna run out of the lipids necessary to use my quirk."

Peter was still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened when his gaze shifted to the doll beside them that laid there empty. He let out a sigh of relief and looked back at the girl who leaned over him. "Alright then, I guess we'll call this round yours."

"Ya think?" She cocked an eyebrow at him playfully.

"Uhhhhh... Are we interrupting something?... Because we could always come back later..."

Both Momo and Peter swung their heads towards the direction of Kaminari who was standing beside Ochako, Mina, Jiro, Kirishima, and Sero.

Both looked back at each other and realized the compromising situation they appeared to be in. They both turned red with embarrassment as Momo quickly stood up. Peter hopped back to his feet and swiped the red and blue doll off the ground, pocketing it. Mina punched Denki's shoulder. "Don't worry, we've been here a while now... You guys are looking pretty good!"

"Good?! That was awesome!!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"You said it! YaoMomo totally kicks butt!!" Ochako said with a chipper tone.

The rest of them agreed as the two began to relax. They said their goodbyes and wished them luck in their training before grabbing their belongings and headed to the locker rooms.

Wednesday:

Tuesday came and went almost in the blink of an eye. The days suddenly seemed shorter as they passed. There was still a lot of work to do for the students of UA High. Everyone was preparing as if their very lives depended on the outcome of this year's sports festival. As Wednesday rolled around, the entire country of Japan, as well as the world, was beginning to take notice. It was on every channel. Even every other commercial. Businesses across Musutafu had announced that they would be closing their stores for the event, while those that decided to remain open advertised watch parties. Supermarkets were flooded with customers hoping to stock up on refreshments for small get togethers that had been planned around watching at home. It was a topic that took place in nearly every discussion amongst family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. And at the heart of it all, was the young upstarts of class 1A.

In the past, sporting events such as the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and World Cup football dominated the television screens of those who relished in the spirit of competition. However, after the appearance of quirks, the UA Sports Festival was born and after its first three years of life, it became the most highly viewed competition across the entire globe by an unfathomable margin.

Normally most of the attention was on the third year students because it would be their last chance at victory. It also gave fans a chance to get to know the future heroes that would, in a years time, begin to serve their own communities as young sidekicks.

While the first and second years usually attracted a respectable crowd, it was unheard of for the stadium to sell out for their performances. This year however, there would be hundreds of thousands in attendance for the first year's games, with every single seat filled and for a plethora of good reasons.

This particular group had not only already survived an actual brush with death by fighting off a group of villains, but it also featured: four students who were admitted into the school by recommendations, UA's first ever American transfer student, the brother of the highly respected pro hero Ingenium serving as class 1A's representative, the daughter of the famously wealthy Yaoyorozu family, the son of the number two hero Endeavor, and unbeknownst to the world... The successor of the symbol of peace himself.

Peter was sitting on his couch scrolling through his phone as an article popped up on his feed. 'Well waddayaknow...' he thought to himself after reading the headline: Son Of Endeavor To Make His Very First Sports Festival Debut With Class 1A!

Almost everywhere he looked, his best friend was mentioned in some way or another. He was extremely happy for Shoto, not only was this newfound notoriety well deserved, it meant that he was pretty much guaranteed to be able to pick virtually any spot he could imagine for his upcoming internship. He continued to scroll as a picture of Enji Todoroki with his blazing beard stared at him from the screen. Although Peter had gotten extremely close to Shoto, he hadn't ever actually seen the number two hero before. He was extremely intimidating. Just the picture gave Peter goosebumps. For some reason he couldn't quite understand, a sense of unease set into him as he stared at the image of his best friend's dad.

A knock at the door took his attention away from the screen.

"You know you don't have to knock, you can just come in dude." He called out from the couch.

—"The door is locked Parker."— Came the muffled response from his best friend outside in the hallway.

"Oh... Well that's an issue then isn't it?" He said as he got up and ran to the door to let his friend in. As he opened the door he greeted him, "What's up Broto?"

The split haired boy rolled his eyes and walked in. "Another one huh?"

"Yeah which do you like better?"

"Is neither an option?"

"Nope."

"Broto then."

"I knew it!"

Shoto made himself at home and helped himself to a soda from the fridge. "So how's the training with Yaoyorozu going?" He asked as he made his way to the living room and took his usual spot on the couch. As he put his feet up he noticed the small red and blue nesting doll on the coffee table.

"It's not for the faint of heart that's for sure. She's gonna be a handful in the tournament." He responded as he dug through the fridge himself. "The one thing I don't understand is why she tends to doubt herself sometimes when she's a more than capable fighter..."

Shoto picked up the doll and inspected it. "Yeah, well... It was a lot worse before you came along. On the first day of school she was two steps ahead of everybody, myself included. She was much more knowledgeable when it came to observing battles and coming up with strategies, even her combat sense was growing..." Shoto began to answer his question, "But after we were attacked at the USJ she lost her confidence completely."

Peter closed the door to the refrigerator and walked over to the couch. He noticed Shoto looking at the doll he had kept for himself. He plopped down on the couch. "Do you know what happened?"

"I wasn't with her so my information is from word of mouth, but from what I gathered... Her, Jiro, and Kaminari had to fight off multiple villains alone after we were scattered. She handled herself well until they had taken out who they thought was the last thug standing. They relaxed and let their guard down as another one appeared and held Kaminari captive as her and Jiro were forced to surrender. Fortunately before any of them were hurt, the teachers came and they were saved by Professor Snipe. I believe she both blamed herself for Kaminari's life nearly being taken and lost her faith in her combat skills at the same time." Todoroki held up the doll. "But now you seem to have made her believe in herself again. She's finally picking back up where she left off. Whatever you're doing is working." He assured Peter.

Peter took the doll and placed it on his bookshelf beside him. "My feelings for her are getting more intense." He admitted, "I don't know how much longer I can go without telling her."

"Well if I were you, I'd wait at least until after the festival Saturday. You both need to be able to focus on the task at hand without anything hanging in the air." Shoto advised.

"I know. Thanks for the advice though. Are you gonna stay for dinner?"

"Depends... What are you having?"

"Whatever you want buddy."

"Zaru soba and dumplings/Zaru soba and dumplings." They both said at the same time.

"I can do that. Go sit at the bar and I'll get started."

The two went back to the kitchen and Peter started to prepare the food. "So how've you been handling all the attention lately? Must be pretty cool."

"I'm actually not too big of a fan of it considering that it's all because of my relationship to my dad."

Peter looked up questioningly. He had gathered at this point that Shoto's family had a strange dynamic but he never pried out of respect for his best friend.

"Part of the reason I came here today was to escape from it all." The boy admitted.

"So I guess now wouldn't be a great time to point out that you're trending on every single existing social media platform huh? Come on man it can't be that bad." Peter tried to be positive.

"Well I suppose it would seem that way without any of the knowledge that would explain the contrary..." Todoroki said with a hardened expression.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen." Peter offered.

Shoto looked up at his best friend and decided to tell him mostly everything. "My family is broken..."

Peter stopped what he was doing. "Pardon?"

"My family is broken... My siblings and I were only created in hopes that one of us would have a specific quirk. One that was powerful enough to succeed where my father could not. Have you ever heard of quirk marriages Parker?"

Peter was familiar with the concept and the implication made his skin crawl. "Yes they're actually still legal in some parts of America, though the majority of the population detests the idea."

"My father arranged his marriage with my mother in hopes that their children would form a perfect combination of both the ice quirk of my mother and the fire quirk of my father. You already know that I'm the youngest child in my family so you can probably guess who the lucky one was..." Shoto went on to expound on some of the details of growing up with Endeavor as a father, only leaving out the parts about his mother.

Peter opened his mouth but couldn't speak. Shoto continued.

"Once my father finally had what he wanted, he completely disassociated from his roll as a father towards Fuyumi and Natsuo, not that he was ever exactly a father by any sense of the word, despite what you might think of that, they were the lucky ones. Once my quirk manifested, he started training me to fulfill the only purpose of my birth... To surpass All Might."

"That's why you've been so focused on Midoriya... His power, his goals and ambitions, his relationship with All Might..." Peter realized aloud.

"Yes... If All Might is in the corner of Izuku Midoriya, then I'm going to take him down, but I'm going to do it my own way... By rejecting my father's quirk and using only the one inherited from my mother. It will break my father the way he broke us."

"Is that why you never use your left side when you fight?" Peter said as sorrow consumed his voice. His best friend had gone through so much hell throughout his life. He wanted to help but how could he possibly do that without possibly offending Shoto or losing their friendship all together. This was an extremely delicate situation that would not be fixed through words alone, and it couldn't happen overnight. All he could do was provide his friend a space to vent.

Shoto nodded, "I want to become a hero on my own terms... And that's what I'm going to do. After Saturday, my story will have written itself differently than all the ones going around today."

"I wish there was something I could say.."

Shoto looked at Peter and noticed his genuine heartache. "Parker, I didn't tell you that so you'd feel bad for me... I told you this because on Saturday, we're opponents. It's not a team competition. When the games begin, I'm going to be ruthless in order to realize my own agenda. I just needed you to know beforehand so that there would be no hard feelings between us after everything is over with."

"I understand..." He nodded as he stared at his friend with concern still dominating his mind. He had to correct his thinking. His friend wasn't asking him to fix his problems, he was just giving him insight to his situation. Still he had to be sure that Todoroki knew he was there for him if he ever needed his support. "But if there's ever anything I can do for you please don't hesitate to ask. You always have a place here if you need it. We're best friends man, I'm always here for you. I hope you know that..."

Shoto offered a small smile that turned into a mischievous grin, "There is actually something that you can do for me..."

"What's that?"

"Cut out all the pity and make me some food I'm starving to death here!"

"Oh yeah I was doing that wasn't I?"

After a while, Peter finished cooking and the two finally were able to eat as they discussed what they had noticed from the few times they had observed the training regiments of their fellow classmates. Much to Shoto's annoyance the only one they were unable to get any information on was Izuku Midoriya himself, as he appeared to be training in secret. As the two continued to eat, at the same time in the growing dark, Izuku was being put through his paces by a frail looking man at Takoba Municipal Beach.

Friday:

The time was nearly at hand. Anticipation had reached its fever pitch. Just one more sleep until the big event that would glue spectators to their television sets and, for some of the lucky ones, their seats in the arena. The festival grounds were nearing the end of the preparation stage as the morning crawled its way by. Most of the students had elected to take this last day before the tournament to rest and mentally prepare... All of them but two actually...

Peter's back slammed against the ground and the edge of a metal staff swung in front of his face, stopping inches away from his nose. "You're distracted." His partner said as she narrowed her eyes. "What's going on with you today?"

He gently pushed the staff away from his face with one of his palms. "Would you believe me if I said I was just nervous about tomorrow?" He questioned playfully.

"Not even a little... I'm not even sure you know what being nervous is like, 'Mr. Oh-I've-jumped-off-every-building-in-New-York'... What's actually going on?"

He snickered at her mocking of him. He sat up and began to speak before he was interrupted by the sound of a slow clapping that grew closer with each clasp.

"Well done Miss Yaoyorozu... Very nice..."

The two turned to see Ms. Midnight approaching them with a smirk on her face. Peter stood up and whispered to Momo that he'd tell her over lunch. She nodded and turned her attention to the teacher who's heels clicked against the concrete floor as she finally came to a stop in front of them.

"Well...well...well... Don't you two seem to be getting along with one another?" She began to twirl a lock of her hair with her finger and started to circle the two of them like a shark, "You both play quite well together don't you?" She said, her grin becoming more prominent.

The two in question began to silently grow flustered at the choice of words their history teacher was using. "I've had my eye on you both this week, you seem to really elevate one another beyond what you think you are capable of."

"Th-thank you Miss Midnight.." they said in unison.

"You're quite welcome... But I didn't just come to compliment your efforts..." The R rated hero stopped in front of them once again, "I have been chosen as the chief umpire of the first year's contest this year... I'm sure you're well aware of the attention your class has garnered over the course of this week?..."

"Yes Ma'am/Yes Ma'am."

"Ever observant, as all prospective heroes should be... That cuts down the chitchat quite a bit then." She placed a hand on her hip, "I'm here to make sure that you two are prepared for a scenario where you have to compete against each other. As the head official, I want all of you to give your absolute best performances possible... I would find that to be extremely... Pleasurable..."

Though Peter had grown familiar with Miss Midnight's particular brand of "mannerisms", it by no means made him any less uncomfortable. It actually bordered on the edge of intimidating.

"I want to make it very clear to you both that if the situation arises where one of you must eliminate the other from tournament contention, that you will both not hold anything back for the sake of the other's feelings. Though UA does highlight the importance of teamwork amongst other values that shape the foundation of exceptional pro heroes, these are individual competitions, meaning there can only be one winner. Are you both prepared to face that reality?" She questioned the two in front of her.

Momo and Peter looked at each other and nodded. They both knew since the first day of their joint training that there was always a chance of a face off between the two of them occurring. They had already promised to give their best efforts no matter what.

Peter turned back to the whip-wielding heroine, "I definitely don't think there is any cause for concern... As you can see, she's not exactly afraid to lay me out at any given opportunity in a fight." He assured his history teacher.

"I can see that Mr. Parker..." She stepped towards the boy and jabbed the end of her whip into the center of his chest, "I also can see that your mind is clouded. Whatever is bothering you needs to be taken care of before tomorrow. Now is not the time to lose focus."

He nodded as Miss Midnight turned her attention to Momo, "As for you, I felt compelled to come extend an offer to you Miss Yaoyorozu... I feel a certain sense of kinship with young ladies who have the potential to thrive in our line of work. Especially those who have to work around the limitations that clothing puts on their ability to use their quirks." She explained, "I would like to offer you some private lessons once things settle down after the festival."

Momo became excited. She jumped at the opportunity to learn from one of her teachers who was also a well known pro herself. "That sounds wonderful!! Thank you Miss Midnight!!" She bowed excitedly.

"You're quite welcome... Now, you both should go rest up. You have a very big day ahead of you. I'll be keeping my eye on you two tomorrow. I expect big things from you both." And with that, she sauntered away and exited Gym Gamma.

Momo turned to Peter with a bright smile. He was extremely proud of her. "Congrats Mo! I told you that you're strong."

She looked at the boy that had gone out of his way to help her and was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. She promised herself that one day she would make it up to him somehow.

"Ready to go eat? I believe you owe me an explanation for what's going on in that brain of yours."

"Right behind ya."

The restaurant was nearly packed as the two were seated in the back corner of the dining room. The air was filled with the sound of chatter between groups who were enjoying their lunch. They had decided to go back to the restaurant Mina had chosen for Peter's welcome party. The booth they were seated in provided them with a cozy semi private atmosphere. They had just finished ordering their food, and as the waiter walked away from the table, Momo looked at Peter.

"Alright. Spill it."

He sighed as the words of his best friend played over again in his mind. "Okay, but you have to promise that this will stay firmly between us. Not even Jiro can know."

Momo promised him. She was admittedly caught off guard by the suddenly serious tone shift, as she didn't actually think it would be anything too severe.

"You already know that Todoroki came over to my apartment Wednesday night..." He began.

She nodded. Of course she knew, they texted one another every night.

"I didn't exactly tell you the whole story though... And I still can't tell you everything out of respect for his privacy. I hope you can understand..."

"I won't pry too much I promise, just tell me what you can. Midnight was right, you need to be able to focus on tomorrow morning." She assured him.

He collected his thoughts and took a breath, "He told me about some very personal issues regarding his home life. Things that make me extremely sick to my stomach to even think about him having to go through." His eyes fell to the table, "He didn't ask for my sympathy or my help. Even if he did, I think the thing that eats me the most is that I wouldn't even know what to say. I've had a hard past myself, but I was beyond fortunate to grow up in the care of my aunt and uncle, two people who only ever showed me kindness until the days they passed away. I could never relate to the things he's had to face." He looked back up at her, his eyes told a story of an unyielding frustration with himself.

She understood why he couldn't tell her everything. The situation he found himself in sounded very delicate. Her heart hurt for him. He was an extremely caring person. She couldn't bear seeing him in such mental anguish. "Peter... I know you can't tell me anything more, and it must be a really tough line to walk at this point in time... You are an incredibly sweet, kind, compassionate person who I know wants nothing more to help your friend... There is something that I want to say and I truly hope it helps ease your mind." She said as she stared into his eyes. "Sometimes the right words can only go so far... But your actions as his friend can speak louder than anything you could possibly say. Just continue to be a good friend and trust in him to come to you if he needs more than that." She said hoping to take at least some of his worries away.

Her words were exactly what he needed to hear. He was helping Shoto. When the boy left his home it seemed like he was in a better head space than when he had arrived. He made a promise to himself to keep being there for him. But first he needed to shake off the weight of the ordeal, for if he really wanted to help his friend, it had to start with him being in a state of mind to be able to provide it. A small but warm smile appeared on his face. "Anyone ever tell you that you're incredible at saying the exact right thing?"

"Nope." She chuckled.

"Thanks Mo..."

Just as the two were about to continue their conversation the waiter brought their food to their table. He sat down a bowl of stir fry and Zaru soba and offered them a refill of tea.

The two continued to talk over lunch as the clouds in Peter's mind began to fade away. These moments where they were together were everything to him. He felt extremely fortunate to have her in his life.

"So how's the stir fry?" He asked as he looked up from his bowl.

She took another bite. "It's good... But I've had better." She smiled at him.

Chapter epilogue:

The two made their way towards the Yaoyorozu manor and finally reached the gate. During the entire walk home their discussion revolved around the festival and what they believed were the best strategies to use against each of their classmates. The walk was long enough for them to go down the entire list, leaving only the two of them unmentioned.

"If you think I'm going to give you any hints on how to fight against me Peter, you're sorely out of luck." She stated with a grin.

"Wouldn't dream of asking... I think we spent enough time in the ring together to form our own plans... It's not like we held anything back." He chuckled.

Momo raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean to tell me that you, Peter Parker, have nothing up your sleeve if we should happen to meet in the tournament?"

Peter shrugged, "I've told you all week Mo, I haven't been taking it easy on you..." He remembered the matryoshka doll on his bookshelf, "Every time you beat me, you earned it."

Her confidence continued to increase as she felt the sincerity in his words. She paused and felt compelled to ask him how he felt about a certain matter. "Peter... If what Ms. Midnight said about us meeting in the ring happens then-"

"Nothing changes. You fight me like you have this whole week. You give me everything you've got without holding anything back. And no matter what the outcome is we move forward. If I win, you can't lose your confidence. You're an incredible fighter and you're gonna be an amazing hero Mo. A single fight will never make those things untrue. No defeat will ever define you. You deserve to believe in yourself. And if you win..." He looked straight into her obsidian irises, "Then I'm gonna be right there in the stands losing my voice from cheering you on as hard as I can. Just like I will be with each challenge that happens to come your way in life." He promised her.

She lost her words as she began to feel her eyes well with unshed tears. His words moved her in a way none ever had before.

He stood there and smiled at her. "Thanks for training with me this week... Whenever you're free after the festival there's some more stir fry and a movie with your name on it back at the apartment." He was sad that the week had gone by so fast but he was determined to spend more time with her whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The girl responded by nearly tackling him as she latched onto him. He continued to smile as he returned the hug. Suddenly his eyes caught sight of two men standing at the end of the pathway in front of the front door to Momo's house.

"Uhh.. I think you have company over..."

She reluctantly pulled away as she looked over to see the two in question at the end of the path. Her face flushed as she recognized them immediately. "Actually that would be my butler... And my father."

"Oh... How nice." He said nervously as he noticed her reddened cheeks. "So... I guess I'll see you at the cafe tomorrow?"

She forced a smile through her embarrassment, "Wouldn't miss it!"

And with that Peter turned and headed down the sidewalk at a brisk pace.

Momo shakily typed in the gate code and walked down the path and stopped in front of the two that awaited her.

Her father's eyes watched as the boy disappeared from sight and he turned his attention to his daughter.

Mr. Kenichi contained his laughter like a true professional as Momo sheepishly walked up to them. "H-hi dad."

"Well, well, well... Hello little miss secretive!" He laughed as he noticed the redness of her face. "Who's your friend there?"

"Oh dad can we pleas-"

"HEY HONEY COME DOWN HERE YOU'LL WANNA HEAR THIS!" He interrupted as he called out to his wife.

'Oh no... I'll never hear the end of this...' Momo thought to herself.

After a couple of seconds the beautiful Yana Yaoyorozu made her way down the stairs. "Takashi, what on earth are you so worked up about?!" The tall, slender woman asked as she brushed her long black hair to the side delicately with her hand.

"Mom... it's not what he-" Momo tried desperately to intervene.

"Our little girl seems to have herself a boyfriend!" Her father smirked as the flood gates burst immediately.

"OH MY GOODNESS HOW ADORABLE!!!" Her mother squealed as a pair of hands drug the girl inside. "Comecomecomecome tell me everything!!!!"

The two men laughed at the elation of the lady of the home and stepped inside, closing the doors behind them.

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, a lanky man sat alone at a bar scratching at a very raw spot on his neck. His light blue hair messily dropped over his eyes. His face was concealed by a white model of a hand.

"Tomura Shigaraki... He's ready to speak with you..."

A grumble came from the man as he sat down his glass of whiskey, "Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on Kurogiri." He uttered in a gravely voice and headed into a dark room beside the bar.

The only light in the mysterious room came from a flickering computer monitor with the words: "Audio Only" flashing in the corner of the screen.

"Master? You wanted to speak with me again?"

"Yes young Tomura... I have just come across some new information that I believe you should be made aware of..." A bone chillingly ominous voice came through the speakers of the computer system. "A new UA student will be competing in their little games tomorrow..."

The man's red eye suddenly indicated that the hand covering his face was also hiding a sinister smile...

HERE'S THE PREVIEW!!!

Peter: "So you're not mad at me for bailing out the window last time?"

Momo: *sigh* "No... I just wish I was able to think of it first..."

Peter: "Dodged a bullet there I guess haha."

Momo: *Smirks deviously* "I wouldn't be so sure about that..."

Peter: "Oh god... What do you mean by that?"

Momo: "Read it and weep Peter!" *tosses a script in front of him*

Peter: "Dinner at your house huh? Sounds like a good time! I'm actually looking forward to it!"

Momo: "Really?"

Peter: "Yeah... It involves my two favorite things in the world: You and food!"

Momo: *Blushes uncontrollably*

Peter: *completely oblivious* "Alright what else does this thing say... The sports festival kicks off... Shoto's gonna declare war on Midoriya... and Peter and Bakugo give the student pledge... What does that mean?"

Momo: "Do you have a fear of public speaking?"

Peter: "Depends on how public we're talking... Why?"

Momo: *Laughs mischievously*

Peter: "...This doesn't bode well for me does it... NEXT TIME!!! Sports Festival Start!"

Momo: "Don't miss Peter giving a speech to hundreds of thousands of people in the stands... Not to mention the International television broadcast..."

Peter: *Peter.exe has stopped working*

Momo: "Thats more like it. GO BEYOND!!!"

Peter: "Sorry, blacked out for a second... PLUS ULTRA!"

Momo: "Karma truly is amazing sometimes..."