Another day had passed, each student practicing their best moves for the organizers at the stadium. Before they knew it, Friday had arrived. The stadium was being prepared for their tournament, and the town was bustling with a bit more energy than normal. Most people were surprised at the number of students that actually showed up. Thankfully the press box they were waiting in was quite sizeable, large enough to seat at least 100 students.

Erina was right, we did need a large venue for this. Guess that's what happens when something even remotely exciting happens around here. Suiiki thought, he himself in awe at the number of students that apparently went to his school. I don't recognize some of these kids. Bet you half these people stopped coming to class by the end of the first week.

"Nervous, brownie?" A familiar voice called out, rustling their hands in his hair until it was indistinguishable from a bird's nest.

"I should be asking you. How'd practice go yesterday? Get any better with that technique? Did Genso help any?"

Ranika sighed exhaustedly. "Yeah. He sure did, and thanks for not showing up, by the way! Being alone with him was just…ugh. That kid can suck the fun out of anything. 'No, don't add power, add direction. Don't sacrifice power for direction. Keep it steady. No, don't just go back to your full power! Stop attacking the animals for no reason!' All his nitpicking was driving me crazy!"

"I get the feeling. I haven't even been able to play at the arcade at all, Daisuke's kept me so busy. What if Mizucho had some awesome moves I could've incorporated into my move set? It's definitely research if I'm actually learning something." Suiiki had a sour look on his face as he remembered being denied two days straight the arcade cabinet that beckoned to him constantly, the idea of a new character making him antsy to get to it.

"Even so, I'm kind of sad that old 'glasses' isn't going to participate. I wish he'd consider it a little."

Suiiki furrowed his brow at the last comment she made. "Why? So, you can beat the living tar out of him?"

"No, I just feel it's a shame no one sees his aptitude for this stuff. I think he's got more potential than he believes. Annoying as he is, he actually really helped a lot yesterday, notwithstanding the fact it felt like torture the whole day. I really started picking up what he was throwing down near the end, and now it feels like second nature."

She's also picking up on his vocabulary as well. "Makes sense, he's an egghead. People don't seem to realize how useful that is. Who's always the main villain in comic books and fighting games? People with fat heads and big brains!"

Ranika snorted at the way he put it, trying not to laugh. "Maybe not the fat head part, but I could see Genso being 'supersmart world conquering villain' material. He's got every damn IQ point there is."

"He's a smarty-pants, but don't give him too much credit." Tsubame said, appearing behind Ranika with no warning, eliciting a yelp from the usually boyish girl, prompting her face to flush red.

Paying this little mind, Tsubame continued as Genso joined the group with her in the press box. "When it comes to things like love, this one's denser than a neutron star…I can't believe I just made that comparison." She buried her hands in her face as she groaned at the analogy she'd made.

"I know the feeling." Ranika looked on sympathetically as she also understood the pain of developing a verbose and wider vocabulary thanks to their white-haired friend's rantings.

"I'm denser than a neutron star? Unless the subject on hand is black holes, that is quite literally impossible, and quite rude. I happen to know a great deal about love."

"Yeah, how to spell it." Ranika said blankly. Suiiki tried to keep his laughter in check, as Genso adjusted his glasses while clearing his throat.

"Regardless of your inane quipping, I've put much study into love and it's many forms. I'm integrating several tactics I've seen in literature into my own actions even now."

Tsubame's face turned to one of mischief. "Really? Who are you using these tactics on?" She sounded sincere, but the others knew what she was trying to pull. And it was working, evident by the flustered face on Genso realizing he'd said too much.

"I didn't mean…I don't have anyone…" Taking a glance at Ranika, who returned his gaze, he busied himself by cleaning his glasses, despite the fact that they were obviously clean. "…that I'm interested in."

Losing her coy smile, Tsubame took on a more genuine expression. "Really? If that's the case, maybe you could try some on me? See if they work or not."

Whoa, that was… forward. Suiiki thought. Turning his gaze towards Ranika, who looked somewhat uncomfortable with the question Tsubame asked, he sighed inwardly. Oh, come on, SOMEONE has to get together. Look at this, Ranika's got it hard for Tsubame, Tsubame's got it for Genso, Genso's got it for Ranika, what is this B-list rom-com triangle? Speaking of, I'm just an isolated dot. When do I get some love?

"You shouldn't jest in that way. Someone might take you seriously and that's the last thing you want. Come on, you don't have much time before they start calling names for demonstrations."

"Yeah, that would just be the worst." Tsubame said without the slightest hint of honesty in her voice.

This is just painful, let's change the topic. "I might have asked you this before, but what is your quirk? Must've slipped my mind."

"Element? I can create most of the elements on the periodic table – with the exception of the synthetics – through my hands, and if I take some extra time, I can create basic compounds like glass, water, even oil if I'm given enough time to-"

"Not you!" Both Suiiki and Ranika cried in unison. "We've heard about your quirk enough already!"

"Wait, me?" Tsubame pointed to herself questioningly, the others nodding as she did. "I haven't told you already? Did it never come up? My quirk's nothing special, it's-"

"Wait! Hold that thought, where's Daisuke? I came with him here, where'd he go?" Suiiki looked behind and past other people searching for his friend.

"Probably in the bathroom with cold feet. He's so nervous, I'm surprised he even got this far without turning hide." Ranika said nonchalantly. "Either way, if he drops out, that's one less person for me to deal with."

"Oh, he is NOT getting out of this that easily!" Suiiki dashed to the bathroom, pushing past people as he made his way to find the uneasy boy. He collided into another student, but paid no mind as he continued on his search.

Kisho was hit onto the floor hard as a student bumped into him trying to reach the bathroom, presumably unable to hold back the call of nature much longer.

"Ack! That's just uncalled for, at least watch where you're going. Someone could get hurt. Though an emergency is an emergency, no matter the occasion." Kisho dusted himself off as he rose back to his feet.

"There's a lot more people here than I anticipated. Do some of these people even go to our school?" Mako was visibly worried about the unexpected mass that had shown up to the demonstration and registration event. "I mean, I'm not worried about myself, but…alright, I'm a little worried about myself."

"You'll be fine, don't psyche yourself out. I still need you to take out that pink menace. Once she's out of the game, your job is done. You remember our deal, don't you?"

"I know already, I promise to forfeit during our match. We've gone over this like ten times."

"Good. I'm still uncertain about who to pit against that morpher, Daisuke. I'm not sure if anyone at this school could counter him, he's so well-rounded."

Mako pondered this as well, forgetting about the nearly impervious quirk the meek teen harbored. "True, I can't for sure say that even I could beat him. Not to stroke my own ego but, coming from me, that's saying something. We might be able to find someone to do it while we're here today, though."

"Tch, I hate last second planning, but if this is how it has to be, perhaps. They're about to start anyway, so no use complaining about it."

A man in a blue uniform walked to the front of the room inside the building, prompting the noisy children to hush themselves into a dead quiet. He pulled out a megaphone and started bellowing into it.

"ATTENTION! ALL STUDENTS OF-" The megaphone was stripped from his hands by another officer beside him.

"You don't need the megaphone." He spoke, gesturing towards the students. "You've already got their attention."

The first officer obviously had some feelings about this, mostly disappointment, but continued on without. "Students of Nomura Hero Academy. I'm Officer Ikasaki, and this is my sidekick-"

"Sergeant, not sidekick. I'm your superior."

"Yes, that's what I said. This is Sergeant Satori. We'll mostly be in charge of overviewing the event Erina has graciously dropped on us during this busy time. She's done so much for us, we just had to oblige when she asked us to help. This is a cradle for all you delicate little flowers, precious babies that you are, and you absolutely need to be protected from the cruel and harsh realities of this unjust world! Fear not, as we have made it our very life goal to do just that, so you need not fear to let your dreams reach the heavens and earth in all their naivete glory!" His mannerisms were, for lack of a better word, extra. He spoke with all the similarities of a fashion designer, and made use of his body often to express himself.

Satori stepped in and took over before Ikasaki could say much else. "Pay no mind to my co-workers idiocy. To put it simply, we're the security for this event. If you have any questions, or have a suggestion on how to make you feel as safe and protected as possible, don't be afraid to come to us."

After a small, obligatory applause from those gathered inside, he stepped off the podium to allow Erina herself to speak. "A-hem. I'm aware some of you know that me and the force don't have the best history together, but I can assure you I am thankful to have the support of our local law authority. Now, some of you might not know me, but just call me Erina. None of those honorifics, please. I'm the teacher of the higher hero course, and I'm mostly in charge of putting this event together, with the help of the first-year class president, Kisho Ushiro, as well as student Vice President, Tsubame Nonoka. I do believe Kisho was to say a few words, so if you'd give him just a few minutes to-"

At that moment, Suiiki entered the room with a burst, with Daisuke in tow holding a cup of water. "Look! We've already missed the opening announcements, hurry up and throw that away, it's your third cup already!"

Daisuke hated being the center of attention, which is to say he questioned his friendship with Suiiki every so often. The boy had a habit of stealing the spotlight and almost intensifying its beam onto himself and anyone in the vicinity, usually Daisuke.

"Don't be so loud." He whispered, keeping his head down as he held his hand above his eyes to avoid making contact with everyone around him.

"Who cares? They're listening to Erina anyway, whatever boring stuff she's talking about now. Erina! What'd I miss, anything important? Did you talk about the bracket yet? Who am I fighting? Bring 'em to me! I'll show them what for here and now!"

"Calm down, Suiiki! Everything will be explained in due time!" Erina sighed. He'd always been a handful, but she loved him all the same. It was refreshing to see a person who went to her school almost perpetually in high spirits. "You haven't missed much, just the two nice policemen introducing themselves earlier. Now if I may continue?"

Kisho attempted to rein in everyone's attention again. "Uh, I-"

"What are you waiting for? Please do!"

Rolling her eyes with a smile, she resumed her speech. "As Suiiki mentioned, we do have a bracket to be decided today, after we confirm who shall be participating. Keep in mind not everyone here will be allowed to take part, so don't take it personally if we can't fit you onto the schedule. After all, only 16 of you will be able to qualify. It doesn't mean you're weak, just that we didn't have enough room."

Many of the students became upset at this revelation, and talked amongst themselves if they'd be able to fight at all. Some wondered if it was a waste of time for them to even come. Others were eager to ask their own questions about how the choices would be made and by whom. Erina tried to gain back their attention, but to no avail as their voices drowned out her own.

"Students, if you would please just settle down, I'll answer…Hello? Please be quiet for just one moment. Okay then." Closing her eyes, she focused her quirk on everyone in the room. "Students! Quiet!"

A firm voice resonated inside everyone's heads, making everyone go silent immediately. Erina held her head as everyone regarded her once more. "It pains me to do it to so many at once, so please don't make me do it again. Just wait a few more minutes, and you'll be released to the field."

"In fact, I say the quicker we get there, the better." A man walked onstage, an air of haughtiness around him as he more or less pushed her off the stand. "Thank you for your time, Erina. I'm Kyoya Nomura, the owner of several buildings in this prefecture, including this stadium. I must say I'm positively thrilled that this is happening in my immaculate arena! It took so much time and planning to erect such a beautiful building from the ground up, and so many businesses had to be…relocated, shall we say? But once that was taken care of, it was like art. One by one…" He droned on for some time as Erina looked offended by his behavior, yet restrained from saying anything. The other two officers had also taken a different demeanor in response to this man.

"…and I'll be the first to assure all you parents that there is absolutely no reason to worry. I say this with complete honesty, this is as secure an event you could ever hope for! I mean, the woman who kickstarted this whole festival used to be on my force. Well, back when I was Chief. How long has it been since we worked together, Erina? Seven, going on eight years?"

"If we could just stay on topic of the tournament."

He placed his hand on her shoulder, a gesture clearly not appreciated by her, the other policemen, or the students, who'd developed a pretty unflattering opinion about the man. "You were a great detective; your power was unmatched in digging up the truth in those tougher to crack cases. And the pay was easily twice what you made here. Almost makes you want to go back, if just for the money?"

"I never worked for you, I worked adjacent to your organization. Don't get it twisted. Now can we please-"

"That's right, and why'd you quit again? Invasion of privacy? Personal morals? The things your teacher puts ahead of the law, sometimes you wonder whether she's fit to fill our little boys and girls heads with her own foolish ideals, am I right?"

He laughed to dead silence, the tension becoming ever tauter between the two. "You know, she's so caught up in her head, she'd probably let someone get away with murder! 'Personal Liberties' and such. And she teaches the young ones those same principles."

"I'd like us to move on now. I'm sure the students would like to get to the demonstration."

"Doesn't that make you an accomplice? Someone else might say you're just as guilty as they were." He kept a smug smile on his face throughout the exchange, saying everything as if it was a joke, though no one else found it funny.

"There were no eyewitnesses, and no testimony brought to the stand that suggested-"

"But what about you? Your refusal to testify-"

Erina's voice began to waver, cracking ever so slightly as her volume rose above her average speaking level. "My refusal to testify is my choice and my right as a citizen of this country. I will not resort to activities that turn the justice system into a surveillance state, regardless of any benefit there could be. And you won't guilt trip me to be ashamed of my position. Now if you would stop your needless banter and finish, we have an event to undergo."

Silence. It was almost deafening. Even after the many times they'd pushed her, the students had never seen her so angry. To her credit, she took it better than some of the audience, but she'd told them telepathically to stay out of it, in the chance he'd kick them out.

"Kanshi, please don't take that tone with me. I'm kindly offering you a helping hand in this pipe dream of yours, and you repay me by yelling at me? By insulting me?" He walked up to Erina and leaned over her smaller frame in an imposing manner.

"No- I didn't…I certainly appreciate-"

He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't interrupt me. I'm lending you an entire stadium. Don't forget that I could take back everything right now. And I'm still investigating your trial as well, so maybe you should treat the police chief with a little more respect."

Officer Ikasaki brusquely tugged him away from Erina and off the stage. "Former Chief of Police. Let's not forget that your stadium now counts as a 'public service apparatus that can be used within reason by the state, regardless of permission by the owner, unless contractually stated otherwise.' Code 43. A law you spearheaded and instated as chief. Now, if I must insist, please don't touch the pretty lady, hm?"

The students felt they were suddenly intruding on a personal affair, and did their best to pretend to be preoccupied with other things.

"Apologies, Officer. It was all in good jest, I'm sure she understands." Clearing his throat, he snatched away from Ikasaki and went back to the podium. "The demonstration will be held on the field. Training dummies have been placed on the halfway mark across the field for each line marking. The zones are each 30 meters across with blah blah blah…basically, do whatever you want to it, just try and stay in your zone. Good luck to all you shining stars!" His well wishes betrayed by his malice-filled stare towards the two police men, he almost left the room, but he rushed back to the podium, a notable change in demeanor as he returned for a final time.

"And I almost forgot! A shoutout to my wonderful daughter, Ranika! Always pushing herself forward to greater heights, despite any setbacks that come her way! Love you, sweetie!" With that, he finally left the stand for good.

As for Suiiki, as well as half the school, they turned towards Ranika, who was boring a hole in every eye that looked at her, causing everyone to turn away just as quickly.

Genso didn't seem to sense her hostility and asked the obvious question. "He's your father? Quite the character, if a bit provocative. That's the Kyoya Nomura who owns many buildings and businesses in this town, right?"

"What do you think, dipshit!?" Genso receded away from her outburst, causing her to cringe at her own behavior. "Sorry, sorry…that disgusting thing did play a part in my birth, so yes, he is my father, but I'll never call him that. Just a piece of shit as far as I'm concerned. God, I wish he'd just choke and die!"

Tsubame held her arm to console her. "Just breathe in. That's over and done with now. Just think about what you need to do today, don't let that get in the way."

Taking her advice, Ranika paused to take a deep breath before speaking again. "Okay, I'm calm, I'm calm. Do you think I should apologize to Erina? I hate when he does that for no reason than to be an asshole."

"You're very considerate. I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. If anything, I'd be concerned for yourself. Enjoy today as much you can. I want you to do your best, without any regretful thoughts on your mind."

"I agree with the crazy voice in my head, you shouldn't worry over what he's going to do." Unfortunately, Erina's message wasn't only given to Ranika, and Suiiki responded in kind.

"I didn't intend for you to hear that, Suiiki. I'm a little stressed, so it's hard for me to focus-"

"Oh, it's not a crazy voice, it's Erina."

"…yes, of course it's me. What else could it could it have been?"

"I don't know, maybe God spoke to me as a sign he chose me as his next authority. I could be the Pope if that happened. What do you think about me being Pope?" He was no longer talking to anyone in particular, going off on his own tangent. "You think water users would get a boost in standing in the world if I was God's authority? Actually, I had this dream, right? I hurt myself, cut my arm clean off, but this angel appeared out of nowhere, took off a piece of her hair, and used it to sow my arm back on. Her hair was long too, like, Rapunzel would be jealous. You know, I'd like to try cutting my arm off, just so I can see if she was real. Hmm, you could make a religion out of this."

His four friends looked at him in absurdity, none able to follow his train of thought. "…what are you talking about?"

"I don't know. I'm still miffed I never got to try Mizucho, by the way! Erina, I blame you for this! Curse you, woman!"

"…Suiiki, please just head outside."

"Sorry about him, Erina. I suspected he'd pull something to try and get to you."

"It's fine, Satori. I'll feel much better knowing you two will be there. You've always been so nice to me, even though I was so uncooperative at times."

Ikasaki patted her head as he reassured her. "Puh-lease! Don't apologize about being true to yourself. If what you believe forbids you from acting, then by all means! Never act again! Being motivated is overrated!" Striking a flamboyant pose, he ran his hand through his lime-green hair as he struck a pose for a camera that wasn't there.

"I wouldn't take that advice." Satori said. "Or he's wording it terribly. If anything, don't be afraid of him. He doesn't have any power over you. Never has and never will. He's just a wannabe bully."

"And the rest of our team will be there too, so if he does anything funny, we'll keep him in check!"

"What about Latelia? Any word from her lately?"

They both sighed. Though their shrugs were meant to display nonchalance, it gave way to a deeper sadness in their responses. "Still away, for what seems an eternity of a vacation."

Erina felt guilty bringing back a bittersweet memory. "I didn't mean to upset either of you."

"Ah, it is no slight upon us, darling! Hanako is still coming, I'm sure you know! You two were thicker than thieves for a while! And of course, yours truly will spice up the ladies with every spoken word." Ikasaki produced a rose from his hand, giving it to the still troubled teacher. "Much like this rose, my love for these fledgling little heroes is undying, and I'll see to it no harm befalls them!"

Satori thought for a second about this promise before asking, "Wait, don't your flowers die after two ho-"

Planting a finger on the other's lips, he hushed him immediately. "Symbolism, please try and keep up. It's all in the mind, you know?"

She slightly bowed her head in gratitude. "I thank you for sparing the time to comfort me; it's hard dealing with such a…person as Kyoya." Taking her time to ask her next question, she spoke quieter than before. "Ikasaki…will the chief be there?"

Losing a bit of pep, he nodded. "Yes, yes she will. Likewise, I take it you're thinking of how she'll treat the children?"

Satori mirrored the lament. "It's no secret she doesn't exactly thrive in the social aspects, so it would be optimal to leave her outside the more student interactive activities."

Erina bit her cheek thinking. "I'm just thinking about the fact a Chimera weapon will be shown so early on to my students. I'd hoped they wouldn't see one this soon. You know them – they see something shiny and they just have to touch it. Isn't there a way she'd sit this one out? I love the poor thing, don't get me wrong, but it could set a bad example for the students."

Ikasaki resolutely shook his head. "Alas, to no avail were my efforts to persuade her. She doesn't love much in this undeserving world, but she loves her sister, and she'd never miss Ranika's debut into hero society."

"And it is quite an understandable sentiment. Regardless, we'll just have to try and keep her apart from the class and hope for the best. Honestly, if someone did try and attack the festival it might occupy her long enough so she won't be seen too often."

Satori looked out the window overviewing the field when he, without warning, left the room in a hurry. The other two became alert to his sudden distraught state and checked to see what brought upon his burst. Erina soon followed the same pattern set by Satori as she ran outside the building as well. Ikasaki stayed observing for a while longer, hand over his mouth chuckling to himself, in no hurry to make his way down to help out.

"My, what a stage this is turning out to be."