UA Stadium (Day)

Dominic was trying his best not to crack up. "May I ask, why?" the blonde said. All of his female classmates were dressed in cheerleader outfits. Thankfully, they hadn't gone out onto the field yet.

"Aizawa said we were supposed to put these on." Uraraka said.

"Did he now? Did he tell you this himself?" Dominic asked, suspicion growing in his mind.

"No, it was Kaminari and Minet- Oh, son of a-" Jiro said, realization dawning for her.

"I had a feeling. What do you say about a little payback?" Dominic suggested.

"I'm listening." Ashido said, smiling.

UA Stadium (Day)

"Now that lunch is over, it's finally time to reveal the last game!" Present Mic announced. "But before that, there's good news for all of you who didn't make it to the finals. This is a sports festival, so we've prepared recreational activities that everyone can participate in too! We've even brought real cheerleaders from America to liven things up! Wait. What are they doing?"

As Class 1-A walked out onto the field, everyone's eyes were instantly glued to Kaminari and Mineta, who were dressed up in cheerleader outfits. Covering their faces were clouds of white mist.

"Yarara. I love schadenfreude." Dominic said, snapping his fingers and lifting the trance.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" both boys screamed. They tried to cover their shame, but it was too late. YouTube had already seen them in those adorably humiliating outfits.

Even Present Mic was laughing. "What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that!?"

"Thanks for helping us with this." Jiro said to Dominic.

"What are friends for?" the blonde responded, uploading Mineta and Kaminari's embarrassment to every social media platform on Earth.

"All right, everyone! Let's have fun competing in the recreational games!" Present Mic said. "When that's over, the sixteen from the four teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style! One on one!"

"A tournament?" Dominic said. "This'll be a piece of cake." In the past, he'd participated in many tournaments. The first one though... He would try and stay away from those memories.

"Is it a tournament every year?" Ashido asked.

"Yep. Sometimes they change the rules, but the basic premise is the same." Sero explained. "Last year, it was a sports chanbara match."

Midnight quickly took the stage. "Now then, to decide the brackets, we'll draw lots." she said, holding a lot box. "Once the bracket is determined, we'll have the recreational games and then start! The sixteen finalists can choose whether or not they want to participate in the recreation. I'm sure some of you want to save your strength. Now, from the first-place team,-"

"Um, excuse me." Ojiro interrupted, raising his hand. "I'm withdrawing."

"Ojiro, why?" Midoriya asked, confused.

"This is a rare chance for pros to see you." Iida stated.

"I barely remember anything from the Cavalry Battle until the end." Ojiro explained. "I think it was that guy's Quirk. I know that this is a great chance, and that it's foolish to waste it. But everyone here competed by giving their all. I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened."

"That's really noble of you, Ojiro." Dominic said, putting his hand on his classmate's shoulder. "Stupid, yes. But noble."

"Thanks, Xiao-Long. At least, I think." the tailed boy said. "Also, why are Kaminari and Mineta wearing cheerleader uniforms?"

"I have no idea." Midoriya said.

"I do. They were going to trick the girls into wearing those outfits." Dominic explained. "So, we got them back by making them wear them instead." Cue maniacal laughter.

"Sometimes, you scare me." Iida said.

"Aw, shucks. Really?" Dominic asked, smiling.

Soon enough, the brackets were ready to be displayed.

Kirishima vs Tetsutestu

'Oh, please tell me this isn't going to be another Metapod vs Metapod situation.' Dominic silently pleaded, recalling the samurai of Viridian Forest.

Yaoyorozu vs Tokoyami

Ashido vs Aoyama

Midoriya vs Shinso

Xiao-Long vs Kaminari

'Well, this should be fun.' Dominic thought with a smile, waiting impatiently to see everyone's faces.

Sero vs Todoroki

Shiozaki vs Kaminari

Bakugo vs Uraraka

Hatsume vs Iida

'Iida, you're going to need a change of pants after this.' Dominic thought to himself, knowing how...off the walls his pink-haired friend could be.

UA Stadium (Day)

After around an hour of recreational activities, it was time for the tournament to start.

"Hey guys! Are you ready?" Present Mic shouted. Everyone in the crowd responded quite loudly. "A lot's happened, but it's finally come to this! A serious battle! Even if you're not a hero, you'll face lots of situations like that! Knowledge, Emotion, Willpower. That's what makes a hero's heart! Everyone! It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Match Number 1: It's the underdog of Class 1A, Midoriya Izuku from the Hero Course! His opponent hasn't done anything to stand out yet, but here's Shinso Hitoshi from General Studies!"

Shinso walked onto the battlefield, an almost dead expression on his face.

"The rules are simple. Force your opponent out of bounds or immobilize them. You can also win by making your opponent say, 'I give up'." Present Mic explained as both boys stepped onto the battlefield. "Bring on the injuries! Cause we've got Recovery Girl on standby. Put your morals and ethics aside, but of course, anything life-threatening is against the rules!"

"I'll stop things if they get too far." Cementoss said, taking a seat in a chair he conjured.

"Hmm. I give up, huh?" Shinso said, as if trying out the phrase for the first time. "This is a fight to test the strength of your spirit. If you know what you want for your future, then you can't worry about appearances. That monkey was going on about his pride, but don't you think it was dumb to throw away his chance?"

It wasn't easy for Dominic to hear what Midoriya and Shinso were saying to each other from the stands, but whatever the purple-haired boy said, it immediately got under Midoriya's skin. After the greenette took a few steps, he abruptly stopped.

"No! I warned him and he still got hit with it!" Ojiro exclaimed.

"So, it is some kind of mind control." Dominic figured out.

"How do you know?" Uraraka asked.

"I've seen it before." the blonde explained. "Lack of autonomy, blank stare, a sense of unease when I look at him. The list goes on."

"So, it's like what you did to Mineta and Kaminari?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"No. I cast mirages. This appears to be more akin to brainwashing." Dominic said.

"Wait, that was you!?" Kaminari shouted.

"Hmm? I don't know what you're talking about." the blonde said, grinning coyly. As he said this, he watched as Midoriya turned around and started to walk out of bounds.

"This isn't good." Ojiro said nervously. "When I was put under that spell, I only snapped out of it when someone bumped into me. But Midoriya doesn't have anyone to help him down there!"

Everyone in Class 1A watched with bated breath as their classmate got closer and closer to the edge of the battlefield. But when he began to take the final step, something strange happened. Somehow, Midoriya had used his Quirk to break out of the brainwashing by snapping his fingers.

'Now what's this?' Dominic asked himself as his left eye flared up. While nobody else noticed, the boy had sensed a magnificent Aura coming from Midoriya's body. It felt familiar and new at the same time, a true enigma. 'Where have I felt this Aura before?' the blonde thought to himself as he absentmindedly watched the rest of the battle, which Midoriya ended up winning.

Whether or not that victory was attributed to his own willpower or that bizarre nine-hued Aura remained unknown.

Aura

A mysterious energy that emanates from every living thing. By training one's Aura, a person can heighten their senses or create a sort of forcefield around their bodies. Those truly adept with their Aura can even sense incoming attacks or tell what a person is feeling from half a mile away.