It occurred to my Beta to inform me that not-everyone is familiar with Arachnid and subsequently Caterpillar, the manga from which Oki Megumi (Gokiburi in the "Vitalityverse") originates and the detail that went into Genki's Mutant-Type Quirk was inspired by. To that end, since those and Killing Bites are really great manga, I'll provide a summary for Arachnid.
[Arachnid Summary]
Fuji Alice's life had always been difficult due to a mental condition no-one understood. Her life only got worse when she came home to find her uncle killed by the assassin Kumo (lit. "Spider"). While fighting for survival, Kumo notices her ability and trains her to become his successor. Suzumebachi (lit. "Hornet") of the assassin organization is against Kumo's involvement in her life, and thus the Arachnid Hunt begins, various insect-themed assassins each with their own unique method of killing and their own motivations for doing so sent after her, with only a few allies she can call upon for backup. Series includes insect (arthropod) trivia, poisons, cybernetics, and... hoooly SHIT that's wrong! And graphic. But also wrong!
Obviously, there are differences between Oki in Arachnid and her My Hero Academia iteration. The largest difference of all is that the assassins of The Organization wouldn't be "anything special" in the MHAverse. Some of them would be high-end Villains to be sure, but the general populous wouldn't be completely helpless against them, because with Quirks, people can fight back instead of being slaughtered like cattle. Because circumstances are different in the MHAverse as well, not all the Assassins who make appearances in Vigorous Vitality will be evil, some would actually be Heroes because it's a tangible career path with benefits like a health plan and dental.
Arachnid is the first manga I read by Murata Shinya, and Caterpillar is the prequel. Killing Bites is unrelated as it doesn't take place within the same universe, but the same general theme exists, only it has a heavy emphasis on gene-modding as the source of power instead of skills, mutations, or cybernetics, and it's more like a Battle Shounen.
Anyway, since this chapter is only 2.4K and doesn't cover a whole lot plot-wise, this'll be a rare double-release. Hope you enjoy it!
*MHA*
"Lunch break is now over! Before we get to the final event, I've got good news for all of those out of the running!" Present Mic announced as students and spectators alike began to pour back into the arena. "This is still a sports festival, so we've prepared a recreational activity for all participants! We've even shipped in cheerleaders from America to get you pumped up… Hmmm? What's this?"
"What're they doing?" Aizawa mumbled as students and spectators alike turned to the female students of Class 1-A, now clad in matching uniforms and pompoms to the cheerleaders, just with none of the pep.
In fact most of them looked like they'd swallowed a lemon.
"MINETA! KAMINARI! YOU TRICKED US?!" Momo raged, face flushed in embarrassment as the others hung their heads.
"All the girls have to be part of the cheer squad after lunch! Like them, over there!"
"No one told us about that…"
"Don't trust me? Whatever. Your loss. Aizawa-sensei told us about it himself."
"How'd I let myself get fooled by Mineta's stupid prank…?" Momo wailed.
"Those idiots…" Kyoka growled in embarrassment as she threw her pompoms down.
"Still time before the main event, no sense in sitting around. Why not just go with it?! It could be fun!" Toru giggled as she pumped her pompoms enthusiastically.
"You're enjoying this, Toru," Tsuyu commented as the invisible girl pumped in enough pep for the six of them.
"Hope everyone enjoys this little recreational competition! Once that's over, we're on to the final event! Between the seventeen members of the five winning teams, we'll have a formal tournament, a thrilling series of one-on-one battles!"
"A tournament, huh? So we'll be up in that ring I see on TV every year!" Kirishima said, sufficiently pumped up.
"Was it a tournament last year too?" Mina asked.
"The format's always different, but most years involve some kind of head-to-head competition," Sero nodded.
"The matchups will be decided by drawing lots. Once that's settled, we'll move onto the festivities and then the tournament itself!" Midnight announced, holding up a box with the word Lots slapped across the front. "Its up to each of you finalists to decide whether or not you participate in the fun. I expect some of you would rather take a breather and save your strength. Now, let's start with the first-place team-"
"Um… Excuse me," Ojiro announced, raising up his hand. "I'd… like to drop out," he confessed, much to his peers' wide-eyed shock.
"Ojiro? Why?!"
"This is your chance to get noticed by the pros!" his classmates exclaimed in shock.
"The cavalry battle… I have no memories of anything that happened up until the tail end. It's probably his Quirk that did it…" the [Tail] user confessed to his friends.
'That's right. Ojiro was teamed up with that guy…' Genki thought as he turned his eyes to his fellow General Course student, the indigo-haired teen shifting his head as the green-haired teen from 1-A tried to meet his gaze.
"I know this is a great opportunity. I know how stupid it must seem to throw it all away. But… This final tournament… Everyone else made it here by their own strength, yet I'm standing her and I don't even know why," Ojiro said clenching his fist. "I just… I can't accept that."
"You're thinking about it too hard! Just show what you're made of in the tournament!" Toru spoke up.
"Yeah, by that logic, I shouldn't really be here either," Mina confessed.
"No, I'm talking about my pride here… I don't think it's right," the teen said, shaking as he palmed his face. "Also… Why the heck are you girls dressed like that anyway?" he said turning away, unsure where to look.
"I… I can't remember anything either. I wanna withdraw too!" Nirengeki Shoda spoke up. "This is a contest of skill. Letting someone who didn't do anything advance… Doesn't it defeat the whole point of the Sports Festival? Isn't it even against the rules?"
"These guys! So manly!" Kirishima awed.
"We have a strange turn of events… What will the coordinator, Midnight, decide?" Present Mic wondered.
"How naïve and green… I LIKE IT!" Midnight said with manic glee as she cracked her whip through the air. "Ojiro and Shoda have officially withdrawn!"
'She liked it?!' was the sum thoughts of most of the competitors.
"Replacing those two will be members of Team Kendo." "Because reasons…" Genki could've sworn he heard her mutter.
"If it's gonna be like that, shouldn't it be them instead? I mean, we were immobilized practically the whole time," Itsuka stated as she turned her head. "They were giving it their all to keep what they had until the very end. Team Tetsutetsu, I mean," she went on to say, causing said team to look up in surprise. "Don't worry, we're not colluding or anything. This just feels right."
"Y… You guys!" Tetsutetsu bawled, crying manly tears.
Tetsutetsu's team in turn selected their representatives, putting their strongest feet forward.
"So be it! Tetsutetsutetsu and Shiozaki bring us back up to seventeen competitors!" Midnight announced. "However, because of the odd number of students competing in the finals this year, one of you will have to fight one time extra. So… Who's it going to be~?" Midnight asked holding up a different ballot box, a masochistic look in her eyes.
The seventeen finalists walking up to Midnight one after the next, taking hold of folded sheets of paper from the box, all at once the gathered students opened them. All of them were greeted by blank pieces of paper… sans one.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Genki grumbled as a big red dot stared up at him, all eyes falling on he who would potentially have to fight four times to get to the finals to everyone else's hypothetical three.
"Aallright! Now that that's out of the way, it's time for everyone to draw their ballots!" Midnight announced holding up the original Lots box. The gathered students drawing their lots, Midnight compiled the results, the jumbo screen behind her showing a four-stage tournament bracket accommodating seventeen competitors, all lines of which lead up to a golden crown featuring the Yuuei insignia, a large U with an A imposed in the middle. "And heeere are the matchups!"
The blank slots on the seventeen-branched root-like bracket, opening the tournament up was Midoriya v Shinso.
'If I win my first match… My second's against Todoroki!' Izuku realized, seeing the Todoroki v Sero placard in the next match after his, what he'd discussed with Shoto just after the Cavalry Battle ended fresh in his mind. "Shinso. That's gotta be…"
"Midoriya Izuku. That's you, right?" the indigo-haired Shinso asked as he came up behind Izuku, causing the green-haired teen to straighten.
'It's him…!' Izuku gaped, remembering whom the glassy-eyed Ojiro had teamed up with in the last round.
Before he could speak up however, to his and Ojiro's surprise both, it was the hand of Genki that clamped over his mouth, stopping him from answering.
"Hitoshi…" the oily-haired teen hummed.
"Genki…" the indigo-haired teen returned.
"Can I have a word with you?" he stated, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.
" . . . ?" Midoriya could only look on in confusion as the indigo-haired teen was led away.
"Midoriya," Ojiro called, getting his attention. "That guy… Don't answer him."
"?!"
'Sooner than expected, then…' Todoroki mused, writing off his first battle from the get-go. 'Bring your best, Midoriya. I'm taking you down.'
While he did want to bring down Gokiburi Genki as well, the oily-haired teen was in a completely separate tournament block from him, and the soonest they'd be able to meet would be in the final match; if that.
As the Hero Course students became acquainted with their own opponents, some's reactions different than others, Hitoshi and Genki regarded one another, eyes of indigo meeting eyes of brown. The two General Course students held a stern gaze for several seconds, but ultimately is was Genki who spoke first.
"Congrats on making it this far."
"Thanks, though it was only natural you'd make it this far. You paint a big-enough target on your back?"
"So… I see you got a little chatty with the competition before the Cavalry Battle," he said glancing at Ojiro and Nirengeki.
"These Hero Course kids are so full of themselves, they made it almost too easy," the wielder of [Brainwash] chuckled. "Plus, you kicked up so much dust, no-one even noticed me slink on through to the final event."
" . . . I won't criticize you for your methods. I'm not much different," Genki admitted as he glanced at Mineta. "All I'll say is… good luck," he said holding out his hand, the indigo-haired teen regarding the oily-haired teen's hand before grasping it, giving it a firm shake.
"Good luck to you too. May the best man win."
"Trust me, I intend to give it my best shot," Genki said with a grin.
"You know… You're the only person who can talk so fluidly with me," Hitoshi marveled. "That's a really good Quirk you have, making you immune to guys like me."
"More like a resistance. Nothing about my Quirk gives me full-on immunity," Genki corrected. " . . . Watch out for that kid's right hook," he said jerking his thumb at Midoriya. "Whatever Quirk he has, it's not joke."
"Oh don't worry, I know exactly how to get under the skin of self-righteous guys like that," Shinso said with a self-assured grin.
"I don't doubt that," Genki said looking up at the tournament bracket.
Before he could even make it to the preliminary round proper, he would first have to fight his partner from the Cavalry Battle, Minoru Mineta, the winner of which would go on to face Ashido Mina, the wielder of [Acid]. After that came either Tokoyami Fumikage or Yaoyarozu Momo, and after that, whoever managed to come out on top between Uraraka, Bakugou, Tetsutetsu, or Kirishima.
"Aaalllright! Now that we've set aside the tournament for the time being, let's get on with the thrill-a-minute festivities!" Present Mic announced loudly.
*MHA*
During the events that followed, while those that fell short during the Cavalry Battle took part in the supplementary events, those in the final competition prepared in their own ways. Midoriya steeled himself after learning what he could of Shinso's Quirk, Tokoyami meditated up in a tree, Iida guzzled can after can of his premium fuel, Bakugou and Todoroki brooded. Mineta, Sero, Kaminari, and Ibara all competed in the scavenger hunt, while the girls of 1-A cheered their friends on, sans Momo and Kyoka who lacked their friends' enthusiasm. While Shinso was off resting, planning his future verbal assaults, now that his mother had arrived Genki had her make some alterations to his PE uniform, exposing his legs from above the knee down, and doing away with the sleeves entirely to let his skin breathe.
Suffice it to say, some relaxed, others dealt with it differently.
Before they all knew it, they brief reprieve had finally come to an end.
"Thanks, Cementoss!" Present Mic crooned as the blocky hero bent liquid cement into an immaculate tournament stage, even going as far as to incorporate torches into the four corners of the pedestal. "Hey guys! Are you ready?! You've been through hell to get here, but now it's time for the one-on-one tournament! You've got only yourself to rely on! Even if you're not a hero, this saying holds true! You know it! Spirit, technique, strength, wisdom, and knowledge! Use 'em all and show us your best!"