Well, what a day it's been! After getting the last chapter of "Avengers: Omni Force" out, I'm glad to see that I can add another chapter of "Through the Rough" onto the table! Right now, we're closing in on 200 reviews, which I hope we manage to get to by the end of next month. Anyways, thank you all so much for your continued support.

It looks early May is where we'll have caught up with everything. By then, there should be a special preview for what's ahead in the story and how it'll unfold from there on out. Furthermore, I am willing to take on some suggestions for story elements in the future. I do have some things planned, but not everything. We'll see how the story unfolds.

Until, please enjoy the chapter!

Laguna wandered down the halls, wincing a little from the bruises he got in his fight against Katsuki. He turned a corner to find Maria there alongside Kleene and Kris. The former of the trio licked a lollipop while on her cellphone. She took notice of the Tears Lover Quirk user and cracked a smirk.

"Well, if it isn't the guy who wound up getting in further than he should've..." she remarked. Laguna let out a frustrated sigh.

"Look, I wanted to make it seem legit," he told the group.

"Well, you making it legit made us late in making our call together..." the Slime Quirk user muttered out.

"I don't believe he sounded upset about it," Kleene chimed in.

"Whatever..." Kris said with crossed arms, "We can't keep him waiting any longer," he noted to the others, who all nodded in agreement. Maria then tapped the speaker icon on her phone.

"Boss, we're all here," she said.

"The four of you had quite a time today, huh?" the voice of Drakken inquired curiously, "Gotta admit, I loved seeing Laguna trounce some of those hero hopefuls," he confessed, sitting upon a couch with Seth and Diego beside him.

"Gee, can you be any more of an ass-kisser?" Maria inquired through the line, causing him to chuckle.

"We got word that the IUA is gonna send out offers to the top sixteen from the tournament," he told those listening, "That means Laguna and the Rutherfords might have a chance to enter the agency of the number three hero," he noted to them.

"The multi-hero agency in Tokyo?" Kleene inquired, sounding quite surprised.

"Tsk..." Maria scoffed in frustration, knowing that she wouldn't be sent an offer.

"...This means I'll have to transfer into the Hero Course if I'm sent one of the offers, right?" Laguna guessed after a moment.

"Yeah, that's right," Drakken responded, "It'd be good to have someone on the inside to find out what's going on there..." he pointed out, "Laguna, Kris," he continued, causing the two boys to perk up, "I want you two to meet up with me over the weekend," he requested, "I'm gonna have the both of you get ready for this damn internship," he decided, "Kleene, pick whatever other agency you want except for the IUA," he advised of the Wind Snatch Quirk user, "I don't want people getting suspicious about both Rutherfords attending the same hero agency..." he mentioned seriously.

"Yes, Drakken," she replied with a nod.

"We'll do as you say," Kris promised firmly.

"Okay, talk to you later, boss..." Maria grumbled before ending the call, "Yeesh..." she growled, "If it wasn't for that Bluegarden girl predicting my attack, I would've gotten into the second round like the rest of you..." she complained.

"Predicted?" Kris repeated in confusion, "How so?" he asked curiously.

"She just... acted like she knew what I was gonna do..." the Slime Quirk user answered, narrowing her eyes, "Look just forget I said anything, alright?" she requested, "I'm pretty sure I'm already on Drakken's hitlist for screwing up..." she muttered out.

"Sorry," Kris apologized as they walked off. Kleene started to head after them, but then took notice of Laguna staying behind, having his hands stuffed into his pockets as he glanced down in deep thought.

"You coming, Lagunarino?" she asked, getting his attention.

"...I'll catch up," he assured in response, allowing her to head off on her way, "Huh..." he sighed out. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he didn't want to transfer out of General Studies. He made friends while there. And with them, he had bonded with Hitoshi...

'Stop that,' he reprimanded of himself, 'You're playing a part, so play it,' he insisted inwardly before walking off.

"Agh..." Shoto groaned as he opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed shirtless in the nurse's office, sitting up and blinking in surprise. He looked around and found bandages wrapped around his arms along with ones he felt around his legs.

"Hey, he's awake," Sister's voice chimed in, getting his attention as he saw her come over, dressed in her nun's habit. Alongside her was Endeavor, though his appearance made the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user do a double-take. For one, his flames were out, revealing his face and beard in full. And that led to the second surprising detail his son noticed. He looked... genuinely concerned.

"Shoto... are you alright?" he asked of him.

"I..." he uttered out, shaking his head, "What do you care?" he questioned, turning away, "I lost the fight, didn't I?" he guessed.

"Actually, it was a draw like the last one," Sister noted, getting his attention, "You and she fell over at the same exact time..." she mentioned motioning over to her right. Turning his head, Shoto looked over and saw an unconscious Homura lying upon another bed while being tended to by Recovery Girl. She didn't seem to be too badly injured, but her arms were bandaged much like his.

"Is she... going to be okay?" he asked in concern.

"Well, she won't be fighting again for sure..." Recovery Girl answered, "Some of her skin was ripped off thanks to that ice, and she wound up with some light burns," she explained, "But she'll be fine after plenty of rest," she assured with a small smile. Shoto turned away, clutching his bedsheets tightly.

"Then I assume I'm advancing automatically again?" he guessed.

"Shoto..." his father uttered out.

"Isn't that you'd want, Endeavor?" he asked of him with an annoyed glare. To his surprise, the Flame Hero exhaled a sigh.

"You won't be fighting anymore today..." he confirmed, "Because of how your match with Kogetsu ended, Midnight and Cementoss concluded that you wouldn't be able to continue into the finals," he told him, "I... actually insisted that you shouldn't continue..." he admitted, lowering his head. His son was left surprised. This genuine act of caring seemed to be so... out of character.

"In fairness, that was the right call," Sister chimed in, "Homura left a lot of cuts in you," she noted, "Doubt you'd wanna keep fighting like that, right?" she inquired.

"Uh... yeah..." Shoto responded, calming down, "So that means that the finals are between...?" he started to assume.

"Bakugo and Granbell," his father finished for him.

"Explosion versus Satan Gravity, huh?" Minoru noted back from the stands, putting a hand onto his chin, "I think Granbell's got a great chance to finally knock Bakugo down a peg..." he pointed out as he nodded firmly.

"Yeah, but Bakugo's different compared to a lot of Granbell's other opponents..." Hanta mentioned to get his attention.

"Indeed," Fumikage agreed, "Though I do believe he will win this match," he concluded.

"Well, it's gonna depend on whether or not Bakugo's able to make Granbell reach his limit with his Quirk," Kyoka told them, "Kinda like how he did with Ochaco," she added in explanation.

"Good point, Jiro!" Mina complimented, "Ether-Types only last for so long for people before they run out of steam," she mentioned.

"It was especially bad for you, Steiner," Tsuyu noted to Weisz, getting his attention, "Since you wore that armored suit and used your Quirk on it, you wasted away all your energy in just a minute..." she recalled. The Machina Maker Quirk user grimaced with embarrassment.

"Thanks for the damn reminder..." he muttered out, crossing his arms and turning away.

"Who do you think's gonna win, Deku?" Ochaco asked of the freckled teen sitting between her and Rebecca, holding his notebook in his left hand.

"It's... actually hard to tell who could win here," he admitted to their surprise, along with those of the students listening to him, "Kacchan's changed up his fighting style, and I haven't gotten to see Granbell long enough in a fight to get decent data," he pointed out, "Either way..." he continued, taking a deep breath, "I'm hoping that Granbell comes out on top," he said. Rebecca gave off a nod.

"So am I," she agreed. The crowd started cheering as they watched Shiki and Katsuki make their way onto the stage, both glaring at each other all the while. The latter cracked a wicked grin.

"What was that you were saying earlier about 'kicking my ass'?" he inquired of his foe. Green-glowing lines of energy appeared along the Satan Gravity Quirk user's arms as he closed his hands into fists.

'If you have a friend who sheds tears...' a deep, calming voice echoed in his head.

"I'll fight... FOR THOSE TEARS!" he bellowed in declaration.

And the final battle begins next chapter! I know you're all looking to Shiki and Katsuki duking it out, so hopefully that update will arrive sooner than later with your help! Once again, thanks for all of your support!