I won't bother with any preamble here, so I'll save any news, etc, for the Author's Notes at the end.

After this chapter, it will be the final, 1-v-1 tournament…but the question is…

"Who will make it to the tournament round?"


U.A. High Sports Festival Stadium, Mustafu, Japan…

May 9th, 12:15 PM T.S.T.

Izuku Midoriya is currently facing a dilemma…

He needs a team of two to four, and because he was in First Place from the prior event, no one he has talked to wanted to be on his team. In fact…

Due to their display from the prior event, everyone was flocking to either Rosa Parker, (the one currently sitting in second) or Sean Hashimoto, (who used to be in third, but asked permission to be placed in last to challenge himself…)

'Oh god! I am in trouble! I cannot be on a team of one or I'll be disqualified from participating!' Izuku thought nervously as he looked for someone, anyone to join his team.

Truthfully, no one wanted Izuku to be disqualified from the second round for various reasons. Chiefly, they wanted to settle who was the real number one and guarantee their placement in the next round of the festival. The real problem is, that everyone is playing the "someone will eventually team up with him" card and were waiting for someone to suck it up and join Izuku's team.

Sean patiently awaited to see what would happen next, as he did since someone was willing to join his team, regardless of whether their placement was in jeopardy. He refused every invitation thrown his way and was focused on Izuku Midoriya.

'Hmm…I could join Rosa's team, but I think I'll let her be on her own. But, let's see who has the guts to invite her, or who will join Midoriya's team…' Sean thought as he turned his gaze upward and saw All Might talking with a familiar face to the visitor.

'Heh, I thought she was staying home and watching the Sports Festival from there? Guess Principal Nezu invited her to watch the game…' He thought with a small chuckle in his throat, figuring this would be interesting.

Sean then looked back at Midoriya talking with Uraraka and smiled as he knew she would not let Izuku down. He even caught the tail-end of their conversation with his enhanced hearing…

"I-I think you are overestimating me, Uraraka-san…" Izuku responded to Ochako's earlier response.

Uraraka replied with a fist bump to the air, and then in a huge, bubbly smile, "Like I would, Deku-kun! Anyway, it's better to team up with people you get along with!"

Hearing that said by his best friend (and small crush) was too much for Izuku to handle, as it made his heart squeeze tightly in his chest. Enough so for Uraraka to ask why he was making an ugly face, with Izuku replying that Ochako was so bright when she said that he couldn't look straight at her. Sean laughed a little at the exchange between the two friends.

"Ha! Uraraka-san makes a good point. It is better to team up with people you get along with. Makes it easier to put your trust in each other, which is something I think the school should emphasize more." Sean said in a whisper, as he was surrounded by teams that were looking to add him to theirs.

He looked around to see that most of the teams were already being finalized, with a few even meeting the maximum of four members. Sean then saw the General Studies student, Hitoshi Shinso approach Rosa. He was followed by Mashirao Ojiro and Nirengeki Shoda, who had a suspiciously empty look on their faces like they were in a trance…

The young man then saw that Izuku and Ochako approached their friend, Tenya Īda, and asked him to be on their team. He could guess that Izuku was giving Īda the lowdown on his plan, but Sean knew what was coming from the class representative as he got closer and overheard their conversation.

"It's a brilliant plan, and it could certainly work," Īda remarked in thought.

Ochako asked with a smile, "Then, we just need one more teammate!"

Īda frowned a little as he replied, "Actually, I have to refuse your invitation, Midoriya…"

Izuku and Ochako looked at Īda with surprise as the bespectacled speedster continued, "You had surpassed me yet again. As a friend, I couldn't be more happy. And I am honored you wish to include me on your team. But, if I want to be a hero, I cannot keep falling behind you. I wish to surpass you, Midoriya. So, Todoroki had already asked me to join his team, and I accepted."

Izuku then saw Shoto Todoroki come up with Momo Yaoyorozu and Denki Kaminari (both of whom, gave Izuku a small, apologetic look). Izuku let out a sad sigh as he understood Īda's stance, and even could see himself from his friend's point of view.

"This is my declaration of war to you, Midoriya!" Īda finished, adopting a serious expression on his face.

Izuku replied, "I understand, Īda. No hard feelings afterward, and I'll face your challenge head-on."

Īda wordlessly nodded in acceptance and soon rejoined his teammates, the four eventually discussed strategy away from everyone else…

Rosa looked really annoyed right now, as she refused to join any team or include others in her team. Although she wanted to add her husband to her team, as he changed places with everyone else, a part of Rosa felt that he wanted her to form her team with other people besides him. She was part glad and part sad, part glad because of her competitive need to outdo her husband/rival, but part sad in that despite being fierce rivals in competitions, she always enjoyed teaming up with Sean.

"Eh…good I guess being on separate teams. If the two of us were on the same team, there would literally be no competition for us and whoever we would have teamed up with." Rosa thought aloud in a hushed whisper.

She eventually sensed a somewhat familiar presence from behind and asked, "And what do you want with me, Hitoshi Shinso?"

The General Studies student flinched and felt his heart skip a beat at that inquiry. She didn't even need to look at him to know exactly where he had been. That spooked Shinso a great deal, enough so that an intrusive thought entered his head about being over his head with his current choices.

The purple-haired young man then saw Rosa Parker turn around and face him directly with a curious frown. Shinso had to fight back the urge to blush as, outside of his declaration of war prior, he had never gotten close enough to get a good look at the transfer student. Shinso had to admit that Rosa was very beautiful, he's a teenage boy, even he's not immune to those intrusive thoughts, and the fact that Rosa crossed her arms emphasizing her ample bust didn't help him resist the urge to stare at her assets.

Rosa rolled her eyes when she knew he wasn't watching her face and thought with a sigh, 'Again. Boys cannot help but focus their eyes on my chest or my butt. It's pretty irritating, especially from that parasite, Mineta. I have a feeling this will continue for the remainder of my extended life.'

Rosa snapped her fingers and said, "Eyes up here if you want to talk to me, Shinso…"

The boy sputtered a little as he caught himself and felt a little ashamed.

Rosa noticed right as he regained composure and saw two others beside him, one was Ojiro from her class, and the other was Shoda from Sean's class. Both boys had vacant stares like they were in a trance, which piqued the Pokémon Trainer's curiosity.

'Strange…I've seen that look before. They must be in some kind of trance, meaning that this upstart has some kind of hypnosis, or mind control Quirk…' Rosa thought as her enhanced senses allowed her to perceive everything she needed to know within a few seconds.

Rosa allowed a small, confident smirk to form as she finished her thoughts, 'Regardless, it is a good thing Sean, Myself, and our friends learned how to resist all forms of mental manipulation. Our Pokémon and our mentors have my thanks, as this is going to be pretty amusing for me…'

Shinso had no clue what Rosa was thinking, so he spoke as he expected things to be going to be like usual. But, instead of insulting her as he usually would with anyone else, he decided on a different approach, to avoid a repeat of her terrifying threat.

"Parker-san, I just want to say that I am sorry for what I said earlier, about declaring war. When I thought about it, you were right. I was a fool, I should have known better. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Rosa studied Shinso's body language and knew he was only being half-honest with his apology. She didn't feel any sign that he was trying to control her mind as he spoke. It made the young woman wonder if he was even trying to use his quirk, or if her mental defenses were so abnormally strong that it didn't register at all. She then thought, that perhaps it only activated if she responded to his words.

With an outstretched hand, Rosa gave Shinso the go-ahead to shake it back. The Gen-Studies boy took it and they shook hands, with Rosa responding to his question with a warm smile.

"It's alright. I forgive you, Shinso-san…"

"!" 'Hmmm?!'

And right there, she sensed what she was waiting for, a mental signal that tried to bypass her mental barriers. Shinso WAS trying to use his quirk! And it was more powerful than she was expecting. It got through enough of her defenses to make her flinch and twitch.

But, training her mind to resist such attacks proved too strong to make her into a puppet for the young man. And watching his expression, she knew he didn't realize his attempt to control her mind had failed, as he started to smirk in satisfaction.

Rosa thought, 'Shaking his hand, I know that Shinso is a kind, good-natured boy who has no interest in abusing his power. Good thing too, that power is more potent than I had expected or trained for, and I would hate to see what would happen if he abused it. I sense his desire to be a hero, even if this power is almost tailor-made for villainy. Like that asshole, Mesmero…eugh! I will never be rid of the memory of that lecherous face he was making at me, that sick-minded mutant.'

Rosa shuddered with disgust at the memory of the Marvel Villain, while Shinso didn't pay attention to her expression or movement, as he felt his quirk connect, but not aware he failed to brainwash Rosa.

Shinso sighed as he thought aloud, "With Parker under my control, now I have a decent shot at making it to the third round."

Rosa noticed he wasn't paying attention to her and tried to not smile, or burst out laughing. She knew this was going to be fun, surprising Shinso, so she quietly walked behind the boy, and then said…

"You must be confident if you didn't realize I was never under your control, Shinso-san…"

That made the boy jump in shock as he whizzed around to face Rosa, who had an eerily friendly smile on her face, but an ominous aura surrounding her. Hitoshi Shinso wanted to curse over how his Brainwashing quirk didn't work, but then he was flooded with curiosity, wondering how is she able to resist the effects of his quirk. Then, his frustration and wonder quickly drained away from his face as he was now VERY afraid, and panicking inside as Shinso realized he may have offended the wrong person, and tried to control someone who could resist his quirk. The dread on his face was palpable, white as paper, with quivering lips, and nervous sweat that made him begin to look like someone who was in the rain.

'I…am…SO DEAD NOW!' Shinso thought as he tightly shut his eyes and braced for Rosa to deliver retribution for his ploy.

But, the slap to the face, the punch in the gut, and the kick in the crotch he was bracing for, never came. He dared to peek open his eyes to look at Rosa and saw she was not going to retaliate.

Rosa smiled as she stated, "If you want me on your team, you could've asked nicely, and not resorted to mind control…"

Shinso wanted to panic a little as his carefully guarded secret weapon for the Sports Festival was no longer one. He did feel some relief that Rosa didn't seem to want to attack him in retribution for his attempt to control her mind. He had not had the best luck with girls before UA once they learned about his quirk. Most of it is suspicion, and he hated it.

He decided that she was not worth any trouble because he couldn't control her mind, so he said, "Never mind, I should ask someone else…"

As he tried to walk away, he felt Rosa grab his shoulder and grip it tight enough to where he couldn't break free. He nervously gulped and turned around as Rosa said…

"I know you tried to control me, but I am not going to hold it against you, for now. And I decided that I'll form a team with you, Mashirao, and Nirengeki. I will guarantee you that we will make it to the next round on two conditions…"

Shinso was surprised that Rosa was not paying any mind to the fact he had a mind control quirk and was even willing to team up with him. He felt his chest tighten a little, but he paid attention to her two conditions, as he was given an opportunity to get the one who was in second place on his team. And he would not waste the opportunity.

"You have a deal, Parker-san…" Shinso said as he shook hands with Rosa, solidifying their bargain.

Sean was observing the interaction at a distance and thought Rosa's conditions were fair. He then took a look back at Midoriya and saw that Izuku was approached by the only support course student to make it to this round.

He recalled hearing Power Loader occasionally complain about a new student who was too energetic and figured this was who the Support Course teacher nicknamed "the Witch of U.A.'s Support Course," Mei Hatsume.

This was the first time Sean had gotten a good look at the girl (having only heard about her in conversations between other Support-Course students at lunch), she had long pink hair that was styled similar to, but not quite like dreadlocks. Hatsume had a huge, wide smile that was both charming, and frightening at the same time, and resting over her forehead was a pair of what looked like custom-made goggles. She wore the U.A. gym uniform, but she had straps that held a jetpack Sean assumed based on its shape. The straps also brought to Sean's attention that Hatsume's uniform emphasized that Hatsume had a curvy figure, large breasts, and wide hips that he knew Minoru Mineta would slobber and lust over. He was confident that only Yaoyorozu and his wife had more curvaceous figures than Hatsume. Sean also took note that Mei was a "grease monkey" as what visible skin he saw had indications she's not too interested in hygiene (she's clean enough to keep healthy, but it is not a priority for her), and despite this, Sean could see that Mei Hatsume had a conventionally pretty face hiding behind her, questionable hygienic choices.

He was willing to admit that she was remarkably attractive, despite having a crazed look in her crosshair eyes. The fact her yellow eyes had literal crosshairs was what caught the Pokémon Trainer by surprise, figuring that was her quirk. Sean also noticed that Mei Hatsume had no awareness of personal space, as she was obvious with her selfish intentions of teaming up with Izuku. Hatsume got really close to Izuku's face which made the boy nervous, and Ochako's aura began to flare up in jealousy. He also detected a slight hint of something bubbling up in Mei's aura when Izuku showed interest in Mei's jetpack, perhaps the beginning of a potential romance…?

Sean shook his head as it was unlikely, but made note that Mei did give off the aura of someone who likely has difficulty making friends. Perhaps teaming up with Midoriya could help her make friends and grow emotionally. And when Izuku walked up to Tokoyami to ask him to be on his team, Sean knew this was now the time to step up and walk to the group…

"I am honored by you wanting me to be on your team Midoriya, but I was already asked to form a team with a couple of Class 1-B's students…" Tokoyami replied, with Dark Shadow appearing and adding, "Had you come a minute earlier, we definitely would have taken you up on your offer. Sorry about that…"

Izuku was a little dejected, as the plan he came up with once Mei joined, Tokoyami would have been the perfect fourth member.

He gave an understanding smile and replied with an open hand for a handshake, "I understand, I wish you luck, Tokoyami-san…"

"In that case, do you want me to be on your team, Midoriya?"

Izuku, Tokoyami, Hatsume, and Uraraka turned around to face the direction of the question and saw it came from Sean.

Uraraka blushed a little as she asked while recalling the time the very boy carried her like a princess on his first day as a transfer, "Ha-Hash-Hashimoto-san? Wait! You're not on a team yet?!"

Hatsume had heard of this transfer student, one of two invited by Nezu himself, and then remembered he and Second Place breezed right through the Obstacle Race, especially as she recalled this boy was the one who threw the Zero Pointer Faux Villain into the stadium. She thought that it would be a good idea for her to get to know Sean Hashimoto or meet with him, but once she got a good look at him, even she had to admit he was very easy on the eyes, her eyes. But, her desire to get her inventions to get support item companies had overshadowed the tiniest glimmer of a potential crush forming. Besides…

It was a great opportunity for her to be on the same team as First Place, but if this guy joins…

'Oh, mama! Think of all the support companies looking at me and my babies if the transfer is on the same team as me, AND Muscles! I am definitely going to capitalize on their interest in you, handsome guy!' Mei thought as her grin grew to a slightly devious smirk, which made Ochako a little nervous, and scooted away from her.

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow looked at each other and the former said, "It looks like you found the fourth team member you require, Midoriya-san. I'll leave you guys to it to come up with a strategy. Good luck…"

Izuku watched as Tokoyami walked away, and Dark Shadow gave Izuku a thumbs up, wishing him luck as well. It was a little sad for Izuku, but he figured that he would make due, especially as he was fully aware of the full scope of Sean's strength.

'I would have to rework our strategy to take into account Hashimoto-san being on our team. I figure he will not use his "quirk" to give everyone else a fighting chance, which is what he and Parker-san have been doing this whole time…' Izuku began muttering aloud his thoughts, which Mei didn't listen to, Ochako couldn't understand, and Sean fully understood.

The latest inclusion to the team walked up to Izuku, and placed a hand on his shoulders as he spoke, "By that account, you are the team captain, Midoriya-san. However, if we're coming up with a strategy, it would be beneficial for all of us to chip in and help you finalize your strategy."

Izuku blinked as he registered that he was automatically made the leader of the team, and replied, "Oh…uh…oh-okay…"


Meanwhile…

At an Undisclosed Location…

Agent Oda and his superiors continued watching the Sports Festival as the teams of students walked up to Midnight and received headbands that had in red-colored font, the total number of points each team member had.

"Huh, I am still floored that this Festival's rookie event is a Calvary Battle. I recall last year it being a boating, catch-the-flag kind of event. I was certain it was going to be the Risk Trifecta, they haven't done that one in a good while." the head of the organization's science division thought, scratching her chin with a ruler.

"That event is for the second and third-year students only. You crazy old bat!" an older gentleman remarked.

The scientist replied in an offended tone, "Oyi! I am not old! I am twenty years younger than you! Don't go calling me a crazy old bat! I'm 24, not 46 like your idiot brother!"

The head of the entire organization snapped his fingers to get everyone's attention. He spoke, "Quiet! The event is about to start."

The pessimistic head of security asked in a low voice to the spy, "What's your take on the team setups, boy?"

Oda replied, "Frankly, Team Midoriya and Team Parker are guaranteed to make it to the next round. Our visitors are in a league of their own, to a degree that even All Might or Stars & Stripes might have difficulty in a confrontation between them. Besides, Hashimoto on Team Midoriya looks like someone willing to teach the other teams a lesson. So, it would not surprise me if he told Midoriya to destroy his headband to deny anyone else from getting that guaranteed first-place spot, just so anyone who gets first place would have to earn it."

The man sighed at the agent's response, then commented, "With what you described about those two, I think only the boss could fight them and stand a good chance at winning, considering his quirk."

Oda looked at the man and replied, "His quirk and the quirks of his son and grandson are the most carefully guarded secrets in society. Our only safety net for our world from threats…beyond our universe…"

"It's why we had it where that old bastard, All For One, believed that it is Cathleen's quirk being America's most guarded secret. To throw him off of the old man's quirk and his descendants, once we caught wind of the bastard's spies snooping around for more powerful quirks to add to his collection…" the chief of the organization's security said, but finished with a slightly remorseful look, "…I feel sorry for the poor girl, putting a target on her back just so our safety net will still be present if any, 'less than friendly' visitors come knocking at our world's door."

"Indeed…" Oda remarked as his attention was on the video feed, "…I can't imagine what the villain would do with a quirk that powerful under his possession. He wouldn't even need that quirk he spent decades pursuing…"


At the Stadium…

Everyone got into formation for the Calvary Battle event. Sean was in the front of the "horse" for Team Midoriya, both Uraraka, and Hatsume were at the back of the horse, and Midoriya was the "rider" of the formation, the cloth with the team's total points written in red printing on it wrapped around his head.

Izuku nervously looked around at the other teams, and seeing them focused on him, specifically, the prize wrapped around his head. He saw Bakugo and Todoroki look at him like a finish line, he then saw Rosa look at him from her position as the front of the horse, like Sean, and she shot him a small, barely noticeable, but otherwise comforting smile. It told the inheritor of One For All that things will be okay. Izuku took a deep breath as both he and Sean replayed the rules of the Calvary Battle in their heads…

-{—•~•—}-

~Calvary Battle~

Teams of two to four will play with one member being the rider and the rest being the horse. The rider wears the point total on a velcro headband around their head. Any points acquired must be worn from the neck upwards, as the more points accumulated, the more difficult it is to maintain them all. As long as they do not touch the ground, the rider can be in the air as long as 30 seconds away from their team. Excessive force is prohibited and any team caught inflicting serious harm on others will be disqualified from the competition. Any foul play caught is also grounds for disqualification, like tripping the other teams. The four teams with the most points will move on to the next round.

-{—•~•—}-

"Remember the plan, girls…" Sean reminded Hatsume and Uraraka, snapping Izuku out of his train of thought.

The two girls replied respectively…

"No worries! My babies are gonna help us win this round!"

"I know, Hashimoto-san. I want to win this as much as everyone else."

Izuku added, "Right now because we have the most points, we have to run away from the other teams to maintain our lead. We have to win this!"

Sean looked at Izuku with a slightly concerned face, sensing the need to prove himself in the green-topped boy's mind. He said to Izuku, "Midoriya…whether we win or lose, what's important is that we give it our all. Do not worry about needing to prove yourself, because you already have, just focus on the here and now, and have fun…"

Izuku looked at Sean, confused, as he continued, "Listen, it bolsters your confidence and makes you look composed to the audience if you look like you are having fun. You're only a kid once, so have fun while you still can. Despite restricting myself, I intend to give it my all to overcome this limitation, I expect you to do the same. Use your strengths, your mind, and think your way around the problem at hand, and use it to work for you. Okay?"

Sean then spoke to both Uraraka and Hatsume, "I expect the same from you girls, let's win this battle!"

Uraraka and Hatsume looked surprised, and then replied after a moment of thinking, "Right!"

Izuku nodded in affirmation when Sean looked at him, and soon focused on their team's goal: To maintain First Place in the Second Round.

Shoto Todoroki was the "rider" for his team, and his gaze was focused on Izuku's team. Specifically, he was focused on Midoriya himself, and Hashimoto. He was determined to prove himself superior to Midoriya, but Hashimoto gave him reason for legitimate concern about maintaining his oath. The fact someone as powerful as him, siding with Midoriya as part of the "horse", made him partially concerned about Midoriya as well. He did not know what to expect, as he wondered if someone like Hashimoto was willing to side with Midoriya as a subordinate, what does that say about Midoriya himself?

Shoto briefly shook his head as he remembered that Sean was not the only one worthy of concern. There was Rosa Parker as well, someone who had trained under Sean as a pupil in martial arts. Her words echoed in his mind, "Anything I can do and demonstrated, Sean could do as well, as he taught me all these skills and techniques…" To Shoto, that meant she was just as formidable as her boyfriend. He only hoped that her team could distract Midoriya's team so he could claim the 10 million points.

Katsuki Bakugo glared at his competition with furious ferocity, but his gaze was on all who were ahead of him in the Obstacle Race; Izuku Midoriya, Rosa Parker, Sean Hashimoto, and Shoto Todoroki. Those four really got under his skin, especially Sean as the transfer traded last place with everyone below third. The fact he teamed up with Deku was convenient for taking his frustration out on them both. He is determined to prove himself the undisputed champion of the Sports Festival. But, he has also considered targeting Rosa as well once her declaration resurfaced in his memories.

Midnight stood at the podium within the field and said with her whipping crop held high, #"Teams ready! Set!"#

All the teams tensed their muscles, ready to move within a second of the signal of the round start.

'It's time to show the world, that I Am Here!' Izuku thought as he tightened his grip on Sean's shoulders, the Pokémon Trainer not even flinching at the added pressure.

Then, Midnight swung her whip down and shouted as it cracked the air, #"BEGIN!"#

At the sound of a horn blaring all around the stadium, all the teams rushed into battle! And Izuku noticed that at least three teams were on him already.

None were more determined than Katsuki Bakugo as he shouted (while also clocking Kirishima in the head repeatedly) to his team to go faster so he could claim the 10 million points.

"Know your place, Deku!" Bakugo shouted as he leaped from his "horse" and used his quirk to rocket towards Izuku.

"Rude little punk, isn't he?" Sean commented as Hatsume's hover boots allowed her, Uraraka, and Sean to quickly and easily slide away from Bakugo's path.

Ochako huffed as she replied to Sean's comment, "Yeah! I don't know what that jerk has against Deku! I don't like him!"

Izuku nervously chuckled a remark as Bakugo remounted on his "horse", "Kacchan is a lot to handle, and he may be a tad aggressive–…"

Hatsume crooked an eyebrow as she interrupted, "A tad aggressive, First Place? He looked like he wanted to literally kill you in my eyes."

"Okay…he's really aggressive…" Izuku corrected himself, "But, he's determined to see his goal achieved. And I find that admirable, he never backs down, which is more than I can say before coming to U-A…"

"Still don't like him…" Uraraka grumbled as she nearly avoided getting tripped up by green, thorny vines.

Sean replied, "And that is fine, Uraraka-san. You don't have to like Bakugo to tolerate him–…Jump!"

Hatsume activated the hover-boots' full power and the jet packs she and Uraraka were wearing to avoid a blast from Bakugo, a rush of ice from Todoroki, and the team as a whole being grabbed by Itsuka Kendo.

Sean continued talking to the rosy-cheeked girl, "Nice work everyone…as I was saying Uraraka, you don't have to like Bakugo to work with him if the situation demands it. You will find yourself having to team up with all sorts of people you don't like in hero work. Cooperation will be entirely necessary once you go pro, especially if there are lives on the line."

Ochako thought of this and replied, "Okay. I guess I can tolerate that boastful, bitter, loudmouth."

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING A LOUDMOUTH!" Bakugo roared angrily as he used his explosions to go after a panicking Izuku.

Sean was calm as he replied, "She was calling you a loudmouth, Bakugo. But, I think she wanted to call you something else, something harsher…"

That seemed to trigger Bakugo enough to make a beeline for a now frightened Uraraka, but before he could throw an explosion in her face, another explosion detonated in Bakugo's face. This one packed quite a punch and it sent the angry boy plummeting to the ground, where his team managed to catch him.

"The fuck was that?!" Bakugo growled as he nursed a headache, and rubbed his nose to realize he was bleeding from it.

"That looked like your quirk, Baku-bro. But, with more kick…" Kirishima replied, not sure what he saw.

Izuku looked at Sean and asked, "Was that you?" right as Present Mic and Aizawa provided commentary over what just happened.

Sean smirked like a certain blue hedgehog as he answered, "Yeah, I can use my Ki to set mines that detonate like actual mines, or I can trigger them myself. It's a really handy skill to have on a larger battlefield."

Present Mic exclaimed, #"What just happened?! Where did that explosion come from, it didn't look like Bakugo's quirk at all!"#

Aizawa explained, #"If you had actually bothered to show up last Sunday before today, instead of going on your silly radio show, you would have been as informed as the rest of the faculty."#

#"Wait! So, you know what that was?"# Present Mic balked, not expecting the diss to his hobby.

#"You are correct about that explosion not coming from Bakugo. It came from Hashimoto of Team Midoriya, he can plant 'mines' for lack of a better term using his 'Ki' and could detonate them any way he chooses. Whether when someone goes over them, or manually triggers them with his thoughts. All that time his team was running and hopping around across the field, he had been planting mines that were invisible to the naked eye. They pack more of a punch than the mines from the prior event and are smaller than a pebble."# Aizawa explained, which halted the movement of all the teams once this revelation was made known.

"Wait! Sean planted mines all over the field?!" Hagakure squeaked in fright as her team nervously looked around to try and spot these mines.

Aizawa finished his explanation, #"Only Team Midoriya could safely navigate the entire field and not trigger a single mine, even if they are on top of one. For any other team to try and risk it, they would need to have as much skill as Hashimoto himself in sensing Ki. He didn't do a good enough job to make them completely undetectable, on account of all the teams rushing for the ten million points. If the other teams are smart, they would be able to detect them as well."#

Shinso looked at Rosa with wide eyes as he once overheard that Sean was the one who taught her how to manipulate Ki, and asked, "Can you do that as well, Parker-san?"

Rosa looked at her teammate and replied, "Not to the same degree as Sean. Not without them being so obvious that it isn't funny. However, I can sense where Sean's mines are, and navigate around them with little trouble."

Team Midoriya in the air was quite surprised to hear what they learned about their teammate amidst the surprised uproar of the audience.

Uraraka replied with a slight starstruck smile, "That's amazing, Hashimoto-san! The more I hear about Ki from you and Parker-chan, the more amazed I get!"

Hatsume added, "Eh, I don't know what this "key" stuff you guys are rambling on about. But I can safely say my babies are a success after this trial run."

Izuku replied while turning to her, "Yeah, they work wonderfully, Hatsume-san! They are incredible!"

"But I'm the one lightening their weight with my quirk…" Ochako muttered under her breath, feeling jealous of the praise Izuku was giving Hatsume.

Sean noticed and due to him touching her hand in this circumstance, noticed the emotions she had through her Ki. Affording a risk by turning his gaze behind him to see Uraraka's face, he could see and feel her emotions, which allowed him to read her emotions more clearly…

'Huh, Uraraka has a crush on Midoriya and doesn't realize it. Something to take note of, though, I guess Rosa's hunch about her was correct. I owe her a romantic date for losing that sucker's bet…' Sean thought with a "oh well" sigh.

But, his attention was brought back on full alert as he, to the shock of his teammates, leaned enough to put the whole team on a spin as they narrowly avoided projectiles.

Uraraka looked a little queasy afterward, with Sean saying, "Sorry guys, especially you, Uraraka-san. I had to act quickly to avoid those odd projectiles."

All of them replied;

"No worries, with you able to sense any incoming danger, we should manage."

"Nah! All you did is give me ideas to implement for my future babies I'll make in the Support Course!"

"It's–I-I-It's ok-k-kay, Hashimoto-san–…Urp! Ju-Just warn me next time you do that kind of–gah! St-stunt…"

'I really hope Hatsume-san isn't talking about–…and I'll stop there before I go down the rabbit hole…' Sean thought in his mind in response to Mei Hatsume's reply, while answering Ochako's, "No worries, I'll do just that, Uraraka-san…"

Ochako nodded weakly as she managed to fight down her urge to puke her breakfast out.

She looked down as Bakugo glared at all of them, and commented, "We can't stay up here for long. Soon the batteries for the hover boots and jetpacks will run out…"

Mei sighed as she replied, "Yeah, I'm hoping to fix that once I get scouted by support companies. More funding for more powerful and/or effective fuel sources."

Izuku remarked while keeping his game face on, "I don't think we have to worry about using power to keep us afloat in the air. Not only because of Uraraka canceling out the weight of your…umm…'babies', Hatsume-san…"

Mei hummed a curious noise as she looked at Izuku with confusion, unaware she turned off the power to their gear. Uraraka noticed and said in surprise, "Hey! We're still floating, even though the packs and boots are not activated!"

That got the pink-haired inventor's attention as she noticed that they still were floating, and checked if the power was off. And it was…

Izuku Midoriya finished his explanation, "Sean has two methods of flight at his disposal. One through his quirk, the other through his specialized martial arts training. At this point, only Parker-san and her team could reach us."

Ochako beamed as she remarked with an amazed smile, "Oh yeah! Parker-chan told us you can teach others how to fly using your Ki! This is so cool…i-i-if not a little terrifying…" That also piqued Mei's attention, as 'handsome' as she called the incognito Pokémon Trainer could teach others how to fly using this 'key' they keep spouting out. What is this stuff, was the question occupying her mind, along with many other questions sprouting in her mind from the exchange.

Sean replied, trying to ignore the fact that Hatsume's attention and curiosity were squarely on him now, "True, I can keep us up here indefinitely no trouble. But, that would be severely unfair to every other team, and we may get called out for foul play. So, I think thirty seconds in the air is more than we should dare to attempt before we get slapped with a penalty."

Izuku nodded as he said, "He's right, better not press our luck. Hatsume-san, before we get to the ground, activate the hover boots, because the minute we get down, everyone will jump on us, and we need a quick getaway as Sean lays more mines to cover our escape."

Mei saluted as the team descended from the air, "You got it, Muscles! Try to not damage my babies, okay handsome guy?"

Sean rolled his eyes as he hoped that nickname wasn't going to stick with Hatsume, but nodded as he replied to her, "You got it…"


Meanwhile…

At The Base of Operations of the Multiverse's Greatest Heroes…

A young man with a Pikachu on his shoulder walked through a glowing door into the busy bay as an alarm blared and a woman over the intercom announced…

#{"ALERT! ALL HANDS ON DECK! A CLASS-1 EMERGENCY DISPATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED! ALL AVAILABLE SOLDIERS ARE TO BE READY TO DISEMBARK AT DIMENSION EARTH-19982016! THREAT LEVEL OMEGA!"}#

The young man was soon followed by a young woman with long, honey-colored hair, with a Sylveon wrapping its ribbons around her wrist.

The pair were friends of the Hashimotos and were from the same universe as the pair; they were Satoshi Ketchum (we know him as Ash), and his wife, Serena Ketchum (née Bellamy), both Pokémon Trainers like the Hashimotos and were the pair's closest friends.

"What's going on, Satoshi?" Serena spoke as the intercom gave details of a massive attack of a threat that required any available hands to manage. Superheroes, armed soldiers, and Autobots readied to disembark through a swirling vortex, as the couple swiftly and expertly navigated around the frenzy.

Satoshi looked at his Pikachu in confusion, and both shrugged with unsure faces as the young man replied, "I don't know…Sean and Rosa should have been back home by now."

The pair then saw a red and white Transformer punching in coordinates on a giant-robot-sized computer console as he directed another in similar colors to pull a lever to send their forces through the vortex.

"Maybe Ratchet and Red Alert know what happened, you think Pikachu? Serena?" Satoshi wondered/asked his Pokémon partner and his spouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed with a thumbs-up, while Serena replied, "Oui! They must have known where they are and what happened to our friends."

The couple headed up the elevator to get at eye level of their Transformer friends, taking care not to get in the way of the computer specialists belonging to SHIELD and ARGUS.

"Make sure the coordinates are correct! The last thing we need is to open a Rift in the sky. Triangulate the GPS of Daredevil's marker." Ratchet ordered the agents of the two most prominent agencies in the world of superheroes.

"Affirmative Ratchet! Triangulating Daredevil's last recorded location for the recovery team away from the battle against the Dark Dimension's forces." a female agent belonging to ARGUS replied, typing at a rapid pace like a demon.

"The Dark Dimension?!" Serena gulped, having not heard of those enemies for months, "Merci, Wha-what does that monster, Dornammu want this time?"

"Hmm?!" Ratchet hummed as he noticed the two close friends of Sean and Rosa looking at him, then replied, "Oh, it's you two. While it is nice to see you again, I am afraid you have picked a most inopportune time to visit us. Dornammu has used our efforts to locate the Decepticons to throw New York City in the Avengers' Earth to the pits of Kaon."

Red Alert replied as a field commander told the assembled force to move, "He used that Klarion freak to do it. In exchange for something we do not know. But, whatever it is, and why, it is severe enough for Giratina to assist the attack squadron on the front lines. Helping Doctor Strange in fighting Dornammu himself, with the help from that niece of the villain's…"

"Clea, I think her name is…" one agent (of which spy organization, I don't know) added as she passed by and heard the conversation.

"Right, her…" Red Alert muttered to himself, the paranoid part of his personality still not trusting the woman despite her admitted disdain for her uncle's goals.

Both Pokémon Trainers looked worried as Serena asked, "Wasn't that where Twilight was learning magic from our sorcerer friend? At Kamar-Taj?"

"She was the one who made the alert that Dornammu even was about to attack, and had been distracting Dornammu's forces enough for Giratina to buy us time to assemble a large enough strike force," Ratchet explained while monitoring the readings, "Primus! Whatever the Lord of The Dark Dimension got his hands on, it is turning the Island of Manhatten into a bedground of evil and chaos only Unicron himself would approve. We had to call back Zatanna and Doctor Fate to assist with the crisis from their missions."

Serena sighed as she remarked, "At least the Princess of Friendship is safe with Giratina helping her."

Ratchet huffed a reply, "Quite fortunate. She made note that we have to send as many magic users as we could spare to contain the problem. Optimus Prime had already left with the Avengers to assist in buying time for the strike force and the recovery team."

Satoshi nodded as he asked, "Are Sean and Rosa with them?"

Red Alert had closed the Rift controls and turned to the Pokémon Trainers as he asked with a suspicious look, "Why do you ask?"

The SHIELD and ARGUS agents were too busy monitoring the Dornammu situation to pay attention to them. Which, Serena replied to the white-&-red Autobot's inquiry, "They said they will be back home in a week…and nearly twice that time has already passed. Their children back home are beginning to ask questions about what happened, answers we are not ready to tell them. We know they are alive, so, what happened?"

Ratchet looked down as he answered the woman's question, "Right now, information is very tight-lipped due to more evidence that there is a mole among our ranks for the Decepticons. What I can say is that those two had vanished trying to escape the Decepticon warship, stealing back a precious cargo from under their noses when the opportunity presented itself."

"Doesn't that sound like a mission Batman should've taken? Or Black Widow?" Satoshi asked as he was folding his arms.

"They were busy with other issues that required their particular expertise, Mr. & Mrs. Ketchum…" a voice alerted the Pokémon Trainers and the Autobots, and saw it belonged to Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD.

He continued as he walked up to Ratchet, "The window of opportunity to get those dangerous artifacts out of Megatron's oily clutches was closing fast. And Rosa made a compelling point that the Decepticons were ready for any superhero or Autobot to break in. So they volunteered and did so using some of the stealth techniques taught to them by Batman. We had someone tail them in case something went wrong, and haven't heard anything. Despite confirming that they are all still very much alive."

"You have not heard back from any of them?" Satoshi asked, worried for his friends.

Nick Fury lowered his head and replied, "No, we don't even know where they ended up. Palkia had spent the past week without a second of rest to try and find them, and now her brother has taken over as she rests. When Batman returned, he found a clue and asked Dialga to assist him in utilizing this clue to locate and potentially rescue them, if need be."

Serena spoke with determination, "Then let us help! They are our friends, heck, Sean is practically my adopted brother! If they are in trouble, let us get ready to help–!"

"Batman and a few others he gathered for that purpose had already left to carry out the search and rescue operation…two days ago, actually…" Red Alert interrupted, "I was there, and the team he assembled was one Dialga had said is the team with the greatest chance of success. It is not an atypical team I would think would be best for such a mission."

Satoshi and Serena looked at each other in surprise, then a look of worry, but finished their thoughts with a look of acceptance, with Serena affirming, "Okay, but please keep us informed. At this point, and considering what our daughter and their son here are shaping up to be, those two are family. And we want to be involved to ensure they come home to their children in one piece."

"Have no worries Serena, Satoshi…" a monotone voice chimed up as they turned to see Dialga in his human form walk up with hands behind his back, and a calm, serious expression on his face, "You two will get involved soon enough, to ensure the best possible outcome. Looking into the future and all its possibilities have been, strenuous at worst, and difficult at best lately. But, I have seen a path forward in accordance to ensuring the best possible timeline."

Satoshi scratched his temple in thought as he remarked, "I feel there's a 'but…' coming up…"

Dialga looked at Satoshi and confirmed, "However, there's a chain of events that must happen to ensure that Sean & Rosa Hashimoto, and all of them come home in one piece. If even one is out of alignment…"

Nick Fury asked, "If any one chain of events is out of alignment, then what?" awaiting an answer along with the Pokémon Trainers, Ratchet, and Red Alert.

Dialga answered bluntly as he saw a video feed of his brother, Giratina, fighting against the fiery-headed demon Dornammu alongside sorcerers Doctor Strange and Clea…

"Then both Hashimotos will never be able to come home. Even with my sister's power. They will be trapped in whatever reality they find themselves in…"


U.A. High Sports Festival Stadium, Mustafu, Japan…

May 9th, 12:40 PM T.S.T.

Team Midoriya had been doing well for most of the Calvary Battle. It had been dicey with the team of Mineta, Shoji, and Tsuyu, but largely thanks to Sean, Team Midoriya had proven itself too big a hurdle for most of the teams to attempt to confront. So most of the teams gave up and went about going after everybody else's headbands.

They didn't have to worry too much about the "landmines" Sean laid earlier as, to avoid one team from taking their headband, Rosa's team had her send a Kiai shockwave that set off most of the mines in a sea of explosions that almost knocked everyone not bracing for them, off their feet.

However, most of Class 1-B, spearheaded by Nieto Monoma were trying to clean house with Class 1-A and took most of their headbands. Monoma's taunting of Katsuki Bakugo prompted the foul-tempered boy to remove the teams consisting of Class 1-B exclusively from play, before going back after Midoriya's headband.

It had been pretty hectic, but Team Midoriya was currently cornered by the only team that had not given up trying to claim the ten million points; Team Todoroki.

Flanked by walls of ice, and thanks to Mineta, one of Uraraka's hover boots was wrecked, it was safe to say they were trapped…

Unless they happened to have the strongest among the first-year students on their team serving as a cautionary deterrent from their would-be aggressors.

Team Todoroki had kept their distance out of the potential that Sean had laid more "mines" in their path to the team's headband. The transfer student is largely why they were more or less hesitating.

Shoto softly clicked his tongue in frustration as he remarked, "As long as Hashimoto is around, we have no clue if he laid more surprises for us if we charge in recklessly."

Momo Yaoyorozu had a slightly remorseful look as she replied, "Apparently the mines are easy to detect if you are good at detection. But, the problem is that while it hasn't been long since we cornered Midoriya's team, the longer we keep our distance, the more likely Hashimoto will place more mines and stall us until time's up."

Denki made a wordless noise of affirmation as he asked the obvious question, "So, what are we gonna do?"

Īda had some idea of what Sean Hashimoto was capable of, due to him knowing the truth about this incognito visitor from a parallel reality, or somewhat as the couple kept the full extent of their abilities hidden. Īda also knew on some level that Sean and Rosa were purposefully handicapping themselves to not only challenge themselves, but to also give the others a fighting chance, and to see what they all are capable of.

He ultimately decided to tell his team about an idea he had just thought up, "Todoroki, I have an idea. It's risky, and I'll only be able to use it once. Afterward, my quirk will be hampered for a little while."

Todoroki looked at Īda with a serious expression and then replied, "What do you have in mind then, Īda?"

Meanwhile in the private booth that All Might, Nezu, and most of the incognito Pokémon Trainers' Pokémon (now joined by the woman who All Might talked to earlier) watched what was going down. The Symbol of Peace noticed that Team Todoroki looked like they were readying for something, so he asked…

"What are young Todoroki and his team planning?"

Nezu spoke after setting down his teacup, "Hmm…I would not be surprised if they are about to pull a Hail Mary gamble to claim Team Midoriya's points. A last-ditch effort to guarantee their placement into the last event."

Sean's Blaziken looked at the video feed with a focused gaze, then spoke, "Ken-ken, Keeen-zzzeeee…"

The woman remarked with a look of disbelief, "I think the fighting fire-rooster said something. And I am still not over the fact that I am seeing and acknowledging real-live Pokémon…"

Plenty of the couple's Pokémon rolled their eyes in response with bored expressions. But ignoring the response from the woman, Nezu replied, "Oh, I am not over the fact myself as it reveals to me the statement; If Pokémon are real, then what else is real that we consider fiction? Anyways, do any of you know what young Hashimoto's Blaziken said?"

Nezu looked at the Psychic-type Pokémon present, knowing they could communicate telepathically with the people present. Yvonne the Mewtwo eventually answered Nezu's inquiry…

~"Blaziken said; 'that if the fast one, {Īda}, attempts his gamble, it would have worked on any team…but against Sean or Rosa, he will unnecessarily handicap his team.' And I agree with him."~

"How so, if I may ask?" All Might asked the powerful Psychic-type Pokémon.

Yvonne answered while focusing on her trainer's team, and the team Īda was a part of, ~"Tenya Īda's new technique is called 'Recipro Burst'. His brother taught him their family's secret techniques for modifying their engine quirks. By overclocking the engines in his legs, Īda can increase his acceleration at least tenfold in a short burst. But the drawback is that his engines will stall and he wouldn't be able to use his quirk effectively, not until after the Calvary Battle."~

"Hmm…" Nezu hummed in thought as he would like to talk to the young man about improving his quirk.

"Makes sense, from what I know about the Īda hero family…" the woman remarked thoughtfully, "But, what makes you and Kentucky Chicken here sure it will not work on your trainer?"

Yvonne looked to Damocles the Gallade as he replied, ~"My trainer has always been the self-improving type, especially after interacting with some of creation's greatest and most powerful superheroes, he has occasionally sparred with them to improve those skills of his. Several of them are leaps and bounds faster than any speed Īda has moved."~

"How fast are we talking?" the woman asked, with All Might and Nezu looking at the Gallade with curiosity.

~"A great many times faster than light. I have seen him react to and dodge the leaders of lightning bolts. A skill he has handed down to those who learn from him, or the other masters he learned from…"~ Yvonne finished, to All Might and the young woman's shock.

"Ho-ho-ho-ho! Poor Īda, he will be in for quite a shock if he hears of this!" Nezu laughed, hiding his surprise very well.

They watched the scene unfold as the Īda Family's second son prepared to activate his newly developed move…

'Recipro…BURST!' Īda shouted in his mind, but also aloud without realizing it as he shot forward at blinding speeds.

Sean, however, could see this coming. For him and Rosa, from the training they had done, Īda might as well be going in slow motion…or move at the pace of a snail.

'Hmm…Īda has a new trick up his sleeve he kept hidden. He's faster now, much faster than I thought, but he's no Flash or Superman or Quicksilver.' Sean thought as he readied his counterattack.

Izuku had barely noticed how quickly Todoroki's team was moving, and by the time he did, it was too late for him to make a counterattack as he saw the heterochromatic boy's fingers three feet from his headband. And the distance was closing fast.

But when Shoto's fingers were mere inches from claiming the ten million points, they were forced back, to the scarred young man's surprise. Izuku looked down as he felt a shift from under his feet and knew Sean had done something and something he did…

Sean had delivered a standing kick to Īda's abdomen, knocking the wind out of the speedster-in-training. Once the bespeckled boy started to fly in the opposite direction he was moving, Sean quickly leaped up to meet a shocked Todoroki eye-to-eye. Shoto was so shocked, he couldn't react as Sean delivered a swift kick to his jaw, that toppled him onto his back in the bracing arms of Yaoyorozu and Kaminari. Furthering the momentum the team had at being launched back.

Team Todoroki was sent a good five yards back in the direction they came until the "horse" of the team braced themselves from being sent back any further. Shoto lurched back to an upright position with a shocked expression as he stared at Team Midoriya.

Īda coughed profusely as he tried to catch his breath, he hacked up a little bit of blood as he managed to say in shock, "My…ma-my…*karrph-karrph*…Recipro…Bu-Burst…he…he…saw it coming! *Hak-Hak*! The reaction…to not only…*Ack*…react to it, but counter it so effectively…*Guh-haagh*! It's not…not human!"

"Yo Class-prez! You alright?" Kaminari asked concerned as Īda sounded like he nearly drowned with those coughs.

"I…ugh…g-got the wind knocked out of my…la-lungs. But I'll be fine. I promise." Īda replied as he took cautious breaths so he would not get into a coughing fit.

Izuku stared at the regrouping Team Todoroki in bewilderment, it barely registering that if it wasn't for Sean's superhuman reflexes, there was a good chance that they would have lost the ten million points.

Ochako asked with a shocked tone, "What…just happened?"

Mei remarked with a surprised expression, "I think…handsome guy just reacted at the speed of light, correctly guessed the future, or was stupid-lucky to move like he did to react at something moving that fast!"

The crowd erupted with excited cheers after they saw what happened. It was worthy of an instant reply on the monitor screens, and seeing what transpired within a few seconds, had brought out even more enthusiastic cheers, and even louder squeals of excitement from the more excitable girls lusting after the visitor more than ever now. Present Mic and Aizawa commented on what transpired, and the crowds ate it up.

As the League of Villains watched the broadcast, they were all befuddled at the reaction time it took for Sean to outmaneuver an Īda family son, the family famous for their speed.

"To react that quickly borders on precognition," Kurogiri commented as he cleaned a glass cup, "To think there was someone who could tag someone with a speed-type quirk."

"No human I know could ever outspeed an Īda to react that quickly! The brain wouldn't be able to process information at those speeds! It's just not possible!" Dr. Ujiko replied as he crashed his palms onto his desk.

"Dangerous indeed…" All For One muttered under his breath, smiling on the outside, but seething with annoyance inside. It was clear, he had to keep an extra-close eye on Hashimoto, even more than All Might or his rival's successor. Because now he was getting the feeling that Sean Hashimoto would be trouble, regardless of all the contingencies he laid out. Alongside the Black and White Vigilantes that chased the League of Villains from the USJ.

Shoto Todoroki's vision blurred, his hearing rang, and his breathing was shallow. That kick to the jaw ended up rattling his head, he was barely able to fight back the urge to fall unconscious.

Yaoyorozu and Denki noticed as the raven-haired girl asked, "Todoroki-san? Are you going to be okay? You look ready to pass out."

Shoto growled a quick grunt and a shake of his head and then proceeded to slap his face with a slightly frost-covered hand to wake himself up. He replied as he slightly shuddered, "I'll be fine. Hashimoto caught me off guard, but I won't make that mistake again."

"Not to call your decision into question," Denki commented with an unsure face, "But, I don't think we can handle taking on Midoriya's team. Not with Hashimoto on the team."

Īda conceded as he added, "I agree, my Recipro Burst increases my speed tenfold at maximum. If Hashimoto-san could react and counter us at that level of speed like he did, then we cannot touch Team Midoriya. To them, to him, we might as well be moving at the pace of a slug."

Shoto Todoroki gritted his teeth in frustration. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his teammates had a point. Īda's (formerly) hidden move moved a great deal faster than his ice, and if Sean could counter it like that, he would be practically untouchable. But, damn it all, he was going to try and claim that headband if it was the last thing he did.

They eventually charged as the heterochromatic boy sent more tightly packed walls of ice to further corner Team Midoriya. Severely limiting their movements, but they couldn't move as quickly as before as Īda's engines belched out little puffs of dark smoke.

"We're cornered! Quick, Hashimoto-san, jump and get us out of here!" Ochako exclaimed as she slightly cowered at the hyper-focused scowl etched onto Shoto Todoroki's face.

Sean looked side to side briefly and replied, "Nah! Let's turn this ice against Todoroki!"

Ochako and Izuku were about to ask what the incognito Pokémon Trainer meant, but Sean interrupted, "On my mark, Izuku, launch as strong a gust of wind as you can. And aim it at Todoroki-san."

After hearing that, both Izuku and Uraraka took back whatever questions popped into their heads. So, they braced themselves as they saw their powerful teammate lift his leg high.

Sean then stomped onto the ice walls as the force behind the strike, caused a light tremor and completely shattered the glaciers. This greatly surprised the competitors and the audience members, but it surprised Team Todoroki most of all.

"Wha–?!" was all Shoto Todoroki said before he heard someone shout…

"Now Midoriya!" Sean exclaimed loudly, which prompted Izuku to yipe a "Yes!" in response, and then flicked his finger to send some broken pieces of the ice back at the team leader.

Shoto was in a slight panic as he saw the impromptu projectiles soar at his team. The surprise was so great, that he hastily threw up an ice wall, but the shards broke through with frightening ease. In a bigger state of panic, Shoto instinctually threw his left arm as a wave of heat turned the ice shards into slush and splashed all over the team.

'No…' Shoto panicked in his mind as his body shivered, 'They…made me use it…I caught myself before I produced flames, but the heat still escaped. Damn it! I vowed to win this with only my left side!'

Shoto was looking at his left hand in shock, and anger as he scowled at Team Midoriya, and his team charged back at their obstacles to first place. He had a quick look at Endeavor's face and knew his father had noticed his son's slip-up, to Shoto's dismay at his father looking a little pleased. But, the anger fizzled out like a dying ember in a rainstorm as he had a look of bewilderment on his face as he saw something unbelievable…

Sean had stomped on the ground at a specific angle, with a glowing crack racing a few yards from the team's position. At the angle the young man stomped, it lifted the earth beneath like a seesaw with the edge closest to Team Midoriya sinking below the ground while the opposite end lifted into the air.

"Now girls!" Izuku shouted as both Mei and Ochako activated the boosters behind their hover boots and took off like rockets along the makeshift ramp.

"Watch us, Support Companies, and behold my babies!" Mei shouted with mad glee as Sean leaped into the air and the four soared over Team Todoroki's heads.

Izuku aimed his other arm at the ground, revealing a gauntlet attached to his arm, and fired a grappling hook that pulled the team rapidly back onto the ground. Sean braced himself as he took the full brunt of the landing for the team, and succeeded with a just-barely stumble, and the first-place team took off, away from Todoroki's team.

Shoto gritted his teeth and right as all four turned around to pursue their "prize", Sean spoke to them loud enough as he looked back, "I wouldn't Todoroki-san, Īda-san, Kaminari-san, Yaoyorozu-san. You guys have more pressing priorities than going after us! What am I talking about? Maybe you should notice something missing on your person, Todoroki-san!"

That made Team Todoroki pause, especially Shoto as he felt and knew what it meant; someone had just successfully stolen his team's points.

He saw the culprit flee, Hitoshi Shinso, with the third-place headband in his clutches as Rosa led her team off too quickly for them to catch up.

Endeavor watched from the stadium's nosebleed seats, and he was pissed. Pissed at Shoto for not embracing the left side of his quirk. But especially pissed at Hashimoto and Parker, for making his son (and in turn himself) look like an utter fool.

'Damn it, Shoto! Stop pouting and use the full might of your power! This tantrum of yours is gonna get you eliminated from the festival! I didn't train you just to get you kicked out of the Hero Course!' The 2nd ranking pro-hero growled in his mind, his flames intensifying as his frustration grew.

~"Hooo…Endeavor's pissed at his son's performance. And that anger is growing as it's directed at my trainer and her love."~ Faith-Heart, Rosa's Gardevoir, spoke telepathically as she flinched at feeling the negative emotions she felt from the pro-hero.

"Understandable…given the boy's putting a handicap on himself to spite his father…" Nezu remarked as he was somewhat aware of the surface-level issues between the father and son. Any further looking into it, and the principal would breach some questionable privacy invasion lines, which he will not cross, for now.

Back onto the field, Shoto was stunned at what had happened. His awareness of how dangerous of an opponent Sean Hashimoto was, prompted him to go after Team Midoriya immediately.

But, Momo Yaoyorozu wasn't having any of it. So, she created a joy-buzzer from her free hand, and zapped Shoto's arm as she demanded quite sternly…

"That, is, Enough, Todoroki-san! Hashimoto-san has proven that those points are staying with Midoriya-san's team! We have to get more points so we are not eliminated!"

Shoto Todoroki looked at Yaoyorozu with contempt but had turned that bitterness towards Īda when he added, "She is right, Todoroki-san. Hashimoto-san is just too much to handle in this contest. We only have one headband we took before confronting Midoriya's team, and it isn't enough for our team to be in the top four."

"Listen to them, man!" Denki Kaminari added his two cents into the discussion, "We will not make it to the third round if we continue to try and get those ten million points!"

Shoto Todoroki didn't believe what he was hearing right now. Even though he was the leader, he was being outvoted by his team. He was about to try and convince them that pursuing first place was the best action…

But once he did look at Team Midoriya, being pursued by Team Bakugo having already acquired quite a few headbands from other teams. What he saw made his stomach drop as Team Bakugo was forced to retreat by Sean firing beams from his eyes, like the pro hero; X-Less. What made it all the more daunting was that the beams tore the earth apart like tissue paper.

"Seriously?!" Kaminari exclaimed with utter shock, "Hashimoto can fire lasers from his eyes!? And use the Force!? AND can fly!? What the heck kind of quirk does he have to grant him so many broken powers!?"

Kaminari's remark was coincidentally shared with Present Mic as he commented, #"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is Hashimoto finally using his Quirk? He can fire laser beams like the pro-hero, X-Less!"#

Aizawa replied, #"No, you idiot! Hashimoto is still utilizing his proficiency with Ki to keep everyone at bay. It's not that different from the mines he set earlier in the round. For reasons that are likely tied to how he handles situations, Sean has been keeping his quirk's capabilities a secret from the other competitors. Likely saving it for the next round, all I know is that he doesn't use his full power, because he does not see a need to do so currently."#

"Are you kidding me?! Where the hell did he learn this "Ki" stuff!? And what else could he do with it?"

"Everything we have seen that boy do isn't tied with his quirk?! What is his quirk then?"

"He's not human if he could push back Endeavor's son without his quirk!"

"I don't know if his parents are proud, or terrified of their kid."

"Could he be proof of the Quirk Singularity?"

Those were among the many surprised and confused statements among the audience watching. They were sucked into the mystery of what Hashimoto's quirk was.

Shoto gritted his teeth in sheer frustration, a part of him wanted to cry with how frustrated he was. With the litany of abilities Sean had shown, and Rosa confirmed, it was very clear to the boy, that Sean was just too much. It was even more frustrating to Shoto because, as Aizawa had recently pointed out, Sean had not been using his quirk at all during the festival so far. It was such a huge slap in the face for the half-fire/ice user, and his vow.

With a heavy, reluctant sigh, Shoto eventually relented, "Fine…let's get more headbands. Going after Team Midoriya is a lost cause, as long as Hashimoto is on their team."

The three were glad that their leader finally relented, so they went after the other teams. But, Todoroki gritted his teeth in frustration, bitterness, and anger. He exchanged a mirthful glare at Sean once the Pokémon Trainer noticed, and Sean responded with a glare of his own. One that sent chills down Todoroki's back like ice, the glare was more ferocious than Rosa Parker's. It was a look that wordlessly said to him…

"Don't make threats and not expect them to be returned with interest."

He thought spitefully, 'Just wait until the next round…I will beat you, Midoriya, Hashimoto, Parker…enjoy your victory, because you will not get another one!'


At the Midoriya Residence…

"Stop glaring Katsuki and just leave them alone. You dumb brat, they have proven they are gonna keep those points, so stop chasing them!"

Mitsuki Bakugo was criticizing her son's, honestly, stubborn behavior in going after Izuku's team when they had a monster like Sean Hashimoto on his team.

Inko Midoriya had only gotten more worried for her child's safety as Sean Hashimoto, and Rosa Parker to a lesser extent, revealed more of their capabilities. Sean splitting the earth beneath him was proof that he was ferociously strong, more than strong enough to break her child in half if he was a villain.

Mitsuki noticed her best friend's demeanor and said reassuringly, "Eh, don't worry Inko. Izuku won't be hurt, at least terribly, at these events. The teachers will put a stop before things go too far. I guarantee it!"

Inko smiled at her, and replied, "Thank you, Mitsuki. But, can you blame me? I don't want my son hurt, period. He is finally living his dream when his Quirk manifested, and I couldn't be any happier for him, but we know hero work is dangerous."

Mitsuki sighed as she remarked, "Yeah, I don't want Katsuki to get hurt as well. I mean, he's my only child, and I love that punk to bits, but I also worry about his future. No thanks to those idiots at school before UA. Masaru and I had tried so hard to have a child, I was told I was unlikely to have one but damn it, I wanted to be a mom so badly. I was so happy when he was born. If those guys responsible for that overinflated ego of his cause said ego to get Katsuki killed…I think I'll be locked in Tartarus after I'm through…"

Masaru left a hand open for his wife to grab in comfort, and she took it as he said, "We've done our best to raise the boy, we hope UA will prepare him to face the real world. He's got that worrisome attitude, granted, but I believe he will make it out just fine. He's our son after all, and we know he takes after his mother…"

Mitsuki Bakugo blushed embarrassed and pleased as she jokingly jabbed, "Aww, Masaru! Are you trying to make me want another kid with your flattery? Stop it~!"

Mitsuki giggled, which did help Inko Midoriya's spirits lift, remembering when they were younger and how awkward it was for her friend to ask the young man who would become her husband out. She remembered how mortified Masaru was at how blunt, direct, and forward Mitsuki was with her feelings. It at first led him to refuse them, but Mitsuki was stubborn as an ox when she set her mind to something and worked him down enough to where he finally agreed to a date. Masaru back then, in retrospect, reminded her of Izuku's personality, and even jokingly thought Masaru would've made more sense as her boy's father. She remembered how utterly terrified Mitsuki was for their date, and gave her enough support to "take the bull by the horns" as some Americans she knew have said, and see the date through. It easily could have gone south, but the date went so well, that in six short months, Masaru proposed to Mitsuki at their high school reunion, in front of everyone no less. She remembered everyone cheering so loudly, and the excited squeals she and all the girls made.

Inko's trip down memory lane was interrupted by Mitsuki seductively adding to her earlier jab, "Not that I wouldn't mind having another child with you, dar~ling~…"

Mitsuki blew into her husband's ear, and Inko saw the Bakugo patriarch blush a bright red and his whole body shiver at his wife's action. Inko shook her head to clear out thoughts of her and Hisashi trying for another child. Maybe she should talk with him about it…

*{"Incredible! Team Bakugo is still pursuing First Place's Team Midoriya! After a break to get the other team's headbands, Bakugo Katsuki's throwing explosions at Team Midoriya! But, Hashimoto is constantly keeping those blasts from touching his team–! Wait! HOLD THE PHONE! Team Parker is running interference, as Parker just protected Team Midoriya from Team Bakugo AND Team Shiozaki! Is that even allowed?!"}*

Present Mic's commentary snapped the three parents' attention back to the television as it showed Katsuki fuming (and likely cussing up a storm, Mitsuki thought) as he tried to retaliate against both teams.

"I have to wonder if it's allowed too…" Masaru remarked as he saw his son launch from the "horse" at the first and second-place teams, only for Rosa Parker to deliver a high kick towards Katsuki's stomach and launch the raging blonde boy back to his team.

Shota Aizawa replied to his (reluctant) co-commentator's question, *{"The rules are a bit loose in terms of some teams forming alliances. It is allowed on a technical point, but most teams never think about forming alliances in the Sports Festival. But, it does show great foresight in situations where a single pro hero and their agency might have to work together with other agencies in situations too much for any single pro hero or agency to tackle. We may have to revise the rules going forward about alliances being made during the Sports Festival…}"*

"Oh, that makes sense…" Masaru replied with a somewhat satisfied huff.

"That's what I was gonna say. It makes the most sense why Hashimoto and Parker would work together." Mitsuki added, gesturing her hands to the television.

Inko thought about why Sean Hashimoto decided to move from third place in the race to last, and then team up with her son when he could've joined any team. If this whole alliance thing was true, then why would he make one with her son? Could it possibly be…he sees something truly special in her child?

The program continued to play as all three noticed the timer on the upper right of the screen, with Present Mic commenting, *{"With one minute left on the clock, it's now crunch time for anyone looking to win the Calvary battle! Team Todoroki had just gone after our top two teams, and–I don't believe it! Despite being fended off by Team Parker, they had unknowingly secured Team Shiozaki's original headband, after they took Team Todoroki's original points from Team Parker! I can't believe it ladies and germs! In this last minute of the Calvary Battle, teams have been taking and retaking points like they were trading Pokémon Cards! The chaos is unbelievable! And both Team Midoriya and Team Parker are still in the lead with first place and second place respectively!"}* as the commentary was given, the three could hear the thunderous cheering of those in the stadium, especially as Katsuki Bakugo and five other teams decided to go for broke and try to take Midoriya's points at the very last minute. Mitsuki was cheering loudly for her son and "nephew" to go for gold. Masaru's cheering was more subdued but no less as enthusiastic as his wife's as all three cheered as the event's final seconds trickled down.

"Izuku…" Inko worriedly whimpered as she saw three out of four of her son's team begin to panic (Izuku himself, and the two girls, while Sean remained focused), as they were surrounded by enemy teams.

But…

*{"TIME'S UP! THAT IS GAME, YOU YOUTHFUL CHARGES!!!"}* Midnight had loudly announced from her microphone, followed by a loud buzz from the leaderboard.

Once Midnight had announced time was up, everyone stopped in their tracks. Mitsuki snorted a stifled laugh as her son landed comically on the ground face-first once the announcement was made. Seeing the results of the Calvary Battle, Inko suddenly burst into tears and cried happily for her son, as he managed, –by the skin of his teeth–, to maintain first place thanks to his team.

"WHAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! MY BABYYY! *hic* IZUKUUUU!!!" Inko cried loudly with swelling pride and relief as both Mitsuki and Masaru comforted their green-haired friend, both a little choked up themselves that their "nephew" won two events in a row.

"Little Izu-chan won! Ha-Ha-HAA! Way To Go, Izu-Chan! Auntie Mitsuki is so proud of you!" Mitsuki cheered as she was enormously proud and happy for her friend's son.

It isn't quite a secret that Mitsuki had always thought of Izuku as like a child of hers, to the point where she'd promised her best friend that she'd take Izuku in if anything happened to Inko and her husband, and raise him as her own. That was years ago when Inko got sick to the point where the doctors erroneously thought she wasn't going to recover from the illness. But, she pulled through and that sad outcome never came to pass, though Mitsuki assured her best friend the offer still stood just in case. This was shortly before Izuku was incorrectly diagnosed as Quirkless.

Both the Bakugos tried to comfort both Hisashi and Inko as they were both devastated for their son's sake at the time. But Hisashi spent a lot of work overseas to move through the grief he felt for his son. And Inko's stress and self-deprecating caused her to gain a lot of weight and lose her incredible figure (according to Mitsuki), which tore Mitsuki up seeing her best friend let herself go like that. There was also the matter they saw less of Izuku Midoriya since then, they occasionally caught him on the off-errand and always made sure to send him a birthday/Christmas present. But, it had been nearly a year since both Bakugos had seen their "nephew" and "unofficial second son", and significantly longer than that since he last visited their home.

"Alright, that's it! Little Izu-chan is visiting us within the week! Katsuki can bitch and whine about it all he wants, but I want Izu-chan to visit his auntie and uncle now!" Mitsuki loudly proclaimed, which surprised both her best friend and her husband.

"Na-Now Mitsuki, be reasonable…Izuku will want to rest in his home after the Sports–…" Masaru tried to rationalize, only for Mitsuki to pout like a child, "No! I want to hug and smother with affection my cute little Izu-chan, NOW!"

Inko felt conflicted as one part of her thought it amusing that her best friend just acted like a spoiled child, while the other felt a little annoyed at how Mitsuki was acting like she already was Izuku's adopted mother. But, watching the happy smile on her son's happy-crying face, Inko forgot all her troubles…

She just hoped that, by some miracle, her husband was watching his son right now, knowing he's currently on the clock for a late-night shift overseas. She hoped that if he was on break, or that he was hearing about what was happening from a work friend, he would be watching his son fulfill his dream. And that he was just as proud of Izuku as she is.


At Kamino Ward…

All For One felt immensely tense, both from excitement and fear.

He was starting to get a good grasp on the power of the two transfer students/rising stars of the Sports Festival. And what it was telling him is that if they are allowed to grow as heroes, even he will lose against them…

The villain was beginning to work out tweaks to his carefully laid out plans to account for Hashimoto & Parker. Even working out specific plans focused around them, and potentially stealing their overpowered Quirks. If he couldn't have their overpowered quirks, well, he does have opportunities, later on, to ensure that they will never become a problem to deal with. He'd make a mental note to request Dr. Ujiko to perhaps speed up and enhance the High-End Nomu development to put the pair six feet under.

He smirked as, if he could obtain either of their Quirks, or even better, he steals both, not even All Might or his successor could stand against him.

"The hell is this "key" stuff that Eraserhead keeps bringing up in regards to Hashimoto and Parker?" Shigaraki asked, taking a few notes from what was shown during the Calvary Battle.

"Hmm…Ki…where have I heard that before…?" Kurogiri wondered aloud as he cleaned the glass cups.

Dr. Ujiko had immense hatred for the pair for demonstrating so far that they could match the strength of the Black and White Vigilantes. But the mad doctor also was giddy about setting up a situation where he could gather a few samples of their DNA, figure out what makes them tick, and then see if he could copy their quirks for All For One, or the Nomu.

The doctor answered Shigaraki's question after quickly looking it up online, "Ahem…apparently, this Ki stuff is an aspect fundamental to Daoist medicine. And all sorts of mumbo jumbo regarding spirits. Guess there's more to this stuff than what the scientific community believed."

All For One was both intrigued, and annoyed, that something that initially seemed like "padding" to another culture and frequently used in media entertainment, may turn out to be real. He never gave "Ki" a thought, as when he had a few followers look into it decades ago, it seemed like a philosophy that is relegated to something like acupressure, and not doing things akin to magic. But Sean Hashimoto, Rosa Parker, and the two vigilantes that chased the League from the USJ could use Ki like in the movies. There had to be a source they got this knowledge and power from. Where is it? And how could he use "Ki" to his advantage?

"You continue to paint a target on your backs…if you were taught by someone, then surely, they could teach me…" All For One gritted his teeth in anticipation and frustration. He will not be denied by a couple of teenagers…

Oh, if only he knew…


U.A. High Sports Festival Stadium, Mustafu, Japan…

May 9th, 12:31 PM T.S.T.

The Second Rounds results were tallied up and Midnight soon announced the results…

Maintaining first place was Team Midoriya, who managed to not only fight off everyone but also convince almost every team that they were better off accumulating other teams' points than going for their point total. So Izuku Midoriya, Ochako Uraraka, Mei Hatsume, and Sean Hashimoto are guaranteed a place in the next round of the Sports Festival.

Team Parker also maintained Second Place, with Hitoshi Shinso being the dark horse, and key, to be considered the team with the most accumulated points outside of First Place's outrageous point total. What made it more surprising to the commentators and audience was that the team was the only one who did not once go after First Place. So, Rosa Parker, Hitoshi Shinso, Nigereki Shoda, and Mashiro Ojiro will move on to the next round…

Until both Ojiro and Shoda asked to be withdrawn because they felt they didn't earn their place in the next round. Midnight agreed when they explained it was a matter of pride to them, that they felt they had to earn their place on their merits, and they had blank memories of most of the second round. After discussion, two members of the fifth-place team, Team Shiozaki, were chosen to take their place, and within the team, it was decided that Ibara Shiozaki and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu would move on to the next round.

Team Bakugo, consisting of Katsuki Bakugo, Mina Ashido, Ejiro Kirishima, and Hanta Sero, were fortunate they were not booted from the competition. They only acquired an additional headband from another team (the original headband belonging to Team Parker) to just edge out a place in Third Place. Their team was also the only one that doggedly pursued Team Midoriya from start to finish (though they did refocus during the middle to pay back Monoma's taunting), only getting their place because Team Parker ran interference.

Team Todoroki had only acquired fourth place due to realizing too late that pursuing Team Midoriya was a lost cause, and had squeaked through by maintaining the headbands they got before pursuing Team Midoriya. And they lost their original headband to Team Parker, then they lost it to Team Shiozaki, which allowed that team to get fifth place. It was a huge slap in the face for that team, especially as a direct consequence of their leader, Shoto Todoroki, trying to prove something to Izuku Midoriya. Even ignoring the red flag which is the fact that Team Midoriya had Sean Hashimoto, it was clear that they had much to learn.

Shoto Todoroki took this very hard, especially as he recalled the two instances during the second round he was tempted to use his fire side. Both times were instigated by Izuku Midoriya and Sean Hashimoto. Sean Hashimoto, in retrospect, Todoroki figured the transfer of Class 1-B would coax the flames out by the fact he was just overwhelmingly powerful. But, the one that surprised him was Izuku Midoriya, his determination had coaxed an involuntary reflex that nearly made the scarred teen attack Midoriya with his fire.

'Again, I underestimated Hashimoto and Parker. Not just them, but Midoriya as well. I nearly gave that man what he wanted not once, but twice. Dammit! I cannot lose to any of them this next round! It is humiliating that I couldn't gain more points, but lost them!' Todoroki thought as he eyed Izuku, suspiciously.

Endeavor glared at the results with anger, not only did Shoto get Third Place in the Obstacle Race (and he was handed it by Hashimoto asking to be placed last purely to challenge himself), but he got pushed down to Fourth Place in the Calvary Battle!

"That boy…he's going to get himself expelled if he continues this rebellious streak of his…" Endeavor muttered quietly to himself.

Ochako Uraraka was beaming as she excitedly hopped while holding hands with Tsuyu Asui.

"We won! We won! We won! I can't believe it, Tsu-chan!" Ochako squealed excitedly, with Tsuyu replying, "With Parker-chan's boyfriend/mentor on your team, your winning was guaranteed, kero! I am happy for you, Ochako-chan."

The two girls had gotten very close since the USJ incident, and it was made evident by the fact that Ochako apologized for unintentionally rubbing her victory into her face.

"I'm so sorry, Tsu-chan! I forgot your team didn't make it–…"

Tsuyu interrupted, "It's fine, Ochako-chan. Things like this are bound to happen. I simply chose the wrong team to see me through to the next round. You did by never losing faith in Midoriya-san."

Ochako briefly paused as she looked to see Izuku being ganged up by some of their classmates, congratulating him. She simply wanted to be on a team with a friend she got along with, whether it was the right or wrong team didn't matter.

She smiled, unaware she had a light blush on her face as she replied, "No…I just wanted to have fun with my friend. That's all…"

Tsuyu knew Ochako had feelings for Izuku, or at least was developing them. She croaked in understanding as her gaze turned to Sean Hashimoto, as the more she heard of him, the more mysterious he became. She could feel from day one when she saw him that there was something…different…about the young man. Other than him being attractive, there had always been something off about Sean. Rosa gave her a similar feeling, that there was something, "unreal" about them, but how and why currently eludes the frog girl.

Yvonne the Mewtwo nodded in silent acceptance of the results as Nezu said while clapping his paws, "Ha-ha-ha! Bravo! Bravo, Young Midoriya! Your team performed exceptionally well! I really should consider more teamwork events for future Sports Festivals!"

All Might smiled too, as while Sean Hashimoto, and Rosa Parker to a lesser extent, played a large part in him maintaining first place, he was proud of Izuku. He could tell, –without the input of the Psychic-Type Pokémon–, that the Pokémon Trainers were helping Izuku grow into the hero he wanted him to be. Building his confidence, and developing the social skills for him to become the next Symbol of Peace.

"With subtle assistance from our visitors from another dimension, you have certainly proven to the world that YOU are here, young Midoriya. Now, win this whole event…"

The woman who knew Sean and Rosa voiced her opinion as she commented on All Might's words, "Eh…are you sure this Midoriya-san person will win the Sports Festival? With competitors as overwhelmingly powerful as Hashimoto and Parker?"

That made All Might cough in surprise as he remembered HOW strong those two really are. They would turn him in his prime into ground beef without trying, so he knew that if Izuku fought either trainer in the tournament, he would lose.

"A valid point, my friend," Nezu replied as he poured some tea for his guest and a few of the Pokémon to drink, "With Ki at their disposal, either young Hashimoto or young Parker would utterly dominate this competition…which in a way, they already are. But compounding their quirks with their training? I would not be surprised if they dominated, even if current pro heroes participated."

"Tr-true, Nezu-sensei," Toshinori Yagi cleared his throat, "But, they both wanted to give the others a fighting chance. Which was why they requested that we watch them carefully–…"

"Oh, I know, Toshinori-sensei…" Nezu hummed after taking a sip, "It was my idea based on their request. And I cannot wait to implement it when the opportunity arises. And I cannot wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when the surprise is dropped!"

Nezu started laughing maniacally which weirded out All Might, and the Pokémon. The woman remarked while pointing to the chimera, "He's a little too enthusiastic to stick it to those doubters…isn't he?"

All Might added with a bit of nervous sweat, "Sometimes, you scare me, Nezu-sensei…"

Back to the competitors, Izuku had finished thanking Hatsume for teaming up with him. The girl waved him off, saying it wasn't for anything else than to show off her support gear. But, Sean told her that she should accept the thanks regardless and give thanks herself, remarking that not only is it polite, but it would also make her look good when meeting support companies. Hatsume ultimately conceded that was a good point, and thus thanked Izuku, Sean, and Ochako for teaming up with her (while to their dismay, she didn't remember their names, only referring to their "nicknames" she called them), she eventually busied herself by repairing the broken hover boot Uraraka wore.

"She's quite a bundle of energy…" Sean remarked, internally hoping he doesn't have to deal with a girl that energetic from any daughter or granddaughter he might have.

"I wish she would remember our names, though. My cheeks aren't that pink…" Ochako huffed while rubbing her face in concern.

"Same…but, Hatsume possibly has a behavioral disorder. Not easy to remedy, but still treatable. The best way to do so is to have prolonged interaction, and positive reinforcement, to metaphorically bring her out of her shell." Sean agreed with Ochako but felt he had to point out something about their inventor teammate.

Izuku nodded as he replied, "I get what you mean, Hashimoto-san. I can see it too, Hatsume-san is a nice girl, if a little awkward. I think she would make a great friend for us."

Little did the three know that Hatsume briefly paused her tinkering after hearing what Izuku said about her. The support course girl didn't realize she was letting out a small smile, and an equally small blush as she subtly turned her head in their direction.

She thought, turning her eyes to the side, 'That's…honestly, really nice of them to say…especially First–…huh, I guess I can make an effort to remember his name at least…'

Hatsume then remembered what her parents asked of her after going to UA, to try and make friends. Though a little irritating when they asked the first day, she promised to try for their sake. She was honestly thankful to them for supporting her desires, and now felt she should at least try to uphold her promise to them. Little did Hatsume know, but at that moment, something else was beginning to form other than a desire to try and remember Midoriya's name.

Midnight walked up to the podium as she announced what the next round for the top 16 competitors to contend with in the next (and final) round: a 1-v-1 fighting tournament.

The rules were simple enough, and with that, she then announced that there would be an hour-long intermission before the tournament. In the meantime, after announcing the bracket arrangements, the field would be where those who did not make it into the final round will still have their chance to shine through a series of minigames.

There was a slight mishap where Mineta and Kaminari tricked most of the girls in Class 1-A to wear cheerleading outfits. All of them but Rosa was fooled, and Yaoyorozu was so steamed that she fell for the pervert's trick.

"I can't believe I fell for that little pervert's lie…I even went and made these uniforms myself…" Yaoyorozu lamented on her knees in despair, being comforted by Kyoka and Uraraka.

"You can't blame yourself, Yaomomo," Ashido sighed nervously with a blush, "He used the teachers' authority, and the fact those cheerleaders from earlier, to his advantage."

"When I find that asshole, I'm gonna kill him! Being expelled be damned! I want his blood spilled for this!" Kyoka fumed as she hugged her body tightly. She hated being in such an outfit, as it brought a few self-conscious thoughts to her mind, especially compared to her more, voluptuous classmates.

Rosa still wore her rather form-fitting gym uniform (having loosened her sarashi until the next round), while shooting a sympathetic gaze at Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Jiro, Ashido, and Hagakure.

"I thought something smelled fishy after you guys told me that both Mineta and Kaminari said that Aizawa wanted us girls to…well, I don't need to explain that." Rosa remarked with arms crossed.

Mineta and Kaminari were a good distance away, smirking and giving each other silent congratulations for their trick.

'It sucks we couldn't see Parker in a cheerleader outfit, but the rest of the hotties in our class look sooooo fine in those outfits. Hagakure is way bustier than I thought. It is paradise, and makes up for not going into the tournament.' Mineta thought as he gazed at Rosa's bountiful chest, still miffed he didn't get to see her in cheerleader garb. Then his gaze turned to the other girls as Hagakure pointed out it could still be a little fun to get into the spirit, seeing all the girls dance to an impromptu cheer.

Rosa knew the pervert's gaze was fixed on her chest as she thought, annoyed, '*sigh*…No matter what universe I end up in, perverts are all the same. If anyone is gonna see me in a cheerleader outfit, midget, it will be my husband, not you…'

Everyone's gazes focused on the projector screen as the arrangements of the preliminary rounds of the tournament were randomly assigned. A few looked at the arrangement with shocked, pale faces…

"I'M FIGHTING HASHIMOTO-SAN IN THE FIRST ROUND!?"

Yaoyorozu had practically screamed in her surprise. She paled as she shakily turned her gaze from the tournament brackets to her future opponent, who was silently focused on the screen with a serious expression. The raven-haired girl was then haunted by Rosa's earlier warning about her boyfriend, dreading that she had to face someone like him.

'I don't know who's unluckier…Yaomomo fighting Hashimoto-san, or me fighting Bakugo!' Ochako thought as she went from looking at a trembling Yaoyorozu to a still Bakugo, who responded with a crooked eyebrow, "Who's that?"

Ochako blanched in disbelief at what she had heard as she looked at her opponent. She didn't know what hurt more; the casual dismissal, or the cluelessness that he didn't even remember her name.

'Oh-ho-ho! He did it now…' Ochako thought as her shocked face morphed into a furious scowl, 'He just made it where whatever fleeting interest I had in him, is down the toilet! I would not date that jerk even if he and I were the last two humans on Earth, AND the universe's continued existence hinges on the two of us hooking up!'

Bakugo didn't know why, but he felt dissed and dissed harshly. He is greatly annoyed, and he is determined to find out WHO dissed him, and WHY he felt dissed, and make them pay.

Sean looked at the bracketing for the preliminary rounds with a discerning eye…

First Round: Hitoshi Shinso vs. Izuku Midoriya

Second Round: Shoto Todoroki vs. Hanta Sero

Third Round: Rosa Parker vs. Mina Ashido

Fourth Round: Momo Yaoyorozu vs. Sean Hashimoto

Fifth Round: Tenya Īda vs. Hatsume Mei

Sixth Round: Denki Kaminari vs. Ibara Shiozaki

Seventh Round: Ejiro Kirishima vs. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Eighth Round: Ochako Uraraka vs. Katsuki Bakugo

'So…I'll be fighting Yaoyorozu in the first round. Hmm, she has potential, her Ki reserves are vast…she could be worth teaching.' Sean thought in contemplation, completely unaware of the fearful look Yaoyorozu was giving him.

Rosa looked at her opponent currently dressed in cheerleader garb, and adopted a serious, focused expression as she then walked to the mess hall to fuel up on energy for the battles ahead.

Out of everyone she had to beat in the Sports Festival Tournament, her husband/mentor was the one she had to beat most of all. After getting some food, she will have to consider her strategy going forward.

Her leaving had unintentionally set up a confrontation down the road, by leaving Izuku Midoriya alone as he inspected the brackets.

"So, I will either face Hashimoto or Parker in the semi-finals. If I am to impress–…" Izuku began to mutter until he heard a voice call to him…

"Hey. You Midoriya?"

Izuku snapped out as he turned around and faced the same purple-haired boy who declared war against his class. He recalled he was on Rosa's team, and they ran interference when the other teams tried to gang up on his team, especially in the last few minutes. He recalled his name was Hitoshi Shinso, his first opponent.

"I am looking forward to facing you in the tournament. May the best hero win." Shinso said while extending a hand out to shake Izuku's.

"I–…" Izuku began to reply, only for Mashiro Ojiro to cover his mouth with his tail and reply, "He has preparations, don't break his focus. I suggest you leave, especially if you have to ready yourself to face either Hashimoto-san or your former team captain."

Shinso shrugged as he replied offhandedly, "Alright, see you in the ring, then…"

Once Shinso got far enough away, Ojiro uncovered Izuku's mouth and explained himself, "Sorry Midoriya, but it is really important for you to never reply to him."

"Why though?" Izuku asked, "He was being–…"

Ojiro cut him off by saying, "No, he's dangerous. Nigereki and I have no memory of what happened throughout most of the Calvary Battle. The only thing we remembered about it was us talking to that general studies guy, and then the next thing we knew, it was less than a minute before the round was over after I bumped shoulders with Sato. I think he has some kind of…mind-control quirk."

Izuku thought it was odd, but remembering the Calvary Battle and Team Parker specifically, it made sense with the strange looks both boys had. But, he remembered that if Shinso had a mind-control quirk, then why did Rosa show no signs of being under such a spell?

"What about Rosa? She never looked like she was under any mind control…" Izuku asked as everyone headed to the tunnel to get ready for the upcoming events.

Once they got to the food court in the stadium, Izuku's friend group consisting of Tenya Īda, Ochako Uraraka, Momo Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami Fumikage, Tsuyu Asui, Mina Ashido, Toru Hagakure, and Kyoka Jiro sat at a table with Ojiro, Setsuna Togake, Itsuka Kendo, and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, as Ojiro explained his troubling experience during the Calvary Battle.

"I have to agree with Midoriya-san…" Īda stated while taking a sip of orange juice to refuel his quirk, "If Shinso-san has a mind-control quirk, then why wasn't Parker-san affected?"

Yaoyorozu added after putting down her napkin, "Yes, and you seemed sure she told Midoriya already?"

Rosa was walking by when she overheard the conversation, and replied, "I forgot to tell Midoriya, I was too focused on how I should proceed with the battles yet to come. Running mental simulations in my mind on all my possible opponents."

The group turned to face Rosa as she held a tray of food. Due to the group's table being fully seated, the incognito visitor from another universe sat at the table closest to them. And she soon explained herself…

"As for why I was unaffected, I can actually resist any and all forms of mind control…" she spoke as everyone present stared in astonishment.

"Hold up! You can resist fucking mind control?!" Setsuna gasped as her eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

Rosa gave a small smile as she replied, "Yep. And strong ones too. It was a skill I learned and trained with, from Sean. Though granted, the method is really unconventional, to where it is hard to describe. Put it this way, unless the mind control is from an object that represents a fundamental aspect of the entire universe, we can fight off any hypnosis, brainwashing, or whatever you think of."

"I get the feeling you're exaggerating a claim like that…" Kendo remarked with a nervous smile.

'Oh, it's no exaggeration. Thanks to our deity friends and our Pokémon, only something like the Mind Infinity Stone could break through our mental barriers. And that was before Superman taught us that Kryptonian martial art that resists mental attacks.' Rosa thought behind a perfect poker face.

"So…Shinso-san does have a mind-control quirk?" Ochako asked the trainer, her pointer finger resting under her chin.

Rosa took a deep breath as she thought about the situation and tried to articulate the answer in the best way, feeling that Izuku should face Shinso in a specific manner based on a feeling she recognized as the intuition to not meddle too much with the order of affairs in a reality. To not mess with a given reality's timeline of events as they are supposed to unfold.

She eventually gave her answer, "Hitoshi Shinso, I can say with absolute certainty, does have a mind-control quirk. A Brainwashing quirk, specifically. Quite powerful, but he couldn't break through my mental defenses. The specific trigger eludes me, but I do get the sense that it requires a response from the one he attempts to control."

The girls shuddered as there had been a stigma surrounding people who have mind manipulating quirks, and how they are often perfect for villains. There had been cases in the past of boys or men with such quirks using them to do 'naughty' things to girls without their consent.

Rosa noticed the reactions and decided to add before anyone else could say anything, "While his quirk is very fitting for a villain, I should tell you all that when I shook his hand, I could feel who he really was in his heart thanks to my Ki-sensing abilities. I can assure you all he is a good kid at heart, with a desire to be a hero, and he has no perverted intentions."

This seemed to relax the girls, especially as Rosa said she was highly resistant to mind control. Kyoka joked with a teasing smile, "'Kid' huh? You sound like an old woman when you say that."

Rosa rolled her eyes as she knew that Kyoka Jiro was just teasing, but responded, "That was a little rude, Jiro-san. But, I'll concede that I sound like an older woman, because I am actually older than I look."

Kyoka fumbled in surprise as she quickly apologized, "Oh my god! I am SO sorry, Parker-san! I didn't mean–…"

"I know you didn't, Jiro-san. I forgive you." Rosa simply replied as everyone else recovered from their own surprise by this admission.

Īda adjusted his glasses as he cleared his throat, "Well, forgive me for sounding rude, but how old are you, Parker-san?"

"Īda! It's rude to ask a girl her age!" Mina Ashido shouted as she slapped his shoulder.

Rosa giggled as she replied, "Just a few years older than the rest of you, if I want to still restrain myself from telling you all my age. Sean's the same, thanks to a combination of good genetics, and our quirks."

Īda bowed and apologized profusely to Rosa for being so formal with someone who in their society was an adult woman. Joined by Yaoyorozu, Ojiro, Togake, Kendo, Tetsutetsu, Uraraka, and Hagakure, Rosa calmed them all down and said it was fine and worked to both her and Sean's advantage because the idea of posing as teens was Principal Nezu's idea when he requested them to enroll at UA.

"So, Principal Nezu knows?" Setsuna asked, to which Rosa simply replied, "The entire staff knows, Togake-san. And they want to keep it on the down low, so could you promise me and Sean to keep this secret?"

Everyone promised they would, which gave Rosa some relief as she replied, "Good, now to get back on topic, how Midoriya will handle his fight with Shinso…"

Momo Yaoyorozu then asked, "Considering that Midoriya will have to face him, do you have any advice for what to do?"

Ojiro answered after finishing his food, "I would not respond to anything he said. Keep your mouth shut, and knock him out of the ring as quickly as possible."

Rosa nodded as she replied, "A simple, yet effective strategy. Sometimes simple works, but do you have a backup plan if you do succumb to the brainwashing Midoriya? It's very important in any battle to know your enemy, and work around the problems they present for you."

Rosa leaned back a little as she added, "I would teach you how to resist mind control like I do, and Sean does. But the method is so unorthodox and difficult, it couldn't easily be replicated at this moment. Especially as we are missing quite a few key components to attempt the training, besides, I'm not allowed to teach."

Rosa hummed in thought as she looked to the ceiling and thought, "However, Sean did say I was free to teach others…tricks…he knows to break out of mind control should you fall under the influence."

Izuku's eyes lit up as he asked, "Wait! It is possible to break out of mind control?!"

Rosa cheekily replied, "Yep! And it requires no quirk to pull off, so anyone can learn it."

That floored everyone present as they readily and eagerly asked the incognito trainer to teach them how to break mind control.

Hagakure noticed something and asked Rosa, "Speaking of your boyfriend, Parker-san. Where is he? Shouldn't he be here?"

Rosa noticed everyone else noticing the oddity of Sean not being in the cafeteria, knowing he walked in with them, but he vanished once they got their food. She answered them, "Principal Nezu had asked to talk with Sean in private. He wished for him to report his observations of the Sports Festival so far. I expect our chimera of a principal will want to talk to me after Sean finishes his report to him."

Left unsaid as while that was the main reason for Sean's unexplained disappearance, it wasn't the only one. Sean also wished to check up on his Pokémon the principal and Toshinori Yagi were looking after in the private booth.

"Report? What do you mean by that, Parker-san?" Momo Yaoyorozu asked as that was really odd to say in this context.

Uraraka slightly panicked as she asked, "Wait! Were we all supposed to report to Principal Nezu!?"

Rosa lifted her hands as she replied, "No, no. Calm down. I can assure you that it is just me and Sean who had to report to our principal."

That made those worried relax, as Izuku asked, "But, why then?"

Everyone looked at Rosa as she answered the question, "You know how pro heroes and the faculty of UA are watching and judging you all? Well, Sean and I are also judging everyone at ground level, getting a closer look at everyone to assist the principal and teachers in determining everyone's placement and whether they are accurate or not."

Hearing that made everyone tense up and their hearts raced in anticipation, Rosa added, "Don't worry, everyone here at this spot has nothing to worry about. You all pass the judgment as far as Sean and I are concerned. Nezu will, at most, encourage you to improve in areas you are lacking."

Everyone let out relieved sighs after that confirmation from their previously unknown judge. But, this prompted Īda to ask, "Wait, does that mean we all have faults or penalties that you had noticed?"

Rosa shook her head and answered, "While there were shortcomings for all of you, I can confirm that, at least. I am afraid that information is for the faculty's ears only."

That made everyone nervous as the transfer student revealed there were shortcomings in all of them, but what those shortcomings were specifically is for only the teachers and principal to know. Especially poor Izuku, as despite the glowing ovation from the secret judges, he worried is performance would be considered subpar in the teachers' eyes.

A buzz from Rosa's phone soon got her attention and she saw it was a text message from her husband, she pocketed her phone as she stood up and said, "Sorry guys, Sean said he's finished talking with Nezu, and now it is my turn to report to our esteemed principal and give my thoughts."

Izuku said hurriedly, "Wa-wa-wait! What about teaching me to break mind control?"

Rosa sighed as she replied with an assuring smile, "Don't worry, I give my reports pretty quickly. I should have enough time before the tournament to give you tips on how to break out of someone's mind control. I'll see you later…"

Rosa walked off with her empty food tray and put it away as she left to meet with Principal Nezu.

"She's so weird…in an 'I want to be just as cool as her' kind of way!" Setsuna Togake grinned widely as she watched Rosa turn left from the cafeteria's doorway, "Not to mention she's so fucking hot, like a model. Oh man, a part of me wishes I was gay to better enjoy her hotness."

Kyoka replied in a joking manner, "I agree with you, sister. Her boyfriend's really lucky to have her."

"She makes it look so effortless, I want to be as cool as Parker-chan!" Mina and Toru said in unison.

Izuku stayed silent as he knew the truth about both Sean and Rosa, while Īda knew to a lesser extent as well. As everyone got up to head either to participate in the minigames for fun or wait up in their dedicated booths within the stands, Izuku was stopped by a frowning Shoto Todoroki.

"Uh, Todoroki-san…" Momo remarked in surprise to her former teammate from the prior round, "Do you want something from us?"

Todoroki briefly nodded in a barely noticeable manner as he asked Izuku, "Midoriya, can we talk in private, alone? There's something you should know…"

Izuku was surprised, as he could tell there was something bothering his classmate. He nodded as he replied, "S-sure, Todoroki. Lead the way…"

The youngest child of Endeavor nodded and motioned Izuku to follow him. Leaving the group to wonder what is it that Todoroki wanted to talk to Izuku about in private. Though Mina, Toru, and Setsuna wanted to tease and joke about any potential "romantic" implications for the clandestine conversation, seeing Ochako's worried face persuaded them to not follow through with the jokes at the moment, deciding to head to their intended locations.

Ochako looked in the direction Izuku and Todoroki took, and wondered in a whisper, "What could Todoroki-san want to talk to Deku about?"


To Be Continued…


Author's Notes:

In a shocking, yet unsurprising, turn of events…Izuku Midoriya maintains first place, with assistance from our two incognito Pokémon Trainers. This was mostly out of Sean's desire to see what Midoriya is capable of in a fight, so he ensured that he made it to the top 16.

I did follow the trap of "inserting other characters to replace others in a key event" as everyone else did with their crossover stories. Sean Hashimoto and Rosa Hashimoto/Parker have replaced Fumikage Tokoyami and Yuga Aoyama in the Calvary Battle and in turn the tournament for the next chapter. It will be a while as I have to write out a lot more than this for that one. Maybe I could take some shortcuts?

Eh, I'll deal with it when I get there. I snuck in quite a few references for you to spot, but I also snuck in a few clues to what will happen later in this story, think you could predict the trajectory of the story's direction on multiple fronts? The direction of character growth? The direction of plot points? All that? Feel free to leave your guesses, the more detailed the better. And who knows, you may give me a better idea to use than one I have planned and decide to use instead. I will credit you if I do use such an idea.

Oh yeah, for anyone asking if I had seen Transformers One and if I'll cover it in my reaction story. First off, yes, I have seen it on release day and loved it. Two, I will cover the film, I would be stupid to not do so. And three, because I already got a feel for that one viewing, I do know where I want to put it in order and how it will have the most impact, but it will be a VERY long while before I get to it. Anyone who harasses me to cover it sooner than I like or when I feel it is necessary will only ensure that I take EVEN LONGER to get to it just to annoy you, impatient people. So don't try for both our sakes.

With that out of the way, here's the preview for the next chapter…

The battle lines have been drawn, and for the one-on-one tournament, everyone will be facing each other to climb to the top as the U-A Sports Festival Champion. Izuku has to face Hitoshi Shinso in the first round, and Ochako has to face Katsuki Bakugo in the eighth. But that's nothing as the stress of Yaoyorozu facing Sean Hashimoto was getting to her. Phantoms start showing up as Izuku confronts Shinso, what could they mean?

Next Time…: Competitive Spirit…(pt. 4)

Until then, I await your responses for the next chapter…