Here it is, the twentieth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released early as I had the time to make the edits but only two more chapters will be released early before I slow back down to weekly uploads through at least the internship arc if not the final exam arc as well. There really isn't much more to say here as the Sports Festival continues to the next round and we see who will advance past the quarterfinals. Therefore, that is all the all I have for here though and as there are no questions to respond to here and no guest reviews to answer, though keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all, so I will leave this note here which means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 20th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.

Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.

Chapter 20: Quarterfinals

"They've been front runners in the Sports Festival so far with each winning an event leading up to this highly anticipated match." Present Mic said enthusiastically as the crowd cheered the beginning of the quarterfinals of the U.A. Sports Festival for first years. "It's Midoriya verses Todoroki!"

"Shouldn't you be waiting for your next match?" Uraraka asked both Ida and Marinette who were up next in the Sports Festival, but both were in the box with her.

"There is more that I can learn from this then just waiting for my own match to start." Ida said simply. "Both are two of the best in our class, I need to watch them to see how I could beat them should I advance. That and I want to see how Midoriya counters Todoroki's ice."

"Similar but also this battle will be destructive." Marinette predicted. "Between Todoroki's ice and Midoriya's raw power there will be a break between this fight and the next one because there is no way that Cementoss doesn't need to fix this stage once they're done with it."

"I see well I hope Deku can manage it." Uraraka said worried for her friend. "Todoroki is a recommended student and he showed us what he could do the round before against Sero."

"If anyone can it's Midoriya." Adrien said reassuringly. "He and Bakugo are the best against Todoroki though I'm a close third with my Quirk."

"Shut up and watch so you can learn." Tokoyami said from their row.

"So wise." Ida said.

As they had been talking Midoriya and Todoroki had reached the battlefield and were now standing facing each other with serious looks on their faces as they prepared to fight. It was time for the most anticipated match since the start of the festival. Todoroki was considered the best in their class and had declared Midoriya his rival before everyone in the waiting room and thus marked him as a potential equal.

Midoriya had risen to the challenge and won the Obstacle Race while Todoroki had led his team to victory in the Cavalry battle. Now they were going head-to-head, and everyone knew that it would be epic.

"Begin!" Present Mic yelled and instantly Todoroki was on the offensive blasting a streak of ice right at Midoriya to freeze him like he did Sero though he wasn't going overboard like he'd done the round before.

It was what everyone expected, and the biggest question was how would Midoriya counter it. They got their answer a split second later as the ice reached him and the green haired boy flicked his right middle finger, breaking it as he channeled his power through it and used the wind pressure his extreme power created to blast the ice back and away from him. It was so strong that it destroyed all the ice, cooled down the crowd behind Todoroki with cold air, and would have pushed Todoroki out of the battlefield had he not created an ice barrier behind him as soon as Midoriya had acted to keep him in bounds.

"He's breaking his fingers to destroy the ice just like he did in the Quirk assessment test to throw the ball but stay standing and fighting afterwards." Marinette said. "Clever in a way as it is strong enough, but can he sustain it? He only has so many fingers."

Marinette's musing were cut short by another blast of ice that Midoriya countered the same way with his index finger this time. The force was pushing him back, but he kept up the defense and was able, for the moment at least, to hold his own against Todoroki. This was proved with another ice attack and broken finger a moment later.

Midoriya kept it up through all the fingers on his right hand and was drawing the match out longer than anyone had really expected. It was clear that Todoroki wasn't happy and changed his tactics to rush at Midoriya on his ice to get an attack from above.

All Midoriya could do was leap back and out of the way of the punch that froze the ground, but Todoroki wasn't done yet. He used his contact with his right fist on the ground to freeze a line of ice and catch Midoriya's right foot before he landed from his leap. It was clever but there was a problem that Midoriya clearly saw.

The attack had left Todoroki open and suddenly Midoriya's whole left arm was glowing with power that destroyed the sleeve in the process as he punched at Todoroki creating even more wind pressure than before as it was his whole arm and not a finger. Todoroki's training and reflexes saved him as he was able to create an ice barrier behind him as he was being blown back that eventually stopped him back on his side of the battlefield. It was impressive but Midoriya's arm was broken now so it looked like he was done for.

It was clear to Todoroki that he was as well as Todoroki launched another attack that they all thought would end it without a brace behind him showing how confident he was in his attack. However, as it reached Midoriya he blasted it back with a flick of his right index finger. The move, with his broken finger no less, was unbelievable both because the pain it must have caused him and the fact that he'd used a broken finger thus making the injury worse. Even Todoroki hadn't expected it and was almost blasted out of the battlefield, only the ice he made behind him saved him at the last second.

They all watched in awe and horror as Todoroki pushed his ice off him body and stood. However, it was clear that something had changed. Midoriya had lasted longer than anyone else against Todoroki and he'd caused the half and half boy to use his Quirk more than he'd ever done so before at U.A. Todoroki was clearly trembling, his right-side twitching and they could just make out the frost on that side of his body. Those like Bakugo and Marinette who were thinking strategy thought on it while the others just stared in shock.

"He doesn't use his fire in battle." Ida said recalling what Todoroki had said to him before the Cavalry Battle. "And he's kept to that statement so far with the brief exception of a flash of fire against Midoriya when his team charged us at the end of the Cavalry Battle."

"Then he's risking overusing that half of his Quirk." Adrien said understanding it now while Marinette just studied it closely. "Todoroki's Quirk is exceptionally powerful, almost as if it was engineered to be like that given how he can use two different elemental powers with each half of his body. A power like that gives him a unique advantage."

"What do you mean?" Uraraka asked confused though down on the battlefield Midoriya had figured it out as well as he and Todoroki exchanged words and Midoriya yelled a clear challenge at his classmate.

"Todoroki, from what I can understand, can produce ice from the right side of his body and fire from the left." Adrien explained as Midoriya suddenly dodge an ice attack that was slower than before, slow enough to avoid. "Which means that when he begins to overuse one of his powers and gets, in this case, too cold on his right side he can counter it by heating up his left. It gives him a greater stamina in battle compared to most as he can counter his overuse almost perfectly. However, as he's not using his left side, he's got to be nearing the limit his body can handle when it comes to ice."

"Deku." Uraraka said her eyes wide both at his plan and the fact that he'd suddenly made a fist with his right hand despite the clear pain he was in and yelled something at Todoroki that seemed to get through to the boy. "You dragged this out because of that but why?"

"Why indeed." Marinette said thinking as she though on all she knew about Midoriya and his personality, there was clearly more to this than anyone was seeing. "I have a feeling that we will have that answer soon enough."

As soon as Marinette spoke something seemed to snap in Todoroki and he charged at Midoriya. This time though it seemed different. he was moving slower with the ice on his body, but he also wasn't looking as composed as he usually did. It was as if Midoriya had managed to get under his skin and he was now pissed at his classmate.

However, that seemed to be what Midoriya was waiting for as he held his ground until Todoroki made the mistake of leaping up to attack Midoriya from above. Rather than back off, Midoriya stepped into the leap, his right arm glowing, as he punched Todoroki in the gut hard enough to bend the other boy around his fist and break the ice on his body.

There was a collective gasp from the stadium as Midoriya became the first person to truly strike Todoroki and send the boy flying back to hit the concrete hard and roll over a few times coming close to the white line again. It was an unbelievable attack and now people were seeing Todoroki as beatable, as someone who could be matched.

Midoriya himself just roared in pain from the blow, but they could see that the only part of him that had been hurt had been his fingers that were already broken, he'd somehow avoided breaking his right arm despite using his power. He'd also gotten ice on his broken left arm showing that Todoroki had landed something from the attack he'd tried to launch.

The fight was still going on though as Todoroki got up and sent another wall of ice at Midoriya, but it was slower this time and Midoriya was able to avoid it without injuring himself more. He then tried to get in close but was blasted away somehow. It was unreal the pain Midoriya had to be in, but he was still standing and fighting as he and Todoroki almost danced around each other avoiding attacks and blasts until Midoriya landed one that sent Todoroki back until he stopped himself with ice once again.

That seemed to knock something into Todoroki as he struggled to get up and hesitated as Midoriya ran at him and headbutted him backwards. They couldn't hear from their seats, but they knew that Midoriya was yelling something at Todoroki and whatever it was it was working. Todoroki slid back but didn't fall over from the headbutt and Midoriya followed it up with another punch to his chest that sent him flying back. As with the first punch, Todoroki hit the ground hard and rolled before getting to his feet.

He said something to Midoriya as he got up slowly, a good distance between the boys but it was clear that Midoriya could hear it. Whatever it was it really pissed Midoriya off and he yelled back and for the first time all battle they could hear what he said, albeit barely.

"It's yours. Your Quirk, not his!"

That seemed to be it, the point where Midoriya accomplished whatever the hell he was trying to accomplish in the battle. Todoroki seemed to realize something and the whole stadium could feel it. Then they saw it a second later as Todoroki's entire left side erupted in flames.

"What the…" Present Mic said as the fire shot up before settling to just Todoroki's left arm, chest, and the side of his face.

"He's using his fire." Uraraka said as they all recoiled from the intense heat that was now melting all the ice on the battlefield.

"That was his plan." Marinette said as she grimaced from the flames that they could easily feel from where they were sitting. "It has to be. I don't know why but Midoriya seemed to use that battle to break through whatever was holding Todoroki back from his full potential and he's just unlocked it"

"And what potential that is." Adrien said his eyes wide as a second spout of flames from the crowd erupted and Endeavour yelled something at the battlefield. "Todoroki was already powerful from what we've seen but this is a whole new level and once he has control of the fire he will be one of the strongest pros out there."

"Endeavour has some words of, er, support." Present Mic said confused by the number 2 hero's phrasing of Todoroki being created by Endeavour. "What a doting father."

Down on the battlefield Todoroki seemed to be taking to Midoriya as ice appeared on his right side to counter the flames. For the first time though he was smiling with clear joy which surprised everyone and surprisingly looked good on the boy. Midoriya was smiling to for some reason, and it was clear that the end of the battle was near.

Todoroki crouched down, the flames and ice getting even more intense, as Midoriya did the same, his left lower pant leg vaporizing as he put his power in the leg. The power coming off the pair was unbelievable, and it was clear that should they clash it would be bad, but no one could look away. Todoroki sent a wave of ice Midoriya, but he leapt over it and towards Todoroki his right arm now glowing to get in close and land a final hit. As he did, Todoroki moved his left arm back, the heat melting the ice, and raised it for a blast of fire at Midoriya.

That was the point where it was clear that the teachers had to step in and stop the fight. Midnight ripped part of her sleeve off, a pink mist coming from her skin, as Cementoss lunged forward and put his hands on the cement to create several large pillars of the stuff shot out of the ground. The pillars got in the way as Midoriya hit them with his body and Todoroki with his fire blast.

What happened next was an explosion on a scale few had seen outside of a major villain attack. Concrete blew apart, as did the battlefield, and the shockwave was such that Midnight was blasted off her stand while they all felt it hit them in the stands. It was so strong in fact that Shoji had to hold Mineta's ankle to keep him from being blown away by it. The dust cloud was so large was so large that it covered the whole arena floor and extended through the top of the stadium likely creating quite the scene outside.

"What was that?" Present Mic's voice called out as the explosion and aftermath ended. "What the hell are you teaching your students, Eraser."

"The air around them had been cooled by the ice and then rapidly heated and expanded." Aizawa said simply.

"Huh, interesting." Present Mic replied as the dust settled.

It started at the sides, and they all saw the result. Midoriya was standing against the wall by the entrance he'd walked out of, but it was clear he wasn't conscious. He fell to the side and hit the ground hard. He'd not had any support and the blast had sent him flying out of the arena.

Todoroki meanwhile was in the middle of the battlefield having managed to create a large enough ice brace to hold him there, but he had to push some of it off himself as he stood. The results of his fire was clear though as the left half of his shirt gone but for a few strands of fabric.

"Midoriya's out." Midnight said as she recovered and made her judgement on the match without any fanfare. "Todoroki's the winner."

The crowd cheered as Todoroki panted in the middle of the battlefield shocked and feeling more emotional than he'd felt in a long time. Midoriya had shattered his walls in the space of only a few short minutes and he was now unsure of himself. He'd won but at the same time he knew that there had been more to the battle, and he wasn't sure what it all meant. He just had to get away and think on it before his next match.

"After that battle we will be taking a 20-minute break to fix everything." Present Mic said as Midoriya was taken off the battlefield on a stretcher. "Stay tuned folks, the Sports Festival isn't going anywhere."

"We have to go see Deku." Uraraka said getting to her feet, the first one of them to recover in the wake of that battle and instantly wanting to see him. "We have to be there for him."

"Agreed, we need to make sure that Midoriya is alright." Ida said rising as well wanting to ensure his friend was ok before his battle with Dupain-Cheng. "Or at least in good hands and will be in time."

"I'll come too, ribbit." Tsu said getting up.

"Same." Mineta said surprising them, but no one was going to stop him.

"Dupain-Cheng, Agreste, you coming?" Ida asked them as he rose.

"Sure, but I don't think we will be able to see him for long." Marinette said getting up. "Those injuries looked bad, and he'll be with Recovery Girl for a while I think. Let's make sure he knows we care but if she needs space we should give it to her."

"He's our friend and we'll be there for him." Adrien said as they left the box. "But be ready to leave."

The other nodded as they made their way through the stadium to the students' entrance to the bowls of it and continued into that section. It took them a while to reach the Nurse's office as it was close to the entrance to the battlefield for obvious reasons, but they reached it in time to just hear voices from inside, one sounding weak which had to be Midoriya.

"Midoriya!" They all said bursting in, well except Uraraka who said. "Deku!"

They burst in to see a skinny man with lank blond hair standing in front of Midoriya where he was in the bed in a reclining position, his shirt off, arms heavily bandaged and in slings and a brace on his left leg that was raised up as well. Recovery Girl was on the other side but most of them didn't know who the man was as he turned to only show the side of his skeletal face, their entrance surprising him into coughing up blood but again they didn't see that.

"Oh, hello sir." Uraraka said with a nod of greeting as she noticed the man while Marinette and Adrien held back ready to act if they needed it as they knew who it was here. "Good to meet you."

"Hello." All Might said keeping his face from his students so that he could preserve his identity and just come off as someone who cared for young Midoriya, which of course was true.

"Hey guys." Midoriya groaned out his clear pain distracting the others as they now looked at him, Uraraka on the verge tears as she stared at him unable to process all the feelings she was going through as she looked at him there. "Shouldn't you be preparing for your next match. Ida and Dupain-Cheng are up."

"The field is extensively damaged." Ida said in his usual tone with some hand movements for emphasis. "They're taking a quick break to fix it."

"We knew that a battle with you and Todoroki would do that, so Ida and I were able to watch it and still get ready though we didn't expect it to be that destructive." Marinette said. "But we should go and get ready Ida as our match will be starting soon."

"Midoriya, that was the scariest thing I ever saw." Mineta said his eyes wide as he pointed at him while chewing on a fingernail at the same time before Tsu's tongue shot out and hit him in the ear.

"Now you're just rubbing salt in the wounds." Tsu said. "Probably shouldn't say anything."

"What, it's the truth." Mineta complained. "It was really scary and that was just watching it. I can't imagine fighting in that."

"Please get out I need to perform surgery so I can't have you here." Recovery Girl said waving her hands in front of her as she pushed them back. "Leave, Midoriya is in good hands, trust me."

"Surgery!" Uraraka exclaimed her eyes wide.

"Go, I'll be fine." Midoriya said with a small smile.

That was enough to get them to leave as Recovery Girl finally managed to get them out of the office. With a sigh she turned back to get to work hoping that this would be what the inheritor of One for All needed to get his act together and get control over his Quirk.

Outside they all stood there as the light saying surgery in progress lit up and the door locked. It was tough to see but with those injuries it was likely that not even Recovery Girl's power could fully heal him without help.

"Come on, she is the best." Marinette said to the others. "Ida, you and I need to get to our waiting rooms. We can honor Midoriya's effort by doing our best out there just as he would. He showed us true Plus Ultra, now we can as well."

"Agreed, I am looking forward to facing someone of your skills." Ida said with a nod as they headed off to the waiting rooms. "This will be a good battle for us."

"Let's go and watch this." Adrien said as he led the others back to the seats. "This will be interesting."

"Who do you think will win?" Uraraka asked to try and distract herself from Deku's current plight. "Between Ida and Dupain-Cheng that is?"

"Not sure." Adrien said as they walked. "It will come down to one factor, but one thing is for sure, this next match will be over within 10 seconds. We're about to see the fastest match of the Sports Festival up to this point."


"Alright folks the field is fixed so that means that it is time for the second match of the quarterfinals." Present Mic said as Marinette and Ida walked out of their respective entrances and up the steps to the repaired battlefield that showed no signs of the scars it had taken in the last fight. "And we have another good one between classmates in the Hero Course. It's Dupain-Cheng verses Ida in a battle of luck verses speed."

Present Mic didn't know how right he was as Marinette and Ida took their spots looking at each other determinedly across the battlefield with determined looks on their faces, they weren't friends in this battle but rivals trying to make it to the semifinals of the Sports Festival. This match was going to come down to speed and both of them knew it. What was faster, Ida's Recipro Burst or Marinette's Lucky Charm. There were reflexes as well but both knew that speed was the key.

Ida already had his plan, a simple one. He was going to use Recipro and have 10 seconds to get behind Dupain-Cheng and then get her out of the battlefield. The problem was that she was stronger than he was without Quirks and naturally more agile thanks to her, for lack of a better word, breeding.

That was where her speed would come in, could she act fast enough to avoid his Recipro and wait out his clock. If she did that then she could win without even using her strange Quirk. That was what Ida believed would be the key to his victory, going faster than she could react or activate that Quirk of hers.

Marinette meanwhile was already set mentally, hands by her sides as she looked at Ida calmly. Thanks to the destruction she'd had the time to mentally prepare for this battle and think over Ida's likely plan. She wasn't aware of how his Recipro Burst worked but he had engines which meant that he had to have gears and that meant he needed a few seconds to reach his top speed.

That would be what she needed, and she had to put all her focus into her Quirk to activate it the moment the battle began. From there it would come down to how fast he was and if she could beat his speed with her reactions and Quirk as she was about to push Lucky Charm to its limits in terms of how fast it could create an item for her.

"Begin." Present Mic said.

"Recipro Burst." Ida said getting into a track starter's stance as he over torqued his engines.

It was a good plan but that split second he had to take to get to over torque his engines and get to top gear was all Marinette needed. Already the pink light appeared before her right hand as she forced her Lucky Charm out faster than ever before and felt the bag appear in her hand and grinned as she felt it. She knew what it was, and she crouched down as Ida launched at her at a speed that was impressive.

As soon as Ida was off though, Marinette leapt into the air and threw the bag down to the ground hard enough to break it as she flipped and spun going as high as she could to make sure she was clear of Ida. Her jump had been directly up, and she twist at the apex so she as upside down as Ida reached her, but she only just managed it, a few seconds slower and he would have reached her.

The jump had one additional advantage though, it distracted Ida and caused him to look up at her and not what she'd thrown onto the ground as she leapt. That would be what cost him, his focus on the exchange girl was too much to realize he'd already lost.

As soon as he blew past Marinette, looking up to try and grab her as he twisted as best he could, he didn't see the many small marbles at his feet with a U.A. sports kit design on them. He was still looking up when his feet flew out from under him thanks to the marbles.

All Ida could do was go wide eyed as the speed of his engines spun him around without the ground to control his footing and is forward momentum carried him spinning out of the arena and over the steps and concrete before he hit the grass and rolled several feet from before stopping, his engines stalled and out of the battle. As Adrien had predicted, the match had taken less than 10 seconds.

Marinette was still in the air as Ida went out and hit the grass, completing her flip to land gracefully on her feet and with a wave of her hand dismiss her marbles in a flash of pink. It had worked as she had expected it to though she hadn't known what her item would be. Marinette's plan to win had been simple, create something that could trip up Ida and let his own momentum take him out of the arena as she leapt over him, using her own body as a distraction if possible. It had worked perfectly and now she was up against Todoroki in the semifinal.

"Ida is out of the arena." Midnight said with a flick of her flail as Marinette bowed respectfully to Ida who looked shocked at what had happened. "Dupain-Cheng is the winner."

"That was fast, and the speedster didn't win it." Present Mic said from his booth. "How was that possible?"

"Dupain-Cheng pushed her Quirk to be as fast as possible and then used her reflexes to avoid Ida, though only a few others in the Hero Course could do that." Aizawa said simply. "She then used that leap to distract Ida from whatever she'd created, and he didn't pay attention to his footing, relying too much on his speed to win it. It was a sped-up version of sleight of hand, a clever move from Dupain-Cheng who continues to show her aptitude for this as the day goes on."

"Interesting." Present Mic said.

The crowd cheered as Present Mic and Aizawa were speaking but Marinette ignored them all as she hurried over to Ida to make sure that he was ok in a display of good sportsmanship. She reached him as he was getting his bearing and offered her hand to him to help him up.

"Can you walk?" Marinette asked as offered him her hand to help him to his feet. "That was a lot of speed you just used."

"Yeah I'm just a bit bruised, nothing major." Ida said as he checked himself over and made sure that he could walk though he couldn't use his Quirk for a bit before he accepted her hand and was hauled to his feet before letting go as soon as he could stand as would be proper. "My engines stalled briefly after the time limit I have at that speed ended so it will take a moment to use them again, but I can walk. I thought I had you there."

"You had the right strategy for sure." Marinette said as they walked out and the next two students, Tokoyami and Ashido, came out for their battle as there was no need to fix the stage this time. "You're one of the few I felt could actually be a major rival to me in this, especially after you revealed you had that speed boost thing."

"Really?" Ida asked honored that someone of Dupain-Cheng's level considered him a rival despite his loss to her. "How so?"

"My Quirk is strong, stronger than it appears when you factor in the second half of it despite how random it can be, but it has one major weakness." Marinette said. "Speed."

"Speed is a weakness to you?" Ida asked as they made their back to their seats though Ida planned on calling his brother before resuming watching to let him know what happened and to keep an eye out for Dupain-Cheng as she was going to be a really desirable sidekick after the Sports Festival. "I mean I figured that if I was fast enough I could get to you before you could activate and use your Quirk, but I didn't realize that it was the right strategy. I was more concerned with your agility though and you showed me that my concerns were correct when you leapt over me even with Recipro."

"That was more because you took a moment to get up to speed, if it was instantaneous I might not have managed it and you would have grabbed me." Marinette admitted. "But it was the right plan to face me. I need time to figure out what my Lucky Charm is meant to do most of the time because I'm not a linear thinker, hence why speed is a weakness to me and usually Adrien distracts our opponent but in one-on-one battles it's different. However, against you where speed is your big thing it's simpler. I was able to just create something to trip you up and drop it before you reached me, though the crashing out of the battlefield was more spectacular than I expected. If you were more complex then I may not have won."

"I see that is all good feedback." Ida said rubbing his chin and grateful for the blunt and honest words Dupain-Cheng had said to him as he had some good critiques of his abilities to work on. "I need to get up to top speed faster then. I can't do more than speed, but speed is the most important thing for a hero in my opinion. This showed that I need to get faster to catch you and when we are heroes there will be villains with similar reflexes. Thank you."

"Anything to help." Marinette said as the crowd cheered indicating that there was already a winner in the third quarterfinal. "Now let's go, Adrien is up next against Bakugo."

"Go on, I need to call my brother and tell him what happened before I rejoin you lot." Ida said pulling his phone out. "He can help me as we have the same basic Quirk only different fuel sources, engine compositions, and locations."

"Ok." Marinette said with a nod as she hurried back to their seats in time to see that Tokoyami had won.

That had been expected. His Quirk was one of the strongest combat ones in the class and Mina had no way to really counter it, so she was quickly pushed out by it. Nor did Adrien for that matter but Marinette knew he'd try and hoped he would win as she took her seat next to Uraraka who was still a little nervous about Midoriya and didn't say anything as the others congratulated Marinette on her win. She thanked them but set her eyes on the final quarterfinal as Adrien and Bakugo walked out to the battlefield.


"Alright folks here it is, the final quarterfinal matchup and we have another epic Hero Class clash between two classmates who have been in the top 10 all festival in a battle of pure destruction!" Present Mic said excitedly to the cheering crowd. "It's Agreste verse Bakugo!"

Bakugo grinned as he looked at the French dude opposite him. This was a fight worthy of his skills; it was against an opponent who he knew little about but what he did know intrigued him. Frenchy was considered akin to a recommended student so on the same level as icy-hot which meant that he had to be good and Bakugo had watched his match with Kirishima earlier, as well as other times while studying the combat experts in the class and knew he was in for a battle that might actually challenge him.

Frenchy was smart, up there with himself and Ponytail if had had to guess and he knew how Quirks worked. The exchange student had displayed that by deliberately drawing out his last match with Kirishima so that the spikey haired fool over used his Quirk just as Bakugo would have done against him. Even then, Frenchy had the skill to beat him before Kirishima's Quirk failed as he could actually hit Kirishima when he was hardened which meant that he could hit like a motherfucker.

That wasn't a surprise to Bakugo though, he'd heard the rumors around about Frenchy and his girlfriend Frenchette. He'd looked into it and confirmed that it was indeed the case in not just France but other high-class groups in various European countries had engaged in it as well, most notably some place called Otheon that had taken it to the extremes, as they engaged in Quirk Marriages for generations.

Frenchy here was a product of that with enhanced strength, durability, and stamina from it that weren't at the level of a Quirk but were beyond what humans before Quirks could obtain. That had been how he'd been able to stand up to Kirishima when his Quirk was active.

Then there was Frenchy's Quirk. Bakugo had paid attention to it both in the combat class and in the Obstacle Course and knew that it had the power to destroy, or at least cripple, a 0-pointer making it one of the most powerful offensive Quirks in the class. It wouldn't work on humans, but Bakugo was not counting it out against him. He just needed to figure it out and he already had a good idea how it worked. If he could get Frenchy to use it then he'd really show what he could do and beating a recommended student when he was using his Quirk would show everyone how good Bakugo was.

This wasn't going to be like that match with Round Face. She'd earned his respect a little at the end with that move and showed she wasn't weak, even if she did pick up a tactic like that by fawning over that damned nerd. Bakugo wasn't blind, he saw the way she looked at him and it sickened him that someone could see Deku that way, but she did, and she used that against him in their battle. Well, it had been impressive, and he got to show off just how powerful he was. Hopefully Frenchy allowed that as well.

Adrien for his part was calm as he stared at the manic grin Bakugo had on his face. It was clear that the violent boy was looking forward to this match. That was an honor Adrien thought because he didn't seem to show that to most people, more just angry shouting and belittling most of the time. This was going to be tricky, but Adrien had a plan thanks to what he'd noticed in Bakugo's match against Uraraka, and he hoped it would work. It would all come down to showing Bakugo he needed to go Plus Ultra to beat him and then Adrien would have it.

"Begin!" Present Mic said.

"Die!" Bakugo said as he blasted at Adrien with both hands as fast as possible.

He flew across the battlefield fast barely over the ground going for Adrien's waist. Adrien saw this and leapt up into the air with his enhances strength. This was both to avoid the attack and to confirm just how much precision and control Bakugo had over his Quirk.

"Won't work on me asshole." Bakugo yelled pointing his left hand to the ground to blast up to Adrien as Adrien expect. "The air is mine."

"I know, I was expecting this." Adrien said as the flipped in the air and brough his heel down onto Bakugo's head to drive him back down to the ground just as Bakugo reached him. "You aren't the only one who knows how to move in the air thought."

"Bastard." Bakugo said getting his right arm up in time to block the blow and sending a blast from his palm up Frenchy's right leg tattering his lower pant leg but that was about it before the kick sent Bakugo down to the ground.

At the last moment Bakugo used his left hand to blast himself off the ground and flip backwards to land on a crouch, his right arm stinging from the blow and a clear bruise forming there. The attack had shown him a few things about Frenchy. He was agile in the air and could really kick. Bakugo knew that he didn't want to get hit by a full blow from him, it could easily break bones and that could knock him out. It would come down to mobility and precision it seemed. However, the biggest takeaway Bakugo got from that exchange was the burn he saw on Frenchy's leg which meant that his Quirk could hurt him. Good.

Adrien for his part landed in a crouch and looked at Bakugo, the boy had not disappointed him. He was agile and precise as Adrien had expected.

There was no question that Bakugo was intelligent even if his demeanor hid it. It took precise knowledge of both physics and how his Quirk worked to pull that off. Plus, he could generate some serious heat with his explosions. Adrien knew that there was a burn on his lower right leg from the hit but ignored it to focus on the battle. Bakugo could actually harm him despite his enhance durability so this would come down to agility and if Adrien was being honest Bakugo was better at that than he was thanks to the mobility his Quirk provided him.

Still, all Adrien needed to do was outlast Bakugo. He had an idea for how to beat him and he was going to try it. If Bakugo wanted to win then he'd have to really show how mobile and precise he was.

"Let's kick this up a knock." Bakugo yelled as he shot himself up and into an arc. "Try this on for size Frenchy!"


Izuku shuffled through the hallways, limping with his good leg to get to the box and see his friends in action. They were giving it their all and he knew he should be there for them as well. He had a lot to think about between the scars on his right hand, his power now that Recovery Girl wasn't going to heal him, and what All Might had revealed to him about also being born Quirkless, but he could focus on that later. For now, he wanted to focus on the rest of the Sports Festival and see who was left.

As he reached the box he heard an explosion which could only mean one thing, Kacchan was fighting so they'd reached the last battle of the quarterfinals. As he got there, Izuku looked to the bracket to see what he had missed while he was having surgery and a chat with All Might.

"So, Dupain-Cheng and Tokoyami have advanced." He muttered when he saw who'd won since his own battle. "Poor Ida, he must not be happy with that."

"Ah Midoriya, I take it surgery went well." Ida said approaching him from behind startling him slightly as he turned to see his friend approaching him.

"Yes I'm all good." He said with a smile. "Are you ok though? You lost."

"It was fast but that was what I expected from it." Ida said with a note of sadness in his voice but also resilience and determination in it as well. "I would have liked to reach the final four but alas my speed was just a step or two slower then it needed to be. Dupain-Cheng is as good as I thought, she got her Quirk off and avoided me before I could reach her with my Recipro Burst. It tripped me up and sent me out of the battlefield before I knew what had happened."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Izuku said his eyes wide at what he was hearing. "That is some talent though to beat you like that."

"It is and it showed me that I have much more work to do to get to the level of some of our classmates." Ida said. "I have to change gears to build up speed and that takes time, my brother doesn't have that limitation so he can accelerate quicker, but I will be faster because of where my engine is and its design in the end. Dupain-Cheng just showed me that I'm still not fast enough."

"That's good that you are learning from it then." Izuku said thinking on what he had to learn from his own loss to Todoroki. "Have you spoken to Ingenium yet? He might have some words of advice for you."

"I tried to call him, but he didn't answer." Ida said.

"Sorry to hear that." Izuku replied.

"Nah it's fine it just means that he is out working and saving people." Ida said with a grin. "Just a hero should be. I'll call him when this is over, and we can chat about how I can improve then."

"And what's this, looks like Bakugo is breaking out that massive move again!" Present Mic said bringing their attention back to the battlefield and what happened next which shocked all of them.


While Midoriya and Ida had been talking, Adrien and Bakugo had engaged in a game of cat and mouse on the battlefield. Bakugo was using his superior mobility and agility to engage in series of strafing runs on Adrien from various angles to try and hit him.

However, Adrien was showing off his own abilities by dodging and avoiding them as much as possible while staying on the ground for the most part and occasionally countering with a hit to Bakugo that knocked him back a bit but was never strong enough to end it. He knew that once he got into the air Bakugo had the advantage, so he was using his strength to avoid the maniac that was cackling as he tried to land a hit.

This was good for Bakugo as it was a real challenge to him despite being frustrating at the same time. Finally, here was a guy who could actually avoid him and force him to get better and surpass his limits in order to land a hit.

That was just what Bakugo was doing. He was getting faster, turning sharper, and predicting Frenchy better as he made run after run to fully understand how agile his opponent actually was. Frenchy was very agile it seemed and Bakugo was tiring, and his wrists were starting to hurt from using his Quirk so much while Frenchy looked only a little tired and hadn't used his Quirk yet. It was as he thought this that Bakugo had a sudden realization.

Frenchy was doing the same thing to him as he did to Kirishima. He had to hand it to the boy, he was as smart as Bakugo had predicted and knew tactics well. He clearly knew that had more stamina than Bakugo and was using that and the fact that only Bakugo was using his Quirk to tire him out and force him to overuse his Quirk.

That gave Bakugo an idea or a realization more effectively. If Frenchy wasn't using his Quirk then there had to be a reason more than the fact that it wouldn't work on Bakugo's body other than his clothes, not that he cared on that front. No, more likely he was saving it as it had to have a time limit for how long he could use it. It was a powerful Quirk that appeared to use his own energy so that would explain why he was biding his time with it.

Bakugo grinned as he made one more pass that Frenchy avoided but thanks to Bakugo's angle he caught Frenchy's left hip with the edge an explosion that staggered the boy to the side. Bakugo just flipped and landed on the concrete, skidding slightly as he did and panting from the prolonged battle. Frenchy was as well as he face him, something falling from his torn pocket and onto the ground that Bakugo noticed but Frenchy seemed to not see.

"I figured your plan out, clever bastard." Bakugo yelled as he deduced what had fallen out of Frenchy's pocket was for. "You're trying to prolong this like with Kirishima and tire me out, force me to my limit before you counter. Most would see that as a coward move but I get it, you know that Quirks are physical abilities too and wearing me out because you can outlast me stamina wise."

"Got it in one." Adrien said not surprise as he took a strong stance to be ready for whatever came next. "So, what are you going to do about it Bakugo? You're closing in on me, but I have the stamina on you right now, can your wrists and body hold out much longer?"

Adrien was kinda annoyed that Bakugo had figured it out, but he shouldn't really be surprised, the boy was smart. Well that just meant that it was likely time for what he expected.

"No, I think it's time we see just how good you are and force you to use that Quirk of yours, Agreste." Bakugo said using the boys name as a sign of respect as he held out his right hand and grasped his wrist with his left, he'd already over exerted the other one against Round Face so he had to use this one now. "You can't dodge this."

With that Bakugo let out the massive blast that he'd been building up all battle. It was as large as the one he used against Round Face only this time he was blasting it across the battlefield and not up. It was so forceful that he actually slid back a few paces from it as he pushed himself past his limit but not enough to break his wrist in the process.

Adrien just braced himself as the blast came at him and held out his hands and lowered his face to protect it. Bakugo was right, he couldn't dodge it but that just meant that now was the time. Time to see if his Quirk worked and to show off an improvement he'd made a few days ago as Adrien activated Cataclysm in both his hands.

The blast hit his palms just after the black energy engulfed them and warped around him. However, from the point it made contact the fire and smoke of the explosion began to turn black and vanish. It was too strong to get rid of in one go and Adrien kept his eyes closed and head lowered prevent injuries, but he could feel the burns on his arms from the parts of the explosion that touched his body and destroyed his PE kit there.

Still his Cataclysm spread from the point of impact, and he pushed it out with a yell that caused the explosion to end quickly while keeping his focus on it so that his Quirk didn't end prematurely. It left him standing there as the crowd gasped at him still standing. Adrien was panting, his arms red with burns, same with his sides and legs, and his clothes in tatters, but he ignored it as they could be healed and he looked up grinning at Bakugo, his hands still glowing with power.

"Not bad Bakugo." Adrien said with a pant. "But as I expected, I can destroy your explosions."

"I see." Bakugo said his grin broadening despite the pain he was in as this was the test he really wanted out of this match. "So, let's see who's wrists hold out the longest Agreste."

With that Bakugo blasted at Adrien before pulling up suddenly with an explosion at the other boy who hadn't moved likely due to the injuries, but his hands were still out, and he dispelled the explosion before the reached him. Bakugo just laughed as he began to unleash a barrage of explosions at Agreste while alternating hands. This was a fight for sure, the boy was worthy of his power and could withstand it. Beating him would leave no doubt that only Todoroki stood between Bakugo and being the best depending on what kind of fight that bird boy could give him with his powerful looking Quirk.

Adrien for his part held as long as he could. He'd been practicing these last two weeks to first off keep Cataclysm going for the full 5 minutes even after first contact so that he could use it multiple times with less effort, and in the process he'd accidently activated it in his left hand as well so now he could use both hands. The only problem was that it cut down on his time as he was using more of his energy to activate it and Bakugo was now relentless as the explosions hit Adrien's Cataclysm and vanished, but he could still feel the burns on his forearms getting worse from them.

One of them had to give out in the end though and unfortunately that was Adrien. Bakugo had been right that there was a time limit and thankfully he reached it before his wrists broke but it was close. He'd been alternating blasts as well to add to the attack and not overused one wrist when finally, he saw the black energy on Agreste's hands flicker and die.

The moment that happened Bakugo struck with a pair of simultaneous blasts from both palms that caught Agreste in the chest and sent him backwards while destroying his shirt and causing burns there. Bakugo followed it up with a blast behind him to accelerate into the boy before he hit the ground, kneeing him in the chest in the process, and ridding him down to the ground as he wanted to.

The results was that Adrien hit the ground hard, his head smacking the concrete with enough force to daze him, before slid on his back with Bakugo on top of him until he came to a halt. Bakugo now had his left knee on Adrien's chest, his right boot on Adrien's left wrist, left hand on the right wrist and his right hand just above Adrien's face sparking slightly in some contorted position on top of him that gave Bakugo all the leverage.

"Not bad Bakugo." Adrien said through pain, and he was in a lot of it. "You guessed I couldn't keep it up for ever, didn't you."

"It all came to me when that stuff fell out, you were prolonging the fight to avoid it, but I forced your hand with my own massive blast that you forced me to use." Bakugo said grinning manically in Adrien's face. "Not bad against me but you're done."

"Yeah, I am." Adrien said falling leaning his head back as gently as he could and closing his eyes. "I surrender."

"Agreste gives up." Midnight said with a flick of her flail. "Bakugo is the winner."

"And with that the quarterfinals are over." Present Mic said as the crowd cheered and Bakugo got off Adrien. "Folks here are your final four."

Bakugo looked up to the screen to see the pictures of the 4 remaining competitors. Todoroki, Dupain-Cheng, Tokoyami and himself in that order filled the screen with upper body shots of them. Bakugo just grinned as he walked off. Next up it was bird boy and that was going to be fun as he was also a beater of a recommended student and had a powerful offensive Quirk as well. Should be a good matchup against another combat orientated extra for sure.


"Not bad there." Dominus said to Mage as the final quarterfinal match ended. "Midoriya has work to do but that's not our concern and I am sure he'll get it in the end. Marinette did well, she's got the reflexes to avoid Ida which was impressive, and Adrien held his own against Bakugo."

"Yes that was about how I expected it." Mage said with a nod as Plagg wailed and drank more at his friend's loss and the new debt he'd just incurred but everyone ignored him. "Marinette came down to speed and Ida was just a hair slow but in time he should be able to best her on that front. I didn't know who'd win that one though until I saw it. As for Adrien, he had the right tactic, but he underestimated Bakugo's drive and tactical mind during a battle situation. I thought he wouldn't, but he did and lost. Still, he's growing his power more just as I thought he would."

"All worth watching." Dominus said as he looked up to the screen showing the final four first year students. "And more still to come."

"This one will be good." Mage said looking at the first two pictures. "I wonder how Marinette will handle Todoroki?"

I think I'll leave it there on a nice little cliffhanger for y'all to enjoy as the Sports Festival enters its penultimate round. Bakugo showed that the French could be beaten and injured there with his tough fought win over Adrien, but Marinette is still in it as she gets ready to take on Todoroki in the semifinals. How will she handle it? Only time will tell but the semifinals will be coming soon so you won't have to wait long for the Sports Festival to continue as it gets close to its conclusion and a winner is crowned. However, that is all I have for this chapter so I will leave it here. If you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.

Stringdog