In the festival waiting room, Izuku nervously fumbled with his phone, ready to call his mother. He'd silently promised himself he wouldn't call her unless he really needed to, but right now he felt like he really needed to.

"Hi mom." He greeted.

The enthusiastic reply from the other end made him pull the phone away from his ear for a moment. "Helicopter boy!"

"You saw that?!"

"I think the whole country saw that, Izuku." She laughed affectionately.

With a channel to vent his worries, his mother, Izuku's concerns tumbled out. "I never considered it before I took the glove off, do you think people realised it was a quirk? Oh my god what if I get arrested for falsifying my quirk registry? Can they do that if I didn't know? Maybe I can pretend it was the first time it ever happened, but then why would I have gone airborne–"

"Izuku, slow down! None of that is going to happen, don't worry," she reassured, suppressing a chuckle, trying to calm his frantic thoughts.

"Ugh, maybe I should just forfeit the next round," Izuku sighed.

"What do you mean? You've done amazingly well so far."

"I know, but, I didn't expect to get this far and the more I win the more attention I'll get from heroics a-and if they try to recruit me they might not take no for an answer and-"

His worries resurfaced, tangling his mind into a web of anxiety. But his mother stepped in with soothing words, "Izuku, baby, listen to me. You have a choice, and they should respect that. Your quirk is yours, and you can use it however you want."

"But what if they're too persistent and I just say yes to them without thinking?"

"Honey, they can't force you into anything. Everything will be alright, especially with me, your teachers, and all your friends by your side," she reassured him.

"Th-thanks, mom. You're probably right…" Izuku's tense demeanour began to soften, but his mother wanted to address his final concerns.

"You're welcome, dear. But listen," she said firmly, her determination evident, "Don't forfeit your next match. You deserve to be there; you've worked hard and earned that spot. Show everyone what you're capable of."

"Do you really think I should?" Izuku hesitated.

"Izuku, I love you more than anything in the world, and I want you to be happy, fulfilled, and free to be who you are. But I also want you to be honest and proud of yourself, and that means accepting yourself for who you are, quirk and all."

Her words began to sink in, and Izuku pondered his choices. "I do want to show off the gauntlets in one-on-one combat," he admitted.

"Then go and be a show-off! Let everyone see the support genius we all know and love. But if you want to show your quirk off too, then go ahead and do it!"

"I think… I think I'll do it. I'll fight," Izuku declared with newfound resolve. Talking to his mom always seemed to make things better.

"Good luck, Izuku. Give them hell."

"Thanks, mom, I will!" Izuku declared, just as the door to the waiting room began to open. "I'll have to go, mom, Mei's here, her fight is up first, and she wants me to walk with her to the arena. Thanks again, I'll call later!" With a goodbye and a good luck wish from his mom, he hung up the phone, feeling much better about himself and his decisions.

"How's mamadoriya?" Mei asked as she greeted him.

"She's good, she wishes us luck."

"Did she tell you to be accepting of who you are and not care what anyone else thinks, and to go out there and kick everyone's ass by turning into a train?" Mei said, leading the way down the hallways with nervous excitement.

"Not in so many words, but basically yeah. ...Wait, do you think I could actually turn into a train?" Izuku called after her, trying to keep up with her brisk pace.

Mei chuckled. "Who knows? With your quirk, anything seems possible!"

"I suppose so," he replied. "Are you sure you'll be fine to fight, Mei? You didn't get much sleep, remember."

"I'll be fine, I ate some coffee," she quipped.

"You mean you drank some coffee?"

"Nope. Me and Yamashita have a plan all worked out, anyway. We're the only two support students fighting each other, so we're going to kite around for a while and show off our babies. Then when we're finished, we're playing rock-paper-scissors for the win."

"That's going to annoy so many people," Izuku laughed. "But good luck either way."


"THIS WAS NOT PART OF THE DEAL, YAMASHITA!"

With a net launcher spinning in her hand, Yamashita casually approached Mei, who was entangled in ropes. "Sorry, Hatsume, but realistically, this is the better option for me. After you took out those guys in the first round, you became a focus of the event. If I can beat you, then I'll be the focus, and I'll get the internship offers. It's just business."

"That's an early lead for Yamashita!" Present Mic announced, "This is shaping up to be a quick fight!"

"Don't count Hatsume out just yet. After her performances in the first and second rounds, she could have more up her sleeve." Eraserhead drawled in response.

"You suddenly seem invested!"

Gritting her teeth, Mei ignored the taunt, knowing she had a plan for situations like this. She flexed her non-dominant hand, revealing a short blade similar to the crossbow on her right arm. With one fluid motion, she sliced through the net and sprung back on her feet with impressive agility. Bolts flew towards Yamashita as Mei called out, "Alright, Miki! Let's put on a real show!"

The crowd cheered in response, from how support students acted in previous festivals everyone was expecting a sales pitch, but this was much more fun!

Yamashita grinned, pushing her glasses up, and summoned an extendable shield that Mei had seen in the workshop. The shield spun around her wrist, humming as it deflected the crossbow bolts. "You're a brilliant inventor, Hatsume!" Yamashita shouted, conjuring an electric baton in her other hand and adopting a defensive stance. "So why don't you prove it?"

Returning the smile, Mei unleashed a barrage of crossbow bolts, all skillfully blocked by Yamashita. "Sonic wave technology, Miki? Impressive, but it won't stop me!"

Mei charged towards Yamashita, her wrist twisting as she searched for the perfect ammunition. Yamashita also moved forward, swinging her baton at Mei, who gracefully evaded the attack and countered with a powerful kick to Yamashita's shin, sending her to the ground. Taking advantage of the close range, Mei fired a stun-effect bolt straight at the electrified baton. The resulting surge of power overwhelmed Yamashita, forcing her to drop the weapon.

"Another impressive deployment of Hatsume's projectile weaponry! I gotta get me one of those!" Present Mic had a foot up on the table again he was so excited.

"I told you to prove it, Mei! You've impressed me with your inventions before, so why hold back now?! You, of all people, came to the sports festival with just ONE baby?!"

"I didn't bring just one baby," Mei replied, catching her breath. She hesitated; these gadgets could connect her to Mayhem, but she decided to risk it anyway. Hitting her heels together, a new material emerged from her shoes. A metal weave click-click-clicked around her heels and up to her ankles.

Yamashita swung her shield low, attempting to knock Mei down, but to her surprise, she effortlessly leaped several feet into the air. Mei landed with a thud, crossbow bolt pointed directly at Yamashita's face. "Boost boots, Miki. Baby number 48," she smirked. "Consider this my win."

Chuckling, Yamashita adjusted her glasses once again. "Not bad, Hatsume. But I think I need to remind you of your true potential." She kicked off the ground from her seated position, summoning new help into the fight against Mei. With a soft landing, she was encased in the plush interior of an advanced machine.

Mei's expression turned to a mix of confusion and anger. "You didn't! No, Yamashita!"

"Surprise!" Yamashita exclaimed as the doors closed around her, and she took a few steps forward. "Remember the Mark V, Mei?!"

Present Mic leapt from his chair and inadvertently activated his quirk, "IT'S THE FREAKING MECH! Ladies and gentlemen! That cool piece of tech Yamashita's sitting inside of was built by Hatsume herself! I saw this thing in action myself, and lemme tell you, it's a doozy!"

Mei gasped as she saw her own creation turned against her; this was supposed to be impossible! "How are you controlling it?! I programmed that baby to answer only to my commands! It's coded to my DNA!"

"I won't bore you with the details, but after modifying the code, getting it to obey me was a piece of cake. It's an incredible piece of machinery, truly exceptional work." She pointed her arm at Mei, and the hand began to spin. "So, why did you abandon it?"

Mei swiftly rolled out of harm's way as a blast of air shot out of the Mark V's hand, smashing the concrete underneath her. "I didn't abandon it! I moved on to other babies!"

Her mind raced, memories flooding back of the hours spent designing and building the Mark V. The exhilaration she felt testing its capabilities with Izuku on the beach, the ambitious plans they had envisioned for it. It was her masterpiece, and she had poured her heart and soul into its creation. But once it was completed and showcased, she couldn't resist the allure of new projects, leaving the Mark V behind.

Yamashita continued her assault from inside the confines of the exosuit, leaping into the air and landing behind Mei. "Think of how incredible this machine could have been if you'd devoted more time to it! Why jump from one baby to the next to the next?!" With a swift motion, she grabbed Mei by the collar and hurled her to the side of the arena, dangerously close to a ring-out defeat. Through the loudspeaker in the suit, she taunted, "Show me what a great inventor you are, Mei Hatsume!"

Pulling a hairband from her pocket, Mei grinned as she shouted back, undeterred. "I jump from one baby to the next BECAUSE I'm a great inventor, Miki! You want me to prove it?! Storage locker 11! Let me show you!"

Yamashita waved her hand inside the suit, and a box plummeted from the sky, landing at Mei's feet. With a swift kick, Mei opened it, revealing a spare pair of the grappling tether launchers she uses as Mayhem, which she quickly clipped onto her arms.

"When I started at UA, I reset my numbering, did you know that, Yamashita?! This is baby number three," she said, tapping the launchers. "Let's see how she fares against baby number one!" Mei fired a fast tether directly towards the Mark V, the cable firmly attaching to the centre of the chest chassis.

Yamashita attempted to remove the cable, but it clung tenaciously to the metal. Instead, she pulled Mei toward her, trying to capitalise on her proximity advantage. However, Mei was far from defenceless.

Mei reoriented herself in the air, drawing on her experience as Mayhem to execute a perfectly aimed kick at the Mark V's shoulder. Activating her boost boots, she flipped backward with impressive grace.

As anticipated, the exosuit's arm collapsed to the floor, leaving Yamashita in disbelief.

"Alright, Hatsume. You've made your point," Yamashita admitted, with respect in her voice. "You clearly know the suit better than me. But this isn't over yet!" She shouted back, charging the air cannon once more.

Mei remained vigilant, knowing that she couldn't afford to lower her guard. Taking a calculated risk, she fired another tether to the walls surrounding the arena. The timing had to be precise; otherwise, she'd be out of bounds.

As she passed at high speed, she twisted her crossbow bolts into smoke bombs and launched them into the hole caused by the fallen arm. Detaching herself from the grapple at the same time, she swiftly swung herself onto the exosuit's back. As the smoke filled the suit, Yamashita struggled to find her bearings, coughing and spluttering, forced to eject. The arm with the air cannon, still left charging as Yamashita ejected, fell downwards without a pilot to aim it. With a blast, the suit was shot upwards.

In a daring move, Mei jumped from the suit mid-air and landed on Yamashita, pinning her to the ground as the suit landed in a heap behind her, dismantling itself on impact.

Surprisingly, Yamashita let out a contented sigh as she tapped the ground three times, signalling her surrender. "You are a pretty good inventor, Mei."

"Mei Hatsume is the winner! She'll be moving on to the next round, what an explosive start to this year's tournament!"

Breathing heavily, Mei offered Yamashita a hand up and couldn't help but ask, "Why did you goad me like that? If you hadn't let me have my grapple, you could have won!"

"Because I'm the class president, and think of how many internship offers we're getting now."

The pair of them exited the ring together, arms around each other's shoulders, as the arena erupted in applause.


Miki and Mei strolled into their class's exclusive box with the support crew giving them a heartwarming welcome. Kazutani was cutting some carrots at the table decked out with refreshing drinks and mouthwatering sandwiches. "Our heroes return!" he exclaimed, raising a glass to salute their triumph.

Mei beamed at the sight, "Where did all this come from? I thought we weren't allowed to bring in food or drink?" She then turned and looked at the expression on Yamashita's face. "Oh right, summoning quirk, duh."

Pulling Miki and Mei in, Hana forced the two of them into a warm embrace before guiding them to their seats. "You guys were beyond amazing! I wish I could have fought too, but just my luck to get knocked out in the second round." She playfully threw a pretend punch. "I don't think they would have let me fight anyway, after I nearly killed Kamui Woods and all." She shrugged.

"We could have a fight right now if you'd like?" Yamashita laughed, which turned into a yawn.

Izuku arrived, offering Yamashita a drink (it was just soda, don't worry). He sympathised, "You can have a sleep if you need to, I don't think anyone will mind. You really pushed yourself to your limits, summoning the Mark V. Was that the biggest thing you've ever summoned? I always assumed you were limited to handheld items, but that's because they're the only things I've ever seen you use your quirk on. Is there a weight limit or is it down to size? Could you summon a building if it didn't weigh much? …Yamashita?"

"Izuku, she's asleep already." Mei bluntly revealed.

"What?!" Hana exclaimed in dismay. "She was our designated supply runner! Now we're stuck with festival food... ugh!"

Mei scanned the room, curious about someone else. "Hey, where's Kuri? I wanted to wish him luck for his fight."

"He's in the locker room," Kazutani chimed in, pointing to the TV screen displaying the tournament bracket. "He'll be out in the arena soon. His match against Iida is scheduled in five minutes."

Worried for his friend, Izuku shared his concern, "I really hope Kuri is doing okay. I don't think he's used to this kind of competition. I've never even seen him get upset – it's hard to picture him in a fight..."

"Ah, our little Kuri will do just fine!" Mei reassured, putting her arm around Izuku's shoulder. "Remember what Power Loader said when we started classes? Kuri's a genius!"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go cheer him on!" Izuku replied, feeling a surge of confidence.

The group moved to the balcony seats outside their box, enjoying a fantastic view of the entire arena floor. Down below, Kuri Kuri stood with his support gear, the metal coils on his arms and legs still untouched.

"KURI! GOOD LUCK!" The class shouted in unison, their voices echoing throughout the arena. Kuri looked up, beaming with appreciation as he waved to his cheering classmates, trying to regain his battle-ready composure.

However, Izuku caught something amiss in the scenery. "Wait a minute, shouldn't Iida be there by now? It's not like him to be late."

"Can you see what's happening, Hatsume?" Kazutani inquired, knowing she had the sharpest eyesight among them.

"Hmm..." Hatsume pretended to squint dramatically, even though her vision was perfect. "Cementoss is whispering something to Midnight."

"What's he saying?" Izuku asked eagerly.

"It seems like he's saying ...meeple, moople… bleem…bloop."

"You can't read lips," Izuku deadpanned, seeing through her theatrics.

Their speculation was cut short as Midnight emerged into the centre of the arena, holding a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have an unexpected announcement! Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tenya Iida has withdrawn from the tournament. Therefore, by default, the winner of this match is Kuri Kuri!"

An immediate wave of boos erupted from the disappointed crowd, furious that they wouldn't get to witness an exciting fight. Kuri Kuri let out a sigh and walked towards Midnight, asking for the microphone.

"Uh, h-hi, I'm Kuri Kuri, but you probably knew that," he began hesitantly. "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry you didn't get to see a proper fight, and I'm really grateful for this opportunity. But, um, my opponent isn't here, and we don't know why. So, I want to ask that you think more about him than the fact that you don't get to see a fight. If he was hurt or if something else bad happened, I don't want him to hear that people were booing us because of it... That's all..."

A brief silence enveloped the arena, and then a voice shouted from the stands, "Hell yeah! That chestnut kid is right! We suck!"

The boos gradually transformed into heartfelt applause, and Kuri caught sight of his mom wiping away a tear, filled with pride for her son.

The support course students cheered loudest of all.


"You ready for this, Izuku?" Mei asked, rubbing his shoulders, like she'd seen Rocky's trainer do in that old movie. His upcoming fight against Mina Ashido was starting to feel real.

Izuku rolled up the sleeves of his jacket and pulled on the Strike Gauntlets, flexed his fingers inside the material to get comfortable, and made a determined fist. His face was a picture of confidence, and with a nod, he answered, "Not a chance. I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Are you ready for the next nail-biting fight?!" Present Mic's voice boomed from the speakers, signalling that Izuku had to go. Mei stayed behind as he walked out of the locker room and into the bright arena.

"Let's hear it for our first contestant! She dazzled us with her acid skills in the previous rounds, and she's always ready to melt your hearts, and your faces! The Pink Princess of Class 1-A! Miiiiiina Ashidooooooo !" Present Mic shouted, holding the microphone with both hands and striking a pose.

Eraserhead sighed, "Why are you announcing it like a wrestling match now?"

"Colour! And in the other corner, we have the wonder of innovation! The support course superstar! The technological titan! From class 1-H, Izuku, Helicopter Boy, Midoriyaaaaaaa! "

The crowd went wild, cheering for both contestants. They were pumped up by Mic's energetic introduction. Izuku felt a surge of adrenaline, and his fear turned into excitement.

Across from him, Ashido gave a toothy smile and waved. "Good luck, Midoriya!"

Izuku gave a small wave of his own, "Oh, you too!" he said, before he saw her take a fighting stance - bending down and placing one hand on the arena floor in front of her.

The sound of Midnight's whip echoed in the air, and the match began. Ashido didn't waste any time and sprinted toward Izuku, her fists dripping with acid that sizzled on the floor. She was much faster than him when he didn't use his quirk, and he felt the gap in their abilities right away.

She launched a barrage of punches at him, but he barely managed to block them with his strike gauntlets. Even a graze from her fist was melting away his jacket and burning his sides. Just about dodging the flurry of attacks, Izuku knew he couldn't keep this up for long. To top it off, he wasn't completely convinced the gauntlets were protecting him from her acid, given the stinging sensation in his hands and forearms.

"You're! Really! Good! Ashido!" he managed to say between punches, "Have you ever! Considered using! Some kind of launcher! For your acid?!"

"Aw thanks, Midoriya!" She grinned, while still attacking. "I always thought some kind of grenade would be awesome, but I was told it'd be too dangerous." She pouted.

"Come by the workshop next week! We'll figure something out!"

"Did you hear that?! Midoriya is offering to make support gear for his opponent! That's the spirit of SPORTSMANSHIP!" Present Mic shouted.

"Cool, thanks Midori!" Ashido said, before uppercutting Izuku into the air.

Izuku went flying, and rolled in a heap a few feet away. Already, Ashido was charging toward him, ready to throw him out of bounds, but he quickly smashed his hand through the arena floor. Now with a chunk of debris in his fist, he could throw it at Ashido's feet, hoping to put her off balance. And it worked! She stumbled and fell to the floor painfully on her arm, Izuku took the advantage and grabbed her by the leg, flinging her and barely missing a ring out victory.

Ashido was confident in her skills and had more training in hand-to-hand combat than Izuku, so she wasn't going to give up easily. With Izuku still on the defensive, she decided to target his weak spots. His gauntlets were blocking most of her frontal attacks, but his back was exposed, and she had speed on her side.

She increased her acidity and burned through her shoes, leaving them in tatters, then slid around the edge of the arena like a bullet, melting the floor behind her. Turning on a dime, she managed to catch Izuku off guard. He had no time to react as Ashido landed a powerful punch right to his back with a fist that felt like a hammer.

Right before the blow hit, he felt something cold creep its way up the backs of both his arms and linking behind his shoulder blades. The punch that should have taken him out of the fight did nothing but make him stumble slightly. Confused by what happened, he quickly turned around, ready to counterattack.

But what he saw surprised him, Ashido was holding her hand in agony, her knuckles broken and bleeding. "You should have told me your gauntlets went up that far!" she cried, "I think I broke my hand!"

"Oh jeez, Ashido are you alright!? I didn't mean to, I shouldn't have-'' panicking and waving his arms around he tried to get the attention of Midnight, but Ashido stopped him.

Through her pain, she clenched her teeth, "The fight's not over yet!" and she launched forward, coating her other hand in acid. Izuku barely managed to deflect, it becoming evident she wasn't used to fighting left-handed. Still, she was a much stronger fighter than he was, and she really shouldn't be fighting with that injury. The sooner he ended this the better.

Izuku dodged to her left side and aimed a punch to her shoulder. The gauntlet connected with a loud thud, sending Ashido flying across the arena. She landed on the edge and barely held on with one hand.

"Ashido!" He ran to her side, worried that he'd gone too far, and reached out a hand to help her back up onto the arena. But Ashido shook her head, "Nah, you won, fair and square." she said, smiling weakly before letting go of the ledge.

The crowd cheered as Izuku was declared the winner of the match. Conflicting emotions swam inside him, pride for winning, but sad that he had hurt his friend. There was also the little matter of his quirk apparently reaching his back…