Shattered Fate

by CaedesPlerique

A world so focused on heroes has lost its way. As the beginning steps of the critical events to the future of their world start to occur, they get some unexpected help. Can these new arrivals save their world from themselves? (MHA/Spider-man/Naruto/Ranma)

16. Chapter 16 - Intermission

Chapter 16 - U.A. Sports Festival: Intermission

"Now, let's look at the top four—no, five teams right away!" Present Mic said over the speakers, grabbing the audience's attention. Many were enraptured and confused about the ending.

"In first place, Team Mineta!" Present Mic said. "Even with everything brought against them, they still have their headband!"

The audience cheered as an image of Ranma with Minoru stuck to his arm popped up, displaying the ten million, one hundred and sixty points he had in the end. It did confuse some of them, however, as it was an image of a male Ranma while they were currently female. There were plenty of mutterings between the different groups about what had happened there. It was just another item piled on top of everything as people couldn't reach a consensus.

"In second place, by a surprise upset and a trap that gave them the most headbands for a total of one thousand, six hundred and twenty-five points, is Team Bakugo!"

New cheers went out, as few in the audience weren't amazed by what they had done. The rumors had begun to spread about being related to famous Pro-Hero families, one being the son of the number two Pro-Hero Endeavor and the other the brother of the currently rising star Ingenium. While the last two were relatively unknown, they had quickly cemented themselves as persons of interest.

"Third place is Team Parker! Not only are two of them from America, but young Parker is a rising star for those in the Department of Support! Even though he's taking the Heroics Course! They finished the match with one thousand, two hundred and ten points!"

That surprised many in the audience. They knew just enough about the different Departments and Courses and how challenging both departments could be. So, to hear he was a rising star for the Department that created support gear made many of them wonder what he was doing to achieve that.

"In Fourth place, we have Team Haruno! I don't think anyone will forget how they protected their headbands by creating a giant water dragon any time soon! That allowed them to walk away with one thousand one hundred and seventy points!"

More applause went out, especially from many young girls, who were excited to see an entire team of girls as strong as they were. It also attracted a fair number of boys who noted how pretty they were. Being reminded of the giant water dragon that had shaken up the field, they all marveled at her abilities.

"And in Fifth place, by a down-to-the-wire play, is Team Hagakure! They snuck one of the headbands from Team Bakugo in a real nail-biter for one hundred and forty points!"

The audience hollered in approval as the screens showed the dive and capture of the points in slow motion. It also showed how close they had come to taking even more points, though that was admittedly tricky with Hagakure's invisibility. While they had gotten plenty of attention earlier in the match, it fell off near the end as many thought they had no chance of recovery, only to be proven wrong. This excited everyone and got them looking forward to the replays.

"These five teams will advance to the final round!" Present Mic announced. The audience reviewed the final listings, cycling through the eighteen successful members. "Now, we'll take an hour's break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities!"

The audience began to disperse, many hurrying to get food and returning to their seats before events started again. They didn't want to miss anything!

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"They are threatening what?" Chihiro yelled into her phone. She paced as she listened, wincing a few times after a few rather loud words. The pacing and tapping of her foot when she stopped failed to help her remain calm. "I just showed what he did! It seems to me like they are just trying to cover it up! And so what if he changes into a girl?"

Chihiro paused, but her eyes dimmed as she was given her instructions. She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted once more before grimacing. This made Etsurou sigh in relief as it seemed calmer heads had prevailed. He returned to casually recording the students as they pulled themselves together, and the audience hurried off.

He wasn't the only one, as most of the media hadn't left yet. A few reporters were still talking into their microphones, speaking with the hosts of their stations live. He also heard a few of his fellow journalists talking amongst themselves about events. While those first three had quickly attracted their attention, the rest of the students had secured the Freshmen as the group to watch this year, beating out even the Seniors for any news, though they heard some good things were happening there. Something to catch up on afterwards Etsurou supposed.

Several other students performed exceptionally well, but the teams that used the sled technique, especially during the cavalry battle, caught many skilled eyes. He knew from years of covering this event that most students adopted the mindset that it was all for themselves. Sometimes, you would have students working together with their Quirks, trying to adapt new techniques and strategies. But this year, the frequency and skill in which they did it was unusual, making people take notice.

It was noted that Ingenium's younger brother was among them. Ingenium, a hero whose agency was getting a lot of attention these days for operating counterintuitively to most agencies, was catching the attention of some parties. He heard some reporters were hunting for the hero even now to get his feedback on it.

"Yes, sir," Chihiro said, defeated, as she killed the line. She then turned to him. "This sucks!"

"What'd he say?" Etsurou asked, wondering which of the many very valid reasons she had been given.

"They were throwing around things like age-inappropriate for this time of day without giving them the time to censor! And all sorts of other bullshit!" Chihiro sighed, knowing she was losing this battle. At least for now. "And they won't let me interview him either."

"So, we keep a low profile?"

"Yes," Chihiro moaned in disappointment, kicking the ground.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"Come along, Mt. Lady," Kamui Woods said, dragging the somewhat compliant hero along. "You can put the pieces together regarding her later."

"But– but–" Mt. Lady tried to respond, still confused by the reveal that the girl she had been looking for had turned out to be a guy. Or the guy turned out to be a girl.

Death Arms chuckled at her response as they prepared to return to their rounds after their break. They had already spent too much time watching the first two events and were being eyed by some of the organizers to get going. It wasn't too bad since almost everyone, even the school staff, had been similarly caught up.

Kamui Woods and Death Arm didn't think any less of her, as they could understand her confusion. They shared it after all. While Quirks that could change your gender in some way weren't unheard of, they weren't exactly typical. She would have already adapted if that had been all that was to it. The question was what exactly her Quirk was since it had appeared to be a strengthening Quirk of some sort at first. All the little oddities he(at the time) displayed made it more confusing, appearing as if they had multiple Quirks. And not just having two Quirks from their parents or a combo, but several more.

"I just don't understand!" Mt. Lady finally shouted, her back straightened as she looked ahead, her eyes not focusing on anything. "Is she a girl or a boy? Does this mean I have to ask a boy how to better seduce vendors?"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Ranma was grinning as she rested. It had finally started to get good there at the end, with the other teams seeing her as a last-ditch chance since she wasn't running away. The sheer bulk and variety of attacks thrown at her made it more interesting than dealing with that army of back-alley thugs or the bulky bird brain. Not to mention their general skill was superior, so it had been more challenging.

"Well, it looks like we get to keep our headband," Ranma said, making a few of his classmates and those from Class B groan. Itsuka, Mashirao, and Tetsutetsu were taking things in stride and were trying to reassure their teammates.

Speaking of teammates, Ranma turned to look at how Minoru had held up. His eyes were wide, showing some red lines in his sclera. His breathing was deep and frantic, and the rest of his body was still twitching as it expected another sudden change of position brought on by Ranma's rapid movements.

Minoru's frantic behavior had returned, as had the bleeding on his head. He had started throwing the purple balls around since events changed too quickly for him to adjust and properly aim them. Ranma had taken it upon herself to help him with that, timing his throws with her movements. It showed results as a few others were trying to remove the menacing little balls. A few had caught on too slowly that they could stick to almost anything and were left in awkward positions.

The shift in his attitude had been interesting to watch for Ranma, as he went from a passive and terrified rider to actively trying to help Ranma win however he could. His emotions had become erratic even before the event had started. While he still felt excessive fear and other emotions, a well of determination had appeared. The difference between now and then was that he was fighting for something he wanted.

"You good, Mineta?" Ranma asked while she removed Momo's old shirt from how it was tied to her arm. She had done more to secure him than just that, as his shirt and her knot would have failed them within the first minute of dodging, but it worked as a base.

Minoru slowly calmed down before his body shuddered as it finally stopped pumping him full of adrenaline. It left him exhausted, far more than he had been earlier. He turned his eyes to Ranma and was reminded that the pretty girl before him was also a guy. Or something like that. He hadn't exactly been in the best frame of mind when the quick explanation had been given to him.

With no easy path forward to resolve his confusion, he instead asked the relevant question. "Huh?"

"You good?" Ranma repeated.

"Er, yes?" Mineta answered.

"Good," Ranma said before dropping him. He fell half a meter in surprise but caught himself and didn't topple over. Ranma ignored that and headed towards Hagakure's group instead.

She had caught a glimpse of their last-second dive, her Ki sense having gone off on seeing Izuku use more power from his Quirk than usual. While she didn't get a proper look the last time he had pumped his legs like that, she had seen what even the smaller amounts could do to him when she helped him get that initial control of it down. From how Izuku's legs weren't moving and the pain she could sense, she figured offering her assistance sooner rather than later would be a good idea.

Mezo and Ochako noticed his state and offered assistance to make him more comfortable. Ochako had used her Quirk to let them easily move him around as Mezo set him down in a more comfortable sitting position. Toru seemed torn between cheering for the headband she was holding onto and worrying about Izuku's current state. But Ranma noticed something else about her, so she took a little detour before she finished making her way to them.

She smirked at Sparkler's reaction to having lost a headband. The spiky-haired blonde was proving her nickname of him appropriate but was being held back by Tenya and Denki. She felt some general annoyance coming from Shoto, who stood off to the side and was not getting involved.

The others ignored Sparkler's shouts of indignation and threats of pain for having stolen one of his 'rightfully stolen' headbands. By the time Ranma made it to them, he had calmed down enough that Tenya and Denki no longer needed to hold him back. Even with all the lessons from her guardians about exacerbating situations, Ranma couldn't help herself. "Sup, Sparkler!"

The boy stiffened before his gaze turned to her with furious intent. Even his Quirk simmered into a cold heat before going out. Tenya and Denki had wisely backed away, instead opting to check up on Izuku, who seemed the worst off from everyone present.

"Hey, Izuku! Nice save there at the end, even if it did cost you," Ranma said.

"Ranma–ku–san," Izuku said, being reminded that Ranma was currently a girl. "Ummm, thank you?"

Ranma rolled her eyes but didn't say anything more. The kid was still getting over his nervous interactions around girls. At least he didn't get nosebleeds like some other guys she knew.

Ranma knelt and started feeling around his legs, examining them to see how much he had damaged them with her hands and Ki sense. "Yep, you busted them," Ranma said. "Seems like you have a few fractures. Your legs are a little misshaped, but you don't have any bones protruding at least."

She watched as Izuku winced throughout the examination but held his tongue. Deciding to at least help with the pain for now, she reached behind his back and tapped on a point.

Izuku jerked in pain for a moment before he sighed in relief as it left him. "Thank you, Ranma-san. That feels much better," Izuku said, giving a warm smile of appreciation.

"Yeah," Ranma grinned at him, but the grin disappeared as she leveled a sober look at him. "Just remember that it only numbs the pain, so don't go doing anything with those legs until you get looked at."

"Speaking of…" Ranma said, trailing off as she turned in a specific direction. She held both of her hands up to her mouth and yelled, "Yo! Sakura! Patient for you!"

"Is Midoriya-kun alright?" Tenya asked, standing a meter away. "His injuries remind me of when he took down the Zero-pointer."

Katsuki jerked ever so slightly at that reminder, turning his hard eyes to his childhood 'friend,' but said nothing. After a moment, he turned around and put his hands in his pockets. He moved further away, closer to where Shoto was waiting. Neither boy felt in the mood for any sort of discussion. However, Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he saw Shoto look up into the stands for a few seconds before turning and leaving the arena without saying a word.

"Yeah, he's pretty banged up," Ranma said, not turning to look at them, instead watching as Sakura finished helping her teammates before approaching them. "But I don't think it is as bad as that time. He controlled it better, and his body has had more time to strengthen, giving him more room to strain it."

Tenya nodded, glad to know his classmate wouldn't be left in as serious a state. He stood by as Sakura finally arrived. She warmly smiled at him and Denki before focusing on her new patient.

"He used too much power in his legs for that last attempt, didn't he?" Sakura said. Her hand glowed as she held it above his legs.

While Sakura scanned Izuku, Ranma returned to Toru and held out the invisible girl's gym shirt for the other girl. "Here you go, Toru."

"Oh, thank you, Ranma!" Toru said before grabbing her shirt and putting it on.

This act made Denki stare and blush, which his classmates hadn't noticed. The one person that did, grinned at finding a kindred soul. Minoru approached the taller boy to start a conversation about girls, well away from the others.

"So, what's the prognosis?" Ranma asked when she returned.

"He has three fractures in his left leg and one on his right. He's also torn multiple muscles in both. This would normally mean you couldn't progress, Midoriya-san," Sakura said. She was pleased to see him wince at the news. "If Shuzenji-sensei or I could not heal you, this would have taken at least four to six months to heal."

Sakura canceled the technique, turning to look Izuku in the eyes. He held it for a few seconds before he blushed and turned away. "While Shuzenji-sensei may have her own opinion regarding whether she will heal you, I want to know why you did it. And I want an answer before I spend my energy healing you."

Izuku didn't look anyone in the eyes, finding the ground more interesting. The others waited for him, some because they were being polite, while others were interested in his answer. After thinking about it long enough, he finally answered, though his gaze didn't shift. "I- I did it… I did it because I screwed up. I didn't think about what Kaminari-kun could do, and I didn't make the connection between the water and how it conducts electricity. I left us vulnerable, and it cost us our headbands."

Ochako and Toru almost spoke up, but they saw Ranma willing them to remain silent.

"Then, when your water dragon dissolved and everyone else changed their focus to Ranma-san and the others, I realized we weren't going to be able to catch them with the time left. Getting the points from anyone else wouldn't have been possible. I was trying to think of anything that could help us close the gap, but I couldn't, not in the time we had left. At least, until I remembered that I was still holding back," Izuku said.

He paused, turning to look at his damaged limbs, seeing the extent of the damage for the first time. "I wasn't going to, at first… as much as I wanted to win, I didn't want to put myself into that situation again. But I realized that even if I couldn't proceed, then at least the others would get a shot," Izuku said before he sighed and closed his eyes. "Maybe I could make it up to them for my earlier failure."

Izuku remained there, expecting to be chewed out, told how he wasn't a failure or shouldn't have injured himself over something that didn't matter. What he hadn't expected was warmth in his legs. A warmth he remembered from when Sakura had previously healed his injuries. Opening his eyes, he found Sakura working on his left leg, physically adjusting it to move it into place and healing the damage. He remained silent and let her work. He did smile when he saw the thumbs-up Ranma was giving him.

Once that leg was done, she started working on the other, fixing the fractures. Within a few minutes, both legs had been healed enough that Ranma reversed the pressure point she had used. His legs were very sore, as if he had run them into the ground and then kept going for twice the distance. He could stand on them with some help, though it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"Good answer, Midoriya-san," Sakura said once he was on his feet again. "I've healed most of the damage, but a stop by Shuzenji-sensei's office, after we get lunch, should finish the process. Your punishment is having to wait until after lunch. A helpful reminder of the costs of doing something like that."

"Thank you, Haruno-san," Izuku said.

"Alright, now that that drama is finally finished…" a nauseatingly arrogant voice said behind them. "Does someone want to finally explain… What the fuck is going on with your Quirk, Saotome?"

Ranma grinned as she turned around and found most of the students involved in the Cavalry Battle. However, two were most prominent as they glared at her. A short-haired and well-groomed blonde from Class B and the boy who looked like he was related to Gosunkugi.

"Sure!" Ranma cheerfully replied. "But let's get lunch first."

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"So, what do you want to eat, Kota-kun?" Katashi asked as he led his charge through the crowd.

"Something with noodles!" Kota exclaimed, his stomach growling in anticipation. "Ramen, udon or spaghetti!"

Katashi chuckled; the young boy's enthusiasm was always infectious. They had nearly left the stands when Katashi heard someone call out to him.

"Iwamoto-san?" An elderly voice called from behind him.

Katashi turned around, finding an old acquaintance he hadn't expected to see. "Torino-san!" Katashi replied, cheerful at seeing the elderly man was still kicking. He was glad to note that his senses told him Kota had also paused without him having to ask him to do so. "It is a surprise to see you. How is retirement?"

"Boring," Sorahiko replied while he inspected his slightly younger colleague. Considering his forced retirement, the shorter man was surprised to see how in shape he was. While he wasn't as bulky as he used to be, his slim body still looked intimidating, and the way Katashi held himself seemed better than he had remembered him being. "Though today's events have certainly been interesting."

Katashi chuckled. "Yes, it has. Here to see All Might?"

Reminded of darker things, Sorahiko's mood took a turn for a moment before he covered it, but Katashi had noticed. "Partially," Sorahiko said, and he decided to calm his fellow retiree and change the subject. "It is some unfortunate news I need to bring about an old friend of ours. What about you? I didn't think you were one for watching such events in person?"

"I am here for a few reasons, one of which is acting as the minder for a friend's son. I have been acting as a tutor of sorts this last year," Katashi said before smirking. "I have also been learning some new skills myself. It has been… educational."

Sorahiko nodded, glad the man had found something to pour his time, effort, and experience into again. Like himself, he didn't tend to pursue general education, focusing more on particular students.

"So, where is the boy?" Sorahiko asked as he held the top of his cane with two hands while looking around. He had thought the boy he had seen near Katashi was the one he was referring to, but he wasn't so sure anymore.

"He's right–" Katashi started but halted as he realized his senses had lied to him. Kota was not where he had thought he would be a moment ago. How long he had slipped him was telling, as the boy was nowhere in sight. Instead of outrage or panic, Katashi did something that surprised Sorahiko. He laughed. "He's gotten better!"

Sorahiko raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what the story behind that reaction was. "The boy's Quirk?"

Katashi turned back to him, his smile widening, showing off his razor-sharp teeth. "No," Katashi said, "it is martial arts training, specifically."

Sorahiko blinked at that, not having expected an answer like that. Usually, martial arts, or fight training, started at an older age than he thought the boy had been. Then again, some did like to start younger. Eventually, Sorahiko nodded, deciding not to go down that rabbit hole.

"I see… but I am surprised you aren't worried about him getting lost in this crowd?" Sorahiko asked.

"I already know where he's going. I was just wondering how long it would take him to slip my leash," Katashi chuckled. "He's gone to ambush his Sensei."

The smaller and older man tilted his head in confusion.

"His Sensei is one of the students," Katashi added, simultaneously alleviating and worsening his confusion. "Saotome Ranma, the one with the pigtail and winner of both events so far."

Sorahiko's eyes widened, but he soon nodded as it made sense. Even as old as he was, he could tell there was something special about the teen. About how they fought. The pink-haired girl also fit into that mold, something he was prepared for after his discussions with Tsukauchi. Seeing them in person, however, was more surprising than he had expected. They both showed signs of being more experienced than most Pro-Heroes with a decade under their belt.

"You said multiple reasons for coming, though? Do those reasons also involve Saotome-san?"

"Yes," Katashi responded, then glanced upwards as his eyes locked onto someone else in the crowd much further away. "In fact, I just spotted one of them. So, if you'll excuse me, Torino-san, I must get going."

Sorahiko nodded, not wanting to keep the other man occupied unnecessarily. Besides, he did want to try to get some freshly made taiyaki to snack on.

"Oh, Torino-san?" Katashi asked, turning around before he had gone more than a few steps. He waited until the older hero had turned around as well. "If you wish, you can join Kota-kun and me for the next events."

Sorahiko smiled as he replied. "Thank you, I think I will."

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Shoto moved through the stadium, carefully reducing his interactions with others that might prevent him from reaching his goal. It took nearly five minutes to get there, but he found his target just as they were about to descend the stairs.

The man was large, shy of two meters in height, with a muscular physique barely hidden by his dark dress shirt. He also wore some khaki dress pants and shoes. The quality of the clothes was better than what most people wore, but they didn't stand out. The more defining features were the stubble of hair for a beard and his short but spiky red hair. One of the reasons most people were not recognizing him was that he wasn't covered in fire.

"Father," Shoto nearly shouted, catching the man's attention and stopping his descent down the stairs. But he didn't turn to look at him; he just stayed there to let Shoto close the distance a bit further. They stayed several meters apart as the rest of the pedestrians moved on, leaving their stadium area empty. "Why are you here?"

Shoto waited as his father didn't move or respond until he gave a curt answer. "Business."

Shoto narrowed his eyes as he considered the answer. He doubted it mainly because his father was not in his Pro-Hero uniform. But, even with all of their history, one thing he did not do was outright lie to him. It just wasn't something his father did, even to his family.

"Why would you be here, today, on business… without being on the job?" Shoto asked, his anger beginning to show.

"It's complicated," his father responded, his voice much like it had been for the last year, as if all of his passion had disappeared. Years ago, he would have enjoyed it. "It's regarding a case I worked on last year."

Shoto's brain raced through facts and details, using the skills and training his father had forced him to develop over the many years he had been taught. "You stopped training me, nearly disappearing from our lives entirely, around ten months ago…," Shoto started, working out the timetables and particulars. "All that nee-san and nii-san could find out from Kamiji-san was that you had a fixation on a recent case."

His father didn't react, which for him was an admission of guilt. "If it was a case you were involved with, but you're here now… did that case involve one of my classmates? Or someone from 1-B?"

"Yes," his father replied, taking his hand off the rail and putting it into his pants pocket. He still hadn't turned around to look at Shoto, and the fact that he wouldn't just angered him even further.

"It's Saotome, isn't it?" Shoto asked, narrowing things down even further. Rare memories of when his father praised him for his deductions echoing in his ears.

"... yes," he finally said.

Only one thing threw his father so far off balance and caused him to become nearly irrational in behavior. His brother and sister had tried to find a case their father had worked on with All Might in any capacity. They had uncovered nothing, and their father's sidekicks wouldn't tell them anything more, even though they had also wondered about his recent change of attitude.

There was one thing that Shoto realized might cause his father to give up as he had. After all, he was his father's ultimate creation, someone who would one day surpass All Might as the Number One Pro-Hero in Japan. The second abysmal pit in his stomach opened wide, and the twin formed next to his anger at his father's unceasing drive to surpass the titular hero. This one was worse in some ways.

Even if he was finally given the chance to have agency for once in his life, to go out and play with his siblings or other kids, to interact with them on a more regular basis, it had quickly been tempered by the fact that he had been abandoned. That he wasn't good enough.

Finally, having an answer to the questions that had been hounding him for nearly a year lit a blaze inside him that was a mixture of both of his parent's Quirks. An ice-cold and unending rage was unleashed.

"I'll prove you wrong, Father," Shoto coldly said, glaring into his father's eyes when he finally turned to look at him, surprise showing on his face. After a few seconds, he turned and walked away.

"Shoto!" He had almost passed the point where shouting would have been required to get his attention when he heard his father's voice calling his name. What caught Shoto off-guard was the lack of anger in his voice. He had followed after Shoto so that he didn't have to shout his next piece. Instead, they reversed their previous positions, and he was now talking to Shoto's back. "A piece of advice. If you face Saotome in the ring… don't hold back. Don't hold anything back. You won't stand a chance without it. Even as slim of a chance as it is."

Shoto turned so he could glare at him out of the corner of his eye, his scar plainly visible for the man he held responsible for it. Instead of answering him, however, he just turned and walked away. He still needed to eat his lunch.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Ranma happily set down his tray of food on the table. He was among the last of his class to arrive, though he thought a few people were missing. Ranma didn't do a headcount of people from Class B, but he thought most of them were also here. There were also Shinso and Sero, two of the boys in the general studies courses who had made it to the cavalry battle.

They had moved some of the cafeteria tables closer together, allowing the large group of students to converse more easily and learn of the oddity that was Saotome Ranma.

When he took his seat, many of the discussions that had been going on ceased, and they were now looking expectedly at him. Ranma got his chopsticks out and prepared to dig into his food.

"Are you going to explain things, finally?" The blonde boy from Class B named Monoma said, who sat across from him. "Or will you make us wait for you to finish eating first?"

Ranma smirked, causing the boy's sneer to get worse. "I can do both," Ranma said casually. He interrupted the blonde's retort, "But the price for my explanation is some of your food."

Neito glared, not liking the boy's arrogance one bit. His usual method of mocking his opponents had been soured, especially since so little had gone his way. "I am not giving you any of my food."

"Too late."

Neito's glare intensified. He was hating the pigtailed boy's mocking smile. Especially since that was something he liked to do. "You haven't touched my plate."

The coughs and bursts of laughter from a few of his classmates didn't help his mood, so he turned his glare to those members. But the others were astonished as they looked at where his plate rested. Deciding it was worth investigating, he looked down at his plate and found two-thirds of his food had disappeared. With widened eyes, he looked back at Ranma, only to find him putting one of his pieces of meat into his mouth and chewing on it. He located more of his food resting on Ranma's plate.

"... I hate you," Neito said.

"That's all?" Ranma asked, tilting his head in curiosity. "Where's the pledge to make my life hell or that you're going to kill me? If all you're going to say is 'you hate me,' that's way too boring."

"That's my job," Katsuki said from a few seats over, not even looking up from his food as he ate.

"You- you've gotten death threats?" Pony asked, both curious and distressed. "Over food?"

"Sure!" Ranma exclaimed, grinning in her direction. "Let's see… there's Ryouga, of course… could add Kuno in there… Pops… Nabiki– well, kind of… definitely the Old Freak…." The others looked on as he started mumbling, counting on his fingers, soon going over ten and restarting the counting of his fingers.

Katsuki did find the subject matter more interesting than he thought he would, wondering who these people were. The most fascinating and telling thing to him was how frequent that problem appeared to have been for him. If Pigtail had to deal with so many people targeting him and making threats to his life, no wonder he was so casual about his own threats.

"Enough about that," Shinso said, giving Ranma a level stare. "What is going on with your Quirk? I've seen you use too many abilities for it to be a simple Quirk, not to mention changing into a girl."

Ranma turned to stare at him, calming down since the purple-haired boy was asking plainly. "Well, it's complicated. Most of you are probably not going to believe me…"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"Ugh, you made us late, Mineta-kun…" Denki grumbled as they entered the cafeteria line. He could already see the discussion had started. Luckily, the line wasn't terribly long.

"I did not!" Minoru said, upset at another person trying to lay all the blame at his feet. "I didn't force you to stay and watch the cheerleaders!"

"... but if you hadn't pointed them out…" Denki lamely responded, knowing the other boy wasn't wrong.

"You were enjoying it as much as I was! I saw the look in your eyes, you like the pretty girls as much as I do! You're just too much of a wimp to admit it!" Minoru said. Maybe a little more harshly than he usually would, but he felt he didn't want the other boy to backslide. The tinting of Denki's cheeks made Minoru grin at that winning strike.

"... fine," Denki admitted, giving up his protests. They shuffled along in silence for a minute, nearly halfway through the line.

"Speaking of cheerleaders, you know what would be really awesome?" Minoru said, drool leaking out of his dopey grin.

Denki looked down at him, wondering what he had in mind. "What?"

"What if the girls from Class A and B wore cheerleader outfits too? That would be so hot…"

Denki's first reaction was to call him out on the suggestion, not wanting to subject his friends to things he knew they wouldn't be happy about, but it was overwritten before he could say anything. His brain had started trying to picture that exact scenario and was succeeding in silencing the other half.

"Okay," Denki said after his brain pictured all the girls in his class wearing those outfits. Even Ranma, when he was a girl. "That would be hot."

"Too bad they would never go for it…" Minoru said, depressed that the thought was as far as it would go.

Denki paused, thinking about it and racking his brain. For a moment, he had considered suggesting to the girls that Aizawa had talked about it, and they had overheard, but he knew that Sakura at least would realize what was going on.

After spending more time on it and reviewing some of the lessons on deceptions that Sakura had given them, Denki knew one way they might succeed. As the thoughts solidified, he grinned at his new friend before explaining his brilliant plan.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"You expect me to believe that kind of bullshit?" Neito asked, leveling his unamused stare at the pigtailed youth.

"Really, Monoma-san?" Itsuka asked from a few seats over, smiling at the perfect way to silence him. She held up a glass of water, sloshing it around to bring attention to it. "You are the perfect person to test it with, are you not? I'm sure all the girls in our class would love to find you a new clothing style. Maybe one with lots of frills?"

He was momentarily confused before the reminder of what his Quirk would do and what she suggested. He paled while silencing any desire to test that theory at the moment.

"While I have heard of Ki, it was usually something that was pointed at by circles like theirs," Shinso said calmly, pointing at Itsuka and Mishirao while giving Ranma a leveled look to prove he wasn't entirely sold on it. "I learned that the benefits were nowhere near as extreme as what you have shown. Benefits largely eclipsed by Quirks…"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders, his plate of food now empty. "That's because most people training their Ki are doing it wrong. They aren't using effective focusing techniques to grasp and control their Ki, and their training isn't sufficient."

"What do you mean their training isn't sufficient?" Shinso asked again. Most of those listening turned their heads to Ranma to hear his answer.

"Both parts of training, focusing your Ki and harsh training, are required to grow it sufficiently. Most of the Pro-Heroes I've met have maybe unlocked it, but I've met one or two that could actually grasp it, and they are really old now," Ranma said. "My father trained me, helped me grow my Ki enough to unlock it, and then focus it when I was young. After that, more training is needed constantly to increase how much you have and techniques to use it."

"How young?" Shinso asked.

"Well, he started training me when I was… two? Three?" Ranma said, to the gasps of a few students. Ranma mostly ignored their reactions, deciding to give them a little more context. "I unlocked my Ki and then started to focus it when I was six."

"What kind of training?" Shinso asked, making sure that he continued to probe.

"Sparring and teaching me techniques. Basically, what I am having my students go through now," Ranma said with a shrug and took a few more bites of food.

"What?" Toru and Ochako asked at the same time, paling at the implications for the two girls. Izuku also looked rather perturbed at that. They had heard he had started young, but hadn't thought to ask what kind of training he had received.

Neito sneered at Ranma, noticing the reactions from a few he had figured out were in the same class. He was not liking what he was hearing. "So you only got strong because your father abused you? I find that hard to believe."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "While my Old Man was harsh, he rarely went too far. More importantly, I've wanted to become the best Martial Artist for as long as I can remember."

Ranma then looked around at most of his audience, addressing his question to all of them to make a point. "What about you guys? How many of you have dreamed of being Pro-Heroes when you were young? You probably thought they were the coolest thing?"

The reactions were very telling.

Ranma smirked before continuing his explanation. "My Old Man told me stories of Martial Artists: how they were honorable, protected the weak and all that. Of course I wanted it. I wasn't always happy with some of the training, but I got used to it and can appreciate what my Old Man did for me."

Shinso continued to stare, Ranma's words not appearing to budge him much. "Are you saying a child could accomplish something that adults couldn't? Than Pro-Heroes?" Shinso asked as his stare evolved into a glare; he did not like how the other boy was denigrating the people they looked up to and wanted to emulate. "Not to mention, you are the only one we can use to compare? It seems more likely that you just have an unusual Quirk; either you don't understand it correctly or are lying to us about it."

Ranma returned the glare, reacting in much the same way as Shinso was. Ranma raised a finger, pointing it at Shinso. "I can prove it–"

Ranma's words were cut off by a large water splash on his head. Several listeners yelped in surprise and jerked backward. Ranma sat there, her finger still pointing in Shinso's direction. Her eyes began to blink while she processed the last few seconds.

The rest of the students were wondering what had happened, save a few of their classmates like Katsuki, who was busting a gut laughing at the pigtailed girl. They watched water dribble from her hair to the table or her gym shirt. That excess water searched for any part of her clothing that hadn't already been soaked. The students began to get a better idea of what happened when Neito lifted the remains of a balloon off of his tray of food with a look of disgust.

Ranma's mind finished rebooting, her eyes narrowing as she finished putting the pieces together and focused her senses. Finding most of the people sitting around the table would have been easier, but her target was still outclassed as Ranma found her target.

Some of the audience jerked back as Ranma seemed to fade from view one moment to the next as if she simply ceased to exist, and their eyes finally caught up to them. They looked around, trying to find where she had gone, but none of them could see her. Their attention was diverted, however, when they heard a yelp and a shriek of laughter from behind where Ranma had been seated, past a few tables and partial walls that separated them. Some students got up when they heard the laughing voice begging for it to stop.

Izuku, Toru, Itsuka, Mina, and Rikudo peeked around the corner from both sides to find Ranma holding a young boy upside down against the short wall, tickling him ruthlessly as she glared at her target.

"Ranma-san?" Izuku asked as he wondered what was going on.

"Had enough, brat?" Ranma asked the young boy as she stopped tickling him for a moment. Her glare was daring him to give her any backtalk.

Once the boy's laughter had devolved into infrequent giggles, he could breathe again. The young boy then smiled at the redheaded girl. "Yes, Sensei!"

"Cheeky brat," Ranma grumbled before lifting him under one of her arms, not correcting his odd position. She stood back up and returned to her seat, ignoring the youth's giggles.

She sat him down in her old seat without a complaint from the young boy. He did grumble at the small noogie she gave him before she asked a question that overwrote any form of complaint. "Need something to eat, Ko-chan?"

"Noodles!" Kota shouted, both hands going high into the air at the thought of food. Some of the students smiled at his carefree nature, and most of the girls found the young boy to be adorable.

The boy was just over a meter tall, with dark hair long enough to form a small ponytail at the base of his neck. He also wore a white, long-sleeved silk Tang suit and black silk pants. Students from Class A noted that he was trying to emulate Ranma, both in hairstyle and clothing.

"Alright, stay here, brat, and I'll get you something to eat," Ranma said before she jogged over to the line.

"Ko-chan?" Izuku asked, running the name through his mind as he tried to figure out the mystery as to who the young boy was. He did get the young boy's attention before Izuku realized who the boy probably was. "Oh! Are you Kota-kun?"

"Yep!" Kota replied, smiling widely at the mossy-haired boy.

"You're one of Ranma-san's students, aren't you?" Izuku asked, trying to confirm what little he remembered about the young boy. Kota nodded in confirmation before looking around at everyone seated at the table.

"You know him, Midoriya-kun?" Tenya asked.

"Well, I know of him," Izuku explained, addressing his taller classmate. "When I asked Ranma-kun how he had gotten so good at teaching people, he– she… he explained that his Guardians had been training him and that he was training them in his Martial Arts. He also said he had started to train Kota-kun here. But that is about all I know."

"Yeah, Sensei's awesome!" Kota grinned, recognizing many of them from where he had watched the events.

"Hey, Brat," Katsuki nearly growled at the young boy, causing others to bristle at how he addressed him. Kota merely turned to him, tilting his head in confusion about what he wanted. "How'd you hit him with that water balloon?"

"Ah, Sensei taught me how to 'suppress my presence,'" Kota said, grinning at the older boy. "I knew I couldn't use my Quirk, so I made the water balloon and snuck as close as I could. Then I waited for Sensei to be distracted and struck!"

"What is your Quirk?" Shinso asked, deciding the boy was a decent target to interrogate, especially without Ranma being there to stop him.

"Water Gun!" Kota said before displaying it by shooting a stream of water from his hand for a moment into Neito's face. Kota and many of the surrounding observers giggled or laughed at the student's misfortune. The blonde just glared at the pesky little boy, a boy who looked very similar to whom he was beginning to consider his nemesis.

Shinso, though he had caught a little bit of the splash from the demonstration, wasn't bothered by it. Instead, he was thinking deeply, trying to find the logical path to find the truth. "Kota-kun, is there anyone that your sensei is teaching that has learned to 'focus' or 'grasp' their Ki?"

Kota paused, a finger resting on his lip as he looked towards the ceiling and thought about it. "Well, Yawara-san was starting to gain focus, as has Tomo-chan, but Ji-ji is the furthest along."

"How long has your Sensei been training him?" Shinso asked again, finally landing some data to confirm what was happening.

"Eh, I've been training the Old Man for about eleven months or so?" Ranma said, having already returned with a plate of food. She set down the bowl of ramen in front of Kota, who quickly dug into it with the provided utensils.

After ensuring Kota didn't swallow his food incorrectly, Ranma asked him some questions. "Ko-chan, was it the Old Man that brought you today?"

Kota, unwilling to stop eating to respond, just nodded rapidly, causing the noodles to jump around and dirty his shirt in his enthusiasm. He ignored Ranma's grumbles as she reached in to clean what she could off of the boy's clean clothes. He could also ignore the girl's giggles and comments about how cute he was since he had to deal with his aunts regularly.

Having cleaned up after the mess, Ranma turned to Shinso, who seemed the most interested but still skeptical. "If you want to ask the Old Man whether my training actually works, you can meet him when I bring Ko-chan to him."

Shinso stared Ranma in the eyes before he came to a decision. "I'll take you up on that."

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Sakura finished taking the empty trays from Momo and dropped them into the designated bin. She was joined by Class B's Class Representative Kendo Itsuka and Vice Representative Shoda Nirengeki. The four of them had taken it upon themselves to help minimize who took care of the chores after their shared lunch. It also gave her a good chance to talk to her counterpart.

"Kendo-san," Sakura said, getting the orange-haired girl's attention, "How are things going for Class B?"

As they walked towards the stadium, Itsuka smiled, glad to have a conversation that didn't revolve around the recent drama or the Sports Festival's events. "Things are going well enough. The Festival has certainly caused tension between certain segments of our classes."

Sakura smiled and nodded, acknowledging it as the simple truth. She also noted that Momo and Shoda were deciding not to converse but listening in as the four of them walked on. "I think both of our classes have a few hot-headed personalities. It was inevitable that they would cause friction."

"Yes. You have your Bakugo-san, and we have our Monoma-san," Itsuka said, sighing at their mentions. "Even though I attend his club, I was surprised by how well Saotome-san has dealt with them. In some ways, I am thankful since he has caused the hot-heads to focus on him and not the others."

"I have dealt with people like Saotome before, back where I used to live," Sakura said. "While Saotome can be worse than both of them, he does not lash out at those who don't ask for it. In a way, he acts like a mirror in how he treats people."

Itsuka hummed as she thought it over. "That is an apt description of his behavior, I would say. I did find it fascinating how he handled Tetsutetsu-san and Kirishima-san when they started complaining about some of the training he was having them focus on."

"Wait, are you referring to the incident where the two of them had to go to Shuzenji-sensei's office to get healed?" Sakura asked.

"Yes!" Itsuka exclaimed before giggling at the memory. "Saotome-san was trying to have them focus on learning how to dodge attacks. The two knuckleheads refused, saying they only needed to learn how to take hits. Saotome-san acknowledged their training decisions by tanking and dishing out damage better than they could!"

Sakura grinned at the thought, quickly recognizing what Ranma was doing. "Let me guess, they were excited for the training at first… until it wouldn't stop?"

"Got it in one!" Isuka said as she returned the grin. "When their usual methods failed to prevent Saotome-san from hurting them, as well as their own attacks doing nothing against him, it freaked them out. Eventually, he forced them to start dodging until they consistently did it."

"Yes, Shuzenki-sensei was grumbling about that incident. She wouldn't tell me everything, just that she was glad someone had been able to drive home some lessons into some blockheaded idiots."

"Why would– how do you know Shuzenji-sensei?" Itsuka asked.

"Shuzenji-sensei is the mother of one of my Guardians," Sakura said. "Since I had extensive training in medicine and fighting, she took me on as an apprentice. While I am attending U.A., I am staying with her at her residence."

Itsuka was a bit shocked at the news before smiling. She had heard some confusing things about Sakura from a few different sources, but she hadn't heard anything about that. "That sounds wonderful. I have noticed too few Pro-Heroes are diversified enough before attending school or going for their license. To get the attention of Recovery Girl before you even started at U.A.? You must have spent years studying medicine!"

"Yes, and it wasn't easy. But my Sensei, who taught me medicine and most of my combat skills, was a harsh taskmaster, always pushing me to my limits. But she was also incredibly skilled and knowledgeable," Sakura said.

Itsuka nodded, helping her understand why the other girl was as good as she was. Based on what little she had learned of both students, it sounded like she had a similar upbringing to Ranma. Her thoughts on training methods reminded her of a question she had wanted to ask the other girl.

"Haruno-san, I do have a question regarding your training group?" Itsuka asked, her tone more serious than it had been before. "While I am pleased with Saotome-san's results for Ojiro-san, Tetsutetsu-san, and I… I couldn't help but notice how your training group passed the first event and its performance in the second event."

Sakura remained silent, instead watching Itsuka as she collected her thoughts.

"While I didn't observe it, others said they had all stayed together. When it was discovered about… Mineta-san, I believe, is his name?" Itsuka asked, getting a nod of confirmation. "When they discovered he had become attached to Yaoyorozu-san, instead of only a few staying to assist or leaving her to herself, they all stayed together, guarding their backs. Some of your classmates could have more easily bypassed the second obstacle by themselves, but they still stayed together. All the way to the end of the race. And they almost caught up to that other trio of powerhouses your class has."

"Be careful not to tell them that; their heads may swell," Sakura said, causing both girls to giggle.

"I'll try, but I also noticed that same dedication when some of them joined other groups," Itsuka said. "What kind of training could get such results?"

Momo's cough and blush were noted by Itsuka and her second, making them wonder what would cause such a reaction. Turning her eyes to Sakura, she saw a playful smirk she wouldn't be surprised to have found on Ranma when he had an exciting training method in mind.

That was all the response Itsuka needed to know. She wouldn't be told what it was, most likely because it was more fun for the trainer to see their reaction or because going into the training blind ensured the trainee had to think their way through it.

While she knew some in her class, especially after hearing stories about Ranma's training methods and watching it for themselves during lunchtime, would balk at doing anything remotely similar, Itsuka herself could only grin in anticipation. She knew hard work and growth came from challenging yourself, sometimes in uncomfortable ways, like what Tetsutetsu and Eijiro had to suffer from.

Itsuka hummed as she thought it over. "Would you be averse to training some of my classmates as well, Haruno-san? I know Saotome-san has no problem with it, given his goals, but what about your training group?"

Sakura genuinely smiled at that. She was happy to see others deciding to take training seriously, it stoked the desire to help make those around her better.

"Certainly! But I am also interested in some of the results I have seen from Saotome-san's training and was wondering about…" Sakura started to say before trailing off as her eyes caught sight of a large chunk of Class A and B, and others from the General, Support, and even Management courses paused outside. They seemed to encircle a few students, and Sakura couldn't tell who for a moment until she noticed the spiky blonde hair on one of them. "What is going on here?"

A few of their classmates, especially Kyoka, Yui, and Reiko, noticed them from where they stood on the group's outskirts. They looked annoyed—excessively so if the twitching blood vessel on Kyoka's forehead was an indicator.

"What's going on?" Itsuka asked her classmates, seeing as they appeared calmer than Kyoka was.

"They are…" Yui started, her tone sounding as if she didn't care about the details, but Itsuka could tell she did due to how carefully she appeared to be trying to word things. "They are debating which first-year Class would win in a contest."

"A contest?" Momo and Shoda asked at the same time. All four recognized there was more to it than just a contest.

"A cheerleading contest," Kyoka nearly growled out in annoyance. "As in which First Year Class has the best female cheerleaders."

"What?" Itsuka, Momo, and Shoda asked at the same time. Sakura merely raised an eyebrow at that.

"Kaminari and Mineta saw some of the cheerleaders going past, and an argument started between them," Kyoka said. "Mineta mentioned how the girls from the Heroics courses, especially Class A, would be far better cheerleaders than any of the other courses. Kaminari was saying that Class A wouldn't do something like that. Mineta started turning it theoretical, with Kaminari finally admitting that Class A would do well, but continued to say we wouldn't do it."

Sakura's eyebrow remained high before turning to look at the other people who were present. Many of them were from the different courses. "I take it they were overheard by others, either agreeing or disagreeing with their argument that eventually drew even more people to it?"

"Yes," all three girls responded. Sakura sighed while the other representatives grimaced at how it had grown.

"I noticed quite a few girls from Class A and B, some of whom I know would want to shut such a discussion down… what happened?" Itsuka asked.

"While some tried to stop it," Reiko said while glancing in Kyoka's direction, "others jumped in and took it as a challenge. Tsunotori-san being one of them."

Itsuka and Shoda nodded at that. "While I am a little surprised since she is usually so shy, she has been rather lively today. Especially after being the only representative from Class B to progress to today's final event. But she is also from America, so I could see her being more open to the idea than most of us."

Kyoka noticed Sakura's own silent question. "Mina and Toru," Kyoka answered bluntly.

Sakura cycled her eyes between the three girls before asking them for more information. "So, how has it developed? What are they arguing about now?"

The slight puckering of Kyoka's lips told her much, but Yui decided to answer for them. "They are debating more on when and under what rules. They were looking to do it just before the final event. They are also trying to get all the first-year girls to participate. Most of the girls are also unfamiliar with the rules, so some are discussing researching it before the event."

Sakura nodded as she accepted the news. "If they decide to have the competition, ensure that the event is voluntary and not required. If they don't, everyone organizing and enjoying said event will find themselves wearing the same outfit—for a week."

Momo smiled, and Kyoka grinned widely at the implied threat while the others were just trying to figure out how she would enforce such a rule on so many. They weren't interested in stopping it; they were merely curious how it would be achieved.

"Now, please excuse me, as there are a few people I need to chat with before we continue on to the stadium," Sakura said as she walked past them and parted the crowd of students.

When she reached the center, she found her two targets smiling widely and looking far too pleased with themselves. That had solidified Sakura's decision. She reached out and lifted both boys by the backs of their shirts and carried them out of the crowd. She ignored their panicked cries and whatever responses the crowd was making. She took them far enough away from the crowd that they wouldn't be easily heard.

"Denki." Said boy paled at her voice.

"Mineta," Sakura said next, confusing the boy because her tone was far too soft. She sounded almost playful when she said their names.

"I know what you did!" Sakura nearly sang in joy to the two boys. The fact they nearly wetted themselves only pleased Sakura further.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"Now, what section were you sitting in, Ko-chan?" Ranma asked as he led his student through the stadium's underbelly. He was trailed by three others, two of whom he wasn't surprised to see and one he was.

When he thought about it, Ranma thought that Katsuki was probably trying to find a way to close the gap between them. He wasn't averse to new information or ideas, and unlike most, he did train hard—maybe not up to his standards, but far harder than most.

"Ummm… that one!" Kota pointed at one of his pamphlets, which showed a stadium seating map. Ranma looked at where he was pointing and was glad it wasn't too far away.

Deciding it was probably close enough, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his Ki, expanding his senses and his own aura, as thin as it was, out beyond the surrounding walls. Since the Ki of the one he was looking for was one he knew well and how developed it was compared to their surroundings, Ranma quickly found them. The slight pulsing of Ki let him know that it had been detected.

"Found him!" Ranma grinned, picking up Kota to speed up reaching the stairs. The three tag-a-longs kept up, though Shinso had to push himself hard at that pace. Once they arrived at the door, Kota was set down, and they started climbing.

Shinso had been observing Kota as they traveled. He saw that the young boy seemed sprier and more in control of his body than most six-year-olds. He also appeared to be stronger and more capable.

Shinso had studied Quirks and knew of the various types and usages that most Quirks tended towards. Ranma's Quirk was irregular but within the bounds of most Quirks. The disparity of what else Ranma could do was disconcerting to him, not to mention how many unusual abilities it appeared to have.

He understood that if Ranma was the only one with enough training to display that level of feats, it would be difficult to tell the truth of his claims. However, his claim of training others, others noted to be showing results, held far more sway for Shinso. Considering what little Ranma had told them about Ki and his training growing up, Kota may be near that barrier.

"How long have you been training Kota-kun?" Shinso asked, catching the other three boy's attention.

"About… nine months," Ranma said. "Since he wasn't attending a normal school anyway, he stayed with me and my Guardians while his folks rehabilitated. It made it easier to dedicate the time to training him and the others. It was a bit rough at first since Kota didn't understand what I was trying to tell him most of the time, but the Old Man and my Guardians helped me explain it to him. It was much easier once he understood what I was instructing him to do."

Shinso nodded, compiling the time spent as he tried to evaluate things. While real results, at least results that could replicate the effects of other Quirks, were at least a year away, he was willing to take it. He wanted to ensure there was something there before he potentially wasted months or years of crucial time on something that had been a scam.

The purple-haired boy's main drive was to become a hero, latching onto small hopes and chances to prove himself and earn a spot. Even if he had to do more to earn it than what others normally had to do, especially because of how his Quirk was perceived.

When he lost the second event, the number of eyes on him and any chance of getting moved to the Hero Course dwindled significantly. He was guaranteed not to be reviewed this year. The gap in experience would also only increase for the next several years, making it even more challenging to draw the necessary attention. He saw a possible path forward now, though it may be far harder than anything he had expected to take by what little he had learned.

"How does he compare to me?" Shinso asked. He looked into Ranma's eyes when the pigtailed boy paused and turned back to look at him, holding that stare. Kota stopped when he noticed the change in his Sensei and the other boys, wondering what was happening. Especially since he had heard his name mentioned a few times.

"Ko-chan would win in a fight against you so long as your Quirk was not in play," Ranma said seriously. "With it in play, you're looking at one or two uses before it won't be effective enough in a one-on-one fight. And no, Ko-chan, I am not spoiling it for you."

Shinso nodded at the evaluation. He wasn't happy to learn he could be beaten by a six-year-old, especially with no Quirks involved, but that also told him something about the training the young boy had gone through.

Neito snorted in contempt at the idea that a six-year-old could beat any of them up in a fight without Quirks. He didn't understand what the purple-haired General Studies student was thinking, appearing to take these words seriously, even if he wanted more evidence. His humor died as Ranma turned to give him a smirk.

"I wouldn't discount Ko-chan's capabilities, Monomo," Ranma said with a playful voice, knowing how it would grind against the other boy's ego. "Shinso might be able to win some, but he could still win. On the other hand, you might put up a better physical fight, but you would lose every one of those fights… probably."

Shinso and Katsuki raised some eyebrows at that last bit, especially since it seemed uncertain, compared to how certain he was about everything else. "Probably?" Shinso asked.

"I realized I didn't know enough of the limitations of his Quirk, as well as realizing there are some Quirks that would make it far harder for Ko-chan to win." Ranma shrugged his shoulders as he answered. "And my Martial Art doesn't play fair anyways, so expecting our opponents to play fair just leads to bad training."

While Pigtail still did much to annoy him with how easily he shrugged him aside, there were still times that Katsuki could agree with him. This was one of them. Especially when Villains, whom they were training to battle and had already fought, would more likely than not throw rules of 'fairness' away as a way to not handicap themselves. As much as Pigtail annoyed him, the other boy wasn't blind.

"And how about me, Pigtailed Bastard?" Katsuki asked. Even though he used his nickname for the other boy, it was said without heat.

"Ko-chan wouldn't be able to win a fight against you for now, Sparkler, with or without Quirks involved," Ranma said, shrugging and being just as level-headed with his response as the question. "As you are now, he would probably need another six months to a year to win a fight against you without Quirks. With Quirks, probably four or five."

While the idea that he could ever be beaten by the young boy didn't please him, he saw the evaluation as just the carefully evaluated truth. He had also stipulated 'as you are now,' meaning he expected Katsuki to grow stronger. That helped settle his own ego.

"I don't believe you," Neito finally responded to the shocking claim. "There's no way a six-year-old could beat me in a fight, Quirk or no Quirk!"

Ranma smirked. "Hey, Ko-chan! You've been challenged to a duel! What do you say?"

Kota stood straight, his face blank, and stared into Neito's eyes, causing the other boy's nerves to be rattled. "Your challenge is accepted. I will destroy you," Kota said with no emotion in his words. There wasn't a trace of doubt, he said it in such a way that it was the inevitable outcome. The silent sputtering from the other blonde caused Katsuki to bark in laughter.

"I would also like to challenge Kota-kun," Shinso said. It sounded like an ideal way to verify what Ranma was saying.

"I think Ko-chan will be okay with that as well," Ranma said as he started walking up the stairs again. "It's good to challenge new people of various skill levels. The only conflict I could see in everything is if the Old Man is okay with it, and they don't have other plans."

Shinso nodded at that as they finished their climb. They had just left the staircase when they encountered a tall, older man.

"Hey, Old Man! I'm here to return something you lost!" Ranma loudly said, grinning up at him. He emphasized his point by picking up Kota from behind by his collar and casually lifting into the air while Kota waved happily, who was not in the least bit inconvenienced.

"Ah, yes," Katashi replied with ease and his own smile. "They can be sneaky at times when you least expect it. Now, did my young charge succeed in his ambush on you as he succeeded in sneaking away from me?"

As Ranma looked off to the side, the pout he tried to hide while lowering Kota was all the evidence he needed, causing Katashi to laugh. Katsuki laughed as well, glad to see someone put the Pigtailed Bastard on the back foot. Shinso was too preoccupied with studying the older man to respond.

Neito, on the other hand, taunted Ranma. Pointing and tilting his head back, trying to look 'sophisticated' in his mannerisms. "Hahaha! You have been bested by a child! And you want to call yourself a Pro-Hero? Hahahaha!"

Ranma turned back to him in annoyance, before smirking as he deployed the easiest method imaginable to retaliate. "You mean the one you just challenged to a one-on-one duel for later today?"

That silenced Neito, his hand slowly lowering and his back straightened as he glared at his nemesis.

"What's this about a duel?" Katashi asked, amused at the boy's reaction.

"I explained to them," Ranma said, pointing his thumb at the three fellow students, "about my Quirk and the difference between it and Ki. While they aren't sure if they believe me, Kota mentioned you. So they wanted to get a second opinion. On the way, Monomo here challenged Kota to a duel."

"I did not challenge him!" Neito shouted, trying to defend what little honor he had on that front.

"I mentioned how Kota would most likely beat you in a fight, and then you said he could never beat you in a fight. That is a challenge. Kota accepted. He will destroy you."

Neito sputtered at that, especially as he saw several nods from the others. Realizing he wasn't winning this fight, he tried glaring down the hallway as attendees were filtering back to their seats. Some were looking their way and pointing at times.

Katashi chuckled at the byplay, smiling down at a grinning Kota. The boy seemed to look forward to it. Based on how Ranma and Kota reacted to him, he rubbed them in ways that drove them to want to tweak his nose. Katashi then looked at the other boys.

"What questions do you have?" Katashi asked, crossing his arms. That action reminded them that he was missing a forearm.

"Pigtail said he's been training you for eleven months?" Katsuki asked, his face neutral, though his eyes drifted to the unmistakable injury.

"Yes, that is correct. The arm was an injury I received years ago that forced me into retirement. If you are wondering about how it impacts me, I can honestly say that I am more dangerous now than when I was whole and in my prime."

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, wondering how he should scale that claim. He could tell the old man was a fighter, possibly a Pro-Hero, but he didn't recognize him.

"What? No way!" Shinso blurted out, his eyes widening as he finally connected the dots that had been bugging him since he first caught sight of the older man. His eyes drifted to Ranma, expecting some sort of grin or smirk to rub in the reality of the situation further. All he saw was curiosity and confusion. "Are you shitting us?"

Everyone looked at Shinso, waiting for him to explain himself. However, only one other person realized what dots the General Education student had connected.

"I see someone's finally recognized me," Katashi chuckled in good humor. He always found it interesting how Ranma never cared about how famous he had once been, not even recognizing his Pro-Hero name. However, when he learned the truth of Ranma's origin, he understood why he wouldn't.

"Huh?" Ranma asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Shinso conceded that Ranma legitimately didn't understand the significance of who his student was or that he was a far better actor than he thought. Though the reality of who it was didn't mesh with that second option. Shinso sighed and grumbled, the expressions bleeding together perfectly. Seeing the other two hadn't caught onto precisely who they were speaking to wasn't overly surprising, but he could see they were expecting something.

Instead of addressing them, Shinso turned to the retired legend. "You're Crimson Riot, aren't you?"

Neito and Katsuki's heads snapped to look at Shinso for a moment before they snapped back to the older man.

"Yes," Katashi said.

Suddenly, the training that Ranma talked about got very real for Shinso, Katsuki, and Neito. While many of their names didn't hold the same weight as All Might, there were still the legends that had come before him. While he wasn't always considered the strongest, Crimson Riot was noted for his fearless-ness, never backing down from assisting those in need. But only fools would have thought him not to be dangerous in a fight.

"And you just said that a year of his training," Shinso said, his eyes narrowing as a finger pointed at Ranma, "has made a retired and crippled Pro-Hero more dangerous than at any other time in his life?"

Katashi smiled widely; his razor-sharp teeth reminded them of Eijiro or Tetsutetsu. "Yes."

Shinso kept the gaze for several seconds while the boys absorbed the implications. After the staredown went on long enough for Kota starting to wiggle, Shinso finally turned and looked at Neito. He waited until the other boy noticed his stare, turning back to him and leaning away, wondering what was happening.

Shinso breathed deeply before revealing the future. "He will destroy you."

The sputters and laughter from the others drew more curious gazes, many of them wondering what was going on.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"How are you feeling now, Izuku-kun?" Ochako asked as he caught up with them, walking into the stadium.

"Better, Uraraka-san," Izuku replied, smiling at his friends and teammates. They entered the arena to find Midnight-sensei using the platform again, though it was moved closer to the center. Most of the other students and competitors congregated near it, so the four of them made their way there.

While they weren't the last to arrive, it was only a short time before the final group of students entered, and Present Mic started things again. "All right, everyone! Let's have fun competing in the recreational games!"

They watched as the screens above lit up, showing a golden prize cup and a list of lines going down on both sides. Izuku quickly recognized it as the tournament bracket. He gulped, however, when he noticed only sixteen slots were available.

"When that's over, sixteen will compete from the five teams that made it to the final round to duke it out in a One-on-One Fighting Tournament!" Present Mic said from his announcer's box.

Midnight then stepped forward with a box with the word 'Lots' written on it, looking out at the students before she addressed them, paying particular attention to where Izuku was standing. "Before we can draw lots to determine the bracket, we must deal with an unpleasant duty. Because there are eighteen members of the top five teams and only sixteen slots available, the team with the least number of points must determine who among you will proceed forward. If you cannot decide among you, we will have you draw your own lots to determine."

Izuku winced before exchanging some looks with his team and noticing most of the stadium was also looking in their direction. He turned his attention back to Midnight, waiting a moment to see if she had anything more to say.

"We will give your team five minutes to decide. After the two from your team are chosen, the lots for the bracket will be picked," Midnight said.

Izuku sighed, his team gathering near each other as their classmates gave them space to talk to each other. "I will withdraw my name," Izuku said. He was saddened, feeling he had let All Might and others down by not moving forward. But he knew he deserved it for his failures.

"No," Mezo said, surprising Izuku as he looked up at his heteromorph friend. "Without your actions, we would not have succeeded. You also devised the plan and several of our tactics that proved invaluable and gave us that chance to succeed."

"And Ochako should go too!" Toru said.

"What?" Ochako said, surprised by her friend's suggestion.

"Without you, we wouldn't have been able to proceed either! You snuck a headband off of Bakugo, of all people!" Toru said, sounding far too chipper.

"But without you stopping him from using his Quirk, I never would have been able to grab it!" Ochako said, trying to downplay her own role. She didn't want to proceed forward at the expense of her friends.

"All of us played crucial roles in that battle," Mezo said, gaining their attention for the moment. "None of us realized the danger we were in from Denki. Not even Saotome or the others realized it until it was too late. That should not disqualify any of us. And when we had no hope left, both of you gave it to us in that final moment. We'll just be sure to return the favor someday."

Izuku's eyes began to leak, and he barely held his tears back. Ochako was in much the same shape as they looked at their two friends who were giving them their shots to move forward.

"Thank you!" Izuku shouted.

"We'll do our best!" Ochako cried out.

Mezo and Toru smiled, though neither smile could be seen. Izuku and Ochako knew they had done so because of other indicators from their body language. Mezo then jerked his head towards the stage. Izuku saluted them before they turned and walked towards the podium to inform them of their team's decision.

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

"Can you take it back, please?" Izuku asked softly as he and Ochako stared at the brackets in horror.

"I'm really starting to regret this decision," Ochako said. Her face was pale as she realized a Shinigami must be near, ready to take her soul.

Mezo and Toru were silent as they experienced many conflicting emotions. But the most prominent one was relief. They felt like they had stepped off the train tracks just before a train appeared out of nowhere and would have surely killed them if they had been a second slower.

The four members stared at the screen that displayed the brackets.

Bracket One:

Kirishima Eijiro vs Ashido Mina.

Tokoyami Fumikage vs Parker Peter.

Iida Tenya vs Saotome Ranma.

Jiro Kyoka vs Todoroki Shoto.

Bracket Two:

Bakugo Katsuki vs Uraraka Ochako.

Yaoyorozu Momo vs Mineta Minoru.

Midoriya Izuku vs Kaminari Denki

Haruno Sakura vs Tsunotori Pony

"Uraraka?" Katsuki asked off to their side, causing Ochako to jump and freeze further than she already had. She slowly turned her head to watch the blonde boy looking on with confusion, making her hope that the boy had somehow forgotten her.

"You call Uraraka 'Pink Cheeks,'" Peter said from nearby, not even looking his way as he tried to console Pony, who seemed devastated about going up against a girl who could smash a zero-pointer with a single punch. Peter also shared a look with Fumikage, acknowledging that they would fight each other first.

Ochako watched as Katsuki slowly realized who he was facing, his grin widening in malicious joy. At this point, she was ready to hand herself over freely to the Shinigami.

"How am I supposed to win against Kaminari-kun?" Izuku asked, knowing he was doomed. He was willing to trade with Ochako to fight Kacchan again since at least then he would have a chance. He was used to his childhood friend lashing out at him.

A short distance away, Sakura looked at her two friends as they stood straight, knowing they had some complex challenges in store for them. Tenya did not appear to react outwardly, but his lack of response was telling for Sakura as he hadn't looked away. Tenya took pride in being as fast as he was, something he had improved on further as school progressed. However, Ranma was on another level in terms of speed. Especially since Ranma wasn't limited to just his leg speed.

On the other hand, Mina wasn't fighting an unbeatable person but rather someone she considered a friend; especially since they had gone to school together, even if they didn't regularly interact. Sakura also noticed some other potential emotions hidden beneath the surface. If this fight went poorly, those emotions could be damaged. Mina wasn't consciously aware of it, so her nervousness confused her.

Glancing at their two opponents, Sakura noticed that Eijiro, based on his body language, seemed to be in a similar position. That made her smile, but the most she would do was help make sure nothing unnecessary happened between them.

Ranma, on the other hand, was calm. He worked through his likely opponents for each round, picking the probable winners from each bracket. Considering his skill, he probably had an accurate assessment of each round's results.

He spent some time looking at Peter, probably figuring him to be his most challenging fight for that bracket. But then he peeked over at her, giving her a playful smirk. Seeing it for the taunt it was, she returned the smirk.

Then she looked at Momo, wondering if the other girl would try to exact some sort of revenge on the small boy. Sakura quickly decided to let her do what she wanted. She was level-headed enough not to go too far if she did decide to take action.

"He hasn't even looked in my direction," Kyoka said, her voice holding a bit of anger.

Sakura turned her head to look at her before tracking her line of sight to Shoto. The dual-hair-colored boy wasn't looking at anyone but Ranma. Even though Shoto did not show it like most people would, she was familiar enough with those like him that she was wondering why he suddenly seemed to hold so much hostility towards Ranma. While it wasn't outright hatred like Sasuke or a few others she knew, it was very focused.

"Kyoka," Sakura said calmly as she rested a hand on her shoulder, catching the other girl by surprise. She kept her eyes on Shoto, observing him as much as possible. "Something has happened to cause Todoroki to target Saotome. People with that kind of anger can lash out at things that get in their way, even friends or family that they normally would not intentionally strike." Sakura stared into her eyes, letting her know it was potentially serious.

Kyoka bristled, not liking what she thought Sakura was saying. "I'm not going to just forfeit–"

"No," Sakura interrupted her. "I am not asking or telling you to give up; I am warning you that you need to be cautious about how you approach this."

Kyoka looked at her before sighing. "Alright, what would you recommend?"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Shoto debated with himself whether he should approach the target of his ire. While he knew, logically, that Ranma's mere existence or his strength was not a crime, his presence had been a catalyst for raging emotions that had been building beneath the surface for so many years.

It used to be during his father's spare time, Endeavor was constantly training him, pushing him to get stronger, faster, smarter, and in absolute control of his Quirk. The training was harsh and both physically and emotionally exhausting. Even when his father was busy with work, he was forced into training, which did not allow him to socialize and make friends with those his own age. He barely made time to interact with his siblings. Eventually, it became second nature to him, as he no longer needed to be told to continue his training. As a result of all of this, and especially the pain this had caused to his family, Shoto vowed revenge.

Shoto's plan for getting retribution was to succeed in his father's goals for him but to do it in such a way that his father's existence didn't matter. To show the world he was the greatest Hero, just like his father wanted, but that his father had no bearing on why he was so strong. To deny the existence of that man's Quirk.

That plan failed before it could even get started. When his father arrived for their routine training session nearly a year ago, he seemed conflicted and confused. That alone was surprising enough, but his father had only given him simple instructions and left him to his own training, as his father started doing his own training off to the side.

At first, he cherished this change, wondering what had happened and was almost gleeful at the prospect of learning what could have broken him. But as it went on, for over a month with no return of his father's drive to push him on his own training, he had finally decided to confront his father about it. His father had apologized, telling him he was free to do what he wanted, that he would not train him unless Shoto asked him to do it. Shoto realized then that his father had given up on him. That all of the hardship and pain he had inflicted on them for his entire existence had been for nothing.

Instead of giving up like Endeavor, Shoto had instead doubled down, training even harder without the assistance of his father. The man said nothing, keeping his distance from his children. He had decided to prove his father wrong and surpass him and All Might while still only using his mother's Quirk.

When the school year had started, Shoto had been impressed with Ranma's strength. While he had fallen for their trap in that first mock battle and had been taken out with such ease, he had been more annoyed at himself than at Ranma. The Villain attack had been another wake-up call to Ranma's hidden capabilities, recognizing their strength, speed, and skill as being far higher than he had anticipated.

Shoto trained for the last two weeks to bridge that gap as much as he could and plan for their next encounter. While it had helped, it hadn't been enough. Shoto could barely perceive Ranma as he moved, avoiding anything he or Katsuki could throw at them and he still wasn't taking them seriously. He had simply decided to flick all of their foreheads and escape, not even bothering to take a single headband.

It angered him to be so underestimated and outclassed as hard as he was, even with all of his effort. He began to understand his father's obsession with All Might, always so easily outclassed no matter what you were attempting. He still refused to turn that anger on his classmate, focusing his rage internally as he had always done to push himself harder. But this latest revelation was the final straw, the pebble that started the avalanche.

Suddenly, the two great wraths coalesced and found a target they could focus on. One which, if he could accomplish it, would serve both of them and give him satisfaction and accomplishment for his existence. Logically, there was nothing that Ranma had done to deserve it, but emotions often do not care. He had become the focal point and the perfect opportunity to finally unleash that emotion.

That small part of himself that knew that Ranma didn't deserve it knew that he had to warn him somehow.

"Saotome," Shoto said.

Ranma turned back to look at Shoto as he walked towards him, stopping the discussion between him and Izuku as they made their way towards some of the waiting rooms. Izuku also looked back, wondering what was going on.

"What's up, Todoroki?" Ranma asked.

"I know what you are, Saotome," Shoto said, his cold rage apparent in his tone. "But I will not let your mere existence allow you to extinguish my own. You may have defeated my father, but I won't let it beat me."

"Eh?" Ranma asked, tilting his head while a free hand scratched it in confusion. He turned slightly at the short intake of breath from Izuku.

"This is my warning to you. When we face each other in the ring, I will come at you with everything I have. Prepare yourself," Shoto said before turning and walking away.

Ranma just watched him walk away, wondering what he had been discussing. Not that this was something new for him. No, it was a common occurrence in his life. It was almost comforting in its familiarity. After Shoto disappeared from sight, Ranma put his hands into his pants pockets, deciding he'd deal with it later, and started walking again.

"What– what was that all about?" Izuku asked, rushing to catch back up with Ranma for a moment.

"I don't know," Ranma said, shrugging. "Figure he'll explain himself eventually, probably while trying to kill me in the arena."

Izuku almost responded to that last line, but he had already adapted somewhat to Ranma's behavior and how he reacted to most dangers. He decided not to voice that concern. Instead, he focused on another confusing part of Shoto's declaration. "What was that about beating Endeavor?"

"Who?" Ranma asked, turning to him in confusion.

Izuku sputtered in shock at that. Even with as well as he had gotten to know the other boy in the short time since they'd met, to not know the name of the number two hero in the country? Still, he may have met him out of costume. "Endeavor, Todoroki's dad? The number two Pro-Hero in Japan?"

Ranma's surprise was barely noticeable for Izuku, which was made even clearer by Ranma's following words. "Oh? Todoroki's dad is a Pro-Hero? Eh, pretty sure I haven't fought him then, let alone beat anyone on the top ten charts, so I don't know what he's talking about. Anyways, I think you're overthinking things for your own fight. Start more from the basics and think outside the box!"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Tomura stared at the image of the pink-haired girl, the one that had stopped him with ease and left him scarred for life. They had added significantly more to her profile today than anticipated. While the vague description of her Quirk had been listed, they had thought it was just a poorly defined description. While she was physically strong and could heal, they had miscalculated just how strong she was.

To add to it even further, the revelation that she could manipulate the Earth to such a degree and water soon after left them with an understanding that the Quirk's description may have been more accurate than they had known. Its vagueness due to its incredible versatility.

While the others still held his ire, he barely paid them any mind, much to his sensei's amusement. However, multiple reveals also made them realize that further research on their targets would be needed.

His sensei was pleased with how events were playing out, making comments about the media, yet again, doing much of the heavy lifting for them. The foolish organizations, in their frenzy, would reveal whatever information they might desire. However, his sensei wasn't going to leave it at that; he had already reached out to some of his contacts to gain more data.

What confused Tomura was how his sensei seemed fixated on the pigtailed boy or girl. With his iron mask present, he couldn't see his facial expressions, but he knew enough of his body language to know he wasn't merely interested but amused. When the news briefly showed the incident where he had groped one of his classmates, his sensei laughed.

"Sensei, why are you so focused on that one?" Tomura finally asked, ignoring the news stations as reporters tried to delve into the secrets of the mysterious students from Class 1-A.

"Because I find it amusing how careless All Might has been," his sensei replied.

Tomura wrinkled his brow in confusion, trying to piece together what his sensei meant by that. But before either of them could speak further, black swirls formed in the air, and Kurogiri appeared a moment later.

"Master," Kurogiri said, holding both of their attention, "we may have a hit."

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Mina finished putting her gym uniform back on, leaving her discarded Cheerleader outfit in its spot. While it had been a nice break from the norm, allowing the girls and some of the guys to compete in an unexpected competition, it had distracted her. She didn't know why she worried about her upcoming match, but it left her uneasy and uncertain.

Deciding she had to get moving no matter how she felt, she breathed deeply and opened the door. When she stepped out, she was surprised to find someone waiting for her. "Sakura?" Mina asked.

"Hey, Mina," Sakura said, giving her a warm smile to set her at ease. "You looked a bit nervous earlier, so I figured I'd help."

Mina gave her a small but grateful smile, happy to have a friend like her. "Thanks."

"No problem," Sakura said, grinning a little. "I think I know why you're nervous."

"I'm oka– err, maybe not…" Mina started to say, interrupting herself as she realized she was just making excuses. She sighed, hoping Sakura really could help her like she was offering. "Okay, why is this bothering me so much?"

"Because you are about to fight a friend," Sakura said, keeping the explanation as simple as possible. "You are about to face him in a competition. Sometimes, these things get heated, with someone jumping to conclusions about other people's actions. You don't want your friendship with Kirishima to be damaged by something like that. But you also want to win, to put your best self forward and get as far as possible. To show the world, your family, friends, and especially yourself, that you deserve to be here."

Mina's breath caught as Sakura laid out her emotions, describing everything far better than she consciously knew. Sakura waited, letting Mina absorb her words. After a while, Mina looked down, unsure of how she should proceed. "What should I do?"

"Do your best," Sakura said, making Mina look up at her after a moment. "From what you told me, you and Kirishima knew each other from Middle School. You both have pushed yourself to get as far as you can. And he is someone who loves a good, honest fight. Fight to the best of your ability, and don't be afraid to use tricks and techniques to create openings, but you can still treat him like a friend. And if he decides to be an ass about it, I'm sure we can find a few people around here to straighten him out for you!"

Mina's smile grew, spreading to her eyes as her worries left her. "Thank you, Sakura."

"No problem, Mina. Now, get out there and kick some ass!"

"YES!"

-o-0-o-O-o-0-o-

Chapter 16 - End

AN - Once more, thank you to my beta-readers Boldish42, Iron454, misswiggles, and theforgetfullalchemist.

Chapter 17 will be another 4 weeks out, so another longer wait. It is looking like there might still be similar delays past it. I am nearly done with most of my heavier editing for the final chapter of the arc to leave it in my BR's hands. This means I will be much more free to work on my first drafts of Arc 4.