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)

17. Chapter 17 - Tournament - Round 1

Chapter 17 - Tournament - Round 1

"Weeellll, are you ready?" Present Mic said through the speaker system, catching everyone's attention and raising their excitement. "The finals that you've all been waiting for are finally starting! Match One– Kirishima Eijiro vs Ashido Mina!"

Eijiro stepped into the arena, watching as his image appeared on the large screens from above alongside Mina, both of them wearing large grins. Present Mic went on to give more details on the two of them as they walked towards the center stage.

Said center stage was now covered by a large cement block that had been shaped and controlled by sensei Cementoss's Quirk. The cement flowed under his will, allowing him to accomplish the work of art in minutes, even with the extra complexity of tiles, several layers with steps, and the four outer corners connecting to pipelines that spat out constant flames. There was even the school's logo built into it for the audience to clearly see.

Away from the structure, Cementoss had created a raised platform and a cement throne for himself to act as the referee that was on the opposite side of the arena from Midnight's wooden stand that she had been using throughout the day. They were both waiting in their designated spots, waiting for the teens to arrive.

Eijiro was a mix of emotions as he stepped forward. He was excited to be here, performing on the same stage he had watched for years as his predecessors had done. Except, when he had seen who he was fighting, he suddenly had a bundle of nerves that wouldn't go away.

He had, at first, thought he was nervous about performing well. Yet when he thought of facing Izuku, Katsuki, Peter, or even Ranma, he only felt excitement at the challenge. Then he thought it was facing a girl, but the only one he felt even remotely similar to facing was Ochako, but that was due to knowing just how hard she could counter him. Fighting against her would be a nightmare.

He had wondered why facing Mina, the only semi-friend in their class that he had known before even taking the practical exam, worried him so much. It took him a bit, but he finally realized he was worried that hurting her would spoil whatever friendship they had. Though, for Eijiro, it was even more important than just friendship. He never would have been here if it wasn't for her.

Taking the steps up, Eijiro tried to smile as he saw Mina skip up her own steps with her usual grin, large and wide. She was smiling at the audience, the referees, and even him. He tried to return the grin, wanting to get excited for the match, but his nerves still wouldn't leave him.

"The rules are simple - force your opponent out of bounds, immobilize them, or win by making your opponent say, 'I give up!'" Present Mic continued informing the crowd so they knew what to expect. "Bring on the injuries! Because we've got our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby! Put your morals and ethics aside for the moment! But of course, anything life-threatening is crap! It's not allowed!"

Eijiro saw Mina's smile dim as she looked at him, tilting her head as if she was trying to figure something out. He didn't know what it was, but he hoped it was nothing bad.

After sitting down in his new chair, Cementoss raised a hand as he addressed them and the audience. "I'll stop things if they go too far."

Eijiro watched Mina come to a realization and then smiled at him.

"Come on, Kirishima! Let's fight!" Mina yelled, her smile turning into her giant grin that showed her perfect teeth. Eijiro blinked in confusion, his partial smile disappearing as he wondered what she meant.

"Ready?" Present Mic said, even though it was something Eijiro was barely paying attention to.

"Don't worry about it, Kirishima! Do your best and I'll do mine! Let's just make sure whoever is the best goes to the next round!" Mina yelled, giving him two thumbs up as she shoved both hands forward. She then stuck her tongue out at him, reminding Eijiro that this was supposed to be fun.

His grin returned moments before Present Mic yelled: "Start!"

Eijiro shifted from his standing stance, his body's profile getting lower as he kicked off the ground to close the gap with her as fast as possible. His eyes widened as he saw her two hands, that had still been sticking outwards towards him, came together and shot out a stream of acid. He had to dodge to the side, avoiding the attack as it passed his previous position and barely lost any speed in the act.

Mina didn't panic, instead, she was running backwards as she redirected her hands and the stream of acid shifted toward his new direction and past it, preventing him from dodging side to side. Instead of taking the hit or trying to back up, he instead dived beneath it as he hugged the ground, his hands slamming downwards to prevent his balance from collapsing as the shot went over his head. He shot forward as he continued his sprint, having barely lost any of his momentum. He was almost on top of her now.

Only a second from catching her, Mina flung her hands downward to both sides as she threw out a slosh of acid at the ground behind her, before raising an arm to her side for another slosh of acid. She slid over that acid and away from his dive, barely evading his fingertips as he tried to catch her. He thought he might have been able grab one of her arms, when his foot ran into the other acid trail.

With part of his body tilted to the side to try to snag her, he wasn't in the best position to stop himself as he hit the slick ground. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening, trying to adjust his balance and prevent himself from falling down. What really surprised him, was that his body adjusted on its own, tilting and moving so that he didn't topple over.

His feet had moved so that he was now sliding backwards, his legs spread out to keep his balance and slow him down. His hands grabbed at the ground, slowing him down further. He then felt the sturdy and not so slick cement beneath him, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

He looked at Mina, having expected her to launch another attack. Instead, he saw her looking surprised, but she wasn't looking at him. Eijiro traced her gaze to the ground around him and noticed he was at the edge of the boundary. He was a half meter away from it. If he had lost his balance, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself in time. He was now very thankful for Ranma's balance training.

"Drat!" Mina cursed.

Eijiro turned to Mina, finding her pouting at having thwarted what must have been a trap. He grinned, feeling a little smug at his accomplishment. He then stopped wasting time and shot forward to close the distance but was careful not to repeat his previous mistake.

Mina launched attack after attack, sliding on her own acid in a show of athleticism that she'd always had as she stayed just out of his range. While he did get splashed some by her Quirk, none of it had been a direct hit. The acid wasn't dangerous to him, she wasn't using the kind that could eat flesh or clothing, but he knew it would just make him slipperier and more likely to go out of bounds as a result. The way she kept him away was amazing, even with all of the training he had gone through in the last couple of weeks.

His own improvements also made it difficult for her to capitalize on any minor successes. He was more careful with his speed and was keeping on top of her. This continued for several minutes as the game of tag wasn't given a moment's rest.

Eijiro didn't realize it himself, but it wasn't just physicality that Ranma had been training them in. Mental barriers were being weakened as he was bombarded with unorthodox and dirty tactics. By Ranma's standards, he was barely a beginner in detecting or using such skills, but he was good enough to recognize the signs of a trap being laid. He just didn't have a clue what it was.

He tried to figure it out as he chased after Mina, his body having gotten a crash course in chasing elusive targets so that his instincts did most of the work and allowed his brain to figure out her plan. He went over their match so far and realized she was laying down a lot of her acid and staying near the boundary. The amount of ground that was unaffected was dwindling quickly.

Eijiro knew he was physically stronger and tougher than Mina, so unless she was willing to have her acid injure him directly, her only options were to throw him out of bounds or make it impossible for him to get up by immobilizing him. Realizing that if he had allowed Mina to nail him with her acid, that would be far easier to accomplish, he increased his determination to keep avoiding her attacks.

There was one area, however, that wasn't covered in it. The ground wasn't terribly wide, but most importantly, it wasn't far from the edge of the ring. It seemed the most obvious spot to spring her trap to Eijiro, but he couldn't figure out how she was going to avoid becoming trapped herself. Her attempts to dodge him to the sides were getting closer as he slowly increased his speed while making sure that he wouldn't slip.

Eijiro grinned to himself as Mina continued to showcase how athletic she was as she danced around him, always slipping to his sides– Eijiro realized with a start what she planned. His grin strengthened, impressed by how sneaky she was.

As Mina finally maneuvered them to the small clean spot amongst her slippery acid, keeping her back to the boundary. Eijiro then dived after her, with both arms wide as his grin widened. "I've got you now!"

Mina was shocked as she looked around and realized she was trapped and Eijiro was about to catch her. Her shock was replaced by a smile as her body moved, placing both hands on his shoulders to flip herself upwards.

The grin was short lived as she felt a heavy resistance when she tried to push him down. She saw Eijiro's foot had stopped his forward momentum and was now bracing him. Her shock returned, no longer a mask as she felt his hands tightly gripping her forearms and preventing her escape.

Eijiro didn't give her any time to try to counter as he spun her around, forcing her to extend and no longer above him due to centripetal force before letting her go. She sailed through the air for a moment before making contact with her own acid and sliding across the concrete and out of bounds. She met clean concrete just long enough for her to slow down and grasp the edge of the platform. She flexed her muscles to prevent herself falling off and was left dangling for a few moments before she pulled herself up. She didn't bother getting up, just breathing heavily as she laid on her back.

Eijiro was concerned, so he walked over to her. He heard the audience cheer as their fight ended. He barely paid attention to Present Mic calling him the winner as he stood over her.

"My win this time," Eijiro said, giving her a smile and holding his hand out to her.

Mina pouted and glared at him for a moment before it morphed into her own wide smile and a giggle. "I'll get you next time! Damn, what a great fight!"

She then grabbed his hand and pulled herself up as Eijiro laughed.

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

"Oh, she was so close!" Kyoka grumbled.

"She was very close on that first trap, but Eijiro kept his balance. The trap at the end, though, wasn't close," Sakura said, having rejoined her classmates a few moments before the round had started. "While it was an excellent attempt, Eijiro spotted it ahead of time. He did better than I expected and he didn't ruin it."

"Eh, I wasn't sure if he would see it or not either," Ranma said from a few seats over. "He has a tendency to be blind to things like that… whiiich is why I put him in that exact situation so many times during training."

"Oh?" Toru exclaimed, turning to look at him in realization. "I thought you were pitting Uraraka-kun and I us against him and Tetsutetsu-kun just to torture us."

Ranma snorted. "Who says I can't torture all of you at the same time?"

"Hmmm, two bruisers against weaker opponents… but their Quirks make things more complicated. The bruisers get used to chasing after smaller targets, who have to use other types of tactics to win in a fight against them, thus making the bruisers have to become more aware of said tactics or they will lose. Nicely done, Saotome," Sakura said while nodding her head.

Ranma grinned, before deciding to mention another aspect of the fight. "I will say those traps were pretty sneaky. I take it that was your training? Which it obviously was. You being a ninja, after all."

Sakura snorted, but didn't dismiss it either. They settled down as their two classmates walked off the field and Cementoss started cleaning the arena floor for the next match. She did notice Tenya was getting up now to make his way for his upcoming match.

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

Peter waited near the entry as he listened to Present Mic through the nearby speakers about how the fight had gone. He was glad his friend had won, which would likely allow him to face him in the next round. So long as he didn't mess up his own fight at least.

He hadn't been able to hang out with Eijiro very often in the last few weeks, since he was taking part in Ranma's Martial Arts club. It required him to eat with the others as they fought for scraps of food. Peter wasn't sure what to think of it, lost somewhere between outrage, amusement, and curiosity.

That had left him with Koda, Pony, and Juzo, but they still talked between classes. He knew Katsuki wouldn't have joined them, since his other friends would have annoyed him. Maybe he would in a few more weeks or months, but not yet. Karen's projected path for him required breaking down a few more mental barriers he had before he'd do that.

Either way, his own match was about to begin as he saw Eijiro and Mina talking to each other as they neared.

"I heard you won, Eijiro," Peter grinned as he caught his friend's attention.

"Ah, yeah," Eijiro confirmed, blushing a little as he peeked at Mina for a moment. "It was harder than either of us expected. I think we're seeing some decent results from our training."

Peter hummed, thinking about it for a moment. "I guess I'll have to be more careful around Tokoyami."

"Sounds like a good idea," Eijiro said, stopping next to Peter to finish talking to him. "Good luck. If you win, we can fight in the next round!"

"If Tokoyami-kun was here I'd tell him to kick your ass, Parker!" Mina said, before smiling at the American boy. "Buuut since he's at the other entrance, I'll just wish you good luck."

Peter chuckled at that, giving her a warm smile and knowing it for the friendly taunting it was. "Thanks, Ashido-san. I'll catch you guys after my own fight."

More calls of good luck went by before Peter walked onto the field as Cementoss sat down. The ring had been cleaned, the surface scoured of the acid that had been covering it before. He was impressed with Cementoss's skill with his Quirk, as the ring looked pristine. He knew that Quirks like his were why U.A.'s budget wasn't as high as most people would presume.

Peter smirked as it reminded him about people making assumptions about Tony's armor. It wasn't as astronomically expensive as some people thought it was, since all he needed were the raw materials. He designed and manufactured everything himself instead of each component being manufactured elsewhere and then shipped to him.

As he started walking up the steps, he shook his head to get his mind off of unnecessary tangents and instead focused on Fumikage approaching from the other side. The other boy, whom he could consider a friend after that second event, was also looking at him, his expression neutral.

They both waited until Present Mic finished their introductions. Peter smiled at how his English teacher played up the tragedy of fighting against a teammate from the previous round. He knew the man liked to dramatize things. It caught the interests of the audience, getting them invested in the individual matches by creating favorites for different people to root for. It was one of the reasons why the Sports Festival was so famous in Japan.

"Contestants, are you ready?" Present Mic asked.

Peter and Fumikage nodded, acknowledging him as well as to each other. Peter threw a small smile in with it, which caused Fumikage to give a subtle grin, letting each other know no hard feelings were to be had and to do their best.

"Start!"

"Go, Dark Shadow!" Fumikage yelled as he charged forward. Dark Shadow burst from his abdomen as the entity of dark energy remained connected to Fumikage by the cord of energy that connected the two beings together. The sentient being devoured the distance between them quickly before throwing a clawed hand at Peter as his first opening.

Peter responded by tapping his palm's trigger pads to launch some webbing, aiming below the entity, where Fumikage's feet were barely noticeable. Dark Shadow was prepared for that, intercepting the webbing with its free hand that grew larger to block more of it for a moment. While the webbing connected for a moment, it slid off after it made its initial contact. The entity tried to capitalize on this by growing the attacking claw and swiping at their opponent.

Peter ducked backwards, his body parallel to the ground while his feet remained attached to the ground. Farther than most people could properly remain standing on the ground, his knees bent and his feet adhered to the ground beneath him. Without looking, his fingers tapped down on the triggers once more as balls of webbing were fired. Peter's hand then touched the ground to one side and used his strength and adhesion to cartwheel away as Dark Shadow's other arm smashed into the cement.

Once Peter's foot made contact with the ground, he leapt away from Dark Shadow and flipped through the air. Even while his body contorted in ways few humans could dream of achieving, an arm lined up another webline that raced to catch Fumikage. Dark Shadow would normally have attempted to intercept such attacks, but Peter's previous shot of webbing had caught Dark Shadow in the eyes, blinding the entity for a moment.

But Fumikage didn't rely on Dark Shadow alone, having learned that hard lesson in training. Fumikage dodged to the side, trying to keep Dark Shadow between the two of them and barely avoided the webline by ducking.

The maneuver still bought Peter enough time for the follow up attack that nailed Fumikage with a web ball. The glob of chemicals burst and spread a fraction of a second before contact so that physics allowed it to form a complete seal that locked his arms to his side. Fumikage had at least avoided the one that had gone for his legs, so he was able to keep standing for now.

Dark Shadow moved himself between the two of them as Peter's webbing slid off the entity and intercepted more of Peter's attacks. Its arm stretched unnaturally, not constrained by bones or muscles like a normal biological being. Dark Shadow pursued their opponent, launching a continuous stream of attacks. But nothing could touch Peter, even attacks from behind as he ducked, jumped, and rolled through the onslaught with grace.

One of Dark Shadow's arms disappeared for a moment, making Peter wonder what he was doing, when he caught sight of the arm coming out of Fumikage's chest, freeing him from his webbing with a slash of its claws, before disappearing again. Peter wondered where it was going now, before his spider-sense warned of more attacks from behind, forcing him to dodge two hands from just the one arm.

"Hah!" Peter barked out loud after seeing that, followed by some joyful laughter. "Awesome! You're breaking the limits of assuming Dark Shadow has to follow 'normal rules!'"

"Yes," Fumikage said as he mentally passed along suggestions that helped Dark Shadow control his form as he kept away from Peter. "Someone helpfully pointed out how we were limiting ourselves and to think outside of the box."

"Sounds like that training group's been a big help," Peter yelled, continuing to dodge around and to the sides. "Glad to hear it!"

"And yet we still haven't been able to tag you yet," Fumikage said aloud as they continued to try to catch the other boy. "If you were looking to make sure we've 'shown our stuff' before getting serious, doing it sooner rather than later will look better for both of us."

Peter gave a sheepish grin at that, before replying. "But this is fun!"

"While that may be the case, it is also a match," Fumikage replied evenly, even as he focused Dark Shadow into another attack. Due to the bright lights around the arena, he was worried Dark Shadow would begin to lose what power they had been trying to build up. Fumikage might have been willing to keep trying to tag Peter if he didn't have to worry about that factor, but going out when he was stronger would look better for both of them.

"Ahhhh, alright," Peter said for a moment, giving an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about this."

Peter landed again, but instead of preparing for his next series of dodges, he stood straight up as Dark Shadows fist closed on him. Instead of raking across his skin or smashing into him, Dark Shadow's hand was caught by Peter's own hand, stopping it with a loud impact, but nothing else. Peter didn't even budge from it. The cheers from the audience ceased for a moment as they all realized what had just happened.

While they hadn't expected it, the avian pair weren't stunned into inaction. Fumikage encouraged Dark Shadow to resume his assault, but Peter was also on the move. Diving forward, he threw a punch at the shadow entity, striking it in the side of the head and causing a minor shockwave to go out from that impact. This disoriented Dark Shadow for a moment, though not from pain, but rather from his partially corporeal form being deformed by the impact. Peter capitalized on that, grabbing its head and leapt over, diving towards Fumikage, who just looked up at him with determined eyes.

Peter was almost on him when Dark Shadow's hand appeared out from his chest again, trying to intercept him. Now that he was seeing just how versatile Fumikage had made his Quirk, Peter kicked off the limb and flowed around it to the side, shooting his webbing not directly at Fumikage, but behind him, hitting a clump of webbing from before.

Dark Shadow and Fumikage had both ignored it as a miss, but were startled when Fumikage was suddenly entrapped by a net of webbing from behind, catching most of his body. Dark Shadow looked back for a moment, before it was suddenly grabbed from the front and the entity and the boy he was connected to felt themselves flung through the air. They were too high with too little warning for Dark Shadow to catch themselves from being thrown clear of the platform and rolling on the grass seconds later.

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

"Yes! Go, Peter!" Melissa shouted as she watched him fling his opponent out of the ring.

She grinned as the match was called, the audience and announcers reacting to it, and then watched as Peter walked over to check on his opponent. The two boys waved at the audience before walking away and the platform was quickly cleaned, preparing for the next fight.

"Peter did well. He let them both show what they could do," David said, sipping his drink as he watched. "Though, I think Tokoyami's continued defense will net him a lot of points for some people. Being able to respond to sudden changes like that is invaluable in the field."

Melissa almost responded, when she received a beep indicating a new prompt from Tony. She opened it up and was surprised by what it entailed. "Wow, really?"

"Hmmm?" David asked, looking over at her, wondering what it was. He didn't have to shift around, as his daughter instead brought the projected screen closer to him so he could view it himself. "Oh? Now that is a name I haven't heard in years. I knew Crimson Riot had been severely injured and was forced to retire. Since it occurred while All Might and I were in the States, I didn't learn the particulars."

"So he's been getting training from Saotome for nearly a year? That is interesting…" Melissa murmured as she looked over the details. "Tony had some difficulty verifying how trustworthy and reliable he was, since, as he points out, public and media information isn't always reliable for the truth. What do you think, Dad?"

"Well, I never met the man and most of my knowledge is from those same sources…" David explained. " But, I know when we heard the news of what happened to him, All Might had become saddened. I only ever knew him to get like that when it was someone he looked up to and respected. And he knew a few circles of Supers. I think Crimson Riot interacted with at least one of those circles and was well respected by them. So I think we can mark him as trustworthy."

Melissa nodded as she quickly composed a note for Tony to file away. "Well, that alleviates some of the concern regarding Saotome."

"Indeed," David said, as his eyes drifted to the T.V. "Speaking of whom…"

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

"You've enjoyed the matches so far, so it's time for the third match!" Present Mic called out

Ranma stepped out onto the field, not having encountered either Peter or Fumikage on his way, as the two had taken the other entrance. He walked leisurely towards the platform with his hands in his pockets.

Ranma was grinning as he hopped up the steps, allowing him to get to the top of the platform as he saw Tenya walking up the steps on the opposite side. The classmate that sat to his right and current opponent walked up the stairs with a determined look in his eyes.

"From the Hero Course, it is Tenya Iida!" Present Mic said, the crowd cheering him on. "He's made a show of himself in the first two events, being the engine to two different teams. Now he gets to show what he can do by himself!"

"But he's up against the current leader in the Sport's Festival, Saotome Ranma!"

Ranma grinned when it showed an image of himself, or herself, for when he won the two separate events.

"And while Iida-san has shown himself to be built for speed, he is now up against the speed demon himself! Who is going to win in a contest of speed? That is what we will find out now!" Present Mic said, making the audience cheer even louder.

That idea didn't sound so bad to Ranma when he heard it. Tilting his head as he looked up at where the chatty man was currently waiting along with Aizawa-sensei, before turning and grinning at his classmate.

"So, like Samurai then, Iida?" Ranma asked him.

Tenya blinked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Lots of old Samurai duels were not long drawn out exchanges, but fights that finished in a flash of steel. The most important part of the entire duel… was speed," Ranma said with a grin, flipping his pigtail back from where it had been resting on his shoulders.

Tenya paused, remembering his history lessons about the duels between the ancient warriors. Thinking about it for a few moments, his body firmed up and nodded his head in agreement. "Like Samurai, then."

Both boys then lowered their profiles, getting closer to the ground as they prepared for the all out attack. Tenya had entered into a sprinter stance, both hands on the ground and one foot in front of the other. Ranma had one foot in front and one foot behind, his stance wide and his knees bent heavily, he also had both hands held in front of him. Poised so, they waited for the call to start the fight.

"Oh, what's this? I just received word that both fighters have accepted to make this an old fashioned Samurai duel!" Present Mic said over the speakers, making many in the audience pause in their cheering.

"Well, if this isn't a way to showcase who is the fastest fighter, I don't know what would!" He said, the thrill in his voice apparent. "Instead of a long and drawn out battle, this fight is to be determined in a burst of speed! They will both launch an all out assault focused entirely on winning this single exchange. There are no redos! No followup attacks! No dodges! This is a fight where if you turn away for just a moment, the fight could already be over!"

The roaring of the crowd showed their approval, before quieting as they all began to hold their collective breaths.

"To the contestants, you may start whenever you are ready!"

Many in the crowd waited with baited breath, thinking they would start when he was speaking or as soon as he finished, but neither fighter budged. The idea of what kind of fight this would be had infected everyone, so no one dared to look away or even speak for fear of it distracting them. They had already seen how fast both of them were, so they were anticipating something fantastic.

For Ranma and Tenya, they waited. Ranma was more used to these kinds of fights, so he decided to let Tenya be the first to act. He had also witnessed his own speed several times by now, so he likely knew how dangerous Ranma was.

Ranma had, in the interest of fairness, which was something his Old Man probably would have bitched and moaned about, decided to pull in his Ki senses. This would be built entirely off of just observing your opponents body to determine when they would start, your reaction speed, and of course, your actual speed.

For nearly a minute, everything was quiet, only those rushing to and from a location could really be heard. Even those that talked excessively during the previous fights and events remained silent. The impatient ones were beginning to fidget, about to break and turn away like they were warned not to do. The wait was getting unbrearab– and then it was finished.

Everyone was shocked when the two boys had disappeared from their positions and had re-appeared in the middle. Tenya's leg had been raised, trying to kick Ranma in the head, his engines still providing thrust and power. It had been stopped on account of Ranma's palm holding it in position near the knee, his other hand buried in Tenya's gut.

Tenya almost fell to the ground, but Ranma caught him before he could land awkwardly or smash into the ground unnecessarily. He helped the spectacled boy to his feet and then his knees as he struggled to withstand the pain. Ranma remained by his side as his classmate worked to get his breathing under control.

"Oh my! That fight certainly lived up to expectations! How many of you could even see them move? I barely saw a blur before they crashed into each other!" Present Mic said, breaking the crowd out of its shock, causing them to roar in approval.

Ranma ignored them, as he kneeled down to make sure Tenya was okay. He had allowed himself to put enough into that strike to end the fight definitively, holding true to the style of duel. He also made sure it wasn't something that would actually injure him, just drop him. A bit of rest and calm breathing would let him get back to his feet.

Once he saw Tenya was able to focus on more than just his injury, Ranma grinned at him. "Heh, nice one, Iida! You were faster than I expected. You put a lot of power into those engines on your legs, didn't you?"

Tenya nodded, finally sparing some of his attention to the one that had defeated him so soundly. "Yes, it is something… I've been working on… to increase my speed."

Ranma took another glance at his legs, his Ki sense noticed that he had stressed them rather harshly. "Yeah, it was impressive. Needs some work still, but that's like any new technique. Anyways, the pain from my punch should be dying down enough for you to walk, but those legs look like they'll make things a little harder. Come on, let's get you to the nurse and I'll give you some pointers on the way."

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

Sakura winced as she saw Ranma land the blow on her friend. From where she was sitting in the stands, she could tell that Tenya was certainly feeling that one. She had also seen how much he had put into his Engine, overloading them some. Either way, he was going to be in pain from that brief exchange.

They had barely been able to welcome Fumikage and Peter back before their attention had been locked onto the field. While most of them weren't expecting Tenya to win, especially with so many instances of Ranma displaying his speed in the past, they were hoping for Tenya to make a good attempt at it. Frankly, he had beaten their expectations.

She smiled though as her classmates gushed over how fast Tenya was, surpassing what they knew he was capable of in that instant. They all remembered that first day, when they had done the apprehension test and what both of their scores had been at that time. Tenya could have shaved half of his time off. That was how fast he had just gone.

Ranma was gentle with Tenya, setting him down and helping him get on his feet. That increased her opinion of him by a fair amount. It looked like he was probably going to take him to the nurse, so Shuzenji-sensei would help him finish recovering.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as she saw Kyoka stand up and hurry to the entrance. "Good luck, Kyoka-chan!"

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

"The boy is certainly fast," Sorahiko said to his companion and his charge. He was well used to such speeds. He had witnessed dozens of such displays in the past, it was the skill that was the most impressive to him. Something he knew the majority of viewers had difficulty discerning.

"Sensei's awesome!" Kota said from the other side of Katashi.

Sorahiko grinned at the boy's enthusiasm. It seemed he had a healthy amount of hero worship for the young hero-in-training. Normally, most children reserved such enthusiasm for already active Pro-Heroes, watching their amazing and noble feats that earned them that admiration. While seeing young Saotome in action would certainly draw attention, he hadn't heard of a noble feat. While the U.S.J. attack might have qualified, based on what he was told of the accounts, this admiration felt older.

While he wanted to ask about that, he had another question that was more pressing to him. "What is Saotome's Quirk? I do not understand the underlying nature of it."

Katashi chuckled, giving him a knowing smirk. "Saotome's Quirk isn't as complicated as you are making it out to be. But I was asked not to reveal it to those that don't currently know until after the final match. Well, so long as Saotome-kun wins at least."

Sorahinko found that curious, as well as suspicious. Yet, the Katashi he knew wouldn't do so out of any sort of malice. Though, that did lead into his other question he had.

"Tell me, Katashi, how did you meet Young Saotome? What did he do to get your attention so thoroughly? And Kota's, for that matter," Sorahiko asked, grinning at the young boy that was only slightly shorter than himself.

Sorahiko wondered if that had been a mistake when the young boy's cheer instantly dissolved, replaced with fear and uncertainty. It might have devolved even further, but a reassuring hand from Katashi's good arm helped to reassure the young boy. Sorahiko waited for Katashi to look at him and then silently expressed to him that he didn't need to explain, already knowing some sort of tragedy had been involved.

"It's okay," Katashi said, "sometimes being reminded of the incident dredges up those painful memories for Kota-kun. He almost lost both of his parents to a Villain attack when they acted to save everyone in their village."

Sorahiko breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it hadn't gone that far. He had borne witness to so much tragedy that he was nearly numb to it, but he was glad that it still hurt.

"We both met Saotome-kun when Kota-kun's aunt, Mandalay, brought him to the hospital with them," Katashi said.

"The Wild Wild Pussycats?" Sorahiko asked.

"Yes. I had been asked if I could watch over Kota-kun and his parents while they had been called to the site of the attack to help deal with the situation that had developed there. After they were finished, they became the legal guardians of Saotome-kun," Katashi said.

"Were they needed to help deal with the attack?"

Katashi chuckled at that, "No. The Villain had already been defeated by then. Kota's parents had done a heroic job of buying the village the time it needed to evacuate, but Saotome had stepped in a moment before both of his parents would have been killed. He then proceeded to humiliate the Villain."

Sorahiko's eyes widened in surprise, before a big grin formed. "Yes, that certainly explains why Kota-kun thinks so highly of Young Saotome. Who was the Villain?"

"Dumbass!" Kota shouted in excitement.

"Huh?" Sorahiko was stumped. "That is a very unusual name for a Villain."

Katashi's laughter was hearty, clearly showing he enjoyed that. "That is not the Villain's name, but rather the name most of the Pussycat's and Kota's parents call him. A nickname that Saotome-kun had given to him during their fight. But you would know him as Muscular."

Sorahiko's mirth died as he stared Katashi in the eyes.

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

Shoto seethed inside as he thought about his coming fight. He had been able to observe the brief exchange from Saotome's match and it reminded him of just how difficult it would be to fight him. He hated the fact that his father might be right, that he would have to go all out against him. Taking a moment to firm his resolve, he still refused to use the half of his Quirk he had inherited from the broken man that had discarded him.

He ignored the voice from the announcer as he stepped into the arena and barely noticed the speed bump in his path. Instead, he focused on what he would have to do to win. A part of him wondered if he would go too far, but that part of himself could barely be heard.

"Start!" Present Mic yelled.

This caught Shoto off guard, not having realized it had progressed to that point until now. His attention turned to the one in front of him, before sending a wave of his ice at her location to end the fight quickly and decisively. Especially as she was just standing there.

Only his years of training and professionalism didn't have him turn his back to her and walk away. He normally would never have done that, but his current anger wanted him to move past this as soon as possible. Because of that, he saw as Kyoka dodged his attack, having jumped away and to the side as the spot she had previously been standing was covered in ice now.

Shoto adjusted his next attack, sending more ice at her, missing her a second time. The third attempt, however, was successful in capturing a foot before it crawled upwards, trapping the leg entirely. She was also too far away for her earlobes to reach him, so he knew the fight was over. He waited a few seconds as she struggled, giving her the time to realize her predicament, but she was not surrendering yet.

Shoto turned to Midnight, who was observing the battle calmly. "It's over," Shoto said coldly, getting Midnight's attention at least. "Call it. She is immobilized and cannot win."

Their sensei looked him in the eyes for a moment before smirking. "Is it?"

Shoto narrowed his eyes, about to retort when he heard a small thump and the sound of shattering ice. Turning back towards her, Shoto saw that Kyoka had freed herself somehow. And she still remained where she was, observing him calmly and waiting.

He sighed in annoyance at this being prolonged like it was and her apparent refusal to attack. Instead of sending a single attack, he sent two, his attack splitting in the middle and moving to surround her. The ice remained a thin coating on the ground for now, before it started to rise into the air and increase in size. The attacks were swift, covering a dozen meters in a second.

Kyoka moved before the attacks could encircle her, but not to escape, instead going directly towards one of his attacks. He shifted it, directing both of them towards her. She dodged to the side before the attack could hit her, showing she was better than he had expected, before she sent both of her long earlobes towards the wall of ice. Both of her jacks cracked the surface of the ice, followed instantly by a loud ringing noise and Shoto watched as his wall shattered, the attack disrupted.

Shoto narrowed his eyes, changing more of his focus on the other attack, closing on her rapidly and widening to overwhelm her. He saw her leap further away from it as her jacks redirected themselves to intercept his ice, repeating the previous disruption. This delay was wearing on what little patience he still had, his anger beginning to focus on her as he readied himself for a more complete assault.

"Are you finally going to acknowledge me, Todoroki?" Kyoka asked him, standing up from the crouching position she had taken after defending herself yet again. She glared at him, locking eyes with Shoto. "Are you finally going to treat me as your opponent? Or are you going to continue to try to brush me aside as an annoyance before you can fight Saotome?"

Her words angered him, tempting him to launch a much more powerful attack than was needed. But her word's content surprised him enough to halt his attack. He didn't say anything, caught between the different emotions warring in his mind.

"I'm not trying to get in the way of whatever problem you have with Saotome," Kyoka shouted. "I don't know what the hell happened to cause it. Whether he deserves it or not. But you're insulting me! I'm your classmate and your comrade!"

Shoto jerked slightly at her words, broken out of his shell for a moment. The anger wanted to return, to sate itself on this pest, but her words had a more profound effect on the rational part of his brain.

"The least you could do is acknowledge that I am your current opponent! Not just a thing in your way!" Kyoka said with a raised voice, no longer feeling she needed to shout to get through to him.

Shoto stood up straight as he realized she was right. He focused his mind, concentrating on his emotions, the thoughts behind them, and then silencing them and locking them away for now. He remained like that for several seconds, before his face softened and returned to his neutral expression. He breathed deeply as his mind became clear once more. His eyes opened and then looked at her again. "Sorry."

"If you've got your head on straight, then let's finish this," Kyoka said as she gave him a small smile.

Shoto saw that her eyes told him that she was ready. Shoto gave her a nod, acknowledging her. They waited a moment, allowing each other the time to prepare, before Shoto slid forward on his ice and closed the distance. She returned the gesture, sprinting towards him as well.

Before they got very far, Shoto's ice split yet again, this time in four different angles, two going wide and around her position, while the other two moved in sync with him. She moved to intercept him, but the two near him sped up and lashed out with long and narrow blocks of ice to smash into her. The moment her earlobes moved to intercept them, their attack halted and retreated.

This action surprised her and left her earlobes out of position as Shoto slammed into her, his own martial skill allowing him to shove her arms to the side so his right palm could hit her near her collarbone. His Quirk activated, his power going up her neck until he could catch one of her ears and down the length of her long earlobes, encasing it in a thin layer of ice. He had to be careful, he did not want to maim her, especially now. The earlobe was too thin to risk freezing, since it would be fragile and could probably break with a little bit of force. The thin layer of ice allowed him to achieve his goal: slowing the flexible limb down.

It was also at this time that the two frontal assaults resumed their attack, closing the distance rapidly. Kyoka had already been taken by surprise by both of his maneuvers, but she tried to adapt by having her free earlobe circling back to attack him in close proximity. The resumption of the previous attack left her out of position to counter it, especially with one jack having been slowed down as it was.

The two attacks slammed into her, throwing her back into the waiting wall of ice the other two attacks had formed before she was encased. She grunted when she impacted the wall, but the cold quickly got her attention. She tried to use her earlobes to escape, but both limbs were captured by Shoto, one in each hand. While it did take a bit of effort, he was able to hold them for now.

"Do you surrender?" Shoto asked, looking into her eyes and waiting for her decision on whether to continue the fight or not.

Kyoka struggled for another moment, but found no purchase. While she thought she could get her earlobes free with a little more effort and maybe escape the ice, Shoto had shown that in this moment, she was at his mercy. She then stared into his eyes, and found he only had eyes for her at this moment. While she would have preferred to win, or at least put up an even better fight than this, she did accomplish what she had really wanted out of it.

Kyoka breathed deeply, before saying the words loud enough for the referee's to hear her clearly. "I surrender."

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

Tenya stared down at his phone, holding his thumb over it as he worked up the courage he felt he needed. He finally pushed down, put it to his ear, and heard it ringing. After a few rings, it clicked.

"Hello, Little Brother," Tensei greeted cheerfully, though the morose undercurrent was noticed. "I heard what happened."

Tenya closed his eyes, trying to control his emotions. "I'm sorry I failed, Brother."

"Ha!"

The short bark of laughter, followed by his brothers chuckling voice surprised him. He couldn't find the words to reply.

"Little Brother, you didn't fail!" Tensei exclaimed. "While I haven't had a chance to watch the match, someone in ops that was watching it told us what happened. The media and online groups were amazed at your speed, not to mention the uncanny way you supported your classmates and teammates. You just were dealt a bad hand against someone who is faster than you."

"But I still failed…'' Tenya insisted, not feeling it mattered.

"If I had to fight against All Might and I managed to nearly touch him, should I feel ashamed for how well I did? Especially when everyone was presuming I would be beaten before I could even move?" Tensei asked.

"No!" Tenya responded, finding it a ridiculous notion.

"Oh? What about if I was facing Sakura instead?" Tensei asked again.

"No, there would be no shame in losing a fight when she is so strong!" Tenya said.

"Do you know who they have been comparing Saotome to, Little Brother? The media and other groups? Or Sakura? Oh, and that Parker boy, too."

"No?" Tenya was unsure of the significance of that question.

"Some of the media are comparing your Classmates to All Might and the other top heroes," Tensei said, trying to get through to his brother what was happening. "First Year students at U.A., performing feats that very few Pro Heroes can do. This is their debut and they are still young. They are expecting them to grow even stronger than they are now."

Tenya wasn't sure what to think. He hadn't expected that, especially since they were his own classmates.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Little Brother," Tensei spoke softly, calming Tenya. "And no-one in their right mind thinks you have anything to be ashamed of either. Just the opposite, they are praising you for your accomplishments. They are speculating that you will surpass me before you even graduate! You are among the students that people are noticing and they are eager to see more."

"... Thank you, Brother," Tenya said finally.

"Your welcome, Tenya. I wish I could talk further, but we're a little preoccupied with a potentially dangerous case, so I'll be unavailable for a time. Be sure to tell Sakura we're rooting for her to win!"

"I will," Tenya said, standing up a little straighter. "Please be safe out there."

"I'll do my best."

Tenya heard the electrical click to indicate the phone call had ended. He stood there for several seconds, absorbing what his brother had said. Taking it for what it was, he straightened his posture and nearly marched back towards the stands that his classmates were watching the matches from.

As he passed the nearby corner, he was surprised to find a classmate resting their back against the wall. "Uraraka-kun?"

Ochako jumped, not having noticed his approach. After recovering from that, she tried replying. "Uhhh, hello, Iida-kun…"

Tenya was far from an expert on body language, but he had spent some time studying it. Her odd motions, like her eyes looking left and right, her hands rubbing against each other near her chest, her legs fidgeting, and the slight stuttering of her voice hinted to him that she was embarrassed. He wondered what it was about.

"So, were you… were you talking to your brother?" Ochako asked.

"Ah, yes, I was," Tenya said while fixing his glasses. "I felt ashamed for my performance against Saotome-kun, so I looked to my brother to apologize for my poor performance. He corrected my presumptions and said that I should not feel any shame for such a loss. I performed admirably and beyond what was expected of me. There is no shame in losing to a superior fighter. The only shame to be had is not to try your hardest."

"Umm, right," Ochako said. Tenya could see she was having difficulty with something, but he was unsure what it was at this time.

"Your own match is soon, is it not?" Tenya asked.

"Yes," Ochako said, her facial muscles tightening as if she was in pain. He almost asked if she was here to see Recovery Girl, since she wasn't far away, but held off.

"Then I wish you luck, Uraraka-kun," Tenya said. He smiled, before walking past her and back to the stands to watch the rest of the fights with his classmates.

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

Katsuki stood on the platform, hands in his pockets, glaring at Pink Cheeks as she stood across from him. He ignored Present Mic's introduction of the two of them, instead focusing his attention on the girl. Unlike some of the others, he was not going to underestimate her. Not anymore.

While she had been defeated by Tenya in that first Team Battle, she had been a nuisance in the Cavalry Battle. Multiple attempts at that team's headbands had been thwarted by her. He hadn't even noticed her taking that headband from around his neck. He wasn't blind, he knew she was receiving training from Pigtail. Very real training, as it turned out.

He knew that if she touched something, she could cause it to float. He also knew putting her hands together would cancel out her Quirk. That meant he had to be careful and to fight her from far enough away that she couldn't touch him. Without knowing how durable she was, he was limited on the strength of his explosions to use against her. While it limited him more than he would like, it was still very manageable.

Her need to get close meant she was going to charge in so she could touch him, but even that wasn't a guarantee for her. He knew that unlike most people, his Quirk would still give him the opportunity to maneuver in the air and was not a knockout blow. So long as he controlled it properly. But it gave her more control over the fight than if she never touched him.

"Bakugo-san, I feel I must ask, why are you so dismissive of your own classmates?" she asked out of the blue, distracting him.

"What the hell are you talking about, Pink Cheeks?" Katsuki asked, his glare intensifying.

"That! That right there!" Pink Cheeks shouted, pointing at him triumphantly. "You just used a nickname for me! Even though you were just told what my name is, you continue to use nicknames!"

"Tch!" Katsuki growled, his stance widening as his anger began to grow.

"You call anyone you don't know an extra and only recognize anyone by nicknames! But if anyone calls you by a nickname, Sparkler, you get pissed off!" Pink Cheeks shouted and he proved her point immediately when his lip twitched and his Quirk lived up to the nickname.

"Because I was so curious about it, I asked Saotome-kun why he calls people names like that. He said he does it because he likes to tweak the noses of jerks like you!" Pink Cheeks said, her smile turning into an evil grin.

"Shows what you know," Katsuki growled out, his Quirk quieting, but still adopting his aggressive stance.

"Oh, I know!" Pink Cheeks mocked him in return. "I knew you didn't do it because you were trying to annoy us. So I looked it up! Behavior like yours is called 'displaced aggression'. You treat us like that because you're scared!"

" What did you just say?" Katsuki asked, his voice rising dangerously.

"You call us extras or nicknames because you are scared of finding out you aren't as special as you thought you were! I've seen you glaring at our classmates, like Saotome-kun or Haruno-san. You feel threatened by them! That you'll be seen as only an extra by everyone else!"

Katsuki's anger nearly erupted right there, even though he hadn't heard the start of the match. Wondering why he hadn't heard anything, he peeked to the sides to see the skimpy announcer and their referee listening intently to the two of them. That probably meant they were delaying the start so Pink Cheeks could finish her slew of insults.

Though, he noted, that a month ago, he wouldn't have allowed it to get this far. He recognized some of what she was saying, even what she had called it.

"Get ready!" Present Mic's voice called out, pleasing him that this fight would finally get started.

"That's also why you always call Izuku-kun Deku," Pink Cheeks started again, as if she was ignoring that the match was about to begin. "I was too embarrassed to ask him after that first Battle Training, having been so useless then, but I always wondered why you would say he could do anything."

"That's not what I mean!" Katsuki growled, his Quirk activating again as he leaned forward.

"He's the one you're most terrified of, isn't he? Because you think he's better!"

" Shut it !"

"Start!"

Katsuki literally exploded at her, shooting off like a cannon as he closed the distance. His right arm was pulled back, shoving it forward as he neared her position and his Quirk built up for another large explosion. So he wasn't expecting Pink Cheeks to be diving towards him and catching his right arm.

While an explosion did go off from his right hand, it wasn't as large as he had wanted, the surprise attack and practiced care when using his Quirk forced him to reduce its strength. She avoided the brunt of it with her dive and redirected his hand enough so that she could start swinging him around in a circular motion. She smoothly used both hands and his current momentum to lift him over her head toward a collision course with the cement.

Katsuki grimaced as he realized what she was doing. Getting his hand in front of him before he could crash into the ground allowed him to set off an explosion. He had felt her let go of him just as his Quirk went off. What he wasn't expecting was to go flying in the other direction in a tumble. After all, how often do you account for not having gravity?

Katsuki spent several seconds just trying to adapt and to stop his spinning. The larger explosion and sub-optimal positioning had caused him to rise into the air in a chaotic fashion. When he finally got his spinning under control and stopped his momentum, he found himself near the ceiling of the arena, over two hundred meters in the air.

He took a second to breathe a sigh of relief and get his emotions under control. He had already fallen for her trap, making him angry enough to launch himself at her. He wasn't going to allow that to happen again. Using his Quirk, he used some micro explosions to turn himself around and glare down at the arena floor. He couldn't see her well enough, but she was doing something.

Thinking things through, he knew he had to be careful. He was only in the first half of what her Quirk could do to him. The second half was to return his gravity, which could be just as detrimental as the first half. She didn't even need to touch him to activate it, meaning he needed to watch her closely.

Katsuki positioned his arms down and to his side, pointing his palms away to give him thrust by shooting off some minor explosions was enough to get him moving downwards. As he passed the third tier balcony, he started angling so he was circling the arena instead of going straight down. When he started passing the second tier, he finally saw what she had been doing.

Pink Cheeks had taken her gym shirt off, leaving her with a black undershirt. She had just finished typing up the arms of her shirt on the ground, leaving her to grab one of the sleeves. He almost discounted it as inconsequential, but it was too bulky for that. She had something planned. He narrowed his eyes as he looked around to try to figure out– there. His eyes focused on what must have been the spot he launched himself into the air as the ground was cracked and damaged. But the amount of debris seemed less than he expected for the damage that was present.

The shirt wasn't moving as if it was dragged down by serious weight, which meant the debris had been affected by her Quirk. But not her shirt, allowing its weight to hold those pieces down and together. ' Sneaky bitch,' Katsuki thought, his eyes narrowing. While the weight was missing, the mass wasn't. He didn't quite understand the scaling, but he figured Parker was running those numbers through his head on the fly while watching this fight. Either way, it was a potentially dangerous and deceptive weapon.

By this time, he was only about twenty meters above the arena as he circled it, being careful not to go too fast. She was just watching him as he circled, both of them waiting to see what the other would do. Katsuki thought of waiting for her to do something, but he knew she wouldn't. She had limited resources to attack him with, while his was just a matter of endurance. But he also knew that her waiting like this was draining his endurance. The waiting game played to her advantage.

Katsuki acted first.

Throwing one of his hands forward, he flung some sweat in her direction. He made sure it wouldn't hit her directly, but it drove her to the side and in the direction he wanted. As that attack was thrown, he used his other hand to set off another explosion behind him, one stronger than any of the others he had been using to guide his flight. He shot towards the ground at an angle, moving quickly.

The hand he had used to attack was readjusted, moving to adjust his flight so he would hug the ground on an intercept course with her. Before he could use it, her hands came together to release her Quirk while she was dodging his first attack. She had never taken her eyes off of him. Knowing he had to account for his weight returning, he grinned as he put more into the blast and activated his Quirk.

The grin was short lived as he flew higher and faster than he should have, flying over her head. He realized too late that she hadn't actually deactivated her Quirk. He had fallen into her trap, again!

He didn't want to lose the momentum of the battle or she would just repeat it again, he looked over his shoulder to find where she was, having shot off to the other side of the arena boundaries. He fired off another explosion to push him back towards her, reversing most of his momentum. But his trajectory was still wrong! He'd been conned a third time, as Pink Cheeks had finally deactivated her Quirk, causing him to shoot straight towards the ground far faster than he had intended.

"Shit!"

Katsuki cursed, knowing this impact would hurt if he didn't counter it with another explosion. The one good thing was he didn't have to worry about her Quirk activating or deactivating unless she could touch him again. He got his hand in position quickly enough, before sparing a look towards Pink Cheeks to see if she was diving towards his landing point. He saw she had instead just finished throwing something his way.

His brain had gone into overdrive as his eyes found her shirt in time. It was going to collide with him just as he would use his Quirk to prevent crashing into the ground. He had just enough time to get his free hand into the path of the projectile. But an instant before he finished igniting both hands to protect himself, his brain did one more calculation. His eyes widened as he realized he only had one way out of this.

The crash into the ground hurt like hell, even as he tried to roll at the last second to reduce the impact. He grimaced as his arm, side, and the rest of his body screamed at him. He barely kept himself from crying out at it, willing his mouth and vocal cords clamped down as much as he could. After a few seconds, knowing he couldn't afford to be careless, he willed his eyes open to see Uraraka grimacing at the turn of events. Probably because he had beaten her trap.

After a few seconds, both of them slowly returned to a standing position and a bit shaken by the turn of events. Katsuki spared a moment to look behind him at where her shirt and the pile of rocks inside of it had smashed against the stadium wall, barely cracking the cement on impact. He then looked down near his feet, where he was two meters away from the bounds of the arena. The bounds he would have gone out of if he had dealt with her attack like he had originally planned.

If there was one thing his fight with Uraraka had reminded him of, it was that physics mattered. His training for the last two weeks had been to take into consideration cause and effect, to understand how his Quirk affected him and the world around him. Some of that training had included fast calculations, forcing him to think at increased speeds and even against his normal intuition. He might grumble at it, but he'd probably have to thank Peter for that training.

Or not. The boy genius was probably already smirking.

He turned back to Uraraka, giving her an arrogant smirk, gloating at having escaped her trap. Her gulp of fear was a small reward for his injuries, but he ignored it as he focused all of his attention back on the fight once again. She had readied herself as well, getting into a loose stance and ready for whatever came next.

Katsuki cupped his hands together, concentrating on how his hands ignited, making sure that the explosion that went out was louder and brighter than most, focused most of the escaping shockwave towards her. She flinched at his enhanced version of his flashbang.

He didn't dive directly at her. Instead, he lowered both palms closer to the ground to set off more explosions, causing a large cloud of dust to kick into the air from his position. He did this a few times, increasing the size of the cloud significantly. After the fourth set, he sprinted off to the side, making sure his Quirk didn't spontaneously go off and started circling her position from inside the cloud.

He flicked some of his sweat at his previous position as he charged her. The explosions went off, giving him a brief view of her and her shocked eyes as she realized he wasn't there anymore. Her senses found him too late as he was already on top of her, grabbing one of her wrists before flinging her around to crash her into the floor with the force of his mass and bodyweight. He got his other foot to nearly stomp onto her free arm, pinning it to the ground and keeping it from moving before he set one of his hands onto the side of her head as she was shoved into the cement.

They stayed like that as the dust settled down, Katsuki struggling through his own pain to hold her there. She squirmed both arms to try to get out from underneath him, small bits of debris shoved into the side of her head and other sensitive parts of her body stung, but it was minor. Katsuki decided to get the message home a little further by creating a few sparks, enough to remind her what it could do.

"My win, Uraraka."

She grimaced as she tried to glare at him. He returned her glare, daring her to keep pushing. After a few seconds, her body relaxed.

"Yeah," she said.

Katsuki waited until the referee's called the match before he released her and stood up. He then started walking towards the exit in a foul mood.

"Oh, wow, what a match! But Bakugo comes out on top in the end!" Present Mic told the audience.

Ochako sat up from her position, brushing off the bits of debris that ate into her skin, before watching the winner of her match walk off. She sighed in defeat as she heard Midnight's heels as their sensei walked closer to her. Her emotions were plummeting downwards as she had failed once more.

"Are you okay, Uraraka?" Midnight asked her. "Can you walk? Or should we have a gurney take you to the infirmary?"

Ochako blinked, turning to look at her sensei as she stared down at her with concern. "I'm… fine? Wait… what did you… what did he call me?"

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

"Man, he was rough with her at the end," Sato said after the fight had been called. He had grimaced at how hard Katsuki had slammed her into the ground.

"Like he had any other option?" Fumikage pointed out as he leaned back into his seat. "That trap of hers nearly took him out of the fight. He had no choice but to take that damage or go out of bounds."

"Yeah," Eijiro winced in sympathy. "That Quirk of hers is soooo deceptive! One little touch and you are finished if you don't have the right Quirk or something to hold onto."

"Deceptive?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow at his red-haired friend. Most of their class turned to look at him. He had been conversing with Momo about what he had done to the zero-pointers, but it seemed they had caught his attention. "Her Quirk is potentially terrifying!"

"Why?" Tsuyu asked, blinking her large eyes, "Ribbit."

"Well, one of the reasons Katsuki isn't dead is because the atmosphere is spinning along with everything else," Peter said, realizing they weren't thinking about what it actually meant to lose gravity. Though, the winces that Momo and Sakura now sported meant they had quickly caught on to the significance. "I have some ideas of what her Quirk is actually doing, but I'd have to run some tests to narrow things down."

"Umm, what do you mean, Parker-san?" Izuku asked, his concern growing for his friend as he looked up from writing in his notebook.

"Okay, all of you have taken the trains before, riding inside them and all that, right?" Peter asked, deciding to ignore the negative head shake Ranma had given. "While the train is moving, have you ever jumped?"

Some heads nodded in affirmation.

"I won't bother to ask if any of you have traveled on top of a train, as that is… okay, nevermind," Peter corrected himself after seeing Ranma nodding his head. Though, he couldn't exactly fault him for that, having done much the same thing himself in the past. "Anyways, if you were to do it on top of the train, you would be pushed back, but inside the train, you wouldn't. Why?"

Peter held a finger up towards Momo and Sakura, silencing them as he wanted the others to figure it out first.

"Oh! Inertia!" Izuku said aloud, followed by others nodding their heads as they started to pick it up. "The air inside the train is moving along with everything else, but the air outside of the train isn't! And that is the same as the atmosphere! So, the atmosphere acts to pull the objects affected by her Quirk along because of inertia?"

Peter nodded his head, glad at how fast they picked that up, even if he had to lay it out somewhat. "In part. At least based on my early models of what her Quirk actually does. I have a hypothesis regarding her Quirk being able to cancel out the momentum of an object in relation to the strongest pull of gravity, but the test I'd really like to do would take a while to set up since it would require going out into the Thermosphere or as far as the Exosphere."

Momo and Sakura's eyes widened at that, the others taking longer to catch on yet again. "Why would you need to take her into Space to… Oh. OH!" Momo exclaimed as she finally worked it through.

"Space?" Half of the class asked in shock, turning to look between Momo and Peter, completely lost. Not to mention he was talking about going into Space so casually!

"You want to test how thoroughly her Quirk affects gravity itself!" Momo said with some excitement. She smiled as he nodded at that. Momo thought about it further, opened her mouth to ask her next question.

"Ummm, Momo-chan?" Kyoka asked, catching the unusually cheerful girl by surprise. "Don't you have a match?"

Momo turned her head and stared at her, before her mouth closed and her eyes widened in panic as she scrambled out of her seat and towards the entrance to the tunnels.

Izuku paused as he was writing down his many new thoughts about Ochako's Quirk, realizing he too had a match coming up. He also got up and followed Momo more slowly, deciding he wanted to check on his friend first.

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

Momo got her breathing under control as she made it just in time for them to be called into the field. Considering how much Katsuki had destroyed, the ring had required Cementoss-sensei to fix it again. She strode out onto the field and made her way to the arena.

"Now, we've got no time to lose! Let's move on to the sixth match!" Present Mic said, getting the ball rolling quickly. "First up, we have a student with an All-purpose Creation! She was admitted through recommendations, so her abilities are certified! From the hero course, it's Yaoyorozu Momo!"

Momo sighed as a few images of her using her Quirk in both events were displayed on the large display boards. She did smile at the cheers she was receiving, though she wasn't too partial to the wolf whistles that were thrown in as well and opted to ignore them.

"Versus… the underdog of the Sports Festival, the boy who was able to attach himself to some strong contestants to get to where he is. He's also the only student in this final event that isn't from the Hero Course. From General Studies, it's Mineta Minoru!"

The screen showed him attached to her shirt, throwing some of his balls during the Obstacle Course. The other image showed him attached to the forearm of Ranma as she leapt through multiple attacks, dodging them with ease, all the while as Minoru threw his balls again in a wild pattern.

As she took her position in the ring, her opponent stood across from her. The much shorter boy had caused a number of headaches for her today. But unlike Kyoka, Sakura, or even Ranma, she didn't hold a grudge for his actions. She even felt some sympathy for the other boy, having learned a little about him since the Obstacle Race. Not that it meant she would let him win.

Minoru was a mass of emotions, his eyes shifting between winces and lustful stares, but primarily he looked nervous. Part of it, she rationalized, was because he was alone against her and wondering what she would do to him in retaliation for the earlier incident. The other part, most likely had to do with the amount of verbal abuse he was under from some of the students in the other courses. Especially his own.

It also seemed that the general audience had a low opinion of him, as the cheers were minimal as well as some boo's that showed their disdain for him. Sadly, it was not something that Momo could correct at this time.

"Are the contestants ready?" Present Mic asked. Both of them nodded. "Start!"

Minoru reached for the top of his head, grabbing the balls that grew off of it and threw them in her direction. While they were not terribly accurate, she knew not to underestimate them. Forgetting where those balls went and running around blindly could become disastrous.

For her first action, Momo used her Quirk to create a large racket, something four times the surface area as a tennis racket, but still light and used it to intercept the first few throws. In her other hand, she created a little device that should help her finish this battle quickly.

When she activated it, a very bright pulse of light flared out, causing Minoru to gasp in surprise and blinding pain. She closed the distance, but the smaller boy was trying to back away and still threw more of the balls. She noticed that he wasn't aiming at her, but the ground in front of her to either stop her or at least slow her down.

She was mindful of her footing, catching any new balls and caught up with him just as his vision returned. She lightly hit Minoru with the racket before he could dodge. Due to his Quirk's balls collecting on the racket, his gym outfit was stuck to it.

"Ah! Nooooo!" Minoru cried out.

Momo grabbed the handle of the racket with both hands, the added weight making it too difficult to do it with one, and ran to the boundaries of the arena. Minoru struggled, pulling a few more balls off his head to throw at her feet, but she kept a close eye on him and prevented him from succeeding by shifting the racket away. When she reached the boundary, she set Minoru down on the ground and out of bounds.

"And that's the match!" Present Mic said, no loss of enthusiasm for how it went. "Mineta was up against a challenging opponent, considering their Quirks, and she won it pretty decisively!"

Momo watched as Minoru absorbed his loss and clearly heard the growing jeers from his classmates. Momo sighed as the tears began to build in his eyes, looking like he would soon break under the pressure.

Momo turned to him and bowed respectfully towards him. "Thank you for the match, Mineta-san."

Taken out of his downward spiral for a moment, his big eyes locked onto hers. He was surprised that instead of contempt, he saw compassion in them. While the tears still escaped, they also held a bit of hope in them. Realizing he should try to be polite as well, he, awkwardly, turned to her and gave what bow he could, almost toppling over himself. "Ummm, thank you for the match… Yaoyorozu-san?"

Momo smiled down at him, glad to see some etiquette from him and pleased he had done a decent job of it even with as awkward of a position as he was in. "Let's move on, I am sure the referee's would like to clear the stage for the next match as soon as possible. And I think you would like to get out of that contraption."

Minoru nodded, before blinking in surprise as she used her Quirk to create a replacement shirt for him, holding it out to him. For the first time in months, he gave a genuine smile.

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

"Uraraka-san?" Izuku asked, timidly opening the door to one of the waiting rooms. He had already passed a growling Kacchan and had been informed by Recovery Girl that Ochako had opted to go to a waiting room.

He found her sitting in one of the chairs, her arms folded and resting on the table, and her eyes barely peeking over said arms. He suspected they hadn't been peeking a moment before. She sat up straight as she caught sight of him. Izuku didn't see any moisture around her eyes.

"Midoriya-kun…" Ochako said softly, forming a kind smile as her friend entered the room. "Your match is soon, isn't it?"

"Ah, I think Yaoyorozu-san's match is currently happening," Izuku said as he stepped closer to her with his friendly smile. Though the thoughts about his own match made him nervous, he soldiered on.

Ochako grinned a little at that, knowing he was worried about going up against Denki. Though she knew he was stronger than he let on most times, so she thought he had a good chance of winning that fight.

Izuku got his thoughts back to supporting his friend. "Your fight against Kacchan was amazing, Uraraka-san!" Izuku gushed, getting excited as he thought it over. He even held out his latest notebook to her, opening it and showing the several pages of notes he had written down from her fight alone. "And then Parker-san started discussing how he found your Quirk terrifying, which, after the points he made, I would agree that your Quirk is really spectacular! More amazing than I had realized! He even started talking about wanting to do a test of your Quirk while you're in space, something Momo mentioned as related to testing how your Quirk affected gravity. And Parker-san also talked about having a hypothesis about how your Quirk cancels out the momentum of objects you touch, which I realized is also pretty surprising, and got me thinking of how else your Quirk could be–"

"Deku-kun!"

The name startled him out of his rant as she used the nickname Kaccan had used for him for years, a nickname he had hated. Especially after Kacchan would explain its meaning while mocking him in front of others. Izuku winced, wondering if he had, somehow, destroyed their friendship and she now hated him. He was confused, however, when her eyes were friendly and she appeared amused. "Ye– yes?"

"I didn't want you to get too distracted that you forget about your upcoming match," Ochako said with her bright smile. "I know how you can get carried away at times. It's cute, but I don't want to ruin your chances."

Izuku nodded, relieved she didn't appear to be upset with him. He was still confused. "Uraraka-san? Why… Why did you call me Deku?"

Ochako's smile brightened as she looked him in the eyes. "While I was taunting Bakugo-san before our match, I realized he needed one more push before the match would begin. So I taunted him about coming up with the perfect nickname for you, Deku-kun."

The only reason Izuku's heart didn't shatter at her words was because of how she said it, sounding like it was something pleasant. "What- what do you mean?"

"Because you can do anything!" Ochako said, throwing her fist up in the air.

Izuku was caught off guard, not having expected her to praise him like she did. She didn't use the word like Kacchan would, instead opting for another interpretation. If it had been almost anyone else, it wouldn't have mattered much to him. Coming from Ochako, it mattered more than he expected. "... thank you," Izuku said as he smiled softly at her.

"And thank you for coming to cheer me up, Deku-kun," Ochako said. "But you should get ready for your match."

"Right!" Izuku said, feeling more excitement for his match than he had previously. He thought of how she had used his name, finding that he liked it quite a bit. "See you later, Uraraka-san!"

"Good luck, Deku-kun!" Ochako responded as she watched the door to the room close behind him. Her smile dimmed as reality reasserted itself. She had lost, after all.

Ochako slumped in her chair, her depression weighing her down. She likely would have begun to spiral even further, but another interruption caught her off guard. This time, it was her cell phone ringing.

She pulled the pink flip phone out of her pocket, saw who it was, and took a deep breath. After it rang two more times, she finally flipped it open and answered it. "Hello, Daddy."

"Ochako, you were amazing! And so close! You're Mother and I can't believe how amazing you were! The Hasegawa's and Yamaguchi's dropped by after your match ended, asking how that sweet little girl they watched grow up could do so well in such a brutal arena. Your Mother is still trying to talk to them, and I think I heard the Kojima's while I was trying to call you."

Ochako was a little surprised to hear their neighbors had dropped by, asking about her, but she knew the reality of the situation. "But I still lost, Daddy. He was able to crush me and made me give up. I didn't have a followup plan and froze. It won't be enough."

"What are you talking about, Ochako?" Her father asked in concern. "I don't understand complicated things, but just because you lost, doesn't mean you weren't amazing."

"One round won't be enough to show them what I can do, though, Daddy. The scouts need more. More information and more examples against different types of challenges," Ochako said, before her composure and her voice cracked. "I'm sorry, Daddy… I failed you."

"No, Ochako," her father told her, his kind voice helping to reassure her. "You haven't heard what they've said about you yet, have you?"

Ochako blinked, rubbing some of the tears out of her eyes. "What?"

"The news reporters have been interviewing some Pro-Heroes throughout the day, even working to pull in some well respected Pro's on to give reviews of the events and the fights. It all started after everyone was shocked by those classmates of yours. The Pro's, though, after watching events and your fight, have been praising you. They said it was a very near thing, the fact that the other boy even realized the danger he was in and how to get out of it was also amazing. They have their eye on you, Ochako."

Ochako smiled, even if she wasn't sure if it would result in anything real, it did warm her heart to hear her father gushing over her. She knew she just had to keep working at it. Like Deku.

"Daddy, I… I need to go. I need to watch the next match," Ochako said, her voice more upbeat than it had been earlier.

"Ah, yes! We'll talk to you later, Ochako. I know your mother would love to talk to you as well. Call us when you have some time."

"I will," Ochako said, standing and walking towards the door. "I love you."

"And we love you, Ochako."

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

Katsuki grumbled as he walked down the steps to the aisles that were set aside for his class. He glared at the bag of candies he had been given and instructed to eat, not enjoying their implications. Especially how many he had been given.

"Hey, Bakugo, welcome back!" Eijiro called out, catching some of their classmates' attention as he had finally arrived. "Man, that was a great match! That first move of hers would have totally taken me out of the fight. You're so lucky your Quirk allows you to move around while you're weightless!"

Katsuki almost lashed out at him, but his words were more praise than anything mocking like he had expected. Instead, he grunted as he took a seat next to Earlobe. It was the only one available that was far enough away from most of the others. Not that Earlobe enjoyed it either.

"Yes, it was an excellent match. Even with your Quirk, she almost got the upper hand against you with that maneuver," Fumikage said from a few seats over. Katsuki did growl this time, not interested in speaking about it.

"She got you good, though, with those taunts of hers, Sparkler," Ranma said, grinning as Katsuki turned to glare at him. "I couldn't hear it very well, but she definitely found the right buttons to press to get you so riled up. You were really calm at the start. Clever girl to find just the right ones."

" Shut it, you Pigtailed Bastard!" Katsuki yelled at him. The fact that said bastard's grin got even wider, annoyed him further, turning away to glare out at the field.

"Bakugo, did Shuzenji-san heal you enough from those cracked bones?" Sakura asked, leaning forward as she eyed him carefully. He turned back again, trying to dare her to continue mocking him, but only found a calm and level look. He debated the merits of remaining silent, but she was also their resident medical talent in the class.

"Yeah, she did," Katsuki said, grabbing the sugar candy that was in the bag and holding it out for her to see. He had already turned back around as he put them back in his pocket.

"Hmmm, if she gave you that many, she must have drained your stamina quite a bit. That impact was certainly harsh," Sakura said. "You don't have to eat them all at once, but I recommend you eat the rest of them before your next match. One or two every two to three minutes would be best."

Katsuki grunted, acknowledging her suggestion as being heard. He almost cursed her out when she noted the damage he had taken, but she was clinical in her evaluation.

"Yeah, that impact was worse than you made it look," Ranma added, nodding his head as he went over the facts. Katsuki growled again, hating how the conversations continued to drift in directions he didn't want it to go. "You hid the pain really well, she probably didn't realize just how close to the ropes she had you. That last dive of yours took most of what you had left at the time just to make it through. Nice job."

"What impressed me the most, was that he actually saw the trap and made the correct call in time," Peter added. "He had fractions of a second to make that determination, all the while having to juggle using his Quirk and everything else to the correct timings. Very few people would have seen that in time or done anything about it."

Katsuki was prepared to yell at them, to tell them to drop it, but he then realized something he hadn't expected from both comments. It left him a bit confused and tongue tied.

"I know professionals that wouldn't have caught that in time," Sakura threw in as well. "Drawing him in and setting it up was something my old sensei would have applauded and it was executed almost perfectly. Escaping it, though? Only the best shinobi from my Village could have pulled something like that off without some special… Quirk."

While Katsuki had only heard bits of her history, such as being a ninja and from some isolated village, he noticed her words hinted that it was an achievement. What was confusing to him, was that all three of his 'rivals' were praising him. Not in a method he was used to, such as the praise he received throughout elementary and middle school, where it was expected to give him such praise. They shrugged off his own insults while giving him small jabs and insults, but they were also not above giving him praise where they felt it was earned.

Pink Cheek's– Uraraka's words and reading his psychological profile had grated on his nerves. He knew what they had meant and it left him in an uncomfortable position, unsure of what he should do. He had opted to ignore it, but Uraraka just had to go and bring it up.

But now, Katsuki was wondering if it was something to worry about at all.

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

"It is time for match number seven!" Present Mic said as Izuku and Denki both neared their positions. "Two of the hidden aces from the Cavalry Battle are about to duke it out! First up, from the Hero Course, there is Midoriya Izuku! He showed himself as someone willing to put his body on the line and carry the burdens of his team, quite literally!"

Izuku looked at the screen, seeing the image of his final dive from the end of the second event. He winced and then smiled at the memory of it, the good and the bad involved with it.

"Versus, the boy everyone underestimated at their own peril, who almost took down every other team in the match, and someone that has gotten the attention of many! We have, also from the Hero Course, Kaminari Denki!"

Izuku had to admit, the two images side by side showcased that moment where he had defeated his team and almost everyone else as well. The first one was a closeup of Denki kneeling by the pool of water and his Quirk activating, while the second was a wide shot showing his Quirk hitting everyone. Denki was smiling at the images of him, showcasing how awesome that moment had been.

"And just like Match Five, we have a continuation of that battle between the two teams. If this is anything like that previous fight, this will be a fight to remember!"

Izuku gulped, hoping he wouldn't be steamrolled like he feared. He wanted to win, to show his strength to the world like All Might wanted him to, to tell the world 'I Am Here'. He knew he wasn't quite at that stage to grab their attention like some of the others could. But he refused to go down without a fight.

He had studied everything he had previously written down about electrical Quirks in his notebooks during the break, paying special attention to his notes regarding Denki. He had even added to the journal after the first and second events, having found video of Denki's attack on the minefield and hypothesized on how he had achieved it, as well as video of all the uses of his Quirk in the second match. What it told him was that Denki had gained a good deal of control over his Quirk. Something that was rare to see in electrical Quirks, since they tended to be hard to control and just went with the path of least resistance.

Considering what else he knew of Sakura's training group, he knew they had begun to adapt and use their Quirks in new ways. Which spoke volumes about Sakura herself, considering how many things she could do with her own Quirk. He was curious about how she had achieved that versatility and how it stacked up against Ranma's training.

That still left him with the serious problem of 'how could he fight Denki'? The fight was in an open arena, no cover, and no tools to use against him. He had asked Ranma how he had been able to withstand Denki's attack, since he hadn't gone down. Ranma explained that he had just flared his Ki. That wasn't something he could do but it had given Izuku an idea. It was risky and he might only have one shot at it but it could work.

He needed a way to get in close to attack, but Denki's attack could go everywhere. He had realized he could either attack him from range or get Denki to use too much of his power. The second wasn't a guaranteed option, but achieving the first would be hard. At least he had a plan.

"Hey, good luck, Midoriya-kun!" Denki yelled out, giving Izuku a big grin.

"You as well, Kaminari-kun," Izuku replied.

"Are the contestants ready?" Present Mic asked. Izuku nodded, as did Denki. "Start!"

Denki's arms raised quickly and a bolt of electricity shot out and impacted the cement behind Izuku's previous location. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, even as his Full Cowl finished covering his body and he gained distance. He had seen how much concentration Denki had to put into an attack to launch a bolt like that, so the start of the battle when neither could attack, would be a perfect time to allow him to build up.

"Rats!" Denki yelled out, clearly disappointed that the easy shot had missed. Without missing any more beats, he ran after Izuku to keep the pressure up.

Izuku ran to one of the corners of the arena. Turning backwards revealed that Denki was chasing him with his arms held in front of him, prepared to launch another attack.

Knowing he didn't have the time to implement his plan, Izuku took off to one of the other corners. He kept at least one eye on him as much as he could, knowing that Denki's arms were acting as a conduit, allowing him to guide his attacks. Denki kept the pressure up, not giving any time to do anything but run to the next corner. Even though Izuku was faster than Denki was, he also had to travel at least twice the distance just to keep things as they currently were.

"Get back here, Midoriya! Stop running away!"

While he wanted to start implementing the next part of his plan, Denki continued to hound him, not giving him the time he needed. So Izuku, for now, ran.

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

Toshinori watched as his protege continued to keep his distance from his classmate. From what he knew of Izuku's current progress with his Quirk, he couldn't use enough of it to protect himself from electricity like he could. His speed and strength were also far below the point he might have used them to end a fight in an instant. No, Toshinori did not envy the position Izuku found himself to be in.

"Well, Midoriya is certainly treating Kaminari's Quirk with respect," Vlad said. "Considering what we've seen so far, that is the smart play."

"Yes, it is a wise choice at this time. Kaminari's control of his Quirk is fascinating. Electrical Quirks are hard to handle, few can control it to a fine degree. But none of them had his power, either," Thirteen said as she stared down at the ring.

"Though, if you listen to some of the other Pro-Heroes that are watching, they certainly don't see it that way," Power Loader said. He shook his head as he heard the rising disappointment with how the match was proceeding.

"They aren't the only ones," Hound Dog said, his words slurring a bit as he growled in anger from where he sat in the aisle behind them. "The rest of the audience is thinking the same thing."

"It isn't the first and it will not be the last time that fools perceive events incorrectly," Vlad said evenly, as he folded his large arms across his chest. "All they are seeing is what is directly in front of them, not the potential of the situation."

Toshinori smiled, glad to see his fellow teachers respected both boy's capabilities. He just hoped Izuku could find the opportunity he was looking for.

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

Ochako rushed down the steps, barely willing to take her eyes away from the battle to make sure she arrived safely to her seat. She blushed a little, as she realized she would have to move past Katsuki to get to her seat. "Ex– excuse me, Bakugo-san."

Katsuki glared up at her, growled for a second, then grunted before sliding his feet back to allow her passage. She scrambled past as quickly as she could, both to avoid aggravating him further, while also getting to her seat so she could focus her attention on Deku-kun's fight. When she sat down next to Toru, she saw that nothing had changed yet, they were still trying to play a game of cat and mouse.

"Welcome back, Ochako," Ranma said from behind her, catching Ochako's attention for a moment. "Good fight, by the way. Good form on your taunts, suckered him in like a pro, landed the grapple and the smash. You then used the threat of your Quirk to turn it into another attack and then forced your opponent to take a severe beating to stay in the match. For your current level, I'd rate it an 'A.'"

Ochako, surprised by the praise, turned back to look at him, seeing the big grin on his face. But it was the hidden mirth in his eyes that made her gulp in fear. Ochako ignored the bark of outrage from Katsuki, knowing it was all bark compared to the agonizing bite Ranma was promising to inflict on her.

"Buuut, you didn't have a follow up. We'll have to work on that," Ranma said, tilting his head up and tapping on his chin. "Oh, and your situational awareness training is going to be bumped up some. I'm thinking blindfolds against Toru and some of the others will do you wonders! Good training for Toru, too, so her footsteps are quieter. That will give her a good bar to see how much she's progressed after training against Mezo."

Ochako paled as she pleaded with her eyes for mercy. She found none as Ranma's smirk returned. She found the pats of sympathy on her shoulder from Toru and Mezo to be minimally reassuring.

"Hmmm, Uraraka-san?"

Ochako, somewhat happy at the distraction, turned to the speaker, wondering what Peter wanted. Maybe he was going to ask her to perform some experiments with her Quirk like Deku had told her about? "Yes, Parker-san?"

"It was a little hard to hear, but I heard enough of your conversation with Bakugo," Peter was saying while everyone ignored Katsuki as he growled even louder than before. "I understand how you can get Deku from Izuku, just using the different pronunciations of the kanji for Izu to get De. I also learned how Bakugo was using the word, referring specifically to Dekunobou, the wooden dolls and how Bakugo says they are worthless, but I don't understand your usage of the word?"

Most of their class turned to them, many of them not having realized what Katsuki had meant with the word in the first place. A few of them turned to give him the stink eye, before turning to listen to Ochako's response.

"Oh!" Ochako said, realizing that since he was newer to the language, that he must not be familiar with the word she had used or at least didn't make the connection. That, or he hadn't been able to hear it. "I thought Deku sounded like dekiru, which is the verb that means 'can do!'"

Peter nodded at that, giving her a smile in thanks. "Thanks, that makes sense. I will say, the Japanese language certainly likes to play off words a lot. Of course, English does the same thing, so we're not exactly ones to talk."

"Man, English is so confusing!" Eiijiro whined. "I am definitely going to use you as my study partner for the next English test though, Peter!"

"Sure, I don't mind–," Peter started to say, before he stiffened and his attention snapped back to the arena. Ochako ignored everything else and turned back just in time.

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

Izuku knew that one part of his plan was going to fail. He had hoped that running around for so long would exhaust Denki enough that it would make him lash out in desperation or force him to slow down, but that wasn't going to happen. Denki looked as ready to keep going as he himself was, meaning that in this current stalemate, that he was at a disadvantage. And Denki was also getting smarter in his chase, making it harder to keep ahead of him.

To make it worse, Izuku had already pushed himself to his limit of being comfortable with how much he was using his Full Cowl. He normally limited himself to five percent, but he was currently running at six. While the jump was minor, it was enough to keep him ahead of his opponent for now.

But he had to create that opportunity, Denki was making progress while he wasn't. He also knew it had to be significant enough that he could actually take advantage of it. He just knew Sakura and Recovery Girl were going to be upset with him again, still it was the only way he could think of to change the equation.

Izuku waited until he drew Denki in as close to the corner as he could, not leaving himself enough time to escape based on his current output. Denki moved forward, right along the path that Izuku had predicted.

"I've got you now, Midoriya!" Denki yelled, a wild smirk forming on his face.

Izuku grunted, starting his sprint towards the tiny gap, ready to put more power into his limbs, when something within himself warned of danger. He didn't know how or where it came from, but for some reason he knew it was true. He almost set it aside as he didn't have time to think, his opportunity was almost gone. His brain sought out a reason anyways and then found one. It was the same mistake they had made in the second event.

Izuku glanced at Denki, barely detecting the hidden glee. Denki had something planned, but he didn't know what– of course he did. Izuku had shown it already. Izuku cursed himself, knowing he was falling into Denki's trap. He also hadn't used his Quirk in some time, meaning that if he could slowly build it up and focus it, he could potentially unleash a more powerful blast. He had to do something, something to escape– reverse. Reverse it.

Izuku focused on his Quirk, removing the Full Cowl and putting more power specifically in his legs, though nowhere near as much as he had at the end of the Cavalry Battle. He didn't want to cripple himself, but he needed enough to make a difference. So he put ten percent into them. They would likely hurt for the rest of this match, but would hopefully still function. Limiting it to just his legs also left the rest of his body in better condition.

With his Full Cowl turned off, which he knew could be observed by others, Izuku lowered his profile and gained as much spring in his legs and the rest of his body as he could. It was now or never for leaping through the small gap. He watched Denki raise both of his arms in a wider pattern. Izuku had no choice and leapt.

Denki's arms lit up in a flash as electricity shot out from both and created multiple large arcs, coupled with smaller arcs that sought out additional electricity or for something it could ground itself on. It covered the small gap Izuku had planned, with no chance of Izuku escaping the attack. If he had gone that way.

Denki was shocked as he found Izuku had gone the opposite direction, going through his normal range of attack that he had been avoiding for all this time and past it. Denki could have launched his attack, but he knew that with the attack he had just used now, there was too much distance between them to make sure Izuku went down and he wasn't incapacitated at the same time.

"Shit!" Denki shouted as he ran after his opponent.

Izuku reached the other end near the boundary. His legs stung badly, as if he had exercised for far too long, but he could keep going with enough willpower. Glad to know he hadn't crippled himself, Izuku glanced towards Denki, finding him scrambling to close the distance. He also saw how much power he had put into his electricity and how he hadn't attacked him when he went through his range.

Izuku kept one eye pinned to Denki, to watch for his arm's movement to warn him of another ranged attack, before putting enough of his power into his arms. He then threw a punch at the concrete and created a crater that was half a meter long. The concrete cracked and crumbled enough that Izuku reached down and lifted up a chunk as large as a basketball.

Using his strength one more time, he smashed that chunk and turned it into many smaller chunks, the size of his thumb, and gathered them up with his left arm. He never would have guessed eating single pieces of rice with chopsticks would help with situations like this.

He then stood up, his Full Cowl at five percent, and grinned. The spikey-haired blond had halted his charge and was now eyeing him with more caution than he had before. Izuku tossed one of those rocks up and down for a moment, trying to decide what to do. He considered buying himself time so he could rest, but quickly discounted that as Denki would get more benefit from it than he would. So he had to go on the offensive.

Izuku snagged the concrete stone out of the air and then threw it at Denki, trying to put enough strength into it that it would be harder to dodge and sure to hurt, but also avoiding levels where it might endanger his life.

Denki showed that this wasn't going to be so simple, as he ducked and then sidestepped the two followup attacks, while slowly closing the gap between the two of them. Izuku still had around a handful of cement stones, but his window for trying to land a hit on his carefree classmate at range was quickly closing.

It wasn't all bad, that also made it easier for Izuku as Denki began to take glancing shots. The debris hurt like hell, leaving what was surely to be some nasty bruises and some torn skin, but Denki remained focused.

Izuku was now within his range to launch an attack, but Denki was being careful. If he launched his attack while a stone was in the air, it could knock him out just as well. Denki smirked however, when Izuku realized he had just picked up the last piece from his arms. With as much care as he could, Izuku threw it, faster than his others, towards Denki's center of mass.

Denki ducked down as fast as he could, not wanting to sidestep as it could leave him off balance and mess up his shot. He lowered his torso forward as he crouched, increasing the speed of his duck as his hands halted his fall. From his crouched position and his vision having left Izuku for a moment, Denki smirked as he called upon his Quirk, ready to unleash it and end the fight.

Which was why he was startled when he heard and saw a blur of motion skip off the ground in front of him, before his stomach screamed and he was knocked backwards. It almost toppled him, however he prevented that embarrassment due to his previous attempt to stand and one of his legs was able to intercede on his behalf. He still ended up on a knee, while his voice gave an outlet for his stomach. Denki forced his way through it, turning his eyes to focus on Izuku.

Which was a good thing as he found Izuku right in front of him, sparkling with his own green electricity, grabbing him by his gym shirt and flinging him forward and towards the ring's boundary. Denki made one last desperate attempt and unleashed what he could of his current charge, sending electricity through Izuku just as he was released.

Denki flew through the air, past the platform, and crashed onto the grass well outside of the ring. He grunted as he tried to roll with it, making sure he didn't smash his head. Denki rested there, his stomach and the rest of his body complaining at the treatment, while his brain tried to handle the near overload his Quirk put him through. He spent several seconds trying to manage the pain and focus his mind, but eventually succeeded enough that he started to get to his knees and then his feet.

Denki was ready to take a nice nap, or at least zonk out, but wanted to see what the results of their fight had been. He turned towards the stage to find Izuku still standing, almost in the same state he had been in when he threw him. His face was pointing downwards, so he couldn't see him well enough. He found their referee, Midnight, was walking towards him and knew that Denki had a small hope.

"Well, folks, it looks like this fight has gone down to the wire! If Kaminari managed to knock out Midoriya before he landed out of bounds, then Kaminari wins! If Midoriya managed to stay conscious and can move, then Kaminari is out of bounds!" Present Mic yelled into the microphone while the audience held their breath in anticipation.

Midnight walked up next to Izuku, reaching a hand towards his shoulder. She pulled it back when Izuku suddenly stood up straight, his face displaying how much pain he was in when he started shouting.

"Ow! Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! That hurts!"

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

Toshinori smiled as Present Mic and Midnight declared Izuku the winner, the crowd roaring in approval. The initial disapproval had disappeared after Denki had used that wide shot, making them realize that 'closing the gap' was not so simple of a thing that they had thought it should have been.

His protege had escaped that trap and then created his own, surprising many in the audience. Toshinori had barely been able to notice Izuku's last piece in his other hand, expertly hiding it in his palm while his other hand threw what had been believed to be his last stone. A flick of the wrist from that hand, throwing it more like a kid trying to skip stones at a lake, made sure his followup had been fast enough to catch Denki by surprise.

They had all held their breaths as they wondered who had won, but it seemed Izuku had succeeded. He was going to the next round. It made Toshinori proud of the boy. While he had a difficult time understanding Izuku's situation with using their shared Quirk, since he hadn't been limited like Izuku was on how much he could use, he had worried about how to train him after the first time he had used it.

Toshinori gave thanks yet again for Ranma's arrival, being there to fill in for him on how to help Izuku get a handle on things. The boy-slash-girl was also amazing for combat training, having observed them for the last several weeks. They never seemed to have any difficulty finding a way to train his students. Ranma covered weaknesses and built up strengths, gave them theoretical and practical advice, and threw them in situations where they had to scramble to grow.

He had experienced something similar when he was their age, having been put through the wringer by his own sensei. He wondered what the Old Man would think of Izuku, or of Ranma. Probably nod in approval at Ranma's methods.

"I have to say, I am surprised by the skill that Aizawa's students are displaying," Vlad said, grunting with approval. "All of you know how the two of us study our students in advance so we can plan accordingly. But they are out performing Aizawa's expectations significantly. Especially Midoriya there."

"Oh? Why is that?" Thirteen asked, turning her head inside her dome to look at him.

"Remember what he did to the Zero-Pointer at the Practical Exam?" Vlad said, making many of the teachers smile or wince. "Well, Aizawa found out Izuku has never really used his Quirk before. Which, if he could injure himself like that if he had no control of it, made good sense why he never used it. Without Recovery Girl, it would take months of recovery and would have been impossible for him to learn anything."

Toshinori sweated nervously at the direction Vlad was taking the discussion. He trusted his fellow teachers, enough so that he wasn't worried about the truth of his weakened form being revealed to them. The truth about his Quirk was another matter, as it put them and Izuku in more danger. Maybe not as much as it would have been years ago, before his injury, but still dangerous.

"Oh?" Thirteen asked, curious. "I had seen the results of Aizawa's Quirk Apprehension test, and the boy showed far more control. Not to mention during the Villain attack. Are you saying he didn't have that control during the practical exam?"

"Yes," Vlad said as he stared down as both boys were put onto stretchers and taken away to see Recovery Girl by some of the robots that had been designated for that task today. "I asked Eraser Head about it, and he said that Saotome had taken him to the side and walked him through on gaining enough control of his Quirk in less than an hour."

Toshinori smiled at the memory while every other teacher there that hadn't been aware of it turned to stare at the homeroom teacher for Class 1-B.

"In less than an hour? How?" Ectoplasm asked from the row above them.

"Ah, Young Saotome's abilities work similarly enough with Young Midoriya's, that he was able to guide him through controlling his Quirk," Toshinori said, catching their attention, hoping to make sure they didn't delve too closely into that mystery. "I had been nearby that day, worried about some of the students because of the Practical Exam and to be on hand if it was needed. Aizawa-san sent them near where I was hiding at the time, not wanting to interfere with his test, and I overheard Young Saotome help Young Midoriya. They worked through the theoretical first and walked him through the steps until he could summon his power without injuring himself."

"Yes," Vlad said, giving Toshinori a side eye, before turning back to look at the field as Cementoss started repairing the ring. "Having heard that, along with the Principal's approval, is why I was okay with some of my students participating in Saotome's club. The results have been better than I had anticipated."

"Yes, they have," Toshinori grinned at his fellow teachers.

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

Pony fidgeted as she waited for the okay to enter the field. She had left her classmates behind, all of them giving her encouragement to do her best. Even Neito, in his own strange way that tended to include disparaging comments towards those from Class A, gave her encouragement. Unfortunately, it achieved the opposite effect and made her more nervous to go out there. After all, she was the only one from her class to make it into the finals. She was just glad no-one appeared upset with her for having done so by joining together with her first friend she had met at U.A.

And that was an additional thing to make her nervous, thoughts of Peter and their friendship. Their shared circumstances of coming from America had been a bedrock for her, someone she could rely on. While she had been saddened to learn he would be in Class A and not B, Peter didn't let that interfere and shared lunch with her every day so far.

Learning that Peter was some sort of Super Genius was amazing at first, but then Pony had become concerned that he would quickly drift away or find her intelligence insufficient to remain friends. But again, he didn't let it interfere, still talking with her and even discussing various manga or anime with her and more than willing to discuss her interests.

The U.S.J. attack by the mass of Villains had made her worry for his safety, but he and everyone in their class had been safe. And as she learned from Eijiro, Peter was one of the reasons it had gone as well as it had because of that Super Genius part he had played, having a suit that talked to the outside world and performed near miracles. That wasn't including just how easy Peter had handled the danger, shrugging it off and handling the after-effects as if it had been a surprise exam that he was prepared for.

And then there was today. She had heard about how strong some of the students from Class A were from Eijiro's story or rumors people had heard. Yet that first event had clearly shown that they surpassed their expectations by a magnitude at least. She had heard and seen the destruction that had occurred to the massive Zero-Pointers, most of them destroyed by the time she had escaped the tunnel. And she was about to fight the girl that had destroyed four of them with a single punch!

Peter had been one of those titans, competing with Haruno and Saotome, fighting and performing incredible feats and not showing an ounce of fear. Pony realized how much that divide had grown, how much of it had already existed, knowing it was just a matter of time before he wouldn't be able to be her friend anymore. Inviting her to join his team for the second event had been wonderful, but she didn't see the end result changing.

The only hope she felt she had was to show how strong of a hero she could be. So of course out of the gate she was put against one of the worst picks she could possibly have. Even with Peter trying to give her encouragement and tell her it was okay, she knew she had no chance against Haruno. And she didn't know what to do.

"And now for the final match of round one to begin!" Present Mic sounded out from the speakers, breaking her out of her introspection.

Pony took a deep breath and walked out onto the field with as much confidence as she could. She listened as Present Mic spoke about her as she walked to the ring. She saw Haruno walking forward in front of her, giving her a small and friendly smile.

Pony tried to return it, but her nervousness broke through, causing her to wince and peek over towards where Peter and her own class were sitting. Her attempt at appearing strong had already cracked and it hurt her to know it likely sped up the inevitable. She turned her eyes back to her opponent, but found Haruno looking at her with curiosity. The pink-haired girl's eyes then drifted towards their classmates for a moment, before her eyes lit up and her smile returned. Pony sighed in defeat, knowing the situation was getting worse by the minute.

"Tsunotori-san?" Haruno asked.

"Umm, yes? Haruno-san?" Pony responded, hoping it wasn't anything bad. She hadn't heard anything negative about Haruno, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen.

"You're Parker's friend, right?" Haruno asked her. Pony nodded in affirmation before Haruno continued, "I know why you're nervous."

Pony blinked, surprised by the comment and wondered if she really did. "What?"

"I've been there. I know what it's like to watch your friends progress in front of you, leaving you to always watch their back as they get further and further ahead. Making it feel as if there is nothing you can do to be there with them," Haruno said calmly.

Pony froze, surprised by just how accurate she had been. "You do?" Pony asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I do," Haunro said and gave her a reassuring nod. "It's a nauseous feeling in your gut when you realize you won't be there for them when they need you most, that you can't help them because you aren't good enough. Especially after they were there for you when you needed them. You want to return the favor, as often as you can."

Pony felt her eyes water, finding that, if nothing else, that Haruno at least understood her. But she was so strong. How strong were her friends? "Did– did you ever close the gap?"

"Not completely," Haruno said, "but I also learned to do things that they couldn't. I was there to help them in ways that they needed and I stood with them and was acknowledged by them."

Pony nodded her head, glad that the other girl had been able to achieve her goal.

"... and so can you," Haruno said. Pony jerked her head to stare into Haruno's eyes, wondering if she was telling the truth. "The first step is to make the decision that you will do it."

"Contestants, are you ready?" Present Mic asked, interrupting her thoughts for a moment. Pony paused, thinking over Haruno's words, before she resolved to herself that she would and then nodded.

"Start!"

Pony jumped backwards, as she aimed her horns towards Haruno's position, who was already closing the gap. She shot off a set, followed by another in a rapid fire motion for a moment. Putting her fingers up next to her head to guide them, all four of her horns altered their path and tried to hit her from different angles.

Haruno proved herself able to dodge them with ease, though it did slow her down. The pink-haired girl grabbed two in one hand and then the other two with the other before flinging them into the ground hard enough to crack the concrete and embedded them inside. Pony had no more horns in the air and not enough space between them to guide any more, so she shot one pair to act as a momentary deterrence, before flinging herself backwards, trying to keep ahead of her.

When she reached the end of the boundary, she turned around in panic as she saw Haruno leap at her. She would be on her in a flash with nowhere to escape. Which was exactly what Pony had wanted.

Pony ducked just as her two horns she had shot off impacted Haruno in both of her shoulders from behind, pushing Sakura out of bounds to give Pony the win. It had worked, surprising her with how well she had done. She was–

Pony looked on in confusion as Haruno disappeared in a puff of smoke. Her horns impacted the ground a moment later and her opponent was nowhere in sight. Pony turned around, looking behind her, left, right, and then above. She continued to be nowhere in sight. Where could she have gone?

Pony heard the rumble beneath her at the same time she felt both of her hoofs had been grabbed. She stared downwards to see the shocking sight of both of Haruno's hands grasping her, sticking out of broken concrete as if it was nothing. She then felt herself flipping backwards, causing her to land on her butt and out of bounds.

Pony winced, the pain in her butt was minor compared to the mixture of emotions and feelings of betrayal toward the other girl. And she wasn't sure if she should feel that way which added even more on top of the whole mess. She listened as Present Mic called the match and watched as Haruno stepped out of the concrete as easily for her as if it had been water.

"Good match, Tsunotori-san," Haruno said as she brushed off some of the loose gravel and dust before her hand was held out to her, which Pony took. "That was a good trick you pulled. You always controlled them when you put your fingers up next to your head, but you didn't this time. That would have worked against most people."

"Thank you, Haruno-san," Pony said, smiling at the praise.

"Call me Sakura. And you can leave the honorifics off if you want."

"You can call me Pony then, Sakura," Pony said as she grinned at her new friend.

"Sure thing! And if you want assistance in closing that gap, I'm willing to help. All you have to do is ask."

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

"Way to go, Sakura!" Keiko called out as she appeared out of the ground. They had been surprised and worried for a brief moment, wondering what had happened, before she showed herself.

Kenji chuckled as the gathering had increased in size from visitors, workers, and even some of the healthier patients. He was glad to see so many people invested in Sakura's success. He knew more of what she was capable of than most, even if it was surprising to see it instead of just their descriptions. But for those that had no idea, he got a chuckle as Sakura continued to display new techniques. Due to how limited most Quirks were, it was understandable to be confused by how many different techniques she could call upon.

"I knew she was strong, Shuzenji-sensei," Junko said, shaking her head in near disbelief. "But this seems impossible."

"It can certainly look that way at times," Ai responded, utilizing the downtime between matches to keep up on her patients' status.

"You guys should check out the news feeds and discussion boards, they are freaking out about her Quirk!" Keiko said, having turned to her phone once again.

"I'll have to look at those later, if nothing else than for a good laugh," Kenji said. He was about to turn back to the T.V. when he noticed Junko sat up a little straighter and put finger to the earbud she was wearing. An earbud tuned to the local police chatter. "Is something wrong, Junko-chan?"

"... possibly," Junko said as she continued to listen. The rest of them hoped nothing would come of it, but would wait until they learned more.

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

Aizawa listened as Hizashi finished up commentary on the last match as the next round was being prepared. While he did chime in occasionally, it was mainly to act as a voice of reason or to rein in his friend when he went overboard. The loudmouth sometimes did it on purpose, just to get him to speak up.

Hizashi then went over highlights of the first round fights, praising all of the students for being able to go above and beyond. Aizawa knew he should feel happy and proud of the progress his students had made. Many in the audience didn't understand just how much they had grown in just a few weeks. They were pulling off feats he would have thought were beyond them at this stage in their development.

They were learning to be adaptive and to create plans on the fly, effective and devastating plans at that. Even those that weren't participating in any training were learning to adapt just by watching the ones that were.

At any other time, their progress would have made him smile. Even with the knowledge that Saotome, Haruno, and Parker may be from… elsewhere, he thought his other students' progress would still have pleased him. He had followed the Principal's suggestion, about letting the three of them train whoever they could. To encourage it, even.

But their improvements didn't make him smile. It did the opposite. And he knew why.

He had, at first, thought it was just part of the equation for changing the world. Now that he was aware of it, he started to see their influence on the future. Their impact would be significant, so training his students should have been unnecessary for those changes to occur. While it made sense to help Midoriya, it made him question why there was so much focus on training the rest of them?

The answer was unsettling. That chasm that had formed in his gut weeks ago made him worried for his students. For their safety. He feared that they were growing at such a rapid pace not as a side benefit, but because they would be needed.

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

Chapter 17 - End

Author's Notes - Thanks again to my Beta-readers: Boldish, Iron, Misswiggles, and Theforgetfulaclhemist

While I think Boldish's progress is enough that I could change back to bi-weekly since he is already done with 18 and currently working on 19, I still would prefer to give it a bit more space. So it is looking likely to be four weeks before I release Ch. 18 here, but I may shorten that to three if things go well enough.

I've started on the first drafts for Arc 4 and it will possibly be shorter than I had expected for certain elements, though others have lengthened as well. It will likely end up similar in length to Arc 2 or a little longer.