My internet was slow earlier, making it impossible to load anything, but it's cleared up since.

And we've reached it, the end of an era as the manga for MHA has ended, and I won't spoil it, but it was a pretty nice ending, had me having feelings about it, though that's mainly because I first got into MHA when season 3 was still airing, so 2018 more or less and it's been one of those manga that continued even as other seasonal anime came and went for 6 years now for me. It had its ups and downs, stuff that I didn't like, but through it all, I loved the story and the experience. Dammit, it's AoT all over again, now before I start crying, let's talk about this chapter.

It was a bit tricky to write, and some stuff got delayed as without Grammarly Premium, I have to spend extra time in the writing of the first draft phrase, as I can't rely on it to offer me better sentence construction or word choices(thank you, thesaurus). That said, the fights I have set for this chapter came out pretty smoothly, even if the results seemed obvious even when they were first announced.

Chapter 33: Opening Matches

"Does he bulk up like Shishida?" Tsuburaba asked, but Kamakiri scoffed at it.

"Even if he does, our guy is going to clean his clock." Kamakiri was sure of that fact, and his confidence was infectious. The mood among the students of class B was high, while Monoma had been bested, it was an honest 50/50 on either side, one that couldn't repeat if their guy won this second match.

Midoriya especially was excited about this as while he saw his classmate use their quirks all the time in training, that didn't mean he was tired of it it was the opposite, each time he saw it he wanted to see it more as he'll answer some questions, only to discover more. A point all the more exhilarating as Shishida would be up against Sato from class A, a novel experience as he was only…painfully familiar with Bakugo, he hadn't even seen Tsu train yet.

'Maybe I should ask, would that be rude? It doesn't feel like it would. I'll ask Hado-sempai about it, she knows this kind of stuff!' Midoriya thought to himself, happily humming to himself, Tokage hiding a smirk at how excited Hebimi got with stuff like this. Resisting the urge to pet him, she turned back to the stage and waited for things to start, which was sooner than they expected as the bonfires came alive.

The sight of the flames was so mesmerizing that Midoriya had to tear his attention off them when Present Mic spoke, "Thanks for the wait, good thing that fight didn't damage anything so let's move on to the second match!"

"And that match will be between these guys!" Pointing to the massive screens, they changed to show both competitors, all those that had made it to the finals were asked to pose for pictures first. Shishida looked prim and proper in his, while Sato looked like he had been caught off guard and didn't know how he wanted to look, so he went with something that seemed natural but didn't quite fit.

But the two had already made their way into the field and arena, so when Present Mic went on for the introductions, both stood ready. "In the one corner, he's big, he's bad and he takes the concept of a sugar power hour to a whole other level! From the hero course, it's Sato Rikido!"

"When did I get bad?" Sato asked himself.

"And in the other corner, he's the beast of his class, but sophisticated and more well-mannered than an English gentleman, from the hero course, it's Shishida Jurota!" Present Mic introduced Shishida, the tall boy letting out a bemused grunt.

"Not the most descriptive opening for a fight, but it shall do." He stated as he faced down his opponent, meanwhile, those in his class wondered about something.

"Hey, is it me, or is that Sato guy bigger than he was before," Kaibara asked as Sato was a big guy already, but he looked like he packed on another 20kg worth of muscle in the hour since they last saw him, even his uniform was stretched over his muscular body.

Looking closer, others could see it, and Tokage thought about it as well. "It's not just sure, is that his quirk? Is he allowed to activate it before the match?"

"It was a concession," They turned to class A, where Yaoyorozu was pocking her head over the wall, she gave Midoriya a wave, one that he returned with a smile before she continued. "His quirk requires that he consume sugar to use it, so he requested to be allowed to before his match."

"Oh, that makes sense, why does that mean we can request something like that?" Awase asked.

"Maybe, but I don't see the need. Everyone remaining in the tournament can fight just fine without it." Tetsutetsu shrugged, with Tsunotori, Midoriya, and Shiozaki agreeing with him. Even if their opponents used it, it didn't seem like a big deal, just a means to give their foes a fighting chance if that was the case.

"Now, make this second match a little more entertaining, won't you guys? Cool! Ready…?" Both groups' attention was returned to the arena by Present Mic's words, where they saw Sato and Shishida raising their fists in a standard boxing stance. "Start!" With a yell, Sato rushed Shishida, who activated his quirk, increasing in size and bulk as well, his teeth growing more pronounced as he blocked the strike from Sato.

Despite that, he could still feel the force of the blow passing through his arms. "He's as strong as he looks!" The furred teen growled but smiled all the while as he pulled back his fist. "But if he's going to fight me head-on, I welcome it!" He laughed as he punched Sato right in the face, and while it didn't do as much damage as he thought, he did force the sugar-fueled teen back.

From there, the two engaged in a furious, quirk brawl with seemingly little strategy other than just hitting the other guy till he gave up or was knocked out. At least, that was Sato's plan as he figured out he was stronger, if only a little than Shishida and moved to press him toward the boundary line. Shishida on the other hand, was the faster and smarter of the two, so realized what his foe was doing quickly.

The crowds loved it as they cheered for the two, watching as Sato bulldozed forward, unstoppable with blows that came fast and hit hard while Shishida was the faster of the two, evaded most of Sato's punches, firing his own with hit anyway he saw an opening, especially his sides which got the most obvious reactions. However, Shishida snarled as he saw that Sato wasn't going down no matter where or how hard he struck him, Present's Mic commentary all the while wasn't helping.

Pulling back, he did notice something about his opponent, for while he was still up, there was something…off with his face, he looked exhausted, but not in the way one would be from a hard physical bout, but from…thinking? "I…I win! I…hit hard!" Sato slurred out, charging once more, but slower than before, and far less coordinated. Which fed a suspicion in Shishida's head about Sato.

Slapping aside his straight left and hitting him with a heavy uppercut, Shishida suspected that while he and Sato had similar quirks, they also came with similar downsides. 'We both can bulk up and drastically increase our physical prowess. But where I give more to the beastly instincts when I use my power, it seems like Sato sacrifices intelligence.' Shishida's eyes narrowed, his nose picking up the smell of sweat off Sato, far more than what he would expect for about as short as this, but perhaps it was a sign of how much he was taxing his diminished mind to keep up.

Sato shrugged off the blow and was back at it again, but Shishida had a much easier time reading his movements, landing more blows and evading others. 'That would explain his fighting style, it's basic and easy for even a simpleton to keep up, but it seems that a slowed mind means he can't think as fast about what he's doing as well as how to respond.' Shishida was similar in that while he took up boxing classes, he also trained to be able to fight like an animal for times when his quirk got the better of him.

But Shishida had the edge as even at his worst, the animal within him was observant, decisive, and intelligent-at least in the ways of a fight. But he didn't wish to push things to that extent, not when he could end things faster.

Avoiding a wide right hook, Shishida knocked Sato's arm further off, throwing the boy off his balance and allowing him the chance to get behind him and get him into a headlock. As Sato struggled against him, Shishida strained to keep him from breaking his hold, all while he moved them closer to his goal. "You're tough, there's no question there you're also slow!"

With a roar, he released Sato but when then grabbed him by the back of the head and threw him across the boundary line into the grass where he landed with a thwomp and a zombie-like groan.

"Sato has been thrown out of bounds! Shishida progresses to the next round!" Midnight snapped her whip, with the spectators cheering for their winner as Shishida took a breath and shrunk, the animal returning to his cave as he looked towards the people and waved in victory.

"Looks like brains beat brawns then? Though maybe Brawns had a little bit of a role there, you saw that throw?" Present Mic fed into the mood of the audience as the medical bots had to enter the field to escort Sato off, the boy far too gone to be trusted to manage on his own.

"Shishida realized that he could use his opponent's strength against them, a solid tactic not just in hero work, but in any fight as just punching each other till one goes down takes time and could be dangerous. Still, while it worked this time, it might not be the next so while he managed to make it to the next round, he shouldn't get complacent." Vlad commented as Shishida bowed to the audience and walked off.

"Wise words from his teacher, but come on, show him some love!" Present Mic pocked his fellow commentator's side.

"I did."

"That's our boy!" Kamakiri cheered for Shishida as they saw his name move up the bracket to the next round where he'll face off against Shinso, an assured victory for him as well.

"Oh man, Sato could have totally had that!" Hagakure on the other side of the wall, was more dejected about their loss.

"He was definitely stronger, but it wasn't like it was much on who can lift the most," Uraraka noted.

"(Kero) He needs to work on that weakness of his as he'll be in trouble if that kind of thing happens in the field," Asui added to the conversation as this wasn't a once off, Sato's been dealing with that since their first day where he started acting weird during their quirk assessment. She had been worried that Aizawa was going to expel him just for that regardless of how well he performed.

"Maybe he took too much sugar or something? You know it works." Sero suggested as he didn't know the details but he knew that the greater the buff Sato gave himself, the higher the cost in intelligence he pays for it.

"And because of that, he pulled a Kaminari and went big without thinking of how he'll go home." Jiro shrugged, as it was a loss, but not something that should be cried over. After all, regardless of what Aizawa told them before, this was their first festival, they had a month's training at best coming into this, so Sato would have a much better chance next year.

Kaminari on the other hand, took offense to Jiro's comments. "Hey, I think ahead!"

"Remember our first hero class." That shut up, as he fell back into his seat, moping. Yanagi was curious about what could have occurred between the two, but not enough to inquire about it. Instead, she turned her attention to the next two matches.

"Well, you guys have a chance to have the quarter-final match by class A exclusive," Yanagi stated, as if Iida won this match, then it wouldn't matter who won the 4th as it would be someone from class A, meaning that like how they were assured at least one person making it to the semi-finals, so was class A.

"She's right, now if you'll excuse me, I must make ready for my match." Iida stood up and marched off.

"Dude, you're up against Hatsume from support, you got this." Sero waved it off, but Iida turned on his heel towards him with words to say.

"Even if we're in different classes, it would be disrespectful to her and the very concepts of proper heroism and sportsmanship to face her with any less than my best!" Iida berated him, his arm chopping at his classmate as Midoriya giggled at the scene. Tsu said Iida was somewhat of a stickler for the rules and ideals of heroism, but it was quite a sight to see it for himself.

"He's right, you know. Remember the story of the rabbit and the tortoise." He agreed with the speedster, who gave him a nod before leaving to get ready, the two groups continuing to discuss the upcoming match.

"Iida's got the speed, does that mean Hatsume is just determined?" Tsunotori wondered as she recalled reading the story and laughing as a kid at how stupid the rabbit had been. Sleeping on the job? That's how you got fired.

Monoma tapped his chin in through, as Hatsume had certainly left an impression on him. Eccentric, but reliable and extremely positive and intelligent were words he would use to describe her. But ones he wouldn't be would be courteous, respectful for even mindful of her situation or words.

"Well, I would certainly say she's an…focused individual. She's only competing to advertise her skills as a support engineer, that was why she even bothered to team up with us." He eventually stated, with Tsunotori and Tetsutetsu agreeing with him as they recalled that Hatsume had made no secret of why she worked for them, and hardly recalled their names, often getting them wrong no matter how many times they corrected her.

"Alright people, after the clash of muscles, we move on to the 3rd match!" Monoma was surprised that they were moving this fast as it had only been a few minutes, with the straight-backed Iida being put on screen alongside the confident Hatsume, the two already walking onto the field.

"For a speedster, he's pretty slow as he came in 9th in the obstacle race but his team took first place in the calvary battle! From the hero course, it's Iida Tenya!" Iida didn't react to his less-than-stellar introduction and resolved to make up for it by defeating his current foe.

"And his opponent, she's fully equipped with who knows how many support items, does she have the kitchen sink too? From the support course, it's Hatsume Mei!" Again, Hatsume was as confident as she was happy to be on such a stage, the girl covered with an assortment of her custom-built support items, including her trusty steampunk-inspired goggles.

"She doesn't have combat training, but she can make up for that with support tools," Tokage noted.

"And your team was pretty powerful last round, no small part due to her." Honenuki looked towards Tetsutetsu, but then back to the field as something strange was happening.

"Yeah but…why is Iida also packing?" Midoriya asked as Iida strapped on some strange backpack to his person. Midoriya wasn't the only one lost about this unexpected move from Iida, as Midnight glanced towards the class A student, wondering why someone so straight-laced would break the rules so openly like this.

"Generally, it's against the rules for those from the hero course to use any support items during the sports festival. Exceptions are only made for those who require them and submit petitions." She informed him, which to his credit, she could tell from how Iida reacted that he hadn't been aware of that.

"I forgot about that! I assumed that since my classmate was allowed his belt I would too be permitted!" Iida explained himself.

And while that seemed logical, Midnight moved to correct his false assumption. "He submitted the petition, but I was not informed if you did the same, did you?" She asked, though she knew that he didn't, as this was more a test of character.

It was a test that Iida passed as he quickly bowed to her and the school.

"I did not, and I apologize for my error in judgment! However, I was moved by my opponent's sportsmanship as even though she knew we would face off against one another, she still offered me the chance to use her item! She said that even though she was in support, she wished for us to have an even match, in the fact of such spirit, I couldn't refuse!" Iida both apologised and in turn, asked her.

Midnight being passive the entire time she listened to him, but when she finished, she immediately gushed out. "So youthful!" Oh, it was things like this that made her love teaching, her earnest desires, her competitive spirit, her strong sportsmanship, and her drive to prove one's self with any dirty tricks. He was just like his brother, a little rough around the edges but he could mellow out!

But the moment passed and she was back into referee mode, as if she hadn't just acted like an excited teenage girl. "I'll allow it!"

"Wait, that's it?" Tetsutetsu asked as that seemed like it should have been a bigger thing.

"She…she's ref so she's the one with the final say." Fukidashi shrugged, though he didn't seem certain of that statement.

"If Hatsume was the one that proposed it, and Iida agreed, then there's no real argument against it," Midoriya replied, though it did come off as off to him. Support students were the ones who fought at a disadvantage, that was why they were allowed as many items as they could carry. If anything, Iida would be the one that would offer her kind of handicap.

Monoma agreed, though his suspicions were emboldened by his time working with Hatsume, it might have been brief but he felt like he had a pretty solid picture of her character and while not malicious, Hatsume was certainly not the type he would say would offer her opponent a means to 'make things fair'.

No, she was selfish and driven to accomplish her own goals, she might be willing to work with others to achieve that, but to willfully compromise on that. That seemed out of left field, there had to be more here, something she didn't tell Iida.

"Hold on, Hatsume is not the person that would do that. She wants to win, and show off her stuff to all the investors." Tsunotori reminded them, confused about her former teammate's plans, but that reminder also was the final piece that Monoma needed to solve the puzzle. She didn't just offer Iida any items, but her items. Her goal wasn't necessarily to win the festival but to show off what she could do…what she could make.

"Yeah, what gives?" Tetsutetsu asked, though Monoma felt like he realized what her game was, and when he looked down at the field and saw Hatsume's smile shift just a little, onto one he had worn many times before, that suspicion became fact.

"Wait…she gave Iida all that…oh this will be glorious to watch." Monoma relaxed into his seat, the rest of his class wondering what he was thinking, all except Honenuki who while lacking some pieces, was better at building up scenarios in his head.

"She wouldn't." He stated, as that was just insane.

"She did, she totally did!" Monoma laughed, joined by Kamakiri and Tokage as Hatsume walked off the field. She had done what many would never have imagined as while Monoma and Honenuki suspected she had tricked Iida into using her gear to better advertise how it would be used in the hands of a hero, but she hacked into the speakers of the arena to give an own presentation with Iida her unwitting dummy.

He couldn't even stop her, she planned her items around keeping her well out of reach of him, with plenty of counters to further keep the fight going. And she wanted it to keep going as even when it seemed like Iida would fall out of bounds, the 'borrowed' support items would keep him within the limits and they did their job for 10 painful minutes.

"Oh man, she…she's just a riot!" Kamakiri laughed, barely keeping in his seat with Uraraka popping up over the barrier, furious that he could take such joy from Iida's shame as the boy was left dejected in the middle of the field, the win handed to him by Hatsume like one-handed a bag of trash.

"It's not funny, she tricked him!" Uraraka yelled as Present Mic and Vlad took back control of the speakers and struggled to explain any of what happened.

"Hey, she didn't lie, her stuff kept in in the match there, not her fault that he couldn't touch her." Tokage snickered as while far from a clean fight, technically, Hatsume had done what she said. She made the fight fair by turning it into a farce.

"Just be happy that she's only interested in advertising, as she could have won that fight much sooner than that," Monoma added, though that felt like it would have been a better option for Iida as at least people could remember his match as a solid battle.

"Still, Hatsume shouldn't have just used him like that. Iida trusted her words and her intent when he agreed to that." Midoriya tried to defend Iida from this as the spectacled boy finally left the field, head down.

"Maybe so," Kendo admitted, but with a frown, she continued. "But you saw that match, I have a feeling she would have done the same regardless of if Iida agreed, she probably would have just repeated this if Iida had fallen out earlier." No, she knew that someone like that wouldn't have stopped just because Iida lost the match, she would have done the same in the quarter-finals and if she went up against someone as aggressive and short-tempered as Bakugo, it wouldn't have been pretty, regardless of if he could land a hit on her.

"So, Iida had to take the hit for the rest of us? Man, that sucks." Tetsutetsu shook his head, hoping that his fight wouldn't nearly be as embarrassing to watch or perform in.

"I mean, Hatsume kept calling us nicknames, so respect is not a strength of hers," Tsunotori added with a grimace.

"Well, I'm just gonna get going now, if I see Iida along the way, I'll pass him some love, guys!" Mina jumped to her feet and made a hasty retreat, waving at her class as she left.

"Good luck out there!" Kirishima yelled at her as she rushed off, with Bakugo grunting as he got up, his hands in his pocket and back slouched.

"Hey man, don't go too hard on Mina," Kaminari asked but Bakugo just snorted at him.

Glaring his shoulder at Kaminari, Bakugo retorted. "Say that when you actually make it to the finals, dunce head." And then left, leaving Kaminari wondering if today was just not his day.

"Harsh, Bakugo. Harsh." He muttered as he slumped into his seat.

"Hey, Midoriya," Kendo asked, drawing Midoriya's attention. "Between Ashido and Bakugo, who's gonna win this?" Midoriya thought about it, as while most of his memories around Bakugo were far from pleasant, even he-especially he could tell you that he was incredible. Every bit the potential top hero people always called him.

"I can't say, Kacchan's always been amazing and he's not just strong with his quirk, but smart as well. But I don't know what Ashido's quirk is so I can't really make a judgement." He wasn't focused too much on Ashido in the last, nor had they spoken so he knew little about her quirk.

"Kacchan?" Hagakure asked allowed. Was Midoriya referring to Bakugo? She was pretty sure that wasn't his first name.

Shiozaki pulled the conversation away from that path. "Well, if I recall the last event right, it seemed like Ashido's quirk has something to do with acid, perhaps she could keep him at a distance with it?"

"Maybe, but would that even burn him? Kacchan's body must have some heat resistance and burns thanks to his quirk." Midoriya thought aloud as while he could burn Kacchan, his flames burned crazy hot.

"Explosive burns, maybe. But I doubt he'll fare any better than I if he was subject to acid burns." Shishida stated, that having just returned from the arena, his class welcomed him with pats on the back and words of welcome and congratulations.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Bakugo took the win. His attitude might be completely horrid and more suited to a rabid wolverine, but he's probably the best fighter in class and has the 3rd best quirk for combat on top of that, just behind Tokoyami and Todoroki." Asui threw in her opinion on things, with others nodding along with her, or just laughing at her accurate description of their classmate.

"Okay, that last match was weird as heck, but we have plenty more! Starting with the fourth match!" Present Mic was quick to try and cover up the mess that was Hatsume's stunt as sure, U.A. believed in personal freedoms and not following the group, but there had to be some limits. Fortunately, it seemed like the spectators were just as willing to move on to the next fight.

"He was kinda famous back in middle school and has a face that screams 'rage and fury'! From the hero course, Bakugo Katsuki!" Present Mic introduced him as Bakugo stood with his hands still in his pocket, and making a face that one could only assume the standard thug made while they waited for old ladies to pass by to rob.

"And his opponent, is something going to come out of those horns of hers? I don't know! From the hero course, it's Ashido Mina!" Ashido was much more open, doing some last-minute stretches with an eager grin on her face. She might be up against someone she knew was better than her, but that didn't mean she was just going to roll over.

If she played her cards right, she could give Bakugo a little taste of humble pie, maybe then he wouldn't cause as many issues in class.

"You know, you're awfully confident there, Bakugo. Don't you know you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch?" She snickered, but Bakugo didn't take the bait at all.

Still as arrogant as normal, he replied. "Just make this worth my time, Racoon eyes." His response proved to be the one that got under Ashido's skin as she was getting sick and tired of his nicknames! If he was going to use one, he could at least use something cool, like Killer Queen or Something!

"I told you; my name is Ashido Mina! Do I have to melt it onto your forehead, 'cause I totally will if you don't quite it with the nicknames!" She yelled at him, Midnight having a smile at their antics, but wiping it off her face as Present Mic started things.

"Ready?" Both got ready for the fight. "Start!" Without warning, Bakugo's hands left his pockets and aimed to his rear, blasting him towards Mina, his right pulled back for an attack which she avoided by shooting acid the soles of her shoes and sliding back, still, she felt the heat from the explosion on her arms which she held up in defense.

"Dang, you don't hold back, do you?" She asked him, using her acid to increase her mobility, but Bakugo didn't respond, not with words anyway as he pushed the attack. Turning on a dine, Bakugo blasted towards her again, the distance she built up between them meaning little as he fired off an explosion to her side, getting a pained, surprised scream from her.

She countered with a glob of acid, but compared to his speed, she might as well be moving at a snail's pace as he easily evaded her acid, if not dissipated it with explosions, all while attacking her from every angle, not caring for her grasps and screams as the blast tore into her. but she wasn't going to do down easy, as even he sent a blast to her face that had her landing on her back with a wheezy moan, she still got back up, slow as that was.

There was something in Bakugo's eye, maybe it was frustration that she wouldn't roll over, maybe it was respect that she wouldn't roll over. She didn't know and he didn't say as he shifted, launching himself at her again. This time, she was ready as she knew she couldn't counter him, but she could still hit him if she planned for where he'd be. This entire time, he had always charged straight on ahead and then dived to either her left or right, so if she cupped acid in both hands, she could throw it in which direction he tried to attack her from.

It was a good plan, but one doomed to fail as Bakugo did neither of those things, as at the last second, instead of attacking her, his arm came forward and sent a blast right into her face, Mina coughed as she inhaled the smoke, the explosion not as strong as the others, but it did blind her for a moment, more then enough time for Bakugo who used the smokescreen and the power from the blast to shift himself upwards and behind her, where he fired off a stronger, more concentrated blast right into her back.

"Ga!" Mina coughed as the air was expelled from her lungs, her body thrown into the concrete without mercy. She threw her hands up to try and catch herself, but the acid she had pre-prepared backfired on her as upon contact with concrete, it didn't melt as she had made it for attacking Bakugo and didn't want to hurt him too badly, but it did make the concrete slippery.

As a result, her left hand slipped and she heard her pop, and then let out a cry as she dislocated her wrist. Her day wasn't made better when she felt Bakugo stomp on her back, turning her head, she saw him standing over her, his hand held up with explosions popping.

"We done yet?" Ashido wanted to throw acid at his crotch so badly just for that comment, but aside from that being the literal dick move, he would see that coming as she couldn't use one hand. Looking towards where Midnight watched over things, Ashido sighed as she laid her head on the ground.

"Ashido has surrendered! Bakugo advances to the next round!" Midnight declared as Bakugo removed his foot from her back, Ashido getting up, wincing from all the cutes and burns she now had.

Bakugo, as she expected, didn't lift a finger to help her as he turned to leave. "Well, that was a good warm-up, Raccoon eyes." She ground her teeth at the fact he still used that stupid nickname, that she hadn't even registered as a threat to him.

This took longer than normal, but at least I'm not posting this close to Midnight. I know, low bar but it's still a bar. On another note, I wasn't expected to cover 3 matches in this chapter, even if one was more just implied than anything else, and seen mainly from the POV of class B.

Next chapter should be out on August 20th.

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