Chapter 16: Sport Festival: Tournament, Part One


I couldn't believe what I am seeing right now…

The catalyst of one of the biggest events in Iida's character growth, the one that would kickstart the end of Stain's little 'crusade', Iida Tensei aka Ingedium is standing and talking to me in the Sports Festival, and NOT patrolling and getting attacked by the Hero Killer.

Oh god, what is going on, right now!?

Why is he here!?

"Hm? Is there something on my face?" Ingenium suddenly asked, getting me out of my thoughts. The Pro Hero is in his costume with his helmet tucked under his arm, which is almost identical to Iida's with a few differences, like how the exhaust pipe thing is on his arm instead of the legs and the whole outfit design is more streamlined compared to Iida's almost robot-looking suit.

"Oh! N-No! It's nothing!" I quickly tell him, "It's just… I didn't expect to meet you. They say they are getting pretty much every active Hero in Mufasa City, but you're stationed in Hosu, aren't you?"

"Hahaha, guess that's true." He chuckles, "I'm not actually here on a job. Well, technically I am, but not the usual work. I'm here to scout for future potential Heroes to join our agency."

"Scouting? You?" I asked curiously. Now that I think about it, it does make some kind of sense. It has been stated that most Pro Heroes that came to spectate the Sports Festival is mostly here to look for any 'Diamond in the Rough', so to speak, to hopes to hiring them in the future.

"That's rare of you, brother." Iida points out with a chopping motion, "You never has any interest in such things before."

"That's usually the case, but this year is special." He stated, looking at me, "Because Hermes-san's daughter is participating this year."

"Eh? Me?" I asked curiously, "Why me?"

"You see, Hermes-san was my mentor in a sense." He pointed out my surprise, "I had my first internship under his agency where he has taught me many things about the Hero career. Even when I graduated from Yuuei and inherited Ingenium from dad, I've found myself calling him up for advice. Next to dad, he's the one that made me the Hero I am today."

"Dad did…?" I wasn't sure what I was expecting. To think that dad, DAD of all people, has shaped one of the most well-known Hero of his generation!

"So, when I heard from Iida that you're attending Yuuei as his classmate, I knew that when the Sports Festival came around, I HAVE to see you in action for myself." He then grins at me, "And I am thoroughly impressed! It's like I'm watching Hermes-san is action again!"

I couldn't help but blush at the compliment. "T-Thanks, I try…"

"Oh, and Iida too!" He added on, "Great job in passing into the Second Stage! I'm proud, baby brother. And that Recipro Burst? Great execution!"

"Thank you! You are too kind!"

"But it still could use some fine tuning. I suggest that you…"

The two brothers start conversing about their quirks, with me ending up like a third wheel all of the sudden. Man, to get compliments from Ingenium? A real Pro Hero for my actions? That's awesome!

But then the repercussion of him being here starts to poke at my head and I realized what it meant. If Ingenium is here, and not back in Hosu City, that means that the whole Stain attacking and crippling him wouldn't happen, and that means that the whole Iida going full-Sasuke on Stain wouldn't occur.

Did… Did I just save him just by existing?

Man, Butterfly Effects and all that jazz, I didn't think this was possible! There goes any of my plans for the Internship Arc, guess I got to make altercations later.

But then, if he wasn't the one that got attacked, then that means that someone else would be at the end of Stain's knife. And he or she might not be lucky to survive that encounter like Ingenium. Is that… really okay…?

"Hello? You still there?"

"H-Huh?"

I got out of my thoughts when Ingenium waves his hand in front of my face, he looking at me with worry. Huh, now that I looked closely, he and Iida do look alike, with some small difference like eyebrow shaped and face structure.

"You zoned for a moment there." He points out, "Are you doing okay?"

"O-Oh! Yeah! Yeah, I'm doing fine!" I laughed as I gave him a thumbs-up, "Just thinking about the next part of the Festival, that's all."

"Ah, that." He laughed, "Man, won't that be a spectacle? I'm looking forward to seeing you two in action."

"Thank you, brother!" Iida raises his hand up with great enthusiasm, "I won't let you down!"

"I'm sure you won't." He chuckles, before turning to me and raising his hand towards me, "It's nice meeting you, Tatsuya Genko. I'll be watching closely. Make Hermes-san's name proud!"

"Y-Yeah!" I nodded, grasping his hand in a firm handshake, "I'll do my absolute best!"

"Good!" He chuckles, "I'll be heading off then."

As I watch the Pro Hero leave, nervousness starts to sink in. Man, oh man, talk about pressure now. I was just planning on doing my absolute best out there, but now I know that he is watching me…? Oh boy, is this what Midoriya feels when he is out there?

"Tatsuya-san." Iida addresses as he turns to me, "I know that we may not have interacted as much, but I wanted to say that next to Midoriya, you are the one that I wish to surpass more than anyone else."

"Eh?" I was blown away at that declaration. What is he going on about!? I thought the whole rival thing is only between Todoroki and Midoriya!?

"Since the Quirk Assessment on our first day, I've seen you as someone that I need to challenge one day." He points out, "Speed has always been my family's greatest strength, as it is mine. But you, when you overtook me in the assessment with such ease, I knew right then that I have to overcome you if I were to take on my family's mantle one day."

"So, Tatsuya-san." He raises his hand up and thrust out a fist towards me, "I'll be coming at you with all I've got."

I blinked at that. I didn't think he was thinking like that this whole time. Come to think of it, he did have that intense stare whenever we are close to each other… I guess his serious personality goes that to him, huh? Taikou, Shinsou, Midoriya to an extent, and now even Iida. How many rivals am I getting in this tournament?

Even so…

I grinned as I thrust out my fist in response, "Same here, Iida-san." It doesn't change anything. I'll be aiming for the top too.


After lunch, which I barely made it in time and got to have at least somewhat of a meal, the festival continues. We all return to the stadium, rested and ready for the next part.

But…

"Hm? What's this?" Present Mic stated over the comms as we all got into our classes, "It looks like Class A and B seems to have a bit of change in costume? Not that I mind, if you know what I'm saying, but I wonder why?"

"You tricked us, Kaminari-kun!" Momo shouted rather angrily.

As for why she is angry, apparently Kaminari, with help from his newly-acquired comrade in Mineta, manages to somehow convinced both Momo and Class B's Kendo that the girls are to join the Cheerleaders after lunch, that it is an order from Aizawa and Vlad King.

And that ended up with all of us, me including because I was too dumb to realized that it was a ploy from them before it was too late, wearing the same revealing Cheerleader outfit as the actual American Cheerleaders dancing about.

"MINETA, YOU DAMN PERVERTED PIG!"

I glance over to Class B for a moment to confirm my suspicions, as Taikou is getting held back by that large hairy student from the Cavalry Battle and is screaming at the grape-haired student who gave Kaminari a high-five when they past each other.

"How could I've let myself get tricked by such a stupid prank…" My tall ebony-haired classmate mutters dejectedly with Uraraka consoling her over it, "I even used my quirk to made these outfits…"

"Those damn pervert idiots…!" Jirou stated angrily as she tosses the pom-poms on the ground.

"I don't know." I stated as I took a look at myself and spun a little letting the skirt flutter up a bit, "I kind of like the outfit." I really wanted to wear this in my previous life, but due to my… alignment… I never got the change to do so.

"Yeah, yeah!" Hagakure noted shaking her pom-poms rather excitedly, "I mean, we're already dressed for it, why now just roll with it!?"

"You seem to enjoy these things, Toru-chan." Tsuyu said with croak.

"I'm so sorry for all of this." Kendo apologized to us.

"No, no, it's fine." Ashido assures her, "No harm done."

"W-Well! Ahem! Minus the little… wardrobe change, I like to welcome everyone back!" Present Mic tells us, "Now, before we move on the final event, I've got good news those out of the running! As this is still a Sports Festival, we've prepared a few recreational activities for all participants! Hope you all enjoy this little recreational competition!"

"But once THAT is over, we're on to the final event! Between the 16 members of the four winning teams, we'll have a formal tournament! A series of one-on-one battles!"

"A tournament, huh?" Kirishima noted, "So we'll be up in that ring I see on TV every year!"

"Was it a tournament last year too?" Ashido asked.

"The format's always different, but most of the time it involves some kind of head-to-head competition." Sero tells her, "Last year, it was foam sword fighting."

"The match-ups will be decided by drawing lots." Midnight tells us holding up the polling box. They sure like their polling boxes, don't they? "Once that is settled, we'll move on to the festivities and then the tournament itself! It's up to each of you 16 finalists whether or not you participate in the fun. I expect some of you would rather take a breather and save your strength."

"Now, let's start with the first-place team…"

After a series of drawing lots one after another as well as confirmation on who among us is going to join in the recreational activities, we got our first match-ups for the tournament.

It goes as follows:

Midoriya versus Shinsou

Todoroki versus Sero

Me, Tatsuya versus Kaminari

Iida versus Hatsume

Ashido versus Tokoyami

Yaoyorozu versus Taikou

Ojirou versus Kirishima

Uraraka versus Bakugou

Some of the match-ups followed the canon, if I remember correctly, but a few exceptions came out, like how Ashido is going up against Tokoyami in the first round instead of maybe Taikou or Ojirou, considering that Aoyama didn't make it to the final event.

But when I saw my match-up, I'm not sure whether I should be happy that it might be an easy victory, or letdown as I might not be able to show off my stuff in the beginning. Guess I'll have to bring it my all with Iida in the next round.

Also, with these match-ups, it is assured that I might have to go against Todoroki in the semi-finals. And that, I am not looking forward to it. My quirk is completely useless compared to his, and I have no way to negate his attacks like Midoriya's One-For-All smashes. Sure, he broke his fingers and arm doing so, but at least he didn't suffer an instant knock-out.

Sorry, Sero… luck is not on your side…

Speaking of luck, Shinsou would have to deal with Todoroki is he made it past Midoriya, right? Not sure how he is going to deal with it, seeing as the cool son of Endeavor isn't the type to strike up a conversation so easily. Add in his animosity to his father… yeah, he doesn't stand a chance. Sorry, Shinsou…

Now that I look closely, with how the match-ups are distributed, wouldn't that mean that Taikou would have to fight with Bakugou after all? He is definitely going to enjoy that.

"Now, let's set aside the tournament for the time being, and get on with the thrill-a-minute festivities!"

With that last announcement, the audience cheers as more fireworks are fired into the sky while Midnight starts to explain each of the recreational events to us.

"So, I'm dealing with Midoriya first, huh?" Shinsou spoke up as he got next to me, "It's going to difficult, seeing that he knows about my quirk and all."

"Oh, you'll figure it out!" I assures him with a smile, "You've got three years of martial arts training under your belt, right? Use that to your advantage!"

"…Yeah, you're right." He smirks, "Although you've got the luckiest draw among all of us. Kaminari, he's the guy who was shocking everyone during the Cavalry Battle, right?"

"Yup, the same one."

"You are going to steam-roll all over him."

"Definitely." I stated with small sigh, "Guess I'll have to leave impressing the Heroes to my match with Iida-san."

"Oh yeah, that glasses guy. Isn't he the one who berates Midoriya during the entrance exam?" He asked, "What does he want with you?"

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted introduce his brother, Ingenium, to me." I stated, "And hear this. Apparently, my dad taught him everything he knows about Hero work!"

"Whoa, seriously!?"

"I was just as surprised as you!"

"Hey guys!" Taikou walks up to us, "What did I miss?"

"Just Genko telling us that her dad has taught Ingenium everything about Hero work." Shinsou tells him.

"Wait, seriously!?" My childhood friend cries out in shock, "That Ingenium, the Turbo Hero that is considered one of the fastest Heroes of the nation, was taught by YOUR dad!?"

"Yeah! Not only that, he's in the audience at this very moment!" I bounced a little from the excitement, "Oh, I'm definitely going to bring out everything I have for this! I'm going to impress him with all I got!"

"Heh, he'll definitely be impressed." Shinsou noted with a smirk.


The recreational activities after the announcements are lots of fun to have.

It is mostly the standard sport festival stuff, with a few minor changes here and there to make them more flashy than usual. Too bad there's now tower topping, but considering what some of our classmates' quirks can do…? Yeah, it's a given to exclude that.

I didn't participate in any of the activities myself, deciding to cheer my class along with my female classmates. Got to say, despite being the result of a perverted scheme, I sure have lots of fun being a cheerleader.

Anyways, with all those activities out of the way, it's finally time for the event that everyone is waiting for.

"Hey, guys! Are you ready!?" Present asked the spectating crowd that lets out loud cheers that reverberate across the stadium, "You've been through hell to get here, but now it's time for the one-on-one tournament! You've only got yourself to rely on! Even if you're not a Hero, this saying holds true! You know it! Spirit, technique, wisdom and knowledge! Use them all and show us your best!"

"And without further ado! Here's the first match of the day!"

Our classes are allocated into special audience boxes close to the stage, one for each of our classes. I managed to get the front seat, changed back to my Yuuei tracksuit, and seating next to Tsuyu and in front of Ashido.

If I remember correctly, in order to find the match, you are to either knock your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them or getting them to surrender. The ways to accomplish that are virtually limitless, as there are no rules against fighting as dirty as you can. Of course, killing is heavily forbidded.

"Oh boy, here we go…" I muttered as I watches my middle school friend and my classmate walks up into the ring. To my knowledge, this fight isn't all that impressive in canon, with Shinsou never having any prior martial arts training and Midoriya is still having trouble handling One-For-All. But in this timeline, in my reality, things are different.

How different is the fight going to be, I wonder…?

"Making a weird face despite his excellent performance, it's Hero Course's Midoriya Izuku! VERSUS! Sadly, he hasn't made much of a splash yet but has people guessing, it's General Course's Shinsou Hitoshi!"

From what I am sitting, the two of them stood a good distance away from each other, with Shinsou stretching his arms while Midoriya is doing something similar with his knuckles as Present Mic explains the rules of the tournament. From an outsider's perspective, Shinsou has a huge disadvantage in this fight. Despite not using at full power, Midoriya's Full Cowl ability gains him a significant boost in speed and strength that he could easily overpowers him.

But unknown to many, excluding Midoriya, he has ways to dealing with such quirks. After all, he has plenty of practice dealing with mine and Taikou's.

"Midoriya sure got a tough one of the get-go." Ashido points out.

"Yeah." Kirishima nodded, "With his quirk, once he got a hold on you, it's game over."

"Is he that difficult to deal with?" Kaminari asked.

"Bakugou got caught in it and couldn't even fight against it."

"Oh yeah, he blown himself up a few times back in the Cavalry Battle."

"WHO BLOW HIMSELF UP, HUH!?" The blonde delinquent shouted angrily, "And he just got lucky! No way I'm getting caught in that thing again!"

"You got caught back in the cafeteria, though." Tsuyu points out.

"Wait, really!?" I asked, ignoring Bakugou's shouts in the background, "What did he made him do? Do you get a picture?"

"Here." She took out her phone and shows me the picture she took. I nearly fall off my seat laughing, the photo showing the exact moment when Bakugou dunks his head into a large bowl of miso soup. Oh, man! I got to get Shinsou to do this more often!

"Shut the fuck up, blondie!"

"NOW! LET'S GET THIS THING STARTED!" Present Mic announced over the comms, "REEEEEEEEEAAAADDDDDDYYYY!?"

I brought my attention back to the match as I awaited excitedly for the match to begin.


Midoriya got into a loose fighting stance, the power of One-For-All flows through his body as he actives Full Cowl. 'Shinsou-san's quirk has a trigger to activate, answering his question. As long as I don't speak, I'll be fine… just focus on getting him out of the ring. Do not open your mouth… just focus…'

Shinsou himself got into a fighting stance as well, 'He knows my quirk, so he'll be cautious about speaking…' his breath steadies as he readies himself, 'Midoriya's quirk is insanely powerful, and has the speed to match. But he has a habit of charging at things ahead… and once he got close…'

"START!"

'…On pushing him out!'

'…I'll trap him!'

The green-haired teen rushes forward, going straight ahead towards his opponent at top speed. His purple-haired opponent is ready for his charge and stood his ground as Midoriya strike a palm strike to push Shinsou to the ground, only for him to dodge the strike and grab his arm before kicking his legs and throwing the One-For-All user onto the ground and out of Full Cowl.

Once they are on the ground, he maneuvers his body to pin his opponent down in a standard wristlock.

"Oh! What's this! Just one move and Midoriya is pinned down! Damn, this Shinsou fella. He's something else! Kind of reminds me of you, Eraserhead!"

"Is that so?"

Midoriya grunts in pain as he struggles to move his pinned arm, which Shinsou response with pulling it towards himself even more. 'This is bad! I've miscalculated! I've forgotten his throws and grabbles!'

"There are ways to deal with quirks like yours, Midoriya." Shinsou tells him with a grin as he tightens his hold, "And I have plenty of experience dealing with them."

'Calm down!' The green haired hero-to-be thought hastily, 'This isn't over yet! Keep Full Cowl going…!' One-For-All surges through his body and using that new strength, he uses his freed arm and pushes against the ground as hard as he could.

"Oh, ho! Looks like Midoriya is fighting back!"

Slowly but surely, he lifts himself up and pushes Shinsou off of him before running back and gaining a good distance away from him. "Damn." Shinsou muttered out as he got back on his feet.

"And he got out! Any longer, and it's game over for him!"

'If I keep my distance away from him, he can't use a grapple to pin me down.' Midoriya thought as he massages his wrist, 'But I also can't push him out without getting close. Except… maybe, but the risks…'

'A wristlock isn't good enough.' Shinsou thought, 'Looks like I need to get him in an armlock. And for that…'

"Hey, Midoriya!" He shouted out to him, "Can't come close now, can't you!? Guess it goes to show that no matter how good a quirk is, it's useless if you can't use it right! A real wasted potential there!"

"…" His opponent bit his lips in an attempt to stop himself from responding.

"But that's not a problem for me!" He stated he walks forward, "My quirk may have very gimmicky, but it can be used anywhere, anywhen, anyhow. Compare to yours, mine seems a lot better, isn't it? Looks like that golden ticket of yours isn't worth a damn thing! It's all been for nothing in the end!"

"…! You take tha-!"

"Got you."

In the moment he realized what he has done, Midoriya has lock himself into a trance via brainwashing. 'That was a close one.' Shinsou sighed as he picked up the pace, 'Sorry, Midoriya, but that's the only way I know to get a reaction out of you. Hope you'll forgive me.'

"Shinsou's coming in for another attack! But Midoriya is not moving at all!? What's going on!?"

'Not good! Not good! I can't believe I fell for that!' Midoriya berates himself in his mind as he struggles in vain to move, 'Damn it! Damn it! I've gotten so far! After what everyone has done for me! It can't end like this…!'

"It's over, Midoriya." Shinsou states as he took to a run, ready to tackle him to the ground.

'MOVE!'

Then, something happened. In the green-haired teen mind, an image is shown. A vision of eight different shadowy figures standing in of him, each of them of various sizes and shapes but all distinctly human. One of them even has two antennae-looking cowlicks sticking up from his head.

And in that same moment, he felt one of his hands freed from the control, flowing with the inherited quirk's power. And within that singular moment of freedom, he moves fingers and flicks his index finger downwards, the resulting impact sends a shockwave flying in all directions, kicking up clouds of dust around him.

Shinsou, who is not prepared for the sudden movement, is thrown backwards by the shockwave, sending him tumbling onto the concrete floor. "How is he able to move?" He wonders as he got back up on his feet.

From within the cloud of dust, Midoriya gasps as he felt the sudden pain of his broken finger, 'W-What was that just now? An illusion?' He then recalls what All Might had said about One-For-All, 'It's passed down like a torch… was those the past users of One-For-All…'

He shook his head. Not the time to think, it is a time for action! He quickly fires up One-For-All and enter Full Cowl, before rushing out of the dust clouds at full speed. Seeing his opponent coming straight at him, Shinsou readies himself to trap him into another grapple.

But Midoriya knew he would do that, as such at the last second, to Shinsou's shock, he cartwheels over him to avoid his counter. While in the air, he raises his hand towards the purple-haired teen and concentrate a hundred percent of One-For-All on his middle finger and flicks it as hard as he can.

The shockwaves from the move blew straight towards a stunned Shinsou, blowing him backwards towards the ring's edge. He digs his soles in the ground as hard as he can to stop himself from moving, but to no avail as he eventually trips over himself and tumbles across the edge, landing just before the stairs.

Midoriya himself nearly cross the edge as well, tumbling to a stop just an inch from the line, barely dodging a lost.

"Shinsou, Ring Out!" Midnight announces, "Midoriya advances to the second round!"

"And we have a winner! Midoriya of Class 1-A advances on! Oh lord mighty, we are off to an eventful start, my listeners! Give our two great competitors a big round of applause!"

As the crowd clapped and cheered for the winner, Shinsou and Midoriya have gotten back up and walk up to each other. The purple-haired teen gave a small huff before raising his hand up to his opponent, "Good match, Midoriya. Sorry for all the mean stuff I said back there. I didn't mean a single word of it. No hard feelings?"

Midoriya grimaced a little, before smiling and grasping the hand, and then regretted it as it was his injured hand that he used. Shinsou notices this and quickly let go and put up his other hand instead, which Midoriya grasps onto instead, "No hard feelings. Thank you for the match."

"Look at that sportsmanship, folks! What a show of good faith! THIS is what the Sports Festival has been all about!"

I let out a small whine at the match's results, "Oh…! He's so damn close!"

"It was a close match, kero." Tsuyu stated, "I didn't think Shinsou-san knew judo."

"He definitely got Midoriya on the ropes, that's for sure." Kaminari pointed out.

"I'll say." Kirishima nodded, "He got some moves!"

"Yeah! It's like watching a kung-fu flick!" Ashido stated energetically while throwing out some mock punches.

"He's no master, but he definitely got the fundamentals down." Ojiro noted, "And his techniques aren't half-bad. He has to been training a lot."

"But Midoriya-kun still blew him away!" Hagakure stated.

"Way to go, Deku-kun!" Uraraka cheered on.

"Mm! As expected of Midoriya!" Iida nodded robotically.

"Tch, damn Deku." Bakugou grumbles on angrily. Still as bitter as always, isn't he?

Shinsou… hope he isn't feeling too depressed over the match. He trained so hard for it too…

My phone then rings to my surprise, I opening it to the group chat between me, Taikou and Shinsou, with a message from Shinsou that makes me smile.

[Will win next year! Just you wait!]

To Be Continued…


Omake

"Go, Class 1-A, GO!" Genko cheers with all her might as her fellow classmates cheering along with her, at least those who are kind of willingly to do so. The punk-rock girl, Jirou, is just sitting down watching her classmates perform improv cheers with little to no coordination.

Genko then turns to her with an eager cheer, "Come on, Jirou-san! Lift those poms-poms!"

"I never said I want to!" She pouted, "Besides, this is all that pervert Kaminari's fault! Why should I go along with his wishes!?"

"Because it's fun!" Both she and Hagakure stated with a smile, or at least Genko is smiling while the invisible girl just did the smiling sound effect.

"You two sure are cut from the same cloth, Toru-chan, Genko-chan." Tsuyu noted.

"You think so?" Hagakure wonders.

"Tatsuya-san!"

They all stopped cheering as Shoji runs up to them, "Let me borrow you for a second!"

"Huh? Why?"

He then turns over a piece of paper that indicates what item he needs for the borrowing race. On said paper, is the words [American Model] written in bold text.

"…Um…" Genko embarrassing rubs her neck, "I'm flattered, but my mom's European, so…"

"You have blonde hair." He pointed out, "Close enough."

"…Right…"

She struggles to keep her blush down as she is piggybacked towards the finish line on the large teen's back.


Yup! Finally finished! Sorry for taking so long, I was busy writing for my One Piece fic and lost track of time.

Also, I am once again, starting up my other dead fic from three years ago, a Negima X KHR crossover fic by the title: Vongola Magic Knight. It's a reboot of my first fic which I wrote when I was in my semi-weeaboo stage as an anime fan, so the writing to be a little bad here and there.

Another thing is that I've been planning on writing a Shield Hero fic! With all the hype is going on, I couldn't help myself to try and write one myself. A sample of it is on a new story, One-Shots Galore, where I'll be posting various small pilots of any new fics I thought about and see how you react.

And finally, huge thanks to Xenvic for his ideas for the next few Omakes I'll be writing, his ideas are one of the best I've heard about.

If anyone has any more ideas on any omakes, be sure to let me know.

With that, I thank you for reading this!