The quiet chatter of the class stopped as soon as Izuku entered their section. The entire stadium felt more subdued than it was before Izuku's last match. Like his status had smothered their enthusiasm. Hard to cheer on a fist fight when a quirkless kid is getting beaten. Or the one doing the beating, he supposed.

"So…" Ashido-san said. "You're quirkless."

"And?" Izuku answered. It looked like they had just finished resetting the field. It wouldn't be long before the next match started. Kirishima-san against Bakugou.

"Nothing, nothing," Ashido-san backtracked. "Just surprised me is all."

Of course it did. There was no way their fearless ikemen could possibly have been quirkless. It had to have been something more than natural.

"I thought we weren't going to ask about it," Satou-san said.

"I know," Ashido-san whined. "But you seriously don't have any questions at all? Like, really?"

"There's a difference between not having questions and respecting his privacy," countered Jirou-san with a shake of her head.

Ashido-san flopped back into her seat. "Fine," she huffed. "But you know Kaminari-kun and Mineta-kun are going to be obnoxious about it."

"And I'll deal with them," Izuku muttered, watching as Kirishima-san and Bakugou finally stepped onto the field. "Match is starting."

"Alright! The field has been cleared and we're finally ready to get on to our last semi-final match! It's an unstoppable force and an immovable object! The explosive Bakugou Katsuki versus the unbreakable Kirishima Eijirou!"

"Sounds like even you're getting tired of all the waiting."

"Come on, Eraser, you know everyone wants to get to the finale already."

"Yeah, so we can go home."

"Party pooper."

"If you two are done squabbling, we have a match to start."

"Uh, right. Carry on."

Midnight-sensei sighed. "You boys know the rules. You can ring out, knock out, immobilize, or surrender. Not that I expect either of you to use the last one, but please remember that Recovery Girl-sensei already feels like she's had too many patients today." She spared a glance to each of them at their starting positions. "Begin!"

Bakugou fired off explosions behind him, and both boys surged forwards to close the distance fast. Bakugou's quirk might be a strong mid range attack to ward off most close range fighters, but with Kirishima-san's hardening, the other boy would be able to cut through just about anything that wasn't in the hand-to-hand range. Maybe even that with One for All strengthening him.

Izuku tuned out Present Mic-sensei's commentary as he focused on the fight, watching for any sign of One for All. Though there wasn't much to see through the smoke and distance.

And it was hard to ignore all the eyes on him.

"You get one question," he finally said, giving up on learning anything. "One."

"How did you pass the entrance exam?"

"Ashido-chan!"

"What? We're all thinking it! Even people with strong combative quirks struggle with UA's heroics exam!"

Izuku sighed. "I'm assuming most of them freeze up or didn't actually take it all that seriously. The exam isn't easy, but it isn't hard either if you keep your head."

Ashido-san shrugged. "Okay, sure. But how did you pass."

"Same as you," he shrugged. "I prepared, I read the rules, and I took it seriously. I benefited from rescue points, but you'd have to pull off some spectacular saves to get in on those alone."

"Oh, come on, that's it!? You've gotta be the first quirkless hero student like ever and that's all you're going to say? That's really all it took!?"

Izuku finally turned and looked at her. "Yes, that's all it took. Even Bakugou didn't get in without those three things. No one does. What are you expecting? Some secret strategy? For me to have hacked in and learned secret rules ahead of time, or changed the bots' code to make them easier for me to beat? Or maybe I bribed them? Or did they let me in on pity? Or maybe because of all the bullshit with Aldera they decided to let me in just so they could see if I turned evil? Because I'm quirkless, I had to do something super special? Well, I didn't. I got in on all the exact same merits as everyone else. You had all the same information as I did even if you decided not to use it and just rely on your quirk instead. The only difference is that I don't have the luxury of relying on a damn quirk."

Ashido-san recoiled as though struck and thick silence covered the class, only broken by the sounds of the fight below them.

A fight Izuku should be watching. It was important. But was it? "I'm going for a walk," he said as he stood.

"Mi-"

"If anyone has a problem with me," Izuku cut Yaoyorozu-san off, "take it up with Aizawa-sensei or Nedzu-sama. They'll be dealing with plenty of complaints from the public already, what's a few more."

He walked quickly from there. He wasn't going to give them a chance to stop him. Though, he did smile slightly when he heard squabbling break out and a particularly loud "how insensitive can you be!?" directed at Ashido-san, and a softer "the ikemen just swore," that sounded like Sero-san.

He almost stopped for that. Almost went back. Because, yeah, Ashido-san was being insensitive and everyone was being nosy, but they were trying and they cared. They were just confused.

But god damn it, he was mad. Mad at Ashido-san, sure. Maybe at the others a bit for all of their senseless speculation and rampant assumptions. Mad at Todoroki-san for refusing to use his quirk even for his own selfish ends. Refusing to acknowledge Izuku's strength even as he literally beat the boy over the head with his own ice. Mad at Present Mic-sensei for revealing his quirk status to his classmates and the whole world with just a few careless words.

Mad at Yagi-san for assuming he was going to lose against Shinsou-san just because he had a quirk and Izuku didn't. It was a straight fight, why wouldn't Izuku lose to someone who hadn't cared enough to train for the exam because he had a sneaky quirk and Izuku had nothing.

He was just mad.

And mad didn't make for a good class president that didn't bite people's heads off for asking questions.

And so he kept walking, picking up speed as he got further away from his idiot classmates and sunk deeper into his thoughts.

He imagined what it would look like if he had a quirk to show his anger. Sparks popping on his palm like Bakugou. Smoke drifting from his mouth like his mom said happened to his dad when he got frustrated with something. Hair drifting in defiance of gravity like Aizawa-sensei. Maybe Kataoka's faint growling or fur standing on end like Hayami.

But instead he was plain, simple, weak little Izuku. No quirk so he was useless, right? Just a little Deku. Not even worth a phone call home or a birthday present.

Izuku froze in his tacks. He couldn't think like that. He couldn't go back to that. Hisashi left them before Izuku was diagnosed. Izuku wasn't weak and he wasn't worthless. Anyone who thought otherwise had their head up their ass. He had literally just proven that. He got third place at the UA Sports Festival. He was a hero student. He earned this.

Korosensei would be disappointed to know Izuku was thinking about himself this way. After all the hard work he and Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei had put into the class and into him, he couldn't just go back to that. He had to pick himself back up.

"Shit, Mido-bro, are you okay?"

Izuku took a stumbling step back, head ducked down and hands reaching up to wipe tears from his eyes. "Y-yeah," he said, taking a shaky breath as he tried to stop the tears that were only coming faster now that he was trying to stop them. "Y-yeah." He blinked and sniffed, lifting his chin and trying to look Kirishima-san in the eye while he lied. "Is your match over already?"

Kirishima-san hesitated, doubt clear across his features. "Yeah, it's over. What are you doing down here?"

Izuku huffed a weak laugh, brushed away a few more tears, and pulled his lips into a shaky smile. "Just wanted to get away from everything. I'm sorry I missed your match. Did you win?"

Kirishima-san shook his head. "Bakugou-kun is just so strong and fast. And the way he can use his quirk to fly! I know I saw it during the last event, but it's so disorienting to have him just suddenly go up and over you when you try to hit him. I mean, I got some solid hits in, and my quirk took a few more than I expected it to, you know? But in the end he got me into a corner and I just wasn't paying enough attention as he pushed me back."

Izuku nodded along, finally slowing his tears enough to really see clearly. Kirishima-san's uniform was predictably singed, but the rest of him was fine. No burns or bruises that Izuku would expect from an all out brawl with Bakugou. And the wide grin stretching across Kirishima-san face really made it seem like he'd had fun fighting Bakugou and enjoyed the match despite his loss.

The red marks Izuku had seen last time however… they were worse than before. Bright red sores crisscrossing Kirishima-san's body in a jagged web like a strange rash.

"Is that from One for All?" Izuku asked.

Kirishima-san looked down at his arm. "Uh, yeah. I think so," he said. "Didn't exactly get much practice with it before the Festival, but my quirk never did this before. And I definitely noticed a few changes during my matches. Faster, stronger. My quirk could take more force with a lot less effort from me, too."

Izuku nodded. That made sense, and from what Yagi-san had told him when they first started cleaning Dagobah Beach, it made sense that Kirishima-san was experiencing some side effects. "You should probably go see Recovery Girl-sensei."

Kirishima-san raised an eyebrow with a teasing grin, "Says the guy that tried to argue with one of her robots when he was bleeding all over the stage."

Izuku grabbed Kirishima-san's arm and started pulling him down the hall as he rolled his eyes. "It wasn't that bad. And I wasn't arguing against seeing Recovery Girl-sensei, just against the stretcher."

Kirishima-san laughed. "And you thought it was going to get you any where?"

Izuku shrugged. "You never know until you try."

"Damn right!"

"Now," Izuku said pushing open the door, "do you want to try arguing again?"

Recovery Girl-sensei glared at them as she looked up from her paperwork. "No one is arguing with me," she said. "Kirishima-kun, sit down."

"Yes, Sensei."

"Now," she said poking and prodding at the strange marks as she inspected them, "tell me what happened."

"Oh, um. Well. It happened when I used my quirk during the last few matches. Nothing special you know. Just some quirk exhaustion. It's all good. Perfectly normal."

Recovery Girl-sensei sighed and rapped her cane against Kirishima-san's shin. "Stop rambling, boy. I already know about One for All, but if you plan on hiding this from anyone else, you're going to need to get better at lying."

"You already know? Wait, Mido-bro, did you know she knew?"

Izuku shrugged. "I didn't know, but I'm not surprised. She's an old friend of Yagi-san's, and he's got to have trusted someone with it."

"Indeed. The old fool should have told you I knew. I've been one of his close confidants since his school years. And given I am the nurse here, he told me when he transferred the quirk to you. Just in case something like this happened. Though would it have killed you to have used it in a controlled environment first? Not this ridiculous Sports Festival."

Kirishima-san blushed.

"Now, again, tell me what happened. How is this different from your normal quirk exhaustion? Were you actively using One for All? How much power did you put behind it?"

Kirishima-san nodded and started rattling off answers. From the sound of it he wasn't using all that much power, but he also didn't actually know how much. The quirk was activating instinctively alongside his own, which was great for hiding the increased strength, but not so great for separating out the effects. One for All also seemed to be reinforcing him in some way, not just enhancing the strength of his muscles, but actually negating some of the draw backs of his quirk. Normally, to have the level of durability he was using during this last match he would have needed to sacrifice mobility, and as his quirk failed, his skin would have begun to crack. In patterns very similar to the strange red marks, apparently.

Recovery Girl-sensei hummed and nodded along, taking her notes and examining the marks, eventually declaring them simply some surface level abrasions and irritation that would fade on their own in a day or two, but that Kirishima-san should still be careful of over doing it, either from using too much power at once or not letting his skin heal and rest by using it over a long period of time.

With everything settled, and instructions to test theories in UA's gyms after he'd healed up and report back to Recovery Girl-sensei, Izuku and Kirishima-san were kicked out of Recovery Girl-sensei's temporary office with some gummies and sent on their way.

Kirishima-san had been a good distraction while it lasted, but now Izuku needed to figure out what to do next. He didn't really want to go back to 1-A's seats, not after leaving like he did. Or even if he hadn't left abruptly, given all the questions. But Kirishima-san would know something was up if he didn't.

But did that matter? Kirishima-san had to have heard Present Mic-sensei's announcement, but he hadn't acted any differently. Even the positive responses were still reacting. Still acting like something had changed. Something had changed, but that didn't mean Izuku wanted it to. It shouldn't matter. He was just as quirkless today as he was last week.

"So…" Kirishima-san said, "you gonna tell me what you're doing down here instead of upstairs watching the matches?"

Izuku winced, and then smothered the reaction with a glare. "Can we not."

Kirishima-san slumped. "I guess, but you know I'm going to find out when I go up there."

"Yeah, and?"

Kirishima-san met his glare evenly, letting the silence hang between them. Then he shrugged. "Well, not much point in going anywhere. Bakugou and Todoroki will probably be done soon, if they aren't already."

Izuku nodded. "They probably started the match when we were leaving Recovery Girl-sensei. There's always a break between the semi-finals and finals to make sure the broadcast is caught up and everyone can get back to their seats to watch."

"So, we might as well stay down here," Kirishima-san continued. "We'll just have to come back for the podiums."

"For the podi-" that was right. Izuku got third. He and Kirishima-san would be sharing a podium. Next to Bakugou and Todoroki-san. "Right, yeah. Might as well stay down here."

Kirishima-san's answering smile was soft as he nodded and turned. He took a few steps down the hall and then stopped. "Uh, I don't suppose you know where we need to go?"

Izuku snorted. "Yeah, this way." He led them through the maze of halls and down a set of stairs to a cavernous space directly under the field with support struts rising up above them. A few support workers milled around, running last minute checks on the hydraulic system to lift the podium platform into place. They ignored the two students and continued with their work as Izuku and Kirishima-san found a spot to stand and wait quietly out of the way.

Time passed slowly as Izuku turned his attention inward, tuning out the low constant noise of machinery. He focused on his breathing and tried to process the old feelings dug up by the past hour. Tried to get them to a place where they wouldn't interfere with the rest of his day.

It had been a while since Izuku had felt that angry. Long before Korosensei, most likely. Or maybe it had always been there and he just hadn't let himself feel it anymore. It wasn't like he could do anything useful with it back then. Better to just be numb and keep going than get angry and make trouble for himself.

But he'd gotten used to being respected. Gotten used to not needing to be angry anymore. It was probably still there, simmering in the background, but even Terasaka respected him once he got his head out of his ass and started being a part of the class. His quirk status wasn't important compared to Korosensei's insane abilities. What mattered was what he learned and was willing to do for the mission.

He needed to compartmentalize before interacting with the public, or even with his classmates again. And definitely before the media's opinions got shoved in his face.

A sharp crack echoed through the room from the doorway and Izuku sighed, head dropping. Bakugou must have lost the match. So much for teaching Todoroki-san a lesson.

The door creaked open as Todoroki-san stepped through and let the yelling behind him filter into the room.

"I'm not fucking getting up there!" Bakugou yelled. "I don't deserve that fucking medal! Not with that Half-and-Half bastard holding back!"

Or maybe not.

"Please, Bakugou-kun, you don't have to feel like you earned it, but you need to at least accept it for the cameras. It won't look good for UA if you don't get on that podium." Izuku felt himself bristling at the sight of a man dragging Bakugou by the arm. He was easily as big as Cementoss-sensei and had some minor singe marks on his work uniform from when Bakugou had sparked off earlier.

"I don't give a shit about how it looks for UA!" Bakugou snarled back. "Their reputation is good enough to handle it."

"And what about-"

"Get your hands off of him," Izuku barked, glaring across the room.

"Fuck off, Deku. I don't need your help."

"Mind your business, boy."

"I am minding my business. As class representative, it is my job to make sure not only that my classmates are behaving properly, but also that they are being respected by our school. And dragging Bakugou around like that certainly does not qualify."

The man growled. "It is my job to make sure this festival goes off without a hitch." His grip had only gotten tighter, with Bakugou starting to grimace at the pain. "And that means getting all of you brats on the podiums to accept your medals with the grace and dignity to match UA's reputation."

Izuku stalked across the room, shoving himself into the man's face. "I told you to let go of him."

"Make me."

Izuku grabbed the hand on Bakugou's arm, twisting slightly at the same time he swiped at the man's legs with his foot. His grip on Bakugou's arm broke and Bakugou quickly stepped away from the pair as the man stumbled and fell. Izuku let go of his hand and stepped back himself, stopping just in front of Bakugou and Kirishima-san, who had come over at some point to stand next to Bakugou.

"I won't let you manhandle my classmates," Izuku said, arms loose and open at his side. "Just let him leave and tell the audience some lie about having a family emergency or something. I don't care."

"I said I don't need your help," Bakugou growled, sparking slightly. "Stay out of my way. I'll get on that fucking stage, just don't expect me to accept the medal," he spat at the man on the ground and stalked off.

The man glared at them. "Ungrateful brat," he grumbled, standing up. With one last angry glance at Izuku he turned and started barking instructions to his men and a few started directing the boys up onto the podium behind Bakugou. Once they were in place, the large man that had dragged Bakugou in said something into a radio.

"Alright everybody!" Midnight-sensei's voice crackled through speakers in the room. "This festival has been a wild ride from start to finish! Midoriya-kun's explosive victory in the first round, and Todoroki-kun's domination in the second! All culminating in the fifteen incredible one-on-one matches these students gave us today! Now, before we bring out the winners, how about we give all our participants a nice big round of applause for all the hard work they put in!" She paused, presumably to let the audience cheer on the less fortunate students. The ceiling above them moved, sliding slowly out of the way, and the podium under them jolted as the hydraulics pushed them up. "And now, let's hear it for our medalists!"

The wall of sound as they crested the opening was staggering. Kirishima-san was slack jawed next to Izuku, blinking at the crowd. Izuku chuckled, and pushed the sheer magnitude of it out of his mind so he could pull up a smile and wave to the crowd. The crowd didn't seem to care, but Midnight-sensei's indulgent smile turned somewhat curious before she turned and seemed to check something up by the stadium's rim before fully putting her back to the podium and addressing the audience once again.

"And now for the medals these boys fought so hard for!" she said. Something shifted up at the rim. The air pressure changed and some instinct in Izuku screamed for him to take cover. "Presenting them is… well, I'm sure you all can guess!"

"I AM HERE-," All Might-sensei's voice filled the stadium with ease and the crowd was instantly silent, reverent, for just a moment. "-WITH THE MEDALS!" He landed on the grass in front of them, wind whipping as he pushed the very air out of his way. If the crowd had been loud before, it was truly thunderous now. Izuku's hands twitched with the urge to cover his ears to protect them from the sudden onslaught of noise.

All Might-sensei waved to the crowd and let them cheer for a moment before he spoke again. "Now, now, I know you're all very excited to see me, but we're here to celebrate these hard working students!" He stood before the podium, his massive height letting him reach them without needing to stand any higher.

"Midoriya Izuku! Your intelligence and strength of will are forces to be reckoned with!" He dropped a bronze medal around Izuku's neck and pulled him into a hug. "Don't let minor failings hold you back! You've already proven yourself capable of far more than any would expect."

"Kirishima Eijirou! You have shown an unyielding determination and a steady hand!" Kirishima-san got his medal and hug. "Now you just need to learn to be flexible and adapt new strategies to your opponent in the heat of battle."

"I'll do better next time, All Might-sensei," Kirishima-san said.

All Might-sensei just ruffled his hair and moved on. "Todoroki Shouto! You are strong, but you held back, and it cost you your victory." The silver medal was draped over Todoroki-san's neck and All Might-sensei put a hand on his shoulder. "While not wanting to hurt a friend is admirable, and not wanting to use undue force is a fine goal for a hero, you will need to learn when you need to use your full strength if you want to be a successful hero."

"And Bakugou Katsuki!" All Might-sensei laughed. "You certainly lived up to your promise! We'll have to see-"

Bakugou snatched the gold medal out of All Might-sensei's hand before he could place it over Bakugou's neck, hands cracking and popping as he used his quirk with it in his hand. He dropped it, still smoking and now bent and twisted, to the ground. "This doesn't count. Half-and-Half didn't really fight me, so it doesn't count. I'm not the strongest yet. I didn't really beat him if he just let me."

All Might tipped his head back and gave a forced laugh. "Bakugou-shounen, some day you will learn that winning because your opponent didn't want to fight isn't a loss. Those 'fights' are the best ones for a hero. They are the ones where there is no risk of anyone getting hurt, or of collateral damage. The days a hero doesn't have to fight are the true victories, and the days all heroes hope for whenever they put on their suit."

"Whatever."

"Well, these are your winners, everyone!" All Might said, turning back to the crowd. "And before you go! Everyone here today has the potential to be standing up on the podium! Everyone here has something to learn today, whether you were knocked out in the obstacle course or made it all the way to the podium. Whether you were in the stands, watching at home, or working hard to make these students shine from behind the scenes! Students! You all pushed each other to be better, faster, stronger with each clash of wills! Hold on to the fire and let it lift you to guide others around you! Even as little more than sprouts today, that is what I see in you that will grow into the great heroes of tomorrow! Let's hear it everyone! For all the people that made today possible! And for those that will make tomorrow even better!"

All Might threw up his hands and Japan roared back at him, from the field and the stands and beyond. The torch that All Might carried for them. The bonfire of hope that was the Symbol of Peace was echoed in every voice lifted back to him.

Slowly, the voices softened from fierce cries to softer laughter and chatter as the audience began to pack up and meander from the stands. The students on the field loosened and let go. Joking and chatting and flopping onto the ground to just be the kids they were. Not future heroes or support mechanics or anything else.

Just tired kids at the end of a long, sweaty day, ready for a shower and a nap.

Midnight-sensei eventually came up and told them they could come down from the podium, that the feeds had been cut and they were all free to head back out. The day was done and they had no more obligations. Feed back on performances would wait until they came back after the break.