The festival was over, at least for the first years. One last return to the classroom before they were allowed to leave.

"Good work, all of you," Aizawa spoke rare words of praise. "You'll have the next couple of days to rest and recuperate. Or, if you want, to watch the upper years' contests. I'm sure the pros who were watching will be interested in recruiting some of you. We'll talk through the details of that when we come back next week, so look forward to that while you rest up."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Enjoy your long weekend." And with that, hands in his pockets, Eraserhead exited the classroom, leaving his students to do what they wished until they were ready to leave themselves.

The second the teacher was out the door Kaminari collapsed on his desk. "Man, I'm exhausted! It was all I could do not to fall asleep while he was talking!"

"Didn't you get knocked out in the first round of the tournament?" Jirou taunted him. "I mean look at Midoriya and Saisei. They're fine. Maybe you just suck."

"Hey! Saisei has a regen quirk! He doesn't count! And Midoriya–" Turning and looking over, the exhausted Kaminari couldn't fathom what he was seeing, the greenette upright and attentive even now. "Man, she got more messed up than anyone! How is she still okay?"

Sero sitting next to her waved a hand in front of the girl's face. "I think she fell asleep with her eyes open."

"OI! DEKU!" Katsumi roared from only two feet away.

"WAH!" the exhausted, bandaged greenette flailed in her seat. "Wha...? Where's Mister Aizawa?"

"He left," Saiki informed her, "Said we get off school until Monday, then we're talking about who got scouted by pros."

"Oh... Right," the buxom girl yawned, having only half-heard his words.

"Whatever," grumbled Kaminari, lurching out of his seat and toward the door. "I'm goin' home. Gonna sleep all the way 'til Monday."

One by one the varyingly tired students walked or stumbled out of the room. Just as Momo vacated her desk, Saiki called out to her. "Hey, about the, uh..."

"I'm a little tired myself, to be honest," the rich girl admitted, though her demeanour didn't show it in the least. "Perhaps a, what's the term, a rain check?"

"Sure. Oh, how about tomorrow's festival? It'd be nice to enjoy it from the outside."

"That sounds lovely, I think I'd like that," she agreed. "I'll... Meet you outside the stadium in the morning?"

"Perfect."

He smiled, eyes tracking her as she walked away all poise as always. Only when she was out of sight did his eyes move to Izuku as she trudged with great effort to the door herself. "Hey, Izuku! Are you gonna be okay?" he asked as he held her up, leaning down to make sure she's still awake.

"Myeah, m'fine," she slurred as she leaned against him. "Hmmmmm..." she let out a happy little hum. Like a balloon burst next to her ears she snapped awake, backing off and unsteadily getting her legs under her. "Ahahaha! Yeah, I mean, I'm fine! Perfectly fine! Just, need some rest."

"I can help her to the station!" Uraraka volunteered. "Her stop's before mine anyway." As the brunette offered the sports festival runner up a shoulder she got a mumbled thanks. "Congrats on the win, Saisei!"

"Thanks."

As the two girls headed out the door, Saiki was startled by Katsumi punching him in the arm. "What, are you creepin' on Uraraka too now?"

The champion took a second to realise he and Katsumi were alone in the classroom. He chose to ignore her question and ask his own. "Jealous?" he teased.

"You wish, Creeper. What, you plannin' to fuck your way through the whole class or some stupid shit like that? Only reason Big Hair is giving you a chance to get into her fancy panties is because she doesn't know what you did to me."

"And yet you didn't tell her," Saiki observed. She could have. The deal they had was only that the blonde couldn't interfere with him and Izuku. It would even have been good revenge for him going by the letter of the agreement before. "I appreciate that. I guess we're becoming close, huh? You want to go steady too?"

"FUCK OFF AND DIE!"

"Aww, don't be like that! Didn't you hang back so we can be alone?" he teased, though his question was genuine.

She didn't answer right away, turning away and folding her arms over her chest. "I just want your stupid forfeit out of the way as fast as possible," the explosive girl groused. "What is it this time, huh? Probably something gross and demeaning again."

Well that certainly described some of his options. There were plenty of things he hasn't done with/to her yet. Not to mention he felt quite backed up after weeks without getting any. It would be nice to have her suck him off. Or give him her first kiss if he wanted to be nice about it. Or he could just have her be his for an hour like he suggested last time.

… No. He had a better idea he decided with a smirk as he grabbed her hands and forces them down from where she was hugging herself. "Yes. In fact, I think you'll be revolted by what I'm going to have you do."

"No shit," she said through grinding teeth, even as Saiki noticed her thighs were rubbing together. "Spit it out, already!"

"You're going to..." he whispered into her ear.

She leaned in to hear him better, swallowing.

"... Call me by my name."

The bomb girl blinked, recoiling back to look him in the face. "What? That's it?"

"Katsumi! Is it me or do you sound just a little disappointed?" He enjoyed how her cheeks flush from being called out. "Tell you what, not just my name. My given name. After all, we've been so very intimate haven't we?"

"No. No way in hell."

"What? Uraraka loses to you and gets your respect, I beat you three times and I'm still just a creeper?"

"Yes!" Katsumi snapped. "She was nothing before! I didn't know or care who she was! You've always been a creeper and you always will be a creeper!"

"You know... I don't actually deny that," Saiki offered as a compromise. "I still want to fuck you again. I respect the hell out of Izuku but I still want to slide my cock between those fantastic tits of hers. I want to spank Momo's big ass until it's cherry-red. But you know what else?" he asked, pulling her towards him with the grip he still had on her hands. "Even if I'm a creeper, even if you've decided I'll never earn your respect because of that, I'll accept winning it as my consolation prize. Say my name." Her teeth grit harder. "Say it."

"Saiki," she ground out.

His forehead pressed against hers, breathing a deep, satisfied sigh. "Fantastic. Don't forget it." Letting go of her, he grinned as he turned his back on her and walked toward the door, calling over his shoulder, "I look forward to making you scream it next time."

-(-)-

A juice bar somewhere in Tokyo

"Ughhhh!" a teenage girl with a canine facial structure groaned as she and two of her friends watched a television that dominated one wall of the bar. "I can't believe they still had us attend class during the UA Sports Festival! It's only the biggest event of the year!"

"I know, right?" one of her friends agreed, flipping her cotton hair as she looked to the first girl. "You'd think they'd let us skip. I mean half the class did anyway. And it's not like our school is all that great."

"I mean we can still watch the rerun now, can't we? So it's fine." the blonde third member of their party offered as a silver lining.

"Yeah, I guess. Would've been so cool to be there though, ya know?"

"And facing her is a boy seeing a reversal in his fortunes since his first match! Last time he was the one smashing through a rock wall, now he's the one fight to avoid getting blasted open! It's Saiki Saisei!"

"Ugh, and he's fighting that psycho bitch?" the cotton-haired girl scoffed. "I don't care if he's boring anymore, I hope he kicks that skank's butt."

"Yeah..." the blonde agreed half-heartedly.

One incredibly close match and another order of drinks later the three girls were amazed at the match they just saw. "UA students are freaking crazy!" the dog-faced girl exclaimed, tail wagging behind her.

"When I called him boring? I take it back. Did she friggin' shoot him?! And he just kept going?!"

The blonde stayed quiet, nursing her drink as she dealt with some conflicting feelings.

The tournament rerun continued, the three teenagers chattering through the slower matches, though two of them quickly noticed how quiet the third had become. The conversation stalled as the final match was introduced.

"I'm rooting for green girl," the muzzled girl announced. "Girls never win these things. I want her to go the distance."

"Ugh, but you know with tits like those she's gonna end up one of those trashy pin-up heroes like Mount Lady and Midnight. Barf."

"Shh! It's starting!"

Another match that had them watching with rapt attention. Shocked reactions as they saw the blue-haired boy get blasted by a monstrous kick, the blonde girl's hands flying to her mouth as she feared for him, only to see him rise dazed but alive.

"Okay... That guy... Is pretty cool," cotton hair commented.

"Green girl was holding back," dog face argued back.

"No way! Her leg's messed up!"

"But she's still standing on it!"

"Doesn't seem to matter now," cotton hair noted as the female competitor on screen was tossed out of the arena. "Yeah, okay. He deserved that win. I think that's the most hurting I've seen someone take in the festival ever and he's still on his feet. That's crazy. Hey, you think he's single?"

"You don't want to get involved with him," the blonde quietly advised, "You'll only get hurt."

"I'm okay with that, long as it's the fun way."

"What's wrong, Juri?" the canine-faced girl asked, noticing how down their third has gotten.

"Oh, is it about your boyfriend?" cotton hair teased, "I remember you bragging during the first week of school about your future pro hero boyfriend, but then you stopped talking about him. What, did he dump you?"

"Watari!" the dog girl gasped.

"What?"

"He didn't dump me," Juri insisted. "I dumped him for cheating on me."

"Huh," Watari grunted, "Well, that isn't surprising. You kind of expect hero wannabes to be that kind of full of themselves, right? Wait..." She paused as she began to piece things together, how quiet Juri had been every time the new champion was on screen. "Was it him? That, uh, that Saisei guy?" She laughed as Juri shrank at the correct deduction. "Holy shit! I bet you feel dumb now, huh?"

The canine girl sighed despondently as her ears drooped. "Watari, you're such a bitch."

"I thought we had something special..."

"You did have something special," said Watari. "You had a ticket to the easy life and you blew it because he was with some other girl? Sweetie, he's going to the big leagues. He's gonna have like, models and celebrities throwing themselves at him. You had an in with the high life and you bailed because he played the field? Please." Her head cocked as she realised an opportunity presented to her. "I guess he is single then. Can I get his address? I could totally sell a hook-up story to the gossip sites."

A pale hand grasped a glass and thrust it upward, soaking the scheming girl with fruit smoothie. Juri was out of her seat and leaving before Watari could fully realise what just happened.

"HEY!" Watari screeched, juice dripping down her face. Grabbing a napkin she wiped down her face. "This stuff better not stain my hair!"

-(-)-

Kamino

"Master, why did I even watch this?!" Tomura Shigaraki complained, shutting off the live stream of the sports festival. "I've already seen those brats. I know what they can do. They're not even important! All Might is the final boss! He's the only one that matters!"

"You think so?"

Shigaraki jumped at the sudden voice from his speakers. "Master?" he asked.

"Yes, Tomura. You are still focused on All Might?"

Frenzied scratching answered the question as much as his next words. "I failed you. I want to use a continue. I just didn't realise there were hidden conditions on the level, that's all! Next time, I'll–!"

"Tomura, you misunderstand what All Might represents," the voice soothed. "He is a threat to you, yes. One not to be ignored. But he is not to be your foe. He is a withering flame in every sense. Bright and scorching, but only moments before guttering out."

"You keep saying he's getting weaker! He looked fine grandstanding for the cameras!"

"I imagine so. The so-called heroes have gotten quite adept at making it seem like everything is fine for their adoring public, concealing the ugly truth."

"I want a retry!" The scratching intensified further, the roughened skin on the young man's neck splitting. "I want to destroy him!"

"Calm yourself, Tomura." the voice tried to soothe once again, voice filled with patient understanding. "I understand, but All Might is not your concern. Relics of the past are not what should be your focus. The next generation. That is where your purpose lies. Building your League of Villains into something to be feared, all the while watching the new crop of heroes. All Might is my enemy. I have no doubt that among those youngsters is another foe, one worthy of my successor. Watch. Learn. And one day, you will surpass me and take my place."

Angry fingers slowed, blood flecks under the fingernails as they pulled away, hands dropping listlessly to the villain's sides. "If you say so, Master."

"Good boy. I'll be in contact again soon."

The young villain, even frustrated as he was, returns to studying the footage. He could already tell the few that will be a problem, the ones that progressed to the final stage of the competition. "Saiki Saisei... Katsumi Bakugo..." he muttered, "Shoto Todoroki..."

"SMAAAAAAASH!"

The playback restarted as the small girl let loose a bone-shaking kick. Shigaraki's quirk activated as he gripped the edge of his desk, the wood crumbling apart. "Izuku... Midoriya!" A manic grin spread across the face hidden under the hand of his father. "Kehehehe, yes, Master! It's like you said! I'll remember them! These are the ones I'll reduce to dust!"

-(-)-

Dating rules for a Japanese young man. If you arrive any later than ten minutes before the pre-arranged time you might as well not show up at all. Punctuality is king. And given the girl Saiki was waiting for happened to be from a family of wealth and prestige, that made each basic expectation a matter of ultimate success or failure.

Of course, at the same time, while being late would have been catastrophic, being early would also have been a problem, looking excessively eager. He could wander the grounds until the pre-arranged time? That would imply he wasn't even there for her, that she wasn't important. The exact opposite impression he wanted to give.

And so, putting in more effort into this one single moment than he had into any other aspect of his social life, Saiki first set foot on the festival grounds precisely eleven minutes before the meeting time. Was it worth it? As he saw Momo walking his way forty seconds later in an off-the-shoulder cream sweater and knee-length skirt, an outfit that probably cost more than everything he owned, he felt it was. Gorgeous, moneyed, from a venerated family, on top of being a demure and kind-hearted girl. Saiki wanted her more than anything else he had ever wanted in his life.

As such, there was nothing false in how his smile matched hers on seeing her. "Hey Momo. You look great."

"Thank you, so do you," she responded and if he didn't know how unimpressive he looked he might even have believed her. It was quite possibly a miracle, a girl of her means and upbringing wanting for nothing and yet so incredibly considerate of others. "Did I keep you waiting?"

"Not at all," he answered, certain she already knew, probably saw him arrive right before she did. But customs must be adhered to, at least at first. "We have some time before things get going. Want to explore the grounds first?"

"I'd like that!" she agreed with another lovely smile, taking his offered arm as he led her towards the displays and stands littered around the edge of the stadium. He honestly hadn't expected her to so readily take that silent offer. It had been a little forward. But he wasn't interested in questioning his good fortune aloud. It seemed Momo was quite enamoured with him already which was only a good thing.

The stands were the expected festival fare. Food stalls with fried foods galore, something for which Momo wasn't shy about joining him in partaking. Saiki could name dozens of girls who would kill to have a quirk that burned fat the way Momo's did, letting her eat whatever she wanted and still have an amazing figure. And it was always pleasant to be with a girl who let herself enjoy the simple pleasures of good food.

Then there were the merchandise stalls. For UA as a whole, then for top heroes, particularly the ones who were UA alumni. Multiple stalls were specifically dedicated to All Might merchandise, always a big seller. Though there were also stalls focusing on more recent UA hero graduates. It was a great marketing opportunity now that Saiki thought about it. The people attending this festival might well have attended previous festivals and remember the new heroes' performances. It was a good chance to let young heroes get their names out there once they could merchandise, while also giving speculators a chance to get on the ground floor of collectables before a hero got really famous. All Might was a good example of how valuable such early merch could get, obviously. But even leaving him as an extreme edge-case, merch from Gang Orca's early career also had incredible resale value.

Collectors. Speculators. Saiki fought not to scoff as he saw a group of them rubbing their chins covered with patchy facial hair. Must have been nice to have money to waste on things like that.

"Hey pretty girl! How about a memento of the festival!"

Saiki had been tuning out the hawkers for a while, helped by how all of them were shouting at Momo. Of course, if his date showed even a little interest in anything it raised the obligation for him to buy it for her. But this one was a little more insistent, shoving a... An Endeavour plushie at them? It was even scowling. No wonder the guy seemed a little desperate.

"Umm, no thank you, we're just browsing the stalls right now," Momo tried to politely decline.

"Well if that's not your speed, how about... Oh!" Before the pair could walk away the vendor pulled out, "The Underground Hero, Eraserhead!"

"Oh my!" Momo gasped as she saw the chibified form of their homeroom teacher, dark hair mid-floof and eyes red the way they were while his quirk was active. Menacing glare undercut by the stubby little limbs and the scarf so tightly wrapped around his face it was like he was hiding in it.

Saiki had to admit it was the best thing he had seen for sale all day. "Sold!"

"Saiki!"

"Here you go, little lady! Enjoy!"

Momo's eyes flicked to Saiki as he put his wallet away before taking the toy. "Thank you."

"And good job in the tournament yesterday! I'm sure I'll be selling your stuff here in a few years, huh?"

A sheepish look passed over her face. "That's... Very kind of you to say." As she stepped away from the stall, "You didn't have to do that," she said quietly to her date, still holding the little plush of their teacher.

"To make you happy? Sure I did," he answered easily.

"But you–" she began to say but thought better of it, instead linking her fingers with his as her other hand put the toy in her purse. "Thank you."

"To the stadium?"

"Yes."

The stadium proper was just as rowdy as it had been the previous day even as spectators continued to file into their seats. The seats Saiki and Momo took weren't the best, somewhere in the middle level of the upper level, but more than adequate. It was surreal for the two of them feeling the energy of the crowd from inside it as Present Mic once again did the intros for the second year students.

It only got worse when the monitors were showing crowd shots while the first event was organised.

"Now hold right there! Is that who I think it is?!" Suddenly the monitors are all zoomed in on them. "Hey hey! It's Momo Yaoyorozu and yesterday's champion Saiki Saisei from Class 1-A! Give us a wave, kids!"

"I remember suggesting they rest up today," grumbled Aizawa.

Momo and Saiki smiled and waved as they were expected to, at least until Saiki got a brilliant, horrible idea. "Momo, show them the toy."

"Pardon?"

"Please!"

Confused, she pulled the little Aizawa plush out of her bag and had it do a little wave too.

"OH MAH GAWD! Eraserhead! She has your merch! Is that like, the first time anyone bought your stuff?! What supportive students you have!"

"... Yes. I will have to thank them when we resume classes next week."

"We're going to pay for that Monday but it was so worth it," Saiki breathed, Momo falling into a mild giggling fit.

The events themselves were similar to what the pair had experienced the day before, though the first event had the added wrinkle of being a target-shooting course rather than just a race. It was an interesting change to the dynamic they experienced. Finishing placement also granted points alongside destroying targets but the split was enough that the priority changed. It was more important for the competitors to be thorough than fast.

The competitors had some interesting quirks too. One redheaded boy wasn't dissimilar to the Class B student who could turn to steel, except the second year student turned into blades that he could fire off. Then there was the dark-haired girl who could fire spherical energy blasts, ideal for the first round, not so great for the second. Then two purple-haired girls, one with shadow tentacles, the other firing hooked chains from her hands. "I wish I could do that," Momo lamented.

"What do you mean? The chains?" Saiki asked.

"Mm," she sighed. "Being able to use my creations as projectiles would give me so many more options."

"You can already do that though, can't you? I remember that thing you did during the cavalry battle, the spike that shot out of your leg like an emergency brake."

She shook her head, "They can have a certain amount of momentum as they are in the process of leaving my body, but not enough to be launched."

"Do you do a lot of quirk training?"

"Of course!" she answered proudly, smile on her face. "I spend hours a day studying the makeup of all kinds of useful items, and of course visualisation exercises so I can produce them faster–"

"No, no, I mean like the absolute basics. Like do you ever do things like just make the simplest thing you can come up with and make as many as you can as fast as you can? Things like that?"

"Not... especially?" the girl hedged, trying to figure out what he was getting at. "I practice actually making things, of course. When I was younger I used to like making matryoshka dolls to get to grips with my quirk since they're simple but also detailed. But since then I've just never seen the need to focus on simple objects when making more complex items offers more versatility." Seeing the slight frown on her blue-haired classmate's face, "You disagree?"

"Oh, no! Not at all!" he tried to wave it off, realising he has placed himself in a dangerous position. It could be a thorny subject to discuss someone's quirk. It was a part of them so it was easy for people to take offense.

"You seem to have thoughts on it though?" she pressed, much to his discomfort. "Please? I only want to improve."

He grimaced. He was trapped. It would be rude to refuse her, but speaking his mind could make her angry. "It's just... It seems like you're missing the forest for the trees."

"What do you mean?"

"I obviously don't know your quirk as well as you do. But from the perspective of someone who doesn't really have a lot of versatility in their quirk? It seems like you're so focused on what your quirk can make, you've skipped over getting better at making things in general. Your quirk gives you the ability to do so many things, you're focusing on that rather than the fundamentals of it. If you get better, train the physical aspect of making things in general, you get better at making the complex stuff too."

"I... Hm." She put a stop to her knee-jerk reaction to deny the importance of that. "I suppose it's possible... The major hindrance of my quirk has always been the mental aspect, perfectly picturing what I want to make."

"That's what I mean. You have the ability to make anything, but that just leads you to look for the perfect solution instead of the 'good enough' solution. Like, here," he turned her hand palm up. "Make a metal pole from here."

The posh girl frowned, not liking to make things directly from her hands, but did as he suggested, a black spike suddenly jutting out of her hand, then pulled out with the other.

"Now, how long did that take you? A fraction of a second? Imagine if you had done that in your match with Izuku." Her eyes snapped to his. "Imagine if you had made a half dozen of them, from your arms, legs. A sudden change of your shape like that would massively change how Izuku would have had to fight you even if only because you could make more anywhere to keep interrupting her. Just being able to do that could be a strong quirk all on its own. Having the right tool for the job is fantastic, but when it comes to a straight-up fight? There's nothing better than being hard to predict."

The small iron rod twirled in Momo's hands for a moment, before resting in her lap. "You may be right. I'm just not sure I have the right mindset for that kind of spontaneity."

Saiki shrugged with a half smile. "I didn't have the right mindset for booksmarts. If it doesn't come naturally we just have to learn, right? Well," he scratched at his cheek, "I guess I cheated on that part. But the advice is still sound. Offer's still open to train together you know? We could probably drag some of the others along. I bet Jiro would be willing and Izuku would jump at the chance–"

"It always comes back to her, doesn't it?"

"Huh?"

"Izuku," Momo clarified, suddenly looking slightly distraught, "You like her a lot, don't you?"

"... Yeah. I do."

"Right," she nodded, swallowing. "I understand." Her downcast look vanished, replaced with false cheer. "So who do you think will make it to–?"

Her words were cut off when he took her hand in his. "And I like you a lot too."

"But–"

"I like Izuku a lot. She keeps going no matter how in over her head she gets. She always manages to surprise you. I like you a lot. You're smart, fun, caring and considerate. I don't know what happens in the future. I just know I don't want to second-guess myself and lose out on something amazing."

Momo stared into wine-red eyes, suddenly losing herself in the surprising conviction she saw in them. Were she not a teenage girl getting swept up in her first taste of romance, she might have questioned that conviction, how it was all for pursuing two different girls at once. But instead, all she could think about was a possible future she could miss out on if she wasn't willing to hold on to it. To fight for it.

"And for what it's worth, I think Matou is going to win. Those tentacles are crazy."

A burble of surprised laughter escaped her, returning her attention to the show in front of them. At no point did she let go of his hand again.

As the event came to a close, the blonde girl Ryufude took victory after proving a devastating combatant one-on-one with her invisible weapon. The young not-quite-couple stood outside the stadium. The stalls were packing up for the day, ready to lay out their wares again for the final day of festivities with the third year competition.

"I had a wonderful time," Momo said, fingers still interlocked with his even as she faced him, not quite wanting to let go.

"I'm glad. I did too," he agreed, brushing her fringe away from her eyes.

"Did..." She swallowed, very aware of how close they were. "Have... Have you and Izuku... Kissed?"

He didn't answer. And that was answer enough.

Leaning up, she pressed her lips against his. Uncertain, clumsy, but insistent as he returned the kiss. Pulling away, she breathed a little heavier, her face flushed. "I won't lose to her again." Letting go of his hand, she stepped away. "Thank you for a wonderful date."

"Thank you for the wonderful company," he answered, earning a smile as she turned and walked away.

Only when he was sure she was gone did he allow himself to celebrate, fist pumping in the air, half-dancing half-boxing as he cheered himself for not messing up such an important date. Was it perfect? No. He kicked himself for bringing up Izuku like an idiot. Twice. But it worked out in the end!

He remained on cloud nine all the way home. His great mood only shattered as he found his apartment door unlocked, the lights on. Entering with a little more caution, worried he had been robbed, he instead found something far more capable of ruining his good mood.

"I still have your spare key," his ex-girlfriend Juri told him as she sat cross-legged on his bed.