Back out on the field, those taking the time to relax had fun with various games like a scavenger hunt, a race with giant balls, and of course, the girls of 1A showing off their cheerleading skills, though Jiro sat out for the most part for her own dignity. The time to unwind, especially for those competing next, flew by, and the arena was cleared for Cementos to fill the center with the battlegrounds.

~Hey sports fans, are you ready!?~ It was time, the crowd screamed as the final round officially began. ~After all the fights you've witnessed, it's time for the real battles to begin! Can you feel the excitement!? All our competitors are on their own now, some heroes only have themselves to rely on, heart, skill, strength, wisdom, courage! They'll have to use all these things to rise to the top!~

Izuku stood at the ready inside the hall leading outside, he had his eyes closed, mentally preparing himself for the first round. He had a lot on his mind, All Might, Ciana, his mom, there was so much left to do that he almost felt the weight crush him. Opening his eyes, he couldn't let an ounce of fear rule over him.

"Hey," Two voices echoed behind him. Turning, Izuku came face to face with All Might and Ciana, the latter now in her gym clothes again.

"Sorry I never said 'Hi' to either of you - you've been great," He gave his successor a thumbs up. "Your Full Cowling's really paying off! I'm proud of you - not to mention Young Finley here's been a surprising underdog for many," The pro patted her shoulder.

Ciana didn't expect the top hero would come to praise them, blushing shyly from not only his comment but the shoulder pat as well. Now just smiling bashfully while scratching her cheek. "Y-you think so? I-I was just doing what everyone else is doing and that's giving it our all…"

She shyly responds, though still felt some sadness inside for causing Todoroki to hate her now… probably looking forward to wanting to take her down during the match…

"Exactly, that stunt you two pulled at the beginning had the whole crowd in a frenzy for you both, and then came the cavalry battle, Young Midoriya's heated battle and Young Finley's behind the scenes victory," All Might wasn't just impressed, he felt worry free for their battles to come, the results of their training had paid off.

"That means a lot," Izuku looked down slightly, holding the gold locket in his hand. "Really, I've felt more like I've gotten by with my friends backing me up or sheer luck my plans actually pulled through."

All Might scratched his head, then approached to slap Izuku on the top and bottom of his head, making him almost bite his tongue. "I just want to hear you say you'll do your best, dammit," He berated, hands on his hips. "There's no such thing as luck, you won't be the hero you want to be believing in something like that,"

Ciana at least perked up a little from how playful All Might was being to his successor, laughing a little seeing how Izuku reacted to the sudden slap. "Izuku has been relying on his smarts and strength during the challenges, that's how we were able to pass the first round after all."

She ends up praising him also with her smile back. "Whatever happens I know he will become an incredible hero like you All Might, Izuku never gives up just like any real hero."

All Might patted her back for that, thankful that Izuku had a positive outlook in his life as the boy's expression brightened. "Listen, if you ever feel scared or nervous about a fight-" Slowly, steam emanated from All Might, and in a flash he bulked up again with his winning grin. "-just deal with it by smiling! Remember those who are behind you all the way, that is what you should believe in, the tangible truth in front of you. Even when worried, you both must stand tall!" He yelled. "Remember, I'll be counting on you both and cheering you on!"

Outside, the flames were lit, and Izuku turned to face his first hurdle with a smile. "I can do this!"

~Alright audience, let's get to the good stuff and not hold off these finals any longer!~

Cianas smile already brightens hearing the hero's kind wise words, nodding with her fists pumping the air. "No problem! Izuku and I got this at heart! Let's show the world how strong and amazing we are!" Ciana cheerfully shouts out, even without her cheerleader uniform on she felt like she was also representing All Might besides Izuku.

He held his thumb back to them, stepping out into the light.

~Get ready for our first match-up of the day!~ Present Mic announced as Izuku stepped forward, his image and Shinso's on the big screens. ~Woah, he looks kinda scared in that picture, but on the battlefield is another story! Part of a duo and heated battle in both rounds, its Izuku Midoriya from the Hero Course!~

As he stepped up to the white rectangular battleground, he spotted Shinso with an aloof expression. ~And the man who struck like a snake in the grass even under our noses, its Hitoshi Shinso from General Studies! The rules are simple, immobilize your opponent or knock them out of the ring! You can also get the other person to cry Uncle! And don't worry about injuries, we've got Recovery Girl on standby! So put your morals aside and don't be afraid to fight dirty! But no life-threatening crap folks, it's not allowed, real heroes use their powers to throw villains in jail, not kill them!~

Ciana stood by to watch Izuku with her other friends, already excited to see him go at Shinso. Even from where she is she shouts out to her hero. "I believe in you Izuku! Show the world what you're made of!" Even if he couldn't hear her she still wanted to support him, her smile brightened excitingly as she watched him walk into the ring. Though a thought suddenly came to Ciana as she sweat dropped a bit.

"Oh right… I-I probably should have told him to watch out for his mind control quirk…" Izuku was already aware of it so he should keep that in mind… she really hoped so.

Izuku took a deep breath, bringing his senses on high alert. "So you can just give up, huh?" Shinso broke his concentration, not sparing Izuku a kind stare. "In a way, this is a test to show how strong your spirit is, if you know what you want your future to hold for you, you can't worry about what other people think," His scowl peeled away his stone cold expression.

~Ready!?~

"That monkey was going on about his 'pride' earlier,"

~Begin!~

"But I just think he's an idiot for throwing away his chance like that," Shinso's words dug in, causing Izuku's anger to rise but instead, he let it transmit to his body.

"One For All, Full Cowling, Five Percent!" With a burst of electricity, his body became even lighter than before. "I have to keep my mouth shut, don't let him get into my head, I can win I just need to close the gap." Izuku moved, stomping toward Shinso who wore a cocky expression, waving his hands a bit.

"How about the others, like Yuuki for example," Shinso added, shrugging. "Did you know she threatened to break my leg if I used my quirk on her, sounds exactly like what a villain would do, pretty pathetic honestly, acting like she's some cool-headed chick when she's as flimsy as the rest of those wannabe hero course students from her failure of a class, the fact only two made it, one of which was because the monkey croaked is sad,"

"That's not true, they fought as hard as us," Izuku told himself, gritting his teeth.

"But probably the biggest klutz is that girl, Finley-" His words brought Izuku to a standstill. "-all she is to anyone is a battery, she was for you during the first round, then to my team in the second, I bet she'll try to talk her opponent to death or something, it's all she seems to be good for, it's really sad to see how oblivious she is, you two are perfect for each other,"

Then it happened, like a cord in the back of Izuku's brain suddenly snapped as he came within inches of Shinso's face, ready to punch him straight off the arena. "Don't you dare talk about them that way!"

"That's it, I've won," Shinso smirked, Izuku now frozen in place as One For All cut out, causing the boy to stumble. "Man, that was far too close. Sorry, getting you riled up was all I had, no hard feelings but... lose for me,"

~Woah, hey-hey, what's the dealio!? This is the first match, it should start off with a bang! The fight has just begun and Izuku Midoriya is... completely frozen!?~ Present Mic was confused by the sounds of things.

Ciana gasped when she saw Izuku fall for his trick, her hands hovering over her mouth in fear of this. "Oh no! H-he actually got to him!" Ciana panicked when she saw this, she especially hated to see him get controlled like that… Ciana knew her voice wouldn't reach him but shouted out anyway.

"Izuku! Snap out of it! Don't let him take advantage of you!" She yelled, she knew Shinso was just saying all that so he fell under his quirk. But Ciana didn't want to see Izuku blow his chances away being tricked.

"Crap, I fell for it!" Izuku struggled to remain conscious, his body slowly turned and was walking toward the edge of the arena. He couldn't hear a thing, just a dull echo as his mind filled with fog. "Ojiro, Ciana, they warned me and I fell for it! Come on, I have to break this but how!?"

Little by little, his body was starting to close in on the perimeter of the ring. His heart was pounding now. All this time and energy, two weeks of training to live up to All Might's expectations. No... no, no, no, no! "Stop, stop moving! I can't fail like this, I still have to show who I am to the world - no, I have to do this for myself, crank it up higher, find a way forward, you can break this!" By his chest felt colder, the piece of metal attached to his necklace tapped against his skin. "Ciana... I... can't let her down!"

There was then these strange sparks ahead of him, through the dark tunnel, Izuku swore he saw... silhouettes, several people were watching him. "Please... I have to keep fighting!"

"...okay," A strong, feminine voice called out, and a warmth touched his shoulders, that voice to his right ear. "This will sting a bit, Midoriya."

"Who... who are those people? What's... happening?" His body felt hotter, rising from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. That same energy building and growing in his two fingertips on his right arm. "Let. Me. OUT!"

With a flick, a strong gust of wind struck the ground, breaking his fingers but snapping Izuku free an inch before he would cross the line as he doubled over, gasping for air from the sensation of drowning. Sweat trickled down his face as One For All dissipated.

~What's this!? Midoriya's stopped just in time!~ Present Mic cheered.

Ciana began to panic more and more seeing Izuku walking closer and closer over the edge, terrified this was finally over for him… but noticing his expression was changing when he kept walking… and that before he walked out he suddenly released a gust of wind meaning he broke free… Ciana's smile came back with a gasp as her hands went to her heart to try and ease it.

"He… h-he actually broke free! Thank goodness…" she smiled more in admiration where she was as her focus was still on Izuku. "Izuku… I knew you were strong enough to pull through anything…"

"Could've done without the panic attack though... damn, kid, when'd you go and get this crazy?" All Might chuckled a bit, himself relaxing at the doorway.

"You're not supposed to be able to fight back, what did you do!?" Shinso demanded but Izuku grit his teeth, he didn't charge One For All, instead, the sound of his breathing whistled through the air. Slowly, Izuku marched toward Shinso. "How'd you do that!?" No answer, Izuku kept walking so Shinso tried grasping at straws, he had to use any trick he had, no matter what he had to win! "Come on, say something?" Izuku wouldn't budge. "I didn't know you had so much power in your fingers, I'm kinda jealous of you!"

"I know what that jealousy feels like, I've been there," Izuku's thoughts agreed.

"Thanks to the way my quirk works I've always been at a big disadvantage," His cocky smile fell to rage and animosity. "But someone as blessed as you wouldn't understand that!"

"I get it, even though he's right, I have been blessed!" Izuku didn't get into UA quirkless, he was as gifted as anyone else, he was quirkless before but that didn't mean anything now.

"You're lucky enough to have a heroic quirk!" Shinso yelled. "It'll be so easy for you to reach your goal!"

Izuku kept charging, biting back on all he wanted to say, all he wanted to prove to Shinso. "I've been blessed by others! That's why I'm here!" He screamed to himself, grabbing Shinso tightly to shove toward the edge with his superior strength.

"Say something dammit!" He struck Izuku across the face, but he barely seemed phased, glowering at Shinso. In a fit of anger, he punched Izuku's broken fingers, causing him to cry in pain as he stumbled. "You've gotta be kidding me! Get out of this ring, you lucky brat!" He grabbed Izuku's collar and face, attempting to throw him but Izuku caught Shinso's arms, twisting him until his body left the earth, and with a great slam, Izuku threw his back onto the floor with a hard smack.

"I refuse to let this be the end!"

The crowd was dead silent, his friends were speechless, All Might and Ciana stood slack jawed, Chaser grinned from atop the arena, Yuuki starred with her eye wide. Midnight then raised her hand. "Shinso is out of bounds! Midoriya advances to the next match!" And cries of joy flooded the stadium.

While Ciana felt bad that Shinso didn't win like he wanted… he got this far which should be enough to show the world he's amazing, Ciana ended up crying a little as she was so relieved and happy Izuku won. Both her arms in the air as she shouted in joy. "You did it! Way to go, Izuku! I knew you could do it! I just knew it!"

She yelled out in happiness, so proud to see how much he's grown and being more confident in himself. Ciana was looking forward to going down to congratulate him when he came back in.

~And with that expertly performed throw, we have our first victor of the finals! Class A's Izuku Midoriyaaa!~ Mic announced while both boys panted heavily.

Despite being hailed the victor, Izuku didn't feel any better, Shinso's words were so deeply rooted in his heart. Izuku knew what that felt like, to have anger pull back your curtains and reveal the ugly truth you hide. Nursing his hand, Izuku looked to the downtrodden student. "Why do you want to be a hero? What's driving you?"

Shinso turned to walk away. "You can't help the things your heart longs for..."

But Izuku knew that all too well, he walked to the edge, seeing those from Shinso's class congratulating him, he seemed a loss for words before he found his voice again. "Depending on the results, they might transfer people into the hero course, remember that, even if it didn't work out this time, I'm not giving up, I'm getting onto the hero track, get certified, and then... I'll become a better Pro then any of you!"

It wasn't an easy road for him, but he'd make it, someday, Shinso would reach his goal.

Once his challenge was over, Ciana wasted no time going down to meet with Izuku. Not just to congratulate him but noticed he broke his fingers again which worried her… right now she just wanted to make sure he was okay after how Shinso talked to him, hoping he didn't take it too personally…

By the time Ciana made it to recovery girl's temporary office, Izuku swung the door open. "Thank you, both of you!" He bowed quickly, bandages around both fingers and his palm.

"Your welcome, deary!" Recovery Girl replied as he shut the door, turning to run back for the upcoming match between Sero and Todoroki, though, no offense to Sero but Todoroki was far too much for him.

Then Izuku yelped, nearly falling backwards as he almost ran into the ravenette. "Ah, C-Ciana! Hey!"

As soon as Ciana saw Izuku she immediately threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I-I'm so glad you broke free from his trance! I-I admit I was worried… I'm so relieved you made it through but I saw how you ended up breaking your fingers again…"

He reciprocated the embrace tightly, but leaned away as she inspected his hand. "That's the thing... I don't think I did that, rather, I triggered my power but... someone else moved my fingers," His face was warped with questions.

That not only surprised her but confused her as her expression clearly showed that as she eyed him once she pulled away slightly, her brows narrowing. "What…? Someone helped snapped you out if it?" That's something Ciana never expected to hear from him, but who was it is the big question? Isn't that cheating for someone to interfere in the ring? "What do you mean? What exactly happened out there, Izuku?"

Shrugging, he tried his best to put it all together. "I've told All Might, but... I wasn't able to break free but then I saw something in the tunnel, several shadows watching me, All Might's included, then a woman's voice saying she agreed with me wanting to break free, and warned me it would sting, I-I think they helped move my fingers as One For All triggered," Scratching his nape, he added with a furrowed brow. "All Might experienced something similar in his past, the lingering echoes of the past holders, that... that must've been what I saw, though I'm still left wondering if it was just my own doing too, say for the woman's voice. That part seemed to really surprise All Might too,"

Just hearing his explanation really took Ciana by surprise, past holders that reached out to Izuku? That's… pretty amazing to hear, surprisingly causing her to smile as she held his hands. "If that's the case… I'm glad you have others looking after you besides me and him, it goes to show how truly blessed you are Izuku." She smiled more warmly, happy he has others watching over him too.

"I just wish I knew why or how that happened," Granted, he wasn't complaining but there was a big air of mystery about One For All, he just hoped that won't be the last time. "We should head back, the next round is starting," Taking her hand, he led the way.

The power he has sure leaves her a lot of questions to ask herself, as much as she hates that it causes him pain… Ciana is at least happy to hear people are watching over him, though hopes that doesn't mean he will get a split personality, squeezing his hand as he leads. "By the way Izuku, I probably should warn you that… Todoroki pretty much hates me now…" now the topic going on Todoroki as she frowns sadly bringing him up.

"Uh, not to downplay it, but I think he dislikes everyone that tries to get in his way," Izuku then pointed at himself as the prime example.

Ciana is well aware that he's serious about his goals and how distant he is from people, but feels like he dislikes her even more after prying into his life. "I'm well aware… but he looked pretty mad when he figured out what I overheard him say to you… he even sounded like he was eager to fight me for payback…" she looked down with sad eyes, knowing she became more of a nuisance to Todoroki.

Stopping just shy of the stairwell up to the booths, Izuku turned to hold her hands with a comforting grin. "I won't begin to try and understand Todoroki's head completely, but, I'm sure right now with his goals set firmly about resenting his dad it only makes sense he'd be on guard against anyone knowing the truth less it gave them some kind of weapon against him, of course, you're not like that, but Todoroki will treat any of us as a threat. Maybe if things lighten up after today he may be easier to approach, but as it stands, he's on edge," Izuku knew this well, he went on the defence and bluntly deflected when Ciana prodded into a small section of his worst insecurities, it was natural.

She looked up at him after Izuku came to a sudden stop and held her hands for comfort, her eyes still showing some concern but his comfort brightened her smile back a little. "I suppose you're right, though one thing I know for sure is his dads really eager to see me drop dead… I overheard him say he be watching me…" she sheepishly reveals with a rub at the back of her head…

Izuku slumped a bit with a silly smile. "Yeah, I'm not really surprised..." Lifting his head, he pecked her cheek. "Just try not to worry too much for now,"

That at least managed to perk her up as her cheeks turned pink for the contact and smiled. "I'll try not to, I wonder how Bakugos doing so far? I was thinking about wishing him luck before he starts to fight soon."

"Kacchan's up against Uraraka, I think last I checked their fight was the last of the first round, so hey, gives you time to think of many ways he'll probably yell at us," Izuku chuckled nervously, the pair now making their way upstairs. "But right now, it'll be Sero versus Todoroki... yeah, I've got nothing, less Sero acts fast Todoroki will wipe him out through sheer strength alone," Sero would need to move fast to avoid the ice but it was so wide spread it made it nearly impossible less you had a vertical climb.

"You always manage to impress me how quick you analyze people and their powers." She chuckles, though now worried for Uraraka… She never got the chance to fight him before like she was supposed to and now this round is making up for that… wondering how she feels about going up against the explody fists. "How is Uraraka by the way? Is she doing alright with the idea of facing Bakugo…?"

"Uh, well..." Izuku thought about when the roster was shown, and how Katsuki didn't even know who she was, causing her some alarm. He smiled nervously as they walked toward their seating area. "...she might be nervous later down the line, but, well, to use one of Jiro's jokes, Kacchan's fists are rated E for everyone, as she once said,"

"You kidding? That guys is like rated R from how rough he gets… and I should know cuz I saw the way how hard he was with you and me when I sparred with him…"she sweat dropped, now very concern for their gravity friend, Ciana knew Uraraka is very strong too at heart but worried without knowing any experience from facing him like she was supposed to in the beginning… She barely knows how to get the upper hand. "This is probably my fault if she's nervous…" she ended up mumbling as she gazed down to her lap…

"How?" Izuku questioned, then it clicked. "If it's about you being in her place for the battle trial, trust me, even one match with Kacchan is... still really nerve-wracking to think about a second round against him - the fact you survived two weeks both astonishes me, and frightens me."

Ciana did end up giggling from what he said about surviving him, glancing up at him as she smiled a little. "Well like I said, I know how to take a beating from some experience from a rough part of the city…" now looking forward as her thoughts drifted back to her gravity friend. "I know how scary it is at the idea of facing Bakugo, but I'm just worried that… if she ends up losing it'll be my fault…" her eyes now showing some guilt in them.

"I mean without the experience of knowing how he fights in person… she might not know how to get the upper hand to fight him…" Ciana would feel horrible if she were the reason Uraraka didn't succeed in facing Bakugo.

"Even if we did give her advice, I'm certain Uraraka has a few ideas, but we'll just have to wait and see," Izuku tried to reassure. Ciana blaming herself for every little thing would damage both her moral and her self-esteem long before the end of the first round, and he wanted to prevent that. "But... if I'm to say who in this festival has the biggest chance of winning, it's between Kacchan and Todoroki, both are the best hands down."

Ciana ended up laying her head on Izuku's shoulder for comfort… listening to more of what he said as her gaze looked up at him in the end. "You are too you know, not because of your power but how really smart and determined to succeed to achieve your dreams." She offered a little smile again. "Did you try and maybe help Uraraka with some strategies to help her succeed against him? Knowing you, I know you always think quickly how to face off against someone's power."

"When it comes time for her match, I'll see if Iida wants to help us, I think all of us will help her mentally," Izuku suggested with a small blush from her compliment as they rounded a corner where their class sat. "Hey there, Midoriya!" Uraraka waved while Iida pointed to two empty seats between him and Tokoyami.

"We saved you two seats for you," Iida replied.

"Hey, thanks guys," He smiled, then noted Ojiro's expression, the man raising a fist in gratitude for beating Shinso. Izuku returned it with a firm nod.

Ciana giggled, noticing Ojiro's expression, but then nodded a thanks to Iida for saving seats for them. "Thanks Iida!" She now sits down as she faces her friends with her smile back. "Everyone sure is getting more pumped in these fights, sure is nerve wrecking…"

Though her attention went back to Izuku as she suddenly gave him a serious stare. "But as for you… I better not catch you breaking a finger or an arm again… otherwise you'll be getting more of a lecture from me than the nurse…" she now warns, really not wanting to see him break another bone again.

He gulped, "I-I swear, that was not my fault... entirely,"

"Yeah right… you'll be in for a shout of your ear off if I end up catching another broken finger on you…" she threatens playfully as she ends up grabbing at his ear to tug, giving off a playful smirk towards him, but still serious about not seeing any broken injuries…

"Never a great idea to make a girl worry, Midoriya~" Ashido sang behind them with every other girl nodding in agreement, causing Izuku to shrink back in his seat.

"...right... noted," He whispered.

"Truly, a path many fear to tread," Tokoyami noted with his eyes closed.

"You can say that again," Kirishima smiled nervously.

Soon enough, the pyres were lit, and the second round got underway. ~Enough standing around! Time for our next batch of players! He's got skills, but at the expense of some creepy looking elbows, from the hero course it's Hanta Serooo!~ The crowd cheered as Mic led on. ~Versus, the front run predator that's waaay too strong for his own good! Someone who got onto the hero course through recommendations! It's Shoto Todorokiiii!~ But the boy's face was obscured by shadows, his temperament feeling like a storm-front to Ciana. ~BEGIIIIN!~

Cianas laughed a bit from what her friends said and seeing Izuku shaken up, which really brought her mood back. Now facing forward to see her classmates facing off, Cianas gaze turned to Todoroki. Her eyes now narrowing in concern especially seeing how serious he still is which is not much of a surprise.

"I know he said he never wants to use his quirk… but his dad shouldn't stop him from showing off his own way rather than his fathers… that jerk is still probably hoping he sees things his way." Her glare now showing recalling his terrible father… glancing up at where Ciana she predicted he would be watching… Even if the hothead will be watching her too she won't give him the satisfaction of losing the first round he watches her… hopefully proving she's strong in her own way too.

In a flash, Sero took the early lead, binding Todoroki before whipping him toward the edge of the ring, comparing the two was like a pebble to a landslide. In terms of raw power, Todoroki was a threat, so Sero taking the lead was smart. But despite Sero's advantage and Present Mic's encouragement, something sinister came boiling to the surface that it made Ciana a little dizzy. Anger, pain, raw resentment and hatred pooled like a black void in Todoroki's soul.

From his foot, ice spread like a wildfire, and in mere seconds, the whole of 1A - no, the entire arena, were frozen stiff with terror as the ice expanded into a titanic glacier so tall it shadowed over one half of the arena. Midnight, half frozen herself, spoke through her mic. ~Sero, tell the truth, can you move?~ The ravenette gave his shaky reply, half frozen in ice. Soon after, Midnight raised her hand. ~Sero has been immobilized, Todoroki advances to the second round!~

Despite the crowd now trying to cheer Sero up, Todoroki worked on melting Sero free from the ice, and yet, Izuku stared down at the winner with a solemn face. In that moment, Todoroki looked sad to him, that anger was gone, replaced with a bitterness that wouldn't wash away.

Ciana worried about Todoroki's anger he displayed… especially the sadness in the end, Ciana could clearly see that even from how determined he was being. Todoroki was still suffering… probably knowing his father is watching, even knowing that he doesn't like her now… Ciana couldn't just turn a blind eye seeing him like this…

Clenching her fists, maybe it's about time she actually admits what she said to his dad, Ciana tried her best to tell herself to bud out… but knowing the pain he was now feeling… Ciana ended up getting up, now running down towards where he will be coming back in without giving her friends an explanation where she's heading…

By the time Todoroki left the arena, his anger had simmered, shaking off the heat in his palm used to free Sero. He didn't mean to go overboard but something about what his father said made him snap. "I need to calm down, he's getting into my head again," He covered his left eye, trying to take deep breaths when footsteps echoed behind him, they were light, so it wasn't his father. Maybe the next challenger? But why come now while the ice covered half the arena?

By the time Ciana headed down to meet him… she stood at the entrance knowing he was coming back in, her eyes clearly showing worry for him. Even knowing the guy will probably tell her off… Ciana couldn't just leave him to suffer no matter how much he pushed her away. "Hey…" she softly greets him from where she stood.

Seeing it was Ciana again, he sighed, already not in the mood. "I don't want to talk right now, please, leave me be," He needed to clear his head, trying to be friends wasn't in that plan.

She didn't leave though, Ciana couldn't leave him. "You don't have to say anything… Todoroki, even from how you fought, I… could see how much pain you were feeling… I know it's still not my place to get in your way and I'm not trying to do that at all, but I couldn't leave you like this knowing how much your dad was still hurting you even from a distance…" she firmly tells him, her expression now shown how serious she's being.

He grit his teeth a bit. "...I also appreciate if you stopped reading my emotions," His eyes met hers with as much firmness. "Everyone else accepts it but I don't, so stop digging into something that doesn't concern you, this has nothing to do with you,"

Even showing how mad he was, her own glare shown but not towards him. Towards the one who made him like this. "You're right, it doesn't… but Todoroki, like it or not I actually care about you enough not to leave you no matter how much you want to push me away… I know how much you're hurting and after knowing what your dad put you through, I'm not going to give him the satisfaction for what he's done either…"

She tells him this with her eyes narrowing in determination of her own goal during this challenge, so far hinting at what she did…

His aura burned with anger, some of it now toward her. "I told you, I don't need your pity, so stay out of this!" He raised his voice slightly, shoving past her shoulder. "If you keep this up, it won't just be Midoriya I'll be beating today, and unfortunately, this won't be to make my old man furious, it'll be to shut you up," Nothing but anger filled his eyes over his shoulder, but his emotions couldn't be hidden, he was trying to make her stay far away, all of them he shut himself away from while storming off. "Now get lost."

Cianas fists clenched, his words hurt and knew this would cause him to hate her more… but even now her chances of befriending him were over, it didn't matter if she hid what she did anymore… now shouting out towards him enough so he could hear. "I confronted your father as soon as I heard what he's done!" She shouts out, now tears appearing in her eyes.

"Even if you end up hating me, I couldn't let him get away knowing how much he's made you suffer! I told him you're already an incredible hero who's strong with or without your powers you inherited… and that he was wrong for everything he did and doesn't deserve to be called a hero!" The truth was out now and yet the girl still admires the class prince, but Ciana didn't stop talking. "Todoroki, this is not just you proving your worth to him anymore but mine as well! If we end up fighting or not, I'm going to show him that hero's with real hearts succeed even if I end up losing. I'm not going to give him any pleasure thinking being a hero is all about power!"

Despite how her tears came, she turned to face his direction. "What I want from you is not to prove I'm the best, but to see you smile again! And I refuse to ever give up on you!"

Staring at the ground, something strange overcame Todoroki, he felt his head drift for a moment. Ciana wasn't someone he really noticed, she had a quirk best suited to support, she was Izuku's close friend, that was all he knew. Then along came the truth that she was brought to this world by a villain with the same power as her. Yet, here she was trying to become a hero. To defeat Zena or to return home, he wasn't sure, her focus should be on that, so why... was she getting so involved in his problems? What was she striving for, really?

He didn't have any words, his head was a blank now, trying to pluck together answers that he couldn't begin to ask of her. His stride continued, and his aura was blank to her teary gaze, there was nothing for her to see this time, even if she saw Todoroki's face, it was blank, lost in thoughts on repeat.

Her tears now spilled out, but could see what she said caused him to pause his steps, now looking down to the ground as she continued speaking. "You're not the only one who had a hard life… I came from a world where quirks never existed… but even without any powers I grew up in a rough part of a city with many people I had to confront, people who also hurt and beat me… the reason why I'm here is because I want to live up to my mother who died being a hero by taking a shot for someone…"

Her tears spilled out more as they drip to the ground. "She always told me no matter how hard I'm treated and how scary the situation becomes… that I should stand up and face my fights, not to prove I'm the best but to stand up for what I believe in. Ever since then I took beatings for anyone who showed the same fear in their eyes like I did when I was little and frightened… and I did the same towards your dad… because no matter what, I see you as my friend who accepted me for who I am… not where my power came from…" She tried wiping her tears away but they just kept coming.

"...she was a hero then, now I understand why you're here," Todoroki replied, leaving her alone as he mulled over his thoughts. He needed to think clearly.

Cianas gaze turned up when hearing what he said, now letting him go as she processed his words. Ciana still had tears in her eyes, she was sure he would refuse to call her his friend at this point, but… praising her mother's actions and admitting how he wondered why she was here… it was enough to perk her smile back, now trying to wipe her tears away again.

"I do too now… thank you." she thanked him even if he couldn't hear her, now turning to leave to catch up with her friends. Trying her best to hide her teary face on the way.

"Hey, where'd you run off to earlier?" Izuku asked, now that the ice had been cleared, Ciana had returned from nearly ten minutes of being away as she sat down with a small smile.

"Yeah, you alright?" Ashido leaned over, elbows propped on the backs of the seats.

As soon as she got back, Ciana quickly wiped her eyes again to make sure they didn't have anymore tears. Now forcing a smile as she made her entrance back. "D-don't worry about it, I'm fine!" She replies as she goes to sit down.

"So was there anything I missed?" She now asks, wanting to bring the topic of the fights back positively.

Izuku looked at Ciana a bit longer, but didn't say anything as he turned to look down at the arena.

"Less you count watching ice melt exciting, best look elsewhere," Jiro yawned, scrolling through her phone. "Next match is up though so good timing," Then her right jack twitched. "Speaking of..."

~Welcome back to the finals everyone! Sorry for the long wait, the insane amount of ice from the second match has finally been cleared so it's time to welcome new competitors!~ Present Mic began as the torches were lit again, and the combatants stepped into view. ~A mystery even to her peers, a ghost that snatched victory to make it this far, from the hero course it's Remiru Yuuki!~ The quiet silverette raised her head to her target. ~Versus, the boy with the electric personality, another hero in the making, Denki Kaminariiii!~

"That's quite a creepy introduction…" Ciana comments amusingly seeing Yuuki now come into view, then towards her classmate friend Kaminari. Seeing him in view actually reminded her of something she's been wanting to scheme… smirking a little as she leaned towards Jiro and Ashido.

"Hey… after this fight I think I know a way how we can get back at Mineta and Kaminari if you girls are still interested after that dirty trick they pulled…" she whispered out to them, her mood being brought back more just remembering the scheme she wanted to pull with them…

"Oooh, already? You have my attention," Ashido grinned ear to ear.

"I'm listening," Jiro smirked, twirling a jack around her finger.

She smirked wider at this, making sure the other boys don't over hear so they don't rat them out. "Do you still have the uniforms we were forced to wear? Cuz by the time the guys hit the showers… when they are out of view, let's steal their clothes from their locker and replace them with the uniforms they made us wear… " she already began chuckling at her idea. "We'll see how they like it when they are forced to wear those and we will be there to have our cameras ready to snap their own look…"

"Holy crap..." Jiro gawked, eyes wide as she immediately yanked on Hagakure's sleeve. "Get in on this, right now, Yaomomo, keep the damn uniforms,"

Ashido was trying her best not to burst out laughing as she teared up a bit with her cheeks puffed out. It was sinister, evil, and shameful. Which was why Ashido ran to each girl to quietly whisper the plot at the end of the day.

Ciana was glad they were pumped and so in on this humiliation as her smile perked up wider and chuckled from all her gal friends excitement, this will surely be perfect payback for the pervy duo messing with them… already she forgotten why she was sad before and now looking forward to the fun Ciana will be scheming with her gal friends.

"This is going to be so much fun…" she couldn't help but comment with another giggle, Ciana won't be telling Izuku this knowing he can't always keep a secret…

"Man, I know she's real cold blooded and all but she's a real catch, that mysterious look of hers, not to mention her voice, she's really beautiful," Kaminari shook his head, slapping his cheeks. "Get your head in the game, maybe I'll see if she wants to hang out after? Might get rejected but hey, nothing ventured nothing gained," Then his eyes sparked with power. "'Course, after I win this,"

With a rousing welcome from the crowd, the two stared each other down. ~Keep those eyes peeled! I want to see a super flashy battle this time! Begin!~

"Say, after this, want to grab a drink or something, my treat? 'Course, to comfort you after your loss!" Kaminari's body was soon struck with golden bolts of electricity. "Because, this is about to be over in two seconds!"

"Your overconfidence will be your downfall," Yuuki retorted, moving slowly towards him. And she slowly took a breath.

"Indiscriminate Shock - One Point Three Million Volts!" That surge of raw energy erupted from his fingertips, coursing across the arena in front of him. Of course, like an idiot he overused his quirk and fried his brain again. What's worse, his opponent wasn't in view. "Huh?" He muttered dumbly.

"As I said, your overconfidence is your enemy here," Yuuki stood up behind Kaminari, then promptly tripped him up and pinned the brainless blonde to the ground. "I will be easy since you seem less annoying than that purple short one you are around,"

~He's immobilized! That's all folks, it was over in an instant!~ Present Mic declared.

Midnight swung her arm. "The winner is Yuuki, she advances on!"

Letting Kaminari go, Yuuki scratched her cheek. "I do not know why you offered me a drink, I must decline, good day," With a short bow, she left for her side of the arena, underneath where her class was.

Ciana was quite amazed and wowed seeing Yuuki's moves like this. She was impressed enough when she saw the way she raced during the first round but now watching how she easily took down her friend… Ciana knew she had to watch out for her now, she's exactly what the others said about her, very cunning and strong.

"Whoa… I don't know if it was really her strength that took him down or Kaminari weakness of girls that let his guard down…" ether way she felt bad that one of her friends lost… but happy to have seen him work hard in his way to the finals.

"Did you see that, Ciana?" Izuku, having leaned forward with his notebook, scribbling down on a page dedicated to Yuuki herself, his eyes were wide as they took in every action, specifically, what she did before Kaminari's attack. "The way she breathed... her quirk's had to have something to do with acceleration," So many questions yet the silverette was tight-lipped.

"Oh yeah, way to represent class 1B!" They heard Tetsutetsu roar.

"Man, she's good," Jiro noted, scratching her head.

Ciana definitely agreed with her friends and can understand why Izuku is writing what he's taking note of… but hearing the way he commented about Yuuki had Ciana turn her gaze back to him as she raised her brow playfully in curiosity. "I hope it's her quirk you're so interested in and not her in general Izuku…"

Ciana jokes, indicating the way he was so impressed how she fought and how he's immediately writing down her profile.

"Well, there's nothing known about her quirk," Izuku stopped writing for a bit, drawing Ciana and Uraraka's attention. "I've already seen dozens of amazing quirks today alone outside of our class, some are powerful, others are complete mysteries, and some could slip under the radar - Yuuki may very well have that ability we've learned from our training before UA, or it's her quirk. Shinso's brainwashing would completely alter a battle in a second, Todoroki's ice is beyond powerful, it's breath-taking how much there is to learn and to see,"

"I guess what he said was right-!" From over the wall to their left, that smug grin belonging to Monoma snarked at the class. "-the match was over in two seconds! I wonder if his real ability is to read the future! Hey, wasn't class 1A supposed to be so much better than us!? Hahahaha - ack!" Then one chop to his neck from Kendo knocked him out.

The ginger's head peeked over with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about him."

"I hate that guy," Half the class grumbled in thought.

Ciana glanced over at the blond jerk who made the rude comment about her friends, causing her to glare at him before now looking surprised how he got struck by his classmate… chuckling by the sudden knock out. "No worries! Nice moves putting him in his place though."

Ciana comments with a thumbs up towards Kendo. "Is he seriously always like that?" She asks with a playful smile, not letting his behavior get the better of her.

"Pretty much, you learn to tune him out when it matters," Kendo shrugged, disappearing behind the wall.

~Time for the fourth match!~ Present Mic cut in as Iida and Hatsume took the stage next. ~He's the kid with engines in his legs, Tenya Iida from the hero course versus a fully equipped gadget dynamo! The support course's Mei Hatsume!~

"So, it's hero class versus support," Jiro murmured.

"I have no idea what this fight will look like," Tsu commented.

"Uh, what's up with Iida? Where'd he get all that weird gear from!?" Sato pointed out the obvious attachments to Iida compared to when he left.

Ciana perked up when she noticed the girl Izuku and Uraraka teamed up with before. "Hey I remember her… she was part of your team Izuku, I didn't really see much of her quirk but more the stuff she pulled out…"

"Uh, that's the thing, her quirk is called 'Zoom' so her eyes look like sight reticles that can see pretty far, but being in the support course means Hatsume creates all the gear you see heroes wear, rather, that's her life goal," Izuku explained briefly.

Ciana perked up at the news of her quirk, that would explain why she never noticed her own powers, though now Ciana noticed Iida was wearing new gear… noticing it looked similar to the stuff Mei used during challenges, raising her brow in confusion. "Hold on… is he wearing one of her inventions? Why would she lend him her gear if they are competing?" She now asks, wondering if this was a trap to get him to slip up for her to win.

The gear he wore caused some disagreement with Midnight as he hadn't filled the proper forms, but concerning he got the tech from Hatsume, and with an empowering speech about helping her, Midnight shivered with delight at the devotion and allowed it, much to both Present Mic's and Eraserhead's bewilderment. ~Well... if everyone's in agreement, let's begin the fourth match!~

But Izuku deadpanned, lowering his book. "Strange, that really doesn't fit Hatsume... unless," He gulped, seeing her adjust a mic on her headpiece with a toothy grin. "Oh... oh no,"

"M-Midoriya, is she...?" Uraraka shared his shocked stupor.

"I believe she is," Tokoyami sighed with them, shaking his head. "Iida stands no chance now, his fate is sealed,"

Darting her head now noticing Izuku's reaction and her other friends too of what Iida is doing… realizing her theory was probably right as Ciana panicked. "Oh no… t-this really is a trap set for him isn't it…?" Ciana had no idea why Iida accepted an invention to whom he's competing against… She figured he was smart enough to know not to fall for that kind of sudden generosity.

"Exactly," The trio from the cavalry match exhaled. Startling Ciana.

Iida then took off running, ~Bet you love how fast that gear makes you, huh, Iida?~ Hatsume... projected her voice with speakers.

~H-hey now...~ Mic muttered.

~Is she wearing speakers?~ Eraserhead deadpanned.

~Do your legs feel lighter than usual? That's to be expected, I specifically designed those leg parts to increase the user's speed and mobility!~ Hatsume explained as Iida was within feet of her, but then a pole from her backpack sprung her into the air, tripping Iida up as the pinkette barely batted an eye. ~Of course, I can still easily evade you with my hydraulic attachments!~

Iida tried again only for her pole-arms to stick out and help her evade and cause him to tumble ~I've got sensors in every direction! It's impossible for an opponent to sneak up on me!~ Then the metal wings on Iida's back adjusted his course, keeping him on his feet to reduce drag as he was sent sprinting toward her again in disbelief. ~Just look at how adaptive Iida's vest helped change his course thanks to the ingenious auto balancer I created! There's absolute no lag time!~

She had turned the festival into her own commercial break. Meanwhile, up in the 1A booth, half the class were doubled over in laughter. "Th-this is too much to watch~! Pahahaha!" Jiro was crying as she tried to sit still.

"Oh my God, Iida's been turned into a marketable product!" Kirishima couldn't hold back his laugh as Ashido punched the top of his head lightly to try and survive her own.

"I can't breathe~!" The pink girl wheezed.

"I-I'm so sorry, I-Iida," Izuku looked away, trying to hide behind his notebook.

Ciana had no comment right now about what she was witnessing, she wasn't sure anymore if this was a trap or really just Mei showing the world off her inventions… Either way, her behavior was causing her to chuckle as she brought her hand to her mouth to try and hold them in. Feeling really bad about laughing.

"A-at least this is making the match more interesting, no idea why Iida agreed to this…" Ciana had to hide her face in Izuku's shoulder now to hide her amusing expression… but a few giggles slipped out.

"This is too much..." Izuku coughed, opening his book to hide his and Ciana's faces as Iida was spun through the air like a Frisbee.

"P-please tell me someone's recording this!?" Sero laughed loudly.

"If not the cameras then I believe many students are ahead of us," Tokoyami added, though he noticeably trembled, clearly trying to maintain composure.

"Wow, you're really trying to hold it back, huh?" Tsu noted.

"I. Mustn't. Yield." He huffed but Dark Shadow was cackling in the air.

For Ten Minutes. The Sports Festival was given a broadcast demonstration by Mei Hatsume, leading to Iida's eternal suffering before the bubbly girl stepped out of bounds, wiping the sweat off her brow at a job well done. Midnight, unable to really understand what just happened, raised her hand. ~Uh, Hatsume stepped out of bounds, so Iida advances to the next round!~

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I LET YOU TRICK MEEEE!" While the crowd applauded the showing, Hatsume looked away from Iida's rage.

"...sorry about that, I needed you to make a name for myself," She admitted, shadows darkening her for her actions.

"Wow, she probably made it sound like she was doing him a favour but in reality used him to gain the attention of sponsors, that's some driven passion if not horribly sadistic," Izuku noted down, his stomach hurting from his constant laughter.

Ciana never expected Mai would just drop out like this… so it really wasn't a trick after all, either way… this match just turned into a stand up comedy, just seeing and hearing the way her other friends were also finding this amusing especially her friend with the bird head… Ciana laughed along with Izuku as tears were appearing in her eyes from laughing so much.

"I-I'm so sorry I-Iida! Y-you d-deserved better than this…" she apologizes despite him not hearing her and that she's still laughing… Ciana really felt awful deep down, he must be humiliated now… Mei is surely one crazy and funny competitor. "H-Hatsume is the definition of a mad scientist…" she giggled out, finding her hilarious but still impressed by her inventions.

"That's definitely putting it mildly," Izuku sighed, but ultimately it was inevitable, Hatsume was only here to show off her gear so winning was never her plan.

Neither noticed Uraraka had left without her drink, not that there was time to realize as now Ashido and Ciana's match were next on the roster. "Hey, ready to go?" Ashido tapped her shoulder. "Promise not to roast you with my acid, but no promises it won't irritate the hell outta your skin,"

Glancing up at her pink gal friend, being reminded their match is coming up… she nodded with a confident smile. "I understand, I don't expect any less from you Ashido, let's give it our all no matter what." Ciana now stands up, pretty nervous about the match… but Ciana was determined to show Todoroki's dad she has heart compared to him.

"Good luck," Izuku smiled supportively.

Looking back toward her hero who is supporting her, she also gave him a proud smile and a nod of thanks. "That's more than enough for me to give it my all knowing you'll be watching." She happily tells him with her pink cheeks showing, now heading off for her match… Ciana would have given him a kiss but rather not embarrass him in front of their friends.

Down in the arena, this time, Ciana would be representing herself against her friend. Heading up the steps, the crowd went wild for their next round as the flames shot high into the air for both her and the pinkette across from her grinning away as she stretched. ~Let's get straight into the next match. The golden beacon from our First Round duo, and one who snuck a behind the scenes victory with her cavalry team, it's Ciana Finley from the hero course!~ The volume of the crowd got a little louder at that. ~Versus... is there some kind of purpose for those things sticking out of her head? From the same class, Mina Ashidoooo!~

Ashido pointed at Ciana, giggling with a wink. "This match is gonna be a piece of cake!"

Ciana didn't expect to be titled like that from the announcer, blushing a little shly from being called that… as she was stepping into the field, Ciana gazed around her with all the eyes watching… inside she was nervous but now standing across from her friend with her attention back on her. Ciana reminded herself what she wanted to prove not only to herself but to both Todoroki and his father…

Smiling more confidently and now getting into position the right way thanks to Bakugo, Ciana was more than ready to give it her all. "We'll see about that!" She responds back playfully but confidently, no matter what she wasn't going to back down… the light in her eyes firing up brightly and determinedly.

"This'll be interesting," Tsu spoke up.

"Both have great quirks for this so it's kinda hard to say who'll win," Jiro added before someone butted in.

"Don't show any mercy! Both of you fight like in those video games where the characters get their clothes beaten off!" Mineta screamed only for a jack to stick into his neck and rip apart his eardrums with several vibrations, knocking him out.

"Shut it, you perv, less I just leave you at the mercy of Midoriya," The purplette warned.

"A match between Ashido and Ciana, let's see, considering what their powers are..." Izuku scanned his burnt notebook.

"What's the outcome, Midoriya?" Sero leaned in to listen alongside a few others interested in what the hero fanboy had about his girlfriend, or to those that knew.

"Well, Ciana's Aura provides general boosts to her physical abilities but if possible she can create a bright light similar to a small flashbang, not to mention a technique she learned before UA to increase her strength further," Izuku muttered. "Then there's Ashido, her best bet is to try and use her quirk in close combat and try to burn through Aura though I'm not sure if Aura can be affected that way, so it all depends on her reflexes compared to Ciana's overall abilities. To be honest, Ashido's at a slight disadvantage, and that's not me being biased,"

"No, think that about sums Ashido up," Kirishima replied, grinning away. "Here we go..."

~Now, let's get started! Fifth match, begin!~ Present Mic boomed, and the fires died down.

Ciana doesn't lose her focus or her smile, she isn't sure if she will win or lose… but either way she is determined to make it through. Now lighting herself up… Ciana makes her move now by charging forward, she's well aware of Ashido's powers and can guess how much acid might hurt… but it's not enough to scare her away.

Ciana made sure to study everyday what she learned from fighting with Bakugo, she may have the hand to hand combat down but not yet for quirks, besides for sudden villain attack… either way Ciana is now ready.

Before Ciana could strike, Ashido slid out of the way, skidding into a skating motion with acid dripping from her soles, easily outmanoeuvring Ciana. "Unlike you, I've got more than close quarters attacks!" Gathering acid in her palms, she threw a wide arc of the corrosive substance. "Eat this!"

Ciana turned in that moment, her aura hissing as the acid struck her barrier, this was new, seeing the weakened aura brighten again to her wonder. So it did act like armour, huh? Narrowing her eyes, she broke the ground behind her, sweeping Ashido's legs only for the pink girl to perform a helix twist into a handstand, landing on her feet with a twirl. Ashido lunged, acid dripping from her palms while Ciana met her attack head on, swatting Ashido's right hand aside to land a gut punch with her right, the girl recoiling with a grunt before tossing her feet high to spray acid in Ciana's face.

She stumbled herself, shaking the liquid from her face as her aura was breached momentarily, making her skin itchy. Ashido wrapped around, swinging a right hook into Ciana's side that she stomached and grabbed Ashido's arm, twisting it to throw the girl only Ashido leapt over Ciana's head, planting both feet on her shoulders to free her arm and toss Ciana onto her hands and knees.

Ciana may have been surprised by Ashido's moves and attacks, which did cause her some pain… Ciana actually recalled that Aishido mentioned she dances and her moves clearly showed that by the way she fights which was impressive. Keeping that in mind, especially since she watched music videos at home… even when Ashido still moved, dodged and attacked confidently. Cianas determined gaze becomes more narrowed as she starts to predict some of her moves she's throwing out…

She might be down now but when Ashido was about to strike Ciana quickly rolled over to the side to dodge and as soon as she was on her back she tossed herself back up on her feet as she tried to strike back…

Ashido then got in close, ducking under Ciana's left swing, not intending to go for her face, rather, her hands shot up, spraying acid across her right arm. The ravenette felt the acid nip at her skin, but it made it slippery as she was grabbed and thrown forward, using her acid-coated arm to brace only to go sliding forward toward the edge. She managed to catch herself in time. Kneeling as Ashido raced to take advantage of her downed state, Ciana grabbed her gym coat and quickly tore it off, leaving on her black vest shirt underneath as she used her jacket to wipe off the acid, tossing it aside while her aura burned brighter, her irises transformed into stars.

While the crowd adored her daring action mid-fight, Ciana got to thinking like a certain someone she loved. Ashido was fast, but that gave Ciana an idea on how to counter her. She recalled how Ashido spread her acid farther, she would cup her hands and flick it like holding water in her palms. Maybe...

"Condense it... just like Ashido," Pressing her palms together, Ciana felt sweat form on her brow, compressing her aura between her fingers until Ashido was right on top of her. Fanning her hands wide, the ball of light expelled itself, creating a small flash that in the grand scheme of things wasn't special, however, at the range her enemy was, it may as well have been a flashbang.

"Ah, what the heck was that!?" She whined, rubbing her eyes to clear away the stars before she felt Ciana latch onto her arms, then, with inhuman strength, Ciana threw Ashido into the air, the pink girl landing on her side before falling off the side of the arena onto the grass. "Ow..."

Midnight called it. "Ashido is out of bounds, Finley advances to the next round!"

~Talk about a real close call! That's a dance fight if I've ever seen one, sports fans!~ Mic cheered.

The match was over before the girls knew it, and Ciana's aura faded as her bewilderment fell to the stadium praising their battle. Ashido sat up, rubbing her side with a sad but gleeful grin.

Ciana took a moment to catch her breath… very stunned with herself she managed to pull it off, coming to the realization that she won… Ciana's smile broke out as bright as her quirk as her fists raised in the air in victory. "I-I did it! I-I actually did it!" She cheered for herself with a little laugh.

But then quickly turned to her friend who was out of the ring, approaching her with a kind smile as Ciana now offered her hand to her pink friend. "You got some pretty sick moves Ashido! You gotta teach those to me sometime, I thought you were more the rising star than me up there." She smiled wider after praising her friend, definitely thought what she pulled off was amazing.

"Ahahaha, yeah, I totally had you for a moment there too, dammit!" She whined but accepted the hand back to her feet before Ciana yelped as Ashido wrapped her in a headlock, ruffling her head. "No fair, you had Bakugo as a teacher, he probably taught you how to really take a hit!" She giggled, holding up a peace sign.

~Always love a little comradely at the ends of battles!~ Present Mic added.

Despite the sudden ruffle of her head, this display had her smiling and laughing, now trying to straighten up as she fixed her hair and especially her hair clip, still smiling. "He may have taught me how to fight but I also had my own tricks up my sleeves." She giggled, despite the people that were watching she didn't let it bother her.

Ciana raised her hand up to offer a high five. "I'll be watching out for you next time we fight! Can't wait to see more of those moves you'll improve!"

"Heh, ditto!" Ashido high-fived, the two walking back together while discussing their match.

Back in the stands, Izuku smiled at both their efforts, and even felt a little hot under the collar from Ciana tearing off her jacket with that fierce glare, in a word, badass. "Wow, Mina and Ciana were amazing," Tsu marvelled.

"Ain't that the truth, glad I'm not in the finals fighting them," Jiro grimaced before sniffling could be heard behind them.

"All I got was just some toned arms from second best..." Mineta looked ready to start bawling his eyes out.

"Oh for crying out loud," Jiro sighed as no one around the brat seemed to care. "So, that makes strike three, though you've gone over that ages ago, so, wanna have your eardrums burst or have this green bean finally put you six feet under?" Jiro pointed to Izuku who hadn't turned around but was now generating a dark aura.

"What was that, Mineta?" He asked in a low voice that caused the soul in the short boy to leave his body, passing out in his seat.

"Woah, he passed out from that?" Kaminari gulped.

"Hey, better not let Finley seeya like that," Kirishima warned.

"Totally justified," The girls replied unanimously while Izuku sighed sharply, returning to his notes to copy down what he learned, including Ciana's flash-bang attack.

Ciana had her jacket tied behind her waist as she headed back in with Ashido, the fight was rough but ended up being a lot of fun, she took a moment to catch her breath before getting back to the others. "That sure was an exciting match, though now things are really heating up… I hope I'll still be able to survive." Ciana rubbed her sore shoulder and stretched her arms out.

Ciana can't imagine the look on Endeavors face seeing that she won so far… though she knows he will be more eager to see her fight off with his son… the thought actually made Ciana nervous, Todoroki is probably still mad at her for bugging him… but hoped what she said to him would have him realize she actually cared about him…

Todoroki probably really wasn't used to the idea of having friends who wanted to help. "I wonder if Todoroki went to see his dad about now? Or his dad went to see him… I probably should just leave him alone at this point in case he's still mad and stressed…"

Though now Ciana recalled she never got the chance to talk to Bakugo, she hoped to thank him again for helping her get this far… and maybe even learn a bit more about him as well when she has the chance.

"You two were great out there!" Kirishima grinned at their return. "Man, I wasn't sure who had the upper hand near the end there either!"

"Mmhm, and that new move with your aura, that was amazing, Ciana!" Izuku's smile practically glowed.

"Nice work, remind me never to fight either of you," Jiro smirked, arms behind her head.

Ciana smiled shyly for the comments they gave her, rubbing the back of her head. "T-thanks guys! The fight turned out to be a lot of fun, especially how much Ashido showed off her dance moves." She praises her friend, still wowed by her performance.

Though Ciana takes notice Mineta looked… passed out? Causing her to blink her eyes twice in confusion toward his direction. "Whoa, what happened to Mineta…?"

Almost all present either smiled sheepishly or shrugged. Jiro just waved a jack around. "Nothing to worry about, you could say he just met with a harsh dose of reality,"

"I'll say, guy needs to learn to stop talking sometimes," Sero chuckled a bit.

"He just passed out, don't worry about it," To their surprise, Izuku shrugged, jotting down a few quick notes with a small smile of satisfaction.

"Man, Midoriya's laying it out thick!" Kirishima whistled.

"Always the quiet ones," Hagakure hummed with her arms crossed.

Ciana was still confused and wondered what exactly happened, but if she had to guess… the guy was making pervy comments again which caused her to sweat drop imagining, now just giggling amusingly at the display. "Well should he at least go to the nurse? Feel kinda bad seeing him lay like this…" she chuckled again.

"But anyways have you guys seen Bakugo? I was hoping to maybe talk to him real quick." Now bringing the topic of explody fists, hoping to have the free time to quickly catch up with him.

"Eh, he'll be fine," Jiro waved off the concern.

"As for Bakugo, he left after your match started, said something like, 'why the hell do I need to see how obvious this fight will end?'," Kirishima did a very bad impression of Katsuki but it got the point across.

"Hey, he just considered me a lost cause like that!? Hmph, jerk," Ashido pouted, crossing her arms as the others chuckled a bit.

Then the redhead raised his finger. "Oh, he did have a message too, he also yelled, 'if that Blank starts nagging about me, tell her to butt out and watch me wipe the floor with my match!', so uh, yeah, he really planned this out a lot, huh?"

Ciana couldn't help but giggle at Kirishima's impression of the guy, though sweatdropped at his blunt message as usual. "Well he couldn't have sent a message any clearer… well I don't plan to nag, I can handle the guy." She then smiled, not afraid of him as usual.

"I'm gonna go find him, I'll see you guys in a few!" She quickly tells them with a bright smile before she goes to take off to now find her explosive friend…

"I'll jot down what happens," Izuku waved.

"Hopefully you're back for my match!" Kirishima hardened his fist with a sharp smile. "I'll be seeing you guys in the future rounds!"

"I'll make sure I won't miss a thing! I know you'll be awesome out there Ejiro!" She quickly wished him luck with a shout out as she kept running down the halls.