A/N: a delay, because writing emotions is either the easiest, most straight-forward thing to put down, or the hardest because it is difficult to make them seem authentic and genuine. This chapter entailed the latter. Still not sure if I got it right, but I've been sitting on this long enough.

A bit of warning, there are some sensitive subjects discussed, mostly in relation to Todoroki's past.

Chapter Fifteen: Competition

Hitoshi stood off to the side while the dust continued to settle Calvary Battle, admittedly grinning like an idiot. Everything ached, especially his head, but his training was paying off. Even a month ago, this kind of activity was beyond him.

And now I'm hitting the third phase of the Sports Festival.

"I kind of feel like a dick," said Mashirao, momentarily breaking the reverie. "I mean, it hardly seems fair to just…yank any hope of victory out from under them."

"All is fair in love and war!" Mei shouted.

"Think of it this way:" said Hitoshi, "the only thing we really hurt was their pride, which is more than I can say about some of our competitors." He gave the fuming Bakugo a side-glance. "And besides, we saw minimal conflict with minimum of casualties and injuries to us or are opponents. Isn't that what we're trying to do by becoming Pro-Heroes?"

The tailed teen still looked skeptical, then Kaminari cut in, "Besides, we need to save our strength for the next phase."

"If you want, you can still back out if you feel you didn't earn it."

Ojirou seemed to think on it for a moment, then said, "No, I think I'll stay."

"You guys made it!" Ochako cheered, joining the circle, hands raised for a high-five.

"You know it!" Hitoshi answered. "Since it's time for lunch, let's get something to celebrate! Where's Izuku?"

"I dunno. He was here a minute ago."

"Eh, he can catch up. We just need to save him a seat."

[IB]

Itsuka crossed her arms over her chest, standing across from Torodoki. He had pulled her to the side for a chat, and while she was confident he had no ill intentions, she could do without the flat, cold stare. It wasn't angry, not yet, but it's treacherous the way thin ice can be. One wrong move could change that.

"So…" she said, trying to break the awkward silence. "You said you had something you wanted to talk about? Because if you're just going to stand there and be weird, I have, like, a dozen different things I could be doing in preparation for the next activity. Are you hungry? Want to talk over lunch?"

Phantom crickets chirped in lieu of a response.

"Seriously, I know cafeteria food isn't the best, but I want to try and get some food down before the next match, and crowds tend not to be good for that.

The staring contest continued, and Itsuka felt like Todoroki was examining her for clues, as if he kept at it, he would find the answers he was looking for.

"I was overpowered," he said, at last.

Finally! Was her first thought, but what came out of her mouth was, "What?"

"In that last minute. You blindsided me. So much that I broke my promise." Todoroki clenched his left hand into a fist. "Uraraka might have noticed, but Iida, Suzuki, your team…none of them felt it. I've seen All Might's power up close, and still…"

Where is this going?

"It means I felt the same kind of power flowing off of you." Letting his hand fall to his side again, he refocused on her to look her in the eye. "Kendo, are you All Might's secret lovechild?"

Itsuka let her own arms fall to her side and she stared at him, blinking owlishly. Letting him stew in the awkward silence for a bit, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I really wish I had some way of reading your line of reasoning to come to that conclusion."

At that, Todoroki quirked an eyebrow.

"It must be nice being famous, I suppose. I'm sure no one has ever accused your mother of infidelity. Fire Quirks are dime-a-dozen, after all. I mean it could have been just any other schmuck who knocked up your mom to create you."

Now the boy was downright contrite, and maybe a touch offended.

Good. "Sheesh. If I didn't take so much from my dad, I might have just smacked you for a comment like that. Still debating that, actually." Itsuka groaned and rolled her head back against the wall. "You dragged me over here for a reason, so let's skip pretenses. No, I'm not related to All Might; he's just my mentor and a friend of the family. Get. To. The point."

Todoroki inclined his head slightly, though Itsuka couldn't guess what he was acknowledging by the gesture. "I'm sure you know that my father has been stuck as the number two hero for almost his entire career, stuck in All Might's shadow. Even if you're not All Might's daughter, since you're the Number One Hero's protégé, then I just have all the more reason to beat you."

"Well. That's not ominous at all."

Sarcasm appeared to fly over Todoroki's head, possibly intentionally. "My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world. As a hero, he made his name through overwhelming force. All Might has been the one obstacle he has never been able overcome, an enduring proof of his failure. And since he couldn't surpass him, he came up with a plan."

This is getting heavy. "What are you trying to tell me, Todoroki?"

"You've heard of Quirk marriages, right?"

Oh, cool! That's so much worse than I was thinking. "Yeah. It was something that came up during the second and third generations of Quirks, where rich and powerful could effectively buy people with strong Quirks to make even stronger Quirks. It caused quite a few problems – Quirk trafficking, forced marriages, breeding colonies, just to name a few – so they eventually banned it. Not that it's ever been completely eradicated as a concept."

Todoroki's eyebrows had shot up in surprise.

"I read old case files when I'm bored, okay?" One in particular. "Beside the point. Now let me get this straight: you're telling me that your father involved himself with that business?"

"Not as such, but close enough that it makes no difference. My father has fame, connections, and no small amount of wealth to throw at his problems. It was a simple matter for him to win over my mother's relatives to get a hold of her and her Quirk." Todoroki didn't seem to be paying attention to her anymore. "He is trying to fulfill his own desire by raising me to do what he never could: to surpass All Might." His hands clenched tightly, joints crackling. "It's infuriating…I refuse to become his tool."

Itsuka blinked in surprise at the vitriol the boy was spitting out. This is way more than I was expecting out of this.

"In my memories, my mother is always crying."

Jolted from the present, Itsuka's thoughts were cast into the past, a little girl clutching her father's hand, screaming and begging for him not to leave her alone, too. The moment was short-lived, as Todoroki laid the pièce-de-résistance of his tragic backstory.

"'Your left side is unsightly'," Torodorki ground out through his teeth. "That was what my mother said as she poured boiling water on me."

Oh, son of a fuck. When she had first seen Todoroki, she had wondered if his scar had come from a training accident. What she knew of Endeavor and his methodology, it seemed plausible. She wasn't expecting…whatever this was. And looking more closely, she could see that the burn wasn't from anything fire related. Not really. And any chemical burns would have taken the eye out with it, no matter what a healing Quirk could do.

"The point…is that I am picking fights with you, with everyone here to show him what I can do. That I don't need my damned old man or his Quirk. I intend to reject him completely by winning first place without using it. I will beat you with just my right side."

And there was the thrown gauntlet.

"You've clearly got a lot to unpack there, Todoroki," Itsuka said after a beat. "While I think you need to see a shrink, I guess I should say thank you. For trusting me with this, I mean. If I'm catching you right, I don't think Endeavor would approve of dumping all his dirty laundry on the student of his archrival. Can't say I won't tell the principal, because not only is that illegal, we should expect better of our heroes."

There was a snort. Bitter, dismissive. "Do whatever you want."

That was enough to make something twinge in her gut. He doesn't expect anything to get better. Probably isn't even the first time someone's promised something like that, only for nothing to come of it. But still… "Hey, Todoroki."

Todoroki stopped, barely turning to look over his shoulder.

"As for your challenge, I have my own reasons for becoming a Pro-Hero. Reasons that demand me to do my best. In order to do that, I have to be strong enough to become the number one hero. So, if you're going to come gunning for me, bring your A-game, because you'll lose with anything less."

He stared at her for a long while, then gave her a respectful nod, going off on his merry way. Watching him disappear into the crowds, Itsuka took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, then set off to find something to eat.

Hidden in the shadows of the hall behind her, an eavesdropper smiled, cracking open an eye flaring acid green.

"Well," Izuku murmured to himself. "Isn't that interesting?"

[IB]

Tomura watched the replay of the final moments of the Cavalry Battle. While most had been riveted on the Play of the Game, he was looking at what Izuku had been up to. True to form, he had set up an unbeatable wall of defenses and hung back, wearing down the opposition in a battle of endurance.

Some small part of him still held out that Izuku could be his Player 2 again. But until he show clear signs of switching teams or even playing the same game, any overtures would draw aggro unnecessarily. Especially after their previous match.

Around the bar, the League of Villians gathered for one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Most everyone had been running errands since the U.S.J., but nearly all of that had been put on hold for today. Kurogiri tended to the bar, as was his custom, keeping everyone supplied with drinks of all kinds, and everyone was getting hyped for the final phase of the First Year tournament.

"Anyone want to make any bets?" asked Megalodon. "I'm putting fifty on Endeavor's brat winning."

"Are you using American money?" asked Digzone. "Nevermind. I'll put whatever that is in yen on the Kendo kid."

Megalodon sneered. "Suit yourself."

Other bets were made, circling around the room until Scarecrow scribbled down tables for odds on the entire thing. Eventually, someone noticed that Blade had not engaged in the round of betting, and all eyes turned to him.

"Who are you betting on?" asked Steel Bulwark.

Blade looked up at the TV, pulling out a handful of bills and resting them on the table, tapping on them meaningfully, and then at the screen as the brunette with perpetual blush marks appeared.

An interesting pick. Whatever the outcome, Tomura would be sure to find some way to exploit it. He had his patch notes from the beta testing. Now he just needed to put everything together for League of Villain's Day One release.

[IB]

Crowded seating areas meant splitting up to cover ground. Kyouka and Momo had managed to get ahead in line, and the Class Rep. had gotten some extra a couple of pizzas, both for herself and in case anyone was feeling like eating more than what they brought. They had only begun digging into a slice when Mineta and Kaminari approached them.

More importantly, what are they up to? Kyouka wondered.

"Did you need something?" Momo asked the duo.

"I'm sure you already know," said Mineta, with something she assumed must be an approximation of maturity and importance, "because you're the class rep. and all."

Kyouka could hear his heartbeat fluctuate, changing slightly as he spoke. Kaminari seemed content to sit in the background, likely selected to back whatever scheme Mineta had come up with.

Beside her, Momo tilted her head to the side, contemplative, though her expression was thoroughly opaque. "About what?"

"They said everyone has to wear those clothes to do a cheer battle in the afternoon."

He pointed at some of U.A.'s own cheer team passing by. Kyouka was flustered at the thought, and Momo eyed Mineta skeptically.

"I didn't hear anything about an event like that, though…"

"You don't have to believe me, but we heard from Mr. Aizawa. I thought maybe you'd forgotten, so I'd tell you just in case."

There! Kyouka cheered internally.

Kaminari nodded in agreement, giving further credence to him just being along for the ride. Kyouka lightly drummed her fingers against the table. Lie.

Playing it off as nothing, Momo nodded. Best to catch Mineta in his lie before calling him out on it. Aizawa may have proclivity for logical ruses and pushing students to think outside their comfort zones, but intentionally humiliating them on international television was a bit out of his established repertoire.

"I'm sure you won't mind if I asked him to confirm this. Since it involves official business, that is."

"Eh, he kind of took a nap in the announcer booth." That was believable. "We can't get up there, and I doubt he'd be happy with being woken up before the third phase."

It sounded probable, and was conveniently unverifiable without going down several flights of stairs, across the stadium, and then up several more flights of stairs, and that would mean abandoning their seats, their food, and leaving their friends hanging.

Any further questions were halted when something akin to shadows crept up against Minata's back. Nothing physical, but no less tangible. Kyouka doubted she would have been able to notice if she hadn't been as close as she was. For his part, Mineta began to shiver, hazarding a glance in the direction this ominous force was coming from.

"You were saying?" asked Momo.

Kaminari glanced the way the presence was coming from, stiffened, and then dragged a gibbering Mineta along with him. Seconds later, Midoriya stepped into view, homing in on their table with a humorless smile.

"Nothing," said Kaminari. "Let's go, Mineta. Sorry to bother you!"

"See ya," Kyouka jeered after them, and then turning to the newcomer, she said, "Not sure what you did, but thanks for driving them off."

"I aim to please," Midoriya answered, smoothly slipping onto the bench. "I don't believe we've officially met. Izuku Midoriya."

"I'm Kyouka Jirou. Nice to finally meet you properly. Yaomomo's told us a few things about you."

"Mostly good, I hope."

"Where did you get off to? Some of your classmates stopped by and asked about you."

"Gathering intel."

The Class Rep raised an eye eyebrow. "Anything important?"

"Only if they get past me. Where's everyone else?

"Still in line, mostly. I think Mei's already working on her gear for the next phase, and Uraraka went back to the locker room to grab her lunch and some nausea medicine. Haru and Suzume were asked to help your Class Rep set something up, so they didn't stay long. You didn't terrorize the rest of the competition early, did you?"

"Momo Yaoyorozu, I am appalled you would think so little of me." He flashed an easy, teasing smile as he popped open the box closest to him, snagging a slice. "I just happened to see Todoroki drag Kendo in for a heart-to-heart." He took a bite of pizza, chewing it down before adding, "Short version, Todoroki's got some daddy issues, and it sounds like Kendo is being used as a stand-in for All Might. If he beats his old man's long-time rival with only his ice side, he gets to rub it in his face or something."

"Why were you eavesdropping in the first place?" asked Kyouka.

"Initially? Concern. Wouldn't want one or the other slanting the upcoming fights in their favor, do we?" Midoriya flashed a smug smirk, then sobered. "Once they got going, well…it was kind of hard to believe. By the way, Todoroki is probably emo. Very melodramatic. I'm probably going to have to beat it out of him."

Momo paused eating and looked at Midoriya. "Will either of our legal teams be required for the fallout?"

"Probably not," Midoriya answered. "He just needs a wakeup call, and that's not coming without a considerable amount of force. And from someone he can't conveniently ignore, steamroll, or out-stubborn."

Kyouka glanced between the two of them. "Wait, what?"

Momo breathed sharply through the nose. "Izuku is going to beat Todoroki around until he gets him to use his left side, and verbally flay him in the process if he fails to respond as he likes."

"You think you can take him?" Kyouka asked, incredulous. "He's basically the strongest person in our class!"

"No," said Izuku, holding up a finger. "He's powerful. That doesn't mean he's strong. Worse still, he things he's already strong enough."

"What makes you so sure you're going to face him?"

"Call it a gut instinct." Izuku took another bite, then asked, "What about you? Anything come up while I was gone?"

Momo let out a long-suffering sigh. "Mineta and Kaminari tried to trick us into dragging the 1-A girls into some scheme under the guise of official programming. Patently false, as I read up on that thoroughly the day Aizawa announced the Sports Festival."

"So that's what that was about? I wasn't expecting them to leave so soon after I showed up. I think my reputation is starting to get around."

"Is this a common occurrence for you?" asked Kyouka.

"Less than you think." Hearing Momo clear her throat, he shot her a look, and said, "It's happened only three times, Momo."

"That's three people who charged you for their therapy bills," Momo retorted. "And you got suspensions for each of them."

"And as I recall, I was exonerated by evidence at the end in each instance."

What. Kyouka's brain stopped short again. "Didn't you go to some fancy, rich kid school?"

Izuku laughed. "Why do you think the primary weapons of choice was rumor mongering, scathing retorts, and witty banter? And because I happened to make a good target for some of them, I just got really good at finding psychological weaknesses and prying them open with a rusty crowbar."

"…What is your damage?"

"More than we have time to discuss. And back to the point I was making, the world of Heroics has no place for complacency, and I refuse to simply let Todoroki slip into the same rut that so many other Heroes have fallen into, especially as I'm in a prime position to affect such a change."

Kyouka glanced at Momo, who was not moving to contradict or correct Izuku's statements, and then swallowed nervously. Suddenly, she was a little less bummed at missing the cut for the third round.

[IB]

All too soon, the students had reconvened on the field for the recreational games. Itsuka clenched and unclenched her hands as her classmates chattered around her.

"The last round is a tournament where we fight one-on-one, huh?"

"I'm going to stand on the stage I watch every year on TV!"

"All right, everyone!" Present Mic's voice cut over the din. "Lunch time's over. Get those foam fingers in the air. It's almost time for the last round! Good news for everyone who didn't make the finals. Since this is a *sports* festival, we've prepared some super-fun side games for you to compete in."

Midnight stepped onto the stage with a box. "The sixteen from the four teams that made it to the final round, step forward to draw lots to determine the bracket."

"Seems low-tech to me."

"Makes it harder to rig the competition."

"They would do that?"

"Some people would. There was a big scandal a decade or so back where someone made it more likely that the favored contenders would get further into the competition and eliminate the 'boring' and 'unpopular' matches."

Itsuka filed in behind her peers, drawing a slip and joining them in front of the stage. A bold "1" was displayed on her lot, which she called out at Midnight's prompting, her name appearing on the bracket, each of the other contestants doing the same in sequence until the board had been filled in.

Hitoshi Shinso (1-C) vs. Itsuka Kendo (1-B)

Momo Yaoyorozu (1-A) vs. Neito Monoma (1-B)

Shoto Todoroki (1-A) vs. Reiko Yanagi (1-B)

Izuku Midoriya (1-I) vs. Teruko Suzuki (1-I)

Tenya Iida (1-A) vs. Mei Hatsume (1-H)

Inasa Yoarashi (1-B) vs. Denki Kaminari (1-A)

Yui Kodai (1-B) vs. Sho Hajime (1-H)

Ochako Uraraka (1-A) vs. Mashirao Ojirou (1-A)

"Now that that's been established," said Midnight, "we'll have the recreational games. The sixteen finalist can choose whether or not to participate in the reaction. I'm sure some of you want to rest or save your strength."

Sucking a breath through her teeth, Itsuka glanced around to see who her first opponent would be, finding him next to team from the Cavalry Battle

General Education, purple hair, looks like he needs a nap or a cup of coffee. Didn't do too much to stand out, not that I was in a good position to figure him out, so probably subtle.

Would scouting out a potential foe's capabilities be considered cheating? And if not, would it be considered a detriment to her training?

Itsuka shrugged to herself. Something to ask Mashi about.

[IB]

Izuku returned to the stands after the recreation games, stopping when he saw Suzuki leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest. She wasn't looking at him, but she had clearly planted herself along the route he had to take.

"Hey, Midoriya, can we talk for a bit?" she asked.

This is a surprise. "Is this something you want everyone else potentially listening in, or does this have to be private?"

Suzuki shot him a look, then resumed staring at the wall in front of her. "We're each other's first match for the tournament. Given our past…experiences, I want to call a truce."

"Considering the idea is to fight, I'm hardly convinced that's a feasible outcome."

"Of course. I am simply asking that any personal grudges between us be put aside for the time being."

"As I recall, you were the one who initiated those grudges in the first place," Izuku retorted with a smirk. "Of course, you could also forfeit now. Spare yourself the trouble."

Suzuki's eye twitched. "Be that as it may, I have reasons for my being here, and I have no intention of dragging dirty laundry into the open for a spectacle, nor do I have any intention of quitting before I've made the most of this opportunity. So. Let's have a clean match, okay?"

Izuku pushed off of the wall again. "Can't make any promises, but if you don't bring up the past, I have no reason to, either. Consider your offer of truce accepted."

She sighed, frowning slightly. "After what we've said to each other in the past, I suppose that's all I can ask for."

Izuku walked past her then stopped just shy of the turnoff to Management seating, gripping the cement wall. "Suzuki, just so you know, I hold nothing against you. If anything, I should thank you."

"Thank me?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yes. After all, you reminded me of something important that day." Glancing back one last time, he gave her a sloppy salute. "See you on the battlefield, Suzuki."

Letting her stew on the exchange, Izuku walked out to the student seating. Haru and Suzume had saved him a spot, which he took sedately. Everyone in the Management course had their notebooks out, writing implements in hand, already chattering about their observations, from marketability to Quirk potential to statistics for the coming matches, which included some betting on the outcome.

Izuku pulled out his own notebook, keeping an ear open to the conversations around him, jotting down their observations as he listened.

"His Quirk has limited applications. He'd be better suited as an Underground Hero. Marketing him as a Daylight Hero would be problematic, even if his Quirk

"What about Kendo?"

"She seems to be…unwieldy, apprehensive in the usage of her Quirk. But each time she has used it, it's been quite dramatic."

"I heard she underwent a recent Quirk mutation."

"Doesn't that occur later in physical development?"

Izuku's hand stilled partway through a line of thought. Quirk mutations, as far as they had demonstrated, were seldom given to explosive rates of development, much as one wouldn't automatically become a body builder overnight without external factors being introduced.

Then again, Kendo had mentioned All Might was her mentor. It could be that the intensity of training might have accelerated the progression without realizing it.

Something for later, Izuku thought.

"Though this presents an interesting conundrum for the first match," said Tengen. "On one hand, we have the underdog, someone best suited for stealth and discretion. And on the other, we have a repeated front-runner in every phase of the festival thus far, but operating under new parameters." The class rep hummed to himself. "The pressure will be immense."

"True, the audience will have high expectations, even for the first round, but there's some give that allows them to set those expectations."

"Do you think he can win?" asked Suzume, low enough to only be heard by Izuku and Haru only.

"Part of it depends on the nature of Kendo's Quirk," Izuku answered. "If she can figure out any of the weaknesses of Hitoshi's Quirk and capitalize on them, I would say she has better experience in a fight."

"But he's trained hard, too, right?" asked Haru.

Izuku shrugged. "There's only so much that can be done in a short amount of time. He's only been training for these past few months, and most of that was playing catchup to the baseline of the Heroics course, and I'd bet she's been practicing some form of martial arts or another since she could walk."

Haru turned to Suzume, who set her jaw, then set, "His main objective is to showcase and demonstrate improvement. If he's planning on going Underground, he's best served with as few demonstrations and as much ambiguity of his fullest potential.

"And to that end, well…I think we're about to see."

Smiling to himself, Izuku joined the rest of his peers in waiting for the first match to start.

[IB]

Itsuka centered herself, focusing on her upcoming match, Present Mic's hype passing her by.

She knew Shinso was acquainted with Yaoyorozu and that he had teamed up with Mashi during the Cavalry Battle. He apparently had some kind of mind control Quirk, though she hadn't been able to see him in action to guess how it worked. According to Mashi, it had taken some kind of response or reaction for it to take hold, and that was primarily how Shinso's team had gotten most of their points to advance. Unfortunately, Shinso hadn't explained exactly what the response was, and Mashi hadn't been able to determine it in their brief team-up.

Too many possibilities and not enough information, and seeing as her cue was given, she figured she'd have to wing it and hope for the best.

"On one end, the Mountain Slayer herself! It's Itsuka Kendo of Class 1-B!"

Blasted by Present Mic's voice over the speakers, Itsuka stepped out onto the field and let her eyes adjust to the sunlight, keeping her calm in the face of untold thousands cheering in the stands, and many more watching her on the broadcast.

"And standing in the opposite corner, it's the General Education's front runner and underdog, Hitoshi Shinso of 1-C!"

Approaching from the opposite end of the field, the purple-haired boy's eyes flicked to the announcer booth, then squared his shoulders, looking exhausted, but resolute.

Even without any idea about his Quirk, Itsuka decided if her advancement stopped here, it was because of things outside of her control. If she won, she planned on being a good sport about it.

"The rules are simple," said Midnight. "Force your opponent out of bounds or immobilize them! Or you can win make making the person cry uncle!"

"I'll stop things if they go too far", said Cementoss, seating himself in a chair he made on the spot.

Both Itsuka and Shinso acknowledged their teachers with a nod, and then faced one another, staring intently as Midnight counted them down.

Does his Quirk work through eye contact? Itsuka to the side of caution, she had kept her sight fixed to the left of his head.

"Hey!" Shinso hollered from across the ring, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Does your Quirk just work on your hands, or does it work on other parts of your body? Like…" he trailed off, waving a hand over his chest.

"What? No!" I think…?

"Eh? Well, that's a few bucks for me, I suppose."

"Why would you even ask such a thing?" He hadn't taken control of her yet, and it didn't feel like there was any kind of intrusion, so she hazarded talking further. "Why would you even make a bet on it?"

"Friend of mine was asking. Scientific curiosity of his or something."

"Hmph. 'Scientific', huh? Your friend must be a pervert."

Shinso snorted. "I highly doubt it."

So it wasn't a vocal response? What else could there be? Was he holding out to avoid tipping off the actual trigger of his Quirk?

That still leaves physical contact as a possibility, she thought. If that's the case, this fight might be a challenge.

Shinso started running at the last of Midnight's countdown. Rather than rise to his provocation, Itsuka hunkered back, preparing to match him on the defensive.

Don't let him hit you. Hit him instead.

Her opponent leapt into the air, fist pulled back for a punch. Itsuka almost wanted to chide him for telegraphing his moves so obviously. Hands enlarging to deflect when everything went cold.

Instead of following through with the punch, Shinso landed next to her in a crouch. A distinct but distant chill washed over her, all but freezing her in place.

"Sorry about this," he said, his voice sounding far off and faint, "but I don't think it's in my best interest to face you head on. Turn around and walk out of the ring. Nice and easy."

My body's moving on its own. It's like my head is full of cotton. I still don't know when he had me.

"Not too shabby, kiddo." a woman said from the back of her mind. "You still have plenty of room to grow,"

Wait, that isn't my thinking voice.

"She practically opened herself for that," another voice added. "Still too used to taking things in the ring, I guess."

Her vision was hazy, but she could make out dark, ill-defined shapes lingering in the entrance to the field. Eight that she could make out, though they were indistinct to the point should couldn't be entirely sure. They were watching her slowly make her way to the edge of the ring, steadfast and unblinking.

Forget about the voices, Itsuka chastised herself. Think. Think! How do I stop!? How do I break out of this?

"This will be a good learning experience. Better here than in the field."

Yet another voice chimed in, soft and small, but firm all the same. "All too true. My brother won't be as kind."

"Anything we can do?"

"Yeah, but it won't be pretty."

Wait, what's happening? Itsuka thought, panic crawling up her spine. What are you doing?

"Pretty is for pageants. Let's do it."

"She's had worse. And pain will make the lesson stick."

The familiar rush of One for All started coursing through Itsuka, flooding her body and then guiding to her left hand, and then into her index and middle finger, concentrating to a blinding focus. She had just the presence of mind to curl them in and then flick them back out. Something she regretted immediately after.

Her finger exploded in pain, shocking her back into consciousness, stomping her foot mere inches from the edge of the arena. The burst of wind and the crack on the cement reminded her of her surroundings, a scream choked back as she twisted around.

"And Kendo is back in the game!" Present Mic screamed over the speakers.

How..?

Itsuka shook the last wisps of fog from her mind. The "How" could wait for later. The voices could wait until later. Shinso had not waited for her to recover, and was lunging towards her, ready to shoulder-check her beyond the boundaries.

She rolled to the side, wincing when her fingers jostled, then righting herself. Shinso stopped short of the edge and leapt back before she could steal his idea for herself and backed further into the ring.

She began building up One for All again and diffusing it across her body. She wasn't entirely sure how it knocked her out of the trance, but it was the best plan she had on hand, and she needed another option that wouldn't break anything else.

Shinso closed the gap, giving a feint before shouting, "Give up!"

"Shut up!"

And then there was cold again, the accumulated energy from One for All dispersing in a rush that snapped her out again…

…Just in time for her to side-step another grappling attempt. An enlarging fist threw him back, but not far enough to throw him out of the ring entirely. Righting himself, Shinso readied for another go.

I still don't know the activation trigger for his Quirk, but physical shock seems to break its hold. One for All rushed back into her veins. Got to keep Full Cowl active. That seems to be the only thing keeping me in the ring right now.

"Still alive, Kendo?" Shinso called out, then rushed in.

Itsuka snapped out her fist, expanding her hand and catching him across the face before he could back out of her range. Not that it was going to do much good when-

Again, her consciousness fogged up, and again One for All's dispersal shocked her out of her stupor.

He shifted to her left side, the same as the broken finger, then punched at it, sending a lance of pain up her arm as she blocked on reflex. He held her wounded hand and twisted, made worse as the limb spasmed in response. Ignoring the broken fingers, she pulled her arm free and swung her arm, enlarging her hand. He ducked down and then elbowed her in the ribs.

"Go to sleep!" Shinso growled.

Slumber clawed at her senses, threatening to knock her out. Adrenaline pumping and the roar of blood rushing through her ears, she powered through, stomping the ground.

"Like! Hell!" Itsuka screamed. With one final kick sent him sliding out the ring and down the steps, and into the growing mass of cement that cushioned his fall.

Midnight raised her flogger. "Shinso is out of bounds! Kendo advances to the next round!"

Panting heavily, Itsuka relaxed and inspected her fingers. Recovery Girl wouldn't be happy about that.

"What a way to kick off the third round!" Present Mic screamed.

Walking over to her fallen opponent, Itsuka checked him over for injuries, then helped him up. "Come on. Let's get you to Recovery Girl."

"Ow…" Shinso sat up, rubbing his back from his landing. "Damn. Thought I had that for a moment. How did you break out of that?"

Despite her apprehension of lying, the cover story she had been working on came rather easily. "I was manipulating my mass and your Quirk kept breaking my concentration. I'm guessing physical shock had something to do with it."

"Huh. Of all the possible matchups, I had to wind up with you. Trained like hell for this only to get knocked out here. Doubt I've made a good enough showing for a transfer consideration."

"You still fought really well. You probably would have won against anyone else here."

"Eh, I would have gotten knocked out the next round anyway."

"Still. You made it this far. Maybe you did well enough to impress somebody?"

"Hm. Maybe."

The cover story appeared to have worked. And she felt a little less awful for trammeling someone else's ambitions to achieve her own.

Shinso did bring up something important, and she had some more questions for All Might.

[IB]

"Next up, the creative genius, recommended student and Class Rep of Class 1-A, Momo Yaoyorozu! And stepping up to the plate opposite of her with a platter full of surprises, it's the copycat of Class 1-B, Neito Monoma."

Momo ran through what she had gathered on her opponent's Quirk. He could copy other Quirks, which on the surface sounded rather powerful, there had to be limitations. From what she could gather from the Cavalry Battle, he could only hold so many Quirks at any given time, and adding them required physical contact of some sort.

She didn't know all of 1-B's Quirks, and she only had the opportunity to see a few of them in action, and briefly at that. Unfortunately, that was where he was likely to pull any Quirks out of, leaving her in the dark as far as intelligence went.

Aloud, she said, "Let's have a good match!"

Monoma scoffed. "Despite the advantage your class has been afforded, it's time for Class 1-B to step up of your class' shadow and demonstrate our mettle for the world to see!"

Momo resisted the urge to sigh. She could understand the frustration. Her class had the spotlight cast on them, and in the Pro-Hero industry, that was an unusual leg up to garner attention so early on. But he was wrong. Her class had been caught in the line of fire, not handed a special privilege. It was not an experience she would wish on anyone, even those pursuing the same career field.

But she wasn't going to get into a verbal spat with this one. He would probably be unconvinced, for starters. So instead, she decided to channel a bit of Tenya and said, "Very well. I'm sure you will perform admirably in that pursuit!"

"Don't patronize me!" Monoma shouted. His skin turned to metal and he darted forward, leading with his right arm rotating at abnormal speeds. It almost came as a surprise when the blow nearly snapped the polearm from her hands.

She had mostly anticipated something like this, and the low-quality weapon twisted and snapped from the force. Throwing it at her opponent, she backpedaled, forming another weapon, a sledgehammer, a titanium shaft with an iron head plus some cushions on the handle, then moved to close the gap once more.

"Mines."

The secondary impact triggered, flinging the discarded weapon back at her. Momo brought her new weapon up and knocked it aside without breaking stride, sending it flying out into the grassy area. Metallic arms caught the initial thrust. Dancing around, Momo bombarded him with quick blows aiming for his wrists.

Monoma kept advancing like an implacable wall, grasping for the hammer as it clanged off of his metal skin, shuddering under repeated impacts. Frustration mounted rapidly, growling as Momo effectively led him around in circles.

Then he shifted, feigning to flail, leaving himself wide open.

The trick with laying a trap was that if one knew it was a trap and possessed either a means of escape or a way to brute-force their way past it, it was not much of a trap at all.

So Momo set the trap off.

Pulling her weapon back, she half-threw it dead on at his abdomen. The head of her hammer struck true, ringing out as the wind was forced out of his lungs, Monoma smirking as he gasped out, "Mines."

It was still less than Izuku's training strikes on a bad day, so Momo spun along with the motion, guiding the head of the hammer around, crashing into Monoma's side, lifting him to his toes with the impact.

Still stepping into her swing, Momo followed through the motion before he could recover. Ducking under a spinning limb, she slung the shaft of the hammer around his neck, hoisting and then flipping him overhead onto his back. Halfway up, he scrambled and thrashed, smacking Momo's arm as his momentum carried him through the motion, smashing into the ground with enough force to leave an imprint.

Stepping back, Momo dropped the hammer and prepped a flash grenade. Her wrist was throbbing from where the metallic arm had struck her, but she was more concerned by the contact made.

Monoma was back on his feet, the metallic sheath falling away as he held out an arm, smirking at Momo. "We'll see how you handle facing off against your own Quirk."

"If you manage it in under five minutes, I would be terribly impressed."

A metal shaft emerged from his arm, forming a spear. Momo could see the imperfections on the creation, and it looked to be of solid steel. His posture left something to be desired, but he likely had never tried any serious weapons training.

"Interesting," Momo murmured to herself. Imitation was the sincerest form of flattery, though she wondered how well he had intuited the creation process. One way to find out

Spinning it around like a helicopter blade, she half-expected him to take off despite the physical impossibility. And when he moved, Momo stepped forward and swung into the attack. Her arms creaked and groaned from the impact. Unfortunately for Monoma, his spear snapped upon impact. Casting the broken weapon aside, he formulated another, unaware of the grenade left at his feet.

A flash later, Monoma stumbled by, blinded and wildly flailing to keep her back. Seizing the opening, Momo took up the hammer again and followed through with a swing at his unguarded left side. Monoma blindly reached out, snagging the shaft and then twisted, the sudden motion prompting Momo to release the weapon and step back.

Forming a pair of tonfas, Momo was about to resume the offensive when she saw Monoma struggling to complete his next construction. Seeing the sudden loss of weight on the boy, she could easily guess he had overtaxed his lipid reserves and was staring to convert other sources into energy for Creation.

"You might want to yield now," Momo warned. "I doubt you could manage a win in your current condition."

"Abandon your arrogance, 1-A!" Monoma snarled, still blinking the spots from his eyes. "Or do you think I can't handle your Quirk?"

"Yes! I'm telling you that you're probably going to collapse from starving yourself if you keep going."

"I don't need your pity!" Anger provided Monoma a second wind, and running up, he took another swing, charging straight into Momo's waiting defense.

The final blow never landed, as Monoma collapsed into a groaning heap, clutching his stomach. Compared to how he started the match, he looked lean and dangerously thin, which was hardly surprising since he probably went through several stages of starvation in about two minutes.

"Monoma is unable to move," Midnight declared. "Yaoyorozu advances!"

Luckily, someone with the medical team caught onto what was happening and were rushing to administer first aid. Monoma groaned from his place on the ground, wordlessly acquiescing to the promptings of the medics.

[IB]

Itsuka's fingers stung, but the sensation had faded to a dull throb thanks to Recovery Girl. Both she and All Might had gotten reprimanded by the woman before she had gotten the change to bring up her questions to All Might

"How long did you have One for All?" she had asked.

Her mentor thought it over for a moment, then answered, "More than a couple of decades. Why do you ask?"

"Did you ever see any visions or hear voices while using it?"

"Mm. Back in my younger days. It's a clear sign you're getting closer to making One for All your own."

"Well, I had some kind of vision during the match, when I was under Shinso's control. It was hard to hear or do much else, so maybe that's why it stuck out." She let out a breath and continued. "There were eight people. Some of them talked to each other, though I don't think the realized I could hear them. Or they didn't care if I did. But when I saw them, heard them, I was able to move my fingertips."

All Might was still listening intently, as was Recovery Girl, so Itsuka figured to bring up her next point.

"And since one of them looked like you, All Might, I figured it had something to do with One for All."

"Like me?"

"Yeah. Is it possible that when the Quirk is cultivated and passed on, that something of their spirit is transferred as well?"

"More or less, yeah. A trace of what's left behind by our predecessors. Don't worry too much about it. Whatever it is you saw, it won't be interfering with you or your progress in the future, I'm sure. In other words, what got rid of the brainwashing wasn't that vision, but your own drive and passion to succeed."

Something about that explanation seemed…off. Lacking. Not wrong, at least as far as All Might understood it. But Itsuka was certain there was more to One for All than what was on the surface. Maybe it would be something she would have to explore on her own. It was high time she had brought her father into confidence, something she should have done from the beginning, but more so now than ever.

She made it back in time to see Monoma collapse, an inglorious far cry from his earlier declarations and boasting. "Who else did he borrow Quirks from? I missed most of the fight on the way up?"

"Sen's, Tetsutetsu's, and Shoda's, and he grabbed Yaoyorozu's partway through." Awase supplied. "All in all, a pretty good selection."

"And Yaoyorozu still pretty much dominated the fight," Setsuna added. "She doesn't even look winded."

Replays showed the highlights of the fight while Monoma was carried away on a stretcher and the arena reset.

"Next up: she's spooky, she's ghostly, she's the poltergeist girl of 1-B, Reiko Yanagi!"

Reiko looked much as usual, hands hanging in front of her, but the tension in her back betrayed her apparent calm.

"Yui?" asked Itsuka.

"Hm?"

"How was Reiko doing before going down?"

The quiet girl thought a moment, then answered, "She said 'surmounting an obstacle of such magnitude would prove problematic'."

Itsuka slowly looked back down to the field. "…I see."

"Facing off against her, taking second place in the first phase and first place in the second, it's the ice man of class 1-A. Shoto Todoroki!"

Emerging from the entrance to the field, Todoroki appeared agitated and tense. He had seemed composed enough when they had spoken before, so something must have happened between then and his arrival now.

Then it hit her. Endeavor was one of the Pro-Heroes working security for the Sports Festival. If the Flame Hero had decided to offer some "encouragement" to his son, it might explain the change.

Itsuka didn't want to doubt her friend. Reiko generally had a solid grasp of her Quirk but she wasn't the most physical of fighters, and her combat instincts still in need of honing. If she could maneuver Todoroki out of the ring, or if she got a lucky shot in, she could win. However, if Todoroki's established demonstrations were anything to go by, he could probably take her out through sheer volume, and she doubted Reiko was going to be spared any dignity in the resulting fight.

This is going to be ugly.

At Midnight's signal, the tension snapped, Reiko telekinetically seized Todoroki, hoisting him up and slinging him around. He fell a bit outside of her usual weight limit, but she could manage in short-term, especially if she could get him out of the ring.

"And Yanagi takes the initiative right out of the gate! Is this the best strategy?"

It almost looked like she could win this. And it was a smart play, getting Todoroki out of the ring as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Todoroki's right foot hit the ground, slowing himself down and offering enough traction to use his Quirk.

And then ice surged out across the arena, shooting up. And up. And up some more, spawning enough ice that it shot up and above the stadium walls, rocking the ground beneath them with the sudden force and mass appearing from virtually thin air.

The audience was stunned into silence, Present Mic and Eraserhead included.

Reiko had tried jumping over the growing structure before it could snag her, but had underestimated Todoroki's reach and the sheer volume of ice he was capable of forming in an instant, leaving Reiko mostly pinned. She still had enough control with her Quirk to keep pelting Todoroki with some ice chunks she had managed to break off, but all that seemed to do was annoy him at most.

A frost-encrusted Midnight shivered from her place on the sidelines, then asked, "Yanagi, can you still move?"

Reiko struggled a bit more before she sagged in defeat. "I believe the results speak for themselves."

"Yanagi is immobilized. Todoroki progressed to the next round!"

To Todoroki's credit, he worked on melting Reiko out of the ice sculpture. A complete reversal of the tightly wound spring he had been coming onto the field, much of the tension had bled out of his shoulders.

He almost looked…sad.

Momentarily banishing any pity or sympathies for Todoroki, Itsuka gripped the fabric of her sports uniform and focused on what she could use against him for their match. Both of them would probably appreciate that more.

There was a distinct pattern from where the ice had formed. It was thinner the closer it got to his feet, layering to form the foundation before surging outward and upward. Maybe a couple of yards between where it started and where the glacier really formed. If that was how he performed under stress, Itsuka could reasonably extrapolate how he would perform with a clear head.

Firstly, he needed to spread his ice around to formulate the basis of any attack. That would take time. It probably took energy to facilitate, too, so any attacks off the cuff would have to be small. Small enough for her to shatter.

Second, intentional or not, any large, sweeping attacks left a gap between him and the formulating ice. A safe zone of roughly six feet that she would need to reach when she and Todoroki would fight.

And that? She could work with.

A plan formulating, she patted Yui on the shoulder. "Come on! Let's go check on Reiko."

[IB]

Neito Monoma, Quirk: Copy (he can temporarily replicate Quirks after making physical contact)

Sen Kaibara, Quirk: Gyrate (he can rapidly rotate any part of his body, turning them into functional drill bits)

A/N: This chapter was supposed to cover the first half of the initial round of the 1v1 tournament. Unfortunately, the characters got other ideas, and frankly, those were better than what I was working with, but also harder to get down. Long story short, I had to split one chapter to two.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know with a review or PM. As per usual, constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Until next time!

Winterman, Out