Fumikage slowly walked to Class 1-A's waiting room. He and Dark Shadow were still trying to process what they had seen. Endeavor–the number two hero–berating his son.

'I can still feel my bones rattling from his yelling,' Fumikage told Dark Shadow. He had to hold his arms firmly to keep them steady.

"Did you see Todoroki? I don't know how he was able to take that!"

Fumikage didn't know if this was the first time that had happened. Todoroki was reacting to every word Endeavor had said. It looked like he was preparing for something to happen, and Fumikage didn't have to think long to figure out what.

'We need to tell someone. No one, let alone a hero, should do that to their son.'

"But who do we tell? Endeavor is the number two hero. We can't go around making accusations without any proof."

'We can tell a teacher,' Fumikage argued. He was sure one of them would take their claim seriously.

"We still need proof. We'll be putting our UA career on the line if we do this."

'It's a risk I'm willing to take,' Fumikage knew that if he couldn't find anything that would get Endeavor in trouble, he could be kicked out of UA. All his hard work to get here would go down the drain, but he didn't care. He couldn't let Todoroki live under his father's torment.

"But it's not just UA. Your whole hero career would be finished," Dark Shadow said, freezing Fumikage in his tracks. "Endeavor is a powerful man. Do you know the kind of pull he has? One phone call, and we'll be blacklisted from every hero school in Japan. Maybe even the world."

A small reason why Fumikage was fine with reporting Endeavor was because he could apply to a different school. It wasn't rare for UA students who dropped out or were expelled to enroll in another school. But Dark Shadow was right. If he couldn't put Endeavor away, he was certain the number two hero would end his hero career before it could start.

'What do we do? We can't let Endeavor keep doing what he's doing to Todoroki.'

"Are you forgetting your best friend is a vigilante? We tell Izuku, and he'll go and spy on Endeavor and get the evidence we need."

'That's too dangerous! You know the type of hero Endeavor is!'

Endeavor has an extremely destructive quirk and barely knows the word mercy. He could burn a building into ash in a minute and give anyone 3rd degree burns with one touch of his flames. If it weren't for most of his fights being public, he'd have more casualties under his belt. It's why multiple online rankings have listed him as one of the most dangerous heroes today.

Endeavor had no problems putting criminals who committed petty crimes on life support. Imagine what he'd do to a vigilante trying to get evidence of him committing child abuse. He could wipe Izuku off the face of the Earth without breaking a sweat.

"I understand you're worried, but we should still tell Izuku. It's the only way we could get some dirt on Endeavor without it being traced back to us."

Fumikage didn't want to agree, but Dark Shadow was right. It could be the only way to stop Endeavor without having to worry about being blacklisted. He just wished it didn't come at the cost of his friend's safety.

After walking for a few more minutes, Fumikage made it to 1-A's waiting room. His classmates were talking with each other. They mostly congratulated the ones who were moving on to the final round. Some were sulking about being eliminated.

"Tokoyami!"

Fumikage almost jumped out of his skin when someone called out his name. Surprisingly, it wasn't Hagakure, but Iida. The class rep bowed before him, causing him to arch an eyebrow.

"I would like to congratulate you for besting me. I hope you make it far in the tournament."

"Thanks?"

Fumikage expected Iida to have the opposite reaction. He thought the class rep would have been upset that he had one-upped him during the festival.

"The festival made me realize I have a lot to work on before I can look you in the eye as an equal."

Iida walked away, leaving Fumikage dumbfounded. Dark Shadow told him to take it as a compliment and move on. He did that when he spotted Tsu sitting at one of the tables, talking on her phone. He took the seat across from her, and she smiled when she saw him.

"He just sat down. We can talk later about our date," she said into her phone before handing it over to Fumikage. "It's Izuku, ribbit."

The avion teen nodded and took the phone.

"Hello."

"I know you have a flair for the dramatics, but don't you think you're cutting it close?"

Fumikage smirked at his friend's joke.

"Who am I to deprive the audience of a show?"

Izuku laughed on the other end.

"I'm just calling to say good job and good luck in the tournament. I hope our hard work pays off."

"Yeah…" Fumikage hummed as he bit his bottom beak. "Can we talk later? I want to ask you something."

"Sure, we can do that. I was going to take Tsu out after the festival, but if you stop by, I can talk for a little bit."

"Thanks, it's uh… Private," Fumikage said, hoping Izuku would pick up on his subtle message.

"OK, I understand. I'll see you later tonight."

Fumikage handed the phone back to Tsu. Seeing her happily plan her date with Izuku made him feel guilty. He set the plan in motion to get dirt on Endeavor. If something goes wrong, he would be responsible for making her sad.

He sighed as he dragged his hands down his face. He stood up and made his way to the door. He needed to be alone and clear his head. There was still a tournament he had to worry about.

"Hey, Fumi!"

Fumikage froze in his tracks when Hagakure jumped in front of him.

"Even though we're friends, don't expect me to go easy on you if we're pitted against each other."

"Yeah," Fumikage responded, looking through her. He looked for ways around her, but she kept moving in front of him to maintain his attention.

"If you don't mind, I was wondering if–!"

"Sorry, Hagakure, but I want to be alone right now and clear my head."

Fumikage pushed past a dejected Hagakure and went into the hall. He knew it was rude of him to do, but with everything swirling around in his mind, he wanted some time to clear it before he had to go fight. He hoped she'd forgive him later.

"Welcome back! It is time to determine who will be facing who during the tournament!"

The crowd roared as the competitors felt anxious and excited about the final event.

"I know you're excited to see Hagakure in a cheerleader uniform," Dark Shadow teased his host. For reasons unknown to them, the girls decided to wear cheerleader uniforms. He didn't know who convinced them to wear them or why they listened, but the crowd loved it, and Hagakure loved the attention.

But Fumikage didn't care about that. What he did care about was that Todoroki wasn't with them.

'Todoroki's not here.'

He thought the heterochromia boy would've stayed for the rest of the festival. He could've checked on him to ensure he was fine, but Endeavor had other plans. He took his son away to do who knows what.

"Don't worry about that right now. Moments from now we're going to be competing against our fellow students to help progress our career. If your head is not 100 percent in this, you'll not only hurt your career, but yourself as well."

Fumikage took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Dark Shadow was right. As much as it pained him to admit, he needed to worry about his problems more than Todoroki's. He still cared about them, but he could do nothing to help his classmate.

This was more important to him.

Midnight walked on stage with a Lot Box. She shook the box as a graphic of a bracket appeared on the screen behind her.

"The 16 students that moved on from the cavalry battle will face off in a four-round, one-on-one fighting tournament!" Present Mic announced to a roaring audience.

"The top two teams will be drawing lots to determine who they'll be facing in the tournament. If you draw your own name, toss it aside and pick again. If a member of the first place draws a teammate's name or a member of the second place team, then a member of the third place team gets to draw," Midnight explained as she shook the box.

When Midnight finished shaking the box, she called Hagakure to the stage first, then Fumikage, then Tsu, then Mei, and so on and so forth. She announced the matchups after each drawn lot, and their names would appear on the bracket. Once all the names were drawn, the bracket was set with these matchups:

Hagakure Toru vs. Aoyama Yuga

Tokoyami Fumikage vs. Ashido Mina

Asui Tsuyu vs. Tokage Setsuna

Hatsume Mei vs. Kendo Itsuka

Bakugo Katsuki vs. Shinso Hitoshi

Kirishima Eijiro vs. Yanagi Reiko

Sero Hanta vs. Furasu Maina

Uraraka Ochaco vs. Komori Kinoko

'I like our chances in round one,' Fumikage thought. He saw Ashido giving a confident yet mischievous smirk.

"If the cards fall right, you could be facing Hagakure in the second round," Dark Shadow reminded his host. Fumikage didn't know how to react to that news. He wanted his friend to win because it would help her career, but also Aoyama would have the quirk advantage. He didn't want to face Hagakure in the second round because he didn't want to hurt her.

"Hey, Fumi," Fumikage saw Hagakure in front of him. Even though he couldn't see her, he could feel an unwavering sense of confidence from her. "I want you to know I'm going to beat Aoyama. And if we face each other, don't hold back. Don't treat me like I'm a weak little girl."

Fumikage was surprised by her resolve, but he also respected it.

"I will, but you should worry about your opponent first," he told her, and she happily hopped in place.

Over with Mei, she slithered through the crowd, looking for one person. When she saw her ponytail sticking out, her heart skipped a beat. She forced her way over until she was in full view. If seeing her ponytail made her heart skip, seeing her in a cheerleader outfit almost stopped her heart entirely.

'Oh my…' Mei thought as she wiped away a bit of drool. She quickly stopped lusting over her when she noticed the downtrodden look on her face. She stepped forward to comfort her but stopped when a girl with short hair, earphone jacks for earlobes, and a matching cheerleader outfit placed a hand on her crush's shoulder.

'She doesn't need me,' Mei reasoned with herself as she turned to leave but stopped in her tracks. She argued with herself, saying she should at least say hi, but her doubts told her she shouldn't. This went on for a few minutes until she saw the two girls walking away. Panicking, Mei did something stupid.

"Hey, Ponytail!" she called out to them before slapping a hand over her mouth. She internally screamed, berating herself for saying something rude to her crush. Her hopes of fading away into the crowd were dashed when her crush turned and looked directly at her. She broke away from the other girl and walked to her.

"Are you talking to me?" She asked. There wasn't any offense or malice in her voice, but that didn't stop Mei from panicking.

"S-Sorry, I just wanted to talk t-to you. I s-saw you during the obstacle course a-and wanted to say you have a-an amazing quirk," she stammered. Mei continued to berate herself internally for acting nervous, but her crush smiled and chuckled.

"Thank you, I can create any nonliving thing from my fat, as long as I know the molecular structure," she said, and Mei imagined a life with her. She'll supply her materials to build her babies and grow her support gear empire, and she'll give her babies to help her hero career.

"What's your department? I don't think I've seen you with Class 1-B."

"Oh, uh, I'm in the support course," Mei answered, snapping out of her daydream.

"So that's why Asui and the others had that gear. I have to say, they were impressive," she said, making Mei's legs feel like jelly.

"Th-Thanks, I worked really hard on them," Mei said with the goofiest smile she ever made. The two then stood awkwardly for a minute. Mei never took her eyes off of her crush while her crush looked around, wondering if the conversation was over.

"So, I'm gonna go…" She said as she took one step backward, and Mei panicked.

"Before you go, my name is Hei Matsume! Crap! I mean Mei Hatsume, and I hope you'll watch my fight" she said quickly, and her crush chuckled.

"Momo Yaoyorozu, and I'll be sure to do that," she told her, and Mei smirked.

"Alright…"

Mei then backed into the crowd, snapping and shooting Yaoyorozu finger guns. Once she was a good distance away from her crush, she groaned and smacked her forehead.

"Finger guns? Really!? Gah, you couldn't have been more lame!"

After a short interlude for the recreational games for the eliminated competitors, the final event began. The audience was on the edge of their seats, anticipating a great showing from the future heroes.

"I hope you're ready because things are about to heat up!" Present Mic said, doing everything he could to keep the crowd hype.

Walking out from the East tunnel was Hagakure. She waved to the audience as she marched her way to the ring.

"Introducing first, from Class 1-A, she is the espionage princess; Toru Hagakure!"

The crowd cheered loudly as Hagakure gave one final wave as she entered the ring. She began to stretch, keeping her head up to see her opponent making his way to the ring.

"And her opponent. Also, from Class 1-A, he is the proud owner of the twinkliest naval cannon in all of Japan; Yuga Aoyama!"

Aoyama posed with flair when he entered the ring. His smile never faltered, even when staring directly at his opponent. Hagakure was unaffected by this. Being in the same class as him, she had grown used to his antics.

"Alright, before we begin, I want to lay down some ground rules. No excessive use of your quirks, and please do not seriously harm each other. If I suspect any foul play, I will stop the match, and you will be disqualified and face the principal once the festival is over. The match will end when your opponent has been knocked out, surrendered, or knocked out of the ring."

Midnight finished explaining the rules and signaled for the fight to begin. Both competitors haven't moved to attack yet. Aoyama placed his arms behind his head while Hagakure started taking off her clothes.

"Forgive me, Mademoiselle, for what I'm going to do. But you're standing in the way of making my star shine bright."

Aoyama shot his naval cannon as Hagakure removed her shoes. She dove forward to avoid the light beam and removed the rest of her clothing. She was completely invisible, but Aoyama remained confident.

"Shedding your clothes won't hide you from my twinkle!"

He fired more shots from his naval cannon in directions where he thought Hagakure would be, but he hadn't landed a direct hit. His smile faltered for the first time, and he placed an arm around his stomach. It gurgled, and he bended his knees to alleviate the pain. He wiped away the sweat that was forming on his brow.

"Ooh, please show yourself," he pleaded but got no response.

Aoyama took a deep breath and started charging up his cannon for what could be his final attack for the round.

"I was hoping to save this for later."

But before Aoyama could fire his attack, he was punched in the jaw. He stumbled backward and was swiftly kicked in the stomach. Falling to his knees, he was bonked on his head and laid face first on the ground. As he lay there defeated, he quickly realized his cannon was still charging.

"Oh no…" Aoyama groaned before his naval cannon fired.

The blast launched him seven feet into the air, digging a hole through the concrete ring. The blast lasted for several seconds, causing severe stress to his stomach. He expelled his lunch to the ground right before the blast ended. He crashed into his vomit, causing the audience to voice their concerns and disgust.

Somehow, Aoyama managed to get on his hands and knees, but was quickly curb stomped before he could get up. He was then dragged to the middle of the ring and placed on his back. He felt immense pressure on his right shoulder as his right arm was constricted. More pressure was placed on his shoulder as his arm twisted in ways it shouldn't be twisted.

"I give up! I give up!" Aoyama shouted as the pain became too much to bear.

His arm was released shortly after, and he could see his opponent putting her clothes back on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match by way of submission; Toru Hagakure!" Midnight announced, and the victorious girl soaked in the applause she was receiving.

"Sorry, Aoyoma, but I was trained to fight until the bell," she told her opponent.

Aoyama couldn't answer because UA's medical staff was helping him out of the stadium, but Hagakure was sure he'd forgive her.

Fumikage watched with amazement in his holding room as Hagakure defeated Aoyama handily. The fight was already decided once she punched Aoyama. He couldn't see her, which took away his quirk and any chance he had of defending himself from the onslaught. It was the most decisive victory that anyone would see today.

A staff member knocked on his door and signaled for him to follow.

"This is it. Wash away those nerves because it's now or never," Dark Shadow said to hype him up as they walked down the hallway.

On their way to the ring, they walked past a jubilant Hagakure.

"Good luck, Fumi. I'll be waiting for you in the second round."

Fumikage nodded as the roaring crowd filled his ears and the bright light of the exit came into view. The staff member stopped him at the exit until they got the go-ahead to let him out. His heart rumbled loudly, so he made a few small hops to ease his nerves. Once the staffer got the signal, Fumikage was off into the unknown, where his first test would begin.