Ben 10: Hero Force

by DBZpower197

It had now been 3 years since Ben took a chance at a normal life. However, history had a tendency to repeat and life had a tendency to be unfair. With the news of someone person putting in a good word for him at UA, Ben would once again don the Omnitrix and face the challenges ahead all the while having one question in mind: "Could he meet the legacy of that watch once again?"

32. Chapter 31: Tests of Tenacity

It's time!

Hi everyone, we're back for another chapter. Sorry for the one day delay, but thankfully I don't have any news this time, so let's just jump right into this!

Here's Chapter 31! Let's finish up these first matches!

---

1 week earlier

In a palpable silence, all students of Hamato Yoshi were sitting on their knees side by side inside of the dojo. As their eyes were either on their laps or the wall, their master paced back and forth behind them… with a wooden sword at hand.

Yaoyorozu steadied her breathing.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the muffled sound of his steps–

He stopped.

"Okay." she thought.

Eyes forward, Yaomomo stood straight in preparation. The sound of Master Hamato raising the sword was faintly in her ear.

Twitching only for a moment to stretch her neck, she tried to time it.

"Master Hamato has sparred with us using a variety of weapons, and in all of them he has employed hesitance in order to give us a chance." She imagined herself putting a hand under her chin. "Then, there is a high chance that he won't hesitate–!"

Anticipating that she would dodge it, Yaomomo leaned forward, but Master Hamato didn't strike.

Accepting that she was too early, Yaoyorozu crouched back down–!

*Smack!*

And instantly, Master Hamato hit her on the head.

"Ow..." She rubbed her head, as the master moved on.

Uraraka looked behind her and saw Master Hamato.

"Oh boy… " She said under her breath, sweating.

Master Hamato raised the sword. Uraraka immediately fidgeted forward!

But the strike didn't come.

She… straightened back up as she was sitting on her knees.

However, Uraraka leaned forward, wincing at the strike!

But Master Hamato didn't strike her again.

Her friend reluctantly opened her mouth. "Master Yoshi–?"

*Smack!*

"Ow!" Uraraka rubbed her head too, as he moved onto his final student.

Unlike both of them, Ojiro was keeping a confident smirk. He took a deep breath, and waited. Yaomomo didn't know about him, but the assumption was that his heart was heavily beating–!

Master Hamato swung forward.

Ojiro, as he was crouched, moved to the right, flipped and dodged the attack!

"Yes!" He pumped his fist.

"Sorry, but what's the point of this exercise, Master Yoshi?" Uraraka asked.

"Evading a sword you can't see demonstrates an ability to sense your enemy's intention." He circled back around in front of them.

The bubbly girl with a quirk of zero gravity tilted her head.

"But… they are our enemies. Wouldn't their intention already be to take us down?"

Master Hamato smiled. "Ah, but I asked the same thing." He laughed.

"And my father said: Knowing that your enemy will strike is a given, but sensing *when* he will strike can mean the difference between victory and death."

Yaoyorozu muttered to herself, as Ojiro then sat back next to them.

"It is an important distinction to make in battle, and it can only be achieved through the next step."

Ojiro perked up when he heard that. "Is it time to show them, Master Hamato?"

"Perhaps it is." Master Hamato said with a grin.

That got Yaoyorozu's attention.

"Show what exactly?" she pondered.

Master Hamato rubbed the stubble of a beard on his chin.

"Remember, out of all the arsenal that a ninja has, your mind has a place of its own." He said. "Training weights, repetition and study of techniques, they will only get you so far if your senses remain dull, and your mind…"

She sees him stop for the briefest second in front of her.

"...clouded." He finished his sentence, moving on as his eyes stared out into the distance. "It is a true warrior's duty to always push their intuition and ability of interpretation even more than their muscles."

He picked up the jade cane. Uraraka raised her hand.

Master Hamato nodded for her to speak.

"Yeah, Master Yoshi, but… how do we do that exactly?" She lowered her hand. "Are we gonna, like, mediate like in the movies? Sitting cross-legged, listening to our breath, that type of deal?"

Master Hamato laughed.

"Nope." he said, before recomposing. "Or rather, maybe, as the choice resides with you."

Uraraka leaned forward, as Master Hamato stepped aside and rolled back a patio door embedded into the wall.

She counted 9 shelves in total inside, all filled from top to bottom with his scrolls, manuscripts and books.

Yaomomo gulped. "Master Hamato's personal collection…" she muttered.

"Exactly." he responded, surprising her.

"This is the well of knowledge I've managed to accumulate over my years." He put his hands on his hips proudly. "Within it, there are texts of various different styles, techniques and secrets from hundreds of years."

He grabbed a red and green scroll encased in a metal case of identical coloring… and a depiction of a golden dragon.

"Secrets which gave glory or infamy to masters of the distant past."

Yaoyorozu raised an eyebrow.

"I'm the next in line to be the Jonin of my clan."

She remembered what he had said in their private talk.

"This much would already be impressive for one person to gather alone." She thought. "However, the Jonin of a clan… If the clan's collection is also truly his collection, then this can only be a limited section."

Master Hamato lets his hand slide over the texts with a jovial tone.

"You are free to study these today; however, I ask that you try to use these as only inspiration." He assembled his hands on his back. "As attaining mastery over any of these techniques and executing them would take a lifetime."

He stomped the cane on the ground. "For now, stick to understanding their underlying message, and if you can't, don't be afraid to ask for help."

"Hai, sensei!"

Master Hamato let them stand, as his arms crossed and a smile appeared on his face.

Yaomomo had her eyes follow him.

Clearly reminiscing, Master Hamato gently remarked.

"Trust me my students, by the end, you won't be able to believe the imagination the masters of old have had, ranging from their own tutors, animals, all the way to the pure essence of nature."

He stepped in his room.

"For now, I'll mediate and leave you to it!"

"Hai, sensei!"

As Yaomomo watched him disappear behind the doors of his personal quarters, Uraraka bolted to be the first.

Instantly, she grabbed a scroll. "Ohhhh, what's this one?"

"Let me see. Which shelf did you take it from?" Ojiro, with an experienced smirk, got up as well.

Yaomomo observed the shelf instead from where she sat, all 9 layers of it.

"The fifth." Uraraka replied excitedly in the meantime, pointing at the paper. "Look at all these forms."

Ojiro took a peek.

"Oh I read this before." He pulled it closer to him as well. " Spiral movements, allowing to change direction whenever resistance is met, all for the requirement of freeing… the spirit… Yeah, I read it but never really understood it."

Uraraka looked back at the shelf and saw a golden amulet from where she took the scroll.

She opened it, only to find some Chinese inscriptions that had a sticky note with the Japanese translation next to it.

"Let go of your earthly tether/Enter the void/Empty and become wind."

She shrugged and dismissively put back the amulet.

"Feels like monk stuff."

Ojiro laughed. "Well, you chose just the right shelf, didn't you Uraraka? You could use some of the control that they are known for."

An intense pink glow appeared around her body and eyes. "Pardon?"

Ojiro sweated.

A measly "Nevermind." came out of his lips, as Yaoyorozu then stepped up, crossing her arms.

"And what are you going to choose, Yaoyorozu?"

The vice class president's eyes quickly rose to the top shelf as her arms also uncurled… but she stopped herself.

Yaoyorozu crouched to look at the bottom shelf instead.

"I'm pondering that very same question." She responded.

Uraraka was momentarily interested but she borrowed her attention back in the scroll at hand. Ojiro however, didn't follow suit.

From the corner of his own eyes, he was tentatively watching her… but she didn't stop.

Her eyes were locked on the 9th self, as her hand brushed over all the material.

"The last shelf..?" he remarked surprisedly. "Are you looking for something specific?"

"Not particularly." she gave a rather vague answer again, before her eyebrows went up.

"I believe I found it."

Ojiro put his hands on his knees, as Yaoyorozu pulled out something from the shelf.

A book with a black leather binding.

"These would have to be it." She thought as the pages opened up before her. "The beginner-level material was designed to be at eye-level on the shelves, but this…This must be the latest forms, all the techniques that the current masters are using."

She could only get a few glimpses for now, but in each of them, he could see firm, enduring stances, and illustrations of fierce combat.

"All the most effective selections." she said to herself with determination.

Starting to shake, her hands clenched on the book, pressing harder on it desperately.

Even when she tried to keep her expression stoic, and relatively normal… first an emotion overwhelmed her on the inside, and then conviction.

Her head snapped back up.

"Master Hamato?" She called out, waiting before his door with the book in her arms.

All in an instant, it slid open.

"Yes?" Master Hamato asked.

Yaoyorozu bowed her head, discipline overtaking her. "Am I allowed to study this?"

Master Hamato took the book and flipped through its pages.

Her heart started beating ever so loudly, as her master's eyes were hidden under the shadow cast by his black hair.

"If that's what you want." he handed the book back.

Yaomomo took another look at the book again, as she puffed up with determination.

---

Now back in the 2nd waiting room, recuperating from her match, Yaoyorozu… was at a loss.

"You were incredible, Yaoyorozu. Honestly." The class president of 1-B had said back on the stage. "If I hadn't turned up the jets at the end, I was surely toast!"

Her opponent and the victor… were smiling, and the crowd cheered for their match.

But Yaoyorozu couldn't recall what she said, or when exactly she happened to shake Kendo's hand.

She remembered appreciating the sentiment, and then all in an instant, time passed right by her.

When did she get off the stage…

*When* did she go back to the waiting room?

And when did she sit down in the same seat?

All of it felt like a blur, all of it had felt… irrelevant.

Now, back in the waiting room, she saw her tablet in front of her. The tablet that she pushed away earlier was still there, not placed in her backpack.

She chose to pull it closer, and tap the button on its side, revealing what she was looking at last.

A sequence of moves from the book, all anchored on a rock-solid stance, and then executed serenely like how water flows down a stream, and then impacts akin to a waterfall.

Even from a glance, she could feel the strain on the illustrated bearer… but also their momentary overwhelming power.

Looking around as she got up the chair, and then checking outside the door in case of anyone coming in, Momo made sure she was alone.

Taking position by putting her arms to her sides, widening her stance and bending her knees, she gathered all of her concentration.

"Feel all the muscles in my body…"

Her arms waved above her waist in circular motions, feeling heavier and heavier by the second.

"Now, direct them all towards my limbs–ah."

She gritted her teeth as the weakness started affecting her legs. It almost resulted in her breaking the stance.

Taking a deep breath, she recomposed. Yaomomo pulled her arms back together, on her left side. With her fingers outstretched, they then began to shake.

"Bundle the vitality together."

It was torturous labor, but it was necessary if she was going to take aim!

From the corner of her eye, Yaomomo looked ahead, and making her hands into fists, let it loose.

A gust of wind formed from where she swung. However, just as quickly, she fell down on her knees.

"Ah…"

Her body felt strapped for energy. That was supposed to be expected, however there was also an additional strain around her left shoulder.

"Without a target, the bottled up energy couldn't properly be transmitted." Yaomomo thought, as she pulled herself back together and got to her feet, clutching her shoulder where the disk for it is.

As her eyes also focused on what's ahead, she saw that the tower of paper cups next to the water dispenser had fallen to its side…

"... as a result of the strike." It made her think. "It was an effective attempt."

Yaomomo rubbed her eyes. That meant the training which she pushed to the later hours of the night wasn't for nothing. However…

Her hand clenched.

Regardless of that under her belt, it was her loss.

"I couldn't get it to execute. Kendo…" Yaomomo thought. "Right out of my first match, I was outclassed."

It hurt to admit that.

"She was just… so fast!" Something inside her wanted to cry out. "It was like she was everywhere at once, and those strikes…"

Her quirk was complimenting those techniques perfectly during their match.

By growing her hands, she was allowing the impact to be spread all over, hitting multiple areas at once while deliberately making each contact non-lethal.

The kicks at the end were another matter of course but…

"She was in perfect control…" Her mind told her, all before turning more immature.

"...unlike you. HA!"

It was frustrating her to no end. Even with all that she had come to learn, there was still someone better!

Or rather… not just some*one*, but a whole number of them.

"Another dimension… that I'm not part of." She said, as the door opened.

"Yaoyorozu?"

It was Iida. Made sense, his match was the one right after hers.

"Are you okay after that last match?" He asked, as Iida's rather static hand-chop gestured to her arms.

Once she looked down, she could see the damage as well.

There were bruises, cuts, and the patch of skin on her left forearm, where the shield was hanging from, was turning purple.

"I'm fine…" Yaoyorozu said. "Thank you for the concern, Iida."

His static gestures continued.

"No problem! It is our given responsibility to work hard, but also be responsible with our injuries even more so."

"Right." she answered before leaving. "Sorry, if I have happened to intrude on your time."

"Yaoyorozu?" Iida called out from behind her, however she didn't hear him.

Rather despairingly, she walked off into the corridors… until that frustration came back, bubbling forward once more.

---

Back in the compound, the clash between villains had just entered another phase.

"Let's try this on for a sec, bro."

He pressed the two buttons on the controller. Instantly, both hands raised, ejected a compartment on their wrists and shot out six rockets!

Shigaraki couldn't even raise his hands, but Kurogiri could!

Opening a portal, he deflected the missiles to the left wall!

"Are you alright?" The servant asked.

"Shut it." He annoyedly replied as his hands twitched with impatience. "Enough of us jumping around like mere frogs. Tell me. How do we break through that shielding?"

Kurogiri's smoke fidgeted. Without warning, more missiles were fired!

"Kurogiri!"

The servant came online once again and deflected the missiles outside.

Shigaraki recomposed. "I asked you a question."

"I know, master." Kurogiri spoke. "However I'm… unsure. I don't think I have an answer."

He looked up to their colossal robotic opponent, and the yellow glow that was emanating off from the armor ever since it started to move.

"Can we call in any Nomus?" Shigaraki asked.

Kurogiri didn't take his eyes off the opponent.

"It would be against the instructions of the knights." he said. "Any outside interference would harm the chances at an alliance afterwards, no matter the result."

Shigaraki gritted his teeth, as one answer kept echoing in his head. One urge… which demanded to be satisfied.

"Hammer him then." Shigaraki clenched his hand. "Make a way through those shields."

The urge, it got stronger. Even the small battery creatures turned their heads at the change in the atmosphere.

"Then, I shut this guy down… for funsies."

More rockets were sent through his way, but Kurogiri reflected them to the right wall.

"Understood!" The servant replied, as the two battery creatures circled around. Together, they blasted the armor's top part!

However, just like everyone else that was thrown at him, Fistrick shrugged it off.

Kurogiri opened a portal between the chains of… what seemed to be a dark gray, large angular capsule flanked with two tuning forks on its side.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." Fistrick remarked as his suit's camera showed him exactly what was happening.

Kurogiri closed his fist, closing the portal and cutting the chain!

Fistrick punched the pod mid-air, making it land behind him.

"That's really all you got?!"

Shigaraki lunged forward, but the armor just flicked him away.

"Oh, don't you start as well… Haven't you learned by now, bros?" Fistrick taunted him, opening his arms. "Those attacks are as effective as one pound dumbbell–"

The shocks of the two battery creatures came back, attacking his shields as they squeaked in fury.

"And you two! Do me a favor and go put yourselves in some pods already, save me the trouble."

Shigaraki briefly looked back at what Kurogiri dropped…

"Kurogiri." He called out, eyes locked on a cluster of tech.

"Yes, my master?"

"New plan. Keep him busy." He said dismissively. What Kurogiri dropped from the roof seemed to fall on its right side up.

"Of course sir, but why–"

"Just do it." Shigaraki replied curtly.

Kurogiri did as ordered. He let out his smoke again, in a way that would blind the attacker!

Shigaraki ran and stopped before the mass. As his hands found a handle, he opened it up to see a cabin, and quickly got comfortable in its seat.

"Alright, start button, start button…" His eyes exasperatedly searched.

Besides the cracked controls and the battle damage of the overall vehicle, the first thing that got his attention was how… futuristic it looked from the inside.

But now the problem was there being a noticeable lack of buttons–

*CRASH!*

Too bad, there was also a noticeable lack of time. Kurogiri got thrown outside, with the smoke emanating from his tux.

"Ha!" Fistrick laughed. "Check out these guns!"

Almost like he heard him, Tinkerer's voice came through once more.

"Yes, yes, very impressive, blowing up your own property." He was rolling his eyes. "Any Apploplexian with a stick of dynamite could've done the same on any given hour."

"Stop being such a wet blanket." Fistrick scoffed. "What are you reportin in for anyway?"

Tinkerer sighed.

"The biometric readings of the two intruders have just come in." He gestured with his hand. "Are you going to take a look or do I need to explain it to you *like usual*?"

The last part was told with a hint of vitriol, however Fistrick just shook his head. "Just leave the paperwork on my desk, bro."

Tinkerer put a hand over his eyes. "When will it sink in that knowledge is power?"

Fistrick clicked a button on his controls. "When knowledge starts doing THIS!"

More missiles got shot out, and even Kurogiri was having a hard time now. He could barely teleport the last ones away.

"HA HA! Give it up, bro." Fistrick cracked the knuckles of the mech. "You got no shot standing up to me."

Kurogiri, with one knee on the ground, looked up. "I… beg to differ."

"Really?" Fistrick taunted. "What else you got under your sleeves!?"

The Tinkerer, who saw the entire sequence as well as Fistrick's brutal use of his creation, shrugged.

He turned off the call.

---

"That idiot doesn't value his life." He stated to himself, barely pulling a monitor close to him due to his small stature. "So, why should I?"

Both models of Shigaraki and Kurogiri fully formed, as a pie chart appeared next to them.

Shigaraki's chart was composed of only two colors, whereas Kurogiri's… was composed of many of them.

An eyebrow raised, as he clicked on Kurogiri's details first.

"Interesting…" He said. "This human. His quirk is definitely connected to the trace amounts of Florpus Tesabo DNA, but the composition… it seems far from organic? And the peculiarity of these life readings…"

More and more data rushed in. A smile instinctively formed on the Tinkerer's face with his sharper teeth.

"Huh. Looks like this planet DOES have just a little more than numbskulls in place for inhabitants."

He scrolled over to viewing Shigaraki's data, as the computer was left to its own devices to chip away at Kurogiri's scans.

"Lastly, a human with the additional factor–!"

The screen on the computer started flashing red. Tinkerer's eyes widened over these biometrics, even more so than Kurogiri.

Stroking the small whiskers under his chin, he concernedly remarked.

"Not just numbskulls, but also humans with budding potential apparently."

Another alert came in for his systems.

His eyes widened. "I *presume* this is worthwhile."

A quick call from The Tinkerer immediately greeted Fistrick in his armor.

"Just thought you should be made aware; those plasma cannons are fully operational."

"I know they ar…" Fistrick said, before realizing his armor didn't have such weapons. "Which plasma cannons?!"

"Young Master!" Kurogiri called out, and Fistrick looked behind him.

The capsule with arms that he was almost crushed by, had started to hover.

Kurogiri was highly amazed. Now that he got a closer look too, these tuning forks… were no tuning forks at all were they. There was a hole at their base…

That thing was a tank!

"I found the coin slot." Shigaraki coldly remarked as he pulled back his hands, which were enveloped with a blue energy.

Electricity surged!

An anticipating, self-satisfied grin started to form on the young villain's face.

"Let's see what this will do."

"Fire in 10 seconds." Tinkerer remarked.

"Relax smart guy!" Fistrick screamed. "I know what I'm doing!"

"Target… Lock-On." he murmured, before extending his fists. "Fire missiles."

*Clink!* *ZOOOOOM!*

With one last burst, the plasma generators howled back to life, and launched two clusters of electricity.

Swerving through the air, more-like water balloons as opposed to missiles, they were heading straight for him!

In time, Fistrick pulled down a lever.

"Activate ray shields!"

---

Ben 10: Hero Force

Chapter 31

Tests of Tenacity

---

Yaoyorozu arrived back at the stances of Hero Class 1-A. A winded feeling had descended upon her. Naturally so, as it was the result of going to see Recovery Girl–

"So far… I gotta admit, the last match was my favorite."

Yaoyorozu's breath hitched. It was Tennyson's voice.

"Yeah." Midoriya said as he was with him, continuing to scribble into his notebook. "Not to mention, Kendo's quirk suited her fighting style really well."

Ben tried to mimic her stance and moves out of fun, swinging into the air all with a smile on his face.

"It looked really intense. And Yaomomo went toe to toe with that!?"

Yaomomo saw him mimic Kendo's final attack. The two-handed palm strike…

He crossed his arms. "Question is just where did she learn the moves to do that? Do you know?"

At that moment, an embarrassment came over her.

"No." Midoriya answered. "I mean I guess I saw Yaoyorozu and Uraraka spending a good amount of time with Ojiro."

"So, Ojiro taught them that?" Ben asked.

Midoriya shrugged.

"Man, could you imagine *him* in the finals then?" He spoke with his imagination going wild. "Do you think the outcome could change?"

Midoriya looked up from his notebook.

"Uh…" He scratched his head. "I don't–!"

Yaoyorozu came out from her corner.

"Perhaps." She stated. "Who's to say for sure."

"Oh!" Ben was caught off guard. "Hey, Yaomomo. That was a great match against Kendo."

Midoriya spoke with more energy in his voice, as he raised his head from his notebook. "Yes! Congrats! Even though you didn't win, the crowd was moved."

"Thank you." she stated.

Not looking at either of them, Yaoyorozu walked past, back to their stances.

Ben put a hand behind his neck. "Um… is… something wrong?"

Yaoyorozu looked back.

"No." she stated rather flatly, pushing her bangs aside. "Thank you for your concern. I'm fine."

Ben's eyebrows went up.

"Everyone loves using that answer around here." He thought but chose to not say a word as Yaoyorozu continued walking.

"So… frustrating." Yaoyorozu thought to herself. It felt vexing to hear that.

"Would Ojiro perform better?" The question passed by her head again, almost as if it was trying to get a rise out of her.

A desperate desire to say no instantly appeared. Longingly, she wanted to be able to claim with full confidence that what she did would be better than Master Hamato's long standing student.

But…

Arriving at their seats and sitting down, a hand raised up to Yaoyorozu's chin.

It would be a hard call as their skill in terms of techniques seemed rather even, however their quirks gave them specific edges. Namely, there was the enhanced strength offered to Kendo, and then there was the added agility and unorthodox movement Ojiro had.

"Hmm…" she thought, scenarios playing by her eyes one after the other, with every victory by Ojiro messing with her spirits the most.

She turned to look at him… but someone else caught her eye, and a different question popped into her mind.

Midoriya–

"AND WELCOME BACK SPORTS FANS!" Present Mic interrupted her. "We've had an exciting couple of matches so far, so let's keep this hype train going!"

The fire in the tournament arena roared.

"On the left side, we've got the second son of an elite hero family! Please welcome! Faster than fast, quicker than quick, it's Iida Tenya of hero course class 1-A!"

Iida took a deep breath and bowed his head. "May we have a good match, Jiro."

"We'll see how this works out, class rep." Jiro stretched her arms, as her earphone jacks clearly stood on edge.

"And on the right! Now that I said that, don't underestimate his opponent! Here is the Music Meister, DJ of Sound, Jiro Kyoka of hero course class 1-A!"

"That's a bit much for me too." Jiro remarked under her breath, similar to Kendo.

"READY?"

Ben crossed his arms. "I told Jiro that she can't leave any openings. Not against Iida's speed… but then I told Iida that he can't give a chance to Jiro to plug in her earphone jacks in his body."

"So, you supplied both sides with information?" Sero, who overheard him, remarked.

"I call it being positively impartial." He shrugged.

"START!"

The match began with the inside of the arena quickly descending into chaos, but Yaoyorozu could find it in herself to focus.

She really liked Jiro as a friend, and Iida was someone whom she'd gotten to respect as the class president after the 'Emergency Exit' incident as the class had dubbed it.

"Midoriya…" she said, taking his attention.

However, right as of this moment, the question in her mind took precedence. Ben was completely focused on the match and was sitting quite a few seats away from them.

With a heavy heart, lowering her tone, she asked. "The day which Mr. Armstrong and Ms. Wheels attacked… What was it like?"

---

"Looks to me like Iida is choosing to keep his distance!"

From the booth, the bandaged up Eraser leaned for his microphone. "He needs to wisely choose his time to get in close. Remember that both fighters have only one stipulation to take the other out of the competition."

"Huh, Iida's being defensive… You wouldn't expect that." Sero put a hand around his chin.

"Ribbit, with Jiro pulling her earphone jacks back, it makes sense." Asui remarked. "Iida's probably thinking he might get hit on the rebound after a miss."

Ojiro joined them. "Yeah, but Iida still has the boost."

"It's a dangerous ace to play." Ben said, shaking his head. "If he used it and didn't finish the fight, it would definitely be over."

They saw Jiro grit her teeth, as Iida dodged out of her way again!

Ben frustratedly gestured to them. "The worst part is Jiro's making some obvious mistakes."

"Yes, ribbit." Asui agreed. "She keeps aiming where he is instead of where he's going to be."

Sero's eyebrows went up in realization. So, that was–?! Dang, no wonder something had been feeling off!"

He put his hands next to his mouth. Come on Jiro. That's like, fighting 101 for us! What are you doing?!"

The class president was dashing across the arena, drawing circles around Jiro.

However, Midoriya didn't take any notes.

"Then… you became their captive." Yaoyorozu said.

As their classmates enjoyed watching and talking about the fight, Midoriya finished telling her everything, in a lot more detail than Tennyson had prior.

"Yes." He replied.

Empathetically, the rich girl assembled her hands.

"It must have been difficult." she remarked.

Midoriya looked down at his knees, instead of Yaoyorozu.

"Not really." He shook his head. "The only difficult part was the day afterwards."

Yaoyorozu's eyes widened with a familiar feeling. She felt as though she recognized what Midoriya meant.

"The day afterwards?" She asked. "You mean the memories… Do you mean that perhaps the experience has been distressing to you?"

Midoriya paused for a moment. Yaoyorozu moved, and stood at the edge of her seat, waiting for his reply.

"I understand, Midoriya." The words for a response were already forming in her head. "They have been distressing for me too, and–"

Midoriya shook his head to its sides instead.

"No, Yaoyorozu, it wasn't necessarily the memories." He stated, lowering his notebook. "Rather… I guess I can't stop thinking about what will become of Manny and Helen."

Midoriya put the pencil in between the pages.

"They have gone to a separate dimension. The Null Void, a dimension which Kevin described as a prison for the worst of the worst in the galaxy."

His gaze turned to Yaoyorozu in a melancholic, but still determined and duty-bound expression. It very much reminded her of a more unfocused, and more bright-eyed version of Tennyson.

"It's a place where we can't help them…" He stated as his posture closed up. His thoughts became grimmer. "No matter what they are up against."

---

The balls of electricity swerved through the air, only to disperse in the face of a new red barrier sheathing the armor.

Shigaraki's scowl came back. "Ray shields?"

"You're cooked bro!" Fistrick sent more rockets.

Shigaraki's display immediately started blaring with alarms. If he was a gambling man, that meant this scrap wouldn't hold up.

With five fingers landing on the pod's wall, he dusted it away. However, the rockets were really close now!

In the blink of an eye, they hit the ground right next to him. Shigaraki tried to run back, but Fistrick then appeared in front of him, fire coming out from the suit's boots!

"Gotcha!"

Shigaraki gritted his teeth. Rather than putting up his hands as defense, he extended them forward.

If he was gonna try to grab him, he would decay in response–!

"AHHHH!"

It didn't work. The second their hands made contact; suffering came over him.

The thin yellow veil of a shield shocked his body, making him convulse and–

*EEEEEEEEKKKK!*

Now that he was close, he could also hear the damn screeches of the battery creatures better.

And even in his mind-numbing torture, his hate resurfaced.

"Grrrrrrrr… BE QUIET!" He shouted, to zero effect for the creatures… but all the effect for his guardian.

It spurred him on.

"Young master!" That impulse made Kurogiri shout and run up to the presence of the technological giant.

Fistrick looked down, as he himself was in high spirits.

"One troublemaker left." he said, and… at that moment, Kurogiri bowed his head.

"Yes." He stated. "Only one left–!"

With one final gambit, a deep purple smoke erupted in the compound!

Blowing with unrivaled ferocity, it made Fistrick raise one hand to shield the top part of his armor and Shigaraki closed his eyes.

Once he opened them, he saw himself… standing where Kurogiri stood, staring down the robot and arms free.

"Well… Ain't that's disappointing." Fistrick said.

Shigaraki looked up.

"Kurogiri!"

He saw his servant wrapped up in the machine's clutches.

"I left him for last since he was the best one out!.. Not that it's saying much." Fistrick said. "Oh well, guess I just have to brrreak you in again."

The purple smoke cloud was screaming, whimpering from within his grasp.

Shigaraki got his footing back, as now… it was just the two of them.

"What's the play now… SHRIMP?!" Fistrick shouted, as the mech burst out with steam and put one foot forward.

Shigaraki's mind raced to find some sort of solution–

*Bzz! Bzzz! Bzzzzzzz!*

The two battery creatures fired on him, but Fistrick waved it away.

"You know that shock trick is getting really old!"

"The shock trick…" Shigaraki thought as an idea struck him, just like how it struck Kurogiri and how he was shocked moments earlier by the armor.

From behind the severed hand on his face, he saw the generator with fifty of those battery creatures, maybe even more!

His body moved.

"Hey! Now where do you think you're going!" Fistrick called after him, but Shigaraki remained focused on the task.

*Buzzzzz!*

He heard the two come back around, but then get smacked in the same second.

"Get back here!"

Shelves were being knocked over; the chains hung above the roof were jingling fiercely–

"What about this!" The holes on his wrists opened up and sent rockets. But Shigaraki was quick.

As he passed by, he held onto one of the chains, decaying it and whatever it hung up, dropped!

*BOOM!*

Shigaraki was launched forward with the impact, right next to the generator.

"What?!"

He looked up to the tens of batteries, eager to join the battle above him, before turning back.

"Game over."

Just two of them had disrupted his henchmen's armor and the bubble that imprisoned them.

It was the same technology that he used for the shields.

Wait–!

However, Shigaraki did no such thing. All five fingers… touched the generator.

---

Yaoyorozu leaned forward.

She could feel herself becoming more apprehensive as she heard his answer… more fearful.

"You are talking about more than the convicted in that place, aren't you?"

As Midoriya's head shook from up to down, her stomach sank. There was another threat?

"I, or rather me and Kevin, got to have a look inside the portal when it first malfunctioned." he stated. "There we saw a man, who I guess is a human right now, standing on one and most importantly surrounded by those Null Guardians I told you about."

A cold sweat started to gather above Yaoyorozu's brows.

"Tennyson didn't think much of it when we told him." Midoriya said. "O-or rather, Gwen told *him* to not make a big deal about it right now. You know, with… having one threat already on our laps?"

Yaoyorozu's body reflexively had her nod.

"I don't want that though." Midoriya said. "I just wish I could go in there as well."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You would like to go inside a place, teeming with criminal activity. Are you serious, Midoriya?"

Determinedly, he stood straight as his bright green eyes assumed that driven spirit.

"If it meant even one person who didn't deserve to be there would get to be free, then I… Yes, I would like to try."

Her hesitant pupils met them as he confidently made his declaration.

And they were enough to tick off Midoriya enough that something was off.

"Yao–"

"He's using it!" Uraraka jumped from her seat in the front row, interrupting the two of them. "Go for it Iida!"

Their eyes once again turned towards the tournament grounds. As Jiro had missed yet again, Iida had taken the chance to get into a runner-style crouched stance.

Suddenly, it felt as though the world was distorted and stretched to its sides.

"Recipro Burst!" he yelled out.

Instantly, Jiro let loose both of her earphone jacks, but it was no use. With a glare obstructing his eyes and shoes skidding across the ground, Iida got around her in a matter of seconds.

Not knowing what hit her, Jiro felt both of her shoulders being grabbed.

"Hm..?!"

The wind smacked her face. All in an instant, Iida then pushed her outside!

Midnight, wearing a dumbfounded expression of her own, quickly recomposed. She cracked her whip.

"Jiro is out of bounds! Iida wins!"

The said loser was quite dazzled by the speed. It took her a second to realize what just happened.

"Wow…" she said. "That… Yep, it is quite the trip, class prez."

Iida bowed his head, with his arms glued to his sides.

"You were a formidable adversary Jiro." He said.

"Pshhh." Jiro scoffed. "Of course, you would be as fast as you are modest."

"Of course!" Iida straightened like an arrow. "It would do us no good if we assumed a boastful attitude about our abilities!"

Jiro shrugged. "Fair. Good luck in the final eight."

Iida smiled… as she lent her hand with an accepting grin and he shook it. Up on the stances though, Yaoyorozu didn't share the same feeling.

Crossing her arms, she thought about Midoriya's last words.

Something about them caused her to be engrossed in her own thoughts.

From in front of Yaoyorozu at the stances, Tennyson rose from his seat.

Ashido, without prompting, followed suit.

Once their eyes met, their competitiveness manifested in the form of a sly smile.

"Welp." Ben stretched his arms.

Ashido on the other hand, stretched her neck before enthusiastically jumping down each step. "It's our turn to tango, Tennyson."

"Yep–!"

"You got this, Ashido." Kirishima spoke up in support.

Uraraka did so as well. "Win just like Iida did!"

However, not everyone was as optimistic.

Kaminari rolled his eyes. "Dude, do I even have to– Achoo!"

He sneezed to his sleeve, right before he inhaled and his runny nose made itself known.

"Oh man…" He said. Did that frost attack earlier really do this to him?!

"Point is…" He said as Aoyama lent him his handkerchief for him to use. "...Tough luck Ashido. We all know who's going into the quarter finals–Cough!"

As Kaminari descended into a coughing frenzy, Mineta took the word.

"Yeah! Like! Who's winning against Tennyson here!"

He ignored the glares from Bakugo and Todoroki as he said that, and… it made Yaoyorozu's eyebrow flinch. Her hands grabbed onto the seat in front.

"Oh come on Mineta." Tennyson shrugged. "Anything can happen."

"That confident and amused tone." Yaoyorozu thought. In a word, it… it felt so omni-present.

"But of course I'm not looking to lose." Ben continued to scoff though, and… that made Momo look around.

Todoroki had chosen to stand up, and lean on the wall as the matches took place with his arms crossed. Both of his differently colored eyes were on Tennyson.

The thought continued to wiggle at the back of her head, ever maddeningly so.

She continued to feel smaller in this crowd, but why?!

"Hrrrrrrr…"

Bakugo, as he growled from his seat on the third row, looked at Tennyson as well, before snapping over in her direction–

"What? What are you lookin' at Deku?!"

Yaoyorozu turned to her right then. Midoriya was also staring just like her and…

When Bakugo made that remark, he didn't flinch and turned back around fidgettingly.

"Sorry Kacchan." he plainly said, and faced his notebook again.

And with that instance, almost like many strands of hay made way in her mind… to the needle.

Yaoyorozu's eyebrows had gone up.

It had all clicked, and…

"Excuse me." she blurted out.

"Where are you going?" Midoriya lifted his head out of her notebook.

"The washroom." she replied.

"Oh…" Midoriya said, before that hardened hero spirit instantly got whisked away and got replaced with a reddened, embarrassed face. "S-Sorry."

"No problem." Yaoyorozu said… as she looked down sorrowfully.

Now inside her, more than anger or doubt, beneath a battle between gratification and chagrin… there was a sour realization.

And someone got to see this all from the tournament grounds. A teacher… who had a podium all to themselves.

---

"WE'RE BACK WITH THE FIGHTS, MY DEAR LISTENERS!" Present Mic riled up the audience. "We're almost done with the first set! Here comes Round 7 out of 8!"

Tennyson, with a determined look at the audience, adjusted his sleeve.

"It looks like we're going to have an intense match this time." He added. "I mean, just look at it! On one side, we've got the uncontested and favored pick to win!"

Ben raised his hand, just in time with the rise of the crowd's cheering.

Ashido scoffed with a coy smirk. "Seriously dude?"

"Alright, alright." Ben lowered his hand. "You gotta admit it's fun though."

Despite a bit of a slip in the Cavalry battle…" Present Mic continued. "...there is no doubt he and his transformations are in it to win it! Let me hear it for the hero with a thousand faces, it's Tennyson Ben of hero course class 1-A!"

"Maybe more than a thousand…" Ben thought.

"And of course, we can't forget his contender! I'm sure her bubbly energy needs no introduction! Please welcome the acidic athlete, Ashido Mina, from the same class!"

With the arms crossed behind her head, Mina stretched as her eyes were on Tennyson.

"There is no chance you're gonna make this easy for me, is there?"

"Nope." Ben replied, getting a hand close to the watch.

"Figured." She smiled.

"READY?!"

The cheers from their classmates rose like a tidal wave.

"A match between Ashido and Tennyson…" Midoriya flipped through the pages. "Let's see… Tennyson's fighting style varies a lot from one form to another. So, a lot is going to be dictated by what he chooses to go with…"

He had to do a double take at his notes however, as he also saw Ashido in her ready position, leaning forward.

"Or… will Ashido even let Tennyson transform to begin with?"

The pink skinned girl smirked from under his breath, and Tennyson could see it, clear as day.

"BEGIN!"

---

From outside of the tournament grounds and back at the outskirts of the entire stadium, Yaoyorozu watched on from the big screens.

Ashido was rushing forward, sliding on her acid just like how she did in the quirk assessment and the battle trial, all the while Tennyson was scrolling through his options.

A green flash went off and–

Yaoyorozu stopped watching after that.

She hadn't gone to the washroom. Instead, in her hand right now, there was her phone, and… her hand just held on to it.

After all, if she were a guessing girl, then Tennyson is going to–

"Huh. That is an interesting strategy he decided to employ."

"Yes, it i–" Yaoyorozu almost jumped in response. "Wha– Who?!"

She snapped into her stance.

"Relax, Yaoyorozu." Cementoss said with a kind expression.

The student in question lowered her hands. "Oh, Mr. Cementoss. What, are you doing outside if I can ask?"

"Ms. Kayama sent me." He said bluntly. "She said you seemed distressed and asked me to check on you.

"No!.. O-Or what I meant was, wouldn't people be looking for you? Is it not troubling for others for you to not be in your post?! That's what I was wondering!" Yaoyorozu said, tripping on her words.

"Oh, I see." Cementoss replied, like a slow and gentle giant. "Yes, it would be best for me to be personally present in case two competitors decide to get too rowdy, however Ms. Kayama did promise to be extra vigilant. And I trust in her capabilities."

He nudged her.

"It's just rational, as Mr. Aizawa would say." Cementoss attempted to joke.

"I… suppose it should be." Yaoyorozu said unsurely.

Cementoss nodded. "So, now, is everything fine?"

Yaoyorozu… couldn't find it in herself to immediately answer.

Cementoss then looked ahead and saw a bench, before gesturing to them.

Yaoyorozu complied. They sat down.

"What possibly ails you?" He asked.

"I apologize for the trouble…" Yaoyorozu said measly, but Cementoss didn't reply to it.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, and he was just patiently waiting.

"There is nothing to be embarrassed about." He spoke with a tender tone despite his gravelly ring to it. "You're not the first one to lose their cool in these games."

Yaoyorozu looked down to her hands. "I… suppose I lost a lot more than just 'my cool' Mr. Cementoss."

"Is that so?" He kindly asked.

The black, onyx-colored eyes of the student sneaked in a quick glance, rather probingly.

And despite still straining her hands over clenching the phone, she decided to open her mouth.

"I feel like I've left everyone down." Yaoyorozu said. "I… I feel myself starting to be unsure once more."

"Unsure how?" He asked. "Because of your loss in the first match?-"

"No!" Yaoyorozu's tone raised. "Because… because of everything."

She saw the phone in her hand, and then her hand raised, almost like she wanted to throw, or spike the device on the ground, angrily.

But she didn't. That very impulsive strength left her, and she put it back in her pocket.

"Ever since my arrival here, everyone has been blowing past me." she confessed. "Midoriya, Todoroki, Tennyson, Iida… and right now, I'd even consider Hatsume and Shinso to be a part of that group."

Yaoyorozu put her hands on her knees, as her legs then tapped against one another.

"Of course they are talented, after all it's the reason why they were able to attend this school to begin with." Yaoyorozu said. "But I… I didn't-! I didn't know! Their strategies still had some oversights that I could see, but somehow they are all able to do…"

The words tangled up in her throat.

Cementoss gave her space, as she lowered her head and sighed. Her legs stopped tapping.

"They are all able to do more than they are supposed to be capable of."

Her fists clenched, gripping and pulling on her sports uniform.

"I… thought it was about skill, th-that I would be able to train… and perhaps prove it today that I'm one of them…

Her hands relaxed.

"And then what did I do today?" She asked with a hushed tone.

"In the obstacle course, I ended with 13th place."

Her gaze went away to somewhere else.

"During the cavalry battle, I only passed due to a one-in-a-million chance tie. And as of ten minutes, if not less, I have lost the first match that I ever went up against in the final trial."

Momo closed in on herself.

"Barely skating by." She said. "It hasn't been something I *ever* could associate myself with Mr. Cementoss."

Her hands desperately opened up, but the gears in her mind had grinded to a standstill.

"It is the pressure of the event, Yaoyorozu." Cementoss stated.

However, Momo shook her head..

"No… it isn't." She said. "I have been in the presence of cameras before. Both next to my parents, or in other competitions. During those I have never experienced enough stress to affect my performance…"

She lowered her head, as with a side eye, she found herself drifting towards the screens. Tennyson, now transformed into Ball Weevil, was seemingly in a dance of explosions and acid with his opponent Ashido.

"You would think… the feeling of unknown would be the worst part." she said. "Grasping at straws… o-or walking around like a chicken with their head cut off…"

As the breeze came from her back, pushing her hair in front of her eyes, Yaoyorozu raised her hands.

She turned to him, with both hands on her ponytail.

"But it isn't."

She looked down, unsure of how to, or if she even wanted to continue. But, Momo conceded.

"It's that I have figured it out."

Cementoss sorrowfully looked at her slouched appearance.

"It's that they are all… selfless to their bones." she stated. "I now know. They are able to draw out such aptitude, such presence *because* they are willing to do whatever it is they can in order to live by their ideals, no matter what their bodies are capable of."

Todoroki's burst of ice in his first tournament match.

Tennyson's nightly ventures, due to feeling responsible about the upcoming alien threat.

Bakugo's constant vitriol, and merciless quirk use.

And every instance of Midoriya breaking a part of his own body… for the sake of making a difference, for the sake of managing to save one more person.

Yaoyorozu looked down to her own right hand, and… nervously looked at her own fingers. She flinched at the idea of needing to break them at a given moment, fearing the pain.

"It hasn't been what I stood for before, and… and I'm scared to think that it… might turn out to still be that, no matter what."

Cementoss leaned forward. "Are you perhaps thinking about leaving the hero class?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Yaoyorozu answered, making as little noise as possible. "I'm not needed here. Maybe I can't catch up to them after all."

The words fell out of her mouth.

"Perhaps… I didn't have the measure of a true hero after all."

Cementoss, as she had just finished speaking, gave her another second.

However, seeing her wallowing in sorrow instead of objecting, Cementoss spoke.

"Yaoyorozu." He said. "I apologize however… If you think it to be so, I'm afraid you haven't met yourself at all."

Despair-stricken, Yaoyorozu retorted. "Mr. Cementoss, it *is* what everyone else thinks–"

"I don't believe so." His blockhead shook to their sides. "After all, you have fought in the USJ, have you not?"

Yaoyorozu still did not face him.

"Even though it was our oversight, iInstead of running or hiding, *you* fought alongside all of your friends."

"It was a momentary impulse, sensei." Momo said. "Just a fluke."

"I beg to differ." Cementoss objected.

And that resolution… It piqued Momo's interest.

"I'm aware it has become a rather constant routine for us to bring up our roles as pro-hero's quite the number of times." Cementoss said, as he looked down as well.

"Mr. Aizawa brings up the burden aspect." He raised his hand. "Ms. Kayama opposes him to provide levity. And Principal Nezu has made a habit of how honorable of a position it is. However, we have also made it seem as though being a hero… is a constant job or position that you uphold during every second of your life."

Yaoyorozu turned towards his block-shaped head.

"It isn't." He stated simply. "The honest secret, Yaoyorozu, is that the confidence, popularity, financial income, everything else… My theory is that they are not the core of what makes a hero."

"Not the core?" Momo innocently asked.

Cementoss let out a joyful giggle in response. "I would say they have more in common with frosting on a cake, as opposed to being the central idea of any real hero."

He looked at the student, and stared at the tense student's eyes.

"Because, the cake in this case… It would be made up of only a select few moments." He said. "It doesn't matter that you performed poorly here, because when the world is truly in need, the true heroes would do anything to make things better in whichever way they can."

He coughed into his hand. A more melancholic mannerism overtook him as well.

"I know Ms Kayama… would be a better candidate to give this example, however, back when her, Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada were all students, they all experienced someone doing this for them." he said.

The image of a tall boy with light blue wavy hair came to his mind.

"Regardless of how it would turn out for themselves, this person played their final gambit without batting an eye for their sake. And even though I don't believe it will turn out the same way… Given who you are, I have no reason to doubt that you will be present there, with either your friends or not, when one of those days does come around."

He then looked at the student. Yaoyorozu however, immediately averted her eyes, facing forward with deep thought.

She pouted, contemplating whether she saw that in herself. And the answer… came back blurry. She didn't know whether her teacher was right.

However, right now, she tried to believe it. She focused on testing her capabilities on the field, tried to detach herself from the performance here today, and… honestly it did wonders in soothing her, getting a load off his chest.

Crawling up her face was still a smile. And giddy relief surged back inside to fill the void, even if her mind was on those last few sentences.

"Thank you," she replied.

And Cementoss smiled in response. "No problem. Now, you better get back inside."

The pro-hero rose from the bench first. "Otherwise, I ponder a lot of your classmates are going to start having questions about your whereabouts."

"I understand." She said. "Thank you again for your time."

Cementoss nodded. "Continue to keep that bright head in the clouds Yaoyorozu, AND those feet firmly on the ground."

Yaoyorozu nodded, as they both then walked back inside.

Cementoss split off early, waving back as the path to his seat at the grounds were different.

Once she was left alone however, she heard some noises from the corner of her ear.

Arguing sounds, between two people.

"I have a feeling that we should move right now." A rather unknown female voice said.

"Yeah but… but no way! We have to wait for Midoriya, Tennyson, and Yaomomo all to get back then! This is serious!"

She recognized the second one. It was Kirishima.

"I've checked the WC, Ben's on the stage, where is Midoriya?" The female voice asked.

"He went after Uraraka. Apparently she looked stressed–"

And as she got to the corridor where they discussed, she got to see them.

"I'm here." Yaoyorozu said. "Now, what is so serious?".

Both of them turned to her. That's when Yaoyorozu got to have a good look at the female's face.

There was no doubt that she was the same age as them and… she was Gwen, Tennyson's cousin, wasn't she?

"Oh, Yaomomo!" Kirishima said. "Welcome back. Gotta say, some important crap hit the fan while you were gone."

She raised one eyebrow.

"What kind of… nonsense hit the fan exactly?" she asked, with further self-censoring.

Both of them looked at each other for a second, as an interaction without words took place.

And that, kicked up the distress in her mind.

The words of Cementoss started to echo in full force.

The words echoed in her mind.

"And even though I don't believe it will turn out the same way…"

Gwen's hand raised, and her fingers started to open. A red glow lit up their faces.

"Given who you are, I have no reason to doubt that you will be present there, with either your friends or not, when one of those days does come around."

It was the gold and red distress charm as it was now activated… and blinking.

---

Midoriya was walking with his head down.

After seeing the battle begin, he had noticed the absence of Uraraka.

There was little doubt that she went anywhere but the waiting room. No wonder because she was nervous.

She was up against Kacchan after all. It's definitely not going to be an easy match–

He realized he arrived, the player waiting room 1, and he could hear another voice from the inside.

"Huh, Iida must have had the same idea." Midoriya thought as he recognized the voice… before taking hold of the handle and also taking in a deep breath.

"Uraraka."

He opened the door.

"Oh? Deku?" Uraraka was surprised.

Just like he heard, there was both Uraraka and Iida. Iida was standing, while Uraraka had sat down at one of the tables.

She asked. "Why aren't you watching the match?"

Midoriya… pouted and grabbed the remote from the shelf. It's easier if they saw.

---

"Oh, wow Eraser! Would you look at that!" Present Mic said. "What feats of agility, and balance! What acrobatics! What *speed*! What a battle!"

Both fighters were bouncing over the arena.

Ball Weevil kicked another slime ball over, but Ashido made a full backflip, completely avoiding it!

"You're too slow!" she remarked, before chucking her own acid.

Ball Weevil jumped over it. "And *you* are a terrible shot!"

Ashido steamed at that remark.

"Oh yeah?!" She let loose a torrent of acid!

Ball Weevil, with widened eyes, quickly spat out more slime and got to cover!

"Must have touched a nerve there!" Ball Weevil called out–

She emerged right from beside him. "Yeah, you did!"

"When did you get here–?!"

Ashido was a meter away, with her leg already riled back!

Ball Weevil jumped. He exploded the slime.

But Ashido emerged from the smoke, unscathed!

"How about this for a bad shot!?"

She kicked the air, and from the holes under her shoe, acid droplets released like a shotgun!

Some of it landed on Ball Weevil, and instantly smoke started coming out of his body.

"Ow!" Ball Weevil landed, starting to roll on the ground. The acid had splashed onto him! "Hot HOT! It burns! It burns! Why does it burn so bad?!"

"Relax." Ashido said. "I just made it around… ph 2-ish? I dunno, somewhere around there. Point is you're fine!"

"Really?" Ball Weevil got on his stick legs and shook off the acid like a dog. "Do I have a weakness against acid?"

Ashido rushed towards him, but it was his turn for a twist.

Ball Weevil narrowed his eyes. "Alright then."

He jumped on another one of his slime balls, and rolled over a pile of stone debris, absorbing them in.

"Here's something this form's got." He stuck one stick leg into the ball. It split and shot off into many smaller pebbles of slime!

"Scatter bullet!"

Ashido made more acid around her arms… but the pieces started to explode.

"Tennyson wha–?!"

Explosions with a green hue started going off one after the other.

"Heh heh, this should wrap it up." Ball Weevil thought as he landed on the ground. "I never thought Ashido would be just full of surprises though…"

"Surpriiise!" Ashido suddenly grabbed him from the back… her hand just barely missing the dial.

His body let out a squeaking sound, however, there wasn't a nick of surprise or fear on Ball Weevil's face.

"Oh, hey, when did you get behind me?"

---

"Well, it's going how I expected." Midoriya laughed. "With Tennyson playing with his opponent."

"Perhaps he has a greater motive?" Iida gave him the benefit of the doubt and took a look at the television screen again. "Maybe by using Ball Weevil, he just wants to provide Ashido with the best chance of showing her skillset to the onlooking crowd?"

Midoriya and Iida both found themselves looking at each other, conflictingly.

"Both?" Iida suggested… and Midoriya complied.

"Yeah." He shook his head. "Both is good."

They then noticed Uraraka's predicament once again.

"But anyway, we're getting distracted–"

"Yep." Uraraka clenched her wrist. "I'm next. So, this is it. My fight."

Uraraka was also greatly anxious. Both of them could feel it.

"I-It will be okay!" Iida sweated, trying to reassure her. "I don't believe Bakugo is the type of person to use the full power of his explosions on a girl."

"Nope." Midoriya retorted curtly. "He would."

Iida was left with his mouth open, and Uraraka was even more nervous than before.

"Besides, everyone is gunning for the top spot. Even if it wasn't Kacchan, I don't think anyone would hold back." Midoriya bowed his head.

"And…" he continued. "You helped me so much, and I thought that now maybe… I thought I could repay you even a little bit, with this!"

He showed his burnt notebook, the Hero Analysis for the Future No. 13.

"A plan for dealing with Kacchan." he said. "It was a bit of rush job, but it's better than nothing."

Iida's face lit up.

"Hey! That works out!" Iida gave two thumbs up.

"Thank you so much you guys." Uraraka said. "But… Sorry, I have to make that a 'No, thank you'."

Iida was caught off guard yet again.

"Wha?" Midoriya uttered.

"You're… really amazing, Deku." She said. "Almost every day I feel like you're giving me something new to marvel at about yourself."

She took a deep breath.

"And even though I told you that it was good for friends to team up in the cavalry battle… I realized that I was just trying to rely on you the entire time."

A smile formed on her face.

"When Yaomomo said she was going to pick up martial arts back at school, or when Todoroki made that declaration against you, I felt really embarrassed at how complacent I was compared to them."

"Uraraka…" Midoriya said, as the girl that he tried to help walked past him with her head down, fists nervously and shakingly clenched.

"That's why I wanna do this by myself now, no matter what." Uraraka raised her head.

She looked at the television.

Two more balls of acid formed in Ashido's hands.

She looked around across the ruined arena–!

From one of the cracks, Ball Weevil jumped out, sending another ball of slime!

Ashido countered with her acid, making it explode mid-air!

"Too bad you can't dodge mid-air!" Ashido said, as acid gathered in her hands again.

"Hmmm, you're right." Ball Weevil said, as a stream of plasma shot out!

Ashido tried to counter, but it wasn't like a bubble.

"What the– Ah!"

It wrapped all around her arms and legs, as Ball Weevil then pulled himself down on the ground.

"Then too bad I'm not on the ground." he remarked.

"Ew ew ew!" She tried pulling it off from her. "It smells terrible up close!"

"Well, look on the bright side." Ball Weevil slapped the dial on his chest, and Water Hazard appeared. "I got your cold shower right here!"

"Crap!" Ashido said, but the acid wasn't reacting with the slime fast enough. Her feet were still stuck.

"Torrential…" Water built up at his portholes. "...Downstorm!"

With one full-powered burst of water, the slime gave out. Ashido got pushed outside!

"Ashido is out of bounds!" Midnight cracked her whip. "Tennyson moves onto the next round."

Her breath hitched.

"We're here to face our future, give this our best shot and… that means we're all rivals, right? Even us Deku, don't you think so?"

She turned around.

"That's why…" A thumbs up raised from her to them. None of her previous intense aura was here. "I will see you in the finals!"

It was just the wish of a young woman.

Midnight came by in that instance, and collected her, leaving the two boys to themselves–

"Hey! Midoriya!"

Kirishima was the one calling out to him. He ran by the two of them.

"Sorry man, but mind if I–!"

"Hey guys!"

From the end of the corridor, Tennyson showed his face, with hands in his sport uniform's pockets. "Did you see me out there?"

Kirishima's acknowledgement was like a flicker of a fire.

"Right on time." He said under his breath. "Yep man, of course we did! But could you come find us at the water fountain by the way when you're ready?"

The transforming hero unsurely replied. "Sure..?"

"Great. Come on Midoriya." Kirishima said, as he nudged his green haired classmate. "We'll see you at the stances Iida!"

"Y-yes, of course?" Iida raised a hand, as Kirishima hauled Midoriya away.

The pupil of All Might saw the more alarmed expression on his friend's face as they turned away from Iida.

His danger senses were tingling. "What… is it about?"

---

"HERE IT IS! THE EIGHTH AND FINAL MATCH!" Present Mic said.

Bakugo cracked his knuckles.

"A bit of a hothead and once popular in middle school, it's someone who has given us quite a show and still has even more to show! It's Bakugo Katsuki of class 1-A!"

The ash-blonde had the largest disappointed scowl on his face, as his eyes were set on his class' stances, not his current opponent.

"Versus! The student that I'm actually rooting for! From the same class, it's the one who'll help raise anyone higher! It's Uraraka Ochako!"

She closed her eyes… and let herself take a big breath.

"You're the one who screws around with gravity. Right, pink cheeks?"

"Pink cheeks?" Uraraka gasped. "First round face and now this?"

"If you're gonna give up, do it now." Bakugo said. "Because I don't wanna deal with any crying if you won't be able to handle it."

Uraraka gritted her teeth.

"LET THE 8TH MATCH, BEGIN!"

With her body low, and hands opened, she rushed forward. "Losing is not an option for me!"

Bakugo took his hands out of his pocket.

"Great." He muttered. "And now, you die."

Focusing his energy on his palms, he riled back his right hand, and raised it up.

"Deku probably blabbered a bunch to her already. She thinks I'm going to start with a big right hook."

His eyebrows narrowed.

"She's looking to roll under the blast and then make me float away?" His palm crackled. "Well, good luck on that!"

He sent an explosion low to the ground, just as Uraraka touched her own hand, and jumped over!

"Huh–?!"

"Make some more smoke, why don't you!" She called out, pressing her fingertips together. "Release!"

Gravity got a hold of her, and unfortunately Bakugo kept that in mind.

"Count on it pink cheeks!"

With his right again, he landed an explosion squarely on her chest this time!

"You should have dropped out of the match."

She had been blown back.

"Stupid." Uraraka thought. "Saw it coming and I was still a little slow."

However, her will was undeterred. She ran back in as the smoke hadn't even dispersed yet.

Bakugo wasn't impressed. "There is no way you can beat me!"

He sent another explosion, this time from above with his left.

Uraraka dropped down on one leg and slid right under it!

"What the he–!?"

"It won't be so easy, Bakugo." She got to her feet and jumped!

"I learned some new tricks too!"

Her hand swung, and Bakugo retreated with his explosions, barely avoiding the fingertips!

"Dang it, so close!" Her brows crossed, yelling on the inside. "Win though Ochako! WIN AND BE JUST LIKE DEKU!"

Bakugo's eyes widened at his own defensive move.

"Grrrrrr!" He gritted his teeth. From behind the smoke, he saw the shadow of hers moving!

*BOOM!*

He had slammed down. However, Uraraka wasn't there! It was just her jacket!

Bakugo gasped.

"Woah!" Present Mic had to comment. "She floated her jacket over to him as a decoy! What quick thinking!"

His eyes immediately checked her surroundings. From the noise and wind, he could feel her trying to reach him from the back again!

"Too slow!"

With a vicious explosion made by his backhand, Uraraka was blown back.

Jiro, from the stances, had covered her ears in case of the sound.

"He blasted her–!" Mineta was freaking out.

"Oh no, ribbit, it looks like Bakugo isn't looking to show her any mercy." Asui remarked.

Uraraka, with smoke still rising and her arms crossed in the x position, raised her head along with still unwavering determination!

---

However, Midoriya wasn't watching.

Their Plumber group had assembled near the water fountain before walking outside of the stadium and finding a spot away from prying eyes, now all conflicted by what they heard.

"Then…" Yaoyorozu could say, before Midoriya completed her sentence.

"...Kevin is in trouble."

"Huh." Ben said. "I thought Kevin didn't have it in him."

Gwen put the charm away and stared at her cousin. "All the more reason to go."

Ben crossed his arms, still having difficulties in completely trusting their past enemy.

And Gwen could see that.

"*For all we know* Ingenium could be with him as well." She said in an implying manner.

Ben turned away, but Gwen continued.

"And if both of them are calling for help–"

Kirishima interjected. "Wait, hold up a sec. What does Ingenium have to do with any of this?"

"Oh, apparently he's a space cop as well." Ben stated nonchalantly.

"Rather, a former trainee of the Plumbers." Yaoyorozu clarified. "Apparently, he was the one who Magister Labrid handed Kevin to, for the sake of surveillance."

"Oh. Okay, got it."

Gwen looked at all of them, before putting her hands on her hip. "In either case I think it's best if I got a move on."

The quick decision put everyone on edge.

"Gwen–"

However, she didn't let her cousin get in her way.

"Ben, sorry but, I'm taking the reins. I know you don't trust him, but… I just think something about him changed. I think the person you're thinking of is the old Kevin."

He sighed and crossed his arms, looking in Midoriya's direction.

"What's your take?" He said internally.

"I…" Midoriya said. "I wouldn't turn down a chance to help someone."

Tennyson closed his eyes–

"...especially after Manny and Helen." Too bad that didn't help in unhearing what Midoriya said.

Yaoyorozu could feel the atmosphere shift.

"Alright, fine." Tennyson was conceding! "Go, take a look Gwen and then–"

"Me too!" The words burst forth from Momo's mouth.

She looked into her hands, and yet the feeling of eyes gathering on her was most potent.

Covering up her mouth, Yaoyorozu tried to calm herself down–

"You–" Tennyson, very much caught off-guard, objected, opening his arms. "Yaomomo, you sure about that–?"

"I am!" Yaoyorozu burst out again, hands not helping at all.

She got a grip. "My… match in the tournament is done. I won't be advancing. So, doesn't it make sense for me to be more proactive with my time, as opposed to staying here and sitting for the next two hours…?"

Ben didn't back down, even though her argument was sound.

"Yeah, but…" He stuttered. "...don't you want to watch the others' matches?"

She shook her head embarrassedly, looking at everyone in the group one after the other. "Not right now, I must admit. I want to be of help. And… actually face an alien threat."

Ben's scowl continued to grow wider.

Up until he pulled the trigger on his very next idea.

"Alright." He said. "I should come too then."

Yaoyorozu's eyebrows shot up.

"Tennyson–" she said pleadingly.

"No, Yaoyorozu. I… should be there." He stated. "Both of us were there to keep Midoriya safe in case things went south and… I want to do the same here."

"But you can't, Ben." Gwen said, blatantly stomping over it. "Don't you remember that you advanced? You have an upcoming match, so does Midoriya."

"So what?" Ben shrugged.

"So, you will be looked for." Midoriya stated, very much upset as he put the pieces together, and Gwen followed up from there.

"They are holding this tournament to show how undeterred they are by the villain's attack, and how secure they are now against it. Can you imagine how much of a panic it would cause if you just disappeared? How much trouble would you be in?"

Ben dismissed their worries.

"Alright. Then I'll go back to the teachers and forfeit." He said. "This tourney is fun and all, but it isn't more important than this."

"Forfeiting out of the blue." Gwen said. "You still wouldn't have a good excuse."

"Of course I would." Ben was quick to the trigger. "It would be…"

He put a hand under his chin. "Uhhhhhhhh…"

Everyone was just silently watching him.

"This is not to mention the star power he generated." Gwen said.

Ben crossed his arms. "Okay point taken."

With that done, Gwen turned to Midoriya. "Sorry, but that means you're barred too."

"I know." Midoriya nodded, accepting it without a fight. "Good luck out there."

"Stay safe." Ben outright commanded.

"Thanks." Gwen nodded. "Are you ready?"

Yaoyorozu nodded, as Gwen reached into her purse and pulled out a small purple and gold book.

Her hands started to glow pink.

"We're going to teleport there if you don't mind." Gwen said, as the book quickly started glowing pink and floating on its own as well. "We don't have any time to waste."

"O-Of course not."

Gwen's eyes started to glow pink. "Alright, give me a second then. I'm still a bit new to this spell."

"Spell." With that word alone, the relief and excitement in Yaoyorozu only grew tenfold. This was it, the solo mission she was waiting fo–

"Me then." Kirishima palmed his fist, and just like that pulverized her hope.

She forgot. Kirishima didn't have a fight eithe–

"My spotlight in the tourney is done too." Kirishima said, beating her to the punch. He spoke with enthusiasm. "Surely I won't be missed either, and I will get to help out too finally!"

Yaoyorozu didn't want to be selfish… If there wasn't a reason for Kirishima to not come, then she would gladly have his assistance.

However, a part of her did want this to be specialized–

"Sorry Kirishima." Gwen interjected. "But I have to stop you too."

Yaoyorozu's eyebrows went up, as did everyone else's.

"I haven't quite mastered this spell yet. I think I can take one other person with me, but two…"

"You can't take two?" Ben asked.

"No, I can, I'm just afraid it would leave me too winded to actually fight when we get there."

Yaoyorozu's eyes met Kirishima's. The redhead waved his hand.

"Then you take it, Yaomomo. You called dibs."

"No." Yaoyorozu's instincts sparked. "If you want to as well… then it shouldn't be decided by who asked first."

Ben looked at both of his friends. Like he was going to take his head off unless both of them didn't back down right now.

Kirishima did, shaking his head.

"Maybe the next one then." he said.

But Yaoyorozu didn't.

With that permission, she turned to Gwen determinedly. The two girls nodded, as a pink dome manifested around them.

"Good luck in your matches, Midoriya, Tennyson." She said.

The two students gave her a thumbs up.

Gwen raised her hands.

"Eo Recedentia!"

Swirls of pink energy appeared around the dome.

Yaoyorozu raised her hand and waved at them… before both girls dematerialized and disappeared.

Left to their own devices, the boys then went back to the stances.

However, Tennyson didn't have that peppy nature to him anymore. His arms were crossed behind his head for a second, only to unravel and reassemble behind his back.

His eyebrows were crossed, and pupils were on the ground.

"Tennyson." Midoriya nudged him, and Tennyson actually seemed to respond.

"Do you not trust Yaoyorozu?" he asked.

"I do." Ben answered. "I just happen to trust more when I also have a hand in things."

They arrived at their seats.

"Speaking of which…" Ben's arms crossed, as the two of them tensed up…

"Is she okay?!" Asui gasped.

Jiro had covered both of her eyes. "I can't watch this."

"It's official." Mineta sat with one foot over the other, head resting on his hands. "Bakugo's tastes run in that direction."

With a twister of fire and soot, Bakugo kept on firing and blowing Uraraka away.

However, without pausing she kept getting back up!

"Not yet!" Uraraka declared and ran in again! "Take this!"

---

The lights of the warehouse fell dark. Any kind of technology lost power.

From the walls that had blown up behind Fistrick, light shone to the inside.

"Dammit, damage control?" Fistrick called out. Static noise returned in response,

"That's comprehensive." He groaned. "Show me somethin."

Flashlights erupted from the two vents on the chest of the armor.

*ZAP!* *ZAP!*

With two lightning strikes, they were shattered.

The armor took a step back.

"Damn, through the shield?!" Fistrick thought.

*HA* *HA* *HA*

A distorted, echoing laughter started from the top left… as crackling of yellow electricity made for some light.

There was one of them Nosedeenians–

*HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA*

Another one lit into view, emitting electricity and letting it flow between them.

Fistrick laughed. "There you two are. Then the dusty kid can't be–"

*HA*

A third Nosedeenian then made itself present!

*HA*

And then one other!

*HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA*

One by one they emerged, connected to one another with electricity. They created a web between them, crackling and all laughing!

The generator in the middle of the room was made to be long since non-existent.

"Oh, this bodes poorly." Fistrick said.

From the middle of them, Shigaraki got to his feet, with his two glowing red eyes.

"Get him."

Fistrick palmed his fist. "I'm still gonna squash you like a bug!"

As soon as he took one step though, the web of lightning converged, and struck through his armor's arm!

Fistrick gasped.

*HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA* *HA*

The Nosedeenians seemed amused.

"You…" Fistrick uttered. "... want some more, bro?!"

However, the Nosedeenians didn't let him.

As their power combined with each blow, it tore through his shields, going right through and leaving him more damaged than before.

One of the pods on his back even ejected, releasing the creature within to join the cause!

Shigaraki put his hands in his pocket, and walked forward, humming to himself.

Walking through the striking lightning and the following thunder, it all felt like one sweet lullaby.

*AHHH!*

With one more strike to the back, all five other pods emerged and fell to the ground, releasing the Nosedeenians!

Shigaraki raised one hand.

Fistrick looked at his controls and the monitors on the verge of going dark.

"Power level critical." The armor systems forewarned. "12% remaining."

"Good enough." Fistrick leaned forward, as two small hatches opened to reveal this suit's big red button.

Fistrick slammed it down.

Instantly, the armor straightened up and opened all its hatches. Each and every missile suddenly zoomed forward!

Shigaraki and the Nosedeenians paused, defenseless against the attack… only for a moment.

"Let me!"

Kurogiri returned and opened a massive portal in front of them!

"Uh oh…"

The missiles were returned to the sender. The top of the armor opened, as Fistrick was ejected with a jetpack!..

*BOOM!*

The missiles returned and destroyed the battle armor!

Shigaraki smirked–

"You might have destroyed my business bro!.."

He looked up, and so did the Nosedeenians. They were greeted by a flying Fistrick, clenching his hands.

"... but there is always tomorrow! AND THE NEXT DAY!"

*Zap!*

Fistrick raised his feet, letting the rubber soles block the electricity!

"Mark my words, you will be brought to your knees bro…" He said. "... both for me, my bros, and my ex that you abandoned!"

Shigaraki did a double take."Your ex?"

Fistrick however, didn't elaborate. From the hole in his warehouse's window, he escaped.

The skull motif of his face paint and shirt then came to Shigaraki's mind.

"Wait…" he thought, looking up. "Where else did i see a skull symbol?"

His eyebrows shot up! It was the bitch with the squid and high tech armor–

*Bzz! *Buzz!* *Buzz!*

He looked above him. Now, the battery creatures had started celebrating, waving their fists up and down.

They all looked back at him, eternally grateful–

Shigaraki didn't indulge them.

"Scram." He said.

*Buzz?* They all looked with clueless expressions.

"I said scram!" Shigaraki shouted, and the battery creatures didn't need to be told twice!

*Buzz!*

They all disappeared. Going outside the destroyed walls, mixing into the streets and lights of Japan.

Shigaraki crossed his arms. "For crying out loud."

Kurogiri stepped next to him.

"It's done." he said.

"No." Shigaraki looked away. "I couldn't destroy him."

"You have driven him away and made him a non-threat for Forever Knight caches." Kurogiri raised his hand. "That was the mission–"

"I said it didn't count!" Shigaraki shouted.

*Ring ring ring!*

Kurogiri reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

"Yes, master." He pressed it to his ear, and… just listened for about a minute. No words, no replies, only listening to what the master had to say.

Once he let it down from his ear, the expression on his face became so vivid, it was almost readable.

"Apparently, it has." Kurogiri said, putting the phone in his pocket. "Their soldiers have already been dispatched for a mission at a different location."

Shigaraki scowled. "Oh good… The cosplay group is on our side."

"Young master…"

"I know." Shigaraki interrupted. "Their technology."

"Also they have just been sent on a mission." Kurogiri said. "I believe this is only the beginning of their usefulness for us–"

"And I'm glad one of you has an actual mind to converse with!"

With that interruption, both fighters got back into their stances.

However, from where the voice came, only a ten or twenty centimeter… bi-pedal frog came out, hands assembled on his back.

Shigaraki growled, and the frog put his hands up.

"I'm unarmed…" he said. "...if you'd bother to entertain what your globular organs are communicating to you."

They lowered their hands.

"Kurogiri." Shigaraki commanded, and so his servant took the lead.

"Tell us who you are."

"I believe you'd already know. If I'm not giving you too much credit of course." the frog responded.

Shigaraki annoyedly raised an eyebrow… but Kurogiri replied with curiosity.

"Someone we'd know…" He said. "Are you *The Tinkerer*?"

The frog didn't immediately reply. He checked the expressions on both of their faces.

And as Kurogiri's expression was unreadable, the eyebrows of Shigaraki raised. The little frog wasn't denying it.

"For the record, I haven't ever encouraged that duncical nickname." He assembled his hand behind his back. "But now that we've been acquainted… we can talk business."

"Wait. There was a kid with Fistrick." Shigaraki stated accusingly.

The little frog looked up to them.

"Oh. He's *safe*." The Tinkerer blurted out dismissively. "Now, like I said once already, let's stop wasting time…"

He climbed on top of some wreckage, getting to eye-level with them. The Tinkerer pressed a button on his brace, and a hologram emerged.

As the static stabilized… It showed them the sports festival of UA, but not the current tournament match.

It focused on the stances. To one student with green eyes, brown hair… and a left wrist that glowed in the sun.

"... and focus on the one unworthy human who was *deemed* important."

Shigaraki saw the very hero student as well… alongside the green haired and freckled one with a notebook.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked with a menacing tone.

"You have the technology from the knights. However, you are also barren in terms of experience and knowledge to use them." The Tinkerer stated. "I *have* paid attention to how that Umbaran hover tank was unstable under your guise."

Shigaraki narrowed your eyes. "And what can you offer me?"

The Tinkerer approached as well.

"All of that, and perhaps more." he stated. "If that is, you're to offer little *help* of your own."

Kurogiri and Shigaraki looked at each other, both of their eyes narrowed. Shigaraki was a lot more aggressive, whereas Kurogiri seemed calmer but static in his mindset.

"I have no allegiance to those humans, if that may be what you're–"

"We know." Shigaraki said.

Kurogiri in the meantime, extended one hand, Letting The Tinkerer get on top of it.

"And we're ready to listen."

---

And that's the cut-off point! What did you think?

Originally, I was planning on covering some of the quarterfinals as well, like Midoriya vs Shinso or Todoroki vs Pony as well, but once this chapter really shaped up to be one about Momo and Shigaraki, I figured I'd just cut it early and not really force it.

Plus, I do want to try my hand at writing Uraraka vs Bakugo as well. I did some of the stuff in the original right now and I want to see how much I can push it.

And lastly, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter but, during the last upload we managed to reach 260k views on and 11k hits on AO3.

I can't even begin to tell you all how much that means to us and so, I just want to take this moment to say, thanks for all the support.

Every review, favorite, follow, kudos, whatever. No matter what it is, they are all super appreciated by us and… never did I think this story with references every 2 seconds and a headache-inducing number of plots would ever grow to this level.

Thank you for giving us the energy and will to see it this far.

Until next time in 3 weeks, have a great day and I'll see you on the next one!