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?"

33. Chapter 32: With Bated Breaths

FINALLY! I COULD RETURN!

Hi everyone. Sorry for the extra delay compared to usual, but we're back now and… hopefully better than ever. :D

Before we get started though, I just want to really quickly plug the twitter account again.

Like we said before we opened that for communicating situations like this, and thank you everyone who's already using it, but if you're not keeping up with it and the chapter is seemingly taking too long, make sure to check out:

Account Name: HeroForceFanfic

Admittedly, despite my apprehension for some posts, the editor has done a good job posting regular updates, and he has my thanks fo that.

But enough dilly dallying! Here goes Chapter 32!

---

"Withdrawing is not an option! HA!"

Uraraka appeared behind the smoke. Bakugo leaped with his explosion!

*BOOM!*

Uraraka was tossed aside again, right next to the line.

"Then you better get ready to die…" Bakugo called out. "Because you ain't winning against me pink cheeks!"

From the stances Midoriya observed the two of them. He had his notebook open on his lap, but there was no mumbling, no movement with his pencil.

His eyes were locked on perhaps the second most desperate battle of the tournament.

Kaminari sneezed.

From the sky, Bakugo launched another explosion. Uraraka rolled out of the way!

She had a piece of rubble from the stage in her hand. Activating her quirk, she chucked it up.

Bakugo however spun around!

Turning off the explosions, he slammed a blast down as he landed, rumbling the ground!

It managed to unbalance her. Bakugo aimed to fire again, but Uraraka ran into the smoke of the previous attack.

"Cheeky little-!" Bakugo fired, but only made more smoke! He missed her–!

Midoriya's concentration broke. Jiro, as she looked a little distraught, had chosen to sit next to him.

Saying nothing, his eyes traveled back to the battle–

"Hey, Midoriya." Jiro said very tensely. "Could I ask something?"

Midoriya nodded. "Of course, anything."

"How do you think she's holding up?" she asked, wincing with hands close to her ears right as Bakugo hammered the arena with another explosion.

Midoriya turned back. "It's hard to say."

With one hand back, Bakugo dived into the smoke, and tried attacking with a sweeping blast!

However, Uraraka still wasn't there.

From further back, she emerged. With her hand open, Uraraka went for a charging slap, but Bakugo instantly blasted her back!

"It's obvious that Uraraka trained up her speed for the competition." Midoriya said. "I couldn't notice it, but with how fast she's recovering from rolls or getting knocked down, it could give Iida from back then even more trouble."

"Really? You think so?" Iida spoke from beside him.

Midoriya nodded, right before he paused.

"W-Well, your version from back then." He corrected himself. "You also look like you trained hard, Iida."

Iida raised his hand with pride. "Thanks. It makes me glad that it could be noticed!"

"But…?" Jiro brought down the mood again.

Midoriya made himself get back on track. "It's still a far cry from Kacchan's reaction time."

Bakugo sent another explosion. Uraraka jumped over it again, only for him to get her with a counter!

Thankfully she could recover, despite the scorch marks now covering her undershirt, and disappear back into the smoke.

Instantly she had gotten far away enough that the spraying and praying was a fruitless effort! Bakugo, everytime he tried it, wasn't hitting anything.

"Keep your intentions unclear, choose your time to strike!"

Putting her arms behind her back, and making her posture lean forward a little, Uraraka repeated her lessons.

"I can't make my footsteps just quite silent yet, not to mention making my presence vanish, but–"

The explosions were facing the other way. "Now!"

Bakugo turned, just like she expected.

"Think you're gonna get me with that!"

He blasted, but Uraraka dropped down, sliding on the concrete!

"Touch his leg, just like you did to Master Yos–"

Bakugo noticed her. He jumped up again. Swiping his hand, he created a twister of fire and rubble!

"It's something he's been passively working on since the day got his quirk." Midoriya said, looking down.

"Coupled with the range and power, he got to a level where he could pick a fight with two fourth-grader students when he still went to first-grade and win."

"Really?" Jiro's eyebrows shot up for a moment, as she then looked back down on the battle.

From behind the smoke, the only things that were coming through were the roaring and light of his explosions as well as Uraraka's pained groans.

Jiro shrunk in her seat again. "I guess it's not that surprising."

"Hold on!" Iida earnestly got to his feet. "What you mean to say is that Bakugo used to get into fights?!"

Jiro raised an eyebrow. "Used to?"

Iida felt checkmated, and so Jiro continued.

"You sure we're going to the same class there, class prez?"

Iida's mouth hung open as he continued to try finding a retort.

"Point taken." he could say, sitting back down. "But it's… It's still extremely unbecoming of a student at U.A.!"

Jiro acknowledged it head on.

"Yes." she said bluntly, turning back to the brawl even though it was difficult to do so. "Yes, it is."

Iida continued to feel defeated in their argument. Midoriya finally intervened, raising his hands.

"The point is…" he said, still pretty softly, and out of concern. "This is one of her worst matchups."

Bakugo perked up as he felt something touch his shoulder! It was one of Uraraka's wristbands.

The real one came from his side, and with a crackling blast, he launched her straight outside the smokescreen!

Like a demon brought freshly out of hell, Bakugo stood in the middle of the crumbled arena with smoke obstructing him, and his eyes glowing without a hinge of mercy.

And Uraraka was forced to look at him, getting thrown on her knees once more in one day.

"I hate to say it, but she might need a miracle then." Iida said.

Midoriya shrugged. "Maybe."

To him, it felt hard to say… and Jiro snapped him out of that mindset.

As the smoke was dispersing, she pointed above the arena. "You mean a miracle like that?"

Midoriya's jaw dropped.

In the meantime, outcries rose from the stances as some of the pro-heroes started to criticize Bakugo for being so harsh on his fellow classmate!

"We get it, there is a huge gap between your abilities! Just hurry up and send her out of bounds already!"

Some other woman got to her feet too. "Yeah! How could you want to be a hero, but still do so much harm to a poor girl!"

"Hey!" Uraraka took offense to the last comment! "What do you mean poor?!.. I mean, it's true but still."

But it got drowned out under the booing from the crowd.

"The crowd's now booing Bakugo! They're really unhappy…" Present Mic also felt forced to commentate it.

Eraser Head, grumbling from his own seat… turned on his microphone with his elbow.

To all those that could enter these premises only to complain about this… the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head had a few words to say.

"Where–"

"HEY, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

To the shock of him, and perhaps everyone, the eccentric blonde pro-hero got to his feet.

The crowd fell silent, as the guy who started it was slack jawed.

Present Mic couldn't seem to be able to find him due to his frustration, but his co-host could. He had kept an eye on him ever since this whole thing started and could very well see that the guy was a hero.

"You're a pro-hero? Did they actually give you a license with that kind of attitude?!" Present Mic asked sarcastically.

The man was starting to get covered with cold sweat, so Aizawa decided to take over.

"Yes, Bakugo's not torturing his classmate for the fun of it. He's being careful because he knows the strengths of his opponent. He wants to win, and so he's not letting his guard down and not going easy."

Aizawa sat back down, scoffing.

"If you can't tell, go and look into changing careers. As for the 'so-called' puny girl, sit back and watch."

Bakugo, even though it didn't take away his attention from his opponent, felt the rageful front he put on, cool off.

"Not yet…" He thought.

Uraraka was out of breath and wiping her own sweat but still on her feet.

He instantly leaned forward, expecting an attack. "She's not dead yet!"

"Thanks… Bakugo." Uraraka said, out of breath. "...for not holding back."

Bakugo carefully observed her.

"I said we… had special training… at the door… do you remember?"

Bakugo narrowed his eyes. Now that she mentioned it, he did.

"We had a couple of rules there… and the first one… I think you'd quite like it."

Achingly, she brought her fingers together, shaking as they approached each other. She echoed Master Yoshi verbatim.

"The first rule of being a ninja is do no harm, unless you mean to do harm…"

"She's about to release the gravity on somethin." Bakugo said observantly. "Well, her feet are pressing the ground, so…"

His eyes darted around, only for them to turn above him. The sight of numerous, big or small boulders and rocks greeted him.

"...THEN DO LOTS OF HARM!" Uraraka pressed them together! "RELEASE!"

The laws of physics went back into effect, and the rubble of the arena turned into a meteor stream raining down. Without watching out for herself, Uraraka ran straight ahead at her opponent!

"A meteor shower?!" Present Mic exclaimed, while Eraser Head replied in his usual deadpan manner.

"You should have noticed."

Midoriya jumped to his feet. "She had that plan all along?!"

"It's THE miracle you mentioned." Jiro said, quite satisfied.

"With this much debris, his focus will be split no matter what." Uraraka thought and activated her quirk on her own body. "And in that, there will definitely be an opening…"

She frowned as she jumped towards him with as much power as possible!

Bakugo raised his arm… and with his other, he held his left arm steady.

"I CAN WIN!" Uraraka's eyes were fixated on his opponents chest. She reached forward! "I'LL PROVE MYSELF–!"

Tensing every fiber on his arms, Bakugo sent an explosion that darkened the bright sky.

*KABOOM!*

It launched the weightless Uraraka back. The ground shook like Todoroki himself was present! It blew back everyone's hair, student, and pro-hero alike.

And the debris… It got launched to where it came from.

Uraraka had landed just in front of the line again, and she managed to get up just enough to sit on her legs but now it was different.

"I'd figured you and that damn nerd would have a plan for me." Bakugo said, as the smoke subsided, and he emerged still in the same position.

Dread had completely enveloped Uraraka's face. It had only taken him one shot to do away with her entire secret plan.

Present Mic continued to commentate on what just happened, saying how much of a demonstration of power it was, but Bakugo chose to tune that out.

Taking a deep breath, he attempted to close his left fist, the one he had just used to fire that big blast with. But his muscles couldn't obey him.

"That was close." He remarked under his breath, before looking at pink cheeks again.

"But I will not go down that way." Bakugo stated rather calmly, before taking up his fighting stance again. "Not yet!"

Midoriya leaned forward. "Oh man…"

From how she shook, it looked like a miracle for Uraraka to be up on her feet. However, Bakugo still didn't give her a moment of respite. He continued to stay on guard for any attack.

She turned around, and Bakugo grinned. He took a deep breath of his own.

"All right! Let's get serious, Uraraka!"

Just hearing her name gave Uraraka another shot of energy to run ahead. Bakugo waited for it excitedly.

However, it was only momentary.

Uraraka slipped on some rubble, as the last bit of stamina fizzled away. She fell face first, and Bakugo's grin dropped.

He took a step to go check, but instantly retracted it.

She was convulsing on the ground, before starting to crawl.

Midoriya fell silent. "She… passed her limit."

Her movements came to a stop, and as Midnight came onto the stage to do what he was about to do a second earlier, Bakugo dropped his guard.

"Uraraka's out of commission." Midnight acceptingly said, before rising to her feet. "Bakugo advances to the next round!"

The crowd cheered, almost like they were trying to compensate for earlier, but Bakugo didn't take it in like Tennyson would.

His heart was beating like it was about to pop off his chest, and even though his hands felt toasty, they were only like that because of the amount of explosions that he fired off.

"Good." he calmed down, putting his hands in his pocket. He had secured his place in the quarter-finals and… the guy who everyone said was the "favorite to win".

Bakugo looked up to Tennyson, only to find him staring right back.

He was tense, much like a couple of weeks ago when he was 'in that phase' after the USJ crap.

Bakugo finally managed to move his fingers on his left.

"Today…" he said, putting one hand on his elbow. "We'll settle this."

He went back through the gate and as everyone dispersed for the break before the start of quarter-finals, Kirishima also took notice.

---

Ben 10: Hero Force

Chapter 32

With Bated Breaths…

---

"How can I be calm, huh?" Ben said, opening his arms.

Kirishima decided to pull him away for a second to talk about the situation in the corridor right outside their stances.

"Yaomomo's on a mission all on her own, and there is nothing I can do."

"You're right, man." Kirishima said, channeling his own frustration as well.

He hardened his arms. "I'd like to be out there too, punch some tin cans right in the face, or aliens, or whatever. And even see how Iida's brother's–"

Ben put his index finger on his lips. Kirishima almost jumped as he realized how loud that was.

"How Iida's big bro fights against this kind of stuff." He whispered. "Or just how he is in general."

Ben crossed his arms and smiled in reminiscence.

"Oh, just imagine Iida, but ditch the glasses, engines on his shoulders, and without the robotic gestures."

Kirishima was taken aback. "Glasses and engines I get but without the robotic style? Is that possible?"

"You'd be surprised." Ben remarks, before sighing. "And I'm missing the second round."

Kirishima gritted his teeth, looking down.

"Well, what would Gwen say?"

Ben raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? She literally just told us–"

"I know." Kirishima raised his hands. "But what if she didn't–? Like, if you had called her, before she knew any of this stuff… Or Magister Labrid? Or any other Plumber for that matter?"

Now, Kirishima knew he had a lot of ways to describe himself. Reasonable… wasn't so often one of them. But he was getting there when the subject was aliens. Admittedly, he was still completely in the dark. Unlike hero work where he had an idea, he didn't know how to be a proper space cop.

"Any other Plumber, huh?" In response, Ben directed his gaze to the sky.

"Thanks for coming to see me, sport. What's on your mind?" Only one voice came to mind. The elderly, wise voice that guided him through this the first time. His grandpa… and he imagined him in the good old RB, cooking up some exquisite dish.

"Just for good measure." He quipped, before turning serious. "What do I do about this, grandpa? What would you do?"

As the pan that was filled with all kinds of exotic alien… 'ingredients' sizzled in the back of his mind, grandpa sat down on the couch near the door.

"Your friend…" His version of grandpa spoke. "He's right, you can't leave now, and you don't have any other friends to send in. There is nothing you can do. So, nothing you are doing right now is going to help."

"Tell me what to do." Ben pressed out of desperation.

"Ben, part of a leader's burden comes from learning to accept when a situation is out of our control. Do you trust her?"

Ben's response was instant. "Of course, I trust her."

"Good. Then trust she'll succeed." His grandpa smiled. "It would be the Ben move."

Feeling a weight on his chest, Ben Tennyson took a deep breath… and came back to the real world.

Kirishima was still concerned and impatiently had his eyes on him.

"So?"

Ben could still feel his anxiety, but his nerves were notably calmer.

"We're staying." He said, before turning back towards their stances. "Wanna watch some matches in the meantime?"

Kirishima's face lit up.

"Of course I would!" His arm wrapped around Ben's neck again. "It's Midoriya's turn too!"

Ben nodded. It was, wasn't it?

"Huh, wonder what he's up to."

---

"Man, can't believe I lost!.." Uraraka said in a chipper tone with one hand on her hair.

Within the spacious waiting room, and her new jacket in front of her in a plastic package, there was Uraraka and Midoriya both in Player Waiting Room 1.

And Midoriya was frankly very surprised by her mood.

"Huh..?" He expected her to be frustrated, and tearing up the waiting room, or just for her to be on her feet at least. She seemed so nonchalant.

"Guess I got carried away at the end." Uraraka lowered her hand from her hair. "Overestimated myself a little, thinking I had it in the bag."

"Uraraka…" Midoriya said, as his thoughts were stilted, trying to figure out the best kind of response.

"Umm, so Recovery Girl already treated your injuries, huh?"

"Yep yep." She shrugged and pointed to the bandage on her cheek. "This time she was careful not to drain me too much. So, I still have a few scratches and stuff."

"I see…" Midoriya responded, and like it was on the flip of a coin, Uraraka was on her feet.

"Man, but Bakugo was still so strong though!" (ᗒᗣᗕ) She waved her fist in frustration with closed eyes. "I'm gonna work harder and wipe the ring with him right back next time!"

Uraraka then half-opened one eye to check for Midoriya's reaction, and rightfully he was even more freaked out.

"Are… you sure you're okay?"

"Yep! Maybe even better!" Uraraka said. "Because, like Yaomomo said, I got to learn from my mistakes!"

*Brrrrrr!* *Brrrrrr!*

The phone in Uraraka's hand was going off. Midoriya backed away.

"Wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes…" She clutched the phone close to her. "That's another thing I got to learn Deku, and… you're already so good at that."

"As in… Good at making mistakes?"

"No!" She corrected him. "You're a quick study, and I'm not… kind of evident by the moves." Uraraka said, blushing embarrassedly with one hand placed on her hair.

"Oh, about that, where DID you learn those moves?" Midoriya asked. "You were so stealthy and quick on your feet."

Uraraka faintly smiled. "So, you think I couldn't have thought up those moves myself?"

"N-No–!" Midoriya waved her hands and Uraraka was just laughing it off.

"I'm just kidding. Guess I could tell you." She said. "Ojiro introduced us to a master, and he took us in."

"Really?! A martial arts master?"

Uraraka nodded rather pensively.

"Do you think he could take me in?" Midoriya asked.

"I can ask–" She replied, as the phone rang in her hand. again.

"Oh, sorry." Midoriya said. "I should probably leave so that–"

"No, it was okay." Uraraka said. "It was nice talking like this– Oh wait!"

It just hit her.

"Since I was here, you didn't have any chance to prepare."

Midoriya put a hand on the doorknob.

"No, that's okay." He shook his head. "Like you said, it was nice…"

He delved deeper into his own thoughts, specifically about his next match against Shinso. And there, Midoriya felt like he saw his theories clearer.

As he then opened the door, Uraraka's smile became that much bigger and that much more genuine.

"I'll be watching, 'kay? Don't lose, and good luck." She raised her hand.

Midoriya raised his fist in response, putting on a nervous grin.

"Thanks."

He left her alone to tidy up and put on the new jacket given to them. However, he could see the tears she was trying to hold back.

As he left for the arena, he caught her taking out her pink flip phone.

"Of course she must be so upset. I thought I could help her in some way. But instead, she cheered me on…"

He gritted his teeth, recalling her words.

"She's got my back." He wiped away some tears of his own. "She's the one encouraging me again."

---

"Hey Bakugo!" Sero's called out as Bakugo had just arrived back at the stances. "Playing the villain, huh?"

He didn't entertain the comment. Bakugo just perched on one of the seats on the edge, glaring at Tennyson, only for the student in question to not really notice him.

It only added to his frustration.

"Must have been tough out there with this crowd." Sero said.

"Ribbit, even if it was just because you were up against Uraraka, you made a pretty convincing bad guy." Asui leaned forward as Jiro was still unsettled.

"Shut up you idiots." He groaned. "OR ELSE!"

"For real dude…" Kaminari rubbed his nose. "I don't know how you can aim a powerful attack like that on a girl."

Jiro perked up at that comment as did Ashido.

"Uhhh… you wanna run that by us again?"

"I'm just saying." Kaminari held up his hands. "If I had to fight against a frail girl… I don't think I'd have it in me."

Jiro narrowed her eyes.

"Keep that same energy Kaminari…" Ashido said, arms crossed as acid manifested in her palms. "Now I can't wait for the next training exercise."

Kaminari sweated.

"N-Now hold on for a sec Ashido…"

Bakugo however couldn't care less.

Falling into deep thought, he thought about that recent match… His opponent's agility and… that freaking move she pulled over him for a sec.

With one eye looking at Kaminari who was still trying to suck up to the girls, he grunted.

"What part of her was frail, taser face?"

"Oh good, the quarter-finals haven't started yet?" Uraraka then, speak of the devil, just arrived at the stances.

"Huh? No, they–?!" Iida freaked out. "Oh my, your eyes haven't healed fully yet!"

In front of them stood Uraraka, with reddened puffy eyes and runny nose.

"You should hurry to Recovery Girl."

"I already did." Uraraka said as she sat down in between them, rubbing her eyes. "This is… different."

Feeling for her, Ben side-eyed her… but didn't want to join in.

"It's different?- Ah, of course." Iida said, turning to the arena as well. "You must have been really frustrated. I'd be too."

Bakugo looked away, arms crossed, huffing with zero remorse.

"This is no time to wallow." Tokoyami interjected. "If you were really that bothered, you should use the following matches as encouragement to be better."

"Yep!" Uraraka straightened up. "That's the idea!"

"You're so wise." Iida said under his breath, as fire erupted from the arena.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!" Present Mic yelled out. "I can just feel your anticipation my dear listeners. What do you say, Eraser?"

"Yes." Eraser Head deadpanned. "You can just *feel* the intensity."

"That's what I thought! Now, we're opening the first round of the second set with a bang!" His arms opened all the way to his sides.

"It's the student who put up a fierce show of determination, all against an opponent with armor! Seriously, he took his hits and paid them back double! It's Midoriya Izuku of the hero course!"

Midoriya determinedly stepped up to the arena.

"On the other hand, we have the enigma of the show itself! Give it up for Shinso Hitoshi of General Studies!"

Shinso was mirroring him exactly. He wasn't looking to lose, not here, and Present Mic immediately picked up on it. "Ohhhh, look at the two of them, Eraser!"

"Both of them are strong-willed." Aizawa thought. "It will be interesting to see how they match up against each other."

Midoriya brought his fists up, and exhaled, calmly letting One for All flow into them–

"So, the tournament has brought us face to face, Midoriya?" Shinso stated in his deadpan tone.

Midoriya saw his eyes go down to his hands.

"You're planning to use your super strength, aren't you?"

Midoriya's mouth ever so slightly opened, gasping, only to close back up.

Shinso's eyebrows went up. "What the–?"

Seeing his facial reaction, Midoriya then put one hand over his mouth.

"So you figured it out." Shinso's eyebrows knitted down. "Guess I should have been a little more careful."

The green haired hero student took a stance with only one outstretched.

Present Mic excitedly pointed at the arena. "READY?!"

Shinso gritted his teeth. All or nothing then.

"Good! Go right ahead!" He called out towards him. "I will be glad to go down like the Uraraka girl!"

Midoriya's eyebrows seemingly went up.

"And here I was thinking she could be a good fighter, seeing as you were so tactically proficient."

"BEGIN!"

"I can't believe you'd put such trash on your team."

Midoriya gritted his teeth. "Don't talk about Uraraka like that–!"

Midoriya's eyes went blank, losing their green tint as he stopped dead in his tracks. The world had flashed gray in one second, and in the other… everything disappeared.

"I'm sorry." Shinso said under his breath.

The sight of seeing a fired up student suddenly coming to a stop threw everyone for a loop a second time in one day. Especially for those that knew him.

From the stances, All Might gasped.

"Huh?! What's the matter?" Present Mic called out. "Is everyone sleeping on the job against Shinso today?!"

"Midoriya…" Iida got up and so did Uraraka.

"Not you too, Deku!"

Tennyson's breath hitched.

"Come on Midoriya! The match just started!" Present Mic shouted.

---

"Where… am I?"

Midoriya looked around, and found himself in an empty space, gray ground, pitch black sky, and… with a lineup of thrones.

"Wait… this place feels familiar–"

Eerily, he got goosebumps. This place felt familiar to him–

"Looks like Shinso has gotten the better of Midoriya!" He heard a faint, echoing version of his English teacher, Present Mic. "Will the bottom really overthrow the top like this?!"

There was constant background chatter too.

"Are they perhaps the audience?- Hmm–?!" Midoriya tried to talk, but his mouth was covered by a black shadow which illuminated green.

"You're lucky to have been so blessed, Midoriya Izuku."

This was Shinso!

"Now turn around and walk outside the ring, like the good little hero they make you out to be."

A pink, and then rainbow colored veil then opened up, showing him the outside world from his own eyes like a film reel. However, right then and there, that vision shook.

Step by step, his own body was complying with the command!

"No!" Midoriya let out an outcry. "Stop!"

"Woah?! And Midoriya's being obedient?!" Present Mic exclaimed.

"No, Deku, what are you doing?!"

That one was Uraraka.

"He can't let himself walk out of the ring!"

And that one was Iida!

The question of how he could hear them this clearly from such a distance was utterly and completely lost on him.

"I think he knows that, four-eyes…"Midoriya could even hear Bakugo murmur, as the rest of Class 1-A was also waiting with bated breath.

"No, NO!" Midoriya held up his shadowy hands. "Stop! Obey me, my body!"

He felt so disappointed. "Ah, I knew his quirk was brainwashing, and correctly guessed that responding to him was the trigger too!"

His body then fully turned around. In front of him now were the stairs, and the door he came from… as well as All Might.

In his skinny form, he had grasped the side of the entrance, squeezing it.

"What are you doing, Young Midoriya!" He yelled under his breath. "Get back in there!"

"I'm trying!" Midoriya screamed desperately inside his own mind. So many people were counting on him… No, they still ARE counting on him!

"My body's moving on its own, and my head…"

He tried reaching into the darkness, but his arms were covered by the same shadow. "It feels fuzzy, like I'm in a fog…– No, don't get distracted, concentrate! Izuku!"

His body tensed, as the little version inside his mind reached out, almost like he could find a handle to turn this off!

"Find a way… It… isn't unique." He thought, as the memory came to mind.

This space, it was the exact same as the one he defeated that DNAlien Xenocite in!

With his hand drowned in the shroud, he reached for the scar still on his face from that.

"Live up to his power Izuku." He repeated what that shadow said back then. "Live up to it… AND MOVE..!"

Suddenly, eight strands of smoke struck down from the sky like lightning!

Midoriya tried to cover his eyes with his own shadowy hands, but it didn't help.

Now, as if they were stars in the dark sky, Midoriya saw several rainbow lights manifest on the lineup of thrones.

"There's sixteen of them..!"

Power surged in his body. Midoriya tried to cover his eyes, but soon, everything was covered in white!

"What… is… this?!" he said labored, as the sound from the outside world faded into pure silence.

"He is."

When he came back, he was greeted with the tournament grounds again.

---

"You wouldn't get it… but even with a quirk like this, I have my own dream to follow." Shinso said, as he looked up to his class' stances, turning his back on the fight.

"So, lose for me."

Like a divine hammer had dropped, Midoriya flicked both fingers and a tremendous shockwave rocked the ground!

"See. Told ya guys it was gonna happen!" Dark Shadow pumped his fist to the sky.

"It was never a matter of if." Tokoyami shrugged. "Only when."

Shinso, All Might and Midnight, all who were on the lower ground had to shield their faces.

And as it subsided, all they saw was Shinso and a Midoriya… who was way too close to the edge for comfort.

"T-THIS IS..?!" Present Mic called out. "MIDORIYA STOPPED!"

The greenette huffed and puffed like his life depended on it. There was the line just one more foot in front of him!

"Midoriya!" It was Iida's turn to be excited. "That's the way to do it!"

Ben breathed a sigh of relief as did Uraraka.

"Whew." She said. "Almost lost my cool there."

Ben leaned to Kirishima. "See, I taught him that."

"And I sincerely doubt that." Jiro deadpanned, catching Tennyson with her earphone jack quirk.

From the commentary booth, Eraser Head's eyes widened as well.

"His fingers…" He saw his two outstretched fingers from a distance, reddened and swollen. "Did breaking them snap him out of the brainwashing?"

Coming back to his senses, and his survival instincts blaring at him inside his head, Midoriya side-eyed Shinso.

'Shocked' didn't even begin to describe his opponent.

"No… How?! You're not supposed to be able to fight back! What did you do?!"

Midoriya immediately put a hand over his mouth. He had no clue what happened either, but… he knew this wasn't the time to think about it.

Holding his hand with the two broken fingers, he faced his opponent!

"He won't answer me again." Shinso thought. "It was hard enough getting him the first time…"

"Come on, say something. It's rude, you know." Even though Midoriya knew, Shinso knew he had no other choice but to still try! "So, you can generate that much power with just your fingers? I must admit, they didn't look like much during the cavalry battle! But now I'm jealous!"

Midoriya ran straight ahead, shutting him out. Shinso pointed to himself with his thumb.

"Whereas because of my quirk, I've been behind from the start. BUT someone who's been blessed can't understand that though, can they?!" Shinso called out, as he made one hand into a fist. "You were lucky enough to get one of the heroic quirks! It'll be so easy for you to reach your goal!"

Midoriya didn't say anything. He gritted his teeth and put one arm on Shinso's shoulder as he put the other's forearm onto his stomach, pushing him back!

"Say something, dammit!" Shinso didn't surrender. He slugged Midoriya in the face!

As blood came out of his nose though, the greenette didn't stop! That fierce look in his eyes didn't vein!

Shinso looked back. That line was getting ever closer. "Is he really trying to push me out?!"

He punched him in the hand with the two broken fingers! And when Midoriya stumbled, he got out of his grip.

"You have got to be kidding!"

As Midoriya stumbled, he did the same move right back, but instead of his stomach, Shinso put his opened hand right on Midoriya's face. "Get out of this ring, you damn lucky brat!"

Midoriya grabbed him by the collar in response! Then his arm with the other. Bakugo's eyes widened. He recognized that throw! "Bastard…"

"AHHH!"

The cracking of his fingers as they shifted around was loud, but Midoriya persisted.

"I… won't…"He finally opened his mouth, lifting Shinso up over his shoulder.

"LOSE!"

He slammed him to the ground!

Shinso was knocked onto his back, getting the air knocked out of him, as Midoriya wheezed and sweated.

Shinso gritted his teeth.

"That kid, he pulled a fast one on me–"

A light clattering greeted his ear, as Midnight's hand with the handcuff raised to the sky.

"Shinso's out of the ring!" She declared. "Midoriya advances!"

A wave of cheering erupted from the crowd.

"WHAT?!" He quickly got himself off the ground and saw that his feet were lying outside of the arena.

"And with that, we have the first participant of the semi-finals! Midoriya of class 1-A!" Present Mic further rubbed it in… as they were then called to the middle of the arena.

His fist shook.

"Honestly though, that was kind of a boring first match, but they both definitely battled bravely! LET'S SHOW THEM SOME LOVE EVERYONE!"

As both of them bowed their heads against one another, his bloodied and battered opponent stood. Shinso didn't look at him. Instead, he kept his eyes to the ground…

"Shinso." Midoriya spoke. "I have a question."

He scoffed. "Go ahead."

"Why do you want to be a hero? What's driving you… exactly?"

Shinso's eyebrows went up. He… hadn't expected that.

Sighing, he gave the answer which first appeared in his mind..

"You can't help the things your heart longs for."

After that, he walked away. This was it, his failure. It pissed him off beyond words, because…

"Okay, okay, fine. We'll secure our seats together." He had said to Hagakure. And–

"Shinso!"

From down the stairs, he looked back at Midoriya.

"You were amazing today!" Midoriya spoke with conviction, as he held his hand. "And… I'm sure I'm not the only one to think that!"

Shinso shook his head. Who cared what he thought…

"YEAH SHINSO! WHAT HE SAID!"

Above the gate, there were his classmates from class 1-C, all led by Hagakure!

"You were so cool!"

"Good job!"

"I was really surprised!"

Shinso's expression was one of tired confusion.

"You see?!" Hagakure opened her arms. "You got to be the star of general studies!"

"Heck, maybe just a bit more than that…" The guy next to her, with brown flat hair, pointed behind them with his thumb.

Discussion was ramping up from within the pro-heroes as well. They criticized UA for placing him in the general studies of all places and marveled at how useful of a quirk he actually had.

"YOU SEE?!" Hagakure said.

"You already said that." The girl with the clown makeup said.

"Oh, I know. But I want to say it again!"

Midoriya looked up to them as well, not able to help himself but smile.

"Hey!" Shinso called out, allowing Midoriya to hear humor in his tone for the first time. "You remember that, depending on the results, they can still transfer people over to the hero course…"

There was a whimsy and proud tone behind him now.

"It might not have been my day today, but there is always tomorrow. I'm going to get on the hero track, get certified, and beat you all at your own game."

Midoriya lost the slack-jawed face he had and responded to his determination.

"Yeah, understood–!"

His eyes went blank again. Shinso stretched the back of his neck.

"People usually tense up when they talk to me. If you're not on guard, someone's going to trip you up, even with that power on your fingertips."

He deactivated his quirk, and Midoriya came back to the real world.

"Keep that in mind. Don't lose and make me look bad." Shinso said.

The pupil of All Might took his words to heart.

"Okay, I got it–!"

His eyes went blank again, and Shinso could do nothing but facepalm.

Back on 1-A's stances, Bakugo scorned Deku. "You never cease to piss me off."

However, Ben had his arms crossed, standing filled with nothing but pride!

"That was unnecessary… but–"

Ben knew it was something close to what he would do.

"You never cease to surprise me."

---

"There, that should do it for now." Recovery Girl said, as she had just finished applying the last bandage.

Back at the nurse's office, Toshinori patted Midoriya on the back. "Good job on the semifinals kid! You're really moving up in the world."

"Thanks, All Might." Midoriya said, a little less excited than expected. His glance darted. "But… I haven't been able to smile through my matches like you would."

Toshinori leaned back to the table.

"Kirishima was hard to fight, physically at least." Midoriya admitted. "And Shinso…"

Nervously, the number one put a hand on his neck. "Yeah, I heard some of the things he said to you. His cries must have hit close to home."

"Very." Midoriya responded. "But I also knew I needed to keep my head up high and perform better myself. Just like how you instructed."

All in an instant, Recovery Girl found life springing up from her old body.

"Have you been putting too much pressure on this young boy again?!" Her hand slammed right to the kidney of the number one hero.

"Owww– It was necessary, and that hurts!"

"Not as much as the kid's fingers do, I'd wager!" She shook her head from side to side. "Seriously, I know what you do is important, but don't take me for granted!"

"Understood…" All Might said, wheezing as Midoriya was reminded of one thing.

"Oh yeah, speaking of important, I had… something like another vision, All Might."

The number one stopped rubbing his side.

"Hm?" He pulled one of the chairs at the infirmary and sat down. "Really? Again?"

Midoriya nodded.

"This time I could tell. There were sixteen glows and… I think they were meant to be eyes. So, eight people in total?"

"Were the thrones there again?"

"Yeah!"

All Might followed up. Curiously he put one hand on his chin. "Did they say anything else this time?"

Midoriya nodded again.

"He is." he echoed the words back. "I think they were meant as an answer, almost like they were conversing."

Narrowing his eyes, Midoriya assembled his hands, and looked All Might in his eyes.

"One of the ones that watched on… their eyes were just like you."

"Like mine…" All Might mumbled, as his pupil assembled his hands concernedly.

"All Might… I-I think I was right. T-They could be the spirits of everyone else who used One for All!" Midoriya opened his hands. "Like, we talked about this before, but do you think I accidentally summoned them? Or did they sense that I needed help?.. Or were they always there, cheering me on?" Midoriya's mind came up with questions one after the other. "What do you think, All Might?"

However, the number one was spooked out of his mind.

"L-Like mine?!" He shook with both hands up. "Was I a ghost?!"

Midoriya was flabbergasted at his mentor being flabbergasted.

"I-I thought you'd have some answers now!" He retorted.

Recovery Girl shook her head.

No wonder Toshinori had chosen him to be his protege, the two of them responded to everything the same way, one was just more experienced–!

Suddenly the world around them shook!

"What's happening?" Midoriya bolted to his feet, while All Might was still on edge.

"Ghosts!" He blurted out.

Recovery Girl hopped on to her chair, and it rotated as she faced her monitors.

"Relax champ. They're not ghosts." She said. "It's actually something quite close to home."

Midoriya's gaze followed hers. The second quarter-final match was underway.

---

"Whoa whoa WHOA!" Pony skated on top of her floating horns, as a wave of ice outright followed her!

"What a narrow dodge ladies and gents!" Present Mic called out. "Only by a hair's breadth does Pony find herself in the clear!"

Ben winced. "Oooooooh…"

"It will be a tough battle." Kirishima said, and Ben shook his head, following up on it.

"The toughest of battles."

Todoroki putting his hand on the ground. Not breaking his poker face with an unfeeling cold gaze, he prepared himself.

"I can't do nothin about those attacks." Pony thought, looking down. "So, it's probably better to–!"

Todoroki put one hand on the ground, letting the field of ice grow like crops into the sky!

Pony could barely get out of the way. "He's not even giving me a chance!"

She swerved through the hair, weaving and dodging her way right out of the way of the pillars.

"It's over." Todoroki stated coldly. More and more pillars and spikes rose up, this time from the pillars that were already there!

Pony continued to maneuver. Crouching, jumping, even letting go of the horns and swinging on the pillars occasionally. It was like trying to survive in a spider's web.

"It's over." Todoroki stated, and sent one big barrage. Pony got right in front of it.

A barrage of horns launched from her scalp, stabbing and shattering the incoming surge of ice!

However, the horns weren't faring much better either. Just like the ice, they were also shattering. Pony had turned this into a war of attrition!

Todoroki's right side started to be enveloped with ice… something which a certain ash-blonde took specific attention to.

"It's like MP, huh…" he put a hand on his chin.

Todoroki seemed undisturbed by this development, even though his opponent was manifesting a smile.

He narrowed his gaze, and… decided to take a breath, as if he was meditating again, letting the ice that was crawling up his side to come to a standstill.

"I–"

"Got you!" Pony extended her hand, and suddenly two horns appeared from under the ice! Wedging themselves under his arms, they pushed the Todoroki back towards the line!

"I had them dig under for a surprise attack!" Pony said. "This is it!"

She let her control over those horns go, and launched two more horns as brand new skates, flying after her opponent!

His head was lifelessly down, until it came back up, showing a deathly glare.

A mound of ice suddenly grew behind him, stopping him right before he was about to head over the line.

"Crap!"

Pony readied several horns to shatter it, but Todoroki wasn't done. He manifested a field of pillars, and started to jump one to the other from them like steps.

With the last jump, he managed to grab onto the horns Pony was skating on!

"Hu– Hey, get off!" Both of them were losing altitude, and so Pony tried to stomp on his hands!

Todoroki tried to be resilient. Even though she kept hitting, he tried to stay strong–!

Pony lifted up her hoove again, only to have it impact some ice.

"Huh?.."

Ice crept up through the horns she skated on, to her left leg, and then extended to her entire body!

"Wha–?! How?!"

"It's not your fault. I've stuck to only using ranged attacks today. You didn't know I could do precision moves." Todoroki spoke.

He let go of Pony and landed on the ground on his two feet.

"Ow…" He rubbed his fingers, as his opponent crashed onto the ground, with everything but her face being frozen in a mass of ice.

Midnight's whip cracked.

"Tsunotori has been immobilized! Todoroki advances!"

A wave of cheering erupted. He turned back to his opponent, still straining herself to launch her horns or just break out.

"And I wanted to get others to forget too. My precision moves." He said, looking down at her. "But you were too nimble to be caught by anything. Yanagi wasn't wrong to give you credit."

Pony continued to try breaking out, but… resigned over having heard those words.

Todoroki crouched and provided some fire from his right to break her out.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time, T-T-Todoroki." she said, starting to shiver. "Ca-Count on it."

---

"She lost that fast?" Midoriya said in awe.

"Yep, that kid of Endeavor is no joke." Recovery Girl followed up. "Not only that, but at this rate his hissy fits are going to give everyone hypothermia!"

Her eyebrows went up.

She turned to Midoriya. "Try not to get hypothermia, dear. I really don't want to deal with that."

"You don't want to treat your patients?" All might asked, arms crossed.

"I mean the parents that line up on my doorstep afterwards!" Recovery Girl angrily looked at him.

"'Oh, isn't your quirk to fix this stuff?!' or 'How irresponsible of this school to allow our children to get sick…' Take your pick, even when you explain your quirk!"

An apprehensive nod was the way in which Midoriya's body responded. They were set to face off in the semi-finals now, that much was inevitable…

"Hey, Young Midoriya." All Might called out, and his pupil turned, eager to listen.

There wasn't a chance to help him about the upcoming difficult fights… but maybe this could help ease his spirits.

"About those visions, I agree with your theory too. They… *might* be ghosts of One for All past." He said, jokingly. "And I may not be sure why they are deciding to bother you now, or what they want–"

"Like I said, they might be here to cheer me on or something."

"I know." He cut him off. "Maybe that's what they wanted as well, but… I can say for sure that they are clear signs that you're getting a better handle over One for All. Well done."

Midoriya's eyes lit up. "Really?"

All Might smirked, and lifted his arms up from his pupil, crossing them.

"You'd think I would lie to you after all this?" He pointed to one of the monitors which displayed the tournament brackets.

"Now, aren't some of your friends going to go up next?"

Midoriya did a mental recount.

"Oh, right!"

There was Iida against Kendo and Tennyson against Bakugo! He definitely wanted to cheer them on… especially after all they did for him.

"You're right. Thank you both very much!" He opened the door and ran back to his classmates.

"You're welcome!" Recovery Girl yelled behind her, but a response didn't come. Midoriya was out of range.

"So…" she spoke again. "He saw one that looks like you too."

"That's good." All Might lowered his head.

"Yes, it is… but what do you think is up with the thrones?"

All Might side-eyed the nurse of the school. "For the sake of Young Midoriya, I hope we can find out soon."

---

In probably less than five minutes, Midoriya managed to arrive at the stances. The battle between Kendo and Iida was just getting underway.

"It is time for the fight of class presidents, dear viewers! Here's Class 1-A vs 1-B! Iida Tenya versus Kendo Itsuka! BEGIN!"

A glimmer from his glasses covered Iida's expression.

"I can't engage her in hand-to-hand combat like Yaoyorozu did, no matter what." He searched for any medium, for which he held the advantage.

And in that, the answer was obvious.

As proficient as she is, she shouldn't be able to counter recipro, and maybe even my fourth or fifth gear…"

Kendo ran up to him.

"If you won't engage me, I will, Iida!"

With a swing, she missed! Iida's engines were roaring loudly, as he had sprung into action.

"Of course! I shall have expected nothing less from you, Kendo!" he said.

Iida retreated his way around the arena.

Kendo of course continued to give chase but kept her movements fairly and deliberately limited.

Midoriya put a hand around his chin. Kendo wasn't being nearly as playful as she was while fighting against Yaoyorozu–

"Hey, Earth to Midoriya." Tennyson tapped him on his shoulder, as he held a bag of Gold'n Crispz in his other hand. "Nice job with your match by the way."

"Thanks. Y-You too… in your first match." Midoriya blurted it out, but Ben wasn't bothered. They both then turned their attention back to the fight.

Always keeping a firm stance, Kendo had turtled back to a more stationary style. She waited and listened for attacks, before going for the counter!

"Ha!"

She slammed her open palm down. Iida changed direction.

"Close one!" He leaped, and attacked from her side! Kendo blocked it with the back of her palm, and then went for a counter.

And Iida didn't cease this.

"My engines are still in fourth gear. And I refueled just before the match." He thought. "I'm sure to catch her!"

He riddled her defenses with a series of continuous kicks, very much akin to a gatling gun! However, Kendo's response remained static.

Blocking, and a downward counter hit which always missed Iida, instead connecting with the ground.

"What's she attacking low for?!" Tetsutetsu shouted from the stances. "Kendo, your target ain't the bugs on the ground! Hit the speedster!"

"Be quiet and watch, Tetsutetsu." Monoma spoke with the slyest of tones. "Kendo is one of the cream of the crop from Class 1-B! She definitely has a plan!"

Iida's eyes were soon interested in Kendo's style of attacks.

"Indeed she has a plan." He thought. "She's trying to obstruct the path I run on."

He noticed the cement cracking and crumbling under those hits, creating many different spots where one wrong move could cause him to slip!

"She's trying to slow me down, make me careful… but it's futile!"

He lowered his speed down to first gear to let his feet slide on the ground, making a narrow turn.

"Second."

He ran as he widened his form.

"Third."

Kendo took a stance to guard from the front, but Iida had other plans.

"And now, FOURTH!" He disappeared, reappearing with a kick winded back to her side–!

Kendo stepped back and slammed the ground once again. But this time, a boulder immediately popped out!.

"What the–?!"

"Rock-like!" She hit it with her palm, hauling it towards Iida.

With a sudden click into fifth gear, the class prez of 1-A barely managed to avoid it!

"What was that?" He thought. "How did that rock.."

"You assumed I had no ranged attacks, didn't you?!" Kendo slammed the ground and another rock popped right out! "Well Iida… You were wrong!"

She slammed it ahead, whining so close to Iida's ear.

"She hasn't been aiming for my engines at all!" Iida thought as he was forced in the backfoot. "She's been making ammunition!"

*BAM!*

Iida dodged.

*BAM!*

Iida dodged again. His eyes traveled across the cracks. Coupled with her retreats, she had managed to carve up the entire arena almost!

"How ingenious!" He could think. "However!"

Twisting and turning, even incorporating some drifting, Iida thought to himself.

"If this was her plan, that means most of her focus was on compensating for her weakness in range. She hasn't been thinking about the close-quarters aspect nearly as much." He thought. "Now if I pushed my rpm to fifth gear…"

Avoiding another rock, he got into runner position.

"Such a significant increase in speed might just do the trick!

Warm colored fire came out from his mufflers– only to be stopped by not one rock, but a whole shower of them!

"Now you assume I can only throw the big boulders, Iida!" Kendo punched the rock in front of her, breaking it apart, and grabbing whatever small pieces were left over from it.

Iida's strategy was once again foiled.

"Honestly, I agree it *is* a little too street brawl for my tastes." Kendo tossed the rocks up and down in her giant hand. "But I have to admit, Uraraka definitely had the right idea!"

She closed her fist.

"Batter up, 1-A!" Monoma shouted in her place. Kendo riled her hand back and pitched the rocks forth like a shotgun!

"Recipro!" Iida narrowly avoided it. "No choice now. I only got 10 more seconds!"

Kendo continued to toss more and more rocks she unearthed, but Iida dodged.

Zigzagging around, he then came back around with a high knee!

Kendo couldn't even bring up her arms to block it. It landed, and Kendo was thrown sliding across the arena.

"This is it–!"

Iida grabbed her arm from the ground. However, Kendo's teal eyes still had some fight in them.

"Not yet, Iida!" Growing her hands, she managed to slow him down only for a second.

In that second, she got to her feet, and hugged Iida from behind!

"Sorry for this one!"

"And Kendo's got 1-A's class president from behind!" Present Mic shouted.

"Yes, that's it, Kendo!" Monoma shouted, grinning from ear to ear. "Do not let go of him! No matter what! Told you, you arrogant 1-A members are not better than us!"

The entire 1-A class rolled their eyes, even the more prideful students like Uraraka, and Bakugo.

Kendo rolled her eyes, the entire pride of pulling this move over the class president of 1-A leaving her body.

"You know Iida, I'm down to letting you go right now, if you want."

"I… appreciate… the offer." Iida replied as he struggled to breathe. "But, no thanks."

Tetsutetsu then landed a chop behind Monoma's neck–

"Still though." Kirishima spoke up, and turned to 1-B. "You guys got quite the class prez."

As he had Monoma by the collar, Tetsutetsu felt his eyes widen.

"Thanks man, you guys too." He said. "Both a class prez and a vice prez."

Iida gritted his teeth. It was a chore of the highest order to inhale right now.

"She's trying to knock me unconscious through hypoxia!"

Kendo, very faintly, increased the force she was putting on him.

"You best give up, Iida." She said. "Trust me I'm being careful so you can't get hurt too bad, but falling unconscious like this isn't as heroic as you think."

"I… know." he responded. "And I… don't intend to."

"It looks like Iida has nowhere to go!" Present Mic called out. "Did Kendo really catch this bull by the horns, and still stopped it?! What upper body strength!"

Aizawa settled for rolling his eyes.

"I shall give it a 10 count." Midnight said.

"Oh, or that too." Kendo thought. Honestly, she forgot there even was a countdown if you happened to get pinned like this…

Iida's engines started hastening even louder. The fire and smoke erupting from them was unlike anything before!

"Rev it! Over the limit!" Iida tensed his legs. He could feel the heat, it was agonizing… but necessary!

"Owww!"

The blue fire outright erupted, faintly burning Kendo's leg! Her grip loosened.

"I apologize!" Iida declared, finally getting to take that deep breath he was oh so looking for. "However! I also aspire to win it all!"

He grabbed her by the arm again.

"There is no time to take her to the edge of the arena." He remorsefully closed his eyes. "Please forgive me for this as well, Kendo!"

With his engines still on, he started to spin her around!

"It ends here!" Iida opened his hand, and as his engines stalled out… Kendo got launched beyond the line.

"Kendo is out of bounds!" Midnight raised her hand. "Iida wins!"

Smoke was rising from his mufflers.

"Ugh." Grimacing, Iida fell to his knees. Midnight got off from her podium.

"Hey, are you okay dear?"

Iida looked down at his legs, sweating. "I think I require Recovery Girl's services." His legs were scorching hot, unnaturally so.

Midnight nodded and called the robots over. "You sure you didn't injure yourself too hard?"

Iida shook his head. "No, I should be alright. Thank you."

As the robots came and helped him onto the stretcher, she went to check on Kendo. It was apparent that she had a rough landing, but thankfully with a split second decision, she had grown her hands again, cushioning the fall at least a little.

"I'm… fine." she said.

Midnight smiled and gave a thumbs up for Present Mic to see. The blonde pro-hero nodded.

"What a fierce third quarter-final!" He extended one arm. "Thank these students for their hard work! Not only are they excellent themselves, but they are also leading their classmates to that greatness!"

Aizawa looked over to him. "That was a bit verbose."

Present Mic turned off his microphone. "Hey, I've been thinking on my feet for almost two hours now. Not all of them are gonna be a hit."

He cleared his throat. "Running out of water too…"

Aizawa shrugged, and Present Mic couldn't help but take that as a challenge.

"However! Their time in the spotlight is over! TIME FOR THE LAST ONE!"

Present Mic closed his microphone again. "Man, now that I think about it, these really just blew by. When compared to the first ones that is."

Aizawa nodded. "There were eight matches between students in the first rounds… not to mention the four preliminaries."

"MAN, WE DID SO MANY BATTLES!"

He turned his mic back on. "NOW! Final competitors! Get up here to the stage!"

"It's time." Ben cracked his fingers, getting up from his seat. From the corner of his eye, he caught Bakugo already getting a move on, and… maybe even in an excited way?

"Good luck." Midoriya said. Kirishima hardened his arms.

"Give us a manly brawl!"

"That's the plan." Ben said. "But… you got any pro-tips?"

---

"Hey Iida!"

As Iida laid on the stretcher, helped out of the arena through the gate by the robots, he crossed paths with Kendo.

"Nice moves out there."

"The same goes for you. Witnessing your skills first hand was very different, as opposed to just watching your match with Yaoyorozu." Iida replied.

"Thanks, she was something else too, I'll admit. And brave." Kendo crossed her arms behind her head. "You were as well, real quick on your feet, not to mention with that engine stunt…"

She gestured to his smoking legs. Iida faintly laughed.

"It's what the Iida family excels at. I just hope I can fulfill my part one day… stand next to my brother at work."

Kendo nodded, before her eyebrows went up.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. I couldn't tell it to Yaoyorozu, but I can't wait to work together with you guys on our joint training classes, and… I don't know if I want to wait for it."

She tapped the stretcher.

"What do you say? Me and some of the class train in the gym from time to time, wanna join us for a session or two?"

"Yes!" Iida responded. "It would do wonders for our class' unity and the hero class spirit!"

Kendo nodded. That was one advantage to the whole thing.

"Alright. Make sure to bring it up to Yaoyorozu too, tomorrow."

"Yes, of course, I…" Iida raised an eyebrow. "Why tomorrow?"

He gestured to his legs. "As soon as I'm tended to, I will go notify her right away on the stances."

It was Kendo's turn to be surprised. "Really?"

"Yes, why?"

Kendo raised her hand. "Because I didn't see her in the stands, at all… for like four matches."

Iida tilted his head. "Really? Why–?"

The robots came to a stop, and so did Kendo.

There was a man standing right in front of them. Tall, well-built, having black hair with the faintest shade of blue. He huffed and puffed in front of them with two security guards by his side.

"Father?" Iida got up on his stretcher. "What are you doing here…"

"We're leaving." He curtly stated. "Get your legs treated by Recovery Girl and… we need to go after that."

Iida very much felt on edge. Whatever reasons his father harbored; they couldn't be good.

"Father, what–"

"I will tell you in a minute, but…" He sniffed.

Iida noticed the tears around his eyes!

"Promise me…. you're going to listen calmly."

---

In the waiting room, Ben got up from his seat.

"Okay. It should be about time." He stretched his limbs, and then checked the Omnitrix out of habit.

All alien holograms were here, and considering he hadn't used it in a while, it was safe to say he had his full two hours to mess around with.

"Well, it depends on how fast Bakugo decides to poop that party." He shrugged–

"You think it's his time of the month?"

Startled, Ben turned around and found Midnight, leaning to the doorway. The joke only clicked for him just then.

"I get it."

Midnight smirked with her arms crossed. "Of course you do. You're at that age…"

Ben didn't hear that last part.

"But… *should* we really be talking about our classmates that way, sensei?" He asked knowingly.

"As long as it's on the harmless fun side." Midnight said, walking up next to him. "Besides, I believe he says worse stuff to you guys on a daily basis."

Ben tilted his head. "Yeah, but everyone just kind of came up with a mental filter for it at this point. Even Iida."

Midnight nodded.

"In either case, I am here to call you over."

"Yeah." Ben cracked his knuckles again. "It's showtime… or maybe hero time?" He put a hand on his chin. "Huh…"

"I think it would be both for you." Midnight responded, and Ben held the laughter. She was right, wasn't she…

As she left, Ben opened the door and went to the gate on his own.

"Here's everything you've been waiting for, everyone!" Present Mic's call outs fell right next to his ear! "The next match! THE last fight of the quarter-finals!"

Present Mic nudged Aizawa, and groaning, he held a piece of paper in front of him.

"We've seen lots of heart and valor presented on this stage. However, only four of them will go home, rewarded by a medal. Let's see who that fourth member is." He spoke with the most monotonous tone anyone had ever heard.

Present Mic took over, as both fighters got onto the stage.

"To end it off, we had a grudge match long well in the making! On the left side, we have a student we're all too familiar with! However, who knows just what kind of surprises he still hides?! It's Tennyson Ben of the hero course!"

With both of his feet planted to the arena, Ben let his gaze wander off. The crowd had cheered loudly as he had shown his face, just like how they did when they saw the other competitors.

As he then turned back, Ben only found a more disgruntled opponent.

"Hey. Eyes over here." Bakugo spat out under his breath.

"Versus! Not certainly the crowd's favorite, but certainly one of the most proficient faces we've got to see today! A student well beyond just an explosive temper, Bakugo Katsuki of the hero course!"

The eyebrows of the ash-blonde in question crossed at his opponent.

"What's with that attitude?" Bakugo put his hands to his sides, ready to send a blast on a whim. "You're so confident you don't even need to look at me?"

Ben shrugged, playing it cool.

"A little." he replied humorously, before looking away again.

That little tease made Bakugo lean forward with murderous intent–

"But, that's not really what I had in mind."

Bakugo stopped. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look at the people, matchstick." Ben gestured with his thumb. "Look at them, and then the cameras."

Bakugo did as he was told, however he didn't see the point in it. They didn't change his mood, he didn't think anything extra. The freak show in question however… thought the world of it.

"Do you know how many people are about to watch this fight?" He asked, looking away again. "Like, Mr. Aizawa said, this was one of the biggest watched events in Japan, right? The pro-hero hub of the world?"

"Yeah." Japan's population was around 120 million, Bakugo knew this. "Your point?"

"As in, what we do here is important." Ben took his stance, with one hand next to his Omnitrix. "We inspire people. They take heart in what we do, cheer for it, and wish to repeat it one day on this stage..."

Unlike how the audience tended to excite most of the competitors, Ben couldn't help but find himself feeling the complete opposite. He might have not had the chance to go outside and fight today against…whatever Kevin was fighting against today, but behind all those screens, behind all those eyes and cameras, were at least thousands of people watching these fights.

The fact that these eyes were on what he was about to do… felt like a real source of serenity.

"That's why I let my opponents fight a decent amount of time. I want them to put what they got to the test as well, to inspire others and… maybe even inspire themselves."

The thought evolved unpromptly. "It's even what Midoriya did with Shinso, don't you think?"

Bakugo's eyebrows went up, twitching.

Present Mic called out to them, giving the countdown, however both were only listening by the faintest of margins.

A teasing smile appeared on Ben's face "Say, since you were… 'friends'. Was it always in his nature to help people like this?"

Bakugo's fist shook. The aggression that he was holding at bay snapped out of its restraints.

"What does that nerd have to do with any of this?... Focus on the match., and fight me with all you got!

Threatening explosions finally sparked in his palm! Ben nodded. "Any requests?"

That comment marked the end of Bakugo's patience.

"Guess not!" Ben slammed the dial–!

With a signature right hook, Bakugo carried out his first fierce detonation. However, from the flash of light, and veil of soot, Chromastone emerged.

"You know, for the record, that was probably the longest conversation we had without a death threat."

Bakugo took flight instantly. Sending himself way up, and then coming down like a missile!

"DIE!"

"There it is!" Chromastone raised his fists. "Lights on!"

Concussive rainbow lasers flew towards Bakugo one after the other!

However, Bakugo was nimble. Tennyson's shots couldn't even get close as Bakugo was the master of the 3-D space!

Weaving to the left, spinning to the right, perfectly slowing down or speeding up, he was maneuvering in the air without fear!

Putting his hands behind him, he catapulted himself ahead. Chromastone fired a blast with both hands, but Bakugo sent an explosion to his right, managing to land on Tennyson's left!

He flipped around and landed an explosion right on Tennyson's back.

"I've seen these moves before!"

From the spikes behind him, Chromastone tried to fire without having to turn around. But Bakugo took it to the air again and landed an explosion next to his head!

Tennyson tried to readjust and fire. Bakugo immediately retorted, sending himself down with an explosion to the sky, and detonating the ground Tennyson stood on!

Kaminari marveled from the stances.

"Wow, have you guys ever seen Bakugo so…"

"... into fighting?!" Kirishima watched on the edge of his seat. "No sir! He doesn't give anyone this light of day!"

"Notably, not since his fight with Midoriya." Shoji said, making the greenette flinch. "His moves are quite impressive."

Koda refrained from watching it.

"Bakugo knows very well that his explosions are at a disadvantage against Tennyson's diamond-hard skin." Tokoyami said, arms crossed and eyes closed. "Contrary to his usual method of battle, he's forced to avoid a direct confrontation of power."

As Tennyson lost his footing, Bakugo propelled himself forth, and grabbed his face, slamming and pinning it to the ground!

"You still feel like you don't need to look at me?!"

Dark Shadow emerged from Tokoyami's body. "You were saying?"

The raven hero grunted. Despite everything, he didn't back down from what he said.

Covering his entire body in a rainbow glow, Chromastone decided to retort.

"Here we go… PRISMATIC EXPLOSION!"

And it worked. Bakugo was knocked away with the shockwave. However, mid-air he managed to stabilize and land back on the ground.

Chromastone got to his feet. And… he made no gestures indicating he was annoyed.

He just waved his finger from side to side.

Bakugo gritted his teeth, however, didn't rush ahead. Chromastone smirked.

"I knew it. This isn't like before."

Before the two had even come to blows, Ben had noticed him stepping onto the ring with his hands out of his pockets, very much unlike how he presented himself against Uraraka.

"He's being more wary of me."

Chromastone then let his body embellish in the rainbow glow again but he directed them down to his fists. "Let's see if I can bait him out."

He rushed ahead, and Bakugo didn't back away! Chromastone punched with his left, Bakugo ducked and landed an explosion with his right!

With a quick turnaround, Ben tried to hit him from the other side, but Bakugo then kicked that hand away!

"How does it feel?!" Bakugo landed another explosion, covering the area in smoke. However, from within it, he could see Chromastone charging for another attack.

The bastard was raising his hand to fire, and Bakugo felt ready for it. As soon as the attempt was made, he would dodge and counter.

"Heh–!"

Just before he fired though, Bakugo noticed the positioning of Tennyson's other hand, next to his chest. Instead of a rainbow, the light that came was colored green!

"Bath time!" Water Hazard's portholes emerged.

Bakugo quickly directed his hand toward the ground, using a full powered blast with his left, making a hole to barely avoid it.

"If that lands, I'm dead." He remarked under his breath. There were some droplets splashed onto his arms, washing away his sweat, but not much.

"Remember me from the obstacle course?" Water Hazard remarked. Bakugo got on the move. He erupted forth from the hole!

"You got some powerful forms..!"

Water Hazard was taking aim again, just like Chromastone–!

"But they all have a weakness!"

Reaching into his pockets, he took out some small rubble and launched them all with an explosion just like Kendo.

One of them got into Water Hazard's porthole!

"Huh?!" The red armored form reacted.

Dropping down, he then readied a divekick with both feet, RIGHT TO HIS–!

"Got you."

Water Hazard slammed his fist on the dial, and now that he was fast approaching into his close range, an animalistic roar emerged!

"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHIN, STUDENT NUMBER 17 OF HERO CLASS 1-A, BAKUGO KATSUKI!"

Before he could reposition, Rath grabbed Bakugo with both arms, and then strengthened his hold over his waist.

Bakugo tried to blast the arms but Rath didn't flinch!

"SUALOCIN SUPLEX!"

Arching his back without mercy, Rath slammed Bakugo on the ground! Getting back to his feet, he tossed him up.

"ALTAIR DROP!"

Rath jumped, spiked and then butt slammed right on top of him!

"AND NOW, HAEDUS HAMMERLOCK!"

He bent Bakugo's left arm behind his back and pinned him to the ground!

"SO… ARE YOU SCARED YET?!"

Bakugo, after that concussion, still managed to open his eyes. "I… won't give… NOT YET!"

From the right pinned hand, Bakugo unleashed a full powered blast, but the cat didn't flinch enough!

"WAS THAT IT, HUH?!" Rath spoke with some of his fur on fire. "THAT WAS WEAK–!"

Bakugo then rolled the dice again. Barely managing to lift his left hand, he sent another full-power blast, right to Rath's face, loosening his grip just enough!

With another explosion, he managed to free himself, and get some distance. Rath rubbed his eyes.

"AHH…" His veins became more prominent, as the instincts of the form started blaring loudly in his head. "Let me tell you some–"

"STOP WITH THE GAMES!" Bakugo shouted.

Rath… felt perplexed.

"Aren't you still done with your warm-ups?…" He panted. "Bring it all you got already!"

"ALL I GOT?" Rath asked, shrugging with a coy attitude. "RATH ISN'T SURE WHAT YOU MEANS–!"

"Yeah, keep up with that damn f**king grin on your face. See what happens." Bakugo clapped back.

Rath's green eyes narrowed. "*RATH* ISN'T SURE IF HE APPROVES OF YOUR LANGUAGE–"

"Good!" Bakugo was fuming. There was no answer from the bastard. "Don't you think I see what you're doing?!" He pointed. "You think I'm that stupid?!-"

"Rath thinks you *look* that stupid."

Bakugo gritted his teeth, as not only Tennyson's snickering at his own joke came to his ear… but the chuckles of others on the stands.

"Fine." Bakugo thought, before calming his tone as the laughter died down.

"I've seen that smile of yours in 11 different forms, all playing around, either today or sometime else. You do that because you enjoy it…"

Rath shrugged–

"But there is a form you have to force that smile."

Rath paused.

"Your 'most dangerous' form, right?! That's what you called him back on the bus?! You don't play around with him?"

In a moment of clarity, almost like Ben's instincts took over, he hit the dial and transformed back. "Bakugo, don't–"

"Back at the USJ, I heard you even beat that villain all on your own with it!" The ash-blonde didn't give a second to him. "There is no way the other 9 could do that!"

"Yeah…" Ben agreed. "The villains had you in a bind. If I was gonna save you there, I didn't really have another choice but to resort to him."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHY YOU USED IT THERE! It's about what you're doing now!"

It… was very well Ben's turn to shut up and listen.

"Today you only, repeatedly, used those other damn nine forms. You even made a new one with Ears' quirk or whatever… all the while holding out on me."

Bakugo seethed. He remembered Tennyson's words from earlier, about holding out on them, to give them time to show what they got–

Grumbling rose from his class' stances.

"Pipe down, peanut gallery!" he said. "I won't let you treat me like a joke… not like all those other damn extras."

Tennyson shook his head. "Bakugo, you do not want this fight."

"I WANT my indisputable first place!" He spoke with his teeth together. "And that's not possible, if I beat scum that underestimate me!"

"I can't." Ben said. "After the USJ, All Might pulled me aside. Apparently some of the rubble around the compound… it's still irradiated from my blasts, and so I–"

"If you're scared for me, be scared about yourself!"

Ben shook his head. "It's not that I'm scared. It's that I'm not allowed t–"

"SINCE WHEN DO YOU LISTEN TO OTHERS, HUH?!" Bakugo let explosions roar in his hands. "You didn't listen to jack when we were fighting in the USJ, did you?! Or when that purple haired bastard did his declaration?!"

Todoroki's words came to his mind now.

"Looking at things objectively, you three feel like the most trouble."

The damn icy-hot didn't consider him as a threat.

And the nerd… At the stairs, after his match with pink cheeks, he had stood defiantly again!

"No." Deku had said. "Uraraka came up with that plan, and all those moves. If that battle was really that annoying, then it was because of her, and her alone!"

He had been tossed to the side, pitied and not respected, ever since he came here.

"My 'Deku' means 'You can do it!'"

"WELL, NO MORE! You said that today was the day to show the villains what kind of heroes they'd face in the future?! Is this it, huh?! AN EXTRA WITH NO INTENTION OF WINNING?!"

Sero leaned to Kirishima next to him. "Is Bakugo really encouraging Tennyson right now?"

"He's trying to goad him." Midoriya stated as he and Uraraka were sitting together. "All to get whatever he wants."

Ben raised his arm… and scrolled through his aliens, stopping right as he landed on the armored furnace.

"I know you're playing me, Bakugo." He took a deep breath. "And… I hope you don't regret what comes next."

With a flash of light, Ben felt himself change form. All in an instant, his body became a being of pure energy, imprisoned by a heavy, dark green-teal containment suit, with three slits to see.

"NRG!"

All the teachers who'd seen him appear were suddenly unnerved… as was All Might. "You better know what you're doing, Young Tennyson."

"Finally." Bakugo outright growled from under his smile. This… THIS RIGHT HERE WAS EVERYTHING HE WAS LOOKING FOR!

He leaped through the air with an explosion. Crossing his arms, he made two explosions both in the left direction.

"IF YOU'RE GONNA STAND IN FRONT OF ME, YOU BETTER CONCENTRATE ON WINNING!"

Spinning his body, and being straight as an arrow, Bakugo was coming right at NRG as if he was a tornado of ash!

"What's Bakugo doing?!" Mineta yelled from the stances.

"A prolonged fight would do no good in this scenario." Ojiro answered. "It's smart. The best chance he's got is to put it all on the line with one massive attack, and hopefully push him out."

Ashido pouted in agreement. "That armor's heavy for sure, but I guess if you were to hit him hard enough–"

"TENNYSON!" Bakugo shouted! "You claim I didn't want this fight! I assume that means you won't be a coward, and try to dodge this hit, right?!"

NRG just turned around, almost as if he was presenting his back as a target for him to hit.

As steam rose starting from his feet, and the three facial slits glowed, he remarked.

"Bring it."

Bakugo's grin extended from ear-to-ear. He was going to pound him with everything he had!

"HOWITZER… IMPACT!"

The tornado abruptly stopped, as he fired such a blast that it brought him to a stand still mid-air!

"Wow wow wow! A DIRECT HIT! Bakugo combined speed and rotation with that huge blast he used against Uraraka! What technique!" Present Mic yelled.

However as the dust settled, the once cheering crowds had fallen silent. The potent question in everyone's mind were: "Under all those cinders, what became of the competitors?"

Bakugo was revealed first. As his muscles were strained to the limit, he had fallen onto his belly, maneuvering just enough to raise his torso and look ahead.

"Take that…" He put himself through the ringer again, getting back onto his feet. "That's what you get… for doubting the greatest herooo–"

His dark red pupils contracted. Tennyson came into his field of view, not outside the ring!

The mobile suit of armor was lying face first in one half of the arena… which had its whole surface transformed into lava.

"The force of that wasn't half bad."

It was NRG's turn to put his hands on the ground, and lift himself up. "Good thing that I decided to add a little insurance."

The lava around the ground quickly cooled down to volcanic rock.

It was Aizawa's turn to lean forward. "I see…"

"That's why steam was coming out of his body already." Midoriya also remarked from the stances of Class 1-A. "As he warmed up, the air around him–" The light bulb lit over his head. "That's why Tennyson turned around!"

Uraraka echoed. "So, ever since he turned around, he melted the ground behind him?"

Ojiro stood up and pointed to his face. "Using the energy beam from the slits on his face..."

"Y-Yeah, but isn't lava kind of dangerous to do it with? A-And how come lava worked?!" Mineta panickedly asked as the same question was sparked by Present Mic in the booth.

And Eraser Head had his answer.

"Of course it is. That's why he rapidly warmed up the ground, before lowering its temperature just barely to the point of hardening, to protect Bakugo and everyone else." Eraser's eyes narrowed. "It worked out for him too. As physics goes, the cooler lava is, the thicker it is. It allowed him to get a better grip on the floor while not putting anyone at too much risk."

"Y-YEAH BUT HOW DID TENNYSON KNOW THAT?"

Aizawa looked back down. "I have noticed him paying attention to class, even though he tries to pass it off as if he's not. However… this IS something peculiar for him to know."

Could it be similar to Brainstorm and Rath? Did the form allow him to have that knowledge?

"H-Huh?" Bakugo, who was still in the arena, was shaken at the sight in front of him. Other than the armor having tints of red due to the heat, there was seemingly no damage received.

NRG walked towards him.

"RAHHHH! RARARARAARRAAR!"

Bakugo started sending explosion after explosion at the armor.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!"

"Bakugo, has this *ever* worked?" NRG, cooling his fist down as much as possible, punched him in the face!

The student was blown back, skidding across the ground. NRG, even if he moved slow, managed to grab his ankle.

"L-LET GO!" Panickedly, the ash-blond tried to blind him, but behind the veil of his armor, NRG's eyes were perfectly safe.

"At the very least, I do see your pride." NRG dragged him to the safer section of the arena, which was the part he hadn't melted down into lava just seconds earlier.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" Bakugo tried to do more explosions but the grip wasn't loosening! They were right on the edge of the arena!

NRG lifted Bakugo to eye-level.

"But next time… check it at the door."

He pressed Bakugo outside of the ring, and the ash-blonde couldn't do anything about it.

Midnight declared him as the winner, and Tennyson, with a green flash, appeared again in his regular form, eyes closed.

As he opened them, and those green eyes looked down on him, Bakugo shook Tennyson's grip off from himself.

"Get away… freak show."

Midnight approached to ask if he needed medical attention, but Bakugo walked away, grunting, not saying another word.

He knew where that old hag's office was. And… it wasn't like Ben expected him to say anything.

"I'm sorry." he said, and it only made Bakugo walk faster.

That word, that apology… only frustrated and angered him more.

---

Making his way back to the stances, Ben found himself swarmed by his classmates.

"Wow Tennyson." Sero remarked. "You were so intense out there."

"Are you feeling okay?" Ojiro asked, as other comments followed.

"Yeah yeah." Ben raised his hands, backing away from the group. "Sorry… you had to see me like that."

"What are you talking about, dude?" Sero asked.

"We knew you were under the effects of your quirk." Shoji stepped forward, raising one of his many hands. "It's water under the bridge."

Ben's eyebrows raised.

"Yeah man, and that fight was awesome!" Kirishima joined the emotional support train.

"Oui!" Aoyama nodded his head.

Asui agreed with them as well. "Still, it must have been hard to be forced to use him without necessarily needing to, ribbit."

"It was, a little." Ben stated. "But I didn't do it just for him."

From the wave of classmates with all shapes and sizes, he managed to find Todoroki in the corner… and made sure he saw him as well.

"I guess I wanted to prove to myself too…" He said, changing the way of his glance. "...That even if NRG is a cursed power of mine, I can still try my best and make sure he isn't avoided… but rather used properly, to improve the hero I am."

Ben glanced in the class' number 2's direction again. Across his usual dismissal and the recent persistent irritation, there seemed to be a mild surprise.

And after noticing it, Ben wanted to double down.

"That's the Ben move."

Just like Midoriya's match, he wanted something good to come out of this–

"Yeah, that's right! Glass half full!" Ashido cheered. "What do you think, Yaomomo?"

Like a gun was fired into the air, the atmosphere changed.

Ben lifted his eyes off Todoroki, as both dread and relief rushed into his mind at the same time.

The following reassurance which came upon finding her onyx eyes, polite smile with her hands held together over her chest, not to mention uninjured stature… dashed any other thought Ben had at the time.

"I also agree." She said. "It was an exciting match, however…"

She turned to her side, and Ben felt her turning a little serious.

"I… did have some notes about it."

He got the message. There was no need to also force her to gesture towards the door.

"Oh really?" Ben put on a more spirited fake grin. "Could I get a look at them?"

The two, without listening to anyone else, exited the stands.

And… as they walked further and further away with Yaoyorozu in front, they both got to hear Present Mic announce a small break before the semi-finals.

"Good, so we have time." Ben thought.

"So." He held his head up high, wanting to start by lightening the mood, even though he was still wary. "How… was it?"

Yaoyorozu, as she first eyed up the sides for any onlookers, turned back to her friend.

"It was terrifying." She said straightforwardly. Ben felt like if words could be conjured into words, even NRG's armor wouldn't stand a chance–

"... but also, exhilarating."

Ben's eyebrows went up. "Exhilarating?"

Yaoyorozu nodded, and Ben noticed her smile growing to be appreciative as well as reminiscing.

"The experience was very informative, and… I-I believe I've even managed to make a significant difference in the outcome."

Ben felt genuine joy flowing back into him as a result.

"I'm glad. Congrats." He breathed a sigh of relief, however Yaoyorozu then suddenly turned tense.

"However, I'm sorry… I truly am, Tennyson…"

Initially averting her eyes, she stumbled on her words. But once she saw Ben's ever growing concern, she–

"Yaoyorozu…" Ben interrupted her instinctively. "Did something happen?"

She couldn't help but wince, and that was all the proof Ben needed.

"What did? Momo, tell me. What happened?"

And maybe if only he had waited for it… he would have heard the announcement that his next opponent, Iida Tenya, the class president of his class 1-A had withdrawn from the competition.

Midoriya and Kirishima caught up to them as well, noticing that Gwen hadn't arrived. And seeing everyone together, Yaoyorozu grew increasingly melancholic.

Midoriya could still notice that there didn't wasn't any of the fear coupled with her sorrow this time… but rather outright compassion.

"What went wrong?" Ben asked.

Momo bowed her head.

"It had started off so well…"

And with bated breaths, they listened.

---

Yep, sorry but that's the endpoint! What did you think?

Going into this chapter, the goal has always been to just knock out more tournament matches.

(Sorry for the people who expected more Stain, or Shigaraki content on this one, due to the last chapter's tease. But, I literally just couldn't help myself. :D)

And honestly, this has kind of been the reason why the chapter took so long to write and release. I knew the fights I had to do, but didn't quite know what the connective tissue would be as well as what kind of presence Ben would have during it.

At first of course, I had him be a little more of a worrywart over Momo. Then I realized he was getting too many scenes then, so I had to adjust his appearances accordingly, which then led into the connective tissue problem.

As in: "What's preventing this chapter from just being a series of fighting clips like a Youtube playlist? What story are we telling during these fighting? What story CAN we tell during these fights?"

And, gotta say, I had a lot of fun with what happened. All of the original scenes and fights were a delightful challenge… especially the last 3 scenes.

(No joke, I literally finished writing everything else and stopped for 3 days BEFORE I actually sat down and continued by writing Ben vs Bakugo because the last 2 felt so important.)

(Kendo and Iida's talk on the other hand was a challenge, because I wanted to see how I could write chemistry between them without implying any kind of promise for future shipping.)

(And if my editor's reaction is anything to go by, I failed.)

The only thing that stings so hard in all of this is that I feel like I leaned into the original story a little too hard? Like, if you were to go back, open the anime on a separate monitor and put these fights side by side, you will see that I did a good amount of tweaking to the events, mainly to streamline them and also put them in line with this universe.

However, I feel like they fell a little short in the original changes department and even though they still justify their existence… I don't know, it still makes me just a little bit sour.

In any case, the next chapter SHOULD hopefully be out in 3 weeks. Otherwise… Well, you know where to find us.

But until next time where we will learn what Momo saw AND finally put this festival to bed, have a great day, and I will hopefully see you on the next one!

---

Reply to 'Guest' review

Guest: I assume Kendo is being trained by this world's version of a more human Shredder. The fight was so cool, it felt symbolic in a way as well, the disciples of Master Splinter and Shredder dueling it out on national television, awesome work. Liked seeing more Kevin vs Stain, currently wondering if Gwen is going to get in on that action, or just get onto Kevin's case once the dust has settled. Remember to take your time, if something important comes up in real life, deal with that first, it's okay if this waits for a while.

DBZpower197: Yeah, the TMNT influence in this fic is basically "What if Tang Shen didn't die?... or at least, not yet. :)" and so that assumption might have a point. ;)

Anyway though, I'm glad you liked Kevin vs Stain too. Sorry, I couldn't follow up on it in this chapter, but the next chapter should have you covered, and… thanks a lot for the kind words.

That's always the idea, taking my time and keeping in mind that this story can wait a little while, but it's also always great to hear it from someone else.