Chapter 210 - 20

Chapter 20

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up." 

– Tony Stark, Iron Man

"We've reached the meat of the First-Round sandwich, folks! The last match focused mostly on melee combat, but this match is bound to be a real battle between powerhouses! We have not just the third installment of the Class A and B rivalry, but a battle of the Recommendeds!" Mic boisterously yelled, earning more cheers from the rowdy crowd.

"From Class 101-A, he's the dual Quirk wielding wonder-man with ice and fire! He has the stoic demeanor and raw power to match his father, the Number Two Pro Hero: Endeavor! Give it up for the powerhouse of Class A–Todoroki Shoto!" 

"Versus! He's put on a steady performance so far and nearly sunk the Green Team in muck in Risk Trifecta. He's the young man that distorts whatever he touches! The living Mud Man himself–Honenuki Juzo!" 

The crowd went into an uproar! For many, especially for the Pro Hero scouts in attendance, this match was seen as the main event of the First Round. Two Recommendation Students with one of them being Endeavor's son? It was no wonder it was slated in the middle.

Honenuki calmly stepped onto the stage, keeping a nonchalant demeanor. 'Mud Man, huh? Not bad…' He would shelve that for later as a potential Hero name.

Meanwhile, Todoroki stepped onto the arena with a cold mist wafting off him. He ignored the raging wall of noise that threatened to make his eardrums burst. He didn't understand what everyone was so excited about. Were they expecting a drawn-out match between equals? His opponent's Quirk was tricky and bothersome…but he wasn't too worried about it.

He was vaguely aware of Midnight reiterating the rules while his dual-colored eyes scanned the stadium. He spotted the window to the suite where his classmates were in. He focused on the muscled soldier with green hair and freckles and the ash-blonde with anger management issues.

If Todoroki was being honest, he hoped Midoriya would advance to the Finals over Bakugo. Though Bakugo was stronger in terms of raw, destructive power, Midoriya had proven he was the most capable student not only in the class, but in the entire freshmen Heroic Course. His one-shot victory over one of Class B's Recommended Students was further proof of that.

Todoroki wanted to beat him. If he could, it would validate that he could become a top Hero without using his accursed left side.

For now, it was time to show everyone the gap in power between the competition and himself.

"If both fighters are ready, let the fifth match…BEGIN!" Midnight cried out.

Todoroki acted immediately by stepping forward and swiping his right arm in an arc motion, sending out a volley of icicles flying at his opponent. Honenuki responded swiftly by kneeling to the ground and touching it, instantly turning the area around him into a thick muck. He narrowly avoided Todoroki's ice salvo as he sunk into the liquid cement and began swimming through it.

It was exactly what Todoroki wanted. The dual-haired young man brought down his right foot and smothered the entire concrete floor in a thick sheet of ice. 'Now he'll have to go out of bounds to come up for air.' He rationalized.

Then, without warning, the icy ground beneath Todoroki's feet gave way and somehow turned into a viscous substance.

"What?!" His feet sank into the softened ice and concrete underneath. 'So his Quirk doesn't just soften the ground then.' He realized then he had made a miscalculation of his opponent's Quirk.

He tried to pull himself out but struggling against the ice-cement muck further entrapped him. Soon, Todoroki was stuck up to his waist in the softened ring. Honenuki then rose out of the mud from behind Todoroki and dunked him.

The stage around Todoroki suddenly re-solidified and completely trapped him in place with his head and shoulders above the ring floor. Honenuki stepped out of the ring in front of Todoroki and canceled his Quirk on the rest of the stage.

"Guess that's my win." Honenuki casually said.

Todoroki was silent as his red-and-white hair cast a shadow over the upper half of his face.

"Todoroki, can you move at–"

Midnight was cut off as a skyscraper-sized glacier burst out from the ring. The ice spread out and easily tore the ring apart as it grew until it towered over the entire stadium.

…

…

No one moved or breathed. Thousands of people in the stadium went so silent that a pin drop could be heard. Snow began to fall as the temperature around the stadium rapidly plummeted to freezing levels.

A half-frozen Midnight craned her head to the side, spotting Honenuki lying unconscious in the frost-covered field outside the ring. He had received the full brunt of the glacier attack. "Honenuki is out of b-b-bounds! Todoroki advances to the next r-round!" She shivered, holding up her non-frozen arm.

Todoroki let out a long exhale as steam rushed off of him and his body's temperature equalized. The ice had shattered the concrete previously entrapping him, allowing him to step out of the ground. He then stepped forward and placed his left hand on the glacier. He let out enough heat to thaw the ice without actually igniting his flames.

The ice began to steadily melt away. Todoroki spared a brief glance at Midnight, seeing that the ice had melted enough for her to break out with her own strength. He could see that she'd be fine, though she may need a hot drink later.

Todoroki then turned his gaze back to the suite that his peers were in. The shock was evident on their faces, even Bakugo looked troubled given his wide eyes.

Midoriya, however, simply stared down at him with a stoic gaze.

He'd give the former soldier credit as he certainly knew how to keep his composure. Still, even he had to recognize the difference in their levels by now if he hadn't already.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted the flames of his father in the stands. Heat flared up on his left side, threatening to ignite into sparks but he quickly extinguished them. He focused everything he had on that man.

For all of his abusive behavior, selfish dreams, and ridiculous delusions… He was still Japan's Number Two Pro. Behind all that ego and bravado, there was still intelligence and cunning. All two of those had to be screaming at him how impressive Shoto's ice Quirk was. He could see Endeavor's blue eyes simmer in anger at that fact.

'I hope you can see my eyes, you bastard. Soon you'll realize your half wasn't needed to make me the best.' Turning to the jumbotron, he saw his name rise in the brackets. His next opponent? Hatsume Mei or Kaibara Sen.

Either way, he'd win. His placement in the Finals was assured.

He briefly glanced at his class's suite and focused on the robust, stealth-foreigner. 'Maybe I'll see you there, soldier.' 

"...And there you have it, dear listeners!" Present Mic announced, still shaken. "Just when it seemed like Honenuki had Todoroki trapped in the ground, he unleashes a glacier of Ice Age proportions! It might be too early to say this, but with power like that, Todoroki might be a shoo-in for the Finals! Heck, he might even win the whole thing without breaking a sweat!" 

Yaoyorozu had to agree with Present Mic. Off the top of her head, she could think of only a few Heroes globally that could pull off the same level of power that Todoroki had just exhibited. And she would have to face him if they both made it to the Semifinals.

The ravenette shook her head, internally chastising herself. She couldn't think that far ahead, especially when she would need to win two matches just to reach that point.

"Holy crap…" Sato broke the silence, wide-eyed.

"Yeah…" Sero agreed, equally dumbfounded.

"NOOOOO! SHIOZAKI AND HONENUKI?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!" Monoma's voice cried through the wall, albeit muffled.

Ashido grinned a little. "He's not happy."

"Both of Class B's Recommended Students lost in the First-Round…and in quick fashion too. Kero." Asui noted.

"That's gotta be demoralizing for their class." Sero commented.

"While Todoroki melts his overkill attack, we're going to take a short break! Feel free to go to the restrooms and/or restock on drinks and snacks! We'll be continuing the rest of the First-Round soon!" Mic announced.

"Geez… What's the point in continuing these dumb Games?" Mineta shivered, intimidated. "Seriously. Let's just give Todoroki the gold medal already and call it a day."

"Shut your damn face, midget!" Bakugo angrily barked, making the grape-head flinch. "Icy-Hot won't win jack sh*t!"

Midoriya remained silent as he stoically stared down at Todoroki while he melted the glacier in the arena. 'He must have spent years tirelessly training himself to reach that level of control with his ice.' He internally reasoned. 'It's very impressive. But still…' He really couldn't help but feel sorry for the young man in the arena.

Yaoyorozu took notice of the empathetic expression Midoriya had as he stared at Todoroki. 'What is it you know that we don't?' She wondered.

"So…" Yaoyorozu was interrupted from her musings when Ashido leaned forward in her seat. "Only two more matches to go. The suspense is killing me!" She laid her hands on Uraraka and Yaoyorozu's right and left shoulder respectively. "Are you both feeling nervous yet?"

Uraraka shook her head, adopting an expression of fiery determination. "I'm more pumped up than anything!" She then turned to her ravenette friend. "Hope you're ready, Momo! I won't be holding back."

Yaoyorozu smiled confidently and nodded. "I would be disappointed if you did, Occhan."

A small smile crossed Midoriya's face as he looked between the two young women. Though he hated that all three of them couldn't advance to the Quarterfinals, he was admittedly curious to witness their match.

"Speaking of holding back," Kaminari joined in, "is anyone else feeling nervous about Todoroki? Heck, I am and I'm not even in the tournament anymore!"

Sero frowned. "I ain't gonna lie…I kind of have to agree with Present Mic. It feels like it's over already."

"Todoroki-san is pretty powerful, kero." Asui glanced at the Tape-user. "But the tournament's not over yet. Anything can still happen."

"Nothing is over till it's over." Midoriya stated.

"I agree! Still though, to think he's so strong while only using his ice Quirk." Iida commented. "It makes you wonder why he doesn't use his fire Quirk outside of melting his ice."

Midoriya remained inconspicuous. Not wanting anyone to think he knew anything regarding the situation, but he wasn't fooling a certain heiress.

"Maybe using flames hurts him or something?" Uraraka suggested.

"Perhaps." Yaoyorozu looked thoughtful. "Though on the surface that seems unlikely considering who his father is, fire-based Quirks can be volatile to their users in certain circumstances."

The mention of "fire-based Quirks" made Midoriya briefly recall several instances of his past: particularly one of his old teammates. 'Bet he'd have something to say to Todoroki about suppressing his fire…' 

"We shall resume the First-Round in ten minutes. In the meantime, Hatsume Mei, Kaibara Sen, please report to your waiting rooms." The robotic voice over the intercom announced.

Midoriya perked up. 'Mei's finally up-to-bat. Can't help but wonder what her plan of attack will be.' His mind then recalled something she had told him in their initial conversation before Risk Trifecta.

"Hey, Hatsume-san...have you…ever thought of becoming a Hero?"

"Eh? Me, a Hero? Nah, I can't be a Hero."

"Why do you say that?"

"Duh! My Quirk isn't suited for heroics."

Midoriya mulled over the wording of Hatsume's answer. 'She never said she didn't want to be a Hero, only that she couldn't.' His expression became wistful as he stared at the onscreen bracket. 'Maybe Todoroki isn't the only one who needs help today…' 

Uraraka noticed Midoriya staring at the jumbotron. "Is something wrong, Izuku?"

Snapped from his musings, Midoriya turned to the brunette. "Huh? Oh, no. Listen," He stood up from his seat. "I just remembered there's something I need to do."

As Midoriya carefully squeezed past Yaoyorozu, the others turned to the verdette in confusion.

"Bathroom break?" Kirishima asked.

"Uh, no. I just need to take care of something. I'll be back soon." Before anyone could question him Midoriya ran up the aisle and hastily left the room.

"Weird." Sero said. "Wonder where he needed to rush off to in such a hurry."

"Phone call maybe?" Kaminari suggested.

"Perhaps… Well, I'm sure he has a good reason." Yaoyorozu advocated.

"Whatever it is, hopefully he'll make it back before the next match. His former teammate from Risk Trifecta is up next." Iida mentioned.

Uraraka and Yaoyorozu's eyes widened slightly. 'Hatsume? Wait…' 

Ashido perked up. As she put the puzzle pieces together, she couldn't suppress a gasp while her gold eyes shot open. "I KNEW IT!" She loudly squealed. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

"H-huh? What're you talking about Mina?" Uraraka asked, sounding mildly unnerved.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No." Yaoyorozu responded. "Please clarify."

"Our big, strong Midori has fallen for the Support Girl." Ashido confidently declared.

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka both turned to stone. 'WWWHHHAT!?' They internally screamed.

"Mina-chan, aren't you jumping to conclusions?" Asui countered. "Like you usually do with this stuff…"

"Yeah, I mean…Hatsume and Izuku both admitted today was the first day they've met." Tsunotori added.

Uraraka snapped out of her stiffness. "Y-Yeah! That's right!" She nodded vehemently. "T-There's no way it could be love. That kind of stuff takes time!"

"Not necessarily. It could be love at first sight." Ashido eagerly suggested, making Uraraka flinch.

"Mina-chan, that's a trope only used in fiction." Yaoyorozu countered. 'I should know since I'm guilty of using it.' 

Several tick marks grew on Bakugo's head as he sneered. 'This is so f**king annoying! I'm half tempted to make myself deaf just so I don't have to listen to their bullsh*t!' 

"Is it? Then tell me, my naïve friends, why is it that our dear Class Prez sought out Miss Hatsume after the Obstacle Race? With no warning or reason? Hmm…?"

"P-Perhaps he was curious about her?" Yaoyorozu offered, though not sounding convinced. "After all, coming as far as she has with just her gadgets is impressive."

"Maybe… Then how come he selected her with his first pick in Risk Trifecta when he could've had literally anyone else?" Ashido followed up.

"So that his team could use her gadgets…?" Uraraka offered.

"Hatsume's gadgets were a contributing factor in the Blue Team's victory." Iida backed up.

"For sure. But he could've easily selected her with his other picks, right?" Ashido challenged. "I doubt Setsuna-chan would've used her two picks on Hatsume. Yaomomo, would you have used your pick on her?" She turned to the ravenette.

Yaoyorozu slightly lowered her head and admitted. "I wouldn't have…"

"See what I mean? Seeking her out before the second event, picking her first even though he didn't need to, and now he's privately seeking her out before her match starts." The pinkette grinned smugly. "My friends, I believe it's fair to say our dear soldier boy Midoriya Izuku is crushing hard on the Support Department girl, Hatsume Mei."

The group looked between each other as they considered Ashido's points.

"Actually… You may be onto something. Kero." Asui tapped her chin.

"T-Tsuyu?" Uraraka sounded surprised.

"Izuku has been fixated on Hatsume since the end of the race." Tsunotori joined in. "That much is clear."

"Not gonna lie… It sounds plausible." Jiro inserted coolly.

"Not you too, Jiro-chan." Yaoyorozu bemoaned.

"Huh… I'll be." Kirishima scratched his head. "You actually might be right on this for once, babe."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" She glared at her boyfriend. "I'm always right about love and shipping!"

Kirishima sweat-dropped, deciding it'd be best for his health not to correct her on that.

"Midori-bro and the Support Girl? Who could've seen that match coming," Sero mused with a cheeky grin.

Kaminari scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…Didn't think she'd be his type, but I could see it."

"Even if that could be the case, we shouldn't be getting involved with their personal business." Iida firmly asserted. "Wouldn't you agree, Yaomomo?"

Yaoyorozu didn't immediately respond. "...Y-yes… You're absolutely right, Iida-kun." She didn't sound convincing. 'Izuku and Hatsume…?' She didn't know why, but the idea of those two being in a romantic relationship didn't sit well with her at all. 'I…I don't like it… Why?'

Uraraka was in a similar boat. 'He has been focusing on her since the race… And they do seem to get along very well.' Earlier scenes of Midoriya and Hatsume talking animatedly played through her mind, causing a pit to form in her stomach. 'Oh no…' 

While Uraraka and Yaoyorozu inwardly lamented Midoriya's possible crush on Hatsume, Tsunotori tapped Ashido's shoulder and leaned to whisper into her ear. "What are you doing? You know how those two secretly feel about Izuku."

Ashido smirked, whispering back, "Those two hopeless girls need the push. What better way to do that than with a little old fashion jealousy? Heh-heh-heh." She cackled to herself.

Midoriya stopped in the hallway when he made it to the first waiting room door. He was about to knock to verify who was in it until he heard a familiar muffled laughing coming from the other side.

"Ha-ha-ha! Reactor levels are stable. Repulsors are ready. And all the other babies are calibrated and ready for action!" He heard through the door. "Oh, let's see…where's my audio hacker at… Ah! Found it!"

'Audio hacking, huh?' Midoriya briefly pondered about that before knocking on the door. "Hatsume-san… It's me, Midoriya. Can I come in?"

"Midoriya? Doesn't ring any bells!" She bluntly responded from the other end.

The verdette groaned, miffed that she had already forgotten his name. "It's me…First Place?"

There was a momentary pause before hearing heavy footsteps and the door slamming open. Hatsume stood in front of him decked out in various gadgets with the three main items being her armored chest plate with the Arc Reactor glowing in the center, the Repulsor Glove on her left hand, and her Repulsor Boots. All that combined with her goggles, she had a steampunk cyborg look going on.

'She looks like she could be a character in one of those retro Cyberpunk games.' Midoriya mused.

"Ah First Place, good to see you again! Wait… You're not my opponent, are you?"

"No. That would be Kaibara-san."

"Never heard of them. Anyways!" Hatsume suddenly pulled out the metal briefcase from earlier that contained her gadgets. "Since you're here, why don't you make yourself useful and carry this for me. We need to find my opponent's waiting room."

Midoriya hesitantly took the case. "How come? I doubt he'd appreciate the distraction right now."

"Cause I need to show him all of my babies and let him pick out which ones he'll want to wear in our match, of course." She said that as if it was the most obvious thing.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "…Why?"

"Well," Hatsume looked away, "I figured that since I'm going to be wearing my babies in my match. It's only fair that he gets to wear some too."

Midoriya closely studied the pink-haired inventor's expression and came to an easy conclusion regarding her true intentions. 'She's really bad at lying.' 

"You just want to use Kaibara-san to show off your inventions to the crowd and any Support Companies watching." Midoriya stated matter-of-factly.

Hatsume was silent for a few seconds. "So! If you could follow me, let's go find–" She tried to step past Midoriya, only for him to block her path.

"Actually, let's just stay here." He gently pushed her back in the room and closed the door behind him. "And no changing subjects either. Admit it. You're planning to treat your match like a glorified infomercial, right?"

Hatsume sighed, rolling her eyes. "Okay…fine. You got me. I'm not interested in the tournament. I got to show off in the first two events, so this one-on-one fight will be a nice way to round off my sales pitch to the potential CEOs and R&D Directors watching. After I'm done showing off my babies, I'll bow out and let my opponent advance. It's a good deal for him, wouldn't you say?"

"No. It isn't." Midoriya firmly countered, stone-faced.

"Huh, why not?" Hatsume tilted her head, bemused. "I'm giving him a free win."

"And that's the issue, Hatsume. Look, I may not be able to speak for Kaibara-san personally, but I doubt anyone who's made it this far would want a win just handed to them like that; especially when they're trying to get scouted by Pro Heroes. It'd be unearned and everyone would know it. Think about it, would you be as proud of any of your babies if someone else built it and said you could take the credit for it?"

Hatsume's eyes widened as she considered Midoriya's logic. "Huh… Well, no." She then slumped her shoulders in defeat, unable to argue against his valid points.

Midoriya eyed the pinkette hard for several seconds. "You know, I thought you'd have more faith in your babies then that, Hatsume."

Hatsume looked confused and mildly offended. "Huh?! What do you mean?"

"You've made some incredible support gear. No question there. We couldn't have won Risk Trifecta without them. And what you've done with the prototype Arc Reactor and Repulsor technology…I can't even express with words how awesome that is. Don't you feel the same way?"

"What kind of ridiculous question is that? Of course I do! I love my babies; especially my super baby!" She defiantly claimed.

"Then wouldn't you want to show them off for as long as you can?" He pointed out. "Don't you want to show everyone out there how much faith and pride you have in your babies by using them in a real fight and not just in some demo?"

Hatsume blinked twice.

Memories of neutralizing Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Shiozaki to rescue Midoriya flashed through Hatsume's mind. From what she understood, those three students were in the Heroics Course and were quite capable. Weren't two of them Recommendation Students as well?

And her babies took them down easily… Wait! He could be on to something here!

Midoriya continued, tapping the Arc Reactor's glass surface. "And don't you want to disprove all the engineers who said this wasn't possible too? On an international stage, nonetheless."

…

…

Midoriya's words fully sunk in as a wide grin split across Hatsume's face. She started to chuckle darkly before quickly exploding into full blown maniacal cackling. "Ha-ha-ha-ha… MW-HA-HA-HA!"

'Okay… That was a bit unnerving.' 

"You're absolutely right! I was so focused on just showing off my babies, I completely overlooked the context." Hatsume's eyes gleamed with mad joy. "If I can prove to everyone watching that even someone like me with no combat training whatsoever can go toe-to-toe with and defeat someone from UA's Heroic Course, I'll have to fight off all the investors with a stick! It's brilliant! MW-HA-HA-HA!"

"I'm sure you will." Midoriya smiled, happy to see Hatsume's shift in approach. "If there's any advice I can give you, Hatsume, just remember… Quirks and Support Gear are just tools. It's the person using them which makes them great, not the other way around."

Hatsume blinked and stared at Midoriya for a few seconds before resuming her grin and nodding. "That's true. Gear is worthless if you can't use it right. On that note, since I'll be fighting for real now, I'll need to do another recheck on my babies to make sure they're 100% combat ready. Can you hand me that case back?"

"Sure." He handed the case back and was about to bow out. He had initially intended on giving her some combat advice, but figured he'd done enough by convincing her to actually compete in her match.

"I should be heading back now. Good luck in your match, Hatsume." Midoriya waved and turned back to the door. "I'll be cheering you on."

"Wait!" His hand stopped on the handle as he glanced back. Much to his surprise, she was smiling kindly at him with no maniacal look.

"Midoriya… Thank you."

Midoriya's breath hitched in his throat, momentarily surprised to hear her actually refer to him by name. He then returned the smile. "Anytime."

She then proceeded to open her briefcase and go through her gadgets. "By the way, the Heroics student with the indestructible shield… It's you, right?"

Midoriya was moderately surprise. "…Yeah. How'd you—"

"The way you were using my Energy Shield baby clued me in." Her grin became wider. "I expect you to give me all the juicy details on that baby later."

Before he could respond, the announcement came in. "Hatsume Mei, Kaibara Sen, please make your way to the field. Shinso Hitoshi, Monoma Neito, please report to your waiting rooms."

The eccentric inventor's eyes gleamed. "Hold that thought, it's showtime!"

"Midoriya-kun must hurry or he'll miss the match." Iida robotically chopped his arms.

"Eh, let him take his time. The guy needs to wish Support Girl good luck and all. Heh-heh-heh." Kaminari chuckled impishly.

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka visibly bristled at Kaminari's remark. Uraraka gripped her pants in frustration while Yaoyorozu closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"We…We don't know for certain if that's what he's doing." Yaoyorozu retorted, keeping her gaze forward.

"Huh? I mean it's pretty obvious he's–OOF!" Kaminari was cut off when Tsunotori gently elbowed the electric-blonde in his side.

"Ow! What was that–"

"Don't mention Hatsume around those two. Kay?" The pony-girl sternly whispered in his ear.

"Why?" He whispered back.

Tsunotori pointed at the pair, giving the electric-blonde a knowing look.

Kaminari blinked twice as he looked between Uraraka and Yaoyorozu. His eyes then slowly widened as he finally caught onto what Tsunotori was implying. "Oh…" He drawled. 'Midoriya… You lucky f**king bastard! Please teach me everything you know!' 

"Apologies for the wait, folks! With the Ice Age over and the ring fully repaired, we can resume with the First-Round matches. Are you ready?!" Mic's voice echoed out over the cheering crowd.

"In this fight we have the Support Course versus the Hero Course! First up, he may seem plain and have a lazy look about him, but with his drills he'll pierce straight through the heavens! From Class 101-B, it's Kaibara Sen!"

The young shaggy-haired man nonchalantly stepped into the ring with his hands in his pockets. 'Was that seriously my intro? Though the heaven piercing part was kind of cool, I guess.' 

"Versus! A lady who's been called the Mad Witch by her peers and professor alike! She's put on a terrific showing so far and helped Blue Team secure a dominating win in Risk Trifecta! She's locked and loaded and ready for any occasion! From the Support Course, it's the madwoman herself—Hatsume Mei!" 

Hatsume stepped into the area with enough gear on her to pass for a cyborg. Kaibara's eyes darted from each gadget she had, trying to make sense of what they did. Some seemed obvious while most of it was a mystery; the most prominent was the glowing bluish white circle on her armored chest plate.

'I get she's from the Support Course, but is she really allowed to use all of that stuff?' Kaibara inwardly wondered.

Midnight glanced over at Hatsume and smirked, giving her a thumbs up.

'Guess she can.' He dryly mused and sighed outwardly. 'Oh well. No sense in whining about it.'

"Our lovely referee Midnight has given the 'okay' for Hatsume's gear. This match will certainly not be boring at least!" 

Kaibara's thoughts drifted to what Monoma had told him before leaving for the waiting rooms. "Both of our Recommendation Students have fallen. Kaibara, you must advance! Class B must be well represented in the Quarterfinals!"

He rolled his eyes. 'Sure, that's not any extra pressure or anything.' He outwardly sighed. 'Of course I want to advance but the dude needs to chill over this whole class rivalry thing.'

After swiftly reiterating the rules to the combatants, Midnight pointed her whip at Kaibara and Hatsume. "Are both fighters ready?"

Kaibara nodded and gave Midnight a thumbs-up while Hatsume smirked devilishly. If he was being honest, it slightly unnerved the Class B student.

"Then let's get this match underway! Begin!"

When Midnight dropped her whip, Kaibara immediately rushed forward and started spinning his hands and forearms. There was no point in messing around. He was going for the direct approach!

However, he only made it a few meters before he was forced to stop and turn off his Quirk, covering both ears from a sudden screeching feedback noise that ripped through the speaker system in the stadium. Present Mic was dumbfounded as he started playing with the audio controls in the booth, only for them to be unresponsive.

"Testing, testing. There we go! Sorry about that feedback, everyone. But I'm all hooked up now." 

"Huh?" A confused Kaibara uncovered his ears and looked back at Hatsume as her voice came through the loudspeakers. As she removed her hand from her head, he noticed she had a small over-the-ear microscope on. 'The hell's going on here?'

"My apologies, Mic-sensei, but I'll be hijacking the broadcast for the remainder of the match." Hatsume beamed brightly at the confused crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for your undivided attention and welcome to this spectacular demonstration! On this day, I intend to show everyone watching from here and afar that any Quirk can be beaten with the right gear!" 

Kaibara's eyes widened. "Okay… What?"

In response, the crowd roared in anticipation. Hatsume's bold declaration had not only grabbed the attention of her classmates in the Support Department, but also several Pro Heroes. Everyone's attention was piqued.

Could she back up her claim?

Recovering from his initial shock, Kaibara resumed his fighting stance. "Hey! Are we going to fight now or what?"

Hatsume smirked and waved him on. "Of course, give it your best shot, Plain Dude. Though you won't be able to touch me." With her microphone still on, the crowd heard their conversation and reacted with a chorus of varying reactions that sounded like a studio audience.

A tick mark appeared on Kaibara's temple. "We'll see about that!" He charged forward while rapidly spinning his arms and closed the distance in a few strides, rearing back his right arm to strike.

Hatsume was unphased and fell straight backwards, allowing Kaibara's spinning fist to sail over her head while his momentum carried him several steps past her. Instead of falling on her back, small metal cylinders hanging from her shoulders spun and hissed. Streams of compressed air jetted out and pushed Hatsume back to her feet.

"Ha-ha-ha! With my Auto Balancers, my stability has drastically improved. Nothing can knock me over!" 

Whirling around, Kaibara rushed at Hatsume again. "Hey! Don't turn your back on your opponent!" He attempted to strike at the array of gadgets visible on Hatsume's back. At the last moment, twin poles extended from her belt and tripped up Kaibara while vaulting Hatsume into the air.

"My Hydraulic Bracers make enemy ambushes a thing of the past! With sensors in every direction, no one can sneak up on me!" 

Kaibara lost his footing and tumbled across the ground a few times. As she sailed by, Hatsume drew her Capture Gun off her utility belt and fired a cartridge at her foe. The Gyrate-user was taken aback when a net popped out of the projectile and entrapped him.

"Huh!? What the heck is–"

"This is my Capture Gun. Instead of bullets, this baby shoots cartridges that release capture nets. It can hold up to FIVE rounds before needing to be reloaded!" Hatsume emphasized by holding out all five fingers on her free hand.

"Dammit!" Kaibara gyrated his arms and legs and easily tore through the net, popping back up to his feet. "Would you quit screwing around?!" He ran towards the pink-haired inventor with his limbs spinning madly.

Hatsume remained nonchalant as her opponent closed in. Her armored boots started whirring as bluish-white light shone from her soles. Hovering off the ground, the cyborg-looking student evaded all of Kaibara's strikes.

"These babies I'm wearing are called Repulsor Boots! They utilize an amazing prototype technology I've developed called Repulsors! As you can see, I use them to stabilize my flight and give myself extra agility." Hatsume excitedly explained while dodging and evading Kaibara's drills. "Paired with my Auto Balancers and Hydraulic Bracers, melee opponents like Plain Dude stand no chance of hitting me." 

"We'll see about that! I'll turn that gear into scrap!" Kaibara yelled.

Hatsume gasped. "Don't even joke about that!"

"I'm not! HRAGH!" Completely fed up, Kaibara began gyrating his entire body until he was a blur of spinning mass. "Maximum Gyrate!" The concrete around him was suddenly broken up and thrown haphazardly like debris in a tornado.

Sensing the danger, the Hydraulic Bracers extended pistons to pole-vault Hatsume away, but Kaibara anticipated this move and dived for the extended pole and instantly tore through it.

"Eep!" Hatsume's eyes widened in horror at the sight of her damaged gear. "NO! Not my baby!"

"Your gear is no match!" Kaibara shouted while spinning full speed at Hatsume with intent to destroy all of her gadgets.

With a split second to react, Hatsume pressed a button on a projector-like device strapped to her right arm. Instantaneously, a blue-colored shield-shaped projection appeared in front of her. Kaibara slammed into the construct and created a shower of sparks from impact.

Hatsume immediately regained her composure. "It would appear my Hydraulic Bracers could use some design tweaks. Even so, this still gives me the perfect opportunity to properly introduce this baby; another prototype I call the Limited-Range-Photon-Accelerator, or Energy Shield for short."

"HRAGH!" Kaibara spun himself faster, trying to drill his way through the light-barrier…with zero success.

She went on. "This baby produces a barrier fully composed of light particles and is quite strong as you can see. In fact, because it's made of light, the shape of the projections are customizable too! All of you may have noticed the shield's color is now blue instead of red when Midoriya was using it in the last event. That's because this baby is currently drawing power directly from this!" She pointed to the glowing circle on her armored chest, beaming proudly.

"This! Is the Arc Reactor! It's a very special baby of mine! It's the source of all of the power my other babies need. As for how much it can produce… Well, more on that later!" She winked coyly.

Kaibara's body started slowing down until he completely stopped spinning. He fell to his knees while leaning against the blue Energy Shield, panting heavily. "How… the hell…is this thing…so strong?"

"I could go into the nitty gritty of this baby's inner workings, but that's a trade secret." Noticing that Kaibara grimaced while trying to stand up, likely a side-effect from pushing his Quirk's limit, Hatsume decided it was time to show off one last baby.

"My Repulsors are directly powered by the Arc Reactor too. Additionally, they can be used for more than just stabilizers. Observe!" With a whirring sound, Hatsume discharged a bluish-white plasma ball from her bulky metal glove on her left hand. The energy projectile struck Kaibara directly in the torso and (though it didn't burn him) packed enough concussive force to knock him flat on his back across the ring. "I can control the output to make non-lethal energy attacks, perfect for subduing those pesky run-of-the-mill criminals…or Hero Course students."

Midnight looked at Kaibara spasming on the ground. "Kaibara, can you continue?" She called out since her microphone was disconnected.

Trying and failing to sit up, Kaibara sighed with a mixture of pain and disappointment. "No ma'am…I give."

The raven-haired vixen lifted up her whip, signaling the end of the match. "Kaibara has surrendered! Hatsume will advance to the next round!"

Seeing the signal, the crowd across the stadium erupted into cheers.

Hatsume smirked proudly as she turned off her over-the-ear mic, returning the audio controls to the broadcast booth.

"Wow! She actually took him down… Wait, I'm live?" Present Mic cleared his throat. "What an amazing display, folks! I have no clue what just happened, but we have our winner in Hatsume Mei. For the first time since I can remember when, a Support Course student is advancing to the Quarterfinals!" 

This news made the cheers go wilder. Everyone loved a good underdog story. The fact that she backed up her audacious claim from the start only further endeared her to the audience.

Hatsume watched as the medical robots came in to set Kaibara on a stretcher. One brief glance told her he'd be alright. The force of her concussive blasts wasn't enough to cause any serious injury. 'That was quicker than I anticipated, but at least I got to introduce my super-babies.' She then directed her attention to the suites in the upper deck, using her Quirk to zoom in.

She could see many suits talking amongst themselves and pointing at her. Judging by their expressions, they were more than impressed.

A wide grin split across the pinkette's face. 'It worked! I've got them hooked! Now I'll just have to reel them in for the next match.' 

She turned to the jumbotron, which advanced her name in the bracket. Her next opponent? Todoroki Shoto. Hatsume's grin became more roguish. 'Against a powerhouse like that, I'll really be able to show what my babies can do!'

Midoriya looked on from the tunnel that Hatsume had earlier walked out of–having watched her match with a critical eye.

As Hatsume proceeded back into the tunnel, she practically bounced up to Midoriya with her trademark eccentric grin. "I won! So, what'd you think about, huh?! Weren't my babies amazing!?"

For a few brief seconds, Midoriya considered how he should word his response. "Truthfully, you spent too much time explaining what your babies can do rather than simply showing what they can do." He figured it was best to be blunt with her.

Hatsume's excitement was noticeably dampened by the critique, but Midoriya continued. "Still, as far as your first ever fight goes, that wasn't bad. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but," a smirk grew on his face, "we may make a Hero out of you yet, Hatsume."

The pinkette was momentarily surprised before laughing it off. "Ah c'mon, First–uh, Midoriya!" She corrected herself. "You know I can't become a–"

Midoriya quickly cut her off. "Can't you?"

"Huh?" She tilted her head, confused.

"I believe you said, and I quote, 'I intend to show everyone watching from here and afar that any Quirk can be beaten with the right gear.'" Midoriya elaborated. "And, though you were a bit sloppy out there, you still backed up that claim."

"Yeah, but…" Hatsume trailed off, looking unsure of herself.

"I won't pressure you into something that you don't want to do. But if it is something you want, that option is on the table." Midoriya assured her.

Hatsume was silent for several seconds before adopting an uncharacteristic serious expression; her crosshair pupils focusing on him. "Do you really believe it's possible?"

Placing a hand on her armored shoulder pad, Midoriya smiled confidently. "I think you just proved that for yourself, Hatsume."

Hatsume blinked twice as she lowered her gaze to the floor in deep contemplation. She considered everything she's accomplished so far in the All-Stars Games from the race to now. It made her wonder… Maybe she had more to offer than only making super-cute babies for Pro Heroes?

As ludicrous as it sounds to society, maybe someone can use awesome support gear to become a Hero.

After several moments she lifted her head and gave Midoriya a sparkling smile, much to his surprise. "You may be onto something, Midoriya. I'll give it some more thought. Thanks!"

Midoriya nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm glad I could be of some help, Hatsu–"

"Mei."

The verdette stopped and blinked. "...huh?"

"Just call me, Mei!" Hatsume's eccentric grin returned. "No need for formalities between friends, right?"

The verdette's breath hitched in his throat before his smile quickly returned. "Yeah. You're right." He then extended his hand out. "Then, you can call me Izuku if you want."

"Sure thing!" Hatsume then spit in her palm and returned the handshake. He was initially surprised by the action, but he wasn't too bothered by it. Though he did make a mental note to wash his hands at the first chance he got.

Hatsume continued. "So, about that shield? What's the story?! Huh, tell me!" She leaned in close with barely restrained excitement.

'I guess the whole 'eccentric, over-the-top passion' runs in the Hatsume bloodline.' He fondly mused.

Midoriya let out a breath. "Okay. So, where to start…"

Meanwhile, from Class 101-A's suite, many of the students looked on at the arena with varying levels of surprised disbelief.

"Whoa…" Tsunotori was the first to break the silence. "That was…something."

"No kidding!" Kaminari grinned. "I didn't know she could shoot energy blasts! Why didn't she use that during the Risk Trifecta?"

"She did." Jiro replied. "She used laser beams to cut through Shiozaki's vines while rescuing Midoriya, and then stunned her like she did to that Class B guy."

Bakugo scoffed, leaning his head back. "Pathetic… Drills should just drop out now and look for another career."

"C'mon, man. Don't be like that." Kirishima gently scolded. "The man gave it his best shot."

"That's no excuse for losing to someone who isn't even in the Heroics Course." Bakugo retorted.

Todoroki remained impassive over the match. He'd give credit where credit was due, but he wasn't concerned by the Support Course student. She was just another steppingstone on his journey to the Finals.

"Still, that was so cool!" Ashido said excitedly. "And to think that girl's got even more gear."

"I'm still finding it hard to believe she basically hijacked the All-Star Games." Sero mused.

"Uh… Should we be concerned that she casually managed to bypass UA's security?" Asui mentioned.

For several seconds, everyone in the suite went silent.

"Most likely." Jiro coolly said.

Yaoyorozu sighed heavily. "Either the university needs to further fortify their security system… Or Hatsume-san is just that skilled; perhaps both possibilities are true."

"Still, to think she really built all of that equipment on her own… It's astounding." Iida sincerely stated.

"Hmph." Uraraka pouted a little, crossing her arms over her chest. "She could tone down the showmanship. This is supposed to be a tournament, not a commercial."

"Too bad Midori-bro missed this fight." Kaminari's eyes then widened as a thought occurred to him. "Wait… I just realized something."

"That's a first." Jiro smiled teasingly.

He rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha, but I'm serious. Didn't Hatsume just mention Midori-bro by his name during the match?"

While the others were bewildered by Kaminari's point, Uraraka and Tsunotori's eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah… You're right." Tsunotori gapped.

"Why is that surprising?" Yaoyorozu asked curiously.

The pony-girl turned to the ravenette. "Basically, she told us before Risk Trifecta that she likely wouldn't remember our names."

"But she remembered Midori's names, huh?" A saucy grin split Ashido's face. "Interesting…"

Yaoyorozu or Uraraka felt a pit form in their respective stomachs; neither liked the implications of Midoriya and Hatsume's evolving relationship.

Uraraka lowered her head, frowning sullenly. 'We've been friends for a few months now… And I've never seen Izuku so focused on someone else like he has with Hatsume. I don't like it.' Her brown eyes slowly widened in realization. 'Wait… Could this really be…?' 

Yaoyorozu furrowed her brows as she carefully speculated over Midoriya's recent actions. 'Could there really be merit to Mina's theory? It would explain his recent fixation on her…' She gripped the edge of her pants. 'This feeling… It isn't like when he spends time with Ochako or our friends… I'm jealous, aren't I?' 

Slowly, the reality of Yaoyorozu and Uraraka's feelings for their muscled broccoli friend began to settle in.

"Monoma Neito, Shinso Hitoshi, please make your way to the field. Uraraka Ochako, Yaoyorozu Momo, please report to your waiting rooms." The announcement snapped the pair from their lamentations.

Uraraka took a deep breath to clear her head, and then stood up from her seat. "Looks like it's our turn, Yaomomo."

"It would appear so." Yaoyorozu nodded and stood up. "Would you care to walk together, Occhan?"

The brunette shook her head, smiling. "No problem. I was actually gonna ask you that."

"Good luck, you two!" Ashido cheered.

After their classmates–sans Bakugo and Todoroki–wished them good luck in their match, the pair continued down the aisle and exited the suite.

The young women walked in silence for several moments before entering an elevator together, the former pressing the ground level button.

As the doors slid closed, Uraraka broke the silence. "Are you nervous, Momo?"

"...I am." She confessed. "To be in the All-Star Games final event…it's something all aspiring Heroes dream of."

Uraraka nodded in agreement. "Yeah…" She lowered her gaze to the floor. "I always dreamed of getting to this point. Now that I'm here…it feels so surreal."

Her thoughts then drifted to the text she received from her mother this morning.

Hey sweetie! Your father and I have a big job scheduled during the games. But we've got it recorded and will watch it as soon as we get home tonight. Best of luck! Love you dear! 

Though she was disappointed her parents wouldn't get to watch her performance live, she was relieved to learn that they had work. That did bring up a couple of questions for her. When did her parents get a new contract? Why didn't they tell her about it sooner?

Questions for later.

Right now, the brunette had a match that she needed to prepare herself for. A match that would pit her against one of her dearest friends. Naturally, she didn't like the idea of fighting her friends, but this was the nature of the All-Star Games.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone to show off what they could on a national stage! With so many tuning in, Pro Heroes especially, Uraraka knew that she needed to put on a good showing.

As the elevator came to a smooth stop, the doors slid open and the two proceeded down the corridor. The sounds of their respective footsteps and the faint roar of the crowd outside echoed through the halls. Following signs posted, the pair finally arrived at the doors of their designated waiting rooms.

Uraraka took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Now was the time to make her intentions clear.

"Yaomomo–"

The heiress cut her off. "Ochako."

Uraraka paused, noting the serious tone in Yaoyorozu's voice.

"You are my best friend. My first best friend, actually." Yaoyorozu proclaimed. "You're the only person, not counting Izuku and our other classmates, who genuinely sought my friendship without seeking any money or favors in return. My status did not dissuade nor encourage you to befriend me." She smiled brightly. "I truly can't express how happy that made me."

Uraraka's cheeks flushed a bit, feeling slightly embarrassed. "W-well, yeah. Of course I–"

"With that being said," Uraraka flinched when she felt an aura of elegant confidence wafting off of the heiress; enough to intimidate the gravity-defying brunette. "I aim to win this match, Ochako. And I will not go easy on you because you are my friend. I just wanted you to know that in case that wasn't clear before."

Uraraka blinked twice before quickly adopting a determined expression of her own, nodding in response. "Yeah. I wouldn't want you to hold back…because I won't either."

Yaoyorozu nodded and smiled, extending her hand out. "Then may the best girl win."

Uraraka eagerly accepted the handshake, her own confidence blooming. "You're on!"

Both Uraraka and Yaoyorozu felt the weight on their respective shoulders lighten after their talk. Neither had forgotten what their true goals were. Though they had discovered new things they wanted, new emotions they hadn't felt, and new people they wanted to protect along the way, they couldn't forget their biggest priorities. Yes, both knew there were some things to figure out–particularly with a certain verdette–but there would be time to handle that later.

In the here and now, they had a fight to go out and win!

"Alright, folks! It's time to introduce our next combatants! While the last fight was more of a…um, demo? This match is bound to be a real battle of wills!" Mic declared excitedly.

"From the Criminal Investigation Course, it's the dark horse who defied the odds and made it to the final event! The lynch pin in the Blue Team's killer strategy–Shinso Hitoshi!" 

As the crowd cheered from the introduction, Shinso calmly walked onto the stage with his hands in his pockets.

"And from the Hero Course's Class 101-B, we have the jack of all trades and master of none! The cool copycat that always lands on his feet–Monoma Neito!" 

Shinso watched Monoma closely as he walked onto the stage, taking his position across from him.

'So this is the guy who copies Quirks. I noticed him using several during Risk Trifecta.' Shinso thought. 'Makes it a pain to plan for, especially since I don't know all of his classmates' Quirks. I'll just have to get him to talk right away. Can't afford to get into a prolonged fight with him.' 

Monoma looked at Shinso with a lazy smirk. "Congratulations on making it to the tournament, Shinso-san. That's quite impressive for someone outside the Hero Course." He held out his hand. "Why don't we shake hands? Give the crowd a show of good sportsmanship?"

Shinso cocked a brow in bemusement. On the surface it wasn't an unusual request, but the smug grin on Monoma's face made the Brainwash-user suspicious. He remained standing in place.

"What's wrong? Don't want to shake my hand? Are you germophobic perhaps?"

'He sounds eager to shake hands. Why?' His tired eyes trailed to Monoma's outstretched hand. That's when it occurred to him. 'Ah… Makes sense now.' 

"No, I–"

Monoma cut him off. "Oh? Too prideful to shake hands, are we?"

"That's not–"

"And here I am just trying to be a good sport." Monoma's grin grew. "I thought Class 101-A was arrogant…but you may take the cake, actually."

The indigo-haired student clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Listen, I–"

"Are both contestants ready?" Midnight called out.

Shinso growled but nodded in acknowledgment.

"I am more than ready, Sensei." Monoma replied, his voice dripping with pompousness.

"Then…" The buxom referee brought down her whip. "BEGIN!"

"Hey!" Shinso yelled out. "I saw you copying–"

"Everyone, behold!" Monoma knelt down to touch the floor, resulting in the cement tiles in front of him turning into mud and immediately trapping Shinso.

"Crap!" Shinso exclaimed. 'It's that lipless guy's Quirk!' 

"Monoma makes the first strike–utilizing his classmate's Honenuki Juzo's Quirk to turn the ring into mud!" Mic announced. "Could this already be the end?!" 

"Everyone here mindlessly praises Class A, all while they completely overlook us in Class B and those from other courses; especially yours." Monoma stated. "Now tell me, Dark Horse, why is it that they should get all the attention?"

Shinso had sunken into the viscous cement up to his knees, trying in vain to pull himself out.

Monoma continued. "The All-Star Games are supposed to be an event where all of those competing can show off their skills to the world, and yet the members of Class A seem to hog all of the limelight. Is it just because they fought off some D-list thugs in the USJ?"

He then scoffed. "Please… Had those same Villains waited an extra day, it would've been Class B that was attacked instead. And I am fairly certain that we would've won far more convincingly against those ruffians…with far less injuries on our side."

Shinso continued to sink in the grey mud, his lower body fully submerged. "That's a pretty bold of–"

"And I aim to use these games as a platform to prove that very point." Monoma declared. "I will demonstrate as many of my classmates' Quirks as I can and win these Games soundly."

'Dammit!' Shinso cursed as the mud reached his chest. 'I gotta get him to respond to something quick!' 

"Hey! If I sink any further, I'll–WHOA!" Without warning, a mass of green vines suddenly sprouted out of Monoma's head and snaked their way to Shinso, pulling him out of the wet cement.

The vines began to rapidly pull the Brainwash-user towards Monoma. They then disconnected from the pompous young man's head and started wilting on the floor, causing Shinso to land on his feet and stagger forward.

Shinso coughed up spit when he felt a solid fist of literal metal rammed into his stomach. 'Sh*t…' He grimaced, sharp pain shooting throughout his core. "Bastard, don't you–AWK!" A steel fist slammed into his jaw, making the CSI student stumble back.

Monoma smirked with both arms covered in steel. "I will show everyone out there watching…"

Shinso regained his bearings and looked back, blood dripping from his mouth. "Would you just shut–" Once again, the indigo-haired man was cut off when an enlarged palm smacked into him.

"...That we are the superior class!" Monoma loudly proclaimed.

Meanwhile, up in Class 101-A's suite, the students watched the fight play out.

"He was the guy on our team who can copy Quirks." Kirishima noted.

"I remember. He was such a jerk to our class!" Ashido pouted.

"Be that as it may, he was an asset to our team." Shoji advocated. "He scored our only HVI points and saved us from elimination."

Todoroki remained silent as his heterochromatic gaze focused on the fight; however, he didn't seem the least bit interested.

"Even so, I was honestly rooting for the General Course guy to win." Sero commented.

Asui started tapping her chin, curious. "Why hasn't he just tossed Shinso-san out of the ring yet? He clearly has the ability to do it."

Bakugo clicked his tongue in annoyance. "It's 'cause the bastard's just showing off."

In the next suite box over, Class 101-B watched their pompous classmate knock Shinso around the ring…all without trying to knock him out of bounds.

"C'mon, Monoma!" A floating set of clothes with a feminine voice cried out. "Just throw him out of bounds already!"

Sitting next to the invisible woman, Ojiro was clenching his teeth in frustration. "He's playing with fire. If he doesn't knock him out soon…" He recalled the instance where he was mind-controlled by Shinso in Risk Trifecta. He had wanted to warn Monoma before his match, but the pompous student refused to listen to anyone–citing that he didn't need advice to win this match.

Kendo, who was sitting in the front row, furrowed her brows. 'Monoma, if you're serious about advancing, then stop messing around!' 

Present Mic was equally confused by Monoma's actions. "Monoma continues to knock Shinso around the field all while talking up a storm. He must really like the sound of his own voice." 

"...You have no room to talk." Aizawa lazily remarked.

Shinso rolled on the concrete hard and came to a stop on his front side, groaning painfully. He winced as he shakily pushed himself up to his hands and knees, sporting many bruises and a black eye.

'This ass clown just won't shut up for one second…!' Shinso internally yelled. 'I can't get a word in before he interrupts me…' 

"ACK!" Shinso yelped as vines suddenly wrapped around his body again, pinning his arms to his side. The tendrils pulled the CSI student across the ring and back to Monoma.

"I believe I've shown off enough of my prowess." Monoma smugly stated.

Shinso glared daggers at the blonde in response.

"Don't worry though; I won't prolong this any longer than it needs to be. I'll throw you right out of the ring shortly. But first, I want to confess I do respect you for making it as far as you did in these games, Shinso-san. You and I are much alike in a way."

"Tsk!" Shinso clicked his tongue, lowering his eyes. "We're nothing alike…yah damn leech."

That word struck a nerve for the Copy-user, recalling many instances of bullying he experienced throughout his youth. That word 'leech' was a common one that had always been used. And it really got under his skin.

The corner of his lip curled up into a sneer. "What did you call–"

Monoma trailed off, his periwinkle eyes glazing over while his expression went blank.

Shinso weakly smirked. 'Finally got a word in. I win.'

"Would you look at that, folks!" Present Mic sounded surprised. "Monoma-san held the advantage for the whole match, but just walked out of the ring?" 

"Obviously Shinso-san was able to use his mind-control Quirk," Aizawa said calmly. "Monoma-san was too cocky. He should've tossed Shinso out of bounds when he had the chance." 

Kendo shook her head, sighing. "I tried to warn him."

"What's the old saying… If you play with the snake, you will get bit!" Mic stated. "Still, I have to wonder why someone with such a powerful Quirk isn't already in the Hero Course." 

"Simple. His Quirk only works on people." Aizawa explained. "The practical portion of the Hero Course's Entrance Exam uses robots, making Quirks like Shinso's useless. This is a clear case of why we need to revamp the exam in evaluating Quirks." 

"A topic for another time, my co-host. Still, let's give it up for the dark horse, Shinso! He'll be advancing to the next round." 

The crowd erupted into applause; many of the Pro Heroes in attendance discussed Shinso's potential amongst themselves.

"Looks like that Class B jerk's mouth finally cost him." Tsunotori commented.

"What do you mean?" Sero questioned.

Iida answered. "Shinso-san's Quirk only works if people respond to something he says."

"Yeah, that's right." Tsunotori nodded.

"How'd you know that?" Kaminari asked. "I don't think we mentioned that to any of you."

"During Risk Trifecta, Shinso was able to take control of my teammates after insulting them and eliciting responses. I concluded that was the key to using his Quirk." Iida explained, and then adjusted his glasses. "Though I am partially surprised that Monoma was not made aware of that. Surely his classmates would've warned him."

Asui shrugged. "He likely just didn't listen to them, kero."

When the suite door suddenly opened, several students turned to see Midoriya entering the room.

"Hey, Midori's back!" Ashido announced.

"Where were you, man?" Kirishima asked. "You missed the last two matches."

Midoriya reclaimed his seat and exhaled, looking exasperated. "Yeah… I kind of got into a long-winded conversation with someone."

Ashido grinned cheekily. "That someone wouldn't happen to be a certain girl in the Support Department, would it?"

A brief moment of silence passed before he responded. "... Yeah." No point in lying. It was obvious everyone already knew anyway.

Those in Midoriya's immediate friend group eyed the verdette with interest. Perhaps there was validity to Ashido's claims, after all.

Before the pink-skinned gossiper could start teasing him though, Midoriya quickly added. "But it wasn't anything romantic, Mina-chan."

"Why the sudden fixation on her then? Mhmm…?" He didn't like how smug she sounded. "Admit it, you totally have the hots for her."

"That's… not it." Midoriya looked away. "I have my reasons. I'd rather not discuss them right now though."

"Aw c'mon–" Ashido paused when she felt Kirishima's hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, just drop it." He whispered. "He clearly doesn't want to talk about it. We should respect that."

Ashido sighed and pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine…"

Midoriya shot Kirishima an appreciative look before deciding to switch topics. "Anyways, I guess I missed Yaomomo and Occhan, huh?"

Iida nodded. "They reported to their waiting rooms earlier."

"I see. Hate that I missed wishing them good luck, but I know they'll be fine."

"Uraraka Ochako, Yaoyorozu Momo, please make your way to the field."

"Alright, time for the final match!" Kirishima said excitedly.

Midoriya pulled out notebook and turned to a blank page. "Yaomomo vs Occhan… They're both capable in their own right and our training the past few weeks together has honed their skills… Their Quirks are great for support but can be effective in combat under the right circumstances. Given the open-ring environment though, I can only see a few ways this match plays out…" He murmured to himself as he started taking notes.

"So…" Tsunotori leaned forward. "Who're you rooting for in this match, Izuku? Ochako-chan or Yaomomo?"

"I'm not rooting for one over the other." Midoriya replied. "Why? Are you picking favorites, Pony?"

"Of course not!" Tsunotori denied. "I'm just curious if you have a preference. That's all."

"I don't."

"C'mon, Midori!" Ashido joined in, frustrated. "You've known both Ochako-chan and Yaomomo the longest between all of us. You're not biased toward either one, even just a little?"

Clearly the Acid-user had ulterior motives in trying to get the verdette to admit if he preferred one girl over the other.

Midoriya shook his head. "No. They're both my friends. I just want them to give each other the respect they each deserve in this match. Whoever wins, I'll congratulate them. And whoever loses, I'll encourage them."

Asui crocked, nodding in agreement. "That's a good approach."

"I get what you're saying, Midori-bro." Kaminari grinned cheekily. "Why choose one girl when you can have them both–AWK!" One of Jiro's earlobes jammed into his ear and unleashed soundwaves that temporarily stunned him.

"Don't corrupt a wholesome sentiment, doofus." Jiro chastised.

"Okay, okay…" He winced painfully.

Tsunotori sweat-dropped. 'I'm not gonna say anything. He kinda deserved that one.' 

"It's time for our final match of the opening round, loyal listeners! And what a matchup it's set up to be! It's another clash between classmates from the Hero Course's Class 101-A!" Present Mic enthusiastically announced, pumping up the crowd.

"In one corner, she's the girl who defies gravity and doesn't need a broomstick to do it! She kept the Blue Team out of harm's way during the final minute of the war game Risk Trifecta! Put your hands together for–Uraraka Ochako!" 

With her introduction, Uraraka stepped onto the ring with determination practically radiating off of her. Many Pro Heroes were impressed with how she was carrying herself.

"Versus! She's the girl with beauty, brains, and a Quirk that defies the law of conservation of mass! To top it all off, she's a Recommendation Student to boot! Let's give it up for the classy creator herself–Yaoyorozu Momo!" 

Yaoyorozu walked onto the stage with a calm, determined elegance that made many of the women watching feel suddenly insecure. It didn't help that her blue shirt was tied around her waist, exposing her smooth, pearly skin and black sports bra—earning her several rounds of catcalls from the stands that she ignored entirely.

Midnight looked between Uraraka and Yaoyorozu and smirked. The determination coming off from both young women was palpable. It got the R-Rated Heroine's blood pumping!

"Are both contestants ready?" She called out.

Uraraka nodded resolutely. "Ready, Sensei!"

"Yes ma'am." Yaoyorozu informed her.

Midnight raised her whip. "Let the last match of the opening round…BEGIN!" She snapped the whip down.

Wasting no time, Yaoyorozu's arms glowed as she flung out iron-spiked tacks all across the ground in front of her. She knew Uraraka would have to touch her to activate her Quirk. The tacks would force the brunette to hesitate before trying to close the distance, buying the creation heiress some time to act.

'I see what you're doing!' Uraraka reached down and carefully picked up a few tacks, wincing from the slight cuts she got from the blades. Activating her Quirk on the tacks, she threw them back at Yaoyorozu. Untethered by gravity, they moved and spun forward at a faster speed in a straight line, only hampered by air resistance. She followed up by tapping her shoulder, removing her own gravity, and leaping over the spiked-tacks towards Yaoyorozu.

After all, staying at range would only be playing to her friend's strengths.

Yaoyorozu swiftly formed a triangular heater shield from her left forearm just in time to block the spiked-tacks. She couldn't help but smile from her friend's counter. 'She saw through my initial move. Not bad, Ochako.' Tossing the shield aside, she then pulled out a net from her stomach and flung it towards the brunette. 'But one must always expect their first move to fail!' 

"Not happening!" Uraraka immediately reacted by catching the net, rendering it weightless, and corkscrewing herself around to toss it back. "Release!" Bringing her fingertips together, gravity reclaimed its hold on her and the net moments before it reached Yaoyorozu.

Without hardly thinking, Yaoyorozu created a bo staff from her arm and smacked the net away off to the side, sacrificing both items as they hit the ground. Two circular hand-shields emerged from Yaoyorozu's grip as she engaged with Uraraka.

From there, both young women were locked in a fairly impressive melee exchange. This caught the eye of several Pro Heroes watching as they were not expecting the pair to have such fighting prowess at their experience level. Yaoyorozu's hand-shields became weightless as she blocked and parried Uraraka's palm strikes and grabs.

Meanwhile, from Class A's suite, many of the students looked on with amazement.

"Whoa… When did they get so good at fighting?" Kaminari blinked in surprise.

"We practiced together after our training sessions." Midoriya informed him while quickly taking notes.

Several weeks earlier, in preparation for the Games, Uraraka had approached Midoriya about giving her pointers on some hand-to-hand combat. Yaoyorozu had also joined in and requested tips as well, despite already having formal combat training. Midoriya agreed, and after their physical training sessions, he'd dedicate time teaching and then practicing some martial skills (primarily Judo) with both girls.

A smile crossed the super-soldier's face as he happily watched the match.

Uraraka was unrelenting with her strikes as she kept Yaoyorozu on the defensive, unwilling to give her any time to think. The perma-blush girl just needed to wait for the elegant ravenette to slip up and capitalize on it!

'She's really taken Izuku's lessons to heart.' Yaoyorozu mused, proud of her friend's progression. Not wanting to prolong the melee, she decided to put some distance between them.

Hidden by her gym pants, Yaoyorozu's legs glowed as a large pile of marbles were created and scattered around her. Uraraka was forced to stop and backtrack to avoid tripping. This delaying action allowed Yaoyorozu to create a pair of roller skates on her feet and skate out of Uraraka's range.

Concentrating hard, rainbow-colored light shimmered off Yaoyorozu's toned stomach as she fashioned an airsoft gun with a larger clip and a long strap. Pulling the strap over her shoulders, Yaoyorozu maintained her focus as she continued skating while holding up her gun to take aim at Uraraka and pulled the trigger to fire a round of white paintballs.

Uraraka dived to the side to avoid the pasty projectiles flying over her head. She winced when her body landed on the marbles as she quickly began scrambling away. 'I can't let those things touch me! Wait, is that…!' Her brown eyes then spotted something on the ground ahead and quickly hatched a plan, but she would need to make an opening!

Getting her feet back underneath her, the brunette scooped up a handful of marbles, tapped her shoulder, and jumped away to avoid several paintballs.

While floating through the air, Uraraka removed the weight of the marbles in her hand and threw them at Yaoyorozu. Spotting the incoming weightless projectiles, Yaoyorozu stopped firing and took quick evasive action. This momentary delay gave Uraraka just enough of an opening to enact her plan.

Deactivating her Quirk, Uraraka landed directly by the capture net that Yaoyorozu had made earlier. Removing the net's gravity, Uraraka picked it up and tossed it toward its maker. "Take this!"

The black-haired beauty's eyes widened as the capture net from earlier was flying at her. She reacted by braking and leaning to the side, barely letting the net pass her by. When she returned her gaze to her opponent, her onyx eyes widened as Uraraka was charging towards her with the shield that she had fashioned earlier.

"Using my own items against me, are you?" Yaoyorozu took aim and fired another barrage of paintballs. Tapping her thigh, Uraraka launched herself forward and held the shield in front of her to block the gooey balls, which hardened against the metal surface.

"Might as well since they're just laying around!" Uraraka retorted as she quickly closed the distance. With barely any time to react, Yaoyorozu was forced to hold up her paintball-gun and block the shield Uraraka rammed her with, which sent her rolling back on her skates.

"I can't thank you enough for that!" Uraraka then surprised Yaoyorozu by revealing the Bo staff in her other hand. How did she miss that?! She was so focused on avoiding the net and then distracted by the shield that the staff went unnoticed.

Uraraka swiped Yaoyorozu's legs out from underneath her, causing the ravenette to fall backwards. As the heiress fell, the gravity-girl finally found the opening that she so desperately needed!

'Now's my chance!' Dropping the staff, Uraraka brushed her fingers along Yaoyorozu's stomach.

Yaoyorozu felt herself become weightless and pushed towards the edge by her momentum. 'Clever Ochako!' She simultaneously praised her friend while berating herself for being careless.

Encroaching the boundary line, Yaoyorozu acted fast by forming a handheld gun with a barbed blade on the end in her right hand. Pulling the trigger, the blade was discharged at an impressive velocity with rope attached and embedded itself into the concrete floor.

Pressing a button on the side, the gun started reeling in the rope and pulled Yaoyorozu back, resulting in the weightless ravenette to swing around the ring like a pendulum. With her paintball gun still hanging from her shoulder, Yaoyorozu held out the gun with one hand and fired her last remaining rounds at Uraraka below.

"Ah crud!" The brown-haired girl held up the shield to block the gooey projectiles. She felt the shield become heavier as they stuck on and immediately hardened. 'Can't let her stay in the air.' She backtracked and placed her fingers together to deactivate Zero Gravity.

Yaoyorozu felt gravity reclaim its hold on her as she landed in a crouching position while on skates. Tossing the gun aside, she rolled across the ground while still holding up onto her grappler gun, using it to slingshot herself towards Uraraka.

'I have to catch her off guard!' Briefly glancing at the shield, an idea came to mind as she removed the shield's weight, spun around, and tossed it at her incoming opponent.

The voluptuous young woman's eyes widened when the paste-covered shield landed in front of her skates, causing her to trip and fall over. "Aaah!" She yelped loudly as she hit and tumbled across the concrete floor.

'This is it!' Uraraka broke off into a mad sprint towards Yaoyorozu's fallen position ahead. 'I'll win this! I just have to KO her while she's down!' 

Sensing her opponent closing in, Yaoyorozu pushed herself to her knees and conjured an item from her arm and blindly tossed it into the air. "Apologies Ochako…" She then closed her eyes and covered her ears.

Uraraka spotted the item and, by the time she realized what it was, it was too late.

BANG! 

The item was a flashbang grenade; the same one she had used during the Obstacle Race.

"Aaaghh!" Uraraka stumbled forward and covered her eyes, stunned by the flash bomb's force.

Opening her eyes, Yaoyorozu reacted quickly by fashioning twin bolas from her stomach and expertly tossed them. The partially blinded brunette was caught off guard when the bolas wrapped around her and pinned her legs and arms together. She lost her balance and fell on her side, captured.

Kicking off her skates, Yaoyorozu regained her footing and stood over Uraraka. Forming another staff, she pointed it at the brown-haired girl's neck. "Checkmate."

"Uraraka is captured and unable to continue." Midnight announced, and then pointed her whip in Yaoyorozu's direction. "Yaoyorozu will advance to the next round!" 

The crowd cheered loudly, well-pleased by the performance that both combatants displayed.

"What an impressive match, folks! Both of these young women displayed so much drive and determination! Uraraka was resourceful by using Yaoyorozu's own creations against her, but the Lady of Creation just had a few extra tricks up her sleeve." Present Mic declared.

"They both did well; both have come far since the beginning of the semester." Aizawa sincerely commented.

"And with that, the First-Round of the tournament has come to a close. Our Elite Eight has been set!" 

The brackets on the jumbotron were updated to display the Quarterfinal matches.

(1) Tsunotori Pony vs (9) Midoriya Izuku

(4) Bakugo Katsuki vs (12) Kendo Itsuka

(2) Todoroki Shoto vs (7) Hatsume Mei

(3) Shinso Hitoshi vs (6) Yaoyorozu Momo

Present Mic continued. "We'll pause for a quick intermission to clean up the stage, and then we'll kick off the Quarterfinals!" 

"Occhan." Yaoyorozu dropped her staff and knelt by the brunette. "Here, let me get you out of this." She formed a sharp blade in her hand to cut the bolas cord.

With the bolas removed, Uraraka sat back up and rubbed her eyes. Her vision was beginning to return. "Thanks…" She then exhaled heavily, her normally bright brown eyes dimmed with sadness. "I lost… Really thought I had you for a second, Momo."

"It was a good match. You were amazing." She then pulled her friend into a hug, which the brunette happily returned.

"Well, hopefully I made a good impression." Uraraka and Yaoyorozu returned to their feet.

"I'm sure you did." Yaoyorozu smiled brightly.

As the pair walked off the ring together and headed towards the tunnels. Once they were out of the cameras' range, Uraraka allowed her disappointment to show. While she was happy for Yaoyorozu advancing in the tournament, she couldn't help feeling letdown over losing in the First-Round. She could only hope that her overall performance today was good enough to garner attention from Pro talent scouts.

'I can't just settle for 'good enough' though.' Uraraka berated herself. 'I have to do better for my parents. I need to become a top Pro as soon as I can for their sake!' 

Yaoyorozu immediately noticed Uraraka's dejection and placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping the Zero Gravity-user out of her trance. "Ochako… I know you're disappointed about the loss. But you performed well out there today. You have nothing to be ashamed about." She softly said.

Uraraka's gaze fell to the floor. "I know… But I wanted to do better for my folks, yah know? If I could get a good internship, it'd look really good on my resume. I'd be able to get a good paying job at an agency right out of college." Uraraka paused when Yaoyorozu placed her hands on her shoulders.

She looked up and was almost blinded by the heiress's beautiful beaming smile. "You'll be a great Hero, Occhan. Your parents are going to love all of the vacations you send them on."

Uraraka was speechless as her breath hitched in her throat. She then returned her friend's smile with a wide beaming one of her own. "Thank you so much, Momo."

The pair shared another warm, friendly embrace with each other before separating.

"Come, let's go check on Setsuna-chan." Yaoyorozu said.

When Tokage regained consciousness, it took her a minute to recall what had happened. 'Right… Fought Bakugo and lost. Damn. Thought I had him beat with that chokehold…' 

At least she wasn't alone; as soon as her green eyes fluttered open, her vision was filled with the faces of her friends standing around her bed. She tried to sit up but quickly collapsed back onto the bed; her body felt numb and weak.

"Easy there, girl." Ashido said, standing directly to her left. Her voice sounded weird though, like it was underwater. "Recovery Girl said not to move."

"What…" Tokage winced when she felt the half-healed burns over her body. "...Why does everything sound weird?"

Midoriya, who was standing off to the side, flinched. Not a good sign. "Your eardrums were blown out. Doctor Chiyo says you'll be fine in a few hours, but you can't take the bandages on your ears off until then."

Tokage nodded and coughed, wincing painfully. "Got it… Anything else I should worry about?"

Yaoyorozu shook her head. "You sustained some fractures, but Recovery Girl healed all of those. You'll just need to take it easy for the burns."

Considering who she was fighting, Tokage realized things could've gone a lot worse. "Well, at least I got some good licks in, huh?" She shrugged, half-smirking.

"Heh." Jiro grinned. "More than a few, girl. You were punk rock out there."

"You were so manly!" Kirishima grinned sharply. "Agh, it was so freaking cool!"

Tokage couldn't help but grin from the praise. "Thanks. What about you guys? How much did I miss?"

"You missed the whole First-Round." Iida raised his hand. "I'm afraid I lost against Kendo-san."

Tokage was mildly surprised to hear Iida had lost, especially since he had that super-move of his. "Sorry to hear you lost, man."

Iida shook his head. "It's alright. It's no one's fault but my own."

Uraraka chimed in. "And I lost my match against Yaomomo earlier."

Tokage rested her head back on her pillow in contemplation. "Okay, so only Greenie, Pony-chan, and Yaomomo are advancing." She was glad that her mind wasn't so rattled she couldn't remember anything. "So only two of us can make it to the Semifinals."

Yaoyorozu nodded, looking at Tokage with concern. "Are you sure you're alright, Setsuna-chan? Not just physically."

"Well…" Tokage slumped her shoulders, "it does suck to lose in the First-Round. But I can admit that I'm not a pure-combat type like Bakugo, so I was at a disadvantage."

"Still, you were kicking his butt left and right out there, girl!" Ashido cheerfully chimed.

"You got a lot of the Pros' attention too, kero." Asui added.

"Yeah!" Sero joined in. "I checked online, and you were trending!"

"You and Bakugo both, actually." Kaminari then nudged Midoriya in the side. "Of course this guy keeps hogging most of the limelight, what with his one-shot victory against Shiozaki."

Midoriya chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before turning to Tokage. "Well…regardless, after the grit you showed in your match, I can say you definitely caught the eyes of some scouts out there."

Uraraka beamed. "You're sure to get tons of offers, Setsuna-chan!"

Tokage smiled softly. "Yeah… That's one silver lining…" She then let out a yawn. 'Oh… I'm still sleepy…' 

"Is that all?" Recovery Girl asked from her chair. "Tokage does need her rest."

"Ah yes." Iida bowed lightly. "Thank you for allowing us to see her."

Recovery Girl waved him off. "It's no trouble, son."

Midoriya noticed that Tokage was beginning to drift off to sleep, and then turned to Recovery Girl. "How long before she can leave, doctor?"

"Not for at least another hour or two." Recovery Girl replied. "She'll likely miss the next round of fights. If she's lucky, she should be able to return to your suite to watch the Semifinals."

"Yeah, that's cool." Tokage settled into her bed and began to close her eyes. "Can you guys let me know how the matches go?" She then winced as her eyes reopened. "Oh, wait…no, next match is between Greenie and Pony-chan. Hang on, I said that already; eh, sorry guys…I guess I'm still out of it. Good luck to you both."

"Thanks, Setsuna-chan!" Tsunotori smiled brightly. "You just keep getting better."

Uraraka smiled and nodded. "We wouldn't want you to miss the rest of the tournament, right?"

Tokage grinned sheepishly. "Heh, I'll try not to."

"The Quarterfinals will begin in ten minutes. Tsunotori Pony, Midoriya Izuku, please report to your waiting rooms." 

"That's our cue." Midoriya said and headed for the door. "Let's saddle up, Pony."

Tsunotori giggled before smiling at the group. "We're heading out, everyone. See yah!"

"Kick butt out there you two!" Uraraka cheered as the pair exited the room.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Yes, please do your best."

"Don't go too hard on Pony, Midori-bro." Kaminari called out.

Midoriya shrugged and gave him a wry smirk. "Can't make any promises against an opponent like Pony."

"We should start heading back to the suite now to cheer for Midoriya-kun and Tsunotori-chan." Iida advised. "And to give Tokage-chan time to rest up."

"Oh!" Ashido perked up, reaching into her pants pocket to pull an item out. "Here you are! I grabbed your phone from your locker. Figured you might want to use it when you're not napping."

Tokage accepted the cellphone. "Thanks, Mina…"

"No problem!" Ashido jumped up. "I'll come back down to see you later. Kay, girl?"

"I will as well." Yaoyorozu added. "Rest up, Setsuna-chan."

Tokage yawned, her eyes half-lidded. "Yeah… Sounds good. Thanks guys…" She then closed her eyes and dozed off, content to have friends who cared about her well-being.

"I hope you enjoyed that short break, dear listeners, because it's time to kick off the Quarterfinals!" Present Mic announced, getting a resounding cheer from the crowd.

"About time." Aizawa grumbled.

"This next match features another clash between 101-A classmates! These two contestants share roots in the U-S-of-A and know a thing or two about one-shot victories!" Mic called out as the screens lit up with two names.

"First up, she may look harmless, but those flying horns will bring you up and right back down! Don't wave a red cape in front of her! Tsunotori Pony!" 

The crowd cheered as Tsunotori walked onto the stage. She did a good job of keeping her composure but couldn't completely hide the sheepish smile on her face.

"Versus! The brave warrior from abroad who's taking the whole competition by storm! The perfect accumulation of brain and brawn! Put your hands together for Yo Joe himself–Midoriya Izuku!" 

The applause for Midoriya was a notch louder as he stepped onto the ring. Various "Yo Joe" chants echoed throughout the stadium. The super-soldier drowned out the noise as he focused his attention on his opponent: the first friend he had made at UA University.

"Izuku!" Tsunotori called out in English. "Let's show 'em how we do it in America! Kay?"

A small smile crossed Midoriya's freckled face as he nodded in return. "Let's make our country proud."

"Are both combatants ready?" Midnight waited for both fighters to nod. When they did, she lifted up her flogger-whip. "Then let the first match in the Quarterfinals…BEGIN!"