AN: Not much to say, didn't cover as much as I wanted to, but that is the norm at this point. Still, I don't mind this chapter for the most part. Might do some tweaking later depending on the response, but otherwise, I hope you enjoy and please do leave a review or comment, and let me know what you think!

If you have any specific questions or suggestions for this story, please feel free to PM me.

Also as a tag, when I have the time I am going to be dipping into some of my older chapters cleaning up the grammar and typos that I missed in the past. Nothing major will change, just a bit of polished and minor editing.

But yeah, otherwise, please do enjoy. I've run this through Grammarly, so it should be okay, but if you spot any mistakes, let me know.

Disclaimer: My Hero Academia.

( - )

(Last Time)

"Good fight!" Tetsutetsu growled, his breath hot against the side of his face as he tried to grapple with Izuku.

It was a good effort, but ultimately futile.

"You too," Izuku grunted, his arms straining as he used his superior strength to break Tetsutetsu's hold, only to then deliver a swift barrage of punches and strikes that finally put him down for the count. "You fought well."

With a crash Tetsutetsu hit the ground once more, his metal skin shifting back to normal.

"And that's the match!" Midnight's voice rang out, sounding out over the roar of the crowd. "Izuku Midoriya wins the first match of the quarter-finals, and now moves to the semis."

Let out a deep breath, Izuku raised his head and looked around the arena.

In Class 1B's box, he could see Monoma smirking down at him, even as Bakugo scowled and shook his head in disgust.

( - )

Chapter 22

( - )

The second match of the quarter-finals had been one of the quickest ones yet.

By the time Izuku had made it up to the box to watch, it had almost finished.

Not that that was all that surprising considering the circumstances. When faced with Honenuki's expansive control over the terrain, and his ability to turn the ground to an almost liquid state in an instant, there wasn't much a primarily melee fighter. like Kirishima. could do to defend himself.

Once the match had started the redhead had only managed to make it halfway across the stage before the cement beneath him turned to sludge and his weight pulled him beneath the surface.

A few moments later, Honenuki released his Quirk and effectively trapped Kirishima in the earth with only his spiky red hair and the upper half of his head visible.

From there, there had been nothing else Kirishima could do other than to concede defeat.

Sitting in the Class 1A box watching, the only thing they could do was to call out their support as Kirishima was released from the ground and trudged disconsolately off the stage. He had done the best he could, but in the end, it had just been a bad matchup plain and simple.

Not that that had done much to lighten the atmosphere in the Class 1A box.

Sitting back in his chair while the third match was being set up, Izuku took a moment to look around at the others.

Everyone looked tired and worn out.

But then again, he felt pretty much the same.

It had been a long day, and a lot had happened.

Despite that though, there were still several matches yet to go and most of those involved members of Class 1B.

He wet his lips at that though, and he took in the mood in the rest of the box.

At the start of the festival, he hadn't taken the competition between Class 1A and Class B all that seriously.

Since they were competing as individuals it had just felt a bit silly and pointless.

But as the festival progressed and their numbers had started to get whittled down, he had noticed the atmosphere growing tenser between both Class 1A and Class 1B.

Then again, now that he thought about it, he wasn't all that surprised.

For all that U.A. was touted as an inclusive, and community-orientated school, there wasn't much mixing between the different classes. The U.A. syllabus was full-on, and the lessons were long and difficult. The only opportunity any of them had to converse with other classes was during the brief lunch period in the middle of the day and even then, most of the classes stuck to their own.

In many ways, there was an almost tribal culture among the student body where the different classes each formed up their into tribes, and then competed against each other to become the top dogs.

The two hero classes for example.

Instead of working alongside one another and building competitive relationships. They had become bitter rivals.

To a lesser extent, it also felt like U.A. was fostering direct competition between the individual students in the different classes too. But not in a healthy way. Especially since anyone who fell behind in the hero class could suddenly find themselves swiftly booted off the course and replaced by another student from another class, like what had happened with Mineta.

This, he knew was supposed to encourage them to go 'Plus Ultra' and go beyond their limits.

But at the same time, it was still pretty toxic.

His brow furrowed as he looked around at his classmates.

As far as he was concerned, he thought of a good number of them as friends.

But if they started getting in trouble with their classes and started falling behind, would that continue?

If one of them fell behind would the rest turn away and leave them to flounder? Or if someone was struggling, would that person try to drag others down with them so they could stay afloat?

It was an uncomfortable feeling to look around at the bonds he had created and suddenly question them.

Everyone had become just so competitive, especially as the tournament progressed.

In the beginning, it had been fun, but now as he looked around the tension between Class 1A and Class 1B had taken an unpleasant turn. Especially after what had happened between Monoma and Hagakure.

This did beg the question of why U.A. was allowing the tension to develop. And whether it was being done to prepare them for their future as Pro-heroes.

He grimaced at that thought.

He had wanted to become a Pro-hero to save people not to compete with other Pros, or jockey with them for position in a meaningless, bullshit hierarchy.

It left a sour taste in his mouth.

But at the same time, he could empathise with his classmates' feelings.

If he lost in the next round and Todoroki advanced, he would also want an overall Class 1A victory. And with Kirishima now out, there was only him and Todoroki left to represent Class 1A, the rest were all members of Class 1B.

"Looks like they're nearly ready," Kaminari muttered breaking the tense silence that had fallen across the box.

"Who do you think will win?" Mina asked those around her.

"Todoroki, easily," Sero said confidently.

"He does pack a lot of firepower," Mina nodded.

"Or ice power," Kaminari grinned weakly. "I don't think I've ever seen him properly use his fire. Which is kinda weird really, you know, considering he's Endeavour's son."

"I did wonder about that too," Momo hummed thoughtfully from nearby. "His Quirk is registered as 'Half Hot Half Cold' which suggests that he has an equal level of control over his ice as he does his fire. But like you, I've never seen him fully utilise that part of his Quirk."

"Maybe he feels insecure when compared to his dad, and wants to step out of his shadow by focusing on his ice?" Sero suggested.

"Huh, must be nice to have a Quirk that is so powerful that you can still kickass, even when only using it at half power," Kaminari said bitterly.

"Could be that he has limits," Jirou shrugged. "He never really talks about it. Maybe because he's embarrassed. But, well, most Quirks have limitations. Maybe he can only use either his ice or his fire, but not both at the same time."

"It's a possibility," Momo nodded, "But it wouldn't explain why he only ever uses his ice."

"He does melt his ice with the heat from his right side though," Mina said. "So, he does use his fire a bit."

"Whatever the case, I suspect he might need to use his Quirk to its full potential in this match," Shiozaki said softly, her gaze fixed on the centre of the arena as a scowling Todoroki and a smirking Monoma stepped up onto the stage. "Monoma is ruthless, and with his ability to copy his classmate's Quirks, he'll be difficult to counter. Just look what happened to Hagakure…."

A tense silence spread through the group as their invisible friend was mentioned.

She was still in the infirmary, and according to the others who had visited her briefly was still unconscious.

Unlike with Todoroki, Monoma hadn't held back.

"Well, hopefully, Todoroki kicks his head in," Jirou said viciously.

The others muttered their agreement, even Shiozaki.

From where he was sitting, Izuku leant forward and watched as Midnight started the fight.

For the most part, he agreed with what the others had said. If Todoroki wanted to win, then he'd probably need to use his Quirk at full power. At the same time though, he had a better idea of just why Todoroki didn't use his fire than the others, and somehow, he couldn't see winning this match unless he got over his hangups and used his full power.

Clasping his hands together in front of him, Izuku leant forward and looked over his interlocked fingers as the two combatants leapt into action.

Todoroki was the first to act as he started the fight by creating a gigantic wall of ice that tore across the stage like a veritable avalanche as it erupted forth from his extended foot casting great swathes of the arena in shadow as it consumed most of the stage in an instant.

Monoma however had lightning reactions as he once again used Bakugo's Quirk to launch himself up into the air and away from the ice before it even had a chance to reach him. A few further controlled explosions from his palms allowed him to easily dodge around the mass of ice as it grew. Before with a sneer, he finally landed on the now fully formed iceberg and started sliding down it toward the frost-covered Todoroki.

With visibly shaking hands, Todoroki scowled and sent yet more spikes and waves of ice at Monoma, cannibalising his ice, and creating more as he tried to land a hit on the smirking blonde as he slalomed down the ramp of ice.

But he only had limited success, as after dodging a few more jagged waves of ice, Monoma quickly switched things up by slamming a hand on the giant ice sculpture.

Moments later the entire structure collapsed in on itself as he switched from using Bakugo's Quirk to using Honenuki's, and reduced the mass of ice to slush in an instant.

Whether Honenuki had permitted him to copy his Quirk, or whether Monoma had just copied it anyway without approval was unknown, but either way, the copied Quirk allowed him to annihilate Todoroki's efforts in an instant. Touching down on the stage before Todoroki could react, Monoma quickly utilised Honenuki's Quirk once again and dived beneath the sludgy cement surface.

Scowling, Todoroki let out a misty breath and tried to cover the entire stage in ice to stop himself from sinking beneath the stage.

He was only partially successful as he created a film of ice across the surface that he could brace himself on and use to escape from the sludgy ice beneath him.

Unfortunately, before he could fully pull himself free of the ice. Monoma emerged from behind Todoroki and grabbed him by his exposed ankle before yanking him back into the icy morass below.

Snarling, Todokroki channelled his Quirk through his leg and tried to freeze Monoma's hand.

But before he could, the blonde released him and shot away.

Lurching forward, Todoroki quickly pulled himself up onto his sinking ice shelf.

The entire stage had been turned into a frost-covered swamp, with the occasional sinking iceberg sticking up above the surface.

Holding back a shiver, Todoroki used his right side to heat his left side, melting some of the frost that had started to cover his left arm and leg. Already he had expended far more energy than he had in any of his other fights.

From across the stage, Monoma leapt out of the earth and landed on one of the sinking icebergs, his expression feral as he released his grip on Honenuki's Quirk.

The moment Monoma stopped using Honenuki's Quirk the stage resolidified with the ground rapidly returning to its previous state only now it had a wavey texture and was covered with patches of ice, with the occasional large piece of ice protruding from the surface.

Gritting his teeth, Todoroki tried to get his shivering under control as he gingerly tested the ground beneath him with his right foot.

On the other side of the stage, Monoma wasn't so cautious as he leapt onto the ground with a confident smirk.

"You know, I thought you were going to be one of the tougher opponents to fight," Monoma called out as he raised his right hand. "But you're weak."

Before Todoroki could respond to the taunting a wave of roasting hot fire exploded across the stage out of Monoma's extended hand.

Flinching back at the suddenness and ferocity of the surprise attacks, Todoroki only just managed to create a wall of ice to shield him from the fire.

"So weak!" Monoma shouted mockingly as he moved his left foot forward.

As he did, ice erupted from the extended foot and shot across the intervening space between him and Todoroki shattering the other teen's wall of ice and sending him staggering back.

Still laughing, Monoma maintained his momentum and carelessly unleashed yet more flames from his right side. Bathing Todoroki's half of the stage in fire, even as he continued to use his ice to shatter and destroy every one of his opponent's defences.

To the impartial observer, the blonde's use of his copied Quirk was nowhere as refined as Todoroki's use of his Quirk. But the sheer power of the elemental Quirk more than made up for any lack of technique.

Sweating profusely, Todoroki could feel his reserves dwindling as he was forced entirely onto the defensive by the far more aggressive blonde.

Monoma had all the momentum now.

"This Quirk is wasted on you!" Monoma shouted, unleashing yet more fire, melting Todoroki's ice with contemptuous ease, and sending the red- and white-haired teen fleeing across the charred and melting stage. "You inherited a stupidly strong Quirk, and yet you only use fifty per cent of it. While everyone else is out here trying our best, and going Plus Ultra, you're just half-assing it!"

"You don't understand a thing!" Todoroki spat back at him, still relying on his ice as he tried to counterattack.

Steam covered the stage masking parts of it from the avidly watching crowds, and some patches of the platform had been reduced to molten slag, while others were cracked and shattered after the superheated material had been frozen.

"You've got daddy issues, we get it," Monoma sneered, rolling his eyes, and melting Todoroki's ice. "It's obvious. But that is kinda what annoys me about you. You have all this potential, the connections, the pedigree, everything you could possibly need to become the next Number One, and you waste it by being a pathetic child about it! Why? Because your daddy did not love you enough? Or maybe he loved you too much...?"

Todoroki's eyes widened and his pale face twisted into a rictus of pure rage.

Grinning, Monoma raised his hand and unleashed the most concentrated blast of fire yet at the furious Todoroki.

Lashing out in pure anger, Todoroki returned fire with his own flames. Uncaring of his father's intense gaze, or of the promise he made to himself. All he cared about was hurting the smug blonde.

In the centre of the stage, the two blasts of fire met and swelled up, growing in ferocity as both teens fed it with their flames.

Around the arena, the temperature rapidly rose to uncomfortable levels.

Midnight standing just off to the side, started to visibly sweat as she sent a concerned look over at the nearby Cementoss.

For a few seconds, all was still as the two teens struggled to overcome the other.

Until one of the teens suddenly faltered.

The moment he did, an explosion of fire and concussive force consumed the stage as the stalemate broke and the rapidly building pressure erupted in a single violent blast.

The force of the blast was so great it knocked nearby spectators off their feet and had others clasping their ears and clenching their eyes shut.

( - )

(With Izuku)

From his seat in the stands, Izuku watched as the swirling smoke and steam covering the stage slowly faded away to reveal Todoroki's limp body lying against the broken and cracked far wall of the stand.

He was out of bounds, and not moving.

Looking back to the stage, Izuku scowled as he saw Monoma was still standing.

His gym kit was in burnt tatters, and his body was covered in a few nasty-looking burns. But despite his injuries, he was still standing at the edge of the stage. A cocky expression quickly spread across his face as he pushed off the hastily created wall of ice he had used to keep himself in bounds.

"And the winner is Monoma Neito!" Midnight, frazzled but still standing, called out to the momentarily silent crowd.

In response, a murmur spread across the audience at the surprising result, even as medics rushed onto the field to help both teens.

The murmur however quickly turned into shouting and cheers, before finally, the crowd roared their enthusiasm at the dramatic end to the fight.

In the Class 1A box, those present could only watch on glumly as Todoroki was stretchered away.

Izuku was now the last member of Class 1A standing.

The hopes of the entire class were on his shoulders.

Looking around, he could see that a lot of his classmates were just as surprised as he was at the result.

"Todoroki lost," Mina muttered.

"At least he used his fire…," Kaminari said awkwardly.

"But still… I thought he'd make it to the finals," Mina pressed on, her eyes wide.

"He still fought well," Momo spoke up in his defence. "And at the end, he was going all out."

"Yeah, but if did that from the start he might have won," Sero muttered from the side.

Shiozaki sent him a stern look. "We may never know what might have been. What is important is that we offer him our support when he returns."

As she turned away Sero rolled his eyes.

"At least it was a manly fight," Kirishima chimed in. The redhead had returned to the box not long after the fight started. "What do you think, Midoriya?"

"At least he tried in the end," Izuku shrugged. There wasn't much more he could say. He didn't particularly like Todoroki. But he didn't hate him either. That said, he was curious about what had been said on the stage as it had obviously riled Todoroki up enough to go all out and use his fire. "Did anyone hear what they were saying?"

Everyone looked at Jirou.

The purple-haired rocker shrugged, "No idea, I couldn't hear them over the sound of the fighting."

A couple of them looked disappointed.

"Maybe he will tell us," Momo suggested.

"Ha, I doubt it, this is Todoroki we're talking about," Sero scoffed.

At Izuku's side, Yui tugged his sleeve.

Looking over, Izuku sent her a questioning look.

"You'll be up after the next fight," Yui said softly.

Izuku grimaced. "Do you think I should head down to the changing rooms? They've not said anything have they?"

"I've not heard any announcements," Momo said looking around at the others.

The others shook their heads in the negative.

Down below, Izuku could see Cementoss and Powerloader were still finishing up their repairs to the stage.

"It is Tsunotori and Tokage next, right?" Kaminari asked the group at large.

"Yes," Momo nodded. "But I'm not sure which one will win. I know Tokage got into U.A. on a recommendation like Todoroki and me. She was there when we were doing our own tests, so I know she is quite powerful. But I don't know much about Tsunotori. Only what we've seen in the tournament so far."

"Well, we'll have to keep an eye out," Mina grinned, clapping her hands together. "Honenuki, Monoma, Tokage and Tsunotori are all Class 1B, while Midoriya is the only person from Class 1A left. He's completely outnumbered, so we're going to need to have his back!"

"I don't think any of us will be allowed to interfere in the semi-finals," Shiozaki said carefully.

"Nah, that'd be cheating. I'm just saying we could all share what we've noticed. Like, we've all been watching the fights, so we should have been able to spot some weaknesses." Mina pressed on, looking around. "That's not cheating, it's just being helpful."

The others muttered and nodded.

Izuku meanwhile smiled at the offer. "I've already been taking some notes."

"Oh, nice one!" Kaminari grinned. "So does that mean you already have a plan in place?"

"For some," Izuku said. "I think the only ones I'm worried about are Monoma and Honenuki. I don't know how far Honenuki's Quirk extends, and Monoma is… unpredictable. I don't know which Quirks he'll copy. Or whether he'll only copy Quirks from Class 1B. For all I know he might go for a walk and stealth copy Quirks from some Pro Heroes, like Endeavour or All Might."

The others grimaced.

"Now that would be cheating," Mina muttered.

"I don't think that would actually be against the rules," Momo bit her lip. "Technically it would just be him using his Quirk. The fact he prepared ahead of time by copying Quirks wouldn't matter."

Izuku frowned and turned to look back at the stage as Midnight announced the next fighters.

"I can't help with Monoma," Shiozaki said softly from beside him. "But I might be able to help with Honenuki. When I was fighting him, my vines managed to reach the lowest depths of his Quirk's range. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to properly leverage what I found as I couldn't move my vines properly through his Quirk. What he creates isn't liquid, but nor is it solid, but instead something in between, which is firm than liquid but far more fluid than a solid."

"So, he does have a limit?" Izuku muttered looking at Shiozaki as he thought over what she said. Including the last bit.

"All Quirks have limits," Momo added. "It's just about finding what those limits are."

"Okay, so let's work it out," Izuku said looking around at his classmates, only partly paying attention to what was happening below as the next match started.

He had a little time before the semi-finals were called, and he was planning on using every second he had to prepare some counters.

( - )

(Elsewhere in the stadium)

Looking down on the final match of the quarterfinals, Mount Lady felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

She was impressed at the fighter's resolve.

They were both going all out and had been since the fight first started.

Pony Tsunotori and Tokage Setsuna.

She'd make sure to remember both of those names. After all, they had potential. Which was something she suspected a lot of the other Pro Heroes watching would have noticed too.

Already, she could hear some of her fellow 'heroes' discussing the potential and future of the two young heroines. Not that it surprised her, such conversations were standard practice at the U.A. Sports Festival. The Academy did boast the best and brightest Hero Course students in the country after all. Which meant that most of those who attended would go on to become Pro Heroes. Some of them would even make it to the big time. With a few even making it into the Top 25 of the Japanese Hero Billboard, or even the top ten in a few very rare cases. The rest, meanwhile, those not so lucky would languish in mediocrity as either low-ranked Pro Heroes or as sidekicks if they were unlucky.

For the most part though, U.A. was fertile ground for desperate Pro Heroes who were looking to expand their agencies or bolster their failing reputations by recruiting up-and-coming heroes and riding their coattails for as long as they could.

Many of those around her would be offering out invitations to intern at their agencies, and not all of them would be doing so with good intentions.

For some, they would be looking to get a short-term boost to their profile. Others, however, would be looking to establish the foundations for future partnerships by making promises to recruit them as one of their sidekicks after graduation. That, or in some cases, they would promise to sponsor them to become Pro Heroes that operated out of their agencies.

How many of them would stick to their promises though…, well that all depended on how the student in question developed and grew as they progressed through U.A. to graduation. If the student in question turned out to be a dud, they would likely be thrown into the gutter without a second thought. Likewise, if a better opportunity came up, then they would almost certainly be set aside in favour of another student with more potential.

She grimaced.

The Hero Industry was cutthroat that way.

The industry devoured rising stars, stripped them of everything it could and then shit them out twisted and broken.

Of all the many would-be heroes who entered the profession across Japan. Most of them would never make it to the big leagues. Instead, the ones who didn't succeed – or at least those who survived and who did not quit early on – would inevitably hit a dead-end in their careers and would then be forced to watch as the next generation rapidly overtook them. Even while they desperately clung on, and tried to stay relevant. And in the end, they like those who preceded them, would become bitter, shallow, shadows of the hopeful and passionate individuals they had once been. They would just become another cog in the ever-toxic Hero Industry as they too preyed on the next generation in hopes of becoming someone of note.

Looking around the box, she could see a whole range of different types of Pro Heroes were present. From the harmless heroes that were just looking to do the right thing, to the parasites, to the downright disgraceful.

Some of them, the more harmless among them, were little more than vapid, wannabe celebrities and socialites. They were Pro Heroes in name only, and not by deed. These were the type who became Pro Heroes through smaller academies. But only so they could use the fame their position brought them as a stepping stone to get even harder industries to break into, like the film industry and fashion industry. They were mostly harmless of the 'bad types of heroes', but were still overall a blight on the Hero Industry and society in general. Especially if they never managed to make the career change, and were instead consigned to remaining unenthusiastic and bitter Pro Heroes, who never put the effort in and dragged others down to wallow in their misery.

Others, meanwhile, were has-beens that had faded into obscurity or were the Pro Heroes that had tried and failed to ever become anyone of note. There were a lot of these types in the industry.

Fortunately, only some of them became parasites. The rest just went with the flow and did the best they could with the little they had managed to earn. The more graceful among them stepped aside to let the next generation shine. While a good number were far more jealous and bitter, and acted out in a myriad of unpleasant ways.

That said, none of them were as bad as the third type of 'bad hero'.

Her brow furrowed in distaste.

The third type of failed Pro Hero was the absolute worst in her mind. They were the kind that became disillusioned with real heroism and instead became obsessed with themselves and their standing in society, more so than the others. Essentially, they were the egomaniacs who put their fame and reputation above the lives of those they were supposed to be saving. They were the type of people who used and abused others and their positions, all for their own self-aggrandisement. If given the chance, those types would let the world burn, if it meant immortalising themselves in history.

Her hands clenched into fists at her side.

Thankfully, not all Pro Heroes were completely terrible.

A good proportion of them were still well-meaning and pursued their careers for the right reasons, even when their careers stagnated and faltered.

Personally, she liked to think that when the time came for her to step aside, she would do so gracefully. Whether the others in her generation did so though... well, she knew of several of her old classmates from U.A. who wouldn't be at all magnanimous when it came to allowing others to take the limelight.

Returning her attention to the fight below, Yuu watched as the green-haired Tokage separated into dozens of different pieces, all of which hurtled around the stage in multiple directions.

The girl had an interesting and highly versatile Quirk.

Absentmindedly, Yuu started to twirl the tip of her long blonde hair around her finger.

Floating in mid-air above Tsunotori, she could see Tokage's body reassembling itself, or at least her head, neck and shoulders were reassembling. The rest of her meanwhile, continued to whip around the arena as she struck out at her blonde opponent from all directions.

From her perspective, it was a good tactic. Especially considering the limitations of Tokage's Quirk. The tactic would likely work on her current opponent. But against more physically powerful individuals, such as herself, the tactic wouldn't be anywhere near as effective.

Her brow furrowed; it certainly wouldn't work against Midoriya if he took on his titan form.

The other person on the stage, Tsunotori was likewise working hard as she used her Quirk to shoot out spare horns, even as she used a pair of them to ski through the air.

Unfortunately for the girl though, she just couldn't keep up with her classmate.

Where Tsunotori could only seemingly control four horns at a time, Tokage was able to split her body into many times that number and could control every piece of her body with precision. Whereas Tsunotori didn't have anywhere near as much control over her horns.

Sitting back in her chair, Yuu settled down to watch the remainder of the fight.

The two girls were skilled, but at this point, it was a battle of attrition.

The winner would be decided by who had the most stamina.

From what she could see Tsunotori was already flagging as she continued to dodge and weave, even as she fired off multiple pairs of horns at the rapidly moving pieces of her opponent's body.

Tokage meanwhile, was still hovering high above the battlefield, directing her body parts around with ease and deftly avoiding every one of Tsunotori's wild attacks.

Suffice it to say, when Midnight called the match a few minutes later in Setsuna Tokage's favour, it didn't surprise her.

Not that it stopped her from clapping for the other girl.

They both did well and considering their looks and likely placements in the festival, she already suspected that they would be inundated with offers of internship once the festival concluded.

Leaning forward, Yuu smiled as she watched the two girls troop off stage – they had their arms around one another as a show of good sportsmanship.

She liked that.

Far too often the students took the fights too personally, when in reality they were just for show. The stage in the centre of the arena was just that, a stage. A place for them to showcase their abilities, style and personalities to the watching citizens whom they would one day rely on for support and Pro Heroes whom they would look to for guidance, training and help rising through the ranks.

Thinking back she could remember her own time in U.A., and what had happened after the Sports Festival. Those that did poorly had gotten upset, some had even quit. Those who were beaten by their fellow classmates got angry and held grudges. Friendships had fallen apart, and bullying had occurred.

It hadn't been pleasant.

Thankfully, due to her Quirk and the very real fear of Gigantism Quirks at the time – people had treated her like a ticking time bomb that could lose control the moment she used her Quirk like the infamous Titan of Mustafa –, she hadn't had all that many friends to lose, nor had any of her classmates had the guts to try and physically push her around. For all that her time at U.A. had sucked for the most part. There had at least some benefits to being a fear-inducing pariah. One of those being people staying out of your way.

Her smile turned bitter as she sat back and patiently waited for the semi-final matches to be announced.

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long as a few minutes later Present Mic's voice boomed out to announce the penultimate matches of the tournament:

Match 1: Izuku Midoriya vs. Juuzo Honenuki

Match 2: Tokage Setsuna vs. Monoma Neito

Leaning forward, Yuu looked down at the stands, her gaze locking on the familiar green-haired teen sitting below.

She for one was certainly very interested to see how the rest of the Sports Festival would turn out. Especially considering just who Izuku Midoriya could be fighting against in the next two rounds.

( - )

AN: Hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think. Next chapter should hopefully finish off the Sports Festival, or at least the festival itself, there will be a follow-up chapter I should imagine to tie up w few bits and pieces and do some work setting up some more stuff to come. It feels like I've been writing the Sports Festival arc for far too long now, and I'm getting bored of it.

Let me know what you think, and have a good one.

Greed720.