19. In between Rounds

Izuku walked over to the table where Shoto and Bakugo were sitting with the other members of his class who had not signed up with him.

"I gave you guys my word, but I will not allow anyone from 1-B into the third round; you can take anyone else except Orb Boy from general studies," Izuku said to them and the table.

"FIRST FUCK YOU!" Bakugo growled.

"We have decided to keep our team to our classmates," Shoto said. "We will not actively seek to eliminate you or our other classmates from the next event, but if it means securing our way to the next round, then we will not hesitate."

"Understood," Izuku smiled. "See you on the other side." He extended his fist to Shoto, who smiled and returned the gesture.

-Locker Room-

Izuku was heading to the locker room when a missile came barreling into him with a fantastic rack and periwinkle hair. "KOHAI!"

Izuku let out an oomph for effect more than anything, "Nejire, how are you?" He turned to look at her and was almost washed away by an adorable pout and watery eyes. Though the lip quiver was sweet, it took him a moment to say, "How are you, Nejire Senpai?"

The pout immediately vanished, "First, that speech was amazing, then how you helped your team win the first contest was super cool. And you are right. I never thought about it, but why can't I be better than All-Might? I will be better than that bad ole dummy who made me sad. And why should I wait for some better hero to come along? I am going to be the greatest. You watch; I will be so awesome when I graduate that you must chase me. But I won't make you chase me too hard, just enough so you know I am worth it. But I want to kiss you, but I need to ask your girlfriend first so I don't get in trouble; she was very nice about me kissing you. I would be nice about you kissing other girls if I got to kiss the same girl cause I like girls, and you make me feel special. So much more special than him. Where is your girlfriend?"

Izuku blinked at the beautiful woman glued to his side, "I am glad you liked my speech; it is all about my class right now, at least till the third round. I think you can be better than anyone you set your mind to. I have no problem chasing you because you would be worth it, I have no doubt. Thank you for holding back and kissing me in the hallway. Nejire, you are special. I have working eyes to see that, but even if I were blind, I could feel it just from your presence. My girlfriend is right through that door."

"Kohai, if you keep talking to me like that, I am going to ask your girlfriend if I can be your girlfriend, too!" she whispered fiercely.

"You would have to ask my girlfriends." Her eyes widened, and a smile that just absolutely lit up her face beamed at him as she dragged him through the door.

Mei watched as Izuku was dragged into the private room; Momo was eating to get her quirk all fueled up for the next match. She felt a little self-conscious about the amount, but it was more the honesty with which she was eating as they were on a time crunch. Melissa was near her, getting her interface ready to debut her robots. Mei had just finished the final checks on her gear when Hurricane Nejire blew in.

Mei grabbed Izuku from her and pointed to Mel and Mom, "They are over there!"

"What's up, Me…" was all he got out as Mei grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss that made him weak in the knees. He opened his mouth as her tongue came in to explore; he regained his senses enough to kiss her back, sparks passing between them. She leaped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, knocking him back against the wall; she moaned when he caught her by the ass and held her there. She pulled back.

"I get you before anyone else!" Mei's eyes bore into him. "Tonight, after you win this fucking thing before you go to Momo or Melissa, you come to me. I will not wait or be forgotten. If you want to be with me, come to my workshop tonight and claim me!" She was about to pull away when he pulled her back into a kiss that left her breathless.

"I will be there!" he said as they broke apart.

Nejire sat there, stunned, watching everything happening. "Does this mean I get to be a girlfriend if I want?"

"No," Momo said quickly. "You can go over there and give him a good luck kiss, but we have to get to know you better and what kind of a person you are before you get to try and be his girlfriend."

Neijire grinned and kissed Momo suddenly and deeply, leaving the heiress stunned and aroused; the hurricane waited until Mei stepped aside and kissed Izuku, and his knees wobbled again. "Good Luck, Kohai, now give me your phone number!" she pulled her phone from her bosom; she liked that his eyes followed her hand and lingered. She held it out for him to type his number in. She leaned in and whispered, "If you win the whole thing, I will send you something special." She kissed his cheek and was off; from the door, she called back, "GOOD LUCH, MY SPECIAL KOHAI, I KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO WIN!"

-All-Might-

"You want us to get Melissa Shield for you?" Ochaco said, slightly confused when they encountered All-Might on the way towards their locker room. She looked over at Tsu. They heard someone shouting something about Kohai down the hall as they looked back at the Number One Hero.

"Yes, if you would; I am friends with her father," he responded.

"Oh, David Shield, Kero, he designed many of your costumes," Tsu said, snapping her fingers.

"Yes, that is correct. I want to wish her luck, and I don't wish to cause a large commotion," All-Might smiled. "If you could have her meet me in prep room 23, that would be great."

"Sure, we can tell her," Ochaco chirped as she and Tsu walked off.

-Mirio-

He heard her and heard what she said. Who was her special Kohai? Who was this bastard who interfered in their relationship and filled her head with this nonsense?

He saw her in the hall as the door closed; he ran after her, catching her hand. She spun, yanking her hand away. "I did not give you permission to touch me, Togata."

"Nejire, don't be like that. I just wanted to talk to you," he said quickly. "I wanted to see if you were over this nonsense and ready to work it out.

"Nonsense!" Nejire said back; her voice was calm, almost deadly calm.

Ignoring the warning sign, "Yes, Nejire, this nonsense is about some special Kohai telling you that you're beautiful and deserve better. He doesn't even know you and is just trying to take advantage of you; you know how you get sometimes. Let us sit down and talk; we can get this straightened out."

"HOW I GET SOMETIMES!" she glared at Mirio. "He is just trying to take advantage of me? If he were, he wouldn't have to try hard!"

"What?" he said back, stunned.

"He had done more for me in a matter of days than so many others!" She stomped forward, making Mirio step back. "He didn't make me leave you, Togata; you did. I am single, thinking of other people I want to kiss because of you. YOU LOST ME, YOU MADE ME CHOOSE TO NOT BE WITH YOU. YES, MY KOHAI HELPED!" she stomped forward again. "BUT ALL HE DID WAS REMIND ME THAT I AM WORTH IT, THAT I AM WORTH BEING CHASED, WORTH BEING DESIRED, AND WORTH BEING LOVED." Her voice was echoing off the halls, getting attention.

"Who is this Kohai!" he growled.

"Why so you can go beat him up?" Nejire smirked at him. "If you could beat him up!"

"Nejire HADO!"

"Fuck off, Togata!" she whirled around, flipping her hair dismissively. "I am not telling you anything. My special Kohai is just that, MY KOHAI! MY KHOAI IS SO SPECIAL HE WILL WIN THE WHOLE FESTIVAL!"

-Melissa-

She was walking down the hall, a knot forming in her stomach. Izuku and Mei offered to come with her, but she told them she needed to handle this herself. Melissa steeled herself as she walked into room 23. She walked in and saw him smiling, just like the Uncle Might she had known from her childhood, but she knew the truth now.

"YOUNG MELSISSA, IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU. I AM SORRY I HAVEN'T COME TO SEE YOU SOONER, BUT TEACHING THE HEROICS CLASS TAKES MUCH OF MY TIME." He chuckled, placing his hands on his hip. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME YOU WERE PLANNING TO ENTER THE COMPETITION PART OF THE FESTIVAL!"

"Why? So you could have told me how dangerous it was? OR maybe you could have told my dad to see if he could stop me?" Her voice was rife with anger.

"YOUNG MELISSA, IT IS VERY DANGEROUS WHAT YOU ARE DOING; YOUR FATHER AND I JUST WANT YOU TO BE SAFE!" All-Might responded, trying to diffuse the situation.

"You want me to be safe?" she clenched her fists. "Then where were you or him when I was attacked? Where the hell were you after I was attacked!"

"MELISSIA…"

"Were you too busy to pick up the phone and ask your niece if she was ok? And how long have I been at this school and yet again nothing?" her anger began to boil over.

"I TOLD YOU I WOULD HAVE COME TO SEE YOU BUT…" he protested.

"But you were out of time," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. All-Might was stunned. "You didn't want to let me see you in your real form; you wanted to keep lying. You didn't want to tell your niece the truth, someone who loved you not because you were some amazing hero but because you were my UNCLE!"

"I…" he protested.

"Or was it the truth about your quirk? About One for All?" She stunned him into silence. "You had the power to make my dream come true. You could have taken a quirkless girl and made her dream come true."

"MELISSA…I…I"

"Was I not good enough for you, Uncle Might? I know I wasn't physically strong, but you couldn't have trained me? Why couldn't you only give me a chance." Melissa quickly wiped the tears that ran from the corners of her eyes. "Why couldn't I be the one you choose? Tell me, Uncle Might, which was it? Was it because you didn't believe a quirkless girl could do it, or was it because you wanted to give it to someone who already had a quirk."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ONE FOR ALL?" All-Might was dancing between emotions, anger, hurt, and guilt. He could hear the pain in her voice.

"NO YOU TELL ME FIRST!" HER ANGER AND TEARS FLOWING. "YOU TELL ME WHY MIRIO WAS A BETTER CHOICE THAN ME! YOU TELL ME WHY SOMEONE YOU HAD JUST BARELY MET WAS BETTER AND MORE TRUSTWORTHY THAN SOMEONE YOU HAD KNOWN THEIR WHOLE LIFE? WHY?"

"I CHOOSE MIRIO BECAUSE I BELIEVED THAT HE WOULD BE A WORTH SUCCESSOR," ALL–MIGHT replied, his tone measured. "HE WAS IN A BETTER POSITION TO INHERIT MY POWER AND CARRY ON MY LEGACY." He looked deep into Melissa's eyes and saw hurt mixed with anger.

"So I wasn't even a thought?" Melissa said, the anger washing away in a sea of hurt and pain. "I know you are not stupid, All-Might; you know how I know."

He winced at her dropping the Uncle Might and calling him All-Might. "MELISSA, YOU NEED TO REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE FESTIVAL AND STAY AWAY FROM IZUKU MIDORIYA. WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS DANGEROUS, AND WHO YOU ARE CHOOSING TO ASSOCIATE WITH IS JUST AS DANGEROUS." Melissa said nothing; she stared at the man she cared for so much.

How quickly and without thought he had dismissed her, how she hadn't even been a thought on his mind. When he got hurt and decided to find a successor, he never did. "YOUR FATHER WANTS YOU TO DROP OUT OF THE FESTIVAL. I WILL GO AND FIND MIDNIGHT AND LET HER KNOW YOU ARE NOT FEELING WELL AND ARE UNABLE TO CONTINUE."

"NO, YOU WILL NOT!" she roared. "I am not your niece; you are NOT my uncle. I don't give a damn what my father says. You do not get to make any decisions for me. I will continue to participate and may not win the whole thing, but I will place so well that they will give me that seat in 1-A." She glared at him, "Neither of you get to decide how I live my life, who I talk to, or who I LOVE!"

"YOU LOVE?" He sputtered for a moment. "MELISSA, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING OR WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH, HE IS JUST MANIPULATING YOU, LIKE HE IS ATTEMPTING TO DO WITH THAT SPEECH!"

"He is manipulating me?" Melissa was shocked. Not that she believed that for a second, but that All-Might honestly thought that Izuku was manipulating her to get to him.

All-Might started to press, thinking he was breaking through. "MELISSA, HE IS USING YOU; THAT BOY IS DANGEROUS. YOU HEARD HIM DURING HIS SPEECH; HE WILL CAUSE A PANIC. HE IS CALLING OUT HEROES, ACCUSING THEM OF NOT TRYING OR ONLY BEING IN IT FOR THE GLORY." He took her silence as he broke through whatever Izuku had done to her. "SOCIETY NEEDS A PILLER, A SYMBOL OF PEACE, SOMEONE THAT WILL ALWAYS BE THERE TO TELL THE WORLD "I AM HERE. " HE IS STANDING BEFORE THE WORLD TELLING THEM THAT A SYMBOL OF PEACE IS WRONG, THAT HERO SOCIETY IS DOING IT WRONG, AND THAT THEY, THE PEOPLE NEED TO RISE! HE IS DANGEROUS!"

"MELISSA, I KNOW YOU ARE CONFUSED JUST LISTEN TO ME," HE WALKED TOWARDS HER. "WE WILL REMOVE YOU FROM THE FESTIVAL, AND YOU CAN GO HOME TO BE WITH YOUR FATHER! I WILL FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BREAK THIS SPELL HE HAS OVER YOU; IT WILL SAVE YOU. JUST LET ME CALL MIRIO!"

Melissa felt like she was about to explode when she saw All-Might pull out her phone. Her anger boiled over, and the phone exploded.

-Mirio-

He stood in the hallway fuming; this damn special kohai, whoever he was, had fast-talked Nejire somehow. She had just come from seeing him; he must be in that room. Without thinking, he walked over and threw open the door, storming in and making the people jump.

Three other boys and HIM! The first is a relatively tall young man with messy, indigo-colored hair that flares in large tufts around his head. He has notably straight teeth; his eyes are purple with white pupils. They are thin and somewhat triangular, pointing downward, with no visible eyelashes. Usually, his eyes are half-closed, and he has dark eye bags underneath them.

Mario stomped over to him, ignoring the protests from all the girls asking him why he was there. "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

"HITOSHI SHINSO, WHY?" He responded.

"NEJIRE HADO!" Mirio said as if it would explain everything. Hitoshi visibly relaxed; this angry blonde had responded to him, and he knew he could activate his quirk any time now.

Hitoshi was just as stunned as the others, "Who?"

"PERWINKLE HAIR, 3RD YEAR, DO YOU KNOW HER?" He glared at the boy, who looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Do you mean the girl I saw walk out of here? No!" he responded.

Next, Mirio turned to the next one, a short boy with a head resembling a blackbird, perhaps a crow or a raven. He has a tan, yellowish beak that is slightly hooked at the end and thin red eyes with small black pupils, one on each side of his head. Additionally, he wears a red choker around his neck. When Mirio approached, a shadow monster emerged from the boy, taking a position in front and blocking Mirio's advance. It resembled the boy; Mirio was taken by surprise. One for All was activating. A white nimbus of light surrounded Mirio's body. It made Dark Shadow wince slightly, but it did not retreat.

"FUMI DOESN'T KNOW HER, AND NEITHER DOES KOJI!" Dark Shadow, "WHO ARE YOU TO BARGE IN HERE IN SUCH A MANNER!."

Mirio's anger was rising. He glared at the talking shadow, then looked at the other unknown boy in the room. There is a tall young man with a broad, muscular build and peach-colored skin. His head resembles a rock, with an uneven shape and a pointed top, while his jaw is square-shaped. Thick hair-like protrusions slope downwards from the back of his head. He was on his feet and standing protectively in front of a girl who seemed to be invisible and a girl with a frog quirk that was on her feet as well.

Then he heard it. "Listen, Ass, that she came in here to talk to me; I am assuming you have a problem with that." Mirio knew that voice; he had hoped that I was one of the other boys or even one of the girls, but Nejire had said he, not she. He turned and saw Izuku walking towards him. "It's okay, Dark Shadow, I will handle this."

"YOU'RE THE SPECIAL KOHAI, OF FUCKING COURSE IT WAS YOU!" Mirio's voice was full of rage, and the glow around his body increased. "FIRST YOU SPIT IN ALL-MIGHT'S FACE, YOU PUT TORINO IN THE MEDICAL BAY, HUMILIATE ME IN FRONT OF THE STAFF, THEN YOU START FILLING NEJIRIE'S HEAD WITH SOME BULLSHIT!"

"I didn't fill her head with shit; you are the one that fucked that all up on your own. That woman wanted some of your attention, not to be lied to or kept on the outside!" Izuku fired back. "For the record, fuck you, fuck your mentor, fuck that old man, and did I mention fuck you." Mirio was about to explode. "Nejire is a big girl; all I told her was the truth, that you were a dumb fuck for not spending time with her or letting her in."

"YOU FUCKING KNOW WHY I CAN'T!" Mirio's mind was just thinking about punching him in the face, through the wall, and out of this damn school. "THEN YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO STAND UP THERE, MAKE YOUR DUMB FUCKING SPEECH. DARE TO CRITICIZE THE GREATEST HERO OF OUR TIME! THIS WORLD A SHINING BECON TO DRIVE AWAY THE DARKNESS, NOT A BUNCH OF IGNORANT IDIOTS CAUSING CHAOS!"

"Oh my god," Izuku rolled his eyes. "Do you ever have an original thought? Or is your mouth so busy trying to deep-throat his cock and suck his balls that your brain is not getting enough oxygen?"

The rest of the room froze at that comment; a few damns might have slipped out.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" Mirio was done; this was it.

"Let me repeat it! Stop choking on his cock and balls, learn to breathe through your nose, and have A. FUCKING. ORIGINAL. THOUGHT!"

Mirio just saw red; this bastard had insulted him for the last time; he had insulted his mentor in front of the whole world, and of course, he would sit there and spout nonsense about letting Nejire in. He didn't know what it was like to carry such a burden. You had to walk alone, and hard choices had to be made. This fucking guy needed to be humbled, and Mirio was going to do it this time. Maybe by kicking Izuku's ass, he would break the spell he had over his classmates, over Nejire, and exact a measure of revenge.

Mirio just blurred to everyone else in the room; he crossed the few feet before anyone could even comprehend he had moved. No Permeation, he was just going to show this son of bitch what One for All was all about. He could use 20% of the quirk comfortably but briefly push it to 25%. He deemed this a need. With an overhand right, he roared, "Detroit Smash!"

He was going to take this idiot out. He watched as Izuku smiled and caught Mirio's punch. The blowback from the impact almost sent everyone flying; the "KATHOOM" from the blow was deafening. But nobody was blown back. Instead, they all felt held protectively in place. Kyoka heard the noise, but it was muffled. Momo and Mei knew that Izuku was holding them, that he was holding everyone, and had just caught a punch that would have destroyed just about anyone else.

Mirio was stunned; he didn't see the uppercut that lifted him off his feet, but his brain began to process it as he rose into the air. He saw Izuku leap up to grab him quickly. He activated Permeation, but he felt not only Izuku's hand grab him, but it was like he was in his flesh and muscle. Mirio screamed as he released his quirk, hoping to push Izuku's grip out, but he found himself flying through the door he had burst in from and crashing into the hallway in a thunderous noise-cacophony.

-All-Might-

When his phone exploded in his hand, he didn't have time to react when another explosion came from the hallway. He busted out of prep room 23, immediately turning to where the sound had originated. He saw Mirio spider-webbed into the way opposite one of the man prep rooms; the door had been blown off its hinges; he saw Izuku Midoriya emerge from the room floating; a thin line under him was being burned into the ground.

"YOUNG MIDORIAY, STOP!" All-Might roared and rushed to put himself between Mirio and Izuku.

Melissa came stumbling into the hallway as more people filled the hall. All-Might and Melissa could see Izuku's eyes burning with fire; small fire trails began to trail out in whisps from the corners of his eyes.

"DON'T MAKE ME STOP YOU!" All-Might nearly growled.

"You can try," Izuku said coldly. "Take you, little sycophant, and get out." The fire died away, and he floated back to the ground. He then saw Melissa and could feel that she was upset. "Are you alright, Mel?"

All-Might watched in near horror as his niece ran over and hugged Izuku. "Society doesn't need a single pillar; it needs hundreds, thousands, if not millions. You choose him, I choose Izuku. He doesn't lie to me, believes in me, and believes we can change the world. And we will change the world All-Might. Either you can help us do that, or you can watch as we do it without you." Melissa had released Izuku and was now standing in front of him. She was staring down All-Might, not flinching; she was no longer the little girl who hung on his cape or every word. She was a woman who had chosen her side; he only prayed that he could get her to see the light.

He was torn; this boy, Izuku Midoirya, was just a child. He didn't understand the world's dangers; he was full of anger that could be controlled with proper help. He needed to find out if Izuku did have a way of controlling people and, if so, free them. If this boy was slipping into villainy, All-Might had to try to stop him, maybe bring him back to the side of heroes. If not, he must ensure he didn't cause more damage.

"What is going on?" Midnight yelled as she entered the hall with Present Mic, Eraser Head, Vlad, and Nezu. Ectoplasm duplicated out and began to disperse the crowd that had formed.

"I would like to file a complaint against Mirio Togata," Izuku said calmly to Eraser Head. "He barged into our locker room and attacked me. I have witnesses."

Eraser Head looked at the boy they were pulling free from the wall, then at the group that had emerged from the locker room, "Is that true?" he asked them. They all nodded. "OK, we will get your statement a little bit later. Is anyone hurt?" He was pleased when they all said no. "Then report to the field. The second event is about to start."

Izuku and his group nodded and left without incident. "We will check the cameras to see if we can cooperate with anything," Nezu said, looking towards All-Might, who wasn't looking at anything but Izuku Midoriya as he walked away. "Get Mr. Togata to the infirmary; when he wakes up, he will be confined to his dorms pending an investigation."

That statement brought All-Mights attention back to the situation. "SURLY, YOU MUST BE KIDDING, NEZU, I CAN PERSONALLY VOUCH FOR MR. TOGATA. THERE IS A REASONABLE EXPLINATION FOR ALL THIS."

"Then he should be cleared quickly once we launch the investigation," Nezu said. "He is a student in MY school, All-Might, and I will not tolerate a 3rd year attacking a first year. We have made enough mistakes as of late, and I will not compound that situation even more." Nezu looked at the rest of the faculty, "You heard me; now move the second event is to start on time!"

The faculty nodded and began to move immediately; All-Might glared at Nezu as he took Togata to see Recovery Girl.

-U.A Sports Festival Second Round-

"WELCOME BACK FROM BREAK ALL MY LITTLE LISTENERS!" Present Mic's voice roared over the speakers as the crowd cheered. "NOW, TO EXPLAIN THE CONTEST RULES, IS ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS AND FELLOW BOOTH MATE. LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR THE KING OF THE UNDERGROUND, THE MASTER OF NAP, THE MAN WITH A STARE ONLY A CAT COULD LOVE ERASER HEAD!"

"Really," Aizawa sighed. He was thankful that he had fully recovered from whatever Izuku did and Recovery Girl, but he was still annoyed. He got saddled with being in the booth. He knew it was so he could see all the camera feeds, including those locked on his student Yuga Aoyama. There had been a debate about letting him compete today or not, but they had decided to allow it to avoid any suspicions. He was on a tight leash, and at the end of that leash were Nezu and Midnight.

"Anyways, the 50 students who have advanced to this round from the Obstacle race were given 30 minutes from 5 teams. With no less than five students and no more than 15 students." Eraser Head's voice was calm and mellow, the perfect straight man, also perfect for reading off instructions. "Every student has been assigned a point value, starting with 10 points for the 50th student and increasing the value to the number one student whose point value is 10 thousand."

Melissa's face flashed on the screen; her point value was more than most of the lower ranks and more than the combined higher rank, with only the top 5 under her coming close to her score. She felt the nerves flutter in her stomach, but then she felt Momo and Mei grab her hands. Numbers 4 and 17, respectively. The rest of her team smiled at her; Ochaco mouthed, "We got you!" It couldn't help but make Melissa smile at the girl's declaration. Her face lit up the screen.

"80% of each member of the team's score will be assigned to the flag at the top of each team's castle. The remaining 20% will be assigned to the contestant as an armband. Should a contestant lose their armband, forcefully or forfeited, whoever has captured the armband must return it to their base for that point total to be added to their castle flag."

"If your armband has been taken, you can regain your points by infiltrating the opposing team castle, taking an armband from the treasury, and escaping past the outer walls. The top 2 teams at the end of the hour will advance to the 3rd round." Eraser Head sat back, thankful he was done for the moment.

"ZOWIE WOWIE, THANKS FOR THAT, NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET'S GET READY FOR CASTLE DEFENSE MIDNIGHT TAKE IT AWAY."

Inside the arena, a massive forest was set up with five castles on the outside and an open area in the center.

"Thanks, boys, now. Remember, kiddies, lethal attacks are a big no-no. We are heroes in training, after all," she called out, her voice oozing out in a sultry tone. "Everyone, please give a welcome for The Future Heroes of Japan with a combined point total of 450 points, lead my Mineta Minoru.

All the General Studies students who had advanced, led by Meneta, walked in. There were 6 of them in total, along with a student from the support course and, surprisingly, a member of the business course. Pamela Ivey and Nathaniel Richards, respectively. As they entered, there was some applause as their names flashed along with their point value on the screen. As they took their place in front of their castle, a flag was raised reading 360 points.

"Next, we have team Domination, led by Nieto Monoma, with 2170 points."

Team Domination entered the arena, and the applause grew louder; Neito was waving to the crowd, trying to curry favor; his team was all 1-B, and he was slightly annoyed at how members of his class had sided against him and decided to go on their own for this. Ojiro, Yosetsu, Sen, Kosei, Juzo, Bondo, Ibara, Togaru, Jurota, Tetsu, and his ace Shinhai were all by his side as they were ready to destroy 1-A. Their flag was raised in 1736.

"Now, entering the arena, we have The Mighty Thunder Lizards!" Midnight announced, a massive smile on her face. "Setsuan Togata leads them; their team has 2260 Points."

Setsuna led her team into the arena with a huge smile; her team consisted of the rest of the class that decided not to side with Nieto, except Ibarra, who had given her word and would not go back on it. Washu from the support course joined pony, Reiko, Hiryu, Yui, Manga, Niren, and Kinoko. The girl had asked to join their team as she had said that Mineta was a douche, Nieto, and an egomaniac, the other 1-A team had some loud mouth on it, and she wanted to test her invention vs. Mei, who was on the central 1-A team. Their flag was raised in 1808.

"Next, we have a grand total of 4525 points. The Future Winners: this team is led by Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki."

Katsuki came in with his trademark scowl. He was unhappy the team hadn't named him their leader; instead, they had added stupid Icy Hot as co-captain. He just stomped towards their castle; the flag raised at 3700 points.

"And our final team, co-captained as well by the obstacle course winner and the man that delivered that rousing opening address, we have Melissa Shield and Izuku Midoriya." Midnight yelled as the crowd went wild. "They enter with an astounding 24,620 points. I present to you Divine Right!"

They positioned Melissa slightly ahead of the group so they could help her garner attention; the rest of the team just fell in step, smiling and waving to the crowd. As they reached their castle, the flag raised at 19,712.

"Now, teams, you have 15 minutes to enter your castle, prepare your plans, and retrieve your armbands from the treasury. Support Course students, you can now retrieve your inventions from the staging area. At the end of the 15 minutes, the battle will begin!"