Awards and Revelations

"Etsumi!" Ashido called as soon as the entrance to their section of the stands came into view. She was waiting just outside for them. "Where've you been!? You're supposed to be down in the ring. Bakugou is already down there and Present Mic has called for you twice."

"I'm aware." Izuku responded. "I had more important things to do."

She tilted her head at that, her eyes flicking to where Ochako was on his back. "You haven't gone to the ring because you wanted to carry Uraraka back up here?"

"Exactly. They can wait a few minutes."

Moving into their section, Izuku lowered himself a bit to allow Ochako to slide off his back. As she did, Yaoyorozu spoke up.

"Etsumi. You might want to hurry up. If you don't show up soon, they might assume that you've forfeit and announce Bakugou as the winner."

"Relax." Izuku responded. "This is the final fight of the festival. The one that all the spectators have been looking forward to the most. They're not going to just deprive them of that over a few minutes of waiting."

Looking over at Ochako, who had settled herself back in her seat, he shot her a grin, which she reciprocated.

"Besides. Now I get to do this."

Ignoring the confused looks some of his classmates wore, Izuku moved to the edge of their section, looking down at the ring. As Ashido had told him, he could see Bakugou waiting for him. He could also see Midnight holding a hand up to her ear. It looked like she might be talking to someone.

As he watched the ring, Present Mic's voice sounded out.

"This is the final call for Izuku Etsumi to please report to the ring."

"You should hurry up and get down there, Ets-."

He didn't let them finish their sentence. Without a word, Izuku launched himself into the air, out over the stadium. He could hear exclamations from the spectators as they noticed him, pointing up at him and cheering.

As he descended towards the ground, he entered into a loose spiral, circling around the perimeter of the stadium. When he circled around to his side of the ring, he folded his wings and dropped the final thirty-or-so feet, landing hard enough to shake the ground.

"Well then folks," Present Mic called out over the cheering, "now that our missing fighter has turned up, we can get on with the fight you've all been waiting for!"

The cheering only increased in volume as he spoke.

"On one side of the ring, we have Izuku Etsumi, and on the other, Katsuki Bakugou! Both of these fighters have displayed skill and power that so far has been unmatched. They've both plowed their way through the competition, impressing us with their fighting prowess! But now, how will these two unmatched competitors handle facing one another!? Who will be the one to come out on top and declare himself the winner!? There's only one way to find out! Let's get this fight started!"

One more time, Midnight explained the rules to the two of them as they stared each other down, before asking them both if they were ready. Izuku stretched his arms up over his head, stretching his wings out at the same time as he responded. Bakugou stayed silent, just letting out a few preparatory tiny explosions to warm his hands up.

Izuku rolled his neck, letting the anticipation for what would no doubt be an interesting fight wash over him, drowning out the background noise.

"Begin!"

He started forwards, moving slowly towards Bakugou, and watching for the slightest indicator of motion.

"Who are you?"

Izuku stopped, freezing in place and raising an eyebrow at his opponent. "Pardon?"

"Who are you?" Bakugou repeated. "Who are you really?"

"I'm… pretty sure that I'm Izuku Etsumi. Have I not told you my name before?"

Bakugou scowled. "If that's who you are, then why do you look so similar?"

"Similar to whom?"

His scowl deepened. "Izuku Midoriya."

Izuku froze.

'Well… Shit.' He thought. 'I guess he does remember me. That's less than ideal.'

"What do you mean he remembers you?" Tamako asked. "Don't you two go to school together?"

'Long story.' Izuku replied. 'I'll fill you in later, or you can try to sift through my memories.'

"Who?" He asked.

"Don't play dumb. There are too many similarities for it to be a coincidence. So tell me who you really are."

Right, clearly he wasn't going to drop it. This wasn't good. Izuku needed to take charge of the situation and move things along. They needed to get the fight going, and one way or another, it would be better to save the discussion they would no doubt end up having for later.

Izuku grinned, having come to a decision. "Hmm. I wonder."

"Tell you what. If you can manage to beat me, and win this fight, I'll tell you who I really am. How's that sound?"

Instead of responding, Bakugou's hands resumed their constant popping. Izuku raised his own hands, cracking his knuckles. At the same time, now that they were actually going to fight, he let his awareness focus back on solely Bakugou, everything else fading out.

Bakugou crouched, the popping in his hands reaching a crescendo, before halting entirely. The resulting silence, only disturbed by the faint cheering of the crowds, pushed to the back of Izuku's awareness, stretched out for what seemed like minutes.

He watched as, almost in slow motion, Bakugou's hands rotated to face behind him, his arms extending in the same direction.

Two simultaneous explosions shook the ring as Bakugou propelled himself forward. As he had during the quirk apprehension test, he used a continuous string of explosions to close the distance in an instant. As soon as he got close enough, one arm drew back, as if to strike, while the other was wrapped around his chest. It was subtle, but Izuku noticed that hand rotate so that the palm faced towards the ground.

Izuku smirked as he watched. 'He's prepared to either attack or feint and redirect depending on what I do. Nice. Very nice.'

Izuku's hand darted out to grab at Bakugou's neck, and just as he expected, another explosion sounded out. The hand at his chest released an explosion that had him flying just over Izuku's outstretched arm. The change in momentum was such that Bakugou ended up just above and behind Izuku, with a clear shot of the back of his neck.

He spun around, bringing up a hand just in time to swipe Bakugou's away, redirecting the explosion. His other hand darted forwards once more, this time actually catching him by the neck. Izuku turned and flung Bakugou back in the direction he'd come from, though not before the other boy brought up both hands to plant two explosions against Izuku's arm.

Bakugou was back on him in an instant, having canceled out his momentum with more explosions. This time, he kept low to the ground, attempting to keep out of Izuku's reach as he raised another hand up. As soon as he got close enough, he released an enormous explosion. One that Izuku didn't bother to try to block or redirect.

As the smoke cleared, Bakugou backed away, creating distance as his hands started popping again, building up more sweat.

'He recognized that I'm fast enough to block him if I want to, and immediately changed tactics to get as close as he could while remaining out of reach. Smart.'

"Incredible!" Present Mic announced. "It barely took a few seconds, but they've both already traded blows! Bakugou's landed some pretty good hits, but Etsumi doesn't even look fazed! And I think by now we know, after seeing his other fights, that Etsumi hasn't gotten serious just yet. Let's see how he responds!"

Izuku grinned, reaching up for the collar of his shirt, that now had a sizeable hole burned into it from that last explosion. He tore it away, tossing it aside he started inching his way towards Bakugou.

"You're good." He said. "Definitely near the top of our year, if not further. Now, what do you say we get this started in earnest?"

Bakugou didn't say anything in response, just raising a crackling hand, clenching it in front of him.

Izuku's smile widened. "Good."

An instant later, Izuku's fist passed through the space Bakugou had just occupied. The other boy was already just barely sliding past the attack to deliver another explosion to Izuku's side, which he didn't bother blocking.

'He's using instinct and intuition to make up for a lack of speed.' Izuku thought. 'He's not fast enough to react properly, but he was able to correctly judge the moment that I would begin moving, as well as how I would attack, and used that to dodge and deliver his counterattack.'

"Oh, I do hope you intend to keep up this level of skill." Izuku said, his smile widening further. "Because now I'm starting to get excited."

Bakugou responded with a blinding flash of light from his palm, turning Izuku's vision white. Despite that, his hand darted up to intercept Bakugou's incoming attack, catching him by the wrist.

At this point, Izuku wasn't entirely sure whether it was sheer instinct, 'Proximity,' his other senses compensating, or, most likely, a combination thereof that allowed him to 'see' the attack, but it didn't matter. All that did was the fact that he was beginning to enjoy himself more and more with each passing second.

Before Bakugou could use his free hand to launch another attack, Izuku pulled him closer and headbutted him, releasing him just in time for him to go flying. An instant later, he heard the explosions that signaled that Bakugou had stopped his impromptu flight.

Shaking his head, Izuku blinked as his vision came back into focus. Once it had, he looked over at where Bakugou had settled.

Izuku watched as, instead of attempting to close the distance again, Bakugou took a different sort of stance. Raising his hands, he extended one palm outwards, toward Izuku. He closed the fingers of his other hand into a circle, before setting it against his outstretched palm.

"It looks like Bakugou's decided to try something new!" Present Mic called out. "Could he be trying to change tactics!?"

Izuku recognized what was happening immediately, his eyes widening in surprise even as his smile widened with his rising excitement at this new development.

"Look at you." He said. "Not even two months into our first year at Yueii and you already have a super move."

He cracked his neck, bringing his hands up to hang loosely in front of him. "Let's see what it does."

Bakugou grimaced, and Izuku saw a faint glow emanating from the palm of his hand.

With a sound like a crack of thunder, another explosion was released, this one traveling in a single direction rather than expanding outward like normal. Izuku's eyes widened as he saw the line of pure heat and pressure rocketing towards him almost faster than he could blink.

A hand darted up to intercept the attack, taking the brunt of the heat before, with a quick pull on 'Air Canon,' it was swept away altogether.

Looking over at Bakugou, Izuku saw him roll his shoulders, before taking the same stance once more.

"There we go." Izuku said, raising his hands to intercept the imminent attacks. "Let's have some fun with this."

---

The fight really got started after that. After a rapid fire barrage of that same attack, Bakugou had charged in immediately after to engage once more. It was a constant back and forth between the two of them, with Bakugou's sheer amount of skill serving to close the distance somewhat between himself and Izuku. It carried on for even longer than Izuku's fight against Ochako had.

Eventually, after a particularly brutal exchange of attacks, the two of them separated once more.

As the two of them stared each other down, Izuku felt something in the air shift, and knew that whatever happened next, it would be the end of the fight. As soon as he had that thought, without warning, Bakugou took off running towards Izuku. Only, this time he didn't propel himself with his explosions.

The reason why became clear enough after a moment. Once he had evidently closed the necessary distance, Bakugou slid to a stop, crouching down, before aiming his palms straight down and setting off two explosions massive enough to shatter the ground beneath him, launching himself straight into the air. After a few more successive explosions, he seemed to reach the desired height, twisting to point head-first at the ground as he began his descent.

"Bakugou has launched himself into the air! I wonder what he has planned! Could it be that he intends to finish this fight with one final attack!?"

Barely a second after beginning to fall back down, Izuku watched as Bakugou repositioned his hands. He released more explosions as he fell, spinning himself and creating a spiral of fire in the air behind him.

'Another super move, then.' Izuku thought. 'Bring it on.'

Time seemed to slow as Bakugou drew closer. His speed, both direct and rotational, increased with every explosion, which only intensified the veritable tornado of flame trailing behind him. Then, barely a second before impact, Izuku watched him extend his hand out, already glowing with the imminent explosion that would no doubt be the crux of the move, the explosion that was the attack.

At that moment, Izuku moved.

Having pulled on more speed quirks during the short few seconds it took Bakugou to fall, he moved almost faster than the eye could see. As the moment seemed to stretch out, and Bakugou's hand continued to grow brighter, Izuku moved around behind him, sending his own fist flying just as the glow in Bakugou's hand seemed to reach its peak, detonating in a massive flash.

At the same moment that the explosion was released, Izuku's fist impacted Bakugou's stomach.

The ring was consumed in fire and smoke, both from the final explosion and from those that had led up to it. It blocked everyone's view of the ring, but at the same moment, they saw a figure fly out of the smoke, soaring through the air to impact the wall that bordered the inside of the stadium.

As the smoke cleared, the entire stadium was silent, everyone waiting with bated breath to see who was left standing after such a massive attack. Soon enough, they got their answer. Everything cleared enough to make out Izuku still in the ring. Panting from the effort he'd put in and with his skin blackened in places, but still in the ring. A moment after everyone noticed him, they all saw that Bakugou was the one who had been knocked out of the ring, and who know lay at the base of the wall he'd hit.

"Bakugou has been removed from the ring!" Midnight's voice sounded out in the silence. "Ladies and gentlemen, Izuku Etsumi is this year's winner of the first-year sports festival!"

There was another moment of absolute silence, before the entire stadium exploded with noise.

Izuku panted, looking over at where Bakugou had landed. As he watched, the other boy started moving, picking himself up off the ground to sit up.

So he was okay then. That was good. Izuku had been just a bit concerned that he'd put too much into his last attack.

As he had with his other opponents – most of them anyway – Izuku made his way to where Bakugou had landed, extending a hand towards him once he was close enough, which was accepted. He hoisted the other boy up, who groaned as the action disturbed whatever bruises he had after their fight.

Izuku watched Bakugou as he collected himself, considering his words for a moment.

"Well, you didn't win, but I may as well tell you anyway."

Bakugou looked up at him, and Izuku could see the faintest amount of hope there. It almost made him feel bad for continuing.

"Who I really am… is Izuku Etsumi. I have no idea who Izuku Midoriya is."

Bakugou's expression fell. "Right." He muttered. "Guess I was wrong, then."

Once again, Izuku almost felt bad as he watched Bakugou turn away almost immediately, and without another word, and start walking towards the tunnel he'd come from. Part of him wanted to tell the truth, to tell Bakugou who he really was, but there wouldn't be any benefit to doing so. As close as the two of them had been before he was abandoned, nearly fifteen years had passed since then. He knew next to nothing about the other boy. They were essentially complete strangers at this point. If he were to tell the truth, that would just be one more person that he'd have to trust with his secrets, and he had no desire to increase that number more than he absolutely needed to.

Shaking his head, Izuku turned towards his own tunnel, making his way back to the interior of the stadium.

---

With the fight concluded, the rest of the sports festival was quick to wrap up. It barely took a few minutes after Izuku and Bakugou had left the ring and gone to visit Recovery Girl for the ring to be transformed into a large podium, upon which to present the winners their medals.

When Midnight announced the beginning of the award ceremony, and introduced the presenter, who came crashing down out of the sky with his usual flair just after, Izuku was settled on the highest point of the podium, with most of his tail spilling onto the grass below. Bakugou stood to his right, having taken second place, and Ochako and Kendou shared the spot to his left, both ending in third place.

The third place, then second place medals were presented fairly quickly, each with a few words from All Might that weren't quite loud enough for Izuku to hear. Then, soon enough, the hero was standing before Izuku.

"Congratulations, Young Etsumi." He said. "I must say, I'm quite proud of you for what you have achieved today, for living up to your declaration during the opening remarks. Though, if I'm being honest with myself, I never really expected anything less. Nonetheless, you've earned this."

Izuku lowered his head a bit as All Might held the medal out, letting him set it around his neck. When he looked back up, All Might's smile had faded ever so slightly.

"I can't say I understand at all what happened during your fight with Young Shinsou, or what happened afterwards, but I do hope you're alright."

Izuku returned the smile. "Don't worry." He reassured him. "I'm fine now. It was nothing but a momentary setback."

All Might seemed to hesitate for a single second, before his smile brightened back to where it had been. "If you say so, then so be it. I'm glad you're alright."

Reaching up to the collar of his costume, All Might pressed a button on the small microphone that was clipped there, turning away from Izuku as he did.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He shouted, his voice booming out across the stadium. "I give you the winners of the first-year sports festival!"

The cheer that sounded out was nearly explosive, shaking the entire stadium with the force of it.

All Might reached up to his collar once more, turning to face Izuku again. "Young Etsumi. Were I you, I would give some sort of acknowledgement of their cheers. I think you'll find that people eat that sort of stuff right up."

Izuku smirked. "Yeah. Might as well."

Looking around at the cheering spectators, Izuku waited a moment, before thrusting his fist into the air.

The response was another increase in the volume of the cheering. It was almost deafening.

"You see?" All Might said. "Barely any effort at all, and they all love it."

Izuku let out a small laugh, not even audible over the noise. Such a simple, tiny action, yet it all but drove them into a frenzy. How interesting.

---

"Etsumi. Can I talk to you?"

Izuku looked over from where he'd been moving towards the exit with Ochako, amongst the crowd of students, to see Bakugou standing a few feet away.

"I don't see why not. What did you want to talk about?"

Bakugou nodded, before glancing at Ochako. "Is it alright if we speak in private?"

Izuku raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. He turned to look at Ochako.

"Go on ahead and find Rei. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."

She raised an eyebrow of her own at Bakugou, before shooting a smile at Izuku and turning to walk away.

Izuku looked back at Bakugou, gesturing for him to follow as he moved away, to somewhere a bit more private.

A few minutes later, they found themselves in a secluded hallway, away from the crowds of students and spectators making their way out of the stadium.

Izuku looked at Bakugou, who had a strange expression on his face. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Bakugou was silent for a moment, before speaking.

"I did. I wanted to… explain. Explain why I was asking those things earlier, during the fight."

Izuku remained silent, prompting Bakugou to continue.

A sigh. "I had a- a friend, a long time ago. Izuku Midoriya. He disappeared when we were four, and honestly by this point it's been so long that I likely wouldn't even remember what he looked like if it weren't for pictures my parents happen to have. But if I were to compare those pictures to you, it would feel like looking at an aged-up version of him. Between that, and the fact that you share a given name, I thought that maybe, there might be some small chance that you were him."

Izuku resisted the urge to sigh. 'I suppose that's my fault for never changing my appearance. Green eyes, green hair, and freckles make for a somewhat distinctive appearance.'

But, wait. Izuku narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. 'Disappeared.' Bakugou had said that his friend had 'disappeared.'

"This friend of yours." He said. "What happened to him?"

"No one knows for sure. Apparently, he vanished the night after his fourth birthday. His mother claimed to have not heard any sort of commotion, so the belief was that he ran away."

Izuku noticed the expression on Bakugou's face. "But you don't believe that, do you?"

Bakugou snorted. "Of course I don't. He was four. What reason could a four-year-old possibly have to run away?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm not sure whether it was a kidnapping, or something with his quirk, or maybe his mother has been lying to everyone, but I know he didn't just run away."

'That he didn't.' Izuku thought to himself.

He clenched a fist as an unexpected anger began to simmer within him.

Usually, his thoughts surrounding his mother and her abandoning him were mixed. Torn between anger at her for leaving him, sadness over the fact that she had given up on him immediately after seeing his quirk, and a deep self-hatred and resignation that stemmed from the belief that he had deserved what had happened.

He tried his best not to dwell on that last one most of the time.

Right now though, it was just anger. Because not only had she dumped him on the side of the road like an unwanted pet, but then she had gone around lying about it, saying that he had done it to himself. She didn't even have the decency to make up some lie about him being kidnapped.

He almost opened his mouth to ask Bakugou if he knew where she was, where she was living, but resisted the urge. If Izuku knew where he could find her, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't go looking for her.

No. Nothing would be achieved by the two of them seeing one another. Nothing good, at least. It would be best if the two of them simply never saw each other again, and if he continued on with his life.

"Do you happen to know what his quirk was?" Izuku asked.

Bakugou shook his head. "No. The last time I saw him was on his birthday, and he hadn't manifested it yet. That's why I thought it might've had something to do with his disappearance."

Izuku nodded. "Well, I'm sorry about your friend, and I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not him. The name Midoriya is unfamiliar to me, and I've had my quirk and this appearance since I was born."

Bakugou frowned. "It's fine. I knew it wasn't likely. But you just seemed so similar, not just in appearance, but in your intelligence and your fascination with quirks, that I had to explore the possibility, no matter how slim the chances were."

They both fell silent for a few moments, before Bakugou spoke up again.

"He's actually my motivation for becoming a hero."

Izuku's eyebrows shot up. "He is? How so?"

"Well, the two of us had always said we wanted to be heroes together, though it's not like every other child in the world doesn't say that at some point. But it's also because of the fact that he disappeared, and how unclear the details are. Obviously, I know that I couldn't have done anything at that point to prevent it, but if I become a hero, then I'll be able to. I'll be able to protect people like that, and I'd be able to investigate things myself."

Ah. So that was it. That was the motivating force that drove Bakugou to the level of power and skill he was at. Who could've guessed that Izuku's abandonment and disappearance would've ended up providing motivation for two different people to become heroes?

"Well." Izuku said. "If I understand your friend well enough from the little bit you've told me about him, I feel like he'd be proud of how far you've come. You're in Yueii of all places, well on the way to becoming a hero. It won't be long until you've achieved your goal.

Izuku wasn't lying. Knowing what his former friend's motivation was, and seeing how far it had taken him, what he'd done to work for his goal, he really was proud. It made him feel good inside, knowing just how much Bakugou cared about Izuku Midoriya.

Bakugou managed a stiff smile, muttering a 'thanks' before turning to walk away. As he did, and as Izuku did the same to go find Rei and Ochako, he found himself smiling.

It wasn't often that he thought about his original life, before he'd been abandoned, but when he did it was always followed by a longing for a life he knew he could never have again, and – a bit deeper down - a sadness that he'd probably been forgotten by everyone he'd known. But now he'd just learned that-that wasn't the case. Despite how long it had been, Bakugou, his best friend, hadn't forgotten. More than that, he still, even now, held on to some small hope that he would find Izuku Midoriya eventually.

That realization alone was very nearly enough to make up for what he'd gone through today. It was even almost enough for Izuku to want to tell Bakugou who he really is.

Almost. But not quite.

---

The figure sat frozen, staring at the television in front of them, which was displaying Yueii's first year sports festival. She was excited enough to watch it, Katsuki would be participating this year after all.

Or at least, she had been excited. Right up until the moment that the first-year representative was called up to give the beginning remarks.

She heard the hero announcer – she was pretty sure her name was Midnight – give the announcement "To kick things off for this year's sports festival. Please welcome the first-year representative, Izuku Etsumi, to deliver our starting remarks!" and nearly froze on the spot. That name drug up memories that were better left forgotten. But then, it wasn't the first time she heard that name after… it… happened, so she brushed off the feeling and forced a smile.

But then she saw the student who held the name, and this time she actually froze, her blood running cold.

Fluffy, curly green hair, green eyes, and freckles decorating his slightly round face.

It didn't matter that the face was much older than the last time she'd seen it. It didn't matter how long it had been or how old it might be, she would always remember that face.

She reached a hand up unconsciously to finger her own hair. Hair that matched the student's almost exactly.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her mind flashed back to that night. He was… He was still alive…

How was that even possible?

"Inko?" A voice off to her side sounded out. "Honey? Are you alright?"

Inko Akatani took in a slow, shuddering breath.

No. No she most certainly was not alright.

---

Sorahiko munched absentmindedly on a taiyaki as he watched the sports festival.

The actual events and results of the festival didn't interest him too much. In fact, normally he wouldn't even be watching it in the first place, unless he had the desire to see what sort of incompetence the newest generation of heroes would be bringing to the table. He only had eyes for the one Toshi had told him about over the phone a few weeks ago, the one that supposedly had a quirk that was nearly identical to his. To All For One's.

He didn't doubt that the kid did indeed have such a quirk – Toshi could be a fool at times, but he wouldn't make such a claim unless he was absolutely certain of it, and he claimed to have seen it with his own two eyes – but he wanted to see the kid for himself, to try to judge what kind of person he might be.

Right away, from the moment he first saw the kid, 'Izuku Etsumi,' he knew there was more than met the eye. Maybe it was simply the fact that the kid had a version of that quirk, and probably had who-knew-how-many quirks hidden away, but he also had a look to him that said he was the strongest and smartest person in the room, and that he knew it.

Over the course of the festival, Sorahiko watched as the kid utterly and definitively defeated his competition. He seemed to enjoy fighting, and the more challenging it was, the more entertaining he found it.

But then… that was it. Aside from the beginning remarks, that Sorahiko actually found himself agreeing with, and the slightly odd air the kid had about him, all he really saw was a kid enjoying himself as he took part in the sports festival, enjoying the chance to fight and having fun with his friends.

That is, until they got to the first round of final stage of the festival, which had only ever been a tournament in Sorahiko's experience.

Most of the fights passed fairly quickly, and he would – begrudgingly – admit that, if nothing else, this newer generation seemed to have a decent handle on their quirks. But then it was time for Etsumi's.

Now, Sorahiko wasn't exactly a stranger to mind control quirks. He knew what they looked like, he'd been around long enough to see a few in action, and even have them used against him on occasion, but he'd never once seen anyone react as harshly to one as Etsumi had.

He didn't have to be present to know that there had been bloodlust in the air. He could gauge that easily enough from the reactions of the spectators and the overly talkative announcer. It was even such that Sorahiko, for a moment, thought he might've felt a chill run down his spine when the camera managed to focus on Etsumi's face. But then, the heating and cooling in his apartment had gone far too long without maintenance, so it was hard to say for sure what the cause was.

It was easy to tell at just a glance that Etsumi was powerful – Sorahiko doubted that there could ever be an instance of that quirk that didn't end up becoming powerful – but the bloodlust he produced was a different matter entirely. One didn't acquire something like that through power alone, let alone have it be powerful enough to render someone unconscious through force of will alone. Something like that generally only came from a long and grim past, one filled to the brim with darkness, whether that be directed at, or because of, the person in question.

That single minute of footage of the festival gave Sorahiko more insight into, and questions about, Etsumi than everything else before it had.

Why he had such bloodlust – what he had done, or what had happened to him, to lead to such a thing –, why he would react so strongly to something as simple as a mind control quirk, and if he reacted so strongly, why would he continue on afterwards?

Sorahiko frowned, reaching for another piece of taiyaki. Etsumi didn't really give the impression of being anywhere close to the monster that All For One was, but he still had more questions than he had answers.

He stared at the image of Etsumi standing on the podium, first place medal on display around his neck and fist held in the air in victory. There was so much more to the boy than met the eye.

Maybe it would be worth it to get a closer look at the kid.

---

Izuku hummed to himself he made his way home. He was taking the long way, walking along the street as people usually did it. He had Rei on one side, her arm intertwined with his, and Ochako on the other, with his arm draped over her shoulders. Tamako was drifting between the three of them, speaking where they had the desire to, but mostly just taking in the atmosphere of the three siblings – who were now their siblings as well – enjoying each other's presence.

Overall, he was quite pleased with how the festival had turned out. Obviously, there was the issue that had come up after his fight with Shinsou, and he would have to spend a while collecting his thoughts once the sun had set and he was alone, but aside from that, he'd enjoyed himself. There had been a number of entertaining fights, against most of class 1-B, then against Shouto, Ochako, and Bakugou, he'd gained some insight into why Shouto was limiting himself the way he was, and he'd learned something quite pleasant about his past.

And now, walking home with his sisters at his sides and his newest sibling occasionally drifting through his head, he was busy planning a celebration. Ochako had performed exceptionally, and he felt that coming in first place was worth some form of celebration.

Rei's birthday was still some time away, as was Ochako's, so he wouldn't be able to line it up with either of those occasions, and he'd have to be careful not to encroach on the plans he'd already set in place for them. Obviously, he would be putting much more effort into dinner on whatever day he chose for it, but that was a given. He'd have to think of something to go along with that.

Something else to think about. He'd have to spend some time planning.