10

"Team up with me!" shouted Sato

"Ne Bakugo, team up with me!" begged Mina.

"Don't you want to team up with moi?" asked Yuga while clutching his stomach in pain while trying to look 'cool'.

Bakugo found himself surrounded by his classmates, blankly staring at them all for a bit before...

"I don't know what quirks you all have! Nor do I remember your names!" barked out Katsuki.

The others looked at Katsuki in shock and awe on how self-absorbed Katsuki was, as well as being annoyed.

'Even though his personality is like that, he still came in second and has two hundred and ten points. Taking into consideration of his all-purpose use Quirk, it makes sense that he would be in demand,' thought Toshinori.

"Dammit brat, be more respectful to others!" shouted Mitsuki from behind him while Masaru was trying to calm her down once more.

"Izuku," whisper Inko with worry as she looked down.

Toshinori looked over to see Izuku standing alone for now, though that smile on Izuku's face put away his worry. He clasped his hands over Inko, who snapped out of her worry to look at Toshinori.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," smiled Toshinori, "Look at that face of his. That's not a face of fear or worry, but of excitement."

Inko shyly smiled as she looked back to Izuku, but not before giving a slight blush since Toshinori had his hand over hers.

"Yo, Bakugo!" shouted Eijirou as he inserted himself into the conversation, "Team up with me! I thought about going with Todoroki, but his cold shoulder made me think otherwise."

"Weird hair," greeted Bakugo when he saw Eijiro, not even trying to guess his name.

"Oy! I'm Kirishima! At least try to remember, especially since we teamed up back at USJ. Plus, my hair's not that different from yours!" exclaimed Eijiro, pointing at Katsuki's own hair.

"Least mine's natural and epic, unlike yours," snarked Katsuki.

Eijiro ignored that as he pushed forward, "You're gonna be the rider, yea? Then you'll want a front horse that can handle the recoil your explosions. Just who is able to do that?"

"... Someone with guts," replied Katsuki with a bored look.

"No... well yeah, that works, but I'm talking about me with my Hardening quirk! I can be the horse that never wavers! You're gunning for that 10 million points, aren't you?"

Katsuki blinked before giving a huge smirk. He let Eijiro choose the remaining members, which happened to be Mina and Hanta before forcing them to showcase their quirks so he could get a good idea of what they could do.

Izuku looked around, noticing that most of the students were teaming up with their own classmates, not trying to cross that border since nobody had a really good grasp of what quirks each other class had. Sadly, he was isolated due to his 10 million point value. He had tried to approach Ojiro, who could only apologize and refuse due to being too scared of being a target for all.

"Deku!"

Izuku turned to the source to see Momo, Ochako, and Itsuka together.

"Let's team up!" smiled Ochako, gesturing to all three of them together.

"Yeah!" cheered Itsuka.

"It would be ideal to be with someone most familiar with," nodded Momo.

"Weren't you talking to Shoto earlier?" asked Izuku, as he had noticed Shoto gunning for her the moment the timer started.

"He wanted me on his team, but I refused," replied Momo, "I acknowledge that he is strong, but so are you. I am more familiar with your quirks and tactics and know that you spend a lot of time analyzing quirks. So much that I would feel safer to be on the same team with you, and raise my chances of passing this round."

"Yea, all we need to do is just run away," giggled Ochako, "If anyone gets too close, you can smash them away with your punches! Plus, as Momo said, it's better to team up with people you get along with!"

"I feel like you might be overestimating me," blushed Izuku.

Itsuku quickly shook her head while gesturing to herself and the others, "Like hell we are. We know how good you are. We've hung out before U.A. even started, so we're confident that we can win with this team!"

Izuku's heart throbbed a bit before he gave a smile, "Alright, then we have a team. However, this is how I want the formation to be."

The four huddled up while Izuku whispered his plans.

"Eh, are you sure?" asked Itsuka.

"I'm positive," nodded Izuku as he glanced at the other teams that were starting to form, "Momo-chan, can you make the items now?"

"I can, but is it allowed?" asked Momo with a questioning gaze.

"Let's ask before we do anything then," suggested Ochako, pointing to Midnight.

The four went to her, and after a brief discussion, Midnight licked her lips before allowing it.

"Oh yea, weren't you with a few others Itsuka?" asked Izuku as they started preparing.

"Oh... ummm," stuttered Itsuka before looking away.

Truth be told, she had been ready to form a team with Reiko, Setsuna, and Kinoko, When she looked at Izuku, her heart pounded when she saw Momo and Ochako heading over to him. She sighed and looked at her friends, ready to start planning when she felt Setsuna push her away towards Izuku.

"C'mon, I know you want to be with him," giggled Setsuna. "Don't fight it. If you don't go, you'll just be giving the other girls a huge lead on you. Being childhood friends give you some extra bonus points towards him, but if you don't do anything, you'll be left behind."

"Childhood romance almost never works out," stated Reiko bluntly, "But those that do are the most epic ones of all."

"We won't mind," smiled Kinoko, "We'll just get one more or stick with three. Kodai-san! Over here!"

Yui drifted towards them when she heard her name called.

"Go on, get going," snapped Setsuna as she pushed Itsuka once more. This time, Itsuka ran to join up with Ochako and Momo.

"We're not going to get past this round," sighed Kinoko as Itsuka left.

"Oh don't be like that!" frowned Setsuna as she rubbed Kinoko's head, "With that attitude, then it'll be impossible."

"It is inevitable," commented Yui.

"Not you too!" pouted Setsuna.

"You have to admit, it is going to be hard," sighed Reiko.

"We'll think of something," said Setsuna confidently.

And thus was how Itsuka ended up with Izuku. Not that she told him about it, though.

"See. Young Midoriya has a full team now," gestured Toshinori.

"I'm glad he does," smiled Inko before glancing down once more, "I recognize Itsuka in there, too! It's been so long since I last saw her."

"My question is why he has four girls with him," chuckled Mitsuki, "Boy's a natural player."

Shoto made a tsking noise when he saw Momo walking over to Izuku. He had been banking on her help, knowing just how versatile her quirk would be in this round. Now she was with Izuku, which made that 10 million point value a much harder task.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Denki, who had teamed up with Shoto.

"Should we pursue a fourth?" asked Tenya, who had also teamed up with Shoto. He had thought about going with Izuku but decided against that path. He wanted to strike off on his own, and if he followed Izuku, he would never be able to grow. At least that's what he thought to himself.

Shoto pondered for a bit before making a decision. He had a fourth member in mind and was about to turn towards the said target when a blur of pink hair suddenly cut in front of him, covering his view.

"Hey! Mr. Third place, let's team up!" suggested/shouted Mei Hatsume, the only Support Course student that had made it through.

Shoto almost fell back in surprise at the sudden intrusion of his personal space but regained balance quickly.

"I don't know you, but I'd like to be able to use your position!" grinned Mei while bluntly stating her reasons, "I'm Mei Hatsume from the Support Course! If I joined you, I'd receive a lot of attention! I would've gone for the first place guy, and then the second place if that failed, to which it did! So you're the next target! I'd get a huge opportunity to show off my super cute little babies! Not to mention, you're already famous, meaning a lot of eyes are already on you! With all that attention, those big support companies or even heroes will see my babies!

"Err, babies?" asked Denki in confusion and embarrassment.

"Such a conversation like this is inappropriate!" lectured Tenya, making a chopping motion once more.

"I don't think she means real human babies... right?" sweat dropped Shoto.

"Let me show you my babies!" grinned Mei as she crossed one of her arms over her body, her fingers grabbing the hem of her shirt before she began to lift up.

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait!" panicked all three boys when she was lifting her shirt up. They did not want to know what she was doing, nor did they want to cause a scene. Someone could very easily misunderstand this scene and think that they were forcing her to show her body in order to join their team. She was quite busty for someone her age.

Luckily, she had only lifted it up to her waist so she could grab a remote control before letting it fall down.

"I don't know whether to be thankful she didn't put a show or be angry for being jerked around or teased like that," muttered Denki.

"Such inappropriate thoughts Kaminari-kun!" scolded Tenya.

Shoto was using his ice quirk to cool down his face, which he was sure had been burning.

Mei ignored them all as she pressed the button on her remote. Seconds later, a chest fell right in front of her from somewhere, where she opened it up to reveal a lot of gadgets and tools.

"The Support Course develops equipment that helps heroes deal with their Quirks! I have a ton of babies, so I'm sure you'll be able to find one you like! Since I'm on your team, you'll be able to use all these without punishment!"

Shoto blinked before gazing down at all the items Mei had laid out for him. He had to admit that Mei and her equipment was a nice substitute for Momo and her quirk. Not as versatile, but suitable for what he had originally planned on having Momo do. As he gazed around, picking up a few of the items to closely observe them, he had an idea.

"How good are you on making items on the spot?" asked Shoto.

"Depends on how complicated and interesting it's going to be," replied Mei, "If it's super boring, I'm not going to do it."

Shoto whispered into her ear for a bit before standing back to see Mei grinning.

"I can do that," cackled Mei happily before yanking a few gadgets that Denki and Tenya had been inspecting, who both yelled that they were still looking at the item, "I'm going to need those... and that... and this."

She then pulled out wrenches, power tools, and other items from... somewhere before getting to work.

"Just need this part... don't need that... Mommy is going to sacrifice some of you babies to make a super baby! Don't worry my little darlings, you'll live on in my newest baby!" cackled Mei as sparks began to fly.

"Am I the only one who's slightly disturbed by this?" whispered Denki.

"She is merely conveying her thoughts in a... interesting manner," replied Tenya, trying to find justification for Mei's behavior, but finding it to be rather challenging.

"Let's just discuss our formation," sighed Shoto, "I'll be the rider. Kaminari, you're on the left. Keep the enemies away with your electricity. Iida, you'll be in the front as the main source of mobility and physical defense. Hatsume will the on the right wing in charge of assisting with defense and movement... as soon as she finishes up what she's doing."

"I see. And you will be in charge of distracting and attacking others with your fire and ice," concluded Tenya.

Shoto shook his head, "In a fight, I will never use my fire."

Shoto glanced at the stands to see his father standing towards the back, gazing at him with a scowl. Shoto growled as he turned his attention back to his team.

"Hey, you!"

Shinso turned around to see Monoma calling for him.

"You have a brainwash quirk, right?" asked Monoma, "How many students in 1-A know about your quirk?"

"... Not many," replied Shinso.

"Perfect, then you should team up with my team!" exclaimed Monoma, "After all, two brainwashing quirks would be perfect. We could show them that 1-B is better than 1-A!"

"Even though I'm not part of either?" asked Shinso with a raised eyebrow.

"Minor details," scoffed Monoma, "You can be an honorary 1-B member!"

Shinso shrugged before joining Monoma, who already had Kosei and Sen on his team.

Due to the fact that 1-B had been part of repelling the villains at USJ, there was no real enmity between the two hero class. Just Monoma disliking the monster trio of 1-A as they garnered the most attention, which in turn made him dislike the whole class in general. The rest of the students of 1-B didn't really mind 1-A at all.

"All right, I hope you're all ready!" announced Midnight as the timer hit zero, "We'll be starting soon!"

Present Mic was busy waking up Shota, who had taken the time to take a nap.

"After 15 minutes of forming teams and forming strategies, 12 cavalry teams have lined up the field!" shouted Present Mic, revving the audience up.

Shota gazed down at the field, taking in the teams giving a comment, "There's a lot of interesting teams out there."

"Now, then, let out those battle cries! It's time for U.A's bloody battle!" cried out Present Mic, "Light up the signal fire!"

The formations were set up for each team, with the screen slowly going over each team, from the lowest point value to the highest. The rider's name was the overall group's team name for this event. So going from the bottom up was Pony and Togaru in a two-man team, and so forth. However, when it came to Izuku's team, their team name was Team Kendo.

"What!?" exclaimed Monoma as he glanced at the first place team, as did a few others.

They had expected Izuku to be the rider for this event, but Izuku had completely shattered their expectations. Instead, he was the front horsemen with Momo covering the left while Ochako was on the right.

"Monoma, should we still aim for the first place team?" whispered Sen nervously.

Monoma glared at Izuku for a moment before sighing, "Plan B. We'll play it low and safe for this round. We can kick their asses in the next battle."

Monoma then chuckled to himself, "At least the first place isn't a jerk lording his status by making three girls carry him like some sort of harem king."

Sen and Kosei muttered prayers, thanking the heavens they weren't actively looking to fight Itsuka. None of them really wanted to aim for the Big Sister of 1-B.

"Deku! You fucking running away from this battle!?" growled Katsuki, glaring where at where Izuku should be. Being one of the riders so he could snatch that headband off him, showing him and the world who was the best.

"Are you ready!? If not, too bad!" shouted Present Mic, "Because here's the bloody countdown!"

As the clock ticked down, Izuku looked back to his teammates, confirming that they were ready. They each nodded in reply, determination filling their faces.

"You sure you don't want to be the rider?" asked Itsuka once more.

"I'll be more useful as the front horseman," replied Izuku, "I trust in your reflexes to battle off anyone who gets close. But to do that, they'd have to be able to chase me, so I should be able to lose a few with my speed and maneuverability."

"But there's one more reason, isn't there?" glared Itsuka as she lightly karate chopped Izuku's head, "Probably the most pressing one."

Izuku looked away for a bit before admitting, "Fine, I didn't want to have three girls carrying me! It would be demeaning and humiliating to you all!"

"That's what I thought," sighed Kendo as she leaned down, "Don't worry, it's sweet of you to think about that. That's one of your redeeming traits about you that I admire."

Then, in a sly move, she gave Izuku's forehead and gentle peck with her lips before standing back up once more.

Itsuka received glares from Momo and Ochako, whom she ignored as she focused on the game. The two others also did the same, but the looks on their faces told Itsuka that they would be having words later.

"Three!" Present Mic had begun the countdown.

Katsuki cracked his knuckles as he glared at Itsuka, "We're aiming for..."

"Two!"

"One thing," said Shoto as he observed the target.

"One!"

Izuku grinned as he began to channel One for All through his body.

"Start!" declared Midnight.

Just as Midnight finished her word, several teams charged at Izuku's team, their battle cries filling the air.

"It's basically a battle for the ten million points!" shouted Tetsutetsu as his group charged forward, "Nothing personal Kendo, but you're just a target now in this game!"

"Midoriya, I'll be taking your hard earned points, thank you very much!" laughed Toru as she urged her team forward.

Rikido and Koji were both doing their best to divert their eyes from Toru, as she was currently topless. Sure, it made sense to take off her shirt so the enemy couldn't see her hands or arm movements, but the fact that there was a half naked girl standing right on their hands. They thanked the heavens that Toru hadn't decided on taking off her pants, as they needed some clothing to tell them where she was. That would have been extremely awkward for them, knowing they were parading a naked girl around. They didn't even want to think of what would happen if she had been completely nude and if Toru somehow fell backward onto one of them. They wouldn't even be able to tell how she fell and might unintentionally do something perverted.

"You should have expected this," intoned Fumikage, who had teamed up with Mashirao and Yuga, with Yuga as the rider, "Such is the fate of the pursued!"

"Hey Bakugo, why aren't we charging in right now?" asked Eijiro as Katsuki pulled them back from charging.

"Idiot, think," snarled Katsuki, "We go in now, there's a good chance we'll be hit with a trap. One of the only good things about Deku is that he knows how to plan. All this is probably already planned out. If we wanna get that 10 million points, we have to strike hard and fast when they're least expecting it. Instead, we aim for the others for now."

"As predicted, they came rushing over," huffed Momo.

"What's the plan, Deku?" Ochako asked, ready to do whatever it took. Both she and Momo were wearing skates that had omnidirectional wheels.

"Only one thing really to do for now," smiled Kendo.

"Yep. We're running away!" shouted Izuku as he bent his knees.

"Like hell we'd let you!" shouted Tetsutetsu, Juzo grunting in agreement as he activated his quirk, softening the floor around Izuku in hopes of trapping his team in.

However, Izuku was ready for such a thing and launched himself left, dragging his team along. Itsuka managed to stay on thanks to Momo creating bands that bound her legs to their hands. Both Momo and Ochako didn't even have to move their legs, letting their wheels doing the work while Izuku supplied the horsepower and movement. With that, they could focus their attention on support and watching for their blind spots.

"After him!" shouted Tetsutetsu as his team turned to give chase. With the others surrounding team Kendo, they were bound to have a chance!

However, Izuku proved too fast and mobile for any of them. With Ochako lightening their overall weight, Izuku was juking left and right, changing directions at seemingly impossible standards, thanks to his Ghost Perplexing Steps.

"Holy crap, how is he so fast and mobile!?" shouted Tetsutetsu as the target got further and further away.

"After him!" cried out Toru as Jiro's earjacks were unable to latch onto team Kendo, "Come on, Jiro, it's time for revenge!"

"Ah, wait, Hagakure, your headband! It's gone!" cried out Sato as he took a peek back up to confirm her orders, just noticing that the headband that should have been floating in the air was gone.

"What!? When did that happen?" cried out Toru as she desperately tried to find where it had disappeared.

"Too easy," grinned Monoma as he twirled the stolen headband, "Profiting while others fight."

"What's the next plan?" asked Shinso from his left.

"We'll keep low and continue to do the same to others," replied Monoma, "We just need to be up in the scoreboard. We'll snatch 3rd place before this whole thing ends."

"Sounds like a good plan!" said Kosei.

"Well look at them go! Barely two minutes have gone by and it's already become a free for all! Fights over the headbands have broken out all over the place! Ignoring the ten million points and going for second, third, and eighth isn't a bad idea either, since the fourth, fifth, and seventh are with first place!" announced Present Mic, giving his personal suggestions as the battle continued.

"Team Kendo proves to be elusive with Midoriya as their main horseman," nodded Shota as he watched the scene.

"Hahahaha, fighting? No, this is a one-sided pillage!" laughed a voice, causing Izuku to glance towards the source.

Izuku blinked in confusion as he saw Shoji running towards them, seemingly all alone. His eyes narrowed in suspicion at this, not to mention Shoji had his Dupli-arms up, covering his backside.

As Izuku took a step forward, he heard Momo cry out now, followed by a piece of metal shooting out from her body and intercepting his step, followed by the sound of something being squished. Izuku quickly lifted his foot up to see one of Mineta's grape-colored balls stuck on the floor. He quickly looked around to see several more lying about already.

"That's Mineta's quirk," blinked Izuku, thanking Momo for saving him, "But from where?"

"Over here... Midoriya!" laughed Mineta from inside Shoji's arm cave, peeking out from the hole.

"I'm guessing that's allowed?" asked Kendo, warily watching her surroundings.

"It is!" clarified Midnight.

Mineta faded back into the dark pit as if to make room. Seconds later, a tongue lashed out from inside, almost snagging Kendo's headband. Kendo was able to dodge it with her reflexes, watching the tongue shoot past her head.

"As expected from someone whom Izuku chose to be the rider," commented Tsuyu from within the cave, showing that Shoji was carrying both of them while running at full speed.

"Quite impressive," noted Izuku as Mineta began to hurl his sticky balls at a rapid pace while Tsuyu attacked with her tongue, aiming for the headband, "But not enough to stop us."

With that, Izuku leaped up into the air, easily clearing over Shoji as well as surprising them and the team behind them that had been trying to sneak up on them.

"You won't escape that easily!" cried out Tsuyu as her tongue extended upwards, chasing after them.

Izuku noticed the tongue chasing after them, and though he could kick it away, he didn't want to risk the chance of hurting her tongue. His mind flashed through the possibilities for a bit while Momo was already making something to ease their landing before remembering that it wasn't merely his limbs that had rubber-like properties, but everything. So if Tsuyu could use her tongue like a whip...

Izuku responded to Tsuyu's attack by turning his head while sticking his tongue out before quickly whipping his head around, extending his tongue just like Tsuyu. His tongue clashed right into Tsuyu, who looked shocked before pulling back. As she did, though, Izuku swore that her tongue seemed to linger on his a little longer, curling around for a bit. He pushed it off as his own imagination as he quickly retracted his tongue back.

"Izuku, what the hell was that?" intoned Itsuka with a flat voice.

"Ah, something that came up in the spur of the moment," chuckled Izuku, not noticing the glares the three girls were giving him, "My whole body is made of rubber. I almost forgot that I'm not limited to only my limbs. Any part of my body can stretch."

'Anything?' thought the three girls before they felt their minds start to wander towards a dangerous path. Luckily, that thought process was interrupted when they heard explosions from below. They all looked down to see Bakugo blazing through several teams, flying through the air without his team. After taking several headbands, Hanta dragged him back to them, making his actions perfectly legal.

"Yo, Bakugo, they're in the air! Isn't this our chance?" suggested Eijiro, peeking up.

"Idiot, he would expect that," snarked Katsuki, karate chopping Eijiro's head, "Not to mention they have spiky ponytail to protect their flanks with her quirk. Deku could also kick me out of the air, and finally, side ponytail could protect herself with her hands before trying to swat me down."

"How is it that you know their quirks and not ours!" cried out Mina, "I understand Midoriya, but Yaomomo and Kendo? One of them isn't even in our class!"

"Side ponytail been with Deku back at elementary school while spiky ponytail and round face sometimes trains with me and Deku," Katsuki snapped back, "Racoon eyes, focus on your flank, we got incoming."

"My name is Mina Ashido!" cried out Mina as she quickly used one hand to fire out some acid to stop the other team from attacking them.

Izuku quickly landed first, absorbing all the impact before Momo and Ochako landed in a gentle stop, thanks to Izuku holding them in the air for a little before setting them down.

"Seven minutes have gone by already, let's see how everyone's doing!" announced Present Mic, flipping towards the screen to display the current rankings.

Team Kendo being first was no surprise to anyone, as they still retained his 10 million point headband. Second place was Team Bakugo, followed by team Tetsutetsu, then by team Aoyama. Everyone was quite surprised that Team Todoroki was trailing behind.

"But it's not over yet! Anything can still happen folks!" shouted Present Mic in excitement, "But there's only half of the time left!

"Let's keep moving," suggested Itsuka, not wanting to be an idle target.

Izuku nodded and was about to run when team Todoroki appeared in front of them. Izuku calmly analyzed the situation and their opponents. Tenya being the front horseman for any team was to be expected. What surprised him was the fact Deki and the other girl, whom he saw her name on the board when they announced the rankings for the obstacle course, were able to keep up with Tenya's speed. When he looked down, he found his answer. Both Denki and Mei were wearing hover boots, allowing free mobility just like them. He remembered that since Mei was part of the Support Course, she was allowed to bring anything as long as she was the one who made the item.

"Those 10 million points... I'll be taking them now," declared Shoto.

Meanwhile, Mineta was in tears while Tsuyu huffed in slight anger. The reason for such reactions? Somehow, without Mineta noticing it, their headband had been stolen despite taking cover inside Shoji's arm cave.

"It was a good plan, so I joined the team even though it was with you," huffed Tsuyu, "When did you lose your headband?"

She had wanted to head over to Izuku's team, but stopped when she noticed Momo and the others already heading over there. She decided to let them as she respected the fact they had crushes on Izuku far longer than hers. Plus, she still wasn't sure if her crush on Izuku was only temporary.

"I don't know!" wailed Mineta, "But now, there's nothing left to lose! Shoji, full attack mode!"

Shoji nodded in agreement, releasing the hands that had been clasped over each other to form the cave to hide them. Now that he had no need to protect them, he could focus all his efforts in helping grab some headbands, and with six hands, their chances would improve drastically. He began to dash to where both team Kendo and team Todoroki would be, intent on stealing all those points.

They weren't the only team to do so, however. Several others charged forward, intent on taking the 10 million points.

"Iida, advance," nudged Shoto, causing Tenya to charge forward.

"Mei, the items."

Mei quickly tossed a small cube that transformed into a pole for Shoto as well as several small gadgets that attached to herself, Shoto, and Tenya.

"Kaminari, yo-"

"I know!" grinned Denki, electricity started to crackle around him.

Izuku's eyes opened wide as he figured out what was about to happen.

"Momo, make an insulation sheet to protect you and the others! I can handle the shock!" ordered Izuku. Momo quickly created one, having already opened up her sports uniform in the front while Itsuka grabbed it and covered herself, Momo, and Ochako.

"Sorry about this Midoriya, but those points are just too tasty. Hope you all are guarding well, cause here goes... Indiscriminate Shock, 1.3 million volts!"

Lightning struck the surrounding area, shocking many of the teams who had been nearby. Denki's own team was unharmed thanks to Mei's quick invention, creating a small electrical barrier that gave them a negative charge, thus guiding the lightning around them. Momo and the others were protected by the insulation sheet she made while Izuku, being made of rubber, took the hit without any problems.

"There's not much time left," noted Shoto as he discarded the small gadget, as it was a one time use, "There's no going back now. Sorry about this, but just bear with it. "

Shoto stuck the staff into the floor, channeling his ice quirk through it before freezing everyone around his team. Izuku quickly jumped back to dodge the ice in response. Then, with a quick movement, Shoto snatched several headbands from the teams surrounding him, shooting his team's overall points to second place.

"Oohh! What'd he do!? Todoroki managed to take care of that crowd of teams in an instant!" shouted Present Mic in surprise.

"He froze them while they were all still stunned by Kaminari's shock. I guess it should be expected, but he took into account how a lot of people managed to avoid his attack back at the obstacle course," Shota commented.

"Looks like we didn't get them," commented Mei, zooming her eyes in on team Kendo with her quirk.

Shoto sighed as he did expect this when Momo joined their team. Mei took out a taser she had built, charged with Kaminari's quirk, and fired it at Kendo, only to have it blocked by Momo, who used her quirk to create an insulated object.

"Guess... we have to... wheyyy... close in on them," suggested Denki, who was starting to have trouble functioning properly after using that attack.

"It'll be a difficult battle," noted Tenya, "Midoriya won't make it easy."

"We'll have to risk it," said Shoto with narrowed eyes.

Tenya pushed his engines on his legs to its highest gear as he began to chase Izuku. Izuku grinned as he pushed One for All up to 65% once more and began running. Soon, the two teams began to become a blur to the audience, their eyes trying to catch up with them.

'I can't shake him!' thought Izuku as he made 110-degree turn, thinking Tenya wouldn't be able to follow. Instead, Tenya was somehow able to make a 90-degree turn before curving a little to follow him. 'How is he still able to make so many sharp turns without overextending his ligaments?'

The answer laid with Mei once more. She had given Tenya even more support items. One allowed Tenya to run even faster, another reinforced his legs to allow him to make sharp turns, and the last one helped Tenya auto-balance correctly in case he stumbled.

Izuku wanted to push One for All up to a higher percent but didn't dare to as not only would he start to suffer tunnel vision, but his teammates seemed to be getting sick of all the turns. Momo had created some anti-nausea medication for them all just in case, but it could only last so long. Suddenly, Izuku had to stop as his pathway had suddenly softened and covered with vines. One step into it would trap them all. Izuku tried to run the other way, only for it to be blocked by thick ice.

"Ha, finally trapped you!" shouted Tetsutetsu with glee as his team appeared behind Izuku's while Shoto blocked his front.

"It's over for you," stated Shoto.

"Oooh! It looks like team Kendo is trapped! How will they get out of this predicament now!?" said Present Mic with excitement.

Izuku looked around calmly before barking an order.

"Momo, smoke bombs!"

Momo quickly dropped the smoke bombs she head created, concealing them with thick smoke that covered a lot of space.

From behind, Juzo began to soften the ground once more, aiming to trap them, while Shoto from the front shot another wave ice, intending to freeze them. Both attacks went into the smoke, though nobody could tell if it had been successful.

"Shiozaki, send your vines in and see if you can't grab them," suggested Tetsutetsu, to which Ibara nodded and did so.

On the other side, Mei pulled out her net gun and fired it into the smoke, as it was too thick for her quick to zoom in through.

"Ah, I caught something!" exclaimed Ibara as she felt her vines entangle against something.

"Good, reel them in!" shouted an excited Tetsutetsu.

Ibara quickly did so, only for them to see that her vines had been entangled into a net.

"Where did they go?" questioned Present Mic, as he saw Ibara's vines tangled in a net that Mei had shot. For that to happen, it would mean team Kendo was not longer at the middle of the entrapment.

"Eliminate the choices," sighed Shota, "If they can't go forward or backward, left or right, there are only two choices left. Though one of them is quite impossible, the other isn't. If they didn't go underground, then..."

"Up in the air!" shouted an audience member.

Everyone quickly did so to see Kendo, Momo, and Ochako in the air, though no Izuku. However, his hands were still grasped onto theirs, his arms stretching down towards the smoke.

Before the attacks had landed, Izuku had quickly flipped around, stretching his shoulder blades much more than they should, but it didn't hurt him. Then, with a grin, he threw the girls up into the air with One for All supporting his own strength. His arms flew up with them for a bit before Kendo grabbed both of his wrists, her hands enlarged before pulling Izuku up, just in time as Shoto's ice and Juzo's quirk clashed against each other.

"And they escape the entrapment with ease!" exclaimed Present Mic in amazement, "And there's less than a minute left!"

"See ya!" grinned Izuku as he escaped the smoke cloud before looking up at Kendo, his eyes widening in shock.

"Itsuka, to your right!" shouted Izuku.

Itsuka quickly turned, but it was too late. Katsuki Bakugo was already too close to them to do anything, his arm already stretched out to grab her headband.

Katsuki had his team stay behind, observing the whole situation. When he saw Izuku trapped, he knew that they would jump to escape. And so he quickly launched himself up into the air, telling Flat Face (Hanta) to catch him after he nabbed the headband. He had purposely chosen to attack from the right as Itsuka would be the most vulnerable there. Momo could protect her left, but Ochako wouldn't be able to do anything, and Itsuka's hands were currently busy.

"Oh? Oooohh! And Katsuki Bakugo grabs the 10 million point headband!" shouted Present Mic as Katsuki snatched the headband off. Katsuki was immediately pulled back by Hanta, who had attached his tape on him beforehand.

"No!" shouted Shoto in anger as he activated the jetpack on his back, sending his team upwards into the air, "We can't reach it in time!"

"No, we can," claimed Tenya as he gritted his teeth, "However, after this move, I'll be useless afterward. But with time almost over, it'll be worth. Todoroki, use this chance to grab it!"

Tenya focused on his engines, revving them well over his regular limits, positioning his legs so it would achieve the maximum lift.

"Torque Over-Recipiro Burst!"

With a huge blast from Tenya's legs, the team shot right towards Katsuki with the intent of intercepting him.

"I win Deku!" shouted Katsuki as he was being reeled back when he noticed something was attached to the headband. Specifically, a pinky finger wrapped around it. He traced the finger back down to the source just to notice it was attached to Izuku's hands.

"Oh you shitty asshole!" growled Katsuki as he tried to aim his hand at the pinky before noticing Shoto coming in hot.

That moment's hesitation on whether to aim it at Izuku or Shoto was enough for Izuku to use One for all at 100%, pulling the headband back right out of Katsuki's grip.

As for when the pinky had been there... it had been there the whole time. With Itsuka's permission, Izuku had his pinky finger extended up through her uniform all the way through to her headband. Her side ponytail helped cover the fact that Izuku had a pinky wrapped around the headband the whole time.

"And team Kendo steals the headband back!" shouted Present Mic, "Is that even allowed!?"

"It is!" declared Midnight.

Katsuki had to blast himself downwards to avoid a collision with team Todoroki, who was desperately changing directions to team Kendo now. However, it was too late for them all. Izuku had already been pulled back to his team, his leg raised up high up for an arc kick, electricity arcing all around his leg.

Shoto quickly created a thick ice barrier in front of them while Katsuki quickly positioned his hands in front of him. Back on the ground, Tetsutetsu had Yosetsu fuse them into the ground to prepare themselves.

"Later!" shouted Izuku as he swung down with 100% of One for All. The force of the kick was strong enough to create a shock wave towards his intended targets, Shoto and Katsuki.

Katsuki used both his hands to create one of his strongest blasts to fight against the shockwave, sending him towards the ground but in a controlled manner that he could still maneuver around.

Team Todoroki was sent flying away despite Shoto's ice, his use of the jetpack at maximum power, and his teammates using their hover boots to fight against the momentum. Shoto was able to create a few ice blocks to crash into to try to kill their momentum before making an ice slide for them to slide back down.

Team Tetsutetsu had Ibara create vines to help anchor them and block the shock wave as best as they could while being fused to the ground. Ibara created a vine shield in front of them covering them from front to both sides. Sadly, they were unprepared for Katsuki to suddenly appearance behind them. Katsuki had quickly recovered in the air, and upon noticing that he had been flung towards them, decided to take advantage of the situation. With their views blocked, Tetsutetsu couldn't react fast enough before Katsuki stole the headbands.

"Later idiots!" shouted Katsuki as Hanta pulled him back.

Shoto glared up in anger as his team slid down the ice slide. All his plans, his efforts, all dashed. Every time he aimed for the trap within the trap within that trap, there was still another one waiting for them. Nothing he tried seemed to work. He wanted to show the world that he could be number one without his father's power! He wanted to Endeavor to look he was worthless, just a sperm donor.

'Midoriya... You dare make me look like a fool in front of everyone? In front of my shitty father? Don't you dare think this is over yet!'

He swung his left hand back, flames roaring in the palm of his hands as he took aim.

"Time's up!" shouted Present Mic, disrupting Shoto's current thoughts. His eyes widened in shock as he realized just what he had been about to do, and quickly extinguished it.

'I told myself I would never use his powers in a battle,' growled Shoto, 'A pledge that I made to myself. And yet, when driven to a corner, I almost resorted to using it. I can't... I won't let this go on. Otherwise, I'll be doing what my shitty man wants.'

He looked back to where his old man was just to see him scowling. Shoto scowled as he turned around to leave. There was no way he would ever use HIS power.

"So let's go over the rankings right away!" announced Present Mic, annoying Shota once more as usual, "In first place, keeping their 10 million point headband, is TEAM KENDO! They managed to persevere through the whole battle while everyone had them as their targets!"

The crowd cheered as Izuku gently let Itsuka down, who gave him a high five before doing so with Momo and Ochako.

"We did it!" cheered Ochako and Itsuka, "We're in first!"

"Even though we won, it feels like we were skating on thin ice," sighed Momo in relief.

"It's all thanks to Deku and his plans and strength!" complimented Ochako.

"Oh, no no no no, everyone had a hand in this!" said Izuku, waving his hands in front of him.

"Don't be foolish," chuckled Itsuka as she gave him a playful flick to the head, "If it wasn't for your mobility, we'd be easily trapped."

"Indeed," nodded Momo, "Without you, we truly would not have won."

Toshinori couldn't help smile at his successor while Inko was bawling tears next to him, shooting up from her eyes like a geyser.

"Second place, with an explosive finish, is Team Bakugo! Leave it to the explosive boy to snatch up so many points in one go!"

"Man, we were so close, too!" sighed Mina, waving her hands in complaint.

"Well, second place isn't that bad," shrugged Hanta, "All's well that ends well."

"Do you really think that's how HE feels?" asked Eijiro with a deadpan voice, pointing to their rider.

"Shit! Damnit Deku, you crafty asshole! I'll kill you. FFFFUUUUU-"

Clunk

Before Katsuki could let off a huge F bomb, he was hit by a large soda cup full of ice from very far away.

"I told you not to cuss that loud in public, you damn brat!" shouted Mitsuki from the stands, showing that she had thrown the cup.

"Dammit you old hag, that hurt!" howled Katsuki.

"It had better hurt, now stop distracting everyone!" Mitsuki shot back.

"Is that really alright?" sweatdropped Toshinori, looking at Mitsuki, "Isn't it bad to be so... angry all the time?" He was quite impressed with her aim and strength and wondered if she had some sort of strength quirk.

Inko chuckled as she put her hand close to her mouth, "Usually, anger and stress do affect the skin. However, Mitsuki's quirk is that she produces glycerin from her skin. With that, she has never had to purchase any beauty products or skincare because her body does it for her naturally. A lot of models are quite jealous of her for it. Her husband, Masaru, has the ability to secret acidic sweat that has combustive and explosive properties, which we call Oxidizing Sweat. It was just a coincidence that the two quirks could be combined together. The two never even bothered trying to match quirks. Mitsuki was the one who pursued after Masaru."

'Ah, I see. Makes sense how the two combine creates something similar to Nitroglycerin for young Bakugo,' nodded Toshinori mentally before blinking, 'Wait, glycerin!? That's her quirk!? I thought it was something to deal with strength or aim with that throw! Does that mean that was just purely her only, and not with a quirk?'

Toshinori slowly looked away from Mitsuki, instead choosing to focus on Inko. It helped that when Inko laughed into her hand, the small smile on her face, captivated his attention until Present Mic continued with his announcements.

"Ok continuing on!" shouted Present Mic, as if there had been no interruptions, "In third place, team Todoroki!"

The others on his team looked relieved, having made it to the top four teams, but Todoroki himself was displeased.

"Sorry! Even with my trump card, I wasn't able to pursue our goal! Despite speed being my specialty, I could not catch up to them!" apologized Tenya with a deep bow.

"Man, don't swhey it!" said Denki, currently still in dumb mode though slightly recovering.

"Indeed, my babies were shown to everyone!" cheered Mei, "So, are you interested in my babies?"

"I admit, you gear did help me a lot," admitted Tenya, "Perhaps after the Sports Festival, we could discuss more about it."

Endeavor looked at his rebellious son with displeasure. Shoto should have and would have gotten first if he wasn't so stubborn on not using the other half of his quirk. Sooner or later, he would see it his way.

"ANNDD finally, in fourth place, it's Team Aoyo... no wait, it's Team Monoma? When did you come from behind?"

Monoma grinned as he twirled the stolen headbands on his fingers while Aoyoma, Fumikage, and Mashirao looked confused and depressed.

"Thanks for the donation," said Monoma lightly before walking away.

"The first four teams will be moving onto the final event! Now that the second round is over, we'll be taking a one hour break for lunch to let those teams recharge, as well as give us all a chance to stretch our legs! The afternoon festivities will start right after lunch, so don't miss out! Hey, Eraser Head, let's grab some food!"

"I'm taking a nap," replied Shoto as he curled up in his sleeping bag that he had brought over. An hour's worth of nap wasn't something he was going to miss.

"Haa!? Fine, I'll bring something over for you to munch on later," sighed Present Mic as he left.

"Nice job Kendo! You're in the finals!" cheered Setsuna as she, Reiko, Yui, and Kinoko walked over to congratulate her, "You'll be representing us 1-B girls!"

"Incidentally, how goes your progress?" asked Reiko.

"Shhh!" hissed Itsuka frantically, "We can talk about that later!"

"It should be obvious you're making good progress if you let his finger roam inside your clothes," stated Yui bluntly.

Itsuka went crimson before pushing her friends towards the cafeteria.

Tsuyu huffed away from Mineta, a little peeved on losing but still congratulated Mina on earning a spot in the finals.

"I was only added in to deal with Todoroki's ice and upon Kirishima's insistence, I don't think I'd even match up to their strength. Not to mention I barely felt like I did anything," sighed Mina.

"Hey, the fact you didn't need to do anything meant that we were just too damn strong!" cheered Eijiro, clapping Mina's back, "Don't feel down!"

"Iida, that last move was so sneaky!" huffed Ochako as she was walking with Tenya, "You went super fast at that last second! So unfair!"

"It had nothing to do with fairness! I merely wanted to present a challenge against Midoriya, but despite that, he went above and beyond all of us! I admit, even with all the support gear I had, it took all my concentration just to follow him. Those steps of his are very perplexing!"

"Ah, where is Deku?" asked Ochako, noticing that Izuku wasn't with them.

"Todoroki pulled him aside to talk to him about something in private," answered Momo.

"Eh? About what?" asked Ochako, slightly worried for Izuku. If Shoto was carrying a grudge against Izuku for winning... she didn't even want to go there.

At a side entrance labeled for Staff Only, Izuku was staring at Shoto, who had wanted to speak to him in private.

"So... you wanted to say something?" asked Izuku, tilting his straw hat up, "If we don't hurry up, the cafeteria will be full."

Silence reigned in between them, the tension slowly becoming suffocating. Izuku gave him exactly 10 more seconds before deciding to just walk away.

As he took the first step away, though, was when Shoto finally responded to his question.

"I was overpowered. So much that I broke my pledge."

Izuku raised his eyebrows as he looked down at Shoto's left side. More specifically, his left hand that had been filled with flames earlier. He did wonder why Shoto never chose to use those flames. If he did, then the challenges would have been much harder.

"Your strength... whether or not the others felt it, I did. And I resorted to using something I swore I would never use in battle. That power... it feels similar to the same power All Might radiates. Add the fact that he has his eyes on you for sure... Midoriya... are you..."

'Shit that's not good, did he somehow figure out One for All?' thought Izuku, his hands lightly sweating now.

"Are you All Might's secret love child or something?" asked Shoto.

Whatever Izuku was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. Izuku had to blink several times after that accusation. He began trying to see why Shoto would see it that way before understanding just how he came to that conclusion before starting to laugh.

Shoto's forehead grew a tic at this, "Are you going to answer the question?"

Izuku managed to push down his laughter, adjusting his hat before replying, "Sorry. The answer is no. My... father lives overseas with his new lover. Shitty old man sends over child support checks, but that's about it. Never seen him in my life, and I don't plan on looking for him. As for All Might, we look nothing alike. That's not how it is."

'Though he and mom seem to be getting closer though,' thought Izuku.

Shoto closed his eyes, "I see... you too, huh."

"You... too?" blinked Izuku. .

Shoto pushed forward, "Anyways, you said 'that's not how it is'. That means there is a connection between you and All Might. Something that you can't talk about."

Izuku cursed himself at this while also shocked that Shoto caught on to this so easily. Due to the fact that Shoto was so quiet and barely talked with anyone else in the class, it was easy to forget how perceptive he was. Izuku mentally noted to put in Shoto's perception level in his notebook.

Shoto, sensing that Izuku wouldn't talk about it, decided to forge ahead to his original topic, "Endeavor's my old man. As you already know, he's been stuck as the number two hero for forever. If you have something from the number one, then there's more reason for me to defeat you."

Shoto slowly raised his eyes to stare deep into Izuku's own eyes, " My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world. As a hero, he won a name for himself with crushing force. But because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore for him. But no matter what he did, he couldn't beat All Might in power, popularity, or anything else. So he decided to use a different plan to surpass All Might."

"Another plan? I'm a bit confused about what you're trying to explain to me, Todoroki. What are you trying to tell me?" asked Izuku in confusion now.

"You've heard of Quirk Marriages, correct?"

Izuku's flinch told Shoto everything as he continued on explaining quirk marriages, and how Endeavor used his wealth and influence to win over the relatives of Shoto's mother before taking hold of her quirk. Endeavor was trying to live his dream of surpassing All Might by living through his son, raising him to be the one to beat All Might.

"I'll never be that scum's tool," scowled Shoto, "In my memories, my mother was always crying because of him. Surely you know how it feels to see your mother crying, too."

Izuku tilted his head down, his straw hat shadowing over his eyes. Izuku did remember it all too well. Inko may have tried her best to hide it, but he knew when he went to 'sleep', his mother would cry herself to sleep. She mumbled in her sleep, apologizing how she didn't at least give Izuku her quirk, how she married an idiot, etc. etc. Even after Izuku ate the devil fruit that gave him his quirk, he knew Inko still cried sometimes. How her son would never be able to have a father figure while growing up. About their financial situation sometimes. It was truly a blessing that Mitsuki stormed in and managed to get Inko back on her feet by offering a part-time modeling gig every now and then, supporting her in ways Izuku couldn't. Even though he and Katsuki weren't in a good relationship, it didn't stop him from respecting his parents. Izuku knew that even to this day, his mother would sometimes fall silent in depression, though that seemed to have gone away thanks to All Might.

'Huh, I didn't notice how much All Might's presence in his emancipated form influenced my mother. Something to think about,' thought Izuku to himself.

Shoto allowed Izuku to reminisce about that past for a little before pushing on, "Your left side is unsightly. That's what my mother said as she poured boiling water on me."

Izuku shook at that image as Shoto raised his hand to the scar on his face. The scar which his mother had caused. He couldn't imagine his own mother doing the same thing.

"In short, I'm aiming to beat you for my own personal reasons. I won't use his quirk... or rather, I'll completely reject him by winning first place without using it!"

Shoto's eyes were filled with coldness and hatred as he made this vow. Izuku couldn't help but see just how vast the world was. While he suffered for not having a quirk, Shoto suffered because of it and its meaning. Even with the same goals, they were different.

Shoto sighed as he was finished, and began to walk away.

"I don't care if you can't tell me how you are connected to All Might. No matter what you are to him, I will rise above you with only my right side. Sorry for wasting your time, but I just wanted to get that point across. I'll be in the finals and the winner of it by the end of this tournament."

Shoto had taken only a few steps before Izuku stopped him.

"Hold it."

Shoto turned around to see what Izuku wanted, seeing his hat still covering his eyes. However, when Izuku raised them, Shoto saw burning confidence in those eyes.

"I have always been supported by others," began Izuku, "I am here because of everyone that's supported me. Saving people with a fearless smile, the greatest hero, All Might. I want to be just like him. And in order to do that, I have to be strong enough to become number one. My motivation may seem trivial to yours, but it pushes me forward, nonetheless! I'll echo your sentiment, I can't lose either! I have to live up the hopes that others that supported me! Your story is sad, but it won't make me roll over for you. And I can say this with confidence, every one of us in the Heroics Course in the final wants to be number one, too! Sure, most of us don't have such a sad background as yours, but none of us will let you win that easily! Don't get cocky in thinking you'll be in the finals automatically, otherwise, you'll stumble over others, and they'll use you as a stepping stone. I plan to face every opponent I have to meet with everything I have!"

As Izuku made his speech, he couldn't help but think about those who supported him. His mother. Rekai. Itsuka. All Might. Momo. Ochako. Tenya. Everyone that helped pushed him further along his path. It would be an insult to just give up! It wasn't just him either. Ochako was fighting against poverty to become a hero. Tenya was doing it because he wanted to carry on the family name of heroes. Momo was doing it to prove that she was more than a pretty face and rich daughter. Itsuka wanted to help and protect others like a big sister would. Even Katsuki had his reasons, though not in a very heroic way, but it was still something.

Shoto took a slight step back at this declaration before giving Izuku a nod and walked away.

Izuku stood there for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, "You can come out now, Bakugo. I can hear you even if you're hiding."

Katsuki winced as he slowly stepped out of the corner he had been hiding. He had been curious at what Shoto wanted and peeved that Shoto didn't even view him as a threat. How Izuku had heard him, though, was a question that was at the forefront of his mind.

"I train with master Rekai, who's blind but has super good hearing. I picked up a few things while studying under her," answered Izuku, as if reading his mind, "I heard the scuffle of your shoes while it was silent between me and Todoroki. When Todoroki declared that he would defeat me and be number one, you let out small crackles of explosions, though Todoroki didn't notice. I don't think it needs to be said, but whatever he said stays between us until he wants to let others know."

Katsuki slowly nodded as he closed his eyes. He couldn't imagine his mother doing such a thing, either. Sure, the old hag was annoying and tended to smack him around, but she would never say such a thing or leave such a scar. Sure, she punted him through the couch sometimes, but both knew he could easily handle that. It made him realize just how lucky he was with his family. Izuku's life wasn't perfect, either. The damn bastard ran away instead of manning up and taking responsibility as the man of the house. Even his father wanted to punch him, and it was very hard to tick his father off.

The two quickly left for the cafeteria to get some food in their stomach. They would need the energy for the next event.

Meanwhile, All Might had finished his conversation with Endeavor. To say it left a bad taste was rather understating it. All Might had his suspicions that not everything in the Todoroki household was all fine and dandy, but he couldn't do anything about it. No, he could not be the one to initiate it. The first step had to come from them.

'Oh, can't let them wait for me for too long!' thought All Might as he quickly dashed into an empty room, making sure nobody saw him enter. Seconds later, he was back out in his emancipated form, making his way back to where Inko and the Bakugo couples were waiting.

"Sorry, had an urgent call that I had to make," apologized Toshinori as he took his seat, "Hope you guys didn't order anything for me, I'm not that hungry. I tend to be a snacker."

"We got you some green tea," offered Masaru, placing a cup in front of him, "And do try to eat a little more. You look too frail for your age. Hopefully, the tea will expand your appetite a little. We've also got you some sandwiches that'll be both filling and easy to go down."

"Ah... thanks," blushed Toshinori, rubbing the back of his head. At least it wasn't a full meal. That would have been difficult to eat without a stomach.

"Ah, my order of Takoyaki is ready," smiled Inko as she quickly stood up to get it.

She was just returning with her order when a few children who weren't watching where they were running slammed into Inko. Inko, unfortunately, was wearing heels, and so began to fall. Mitsuki saw the trajectory of her fall and gasped, already standing up to save her. Inko was falling right towards a metal pole that had been erected with several others to create a canvas for shade. At the rate and speed she was falling, Inko would slam her head into the pole, causing severe concussion and bleeding.

A gash on her head would open, and stitches would definitely be required. Inko was still a beautiful lady, but a scar on her head wouldn't be good. The Japanese culture still did not view scars kindly, especially on a civilian, and double on females. Scars on heroes and such were ok thanks to the rise of superpowers, but the culture still had that sort of prejudice, something Mitsuki did not agree on. But it would cause more strife and hardship in her life if she was injured like that.

Before Mitsuki could do anything, though, Inko found herself being swept away from the pole, safely anchored onto Toshinori's arm, who was currently looking at her face in worry. Then, without even turning his head back, his other hand grabbed the box that had carried the takoyaki and caught all the airborne takoyaki into the box. He did so with such precision that when he caught the last one, none of the pieces were out of place.

"Are you alright?" asked Toshinori, completely focused on Inko as he slid the box onto the table.

"Habababababa," stuttered Inko, not knowing what to say and completely embarrassed. She could only put her hands on his chest to try to support herself up, only to fail as she slipped once more, her face placed onto his chest.

"Nice catch buddy!" grinned Mitsuki as she slapped Toshinori's back as a compliment.

However, the two ladies noticed something when they placed their hands on his body. It might have been because he wore very baggy clothes, or that his face seemed very thin, but they just assumed he was frail and skinny all skin and bones. The feelings they got from their hands when pressed against his body told a different story, though. They could feel those chiseled, lean muscles through his clothes. True, they also felt bones, but he was much more muscular than they thought. Both shelved that information for later as they quickly sat back down to eat. Inko kept glancing at Toshinori every now and then, unable to draw her eyes away from him.