So here's part two of the double update (potentially to be deleted) for what I've written for the random bracket that's been drawn up. People aren't probably going to be big fans of it, and I may scrap this chapter before I get lynched or something. It's a very rough sketch of what might happen if I continue with this, basically written without a plan in mind.

Chapter 9: The Boring Tournament

With the end of the second event, students had been brought back to assemble once again in the stadium. I watched as the few individuals that caught my interest returned, slightly worse for the wear but still eager for the tournament to come.

Neito, Kinoko, Hatsume, Shoji and Jirou were greeted by waves of applause at they made their way back, having recovered minutes after being put down by Nezu's weaponry. An official had been sent to check on them, then to bring them back following the end of the event. They looked bewildered, probably unaware of just how much attention had been placed on them, although Hatsume did seize the opportunity to give yet another sales pitch.

I turned to look at the sheet of paper now being held in Hizashi's hands, detailing the finalised list of the top sixteen students who made it through the first two events. Todoroki and Bakugou were obvious shoe-ins; the six that remained of Setsuna's and Izuku's teams won their place through sacrifice. The other eight weren't quite so obvious favourites, but most had been reasonably expected to progress far.

Iida had maintained his point lead, employer his Mover abilities to get away from Nezu even when caught by surprise. Similarly, Tokoyami's quirk enabled him to avoid Nezu completely. Yaoyorozu had devised crafty plans and carefully tracked Nezu's position, allowing her to continue taking down robots while still evading the principal. Shinsou most mostly laid low, taking easy pickings wherever he could with his Master quirk.

The others were a bit of a surprise. Kirishima, Tetsutetsu and Ojiro had been in the midst of a Brute battle when their armbands collectively called out Nezu being in the vicinity. This was sufficient for them to temporarily agree to a cease-fire, banding together while they ran away. As they talked, Brute-logic had somehow dictated that they stuck together for the rest of the event. Mina had miraculously lucked out during the event, placed precariously at the sixteenth position by virtue of higher ranked students being eliminated.

"ALRIGHT! Welcome back, students! I hope you've had fun during the second event! Without further ado, let's take a look at the TOP SIXTEEN!"

As Hizashi gave the go-ahead for the scoreboard to be displayed on the main screens, I snuck a peek at the students below. Setsuna looked to be berating an indignant Neito while Pony was animatedly chatting with Kinoko, while the other two members of their team watched the former with uncertainty. Izuku and Uraraka seemed to be repeatedly apologising to Jirou and Shoji, who were desperately trying to wave off the tide of words coming from their mouths.

"You can go talk to them, you know," Aizawa said. "There's thirty minutes until the next event. You don't really need to be up here until the tournament begins."

He was really observant, with a way of sneaking up on me that made me question whether or not he secretly had a Stranger element to his quirk.

"You sure?" I asked.

He waved me away, taking a seat in the commentator's booth, leaning back deeply into the chair.

Wait, was he asleep ?

No sense thinking about it any further. Aizawa could be really odd at times. Slowly, I made my way towards the students.

"Taylor-chan!" Setsuna spotted me first, ceasing her scolding of Neito. "You're here! You're looking for us? Oh, is it because we're your favourites? I bet it is! Did you see us in the events?"

Then, she turned to look sideways at Neito, face turning into a glare. "Did you see what this idiot and the other idiot did?"

"I helped you guys get away from Nezu!" Neito protested.

"You sacrificed yourself, you idiot! You aren't supposed to do that!"

"Relax, Setsuna. It was just an exercise. Good work, all of you," I said.

"Sure, it's just an exercise now, but against a real villain –"

"I only did it because it's Nezu ," Neito explained in exasperation. "I wouldn't have done it otherwise. I'm not an idiot, you know?"

"You say that now, but –"

"It's different out in the field. Every bit of hesitation and doubt you had? You'll feel it a hundred times worse," I said, cutting her off.

Their argument paused. The group turned to face me, the other four included.

"How do you know that?" Setsuna asked.

"I've been there. Good work against the Nezu-bot by the way, Neito, Kinoko."

"You can't just say something like that and not expect us to ask you about it!"

"There's not much to talk about. It's a hard call to make, but it's the right one," I shrugged. There was no way I was going to explain all my experiences against forces ranging from the likes of Lung to godlike alien parasite seeking to destroy humanity. They wouldn't believe me, anyway.

"So you approve, then!" Neito caught on, turning to face Setsuna. "I told you! It's what Taylor-san would have done!"

"You would have done that, Taylor-chan?" Pony asked.

I sighed. How could I explain it? "If I were in Neito's shoes? Yeah. If I were in yours, I wouldn't want him to. It's a selfless kind of selfishness."

That appeared to finally frame the conundrum in some way that they could understand, because they didn't continue arguing any further. Either that, or I had just successfully confused them. Regardless, either possibility served its purpose; they would need time to settle into the right headspace for the tournament.

"So! Taylor-chan! What do you think about the tournament? Got any tips for us?" Setsuna hurriedly asked. It seemed like she didn't want to dwell on that topic any further.

"I can't directly give you any information on the other students, but just remember what I said on Friday. Fight smart, don't play fair, exploit every weakness you can."

"You say that, but how do we even go up against someone like Todoroki? Seriously, his score is insane!"

I shrugged. "I can't tell you, and you know your quirk best, anyway. Just try your best. It doesn't matter how high you place here anyway."

"Huh? Isn't the point of this to get as high a ranking as we can to attract Pro Heroes?" Pony asked, confused.

They didn't know yet? Right, they'd only just got back.

"You haven't been looking at social media yet, have you?" I asked rhetorically.

She shook her head. Setsuna took the chance to dig out her phone, scrolling through whatever it was that was analogous to Parahumans Online in this world.

Apparently, humans were equally unproductive on this world as my own. Hizashi had showed me no less than five memes featuring Neito going up against the Nezu-bot, all created within the last fifteen minutes.

"Holy crap, Monoma-san! You're famous!" Setsuna shouted, the rest moving in close to take a look at her phone. I did so as well.

Oh, that one. That was the first one Hizashi showed me. It featured Neito as Gandalf, taking on a Nezu-Balrog hybrid. He hurriedly snatched the phone away, turning it off, cheeks reddening rapidly. Funny, I thought that he would have revelled in the attention.

"Wow, Monoma-san!" Pony gushed.

"That's not fair, why aren't there any on my mushrooms?!"

The rest continued to pester him, Itsuka taking out her own phone. As she scrolled, her eyebrows remained raised for a long time.

Finally, I decided to take pity on him. "It's not just about the memes. They showed the five of you up on the main screen for a long time, you know. You captured a lot of attention with that."

"Really?" he questioned, finally being given a break from the others' teasing.

I nodded. "Not just for the five of you. People saw how close your team was and how unwilling all of you were to let Neito sacrifice himself for your sakes. That's going to be a plus point in your favour. Not to mention you'll get more time to showcase your talents during my exercise later."

"That's right!" Setsuna jumped. "We've still got Taylor-chan's crazy mission to do! Monoma-san, you better not pull off anything like that again!"

Hurriedly, he nodded, although probably only because she wouldn't stop pestering him otherwise. "Anyway, take the time to rest now. The four of you have tough fights ahead."

"You're leaving?" Setsuna pouted.

"Just for a while. I need to talk to a few more people, then I'll be back."

With that, I departed, spotting my next target easily. His distinctive hair wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

Shinsou had caught my attention, and not just because of his Master power. Aizawa mentioned that he was aspiring to transfer to the hero course. I needed to get a sense of his personality, since the first two events probably only captured how he was like in the field. Was his usage of his quirk because he was willing to use it to do what was necessary as I had done with my power, or was he simply using his power without understanding the repercussions of his actions?

"Hey," I called out to him, reaching for his back.

He turned, startled for a moment, before schooling his expression into one of boredom. I couldn't quite tell just what he was thinking, but his closed-off attitude was more akin to the capes I was used to than the rest of the students that I'd met.

"You're Taylor-san," he stated. "The teaching assistant."

"Yeah. Shinsou, right?"

He nodded slowly, studying me carefully. This was something I was used to.

"You did well in the first two rounds. Congratulations."

His eyes narrowed, examining every single word I said. "And?"

"Aizawa mentioned that you might be interested in transferring to the hero course. Is that the case?"

Again, he slowly nodded. "The top students from the general education course can get transferred if they place high in the Sports Festival."

"Okay. Good. I'll be keeping an eye on you," I told him. "You've got potential. A little rusty around the edges, but potential nonetheless."

That seemed to faze him a little, but the distrust returned with fervour. "What? Not going to say anything about my villainous quirk? Or have you already told your students about my quirk?"

I could have laughed. Villainous quirk? Really? Did he know who he was talking to? I sighed. "Do you even know my quirk?"

"You control butterflies, I've seen the videos –"

"I control bugs," I interrupt. "All sorts of bugs. Not just insects, but spiders, worms and crabs. Black widows, brown recluses, bullet ants, maggots, and more. In exercises, I use butterflies, but I'm diversifying. When I'm out doing actual fieldwork, I use them all ."

That gave him pause. "You use black widows?"

"That, and more. Only if I know they can take their venom, of course. I go for the eyes, mouth, nose and ears. I cram bugs wherever I can if it helps me in my work. Point is, there's no such thing as a villainous quirk," I explained patiently, although I was beginning to lose even that. Why was this such a hard thing to grasp on this world?

He didn't quite know how to respond. It took several moments before he spoke. "But aren't you a hero?"

"You know what? I'm going to have to give your class the same lecture I gave 1-A at some point. The salient message is that quirks don't matter," I said. "All Might can destroy city blocks with a punch. He doesn't. I can bring an infestation the likes of which has never been seen in history. I choose not to."

"I brainwash people," he told me slowly, as though speaking to a small child. "That's all my quirk does."

Again, I could have laughed. The way his quirk worked was but a drop in the ocean compared to what I had done as Khepri. "You used that to capture villains today. Fake ones, but that should give you an idea of what you can do with training. Equally, you could go full villain, maybe order someone to kill their loved ones –"

"I wouldn't do that!" He protested immediately.

"Good for you. What I'm saying is don't let your quirk define you. Anyway, good luck in the tournament. Don't worry, no one knows what you can do. Even most of those in the audience probably can't tell, unless they're able to lip-read; you spoke too softly for the microphones. As far as they're aware, you somehow got the villains to stop resisting, but I doubt most of them know how it was done."

I stared at him. When it seemed he had nothing further to add, I nodded and turned away.

"Wait!"

I hid my smile as I turned back. That tactic always got people to talk more.

"Why are you helping me?"

I shrugged. "Personal interest, I suppose. I saw how you handled the events. I don't quite know everything about you, but I'd say we might have some similar experiences. We Masters got to stick together."

"Masters?" He looked at me with confusion.

"I'll have to tell you another time. Both the hero classes already know, but if you're seriously planning to switch over to the hero course it'll be beneficial for you as well. Find me after the tournament, or I'll contact you somehow. Either way, good luck."

With that, I nodded again, making my way back to my students.

For an initial reading of his personality, that wasn't too bad. I probed his intentions, and it did seem that he was against things like senseless killing. A little shut off, quite like the villains I'd recruited during my time in the wards. How exactly had I convinced Mockshow to become Romp again?

"I wouldn't have taken him for your type, Taylor-chan!" Setsuna greeted, staring at Shinsou.

"He's just someone of interest," I denied.

She blinked, then grinned. I immediately regretted my poor choice of words.

"He intends to transfer to the hero course," I corrected myself. "I may be helping him in that regard."

"Our Taylor-chan, always looking out for those around her!" she mock-sobbed. "What did we ever do to deserve an angel like you?"

"Enough, Tokage-san," Itsuka sighed.

"You've only got another ten or so minutes. How do you feel?" I changed the subject.

"Honestly? I'm just waiting for it to be over. Not being pessimistic or anything, but none of us really have what it takes to make it into the finals," Setsuna said candidly, leaning back against the wall.

That was a fairly accurate assessment, not that I was going to verbalise my agreement. "You can't be sure about that."

She snorted. "Come on, Taylor-chan, you're the one who told us on Friday that we kind of suck individually."

Did I really say that? I tried to remember. My message was more to encourage them to think out of the box and adapt with their quirks, but it could have gotten lost in translation.

"Just try your best. As I said, how far you go doesn't matter."

"Yeah, yeah. I can't wait for your exercise, you know? Any hints you can give us? Will there be any more spiders?" She snickered at Kinoko. "Just so I can get my camera ready if Kinoko-chan –"

"Tokage-san!" she whined. "It was the one time!"

"Get ready for something big," I told them instead. Immediately, they became alert. "The teaching showcase isn't just for me, it's about you guys as well. I'm going to be testing you all out there."

"Something big?" she repeated. "What do you mean?"

"It's a surprise. I've got to be back with Hizashi and Aizawa before the tournament begins. Good luck, and I'll see you all later."

"Taylor-chan! You can't just leave us hanging like that! Come on!"

Setsuna continued whining while the rest waved their goodbyes. Neito and Kinoko left as well, departing for the stands where they would watch the tournament play out.

"You're back!" Hizashi exclaimed needlessly.

"Have the brackets come out yet?" I asked instead.

"Yup. Take a look! Rather interesting, don't you think?"

I studied the sheet of paper where they had been drawn up, giving each matchup a quick analysis.

Iida Tenya vs Midoriya Izuku

Todoroki Shouto vs Shinsou Hitoshi

Pony Tsunotori vs Kirishima Eijiro

Ojiro Mashirao vs Uraraka Ochaco

Tokage Setsuna vs Shiozaki Ibara

Ashido Mina vs Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Tokoyami Fumikage vs Yaoyorozu Momo

Kendou Itsuka vs Bakugou Katsuki

"This was randomly generated, wasn't it?" I asked after a minute, still looking at the brackets.

"You can tell?" Hizashi asked. "How?"

"They're all unsatisfying matchups. Ridiculously terrible for the crowd to enjoy, probably going to bore them a lot, but excellent for educational purposes."

"What do you mean?"

"The matches will be decided almost immediately. Take the first one, for example. A clean hit by Izuku's quirk would probably eliminate Iida, otherwise he wins easily. I don't think I even need to explain how Todoroki against Shinsou could potentially lead to an instant upset."

"Should they be changed?" he asked worriedly. "I can ask Nezu for permission."

"Personally, I wouldn't. They'll be good for their learning. It depends whether you care more about how the audience will react or about the students."

"What did you mean by educational?" Aizawa asked, cutting into our conversation.

"Take…" I looked at the matchups. "Uraraka versus Ojiro, for example. Uraraka probably wins if she gets her quirk going, but Ojiro is well-trained. He knows how to read her movements. It'll teach her to work on her technique. Likewise, Tokoyami against Yaoyorozu depends on whether Yaoyorozu chooses to exploit his weaknesses. She could create a high-powered flashlight or something similar to cripple his quirk, but if she tries her standard tactics she's going to lose handily."

"That sounds really underwhelming," Hizashi pointed out.

"Like I said. Unsatisfying."

"Well, break's over. We've run out of time now," Hizashi said in resignation. "Guess we'll have to go with this."

With that, he returned to the commentator's seat, turning on the microphone. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! STUDENTS! HEROES ONE AND ALL! We hope you've had a good break and are ready for more, because the tournament is about to begin!"

Cheers rang out, only dying out once Hizashi began to speak once more. "Without further ado, let us have a look at the brackets!"

As they appeared on the screen, there was a brief moment of silence while students and audience members alike studied them, before scattered murmuring appeared within the crowd. My bugs very distinctively felt Setsuna and Ibara turn to look at one another, although they couldn't quite hear what was being said.

Hizashi allowed them several more moments before continuing. "RIGHT! As you can see, the first match is between Iida Tenya and Midoriya Izuku, both of class 1-A! Iida gave a great showing in the first two events, showcasing his speed and versatility in taking down robots! Midoriya won our hearts with his brilliant organisation of the rescue team and willingness to cooperate against the Nezu-bot! Will Iida take it all, or will Midoriya win it for the teammates that gave up their chances for him? Will their friendship be tested in the ring? Who will prevail? Contestants, make your way to the preparation area!"

I tracked their movements with my bugs. The final sixteen had been placed in a holding area away from the crowd, with the centre of the stadium completely empty. Their nerves were clearly being showed through my insects, detecting the minute vibrations of their bodies. Despite that, Iida and Izuku moved to opposite corners of the stadium on each side of the tournament ring that had been set up by Cementoss.

Intruigingly, All Might was making his way toward Izuku. What could he have to say?

I hesitated for only a moment before surreptitiously sending some insects in, hiding along the shadows of the dark tunnel and smallest cracks in the wall. If I was caught, I could always come up with something else, anyway. No one knew I could listen through my bugs just yet.

Something fishy was going on, and I would find out what it was.

"Young Midoriya!"

Izuku turned. Since when had All Might been standing there? Had he been so lost in thought he simply missed his mentor's presence?

"All Might-sensei!"

"You did well in the first two events. You should be proud of yourself!" The skeletal form of All Might flashed him a grin. "How's your finger now?"

"Recovery Girl managed to heal it during the break, but…" Izuku hesitated. How was he supposed to fight Iida? He hadn't even been able to hit the students from 1-B, and they weren't anywhere near as fast as him!

"Yes, Young Midoriya?" All Might encouraged.

"One for All… I can't control it properly. You saw when we fought Tokage-san's team in the second event, right?" All Might nodded, so he continued. "I couldn't do anything there. Tokage-san saw through my attack immediately, and I can't regulate One for All well enough to keep my bones from breaking. How am I supposed to fight Iida-san?"

"My boy…" All Might shook his head. "I can't give you any easy answers. I didn't have any issue taking to One for All when my mentor passed it down to me. What I can tell you is that I'm proud of you."

He stepped closer. "I was wrong, earlier. I told you that you had to excel at the Sports Festival, to tell the world 'I am here!' Young Midoriya, today you have already done that."

"Huh?"

"We all saw you organising your fellow students in the first event. You didn't care whether or not they were heroes. They were just students, waiting for the event to end. You gave them a purpose. You put them up to the task at hand, and they believed in you. I'm not sure if even I could have done that." He stared right in Izuku's eyes, and he couldn't bear to turn away. "That's what being a Hero worthy of becoming the 'Symbol of Peace' is about. Today, you took the first step. This tournament doesn't matter. So go, Young Midoriya. No matter what happens, today, the world will see – no, has seen you."

"You've been giving your all in the first two events. Continue what you've been doing. I'll be watching your fight. Good luck." With the pep-talk done, All Might moved back, heading back toward the staircase leading to the stands.

Izuku breathed deeply. All Might was right. He'd done all that he could. All that mattered now was giving his best.

With that, he entered the stadium, greeted by shouts and cheers from the audience. Iida was already standing on his side of the ring, giving Izuku a calming smile.

"Midoriya-san!" he greeted while Izuku made his way to his own side of the ring. "No matter what, let's do our best!"

Typical Iida. Izuku nodded.

"ALRIGHT! Now that both competitors are in place, let's review the rules of the tournament!" Present Mic boomed. "Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilising them or getting them to say 'I give up!' Beyond that, there are no rules! ARE OUR CONTESTANTS READY?"

Izuku stared hard at Iida's legs. Iida's quirk is based on movement, cripple or otherwise dodge if possible. Easier said than done, of course.

"BEGIN!"

With that, Iida burst into motion. Izuku was just barely able to dodge to one side, stumbling into a clumsy roll. He couldn't see Iida, but with his speed he shouldn't be able to change directions that quickly. He pushed himself up, turning around –

The rush of air registered a split second before Iida's leg whirled around to kick him, sending him airborne. Izuku panicked as Iida pressed on, legs bent low as he prepared to jump.

The moment Iida caught him, it would be over. He didn't have a choice. Izuku aimed, felt the energies of One for All build up in the very tips of his index finger, and flicked.

His target twisted at the very last instant, bounding off to the side instead. Was it all a feint? Iida knew how Izuku fought, after all. He knew just how destructive Izuku's quirk was.

"Sorry, Midoriya-san, but I can't lose here!" Iida declared, engines charging up once more.

Another flick, another spike of pain. Another finger broken.

Another dodge.

What could he do?

With Iida's assault halted, Izuku was able to return to the ground, dangerously close to the ring boundary. Hurriedly, he moved forward, keeping his fingers aimed at Iida as he dashed in circles around Izuku.

Iida's speed was too fast; he couldn't keep track of him. Again, another kick landed, this time sending Izuku sliding across the ground. The force of his own strike sent Iida backward, feet pressing hard in the ground as he prepared to advance yet again. Hurriedly, Midoriya moved to stand, holding his fingers out again.

He was standing near the edge now. Another strike would surely take him out.

He couldn't get a clean hit on Iida at all. Two fingers were down, eight were left. Iida arrested his momentum, turning to face Izuku once more, already mid-charge.

He didn't have any good options. All he had was his best chance.

He held both hands out, spreading the fingers of both hands out before bringing them in. Then, he gathered the energy of his inherited quirk, building it up on all of his remaining fingertips.

He flicked all eight of them. He only registered one spike of pain.

At the very edge of the arena, he would have the smallest possible angle from which Iida could approach from afar. That was his reasoning, at least. By all accounts, this would be his best shot at victory, no matter how much damage it did.

It wasn't enough.

Somehow, Iida read through his desperate play, leaping into the air and dodging the shockwave of force that flew from his fingertips. In the distance, Cementoss hastily erected several concrete pillars that shattered against the shockwaves.

It's over. Sorry, All Might.

Iida's kick landed, sending him backward. It was over.

I probably didn't pay as much attention as I should have to the fight between Izuku and Iida, given what I'd learned just moments before. I should probably feel guilty over the fact that I'd spied on them with my bugs, but I would be lying if I said I did. This was important information.

One for All? An inherited quirk? One that apparently had been passed down to All Might, and then from All Might to Izuku?

I had some bad experiences with inherited powers. Teacher, for one, granted Thinker and Tinker powers at the cost of his minion's mental faculties and undying loyalty to himself. The Butcher passed on their powers and combined minds to the one who killed them each time they died, driving each inheritor insane. It was only through our schemes using Cherish's power that we ever put them down for good, sealed away with Cherish's body deep below Brockton Bay.

At least this one didn't seem to corrupt the user's mental state, based on what I could tell from my interactions with All Might. Still, I would need to investigate this further.

Did that also mean that Izuku had been quirkless prior to meeting All Might? It would explain the destructive nature of his quirk. But by All Might's own admission, he didn't have any difficulty, and he presumably should be quirkless as well.

I didn't quite know what to do with this information. I could see why they were so secretive with the information, though. Not everyone should be getting hold of a quirk of that sort of destructive power. For now, I would keep what I'd learned to myself.

"Taylor-san?" Hizashi asked.

"Hmm?"

"I've been calling you a few times now! You're distracted at work!" he rebuked playfully. "Anyway, what did you think of that match?"

"Honestly? It went quite how I expected. Izuku couldn't hit Iida, his final act of desperation didn't work, so he lost," I recounted.

"Sounds so simple when you put it like that," he said. "The audience loved the final use of his quirk, though."

"I'm fairly sure that most of them just enjoy watching things explode." From experience, the talk on Parahumans Online back on Earth Bet had revolved around capes with flashy powers. I was almost completely certain that it was the same case here.

"How do you think Izuku is doing?" he questioned.

Again, my bugs were still tracking him. "He's on the way to the medical bay, I'm guessing. I don't know where it is, but they're moving him toward Chiyo."

"Still creepy."

I ignored him.

"Anyway, what about the next match? Shinsou versus Todoroki?" he asked instead.

I smiled. "Shinsou wins, hands down, unless someone spilled how his quirk works."

"Going for the upset, then?" Hizashi shook his head. "Poor kid. Wonder how he'll take it."

"It'll teach him to beware of Masters, at least," I shrugged. "Powers aren't fair. Deal with it."

"A little harsh, but a fair point, I suppose. Are we all ready?"

I nodded, and by my side I felt Aizawa do the same.

"Alright then." He moved to turn on the feed once more.

"ALRIGHT! THAT WAS AN EXPLOSIVE FIRST ROUND, BUT NOW WE MOVE ON TO THE SECOND! We have Todoroki Shouto of class 1-A, the son of the hero Endeavour himself! Possibly the strongest first year student, keeping first position in both events today! On the other side, we have Shinsou Hitoshi of class 1-C, a General Education student seeking to transfer to the hero course! Will overwhelming might prevail? Will Todoroki continue in his clean sweep of the first two events? Or will pride and determination make Shinsou's dreams a reality? Will he show us just how much he wants to be a hero? TODOROKI SHOUTO AND SHINSOU HITOSHI, INTO THE RING!"

Shinsou was nervous, but he was also determined. This was his chance. Taylor had said that no one knew what his quirk was. He didn't quite know whether or not to believe her, but he couldn't see any reason for her to lie.

Todoroki Shouto. Of course Shinsou knew about him. He was one of the most talked-about students; the pride of the hero course, the Son of Endeavour, the future Number One Hero and who knew how many other titles. Hero course, general studies, management and support course students alike knew about him. Even future applicants to UA knew about him. Shinsou wouldn't lie and say that he wasn't jealous of his opponent's success.

Who wouldn't be? He had a flashy quirk, a respected legacy and everything that came with it. Meanwhile, Shinsou had to struggle with his own quirk being labelled as villainous and everything that came with that . Sure, some of his classmates understood, but almost everyone else didn't.

It wasn't fair. He would show just how unfair it was.

He stepped up into the ring. Todoroki was already in place.

Right, time to analyse his opponent. Plenty of attention, a lot of expectations placed upon him, a powerful and attention-grabbing quirk. Hero material.

"Hey, Todoroki!" he shouted. The match hadn't started, but hey, Present Mic did say that 'beyond that, there are no rules', right?

His opponent didn't reply. Did he not even consider him as worthy of a response? "What's wrong, Todoroki? Am I not good enough for you? Won't respond to the general studies student? Or could it be you're scared of me? Scared I'll beat you here?"

"I'm making it to the finals. There's no way I'll lose here," he finally forced out.

Well. That was easy.

"Uh… Contestants, are you ready?" Present Mic called out.

Shinsou nodded. This had to be timed perfectly. He tensed, waiting for the command.

"Begin!"

Now . "Stop!"

Ice was midway surging toward him before his quirk finally took effect. Damn, Todoroki was quick .

He still won, though.

"Stop. Turn around. Walk past the boundary of the arena, then take another five steps forward."

He was prepared for any sort of upset. He wouldn't put it past someone disrupting his quirk by throwing an object into Todoroki or otherwise startling him. His classmates knew the limits of his quirk, after all, and not everyone liked him.

No such thing happened. Todoroki continued walking, before finally stumbling as the order was completed. He couldn't quite see Todoroki's face, but based on how quickly he turned around he caught on far quicker than most.

Silence.

There was shock. Rage. Humiliation.

Emotions that Shinsou knew well.

"You…"

"It's nothing personal, Todoroki-san. I intend to continue on as well."

"TODOROKI SHOUTO HAS STEPPED OUT OF BOUNDS! With that, Shinsou Hitoshi is the winner!"

The jeers came. Why should he have expected anything less? People were all the same.

He turned around, walking back to the holding area for the tournament finalists.

"Shinsou! You did great!" One of his classmates shouted, cheering for him. It was drowned out by the rest of the audience.

Quirks don't matter. Don't let your quirk define you.

Why was it so hard?

"You going to run damage control on that one?" I asked Aizawa.

Todoroki was still looking stunned, standing unmoving from where Shinsou's order had sent him. I would have pitied him, but he needed the lesson. From where I was, I could see Endeavour standing up, shouting at Shinsou's retreating figure. The jeers hadn't lessoned one bit. I might have underestimated just how much the crowd either loved Todoroki, or hated Shinsou and his quirk.

Of course, not everyone in the crowd was against Shinsou. Several students that I assumed were his classmates were looking around uncertainly, while multiple heroes in the audience were in deep consideration. It was mostly the overwhelming public that was letting their ignorance show.

Aizawa sighed. "Yeah. Will you two be alright up here?"

I nodded. "Hizashi's doing all the hard work, and there's not much to comment on for these matches, anyway. Like I said; unsatisfactory."

"I'd better get to him before Endeavour does. I'll see you in a while."

With that, he left the booth. Careful not to alert him, I tagged Endeavour with just a few more bugs. In the outraged state that he was currently in, he didn't pay any attention at all. It would probably be best to give Aizawa a warning if Endeavour was going to be approaching them.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! Let's have a moment to recover from that surprise! And what a surprise it was! Who knew that Shinsou Hitoshi would be capable of taking down the unstoppable Todoroki Shouto all by himself?" Present Mic was trying to placate the crowd. It really wasn't working.

He sighed, leaning back into his chair. "We really should have switched the brackets, huh?"

I shook my head. "Had to be done. Best that he learns now, rather than in the middle of a fight."

He snorted. "You're a pessimistic one, aren't you?"

"It's not just for Todoroki's sake. Shinsou needs to learn how to portray his power. He could have downplayed his quirk. I don't know the full details of how it works, but he could perhaps have tried to send an order for Todoroki not to use his quirk and orchestrate a fight. If it's just verbal commands, maybe make it seem more limited in scope than what he did. If it works like some powers from my world where there's a memory gap while Mastered, he could try playing at that, get his opponent confused. Hell, maybe try ordering his opponent to sleep, instead of the control he just showed. It doesn't matter now, though."

"That's a lot of thought you put into this."

"I'm a Master, and I've had a Master as a teammate. I know how people treat us."

He sighed. "How are we going to handle this?"

I closed my eyes, thinking of how to salvage this. The jeers were still continuing.

There needed to be some Glenn-Chambers level of bullshit and a ridiculous positive spin over the events that just occurred for them to get over the total upset. People hated Master powers. Their fear was only feeding into their disappointment over the outcome of the match, becoming distilled into anger.

I remembered Canary. The singer Paige McAbee, whose songs made anyone listening susceptible to suggestions. She'd accidentally compelled her boyfriend to maim himself during an argument when he'd taken a retaliatory insult as an order to be followed literally. Her trial had been a sham one, being sentenced to the Birdcage without a chance to defend herself.

What went wrong there?

It was obvious. She didn't have a voice. The public fed on their own fears.

"Turn on the microphone and ask me what I thought of what just happened."

At the same time, I located Shinsou through my bugs. I made them fly in front of him frenziedly, and he paused in surprise. Some wariness was there, based on how he tensed up. I called over some more bugs, spelling out words. Follow. Taylor Hebert.

"Huh?" Hizashi asked. "You sure?"

"Yeah," I nodded. Not at all. "We need to run interference. Honestly, I'm more worried for Shinsou than Todoroki now."

"Okay then, if you think you can do it," he agreed slowly. "WHAT A COMPLETE TURN OF EVENTS! What did you think of all that, Taylor-san?"

For just a moment, the jeers lessened in intensity. Endeavour turned, and I could see the look of rage on his face. I had to strike now. Even if I failed, at least some of the audience's hate would be directed to me instead. Dilute it up, and it'll fade quicker. Aizawa was by Todoroki's side, trying to get him to follow him out of the arena.

"Shinsou Hitoshi used his quirk. I wouldn't have done anything different."

The jeers returned, stronger now, only directed at me. Play along, I wrote on a sheet of paper. He nodded with just a slight hint of hesitation.

"What do you mean, Taylor-san?"

"Put yourself in his shoes. You're a General Education student, looking to impress the teachers to be transferred to the hero course. You're up against Todoroki Shouto, one of the top students in your year. No one knows about your quirk. What are you thinking now?"

Don't answer yet. Say that you don't know. Ask for answer. Wait for signal, I wrote as I talked. He nodded.

I looked at the crowd, feeling their movements through my bugs. Thousands of spectators, but I had thousands of sensitive bugs. There was the ever so slightest shift in body language. Some of them were thinking, at least. Good. A few more shifting, some reverting back to how they were. The slightest of tension –

' Now .' A voice that was and wasn't mine informed me. Administration again? Was she reading and processing the senses of my bugs? Constructing a mental model of their emotive state?

I tapped the paper.

"I don't know. What are you thinking?"

I didn't know if it was part of the scripted question, or if he was genuinely curious. It didn't matter.

"I would be thinking that this is my only time to shine. Once I use my quirk in front of the audience, it will be obvious how it works. Who better a target than Todoroki Shouto, son of Endeavour, the star of the first years?"

Fake laugh . Ease tension .

Present Mic complied.

It was a bit of a cheap shot, and a blind one, playing at Endeavour's emotions and name. But the many bugs I had hidden on his person informed me that the tension had decreased, and now he was looking right at me. Almost like cold-reading, and I had plenty of experience of being put under that by Lisa and Alexandria. Todoroki himself was also staring at me. I didn't quite know much about him, having not directly interacted with him outside of a few classes, All Might's initial Heroics class being one of them.

Contextualise. "Todoroki Shouto did the best he could. We all saw how he performed in the first two tasks. His only flaw here was misinformation. Likewise, Shinsou Hitoshi performed admirably. He had a quirk, and he used it. We saw how useful it was in the first two tasks. Imagine if instead of Todoroki, it was a villain. A murderer, perhaps. A serial killer, a destroyer of cities, or someone worse. I don't know about you, but I would want Shinsou Hitoshi to do exactly as he did moments before. Of course, I don't mean sending him out of bounds –"

Orchestrated laugh. Again, Present Mic complied. My bugs fed me information in real time once again. How was I even translating their body language? My own intuition, Administration, or whatever I took from Lisa?

"- but either restraining him or otherwise finding a way to incapacitate him."

Shinsou coming. Bringing him with bugs. Staff entrance. Send him in when I say so.

He jerked, probably not expecting that particular use of my power.

I remembered Regent. He faked the true scope of his power, making his body-control seem more like jerking of muscles. The PRT hadn't thought of him as a huge threat, even when identified as his previous identity as Hijack when he continued to limit his abilities. After his puppeteering of Shadow Stalker, they began to actively consider him a danger.

What did the public know? They saw him say some words to Todoroki just before he walked out of the ring. There were too many ways for that display to be misconstrued.

"Make no mistake, Hizashi-sensei. Shinsou's quirk is powerful. But isn't that the nature of quirks? That someone unexpected could take down a powerhouse like Todoroki Shouto; for a very niche use of a specialised quirk under certain scenarios?"

"Yeah, Shinsou! Go!" Someone shouted; one of the students. Possibly a classmate?

I wrote down words on a sheet of paper, thinking up ideas while Shinsou approached. Tell them who you are. Talk about quirk. Don't say name – Brainwashing bad connotation to public. Choose to fake details, if you want. Public scared of total control. Lie or downplay. Works only on target with heightened emotions? Only on males? Only on those of same age? Not orders, but suggestions – enhance subconscious thoughts of opponent? Suppress emotional drive? Motivation? Confusion? Potential to break out of effect when emotionally calm? Only works if emotions conflicted? Hard limits – time, complexity?

Hell, with the picture I was beginning to build based on contextual clues left by Aizawa and Endeavour's appeal to his own pride? I could see Todoroki possibly having had some deep, subliminal thoughts of throwing the tournament just to spite his father. A believable lie.

Shinsou was nearing now. Now , I wrote, circling the word several times. Hizashi stood up, moving to open the door.

With that, he entered, standing uncomfortably by my side, staring at the crowd in front of him. There were no jeers now, not yet. They were willing to listen, to contextualise; something that Canary had never got the chance to do.

"But of course, who better to hear from than Shinsou Hitoshi himself?"

Being sure not to allow the public to see, I showed him the scrap of paper.

"Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and your quirk, Shinsou-san?"

So that's how it could go. I wrote it up and tried seeing how it could evolve based on the generated bracket. I'll leave it up for awhile and take a short break from writing, and if people aren't calling out for my blood I'll go on from there. Sorry Todoroki and Midoriya fans.

Going to be flying back home from university this Friday, so possibly no updates for some time (maybe just one if I decide to continue from here). Take the opportunity to get a palate cleanser ready; get the taste of this filthy fic out of your brains.