~Inari's POV~

Over the next few weeks I hadn't heard from my stalkers once. It was both a relief and somewhat of a letdown. As annoying as they were, they did liven things up a bit. On the morning of the Sports Festival, I woke early and prepared a nutritious breakfast for Hitoshi as well as some healthy snacks for him to eat on breaks between events if he needed a boost. I let him sleep in as much as I could before going to wake him up only to find he was already awake and nervously doing pushups in an attempt to get in some last minute training.

"Hey, breakfast is ready." I called to him.

He jumped and stopped working out looking a little embarrassed that I'd caught him, "thanks."

"You feeling okay?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah."

"Nervous?" I pondered.

"N-no."

"Right. It's okay to be nervous, there's going to be a lot of people there, but don't let it trip you up, you're amazing, you'll do well, just have some faith in yourself." I attempted to give him a pep talk but it didn't appear to be working.

"Come on, eat some breakfast then we can get ready and go." I ushered him out to the kitchen.

"You're coming with me?" He asked curiously.

"Of course, I'm going to be cheering louder than any other person in that fucking stadium so you'll be sure to hear me." I smiled.

Hitoshi finally cracked a smile, "thanks, Nee-san. Try not to punch anyone though."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I growled.

"You're violent." He shrugged as he dropped into his usual seat at the table and looked at the spread of food with a smile. "You made snacks too?" He pondered as he noticed the wrapped snacks off to the side.

"I just want to make sure you have everything you need, I would have made lunch too but I figured you'd either be too nervous to eat lunch or we could eat something slightly unhealthy together because you know they're going to have food stalls and I'm craving takoyaki."

"Takoyaki sounds great." Hitoshi smiled. It looked like he was finally starting to relax.

"It's a date, then." I beamed.

He chuckled, "sure, why not. A date with my sister, that's not weird..." He muttered sarcastically.

"Shut up, brat." I sighed while fighting off a smile glad to see he was finally out of his head.

There was a knock at the door, startling us both. Hitoshi looked at me curiously. "Expecting anyone?"

"No, but I swear if it's Karen I'm flashing her so be prepared to shield your eyes." I grumbled as I got up from the table and stomped over to the door.

Hitoshi raised his hand ready to cover his eyes as I wrenched the door open. Instead of Karen, I spotted a very nervous Kazuma standing in the hall looking as if the floor were literally lava and he couldn't bear to be standing on it.

"Kazuma?" I stepped aside so he could come inside. He rushed inside and relaxed once he was safely in the apartment. "What's up?"

"T-today is the Sports Festival, right?" He asked after he took a moment to catch his breath.

I nodded.

"I can't be there in person to cheer you on, but I'll be watching at home and I wanted to give you a good luck charm, though I know you probably can't have it during the festival but I still wanted to show my support." He rambled nervously as he extended a bright red good luck charm keychain to Hitoshi.

Hitoshi looked momentarily taken aback before getting up to accept the charm, "thanks, Kazuma-san."

"Of course, you're a great kid and I just want you to know I believe in you too." Kazuma smiled.

My heart swelled in my chest. Hitoshi had dealt with people being against him all his life and only having me on his side. I knew this was a big moment for him and just stood back and watched with a smile.

"I really appreciate it." Hitoshi smiled and looked at the cute good luck charm with misty eyes.

"Thanks Kazuma. Care to stay for breakfast?" I asked with a smile.

"Ah, that actually might not be a bad idea, I need the fuel to be able to make it back to my apartment." He chuckled.

We had a quiet breakfast together and Hitoshi's spirits seemed lifted. After breakfast Hitoshi went to get ready and I walked Kazuma back to his apartment. He clung tightly to my arm as we stepped into the hall and didn't relax until he was safely beyond the threshold of his apartment.

"Thanks for doing that for Hitoshi." I said with a smile as he took a deep breath once back in his apartment.

"Anytime. I meant what I said he's a good kid, I'll be cheering him on from home." He grinned.

"It means the world to both of us." I gave him a quick hug before heading back to my apartment next door.

I changed quickly into a pair of jeans, a grungy band tee and a pair of converse that had definitely seen better days. I threw my hair up in a messy bun and went to see if Hitoshi was ready. I found him wearing his UA gym uniform pacing nervously by the door.

"You okay over there?" I asked curiously as I packed the snacks for him into a small bag before stuffing some cash into my pocket.

"Yeah...it's just...this is my last chance to get into the hero course, I have to do well, I have to stand out." He clenched his fists at his sides.

"This isn't your last chance, you have so many other chances after this, don't put so much pressure on yourself." I placed my hands over his and eased his tight grip before he cut his palms open, "you WILL be a hero someday, being in the hero course won't change that, you're going to do it with or without them. Just go out there, try your best and try to have some fun. These years are supposed to be fun years for you."

His grip eased and he slowly nodded as my words began to sink in. "I'll try."

I kissed him on the cheek, "let's go. We can scope out the food stalls if we're early enough."

He smiled, "sounds good."

I held his hand the whole way to embarrass him, he grumbled a little but tolerated it. I had a feeling it was helping him stay calm but he'd never admit to it aloud. As we reached the UA stadium where the first years were competing, I felt Hitoshi tense up beside me as he looked at the front walkway crowded with people checking out the various food stalls before the festival started.

I gave his hand a squeeze, "you got this."

"I don't feel like I got this." He murmured, nervously.

"Well good thing your big sister has more life experience and knows more than you and can assure you that you do indeed got this." I smiled.

He didn't look the slightest bit reassured and was now tense again, "whatever you say."

I dramatically sniffed at the air causing him to throw me a wary look.

"What the hell are you doing?" He groaned as I started dragging him toward the food stalls.

"Sniffing out takoyaki." I said as if it were obvious.

I saw him crack a smile, "you're such a weirdo."

"Life's more fun that way." I shrugged and continued trying to follow my nose but there were too many smells wafting in the air I couldn't pinpoint anything specifically.

"You look ridiculous." Hitoshi choked on a laugh.

"Good." I smiled as I felt him relax, "as much as you like to complain about me being weird, you sure do seem to be comforted by my weirdness."

"I'm going to blame the trauma." Hitoshi snickered.

"Always blame the trauma." I smiled.

Hitoshi's hand tightened around mine and I paused and turned to see where he was looking. I spotted a few teenage boys who appeared to be around his age. There was a boy with spiky dusty blonde hair and piercing crimson eyes in the lead and the other boys appeared to be walking with him in admiration or pure stalking I couldn't quite tell.

"Friends of yours?" I pondered.

"Hero Course jerks." He grumbled.

"And yet you want to join them?" I frowned.

"I want to join the Hero Course, doesn't mean I want to be friends with any of them." He huffed. Despite his gruff words, I noticed his gaze lingering on the other blonde in the group who looked less frightening.

I smiled, "okay. Whatever you say."

"What's with that tone?" He grumbled.

"What tone?" I asked innocently.

"And why the hell are you smiling like that?" He groaned.

"Smiling? I'm not smiling? I'm incapable of smiling." I grinned.

"Quit it." He shoved me away from the teens and toward the food stalls.

"So you think one of them's cute?" I mused.

"No." He hissed and roughly shoved me away with so much force I nearly smacked into someone. A very familiar someone who looked like a walking mummy. Aizawa.

"Inari." Aizawa greeted me in surprise.

I shot him a scowl and cut him off before he could say anything more, "does whatever you're about to say have anything to do with my brother?" I growled.

"Not particularly." He replied, amusement danced behind his dark tired eyes.

"Then I don't want to hear it." I huffed and pulled Hitoshi away. I heard him attempt to apologize on my behalf behind me and rolled my eyes.

"Why are you so mean to my teachers?" Hitoshi asked once we were far enough away.

"Don't worry about it." I stopped at the entrance to the stadium. It was almost time for him to meet up with his class. I turned to him and threw my arms around him pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "I love you. I need you to remember a few very important things." I squeezed him tight.

"You're so embarrassing." Hitoshi groaned as I kissed him on the cheek.

"It's my fucking job, bitch. Remember you are amazing, like the most amazing, anyone who says otherwise is on drugs and I will beat the shit out of them...unless they're a minor..." I grumbled the last part.

"Are you on drugs?" He mused.

I snickered. " Very funny. Most importantly remember that I love you and I will be here cheering you on every step of the way." I finished my speech on a serious note and kissed his opposite cheek before ruffling his hair affectionately.

He fought off a smile, pretending to be mortified by my behavior before grumbling quietly, "...thanks Nee-san...I love you..."

I smiled and waved him away before heading into the stadium to find a seat. Many of the seats were already full and the rest were filling up fast. I hurriedly found an aisle seat near the back wall and dropped into it. Someone else took the seat beside me a moment later and I turned and was very surprised to see one of my clients from work. He suffered from severe PTSD and it was hard for him to go out in public. He looked very stressed and on the verge of a mental break.

"Mr. Yanagi, what a pleasant surprise." I addressed him in a calm tone.

He jumped, startled that someone had recognized him and turned to me before a smile spread across his lips, "Queenie, what brings you here?"

"Since I'm off the clock and you're a client I'm fond of, you can call me Inari, if you like." I offered.

"Such a lovely name." He smiled, though it was an anxious smile. "What brings you here? You're surely not old enough to have a child competing."

"My brother. How about you, who are you here for?" I asked.

"My niece, Reiko, she's in class 1B." He replied shakily.

"Oh, that's sweet of you to want to cheer her on." I looked at his shaky and nervous demeanor and slowly held out my hand, "want a hit? Free of charge." I asked and noticed a burly man with crimson hair and piercing turquoise eyes wearing a navy spandex suit with flames seeming to run through it on the arms and chest and around his boots pause at my words. He threw a curious glance in our direction.

"Are you sure it's alright?" Mr. Yanagi asked me, nervously.

"Honestly, I'm going to be horrendously loud and obnoxious and I really don't want to traumatize you so let's call it a precautionary measure." I admitted with a sheepish smile.

Mr. Yanagi chuckled softly, "I do appreciate it, then if it's not too much trouble, yes please." He placed his hand in mine and I activated my quirk.

Once he was under my control I began to speak softly. "You are safe here.When the crowd gets loud you won't feel anxious or scared, you might even find that you also want to be loud and cheer with them. It's fun. You can let yourself let go, you can get through this event. You have the strength to let yourself be happy. Just let all those terrible things that haunt you melt away, let yourself breathe. Let yourself live. And do not judge me for my obnoxious behavior." I added the last part in a rush before releasing him from my hold.

The tension in his body eased. His smile turned genuine. It looked as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. He turned to me with a misty eyed smile, "You are a miracle. Thank you, Inari."

"You're the miracle, not me. You have always had this power inside of you and even if you forget it sometimes, I'm always happy to remind you." I smiled, but my smile fell as I looked back at the intimidating man on the stairs.The man on the stairs continued staring for a moment and I threw him a dark look, "can I fucking help you?" I growled, angrily.

"You just used your quirk in public." He noted gruffly.

"Yes, and I have a fucking license to do so, who the fuck are you? The quirk police?" I snapped, irritably.

He looked down at his attire then back at me as if it were obvious, "...you seriously don't know?"

"Should I?" I folded my arms across my chest.

"Endeavor." He growled.

"That supposed to mean something to me?" I scoffed.

"The number two hero."

"That's an embarrassing title, I don't feel like I'd go around announcing myself as the number two." I retorted.

His glare turned hostile. "...you couldn't tell by the outfit that I was a hero?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"I assumed you were a grown ass man with security issues and were playing dress up." I shrugged, "kindly fuck off."

He glared and opened his mouth ready to snarl something at me but didn't get a chance as a loud obnoxious voice rang throughout the stadium causing half of the audience to cringe and the other half to cheer.

"HEY!" Present Mic's voice reverberated through the stadium. For a moment it almost seemed as if it had been directed at us specifically. I glanced up at one of the giant monitors and saw Present Mic gesturing wildly, "make some noise, all you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes! This year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in Sports Festival history, guaranteed!"

The angry hero shot me one last glare before continuing up the steps to go take his place against the wall near the exit to the interior stairwell. I rolled my eyes and tuned the loud obnoxious blonde out. A small group of students stepped out of one of the many large openings into the center field. Another group exited the next opening over and Mr. Yanagi perked up a little next to me.

"There she is, there's Reiko." He smiled and attempted to yell her name, "go Reiko!" His voice was drowned out by everyone around us and he seemed a little down by this.

"Ugh, she gets one freebie." I sighed before yelling as loud as I could, "REIKO!" My voice carried and the shy looking girl with the short white hair turned and looked in our direction. She seemed surprised and happy to see her uncle and waved up at him with a smile.

Mr. Yanagi laughed, overjoyed by the moment, "I'm so glad she saw us. I promised her I'd come but I wasn't sure she really believed me because my PTSD makes it hard to leave the house." He wiped his eyes and offered me a smile, "thank you, Inari."

"I told you she's only getting one freebie from me, the rest of my obnoxious screaming is all for my brother." I pointed.

He chuckled, "fair."

I heard the obnoxious blonde announce Hitoshi's class and threw an apologetic look to Mr. Yanagi, "sorry, I'm about to be louder." I apologized before cupping my hands around my mouth and standing atop my seat so I could yell over everyone else, "HITOSHI!"

Hitoshi's face reddened and he looked up at me mortified by my screaming before waving at me to sit back down.

Mr. Yanagi laughed as I dropped back into my seat, "you two have a fun relationship."

"Now for the Introductory Speech!" A familiar voice sounded from the field. I looked down to see Midnight in her usual skimpy dominatrix getup. Her gaze flicked upward, finding me in an instant and she winked in my direction.

I couldn't help but smirk and shake my head at her while mouthing, 'not a chance in hell.'

She seemed positively tickled by my reaction and cracked the small whip in her hand to get everyone's attention. I rolled my eyes and tuned out until the first event began. It was an obstacle course race around the outside of the stadium building.

As the race began I let out a loud cheer, "GO HITOSHI! KICK SOME ASS!"

I saw his cheeks redden at my yelling and noticed him trying his hardest not to smile as he took off for the exit. One of the hero course students nearly tripped him up as he expelled a bunch of ice that froze a good portion of the students in place. Hitoshi managed to avoid it by catching some nearby students in his quirk and getting them to lift him safely away from the ice. He ditched his first batch of goons who were frozen in the ice and ran ahead before ensnaring more.

I cheered every time I got a glimpse of him on the monitors.Present Mic seemed more interested in commentating on the hero course students. Even when the monitors shifted to show any of the other students all the commentary was for the hero course students. I clenched my fists, angrily.Why the hell did they invite the other classes to participate if they were just going to ignore them?

Hitoshi managed to finish the obstacle race in twenty seventh place and I embarrassed him once more by cheering the moment he crossed the finish line. He pretended not to hear me and made his best effort not to look in my direction which Mr. Yanagi found hilarious.

Midnight began explaining things once the first event was over and I tuned out again and avoided looking in her direction knowing she was trying to subtly flirt with me. Mr. Yanagi chuckled softly beside me.

"Is there something between you and Midnight?" He pondered, "I remember seeing her at the club when I first came to see you."

"Nothing more than her being a freaking stalker." I grumbled.

"Uh-?" He frowned.

"It's fine, I've dealt with worse. She's just a bit of a nuisance." I sighed.

"Alright."

The second event was a cavalry battle. I smiled as I realized Hitoshi had used his quirk to wrangle up some teammates that would listen to his every command. It was probably the most efficient way to work in a group, especially when most kids his age were garbage and treated him poorly. Though I worried it would tire him out to keep so many people under his control at once for an extended period of time.

I kept my cheering to a minimum to avoid making him break concentration. Once again, Present Mic's commentary seemed solely focused on the hero course students. I was convinced he was just horribly unobservant as he missed every single one of Hitoshi's clever moves as he used his quirk to get students to throw him their point ribbons. I beamed with pride as he easily tricked several of the teams into giving up their points.

"Now let's take a look at who our top four teams are!" Present Mic's voice echoed through the stadium. "In first palace, Team Todoroki, in second place Team Bakugo, in third place it's Tetsute-wait what???" Present Mic exclaimed and I smirked, that fucking moron was focusing too much on the damn hero teams he didn't even realize Hitoshi had gotten into third place. "It's Team Shinso?! When did they come back from the dead?"

"YES! WAY TO GO HITOSHI!" I screamed.

"And in fourth place is Team Midoriya!" Present Mic yelled before dismissing everyone for lunch.

I turned to Mr. Yanagi, "you okay on your own?"

"Yeah, I'm going to meet up with Reiko for lunch then probably head home. Thanks again, Inari. I wish your brother good luck in the final." He smiled.

"Thanks." I smiled and waved farewell to him before heading for the stairs. I raced down the stairs dodging people as I went and burst out onto the main thoroughfare where all the food stalls were located.

Hitoshi was waiting anxiously off to the side. He looked nervous as a few people stared at him whispering about the last match. Two men wearing lame ass costumes in front of me spotted him and murmured to one another.

"It seemed like he brainwashed his teammates in that last round, what's a kid like that doing at a hero schoo-."

"Got something to say?" I growled and placed my hands on both of their shoulders stopping them dead in their tracks.

The two men turned to me and stared at me in awe. "Who are you?"

"The fuck did you just say about my brother?" I hissed.

"Huh?" They yelped.

"Nee-san!" Hitoshi spotted me and groaned as he realized I was about to get into an altercation. "I told you not to punch anyone!" He pleaded.

"Fine." I moved my hands so they were now resting on the sides of the morons heads before clapping them together smashing their heads together with enough force they both became dazed and hit the ground.

"Nee-san!" Hitoshi snapped.

"I didn't punch them." I huffed and kicked them both as I stepped over them to reach him. I smiled and wrapped an arm around him once he was within reach, "hey did you hear me cheering for you?"

"The entire world could hear you cheering for me." He grumbled, his cheeks flushing with color. "...thanks.."

I smiled. "You did amazing! That second event especially, you had some really clever plays and of course the fucking morons commentating missed all of them."

"Be nice." Hitoshi elbowed me lightly in the side. "You really think anyone else noticed?"

"If they didn't they're just as fucking blind as the morons commentating." I sighed.

Hitoshi shook his head at me but his lips twisted into a smile, relieved and comforted by my praise.

"Takoyaki?" I asked.

He smiled, "sounds good."

We waited in line for some takoyaki before going to find a quiet spot away from people to eat. He looked nervous about the upcoming event and kept stabbing the takoyaki with his toothpick but not eating any of them.

I sighed, "alright, I need you to quit abusing the carnival food. Stop freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out." He grumbled.

"You just shredded an innocent takoyaki by stabbing it a billion times...you're freaking out." I pointed.

"Fine. Maybe a little." He sighed.

"Well stop it."

"The final round is a one on one fight. That's going to be harder. The hero course kids get combat training, they get to practice this kind of stuff. I'm at a huge disadvantage." He looked down at the shredded takoyaki dejectedly.

"So what if they do. They're all also probably exhausted, you've been conserving your strength and energy for most of the first two rounds. That's a plus for you. Also, just because they've had training doesn't make them good at it. You know how to fight, at least my scrappy style of fighting, just look for weak points and hit them. If someone has an injury fucking punch that injury." I stabbed one of my takoyaki pieces and dropped it into his tray to replace his shredded one. "You're doing an amazing job, you should feel proud. You're the only one from your class in the finals. That's awesome!"

Hitoshi smiled, "you're right."

"Always." I smirked.

He rolled his eyes, "that's a stretch."

"So I noticed that cute blonde is also in the finals, how romantic would it be if you two had to fight each other and fell in lo-ow!" I hissed as he pinched my arm.

"Shut up." He groaned.

"So rude." I rubbed my throbbing arm and smiled as I noticed his cheeks were flushed with color.

After lunch we parted ways so he could get ready for the final event. I headed back to my seat. Not long after I sat down I heard Present Mic's obnoxious voice reverberate around the stadium and cringed as my ears started to ring. "All right, audience, let's cut to the good stuff and not delay these finals any longer!"

"Ugh, someone needs to get him a fucking mute button." I growled to myself as I rubbed my ears.

"Welcome our first fighters." Present Mic announced and an image flashed across the monitors of Hitoshi and his opponent. "Whoa, he looks kind of scared in that picture, doesn't he?" Present Mic remarked, indicating the picture of the boy with unruly green hair who indeed looked quite frightened in his photo which made me somewhat concerned by whoever might have taken it. " It's Izuku Midoriya from the hero course versus Hitoshi Shinso from general studies who really hasn't done anything to stand out yet."

"HEY! DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE LOUDMOUTH!" I snarled up at the commentator's box.

"I keep forgetting he has a terrifying big sister." Present Mic remarked uneasily.

"I'll destroy you!" I raged.

"Mic, stop provoking her." Aizawa sighed from beside him, sounding as if he'd just woken up.

"The rules are simple, immobilize your opponent or force them outta the ring. You can also win by getting the other person to cry uncle! Bring on the injuries, cause we've got our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby. So put your morals aside and don't be afraid to play dirty! But of course no life-threatening crap, folks. It's not allowed! Real heroes use their powers to throw villains in jail, not kill them." Present Mic continued on as if nothing had happened earning an eye roll from me and Aizawa which irked me for some reason that we'd both rolled our eyes at the same time.

Though I couldn't hear them, it looked like Hitoshi was talking. From the expression of his opponent he was trying to get a rise out of him, but the boy seemed hesitant to respond to him. I frowned.

"Begin!" Present Mic yelled.

"GO HITOSHI!" I cheered.

Hitoshi kept talking and finally struck a nerve. The green haired boy yelled something in response as he ran toward him but suddenly stopped moving as Hitoshi caught him in his quirk.

"Huh?! Hey! Hey! What's the dealio? This is the first match! It should start out with a bang! The fight has just begun and Izuku Midoriya is completely frozen?" Present Mic remarked.

"Told you assholes." I huffed indignantly. "Your entrance exam was garbage."

"He didn't stand out in the first rounds at all! But it's possible Hitoshi Shinso is crazy powerful! Who could've imagined this turn of events?!" Present Mic wailed.

"I'm going to fucking end you!" I snapped at the loud blonde and threw a hostile glare at the commentator's box.

I looked back to the ring and smiled as I saw the green haired boy turn around and begin walking toward the edge of the ring. Hitoshi had easily won his first fight. I looked around at the surrounding crowd praying people would make him feel validated and realize how amazing he was. I saw some people watching warily, creeped out by his abilities. There were some who looked thoughtful. I tried to keep my rage in check. Why could none of them see how hard he worked for this? None of these assholes knew how much shit he dealt with, how many fucking idiot bullies, how many late nights he'd been up studying his ass off, all for this school, for this chance to make his dreams come true. I clenched my fists in anger as I looked at the judging faces in the crowd.

Just as the green haired boy was about to step out of bounds his fingers twitched and an immense blast of power surged through the arena. Hitoshi flinched and braced himself as the surge nearly pushed him back.

"What the fuck?" I stared in awe, "that brat broke his control? That's not fucking possible." I hissed.

"What's this?! Midoriya stopped just in time!" Present Mic yelled and the surrounding crowd cheered.

I glowered. Of course all these fucking brainless idiots would mindlessly cheer for the hero course student. "YOU GOT THIS HITOSHI!" I yelled above all the screams. "DON'T LISTEN TO IDIOTS!"

I looked at his opponent and noticed some discoloration around his fingers. Somehow the boy used his quirk to break his fingers and used the pain to break from Hitoshi's hold. I prayed he'd remember what I told him and use that to his advantage if they got into close quarters combat.

My heart ached as I watched Hitoshi desperately try to get the boy to answer him again. I could see him beating himself up, filled with self-loathing. That familiar dejected look crossed his face as the boy refused to answer. A single tear slipped from my hold as I watched him standing alone when it seemed like the whole crowd was rooting for his opponent.

"HITOSHI! I'LL ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOU!" I yelled praying above all else to wipe away that heartbreaking look on his face. My voice couldn't reach him above the screaming crowd as everyone began to yell for his opponent now that he'd broken Hitoshi's hold on him.

"Hah, now that brainwashing freak is in trouble." The man next to me laughed.

I reached over without looking and smacked my hand to his forehead and activated my quirk, "Pour your drink down your pants you piece of shit." I hissed and let him go.

He promptly stood up and dumped his ice cold soda down his pants causing a few people around us to laugh and others to panic and jump away.

"HITOSHI!" I yelled as his opponent charged him. The green haired boy caught him by the shoulder and began shoving him backwards. Hitoshi punched him, still trying to goad him into speaking. The boy continued pushing him back. Hitoshi punched him again, aiming for his broken fingers and I cheered. My heart fell as Hitoshi ran around his opponent for a frontal attack to shove him out of the ring in the exact way I'd shown him how easy it would be for someone to throw him. "No." I gasped.

The hero course student grabbed him by the arm and the front of his shirt and flipped him out of the ring. I winced sympathetically before getting to my feet and racing for the stairwell to get down to the entrance tunnels into the field. As I tore down the interior stairs I nearly bumped into the annoying flame hero from before. He held out a hand as if he were going to try to stop me and I swiftly ducked under his arm and kept running.

"Move!" I hissed as I darted past.

He didn't follow me, which I was simultaneously grateful and disappointed for. Part of me wished he would have tried to pursue me so I could have used my quirk on him to make him do something horrifically mortifying like tap dance or sing opera in front of everyone at the Sports Festival. But mostly I was glad because I wanted to get to Hitoshi as fast as possible.

I stopped near the tunnel entrance as Hitoshi was trudging across the field looking defeated. My heart broke for him and I wanted nothing more than to go out there and slap every single person in the stands. I was tempted to do it but knew Hitoshi would be upset with me if I did. As he got near the entrance I heard some of his classmates call out to him from the stands offering him words of praise and encouragement. I smiled as I heard a few other people in the stands complimenting him too. He looked a little less defeated as he stepped into the tunnel and his dark indigo eyes widened as he spotted me.

"Nee-san?" He looked at the tears streaming down my cheeks. "What's wrong?"

"I'm so proud of you!" I cried and threw my arms around him.

"But I lost."

"You gave it your all and you were so close to winning, that's a win in my book." I squeezed him tight.

He hugged me back. "Thanks Nee-san...Can we go home now?"

"Are you sure you don't want to stay and watch the rest of the matches?" I asked.

"I'm sure." He murmured.

"Okay. How about we go home, you take a bubble bath, like an epic bubble bath where the bubbles take over the ENTIRE apartment complex and I'll cook an amazing feast." I smiled.

"Wouldn't the amazing feast be all bubbly?" He frowned.

"Okay fine, take a normal boring bubble bath then." I huffed.