Todoroki was still staring at his left hand like it was a traitorous foreign object while Midnight totalled up the final scores. Turns out, he had anticipated such a manoeuvre and tricked Izuku into snatching a mere seventy point headband.

However, the ten million point headband which Felix had pulled off was forfeited as well, since it had dropped to the ground. Fortunately, Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow had secretly managed to steal Todoroki’s original headband, and secure the team a place in the finals.

“Congratulations on making it to the finals.” Tenya approached a teary eyed Izuku.

“Says the one who made it to first place.” Ochaco giggled, punching him lightly in the arm. “We never knew you could pull off such an incredible move, Iida! You really were holding out on us, weren’t you?”

“It was just a strategic deception to secure our win,” Tenya said in a firm voice, before turning to Felix. “Besides, I’m obviously not the only one holding back his true power on purpose. Taking out five teams in a single move, Pagonis? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about facing you back there.”

“We’re in third place; good enough to move on to the finals. That’s all that matters.” Felix shrugged and glanced at Bakugo, who was still screaming his lungs out in frustration. “Boy, am I glad I’m not on that guy’s team. Second place, and still whining about it.”

“Did you hear? Our final event is going to be a one-on-one tournament match!” Ochaco piped. “That means we’ll get to fight each other!”

“One on one, huh…?” Felix’s voice trailed away, deep in thought.

“Some students forfeited their place though. I heard it’s because they were under some sort of mind control, so they didn’t think they deserved the spot,” Izuku added. “I wonder what the matchup will be like now.”

“That’s a question that can wait until after lunch!” Ochaco said cheerily, rubbing her stomach. “I’m starving. Let’s go grab some food!”

“Midoriya.”

Todoroki’s solemn voice snatched Izuku’s attention before he could reply to the girl. Izuku turned around at the boy marching up towards him.

“Meet me at the Faculty entrance. I have something to talk to you about.”

~ ~ ~

“Hey, long time no see! Let’s have tea, Endeavour!”

The Number Two Hero did little to hide his irritation at his rival’s annoyingly bright voice. He tilted his body sideways slightly, glaring at the two metre tall blonde man grinning at him.

“All Might,” he growled, acknowledging the man’s presence grudgingly.

“I haven’t seen you since that talk we had with the press ten years ago, huh?” All Might walked down the staircase to meet him. “I saw you, so I thought I’d say hi.”

“I see. Well, you’ve already done that. So leave me,” Endeavour replied in a gravelly voice, turning his back on the hero. “Tea? What a joke. I’m going to the washroom. Begone!”

A stray breeze hit the flames covering his entire body. All Might’s hearty laugh echoed around the stairway as he landed in front of Endeavour after an elaborate flip, barring his path forward.

“C’mon, Endeavour. Why the cold shoulder?” the Number One Hero said, apparently oblivious to the man whose shoulders were quite literally on fire. “Your son, Young Shoto, did wonderfully without even using half of his power. Is it because he was taught well?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Why, I seriously want to know how to raise the next generation.”

“Do you really think I’d tell you anything?” Endeavour scoffed, purposely bumping into All Might as he walked past him. “You’re clueless as usual, and it’s getting on my nerves. Out of my way.”

The grumpy hero had barely taken another two steps forward when he was stopped in his tracks by another prominent student climbing up the stairs.

“Sorry. Excuse me,” Felix mumbled as he bowed his head before turning in another direction.

“Hey, young one,” Endeavour called out. “You’re the new exchange student, aren’t you?”

Felix glanced at the two burly men standing in front of him. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“I see you really are new to Japan.” Endeavour folded his arms. “I am Endeavour, the flaming hero. You know my son, Shoto Todoroki.”

A dark look crossed Felix’s face.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“Your performance in the sports festival was stellar.” Endeavour pointed at him, clearly ignorant of the boy’s rapidly souring expression. “You have boundless potential, boy. And I would like to offer you an internship at my agency.”

“My, my. Aren’t we a little aggressive here?” All Might peeked over Endeavour’s shoulder. “Young Pagonis hasn’t even been in this school for a month!”

“The best heroes are not bound by institutions. They constantly work hard to strive for their ambitions, no matter where they come from,” Endeavour replied without looking at the blonde man. “Not like someone like you would ever understand anyway.”

Felix chuckled slowly, looking up at the man with a cold look in his eyes.

“An internship? With a man as sinful as you?” A slight smirk hung on his lips. “You really have no sense of self-awareness, do you? No wonder Todoroki turned out like that.”

“What the-” Endeavour raised his voice, taken aback by the boy’s response. “Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to your elders in this manner?”

“And who do you think you are? You’re a faux hero. Abusing your children; beating up your wife… All for the sake of compensating for your weakness. If you really are a hero, you should be locking yourself up.”

“Hmph. Did Shoto tell you all that?” Endeavour calmed back down. “That boy is in a rebellious stage now, but I will make him into a hero that surpasses everyone! Even the great All Might here will be no match for him. That is why I created him. A child like you will never understand my intentions. He will beat you- all of you. I will make sure of that.”

All Might stepped back in shock. “Created him…?”

Endeavour ignored him, continuing to stare daggers at the insolent student.

“A powerful hero? Well, you are welcome to challenge us.” Felix prepared to take his leave-

“Hold on,” All Might interjected. “What do you mean by ‘us’?”

The boy froze in his tracks for a moment, before turning back with a small grin. “Sorry, I meant ‘me’. Pray forgive my mistake; I’m a little tired.”

He turned on his heel and left briskly, leaving Endeavour to simmer at his retreating back. Felix’s footsteps were replaced by a much urgent one as Midnight scurried over to the two heroes. She took a moment to catch her breath.

“There you are, gentlemen. All the relevant heroes are already at the meeting room. We don’t have much time to waste.”

~ ~ ~

Shota Aizawa was about to retreat into his sleeping bag when Endeavour and All Might walked through the door. He was still wrapped in bandages like a mummy, but not like that stopped Present Mic from dragging him to be his co-emcee. A hero’s work is never finished, although it would be nice to take a break once in a while.

The blocky-head Cementoss lit up a projection while the rest of the heroes settled into their seats. There was no shortage of heroes in this room; that was for sure. Although the U.A. sports festival served as a great cover-up for this gathering, there was still a small chance that there were villains sharp enough to notice them.

Not like Aizawa knew exactly why he was here, though.

“Heroes, a few of you are aware of the train accident that happened a few weeks ago,” Cementoss began in a solid, supported voice as he gestured at the photos in the presentation. “But for the sake of those who are not, I will summarise what happened.”

“At twenty three hours on Friday last week, there was a sudden bright light accompanied by a strange energy surge-” He pointed at a map. “-In this location. That surge scrambled all nearby electronic devices, causing a train crossing Musutafu to derail itself. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the accident.”

“No casualties?” Aizawa pondered out loud. “I struggle to see how that is possible.”

“There is a very good explanation for that, Eraserhead.” Sir Nighteye took over for Cementoss. “When All Might and I were called onto the scene, witnesses mentioned an invisible force stopping the train dead in its tracks before it could crash. He also witnessed a small figure escaping into the distance.”

The projection promptly flipped to a video, showing a human-like figure scurrying off at an incredible speed. Aizawa would have creased his eyebrows, if not for the bandages holding ninety percent of his face in place.

“Scientists have taken samples of the scorched soil near where the light was, and yielded these results,” Cementoss continued, giving the heroes some time to take in the information. “The Hero Public Safety Commission is rather concerned about this issue, and would like us heroes to be prepared to step in.”

A wave of unease spread throughout the room as the heroes collectively shifted with discomfort at the last slide of the presentation.

“Are we sure there’s no other plausible explanation?” Midnight was the first to speak up. “Surely that can’t be the final conclusion, right?”

“Come now, Kayama,” Present Mic blurted out. “Elements that do not belong to this planet, energy readings that defy simple physics. Hell, even I would’ve come to the same conclusion!”

“Look at me. I’m an animal with a quirk,” Principal Nezu said solemnly as his mouse whiskers twitched. “In our world where eighty percent of our population have supernatural powers, is it really too far-fetched to say that extraterrestrials exist?”

Endeavour let out a low grunt, shaking his head.

“Why are we discussing this in the first place?” he said in a gruff voice. “Alien or not, this ‘creature’ has not posed any threat to us yet. And even if it does, we have enough heroes and security to subdue just one being. This meeting is a waste of my time.”

“It would serve you well to play nice with others, Number Two.” Sir Nighteye stood up, clearly unintimidated by the burly hero. “Besides, we have no further information about this being. We must keep our guard up in case it turns out to be hostile. Or worse, stronger than all of us.”

Aizawa remained silent, deep in thought about the whole situation. Something was nagging at him. The timing was a perfect coincidence, to say the least. Too perfect, in fact. He needed to properly analyse what had happened, but he has had no time thus far, what with the preparation of the sports festival and all.

The teacher glanced at the clock as Present Mic started getting out of his seat from beside him. This was not the time for pause and reflection either.

The games must continue for now.