Adjusts Stitch onesie and settles into my writing chair with fresh coffee
Hey there, my amazing readers! waves excitedly Wisteria here, and oh my goodness, we need to talk! First off, can we just take a moment to appreciate YOU? Because seriously, TWO MILLION VIEWS? happy dances in chair I literally squealed so loud when I saw that number that my neighbors probably think I found a spider. (I didn't - those get a much higher pitched scream).
And yes, I saw we landed in second place on the powerstone leaderboard this week, but can I tell you a secret? leans in conspiratorially You're still number one in my heart. Like, absolute top tier, would-share-my-last-pocky-with-you level of appreciation. Your support means everything to me, especially as we dive deeper into this wild Sports Festival arc!
Speaking of which... sips coffee thoughtfully I'm dying to know what you all think about the festival so far!
Oh! And before I forget - because my brain is basically a browser with 47 tabs open at all times - I wanted to do something special to celebrate our two million views milestone. So... drum roll on desk bonus chapter time! Consider it my thank you gift for being the most amazing readers a sleep-deprived, coffee-fueled writer could ask for.
Adjusts glasses that have slipped down nose I know some of you have been asking about certain... romantic developments... coughs and glances meaningfully at the growing Izuku appreciation squad All I can say is: keep reading! The Sports Festival has a way of bringing feelings to the surface, you know?
But seriously, drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts! Good? Bad? Theories about what's coming next? I read every single comment (usually while procrastinating on writing the next chapter, but shhh, don't tell anyone).
Straightens Stitch ears on hood Well, I should probably stop yapping and let you get to the actual chapter. Just know that I appreciate each and every one of you more than words can say.
Now, let's dive into this bonus chapter, shall we? cracks knuckles and grins I think you're going to like this one...
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Camie lounged in the preparation room, one leg draped over the arm of her chair as she watched Yaomomo's match against Mina on the monitor. The speakers carried Present Mic's excited commentary through the small space, but Camie barely registered his words. Her attention locked on Momo's movements.
Damn, girl's got skills.
The match concluded with Yaomomo sweeping Mina out of bounds with a push broom of all things. Camie's lips curved into a small smile. Creative. Strategic. Effective. Just what she'd expect from UA's resident genius.
"YAOYOROZU ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!" Present Mic's voice boomed through the speakers.
Camie straightened in her chair, stretching her arms above her head. Ten minutes until her match. Plenty of time to center herself.
Camie closed her eyes, letting her mind drift to yesterday's conversation with Yaomomo. She hadn't meant to come across as harsh, but some things needed to be said. Some truths needed to be faced.
"You can't be a burden on Izuku."
Those words had clearly struck a nerve with the creation hero. Good. They were meant to.
Because Camie understood what it meant to be a burden better than most. The memories surfaced, fragments of a childhood in Sapporo she rarely allowed herself to revisit...
"Mommy's working, Keimii. Don't disturb her."
Six-year-old Camie stood outside her mother's home office, clutching a drawing she'd made at school. A family portrait—mom, dad, and herself holding hands under a bright yellow sun. Her teacher had praised it, stuck a gold star in the corner.
"But I made something for her."
Her father sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair. "She's on an important call with New York. Fashion week preparations for her clients."
"When will she be done?"
"I don't know, princess. Why don't you show me instead?"
Camie looked down at her drawing, then back at the closed office door. "It was for Mommy. She missed parents' day again."
Her father's expression softened. He knelt down, placing his hands on her small shoulders. "Your mother's very important Keimii. Many people depend on her."
"More important than me?"
Her father's silence told her everything.
Later that night, Camie carefully folded the drawing and slid it under her mother's office door. In the morning, it remained in the same spot, trampled by her mother's designer heels as she'd rushed out for an early flight to NYC.
Camie opened her eyes, pushing the memory away. Her parents had never been deliberately cruel—just absent. Consumed by their careers in the industry. Too busy building their empire to notice the little girl desperate for their attention.
She'd learned young what it meant to be a burden. Learned to make herself useful, entertaining, low-maintenance. Learned to hide her needs behind a mask of carefree confidence.
The door to the prep room swung open, interrupting her thoughts. Izuku stepped inside, still in his gym uniform, a water bottle in hand.
"Hey," he said, his voice warm. "Thought you might want this."
Camie's mask slipped back into place, her expression brightening. "Izu! My hero." She accepted the water bottle, letting her fingers brush against his deliberately.
He settled into the chair beside her, eyes flicking to the monitor where they were replaying highlights from Yaomomo's match. "She did well."
"Girl's got game," Camie agreed, studying his expression. No hint of favoritism, just honest appreciation for a classmate's skill.
"Nervous about your match?" he asked, turning those forest-green eyes toward her.
Camie shrugged, taking a swig of water. "Nah. Big Hands is tough, but I got this."
"Kendo's more than just her quirk," Izuku cautioned. "Class 1-B's rep. Smart tactician."
"Guess I better not underestimate her then." Camie leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Got any last-minute advice, coach?"
Izuku smiled, the simple expression transforming his face from handsome to breathtaking. "Just remember what we practiced. Your quirk isn't just about creating illusions—it's about controlling perception."
"And perception is reality," Camie finished, their practiced mantra rolling off her tongue.
His hand found hers, giving it a squeeze. "You'll be amazing."
The simple confidence in his voice warmed something deep inside her. With Izuku, she never had to perform, never had to make herself more interesting or entertaining. He saw her—really saw her—and liked what he found.
That's what made Izuku different from everyone else in her life. Her parents had always been too busy to worry about her. Her friends admired her confidence too much to see behind it. But Izuku worried because he saw her—all of her, strengths and vulnerabilities alike.
And that's why she didn't mind the thought of sharing him.
Camie wasn't naive. She saw the way Yaomomo looked at him, the way Todoroki followed him with her eyes, how everyone brightened around him. Izuku had a gift for making people feel valued, for drawing them out of their shells and helping them become their best selves.
Why should she hoard that gift for herself?
But there was a difference between sharing and sacrificing. Camie refused to be with someone who would sacrifice himself for those who wouldn't do the same. Who would burden themselves with people who took without giving back. She'd watched her father do exactly that for her mother—give and give until there was nothing left.
That's what she'd meant when she'd spoken to Yaomomo and Hagakure and now Todoroki. Not that Izuku couldn't care for multiple people, but that those people needed to be worth caring for. Needed to be strong enough to stand beside him, not behind him.
"Two minutes," Izuku said, breaking into her thoughts.
Camie stood, rolling her shoulders to loosen them. "Time to put on a show."
Izuku rose with her, pulling her into a hug. "You've got this."
Camie sank into his embrace, allowing herself a moment of vulnerability. His arms around her felt like safety, like home—something she'd never truly had before him.
"Thanks for believing in me," she murmured against his chest.
Izuku pulled back slightly, his eyes finding hers. "Always."
A single word, but it carried the weight of a promise. A promise she intended to honor by showing the world exactly what she was capable of.
Two minutes later, Camie stood in the tunnel leading to the arena, listening to the roar of the crowd.
"AND NOW, FOR OUR NEXT MATCH!" Present Mic's voice echoed through the stadium. "FROM CLASS 1-A, THE ILLUSION HERO WHO'LL MAKE YOU QUESTION REALITY—UTSUSHIMI CAMIE!"
Camie stepped into the sunlight, raising a hand in a casual wave to the cheering crowd. The stadium stretched around her, thousands of eyes tracking her movement. Instead of intimidating her, the attention energized her.
Across there concrete platform, Itsuka Kendo waited, her orange hair pulled back in its usual side ponytail, her stance relaxed but ready.
"AND HER OPPONENT, FROM CLASS 1-B, THE BIG FIST HERO WHO PACKS A MASSIVE PUNCH—KENDO ITSUKA!"
Kendo bowed formally to the crowd, then to Camie, who returned the gesture with a playful salute.
"You both know the rules," Midnight declared from her judging position. "The match ends when one of you is immobilized, rendered unconscious, forced out of bounds, or surrenders." She raised her whip, looking between the two contestants. "Ready?"
Camie settled into the stance Izuku had drilled into her—weight balanced evenly, hands positioned to protect her centerline. Across from her, Kendo adopted her own fighting stance, hands open and ready to activate her quirk.
"BEGIN!"
Neither contestant moved immediately, each assessing the other. Camie knew Kendo's reputation—level-headed, strategic, physically formidable. A direct assault would be foolish.
"No illusions?" Kendo called, circling slowly. "I expected you to open with your quirk."
Camie smirked. "Wouldn't want to disappoint the audience with a quick finish."
Kendo's lips twitched. "Confident."
"Just keeping it real, fam."
Kendo moved first, rushing forward with surprising speed. Her right hand enlarged dramatically, swinging toward Camie in a sweeping motion designed to push her out of bounds.
Camie ducked under the massive fist, using the Wing Chun footwork Izuku had drilled into her to slip inside Kendo's guard. She landed three quick strikes to Kendo's midsection before dancing back out of range.
"Nice moves," Kendo acknowledged, shrinking her hand back to normal size.
"You ain't seen nothing yet."
This time Camie initiated, feinting left before darting right. Kendo tracked the movement perfectly, enlarging both hands to create a barrier. Camie's kick bounced harmlessly off the massive palms.
"Predictable," Kendo said, closing her giant hands in an attempt to capture Camie between them.
Camie released a burst of smoke from her mouth, obscuring herself from view. When the smoke cleared seconds later, three identical Camies stood in a triangle formation, each wearing the same confident smirk.
"Which one's real?" they asked in perfect unison.
Kendo's eyes narrowed, assessing the illusions. "Doesn't matter." She enlarged both hands again, sweeping them in a wide arc that would hit all three Camies at once.
Two of the Camies dissolved on contact. The third—the real one—leapt over the giant hands, using them as a springboard to launch a kick toward Kendo's face.
Kendo barely blocked in time, crossing her now-normal sized arms in front of her. The force of the kick still sent her sliding backward several feet.
"Not bad," Kendo admitted, shaking out her arms. "But illusions won't win this fight."
"Depends on the illusion," Camie replied, already releasing another cloud of smoke.
Suddenly five Camies surrounded Kendo on the ground, each initiating an attack from a different angle.
Kendo enlarged her hands, creating a defensive dome around herself. Four of the Camies dissolved on contact with the giant hands. The fifth—the real one—had anticipated this move and slid beneath the dome's edge, sweeping Kendo's legs out from under her.
Kendo fell but recovered quickly, rolling to her feet and immediately counter-attacking with an enlarged fist. The blow caught Camie in the side, sending her tumbling across the concrete.
"WHAT A HIT!" Present Mic's voice boomed. "KENDO'S BIG FIST PACKS A SERIOUS PUNCH!"
Camie pushed herself up, wincing. That would bruise later. She'd underestimated the force behind Kendo's quirk.
They circled each other again, more cautiously this time. Camie knew she needed to be smarter about her approach. Kendo's quirk gave her both offensive and defensive advantages in close combat.
Time to change tactics.
Camie released another cloud of smoke, but instead of creating multiple copies of herself, she transformed the entire arena floor into what appeared to be a pool of lava. The concrete seemed to bubble and shift, glowing red-hot.
Kendo's eyes widened momentarily before her expression settled into determination. "Nice try, but I know it's not real."
"Knowledge doesn't help when your brain says otherwise," Camie replied, advancing across the illusory lava as if it were solid ground.
Despite knowing it was an illusion, Kendo instinctively stepped back, her body reacting to the convincing visual of molten rock bubbling at her feet.
Camie pressed the advantage, closing the distance while Kendo was distracted by the conflicting signals between her eyes and her rational mind. She launched into the combination gramps had taught her—chain punches flowing one after another, targeting pressure points along Kendo's torso and arms.
Kendo defended admirably, enlarging one hand to block while using the other to counter-attack. But the illusory lava continued to affect her footwork, making her movements less certain than before.
"Gotta hand it to you," Camie said between strikes, "you're tough."
"So are you," Kendo replied, finally finding her rhythm despite the illusion. Her enlarged fist swung in a wide arc, forcing Camie to backflip away.
The moment Camie's concentration broke, the lava illusion dissolved, revealing the normal concrete platform beneath them.
Both contestants were breathing heavily now, the exchange having taken its toll. Camie felt a throb in her side where Kendo's earlier blow had landed. Kendo's right arm trembled slightly, hinting at muscle fatigue from quirk overuse.
"Time to end this," Kendo declared, enlarging both hands to maximum size.
Camie nodded. "Couldn't agree more."
She released her largest smoke cloud yet, completely obscuring the arena.
"WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY!" Present Mic shouted. "UTSUSHIMI HAS TURNED THE ENTIRE STADIUM INTO HER ILLUSION!"
In the center of the arena, Kendo stood alone, surrounded by identical Camies walking in a circle. Her eyes darted from one to another, trying to identify the real one among the copies.
"Your illusions are impressive," Kendo called, enlarging her hands defensively. "But they can't hurt me."
"No," came Camie's voice, seemingly from everywhere at once. "But this can."
Three Camies rushed Kendo simultaneously from different angles. Kendo swung at the first with her enlarged right hand, only for the illusion to dissolve on contact. The second illusion ducked under her left hand's swing, dissolving the moment Kendo tried to close her giant fist around it.
The third—the real Camie—used the distraction to slide between Kendo's legs, popping up behind her and landing a solid kick to the back of Kendo's knee.
Kendo stumbled forward but didn't fall. She spun, swinging both enlarged hands in a defensive pattern that would be nearly impossible to penetrate.
Nearly.
Camie had anticipated this. She rolled beneath the swinging hands, coming up inside Kendo's guard. Before Kendo could react, Camie delivered three rapid strikes to pressure points along Kendo's arms—points Izuku had taught her would temporarily disrupt the nervous system's signals.
Kendo's hands shrank involuntarily, the momentary quirk disruption giving Camie the opening she needed. She hooked one foot behind Kendo's ankle and pushed forward, using the class rep's own momentum to topple her backward.
Kendo hit the ground hard, and before she could recover, Camie was on her, pinning her arms and applying pressure to another nerve cluster in Kendo's shoulder—not enough to cause damage, just enough to immobilize.
"Get off," Kendo gasped, struggling against the hold.
Midnight approached, examining the pin. "Kendo, can you continue?"
Kendo tried again to free herself, but Camie's hold remained secure. "No," she admitted finally. "I surrender."
"KENDO SURRENDERS!" Midnight declared, raising her whip. "UTSUSHIMI ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!"
The crowd erupted in cheers as the hundreds of illusory Camies dissolved, leaving only the real one helping Kendo to her feet.
"That was some fight," Kendo said, rubbing her shoulder as the nerve pinch's effects faded. "Where'd you learn those pressure point techniques?"
Camie grinned. "A girl's gotta have some secrets."
"WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF STRATEGY AND SKILL!" Present Mic's commentary boomed through the stadium. "UTSUSHIMI'S ILLUSIONS COMBINED WITH SURPRISING COMBAT PROWESS PROVE TOO MUCH FOR KENDO'S POWERFUL QUIRK!"
As they walked toward the exit tunnel together, Kendo extended her hand. "Good match. I'll be rooting for you in the next round."
Camie accepted the handshake, surprised by the sincerity in Kendo's voice. "Thanks, fam. You put up one hell of a fight."
As Kendo headed toward the 1-B waiting area, Camie took a moment to catch her breath in the shadow of the tunnel. Her side ached where Kendo's enlarged fist had connected, and her muscles burned pleasantly from exertion.
But she'd won. She'd advance to face Yaomomo in the next round.
A memory from her childhood surfaced—one of the rare occasions when both her parents had attended a school performance. She'd played the lead in the class play, delivering every line perfectly, moving across the stage with natural grace. Afterward, while other parents hugged their children and took photos, her mother had simply checked her watch and said, "We have a dinner reservation. You did adequately."
Adequately. The word had cut deeper than any criticism.
Camie pushed the memory away. This victory wasn't about proving herself to absent parents or anyone else. It was about showing herself what she was capable of. About becoming someone worthy of standing beside Izuku—not because she needed his validation, but because she wanted to be the kind of hero he believed she could be.
"That was amazing!"
Camie turned to find Izuku waiting just inside the tunnel, his green eyes bright with pride.
"The pressure points worked perfectly," he continued. "And the way you used your illusions to control her perception of space—"
Camie cut him off by stepping forward and pressing her lips to his. He hesitated for only a moment before deepening the kiss, his arms sliding around her waist.
When they broke apart, Camie kept her forehead pressed against his chest. "Thanks for believing in me."
"I'll always believe in you, Camie," he said softly. "But this victory was all you."
Camie smiled, a genuine expression rarely seen by anyone but him. "I know. Pretty badass, right?"
Izuku laughed, the sound warming her from the inside out. "Definitely badass. Now let's get you over to Recovery Girl."