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The power of music truly has no boundaries — at that moment, Konata suddenly understood the meaning behind those words.
While singing World is Mine, even she felt herself being drawn into the music. When the song ended, she still had the urge to keep singing.
Before anyone around her could recover from the spell of the music, Konata quickly jumped down from the makeshift stage, bowed deeply to Aizawa-sensei and Cementoss-sensei, begging them to keep her secret, and then escaped like her life depended on it.
She didn't even know why she was running.
Aizawa glanced at the approaching swarm of reporters and media personnel and, for a brief moment, regretted agreeing to her request.
He never expected that such a soul-piercing voice would come from Konata Izumi's mouth.
"To turn fantasy into reality, to make something that should only exist in imagination take form… Is this the terrifying nature of the Quirk called 'Fantasy'?"
With the sudden appearance of Hatsune Miku, the entire venue was shaken. Everyone wanted to know who this twin-tailed green-haired girl with the angelic voice was. But just as mysteriously as she appeared, after finishing the song, she vanished without a trace.
If it weren't for the footage captured by the media showing her entire performance, many would've dismissed the whole thing as a hallucination.
Everyone wanted answers, but the only two who actually knew the truth—Aizawa and Cementoss—kept their mouths sealed.
"Please respect her wishes," Aizawa said coldly to the reporters. "If she doesn't want to reveal her identity, she must have her reasons. Let's drop the matter here."
Of course, there were still those who linked Hatsune Miku to the ever-suspicious Konata Izumi. After all, in the first round of the tournament, she had already used her Fantasy Quirk to transform into a flame-haired swordswoman, and she had promised everyone a "surprise" during lunch. Could this mysterious twin-tailed girl be another one of her transformations?
"I'm not her! Stop making things up," Konata replied, feigning complete innocence.
"I was born tone-deaf! If you don't believe me, I can sing for you right now—
I have a pen, I have a apple
Uh, apple-pen
I have a pen, I have pineapple
Uh, pineapple-pen
Apple-pen, pineapple-pe— Hey! Don't walk away! Is this song really that bad?"
Successfully using Apple Pen to destroy any suspicion, Konata quietly slipped into the cafeterie—she hadn't eaten lunch yet.
Because of the sudden Hatsune Miku incident, the afternoon matches were delayed by a full hour, and now Konata wasn't quite sure she dared to face Aizawa again.
"This… I have to wear too?"
Konata stared at the cheerleading outfit Yaoyorozu Momo had handed her, her face twitching slightly.
"I got word that all the girls are supposed to wear cheer uniforms this afternoon… You really aren't Hatsune Miku?" Yaoyorozu asked hesitantly.
The moment she said that, all the other girls in the changing room turned their attention toward Konata—especially Jirou Kyouka, whose eyes burned the brightest.
From every angle, Konata was the most suspicious. She disappeared at exactly the same time Miku appeared. Everyone had already formed their own guess but were subconsciously unwilling to connect this chaotic gremlin to the elegant princess on stage.
"Uh… do you want me to sing for you right now to prove my innocence?" Konata asked awkwardly.
The girls instantly recalled her ApplePen performance and silently turned away.
Yeah… no way their "princess" could be this gremlin. Absolutely impossible.
After the hour-long delay, the sports festival resumed. Class by class, the students entered the field, with Class 1-A once again drawing the most attention.
And yes—they were definitely the most attention-grabbing this time.
"Didn't you say all the other girls would be dressed like us?" Konata muttered, forcing a smile as she endured the stares around her. She turned toward Yaoyorozu.
"If you're giving out fanservice, fine. But why drag an innocent bystander like me into it?"
"I was tricked too," Yaoyorozu replied lifelessly.
"Kaminari and Mineta came to me with this idea… I even made these uniforms myself using my Quirk. I'm really sorry."
"How gullible do you have to be to get tricked by those two?" Konata sighed, then glared toward Kaminari and Mineta.
"What are you looking at? Keep staring and I'll make you wear a cheer outfit too!"
Her eyes suddenly lit up as she pointed straight at the two culprits.
"Midoriya! Tokoyami! Grab Pikachu and Grape-head! Yaoyorozu, you can still make more cheer uniforms, right?"
The moment Kaminari and Mineta saw her pointing, dread washed over them. Before they could react, Tokoyami's Dark Shadow restrained them completely.
Three minutes later, the two boys were standing in the middle of the field, wearing cheerleader uniforms over their gym clothes, attracting a whole lot of stares.
"The best way to make yourself less noticeable," Konata said, "is to make sure someone else is more noticeable than you."
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For now, setting aside Class 1-A, which always drew all the attention, the arena buzzed again with Present Mic's booming voice.
"Alright! After an hour of delay, the Sports Festival is back! Next up: the thrilling arena matches. But first—"
Present Mic turned to Aizawa.
"Eraserhead, about Hatsune Miku… you really can't spill anything?"
The question instantly triggered a memory in Aizawa's mind: Konata singing Apple Pen. His face darkened.
"Shut up."
"Looks like we're keeping it a secret. But no worries! One day, she'll appear again. For now, forget curiosity about Miku's identity and just enjoy the festival!"
Present Mic climbed onto a chair and shouted to the crowd.
"Also, some good news! Students eliminated in the preliminaries—you're not left out. This is a Sports Festival, after all! We even brought professional cheerleaders from the U.S.! Some Class 1-A girls are eager to join, and a couple of boys seem interested too—but seriously, at least take off your gym clothes before putting on the cheer outfits!"
"You guys—even the teacher's teasing us!"
Kaminari and Mineta, forced into cheer outfits, looked mortified, unsure where to put their hands.
"That's karma," Konata snorted, crossing her arms.
"You should thank me for not stripping you first. Anyone who messes with me pays the price."
"Mess with you? I just wanted to see Yaoyorozu and the others—ugh!"
Kaminari quickly covered Mineta's mouth, forcing a strained smile at Konata.
"You didn't hear anything."
Even with the height difference, Kaminari was genuinely nervous, fearing this demon might rip off their gym uniforms too.
"Peace cannot exist with an uneven chest. Someone obsessed with big boobs has no future."
Konata shot them a disdainful look and left triumphantly, leaving Mineta and Kaminari blinking in utter confusion.
The top sixteen would fight in the arena. Opponents were drawn randomly; winners advanced to the semifinals, and then the final four battled for the championship.
But Konata didn't expect her first-round opponent to be a familiar face.
"Tokoyami Fumikage."
She locked eyes with him.
"Looking forward to it," Tokoyami said, dead serious.
Before the matches began, the school had set up events for everyone—even the eliminated—but Konata, busy changing back into her own clothes, skipped them.
As she stepped out of the locker room, she bumped into someone leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
"My father, Endeavor… he contacted you, right?"
"Yes. Why? Is there a problem?"
Konata tilted her head in mild confusion.
"What did he say to you?"
After a pause, Todoroki turned away, voice cold.
"He invited me to intern at his agency. He also wants me to mediate the conflicts between you and him. That's all."
Recalling the conversation clearly, Konata bluntly repeated everything. Parent-child conflicts were normal to her—better to be open than hiding things. Misunderstandings could be solved with honest discussion.
Then she advised Todoroki:
"Todoroki, your father really does care about you. Rebellious phases are normal, but you should find time to talk. Avoiding it won't solve anything."
"Care about me?"
Hearing the world's funniest thing, Todoroki's lips curled into a cold smirk.
"So that's what he told you? That scumbag who treats me like a tool actually said that… I think I know what he's planning. You don't get it. Can you stop being naive? When did my business become yours?"
"You call your father a scumbag?"
Konata froze. Everything was turning out completely differently than expected.
"You don't need to meddle. Stay away from that scumbag. Don't agree to intern. Most importantly, stay away from me. I'm not in the mood for playing house."
Todoroki slipped his hands into his pockets and walked down the hallway.
"Stay naive if you want, but don't bother me. If you get hurt, don't blame me for not warning you."
"Can I ask something?"
He hadn't gone far when Konata's slightly troubled voice came from behind.
"What is it?"
Stopping, Todoroki replied coldly.
"Why do you always speak halfway and leave the rest for people to guess?"
"That's none of your business."
"Well, it is. I hate it when people say half and make others guess. You could just say everything clearly at once—so why leave it half-done?"
"Is that so? Then I'll ask you a question too."
Turning, Todoroki faced her.
"Do you know about Quirk Marriage?"
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"Now you finally understand why that scumbag came after you."
Konata calmly recapped Midoriya's situation, her tone level and straightforward, while Todoroki's expression remained unreadable.
"So… you'd better stay away from him."
"Well… from one angle, your father really is a scumbag. A scumbag among scumbags. But… that doesn't really involve me, right? Sure, he's done some shady stuff, but judging from the fact he came to me personally, it seems like he genuinely wants to reconcile with you."
Konata absentmindedly scratched her cheek as she replied.
Amused by her slow reaction, Todoroki decided to cut straight to the point.
"You really think he came to you just to repair my relationship with him? I've told you about Quirk Marriage, right? The only reason he approached you is that he wanted your Quirk. "That Quirk of yours called Fantasy."
Konata froze at his words, then her expression shifted dramatically.
"Wait… you're saying your scumbag father is… into lolis? He'd really… go after someone my size?"
The thought made her shiver. Did this world have no laws protecting minors? Endeavor, number two hero of the country, considering targeting a little girl… unbelievable.
Todoroki, noticing her train of thought, fell silent.
Konata, still shocked, muttered:
"Todoroki… now I finally understand why you call your father a scumbag. Preying on a minor like this… calling him a scumbag is giving him too much credit."
"I think you might be misunderstanding something."
To prevent further damage to his father's reputation, Todoroki clarified.
"Look, Todoroki… let's forget personal ties for a moment. While all these reporters are here, we could expose every horrible thing your scumbag father has done—"
"No, no, that would just reopen old wounds. Or… we could poison him—"
Listening expressionlessly as Konata casually brainstormed twenty assassination methods and a hundred contingency plans, Todoroki finally realized that this girl in front of him was the real demon. And judging by the feasibility of her ideas, she wasn't joking.
"Quirk Marriage refers to the two of us."
Watching Konata's schemes escalate from poison to a year-long secret bioterrorism plot, Todoroki deadpanned this single line.
He then watched, incredulous, as the girl leapt back at least ten meters.
"You're not a lolicon, right?"
Raising a cautious hand, Konata asked carefully.
"No."
"Phew, then I can relax."
She exhaled, then cautiously approached—but stopped seven or eight steps away.
"Since you're not a lolicon, maybe we could still be… like brothers?"
Todoroki's expression darkened. Coming here to talk to her was definitely a mistake.
"Alright. Since we've identified the root of your issue, I can get to the main point. You're holding back your flames, right? And to prove yourself, you plan to use only half your power to beat first place and impress your scumbag father? Don't you think that's a little… childish? Don't get mad yet—we're going to make a bet."
Konata extended a finger seriously.
"If all goes normally, the semifinals will feature you, Midoriya, Bakugo, and me. Luckily, none of us faced each other in the first round. I'm not betting on the entire tournament—just on your fight against Midoriya. If you can defeat him using only your ice powers—without touching your flames—then I will unconditionally grant you any request. But if you use fire, or lose without it, you'll unconditionally grant me one request. Do you dare to bet?"
Todoroki stared deeply at her and nodded.
"Then it's a bet. In that match against Midoriya, I will not use my flames."
"And you must still win using only ice," Konata emphasized.
"Fine. A fair bet."
"Is that so? You're seriously underestimating Midoriya."
Konata glanced at Todoroki slowly.
"Just relying on half your power to beat Midoriya is idealistic. Even if you use full power, you might still lose… and you'll probably end up eating your words afterward."
"You really trust Midoriya that much?"
Todoroki frowned slightly, confused by the expression, but he asked anyway.
This isn't trust—it's absolute certainty. The protagonist always wins. Skipping levels to challenge monsters? Standard procedure. No matter how the Sports Festival goes, first place is inevitably his.
Konata looked up at the ceiling, her tone drifting.
"Yeah, Midoriya's strong… that's all I'm saying."
"Then let the facts speak for themselves."
Turning, Todoroki walked forward.
"No matter what, I will not use my flames in this Sports Festival."
"Bet you'll end up eating those words, huh~?"
Meanwhile, as Todoroki left, a figure that had been hiding near the staircase silently climbed a floor, avoiding him.
"Quirk Marriage."
A certain someone clenched their fist fiercely.
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Alright, so I tried to make a POV indicator… and failed spectacularly. Honestly, I have no clue how those even work. And while we're at it, someone help me craft a banger synopsis that actually grabs attention.
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