It's crazy I know. But yes I've posted another chapter in less than a week. It's been over a year since I've done this but hopefully, I'm back this time. Also, let me know if my story seems too fast-paced or not.
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The sound of footsteps approaching the light filled the hall as Class 1-A made their way out. Present Mic's voice could be heard on the loudspeakers, "THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!! WHERE THE HERO WORLDS INCHOATE LITTLE EGGS AIM FOR EACH OTHERS THROATS, AND THE TOP!! OUR GRAND YEARLY MELEE!"
He raised his arms, "AND LET ME GUESS, ALL YOU MISCREANTS CAME TO SEE THEM, RIGHT?! THE FRESHLY FORMED MIRACLE STARS THAT SHRUGGED OFF A MASSIVE VILLAIN ASSAULT WITH WILLS OF STEEL!! THE DEPARTMENT OF HEROICS FRESHMAN CLASS!!! YOU'RE HERE FOR CLASS 1-A, RIGHT?!?
The class stepped out onto the open field and were surrounded by thousands of people in all directions. Some students—like Midoirya—shriveled up while others were unfazed. Sasuke's eyes scanned the area, 'Are there this many people interested in seeing kids fight each other?'
Sasuke recognized some of the girls from Middle school in the stands wearing 'I love Sasuke' shirts cheering for him, he quickly looked away shaking his head.
The other students bickered amongst themselves until a loud snap silenced the students. The source of the sound came from a woman dressed in an oddly scandalous fashion. She held a flogger in her hand.
Sasuke's brow furrowed, "What kind of instructor walks around like that?"
"See something you like, Sasuke?" Mina comes up behind Sasuke, swinging an arm around his shoulder with a big smile on her face. Sasuke didn't notice, but she also stuck out her tongue at the girls in the stand, receiving many glares in return.
"What? Not at all, it's stupid."
Mina placed a finger on her chin and looked up hiding a devious grin, "Oh you think so? Do you think I'd look better in it?"
Sasuke blushed and blinked, "Huh? What are you"-
"SILENCE!" She cracked her flogger again. "My tenure here is perfectly on the level! Now, player, rep! Bakugo Katsuki of Class 1-A!"
Midoriya's jaw dropped, "EHHH?! Our Representative is Kaachan?!"
Sero leaned in, "He placed first in the Entrance Exam, remember?"
Sasuke was saved from his embarrassment as his eyes averted towards Bakugo.
Bakugo had his hands in his pockets and ambled up the stairs. "Sensei. I'm gonna place first."
"Don't push your luck Class 1-A!"
"Why do you insist on lowering our good graces?!"
"Sludge fucker!"
Bakugo brought his thumb across his throat in a slit-throat motion, "You'll all make fantastic stepping stones, I'm sure."
Sasuke glared at Bakugo while Ashido rolled her eyes. "Well, he like sure has a lot of confidence in himself."
"Hn, I think it's time someone took that arrogant idiot a step-down," he smirked.
Mina tilted her head with a playful smile, "You probably would have said the same thing."
Sasuke gained a tick mark and turned back to her, "I would not!"
Ashido giggled, but then stared at Bakugo out of the corner of her eye, 'Is it all just arrogance though?'
The big screen turned on, "Onto the 'preliminaries' as they're called! Lots of fine folk end up choking on their tears here every year! And this year's first round of destiny is... THIS!" Her arms emphasized the screen which read 'Obstacle Race.'
While Midnight explained the four-kilometer course, Sasuke stared at Midoriya who kept looking forward intensely once everyone was at the starting line. He sighed and sauntered over to him and poked him on the shoulder, "AH!" Making him jump.
"Midoriya, you're gonna get first this round."
Midoriya blinked and pointed at himself, "Huh? I am?"
"Yeah, if I don't anyway." He looked at the obstacle course, "But don't rely on your quirk too much."
Midoriya furrowed his brow, "Huh? But why? It's helped my movement speed a lot and"-
"I know, but you only have it at 4%. You're not beating someone like Todoroki or Bakugo in speed with that level of ability. Just try to keep an eye open out there."
Sasuke turned and walked away while Midoriya stood blinking, 'Did... Did Sasuke just go out of his way to help me win? Where's my notebook?! I gotta write this down!'
Ashido put her hand under her chin, "You're gonna help Midoriya beat everyone including yourself? That's a bit out of character."
Sasuke had his hands in his pockets and sighed, "I just don't want any chance of Bakugo getting first, and I don't think I can get to first on my own unless I get lucky with the terrain."
"Fair, but Midoriya? Can't he like just punch once before he's done?"
"Ha," Sasuke shook his head and smirked, "No, that Midoriya has gotten better. You'll see him."
Ashido covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes got watery. Sasuke turned to her and blinked, "Huh? Mina, are you ok?"
She sniffled, "I just..." she wiped away a tear, "I'm so proud you actually managed to make a friend!"
Sasuke made a poker face before a tick mark appeared on his forehead, "I—
"STAAAART!!!"
All the students around him running. Multiple students bumped into Sasuke before he could gain his footing, 'I'm about to get trampled!' He stumbled.
Ashido grabbed his shirt and pulled him up before he could fall, "Are you okay? Ah!"
Some people bump into Mina too and he manifested a rib cage to separate everyone from himself and Mina to gain footing. With all the footsteps around them, it was hard to hear her, but he made out what she said. "Yeah, thank you. See you in the next round."
Mina waves as his ribcage drops and they run again. 'Bad start, time to catch up!' purple energy coiled around his limbs and he jumped above the crowd only to see an icy sheet below. 'Must have been Todoroki! Can't slip...' He looked at the energy he had coiled around himself.
'There's no way I could stay on my feet if I land like this... If only the energy on my feet was wider...'
He turned sideways in midair and aligned his feet before manifesting purple energy, imagining increasing it in size and shape like the skeleton; However, it became a flat board. Sasuke's eyes went wide, 'No time to question it,' he slid on the ice seamlessly until it ended. Then he jumped and went back to running.
AND 1-A'S UCHIHA SASUKE USES HIS BONY ABILITIES TO SOMEHOW MAKE A SNOWBOARD! NOW WHO THE HELL KNEW HE COULD DO THAT?!"
As the stadium saw the race on cameras, a certain masked man's interest was peaked at what he saw.
"THE FIRST BARRIER, WILL BE A ROBO INFERNO!"
The familiar zero-point robot stopped everyone at the front from moving. At least that was the case until Todoroki froze it and it collapsed on Tetsutetsu and Kirishima as he made it pass.
"INCREDIBLE!! HE'S REMOVED HIMSELF FROM THE REST OF THE COMPETITION! IT KIND OF FEELS UNFAIR ACTUALLY!"
Midoriya was faced with more robots blocking his path and a weary smile crossed his face, 'Time to put that head of yours to use... Now what could I do besides use my quirk here?'
Sasuke caught up to the rest of them, 'Ok, let's see what else I can do with this,' a robot tried to clothesline Sasuke, but he performed limbo under its arm and manifested wheels on the bottom of his shoes to slide by, although he nearly falls so he returns to normal running and jumps over the rest, being a little bit behind Bakugo and Todoroki. 'That's useful, but that'll take a while to get used to.'
Sasuke trails behind Bakugo and Todoroki, but can't get enough speed to catch up or pass no matter how fast he tries to run. The next part of the obstacle course comes into view. "YOU FALL AND YOU'RE OUT, IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT IDEA, MAYBE YOU CAN CRAWL! It's... THE FAAALLLLL!"
Sasuke analyzed the terrain. It was like a black bottomless pit that had pieces of earth sticking up out of it that were each connected only by tightrope. And all the ledges gave him an idea. He smirked, 'Just like the recommendation exam!'
Sasuke measured the gap between himself, a ledge, and the end of the obstacle. He manifested a Susanoo arm and punched the ground ahead, causing that part of the cliff to fall off. He jumped down and grabbed it with both Susanoo arms and waited for it to achieve a 45° angle before flinging ahead like a slingshot. Remembering how all the wind in his face felt last time, he subconsciously made goggles to cover his eyes and smirked.
Todoroki glanced back, "I won't let you do that again!" he waved a hand and an ice wall shot up out of the ground blocking Sasuke's path.
'Crap!' Sasuke destroys the sidewall with a skeletal arm, but the force of punching still slowed down his momentum. However, he still managed to start running alongside Todoroki while Bakugo was farther behind to Bakugo's frustration and Sasuke's pleasure.
"WHAT A MOVE!! SASUKE TRIES TO USE THE TERRAIN TO HIS ADVANTAGE, BUT TODOROKI SHUTS IT DOWN!! NOW WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE TIED FOR FIRST PLACE!! WHO CAN PULL AHEAD?!?"
"The same move from the Recommendation Exam isn't gonna work twice, Sasuke."
The last obstacle came into view, and it was... An open field? "THE MIND FIELD RIGHT OUT OF RAMBO 3!! IT'S SET UP SO THAT IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE LANDMINES ARE PLACED!! STRAIN YOUR EYES AND FEET!!"
'Isn't this kinda lethal?'
"Hahaha! It doesn't mean a thing TO ME!" Bakugo shot right by Todoroki and Sasuke and they veered a bit to the side to avoid an explosion. "Yo, you think you might have issued your little war declaration to the wrong rival?!" He stared down Todoroki who only glared back. "And you!" Bakugo turned to Sasuke, "Fuck you!" He placed a hand on the ground and set off a big explosion. When the dust faded Sasuke was completely fine having dashed away, but he gritted his teeth.
'Bakugo!'
"AND THE LEAD HAS BEEN UPSET! REJOICE, MASS MEDIA! THIS IS JUST THE SORT OF DEVELOPMENT YOU CRAVE! WHY EVEN THOSE WHO ARE TRAILING BEHIND ARE PUTTING ON SPURTS! HOWEVER, WHILE THEY'RE PULLING EACH OTHER BACK, WE EFFECTIVELY HAVE THREE KIDS IN THE LEAD?!"
Sasuke swatted a skeletal arm at the two of them but Todoroki froze it and Bakugo coincidentally blew it up at the same time. Bakugo snarled and tried to blow away Todoroki, "I don't need your stupid ice for help, two-faced bastard!"
Todoroki blocked it with a tense brow, "I wasn't offering it."
While the three of them tried to get ahead of one another, Midoriya wasn't too far behind as he used his quirk to run faster, 'It's too far! I can't make up this distance by just running! But still!' his eyes scanned across the field in front of him frantically with a tense mouth. 'I can still catch up!'
He used the piece of metal he picked up and used it like a shovel and gathered a bunch of land mines together. "One For All 4%!" He slammed the shield down; flying ahead at a blinding speed he couldn't be seen at. So fast that he wasn't seen again until he already crossed the minefield, after which he dumped the shield and ran at full speed towards the finish line.
"HE OVERTOOK THEM! HE OVERTOOK ALL THREE OF THEM AND GOT PAST THE MINDFIELD AREA ENTIRELY!"
Todoroki and Bakugo glared, but Sasuke smiled, "Good idea, Midoriya."
Sasuke himself jumped forward and slammed a skeletal hand into the ground, boosting himself forward right behind Midoriya as they both finished the race.
WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS OUTCOME WHEN THE TRIAL BEGAN? THE MAN WHO HAS RETURNED TO THE STADIUM IN TRIUMPH AGAINST ALL ODDS IS NONE OTHER THAN... MIDORIYA IZUKU! HIS WILL BE A NAME TO KNOW!!"
The vibrations of the crowd erupting in cheers could be felt and heard by everyone. Midoriya pumped his fist looking up at Toshinori who returned a smile.
Sasuke caught his breath and sat on the ground finally having time to think. He put his hands together, 'Now then, what the hell was all that? A snowboard... Wheels... Goggles... Wasn't my power just the skeleton? Or...' he kept thinking about his parent's quirks. 'I guess this is good either way, but still... How? I thought my quirk was my dad's quirk with my mom's energy as material... But did I"— Before he could think anymore he was bopped on the head by Ashido.
He snapped out of his thoughts, "Mina!"
"What are you doing phasing out? Midnight is explaining the next phase."
"Right," he stood up and turned to Midnight who had a board behind her saying 'Human Cavalry Battle.'
"You can all form 2-4 person teams freely and form a horseback configuration! Basically, it's the same rules as a normal human cavalry battle: Swipe enemy riders' headbands and guard your own. Except for one thing... Everyone will receive points based on their performance in the last trial!"
A contestant called out, "Which means the value of each human war-horse will change based on who's in it!"
"DON'T SAY WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY BEFORE I SAY IT!!" She cracked her flogger again, "But yes, that's right. And the number of points you will have earned is 5 points if you placed 42nd; 10 if you placed 41st; 15 for 40th; and so on... Except 1st place, which is worth 10 million points!"
Everyone universally turned towards Midoriya who became a wide-eyed statue.
Sasuke rubbed the back of his head, 'Yeah that's a lot of heat.'
Midnight explained the rest about a fifteen-minute time limit, and how each group value is the composite of all their headbands and other things. In the end, she announced, "Alright, you now have fifteen minutes until then! Start negotiating your team-ups!"
Sasuke turned to Midoriya and Ashido, but before he could decide which one to approach first, he was poked on the shoulder. "Excuse me, your name was Sasuke, right? Would you be interested in joining my team?"
Sasuke turned to see the shaggy purple-haired boy who declared war on their class a couple of weeks ago. He narrowed his eyes, "No, go"—
Sasuke went wide-eyed and tensed up. Shinso smiled, thank you for your generosity."
Meanwhile, Midoriya was having a hard time finding anyone who would want to team up with him. At least until Uraraka approached him, and after crying a bathtub's worth of water in under a second they approached Iida.
"With you at the front, Iida, this will let us make a horse! Using Uraraka's quirk to make us float makes us unmatched. As for the rider, we'd need the most physically strong kid we could get. I'm sure that Sasuke will join! With our quadruple formation, our evasion ability would be unmatched!"
Iida's glasses shined, "... As awesome as ever, Midoriya. My apologies, but I refuse." Midoriya blinked. Iida looked down and adjusted his glasses. "Ever since the entrance exam, I've always lost to you. You're an amazing friend, but it's precisely because of that that I'll never grow myself if I keep following you. And Bakugo and Todoroki aren't the only ones that see you as a rival, my friend," he turned and walked away. "So I'll be doing my best to challenge myself against you!"
Sasuke's vision was blurry like there was a black tint over everything. 'What's going on?' from the sound of footsteps and the weight on his shoulders, he could tell the battle had already started. He was with Ojiro, some class B guy, and Shinso. 'What the...'
He noticed his body was on autopilot and he couldn't control anything. "Block the ice coming our way, Sasuke."
He did as he was commanded and a Susanoo arm blocked ice that would have toppled them. Sasuke blinked in his own mind, 'This bastard! It's him! He controlled me with his voice! How do I get out of this?!'
With less than thirty seconds left, they sneak up on Tetsutetsu's team, "Hey, why don't you guys hand over your headbands?"
Tetsutetsu faced him, "Huh? Why the hell would we"—
Sasuke focused on trying to break out. He closed his eyes and focused all the mental energy he could muster. The sounds of everyone running around turned into white noise and he could visualize it flowing around him. It began to shape itself into... 'Mom?' Sasuke broke free from the control and blinked rapidly.
"TIMES UP!"
Shinso walked away from the team smirking, "Your hard work was appreciated."
Sasuke stared down at his own hands looking at the purple energy seeping off it. 'Mom? What just happened?' He couldn't put it into words, but he innately knew that it was like his soul let out a burst of energy.
A lunch break was called and he went to the cafeteria. He got his food and sat down but just poked at it with a blank face. He only took a few bites before throwing it away and walking out of the cafeteria. He put his hands in his pockets. 'What's going on with my quirk today?'
He kept strolling through the halls until his eyes met with Bakugo who stood around a corner. His brow tensed, but what stood out more was the sound of Todoroki and Midoriya around the corner. Todoroki was explaining a lot about quirk marriages. "All he wanted was the same his own thirst and raise a hero to rise above All Might. Fuck him! I'll never be that piece of shit's tool!"
His left hand covered his burn scar as he looked down, "In my memories, my Mom is always crying... She told me that my left side was ugly. And she dumped boiling water on me," Midoriya's mouth opened but he stayed silent.
"The reason I'm aiming to beat you is a personal triumph. I won't use my crappy old man's quirk, or rather... I'll become number 1 without needing to. This is my total disavowal of him," he started at Midoriya intently.
Midoriya looked at the ground, 'He sounds a lot like...'
Sasuke was wide-eyed and stood in place. He looked around the corner and peered at Todoroki walking away intensely, 'Todoroki... Did you also have a quirk forced on you?? No... That can't be right...' He shook his head.
Soon after all the students were back in the field and the last trial was announced as a tournament of one-on-ones. "FROM 4 TEAMS! 16 INDIVIDUALS HAVE MADE IT THROUGH! IT'S A TOURNAMENT! WE'RE PITTING THEM AGAINST EACH OTHER IN ONE ON ONE COMBAT!!"
Sasuke scratched his neck and looked down, only half paying attention, but once Midnight began pulling from the lottery he sighed, 'I can't think about this stuff right now.'
Before Midnight could announce the first names, Ojiro raised his hand explaining why he wanted to forfeit. Another student from class B did the same thing. They both explained how they didn't feel like they deserved the win due to being controlled. Although Sasuke didn't share the same sentiment. 'I would have preferred to get here purely on my own but I'm not throwing away this chance over that. I still need to fight them,' He gazed at Todoroki, Bakugo, and Midoriya.
"AND THE MATCHUPS ARE AS FOLLOWS!"
The board showed everyone's names in the brackets. Midoriya vs. Shinso, Todoroki vs. Sero, Shiozaki vs. Kaminari, Ashido vs. Uchiha, Tokoyami vs. Yaoyorozu, Tetsutetsu vs. Kirishima, and Uraraka vs. Bakugo.