Today was the big day! Today was U.A.'s Sports Festival, where it had pretty much replaced the Olympics for Japan, a prime source of entertainment for the people... and a good way to raise a lot of cash for U.A. Stands all over the campus had to pay a fee to U.A. for renting it. Certain toys or masks sold there relating with U.A. were given a small percentage of the sales.
After all, they had three large stadiums, one for each class year. Making sure that the stadiums were clean, fully functionally, etc., cost quite a bit of money, even if U.A. did get some discount for a few services. Usually, the 3rd years attracted the most crowds as it was their last chance, but the 1st year seats this time was packed. Many wanted to see the students that had already taken on their first villains. Not to mention the fact that the son of Japan's 2nd most popular hero, Endeavor, was actually there.
"Man, I wanted to do some scouting," grumbled Kamui Woods as he walked around the stalls with Mt. Lady and Death Arms.
"We don't really have a choice," replied Death Arms, "We're needed for security."
Mt. Lady was busy eating Takoyaki that she had seduced one of the stall owners into giving it to her for free.
"Think that kid is here, though?" remarked Death Arms.
"Definitely," grinned Kamui Woods, though his mask made it hard to see whether he was smiling or not, "He's one that I'm definitely sending an offer to."
"You know, we never actually got his name," mused Death Arms.
Kamui Woods stopped for a second before facepalming at this dilemma.
"Hmph, you're talking about the green haired kid, aren't you?" huffed Mt. Lady.
She did not like Izuku as much as the other two due to the fact his actions had almost overshadowed her own debut as a hero. She worked damn hard to become a hero! She might have not attended a school like U.A., had been rejected to several schools due to her quirk and the school's fear of collateral damage, and ended up attending one near the countryside with lots of farm animals and buildings that could easily be rebuilt. Others suggested not to head into the hero business, but rather stay in the farming business due to the fact she could easily transport items from and to the farm, and even tried to introduce her to some farm hands as potential husbands, but she didn't let that stop her! It was why she felt minimal to no guilt when stealing credit/fame from other heroes. She needed to build up that momentum and have it keep going.
"Yes, we are," stated Death Arms and Kamui Woods, both rolling their eyes as Mt. Lady's attitude about the kid.
In the resting area for class 1-A in the stadium for 1st years, the students were all waiting, both nervous and excited.
"Man, I wanted to wear my costume," complained Mina as she stretched her legs.
"It's to keep it from being unfair," explained Mashirao rolling his shoulders, "Not everyone gets to have their personal design hero costume, some of which maximizes our quirk."
"I know, but still," whined Mina.
"Wonder what the first round's going to be?" asked Sato nervously.
"No matter what comes, we have no choice but to deal with it," replied Fumikage calmly, with Shoji nodding in agreement.
The door opened to reveal Momo and Izuku entering, warning them all that they would be entering soon. Izuku, for reasons even unknown to himself, had requested to keep the straw hat. The petition had been sent and approved after inspecting the hat and making sure there was nothing that could possibly help him cheat. While others began their pre-game rituals, Shoto approached Izuku.
"Midoriya," said Shoto, causing quite a few of the students to look at him and Izuku, including Katsuki, "I think it's safe to say, looking at this objectively, that we're the strongest two standing in this room right now. No, perhaps you may be stronger than me."
Katsuki bristled at this while others who were listening also winced, but couldn't voice their objection due to the fact it was kind of true. Izuku raised an eyebrow, wondering where Shoto was going with this.
Still, Shoto foraged on, "So... All Might has his eyes on you, doesn't he?"
This time, Izuku couldn't hold back a look of surprise. He hadn't realized Shoto had noticed his connection with All Might.
"I feel no need to pry into that," continued Shoto, "But... I'm going to beat you."
The students were quite shocked with such a bold statement coming from the class hermit. His title as a hermit was because he rarely interacted with anyone in class after school, choosing to return home by himself, eating lunch by himself, etc. Yet they could not deny that he was strong.
As for Izuku himself... he smiled, "I'd like to see you try. But don't forget about everybody else. We're all here to prove ourselves to the world. Every student, from our class, to all the other classes like the General Education Course students, are aiming for the top with all their might. As am I. If you're not careful, you could trip. Plus, objectively speaking, we're not the only strong ones here. Everybody else has the same chance."
Hearing Izuku's words, the rest of the students nodded in agreement while Shoto merely quirked his eyebrows before turning away.
Soon, they were all walking towards the center arena where they would show the world just who they were.
"Thanks for getting us these seats," thanked Inko as she sat down comfortably on some prime seats. It wasn't front line seats, but it was close enough that Inko wouldn't need to squint to see the people in the center stage. Not to mention they had would have some elbow room, unlike everybody else sitting in the more populated areas.
"Yea, it's fucking nice to be able to see the action without other people bumping into you and to chow down on some food," added Mitsuki.
"She means thank you also," apologized Masaru.
"Not at all," waved Toshinori, in his emancipated form, "A friend of mine at U.A. gave me these seats months ago, telling me I could invite a few others. I originally hadn't planned to come when I remembered young Midoriya was going to be in it."
"Thank fucking god for connections," laughed Mitsuki while Masaru was trying desperately to control his wife's mouth.
'I can see just where young Bakugo got his mouth from,' sweatdropped Toshinori.
They were organized so Toshinori and Inko were in the front with Masaru and Mitsuki right behind them.
"Honey, I don't see why we can't just sit in the front with them, there are four seats with enough room for food and elbow room," whispered Masaru.
"Shush," hissed Mitsuki back, "While I appreciate these seats, I'm still suspicious of this Toshinori Yagi character. I can see he's not what he seems. Getting these tickets? You know how expensive it is to get this sort of VIP seats?"
"Well he said he got them from his friend as a favor," mused Masaru.
"Yea, but I doubt friends give him this sort of seat that easily," shot back Mitsuki, "And then there's that gym set at Inko's home. It's a state of the art sort of gym set that's expensive as hell. One that even with your job along with my part-time modeling gig with Inko every now and then would put a fat dent into our bank. And he just gives it away as a present."
"Maybe he's just wealthy," said Masaru weakly.
"Yea, but we have no idea what his job is," growled Mitsuki, "He somehow carefully avoids it with some well-timed zings that both Inko and I don't even notice he's changed the subject. I'm making sure Inko doesn't end up dating some con man or Yakuza."
"Haven't the Yakuza been systematically dismantled already?" mused Masaru, "And maybe he inherited a fortune!"
"You know what I mean!" coughed Mitsuki, "Anyways, we're sitting here to make sure Yagi doesn't do something that'll make Inko uncomfortable. And I sure as hell can't do that efficiently if we're sitting next to them. Inko is smoking hot for her age, like me. It's bad enough she gets hounded by people every now and then. I don't want her to fall for someone just to have her heart broken. It was bad enough with Hisashi."
Masaru couldn't help but agree with that last statement. That divorce had affected Inko quite a bit, and Masaru, as much as a gentle soul that he was, had wanted to punch Hisashi several times for his decision.
"Plus, I can cuddle with you while still watching over her," smiled Mitsuki as she put her head onto his shoulders.
"Hey!" announced Present Mic from his booth, causing the crowds the cheer loudly, "Pay attention, audience! Swarm, mass media! This year's high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the U.A. Sports festival, is about to begin! Everyone, are you ready!?"
"Why did I agree to do this?" grumbled Shota, sitting right next to Present Mic.
As if on cue, the students began entering from the 11 entrances made for them.
"And here they are! And of course, you miscreants all came to see them specifically, didn't you? The miraculous new stars who overcame a mass villain attack with hearts and wills of steel, and in one case, quite literally! Hero course, Class 1-A and 1-B!"
The crowds cheered wildly as the two classes were revealed.
"Next up, General Studies course, Class C, D, and E! Not to mention we have a special student in Class C that was aided in repelling the villainous attacks! Support Course, Class F, G, and H! Business Course, Class I, J, and K! All the first year students have now arrived!"
Though the applause was not as loud as the ones given to the students in the Hero course, they were still given a positive reception.
One of the general course students mumbled about how they were just there to help the hero course student look better and how unfair it was.
"And now, for the player's pledge!" announced a female voice, along with the sound of a whip snapping in the air.
Everyone's eyes turned to the source of the voice to see that the chief umpire for the first year students was the sexy and beautiful R-rated hero, Midnight. Almost all of the male students blushed at the sight of Midnight in her hero costume, which really showed her curves, as did quite a few female students. A few comments rang out about if it was really okay for an 18+ heroine to be here, as they were all under 18.
"Enough, quiet down!" shouted Midnight, causing them to settle down, "Representing the students will be Katsuki Bakugo of 1-A!"
"Eh, him?" whispered Ochako as Katsuki walked towards the stage, "Deku, didn't you place first at the entrance exam?"
"I did, but I was so busy with training, schoolwork, and duties as the class vice-representative that I really didn't have time to think of a speech. The teachers told me not to worry about it as they would be passing it to the next person in line," replied Izuku.
Being the vice-representative meant that he had to attend meetings with Momo, discuss various topics with the teachers that included lesson plans, etc. etc. With all that and his own personal training, it was voted to allow whoever was next in line to do the player's pledge, one Izuku didn't mind.
However, he did turn to Tenya, "Weren't you second place, though? Why aren't you up there?"
Tenya shook his head, "I do not believe I deserve such a placing. I did my own point calculation if I hadn't gone with Uraraka-san, and I believe I would have placed 7th. So I refused."
"Which left Bakugo," sighed Momo, "This is not going to be a pretty sight."
Bakugo stood up on the stage, staring out to the audience before making his statement.
"I vow... that I'll be number one."
That instantly caused an uproar among most of the students while the audience were silent at the audacity of the student representative, though a laugh could be heard echoing the stadium, along with a "That's my boy!"
"Why would you say something so disgraceful!?" shouted Tenya, waving his arms in a chopping motion.
Bakugo ignored them all, though, grabbing the mic, "Those who don't have that resolve... you might as well just quit."
That silenced the students in an instant.
"I'm here to show the world who's the best, and you'll all be my stepping stones to the top. But if you don't even have the will to aim for the best, then don't even both trying. You'll just get in the way."
With that, Bakugo chucked the mic back onto its stand, strolling down back to class 1-A. Izuku knew what Bakugo had done. He had declared war on all of them, and he had grabbed everyone's attention with just a few words. He was showing them all that he was here. Just like All Might asked him to do the same. Bakugo glared at Izuku at he passed by him. Izuku knew what that glare was.
He was challenging him. Though dragging all of 1-A into the line of fire was just like him.
"Now, let's get the first game started right away!" declared Midnight as a projection appeared behind her with a slot spinning rapidly, "The first game is what you'd call a qualifier! Every year, many end up in tears! Now, for the fateful first game, it'll be... this!"
The slot halted for them all to see the words Obstacle Course labeled out for them.
"It's a race between all 11 classes!" explained Midnight, "It'll be a 4 km course that'll take you around this stadium! Our school's selling point is freedom!"
Midnight gave a rather malicious lick to her lips before continuing, "As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do! Anything is possible!"
"I'd like to add that you have to go around the 4 km course," piped in Shota, "That means no going out and then back in to the finish, even if they are at the same location You must run the full course in order to win."
"Ah, good catch!" nodded Present Mic.
"Now then, everyone, take your place!" grinned Midnight, pointing to the red tunnel exit.
As the students quickly got into place, the hero class noticed that they had been conveniently placed in the back of the whole crowd, along with Shinso. To them, it didn't matter though. They would get through this. Izuku looked around, seeing Itsuka with Momo and Ochako, waving at him before snapping her attention back to the gate.
'All Might,' though Izuku, remembering his words.
"I want you to tell the world, that 'I am here!'"
'I'll definitely do it. Bakugo has already fired the first shots, it's my turn to do so.'
He took a quick glance at his fellow classmates to see they had the same determined expression as he had. To excel and aim for number 1. Everyone except for Toru, as it was difficult to read her expression, but Izuku assumed that she had the same expression.
'It's not only All Might. Rekai, my mother, and my friends have helped me come this far. It's time to show the world who's arrived! So watch over me!'
"Start!" shouted Midnight as the last light on the red tunnel flashed out.
Most of the students surged forward as soon as they heard the starting signal. A few, though, more from the Business Course classes, chose to step the side, not even bothering to participate in the race.
"Okay, here's the play by play! Are you ready to do the commentary, mummy man?" asked Present Mike to Shota.
"You're the one who forced me here in the first place," mumbled Shota in complaint, to which Present Mike ignored.
"Let's get started! What should we pay attention to in the early stages?" asked Present Mike.
"This part right now," replied Shota, glancing down at the starting line.
Rows of complaint arose from the competing students as they tried pushing their way forward through the narrow tunnel. It was as if it had been purposely done to test them all. The exit spat out only a few students at a time, as quite a lot of them were still mashed together and stuck.
Mineta had it pretty bad as due to his short stature, he was jostled around by other people's waist. He wouldn't have minded it so much if the people doing it were hot girls wearing skirts.
Instead of charging in to push forward, Izuku chose another way, still being in the back. He stretched out his arms, each grabbing a part of the entrance, firmly made sure his grip was on it and leaned back as far as he could.
Sputnik Smash
Izuku shot himself into the tunnel, above everyone's head, and out the exit in one go like a rocket. The tunnel, as it was narrow, was tall enough for Izuku to go through.
Just as he exited the tunnel, the temperature dropped dramatically as ice covered the exit, the icy wind billowing out to create even more frost.
The students caught in the frost barely noticed the Shoto running past them, complaining about how cold it was and how they couldn't move.
"Sorry, but I need to get a move on," said Shoto, rushing forward. His eyes narrowed when he saw Izuku land in front of him, perfectly fine. Shoto fired another wave of ice, only for Izuku to jump to dodge it, before focusing on just running.
Then Shoto heard yells and a few explosions from behind him. Taking this chance, he took a peek behind him to see pretty much all of class 1-A and 1-B escaping his attempt to freeze the competition coming out unscathed. Hitoshi had also come out unscathed, being carried by several students. There were a few from the other classes that managed to escape too, but he paid no attention to them.
'A lot more escaped than I thought would have,' thought Shoto to himself while Bakugo was busy yelling at him and Izuku.
Izuku was busy running with a grin before suddenly coming to a grinding halt. Shoto noticed this and decided to err on the side of caution. As he slowed down, he found out exactly why Izuku had stopped.
"Targets found... lot!"
The two looked up to see several of the zero-pointer faux villains from the entrance exam glaring down at them.
"Looks like our contestants have met their first obstacle! May I introduce to you the first barrier... Robo Inferno!" announced Present Mic as more of the giant zero-point faux villains appeared, along with the other faux villains.
"Holy crap, aren't those the zero-pointers from the Entrance Exam!?" exclaimed Kaminari, a bit shocked at the amount there was.
"Seriously? The Hero Course had to fight these?" exclaimed a student.
"This is what they meant by obstacles?" wailed another.
"There's way too many for any one of us to slip through!" complained another.
"So this is what the rest of my peers had to fight," noted Shoto, getting ready to deal with the robot.
"How do they get the funding to build all this?" questioned Momo.
Before Shoto could make a move, Izuku had already shot himself forward towards one of them.
"This is for causing me a lot of mental grief back at the entrance exam!" screamed Izuku as he flung his right arm back, letting it coil as it stretched back.
The front-most faux villain moved its arm to swat Izuku down, but Izuku, who was already using One for All throughout his body at 100% just for the moment, kicked the offending hand away.
"Massachusetts Smash!" roared Izuku as he threw his corkscrew punch right into the faux villain's body.
The resulting impact sent the zero-pointer flying backward into a few others, causing a domino effect before the first one blew up.
"Holy... Inko, when has Izuku been able to do that!?" shouted Mitsuki.
"He has been working out recently," stuttered Inko, "But I had no idea he was that strong."
"It seems to be some sort of secondary quirk," noted Masaru, causing the mothers to turn towards him, "In the beginning, he merely stretched out his limbs. This time, however, there were arcs of electricity that seemed to wrap around his body, empowering him."
'He's sharp,' thought Toshinori as he tried to cover up the fact that he was starting to cold sweat.
"Toshinori, did you know about this?" asked Inko, turning towards him, "You helped train him during the months before the Entrance Exam."
"Umm, well yes," gulped Toshinori, pulling on his collar, "It was during the middle of training did we realize that part of his quirk. It was apparently hidden in conjunction with his rubber body. I would've thought he told you about it already."
"Hmph, I'll be having words with him after this festival," huffed Inko.
'Oh boy, that's not good,' thought Toshinori before turning back to the screen, 'Still, that's one way to get everyone's attention.'
"Holy... and just like that, Izuku Midoriya of 1-A has sent several of the zero pointers down with just one punch!" shouted Present Mic, remembering Izuku has blasted the zero pointer back at the entrance exam before, "Though there seems to be a lot of rage built up within that punch."
"Remember, you told the examinees that they could possibly lose 75% of the score if they fought it," reminded Shota, "From what I remember, he was the only one to do so. He must have thought he lost his points when trying to save one of the examinees."
The spectators were very impressed at Izuku's strength. Many of the pro heroes began to shift their eye from Shoto to Izuku now.
"Tch, can't let him show me up," growled Shoto to himself as frost began to emit from his right hand and leg, "Though I wish they prepared something tougher since my shitty old man is watching."
Shoto swiped his right arm up to launch another icy blast, freezing several of the other zero pointers that were trying to get back up from Izuku's attack. After doing so, he ran forward to chase after Izuku, who had started running as soon as he landed.
"He stopped them!"
"Between the legs! We can get through now!"
"I wouldn't," said Shoto with an off-handed tone as the frozen robots began to shake, "I froze them while they were at precarious positions... So they'll going to crash down."
The frozen robots indeed fell down, creating various shockwaves as they hit the ground.
"Todoroki Shoto of 1-A elegantly forges ahead while blocking the other contestants! Amazing! He's hot on Midoriya's trail now! Even though he's so cold! You know, that's practically unfair," noted Present Mic as the audience's attention snapped back onto Shoto now.
"His actions were sound and logical," commented Shota as he continued to watch Shoto now ice skating to catch up to Izuku.
"As expected of someone who got in via recommendations!" shouted Present Mic, much to Shota's annoyance, "He's never fought them, but those 0-point faux villains could not stop him with his elite moves!"
"Like hell I'll I'm going to let you two surpass me!" shouted Bakugo as he blasted his way forward.
One of the zero pointers still functioning tried to reach for Bakugo, only for him to maneuver out of its way. As he passed by the head, he noticed beneath all that plating, an exposed space where the wiring was, most likely shattered open from the ice. With a grin, he fired a focused blast right at it.
As Bakugo expected, the blast was enough to shut down the faux villain.
"Nobody can accuse me of not taking out a zero pointer now," smirked Bakugo as he continued forward, starting to get faster as more sweat was accumulated.
It wasn't just the monster trio of 1-A that made it through easily. The rest of the students in the heroics course blazed through the first obstacle as if it wasn't there.
"As expected, 1-A and 1-B are the fastest to make it through the obstacles," noted Snipe, one of the teachers of U.A.
"The other students aren't bad either, especially those that want to get into the hero course," commented Thirteen, "But..."
"Class 1-A and 1-B won't stand idle in their path," said Shota from his booth, "Both classes have experienced firsthand the world that awaits them during USJ. They've come in contact to true fear, dealt with it, and pulled through. They're using their new experience to drown out their hesitation."
The audience gazed at the screens that were being streamed by various robots with cameras, showcasing the students breezing through the obstacles.
"HAAA!" shouted Kirishima as he punched through one of the small faux villains. He looked back to see Tetsutetsu doing the same thing before running forward once more when he heard the sounds of horns blaring. He looked back once more before yelping in shock while diving towards the side.
The reason why he did so?
Momo had created an electric motorcycle and was currently driving it through. Ochako was sitting behind her, using her quirk to lighten the motorcycle. Itsuka was sitting in the sidecar, carrying several rocks that she had picked up. Due to the high-power engine, the lightened load, and Itsuka acting as a shooter for them, they cleared through the area with high efficiency.
In short, they were going very fast.
"Here's my chance!" shouted Mineta as he tried to stick himself onto the motorcycle, preferably on Momo's chest where she would have no way to take him off. Since this was completely in the realms of legal moves, he would have the ultimate pleasure of watching those magical orbs move while she carried him to the finish line. That plan was disrupted when Itsuka chucked her rocks at Mineta, slightly enlarging her hands to add more power to her throws, sending him flying away.
"Thank you," thanked Momo, "I did not like the way he was staring and moving his fingers."
"No problem," smiled Ituska, holding her rocks up once more, "I felt something was off too."
Izuku was busy running when he took a peek back to see Shoto and Katsuki quickly pursuing him, followed by... Momo, Ochako, and Itsuka in a motorcycle? It also seemed like Tenya wasn't too far behind, though, thanks to his quirk. Pushing that for later, he looked forward before quickly stamping his legs down to brake before he ran off a cliff.
"Oyoy, was the first obstacle too easy? Then what about the second one!?" screamed Present Mic, "If you fall, you're out! If you don't want to fall, then you have to crawl! It's the fall!"
Standing in front of Izuku was a seemingly bottomless pit with platforms spaced out that made jumping to one impossible in normal human limits. What connected each platform were narrow steel wires that barely looked like it could support more than one person.
Izuku narrowed his eyes as he eyed the platforms. He could try to jump to the next platform and keep hopping, but he didn't trust the platforms to be sturdy enough to handle the landing impact. He had no real way to soften it besides inflating himself like a balloon, but it would waste precious time to repeat it. Nor did he trust the fact he would land perfectly at the small center of the platforms.
Izuku could try to just jump over the whole course, but at this part of the map, there was the bend. Meaning he could not just jump straight. And he was even more dubious that he could land right in the middle and make the correction to jump once more. The platform that he would jump off might not be able to handle the launch.
With that in mind, he mentally lowered One for All output to only 20% while taking a few steps back.
"Hmm, what's the leader doing?" questioned Present Mic, "If he doesn't hurry, then the others will catch up!"
Izuku began running towards the rope, and without hesitation, stepped on top of the steel wire... and kept running forward like an acrobat running on a tightrope.
"And our first place leader continue to run as if he was on solid ground! Wow, that's pretty impressive!" shouted Present Mic.
"It requires firm control of your body balance to be able to run like that," noted Shota, looking also quite impressed. He would've thought Izuku would've have powered through it, which would have been a bad idea. The platforms wouldn't have been able to handle rough impact landings.
Izuku had chosen to use only 20% because he would need complete control of his legs while running. Any higher, and he was afraid he'd slip and fall off.
Izuku was running on another wire when he heard the sound of ice forming right behind him. Not wanting to risk finding out why, Izuku quickly jumped off the wire, stretching his hand to another wire. After grabbing it, he retracted his arm and shot up to a platform. While he was doing so, he took a peek back to see Shoto grinding down on the rail he was just on.
"Dick move!" shouted Izuku as he began running on another rail.
Shoto merely smirked as he hopped off one and running to another to grind down on.
"Oy, shitty half and half and shitty Deku, don't think you'll have it easy!" shouted Katsuki as he blasted his way over the pit, not even needing to land. His explosions kept carrying him the whole obstacle course, and since he could change directions while flying, he had no need to worry about the bend.
Meanwhile, back with the rest of the pack, Momo, Itsuka, and Ochako had dismounted the motorcycle before agreeing to break the team up. Momo created a pole to balance herself while crossing the wires. Itsuka swung down, enlarging her hands as she did so, and grabbed the wire with her bare hands before swinging herself across like she was playing on the monkey bars, going much faster than Momo.
Poor Ochako could only lighten her clothes and weight as much as possible before trying to crawl across, clinging onto the wire tightly with her hand and legs. Momo offered to create another pole for her, but Ochako refused. There were some parts she just had to do herself. The good part was that they had built such a lead that by the time the next batch arrived aside from Tenya, Ochako was more than half of the way through.
Tenya was the next to arrive, to which he immediately hopped on the nearest wire and began grinding down it, ignoring Present Mic's commentary of how lame he looked.
Simultaneously, back at the front, Shoto was the first one to jump off the obstacle. He had delayed Izuku a few times, freezing the wires he was running on, forcing him to change wires. However, it didn't last long as soon as Izuku landed onto solid land. Kicking it up to 60% once more, he blasted off, chasing after Shoto, with Katsuki right behind him.
"Damn, those three are really gunning it," commented an audience member, causing sparks of conversations to pop up.
"The guy in first has a really powerful quirk, but that's not all! His natural athletic ability and judgment are a cut above the others."
"Of course it is! That's Endeavor's son."
"Well, no wonder! He has the blood of the top hero, only second to All Might."
"What about the other two? That straw hat kid punched out that large robot in one shot! Not to mention he's just as athletic, considering he was FREAKING running on the wire without hesitation!"
"Maybe a relative of the hero Tiger from the Wild Wild Pussycats? They both have extendable limbs."
"Yea, but with that power? It was like watching freaking a mini All Might in action!"
"Hey, you don't think the two somehow had a kid, do you?"
"What the hell is wrong with your mind, get it out of the damn gutter! You're having a damn nosebleed dammit!"
"Hehehe... Yaoi lo-"
SMACK
"Sorry folks, nothing to see here!"
"What about the explosion dude?"
"I don't know, so far all he's done is play catch up to the other two."
"But he's very versatile! Remember his vow? Takes a shit ton of guts to do that in front of everyone. And if you haven't noticed, he's been getting faster the longer this has gone."
"Whatever the case, there's certainly going to be a lot of fighting to get them as a sidekick!"
The trio began to start squabbling over the lead position, ignoring Present Mic's commentary for the moment. However, all three soon stopped when they reached the third and final obstacle.
"And it looks like they've arrived at the final obstacle!" announced Present Mic, "Careful where you step folks, for its danger everywhere! Welcome to the minefield, straight out from the old Rambo movies! Originally, we were going to set it up for the players to be able to tell where the land mines are, but we thought it would be more fun if you couldn't tell! Test your luck and instincts! By the way, the landmines are set up so they're not lethal, but they're still flashy and powerful enough to pack a punch maybe even piss your pants!"
"That would depend on the said person," mumbled Shota.
If the audience was expecting the trio to carefully navigate the minefield, thus delaying them and bringing more time for the people behind them to catch up... they were dead wrong. Izuku took a few steps back before running forward once more and jumping over the whole thing. Bakugo blasted himself forward in the air once more to avoid the mines. Shoto ran forward while freezing a straight line for himself, not caring he was making a path for the contestants behind him.
"Well, just take the fun out of everything why don't you?" mumbled Present Mic as soon as he saw the the trio avoiding the mines without any trouble.
"I told you all this might happen with such a course," sighed Shota, "But nobody wanted to listen to me. The only thing that was changed was making the mines more hidden."
Shoto quickly summoned ice pillars to bring Izuku and Katsuki back down to ground level. Katsuki responded by dodging the attack with his blasts while Izuku turned around and held his hand up towards the ice pillar coming at him. His middle finger was bent underneath his thumb while his other fingers were pointed outwards. Then, with a simple flick of a finger using One for All at 80%, he fired a smash at the ice pillar, instantly destroying it.
"Dammit, I'll just have botch his landing then," growled Shoto as he continued running forward. He thought about using his left side to attack but squashed those traitorous thoughts. He would win this festival with only his mother's power, his right side only.
As soon as Izuku was about to land, Shoto created a patch of ice right as Izuku's shoes touched the ground, forcing Izuku to slip for a second. However, before Shoto could try to freeze Izuku in place, he quickly recovered and rushed off down the road. Growling at that failure, Shoto focused more on his own speed.
However, thanks to the slip, Katsuki managed to catch up and start attacking Izuku.
"Don't you fucking dare get ahead of me Deku!" shouted Katsuki as he began peppering Izuku with explosions, focusing more on the fire/burn than the concussive force of his explosion, to delay him. Izuku dodged them while lowering the One For All output to 40% before swiping at Katsuki. Katuski instinctively dodged the swipes and peppered even more explosions. The two ended up fighting each other while racing to the finish, with Shoto right behind them. Due to the two fighting each other, Shoto was able to slowly get closer and closer, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. When Izuku blocked Katsuki's blast by slapping the wrist away, Shoto struck!
A giant glacier suddenly appeared, encasing the two of them.
"Sorry, but I need to prove a point," stated Shoto as he passed by the two frozen bodies, "I'll unfreeze you after this race is done."
"Ooh, and Shoto freezes his fellow contestants! Let's hope they'll chill out later!" shouted Present Mic.
"Smart tactic," nodded Shoto, "Striking while they're distracted with each other. The two leaders may have just lost their chance of going to the next round if they don't escape out of the ice block."
"Oh that mother FU-!" Mitsuki started to rant, only for Masaru to cover her words by covering her mouth. It still didn't stop Mitsuki from letting out a long muffled rant.
"Izuku," whispered Inko worriedly as soon as she saw the frozen statue of Izuku.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine," consolidated Toshinori, though he kept glancing at Izuku with worry too.
'C'mon young Midoriya! You can't end it like this!' thought Toshinori as he stared at the screen. His frown soon turned upside down when he saw the glacier trapping Izuku and Katsuki violently shaking.
Shoto was running, finally seeing the stadium in sight. Just a few more minutes, and he would have this first part of the festival in the bag. Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion emanating from behind him. Unable to resist the temptation, Shoto turned his head back just in time to see the glacier he created to trap Izuku and Katsuki crumble into pieces. Eyes widening, Shoto quickly began dash as fast as he could, creating various ice blocks to delay the other two.
Shoto was almost entering the stadium when he heard the explosions and rapid footsteps approaching him.
Izuku was running forward at 80% output with One For All while Katsuki managed to grab hold of Izuku's shirt while firing off explosions in front of Izuku, destroying the ice blocks while Izuku was running.
In Katsuki's term, he was willing to work together just for a little to get the half and half bastard back for encasing them in ice.
"Asshole!" roared Katsuki as he fired off another chain of explosions at Shoto this time, "Don't fucking count me out yet!"
Shoto quickly summoned ice to block the explosion, but by doing so, he slowed down his pace a little. That allowed Izuku to run past Shoto, who was unable to do anything. Shoto raised his left hand towards the two as if hoping that with a mere hand gesture he could stop them, as his right hand was still in front of him, having blocked the explosion with it. Flickers of flame licked around Shoto's left hand, much to his own shock, before he quickly squashed it.
"Every man for himself!" shouted Katsuki as he managed to jump in front of Izuku, firing a blast right at Izuku to delay him while boosting himself.
"You're right, every man for himself," grinned Izuku as he ducked under the explosion. With his knees bent, ready to spring forward, and a straight line to the finish line, he raised One for All to 100% and shot off like a bullet. He easily passed by Katsuki, who let off a stream of curse words as he tried to go faster.
Shoto himself was abusing his quirk to the point he was starting to shiver, but he didn't care.
"Eraserhead, your class is amazing!" shouted Present Mic into the microphone, right next to Shota's ear.
"Hey, I heard that!" shouted Vlad from the teacher's seats, "Don't discount my class!"
Present Mic ignored him as he continued, "Just what are you teaching them!?"
"I didn't do anything," replied Shota as he stared at the finish line, "They got each other fired up."
"U.A Sports Festival First Year," screamed Present Mic, snapping his attention back to the finish line.
"Not listening!?" growled Shota in annoyance, also feeling insulted.
"Who would have predicted the developments at the beginning or this conclusion?" shouted Present Mic as the audience eagerly awaited the first contestant to arrive, "Right now, the first person to arrive back is..."
The audience saw a blur with a straw hat and messy green hair passing through the finish line.
"Izuku Midoriya comes crashing through to make a huge splash... literally!"
Izuku slammed his foot down to brake, but due to the momentum and not being used to running at 100%, even at a burst, he left a trail of upheaved dirt. Not that the audience minded, as they continued to cheer for him.
Back outside the stadium, Death Arms heard the announcement and decided to see just who it was, catching the name since it was very easily discernible due to Present Mic screaming into his microphone. His eyes widened before a grin formed on his face when he saw just who had gotten first place.
"Looks like we were right," grinned Death Arms, nudging Kamui Woods in the arms, "And he just got first place."
"Izuku Midoriya, huh?" mused Kamui Woods as he looked up the screen, "Knew he'd be here. And now we have a name to send the offer to."
"Man it's been several months since we last saw him with that villain and the truck incident, right?" mused Death Arms, "Looks like he's gotten even stronger if he got first place in this. He's even beaten Endeavor's kid, whom I've heard rumors is quite strong."
"It's going to be a race to see who gets him," shrugged Kamui Woods, "Even if he loses the finals, no doubt with his potential, there are going to be a lot of offers."
Mt. Lady, who was currently distracted and posing for her ravenous fans, didn't notice who won first place.
"Oy, don't go off posing!" snapped Death Arms, stomping to Mt. Lady, "Pay attention to your damn patrol! You can pose during your off hours, not work hours, and especially not during the Sports Festival event. We're security for a reason!"
Mt. Lady ended up being dragged away by Death Arms. She would find out later the boy she disliked had won first place.
In a small private room, Tomura was on his computer, watching the Sports Festival on one screen while another screen displayed nothing but the words Sound Only.
"That straw hat brat," growled the leader as he began to viciously scratch his neck.
All for One, who was listening to the broadcast, merely hummed as he mused through his mind.
"IZUKU!" cried out Inko in happiness as tears splashed out of her eyes like a fountain.
"There, there," chuckled Mitsuki as she held out some tissues for Inko to wipe away her tears once they drizzled out.
Toshinori, who had managed to avoid a shower via Inko's tears, grinned as he looked down at where Izuku was. Izuku looked around for a bit before catching Toshinori's eyes and giving him a thumbs up.
'Good job!' grinned Toshinori, giving a thumbs up back while pushing back the temptation to transform to his alter ego, 'You've certainly declared to the world that you are here! A statement to all that you're going to be the next pillar of peace! Keep this up, and you'll soon be taking my mantle as the Symbol of Peace!'
Toshinori thought about Izuku's core personality as a true hero who helped protect others. This Sports Festival, however, would prove that personality to be a bit of a liability, as it was a competition to climb to the top, defeating classmates and friends. Sadly, today's modern heroes depended a lot upon popularity, and so they needed the desire to be above others. A prime example would be Mt. Lady, who would easily take the opportunity to be more popular if it came. But it was worry that he didn't need to care.
Toshinori's ears perked up when he heard wind of Izuku's name from below, near the arena floors.
"So, what do you think?"
"First of all, Midoriya's stock will climb really fast."
"That's certainly true. His quirk seems really powerful! Those extendable limbs, that strength to punch those faux villains, and his speed! He'll definitely be in the top 10... no at least top 3 for this Sports Festival. If you took on management of his agency, how would you market him? Any opinions?"
"Appearance is... average in terms of looks. Easy on the eyes, but nothing that makes him stand out that'll attract people to his appearance."
"I disagree, he has a strong and sturdy body for sure. Sure, his face isn't supermodel material, but that with that body, it'll surely attract a crowd."
"Well the body is good an all, but does he have a sharp mind? Usually, people with brawn tend to be meatheads, just brute forcing their way through everything."
"He doesn't seem to be one, though. Remember the second obstacle? Instead of jumping to the next platform with just power, he chose to run on the wires instead. He must've decided that jumping to the platforms was too risky. Either he knows he doesn't have the control or he suspected the platforms could crumble upon impact. That shows he has a tactical mind behind that head of his."
"Alright we can highlight those parts, but I'd prefer to have more materials about him to work it out. Maybe his grades or something..."
"Tch, the Business Course. They never change, do they?" scoffed Toshinori, though secretly happy that the students were analyzing the marketability of his apprentice, and so far it was positive.
While the Sports Festival helped showcase the student's abilities, it was mainly for those that wanted to become a hero or show off their skills. Most of the students of the Business Course had no desire to be heroes, and so when the race started, most either chose to just step aside or just run to the first course to show their support for the Sports Festival before turning back to the stadium and wait. There was just no merit in participating in it for them, so in short, this Sports Festival was time off for them. Instead, they just used it to relax or engage in business simulations or selling items for some extra cash. Quite a few of them were going around the audience selling various food items.
Though the Sports Festival did help them analyze the other students who wanted to become heroes and take note in case they wanted to invest in one of them and whether it would be a good investment or not.
Katsuki and Shoto were the next to enter, both of them panting as they tried to regain their breath. Shoto looked calm while staring at Izuku while Katsuki was clutching his arms, trying to stop them from shaking for a bit.
'Damn it! I fucking let go too early! Should've known Deku wouldn't be going at maximum speed, he's not a stupid meathead! Fuck! You played me, but I'll rise to the top and show you just who's the best,' growled Katsuki mentally.
Shoto merely held in his silence as he plotted what to do next.
Slowly but surely, the rest of the students started to trickle in. Itsuka came in next, followed by Momo, then Tenya, and finally Ochako. Each one had taken Shoto's ice path that he had conveniently left while chasing after Izuku and Katsuki.
However, when the main group of students arrived at the minefield, it became a battle to see who would take the ice path. Quite a few opted to make their own paths instead of fighting over the ice path.
"Deku-kun! You were amazing!" cheered Ochako joyfully as she hopped over, though there were slight bags under her eyes, showing she had slightly overworked her quirk, "Congrats on first place!"
"Indeed, congratulations are in order," nodded Momo.
"I knew you could do it!" smiled Itsuka as she gave Izuku a quick hug, "It's just frustrating that I couldn't catch up sooner, though."
"Ahh to think I'd place so low with a quirk like mine," mumbled Tenya in depression.
"Hey, you still beat a lot of people," complimented Izuku to Tenya.
"This should have been my area of specialty with my quirk," sighed Tenya before looking up, "I'll just have to try harder next round!"
Izuku nodded in agreement before thinking to himself, 'I was lucky I could break out of that ice trap. I don't think Todoroki will make the same mistake, and neither will Bakugo. The next round will be a test to see if I can keep up this momentum!'
They watched the rest of their classmates running past the finish line, though they were treated with a rather amusing sight. Mineta, who originally wanted to cling onto Momo to finish, ended up sticking onto Satou, much to his own complaint about not being able to be stuck with a female.
"And the first game of the First-Year stage is over!" announced Midnight as the last of the students trickled in, "Now, let's take a look at the results!"
1st: Izuku Midoriya
2nd: Katsuki Bakugo
3rd: Shoto Todoroki
4th: Itsuka Kendo
5th: Momo Yaoyorozu
6th: Tenya Iida
7th: Ochako Uraraka
And so forth, going all the way to Yuga Aoyama who was at placed 42nd and currently clutching his stomach in pain. Izuku glanced at the board to see everyone in the Heroic department, including the reserved seating Shinso, had made it into the top 42. The only other student that made it into the top 42 was someone named Mei Hatsume from the Support Department.
"The top 42 will proceed on to the next round!" announced Midnight, ignoring the complaints of mostly the General Ed. Students who hadn't made the cut, "It is unfortunate if you didn't make the cut, but don't worry! There will be a special event later on where anybody can showcase their skills to the audience that'll take place after the main event!"
While she finished that statement, she licked her lips in excitement, causing a shiver of excitement in those watching her.
"But now, the real show will begin! The press cavalry will be all over this event, so for those participating in it, look sharp! This is your next big chance to shine!"
Almost all the students in the top 42 looked up eagerly at another chance to shine, especially Yuga. Midnight swiped her whip back to the projection with the slot speeding through once more.
"Now then, onto today's heart pounding event! I already know what it is, but the suspense is so exciting! Now, what could it be? What should it be? And here... it... is!"
With the final statement, the slot landed onto the words Calvary Battle.
"Urg, Cavalry Battle? I'm not so good at that," voiced Denki.
"It's not an individual event, so I wonder how that'll work," wondered Tsuyu.
Mineta was very excited for reasons pretty much known to everyone.
"Let me explain!" continued Midnight, turning to the projection, where it changed to reveal Thirteen and Present Mic carrying All Might. Snipe was also in the projection, but his whole body was hidden thanks to All Might's body, and nobody would have noticed him if it wasn't for the fact there was a small speck of brown that looked like his hat.
"Participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different is... based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value."
"A point-based system like the Entrance Exam? That's simple enough to understand," mused Sato.
"In other words, each team is worth a different amount of points depending on who's on the team!" hypothesized Ochako.
"Ah, I see!" exclaimed Mina as she caught on to what was going on.
Midnight violently swiped her wipes towards the ones talking, "Don't say what I was planning to say before I say it! Let me speak, or it's detention! Though I don't mind if the boys want to come."
Before Mineta could get himself detention, Kyoka jammed her earjacks into his ears to shut him up.
"Anyways, before you all get carried away, the points are assigned based on your placement in the obstacle course, in increments of 5. So 42nd place will be 5 points, 41st 10 points, and so on. You can looked up the board to see your own value."
'Sounds simple enough,' thought Izuku as he looked towards 1st place to see his own name there, 'If my math is right, I should be worth... 210 points!'
However, when he took a look as his name, all he saw were question marks next to his name. He checked Katsuki's point value and saw his was 205, which was correct for earning second place.
"However, there is a key exception to first place!" announced Midnight, "Those at the top will suffer more. You'll hear this many times as you attend U.A.! This is what it 'Plus Ultra' means! Izuku Midoriya, who placed 1st place in the qualifier, is worth ten million points!"
As soon as she announced this, the question marks next to his name changed to reflect what Midnight had announced.
Izuku had to blink a few times, rubbing his eyes and ears to make sure what he saw and heard wasn't a joke. After pinching himself, he looked up once more to see that indeed, he had a value of ten million points next to his name.
'Oh that can't be good,' gulped Izuku as he looked around. As he expected, everyone's eyes were on him now, with blood lust and greed in their eyes. He could easily see what they were all thinking. As long as you took down the first place winner of the qualifier, then no matter what your original position in the qualifier, you would be standing in the top in the end.
"That's right," smirked Midnight, "It's the survival of the fittest, with a chance of those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
As Izuku met those stares, his heart started to pound, not only in a small bit of fear and dread but of excitement. This is what All Might had to deal with, being the top hero of Japan. A target painted on his back, not only form villains but possible heroes who wanted to surpass him. This was the weight he carried with him all those years. The cost of being number one.
'You're quick to understand,' smiled Toshinori from the stands, noticing Izuku's face start to morph a bit, 'Good luck out there.'
Meanwhile, he had to contend to Inko's babbling while Mitsuki was laughing so hard that Masaru had to control her.
And with this challenge, Izuku couldn't help but give a small laugh with a grin of excitement plastered on his face. Like Katsuki had said, those without resolve would just get in the way.
A few competitors who saw that grin and heard his laugh started to think it wouldn't be easy as they thought.
Midnight began explaining the rules of the game. The time limit was 15 minutes, the points would be the total value of a team, which the rider must wear on his or her original headband on their head. Teams would try to steal each other's headbands to gain more points, and any stolen headbands had to be worn from the neck up. She also pointed out the obvious that the more stolen headbands you had, the harder it would be to manage them all.
But the most important rule of all was that unlike the original human cavalry battle if a team's headband gets stolen or the team horse configuration crumbled, they weren't out. Instead, they could continue in the game in hopes of stealing the points back. And finally quirks were allowed as usual, but they were forbidden to use attacks that forced people to fall on purpose, with the penalty of instant removal from the game.
That caused Katsuki to scoff in anger while others began to discuss the possible scenarios. At a minimum, there would be eleven teams if everybody formed teams of four with one team of two or even 21 teams of two.
"Now, you have fifteen minutes to build your teams. Start!" announced Midnight.
The competitors began to scramble to create teams.
Back in a break room area for staff only, Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and Mt. Lady sat inside watching the event on television. Mt. Lady, who had never attended U.A., asked why 1st place was placed so high.
"The U.A. Sports Festival is more about simulating the competition they'll face as Heroes than seeing how prepared they are to be heroes," explained Death Arms as he smoked a cigarette. He would have preferred to take a front row seat to view the new upcoming heroes, but the damn seats were completely packed.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Mt. Lady in confusion, not understanding his explanation.
Death Arms took a drag of his cigarette, exhaling first before expanding on his explanation, "In a world crowded with Hero Agencies, in order to put food on the table, there are times where you have to kick down others to show your strength. The qualifier is a perfect representation for that, with a few exceptions. Not everybody got to show off, especially if you placed beyond 42nd.
Mt. Lady coughed as she waved the smoke away, begging Death Arms not to do that before responding, "Doesn't it pain your heart, though? I don't think I could do such a thing."
"You little... Did you already forget what you did for your debt? I remember you doing it quite gleefully," growled Kamui Woods, remembering the even from a year ago, during her debut.
Death Arms merely sighed as he continued his explanation, "On the other hand, even if you're business rivals, there are cases where you have to work together to achieve a common goal. It's quite often, too."
"Ah, the Calvary Battle is a perfect simulation of such a thing!" exclaimed Mt. Lady in realization, "If you win, you're teammates win, therefore you all advance to the next round. It forces the students to think about compatibility amongst their own peers, taking in consideration of their quirks and personalities, and finally, their point value. It's a give and take situation."
"Coordinating with your sidekick and joint Quirk training with other agencies," nodded Kamui Woods in agreement, realizing just how deep the Sports Festival was. He tried to take a sip of water, only for it to bump into his mask before realizing that he had to take it off to drink water.
Death Arms, being the more experienced of the group, continued, "The kids are doing stuff that will be their way of life after becoming Pro Heroes. The true purpose of the U.A. Sports Festival is to give them the experience of what it would be like to be a Pro and give them time to prepare for the future. It's a nice side bonus for them that they serve as entertainment for the mass and also generate a lot of funds for their budget. It's not cheap to run one of the best Heroic Courses."
Mt. Lady sighed, "They've got it rough."
Then she maliciously grinned, "Though the straw hat brat deserves to feel all that pressure now. Almost overshadowing my debut! Everyone's going to be gunning for him, and I doubt a lot of people want to team up with him. With any luck, he'll end up having only one person as his other teammate! I can imagine his sweat and tears as he loses his chance to shine to get more internship offers!"
Kamui Woods and Death Arms sighed as Mt. Lady went off in a small rant before interrupting her, "I doubt he'll have no internship offers, with the way he showed his abilities in the qualifiers. If anything, he's sure to have two offers."
"Oh? And who would that be?" questioned Mt. Lady.
"Us," waved the duo.
"We recognize his abilities," said Death Arms, "Anyone else who doesn't... well they have to be blind, but it just means we have a better chance to nab him. He'll go far for sure."
"I don't think we'll have to worry about him not passing," chuckled Kamui Woods as he looked at the screen, "Look at his face."
The two other turned towards the television, where it zoomed in on Izuku's face to highlight just who had the ten million point value, just to see him giving a small laugh while grinning. His face portrayed only pure confidence and excitement.
"That's not someone who's scared," noted Kamui Woods.
"That's someone who's going to kick all their collective asses," laughed Death Arms in agreement.
Mt. Lady could only pout as her two coworkers poured praises on the Izuku.