Been sort of slacking on writing recently. Illness and work and all that. I'm good now. Also I don't know when it happened but I really like writing Mineta? He was just supposed to be a throwaway character .
Izuku stood impassively in the arena as he awaited the finish of the obstacle course.
While he and his classmates had finished the course in ludicrous time, the vast majority of the students in the race were from general studies, and would have nearly no means of getting around the obstacles meant for hero class students with any real speed. He assumed they were included for the sake of parity, and less so for the sake of actually showcasing any given one of them.
As he pondered this, a large screen in the arena was hurriedly going over highlights from his classes exploits. Of particular note, were himself, Bakugou, & Todoroki. They had shown him subsuming Hatsume's flight suit twice now, and he was beginning to inch towards the display to 'examine' it, when he noted a significant increase in the hostility directed at him, both from the stands and on the fields.
He stopped and turned his head towards his classmates, most of who'm had finished now, and noted Mineta giving him a thumbs up, and making lewd groping motions in the air with his other hand, in addition to many of his female classmates looking at him like he was, well, Mineta.
He'd raised a hand to gather attention so he could defend his actions, when the Omnitrix chose to time out. Suddenly in possession of a normal brain chemistry, Izuku found himself extremely discomforted by his actions. his hand dropped and he turned bright red, sputtering nonsense as he tried to find Hatsume to apologize.
By this point, Mineta had approached him, and Asui had sidled up next to him, glancing at him suspiciously.
"Do you feel the stares? You and me now man." Mineta said, knowingly, and with a certain degree of malicious glee.
He'd hardly finished speaking before Asui's tongue had flicked out and slammed the back of his head.
"Don't worry about it Iz- Midoriya." Asui seemed to have to stop herself from using his familiar first name, causing Mineta's head to zip around to her incredulously.
"We all know your forms make you act funny. Kaminari has the same problem with his quirk. We won't hold it against you." Asui's straight faced condolence calmed Izuku down somewhat, and when he turned to check, he found that for the most part, his classes attention had drifted off him as he transformed back.
"Um. Excuse me. Yeah. Wheres my forgiveness?" Mineta whined, largely unheard by the crowd. He gaped at Midoriya and Asui as she punctuated her point with an awkward hug.
From over Asui's shoulder Izuku looked into Mineta's eyes and tried to convey how glad he was to have a friend like him at UA, even if he was a bit weird.
Mineta, did not interpret it that way. He saw that look in Izuku's eyes again, the terrifying focus he sometimes showed, and flashed back to every moment he'd ever spent with the taller boy. He realized that while he had been trying to impart some of his wisdom on the green haired boy, that he had been the one being taught. Midoriya was playing on higher field than him. He was getting everything Mineta wanted, and he was getting away with it. Mineta knew in that moment that he'd found a true friend, and decided then, to endeavor to be more like him.
He gave a furious thumbs up to the larger boy, and quickly fell into step beside him when he broke his hug with the frog girl.
"Teach me." Mineta beseeched.
Izuku quirked his head in confusion at the smaller boys sudden serious demeanor and tone. Mineta didn't need him to teach him. They were both proud students of UA, the acknowledged best there was, all of them with bright futures ahead.
"You don't need to -"
"And that's the last participant in the obstacle course! Everyone give a hand for our fantastic students!"
Izuku was cut off by Midnights cries to the crowded stadium, and Mineta's face began to tear up. Truly friendship was the greatest boon a man could have! He could see a bright future of bouncy full figured women ahead of him. He briefly considered holding his tears back, but it occurred to him that Midoriya cried profusely, and often - so it couldn't possibly hurt.
"Now then my darlings, in this next event, your score from the previous event will become your point total, and I hope you like to be ridden hard, because the next event is a Cavalry Battle!" Midnights too suggestive tone, and odd emphasis set the crowd to explosive cheering, though many of the students suddenly felt very uncomfortable in the knowledge that this was a member of their faculty.
Except Mineta. Who, though he was now chomping at the bit inside, took one glance at Izuku's face and immediately set himself to attempting to emulate that insane intensity the bigger boy put out. His classmates looked at him suspiciously as he made what could only really be described as a constipated face.
Izuku, for his part, stared at the new scoreboard that had been placed on the viewing screen. Each rank seemed to increase the point total of the participant by about 50 points. Bakugou and Todoroki were worth 450 and 500 points respectively which meant he should be worth. . . a million points!?
"Now, my little aspiring heroes, theres an added twist, first place from the last event it worth one million points. It's lonely at the top isn't it kiddo?" Midnight winked conspiratorially down at Izuku from the podium.
"You have 10 minutes to form teams, don't take no for an answer now!"
Izuku immediately began scrambling for a plan. He had ten minutes. Most of the participants had immediately singled him out as a target, so he'd almost certainly have to deal with both Bakugou & Todoroki. Mineta. . . appeared to be staying by his side for the moment, making a somewhat odd face that Izuku could only take as nervousness.
"Come on!" he grabbed Mineta and began jogging through the crowd towards his intended partner.
A few moments later Yaoyorozu was blinking at the pair in surprise.
"Me? And. . . him? That's it? I don't believe its wise to rely on -" she was prevented from having to find a polite way to call Mineta small and useless by Izuku's rapid interruption.
"Yao- no, Momo, trust me."
Yaoyorozu paused at that, blushing slightly at the Izuku's rapt stare. He was so earnest in his pursuits. He was strong, but preferred to act cleverly to winning with brute force. Most of all, that stare of his. It made you feel like everything was going to be ok. It was reminiscent of . . . All Might?
She furrowed her brow in confusion at that comparison, but Izuku kept talking.
"I have a plan. Can you make a notebook and a pencil?"
She looked at him quizzically, noting Mineta's head whip around as she daintily rolled up her sleeve to produce the requested articles. She really couldn't understand how these two ever managed to be around each other. Then again, Asui managed to be friends with the little purple haired gremlin, so he must have some redeeming qualities.
Izuku snatched the pencil and paper from her hands and began concentrating as he furiously outlined what looked like a molecular structure of some kind on the page. This surprised her. It implied he'd been thinking about her, or, her quirk at least, for some time. Long enough to think of and memorize the molecular structure of. . . something. She was fairly adept at reasoning out what any given combination of electrons would produce, oweing to her quirk, but whatever Izuku was drawing looked distinctly alien.
He ripped the page of and handed it to her with a fearless smile. "Were going to win." Izuku said, more to himself than to anyone else. Once Yaoyorozu agreed to join them, he outlined the rest of his plan, and a few minutes later they were handed a headband with their combined point total on it by an official.
Contrary to everyone elses expectations as they began to arrange themselves, hopping on shoulders and hands, Izuku immediately passed the head band to Yaoyorozu.
Izuku deftly manipulated the omnitrix, rotating the dial and slamming his hand down on it. In a flash of light he became what was easily his least favourite form. His eyes receded and then disappeared from his face, his body grew to stupendous proportions, and steel wool like orange hairs burst out across his body.
Wild Mutt!
"Arograa!"
Right. Couldn't talk. He seriously hated this form. The audience looked on as Yaoyorozu rapidly formed and hitched riding harness to him, that Mineta and then she lept onto, her feet easily slipping into the tailor made stirrups atop the vulpimancer.
Mineta, who was blissfully aware of how close to the back of his head Yaoyorozu's bust was turned towards their competition and smiled at them. It was an attempt to emulate Izuku's reassuring and heroic smile. To most looking it simply looked sadistic. This was punctuated by his single statement as the match began.
"Your all fucked."
The horn sounded and Izuku immediately took off, evading a hail of blasts from around him, likely prompted by Minetas provocation. He had perfect awareness of his surroundings, and pointedly avoided the other groups, instead immediately approaching ramming speed with Bakugou. He hated to do it, but he knew, better than anyone else, how Bakugou thought.
As they approached, Yaoyorozu began to form what she needed using the material Izuku had provided her. Her uniform was open in the front, revealing her black sports bra, and from her torso she pulled a large shield made of bright turquoise crystal, and a mace of the same material.
They leapt across the fields of foes, Yaoyorozu deflecting blows with ease and grace, marveling at the surprising sturdiness of the material. They eventually reached Bakugou, who was mounted atop Kirishima, Ashido, and Sero - the boy who could fire a sort of tape from his arms.
Izuku had no mercy, or hesitancy, unlike the first time he'd transformed into Wild Mutt. The slight change in posture of the three trying to coordinate made it laughably easy to detect where they were going, and he swerved on one massive front paw to tackle the three mounts beneath Bakugou, who had leapt at Yaoyorozu only to be beaten back by her impenetrable shield, and counterattacked with one fell swing of her mace.
Before Bakugou could hit the ground and be disqualified he was reeled back by and stumbling Sero, and Izuku made a grunting noise. During all this, Mineta had firmly cemented Bakugous mounts to the ground using his balls, a fact they only noticed when Izuku turned and leapt at another group, who were not so lucky as to evade Team Yaoyorozu's first pass.
When Team Bakugou failed to be able to give chase, Present Mic chimed in, yelling with excitement;
"Oh YEAH! It looks like Team Yaoyorozu has realized they only need to survive these 10 minutes, and has begun rapidly neutralizing other teams! They aren't even TRYING to capture head bands!"
In the stands an old man sat frozen with a hot dog half way to his mouth, Gwen sitting next to him and eyeing his questionable choice of chocolate sauce and onions for toppings.
"Hey. . . Grandpa, that girl, isn't that-"
"Taydenite. Gwen go alert the base. That girls going to need a security detail, now that she's just demonstrated the ability to make Taydenite from nothing on national television."
Back in the arena, Todoroki was chasing maddeningly after the orange abomination Midoriya had become, while fighting with the few remaining teams over the headbands of the immobile foes Yaoyorozu and co and effectively eliminated.
Beneath him, Iida spoke, "I'm going to try something, but I'll probably be useless afterwards."
Todoroki checked their score briefly before deciding it was worth it. "Do it."
With that, Iida's legs began making the pitched keening of a jet engine.
"Recipro-" He set his stance.
"BURST!" and suddenly Team Todoroki was rocketing forward towards the Buxom valkyrie atop her beast.
Izuku had no means of countering such speed, and though he saw the attack coming, he was unable to shift out of the way fast enough to prevent Todoroki from snatching the head band from around Yaoyorozu's neck.
As they passed each other the horn sounded, and the event ended.
Izuku immediately began aggrievedly stomping the ground with his four powerful legs, snorting irritably for lack of the ability to speak or cry.
Yaoyorozu patted him kindly on the side and winked at Mineta, untying the white ribbon she had tied about her ponytail unnoticed.
Todoroki came away from the battle proud, until he realized he was holding a blank white, headband that immediately frozen solid when he realized it for what it was.
A Decoy.
"AAAAAAAAND TEAM YAOYOROZU WINS!"