Chapter Eleven: The Sports Festival Begins
Today was the day.
The last three weeks had been crazy. Between training for the Sports Festival and preparing for their upcoming video game competition, Izuku and Katsuki had been practically living together. They'd worked themselves to the point of exhaustion until yesterday, when Katsuki's mother had sent them packing to their own individual beds.
"You two look like fucking zombies," Bakumom had snapped, sweat-dropping at the sight of the two exhausted teens pretty much the moment they got home from school. "Go to bed already! You'll be useless tomorrow if you don't sleep!"
She had driven Izuku home and told Inko in no uncertain terms that he and Katsuki needed to sleep. Inko had been at home with Eri all day since she was tired from training the day before. When Bakumom quite literally dragged him into the apartment, Inko sent him straight to bed and Eri volunteered to make sure he got to his room.
Needless to say, Izuku passed out the second he hit the bed and slept all night long. Thankfully, the extra sleep was just what he needed, and he woke up feeling refreshed and ravenous.
Inko was cooking up breakfast when he finally awoke, Eri sprawled over his torso and snoring peacefully. He stretched with a groan, feeling his joints pop pleasantly. The motion stirred Eri, but she only blinked at him sleepily for a few moments before gripping his t-shirt with her hands and letting out a whine.
Izuku smiled at the sleepy child. "Breakfast time, Eri."
He could literally smell the cinnamon rolls from here and the scent had him inwardly drooling. Eri only pouted and gripped his shirt tighter. "Don't wanna…"
"What if I carry you?"
"Mmuh."
"That counts as a yes," he decided aloud, hugging her close to him as he rolled out of bed and stood up. Izuku shifted her so that she had her arms wrapped around his neck, making it easier to carry her.
Inko was waiting for them in the kitchen and- surprisingly- Katsuki and Mitsuki/Bakumom.
Inko smiled at the pair. "There's our two sleepyheads. I was about to ask Katsuki to wake you up."
Mitsuki snickered at the sight of Izuku carrying a half-comatose Eri. "Getting an early start learning parenthood, eh?"
Izuku reddened and his mother made it worse. "Being a good dad is important, you know. Lots of women find that an attractive quality."
Steam began to pour from Izuku's face, making Mitsuki and Katsuki cackle. Inko merely giggled and Eri remained mostly-asleep, blissfully unaware of her guardian's embarrassment.
Mitsuki turned her attention to Katsuki. "What are you laughing at? You're just as guilty. You and Izuku spend more time with Eri than anyone else, you wannabe daddy."
Katsuki sneered at her. "No way, I'm obviously her awesome uncle, you old hag."
"Rude little brat."
"Middle-aged wench."
"Is breakfast done?!" Izuku stammered.
Inko was still smiling from ear-to-ear. "Yes. You two better eat up."
The two boys dug in while Inko managed the kitchen and Mitsuki did her best to get the teenagers riled up. That meant taunting them with stuff she knew would drive Katsuki crazy and make Izuku turn shades of red that most people wouldn't be capable of. But it set a tone of normalcy for the pair and kept their minds occupied.
Eri slowly woke up from the promise of food and continuous banter of Mitsuku and the teens. Izuku hadn't moved her from his lap since she had been so sleepy, so she remained there and snacked on his breakfast. He didn't mind- he'd filled his plate up and there were lots of extras. Heck, Katsuki occasionally snagged something from Izuku's plate if he really wanted it. Izuku couldn't get away with taking Katsuki's food, though.
Only Eri could get away with that.
When breakfast was done and the boys had to leave, Inko, Mitsuki, and Eri saw them off at the door.
"Be safe, okay?" Inko said with a smile, but there was a worried crease on her forehead.
"We'll be watching everything on TV," Mitsuki added. "Masaru is gonna join us later. He just wanted to pop into the office early so he could take some time off for the event."
Katsuki grunted. "Sure thing."
Eri stepped forward and held her arms out at Izuku. He knelt down and hugged her, squeezing the little girl gently. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Izuku smiled back gently.
When they pulled apart, Eri looked at Katsuki shyly. "Um…"
"I don't need luck," Katsuki told her. "I'm gonna win the whole thing, anyways."
Eri bit her lip and frowned, glancing from Katsuki to Izuku and back again. "Can you both win?"
Mitsuki laughed. "Of course they can! They'll both win first place!"
Katsuki looked like he wanted to correct her, but he paused at the smile on her face. It was wide, innocent, and devoid of any sign of mercy.
That was Bakumom's happy murder smile. The "if you correct me I am going to kill you so dead you won't even know you died" smile.
Even Katsuki knew to fear that smile. He wisely kept his mouth shut.
Class 1A was milling around in their waiting room at the big stadium on U.A's campus, waiting impatiently for the event to begin. The check in for outside visitors had been going on for hours- not that surprising given that the school had just been attacked by villains. But the security check was almost over and they knew that any minute now-
"Everyone! Have you prepared yourselves?!" Tenya suddenly opened the door and shouted. "We'll be leaving in just a moment!"
Izuku sucked in a deep breath as his heart began to pound wildly.
"Izuku."
The boy jumped at the calm, deeper voice of his classmate. Shoto had never gone out of his way to talk to him before, so it startled Izuku that he would do so now.
"Y-yes?"
"Can I have a word? In private."
"Oh, um…but we're about to…"
"It won't take long."
"…well, okay," he managed, then quietly followed Shoto out of the waiting room and down the hall. They turned a corner and stopped there.
Shoto studied him in silence for a moment or two. "From an objective standpoint, I think I'm probably stronger than you."
"U-umm…y-yeah, I…"
"That being said, you've got an unusual flame."
Izuku froze, but remained silent, waiting for Shoto to go on. "You know my father is Endeavor, right? He's been the number two hero for a while now. What most people don't know is before that, he took on a certain criminal…and lost spectacularly. In the end, All Might had to step in and defeat the villain in Endeavor's place."
"The funny thing is…your Quirk is a lot like that villain's. Like Heat Viper's."
Izuku's blood turned to ice in his veins.
He knows.
"Well, maybe that's an overstatement," Shoto said with a shrug. "Your Quirk might be similar, but from what I can tell, you aren't capable of causing mass destruction on the same scale as that villain. But it's similar enough, even if it's just bad luck on your part."
"Heat Viper's flame commanded all others. Endeavor was stupid enough to challenge him with a Fire Quirk and he lost without even touching him. Your Quirk seems to resemble something like that with how you can absorb other flames, even if it's not exactly the same, but that's fine with me. You remember how I said during class introductions that I would never use my left side? Against you, I'll make an exception."
"What?" Izuku squeaked. He was already rattled and now Shoto pulled this? "Wh-why?"
"I hate my old man," Shoto said. "I don't really want to disclose why to someone I barely know, but I'll tell you that much. He hates it whenever someone brings up his defeat against Heat Viper. Your Quirk is probably close enough to remind him of it…and I'm going to crush that power like he never could. Just seeing the look on his face would be worth it."
Shoto began to walk off. "Sorry, but I've got no intention of getting friendly with anyone in the class. At least fight back enough to give that bastard a show."
"Th-that's…" Izuku feebly protested. He was shaking to his core- Shoto didn't know he'd struck the nail on the head and then he'd gone and upped the ante even more. It was too much.
However, as Shoto turned the corner, he found himself face-to-face with 1A's resident bombing king.
Katsuki glared at him. "Are you finally done spilling your guts?"
"Eavesdropping, huh?" Shoto's eyes narrowed. "Somehow I'm not surprised."
"Really? This is me caring," Katsuki sneered. "Now fuck off."
Shoto shoved his hands into his pockets and walked past the volatile teen, evidently irritated.
Katsuki watched him go for a second before turning the corner to find that Izuku had slid down the wall to sit on the floor. The green-haired teen was taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.
"Th-thanks," Izuku managed weakly.
"Don't be, I'm not going to hold your hand through this," Katsuki muttered. "He was just going over my bullshit limit."
"Still…"
"…"
"…I don't know if I can do this," Izuku blurted suddenly. He felt sick to his stomach and it was a little too hard to breathe.
Katsuki's eyes narrowed and he mentally slapped every bullseye he had onto Shoto. He knew Izuku better than almost anyone else and he knew damn well when the timid boy was about to completely lose his cool. Of course, that wasn't to say that it was all Shoto's fault- Izuku had already been rattled by the very idea of this event, but icy hot had more or less set him off.
"Katsuki! We gotta go!" That was Eijirou calling to him from down the hall.
"I got it, give me a sec," Katsuki shouted back. He walked a little closer to Izuku so that he was out of sight of anyone else and dropped to sit on his heels.
"…do you need Recovery Girl?" He asked quietly.
Izuku gulped and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to try and steady himself. He started to feel a little less shaky after a moment and let his head fall back against the wall. "I…think I'm okay."
"…" Katsuki studied him for a few more seconds before he nodded shortly and stood back up, offering a hand to the other teen. Izuku took it and stood with Katsuki's help.
"Just try and chill out," Katsuki told him. "The crowd isn't gonna try and pick you out, y'know? Don't think about it and just focus on winning."
"I know," Izuku took one more deep breath and exhaled. He offered Katsuki a shaky smile. "I'll be fine. Really!"
He wasn't buying that. Not for a second was Katsuki buying that. But calling Izuku out right now would only make him freak out again, so…for the time being, he'd play along.
"Good," Katsuki slapped him on the back and then led the meek teenager after the rest of their class.
"ARE YOU READY?!"
Present Mic's voice was answered by the roar of thousands of people in the colosseum, all eager to get the event underway. The Pro laughed from the announcer's box and continued to rile up the crowds. "Welcome to the U.A Sports Festival, audience! Gather round, mass media! It's the biggest event of the year! The newest, youngest hero candidates are about to run wild and go at each other to claim that spot at the top!"
"It's time to meet our contestants this year! Coming out now is the highlight class of the first years! The students who fought off villains in their first week of training! This is Hero Class 1A!"
The students all walked out together amidst the roaring crowd, each of them trying to keep their nerves under control. Well, most of them were. Some, like Katsuki and Shoto, were either raring to go or just didn't care.
Holy crap, Izuku thought with a gulp. It felt like the colosseum was shaking from an earthquake, but it was all from the screaming crowds.
"Next up! They haven't been getting as much airtime, but this class is full of talent too! Hero Class 1B enters the stage! Following our Hero Course is General Studies Classes 1C, 1D, and 1E! The Support Course Classes 1F, 1G, and 1H are here too! And last but not least, the Business Course Classes 1I, 1J, and 1K! All of U.A's first years have now arrived!"
The mass of students all gathered on the field in front of a podium, upon which stood the Pro Hero, Midnight, adorned in her hero costume. The costume in question had been designed to make full use of her Quirk, but whether by necessity or personal preference, it was quite the outfit.
Izuku dryly noticed that Minoru seemed like he was about to dehydrate himself from all the drool leaving his mouth. The way he looked at Midnight was just…gross.
Katsuki noticed too and opted to remove one half of a bullseye from Shoto and slapped it onto the P.A.L in question. Apparently, he had not yet learned his lesson.
Midnight cracked a flogger style whip to silence the crowd and get the attention of the students. "Quiet, everyone! It's time for the player's pledge! Representing the first years as a whole is Katsuki Bakugo from Class 1A!"
"Eh?!" Izuku whipped towards Katsuki, who just strolled towards the podium.
"Well, he did get first place in the Entrance Exam," Hanta admitted.
A loud huff made the boys turn their heads towards a couple of students from the General Studies class. They looked rather irritated as one of them retorted in annoyance. "Only in the Hero Course."
Izuku cringed away from the obvious venom. Eijirou sighed uneasily. "It's obvious she hates our guts."
"Isn't that mostly Katsuki's fault anyways?" Denki asked.
Katsuki made it to the top of the podium and paused in front of the mic. The mass of students and watching crowds waiting in silence for several seconds before he opened his mouth.
"I pledge," Katsuki drawled. "That I'll be number one."
Virtually every member of 1A mentally screamed. I KNEW HE'D SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!
The rest of the first years were outright pissed.
"What the hell?!"
"Stop messing around!"
"Don't be so full of yourself, 1A!"
"You sludge bastard!"
Tenya started chopping his arms at Katsuki like a short-circuiting robot. "Why would you be so disrespectful?! You're representing us all!"
Katsuki kept a straight face, but his expression visibly darkened a moment later. "Sorry, but you've got the wrong idea. This ain't a pledge, it's a declaration of war to all the classes. I'm not losing to any of you, Hero Course or otherwise."
"And especially not to some entitled brat with a third-rate fire Quirk and a loser dad who never gets first place."
An epic silence filled the entirety of the stadium as they processed that statement.
Izuku felt all the blood drain from his face. Did he just?
Katsuki turned around back to the mass of students and glared at Shoto, then stuck his thumb towards the ground. "Both of you can go sit in the corner like the background characters you are."
Oh. Fuck.
Katsuki walked off the podium then, not giving even a single shit about the utter havoc he left in his wake. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stood in silence next to Izuku, who stared at his best friend as though he were a live grenade just seconds from exploding.
"Whoowee!" Present Mic exclaimed, bringing the crowds back to life. "You can really feel the tension after that! Talk about bold! Midnight, get things going already! I wanna see the bloodbath!"
"With pleasure," Midnight was grinning wildly. "Let's get things started right away! This first game is what you'd call a qualifier for the later rounds. Many drink their tears here! And the first game is…"
A large, hologram screen popped up behind Midnight, upon which was a whizzing list of potential games not unlike a slot machine.
The Pro hero cracked her whip and the list stopped dead on a game titled "Obstacle Race" that Midnight immediately began to explain. "The Obstacle Race! All eleven classes will participate in this race. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium- about four kilometers!"
She cracked her whip again and the smile on her face took on a hint of something…sadistic. "Our school's selling point is freedom. As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do! Now everyone, take your places!"
The mass of students crowded around the exit of the colosseum, all of them tense and ready to go as soon as the bell sounded three times.
Izuku swallowed hard. This was it.
One ring.
He jumped as he felt a fist lightly bump on his shoulder, followed by an unusually quiet Katsuki amidst the silence of the stadium.
"I'm not scared of you," he muttered. "So don't go and lose here."
Two rings.
Unwillingly, a small smile found its place on Izuku's face. "I won't."
Three rings.
"START!" Shouted Midnight.
Immediately, chaos ensued.
"Alright, here's the play-by-play!" Mic laughed crazily. "Are you ready for the commentary, Mummy Man?!"
A tired and irritated sounding Aizawa was heard speaking right after Mic. "You're the one who forced me to come."
"Let's get started, Mummy Man! What should we pay attention to in the early stages?"
"This part right now."
Every single student was trying to rush through the relatively tight exit, packing them all together and making it nearly impossible to get out. The tunnel acted like a choke point, preventing anyone but the leaders from making progress.
"Like that's stopping me!" Katsuki grinned savagely and lowered his hands, then unleashed a stream of rapid explosions to make him fly above the crowd.
Izuku spread One for All throughout his body, then let his feet catch fire before he leapt for the walls, bouncing back and forth with his flames and enhanced strength. Katsuki was ahead of him since he was going in a straight line, but they both made it over the swarm of students in a matter of seconds.
They made it out just in time to avoid a blast of ice that smothered the ground and trapped many of the students behind them by their feet. Izuku glanced over his shoulder, unsurprised to see Shoto skating over the ice after them.
However, not every student was caught by the flash freeze. Yuga, Momo, Eijirou, and Mashirao easily leapt over the wave of ice.
"That's too naive, Shoto!" Momo yelled after him.
Shoto didn't look too surprised that most of the students who avoided his attack were from 1A. Although he had to admit, he was a little impressed that many other students from the other classes managed to get through with only minimal trouble.
"They're steadily making their way through the first part of the course!" Mic exclaimed. "And just ahead of them is…the first obstacle!"
Izuku, Katsuki, and Shoto all stopped dead as the earth beneath their feet shook. A moment later, several of the huge, zero-point robots from the Entrance Exam appeared in their path, blocking the road. Their pause gave the students behind them a chance to catch up, only to find that they had a much bigger problem on their hands.
"Robo Inferno!"
Denki's jaw dropped. "The zero-pointers from the exam?!"
"Nine, ten, eleven…" Kyoka bit her lip as she counted them. "Jeez, there's over a dozen of them…"
"This is what they used in the general entrance exam?" Momo wondered aloud as she stared at the steel monsters. "Where did U.A get the resources for this?"
The lead robot lunged at them, one of its giant arms swinging down at the mass of students.
Shoto's eyes narrowed as he built up a massive amount of power in his right side- his ice half. "If they went through all this trouble, I wish they would've prepared something better. Since my shitty old man is watching."
The temperature around Shoto dropped incredibly quick, then he swiped his left hand towards the robot, unleashing a literal glacier at the steel colossus and freezing it instantly mid-blow.
The sheer mass of ice was astounding, so much so that Izuku found his eyes growing wide in shock. He'd known the Shoto was powerful given that he was one of only two recommended students in 1A and from how easily he'd won in combat training, but this was on a completely different level. Whether it was the upper limit of his power or not, Izuku wasn't sure, but he was willing to bet it was up there.
Shoto began to run through the robot's legs, intending to exit out on the other side. He knew the mass of steel would fall over in just a few moments, but he wasn't expecting to hear a loud bang above him.
He whipped his eyes up in time to see Katsuki go airborne just above the robot's head. The explosive teen roared down at Shoto as he pointed his right hand at the frozen robot, holding the same arm with his other hand. "I told you to sit the fuck down!"
Izuku yelped as Katsuki unleashed a horrifyingly large explosion, blowing the frozen robot into smithereens. Comets of ice and steel began to rain down on Shoto, stopped only by another rapid burst of ice from the teenager. Shoto was saved from being crushed, but he ended up blocking his own path as a result of that.
Izuku seized the chance to leap over the frozen chunks of robot with his All Flare and One for All combo, getting ahead of Shoto and the rest of the student body again. That put him between the clamoring students behind him and over a dozen angry robots ahead.
Fortunately, Izuku had realized that the robots were actually really slow. They were huge and if you got hit, of course you'd be incapacitated, but it was easy to avoid them once you got a grasp on their range of motion and speed.
He caught up to Katsuki after jumping over the robots, landing safely on the ground once more to run after his friend. "Katsuki, wasn't that too much? You could've killed him!"
"Shut up!" Katsuki retorted, shaking the pain out of his right arm. "It was gonna fall over anyway! Plus he's pissing me off!"
"That's my line!"
The two teens whipped their heads over their shoulders just in time to see Shoto rushing at them on a stream of ice. The normally stoic boy was scowling after them. "You're starting to get on my nerves!"
"Check it out! Class 1A's Katsuki, Izuku, and Shoto are in the lead! They cleared the first obstacle so easily! But they better watch out!"
Izuku realized after a second that Fumikage, Hanta, and Kyoka were right behind them. Not far behind, Tenya, Momo, Denki, Ochako, and Mina were catching up, along with a whole group that consisted mostly of 1A students, several 1Bs and a few others.
"The leaders are being hunted down! Those giant robots were small fry for the first year's golden eggs!" Mic shouted excitedly.
"Well, those robots might be big and scary, but they're just dumb hunks of metal. If you watch for a few moments, you'll start to see openings." That was Aizawa, who sounded almost bored.
"Stop getting in my way!" Shoto snapped as he shot a blast of ice after Katsuki.
Katsuki leapt above the ice with an explosion and sneered back. "Look at that! I finally made you mad! I'm gonna blow you into smithereens, icy hot!"
He fired another blast at Shoto, who blocked with a shield of ice. Izuku yelped and dove for the ground to avoid the chunks of ice that went flying everywhere as a result.
"And while you three are busy trying to kill each other…"
Izuku's head whipped up in surprise as Kyoka rushed past them in a sprint. "I'll be taking the lead, thanks!"
"Hey! Get the hell back here!" Katsuki roared, forgetting Shoto in favor of chasing after her.
"Ah-ha! Finally, a girl in first place!"
Katsuki's pupils shrank at the voice. His P.A.L senses were tingling.
"It's time for my special move!" Minoru declared, throwing purple spheres along the ground and bouncing off of them to close the distance to the lead. He finally grabbed a pair of spheres and held them in each hand as he flew towards Kyoka.
Kyoka saw him coming over her shoulder and blanched. "Don't you dare!"
"I'm killing two birds with one stone!" Minoru cried with glee. "Grape Ru-"
"DIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Katsuki launched himself upwards with another blast and drove a ruthless kick into Minoru's balls. A sonic boom roared out as Minoru was punted up high into the sky, where he disappeared with a glimmer of light.
"OH MY GAWD!" Mic screamed in horror. "I FELT THAT JUST WATCHING! HOW CRUEL!"
"Stop screwing around," Aizawa deadpanned.
Kyoka grinned over her shoulder. "I owe you one, Katsuki!"
"Get back behind me, heart-throb!" He snarled after her as he came down to earth.
"Not gonna happen!"
"WHOA! Kyoka, stop!" Eijirou yelled as he caught up with the pack.
Kyoka screamed as her feet suddenly found empty air and she realized she had just run over a sheer cliff. Only Hanta grabbing her with his tape and yanking her back saved her from falling.
"Sh-shit," Kyoka managed as she sat down hard, staring at the black abyss below them.
"It's the second obstacle! The Fall! How are they gonna get through this one?!"
The Fall was an enormous pit with tall spires of rock jutting out of it, each attached to others like it by long tendrils of rope. Many of the students stopped at the front to figure out how to approach it, giving the runners in the back a chance to catch up.
"Whoa…" Ochako stared at the blackness with wide eyes. "When did they make this?"
"It was probably Power Loader," Izuku muttered as he studied the spires of rock.
"It's no big deal if you just fly over!" Katsuki snapped, launching himself back into the air with explosions.
Kyoka yelled after him. "Hey! Get back here with my first place!"
"Not gonna happen!" Katsuki mimicked her earlier taunt with a cackle while Kyoka waved her fist after him and yelled some more.
Shoto walked to one of the ropes and fired himself across the abyss on a stream of ice, glaring after Katsuki in silence.
Izuku realized that most of the spires had relatively wide platforms, meaning it'd be easy to land on if he jumped. They also weren't spaced too far apart despite the sheer depth and length of the pit.
He crouched, spreading One for All through his body again and set his feet alight. "I'm coming after you!"
Izuku began to leap to the rock spires, carefully gauging his landings and pausing at each one so that his momentum would carry him too far.
"I guess great minds think alike!"
Izuku whipped his head around in surprise as Tsuyu landed on a spire nearby. Her frog-like powers made it a simple task. He was so surprised that he tripped as he landed and fell on his butt, but thankfully didn't go over the edge. "Ow!"
"Don't stop now, Izuku! They're catching up!" Tsuyu shouted as she leapt ahead of him. Izuku looked over his shoulder and realized she was right. Steadily, the other students were beginning to cross the abyss with ease.
"I'm not gonna lose!" Izuku told himself, getting back up and jumping again. Katsuki and Shoto had already made it to the other side.
He made it to the other side and began running again, keeping both Quirks active so that he could travel faster. Before long he reached the final blockade, which Katsuki and Shoto had begun to navigate.
Present Mic cackled wildly. "It's the last obstacle! This one is called…Danger Mines! Look out kiddies, it's a minefield! If you look close enough, you can see where the mines are, but they're everywhere! You better be careful! By the way, these mines aren't strong enough to seriously hurt you, but they're loud and flashy enough to make you piss your pants!"
"That depends on the person," Aizawa retorted dryly.
"But what the heck, the two leaders are already halfway across! They're making this obstacle look easy!"
That was the understatement of the century. Katsuki was flying across the land mines and Shoto was leaving a frozen trail in his wake as he rushed on foot. The pair of teens were fighting as they went, sending blasts and bursts of ice at each other in an effort to trip the other up.
Izuku grit his teeth in frustration. They were moving so fast, he wasn't sure if he would be able to catch up in time.
Crap! I can't just jump carelessly, but I have to get ahead of them! Izuku thought, wracking his brain for a solution. Out of desperation, he finally decided on an idea. I didn't wanna do this if I could avoid it, but I've got no choice!
He crouched low and let One for All build up in one of his toes, simultaneously generating as much fire as he could from his feet to disguise the power-up. Pumping one hundred percent of One for All into his toe, he let the energy free in an enormous blast.
The force sent him sky high and launched him across the minefield. He sailed over Katsuki and Shoto, who whipped their heads up in total surprise.
"WHAAAAAT?! Izuku Midoriya just jumped most of the minefield! Wait- no, he cleared it in one go! Heads up, mass media! It's the kind of development you love!"
Izuku landed on the other side- well, it was more like a crash and a scramble to get back on his feet- and began to run like hell. His toe was shattered and it hurt badly, but the adrenaline running through his system from the shock managed to dull the pain enough for him to ignore it. He ran as fast as he could, reaching the tunnel that lead back into the colosseum and desperately trying to stay ahead of the sound of explosions and ice rushing along the ground.
"The leaders have arrived back in the colosseum! In first place is the unexpected powerhouse of Class 1A! Izuku Midoriya just made a huge splash!"
Izuku made it out into the other side and slowed to a stop, gasping for breath and wincing at the pain in his left foot. He leaned on his right, taking the weight off his foot and lightening the pain some.
Around him were the screaming crowds in the colosseum, roaring at the top of their lungs and making the arena shake like an earthquake.
It didn't really sink in until he looked up into the stands at the VIP section, where All Might was sitting and clapping for him, that it clicked. He'd done it. He'd actually done it.
I won!
Tears started flowing from his eyes out of joy, but Izuku quickly tried to wipe them away as Katsuki made it just behind Shoto and jogged to a stop. The more volatile of the two teenagers panted and staggered past Izuku, eyes smoldering.
Izuku had caught his breath and glanced at his friend nervously. "G-good job, Katsuki…"
"Whatever," Katsuki growled, stalking by without so much as looking at him.
Izuku sighed, but he wasn't surprised. Katsuki hated losing, even if it was to Izuku. He was going to be sore about that for a little while. On top of that, he was pissed that Shoto had pulled ahead at the last second.
Only first place would satisfy Katsuki. Anything less than that was garbage.
Shoto had his hands set on his hips as he caught his breath, steam rising from his right side to cool his body off. He looked at Izuku, trying to contain the frustration of defeat within him.
He took advantage of my fighting with Katsuki and passed us both up in an instant. I let my guard down…I won't let that happen again.
"They're finishing one after another! We'll make a list of the results later, but for now, good job kids! Go take a break and see Recovery Girl if you have to!" Present Mic declared.
"Deku! That was amazing!"
Izuku turned around and froze in surprise as Ochako ran up to him, gasping for breath. She clenched her fists tightly and shook them a little in mixed frustration and excitement. "First place is awesome, but it's so frustrating that I lost!"
Izuku's face turned red from the proximity and did his best to hide by curling his arms around his head. "I-it was just luck!"
Pain spiked through his foot as he shuffled away from Ochako, causing him to wince. She noticed immediately from the expression on his face. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine!" He replied, starting to limp towards the side of the arena to reach Recovery Girl's temporary office. "I just hurt my foot with that last jump."
"Is it bad?" Ochako asked, alarmed by the limp. She rushed over and started to help him walk. "Let's get you to Recovery Girl!"
Izuku felt like he was going to explode from the amount of blood gathering in his face. SHE'S SO CLOSE!
Forget Katsuki or Shoto, Ochako was gonna be the one who killed him in this competition!
"What do you think, Teacher?" Asked Tomura Shigaraki, glancing at the man sitting in the chair directly in front of the screen. Tomura himself was standing behind the chair as they watched the U.A Sports Festival on a television.
"…something is different," Teacher said, perplexed for once. He was utterly intrigued by the child Tomura had pointed out- the one who scored first place in the Obstacle Course. "There's something about this boy…something more than his flames…"
"What do you mean?"
"For now…just continue to watch," Teacher replied. He would be paying very close attention to the one Tomura wanted as well as any other students that he felt had the potential to be turned to his will. "After all, he will be your rival before he becomes your weapon. Observe him closely and learn, Tomura."
"The first round is finally over!" Midnight announced. "Now, let's take a look at the results!"
The hologram screen behind her lit up with a list of students who had made it into the second round. It included the first forty-two students, the last of which was-
"How the hell did he make it in?" Kyoka wondered aloud.
"He crawled," Hanta deadpanned, eyeing the form of Minoru still clutching at his balls on the ground.
"If you didn't make the cut, don't worry about it!" Midnight told the mass of students. "There will be other chances for you to shine. The real competition begins now! The press cavalry will be all over it!"
She cracked her whip as the slot machine began moving again. "Now then, here's the next game! I already know what it is, but what could it be? I just said it, and now here it is!"
The slot machine came to a sudden stop and revealed the title of the game. Cavalry Battle.
"I'll explain," Midnight went on, turning towards the screen. A picture came up of Thirteen, Present Mic, and Cementoss holding up All Might between the three of them. "The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but there's one little difference…"
"Based on the results of the Obstacle Race, each person has been assigned a point value!"
Ochako nodded in understanding. "So in other words, each team will have a different amount of points depending on who they're with?"
"That's easy enough to understand," Mina grinned.
Midnight cracked her whip again in frustration, startling them. "You guys don't hold back even though I'm the one talking, huh?! But yeah, that's right! And the points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom! Five points for forty-second place, ten for forty-first, and so on."
"With the exception of first place, whose value is…TEN MILLION!"
Izuku felt like every single atom of hope had just fled and left him in a cold abyss of horror.
The eyes of every student around him glowed red like demons as they stared at him greedily, knowing that the points he had would basically guarantee them a spot at the top no matter what.
By now, Izuku was ninety-nine point nine percent positive that this place was going to be his grave.
Midnight grinned sadistically. "You got it! It's survival of the fittest with a shot for those at the bottom to seize the top! Good luck, mister first place!"
"Kill me now," Izuku managed to squeak.
A/N: Chapter eleven is here and so is the sports festival! For once, I got a chapter written up when I was relatively free, so I'm not as rushed! Oh yeah, I've got an ao3 account now under the same username that I have here! Feel free to check it out! Now, onto the review responses!
Anc1enT: Great chapter. I hope you weren't late to work. Although I'm curious, is the game Katsuki and Izuku playing real? Lol just curious.
-I wasn't late, thank goodness! Well since you asked, the game they play is very real and actually really popular! As for what game...well, you gave yourself a hint in your own review right here! ;)
shoutobae: THE LUNATIC HAS RETURNED! You won't believe how happy I was when I saw that you updated, like, really. This story has (almost) everything that I look for in a great story! Just to name a few, they are character development, action packed scenes, and adorable relationships and interactions! I can already tell this story will be and continue to be amazing. First of all, thank you so much for taking time out of your very busy schedule to write this wonderful story for us to indulge ourselves in. Without people like you, I don't know how I'd survive everyday buried in schoolwork and projects and exams. So, thank you again and bless you.
OKAY, now on to my review! Once again, I'm bombarded with the fluff between Izuku, Eri and Bakugou as well. The interactions between Izuku and Eri are so sweet and adorable, and it just makes me so happy whenever it's a scene with them. It's also bittersweet as you think back on Eri's past and how she finally found the solace she deserved in Izuku and I just hope nothing breaks them up. That'd be heartwrenching, man.
As for Izuku and Bakugou, again, their character dynamics are great. They grow with the help of one another, they find comfort and reassurance in each other and I find that beautiful. Oh, and characters who are mean and seemingly uncaring to others but have a soft spot for just one person is my guilty pleasure too, most importantly. That's why I love the relationship between them, after all. (lmao)
Oh, and I read your previous chapters again and I saw that you will be including pairings in this story but it'll be slow burn because you need time and development for the relationship to grow into something more, and I have nothing against that. In fact, I love that you'll be writing it like that because most times I can't really love the relationship between 2 characters when they just suddenly fall in love with each other. So, YAY! (I'm placing my bets on Bakugou and Izuku as a pairing now because it just seems right)
Lastly, for Eri's quirk, I was wondering if her powers could reverse All Might's body to the state before the incident and he wouldn't have to die or lose his powers forever? Perhaps through learning how to control her powers, she could learn to control how much something reverses? That'd be interesting and a really good quirk as a healer like Recovery Girl since she could maybe reverse illnesses? Well, that's it for me. I tried to write a shorter review but I never know how to write one anyways so, sorry! HAHAHA. I'll be looking forward to the next chapter!
-WHICH ONE OF US IS THE LUNATIC? ARE WE BOTH LUNATICS? I DON'T KNOW WHO THE LUNATICS ARE ANYMORE! XD
The lunatic debate aside, I'm really happy there are people who enjoy the story so much! I'm glad it's supplying you with something to keep you entertained when things get tough! My schedule is always busy, but once the next two weeks are out of the way and my semester is over, I'll have more time to relax...and it'll soon be my 22nd birthday!
I'm a firm believer that fluff can make anyone's day better, thus the reason for consistent fluff in most of my chapters. And yes, there is going to be slow burns for the pairings because tbh, those slow burns where the feelings build up for so long and the tension gets to the point that you just want to scream at the pair to get together already are my absolute favorites. I can't get into stories where things progress too far too fast. I can't tell you how many stories where I've seen that happen and my interest just drops. It's so disappointing when that happens, but I'm reading one story right now that I'm absolutely in love with because it has the slow burn that I enjoy!
As for which pairings will be brought into the story, I won't say anything specific, but there's one in particular that I think is going to surprise everyone. It's something that just kind of came to me and for whatever reason, I absolutely cannot shake it when I think about it. It's definitely not a common pairing and I've never heard about it anywhere else, but...I got a really, really good vibe from it for some reason. If I write it well enough, I feel like it might become more popular, but idk lol. That's just my wishful thinking.
I'm not going to guarantee anything specifically with Eri's Quirk either because her Quirk makes me think that it's going to take a really long time for her to master it, kind of like how Mirio has spent years fine-tuning his Quirk to make it effective because of how complicated it is, you know? I'm not sure how fast Eri's Quirk training will go, but it's definitely going to take a fair amount of time. Months at the absolute least.
I'm looking forward to more long reviews! Don't shorten them for my sake because I LIVE for giant reviews!
Ashikaga-chan417: NOOO! Please continue writing! I love this story so much and am very much eager to read the next chapter.
-Wish granted! :D
shadowprove97: Once again, this story doesn't disappoint. I've said it before but I really enjoy the friendship between Bakugo and Izuku. In so many stories, we only see Bakugo act like the typical smug jackass who continues to be antagonizing towards everyone. Even in the canon story, while they are trying to show some development for, it's going very slowly. Here, while it is still there, it's not as prevalent and he's not so much of an ass to everyone, especially Izuku. It's nice to see them acting more as friends who help each other and working as a team.
-I've wanted to see a story where Katsuki and Izuku interact without it feeling like Katsuki has some sort of weird obsession with him for a while, so I started writing one on my own! I felt like a brotherly relationship was the best way to approach this- I don't have any brothers of my own, but I assume it's something like this? Idk, it seems to be working XD
That's all for now, next chapter might be delayed because I have exams this week and then finals the week after! On top of that, I have holiday hours at work...sheesh, I'm gonna be slammed the next few weeks! But I should be able to write more frequently after that when Christmas break comes along for everyone! And, hopefully, I'll have an amazing chapter up for you guys when my birthday comes around on the 20th! Look forward to it, everyone!
As usual, please review and thanks for reading!