Chapter 13: Speed? I AM Speed.
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It wasn't to say Lee was rooting against Midoriya the entirety of the spectacular fight he just witnessed. No, his speech to Todoroki about owning one's power to compete at the highest level possible was touching. Still, he didn't necessarily feel too disappointed when Midoriya lost after that cataclysmic explosion rocked the stadium on its heels and turned the arena into pebbles and dust.
The intermission they were currently in to rebuild the arena before Lee's own fight against the 1-A representative Iida Tenya, gave Lee the perfect opportunity to go over his strategy alone. He and Pony went there separate ways after talking; she needed to take the time to focus and recover while Lee wanted to prepare for the second round. So, he was in one of the back rooms of the stadium accompanied only by his thoughts.
He was ready for this. He felt the assuredness deep in his bones. He knew the Iida was related to the current Pro Ingenium, and, from what Lee was able to discern in the two weeks leading up to the festival, he took after his older brother closely. And from what he'd seen during the obstacle course highlights, the Cavalry battle, and the first round of the tournament, Iida's fighting style was geared more towards kicks.
Speed, quickness, and devastating hits amped by their Quirks made for a dangerous combination. Lee had watched some Ingenium videos over the break, and he could see exactly why the hero was spoken so highly about. Iida's older brother was a great hero who rescued tons of people.
Did that mean Iida was also as skilled? Lee doubted it. He'd seen Iida perform, and he could see his moves were a little too straightforward. A little too telegraphed. But Iida was fast. Iida had engines in his calves that gave him a substantial boost to his speed and strength like his older brother, but Iida wasn't so fast Lee couldn't keep up with him. Lee was more than confident about that.
If Lee could predict Iida's moves before he did them, the speed would be a non-factor. If you could accurately guess your opponent's next move, you'd be able to react, if you were fast enough, and Lee wasn't slow. Lee wondered if Iida's speed translates to the other parts of his body? We're his reflexes boosted as well? He'd have to see when they fought, which was going to be anytime now.
Just then, the crowd cheered explosively, so Lee supposed things were back to normal. Then the announcement for him to make his way to the arena for his fight. Lee took a deep breath as he left the sitting room, settling whatever nerves that might've risen up and instead embraced his excitement. Iida better watch out because, just like Kirishima, underestimating him would cause him to lose.
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Lee entered the arena to more cheers this time, but not screaming ones like Iida got when he stepped forward, and his name and face were shown on the big screen. He was, no doubt, the favorite to win. Brother of a top hero, basically untouched in the first round, and had a strong Quirk. It was Iida's match to win if you listened to the crowd or Present Mic who was saying all of that.
Lee wasn't, though. No, he was focused on his opponent, who looked just as focused.
"It is nice to meet you again, Lee!" Iida yelled from where he stood. "I hope you do not assume I will make the same mistakes Kirishima made in your earlier fight!"
As he spoke, Iida sank down into a halfway runner's position, brow set in determination. Lee couldn't keep the excited smile off of his face as he slid into his own opening stance, body angled to the side.
From his words, Iida meant to take him seriously as he would someone who did have a Quirk, and Lee felt good he was. This might be harder than he initially thought, but Lee was always up for a challenge.
"Good luck to you as well, Iida!"
Midnight raised her whip, and everyone quieted down. "Are both fighters ready?" She asked.
Lee nodded as did Iida. Lee kept his stance loose but firm. Quick to be like a rock, but also flexible enough to bend like water. Iida flexed his toes within his shoes and adjusted his glasses.
"Begin!"
It was like hearing the loudest car start you've ever heard. Iida's engines growled and glowed as he blitzed towards Lee. The crowd gasped at Iida's speed. They hadn't seen him move that fast all day!
"What speed!" Present Mic screamed.
"Iida aims to finish this quickly," Aizawa said, keen eyes catching every move and decision. "This kind of speed would make any kick he lands enough to end a match. A reasonable decision."
Iida spun in the air kicking one leg out to smash into his opponent only to end up hitting...nothing? Iida spun out of his kick, confused, and tried to turn around, but it was too late.
Iida turned around into a hard haymaker of a right that sent him stumbling back. Iida tried to bring his fists up to defend himself, but Lee had already thrown a left.
Smack! A right. Thud! Iida swerved out of the way of the back fist and put some distance between him and Lee. Iida's whole face throbbed in pain as he watched his opponent settle back into his opening stance.
Iida had put more thought into this match than he might've before watching Kirishima get embarrassed for all intents and purposes. Lee was Quirkless, but he'd knocked Kirishima out with an unorthodox yet effective move. It was clear Kirishima had fallen victim to underestimating Lee because he was Quirkless. Or at least appeared to be.
Iida knew regular, Quirkless people weren't capable of the same thing Quirked people were. No prejudice. It was just facts but there standing in front of him was a peer who spat in the face of years of research and study. Iida, despite all of this, though, knew what kind of damage he could cause should one of his kicks land, so he resolved to only land one to not injure Lee severely because, abnormally skilled he may be, Lee was still without a Quirk. He didn't have superhuman durability.
So, he went in with a move to finish it quickly, almost moving at his maximum speed, but he missed it! How did he miss it? His aim was spot on, and Lee shouldn't have been able to dodge it. Something more was at play here, and he didn't know what. Still, though, Iida did not come all this way to lose.
Pushing down the pain in his face, Iida activated his Quirk again and dashed forward. He focused on his target just like his brother had trained him to do, and kicked this time a low one right at Lee's hip, but he missed again. Quicker on the recovery this time, Lida planted the leg he kicked with and spun into a heel kick with the other.
He hit nothing but air as Lee ducked underneath it again. Iida dashed away before he could get hit with another one of Lee's hard punches. Kirishima was lucky for his Quirk Iida knew his face would be bruised.
Iida went in again, slower to see how Lee was dodging his attacks. Iida threw kick after kick, even feinted some into others, but they each missed. But, with a kick aimed towards Lee's side, Iida suddenly used a Burst to speed it up.
Lee danced out of the way and only took a glancing blow, but it was strong enough to throw him off balance and give Iida the advantage.
Iida burst forward, kicking up a puff of dust as he put the pressure on.
"Whoa, and Iida goes on the offensive!" Present Mic told the crowd. "Has he figured it out yet, you think, partner?"
"With the sudden switch of pace within Iida's string of kicks, it would be reasonable to assume so. Lee had figured out the pace in which Iida swung his kicks. Simply put, Lee knew how and when Iida was going to attack him and dodged accordingly, causing all of the misses."
"Ooh wee, Eraserhead," Present Mic slid over to Aizawa, knocking down his sunglasses just enough to look over them and smirked." is that as 'advanced' as it's sounding? Because if so, that's going to be impressive," present mic added.
Aizawa, unperturbed by his friend's usual antics, answered affirmatively. "It is. It is very advanced and dangerous because you can just as easily time it wrong and get hit. Lee was quick enough to block, but it was still impressive. He did it for the longest I've ever seen it done at this level."
"Oh, my folks!" Present Mic leaned right into his mic. "You're witnessing something even Old Eraserhead himself hasn't seen. And look!" Mic pointed to the ring. "Not to say seeing is believing folks, but Iida is back to strikeout city - population one!"
And it was as he called it. Lee had figured Iida out again to the surprise of every attendant beside one. It was as Aizawa said, he was dodging Iida's kicks one after another. Iida even mixed in Bursts, but Lee seemed to make those the easiest to evade. Kick after kick whiffed, and Iida was having a more challenging time getting a hit on Lee.
"Ooh, man, it seems we've got ourselves an old-fashioned stalemate!" Present mic said. "Iida isn't giving Lee any chances to attack, and Lee can't afford to take any of those devastating kicks. If Iida wants to win, he's going to have to 'kick' it up a notch!"
Aizawa's sigh was echoed by many.
Pun intended or not, Iida did just that. His engines burned blue, speeding up his kicks and adding to their power. In what seemed like a blur, Iida swung a kick into Lee's side. The kick slammed into Lee's arm, launching him off his feet. Lee crashed onto the ground a few feet away.
Lee rolled backward with the impact, popping back up on his feet. He raised his arms to guard, but immediately winced and gripped his left shoulder. Lee's left arm hung limply by his side, and his face was scrunched up in pain.
"Iida lands a clean hit, and it's a debilitating injury it seems!" Present Mic said. "A break? A fracture? Plain old pain? Either way, Lee doesn't look like he'll be using that arm anytime soon!"
Aizawa nodded. "In the case of such injuries, it would be logical for Iida to press the advantage, but it seems he's more than a little tired."
Iida panted heavily, feeling thick droplets of sweat run down his face and sides. His legs throbbed, and his engines sputtered a little. That wasn't a good sign. But, he had felt something give when he landed his kick. He'd probably broken Lee's arm. Hopefully, he could convince his opponent to withdraw before he was injured further. Iida did not want to seriously hurt his peer.
"Give up, Lee!" Iida yelled over to the injured teen. "Your arm is broken! You can't possibly hope to fight with one arm!"
Midnight heard him and looked to Lee to see what his decision would be. The offer was up, and Lee only had to take it. Iida wanted him to take it. Save himself some more broken bones and bruises.
Midnight and Iida waited for Lee's decision, as did the rest of the crowd.
Lee was trying and failing to move his arm. It felt like a hot knife had sliced into his left arm and gotten stuck there. Lee hissed in pain, trying to take deep breaths to stifle the surge of it. Iida was right; his kick had broken his arm.
Was forfeiting the right decision here? The instant Lee asked himself that question, he got his answer.
No.
No, it wasn't the right decision, no matter what anybody said. Lee had more to give. He'd sworn to give his all, to go Plus Ultra, in this tournament, so he would! He'd continue to fight no matter what it cost him!
Lee took a deep breath and slid into the opening stance despite even the slightest movement making his arm feel like it'd been double-dipped in lava. He strengthened his stance, palm out to Iida and limp arm dangling by his side like a big, painful noodle. He ignored the pain, ignored the nausea, ignored the fatigue, and focused inward.
He would win this bout.
Lee breathed in deeply and reached for the 'latches' he knew kept the Gates closed. He reached inward, tracing the same path he'd done countless times at this point, and opened the first Gate: Gate of Opening. The warm rush of chakra filled him up like a bottle of water, and everything sort of brightened. The blue sky became bluer; he could see Iida's sweaty brow, see the singular droplets slide down the side of his bruised face. Lee could hear his own heartbeat thudding in his chest louder and more apparent.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. But one Gate wasn't enough. It wouldn't be. Iida was fast, and Lee couldn't hope to keep up with him whenever Iida's Engines burned blue. No, he needed to go further than the first Gate.
So, he went deeper, tracing the path beyond the First Gate to the second one. He found the second 'latch' and opened it.
It was like getting your second wind, but if the wind was charged with electricity. Lee felt like he'd taken a direct shot of adrenaline or drunken all of the coffee in the city at one time. His chakra shot up through him, leaving his nerves jittery and his limbs fidgety. He still couldn't use his arm, but the pain came second to just how good he felt right now. He wanted to move, needed to move—all of this new energy needed to be let out.
Guy-sensei had said the second Gate increased one's physical strength while reinvigorating their energy. He'd seen how much sparring with sensei over the break, but this was a whole different scenario—a different opponent.
After seeing Lee shift back into his opening stance, Midnight shook her head. "The fight continues!"
Lee crouched slightly, legs tensing and a smirk sliding across his face. He pushed off his toes, becoming a blue blur and leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
Iida blinked rapidly with wide eyes. Where did Lee go? Did he disappear? He felt a presence move to his right, and Iida turned fast, trying to catch sight of Lee.
Wham! A harsh punch sent him stumbling to the side. Iida shook his head and looked around frantically. To the right? Left? Behind!
Iida's engines burst to life, and he swung a swift kick around, only to hit at nothing. But he could've sworn-
Wham! Another jaw-rattling punch. Wham! A kick hammered into his ribs. Iida gathered his wits and his engines growled to life once more. He couldn't stay still. That was how Lee was catching him. Iida had to start moving.
Iida took off, leaving his own puff of dust. Like this, he wouldn't be caught. He would keep moving so-
Blam! Another solid punch smacked Iida in the face sending him crashing into the ground. He rolled, groaning in pain, and stood shakily. Goodness, it felt like getting hit with a cinder block. Iida could feel the blood running down his nose, but didn't care about it. He had other things on his mind right now.
How was he still getting hit? He spent the entire match trying to land one on Lee, and suddenly Lee was able to land everyone on him? No, that didn't make any sense. None!
Iida's brain went into overdrive as he started running again. He pushed himself to move faster, the world around him melting into a mesh of colors. Lee had to have a Quirk. He had to. Or was it some sort of gear? Iida had not seen any hints of heat the entire day on Lee, and any sudden inclusions of equipment were prohibited.
There was no other explanation then. Lee had to have a Quirk. What was it? Was it a speed one like his? It would explain the-
Iida spotted it just in time and ducked out of the way. He rolled and shot away again, engines growling. He couldn't see Lee but Iida knew how to fight fast. Training sessions with his brother helped with that, and Lee was like if those training sessions were ramped to 10!
Lee was fast now. He- Bam! Another hard punch had Iida seeing dark spots spotting his vision before he blinked them away. He realized he was on the hard, arena floor again. He had to get up for Tenya's did not stay down! Ilda rose up on trembling limbs and staggered straight up.
Iida adjusted his glasses and saw Lee smirking back at him. Why was he smiling? Was it arrogance? Did he get a kick out of tricking everyone into believing him Quirkless?
"Do you wish to continue, Iida?" Lee asked simply, a teasing tilt to his voice.
Iida felt something red hot surge up within him, and he snapped before he realized it. "Do you think it funny to trick all these people?!" He yelled.
Lee furrowed his brows together in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You proclaim to be Quirkless but then perform feats not possible by anyone without a Quirk. You show no support gear, so how else are you keeping up?!" Iida snapped. Iida went to say more, but he stopped himself. No, he shouldn't have snapped like that. He was supposed to be better. He was trying to become a Pro, and they didn't let their emotions get the better of them.
The 'with me' at the end of Iida's outburst went unspoken, but Lee heard it all the same. Lee's confusion gave way to disbelief. It left him astounded. How had Iida come to that conclusion that he was lying about being Quirkless? He'd been called a lot of things, but a liar was never one of them. Why would he- no. You know what, it didn't matter.
What were words in a fight but a waste of breath? Guy-sensei asked him that one time and Lee kicked himself for not listening to his sensei. The rush from opening the second Gate was dying down now, only leaving him feeling prickly, not electrified. Lee could feel the crash incoming, and it would hit hard. He had to end this now.
Iida's question wouldn't get a verbal answer but a physical one. Lee would show him how he kept up, and show him he did it all without a Quirk.
Lee took off, prompting Iida to do the same. Iida's engines growled like the engine to a muscle car as he took off while Lee was as quiet as the wind.
They dashed around the ring, one kicking up dust the other letting off exhaust. Blue blurs blitzed around at speeds most couldn't follow in a spectacle of speed. The crowd could barely keep up, and only some Pro's could clearly see the two freshmen.
All Might sat in his private viewing room, blue eyes tracking the two freshmen easily. He knew Iida was fast, but he would've never guessed Lee was able to keep up with him. No, wait, that wasn't it. All Might nearly dropped his tea when he realized it after the next clash sent Iida spiraling across the ground. Lee wasn't just keeping up; he was surpassing Iida's speed.
Iida was pushing himself to go faster. Faster!
Bam! Iida would spiral out into a crash before revving back up again. Faster.
Thud! Iida bulled through the hit and tossed punches back at Lee. Whole strings of punches were dodged or checked with Lee's good arm. It just wasn't possible!
Wham! Iida felt the punch rocket into his cheek, the force sending him sliding to a stiff halt on the ground. He popped back up, engines snarling and firing off, and ran after Lee. Faster!
Faster! Wham!
Faster. Thud!
Faster…?
Iida crashed against the ground again, face turning purple and red from all the punches he's taken. The skin on his forearms and knees rubbed raw and bleeding from skidding across the arena floor time and time again.
Iida looked on with wide eyes as Lee didn't stop running circles around him, his stomach slowly dropping into his feet. No! Now was not the time to lose hope. Iida staggered up to one knee and activated his Quirk. He was ready to prove he was faster and win this match.
As Iida activated his Quirk, his calves throbbed in a familiar stabbing pain. He looked back quickly to see puffs of dark smoke sputtering out of his Engines. The realization settled over him, and his heart dropped into the ground.
Iida had reached his limit.
No, no. He couldn't have. Iida pushed himself to his feet, every part of his legs on fire, breaths coming in deeper and heavier. He pushed through the pain in his calves, Engines coming to life in a shock of cobalt blue, and took off after Lee.
Iida did not intend to lose. Not right now. He'd go beyond his limits and win. He caught up to Lee and threw a quick punch that was checked. Iida threw a combination, left and right, but Lee blocked and dodged them both. Then, Iida got an idea and threw what looked like a punch at Lee. Lee raised his good arm to stop it, but instead of punching, Iida grabbed hold of the arm tightly. He had him now. Lee had no way to block or attack since his other arm is unusable.
Keeping a tight grip of Lee's right arm, Iida threw a left that he knew Lee couldn't block. It slammed freely into Lee's face, and Iida pressed the advantage. He threw two more punches that crashed into Lee's face with twin thwacks. Knuckles stinging, Iida shot another out, but this time Lee didn't stay idle. As Iida's punch slammed into Lee's cheek, Lee pushed through Iida's fist and smashed his forehead into Iida's bleeding nose.
Iida saw stars, whole planets and felt more warm blood slip out of his nose onto his lips. The brutal, unexpected headbutt to Iida's nose sent him stumbling, and his Engines began to gutter out. Suddenly slower and still seeing the vestiges of a solar system, Iida tripped over his own feet. He was sent hurtling across the arena floor, flipping head over toes, where he crashed into the surrounding grass right onto his back.
Feeling the itchy grass on the back of his arms and neck, Iida realized he wasn't in the ring anymore. The realization settled over him like a storm cloud ready to unleash its downpour.
Midnight lifted her whip, "Winner by ring out, Rock Lee," she announced. And there came the downpour. The crowd broke out into stuttering applause, but Iida wasn't trying to hear any of it. None of it all right now.
Iida stayed on the ground, just gathering the effort it would take to get up before he actually attempted it. His legs were on fire, and he could barely feel his face. He couldn't stand to be amongst so many eyes anymore, though, so with an almost herculean effort, he stood up. Limping, putting one foot in front of the other as gingerly as he could, Iida turned to leave. He knew it was probably bad sportsmanship, and he'd probably regret it later, but right now he didn't care.
Why should he? Lee was a liar. That kind of thing rankled at something in Iida. Why not tell the truth about who you are? Iida felt Lee wasn't deserving of his respect.
'But he still beat you' was the thought that slithered into his mind. Iida shook his head to get rid of it, but the sudden movement made everything go all wobbly.
He teetered on his feet, trying to keep his balance, but he ultimately felt himself begin to fall. He tried to get his hands up to catch himself, but he didn't need to. Someone had caught him around the chest.
"Oh, I got you," it was Lee. Lee threw one of Iida's arms over his shoulders and hefted him up. "Lean on me," Lee panted, sorely out of breath. "The medical professionals should be out any moment now...hopefully."
In so much exhaustion and pain, Iida couldn't protest much as the two hobbled their way to the medical team. Iida's mind was working into a frenzy, though. Looking at Lee, Iida could see the bone-deep fatigue. His face was slackened, his steps were shaky, and every breath Lee took was deep. He was tired, just as much, if not more so than Iida.
Then why? Why would Lee help him out? The smart thing would be to conserve your energy for the next match. Lee would be fighting Todoroki, but here he was, helping him stand and walk.
Iida didn't know how to feel about that after everything.
"I'm not a liar," Lee suddenly gasped, breath still coming in by the gulp-fuls. "I don't have a Quirk."
Iida almost couldn't believe Lee was still trying to push this lie. He didn't need to. It was un-heroic and not befitting a future Pro.
But, Iida was tired, and that was too many words. So he settled on a few. "Tell the truth," he grunted.
Lee huffed in what might've been a laugh. "I am," he said, as they hobbled along. "No joint in my foot. Whole life been bullied. Picked on. Told I wasn't good enough...to be a hero. I'm Quirkless, not a liar."
Iida still didn't believe him. How else was he beaten like that? What other explanation is there?
"I won," Lee started unknowingly on just the thing running through Iida's mind. "Because I worked hard. Harder than anyone. All that you saw, all that you felt...was all me. No Quirk, no gear. Just hard work most would find...insane."
Hard work? Iida didn't want to believe it. He worked hard. Iida trained on his Quirk from a young age with his brother, an actual Pro Hero. Iida didn't think Lee had anything similar to that, and what better person to learn from than a genuine Pro themselves? His brother's workouts were tough. Iida knew hard work and knew the benefits that came with it, but he still couldn't connect the idea that all of what happened in the arena was purely off the back of Hard work. But Iida didn't voice his thoughts, couldn't really because just then the medical crew rushed out of the tunnel towards them.
"We'll take it from here," one of them said, easing Iida into a stretcher. Iida nearly sighed in relief, being off his feet. Why was he suddenly so...sleepy? Was he more exhausted than he thought?
"Come on - whoa!" Iida looked up and saw one of the medical crew members struggling with Lee. Two more rushed to help, and Iida wondered what was going on.
The ones catering to him began pushing him out of the main arena and into the back. Iida was only able to hear a snippet of what they said.
"... fainted once we laid the other one down. I don't know…," was all Iida could hear before he too passed out.
"Well, there you gave it folks," Present Mic said. "In a battle of speed, Lee came out on top. For one, I am impressed by both of their showings, Iida's quick thinking early on, and Lee's fighting ability. Let's give them a round of applause! Oh yeah!"
The crowd clapped. Some gave a cheer. Most seemed to not know what to make of what they just watched. Unseen by anyone besides Aizawa, Present Mic clenched the microphone tighter.
"Great job to the both of them! Eraserhead, old pal, any closing remarks for that speedy showdown we just witnessed?"
Aizawa shook his head, leaned away from the mic - the whole booth -,, and got up from his chair to leave.
Present Mic's eyes went wide, seeing his co-host get up to leave the booth. "We'll be back after a brief intermission for the next match," he said quickly into the mic before getting up to follow Aizawa.
Hizashi burst out of the booth door into the hallway and looked left and right for his friend. How did the guy disappear so fast?
"The crowd is filled with a bunch of unreasonable people," Aizawa's voice sounded from behind him.
Present Mic turned around to see his bandaged and scarfed friend leaning back against the wall by the door.
Present mic sagged against the wall with his pal, all the cheer he showed the crowd disappearing. "It's like they don't want the kid to win. I thought people loved underdog stories?"
"They do when it's an underdog they can accept," Aizawa said as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.
"I just don't get it. How could you watch the kid perform and not root for him? He's fun to watch! He's making history right now! Like it's-"
"Unreasonable?" Aizawa popped one tired eye open to look at Mic.
Present Mic laughed but dropped his head. "Yeah. I can't imagine what the kid is going through. This festival is meant to motivate them, and he's getting treated like-,"
"A villain."
"Like a villain. They might as well boo for as much as they're cheering when he wins. Which is to say not at all. It's like they're waiting for him to lose."
"They think it's a fluke. Most probably don't think he's going to last seconds against Shoto."
"Now, if that's not a high mountain to climb, I don't know what is. That kid would give a Pro trouble. Losing to Todoroki wouldn't hurt Lee's performance today. Any Pro with some sense would be jumping at the chance to have Lee work in their agency, don'tcha think Aizawa?"
Aizawa didn't answer. He stood up from the wall, opened the door to the booth, and went inside without a word.
Hizashi sighed, took his sunglasses off, and rubbed his eyes. He knew that silence from Aizawa well. He could taste the doubt he left in his wake damn near.
But Hizashi didn't share his friend's doubt. No, he was optimistic that this would all turn out as it should. He had faith in his fellow Pro Heroes and their ability to see talent for what it was. Lee had talent, he had grit, he had all the intangibles any Pro would be going for. The only thing he had against him was that he was Quirkless, but Lee was showing everyone that it didn't mean anything. No, Aizawa would be wrong this time. He had to be.
Hizashi didn't know what he'd do if he wasn't. He'd take the kid himself if he had to. Maybe. You don't see kids like him, well, ever really. Present Mic, teacher of the first Quirkless Hero in history. Heh, he could see it now.
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AN: Ah! Fast chapter. Why? Because this arc is getting crazyyyy.
Yes, we get a lot of Iida POV because I feel it was the only way to establish Iida's attitude and just how strong Lee has become. Iida isn't faster than Lee w/ 2 Gates opened in my head. You might think differently, but it doesn't really matter cause Iida would still lose. If this was about who could travel the farthest in the shortest amount of time, Iida would be winning every day. But no. This was a fight. And as far as fighting goes, Iida held no chance against Lee. Add that to the fact that Iida's Quirk has an upper limit that he met faster trying to keep up with Lee, and he loses.
Also, yes. He thinks Lee is a liar because, and it's kind of the opposite of Midoriya. Where Midoriya's is based on inferiority, Iida's is based on his superiority. He spent his entire life growing up with the mentality that 'I am fast. My Quirk makes me faster than most anybody that doesn't also have a Quirk'. His older brother is fast. Iida grew up emulating his brother, worshiping heroes, learning all about Quirks and etc. Then, bad-a-bing bad-a-boom, he's outmatched by Lee, who, apparently, doesn't have a Quirk, that worldview was shaken, and he was unable to accept it. It doesn't matter if he thought about it for a little more, he'd realize that U.A. checks these kinds of things. To him, Lee has to have a Quirk because keeping up with him would be impossible otherwise.
Iida is intelligent, but he comes to the wrong conclusions sometimes. We see it when he goes off to fight Stain alone. Alone. I get it extenuating circumstances, but, to him, so was this in a way. The Sports Festival is important to these students. We see Iida's determination to win and succeed in the anime. So much so, he didn't join Midoriya's team just to compete against him. For as non-prejudiced as Iida might be, he's not untouched by the societal attitude shown toward Quirkless people even if it's not overtly discriminatory.
It doesn't matter if he did better in the obstacle course; that was a fluke. Fifth in the Cavalry race? He had people with Quirks on his team. Made it past Kirishima? Oh, Kirishima made a mistake - not that Lee was in any way better than Kirishima was. Lee is out here to shake the world up and people's worldview with it. Some will take it better than others, and not all the reactions will be kind. It's the reality he has to live with while living as a minority trying to succeed in a society that views him as lesser.
Anyways, long AN again, super happy you all read the last one and agree with my explanation of why Midoriya reacted like he did. Makes me feel all nice inside. Yes, I read every review, so don't think I haven't seen them. I just don't respond. You have a real question, PM it.
That's all from me, and you can expect the next chapter sometime in the next two weeks. It's already mostly done. Call me butter cause I'm on a roll. Till next time!