Chapter IX
BEEP
'Todoroki is probably going to use his ice to trap everyone in the beginning and give himself a head start,' Midoriya internally planned before his eyes flickered to the sea of bodies crowding together then to the walls of the tunnel.
BEEP
'That damn extra is already claiming the top?! Fuck that! I don't care if he's strong; I'm gonna be the next number 1!' Bakugo internally seethed as his hands popped like firecrackers in anticipation.
BEEP
'I'll show him and the old bastard. I don't need his quirk to win. I'll surpass them all with just my ice,' Todoroki internally sneered as before exhaling a bit of mist.
BEEEEEEP
'I wonder what I should have for lunch later today,' Percy mused with his hands in his pockets while others passed him in the tunnel to avoid the pile up.
"AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE FIRST EVENT IS UNDERWAY!" Present Mic cried to the audience before a green blur rocketed off of the tunnel walls and out into the open milliseconds before the crackling of ice echoed and trapped any students unfortunate enough to be caught.
"RIGHT AWAY THE ACTION KICKS OFF AS MIDORIYA IZUKU OF CLASS 1-A BARELY ESCAPES THE TUNNEL AND TODOROKI SHOTO'S PREEMPTIVE STRIKE!" Mic commented much to Aizawa's ire from the volume.
Much to Todoroki's surprise, more than just a few students and his classmates managed to dodge his attack, but he settled for clicking his tongue in annoyance and sliding along after Midoriya. The two were in the top two spots immediately in the race, and both completely ignored the sounds of Bakugo's explosions that were somehow drowned out by his yelling.
"BAKUGO IS AFTER THEM IN THIRD AS HE BLASTS HIMSELF OUT OF DANGER! OTHER HERO COURSE STUDENTS ARE DUTIFULLY BEHIND HI- WHAT?! WHERE'D ALL THE ICE GO?!" Present Mic screeched in confusion, but Aizawa just smirked next to him.
"That would be Problem Child's doing," came his comment as the ice had spontaneously melted into water and began rushing toward a single person who had yet to move.
"Thanks for the ammo, Candy Cane-kun," Percy said with a smirk as he mentally commanded the water to form a wave underneath him and push him forward. The water hungrily accepted his mental commands to recollect essentially becoming an endless wave to surf on. It was really an added bonus that each competitor the wave swept over was spat out in a random direction, further hindering their progress.
"LOOKS LIKE 'SURF'S UP' FOR AIZAWA PERSEUS AS HE SEIZES COMMAND OF TODOROKI'S ICE AND PROGRESSES FORWARD WITH EASE!" Present Mic announced with a cheer that was mirrored and magnified by the audience.
The audience was already on the edges of their seats and the first event of the entire festival had only just begun. Midoriya had already shown his quick thinking and agility to impress them, Todoroki with his power, Bakugo with his tenacity, and then Percy with his wit and control. They found it all the more impressive that the demigod in question was surfing the wave with an almost bored look on his face and his hands firmly in his pockets.
"THE LEADERS OF THE PACK ARE APPROACHING THE FIRST OBSTACLE! ENJOY THE SUFFERING OF ROBO INFERNO!" Present Mic shouted just as Midoriya bursted into a more open dirt field and immediately ducked underneath a clawed strike from an Entrance Exam robot. He slowed his pace as a result, but didn't stop as he began to dodge and dismantle any and all robots that came after him.
Midoriya refused to look back, but he knew that both Todoroki and Bakugo were breathing down his neck; and that wasn't even counting just how unpredictable Percy was. None of those thoughts helped however, as the ground rumbled violently and multiple 0-Pointers emerged to serve as the cherry on top of the Robo Inferno.
"Geez. They're really not holding back," Midoriya muttered to himself as he charged OFA up higher to 17% and leapt onto one of the behemoth's arms. He knew that he couldn't waste time targeting the joints to take one out with Todoroki and Bakugo on his heels and going all out would cause too much damage, so he played the most intense game of tag he ever had.
"MIDORIYA AVOIDS A SWIPE FROM A 0-POINTER AND IS NOW RUNNING UP ITS ARM!" Present Mic announced and Aizawa gave a grunt.
"He's being logical. He knows that he can't afford to waste any time with Todoroki and Bakugo on his heels and the rest right behind them. Ultimately, this is a race and destroying a 0-Pointer in most cases would only hinder your ability to win," Aizawa said and the Underground Hero community nodded in agreement. They weren't superstar, headline heroes; they operated on logic and efficiency.
"This is what the Entrance Exam applicants had to deal with? Tch. I was hoping for a challenge since the bastard is watching," Todoroki murmured as he exhaled icy mist. With an upward clawed swiping motion, a massive glacier erupted from Todoroki's right side and immediately froze the 0-Pointers.
"I-INCREDIBLE! TODOROKI GIVES US A DISPLAY OF EXACTLY WHY HE IS A RECOMMENDATION STUDENT. JUST WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING YOUR CLASS, ERASER?!" Present Mic asked in amazement.
"I didn't do anything. They got this fired up on their own," Aizawa replied with a smirk hidden in his scarf.
"YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS, ERASERHEAD IS A TERRIBLE TEACHER!" Mic took a verbal jab at his best friend and colleague only to receive a literal elbow jab in the ribs making him grunt.
"He froze them!"
"We can get through!"
"I wouldn't. I froze them in compromised positions," Todoroki commented coldly and as soon as he said that, the 0-Pointers came crashing down in frozen heaps. Luckily, the only two people caught underneath them had some hardening quirk variant.
"DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME YOU BASTARDS!" Bakugo roared as he used his explosions to navigate himself up and over the 0-Pointers.
"BAKUGO ISN'T DETERRED AND DECIDES TO TAKE THE HIGH ROAD!" Present Mic continued to commentate.
Percy snorted at Mic's comment on Aizawa's teaching as he dispelled his wave, taking out several smaller robots in the process. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he took off at a moderate pace for him which was about equivalent to a sprint for most people without speed or strength enhancement quirks.
Percy idly noted some of the other competitors as he passed them, like Jiro plugging her jacks into robots to dismantle them with sound waves, Yaomo (as he started calling her in his head since her name was too damn long) using a cannon she created to blast at 0-Pointers, and a girl with vines for hair sending them into the ground to sneak attack robots.
"IT LOOKS LIKE MIDORIYA IS STILL HOLDING ONTO FIRST PLACE AS HE CLOSES IN ON THE SECOND OBSTACLE, THE FALL! HE'S FOLLOWED CLOSE BEHIND BY TODOROKI AND BAKUGO!" Mic announced and Percy noticed a 0-Pointer sighted him and was ready to engage.
"Guess I better get moving then," Percy said to himself before he flawlessly shifted his stance on the run. With his hands still in his pockets, his right leg lashed out quickly and efficiently in a crescent kick into the air between him and the 0-Pointer. Immediately, a crescent-shaped blade of water materialized and flew toward the target and cut the entire thing in half. His pace never visibly slowed.
"EHHHH?! ANOTHER 0-POINTER WAS CUT IN HALF! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Present Mic shouted as he had been focusing on the competitors who had begun the second obstacle.
"Problem Child threw a kick and a blade of water materialized and cut it," Aizawa commented dryly even though internally he was pleased. He knew full well what Percy was capable of and just how much the kid was holding back, but cutting a 0-Pointer in half with a kick was impressive no matter how many times he'd seen similar or even greater feats.
While Percy cleared the first obstacle, Midoriya was gradually losing his lead in the second one. "The Fall" consisted of multiple rock platforms across a huge pit with each platform being connected by steel ropes. He planned on the fly as much as he could since he recognized immediately that he wouldn't be able to leap the larger gaps with his current percentage of OFA.
'At this rate, Todoroki and Bakugo are going to overtake me, but I can make it up in the last stretch. Probably,' the shrub-headed boy mused as he leapt to a neighboring platform that was closer.
"TODOROKI AND BAKUGO ARE CLOSING THE DISTANCE! WILL THEY SURPASS MIDORIYA FOR THE LEAD?! IS MIDORIYA RUNNING OUT OF GAS?!" Present Mic said to prompt the audience even though it was unnecessary; they hadn't moved from the edge of their seats since the event started.
"Hardly. Midoriya recognizes that the larger gaps are out of the question with his current power, so he's playing it safe and taking the longer route while ensuring he makes it through," Aizawa commented back in defense of his student since he was pleased with the boy's reasoning. "Those three have enough of a lead so that while he may drop from first place, he will at least have a substantial shot at third. Assuming he doesn't turn the tables on Todoroki and Bakugo in the third obstacle."
As if spoken into existence, Todoroki and Bakugo both managed to clear the second obstacle before Midoriya, but he wasn't deterred. It was just as Midoriya cleared the second obstacle that Percy had arrived.
"TODOROKI SNATCHES THE LEAD FROM MIDORIYA WITH BAKUGO RIGHT BEHIND HIM! MIDORIYA DROPPED TO THIRD, BUT ALL THREE OF YOU WATCH YOUR STEP!" Present Mic announced as the top two came to the last obstacle: a minefield.
"FEAR NOT VIEWERS! WHILE THE LAST OBSTACLE IS FULL OF MINES, NONE OF THEM ARE ANYWHERE NEAR LETHAL! THAT ISN'T TO SAY THEY DON'T PACK A PUNCH!" Mic placated as Percy noticed the pink hair dreadlock girl ahead of him using some sort of grappling hook and boot combination.
Deciding not to waste time, Percy formed a platform of water beneath him to simply carry himself over the pit and observed his competition as he passed over them.
'Minefield?! And I'm behind! Okay… okay if I increase to 20% for a moment and cover all I can with a single leap… that'll have to do,' Midoriya thought just behind he reached the start of the minefield and leapt for all his 20% was worth.
"TODOROKI AND BAKUGO ARE NECK AND NECK, FIGHTING BACK AND FORTH TO TRY AND STEAL FIRST PLACE FROM THE OTHER!" Present Mic commented and started to bite his nails in anticipation before he noticed Midoriya soaring through the air and closing in fast.
"BUT WHAT'S THIS?! MIDORIYA TAKES A MIGHTY LEAP AND IS CLOSING IN FAST ON THE DUO, BUT HE'S NOT GOING TO BYPASS THE MINES?!" Mic cried out in shock and Aizawa leaned forward in anticipation as well. He didn't know what the kid was thinking.
The two leaders turned slightly in shock, but they were a moment too late. Midoriya was about to land between them, but instead he planted a foot on each of their shoulders (powering down to 5% so he didn't break or dislocate them) and used the two as a springboard, effectively pushing them back as he rocketed forward.
"INCREDIBLE! MIDORIYA CLOSES THE DISTANCE IN A SINGLE LEAP AND USES TODOROKI AND BAKUGO AS A LAUNCHPAD TO STEAL BACK FIRST PLACE!" Present Mic cheered, the audience roared, and Percy smiled at the announcement before he landed on the other side of the pit and began his moderate pace again.
"BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH! MIDORIYA ISN'T GOING TO MAKE IT OUT OF THE MINEFIELD AND TODOROKI AND BAKUGO HAVE STOPPED FIGHTING TO PURSUE MIDORIYA!" Mic narrated, but before he could further comment, Midoriya made his final move.
While still in the air, Midoriya turned his body around to face the two he jumped off of with both of his arms out and each middle finger cocked back in a flicking motion. With OFA charged up to 10%, he gave the two a smirk that would have been alien on his face had he not met Percy.
"See ya," he said and flicked both fingers forward creating twin bullets of air that hit the ground in front of Todoroki and Bakugo. The result of the explosion from the mine served to both push his two rivals off track and propel his body backwards just enough to clear the field.
"PHENOMENAL! MIDORIYA RECOVERS MIDAIR AND USES THE MINES TO BOTH HINDER HIS OPPONENTS AND PROPEL HIMSELF THE REST OF THE DISTANCE OVER THE MINEFIELD! ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!" Present Mic cheered along with the rest of the audience as Midoriya recovered quickly and sprinted the remainder of the course to finish first.
"I was not expecting Midoriya to pull off such a complicated maneuver in midair to secure him the victory," Aizawa commented, thoroughly impressed though most could barely tell from his tone.
"AND THE FIRST PERSON BACK IN THE STADIUM IS NONE OTHER THAN MIDORIYA IZUKU!" Present Mic announced the finish and the crowd went nuts. Both Midoriya and Percy tuned out the rest of the places as Present Mic announced them; Midoriya was coming down from his adrenaline high with a healthy sheen of sweat and panting, and Percy was happy for his little brother.
'No doubt Inko is flooding the apartment right now,' Percy mused internally with a chuckle before frowning quickly. Quick as lightning, Percy turned around and backhanded the air only for a whip of water to materialize behind Yaomo and slap the grapist into the ground for trying to latch onto her back. Surprised, Yaomo yelped and turned around to see Mineta dizzy on the ground, but Percy was already gone by the time she went to thank him.
"THE FIRST EIGHT COMPETITORS HAVE FINISHED, BUT THE RACE IS STILL JUST AS INTENSE!" Present Mic announced although it was fairly obvious that he was losing interest in the event.
"TALK ABOUT A SECOND WIND! AIZAWA PERCY IS SWIFTLY PASSING STUDENTS LEFT AND RIGHT AS HE WEAVES THROUGH THE MINEFIELD! IT'S LIKE HE KNOWS WHERE THE MIENS ARE!" Present Mic's tone has perked up at the impressive display that Percy was putting forth in the final stretch. Aizawa just snorted at the comment since he knew full well that Percy did know exactly where the remaining mines were.
"I wouldn't step there if I were you," Percy whispered to the Kirishima clone since he didn't know the kid's name as he passed him and then cackled softly when the kid took his advice and actually stepped on a mine.
"11TH PLACE: MASHIRAO OJIRO! 12TH PLACE: AIZAWA PERSEUS!" Present Mic called out and Percy snorted at the irony of 12th place before he officially stopped listening. He locked eyes with Midoriya and gave his little brother a nod of respect before he summoned an orb of water and drank it. He wasn't tired, far from it actually, but he was a little parched.
Ignoring everyone else, Percy immediately unfolded his hammock from his tracksuit and set it up before relaxing as the first event finished up. Everyone who didn't know Percy even a little bit collectively sweatdropped at the action.
"I'LL TELL YOU ERASER, PERCY SURE IS YOUR KID," Present Mic deadpanned.
"I've taught him well."
Unfortunately, Percy's sort of nap couldn't be left in peace as he sensed someone closing in on his position. Going by the stomping that he felt and heard, he knew immediately that it was Bakugo to presumably talk some shit.
"What happened to you being at the top, you shitty extra?!" Bakugo shouted with a sneer on his face as he looked down on Percy. Percy in response lazily cracked a single eye open.
"I meant what I said. This is just the first event, Pomeranian-kun; a marathon, not a sprint," Percy chided, making the veins on Bakugo's forehead throb in agitation.
"I still beat you dammit! I'm better than you and I'm gonna win this whole fucking thing!" Bakugo roared and Percy continued to look at him completely amused.
"I saw. You got the bronze. Congratulations," Percy mocked and Bakugo's palms started to spark more and more with his rising anger. Luckily, Kirishima came over to diffuse the situation easily, but Percy's faint mocking smile never left.
"Just remember Firecracker-chan, I may have let you win the battle, but I'm certainly going to win the war," Percy finally added and closed his eyes in satisfaction as Kirishima forcibly removed Bakugo from the area.
LINEBREAK
Evidently, many of the pro heroes in the stands shared Bakugo's sentiment.
"Why was that Aizawa kid the representative if he only finished 12th? I expected more."
"Didn't he say he was going to be at the top? Talk about an overconfident arrogant brat."
"The level of control over his quirk is impressive though! Maybe he just tired himself out?"
As the lesser known heroes continued to question the validity of Percy's ability, there were others that were frowning in both confusion at the demigod in question, and the closed-mindedness of their fellow heroes.
"What do you think of that boy Edgeshot?" a beautiful woman with short blonde hair and a headpiece that mimicked four dragon claws asked. She wore an elegant traditional qipao with scale trim and knee-high boots. She was the Number 13 Hero, Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu aka Ryuko Tatsuma.
Edgeshot took a moment to gather his thoughts about the boy. The very same boy that he helped rescue from the assassin Kage years ago; that had, in his malnourished state, broken his chains off of the wall. Edgeshot knew the kid could have easily placed first, so why didn't he?
"I am unsure. I helped rescue that boy from Kage almost four years ago, and even malnourished, he had enough strength to rip his chains from the wall when we found him," Edgeshot aka Shinya Kamihara said and Ryukyu looked at him in surprise.
"He's holding back severely. Whether it's to preserve his energy until the finals or something else, I am not certain. We'll have to keep an eye on him," he finished and Ryukyu nodded in agreement.
"That brat doesn't seem all that special, but I'll know after I see him fight," a slightly gruff feminine voice belonging to a dark- skinned woman with white hair, two large rabbit ears, and a fluffy cotton tail added on with a scoff as she munched on a carrot. She was Mirko aka Usagiyama Rumi, currently unranked due to her tendencies to operate solo. The group of three weren't the only ones discussing the resident demigod.
"That boy… He feels different; like I know him or I should know him," a man with a mutation quirk that gave him the appearance of a spotted seal murmured more to himself, but it was heard by his peers. He was the Sea Rescue Hero: Selkie.
"You feel it too, Selkie? He feels like the sea; like home. I feel drawn to him," an even larger imposing man said, but his mutation gave him the appearance of a killer whale. The man was Gang Orca aka Sakamata Kūgo, the Number 10 hero. Despite the interest, one hero in particular was unimpressed.
"Tch. That brat dares to claim the top spot over my Shoto and then puts out that pathetic display? What a joke," the resident walking dumpster fire and (somehow) eternal Number 2 hero Endeavor aka Todoroki Enji scoffed to himself.
LINEBREAK
"Now that we have our top 42, we can move on to the next event! For those of you that didn't make it, don't worry, I'll bottle your tears of despair later and use them as hydration," Midnight announced with a devious smirk before the sound of a palm slapping a forehead echoes throughout the stadium. Collectively, everyone turned to see Percy shaking his head in both annoyance and disappointment.
"Ahem, right. The next event will be… The Cavalry Battle!" Midnight's announcement was drowned out by the crowd, but Percy was confused. He didn't remember anything that sounded even remotely similar to a cavalry battle in his old world, but Midnight explained the rules shortly after. Admittedly, he missed the days of Capture the Flag and Chariot Races.
"And first place shall be worth… 10,000,000 points!" Midnight finished the explanation and Midoriya went deathly pale. Percy really couldn't help himself as he started cackling like a mad man at his little brother's misfortune.
"You have 15 minutes to form your teams! Good luck," Midnight finished with a sultry smirk and sauntered off to gods know where.
"Percy!" Midoriya cried as he ran toward his older brother who caught him by the face.
"Not a chance," Percy deadpanned and released Midoriya.
"Wha-Why?!" Midoriya cried and Percy chopped him on the head again.
"This is a competition, Shrub-Head. I trained you and that's more help than others got," Percy told him and patted him on the shoulder as he walked by. Percy had an idea of who to team up with, well not really an idea as much as he was intrigued how his abilities would interact with the horse quirk girl. So he went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder to turn her around.
"Hello. My name is Aizawa Perseus, but you can call me Percy," Percy introduced himself in English since he heard her slightly broken Japanese and American accent. Clearly, she wasn't expecting to be spoken to in her native tongue given her wide eye look, but she quickly beamed at him.
"Hello Percy! My name is Pony Tsunotori, but you can call me Pony! You speak English!" she seemed to vibrate in excitement and Percy couldn't quite keep the small smile off of his face because of it.
"It's nice to meet you Pony. And yes, I was born in America after all," Percy said easily and somehow the girl was more excited.
"Me too! I'm from Dallas, Texas! Where are you from?" she asked and Percy internally thought how cliche it was that she was from Texas. [AN: I don't actually know where she's from so I'm winging it.]
"I'm from Manhattan, New York. We should talk about all that later, but I was wondering if you'd wanna team up with me for the Cavalry Battle? I figure since not everyone speaks fluent English, we can make plans without a lot of people catching on," Percy asked her and she contemplated for a moment before nodding excitedly.
"That's a good idea! Let me tell you ab-," she started to say, but they were interrupted by a blonde jackass and surprisingly it wasn't Bakugo.
"Pony! Get away from that shameful Class 1-A heathen!" the blonde shouted and Percy had a true ADHD moment for the first time in a while.
"Oh my god it's Draco Malfoy," Percy muttered, but Pony heard him and giggled quietly before it turned into full belly laughter, making Percy chuckle too.
"What did you say?!" the guy tried to step up to Percy, but Pony reigned in her laughter to prevent any potential altercation.
"Monoma-kun, this is Percy. He and I are going to form up since we both speak English," she told him in her slightly broken Japanese. It wasn't terrible by any means, but her accent and phrasing seemed to be the minor issues.
"What?! Pony I forbid-," Monoma started to say, but was knocked out by a quick chop to the neck from a redhead with giant hands.
"Sorry about him. I'm Kendo Itsuka," Kendo introduced herself to Percy and he did the same but quickly excused himself and Pony so they could discuss a plan. Kendo gave a questioning look to Pony, but their silent conversation resolved itself and they set out to plan. Just as they finished discussing it, Midnight appeared on the stage once more.
"Time's up! I hope you all have your teams!" Midnight called out and scanned the assortment with her gaze lingering on Percy for a moment longer in interest. Thankfully, it wasn't the same kind of interest from Midnight that he was accustomed to.
"Ready Pony?" Percy asked with his hands still in his pockets as the horse girl sat comfortably on his shoulders with their headbands secured tightly around her neck like necklaces.
"Yeah Percy! Let's kick some ass!" Pony cheered and the duo got weird looks from the competitors that weren't fluent in English, but Percy just chuckled softly at her attitude.
"Let the Cavalry Battle… BEGIN!"
Chapter IX End
AN: I'll try to write this weekend, but my folks are gonna be in town so I can't guarantee anything! I hope my coverage of the Sports Festival isn't too hard to follow with, but I'm trying and as I stated this is a purely self-indulgent fanfic. I'm just glad that surprisingly a lot of you enjoy it. I went with the Cavalry Battle even though I contemplated a new event pertaining to Rescue, but since the USJ it didn't make sense to me to have them compete in something they have no formal training in. The story will diverge in the internships slightly; Percy won't be in or near Hosu, so that'll be a Midoriya heavy chapter with some Percy filler more than anything else, but that's all I'll say!