Speech Guide:
'Thinking
"Talking"
"SHOUTING"
"I AM HERE!"
Reviews:
Dean: It was a very painful lesson for him that having someone teach you OFA properly is quite important, and I agree, there is something quite humerus about bone-based humor. As for how he'll do with access to 5%, that will remain a mystery… find out next time, on whenever I manage to update.
Fencer29: Oh he definitely deserves every bit of pain coming his way, Aiko needs to wait for an excuse to not expose herself (She can't just kick him in the dick for being a shitty mentor to Midoriya when she shouldn't know that), but in the meantime, she's definitely winding up that boot.
Also no, for human cannonball jousting what we do is fire two people out of cannons directly at each other, have them literally covered in knives, and whichever one outlives the other wins. I mean they don't really win anything cause they're still going to almost certainly die, but it's more of a betting-type sport, like horse racing.
Bobsyouruncle03: Thank you, and more you shall get.
[BEWARE MANGA SPOILERS BELOW]
Coolpizza57: When I started this story that hadn't been revealed yet, and when it was I decided I was going to forgo that part of One For All for this story because I can't see Deku passing on OFA to someone knowing it would kill them.
I own nothing, zilch, nada… except Aiko I guess. This story does contain some spoilers for the manga, you have been warned.
Chapter 9: Let the games BEGIN!
~10 years ago/ 15 years from now~
Aiko walked through the hallways of the old Todoroki estate holding her father's hand. She looked up at his face, which wore a strange mix of determination, concern, and anger.
"Dad, I don't mind coming to see grandpa, but why are we here?"
Shoto sighed, "Because you, Aiko Todoroki, have inherited something that, frankly, I don't know how to deal with." She looked down in shame at that, only for her face to be gently cupped by her father's hand, raising it to look into his eyes. "No, sweetie, that's not what I meant… it's just that… you have a temper kiddo, and, your grandpa also had… a temper, so I hope that he'll be able to help you control it so that what happened earlier doesn't happen again." He said, referring to the hot new landscape feature crossing most of the new Todoroki estate.
They continued down the hall, stopping in front of an impressive-looking door. Shoto turned to her and motioned for her to head inside.
She stepped through the door to find Enji Todoroki, the former No. 1 hero Endeavour, Despite his advancing age and graying hair he was still a large man who exerted a feeling of power. He was sitting at his desk filling out paperwork, he looked up at the sound of the door opening and laid his eyes on his 9-year-old granddaughter shyly standing there as the door shut behind her.
"Please Aiko, sit." He gestured to a comfortable-looking armchair across from him. Aiko sat in the chair as Enji signed the bottom of the paper he was filling out and set it aside. The man's burning blue eyes met his granddaughter's cool lilac. "Your father tells me that you have a temper, granddaughter." He said, not breaking eye contact
Aiko looked away shyly. "Only when I use my fire form… maybe if I don't use it then it won't be a problem anymore, and it won't hurt anyone else."
Suddenly Enji no longer saw his granddaughter, instead, it was Shoto sitting there in her place, vowing to never use his flames. As quickly as the memory came, it faded, and he returned to the present. "Aiko, tell me what your quirk does, as you understand it."
The girl shyly pressed her fingers together. "Umm, well, depending on if I'm calm, or passionate, my body changes my hair and eye color to either my ice form or my fire form, ice if I'm calm, and fire if I'm not."
"Correct, now, does your quirk influence your emotions when you use it, or do you influence your emotions to use your quirk?" Enji leaned forward, staring at Aiko intently.
"...I don't understand." She asked.
"What is in control, Aiko?"
"I… I don't know… I have to try to be more emotional when I switch to my fire form, but I always act more recklessly when I use it." Aiko admitted.
"Hmm," Enji reclined back into his chair, "Well that certainly is troubling." He paused, his eyes scanning over Aiko. He stood up, made his way around the desk, and placed a large hand on her shoulder. "I would like you to think about your quirk, come back in a week and we will discuss it again. Can you do that, Aiko?"
After a second of pondering Aiko gave him a determined nod.
"No." Enji said firmly. "I would like your promise, as a Todoroki, that you will do your best to find the answer."
"I promise, grandfather."
Enji gave a stiff nod. He stood up and strode over to the door to his office, holding it open and gesturing for her to exit. She complied but was stopped in the entryway by a strong hand on her shoulder.
"Remember, Aiko, a Todoroki always keeps their word." With that, he let go of his granddaughter and watched as she walked back into the waiting arms of her father. Shoto gave Enji a nod and the two of them walked down the hall and out of Enji's sight, he sighed deeply and closed his office door, sinking into his chair, closing his eyes for a brief moment of peace until he felt a gust of wind sweep through the room. "So… what do you think?" He asked his not-so-mysterious visitor.
Across from him sat the current #1 hero, Deku, A.K.A Izuku Midoriya, in a casual Lemillion-themed hoodie and plain blue jeans. "Well, I think that kid has serious potential and the heart of a true hero. I felt it when I met her in that hospital room when she was five and I'm happy to see that hasn't changed."
"Hmph, as much as I'm sure she would love to hear such praise from her favorite hero, that's not what I meant Midoriya." Enji deadpanned, fixing a glare on the young hero.
"I know… based on what you told me, and how unsure she was about her control, I think she may be subconsciously separating her two forms into different people rather than just a different side of herself, it's natural for her to behave more recklessly when she lets her emotions run wild, but she's attributed that to her fire form rather than herself. To put it simply, she's developing a split personality disorder." He looked at Enji strangely, "Why not just have me tell her this rather than have her try to figure it out herself?"
The retired hero huffed, "Because thinking on her power herself will benefit her in the long run, and I know that if I have you in a room with her for any amount of time, you'll somehow inspire her to work even harder than before. In that regard, you really are just like All Might." He gained a thousand-yard stare, looking off to an invisible horizon.
"I take that as a high compliment," Deku said.
"It wasn't… Look Midoriya, I want to give her a normal childhood, something I denied my own children." He turned to give an irritated glare to Deku. "This entire situation happened because we started her quirk training early, after she begged for 4 years because she met somebody in the hospital."
Midoriya nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "I just saw a heroic little girl who needed someone to save her."
"And then you inspired her, so she began to work ten times harder to live up to your view of her. On a related note, I cannot tell you how often Shoto complains about you stealing her favorite hero spot from him."
"I know, he complains to me too." He chuckled softly, the humor in the laugh left halfway through as his expression became more tired and serious. "But, maybe that extra motivation is just what we need in the next generation of heroes." With that, another gust of wind swept through the office, and Deku was gone.
"... Maybe."
~Sports Festival Stadium: Present day~
The day of the sports festival was here. In the stadium locker room, Aiko pulled on the shirt of her UA tracksuit, the rest of the girls were in the process of getting ready as well, everyone showing some degree of nerves. Ochako was poking the pads on her fingers together, Kyoka was twirling one of her earjacks in her fingers, Momo was straightening her uniform and fixing her hair obsessively, Mina was subtly swaying to a beat only she could hear, Tsuyu was stretching off to the side making soft ribitting sounds, and Hagakure was fidgeting constantly, smoothing out any wrinkles in her uniform. Aiko sat on a bench cross-legged, meditating as her dad had taught her in hopes of her learning to control her quirk. It hadn't worked, but it was a comforting activity, so she often did it anyway.
'Pssst, Aiko, you got a minute?' Asked Nana Shimura in Aiko's mind. Cracking open an eye she saw the girls were still distracted with their pregame nerves.
'Should be fine.'
'Alright, just a second.' Aiko was pulled into her quirk space and greeted by Nana Shimura, her great grand mentor as Aiko often liked to joke, usually earning a swat in the process for making the woman feel old. She stood tall at 6'5", towering over the much shorter 5'3" Aiko. She had raven black hair and was dressed in a sleeveless black bodysuit, with yellow gloves, white boots and cape, and a red waist cape.
"Alright kid, I'll cut right to the chase, you should be ready to handle another quirk soon," Nana explained, Aiko nodding along, excited at the prospect of finally getting another quirk, her thoughts were interrupted as Nana continued. "However, we've decided, after a lot of debating, that you won't get it until you've mastered the powers you've been given."
Aiko's eyes crinkled in confusion 'What? But I mastered Float and Danger Sense, and if you're saying that you won't give me your quirks until I can use 100% then I won't be strong enough to face All For One when-'
"I'm not talking about One For All, Aiko."
'... I don't understand, why now? Why not after I've defeated All For One?'
"Well, we're doing it now because you have the time now since no one is trying to kill you. As for why not after you defeat All For One, because you need the extra power."
'But One For All and all of your quirks should be enough power, I don't understand!'
"Deku had all of that and 5 times the experience and we both know how that worked out for him!" Nana yelled, causing Aiko's eyes to widen as she floated away from Nana.
'... I'll talk to you later, Nana…" Aiko mumbled, her form fading as she began to exit her Quirk space.
"Wait, Aiko, that's not what I-" Nana began, but Aiko had already fully disappeared. "...Fuck."
A puff of white smoke appeared beside her, forming into the first user. "... I think that went well." He offered, earning a glare from the irate woman next to him.
"I'm going to punch you."
"Hahaha… wait, NANA, NO, PLEASE!"
~1A Changing Room~
"-iko, you in there girl?" Mina asked, shaking Aiko out of her meditation. Aiko blinked as her eyes focused on the pink girl.
"Uhh, yeah, I'm here, I'm here," Aiko assured.
Mina smirked "Are ya sure, cause I've been standing here shaking you for about a minute now, and you haven't reacted, like, at all. Kinda creepy if I'm being honest"
"I was lost in thought… nervous I guess."
"Aren't we all girl." Mina sympathized "Anyway, we gotta make our way down to the stadium, and everyone else already left." She gestured to the now empty locker room.
Aiko's eyes widened, "Oh shit!" She yelled. She charged up OFA at 20% and burst out of the room, grabbing Mina on the way, she dashed down the hall, the acidic girl in tow, until they arrived at their designated entrance to the arena.
All of 1-A looked over to the two late arrivals, before simultaneously turning their attention back to hyping themselves up. Mina, on the other hand, had her hands on her knees, breathing deeply.
"G-goddamnit girl, warn me next time you decide to take me for a ride!" She yelled.
A coughing fit broke out through most of the class at the pink girls unintentional double entendre, minus Mineta, who had blood dripping from his nose as he imagined something he should definitely not be, Bakugo, who just didn't care, and Todoroki, who tilted his head in confusion.
Mina's face turned purple in embarrassment as she realized what she said. "No no no, I-, we just-, we needed to get here quickie- quickLY… shut up!"
Mina's defense was ignored as most of the class began laughing. Aiko placed a comforting hand on her back, the gesture went unappreciated though, as Aiko was snickering at the girl as well.
The stadium speaker system blared to life as Present Mic's voice blasted through. "WELCOME LADIES AND GENTS, TO UA'S FIRST-YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL, I WELCOME ALL OF OUR VIEWERS, BOTH HERE AND AT HOME, NOW IN TURN, PLEASE WELCOME THIS YEAR'S CONTESTANTS."
Spotlights lit up their tunnel, signaling them to get ready, Aiko took a deep breath and put on an air of confidence.
"YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THEM IN THE NEWS, THE CLASS WHO HAVE ALREADY FENDED OFF A VILLAIN ATTACK, IT'S CLASS 1A!"
A thunderous cheer filled the stadium as Aiko and the rest of her new classmates stepped out onto the field. Making their way to the center of the stadium, she took a moment to observe her classmates. She had watched this sports festival over a dozen times in the future, but to be here, among them, was something else entirely, she could clearly see Midoriya's robotic movements, how Todoroki seemed to glare at him occasionally, and how Bakugo seemed to be glaring at Midoriya, Todoroki, and her. She met his glare with one of her own, his crimson eyes staring into her own lilac before he broke the staring contest with a growl, looking angrily towards the center podium.
"UP NEXT, THEY HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY SPOTLIGHT, BUT DON'T COUNT THEM OUT JUST YET, IT'S CLASS 1-B!"
1-A's sister class walked out of another entrance to the stadium and approached the center. Aiko recognized a couple of them, like Battle Fist, Real Steel, and Lizardy. Most noticeable however was the new addition to their class, a purple-haired, tired-looking student who brings the total number of students in Class 1-B to 21. Hitoshi Shinso, AKA the underground hero Siren, was with class 1-B, whereas in the original timeline he was still in the general studies program, it was another difference caused by Aiko's interference. He swept over her class with a speculative gaze, before finally settling on her. Their eyes met for an instant, a glint of recognition appearing in his eyes, but it just as quickly dissipated as he moved on.
'I wonder what that was about?' She thought.
The arrival of 8 other groups of students to the crowd brought her back to reality, she looked around at all the new faces realizing she had stopped paying attention to Mic's announcement. Aiko turned to the stage just in time to see Midnight sauntering up the steps, the heroine's costume leaving nothing to the imagination, as it put an entirely new definition to the term, 'skin-tight'.
The crowd, both in the arena and the stands, began to mummer about the heroine and costume on stage, the majority of the males in the stadium, (and a sizable chunk of the girls) were enthralled at the sight, a couple of the more perverted ones were actually drooling, while others looked like they might catch fire any moment from the luminescent blushes across their faces.
"All right kids, listen up!" Midnight yelled, accompanied by a crack from her whip. "The first event of the day…" She gestured grandly to the screen behind her. The screen flashed briefly before displaying 'OBSTACLE RACE', brightly across it. "Is this!"
"Contestants will be racing in a fight to the finish in a 4 kilometer track spanning the outside of the stadium, while also finding their way past any obstacles we put in their way, there are only two rules, you must stay on the course, and you cannot attempt to injure other competitors. But that's not all folks, we only have a limited number of spots in the next round, and quite a few students fighting to fill them, so it's a guarantee that it's going to get rough between our contestants, so while attempting to injure someone is not allowed, ensuring your victory by sabotaging your opponents is encouraged!" Midnight explained.
"THANK YOU, TO OUR WONDERFUL REFEREE! NOW, IF ALL OUR CONTESTANTS COULD GATHER AT THE STARTING LINE, WE CAN GET THIS PARTY SSSTAAARRRTED!"
The mass of students began shuffling over to the starting line, some muscling their way in front of their peers to get an early advantage. Aiko stood near the back of the pack, observing how everyone positioned themselves. Or at least she would be if she didn't have so much on her mind, a swirl of thoughts clogging her mind as she waited for the buzzer to sound. Her conversation with Nana, how much she'd changed since coming back, but the most prevalent issue lay in the red and white-haired boy in front of her.
She took a deep breath, 'One thing at a time Aiko.' She thought to herself, focusing up as the stadium screen began the countdown.
3...
The contestants got into a running position
2...
Aiko spared a glance to Midoriya, who was in the middle of the pack staring forward with determination.
1…
The stadium was dead silent, everyone waiting with bated breath as the countdown ended.
START!
All around her the crowd of students exploded into motion, running towards a narrow tunnel. Aiko just flew up, remembering what the real first challenge of the obstacle race was.
As she burst forward through the uncontested top of the tunnel she heard the shouts and complaints of the students below her as they all tried to squeeze past each other. At the front of the pack was 1-A, and a couple members of 1-B. At the front however was the powerhouse trio, Todoroki, sliding forward on a thin sheet of ice, Bakugo, propelling himself forward with explosions, and Midoriya, cloaked in green electricity. Midoriya was dashing forward at full speed, slightly outpacing the other two, something that seemed to irritate them both immensely.
"DEKU, GET BACK HERE!" Bakugo screamed, unleashing a large explosion behind himself, blasting after the dashing Midoriya.
"Interesting, I didn't know you had a new trick Midoriya," Todoroki said, before looking back towards the advancing swarm of students, and slightly shifted his foot.
KRSHHNK
A wall of ice covered the exit of the tunnel as Todoroki turned to chase after the other two.
Aiko smirked seeing the difference her tutoring had made as Midoriya gained an early lead, but had a more immediate concern she was rocketing towards.
"Not a chance Da-,Todoroki! She corrected herself.
'OFA 15% +Float: SUBSONIC SMASH!'
She shot forward in a blur, her arm cocked back as she flew past the competition and slammed it forward into the icy wall. A devastating crack reverberated through the tunnel as the wall shattered entirely, exploding outward from the force as shards dug into the surrounding area like shrapnel from a grenade.
Aiko smirked, admiring her handiwork briefly, she saw that Class A and B took full advantage of her removal of the obstacle and rushed forward, Aiko laughed, barrelling past them as she began her pursuit of the top three. The sight of her leaving shook many of the students from other courses from their silent stupor at witnessing the destructive act, and they rushed forward after them.
~In a stadium bathroom~
An echoing flush sounded from the private box level bathroom in the stadium, followed by the sounds of a running sink, and finally, the noisy blowing of an air dryer as the withered form of Toshinori Yagi burst from forth from within and let out an awkward cough.
"Damnit, I knew I shouldn't have eaten those burritos last night. I hope I haven't missed anything." He mumbled to himself as he trudged over to the Teacher's box
As he approached he heard the familiar sound of his phone's ringtone, which he'd left in his seat, and the yelling of his fellow teachers.
*bzzt* A PHONE CALL IS HERE! *bzzt*
"Goddamn it, why is that his ringtone!?" Yelled Ectoplasm.
"I don't know!" Screamed Power-Loader, intensely frustrated. "The better question is why can't I make it stop!?"
*bzzt* A PHONE CALL IS HERE! *bzzt*
"That's it! Time to test if this thing is bulletproof!" Exclaimed Snipe.
"Wait Snipe, it's a Nokia don-" Power-Loader tried to warn him, but it was too late.
A gunshot rang out followed by several frightened yelps as the bullet ricochet off the phone and bounced back at the teachers. There was a moment of silence.
"...Did it work?" Snipe said in a hopeful voice.
*bzzt* A PHONE CALL IS HERE! *bzzt*
"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!" All three teachers yelled.
As All Might finally opened the door to the box he was greeted by the infuriated stares of his colleagues. Drinks and pieces of debris-covered the floor of the once pristine viewing box, and a number of the comfortable chairs now sported bullet holes from the Gun sporting hero's attempt at peace and quiet. The tense staredown was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing once more.
*bzzt* A PHONE CALL IS HERE *bzzt*
"Do ya… wanna get that pardner?" Snipe said, his voice far too friendly considering he was thumbing the holster of his gun.
All Might gulped at the implied threat. Bullets couldn't usually hurt him, but he knew that Snipe kept a couple of high-impact rounds on his person at all times. They still wouldn't hurt him but it would certainly feel like he was being punched by the Nomu from the USJ again. He smiled at the hero awkwardly and walked over to his phone, picking it up and looking at the screen.
'17 missed calls? Who would want to get in touch so bad they called 17 times in a row without an answer?' He wondered
As he finished that thought, the phone started ringing again. He looked down at the Caller ID, his eye's widening in fear.
Gran Torino
"... Oh god no..." He whimpered, rushing into the hall to take his call, praying that his former teacher wouldn't take offence to being unanswered for so long.
~Back on the Obstacle Course.~
"AHHHHHHHHH, I'M GONNA DIEEEE!" Screamed Izuku as he sprinted away at top speed from the Deku-seeking missile rocketing after him.
"GET BACK HERE DEKUUUU!" Screamed the missile in question, one Katsuki Bakugo. "I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR STEALING THE LEAD FROM ME!"
The two were out of sight of the rest of the contestants at this point, as it turns out, fear and rage are both excellent motivators when trying to move as fast as you can. Izuku wasn't sure whether Bakugo remembered the 'no injuring each other' rule, but he certainly wasn't trying to be the one to find out.
Unfortunately for him, it seemed he wouldn't have a choice in the matter as the wrathful blonde was gaining on him.
"Please Kacchan, we can talk about this!" He begged.
"THERE'S NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT, DIE DEKU!" Bakugo screamed as he finally caught up to him, he reached for the terrified greenette, the signature glow of an explosion preparing in his palm, when it was interrupted by a mighty crash as a metal body rammed into him, flinging him off to the side. Thinking quickly, Bakugo used a small explosion midair to right himself and land on his feet. He glared back at his attacker as Midoriya took a leap back. Having been blinded by fear and rage respectively, neither had managed to notice that they had stumbled into the first obstacle of the race.
"NOW LADIES AND GENTS, WELCOME TO THE ROBO INFERNO!" Announced Present Mic.
Surrounding Midoriya and Bakugo on all sides was a horde of one, two, and three-pointer robots from the entrance exam. That wasn't the issue though, the main issue was the group of skyscrapers on wheels known as zero pointers that blocked the exit to the rest of the course.
Without warning one of the two pointers, a robot with a scorpion-like tail lunged forward at Izuku, attempting to grab him with its tail. As the robot approached he noticed two things, one, this robot was the fastest of the three designs, but it had nothing on Aiko's speed, who he'd been sparring with for the past two weeks, and two, it wasn't faster than him either.
He effortlessly dodged through the tail attack and brought his fist towards the robot's face.
'5% Detroit Smash!'
The robot's head crushed inwards under his fist and it fell backwards in a sparking heap. 'I can do this!' Izuku thought with an internal cheer.
He heard a whoop from far above him and turned to see Aiko floating 50 feet in the air clapping. "Yeah, kick their metal ass Midoriya!" She cheered with a laugh.
"Hmph, it's just a stupid robot, I destroyed these in the entrance exam like nothing, don't give the stupid nerd too much credit," Bakugo said with a smirk.
"I don't know what you're smirking about," Aiko said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I've been here the whole time dude, I saw you get your shit wrecked by that robot." Aiko began giggling, "I'm gonna find that video clip the second this festival's over."
"YOU BETTER N-… I MEAN… SHUT THE HELL UP!"
At this point, the rest of the students showed up, led by Todoroki and Iida, one of whom glared at Aiko for having the nerve to pass him, while the other glared at Bakugo for having the nerve to swear.
"Language Bakugo, you are here representing this great institution, you should conduct yourself accordingly!" Iida ranted
"SHUT IT FOUR-EYES!" He yelled.
"Guys, let's focus on getting past the obstacle first!" Called Midoriya as he destroyed a 3-pointer with an uppercut, keeping a wary eye on the watchful zero-pointer robots, they seemed to be staying put for now but who knew when that would change.
"Hmmm, well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm gonna go win the rest of the race now. But since I'm a just and benevolent god," She continued jokingly. "I'll be sure to leave the door open so you can all follow."
"What does that me-"
Without warning Aiko took off like a bullet, piercing the head of the leftmost robot. A series of explosions erupted from across its massive body as Aiko burst through the other end, and streaked towards the next robot. The titanic robot teetered in place for a moment before falling backward and crashing to the ground. Aiko reached the second robot and pierced a hole in its side. She flew through and punched through its interior supports. To the watching crowd, it looked as though the robot collapsed in on itself as it lost the ability to support its own weight. Aiko reappeared through her original hole in the side accompanied by a large explosion.
With a gleeful grin, she turned to the rest of the students. "I figured I'd leave the rest to you, let you guys strut your stuff a bit." She gave a friendly little wave and took off at top speed.
"GET BACK HERE ALBINO-BITCH!"
Ignoring Bakubitch, Aiko continued on through the course, the sounds of robot on student violence fading in the distance.
Due to the newfound quiet, she found she was able to hear Present Mic's commentary over the stadium loudspeakers.
~Inside the Announcer's booth~
"AND YAOYOROZU MANAGES TO TAKE DOWN THE LAST 0-POINTER! WHERE DID SHE PULL THAT CANNON FROM LADIES AND GENTS?"
"It's her quirk Mic…" Responded Eraserhead in an exhausted tone.
"SHUUUT UP BEST BUDDY, YOU'RE CRAMPING ON MY STYLE!" Mic continued, not losing a beat. "BUT EVEN AS THEY ADVANCE, IT'S CLEAR THAT NONE OF THEM WILL BE ABLE TO CATCH UP TO THE CLEAR LEADER OF THIS RACE, CLASS 1A'S AIIIKOOO AIIZAAWAAA!"
Promptly choking on her own spit, Aiko crashed into the ground below her, skidding to a stop 20 feet later and leaving a small trench in her wake.
"WOAH! LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING KNOCKED HER RIGHT OUT OF THE AIR!"
"Don't worry, she just got psychically slapped down by a rat, congratulations on your surprise adoption problem child, the rat said to tell you, next time don't prank the faculty." Dadzawa deadpanned. "Also you better get at least 3rd place or I'm disowning you."
"That's a little harsh, don't you think Eraser?" Mic said, speaking quietly for once.
Eraserhead leaned forward and flicked the broadcast off-switch with his cast and looked at Mic in such a way that even under the mummified face he could tell that the man was raising an eyebrow at him. "I will be genuinely surprised if she doesn't win this whole damn thing Mic. I asked Nezu to put her in the 3rd year division against Togata just to keep it somewhat fair, but he started on a rant about Timey Wimey Wibbly Wobbly stuff so I just took a nap."
"...Oh… You really think she's that good?"
"Mic, you weren't there, but apparently while I was unconscious at the USJ she kept up with the villain that was supposed to kill All Might." He gestured to the stadium screens that showed the main group of students just now exiting the first obstacle area while the hero courses led by Bakugo, Todoroki, and Midoriya closed in on the 2nd obstacle, where Aiko currently lay in her ditch. "This is just racing a pre-quirk Olympic sprinter against some kindergarteners. It's obvious who's going to win, and it's irrational to think otherwise."
"Well, I guess we'll see soon won't we." He pointed to Aiko as she climbed up out of her ditch. Flipping the broadcast switch back on he yelled. "OHHHH YEAAHHHH LADIES AND GENTS, IT LOOKS LIKE SHE'S RECOVERED FROM HER BRIEF MAKEOUT SESSION WITH THE GROUND! NOW BACK TO IT GIRL!"
SMACK
"OW! ERASER STOP HITTING ME WITH YOUR CAST!" Mic yelled in pain.
"Don't embarrass my daughter."
"YOU JUST THREATENED TO DISOWN HER!"
"Semantics."
~Back on the course~
"Ok, a new addition to the plan," Aiko stated as she stood up and dusted herself off. "Finish the race as quickly as possible to ensure I have time to find and beat the shit out of a smug rat in a suit and a leather-obsessed yellow cockatiel." She began floating slightly off the ground as she internally monologued. 'Well I guess this does make me Eri's legally adopted sister now, and Eraserhead is really cool… so maybe I'll cut the rat some slack.' She turned to look at a Camera drone flying by. 'Gonna go harder on Mic though to make up the difference.' Her monologuing was interrupted by the sound of rapidly approaching explosions.
"HA, I FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO YOU ALBINO," Screamed Bakugo as he raged towards her, Midoriya and Todoroki hot on his heels. "NOW FACE THE WRATH OF THE MIGHTY-" Aiko sped off without warning, clearing the remaining difference between her and the second obstacle in an instant. "FUCK!"
The second obstacle was a vast pit which Aiko could not see the bottom of, scattered across the pit were various columns of rock connected to each other by rope, it was obvious that contestants were supposed to use the ropes to precariously cross the chasm, but if someone was able to fly it was a major advantage, as they could just skip the obstacle entirely, that someone was Aiko, who flew ahead again, leaving a cursing Bakugo behind her as she rocketed towards the finish line.
Two minutes later she touched down past the 3rd and final obstacle, a minefield, and calmly strolled through the entrance and back into the stadium.
"IN A CLEAR FIRST PLACE WITH A TIME OF 4 MINUTES AND 23 SECONDS, FINISHING BEFORE THE OTHER CONTESTANTS EVEN ARRIVED AT THE FINAL OBSTACLE, IT'S AIKO AIZAWAAAAA!" Announced Present Mic as she stepped foot into the stadium. The crowd went absolutely ballistic, as the viewing screens showed a brief replay of her destroying the two zero-pointers.
Even over the roar of the crowd, she could hear a faint "GODDAMN IIIIIIT!" from the course behind her as Bakugo heard the announcement of her victory.
With a victorious smile on her face, she turned to one of the screens as they turned back to show the remaining contestants beginning to trickle into the third and final obstacle, the minefield.
'I can't help but wonder how this will play out now that you can rely on your quirk and not just your intelligence, Deku.' Aiko questioned as she watched her mentor turned trainee reach the minefield neck in neck with his two biggest competitors. 'But first, I have a hero to punch, and a rat to find.
Up in the booth, Mic turned to look at Eraserhead. "Why do I suddenly feel scared?"
VEGETA LIIIIIVES! So yeah, I am in fact still trying to update this story, I got a full-time job and have been unsuccessfully working on finding time to work on this story around that (Also this chapter was just really hard to write for some reason. Now that I'm back in the swing of things kinda sorta I'm gonna try to set a lowball goal of 1 or 2 chapters a month and see where things go from there.
Also a couple of things I wanted to mention
Let me know if you want these flashback scenes to be their own chapters or just continue to be at the start of regular chapters.
While Todoroki was always going to be Aiko's dad, I actually used a randomizer with all the class 1A girls to choose her Mom (Also if you think you know share your guess with me in a review, I'm kinda curious, I haven't dropped many specifics yet but there have been a couple of clues.)
Finally… there is no three. I just like having lists of three.
In any case, if you enjoy my work please follow, or favorite, I really appreciate it, and as always, any comments, questions, reviews, and challenges to duel to the death old western style at a ninja village in space are welcome.