"Mr. Nakamoto!"

Kaito all of a sudden regained a sense of his surroundings. The first thing that he had noticed was that his heart was beating so fast that it felt as though it was trying to burst right out of his chest. At the same time, he struggled to regain control of his breathing which at the moment was ragged. Once he got those two things under control, he noticed the two people in front of him.

One was an ordinary looking female in her 30s in a standard nurse's uniform. Next to her was a boy in his early 20s wearing a UA uniform. The tie the boy was wearing was white with twin green snakes twirling around a staff embroidered upon it, and on the lapels of the blazer and shoulder pads were three white bars, signifying that this was a third-year pre-med student. He then immediately turned his gaze up and around. The ceiling was ridiculously high up and the walls were a dull dark grey brick. Closer and immediately near him were what appeared to be a set of folding white curtains creating a small cordoned off section. He then noticed the buzz of other chatter around him.

"Mr. Nakamoto!" the third year called to him once more and Kaito turned to make eye-contact with him once more.

"Yes?" He asked. No, his voice most certainly did not croak. "Where am?! I don't remember coming here." The third year's features softened at the statement and his voice took a much softer tone.

"You are in one of the other loading docks of the stadium. Different from the one you came in through. It has been converted into a temporary medical facility to treat injuries as a result of the first and second tasks. The facilities in the main infirmary are only going to be used for the third task where UA alumni who are in their final years of their medical residency will be assisting Recovery Girl."

"Why did you tell me all that stuff?" Kaito asked, staring blankly at the third year, who just performed an info dump on him.

"Simple, to help ground you back into reality. You are now winding on down from a serious panic attack." He explained as he took the stethoscope from around his shoulders and with Kaito's consent, lifted up his shirt to listen to his calming heartbeat. "You went through quite the ordeal at the end of the first round. I'd recommend taking it easy till the start of the next task. You got about 45 minutes before you need to head on back to the field. That's mainly so the University can make extra coin, either through people at home watching commercials or people here buying souvenirs and concessions."

"Um… am I good to go?" Kaito asked, hating how soft and meek his voice sounded.

"You got no physical injuries to speak of, so you are all good to be escorted on up to the student concourse." The 3-C student said cheerfully, patting his shoulder. "Just be aware that if you need to talk to anyone, there are retired pro heroes who have set up shop in some of the spare private booths. You'll just have to wait here for an escort."

With that, the pre-med student and nurse left, leaving Kaito alone with his thoughts. This was not a good thing because his mind flashed back to Hiro's voice, begging him to stop hurting him. Guilt and dread started to encompass his body starting from his heart, reaching all the way to his extremities. Gratefully, he did not have long to himself as there was a knocking on one of the poles holding the curtains up that made up his cube of space. He jumped off of the rollaway bed he was sitting on as the curtain was pulled back, only to be greeted by –

"Fat-Gum?" He asked in surprise. He hadn't seen the BMI hero in person in a year or so. It was him who helped him finally get away from his parents. Something that he and Hiro had in common and bonded over while preparing for his trail.

"The one and only kiddo!" The large man in yellow cackled as he patted the young man's grey hair and a smile blossomed across his freckled face at the affection. "I saw what you did out there kid! You were absolutely fantastic! Hey! Why the frown?"

"I hurt my friends— "

"Nope! Uh-Unh!" Fat interrupted, shaking his head from side to side. "You did no such thing. Let me let you in on a little secret. That was one of Koro-san's special super moves. To make things plain and simple, he uses his tentacles to put his targets into such a serene state of bliss that they would follow any command he gives them, all while ignoring the calls and suggestions of others. So, in other simpler words, you aren't at fault or to blame for what your body did back there, and your friends know that. I mean after all; you had a giant yellow tentacle wrapped around yah!"

"Um… I guess you're right." Kaito sighed with a nod of his head.

"Oh, and before we head on upstairs. I got a message I need to give you while we still have some privacy." Fat-Gum quickly whispered, causing Kaito to tilt his head in puzzlement. "It's from Koro-San, but you probably know him better as Euphoria-Sensei." This caused Kaito to stiffen as he for a moment thought that he was about to be punished

"Aww. There is no need for that look." Fat said calmly as he petted the teen's hair once more. "He wanted to be the one who escorted you back up to the student's concourse, but he thought better not. Anyways, he wanted to let you know that he holds absolutely no ill will towards you. Oh, and he also wanted me to explain exactly why he target you rather than the other hero course students or the armed kids from support. He considered you the biggest threat out of all of them."

Kaito's mouth dropped open at that revelation a s his brain stopped working for just a second. "But sir, that doesn't make sense. I… I'm just some guy in the business course."

This comment caused Fat to simply nod his head, "But don't forget, he happens to be your homeroom teacher." Fat started to reason as he rubbed Kaito's back, "Most people in his shoes would've gone for someone like Midoriya to control. However, he knew that you could become an excellent hero if you put in the effort." This caused Kaito to slump his shoulders and a look of dejection crossed his face.

"Yeah, I guess…" he muttered out in a whisper, "But society would never let the son of those bastards ever possess a hero license."

"Yeah, society might throw a fit when or if they ever find out about your past. You'll just have to prove them all wrong. And, if the media comes after me for supporting such a young man, I'll tell them this: It doesn't matter where one starts out in life. We cannot pick our origins, so therefore it is ridiculous to judge somebody on such as basis. What one should judge somebody on is what they choose to do once they start to carve a path for themselves. Now come on, we've stayed here long enough. I hear there are some delectable snacks for the taking upstairs."

With that, Fat-Gum patted Kaito's shoulder as he finally jumped off the bed and left the infirmary. He and Fat exited out into a packed utility corridor with a cathedral sized ceiling. Packed with traffic, Kaito had to weave in and out a lot through the mess of heroes and robots carrying merchandise and food stuffs putted on through. They eventually reached a freight elevator being guarded by a young-looking hero that he could not recognize. He asked for Kaito's student ID and Fat's hero license. He inserted both cards one after each other into the slot underneath the controls for the lift. This led to him, and Fat being scanned by an orange light emitting from above the door, it eventually flashed green which approved them for transport. They had to stay and wait for the lift, why they did this, they saw the process repeat for a couple of robots carry merchandise and food.

Eventually the freight elevator's doors opened, and they were allowed to board with the robots. The journey was relatively short, but they had to wait for the robots to disembark and for other robots and minor heroes to get onboard on other stops. Eventually they reached their stop and with a slight hand to his back, Fat encouraged Kaito to exit the elevator and into a backstage hallway and through a pair of EMPLOYEE ONLY double doors into the main student concourse.

The place was a bustling well of numerous first years in a rainbow of PE Uniforms. The side he was facing was full of glass doors and walls showcasing private booths, but some of the booths' glass walls were frosted for privacy. The other side of the walkway was dominated with storefronts of smalls shops, quick service food pick up windows, and various stands selling a mishmash of souvenirs and trinkets. He had to stifle a chuckle as he saw that the most popular stand was selling t-shirts and hoodies all with the same text written across the front in both Japanese and English: "I participated in the UA Sports Festival and Survived!"

"Looking at getting one?" Fat chuckled and Kaito nodded with a small grin. "I got one for each year I was at UA. There are somewhere though I have no clue where. Where do you think the rest of your friends are?"

"Probably the 1-B private booth." Kaito guessed.

"Well then you best start heading right instead of left, otherwise you'd be walking for a long time." Fat advised as he gave Kaito one final pat on the shoulder. "Think you are good to head off on your own?" Kaito nodded his head and then headed on off to the right with one final wave goodbye to his favorite hero.

He milled his way on through the crowd as he both looked for booth B and the various other stands. They weren't allowed to bring any cash or credit cards with them for quote on quote 'liability reasons' which was annoying. They had to pay with their student account and their student IDs. Only problem with this was that his aunt and uncle had only put about 5,000 Yen on his account. The limited edition hoodie was 4,000 yen. This meant he now had to choose between a hoodie or stadium priced food, and counting in the fact that the free food in the private booths was already gone by now…

"Do you want the hoodie Kaito?" Kaito's heart jumped at the suddenness of being called out and immediately recognizing the owner of the voice. Feeling his face redden, he turned around to see HIM, right behind him who also blushed every so slightly at seeing Kaito's rosy cheeks.

"Ummm… I was debating about getting one before they sell out…" The grey-haired teen managed to stutter out while inwardly cursing his raging hormones.

"I wouldn't bother." Hiro went on to explain, "Izuku and I came up together and at seeing the large crowd swarming the stall, we decided it would be safer and more prudent if we bought one for each of our friends before they ran out." Almost as if on cue, the salesman was shouting into the crowd that he was now out of the mediums, resulting in the crowd moaning and complaining

"But that must have cost you 32,000 yen!" Kaito exclaimed at the nonchalant revelation about dropping that amount of money on his friends on a whim.

"Don't worry about the money." Hiro waved off bashfully, starting to look uncomfortable himself. "Both mine and Izuku's student accounts are linked directly to our dad's credit card." It was clear right and straight away that Hiro did not intend to phrase his answer in such a manner as his face immediately drained of color and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Wait, dad?" Kaito yelped, and then looked quickly around to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. However, Hiro was taking no chances and grabbed Kaito's arm and dragged him down the hall in the opposite direction of the classroom booths, only stopping when they were alone outside of the private VIP booths with frosted glass.

"What did you think you were doing dragging me all the way over here like that?" Kaito squeaked as he rubbed his now sore arm, "If you were hoping not to draw too much attention to yourself, you've just done the opposite. People were staring at us."

"Okay! I'm sorry!" Hiro huffed, his face reddening once more, clashing violently with his periwinkle blue hair. "But you have to understand this is highly personal and embarrassing information. Izuku and I agree that it is only a matter of time before our mother pops the question and asks Mr. Yagi to marry her."

"But isn't it more traditional for the man to ask the woman?" Kaito asked, all confused at the idea.

"Dear goodness, I forgot how much of a twisted and fucked up environment you grew up in. Not like I can claim much better." Hiro groaned and Kaito winced. In preparation for the trial, Kaito had told Hiro that his parents were part of the same group that ran the orphanage that he grew up in. He however flat out refused to go into any detail about the specifics that his parents were arrested and charged for doing when it comes to how they were assisting that organization. He would rather that such information never reaches anybody's ears.

"Listen, such practices were already on their way out before the dawn of quirks, and they completely kicked the bucket a few decades after quirks were everywhere. Besides, don't you remember what my mom can be like sometimes? Don't you try and tell me that she would let some ruleset by the ancient patriarchy dictate her relationship?"

"No, not at all." Kaito grimaced, as he imagined how Ms. Midoriya would act if some stranger off the street would dare imply that she wasn't acting like a proper lady. "But that brings me back to my question, when did they start becoming mom and dad?"

"Well, you see…" Hiro started, but then paused to take in a deep breath and to double check that nobody indeed listening in on them. "Izuku was actually the first tall Mr. Yagi dad. We were up late one night in Might Tower not long after moving in, and we were talking about personal stuff and my brother claimed it just slipped on out."

"So… when did you start doing so?" Kaito asked, earning a glare from his friend for interrupting him.

"Well… It was when I was trapped in that bunker during the trial." Hiro explained while fidgeting, the time he spent in the bunker under the courthouse was not one he would willingly choose to look back on. "Tenya was already asleep, and I started to well… freak out almost every time I nearly nodded off. So Izuku and I were essentially up all night that one night. We started just chatting about stuff. The topic of conversation kept changing every fifteen minutes or so. Eventually, we got a conversation where he called Mr. Yagi dad. We then debated how long it would take for them to get married. Izuku eventually asked why I never called them that."

"So… I went on to explain saying that it simply didn't feel right given that they weren't legally my parents yet because I have yet to be formally adopted by his mother. That's when Izuku smacked me getting all angry and tersely reminded me that it was a 'when' rather than an 'if' in terms of his mom getting legal parental recognition over me, and that I'm already part of the family already. So yeah, Izuku kinda just bullied me into calling them mom and dad!"

"So, essentially, you so called not currently legally your brother figure made the extra effort to essentially bully you into calling them mom and dad?" Kaito asked and Hiro nodded. However, before either of them could recover from their laughter, the door to the private booth they were standing in front of opened. Out came Hiro's fellow hero course student Shoto Todoroki, his homeroom teacher Aizawa, and a woman with grey hair in a plain black dress.

"Friends of yours Shoto?" the woman asked as she observed the young men.

"Not currently." Todoroki dully said in his infamous monotone voice. "We have barely interacted with each other mother."

"Well, you could always try making more friends. You can't be a loner forever Shoto." The woman now identified as Todoroki's mother said in a sad and wistful tone, but then her facial features changed to a similar way Hiro and seen Inko when she was mad at Izuku. "Well, I'm off Shoto back to the family section to sit with your brothers and sister. I seriously hope you follow through with the promise I had you just give me. I'd really hate to make your lovely teacher's time to have me escorted back here to repeat the same lecture once more?"

"Yes mother! Of course, mother!"

With that, she started walking away, side by side with Aizawa who nodded at the two boys in turn. Then Todoroki turned to Kaito and Hiro, "How much did you hear?"

"Nothing!" Kaito said rather quickly, causing Todoroki slightly to raise a single eyebrow. "No! Seriously! We both came here to have a private conversation of our own. How much of our conversation did you hear?!"

Todoroki immediately blushed, not expecting to have an Uno Reverse pulled on him. "I didn't hear anything. We had no idea there was anyone outside till we opened the door."

"WILL ALL FIRST YEAR STUDENTS PLEASE TURN THEIR ATTENTION TOWARDS THE MONITORS DISPLAYED THROUGHOUT THE STADIUM!" Called out Present Mic's voice through the PA. Immediately, the three teens instinctively as one turned towards the nearest TV screen which was above the entrance of the private booth they happened to be standing in front of. Displayed on the screen was the UA seal and coat of arms, but it was quickly replaced with an image of both Midnight and Present Mic sitting at the desk of the announcer's booth. Clearly Midnight was only there because Eraserhead was occupied with a different task. The concourse that was loud merely seconds ago had fallen eerily quiet.

"The point totals for the first task have been finally tabulated!" Mic shouted, doing his trademark finger guns. "Although the final tallies might not be what you think!"

"A panel of judges consisting of retired pro heroes and randomly selected UA Alumni have gone back and reviewed the footage of all students who managed to escape the labyrinth." Midnight cut in, smiling at the camera, giving a long pause to extenuate the tension in the air. "Those students who displayed their intelligence by walking in and straight out may have completed the challenge before anyone else, but all of you who did have the lowest scores currently overall. You may have also been eliminated from the tournament if the number of people who faced the horror below and later escaped is greater than the cutoff for the second task."

"That's because we never got a chance to see all of those sick sweet moves yo!" Mic shouted, getting a momentary grimace from Midnight for his word choice, "Those of you who did face the horrors and terrors below have been judged and scored on a variety of criteria such as teamwork and craftiness."

"So, you all want to know who first place is…" Midnight taunted in her sexy voice, licking her tongue against her lips, "Well with 263 points…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"We are more than proud to announce that Class 1-B's Izuku Midoriya has earned overall first place in the first task!"

"This decision was made by the panel of judges with the following important notes." Mic coughed as he was seen picking up a piece of paper, giving it a flourish as he held it up in front of him and started reading from it. "The panel of judges were greatly impressed by his quirkless combat skills, clearly high intelligence, ability to adapt to rapidly changing scenarios, and also his willingness to not let his pride get in his way and accept help from others, including non-hero course students. Looks like our first-year representative is living up to his earning title eh Midnight?"

"Most certainly. He's also most certainly got the dashing beauty to go with all that might brawn." The R-rated Heroine said with a sadistic hum to her voice. Internally Hiro raged at this. This was his brother she was talking about! If she ever visited his home again, he'd consider telling her off about the whole sexualization of his brother. "But anyways, as anyone who has been at the top of the hero rankings will tell you, things aren't exactly easy up there, nor is staying there. That's exactly why our dear students and only our dear student will have to face an extra tribulation during the second task. Speaking of the second task, do you think it is finally the time we announce exactly what it is my dear friend?"

"YEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! That is a splendid idea my wonderful co-host! As you all just saw during the first task, the concept was based on the myth of the minotaur! The second task also comes from Greek Mythology, specifically Hercules and his twelve labors! No, we aren't exactly going to make all of our participating students complete all twelve labors. Only four labors will have to be completed to earn a spot in the final task!"

"But this is UA! Who would we be without putting our own special twist and interpretation on top of everything?" Midnight cooed as she made her eyes give off an evil sparkle as she stared into the camera. "The second task will be a team up event! But don't get too excited dear kiddies, your groups have already been decided for you by the same panel of judges who assigned your point scores during the first task. You will be put into teams of four! That means that each of you will need to complete one labor each before your team can cross the finish line. Surrounding this stadium are 4 areas where the tasks will take place. Each task must be completed by each team member and return to the main stadium here in order to qualify for the final task. The one exception of course is for Mr. First Place."

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! You said it! The super lucky listeners that are paired with Midoriya will have to complete a fifth labor and Midoriya himself will automatically be assigned to that labor! And oh boy! What a doozy that labor is going to be!"

"Now now Mic. No need to give too much away. Competitors! At the end of this broadcast, the last four digits of your student ID numbers will appear on the screens throughout the stadium next to your assigned waiting room number. It is only when you arrive at your waiting room that you'll figure out who your partners are. Once assembled, you will enter your names as to which priority you want each person for each labor. After the waiting period is over, you will all be bussed to your task sites. Once the task begins, you'll enter the trial area and only then realize which labor you are facing based on your selected preferences made in the waiting room. That's enough for you all! You all have fifteen minutes to get to your waiting room and discuss strategies with your teammates before you will be bussed on out! GOOD LUCK AND PLUS ULTRA!"

And with that, the screen turned blue with the UA coat of arms as a watermark in the center of the screen as list of numbers scrolled on by.

"There I am!" Kaito called out as he saw his last four digits appear on the scrolling screen. "Looks like I need to go to waiting room seven to find out who is on my team. What is your waiting room Hiro?"

"Four…" Hiro grounded out, not happy that his friend was going to be on an opposing team. He just hoped that he was at least friendly with one or two people on his team. He didn't know who else even passed or not to be potentially on his team. It was then that he jumped when a robotized voice came over the stadium's PA.

"Will all students who are participating in second task please proceed to their assigned waiting rooms. Any students who do not make it to their assigned waiting rooms in a timely manner may face disqualification from the sports festival and academic disciplinary action."

That caused both boys to jump as they turned around to notice Todoroki had already left them and then Hiro quickly turned to his friend. "We better hurry on down there."

"But I haven't had anything to eat yet!" Kaito groaned out as the two of them headed towards one of the hero guarded elevators to head on down to the meeting rooms.

"Don't worry." Hiro said in what he thought was a reassuring voice as they passed a concession stand. "Hold on, wait a second Kaito."

"Hiro?! What are you doing?!" Kaito called out in alarm, his eyes going wide with shock at what his friend was doing. "You just can't cut in line!"

"They'll understand." Hiro placated his friend as he placed his hands around his mouth as embarrassment flooded through Kaito.

"EXCUSE ME! My friend and I need to quickly head on downstairs but haven't found time to eat anything yet! Could you please let us through to the front, so we don't risk disqualification!" And just like that the crowd parted and to Kaito's surprise he didn't hear much grumbling. "We will take two helpings of grilled chicken yakatori and two cans of orange Pussy Hydration to go."

"You don't have to do this Hiro." Kaito grimaced as he watched Hiro press his student ID against the scanner, paying for both of their meals.

"No, I don't." Hiro said with a smile on his face as he took their food from the man behind the counter and gave Kaito his own portion of the food. "But now that I'm in a position in life where I can now give to others, I just find it kind of addicting."

Eating on their way, they quickly rushed towards the elevators where they were greeted by a guard who was wondering if they were going to even show up. Apparently, they were the last two to head on downstairs to the prep rooms. They were rushed into the elevator once having their student ID's scanned once more and then they descended once more into the bowels of the stadium.

Upon the opening of the elevator doors, they were greeted by two pro heroes neither of the boys recognized and that's when they were split up. Kaito heading towards the right and Hiro heading down to the left. The stark white walls and tile of the passage did nothing to calm the ever-increasing nerves of both boys as they headed towards their respective holding rooms.

Upon arriving to the rooms four and seven, both boys took a deep breath before the hero escorting them punched in the passcodes for the rooms.

"Hiro/Kaito?!"

Both boys entered their respective rooms and both were greeted by all familiar and friendly faces. Staring back at Kaito where: Izuku, Skyler and Tenya. Meanwhile staring back at Hiro where: Alex, Reiko, and Felix.

"Come on!" Alex groaned as Hiro closed the door behind him as he entered, "There is absolutely no way this is a coincidence!"

"It would appear to be that way." Reiko agreed, nervously picking at the sleeve of her red and white PE uniform.

Meanwhile back in Kaito's waiting room

"I'm sorry but this screams of Nezu." Izuku moaned as he grabbed a bag of chips that was on a fold out table and chucked it at the wall. "He probably wants us all to show off together more after we teamed up during the first task."

"That is the most likely case." Tenya agreed, doing his trademarked arm chops, "Although my own personal respect for the principal has fallen severely after the humiliation he put us through just before, I would not be stupid enough to think he didn't pull strings to get us all together."

"If we are all here…" Kaito mused, polishing off the last of his yakatori as he walked towards the trash can in the corner of the room to dispose of the bamboo sticks, "Then Hiro, Yanagi, Adachi, and Felix are most likely to be in their own waiting room together."

"That would fit the MO of Nezu to do if he actually did what we suspected he did." Sky thought out loud as he was sitting in a chair at a cleared-out section of the fold out table, using tools to tune up his equipment. "Izuku, didn't you say earlier that you studied Greek Mythology back in middle or high school. All we got here on this tablet is a list of 1-12 with four lines for each number. All I know about Hercules is the Disney movie and I know that it is unrealistic because it shows Hera as a caring mother."

"Yeah." Izuku groaned, pulling a folding chair around and sitting on it backwards so his arms rested on its back, "The twelve labors he faced were as follows. The first labor was the Slaying of the Nemean Lion where he had to kill an 'invincible lion' and bring back the skin as proof. The second labor was he had to kill the Lernaean Hydra, I don't remember the Disney movie that well, but I remember the Hydra was in it. The third labor that comes to my head is he had to capture this golden doe, it was in this town. I don't think he killed it. The fourth labor that comes to my head is about a boar, where he had to capture it. The fifth labor was he had to clean these massive stables, but he was told he cheated in the way he did it and took a reward. The sixth labor I recall is about these man-eating birds he had to kill and drive away, he did it by using a noise making clapper that Athena gave him I think. Then he had to capture this bull on the island of Crete. The eighth labor I recall were about these horses trained to eat humans, which looking back was a common theme, that one I don't recall much about. The ninth labor was about getting this leather belt from an Amazonian warrior Queen. The tenth was about retrieving some cattle? The eleventh and twelfth labors were more punishments because he was told that he cheated. The eleventh was him stealing golden apples, but he got Atlas to do it for him. The twelfth is the scariest, he had to capture Cerberus."

Back in Hiro's room

"So that's what we are up against?!" Felix groaned as Alex finished listing off the labors from his memories. "We just had an tablet in here acting as a sign up sheet for the labors listed off as one through twelve when we got here. We wanted Alex to say what they are but he wanted to wait for our fourth member to come in."

"Sorry…" Hiro mumbled as he trudged his feat back and forth while standing still, "Kaito and I had to get food, he was one of the last to get released from the infirmary and we didn't know if there would be snacks to eat down here for us."

"Understandable." Reiko said with a nod as she created a cacophony of noise by lifting up the plastic clamshell over a package of sushi. "So who wants to do what? There were four slots for order of preference on the sign up form."

Back in Kaito's Waiting Room

"But you can't fly Izuku!" Tenya groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "We have seen you try and practice those flaming wings of yours during training sessions and the most you can do is form them, get a foot off the ground, but immediately fall on your butt! What makes you think that you are the best for the birds?"

"Well I don't see how any of you can fly." Izuku shot back, "The closest one here other than myself is Sky and that's not really him doing the flying, it is his drones."

"Do not insult Buzzy and Zappy Midoriya!" Sky shot back, looking very offended at the insinuation that his drones were not up to the job. "Besides, it would more than likely seem that or not that we aren't facing actual birds but rather robots shaped like birds if the past sports festivals hold true to this one. Besides, things most certainly are not going to go exactly like how they did in the stories we read. UA is going to put on their own twist or something. I bet from each challenge we are going to have to collect or retrieve something like a banner or a key to show that we've completed the task."

"Yeah but what is this special labor that Izuku will have to do on top of the one he already needs to sign up for?" Kaito asked as he finally took a seat down on one of the fold out chairs.

"1 minute remains to select your tasks! Failure to select your labors will result in randomly being assigned to a labor." Called a voice over the PA system, causing the boys to jump, and their hearts thumping as adrenaline kicked in as they realized they were almost out of time to pick their challenges.

Back in Hiro's waiting room

"One minute?" Alex gulped as his hands started shaking as he picked up the tablet and its accompanying stylus. "Any requests or thoughts guys? Or should we just stick with Lady Luck deciding for us?"

"I'd rather not let Nezu use us for our own entertainment again." Reiko deadpanned through her own panic, causing all the other boys in the room to nod along with her. "But the question is, what do we do? We haven't had enough time to pick out our strengths and weaknesses with each challenge!"

"Everybody calm down!" Felix called out to the room, "Who here is comfortable taking the clearly combat trials?" Both Reiko and Hiro shot up there hands, "And I take it Alex and I should take the clearly analytical ones! Okay let's go with that! Hand me the tablet!"

Back in Kaito's waiting room

"Fine Izuku! You can take the flying birds ones even though you haven't mastered your wings!" Tenya shouted as he wrote Izuku's name on the tablet, just before it blanked out.

"The time for labor selection has now expired. All participants who have not selected a labor preference shall be randomly assigned a labor. The teams stand as thus." Called a voice over the PA, and everyone turned to the screens to see all the teams listed with each member below next to a bus number.

Team Alpha

Skyler Springfield… Bus 1

Izuku Midoriya… Bus 2

Tenya Iida… Bus 3

Kaito Nakamoto… Bus 4

Team Beta

Alexander Adachi… Bus 1

Felix Springfield… Bus 2

Reiko Yanagi… Bus 3

Hiro Fuji… Bus 4

Team Gamma

Hitoshi Shinso… Bus 1

Inasa Yoarashi… Bus 2

Koichi Haimawari… Bus 3

Mei Hatsume… Bus 4

Team Delta

Ibara Shiozaki… Bus 1

Kazuho Haneyama… Bus 2

Momo Yaoyorozu… Bus 3

Shoto Todoroki… Bus 4

Team Epsilon

Mina Ashido… Bus 1

Ochaco Uraraka… Bus 2

Tsuyu Asui… Bus 3

Itsuka Kendo… Bus 4

Team Zeta

Denki Kaminari… Bus 1

Setsuna Tokage… Bus 2

Neito Monoma… Bus 3

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu… Bus 4

Team Eta

Mezo Shoji… Bus 1

Fumikage Tokoyami… Bus 2

Kojiro Bondo… Bus 3

Eijiro Kirishima… Bus 4

Team Theta

Kyoka Jiro… Bus 1

Pony Tsunotori… Bus 2

Yosetsu Awase… Bus 3

Jurota Shishida… Bus 4

"Will all students now please exit their waiting rooms and proceed promptly to their assigned bus terminals. Failure to board before departure will result in disqualification and possible academic censure."

There was then a loud clicking sound as the doors to the waiting rooms unlocked and they all proceeded to exit their rooms. The hallway then started to crowd as all the students left their assigned waiting rooms and proceeded as one jumbled unorganized mass towards the buses who they were being directed to by UA Alumni volunteers.

Upon arrival of the bus depot, which again was another converted loading dock, where there were four buses waiting for them with their numbers clearly marked on the signs in their windshields. Nervously, Izuku caught sight of his soon to be legal brother for the first time since the end of the first task and gave him a look before they boarded their separate buses.

"Good luck." Izuku said with a nervous smile, which Hiro returned.

"Good luck bro." Hiro returned as he got onto his bus and shortly the doors closed and the buses left the loading dock and headed on out to their individual satellite arenas.

On Bus 1

The mood was dead silent on the bus, much like how it was when they all headed towards the stadium that very same morning. Both Skyler and Alex were sitting next to each other. They both felt very uncomfortable as they were the only ones not in red and white PE uniforms on their bus. After about five minutes of travel, the TV on the bus flared to life and everyone jumped as Present Mic's loud voice and face filled the screen.

"Welcome listeners to Bus Numero Uno! You guys are all off to do some deep cleaning!"

"Aww come on!" Mina Ashido cried from the back of the bus, "This is NOT the one I wanted!"

"That's right folks! You guys are going to be searching an area sized haystack for needles! When Hercules had to clean the Stables of Augeas, he cheated by flooding it full of river water! You won't be able to do that! You all have to use your hands, intellect, and of course your quirk! But don't fret! You all don't have to clean out the entire mess! Instead, you will have to find one of 8 keys buried throughout the mess! Once you have found your key, you can run to the proctor near the exit and you will be logged as completing your team's part of the second task! Just watch out for Nezu's shenanigans. The challenge will begin shortly after the bus arrives at the arena. PLUS ULTRA!"

The news of the task seemed to brighten and raise the morale of some people, most notably Shoji and Jiro whose quirks were ideal to locating lost things. Others such as Kaminari and Ashido were looking mortified as neither of their quirks were good for searching a vast area. Shinso seemed to be with them for a second, but then his features smoothened out as a grin appeared on his face before vanishing. Skyler was running rapidly through his head of ways he could use his inventions on him on ways to not only impress the support companies watching, but also a quick way to find the key. Shiozaki's face was merely pensive, her hands held together in a silent prayer. Lastly Alex was feeling dread pour through his body. What could he do with a simple intelligence boosting quirk? He didn't care about the Sports Festival, but he didn't want to be the reason why the hero course students on his team failed to advance.

On Bus 2

"Welcome to Bus Number 2! Are you guys ready to take to the air?!"

That announcement caused most of the bus to clap and cheer as nearly everyone on the bus had ways of easily getting airborne. Izuku gulped as he wanted this challenge but wasn't sure if all his practice had paid off and he would be able to follow through.

"Your mission for your second task will be to take a key from one of the Stymphalian Birds! How you do that, is up to you. If you fail to collect a key from our avian friends, then your team as a whole will be disqualified from the third task. No pressure. The stadium will have platforms for our grounded heroes in training to move from, but fall into the pit, and your team will also face disqualification. No pressure. Just watch out for our principal's shenanigans. Just remember when you leave the stadium you better head to the official at the exit to be logged as finished. Except you Midoriya! You will be rushed back to the main stadium to face one more extra labor alone! You have to complete this extra labor to have your team cross the finish line! The challenge will begin shortly after the bus arrives in the arena. PLUS ULTRA!"

Izuku gulps nervously as he looks around. He watches Felix as he removes his backpack and starts inspecting it madly. Yoarashi was grinning like a madman, clearly rightfully confident in his abilities. Uraraka was looking a little nauseous, but she eventually with a nod cleared her head as a smile crossed her face as her confidence came back to her. Tokoyami as pensive as always, but there was an air of confidence among him. Tsunotori was muttering in a low whisper in English, but she was on the other side of the bus so Izuku couldn't hear what she was saying, but she didn't appear nervous. Haneyama simply looked a bit bored honestly, as though this was nothing but a game for her. What was the deal with her past? Izuku could never find anything in his late-night internet searches about a major accident that could've caused her quirk to mutate. Finally, Tokage was grinning madly, of course she could simply divide her body up and fly that way, Izuku had to remind himself of that fact.

On Bus 3

"Welcome to Lucky Bus Number 3 Listeners! Are you ready to do some wrangling!?"

Reiko looked up from where she was staring at her lap straight at the monitor at the front of her bus, trepidation filling her heart as Present Mic's image filled the screen. Everyone else's expression matching hers.

"Upon entering the arena, it will be your objective to Capture the Ceryneian Hind! Since your objective is capture, not kill, if you harm the creature too much, you will face disqualification not just for yourself, but for your whole team! Your objective is to simply corral the creature to where it has no where to go. Sounds easy right? Need I remind you of who are principal is? He has surprises waiting for you. You better hurry up and catch the thing before he decides he is getting bored and decides to have some fun! Once the hind is captured, you need to remove the key hanging from around its neck and present it to the official at the exit of the arena for your part in the task to be complete. The challenge will begin shortly after the bus arrives in the arena. PLUS ULTRA!"

Reiko looked around at her seven companions on the bus. All were fellow hero course students. Tenya had a stern expression on his face as he bent down and began massaging the calf muscles in his leg. She then turned to see Haimawari who had gotten up in the middle of the bus and began doing some stretches. Momo was determinedly looking out of the front of the bus as she held onto an overhead rail, she was unable to see her expression from her position, but her body language screamed confidence. Tsu was unreadable as ever. She saw Monoma keeping a very keen eye on Tenya, and it didn't take her long to figure out why. Awase was muttering curses under his breath, and Bondo was… well… she never could read his facial expressions.

And then it hit her. She realized how screwed she was, everyone but her had a super easy way of catching the creature, nearly everyone had a way of high mobility to outmaneuver the hind, while Bondo and Awase could create traps. She, she had nothing. And she started to internally panic and think of a strategy.

On Bus 4

"Welcome everyone to Bus 4, where you are all first! Are you all ready to rumble?!"

That elicited a few cheers from the students on the bus as Kaito looked around. Dread filling him as he realized that basically the bus was filled with students who had combative quirks.

"You will all be completing the first labor that Hercules set out to complete! You will all have to slay the Neiman Lion! Don't worry, you won't be killing any real animals! You will be facing a highly advanced robot, something that you would never ordinarily face as a first year! So, you better all get not overconfident! Located inside the neck of the beast is a key! You will have to retrieve this key and present it to the official at the exit to finish your challenge for your team's advancement! Sounds simple? Just watch out for mischief and mayhem released by our principle! The challenge will begin shortly after the bus arrives in the arena. PLUS ULTRA!"

Kaito looked around, Hiro looked a bit nervous as he twiddled his thumbs while staring down at his lap while Todoroki plainly stared at the pair of them. Hatsume was fiddling with her equipment. He didn't know much about her, except learning from Felix and Sky that her inventions usually involved things that go boom, so she might not have trouble in this challenge. Tetsutetsu and Kirishima both were looking like identical twins with the grins on their faces, which made him gulp. Shishida and Kendo looked just as confident. He was the only one who seemed to be clearly nervous. He didn't even plan on getting this far in the Sports Festival. He just thought he'd give a small effort in the first task to impress Hiro, but he didn't expect to put effort in order not to let his teammates down.

It wasn't much later that all four buses arrived at the arenas and all the students disembarked. They did not have to wait long for the doors to the arena to open and for the second task to finally begin.