OSPREY…SWOOOSH
UO: Finally, time to get on with this *checks script* Helllll yes…it's Tournament Time!
Ochako: YAY!
Katsuki: About fucking time!
Izuku: Um, what about…?
UO: You'll be fine…*checks script again* The fight segment isn't this chapter. Will someone do the disclaimer please?
Mei: UnitedOsprey1991 does not own My Hero Academia or my babies. He only owns the plot!
"Normal"
Text and announcers
"Flashback."
'Thoughts and different language'
Communication'
Super Form
Super Move
Chapter 9: The Fights Begin! The Beginning of the Sports Festival
Nine Days after the Previous Chapter ended,
Fireworks burst through the air as one of Japan's biggest parties of the year began. The Yuuei Sports festival was considered the premier university hero festivals in Asia, if not the world. For three days, the three class years would face off against their year mates for a chance at glory. More importantly with how big the festival was, the amount of people and more importantly the number of heroes would be enormous, so for the first years, this was their first big chance to make an impression on the hero world. Something All Might had instilled in Izuku.
Flashback, two days ago,
As Izuku was heading to lunch with his friends, he heard a loud cough. "Midoriya, m'boy!
The group turned to see All Might in his buff form and tawny suit. He held up a lunch box. "Wanna have lunch together?" He asked sheepishly.
Melissa giggled. "Uncle Might, you're so silly. Izuku, you go ahead. I think we know what this is about," the blonde said walking away with a small sway.
Izuku stiffly walked to the giant teacher, the man's eternal grin betraying nothing as they walked to an empty lounge.
Sitting down, Izuku began to sweat. "Umm…Melissa's a good friend, All Might!"
The man laughed even as he shrunk down. "Please, Melissa's a big girl, she could do a lot worse than you. Now, let's eat up."
The two ate their meals, a bento that Toga had made for Izuku, and a protein shake for All Might.
"You know, I'm amazed at how well you've adapted to One For All," Yagi commented.
"I don't think it was all me," Izuku replied, "My friends and my Quirk kind of helped. My control is getting better, though I'm glad I spent the time training with everyone."
"Time…" Yagi sighed. "Midoriya, I want to be real with you. I was already on a time limit before I passed One for All down to you. But now that I no longer have it…I feel those remaining embers dying. I'll be lucky to go a full hour in my muscle form."
"I'm sorry," Izuku murmured.
The older man merely shrugged. "It's not your fault, I would do what I did anyway. But with One for All in your hands, it may be time to start thinking of what comes after hero work."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm close to retiring, my boy. I have already prepared to start scaling back my hero duties in preparation. But I want you to be prepared for when I eventually do so."
Izuku looked down at his food. "A world without you, All Might… It almost seems unreal. You've been a hero…gosh, 40 plus years! You've inspired so many people to be heroes."
"Like you?" The older man chuckled. "You're a pretty good inspiration too, you know."
"Huh?" Izuku asked dumbly.
"You know how many kids got interested in science because of you, Melissa and young Hatsume? There's gonna be a science revolution in the next few years. Something that's been sorely the world. I'm sure Nedzu will have the statistics for ya. But that isn't what I wanted to talk about. It's about the Sports Festival.
"Oh yes, Katsuki's been excited for it, heck the whole class is. What about it?" Izuku beamed.
Yagi chuckled. "Of course. But to you Izuku, I want you to do something." He held out his fist. "I want you to dominate, I want you to show what Plus Ultra is. I want you to show the world that you are more than a scientist with a big brained Quirk. I want you to tell the world, that 'I am Here!'
Despite his emaciated form, the charisma the Number 1 hero radiated still got to the greenette and he returned the fist bump. "I am here!"
End Flashback
All Might has so much confidence in me…I can't let him down.
"Oi, Deku! You still in there?" Katsuki asked, patting him on the shoulder.
"Sorry, still got some nerves here," Izuku replied.
"Don't be, as far as I care, it will be you and me in the finals of this," the explosive blonde grinned.
"You mean me and Izuku, right?" Himiko quipped with a smile.
"Want to say that again, buns?" Katsuki growled.
"I'm saying that it'll be you in Bronze and me at the top," the blood user giggled.
Izuku rolled his eyes. Toga and Katsuki had been extremely competitive in training, especially since the Sports Festival was announced. But they kept it clean…except a few misplaced explosions and knives here or there.
"Alright everyone! Places please! We're about ten minutes from our debut!"
"Man, Iida-kun is wound up!" Himiko giggled.
"For real. Iida, cool your jets," Mina pouted.
"Just because this is a competition, does not mean we can't look our best!" Iida responded, chopping his hands.
Izuku could only chuckle but then he felt something cold. Turning around, he saw Todoroki glaring at him. "Todoroki-san…"
Katsuki heard him and turned to regard the son of Endeavor. "What do you want, Half-n-half?"
The red and white-haired boy kept his focus on Izuku, barely sparing a glance at Katsuki. "You two…you've got skills and power on par with me," he decided flatly, "But I will prove that I am the best. Consider this a declaration of war."
"A war? You better bring your A game then, Daddy ain't here to protect ya."
Todoroki's eyes narrowed dangerously, but before they could come to blows, Izuku grabbed Katsuki's arms and stared down Todoroki. "Okay, let's not escalate, we are still classmates. Save it for later. Kacchan, relax!" He told his friend, who was still bristling like an angry cat.
The bicolored boy scoffed and turned around.
Back with the support students Melissa was staring at something her mother gave her. It was a green bracelet almost like a sentai morpher that when activated would give her hero suit. Unknown to most of her friends, she did have some hero training when she wasn't working with her friends, which only amplified with the sports festival.
Flashback a week before
Melissa jumped through a large hole as it was closing, rolling to a stop before holding up a pistol and firing. She blasted two targets into pieces and sprinted down the hall, leaping over two lasers and sliding to a stop in a circular room.
"Simulation over: Time: 2 minutes 45 seconds."
The blonde sighed and slipped off her jacket, her generous bust contained in a dark blue sports bra. "That was a personal best on this level."
"You're getting better," a mature woman said, walking into the training area, dressed in a sports bra and track shorts. She was a tall woman, roughly half a foot taller than Melissa, with equally blonde hair and a bust most women would kill for. The rest of her body appeared to be sculpted like marble, with a toned belly and arms and legs that were firm and strong. This was the Space Hunter Hero: Metroid, also known as Samus Aran-Shield. Her Quirk, Chozo, gave her superhuman jumping and endurance. Combined with her Husband David's technology and her adopted family's training and augmentations, she'd become one of America's premier heroes. But in her mind, the most important title was being the mother of the girl in front of her. "When we started this training eight years ago, you were barely passing level 1 in 10 minutes. Now you're at Level 9."
"And that's…without a Quirk," Melissa panted, making the adult smile. When Melissa was born and was found to be Quirkless, they ran some further blood tests. What they found was surprising. Melissa did have a Quirk factor, but the genetics from Samus's blood and boosts suppressed it. In exchange, Melissa inherited her traits, resulting in more developed muscles, intelligence and to her mother's amusement her assets.
"Quirks are merely tools in an arsenal. Most only ever use their Quirk without properly The only thing my Quirk gave me was an enhanced jumping ability. I had to work hard to even be accepted into Xavier academy, and work just as hard to pass," Samus told her, "But I also learned you need to work with others. Until I met your father and All Might, I was just a working machine. You already have that with your friends."
Melissa blushed slightly. "Um…I think we're starting to be more than friends."
"Oh? Is Izuku finally seeing you as a beautiful woman? Or maybe Mei finally has a new obsession," she teased.
"Umm…maybe both, I don't know."
"My goodness, my baby girl is such a charmer," Samus chuckled. She turned serious. "Joking aside, with the Sports festival arriving, I think it's time to bust out that project.
"Project? Wait, you mean…?
"It might be a little sooner than expected but I think it's time to bring it out," David said walking in. "Your mother and I were hoping to wait a little bit longer, but this will be a good test." He motioned her to follow him to the other side of the lab where two large green cylinders stood. In one was a large metallic suit that was red and green with a red helmet. Its right forearm bore a large, metallic blue-green cannon. In the other was a forest green bodysuit, with large matching combat boots.
"The ZERO Mark 2, and the SHIELD Power Suits. I can't believe they're ready," Melissa said in awe. "Two years of development and watching momma fight in it.
"Try it on, sweetie," Samus grinned.
"Right… Um, Papa?"
"Oh…OH! Shoot, sorry honey!" David realized before walking out of the room.
Melissa hummed as she stripped the rest of her clothes off, revealing toned legs, firm, round ass and flat stomach. Her mother likewise looked away politely. "How do you go into fights when your suit is your only cover?"
"It took me a while, but now I just roll with the punches. At least I didn't cause a new law to be passed, like Midnight."
Melissa giggled as she slid the forest green suit up her body. With a press of a hidden button at the back of her neck, the suit tightened, promptly sealing itself against her shapely body. She gasped at the pressure, but quickly got used to it. One look at the mirror her mother brought over made her realize three things. One, she really did look like a younger version of her mother. Two, the suit worked wonderfully as she flexed her body around. Three, she felt really exposed in this, reflexively covering herself.
"That was my first reaction too," Samus laughed. "Don't worry, soon you'll get used to it. And then you'll stop worrying about bulky clothes."
"Babe don't encourage her, I barely recovered from the first time you started doing that," David groaned, walking up to them. "My goodness, you look amazing honey. If you weren't pining for Izuku, you'd be beating people off with a stick. Well, you might just be anyway, until you make it official."
"PAPA!" She cried in embarrassment, making her parents laugh.
After a few pictures, father and daughter walked up to the Power Suit. "One day, you'll show the world what your science can do. Until then," he held up a watch, "This can help mimic a couple of features, specifically the scan visor and cannon blasts. And let's not forget the boots."
Melissa looked at the workbench to find a pair of metallic heeled boots. "Me, Izuku and Mei…we will be heroes, together."
End Flashback
'Thank god Nedzu and Power Loader approved these,' Mellissa thought, remembering the hoops she'd had to go through to get even just her boots and watch approved.
"Meli-chan?" Mei spoke up. "Whatcha got there?"
"Just something that Mama and Papa gave me," Melissa said. She looked down at her feet to see a version of Mei's boots only modified for her legs. "Ready to rock the world?"
"You bet! Think of all the sponsors our little start up will get. And Izuku will get some pro heroes to work with to spread our name," Mei gushed.
Melissa took the eccentric scientist's hand. "Easy, one event at a time."
Mei smiled and in a low voice, told her and Izuku, "I wouldn't be where we are without you two."
Melissa turned to hide her blush but before more was said, the loudspeakers sprang to life.
Outside and in the Commentators Booth
As fireworks went off around the stage, the crowd roared as the first day of the Sports Festival began in earnest. Up in the booth, Present Mic cleared his throat. "HELLOOOO, HERO FANS OF ALL AGES! What is good in the neighborhood? This is your friendly neighborhood voice with the most pop, Present Mic! Live from UA Sports festival Stadium! Hope you're ready for three days of epic events, put on by all our years! With me this year is one of our proud teachers, Aizawa Shouta!
The injured teacher, with his arms still in a sling, sighed. "I don't know why I'm here. Can't you find someone who's actually interested in commentating?"
"Oh don't be a sourpuss! Especially since we've got some hype students coming out! And here they are, the two hero classes for Year 1. First out, it's Class A!"
As the designated signal, all of class A began to walk out. Some of them waved to the crowd, with Katsuki and Kirishima trying to get the crowd to get louder as they walked to the center.
"Next up, just because they have B in their title doesn't mean that they're second best! It's Class 1B!"
Kendo was leading this brigade with Tetsu being the hype man for them. Monoma grinned. "That's it, soak it in, Class B will show them all how it's done."
"Next on the roster is our Gen Ed students, from Class C, D, AND E!"
The cheering was more muted as the General Education students walked out by class. Shinso looked around, bored, knowing that he wouldn't get the applause the hero course had.
"Behind them are the amazing Support Department, Class F, G, H! Followed by the Business Department, I, J and K!"
Mei and Melissa walked out with this crew and while Mei was cheering wildly Melissa was calmer. In the Hatsume labs, Inko was joined by the Shields, the Bakugous and the Hatsumes in watching the show from their projector. "Our babies are so grown up!" Inko cried, nearly flooding the room.
"Are you sure crying isn't your Quirk, Inko?" Saibu laughed.
"Oh trust me, Inko's a worrywart. She should be, especially against my boy!" Mitsuki grinned.
This instantly stopped the water works and the green haired mother mechanically turned to her friend. "My boy's gonna win and you're gonna be comforting a crying Kacchan cause a nerdy scientist beat him."
"What was that, Inko-chan?" Mitsuki grinned rolling up her sleeves.
Misaru and David sighed as the two began to argue. Samus uncharacteristically giggled. "I should really hang out with these two more often, David dear…"
Back at the arena
All of the students had gathered in the center of the arena facing the booth where Present Mic cleared his throat. "Alright everyone! It is time for the Athlete's Pledge. Give it up for our Referee for today's events. The Rated R Heroine: MIDNIGHT!"
As he said this, the crowd began to whistle as a purple haired woman in a bodysuit, dominatrix corset that would have left her breasts bare, and a red domino mask strutted up to the center of the stage. "Hello, my lovely students. I hope you're ready to give it your all~" she called out to them all with a flirty wink, "Now before we begin, we shall have the student representative say the Athlete's pledge. Midoriya Izuku, come on up!"
Izuku smiled as he cut through the crowd, his own class cheering him on. Taking the microphone from the heroine, he gazed out at the crowd. "I stand here before you all and I see heroes in training." He smirked as he caught sight of his friends. "But what I also see is the future. The heroes we look up today, like All Might, will not be here forever," here he thought about what his mentor taught him and he gripped the microphone. "Today is the first day to show the world that we can take that torch from our heroes of today. We will show the world that no matter if we have a powerful Quirk or no Quirk at all, we can be the heroes that we are in our hearts. We will show the world we are here!"
The last words got the entire stadium to roar in applause. In a luxury box, All Might grinned widely and proudly. 'Midoriya…I knew I made the right choice with you.'
Izuku walked back to his class, to slaps on the back and high fives. Midnight laughed. "What energy! What passion! That's what we want to see! Now then, let me explain our little event today!" She held up 3 fingers. "There will be three events today, with the last being a one-on-one fighting tournament. But to get to that, we need to trim the fat so to speak." She pointed her whip at a wheel. "So many events to choose from, but we will let good ole RNG decide the fates".
At her call, the wheel began to spin, rushing through the events. After a few seconds, it slowed down and then stopped on Obstacle Course.
"Ah, the classic Obstacle race. But this isn't your ordinary race," Midnight announced, course was shown on screen. "Your objective is to race the four kilometer course around the stadium, using your Quirks at your leisure to get through them all. Every class will race but only the Top 42 will advance to the next round. Students…better get ready~~!" She teased.
All the students walked up to the starting line, stretching their legs and arms out. Izuku found his way near the front, with Kirishima and Katsuki flanking him. Behind them, Ochako stood next to several gen ed students, with Mei and Melissa near the back. Toga stood next to her classmates, the blonde Monoma trying to get his classmates to sandbag their skills and prevent them from burning their energy, which led to a chop by Kendo.
"STUDENTS!" Midnight called out. "Get on your marks!"
A timer was shown on the screen and the crowd began to count down!
"3! 2! 1! GO!"
All at once the students rushed down the tunnel towards the obstacle course. Very soon however, they encountered a big problem that most stadiums around the world run into as 160 students tried to squeeze down the hallway.
"And what a start we have here, as they fight for position just to get out of the stadium! What do you think is gonna happen?" Present Mic asked the injured Aizawa.
The hero grunted. "This will test their reactions to a potentially panicking crowd, and to get to the scene of a Villain attack in a logical amount of time."
The amount of people trying to get through the hall was enough to completely block the pathway out, as if it were a traffic jam in China. Izuku was feeling the squeeze. 'Damn it, everyone is panicking…I can't move. Wait…the panic, the tight spaces, this isn't just a hallway…I think this is part of the first event! Izuku's eyes darted around looking at the walls. Nudging the people close to him aside, he thrust his hand out, aiming at the wall to his right. A grappling cannon formed out of his arm before he fired it at the wall. With a small kick, he landed on the wall out of the chaos.
Once on the wall, he felt his Quirk pool around his feet, as it formed a pair of green and black roller skates. Feeling himself slip, he turned his other arm behind him and curled his fingers to flick the air.
'Alright One For All, time to show my training,' he thought. "Dover Scattershot!" He flicked his fingers, releasing a blast of air like a small hurricane, compounded by the tunnel itself, and its tight space. The force knocked down several people caught off guard by the sudden weather as Izuku blasted forward. 'This is going great,' Izuku thought as he closed in on the exit, any injury he might have being knitted back together. Suddenly, the air chilled as a wave of ice raced through the tunnel, interacting with the wind that was kicked up by Izuku. The engineer had to brace himself as the ice flew down the hall to the exit, coating the ground thickly. watched Todoroki sprint by, freezing most of the competitors that were knocked down.
Looking down at his skates, he willed his Nanomachines to swap from rollerblades to ice skates, before leaping off the wall, landing on the ice and skating over the path Todoroki had inadvertently formed for him. Moments later, Izuku found his way out of the tunnel, along with the end of the ice path. With a flourish, he leaped off, spun in the air and landed on the ground, his skates switching back to inline rollerblades.
"What a move by both Todoroki and Midoriya! Their performances from the exams weren't for show!"
"Todoroki's control with his Quirk is good, though a bit excessive, he did indeed use it to get an advantage. However, Midoriya was able to use Quirk and take advantage of the changing battlefield conditions. But that's not to say that the others are slacking either…or at least they'd better not."
"OMINOUS!"
In the tunnel, Katsuki growled and ignited his palms. "Damn you icy bastard!" He shouted, cracking out of the ice. "You think you can freeze me and get away!?" He planted his hands on the ground and ignited them again, fracturing the ice around him with his explosive blasts. As he flew out of the tunnel, he had to roll out of the way of a mechanical arm crashing down on him. He looked up and 'tched. "These guys again?"
"And our frontrunners have entered the first real phase! For anyone that took the Entrance Exam, well we hope you remember our good friends, the Zero Pointers! This is: ROBO INFERNO!"
Indeed, four towering robots had entered the field, leading a pack of smaller robots. Todoroki, who had taken the Recommended exam, gazed up boredly. "Hm…so that's what the rest of the students had to face." He briefly dropped into a crouch, letting his right hand gather up his ice and flung it at the smaller robots freezing and destroying them. Todoroki shivered slightly, ice briefly forming on his right shoulder. Behind him, Katsuki blasted two of the robots' heads clear off their body, before one of the Zero pointers tried to backhand him. However, with their slow speed, he was easily able to fly back and blast the arm off.
Izuku, who was racing behind him, saw the arm fly off and grabbed it. His nanobots swarmed over the limb, stripping it down and condensing it, before attaching it to his shoulder as an extra one. "Thanks, Kacchan!"
"Fuck, that's creepy! When did you learn to do that?!"
"Now Katsuki, engineering is all about trying stuff out and seeing if it falls apart or not!" Izuku grinned as he ran over to a downed robot and looked at the tread.
"SERIOUSLY!?" Katsuki shouted. "We're in a fucking war zone and your scavenging parts? You're worse than goggles!"
"I resemble that remark!" Mei called out. She and Melissa were brushing stray frost off their arms. "You're not gonna keep me from these babies…and definitely not Izuku!" She shouted, grabbing a piece of scrap and rushing towards the next segment, most of the hero course following suit.
Meanwhile, Izuku had ripped off a broken tread and devoured it with his Quirk, attaching the remnants to his skates. Ignoring the argument from his friend, and a weird one where Kirishima and someone from Class B was arguing, he quickly gathered what he needed and let his body consume it. His skates reformed but this time with small boosters in the heels. "As much as I want to hear you two argue over Sentai, LATER!"
The engineer flew by his friends, the explosive blonde's cursing making Izuku smile. As he flew through the course, he noticed the ice ahead of him, Todoroki having been through here already.
"Seems like he's trying to blitz his way through. But that much ice can't be that good for him- whoa!" Izuku's thoughts quickly turned to survival, skidding to a stop when he saw a yawning chasm looming before him. He braked as hard as he could, hastily forming a knife to plunge into the ground and arrest his momentum. As he pulled back, grimacing and righting himself, he gaped at the large group of pillars standing over a pit that dropped deep into total darkness. Presumably it led to nets or something to catch them, because there was no way Yuuei would just let students fall to their deaths.
"Looks like the leaders have reached The Fall! One wrong step and you can kiss Stage 2 goodbye!" Present Mic called out gleefully.
Izuku scanned the ravine and noticed several cables that connected to the pillars. Looking down at his skates, he smirked and skated backwards to get a good rolling start. As Katsuki approached, the engineer leaped on to the cables and began to grind along them.
"And look at Midoriya go! He's a regular skating pro!"
Katsuki smirked. "Fucking Deku," he said, igniting his palms without a care of who was behind him. He leaped up and blasted his way across the chasm altogether, leaving Melissa and Mei to watch them take off.
Mei grinned as she patted her gear. "Two can play that game!" She activated the jets on her suit and started to float across the gaps. Melissia meanwhile pulled out a small, cylindrical device. Snapping her arm back, she thrust it forward at the first pillar. An electrical whip burst out of the device and latched itself to the pillar. With a leap she pulled herself forward, landing on the side of it. With grace and fluidity, she hopped off it and flew to the next one.
"Whoa! Look at Shield-san go! We got ourselves some great Support class students this year!" Present Mic cheered.
"Just because the hero course gets all the press, justified or not, Support students can easily keep up with their gadgets." Aizawa pointed out.
Izuku got a front row seat of both Mei and Melissa navigating their way through the fake canyon as he rode the rails. 'Man, those girls are good!' He finished his grind to find Katsuki landing as well. "Hi Kacchan! Bye Kacchan!"
"God damnit Deku, get back here!" The blonde growled as they emerged onto an open field. A small explosion caught both of their attention. "That wasn't me!"
They slowed up as they saw Todoroki having stopped at the edge of the field, a small crater in front of him.
"Half n' Half! What the Hell?" Katsuki growled as he stepped forward only to be blasted back by a small explosion. "Motherfucker!"
"Our Frontrunners are closing in on the finish line but they still have one more task! Its the Minefield! Can the students navigate their way through, where every step can send you flying?"
"Mines," Izuku grumbled as he took a step forward, only to set off a small mine that sent him stumbling back. "Shit, they're everywhere!"
A sound reminiscent of an engine echoed across the track as Iida, having raced his way through the canyon, was now catching up, with several of their classmates not far behind.
"What are you all waiting for?" Iida shouted, right before he stepped on a hidden mine. He screamed as he was tossed across the minefield, flipping and flopping through the air like a ragdoll, much to Present Mic's amusement. As the rest of the competitors showed up and blasted back, Todoroki took his chance and formed an ice bridge over it. As he did, his body began to noticeably ice over, as if his body had cooled significantly. This became apparent when Katsuki blasted his way forward, he flew past the ice user. In a desperate attempt, Todoroki grabbed the explosive blonde and they began to fight each other in the air.
"You think you can just try and slide by me, think again!" Katsuki growled firing off mini bursts, enough to disorient his opponent.
As they fought, Izuku had not moved as he examined the minefield. 'Can't fly, and I can't just run across.' As more people passed him and got tripped up by the explosions, he put a hand to his chin, noting the way that the more unfortunate students were thrown about by the mines. 'While they're harmless, their explosions still pack enough force to lift a human off the ground.' He rolled his shoulder, and heard the armor plating he'd stolen clanking. 'At this point, this armor would just slow me down. Why don't I repurpose it?' With a thought, the armor detached from him, rattling to the ground, followed by his treads. Kneeling down, he directed his nanomachines to emerge, and swarm over the plates. He began to realign the metal, straightening out panels and putting them edge to edge before welding them together with more nanos, curving the outermost edges.
A few moments later, Izuku had himself a giant shield…or a sled. As a finishing touch, he deconstructed his rocket skates and attached them to the backside. Getting on, he scanned the field and through the smoke, he saw Katsuki fighting with Todoroki. He figured with them distracted and not focused on the race, he saw a chance to pass and beat them. He kicked the rockets, turning them on and blasting him forward, over the mines as they exploded.
"Look at Midoriya go! It's gonna be a tight one as they reach the final stretch! WHO'S IT GONNA BE?!"
The green-haired engineer raced by the competitors, smoke and dust in his wake. Just a 100 meters away he finally caught up to Todoroki and Katsuki. The three were neck and neck as they flew their way across the finish line. A bright camera flash was the only indication they had crossed, followed by three horns signaling their crossing.
"A PHOTO FINISH, FOLKS! We're gonna have to go to the cameras!"
Izuku turned off the rockets as he entered the stadium and slowed to a stop. Katsuki slid next to him and let out a whoop. "Hell yeah, I won!"
"It's gonna be close, Kacchan," Izuku told him as he cleaned himself up and helped his friend stand. As the rest of the examinees crossed the line, a large number appeared on the screen counting down how many spots left. When it reached 42, Present Mic came on. "That's it Folks! The First Stage is over! We have our 42 competitors! Before we move one we need to know the top 3! This is actually important to the second test!
The screen shifted to a video of the finish line where all three front runners approached. In super slow mode and frame by frame, it showed that the three were neck and neck until the line. In the last frame, it showed by about 2 inches, Izuku's sled beat out Katsuki who nosed ahead of Todoroki.
"And in a tight one, it's Midoriya, then Bakugou, then Todoroki! What a race! Now with your breather, Midnight! Let's get the show on the road with Round 2!
Midnight snapped her whip to get everyone's attention. "Alright ladies and gentlemen now that we have 42 people in this round! But~ This is where we get the cream of the crop! Roulette Let's GO!"
The screen flipped to a large wheel and began to spin. After a few moments, it slowed down and landed on a picture of a knight on a horse.
"And the Second Stage of Round 2 will be the Cavalry Battle! As we're going over the rules, our staff will hand out special headbands to everyone."
The screen shifted to show All Might riding on the shoulders of several of the teachers, prompting a ripple of laughter. "In no more than groups of four, your going to be fighting for these headbands. Your Quirks and equipment can be used to steal them. If the designated rider falls off and hits the ground that team is disqualified. Each head band is worth increasingly more points, starting at 5 and going up by five each, all the way up to Midoriya here," she pointed at the engineer. "This headband is worth 10 million!"
Everyone turned to regard him, while Izuku looked calm on the outside, inside he was going, 'Oh crap~~!'
"We will fight for ten minutes, and the four teams with the most points at the end will advance. You have 10 minutes to find your team. Good Luck~!
As the students split up, Monoma could not help but get a parting shot. "OH?! What's this, 1-A?! Could it be that only nineteen of you made it to this round!?"
"Nineteen?" Ochako asked. "Who didn't make it?"
Izuku scanned the field and noticed a very glaring omission. "Aoyama-san isn't here…he must have just come in over the cutoff…" As he made his observations, Ochako stood by him. "Ochako?"
"I'm not leaving you. Screw the headband, I know we can win."
Behind her, Melissa approached. "I believe we can win, just because we have the 10 million band doesn't mean they can't get it."
As the three talked, another person showed up. "Um, Izuku?"
The threesome turned to see Momo walking up to them. "I may not be as physically sturdy as you three, but I can create what you need. Plus as one of the tallest in the class I might be able to balance you both out."
Izuku nodded. "Then gather around. I have an idea."
Fifteen minutes later, Izuku was on the ground as Momo climbed onto his shoulders with the taller girl being balanced by Melissa on the left and Ochako behind him, Looking around, he was surprised to see Himiko as one of the riders with Katsuki, Yui and Mei hoisting her up. "Oi, Kacchan! Thought you'd be on top!"
"Shut it, Buns is light enough to give us an edge here," Katsuki grinned.
"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen! Count it down! Three! TWO! ONE!"
At the sound of the horn, immediately several teams began to gun for them. Izuku meanwhile watched as several teams began to swarm at him. "As expected. Ochako?"
"Going up!" The brunette cheered as they began to float, dodging out of the way of several projectiles.
As they flew up, Melissa used the boosters in her feet to push them away. "This is a good idea Izuku, but what happens if we lose the 10 million band?" She glanced up to the four bands on the green haired rider.
"Don't worry, I have a plan."
However, before she could explain said plan to them, a shadow fell over them. Momo looked up and gasped as Himiko came flying towards them, having apparently leaped from her team's back towards them. "Gimme that headband, Yaomomo~!" she squealed, grinning eagerly.
*CLANG!"
Momo though was quicker, and summoned a metal staff out of her back and knocked her back slightly. The quick change in momentum knocked the blood user off, but her team was right there to grab her.
"Hey! I thought the Riders couldn't leave!" Ochako cried out.
"Riders can't touch the ground," Yui replied.
"You want them, come get them!" Momo growled, spinning her staff around a small shield.
Toga landed back on Katsuki's shoulder and grinned holding up her knives. "Let's do this, Princess Peach!"
For some reason, Momo felt insulted as she clashed with the blond vampire. Pulling back her staff, she thrust her hand out, a hook firing out of her wrist. Toga tried to bend away from the sharp point, but the hook was faster, snagging one of the bands and scraping against the blonde rider's temple. "OI, no sharp instruments!"
"Don't worry, I blunted it!" Momo grinned as she pulled it back, only an object to fly by and grab it. "What the?"
"Thanks for the freebie!" A taunting voice called out. The two teams looked to see a green haired girl with her hand reattaching itself.
"Look at that! Tokage showing some trickery with her Quirk, Lizard Tail Splitter!" Present Mic cheered.
"She was one of the recommended students like Yaoyorozu-san. This also shows that heroes need to keep their heads on a swivel."
Momo frowned as she pulled her hook back. "Clever girl…!" Izuku, Melissa and Ochako all stifled laughter at her words, making her blink owlishly and look down at them in confusion. "What?'
"Nothing. They're gonna for the millions and we need to keep it safe."
Just then, a wave of ice erupted from beneath them, forcing all three horses to leap back. "Great, more people!" Melissa grumbled, watching Todoroki underneath Setsuna holding out his hand. A second stream of ice came and a loud laughter rang out as Momo's team was forced back from the onslaught.
"AHAHAHAHAHA, how do you like us now, Class 1A!? I'm pretty sure you're looking pretty dumb right now!"
Melissa groaned. "I really wish he'd shut up!"
"Gladly!' Katsuki snarled, preparing to launch another blast, only for it to be completely covered in an invisible barrier.
"Like my Quirk blasty?" Monoma taunted.
Monoma Neito. Quirk: Copy. He can copy other people's Quirks by merely touching them.
"Hm…Kosei," Yui muttered looking at the last member of Setsuna's team. The brown hair boy was blowing out another large bubble of air, creating a large invisible wall.
Tsubaraba Kosei. Quirk: Solid Air. He can blow a solid stream of air, allowing him to create barriers and platforms. The strength of the barriers depends on the amount of breath.
The explosive blonde growled. "Damn it, air's gonna suck up anything that I can ignite my sweat with!"
As he thought quickly how to counter this new development, Monoma took the chance to reach out and try to grab one of the headbands, brushing against Bakugou's hair. With a smirk, he quickly thrust out his hands and ignited them, knocking Katsuki off balance for a moment.
"What the…you fucking COPYCAT!"
"Blasty! Calm down," Toga told him, readjusting her balance on his shoulders.
"Fuck!"
Meanwhile, Momo was now on the defensive, throwing up a shield to protect herself from Tokage's flying limbs. "How troubling…! She can attack us from any angle like this! We need to move, now! Try and get out of her range!"
Melissa and Ochako nodded and as one they kicked off the ground, floating in midair with Izuku helping push them along. Izuku realized something as he pushed back. 'Togake's Quirk is good…but she's got one weakness.' He thought as he looked at the grinning girl. "Momo, take the shot!"
The class representative fired her hook at Tokage, who was currently engaged with Himiko and doing her best to knock the blood user off Katsuki's shoulders. She didn't realize that Momo was firing at her until she felt something pull off her head. "What the?"
Momo grinned and pulled the hook back, taking one of the headbands with her. The sudden pull also ripped off her headbands sending them flying.
"Oh crap!" The split-up girl shouted. "Guys grab the bands quick!
As Kosei and Monoma tried to grab the headbands in the middle of fighting Toga, Team Momo made their escape.
"Wooof, this intense," Melissa gasped.
"How much longer, Momo?" Ochako asked.
"Under ten minutes, we just need to hold on."
As they calmed down, Izuku spotted a group coming at them. The purple hair on the student on top revealed Shinso Hitoshi as the Rider. "Shinso! Nine o clock!"
Momo turned in that direction to see the tired looking Gen Ed student on top of three Riders, Kirishima, Ojiro and their fellow Class Rep Nirengeki. "We might have some issues."
"Why? Kiri and Ojiro have simple Quirks," Ochako wondered.
"It's not those two we have to worry about…at least not by themselves," Izuku revealed. "Nirengeki can boost impact force. And it can be anything."
"Heh let's see some of that Class A skill. Oi, Tail man," Shinso called out.
"Yes?" Ojiro asked.
"Swipe them!"
The group of three charged forward, which allowed Ojiro to swing his tail at Ochako. The Gravity girl winced from the force of the tail. "Owww, man Ojiro's strong."
"But that was just part one," Nirengeki smirked and pointed at the spot Ojiro targeted. Suddenly, Ochako nearly got knocked off her feet as an invisible force suddenly rammed into her chest, sending her stumbling back and almost making her drop Melissa.
"'Chako you alright?" the blonde asked from her spot in the middle.
"I'm fine!" The brunette replied, wincing.
"So much for the million points," Shinso taunted.
Melissa growled. "Come and get it then." However, even as she spoke, she suddenly fell still, her defiant expression going blank and slack.
Shinso grinned as he felt his Quirk respond. "Stop!"
Melissa for whatever reason followed his orders, causing Momo to almost fall as their group was pulled in different directions
"You should be worried about your headbands," Shinso grinned as he stood on Ojiro's shoulders. "I'll be taking those million points."
Before he could reach, a wave of metal formed between him and Momo, springing up into a wall formed by Izuku. Shinso tched and reset his position.
Ochako behind her and kicked the blonde in the shin. "Melissa?!"
Abruptly, the other girl jolted and blinked, looking around. "Huh? Did something happen?"
"We need to go!" Izuku told her as they blasted away. "Three minutes left. They're gonna be gunning for every point!"
Indeed, while they were facing Shinso's team, the rest of the competitors were now fighting each other for the rest of the headbands. Evidently, Tokage remembered this and tried again to fling her hands at Momo's headbands only to be deflected away.
"Two-minute warning! Team Yaoyorozu still has the ten million points!" Present Mic cheered, the crowd eating up the action. As the remaining teams fought for their points,
Momo was ready for Tokage's hand when suddenly she felt a tapping on her shoulder. "Hi Momo!"
"What the hell?" the black-haired girl yelped as the blood quirk user landed on her back. "How?!"
"She's basically in some sort of Zen state, I can't explain it! If you look away, she can disappear in a flash.
"And that's why you're gonna lose Deku!" Bakugou countered as he tried to reach up for Momo's headbands. This time Momo was ready and deflected the hand away with her bo staff, while she fought off Toga.
"Look at Team Toga and Yaoyorozu go! 30 seconds left, it's still anyone's fight!"
The scramble became desperate as the recommended student fought the ninja, sparks flying as Momo staff clashed with the blonde's blades. Toga kept trying to grab the headbands while trying to protect her own. With all of their effort the two reached out for their opponent's headbands.
"TIME'S UP! EVERYONE STOP!" Present Mic shouted. "Everyone turn in your headbands!"
Toga beamed as she hopped off her team's shoulders and came flouncing over to her friends.
. "Good match, Momo!"
Momo gently climbed down and smiled. "Likewise, though I wish it wasn't so rough. I could have been the horse instead."
"You did fine Momo," Izuku praised, getting the girl to beam at the praise.
"Fucking hell, you kept that million-point headband!" Katsuki growled.
"Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," Melissa giggled loftily.
"CAN IT, SPECS!"
The American smirked before turning to Ochako and holding her shoulder. "You know, you never let go of my butt or Izuku's."
Ochako started to turn red and tried to float away, only to be held in place by the stronger girl.
Moments later, all the headbands were turned in and the results were read out.
"We have our Top 4 teams! The teams that will advance will be…in 4th Place! Team Shinso!"
The purple haired Gen Ed student sighed. "Of course.
"Third Place! Team Tokage!"
Monoma was crying up a storm. "Damn those Class A plebians!
Second Place! Team Toga!"
"Second place, still good," Yui commented.
First place and still holding onto their million-point headband, Team Yaoyorozu!"
The heiress blushed at the cheers and waved to the crowd.
"Now we're going to clear the field and break for lunch folks. But don't go away, after lunch, we have the third event ou tournament! Stay tuned!"
The students quickly headed to the field exit in order to get some food. However, before Izuku could go, Todoroki stopped him. "Midoriya…I would like to talk."
"Why?" Izuku asked, confused.
"Not here…." The bicolored boy said shortly.
Izuku looked to his friends for a moment but followed the aloof boy.
They walked until they reached one of the student entrances to the stadium. Then Shouto turned around. "What…is your relationship with All Might?"
End of Chapter
UO: Well, what do you know? Izuku's showing off and we got new teams and new competitors.'
NS: Something I've noticed with fics that get this far…either authors change the second round of the Sports Fest to something completely different, or they stick to the Cavalry battle with almost the exact same teams. And even those that change the teams, always keep Izuku as the Rider. So, we decided to change at least that, while also changing the teams.
UO: As a result, we have some new match ups, but unfortunately, a couple of the matches will remain canon, partly because this is one of the better arcs in the manga.
Preview: The Third Round of the Year 1 Sports Festival begins as motives and tensions rise. Who will be the one going Plus Ultra?
Next Time: Fight for the Top! The Final Stage!
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