Soul Marked

Chapter Thirteen

First Event

I hope you enjoy the slight changes I have made toward this event and you guys will hopefully be pleased with the next event as well! It took a lot of creativity on how to do it :D

This chapter was edited by my amazing beta: Whatisthiswitchery.

Please read the end notes!

More people had escaped the ice and she was silently proud of her class, and those who in the other classes who had managed to avoid his quirk as well. There was so many great quirks around her and she wasn't able to analyze them.

"Hey, Midoriya!" came a voice from behind her that caused her to stiffen in annoyance. She could barely make out the soft popping sounds that announced he was using his balls from the top of his head. Tensing she prepared herself to have to dodge one of them knowing that getting struck by it would only be a hindrance. "Better watch-"

His voice was silenced as she heard the creaking of machinery and watched from the corner of her eyes as his small body was shot forward into the wall a little ways ahead of her. Eyes widening she finally noticed the robots from the entrance exam emerge in front of her.

"Targets acquired!"

A purple ball rolled past her as she used her quirk to jump over a metal hand that had swiped through the air at her. She hit the ground hard as she curled her body to roll and spring back up in one quick motion. Her breathing was coming out more forcefully as she was forced to come to a stop and assess the situation.

Ahead of her she watched as Todoroki did the same thing, staring up into the face of the robot in front of him. She tensed knowing that whatever he did in the end would decide her decision on how to move forward. If he took out the robots for her she would be able to glide off his work and save her quirk usage for later.

"Every obstacle course needs obstacles!" resonated Present Mic's voice. "Starting with the first barrier! Robo Inferno! It's the zero-pointers from the exam!"

She could hear the others gaining on them and watched impatiently as Todoroki made his move freezing the robots in place with his ice. As her eyes darting around the robots she noticed how he had froze them, they were off balance, and would come crashing down at any second. She could only hope that nobody was under them when that happened.

It only left one option for her.

She had to go over.

Taking a steadying breath she called for her quirk and darted forward using the power to launch her farther and faster than ever before. Using the ice she climbed up it digging her heels into the substance to get a grip so she could climb without slipping back down. For the first time she was glad that Hatsume had added the heels to her boots.

The cracks she made began to spread the farther she moved up and she could hear the creaking of it. It was going to crumble at any moment. She was almost there!

She bounced off the head of the nearest robot using it to gain enough momentum to make it to the next one. Once her feet connected she could feel how unstable it was. The machinery had begun to creak and shift underneath her. Moving faster she bounced from one head to the other.

"Look at 1-A's Midoriya!" Present Mic yelled out. "She's making her way quickly over those robots keeping second place secured right behind Todoroki!"

Izuka huffed she didn't want Todoroki to be aware of how close she was to him. If she could catch up to him as he's unaware she would be able to hit when the time is right and pass him. If she got too close and he was aware he would attack her with his ice she was sure.

Stepping on the last robot she jumped from the machinery and landed in a crouch. Her legs were beginning to feel a little over the use of her quirk but she only hoped the running would work out the cramps in her muscles. Taking in a deep breath she exhaled and darted forward, not wanting the gap between her and those behind her to grow smaller.

She could hear the explosions from Kacchan and she didn't like how close they sounded. By the time she made it to the next obstacle her breathing was coming out in harsh short bursts and was only a couple feet from Todoroki who was already using his ice to glide over the ropes that connected each platform.

Taking another steadying breath she activated her quirk thankful toward the fact that her and Toshi had practiced over and over on using her quirk for longer and longer times. It really helped her to be able to give out only a small amount of power at a time. It kept her from losing control and giving too much which would then end in something broken.

It was well known to her that the only reason she was getting by was all that extra practice. If she hadn't been able to use her quirk this well she would be way behind.

Crouching low she sprung forward doing a flip midair and bringing back her hand before quickly swinging it out in an arc behind her. A gust of power exploded from her hand and shot her faster through the air. Landing with only a slight stumble on a pillar in the middle she prepared her body to do it again.

This time she waited until she was the highest she could possibly go before releasing the gust of power behind her, flying through the air her decent caused her to surpass Todoroki as they both landed on the other side of the second obstacle.

Both of them stopped to stare at one another, chests rising with the effort it took to get this far. Emerald eyes clashed with mismatched ones. She was thinking back to his words from before, he had picked her as his rival, and she didn't plan on making it easy on him to beat her. Out of everyone, he was the one to recognize her.

She would push herself to go beyond her best.

Ripping her gaze from his she flung herself forward once more letting One For All leave her body. They both ran giving it everything they had as they were neck to neck. Neither one used their quirk, Todoroki's breathing had become labored as ice had began to cling to his side. Izuka's muscles were screaming at her to give them a break but she still had so much farther to go.

They used their own strength to get one over the other.

"It looks like Midoriya and Todoroki are neck and neck for the lead! Look at them try to surpass the other! You can practically see the rivalry!"

They both skidded to a stop when they came to an open area, their gazes searching for what could possible be the obstacle this time around. Izuka's eyes noticed the clumped up dirt closely together and she only hoped her guess would be wrong. Could it be possible they had used mines for the final obstacle?

How would she make it past this without losing her spot? Her quirk would be worthless as she wouldn't be able to miss landing on a mine closer to the end. They were placed to close together. Her brain was searching for a quick answer and in the back of her mind she could hear Present Mic announce what they had come too.

Next to her she could see Todoroki hesitate as well as he tried to pick the best course of action. Izuka moved her foot forward knowing that any more hesitating here would allow the others to gain on her soon. Todoroki noticing her moving stepped out along with her. She grunted in frustration as they were forced to make their way carefully around the mines.

A gasp left her lips as a hand shot out and shoved her causing her body to stumble to the side, her foot landing directly above a landmine. Her eyes widened as she shot a surprised stare over to Todoroki who had been the one to shove her. There was a bright flash and she felt her body being shoved up into the air. Smoke filled the air around her causing her to gasp as she began to fall back toward the ground.

"You!" Yelled out a familiar voice off to the side. It was closing in fast. "Your declaration of war was to the wrong person!" It was Kacchan, he had caught up to them which meant she was at least in third place now.

Her body fell to the ground activating another mine next to the one she had exploded before. Anger coursed through her veins as she was once more flung up into the air. The dust and smoke around her made it hard to see and she couldn't really breathe all that well. Twisting her body, she aimed to come down on the mine she had previously hit not wanting to set another one off again. She was falling behind now. Izuka couldn't afford to lose her place anymore.

Wiping the sweat from her eyes she saw Kacchan and Todoroki pushing and shoving each other only a few short yards ahead. They were within reach, they hadn't gotten to far as they were busy trying to shove the other one into a mine. Their minds preoccupied with themselves.

Her eyes darted to behind her where there were several students closing in on her position. They were making their way slowly across the field. Her mind was whirring with choices, decisions on what could give her leverage to gain the lead once more.

Her feet pulled her forward as she thought over her options, her body automatically dodging the harsh mines as she leaped to every clear spot she could see.

What could she do?

What would give her an edge?

How could she make it past those two?

"And Midoriya falls behind! Man that looked like it hurt. Bakugo and Todoroki take the lead!"

Her quirk was useless, there was no way she could use it effectively out here. There was just no way. Unless. Her mind thought back to how she used her quirk mid air over the second obstacle. It was similar to how Kacchan used his to fly across the air, the only difference is she was only able to use it once before landing. She didn't have the grace or familiarity how to use her power to keep herself up in the air for long periods of time by repetitive use.

Taking a deep breath she prepared her body as she took a deliberate step onto the next land mine she walked past.

"And Midoriya goes up by another mine!" Present Mic announced. "You'd think she would learn from last time."

"Look," Eraserhead said calmly as he watched the girl get thrown up into the air. This time Izuka forced her body to not flip as she placed her left hand off to the side of her before pushing it through the air harshly, a wave of power ripping through the air behind her as it propelled her forward.

The air whipped at her face but she kept her eyes trained in front of her on the two figures pushing and shoving each other. She could hear the explosions from Kacchan going off. They were almost to the end of the mine and she knew this was her last chance to get ahead of them. It had to be planned perfectly.

On her descent her body began to flip through the air and as she righted herself her feet connected with the shoulders of the two boys and she pushed off using the momentum to fly forward and hit the ground. Rolling she forced herself from the ground to get back up to her feet.

Behind her Bakugo and Todoroki stumbled under her weight and the action of flinging them back. A grimace spread across Bakugo's face as he broke apart from Todoroki and picked up his speed to catch up with Koneko.

"Get back here!" he yelled at her as he used his explosions to glide through the air faster. Todoroki no longer caring about giving the people behind him an edge used his ice to move faster.

"Look at those three go! This has got to be the most exciting moment during this event! Who will make it across first!" Izuka blocked the heroes voice from her mind focusing solely on one foot in front of the other.

The end of the race was in clear sight, she could do this. It was right there! Her heart soared with the thought, she could make it to first place. Her train of thought was cut short as something hard plowed right into her. Her foot lost balance collapsing under her weight as she went toppling toward the dirt. Whoever had hit her went down with her ending up on top of her. She began to struggle under their weight as she tried shoving them off.

"Fucking quit squirming!" Kacchan snapped from up above her. Izuka's green eyes darted to his own as they widened. She could feel her cheeks darken in color but was surprised to find that his own face was growing red. A wave of embarrassment flooded throughout her whole system and all she could think of was to get him up and off her. Calling One for All to her arms she gripped the front of his gym uniform and curled her fingers around the material. Pushing up with her legs she used her upper body strength to push against his chest.

Todoroki was closing in fast behind them her eyes locked onto his form and as he began to make his way past them she used her full force to shove Kacchan up into the air. Not being able to come to a stop Todoroki skidded across the dirt, the body of the ash blonde hitting him as they both tumbled to the ground.

Izuka shoved herself from the ground her fingers digging into the dirt as she jumped to her feet, spinning around, and taking off toward the finish line. She pushed her feet faster than before her breathing was merely one long drawn out gasp for air as she puffed and pushed herself faster. Behind her a string of curses was leaving Katsuki as he ran after her with everything inside of him. Todoroki was only a step behind the hot head.

Screams erupted around her as her left foot passed over the finishing line. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as her body collapsed onto the ground trying to catch her breath as she allowed her head to fall forward and rest on her knees.

She had done it.

She finished in first place.

Emerald glanced around trying to find familiar sapphire eyes in the crowd of where the teachers would be sitting but there was too many people and she couldn't place him.

'I did it Toshi' she thought to herself a wide grin spreading across her face.

"Koneko!" Bakugo yelled out as he stomped toward where she was sitting. "I better fucking see you in the finals. You got that!?" Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him, her cheeks were still a little red from before, and when she saw that he hadn't completely gotten rid of his own blush her's only grew darker, but she was happy.

"You bet, Kacchan!" she said her smiling growing as she thumbs upped him. His gaze lingered on her lips a moment longer before he shook his head, the red deepening, before cursing and walking away. Izuka cocked her head to the side and frowned as she watched him walk away wondering what had happened. She didn't have long to think over it before Kaminari and Momo ran up to her.

Momo reached out a hand to Izuka who took it willingly as the taller girl helped pull her up to her feet. Kaminari slapped his hand against her back as soon as she was on her feet.

"Look at you!" he yelled excitedly. "First place!" Izuka rubbed the back of her head tousling her hair as she did so. Using her free hand she wiped her bangs from her face.

"Ah, I just got lucky y'know," she said with a small light laugh.

"You were awesome!" Denki said shaking his head as he began to bounce around her. Momo was nodding her head along with him. "The way you used the mines to blow you up into the air and then shoot forward!"

"It was a very creative way to use your quirk and adapt to your surroundings," Momo said cutting in as she spoke appreciatively.

"Thanks guys," Izuka said as another blush spread across her face. Before either one could say anything else Ochaco ran up to them her eyes wide and frozen as she looked at them in almost a daze. "Hey, you okay Ochaco-chan?"

"I-I think I may have ran into my Bonded One during the course," she said in a whisper her eyes darting around their little circle.

"That's great!" Izuka and Momo said brightly as Kaminari nodded along with them.

"Who is it?" Izuka asked her hand going out and patting her arm.

"Ah, he has purple hair and eyes, I don't know his name," her voice sounded shaky but there was no denying the happiness that leaked into her tone. The girl had found the most important person in her life and she was unsure but excited. Izuka however frowned, there was only one person that she knew fit that description and so far her run ins with him hadn't been that great but she couldn't judge him yet. She didn't even know him.

"Shouldn't your Mark have activated when he was outside our class that day the others came to check us out?" Izuka asked wondering why Ochaco was just now gaining her Mark. Ochaco began to fidget her eyes growing wide.

"Ano, I wasn't comfortable staring at the other kids so I kept my head down," she said. "That's probably why it didn't happen." Izuka got a thoughtful look on her face.

"I wonder if he saw you that day in class," she wondered to herself. "It could be possible his Mark has already activated." The shorter girls muttering was beginning to cause Ochaco anxiety she didn't want to think about the possibility that he already knew of their Mark and hadn't thought about going up to her. What did that mean? He wasn't interested? Or just plain shy?

Momo noticing the brunette's discomfort laid a heavy hand on Izuka's shoulder bringing her out of her mumbling. "I don't think that's helping."

"Yeah, Ururaka looks like she's going to puke," Kaminari stated. Izuka slapped her hands over her mouth as she hung her head.

"Sorry! I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine," Ochaco said with a small awkward laugh. Midnight's voice cut across the field, silencing them as they turned to look up at her.

"Those of you who placed in the top 40 from this qualifying round will move on!" Midnight yelled out an excited look on her face. "Anyone who placed lower should not worry because we have a way for you to show your stuff! Now to the main selection! The second event, I already know what it is of course, dying in suspense! Next up is this!" On the screen read the word Bo-Taoshi, or capture the pole in essence. It was like capture the flag but instead of a flag you have to take down a pole.

Izuka began to feel a little uncomfortable as she thought about it. This game could get rough, and with quirks being allowed she knew it was going to be hard, extremely so. It was going to be a struggle for the whole game to keep your pole up. It would all lay with who you picked for your team their quirks would have to be good at defence and offence.

"So we'll be working as teams," Momo said curiously. "I wonder how that would work with us moving forward."

"Participants will, on their own, form teams of eight people," Midnight said explaining how this would go. "The rules are that you must defend while also attacking other poles to bring them down. You will be ranked by a whole. However, there is one crucial difference than in normal Bo-taoshi battles, where normally there is only two groups we will be having a total of five, and to make it more interesting we have put a price on the head of each group. As you're taking down a pole you are allowed to grab for a flag that will be added to your number and in the end the two groups who have the highest points win! You will be ranked individually by what place you arrived in, and then in your group your point value will add up to a total of everyone in your group."

"So the point value of each team depends on its members," Hagakure called out.

"I'm about to explain it, so just shut up already!" Midnight snapped as she cracked her whip in anger. Izuka raised her eyebrow at the pro hero but didn't dare say anything.

"Yes, your individual point values start at five, at the bottom! So the student who took fortieth place is worth five points, thirty-ninth is worth ten, get it? Though there's a twist! Watch out first place because you're worth ten million points!"

Izuka could feel herself shrivel up as all eyes turned deadly onto her. Her stomach was feeling queasy as she began to sweat nervously. Getting first place didn't feel as great as it had just a mere moment ago. Her eyes were wide as everyone, even her friends turned to stare at her their eyes glinting. This was going to be a disaster. She could feel it deep down inside of herself.

"The higher ranked students are the ones to aim for this survival game is a chance for a comeback," Midnight announced. "It's anyone's game! As you have heard countless times since enrolling at U.A., this is Plus Ultra! After taking first place in the qualifiers, Midoriya Izuka has got ten million points!"

Izuka really wished she would just stop pointing that factor out. It was putting a high price on her head. How was she going to talk anyone into joining her team with it being obvious that she would be the main person that people went after?

"This match will last 15 minutes, each pole will have eight flags representing each number your team holds on it. Until the end of your match you'll all compete to take down your opponents pole and grab the flag, but if your pole goes down you're out! If they just grab the flag you have a chance to take someone else's. However if you take a pole down but you don't get the flag than that team gets to keep their flags and it counts at the end of the battle! The flags must be at the top of the pole but remember the more flags you have the harder it will be to manage each of them! The points only count if they are on your pole which means as your running back to your pole someone is allowed to steal the flag away for themselves! Quirks are allowed, so it'll be a brutal battle!"

Izuka began to think rapidly it wasn't a normal Bo-Taoshi with the point system included in it. There was more to the game then just taking people down. You could get out but would still be in the game, you wouldn't have a chance to grab more points but if you had a high point then you still had a chance. It really only seemed to matter if you had the one million if you got out or made it to the end as long as you held that flag you were golden. It was an odd mixture but she assumed it was made to pit people against each other, to have more of an assentive to go after certain groups, and to take people down and get them out of the way so you could move up the ranks.

"You've got fifteen minutes to form your teams!" Midnight yelled as she watched the students began to panic at the short time to grab a team and then plan what you would do.

Izuka knew that it didn't truly matter who she went after their points wouldn't be anything more than a diversion away from the real prize. What would be her real challenge would be talking those she chose into joining her team since they would be the ones with the most wanted price on their heads.

She was growing anxious and her stomach was flipping violently but she shoved all that back. She had a team to form.

'Please let me make it through this!' she thought to herself.

So I mixed the Bo-taoshi with regular capture the flag so I could keep the point system as I thought it just brought a higher level of competitiveness to the game. I'm actually pretty excited to write the next chapter but I've got to form team before I do that so I know who's with who.

Also guys I kicked out two people from moving forward because otherwise I would have had one extra person on two different teams. So yeah.

And if it wasn't clear Katsuki came in second during the first event and Todoroki came in third. Just wanted to make that change clear.