"Are you all ready?"
Quirkless stood in front of class 1-A and 1-B. Since Aizawa and Vlad King were still in the infirmary, Izuku offered to lead them to where the students were supposed to go. He also needed to talk to a few students.
Tenya Iida and Itsuka Kendo stood stiffly, following orders. They made sure to keep everyone in rows of two.
Nodding, Izuku led them to the area behind the stadium field. He overlooked the classes, pinpointing the students he needed to talk to.
Smiling, he rose his voice. "Alright guys! This is your first chance to show those pros what you're made of! Do your best, and never give up! Fight to the end. Remember, you're not a coward if you can't make it halfway, it just happens sometimes. Now! Get out there! Plus Ultra!" He lifted a fist and pumped it, revving up the students.
After witnessing his display in the staff showdown, they needed to do their best.
Izuku grinned, and as quickly as the grinned came, it disappeared. "You all go out, I need to talk to Bakugo Katsuki, Eijiro Kirishima, and Momo Yaoyorozu." He smiled again as the students he didn't call marched forward.
With the three students in front of him, he sighed. "Katsuki. Before you rage out and call me a 'stupid deku', you need to shut up and listen." The student he addressed huffed, a scowl adorning his face.
His right eye twitching, he grabbed a pistol and aimed it at a trashcan. Obliterating it with a steel bullet, the three students stood straighter than they have been their whole lives.
"I'm going to say this once Bakugo. I am a staff member of the school. I have more experience being a hero than you could ever hope achieve. I can tolerate a lot of slack, Katsuki, but assaulting a student out of jealousy is something I cannot look past."
Katsuki chuckled. "And so what? What, you're going to give me detention? Tell me I'm a bad kid? Cause tough luck. I'm going -"
"To be the number one hero. Blah Blah Blah. I've heard it all, Katsuki. You need to get the fuck over yourself. Kirishima is my apprentice. He turned into my family, Katsuki. You mess with my family and you've got a problem with me.
"Here's what I'm going to do. I talked with Principal Nezu, and he and I had a little agreement." He smiled, the grin turning sinister. "Youre going to spend your internship in the Hosu prison."
Katsuki paled. Kirishima and Momo gasped.
"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. Not only will a friend of mine check up on you, but he won't step in when issues arise. He'll just make sure you aren't raped or murdered. Anything else goes."
Katsuki started trembling. looking at the kid in front of him, he remembered when he bullied him as kids, threatening him that if he were to want to be a hero, he would hurt him. Now, the same kid was sending him off to prison.
Keeping his head low, he spoke, his voice quiet. "How will this effect my future?"
Izuku hummed. "Oh, it won't be a permanent stamp on your name." Katsuki relaxed. "We'll just send a note stating that you have serious anger management issues, and to be wary of you." Katsuki paled once more, not believing what he was hearing.
Izuku glared at him, every memory and beating he received from the ashen blonde coming back at full force. "Katsuki. If you want to act like a bully, then you're going to be treated like one. Bullies are no more than villains, and I'd rather not see you become one. You have potential, but if you're not going to change, that's all you're going to be known for."
He turned to the other two. "Kirishima. Ms. Yaoyorozu. I trust you'll report to me if students like Katsuki start any trouble." The two students nodded.
Addressing the three, he forced Bakugo to face them. "Katsuki. I need you to apologize to these two for the misconduct you started."
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "Bite me."
Izuku sighed. "I hoped it would never come to this." He rose his pistol to Bakugo's right leg, safety clicked off. "Katsuki. Apologize to them, or you're not participating in the festival."
Bakugo stared at the pistol, eyes wide open. His eyes darted between the pistol and the two students. "All right, I'm sorry." The pistol wouldn't move. He began to sweat. "I'm sorry for injuring you, Kirishima, and bad mouthing the bit- you, Yaoyorozu."
Izuku nodded, lowering the pistol. "Good. Now you three, go. I have to find a way to explain the trash can." The three nodded running to join their classmates.
Before leaving, he heard Midnight call him out on a microphone. "If Quirkless can hear my voice, can you please come out into the field to have a word with the audience?"
Izuku stumbled, not believing what he heard. Laughing, he walked out to the field, uniform on, and was blown away from what he saw.
Every member of the audience was standing up, clapping and cheering for him. He wasn't used to this. He never expected any form of publicity, but he felt that this might change. Although, he refused to give up vigilantism. He refused to be a puppet for the government.
This is nice. He noticed that even the students were cheering him on.
"Come on you terrifying work of art! Get onto the podium! Say a few words to boost our students' morale!"
He knew he'd have to thank Nemuri for this, even if he hated her. He hesitantly walked up to the podium, noting everyone quieted and sat down.
"Ahem. Good morning, everyone! Wow, talk about an event, right?!" The crowd roared in approval. "So, since you all don't know me, I am registered as quirkless. I have never had a single ounce of strength or speed from a joint in my toe. I had to fight tooth and nail to get to where I am today.
"And that's ok! Ever since I was a child, I have loved seeing quirks in action. They're just so cool to me! As I love seeing quirks, I love getting to know the people who utilize them.
"Looking at each of these students, I can't help but care for them. Each student is amazing, and it's hard for me to see who will win the festival today! Each student has worked so hard to get to where they are now, and I know they won't let that effort go to waste.
"To all the students competing today. Good luck! Work hard, help each other, and always find a way to stay positive. Trust me, that will go a long way other than just winning. There's only one first place prize, but your abilities to become amazing heroes outnumber that by the hundreds. PLUS ULTRA!" He pumped his fist in the air, beaming as the audience and students cheered.
Mina looked over at Kyoka. "He really has a way with words, huh?" Kyoka smiled. "It only gets me pumped up! Let's do our best, Mina!" The two girls cheered.
Izuku left for the teachers box, smiling. He was glad he was able to inspire his generation. Now it's time to see how the students would use it.
Unfortunately for Izuku, Midnight was on the field, introducing each factor of the competition. Before she went on, he spoke to her, promising more pain than she ever felt if she took her flirtatious act too far. This ranged from staring at a kid the wrong way for too long or acting in a way that is borderline sexual.
Needless to say, she followed through to the letter. She only talked about the rules and what not. Izuku looked on, and was impressed by the first challenge.
An obstacle race.
It was such a simple concept with many different complex parts. The first part of the race was the entrance to it. It would be narrow with all the students, but the students would need to figure out how to escape it.
As the race started, Izuku immediately began recording the students. A big part of his job for the festival was analyzing each student and seeing how each student could improve. He couldn't write everyone down at the same time, so watching it later would prove beneficial.
He noticed some interesting factors that helped show which students would progress.
Sero "web-swinged" his way over the students.
Mei Hatsume used a jet pack.
Momo used climbers gear she conjured to climb the walls surrounding the students.
Bakugo used his abilities to fly over the competition.
Todoroki used his ice to trap the other students while boosting him in speed.
Tsuyu used her unmatched strength to hop over and stick to the walls.
Shoji pushed through with his multiple limbs.
Ojiro did something similar with his tail.
Tokoyami used his dark shadow to fly.
Other students of 1-A were flying and sliding through.
Izuku was on the lookout for Kirishima, and frowned when he didn't see him on the main field.
He was about to give when he saw a flash of red on the railing.
Kirishima was using his lessons to handle a superior balance, sprinting on the railing that visualized the out of bounds. By technicality, he was still in.
He heard a pained voice of Present Mic talk about the students, and was proud to say Present Mic was impressed by Kirishima.
As of right now, the main obstacle had to be the giant robots parading to the students.
Some students took care of the robots with ease: Todoroki managed to freeze the robots, causing them to collapse onto the other students. While frowned upon, it was allowed.
Tenya was gaining on first place until his heel touched Todoroki's icy road, in which Tenya promptly fell, allowing Mina to speed past him.
Kaminari had actually rewired a smaller robot and powered it with his own quirk and was closing on on the acidic girl. It was a wonder why his grades were lower. It was obvious he was intelligent.
Kyoka showed off superior stamina and was sprinting with the students, pausing only a couple of times.
Almost every student halted when they approached the next obstacle: A tightrope cliff.
He did say almost, right?
Kirishima didn't hesitate. Leaping off the railing, he sprinted across one of the ropes, paying the drop no mind.
Everyone else behind him stopped and just stared at the red head in surprise. Especially those in class 1-A.
Todoroki looked over at Tokoyami. "Did you know he could do that?" The avian headed teen shook his head in disbelief. "I didn't even know he caught up to us."
Tokoyami chuckled. "What's next, a horse and rider gallop and clear the obstacle?" Both competitors chuckled before hearing a breigh near them.
It was Pony and Shinso. Pony was galloping on all fours while Shinso was on her back. Sticking her toungue out at both 1-A students, she leaped, putting every muscle she had into her legs. Shinso chuckled before calling the two out. "Yeehaw!" When the two landed. Pony laughed. "See you guys on the other side!" the two galloped off, leaving Todoroki and Tokoyami in the dust.
The two stared at each other, bewildered. Tokoyami called out to the sky. "What's next? I gain a million yen?"
Todoroki shook his head, shooting ice in a stream across a rope to slide on.
Tokoyami and Bakugo flew.
Mei used one of her "babies" and glided across the ropes.
Iida looked like a mess, t-posing as his engines helped him cross.
Momo created a hook and used one rope like a zipline, whimpering as she zipped across.
The rest of the students didn't have as easy a time as the ones in front. Most, if not all, resorting to struggling to balance on the rope. Some crawled their way, and it was inevitable that some fell. Luckily, there was a net that lead them to safety. Nezu shuddered to think what would happen to the school if he had a few dead children under his belt.
The third and final obstacle in the race was Izuku's personal favourite. Despite his humanity, he was still a fourteen years old teenage boy. How loved watching things explode.
He was proud of Kirishima for bolting through the obstacle, instinctively dodging every lodged explosive in the ground.
From a distance, Izuku heard present Mic explain that while the bombs weren't lethal, they pack a punch, leaving those impacted with a little more than a bruise. On top of that, it would slow you down.
He watched Todoroki glide over the bombs with no struggle, and he watched Bakugo fly over the course entirely. The same was said with Tokoyami and Mei.
for everyone else, it was a struggle. Every time a bomb went off, dust would spew everywhere, blocking everyone's line of sight momentarily. The land would be riddled with craters, making easy travel more and more difficult.
Izuku grinned when he saw the teen who finished in first. A strong sense of pride overwhelmed him, prompting him to jump out of his seat and cheer.
"And finishing off in first place is Eijiro Kirishima! The hardy boy managed to outrun both a flying explosive and a glacier! What kind of training has he been doing?!"
Izuku smirked. Leaping over rooftops has paid off after all, it seems.
"In second place is the glacier himself, Shouto Todoroki! In third is Bakugo Katsuki!"
Soon, a leaderboard was posted. Izuku was glad to see both hero classes and a few support students made the top 40. He was sad to see that this year was not the year for general education.
Izuku wrote in his notebook, noting any changes and improvements the students made so far in his counselling career. This festival was going to be fun.
"Quirkless."
A deep, rugged voice introduced itself behind Izuku. The vigilante turned at was looking at a hulk of a man. This man had so many flames spiralling around his body that he looked to be the embodiment of heat.
"Endeavor. A pleasure." Izuku wished he was telling the truth. He knew the truth of the man in front of him, and disliked him for his lackluster romantic life that was quirk marriage.
"Yes, yes, I wish this visit was for tea, but I must have a word with you."
Izuku frowned. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm here, spit it out."
Endeavor straightened. "I wish for you to convince Shouto to use the gift I've bestowed upon him. He cannot do well in this festival on his childish rebellion." He crossed his arms, no mood for jokes.
Izuku sighed. "Enji, do you think I haven't tried? In every session I have with him, he refuses to use his fire. Something has traumatized him to the point where he suffers panic attacks from just lighting a candle. Trust me, I've witnessed just that." He narrowed his eyes. "How far did you push him? How many beatings has he suffered through just because you desperately need to get over your childish notion of beating All Might through a child?"
"Dont answer that, Enji." Izuku sighed. "You know what? I'll speak to him once more." The Hellfire user grinned. "But only because Todoroki would benefit from the talk, and for using his flames. This is not for you."
Endeavor waved it off. "Have him use his quirk and I'll owe you a couple favours. Good day"
Staring at the retreating figure of Endeavor, Izuku placed his head in his hands.
This was going to be tough. On Izuku and Todoroki.
