This was really hard to write... I am not sure why... but it was...
Fun though, a real challenge to justify the ending I chose...
Remember Adaptation and a thinking on his feet are Izuku's winning traits... Actually it was How Bakugo handled the Zero pointers that inspired my choices...
Also, I realized that Parkour and the adapting that is needed for it gives him an insane advantage.
Dressed in their gym uniforms, Class 1-A sat waiting, desperate to be announced by Present Mic and allowed to present themselves to the crowd... or at least, all of them but Izuku were desperate. Personally he was terrifed, shaken and unhappy. He could all but feel the crowd outside, he never did well with crowds and the changes he made to himself hadn't changed that even slightly. Still... he was excited in his own way, if only to prove his worth and fufill his most recent dream...
'Bakugo's here, he's been back all of a few days and he is an entirely different person.' His eyes moved to the other boy, to Bakugo, who sat quietly in the corner of the room. He no longer radiated hate and anger, instead there was an almost gentle calmness and an anxiety that Izuku knew all too well, one formed from guilt and pain. It was almost cathartic to see his bully suffering like that, like he had for so long... 'The meds really seemed to have helped... I guess I shouldn't judge too much. I mean Hound Dog just diagonosed me with Dysthymia and generalized anxiety and those are definitley affecting me. I wonder what his issues are, what made him so crazy before... it's none of my business I guess, but I am still curious.'
Sighing, he moved his mind from Bakugo and towards the Support items he carried with him... he had his Escrima sticks ( Third edition), a dart gun he made himself with a variety of darts that Mei assisted with that could knock out an elephant, a utility belt that had first aide crap and several new shiny toys that he and Mei had made. They had managed to create an explosive device that unleashed a crap ton of smoke and sound and light, a flame retardant foam exploding set of balls ( Three of them), and ony one capture foam ball since that was the hardest to make and he barely understood how it worked.
He would use that one for Todoroki, ideally... Sadly they had failed to safely create the electric bolos, sadly, and every attempt had created a near fatal overload of electricity that always left the target horribly burned... still he was pleased with what he had managed to create. He had a literal Arsenal to use against everyone, far more skill then ever, and a strategy for his entire class... he was prepared.
Either way, he was prepared and ready for the Festival to start. Two weeks of constant training and inventing, learning biology and chemistry, working harder then ever, teaching his friends combat and improving their bodies... it was all for this shining moment and he would not fail now. He would dominate this festival and take first place if it killed him!
"Aw, man. I was totally hoping I could wear my costume," Ashido said, dragging him from his thoughts, he turned to her, appreciating the new lines of lean muscles along her already shapely body. Her hard work was very clear through her PE clothes.
Ojiro responded. "At least everyone will be in uniforms. That will keep things fair, right?"
"I wonder what they have in store for us in the first round," said Sato.
"No matter what they have prepared, we must persevere," Tokoyami replied.
"Right," Shoji said nodding.
"Everyone, get your game faces on! We're entering the arena soon!" Iida told them as he entered the waiting room.
"Swallow your fear, swallow your fear, swallow your fear!" Mineta chanted.
"Midoriya," Todoroki said, moving towards Izuku with a cold effeciency only that boy was capable of.
"You need something?" Midoriya asked.
"Huh?" Uraraka questioned quietly as everyone turned to look at the two boys.
"From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly clear that I'm stronger than you," Todoroki said.
"In terms of raw power only, in terms of skill I am pretty sure I eclipse all of you... combined." He had no qualms with saying that, it was a fact. "That being said, progress is being made." He offered his friends a smile, pleased with their growth.
Kaminari gasped. "What's with all these declarations of war lately?" he asked.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started..." Kirishima said as he walked over to the two boys, placing his hand on Todoroki's shoulder, making him flinch.
"We're not here to be each other's friends. Don't forget. This isn't a team effort," Todoroki replied, pushing Kirishima's hand off of him, and walking away.
Izuku rolled his eyes, "We are not here to make friends, but allies are always welcome in the long term. Even your father needs allies, no matter how much he may act otherwise. Not a single hero can do it alone, that's a fact. Get your head out of your ass and grow up."
Over the loudspeakers, the voice of All Might radiated. "Hey! Make some noise, all you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes! This year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in sports festival history, guaranteed! I've only got one question before we start this show: Are you ready? Let me hear ya scream as our students make their way to the main stage!"
They all stood, knowing it was time to start the walk down the hall and ready themselves for the struggle.
''''
Ectoplasm, Vlad King, Hound Dog, Power Loader, Snipe, Thirteen, and All Might ( In his skinny form) were all sitting watching the first years in their special section. A tension warred between the teachers, bets had been passed between them and they all had their favorites...
Thirteen wanted Uraraka to win, her fangirl had been working so hard and had helped so well in the USJ incident...
Vlad wanted one his class to succeed, to showcase that his class mattered too and would not be shunted to the side...
Snipe wanted Izuku to win, to shove their ignorance where the sun didn't shine. He had learned the hard way not to undervalue the boy, a boy who always exceeded expectations.
Power Loader wanted a Support student to shine, to show the world their value and that they too mattered.
Hound Dog just wanted healthy competition...
But All Might, he wanted someone, anyone, to showcase that they too were real heroes... someone who could and would send waves of hope through the world with a smile on their face. It didn't matter to him who it was, he just wanted to see it...
:::
"Welcome back to the UA Sports Festival! Where up-and-coming heroes leave everything on the field as they fight for the chance to achieve worldwide fame and celebrity! The first group are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a villain attack, the dazzling students lighting up you TV's with solid-gold skills. The hero course students of Class 1-A!" Present Mic yelled as class 1-A walked into the stadium.
"Uh... I didn't know there would be so many people," Izuku said, a feeling of nausea washing through him.
"I hope we're still able to give our best performances, even though all these eyes are watching us. I suppose it's just another aspect of being a hero we all have to learn to get used to," Iida replied.
"Present Mic sure did talk us up a lot," Kirishima said.
"Kinda makes me nervous. How you feelin', man?" Kirishima asked Bakugo.
To his shock, the explosive boy just sighed. "Better but nervous."
Izuku almost vomited right there, pretty sure they had an evil clone in their midst.
"They haven't been getting nearly as much screentime, but this next group is still chock full of talent! Welcome hero course Class 1-B," Present Mic announced as Class 1-B walked onto the field. "Next up general studies classes C, D, and E!" The general studies classes walked out onto the field, led by a handsome but exhausted looking purple haired boy.
"Support classes F, G, and H!" The support courses waled onto the field led by the one and only, the perfectly crazy Mei Hatsume.
"And finally, business classes I, J, and K!" the business course students walked onto the field. "Give it up for all of UA's first-year contestants!" Present Mic yelled as the crowd cheered.
"I get the feeling we're just here to make the hero students look better. I can't wait for this to be over with," one of the general studies students said, making a rather valid point.
"Now, the introductory speech!" Midnight announced after all of the students had made it to the middle of the field.
"Uh, someone should talk to Ms. Midnight about what she's wearing," Kirishima said.
"Yeah. That costume should come with a warning," Kamianri agreed.
"Is that really appropriate apparel for a high school game?" Tokoyami asked and frankly Izuku agreed with him, she was beautiful but her outfit was not fit for an event made for kids. It was far too adult... no matter how much he enjoyed the sight.
"Silence, everyone! And for the student pledge, we have Izuku Midoriya!" announced Midnight. All of class 1-A gasped and looked at Izuku as he walked up to the microphone.
"Uh... He's the first-year rep?" Bakugo asked quietly.
"I guess the little guy did finish first in the entrance tests," Sero replied.
"Only for the hero course exams," one of the other students remarked, jealousy clear in their voice... but Izuku shut all that out, desperate to maintain his cool as he approached the microphone.
Taking in a deep breathe, he felt his mind detach from his body and a coldness washed through him as he depersonalized from the entire stressful situation.
"This Festival could mean the difference between a life time of success or failure, the start of our journies be we hero, support, business or general student. It will define us, shape us, mold us... and so we all will give our all and mold our own futures. We are not the kind to stand idly by, we walk our own paths and make the most of our realities. We choose to be more then we are told to be, today will prove that. To our idols, to the common people and to the world... I plan on showing all I can do... and so will they. Plus Ultra!"
"PLUS ULTRA!" They called in tandem with him, a rush washing through the crowds.
"Without further ado, it's time for us to get started!" Midnight announced and Izuku felt his heart charge with energy... energy that faded away as cold efficency took over.
"UA really doesn't believe in letting us catch a breath, huh?" Uraraka asked.
"This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival! What could it be? Ta-dah!" Midnight said as a screen showing the words obstacle course appear behind her.
"So it's gonna be an obstacle course," Izuku pointed out.
"All eleven classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium. I don't wanna restrain anyone, at least in this game. As long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do whatever your heart desires. Now then, take your places, contestants," Midnight told the students.
Within moments they were all attempting to squeeze through the doorway, like rats in a cage.
"Hey, hey," one of the students says.
"This is too narrow!" another yells.
Izuku smirked and grabbed another student's shoulders, flippping up and throwing himself skyward. With all of his parkour skills, he threw himself from person to person, bouncing off of shoulders and the walls as he shot towards the exit. This was a wise choice as within moments of doing so, Todoroki froze the entire damn tunnel, sticking most of the students to the floor.
"Apologies," The Icyhot bastard said.
"Ow! No, fair!" one of the students yelled.
"So cold!" said another student.
"Here I come!" Kirishima yelled as he blasted forward, Yaoyorozu pole vaulted with a makeshift metal pole made from her body, Aoyama used his laser, and Bakugo blatsted with all his might all to dodge the icey attack.
"Nice trick, Todoroki!" Yaoyorozu told him.
"I won't let you get away so easily!" Bakugo yelled, though in a rather subdued way for the typically agressive boy.
"You froze me in place once before, it won't happen again," Ojiro announced, using his tail to jump over the ice, as Tokoyami flew by him using Dark Shadow.
"Close one," Ashido said as she used her acid to skate on the ice, using her natural agility to almost dance towards victory.
"Gotta wait for the right time to show off my quirk!" Uraraka said as she walked on the ice.
Izuku smirked at them all, though he had no supernatural way to get over the ice like his friends he had in fact prepared for this...kind of, having spent a two days a week for the last two weeks at the local skating rink. He knew he couldn't outright cancel or counter Todoroki's ice, so the only thing he could do was adapt to it. Throwing himself from the tunnel, he shot across the ice, having gotten used to running on ice. It was slippery, certianly, but not impossible to manage, he could do this.
They ran, all of them, towards the finish line. It was clear class 1 A was in the lead, which was rather suspicious to the Qurikless boy. 'Why is class B far behind, they are just as well trained... in theory we should be neck and neck... I have a bad feeling about this.'
"You think you're so cool, but I've outsmarted you!" Mineta's voice called out, drawing Izuku's attention from his thoughts. He saw the boy using hsi balls to bounce across the ice in a genuienly impressive move. "Ha! How pathetic, Todoriki! Eat this! My special attack! Gra..." Mineta yelled as he grabbed one of his balls and went to throw it at Todoroki, who had caught up to... only to be slapped aside by something large and metal.
He looked and saw, to his horror, the source of the metal was a Zero pointer, the one he defeated before... only this time, there was more then one of the,.
"Ah fuck."
"Targets acquired. Terminate them."
"Oo! Enemies have shown up out of nowhere! I bet we're in for a treat here! A test of strength and cunning! it's a Robo inferno!" Present Mic yelled.
Countless students stopped in shock in front of the robots, but Izuku was not one of them... Izuku continued his charge, desperate to prove his worth. Without pausing, he climbed the first robot he reached, easily flipping over it and hopping from robot to robot with great ease.
"AND LIKE THAT IZUKU MIDORIYA FROM CLASS 1 A TAKES THE LEAD, SHOWCASING IMPRESSIVE AGILITY AND SPEED, CLIMBING THOSE ROBOTS LIKE A PRO!"
He felt a rush of cold behnd him and knew Todoroki had done something impressive but he could not look back and see it. His dream was in the front and so was all of his attention.
"That's Todoroki from Class 1-A pulling to second place with a devastating display! Amazing! He's one we should watch, it almost seems unfair! Thoughts?" Present Mic asked, his voice echoing loudly over the loud speakers.
"His attack was both offensive and defensive," Aizawa commented, dry and tired.
"No wonder he was let in on recommendations! He'd never even fought those Robo infernos before, but they didn't stand chance against his chart-topping moves!" Present Mic yelled. "The first-year students are already off to one rocking start! And, it's only the first round! Talk about a cruel obstacle course! Our players are racing against each other in a vicious battle where anything goes so long as they stay on the track!"
"Watch it," Aizawa said.
"We'll continue to bring you live updates and pulse-pounding action thanks to the camera robots placed around the course!" Present Mic yelled.
"Why do you need me here?" Aizawa asked.
Ignoring Aizawa, Present Mic continued to yell, "The stakes are high! We've got a whole school of top-notch students trying to be heroes, but do they really stand a chance our heavy metal swarm of Robo infernos?" A minute or so, and about six hundred feet later, the man continued. "Class 1-A's Bakugo is rocketing over the obstacles! Clever!"
'Of course Bakugo is doing well, he may be crazy but he is skilled... this might be close.' Izuku thought as he heard the sound of explosions closing the gap to first place
"""
"Looks like all the pack leaders are from class 1-A. At least for now... and Midoriya is in front. I think I might win this bet after all." Snipe said. A certain smugness overcame him, he could not wait to hear the excuses the other teachers would pull, a few had already accused the boy of bribing his way in...
If they only knew what he knew... the boy was more determined then them all and had trained to become even better...
He wanted, needed this more then them all... and boy it would show.
'''
"A giant canyon... how the fuck do they have time to make this shit?" Izuku groaned before sprinting across the lines, his near year of Parkour and Gymnastics made this an almost easy task, but still he was not so dumb as to not give it his all. He put his entire focus into maintaining his balance... he needed to stay safe, less his mother killed him or he failed. Whichever happened first.
'Go ahead and watch me, see what I can do... I earned this power, it wasn't handed to me... '
'''
Within the stadium, the crowd watched with amazement as a strange green haired boy dominated the competition, surpassing even Endeavor's kid.
"The dude in first place is so far ahead," one of the people in the crowd said.
"He must have a really powerful quirk, but really it is his atheletic abilities and keep judgment that is keeping him so far ahead." another person commented.
"He is even beating Endeavor's kid, seriously that takes some serious talent." one of them said.
"He hasn't shown a quirk though... I wonder what he can do..."
'''
Izuku had finally reached the final obstacle of the obstacle course... which, naturally was a giant fucking minefield.
"And now, we're finally approaching the last obstacle. Everybody had better tread carefully. You're stepping onto a minefield! If you look carefully, you can see where those little bombs are buried, so keep your eyes on the ground, folks. By the way, those land mines were designed for the games, so they might be loud and flashy, but, they're not all that powerful. Just enough to make you wet your pants!" Present Mic yelled, pissing Izuku off even more then normal.
"Get a hold of yourself," Aizawa said.
"CAN'T YOU PEOPLE DO ANYTHING ON A NORMAL BASIS, MUST EVERYTHING BE PLUS ULTRA WITH YOU PEOPLE!" Screaming, he gently started through the minefield. 'The mines are pretty easy to notice, their lumps in the ground so I just have to be delicate... I will probably lose my headstart but I think I can do it... there really isn't anyway to be hardcore here, just smart.., ugh.'
"IZUKU MIDORIYA IS STILL IN THE LEAD AND BY A HUGE MARGIN, BUT KATSUKI BAKUGO AND TODOROKI ARE NECK AND NECK, READY TO ECLIPSE HIM AT A MOMENTS NOTICE! WHO WILL WIN, WHO WILL BREAK THE LEAD... OH THIS IS FAR TOO EXCITING PEOPLE!"
Turning, he saw that Present Mic was right, Katsuki and Todoroki were gaining on him, their individual quirks granting them a severe advantage... one he could not beat if he did not hurry up...and so he did his best to speed up, hoping like a bunny from safe spot to safe spot, no longer preserving energy as the finish line was so damn close.
"I can do this... I can do this... I WILL DO THIS!" He screamed as he vaulted over the last of the mines and onto the home stretch. With all he had, Izuku sprinted at blinding speeds, pushing his body to the limits... he could see it, the finish line... but he could also hear the explosions of Bakugo only a few dozen feet behind him.
He could do this... he was so close he could taste it... just a few more feet... and...
"The first to make it back to the stadium is the first place winner! Izuku Midoriya is our champion!" Present Mic bellowed, just as he, barely, made it over the line and into the stadium once more mere seconds before he felt Bakugo's body brush against his.
Turning to him, Izuku saw his bully who, to his shock, only seemed annoyed and not seething with hate and rage. "Bakugo..."
With the fakest smile, his old time bully nodded to him. "That was... impressive." And then he walked away, clearly shaking with repressed agony, leaving the most confused Izuku behind...
'The fuck was that?'
"""'
Kamui Woods and Death Arms were patroling UA wben they passed by a television. Curious, Death Arms turned and looked at it, wondering who had won... it was here that he saw a familar face.
"Hey, it's that kid," Death arms pointed out, his eyes wide.
"Oh yeah! He fought the sludge monster," Kamui Woods said, remembering the boy from a year past... the one they scolded.
The Quirkless boy...
"""
In the stands, a couple of the management course students muttered to each other.
"This is interesting," one of them said.
"I think it's obvious that Midoriya's stock is about to go up," said another.
"Not so fast. He's still an unknown since we have no idea what his quirk is. Imagine for a second that an agency was to take him on, how would they market someone so plain looking who doesn't show off his quirk?" one of the others asked.
"They'd definitely have their work cut out," the second one said.
"Well, he doesn't have much going for him appearance-wise, so you'd have to push his skills and how athletic he is. I mean he literally won by climbing over the robots... maybe he has an atheletic enhancing quirk, or something that gives him agility? That would explain how he just dominated this race. Not super fancy but super useful..."
"He has support items, I thought he was in the hero course?"
"I heard there was a boy in both courses... maybe that's him?"
'''
Izuku finally got his breathe back just as the others started to flood into the stadium
"The contestants are pouring in one after the other! Let's hear some applause for all our competitors as we prepare the results!" Present Mic yelled.
"Izuku! That was amazing!" Uraraka yelled, running up to him.
"Oh, thank you!"
"I can't believe you got first place, I'm jealous!" Uraraka said.
He blushed. "Honestly, I had already parkoured a giant robot before, it just seemed natural to do it again... I felt Todoroki freezing them, I felt them fall. Was anyone hurt?"
"No, but Kirishima and a boy I think might be his twin had to fight their way out from under a Zero pointer."
He laughed, hard. 'That's... I am glad their okay but that's hilarious." He would have focused more on that, but something caught his eye...
It was Yaoyorozu, panting... "How could this happen?" Yaoyorozu said... turning to face a very uncomfortable sight.
Mineta, attached to her back, was laughing. "Two birds with one stone. I'm a genius!"
"You are the worst!" Yayorozu she said, just as Izuku decided to punt the little beast later. He was clever, but that was clearly meant more to harass the girl and grope her then anything else...
He would punish Mineta later... or just tell Aizawa, that would be enough to get him expelled... he hoped. God he hated people like that...
"The first game for the first years is finally over and what a game it was! Now let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?" Midnight called out. "Only the top 42 will advance to the next round. But don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut! We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine. Now the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best! Let's see what we have in store for you next. Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is torture. Prepare yourselves... for this!" Midnight said, pointing to the electronic board, which revealed their fate!
"Cavalry battle? I'm terrible at those," Kaminari whined.
"Huh? It's not an individual event. I wonder how they'll split us up," Tsu commented.
"Oh, yes," said Mineta.
"Allow me to explain. The participants will form teams of two-to-four people as they see fit. In theory, it's basically the same as a regular playground game. But there is one difference. Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course," Midnight told them as the screen behind her showed Thirteen and Present Mic carrying All Might.
"I get it, a point-based system like the entrance exams. That seems pretty simple," Sato commented.
"So that means each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it," Uraraka pointed out.
"Uh-huh!" Ashido agreed.
"Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you," Midnight yelled. "Now, then. The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth five points, and 41st ten. And the point value assigned to the first place contestant is... ten million!" She announced.
"Ten million?" Izuku gulped, suddenly realized how screwed he was.
"Really?" The handsome purple boy asked, grinning.
"In other words, if you take down his team," Hatsume said.
"You'll win the cavalry game and take the lead yourself," all of the students said turning to look at Izuku, their eyes almost possesed with cruelty and a desire to win...
"That's right. It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!" Midnight told them.
'I am so fucked...' he groaned, wondering what he had done to deserve this... 'Oh that's right, I just had to win... god damn my overachieving... '
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
He never hesitated, that was the key to his win... more then anything else. Keep that in mind... that is what allowed Todoroki to win in canon... but Izuku never stopped at all, adaption is his greatest skill here... and so we saw him use it to win.
I wanted him to win through effort not a random flashy moment, just sheer atheleticism mixed with the results of his parkour training...
This was fun but hard to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.