As he leaned closer to the microphone, Katsuki Bakugo cleared his throat, "I just want to say…I'm gonna win."

"What?"

"Damn him!"

"The hell did he just say!?"

"Screw him!"

"Why would you be so disrespectful!?" Tenya Ida couldn't believe what he heard, "You're representing us all!"

"It's not my fault the rest of you are just steppingstones to my victory," giving a thumbs down to four-eyes, Bakugo ignored the screaming extras. It wasn't his fault their Quirks didn't measure up to his greatness. UA might have accepted them, but only one or two posed any sort of challenge.

Todoroki and Matoi.

"The hell you just say, Blood Bank?"

"You deaf? I said I ain't doing this!"

"The hell you aren't! You're gonna do this or so help me I'll – "

"You'll what? Blow me up? Go ahead! It means I'll have an excuse not to do this!"

The way things currently stood, coming out on top was going to be a piece of cake.

"Only one person here stands a chance of winning. And that's me," the peanut gallery was screaming in his face, but he'd couldn't care less, "The rest of you might as well drop out."

And he hated that.

"Err, well said," Midnight struggled maintaining her persona as Katsuki Bakugo slouched off the stage. If he'd intended on provoking his classmates, then he succeeded. Half of them wanted to tear him apart. The other half couldn't believe he'd say something so scandalous, "Now, without further ado, it's time for us to get started! This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first event of the sports festival begins now!"

Behind the heroine, who adhered to the spirit of the costume regulation code, if not the letter, a holographic wheel cycled through events faster and faster by the second.

"What could it be?"

The R-Rated Heroine's rhetorical question was answered when the blurred wheel abruptly stopped, "And here it is!"

[OBSTACLE RACE]
[THREAT LEVEL – FUN!]

"So, it's going to be an obstacle course?" as soon as the event popped up, Midoriya's mind shifted into second gear, "That could mean pretty much anything."

"That's it?"

To his right, sounding like she'd rather be literally anywhere else, Ryuko's scoff was matched only by her boredom, "UA must've gotten cold feet after last year's PR disaster."

Midoriya stared at Ryuko like she'd grown a second head, "Huh?"

"Surely you remember the scandal, Midoriya? It was on all the major networks," unintentionally acting as the de facto negotiator between Midoriya and Matoi, Ida chopped one arm while doing his best to push Bakugo's flagrant disrespect towards UA out of mind and body, "The first event was Quirk Dodgeball with teams of five students determined via random lottery. Both the top ranked student at UA and the class representative from Class 3-B were simultaneously eliminated due to unfortunate luck and their teammates."

"Yeah, of course I remember," Midoriya raised a finger, still confused, "I just don't see how it was a PR disaster."

Ryuko clicked her tongue against her teeth, "Because half of the rich bigshots lost millions when their meal ticket got kicked in the balls."

Every male student within earshot winced.

"All eleven classes will participate in this treacherous contest!" picking up where she'd left off, Midnight turned around, hands planted on her waist and heeled boots clacking against concrete, "The track is four kilometers around the outside of this stadium and filled with some of the most devious and cunning obstacles imaginable," a tongue sensuously and slowly licked smooth lips, "Of course, I don't want to restrain anyone. At least, not yet. As long as you stay on the track, you're free to do whatever your heart desires! Wait! What's this!?"

Something on the screen changed.

"Can it be?" snapping her flogger whip, Midnight enthusiastically drank the collective unease and nervousness of UA's first-year classes, "A surprise twist?"

"A surprise?"

"What?"

"Oh man, this is going to be bad."

"If you thought a mere obstacle race would sate our appetites, think again! Here at UA, the motto is Plus Ultra!" a snap of her flogger whip prematurely ended any arguments, drawing every set of eyes to her masochistic smirk, "The course is full of dangerous and deadly obstacles, but your greatest challenge won't be what's in front of your eyes, but what's lurking behind you!"

Reactions were somewhat mixed as an older student sauntered, because that really was the best way to describe how they emerged from the nearest tunnel, onto the stage.

Some recognized him.

Others didn't.

But as soon as she saw him, Ryuko's mood soured, "Oh, god damn it."

"Wait, you know him?" Uraraka couldn't place where she'd seen this guy, only that his face looked familiar.

"He's one of UA's Big Three," with more excitement than nervousness, Midoriya answered, "One of the three students said to be stronger than most pros. He was in the sports festival last year. Of course…well…"

Ida coughed into his hand, "…let's just forget about that, shall we?"

"As soon as the event begins, our secret obstacle will wait five minutes before pursuing you!" Midnight pointed at the screen, which showed a miniature Mirio impatiently staring at his watch before running towards an exit sign, "He'll be running at a steady eleven kilometers per hour. Not too fast. And not too slow. But if he catches up to you? ELIMINATION!"

On stage, Mirio Togata grinned a smile only fractionally less disarming than All Might's.

"I know this is probably a big surprise," the student closest to All Might laughed despite the growing tension, "To be honest, when I was asked to do this, my immediate thought was to refuse. But then I thought, well, doing this would be the perfect opportunity to help up-and-coming heroes one final time before I graduate. So, here I am," a collective bewilderment spread throughout the stadium, "Think of me as a time limit. As long as you move fast enough, you'll be fine. Oh, uh, do you think five minutes is enough time?" going off-script, Mirio turned to Midnight, "Seven minutes might be better."

Midnight didn't agree, "We already discussed this! No last-minute changes! Now, if there are no further questions, take your places, contestants!"

Egged on by the R-Rated Heroine and tens of thousands of people, everyone shuffled towards the starting line. Each step accompanied by raucous cheering, civilians and heroes alike offering support. Megaphones amplified voices. An insignificant fraction utilized their Quirks to get better views only for security to quickly, yet gently, inform them to either deactivate said abilities or leave the stadium.

And roughly in the middle of the pack, Tsuyu swallowed the lump in her throat, "You sure about this, Ryu?"

"Pretty sure," hands in her pockets and a sincere 'screw this' look on her face, Ryuko scoffed, "Can't say UA's gonna be thrilled, but they can't expel me for doing nothing," she paused to look around, eyes drifting towards the V.I.P. boxes above the stands, "By the way, you remember free ice cream day back in middle school?"

A finger tipped against Tsuyu's lips, "You think that's what's going to happen?"

Ryuko dug a finger into her ear as one of the three green lights fizzled, "Yup."

"ON YOUR MARK!"

As a second light disappeared, a collective 'gulp' swept the crowd.

"GET SET!"

As the third, and final, light vanished, Midnight's sadistic enthusiasm pierced the heavens, "…BEGIN!"

A circus.

Ryuko couldn't come up with another word to describe the chaos unfolding before her eyes. It was a circus. A goddamn circus. As dust filled the air, choking her lungs and filling both her mouth and nose, she stood ramrod, one hand scratching an itch on her back and the other rubbing her neck. People shoved their way towards the obstacle course. Screams and shouts dissolved into nonsense she couldn't translate over the noise. Elbows and fists and feet flew in every direction. And that was before the living stampede reached the entrance itself. Still standing right where she'd started, Ryuko casually observed eleven classes worth of idiots simultaneously try forcing their way through a small hole.

Which meant nobody got out.

Except Tsuyu, who pulled the same stunt she did back in junior high, only without her and Habuko along for the ride.

"Man," her hair fluttered in a breeze, "I could really go for some ice cream."

"AND WE'RE OFF TO A RACING START!"

In the commentator's box, privy to enough cameras to provoke federal investigation, Present Mic clenched his hands, "HOW 'BOUT SOME FUNNY COMMENTARY, MUMMY MAN?"

Wrapped from head to toe in bandages, arms immobilized in plaster and yet somehow dressed in his costume, Aizawa momentarily wondered if jumping out the window was enough to kill him, "How did you rope me into this?"

"SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FIRST OBSTACLE WILL BE?"

Resigned to his cruel fate, Aizawa's dry sarcasm penetrated straight through the bandages, "THE DOOR."

"IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE'S EAGER TO LEAVE THE STADIUM WITH TSUYU ASUI FROM CLASS 1-A TAKING AN EARLY LEAD! WAIT! SOMEONE SEEMS TO HAVE MISSED THE MESSAGE," Present Mic's eyebrows raised high and proud, "IT APPEARS RYUKO MATOI FROM CLASS 1-A HASN'T MOVED AN INCH! SHE'S NOT GONNA MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION JUST STANDING AROUND LIKE A STATUE!"

Ryuko's eyebrow twitched.

There was something she wanted to tell Present Mic to shove up his ass, but she restrained herself, not out of respect for the guy, but because she didn't want to get fined.

"Still plan on boycotting the games, huh?"

When Mako appeared out of nowhere, standing next to her like she'd always been there, Ryuko lazily shrugged one shoulder higher than the other, "Yup."

"Aw, you sure?" now Mako sounded upset.

Her eyes tracking the aftermath of someone's Quirk rolling across the field, Ryuko gave the weird object a small kick, "Thought you were gonna support that brainwashing punk."

"I was planning on cheering for Shinso since he's determined to become a great hero like All Might, but that would make us rivals. Former best friends destined to fight over and over again," with a drawn-out sigh somehow ending in a yawn, Mako knelt onto the ground, pursed her lips and curiously poked the weirdly-shaped mushroom resembling a turnip, "Even if winning would be nice, I'd never want to fight my best friend."

Several things happened at the same time – a blast of cold, people screaming and cursing, multiple explosions and various Quirks activating.

"And even if I wanted to be a hero, not that I want to, my Quirk's like a light switch that only works half of the time. And only on Sundays," blind to the ice steadily creeping along the ground towards them, Mako puffed her cheeks, "Plus, my head gets all fuzzy whenever I see blood, which makes each trip to the back alley doctor a fun and exciting adventure."

There was a lot to unpack.

Ryuko didn't know where to start, "What? That's nonsense," ignoring the weirdness scratching the back of her mind, she watched the human blockage finish untangling itself, frowned and quickly added, more for her benefit than Mako's, "You've seen my Quirk loads of times."

"That's because we're besties!" an innocent smile settled upon Mako's face, "There's no way I could ever faint around my best friend!"

"EVEN THOUGH HER CLASSMATES ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES, RYUKO MATOI SEEMS MORE INTERESTED IN SHOOTING THE BREEZE. DOES SHE KNOW THERE'S ONLY ONE MINUTE UNTIL THE FINAL OBSTACLE IS RELEASED UNTO THE WORLD!?"

"Oh, shut up," Ryuko almost gave Present Mic the finger.

Almost.

"It's too bad you're standing your ground on principle," as the crowd's attention turned towards the students actually participating in the obstacle race, Mako rocked on the soles of her shoes, "Mom and dad were really looking forward to watching you beat everyone."

Ryuko choked, emotions bouncing back and forth inside her heart.

"Dad even managed to sneak out of work," bunny hopping back onto her feet, Mako sighed, "My stupid brother got caught by the truant officer this morning, so he's stuck in detention until further notice. Guess they're gonna go home disappointed."

Each word hurt a little more.

And all Ryuko could do was listen, unable to even think of a half-assed excuse. Why hadn't Mako told her? Mako talked about everything. The weather, their teachers, Quirks, heroes, villains and even stuff that didn't exist. Except this. Except something this important. Or had she? Something almost like guilt squeezed her heart. It felt like she couldn't breathe. And when she looked closer, fingers numb and throat dry, Ryuko realized it actually was guilt.

Mako had told her about her parents.

But she'd been so focused on avoiding everything about the sports festival that it had slipped her mind.

Unable to think of something, or really anything, to say, Ryuko opened and closed her mouth, "Oh…I…uh…where are they?"

"Right there!"

It was so quick she almost thought Mako didn't know where her parents were.

But sure enough, she saw Mako's mom and dad in the nosebleed section, waving a gigantic banner with her name misspelled in bold, red letters.

"They came all this way to see me?" the words felt wrong coming out of her mouth, "I thought you told them I wasn't doing this?"

"I did," Mako nodded, enthusiasm waning with every breath "But they were convinced you'd eventually change your mind and have fun like the rest of us…"

Ryuko didn't know what to say.

BEEP!

The sound, carried out of the stadium and across UA's campus through amplifiers and speakers, snapped her back to reality.

Blood flowed through her skin akin to crimson rivulets, crisscrossing one another before solidified into a sword.

As the footsteps grew increasingly closer, Ryuko pushed Mako to safety with one hand, pivoted sharply and swung towards the only remotely tangible target. It was a long shot. One hell of a long shot. Less than one in a billion. But despite the impossible odds, Mirio stopped at the exact distance for her sword to gently press against his muscular chest without so much as slicing his uniform.

"Get out of here, Mako," a bead of sweat trickled down her face from the midday heat, "I'll handle this guy."

"Sure! Alright!"

Already halfway down the tunnel, Mako's voice echoed into oblivion, "Good luck, Ryuko!"

Ryuko forced herself to smile.

But her relief was temporary when Mirio jumped backwards, stretched his legs and proceeded to jog in place, completely ruining the tension, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting ready!"

"For what?"

"My job, of course. I am an obstacle."

"Are you serious?"

"You know, anyone else and I'd say they were stalling for time. Something a true hero would do to help their comrades," as if they were shooting the breeze, Mirio stopped his jogging long enough to scratch his nose, "But we both know that's not why you're doing this. In fact, from your expression, you're thinking about stabbing me, aren't you?"

Ryuko smirked without taking her eyes off him, "Too bad actually hitting you ain't that straightforward."

"That's an amazing sword you got there, Ryuko," giving off an air of genuine curiosity, Mirio cheerfully laughed, "It sure looks dangerous. Bet you've been practicing, huh."

"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! IT APPEARS RYUKO MATOI HAS DECIDED TO TAKE ON THE OBSTACLE BY HERSELF! TRULY INSPIRING! BUT WILL SHE BE ABLE TO HOLD HIM BACK?"

"ODDS ARE, SHE WON'T,"

head throbbing, Aizawa wished he could visit Recovery Girl, if only to deal with his migraine, "ALL HE NEEDS TO DO IS RUN TO THE ENTRANCE AND SHE'S ELIMINATED."

"Spoilsports," looking up at the stands, Mirio breathed in, exhaled and smirked, "But he's right. Against me, well…anyway, no matter what I say, you're going to fight me, aren't you? So, guess there's really no point trying to convince you to step aside."

Ryuko spread her feet, placing herself between the older student and the entrance.

"Let's get one thing straight before I shove my sword up your ass – I don't give a crap about the sports festival or making impressions for heroes too focused on merchandising," metal groaned as she flipped the blade, sunlight gleaming off its deceptively sharp edge, "This is personal," just over thirty feet separated them, "And I wouldn't be smiling. Not unless you want to taste the ground."

The older student nodded along, still smiling, "I have the feeling you're not telling me something,"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" her chances of actually beating Mirio were lower than Mako figuring out what her Quirk could do. Even with the half-assed advantage accidentally dropped into her lap, Ryuko wasn't stupid, "You're not wearing that special costume," yet she smiled when Mirio froze, "So unless you're planning on flashing the world again, you're gonna have to be real careful using your Quirk."

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Mirio laughing was a bad sign.

"You got me there!"

A really bad sign.

Every fiber of her being was screaming how bad of an idea this was. And despite controlling every drop of blood in her body, Ryuko's cheeks erupted into a crimson blush as memories of what happened the first time her dad brought her to Nighteye's agency surfaced in her mind.

A memory of Mirio popping out of the floor in front of her – completely and totally naked – having accidentally phased through his uniform.

"Well, you're right about one thing – if I'm going to beat you, it's going to need to be the old-fashioned way," sliding one foot backwards, Lemillion shifted into a boxing stance, toned muscles bulging beneath rolled sleeves, "Surprised? Yeah, this is probably not what you expected, but I'm ready whenever you are! Oh! And don't worry about holding back! Not that you were planning to, just that, well, hmm, good luck, Ryuko!"