"Whoo-ey! Who could have predicted this outcome when the trial began?! Right now, the first person back in the stadium is that man... Midoriya Izuku! He's made a huge splash!"

This certainly isn't how Izuku planned for the first round to go.

Izuku leans back in his chair, allowing Shinsou to work with his somewhat-tamed hair, while he softly taps his finger to some random song playing through the only earbud in his ear, boredom and slight anxiety filling his mind. Their classmates' chatter made a low hum, many in their own groups or keeping to themselves. Only a small amount of the class were aiming to attempt winning this event so they could get into one of the heroic courses, which means more competition for Shinsou and, indirectly, Izuku.

"How is your hair so soft? You barely take care of it," Shinsou mumbles, almost finished with the bun.

Izuku smiles, checking the time on his phone, "No clue. My mom always had nice hair." He shrugs. "Maybe it's genetic?" He peers up at his standing friend. "Your hair looks soft and fluffy."

"While I'm not too big on taking care of it properly, I probably still do more than you do."

"I'm not going to deny that."

Shinsou finishes the hairstyle, "Done. Hopefully, that'll hold until the first round is over, at least."

"Yeah," Izuku hums. "Thanks."

"Mom has me do her's whenever her hands are full. Use to it." Shinsou supplies, dismissing Izuku's thanks.

The two continue to swap subjects to talk about until the intercom comes on, cuing them to get ready to walk out into the stadium. Izuku quickly heads over to his locker, where he stuck his school uniform into, and opens, placing his phone with his wallet and keys. He turns and moves back to stand beside Shinsou, taking a deep breath to keep the butterflies in the stomach from unwillingly stirring.

"HEY!" Present Mic yells, hyping up the crowds of people attending."PAY ATTENTION, AUDIENCE! SWARM, MASS MEDIA!" Izuku scrunches his nose at the mention of the parasites. "This year's high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the U.A. Sports Festival, is about to begin! Everybody, ARE YOU READY?!" Even from inside of the changing room, Izuku could hear the loud sounds of the audience cheering in excitement. "It's time for the students to enter the first-year stage!"

Izuku sighs, "Ready?"

"Nope," Shinsou replies, rolling his shoulders back.

"Glad I'm not the only one."

The whole of Class 1-C walk through the dark tunnel leading out to field, the cheering and explosions of fireworks getting louder and louder, just a bit off of deafening. Izuku squints at the sudden burst of light, grimacing, but looks around at the other students (and if his gaze stuck on a certain class for longer than the rest, no one would know) and the sea of people seated all around. He almost wants to cover his ears with his hands.

"The U.A. Sports Festival! The huge battle where fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year!" Izuku frowns, glaring."Anyway, these are the guys, right? The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! Hero course, Class 1-A, RIGHT?!"

The crowds erupt in noise, and Izuku flinches back, feeling an oncoming headache. He rubs his temples. "Do they have to be that loud?"'

Present Mic continues to introduce the next class, "They haven't been getting as much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Hero course, Class 1-B!" He rushes through the rest. "Next up, general studies, Classes C, D, and E! Support course, Classes F, G, and H are here too! And business course, Classes I, J, and K! All of U.A.'s first years are here now!"

One of Izuku and Shinsou's classmates speaks up, "We're just here to make these guys look better, huh?"

"I'm not really feeling it..." A girl says, frowning

"They're not wrong," Izuku groans. "And they're," he motions towards the audience, "too loud. Shinsou, I'm starting to regret this."

"Damn, hero class." Shinsou grumbles, face blank but irritation shining in his eyes. There was also a flame of determination, growing brighter and brighter.

"Time for the player pledge!" Izuku moves his eyes forward and he huffs in surprise and amusement.

"They chose an R-Rated Hero to umpire a sports meet for minors. Smartest decision ever. Maybe the perverted ones will get distracted, like that one in 1-A Aizawa mentioned."

Shinsou snorts, "The less competition, the better."

"Quiet, everyone!" Midnight swings her whip, quieting those making a racket about her in. "Representing the students is Bakugou Katsuki from Class 1-A!"

Izuku smirks, 'I can almost bet what he's gonna say.'

"That guy did finish first in the entrance exam."

The girl from before sighs loudly, exasperatedly looking over to who said that, "In the hero course."

Bakugou takes his sweet time walking over to where Midnight stood, going up each step at a normal walking-speed. Stepping up to the mic, his hands shoved in his pockets, he take a moment, everyone watching quietly in anticipation, before starting. "I pledge..." Izuku doesn't even try to hide his smile, "that I'll be number one."

Instantly, the blond is met with vehement opposition and boo-ing. Shinsou releases a heavy sigh, almost scowling, while Izuku chuckles, fully knowing that his former-bully wasn't playing around. One of Bakugou's classmates, someone who reminded Izuku of a certain Pro-Hero, yells at the blond, attempting to reprimand him while his arm goes up-and-down in a chopping motion. Bakugou turns, bringing his arm up in a thumbs-down, looking calmly over the boisterous students, "At least become a nice bouncy step for me to jump off of."

"How overconfident can you get? I'll crush you!"

Izuku hums in quiet disagreement. 'He's certainly changed since middle school. That wasn't his usual style of confidence.' His eyes follow the teen as he walks back down to his class. 'Have you met your match... Bakugou?'

"Now, let's get started right away." Midnight takes control again, "The first game is what you'd call a qualifier! Every year, many drink their tears here!"

Izuku leans over to Shinsou, whispering, "Yummy. Just what I like." He smiles when the other snorts.

"Now, here is the fateful first game!" Midnight brings her whip out with a flourish as the digital wheel spins. "This year, it's... this!"

"An obstacle course race..." Izuku mumbles, pressing his right thumb on his lip in thought.

Midnight goes on to explain, "All eleven classes will participate in this race. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium―about four kilometers! Our school's selling point is freedom!" She seductively lips her lips, looking from the side. "As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do! Now, take your places everyone!"

The student body moves hastily to the starting line, Izuku and Shinsou included. Izuku makes sure to keep Shinsou from getting too far in the wave of students. "You don't wanna get stuck." Shinsou nods in agreement. "You got a plan?"

Shinsou stays silent, pondering for a seconds before nodding again. "Yeah. Pretty sure I can do this round by myself. You good?"

"Of course." Izuku grins.

Shinsou looks up at the three green lights. "Good luck."

"You too."

One by one, the lights blink off, until, finally, the last one.

"Start!"

Instantly, it was chaos. Everyone rushed forward, ramming into each other as they tried to get through the limited space in the gate. Izuku let the people push him forward, not bothering to try to snake around anyone due to the crampedness, and he also tunes out Present Mic and his unwilling guest. He lost Shinsou within seconds, but he wasn't worried about the male. He trusted that the other knew what he was doing. Izuku grunts when an elbow hits him in the face, feeling his nose ache. He continues to get pushed around, and he tries to keep his head up away from flailing limbs, when a freezing chill enters the tunnel. He follows his gut feeling to jump on to the back of the guy in front of him, and his gut is proven right when the people around him gets their feet frozen.

He sympathetically pats the guy on the shoulder, "That's gotta sting." He moves himself more up the guy, ignoring his annoyed shouts and hands trying to get him off, making it on to his shoulders. He carefully hops on to the shoulders or backs on people with an apology, trying to keep his landings soft to prevent any bruising, until he gets to a part of the crowd where the ground can be seen. There is ice is covering it, and Izuku stumbles on the slippery element as he gets down. He waddles forward, experimentally sliding around at a (hopefully) good-enough pace, before coming to uncovered ground, where he takes off running at a faster speed. He goes past many other people, even some he recognized from the well-known hero class, until he stops, watching a small purple figure soar through the air, yelling at the producer of ice confidently, until he is swatted away, and Izuku can't hold back a sudden huff of laughter.

It dies away when he looks up at the towering appearance of robots, their bright red "eyes" focusing on the many students who made it past the ice. Izuku takes a small step back, eye twitching. 'This is what they had to fight in the entrance exam? Good thing I didn't even try taking it.'

"Target found... lots!"

"Obstacles have shown up suddenly!" Present Mic narrates way too excitedly. "Starting with... the first barrier! ROBO INFERNO!"

'I don't know what these robots can do, and there isn't a safe way past them.' Izuku narrows his eyes in thought. 'Gonna have to wait until someone takes them out before trying to go forward.'

The "zero-point villain" (as someone nervously shouts) in the middle strikes first, but the Ice-Guy in the lead is quick to use his quirk. He swings his right arm forward, and ice instantly appears, freezing the menacing machines. He doesn't waste any time, already running in-between their legs, which a lot of student notice. Izuku doesn't move, taking a couple steps back, not trusting the frozen figures. His distrust is proven correct when he could hear the muffled warning coming from the Elsa-Wannabe, telling them not to follow. The robots fall towards the students, landing on to the ground with a giant crash, bringing a dirt cloud to make Izuku close his eyes, not wanting anything to get in them.

"Todoroki from Class 1-A! He attacked and defended in one hit! How elegant! AMAZING!" Present Mic is quick to complement. "He's the first one through! It's, y'know, practically unfair!"

"His actions are logical and strategic." Aizawa is simple and to the point, an obvious difference from his friend.

"As expected of someone who got in through recommendations! He'd never fought them before, but those Robo Infernos couldn't get past his elite moves!"

Izuku clicks his tongue when the fallen robots reveal a new wave of unfrozen ones, all coming closer with intention to hold the competitors off (though they couldn't get past the frozen blockage). 'I have to get past these robots while also paying attention to the obstacles around me. Come one, think!' Izuku puts on a strained smirk, mind racing. 'Now what?'

"Hey! Someone's trapped underneath! Wouldn't that kill them?" Someone yells.

Izuku bites the inside of his cheek, slightly worried. Suddenly, some ice begins to break, coming from the inside, and out busts a red-head with a shout. "Like I'd die!"

"Kirishima from Class 1-A was underneath! That's crazy!'

Kirishima growls, "That bastard, Todoroki! He timed it on purpose so it'd be right when they fell." He keeps on yelling, as if the other could still hear him. "If it hadn't been me, someone would've died!"

Then, another part of the ice breaks, "That Class A..." and out comes the loud one from Class 1-B, "really is filled with bastards!"

"Tetsutetsu from Class B was also underneath! That's crazy!" Present Mic yells.

Tetsutetsu unknowingly copies Kirishima's line, then the two start running. "Wait, you little―!"

Izuku sighs in annoyance, looking over when a student from 1-B suggest that everyone work together to advance, when abrupt explosions steal his, and everyone else's, attention. He looks up to see Bakugou making his way up-and-over, almost gracefully doing so without getting hit like that one purple guy.

"Class 1-A's Bakugou! Since the bottom's blocked, he goes overhead! CLEVER!"

However, the blond's classmates are quick to follow, strategically using their quirks to go over as well, all while the audience cheers. Other 1-A students continue forward, all using their quirks, and many other students, including Izuku. He runs forward, jumping out of the way when he is attacked. He notices a piece of armor from one of the robots, most likely when that Elsa-Guy froze them, and he snatches it. 'That robot will lock on to the target, tracking it.' Izuku watches behind with his peripheral eyesight. 'I'll make it build up some momentum, and then,' he swings the piece of metal forward, spinning around, 'it won't be able to stop!' He breaks off the robot's arm, its fuses revealed, but he doesn't stop, continuing to keep going after finishing his spin. His mind is rushing through the possibilities and advantages of keeping the scrap with him. 'Surely, it'll be useful for something!'

He slows down when he sees a group of robots and people, stopping, and then watches as a lot of the robots come falling down with a loud bang. He looks over to see a ravenette with a whole cannon, her shirt wide open, and he can't help but wonder what her quirk is. She sprints forward, and Izuku returns his focus forward, not wanting to lose the chance of the clear pathway. He goes at a fast speed, trying to ignore how the metal piece was digging into his arm, and how his lungs were already burning for air.

"HEY, HEY! The first barrier's a piece of cake?" Izuku's eye twitches in high annoyance, wondering when to start blocking his homeroom-teacher's excitement out. "Then what about the second?" Izuku groans when he sees the tightropes leading across a deep cavern, sucking in gulps of air as he slows. "If you fall, you're out! If you don't wanna fall then crawl!" The Hero's voice is definitely full of way too much energy. Did someone let him have a lot of sugar? "It's 'THE FALL!'"

One green-haired female keeps going, crawling across the rope with ease. Another girl starts muttering loudly, "Here it is! Here's my chance to show off!" She's covered in gadgets of all sorts, making Izuku assume that she's in one of the support courses. "It's time for my babies to be in the limelight!" She brings her arms out, showing herself off. "Look, all you support companies across the country!" She lists off the qualities of her "babies," and Izuku moves his attention back to the situation at hand, even as she hurls herself off the cliff. He swiftly ties the scrap-metal on to his back, chooses a rope, and gains a tight grasp, making himself flip over, upside-down. He shimmies across, attempting to go as fast as he can as he watches other students go ahead. 'Should of made Aizawa-sensei work more on balance or something. This is both terrifying and annoying at once!'

He finally gets across, climbing up on to the ledge and untying the armor, starting to run while placing in in his arms again. He grits his teeth as he hears that first place was already to the next obstacle before furrowing his brows, wondering when he started to care about winning. He didn't want to be a hero after all, this was for Shinsou. He makes to the third obstacle, and he is quick to notice that it's explosive mines. He could see Bakugou and one of his classmates up ahead (for some reason, he was screaming at him), and he taps his foot in impatience, tossing and crossing out ideas mentally. Then he stuffs the piece of metal into the ground, an idea circulating his brain and being put into process. He experimentally digs up a mine with caution, and once he finds that nothing happens, he hastily goes for more.

'Landmines used for games...' Beads of sweat fall down his cheeks. 'The type with fuses that go off if you step on them, they're not that powerful, but if I lose my balance and set off a bunch of them, I'll lose a lot of time and look stupid in the process.'His heart was racing in anticipation, and adrenaline raced through his veins. 'If I take injuries and stamina into account, it'd be better to slow down and avoid them. Those who can jump can't do so carelessly either, and the further ahead you are, the more landmines you'll have to avoid. No one can probably go very fast with the risk of setting one off.' He brings a hand to wipe at his cheek, feeling the flushed skin. 'Everyone was more cautious at the beginning, meaning there are a lot of mines left to use. Gotta make sure not to be impatient, or I'll accidentally blow one up. This better work, damn it!'

He looks down at the pile of mines, deeming the amount enough. He wraps the black strap around his hand, making sure it were tight enough to not slip away, and he brings the metal out of the dirt, making sure it was completely in front of him, before doing the second most stupidest thing in his life. He recklessly jumps forward on to a group of mines, creating a large pink explosion.

"There's a huge explosion at the back?!" Present Mic incredulously cries out. "What's with that force?!" Izuku resists the urge to scream out in fear or in adrenaline-caused giddiness, trying to keeping the now-flying vessel from tilting forward, his grip making his knuckles turn white. "Was it an accident, or did he do it on purpose? Gen Ed 1-C's Midoriya is in hot pursuit with that blast!" Izuku's loose strands of hair blew wildly in the wind as he flew above everyone who was ahead of him. "Actually, he's taken the lead!"

'What?' Izuku blinks away the stinging tears that came from his dry eyes, and he looks down, meeting the eyes of Elsa and Bakugou, both looking extremely angry. 'Damn! There's so much force―shit, shit, shit! How the hell am I gonna land?!'

"DEKU!" He could hear Bakugou screech. "Don't go ahead of me!"

'Too late for that.'

"The two formerly in the lead have stopped trying to slow each other down and are chasing Midoriya! Now that they have a common enemy, they've stopped fighting!" Izuku groans."The fight's not over yet though!"

Izuku watches as both the ground and the two students get closer, and at this rate, he was heading head-first into the ground if he doesn't think of something quick. He could feel panic erupt within his entire being, and the first idea that comes to mind is the one executed. He tighten his grip on the strap, pulling the metal it was attached to down, in-between the two other males, hitting the landmines underneath. The reaction is instantaneous, and another explosion is set off, sending Izuku forward with gritted teeth into a slightly clumsy roll that allows him to get back on to his feet with speed. He just keeps running forward, as quick as he can, blocking out every other sound. He could tell that the other two were gaining up on him, but as he raced through the exit tunnel, he kept going, chest and legs burning, the light at the end shining into his eyes as he runs into it.

"Whoo-ey! Who could have predicted this outcome when the trial began?! Right now, the first person back in the stadium is that man... Midoriya Izuku! He's made a huge splash!"

This certainly isn't how Izuku planned for the first round to go. Izuku pants like a dog, strands of hair falling into his face as sweat drips down it. He looks around, dazedly watching confetti fall and the faceless crows of people cheering. Cheering for him. He didn't mean to get first place, only to get in the passing group of students, only doing this for Shinsou.

'How did I get first place?!'

He turns around, planning to watch for Shinsou to come through the exit gate, when his eyes meet turquoise and gray. The owner of the heterochromatic eyes was Elsa, and boy did he look pissed. They stare at each other before Elsa walks off, and Izuku takes a deep breath, returning to his plan. He watches until he sees a head of purple hair, quickly recognizing it as Shinsou's. He rushes over to him.

"Hey," he calls out, making Shinsou look at him. He is met with a look, the other's brow rising. "What?" He doesn't say anything. "I didn't mean to get first place! I don't even know what happened!"

Shinsou snorts, "Sure, Mr. I-Don't-Wanna-Be-A-Hero."

Izuku groans loudly, covering his face with his hands. He and Shinsou make their way over to a less crowded area, all while he pats down some of his hair that went out of place during the race, making sure the hairstyle his friend put it in was still holding strong. He ignores any lingering stares coming from all around him, people most likely scrutinizing him due to the fact that he, a student in the general studies course, had won first place without using his quirk (not that he could). He asks Shinsou how he had gotten through, and that's how the two spend the waiting time.

Finally, Midnight returns. "The first game of the first-year stage is finally over. Now, take a look at the results!" The screens all around the stadium show off each placement, starting at number one with Izuku. Elsa, or Todoroki Shouto as the screen said, didn't look too pleased, and neither did Bakugou, despite the fact that both got a high placement. Izuku didn't bother to try and memorize each of the placements' owners, only taking time to remember Todoroki's name since he'll probably try and kill him sometime soon. He already knew Bakugou's name. "The top forty-two made it through to the next round. It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it!" The Pro licks her lips. "We've prepared other chances for you to shine. The real competition begins next! The press cavalry'll be all over it! Give it your all!" She cracks her whip upward, showing off the wheel once again. "Now then, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be?" She slips down her red glasses and raises an arm up to show off the result. "I just said it, and now here it is!"

The screen read, "Cavalry Battle." Izuku peeks over at Shinsou, leaning in. "Guess we'll be working together during this. That is, if they allow for us to pick and choose." Shinsou nods.

"Let me explain." Midnight turns around, looking at the screen, which changes to a picture of All Might being lifted up by Present Mic and 13. "The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish." She looks over her shoulder. "It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different is..." The pause is for dramatic effect, though it only makes Izuku yawn. "Based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value."

Already, some classmates in 1-A are discussing it, and Midnight swings her whip at them, gaining their attention. "You guys don't hold back even though I'm talking, huh?!" She continues, "Yes, that's right! And the points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom." The screen shows how many points each place earned. "So forty-second place gets five points, and forty-first gets ten points! And the point value assigned to first place is... ten million!"

Izuku blanches. "Ten... million?" Instantly, he could feel targeting stares aimed at him, and he tenses, wishing for some high being to smite him down and end his suffering.

"That's right! it's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"

'Is it too late to run away?'


12.4 pages · 4197 words


July 27, 2020


I can't believe I wrote this in like three to four days. I don't even care about the first round, nor the second one. I was gonna purposely wait on posting this chapter, but my friend told me not to, so here it is.

I know I basically just wrote the first round exactly like how the series depicts it, I'm not that orignal lol. Just wait for the next two rounds, they'll be at least slightly different. I'll give you a hint, Shinsou is gonna be on Izuku's team, leaving his original one disbanded. This'll change the results a bit (trust me, I know. I spend like an hour or more figuring out stuff)

So I've decided to start recommending BNHA one shots to read for at least the rest of this arc. This chapter's is: When Flowers Bloom (And Wilt Away) by wonder_lyn on AO3!

Summary:

Izuku is dying. His quirk is slowly killing him. He can't even use it to be a hero, so what is he to do?
Use it to help people in another way, so maybe when he dies he'll leave behind something good.
Because when flowers bloom, they always wilt eventually.

It's a really nice fic where Izuku helps people despite the fact that using his quirk to do so is shortening his life.

Anyway, I don't really have anything else to say right now, so bye! Please leave some comments/reviews! They keep me motivated and happy.