Chapter 6

The Expert Magician seeks to deceive the mind, rather than the eye – Sol Stein

I shuffled the deck of cards in my hand absentmindedly, running through techniques as I did so.

When I first started training I was often punished for how clumsy my fingers were. Given how important being dexterous was, and how bad I was at it, I was punished more often than not.

My mother was the one who started teaching me card tricks as a way of improving my own hand dexterity, her own interest in stage magic quickly sparking my own.

When she got ill, I dedicated every spare moment I had to learning and perfecting new card tricks, trying to entertain her as best as I could and take her mind off her prognosis.

She always looked so happy when I had another trick to show her.

Shame I can't show her any of the ones I learned…after.

I started with a simple Riffle shuffle, transition to a Butterfly cut then to a Faro shuffle to a Sybil Cut before staring a Card Spring only to freeze the cards mid movement with a pulse of my Quirk.

"Must you do that?" Aizawa's voice drawled out, the Underground hero glaring at me as he tried and failed to gain a few more moments of sleep despite the raucous sounds of the crowds filling the UA arena to capacity just outside the room.

I turned to my left and gave a small grin, catching the cards with my left hand as they returned to normal time, shuffling them with one hand as I did so. "I've got to keep practicing if I want to keep my skills up Aizawa." I said lightly, holding back a chuckle.

I ducked out of the way of the empty coffee can that he lobbed at me, and with a well practiced flourished had the cards swivel out in a Riffle fan before I froze them in place, placing my own half-full can of lemonade on the makeshift coaster floating beside me.

Turns out Eraser Head, in a stunning turn of events, remains to not be a morning person.

Aizawa winced as the roaring of the crowd outside intensified, the crowd's excitement now palpable.

I flicked an eye down to my watch and whistled.

Time for the first years already.

Even as it happened I leaned away slightly from my other comrade in the commentator's booth, readying myself for the explosion of noise that was sure to come.

"Pay attention, audience! The UA Sports festival, is about to begin, everybody! Are you ready!?" Hizashi's voice boomed over the arena from a sea of hidden and not so hidden speakers, emphasizing his speech appropriately as he did so.

Gotta say, having a profession radio host to fob off all the work o…I mean demonstrate his clear expertise in the area is real useful.

The aborted laughter from the person sitting next to me, as well as the sound of chuckles from the crowd itself informed me that I wasn't quite as successful at hiding my true intentions as I might have hoped.

Whoops.

Hizashi gave me a look out of the corner of his eyes that informed me that I was going to regret that later before he continued on, making his introductions for the first year classes that were starting to enter the arena, fireworks exploding in the clear skies above the arena and dramatic music swelling to a crescendo as they did so.

It's one hell of a spectacle I'll say that much.

There have been some people who compare it to the Olympics, when they were still a thing way back when, if not in substance then in spectacle.

They weren't wrong.

The crowd roared and surged like a living wave, all of them shouting their excitement as the Hero classes 1-A and 1-B, the general education classes 1-C to 1-E, the support classes 1-F to 1-H and even the business classes 1-I to 1-K all made their way to line up in front of Nemuri, who was once again wearing an outfit that stood atop the vary edge of the decency laws that had been implemented specifically to prevent her from wearing her last outfit.

Although after that one time she showed up in my clinic wearing the old one I can see why.

Throughout it all, Hizashi was keeping up his hype man routine, keeping the crowd positively abuzz with excitement for whatever exciting events were sure to come.

"Representing the students," The Pro Hero Midnight spoke up, flourishing her whip as she did so. "is Bakugo Katsuki from Class 1-A!"

As I watched a spiky blonde-haired student, I presumed to be Katsuki I casually removed the lemonade from my impromptu coaster and caught the cards as they reverted, sliding them back of my sleeve in a practiced motion.

I'd seen some of his handiwork taking on Villains in the USJ from the tapes after we'd started our analysis of the Villain Invasion as the press had begun taking to call it.

Possesses a strong quirk, no hesitation in rushing into combat, incredible battle instincts for one so young.

Got first place in the entrance exams for the non-recommended students, with excellent marks in both the written and the practical.

He almost reminds me of someone I thought taking a sip of lemonade as I did so.

"I pledge," the first year began, leaning forward to speak into the microphone hands stuck in his pockets as if he didn't care about anyone around him. "That I'll be number one."

The majority of the crowd of students behind erupted into boos, insults and a number of not so polite gestures even as I fought down the urge to laugh and not shoot my drink out of my nose as the mental image finally solidified in my head.

"At least become a nice bouncy step for me to jump to victory." He finished giving the rioting students behind him a disdainful thumbs down as he casually made his way back down the stairs, returning his hands into his pockets.

He's like Enji.

A shorter, more impolite version of Enji.

I bid the others goodbye with a wave as I fought to contain my laughter at the mental image of a tiny Enji trying to glare down his nose at me, making my way to the staff seating.

If I stayed in the commentator's box then Hizashi was going to try and find a way to force me onto the air again.

I shuddered briefly as the memory of that debacle briefly resurfaced before I suppressed to through sheer force of will.

I learned my lesson after last time.

I'm not doing that any more than I physically have to.

I was interested to know who would come out on top of the pack during the obstacle race. It was always something of a challenge among the teachers to try and pick the winner of an event before it took place.

And since Midnight is referee this year, she can't sweep us all under the table like she usually does, the lucky so-and-so.

That being said, since I showed up last, that means I have to pick last.

Just need to hope that there's a half decent pick left by the end of all this.

I slid into the only free seat left in the staff seating area, giving the customary greetings to everyone there.

"So! Who have we picked as winners for the first event so far?" I asked flicking a thumb towards the students crowding towards the doorway that served as the entrance to the race, as well as the first obstacle.

"Ah! Well I picked Tenya-kun!" Thirteen piped up, causing most of us to groan in response.

The speedy scion of the Ida family was an easy pick for the first encounter, an obstacle race.

Damn.

"Well in that case I'll pick Todoroki." Snipe drawled, chuckling slightly as another chorus of curses rang out.

"Hmm," Ken pondered, placing his solid fingers together into a steeple as he thought. "Sero Hanta."

Kan let out a growl at that. "You're all only picking 1-A students." He noted, and the rest of did our best not to roll our eyes as Ken tried another one of his tried and true tactics to get someone to pick someone from his class.

That's not to say that the kids in his class wouldn't make it through.

They just didn't have any that would particularly excel in a four-kilometer race to the finish line.

True to form Ryo, who should really know better at this point, fell for his best friends' tactic and chose Shishida Jūrōta, who for the life of me, I could not put a face to if you paid me.

Kan then chose one of his own students, one Shiozaki Ibara, one of the recommended students whose prehensile vines quirk could prove useful in circumnavigating a number of obstacles in the race.

We continued down the line, with a few more students being chosen from the hero classes, as well as two from the Support classes before we came to a stop at the emaciated form of Yagi Toshinori, better know to the greater public as the Symbol of Peace when he was more…inflated.

Okay let's see my options.

No Todoroki.

No Tenya.

Ectoplasm picked Bakugo.

If not for the fact Todoroki was in this race, I'd be tempted to pick the frog girl, Asui from 1-A.

But I guess if all else fails I can just pick…

"Midoriya." Toshinori said simply, leaving some to chuckle at his choice while I was left scrambling for a new name now that my last one was literally picked out from under me.

Okay, do you know any more of the first years that haven't been picked?

Already said not frog girl.

Mashirao?

I hesitated for a moment before moving past him. I didn't think so.

The short one with the sticky hair isn't going to be getting first place.

So that leaves…

I sighed heavily.

"Kirishima." I said resignedly, secure in the fact that I wasn't going to be winning this year.

Hey if all the good picks are already gone, there's nothing you can do.

The lights atop the starting arch flashed green and the students charged forward into the small tunnel with a cheer, the path quickly becoming clogged as the students looked more like sardines in a can then anything else.

Alright then.

Who's going to come out first?

An eruption of Ice swept out of the tunnel leading to the first obstacle, covering not only the ground but also the sides and the roof of the tunnel before extending out even further to the track itself, as Todoroki Shoto charged ahead of any of his competitors, running as if the icy impediment wasn't even there while his fellow students slipped and struggled to keep their footing behind him, a large majority of them being frozen in place.

Looks like Snipe made a hell of a pick.

"Starting early this year aren't they?" I deadpanned, watching as some students struggled in the face of this unforeseen obstacle while others found ways to overcome it, either through their quirks or their own ingenuity.

Bakugou was flying forward, propelled by the force of the explosions he was detonating from his palms.

The red head with the hardening quirk that I'd met at the USJ, Kirishima had ripped his way through the ice, making use of his enhanced durability.

They were quickly followed by one girl pole vaulting herself free with a pole she formed out of her hand, while a blonde boy soared over head propelled by a sparkling beam coming from a belt centered over his belly.

Quirks.

You never really know what can happen.

Most of class 1-A was quick to follow after them, the students who worked alongside Todoroki the quickest to adapt to his attack, with the exception of some, among them Little Green.

If things keep up I don't see All Might winning the bet any time soon.

I know that Mirio has been doing his best to teach the new bucket the same ropes I showed him, but only time will tell if it's made enough of a difference for today.

I watched closely as the students came to a stop as they came upon the second obstacle.

The last time most of these students encountered this foe during their entrance exams they had to run away from one of them.

Let's see how they do with half a dozen.

"Looks like Todoroki is going to be the first to make a move." () noted drawing most of our attention towards Enji's son.

I watched as the dirt beneath the boy's feet froze solid in a rapidly expanding circle, one that grew even wider and seemingly more intense as he knelt down to place his right hand on the frozen earth.

One of the zero pointers surged towards the young student like an unstoppable avalanche and then Todoroki swung his right hand up at the robot.

And I'm pretty sure most people in the arena felt their jaws drop in shock as he froze the whole damn thing in place in the blink of an eye.

Goddamn that is one hell of a quirk.

Shoto charged forward under the robot's legs, the titanic machine tilting forward as he passed it, the robots momentum carrying it down to crash before the students, blocking off the route that he'd used to move forward.

Back into first place.

He's definitely Enji's kid alright.

Accomplishing multiple goals with a single action is practically a Todoroki trade mark at this point.

The gap between Todoroki and the other students grew further as the remaining robots closed in on the students.

The new obstacle of the collapsed robot crumpled slightly as I watched two students punch their way out from underneath it, both clearly having tried to follow Todoroki and failed to make it time, but managing to remain in the race through the use of their quirks.

Their…remarkably similar quirks.

Oh I want them to fight each other to see who's stronger so badly.

Hopefully we'll get lucky.

The students started to break apart, with some managing to make their way around the robotic obstacles without needing to engage them, while others fought their way through at a slower pace.

I caught sight of Little Green carrying a piece of armor plating that he must have scavenged from one of the robots for some reason before using it to cut a one pointer trying to attack him in half with it.

I let out a whistle at that.

Well would you look at that.

The boy can fight without breaking something.

Chiyo will be pleased.

Wonder how much of that I need to attribute to Mirio.

The next obstacle to come up was the unimaginatively named "The Fall", a host of tall stone pillars made through a combination of Ken's Quirk and Power Loader's fine tuning with cables connecting them.

Some of the others started talking among themselves but I was focused wholly on the race, so I did my best to ignore them unless they addressed me directly.

Students had to make their way across them to the other side to continue on with the race without falling and being eliminated.

While some of the students hesitated on the best path to surpass this latest surprise I watched as the pink haired support course student that had been Higari's pick managed to essentially breeze through the whole obstacle with the help of her support gear, some combination of hover boots and grappling pistons from the look of it.

At the front of the pack, Shoto slid down one of the cables, freezing it as he did so, having already completed the Fall well before many of the students had even reached it.

But as I watched him, I noticed something.

Compared to his pace at the beginning, did Shoto seem…slower?

Perhaps a side effect of his quirk?

He came to a stop before the final obstacle blocking the way to the sprint to the finish, a series of low-grade land mines buried all over the path, barely visible if one was taking the time to look for them.

You could try and rush through them, but that was risking stepping on one and having yourself sent flying.

The rest of the students began catching up with him and I felt myself leaning forward in my seat despite myself as I stared up at the screens, trying to keep track of the action.

I saw Thirteen bow her head when the Ida boy tried and failed to outrun the exploding land mines, although granted he made it far further then I would have ever thought possible before he was sent tumbling to the side.

Todoroki found himself waylaid as Bakugo joined him in the lead, but instead of simply overtaking him, the spiky haired blonde seemed content to have a mid-face brawl with his fellow opponent, the two throwing quick blows at each other while still taking care not to step on the land mines dotting their path.

My own prospect, Kirishima was firmly near the front of the pack, his hardening quirk allowing him to make his way through the minefield with much less concern then any of his opponents, save the steel skinned boy who was neck and neck with him.

There was a loud boom that echoed in my ears, and I felt the shockwave of it rush down the tunnel leading back into the stadium and I felt my eyebrows widen as I saw the massive debris cloud forming at the back, the other students coming to a stop as the blast threatened to send them all tumbling onto the active mines around them.

What the heck?

The mines were supposed to be able to explode like that.

Then, soaring out of the smoke in the sky, clutching onto his impromptu body board for dear life, Little Green shot through the air as if he'd been shot out of a cannon, rocketing towards the front of the pack.

Toshinori leapt out of his seat with a loud cheer of "Yes!", as what many had taken to be the longest odd in the race avoided the majority of the landmines in an instant overtaking the stunned Shoto and Bakugo with his impromptu method.

Oh, there had better have been a replay of that!

Hizashi don't you dare leave me hanging!

True to form, one half of the screen lit up with an image of Little Green digging the landmines out of the ground near the beginning of the course where no one had stepped on them into one giant pile, before he used the piece of armor he'd acquired at the start of the race to harness the resulting explosion to catapult himself into the lead.

Little Green you absolute madman!

The moment the students had stood their dumbstruck quickly passed, with Bakugo throwing himself forward after Midoriya with a roar, no longer touching the ground as he once more propelled himself forward with the force of his explosions.

Shoto now falling behind the two, stamped down with his right foot and formed a path of ice over the landmines, eliminating the chance of stepping on them but at the same time providing a clear route for everyone behind him to follow.

The two were quickly coming level with him once more, but as I watched Midoriya there was a surge of… something over his form for the blink of an eye and he managed to pull the armor piece back up and close to his chest before he slammed into the floor of the arena once more, armor first.

The landmines beneath the metal detonated, sending Little Green up and his preexisting momentum sending him spinning forward to land clumsily on his feet before sprinting forward, both of his closet competition momentarily blinded by the mines going off so close to them.

The two quickly recovered, racing after Midoriya as they pushed their Quirks to the limit in an attempt to seize first place.

To no avail.

Midoriya Izuku crossed the finish line in first place to the uproarious cheers of the crowd,

I started clapping alongside the others, at the victor of one hell of a race.

They aren't always this close. Last year one of the first years could fly and they essentially breezed over most of the course.

But this year it had been a real nail biter.

Shoto just barely managed to beat out Bakugo for third place with the rest of the students trailing in after with little in the way of gaps between them.

And hey Krishima got ninth!

Top ten baby!

Snipe stood up from his seat with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, I don't think any of us saw that coming." He drawled, and I found myself nodding alongside him as I watched the gunslinger make his way towards the stairs.

Sorry Little Green.

You're great and all, but not the guy I would have picked for a four-kilometer race.

Congrats on proving me wrong and claiming first place.

Although you may not find that to be as comforting a prize as you think it is given your next match.

Now as much fun as it would be to watch that happen.

It's time for me to go get ready for mine.

Best of luck to you Little Green.

You're going to need it to survive what comes next.

Well.

Sounds like Little Green managed to survive to the next round.

Barely.

Going to need to watch that tape later.

But now is not the time.

I've got something more immediate to worry about.

"AND NOW! FOR THE FIRST TIME! WE HAVE A SPECIAL EVENT FOR YOU TODAY LISTENERS!" Mic's voice boomed throughout the arena, his naturally boisterous voice further increased by the speakers projecting the commentator's voice.

I ignored it all, dancing a coin across my knuckles, using my own skill rather than supplementing it with my quirk.

I was going to need every scrap of it for what came next.

"WHILE THIS IS A DAY TO WITNESS THE POTENTIAL AND GROWTH OF THE NEXT GENERATION, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THEY SHOULD STRIVE FOR AS PROFESSIONAL HEROES!" Mic continued to narrate over the buzz of the crowd, the excitement now palpable at this new addition to the festival.

"INTRODUCING! THE MARKSMAN WHO CAN CLIP THE WINGS OFF A FLY FROM A MILE AWAY! YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN HIM AT THE SKY EGG ATTACK, THWARTING THE VILLANOUS BOMBERS! THE GUNSLINGING HERO, SNIPE!"

The crowd roared as I watched Snipe walk up onto the stage from his tunnel on the other side of the arena flourishing his handgun with a twirl worthy of an old west gunslinger before sliding it back into the holster on his right leg, face hidden beneath his cowboy hat emblazoned with an S and long faced gas mask.

Some of the crowd started chanting his name, the cowboy attired hero having quite the following for his actions at the Sky Egg and in plenty of other provinces of Japan.

"AND HIS OPPONENT! ONE OF THE NEWER ADDITIONS TO OUR TEACHING ROSTER! THE SAVIOUR OF KUROBE DAM!"

The crowd led out a roar at that even as I winced.

Goddamn I hate that photo.

Spent my whole hero career being perfectly happy that I wasn't part of the public's awareness and then in a single day, the work of a lifetime gone in an instant.

And because I was stuck holding the dam up the asshole I was chasing managed to get away!

I started walking forward, flicking the coin up into the air before vanishing it into a pocket.

I took my wizard hat off my head, grabbing the edge as I stuck something on. I pulled my arm back and readied for what came next.

Let's hope all that practice me and Snipe have been doing pays off.

"THE HEALING HERO!" Mic continued, his booming voice still managing to overcome the roar of the crowd.

Here we go.

With a grunt I channeled all the practice I'd been pouring into this one trick and my Hat spun forward as I tossed it like a frisbee, sending it soaring towards Snipe.

With a quick draw that could barely be seen Snipe raised his revolver from the holster and fired on my hat, with the hat freezing in place just before the bullet would have struck it.

The trick round hit the shaped charge that had been hidden on the outside of the hat itself, going up in a conflagration of flame and smoke that drew shouts from the crowd.

More importantly, it also drew all their attention.

With a flash of Haste I blinked forward in a rush of movement through the quickly dissipating smoke.

As I came to a stop I raised my hand and focused my Quirk on my Hat, watching as it reversed it's motion back towards me casually catching it as I released the hold of my Quirk.

I absentmindedly brushed the excess debris from the explosion that was still clinging to my hat before pulling it firmly over my head.

"SHIRO MADOUSHI!"

I turned and waved as the crowd cheered, chants of my own Hero name now thundering around the arena.

"AND SERVING AS OUR REFEREE! A MAN NEEDING NO INTRODUCTION!" Hizashi began again, the crowd surging forward in expectant anticipation at this latest build up by the Voice Hero.

With a majestic leap, his cape fluttering in the air, the Symbol of Peace resplendent in his silver age attire, landed with a perfect three point landing in the center of the arena and the crowd went ballistic.

It made the cheers that Snipe and I had received early seem paltry in comparison.

If I was a pettier man I might be jealous but the man standing before me deserves all this and then some.

This is the man who quite literally dragged Japan out of the darkness and back into modern society with nothing but his own two fists and determination, inspiring countless others to follow in his footsteps.

A modern day Superman.

"Say it with me! Plus!" All Might cried out to the crowd, pumping a fist up into the air.

"ULTRA!" The audience roared back, with a wave of sound worthy of Hizashi's quirk blasting back from them.

"The game is King of the Hill!" All Might boomed out, the massive screens through the arena flickering to life as he spoke, with the title of the game emblazoned across them. "The rules are simple! As the match begins the King's Crown will enter the Arena. Our volunteers must find and wear the crown to gain points while preventing their opponent from taking it for themselves."

As this explanation was made the screen changed to display stick figures taking part in the game, with one stick figure wearing the crown on his head and fighting off the other

"Contestants must not touch the ground outside of the Arena or they will not be allowed to re-enter the ring! First person to hold the crown for a cumulative sixty seconds will win the match! If two contestants leave the arena, then the winner will be the contestant who wore the crown the longest." All Might concluded, his broad smile glinting as he did so. "But there's been one more change to today's event! One even our two contestants are unaware of!"

Wait.

What?

What do you mean change?

What the hell do you mean change, All Might?

We've been working on this thing for literally months, what on Earth would lead to you saying that there's going to be a cha…

"It appears we have a surprise guest for today's match!" All Might said brightly, the announcement throwing my thought process through a loop.

Surprise guest?

Me and Snipe have been training for this thing for weeks, to make this as cinematic as possible.

Who on earth would be arrogant enough to force their way out here?

I caught sight of one of the previously darkened corridors leading to the arena flickering to light.

Not because of the lights turning on.

Oh no, not that.

It was because of the roiling flames that rolled off the newcomer's form, and the smoldering footsteps that he left in his wake.

Todoroki Enji, that unrepentant asshole, walked out towards center stage as the coliseum erupted into cheers at the sight of the Number 2 Hero on the Billboard charts made his way with slow, deliberate steps.

"Let's have a big cheer for Endeavour!" All Might called to the crowd, chants of Enji's hero name now echoing around the arena.

His eyes were locked onto mine and I could see the smirk that was almost hidden beneath that blazing beard of his.

"Told you we'd be having that rematch." His eyes seemed to say at me, and I swear to God I could almost feel the weight of his smugness as he approached me.

Why that miserable, arrogant, impenitent piece o…

Calm.

Calm.

Deep breaths.

He wants to have a rematch?

Oho, I am going to give him a bloody rematch.

"The match begins when the crown touches the floor of the arena!" All Might continued on blatantly ignoring the glare I was giving to the back of his head.

The bastard.

All Might leapt back to the upraised platform where Bakugo had given his pledge at the start of the festival.

I flicked my eyes towards Snipe, standing ready with his hand hovering over his holster, ready to make use of his quickdraw the moment the match started.

Endeavour's flames flared brighter for a moment before he took his own stance, both of his hands clenching into fists, with the line of flames trailing down of his arms transitioning to a white flame.

Looks like he's not interested in holding back.

You know, except for the fact that he can't use most of his arsenal carelessly unless he wants to send the watching crowds into a burn ward.

Small mercies for me.

With a flick of my wrist, my right hand held my cards and I made a show of a Card Spring before splitting the cards in each hand.

Good.

The crowd let out a roar All Might reared back and threw the glittering piece of metal that would serve as the crown for our match.

I pulled on my Quirk and the world slowed before my eyes.

The crowd now unmoving statues.

The noise of the arena fading away to nothing.

The crown tumbled through the air.

Once.

Twice.

Then it struck the floor.

Snipe drew his revolver and fanned the hammer, letting loose every bullet in the chamber before his Quirk took a hold of the projectiles, half of them sent spiraling towards Endeavour, the other half towards me.

I started moving forward, sending three cards spinning forward like shuriken before with a flicker of my Quirk they froze in place the instant before the bullets would have pierced them, leaving them to crumple against them.

I continued my approach towards the Crown still glinting in the center of the arena only to catch sight of the wall of fire that was swiftly approaching me, the number two having not only dealt with the attack from Snipe but also cutting me off with the same action.

Typical Endeavour.

Why do one thing, when you can do two at the same time?

The normal approach would be to step back away from the flame, or try and outrun it before it reached me.

But if I did that, I'd be running right into the follow up that he was already in the process of launching.

Thank you Jumbotron.

Who needs eyes in the back of my head when I have you?

I could stay back, but standing still in a fight with Snipe is a good way to get shot somewhere painful.

I mean they were rubber bullets but still!

Those things hurt.

So, I can't outrun it. And I can't wait for it to subside.

Enji's loud proclamation of "Jet Burn!" told me I was out of time.

Time to do something bold.

I stepped into the path of the oncoming wave of fire facing away from it, one hand drawing my hat further down my head over my eyes while the other adjusted my cloak to ensure my collar was as high as possible.

Then the instant before my transition from man to living barbeque, I pulsed my quirk through my clothes and stopped.

I watched through my hat, once again thankful that I could see through the material as the world vanished in the inferno that struck against my cloak and flowed around it like water striking a boulder.

When the smoke cleared, I saw that Endeavour had claimed the crown and was in the process of putting it on a smirk directed towards me.

I smiled back.

That's when one bullet blasted the crown out of his hand, another one crashed into his ankle tripping him up and the other four crashed into his chest with less than an inch between them, sending him spinning away from the crown as it tumbled through the air.

Right into my hands.

Sure sucks to suck Enji.

Don't mind if I do.

I slammed the crown over my hat, the weight of the metal telling me that this made out of something a lot heavier than steel, charging forward towards Snipe with a burst of Haste.

Enji out of action for the moment, and Snipe momentarily out of ammo after expending the six-shooter dealing with Enji.

Hmm let me think.

Stay at a distance and let him reload, or go close combat against someone who excels in exploiting range?

Not even a question.

Which was why I need to get close to him before he finished reloading the revolver in his right hand.

I caught sight of the familiar glint of a concussion mine in the path between myself and him, Snipe having made use of the technique in the past to try and force me to keep my distance.

I could try and Stop them, but unlike my clothes and my tools they hadn't been with my blood infused into them, which made using my Quirk significantly easier than ordinary items.

Made it easy to find a way to make a costume for Mirio that wouldn't be left a crumpled mess on the floor when he used his quirk.

So, can't Stop.

Why would I want to?

Making use of the momentum carrying me forward from the Haste I leapt, soaring over the concussion mines

You're not getting away this time Snipe! You're not reloading that gun in time!

Which of course was when I caught sight of his left hand coming up, wielding an identical gun to the one in his right.

Motherf…

Before the gun had even been fully raised it started firing, the bullets twisting through the air as he made use of his Quirk to have them alter their trajectory to approach me from multiple angles.

I wasn't in a good spot.

I was in mid-air, with no cover against one of the greatest marksmen in recent history, with a series of projectiles converging towards my position that were most certainly going to strike me down before I was able to try and make a run for it or dodge on the ground.

If I tried to Stop, then he would have free reign to take the crown for himself.

There was no way I could dodge this without solid ground to leap off of.

Snipe had me dead to rights.

I grinned.

Then I pulled on my Quirk, sent it surging down my legs into my lucky boots and used one of the more useful techniques I've managed to come up with for my quirk.

My knees bent from the shock as my boots froze in place, as I stopped them before I stepped upwards, making use of the platform that was my own shoe before the moment ran out.

Snipe's bullets tried to compensate but even his Homing Quirk can't make them completely ignore the laws of physics like mine can and the force of their own momentum sent them whistling by me to send them thundering into the ground.

I'd actually come up with this technique watching an old clip of Endeavour, watching him create footholds on the side of a building with his fiery steps to seemingly defy gravity.

I thought mine was slightly better, even if it didn't have the admittedly cool looking visual effect of burning footsteps being left in my wake.

Gotta say, the look of shock on someone's face when you pull off a real life version of a double jump never seems to get old.

That and walking on air is one of the oldest stage magic tricks in the book.

Only fitting that I figured out how to pull it off.

I couldn't see his eyes through his gas mask but I was pretty sure they were bulging in shock, as he staggered backwards.

Whether that was from the shock of my trick or my fists thudding a staccato beat on his chest was up for debate.

Not going to lie, I'm feeling pretty damn good right now.

What's next?

I felt my head twist as Endeavour's right cross cracked me across the face and sent me careening towards the ground as gravity once more took hold of me as my Stop failed with my lack of focus.

I crashed down to the arena floor, skidding across the tiles towards the edge that would lead me to being knocked out of this match.

With a Stop I came to a halt before I was prematurely ejected from the matchand a whoosh of air left me as I slammed into my coat like it was a brick wall.

Ow.

Why hello there hubris.

Didn't see you there.

Some people think that because Endeavour is an expert at using his Hellfire Quirk, that he doesn't have much in the way of close combat.

Most people are dead wrong, because the man could probably knock out a bear with a single punch, and that's without adding his Quirk on top of that.

"AND WITH THAT IT LOOKS LIKE ENDEAVOUR HAS TAKEN THE CROWN ONCE AGAIN! IT LOOKS LIKE THE NUMBER TWO IS INTENT ON PROVING JUST WHY HE'S ONE OF THE COUNTRIES VERY BEST!" Mic's voice boomed, even as the sound of the crowd roaring in approval met my ears once more.

Not going to lie.

That one may have hurt.

My tongue traced around the inside of my mouth as I felt for any wiggly teeth, spitting out a mouthful of blood as I did so.

It's moments like these that really make me wish I could use my Quirk to invert the flow of time on myself.

Guess I'll have to just manage with accelerated regeneration instead.

Poor me.

I picked myself up slowly, making use of the Jumbotron and my own perspective to examine the conflict going on.

Snipe was currently in a running gun battle with Endeavour, one revolver up and blasting, a bubbling pile of slag on the ground giving me an idea of what had happened to the second revolver.

Shame.

I wanted to see how the hell he was going to manage to reload two revolvers one handed.

Probably some support gear acting as a speed loader or something like that.

Enji on the other hand was making the most of his own Quirk, blasts of fire forcing the gunman to direct his attention towards avoiding the crimson flames seeking to consume him, some of his shots being fired in wild directions as he tumbled to avoid one blaze that got especially close, part of his red cloak already smoldering at the edges after than near miss.

I caught sight of something moving through the air at the edge of my vison, and I turned my attention towards it.

How long has he had the crown for?

I'm running out of time.

But how am I going to deal with him?

Above the arena, rotating slowly to my accelerated vision was a number of bright red balls, slowly starting to spill from the bag that Higari had left stuck above the arena.

Power Loader's Extinguisher grenades.

The Fire Stoppers.

With Pyrokinesis in one sense of another being readily prevalent among the Quirk population, it was standard practice to have some way of combating flames during every sports festival.

Snipe.

He hadn't missed at all.

He was just setting this up.

Clever.

But no reason for me not to take advantage of a new resource.

A plan quickly took shape in my head, and I smiled as I realized I had everything I needed.

I opened my clenched hand, revealing the smoke bomb I'd palmed off of Snipe while I was punching him and pulled the pin and tossing it forward as the lever sprung away, thick smoke quickly obscuring me from sight.

Step one, break line of sight complete.

I opened my cloak and set my arms before I froze it in place with a Stop removing my hat and Stopping it in place as well.

Now then need to sell that I'm still here.

I twisted, making use of my momentum to put some extra spin on the projectiles I was throwing letting some of them to spin forward with Haste before I Stopped the rest at random intervals.

Step two complete.

With that step accomplished I stepped back as if I was backing up a staircase, Stopping my boots in place with the ease only practice can accomplish as I stepped up into the air, making use of my gloves to create handholds if I started to lose my balance.

As I made my way higher and higher, more of my time delayed attacks shot out of the smoke towards Enji and Snipe, leading Enki to retaliate with another Flashfire Fist to where 'I' was standing in the smoke, while Snipe rolled out of the way, blasting any card that got too close with his gun.

I came to a stop in mid-air, my time stopped boots providing all the platform I needed, as I snatched out with a hand and grabbed a slowly tumbling Fire Stopper out of the air.

Now let's see if all those spars against Hawks still hold up.

One Fastball Special coming right up.

I released the hold of my quirk on one boot, raising the leg high before bringing it down as I launched the Fire Stopper forward like a major league pitcher, dumping as much Haste into it as I couldtosend it careening down like a meteor to crash into Enji's left shoulder with a loud crack.

Ooh.

That sounded painful.

Probably going to have to heal that later.

The flame hero let out a roar, one hand going up to clutch at his injured shoulder, even as the crowd went ballistic at this latest turn around play.

Endeavour looked up and snarled, an upraised palm pointing towards me, the flames leading to that palm transitioning to white and from that to blue.

That's one downside of being up in the air.

Endeavour doesn't have to worry about his attacks having to subside before he hits the crowd where I am now if he hits me.

If.

You're forgetting something Enji.

"Was that your card?" I quipped as the Fire Stopper exploded in a cloud of fire suppressing gas, Endeavour sent stumbling away as the flames surrounding him subsided, his blazing beard reduced to mere cinders by this latest surprise.

I'm just glad he didn't spot me when I was climbing and throw out a Hell Spider while I was still making way up there.

That was when Snipe struck, both clips striking in concert to lift Endeavour off of his feet, sending him tumbling backwards to land with a stop just past the painted line that served as the edge of the arena, the crown tumbling free of his grasp to plink and tumble its way back into the arena.

The crowd roared its approval but I had no time to rest as Snipe turned his attention fully towards me, fanning the hammer of his revolver as his bullets unerringly sought me out to rip me from the sky.

The sun may be shining, but I'm no Icarus buddy.

I moved, 'running' across the air out of the way of his attacks, having some of the bullets crumple off the bottom of my immoveable heels, and when that failed, 'catching' them with my gloved hands.

I sent back my own projectiles, throwing the last of the cards I had in my hand down at Snipe, with a touch of Haste accelerating their descent.

Not one of them reached him, the seasoned sniper having blown each one out of the sky long before it reached him.

Just as planned.

That was when the second item I'd stolen from Snipe rolled to a stop by his feet, pin long since pulled.

You didn't really thing I only stole a smoke grenade when I was punching you, did you Snipe?

The concussion grenade that I'd thrown before I'd started my climb and Stopped in mid-flight, caught Snipe entirely by surprise, blasting him off of his feet and his remaining pistol out of his hands.

First rule of magic.

Good old misdirection.

If I'm going out of my way to make you look one way, I'm probably doing something important the other way.

I hopped downwards, closing the distance between me and the ground before Stopping my boots before I hit the ground, making a show of walking down my invisible staircase to where my coat and hat awaited me.

If this was an actual fight I would never give my opponent this much time to recover, but this isn't meant to be a fight.

It's meant to be a spectacle.

And I think we're doing pretty well in that regard.

I slid one arm into a sleeve as I withdrew my Quirk from my clothes, making it easy to slide the other in as well and secure it in place with the belt and 'daggers.'

My hat fell from its frozen position to land on my head and I heard the crowd cheer, even as I made my way towards my remaining foe.

I approached Snipe casually, hands in my pockets, outwardly secure in the knowledge that his guns were no longer in his hands.

But inwardly?

There is no way in hell that I'm letting my guard down around Snipe.

We've been through enough sparring matches to know that the supposedly ranged hero is one hell of a scrappy fighter if you make the mistake of letting him get within hands reach of you.

I still had my Quirk running through me, enhancing my senses as much as I could to try and pick up any hints

As Snipe seemed to struggle to push himself up with his left hand, my view of his face obscured by his low-slung hat, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise up as I felt the distinctly familiar sensation of walking into a trap as his empty right hand stretched out towards me.

And the slightest of bulges on the strap of his glove began to shift towards me.

Realization struck me and I threw myself backwards, Hasting myself as much as I dared, using my arms to force myself back even faster as I pulled my best impression of the protagonist from that old film the Matrix.

The sound of a gun going off met my ears, albeit one that was far quieter than the leg shaking booms of Snipe's weapon of choice.

Although to be fair, the spring-loaded derringer that Snipe had fired at me would have taken my head off, figuratively speaking, if I was even an instant slower.

Even then I wasn't able to dodge it completely as the bullet altered its trajectory to follow me down towards the arena floor, even with my acrobatics.

Homing Quirk.

Ain't that a bitch.

Which meant I had to get a bit creative.

With a practiced twitch of my power one of the outermost layers of my coat froze in place, tearing away easily just like it had been designed to do.

My hero outfit had been made with my quirk in mind, with the ability to turn small inconsequential objects into unyielding immovable shields it didn't make sense for me to wear solid pieces of armor like some other heroes did.

I could probably do something like it on my shoes as well, but for all my attempts at making use of the prototypes over the years they'd never been able to come up with one that was durable enough to function as a shoe for a professional hero while at the same time not utterly ruining the traction.

Last one was like trying to walk on ice.

The bullet collided with the paper-thin piece of fabric and crumpled like a paper plane against a brick wall.

My back bounced off the ground and my head pulsed, the combination of my Quirk and the impact sending my head spinning, the pain I'd been ignoring throughout the match steadily growing more and more pronounced even as I rolled my way back up to my feet.

Oh right.

I did just essentially throw myself at the ground at accelerated speed.

That hurt.

[Color=transparent] Don't deny me [/color]

But I wasn't finished.

I felt my Quirk subside briefly before I forced it open once more, the white light of my quirk beginning to trail off of me, as I felt the world start to slow to a crawl.

I'm not done yet!

[Color=transparent] Use Me [/color]

I need more!

I pulled on it further, what was once a crawl now slowing further until I was moving in a world of statues, moving forward in a silent world over concussion mines that would explode long after I'd left them.

[Color=transparent] USE ME [/color]

I reached out to my side, my hand beginning to clench as I…

I froze.

And that was when Snipe's next barrage caught me unprepared, sending me stumbling back and off of the stage.

"AND WITH THAT THE MATCH IS OVER!" Mic announced as the stadium erupted into an uproar of cheers and applause as I slowly sat myself up, forcing a smile onto my face as I pushed myself up from the floor. "ALL MIGHT, DECLARE THE WINNER IF YOU PLEASE!"

"The winner, having held the crown for the longest amount of time before being eliminated is…" The Jumbotron flickered before Enji's form filled the screen. "Endeavour!" All Might declared, the crowd roaring in applause.

What!?

But he got knocked out first?

I paused playing through the events of the match in my head and swore internally as the realization hit me.

The rules weren't that the winner had to be the last one standing in the ring.

It was that you were the one who wore the crown for the longest time.

Enji had probably realized that and let himself be knocked out of the ring so I'd focus on trying to get Snipe out of the ring rather than going for the crown.

That rules lawyering little shit.

Now I'm mad.

That I didn't think of it first.

But despite everything that was going on, that wasn't what was really holding my thoughts, no matter how badly I was trying to move away from them.

Whatever it was that Hizashi and Aizawa were blathering on about faded away, my mind quickly losing focus as I stood and gave a gallant bow to the triumphant Enji, even as my right hand, hidden within my sleeve was clenched so tightly I wouldn't be surprised if I started bleeding.

Had that seriously just happened?

I thought I had this dealt with.

"Are you all right?"

I started as I looked up to see Snipe suddenly in front of me, apparently having approached me unnoticed while I was caught up in my own thoughts.

I pulled a smile onto my face with practiced ease and rubbed the back of my head with a chuckle. "Think I might have pulled something when I landed, that's all." I lied, brushing myself off as I did so, my own words barely audible to me. "Think I might go stretch it out before I have to go join the principal in the commentator's box for the third years."

I think Snipe might have said something, but the only sound I could hear was my own heartbeat thundering like a drum in my ears, so with a repeated congratulations on a match well done I made my way back down the tunnel I had originally approached from.

I made my way to one of the change rooms that I knew would be empty at this point, casually walked inside and locked the door behind me, placing a Stop against the door for good measure with a sure of my Quirk that I was certainly going to regret later.

I slumped against the door, looking down to my right hand as it shook like a leaf in a hurricane, my chest heaving as the pain rocked through my body.

That was close.

I'd almost slipped.

I'd almost forgotten how easily it could sneak up on me.

It's been ages since that's happened.

I'll have to check the bindings next time I'm at the Gym.

Another thought struck me and I grimaced.

I'm going to need to check that too aren't I?

I staggered over to one of the mirrors on the opposite wall, reached up to my hat with an arm that was still shaking slightly, but thankfully subsiding, and pulled it from my head, running a hand through my hair.

Yep.

That's going to be a problem.

Guess I'm going to have to wear the hat for the rest of the Festival.

Good thing it's comfy.