Chapter 21: The First Event

'Will class 1-F please proceed to the arena floor? Class 1-F to the arena floor please.'

The remaining first years who had yet to be summoned from the mustering hall all turned to look with morbid fascination as the members of class 1-F started to shuffle towards the arena entrance tunnel. Stiff legged and pale faced, they slowly proceeded down the ramp that went to the stadium – like cows being led to slaughter. Moments later, the constant dull roar of the crowds suddenly peaked in volume and the waiting room vibrated with a rumbling clamour as class 1-F came into view of the spectators.

Standing against the wall nearest to the exit tunnel was class 1-H. Grouped with his classmates, Izuku stood side by side between Moyashi and Saigo, nervously swallowing every now and then. His mouth felt dry but he didn't dare drink any more water. He'd already been over to the water fountain four times now and he didn't want to risk having to excuse himself midway through one of the events to use the restroom, or worse, having an "accident" on live TV.

The thought made him shudder.

At least he wasn't alone in his suffering. Everyone was in a different state of panic. Well, everyone except Mei that is. While her classmates were on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, she was calmly checking the pockets of her utility belt, humming as she did so.

How does she do it? He wondered as he watched her adjust some setting on her shiny new jet powered hover boots. If I was wearing as much gear as she was, I'd be sweating bullets.

Because all of the members of class 1-H were fully equipped with their gear, they were a very noticeable contrast to the identically dressed students of the other classes. In previous years, the media had all made a big show of examining, critiquing, and even poking fun of the support student's appearance. It was the only time support got any attention in the games really, and the thought of being teased on national television hung over them all like a guillotine.

In the fashion department Izuku had definitely come up short. Besides his uniform, all he had on him was his utility belt, grenade bandolier, grappling gun, and nightstick. Really, he looked like a mall security guard rather than an athlete, but at least he wasn't bogged down with gear. He was thankful that he hadn't opted to bring as much equipment as some of the others had. Maybe that way the cameras wouldn't pay as much attention to him.

Mei was resplendent in her goggles and newly designed jet boots with matching harness and a dart gun that looked and functioned suspiciously like Izuku's (though she swore vehemently that she had first designed it when she was nine).

Moyashi, Bukimi and Saigo were all wearing a co-developed leg assisted spring harness that gave them all far increased stamina and speed. Hiretsuna had a similar harness though hers was lighter. Like Mei and Izuku, she also had grappling spikes except hers were built into her shockwave enhancing gauntlets.

And then there was Kiska. She seemed to have decided that slow and steady would win the race as her gargantuan suit was nearly the size of Power Loader's. What it lacked in speed, it made up for in firepower as it seemed as though she had exploited every loophole she could in order to cram as many weapons as possible on board.

Izuku watched apprehensively as she adjusted some settings on her forearm mounted console. She had a very special mission for the race. He just hoped that the chemical he had told Kiska about would be as effective as he thought it was.

'A-Are we good to go Kiska?' Izuku asked, looking up at her past her bulky suit frame.

'You bet, Izuku. First chance I get I'll unleash Hell!' she said with unexpected eagerness.

Izuku nodded before staring back down at his feet. Sighing, he ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. He was about to make a lot of enemies but it couldn't be helped.

''Will class 1-G please proceed to the tunnel? That is class 1-G to the tunnel please. Thank you.'

Izuku opened his eyes. They were next. Taking a deep breath, he called out to his classmates.

'H-Hey. Everyone…'

All the members of class 1-H stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and continued.

'Let's uh, let's all just stick to the plan, okay? No matter what happens, we need to advance.' Izuku said in what he hoped sounded like confidence, 'All of us! So throw fair play out the window, fight dirty, and don't stop running until you're across the finish line. Remember, we're all in this together!'

Izuku's voice faltered somewhat at the end of his speech but they cheered regardless. A few of them broke out into nervous smiles and Saigo gave him a hearty thump on the back.

'Good pep talk, coach.' Bukimi said with a nod, 'We're doomed, but that was very inspirational. I can die with pride now.'

'N-No problem.' Izuku stammered, 'But I r-r-really do think we can win, y'know?'

Bukimi gave him another smile, but it quickly vanished.

'Class 1-H? Class 1-H please proceed to the tunnel.'

Izuku felt his spider-sense tingle and he pushed himself off from the wall.

No pressure Deku. Just a couple billion, your identity, and your life are on the line. No pressure at all.

Izuku marched side by side with his classmates down the tunnel towards the stadium grounds. The light from the sun at the tunnel's exit seemed almost impossibly bright and several students shielded their eyes as they drew closer. As they got nearer to the ravenous crowds, the very walls of the tunnel seemed to be reverberating with their chants, cheers, and stamping feet.

Izuku quickly found his senses being overwhelmed. There were so many distinct sounds bombarding his senses, that just processing it all made him feel nauseous. Either that or he had become so nervous that he was going to puke. At the moment either seemed pretty likely.

Closing his eyes, he tried to centre himself.

Just don't cry or anything, Deku. Please, please, please! For the love of all that is holy and sacred in this godforsaken, cesspit of a fucking city-

'Eh? What's that?'

Alarmed, his eyes flew open. Mei was walking beside him, her ear cupped in one hand.

'Uh, nothing!' Izuku shouted back quickly.

Damnit! Me and my stupid mumbling.

'What's the matter, Izuku? Feeling a little stage fright?' Mei asked in an overly sweet voice, seemingly oblivious to the growing roar of the stadium in front of them.

'N-No. I'm cool.'

Giving her a tight-lipped smile, he focused back on the tunnel exit ahead and involuntarily gulped. Compared to the Sports Festival, testing his web-shooters had been a cake walk!

At last they reached the end of the tunnel. Upon walking outside, the stadium exploded into cheers.

'And here we have Class 1-H, the hero support department class!' boomed the voice of Present Mic through the stadium's speakers who was acting as announcer, 'Don't they look interesting with all their equipment? Who knows what kind of gizmos they're packing, eh Eraser Head?'

'Yes, I can't wait to find out.' said the bored voice of his co-host Aizawa.

Blinking away the blinding light from the sun, Izuku and his classmates found themselves painfully isolated. Up ahead in the centre of the stadium the rest of the first years stood waiting, but it was a long walk to join them. Starting off at a brisk pace, Class 1-H hustled forward all while Present Mic began gleefully dissecting their costumes.

'Ooh, look at that! It seems like most of Class 1-H have invested in power assisted legs! Such cleverness! I wonder though; do their legs not work already? Kids today, am I right? Always looking for shortcuts.' Present Mic snickered, 'Let's see, what else do we have here…Who catches my eye…' said Present Mic before picking out students to highlight.

Izuku fully intended to keep his head low until he was safe in the crowd of other first years. However, he found he was unable to resist glancing up into the stands. What he saw made his head swim as his vision filled with thousands upon thousands of cheering faces. His next step forward, his legs suddenly felt light and he stumbled slightly.

'Hey Izuku, you're looking a little greener than usual. Feeling a bit faint?' Mei said, smiling mischievously.

He tore his eyes away from the crowd and faced her. In the glaring light, her features seemed to be almost glowing.

'Wha?' he said weakly.

'Hm. Well I know the cure for that. Are you ticklish?'

Without warning, her hand suddenly darted out and began poking and probing his ribs. With a high-pitched yelp, he tried to back away but there was nowhere he could escape to unless he wanted to leave the group.

'What are you doing?!' Izuku shouted breathlessly as he tried to fight back his giggles, 'We're on TV you idiot!'

'Oh, poor boy.' Mei said laughingly as her hands raked across his chest, 'Am I embarrassing you?'

With a renewed fervour, she attempted to press her attack but he quickly regained his bearings. Darting backwards, he slipped between two of his classmates that had been following behind him. Staring at her in wide eyed disbelief, he was at a momentary loss for words.

'Wh-What was that all about?!' he asked angrily.

Mei twirled and began walking backward so she could maintain eye contact. Laughing, she winked.

'Just trying to liven up our entrance. Well, don't be rude! Wave!'

With that she turned and pointed above them. Suddenly afraid, he followed her finger with a mounting sense of dread. Swarming overhead was a buzzing flock of camera drones, their unblinking bulbous glass irises capturing everything in all its high definition splendor. Every nervous face, every tight-lipped expression, every swear, threat, promise, prayer, and tear delivered in 4K resolution to the folks back home.

But that wasn't all. Beyond the drones he was horrified to see his own scarlet face on the gargantuan stadium screen. Sixty thousand people were packed into the UA Sports Stadium and God only knows how many million more were watching the event live and he had just made a total idiot of himself. He stood dumbfounded, staring at his slack jawed self on the jumbo screen like a deer caught in headlights for a full second before he snapped his open mouth shut and forced himself to resume walking.

If by some miracle me and Mei get to fight each other in the tournament…He thought darkly as Mei cackled.

Continuing to march forward, the support students crossed the grass perimeter of the stadium and reached a red painted, square shaped, concrete pavilion in the centre of the field where the other first year students were waiting. Quickly merging with the other students, there were more than a few breaths of relief from class 1-H as they became just another face among many.

Now relatively secure, Izuku found that he could breathe again. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, his fragile sense of security was almost instantly shattered by Present Mic introducing the next class. Again, the explosion of sound caused him to wince.

At this rate I'm going to need my hearing checked!

Covering his ears, he tried to find Bakugo among the other students but it was no use. Because Class 1-A was called out first, they were probably at the very front of the group next to the stage.

'Hey, Izuku.'

Moyashi was trying to speak to him. Pretending like he could barely hear, he uncovered his ears and leaned in his direction.

'Yeah?' he shouted.

'Check it out.' Moyashi said, pointing into the crowd.

Izuku looked. Up in the nosebleed section, he could just make out a group of people excitedly waving a sign. It read "Go Moyashi!"

Izuku instantly forgot his worries and grinned.

'Is that your family?' he said, waving to them.

'Yep. If I embarrass myself today Izuku, I want you to know its all your fault.'

Izuku laughed and he felt himself begin to relax a little. Over the next twenty minutes, the remaining classes were called out until every first-year student was clumped together in the pavilion. Once they had all gathered, the stadium erupted into hoots and wolf whistles. He was confused until he saw Midnight come in to view on the stage. She was in full costume including her trademark whip much to the crowd's delight. Upon reaching the podium, she gave them all a smile and he felt his heart flutter.

'Hello first years!' she said and the stadium slowly quieted, 'Welcome to the Sports Festival! I'll be the head referee for the three events that you will be participating in! Now, before we go over the rules, we will first need to hear the player's pledge.'

Izuku couldn't help but pinch himself. All those times watching the games at home, he had dreamed of giving the player's pledge himself – not that he wanted that now. It was far better to just be competing.

'The player's pledge is a tradition at the games and is given by one of the first years who has demonstrated qualities consistent with the spirit of the Sports Festival. So, I would like you all to give your attention to… Katsuki Bakugo!'

Sweeping her arm out, she gave a gesture and Bakugo appeared nonchalantly climbing up the stairs to the stage. Izuku gawked.

Bakugo?! Bakugo is the one delivering the player's pledge?! This has to be a joke.

Evidently the rest of the first years thought the same as there were several confused looks amongst the students. However, it was no joke. Strutting up to the podium, Bakugo tapped the microphone before clearing his throat.

'I just want to say…' Bakugo started.

Izuku went still. What sort of speech would he make?

'…I'm going to win.'

At that Bakugo leaned back from the microphone and stood there. First there was silence. Then the crowd of first years began booing. Bakugo looked completely nonplussed as everyone started shouting at him.

'Get off the stage!'

'I knew it! That conceited, arrogant, asshole!'

'He's so full of himself!'

Izuku however was unsurprised. If ever there was a Bakugo speech, that was it. With a shrug of his shoulders, Bakugo calmly hopped off the stage and rejoined his classmates while Midnight went back to the microphone.

'Well…there you have it. Uh, confidence! Now, without further adieu, it's time for us to get started on the first event!'

With a flash, a gigantic holographic screen suddenly appeared behind Midnight and the crowd went wild with cheering. The screen displayed a slot machine-like image of hundreds of possible events that began rapidly flipping past. To Izuku's amusement he saw "Battle Royale" as one of the possible events.

I sure could go for some Battle Royale myself right about now. Izuku thought, glancing over at Mei.

A chime rang and the wheel came to an abrupt stop at "obstacle course".

'Great!' Midnight said, and the crowd cheered anew, 'Looks like we'll be having an obstacle course race! Now let me explain the rules. Your goal is simple! Outside the stadium we have set up a four-kilometre course. In order to advance to the second event, you must be one of the first forty-two contestants across the finish line! As long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do as your heart desires!'

At that one of the giant gates that lined the perimeter of the stadium opened.

'So, will all contestants please take their positions on the painted line and await my signal!'

The crowd began to shift and move. As the other first years went to the line, Izuku turned to his classmates.

'Well guys, this is it. Remember: whatever it takes to win. Whatever it takes.' he repeated, looking at Kiska meaningfully. Face firm, she nodded back at him.

Moving into position, Izuku stepped up to the painted line beside Moyashi. Taking a deep breath, he got into his running stance.

Don't look superhuman. Don't look superhuman.

'GO!'

At the crack of Midnight's whip, the race was on and the starting line immediately devolved into chaos. As soon as the signal was given, Izuku felt his spider-sense thrum. Glancing down the line, he saw Todoroki adjust his hands from a sprinting stance so his palms rested on the ground. Upon contact, a swell of ice began expanding outward.

Faster than Izuku thought possible, the frost shot down the line of crouching students, freezing everyone it touched in place. Sensing his teammates peril, Izuku cried out in warning, startling several of them into moving, but most of them were too slow and instead became ensnared in the rising tide of ice.

He watched helplessly as well over half his class, including poor Kiska, became trapped. Howling with impotent rage, she tried freeing her suit by forcing it to move but it was no use. Tendrils of ice had begun worming their way into the hydraulics and servos that controlled her joints, transforming her into a four-hundred-kilogram statue.

She's dead in the water. So much for plan A.

While Todoroki's ice was still working through the ranks, an explosion sounded and Izuku whipped his head in its direction. Flying off at breakneck speed was Bakugo who despite being close to the epicentre of the attack seemed to have escaped unscathed. Following right being him was Todoroki himself, who was gliding along a sheet of ice his feet were generating in front of him. Hot on their heels, the rest of class 1-A and 1-B surged, who likewise seemed unaffected.

In less than a second everything had gone to hell, but that was to be expected. This was the Sports Festival after all and here the words fair play had no meaning. Ignoring the cries of the people around him, Izuku launched himself out of his sprinting stance just as the ice reached his shoes. Pumping his arms, he rapidly accelerated to his sprinting speed.

Directly ahead, he saw Class 1-A and 1-B racing after Bakugo and Todoroki. A few of them were faster than he could manage as a "normal human", but not all.

Okay, Todoroki. You've had your fun, but now its my turn.

His strategy was simple. In order to maximize his chances of making it to the third event as many support heroes as possible had to qualify. Therefore, any member of class 1-A or 1-B that he could reach had to be eliminated.

Maintaining his pace, he set his sights on the front runners. Bakugo had already reached the far end of the tunnel, followed closely by Todoroki and Tenya. Izuku clenched his jaw and increased his speed.

As he ran, Moyashi, Bukimi and Saigo went lopping past him - their long digitigrade artificial legs springing them forward with every step.

'Yeah! Go for it guys!' cheered Izuku.

'You too, Izuku! Keep it up!' Bukimi shouted back at him.

Izuku added a little more speed. Bakugo, Todoroki, and Tenya may be untouchable, but he was starting to gain on the others.

Kiska banged her fist against the side of her control panel, but it was no use. She was dead in the water. Spitting out a long string of curses that caused the nearby camera drones to quickly shy away, she dropped her head in shame.

So many hours of work…So much effort…

With a snarl, she flipped a strand of hair from her face. If she was going to go down, she was going to take as many people down with her as she could. Opening her targeting computer, she selected the front runners of the race. Luckily, they were still in range. Giggling wildly, she activated her weapons. With a hiss of steam, a barrage of white pellets fired from the tubes on her back, arcing above the stadium wall and towards the distant runners. Milliseconds later several more pellets fired. Arcing red this time. Then blue. Then red again.

After a few salvos her long-range weaponry was expended and Present Mic started shouting loudly about the unexpected fireworks.

That ought to slow them down!

Without wasting a moment, she unclasped herself from her suit. Landing on the slippery frozen earth, she nearly lost her balance before managing to slide her way back to solid ground. The least she could do was finish the race.

Izuku ran out the tunnel and into the curving dirt path that ringed the stadium. Following the trail, he rapidly came up on a number of general education students who had somehow managed to escape Todoroki's initial attack. They looked at him in surprise as he whipped past them, their eyes filled with a sort of desperation that he knew all to well. No doubt they hoped that if they succeeded in the tournament, they would get the opportunity to join the hero program.

Sorry guys, but I'm not throwing this race for anyone!

As he pulled ahead, he suddenly felt his spider-sense flair up. Glancing skyward, he was amazed to see puffs of smoke exploding in airbursts over the race track in front of him. Some of the puffs rained droplets of chemicals while others fell to the earth as dense clouds of gas which coalesced into a rolling fog; gently cascading downwards and enveloping the hero class students who were at the front of the race. Izuku grinned and hastily altered his course to avoid the worst of the smoke.

Kiska! She must have still had power to her weapon systems! I just hope that her attack was effective.

Izuku's answer soon came as he heard anguished shouting coming in from the obscuring mists. As they entered the fog, the remaining support department students pulled on their rebreathers and gas masks.

'Is…is that legal?' Present Mic asked his co-host Aizawa while multiple monitors displayed several hero class students slow and fumble as they struggled with some unknown chemical effect.

'Technically.' Aizawa responded calmly, 'From what I understand, it's the same chemical used to fight forest fires. The blue gas freezes and the red prevents combustion. There's no rule against fire extinguishers.'

'Oh.'

Present Mic reactivated his microphone, 'Well! It seems as though the support department has been busy! An unexpected attack from the rear! And what's this? Trouble in the lead?! Could this be enough to upset the rankings!?'

Aizawa watched impassively as his students flailed around in the smoke. In his mind this was just another test. If they couldn't handle a little surprise then they didn't deserve to win.

Bakugo let out a small cry of astonishment as Todoroki pulled ahead of him. Sliding on a self generated trail of ice, the boy gradually increased the distance between them.

Bakugo snarled and leapt. With a series of extremely subtle and delicate hand movements learned from a lifetime of constant practice and training, he directed his explosive blasts to maintain his leap and continue flying forward. However, try as he might he couldn't seem to close the gap. If he went any faster he risked losing control and crashing. His only hope was that the approaching obstacles slowed Todoroki down.

Suddenly he saw an explosion of blue and red smoke cover the track ahead. Todoroki saw it too and he appeared to hesitate. However, it was too late to change course and his momentum carried him forward and he disappeared into the haze.

'What the…?'

Before Bakugo could do anything, an explosion of red and blue chemicals appeared in front of him as well. Too close for him to avoid, he snapped his mouth shut and held his breath as he plunged in.

Immediately upon entering the cloud, Bakugo was soaked. His UA athletics uniform, skin, and hair became drenched in what felt like water but it had a curious oily texture. A half second later, he felt his skin spasm as pins and needles broke out, tickling him gently. Then he was freezing.

With a gasp, Bakugo felt his lungs freeze and his heart shudder. He had never felt so cold. The air that was once pleasantly cool against his skin now felt like a frigid Arctic gale. The freezing blast cut into him like a knife. In the midst of this assault he lost control of as his movements as every pore in his body closed in a desperate attempt to insulate itself from any further heat loss.

He slammed into the ground and for a moment he just lay their shivering.

What the fuck just happened?! Is this one of the obstacles?

Bakugo struggled to his feet, rubbing his arms as he stood, vainly trying to warm himself up. Thankfully his momentum had carried him out of the mists but he was still in trouble. His quirk allowed him to generate nitroglycerin from his sweat glands which he could then detonate at will. It was an immensely powerful quirk, but it had a glaring weakness. If he couldn't sweat, he was effectively powerless.

Bakugo quickly checked behind him. The whole track seemed to be covered in the smoke.

How…

Suddenly Present Mic started speaking, 'Well! It seems as though the support department has been busy! An unexpected attack from the rear! And what's this? Trouble in the lead?! Could this be enough to upset the rankings!?'

Bakugo felt his face quiver with rage and he let out a fearsome roar.

'DEKU!'

That little fucking bastard! He knows my weakness! He probably cooked up this fucking war crime bullshit to take me out! But its not going to happen! Fuck you Deku! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck, fuck, fuck…

Snapping his eyes forward, Bakugo forced himself to continue on. He still had a substantial lead and there was no way in hell he was going to waste it.

Izuku sprinted toward a red-headed class 1-A and a silver-headed class 1-B student. Even numbed by the cold, they continued resolutely onward. It was admirable, but he couldn't afford to let them interfere with his plans.

'How's it going boys? Bit nippy isn't it?' Izuku remarked cheerfully. Once he was between them, he slowed so he could remain level with them.

'Y-y-you!' said the silver-haired boy through chattering teeth, 'S-S-S-Support chea-chea-cheated!

'What? Nooooo, why would you say that?' Izuku said innocently, his hands busy behind the two boy's backs.

'Chem-chem-chemicals!' snarled the redhead, glaring at Izuku murderously.

'Oh, that!' Izuku said laughing, 'Yeah.' they raised their fists angrily, 'Anyway I'll catch you guys later at the finish line. See ya!'

At that he accelerated ahead of the pair. With a snarl the two attempted their own burst of speed, but instead found themselves tripping over each other and collapsing into a heap of struggling limbs.

'Argh! Get off me you dope!'

'Me get off you? You get off me!'

'Maybe you should both get each other off?' shouted Izuku over his shoulder, laughing as he sped away.

The two looked at Izuku then back at each other in dumb confusion. Then they spotted it. Wrapped around their legs was a thin, steel cord linking the pair together. The two were silent for a moment before they simultaneously exploded into shouts of promised retribution and bloody revenge. As they raged, Mei went floating past them, giggling.

Tenya allowed himself a small grin as he sprinted past Bakugo and Todoroki. Whatever that smoke was it seemed to have nullified their quirks. Luckily, he had been able to dodge around the clouds before it could hit him. His leg engines were in top form today!

'Just maintain your composure, Tenya.' he muttered to himself as he ran, carefully regulating the power to his calf thrusters, 'Stay alert for any trouble.'

Rounding a bend in the track, he suddenly came face to face with a pack of giant robots - the same used during the entrance exam.

'It seems as though we have our first student to encounter an obstacle! Watch out for those robots' boys and girls, they're much more aggressive than the ones you're used to!' Present Mic's voice boomed from the PA.

He frowned. Fighting them wasn't worth his time. Zigzagging and swerving, he dodged around their stomping feet and reaching claws. After a few moments of rapid maneuvering he cleared the herd.

'Simple! Hardly a challenge.' he declared, adjusting his glasses.

If this was the level of difficulty he could expect for the rest of the track, first place was as good as his.

Izuku grinned to himself as he ran up on Bakugo and Todoroki. The two seemed to be having a private race all to themselves.

'Fuck off half breed, use your flames and get this shit off of me!' Bakugo shouted at Todoroki.

'Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. The red chemicals have suppressed my flames.' Todoroki responded calmly.

'Argh!' shouted Bakugo in frustration. Suddenly he noticed Izuku coming up behind him and he let out a peal of hatred causing Todoroki to recoil in alarm.

'YOU! DEKU YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU'D BETTER PRAY I DON'T GET MY QUIRK BACK TODAY! CAUSE IF I DO, I'M GOING TO BLAST THOSE FRECKLES RIGHT OFF YOUR STUPID FACE!'

Izuku whistled.

'Jeez, Kacchan. Take a breath! Your lips are turning blue! Or, wait. Is that from the cold? Damn. Guess mommy should have brought you a sweater, huh?'

Bakugo snarled in rage but otherwise kept running, desperate to maintain his pace. Todoroki also put in more energy, gritting his teeth as he fought to stay level with Bakugo. However for all their effort Izuku was able to causally catch up to the pair.

'Yep, lovely day for a run.' Izuku remarked, gazing up at the sky appreciatively, 'Say Todoroki, something's bothering me. Why don't you use your ice to just zip through here?'

'Internal…temperature…too…low…too…cold.' Todoroki said haltingly between breaths.

'Ahh. So that's how it works.' Izuku said sagely, 'I thought you'd have to balance out your internal temperature somehow.'

The three rounded a bend in the track. As they cleared the corner, they came face to face with a group of massive robots, the earth shuddering with their every step. Bakugo and Todoroki slowed, hesitating before the towering metal giants.

'Welp. I'll leave you two to it. Good luck!' Izuku shouted over his shoulder.

One of the robots raised a foot to stomp him, but he wasn't worried. Snapping out his grappling gun he fired into the titan's shoulder. Catching the hook's tip on a groove along the robot's hull, he flung up and over its metal head. Behind it several more of the robotic titans stood waiting, but he merely retracted his grappling hook and fired again, this time snagging one of the robots by the shoulder. Slinging himself gracefully from robot to robot, he quickly cleared the pack before using his momentum killing cord on the last automaton. Landing with a roll, he swiftly resumed his pace.

Dimly he was aware of Present Mic shouting praises at his acrobatic skill.

Let's see how you manage without your quirk, Bakugo.

His eyes narrowed. Near another pack of robots, he had spotted a few more people on his list.

Tenya stood hesitating before a series of cliffs and gulches. He had made it to the second obstacle. All he had to do now was cross the linking bridge of tightropes to the various cliffs and he would be back on the open track.

Now is not the time to be reckless. I need to carefully plan my route before I commit to a path. If I slip up even once I'll be disqualified.

As he studied the cliff faces for a safe route to the other side, he heard the sounds of explosions and tearing metal behind him.

Damn! A few must have already reached the robots! I need to get moving.

Tentatively setting his foot down on a cable, he slowly throttled up his engines. Holding his arms out at his sides like a figure skater, he began to slide across the rope towards the cliff faces.

Tenya felt his face go red as he heard Present Mic decrying his lack of flare, but he didn't care. Better safe than sorry. Stepping on to one of the cliff islands in the gorge, he searched his surroundings for another cord forward. He still had a comfortable lead.

Izuku carefully controlled his pace as he neared the second obstacle. Though Kiska's attack had been devastating, many of the class 1-A and 1-B students had managed to recover and were now rapidly gaining on the support heroes. So far Izuku had managed to trip up a couple of the more bothersome ones - including Kaminari and Jiro who he had managed to tie to a rampaging robot - but several others had passed him.

I need to pick up the pace. Izuku thought as he followed the track up a steepening hill.

Reaching the top, he was surprised to see Moyashi and Saigo. They were stopped before the start of the second obstacle, hands on their hips while they gasped for breath. Izuku ran up to the two, coming to a skipping halt.

'What's the problem guys?' he asked.

'Ah! Izuku, you're here. Me and Moyashi are in a bit of trouble.' Saigo said, grinning sheepishly.

'What's wrong?'

'Our legs.' panted Moyashi, 'They can't grip the rope. And our suits are too heavy for us to climb.'

'I knew we should have went for a lighter design!' Saigo said running his hand through his sweat slick hair. 'Hiretsuna and Bukimi have already crossed. By our estimate, there are about twenty or so people ahead of us. If we can't find a way forward…'

Izuku nodded. Without another word he pulled out his grappling gun, 'Here, I'll pull you across one at a time.'

The two looked at him then at each other.

'Our suits are pretty heavy, Izuku. Can your arms handle it? I'm sitting at about one hundred and forty kilos.'

'One fifty for me.' said Moyashi.

For a moment Izuku was tempted to just throw back his head and laugh, pluck each of them under his arm and jump across the chasm, island to island, before setting them down, but he knew how stupid that would be.

He sighed. No matter how much he wanted his fellow support heroes to succeed, he couldn't put himself at risk.

'Sorry guys. That's a little too heavy for me.'

They graciously waved his excuse away.

'Don't worry about it.' Saigo said firmly, 'Just go. We'll find a way.'

'Yeah. Hurry and catch up to the front. We can look after ourselves.' Moyashi added.

Izuku gave them both a tap on the shoulder.

'I'll see you both at the finish line.' Izuku said. Pulling out his grappling gun, he took aim and fired at a one of the rock column islands in the distance.

'Finally, it seems as though we're entering the last leg of the race as several competitors have reached the final stage!' cried Present Mic to the cheering crowd of the arena while the stadium screen displayed a dozen students carefully navigating a minefield.

'In the lead we have Tenya Ilida, followed by Mashirao Ojiro, and Mina Ashido! But these three had better stay focused as several other competitors are closing in fast, well as fast as they can in a minefield. It's still anyone's race!'

Switching off the microphone, Present Mic leaned back in his chair and took a sip of water while continuing to monitor the racers from the broadcasting booth's many cameras. It really was anyone's race. Even though Tenya had maintained his lead, it only took one slip up in the minefield to be flung out of bounds. If that happened, then it really would come down to the wire.

At that moment he became aware of his co-hosts silence. Even for a reclusive, shut-in, killjoy Aizawa was being quiet. Present Mic turned to him and arched his eyebrows. He knew the taciturn grump long enough to read his body language.

'What's bothering you Eraser old buddy? Are your boys and girls not living up to your expectations?' Present Mic teased.

'No. They're not.' Aizawa said, his expression unchanging, 'Too many of them are being taken out by surprise attacks from the support class. They should be more vigilant.'

A small frown formed on Aizawa's face and Present Mic looked to the monitor he was watching. At that moment the rope that Mezo Shoji and Rikido Sato, two of Aizawa's students, had been using to climb across the second obstacle was suddenly cut, sending the pair plummeting into the gorge below.

Wasting no time, Present Mic reactivated the microphone.

'And that's two more disqualified!' Present Mic crowed, 'But why did the rope break?'

The camera panned over to the cliffside where the rope had been secured. It showed one of the support class students, a kid with green hair and freckles, hastily pocketing a knife in his utility belt, 'Just one of life's little mysteries I guess.' Present Mic said, giggling.

Aizawa let out a low growl of frustration. Those two were some of class 1-A's strongest.

Present Mic started laughing in earnest then.

At last Izuku stood before the final challenge. In front of him was a three-hundred-metre-long passage, bordered on both sides by a high fence. Buried within that three hundred metres were hundreds upon hundreds of land mines. If you looked closely, you could just barely see a small metal pressure sensor poking above the ground. One false step and boom. You'd be sent flying.

Directing his attention away from the course itself, he considered his competition. He was delighted to see that Hiretsuna and Bukimi had already progressed about a quarter of the way through. Barring some catastrophe, they were definitely going to be within the top forty-two. Looking past them, he quickly took stock of who else was on the minefield.

Let's see…Who's going to be a problem in the next round.

He spotted several potential candidates. There was Mina, but she was easily countered. The support class had already worked out how to beat her. Tenya was a good choice, he was powerful, but too far in the lead for Izuku to reach in time. Tenya was probably going to win. Then he spotted Ojiro.

The boy with the tail from the USJ. He can fight, and he has no obvious weaknesses. He could be real trouble in the tournament. Nobody would believe that a normal person could beat someone like him in a fight. I need to take him out while I have the chance!

His mind made up, he entered the minefield. To him the mines posed no danger whatsoever. His feet easily led him to the correct path thanks to his spider-sense and it wasn't long before he caught up with Hiretsuna and Bukimi.

'How's it going guys?' he called out from behind.

'Ack!' cried Hiretsuna clutching her chest as she whirled around, carefully keeping her feet planted on the ground, 'Midoriya! For God's sake, you almost gave me a heart attack!'

'Oops. Sorry. I'm just glad to see you guys have made it this far!'

'S-Same.' Bukimi said, sweat pouring down his face as he carefully manipulated his suit legs to avoid stepping on a suspicious tuft of dirt.

I shouldn't distract these guys. Izuku thought as they turned their attention back forward.

'I'll see you two up ahead.' he said moving past them. Their jaws dropped as he skipped past them.

'Be careful Izuku! Don't rush!' called out Hiretsuna. He waved in acknowledgment before continuing on his way. He had to catch up to Ojiro.

With pretend trepidation, He hastily moved through the mines. Just for show, he would occasionally hop and jump from spot to spot, each time eliciting a cry of suspense from Present Mic ('Here he goes! And…oof safe! Someone check that kid for a four leaf clover!') before he finally caught up with Ojiro and Mina.

'Step…step…step…' Mina muttered as she quickly walked on her tiptoes past numerous mines. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted him catching up to them and she frowned slightly, 'Hey Ojiro, looks like we've got company…'

Ojiro glanced at him for a moment before turning back to his careful navigation, lips pressed thin in intense concentration.

Slowing his pace, Izuku carefully scanned ahead of Ojiro. Buried in the earth he spotted one of the shiny metal detonator caps.

I think its time Ojiro had a little accident. If I use one of my grenades I might get disqualified for attacking students unnecessarily. But what if…

Reaching around his utility belt, he grabbed one of his metal carabiners. Keeping the small metal loop concealed in his hand, he waited for his moment to strike. Ojiro's path would take him right next to the mine.

Izuku held his breath and Ojiro stepped closer. Stopping about a half foot away from the mine detonator, Ojiro paused to consider his next move. Before he could leave however, Izuku braced himself and threw the metal loop at the explosive's trigger.

The metal carabiner hit the detonator cap with a loud clink. In that microsecond, Izuku could have sworn that Ojiro looked down at the cap. Another microsecond later and there was a thunderous explosion of pink smoke, sending Ojiro careening off into the sky.

'Ba-Ba-Ba-Boom!' Present Mic shouted jubilantly, 'Finally! I've been waiting all day for that to happen!'

Mina cried in dismay as her classmate was thrown upwards. Tumbling head over heels he flopped down, impacting the ground with a huff. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he hit the ground, another mine exploded sending him shooting skywards again, further back into the minefield.

Izuku grinned evilly before he quickly wiped away his smile. He had a race to finish. While Mina was distracted, he easily pulled in front of her. Behind him he heard more explosions as Ojiro continued to be thrown end over end. Though he was tempted, Izuku didn't turn around. From up ahead he heard the stadium erupt into cheering applause. Tenya had just cleared the course and Izuku bowed his head slightly in acceptance.

Damn. Hopefully I can find a way to knock him out in the second round.

Increasing his speed, Izuku effortlessly avoided the remaining mines and entered the long tunnel that led into the stadium itself. Adopting a suitable end of race sprint, he charged forward down the dim passage towards the light ahead.

I wonder what Weasel is thinking right about now. I wonder what Mom is thinking.

Izuku felt a grin break out across his face as he exited out of the dark tunnel and into the temporarily blinding glare of the sunlight filled arena. The cheering spectators of the stadium greeted him as he slowed to a stop beside a surprised looking Tenya.

'In second place is Izuku Midoriya from the support class! Incredible!' boomed Present Mic.

Izuku waved to the stands as he pretended to catch his breath. With the exception of the opening, the Sports Festival was some of the most fun he had ever had. But now came the hard part: the group activities.