I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters. Totally going with Midnight's manga costume.
Sports Festival: Beginning
"Lee!" Mina cheered, throwing her arms around him as he stepped into their class's waiting room, Toru just behind her.
"Really now, this is a little excessive," Lee said.
"I missed you sooooo much!" Mina said.
"So did I!" Toru said.
"Well, you're the ones that said you wanted to train with Uraraka and Ojiro," Lee pointed out. "Speaking of which, I take it, since everyone's in PE uniform, that I brought my costume for nothing?"
"Unfortunately," Mina sighed. "I was looking forward to wearing my uniform. It looks so much better."
"Oh please," Lee snorted, walking into the room and tossing his duffle back into his locker, grabbing his PE uniform instead. "You look as good in your PE clothes as you do in your uniform."
Mina beamed at the compliment and Toru rushed forward, taking his hands.
"What about me!?" Toru asked.
"Well, it's a lot easier to tell where you're looking good from in your PE uniform," Lee said.
Toru whined. "That's not what you're supposed to say."
"Oh relax," Lee sighed. "Whatever it is you look like, I'm sure you look good too. It's just hard to compliment a person you've never seen."
"That's true, I guess," Toru sighed. "So, how was your training?"
"It was good," Lee said. "I managed to get Momo to do something other than read, so I'd consider that a win."
"You were with Momo?" both girls asked.
"Yeah, why?" Lee asked.
Both began to sulk and he sighed, resting his face in his hands.
"I'm going to go change," Lee sighed. "Try to stop being jealous. It was just training. And studying."
The two girls agreed sullenly and he rolled his eyes, walking out and to the bathroom, changing before walking back, keeping his exoskeleton's arms extended since it would he hard to deploy them through his sleeves. As he walked back toward the room, Aizawa met him in the hallway.
"Just so you know, Hero Course students aren't usually allowed to bring gear of any kind into the Sports Festival, since it's been deemed that your Quirks are already enough of an advantage over the courses who typically have weaker or less effective Quirks," Aizawa said. "That said, given the nature of your Quirk, I've talked to the other faculty and we've agreed that you're allowed to bring your exoskeleton for your own protection, on the condition that you have the metal hands swapped out with rubber ones. I'm sure Yaoyorozu could help you with that."
"Alright," Lee nodded. "Thank you, Mister Aizawa."
Aizawa nodded and walked away. Lee returned to the classroom just as Todoroki stepped up behind Midoriya.
"Midoriya," Todoroki said, the shorter boy turning.
"Hey, Todoroki," Midoriya said. "What's up?"
"From an objective stand point, I think it's fairly clear that I'm stronger than you," Todoroki said.
"Yeah," Midoriya agreed quietly, after a moment of hesitation.
"However, you've got All Might in your corner helping you out," Todoroki said, Midoriya tensing as Lee stopped, holding his clothes inside his locker as he threw Todoroki a sideways look. "I'm not here to pry about what's going on between you two...but know that I will beat you."
Midoriya's mouth fell open. Lee shook his head, setting his clothes down and detaching his exoskeleton's hands before walking over to Momo, quickly explaining what he needed.
"What's with all these declarations of war lately?" Denki asked, referring to Class One B, as well as the other Courses, having shown up at their classroom before they started training to scout the competition and for two particularly arrogant and overly-mouthy students to declare war directly.
"Hey now, what's the big deal?" Eijiro asked, walking over and setting a hand on Todoroki's shoulder. "Why you pickin' a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started?"
Lee accepted the rubber hands Momo had made and attached them, smiling and nodding. "Perfect, as expected."
Momo smiled.
"We're not here to be each other's friends," Todoroki said. "Don't forget this isn't a team effort." He turned to walk away, ignoring everyone's concerned looks.
"Wonder what's eating him today," Lee said.
"His father is Endeavor," Momo said. "The second most powerful and second most popular hero alive. He's probably feeling the pressure to make his father proud."
"I suppose so," Lee said.
"Wait a second, Todoroki," Midoriya said, Todoroki looking back at him. "I don't know what's going through your head, or why you think you need to tell me that you'll beat me. And yeah, of course you're better than me. In fact, you probably have way more potential than anyone in the hero course. That's why you got in so easily."
"Midoriya, maybe you're being a little hard on yourself, and us," Eijiro said.
"No!" Midoriya said. "He's right, you guys. All the other courses, they're coming for us with everything they've got. We're all going to have to fight to stand out. And I'll be aiming for the top, too."
"Fine," Todoroki said flatly.
Lee sighed, turning back to Momo just as Mina and Toru both walked over. "Would now be a good time to point out that I'm going to take first place just because I'm untouchable?"
"Don't you dare!" Momo hissed, grinning knowingly.
He had proven he could be untouchable if he wanted a few times during their training. He just didn't because moving so fast without actually going anywhere was a bit disorienting and gave him motion sickness after about a minute.
After a couple more minutes, they were all called out into the arena, then waited just inside their tunnel to be called. Finally, after a long-winded welcome, the school's DJ finally introduced them, after reminding everyone watching that they withstood a Villain attack. They all walked out into the arena and Lee looked around at the stands, grinning as he saw just how many people had shown up, and how many cameras were present. Beside him, Momo was smiling confidently, while on his other side, Mina was looking around interestedly. Toru was on Mina's other side, but he couldn't tell what her reaction was, as usual. Hero Course Class One B was introduced next, then the entirety of General Studies Course at one time, the entirety of Support Course at one time, and lastly the entirety of Business Course at one time.
Everyone gathered into a rectangle in front of a stage and Midnight, nicknamed the R-Rated Hero, of all people to be the ref on live television with children watching, stepped up onto the stage, cracking a flogger whip. Lee heard several of the males commenting on her costume, among other things, and rolled his eyes. Not that he couldn't understand why. She wore a black corset that ended under her breasts, wrapped between her legs with a strip in the back barely bigger than a thong, and had a strip running up between them to a collar, the collar and middle strip both studded with ruby-like stones, most of them in squares and one of them in an elongated hexagon, a red belt, black knee-high boots, and thigh-high, transparent, purple stockings with straps connecting them to her corset. Aside from that, the rest of her body was covered by a skin-tight body suit that was the exact same shade as her skin, making it look like she was basically naked. For accessories, she had a thin mask around her eyes that really did nothing to disguise her face, and a handcuff on each wrist, plus her whip. To say she was R-rated was an understatement.
"Now for the opening speech!" Midnight called out.
"Someone should talk to Miss Midnight about what she's wearing," Eijiro muttered.
"Seriously," Denki said. "That costume should come with a warning."
"Is that really appropriate for a high school?" the bird-headed classmate, Fumikage, asked.
"Just think," Lee muttered. "Not long ago she used to actually be naked, besides an open trench coat and a utility belt."
Eijiro and Denki both cleared their throat, clasping their hands in front of themselves while Fumikage simply shook his head.
"Quiet everyone!" Midnight ordered, snapping her whip in the air. "And for the Student Pledge, we have...Katsuki Bakugo!"
Everyone stared at him in shock before Lee groaned.
"He's going to get us all killed," Lee sighed.
"Probably," Mina agreed miserably.
"He's the first years' rep?" Midoriya asked.
"I guess he did finish close to the top in the entrance exams," Eijiro shrugged.
"Yeah, but I finished first," Lee said.
"Only for the Hero Course exams," a girl from the General Studies Course said.
"Yes, but you're also wearing gear," Momo said to Lee, completely ignoring her. "Which is direct violation of the rules, since you're in the Hero Course. The fact that you're an exception wouldn't have made it to the press, or the rest of the world, yet."
"Touché," Lee said.
"Sh, he's starting!" Uraraka hissed.
"I just wanna say...I'm going to win," Bakugo said calmly, everyone from Class One A groaning or shouting in annoyance, just before everyone else in the crowd began to yell at him, some even booing him.
"Why would you be so disrespectful!?" Iida demanded, stepping forward and chopping his hand at Bakugo, as he tended to do when worked up. "You're representing us all!"
"Not my fault the rest of you are just stepping stones to my victory!" Bakugo said, giving the entire crowd a thumbs down.
"I'm going to crush this overconfident jerk!" the loudmouth of Class One B shouted. "I can't wait to knock him down to size!"
Bakugo walked over just as Midnight announced that it was time for the first game, making a couple of dominatrix innuendoes in the process. A large screen appeared behind her, spinning like a slot machine before stopping on the words, Obstacle Race. Instantly, Lee cheered and the rest of Class One A groaned miserably, a couple of the more dramatic ones, meaning Denki and the gay kid, weeping dramatically. Midnight quickly explained that the race was a four kilometer loop around the outside of the stadium, and that the one and only rule was to stay on track. Lee grinned, doing some quick mental math.
"Let's see, average time of about twenty five seconds," Lee mumbled. "Maybe fifteen if I really let loose. Factor in obstacles, though...probably...thirty seconds?"
"You're not being serious, right?" Eijiro asked.
"Oh, I'm completely serious," Lee said.
Denki again wept dramatically.
"Can't you tone it back a little?" Mina asked. "Or, like, a lot? Please? For me?"
"Sorry, no can do," Lee said. "But I'll be sure to give you a hug when you get back."
"Aw," Mina whined.
They were directed to a red metal arch off to one side, which was the start and stop line. Lee grinned, pulling out a stop watch and tossed it up to the crowd, someone catching it.
"Mind timing me?" he called up to him. "I'm going to try to break my usual time."
"What is it?" the guy asked.
"I'll let you know," Lee chuckled.
Midnight called for the race to begin and Lee backed up as everyone else surged forward, instantly getting clogged in the doorway. He glanced up at the guy just as electricity arced from his eyes. He nodded and the guy pressed the button just as Lee exploded forward, leaping over the entire crowd easily, then landing and skidding a couple feet before exploding forward along the road. Within seconds he found the first obstacle, robots like the entrance exam had. He shot past the one-pointers, two-pointers, and three-pointers easily, grinning up at the seven zero-pointers blocking the path.
"Nope, not dealing with you today!" he grinned, speeding directly under one without it having time to attack, then continued along the trail.
After a few more seconds, he spotted the next trap up ahead. A massive chasm, a couple hundred feet wide, maybe more, with pillars of stone spread through it, the pillars all connected by a series of ropes. Lee chuckled, pushing his speed to his absolute max, speeding forward before leaping from the edge of the chasm, streaking through the air in a blur before flipping and landing at a sprint, exploding away from the obstacle. He grinned as he spotted the final obstacle less than five seconds later. A mine field. Less wide than the chasm. He once again leapt over the obstacle completely, then sped up to his absolute max speed for the remainder of the race, taking the turn so fast he had to run up the wall of the tunnel, then across the ceiling and down the other wall before skidding to a stop inside the stadium, the entire stands erupting into cheers, losing their minds. Lee looked up at the guy with his stopwatch and the guy, still staring open-mouthed, tossed it to him. Nineteen and a half seconds.
"I don't believe it!" the dj, also the announcer for the games, was shouted. "For the first time in history, a competitor has cleared the obstacle race in under twenty seconds! That's a faster running speed than ever recorded!"
Lee smiled, wiping some sweat from his brow and walking over to sit on the stage to wait, asking Midnight if it was allowed first.
"I just want to make something clear before rumors start to fly," Aizawa spoke up. "As you can all see, that student is wearing boots and an exoskeleton. Those are not to enhance his Quirk, nor do they give him any real physical benefits. They serve only one purpose. They protect him from his own Quirk. At that speed, his body in unable to handle the strain, and hitting anything shatters his bones. Running without the boots shreds the flesh from the bottom of his feet. He was allowed his equipment not to make it an unfair advantage, but because with out it, he physically can not use his Quirk."
"Thank you for the clarification!" the DJ said. "The rest of the students are reaching the first obstacle!"
Lee looked up at the screens as the students reached the robots. Mineta was hit out of the air by one as a greeting, making Lee grin widely. He couldn't help it, the kid annoyed him. Todoroki, the leader of the race after Lee, froze one of the zero-pointers as it was reaching for him, then sprinted under it. Since it was off balance when he froze it, it began to break and fell forward, crashing down on Eijiro and the loudmouth from One B. A moment later, Eijiro exploded out of the top of the robot.
"I'm alive!" Eijiro shouted, the DJ identifying him and his Quirk, Hardening. "Todoroki! I can't believe you pulled something like that! Jeez! Anyone but me would have been killed!"
Then, the One B loudmouth exploded free of the robot.
"I'll smash that ice guy when I get my hands on him!" the idiot shouted, the DJ identifying him as Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and his Quirk, Steel. "You know, anyone other than me would have been killed!"
Lee rolled his eyes as the two began to argue about who was copying who, both taking off running again, just as one of the other students suggested they work together to destroy the robots, only for Bakugo to launch himself past the robots with his Quirk. Then, the kid in their class with the tape-generating elbows, Hanta Sero, likewise used his Quirk to launch himself over the robot, Fumikage at his side using his Quirk, Dark Shadow, which generated a shadowy bird-silhouette with arms ending in clawed hands. The rest of One A began to drop the smaller robots rapidly, allowing more of One A to run out ahead of the rest of the crowd, who weren't as good at acting at a moment's notice. One A, after fighting the villains, had learned not to hesitate. That was their primary advantage. Even Midoriya was showing off. However, unlike the rest, for obvious reasons, he wasn't using his Quirk. Instead, when he was attacked by a one-pointer, he grabbed a chunk of metal off the ground that was bigger than he was, then he used its momentum to get inside its attack and slash his arm off with the metal. Then, he brought the metal plate with him. Lee nodded appreciatively. He was getting better at improvising. Just then, Momo finished forming a massive cannon and used it to blast the remaining zero-pointers, then abandoned it and continued to run, the rest of the crowd doing the same.
Soon, the leaders reached the next obstacle. Todoroki simply used his ice to slide along the ropes, Bakugo using his Quirk to propel himself across the chasm in a trail of explosions, and Su leapt onto a rope before quickly and easily scrambling across it. Then, a pink-haired student from the Support Course, who was allowed to bring her gadgets to close the gap between herself and the Hero Course's skills, used said gadget to take off. It had a belt with a grappling hook on either side, and a high-speed, high-powered winch on the back, along with fans in the shoes for propulsion. She took a moment to brag about her gear before shooting a cable into the first pillar and taking off, landing on the side of it then shooting upward and landing on top as she retracted the cable. Then, she repeated with the next pillar. And the next. And the next. Others began to go, some using the ropes, others finding ways to skip them, like Mezo Shoji, the guy with the webbed tentacles, using them to glide, the gay guy using his navel laser, and Ojiro launching himself with his tail. Midoriya monkey crawled along the bottom of the rope with the metal plate hanging from him by the cords still attached to it.
Finally, Todoroki reached the mine field and slowed down, being careful not to set any off. As he got about half way, Bakugo reached him, declaring war at the same time as trying to blow up Todoroki, thereby making him hit a mine and be knocked unconscious. Most likely. However, Todoroki dodged it and the two began to run side-by-side, Bakugo continuing to attack him and Todoroki continuing to evade, managing to freeze Bakugo's forearm before Bakugo knocked his hand away. Lee looked to a screen where Midoriya was digging and frowned, watching as Midoriya piled close to a dozen mines together. His eyes widened. There was no way. Even he wasn't that crazy, right?
Apparently he was, because he held the metal plate out in front of himself and flopped onto the mines, the explosion launching him across the minefield. He shot past Bakugo and Todoroki in seconds, only for both to take off after him, Bakugo by launching himself with his Quirk while demanding what Midoriya thought he was doing, and Todoroki by freezing himself a path that he could run along without setting off mines, something he avoided so as to not give other students an advantage. Both caught up to Midoriya as he was nearing the ground, only for Midoriya to flip, swinging the metal plate by the cord, slamming it to the ground on several mines, setting of an explosion that cancelled out his downward momentum at the same time as launching both Todoroki and Bakugo. Midoriya landed in a roll before miraculously regaining his feet and taking off sprinting, the crowd going wild as he made it back to the stadium first, followed by Todoroki less than a second later, then Bakugo just behind him. Lee grinned as he saw the fury on Bakugo's face and mirrored, though subtly, in Todoroki's eyes. He stood, walking over to Midoriya and held out a hand.
"Way to go, champ," Lee grinned. "That was an amazing win."
"But, you won," Midoriya said.
"You're really gonna leave me hanging, huh?" Lee asked, lowering his hand. "Yeah, I came in first, but that was a given the moment they said the word race. For the contestants that actually had to try to win, you did amazingly to win without even using your Quirk. Nice job. As far as I'm concerned, you won the race, I don't count. You earned the victory."
"Thanks, Lee," Midoriya smiled.
The rest of the students began to pour in, and as soon a Uraraka was there, she made a bee-line for Midoriya.
"You know, I bet if you gave her a victory kiss, she'd probably give you one back," Lee whispered, Midoriya's face turning scarlet instantly.
"Deku!" Uraraka called out, obviously exhausted. "That was amazing!"
Lee walked away as Uraraka reached him, Midoriya most definitely not giving her a victory kiss. Lee glanced at Iida, who was trembling with shock and grief that he didn't place better. He looked to the entrance just as Momo staggered in, gasping for breath and with Mineta stuck to her back. He shot over, stopping behind her and pressing his hand to the balls on top of Mineta's head, pulling him off of her, though leaving the four balls he'd stuck to her shirt and pants, then began to move his hand up and down, speeding up with his Quirk and causing Mineta to bounce against his hand painfully.
"You had a parasite problem," Lee said. "Hope you don't mind me taking care of it for you."
"Thank you!" Momo groaned.
"OW, OW, OW! ! !" Mineta wailed. "Alright, I'm sorry!"
He detached the balls on his head, four more regrowing, and ran away, holding the top of his head to shield him from further beatings. Lee shook his hand with his Quirk and the balls eventually flew off. He sighed, looking around as Toru and Mina both walked over. He smirked, turning toward Mina and holding his arms out.
"I believe we had a deal," Lee said.
Mina sighed, accepting her hug and rubbing her sweaty hair in his face. He scrunched up his nose but let her do it, and once she was satisfied, she released him and Toru hugged him, sobbing dramatically.
"I did so bad!" Toru wailed.
Lee rolled his eyes, sighing and patting her on the back, his left arm wrapped around her. "At least you're not the gay kid." He glanced at the gate where said student was staggering into the arena, long after everyone else already present had returned.
"I don't think Aoyama is actually gay," Mina said.
"Oh, he most definitely is," Lee said. "No one can be that flamboyant and still be a closet straight. Even a freak like him."
"Wow, no homophobia with you," Momo said.
"I have nothing against gays in general," Lee said. "Just flamboyant male ones like Aoyama."
"What about flamboyant female ones?" Toru asked.
"What do you want me to say?" Lee shrugged. "I'm a teenage male."
All three girls groaned, slapping him, although rather lightly, before Midnight called them all back to the stage.
"Alright, let's take a look at the standing!" Midnight said, the screen behind her, as well as the ones around the top of the stadium, displaying a picture of each student with their placement number.
The first four were obvious, Iida had placed seventh, not really that bad considering his reaction, Uraraka had placed seventeenth, Momo had placed eighteenth, thanks to Mineta weighing her down and getting given nineteenth, Mina had made twenty, and Toru had finished in thirty nine. The rest Lee didn't really care about. The counter stopped before Aoyama, however, meaning that he had been disqualified for some reason, as had anyone behind him.
"Only the top forty two will be advanced to the next round, but don't be too let down you didn't make the cut," Midnight said, Lee chuckling when he saw Aoyama trying not to have a breakdown over the fact that he was only one place away from making the cut. "We've prepared other opportunities for you to shine." She licked her lips hungrily. "Not the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight. Give it your best!"
"It's definitely not a fight," Lee said. "Not yet."
Midnight snapped her whip again. "Let's see what we have in store for you next! Will your wildest fantasies come to life?"
"I doubt it," Lee said, all three of the girls around him smacking him again. "What? Right now my only fantasy is to not need this exoskeleton."
Momo sighed, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't write it off yet. You might find a way someday."
"Maybe," Lee said, not really believing it.
Finally, the screen stopped on Cavalry Battle. Lee grinned widely. "Who wants to be carried?"
"I do!" Mina said, instantly leaping at him, forcing him to catch her bridal style.
"How many people can you carry at once?" Momo asked.
"Depends," Lee said. "Can you make a shoulder-mounted set of seats for three people that weighs nothing?"
"Probably," Momo nodded.
"Probably two," Lee said. "And I'd be off balance, so I couldn't go full speed."
"Allow me to explain," Midnight said. "The participants will form teams of two to four people as they see fit. In theory, it's basically the same as a regular playground game, but there is one difference. Each player is assigned a points value based on their results from the obstacle course."
"Oh yeah," Lee grinned. "I'm the prime target."
The students of One A began to discuss the rules, only for Midnight to crack her whip loudly.
"Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you!" Midnight snapped as the screen changed to their names and the points they were worth. "Now, the point values go up by increments of five starting from the bottom. For example, forty second place is worth five points, and forty first is worth ten. And the point value assigned to the first place contestant is...ten million!"
Everyone turned to stare at Lee, who sighed. He was definitely the prime, and probably only target.
"That's right!" Midnight said. "It's survival of the fittest with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"
"Yeah, this game still involves running, a lot, so good luck with that," Lee smirked.
"Don't get cocky!" Bakugo grinned. "Even you can't outrun an explosion!"
"No, but I can outrun your aim," Lee smirked.
"First years!" Midnight shouted, getting everyone's attention again. "These are the rules you'll abide by! Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headband. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team's score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So the more you steal, the harder it'll be to manage them. And another thing, even if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, you can keep playing until time's up!"
"It's anyone's game, then," Momo said.
"As long as I keep my headband," Lee said.
"And since there are forty two contestants, there will be ten or twelve teams fighting on the field the entire time," the student who normally wore a wrestling suit, Rikido Sato, said.
"So if you lose your headband in the beginning, you have more time to make up a plan," Mina said.
"I don't know, Mina," Su said. "Maybe we should wait until we see how the teams turn out before we start strategizing."
"This is going to be rough," Midnight warned. "You may use your Quirks as much as you like, but...there are still rules. Make a team fall on purpose and I'll slap you with a red card. You'll be disqualified."
"There goes Bakugo's fun," Lee grinned.
"Now, you have fifteen minutes to build your teams!" Midnight said as the screen became a timer. "I recommend you get started!"
The timer began and Lee turned to his three female friends.
"So, Momo, about those seating arrangements."
"What about you?" Momo asked. "You can't steal headbands and run us around at the same time, can you?"
"No," Lee said. "But I also don't care about winning this. I'm not looking to be a sidekick, so I don't need to be scouted as one. As a hero, even a pro, taking the glory and making sure you come out in front every time will get people hurt unnecessarily. Think of it like this. My headband is a thermonuclear device small enough to hide in someone's pocket. I can carry it around without losing it easy enough, but if I also try to fight this many enemies," he gestured around.
"You're bound to lose the nuke," Momo finished.
"But if you have teammates to fight for you while you play entirely defensive, you'll win!" Mina said.
"Bingo," Lee said.
"Alright," Toru nodded. "Let's do it!"
Lee grinned, looking to the side as Uraraka asked Midoriya to team up with him, Midoriya apparently not having a team currently, since his Quirk was so unreliable.
"Alright, I've found something," Momo said. "It uses the same metal as your exoskeleton and boots, and I can form it as needed, if I can concentrate."
"Right," Lee nodded. "I'll keep Mineta away from you."
"That would be greatly appreciated," Momo said, closing her eyes to focus, repeating the atomic structure and chemical composition of the metal Lee wore over and over. As she did, Lee watched for the class pervert, as well as watching the competition to see who teamed up with who.
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