"Tenran! Would you get over here! The U.A Sports Festival is about to start!" Mizuki hollered from the living room with the television remote in her hand.

Tenran sweat dropped and tried to hurry pouring himself a glass of water, "I'm coming, I'm coming..."

"It started! Come here! Our daughter is about to be on TV!"

He startled and quickly ran to the living room while trying to not spill his drink. Spilling his drink on the floor would just render his wife in a bad mood.

He sat down on the couch next to his wife and placed his glass on the coffee table, "Alright, alright. I'm here."

"It's U.A's Sports Festival! The one time each year when our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle! Anyway, these are the guys, right? The miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villain attack with their hearts of steel! Hero Course, Class 1-A, right?!"

All of Class 1-A began marching towards the stage as the audience cheered for them. Mizuki wasted no time in spotting her daughter.

"There she is! Look!" Mizuki pointed at the TV with a beaming smile on her face. Without looking away from the screen, she was vigorously shaking her husband's shoulder to emphasize her excitement.

Tenran sipped his water.

"They haven't been getting much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Hero Course, Class 1-B! Next up, general studies Classes C, D, and E! Support Course, Classes F, G, and are here, too! And business course, Classes I, J, and K! All of U.A's first years are here now!"

—RIIIING!

"UGH!" Mizuki whipped her head towards the kitchen at the sound of her ringtone. "What is this madness?!" she growled.

Tenran leaned away from her by moving closer to the other end of his seat, "... Why don't you go answer it...?" He suggested innocently.

Mizuki stomped towards the kitchen and glared at her ringing phone. She snatched it off of the table and answered the phone without looking at the caller, "Yes what is it?" she said in a almost rude manner.

The cameras focused on Midnight as she stood on the stage in her dominatrix-like attire. Tenran tilted his head to the side, "Isn't she one of Mizuha's teachers? Is it really okay for Midnight to be teaching at a school? She's the R-Rated Hero..." he scratched his head.

"TENRAN!"

Said man jumped in his seat and spilled his water on his shirt and a bit on his lap, "Wh-What?!"

"We're leaving!" Mizuki said while grabbing her purse off of the counter. She was heading straight for the front door.

"I don't think she's going to let me change..." Tenran muttered when stood up and looked at his clothes, "Can you at least tell me where we're going?" He asked when he looked for the his car key.

Mizuha pressed the record button on the remote. "The hospital!"

Despite the earlier confrontation, Mizuha was able to push back her emotions and concentrate on the event. She had better things to worry about at the moment.

"Quiet, everyone!" Midnight exclaimed, "Representing the students is Bakugo Katsuki and Hyoumei Mizuha from Class 1-A!"

Coincidentally, both students were standing next to each other.

"Will you both of you please come up to do the pedge?"

Mizuha furrowed her brows while Bakugo looked disinterested.

"What? It's Kacchan and Hyoumei?"

Midoriya was whipping his head back and forth to look at Bakugo and Mizuha who were on their way up to the podium.

"They both did finish first in the entrance exam." Sero reminded.

As Mizuha stood next to Bakugo to let him talk first, she saw how everyone was looking at her. Her eyes shifted around to look at the audience too. She suddenly felt overwhelmed by the attention on her; it made her want to go back down. Why the hell did she even come up here?

Mizuha looked at Bakugo when she was quiet for a few seconds.

Everyone fell silent when Bakugo stood in front of the mic. Anyone who wasn't a Class 1-A student could already predict what kind of pledge their classmate was going to be. It wasn't going to be a normal one.

"I pledge... That I'll be number one."

Mizuha dropped her head forward, Good grief.

Immediately, everyone starting protesting to his pledge. They were all shouting, shaking their fists in the air, giving thumbs down and booing.

"What the heck?!"

"Stop messing around!"

"Stop being so full of yourself!"

"Don't get cocky, Class A!"

"Why must you show contempt for the dignity of this event?!" Iida scolded angrily.

Mizuha sighed, "Great. Now, everyone hates us." She muttered and already started making her way down the podium.

"Ah-! Hyoumei! Don't you want to say something?" Midnight asked her when she saw her withdrawing.

"No thanks."

Nothing I'll say will make things better. Besides, I can't even think of anything to say.

Bakugo turned around, "You'll all make great stepping-stones, I'd say." he answered the crowd with a thumbs down, adding fuel to fire.

"Overconfident jerk!" yelled a male student. Mizuha recognized him as that one Class 1-B student that was shouting at their door two weeks ago, "I'll be the one to crush him!"

Midnight then announced that the first game would now be revealed, "Every year, many drink their tears here! Now, here is the fateful first game! This year it's..."

The screen behind Midnight had the words OBSTACLE RACE on it.

"This! It's a race between every member of all eleven classes! The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium— about four kilometers! Our school's selling point is freedom. As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do! Now, take your places everyone!"

All the first year students gathered in front of the stadium's exit.

Mizuha scowled at the tunnel in front of her. It was obvious that once the race begun, everyone would be packed in there like sardines.

If I can get ahead of everyone the moment we start... I can avoid getting stuck in there. I can make a path of ice that can swirl against the walls... yeah that should work. It'll also cause the others to lose their footing.

Mizuha shimmied her way to the front on the line.

…

…

…

"START!"

With a burst of adrenaline, Mizuha literally leaped forward and created an ice platform just where she landed. It created an ice path behind her when she swirled against the walls. She bent her knees when she felt the wind rushing past her, she was moving fast. Then she literally propelled herself outside the tunnel, leaving ice angled in her direction.

She landed on her foot and one knee. She made it out. With a grin, she ran ahead. Peering over her shoulder, she found students struggling to get out from the slippery tunnel.

Suddenly, she felt a chill as she ran. It was a chill that was telling her that the presence of ice was approaching her from behind. Fast.

It dawned on her.

Mizuha clicked her tongue. Todoroki…

She looked over her shoulder and saw him running up behind her. An ice path was left behind him, freezing students in their tracks, stopping those who were even out of the tunnel.

He was catching up to her.

If I try to keep ahead, it'll probably be tough to keep the lead. If he surpasses me, he'll freeze me in place. A few seconds of immobility can be enough for other people to pass by me too… I can't keep this up.

Not wanting to risk finding herself in the same state as those behind her, she had no choice but to slow down. She slowed down enough for Todoroki to get past her, allowing him freeze the trail in front of her. Just before he past her, she jumped up and watched as the concrete below her got covered with ice.

It was a good thing she knew how to keep her balance on ice.

With no sign of stopping, Mizuha ran on his ice trail with calm confidence.

Mizuha was making sure that she was keeping up with Todoroki's pace while running behind him.

When she turned around the corner, she saw something. It became obvious what it was when she got closer to it.

This is the first obstacle? Robots from the entrance exam?

She spotted a gigantic robot about to swing at her. Refusing to stop, she ducked as low as possible and avoided the attack, successfully keeping up with her classmate despite almost loosing her balance.

Mizuha skidded to a stop once she realized more of them were blocking the way. The boy in front also stopped running. She took that chance to take the lead once more since he stopped using his ice.

"Every obstacle course needs obstacles! Starting with... the first barrier! Robo Inferno!"

Mizuha looked at the many giant robots blocking the path. The only way past them was under them, over them or to defeat them.

She felt Todoroki emitting a chill from behind; he was about to do something. She wasn't sure if it was to deal with her or the robots. And she didn't want to stick around to find out.

The girl stopped in her tracks before she got too close to the other robots. Mizuha dragged one foot back and bent her knees a bit.

Instantly, she slid across the floor thanks to another path of ice, she went straight for the opening underneath the Robo Infernos.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes at her. She was getting ahead of him again. It certainly didn't help that she also had an Ice Quirk, having an advantage when it came to moving on it. However, he wasn't about to let her get further away.

"Ahh! Is she nuts?!"

"What is Hyoumei doing?!" Kaminari gaped.

The Robo Infernos targeted her and each of them aimed at her with its hands. Mizuha ducked many times as she drifted to sides to avoid their reach. Her path was accurately directed as she zig-zagged past the robots. It kinda looked like she was surfing.

Just a little further...

She dodged the last robot and then launched herself away from their reach. Mizuha landed on the ground and rolled a few times before she pushed herself back up to keep running.

The crowd began cheering.

"Wow! 1-A's Hyoumei actually made it through by dodging! What a crazy move! But with such accuracy!"

I need to get as far as possible!

She felt the ground shake beneath her.

"Todoroki from Class 1-A busted through! He attacked and defended in one hit! Both Ice Quirk users are now in the lead!"

Mizuha inwardly sighed with a tired expression. Yeah, he's not going to let me do that, isn't he?

Onyx orbs fixed the screen in front of them.

"That girl..." They whispered with a hoarse voice.

"Wow! 1-A's Hyoumei actually made it through by dodging! What a crazy move! But with such accuracy!"

Realizing the identity of the girl displayed on TV, their eyes widened and their lips parted slightly.

"No way..."

Mizuha gasped and skidded to a stop when she laid her eyes on the next obstacle. It was a canyon that had to be crossed with the help of tight ropes. Cautiously, she peered down below and stared at the pit of darkness.

Okay... what happens if you fall? Is there a never ending fall? A cushion?

She didn't even notice Todoroki get past her until she saw something move in her peripheral vision when she stared down.

"Shit!" She startled. She looked behind her and found some other students approaching.

…

…

Mizuha shrugged, she crouched down and slammed her hands on the ground. She activated her Quirk beneath her feet, a cold air swirled around them before she launched herself forward and into the air. A giant pillar of ice was all that was left when she left the concrete.

…

…

Mizuha blinked. Right. That seemed like a good idea. It covers a lot of ground.

A giant ice pillar formed and launched her into the air and she flew with great speed. She was actually flying over most of the canyon. She was just worried about her landing strategy. If she wasn't carefully, she might as well just drop into the gap.

She actually saw that she was about to land on the other end of the canyon… just not safely. She literally slammed onto the edge with her upper body on the ground and her legs hanging down, she wheezed. Lifting one leg, she pushed the front of her shoe against the earth and created an ice step for her. She did the same for her other foot to push herself up.

Glancing behind her shoulder, she noticed how students were starting to catch up to her. She even spotted Bakugo practically flying above the canyon thanks to his explosions.

"Not so fast!"

Hecks no!

Mizuha stumbled up to her feet when Bakugo started catching up to her.

Top five. I should at least make it there!

Mizuha blinked at the minefield before her. It was the last hurdle before reaching the finish line. But seriously, the school created a minefield? Was it even safe? What about those who didn't have a Quirk to defend against the mines? Thank god she wasn't one of those.

The girl bent down to pick up a small rock. She lightly tossed it up before catching it and throwing it at least a meter away from her. The second it landed on one of the hidden landmines, an explosion erupted. She needed to be careful.

She breathed in and started to carefully make her way through the obstacle. There was no point in freezing the entire ground if she couldn't see where she was stepping. Ice wouldn't lessen her weight. Her eyes glanced up to see Todoroki maneuvering around carefully ahead of her. Meanwhile Bakugo was—

The boy suddenly zoomed past her.

… ahead of her.

Mizuha deadpanned at the flying bomber. Are you kidding?

She could manipulate her ice to carry her over the minefield but she didn't want to risk it. She never really tried doing that before. Worst case scenario, she might fall and land on a minefield or something. The sound of people screaming and the explosives going off in the back made her dread getting caught in an explosion herself.

She accelerated her pace while still being careful to not trigger any landmines.

"Class A's Bakugo has taken Hyoumei's place and he's head to head with Todoroki! Rejoice, mass media, 'cause it's the kind of development you guys love! Hey, hey, hey the rest of pack is also speeding up! Even as they push and pull at each other, can the two at the top remain in the lead?!"

She couldn't believe that the two in front of her could fight each other for first place... literally. How were they avoiding the landmines and still attacking each other?!

If she could secure a third place, then it would be even better than being in the top five of the race.

She gulped when she looked at the landmines ahead of her.

Mizuha breathed out heavily and screwed her eyes shut. Okay, this should work.

An ice pillar shot up from beneath her, sending her flying towards the two since it was angled in their direction. She predicted the area of her landing and created several ice blocks in her hands before quickly throwing them down. In a heartbeat, her vision was clouded by pink smoke from the landmines she triggered. She squinted with an arm up to her face when she got closer to the ground.

Mizuha landed with a stumble and she quickly resumed her run when she heard Bakugo grunts and explosions. They were right in front of her.

"Look at that everyone! Hyoumei is still going strong! She's catching up to her classmates!"

Thankfully, she was almost at the end of the obstacle. Landmines were becoming less.

She accelerated, hoping the catch up with the two teenagers just ahead of her. An immense explosion in the back shook the ground, causing Mizuha, Todoroki and Bakugo to stop and look back. Shooting out of giant pink smoke, was a familiar green haired student.

Mizuha's jaw dropped. Seriously?

"Class A's Midoriya is in hot pursuit with that blast!"

When Mizuha realized that Midoriya flew past her, she quickly snapped out of it and bolted after him before Bakugo and Todoroki reacted.

"Amazing! Midoriya's in the lead, with Hyoumei right behind him! The two formerly in the lead have stopped trying to slow each other down and are chasing Midoriya too!"

The two were quick to catch up to her, ignoring Midoriya who was still in midair. Unfortunately, when Mizuha caught up to Midoriya, the other two boys also did. She ran in between Todoroki and the aerial Midoriya. Her green haired classmate was still in the air next to her. She glanced at him and gasped when she saw him swinging the scrap of metal onto the landmines.

The three of them halted from the blast, flinching away as Midoriya flew even further away.

Mizuha could hear Midoriya running ahead. Not bothering to waste time on thinking how he even landed on his feet, she quickly rushed out of the pink smoke and ran after the current first place in the race.

He's lucky that these mines aren't designed to kill us!

Once they entered the entrance of the tunnel, Mizuha refused to let up now that she was this close to finishing. However, the two boys that were previously behind her was now catching up and getting past her.

Mizuha got even more fired up to finish the race when Present Mic announced Midoriya as the winner.

Todoroki was now ahead of Bakugo and Mizuha. He was faster than the two. Mizuha didn't see the point of competing to get second place. As for Bakugo…

"Suck it, fourth place!" Mizuha smirked and glanced at Bakugo who heard her. A vein bulged on his forehead as he growled, "HAAH?!"

Just as Todoroki finished second, Mizuha used the force of her ice to leap ahead, taking the third place for herself in a fraction of a second. She tumbled and rolled over and then found herself in a sitting position on the grass. Feeling a little dazed, she wobbled back up to her feet.

Eijin, who was sitting next to Snipe, threw his arms in the air, "LET'S GO! MY NIECE GOT THIRD PLACE!" He cheered.

Snipe stared at him with annoyance, "Must you yell so loudly?"

Eijin lowered his arms and smirked, "My family is in this event, I'll cheer as much as I want."

"And now they're all finishing one after another! We'll make a list of the results later, but for now, good work!"

Mizuha got up from the grass and walked slowly while panting. Working on her stamina was definitely a wise decision.

When she was catching her breath, she thought back at the moment where she goaded Bakugo near the end of the race.

She couldn't help it. Her lips curved at the memory. Her mask cracked for that one moment. It was such a quick moment but it meant so much to her. After four years of pretending, it just felt so good to act normally, even if it was brief.

It just felt so normal.

Mizuha paused in her walk, It felt like... I was free.

... I didn't even realize how heavy it felt to keep a mask. That moment felt like nothing mattered, it felt like I didn't have to worry about anything at all. It felt like I could be myself.

It was refreshing.

Byakuren finished the race, panting heavily.

He placed his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky. The last part of the race really had him running like crazy. Everyone was determined to finish as soon as possible in order to make it through whatever was coming next.

"Phew." Byakuren rolled his shoulders back and looked in front of him.

He immediately frowned.

Mizuha was just standing there looking at the ground, her hand up to her face to conceal a grin. Quite a creepy sight.

The hell is up with her?

He couldn't believe that she finished the race with Bakugo and Todoroki.

Byakuren huffed and started walking towards the stage, where Midnight was calling them.

"The first game of the first-year stage is finally over. Now, take a look at the results!"

On the screen then appeared the face of Izuku as the first rank. Followed by Todoroki in second, Mizuha in third and Bakugo in fourth.

Mizuha, feeling an immense satisfaction, glanced at Bakugo. He was wearing the same look on his face as his profile on the screen. An annoyed and pissed off face. It nearly made her giddy from satisfaction.

Mizuha chuckled to herself before looking back at the screen behind Midnight. Her mood made an one-eighty when she was a certain white haired boy's face on the screen. He was grinning while posing with a finger gun under his chin. He was ranked twenty-fifth.

Great, he's still in it.

"The top forty-four from this qualifying round will move on!" Midnight announced, "It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine. Now, the competition begins next! The press cavalry will be all over it! Give it your all! Now, then, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could..."

Mizuha blocked out Midnight's unnecessary commentary and kept her eyes focused on the screen in anticipation.

The screen then had the words CAVALRY BATTLE on it.

Mizuha cringed, I was bad at that during gym classes… it was so annoying. I wonder how hectic it's going to be now that Quirks are involved.

"Allow me to explain," Midnight continued. "The participants can form teams of two to four people, as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one the different is… based on the results of the last game, each person has been assigned a point value. The points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom! So, forty-second place gets five points, forty-first gets ten points, and so on and so on… until the first place, which point value is… ten million!"

Mizuha's eyebrows shot up. She knew who got first place and she knew everyone had their eyes on him. She could practically feel everyone's greed in the air behind her. Thank god she settled for third place.

"During the game, it'll be a cruel fight where you can use your Quirks. However! It is still a cavalry battle. You'll get a red card for attacks that are trying to make people fall off and you'll be removed immediately! And now… you have fifteen minutes to make your teams! Start!"

As everyone began looking for a team, Mizuha stayed rooted in her spot. She was looking at the screen, specifically the amount of points she had.

Two hundred, huh?

She timidly glanced behind her shoulder, no one was around her. It didn't really surprise her. First, Class 1-A was hated by the majority of the participants thanks to Bakugo's little plead. And second, knowing how Bakugo was the best student in their class, everyone wanted to be with him.

She even saw Kirishima with him.

Mizuha sighed, I doubt he'd want to team up with me... not after what I said.

…

…

…

"Hyoumei...?" Kirishima asked while searching for her attention. "Are you okay?"

"Get away from me. Stop acting like we're friends because we're not. We never were. You're the one that's been forcing a friendship to exist. I never wanted that from you." she told him while looking at him in the eyes, her voice void of emotion.

Kirishima's eyes widened in shock and then he stood up straight.

…

…

…

It wasn't her problem if he felt hurt by it. She wasn't lying. He kept on acting so friendly, assuming they were friends even though she had no intention of making friends. If he couldn't see that, it was his problem. Students will prove a lacking Hero if they cannot see the hidden truth behind one's words and actions. Could he even see that she didn't want to get close to him?

"No use dwelling on it now..." She muttered.

Todoroki also had his own group people surrounding him in order to be in his team but it looked like he was interested in those people. He was looking around.

Then there was her.

No one came around her. Her own class probably didn't feel comfortable around her. The other students from other classes most likely stuck with their own.

"What are you doing? Go start looking for a team." Midnight spoke, effectively snapping Mizuha out of her thoughts.

Mizuha jolted, "R-Right..."

She turned around and aimlessly walked towards the other participants.

I'm sure Midoriya is struggling with finding a team thanks to that ten million. And I don't want to be on the team that everyone is targeting in the game... I should probably play it a little safer to secure a good spot for the next part of the tournament.

The only person I can think of that has a Quirk that suits this strategy I have in mind... is Byakuren.

She scratched the back of her head in annoyance. Her pride was making it hard for her to accept that reality.

Mizuha spotted him among those who were very eager to team up with Bakugo.

Swallowing her bitterness, she reluctantly marched over to Byakuren from behind and reached to for his shoulder. Her hand froze. She could no longer act so familiar with him. Not anymore.

"...H-Hey!"

Byakuren stopped talking and turned around with an uninterested look on his face.

"Huh? Hyoumei? What do you want?"

That hurt. He was calling her by her last name.

"Team up with me, Kyouran." She practically demanded.

Byakuren scowled, "Haaa? Why would I team up with you? That's the last thing I want." He spat.

Another ow.

Mizuha's right eye twitched, "Yeah, and this attitude you have is the last thing you need if you want to qualify for the finals. You know as well as I do that our teamwork can be the best if you and I work together. This Cavalry Battle is not what we're here for. And, you know that I'm right." deadpanned Mizuha.

Byakuren stared at her. She could tell that she was starting to convince him, she just needed one final push.

"Heroes must cooperate with each other no matter the circumstances. If you choose not to, you might jeopardize yourself and those around you. If you don't cooperate with me, knowing how good our teamwork might be... then you're proving that you'll be a lacking Hero who cannot push his aside his personal affairs. People like place a greater burden on those around them."

Byakuren scoffed and narrowed an eye as he arched a brow. "Huh… you would know all about that wouldn't you?"

Mizuha inwardly gasped when she understood what he meant. Personal affairs.

The white haired boy tipped his head and shrugged with a shoulder. "But I suppose you are right. And I wouldn't want to sink to your level."

She wanted nothing more than to walk away from him.

But they both knew she was correct. This game would also determine whether or not someone is willing to set aside personal issues. A quality that is needed for Heroes.

Mizuha held out her hand, "So?" she lifted a brow,

Byakuren then smirked darkly, "You just might regret bringing me to the finals."

He shook her hand as a sign of truce, gripping her hand with much force.

Mizuha supported the same dark look on her face, "That's a risk I'm willing to live with."