Yoyon568: Hey man really glad you're enjoying the fic. It should only get better from here ;).
Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Temperature (Sports Festival: Part 2)
Mei Hatsume
"IZU-KUN IZU-KUN! DID YOU SEE…?! MY BABIES WERE BEAUTIFUL!" Mei screamed as she pushed past a group of teens, rushing into Izuku's chest, still covered in sweat.
The support course student had come in 29th place, she was forced to stop near the end of the second obstacle to make repairs on her boots, but she was still able to move on with the rest of the 32 students who had made it to the next round.
"Mei! YOUR INCREDIBLE!" the greenette laughed, lifting the girl into the air and twirling her around. She giggled furiously as he did so, oblivious to the attention they garnered from the other participants.
"You've really outdone yourself; all your babies worked fantastically! Even number 76!" Izuku continued as he placed her down gently after a few spins.
His face suddenly soured as he narrowed his eyes at the girl in his arms.
" You should have told me that you were participating in the sports festival..." he complained.
This only caused Mei to cover her mouth with both hands, giggling all the more.
She found his pouting face to be simply adorable.
"Hehehe, I wanted it to be a surprise! Sooooo….SURPRISE!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the boy's neck again as she continued to chuckle.
An embarrassed grimace appeared on Izuku's face as he struggled to maintain his pouting expression and hold in his laughter.
" Well, congratulations, Miss Hatsume," he chuckled softly, his smile finally reappearing. " I really am surprised! But I'm glad you are here! As usual, your timing couldn't be better! Would you join my team for the Cavalry Battle?" He asked, staring at the insanely bright smile beaming back up from the dreaded girl's face.
Midnight had just finished explaining the rules of the second event.
First, teams of up to four were to be formed; headbands would then be distributed based on placement from the first event, with Bakugo having the 1 billion point band for first place.
The 32nd-placed student has a band worth 50 points, and the value increase by 50 for each place higher. Coming in third, Izuku's band was worth 1500 points, while Mei's band was worth 200.
"YES! LET'S WIN AND SHOW EVERYONE THAT YOU ARE THE BEST HERO AND THAT MY BABIES DESERVE FUNDING! She squealed, pushing off the taller boy and laughing manically while she kneeled down to go thru her backpack full of inventions.
Suddenly a familiar voice called out to them, "If you're done filming your romantic comedy…how about letting me join your team." the teasing voice of Ochako jeered the pair as she made her way over to them.
Mei just smiled while Izuku blushed.
"O-CHAN! YES! JOIN OUR SUPER CUTE TEAM!" The genius said naturally, grabbing Ochako's hands and dancing around her.
The green-haired boy clears his throat before speaking, " Of course, you can join our team; you and your quirk will come in handy, especially with the support items Mei has…." Midoriya began as he suddenly dove deep into one of his muttering sessions as he brainstormed a strategy.
Just as the brunette goes to shake him from his muttering, as all of Class 1-A had become accustomed to doing, her hand is slapped away by the still-grinning Mei.
"Wait, let him finish! He does his best thinking like this!" She explained, looking over fondly at Izuku as he continued murmuring intently to himself.
"Isn't he the cutest?" she whispered just as the boy snapped out of his trance.
" Alright! I have a plan, but we need one more person…"
—-
Neito Monoma
Looking around, the boy scoffed, seeing most of Class 1-A participate in the second event. Surely all these familiar faces would make forming a group easier, wouldn't they?
Unfortunately, for the golden-haired boy, he didn't see Midoriya anywhere, so this would be harder than he thought.
During the month of individual training, Izuku forced him to interact and hang out with some of their other classmates during and after training sessions.
Although Neito kept his guard up and a distance between himself and his fellow teens, he grew to enjoy their presence, especially Kirishima, Kaminari, Mina, and Toru.
Their bright and cheerful personalities put him at ease, though it still felt like many of the others simply tolerated his presence.
Monoma was still wary of them all; the young student just didn't believe that his peers would accept him so easily.
All those years of painful experience could not be forgotten so quickly.
As the golden-haired boy's eyes glazed over, memories of his youth of torment, fighting, and survival came to his mind.
Suddenly a scratchy greeting called out to him from behind, pulling his attention.
"Long time no see…." the familiar voice states, "what's it been? One? Two years since you changed middle schools?"
A sly grin slid across Monoma's face as he slowly spun, facing a tall purple-haired boy sporting an eerie smile.
"I'm surprised to see you here." Monoma laughed, "Last time we spoke…you had given up on being a hero…is that still the case?"
"For a while it was…" the scarecrow of a boy replied, his head hanging a bit as he spoke, voice low. His smile quickly faded as he took a step closer to Neito.
"Then what are you here for, Hitoshi Shinso!?" Monoma's bright blue eyes glared at the other boy as his face twisted into a sneer. He was waiting for an answer.
"…I remembered a promise I made!" Shinso replied after a pause.
The indigo-haired teen chuckled as the memories flashed in his mind. Middle school had been hell with many one-sided beatings…until HE appeared.
"A promise, huh? That's it?" Neito questioned coyly, staring up at the boy intently.
" Nah, you don't get it…I made this promise to a snot-nosed brat, one who never seemed to mind his own business." Shinso continued, his voice gaining volume and a sly grin breaking his thin lips as he reached a hand out toward the golden-haired student.
"I promised him that we would become HEROES and PROVE EVERYONE WRONG. And I've come to complete my side of that oath."
The two teen clasp their hand together in a firm spartan handshake smiling at each other.
"It good to see you Hitoshi."
"You as well Neito."
So you're making a move for the hero course?!" Monoma asked after they separated; he knew that his fellow outcast was always three steps ahead," I assume you've come up with a plan then," he prodded curiously.
"Yes, I'm already set up." Shinso yawned casually, gesturing to two of their competitors, staring at nothing with blank expressions.
Neito recognized one of them as Ojiro, while the other was another boy he had never seen.
"Holy shit! You already got people?! I'm impressed." As Neito said this, he quickly tapped the zoned-out students.
"Alright, I'll be the rider; let's avoid powerful foes like Todoroki and Bakugou," he continued, climbing atop the other two as Shinso commanded them to get into position.
"If possible, I'd like to keep your quirk under the radar, your abilities work better with the element of surprise."
Shinso smiled, " I like the way you think," he scoffed, sliding into his place as the countdown began.
"Let's show these wannabes how strong our "villainous" quirks are!"
The Cavalry Battle was intense and exciting.
Bakugous group, who everyone expected to play keep away and try to maintain their 1 billion point headband, went on the offensive.
Kirishima was in front, leading the charge. His manly spirit and quirk allowed him to fearlessly smash through both the offense and defense of their opponents, trusting his teammates fully to make up for any of his weaknesses and help him out if need be.
Mina and Sero were doing just that as they dashed behind him, flanking his sides and providing as much support to Kirishima and Bakugou as possible.
Mina used her acid to improve their movements in conjunction with Sero's tape; the weak acid she sprayed gave them a slick layer to slide on while the black-haired boy's elbows were yanking them forward, pulling them out of range of their enemies attacks.
The pink girl also used a more potent acid for defense, splashing and spraying a thick slime that burned and irritated the skin, stinging the eyes of anyone who got too close.
Sero was busy maneuvering the group using his tape-firing elbows. Occasionally, he had to quickly pivot to catch Bakugou, yanking him back to them every time he lept from his seat.
The bomber was the team's rider but rather than remaining in his position, Bakugou preferred to blast through the air tearing at the heads and necks of his opponents, adding more headbands around his neck as the event continued.
Scattered around them were other groups, either targeting Bakugou's group for the 1 billion point headband or simply trying to get points of any value.
Other members of Class 1-A were also dodging and dashing in the fray, many having grouped up.
Sato, Toru, Tsu, and Jiro had formed a four-person team.
The hulking boy was in the front, and his two dark-haired teammates were at his sides, with the invisible girl as the rider.
Team Hagakure tore through weaker groups using Toru's quirk to their advantage. She had been allowed to wear a tank top made of see thru fabric, so as she rode on top of her team, she only appeared as a floating headband, making it hard for those targeting them to attack or defend accurately against her.
Jiro and Tsu provided mid-range offense and defense, with Tsuyu using her tongue to snatch a few additional points.
However, the group was thrown into a panic as two black whip-like arms lashed out, ripping off two high-value headbands from the transparent rider. The white cloths disappeared into the dark interior of a domed "tent" made by Shojis 6 arms as he sprinted past.
Two pairs of bird-like eyes peer out from the shadow between the shell of arms as Tokoyami sits in the shade, sending out his dark shadow to target the other teams and steal their points.
The shadow wielder and Shoji had formed a two-man team.
The larger masked teen focused on using his limbs and evasive movements to protect his partner and get the blackbird into position to steal headbands from their competitors.
Toward the field's boundaries, Monoma and Shinso's mind-controlled students help them slowly but steadily gain points.
Hitoshi used his brainwashing quirk to manipulate one or two members of another team, getting them to pause or change direction so that his team could catch up. Neito was busy snagging as many headbands as he could, using his foe's own quirk against them to do so.
During the fray, the golden-haired boy noticed how hard it was for his ally to maintain control of others while they were engaged in such a rough activity. Any significant collisions or physical contact against the target could sever his hold on them.
The most intense fighting was in the middle of the battle royal, where Todoroki's group was dominating their competition and relentlessly pursuing Izuku's team, cutting them off at every opportunity.
The dual-eyed boy's group consisted of Iida as the head, with Momo and Kaminari at the sides.
Denki's electricity was their defense, using it to ward against the onslaught of attack from many groups after Todorokis's 4th place headband. Thanks to Momo's insulation, the charge-bolt was able to release his quirk in waves to repel and temporarily stun their opponents without affecting his teammates.
As their attackers all sat stunned from the rush of voltage, the ice user atop his teammates surged into action.
Todoroki functioned as his group's primary offense, using a staff synthesized by Momo to make contact with the ground, allowing him to freeze the surrounding area and encase his opponents in frost, slowing or halting their movements as Iida revved his engines.
Using the significant mobility granted by their front runner and roller skates created by Momo and worn by both her and Denki, Todoroki's group shot forward, counter-attacking in an instant and relieving their opponents of a few hundred points worth of headbands.
With just a few minutes left of the competition, their group continued skating forward after the retreating Midoriya group. '
They had already built up an ample amount of points, but Shoto was determined to avenge his earlier loss.
Slamming down the staff, a creeping wave of ice stretches toward Izuku and his group.
Suddenly the four-person team catapulted into the air, mostly avoiding the jagged ice that enclosed the space they once were in, leaving only a broken-off portion of a hover boot trapped within the thick ice.
Team Todoroki expected this, however, as Midoriya's team had been escaping into the air the entire length of the competition.
"YOU DARE!" the visored figure of Kaiba roared from the sky, kicking fiercely to propel her and her group higher above the field.
Kaiba's quick, powerful kicks provided liftoff to escape the attack and maneuver the group in midair.
The tan girl was the front runner for her team, with Mei and Ochako on either side of her and Izuku as the rider.
The support course genius's gadgets were proving very useful as the hover boots slowed their descent and, in combination with Urakaka's Zero gravity, which was used to make Izuku, Mei, and Ochacko weightless, allowed Izuku's team to remain airborne for the majority of the competition, holding on to both the second and third place headbands.
However, with one broken hover boot, Team Midoriya was losing altitude much quicker than their previous jumps.
"MY BABY!" Mei screamed, genuine sadness briefly crossing her face before she gritted her teeth and turned to her team's rider.
"Damn it…" the heat-seeker cursed, his mind racing frantically.
"Alright," he mustered, shouting orders to his teammates, " Kaiba! We need space to land! Mei! Use that boot to max power! Buy as much time up here as you can! Ochako! Keep us weightless until we're in position!"
With a boastful shout and a powerful stomp, the young Amazon kicks the air in front of her, thrusting the entire group backward through the air, trying to create space between them and the approaching enemies on the ground.
Suddenly, their weight returned to them, causing their group to begin plummeting towards the ground. Ochako took deep breaths as they fell, concentrating on keeping her lunch in her stomach.
They were falling, albeit much slower than they should be, thanks to the max output of the single hover boot.
As they neared the ground, multiple attackers barreled toward them. Izuku thought fast as he took a quick deep breath.
"Mei! Fire BABY 76 at 4 o'clock! Now!" the emerald rider instructed as he spat a flurry of Hot Shots at a blur of blonde and red, blasting up directly at him.
"GIVE ME YOUR FUCKIN POINTS, DEKU!" Katsuki screamed, evading the barrage and closing the distance in a flash, rearing back his right arm.
Just before his palm could lash forward, the thick wire of Mei's grappling belt yanked Team Midoriya past him at an angle. Dodging the bomber's explosive grip.
As they pass, a swift axe kick from the visored student sends the angry blonde careening back toward his group as he spews curses.
Bakugou quickly catches himself and stops his brief descent with his quirk before being yanked back to his seat by Sero.
As he plopped down atop Kirishima, he growled angrily, slamming his fist on the hardened boy's head and commanding his team to go after Todoroki and Deku.
Team Midoriya had no time to rest as they continued to tumble out of the sky.
Seeing a dark blur fly toward his team, a burst of flame erupted from the mouth of Izuku as it collided with a gigantic black shadow stretching out from Shoji's arm "cocoon" toward the plummeting teens.
The thin, focused flame-thrower exhale repelled the dark beast, causing it to recoil and return to its master's side within its mobile "cave" as Shoji circled the group from a distance.
As the flame flickered and disappeared into the air, Izuku dropped the melted piece of metal out of his hand as he reached into Mei's bag for his last one.
In the short time before the start of the event, the genius had been able to fashion two crude flame-focusing instruments from heat-resistant parts of her other less useful BABIES.
"Izukun! With one boot down, our balance is off." Mei hooted over the intense battle, catching her group's attention with her giddy laughter, "Our landing is going to be rough!"
Izuku's entire team couldn't help but chuckle at this as they prepared to land. Two of them were grinning in excitement, and two were smiling nervously.
While Midoriya's group was still repositioning themselves in the air, Iida spun his team around, racing back toward the erratically descending group.
"Retreating Kaiba-san?!" Iida screams out earnestly, " You wanted a duel, am I correct?! Well, a competitive and sanctioned UA event is the appropriate place for such a contest! SO I WILL GIVE THIS MY ALL!" he shouted as he continued to dash toward them, weaving through gangs of competitors coming for his team's points.
From his perch atop his teammates, as they raced across the field carrying him, Todoroki could see the quickly descending group. He knew that Midoriya's group would be distracted at the moment just before they landed…
That was their moment to strike!
"Whatever you were going to do, Iida, DO IT NOW!" Shoto grunted loudly, twisting the rod into the gravel as the ice cracked forth, forming a short ramp aimed toward their airborne opponents.
" Alright, but remember, after this, I won't be able to move for a while!" the engine-legged teen yells out as he grits his teeth and concentrates.
"Recipro Burst!" He screamed as the red flame expelling from his calf turned bright blue, and his entire group rocketed forward at incredible speed up the ramp.
Firing up toward the careening group, Todoroki reached his hand out just in time to wretch the 3rd place headband from Izuku before the emerald-eyed boy could react as Iida and his group sailed past them.
A few moments later, a grunt from Momo sends a small parachute up behind them, slowing their descent until they landed on the ground roughly. Todoroki then froze the floor before them, so their momentum carried them away even while Iida could not move.
"SHIT!" the heatseeker thinks to himself as he sees their chance of victory sail away.
His team had managed to secure a few additional headbands amount of points using their air superiority and his sparing use of Ignition. Still, without that 1500-point headband, there was no way they were making the next round!
"Brace!" Ochacko yelled as their feet collided with the ground just as she briefly reactivated her quirk, she still wasn't near her limit, but she was trying to be strategic and save stamina for the final rounds.
The impact from the rough landing was reduced enough not to cause any significant injuries, but the single hover boot was no longer functional.
As his team steadied themselves, Izuku's mind raced as he looked over and saw only a minute left on the event clock, his plan was risky, but it seemed like that was a pattern of his.
"Mei! Can I have BABY 76? I promise I'll take care of them." He blurted out as the pink-haired girl looked up at him. Mei just smiled and nodded happily, removing her gear and giving it to their rider.
While still strapping up, he turned to his brunette teammate, "Ochako, I need anti-gravity again, but this time just for me, and I need you to be prepared to drop it on my signal!" Izuku stated desperately, finally finishing his suit up.
The brunette grunted to confirm, collecting herself and her breath as the boy turned, gripping the shoulder of the girl in front of him, " Kaiba, I need you to launch me toward Todoroki's left side! I've noticed that his ice only ever originates from his right!"
"DON'T GIVE ME ORDERS!" The amber-haired girl retorted, breathing heavily from her consistent running and jumping, although Iida's challenge clearly exhilarated her.
"WE MUST PURSUE TENYA-TAN! I DEMAND THAT HE HONOR OUR DUEL!" The visored girl shouted, pulling the group forward as she headed toward her target.
The greenette hissed as the girl completely ignored his request, He didn't want to, but he had no choice.
He took a deep breath. He'd apologize for this later…
In a lightning-quick motion, Izuku yanked the gold visor from Kaiba's head, causing her to squeal and almost fall to her knees as she tried to find a way to cover her face without dropping her rider.
"NOOO! Midoriya! Give it backkk!" she whimpered, her face flush and eyes staring at the ground in embarrassment.
"After you launch me, I will, quickly Kaiba! Come on! Hurry, we don't have much time!" He pleaded.
He hated being forceful like this, but he couldn't allow his team to lose.
"Talaria, I know you want to be a hero! I know you want to win! This is how we WIN!
"ALRIGHT! FINEEE!" the tall girl cried out, spinning around quickly, covering her face with one hand and grabbing the boy's collar with the other.
Suddenly, an incredible force removed Izuku from his seat by his shirt and yanked him into the air at tremendous speed. His weightless body was allowing Kaiba's winged feet to carry them into the sky with little effort as Mei and Ochako watched in surprise from the ground.
"I BELIEVE IN YOU, IZU-KUN! YOU TOO KAI-KUN!" Mei shouts, waving and hopping up and down while Ochako concentrates hard on her quirk.
Once the pair were about 30 ft into the air, Talaira's sudden climb stopped abruptly. She twisted her hips and began dashing laterally in a slowly tightening circle, rotating at incredible speeds and gaining increasing centrifugal force as she maintained her grip on her green-haired teammate.
"30 SECONDS LEFT, FIRST YEARS!" Present Mic announces, only causing the chaos to increase.
In a corner of the arena, Todoroki's group was still unable to move, but thanks to the range of his and Kaminari's quirks, they were still able to keep the other teams away as the clock counted down.
Shoto has already placed the 1500-point headband around his neck, although he has all the numbers facing inward.
Suddenly above him, he heard a male voice straining through the sounds of combat, signaling his teammate.
"OCHAKO, KAIBA, NOW!
At the moment of release, Ochako ends the effects of her quirk, giving Izuku's body incredible momentum and kinetic energy as he rockets down in a green blur toward Todoroki and his group.
With Iida only able to slowly hobble away, Shoto's eyes narrow with frustration as he forcefully slams down his staff, causing an enormous ice shelf to erect itself between them and the human projectile.
As he hurtled toward his target, the heatseeker watched as the wall of ice grew, stretching in width and height by the second.
Izuku scoffed as he briefly relaxed his chest and stomach before exhaling harshly, emptying himself and bringing Mei's tinkered metal to his lips.
He wouldn't let his team's sports festival end here.
A sharp and deep inhale filled his chest as he pulled in heat around him; his throat began to glow with a green light as he rocketed toward the growing frigid barrier.
He concentrated on using just the right amount of heat energy, only injecting the gathering heat he had stored with a minuscule amount of his body heat to boost its temperature as he had spent a month training himself to do.
His body arched backward as he continued his haggard inhale.
Seconds before impact, Izuku's whole body flexed forward as he violently emptied his lungs into the metal focus.
" BLAZER LAZER!" He spewed as the bright green line of flame detonated against the frigid wall, sundering the iceberg and blowing it apart in a geyser of hot vapor and liquifying chunks of ice that clouded their vision and obscured the battlefield.
The scattering debris and thick white steam completely blinded Todoroki and his group.
They all react too late as a metal spike grazed past Todoroki's left shoulder, piercing deep into the stadium wall behind them.
The thick wire that whipped behind the projectile quickly went taut as debris, steam, and flurries of ice continued to hang in the air; the wire vibrated slightly as something reeled out of the cloud.
Bursting through the white smoke and whirling frost and sailing directly toward them as they stare up at him in disbelief. Izuku Midoriya's hand was stretched out for the top headband; this was the position he had seen his enemy put the points they stole from them.
"Ignition!"
As Todoroki's left arm reached forward to intercept Izuku's grasping hand, two sources of immense heat appeared simultaneously.
The first was an invisible ambient heat that was the byproduct of the heatseekers technique…
And the second was from a bright orange flame that erupted from the dual-eyed boy's outstretched left arm for only a split second.
Izuku did not register the appearance of the second source, as he was only focused on regaining as many headbands as he could.
As BABY 76 yanked him past his classmate at high speed, he reached out with enhanced strength and reflexes, ripping two white cloths from the rider's neck.
At that moment, Todoroki froze as the fire flickering on his left arm quickly extinguished.
Had this kid forced him to activate his flame side? Was he about to resort to using his damned left to beat Midoriya?!
Did this mean that regardless of his oath, he wasn't strong enough without his father's quirk?!
This hurricane of thoughts swirled in Shoto's head as he zoned out with a haunted look in his eye. The dual-eyed boy sat motionless as the crowd roared at the unexpected comeback; he was losing touch with everything around him.
He was so out of it that he failed to hear another voice that rang out toward him in disgust.
"OI TODOFUCK WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" the husky, raged filled shriek of Bakugou causes both Izuku and Shoto to flinch, temporarily dispelling the sudden tension before the furious bomber unleashed a hot concussive wave that dismounted the defenseless Todoroki from his seat and into the air.
Before Izuku's body could barrel straight into the wall or Shoto could slam onto the floor, a horn sounds, and Present Mic's voice broadcasts loudly over the speakers.
"TIMES UP! THE SECOND EVENT IS DONE!"