I don't own My Hero Academia or Kill la Kill, please don't sue.
"And we're off to a racing start!" Present Mic shouted from the announcer's booth. "How about some color commentary Mummy Man?"
"How did you talk me into this?" said Mummy Man, Shota Aizawa, grumbled.
The first event of the Sports Festival had just begun, and the participants were making a mad dash to the entrance to the main track. So far no one had taken a decisive lead yet, but the race was just beginning.
"What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?" his loudmouthed best friend asked.
"The doorway," Shota answered bluntly.
Before the contestants actually made it to the main obstacle course, they would first have to exit the stadium, which was an obstacle itself. The hallway was extremely narrow on purpose, so that the contestants would have to push and shove one another to get ahead.
Shota looked in the massive crowd for his own students, eager to see how they would get out of this one. But particular notice went to Ryuko Matoi. Of course he was intrigued by how she planned to win the festival as she previously declared without using her quirk, but that wasn't what he was interested in. He was far more intrigued by her motivation for winning.
He was always puzzled by why Matoi chose to attend UA, but now he knew. Her outburst after class the day he announced the Sports Festival and her rage-fueled declaration to Satsuki Kiryuin made it pretty clear that she had no intention of hiding her desire to avenge her father.
If he was being rational, he would have expelled her on the spot. The hero course had no room for students who well... didn't want to be heroes. But beneath his cold, hard logic, Shota empathized with the girl. He felt the exact same way once, that his only purpose in life was to avenge his fallen best friend. He shut out his friends and stopped training for anything other than fighting villains. It was a waste of his youth, and he didn't want Matoi to follow that path.
But he could allow it for now. It certainly made her more determined to win the festival, on top of motivating her to learn to fight without her quirk or weapon. Perhaps she'd even grow out of her vengeance phase on her own.
Shoto Todoroki was being pushed around by the massive horde of students, each one trying to claw their way to the front of the pack. The hallway was incredibly narrow and cramped, it was horribly designed for hundreds to use at a time. Or was it?
"This is the first obstacle," he muttered.
Shoto couldn't have asked for a better situation. All of his potential competitors gathered up in one spot perfectly in his range? It was almost like they were begging to be frozen to the floor.
He reached down to the ground and the instant he was able to touch the floor with his right hand, Shoto froze the entire hallway and even a large portion of the track outside. He sprinted past the students frozen to the floor, freezing the ground beneath him to slide on and increase his speed. That was just too easy. He doubted that any of his classmates would be able to get out of that one, and without their uniforms, Matoi and the Elite Four couldn't either.
"Apologies," he said as he passed by the crowd complaining about how unfair it was.
That simple move should have given Shoto a massive lead, but to his surprise, he didn't get everyone. Not far behind him, Sanageyama was sliding on the ice, picking up speed. He growled softly and clenched his right hand into a fist, releasing a barrage of ice blasts. Not a single one hit though, as Sanageyama easily dodged each one, almost like he knew exactly where they would be.
"So you create ice, gotta say I didn't see that one coming. Oh wait, I did!" he taunted, coming dangerously close to Shoto. "Oops, sorry about that!"
Right as he was about to pass, Sanageyama swept him from behind the legs, knocking him on his face into the frozen ground. The ice let him slide a little bit, but he quickly ground to a halt. Shoto got up and took off at full speed again, but the Elite was already way past the part of the track he froze. Shoto was nearly furious that someone was able to get ahead of him. And unfortunately he wasn't the only one.
A series of loud explosions, a long metal pole, and a flashy laser all rocketed over his head. So it seemed that his classmates had learned from watching him during combat training. Shoto made three tall ice spikes erupt from the ground, knocking Aoyama and Yaoyorozu out of the air. But the third spike missed its mark, the target using another explosion to change trajectory mid-air.
"I won't let you get away so easily you elite bastard!" Bakugo roared. "I'll show you that I'm not someone you can ignore!"
Shoto ignored his short-tempered classmate. Bakugo had to sacrifice his forward momentum with that blast to dodge the ice spike, so Shoto was ahead of everyone by a pretty wide margin. But he was still frustrated. Sanageyama was nowhere to be seen, and he didn't think that so many people would have been able to dodge his initial attack, especially the ones from other classes.
One of his classmates that he really didn't expect to get past his ice was Mineta, who stuck his balls on the ice and used them to jump off of. He actually wasn't far behind Shoto, which meant that he was in... third? What the hell?
"You think you're so cool but I've outsmarted you! Ha, how pathetic Todoroki!" Mineta gloated. "Eat this! My special attack: Grape-"
He never got to finish his sentence, as he was knocked out of the air and sent spinning out of control by an armor-plated metal arm slamming into him. A robot, like the ones from the entrance exam.
"TARGETS ACQUIRED!" it said.
Three robots blocked the contestants from entering a much wider clearing. That wasn't a problem for Shoto, the robots were behind him and even if they weren't, he could easily deal with them. The problem was the reason the track got so much wider. An army of building sized robots stood in his way, just like the one Matoi destroyed in her entrance exam.
"Ooh, enemies have showed up out of nowhere!" Present Mic commented using the PA system. "I bet we're in for a treat here! A test of strength and cunning, it's a Robo-Inferno!"
Shoto briefly sized up his obstacles. They might have been big, but that just meant they would be easier to hit with his ice. He'd be able to take them out while they were off balance, making them fall and block the path. UA had put a lot of effort into making a challenging course, it was a shame it was so easy. Especially since his father would be watching.
He prepared to freeze the robot right in front of him, but before he could even cool his arm by a single degree, it was crushed flat like a soda can by a massive fist. Shoto looked behind him to see where the fist had come from.
"THIS IS WHAT PASSES AT UA FOR AN OBSTACLE COURSE? JUST THROWING IN A BUNCH OF CHEAP ROBOTS AND CALLING IT A DAY?" Gamagoori roared. Even though he was down on one knee, the robots barely reached his waist.
Ira Gamagoori!
Quirk: Bigger Than You!
He can massively increase his size to titanic proportions! The maximum size he can reach always changes, but there's one thing that stays consistent! He's bigger than you! Just... try not to think about it too hard.
"THIS IS A DISGRACE TO ALL OBSTACLE COURSES!" he continued bellowing. "IT IS SHAMEFUL! AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!"
Gamagoori raised both of his fists high into the air and brought them down on two unlucky robots so hard it quaked the earth. But that wasn't all. As he kept screaming, a pink energy beam shot out from his mouth. It swept across the crowd of robots, making each one it came into contact with violently explode.
A laser? Now Shoto was confused, since when could he do that? He looked up at the giant and found his answer. They looked like ants from that height, but he could clearly make out the figures of the rest of the Elite Four perched on Gamagoori's shoulders. A small girl was seemingly directing the laser with a baton. Jakuzure.
Nonon Jakuzure!
Quirk: Cacophony!
She has the ability to direct and amplify sound waves! When focused into a single beam, the intense vibrations of these waves can rip almost anything to shreds in an instant! She can't actually create them any more than a normal person can, but you'd be surprised at how many places you can find sound!
Gamagoori waded past the destruction, knocking robots to the ground with his giant arms. Once he made it to the end of the robot section of the course, he returned to normal size and ran off ahead alongside his fellow Elites. The wrecked robots piled up on the ground, making it impossible to pass.
"That's Honnouji Academy's Elite Four pulling ahead for an early lead with a devastating display!" Present Mic announced. "This almost seems unfair! Probably because it is unfair! Any thoughts?"
"The attack was both offensive and defensive," Aizawa pointed out. "They stopped the robots and blocked the path for competitors."
Damnit, they stole his plan! Shoto was supposed to be ahead, but now he was just one of the crowd! He seethed as he launched himself above the wreckage by creating a pillar of ice beneath him. At least he'd be able to pull ahead while the others were trying to get around the robots. But much to his anger, his classmates had a plan for that too.
Bakugo was still using his explosions to fly high above the debris, even managing to pass Shoto. Not far behind him, Sero shot out his tape onto the top of the wreck and swung around like a spider-themed American hero. Tokoyami had a similar idea, having Dark Shadow grab onto the robots to pull himself up.
Shoto ground his teeth so hard they might have broke. It was only the first event and he couldn't get ahead? Perhaps if he used his left side things would be easier...
No! The entire point of this festival was to prove to Endeavor that he didn't need him! If he won using his fire, it would mean Endeavor won too! Besides, Matoi and Midoriya were still on the ground, struggling with the small robots. He still had the whole course to get ahead of the Elites.
Ryuko Matoi ripped a one-pointer robot's arm off and drove it into it's head, disabling it. She lifted the broken robot above her head and threw it at a two-pointer, making both robots explode. Just as she suspected during the entrance exam, these robots weren't made to actually pose a threat. Tearing through them wasn't as easy without Senketsu, but she'd make it.
The Elites, Todoroki, and Bakugo had all used their quirks to get far ahead of her and the rest of the pack. It was unlikely that anyone would be able to surpass their insurmountable lead, but it didn't bother her too much. This was only the first event, so she still had plenty of time to win the festival. As long as she played it safe and didn't get eliminated, she'd be able to win.
Playing it safe would likely end up being her main strategy throughout the festival. While she wasn't able to use her quirk, her body was trained and hardened by years of fighting experience. She was fast, but not the fastest. Strong, but not the strongest. A jack of all trades.
It wasn't the best strategy in these first events, but all UA Sports Festivals ended in one-on-one combat matches. That was when she'd be able to leverage her combat experience and lack of specific weaknesses. The Elites would still be a problem, but she'd cross that bridge when it came to it.
And at least she wasn't like Midoriya, who also couldn't use his quirk but didn't have a physically strong body to fall back on. He was sticking to running past the robots as best as he could, carrying a broken piece of a one-pointer's arm like a shield. She got why he didn't want to use his quirk so early, but he was gonna have to do a little better than that just to pass, let alone win.
Right now Ryuko just had to keep up with the crowd, ripping apart robots when she had the opportunity. Sure it wasn't as flashy as say, creating a goddamn cannon from her body as Yaoyorozu did, but being flashy was only good for attracting pro heroes. She wasn't competing to get noticed, she was competing to win. Speaking of competing to win, Ryuko had one more trick up her sleeve to give her an edge over the rest of the competition.
While she was running through the crowd of both students and robots, tearing apart any robot in her path, a three-pointer robot launched a missile at her direction. Ryuko reacted quickly and grabbed the projectile out of the air. She hurled the missile at another competitor's feet, making it explode and launch them off the track. The sound of footsteps informed her that another contestant rapidly approaching from behind, so she knocked them away with a swift backhand.
She smirked as she watched the poor chumps fly out of bounds. That made two more people who couldn't get in her way. Unlike in the entrance exam, there was no rule about attacking other students. In fact, Midnight mentioned that anything was allowed, as long as they stayed on the course. So not only could she knock competitors off course, but they'd also be eliminated.
Was it playing dirty? Hell yeah. Did Ryuko not give a shit? Also hell yeah. She was going to win this thing no matter what. Eliminating competitors would only improve her chances of winning, so why wouldn't she do it? Honestly, with the way Midnight said "do whatever your heart desires", she was surprised she was the only one focusing on taking out the competition when they could.
Ryuko had learned her lesson from the last time she had to do an obstacle course; "fair" didn't win anyone anything. Come to think of it, the whole situation was remarkably familiar. Competing in an obstacle course with potentially lethal traps without Senketsu, where had she seen that one before? While UA's obstacle course was nothing compared to the death trap that was Honnouji's No Tardies Day, the similarities were uncanny. Now all she needed was...
"Agh! Please help me! My arm, I think it's broken!" a purple-haired boy shouted as he threw himself on the ground at her feet. "Oh the pain, it's so bad! I don't think I can make it!"
Wait a second, this was the guy who showed up at her class when the festival was announced! Ryuko stopped suddenly and did the only reasonable thing. She gave him a swift kick in the gut for his trouble, sending him flying off the track.
"Not falling for that one again!" she growled as she kept running.
"Go Ryuko!" Mako shouted from the Honnouji section of the stands.
"Yeah, tear those tin cans to pieces!" her brother joined in.
While Mako and her family cheered loudly for Ryuko, much to the annoyance of everyone sitting next to them, Senketsu kept quiet. It wasn't as if anyone could hear him after all.
Despite what he told Ryuko before the festival, he was actually pretty nervous about her chances of winning without him. He just couldn't imagine how she planned to beat people who could blast god knows what from their bodies with only punches. But it seemed he was worried over nothing.
"There goes Class 1-B's Hiryu Rin, knocked off the course courtesy of Ryuko Matoi!" Present Mic shouted. "Is that even allowed?"
"The only rule is stay on the track. So it's perfectly legal," Aizawa explained.
"It still seems a bit unfair though," Present Mic countered. "I mean, we are supposed to be training heroes after all!"
"The real world is unfair. Matoi knows that better than anyone, even amongst those in Class 1-A. Villains don't care about 'fairness' or 'honor', and neither does she. She's doing whatever it takes to win by using whatever's available to her. That's really all any of us can do."
Ryuko was doing just fine so far. She wasn't in first, or even the top ten, but she was definitely holding her own. Her strategy of abusing both the "do whatever you want" and "stay on the course" rules to attack other contestants and eliminate them was clever. Maybe not heroic, but definitely clever.
Still, Senketsu couldn't help but feel uncomfortable just watching her from the stands. He was supposed to be more than just her friend, he was her partner! Being separated from her on No Tardies Day was bad enough, but the USJ incident was practically his nightmare come true. Not only was Ryuko in trouble without his help, but he didn't even know what was going on! And yet again, fate seemed to conspire to keep them apart.
But this wouldn't be like the USJ. While maybe he couldn't synchronize with Ryuko directly, that didn't mean he couldn't help. So he wasn't just watching from the stands, but observing and taking notes on the competition, specifically on the Elite Four. Even without their uniforms, they'd likely be Ryuko's biggest obstacle. Gamagoori and Jakuzure had already shown off their quirks, so he stared at the monitors intently for Sanageyama and Inumuta to reveal their powers.
He also kept busy by coming up with a plan to defeat them in the event that their uniforms were allowed. Senketsu had a sneaking suspicion that the "no support items" rule wouldn't last for much longer. Satsuki and the Elite Four couldn't have been any happier about that rule than Ryuko, and if they had the power to force UA to hold the festival in the first place, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume they could change the rules.
The problem was that he just couldn't figure how to beat them. He still felt sore just thinking about the fight with Sanageyama. Even though he and Ryuko hadn't made any mistakes, they couldn't even touch him. He was just too good. And it wasn't just him either, Gamagoori's two-stage transformation looked like it would pose a significant challenge as well. He didn't even know what Inumuta and Jakuzure were capable of with their uniforms.
He did have an inkling of a plan to deal with Gamagoori though. Gamagoori's uniform had two stages: Shackle Regalia and Scourge Regalia. Shackle absorbed damage while Scourge unleashed it. However, he had to give up Shackle Regalia's protective exterior whenever he transformed. If Senketsu had a way to exploit that weakness, he and Ryuko could attack him when he was vulnerable. But how would he do that...
"Hey Senketsu! What do you think about how Ryuko's doing in the obstacle course? Isn't she amazing?" Mako asked him.
She was asking... him? No one other than Ryuko had tried talking to him before and for a while Mako even doubted that he was alive. Could she really hear him? Well, it couldn't hurt to try.
"Ryuko's doing well so far, and her strategy of knocking out competitors now seems beneficial in the short run. But the other classes already have a bone to pick with Class 1-A. I fear that this will end up justifying their anger and make them direct it towards Ryuko in the later stages," he analyzed.
Mako was silent for a moment, as if she was processing what he just said. And then she spoke.
"Don't be silly Senketsu! Where would she even get a penguin from?"
Senketsu sighed at Mako's insane non-sequitur. Of course she couldn't actually hear him. While he was rolling his eye, something caught his attention in the hero section of the stands. A tall lanky man with messy blue hair, just like Mr. Mikisugi. What was he doing here?
He rubbed his eye with his sleeve to make sure he was seeing properly. When his vision cleared, the man was gone. Maybe he was just seeing things.
"Hey, I brought some takoyaki!" Aikuro Mikisugi offered some fried octopus on a stick to his comrade.
"There are two things you need to know. One, I don't eat when I work," Tsumugu replied gruffly. "And two, you look like a sack of shit in those rags! What the hell are you wearing? You said that you'd be wearing a disguise, I can clearly see that it's you!"
"This is my disguise!" Aikuro protested, holding up his tinted sunglasses. "I'm supposed to be a teacher! I told you about this back on the boat!"
"I thought you were joking. Oh well, at least you don't stand out too much in this freak show."
Aikuro chuckled lightly, but Tsumugu had a point. In a far cry form Honnouji's drab grays, the hero section of the stadium was full of... well, heroes. The two of them hardly stood out amongst the array of bright colors and flashy costumes.
"That's why I got tickets for these seats! We can't risk someone from Honnouji recognizing us while we work!"
"Speaking of work, why'd you bring us here? Don't give me that shit about spying on the Student Council, we could have had anyone do that. Why'd you specify bringing the SAB?"
"Alright, so I might have lied a little," Aikuro admitted. "The truth is, I'm worried about Ryuko Matoi. They might be adhering to UA rules for now, but I have a hunch that Satsuki will end up having her fight the Elite Four with their uniforms. She's not ready for that."
"What, so you want to save her if she starts losing?"
"No, I'm more worried about what'll happen if she wins. Absorbing multiple three-star uniforms would be more Life Fibers than Senketsu has ever absorbed before. Ryuko's desperate to find Isshin's killer, so she might end up pushing both Senketsu and herself too hard. With all that rage mixed with absorbing a ton of Life Fibers, I'm afraid we could see a repeat of what happened with Kinue."
"So you want the Special Adhesive Bullet to stop her if she gets out of control," Tsumugu nodded solemnly. "But there's still something I don't understand. If you're worried about her pushing too hard to find Isshin's killer, why not just tell her?"
"Come on, you've met her before! If I told her now, she'd go insane even quicker. I'll tell her when she's ready to hear the truth. Or she might just learn for herself if she ends up winning this thing."
Aikuro gestured to the one of the large monitors around the stadium that displayed Ryuko Matoi running the obstacle course. He had to admit, he was pretty impressed with how well she was able to perform without her Kamui. She dashed along the track at incredible speeds, lifting and throwing robots with a single arm. It really was a sight to behold, especially considering that she didn't have a strength-enhancing quirk.
All she had going for her was determination and tenacity, competing against what could accurately be called demigods. The odds couldn't have been stacked higher against her, but she fought anyway. Just like Nudist Beach's struggle against the Life Fibers. She really was Isshin's daughter.
Maybe he was worried over nothing. After all, his hunch that Satsuki and the Student Council would lift the ban on support items was just that, a hunch. Even if Ryuko could use Senketsu, she'd grown a lot since he last saw her. Maybe she wouldn't have to push herself at all.
"You see that? She's playing dirty!" he chuckled, pointing to a clip of Ryuko swinging a robot arm into another contestant's face. "Guess she learned something from fighting you after all!"
"Hmph. Try not to let your emotions get in the way of your judgement," Tsumugu scoffed. "Remember, if she loses control, you take that shot. Even if that means you'll kill her. Clothing is the enemy, you should know that better than anyone."
Aikuro just brushed him off and continued watching the festival. It looked like it was about to get good too.
"For those of you who thought the first obstacle was too easy, let's see how ya feel about the second one!" Present Mic announced. "If they take a spill, they're out! If they want to pass this test, they'll have to get creative! It's The Fall!"
Aikuro gazed at the monitor intently, eager to see what Ryuko would do next.
Ryuko Matoi had stopped alongside a few of her classmates, sizing up their next obstacle. Normally, Ryuko wasn't one to slow down and take time thinking about her next actions. But a hundred meter drop could hardly be considered normal.
"The Fall" as Present Mic put it, was a gigantic canyon. The only way across seemed to be the few stone pillars connected by tightropes. The fall down was definitely deep, but she was able to make out a net at the bottom of the pit. At least they had some safety measures.
"When did they even have the time to build something like this?" Uraraka muttered to herself.
Now this could be a problem. Ryuko was fast, she was strong, but that wouldn't help her balance on a tightrope. They weren't short either, each pillar was at least ten meters apart. The safe play would be to cling to the ropes with her hands and feet, but doing that might take too long. She could already see Gamagoori's massive figure in the distance, casually stepping across each gap while the other Elites hung out on his shoulders. Todoroki and Bakugo were also still ahead of her, if the frozen ropes and the loud swearing were any indication.
While Ryuko was still weighing her options, Tsuyu stepped in front of her and leaped halfway across the rope. She easily crawled the rest of the way to the pillar, due to her froggy cling pads. At least someone was in their element.
"Hehehe! Finally, this is my chance to show off what I can do!" a new voice said from behind Ryuko.
She had pink hair styled into what looked like thick dreadlocks. An odd fashion choice, but nowhere near as odd as her giant goggles, or her mechanical boots, or her harness... Wait a minute, she was wearing support items!
"My support items are gonna steal the spotlight from these wannabe heroes!" she announced to... someone. "Everyone! Observe what my brilliant gadgets can do! Wire Arrows and Hover Soles! All made by yours truly, Mei Hatsume!"
"What the hell? Why do you get to wear all that stuff?" Ryuko asked, more than a little jealous that she couldn't bring Senketsu.
"Students in the hero course get all kinds of combat training for their quirks! In order to give us a fighting chance, we're allowed to bring whatever gadgets and costumes we want into the game so long as we develop them ourselves!" she answered.
"How's that supposed to be fair?" Ryuko complained.
"Complaints about fairness coming from the girl who abused a loophole to eliminate her competition," Hatsume countered.
"Touche," she grumbled.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't blame you for that! Quite the contrary! You took your available options and used them to give yourself the highest chance of success, that's how you win! And it's what I plan on doing, so sit back and enjoy the show!"
Two metal tips connected to her harness by wire shot out from Hatsume's support item and embedded themselves in one of the stone pillars. Powerful fans on the bottom of her boots whirred to life, lifting her off the ground by a few inches. She activated a winch on the back of her harness, quickly reeling her in towards the metal arrows. It reminded Ryuko of that anime with the giant naked people.
Off in the distance, she could see Iida using his engines to propel himself across the ropes. And was he... t-posing? Saying he looked like an idiot was an understatement, but it gave Ryuko an idea. Maybe she didn't need to worry about balance at all if she could run across the ropes fast enough. But was she fast enough?
"And it looks like the Elite Four maintain their monstrous lead, being the first ones to clear The Fall and move onto the third and final obstacle! Only a certain amount of competitors will move on to the next round, so it's no time to relax!"
What? They were already done? Todoroki and Bakugo couldn't have been that far behind, so that made six who would definitely finish ahead of her. And then there was Iida, and Tsuyu, and Hatsume...
Damnit! So many people were pulling ahead of her! She made it past the first obstacle at the front of the pack, but those with quirks suited to this obstacle were making up ground and then some. If she kept playing it safe and just crawled the entire way she'd end up losing for sure! She wouldn't get another chance, so she might as well try just sprinting across.
Ryuko crouched low to the ground and took off at top speed. The rope wobbled a lot under her force and she almost slipped, but her feet only actually needed to touch it a few times. She caught her breath and sighed with relief once she reached solid ground again. It actually worked! Now she only needed to do that... twenty more times.
Oh well, she'd just have to suck it up. Before she sprinted across the next rope, she pulled on the tightrope behind her and released it. The guy crawling on it was shaken off and thrown into the abyss below.
Ryuko ignored his panicked cursing. He'd be fine, there was a net down there. She was still doing everything she could to win!
"The robots are too far away for me to maintain this size," Gamagoori said. "You three will have to finish on foot."
Uzu Sanageyama stepped off Gamagoori's shoulder as he returned to normal height. Hitching a ride on the giant made this whole "obstacle course" embarrassingly easy. Seriously, what kind of obstacle course only had three obstacles? Gamagoori literally just stepped over the first two. And even without him, this final one was the easiest of the bunch.
"And now, we're finally approaching the last obstacle! Everyone had better tread carefully, YOU'RE STEPPING ONTO A MINEFIELD! If you look carefully, you can see where those little bombs were buried, so keep your eyes on the ground folks! By the way, those landmines were designed for the game, so they might be loud and flashy, but they're not all that powerful. JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WET YOUR PANTS!"
"Was that really necessary information?" Jakuzure groaned.
Uzu couldn't help but laugh. A minefield? Really? They might as well have given him an open field to run on! He smirked and prepared to finish this joke of a race, but a hand grabbed him by the collar before he could take off.
"Slow down, we should take a moment to think before we do anything rash," Inumuta said.
"Are you kidding me? I know where all the mines are, it's like they're not even trying! That guy said it himself, you don't even need my Shingantsu. You can literally just see where they buried them!"
Uzu Sanageyama!
Quirk: Hypersense!
Initially it was limited to only his sight, but since he blinded himself, all of his other senses are constantly in overdrive! This gives him the ability to "see" his surroundings down to the most minute detail! Combining this power with his extensive combat training and experience makes the Shingantsu technique! He picks up on the most subtle subconscious reactions of his opponents, allowing him to accurately predict their moves before they even make them!
"Of course you can, I highly doubt any of us have to use a single brain cell to get past this obstacle," Inumuta deadpanned. "But what's more interesting about this obstacle is its intent. The purpose of the minefield is to force those in the lead to slow down and set off the mines, while those in the back can catch up without having to worry about as many mines. It's a theme that I think will reappear in the next event. Out of the past ten Sports Festivals, seven of them gave the winner of the first event some kind of handicap in the second."
"So then what do we do?" Uzu asked.
"We wait. We let a few competitors get ahead of us, then we finish the race. It will give us an advantage in the next round and it will take off the giant target on our backs. Remember, we're not here to win. We just want to get to the final round so we can fight Matoi, this strategy will give us the best shot at that. If we all take the top four spots, there's an 87% chance we'll be handicapped in the next round and I give the competitors a 94% chance of resolving to take us out no matter what. It won't matter how strong we are if everyone is gunning for us, especially without our Goku Uniforms. But I can say with almost absolute certainty that Lady Satsuki will let us use our Goku Uniforms in the final round."
Houka Inumuta!
Quirk: Analysis!
He can use all knowledge he has available to him to instantly calculate any possible outcome of events! He can use this ability to form plans to achieve a desirable outcome or to just predict an opponent's most likely actions. However, this ability is limited by the data he has stored in his brain, so his calculations can be off if there's something important he doesn't know about. But with his eidetic memory, there isn't a lot he doesn't know about!
"Holding off on our true abilities until it's necessary to use them, even if it means taking a loss in the short run. Now that's discipline," Gamagoori nodded. "We shouldn't needlessly show off to those weaker than us when it doesn't serve any purpose."
Uzu wanted to protest, but he reluctantly agreed and walked away from the edge of the minefield. He and the other Elites stood still in silence, waiting to be passed. There was an interesting rock at his feet, he could try seeing how far he could kick it. Geez this would be boring.
"It seems the Elite Four are... stopping? What could they possibly be planning? Whatever the reason, they're providing the perfect opportunity for someone new to take the lead! And it looks like it's gonna be Todoroki!"
The monotony was quickly broken by a sudden drop in temperature from behind him. The Todoroki kid slid past the Elites, only stopping when he reached the mines so that he could look at his feet. A series of loud blasts followed from overhead, coming from that explodey kid in the waiting room. Right as he was above Uzu, he launched a blast downward. Uzu stepped out of the way of the pathetic attack, but it was still annoying.
"Go to hell you bastards!" he screamed. "You think you can look down on me? I'll kill you! Then we'll see who's the loser!"
Uzu snarled in anger. Forget not showing off! If anyone was gonna disciplined, it was gonna be that little brat! Uzu took off after him, weaving through the minefield.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, you monkey?" Jakuzure shrieked. "We're supposed to not win!'
Uzu just ignored her. Being able to run at top speed without having to worry about stepping on a mine meant he was able to catch up to the two leaders quickly. He could direct all his focus on them now, since detecting the mines was trivial and the other competitors weren't worth it. Somehow those losers actually managed to trip the mines. And one of them all the way in the back was... digging them up and putting them in a pile?
He grabbed the spiky-haired one by the foot and yanked him out of the air. His opponent used an explosion to stop himself from hitting the ground, but Uzu was able to pass him while he did so. The kid roared in anger and tried swinging for his back, apparently not realizing he could see behind him. Uzu dodged each of his ridiculously telegraphed attacks, but it was trickier than he'd like to admit due to the lack of safe spaces to step.
Todoroki attempted to seize on this, launching an ice blast while he and Explosion Boy fought. Instead he just gave Uzu the perfect opening. He leaped on the iceberg and ran on it like a ramp. Once he reached the end of the makeshift ramp, he jumped down and swung for Todoroki's head. Pure instinct let him put up a barrier of ice in defense, but Uzu's fist smashed right through it. Still hurt like a bitch though.
But much like he was so fond of screaming, Explosion Boy didn't take kindly to being ignored. The iceberg Uzu used as a ramp was blown to pieces, while the foul-mouthed brat tried to pass overhead again. Uzu felt Todoroki's right arm cool down by a fraction of a degree and quickly grabbed it and pointed it up. The ice blast that was meant for his face was redirected to hit Explosion Boy instead.
"Amazing! We have a three-way fight for first place between Uzu Sanageyama, Shoto Todoroki, and Katsuki Bakugo! The three of them are nearing the finish line, but can they fight and race at the same time?"
Uzu chuckled to himself. What kind of question was that? Todoroki was about to fire another ice blast and Explosion Boy would yet again try swinging at his back. He suddenly stopped running while they flew past him, letting him dodge an attack from his opponents and making them hit each other instead. While they were still stunned, he started running again, gaining a massive lead over them. Yeah, he could fight and race at the same time.
The finish line was now only about a hundred meters away from him. This was just too easy! With Todoroki and Explosion Boy fighting each other now, there was no way anyone could pass him. Everyone else was still taking their sweet time with the mines and that kid putting them in a pile was about to...
No way.
"This isn't over yet!" Uzu heard him scream. "Thanks for the idea Kacchan!"
"What's with that huge explosion in the back? That looks way more powerful than it should be!"
That shrimpy kid all the way in the back holding onto a broken robot piece for dear life was flying over the minefield at high speed. He easily passed over Todoroki and Explosion Boy and... he was about to pass Uzu!
"Whatever the case, Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!"
Earlier
Izuku Midoriya used the broken robot arm as a shovel, digging up as many mines as he could without setting them off. He lost a lot of ground crawling his way past The Fall. Sanageyama, Todoroki, and Kacchan were all almost at the finish line while he hadn't even started the last obstacle!
If he really wanted to, he probably could have carefully walked across the field and still moved onto the next event. But that wasn't what Izuku wanted. This wasn't about just getting by, he needed to show the world that he was here! He couldn't do that using his quirk, at least not yet, so he had to make a big move some other way.
That's where the mines came in. They weren't that powerful, but enough of them could make a big blast. Perhaps even a blast to make him fly all the way to the finish line, just like how Kacchan used his explosions. Izuku couldn't get too ahead of himself though, if he accidentally set a single mine off, he'd be back at square one. Fortunately, the nature of the event gave him all the time he needed.
While Izuku refused to do it, most of the other competitors were playing it safe and carefully walking past the mines. Even those who were good at jumping couldn't get careless. Just about the only one who sprinted through easily was Sanageyama, and he would be tied up dealing with Todoroki and Kacchan. He could use that to his advantage, since people were most careful at the beginning of the minefield, there would be more mines there. He was so close, he could do this!
"Hey Inu, what's that moron doing?" Jakuzure asked snidely while leaning back against a sign. "Hey dummy, this is a race! You're supposed to go forward to win!"
"Oh shut up," Inumuta brushed her off. "He's far more clever than you realize. He might even be able to win. Or he'll just blow himself up. Either way, it'll make for some fascinating data."
Izuku ignored them while he kept digging. He'd be lying if he said he knew what the Elites were doing, which was seemingly nothing. They had such a commanding lead in the first two obstacles, why would they just give it up? And why wasn't Sanageyama with them? It was almost as if they didn't want to win. Did they know something he didn't?
"Sanageyama fakes out Todoroki and Bakugo and takes the lead! He's just about knocking on the finish line!"
Izuku didn't have time to second guess, this was his only chance to win and he was gonna take it! The pile of mines he made was finally finished, it was time for the moment of truth. He held the broken robot arm in front of him and fell onto the mines.
"Thanks for the idea Kacchan! Super Explosive Turbo Speed!"
Izuku's entire body shook violently as soon as the mines went off, the robot arm providing him with just enough protection. For a few moments, the only thing he saw was the blinding pink blast made by the mines. When he exited the explosion, he could see that he was high above everyone else and going way faster. Todoroki and Bakugo disappeared behind him almost as soon as they came into view and he was rapidly approaching Sanageyama.
"Whatever the case, Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place! Scratch that, the lead is his!"
"Deku you bastard! I won't let you get away with this!" Kacchan screamed.
He flew over them just as planned! But... how was he going to land? Not to mention, he was rapidly losing speed. Sanageyama would pass him once he hit the ground and so would Todoroki and Kacchan, now that they weren't fighting each other. So he wouldn't touch the ground. At least, not yet.
Right before Izuku landed, he slammed the robot arm down on Sanageyama's head. He easily dodged, but that's what he was counting on. The impact with the ground triggered a second explosion, briefly stunning Sanageyama and giving Izuku just enough propulsion to reach the tunnel back to the stadium.
"In a stunning move, Midoriya has blasted past Sanageyama, who up until now seemed unbeatable! I don't believe it, he cleared the minefield in an instant! And it looks like Todoroki and Bakugo are gaining on him too now that they have a common enemy! Eraser Head, your students are amazing! What the heck are you teaching them?"
"This has nothing to do with me. Each of them is powered by their own drive to succeed."
"There you have it, Eraser Head is a terrible teacher!"
"What?"
Izuku couldn't bear to look behind him as he entered the tunnel. This was it! He was gonna get to show the world who he was!
Uzu Sanageyama had to take a moment to process what just happened. Mostly the part where that kid just sailed over his head and took the lead.
No! There was no way he was going to lose, not like this! So that kid used the mines to propel himself and that robot armor as a springboard. Well Uzu could play that game too! He had mines and he had a springboard.
Uzu roughly grabbed the nearest person, Explosion Boy, and shoved his face into the largest cluster of mines in his vicinity. Right before the mines were triggered, he jumped on his back, using him to ride the explosion. There weren't nearly as many mines as that kid dug up for his giant pile, so the blast wasn't as strong. But it would suffice.
With the extra speed boost, he was able to reach the tunnel just behind the shrimpy kid. He was still quite a bit ahead, but Uzu was much faster. But would that matter with such little track left?
Both he and the kid were too desperate just to finish to try fighting each other, since that would just let Todoroki swoop in and take the win. The finish line was so close and Uzu was just about to pass. They both jumped and stretched their finger tips out, trying to reach the finish. When they landed on the other side of the finish line, Uzu had no doubt who won.
"The first to make it back to the stadium is the first place winner! And by a hair, Izuku Midoriya is our champion! I can't believe it! We're only on the first event and we already have such a close finish!"
Both the Honnouji and hero sections of the crowd went wild, but the kid only seemed interested in catching his breath. Once Uzu dusted off his tracksuit, it actually seemed like he was crying. Did he really just lose, not to Matoi, not even to another Elite, but to this guy?
But he had to admit, what he just did was actually kind of cool. Uzu was kicking himself for not realizing what he was planning even though he could see the whole thing, but there wasn't much he could have done to counter it. It was just a good plan. A risky one, but it paid off for him.
Eh, what the hell! He earned that win fair and square, he deserved a few tears of joy. Not to mention he actually salvaged the whole boring race and gave Uzu some entertainment in the process. Far more than Endeavor's kid or Explosion Boy ever could.
Izuku Midoriya. He'd remember that name.
Satsuku Kiryuin watched the events down below from her private viewing box with great intrigue. She didn't plan to pay much attention to the first event, since Matoi didn't have her Kamui and her Elites didn't have their Goku Uniforms. But it seemed she could still be surprised.
Matoi did... fine. Not amazing, but certainly adequate given that she was essentially competing quirkless. She was definitely motivated to win though, given the several competitors eliminated from the event by her hands. That ruthlessness would be very useful in an ally. She still needed refinement though. The Elite Four would see to that.
It came as no surprise to her that her Elites chose to stick together and throw the first round on purpose to get an advantage in the second. Nor was it a surprise that Sanageyama broke from the pack due to his pride.
What was most definitely surprising was that he lost, even when going all out. Not that she blamed him, his opponent was admittedly clever. And to come in first without even using his quirk, this Izuku Midoriya was looking to be very interesting indeed.
"Are you enjoying the festival my lady?" Soroi asked.
"Yes, this is looking to be more entertaining than I expected," she smiled.
"Oh? Do some of the UA students catch your eye?"
"There is one in particular..."
Ryuko Matoi made one final push into the stadium and finished the race. Finally it was over.
So Midoriya managed to finish first. She had to be honest, she doubted his chances of passing the first event at all. Not only did he not use his quirk, but she also feared that his selflessness and desire to help even complete strangers would stop him from using the more... questionable tactics she used to get ahead. But it seemed she was worried over nothing. While he didn't stoop to the levels Ryuko did, he still managed to use that big brain of his for a pretty impressive stunt without sabotaging anyone. Well, without sabotaging anyone too much.
But maybe she should have been worried for different reasons. After all, only one of them could win the festival. Midoriya didn't seem like he would stop giving it his all to win. She definitely wouldn't. And that meant they'd likely have to face each other as opponents eventually. Midoriya might have done a lot better than her on the race, but she still held the edge when it came to combat. Actually, how well did she do on the race?
Ryuko looked around the stadium to see how she performed. There were nine students already there, so that put her in tenth. Not too shabby considering she didn't have Senketsu or her scissor blade. She probably could have done a bit better though. Her strategy for clearing The Fall worked better than she thought and she went past the minefield much faster than most. But midway through the minefield it felt like she suddenly put on a hundred pounds.
"Hah! Killing two birds with one stone! I'm a genius!"
Who the hell was that? And why did it sound a lot like... Mineta! Ryuko looked over her back and saw Class 1-A's resident creep glued to her backside. Her eye started violently twitching with rage while she cracked her knuckles.
"Um, now let's talk about this!" Mineta pleaded as Ryuko tore off her tracksuit's top with him still attached. "I was just trying to get to the next round, just like you! And why not get a nice view along the way? Your butt is super comfortable if it's any comfort-"
His excuses fell on deaf ears as Ryuko picked him up and slammed him face first into the ground, making a pervert-shaped crater.
Katsuki Bakugo groaned and brushed the dirt out of his hair. What the hell just happened?
Shit, he still had to crush everyone in this damn race! Where was Icy Hot? Where was that masked jackass? Where was Deku?
While he looked around for his enemies, three people wearing dark red tracksuits casually walked past him. It was the rest of those Elite Four jackasses. Wait a minute, he just passed them all the way at the start of the minefield! How did they get here?
"Oh goody, he's awake," the kindergartner drawled. "Did you have a nice nap? Do you need an orange slice?"
"Don't engage with him Jakuzure, we don't want a fight on our hands. Easy as it may be," Jumbo ordered her. "We're cutting it close already."
Cutting it close? What the hell were they talking about? It didn't matter, Katsuki was right at the finish anyway. He pushed his way past the Elites and crossed the finish line, eager to claim his victory. Only there wasn't any victory for him to claim.
"The contestants are pouring in one after the other! Let's hear some applause for all our competitors as we prepare the results!"
Deku was crying like a damn baby as always, but Round-Face and Matoi were next to him offering their congratulations. No way, he lost to Deku again! And Matoi too! They were hardly the only ones who arrived before Katsuki, as a quick count told him there were ten, twenty, twenty five... thirty? Thirty people ahead of him?
Katsuki's blood boiled as he used every ounce of restraint to keep from blowing up everyone in the stadium. This wasn't possible, it couldn't have been! 31st place? Forget losing to Deku or Matoi, that was just plain losing!
Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! He was supposed to be number one, but this was barely even an honorable mention! Not a single one of those losers should have beat him, yet somehow they all did! But how? Even that damn nerd's stupid plan shouldn't have been able to let him win. The last thing he remembered was almost passing those green-haired bastards, a single blast should have been enough to win him the race!
And then Deku triggered a second blast. But Katsuki was way out of the blast radius, so it couldn't have possibly hit him. So how did he end up on the ground covered in dirt?Wait, it was starting to come back to him. That other guy grabbed him and pushed him onto the mines to use him as a human springboard! It was all his fault! His victory was ruined by that fucking Ninja Turtle cosplayer!
If Katsuki had a yen for every green-haired guy that pissed him off by beating him in a competition, he'd have two yen. Which wasn't a lot, but it was weird that it happened twice.
He caught him standing with his equally annoying buddies, shrugging off their attempts to scold him over something Katsuki didn't give a shit about. Just looking at him made Katsuki growl in anger.
Forget Deku! Forget Matoi! Katsuki didn't care how many heroes he defeated or how many cities he conquered. That guy was dead!
"The first game for the first years is finally over and what a game it was!" Midnight announced. "Now let's take a look at the standings, shall we?"
1. Izuku Midoriya
2. Uzu Sanageyama
3. Shoto Todoroki
4. Ibara Shiozaki
5. Juzo Honenuki
6. Tenya Iida
7. Momo Yaoyorozu
8. Fumikage Tokoyami
9. Hanta Sero
10. Ryuko Matoi
11. Minoru Mineta
12. Eijiro Kirishima
13. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
14. Mashirao Ojiro
15. Yosetsu Awase
16. Tsuyu Asui
17. Mezo Shoji
18. Rikido Sato
19. Ochaco Uraraka
20. Mina Ashido
21. Koji Koda
22. Kyoka Jiro
23. Sen Kaibara
24. Kosei Tsuburaba
25. Denki Kaminari
26. Mei Hatsume
27. Itsuka Kendo
28. Shihai Kuroiro
29. Kinoko Kimori
30. Neito Monoma
31. Katsuki Bakugo
32. Houka Inumuta
33. Ira Gamagoori
34. Nonon Jakuzure
35. Setsuna Tokage
36. Pony Tsunotori
37. Togaru Kamakiri
38. Reiko Yanagi
39. Yui Kodai
40. Kojiro Bondo
41. Manga Fukidashi
42. Yuga Aoyama
Ryuko Matoi had to admit, she enjoyed seeing Bakugo so low on the list more than she should have. She also enjoyed watching him scream and rage a lot more than she should have.
"Only the top 42 will advance to the next round, but don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut," Midnight said. "We prepared other opportunities for you to shine! Now the real fun is about to begin! A chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best!"
Midnight cracked her whip, starting the wheel on the main monitor. The names on screen flashed so fast that they couldn't be seen. Everyone, Ryuko included, waited anxiously to see what the next event would be.
"Let's see what we have in store for you next! Will your wildest fantasies come to life? What could it be? The waiting is torture! Prepare yourselves... for this!"
The wheel finally stopped, landing on "Cavalry Battle". What, like the playground game? So they were moving towards team events then. But then what would the teams be?
"Allow me to explain!" Midnight turned to the screen. "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 has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course. Now the point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth five points and 41st worth ten."
All right, so they'd be picking their own teams then. And the different point values meant that there was an element of strategy in assembling a team, since everyone was worth a different amount of points. Ryuko's own placement of 10th put her worth at 165 points.
"And the point value assigned to the first place contestant is... 10,000,000!"
That... was a lot of points. Enough points to make taking out Midoriya's team a guaranteed win. Ryuko automatically stared at her friend with determination, and she was hardly the only one. Just about everyone would be gunning for him now.
"That's right! It's survival of the fittest, with the chance for those on the bottom to overthrow the ones on the top!"
A/N: Alright, we finally get to see what the Elite Four's quirks are! I pretty much just took their canon abilities and retooled them into quirks, it's not like I was gonna let them shoot fire or something. Inumuta and Jakuzure did get a buff though, since Analysis basically does what Probe Regalia does minus the optical camouflage and Cacophony is actually just a really powerful quirk. I made the descriptions Present Mic-y in the chapter, so if you're confused, I'll try to explain them better.
Bigger Than You: Probably needs the least amount of explanation. He's bigger than you. That's it. As for what counts as a "you", since he could grow bigger than non-living beings like the robots but not a mountain for example... I don't have an answer for that. Just don't think about it. When it comes to living beings though, I will say that there's nothing that can be bigger than him. Nothing. Manga readers will know what I'm talking about.
Hypersense: Also not much explanation necessary, it's pretty much what he does in canon but called a quirk. Also, Tengantsu/Shingantsu is just the name of the technique he uses to predict his opponents' movements, like what Shoot Style is for Midoriya. Prior to when this story takes place it was just his eyesight, but blinding himself after fighting Ryuko awakened his quirk to activate all his senses.
Cacophony: Now we're getting into the weirder ones. Unlike other sound quirks like Jiro's or Present Mic's, Cacophony doesn't actually let Nonon make sound waves. At least not anymore than a regular person can. She just manipulates and focuses them into energy beams. The best way I can describe it is like how in Avatar, waterbenders and earthbenders can move and manipulate their respective elements, but they have to have that element available to use. Nonon is basically a soundbender. Just like in Avatar though, sound can be found in a lot of places. The idea behind this is that her Goku Uniform has giant speakers to provide her with powerful sound waves she can use as she wishes. And also missiles. Those are just missiles.
Analysis: This is kind of hard to explain. Basically Inumuta can calculate the outcome of any action, based on the data he has stored. So for example, if he fought someone, he uses everything he knows about that person to calculate the probability of what they'll do next. He can also calculate the outcomes of his own actions, so he knows exactly where to hit an opponent for the best results. The best way I can describe this is like Dr. Strange seeing 14,000,605 different futures, but Inumuta can calculate the probability of each future happening and what he needs to do to get that result. It is limited by what he actually knows, so if someone has an ability that he doesn't know about, that ability won't be factored into his calculations and they'll be off. That's where Probe Regalia comes in, which gives him instant access to combat data he's collected on heroes, villains, etc.
Also, sorry Shinso fans. But I had a reason for taking him out so early. It's just that his quirk is boring in a 1v1 fight. Either he brainwashes you or he doesn't and then the fight's over. Even in-universe, Present Mic called Midoriya vs. Shinso boring. Even if he loses in the first round, it's basically a waste of a fight.
Finally, we have Elite Four stats! Just like Ryuko's and just like the actually stat book, these really don't mean anything.
Ira Gamagoori: Villain
Rank: S
Power: 5/5 A
Speed: 5/5 A
Technique: 5/5 A
Intelligence: 5/5 A
Cooperativeness: 6/5 S+
Discipline: 6/5 S
Houka Inumuta: Villain
Rank: S
Power: 5/5 A
Speed: 5/5 A
Technique: 5/5 A
Intelligence: 6/5 S+
Cooperativeness: 5/5 A
Data Collection: 6/5 S
Nonon Jakuzure: Villain
Rank: S
Power: 6/5 S+
Speed: 5/5 A
Technique: 5/5 A
Intelligence: 5/5 A
Cooperativeness: 5/5 A
Nani Sore: 6/5 S
Uzu Sanageyama: Villain
Rank: S
Power: 5/5 A+
Speed: 6/5 S+
Technique: 6/5 S+
Intelligence: 5/5 A
Cooperativeness: 5/5 A
Konjac Knowledge: 6/5 S
Also, if anyone has ideas for the Elites' Bakugo nicknames, I'm open to suggestions.