Chapter 15: Pitfalls, Minefields, and… IS THAT A GUN!?
The students gathered behind the gates to the field, chattering about possible strategies and threats. Present Mic announced the different classes as they entered.
"WELCOME EVERYONE, to the first-year portion of the UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!" The Voice Hero yelled. "First, we have the harrowing hero course CLASSES 1A AND 1B!
The forty hero students ran onto the field, heralded by a roaring audience. Many of them waved while others shook nervously. The Outcasts of the hore course stood by each other and reviewed their strategies again.
"Followed by general studies CLASSES 1C, 1D, and 1E!"
The sixty gen-ed students entered the arena with far less fanfare.
"Finally, we have the savvy support course CLASSES 1F and 1G!"
Thirty-eight support students entered the arena, but they all seemed nervous for some reason. Suddenly, an explosion emanated from the depths of the entrance tunnel, and deranged laughter followed shortly after. Mechanical arms reached from the shadowy foyer and scrapped the concrete walls. Another explosion came from the tunnel as a pink-haired figure launched onto the field. The manic girl was followed by a quiet white-haired boy sporting six mechanical limbs reminiscent of spider legs.
"NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL AN ENTRANCE!" Mic hollered.
There were a few hoots and hollers from the crowd as the support duo situated themselves. More cheers echoed through the stadium as UA's art history teacher, The R-Rated Heroine, Midnight, took the stage.
"Hello, lovely audience! Today we shall bear witness to this display of youthful passion! Before we start the festivities, we have the student pledge. To represent the first-years, the highest scorer on the entrance exam, Hitoshi Shinsou!"
Hitoshi slowly walked up the stairs to the stage, a bored and tired expression plastered on his face. He cleared his throat and leaned toward the microphone. "I… really need a nap. That probably isn't what you wanted to hear, but that is the truth. I don't care about publicity. However, that doesn't mean I'm gonna be a pushover. I am tired, so let's end this quickly. Don't take it personally if I punch you in the face or insult your mother. I'm simply tired." Hitoshi topped off his speech with a yawn and a glare to rival Eraserhead's.
"WOW, SHO, Looks like we've got a mini-you this year!" Mic nudged his co-host. Said co-host let out a long-suffering sigh.
There was a mixed response of laughter, boos, and confused silence as Hitoshi descended from the stage.
"Who is this guy?"
"GO TAKE A NAP THEN!"
"That's the guy who got first!?"
A crack of Midnight's whip cut off the dissatisfied shouts and confused comments. "Now that that's over, It's time to announce the first event!" Large screens around the arena play an animation reminiscent of a slot machine. "Oh, what could it possibly be!" The event was determined weeks ago. "The suspense is too much!" Finally, the spinning stopped, and the first event was revealed. "AN OPSTICAL COURSE!"
The screens burst to life with an explanation of the event. "The rules are simple!" A girl with short pink hair wearing a cutesy rendition of Present Mic's costume appeared on the screen to explain the rules.
"Oh, there's Ritzu," Izuku pointed out.
"Ritzu is in charge of the obstacle course. The other students are gonna die," Hitoshi sighed.
"Wasn't she the AI from the USJ?" Denki asked. "And the one from lunch that day…"
The AI continued her explanation with little regard for her friends. "There are four distinct zones. Each shall be revealed as you come upon them and have unique themes and challenges. Quirks are allowed. You are disqualified if you fall into a pit or leave the track boundaries. Do not severely injure your fellow competitors, or you're also disqualified. Everything else goes."
"Everybody, head to the entrance line!" Midnight announced.
The Outcasts grouped together by the starting line, a massive gateway, but it wasn't massive enough.
"The entrance is the first obstacle," Izuku murmured.
"It's a bottleneck," Hitoshi translated for the rest of the group.
"Hey! Hey! Izuku, you're strong. Can you just throw us over the crowd?" Denki asked.
Contrary to popular belief, Denki Kaminari had more than two brain cells. He was actually quite clever. He wasn't intelligent or book-smart but good at reading the room and thinking on the fly. He was the Outcasts' genius of improvisation.
"I can, in fact, use Black Whip to launch you over the crowd, but it'd be hard for me to catch you. Ituna, Mei, do you have a way to catch us on the other side? Well, Denki and Mei need to be caught. I haven't taught them proper falling techniques yet," Izuku deducted.
"I can catch them with my spider legs, but parkour will be the next lesson," Ituna replied.
"Yay! Parkour!" Denki cheered.
"THREE!" Mic yelled.
"TWO!" Midnight continued.
"ONE!" Ritzu shouted.
"GOOOOO!" they shouted in unison.
Just as predicted, the students crammed into the hallway, everything coming to a grinding halt when the entire entrance froze over.
"Todoroki," Izuku assessed.
"I can break the ice with one of my babies!" Mei announced.
So Izuku launched Mei first. She was followed by Ituna, Denki, and Hitoshi. Mei used the point of her grappling boots to shatter the brittle ice wall. As they descended from over the crowd, Ituna's six spider legs extended from his backpack, and one gabbed Mei. Another one grabbed Denki, and the other four stabbed into the ground and bent to absorb the fall. Hitoshi ducked into a roll as Ituna set down the other Outcasts. Suddenly, four strands of Black Whip gripped the exit of the tunnel. Their elastic properties helped them act as oversized Bungy cords as Izuku shot from the tunnel. The green blur did a double backflip and a three-sixty spin as he descended from the heavens.
"Show off," Hitoshi jabbed as Izuku slammed into the ground with a classic superhero landing. "Wasn't rule one of defensive falling don't do the supper hero landing."
"I can bench press a bus without my quirk. I'm sure you can remember the community service project Keigo gave us," Izuku retorted.
Hitoshi shuddered at the memory. "That beach… Izuku, you lifted a rusty refrigerator over your head to toss it onto the truck."
"Hey, trauma flashbacks later, obstacle course now," Ituna snapped. "Don't forget that Nedu designed this, and Ritzu is running it."
"Right," the rest of the group nodded.
The quintet sprinted for the first section of the obstacle course, an open track filled with robots of various sizes and multiple zero-pointers.
"I'm not even gonna bother fighting those," Ituna deadpanned.
"Ditto," Hitoshi sighed.
The group rushed passed the robots. If any of the robots tried to attack the group, whoever was closest would kill it. Denki short-circuited them, Izuku tossed them away with Black Whip, Ituna stabbed their circuit boards with one of his spider arms, and Mei used a different device every time to blow up robots. Hitoshi didn't have an efficient way to destroy the robots, so he just stayed out of his friends' way. The students that traveled solo had a far more difficult time traversing the robot zone. Once, Todoroki froze an entire zero pointer, which fell on two students. It would have ended up harming any other students. Thankfully, the two had hardening quirks to prevent themselves from getting crushed.
With at least ten students ahead of them, the Outcasts ran from the dirt path of the first zone to steel plates. Denki's metal-soled shoes clanked obnoxiously as the group came to a screeching halt. A sudden ten-meter drop was the beginning of the next obstacle. Steel platforms of all shapes and sizes dotted the kilometer-long cavern. Ropes connected the platforms, and a few of the platforms swayed from side to side. A few of the platforms had paintball turrets.
"Oh, there's Ritzu!" Mei pointed at one of the turrets.
"I hope you have some sort of shield," Hitoshi muttered.
"I figured you guys would want these," Ituna said as he handed telescoping staffs to Hitoshi, Izuku, and Denki. "My legs will cover me, and Mei has her own gadgets."
"Ha, thanks, Ituna!" Denki cheered. The electric teen extended the staff and let his quirk run through it. Izuku and Hitoshi followed up by opening their own staffs. The quintet charged forward and ran over the platforms. Ituna and Mei used their support gear to traverse the platforms and block the paintballs. The paintballs weren't as fast and numerous as the bbs Izuku, Hitoshi, and Ituna were familiar with. Denki had a few problems keeping his balance while blocking the high-speed paint. Izuku had to catch the blonde with Black Whip a few times.
The third area was a minefield. Izuku used Black Whip to carry Denki over the mines and swung the teen at nearby competitors as a deterrent. Ituna and Mei used their support items like usual. Hitoshi gave an impressive display of balance and agility as he leaped over the mines and danced between the explosives. The mines weren't harmful in any way, but the blasts they produced launched students out of bounds in a puff of pink, glittery smoke.
The fourth and final zone seemed really plain. A simple concrete floor in a straight line was all that stood between the Outcasts and the finish line.
"There's no way that's a normal floor," Izuku started, and like clockwork, the floor shifted. Panels hissed, and machines whined as the concrete plain sprung to life. Platforms and walls sprung from nothing, creating an ever-shifting maze of treachery and traps.
"Last one to the end is a rotten egg!" Hitoshi shouted as he rushed into the fray.
"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" Mei yelled after him.
"I have no parkour training! Help!" Denki whined.
Random explosions, paintballs, and nets flew in every direction as the five raced to the finish line. Izuku, Hitoshi, and Ituna made quick work of the obstacles because of their extensive free running training. Mei followed close behind with her menagerie of support items. Denki struggled to keep up. They exited the maze and ran through the tunnel that marked the final stretch.
"And the winner is…" Mic began as they entered the tunnel. He spotted a bush of green hair. "IZUKU MIDORIYA!" Hitoshi, Ituna, Bakugou, Mei, Todoroki, and Denki reentered the arena in that order. Bakugou was not pleased about placing fourth, almost as unpleased as Endeavor about his son's pitiful position of sixth.
Everyone in the top forty-eight would move on to the final round. The entire hero course, two support course students, and six gen-ed students advanced to the second round.