It is raining cutting my morning walk short, but hey, what better way to cheer up than put out a new chapter a little early, well besides remembering that my vacation starts on Wednesday so... a great time for a little festival.

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Comments:

Flashyyyyyyy: That is pretty much one of the most important parts/proggressions of the story.

Dsman: About how much of his money his son is going to spend?

TitanGuest912: Most people would Google it, but glad to hear binging can also help people find it. ;) :D

sebasthebutler: basically.

Chronolocked: Could easily be op especially compared to what Izuku's current quirks can do, but one of my main tools against op:nes is making any progress gradual and time taking. Controlling something like Overhaul to the point of reassembling people for example has to be extremely difficult and mentally demanding so if I made Izuku have that quirk he would start with very limited ability to use it and grow hopefully in a way that wouldn't make it too op for any given part of the story.

GgeorGge: yes, exactly that quirk. For the purpose of this fic, if the high end ever appears in the story with the quirk then the doctor got a copy of the quirk off the villain before Izuku took the original.

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Proofread by 3DPhantom.

Chapter 36: The Sports Festival

Izuku stepped out of the car some distance from the UA gates. The lines of people waiting to get in went far further than that. Hitoshi whistled next to Izuku.

"I knew it was going to be big, but I've never actually seen the sports festival in person."

"Hard to imagine people being so interested in a high school competition," Izuku said.

Tenya hummed. "It is one of the largest sports events in the country, and it is where many famous heroes have appeared in public for the first time."

"And punched their classmates in public for people's entertainment," Izuku added. "Then there are those from other courses who just got dragged in to make the hero students look better."

"You punch us almost daily," Hitoshi pointed out.

"That's not for entertainment," Izuku said.

"Are you sure about that?"

Izuku looked at the ground quiet for a long moment. He understood and wouldn't mind partaking in the joke, but really… The entertainment was the joke. Izuku looked at Hitoshi completely serious.

"Yes."

"Right," Hitoshi said. "You are feeling more serious today."

Izuku looked around at the crowds they were passing while heading towards the entryway reserved for students. He could already see some eyes following him. He was having relatively good luck with his classmates, but…

Hitoshi sighed.

"It could be a long day. I'm nervous myself. I've never brainwashed anyone in public like this, with so many people watching."

"Toshi, a few months ago you hesitated brainwashing me even when I asked for it, you've come a long way, but yeah. I'd be lying if I pretended not to be nervous."

"I wish I could say you don't need to," Tenya said. "Unfortunately, I don't know any way to cheer you up."

"Hey! Midoriya, Ida, Shinso," Kirishima called from behind them with a wide smile on his face, "are you exited for the festival?"

Both Izuku and Hitoshi smiled as they glanced back at the approaching redhead.

"Sure are," Hitoshi responded. "You seem to barely contain your own excitement. Maybe your quirk could help with that."

"Heh, that's a new one."

"Good, I have to remember it," Hitoshi softly punched Kirishima's shoulder.

"So," Izuku started, "are you ready to punch other students for people's entertainment?"

"Eh?" Kirishima stared at Izuku, confused.

"Never mind. Just make sure you do well. I want some good opponents in the finals."

"Right back at you. This time I'm not going to just take hits. Just… try to leave my limbs attached."

"If you don't shatter all my bones. The guy mowing my lawn is still complaining about the rocks spread in the grass after your… demonstration."

"Heh, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. It was my lack of preparation. Focus on the competition…"

Izuku's voice waned away as he encountered more stern and fearful stares that were following him even more openly than before. They were just outside security checkpoints set up at the gate and even with a separate path for the students they had to pass the densest crowd waiting to get inside. Unfortunately, that included a lot of media. One of the reporters looking at Izuku even seemed familiar to him.

"Is that the quirk stealer?"

"Yes, I saw him here already before."

"Are they seriously allowing him to join the competition? a I heard he already stole the quirk of some other student."

"Are you sure?"

The crowd stayed behind a fence erected to separate the lines but as the people continued talking and leaning closer to see better it felt to Izuku like the whole mass of the crowd and its prejudice could wash over them at any moment. He drew a shaky breath with some mix of fear and anger.

"Yeah. I also heard that indigo haired kid is a brainwasher. He could make you his slave and force you to do anything just by talking to you."

"And they are training him?"

"Yeah. I hope they take responsibility if he turns into a villain."

Izuku started quickly leaning towards rage. He was lucky to be with people who could see the warning signs. Hitoshi grabbed Izuku's wrist before any flames could light over it, but the hold was much tighter than it needed to be as Hitoshi dealt with his own feelings with the situation. Tenya's shadow came over them as the larger teen stood between them and the crowd.

"Bakugo is so going to pay for this once he is found," Izuku hissed.

"I don't doubt that," Hitoshi said and softly pushed Izuku to keep walking forward, but the comments kept coming.

"They are both together. Seems even more dangerous."

"Hey, what makes you think you deserve to go to UA or be heroes?"

"Why are you talking about them like that?" Kirishima said, sounding tense but more confused than angry. Could that guy even be angry?

"Are you kidding? Even if you aren't from the same class how could you not know by now what they are?" One of the reporters asked.

"Eh, we are all in the same class and train together even outside school. You really shouldn't judge people for their quirks."

"Aren't you worried that white haired kid might steal your quirk?"

"Not really, though I promised he could try it the next time we train."

"You… What?!" More than one person shouted. Despite all of the dark emotions he was feeling, a smile sneaked on Izuku's face for a few seconds at the people's reaction to Kirishima's innocent comment.

"Yeah, he is really smart. I'm hoping he can help me improve my quirk use like with Shinso."

"But if he takes your quirk you'll be quirkless?"

"Yeah, but only until he gives it back."

"You trust he would give it back?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't he?"

Izuku and Hitoshi passed the student's gate with Tenya closely in tow even as Kirishima was stuck being questioned by the bloodhounds of the crowd. Izuku stepped to the side of the path to wait for the redhead.

"Are you talking about Midoriya?" Dark Shadow's voice came from the line before the sentient quirk rose to loom over the crowd, staring at the people who were still harassing Kirishima. "You have a problem with him, you have a problem with me. Get that?"

The crowd backed away from the quirk creature, messing up the que completely and causing enough of a distraction that Kirishima got to leave without being questioned anymore. He got through the gate and joined the waiting trio.

"Whew," he started and looked at Izuku, seeming uncertain. "Is that what you have to deal with all the time?"

"Anytime there is a large crowd or reporters, since Bakugo told everyone about my and Toshi's quirk."

"Man, no wonder you don't like crowds. That sucked."

"That's putting it mildly," Hitoshi said. "Thanks for distracting them."

"Oh, I didn't even realize I was doing that."

"Well you did. I guess you are good at taking verbal punches as well as physical."

"Oh yeah, I can do that."

"Be careful what you promise," Izuku said. "There are a lot more of those punches coming."

As he spoke, he waved to Tokoyami who had finally gotten Dark Shadow to back off and come through the gate.

"Hey, I'm not going to call myself the Sturdy Hero for nothing."

"Thick-Skinned Hero might be more accurate," Hitoshi said.

Tokoyami joined the group and they started walking towards the stadium at the back of UA premises while talking. Izuku found himself in the middle of the group less visible to other people and they reached the dressing rooms without any more incidents. Most of the class was already there. Only Todoroki was still absent. Most of their classmates greeted them as the group arrived.

"Good morning Ojiro," Hitoshi told the classmate with a tail who had not greeted them. "How do you feel about your winning chances?"

Ojiro pressed his lips together and turned to face the wall without responding to Hitoshi.

"Hitoshi, don't bully him," Tenya said.

"But he makes it so easy. I just need to open my mouth."

Tenya shook his head, but the gesture couldn't hide how his lips tried to turn upwards. Izuku just enjoyed listening to them as he changed into the PE-uniform. He was just pulling the shirt on when the door opened and Todoroki finally stepped in. The classes' reaction to his arrival was much more reserved in reflection of Todoroki himself.

"Oh, good morning to you too," Tenya was the first to openly greet him.

"Same. Remember to watch your words in the arena," Hitoshi advised him.

"You were almost late," Izuku added.

"Yeah," Kirhisma was brief but exited. A bit too loud for Izuku's tastes, but the redhead had earned the right to be loud.

It only contributed to Todoroki's visible confusion at the warm reception. He stopped to stare at the small friend group. The rest of the class were almost as confused. Even Ojiro found it more interesting than the wall.

"Shouldn't you change clothes, there isn't much more time?" Izuku said, bringing Todoroki back into the moment.

"Right," he said quietly and tried to pass Izuku to a free spot. Izuku grabbed his shoulder.

"You better fight with your full power. Everyone here is trying to do their best. Don't look down on them by not doing the same."

Their stares met for a few seconds.

"I don't need his power."

"But you will need your power, all of it. I'll make sure of it."

"Man, it sounds like you are declaring war already," Kaminari commented.

"Just a little border conflict," Hitoshi corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"If Izuku ever decides to go to war against someone, you won't need to ask that."

Izuku did his best to ignore them while maintaining his stare on Todoroki and talking more quietly.

"You can hate him. Hate can make you stronger as well as hold you down. It heated up my fire. It can do the same for you, but don't let him shackle you down."

Todoroki shook his shoulder free of Izuku's grasp.

"Why do you care?"

"Because I don't like him either," Izuku responded "and because as long as he controls the path you walk you will probably become part of the problem like him. Don't become your father."

The final statement made Todoroki's stare harden and he turned away from Izuku.

"You don't know what you are talking about. I will win this festival with my mother's quirk."

Izuku shook his head as Todoroki walked to the opposite side of the room.

"I thought we were just supposed to be friendlier to him," Hitoshi commented from behind him.

"We were," Izuku said, "but that will only go so far as long as he defines himself based on his father… and his quirk."

"It might not be so easy for him," Tenya said, "as everyone else around him has likely done exactly that."

Izuku sighed, looking at Todoroki's back.

"These things take time," Tenya added.

"If you say so."

"You did."

"Right. Better focus on the festival then."

After changing clothes, they were gathered in the stadium's corridors and after waiting for a while were ushered to the arena by class. The hero classes entered with obvious excitement. For the rest the feelings were more divided.

One of the teachers, pro hero Midnight, came from the other side and got on a small stage elevated slightly above the field. Izuku didn't have a high opinion about the woman in a skin-tight costume. She seemed a perfect example of the superficial attention seeking hero making sure to push out her chest while talking and waving her stupid whip. Then she started talking about a speech. Izuku sighed.

"Representing students is Izuku Midoriya from class 1-A!"

"What?" Hitoshi asked.

"Apparently number one on the hero course entrance exam is expected to make a speech. They only told me like two days ago."

"My condolences."

"It's not all bad. There are some things I have wanted to say to a lot of people."

"Oh no."

Half of Izuku felt the same as Hitoshi as he walked to the stage. Even from the field he could hear the changing tone of the audience chatter as he was separated from the nameless mass of students and stood in front of the microphone for everyone to see.

"Yes," he began his speech, "I am the one who can transfer quirks between people. My name is Izuku Midoriya, not the other thing you people have kept repeating for the past three weeks. Welcome to your annual watch teenagers punch each other in the face for your entertainment day."

That got them quiet. Izuku could even hear Tenya mutter "Izuku" in a fake disappointed tone.

"Now most of the students entertaining you today are not here because they want to be. Mostly it's the hero students and those hoping to transfer. Most of the rest know they don't have a real chance and got dragged here to make us look better. How could they win when the whole thing is about not just physical fitness but specific kinds of quirks, the same as the hero course selection. and everyone else is not even allowed to really use and practice with their quirks in regular life. That's how this world and this school work."

The stadium wasn't silent anymore but at least people so far restrained themselves to muttering and quiet talk.

"Speaking of narrow views. Those of you who call yourself heroes and are watching to look for interns should reconsider how you evaluate people's fitness to be heroes. Most of you are going to focus on physical, combat oriented and flashy quirks, note quirks not people. If that is all you can think of, I would recommend retiring as you are not serving the people the best you can. If on the other hand you are competent at your work, you should be able to consider a variety of abilities, their utility in different situations and even more importantly the person behind the quirk like this school does not. The entrance exam is built on the exact biases I just listed. As for considering the person behind the quirk."

Izuku paused.

"I am here because I got first in the entrance exam, but did you know the person who came second, the person everyone has told he would become a great hero since his quirk manifested… Well as soon as he was told he could use his quirk at UA it took him all of two days to commit assault, threats of violence and an attempted murder, and later to get kicked out. So much for selecting the people with most quirk potential to be heroes."

That got a louder reaction even if the general tone sounded like that of disbelief.

"To UA's credit they actually took his behaviour seriously, eventually. Can't say the same about all the assaults and abuses he committed at our previous school at Aldera Junior High. If any parents in the area are listening, you might want to send your kids somewhere else if you value their safety. If the teachers think that someone might get into a hero school, or do anything that would bring the school prestige, they will ignore even violent assaults by that person on other students they don't consider as valuable. If the school is still around after all the upcoming lawsuits that is. Also, if you have called me the 'quirk stealer', and this goes especially to the representatives of media, this is the person who created that name and told you about me. Great job at being critical of your sources, not."

Izuku had to stop to draw breath. The stuff before was easy to rant about. Confronting the people about himself specifically and with Bakugo involved, that was harder.

"Congratulations for all the reporters involved in spreading the hate and lies of a violent near murderer, you know, stuff like deeming someone likely villain or unfit to be heroic based on what quirk they happen to be born with, and I'm not even talking about the quirks most suited to hurt people. You love those. You are doing a stellar job. Hope it earned you enough money to hire some good lawyers because you are going to need them. If you are lucky, I might settle for your quirk as a settlement."

Izuku had to wait for a long time before he found it quiet enough to bother continuing to talk.

"Speaking of which. If you aren't using your quirk, like most aren't allowed to, don't need it anymore, find it harmful for your wellbeing or just need money, I am in the market for new quirks. There is a limit to how many I can take, but I'll pay a million yen and up to at least a hundred million yen for good quirks. If you are interested in selling yours, email me a description of your quirk at sellyourquirk ."

Midnight started moving towards Izuku, indicating that the speech was over. Izuku turned around and walked away using Calm Mind to maintain a neutral expression, as if he wasn't too nervous to talk properly without the quirk. Whether he had actually achieved something only time would tell, but at least his side was out there. As Midnight tried to get back control of the audience, Izuku returned to the side of the unusually speechless Tenya and Hitoshi, who seemed to be struggling with too many remarks to choose from. Izuku decided to help them.

"So, was it as bad as you though?" He asked.

"Around there," Hitoshi waved his hand in a so-so manner. "The ending was what surprised me."

Izuku smirked.

"Right. I can't believe I never thought about it before Kirishima mentioned buying quirks."

"Kirishima did? Now that you mention it, that is surprising. Could be cheaper than suing quirks off people. Though after all that you might need Kirishima as battering-ram just to get out after the festival."

"Or people will keep even more distance," Izuku said.

Hitoshi shook his head, but with a soft smile.

"Always glass half empty."

"It's from experience, although," Izuku glanced towards the other non-hero-class students. Many of their students stared back at him, and some didn't seem to do so out of fear or hate as people usually did. "Maybe some change is possible."

"So how many offers you expect to get?"

"What?"

"Quirks, do you think people are actually going to offer to sell you theirs?"

"Most wouldn't even consider it, and it might take some time, but as long as the price is high enough," Izuku paused. "They may be pushed aside, but there are many people who suffer because of their quirks who might pay to get rid of them, and then there are the people close to death with family that could use the money. Eventually others might take the offer. There is a limit to how fast I can accumulate them, so it is really a question about what kind of quirks are offered."

"You know, you could at least pretend the money is at least a little bit of a limit."

"Maybe, eventually, but dad said it's okay as long as I choose the quirks wisely. Oh right, Tenya!"

"Yes?" Their larger friend responded, broken out of the short circuit of trying to comment on Izuku's speech.

"Are there any specific kinds of quirks you'd like to have for a second quirk?"

Tenya's jaw dropped, as did the other students' around them.

"Second quirk?" He finally asked.

"Well, Toshi got one. Your family are heroes so they need their quirks, but I'd like to find a second quirk that fits you."

"Now!" Midnight announced, barely gaining back the audience's attention and drowning out Tenya's chance to respond. "It is time for the first event!"

She pointed up where a large screen began showing names of different contests rotating quickly, as if the contests hadn't been set months in advance. Anyone who wasn't blind would have seen construction work outside the stadium. Some kind of a race would make sense for the first contest with the most people. A few seconds later it stopped, revealing the first contest.

"Obstacle race! The students will leave the stadium and complete a race featuring multiple obstacles testing their abilities. First one to return to the stadium at the other end wins. Leaving the path is not allowed. Now everyone, get ready."

The students were guided in front of an oversized tunnel leading out of the stadium and got packed rather close together. Izuku got pressed between Hitoshi and Kirishima, not the worst place to be if he was honest, as long as Kirishima didn't activate his quirk.

"Uh, what do you think the obstacles are going to be?" Hitoshi asked. "I doubt UA would settle with anything… regular."

"Of course the greatest hero school would have something more challenging," Tenya said from behind them.

"Except most of the contestants aren't hero students or seriously trying to be one," Izuku said. "I hope the school isn't putting people in unnecessary danger."

"What could they do?" Hitoshi asked. "They already used giant robots against us in the entrance exams, drop us into a bottomless pit?"

"Heh, that's fine for me," Kirishima said. "I jumped down from a roof for training."

"Well, you could take an afternoon stroll through a minefield," Hitoshi added. "The rest of us have to watch where we step."

"Maybe," Kirishima said thoughtfully. "I have never tried."

"We'd be surprised if you had," Izuku said.

"And worried," Tenya added.

"Ready!" Midnight announced and the countdown began.

"Be careful in that corridor," Izuku said at the last moment. "With this many people it is going to be tight, basically it's the first obstacle and we are going to be very vulnerable if we get stuck."

"Start!" Midnight announced.

And so, the race was on.

As Izuku predicted it only took a few seconds for everyone to get stuck. In the initial rush he had gotten ahead of Hitoshi and Tenya and was now squeezed between some other students with the crowd's pressure only increasing. One of the students next to him yelped as she saw him but couldn't get out of arm's reach like people usually did. Deciding it was time to get out of there Izuku twisted so that his back wasn't completely pressed against another person. As he did there was a rapid clinging sound he had only heard a few times during hero training.

His back bulged as the jets opened and pushed open slits sewn into his PE-uniform. The jets flared and launched him off the ground just in time as a layer of ice spread across the entire floor, freezing everyone's feet on the floor. It was a smart move from Todoroki, assuming he could do it without causing mass injuries from frost. Still unable to fly properly Izuku put his feet on the wall and pushed off it with extra boost from his jets to jump between the walls of the corridor.

Surprisingly many other people were also still on the move, especially from his class. With a quick glance behind him Izuku even saw Hitoshi sitting on some other student's shoulder, away from the ice. Then he was out of the tunnel and decided it was better to land and run the normal way. He wouldn't want to break anything in front of such a large audience and Todoroki was only a little ahead of him. It was time to test if all of the running during training had been good enough.

It seemed so as he was gaining on his two-faced opponent. Suddenly he hit the brakes and with a jump to the side avoided a swing from a robot, one of the ones from the entrance exam.

"I guess it is smart to use them for more than a single exam per year," Izuku muttered. After another sudden change of direction and a flash of the Dragon Blade an arm of the robot fell on the ground. A few more swings cut its body into pieces and separated a large armour piece from its chest, but by then a very large shadow had fallen on Izuku and every other contestant who had gotten this far. He looked up at the two enormous zero point robots. They clearly wanted to see how well the students could avoid and get past the robots rather than destroy them, but that was still a little…

Over a matter of seconds one of the robots froze still, literally. Izuku glanced down to see Todoroki run past the robot's feet. Izuku licked his lips, pushing back on the urge to run after Todoroki just to try to get his quirk. Izuku had to shake his head to clear his thoughts by which time some other students had passed him, and then the robot began falling down. Izuku barely caught a glimpse of a familiar redhead before the giant hit the ground and filled his vision.

"He attacked and defended in one hit!" Present Mic kept narrating like this was just a regular thing.

"Kirishima!" Izuku shouted and jet-jumped on top of the husk. He started looking for any weaknesses or point that would be easier to cut into. Then a loud thump echoed through the metal, then another, and another...

With a creak and bang a fist punched through the frozen hull followed by a lot of red hair.

"I AM ALIVE!"

A weight dropped from Izuku's shoulders but he was also visibly drooling, and not because the sharp metal had cut long slashes into Kirishima's clothes during his climb through the robot. Why did the best quirks so often appear in people he didn't want to take quirks from? He'd have to rescale his estimates of the redhead's durability again. Luckily Kirishima didn't notice Izuku staring at him like a starved wolf at a steak dinner.

"Man Todoroki, if that had been anyone but me, they would be dead."

He had barely finished the words when another fist, this one shining like metal, punched through the armour.

"I AM ALIVE!" Besides having a similar quirk, the other boy was as loud as Kirishima, but he was someone Izuku didn't have strong feelings about.

Explosions around them and against the remaining one pointers broke him out of his thoughts. Kirishima was already running again alongside the other students while complaining something about them being the same. Izuku took a few steps after them, when an idea hit him. He glanced back, looking for the metal piece he had broken off and then ran back to it. Present Mic's narration of the contest that was ever present in the whole area noted him with loud confusion. Izuku set the flat-ish plate of metal on the ground and formed his Dragon Blade into a small thick shield and pressed it against the metal to create roughly foot-sized dents.

After hesitating for a moment and waving his hand over the smoking metal, Izuku stepped onto the plate, held onto the front edge, and braced as he let the jets loose. Sliding against the ground on the piece of metal made it much easier to balance than trying to actually fly. He zoomed ahead like a train and started passing other students left and right. This included Kirishima and the other student with a hardening type quirk who were still running right next to each other, seemingly totally even, which was impressive from the other guy.

A bunch of people that hadn't had to spend time climbing through a giant robot had stopped and gathered ahead. Izuku leaned to the side to not hit them, but it wasn't easy to stop and he noticed why the others had stopped too late. The plate slid past the edge of a giant chasm. The school actually did try to push them down a bottomless pit.

It was too late to back down. Izuku could only double down. He pushed the power of his jets and leaned back so after an initial drop he flew upwards, briefly bouncing again on one of the stone pillars standing up from the chasm and kept flying towards the other edge. He felt like he would make it, except...

He was coming in a bit too low. Izuku's eyes locked on the edge of the cliff as he stood a bit straighter on the armour plate and jumped. Without the extra weight he launched up at a much greater acceleration. He just had to focus on going straight until he passed the edge.

Izuku shut the jets and landed gracefully, rolling once to soften the landing. He turned around to face the students on the other side. Tenya was sliding along one of the ropes stretched over the chasm while others were trying to walk on them more traditionally. Sadly he couldn't see Hitoshi anywhere. After a moment of concern, he accepted he could only focus on winning. Todoroki also was no longer on that side of the obstacle, so Izuku turned and ran. He had already cut deep into Todoroki's lead, and anger at the two-faced bastard's disregard for everyone else's safety pushed Izuku's feet forward even faster. It didn't take long for Izuku to see his enemy ahead, except Todoroki wasn't running anymore.

"… It's a minefield!" Present Mic announced.

"Minefield?" Izuku muttered. "Did I give Toshi a fortune telling quirk at some point? They can't be actual landmines."

Thankfully Present Mic explained something about them not being that, but still not something you'd want to step on. Izuku focused on the slight signs of where the mines were buried, tapping into some Calm Mind to improve his focus as explosions started going off behind him. Still there had to be a faster way. Trying to fly with his jets would just make him land face first in the minefield. That might need regeneration no matter how much the school said they weren't real mines.

So if he couldn't just fly over the mines, his only options were either pushing through or clearing the mines. Without Kirishima's quirk the first option was not going to be any faster than he was already doing. Todoroki could have done so by making an ice path over the minefield, but he should have done that before others caught up to take advantage of that. The only option then was to clear the mines.

Izuku stopped and looked at his hand. He reached out, pointing his hand at the ground at what he thought to be a safe distance away, and with a blue flash an explosive Hellfire Arrow detonated against the ground. Pink smoke filled the air as the 'fake' mines detonated, leaving behind a small crater that was safe to land on. Izuku crouched and jumped. With a small burst from his jets he cleared the several meters of mines before landing in the crater. He had to lean forward and press his hand on the ground at the edge of the crater to stop his momentum but otherwise it was a flawless landing.

Izuku smirked and fired another Hellfire Arrow a little further away. He wouldn't want others to be able to use the craters too easily. After repeating the process two more times he leaped past Todoroki.

"You aren't going to beat me like that," he taunted as he passed his opponent.

"And Midoriya takes the lead!" Present Mic screamed.

Izuku pushed the man's ear-splitting voice out of his mind and focused on his next big leap. The edge of the minefield wasn't much further, two or three leaps at most. He was so deeply focused on what he was doing that he almost missed the familiar rapid sound approaching from behind. Only the constant vigilance cultivated by his father's air canon training warned him of the approaching stream of ice. It was coming straight at him while he was in the middle of a leap. The image of an ice pillar rising from the floor and trapping Ojiro during the second day of combat training flashed in Izuku's mind.

He twisted around mid-air, falling almost upside-down, and pointed his hand at the approaching ice. Fires around his hand flashed extremely bright for a second as he pushed the quirks' limits and released the largest blast he could, at least with the limited time he had.

The blast sunk into the approaching ice and in the Calm Mind induced focus it seemed like it took forever to explode. When it did the ice simply disappeared, creating a shockwave as some of it turned immediately into steam. Both Izuku and Todoroki got pushed by the blast. Todoroki was pushed back but at least he started with his feet firmly on the ground and could create an ice wall to brace against. Izuku was pushed forward, but he had already been mid-air and was now spinning uncontrollably as he missed the safe crater he had created.

Instead he was heading rapidly toward the ground filled with mines, his landing only briefly delayed by the extra altitude gained from the shockwave. Without the Calm Mind he could never have focused on responding properly while being tossed like a ragdoll.

The edge of the minefield wasn't too far. Izuku's jets opened wide as he waved his hands, trying to uselessly control his spin. At the exact fraction of a second he was facing the right direction, they flared at full power, launching him forward, ten meters, five meters, one meter. He passed the last mines, now he only needed to deal with the ground.

Which was approaching rapidly.

Approaching very rapidly.

Izuku bent, arching his posture just in time before the impact. Even allowing his body to flex and bend as much as possible and rolling on the ground to expend the rest of his momentum, it still hurt. It didn't feel like he'd broken anything major, but he couldn't rule out breaking something. At least as long as any injuries weren't visible to anyone else he could heal them without concern.

With the last bit of his momentum and a little push, he was back on his feet and running. The pain of the impact disappeared quickly and he was in a clear lead approaching the stadium again.

"Your class is amazing Eraserhead. What the heck are you teaching them?" Present Mic asked. Aizawa was decent enough to not take the honour for his students' work at least.

"This has nothing to do with me. They are driven forward by each other, and their work ethic has been exceptional, especially for Midoriya. The end of the school day has only been a reason to train somewhere else for him and those closest to him. Most people don't bother paying enough attention to notice that."

That was actually the nicest thing anyone had said about Izuku in public, except maybe for Tenya's, Hitoshi's, and Kirishima's comments to random reporters. If the man didn't suspect Izuku and wasn't trying to get Izuku to drop his guard, he might have teared up a little.

He entered the long dark corridor leading back into the arena. In the enclosed space he could soon hear the running steps following him with the clinging of the ice even closer, but even if Todoroki had been faster, it was already too late. Izuku left the darkness, stepping into the light and noise of the fully packed stadium.

"IZUKU MIDORIYA IS OUR CHAMPION!"

Outside of the arena, in sight of a screen showing the race, a fist hit and sunk into a concrete wall.

"That villain brat again," Death Arms muttered.