Ikumi bounced her knee anxiously, trying to burn off her nervous energy. The rest of the room was in a similar state of barely restrained excitement. Some people were making small talk like Kaminari and Sero, while others were doing whatever rituals they needed to calm down.

She sighed, twisting her hands around each other. Even after two weeks of training for the Sports Festival with Kacchan and by herself, Ikumi still didn't feel like she was ready for it.

"O-Okay, I just… just have to make the presentation," she muttered under her breath, trying to psych herself up. "Just… walk on stage, in front of hundreds of Heroes and people, and m-make a speech-"

Kacchan looked up at her, then suddenly slapped her on the back, hard. "Snap outta it, Midori," he growled.

Ikumi jolted, shooting him a stunned look. "Kacchan-"

He glared up at her, a slightly worried frown on his face. "You're way too strong to worry about what some Extras are gonna think about your speech."

Ikumi stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed. "S-sorry. It's… it's just that I've never done something like this before. I'm worried about it-"

Kacchan held up a hand. "Fuck what they think, this is your speech. Don't freak out about it or I'll kill you."

She took a deep breath, then nodded, a slight smile on her face upon hearing Kacchan's idea of reassuring words. 'T-thanks for that, Kacchan." She laughed a bit shakily. "Well, I'm feeling a bit better."

"Good. Get your head in the game, Midori." Kacchan smirked. "Or I'll beat your ass when we're out there. Can't have my best friend be a wimp."

"Got it, Kacchan!" Ikumi shot back, to which he gave her a thumbs up.

Looking at the time, she stood up, managing to get her composure back. "O-Okay everybody. The Opening Ceremony is in five minutes, so are you all ready-?"

Footsteps came up, and a familiar smoky-frozen scent came closer. "Ashido."

Todoroki stood there, giving Mina a neutral stare.

Kacchan, for his part, turned to look at Todoroki with a mocking grin on his face. "And what do you want, Candycane?"

Ignoring Kacchan, Mina blinked, turning to face the frigid boy with a cheerful grin on her face. "Yo! What's up, Todoroki?"

He just stared at her, face as emotionless as a statue. When he spoke, he sounded even colder than normal. "In some ways, Mina, I'm stronger than you. More capable."

Kacchan sneered at him. "You're certainly a bigger asshole, Candycane."

The red and white haired boy didn't react to that statement, and just stared at Mina with a calculating eye." All Might has his eye on you for some reason, doesn't he."

Ikumi winced. Endeavour was famously the closest Hero to taking the position of Number One Hero currently active.

When Mina blinked with a nervous look on her face, he shrugged. "I won't pry. But know this - I'm going to beat you as well."

"Todoroki declaring war on the second strongest person in class… that's pretty scary," Kaminari muttered, an anxious grin on his face.

"Bro, we're about to go on stage. Why are you picking a fight now?" Kirishima tried to reason with Todoroki, only for him to roll his shoulder and shrug the red-haired boy off.

"I really don't care what you think. I'm not here to make friends." Todoroki bit off a response as cold as an Arctic winter.

Mina looked briefly surprised, then a grin came on her face. "You know, you're a pretty funny guy, Todoroki!"

Her smile slipped. "Cause yeah, I get what you're saying. You're crazy strong and smart, and I don't think I can compete with you academically - well, unless I get Yaomomo to help me study."

Ikumi winced. As powerful as her Quirk was, she knew that Mina wasn't the best with school work.

Still, she gave Todoroki a determined glare. "But I'm not planning to just roll over and let you beat me. I'm gonna go for it with everything I've got!"

Todoroki stared at her, then nodded slightly. "I see."

Kacchan just watched Todoroki as he turned around and went back to his seat. Briefly, the red and white haired boy paused as he passed by Kacchan, before pushing past without a word. Just as he had done ever since class had started.

Then Kacchan stood up. "Hold it, Candycane!"

When he stopped, Kacchan stomped up. "Ever since we started school, you've hated me for some bullshit reason. I know you don't have to like me, but know this: I'm gonna crush you today on my way to the top! I'll give you a reason to hate me!"

Todoroki's eyes narrowed. "You already have," he muttered under his breath. Ikumi's eyes widened, and she could see Jirou looking confused as well.

Still, she couldn't deny feeling a bit less worried, and looking around the room she could see that everybody was in various stages of pumped up for what was coming. At least she hadn't challenged either of them to a fight.

Ikumi glanced up as the buzzer sounded. "Okay, everybody, we're on." Taking one last, deep breath to calm her nerves, she turned to face the most stressful moment of her U.A career so far.

She would just have to hope that her speech would be good enough for the crowd and the other students.

—

Hisashi took one look at the TV and immediately grinned. "Inko! They're about to get the Hero students on the field!"

"Really?!" Inko darted out of the kitchen, a bowl of popcorn in hand.

"Fucking finally," Mitsuki grinned, Masaru just sighing fondly.

"Can you believe it? Our boy and Ikumi, taking part in the Sports Festival…" Masaru dabbed at a tear. "It's fantastic."

Inko nodded. "I'm always going to be worried about them both… even though I know Ikumi's a strong girl."

On screen, Present Mic grinned widely from his announcer's booth. "HEY THERE, LISTENERS! IT'S TIME FOR OUR SPORTS FESTIVAL! THAT ONE TIME EVERY YEAR WHERE OUR STUDENTS SHOW YOU WHAT THEY GOT! ARE YOU READY?!"

"Heck yeah I'm ready!" Hisashi cheered - he'd listened to a couple of Present Mic's radio shows with Ikumi, and while he wasn't as big of a fan as his daughter, he liked the Hero's taste in music. "Ikumi's gonna wipe the floor with everybody there!"

"Yeah, if she can get to them before Katsuki does!" Mitsuki snarked back.

"I hope Ikumi Isn't too worried - especially since we couldn't get any tickets to attend in person," Inko fretted.

"She'll be fine - she is your daughter, after all."

Not hearing their comments, Present Mic mimed a drum roll as he continued presenting. "FOR THE FIRST YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL, COMING ON THE FIELD FIRST… YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE!"

The first gate started to rise, slowly revealing the shadowed figures of 1-A, Ikumi towering over the rest of them. It seemed like the crowd was holding its breath, hanging on every word coming from Present Mic's mouth.

"THEY'RE THE RISING STARS WHO BRUSHED OFF A VILLAIN ATTACK WITH THEIR STEELY WILLPOWER… IT'S CLASS 1-A!"

Ikumi's class came into the light. Hisashi took one look at his not so little girl, face set in an anxious yet determined look, and he teared up. "There she is!"

"Damn, Katsuki! You're not glaring for once in your life!" Mitsuki grinned, watching Katsuki step onto the stage. "Now, which one of these is 'Shitty Hair,' since I never got much of a description out of him…"

Hisashi sighed, snuggling closer to Inko. "She's going to be amazing, isn't she?"

Inko just nodded, before frowning at one of the teachers. "That… I mean, I know it's her Hero outfit but… it just seems inappropriate."

—

Togaru could practically hear Monoma's teeth grinding at that announcement. Looking up at the screen, he could see 1-A striding forwards, faces nervous yet determined in the face of the crowd. Even from here, they could hear the sound of the crowd cheering for 1-A, echoed from the screen.

Monoma glared at the screen, then took a deep breath. "Just remember we've got a plan, everybody." Some of his old smugness came back as the gate started to grind open. "They won't see it coming!"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll follow the plan…" Tetsutetsu muttered (and it was crazy just how similar Kirishima was - seeing the rest of the class react to him was going to be hilarious), cracking his neck.

Snorting, Togaru nodded. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Monoma." He ignored Monoma's offended look in favour of focusing on the main stage.

Much as he hated to admit it since he was almost worse than Bakugou, Monoma's plan was a really solid one. Especially since Tokage had given Monoma a couple of pointers on how to improve it. If even Kendo had thought it was a good idea…

Still, he wondered if it was going to be enough to stand up to Midoriya and Bakugou.

—

Hitoshi blinked in the bright sunlight, taking in the crowd. His chest clenched. Even if he wasn't in the Hero Course yet, this was something that he had only ever dreamed about before. Everybody here had some variation on that dream - to be here, in front of the roaring crowd, every eye in the nation on you.

"-AND FOLLOWING 1-B, IT'S THE GENERAL COURSE STUDENTS FROM 1-C, D AND E! GIVE 'EM A BIG HAND, EVERYBODY!" Present Mic screamed with the same level of enthusiasm as he had for 1-A.

Not that the crowd reflected that.

It wasn't like they didn't cheer - they cheered for them, just not as much as they had for 1-A. Out of the corner of his eye, Hitoshi could see a couple of his classmates had picked up on that, looking a bit downcast. A small part of him felt mildly satisfied at seeing some of his classmates getting rejected by the crowd like that, especially since some of them had much more 'Heroic' Quirks than him.

But he pushed that thought away. Pissing people off now wasn't the goal - not when there was a chance he could get their help.

—

Katsuki had to admit, of all the teachers he thought would be the M.C of his first Sports Festival, he hadn't picked Midnight. Especially not in her full Hero outfit with the whip, which she waved with a huge smile. "And now, the Athlete's Oath!"

"...I know she's the R-Rated Heroine, but this seems a bit much for national television," Nevermore muttered.

"Don't you dare ruin this for me," Grape Bitch growled, eyes glued to Midnight's chest.

"Pipe down, all of you!" Midnight's whip cracked, causing everybody to wince. "As I was about to say, your student representative is none other than… Midoriya Ikumi of Class 1-A!"

At once, all eyes locked onto Midori, who briefly wilted. Then she straightened up, a determined look entering her eyes.

Katsuki glanced over at his friend, who just took a deep breath, an anxious look on her face. Fortunately, he knew how to lift her mood.

"Kick their shit in, Midori," he muttered, just over the roar of the crowd. "And tell 'em that you're gonna take first place."

She stared at him, then sighed, a nervous smile running across her face. As she made her way up to the steps, he could see the students from the other courses looking at her, some shocked. Others just looked like they were salty about not being there.

He didn't care what they thought. As far as he was concerned, they had to prove they were worth his and Midori's time.

—

Ikumi stared out at the crowd, feeling all their eyes focused on her at once. "O-okay… The Athlete's Oath…"

All eyes were locked on her, not just the ones in the stands. Under the hundreds of glass eyes from the cameras, with the hushed crowd looking at her, Ikumi swallowed anxiously.

For a second, she wanted to run. Then she squashed the feeling. "I-I've always loved Heroes, and how-how they could save people with a smile, moving in spite of their fear. If it wasn't for Gang Orca and All Might, I-I don't think I'd be able to stand here, on this stage."

Her voice grew stronger as she continued. "And we're all here because we love Heroes! We're all here because Heroes inspired us in some way! Whether it's because we want to save people from disasters, or defeating Villains, or just making others happy, we're all here for a reason! I-I've always loved Heroes for how they made me feel a bit less awkward!"

"So…So that's what I want to share - that what I've always wanted is to meet a Hero like me. Somebody… somebody who told me that I could try my best. So…"

She twisted her hands awkwardly. "Let's… let's try our best today! So we can inspire others to be Heroes, like Heroes inspired us before! If we try our best, then we can't be disappointed!"

The crowd was silent, some faces judging, some unreadable. Feeling all those eyes on her, her voice started to peter out. "Um… Plus Ultra?"

The silence stretched out further, and Ikumi felt her confidence start to drain away even faster. Then, Ikumi had to clap her hands to her ears as a wall of sound poured from the bleachers as people cheered, clapped and hollered.

Flushing, Ikumi hurried down the stairs, glad that it was over.

"Great speech from Midoriya!" Midnight cheered, before cracking her whip at the screen. "Now then, without further ado, it's time for the first event!"

The screen behind Midnight flickered, rolling down the list of events. "It looks like the qualifier for you first year students will be…"

It finally spun to a stop, and Midnight pointed at it dramatically. "The Obstacle Course Race!"

Ikumi blinked, wincing. If she knew anything about U.A, it was that they didn't mind what you did to win. There had been an incident a couple of years ago where a student had taken a taxi to beat the qualifying round and U.A hadn't complained, after all.

Midnight just grinned at them all as the buzzers for the gates sounded. "At U.A, we promote freedom in everything! So long as you don't go off the course, anything is allowed!"

As everybody got ready, different students from different classes lining up as politely as they could, Kacchan elbowed her in the side. "Oy, Midori."

"Hm?"

Kacchan just grinned, before readying himself for the race. "Give me a fucking challenge. It's not a proper victory unless we're all giving it our all, right?"

Just nodding, Ikumi readied herself for the race. Glancing behind her, she could see the faces of her classmates and the other students screwed up in determination to give it their best. Then she set her sights on the gate, watching as the lights pinged down.

PING!

Kacchan's right. I… I want to do my best here. This is just another step to me being the best Hero that I can.

PING!

And if that means I have to beat everybody here, even if they have good reasons? Then I guess I'll have to beat everybody!

Midnight cracked her whip, a vicious smile on her face. "START!"

Ikumi carefully watched the crowd, before pushing off, aiming for the starting gate. She had to be careful, as everybody started jockeying to get in front.

"HEY! MOVE IT!"

"I CAN'T GET THROUGH!"

For her part, Ikumi tried to make her way past the crushing mass of people as best she could while staying mindful of where she trod. Though she had to admit, the gate was far too narrow for everybody to make their way through comfortably-!

The air chilled. Ikumi's eyes narrowed - there was only one person she knew that could do that. A split second look around She braced to jump, just before Todoroki unleashed his move.

—

Shouta barely twitched an eyebrow as he saw Todoroki tear ahead of the pack, his ice Quirk freezing the ground and the feet of many a competitor as he pushed forwards. Well, Todoroki has a good grasp of that side of his Quirk - the timing alone would be difficult for most Pros, not to mention freezing students while not inflicting permanent damage.

Below, those students unfortunate enough to be near Todoroki when he made his move tried to free themselves.

"YOWCH! I'M FROZEN!"

"S-so cold!"

The complaints of various students got picked up by the cameras and microphones around the arena. Watching the scene unfold, Shouta shook his head. Todoroki had excellent instincts with using an attack like that, and his timing was impeccable.

It was a shame it wouldn't be enough for the rest of his class.

Next to him, Yamada just grinned. "SAY, READY FOR OUR LIVE ACTION COVERAGE?!"

"Not voluntarily-"

He was interrupted by Kirishima's enthusiastic shout. "TOO EASY, TODOROKI!"

Yamada looked down, stunned. "The heck was that-" His mouth fell open as he saw what had happened at the first gate.

Looking at the tinder of students, 1-A had responded the best, vaulting over the thick layer of ice that Todoroki had thrown out in their own unique ways. Some like Uraraka and Ojiro had just jumped and had managed to recover. Others like Bakugou and Tokoyami had responded to the ice by using their Quirks to lever them up, the former blasting through the air with a feral look on his face.

"NO WAY I'M LETTING YOU TAKE FIRST, HALF-N-HALF!" he roared.

—

Shouto couldn't help but feel a twinge of irritation when he saw that Bakugou hadn't been frozen. Then again, he hadn't expected any of his classmates to be caught with his attack in the first place.

Not just that, more students than he had expected had made it past his initial barrier - he could see a purple haired student with people supporting him and a pink haired girl with some sort of backpack and fancy boots, laughing maniacally as she charged forwards.

"HEY, TODOROKI!"

Shouto barely reacted when he heard Mineta's voice. The smaller boy grinned, throwing a couple of balls in front of him and springing forwards. "Nice trick with the ice! Now it's my turn! GRAPE-"

SMACK!

A metal fist collided with Mineta's face, sending him pinwheeling away. Shouto turned back to the front, evaluating this latest threat.

Over the loudspeakers, Present Mic's voice echoed. "IT WOULDN'T BE MUCH OF AN OBSTACLE COURSE WITHOUT OBSTACLES, RIGHT?! INTRODUCING YOUR FIRST OBSTACLE…"

In front of him, dozens of robots stood, the largest robots being about ten stories tall while smaller robots hurried forwards. As their sensors turned towards him, Shouto couldn't help but sigh. Even as his classmates started to catch up and started preparing to defeat them, he had found his way forward.

"I had expected something more threatening than this," he muttered under his breath. Uncaring of his criticism, the robots came closer, and Shouto let his mother's Quirk build under his skin.

He fixed the closest robot with a glare, breath misting in the air. "Especially since Father is watching."

A sweep of Shouto's right arm and a wave of ice crashed over two of the gargantuan robots, causing the other machines to pause. Seizing his chance, he ran through, watching to see if any of the other robots were going to try and fight.

"Hey, Todoroki made a path we can take!" He heard another student shout, only to pause when they heard the ice start to creak. Everybody held back when they heard that, staring at him with worried looks on their faces.

"Bad idea to try following me," he called back. "I froze them in unstable positions so that they'd fall."

With that warning out of the way, he continued running forwards. He couldn't stop for anything - the only way Endeavour would see his point was if he achieved a total and crushing victory with nothing but his ice.

—

Mina winced when she heard the frozen piece of Zero-Pointer crash to the ground. Still in the middle of a press of students, she had to force her way to the front, just as a General Studies student with pasty white clown skin yelled.

"OH MY GOD! SOMEBODY GOT CRUSHED BY THE ZERO POINTER!"

Her heart skipped a beat. Anxiously she ran forwards, One for All's pink lightning trailing along her skin-!

"HEY! WHO SAID I WAS DEAD?!" Kirishima yelled, bursting out of the frozen wreckage with his signature rocky skin.

He turned to glare in Todoroki's general direction, a frustrated look on his face. "Damnit Todoroki, if I was anybody else, that woulda killed me!"

Mina let out a sigh of relief when she saw Kirishima punch through. Then she winced - right, she'd have to be better about this kind of thing-

"LIKE HELL I'M DEAD!" Another student yelled, punching through the frozen robot, skin turned into what looked like solid steel.

Mina couldn't help but stare. Sharp teeth, spiky hair, hardening Quirk…

Practically in unison, every member of 1-A and 1-B looked at each other funny. Then one guy with a praying mantis head started cackling like mad. "FINALLY!"

—

Togaru grinned at the incredulous looks he got. "Seriously, I thought that this was a prank or something-"

"Aw man, I've got enough trouble sticking out without having to deal with a copycat!" Kirishima yelled, bulldozing forwards.

"What?! Copycat! You're not even good enough to be my copycat, you… poser!" Tetsutetsu yelled, sprinting after him.

Monoma gave him a weird look as he got ready to make his way through the robots. "So that's what you were talking about with Doubles, right?"

"Yep." Togaru grinned. The smug blonde jerk could only shrug in confusion as he turned around to face the robots.

Back in the main mass of people, he could see Shinryu getting ready. "Hey, everybody! We're going to have to work together to punch a hole through the line!" he yelled, gesturing to the other classes.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm just gonna go mountain climbing!" Togaru grinned, blades starting to stick out from his hands. Running forwards, his blades stretched forth into hook-like shapes, stabbing into the first Zero-Pointer. Using it as leverage, he started to haul himself up-!

BOOM!

Togaru paused when he heard Bakugou's tell-tale explosions start. "Oh, it's always something with this guy, isn't it?"

Surprisingly, the spiky haired jerk wasn't focusing on a fight, instead choosing to take the high road and fly up with his explosive recoil.

"MAN, THE LOW-ROAD DIDN'T WORK FOR BAKUGOU, SO NOW HE'S TAKING THE HIGH ROAD! NOT JUST THAT, IT SEEMS A COUPLE OF OTHERS ARE TAKING INSPIRATION FROM HIM!"

Togaru grit his teeth and pulled himself up, as he watched the guy with tape dispensers for elbows and the bird headed guy with a shadow clone pull ahead. "Gonna be really hard to keep up with these guys, Monoma…" he muttered, before tearing ahead.

—

In the booth, Present Mic put on a look of faux shock. "AMAZING! THE CURRENT LEADERS OF THE PACK ARE OVERWHELMINGLY FROM 1-A!"

Shouta watched his class' performance with a bitter taste in his mouth. His students were, indeed, performing well. It wasn't because 1-B and the other classes were bad - he could see that they were trying their hardest, and some of them were proving to be interesting.

But because 1-A had been attacked so early, they had been exposed to the world. They knew they had no time to hesitate.

And that represented a failure on his behalf. He was happy that they had all survived in one piece… He just would have preferred it if they had never needed to learn those skills like that in the first place.

—

Mina grinned over at Ikumi. "Ready to clear the way, Ikumi?"

When Ikumi nodded, Mina just nodded, feeling the acid build up in her fist. "Right… let's clear a path."

The Zero Pointers loomed overhead, bearing down on them. Back in the exam, they had been terrifying, alright. But compared to Noumu… Compared to that giant she had seen back home…

Mina swung her fist forwards, letting her acid burst free in a jet of pink sparks. "ACID SMASH!"

You're not that terrifying!

Her acid smashed into the nearest Zero Pointer, and for the second time fellow test participants and a crowd alike gaped as a ten storey behemoth of steel was melted into slag. Double checking to make sure that nobody was hit by the acid, Mina went to run ahead.

Murmurs broke out in the crowd along with wild cheering. Mina couldn't help but grin even more as she skated ahead. She had made a great impression, telling the world that she was here like that!"

—

Back in his office, a tall, lean man with glasses watched the Sports Festival with a stern frown on his face. Various case files lay scattered around his desk, particularly focused on the Shie Hissekai, yet currently he was focused on the pink messy haired girl as she pushed forwards through a horde of robots trailing pink lightning, splashing them with acid or knocking them aside with punches.

Eventually he sighed. "Hm. Acceptable, I suppose," Sir Nighteye noted. "But so far, nothing too special."

If All Might wanted her to intern under him, then she would have to demonstrate something more than that. Something that would mark her as a superior candidate to Mirio.

—

Glancing back, Mina could see that the rest of her classmates were gearing up to try their own push ahead.

"Fire in the hole!" Yaomomo shouted, and Mina cheered when she saw a mortar strike another Zero-Pointer in the face.

"You go Yaomomo!" Mina cheered, stumbling slightly as it fell to the ground, shaking the world again. Other students, seeing their opportunity, started to run forwards, Quirks at the ready to try and deal with the robots.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Ikumi running forwards, frowning in concentration. The larger girl looked like she was chewing something, cheeks bulging. Mina tilted her head, confused. Is she chewing gum or-?

As another Zero Pointer came up, Ikumi pursued her lips, and what came out of her mouth was a ball of fire, thickened and condensed. It kept blowing, bigger and bigger as the machine came up ahead.

Mina's eyes widened. "Okay, that's not gum."

—

Endeavour was rarely impressed with a student's performance. He was only watching the first year event rather than the second or third years because Shouto was performing, and only because he wanted to see Shouto realise that his temper tantrum over not using his fire was counter-productive at best, and risking his life at worst. Normally, he would have been watching the older students to see if they had the right drive and skills to fit in his office.

Too many fire themed students thought he would take them on just because they had a fire Quirk. To get an internship with him required drive and determination beyond just having a similar Quirk.

This, though, was impressive.

He watched the Midoriya girl as she worked, the sphere of fire in front of her building up more and more mass. She's focusing the fire in her mouth, condensing it internally before letting it build in front of her. Not bad for a first year student.

Endeavour focused on Midoriya. You've got my attention. Now keep it.

—

Ikumi glanced up, carefully letting the fire build up more, keeping a wary eye on the Zero Pointer. Two weeks of work on this move would have to be enough. Focusing Dragonframe further, she compressed it, bracing against a fallen robot-

Atomic Breath!

She exhaled, forcing Dragonframe to guide the massive stream of flames forwards. It flowed towards the nearest Zero-Pointer, hitting its head dead on and melting it into slag.

Panting, Ikumi kept running forwards, her long legs eating up the distance. She couldn't let Kacchan get this far ahead with no competition, could she?

—

Endeavour nodded approvingly. "A good start," he remarked, turning back to focus on Shouto. Currently his son was looking rather stressed, even as he used his Quirk to keep his lead. To an amateur, Shouto was doing well - but Endeavour knew that his lead was only a thin one.

Endeavour could barely hold in a snort of disdain as the rest of the students started to catch up to him. Shouto could have done more with his Quirk - and he was a fool if he thought that just using his ice was enough. The thought of his son not using his whole Quirk and putting his life and others at risk was-

-Terrifying, he didn't want to bury another child-

-Embarrassing, for himself and Shouto. Shaking away the thought, Endeavour continued to scour the crowd of students, watching for any other surprises like Midoriya.

—

After only a couple of minutes running, Mezo came to a stop with Uraraka and Tsuyu as they stared at the latest obstacle - a massive chasm filled with various mesas, all connected at various stages by ropes. "WELL, COMPETITORS, IF YOU THOUGHT OUR FIRST OBSTACLE WAS EASY, THEN THIS'LL GIVE YA PAUSE! INTRODUCING… THE FALL!"

"This needed a better name, really," Aizawa's voice droned.

"NO NEED TO BE SO NEGATIVE! ANYWAY, FALL AND YOU'RE OUT, SO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE IT ACROSS!"

"Just a giant tightrope," Tsuyu muttered, already making her way across like it was nothing.

Mezo was about to make his way across in a similar fashion when he heard a deranged cackle. "Here's my chance to make a splash!"

A pink haired girl covered in various pieces of machinery grinned. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN IN THE SUPPORT COMPANIES, BEHOLD, THE MAJESTY OF MY WIRE ARROW AND HOVER SOLES!"

"Hey, wait a minute - how come you get so much stuff?" Uraraka complained.

"Simple! Those of us in the Support course are allowed whatever gadgets we make, so long as it's ours and we get approval for it!"

She briefly pouted. "Which is a shame, as I've got so many cute babies to show off!"

Uraraka blinked. "...Babies-"

"ALL EYES ON HATSUME MEI, FUTURE HEAD OF HATSUME INDUSTRIES!"

Mezo started for the ropes even as she fired a grappling hook to the other side and pulled herself across. Six arms meant that this tightrope act wasn't much of an inconvenience.

As he watched, he could see other students starting to take their own paths. While some students crawled over the ropes nervously, others took more…

Iida shot past in an awkward pose. "I must look dignified in front of my brother!" He shouted, arms outstretched to keep his balance.

… unconventional approaches to the task.

"HOLD IT, HALF AND HALF!" Bakugou shouted, blasting through the air like an angry missile.

Mezo clambered off his rope, running and jumping to another platform, opening his arms and letting his arms lengthen into crude wings to glide the rest of the way. After seeing Midoriya and the others make such a huge impression, he was feeling more inspired than before to make a good showing.

—

"I've gotta hand it to that Todoroki kid - he's managed to stay in the lead this whole time," Mitsuki commented.

That was probably what was really ticking Katsuki off - it wasn't every day that somebody could actually match him. She still remembered him being impressed with Ikumi the first time they'd met her for a playdate - how she could actually deal with him.

Next to her, Masaru just grinned. "Still, Katsuki's not giving him much breathing room either. Look at him go!"

Hisashi nodded. "Yeah, Katsuki's been building steam this whole time. Once he's built up a sweat, well, I guess he's gonna give it his all."

On screen, they watched as Todoroki kept running, only a mild look of frustration on his face. Present Mic grinned from up in his presenter's box. "-AS I WAS SAYING, WHAT A RACE! WHILE THE LEAD KEEPS BREAKING UP AND GETTING BACK TOGETHER, AND THE REST OF THE PACK IS - WAIT! WE'VE GOT A COUPLA BREAKAWAYS!"

Mitsuki blinked. "Wait, is that-?"

Indeed, Ikumi was tearing ahead, long legs eating up the distance as she managed to push off from the ropes and charged ahead. Next to her, a pink girl was running, similarly coloured lightning pouring off her body as she moved.

Masaru looked down briefly. Then a feral grin split his face, and Mitsuki felt her heart skip a beat at seeing that look on her hubby's face. "FUCK YEAH, IKUMI! KICK THEIR SHIT IN!"

Inko just gave him a disapproving look. "Language!"

Hisashi shook his head, a grin on his face. "Well, now I know where Katsuki gets it, at least…"

—

Shouto was getting more and more frustrated with the situation. He had thought that this would go smoothly. That the only real problem would be dealing with Ashido.

Instead, Bakugou was becoming more and more of a problem. The explosive jerk was nipping at his heels, and his explosions only seemed to be getting more powerful and frequent as the race went on.

"AND WITH THAT, THE LEADER OF THE PACK IS AT OUR FINAL OBSTACLE - THE MINEFIELD!"

Shouto blinked, quickly surveying the land ahead while Present Mic talked about the power of these mines. Spotting a couple of mines, he looked ahead to spot the most optimal course to take, then kept running, readying himself for one final sprint.

KABOOM!

"THINK THIS CRAP'LL SLOW ME DOWN?! THINK AGAIN, CANDYCANE!"

His eyes went wide as Bakugo shot ahead. Did he deliberately trigger a mine for a boost-?

Then he rocketed ahead of Shouto, sticking to his left side. He gave him a glare as he went past. "Get ready to be crushed, jackass!"

For a second, Shouto saw Endeavour's face superimposed over Bakugo's. His eyes narrowed, and he reached out to haul Bakugo back.

You're seriously starting to annoy me, Bakugo.

He barely slowed down when Shouto's ice spread along his arm. Instead, he seemed to take that as a sign to push forwards, sprinting harder-

BA-BA-BA-BAM!

A stream of fire wove its way through the field, detonating the landmines in a series of bright pink explosions. Shouto quickly glanced over his shoulder to see what had happened-

Ashido was catching up, just off of a stream of acid. Midoriya had been just at the entrance, but he could see her tearing ahead, running far, far faster than she looked like she should be able to move.

…What?

—

Earlier…

When Ikumi heard 'minefield,' she grimaced. Even with the noise dampening earplugs she had requested for use during the Sports Festival, Kacchan's explosions were loud. Still, she would just have to push past.

If she could just get a straight bit of track… she could catch up to them, easily. Desperately she looked for an easy path, only to see Mina crouching down just before the minefield started.

"See you on the winner's podium, Ikumi!" The pink girl waved, before shooting a jet of acid from her feet to rocket to the front of the pack. For a second, Ikumi debated doing the same thing with her fire breath but decided against it - her throat still felt sore from her last big blast.

Then an idea struck.

Ikumi knew that before the USJ and the Villain attack, she would have hesitated to put this plan into motion. But now, she could barely remember what that hesitation was like.

Pulling Dragonframe off of her body and into her mouth, she sucked in a breath, clapped her hands to her ears, then breathed a long stream of flames in a straight path. Landmine after landmine was hit, the sudden shift in temperature and pressure causing them to detonate.

Taking a moment to regain her breath, she started to run along her now cleared road. Sure, it would help other competitors, but with her speed, it wouldn't matter. She sprinted forwards, managing to catch up to Kacchan and Todoroki…

…Then overtook them.

—

Hisashi could barely breathe as he watched Ikumi tear ahead. For a second, Todoroki and Katsuki stared at her, then they sprung into gear. Ice sprang from Todoroki, forming a solid surface over the mines, then more formed behind him to push him forwards.

Then he found his voice. "LOOK AT HER GO!" He cheered, almost knocking the bowl of popcorn over. Licks of fire came out of his throat in his excitement.

"GET BACK HERE MIDORI!" Katsuki yelled, shooting forwards with explosions blasting off his palms. And then Ashido caught up to all of them with a huge grin on her face, pink lightning streaming off of her.

"THE TWO PACK LEADERS HAVE FORMED AN UNEASY TRUCE TO TRY AND BEAT MIDORIYA! THOUGH, I'VE GOTTA SAY, SHE IS FAST!"

"COME ON KATSUKI! FUCK TODOROKI UP!" Masaru yelled, earning him a smack from Inko and an amused bark of laughter from Mitsuki and Hisashi.

On screen, Ikumi had to slow down, carefully navigating the mines as the others caught up. Then she spun around, sucking in a deep breath.

Mitsuki blinked. "Wait, why's Ikumi-?"

She got her answer when Ikumi blew fire at her feet just as she jumped, sending herself flying with her own fire breath. Hisashi let out a loud cheer when Ikumi managed to roll and recover on the home stretch, before getting back up.

Present Mic sounded baffled as he turned to his co-host; "ERASERHEAD, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TEACHING YOUR KIDS?!"

"This isn't my doing. They've been spurring each other on this whole time."

On the screen, Ikumi was bolting for first, sprinting for all she was worth - and a good thing too as the other racers started to catch up. Even with that distraction, the rest of the leaders were pushing themselves harder and harder.

Pink lightning built into a larger corona as Ashido bolted. Katsuki deliberately hit a landmine, using the explosion mixed with his own to send him shooting forwards like a rocket. And Todoroki's ice flung him further, his teeth grit from exertion.

Mitsuki's knuckles whitened as she clenched the hem of her dress, Inko clutched her hands to her mouth, eyes wide, unable to look away, Masaru chewed on his nails and Hisashi felt his breath catch in his throat as they got closer and closer to the finish line, until-

—

"MAN, WHO COULDA PREDICTED SUCH A CRAZY TURN OF EVENTS? THE ONE WHO MADE IT BACK TO THE STADIUM FIRST WAS…"

Shouto sucked in a deep breath, trying to recover as much of his stamina as he could. Still, his mind was in turmoil.

Looking ahead, he could see Midoriya, trying her best to recover as well. Next to her, Bakugo and Ashido looked forward.

"...UH… WELL… THIS IS UNUSUAL - BUT IT SEEMS THAT MIDORIYA, BAKUGO AND ASHIDO MANAGED TO GET JOINT FIRST! WHAT AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE FROM ALL OF THEM!"

Shouto clenched his fist tightly. Losing to Midoriya or Ashido was one thing but… seeing Bakugou just barely manage to beat him and keep pace with the others was frustrating beyond belief. And up in the stands, he could feel Endeavour's burning gaze, locked on him.

For a moment, he focused on where his father was standing. Then he looked him in the eye, levelly, before turning back to the competition.

I don't need your fire. I've never needed it.

He shook his head minutely. Still, this wasn't the end. There were still two more rounds for him to win. Two more rounds to prove Endeavour wrong.

AN: First round of the Sports Festival done! And it only took this long!

Honestly I think that this event is the station of canon where writers get tripped up the most. I thought about whether or not I would change up the events, but ultimately the main obstacles are really well balanced. It's hard to think of any other athletic challenge that can accommodate multiple participants like a race that would still be interesting to read - original doesn't always mean good, after all. I toyed with a maze but felt it would be too constricting. Red Light Green Light was also considered, but that would be more of a Squid Games thing, plus it doesn't lend itself to interesting strategies or events like the main race does.

Ultimately, what matters is if you can make it intense or not. I can only hope that this change is exciting enough to justify reading through yet another Obstacle Course race.

Anyways, here we go!

Ikumi's speech gave me a lot of trouble - I drafted a bunch of different versions before hitting this combination. But once that was done, I wrote about 90 percent of it in a couple of hours.

We've got some interested parties already with Endeavour and Sir Nighteye. I like working with them - mostly because making nasty people likeable and avoiding bashing is a real challenge.

And Todoroki came fourth! Mostly because, well, he really wasn't going all out. This may be a theme.

As always, thank you Banchoking for editing my work. I appreciate what you do to make my work more legible. Big thank you to my one (1) supporter, W. C. Purdy , for their continued support. I'll eventually get around to adding further benefits.

Next time, we'll hit the Second Round! Please, like and comment to show your support - comments give me energy in these dark and trying times. See you next time!