"START!"
As soon as Midnight said those words, students began to get stuck on one another. "HEY GET OF THE DAMN WAY!"
"Okay, here's the play-by-play! Are you ready to do the commentary, Mummy Man?" Present Mic asked Aizawa who could only sigh. "You're the one who forced me to come."
"Let's get started right away, Mummy Man. What should we pay attention to in the early stages?" Aizawa looked at the screen as his wicked smile grew underneath his bandages. "This part right now."
Ice covered the students as most couldn't get free. Todoroki started running ahead as more ice poured out from underneath his feet before someone passed by him at high speed. He then heard multiple people break out of his ice as he focused on getting first place back from whoever passed him as even the people behind him didn't see.
"NICE TRY ICY HOT!" "THAT WON'T WORK ON ME AGAIN TODOROKI!" "THAT'S NAIVE TODOROKI!" Todoroki however wasn't listening to them as he pressed on trying to follow whoever passed him as the person sped up in a flash before two people passed him on each side. "Midoriya? How are you doing this, what is that green energy?! And this girl, they're not even looking at me, they're looking ahead!"
"WOAHHHH, TODOROKI TRIED TO FREEZE EVERYONE AT THE START BUT PEOPLE GOT PAST. SOME EVEN MANAGED TO AVOID THE ICE ENTIRELY!"
"TODOROKI, THAT ATTACK WON'T WORK AGAINST ME! NOW PREPARE FOR MY SUPER MOVE!" The short purple-haired boy from 1A shouted before he was smacked aside by a massive robot. "Targets Found…"
"The zero-pointers from the Entrance Exam?!" A student said out loud as multiple of the same robot stood tall, with some students stopped in fear.
"Obstacles have shown up suddenly! Starting with the first barrier! Robo Inferno!" Present Mic shouted as the crowd all marveled at the height of these robots.
"Hot damn, how much money does UA have?!" Killian looked at the robots on the screen with a whistle.
"So this is what they used in the general exam huh?" He looked ahead to see Izuku and the girl speeding ahead before Bakugo passed by him. "MOVE ICY HOT!" Bakugo then saw Izuku ahead and his eyes went red with anger. "DEKU YOU DAMN BASTARD, HOW ARE YOU CONTROLLING THAT QUIRK OF YOURS!"
"I don't have time to fall back, I know that damn father of mine is watching." Todoroki swung his body as Bakugo exploded himself into the air. "Let me show him just what I made of and get back first." Ice exploded from his body as Todoroki froze over one of the robots before going underneath.
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, SHOTO TODOROKI FROZE THE ROBOT AS KATSUKI BAKUGO WENT ABOVE! AND IN FRONT OF THEM, IZUKU MIDORIYA FROM 1A AND SETSUNA TOKAGE FROM 1B ARE TRAVERSING THE ROBOTS WITH NO PROBLEM!" Aizawa looked at the screen to see Midoriya having green lightning all over his body. "So you finally managed to gain some semblance of control over that quirk of yours huh problem child."
"Young Midoriya, you're so cool. When you told me you had gained control of One For All, I didn't know it was like that. Young Joku's advice went a long way for you didn't it, he might even be a better trainer than me!" All Might said before the shame came back to bite him as the thought of a teen being a better teacher than him was too sickening to bear.
"We can still get between their legs, you guys!" Some students tried to go through the robot's legs before the shadow started getting larger. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, I froze them when they were unbalanced." He raced ahead catching up to Midoriya, Tokage, and Bakugo. "They'll fall."
"Todoroki from 1A attacked and defended, however, he's fallen behind the top 4 as two more robots appear. Todoroki, Midoriya, Bakugo, and Tokage are all fighting to get ahead, however from what we've seen first place is nowhere to be found, where-" Just then, a pink flash appeared in the sky as they all looked at who was in first place as he was in the air. "Umi-" "Him-" The four thought as the two robots went towards him as he was in mid-air.
"FIRST PLACE HAS APPEARED, UMI JOKU OF CLASS 1-B TRAVERSED THE SKY ABOVE THE ROBOTS BUT NOW HAS TWO MORE AIMING RIGHT FOR HIM!"
A robot went to grab him but he turned in mid-air and blitzed through the arm before piercing the robot's metal head and releasing a lightning blast into the head that spread downward as the first robot exploded before Umi turned in mid-air again and channeled lightning to his hands and legs before rushing toward the second robot with a swing of his right arm, an almost scythe-like arc of lightning mixed with unseen wind and water making colliding with the robot.
"Ionic Cutter."
The head of the second robot was cut clean off the body of the robot as both robots fell into the forest beside them and flattened some trees while launching some into the air.
"What the fuck was that?! Who the hell is this extra?!" Bakugo yelled with a manic grin as he saw a new challenger for him to beat before Umi landed on a log that sprouted into the air before blasting himself off, landing gracefully in a roll with an unseeable gust of wind and beginning to speed away, with the four behind Umi raced to catch up while the students still dealing with the robots felt the aftershocks of the attack, with the crowd erupting at the display of grace as they now began talking about how they shouldn't have underestimated Class 1B.
"UMI JOKU STICKS THE LANDING BEAUTIFULLY AFTER THAT INCREDIBLE DISPLAY OF DEXTERITY AND POWER. IT SEEMS LIKE 1A ISN'T THE ONLY CLASS THAT HAS A SAY IN HOW THIS STORY WILL GO!"
"Class 1A is more experienced dealing with villains that much is true, but to downplay the other classes like there is no talent other than in 1A is disrespectful of their skills and abilities. Let's not forget the Sports Festival is a way for everyone in every course to show off."
"And here I thought Class 1A were the only ones to watch. Class 1B is the real deal too huh." "Yeah, they have two students competing for the number one spot and more in the top 10!" "Did you see that attack he just launched, the way he maneuvered around that was crazy!" "Makes me think just how badly we're underestimating the other classes too. Maybe they have some gems as well!"
"AW YEAH, THAT'S MY IRMAO! GO OFF MAN!" Killian pumped his fist at the display of mastery Umi had while thinking about what he had said to him. "Damn, he really wasn't lying and it's only the first event!"
"To think he can control his movements that well, we're lucky he is in control of his quirk so well, and to think he hasn't shown what he's capable of with all three channeled together besides what Hound Dog had described that day. Young Joku is indeed an incredible talent who never took his gift for granted and continued to get better. Young Midoriya, you truly have some great friends." All Might nodded with an impressed look.
However for one hero, that last name broke him out of the stupor he was in watching his son perform as the fire around his body grew with his confusion and shock.
"Did I hear that right? Did he say Joku?"
xXx
Tetsutetsu broke out of the robot that had fallen on top of him in his steel form and scoffed. "Damn Joku, should've known you were the one that avoided the ice, man I wish I was up there to see what the hell you did." He then turned and saw another guy break out of the ice with a similar quirk to him. "HEY YOU DAMN COPYCAT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU FROM 1B AND EIJIRO KIRISHIMA FROM 1A WITH INCREDIBLE DEBUTS SURVIVING THE ROBOT'S FALL! WHAT STUDS THEY ARE!"
"Damn it Todoroki, that was one hell of an attack. How did Midoriya even manage to get through that ice? Did Midoriya level up, if he did that's so manly of him." Kirishima then looked at Tetsutetsu with a similar glare. "I'M NOT A DAMN COPYCAT, YOU'RE THE COPYCAT HERE BUDDY!" Tetsutetsu wanted to go even harder before seeing a robot approaching the two and prepared to fight while Kirishima did the same before a cannonball was launched at the robot. "A piece of cake!" A girl ran past them as Present Mic shouted, "WHAT AN IMPRESSIVE SHOWING FROM ONE OF THE RECOMMENDED STUDENTS FROM 1A, MOMO YAOYOROZU! REALLY SHOWING OUT WITH HER QUIRK HERE!" More robots appeared from the left of the forest before they sunk into the ground and were wrapped up in vines before being shot down by scales. "I have no time for games, I need to catch up with first." Juzo and Rin went forward while a light shone upon Ibara. "These deviants will not stop me from performing."
"NOW CLASS 1B IS MOVING FORWARD AS WELL! JUZO HONENUKI, HIRYU RIN, AND IBARA SHIOZAKI WILL NOT LET THESE BARRIERS HAMPER THEIR PROGRESS. WHAT ARE YOU AND VLAD KING FEEDING THESE STUDENTS ERASER?!"
xXx
Umi ran forward before jumping and spinning, avoiding a pillar of ice launched at him and turning in mid-air before seeing who was after him. "Izuku, Setsu, Bakugo, and Todoroki, with Juzo, Rin, and Ibara not far behind. If I use Static Strings, they all have ways of avoiding it so that's a no-go. Let's try this." He channeled lightning into the palm of his hand and condensed it into a small orb as the four behind him all caught up to him.
"IT'S TIME TO FALL BACK IN LINE EXTRA!" Bakugo and Todoroki charged first while Izuku slowed down a step and Setsuna flew a bit behind cautiously, noticing Umi had slowed down his charge a bit. Todoroki prepared to launch his ice while thinking to himself. "If he wants to trap the floor with lightning, he must've already known ice is a natural insulator to electricity, the time to take back first is now." Ice gained on Umi from the floor while Bakugo went to go high over as the next barrier was in sight.
"The Five at the front are fighting for the top as they approach the second barrier! If you're afraid of heights, watch out for this place as it contains a nasty fall below, WELCOME TO THE FALL!"
As he reached the edge that led to the Fall, Umi channeled a small gust of wind and launched into the air before turning around and pointing a finger gun against his competition, a small orb of lightning quickly enlarging as the eyes of the other four widened before preparing to defend or dodge whatever was coming to them. As the orb expanded, the four were forced to cover their eyes while Bakugo tried to launch an explosion.
"Pulsar Spark!"
The world only saw light.
xXx
The crowd watched as the orb that was emanating from Umi's finger suddenly expanded and then the cameras were only filled with light around the area, even cameras from far away could see the shining lilac that overcame the cameras.
"Looks like Umi Joku's move has blinded everything, not even we can see what's going at the front, What has happened to the top 5?!" The light faded away soon after as it revealed the four caught in the brunt of the feint with their eyes covered and in pain before they realized what happened and rushed back ahead, seeing Umi nowhere in sight as the cameras tried to find movement in the fall.
"Tokage, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Midoriya were all stopped in their tracks by their blindness while Joku is nowhere to be found, What happened?!"
The camera then caught movement near the top pillar of the fall before zooming in, before Umi jumped off the pillar with a backflip while sliding on a mid-air rush of water as he slid on through the pillars of the fall with his eyes closed, with the water below him moving with his every gesture as he avoided the pillars with grace.
"WHAT A PERFORMANCE! JOKU USED THE DISTRACTION FROM BEFORE TO GET AHEAD AND RACE THROUGH THE FALL, WITH WATER NO LESS. IT SEEMS OUR 1-B SUPERSTAR IS SEEMING TO BE HIDING HIS FULL QUIRK TO HOLD AN EDGE OVER THE COMPETITION! BUT WHERE DID HE GET THE WATER YOU WONDER?"
"Before the distraction he caused, remember Todoroki sent ice at Joku right before he reached the Fall. He probably used his attack to stop his fellow students from continuing on as well as gathering the water that was melted from Todoroki's ice, either from his own distraction or from the late explosion Bakugo tried to send. However, it seems he planned to also include himself in the radius as his eyes are closed right now, but knew he had alternatives that he could rely on instead of sight."
Killian watched Umi from the crowd with a smile on his face as he watched Umi get through the fall, though he had a bit of trepidation behind that as he saw the next level on the camera. "Be careful irmao, that next one looks nasty." He also rubbed his chin and looked at the way Umi had controlled the water. "So, you're a dual-quirk user huh, at least that's what you've shown so far, lightning and water eh, but the way you're moving right now you at least have something else in the locker, those jumps into the air, I didn't see any lightning to boost you."
xXx
"My synapses are firing on all cylinders thanks to that move, to think I came up with Pulsar Spark on the fly." Umi spun in the air as the water stream flowed in a curve beneath him, hearing the explosions and people behind racing to catch up again. "Air Search has strengthened, I can feel myself getting closer to Category 1 levels of awareness and power but I can still feel the separate drawbacks. My body feels like I'm being put into a lake, and I don't want to use lightning and make myself numb for the upcoming rounds. All I need to do is see what the final barrier is and create a plan or risk it for the win. I'll restore myself at the end of this round regardless, I've secured my position in the next round, so why not go for the win?" He felt something coming toward him and dodged, feeling a scale shot being sent at him courtesy of Rin who seemed to have caught up somewhat.
"YOU LETTING US CATCH UP UMI?!" Setsuna flew toward him as he spun around her and grabbed her arm before both kicked away from each other, dodging the explosion sent at them by Bakugo in mid-air. "NOT TODAY EXPLOSION BOY, DO BETTER THAN THAT!" She screamed out at Bakugo who responded, "FUCK OFF YOU EXTRA! AND I'M COMING FOR YOU OTHER HALF AND HALF!" Bakugo sent explosions at both, with Setsuna dodging but splitting herself apart and letting the explosions soar through her while she reassembled as Umi hit the floor and slid, letting the explosion hit the ground as he continued running.
Todoroki tried to rush forward but was stopped in his tracks as Izuku leaped over his ice assault and prepared a flick before releasing it, wind flowing over the area as the ice was destroyed. "Midoriya, you… And this guy too, another dual quirk user…" Izuku squeezed his hand in and out to alleviate some of the pain his finger was experiencing due to the strain. "Come on, just a little more and I'll be making you proud All Might and Mom!"
"WHAT A BATTLE FOR THE TOP, EACH MEMBER DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO GET AHEAD WHILE DODGING AS THEY GET THROUGH THE FALL AND REACH THE FINAL BARRIER, AND WHAT A BARRIER IT IS! WELCOME TO THE MINEFIELD! THE TOP 5 ARE COMPETING FIERCELY WHILE THE OTHER STUDENTS CLOSE IN ON THEM!"
Umi ran, the others barreling behind him as he took to the trees, hopping from branch to branch at a fast pace while Izuku followed. Bakugo and Setsuna took to going above the mines while minding their height, and Todoroki froze the ground. "I don't have time to slow down, I need to get first!" The students behind them used this ice to their advantage, using the ice to get even more ahead.
"TODOROKI FREEZES THE GROUND! HE KNOWS THAT BY DOING THIS HE HELPS THE PEOPLE BEHIND HIM, BUT HE'S ONLY FOCUSED ON GETTING FIRST PLACE!"
Izuku went to try and pass Umi who held him back as they both held narrowed eyes at one another. They might've been friends but in the heat of competition, friends become the biggest rivals. Umi spun and launched off Izuku's shoulders into the air with Bakugo and Setsuna who were duking it out and put one arm down as he fell toward the ground, Izuku seeing what he was attempting to do and following as Umi channeled lightning to his finger and ignited a mine before putting up a water shield to block the explosion, Izuku jumping on his back and hanging on for dear life as Umi looked back with shock.
"Izuku-" The mine exploded and the two got sent into the air with the three behind looking at the two high in the air. "DEKU AND OTHER HALF AND HALF, GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARDS!" "GET BACK HERE MIDORIYA AND JOKU!" Bakugo increased his explosion's intensity while Setsuna pushed herself even further and Todoroki filed more ice out.
The two in the air looked at each other with a mix of flare and amazement, going through the air above the minefield at high speeds as they approached the ground.
"At this height, you'd really mess yourself up." Izuku looked at Umi with pure determination, as Umi just shook his head in pure amazement. "You're insane, you know that. It's why you make such an amazing rival, willing to push yourself to unbelievable heights to get stronger and prove yourself. But that's why I'll always push myself further, I can't fall behind my trainee after all!" Umi turned and put his arms out, increasing the air resistance that surrounded him before the wind surrounded his legs as the other three caught up and Izuku prepared two flicks behind him. All five thought at the same time.
"I won't lose, this is MY WIN!"
"SMASHHHHHHHHH!" Izuku flicked as a huge burst of wind came forth and he shot forward, his fingers sprained but his face undeterred by the pain.
"BLAST RUSH!" Bakugo's explosions powered up even more, his wrists beginning to feel the strain of the explosions but the sweat that was being brought out increased the power even more.
"Glacial Blitz…" Todoroki's ice launched him forward, sliding him even faster than before and keeping him on par with Bakugo's speed.
"SCATTERED ASTEROIDS!" Setsuna's body split up into 50 pieces as each piece pushed her head forward, as long as one body part of hers made it first then she would win.
"Zephyr's Whirlwind!" Umi poured the wind behind him as he launched forward, his speed increasing massively as it became similar, perhaps even surpassing his speed while covered by his lightning. Even still, he produced lightning to make it look like it was the lightning speeding him up. The five didn't even need to look at one another, they only focused on one thing.
Winning
The tunnel fast approached, the darkness encompassing the light from Bakugo's explosions, the light at the end of the tunnel forming. Wind, ice, explosions, screams, sweat, the students poured everything out, and the stadium welcomed them with opening arms. The roar of the crowd as each of the top 5 stopped and looked out at the crowd while holding their breath, waiting for the announcement of the winner.
"THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN, AND THE FIRST-YEARS HAVE ALREADY DONE SOMETHING INCREDIBLE! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE HAVE A TIE AT THE TOP!" Present Mic announced to the world as the camera went in slow motion, showing the people who had tied.
"UMI JOKU, IZUKU MIDORIYA, SETSUNA TOKAGE, AND KATSUKI BAKUGO ALL CROSSED THE LINE AT THE SAME TIME, SHOTO TODOROKI WAS 0.2 SECONDS BEHIND! A FOUR-WAY TIE, AN UNPRECENDENTED WAY TO BEGIN THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!"
The camera captured the whole scene, with the arms of the boys all put out at the finish line while Setsuna barely managed to tie by sticking out her tongue. Todoroki's arm was also put out, but it was being held back as Izuku was pushing himself forward with his other arm. Todoroki looked furious and looked at Izuku who meekly basked in the spotlight. Bakugo held an enraged look but a grin at the same time, his eyes portraying how even with him at the top, he was still angry. "THESE DAMN EXTRAS, THEY'RE TAKING AWAY MY SPOTLIGHT! AND DEKU YOU DAMN BASTARD, YOU NEVER LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Umi and Setsuna just looked at each other, both sweating while Setsuna looked out of breath. Both just smiled at the other and nodded. They walked up to each other and fist bumped with their sides, their eyes doing the speaking for the same. "Good job Setsu, I'm proud of you, you've improved so much." "You're so amazing Umi, you were in the lead for so long I only tied by a string of luck. I'm glad I'm able to stand on the same level as you."
"GOOD SHIT IRMAO!" Umi turned to hear the scream that rang out even amongst the crowd and saw Killian near one of the front rows with a grin and thumbs up. "YOU'RE AMAZING!" Umi smiled at Killian and pumped his fist at the man while the people around looked at him with wonder at how he knew the student.
Inko watched through her TV with tears in her eyes as she saw Izuku in the spotlight after managing to get first place. "Izuku, you're so cool. I'm so proud of you." Her tears began to flood the apartment at the sight of her son on top as she grew more melancholic, "I regret what I said back then, but I know you know that Izuku. Just show me that you can reach your dreams now!"
All Might sat with his arms in his face as he saw his student's success. "Young Midoriya, you don't know how proud you make me every day."
Three students watched the top 5, more specifically eyeing the four that came in first. "Izuku Midoriya, his stock is sure to go up after this performance, his quirk gives him many possibilities." Another pushed his glasses up and said, "Setsuna Tokage, able to keep up with people who can control elements to a certain extent, she will be worth investing in. Umi Joku has also shown crazy potential, showing off what looks like a dual-quirk on the caliber of Shoto Todoroki. The 1B students are proving themselves on par with the 1A students who have actually fought villains." The last one looked at Bakugo and shook his head, "Katsuki Bakugo, the talent is certainly there, but there is something to be desired with that personality."
"The Business course ladies and gentlemen! There's really no need for them to participate in the Sports Festival, so they instead use this time to cultivate their instincts by selling things or running market simulations!"
More students began to file in, Juzo coming in soon after the top 5 and looking at Umi and Setsuna with a mixture of respect and competitive flare, Setsuna grinning at him while Umi just smirked as Ibara and Rin also came in, Rin looking straight at Umi with an unreadable face before nodding with his eyes closed. Eventually, the race had ended, and Midnight took the stage. "THE UA OBSTACLE RACE HAS OFFICIALLY ENDED, AND THE TOP 42 MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ROUND, PLEASE SHOW THE TOP 42 STUDENTS AND GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR GETTING THIS FAR!" The screen flashed with the names of every person who qualified and the place they came in.
1st: Izuku Midoriya
1st: Katsuki Bakugo
1st: Umi Joku
1st: Setsuna Tokage
5th: Shoto Todoroki
6th: Juzo Honenuki
7th: Ibara Shiozaki
8th: Hiryu Rin
9th: Tenya Ida
10th: Fumikage Tokoyami
11th: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
12th: Eijiro Kirishima
13th: Hanta Sero
14th: Kyoka Jirou
15th: Ochaco Uraraka
16th: Itsuka Kendo
17th: Yosetsu Awase
18th: Tsuyu Asui
19th: Ojiro Mashirao
20th: Rikido Sato
21st: Mezo Shoji
22nd: Momo Yaoyorozu
23rd: Minoru Mineta
24th: Neito Monoma
25th: Kosei Tsuburaba
26th: Shihai Kuroiro
27th: Yui Kodai
28th: Mina Ashido
29th: Denki Kaminari
30th: Togaru Kamakiri
31st: Jurota Shishida
32nd: Pony Tsunotori
33rd: Nirengeki Shoda
34th: Sen Kaibara
35th: Koji Koda
36th: Mei Hatsume
37th: Reiko Yanagi
38th: Kojiro Bondo
39th: Kinoko Komori
40th: Hitoshi Shinso
41st: Toru Hagakure
42nd: Yuga Aoyama
"Deku!" Izuku looked and started blushing while Uraraka started congratulating him before she looked at him with a mix of amazement and confusion. "How did you do all that Deku? I thought you could only use your quirk while hurting yourself, what training did you do in those two weeks to get better?!" Some of the 1A students listened in on the conversation as well as some 1B students who looked interested as Izuku covered his face. "O-oh I just trained really hard these last couple of weeks and it finally came to me." Izuku failed to notice something spring up on him and flinched as a head was next to him. "Oh come on Midoriya, you're not gonna mention how we were sparring partners?!" Class 1-A looked at Setsuna who had her head separated from her body, all looking shocked at how Izuku knew somebody else in the school who was a girl, and how he didn't even seem that embarrassed with Uraraka's head tilting with a small look of betrayal.
"Sorry Tokage, I didn't know you would take offense to it." She bopped him on the before congratulating him with a one-armed hug around his neck. "But still, in the two weeks we've been training you went from breaking fingers to using your whole body, I'm so proud of you greenie, I'll be sure to see you in the next round!" She went to return to her position before offering a fist bump which Izuku accepted with a smile, shocking some of the 1A and 1B students and making a certain blonde 1B student raise an eyebrow.
"What a display of respect between rival classes! Seems like Midoriya of 1A and Tokage of 1B have some familiarity between them!"
Uraraka stepped closer and asked, "Um Deku, how do you know Tokage? It looked like you both knew each other for a while." Izuku still blushed in her presence but decided to explain. "I know Tokage through my neighbor, he introduced us and we became fast friends and during the last two weeks, I was training with her and my neighbor, with her being my main sparring partner. She and him are the main reasons I'm able to finally have some control of my quirk, but I think she has feelings for him if I'm being honest…" He said knowing that only Uraraka could hear him right now, not hearing Uraraka's slight sigh of relief or the earphone plugged into the ground.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" Midnight announced to the crowd to get everyone's attention, the men following with their eyes while Killian whistled but shook his head. "Another beautiful lady, but I don't know. I think the blond bela moca was cuter."
"Do not worry if you didn't have the chance to qualify, there will be other chances down the road for you to prove your skills to the people watching. Now, it's time to decide what the next stage will be for the competitors! The chance to fully move yourself into the limelight, so give it your best shot!" She spun the wheel to decide what the next stage would be as the crowd roared at what the final outcome would be. "The waiting is torture, the wheel is slowing down, What could it be?!" Umi's eyes narrowed as the wheel finished spinning, Midnight's eyes lighting up.
"PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE CAVALRY BATTLE!" On-screen, the instructions for this event came on. "Allow me to explain. 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." Iida from 1A then chimed up and said, " I get it, a point-based system like the entrance exams. That seems pretty simple. So that means each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it." Midnight looked a bit annoyed and glared at him, " Uh-huh! Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you." The boy wisely shut his mouth to avoid whatever Midnight planned on doing to him as she smiled. " Now, then. The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, 42nd place is worth five points, and 41st is worth ten. And the point value assigned to the first-place contestant is…" She queued for a drum roll as the screen showed the amount, the students all looking shocked.
"Ten million! However, since there was a four-way tie for first, either we'd have to give each first-place winner 10 million, divide it to 2,500,000 million, or ignore the 10 million rule entirely." She then grinned darkly and put her arms out, "BUT WHERE'S THE EXCITEMENT IN THAT? First-place students, step up to me!" Bakugo, Izuku, Setsuna, and Umi all stepped up to Midnight as she brought out four cards from out of nowhere.
"Four cards, four players, pick a card and the number on that card will be the place you get the points for! You all are officially 1st place, but we need some suspense!" The crowd roared in agreement as Izuku stepped up first, gulping slightly at the prospect of getting 10 million points before grabbing the leftmost card. Bakugo stepped up with a gnarly grin before picking the third card, as Setsuna went and picked the rightmost card leaving Umi the last.
"NOW, FLIP YOUR CARDS TO THE SKY!" Each of the four raised the cards to the sky as the counter was now set.
"IZUKU MIDORIYA, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'RE THE RECEIVER OF THE 10 MILLION POINTS!" Izuku's heart sank as he felt the pressure from all the other people. "KATSUKI BAKUGO HAS BEEN GIVEN THE 2ND PLACE POINTS, WHILE UMI JOKU GETS 3RD AND SETSUNA TOKAGE GETS 4TH! NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FIND THE PEOPLE YOU WISH TO TEAM UP WITH!"
Izuku looked around for people to team up with him, with most of the people not wanting to risk it for the 10 million. Umi looked at him and shook his head, with Izuku looking at him back and also shaking his head. They had come to a mutual agreement that they wouldn't team up in the non-individual event, and it was going to stay that way. Umi looked around at his options, and he didn't have a lot. Most of his 1B classmates veered away from him, their declaration becoming more clear in his mind as he smirked. "No hard feelings." Setsuna had managed to form her own four made up of Juzo, Tetsutetsu, and Kendo as she grinned at him savagely before he got tapped on the arm and looked at the person who he admittedly hadn't spoken to much during his time at school, something he regretted as he didn't have much of a relationship with his other classmates besides Setsuna, Tetsutetsu, Juzo, and maybe Monoma depending on circumstance.
"Rin, may I help you?" Hiryu Rin watched with emotionless eyes before he smirked and offered his hand in a handshake. He had seen the way the whole class had essentially isolated Joku in this competition and had challenged him, and the way Joku reacted to said challenge with a smirk and confident gaze. He had seen the way Joku handled Shishida in the Battle Trials weeks ago and he had seen some of the workouts that Joku put himself through to be better. All of this went through his mind as his smile became wider before he said, "Joku, you're a person in hindsight I haven't spoken much to, but I respect your competitive nature and the way you carry yourself in battle, so if you don't mind, I'd love to join you in battle. You're aiming for the top and so am I, even if it's just the two of us I have a feeling we can make it all the way."
Umi looked at the hand and back into Rin's eyes with a smile before he took the hand firmly, signifying the partnership between the two. "I welcome you on board, I've respected your work ethic in class and during the trials, and your abilities combined with mine can make a terrifying combination." Rin nodded before Umi handed him the headbands. "First, I believe you should be the rider. Your quirk offers you some mobility, but your defensive capabilities with your scales offer you almost the same defense as Tetsutetsu with his steel without the added weight, plus I can offer more defense with many options for my quirk plus the much-increased mobility." Rin nodded, planning to make the same case as he put the headbands on and tightened his fist.
"Now, let's show the rest of the competition how we stack up against them." Both clasped their hands with a smirk before the teams took center stage.
Team Midoriya:
Izuku Midoriya, Ochaco Uraraka, Mei Hatsume, Fumikage Tokoyami: 10,000,335
Team Tokage:
Setsuna Tokage, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Juzo Honenuki, Itsuka Kendo: 675
Team Bakugo:
Katsuki Bakugo, Mina Ashido, Eijiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero: 585
Team Todoroki:
Shoto Todoroki, Denki Kaminari, Momo Yaoyorozu, Tenya Iida: 535
Team Rin:
Hiryu Rin, Umi Joku: 380
Team Mineta:
Minoru Mineta, Tsuyu Asui, Mezo Shoji, Koji Koda: 375
Team Monoma:
Neito Monoma, Sen Kaibara, Kosei Tsuburaba, Shihai Kuroiro: 315
Team Kodai:
Yui Kodai, Ibara Shiozaki, Kinoko Komori, Reiko Yanagi: 310
Team Kamakiri:
Togaru Kamakiri, Pony Tsunotori, Jurota Shishida, Yosetsu Awase: 295
Team Hagakure:
Toru Hagakure, Kyoka Jirou, Yuga Aoyama, Rikido Sato: 275
Team Shinso:
Hitoshi Shinso, Ojiro Mashirao, Nirengeki Shoda, Kojiro Bondo: 205
"Quite balanced these teams are, aren't they Eraser?"
"Quite balanced indeed, even the one two-man group is keeping up with the points category, and it's quite obvious every team has its strategies. This is sure to be competitive."
Midnight looked at Umi and Rin's weird way of going about this stage, as Rin held on to Umi's neck and looked to be unbothered by the situation, while Umi looked unbothered by the added weight but shrugged and looked at all teams.
"IS EVERYONE READY?!" Most of the teams looked at Izuku's team who looked unbothered as Izuku looked at his team. "One more thing guys, if you see Team Rin, try to avoid them at all costs and only engage if absolutely necessary. They are our biggest weakness in terms of our abilities." Hatsume and Uraraka looked confused but Tokoyami understood. "Umi Joku uses lightning that may produce even more light than Kaminari and water that can mess up our gadgets, it would be unwise to go up against them. Not to mention Hiryu Rin and Umi Joku are complete wildcards and I doubt they have showcased everything they can do. "
"You don't know half of it, Tokoyami. Watch out for Joku, he's at the bare minimum on par with Kacchan and Todoroki, and his teammate is no slouch either. He kept up in the race and placed above Iida." That got Uraraka's attention as she looked at the two boys who looked almost relaxed, but she could see they were ready to react at a moment's notice. "Deku's right, I don't know why but I can almost feel it, they're dangerous."
"ALRIGHT, GET READY!" Midnight's shout made all the students tense up as Rin made a fist and Umi put his hands in his pockets.
"BEGIN THE CAVALRY BATTLE!" All hell broke loose, with Izuku's team planning to run away before being caught by Juzo. "THAT'S NOT GONNA FLY WITH US GREENIE!" Setsuna screamed out as she separated her hands before a shadow came from Tokoyami's body and blocked the hands. "Revelry In The Dark."
"NOW HATSUME!" The pink-haired girl activated the jetpack they had and managed to get out of Juzo's prison before Team Toru tried to go after them, Jirou planned to attack before also being stopped by Tokoyami. Aoyama responded by firing a laser beam as Tokoyami retracted the shadow before Hatsume activated her boots, getting Team Midoriya away again.
"COME ON DEKUUUUUUU!" Bakugo pressed from above while diving before Tokoyami once again defended from the explosion, with Sero being forced to save Bakugo with his tape.
"Fumikage Tokoyami with the amazing defense early on, stopping three teams from early assaults on them as many others press on!"
"These early assaults put the 10,000,000-point team on notice early, but I don't know if that's the right decision to make early on. You open yourself up to sneak attacks."
Umi and Rin watched calmly as everyone went after Team Midoriya before seeing some teams straggling behind and starting to go after each other cautiously, with the Class 1B students going after 1A and vice versa, trying to keep the combat strictly between the other classes. Umi then felt something around them before Rin grabbed a little finger. "Ah, I see Tokage is trying to swipe in silence. Quite smart." Umi nodded in respect for the strategy before flicking the finger away and looking around before he started walking toward Team Mineta who was oblivious to them, Mineta focused on Team Midoriya before Umi stopped, seeing the multiple eyes and ears on the back of Shoji alongside Koda. "I know you see us." Team Mineta turned around, Mineta himself grinning like he had just won the lottery. "We got the two-man team?
Aw, this is going to be so easy!" Umi raised an eyebrow while Rin frowned as Asui then bopped him on the head and said, "Kero, don't underestimate them. That guy tied for first with Midoriya and Bakugo for a reason, and the other guy managed to come top 10 too."
Umi simply looked at Rin who nodded before suddenly he was right in front of Team Mineta and managed to grab one of their headbands before multiple arms formed and shot at the two while Umi jumped back, Rin letting go in mid-air and flipping back multiple times before his arm was filled with scales and he shot, stopping Asui who had jumped at him in an attempt to try and get his headbands before Shoji grabbed her back and put up multiple arms to defend them. However, the scales hit the floor before them, putting up a large dust cloud. "My friends, please come get rid of this cloud and help us!" Koda called out as birds came in and flapped their wings onto the dust cloud blowing it away. Mineta got some pop balls into his hands and prepared to throw them while screaming, "I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE, IT'S TIME FOR MY SPECIAL MOVE!" Something fast then rushed through the last bit of the dust cloud before suddenly, the headbands on Mineta's forehead were gone and Team Rin was no longer in their view.
"WOAHHHH, TEAM MINETA HAS LOST ALL OF THEIR HEADBANDS ALL OF A SUDDEN! WHATEVER HAPPENED IN THAT DUST CLOUD, TEAM RIN MANAGED TO SNAG ALL OF THEIR POINTS AWAY AND DISAPPEARED BEFORE TEAM MINETA EVEN HAD A CHANCE TO RETALIATE! TEAM RIN ARE NOW IN SECOND WITH 755 POINTS!"
"So, do we simply play defense for now or do we go after other teams so we can stack up even more?" Rin asked as Umi snorted with Rin chuckling before Umi tensed up and his hand sparked before jumping and dodging a horn that was aimed to capture them. The two turned and saw Team Kamakiri staring at them with the team smirking and Togaru himself grinning. "NO HARD FEELINGS, RIGHT?"
Pony launched another horn at them while Rin launched his scales, the two colliding and dispersing while Shishida rushed them before Yosetsu jumped off and tried to weld Umi to himself before Umi dodged to the side and kicked up, Yosetsu being saved by a horn from Pony as the two rode around before Umi did a backflip and kicked Rin high into the air, with Rin covering his whole body in scales and spinning, shooting the scales around the whole battlefield while Shishida grew in size. Togaru jumped and grew a blade aiming to cut the headbands so Yosetsu could grab them and weld them back together for them before Umi suddenly met him in mid-air and hit him with an electric palm, stopping the attack dead in its tracks before Shishida went to grab Togaru from falling to the ground However, before he could Umi managed to take 3 of the 4 headbands in the air and flip off Togaru's body before interlocking with Rin again, feeling Pony launching a horn at them in mid-air and landing on the horn perfectly as she had shot the max she could control at a time, with this one being an errant shot to protect her teammate. Togaru recovered and looked at the two escaping with a manic look, "WE'LL GET POINTS BACK, DON'T LET UP ON THE COMPETITION!"
Umi and Rin rode the horn to the other side of the field and jumped off at the edge of the battlefield calmly, seeing Team Kamakiri coming towards them from the other side. They turned to their left and saw Team Monoma along with Team Kodai standing off from Team Bakugo and Team Hagakure.
"Aye Joku and Rin if you don't mind, stay out of this one for right now. These arrogant Class 1-A brats are ours to take on! We'll deal with you later." Monoma said with a grin on his face while Umi raised an eyebrow, Rin also looked a bit more confused but still accepted Monoma's proposal Bakugo snarled while Jirou looked a bit annoyed. "You extras… You won't get out of my way!"
"Sorry about Monoma, he can be a bit of a prickly shroom!" Komori said to Team Hagakure while the teams laughed before they stood off and began to go at one another.
"I figured that Monoma held something against Class 1-A. I guess he had some feelings buried when Bakugo slighted the other classes." Rin shook his head at Umi's explanation before they saw Team Kamakiri approaching their side before they went after Team Midoriya who were forced to flee.
"I guess they saw Midoriya's 10 million points not being chased down in a while and decided to put their chips in the pool, let's see how they do." Yosetsu almost welded the jetpack they had to the floor before Shishida went to grab the team, with Tokoyami's Dark Shadow protecting them. Pony then fired a Horn Cannon which Midoriya was barely able to kick away due to the speed at which it was coming at them before they used Hatsume's gadgets and Uraraka's quirk to escape.
The duo did the mental math and now knew they had 920 points before the ground softened around them and Umi created a water bubble around them to stop the softened ground from enclosing them as they got back onto solid ground and saw Team Tokage across from them. Tetsutetsu and Setsuna grinned at them while Juzo and Kendo held serious gazes as they stared back
"GONNA HAVE TO FACE THE MUSIC EVENTUALLY JOKU!" Team Tokage wanted to go after the duo, however, Team Monoma ran through the area followed closely by Team Bakugo. Umi and Rin looked at the scoreboard to see Team Bakugo had lost all of their points which were now held by Monoma who began to taunt Bakugo.
"You know why 1-B is taking you down right now, because most of us made a pact to fall behind in the obstacle race so you all would underestimate us and so we could watch over you all and learn your abilities! AND LOOK HOW IT WORKED, YOU ARROGANT BRATS!" Monoma exclaimed with Bakugo giving an infuriated glare in response.
"Screw Deku, Half and Half, Other Half and Half, and Splitter for now, this extra comes first!"
Team Tokage looked at the scene before looking to find where Umi and Rin had gone, only to find they had vanished back to the other side of the field in the ensuing chaos. "Damn it Umi, why won't you stay in one place?!" Setsuna tightened her fist as Kendo patted her back. "Relax Tokage, right now just focus on gaining more points!" Juzo nodded in agreement as Tetsutetsu's grin sharpened even more.
Umi and Rin arrived at the other side completely devoid of people as they gathered their thoughts. "We're halfway through the allotted time, in second place right now to Team Midoriya who still have the 10,000,000 point headband. Team Tokage is right behind us, and Team Monoma is right behind them." Rin said as they fist-bumped each other before they thought about the teams they hadn't faced off against yet. "We haven't come across Team Todoroki, Team Shinso or Team Midoriya. Team Kamakiri finally gave up their pursuit, and Team Monoma said they'd try to come after us sooner or later after dealing with Bakugo and Team Tokage also aiming for us. Team Bakugo are after Monoma for now and are likely to keep him occupied, while the other Class 1B teams don't seem to be too hot on our tail but might come after us eventually." Rin sarcastically responded, "They're really taking this 'No Hard Feelings' situation seriously right now." Umi just shook his head and said, "I invited them to take this opportunity, it's only fair they take it seriously."
"I'm not complaining, it gives me a chance to see how I compare to my classmates." Umi and Rin saw a confrontation happening between Team Midoriya and Team Todoroki, the two headband wearers narrowing their eyes at one another. Umi looked at Rin and nodded before the two walked slowly toward the two teams who seemed so focused on one another they couldn't even bother to watch their sides. Umi noticed Team Todoroki had also not lost any points and that all the Class 1A teams besides Team Midoriya and Todoroki had lost all of their points at the moment. "Seems like the class's plan worked, 1A only has 7 minutes to turn this result around."
"It's the halfway point of the Cavalry Battle, and Team Midoriya still holds the top spot! In second place, it's Team Rin! With the duo managing to hold off multiple teams and come out with more and more points in each conflict they brought themselves in, it seems they're in a perfect position to hold that spot until the final bell sounds. In third, Team Tokage holds their sizable start while quite slyly swiping headbands from unsuspecting people! In fourth, Team Monoma took the spot after the display of ingenuity and cunning they had against Team Bakugo, with Team Shiozaki, Todoroki, and Shinso all close to Team Monoma in terms of total points, but it's still anyone's game. What are your thoughts, Eraser?"
"It's quite obvious the majority of Class 1-A underestimated just how cunning 1-B could be, and now they are reaping what they have sown and 1-B are taking advantage. However, I'm noticing that the 1-B groups are targeting Team Rin as well. In previous Sports Festivals the classes normally side with one another, but I've never seen a class go after one another in this form in a long time without the major prize as an option."
"Even the announcers agree with me, you see now?" Umi just chuckled as they continued walking towards the two teams and their standoff as more teams pooled toward the middle, Shoji running toward Team Todoroki with his arms raised while Kamakiri ran at them with his blades active.
"Kaminari, now!" Kaminari raised his finger to the air. "GOT YOU TODOROKI! INDISCRIMINATE SHOCK! 1.3 MILLION VOLTS!" A yellow electric shock ran across the field as Todoroki raised a tarp over the other members of his team to block the attack, most teams that were pushing them got hit and stopped dead in their tracks. Rin put his scales up to try and block the damage being dealt but noticed that Umi wasn't even fazed, keeping his hands in his pockets. He felt a strong wind around him, but couldn't see it as Umi held his hand out, the hand sparkling with lilac electricity.
"Don't worry, this is a feint, they can't hear us right now in this Vacuum Sphere." Rin nodded and kept quiet, watching Todoroki grab onto a pole created by Yaoyorozu before he channeled ice to the floor, The whole field froze as most of the teams fell victim to this, with only a select few dodging as Rin looked down, still seeing wind sphere protect their position while there were now arcs of lightning going around the wind sphere before it dispersed. Todoroki went around and collected most headbands from the fallen teams before looking at Midoriya's team with a narrowed gaze as they were one of the few teams to not fall victim to the ice trap, but were now completely trapped by Team Todoroki. Umi and Rin stayed silent as Todoroki hadn't noticed them yet, their noises being muffled by the winds that now surrounded the area and their steps silent.
"Shadow Stepping."
The two traveled through the ice spikes while Team Midoriya held their ground albeit with a lot of trouble against Team Todoroki, coming across frozen teams and taking the headbands that Todoroki had foolishly left behind in his quest for the 10,000,000. They were points to help them and they would use every last one.
"Rin." He looked at Umi who was preparing something, with lightning channeling from his feet as they made their way closer. "It's time for what we set in motion at the beginning. Get ready." Rin left his calm demeanor behind and looked at the two teams duking it out before growing scales all over his body, till the point where only his nose and mouth were uncovered as the minute mark blared.
xXx
Bakugo eyed Monoma dangerously as the two teams stood eye-to-eye with one another. It had taken Team Monoma everything they had to withstand Bakugo's constant assaults, but they were still going forward. "Looks like you can't beat us! ARE YOU FINALLY DONE WITH THIS POINTLESS ASSAULT?!" Monoma screamed out with a crazy grin as Bakugo was sweating. First, this damn extra had the nerve to reveal he could copy his quirk and use it to damage him, then take the quirks of the other people on his team and use them while his team played ultimate defense.
He was finally going to break through.
"Pinkshido, Elbero, Kirishima, LET'S FUCKING GO!" He grinned maniacally as his teammates looked at him with wide eyes before putting on grins themselves. "He almost said my name!" "FINALLY HE SAYS MY DAMN NAME!" Ashido created a mild acid that the team could slide on while Sero sent tape at the team, Tsuburaba put up an air wall to stop the tape before Kirishima came up and punched the air wall, almost destroying it as Monoma saw the damage and instantly tensed up before putting up a second air wall and preparing Bakugo's quirk, with Bakugo himself preparing a large explosion. Both drenched in sweat, they swung their explosions, but Bakugo struck first and broke through the air wall, taking some of Team Monoma's headbands but not their own as they now entered 4th place, with Team Monoma falling all the way down to Seventh. Bakugo saw that the 5th and 6th were right behind them, so he looked at his team and grinned. "We need to defeat them utterly, NO HOLDING BACK! WE EITHER WIN…"
Monoma's tension grew but he still tensed his fist, his team still holding firm. "We need to get back those headbands if we even want a chance at the top 4 and the next round." Sen and Tsuburaba clenched their teeth while Kuroiro frowned. Monoma looked at Team Bakugo with a glare as they all glared back. "There's no going back from here. We either win…" Both Captains yelled out at the top of their lungs for the world to hear.
"OR WE DIE TRYING!"
Sen began his gyration as Team Monoma rushed while Team Bakugo rushed back, the two captains unwavering in their decisions before one final clash was made for the headbands, both explosions hitting their marks as Bakugo broke through first, taking the final headbands off Monoma's head as he fell to the floor with the rest of his team while Bakugo and his team stood there as the alarm blared for the one minute mark. "You were actually a good fight, you're definitely not the extra I thought you were." Team Bakugo left to go after the 10,000,000 points, Monoma sighing with frustration before accepting his loss, at least for today.
xXx
Team Tokage stood across from Team Shinso, the assault that they were unprepared for as whatever Shinso was doing to her team, was taking them out of commission. First Tetsutetsu was taken out and turned against them, and when Itsuka went to talk some sense into him, she too fell victim. Setsuna looked tired and frustrated, with Juzo and her being the last line of defense before her hopes of meeting in the finals with Umi went up in smoke. The general studies student smirked, as Setsuna narrowed her eyes before she split up her body and sent pieces at Shinso in frustration only for them to get smacked around by Ojiro and barely avoid getting hit by Shoda's Twin Impact, something she did not want to get hit by again while barely avoiding the attempts to have her body parts glued to the floor by Bondo so her team isn't out.
"You know, you can just give up, you know you only got first place out of sheer luck by sticking your tongue out." Setsuna saw red and almost responded before Team Shinso barely avoided getting sunk by Juzo who was a stalwart in the face of avoiding Tetsutetsu and Kendo's movements.
"Your teammate is undoubtedly carrying you right now, a shame you're not going to meet that boyfriend of yours in the final." Setsuna stopped in her tracks as she saw red before Shinso continued. "Yeah, I've seen the way you are with him, a shame you're not gonna be on the same level as him." Setsuna split up into as many pieces as she could muster in her anger and sent every part at Shinso while screaming, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" And then her world went black as Shinso smirked.
"Got you, now give me your headbands." However, Shinso didn't realize that in her anger, Setsuna actually split herself up into 75 pieces, causing more strain onto her actual body before her pain receptors started firing on all cylinders and her eyes returned to normal before she stopped floating. "Wha-" Her eyes widened before she looked at Juzo as Shinso's eyes widened and told his team to charge, he'd been found out. "JUZO!" Juzo looked at Setsuna who screamed, "IT'S PAIN, YOU HAVE TO HURT THEM FOR THEM TO COME BACK!" She managed to put herself back together before flipping over Shinso's attempts to grab her headbands before splitting up to avoid the tail slap and glue shots. Juzo looked at Kendo before saying, "Sorry about this Prez, but I need you to wake up if we have any hope of taking Tetsutetsu down." He went and knocked Kendo on the head, seeing her eyes go back to normal as he held her up. "Juzo, what happened?!" Juzo pointed to Setsuna who was handling all four at once. "She figured it out, We need to hit Tetsutetsu as hard as we can, pain is the only way we can make him come back to his senses. Kendo, not entirely aware of what happened, just nodded and looked at Tetsutetsu seriously.
"Leave Tetsutetsu to me, you just go help Tokage." The one-minute alarm rang as Setsuna bared her teeth at Team Shinso.
"Don't worry Umi, I promised you I'll see you in the finals. I won't let this guy stop me from seeing you there!"
xXx
"Unbelievable, I thought for sure that Team Midoriya was done for, but they were able to last for 5 minutes inside Team Todoroki's own backyard! We've reached the 1-minute mark and Team Midoriya still stands tall!"
"Shoto you fool, your opponent can see right through you. He's keeping his distance staying on the left side so that you can't get him with your ice unless you want to harm your own team. If only you just used your left!" Endeavor sat stone-faced and watched his son's team face off against the first-place team while looking at the scoreboard, noticing that the duo was still in the running. "And that one, I'm sure of it, he's Arashi's son. Same hair, lightning powers, and a dual-quirk just like my Shoto. I'll be sure to send an application his way, I need to know how he stacks up against Shoto."
"At this rate, if I want to freeze them over the shortest distance possible, I'll get Iida. And if he keeps moving like this, I'll do myself in. If I freeze indiscriminately. And Tokoyami can defend against Kaminari's electricity. One more minute. The bastard!" Iida looked at the state of his team and knew that this was their last chance.
"Everyone, there's less than a minute left. You won't be able to use me after this." His team looked at him in confusion as he gritted his teeth. "I'm counting on you!" He charged up his engines, his thoughts echoing to Todoroki as the look on his face said it all. "Hang on tight. Make sure you get it, Todoroki."
"Torque Over… RECIPRO BURST!" Team Todoroki sped up and burst past Team Midoriya, with Todoroki managing to finally take the 10,000,000-point headband.
"WHAT? WHAT WAS THAT? IT HAPPENED SO FAST? TEAM TODOROKI MANAGES TO TAKE FIRST PLACE, AND TEAM MIDORIYA FALLS DOWN TO 0 POINTS AND ARE NOW AT THE BOTTOM!"
Izuku looked aghast and looked back, seeing the smirk on Iida's face told the whole story. This was a move he was hiding from everyone.
"By forcing the torque and rotations to increase, I created an explosive power. With the recoil, my engine stalls after a while, though. It's a secret move. I hadn't told anyone in class yet." Iida and Team Todoroki smirked as Iida triumphantly said, "I told you Midoriya, that'd I challenge-"
Izuku's eyes however weren't on them, as they showed something he couldn't even make out as a violet flash went behind Iida. His eyes were wide as Todoroki felt something slipping out of his hand before he looked and the 10,000,000-point headband was now gone. "What the hell?!" His team looked and saw the headband Todoroki managed to take was no longer in his hand all of a sudden, Iida especially looking distraught.
"HOLD ON A SECOND, AM I SEEING THINGS RIGHT? TODOROKI DOESN'T HAVE THE 10,000,000 POINT HEADBAND ANYMORE?" His team looked shocked, no more than himself as he was sure he grabbed on before he looked at Midoriya to see if he knew what was going on, only to find Midoriya's eyes elsewhere. The two teams and the rest of the crowd followed the eyes of Midoriya to find the real culprit. On one of the spikes of ice Todoroki formed were Umi and Rin, with Rin holding the 10,000,000 point headband and fully clad within his scales while Umi smirked at them.
"IMPOSSIBLE, TEAM RIN HAS ARRIVED AND SNATCHED THE 10,000,000 POINTS FROM TEAM TODOROKI! HOW DID THEY EVEN MANAGE TO AVOID THE ICE AND KAMINARI'S SHOCK, LET ALONE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IIDA'S SUPER MOVE!"
"I was afraid something like this would happen, Team Todoroki and Team Midoriya were so focused on each other that they didn't even think to remember that someone could be waiting for the right opportunity and take control of the situation. They got careless in the heat of battle."
Izuku clenched his teeth as he looked at Umi who had the key to victory in one hand and looked at the rest of his team. "Damn, I couldn't even see him move. I need to get that headband back, it's the only way we can secure a win at this point unless we steal another team's whole points! How far behind am I to you Umi?"
Todoroki however looked furious. "This guy, I couldn't even notice him coming at us. He completely blitzed us and threw away the hope Iida gave us. We still have enough points to qualify, but Team Midoriya could also come after us to try and get our points too with Iida basically immobile." He noticed they were on his right side and launched an ice attack to cover them. Umi and Rin however lifted their hands as Izuku saw this and looked at Tokoyami. "GET DARK SHADOW TOKOYAMI!" Tokoyami heard the panic and got Dark Shadow to cover the team while Team Todoroki heard his tone, Yaoyorozu created a large shield in response.
"Pressure Gatling!" A turbine of wind and scales launched at the ice, obliterating the ice that tried to ensnare them as both teams put up their defenses, the wind and scales pounding against Yaoyorozu's shield and Dark Shadow.
"WIND TOO, WHAT IS THIS?!" Yaoyorozu shouted as the shield barely managed to hold up against the assault. Tokoyami looked at Izuku who was almost entranced by the wind and nodded. "Now I know why you were so worried about this team, this Umi Joku is unknown to us and now has us completely unmatched. We have to get points back in the next 40 seconds, we need a miracle."
"COME HERE YOU EXTRAAAAAAAAAA!" Bakugo rushed toward Team Rin from behind to try and get the drop with his quick speed, only for Rin to shoot up in the air and dodge Bakugo who looked at Umi with a glare, to which Umi sent a smile back. Izuku saw his chance and channeled his quirk before looking at Uraraka. "U-Uraraka, grab onto me!" Uraraka looked confused but touched Izuku before he launched into the air at high speeds without gravity before Uraraka reversed the effects, Izuku returning to normal gravity while next to Rin in the air. "GO DEKU!" Izuku went to grab Rin's points, managing to snag most of the headbands to get his team back into the top 4 before realizing that they missed three and looked back to Rin who smirked, the 10 Million Point headband still on his head while Izuku narrowed his eyes, the plan of Team Rin becoming more apparent. Bakugo saw this and his eyes went red before he launched after Izuku. "I'M GETTING THOSE 10 MILLION POINTS YOU DAMN NERD!"
"I'm sorry guys, I got careless." Iida lamented with gritted teeth as their team looked a bit distraught, a victory so close to them only to falter thanks to an unknown.
"It's not too late, move." Todoroki channeled ice to the pole he was on as a tower of ice began to sprout before he jumped onto the ice and went up after the three that went into the air.
"TEAM MIDORIYA MANAGES TO GET SOME POINTS BACK BUT TEAM RIN STILL SITS IN FIRST WITH THE 10 MILLION, SEEMS LIKE THEY KNEW THEY COULD AFFORD TO TRICK THEIR OTHER COMPETITORS BY SWITCHING THE ORDER! ALL FOUR HEADBAND WEARERS ARE NOW IN THE AIR, ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN NOW FOLKS!" Rin looked around and saw the three approaching fast again before he fully clad himself in his scales, ready for the fight of his life before he felt something beneath him as he began sliding down. "Water, Joku."
"What, did you think I was just going to let you give our points away?" Umi smirked as Rin sighed, "I got careless right there, it won't happen again. Midoriya is one innovative guy." Umi nodded with a smile as Rin grabbed him and he spun to avoid a Bakugo attempt at grabbing before avoiding the sliding Todoroki, Izuku came from below after launching up with the help of Uraraka and Tokoyami while Hatsume could only watch.
"10 SECONDS REMAINING, WHO WILL GET THROUGH TO THE END?!"
Bakugo charged up an explosion, his sweat dripping in the air before he launched forward with reckless abandon. Izuku prepared a flick before huge amounts of wind came from his hands as he launched toward the two. Todoroki's eyes blazed before his left side burned as he slid toward Team Rin, his left hand going up in flames, Endeavor's eyes going wide as he saw this.
Umi looked before whispering to Rin, "Hold on tight." Umi's arms crossed as lightning, wind, and water covered his whole body.
"Holy shit irmao," Killian said as the whole stadium could now see a strong wind go around Umi before he let his arms go free.
"I WILL GET THE 10 MILLION POINTS!" They all screamed before the clash happened and the stadium paused before the timer went out and the stadium cleared of all the wind.
"WHAT HAPPENED, WHO WALKED OUT THE WINNER OF THE CAVALRY BATTLE, WE NEED TO KNOW!"
The dust settled as a hand ros, the 10 Million Point headband in their scaled hand. "WHAT AN ENDING! HIRYU RIN MANAGES TO SAVE THE GAME FOR HIS TEAM AND SNAG FIRST PLACE! HIRYU RIN AND UMI JOKU ARE THE FIRST TEAM TO MAKE IT TO THE FINAL ROUND! WHO ARE OUR SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH PLACES?!"
More dust settled as Present Mic made his announcement. "Wow! This is incredible, Team Midoriya managed to snag some points from Team Todoroki and snag second place for themselves while Team Bakugo got third, and Team Todoroki got fourth! And would you believe it, Team Shinso and Team Setsuna somehow managed to draw points, so each team will send someone from their team to the next round due to our first-place team consisting of two people, incredible scenes from the cavalry battle today!"
Umi sat beside Rin with a smile and some cuts on his arms as the two looked at each other and fist-bumped. He then looked to his sides and saw Izuku looking straight at him before he looked away in some disappointment before he shook himself and nodded toward Umi who looked at him with an appreciative glance before he looked around and saw Bakugo glaring at him and Todoroki just looking at his left arm. He then went to find team Setsuna and saw her on the ground with a frown before her team had a conversation, likely on which member was going through to the final.
"We did it, we actually did it." He made a fist and just held it there while the Present Mic was congratulating the teams that passed on. "Only one more round to go now."
While in his trance, he felt someone in front of him and looked to see Bakugo there, his eyes hungry for a challenge. "YOU!" He pointed at Umi and said, "SINCE DEKU WANTS TO MAKE A CHALLENGE AGAINST HALF AND HALF, YOU'RE MY TARGET. SO MAKE THE FINALS YOU EXTRA SO I CAN CRUSH YOU AND YOUR TRIPLE QUIRK, BASTARD!" Bakugo then looked at Rin with a glare and then pointed at him too. "YOU TOO EXTRA, BOTH OF YOU ARE MY TARGETS, SO DON'T LOSE BEFORE I GET TO YOU!"
Umi and Rin looked at each other before smirking and looking back at Bakugo. "The same goes for you, don't lose before we get to fight. I'll make sure your pledge gets put in the dirt." Rin grinned at Bakugo who grinned back dangerously.
"What a challenge from Bakugo on the big stage, seems like he really wants to get his pride back! Going straight for the top dogs, with Joku and Rin not backing down! We'll be taking an hour lunch break before we come back and decide the matchups for Round One. Team Setsuna and Team Shinso, decide amongst you who will go on to the next round!"
Umi walked back to the cafe and sat down by himself, letting himself relax his tensions a bit before he just decided to walk around and clear his mind, seeing Bakugo by a corner and raising an eyebrow before hearing a voice around the corner. He walked up silently behind Bakugo who saw him and nearly said something only for Umi to shush him as they both listened in. "Have you ever heard of Quirk marriages?" Umi's eyebrows raised as he heard the story Todoroki told, how Endeavor "created" him into becoming the perfect heir to the number one hero, to take All Might's place at the top.
"My mom and dad, their families almost made them do a quirk marriage before they eloped with each other. I remember Mom telling me how they had grown fond of each other before their families almost commanded them to have a child before they moved away to Deika City, a place where their families couldn't get to them. To think Endeavor voluntarily put someone through all that stress, just to have a kid that could have a chance at being better than All Might and put a kid through all that. To think he put a woman through so much stress she was put in a psychiatric ward for trauma after what she did to her son, it's almost inhumane. I can't speak for him, but does he even regret what he has done?"
"The reason I picked a fight with you was to show my old man what I was capable of doing. Without having to rely on his damned fire Quirk. You see, I'm going to show him that I reject his power, and I can take first place without using it." Now Umi frowned and shook his head. "Just because I inherited my lightning from my dad doesn't mean that it's his quirk, his animosity for Endeavor has disillusioned him. A quirk is inherently yours, just because you inherit part of your quirk from your parents doesn't mean that it's your parent's quirk. Storm Surge is my own quirk, same with his Half-Hot-Half-Cold, but he doesn't see it like that. If Izuku can't fix your thinking, then I'll do it by showing you, from one mixed quirk user to another." Umi went to walk away before he heard Izuku start to speak.
"I understand how you feel T-Todoroki, but look at Joku. He has a mixed quirk as well, but just because he has parts from his parents, it doesn't mean that it's his parent's quirk that he's using, he's using his own quirk and using it well. Your fire isn't Endeavor's quirk, it's a part of yours." Umi looked back as Bakugo looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Izuku, what are you doing?"
Todoroki was silent as he heard this before he quickly changed, "Speaking of Joku, how exactly do you know him and Tokage? I saw your glances during the cavalry battle, you know him, don't you?" Izuku grimaced before nervously saying, "Joku is actually my next-door neighbor at home, he's lived next to my mom and me for around a year. He and Tokage invited me to train for the Sports Festival and I accepted, they're the ones who helped me gain control of my quirk." Todoroki narrowed his eyes at this while Bakugo looked back and glared at Joku who shrugged.
"So he's one of the reasons you've improved this much, and he himself is around the level that you consider a threat, your reactions during the cavalry battle showed me that."
"Y-yeah, he's someone I look up to, I-I honestly think he may be on you and Kacchan's level." Todoroki's eyes narrowed further before he just nodded and walked away. "Remember Midoriya, when we fight, I'll beat you, and only use my right side too." Izuku looked at Todoroki walking away and sighed before Bakugo walked away silently and Umi stood at the wall before shaking his head and turning the corner, Izuku's eyes widening.
"O-oh U-Umi…" "Don't. I heard everything." Izuku's heart dropped as Umi looked stoic before he sighed. "Thank you for thinking of me like that. I'm not mad, just surprised your first thought was to go to me, just try to not make it a spur-of-the-moment thing." Izuku grimaced again but nodded as Umi shook his head before he held a side fist up. "Fight's not over yet though, see you in a later round?" Izuku smiled brightly and fist-bumped Umi before he felt something cold on his hands, specifically his fingers which were red, the red going away as water dripped down his hands and his fingers felt a lot better. "Umi's water can heal someone that's right, that's how he healed the cuts on his arms."
"Good Luck in the next round Izuku, I hope we can finally have our match where we can go all out." Umi walked back to the cafe to see Team Tokage talking amongst themselves while Shinso sat alone. "Hey, Shinso." The boy looked at him with one eye open, a bit of animosity forming before Umi simply said, "Congrats on getting this far. For you to be in the general course and get this far, it speaks for your skills." Shinso looked a bit surprised before he just nodded and shook his head.
"Yaoyorozu, Well, I'm sure you already know since you're like a class rep, but they said all the girls have to wear those uniforms for the big cheer battle this afternoon." Umi watched as Mineta and Kaminari talked to Yaoyorozu and Jirou.
"Oh, well I hadn't heard of it." Umi snorted and said aloud, "Because it's not a thing, go ask Kendo or Honenuki for confirmation. He's trying to fool you." The two girls looked at him before looking at the two boys with anger as Kaminari looked at him. "WHY DID YOU BETRAY US MAN?" Umi just shook his head and went to reply, but someone beat him to it. "So, the two perverts are trying to trick my fellow sisters huh?!" Setsuna came around and went up to the two with a glare and jagged grin, the two boys became terrified and quickly walked away from the scene they were creating.
"Thank you two, you saved us from making a huge mistake." Setsuna and Umi just shrugged. "Me personally, I wouldn't care if I was in a cheering outfit or not if both of our classes went along with it, but when he tried it I got a bit annoyed." Yaoyorzu bowed toward the two but Jirou looked at them a bit weirdly before looking at Setsuna. "Yo, Tokage was it? How exactly do you know Green?"
"Oh Greenie, I met him through Joku! They're actually neighbors and they've been training together for a while now, so I just joined the training crew through him. Midoriya and I became sparring partners!" Jirou remembered listening in on Midoriya's conversation when he said that Tokage liked the neighbor and realized something. "Are you two uh… dating?" Yaoyorozu looked confused, as did both Umi and Setsuna before she continued, "It's because when Midoriya explained how he knew you, he mentioned that you liked the neighbor and since he's the neighbor, I just assumed…" Jirou was afraid she made a mistake as the two looked at each other before they raised an eyebrow in unison, Yaoyorozu looking on in simple confusion. "Yeah, we're dating. I have to wring Greenie's neck out for spilling the beans though." The two girls blushed a bit at the thought of two people in their grade already having a relationship together before Setsuna hopped on Umi's back with Umi just sighing. "Please keep that detail to yourself for now, we don't want people aware of the fact we're dating, at least for now. Now we have to beat Midoriya up for somehow letting it slip." The two assumed they were joking, but from the way they were looking at each other, they could tell they were at least somewhat serious.
"Poor Green/Poor Midoriya." Jirou then thought, "If I let them know I was eavesdropping I'll be next on their list."
xXx
Back in the arena, people who didn't qualify were out there doing side games for the crowd to enjoy while Present Mic did his commentary.
"Have fun competing in these little side games, everyone! After they're over, the students from the top four teams and the two selected from 5th and 6th will be duking it out one-on-one in a tournament-style fighting competition! I promise you're not gonna wanna miss these epic matchups!" Midnight walked up and took center stage. "Team Tokage and Team Shinso, who have you chosen to represent your team in the finals?!"
Kendo, Tetsutetsu, and Juzo all looked at Setsuna and pointed. "Tokage deserves it, she was the one who managed to save us in the end!" Kendo shouted as Setsuna looked at all of them with a smile and gave them each a hug. "Thank you guys!" Team Shinso however was a lot more tense, as the rest of the team all stepped back while Shinso stepped forward, the three who stepped back begrudgingly did so. "Setsuna Tokage and Hitoshi Shinso, you two will join the one-on-one tournament final! WITH ALL THAT BEING SAID, WE CREATE THE BRACKET! HERE WE GO!"
The crowd waited while the students all looked closely before the finals were set, and the battle lines were drawn.
Match #1: Izuku Midoriya vs Hitoshi Shinso
Match #2: Shoto Todoroki vs Hanta Sero
Match #3: Umi Joku vs Denki Kaminari
Match #4: Setsuna Tokage vs Momo Yaoyorozu
Match #5: Tenya Iida vs Mei Hatsume
Match #6: Fumikage Tokoyami vs Mina Ashido
Match #7: Eijiro Kirishima vs Hiryu Rin
Match #8: Katsuki Bakugo vs Ochaco Uraraka
Izuku looked at the match list then his projected path forward and tightened his fist."If I win my match, I'll be up against Todoroki, and then after that, Tokage or Umi?!"
Todoroki just looked neutral, but on the inside was looking at his projected path too. "Midoirya you better win your match so I can beat you using only my right side."
"Who the hell is Uraraka?" Bakugo raised an eyebrow while Uraraka stood there nervously. "I have to go up against Bakugo first?!"
"Hiryu Rin huh?! Since you were a part of the first-place team I know you have some manliness in you. Let's have a good match!" Kirishima looked at Rin who nodded with a smirk. "Let's see who can take the most punishment."
Momo looked at Setsuna as she noted she didn't have a lot of intel on her or how strong she was but kept up a confident facade. Kaminari looked at Umi with trepidation. "Oh man, this guy can control electricity too. I hope I can get him before I run out, this isn't good." However, both of their opponents weren't looking at them, they were looking at each other. "If I win, I face Umi/Setsu in the next round." The two smiled at one another before they had a staredown. "You better win, because I'm the only one who can take you down."
xXx
Notes:
I'm back ladies and gents! Let me get some things off my chest real quick though. If you have a problem with Izuku being featured in this story as much as he is, I'm afraid you didn't really pay attention to what I said in an earlier chapter about Izuku being the deuteragonist of this story and that he's going to get some time to himself to describe the effect that Umi has had on him. And to those that say, "Oh you're just gluing your OC to Izuku like all the others." Sorry mates but you're gonna have to have patience for now. (SPOILERS?!)
Oh and if you hate draws, my bad lol. Going forward there are only wins and losses in the Sports Festival lmao. Have a good one y'all and hope everything is going well