03.04.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm back with yet another chapter! But first, a couple of comments!:
Tyrantking544 - Bruv, I'm actually so disappointed that I didn't even think about Malus and Tz'arkan! This could've been even better than Garran and the Blade of Antwyr! I could've given him like a Blade of Slaneesh or something or say fuck it and go with the Sword of Khaine! So much wasted potential! Well, it eez whad it eez, no use crying over it
SonicMax - Well, I guess slow burn fits in perfectly, though it won't last forever. Things should pick up around the internships or perhaps the summer camp.
And now, the chapter!:
Izuku was engaging in some small talk with Ashido, Kirishima and Tokoyami, all of whom he'd become good friends with over the past couple of weeks. Izuku could sense some nervousness circulating the air of their waiting room though determination definitely dominated the atmosphere as they were all motivated to do their best.
Izuku and his classmates were waiting for the signal to gather in the stadium whilst Midnight - this year's judge - played her part as the stand-in hype woman. Izuku didn't manage to make any progress on controlling the daemon, but some trial and error revealed that he could imbue things besides his bastard sword with his holy power, though it was far less efficient in most cases. He was passing time with small talk, all the while keeping tabs on his classmates, noticing right away that some things were awry and would surely need to be addressed sooner or later.
Bakugo was the obvious issue, but he was also one that Izuku couldn't be bothered to even try to resolve. It was clear as day that the blonde had some serious problems and Izuku was no psychologist so his case was better left to an expert.
A problematic case that could be addressed was Todoroki. The boy was literally giving everyone a cold shoulder since day one and maybe Izuku was just being paranoid, but he sensed that there was some deeper resentment at play here. Despite spending a fair bit of his life in isolation, Izuku was quite well-versed in terms of news, so he'd already heard about Enji Todoroki, Japan's second strongest hero Endeavor. Endeavor was the undisputed champion when it came to fire-related quirks, yet his son displayed none of that aptitude. From what Izuku's seen up till now it was as if Shoto was the exact opposite of his father, starting with their quirks and going all the way down to their vastly different personalities.
One last problem that needed taking care of was Yaoyorozu. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with her mind you, but Izuku was well aware that she was still somewhat wary of him despite assuring him that she was on his side just like anyone else. Still, she was the one who got to witness him rampaging about under the daemon's influence so her reservation was well justified and Izuku didn't hold it against her. He himself was afraid of succumbing to the temptation once again, so he could only imagine what someone like her, who had only just now gotten to witness such brutality, could feel.
Still, as important as it was to carry help to those that need it, Izuku was also a student at U.A. and the Sports Festival was a chance to show off one's skills to increase the odds of receiving personalized internship offers, so that was his main focus for now. He would still keep an eye on his classmates though.
Soon enough all the participants were signaled to gather in the stadium where Present Mic handled their introductions. Izuku was quite miffed that his class received such a bombastic presentation whilst the other classes were simply listed out or just straight up ignored! Still, it's not like he could do anything about it right now. The Sports Festival was a big hit in the entertainment industry so there surely were quotas to reach.
Izuku managed to lock eyes with Shiozaki for a few brief moments and the two smiled at each other, mouthing wishes of good fortune as they waved to the crowd of onlookers just above their heads. He also managed to spot Kendo in the crowd and he made sure to wish her good luck as well. Present Mic may have no reservations when it came to favoritism, but Izuku tried to treat all of his friends equally.
Once all of the participating classes were introduced it was time for the pledge. This year's representative was going to be Bakugo Katsuki himself, which made Izuku's mind tingle as if he was bitten by a radioactive spider in the past. It was a weirdly specific feeling for sure, but Izuku couldn't deny that it was correct.
"All I have to say is - I'm going to win." The blonde spoke in a matter-of-fact tone and then promptly left the stage to rejoin his classmates as the crowds of both students and viewers expressed their outrage in a rather animated fashion.
Even Midnight looked surprised by the cocky pledge, but - being the experienced pro she was - she was able to salvage the situation and redirect the attention away from the public enemy number one and towards the giant screen just below the commentators booth where the first event would be announced.
'Obstacle Race' popped up on the screen and Midnight went on to explain the rules of the event. Participants would have to compete with each other during a four kilometer long run around the stadium which was laced with traps and obstacles to make it that much more interesting to watch at home.
There were supposed to be three obstacles on the track, but as Izuku and the others lined up at the starting line it was easy to notice that there was actually a fourth obstacle right at the start.
The students were meant to start inside of the stadium, then do a full circle around the building before returning to race to the finish line. There was a catch however - there was only one entrance to the stadium and it wasn't a big one by any stretch of the imagination.
Judging by the expressions on some of the faces he could see from where he stood, it was easy to see that he wasn't the only one to realize that brap-trap placed right in front of them. He saw some participants try and shove their way towards the front of the group to avoid getting stuck in the stampede that was sure to ensue as soon as the race started, whilst others did the exact opposite and decided to head to the back, probably hoping to wait out the initial chaos and making up lost ground at a later stage.
Izuku wasn't the greatest strategist, so he decided to stand his ground and face whatever was going to happen head on! He was so concentrated that he didn't even notice Shiozaki approach him from the side.
"Hello Midoriya." She spoke calmly, breaking his concentration with a soft smile.
"Shiozaki, it's good to see you." Izuku responded, reciprocating the smile without a second thought.
"I just wanted to properly wish you good luck." Shiozaki stated with a slight bow.
"Thank you. I hope we can both reach the final event!" Izuku said with a grin, one that seemed to lift her spirits as the corners of her mouth twitched upwards just a tiny bit more.
Just then the countdown started and both Izuku and Shiozaki focused on the task at hand which was qualifying for the second event. That strange bug-related premonition stormed his mind once again and his eyes focused on something at the front of the group. He was just barely able to see it with all the people in the way, but there was no denying it - Todoroki was shifting his weight from one leg to the other. This could only mean one thing!
"Go!" Midnight roared and the entire ground around the entrance was suddenly covered by a thick sheet of ice which immobilized most of the participants.
Only a select handful of participants were able to avoid being frozen in place, Izuku being one of the lucky ones.
"W-What is this?" Shiozaki wondered out loud as the two of them were currently inside an ice dome that seemed to be glowing with a golden hue.
"It's something I've learned to do a while back but didn't have the chance to use a lot. I'm happy it still works as I want it to!" Izuku explained and only now Shiozaki realized that he had both of his arms outstretched in front of him, pointing towards the origin of the flash freeze.
The golden glow died down as soon as he lowered his hands and it was blatantly obvious that whatever it was that he's done had taken a toll on him. He was still in the game though.
Izuku took a step forward and cocked his right arm back before punching the ice dome at full force, shattering it into tiny pieces.
He turned around briefly to flash Shiozaki a confident smile before sprinting after the others, intending to join the fight for first place even though realistically speaking he had no chances of catching up to someone like Iida.
Thanks to all the training that he's done in the past however, Izuku was still faster than most participants and was able to make up some places. He was still nowhere near first place as by the time he arrived at the first obstacle, the only thing he saw was the signs of battle and giant robots.
The first obstacle was dubbed the 'Robo Inferno' which was just a fancy way of saying that there were about a dozen or so giant robots standing guard and attacking anyone that wanted to get past. They were thankfully quite slow so outmaneuvering them was easy. Especially since one of those giant robots was still frozen in an even bigger glacier and another one seemed to have its left leg partially blown off and was too busy trying to get up to pay attention to the students.
Izuku was able to get past the robot guardians without any problems and was well on his way towards the second obstacle. He was approximately half way there when Present Mic announced what the second obstacle was, indicating that the first place participants had already reached it.
It took Izuku a minute or two to reach that point himself but when he did, he realized why the second obstacle was called 'The Fall'. Getting across the gaping canyon was relatively easy but tedious and heavily favored students with mobility-oriented quirks. And support course participants.
Izuku had only just started crossing the chasm when a pink-haired lunatic dove straight into the abyss! Thankfully it seemed to have been planned as she used some gadgets to propel herself back up and then cross to the other side in a matter of moments.
Izuku was almost done crossing when he noticed something worrying in front of him. There was a guy with purple hair hurriedly trying to reach the other side of the canyon. He was flailing way too much and his movements were chaotic in nature. Izuku watched the situation unfold with baited breath and just as he thought that the guy was alright, his hand slipped.
His hurried tempo must've quickly drained his stamina and he ended up not grasping the rope tightly enough which resulted in his fingers slipping from it as soon as they were tasked with supporting his weight during another reckless swing forward. It was a miracle really that he was somehow able to grab the rope with his other hand before plummeting to the abyss below.
Izuku didn't even register his cries for help, if he even cried for help, as he was already on the rope before he could fully process what was going on. He didn't rush it however as disturbing the rope any more would only make holding onto it harder for the guy. It took him only a few moments to traverse the length between them, but to the two of them it surely felt like an eternity, as if everything suddenly was happening in slow-motion.
"I got you buddy. You're gonna be okay." Izuku assured him once he was next to the helpless student.
Thanks to his impressive physique it was a child's play to hold onto the rope with just one hand while he used his free one to hoist the guy in front of him into a more comfortable position so that he could grasp the rope with both hands. Once that was done Izuku let go of him, though he remained vigilant and was ready to jump in once again if the situation called for it.
"You're almost there. Keep going. You've got this." Izuku motivated the boy, giving him the final push he needed to cross the last segment of the canyon. "Slow and steady wins the race."
As expected, as soon as they were back on solid ground the purple-haired guy fell to his knees and almost threw up but managed to bite back the urge and save his dignity.
"T-Thanks…" He mumbled out in a shaky voice.
"Don't mention it. I hope you make it to the second event!" Izuku responded with a smile and then left, hoping to make up at least a place or two after this unforeseen obstacle.
Running as fast as he could Izuku managed to reach the last obstacle before anyone was able to clear it and as soon as he arrived he understood why. He was a bit preoccupied with saving that guy from falling to his death so he didn't hear Present Mic announce it, but the last obstacle was the Land Mine Field. A pretty self-explanatory name.
Izuku would've run head first into the minefield if it wasn't for someone up front accidentally stepping on one just as he arrived. He had no idea how many mines there could be or how to even locate the mines, but neither of those was a problem to him, because he wasn't first.
From what he could see there were about twenty people already crossing the minefield and not all of them had a flawless record as indicated by the occasional crater or five. Izuku kicked right back into gear and started sprinting through the minefield like a madman. At least that's how he must've looked to the few people that he passed at full speed.
He used the craters as landmarks, charting a course on the fly as he miraculously managed to avoid stepping on any landmines and even caught up to the main group that was pioneering a path through this treacherous land. Izuku could see a couple of participants already running towards the stadium, so the minefield must be ending shortly.
His focus was solely on the obstacle as his eyes scanned every inch of ground in front of him in search of any signs that could hint at the potential mine placement. He was vaguely aware that someone had already finished the race and claimed the top spot, but that didn't matter to Izuku. His quirk in its current form didn't improve his mobility at all, but he still gave it everything he had and hoped it'd be enough to land him a spot somewhere in the middle of the pack.
Once he was done crossing the minefield all that was left was a mad dash towards the finish line. He even managed to pass two people just by putting some extra spring in his step and was able to cross the finish line - taking 12th place in the first event!
He was tempted to just fall over and rest as soon as his feet crossed the finish line, but he held on and took a deep breath to steady his agitated heartbeat.
Once his breathing evened out, Izuku shifted his focus towards the finish line, watching the participants flood back into the stadium and looking for familiar faces.
He was glad to see most of his classmates had passed, but was even happier when Kirishima and Ashido darted out of the tunnel and into the spotlight, almost tying for their spot with Kirishima making a half-step just before the finish and giving Ashido the lead. She was not happy about that, but one punch later it seemed that they were even already.
Shiozaki and Kendo also managed to qualify for the second event which was good to know and they were closely followed by Tokoyami.
Izuku watched the people cross the finish line one after the other and his hopes were slowly fading away, but then yet another miracle happened.
"And finally, taking the forty-second spot is Shinso Hitoshi from the general course!" Midnight announced as the purple-haired boy that Izuku had saved at 'The Fall' crossed the finish line before promptly face-planting onto the ground in exhaustion. "And with that the first event is officially over! Congratulations to all the students that managed to qualify for the second event!" The R-rated heroine exclaimed and the audience cheered.
Midnight waited patiently before once again directing everybody's attention towards the giant screen where the second event would be revealed. A couple of different names flashed quickly on the screen before the event was finally chosen.
"Hold onto your horses everybody, cause this year's second event is a Cavalry Battle!" Midnight announced and the crowd cheered once again, this time eager to see some more action.
Ever since I read 'Building from the ground up' I'm quite the Shinso fan, so he gets some more screen time!
That's all I got for today, so have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!