Chapter 31

Trial By Triathlon

Fireworks exploded in the air with smoke of different colors. Loud spectators cheer in the massive stadium in the heart of Athens. Three jet fighters flew past the stadium, releasing a trail of colorful smoke.

"Hello, hola, bounjour, konichiwa! Welcome to the 20th JHOL bi-annual Competition! I am your host, Megan Wave!" The host announced in front of the camera.

The host was a young woman with short bowl-cut black hair and blond accents, blue eyes with a green circle around her pupils, and creamy white skin. She had green mascaras in her eyes and wore a light blue T-shirt with the logo "JHOL" in golden color printed on the chest, light pants, and black high heels. She wore a unique headphone that constantly pulsed out orange waves and looked technologically advanced.

"This year, we have an extraordinary guest who will be co-hosting with me during this great event in the world! Please welcome the Number 1 Pro Hero in Japan, one of the world's best! It's All Might!"

All Might, who was in his suit, excitedly laughed. "I AM HERE! Greetings, Citizens of Athens and the world! It is I, All Might!"

The people cheered the loudest when All Might appeared on the TV screen.

"It is an honor to have you here, Mr. All Might. How do you feel right now?" Megan asked.

"Ha, ha, ha! I feel great!" All Might exclaimed. "I just can't wait to see all the ambitious youths in this game!"

"I agree, Mr. All Might! We have a lot to see and a LOT to go over, but to simplify, we have 16 teams, each representing different nations from all over the world! First, we have our home team and this year's JHOL's host country, Greece! One of the competitors of Team Greece is Ivan Galanis, one of the New Generation Heroes and the team captain! He was part of Team Greece two years ago when he was a first-year student at Athens Hero Prep School, and now he is a captain! A lot of pressure is on Team Greece since they are the host country, after all."

"My, oh my! That sounds challenging, but I can't wait to see what Ivan and his team can do!" All Might commented.

"Yes, I agree, Mr. All Might. They have a tough competition because if they want the most gold, they must face Team USA!" Megan exclaimed.

"Ah, yes, the Champion!" All Might said.

"That's right! Team USA, as far as the record says, is the number 1 country that won the most golds in the history of JHOL! They are practically the Champion country of the JHOL, and this year's team consists of mostly 3rd-year and 2nd-year students, but there are also a few first-year students in the mix, such as the promising young lad of the Glory Hero Corp, Ben Glory!"

"Ho, ho. I see. Who is he, Megan?" All Might asked.

"Well, Mr. All Might, Ben Glory is a first-year student from LA Ultra High, raised and born in LA, but even for the first year, he has quite a track record. He already has a provisional license and fought against many crimes and villains! Something tells me that we will keep an eye on this young man whenever he competes in the game, and according to him, he is proclaiming to be your next successor, Mr. All Might."

"Hmm, I see. Well, that sounds quite exciting!" All Might commented. Though he had a different opinion about Ben Glory, he decided to keep it for himself.

'Too bad for Ben, but he already has a successor,' he thought.

"We have a lot of other teams to go over, but due to time, we won't go over all of them now. I want to review this particular team in the JHOL, and it happened to be someone or somebody you know, Mr. All Might!" Megan said.

"Oh? And who could that be, Young Megan?" All Might asked, though he already knew what she was hinting at.

"Why, Mr. All Might, it is the only Team Japan! Representing Team Japan is the UA High, and this year, their team is comprised only of first-year students! Something that has never happened in the history of JHOL! However, this team has a lot of interesting participants! Most members participated in their school's famous UA Sports Festival every year, including the three finalists, Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki, and the champion, Junko Neru!"

On the screen, it showed the team members' faces. "That's right, Young Ms. Megan! They are all a wonderful student of mine!" All Might commented.

"Right. Is there anyone particularly you are rooting for, Mr. All Might?" Megan asked.

All Might chuckled. "Well, of course, I would be rooting highly for Team Japan, but I am looking forward to all the teams' performances during my time here at JHOL."

"Indeed!" Megan agreed. "Now that we have shown all the participating teams and interesting facts about them, how about let's take us to the stage, where the first game of the day and the one that will start JHOL in the coming weeks begins shortly after this commercial break!"

Team Japan was waiting in their break room somewhere in the stadium. They were watching the crowds and the state of the outside. They could see how excited the people were.

"Holy Carrot! There are so many people cheering!" Usagi exclaimed.

"Yeah, no kidding. Judging by the look, there are twice as many people compared to those who watched us at the Sports Festival!" Kirishima noted.

"The whole world is watching this game. Of course, there will be more people," Yuki Drago pointed out.

"Wow… So amazing," Midoriya mumbled to himself.

"Deku-kun." Midoriya snapped out of his thoughts and turned to his friend and classmate, Ochaco. "Let's do our best! I am so nervous but also excited, too!"

"Yeah! Me too!" Midoriya agreed as he clenched his fist with excitement.

"I feel so nervous, too!" Arisa held her hands together close to her chest.

"Don't worry, Arisa. We will be just fine. Let's do our best in supporting others, OK," Felicia said, giving her a pad on the shoulder to help her friend relax.

"Yeah, that's good, but I wonder…" Arisa turned her focus to Kai. "Hey Kai, how are you feeling right now?"

"I feel fine," Kai replied.

"Wow! You are not nervous at all?" Arisa asked.

Before Kai could say anything else, Eli interrupted. "Nah, he is just as scared as everyone else! He won't admit it, but if anything, he is just pumped!"

"But at least someone like me doesn't need to participate in the game. I am in support," Kaminari sighed, looking relieved.

"Me too," Mineta said. "Though I wonder if we will see some hot girls today."

Suddenly, a sticky tongue slapped Mineta's face, and a familiar earplug shocked Mineta in his ears.

'Jiro-san's earplugs and Tsuyu-san's tongue slap!' Midoriya gasped.

"Hmph, you lame Class 1-A and 1-L have no guts at all," insulted Monoma. "If I were participating in the games, I would not feel any fear."

"Monoma!" Kendo yelled. "Don't be so rude! We're supposed to be a team!"

"Kendo-san is right! Monoma-kun, please don't be rude to others!" Ida scolded.

"You want to be blown up, punk?" Bakugo warned him as he stared at Monoma terrifyingly, with his hand up and crackling with firepower.

Monoma shook in fear. "Ah, um. N-no, of course not!"

Jiro, Kaminari, and Mineta sighed and looked concerned. 'Is this team gonna be alright?'

"Hey, listen up!" Everyone turned their attention to Aizawa-sensei, a.k.a. Eraser Head. Along with him were the other teachers: Speed Girl, Ms. Uno, the sub-coach (and Kai's older sister), and the team's nurses, Midnight and Ms. Heal.

"We are going to go out there soon. It will be just like how we did it for the Sports Festival," Eraser Head said.

"I know all of you are nervous and have so many mixed emotions, but be excited! We are at the world's stage now, the J-HOL!" Speed Girl exclaimed.

"If anyone is feeling sick, just let me or Miss Midnight here know, and we will fix you up," said Ms. Heal kindly.

"Alrighty then. Then, let's head out," Eraser Head declared.

"Yeah! Let's do this thing!" Eli exclaimed. "But first thing first! Let's put our hands together, guys!"

Everyone gathered around in a circle, including the coaches and the nurses. "Let's do it for Team Japan!" Eli shouted excitedly. "Three, two, one!"

"GO TEAM JAPAN!" They all shouted except for Eraser Head, Yuki Drago, and others.

Team Japan members from UA High stepped out of their team's locker room and waited down the hallway for their team to call out.

There were already other teams waiting in the line ahead of them. Two Team Japan members noticed other team members waving at them.

"Oh hey, Arisa, there are your friends, Gabriel and Sadie," Felicia pointed out.

"Yeah, there they are!" Arisa noticed as she waved back at her friends.

'So, they are Arisa's friends,' Kai thought. 'They are her classmates from her original school, LA Ultra High.'

Midoriya was also thinking to himself. 'They are Arisa's classmates from her school, LA Ultra High before she was transferred to our school. LA Ultra High is supposedly the number 1 hero's school in their home country, USA. From what I researched last night, LA Ultra High has a huge reputation where so many famous American Pro heroes graduated from. They are on par with our school, UA High, based on popularity and standard, and….'

Midoriya didn't notice it himself, but his mumbling was loud enough for teammates behind him and team members from the other team ahead of them, who were from Team Russia, to hear him. They felt very weird about it.

Bakugo was getting annoyed. "SHUT UP, DEKU!"

"Ah, I am sorry!" Midoriya quickly apologized.

"Relax, Bakugo. Chill, man," Kirishima helped to calm the boy down.

"Hey, Midoriya, look." Kai pointed Midoriya to something or, rather, someone.

Midoriya noticed that someone else from another team was waving at him. It was Solana Bell from Team UK.

"Oh! Um, hello!" Midoriya nervously chuckled and waved back at her.

"You haven't waved at a girl much before, have you, Deku dude?" Eli teasingly asked.

"Huh!" Midoriya jumped as he looked a bit blushed. "Eli-kun, don't scare me like that!"

"Tee, hee! I saw that girl from Team UK waving at you. She must like you or something," Eli claimed.

"Wh, what, what?! I-It's nothing like!" Midoriya argued.

While Midoriya tried to convince Eli that nothing was going on between him and Solana from Team UK, their teammate, Ochako, looked at Midoriya with a concerned, curious expression.

'I wonder why that Solana girl waved at Deku-kun. Could Eli be right?' Ochako thought but shrugged the thought away. 'NO! That can't be true! There is no way!'

Ochako's good friend and classmate, Tsu, noticed her look. "Ochako, are you OK?"

"Huh?!" She jumped and forced a smile at her friend. "Oh, I am fine! Don't worry about it! I am just nervous, that's all!"

"Hmmm, well, OK," Tsu replied.

"Now, presenting, Team Russia!" The team ahead them stepped out of the hallway and entered the stadium as the crowds cheered.

"Oh boy! We're next!" Usagi was jumping with excitement. "I can't wait!"

"Yuki Dragon! Todoroki!" Yuki Drago and some of the Team Japan members turned around and noticed the female members of Team Australia waving at the half-human, half-dragon boy.

"We will be cheering for you both! We LOVE YOU!" They shouted.

Most Team Japan members, including others in the other teams, were shocked to hear this.

"Hey! Don't cheer for the other team," Team Kenya's coach scolded the girls.

A cross appeared over Felica's head. 'What is up with those girls?!'

Arisa felt a burning aura around her friend. "Uuuuuuhhh…."

"And now, presenting from Land of the Rising Sun, please welcome Team Japan, represented by the UA High!" Team Japan stepped out of the hallway and into the stadium.

The spectators cheered so loudly for them that they felt it made more impact than the number of spectators at the UA Sports Festival.

"Papa, look! It's Team Japan!" said a little girl from the seat.

"Oh wow! They are here!" said one guy.

"This is going to be interesting! I am cheering for them!" said a woman.

"Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here!" Stan Lee was selling and passing hot dogs as he walked down the stairway in-between the spectators' seats.

"And there they are, folks! It is the only Team Japan represented by UA High!" Megan Wave announced. "So, Mr. All Might, how do you feel that your school is here to represent your home country?"

"I FEEL GRREAAT, Young Megan Wave! I am honored that some of the students I know from UA High are representing Team Japan for this JHOL event!" All Might proudly be answered.

"Do you know the reason why Team Japan is comprised of only first-year students?" Megan Wave asked.

"Well, usually I know that most JHOL participants are comprised of second and third-year students in each team and not so much a lot of first-year, but the students in Team Japan are some of the finest young people I know who all have great potential to be a great Pro Hero! And they work the hardest to uphold what a hero needs to be!"

"Wow, that sounds amazing, Mr. All Might!" Megan Wave commented.

All Might smiled and gave a thumbs up, but in his mind, he was also earnest about the well-being of the students, especially Midoriya.

'Young Midoriya, I know this is much bigger than you think. It is a bigger challenge than the UA Sports Festival, but I believe in you! You are my successor, and I know you will succeed! Show the world who you are, the next Symbol of Peace! And good luck to everyone else, too. I believe in all of you!"

"Um, Mr. All Might!" All Might snapped out of his thoughts and turned back to Megan Wave.

"Hmm?" All Might quickly noticed that there was a hot dog in front of him, and he turned to his side to see Stan Lee waiting impatiently.

"Do you want a ketchup and mustard on your hot dog, sir?" Stan Lee asked.

Team Japan walked around the arena until they stopped to line up at the stadium's center. After them, the teams came from Kenya, Mexico, South Korea, Haiti, Brazil, Italy, and the host team, Greece.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the participating teams of the world for JHOL!" The spectators cheered and applauded all the presenting teams.

"And now, the torch to begin the game!" Everybody turned to the empty torch at the top of the stadium's eastern side.

A single person came jogging into the arena, holding the torch. The person goes around the stadium as she waves at the people. She walked up the stairway to the torch and lit it up.

"And there is the torch bringer! Like the original Olympics, the fire represents the peace of the world and our societies. Despite the rising villain crimes and the chaos we live through, the fire reminds us that peace is possible," Megan Wave explained.

The crowds went wild as fireworks exploded in the sky.

"And there you have it! The 32nd JHOL Athens Game begins officially!" Megan Wave announced as the crowds cheered.

Members of Team Japan looked around. Most couldn't believe they were standing in the stadium where many people worldwide watched them and the JHOL Games. It was just like their school's sports festival, but that event was minuscule compared to this event.

"HOLY CARROT! There are so many people here!" Usagi exclaimed.

"It's indeed quite a lot!" Iida pointed out. "Possibly double or even triple the amount of people who came to see the UA Sports Festival."

"Triiipppllee?!" Ochako purposedly fainted.

"Hey, are you OK, Ochako?" Kendo asked.

"I am not even part of the main team, and I'm already feeling pressure," Jiro stated as she shivered.

"Yeah, I agree," Kaminari nodded.

"Never mind about that, Kaminari! I see some cute girls in the reception and the other teams!" Mineta pointed.

"Really? Where?!" Kaminari looked around.

Suddenly, they were shocked by Jiro's earplugs when she plugged them each into their ears, immobilizing them temporarily.

"This is not the time and place, you two!" Jiro said, looking annoyed.

Momo nervously chuckled. "But there are sure a lot of people, like what Iida-san said. I remembered yesterday when Mr. Yamamoto toured us that this stadium can hold up to 200000 people… hmm?"

"What's wrong, Momo?" Felicia asked.

"Felicia, Kendo, look over there," Momo pointed out as the two mentioned girls looked at where she was pointing.

The three girls noticed something or somebody from the reception. Three guys with signs wrote, "Momo, Felicia, Kendo."

One of the three guys had squinty eyes and wore a cowboy hat. Another guy had curly eyebrows and wore a backward cap. The third and last guy was the tallest of the three, had blond hair, and wore sunglasses.

"MFK, we love you!" Three guys yelled.

"Blimey! Who are they?" Felicia gasped.

"I have no idea," Kendo said, looking slightly shocked.

"Well, well, well," Eli spoke up. "From what I see, you three have three fans already."

"What?!" Momo, Felicia, and Kendo gasped at the same time.

"Us three? Fans?!" They were shocked.

"Well, at least that's kind of good, don't you think, Felicia?" Arisa said, trying to cheer her friend.

"It seems like you have a few followers, Felicia. Even though you won't physically be participating in the games, at least now that we have somebody cheering for Team Japan," Yuki stated.

Felicia looked at Yuki with a bit of a deadpan expression. 'I don't know if he's trying to compliment me or just being oblivious…'

"Well, I think you three gals having fans is great!" Kirishima commented as he showed with a thumb-up. "Though, I wonder why those guys know you girls."

"That's true. I wonder why they know you girls," Asui agreed as she thought.

"Who the hell cares?! Is the game starting already?!" Bakugo yelled as he was getting impatient.

While the students were trying to calm down Bakugo, the teachers in the team also had a bit of conversation among themselves.

"Though I agree with Bakugo, when will this game start?" Aizawa mumbled.

"Hey now, Erasure Head. You know that the first day is usually the longest. Besides, this is probably the only time we can chill and relax," Midnight said.

"Still, I can't believe how far our students have come. My babies are growing so fast!" Speed Girl was awed.

Aizawa, Midnight, and Hs. Heal looked at Speed Girl with a sweat-drop.

Ms. Heal grinned nervously. "Well, it is quite impressive that all the team members are great students. I hope that none of them get hurt badly during the event for the next few weeks."

"I am sure they will be fine, Ms. Heal. We did train the support team, after all," Midnight reassured, then changed to a more devilish expression with her tongue sticking out slightly. "We whipped them into shape hard."

Ms. Heal felt more worried and scared of Midnight.

"Hmm. They indeed have come this far, but the question is, will they surpass even further from here? They have a long road ahead of them," Aizawa commented.

"And now, everyone!" Megan Wave announced. "Please pay attention to the big monitors as we will explain the day's first game to start off the JHOL!"

The monitor turned on as it randomly spun something until it stopped. "The first of the day is the Triathlon! It is a racing game with three different sports in one! The first part is the swimming race. The second is cycling. And the finale and the third is the foot race! The starting line begins at our gorgeous local beach near Athens, the famous Vouliagmeni beach! Each team must pick three participants, one for each part of the triathlon, and race to the final, which will be back here at this stadium!"

"Buses are waiting for the team to drive them to the race location, so don't forget your stuff, and good luck to you all," All Might added.

"Thank you for mentioning that, Mr. All Might," Megan said. "Once all the teams are at the beach, the race will begin in ten minutes, so be ready by then!"

A little later in the day, all the teams assembled at the Vouliagmeni beach, one of the famous beaches in Athens, Greece.

"Alright, Team. Listen up!" Aizawa said in front of the team at the beach. "The teammates we pick for the triathlon are as follows: the swimming race will be Todoroki!"

Todoroki quietly and slightly nodded as he was already in his swim trunks.

"The second part of the race, the cycling, is Usagi!" Speed Girl announced.

"Yeah! I'm hoping to go!" Usagi exclaimed.

"And last but not least, the foot race will be Kai," Aizawa said.

Kai also quietly nodded, not saying any words.

"According to this game, there are certain checkpoints you need to reach until the final line. Todoroki, since you are starting, you must be faster than everyone else to reach Usagi so that she can start fast before everyone else in the other teams," Aizawa explained.

"Got it," Todoroki said.

"Also, you guys are allowed to use your Quirks, but if Todoroki can use his ice power to freeze over the water faster to reach Usagi, and Usagi can put that legs of her to work to reach Kai, then Kai would have an easier time to reach the finish line," Speed Girl added.

"Just be careful, alright," Ms. Heal cheered.

"You three got this!" Kirishima cheered.

"We're cheering for you guys," Eli stated.

"I can't wait to see your cycling, Usagi-chan," Asui said.

"Thanks!" Usagi replied.

"Yo Teach!" Everyone turned to Bakugo. "Why the hell did you choose Half-Bastard for the swimming race?! I could've just exploded all the competitions!"

"Ka-chan!" Midoriya gasped.

"No can do!" Aizawa replied as his eyes glowed red, activating his Quirk. "It is against the rule to use your Quirk or any methods to harm other participants from other teams during the game. Understood, Bakugo?"

Bakugo felt angry, but he couldn't argue back against Aizawa. "Y-yes, sir."

"Now, if anyone has no objection, you are all dismissed. We still have eight minutes left, so just be ready before it begins," Aizawa said.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone agreed.

"OK. Well, I am going to go to the checkpoint. I will be waiting for you, Todoroki!" Usagi said.

"Sure thing," Todoroki replied.

"We will take some of you guys to Usagi's checkpoint. Who would like to come?" Midnight asked.

"I can come, Midnight sensei," Momo volunteered.

"Me too," Jiro said. "And oh! These two will come, too!"

She dragged Kaminari and Mineta.

"What?! Why us?!" Kaminari said.

"Yeah! What's the big deal?!" Mineta complained.

"Oh, you know why!" Jiro looked menacingly at them. "I know you two just want to see some female participants in the other teams, especially now at the beach here."

Both boys gulped as they were caught red-handed.

"Mmm…" Junko suddenly mumbled as she laid down on Momo's shoulder from nowhere.

"Oh, um, and I guess Junko-san would like to come too," Momo stated.

"Alright then. Let's get going," Midnight said as she took Usagi, Jiro, Momo, Junko, Mineta, and Kaminari (with the last two crying as Jiro was forcing them).

"Good luck, Usagi!" Some of the classmates cheered for her as she waved back at them.

"OK! Who would like to come with me and Kai to his spot?" said Speed Girl excitedly as she hugged Kai, though the boy didn't look pleased with the hug.

"I will go," Yuki Dragon volunteered.

"I will go too!" Felicia quickly joined in.

'Woah. What's with Felicia all of a sudden? I wonder if it concerns those girls from Team Australia cheering for Yuki and Todoroki?' Arisa wondered. "Um, I will go, too."

"Is it OK if I go as well?" Midoriya asked Aizawa directly.

"You're the captain of the team. Do whatever you want," Aizawa shrugged. "I will stay here, anyway."

"I will go to," Ochaco stated.

"Me, too," Asui said.

"OK then! Is there anyone else?" Speed Girl asked.

"What about you, Iida-kun?" Midoriya asked.

"I think I will stay here to support Todoroki," Iida said.

"Then, I guess the rest of us will stay here as well," Kendo added. "Plus, I have to keep an eye on him."

"Same here," Kirishima agreed.

Everyone briefly looked at Monoma and then switched to Bakugo.

"Huh?!" Monoma gasped.

"Why the hell are you looking at me?!" Bakugo yelled.

"OK, then let's get going!" Speed Girl said as she took her group with Kai.

Meanwhile, Megan Wave and All Might returned from their short break to the MC's studio room.

"Welcome back, folks! Teams have already picked and assembled at each of the checkpoints for the first game of the JHOL," Megan Wave announced. "The game will begin in two minutes, but as a refresher for everyone, here is how the race will work! Please take it from here, Mr. All Might!"

"Certainly, Young Megan Wave!" All Might said. "It is a very simple triathlon like any other, but because the competitors are all young next-generation heroes and Quirk users, they can use their Quirk to their advantage if it doesn't interfere with the race or harm the other racers. First off, swimming is the first part of the race. They must swim across the water until they reach a buoy and go around it and back to the beach. Then, they will run a bit until they meet the cyclist, and the second part of the race begins!"

All Might showed a demonstration of the race on the monitor.

"From there, the cyclist will cycle through the course until they reach the foot runner, and the foot runner will race back to the finish line at the stadium!"

"The cycling and the running will be going through the city of Athens, and I can already see many cheering people on the course!" Megan Wave looked at the people cheering and waving at the cameras.

"All swimming competitors, please station to your spot immediately. The race will begin shortly," the announcer stated.

Todoroki and other racers from the other teams all lined up at the starting line.

The referee came up and held the pistol up above his head.

"Three, two, one!" The referee triggered the pistol. The racers ran towards the water and dived into the water, but Todoroki, on the other hand, reached out his right arm and summoned a barrage of ice, allowing him to slide over his ice to move forwards over the water.

"And there we go! The first game officially began, and the racers dived in!" Megan Wave declared. "However, it seems like the first racer from Team Japan, Shoto Todoroki, is using his Ice Quirk to create a slide for him to move forward over the water!"

The crowds and the fans cheered for Todoroki, and some members from the other teams were surprised to see Todoroki did that.

"Yeah! Go forward, Todoroki!" Kirishima cheered.

"You got this, Half Dude!" Eli shouted.

"Go, Todoroki!" Iida shouted, too.

"Yeah!" Kendo also cheered, too.

Monomo stayed silent as he just watched but with a slight smirk. Bakugo didn't watch as he angrily looked the other way, still annoyed that he was not part of the race.

All Might chuckled heartfully. "That's Young Todoroki! He demonstrated the ice part of his Quirk back in the UA Sports Festival, but it seems he is excellently using his Quirk here. He's already in the lead!"

"Oh, not for long, Mr. All Might! Look!" Megan Wave pointed out at the monitor.

Todoroki quickly glanced to his left to see something approaching him. He noticed a dorsal fin sticking out of the water.

Suddenly, something jumped out of the water. It was a humanoid dolphin person in a swim trunks.

"Oh! Who could that be?" All Might asked.

"That's Jesse Dolphin, Mr. All Might! He's the third year from Team Australia, known as the fastest swimmer at his school!" Megan Wave revealed.

Jesse Dolphin was a young female with a mid-built body, short blond hair, and green eyes. She had a gray dorsal fin of a dolphin on her backside, two shorter fins on each side of her arm, and a thick gray dolphin tail.

Name: Jesse Dolphine. Occupation: Third year at Beauty Beast High School, Australia. Quirk: Dolphin: Allows users to have the characteristics and traits of a dolphin. Johnny's fastest speed is 20 miles per hour!

"What's up, mate!" Jesse greeted Todoroki as she swam beside the boy. "It's cool to see that your team is full of first-year students and only the first-year from that famous UA High, but don't think you underestimate us, veterans!"

Jesse swam ahead as he leaped in and out of the water like a real dolphin. Todoroki put more power into his Quirk, gaining more speed to catch up and pass Johnny.

Meanwhile, the rest of his classmates and Team Japan were watching the swimming portion on the monitor. At each checkpoint, each team has their own monitor that allows them to watch the race.

"Woah! I can't believe Jesse just caught up and passed Todoroki-kun!" Ochaco gasped.

"Yikes! I hope Todoroki can get to first place," Arisa worried.

"That Johnny guy is strong and fast. I am surprised he even caught up to Todoroki," Felicia commented.

"It seems like this game is going to be tougher than it looks," Yuki added, showing no emotion as he watched the monitor.

"Yeah," Kai nodded.

"What do you think, Deku-kun? Do you think Todoroki-kun can…" Ochaco and the others noticed Midoriya was mumbling while writing stuff in his notebook.

"Jesse Dolphine… Her Quirk is Dolphin… Now that I think about it, her last name means dolphin…" Midoriya mumbled loudly.

"Hm, Midoriya!" Kai snapped Midoriya out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, sorry! Did you say something, Kai?" Midoriya asked.

"What do you think of the race, Midoriya?" Felicia repeated.

"Oh! From what I see, we still have the advantage, even though it was a surprise that somebody from another team managed to catch up to Todoroki," Midoriya answered.

"Do you think we can still win?" Ochaco asked.

"Remember, guys." Everyone looked at Speed Girl. "This is just the swimming portion. We don't know what will happen in the rest of the race. Todoroki may reach first in the swimming portion, but if we don't stay focused, the other teams will outpace us, and we could lose the game."

"Right." Everyone agreed on that thought.

"Arisa, look!" Felicia pointed out.

Arisa and everyone looked back at the monitor and noticed a familiar face.

"Ah! It's Ben!" Arisa noticed as she saw her former classmate from LA Ultra High.

Ben Glory, the ace student from LA Ultra High, was swimming as hard as possible, and he was very close to catching up to Todoroki and Jesse Dolphine. The two swimmers noticed the boy's presence.

"Don't forget about me, boys! I am here to prove to you and the rest of the world who's the number one here!" Ben shouted as he swam in a butterfly style.

"Oh my! Ben Glory, the ace star of Team USA, is coming up close to the two leaders, Todoroki of Team Japan and Jesse Dolphine of Team Australia!" Megan Wave exclaimed.

"Ha, ha, ha! Well, look at these young boys! They truly give their all in this race, and this is only the first part!" All Might commented.

Other team members were doing fantastic in the race, but unfortunately, there was a last swimmer.

"Oh dear, I can't catch up with everyone," Jelicia moaned.

"Oof. It looks like Team Haiti's swimmer, Jelicia Sting, is last in the race," Megan Wave mentioned aloud.

At Usagi's checkpoint, she and her group watched the race to see what was going on.

"Oh, that sucks. I know she is from the other team, but I feel bad for Jelicia from Team Haiti," Jiro said sadly.

"She was a person you met at the party, right, Junko-san?" Momo asked the sleeping girl.

Junko just snored but slightly nodded in response.

"I guess that means it is a yes," Jiro said. "Though, I remember Kendo also mentioned that she met Jelicia, too."

The girls noticed their male teammates rolling in front of the monitor, looking at Jelicia and any cute girls in their swimsuits.

Jiro shook her earplugs through their ears, making them scream in response, and then she and others continued watching the stream.

Back at Todoroki's group, his teammates were watching the race.

"Incredible! I can't believe Ben Glory caught up with Todoroki and that Johnny fellow from Australia!" Iida couldn't believe his eyes.

"Those two are strong for sure," Eli commented. "At this rate, I don't know who would reach the checkpoint first."

"They are coming close to the buoy!" Kendo pointed out as she watched the other racers but sadly looked at Jelicia, who was last. 'I feel bad for Jelicia. She's a nice person, but a quite slow swimmer. I wonder if her team had no other swimmer besides her.'

The three leading swimmers reached the buoy, making a big U-turn around it and heading straight back to the beach.

"The three leaders just passed around the buoy and are heading back to the beach!" Megan Wave exclaimed. "Who will reach it first, and who will pass over to the next racer first?!"

Jesse Dolphine, Shoto Todoroki, and Ben Glory used their power as much as possible. Each of them tried to pass over the other, but they were all very close. There was less than a meter away from the sandy beach.

Todoroki mustered all the ice part of his Quirk as he created a slope. He slid as fast as possible and jumped high into the air. Johnny, Ben, and everybody else watched as Todoroki was in the air and landed on the beach. As soon as he did, he ran for it to the checkpoint.

"YES! Young Todoroki is the first one to arrive back at the beach!" All Might shouted as the people cheered.

"Oh yeah!" Team Japan cheered.

"Quick, Usagi! Get ready!" Midnight declared.

"On it!" Usagi was already in her uniform, waiting for Todoroki to come.

"Damn it!" Ben Glory mumbled as he and Jesse reached the sandy beach simultaneously, and they ran off to catch up to Todoroki.

"Over here!" Usagi's group shouted at Todoroki as he approached them, reaching the checkpoint.

"Go now!" Todoroki shouted at Usagi.

"You got it!" Usagi replied as she had already started cycling.

"Go, Usagi!" Her group cheered as she went.

Todoroki huffed and puffed as part of his body was covered in some frostbite. He started using the other half of his Quirk, the fire part, to melt the frostbite away.

"Are you OK, Todoroki-san?" Momo asked as she helped Ms. Heal check on Todoroki.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired, that's all," Todoroki said between his breathing.

"You did a real good job, man!" Kaminari said. "I was worried when that Johnny and Ben Glory guys caught up to you, but you still came here first."

"Zzzzz…" Junko gave Todoroki a thumb-up even while sleeping.

"But it's not over yet," Midnight spoke up, catching everyone's attention as she turned to the stream on the monitor. "The race has only just begun."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I know that is a bit late to say it, but I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday break and if you live in the States, I hope you all are having another holiday break because today is King's Day aka Martin Luther King Jr's Day.

I finally got the time to edit this chapter and get it posted. It's been SO LONG since I updated this story, and I hope that I will be more active here.

So the reason why I haven't been active is... I became a Vtuber, and I plan to rename my username to match with my Vtuber persona. So, from today, NewComer1 is retiring and reborn into C+HeroVT. If you are curious, you can find me on YouTube where I do weekly gaming livestream, and every other weeks or at least twice a month, I do fanfiction writing stream! My YouTube channel is C+HeroVT.

I will be streaming tonight (in EST) for Fanfiction writing, working on the next chapter after this, so please consider checking it out!

See you all next time!