Chapter 13: The Race and the First Phase

The lights flashed green in front of the massive doors.

As several other students, Ochako included, waitred for the sign to start, the brown-haired girl weighed her options. Sure, she might have gotten stronger thanks to Gran Torino, but she still had to do better. Otherwise, All For One would beat her again.

I have to Go Beyond…

And as the final green light faded –

"BEGIN!" Midnight shouted.

–everyone ran for the door.

"And we're off to a racing start! How about some color commentary, Eraserhead?"

"How did you talk me into this?"

"What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?"

"The doorway," the Underground Hero deadpanned.

Sure enough, Aizawa-sensei was right. Everyone was packed into the small corridor like sardines in a can, all of them bumping into one another. Ochako figured that this was the first test and immediately used her own Quirk to begin floating above everyone else.

BOOM!

And right on time, apparently, since Todoroki decided to freeze everyone ahead of him, making him the first (and so far, the only) contestant to make it past the doorway.

"Apologies," he said, as he ran past everyone else.

I honestly can't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, Ochako thought.

But she didn't have time to think about that. Using One For All, she boosted her own speed, and launched herself out of the doorway. Soon enough, she also saw Aoyama blasting himself out, Bakugou using his explosions, Yaoyorozu pole-vaulting, and…

"AAAHHHHH! HERE I COME!"

…Kirishima jumping? She decided not to question that one.

She even saw Ojiro using his tail like some kind of kangaroo, and Tokoyami using Dark Shadow's claws to leap from place to place. Meanwhile, Ashido was… slipping?

Didn't she have holes in her shoes to use her acid?

"I am so sorry!"

Taking a quick glance behind her, Ochako saw Akatani running up beside Ashido, saying, "That's my Quirk! Sorry! Yours will come back once I'm out of range!"

A deactivation-type Quirk? Like Aizawa-sensei's?

"Get out of range NOW!" the pink girl shouted.

"Right! Sorry!" Akatani said, as he ran past her.


As Shoto watched Shinso be carried around by a group of people he managed to brainwash, the white-and-red boy had to admit, he was somewhat impressed.

"I didn't expect so many people to dodge that first attack I did," he muttered to himself. "Especially those from other classes… Wait, is that the Business Course guy?"

Before Shoto could grab a second glance, something from behind was approaching even faster. A small kid with purple balls for hair, was detaching them and placing them all over the ice. Not only that, but it seemed like he could use them as bounce pads to hop around.

Clever. Very clever.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE SO COOL, BUT I'VE OUTSMARTED YOU! HA, HOW PATHETIC, CLASS A SCUM!" the short guy shouted. "EAT THIS! MY SPECIAL ATTACK! GRAPE –"

BAM!

Before the Class B kid could even finish shouting out his special attack, something swiped him out of the sky, launching him straight into the ground. Shoto looked up to see…

"Oooh! Enemies have shown up out of nowhere! I bet we're in for a treat here!" Present Mic's voice could be heard. "A test of strength and cunning… IT'S THE ROBO INFERNO!"

"Are those the Zero Point Villains from the practical test?!" Kaminari shouted.

"Where does the school even get the funding for these things?" Yaoyorozu wondered.

That's actually a good question, Shoto thought to himself. But now wasn't the time to think about that, especially given how one of the giant robot's arms was heading straight for him… uh-oh…

FWOOSH!

With a quick wave from his arms, he managed to summon enough ice to freeze the giant bastard. Once again, too easy. Did he even need his old man's fire for any of this?

"Dude, he stopped the robots!"

"Between their legs! We can get through!"

"Careful now," Shoto called out to the others, as he kept running. "I froze them while they were off their balance… on purpose." Okay, so he was in a pissy mood, sue him.

BOOOOOM!

"That's Todoroki from Class 1-A pulling into an early lead with a devastating display! AMAZING! HE'S ONE WE SHOULD WATCH! IT ALMOST SEEMS UNFAIR! Thoughts?"

"His attack was both offensive and defensive," Eraserhead added.

"NO WONDER HE WAS LET IN ON RECOMMENDATIONS! HE NEVER EVEN FOUGHT THOSE ROBOTS BEFORE, BUT THEY DIDN'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST HIS MOVES!"


Meanwhile, back where Todoroki had frozen the Zero Pointer…

BOOM!

"I'M ALIIIIIVE!" Eijiro shouted, as he busted through the robot.

"KIRISHIMA OF CLASS 1-A! WHAT A HARDCORE DEBUT FOR A ROOKIE!"

"Todoroki, I can't believe you'd pull something like that… geez, anyone else but me would have been killed… huh? My Quirk's fading out? But I didn't turn it off…"

"Sorry, that's my bad!"

"Huh? Oh, Mikumbro! I'd recognize that messy black hair anywhere!" Eijiro said,

BOOM!

""Huh?!""

"CLASS 1-A REALLY IS FULL OF JERKS!" a steel-covered kid shouted, as he busted his way through the robot's metal. "I'LL SMASH THAT ICE GUY ONCE I GET MY HANDS ON HIM!"

"WHOO! TETSUTETSU FROM CLASS 1-B WAS ALSO STUCK UNDERNEATH!"

"You know anyone other than me would have been killed… Hey, my Quirk!"

"SORRY!" Mikumo shouted, as he ran away. "They'll be back when I'm out of range!"

While the Business Course student ran away from the two of them, Eijiro sighed, "Our Quirks are basically the same! How am I supposed to stand out now?!"

"You're the damn copycat!" Tetsutstsu shouted back.


Katsuki ignored all of the extras' bellyaching as he launched himself up towards the Zero Pointer. He couldn't let Todoroki or anyone else beat him. He needed to get stronger.

"CLASS 1-A'S BAKUGOU IS ROCKETING OVER THE OBSTACLES! CLEVER!"

"I figured you'd just try to blast your way through these things with your Quirk!" Sero said, as he used his tape to swing up to where Katsuki was. "I'm impressed!"

If that impresses you, you've seen nothing yet, Soy Sauce…


As Shouta watched Iida, Jiro and Kaminari take down various bots with their Quirks, he realized something. Class 1-A has learned not to hesitate.

Shouta remembered what his class was like a few weeks ago. Sure, they all had potential, but they were still teenagers. They didn't expect to fight Villains, so of course several of them would have lost to them. But despite that fact… They learned something from it.

They've seen what the real world is like. They felt the fear of facing Villains, yet they fight on, trying to overcome that fear. They've grown, all of them.

With that, Shouta Aizawa gained a soft smile.

And they know they have to act quickly if they want to stay alive…

As the Erasure Hero watched Yaoyorozu take down several Zero Pointers with a cannon, while Uraraka used One For All to dodge and weave them, he nodded in approval.

They may still be brats, but they're on their way to become great Heroes.


"You're better off dodging those big fellas most of the time, but if you gotta take 'em down, they're just slow dumb hunks of metal. They're pretty easy to hit," Snipe said, as the other teachers listened to him. "Long as you land a smart shot, that is."

Yagi, meanwhile, was more interested in what was on the screen.

As he watched young Uraraka, he remembered what he told her weeks ago, after he told her about One For All's true origins. Hindsight was twenty-twenty, but he was now hitting himself over telling the clearly stressed-out teenager to introduce herself to the world.

I've asked so much of you, young Uraraka…


"For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy… LET'S SEE HOW YA FEEL ABOUT THE SECOND ONE!" Present Mic announced. "IF THEY SLIP, THEY'RE OUT! IF THEY WANNA PASS THIS TEST, THEY'LL HAVE TO GET CREATIVE! IT'S THE FALL!"

"When did they even have time to build something like this?" Ochako wondered.

"What are you doing?" Mina asked Tsu.

"RIBBIT!" The frog girl replied by jumping and landing on one of the ropes. "Easy-peasy!"

"Huh, she's fast," Mina deadpanned.

"Hehehe… yes, finally, this is my chance to show off what I can do… My support items are gonna steal the spotlight from these wannabe Heroes…" a pink-haired girl said, getting the others' attention. "EVERYONE! OBSERVE WHAT MY BRILLIANT GADGETS CAN DO!"

"Oh, you're from the Support Department!" Ochako realized.

"Hey, how come you got to bring all of that stuff?" Mina asked.

"Students in the Hero Course get all kinds of combat training for their Quirks. In order to keep things fair and give us a fighting chance, we're allowed to bring whatever costumes and gadgets we want into the game, so long as we developed them ourselves! SO SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE SHOW!" the pink-haired girl said, as she shot out a harpoon from her waist.

"For those of us in the Support Course, this is the perfect obstacle to show off our ingenious ideas and creations to any companies out there who might wanna recruit us!" she said, as she threw herself into the chasm. "HA-HA! I HOPE EMPLOYERS ARE WATCHING! MY SUPER CUTE BABIES ARE SURE TO MAKE A SPLASH! AHAHA!"

"Wow… talk about annoying," Mina said, as she watched the crazy gadget girl swing from pillar to pillar, like some sort of cross between a genderbent Iron Man and Spider-Man.

"Mmm… I won't lose!" Ochako said, as she fired off One For All once more.


"LOOKS LIKE TODOROKI IS STILL SKATING BY EASILY!"

Hilarious, Shoto thought to himself. Present Mic was annoying, but he was at least potentially helpful when it came to announcing whatever obstacles came next.

BOOM! BOOM!

Hm? Shoto glanced behind him to see that Bakugou was flying through the air like a rocket, and was right on his tail. He's finally catching up. Took him long enough. Wait… is that a sign?

Shoto stopped for a second to look at the massive billboard right next to him. The color was atrocious, but the skull and words "DANGER: MINES" were worth paying attention to.

"And now, we're finally approaching the last obstacle! Everyone had better tread carefully… YOU'RE STEPPING ONTO A MINEFIELD!" Present Mic's voice announced.

Sometimes, it pays to listen, Shoto thought to himself.

"If you look carefully, you can see where the bombs are buried, so keep your eyes on the ground, folks! By the way, those landmines were designed for the game, so they might be loud and flashy, but they're not all that powerful. JUST ENOUGH TO WET YOUR PANTS!"

"Get a hold of yourself," Eraserhead groaned.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Aizawa-sensei, Shoto thought to himself.


As Ochako raced past her competitors, with pink lightning following behind her, she thought about what Present Mic said. So, someone's made it to the final obstacle.

BOOM!

"AHHH!"

Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked up ahead to see some other student flying through the air in a puff of pink smoke, screaming for their life. Must have set off a landmine…

BOOM!

"AUGH!"

At least I'm getting close…


Very clever… those in the lead have an actual disadvantage here…

BOOM!

"WAHH!"

Guess it makes for good entertainment, too, Shoto thought to himself. He slowly walked his way through the field, ignoring the cries of everyone who was getting blasted around him, when –

BOOM! BOOM!

That doesn't sound like a landmine explosion.

Turning around, Shoto saw that Bakugou was flying towards him. Looking around again, he also saw Iida running through the field, with several members of Class 1-B also running.

They've all caught up to me, Shoto realized. He decided to first handle his biggest problem at the moment. Bakugou will pass me soon enough. He may come off as abrasive, but he's not the type of person to fight someone else without a reason. I have to give him one!

BOOM! BOOM!

As soon as the explosive blond flew next to Shoto, the peppermint-haired boy reached out with his left hand, and grabbed the blond's forearm, before freezing the two of them together.

"OI, WHAT THE HELL?!" Bakugou shouted.

"Sorry, but I can't let you take the lead!" Shoto said.

"WHAT'S THIS? BAKUGOU AND TODOROKI ARE BOTH STUCK TOGETHER?! CAN OUR TWO LEADERS FIGHT AND STAY AHEAD OF THE OTHERS AT THE SAME TIME?!"


Ochako made it to the front of the minefield, as she saw Bakugou and Todoroki having completed three-fourths of it already, while also being… stuck to each other?

She shook her head. That doesn't matter. What matters is that they're already that far ahead. How can I catch up? I don't have enough power to just jump across the field, even if I removed my own weight. Gah! If only I could do what I did back in the Entrance Exam…

BOOM!

"WHY?!"

As Ochako watched one of the other competitors get blasted through the air by the minefield, she suddenly gained an idea. Immediately, she began to dig into the dirt.

If I direct them correctly, I can use the landmines' explosions to launch me forward, and remove my own gravity to gain even more speed! Then, once I begin to slow down, I'll increase my gravity and drop faster, while also reinforcing my body to set off even more explosions! If I keep doing that, I should be able to jump across the field, like some kind of grasshopper on crack!

Eyeballing it, Ochako figured that she had dug up enough landmines. Piling them on one another, she went to the front, and kicked them from behind like a donkey.

BOOOOOM!

The next thing Ochako saw was a lot of pink, but as the smoke slowly receded, she saw that she was actually high above everyone else, with her Quirks working in tandem to not only keep her safe, but to also make her float even higher and faster.

"WHAT'S WITH THAT HUGE EXPLOSION IN THE BACK?! THAT LOOKS WAY MORE POWERFUL THAN IT SHOULD BE! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! WHATEVER IT WAS, CLASS 1-A'S OCHAKO URARAKA IS SUDDENLY FLYING THROUGH THE AIR LIKE A ROCKET!"


Shoto stared dumbfounded as he watched Uraraka fly through the air like some sort of rocket. It didn't help that the pink lightning around her made him think of afterburners.

"AMAZING! OCHAKO URARKA HAS BLASTED HER WAY TO FIRST PLACE!"

BOOM!

Shoto got stunned for a second, as Bakugou had caused a small explosion to melt the ice keeping them together, before launching himself towards Uraraka.

The peppermint-haired boy knew that he had to hurry. Creating more ice on the ground, he made a break for it. Sure, the path would allow others to keep going without the risk of getting blown up, but he had to continue, he had to catch up to the other two.

"LOOK AT THAT PLOT TWIST! THOSE TWO AREN'T FIGHTING ANYMORE, THEY'RE CHASING URARAKA! THAT'S WHAT HAVING A COMMON ENEMY WILL DO IN THIS COMPETITION! THIS IS STILL FAR FROM OVER, THOUGH!"


As Ochako kept flying through the air, she smiled. My plan worked! I'm flying through the air! It's like I'm flying through the air to save Bakugou again, only this time, my legs aren't broken! Okay, I'm about to get too high, so I gotta land again! One For All… GRAVITY INCREASE!

Soon enough, the brown-haired girl began to fall back down to the earth, her body being completely reinforced by her power. Okay, I'm about to crash down into the ground. I gotta set off the mines again, but I can't be too heavy. Gotta decrease it… NOW!

BOOOOOM!

The second explosion wasn't anywhere near as powerful as the first one, but it was more than enough to get her going again. Lowering her gravity again, she rocketed through the air, fast enough to look like a rocket, but still low enough to the ground to…

There! The minefield is clear! RELEASE!

In an instant, she turned off her Zero Gravity, and was now running, backed with ten percent of One For All's power, she was zipping through the dirt road like some sort of land missile.

"URARAKA HAS PASSED HER CLASSMATES IN CLASS 1-A! ERASERHEAD, YOUR STUDENTS ARE AMAZING! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TEACHING THEM?!"

"This has nothing to do with me. Each of them is powered by their own drive to succeed."

"THERE YOU HAVE IT! ERASERHEAD IS A TERRIBLE TEACHER!"

"I'M WHAT?!" Eraserhead's angry voice was picked up by the hot mic.

"WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RACE THAT THE CLIMAX WOULD BE A NON-STOP MEGAMIX OF SURPRISES?!" Present Mic shouted. "The first to make it back to the stadium and our first place winner is… OCHAKO URARAKA!"


Out of Kurogir's portal, Tenko saw the rest of his team arrive.

Stepping out of the gate were several now well-known Villains, while also being accompanied by not only Nomus, but also by two brand-new faces. "Well then, guess we're all here."

"Everyone who could make it, you mean," Dabi replied.

"Right, right," the blue-haired Villain said. "Hephaestus, give us a report."

One of the newest Villains pulled up a holographic screen. They were wearing large, mechanical armor, with the legs being colored blue and white, the midsection as green, the torso and elbows were yellow, the gloves red, and the joints, along with everything else, were black.

In Tenko's opinion, it somewhat resembled a bulkier version of Samus.

"Carmilla has successfully infiltrated the building, and has swiped an access card," the newcomer said, watching over a holographic screen. "Everyone get ready to be warped to your positions. Once the Heroes are occupied with the Nomus, we're good to go inside."

"And now we wait…" Geten sighed.

"Anywho…" Dabi turned her head around. "How does the costume feel, Waverider?"

The other new Villain answered with, "Fits like a glove." She was wearing a black costume with bright blue highlights on the sides, chest, gauntlets, and her fingertips. Not only that, but she was also wearing a hood and concealing her face with a motorcycle face mask.

"Glad to hear that," the black-haired woman said. "This is gonna be fun."

On that part, Tenko Shimura, better known as Tomura Shigaraki, agreed wholeheartedly.

This was gonna be one fun fucking bloodbath.


Ochako panted as the confetti kept falling around her. The triumphant music and the sounds of the cheering audience also didn't help her heart rate slow down one bit.

Still, though, she couldn't help but smile at the fact that she did it. She did exactly as All Might asked of her, she told the world that she was here. Well, for the first round, at least.

She still had two more to go.

"Uraraka, that was fucking insane!"

Ochako turned to see that Shinso was talking to her. "Oh, thanks."

"I can't believe that you launched yourself like some kind of goddamn rocket!"

"I know… there was so much that could have gone wrong…"

"The first game for the First Years is finally over, and what a game it was!" Midnight announced. "Only the top forty-two will advance to the next round, but don't be too let down if you didn't make the cut. We prepared other opportunities for you to shine. Now the real fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give it your best! Let's see what we have in store for you next! Will your wildest dreams come true?" As Midnight finished, the hologram behind her began spinning again, and then… the words appeared.

"Prepare yourselves… FOR THIS!"

"CAVALRY BATTLE."

"Cavalry battle?" Kaminari said. "I'm terrible at those."

"I wonder how they'll split us up," Asui said.

"Allow me to explain: The participants will form teams of two to four people, as they see fit. Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course."

"I get it, a point-based system, like the Entrance Exams," Sato said.

"So that means, each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it," Ojiro realized. "That seems pretty simple, yeah?"

"Will you all please be quiet?!" Iida asked.

"Now then, the point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, the forty-second place is worth five points, and forty-first is worth ten. And the point value assigned for the first place contestant is… TEN MILLION!"

"Ten million…?" Ochako muttered, her eyes as wide as a fish.

"That's right," Midnight said, her smile somehow both smug and seductive. "It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"

Ochako was now regretting several decisions she had made.


Himiko Toga felt sick as she walked through the halls of the HPSC.

And no, it wasn't because it was the Hero Public Safety Commission.

Her problem was with the blood she had to ingest to get in.

A long time ago, if she were to drink any blood, she would have been content. Human or animal, child or adult, it didn't matter to her. Blood was blood, and she couldn't get enough of it.

As it turned out, she only perceived it that way because the monsters she used to call her parents had starved her to the point that she'd take anything, regardless of quality.

But after being taken in by her super cool leader, she discovered that, once she had enough blood to function as a normal human being, she could actually taste some differences between them. It was the same logic as giving a starving person food: They would eat anything if it meant survival, while well-fed people would be able to tell the difference between good and bad food.

She didn't know if this Quirk-based taste was unique to her. She once asked if different Quirks had different tastes when stolen, and after that, the League hadn't heard from their mastermind for a week as he spent the next week or so researching the subject.

As it turned out, the answer was "kinda."

The same sort of answer could be applied to Himiko's Quirk. For the average person, their blood would taste the same to her: Coppery as blood should be, and yet somehow sweet.

But then there were certain people whose blood tasted differently. Geten's blood was cold, like a mint. Meanwhile, Kaina's blood had more of a plastic-like taste, but it wasn't necessarily bad. But Tenko's tasted like some sort of cross between Red Bull and Gatorade, which was yucky.

But compared to this HPSC goon's blood she had to drink in order to sneak into the building, Tenko's might as well have been a cold drink in the middle of a goddamn desert.

This goon's blood tasted like how the fat bastard looked. Greasy, full of saturated fat, and overall, probably not good for your health. But, he was at the right place at the right time, and the mission required her to get into the building disguised, so it was what it was.

Walking through the hallway, Himiko went through the plan again: Go into the control room, find the access key, kill any witnesses, and then give everyone the signal.

Oh, and while she was at it, kill the President of the HPSC, too.

Simple enough.

Feeling the knives in her pocket, she smiled.

This was gonna be fun.


Author's Note: Is it just me, or is Akatani kinda suspect? Wait, who am I kidding, I've obviously foreshadowed him, of course he's gonna be a little suspect!

While everyone is distracted with the Sports Festival, the League of Villains is bust enacting their plans. From infiltrating one Hero organization to another (if either one could technically qualify). Anyways, now it's time for the comments.

Knightmare Lord: The HPSC is gonna have several bad days from now on…

Cherry314: I do hope that you enjoy my version of the Sports Festival, it took me a while to write! And yeah, Gran Torino is now gonna be making all of these kids' lives even worse. And Inko… yeah… that plot point is gonna show up again.

EmilMobile: I guess the beginning would feel a bit disjointed to someone who never watched the OVAs, but I'm glad you at least enjoyed the Aizawa tea party. And yeah, just like Vin explained, I cross-post on FFN. Also, I never considered running up the word count, but that's probably because I've never written that much, like, ever.

VinHD15: Thanks for giving him the explanation for me, dude.

Gweyir: Thanks for the support! And to answer your questions, one, Mikumo Akatani is gonna play an interesting role in the Sports Festival (as shown by this chapter), Yui being Megethos is pretty much a given, and Fuyumi being Dabi is also a given. Melissa or Mei being Hepheastus? I'll give you a hint, it's definitely one of them. Also, glads you lok this idea so much of Nejire being a Villain. Speaking of which, do you know any Villain Nejire stories? If so, please give me the links! And yeah, it's pretty obvious from the context clues that the Shie Hassaikai (but Overhaul is not dead, unfortunately) has been split and the Meta Liberation Army is gone. Lovely Ted Talk, see you next time!

If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules!

That's all for today, thanks for reading, and we'll see you next time!

- Ernalore