Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or Fate/Stay Night

...

Bakugo growls were inaudible compared to the roar of the crowd that surrounded them. They had gotten the biggest pop which was rightfully given. It didn't matter that Present Mic was upselling their achievements thus far, the masses weren't aware of it but they had come to see them anyways. They were the prized students of the year. Half and Half Bastard, Raccoon Eyes, Shitty Hair, Four Eyes. They might have all been pebbles in his path towards greatness but they had scrambled their way to be standing alongside him above all others who may have tried. They were the best of the worst and they deserved to be acknowledged for that.

Then there was Shirou.

Other than the Half and Half Bastard, he was the only one who hadn't gone to get their ass handed to them over and over by Shirou. That didn't mean that he had been sitting down doing nothing with his time. He'd found himself pushing himself, harder than he ever had before. For years he had been worshipped with the belief of those around him pushing him forwards. Now he realized that he should have been exerting himself harder.

Bakugo knew that he was at the peak of the opportunities he had given himself, of that there was little doubt. The issue was that he hadn't chased up certain opportunities that he wasn't aware existed. Spending his youth bragging about how he was going to be the best when he didn't spend that time working himself to become the best. He knew that the last two weeks of intense training would have only closed the distance a little, but it was a start.

And a start was as good as anything.

...

"Now for the student representative, Emiya Shirou!"

The crowd didn't applaud him as much as they would have any other student and Shirou was more than aware of it. They knew who he was, what he was capable of and he could see those in attendance whispering amongst themselves. Thankfully, he didn't ultimately care about the opinions of the masses but he had a script to follow and he knew that to stray away would lead to more trouble than it was worth.

Stepping up to the podium, his eyes found Rin in the crowd of general studies students. He also had managed to find a small banner in the crowd with her name plastered on it. It seems as if some of the students who had opted not to compete had decided to throw their support behind her, whether from manipulation or her charm he wasn't fussed. She had never had a problem with people showering her with support before so why would it be any different in another world?

Allowing himself to exhale slightly, Shirou recalled what he and Rin had prepared and spoke. "Ladies, Gentlemen, Heroes, Civilians," he started, his words causing all those watching to go silent. He paused for several moments before he announced the final group of people that this speech was meant for, "And Villains."

That single word caused a murmur of discontent to spread around the arena but it didn't phase Shirou as he continued. "We are gathered here before you today to compete against one another for your entertainment. I'm sure you will take joy in children injuring themselves all for the sake of trying to show off what they are capable of. We will throw ourselves against whatever obstacles are in our way and if someone is to maim or perhaps even kill themselves, well that's amusement I guess."

"Those gathered before you are the future heroes of this world and if what I have said has already caused their nerves to come into question then they should forfeit their right to study here effective immediately," declared Shirou. "Grit and determination are a necessity in this line of work and even those who have signed themselves into other courses must be prepared for the consequences of failure. Not every mission is successful and it is never just the one who failed who has to deal with the fallout."

"These burdens are not what teenagers can even begin to comprehend, for the media only ever shows about how the hero valiantly saves the day. Never do we have an in depth look at the psyche, to work out just what is left of the person who spends every day in the limelight knowing that their successes will garner them fame while their failures will have them lynched in the streets. Will we garner success in the future or will we succumb to the wills of society?"

"Finally, I leave you with a final question which I know you all have an answer for. What is a hero? To me, a hero is someone whose name will be etched into legend. History will remember a true hero not for the amount of subordinates under them, or the fact that they spent time with those who adored them. They won't be the most famous or most sought after. The true heroes will be remembered by the fact that they never rescued anyone for the money or glory, but simply because it was the right thing to do."

His final part said, Shirou stepped away from the microphone he had been speaking into and made his way down off of the platform. His footsteps down the handful of stairs almost echoed in comparison to the silence which filled the arena. The words he had spoken resonated with the crowd to the point they were almost afraid to whisper their opinions to those next to them. It was no real surprise that they were quiet. He had poked the hornet's nest in a sense. The civilians of this world felt safe because there was an oversaturation of heroes patrolling the streets and help could arrive within minutes. The sad fact of the matter though, was sometimes those few minutes it took for the hero to arrive already meant that it was too late. Nobody liked to address the issue unless they were pointing fingers about who was to blame and unfortunately the blame wasn't always on the culprit.

"Okay...with that being said," started Midnight, a bit flummoxed by what she had just heard but doing her best to roll on ahead. "It's time to move on to our first event! The preliminaries as they are better known! This year's first round is...this, an Obstacle Course! It's a race between all eleven classes with the course making a nearly four kilometre ring around this stadium! We sing about freedom on campus so you're free to do anything so long as you remain in the course."

Midnight felt herself pause at the end of her statement, preventing her from telling the children to take care. It was something she never would have even contemplated beforehand but Shirou's speech had even sent cold feelings deep down into her soul. She still remembered when she had been a third year student right here in the Academy and was interning under Purple Highness in a lead up to her graduation, how she had worked side by side with a second year student she had called a friend.

And how it had all gone so terribly wrong.

Shaking her head lightly, she focused on the start of the obstacle course where the students had crowded behind one another, cramming as close to the start as they could. As the first light flashed on, she called out, "On your marks!"

...

"Start!"

The opening of the event saw those at the back of the pack watch on with mild entertainment as those at the front tried their hardest to squeeze through the narrow opening. This was where Shirou and Rin had found themselves, in no real rush to force their way to the front of the crowd. It was unsurprising for Shirou to find that a number of his peers had chosen the same course of action. Apparently a number of them had learned in the last couple weeks not to charge ahead without a plan.

At least they were taking something from his lessons.

Their patience was well rewarded with Todoroki having taken the lead and in doing so, freezing the field beneath him and trapping those who had thought to get an early start. Those who found themselves lucky enough to not have their feet stuck to the ground had to suffer the humility that came with falling face first into the ground, their footing ill prepared for the change in surface friction.

"So that was the opening act," said Rin as she leapt up, far higher than anybody had the right to and landed gracefully atop the starting gate, Shirou joining her side only a moment later. They paid little attention to the masses that were sandwiched beneath them, scrambling over one another in an attempt to get a step ahead of the rest.

"It was the simplest way to weed out those ill prepared, Midnight stated anything was far game," added Shirou. "If they fall at the first hurdle that just shows where they are." Shirou's attention shifted slightly to where his peers from Class 1-A were making their way forward, following after Todorok and towards the next obstacle. "Oh it's those things again."

By 'those things,' Shirou was referring to the gigantic machines that stood in the path of those who had gotten to the front of the pack. Shirou's ears perked up, hearing one student cry out that there were way too many to slip past. That to him sounded like a good warm up, certainly not a challenge but it would provide some entertainment.

...

Todoroki stared at the second obstacle and the drop that surrounded the handful of safe platforms. The rope that hung between the few havens differed greatly from spot to spot, meaning he would have to pick and choose which paths he took carefully.

"Well, that was easy," said a female voice behind him, Todoroki mildly surprised thinking that he had had quite a large gap between him and the rest of the field. Turning to look over his shoulder, Todoroki spotted Shirou accopaning said female, one whom he could mildly recall having fought alongside Shirou some time ago.

"So what's next?" asked Shirou as he came to stand by Todoroki's side, no sign that he was in anyway exhausted from having caught up to the lead with seeming ease. Not that Todoroki found this surprising in the slightest.

"Hmmph," scoffed Rin, ignoring the sounds of explosions and disaster raining on behind her as the rest of their year level did their best to make their way through the robot inferno. Without a second thought, she leapt forward, the abyss not terrifying her in the slightest. At first glance, Todoroki thought such reckless actions would lead to disaster and was already preparing some way in which to catch the general studies student.

His fear filled thoughts were unwarranted however, Rin crossing the gap with the simplest of ease, landing before leaping once more in a fluid motion, crossing the darkness without any fear for what lay beneath her. Before Todorki could even allow some manner of surprise to seep in, he could only watch as Shirou crossed the gap without hesitation though taking a slightly different path to the one that his companion was taking.

A momentary thought of panic came into Todoroki's mind as he questioned whether the sword crafting student would sabotage those behind them and cut the ropes connecting the platforms together. Thankfully it seemed as if fears were misplaced, Shirou seeming to have no need to destroy the hopes of those behind him.

Biting at the inside of his lip, Todoroki realized that he had spent far too long simply staring at the obstacle in front of him and began to press forward. Humorously he wondered if Endeavour was having an aneurysm watching him get so easily overtaken.

...

"First place goes to Tohsaka Rin from the general studies department, closely followed by Emiya Shirou in second place, the two having completed the third obstacle while many are still struggling their way through the second! They really are showing the difference in strength here."

Present Mic's commentary caused many of the students outside of 1-A to panic slightly the realization that two of the coveted spots were already claimed. For those who studied alongside Shirou, they simply weren't surprised by this outcome in the slightest and simply chose to press on.

Midoriya clung onto the rope he was traversing tightly, the large chunk of scrap metal he had claimed from the first obstacle hanging from his back and weighing him down as if trying to drag him to the depths below. In his mind he could still recall the lecture that All Might had given him, about how this was his chance to show the world that he was here. He didn't quite know how he was going to do so at this stage but he knew that if an opportunity came his way he would have to take it.

He struggled to pull himself up to the platform he had just made it to and on his hands and knees was able to see that he still needed to cross two more gaps to make it to the finish of this obstacle. Judging from the number of people in front and behind him, Midoriya made the deduction that he was roughly midfield which considering he had yet to make use of his quirk wasn't a terrible spot to be in.

A familiar scream nearby however caught his attention.

He couldn't help but look as Ochako's balance faltered and she fell, her fingers swiftly pressing against each other to slow her descent considerably. She would float there and rise a touch but chances were that she would be unable to reach the rope she had fallen off. Midoriya knew that she couldn't maintain her composure long without getting nauseous and falling however further down into the darkness the pit stretched. While it might have been completely safe with a net or something similar prepared to catch a falling student, Midoriya didn't see it that way, he saw someone in danger.

His mind raced as he took the large chunk of scrap metal off of his back and using the wiring that had the steel hanging from his back to tie the metal on to his feet. Pushing himself to a standing position, Midoriya looked at the rope before him and the falling figure of Ochako who was visibly starting to get a bit queasy.

Then he leapt.

Miroriya allowed no fear to spring into his mind as his hands gripped onto the former balancing device and thrust his feet downwards as hard as he could, the metal connected to him shearing through the rope with ease. He fell, his grip on the rope solid as his eyes focused on the objective ahead. "Grab on!" he shouted, his voice reaching Ochako who saw the rope coming her way.

She released her quirk with precision timing, grabbing onto the rope that was swinging at her and allowed the motion to push her towards the nearby pillar. Down the bottom of the rope, Midoriya had awaited this moment as he angled his legs and drove the sharp edge of the metal sheet straight into the pillar, creating a platform for him to stand on. His motion forced him to bounce off the wall quite painfully but he focused instead on the form of Ochako above him, the girl having managed to keep her grip on the rope.

Seeing that Midoriya was standing beneath her, Ochako began the slow descent down, climbing down one hand after the other step by step. The rest of the competition seemed to just go by without noticing the development going on beneath them. It didn't take too long before Ochako found the safety of Midoriya's arms, the boy freezing momentarily at the fact that there was a girl in his arms before focusing on what was needed.

"A...A...Are you okay?" he asked, stuttering slightly.

"Yes, thank you," said Ochako, slightly unnerved that despite being so far down the pillar she still couldn't see the bottom beneath her. "You didn't have to save me."

"No, I did, it was the right thing to do," said Midoriya realizing that while he may have blown his chances at making it through the obstacle course he had made the right choice overall. Shirou's words from earlier rang through his mind at that moment as he wondered how many professional heroes would have done the same thing if they had seen the situation he had.

Ochako meanwhile was mildly panicking, wondering why she had opted to climb down the rope as to why she had chosen to go down as opposed to climb upwards and give herself a chance of victory. Even if she was to secure a spot however, she felt that she wouldn't have deserved it after having been saved by someone who was unable to make it to the end themselves.

Midoriya meanwhile was making plans. Utilizing One for All, he could easily throw Ochako towards the end of the second obstacle and allow the girl a chance to continue. He couldn't use the full strength he was capable of, such power would send the student flying out of the stadium. No, he'd have to use a portion of his strength, the tiniest amount which would send Ochako in the right direction at a speed which she could float herself to safety.

"How's your stomach?" he asked of the girl in his arms, a situation that was still causing his body temperature to rise.

"A little queasy but nothing I haven't been able to handle before," admitted Ochako. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm going to throw you up there," declared Midoriya. "I'll need you optimizing your quirk to adjust your landing but you can make it."

"Midoriya," said Ochako softly, finding it hard to believe that even in this situation the boy holding her was still trying to find a way to help her. Before he could start telling her what to do, she stopped him before he started his spiel. "Don't. Too much time has passed, I won't make it in."

"You could still..."

"Deku," she said, using the name he had given her permission to use. "Let's just wait here, okay?"

Midoriya blinked several times as he wondered why Ochako opted not to continue but chose to simply nod in acceptance. If she simply wanted to wait out the rest of the time here in his arms then...then...

The darkness covered the shade of red his face went.

...

All Might watched on, awaiting the next portion of what was to happen. Midoriya's brave efforts had likely gone unnoticed by a majority of the people in attendance but his actions would not have gone unseen by those that counted. Many of the audience were members of the hero community who were scouting for potential students to put under internship. While the first year student who came through the tournament in the top position was always the one that garnered the most attention, professionals were always looking for something they could work with.

To ignore the objective to save a single life, it was admirable and something that would be taken into consideration for sure. Though not once during the showing had Midoriya utilized his quirk. Whether this would work in his benefit or not was difficult to say as he hadn't technically shown anything other than his determination to help those in need. He wouldn't get many proposals but there would undoubtedly be some who saw the potential.

It wasn't technically the way for him to announce that he was here, but it was still a way nonetheless.

...

"The forty two at the top have earned the right to advance!" announced Midnight, the names of those who had made their way into the second obstacle being displayed on the screen behind her.

"Forty two seems such an odd number," said Rin as Midnight continued her spiel.

"I don't know how many students are in our year throughout the classes, perhaps it is divisible by forty two," said Shirou offering an answer to the unspoken question.

"As improbable as it sounds, you might be onto something," said Rin casually as Midnight accounced the next conquest to be a cavalry battle. "Don't you think for a second that I'm carrying you."

"Wouldn't dream about it," chuckled Shirou as he momentarily scoped the rest of the competition. As entertaining as it would be to have Rin sitting atop his shoulders for the entirety of the bout, there was a chance that she would fall from up there and the two of them would be disqualified. So he needed to find someone willing to join them that wouldn't slow them down.

"With the exception of first place whose head is worth TEN MILLION POINTS!" exclaimed MIdnight, upselling just how valuable the leading position was. Along with how much of a subsequent target it now was.

"What!" shouted Rin in shock as all eyes turned to her.

Shirou meanwhile chuckled at the turn of events and now had to try and figure out who would be willing to join their team with the fact that everyone else would be hunting them down.

...

Hope you enjoyed.