The next portion of the obstacle course was met swiftly by Tanya and the other front runners.
The earth had been dug to create a vast canyon. Massive pillars of rock jutted out at all heights and sizes. Some had tightropes hanging across while the outer rim had rope bridges. Beams of metal and arches of rock filled the airspace. The tallest of the towers all had a red band running around them, warning where the height limit was.
Far beneath was a seemingly bottomless void. In reality it was a large scale, simple black hologram over a set of crash cushions to break the students fall. They weren't cheap, but they were the latest in stunt tech. They were vast, rubber air inflatables with meshes that pushed excess air upwards to slow descent. Then the cushion would catch and slow the descent like a traditional, albeit more advanced, stunt cushion.
Tanya began to weave between the beams and arches. She was never caught up amidst the static chaos and obstacles.
'Maintaining a lead over the other students will be vital. There's sure to be a final obstacle to hold us up at the end.' She thought to herself as she closed her wings into a spin to slip under an arch.
She heard an explosion sound off not too far behind her. 'Of course, there is still him to worry about.'
"Fuck!" Bakugo shouted as he had to full stop with his explosions to change direction again. "Who designed a fucking aerial maze!"
He let himself drop until he found an opening and blasted off again. His wrists screamed at him as he had to stop and start over and over.
Iida slowed down and awed at the rock pillars as he looked for a way across. He stepped down onto one of the tightropes.
His balance wobbled around as he flailed his arms. "I can't look uncool in front of my brother." He declared as he steadied himself with his arms out wide.
He activated the engine on his back leg and started to slide forwards.
Fear pulsed through him as he jumped up to get onto the next pillar as he ran out of the tightrope. "I made it." He exhaled.
"Now I just have to…" Iida turned to see the maze of tightropes and platforms. He fixed his glasses as he composed himself. "Do it again."
Pony blew by him on her horn skis.
"It's a trench run!" She cheered before swooping in. With hard banks and spinning recoveries, Pony began to speed her way through.
Todoroki kept up his ice board. A chill crept up his right side from all the ice he had been generating. His left called out, its heat all too inviting. He resisted the call of warmth.
He swept a hand forward and created an ice bridge. The ice grew out in jagged shards that stretched and reached till it slammed against the far pillar. A shudder ran down his back as he started to skate across on his ice board.
"Todoroki!" He heard Mina's voice shouting to him. He didn't spare a glance for her as he jumped off his bridge and onto the next platform. He could hear the sounds of the ice sizzling behind him, melting under Mina's acid.
'She will get more out of the bridges than I will. Change of plans.' He thought to himself before stepping onto a tightrope and generating a foothold out of ice.
He put an arm out to balance himself as he shot forward on one foot, freezing the rope behind him.
Mina pumped her acid skates as she sped after Todoroki. The ice hissed and crackled, roaring out steam as Mina's acid ate away at it.
'Hold on to the colored acid.' Mina thought as she saw opportunities to risk swinging with it. She didn't know if that would work, plus she was more focused on keeping that move hidden for later.
She jumped down onto Todoroki's iced over tightrope and began to slide across it. Acid propelled down under her shoes while she kept her arms out for balance.
Todoroki glanced over his shoulder as he saw Mina gaining on him. 'More effort then.' He stated to himself.
He ignored the creeping cold that ran along his right side as he pushed more ice underneath him. He had to push himself, he had to prove he could win without his fire power. He had accepted that he was not going to be keeping up with the front runners, but the other students didn't have speed-centered Quirks and he couldn't allow them to beat him.
Sato and Midoriya held pace together. As they came up to the pillar zone, neither slowed down.
With a burst of lightning, Midoriya bounced into the air. 'Like how Kacchan moves. One leap at a time!'
He leapt at one of the pillars before planting his feet along its surface and jumping off again. Zig zagging back and forth, from pillar to pillar.
Sato grunted as he squatted down, bringing his run to a skidding halt. He squatted down, so low his hands could rest on the floor.
"Up!" He shouted as he shot into the air. With all the strength multiplying his Quirk gave him, his body felt light, and he hadn't expected to jump so high.
His eyes widened as his heart abandoned his chest in fear. He flailed his arms as he came falling back down.
"Sato!" Midoriya cried out in concern as he watched Sato fall just before making it to the platform.
CRrrack! The pillar crunched once. Midoriya ran to the edge as it crunched again.
Before Midoriya could make it, Sato's hand came over the lip. His massive fingers dug into the rock and broke another handhold into it.
"I was so scared you had fallen!" Midoriya fretted as he stepped back nervously. Sato hauled himself up onto the pillar.
With grit teeth and more determination, Sato barreled past ready to jump again. Another crouch, another launch, another hard landing.
Midoriya nodded as he said "Let's keep going!"
CrrGrrgrrr. The pillars shuddered as a mountain of dust was kicked up.
A pillar slumped over as sludge poured from a messy wound. The earth rumbled as it tilted and fell over, quickly being fastened into place by a green growth.
Shiozaki kept up her jog as she and Juzo cleared a path directly through the area.
She would form a vine bridge that Juzo would run across and touch the pillar across, cutting down by turning its midsection to mush. Then Shiozaki would use her vines to grow and push it over, enveloping it and locking it in place to form a sturdy bridge.
The work was steady, and fast, and very dangerous unless you stayed behind them. Much of class B, those of them who couldn't get through the area faster, along with the general course students, had to keep pace behind Shiozaki.
'The work is hard, but to lead my herd through this troubling obstacle in safety is its own reward. I had promised to shepherd them, and so I will.' Shiozaki recited her will to herself as she pushed more vines through the earth.
"Kerro?!" Tsuyu clutched onto her pillar as land shook. "What's happening?!"
Thwipp. Sero swung by on his tape. "It's Class B! They're bulldozing through!" He pulled himself away.
Glurlurshhh. Tsuyu's pillar began to tilt as it began to gush sludge from a new wound. She looked down before she leapt away as her pillar began to fall.
As she landed out of the way, hanging off of a high tightrope, she looked on at the careless destruction Shiozaki had employed. "Uhlp…" She gulped.
"I have never seen a race turn out like this before!" Present Mic screamed out his commentary in amazement. "An entire obstacle course reduced to bridge building! It looks like a student march because of Shiozaki from Class B!"
Tanya kept her blazing pace. Speeding through the skies and solidly in first place. She swept out of the pillar zone and glanced behind her.
She grinned for a moment before it fell off her face. 'I lost Iida in the pillars. Now there's only this horn girl and Bakugo.' She layed out her threats to herself while turning back around and trying to speed up and maintain her first place.
Pony skied out of the pillar zone and wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. "That was narrow!" She whined with an exhausted grin.
Her legs quivered like jelly and her core muscles hurt. She had been leaning and skiing, making ninety degree turns with little warning. It had begun to add up.
An explosion sounded off behind her, startling her a little.
"Fuuuuck!" Bakugo shouted as he blasted out of the pillar zone. He swallowed the burning hot pain that ran up his wrists.
Each blast he released sent a hot iron up his arm. He shouted in pain as he blasted forth, not willing to stop yet. "Chicken Wings! You bastard!"
The final obstacle was a field of landmines. Each one would explode into a pillar of pink smoke. It wouldn't leave any permanent damage, but was safe enough for use here.
In addition, at the far end of the field of mines was a single concrete slab. A man stood alone on the platform. A long red cloak hung off his shoulder. He wore a gas mask with a large, dark brown cowboy hat, a metal plate with the letter S sat along the top of the hat.
The pro hero and teacher at UA, Snipe, had taken to the stage.
"It's a fine day out, don't ya'll think so?" Snipe asked smoothly as he pulled out his oversized revolver and aimed up at Pony.
"It's Snipe! So cool!" Pony cheered with her hands up in excitement. "Can I get your aut-oof!"
Bang! Snipe's gun went off. A speeding bullet zipped up and exploded into a pink cloud against Pony's stomach. She was knocked off her horns and sent falling back to earth.
Snipe spun his gun around to point at Tanya as Pony fell. "Even so, I don't think this is good weather for flying." His gun went off several more times.
'Damn it!' Tanya shouted to herself as she dove out of the air, several bullets chasing her down. 'There's no dodging his Quirk!'
The bullets quickly caught up to her. In a last ditch effort to protect herself, she curled into a ball and wrapped her wings over her.
Buff buff buff. The bullets exploded off of and launched her downwards.
Tanya grit her teeth from the impact before opening her wings to break her fall.
Bakugo put his hands forward for a defensive blast but was swiftly met with bullets of his own. Explosions of pink burst out as the bullets were torn apart.
Then the next volley of bullets sped through the smoke, already having been fired before the first volley.
"Uogh!" The wind was knocked out of him as he plummeted down to earth.
Snipe idly examined his revolver as he waited for more flying students to show up. 'Shoot down the fliers. It's easy pickings. Also here for their safety. Can't have students juggled by mines or land on the fence. They can take the fall, can't promise the same for landing on a metal bar.'
Pony got up and rubbed her head. "That was rude." She grumbled in english.
Tanya picked herself up with a wince. "He's likely here to slow down anyone too fast. Flight nullifies most obstacles, so it's hard to design a course to stop us." Tanya explained, also in english. Her feathers ruffled as the pink powder coated them.
Bakugo sat up. He growled in fuming rage as he stood up. "I'll kill him!" He roared as he got to his feet.
He began to march forward, into the mine field. His arms hurt too much to try to test Snipe's air denial, so all he could do was stare him down as he stepped around the mines.
Tanya picked herself up and folded her wings. 'It may be best to get to know this girl. She's another high speed flier with a versatile Quirk.'
Before Tanya could get a word in, Pony had already gotten up and started treading the minefield. "My name is Pony." She said with a cheery voice. "May as well chat as we're making our way across."
Tanya blinked in surprise. 'Is she… trying to talk during the race?'
She replied, "And I am Tanya. I don't recognize you from my class, and I don't believe I saw you during tryouts."
"I'm actually an exchange student." Pony smiled with her big toothy grin. "From America!"
Tanya watched a bead of stressed sweat roll down Pony's face.
Pony shuddered as she delicately placed her massive hooves in spots barely large enough to fit them. Her legs and core were still sore from the pillars. Her abs hurt especially from the recent impact. Her arms swayed around cautiously as she teetered forward, one hoof at a time.
Tanya fared a lot better. She balanced off of her wings and arms, allowing for a sense of easily controlled weight. She also didn't have massive hooves for feet, which was doing wonders for her at the moment.
Iida ran out of the pillar zone and was shocked to find his fellow competitors not far ahead of him. 'I can still win!' He declared to himself.
He flared up his engines again and started to sprint full speed at the minefield. 'I can make it over! I just outrun the mines!'
The front three turned around as they heard Iida's engines roar.
GgvvvrrrrRRRR! Iida's engines lit up as he charged forward.
Bakugo gave a grin. 'Square eyes is gonna blow himself up.'
"Oh my god! He's going for it!" Pony cried in amazement.
"He's going straight to the infirmary." Tanya rolled her eyes as her wings twitched with annoyance.
"HAaaa!" Iida cried as he charged into the field. His legs pumping, his engines roaring, his arms flailing in a wild, uncontrolled run. His heart pounded in his head as adrenaline flooded his veins.
The ground began to explode under his feet behind him. Flashes of bright light, the thunderous clap of explosives, and pillars of pink smoke shot up behind him.
His running became more frantic as the ground under his feet began to break.
An explosion went off beside him, the burst of pink clouds staggered him to the side. Another mine went off as his balance began to fail.
"Ah! What! No!" Iida cried as his speed dropped and he was enveloped in pink explosions!
Pony watched as Iida spun into the air, launched away by the bombs. With a hand over her brow to block the sun, she awed "Wow. He's really getting air off of that."
She gave him a wave. "Bye Mr. Glasses man."
She then winced as an airborne pink explosion went off from Snipe, sending Iida flailing back.
"Aaaaaah!" His voice screamed out as he spun away.
Pony turned back around before crying. "Hey! Wait up Tanya!" She whined as Tanya and Bakugo had continued to make distance rather than watch the spectacle.
Todoroki glanced over as Mina had now fully caught up to him and was skating by his side. "You really think you have a chance at winning?" He asked dryly. A shiver racked his body as frost began to grow along his right side.
"And you thought you could get away with that! You bet I'm winning this!" Mina shouted back as sweat ran down her face.
As they came up to the minefield, Todoroki's shivering mind came up with a plan. 'Freeze a path over the mines and take it before Mina does.'
He planted his foot down and a path frost grew over the mines.
Before he could lift his right foot back up onto his ice board, a weight crashed into his side.
"Ughff!" Todoroki's wind was knocked out of him as Mina's shoulder dug into his left side. He was then shoved down as Mina pushed off of him to right herself again. Before he tumbled to the pavement, he swung his right hand, generating a bank of hard snow to crash into.
"See ya!" Mina called back as she skated onto his ice. Steam kicked up behind her as the acid melted the ice, destroying the path behind her.
Todoroki gave a shuddering grunt as he stood back up. Frost coated his right side and despite the chilling of his Quirk, his blood heated in a leveled anger.
Tanya and the front runners began to pick up their pace as the other students began to arrive.
'Faster now. This is for show but I doubt first place is pointless!' Tanya sweated as she marched faster, just a little ahead of Bakugo.
Booom! Tanya flinched as a mine went off near her.
"Ahhhhhh!" Pony cried as she was launched into the air.
Dooff! Another shot went off and Pony spun away. "Heeeelp!" Her voice cried out as she flew.
'It's just me and Bakugo now, assuming Todoroki and Mina don't get up here.' Tanya thought as she marched ahead.
Midoriya and Sato jumped out of the pillar area. Sweat poured down their faces as neither gave an inch. That was until the minefield blocked them.
Midoriya skidded to a halt. His red shoes scratching at the pavement as he waved his arms. The green lightning faded from his body. "Woah!" He yelped.
'He finally stopped!' Sato cheered to himself as he barreled ahead. His running got heavier as the race dragged on. 'This is my chance!'
"Sato!" Midoriya yelled out as he reached to stop him, but he was too late.
Sato charged past and right into the minefield.
Ghrrooo! A mine went off under Sato's feet. The pink cloud burst up and enveloped him.
"Ahhh!" Midoriya shouted as he was knocked onto his back from the explosion. He jumped back to his feet and looked for Sato. "Sato!"
The clouds started to dissipate and his silhouette was revealed.
His jaw hung open as his eyes were unfocused. His gym pants were shredded into gym shorts with frayed edges. "Uughuuu." He groaned.
Sato's ears were ringing and his vision blurred over. 'This again.' He groaned to himself. 'A blast?'
His eyes trailed down to see the land mines before him. 'Oh… bombs… that explains the blast.'
He grit his teeth and forced himself to take another step. 'I… Have to keep going.'
"Sato! No!" Midoriya shouted again as Sato set off another mine.
Hatsume Mei zipped out of the landmine zone and activated her hover boots. They roared back at her as her descent slowed.
Chaos roared ahead of her as the faster batch of students tried to make their way through the land mine zone.
Setsuna tried to float over as she had for the previous obstacles only to be met with a barrage of Snipe's exploding rounds. Her body reformed as she floated and caught herself before landing.
Mei's boots clunked as she jogged up to the edge of the mine field. She squatted down and began to pick at the opened pieces of the mines.
'Those are stunt model land mines.' She thought as her eyes zoomed in the soot smeared cartridge. 'Model 12, originally made for movies. Blast yield primarily comes from the expanding cloud rather than the ignition bomb itself.'
Mei began to dig with her gloved hands around the mines. 'If that teacher is shooting down the students when they're airborne, does that mean he needs line of sight? What about his bullets, will the cloud disrupt them?'
She picked up a mine, disarmed it, and set it to the side before starting her next dig. 'Experimenting on a teacher! This is so exciting!'
Ojiro watched in concern as the pink haired girl with the gear dug up mines. 'What is she doing?'
The final pillar fell as Shiozaki tied down the last bridge. Behind her was the horde of students who had taken the path she and Juzo had made for them all.
'One last obstacle for me to overcome.' Shiozaki stared down the teacher and their mines.
Snipe ran his thumb along the grip of his pistol. The wind slowly waved his cloak. "So the student body has arrived." He smirked to himself. "This is gonna be like shooting clay pigeons."
As Shiozaki marched up to the mine field, the student body tried to rush past her.
Duuuddudududud! Rows of mines went off general students began to make mistakes. Students were flung into the air as a chaotic chorus of screams sang.
Snipe whipped out his revolver and began to fire off round after round.
The air began to fill with pink bursts as students were knocked back.
Tanya and Bakugo marched at the front. They didn't care about the chaos breaking out behind them.
For once, Bakugo wasn't shouting or screaming. His boots stepped and stomped their way around as he kept his arms out for balance. His usual rage was replaced by a focused glare.
One that was matched by Tanya. Her wings twitched as she nearly glided over the bombs, step after step on a steady beat.
Neither had a word to say to each other. They were both aiming to be first, and they both were giving it their all.
Tanya kept her eye on Snipe as the teacher filled the air with bullets. She rapidly kept count and primed her wings.
Bakugo kept focus on his hearing and glanced behind him periodically. He kept track of the other students and noted how those with more grounded Quirks were starting to catch up.
Tanya grinned as Snipe kept firing. Her muscles tensed as adrenaline flooded her system. She crouched down, her form tucking down and ready.
Snipe spun open his oversized revolver to reload.
Tanya took off like a missile! Her wings blasted her forward as she glided above the ground.
Bakugo scowled as he held himself back from launching after her. 'My explosions will set off the mines. I can't take off! This fucking western wannabe cowboy is ruining everything!'
Snipe spun his revolver shut and took a loose aim, his Quirk did most of the work anyways.
Tanya jutted her wings flat and broke in the air, landing her feet down. She landed right in front of the teachers platform, a smile on her face. "And safe." She said cockily.
"Not half bad." Snipe hummed as he began to fire again. His oversized revolver kept firing to a blistering beat.
Bakugo continued his march, now painfully far behind Tanya. It wasn't even that much distance but at the pace they were going, there wasn't anything he could do. He snarled as he realized how trapped he was.
As Mina reached the end of Todoroki's ice and into the mines, she braced herself. "Let's do this!" She shouted as she began to increase her acidity on her hands and sprayed out in front of her.
She dropped her acid skating into a run as she pumped out a constant stream of high acid. Sweat poured down her brow as her skin ached from the output.
The ground hissed and spat up bubbles and sickening fumes. The dirt melted into a slurry as the mines popped like weak soap bubbles, their casing slipped off like sludge, their charges sizzling into nothing.
Mina pushed herself and ran with weighted legs as the sludge of acid, mud, and melted plastics dragged around her ankles. Her legs ached from all the race, and now her calved burned from the weight. "Aaaghhh! Come on!" She shouted for herself.
Todoroki shuddered as he tried to create another ice bridge. His right side had plunged into numbness as he had to form an ark around Mina and her corrosive swamp. His head ached from the fumes her acid slurry was putting out.
'I should have taken extra effort to remove her earlier.' He scolded himself as his running had slowed down to a jog. 'I had underestimated my classmates, and I had underestimated Mina.'
He forced his right side forward. Ice crept over his joints. He could barely feel the right side of his face anymore. His breath put out puffs of fog.
"No!" Mina shouted out as she saw Todoroki's ice arcing around her, giving her space. "I can't let you win!" She shouted at him as he stopped to turn to her.
"And I can't afford to lose to anyone." Todoroki glared down at her. His breathing carried a frozen shudder as he put his right foot forward into a stomp.
A wave of ice sprang forth and coated the ground, racing towards Mina.
"Ahhh!" Mina cried out as the ice reached her. Her sludge froze over, trapping her feet. The ice froze around her calves. Her balance failed as she doubled over to catch herself on her outstretched hands.
The ice cracked and sizzled as her acid ate away at it. Mina ached as she pushed herself up to see Todoroki jogging away.
'Can't hit him. Just ahead of him.' Mina told herself as she prepped a glob of highly corrosive acid. She reeled her arm back and chucked it.
'Come on. Hit.' She prayed as the glob lobbed through the air.
Todoroki glanced over as he saw the ball of gray goo hurtle past him.
It splattered onto the ground with a sad squish. Bubbles hissed up as it ate away at the ground. Todoroki's eyes widened as the acid blob had landed on a mine and was eating its way down.
Hissss. It ate right through the mine rather than detonating it as Mina had hoped.
"Nothing!" Mina cried before she grabbed her horns and reared her head back in anguish. "Of course it was nothing! They ate through the mines earlier!" She yelled to herself as she got to work melting the ice around her ankles.
She forced a competitive smirk as she said "Come on, I'm not out of the race yet." She pulled herself onto Todoroki's ice and began to chase after him.
"Sato!" Midoriya cried out as he jumped to his feet after having been blown back by an explosion.
Sato marched forward. His head rang and his vision was blurry from the land mines. He pushed himself forward, step after heavy step. His head was too fogged over by the blast to think straight with his already limited capacity.
Ghrrooo! Another land mine went off and enveloped Sato in a blast of pink clouds.
He remained steadfast afterwards. His shoulders quaked in pain and yet he persisted. Another step, and again, picking up speed.
"Sato! You need to stop!" Midoriya cried as he darted out in front of Sato. He put his hands up and tried to brace himself against the giant's torso.
"I can't. Be bested here." Sato grunted as he forced his way through Midoriya. He grabbed the smaller man's shoulders and shoved him out of the way.
"Ahh!" Midoriya yelped as he was tossed. He flared up his full cowling and caught himself on his hands and feet before he set off any mines.
He stood up and shouted to Sato in worry, "You're not going to make it through like this!"
"And why do you get to make that call?" Sato huffed his answer as he picked up speed again. His march got faster. "You blow everyone else away and leave yourself broken."
"That's not…!" Midoriya tried to cry back but hesitated. "That's not how my Quirk works!"
Sato glared down at Midoriya as he once again stood before Sato, full cowl activated and glowing. He stopped and stared down at him as he asked, in full earnesty, "Then how does it work?"
Sato could feel something wrong. He felt it in his gut the whole time. Something was off with Midoriya's Quirk, and it showed here during the festival.
Midoriya looked Sato in the eyes, a silent plea for him to stop. "I'm not strong enough to use my Quirk to its full potential yet." He admitted.
A shadow was cast over Sato's face. His expression was blank, cold, and hid his pain. "So, that overwhelming strength. The power to tear a building apart with a single punch. That's your true power…"
Midoriya nodded his head. "Please, you don't have to do this."
Sato lunged forward and clasped his hand onto Midoriya's collar.
"No!" Midoriya shouted as he reached up and tried to escape Sato's grasp.
"Get out of my way!" Sato roared as his dreams began to break down. He hurled Midoriya over his shoulder, launching him up.
"Waait!" Midoriya screamed before a shot from Snipe blasted against his stomach. "Guhh!" He grunted as he was shot away.
"Come on!" Sato shouted again before charging forward.
"Ghrrooo!" Mine after mine went off underneath the charging giant. His world spun and his ears rang.
He began to taste the blood running down his face. His breathing became ragged as his charge became a lumbering march. He refused to stop.
Hatsume Mei giggled to herself as she set aside an armful of disarmed mines. She pulled out her net gun and began to disassemble the net packing.
"Hahaahaaa." She giggled maniacally as she tied a loose piece of net around a mine. "Go ahead and watch support companies and future investors!"
She hoisted her rush job gun up. The mine dangled dangerously from the little piece of red netting.
"Watch ingenuity in action!" She cried gleefully as she aimed her gun up and away. Her boots and jetpack roared to life as she prepared her follow up.
The mine soared through the air, spinning along, way over the heads of the other students. The trail of red netting
Snipe lowered his gun as he saw the mine flying towards him. "Someone is pullin' on my leg." He raised his gun back up and shot it out of the air.
Bhuooo! The mine went off into a massive aerial pink cloud.
Several students flinched as they looked up at the massive pink cloud.
"WaaHAAhaaa!" Hastume Mei roared her laugh as she flew out of the pink cloud. She had jumped using her jetpack and hover boots to use the mine's explosion as a smokescreen.
She zoomed in and watched as Snipe began to tilt his helmet towards her. 'He must be about to lock on to me.' She thought as she fired her grappling shots at the ground and pulled herself back down.
Her hover boots quieted down as she landed with a thunk. "Hehehee. Another few rounds of this and I'll have secured a spot into the next round."
Snipe quickly reloaded his gun while he watched Tanya use that opportunity to dart forward with her flight. "This year's batch is giving me work." He grumbled.
Shiozaki watched as her fellow classmates pushed through the minefields. Her vine hair expanded out as she breathed heavily.
'Sunlight and water, the requirements of my Quirk.' She thought as she ran her tongue over her drying lips. 'I need to pace myself.'
Meanwhile ahead of her, other students began to use the advantage Shiozaki had given them to compete for a higher placement.
Juzo stomped and the ground began to soften and sag as it turned to mud.
Glluussshh. The dirt, the soil, and the mines within all melted away into a soft mud. The mines warped and drooped apart.
He stomped again and the mud hardened into a solid running surface for him to run across.
Just nearby, Kirishima punched his fists together as he hardened.
"This needs a MANLY solution!" He gave his battle cry before sprinting headfirst into the land mines.
Tetsutetsu watched with wide eyes as Kirishima plowed through the mines, each one blowing up in his face yet never staggering him.
"You class A punk! I can do that too!" He shouted in return before activating his metal form. His skin and hair glistened into hardened steel before he also began sprinting.
"HHAAaaaaa!" Both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu shouted together as they bulldozed forward.
After Shiozaki caught her breath, she cast her vines ahead of her. They grew and stretched out, reaching down and planting themselves to create pillars across the minefield. The vines roped alongside each other to create a bridge across.
"To lead the way for my flock." She told herself as she began to jog across. Her hands down low and out to the sides as she darted across.
Behind her, students who knew she would give her easy passage climbed onto her green path and chased after her.
Tanya wiped the sweat from her brow as she reached the end section of the land mines.
The moment she stepped out of the landmines, she opened her wings and took off down the hall!
She raced down the hall, the bright light of the colosseum at the end, the roaring of the crowds!
Present Mic shouted over the speakers. "Tanya Tenikari! First Place!"
"Thatta girl!" Mr. Tenikari screamed at his television as he jumped off his couch.
"Yeaah!" The couch guys began to cheer and raise their bottles in celebration.
"Let's go Tanya!" Lordra cried as she nearly leapt from her chair but restrained herself to feel more composed than her current company.
"Katsuki Bakugo! Second Place!" Present Mic announced as Bakugo blasted into the arena.
He came to a skidding stop beside Tanya, too angry to say anything. He turned his head away and huffed in anger.
'She only won because of the mechanics of the race.' He told himself as he marched away to avoid her.
"Mei Hatsume! Third place!" Present Mic announced.
Mei slid in on her hover boots. "WaaaHAaahaa!" She cheered before she thudded to the ground.
"It's you again?" Tanya spun around and was in slight awe at how high Mei had placed.
Mei darted up with an eager grin on her face. "Oh! It's talon boots lady! How are my babies working for you?"
Tanya put her hands up and took a step back as Mei got into her personal space. "The talons are just fine, thank you very much. I was just curious as to how you got here so quickly?"
Mei raised her hands up in excitement. "Oh! I used the mines as decoys! Snipe can only lock on to one thing at a time and only what he can see! Which is why his helmet comes with infrared and night vision built in! I remember studying them back in highschool, wanted to learn more about optic support gear!"
Tanya began to go into a resting face as she listened to Mei's rambling. She was trying to keep up with everything mentioned, but was mostly busy filtering for anything useful. 'Maybe sometime I should invite her to have coffee. See how else she can be useful.'
"But that's not the point." Mei waved the idea aside. "I used my net gun to fire the landmines at Snipe, forcing him to either take the shot or be blinded by the landmine. He couldn't see the infrared because the model 12 stunt explosive is a warm cloud! I then repeated this process several times!"
"That's… impressive." Tanya put on a weak smile and nodded. 'She's nearly employing military tactics during a race.' She thought to herself with weary amusement.
"I just hope the support companies saw me out there." Mei grabbed her chin and crossed her other arm over for support. She pointed aside, "That's why I placed highly after all. Have to get those investors looking at me! They have to see all the super cute babies I can make for them!"
Mina screamed with determination. "Ahhh! I'm not giving up!" She pumped out another set of acid skates. Bigger, gloopier, and more acidic than the previous sets.
The ground began to hiss as she skated over them. Her arms pumped as her shoulders swayed. She picked up more and more speed as the ground turned to acidic slurry beneath her.
The mines melted away, unable to detonate before being eaten away by Mina's gray goo. She sped out of the minefield and sped up to him.
Todoroki, skating on his ice board, heard Mina's efforts behind him. Even while trying to hide his shivers, he looked over his shoulder and watched as she rapidly gained on him.
'She's tenacious.' He remarked as he paced himself. He let her gain on him as he allowed another wave of frost to prepare along his arm.
"Like hell am I letting you win!" Mina shouted as she began to shoot past him.
Todoroki swung his right arm in an arc.
ShhShhShhhing! Ice sprouted from the ground after his swing. It grew tall and wide as it wrapped in front of Mina.
"No!" She cried as she lowered her shoulder to the ground to go into a roll. She grit her teeth as her back scraped along the ground before she had to brace her legs to finish her slide. Her shoes slammed into the ice wall.
Shhhing. Another wave of ice was fired and grew over her torso and legs, locking her down.
"Ahh! Fuck that's cold!" Mina screamed out in anger and pain as she was restrained and buried in ice. She tried to sit up but the ice covered her from her feet all the way up to her stomach.
"You should work quickly before your cells start to die." Todoroki huffed in a cold dismissal as he ran past his ice wall.
"I'll get you back for this!" Mina shouted as Todoroki ran ahead.
She began to spray acid. The ice crackled, spat, and hissed as her acid ate through it. She grit her teeth and worked harder as more students began to run past her.
Sffhhuuuung! Crsssh! The tunnel to the finish line was blocked off by a glacier of ice.
"What's this?!" Present Mic shouted over the speakers. "The tunnel is blocked off by a wall of ice! Conjured in a heartbeat by Shoto Todoroki, son of the number two hero!"
Todoroki shuddered as the cold raked his body. He looked up at his latest glacier, a wall of ice to seal out the rest of the students.
He took a deep breath as he let out frozen wisps of breath. Ice covered his right side like a sheet of scales, weighing him down. The cold cut deep into him, grabbing at his lungs with familiar bony fingers.
He turned away from his wall and began a labored jog towards the finish line.
"Shoto Todoroki claims fourth place, blocking the racers behind him!" Present Mic announced while Todoroki forced his posture upright as he stepped out into the light of the colosseum.
"Is that allowed?!" Present Mic shouted as he leaned so far forward in his chair he stood up. His hands slammed onto the countertop.
"Seeing as several students have the capacity to break through, yes." Aizawa said as he raised a half amused, half annoyed eyebrow at Present Mic's antics.
"Like who?!" Present Mic turned and asked, still standing up.
'That's right Shota, a question! I'll get you to talk for the audience!' Present Mic thought smugly.
Aizawa squinted at Present Mic, asking himself 'Is it worth it?...'
"Juzo Honenuki from Class B." He dropped his squint and answered. "He can soften anything he touches, so far that he can turn things to slime. If he makes contact with the wall, he can melt it on contact."
"Was fourth place the best you could do, boy?!" Endeavor puffed up his muscular chest in anger as he watched his half frozen son from the stands. His fire burned atop his shoulders, face, and hair, burning hotter and more unstable as his anger boiled within.
"Fourteen years of training, six years with blatant disobedience, and the best you have to show for your efforts is scraping by in fourth." He ranted to himself as though his raw anger could telepathically reach Shoto.
"Threatened the entire race by some no-name acid Quirk user. She's had a fraction of the resources and half the Quirk potential running through her veins that you have. And yet she has managed to be your competition." His sharp blue eyes cut through his fiery mantle. He glared down at his son and could feel his resistance.
Back in the minefield, Sato charged on. His skin was burnt around his calves, his ears rang while his eyes swam.
One foot in front of the next in a lumbering charge that staggered to the side when he would step on a mine. His breathing became labored and heavy as he kept running.
"I've almost… made it." Sato panted to himself as he ran out of the minefield.
Several other students were grouped up around the massive icewall that blocked off the exit route.
Sato paled as he looked up at the frozen barrier blocking him. All of his efforts, now literally hitting a wall. He grit his teeth as a rage fueled within him.
"Yeah, great job there." Sero joked as he stood with his hands on his hips, staring up at the glacier. "Except none of us can actually pass this race now. Woah!" He yelped as he jumped aside.
"Raaaaaghhh!" Sato roared as he charged forth and slammed his fists into the ice wall, swung down like sledgehammers!
Cruack! Cracks ran up the side of the ice wall.
"Haaah!" He shouted again as he began to beat at the ice. Crack! Crunch! Crshhh! Sato began to beat a crater into the wall. "Sugar! RUSH!"
Sero put his hands up and stepped back as he looked scared and a little uncomfortable. "You do you big guy."
Mina finally walked over, free from the ice. Steam rose from her body as her clothing was covered in a film of acid and depleting frost. She was panting slowly from the exhaustion and anger. Determination burned behind her black and yellow eyes.
She took the next open spot beside Sato and placed her shaking hands along the ice. "Stand back." She warned.
SHHHZZZZ. Highly corrosive acid began to spray into the wall. The gray slime burrowing through the ice with ease. The splashback dotted her gym outfit and began to eat away at it, even though it was acid resistant.
Izuku Midoriya dashed and darted across the minefield. Green lightning arced off around him as his eyes bounced around. His bright red shoes nearly danced atop the minefield, short leaping from safe patch to safe patch.
He bounced past several other student. He zipped past Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, who were bulldozing through the mined without getting hurt. He darted past Tsuyu who was doing the same as he was, short jumping to safety.
Izuku saw a shadow looming behind him and the sound of crashing pillars, like massive crunchy dominos.
"Ah!" He yelped as he jumped out of the way of a massive plant bridge that was being constructed across the mines.
'Woah!' He gawked as he got back to running. 'That plant Quirk is so strong! I wonder what its max range is?'
He ran out of the minefield. Awed by the massive ice block and the efforts of the other students to break through, several of whom were making decent progress.
Izuku charged up One For All in his right arm, his teeth gritting into a wincing smile. 'All my training with All Might, I have one charge of One For All I can use without shattering my bones.'
He bounced out of the minefield and reared his right arm back.
"DETROIT SMAAASSSHHH!"
Green lightning cracked and thunder shook the air. The ice began to shatter as the wind blasted against it.
"Ahhhh!" Several of the other students screamed as the torrent of wind shoved past them into the wall.
The ice broke apart and was carried down the hall, flung into the stadium.
"Aaha!" Izuku shrieked in pain as his arm went a light shade of purple, clutched to his side as he ran forward.
Present Mic leaned forward so far his breath fogged the window. His glasses nearly fell off his face, hanging off of a single ear. His jaw hung open in a silent scream.
Aizawa sat beside him, eyes wide and jaw slightly open in surprise and fear.
Massive chunks of ice hurtled into the stadium, crashing and rolling across the grass as the wind howled and screamed. The invisible beast of One For All ran out and into the air, blowing at the people in the stands.
Endeavor's flames were pushed back and nearly extinguished as he raised his arms to shield his face. "What power!" He shouted in anger. The wind felt too akin to the torrents of All Might.
Tanya and the other top four watched from the sidelines as massive chunks of ice rolled past like a stampede.
"Midoriya…" Tanya scowled as her ponytail whipped around behind her. She stood strong as the wind rushed past her. 'This is his doing, isn't it.'
Bakugo held a snarl as he brought his arms up by his head. 'Fucking Deku! Having this kind of power all this time!'
"Haha! Haaahaaha!" Hatsume Mei stumbled over from the winds while laughing. "Wooah! That's a lot of power!"
Todoroki maintained his blank stare as he watched one of his ice boulders roll past like a tumbleweed. "All that power just to deal with one of my ice attacks. Midoriya likely has a broken arm from that."
Toshinori Yagi nodded in approval from the teachers booth even as his hair had to settle down. His tired and sunken eyes were filled with a warmth and pride for his successor. 'That's it Young Midoriya! Show the world you are here.'
As the wind died down, the students who were waiting or working on wall looked ahead… at the now open passage.
"Go go go!" Sero cried as he shot his tape up at the walls of the hallway and shot forward!
Students began to scramble past each other. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were neck and neck. Tsuyu was wall jumping to avoid the crowd. Shihai Kuroiro swam in the darkness under everyone's shadows to avoid being stepped on.
Sero and Iida tore ahead of the group. Sero shot his tape forward and grappled, faster and faster, zipping through the air while Iida had a perfectly straight line to flare his engines.
Tsuyu leapt forward, her incredible jump claiming a place at the top.
Mina slid past and began to acid skate, sliding over the finish line. She jumped in joy as she passed through the gate, her feet kicked up behind her during her hangtime. "Top ten! We take those!"
Shihai rose out of her shadow with a large grin on his face. "Like a thief in the night, I'll take ninth."
Sato tried to push his way forward like a charging bull, only to watch Midoriya leap over his shoulder and dash ahead of him. His eyes became transfixed on Midoriya's green hair as he ran ahead of him, the smaller man clutching his purple arm to his side as lightning crackled off of him.
'The difference between us…'
Present Mic began to list name after name, calling out accomplishments and accolades at lightning speeds.
"Midoriya Izuku, the green lightning himself, tenth place! Rikido Sato, the sweet giant with gains to show, eleventh place!"
'Is almost too much to bear.' Rikido lamented as his sugar began to wear off.
"I-Izukuuu!" Inko Midoriya had tears running down her cheeks as she nearly fell out of her chair. Tissues piled up around her as her tea had long since ran out.
"Are you ok sweetie?" She asked in a whimper as she saw his bruised arm. "S-So strong, yet you must be in so much pain… Please baby, make it out ok."
Meanwhile, further back in the race, Shiozaki was struggling to maintain her balance on her green bridge.
"Please, everyone will have a turn!" She cried out as she tried to run and stay ahead of the horde of students fighting to overtake her on her green bridge above the mines.
Flashes of pink went off around the bridge as students were shoved and pushed off. The detonating mines caused the bridge to sway, and for more to fall off.
"I- I think this was a horrible idea." Kinoko, the mushroom girl cried out behind Shiozaki as she was nearly pushed off by Bondo, the glue man's, larger frame.
"I can make it." Shiozaki told herself as she kept pace ahead of the rest of the students and got to the end of her bridge first.
She stumbled as Jurota ran past her on all fours. "I can make it." She reassured herself as she ran down the hallway.
Back on Shiozaki's bridge, Jiro fought to stay on even as everyone was pushing.
Donk. "Ack! Fuck!" She barked as she hit her head on a solid air disk. She continued to push ahead, even as some purple haired kid from general ed was shoved off the bridge and into the minefield below.
"Ibara Shiozaki, the botany builder, twenty sixth" Present Mic called out as Shiozaki stumbled into the stadium.
Ibara nearly doubled over as she struggled to breath before she leaned back and put her hands behind her head. She took long, slow breaths that grated at her lungs.
'God help me.' She mentally whimpered as she struggled to catch her breath.
Behind her, more and more students piled in through the gate. Number after number, name after name, each one getting a call out from Present Mic.
Up on stage, Midnight cracked her flogger whip with a seductive smile. "Forty two students, everyone past that is eliminated for the next round!"
Back at the gate, Aoyama slid down the wall with a nervous chuckle as he clutched his arms around his stomach. "Hehaha. I made it."
He had gotten the last possible place, forty second. His stomach was churning and his legs were too weak to pick himself up off the floor just yet. But the pounding of his heart and his weak state couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He was just happy to be placed at all.
"Ladies and gentlemen, mass media and pro heroes, we'll be taking a momentary break before the next game starts! In the meantime, yours truly will be covering the events of the race! Let's pull up the highlights!" Present Mic started to hype up and work his stage magic to make even the momentary break time feel engaging for audiences.
In the bar, far from the light of heroes, Garaki set down his cider. He leaned back in his chair as his mustache twitched with a reserved laugh. "Hehe… hahahaha."
Lucy sat with blank eyes as she stared at the television. Bubbles floated lazily around her head and popped with weak bursts. Her notepad was covered in scribbles of student names and doodles of them using their Quirks. "It… it can't have been that easy, right?"
Monster was drumming his fingers on the bar. His arm was outstretched as he rested his elbow on the counter. "He's either cocky, stupid… or both." He said with a low growl.
"Have we found All Might's successor?" Kurogiri asked in his monotone as he gently poured more cider into Garaki's glass.
Garaki threw back his head to give a hearty, maniacal laugh. "HAhahaa!" He sat up straight and pointed at the television.
A green haired boy gave a smile that shone with the warmth of the sun. His right arm was bruised a light purple yet he held his left fist high above him. His big green eyes were fixed on one point in the crowd, high above the rest. He was then quickly escorted to the medical room alongside several other students.
Garaki announced with pride, "Izuku Midoriya!"
Author's note; I did it, I finished this race chapter! With all the shit happening in my life right now, from exams to dramatics (I will share), from depressive spirals and anxiety. I am finally done with this race!
I am so, so very sorry this took so long. I am so ashamed that I can not even bring myself to promise that I can get the next chapter out quickly enough to satisfy the delay this one had.
I will be actually battle mapping the next event, hopefully that will take the weight off of my shoulders when writing. Go ahead and share any predictions you will have on how that will go.
Again go ahead and head down to the Emerald Library discord if you want any news on the fic or you just want to contact me.