"Ladies, gentlemen, and the vast spectrum between, give a cheer for all of our amazing participants!" Present Mic screamed out over the stadium sound system. "Thank you, students, for all of your hard work! Unfortunately, there is limited space in our final stage, so only the top four teams will move on! Audience and participants alike, please direct your attention to the screens!"
A blimp floated out over the center of the field, screens on all four sides for the audience. Another screen rose up from the center of the field for the students to see. The screens flickered to life and showed four faces with name banners below them.
"In fourth place, the dark-horse Team Shinso: Shinsou Hitoshi, Ojiro Mashirao, Shoda Nirengeki, and Aoyama Yuga!" A tall lavender-haired boy, standing slightly apart from three other boys who looked angry and bewildered, grinned. Ojiro and a short, pudgy student from 1B maintained their glares at him while Aoyama grinned at the crowd, waving his arms. Another four faces appeared on screen, sliding the first four to one corner.
"In third place, the explosive Team Bakugou: Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijiro, Ashido Mina, and Sero Hanta!" Kirishima, Ashido, and Sero cheered together while Bakugou stared daggers at Midoriya across the field. More faces appeared on screen.
"In second place, the legacy team of Team Todoroki: Todoroki Shoto, Iida Tenya, Yayorozu Momo, and Kaminari Denki!" Yayorozu and Iida waved to the crowd, smiling, while Kaminari jumped around, excitedly cheering. Todoroki stared at Midoriya with a furrowed brow. Four final faces appeared in the center of the screen.
"And finally! Your first place winners! The ducking and weaving machine of TEAM MIDORIYA: Midoriya Izuku, Uraraka Ochaco, Tokoyami Fumikage, and Hatsume Mei!" Midoriya and Uraraka cheered together, waving at the crowd, while Tokoyami waved gently. A girl with pink dreadlocks waved frantically at the crowds, her yellow eyes locked on the top boxes lining the upper walls of the stadium and a massive grin split her face.
"Give one last round of applause for all of our participants today! They've really gone PLUS ULTRA today, haven't they?!" Wild applause and cheers erupted from around the stadium. "Now for the reveal of our final stage, we have our beautiful Mistress of Ceremonies, The 18 Plus Hero, MIDNIGHT!" The crowd cheered even harder as Midnight stepped out to the center of the field.
"Thank you! Thank you! Truly you all embody the Springtime of Youth! I hope you've enjoyed the first two events and I know you'll enjoy the next one!" Midnight paused for more cheering and applause, giving the students who didn't pass to the final round an opportunity to leave the field. "Now, let's check our Wheel of Chaos to see what our final event will be!"
A giant wheel appeared on the screen behind Midnight, split into sections. Some sections named normal games like King of the Hill or 1 V 1 Dodgeball while others had stranger events like Foam Sword Fights and Extreme Janken.
"Spin! That! Wheel!" The wheel spun around and around, the words blurring from the speed. It began to slow until it finally slowed to a stop on Extreme Janken. "There we are, folks! Extreme Janken for our final round!"
Half-hearted cheers rang out around the stadium until the wheel began to crack behind Midnight. She grinned wildly at the crowd as the wheel fell apart, revealing a massive sign reading '1 V 1 Fighting Tournament'.
"DID YOU ACTUALLY THINK WE'D DO ANYTHING EXCEPT A 1 ON 1 TOURNAMENT FOR THE FINAL ROUND!?" Present Mic screamed over the intercom. "LET'S GET READY TO RRRUUUUUMMMMMMBBBBBBLLLLEEEEEEEEE!"
Midoriya stood in the center of the field, surrounded by his teammates. His eyes were glued to the screen, chewing on his thumbnail while he waited for the pairings to appear. A large bracket system appeared, but each bracket was covered in question marks. Midoriya blinked and shared a baffled look with Uraraka.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why the brackets have question marks, right?"Midnight said with a grin and a crack of her whip. "Well, like all heroes, our students must be prepared for the unexpected and ready for all comers! So our students won't know who they will fight until 5 minutes before each match! Everything will be randomized through the entire tournament, so you never know what matchup will happen!" The crowd sat quietly for a moment, processing the news before the entire stadium exploded into noise. The screen on the wall slid back down into the ground. "Please feel free to avail yourselves of our concessions and facilities during the upcoming break as our students rest and recover from these hard-fought two rounds!"
"One last thing, folks!" Present Mic cut in from the booth. "This is a special announcement from Principal Nezu himself! A special exhibition match between UA's newest staff member, Saiyaman, and an unnamed hero will happen after the award ceremony! Don't touch that dial!"
- Round 1 -
"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! Now that our students have been given the time to play some games, rest up, and eat, it's time to move to our most anticipated event! The One on One Tournament! While fighting isn't the only thing heroes do, it is an important part of becoming a Pro Hero." The crowd went wild as Present Mic hyped them up. "Let's go back down to our teacher on the field, the R-Rated Hero Midnight, to get the details of what's coming up!"
Midnight waved to the cheering crowd, standing on a fighting ring in the center of the field. Cementoss was nearby, sitting on a concrete chair. "Thank you, Present Mic!" She said with a wave of her whip. "Remember, all of the matches are going to be completely randomized! As each match finishes, the new pairing will be shown! Competitors will get five minutes to plan and strategize after they are selected. Young heroes," Midnight said, pointing to the section of the stands where 1-A and 1-B sat, "this setup is to test your ability to quickly analyze and plan for encounters in the field! Every round will be randomized, so don't think you can just plan for the winner of the rounds around you! Anyone could be your next opponent, so be ready for everything."
A new screen rose out of the ring behind Midnight. Two boxes appeared on the screen with question marks inside. The names and pictures of each of the sixteen competitors flashed rapidly in the two boxes, eventually slowing down to reveal the first match up.
"First up: 1-A's Class President and resident speedster- Iida Tenya! On the other side, also from 1-A, the master of tape- Sero Hanta! Will Iida's speed prevail or will Sero tape him down? Gentlemen, you have five minutes to get to the ring! Let's go to a quick commercial break while we wait for our fighters to enter the ring!"
After a few minutes, Mic came back over the intercom. "As our students get into position, let's get some input from 1-A's homeroom teacher- Aizawa! Let it roll, man!"
A sigh came over the intercom. "Both Iida and Sero have been working hard since the beginning of school to improve their Quirks. Sero has been developing his quick-capture abilities and Iida has refined his speed, as evidenced by the new boosting attack he showcased in the last stage. I believe the winner of this match will be whoever can land a decisive strike first."
"Such boring, yet helpful commentary! YEAH! Look sharp, our competitors are coming out onto the field!" Another sigh echoed from the intercom as Sero and Iida stepped onto the field.
Midnight stepped between the two members of 1-A, looking back and forth between them. "Are you two ready?" Both of them nodded, staring the other down. "Alright! Keep it clean, gentlemen! FIGHT!"
As Midnight jumped out of the way, Sero shot his tape to either side of Iida. He quickly shot a third strand at his face, flicking his elbow to make the strand curve in an "S" shape. Iida grinned and revved his engines, ducking under the third strand.
"Thank you, Sero-san, for creating a lane for me. Recipro-BURST!" Iida dashed forward, his engines billowing blue flames. To the audience, the tall bluenet seemed to blur as he raced toward Zero. Sero dodged to the side, a slight grin on his face.
"No problem! I'm glad you followed the lane, I wasn't sure how to beat you otherwise."
Iida planted his foot to turn, frowning. "How would creating a lane…" His sentence cut off as Iida's momentum continued forward instead of pivoting as he intended. "How?!"
Iida grimaced as he noticed his planted foot was caught by another strand of Sero's tape, the foot still facing forward. The sticky side of the tape was facing up, secured to the stage with two short strands on either side.
"Unlike you," Sero said as he shot more strands of tape , "I actually went to Gohan-sensei's after school lessons! He showed me that even a weak Quirk like mine can do some pretty awesome things!" The last two strands attached to Iida's arms and Sero yanked him to the side. Iida yelped as his own momentum hurtled him towards the edge of stage.
"No!" Iida tried to use his hands to stop himself from falling out of the ring, only to skid just out of bounds. "I'm sorry, Tensei," Iida said as he softly banged his fist into the stage. A voice came from above him.
"Good match, Iida-san," Sero said with his hand held out. Iida stared at his hand for a moment before he grabbed it. Sero helped him up on his feet amidst the cheers of the crowd.
"And what a wonderful moment of sportsmanship from our hero students! Give them another round of applause!" The crowd cheered as Sero and Iida waved to them while they walked out of the ring together. "As they leave, let's see what our next match up will be! Midnight, SPIN! THAT! WHEEL!"
- Round 2 -
The wheel rose on the stage again, showing names and images flickering rapidly. "Who will be our next contestant?" Midnight asked the crowd. They roared in response as the names slowed down, finally landing on two names.
"Our next exciting match up will be 1-A's tailed Martial Arts master: Ojiro Mashiro versus the Mistress of Gadgets: Hatsume Mei! You have five minutes to strategize and plan as you come to the stage! Aizawa, my man, any commentary for this particular match-up?"
"Ojiro should have the advantage in this fight, having extensive training in martial arts and regular Heroics classes. I wouldn't count Hatsume out, however. From the gray hairs Powerloader has sprouted so far this term, she is no pushover with her support gear. This could be anyone's match, which is always the case."
Ojiro and Hatsume stood opposite each other with Midnight between them. Ojiro stood in a strong karate stance, eyes coolly assessing his opponent. His muscular tail slowly moved around behind him.
Hatsume stared up at the boxes surrounding the top level of the stadium, ignoring Ojiro completely. Her pink dreadlocks swayed in the gentle wind while the crosshairs in her yellow eyes zoomed in on the boxes. A dozen different gadgets were strapped on her body, including a backpack with several arms sticking out.
"Are you two ready?" Midnight asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Ojiro said.
"Hell yes, Dominatrix Lady! I'm ready to show off my babies to the world!" Hatsume grinned up at Midnight, her hands flexing as if she was grabbing a weapon or a tool.
"FIGHT!" Midnight yelled as she jumped backward out of the way.
Ojiro tightened his stance, watching Hatsume for any sudden moves. She didn't move, her eyes still focused on the top boxes. He inched forward with no reaction from Hatsume.
"Hey, can I use this match to do some marketing for my babies? I swear, I'll let you win in the end," Hatsume said absently, never taking her eyes off the boxes. "I don't really care about winning any of the fights."
"What are you talking about?" Ojiro asked. "Why would you even make it to the final stage if you didn't want to win?"
"Easy, Tail-guy, for the exposure! I want everyone to know that my babies are the best in the world and where better to show that off than here, at the Sports Festival?!"
"Well, I'm here to fight and prove myself as a hero. Hope your 'babies' are stronger than they look." Ojiro said, then recoiled from Hatsume's venomous glare.
"You think you can look down on my babies and get away with it!? Fuck what I said earlier, I'm pissed, let's fight!" A pair of metallic gloves folded out over her hands as she pounded them together. More hands sprouted from the backpack and took up defensive positions behind her.
"Fine with ME!" Ojiro yelled as he lunged across the ring, leading with his left fist. Mei clumsily tried to intercept his fist with her own, missing by a wide margin. Before Ojiro's fist could come into contact with her face, one of the hands from her backpack darted down to grab him.
Ojiro hesitated for a moment in shock, allowing Mei to plow her metallic fist into his gut. He gasped for a second but recovered in time to block and redirect the other fists raining down on him. Ojiro twisted his wrist, finding it simple to twist free.
"Good trick, but not good enough to stop anyone stronger than a civilian!" He dodged Hatsume's retaliatory swipes, engaging in a half-spin to slam his tail into her backpack. The hands suddenly launched at the ground, pushing her out of the way of Ojiro's strike.
"But my defensive maneuvering gear is more than up to the task of keeping me safe! I guess I'll have to work on making the hands stronger next time around. Thanks for helping me with the alpha test, Tail-guy!" Hatsume grinned at him as the backpack stabilized her. She rummaged around in a pouch on her belt, throwing out a black ball that burst into smoke. Feedback squealed from speakers all across the stadium as Ojiro made his way out of the smoke.
"Oh what fresh hell is this?!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Hatsume Mei and I am the future CEO of Hatsume Support Industries! I wanted to connect to the speakers and speak with you earlier, but plans always have to evolve in the moment! Anyway, I want to direct your attention to my babies on display here in the ring!"
Ojiro leaped out of the smoke, swinging his tail at where Hatsume had been standing before the smoke. He aborted his attack mid-swing, seeing the girl hovering over him. "When did the backpack become a jetpack?!"
"Good eye, my unwitting test subject! My backpack was always a jetpack! The JackPack 3000 has tools for every occasion!" More hands sprouted from the pack, throwing punches down at Ojiro while Hatsume circled around him. "See how it can hover and attack at the same time? It also automatically stabilizes the user on the ground and in the air!"
Ojiro jumped up to take another swing at Hatsume but the hovering backpack allowed her to easily glide out of the way. "Damn it, come down and fight with honor!"
"Honor? Please, I'm an inventor, not a fighter. The only honor I know is honoring my contracts! Now, ladies and gentlemen, observe as I demonstrate the capture abilities of the JackPack!" Two bolas burst from the sides of the backpack, each curving down at Ojiro. He knocked them out of the air with his tail. He hefted one of them, weighing it in his hand before squinting up at Hatsume. His eyes widened as a crackling blue bola flew at him, dropping to the ground to avoid the attack. "The 3000 model also has Taser Bolas for those who just won't stay down!"
"It's official, you're crazier than anyone in my class! Do you know how high of a bar that is!?"
Hatsume cackled as her backpack threw more crackling taser bolas, watching Ojiro roll on the ground to avoid them. Her eyes locked onto the stadium boxes, zooming in to see the executives there talking to each other and writing in notepads. Her grin widened at the interest, but it fell off when one of her bolas came whipping back up at her. Hatsume dodged to the side, right into a second bola. It wrapped around the robotic arms currently deployed from her backpack, pinning them to Hatsume herself. She squawked in surprise as the added weight of the pinned arms shifted her center of gravity.
Ojiro leaped up, taking advantage of the decrease in mobility. He grabbed the end of the bola rope, yanking down as he slammed his tail into her. Hatsume crashed into concrete, grunting in pain. Ojiro landed beside her, his tail cracking the concrete next to her head. "Please yield!"
"Fine! I got what I wanted anyway. Everyone saw my babies were the best." The grin on Hatsume's face sent shivers down Ojiro's spine.
"Mrs. Midnight, did that count as a win and can I leave the ring now? I need some time away from the insanity for a moment."
"WINNER: OJIRO MASHIRAO!" Midnight cried out, cracking her whip loudly. She leaned down toward the two on the ground. "Great job, both of you. Get out of here. Ojiro-san, take your time going back up. Eventually, you'll need to get used to the insanity but for now you can relax." She straightened back up, the selection screen raising as well.
- Round 3 -
"What an AWESOME match! YEAHHHHH!" Present Mic screamed from the announcer booth. "Let's see who is coming next in our Tournament of Power!" The screen cycled through names and faces again, slowing to a stop. "Next round, we have Class 1-A's lean green machine: Midoriya Izuku against the dark horse of this Festival: Class 1-C's Shinsou Hitoshi! While we wait for our contestants to come down, why don't we get some professional analysis from our resident expert: Aizawa! Take it away, cool cat!"
"Never call me that," Aizawa said. "This matchup can go either way. Midoriya is one of the most driven students in 1-A, always doing more than his classmates in class. Unfortunately, this work ethic is balanced by a Quirk, when shown on the first day of classes, seemed almost uncontrollable. He has learned to tame it somewhat over the past few weeks, with the help of our newest staff member, Sayiaman. Midoriya has demonstrated that improvement and impressive creativity over the use of his Quirk during the course of this Festival. Only time can tell if he'll pull this off."
"Awesome analysis," Present Mic yelled. "What about his opponent?"
"Shinsou Hitoshi is in General Education, so he hasn't had the opportunity to undertake the Heroics classes that Midoriya has taken. His Quirk is powerful, even if he didn't pass the Entrance Exam. No, I won't be revealing his Quirk at the moment: Unlike the Hero Course students, the rest of UA's students are not required to disclose their Quirks and descriptions during the Festival. I believe that Shinsou could turn the tables if he plays this smart. But there are no guarantees in this business."
"SUPER ANALYSIS! I believe our contestants have arrived at the ring, so let's go ringside to Midnight for the start of the fight!"
Midoriya stood opposite his opponent, studying his frame and eyes. Shinsou was tall and lanky, messy and wavy purple hair standing up like he'd just rolled out of bed. He hadn't assumed a fighting stance yet, standing relaxed and staring daggers at Midoriya. In contrast, Midoriya stood in the loose fighting stance Gohan taught him. His hands were positioned to catch punches at his head and chest, his feet staggered to maintain his balance. Ojiro had pulled him aside during the break, warning him that Shinsou made him work on his team somehow. All the tailed boy remembered was Shinsou talking to him, then it all went blank. Midoriya knew he had to finish it fast and be careful.
"Are you both ready?" Midnight pointed her whip at Shinsou, who nodded. She pointed at Midoriya. He took a deep breath and blew it out, green lightning sparking up and covering his body in the process. "I'm going to take that as a yes. Ready! FIGHT!" She leapt out of the way.
"So you're the Golden Boy," Shinsou said with a sneer. "Blessed with such a heroic quirk. Coming on top in every event so far, just out here showing off. Bet this is the first time you've had to work hard in your entire life!"
Midoriya shook his head as he ran forward, covering the distance between them in a flash, teeth bared in a wordless snarl. Shinsou yelped and ducked away from Midoriya's fist. He executed a sloppy roll to gain some distance, landing on his ass a couple meters away. He struggled up to one knee, his sneer firmly in place.
"Too bad your little runner friend wasn't quite so blessed. Even that vanilla idiot managed to beat him. Guess he isn't going to live up to those Ingenium expectations after all. Oh well, he can always hang out on the red carpet behind his brother as a disappointment."
Midoriya roared with anger as he pivoted and swung down at Shinsou. "SHUT YOUR MOU…" Midoriya's fist stopped inches from Shinsou's nose, the green lightning flickering away. The wind from his punch blew Shinsou back onto the ground.
"What the fuck are you?! No one but All Might should be able to punch like that!" He shook his head. "Just, walk out of the ring. I'm ready to beat the rest of your heroic classmates just like this."
"What's happening down there!?" Present Mic shouted over the broadcast system. "Midoriya just stopped his attack before it hit Shinsou and started walking out of the ring! Aizawa, any ideas what's happening?"
"Several, but none that I'll mention at the moment. All I am willing to say at this point is that Midoriya will need to figure out a way to cover this particular weakness or he will have trouble in the future. I think this may be the end of this match."
Midoriya could only scream internally as he mechanically straightened and walked slowly toward the edge of the ring. 'Why can't I move?! This has to be his Quirk, but what's the trigger? He never touched me and I never touched him.' His internal struggle increased as thoughts raced through his brain. 'Wait! This didn't happen until I responded to him! I'm an idiot, Ojiro-san told me that was how he was caught during the last stage!He can take control if you respond to him. That's such a cool and powerful Quirk!' Mdioriya gushed internally for a moment until he regained control. 'No! Focus! Super powerful control Quirks usually have a really easy method of dispersal, that's the tradeoff for complete control. Pain should work.' Sweat dripped down his face. 'But I can't move my body on my own! How do I cause myself pain if I can't move?!' As he came to the edge of the ring, Midoriya could see into the tunnel leading back into the stadium. Eight silhouettes appeared, wreathed in a rainbow of energy. He could just make out the eyes of one silhouette as it winked at him. One for All flared around his finger, a giant gust of wind kicking up as the energy discharged.
"HOW?!" Shinsou screamed, covering his face against the blast of wind. "You shouldn't have been able to move, let alone do anything with your Quirk? What sort of anime protagonist bullshit is this?!"
Midoriya spun around, mindful of his footing at the edge of the ring even as lightning sparked around him again. He kicked off, turning off One For All just in time to slam a fist into Shinsou's gut. The taller boy folded over his fist, providing a convenient way for Midoriya to grab him. He threw Shinsou over his shoulder and sprinted to the edge, hurling the other boy over the side of the ring. Shinsou gave a surprised grunt as he hit the ground, landing in a heap.
Midnight raised her whip and pointed at Midoriya with her other hand. "WINNER! MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
Midoriya jumped down from the ring and crouched next to Shinsou. "You know, you have a really cool Quirk. Some kind of full-body control with a vocal trigger, right?"
"What does it matter?" Shinsou said, glaring at the ground. "This was my best shot of making it into the Hero Course. People like you wouldn't understand." He looked up and recoiled from the hand extended to him.
"I don't know, I'd say you did pretty good. You almost beat me, didn't you?" Midoriya said with a blinding smile. A large shadow fell over them as Cementoss walked up.
"Your fellows in General Education seem to believe you did well, young Shinsou." He pointed up to the section where Class 1-C was sitting. Several students were hanging out of the section, shouting down with wide grins and waving.
"Way to go, Shinsou!"
"Show them that we ain't no pushovers!"
"You did amazing!"
Shinsou looked up at them, eyes wide. Midoriya's smile widened as he looked back at Shinsou. "You did great. And your Quirk would be awesome for Heroics if that's what you want to do with it. Go to Gohan-sensei's morning workouts, they'll help you build muscle and stamina if you can survive them."
"I, I think I'll do that." Shinsou blinked and refocused on Midoriya. "Wait, what do you mean, survive it?" Midoriya laughed as he reached down to help Shinsou stand up. "Seriously, what do you mean survive it? Cementoss-sensei?" Midoriya and Cementoss laughed harder as the small group moved to the tunnel back into the stadium. "You're seriously worrying me now. What happens at these workouts? Guys? Guys?!"