The Man Out of Time

by Ultimate10

After a 150 years in ice, Izuku Midoriya finds himself in a new world where meta-abilities or "Quirks" are the norm. His journey to becoming a modern Pro Hero will have its challenges keeping his old identity a secret, facing old and new foes, and learning to let go of the past. Does the world even need Captain America anymore? Or is he just too old-fashioned? Marvel/MHA AU World.

18. Chapter 16: All-Star Games Pt 1

…

The Man Out of Time

Chapter 16

---

"Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did."

— Nelson Mandela

---

Musutafu, Japan - April 2197

"Before we select the first round, we will have a few opening words from the Freshmen Representative. He placed first in the entrance practical exam with a total score of 99! Midoriya Izuku of Class 101-A!"

Midoriya blinked twice. 'Uh, what?'

"I was not aware you'd be giving a speech, Izuku-kun." Yaoyorozu said excitedly.

"Heh… Neither did I." Midoriya commented quietly.

"Eh?" As Midoriya started walking toward the stage, her eyes widened in realization. 'Wait… Did no one tell him?!' She covered her mouth in horror, feeling sympathy for her friend. 'Oh Izuku… Just… do your best.'

Midoriya took a deep breath as he calmly made his way toward the stage. 'Really wish I had been given a heads up about this. Wonder who dropped the ball on that one…' He didn't have to think long before a potential (more than likely) culprit came to mind. 'Toshinori.'

He internally sighed. 'Oh well… No sense getting worked up about it now.'

As the World War III veteran stepped up onto the stage where Midnight was waiting, he put his enhanced mind to work on thinking up something to say.

'For something so short notice, I just have to speak from the heart.' He quickly rationalized.

Making sure the microphone couldn't pick up her words, Midnight gave him a small, understanding smile. "Good luck, Midoriya-san. Just remember to breathe, alright?" She whispered.

Despite how she acted, after two weeks of having her as a substitute, Midoriya knew that Midnight cared about her students. Midoriya nodded and smiled as he proceeded toward the microphone.

Kayama's eyes widened slightly. 'He's not even the least bit nervous…or at least he's not showing it.'

When Midoriya reached the microphone, he stopped to take in a silent breath. The arena was focused entirely on him. There were envious, disillusioned stares from most of the students in the non-Heroic courses while his Hero Course peers looked at him in excitement, minus a few.

The whole world was watching him right now. Time to make a statement.

"I only have two fears. The first is being incapable of helping those in need due to my own weaknesses, and the second…is public speaking." Midoriya stated wryly.

This earned quite a bit chuckling from the crowd.

Well, starting things off with a little icebreaker couldn't hurt either.

Midoriya continued. "The UA All-Star Games are not just for entertainment. They're a chance for us students to showcase our skills to the world. To prove that we are capable and worthy to one day call ourselves Heroes." He briefly paused as his mouth formed a thin line. "But what does it mean to be a Hero?"

As Midoriya's voice echoed from the speakers, the students on the field and the audience watching were caught off guard by his question. Though for many, they believed that he was merely asking a rhetorical question.

"Do you need some powerful, flashy Quirk? A colorful costume? Or even a Pro Hero License?"

Many thought the answers to those questions were also obvious.

"No. You don't need any of that." He resolutely declared.

The crowd, who had been listening restlessly, became subdued at Midoriya's unexpected response.

From a high box suite, Yagi leaned forward in his seat with eager anticipation.

Everyone else was now listening with growing interest.

"One moment is all it takes." He proclaimed. "One moment to reach out to another in need. One moment to rise to a challenge… To conquer a flaw… To spare an enemy… To lay down your life for someone else."

"One selfless moment is all it takes for anyone to be a Hero; Quirk or no Quirk."

Yagi was immediately reminded of the Sludge Villain incident where Midoriya had rushed in to help…and managed to not only weaken the Villain but pulled Bakugo to safety as well. He did all that while the Pros (including himself) had just stood by and watched.

He tightened fists as tightly as he could in his weakened form. 'Heart over power…'

Uraraka and Yaoyorozu both recalled their first meeting with Midoriya in the alleyway. He didn't have to follow after them after alerting the authorities. He didn't have to potentially risk his own life against a group of delinquents to help the two girls…but he did it anyway.

Bakugo, meanwhile, grimaced when an unpleasant memory he wished he could wipe from his mind resurfaced.

Midoriya rushed in to pull Bakugo out of the Sludge Villain, using a water hydrant to weaken him. "What the hell!? Green hair…What're you doing here!?"

Midoriya stood in front of the ash-blonde with a Captain America shield, looking back at him with a confident, reassuring smile. "To save you! Could not watch you die!"

"Tsk." Bakugo clenched his fists tightly, which were starting to smoke a little.

"I say this to my peers, whether you're in the Hero Course or not…"

Shinso's tired gaze focused on Midoriya with subdued interest.

"And to all those who are watching… No matter who you are, no matter who kicks you down or tells you otherwise… Don't give up."

He had paused for no more than a second as several memories involving three people came to mind.

"I can't be a Hero… I'm Quirkless. That's why I'm in R&D…to help the real Heroes like you, Captain."

"Power is crucial for a Pro Hero. They can't do their job without it. So can a Quirkless person be a hero? No."

"The world isn't exactly kind to those with Quirks seen as villainous or niche…and especially not to those without one."

Midoriya's expression became firm and resolute. "Because… You too can be a Hero."

An awed silence fell upon the stadium, some even gasped in surprise. A swell of emotions going through the majority of all those watching.

Yagi's breath hitched in his throat as his blue eyes shot open. "Yes. Those who inspire others to do good, Quirkless or not, are heroes." He recalled the words he said that fateful day last year. The day he had met Midoriya…and learned his true identity.

'Captain…' The emancipated Hero trembled lightly as warm emotions surged through his body. Yagi was so wrapped up in his feelings that he didn't notice the fires of One For All growing hotter from within him.

Midoriya continued. "History will someday paint a picture of us, telling others who we became… Just as it tells us who came before us." The faces of his old friends and moments from the past flashed through his head. "But history is not merely one moment, it's the journey we take to reach our potential."

That seemed to strike a chord with many people as they recalled their own pasts and how they got to where they currently were.

"I urge all of us competing today to embody our school motto of going Plus Ultra. Push yourselves to and beyond your limits. Reassure the world that the future is in capable hands. Show the Villains who are no doubt watching this event that you are not to be trifled with."

Midoriya leaned into the microphone. "Make today a milestone or even the start of your Hero's journey." He then stepped back and bowed in respect. "Thank you."

…

…

The first sound of clapping came from within the student body on the field, and then it spread like a wildfire. Soon, the whole arena erupted into raucous applause. Cheering and cries of motivation rang out from the audience.

"So freakin' manly!" Kirishima became teary eyed, hiding his face behind his forearm dramatically. "I got goosebumps, man!"

"Son of a…" A young muscular man standing at 175 centimeters (five-foot-nine) with long chin, messy gray hair, and sharp teeth trembled with emotions, clenching his fist. "I can't believe that guy's in class A! So damn manly!" He shouted in a similar manner to Kirishima.

Tokage grinned sharply, still clapping. "Damn… He's pretty good at that."

Midnight squealed and hugged herself. "OH! Such youthful passion!" This caused the super-soldier to sweat-drop in exasperation.

With that, Midoriya stepped off the stage toward the awaiting claps of his peers…and the beaming smiles of two certain girls.

Yaoyorozu continued to clap with a stunned look. '...He gave such an enthralling, inspiring speech like that on the spot? He's incredible.' Her face flushed a bit.

'That was so awesome!' Uraraka internally cheered. The bubbly brunette's gaze was locked on her verdette friend as he walked back to the field. 'He's…He's amazing…' Her blush marks grew darker.

Midoriya smiled a little at the positive response as he returned to his spot in line. 'Guess doing all those shows did serve a purpose.' He mused, steadying himself after standing before millions of people.

---

Amongst the many patrons watching the speech from home, a certain young man with spiked bangs was hearing Midoriya's speech loud and clear on his bedroom's TV. Normally, he wouldn't care about these kinds of events, but this time, he had made a promise to a certain someone he'd watch them compete.

As someone who knew very well the troubles of others being on his case due to his Quirk, a small smirk tugged at the corner of Nakagawa Yuto's lips. 'He certainly knows how to preach to the choir.'

---

Yagi continued to clap hard, using his sleeve to wipe away a few stray tears. 'You too can be a Hero? You really have a way with words, Captain.'

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Nezu cackled maniacally in his seat, clapping. "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"Yeah. It was really good." Yagi agreed. "Especially since he came up with it all on the spot…" He quietly said, still feeling embarrassed by his blunder.

"No flashy Quirk? No Pro Hero License? No Quirk required? All the controversy that will surely ensue… I LOVE IT! HA-HA-HA!" Nezu continued laughing madly.

The blonde haggard sweated, beginning to feel uncomfortable in the white-furred animal's presence at the moment. 'I can never tell what is going through his head…'

---

Up in the broadcast room, Aizawa sat in his chair trying to keep at least a meter of distance between him and his energetic co-host. Though he was still wrapped in bandages, he had made significant progress in his recovery, thanks to Recovery Girl's efforts and by getting more sleep over the past two weeks. Something he was always grateful for.

After Midoriya had finished his speech, the haggard Underground Hero was in subdued awe. 'Well… that was something.'

Aizawa had focused on every word that proceeded from Midoriya's mouth. He had said it with such conviction that it was difficult to think he was lying. Midoriya truly believed in everything he had declared.

'So anyone can be a Hero, huh?' Aizawa hummed to himself. 'His heart's in the right place…but—' His thoughts were promptly interrupted.

"Talk about an incredible way to kick off the UA All-Star Games!" Present Mic shouted into his microphone, causing Aizawa to wince and cover his ears. "As to be expected of the freshmen phenom! Way to go Midoriya!"

The crowd outside roared in approval.

Aizawa groaned, making sure his mic couldn't pick him up. He really wished his friend had a volume control he could adjust. That would be very useful.

He then shifted his gaze back to Midoriya, who was taking his place back in line. There was a lot on his mind pertaining to the green-haired soldier; especially with some new information his investigation had uncovered about him in the last two weeks. There were a few things about Midoriya's past that weren't quite adding up, and it made him suspicious.

Still, for the moment, the Underground Hero would shelve those concerns and focus on today's event. He was interested to see how his students, especially Midoriya, would perform. He could learn more about the ex-soldier with how he handles the challenges.

He leaned forward in his seat.

---

With the UA All-Star Games sold-out months in advance, many were unable to see the event in-person; however, that didn't stop many from wanting to be as close to the action as possible. To resolve this, the university had set up several big screen monitors in the courtyards around Morino Hiroshi Stadium for UA students and those granted approval to enter campus grounds.

Lines of vendor stands were set up in the designated areas outside Morino Hiroshi Stadium. Foods, drinks, and Pro Hero merchandise were being sold and purchased by crowds of people. Amongst these people were teams of Pro Heroes patrolling the stadium grounds constantly, keeping a watchful eye for any sign of potential danger.

One group consisting of Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and Mt. Lady had stopped to watch Midoriya's speech.

"Hey… I think I recognize that kid from somewhere." Death Arms scratched his chin.

Kamui Woods looked at Midoriya's image on the screen closely before perking up. "He's the one from the Sludge Villain incident last year. The green-haired one."

"Oh yeah…" Death Arm's eyes widened in recognition. "I remember now. Damn… Kid's come a long way since then, huh?"

Kamui Woods stared at the screen thoughtfully. "Hostage was suffocating… you did nothing! Chose to stand around and wait? Should be ashamed of yourself!" Midoriya's words (though spoken in rough Japanese) popped up in the wooden Hero's head.

'It pains me to admit my own short-sightedness…but you were right. Not having the right Quirk for a situation is no excuse to wait around while lives are at stake.' Kamui internally admitted. 'Thanks to you, I have striven to do better since that day.'

"Hmm…" Mt. Lady stared at the screen while munching on dango she had finagled from a nearby vendor. "He's a total hunk." She commented absentmindedly.

Kamui rolled his eyes. "Of course you would say that Takeyama."

The blonde beauty shrugged impassively. "Just callin' it how I see it. Besides, he's legal."

"Anyways…." Kamui stirred the conversation away from there. "I'm not just impressed the kid made it into UA, but scored first? Makes me wonder what his Quirk is." He held his chin contemplatively.

"Gotta be something really cool and strong." The blonde Heroine said matter-of-factly.

'Maybe…but why would he then say a powerful Quirk isn't required for Heroics?' Kamui pondered.

"That speech of his though," Death Arms crossed his arms over his chest, "I can already envision the backlash."

Mt. Lady looked at her buff colleague, confused. "Why? It sounded great to me."

"I agree it was a good speech," Kamui then exhaled, "but I can see what Death Arms is referring to."

"Mind filling me in then?" Mt. Lady requested.

"Anyone can be a Hero? Even without a Pro Hero License? A Quirk?" Kamui Woods pointed out. "On the surface, it's a nice sentiment, but some people may interpret his words as him condoning vigilantism and/or laxer laws on Quirk usage."

Death Arms added. "Something the HPSC is heavily against."

Mt. Lady tilted her head, bemused. "Don't you think you guys are reading too much into it?"

Death Arms shrugged. "If we're coming to that conclusion, it's fair to say a fair amount of other people will too."

"Still… the kid's got a good heart, I'll give him that." Kamui acknowledged.

"He just better hope this doesn't derail his career before it even starts." Death Arms casually remarked.

Mt. Lady smirked at the onscreen Midoriya. "Well…I know I'd take him on as a Sidekick. So he'd had one offer at least." She licked her lips seductively.

'I'd give him an offer too.' Kamui mused. He then turned to his blonde partner. "Alright, you can ogle college students in your off time. Finish that up." He pointed to her food. "We have a job to focus on."

Mt. Lady rolled her eyes and finished up her dango sticks. "Fine… Ooh! A meatbun stand!" She immediately made her way over to it. "~Yoohoo! How much for the meatbuns, handsome?~" She giggled impishly.

The Wood Hero groaned in exasperation. 'Does she have no shame?'

---

Meanwhile, in a mysterious underground location, All For One sat on his throne in front of many monitors displaying various programs. But, at the moment, his attention was focused squarely on the one broadcasting the UA All-Star Games. The light from the monitors dimly illuminated the red scars marring the Symbol of Evil's face while he watched his archnemesis walk off the stage after completing his speech.

What an interesting one it was, too.

The corner of his mouth curled upwards smugly. 'We sure have a way of shaking things up in society, don't we, Captain?' He chuckled to himself. 'Things are bound to get interesting, I'm sure. I hope you're taking good notes Tomura.'

---

Moments earlier, in the outskirts of the busy port city of Yokohama was an impoverished area dubbed Kamino Ward. On one of many relatively abandoned trashy streets was a rundown bar nestled in an equally rundown neighborhood. Inside, Shigaraki Tomura sat on a barstool staring at an old television in the corner broadcasting the All-Star Games live.

The teal-haired youth held a pen (keeping his pinky extended) over a small notebook with the title "Notes and Cheat Codes" written in Kanji. He tapped the pen's point against the paper repeatedly while glaring up at the onscreen Midoriya.

Recalling the pain of the invincible shield and the knockout punch, his free hand rose to his neck and scratched his skin roughly.

"That bastard." Shigaraki hissed.

Just looking at the green-haired bastard made the Decay-user so angry! It was Midoriya's fault that the USJ operation was an abject failure, and for his and Kurogiri's humiliating arrest. More importantly, he was the one responsible for Shigaraki losing his precious hands!

Needless to say, Shigaraki was not a fan of UA's Freshmen Representative.

So, when Midoriya had stepped onto the stage to give the opening speech, Shigaraki was very tempted to just disintegrate the television and go play online games in his room. However, he knew the Master wouldn't be pleased by him shirking his assignment, so he gritted his teeth and endured whatever nonsense was to come.

…

…

One speech later, Shigaraki had stopped scratching his neck and stared at the television. It wasn't the "do your best, plus ultra" garbage he had expected. He'd begrudgingly even admit that it had intrigued him to a degree; much to his own surprise.

Lowering his hand away from his neck, his gaze fell to the counter introspectively. Heroes don't need flashy Quirks, costumes, or licenses? From Shigaraki's perspective, it sounded like Midoriya wasn't too high on Hero society either.

Odd.

'If he doesn't like the game, then why is he even playing?' He mused confusedly, and then noted that down in his notebook.

Then, when Midoriya had claimed that one moment was all it took for anyone to be a Hero, Shigaraki was left feeling…conflicted. He knew he should be scoffing at the notion, citing it as mindless Hero drivel. Heck, it even sounded like something All Might would say in one of his annoying self-glorifying interviews…yet it wasn't.

It felt different somehow. It felt…sincere.

'One moment…' His eyes widened as broken scenes suddenly played through his head.

He saw himself as a child walking aimlessly down a sidewalk.

"Hey…are you alri–uh, n-never mind. Sorry to bother you, son." A random man on the sidewalk said, turning away in fear.

"Are you lost, little boy…huh?!" An elderly woman gawked at him before shuffling away. "Well…I'm sure the Heroes will help you."

From there, he heard the same "Leave it to the Heroes" line murmured from many more people as they turned away from him.

Leaving him all alone in the streets.

Shigaraki's breathing became hectic as his fingers dug back into his neck. He involuntarily grabbed his pen and reduced it to dust. "One moment, huh?" He snarled bitterly.

"Shigaraki…?" Kurogiri uttered from over the counter, concerned.

The teal-haired youth didn't acknowledge the black miasma. "Only one moment… So why didn't anyone ever come to me when I–" He stopped when another important scene came to mind.

He was sitting in an empty underpass all alone, feeling completely hollow. Everyone he passed by had turned a blind eye to him. Cast aside like trash on the side of the road.

"You poor forgotten soul." Suddenly, the man he would recognize as his Master approached him, only his face was free of scars. "The Heroes never came to save you, did they?"

"..." He stared at the man blankly.

"Sadly, this is not uncommon." The man wore a warm, caring expression as he knelt down and offered his hand. "Don't worry, I am here. I may not be a Hero…but I will help you. Please, come with me."

"Shigaraki, are you alright?" Kurogiri said worriedly, directly in front of the unstable youth.

Shigaraki was snapped back to reality and needed another moment to compose himself. He then looked up, half-glaring at his wispy servant. "I'm fine…" He grumbled. "Just give me something really stiff to drink…and a new pen." He glanced down at the dusty remnants of his former writing utensil.

"…Certainly."

As the humanoid mist went to prepare his ward a drink (and get a new pen), Shigaraki returned his attention to the television. The first event was about to begin.

He glared hard at the onscreen Midoriya, even though he could barely see him in the crowd. 'One moment…'

---

"With that arousing speech, it's time to proceed with the first event!" Midnight waved behind her, and a large screen rose up from a slot in the stage. The words PRELIMINARY EVENT was at the top, and like a slot machine, the center of the screen began to spin through a list of options. "This is where the pretenders are separated from the contenders. Will it be right up your alley, or will it push you to your limits?" She smirked as the screen continued spinning.

Midoriya stared at the screen stoically.

"Our Preliminary Event for the Freshmen All-Star Games is…" Midnight posed, pointing her flogger-style whip towards the screen as it stopped. "THIS!"

OBSTACLE RACE.

'Sounds self-explanatory. But given how UA likes to do things, it'll be far from simple.' Midoriya rationalized.

"I see." Yaoyorozu thought aloud. "Just like from the Recommendation Exam."

Midnight cracked her whip. "An Obstacle Race! Now, the aim may be simple, to get from start to finish, but that's what the obstacles are for! The race will be 4 kilometers long (~2.2 miles) and take you one full lap around the stadium on a special track outside the vendor grounds."

The scantily clad beauty adopted a somewhat sadistic smirk. "We pride ourselves on freedom here at UA University…so anything goes as long as you remain on the track. Going out of bounds will result in disqualification!" She cracked her whip again. "Also, it goes without saying, but no lethal moves against other students! Aside from that, you're free to do as you wish!"

"Play fair, competitors!" Present Mic yelled through the speakers. "The first one back will be the winner, and unlike in previous years…only the top 32 will advance to the second event!"

This news took most of the competitors off guard.

"Only 32?" Yaoyorozu sounded surprised.

"Kero. But…isn't it normally 42?" Asui questioned, bemused.

"That means…not everyone in the Hero Course can move on." Uraraka murmured worriedly.

'They really are weeding out the competition here.' Midoriya inwardly noted.

"Now then, all competitors head to the starting line!" The raven vixen instructed.

The crowd cheered loudly as the preliminary event was set to begin.

The students conglomerated towards the side of the field that had a tunnel leading out of the stadium.

"On your marks!" Midnight began.

'This is it.' Taking a deep breath, Midoriya bent down with a hand on the ground, getting into a sprinter stance. All the students were as close to the front line as possible.

"Get set!" She held up her whip.

Midoriya's well-trained eyes focused on the tunnel ahead and, right off the back, spotted something suspicious with its design. The corner of his lip curled upward as he instantly deduced the reasoning behind it. 'Smart.'

Midnight brought her whip down. "GO!"

All the contestants rushed forward like a stampede toward the tunnel, yelling as they did so. The 21st Century super-soldier immediately dashed forward in an impressive burst of speed. Within seconds, Midoriya was already sprinting through the tunnel at the front of the pack. He felt so light without his heavy training weights on!

'Get through the tunnel first to avoid the log jam, check!' He could already hear people yelling behind him as the narrow tunnel's exit bottlenecked them inside. 'But…' Feeling the air suddenly grow colder, his enhanced reflexes kicked in as he immediately swerved to the left and jumped, avoiding a sheet of ice expanding across the ground. '...have to keep my wits about me. Todoroki is gunning for me!'

Rapid yelling and loud explosions could be heard behind him.

'And so is Bakugo.' Hugging the edge of the track, Midoriya pushed himself to his full speed and a trail of dust formed in his wake.

There was an open area of track in front of him with trees on both sides. The super-soldier then spotted movement ahead as something burst out of the foliage.

"Target acquired! Destroy!" Midoriya recognized the attacker as a 1-pointer robot from the practical exam. Following behind it was a swarm of robots spanning the track ahead.

"It looks like Midoriya will be the first to encounter the opening obstacle, ROBO INFERNO!" Present Mic broadcasted. "How will the freshmen rep overcome this?"

The 1-pointer rolled in front of Midoriya and went to swipe at him, but he somersaulted over the swipe and reached out to grab the robot's head, ripping it off with a loud crunch! As he landed back on his feet, he tossed the decapitated robot head aside and continued running.

When a 2-pointer lashed out with its stinger tail, he juked to the side and pivoted to deliver a powerful kick that went straight through the tail. The dismembered stinger uselessly fell to the ground. 'These things were really made to be broken.' Midoriya mused before grabbing the robot by its long neck and ripped out a handful of exposed circuitry and wires–causing the mech to collapse, offline.

As he resumed running, he spotted several incoming missiles (most likely blanks) fired from a 3-pointer. Midoriya let out an exhale and, with perfect timing, jumped over the missiles and landed on top of the green automaton. He used the flat head as a springboard to propel himself forward and safely landed in a crouching position.

The verdette swiftly dashed through the growing robot army, avoiding direct encounters whenever possible. With Todoroki and Bakugo gaining ground and easily destroying any robots that got in their path, Midoriya knew he couldn't afford to waste time fighting. He just had to hope the other robots were able to slow down his competitors by just enough for him to maintain the lead.

Managing to slip past the robot platoon, several massive metal platforms then appeared in the ground ahead. The sounds of motors and gears turning indicated that whatever was on the platforms was huge.

The super-soldier's emerald eyes widened when an unsettling possibility came to mind. 'If the second obstacle are the exam robots, then this has to be–' His assumption was proven correct as a giant Zero Pointer arose from the ground ahead of him; its massive head looked down to focus its glowing red optics on Midoriya.

Midoriya gritted his teeth. 'I don't have time to waste on you!'

The mechanical behemoth slowly pulled its arm back and went to crush him with its massive fist. He waited for the right moment and jumped over the fist as it slammed into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that shook the earth. He landed on the top of the mech's forearm and proceeded to run up its arm.

The giant mech was too slow to react as Midoriya rushed up the arm and used its shoulder as a springboard (like he did with the 3-pointer) and launched himself through the air.

As he descended to the ground nearly 60 meters (~200 feet) below, he positioned his legs out to absorb his fall. He landed hard and tumbled across the ground. Several barrel rolls later, he shakily popped back to his feet and bolted, unharmed aside from scrapes and tears in his gym uniform. Thankfully, his enhanced physiology had prevented him from breaking anything.

"Incredible!" Present Mic's voice blared through the PA system. "Midoriya has already cleared the Robo Inferno!"

"His speed and quick reflexes helped him avoid as many direct confrontations with the robots as he could." Aizawa tiredly commented. "He cleared the first obstacle in the time it took most of his competitors to clear the entry gate."

"This young man just continues to impress!" Mic followed up. "But he can't get too comfortable! Todoroki is hot on his heels with several others who escaped his icy salvo!"

Midoriya veered towards the left edge of the track like a racehorse. A loud explosion suddenly went off behind him–causing the verdette to visibly wince.

"Down goes a Zero Pointer, courtesy of 101-A's Yaoyorozu! Some of the Hero students are separating themselves from the pack, but Midoriya still has a sizable lead and isn't slowing down for anything!"

Breathing deeply, Midoriya kicked up his speed to the point his legs were a blur. 'Don't look back, soldier! Just keep moving forward!' He instructed himself.

"Midoriya is approaching the next obstacle: THE FALL!" Present Mic exclaimed. "You fall in and hit the bottom, you're out!"

Looking further ahead, Midoriya saw a massive ravine filled with stone pillars and connecting cable wires. Despite the incoming obstacle, he maintained his sprint and did not slow down!

"Midoriya is still going! Wait! Is he going to jump?!"

---

Todoroki scowled in annoyance; he had thought that freezing the ground would give him plenty of space ahead of his competition, but he was wrong. Midoriya was gone in a blur the moment Midnight had said 'Go' and had somehow managed to avoid his opening attack. More than a few had escaped his salvo too, which somewhat disappointed him. He didn't make the ice too thick as speed was the goal, but clearly, he would need to put more power in such a move next time.

Several students were hot on his tail now. Bakugo was closest while Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Tsunotori (flying on her horns) and Tokage (splitting her body parts off) were leading the rest of the students.

Todoroki opened a path from himself by creating a line of spiked ice that split the robot horde apart, and then continued running. Bakugo blew the head off a 1-pointer that had gotten in his way, but never stopped him. Other students were fast enough to avoid the robots, but the slower ones were forced to fight.

Kaminari was one of these students as he shorted out a 3-pointer, which fell directly onto two competitors.

"Holy sh*t!" A student yelled, horrified. "Can people actually die in these games?!"

Almost immediately, Kirishima broke through the robot's metal plating, using his Hardening to protect himself in the nick of time. "No way I'd die like that!" He shot a glare at Kaminari. "Dude, that wasn't manly!"

The electric blonde rubbed the back of his head, feeling slightly loopy after using his Quirk. "S-sorry man…"

"Look at that, listeners! That's Kirishima Eijiro of Class 101-A! With his Quirk, he's like the ultimate shield and the ultimate spear!" Present Mic announced.

Suddenly, another student burst out from under the robot as well. He looked remarkably like Kirishima but with metal skin. "Seriously? What the hell!?" Tetsutetsu shouted angrily. "Anyone else might have died there!"

"And there's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu of Class 101-B! His Quirk ALSO turns him into the ultimate shield and ultimate spear!" Present Mic yelled.

Kirishima groaned as he started running again. "Really? C'mon, I have enough trouble standing out as it is!"

With the Zero Pointers blocking his path ahead, Todoroki didn't hold anything back as he froze them in glaciers…while they were off balance. This resulted in the massive mech crashing to the ground which slowed down the herd behind him.

Todoroki's expression remained apathetic. These obstacles, much like the ones from the Recommendation Exam, bored him and made him long for a test that was a little more challenging. On the other hand, it did give him the opportunity to stick it to his old man by showing him how capable he was.

However, in the back of his mind, a traitorous part of him commented that he could easily handle the mechs by using his fire to melt them. This would slow down the competition behind him enough where he could focus entirely on Midoriya.

Nevertheless, the heterochromatic young man dismissed those thoughts as quickly as they came. No. He would not break his vow in front of all these people; especially not in front of his father. He'd rather die than give him the satisfaction.

For the moment, he had another problem with Midoriya. He knew the former soldier was fast as evident from the Quirk Apprehension Test. But, like with Iida, the dual-haired teen thought the obstacles would negate the green-haired soldier's speed by just enough for him to overtake him.

But apparently they were nothing more than mere speedbumps to him.

"Incredible!" Present Mic's voice blared through the PA system. "Midoriya has already cleared the Robo Inferno!"

'Dammit! The old bastard's watching and THIS is the show I'm giving?' Todoroki glanced over his shoulder to see the rest of his peers were putting on a far better showing than him.

Yaoyorozu, with a bazooka resting on her shoulder, laid fire and brought down another Zero Pointer. Tsunotori, while surfing through the air on two horns, was using two more to tear through any robots in her way. The sleeves to Tokage's uniform flapped in the wind as she had split her limbs off and was flying around the robots, hot on her horned friend's tail. Iida was racing forward and delivering devastating kicks that tore through robots like tin foil; however, it was clear the obstacles were preventing him from reaching his full speed.

The dual-Quirk user jumped over a downed 3-pointer and summoned an ice slide underneath him. From there, he could see Midoriya ahead with the dust evident of his impressive speed. If he got close enough, he could freeze his legs to trap him.

His thoughts were interrupted by several explosions behind him.

"ICY-HOT!" Bakugo came roaring in, firing off explosive blasts to propel himself forward like a missile. "YOU AND MIDORIYA WON'T BEAT ME DAMMIT!"

'Then there's this guy…' Todoroki noted exasperatingly.

"Midoriya is approaching the next obstacle: THE FALL! You fall in and hit the bottom, you're out!"

Todoroki perked up from Present Mic's announcement.

"He's already at the next obstacle?!" Todoroki shouted incredulously.

He swiftly conjured his ice and surged down the track. The dust cloud ahead was gone, and the dual-haired teen clenched his teeth in frustration. 'I can't lose like this!'

Meanwhile, Yaoyorozu tossed aside her bazooka after downing one of the Zero Pointers. With her gym shirt open, rainbow-colored light shone off her back as a large object fell to the ground with a thud behind her.

"There." She picked up a green moped with a two-stroke motor, based on Neo-Honda's two-cylinder engines. It was a basic design that Midoriya had recommended for her in case she ever needed to get somewhere fast without exhausting too much of her lipids.

Yaoyorozu climbed on her motorbike as other contestants ran around the robot wreckage. She mentally berated herself for initially getting caught up in the mob, but witnessing Midoriya zoom past the entry gate before Todoroki could even freeze the ground was incredible.

He inspired her and several others in their class to leap on through!

Pulling back on the throttle, Yaoyorozu sped off with her shirt flapping in the wing. She passed by many students who were forced to make way to avoid getting run over.

"Please, move aside!" The heiress warned.

"Aw c'mon!" A peeved student yelled.

"Is that even allowed?!"

"Is she in Support or something?"

Yaoyorozu grinned a little.

A disassembled Tokage flying above noticed Yaoyorozu on the bike and grinned toothily. 'Of course she'd use that trick again. Well, if it ain't broke…' She mused before refocusing on the race.

"HA-HA-HA!" Mineta chortled smugly as he zoomed through the air, pulling a few sticky balls off of his head. "Hope you don't mind me hitching a ride with you, Yaoyorozu! After all, I have to save my stamina for the next–OOF!"

Within a second, Yaoyorozu formed a metal staff from her back that rammed into Mineta's abdomen. The purple gremlin instantly lost his momentum and went tumbling off to the side, inches away from going out of bounds.

"Ugh…ow…" He groaned, painfully clutching his stomach.

"I do mind, you cretin." Yaoyorozu coolly remarked as she raced past her peers. 'Izuku was correct about creating my fighting items faster. Had I been a second too late, that leech would've latched onto me..'

Uraraka, who was running close by, had witnessed the scene play out and smirked in satisfaction. 'Nice one, Momo!'

"Midoriya is still going! Wait! Is he going to jump?!" Yaoyorozu perked up at Present Mic's announcement. Midoriya was that far ahead?! She needed to catch up! The ravenette heiress pulled back on the throttle lever.

---

Still sprinting full speed, Midoriya's verdant eyes studied the obstacle's layout keenly, his enhanced mind finding the shortest path between the spires to the other side.

"Midoriya is still going! Wait! Is he going to jump?!"

The super-soldier answered by launching himself off the ledge with a mighty leap.

"HE DID?!" Mic howled.

Landing on the closest pillar, he only went a few steps before jumping off to the next nearest pillar.

'Good thing I never skip leg day.' He thought humorously, feeling the wind race by his ears.

He jumped on several more pillars in a zigzagging pattern, threading his way through the gorge until reaching a gap that went beyond his long-jump distance max. Good thing the university had been kind enough to connect all of the pillars together with tightropes, he thought.

Approaching the steel wire, Midoriya began tightroping at a swift pace.

"Look at Midoriya go! His tightroping is putting circus performers to shame!" Present Mic exclaimed. "What incredible balance! But Todoroki and Yaoyorozu are approaching the Fall with Bakugo trailing just behind them! Iida and Tokage are nipping at the blonde bomber's heels! He doesn't look happy at all!"

'Shocking.' Midoriya thought sardonically as he was already halfway across the wire.

Taking in a deep breath, he calmly exhaled and carefully increased his tightroping speed. Once he made it across the cable, the super-soldier resumed jumping between the remaining stone pillars. With one last jump, he finally landed on the other side of the ravine in a crouch. He then immediately burst forward in a mad sprint with dust in his wake.

"Midoriya has made it across the Fall! An incredible effort by our freshmen rep!"

'I'm approaching the end of the race. There have been two–No, three obstacles so far; counting the gate. Surely there'll be another one, right?' He rationalized.

He veered away from the track's left edge toward the middle as the trees on both sides cleared away. Ahead was a wide-open dirt field…but something was off as he noticed dozens of patches scattered across the field.

The super-soldier immediately recognized what they were.

"Midoriya is approaching the final obstacle: The Minefield!" Mic announced boisterously. "He still isn't slowing down! Will he be able to navigate through the field or be sent flying!?"

---

The tires for Yaoyorozu's moped screeched as she turned sharply, hugging the track's left side. Not counting her green-haired best friend, Todoroki was leading the pack, but she was quickly catching up to him as she put pedal to the metal.

As she closed the gap between Todoroki, Yaoyorozu smirked as she pulled out a bola from her stomach. Keeping one hand on the bike handle, she spun the bola above her head and prepared to throw it at her target's feet.

Todoroki, however, seemed to notice and stopped his ice surge forward. Growling in annoyance, the dual-haired teen swiped his arm and summoned a massive icy wall.

"Shoot!" Yaoyorozu dropped the bola and abandoned her motorcycle, which skidded across the track and tumbled off the track.

The ravenette heiress instantly summoned a bodyboard from her back, ripping her shirt apart and leaving her only her sports bra. Yaoyorozu grabbed on and used it to skid off the ground to soften her landing. She yelped as she hung on tightly, bouncing and skidding across the dirt. Once she finally came to a stop, she staggered momentarily before breaking out into a run. She was still behind Todoroki as she ran around his ice wall.

"Look at Midoriya go! His tightroping is putting circus performers to shame! What incredible balance!"

Yaoyorozu perked up. 'So the next obstacle involves tightroping?' What could she do to get across the next obstacle without losing more ground?

"Todoroki and Yaoyorozu are approaching the Fall with Bakugo trailing just behind them! Iida and Tokage are nipping at the blonde bomber's heels! He doesn't look happy at all!"

Yaoyorozu glanced back and, sure enough, the ash-blonde was rocketing forward firing multiple explosions from his hands. Behind him was an incoming dust cloud, indicating that Iida was coming up fast. Behind him, Tokage was gaining ground too as her body parts stuck to the track's left side and flew several meters off the ground.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY, PONYTAIL!" Bakugo exclaimed rabidly.

Yaoyorozu narrowed her gaze. She needed to slow them down!

An idea came to mind as she conjured two flashbang grenades from her arms, catching them as they popped out. Earbuds formed in her ears while a pair of very dark-tinted shades appeared over her eyes.

Sensing Bakugo closing the gap to her left and Iida coming on her right, she waited for the right moment.

"Midoriya is approaching the final obstacle: The Minefield! He still isn't slowing down! Will he be able to navigate through the field or be sent flying!?"

Hearing that Midoriya had made it to the final obstacle caused her classmates to perk up, giving her the opening that she needed!

"Apologies in advance!" Yaoyorozu tossed her twin flashbangs into the air and looked away as they detonated. Bakugo, Iida, Tokage, and several others were stunned as the creation heiress continued running ahead, quickly recovering from the flash bombs force.

She then arrived at the obstacle Present Mic had mentioned earlier: the Fall. A giant canyon interspersed with spires and tightropes.

'How did Izuku get across this so quickly?' She furrowed her brows thoughtfully. She was athletic and acrobatic enough to perform a tightrope, but she'd likely lose ground against the others.

Speaking of which, she witnessed Todoroki jump onto a wire and surf down it with his ice. She knew that Bakugo, Tokage, and Tsunotori would just fly across.

Yaoyorozu bit her inner cheek. She needed a way to get across speedily! Taking the cords would be too slow. If she made a jetpack it'd only deplete her lipid reserves, draining her energy and making her unable to complete the race.

So what else?

Considering her options moving forward, her gray eyes widened as an idea came to her. The raven-haired beauty swiftly got to work as her midsection glowed with multi-colored light as a pair of new items was produced.

---

Midoriya was coming up on the minefield. Off to the side were two billboards with animated skulls and explosions with the English text "DANGER MINES!". Present Mic's voice was blaring through the speakers, but Midoriya was tuning him out. He needed to concentrate on what he was about to do!

His eyes scanned the field and spotted all of the darker patches ahead. Much like he did with the Fall, his enhanced mind was searching for the quickest route through. He knew the mines were nonlethal, but they'd still be troublesome if set off. Something he was keen on not doing.

Once he determined his path, he took a mighty leap into the field. Inhaling, he studied the ground below him and landed in a small space between several mounds and jumped again. From there, Midoriya showcased his incredible acrobatic skills by jumping, somersaulting, and flipping through the minefield.

"What an incredible display of acrobatics! Midoriya is jumping through the minefield like a grasshopper! A Gold Medal Olympic gymnast!" Present Mic yelled ecstatically. "How is he dodging all of the mines?!"

"Very carefully." Aizawa dryly remarked.

Indeed, though Midoriya was making it look easy, it was quite difficult to tread his way through the field without triggering any of the underground explosives. He landed in a hand stance (his palms filling the safe gaps between the buried mines) and pushed himself up into the air. He flipped and twisted his body, landing safely at the end of the minefield.

Exhaling, he broke off into a run. The tunnel was just up ahead.

"Amazing! Midoriya Izuku has taken the All-Star Games by storm!" The super-soldier blazed through the tunnel and into the loud cheers of the stadium. "He's in the final stretch!"

With a final burst of speed, he crossed the white finish line.

"He did it! Midoriya won the preliminary event by a landslide! UA hasn't seen such a dominating performance in the first round since All Might himself! What do you have to say about your amazing student, my no-so-enthusiastic co-host?"

"He did exceptionally well." Aizawa said, his tone matter-of-fact. "Still, Midoriya isn't the only one to watch out for. There are others who could still overtake him if he isn't careful."

Midoriya came to a stop and placed his hands on his hips, taking several deep breaths. 'He's not wrong.' He had no plans to underestimate anyone. Despite his intense training and extensive experience, he recognized that the Quirks of his peers could beat him if utilized properly. He had to be careful.

Wiping his brow of sweat, he looked around to see the crowds on their feet shouting in joy for him.

A small smile crossed Midoriya's face as he sheepishly waved back–which made the crowd cheer louder. Not counting his speech, it's been a while since he had to stand before an audience like this.

He'd admit it was a bit nostalgic.

"Great work, Midoriya-san!" Midnight called out, her microphone turned off. "Come over here and refuel!" She waved him over to a large table filled with water bottles, sport drinks, and various snacks.

Midoriya gladly trotted over and took a sports drink bottle with the label "Pocari Sweat" and a generic energy bar.

"Here." She handed him a couple more energy bars. "I know your Quirk enhances your metabolism, so you'll need the extra calories. Eat up, you've earned it."

"Thanks, Kayama-sensei." He nodded appreciatively.

"No need for formalities. I'm only Sensei inside the classroom, after all." The voluptuous Heroine shot him a sexy wink. Much to his credit, he kept a straight face and did not allow himself to get flustered in front of her. He knew it'd only encourage the vixen if he did.

Opening his bottle and downing half of it in one gulp, the super-soldier quickly unwrapped an energy bar and bit into it. He needed to replenish his calories quickly, after all.

'Wonder how the others are doing.' He shifted his attention to the monitors across the stadium, displaying his peers navigating through the obstacles. 'Just keep pushing yourselves, guys. Finish strong.'

---

As the All-Star Games broadcast zoomed in on Midoriya after winning the race, All For One clapped his hands in a blandish manner. The corner of his mouth curling up in a condescending sneer.

"Well done, Captain. I expect no less."

The screen then panned to the other competitors who were crossing the Fall. 'So many impressive Quirks…and yet they were all bested by a man with Hatsume's serum. Will this trend continue, I wonder?'

The Symbol of Evil continued to watch the program attentively. Making mental notes whenever necessary on the various competitors. However, he was most fixated on his old friend from the 21 Century; more accurately, the power he may be wielding now.

With the serious injuries he had inflicted on his nemesis All Might six years ago, All For One knew All Might was actively searching for a successor for One For All. Hence the reason why he had become an instructor in UA's Heroic Course. That meant he had to at some point have made contact with the Captain.

'Surely that oaf would have noticed the Captain's potential and sought him out. He'd be an even bigger fool than I thought if he didn't recognize it.' All For One mused. 'The Captain hasn't displayed any signs of One For All…but maybe if he's pushed harder by the other students…'

A mad grin grew across his scarred face. 'Yes… Please let it be so.'

---

Tokage rejoined all of her body parts together at the canyon edge and rubbed her eyes, her blurry vision finally refocusing after Yaoyorozu's flashbang attack. 'Dammit! That was a cheap shot, Yaomomo! Speaking of which…' She looked ahead to see Todoroki was already several pillars ahead, surfing across the cables on his ice. Bakugo was propelling himself forward and appeared to be neck-and-neck. But where was Yaoyorozu?

"I DID IT!" Yelled a familiar voice. Tokage split her eyes off her head and went up to get a better view. She spotted a flustered Yaoyorozu jumping across the pillars on a pair of jumping stilts!

"Crap!" Tokage took a breath and split herself up again. "GOTTA CATCH UP!" She then flew across the gorge.

Iida, meanwhile, had just recovered his sight too and was running straight for the nearest cable. "I know Tensei is watching me! I will not let him or the Iida family down!" He kicked his Engines up a gear and skid across the rope while performing a…

"Look at Iida of 101-A doing a T-pose?! He looks so lame!" Mic shouted.

Tsunotori adopted a serious look as she ran straight for the edge. "I can do this!" Before jumping off the ledge, her twin horns came off and positioned themself underneath her as she flew across.

Tsunotori passed by Iida overhead and was closing in on Tokage.

"Nope! Ain't happening, cowgirl!" Tokage maneuvered her arms to the horns Tsunotori was surfing on and pulled back, causing the pony-girl to lose balance and topple forward.

Tsunotori recovered quickly and another pair of horns popped off and she used them to resume flying. "Hmph!" She directed an angry pout at her greenette friend. "Two can play that game!" She aimed her head and fired a barrage of horns at Tokage.

"Uh oh…" Tokage was forced to slow down as she telekinetically guided her parts away from the projectiles; however, her empty arm and pants sleeves were not spared by the horns. "HEY! Watch it! I still have to wear this, yah know!?"

"I thought you didn't mind showing some skin." Tsunotori teased.

"Amazing! Midoriya Izuku has taken the All-Star Games by storm! He's in the final stretch!"

Tokage and Tsunotori paused from their aerial battle.

"Seriously!? Greenie got that far ahead!?" Tokage shouted, shocked.

Tsunotori snickered. "Why are you surprised? You've seen how he trains, right?"

"Fair." The greenette immediately conceded to that.

"He did it! Midoriya won the preliminary event by a landslide! UA hasn't seen such a dominating performance in the preliminaries since All Might himself!"

"Damn…" Tokage cursed her breath. 'So much for first place. Still, I have a chance to place in the Top 5.'

"GAAHH! F**KING DAMMIT!" Up ahead, Bakugo fired off a powerful explosion at a spire, causing it to collapse into the pit. 'Mr. Pomeranian seems to be handling it well.' She thought wryly.

"Hey, Setsuna-chan!" Tokage turned to her blonde pony friend. "Yaomomo, Todoroki, and Bakugo are still ahead of us! Instead of going after one another, let's gun for them instead!"

Tokage considered Tsunotori's offer. What was the point in fighting each other for fifth place when they could work together to get higher seedings? A sharp grin crossed her face. "Alright, fly buddy! Let's get in the Top 5!"

"Right!" With that, the greenette and blonde pair increased their flying speed to close the gap between their three classmates ahead.

Meanwhile, the rest of the pack were now approaching the start of the Fall. One of them was Uraraka as she maintained a fast and steady pace. Even though she had hated it at the time, she was feeling grateful for the physical training Midoriya had subjected her and friends through the past two weeks. She could feel that her stamina had improved.

'I shouldn't be surprised Izuku already won. He really is amazing.' She thought. 'I have to finish strong though!'

She then came to a skidding halt at the edge of the canyon. "You can't be serious?!" Uraraka shouted incredulously, wide-eyed.

Curious, she glanced down into the pit to see green gelatin layering the bottom with red lasers placed above them. Well, at least no one would get hurt too badly if they fell in, right?

"Ochako-chan, c'mon!" To her left, Asui hopped on a rope and began to cross it using her hands and feet while hanging upside down. "We can't waste any more time!"

"Right!" Refocusing, Uraraka tapped her shoulder to remove her gravity and took a bounding leap to the nearest pillar. She then heard some mad cackling before being nearly knocked off-course by someone. "Whoa, hey!" She righted herself and rolled to a safe landing on a pillar.

"YES! YES! LOOK AT ME, WORLD! Gaze upon my brilliant, awesome babies!" Shouted a pink-haired young woman decked out in advanced Support Gear. Uraraka looked at her closely to see she had a pair of boot-mounted thrusters, various gadgets and gizmos strapped to her belt, steampunk-like goggles, and a gunmetal grey (unpainted) chest plate with a glowing blue circle in the center.

"What the heck!?" Sero yelled while using his tape to swing through the spires. "Why does she get to use all that stuff?"

"She must be in the Support Course!" Uraraka called back.

The pinkette continued to laugh like a madwoman while literally flying through the air! "MW-HA-HA-HA! Notice me Support Companies! Notice me!" Grappling pitons and wires fired from little openings built into the side of her chest plate. Uraraka couldn't help but watch enviously as the pinkette used them to guide her movements through the canyon.

'Huh… That actually may come in handy. Maybe I can run that idea by Izuku and Momo later.' She mused.

The brunette shelved that thought for later and refocused on the race. As long as she made it to the next round, she could ask them without feeling like she failed.

---

"Bakugo and Todoroki have reached the Minefield! Tokage and Tsunotori are hot on their tails!" Present Mic excitedly announced. "Ahh! Iida has made it across and just passed Yaoyorozu! He's gaining on them in a hurry!"

While Bakugo and Todoroki both cautiously traversed through the minefield, the former made progress pulling ahead whenever Todoroki wasn't firing icy surges at him. Cold rage and hot fury were plastered across Todoroki and Bakugo's expressions respectively. Both young men were clearly livid over the circumstances with Midoriya's curb stomping victory and were both gunning for the top!

However, they weren't the only ones.

"Look at Tokage and Tsunotori flying over the minefield! They're making it look so easy!"

It was far from easy, though.

For Tokage, keeping her body split apart and telekinetically flying at top speed was draining her stamina…and giving her a headache. For Tsunotori, using her horns to fly long distances was also making her headache. Even so, they couldn't falter! The finish line was within reach.

If they had learned anything from Midoriya's physical training the past couple of weeks, it was perseverance.

"Looks like 'strong and silent' and 'loud and abrasive' are going at it." Tokage remarked.

Todoroki was carefully watching his step for any of the landmines while Bakugo simply used his fast, repeated explosions to keep himself aloft. Both of them were bickering with one another, and the two young women could barely make out what they were saying. It was clearly nothing nice though.

"Let's give 'em the slip!" Tsunotori called back.

Nodding in agreement, the disassembled greenette and horned blonde made their approach coming from both sides.

As they closed in, Bakugo and Todoroki both turned to sharply glare at Tsunotori and Tokage respectively, teeth bared. Both girls flinch from the intensity burning in their eyes.

"GET LOST!"

"DIIEEEE!"

Icy spikes and an explosive blast were fired at both women!

"Eep!" Tsunotori managed to veer away from the blast in the nick of time. Tokage, meanwhile, lost a section of her abdomen and right thigh in the ice salvo, but was mostly unharmed.

"Tsk! So you boys wanna play rough, huh?" Tokage grinned roguishly. "I'M GAME!"

She then sent forth both of her lower legs towards her opponents. The duo was so caught up by arguing with each other they were caught off guard by Tokage's detached legs tripping them, causing them to stumble to the ground–setting off a couple mines in the process.

Meanwhile, Tsunotori was fighting through her head pain, focusing on staying in the air. She glanced back to see Iida zooming in with a dust cloud behind him with Yaoyorozu in a full sprint not too far behind. Time was running out!

'This is my chance! I have to go beyond now!' She thought determinedly.

Tsunotori raced in front of Todoroki and Bakugo just before Tokage tripped them up. "Thunder Horn!" Jumping off her horns, she fired a barrage of horns around her bi-colored and ash-blonde classmates, setting off all the mines in the area around the duo.

An explosion of pink smoke engulfed the area as the force sent Tokage's pieces and Tsunotori flying back. Two more horns instantly grew out of Tsunotori's head, and she landed on them while Tokage managed to right herself in midair.

Tsunotori and Tokage locked eyes with each other and nodded in satisfaction before taking off towards the minefield exit. Now it was fair game!

"Incredible! What an impressive display of teamwork by 101-A's Tsunotori Pony and Tokage Setsuna! They took out 101-A's Todoroki and Bakugo with well-timed attacks and are now in a battle for second place!" Present Mic shouted. "Oh wait, not so fast! Another contender is fast approaching!"

Both the greenette and blonde perked up. Who the heck could be running fast over the minefield? They glanced back and were met with a shocking sight.

"Engine… BOOST!" Iida was blasting forward taking long strides through the minefield; pink explosions going off in his wake.

'Not good!' Tokage sweated slightly. 'Forgot Izuku's training was way too effective for Tenya!' No! She couldn't focus on him right now! She turned her sights forward and focused on pushing her pieces faster, flying across the field like a flock of birds.

Then, another cacophony of explosions rang out at the start of the minefield.

"Oh, what's this!? Someone is setting off the mines on purpose?!"

Tokage popped an eye from her face to look back…and felt her blood freeze the moment she saw the other person gaining on her and Tsunotori.

Determination was etched onto Yaoyorozu's visage as she raced across the field, riding on another moped that roared as it drove over the mines one by one. With her pants and sports bra and the pink explosion going off behind her, Tokage mused that she looked just like a star from an action film. She was using the path previously blazed by Bakugo and Todoroki and featured fewer mines thanks to them.

Yaoyorozu passed by Iida and (intentionally?) set off the mines in front of him, knocking him aside.

"101-A's Yaoyorozu knocks Iida off course and is gunning for the lead!"

"Apologies, Iida-kun!" Yaoyorozu shouted, and then pulled back the throttle to push the bike to its maximum speed.

Tokage and Tsunotori both watched as the black-haired beauty passed them both from below.

"Yaoyorozu has taken the lead! But can she hold it?!"

Tokage gritted her teeth, her emerald eyes burning with fiery determination. 'No! Not again!' Growling, she sent forth one of her arms and torso flying at Yaoyorozu. 'This will be my moment, Momo!' She would not allow the ravenette to get another win over her!

'No way! I've come this far! I won't just roll over!' Tsunotori, with her adrenaline pumping and drive to win skyrocketing, shot a horn toward the creation heiress.

With her attention split, Tsunotori started slowly teetering toward the ground as her third horn was aimed for Yaoyorozu. Tokage's arm and torso were flying in on the other side to pincer her in. Meanwhile, Iida had swiftly recovered from Yaoyorozu's earlier attack and was charging forward, utilizing the new road paved by her. Coming in behind was Todoroki and Bakugo in a mad sprint, no longer fighting each other.

"Apologies in advance!" Yaoyorozu recognized the incoming horn and body parts and propped herself onto the seat. "But I aim to win!"

Letting go of the handlebar, she kicked herself off the seat and launched herself forward. Without its rider, the moped tumbled across the ground and triggered several mines! The resulting explosion took the racers behind her off guard.

Bakugo and Todoroki were forced to stop and shield their eyes from the smoke, not wanting to risk setting off any more landmines.

Tokage's dismembered arm and torso went flying to the side and limply fell to the ground; her telekinetic connection lost. 'Dammit!' She inwardly cursed. 'It's gonna be a drain regenerating all those parts!' No, she could worry about that later! Just focus on the race!

"AWK!" Tsunotori cried out in surprise as the pink smoke engulfed her. Temporarily blinded, the horned girl collided with an Iida and both went rolling to the side in a heap.

Yaoyorozu landed in a roll at the minefield's exit and immediately sprang up sprinting forward.

She was now in front!

"Yaoyorozu maintains her lead and is now in the homestretch!"

Yaoyorozu's lungs were burning hot as her stomach groaned in discomfort, the side-effects of her Quirk. Creating two mopeds had used up a lot of calories. She didn't think she could create anything else now without collapsing.

Regardless, Yaoyorozu was determined to succeed!

She pumped her arms forward and did not allow herself to slow down. Sprinting into the tunnel, she could see the light from the other side. Only one more push and she'd cross the finish line!

Yaoyorozu ran on her toes, putting full effort into her final push as she approached the other side.

"Yaoyorozu is about to cross–No, wait! Scratch that!" Shock was present in Mic's voice. "One of Tokage's pieces has overtaken her!"

'What!?' Yaoyorozu glanced around and spotted Tokage's missing left arm flying just ahead of her. No! She was so close!

"Iida and Tsunotori have entered the tunnel and are blasting forward! Who will win!?"

With the finish line mere steps away, Yaoyorozu put everything she had left into her legs and dove forward, arms outstretched. Time seemed to slow down at that moment.

She opened her eyes to see Tokage's arm stretched out from her right while Iida came roaring through the tunnel on her left. Tsunotori was flying overhead, pushing herself to her maximum speed.

Time went back to normal as the heiress collapsed to the ground in a heap, followed by Tokage's arm and Iida. Tsunotori flew in barely half-a-second after Iida. While the horned blonde didn't win second place, it was unclear what the placements were after such a close finish.

Tokage's left arm fell limply to the ground, having expended its energy, while Iida dropped to his knees and panted heavily; smoke billowing out from the pipes on his legs. Tsunotori jumped off of her horns and rolled to the ground, lying flat on her back panting heavily.

Yaoyorozu weakly lifted her head up. Was it enough? Did she win?

"It's too close to call! It's too close to call! One of the most improbable photo finishes in All-Star Games' history! For second place, no less!" Mic's voice roared throughout the stadium. "Let's go to the Instant Reply for that sweet frame by frame action!"

Yaoyorozu craned her neck up toward one of the jumbotrons, anxious over the results. On the massive screen, a replay of the finish was streamed in slow motion. She saw herself, drenched in sweat and desperately reaching out as far as she could.

However, the tip of Tokage's fingers had stretched out further than her own hand.

As the crowd cheered after seeing the results, the ravenette beauty's face fell into the unforgiving dirt. She had lost by barely a hair.

Iida, after seeing the results, somehow expressed a mixture of pride and disappointment.

"There you have it, folks! After an amazing comeback, Tokage Setsuna edges out for second place by a literal fingertip! Following behind her is Yaoyorozu Momo, Iida Tenya, and Tsunotori Pony! A shocking outcome for our preliminary event's Top 5! Will this madness ever end?!" Present Mic shouted energetically.

The crowd roared in approval, entertained and cheering for the prospects.

"Obviously. That's the point of having a finish line." Aizawa dryly remarked.

Tokage's head and chest flew out of the tunnel and landed near her left arm. White light shone off her as she instantaneously regenerated her lost body segments. The reassembled greenette lay on her stomach next to Yaoyorozu. Both girls could barely move as they panted hard, desperately trying to regain their breath.

'I'm…gassed…' Tokage placed her arms under and weakly craned her head up at the jumbotron, displaying the placements so far. A proud smile crossed her face when she saw her name next to the silver-colored '2'. 'Did you see that, Yuto…? Hope you enjoyed that.'

A shadow loomed over the pair and it took almost all they had to look up.

Midoriya knelt in front of them with a sports drink bottle in both hands.

"Pocari?" He offered the two bottles of Pocari Sweat, grinning.

"Heh…" Tokage grinned weakly. "Yeah…I could use it… Thanks Greenie…"

Yaoyorozu chuckled, despite herself. "Yes…I'll take one."

"They have plenty more over by the stands." Handing them both the drinks, Midoriya helped his two female friends to their feet. "They also have snacks too."

Yaoyorozu sighed in relief. "That's good. I'll need to replenish my lost calories…"

"Same." Tokage opened her bottle and took a long swig. "I'm running on fumes myself."

"You guys definitely went Plus Ultra! Setsuna-chan nice work on giving everyone else the slip in the minefield." Midoriya praised his fellow green-haired friend.

Though it had gone mostly unnoticed by everyone watching, Midoriya had noticed Tokage sending one of her arms flying toward the tunnel just moments before Yaoyorozu's bike triggered the explosion in the minefield that caused the others to falter.

Tokage shrugged modestly, resting her free hand on her hip. "I knew I wasn't fast enough to beat Momo in a foot race. But I figured if at least one piece of me made it across the line it would still count."

"Smart thinking. I think your flying speed has definitely gone up since the beginning of the semester." Midoriya then turned to Tsunotori, who was still lying on her back, and helped pull his fellow American back to her hooves. "You were great too, Pony! I still can't get over how you fly around on your horns like a hoverboard. It looks like you've gotten faster too."

"Thanks…" Pony rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "All that training we did really paid off."

Nodding in agreement, he then turned towards Yaoyorozu. "You were awesome too, Momo-chan! I had no idea you could make two mopeds in quick succession like that though. I figured you'd only have enough lipids for one."

The ravenette blushed a bit from the proximity and took a step back. "Oh, well…normally, I can't. But I had a very large meal this morning just in case."

"Nice work thinking ahead like that. Color me…" He trailed off when he noticed that Yaoyorozu had lost her shirt, her black sports bra exposing a fair amount of cleavage. Her body was covered in dust in addition to a sheen of sweat. "...uh, impressed." He lamely finished, turning away trying to hide his blush.

He cleared his throat, still looking away. 'No dirty thoughts! Get a hold of yourself!' He commanded himself.

Yaoyorozu tilted her head, confused by her friend's reaction.

Tokage and Tsunotori shared a knowing look with each other from the interaction. 'So obvious.'

The group then felt the air grow cold as Todoroki zoomed past the finish line riding a wave of ice. Followed by…

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" A massive explosion rocked the finish line as a livid Bakugo shot past them, falling to his hands and knees.

Todoroki stepped off his ice and panted hard, steam wafting off of him as defrosted himself. He directed a scolding glare directly at Midoriya, who didn't seem to notice.

He wasn't the only one as Bakugo glared daggers at the super-soldier, who seemingly felt the indignant blonde's gaze fall on him as he glanced back at him at the perfect time. The duo stared at each other momentarily. While Bakugo's eyes burned with rage, Midoriya was unphased as he pulled out an extra energy bar from his pocket and took a bite.

"Tsk." Bakugo clicked his tongue and stomped off, frustrated.

"He seems angry." Tsunotori commented.

"That would be the understatement of the century, Pony-chan." Yaoyorozu pointed out.

Tokage rolled her eyes. "He's like a little angry kid on the playground."

Midoriya shrugged nonchalantly. "He's just passionate about winning."

'Seriously, he reminds me of Zac with every interaction I have with him.' He dryly mused.

"Midoriya-kun!" The verdette turned to see Iida marching toward him, sports drink in hand. "Well done on your exemplary performance! You were fast off the line and got through the first obstacle very quickly. I must say I am proud to have you as our Class President and friend! Though I must admonish myself for not catching up to you as I am technically the faster–"

"Iida!" Midoriya shouted, holding out his hands. "Relax. I appreciate the sincerity, but let's tone it down a little."

"Yes!" Yaoyorozu jumped in, beaming. "Let's wait for the others and cheer them on!"

Iida nodded eagerly. "An excellent suggestion!"

With that, the top 5 winners of the first event stepped aside to make way for the remaining racers intending to cheer them on from the side. Todoroki, still crouching down, punched the ground in frustration before standing back up and stomping off toward the concession tables.

---

A short time later, more runners began to pour through the tunnel. Midoriya was happy to see the rest of his friends show up, all of them cracking the top twenty. The remaining dozen included several more from his class and Class 101-B, along with Shinso and a pink-haired woman decked out in support gear.

'With all that gear she has on though, she must be in the Support Department.' Midoriya's gaze lingered on the pinkette momentarily and the seemingly perpetual grin on her face. 'Something seems familiar about her though...'

"And there we have it, ladies and gents! We have the top 32 runners who will move onto the next event!" Mic declared, snapping the verdette from his musings. "Most of them all appear to be in yours and Vlad's classes, Mummy-Zawa!"

"First, don't call me that. Second, these results aren't a surprise." Aizawa stoically replied. "Those in the Hero Course typically always take up the most slots for the second round. It's a logical outcome as those students are generally in better shape than average students. They also tend to have Quirks better-suited for practical applications, such as races and combat."

At the concession tables, Midoriya was socializing with his friends. "Glad that you guys all made it in!"

"Of course we did, Izuku-kun!" Uraraka wiped some sweat off her brow, holding a water bottle. "After all our training together, we had to make it in, right?"

"You bet, Ochako!" Ashido danced around the group in excitement. "Ooh, this is so awesome! We made it to the second round in our first All-Star Games, guys!"

"Heck yeah!" Kirishima followed up, equally excited. "All that hardcore training we did really paid off! Especially for you guys," he turned towards the top 5 winners. "You beat out Bakugo and Todoroki for the top 5!"

"And Midoriya just had to go and completely dominate the first event." Kaminari tried to jokingly shove Midoriya, but he was unable to move the mass of muscle. "Seriously, dude…I know Todoroki called you out and all, but you couldn't have made us look a little better for the Pros?"

"You guys don't need me for that. Besides," Midoriya shrugged, smiling, "I always give it my full effort and then some when I'm competing. Plus Ultra and all."

"An admirable trait to have!" Iida responded. "I am proud of my own placement…though I do wish I could've done better. Still, the weight training Midoriya-kun and Yaoyorozu-san recommended was quite effective! I thank you both!" He bowed to them.

Midoriya smiled sheepishly. "Glad it worked out for yah, Iida-kun."

"Indeed. I'm happy our suggestions proved dividends for all of us." Yaoyorozu said sincerely.

"Midoriya and Iida are both addicted to running though, so this event was definitely up their alley." Sero commented.

"And Yaomomo can casually make a moped, so no surprise she placed high either." Jiro added.

"Please," Yaoyorozu became timid, "you give me too much credit. It takes a lot of focus and lipids to make one, let alone two."

"That just makes it more impressive." Jiro turned to Tokage and Tsunotori. "Then there's you two. You were seriously BA."

"I-K-R!" Ashido perked up. "You girls were awesome!"

"Should we really be surprised?" Uraraka tilted her head curiously. "I mean, Pony-chan and Setsuna-chan can fly and all…even if it is over a limited distance."

"Heh-heh," Tokage rubbed the back of her head, grinning sharply. "What can I say? Guess Midori's speech just fired me up and all. I was extra determined to win."

'I also wanted to put on a good showing for him.' She thought absentmindedly.

"Same here!" Tsunotori chirped. "This was my kind of event, so I wanted to place high and all!"

"Kero. That makes sense." Asui nodded understandingly.

"You both certainly made your moment count." Yaoyorozu smiled and nodded, giving Midoriya a subtle glance.

Midnight then cracked her whip, calling for everyone's attention. "The first round has concluded! Here are the results! Those who placed in the top 32 will advance to the next round!"

Everyone in the stadium turned to the jumbotrons as the list filed in, starting from first place down. The stadium simultaneously looked up to the jumbotrons as the list began to file in, starting from the first place down.

1: Midoriya Izuku

2: Tokage Setsuna

3: Yaoyorozu Momo

4: Iida Tenya

5: Pony Tsunotori

6: Todoroki Shoto

7: Bakugo Katsuki

8: Shiozaki Ibara

9: Sero Hanta

10: Honenuki Juzo

11: Tokoyami Fumikage

12: Uraraka Ochako

13: Kirishima Eijiro

14: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

15: Ashido Mina

16: Asui Tsuyu

17: Hatsume Mei

18: Ojiro Mashirao

19: Jiro Kyoka

20: Kaminari Denki

21: Shoji Mezo

22: Awase Yōsetsu

23: Sato Rikido

24: Shinso Hitoshi

25: Shishida Jurota

26: Kuroiro Shihai

27: Kendo Itsuka

28: Monoma Neito

29: Kodai Yui

30: Kamakiri Togaru

31: Kaibara Sen

32: Yanagi Reiko

Todoroki tightly clenched his fists, displeased with getting sixth place. 'I didn't even crack the top five…' He narrowed his heterochromatic gaze at the back of Midoriya's head. He was supposed to win this event with flying colors, proving to his lame excuse for a father that he didn't need his cursed fire Quirk to succeed. Yet he didn't even place in the top 5. How could he become like All Might if he wasn't even the best in his class?

'Damn it all.' The bi-colored teen cursed.

Bakugo, meanwhile, looked ready to combust as he gnashed his teeth together as his body shook in rage. 'Seventh f**king place?! What a f**king joke!' He internally barked. 'It's unacceptable!' He snapped his head in Midoriya's direction and recalled the verdette's speech. 'Just you wait, soldier boy! My one moment is coming. It'll be all I need to knock you off your damn high horse!' Maybe if he were lucky he'd send Midoriya packing back to America too.

One could dream.

Midoriya's eyes scanned the list from the bottom up, taking note of all the 32 names listed. He had watched the race closely until the 32nd person had crossed and was now putting names to the new faces he had seen cross the finish line.

When he had gotten to seventeenth place, the super-soldier could've sworn he felt his heart stop as he read the name. 'What!?' He turned and searched through the crowd, spotting the head of pink locks off to the side. 'Her name is…Hatsume…?' His eyes slowly widened in shock as time seemed to slow around him.

However, he was promptly broken out of his trance by the R-Rated Heroine's voice.

"For those who didn't crack the top 32, don't fret. We have another way for you to show your stuff. For now, please return to your designated seating areas in the stadium! We will call on you later after the conclusion of the second event."

Kaminari turned to Mineta close by, who was also sporting a black eye for some reason. "Sorry, man. Better luck next year."

"This sucks…" Mineta sniffled as he began sulking away. "And I was so close to touching Yaoyorozu's boobs too…"

The electric blonde glanced over to Midoriya. 'You should count your lucky stars you didn't, dude…especially if Midoriya found out.'

"Don't worry, Aoyama-san. You'll do better next year!" Kirishima encouragingly patted the back of his French-Japanese classmate.

"Yeah!" Ashido chimed in. "You'll definitely be stronger for next year's Games!"

"My poor tummy…" Aoyama began to walk off, hands on his stomach and in dire need of the restroom.

"Koda-san!" The shy, dejected-looking student perked up at the pinkette. "Can you help Aoyama-san to the bathroom? I don't think he can get there on his own."

The dinosaur-like giant nodded and kindly quickly guided the Frenchman toward the tunnels.

The several dozen other students who didn't make the cut took their leave, some giving the remaining ones dirty looks as they sulked off.

"Now then, it's time to begin the selection for the second event!" Midnight gestured to the screen behind her which, like a slot machine, shuffled through random events faster than the eye could perceive. "Whatever will it be? What could top such an amazing photo climax and a dominating performance by our Freshmen Rep?" She teased, smirking sultry.

Midoriya maintained a straight face, though a bit of pink tinted his freckled cheeks. Yaoyorozu sighed in exasperation while Tokage grinned widely in amusement. Uraraka's face, meanwhile, turned beet-red in embarrassment.

"Is this really appropriate?" Tokoyami sternly questioned.

Kaminari was grinning dumbly and gave two thumbs-up. Tsunotori frowned and discreetly elbowed the blonde, forcing him to stop and look away from the R-Rated Heroine. Sero tried to hide his own blush while Asui was nonplussed. Jiro rolled her eyes in annoyance.

The screen started to slow down enough where the words could be read.

Cavalry Battle…

It continued spinning.

Kingdom on the Hill…

It slowed down a little more.

Capture the Flag…

It went at a snail's pace.

Labyrinth Hunt…

Just when it seemed like the ticker was going to settle on that, it shifted to the next option.

New Event.

Midoriya blinked twice. "New event, huh?" He wasn't alone as everyone else quietly discussed amongst themselves–sans Bakugo, who was scowling in annoyance.

"Think it could be a ruse? Kero." Asui wondered, tapping her chin.

"If Aizawa-sensei had a say in it, then most definitely." Sero replied.

"Midnight-sensei!" Iida raised his hand, gaining the instructor's attention. "I must insist that you please elaborate–"

"Enough!" Midnight cracked her flogger-style whip, causing the uptight teen to yelp comically. "Now, I'm sure all of you are curious as to what 'New Event' could mean." She paused to lick her lips seductively. "Well, this is a first for UA University; in fact, it is the first of its kind for any Heroic learning establishment in the world."

Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "All of you should be honored to take part in this historic inaugural event!"

'Something never done before?' Todoroki narrowed his eyes suspiciously. 'Are they trying to throw off the ones who observed the past All-Star Games online?' He then recalled the guides that his father had given him to look over outlining all of the All-Star Games first and second round events for him to study over. The satisfaction he had felt in burning those papers (especially in front of him) had felt great. Regardless of the first event's results, he didn't need that bastard's help to win this competition.

"Hold on…A completely new event?" Sero said, surprised.

"In the world?" Kaminari chimed.

"So freaking cool!" Kirishima added, showing off his sharp teeth.

"And they're doing it on Day 1, no less. We should be extremely honored!" Iida chopped his hands dramatically.

Dozens of robots started rolling out of the stadium tunnels carrying large wooden crates and various building supplies.

"Before we reveal what the second event will be, we will have a fifteen-minute intermission to set up the field." Midnight announced. "In that time use our concessions and the restroom if needed!"

From there, the remaining competitors broke off into separate groups to socialize, get more concessions, or use the restroom.

Todoroki's eyes darted across the stands until spotting his father standing in the mid-level, glaring down at him with his arms crossed over his chest. The dual-haired teen matched the heated glare with an icy one. The two had a silent stare-off before Endeavor seemingly huffed, turning away. The heat pouring off him was evident as those in the crowd close to the Flame Hero quickly vacated the vicinity.

Todoroki then shifted his gaze to one of the jumbotrons–which displayed the highlights of the first event. Most of them featured Midoriya, with bits from the other top 5 winners, the pink-haired girl, and clips of him and Bakugo.

When he saw the headline "Most Dominant First Round Performance Since All Might!" Todoroki bit his lip to the point a little blood leaked out. He deeply inhaled, held it for a moment, and finally exhaled–doing his best to keep his scolding frustration within him.

Meanwhile, some of Midoriya's squad huddled together close to the concession tables to converse their placements.

"Man... I just barely cracked the top twenty." Kaminari sighed.

Tsunotori came over and nudged him. "Don't be down, Denki. You did great!" She winked at him, making him blush a little.

"Not as great as you, Pony. You were so cool riding on your horns!" Kaminari praised.

"Thanks." The horned girl beamed. "I've been working hard to increase my flight time."

Jiro frowned at the interaction and turned away. Tsunotori seemed to notice and turned to the purple-haired girl, smiling. "You did great too, Jiro-chan! All that PT worked wonders for you, huh?"

"Well…yeah, I guess." Jiro twirled her earphone jack shyly. 'I hated having to run with those exercise bands on…but I can't argue with the results.'

Ashido pouted a little. "Still, I probably could have gotten a better spot, but I hit one of the mines at the last second."

"Kero. I had to slow down and jump carefully." Asui mentioned. "I could only do short hops anyway."

"Same with me." Sero added. "My tape didn't set off any mines, but I would have if I landed on one."

"And Ochako-chan floated herself over the field." Tokage nudged the brunette's side. "Copying me and Pony-chan's move, huh?"

"Heh-heh," Uraraka smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, guess all that time in the bubble helped me use my Quirk just a bit longer before feeling sick."

"I'll say. You didn't even throw up rainbows this time!" Tsunotori chirped, making the brunette flinch at the mention of her unusual vomit.

"I'm happy to know that mine and Izuku-kun's training plan was effective for you, Occhan." Yaoyorozu said sweetly.

Uraraka returned the smile. "It was! I can't thank you both enough!"

"Hey…" Ashido glanced around, realizing a certain verdette was missing. "Where is Midori anyway?"

On cue, the group looked around and didn't see him.

"Huh...Good question." Kirishima said.

"Did no one see him run off?" Yaoyorozu inquired.

"Don't you and Ochako-chan always have eyes on him though?" Tokage asked teasingly. "So, technically you two dropped the ball here."

"S-Setsuna!" Yaoyorozu stammered, blushing.

"I'm not watching Izuku-kun all the time!" Uraraka denied, flustered.

'Liar.' Tokage, Ashido, and Tsunotori thought simultaneously.

"Please calm yourselves." Iida said. "Perhaps he just ran to use the facilities?"

"Found him." The group turned to Jiro, who was pointing behind her via her earphone jacks. Past the groups of remaining competitors, they spotted Midoriya walking towards a secluded area by one of the tunnels. There, they saw the pink-haired woman from the Support Department tinkering with some of her gadgets.

"That's the girl from the Support Department." Sero noted.

"Guess Midori-bro's going over to talk with her." Kirishima deduced. "Wonder why."

"Ah! I see." Iida adjusted his glasses. "He's likely going over to congratulate her on getting into the second round. Very sportsmanlike on his part!"

"He's sure took off in a hurry though." Kaminari mentioned while scratching his cheek, confused.

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka silently watched as their best friend approached the mysterious Support Department girl.

'Why is he going to talk to her so suddenly?' Uraraka wondered, feeling an inkling of discomfort arise in her stomach. 'Why do I feel…upset?'

Yaoyorozu was also facing a similar dilemma. 'Perhaps it's like Iida said and he's going to congratulate her… But he did seem to take off in a hurry.' The beautiful heiress rationalized, her inner suspicion growing. 'Maybe he knows her…?'

---

Up in a private box suite, Yagi and Dean Nezu watched highlights of the race on the monitors from their seats.

"I must say," Nezu began, "even I could not have predicted these placements. Ooh, I love to be surprised sometimes!"

Yagi nodded in agreement. "I'm surprised myself. Young Tokage, young Tsunotori, young Yaoyorozu, and young Iida really showed their stuff." He was certainly impressed. "They even beat out young Bakugo and young Todoroki for the top 5 spots."

'Actually, all of Izuku's friends placed high.' He smiled to himself. 'He's inspired them to work harder and shoot higher, and the results are speaking for themselves.'

The Captain did have that effect on people.

"Young Midoriya came relatively close to beating out your record in the Obstacle Race." Nezu stated. "Off by 40 seconds. Feeling a little threatened?" He asked teasingly.

The blonde smirked and waved off the notion. "No, no. I wouldn't mind it if anyone broke my records; especially if they were young Midoriya."

"The young lad truly made a strong impression for himself." The Dean of Heroics noted. "First with his impressive speech, and now his dominant performance. I can't wait to see what he does in the second round." He then chuckled mischievously to himself, making Yagi feel a little uneasy. "Especially after the alterations I made to it."

Now, the Number One Pro was feeling apprehensive. He could only imagine what the Dean had planned for the next round; especially since it was a brand-new game.

"Oh dear." Nezu suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Yagi shifted his gaze where Nezu was looking.

In the mid-level section of the stands ahead of them was Japan's Number Two Pro Hero, Endeavor. Even from the distance, it was clear the man was seething as his fiery beard had tints of blue. Civilians nearby were vacating their seats as sweat poured off them just from being close to him. The guardrail Endeavor was clutching actually melted in his grip! He pushed himself off and stalked away, leaving charred footprints in the concrete.

Yagi glanced back at the field to a certain red-and-white haired young man, who was eying the area where Endeavor had been standing.

The Number One Pro shook his head in disappointment. Even if Endeavor wasn't happy with the outcome, he should still be present to support his son. It was an important day for him, after all.

"Clearly Endeavor isn't pleased with the results." Nezu turned to Yagi. "Why don't you speak to him? Try to calm him down? We wouldn't want to risk an incident."

Yagi wouldn't dream of Endeavor ever intentionally hurting citizens or students; however, there was nothing preventing him from giving the students participating some choice words.

The gaunt blonde stood up. "Yeah, I can do that."

"These windows are tinted. No need to worry about anyone from the outside seeing you transform." Nezu mentioned.

Nodding in understanding, Yagi powered up to his buff form and casually walked out of the suite while ducking under the doorframe. He made his way to the other side of the stadium through private corridors in order to avoid the crowd. From there, it wasn't hard to track down Endeavor; no one else could substantially raise the temperature just being around him.

He found him in an empty stairwell at the flight leading to the third level.

Putting on his best smile, All Might called out, "Endeavor! Good to see you again, old friend!"

The Number Two Hero tensed up, crushing the guardrail by his side. He was a giant of a man at 195 centimeters (six-foot-five), almost the same size and physique as All Might. He wore a dark-blue bodysuit that was lit up by fiery lines, and his chiseled face was covered in his head, his turquoise eyes glared daggers at his perceived rival.

'If looks could kill…' Yagi mused, sweating slightly.

"What's the matter? Not enjoying the Games?"

Endeavor scoffed. "Hardly. Now do me a favor and stay away from me."

As the fiery Hero turned away, All Might suddenly appeared in front of him in a burst of super-speed. He leaned against the wall amicably. Endeavor, however, was not amused.

"Now, now, don't be that way, Todoroki." He placated. "It's been a while since we last talked with each other. I just thought I'd come by and say hello."

Endeavor cocked a brow skeptically. "Really? Is that all?" He crossed his arms over his buff chest.

"Well…" All Might rubbed the back of his head. "...truthfully, I wanted to check on you. No pun intended, but you seem hot under the collar. You're not one to cause distractions like you just did in the stands. I've always known you to take your work very seriously. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help. See what's bothering you."

Todoroki Enji glared at Yagi for a long moment; his fire was on the verge of turning white-hot. All Might was inwardly hoping for a cold breeze at that moment.

"You can't be serious." His eyes twitched in barely restrained anger.

All Might cleared his throat and held up his hands in surrender. "Well, uh–if nothing's bothering you, I apologize for wasting your time."

"Oh, are you? Tsk!" Endeavor clicked his tongue. "There's a first for everything, I suppose. As if bringing along that creation of yours here wasn't bad enough." He murmured under his breath.

All Might frowned in confusion. 'Creation?' He then flinched when he deduced the meaning. 'Wait… He can't be implying that Izuku is–?!'

"C-creation? What do you mean by–"

"Don't even bother denying it." Endeavor cut him off. "Shoto's already mentioned how much time you spend with that Midoriya boy. Though he must inherit his looks from the mother…" He narrowed his gaze. "...it's clear who he inherited his strength from, even if it's only a fraction."

'No! No! No! No! No!' Yagi Toshinori began to panic. "T-Todoroki, I assure you that–"

"Rest assured I won't breathe a word to anyone. Clearly you pulled many strings to keep it under wraps." Endeavor stated, his tone apathetic. "It's not my place to blow the whistle in your personal and private affairs."

"No! That's not–"

"But know this, All Might," Endeavor's glare became scathing. "I don't care what advantages nor favors you pulled for that Midoriya boy, I will mold Shoto into a Hero who far surpasses you and him. My creation won't lose out to yours." He snarled. "I refuse to lose to you again!"

Endeavor roughly pushed past him and proceeded up the stairway–which led to a breakroom for the security staff.

"Endeavor, wait!" He reached out. "There's been a huge misunderstanding! Young Midoriya isn't–"

"Don't insult my intelligence! I already said I wouldn't tell anyone!" He glanced over his shoulder. "Now beat it! I have a job to do!" He roared back.

All Might's expression fell as he watched the Flame Hero march out of sight. 'He thinks Izuku is my… Oh dear, I'm in a pickle.' He slumped his shoulder and exhaled heavily.

---

A/N: That's a wrap on part 1 for the All-Star Games! What a place to end it. I intended to end it at the reveal for the new event, but I decided to hold off.

Apologies for the belated update. I try to post two chapters a month for this story, but I was pretty busy with work the last two weeks. With that in mind, and the fact the second event will be completely original, I can't guarantee to have Chapter 17 out before April is over. Hope you fine readers understand.

Before I continue, I have to give major props to three users.

Insane Dominator and Monkey D. Conan were both very helpful in their input for Izuku's impromptu speech. Thank you, guys!

Also, this chapter was heavily inspired by Zaru's "Friendly Foreign Dimensional Exchange Student Spiderman!", a crossover story between My Hero Academia and MCU Spider-Man. I would highly recommend it in case you haven't read it.

I hope you enjoyed Izuku's speech. I did everything I could to make sure it wasn't too short or too long and felt like an impromptu Cap speech. I made it personal to Izuku as he's giving his definition of a Hero based on personal experience while encouraging everyone else. I was also inspired by Colossus's incomplete "hero" speech in Deadpool LOL.

So, originally, I thought I could do this arc in 3 chapters. Well…unless I focus on only Midoriya's third round matches, that clearly isn't happening lol. So I will revise and say this arc takes up 4-5 chapters.

The next chapter will feature Izuku's interaction between a certain pink-haired inventor and the entirety of the second round. Things are bound to get interesting!

Please leave any comments, critique, or suggestions in the review box below. Thank you for the support as always!