Here is the twenty-fifth chapter in this story released when I wanted it to be released based of my release process for this series. The Sports Festival has officially began and now it is time for the first year students at U.A regardless of course to face off against the Obstacle Race. How will they fair? Well, let's see because the Obstacle Race has begun and the students are off with the pride of coming first in it on the line. That is all I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and while there are no questions to answer there are three guest reviews to respond do which I will do now before we kick off the U.A. Sports Festival. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate.
To Nathan Ramos (guest), thank you for your review and support. As for your question, if we're talking Big 3 like how MHA does it then no, the Big 3 of the class will remain as Deku, Todoroki, and Bakugo, but as the main 3 heroes of this story and the central figures to the various intersecting plots and attacks then yes Deku, Asta, and Ruby will serve as the Big 3 in that as they are the primary characters of their respective branches. Your suggestion and analysis is interesting and well thought out, I will certainly consider them and the idea of Deku learning strength training from Asta is a really good one though it will have to wait until after the summer camp as that is when they move into the dorms so the best time for Asta to teach Deku to ways of bulking up. The only thing that likely can't be done by them is Ruby learning hand to hand from them as none of them know that kind of fighting beyond what Izuku does with his power and Asta occasionally punching someone. They all need an expert on that front, good thing that they have classmates and Yang for that though. Do keep reading and enjoying my work and now it's time to see if your race predictions come true or not.
To Guest (guest), as always thank you for your review and support of my work. Of course the club was Junior's, it is her favorite club to destroy after all. Asta tried his best but Todoroki is a little stubborn so he may need to try harder to make it clear but he's got time for that I'm sure. Midnight and Winter sharing a VA was always one of the most startling contrasts between RWBY and MHA with probably Tyrion and Tokoyami the second though it is confirmed that Tyrion will get a new VA when he next appears and I am pretty sure that Tokoyami will as well for season 7. These jokes will continue and one of the big ones I've got planned will occur during the Sports Festival, as well as a deeper reference that will be explained after it happens, so stay tuned for that along with a few others that will likely come as a result of the Sports Festival. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.
To KGBeastboy (guest), thank you for your review, support, and suggestion. It's an interesting one but not all of it is currently possible with how my outline is but there is going to be some leeway here and there. Do not worry, I have a plan for Kahono and know when her debut will be, deal with the whole fact that she shares an English VA with Mineta (Kiato also shares a VA with an MHA character but that surprise will be kept under wraps for when the time comes), and reveal her own personal goals. Whether or not Weiss will be there is still up in the air though Jiro won't be when Kahono first appears. Jiro's musical skills and passion reveal will remain at the same point it was in the anime so that will be where Weiss learns and likely reveals her own talents as well which will of course have a knock on effect. As for Kahono, there will be a chance for it to happen but I've got a different meeting between her and Mina already planned for that moment what with Kahono being the captain of the SS Astelle and Mina being the captain of the SS IzuOcha so the scheming masterminds who want their friends to embrace love have to have a meeting. Alas with White Rose being purely non-canonical there is no official canon captain for that ship but there will be one that emerges in this story. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.
That is it for this long pre-chapter note. The last thing to say before the start of this chapter is that I'm sorry if it comes off as a little all over the place, it wasn't an easy one to write with the whole ensemble cast and trying to track them through the obstacle race so I've done my best but apologies in advance if it's not my best chapter. Anyway now it is officially time to sit back and enjoy the twenty-fifth chapter in Black RWBY Academia.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these three great franchises.
Chapter 25: Overcoming Obstacles
The moment Midnight said begin and the Obstacle Race started Ruby launched herself off the starting line and activated her Quirk the same way that she'd started the recommended students exam so that she instantly took first place and was in full vortex as she entered the tunnel before the rest of the students had made it halfway to it. She held it for the maximum amount of time that she could before bursting out a 2/3rds of the way down the tunnel, running a few paces to preserve her momentum and then bursting again to blast out of the tunnel leaving a trail of red rose petals in her wake.
Again Ruby maxed out her duration and speed before repeating the process a third time to build up a strong sizable lead over the rest of the field. At 4 kilometers she could cover that ground without an issue before hitting her limit of how many bursts she could muster in a short period of time, that was about 6 kilometers at the moment, but she didn't know what the obstacles would be and she did want to preserve it for any final boosts that she might need so when she burst out the third time well ahead of the rest of the year she stuck to running on the track that encircled the stadium.
She needed this lead to ensure that she had some cushion should she encounter an obstacle that she she couldn't use her Quirk to overcome or she messed up because there were others like Ida, Weiss, and Bakugo who could boost their speed with their Quirks and catch up so she wanted that leeway to recover should something happen. Even without her Quirk though, she had certain biological limits based on gender that even in the Age of Quirks existed when it came to things like top speed and endurance. As such she needed this lead to be comfortable to be ready for what was coming.
Of course, what Ruby didn't notice was that she'd exited the tunnel and onto the track before anyone else had even reached the tunnel nor did she notice that said tunnel was in fact the first obstacle of the race as it was designed to be a deliberate bottleneck that pressed the students together as they tried to push through it. She was completely oblivious to this as she ran and the commentary began after the commentators recovered from the shock her strong start caused.
"And we're off with the first event of the Sports Festival and what a start!" Present Mic said as he finally began to commentate following Ruby bursting into a strong lead. "That was an unreal start, the best we've seen in the event in a while though it has been a few years since we last had an Obstacle Race. Well, how about some color commentary on that mummy man?"
"How did you talk me into this?" Aizawa asked his voice clearly tired and annoyed over the commentary system. "Like seriously, how?"
"Well I'll say that Rose certainly showed her Quirk's primary benefit and drove home the importance of speed when it comes to being a hero no matter the branch you're in." Dr. Oobleck said from Aizawa's other side, not that the students could see this, as he and Port, both standard commentators for the Sports Festival alongside Present Mic, began to give his own analysis of the situation as the log jam at the entrance began. "Petal Burst allows Rose to transform her body, at least that's what we've deduced though the precise nature of the transformation is still unknown, into that swirling vortex that significantly boosts her speed and grants her a brief period of flight. Perfect for a quick start."
"Precisely, the instant boost that it gives her allows her to reach top speed in seconds whereas other speed Quirks in this year's Hero Course like Ida's Engine require gear shifts so take a few more seconds to reach maximum output hence why he's not also rushed ahead." Port added. "That rapid acceleration is why Rose is able to take such a commanding lead right away and two more bursts show that she can get through the entrance before the others reach it to really give her the edge in this race but will the other obstacles be an issue for her?"
"We shall see, but this is certain she's showing why she got in on recommendations." Oobleck said. "She knows her Quirk well and how to apply it to such a situation though this is just the first of the four obstacles that the first years will face."
"That Quirk is so cool." A fifth and new voice said and to those who could see the commentators it came from the end of the commentators' line on the other side of Port. "She can break herself down to what might be a molecular level to boost her speed. Can she do that with others as well?"
"That she can." Oobleck said. "So long as Rose as a grip on you she can extend her Quirk to you as well. How this works is also unknown to us, as is the whole rose petal thing and yes those she transports with it also leave colored rose petals that aren't red, but at the moment there's no need to figure out the precise mechanics of Petal Burst."
"And seriously, how did you get him to commentate on this?" Aizawa added. "Just how? Shouldn't he be, you know, doing his job."
"Thanks Eraser Head for drawing attention to our ultra special guest commentator for today, none other than Julius Novachrono himself." Present Mic said enthusiastically clearly ignoring Aizawa's questions. "That's right folks, the Wizard King, the head of the Quirk Knight branch is with us today."
"I snuck out to watch this and contacted Present Mic as I figured that this was the safest place to hide from my assistant Marx." Julius said without a hint of shame in his voice. "So thanks for having me."
"Your input and Quirk knowledge is invaluable so I for one appreciate your expert opinion on what we're seeing." Oobleck said. "So let's focus on the race and the obstacles that the first years must overcome in it."
"True, so other that Rose's speedy start what should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?" Present Mic said. "Mummy man? Your assessment?"
"The thing that Rose's speed allowed her to ignore; the doorway." Aizawa said as the true first obstacle became clear.
"Damn, your sister is really something else Yang." Nejire Hado, one of the Top 10 students at U.A. and one of the 3 normal track students in that group as well as Yang's friend classmate in Class 3-A said as Ruby burst out onto the track in the lead right before the commentary began. "Who'd have thought that you'd be upstaged by your little sister so early in her first Sports Festival."
"And her Quirk is significantly different to yours." Tamaki Amajiki the other normal track Top 10 in their class added in his usual, slightly nervous, tone. "I was expecting more violent destruction given your relation."
"She gets it from our mother, I get mine from our dad hence the drastic difference in our Quirks." Yang said grinning at her sister taking the lead. "Speed is her thing and with her level of Quirk control that she developed when training for her entrance exam, well a race is hers to lose I'd say."
"She's certainly fast but I'm faster with my lightning." Luck Voltia added. "And I care more for battle."
"That's because you're a battle mad freak who can make lightning and uses that to propel himself at speeds even speed based Quirks struggle to match." Magna added. "But she's good with that gun of hers, saw it at the USJ though she did get hit by her own round thanks to that warp bastard. I heard she took out a group of villains there as well so it's clear why she got in."
"Ruby's always been talented." Blake said. "Long as I've known her and all that training for her exam really helped her turn Petal Burst from a supplemental addition to her Huntress fighting style into something she can use in combat on its one. Hell, she can even push my evasive skills these days."
"That's saying something Blake." Hado said as Oobleck said she got in on recommendations. "Wait, did I just hear that right? You're sister's a recommended student Yang?"
"Yup, my little sis is something else." Yang said with a grin the pride clear in her voice. "Managed to impress the right person at the right time and got herself a recommendation, something no one else in our family has managed to achieve, and rolled with it. You lot know what that exam is from those in our year who took it, it's perfect for her strengths so naturally she aced it. Top time for female applicants I believe and third overall, according to my sources that is."
"It's unusual for siblings to get in via two different ways." Amajiki said as the Wizard King surprised them with his presence as a commentator. "Right?"
"I think it depends on how far apart they are in age and who your parents are." Blake said. "But in this case it is a little different but you lot remember Yang's entrance exam; she was made for the normal one while the recommended exam plays to Ruby's strengths."
"Boy was I, that was fun and finally Ruby will see what that was like and what I punched out." Yang said as she watched Ruby near the next obstacle in an open section of the track about 1 kilometer into it. "So lets see and root for my little sister to win this. Go Ruby!"
Only Blake was joining Yang in supporting Ruby as she waved a small red pennant that she'd made with Ruby's name in white on it but the others just smiled and watched from their box for their class as the race continued. As they did ice suddenly blasted out of the entranceway and a figure sprinted out over it and making more as he ran to take a clear second place it became apparent, this was going to be a very interesting race indeed.
"Damn Ruby, that speed of yours is unreal but your reaction time really made it." Weiss said as they all charged at the tunnel following in Ruby's wake, and her rose petals. "Seriously, that was a great start. I'm surprised Ida didn't do that."
"He has gears." Momo said, which would be confirmed in a moment by Port's commentary, as she was next to Weiss as they ended up in the tunnel and suddenly got smushed together as the commentary began. "So it takes a few seconds for him to reach his top speed, that's why his 50 meter dash time was slower than Rose's. He probably as a top speed above Rose and the endurance on her but she's got the acceleration and in something like this acceleration is better. This is just what she did during the recommended exam actually, an obstacle race is basically hers to lose with how good she is with her Quirk."
"Ruby is amazing, but I already know that." Weiss said with a smile. "But I won't let her show me up too much even if she's my best friend."
Momo just chuckled at that, it was great to see that Weiss was so close to Rose already, as she prepared a pole to vault herself over the crush of people and out of the tunnel. Weiss and Noelle had both come a long way since starting at U.A. which was a great sign.
They'd both thawed out of their icy, arrogant, personas and made new friends so hearing Weiss actually call Rose her best friend really showed how much she'd grown and why coming to U.A. and being away from her father was a good thing. It was the same for Noelle and her siblings as Momo noticed she was pressed up behind Asta as he tried to get through with brute strength that really showed how much she trusted him.
Of course, Momo was here to win as well, and beat Rose especially because this was an obstacle race just like their entrance exam, so she wasn't going to let anything distract her as the pole formed in her palm. Naturally that was the moment that Todoroki acted and showed why he too was a recommended student.
Todoroki had remained calm the entire time as he pushed through the tunnel and the students began to near the exit. The moment the crush had begun he'd realized that this was the first obstacle and test for them as it was designed to see how they got through and he was going to use that to his advantage as he froze the ground and walls around him, the ice extending out and covering the sides of the exit, and giving him the path he needed to run out while ensuring that he could put a good gap between him and the rest of the students.
As he did, Todoroki continued to freeze the ground around him freezing those students who'd already made it out of the tunnel and creating an ice rink between them and him as he ran towards whatever the next obstacle was. It was a bonus obstacle for them and while it wouldn't hold them it would buy Todoroki time so that he could get ahead and determine how to use the next obstacle to his advantage as well.
Normally this would put him in a clear lead in the race but the rose petals that were frozen in the ice he'd made showed him otherwise. Rose had clearly seen from the start that the entrance was an obstacle, well Todoroki presumed that but Ruby actually hadn't she'd just bursted to get a good lead and was so fast that she just blew through the first obstacle without realizing that it was an obstacle, and used her acceleration advantage to get a clear and potentially unassailable lead right from the start with her Quirk.
The girl may come off as a malcoordinated, borderline airhead at times but it was moments like this where she drove home her status as a recommended student who's intelligence and tactical planning was right up at the top of the class. Todoroki knew better than to underestimate a fellow recommended student and while he had called out Midoriya he'd not ruled out any of the other strong students in his class like Rose. He wouldn't let her win this either as he sprinted after her now that his own buffer from the rest was in place and he could start tracking down the race leader.
"Bastard!" Bakugo roared from behind with an explosion. "You're not getting away from me that easily icy-hot!"
"Nice trick Todoroki but I was already ready to get out so this won't hold me." Momo said as she used her pole to vault over the frozen students while Aoyama was using his naval laser to get ahead of the frozen students and Kirishima had used his hardening to break free while Bakugo blasted again to put him into third in the race. "You and Rose aren't the only recommended students in our class."
"You froze me back in the battle trial when I didn't know what you could do but I learned from that, I won't let it happen again." Ojiro added as he used his tail to bounce off the ground boosting his speed and not getting frozen while Tokoyami used Dark Shadow to hold him and fly over the ice briefly. "I owe you for that Todoroki."
"I'm coming for you, Todoroki!" Asta roared his large sword out and in front of him as he carved through the ice, breaking it up and dispelling it a moment later as it was the product of a Quirk so his sword worked on it "You think we're not friends? Well guess again because we are and I'll show you what that means."
Noelle just sighed at Asta's actions, it was totally an Asta thing to do, as she ran right behind him using him as a shield to help her avoid the ice while Mina wailed to the side and steadied herself on it with her acid that melted the ice as well showing an advantage that she had over Todoroki to some extent. Meanwhile Nero, the last of their class with some sense of stability was just running next to them her bare feet glowing as she sealed and unsealed her feet to make it as if the ice wasn't an issue at all.
Of all of them, Nero had taken the strangest path to get past the first actual obstacle and Todoroki's improvised one but it had been the most practical one for her. She'd taken it the moment she felt the ice forming in her bare feet, another advantage of running shoeless, right before it hit in the tunnel and thus avoided it by simply climbing up Asta's body to stand on his shoulders in the tunnel and then leap to the wall where she sealed her hands to it to climb up before she could seal her feet to it and run horizontal on the wall to leap out of the tunnel and land in a crouch on the ice.
Nero's greatest advantage with sealing was that she could use it through her feet and the ice only made it more prudent and now she was running on it as if it was normal ground and not breaking stride at all. That said, she did want to get off the ice soon because, well, it was still ice so it wasn't the most comfortable thing to run barefoot on especially because Sealing gave Nero no advantages to her constitution so her body felt things normally.
"Damn you Todoroki, you Class 1-A jerk but I'll show you true fire!" Leo roared as he blasted swirls of fire out of his hands behind him and used it to propel him forward and skate over the ice as students behind him scattered in his wake and the ice near Leo's fire started to melt. "I may not agree with the plan because I want to win this, especially with the Wizard King now watching, but I will be damned if I let anyone in Class 1-A win this."
"Well, they are in the Hero Course so they should be good at this, even if they're showing off a bit too much." Shinso muttered as some unnamed General Studies kids carried him over the ice, this wasn't the best time for his Quirk so he was more than content to go with Monoma's plan and advance to events he'd shine in. "But that's fine with me, let them show, keeps them off my back and I can assess their Quirks at the same time, not that they'll do anything once they're under my control."
However, of all those chasing Todoroki, one quickly and suddenly appeared ahead of the pack to take a quick third place ahead of Bakugo, who roared at that, in the race with a sudden appearance and that was Yuno, the designated rep of the year from the pledge. Todoroki knew nothing about him or his Quirk other than that it netted him one of the highest regular entrance exam scores in the last 40 years so clearly the boy had power and skill which meant that Todoroki would have to be wary. He'd expected some dodges but not this many so he'd need something else to slow them down.
"Damn you, Yuno, as always too cool for words." Asta said though he was grinning as Yuno appeared not too far behind Todoroki a transport star left in his wake as he ran forward that was quickly dispelled. "And Starforce is one damned powerful Quirk but I won't lose to my rival."
Naturally Yuno didn't hear any of this as he ran on. He'd seen that girl in Class 1-A, she ate lunch with Asta's group so he'd met her a few times and he thought she might be called Rose or some other flower name, take a commanding lead right at the start. However, with his transport stars he'd pull it back in no time he just had to be tactical as there were limits to that aspect of his Quirk.
The main limit was that he had to physically leave the star somewhere so either it was in his line of sight or somewhere he had been so he could leave it there as a point to return to like he'd done in his battle trial. In a race that he'd not seen before the latter was out so he was limited to line of sight stars and even then he had some distance limitations that currently stood at about 200 meters or so which meant that it would be quick, short hops.
That led to the other problem as he ran following in the ice Quirk guys wake, his stars could be used by others as well, it was why he'd waited for a bit of a breather in the pack to use it to get out of the ice, so he had to dismiss them as he moved which added precious time but Yuno had to do it to prevent the others from getting and advantage. If it came to it he'd leave them but only in a final sprint, for now he was content with seeing what was ahead and moving into second when the time came so that he could track down first without an issue.
"Ha, both of you think your so cool with your Quirks and annoying good looks but I've outsmarted you." A voice called out causing both Todoroki and Yuno to look over their shoulders as they rounded a bend, no rose petals in sight showing that Rose wasn't using her Quirk when she passed through this section of the course, to see the shortest Hero Course student, Mineta, closing in on them using his pop off balls to bounce over the ice and get near them as he could cover a good distance with his bounces. "How pathetic, you super cool lady killers always look down on people like me but no longer. Try and beat my…"
Mineta didn't get to finish his statement when a robot arm slammed into him and blasted him away though only Izuku seemed to care if Mineta was ok, most of the girls just silently cheered at Mineta getting demolished like that as the next obstacle revealed itself. Well, to most of them that is because Ruby had already dealt with them as the trailing pack behind her had reached the open area of the course.
A few moments earlier, while Todoroki was freezing the others and they were dodging or breaking free, Ruby had rounded the last bend at full sprint and come up to the next obstacle, really cool robots of various sizes with numbers from 0 to 3 on them that were on the edges of a large, open area in the track. She'd not seen these before and was fascinated by them but the glowing red eyes and how they suddenly began to move towards her as Ruby ran into their area showed their hostile intent.
"I presume that this is what the normal examinees faced, would explain why Yang enjoyed it." Ruby said to herself as she didn't break stride running at the robots. "Yeah Crescent Rose would have taken good care of them but the recommended exam was better for me. Regardless, they can't hit what they can't catch."
At that Ruby burst into her Quirk and flew up into the air with an arc to get over the smaller robots at the front of the pack that had managed to get between her and the exit of the area. From there it was just a matter of timing her bursts and movements around the big ones to get to the other side and clear the obstacle as they'd used her upward burst to also get into position. It would take a few extra moments but she had that and went about quick work of it as she continued her lead hoping that the others were slowed down by them.
"And now it's time for the enemies portion of the race." Present Mic's voice said over the speakers around the course as those behind Ruby managed to make it to this point in the race. "Well for everyone but Rose as she's already made quick work of this section but with that speed of hers it's no wonder she was able to get here before the robots were truly ready to be a threat but now it's a test of strength and cunning for the others in this robot inferno!"
"Well it is no surprise that Rose has made it this far this fast, she did set the practical exam course record for female recommended students." Oobleck said as Todoroki looked up at the robots and heard someone, Kaminari probably based on the voice, ask if these were the zero pointers from the exam showing Todoroki what most of his class faced to get into U.A. "And as a hero, no matter the branch, evasion and flight to get a hero better suited for the job is a valid strategy when you don't have the tools for the job at hand or are a poor matchup for the villain or Grimm that you're facing."
"Correct, her scythe would be of use here but Huntress track students can't bring their weapons into the event." Port added while the students complained about the obstacle and Momo to question where the school got the funding for them as the robots were now fully mobilized and in front of them. "So for her the practical solution was to get around and past them with her Quirk which she's already done and is nearing the next obstacle already. It's impressive."
"Well she got past them with quick work and smart use of her Quirk, I wouldn't be surprised if some Quirk Knight Squads and Hero Agencies try to pry her away from the Huntress track after this." Julius said as Todoroki quickly formulated a plan to further block the other students so that he could focus on trying to close in on Rose who's Quirk was, as the commentators had pointed out, useful for evasion as well as speed so it was no surprise that she was already past this section. "The others will have to…oh my that ice Quirk is even more than I expected. That kid's got a lot of power and talent."
As the commentary had been going on Todoroki hadn't hesitated as he created ice from his right foot with more coming off his hand, before he bent down to touch the ground with it and then came up as he thrust his arm up to create a massive, jagged, wall of ice that shot up and at one of the zero point robot as it brought its hand down to him. The ice intercepted it and after a bit of resistance stopped it before moving up the robots arm to momentarily freeze it in place.
The thing was big but not really a challenge to him as it was just a hunk of metal so a well-placed blow stopped it in its tracks. Todoroki wanted a challenge what with his scumbag old man watching but this would do as he exhaled frost and then sprinted forward through the robots legs as his ice that was holding it began to crack.
"Actually that Quirk is called Half-Cold Half-Hot so it's not actually an ice Quirk but rather a hybrid Quirk that effectively comes off as two Quirks in one." Oobleck said as Todoroki got past the robot while telling those behind him that he'd frozen it while it was off balance. "He can produce ice from the right side of his body and fire from the left but we've not seen the fire yet so I can't assess it in relation to his father's Quirk or the notable fire Quirks that House Vermillion is known for."
"Damn, that is so cool!" Julius said as the ice shattered and the robot fell just after Todoroki cleared it thus putting it between him and those trailing him and causing more chaos that he'd use to grow the lead he had between them and thus focus on closing in on Rose. "Oh and he's got a tactical mind as well so he has brains, power, and sense, just what I'd expect from Endeavor's son."
"Yup, Shoto Todoroki of Class 1-A has swiftly moved into second place with that and is now clear of the robots and chasing down our leader Rose who is already halfway across the next obstacle, man she's too fast for us to keep up with but soon even she'll be slowed down." Present Mic said as a massive cloud of dust covered the robot area from the downed robot. "That was an amazingly devastating display from Todoroki though, a clear contrast to how Rose cleared this obstacle. He's certainly one to watch, between him and Rose it almost seems unfair. Thoughts you lot."
"That attack was both offensive and defensive." Aizawa said simply with a calm professional assessment in his voice. "It allowed him to block to robot and get past while preventing the rest from following him and ensuring that the other robots couldn't track him in the dust. Now he can focus on close the gap with Rose."
"Wow and he never even fought those robots, it's no wonder that Todoroki was also let in on recommendations just like Rose as they stood no chance against his moves." Present Mic said his voice getting even more excited as he spoke while Todoroki cleared the robot obstacle and ran on towards the next section just as the smaller robots he'd not bothered with burst out of the dust and closed in on the students. "It's no wonder that the current leaders are recommended students."
"This does play to their advantage but we shouldn't count the others out just yet." Oobleck said his tone academic. "We've seen how they handled the ice and there are still two obstacles after the robots so anything can happen."
"Yes the students are setting themselves for this." Port said. "It will be interesting for sure."
"And we can see all those cool Quirks again." Julius said. "Like…oh wow that star Quirk guy who got the highest score on the entrance exam since I took it, Yuno was it, is really showing now but why is he going upwards. Regardless, the Quirk Knight Captains will be taking note of this kid for sure."
Yuno just ignored the commentary, though getting some praise from the Wizard King was certainly good, as he looked up and created a star as high as he could so that he could get above the dust cloud as the robots began to approach. The moment it was there he teleported to it, dismissing it as he appeared and creating two stars under his feet to hold him in the air as the commentators raved over his showing while Aizawa and Oobleck explained, accurately his tactics.
He didn't care though as he used his vantage point to see Todoroki leaving the area and created a series of stars that took him to the exit of the area that also avoided the robots in the process. With that done Yuno teleported through them to land simply on the ground, dismissing them as he did, and ran after Todoroki to the next section while the students behind him dealt with the robots. He wasn't going to lose this race so being able to avoid the robots this time around was a blessing as he ran through and towards the next section.
"Huh, I didn't know that I did that I set a record." Ruby said with a grin as she heard Oobleck's commentary about her recommended exam time as she ran on and towards a wide canyon with rock pillars in it and ropes connecting then to each other and the cliff edges that was called The Fall. "Go me for setting the girls' record and now it's onto this section. This will be a little more precise but thank god for all that Quirk control training I did for the recommended exam. I've got this in the bag."
Ruby kept grinning as she sprinted to the edge and leapt off it and over the canyon before bursting and flying towards a pillar that was within her Quirk's burst range. This was true Quirk control for her as it required precision flying and timing as well as good understanding of rough distances and her duration limit before she had to reform, all of which were affected by how much she'd used her Quirk already and her current stamina levels, which made her all the more grateful for her recommendation as she could easily manage this without an issue.
Well, without too many issues as she burst out over the middle of one of the pillars and stumbled forward towards the edge a lot sooner than she'd expected when she'd bursted towards the pillar. The tops were different sizes it seemed, though the pillar heights were pretty uniform, so she would have to factor that in and land nearer the edge of them that she approached if she wanted to maintain her momentum and avoid having to overcorrect with her Quirk.
Ruby could correct for a small mistake like this though as she just pushed through her stumble and leapt off the edge before she tumbled over it to burst again and move on but she'd have to be careful. Now that she had the hang of it though, Ruby was sure that she'd managed to cross the canyon before anyone else reached it so she toned everything else out and powered on to clear the obstacle and win this race.
She had no idea what came next, though she knew that there was at least one more obstacle that she had to overcome, but she'd handle that as well, she was sure of it. After all, so long as it wasn't unstable or dangerous footing that also had some surprises in it nothing would stop Ruby from coming first in the first event of her first Sports Festival.
"It's only the second obstacle and the first years are off to a rocking start." Present Mic said his enthusiasm reaching new heights that indicated he was actually moving around in the commentators box as Yuno cleared the obstacle. "Already 3 are past it and on or near the third but with that crash it's going to get harder for the others. Man it's only the first round as well, talk about an action packed day because this is a vicious course where anything goes so long as they stay on the track."
"Watch it." Aizawa said as the students toned out the commentary to focus on the robots. "Sit down and stop waving your arms around like a fool."
They had reason to focus on the robots as the commentary devolved into Present Mic getting more and more energetic, Aizawa questioning his life choices that led to this moment, while all that was ignored for the analytical commentary of Dr. Oobleck, supplemented by Professor Port's assessments, and the occasional geeking out at Quirks moments from the head of the Quirk Knights. The real focus for the students was the dust cloud that was clearing following the robot that Todoroki had dropped on them which had happened to land on two Hero Course students.
"I'm alive!" Kirishima yelled as he burst out of the rubble his body hard as Present Mic commentated on what was going on and Oobleck provided analysis of Kirishima's Hardening Quirk. "Damn it Todoroki that was some manly move but seriously anyone but me could have been killed by that."
"Damned it Class 1-A's really are just a bunch of jerks!" Another voice yelled as more of the robot was punched out and the other student, who just so happened to be the loudmouth that had initially challenged Class 1-A two weeks ago, broke free showing that his body was now all metal, steel to be precise according to Present Mic and Oobleck's commentary on Tetsutetsu's Quirk that was just the same his commentary on Kirishima's. "I'm going to punch that icy guy in the face when I get my hands on him. Damn, anyone but me would be killed by a move like that."
This led to some more identical commentary for both Tetsutetsu and Kirishima causing the latter to complain about the similar their Quirks were, a feeling that Tetsutetsu shared as they ran past the robot. The others were amazed at that seeing as both boys had just had a robot dropped on them with Kaminari complaining that they didn't need worry about being crushed before he was interrupted by one of the Class 1-B students who had distinctly Chinese features though he spoke Japanese fluently without an accent telling everyone to work together to carve a path through the robots.
"He's right, let's move." Nero said to Asta as Asta pulled his small sword out as well for added offense grinning at the challenge ahead of him. "We need to clear this as fast as possible."
"On it, Noelle, use your water as a shield." Asta said as he ran forward while Bakugo blasted up and over the robot to get high and clear of the robots before blasting off after Todoroki and Yuno with a roar of rage at being behind them. "Put it on either side as I carve a path."
"Um, sure." Noelle said running behind Asta as she pulled her wand from a holder on her waist and summoned water out of her support item that was on her right hip and manipulated it to form a pair of walls to their sides. "Why?"
"Because they may attack from the sides, we need to go as straight as possible so this way I can focus on the robots in our direct path and not worry about debris or attacks from the side." Asta said and Noelle nodded while Nero just moved ahead and brushed her hand on a robot that seized up and collapsed where it was. "Got it."
"Yeah just focus on the robots ahead, I'll handle the sides." Noelle said as they ran. "But um what is Nero doing?"
"Not sure, I think she can seal it's electronics or something like that." Asta said as he slashed a robot that Nero had missed and causing it to spin off to the side and Noelle parted her water to let it through. "Leave her to her own thing, Nero's got this and now's not the time to ask her about some of the stranger applications of her Quirk."
"You're right." Noelle said as others like Sero and Tokoyami used their own Quirks to clear the obstacles. "Let's move."
Asta grinned at that, he was coming for Yuno so he could do just that as he ran forward after Nero. It was basically a straight shot for them as Noelle protected them from the sides, Nero deactivated what she could touch and anything else that wasn't a zero pointer, Noelle would have to ask about all this later, was batted away by Asta.
They worked in unison to carve the path through and around the robots before they burst out of the area with Noelle returning the water to her pouch to save it for later and Asta dismissing his swords to not be weighed down by them as they realized that they were near the front of the pack. Things were looking good and all three Quirk Knight track students pushed onwards towards the next obstacle.
"Over is the right strategy." Weiss said as she leapt up and onto a glyph that she controlled to take her up and over the height that even a zero point robot could reach before creating a line of glyphs in the air and sprinting along them, her speed boosted by them to get clear and put herself into 5th at the moment. "I'm coming Ruby, you won't beat me."
It was clear that other than Yuno, Class 1-A was leading the pack as Ida kicked through a robot, Kaminari fried one, Jiro used her earphone jack to send her heartbeat into two more, Ochaco caused two to float and then released her Quirk to send them crashing to the ground, and Izuku grabbed a piece of metal and used it to slash a robot up before running on with the metal just in case. The reason for this, and Aizawa brought it up in the commentary why, was that they didn't hesitate, they just acted and it was all because of the USJ attack.
Of course none of the students paid attention to that as they pushed through, or in Momo's case unzipped her shirt to reveal she only had a sports bra on under it that still couldn't fully cover her impressive cleavage and made a canon out of her abdomen that she then used to take down a zero pointer. Between all that the path was clear and they pushed on though by this point Bakugo and Weiss had made it clear and were the fourth and fifth out of the section followed by the trailing pack that Asta was leading.
Meanwhile, Ruby had cleared the canyon obstacle, and moved onto the last one as she burst out of her Quirk and on the other side and ran towards it just as Todoroki reached The Fall behind her and began to use his ice to slide over the top of one of the ropes as he needed footing to use his ice. Naturally, Ruby didn't pay attention to this as she was too busy noticing that the final obstacle in her way, a freaking minefield.
Great, this was just great as Ruby ran past the sign and leapt into the air to burst into her Quirk and try to fly over it. The length of the minefield was too long for her to get to the end, especially after using her Quirk so much already, and so she had the choice of going up and try to do a mix of continuous bursts and gravity to get over it or just going for luck and keeping her current strategy. She opted for the luck approach.
Alas for Ruby this was where it failed her and the point of the minefield was shown as she burst out of her Quirk and placed her right foot on the ground to push off for another burst only to be blown up because she'd landed right on a mine that she instantly triggered. It wouldn't kill her but it blasted her up with a wail and a cloud of pink smoke totally throwing off her momentum before she crashed down and hit another mine as she'd not had time to activate Petal Burst due to her shock.
This was the purpose of the minefield and Ruby had fallen right into it as she tried to get herself under control and continue across it while trying to come up with a good strategy that wouldn't slow her down too much. However, she was being slowed down and as such those behind her were now in the perfect spot to catch up.
"Well most are through the robots and are now onto the next obstacle which we call, The Fall." Present Mic said as Todoroki proceeded through it and Yuno plotted a course used transport stars on the tops of the rock pillars and then set off rapidly teleporting between them. "And the next obstacle will slow you down as Rose is finding out now that she's in our little minefield."
"Speed is important but she has been a little impatient it seems, if she'd paused for a moment to think it through she probably would have cleared it by now." Oobleck added. "She'll control herself in time but will the others catch up?"
"Depends on how they handle the Fall." Port said. "For some it is easy as Yuno is showing but for those with Quirks that aren't useful for this kind of thing it can slow you down just as much as the minefield can."
"Regardless, we're going to see some more Quirks in action." Julius said excitedly. "I wonder how the students will use their Quirks to get past this obstacle. Oh, two more with quick ways across, fascinating."
"Damn it Ruby, you had this and now you've messed up because you're still a little impatient." Weiss said as she didn't break stride and just ran out over the edge of The Fall using her glyphs to cross as the crow flew and doing so at a good speed thanks to the boost that glyphs provided her. "But now I'm catching you, you dolt."
Bakugo was just roaring as he blasted over The Fall with his Quirk just ahead of Weiss but using the same concept as she was using but with more speed from his Quirk while the others came up to it. Some paused to think, some like Hatsume began to cross it with her support items after bragging about them to Ochaco and Mina and how she got to bring them into the Sports Festival because she made them, not that she knew the hero girls, and others like Tsu and Ida just leapt onto the ropes using their Quirks to cross them.
"This is where we part ways, make sure you finish within the cutoff whatever that is." Nero said simply as she ran towards one of the ropes without stopping. "See you at the finish line."
"What do you…" Noelle began but Nero just ran onto the rope her hands out to her sides and her feet glowing as she ran over the rope using Sealing in her feet to secure herself to the rope while Present Mic commented on how foolish Ida looked as he did the same thing only using his engines to propel him over it. "Of course, you can do that right. Damn, her Sealing Quirk is a lot more versatile than I thought. It's come in handy for each obstacle so far. Guess her 5th place in the entrance exam was more than just because she had to keep Asta safe during it."
"And this is just scratching the surface of what Nero can do, remember she can heal as well." Asta said as he just jumped out and landed on the rope before falling under it and climbing it that way while Noelle felt an irrational pang of jealousy at hearing Asta complement another girl. "But she's right, you're on your own Noelle but I have faith in you, you've got this."
Noelle grumbled but Asta wasn't wrong as she looked out over the canyon and tried to think of how to handle it as she let Asta's final words of encouragement warm her. She had to get creative as she noted Midoriya doing the same as Asta though why he had a hunk of metal on his back was a mystery to her. That was not a strategy Noelle could do but as she noticed the pink haired support girl, Hatsume if she recalled, use some winch system she had on her high tech backpack to get from pillar to pillar she got an idea and summoned the water from her pouch using her wand to control it as it formed a whip.
This was going to be spectacularly stupid if it didn't work but at this point Noelle didn't care what she looked like as she sent the whip out as far as she could throw it. Then, and within her control radius, she latched it in a grip on the end of one of the ropes where it was connected to a rock pillar and pulled it taught by dragging the water back into her pouch through the wand so that she now had a long line of taught water as more and more students began to use their own strategies to cross the canyon.
It was now or never so with a deep breath Noelle pulled the rest of the water in while making sure that the anchor was the part holding onto the rope. As such, Noelle shot off the cliff edge and towards that anchor point.
She couldn't help but let out a scream as she was dragged towards the anchor point by the water retreating into her pouch but she controlled herself as she neared and though she was white knuckling her wand she held strong and as she neared the point moved the water up to pivot herself upwards on the taught line of water that was under her mental control. Then, when she was upside down but knew that it would work she released the water from the anchor point and pulled it into her pouch as she completed the flip to land in a crouch on the center of the pillar in a crouch.
Noelle was shaking with adrenaline from what she'd done but she'd shown great control to pull it off and smiled as she stood up and walked to the edge of the pillar only shaking a little as she did. All that training was starting to pay off, as was some of the unconventional methods she was picking up from Asta but she ignored that as she repeated the process to cross The Fall in a solid spot in the rankings, and ahead of Asta at this point. As she was crossing, Todoroki and Yuno cleared the Fall with Weiss and Bakugo just behind them and they ran up the stairs and to the final obstacle.
Meanwhile, at the final obstacle, Ruby had finally gotten herself under control by bursting upwards after a third blowing up and was now focused on getting through it and burst towards the end of the minefield. Ruby knew that she couldn't make it so came out of it and looked down to the minefield and landed straddling one of the mines that she'd noticed weren't hard to see which only added to her stupid mistake of rushing into this as if she'd taken a few seconds at the start she could have done this and been through the minefield already and thus sprinting with all she had for the finish.
Alas, Ruby's streak of bad luck increased because as she was about to land Todoroki reached the minefield. Normally he'd take his time and not use ice to cross it as it might help others but with that Class 1-B kid hot on his heels, same with Bakugo and Schnee, and all 3 had Quirks that allowed them to basically bypass the minefield without touching it.
Even worse than the pursuers, Rose had stabilized herself and would be bursting forward in a moment with a strategy that would clear it long before he got through the minefield he had to as he created an ice path in front of him and ran on it. It would help others but he needed to catch up to Rose and this way he'd not old do that but finally ground the damned girl so that she wasn't a threat anymore.
Ruby didn't see this as she landed carefully and took a breath to steady herself before she leapt up to burst forward but just before she could the ice reached her and froze her boots, even with the chance of a race happening Ruby had stuck with her combat boots as her footwear, to the ground. She blinked in confusion at that and looked down to see her feet and ankles frozen and Todoroki ran past her without a word.
"And there it is, the first lead change since the race began!" Present Mic roared, his commentary had been getting more and more enthusiastic though no one was paying attention anymore to him. "Todoroki has taken the lead…and now Yuno has passed Rose as well. That's just what the minefield is for."
Ruby blinked again at that as Yuno appeared before her and then vanished again leaving only a star that quickly twinkled out where he'd just been. She'd fallen to third and she had to do something drastic. Thankfully she had the idea and bent down to unlace her boots. As she did Bakugo blasted over the top of her head and reached Todoroki just as Yuno pulled even with him as well.
"Bastard! Your declaration of war, was to the wrong person." Bakugo roared as he blasted Todoroki in the face as he pushed between the two boys to momentarily take the lead while also grabbing Yuno by the back of his collar with his free hand in the process. "And you, pretty boy, I'm not done with you either. You're not getting away from me, neither of you are. Petals pissed me off by leading for so long but now I'm going to prove I'm the best by beating all of you!"
Yuno grunted as he created an offensive star that blasted star light at Bakugo but he exploded over it so that it hit Todoroki in the side who replied with ice that hit Yuno in the arm and froze there. Suddenly the trio were in a furious battle as Yuno created a pair of stars under his feet to keep up while they moved through the minefield and thus slowed them down as they duked it out between themselves while trying to avoid mines in the process all to the excited commentary from Present Mic and the others.
Ruby wasn't focused on this as she finished unlacing her booths and pulled her feet out of them to put her stock covered feet on the ice and proceeded to slip on it and wipe herself out which had the unfortunate side effect of sending her ass first onto another mine that blew her sky high, again. To add insult to injury this occurred just as Weiss, who was running on her glyphs again, passed her to take fourth place.
"Patience Ruby, you still need to work on it." Weiss said though she was smiling as she ran so Ruby knew that she didn't mean it meanly, it was helpful pointer. "Good thing mines are a great teacher."
That was it for Ruby as she reorientated herself in the air from the blast, ignoring the literal pain in her ass at the moment, and burst after Weiss to use her trailing glyphs as steppingstones for her own, now shorter, bursts while the boys fought ahead of them. Weiss had suggested patience and Ruby had rather painfully, her singed clothes and mussed up hair a good testament to this, the hard way that she needed it and so she would use that lesson to she really get back into it and at the very least beat Weiss to the finish line.
Meanwhile, the rest of the first years had reached the minefield and began to cross it. Some used the ice but other than Nero who could seal herself to it and then seal the mines triggers down as she ran over them so this wasn't going to an issue for her at all, it wasn't useful to most of the students so it was quickly abandoned while some used their Quirks like both Shiozaki and Mimosa who were using vines to find mines and transport them across it at a steady pace that with the occasional explosion and scream from a kid being blow away would help in getting through this obstacle in a good place in the standings.
For her part, Noelle stopped at the edge panting a bit as she tired to figure it out while Asta caught up to her. To her side Midoriya was for some reason digging up the mines and stacking them in a massive pit that he'd also dug, all with the metal shard he still had with him, but Noelle ignored that as she thought on how to cross the minefield. She needed to cross the minefield and she had an idea as she used some water to create a platform before her and leapt up onto it though she kept it connected to her wand by a strand of water to maintain control over it.
It wasn't ideal and she had to really control it as the water covered her ankles but she could just about manage to get it to secure her as she thought back to that massive ball of water she traveled in and flew up into the air to get high above the minefield. She'd need the height given the explosions, which weren't bad but still sent you in the air, and then she could steadily, and with all the control she could manage, her wand would be really useful here even if it was purely psychosomatic to focus her concentration, she began to fly over the minefield.
"Damn Noelle, you're looking so cool now and you're control is getting so much better." Asta said with a smile, as he began to pick his way over the minefield while mines went off and he noticed the three way fight at the front so he didn't notice that Noelle had heard him, faltered in the air, and gone bright red before she stabilized herself. "I really need…"
Before Asta could finish there was a massive explosion that caused all to stop, and Noelle to be thrown to the side by the shockwave so she had to reorientate herself, and stair to the large cloud of pink dust just as a figure shot out it high above the minefield and moving at a high rate of speed. It was Midoriya who was lying flat on the metal shard he'd kept with some wires wrapped around his arm for stability and to keep it near him as he was blasting over the minefield and towards the end to pass the three way fight in first to suddenly and drastically take the lead.
"Now that's how it's done." Asta said with a grin as the rend in air next to him appeared and he pulled out his massive sword once again. "I like your style Midoriya, time to copy it but with my sword and not some metal fragment."
Of course Izuku saw none of this as his desperate plan seemed to be working but he was coming up short and his sudden lead was falling as he was coming down to the ground while still within the minefield so he'd failed to clear it as he'd intended. This was not good and three former leaders he'd soared over noticed this at once.
Instantly Todoroki and Bakugo forgot the three way fight, Bakugo was still holding Yuno's collar but he tossed the Class 1-B boy back with an explosion as he had the more annoying Quirk compared to Todoroki so Bakugo needed him away as he blasted forward himself. The toss and explosion that had rattled Yuno a little had inadvertently sent him right at Weiss who had been closing in on them to overtake the fighting boys and was now forced to run to the side to avoid him which also forced Ruby, who was still shadowing Weiss, to do the same.
As this was going on, Todoroki didn't hesitate either as he created more ice to run on now that the squabbling was over what with Midoriya now ahead of all of them. As such, he and Bakugo closed in on Midoriya as he neared the ground still on the metal shard he'd used to protect himself as he blasted into first place.
Izuku saw this and knew that he needed one more boost to propel him out of the minefield and as they were almost back to the stadium hopefully the win. So, as the other two boys reached him and he was over them he flipped forward, planted his feet on Kacchan and Todoroki's shoulders, used the wire on the metal hard and brought it down hard on the ground between them where it slammed into a few mines and bounce up from the impact.
Time seemed to slow as the shard bounced up and then the mines went off sending Todoroki and Bakugo to the sides and propelled Izuku out of the minefield where he rolled on the ground and popped up at full sprint heading to the finish line. Both Bakugo and Todoroki were just disorientated by this and quickly reorientated themselves and burst through the smoke after Midoriya as it became clear that it was a three horse race to see who came first with Midoriya as the new horse, or so it seemed.
"I don't believe that, Midoriya cleared that minefield in an instant and is now in the lead but Bakugo and Todoroki are hot on his heels!" Present Mic said as the cheers of the crowd could be heard as the boys neared the stadium. "Eraser Head, your students are something else. What on earth are you teaching them?"
"This isn't me, each of them is being driven on by their own drive to succeed." Aizawa said as Izuku leading the other two reached the tunnel and sprinted into it. "This is their determination as future heroes at work."
"There you have it; Eraser Head is a terrible teacher." Present Mic said.
"I'm what!" Aizawa protested clearly stunned by his friend's statement but Present Mic ignored him as he continued with his commentary.
"Who'd have thought that this would be such a surprise filled race as the long time leader won't be in the top three!" Present Mic said as Izuku, neared the end of the tunnel with Bakugo and Todoroki right behind him as ice and explosions filled the tunnel. "And the first to make it into the stadium is the winner and it is…Izuku Midoriya! He's your…oh and we have a sudden and stunning upset right at the end as well to add the icing to what has been a truly amazing opening event!"
Izuku didn't know what was going on as he burst into the stadium in first place and ran out onto the grass panting. He turned and stared as the next three, not two, three students all staggered in after him and blinked at it.
What Izuku hadn't seen was that after Yuno had been tossed back he too had reorientated himself and then used a transport star to get out of the minefield and kept making them as he tracked down the leaders as fast as he could. Then, at the last moment he made one that put him right behind Izuku and in front of the other two so that he burst out of the tunnel in second with his forward momentum to claim second place in the race while Todoroki was only a step behind him for third and Bakugo came 4th in a near photo finish with Todoroki.
"That was a stunning finish!" Present Mic said as crowd roared and Izuku processed what had happened. "I can't believe it! Can you Eraser? Dr.? Port? Wizard King?"
"Yuno topped the entrance exam and was determined to win this as well while keeping his cool almost the entire race." Aizawasaid simply. "He was a threat until the very end and showed my students to always be aware with that sudden finish to beat them at the line though Midoriya did have just enough of a lead to finish first."
"It truly was impressive but we're not done yet." Oobleck said as another massive explosion was heard. "Looks like we've got a copycat but that will at best be 7th because there's no way that person will catch up before they finish."
"Yes the next two will be here any minute." Port said. "So it's down to the wire for sure."
"Yay! More amazing Quirk finishes." Julius added just as that finish happened.
"Two?" Weiss asked confused as she ran over her glyphs having gotten back on track and gone as fast as she could after the 4 boys but she wasn't under any delusions her best place was 5th and top girl now as she reached the tunnel and entered it running as fast as she could over the glyphs. "Who…"
Weiss gasped as three swirls of red vortexes suddenly blasted past her with two to her sides and the other over her right shoulder and reformed right in front of her in the tunnel before it flew out of it as one full sized vortex. Ruby had been behind her then the entire time, likely using her glyphs to get across the mines that she'd been caught up in, and likely was shoeless now seeing as her boots had been frozen to the ground, and waited for the right moment for one final burst to go around Weiss and pip her right at the line. Weiss just shook her head but smiled as she followed Ruby out into the stadium for 6th.
"Don't forget about me Weiss." Ruby yelled as she reformed in the stadium having burst over the finish line for 5th. "I'm…"
Ruby didn't finish what she wanted to say as she realized she was horizontal in the air having used Petal Burst to get past Weiss and not focused on how she was going to land this now that the race was over, which also distracted her enough that she didn't even try to use her Quirk one final time. As such she flapped her arms and then face planted int the grass and slid along it on her face and upper chest with her legs in the air behind her as Weiss ran out behind her shaking her head and hoping that Ruby was alright.
"You may be amazing at times Ruby." Weiss said with a chuckle as she approached Ruby and confirming that she was indeed shoeless and that her PE kit was singed in places, including on her ass that Weiss quickly looked away from as Ruby's training regime certainly gave her a fine posterior in Weiss's mind, objectively of course, and bend down to offer her hand to Ruby. "But at times you can be a bit of a klutz. Still, you wouldn't be you if you weren't one."
"Yeah I got a little impatient again, didn't I so I know what I have to work on." Ruby said pushing herself up and looking at Weiss with a smile on her face that was now grass stained, as was her chest, and clearly unphased by what had happened. "Still, I beat you."
"That you did and it was a whole of a lot saner than what Midoriya did to win though now I understand what Momo was saying about your recommended exam." Weiss said as Ruby took her hand and Weiss didn't think about how soft and nice Ruby's small hand felt in hers as she hauled Ruby to her feet. "But…"
Weiss had put a little too much strength into the haul and stumbled back but Ruby managed to grab Weiss around the waist, letting go of her hand in the process, before she fell on her ass and held her tight as she suddenly glomped Weiss in a bear hug. Weiss went bright red and felt her eyes go wide but hugged Ruby back almost right away, if for no other reason else to stable herself though Weiss did like hugging Ruby.
"Thanks Weiss." Ruby said as she held onto Weiss as they stabilized but Ruby didn't let go and Weiss found herself smiling as she hugged Ruby back. "You really did help me even if you didn't know it. I wouldn't have been able to get out of that minefield as fast if I wasn't tracking your glyphs so thank you."
"I know, dolt." Weiss said as she leaned into the hug while the 4 boys who'd finished just stood around doing their own thing be it looking at his hand in Midoriya's case, looking at Midoriya in Todoroki's, just standing aloofly in Yuno's, or raging at once again coming fourth in Bakugo's. "I know. I hope the others are ok."
The others were perfectly fine as the only thing left to note in the Obstacle Race after the pair of dramatic finishes that determined the top 6 was Asta mimicking Midoriya but he used his large sword to dig up the mines and then dropped it on the mines as he leapt onto the blade. The blade easily withstood the blast, it was still a mystery to Asta what it was made of, and carried him out of the minefield, grabbing the edge of the blade as he crouched on it to secure it and roaring with glee as he flew through the air, accidentally knocking Noelle off course in the process which would affect her place in time.
That had been the other explosion that was heard and like Midoriya, Asta had underestimated how many mines that he needed and had come up short but he did clear the two leaders of the trailing pack after the top 6, a vine haired girl and a boy with no lips so just teeth giving him a skull-like appearance, and landed his blade on a second mine. Asta used said second mine to blast out of the minefield, his sword taking the blow before he dismissed it as he flew through the air, and he ran on to the finish line where he'd come 7th without an issue. Behind him there was nothing really of note that happened.
"Go Ruby! You didn't win it but you still did well and learned where you need to improve sis." Yang said as Ruby tore through the finish line while still in her Quirk to secure 5th place right ahead of Weiss Schnee. "And you're the first place for the girls so way to represent our gender!"
"She's certainly talented." Hado said as Ruby burst out of her Quirk while horizontal in the air, panicked, flapped her arms like a bird for some reason, and then proceeded to face plant into the grass and slide over it as Schnee ran out of the tunnel in 6th behind her. "If a little all over the place."
"That's just cos she went plus ultra." Yang said proudly. "And the minefield was not her forte, good training though as knows what not to do in one next time."
"And a reminder that U.A. thinks of everything." Blake said as they watched Schnee run over to help Ruby. "That one was designed to slow the leaders down for the most part and it really did that with how Ruby's whole strategy relies on her to land and keep moving if she wants to maintain her speed. Course Dr. Oobleck pointed out what she could have done better so Ruby will learn from this. Speed is good but sometimes it's good to slow down for a moment and think to overcome an obstacle in your path."
"True." Yang said with a nod as she watched Schnee bend down and offer a hand to Ruby while other students began to get close to the finish line after the second big explosion but Yang wasn't concerned with that as she only cared about her sister in this though Magna and Luck, Charmy was still eating and not talking, commented on the Quirk Knight track students as the guy who'd given the pledge came second and that Asta kid was about to come 7th having used a similar strategy to the winner to blast up in the standings. "She can probably clear it in the air if she wanted but it would require going really high and several bursts that would push her to and past her limit just like U.A. should. This was a trade off risk and it didn't pay off."
"Ruby will learn, we saw right before she got frozen to the ground that she realized what she should do so she'll adapt now that she's made this mistake already." Blake said as Weiss hauled Ruby up and proceeded to move through the pull to glomp Schnee in a bear hug that staggered the white haired girl and caused her eyes to go wide. "Well, that was interesting."
"It's cute that they're so close." Hado said with a smile as Schnee hugged Ruby back and they steadied themselves but neither girl let go once that happened. "Good to see such friendship so early on in the year and as they're both on the Huntress track being good friends will serve them well."
"Yeah, friendship." Yang said with a grin, Ruby really did go all out it seemed but she was sure her little sister was unaware of it herself. "They are very close; they talk every night and Schnee helps Ruby with the subjects she's not great in and vice versa. Also, according to Ruby, Schnee won't let Ruby call until Ruby's done with her homework so it's been a great motivator for her."
"They are the only two Huntresses in their class." Blake pointed out but even she couldn't deny that there was clearly something deeper going on that neither girl was yet aware of it seemed, or likely in denial of in Schnee's case at least. "So it's natural for them to be close and I support Schnee's methods to get Ruby to study, would be good if you learned them as well Yang."
"Nah, I do things the Yang way." Yang said. "Always have, always will."
"Good for them." Hado said not picking up anything at all while Blake sighed because the Yang way was just punch, or if needed kick, it until it worked. "Just like you two then."
"Pretty much, right kitty?" Yang asked with a grin at Blake who sighed again.
"Similar at least, we are best friends just like they are." Blake said with a smile causing Yang to cheer and pump her fist in the air as more and more students began to come out of the tunnel. "But it's nearing the end, let's watch that and learn who's made the cutoff and what is next for them."
The others nodded as a few more of the known Quirk Knight track kids burst out, mainly ones from Class 1-B, and the older students just sat back to watch the Obstacle Race come to an end. It had sure been an interesting race and now it was time to enjoy the rest of the results and see what U.A. had in store for those who made it to the second round of the Sports Festival for the first years.
Asta yelled as he ran through the tunnel having entered it only moments after Schnee exited it into the stadium. He'd done well, Midoriya's trick had blasted him past the main trailing group of the leaders and ahead of them but in the end even with a second blast from the flat of his sword landing on a mine to propel him forward he'd been unable to catch up to the top 6. Still, as he burst through the entrance to the stadium that was the finish line he'd managed to come 7th which wasn't bad and while still behind Yuno's second place his rival hadn't won either so he took that as a good sign going forward.
He did notice that Rose was hugging Schnee with a grove in the dirt next to them but Asta ignored that as he moved further into the stadium and got clear of the finish line as the finishers would be coming soon. A moment later that was the case for the 8th and 9th place kids, a girl with vines for hair and a boy with a skull like face respectively, finished. Asta didn't know either of them so they had to be Class 1-B but they'd done well to be in the top 10 and to manage it without getting noticed so he'd have to be wary of them just in case.
Normally Asta would go chat to Yuno but he decided against it as Yuno stood off to the side thinking and occasionally glance at Midoriya, likely because he'd beaten Yuno, who Asta noted was looking contemplative after his win, because he needed to focus and see where the others came. As Asta turned to the entrance to do this, the final finisher in the top 10, Ida, blew through the finish having gone as fast as he could once he was clear of the minefield, which he'd tried to sprint through to above average success.
Even with a few trip ups from mines, Ida's speed had helped him as he'd overtaken Nero and Mimosa who'd been able to clear the minefield before him thanks to their Quirks being better suited for not triggering any mines. However, hey were the only ones who Ida had been able to overtake before he reached the finish line as he couldn't reach Ibara Shiozaki or Juzo Honenuki, the 8th and 9th place finishers that Asta didn't know the names of, in time.
That hadn't bothered Nero as she just continued running as Ida passed her and manage a respectable 11th place followed by Leo who'd boosted his speed with his fire, which he'd used to carve a path through the mines hence why he'd fallen behind Mimosa, to pass his cousin just as they entered the tunnel. As such he was able come 12th while Mimosa finished 13th but she more than happy with a top 15 finish.
11th was good but Nero really didn't care with her placing in the race as she was sure she'd advanced so she just walked over to stand with Asta, ignoring Ruby and Weiss as they had finally ended their hug just as Ida had finished and were now just chatting to themselves about the race, and stood with him as Tokoyami finished the course in 14th. They needed to wait for Noelle who should have come higher but Izuku and Asta's massive explosion strategies, coupled with Noelle's constant focus on control, had thrown her off and slowed her down a bit as she crossed the minefield.
Thankfully it wasn't by too much as Noelle came panting out of the tunnel a moment after Tokoyami to finish 15th in the race having made up a few paces as she flew on her water platform back to the ground in Asta's wake. She was clearly exhausted but tried not to show it as she headed over to them and rather than collapse on the ground she grabbed Asta's arm and held onto it.
"Um, you ok Noelle?" Asta asked as Noelle gripped hos bicep and bent over panting as recovered from the final sprint she'd done after landing on the ground past the minefield.
"Shut it Dorksta, I just need a moment so I'm using you as support nothing more." Noelle said as she tried to get her breath back and flushed, Nero just ignoring this as it was clear to her why Noelle had gone to Asta and not her for support even if Noelle was in deep denial. "So don't read into it."
"Read into what?" Asta asked a little confused at what Noelle was going on about as more and more of their class made it through the finish line along with some of Class B amongst their numbers as well.
"Don't worry, Asta won't understand Noelle." Nero said but Noelle just glared at her which Nero ignored while also noting that Uraraka had gone up to congratulate Midoriya right after she finished the race in 24th having been part of a decent chunk that finished in a group and getting really close to him causing him to go bright red so that was another seed growing that Nero would observe with amusement. "You should work on stamina Noelle. We can't rely on our Quirks; physical fitness is important as well. Plus, Quirks are part of us as well so the more stamina you have the better you can be with your Quirk."
"Yeah I can train you if you'd like." Asta said as a thoroughly annoyed and disgusted Yaoyorozu finished her shirt still open and showing her sports bra as she'd not zipped it back up after opening it to create that canon and showing that Mineta was on her back having stuck 4 pop off balls to it with two on her shirt and two on her pants while Mineta smirked at his genius despite the bruised cheek and bloody nose that he had from the robot. "I know how to increase stamina."
"I, I'd like that." Noelle said going bright red as more and more students finished the race. "I could use the help."
"Sweet, Nero, you want in as well?" Asta asked with a grin.
"Sure, I did just make the point about needing physical fitness to Noelle so I'd better do the same." Nero said looking to Noelle, who had a mix of annoyance, denial and relief on her face at that, which was certainly an interesting mix to see. "After this though as we still need to see where everyone else finished, and finish the Sports Festival of course."
Asta nodded at that and turned in time to note that the third Huntsman track student, that kid Pine in Class B, was just finishing in the middle of a pack of his classmates and while Asta didn't know it yet Pine had come 37th as part of the grand Class 1-B plan that many in the class were in on as part of their self-declared rivalry with Class 1-A. Of course he missed that, as did most for that matter though for Noelle it was more her catching her breath before letting go of Asta lest he think she liked him like that, which she totally didn't, and continued to watch the rest of the first years finish the Obstacle Race.
It really was clear to anyone who saw the standings that Class 1-B had either held back somewhat or were actually worse on average than Class 1-A as other than a handful in the top 20, 7 to be precise, the rest came in bunches interspersed by the remaining Class 1-A students who's Quirks or tactics hadn't helped them make the top 20. The one exception to either of this was the pink haired support girl, Hatsume if those who met her recalled correctly, who came 50th and thus one spot ahead of Aoyama who was the last in the Hero Course to finish coming in 51st and holding his gut from overusing his Quirk.
While they weren't aware of it yet, there was one more spot left in the next round after Aoyama and that was filled by an unassuming girl with bright green eyes and long black hair that was slightly lighter at the top and tied in a set of pigtails by a pair of white bows. She was the first of the General Studies students to finish and the final to advance to the next round.
After that though it was just a matter of the remaining first years finishing the race and as they were doing it Midnight made her way to the platform that was still there and up the steps to stand on it as the first years finished the event and the results sorted. The entire time the crowd cheered until the last student, one of the Business Course students who came last not that she minded as those in the Business Course expected to be last, crossed the line and Midnight addressed them all.
"The first event for the first years is now over and what a race it was." Midnight said getting everyone's attention as the holo screen once again appeared behind her while she stood on the platform to address them. "Now, let's take a quick look at the results shall we."
At that the results appeared with on the screen above Midnight as well as on the ones that were all around the stadium with the names and the class letter for them starting with Izuku who was first followed by Yuno, Todoroki, Bakugo, Ruby, and Weiss all getting their own full screen image before it broke down to split screens for the rest of the top 20 and a list for the remaining ones until it ended with the 52nd place finisher, the pigtailed girl who was from Class 1-E and apparently called Trivia Vanille. After her though no more results were posted and Midnight took over the mic once again.
"Only the top 52 have advanced to the next round of the Sports Festival." Midnight said explaining why only 52 names had been shown as all students were now gathered in their classes before it having used the time of the results to gather there. "But don't let that get you down if you didn't make the cut as we've prepared other opportunities for you to show off today."
At that Midnight licked her licks which seemed highly inappropriate but the students just let it slide as they stood still and waited to hear about the next part of the games. Even those now out did as they had to but for many of them they were just glad that their humiliation was over and they could just watch the Hero Course, for the most part, fight each other until the day ended.
"For those of you that have advanced though, now is the chance for you to fully thrust yourselves into the limelight, so give it your best and now…" Midnight continued after her slight pause before she raised her flail, thankfully not cracking it, as the screen behind her repeated the rapid spin to see what the next event was only this time there was no game music accompanying the spin. "…let's see what you've got and if your wildest fantasies come to life? What will it be? The waiting is, oh, just so torturous which is precisely how I like it."
That was really inappropriate but the students either just endured it, Weiss groaned as now all she could hear was the similarities between Ms. Midnight and her sister's voices which was hurting her head given how dissimilar they were in everything else, or in Mineta's case lapped it up and rode his high after riding to the finish on the back of Yaoyorozu. Finally it ended as Midnight gestured at the screen and the event was revealed to be a staple of Japanese Sports Festivals and a playground classic for many of the students, the Cavalry Battle.
"Aw man, I'm terrible at cavalry battles." Kaminari complained. "And if we get to use Quirks this isn't good, I'll just zap my own team."
"So it's not an individual event." Tsu said her finger on her chin as Mineta cheered at the event as it meant contact with girls and he'd be perfect for it with his size so surely the ladies would be lining up to join his team. "I didn't see that coming but it makes sense though I do wonder how they will split us up."
"What's a cavalry battle?" Asta asked confused especially as the figures depicting it on the screen next to the title of the next event didn't make sense to him. "I've never heard of that game before."
"Well if you listen it will be explained to you Dorksta." Noelle said though that was more defensive because she also didn't know what it was either but if it was a team thing then she could allow for Asta to be on her team, they were future Quirk Knights after all so it made sense that they were on the same team. "That's about to happen so be quiet and you'll learn because I'm sure this will have some twist to what a normal cavalry battle is."
"All me to explain what will happen." Midnight said interrupting the chatter as the screen changed to show cartoon images of All Might sitting on the shoulders or Present Mic and an unidentified hero who couldn't be seen with Thirteen in front of them and her hands along with Present Mic's, and presumable the other character, were holding All Might's feet so that he was off the ground. "The participants will form teams of 2 to 4 people as they see fit."
That was obvious to Asta based off the image on the screen though he was of course still confused by what the game was. Also if that was the formation then how could it be less than 4? Presumably it was due to Quirks but as it was teams he had to think of who he wanted on his team though he was sure he knew two already given that they were on either side of him and at this point Noelle and Nero were his closest friends in his class so they would join him, he was sure of it.
"In theory it's basically the same as a regular playground game that many of you played growing up but there is one difference to make this interesting and ensure that we have advancement in the Sports Festival." Midnight said getting Asta's attention again and he listened closely to the rules so that he knew what the next event was and could therefore win it and advance to the next stage of the Sports Festival. "That difference is that each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the Obstacle Race."
"That makes sense." Sato muttered as Midnight paused to let her words sink in. "A point based system like the entrance exam to determine who advances. Seems pretty simple to me."
"That means that each team will have a different total point value depending on which students are on it." Ochaco said as Mina agreed with her. "That adds a whole new layer to this especially because we don't know how many points are in play."
"We have to be smart when we chose teams then." Weiss said thinking on it. "Because no doubt the aim of the game will be to collect as many points as possible, which you will have to take from the other teams, in the timeframe of the game and within the parameters of the rules so that the highest ones advance."
"Sounds fun." Ruby said grinning at the next event already knowing that she'd have Weiss on her team and that with their Quirks this would be good so she just needed two classmates to back them up and add muscle and protection in areas that she and Weiss lacked. "Let's do this, I've got to make up for that embarrassment in the minefield."
"Oh cool, this will be good." Asta said not realizing that both Noelle and Nero had moved even closer to him so that they could make sure they were on a team with Asta the moment it came to form them, Noelle for her aforementioned reasons and Nero because, well, she'd already pledged her loyalty to Asta and knew he'd be the next Wizard King so she would aid him in any way that furthered his goal along which included winning the Sports Festival though he was also her friend. "Bring it on."
"Maybe you should shut up and listen or else I'll punish you which I'll enjoy immensely." Midnight said angrily to the chattering students with a crack of her flail that startled them and got them to be quiet as they had disturbing ideas of what she meant by punishment though Mineta would allow her to punish him like that anytime, anywhere, and once they did Midnight continued in her normal tone as the screen changed to show the points. "In this event the point totals start in increments of 5 starting from the last place qualifier so 52nd place is assigned 5 points, 51st 10 points and so on. The exception of course is the point value of first place. The winner of the Obstacle Race is assigned … 10 million points!"
"10, 10 million." Izuku squeaked out as everyone turned to him with predatory grins as either eyes seemed to glow red, or in Ruby's case a relieved sigh that she'd messed up so wouldn't have to deal with that as it became clear that the target was Izuku in the next event, a punishment of sorts for standing out and thus showing the price the person at the top paid for being there. "Th, that's…"
"That's right." Midnight said her own grin even more predatory than those of the students as they continued to look at Izuku. "It's survival of the fittest in the next event with the chance of those at the bottom to rise up to the top by overthrowing first place."
Midnight wasn't wrong and Izuku gulped at being at the top. Unbeknownst to him this was exactly what All Might was after with him, the burden of being at the top of the mountain, of what taking his place as his successor truly meant, and now Izuku would get a taste of what it would be like to live up to that burden.
"Alright time for the rules of the Cavalry Battle that you will all abide by." Midnight said getting their attention once more as she cracked her flail to make sure they had their eyes on her before gesturing to the screen behind her with it where the image depicting the typical carry reappeared only with points for each of them now. "The game itself will last 15 minutes and your team's individual points will be added together to reach your team total that you will start with and which will be printed on a headband that rider of the team must wear. To raise your score simply swipe the headbands from other teams and that score will be added to your own team's total."
Midnight paused as the screen showed a handy graphic of All Might with a white headband on with the combined scores shown from the screen before as the kids watched in silence as the rules were fully explained to them. After that it shifted to a new graphic showing how the headbands attached and then one with another band this time around All Might's neck.
"In addition, while your starting headband must be around your head, stolen ones, including yours if you steal it back, must be worn around the neck and stacked up." Midnight continued once the graphic had changed to make her point as several bands began to stack up around All Might's neck and climb up his face. "That way the more you steal the harder it will be to manage them. Of course if your headband gets stolen or your team falls down, so long as the rider does not touch the ground, you can keep playing until time's up."
"Interesting, this ensures that it's anyone's game while making team selection important not just for points but for balance in terms of powers and skills." Momo said thinking on the rules. "And with all the points, especially whoever's on Midoriya's team, anyone can come back into it."
"Yeah and with 52 people there's going to be 12 to 15 or so teams in this depending on number of team members that you go for." Sato added. "So there's going to be a wide distribution of points for most teams other than Midoriya's team at the start."
"Sounds tough." Aoyama moaned clearly still in pain from the Obstacle Race.
"Does that mean if you lose your headband early you've got more time to get points back?" Mina asked as she pondered the event. "So it would technically better to lose it then though of course the goal is to not lose it at all."
"Perhaps but a lot will come down to how the teams are formed so best to wait until then before strategizing." Tsu pointed out. "Then you can know what plan works best for you."
"Interesting." Nero said as she glanced to Asta who would almost certainly want to be the rider on any team he formed. "Strategy will be key here which could be…"
"Yeah but he's got his own talents." Noelle muttered; she'd already accepted that Nero would be on their team so best to just make sure they were on the same page while Asta didn't notice what was going on. "So we'll pick up the slack on that front while we let Asta do what he does best."
"Agreed." Nero said with a nod.
"Ruby, you've got talent as a leader but now's not the time to rush into things." Weiss whispered to her friend as like Ruby she was well aware that they'd be on the same team for this event. "We need to think sensibly and choose wisely so huddle up once the team selection begins."
"Yeah I learned that lesson the hard way." Ruby whispered back as she thought on which classmates she'd like to approach to join her team. "No more impatience for me, we'll use the time we get to prepare to do just that."
"This is going to be hard and rough." Midnight said licking her lips again and causing groans from several students at the inuendo. "You may use your Quirks during the Cavalry Battle however you see fit and as much as you like but there are some rules to abide by. If you make a team fall on purpose I'll slap you … with a red card and you will be disqualified."
That was obvious though Bakugo still tisked at it while Mineta muttered that he wouldn't mind being slapped by Midnight's hand or something else that earned him a tongue slap from Tsu before he could finish which everyone else just ignored. The rest understood though and would abide by the rule because they didn't want to get removed from the event.
"Good because that is all I have for the rules and you now have 15 minutes to select your teams." Midnight said as a timer appeared on the screen. "And that time starts…now."
With that the first event officially ended and the preparations for the second event began as the 52 students still in the Sports Festival moved to form teams. It was time to get ready for the Cavalry Battle.
Well there it is, sorry again for how all over the place it was but hopefully y'all tracked it and with the finishing spots for the 9 additions to the Hero Course from RWBY and Black Clover listed it should be clear where everything went down as the order of the other students, including Shinso is canon. If this is not the case then please let me know and I'll clarify that at the start of the next chapter along with the points, I've got all that figured out for the Cavalry Battle teams that will be decided next chapter, so I can put it in if it helps. Also, I am sure you all know who that last place person was, I wanted to make this like the canon where the available spots were the full Hero Course plus 2 extras (Hatsume and Shinso back then) so that's why its 52 and I had a debate on the last one but then it struck me and so I put her in. I'll confirm all that and more next chapter. As for their rankings, I wanted Izuku to still win as that is a key and important canon moment for him but after that things got interesting so factoring in things like Yuno's Quirk, how the minefield would be really detrimental to Ruby, and what the others could do I came up with what I felt was good positions for the 9 additions while also giving Oscar a chance to show how well integrated into his class he's become by going along with Monoma's plan but worry not he's got some more time to shine soon. Lastly, to clarify now that I've shown some of the third years, Yang, Blake, Luck, Magna, and Charmy are in Class 3-A with Hado and Amajiki, while the other additional students from RWBY (team JNPR) and Black Clover (here Sol and Klaus) are in class 3-B with Togata. More on them will come in time as they fit into the story so this is so that when that time comes you know. That is all that I have for this long, meandering, chapter so I will leave it off here as we gear up for the next event of the U.A. Sport Festival, the Cavalry Battle. If you like this story please follow, favorite (this story and me) to keep up with it and leave a review or PM, your support is what helps motivate me to keep up this work and any questions posed before the next chapter is uploaded I will try to answer. Until next time.
Stringdog