A/N:
Sorry it took me this long! I recently found out that I'm moving because of my Dad's new job, so things have been pretty hectic and posting here completely slipped my mind.
On a different note, I really didn't know how to write the cavalry battle, as I haven't seen the sports festival episodes of the anime in forever, so I kinda skipped over that. Sorry!
Anyway, enjoy the chapters!
Izuku stared up at the huge stadium before him, most of his classmates gawking around him.
He'd watched the Sports Festival for as long as he could remember. It'd started with his dad, who was fascinated with watching the hero students' quirks, and carried on after he left. Shouta encouraged Izuku to keep watching, as he said that he might be able to pick up some good tips from the students that didn't depend entirely on their quirks. But never in a million years had Izuku pictured himself standing by the stadium, about to fight in it.
Uraraka squealed from next to him. "Ooh, I'm so excited! Are you, Midoriya-kun?" she asked, turning to him.
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, noting another bus pull up next to the one they had travelled on. "More nervous than excited, I think," he answered truthfully and Uraraka laughed.
"Yeah, I get that," she said. "What about you, Iida-kun?"
"I'm a bit nervous as well," Tenya admitted. "My brother is watching, and I want to make him proud."
Izuku gave him a smile. "Uncle Tensei will be really proud," he assured his friend.
Uraraka gasped loudly, drawing the attention of several others near them "Uncle Tensei?"
"Ah, yes," Izuku laughed nervously. "I've known Tenya and Uncle Tensei for years. Family friends, I guess. But he's an honorary uncle; we aren't biologically related."
"Okay," she resolved. "Must be pretty cool to know a pro hero that well, huh."
Izuku hummed, containing his laughter.
'If only she knew.'
"Go on inside and find the room you've been given," Shouta called from the front. "Make sure you're changed within the next two hours, but I shouldn't need to say that, hm?"
The class shouted a mixture of affirmations and began entering the building. Shouta gave Izuku the smallest of nods as he passed, a firm look of pride in his eyes, though someone who didn't know him as well wouldn't be able to tell. Izuku took a deep breath and followed Tenya inside, the seven vestiges floating alongside him.
They found the room quickly, picking up their sports uniforms and heading into the changing rooms, boys on one side and girls on the other. They were all changed in the first twenty minutes, so they split into groups to entertain themselves until they were needed. Izuku, Tenya, Uraraka and Tsuyu sat down together on the floor in one of the rooms and played Rummy with Izuku's cards until his phone rang.
With a motion to continue, he stood and found an empty corner, accepting the call.
"Izuku?"
"Asu-nee!"
Izuku could hear her smile on the other end. "It's great to hear from you. I'm in the stands, by the way."
"Really? Can't wait to see you! Is Natsuo-san with you?" He got a strange look from Todoroki there, but ignored it.
"I told you to drop the honorific, Izuku!" Natsuo called and Asuka giggled.
"He's here, if you couldn't tell," she said.
Izuku grinned. "Sorry, Natsuo."
"That's alright. Sorry I haven't come round lately, Med School's a bitch."
"You just refuse to do anything," Asuka deadpanned. "Anyway, we didn't call to have you listen to us argue. I'll be watching so you better do your best, Izu, yeah?"
"Okay," Izuku said, feeling nervous once again. "I'll try."
"You'll do great!" Natsuo cheered.
"Good luck! We'll be looking for you!"
"Thanks Asu-nee." Izuku sighed as he hung up.
Tenya looked up at him as Izuku sat down again. "Was that Asuka?" Izuku nodded, picking up his cards.
Tsuyu tilted her head, "Is that your sister, kero?"
"Yeah, she came today with her boyfriend."
"That must be nice," Tsuyu said. "My parents are at home with my little brothers today, but they're going to watch it on the TV."
Uraraka eyebrows shot up. "I didn't realise you had siblings, Tsu-chan! It sounds so fun!"
"Not really, kero. They're very annoying."
They all laughed.
Tenko groaned in frustration at the black screen. The darned TV wouldn't turn on!
"All right there, crusty?" Touya stifled a laugh at Tenko's annoyed expression as he took off his coat and shoes, having just come through the door.
"Shut it, burnt bitch. I don't suppose you could do anything?" Tenko asked with a raised eyebrow, holding out the remote for his brother to take.
Touya backed off quickly, waving his hands in surrender. "I'd probably burn the remote if I got mad, and I don't think you want me spoiling your chance of seeing Izu."
"No, you're right," Tenko conceded, placing the remote on the bar stool next to the one he sat on. "You wouldn't mind calling Dad, would you?"
"Do it yourself, lazy-bum."
Tenko groaned once again as Touya went behind the bar to make himself a drink. He grabbed his phone, pleased that he had remembered to put his gloves on that morning, and opened his contacts to call his dad.
"Tenko?" The voice through the phone sounded confused. "I thought you wanted to watch the Sports Festival."
"I do," he grumbled in response, "But the TV isn't working. Can you help please?"
His dad chuckled. "Let me finish up here and I'll be straight there."
Tenko smiled. "Thanks, Dad," he said, before hanging up. He turned to Touya, who had poured himself a mug of coffee. "He's on his way."
Touya shrugged. "I should probably go get Oboro then."
"You do that," Tenko replied distractedly as his Dad warped in.
"So what's wrong with the TV?"
"It just won't turn on," Tenko huffed, checking the clock. "Oh my god, it starts in seven minutes. Touya-nii, hurry up!"
"Midoriya."
Izuku looked up at Todoroki, who stood in front of him. "Do you need something, Todoroki-san."
Todoroki's eyes narrowed. "I think it's pretty obvious right now. I'm more powerful than you in terms of training. So know this; I will beat you."
"Whoa!" Kirishima interjected, waving his hands in a placating gesture. "Calm down, dude. It's not manly to pick fights just before going on!"
"I'm not here to make friends with anyone."
Izuku steeled his nerves and stepped forward. "You might have the most control and training in the whole hero course but everyone here is aiming for the top spot. Just because you're better doesn't mean that I won't try too. You should watch out, Todoroki-san, because I'll be fighting you for first place!" He finished, fists clenched as he stared at his classmate.
Todoroki paused, gave a stiff, reluctant nod, and walked out of the room. Tenya stared after him for just a moment before he turned back to the class. "It's time to head down," he announced, chopping a hand.
Izuku slid his phone into the pocket of his discarded coat and followed his friends out of the room.
Izuku barely registered Hizashi announcing their entry to the field, his anxiousness increasing tenfold as the roaring of the crowd hit his ears.
Uraraka was bouncing on her toes, squealing in excitement, which really did not help Izuku's thumping heart calm down.
He glanced up at the screens showing the announcer's booth. He noted Shouta's bored face drooped further when Hizashi shouted out the other classes, and had to force his laughter back. He looked away, so as to not start giggling, and caught Hitoshi's wry grin instead. He gave a small wave, getting a tilt of the head in return.
"And now," Auntie Nem announced, waving her whip in the air, "We have the student pledge from… Bakugou Katsuki!"
Izuku pursed his lips as the blond made his way up to the platform. He knew exactly where this was going.
"I just wanna say, I'm gonna win."
The students surrounding the stage groaned and booed him, but Kacchan merely brushed it off with a thumbs-down. Izuku sent an exasperated look to Hitoshi who grinned. He could almost hear the snarky response of 'we're coming for you'.
Meanwhile, the vestiges were taking turns trying to trip Kacchan up without becoming visible. Nana gave him a smile when she realised he was watching, but the others didn't notice.
"Without further ado, let's see what the first round will be," Auntie Nem continued as the wheel on the screen behind her began to spin. It landed on 'Obstacle Race'.
This would be interesting.
As Aunty Nem explained the round, Izuku held a sign conversation with Hitoshi, making a plan, and when they all lined up at the start, Izuku made his way over and grasped Hitoshi's hand.
"Do you trust me?" He asked, hearing the countdown.
"Yeah?" Hitoshi sounded uncertain.
Izuku gave his hand a light squeeze. "Okay. Don't freak out."
Hitoshi's eyes widened. "Freak out!? What are you planning?"
"Just don't freak out."
"AND GO!"
They ran forward, the front of the group immediately blocking the tunnel. The noise increased, everyone protesting that they couldn't get through.
Izuku took a deep breath and, as he exhaled, pulled Hitoshi's quirk out, feeling a warmth slide into his chest. Ignoring the sharp gasp from beside him, he shouted out to the students, "COULD EVERYONE SHUT UP?"
Izuku tugged on the string he'd extended as he got a mixed answer from those who had answered his question. Immediately, things quieted down. Izuku gave Hitoshi's hand another squeeze. "Carry us over to the other end of the students," he instructed, feeling hands slowly pick him up, Hitoshi next to him.
"What…" Hitoshi breathed.
"My quirk," Izuku answered quickly. "I'll explain later."
He received a nod as they travelled over the heads of the students. They were put down on the other side of the tunnel, where a few Hero Course students had already escaped, only to see Todoroki send a huge wave of ice out at some of the robots from the entrance exam.
Izuku let go of Hitoshi's quirk as he pulled the other boy forward with him. He grabbed a spare piece of metal from one of the fallen robots and slipped through the chaos holding it under his free arm.
"Come on," Hitoshi said, tugging Izuku along. "I don't know what the fuck you did back there, but we need to go quickly."
Izuku grinned. "I'm right behind you."
Shouta slurped his coffee as Hizashi adjusted his microphone yet again.
"Calm down," he said eventually. "They'll be fine."
"I hope so," Hizashi fretted. "I just want them to do really well but we can't seem biased because we're announcing and- oh look, we have to start!"
Shouta leaned over and kissed his husband on the cheek. "Calm down, Zashi. You're great at this. Now turn on your microphone and let's start this damn thing."
Hizashi nodded, as he pressed a button on the panel in front of him. "Good morning and welcome to this year's Sports Festival! I'm Present Mic and this year I have a guest up here with me. Say hi, Eraserhead."
Shouta gave his husband a disinterested blink.
"Okay, looks like Eraser here's a bit tired this morning, but aren't we all?" The audience laughed and Hizashi continued. "So… let's see who we're watching this year!"
Shouta tuned out the introductions as he scanned the students for his kids. Hitoshi and Izuku were only a few meters apart, and not making any insinuation that they knew each other. He listened to the student pledge – as short as it was – and then to Nemuri as she introduced the first round.
At which point, Izuku and Hitoshi… started signing?
He couldn't make out any of it from where he was, but was interested in what would happen next. After all, they wouldn't sign through something as important as this unless they were planning.
The round began and the tunnel was very quickly blocked. Hizashi laughed as he explained that it was actually the first obstacle, but Shouta was more invested in his kids being carried over the mass of first-year students.
It was truly a pity that they didn't have mics down there.
Izuku ended up carrying Hitoshi and the piece of metal across the canyon using One for All enhanced jumps.
Hitoshi clung onto Izuku's shoulders with a vice-like grip. Izuku could see his knuckles turning white from the corner of his eye. Hitoshi clearly didn't like drops.
By the time they reached the other side, Hitoshi looked ready to vomit, but pushed on anyway. They were near the front of the year, only Kacchan and Todoroki ahead of them.
Izuku grabbed Hitoshi's hand as they ran forwards along the track to the next obstacle: a minefield.
Todoroki and Kacchan were already quite far across it, using their quirks to dodge the bombs. As they tried to come up with a plan, someone ran past them, only to have pink glitter blow them off their feet. Izuku winced in sympathy before an idea hit him.
"Hitoshi," he said, already beginning to pull at the dirt with the piece of metal. "Dig up the mines. We're going to fly on an explosion."
Hitoshi, the wonderful, trusting person he was, didn't question Izuku's words.
As they worked, a few more people began traversing the minefield, all getting blown off their feet within the first several feet.
Once they had a substantial pile of the mines, Izuku helped Hitoshi onto his back and grabbed the sheet of metal, holding it in front of his body. "Hold on tight," he muttered, running forward. He fell onto the metal as it touched the mines, Hitoshi's arms tightening around his torso. With a loud bang, they were in the air, soaring over the minefield.
"WOW, that was one BIG blast!" Izuku distantly heard Hizashi's voice over the wind roaring in his ears. "Would you look at that, folks. It's Midoriya and Shinsou from classes A and C respectively. They're flying on some metal, it looks like. And they've just overtaken Bakugou and Todoroki!"
Izuku smirked to himself. Everything was going to plan.
"Toshi!" He shouted over the noise.
"What?"
"When we get close to the ground, I'm going to jump onto the wall on the side of the track, okay?"
"Is that allowed?"
"It's not outside the track so I guess it must be fine. They didn't say we couldn't."
The ground was getting closer.
"How are we going to stay in front?"
"We aren't," Izuku replied, pushing away from the sheet of metal and towards the wall.
He just barely caught the wall with his hands, even with One for All humming through his body. Izuku pulled himself to his feet, helping Hitoshi off his back once he was steady.
"Come one," he urged, already running along the wall. He saw Kacchan and Todoroki close in as they jumped off the wall and into the tunnel. Izuku grabbed Hitoshi's wrist and pulled him flat against the concrete.
Kacchan flew past them, explosions heating up the air, Todoroki next to him. They were out of the tunnel in the blink of an eye, and Izuku peeled himself off the wall to follow them into the stadium.
As he emerged from the darkness, the cheering of the crowd hit him full-force.
He wasn't in first place, but Izuku knew there was always a penalty for the first place of the first round.
Hitoshi, however, didn't know that.
Izuku turned to see the other teen face him, a murderous expression on his face.
"What did you think you were doing?" Hitoshi hissed quietly. "We could've been in first!"
Izuku held up his hands placatingly. "First place is at a disadvantage for round two. There's a penalty every year, Toshi."
Hitoshi visibly relaxed. "Oh," he said, sighing. "Then thanks, I guess."
Izuku nodded. "No problem."
The bar exploded with cheers from the four there as Izuku and Hitoshi entered the stadium.
"Third and fourth!" Hisashi exclaimed happily.
Tenko grinned. "Izuku looked like a maniac! Poor Hitoshi looked like he wanted to combust."
Oboro patted him on the head. "He'll be fine. Doesn't like heights, I reckon."
Touya shrugged, "Oh well. They're through to the next round, and without the penalty either."
The sound of a phone ringing cut through the celebrations.
Hisashi picked up his phone and peered at the caller ID. "It's Asuka," he said, answering the call.
Tenko smiled once more as his family greeted the two in the stands.
Izuku and Hitoshi were going to dominate the competition.
"You have fifteen minutes to choose your teams and start planning!"
Izuku turned to Hitoshi. "Same team?"
Hitoshi rolled his eyes. "Duh."
"Okay. We just need to find-"
"Hi," A girl with pink dreadlocks butted in. "I'm Hatsume Mei, support. I want to join your team."
"What do you have to offer us?" Hitoshi asked sceptically, one brow raised.
"I have tons of babies that could help you. Plus, you using them will be a huge boost for me. All the Pros out there get the chance to see how good my babies are!"
The 'babies' she kept mentioning were probably her inventions.
Izuku shrugged. "Why not? Welcome to the team."
"Alright," Hitoshi said. "We just need one more person…"
"I have an idea," Izuku announced, moving towards his classmate.
Hitoshi was the rider, Tokoyami, Izuku and Hatsume carrying him. They had all put on a few of Hatsume's gadgets each and been told how to use them.
They spent the last ten minutes planning, Izuku leading them through possible scenarios and how they would overcome the problems.
Before too long, they were placed at the side of the stadium, headbands handed to them as they left the field.
Hizashi counted down, and then they ran towards the middle, Dark Shadow tucked behind Tokoyami, Hitoshi's arm out, ready to snatch the headbands off other students' heads.
They were not losing this round.
In the end, they just barely made it to the next round through a headband Tokoyami managed to snatch in the last seconds of the cavalry battle. As soon as the round ended, they let Hitoshi down and shared group hugs – after they'd removed the gadgets that were more likely to explode if squeezed.
They walked off the field together – Hatsume happily explaining some of the 'babies' she hadn't brought with her – heading to the cafeteria to get themselves lunch. Izuku and Hitoshi left the other two after they'd bought sandwiches and made their way through the stands to find Asuka and Natsuo, who congratulated them far too loudly.
After eating, Izuku left Hitoshi and made his way back to the 1-A room to spend the time before the one-on-one battles with his classmates.
The vestiges decided among themselves that they would follow him the whole way there making crude jokes and rude gestures at anyone they passed.
Izuku had to admit, they were a good distraction.