Finally, the sports festival has begun. No, for real. I'm not lying again, we're really starting it this time. I honestly feel kind of nervous. This was probably my favorite arc in MHA. I see so many other fan fiction authors with their own takes on this, but now that I'm doing it myself, I feel scared and excited at the same time. I really hope I do a good job with it. Oh, by the way, I won't be using the exact lines from the show. I've gotta have some creativity, don't I? It's totally not because I haven't watched MHA for almost 7 months and completely forgot all the lines. No, that would be crazy.
"You can lift skyscraper sized robots and toss them away. You can practically solo 18 people with powerful quirks. You can single handedly defeat a mob of villains and put up a fight against something strong enough to fight All Might. So why...why are you so nervous bro?" Kirishima stared down Peter, who was laying on top of a table, his hands over his face as he breathed deeply.
The sports festival had arrived. Class 1A was in a large waiting room, sitting and chatting while they awaited the message to enter the stadium. While everybody else was talking or simply waiting quietly, Peter was groaning on the table while Kirishima, Mina, Ojiro, Kaminari, and Midoriya surrounded him.
"Eijirou, I'm not worried about the sports festival itself, I'm worried about the speech. I suck at this kind of stuff. Oh god, I'm gonna make a fool of myself." Peter groaned again.
"Yeah, probably. But hey, at least it'll be enjoyable for us." Kaminari joked, laughing even as Mina smacked him upside the head.
"Stop it." She said sternly. "Seriously Peter, don't worry. You'll do fine. I'm sure you can handle this."
"Peter." The group parted and Peter uncovered his face, seeing Todoroki standing nearby.
"Yeah man, what's up?"
"Though it pains me to admit this, objectively speaking, you're stronger than me."
Peter didn't know how to respond. "Um...thank you?"
"It's because you're stronger than me that I plan to beat you. And you Midoriya, are likely weaker than me, yet I want to defeat you as well. I know All Might has his eye on you. I'm not sure why, but whatever that reason is, I'll still defeat you."
"Really man? A declaration of war? You really want to do something like that right before we start?" Kirishima put his hand on Todoroki's shoulder but was shrugged off almost immediately.
"We're not here to make friends, we're here to become heroes. And part of gaining the necessary recognition to become a hero means winning this festival. Consider me your enemy, because I'll be doing the same." Todoroki stalked off, leaving the group behind.
"Great. So not only do I have to give a speech to the whole world but apparently prince Zuko has it out for me now. This is gonna be a fun day." Peter appeared to somehow sink into the table, groaning more deeply than before.
Before any of his friends could say something, Iida came through the door and told them that it was time to go. Peter picked himself off the table and walked towards the door, mentally screaming, crying, and raging all at once. His class followed behind him. They walked through the large hallway, towards the entrance to the stadium. Peter could hear Present Mic screaming as they walked forwards.
"AND HERE THEY ARE! THE YOUNG PHENOMS WHO'VE BESTED THE IMPOSSIBLE ODDS AND TRIUMPHED IN REAL COMBAT! IT'S CLASS 1A!"
He finished his announcement just as Peter and the others walked out into the massive stadium. All around them were seemingly tens of thousands of people, all cheering. For Peter, it sounded like demons jeering at him.
"Oh fuck, there's so many people." Peter paled, his skin turning ghostly white as he resumed his internal screaming. He barely heard anything as Present Mic announced 1B, the support course, general studies, and the other classes.
"AND NOW, INTRODUCING THE OFFICIATOR FOR THIS YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL, IT'S...MIDNIGHT!"
The very inappropriately dressed woman walked in out of nowhere, drawing the eyes of practically every guy in all the classes. Peter barely registered her arrival, though he was capable of producing one thought.
"How the hell is this woman allowed to be a high school teacher?" He deadpanned, his skin still ghostly white as he stared at the woman. He was very careful to keep his eyes on her face, though that was proving difficult as there was just...so much to look at.
"Hello my lovelies. I expect all of you to do your best and give me a good show. I can't wait to see all of your youthful vigor." She licked her lips seductively as she spoke.
"How. The. Fuck. Are. You. A. Highschool. Teacher?!" Peter continued screaming mentally.
"AND NOW!" Midnight announced to the crowd. "The top scorer for the entrance exam, Peter Parker, will be delivering a speech to get us all in the mood for the sports festival." She waved Peter up to the podium she was standing on. He was immobile for a moment before somebody gently pushed him from behind and sent him walking forward. He stood next to Midnight, more terrified than he'd ever been in his life. He'd gladly fight any villain in any place if it meant getting out of here.
The microphone stand in front of him was imposing. It made Peter feel even worse, knowing it was the tool that would carry his voice, and his mistakes with them. The entire crowd was silent, all of them staring directly at him. He could feel the cameras focused on him, zooming in on his face. Every student in every class stared expectantly as he stood there silently, breathing heavily.
"Somebody please kill me. I just want to die. Can I please die? If I get the Infinity Stones and snap my fingers again, will I die for real this time?" Peter could feel tears trying to force their way to his eyes. He blinked them away before they got a chance to appear. If he screwed up the speech, fine. But no way was he going to start crying.
He looked at his classmates, hoping for some silent encouragement, when he noticed something. There was a person standing in the tunnel they had emerged from. She looked about his age, with light skin and dark, waist-length hair. She was smiling at him, giving him a thumbs up and mouthing "You can do it." Peter wasn't sure, but he felt like he had seen her before. Those cat-like eyes were familiar. Could it be? No, no way. She wouldn't.
Still, it made his mind wander, made him think of Toga. Toga was one of his best friends, right up there with Eijirou and the others. She listened to him, told him stories of her own, though they weren't very happy stories, and seemed to understand him better than most people. It made him calm, happy even to think of her, so he continued doing so, until finally he had calmed down completely.
"Peter? Are you alright?" Midnight was staring at him worriedly.
"Um, y-yes, Ms. Midnight. Sorry." He had been silent for nearly a full minute, and it was clear the crowd was becoming impatient.
"I'm fine. Everything's alright now. Thanks Toga, it helped thinking of you."
Peter cleared his throat, his breathing normal and his skin regaining its color. He walked up to the mic stand and faced the crowd.
"It's okay Peter. Don't be scared, don't be nervous. Just think of Toga and calm down. Just think of Toga. Just think of Toga. Just think of Toga." Peter repeatedly gave himself the same instructions as he finally began to speak.
"Sorry about that everybody. I'm a bit of a nervous wreck in situations like these, so that's why I panicked. Don't worry, I won't die on you just yet." The crowd laughed a little at Peter jab at himself. Up in the stands, All Might smiled at him.
"Good. Defuse the situation with a joke so they don't worry. Well done young Parker."
"I'll be honest, when I was told I had to give this speech, I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. I spent all last night writing some corny speech that I wanted to use, but...I don't need it. I'd rather just say what I'm thinking."
The crowd remained silent, though there were a few more laughs.
"...We're here to be heroes. We're at this school because we earned our places. Because we showed we have what it takes to be great. It doesn't matter if you're in class 1A, or 1B, or general studies. Wherever we might be, every one of us has proved we're capable of being heroes."
In the 1B crowd, Tetsutetsu and Kendo smiled.
"We might not all have the same motivations, or the same goals. Some of us want to be the best. Others want to be famous. And some of us just want to do what's right and to help people. Whatever our reasons are, we've all started on the path to being heroes. We've all taken steps in different directions, but the paths we tread all end up in the same place; out in the field, in a ridiculous costume, fighting criminals and rescuing civilians. We're all bound for the same goal, to become great heroes."
Everybody was silent, hanging onto Peter's every word.
"But we're all so different from each other. The beautiful thing about heroes is that they're all unique, special. There are those who are kind and generous, those who are rude but reassuring, and then there are the 'Endeavors.'"
The entire crowd roared with laughter at Peter's jab at the number 2 hero. Even some of the teachers laughed a little. The flame-hero himself was not amused however.
"I can't speak for the others. I don't know the kind of heroes they want to be, I only know they'll be great. Every one of them will be amazing heroes, heroes people look up to, heroes that make people safe with just their presence, heroes that make villains shiver from their names alone."
By now, Peter's adrenaline was running out and his nervousness was returning.
"NO! Damn it, not now! Come on Peter, calm down! Think of Toga. Think of Toga! THINK OF TOGA!"
"As for me, I know exactly the kind of hero I want to be. I will be the kind of hero who helps everybody. The kind of hero that does everything he can, whether that be stopping a bank robbery, or giving directions to somebody who's lost. I will do my best to help whoever needs it, to support any troubled person I come across, no matter who they are. And the first step towards achieving that goal can be taken by winning this sports festival. So I say to all of you, I, Peter Parker, will win this sports festival, and I will become an amazing hero."
Peter finished his speech, backing away from the microphone. Everybody in the audience roared, cheering for the boy. They were all pumped up, excited by the boy's words. Not a single person in the stadium wasn't cheering, all of them ready for the festival to begin and to see Peter's performance. Peter didn't know it, but his speech had a profound effect on a certain purple-haired boy.
In a bar in the middle of an alley, a group of villains clustered around a TV all smiled.
"You hear that? An amazing hero who'll help any troubled person, no matter who they are."
"Yeah Magne, we all heard it." Dabi smiled.
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS! WITH THAT OUTSTANDING SPEECH FROM MR. PARKER, WE CAN BEGIN WITH THE FIRST EVENT! YEEAAHH!" Present Mic's voice thundered out of the speakers as Peter returned to his class.
"Dude, that was awesome!" Kirishima clapped him on the back as he returned.
"You were wrong about one thing though. No way are you winning this. That's all me Peter." Kaminari smirked.
"No way, it'll be me!" Mina shot back.
"Okay young heroes. With that wonderful speech by Mr. Parker, we can now begin the first event." Midnight raised her small whip, pointing it towards the large monitor behind her. Words spun by on it, like an electronic roulette, before stopping. The screen showed the words "Obstacle race."
"There you have it folks. Around this stadium is a 4 kilometer track, with 5 challenging obstacles for our young heroes to bypass. They must surpass every obstacle in their way and be the first to arrive back here in order to win." Midnight announced. Peter only smiled when he saw the board.
"Challenging for everybody else maybe. I've been swinging around good old Manhattan for months now. The good old concrete jungle is my obstacle course." Peter had plenty of experience dipping and diving between buildings, over rooftops, and through construction sites, sometimes while fighting people. If he were to place in the top spot for any of the events today, it'd be this one.
"ALRIGHT YOUNG HEROES! LINE UP IN FRONT OF THE TUNNEL AND BE READY TO GOOOO!" Present Mic shouted.
Peter joined the mass of students gathered before the entrance to the tunnel, ready to spring forward at any moment. Everybody tensed, prepared to run like their lives depended on it.
"ANNNND...GO!"
Everybody dashed forward immediately. Rather than getting caught in the seething crowd, Peter jumped, landing on somebody's shoulders and running across the other students rather than staying on the ground. When he got to the tunnel, he sprang off the shoulders of some cat-eared girl and ran on the ceiling.
"I knew it. The tunnel's gotten clogged already. I was a good choice to stick to the ceiling." Behind Peter, the entrance to the tunnel was blocked. Nobody could even move forward as all the students tried to push past each other.
"AND PETER PARKER HAS ALREADY TAKEN THE LEAD! WITH AN IMPRESSIVE TACTIC OF JUMPING ON HIS FELLOW CONTESTANTS, HE'S BEGUN RUNNING ON THE CEILING TO GET AHEAD!"
Reaching the end of the tunnel, Peter risked a glance back for only a split-second. He saw that many people had been frozen by Todoroki, who was running forward yet was still very far behind. There were a few people who managed to avoid the ice and were flying behind him. Peter continued running forward, not planning to give up his lead.
"AND PETER PARKER HAS REACHED THE FIRST OBSTACLE, THE ROBO INFERNO!" Mic shouted.
Peter felt the ground shake as he continued running. Far ahead of him, huge pits in the ground formed before several zero pointers emerged from them. There were over a dozen of them lined up side by side while many smaller robots also swarmed in.
"More robots, no problem!" Peter ducked, dodged, and flipped through the attacks from the smaller robots, not bothering to stop and fight. Because the zero pointers were all next to each other, he only needed to pass one of them before he was clear. Peter ran directly towards one of the zero pointers, not slowing down at all.
"WHAT'S THIS!? PARKER ISN'T SLOWING DOWN! WHAT COULD HE BE PLANNING?!"
"Enhanced durability, don't fail me now." Peter crossed his arms in front of his face, bending his body forwards and picking up speed. The crowd could barely see him on the monitors. Peter's body was little more than a blur as he sprinted towards the zero pointer.
"Just like a game of chicken Peter. Just don't pull off, keep going. Don't stop. Don't you dare stop!"
His arms still crossed in front of him, Peter blurred towards the zero pointer. Finally reaching it, his arms shielding him, he blitzed directly into the robot's foot…
And ran straight through it. He felt the cables and jagged metal scratch at his skin, but he kept running forward. A few seconds later, he ran through the other side, forcing his arms apart and tearing away the last piece of the robot's foot.
"I...I DON'T BELIEVE IT! PETER PARKER RAN THROUGH THE ZERO POINTER!"
His clothes were torn in several places, but Peter kept running. Then it hit him.
"Wait...if one of its feet got destroyed, then it'll be off balance, which means…"
Peter turned around in horror. The zero pointer, now down a foot, was crashing forwards, directly towards the other students. This would have been the perfect opportunity to continue on, but he couldn't. He'd never forgive himself if the other students got hurt because of his careless plan.
"Shit, shit, SHIT! THIS WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN!" Peter shouted as he shot as many web lines as he could onto the zero pointer's back. He was pulled forward a few meters, his feet forming small pits in the ground, but he stayed on his feet and prevented the massive robot from landing on the others.
"WHAT'S THIS? INSTEAD OF PRESSING THE LEAD, HE'S PROTECTING THE OTHER CONTESTANTS? ADMIRABLE INDEED, BUT IT COULD VERY WELL COST HIM HIS LEAD!"
Present Mic was right. The others were drawing near, heading for the gap in the formation created by Peter. There was no time to think. He needed to cut weight now and keep moving.
"Screw it. This'll probably hurt, but it's my best option right now."
Straining his muscles as hard as he could, Peter pulled the zero pointer back, lifting it towards him. He then twisted his body as hard and as fast as he possibly could, and the zero pointer left the ground and traveled with him. Peter spun in a circle, crashing the robot into a few of the other zero pointers before releasing the web strands, sending the zero pointer flying off in the direction they were supposed to be running. His arms were screaming at him, but there wasn't time to stop. As soon as the webbing left his hands, he began sprinting after the robot he threw away.
The strange thing was that it was silent. The whole time so far, the crowd was cheering and Present Mic was narrating. But now there was only silence as Peter ran. It continued that way for a few seconds before Present Mic spoke again.
"P-P-P-Peter Parker...HAS THROWN AWAY THE ZERO POINTER!" As soon as he finished, the crowd began roaring again, seeming to recover from the shock they were experiencing.
"HE HASN'T STOPPED SO FAR, LET'S SEE IF THE NEXT OBSTACLE CAN SLOW HIM DOWN! I'M SURE SOME OF YOU MOVIE FANS OUT THERE WILL RECOGNIZE THIS ONE! IT'S THE ADVENTURER'S GAUNTLET!"
(Credit to Jaeker for giving me this idea)
In front of Peter was a set-up that looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. There were spinning platforms, dart launchers, and random drop-off points scattered everywhere. This might be challenging for the others, but for Peter, who had to deal with people like Mysterio, Taskmaster, and Kraven the Hunter, it was a casual Tuesday.
Sprinting forwards, he leaped forwards, dodging a multitude of darts as he spun onto one of the rapidly revolving platforms. He continued on like this avoiding the pitfalls, dodging the darts, and landing perfectly on each platform. His body twisted at impossible angles, avoiding every single projectile fired his way. In no time he managed to clear the second obstacle and continued running
"INCREDIBLE! PETER PARKER HAS ALREADY CLEARED THE SECOND OBSTACLE! MANY OF THE OTHERS HAVEN'T EVEN REACHED IT YET!"
Peter continued on, running to the third obstacle. He could hear Present Mic yelling, but he wasn't listening because it was obvious what it was. Massive stone pillars connected by ropes stood over a giant drop. Easy enough for Peter to handle. Instead of going for the ropes, he jumped forward and swan-dived directly off the edge of the cliff.
"HE'S JUMPED! IS HE CRAZY?! DOES HE WANT TO LOSE?!"
"Dude, you've seen my powers. Why are you acting surprised?" Peter thought as he neared the bottom. He could see some kind of purple jelly, probably to keep people from dying from the fall. When only a distance of about 20 meters separated him from the ground, Peter shot a webline out. He swung forward at a breakneck speed, his feet very nearly skimming the purple goop. Releasing the webline at the height of his swing, Peter catapulted forwards and up, clearing the stone pillars as he rocketed forwards. He performed the action twice more, and in those 3 swings alone, Peter cleared the entire chasm, landing in a roll on the far side.
"AND HE'S THROUGH! PARKER HAS CLEARED THE THIRD OBSTACLE!"
Peter wasn't even tired yet. He had so much adrenaline running through his body that he felt like he could run for days. He wasn't nervous, or scared, he was excited. It had been a long time since he'd felt so free, so good. He was having fun, more fun than he'd had in a while. He wasn't sure how the others were doing, he only knew that he was having the time of his life.
"AND NOW THE FOURTH OBSTACLE! THIS WAS RECOMMENDED BY OUR VERY OWN CEMENTOSS! IT'S THE CONCRETE BLOCKERS!"
Peter was faced with yet another chasm.
"Okay, how are they doing this? First the pits the zero pointers came out of, then the adventurers's gauntlet, then the rope-pillars, now this? How are they even doing this? Who dug all these pits?"
In the chasm there was only a single concrete path, about as wide as the tunnel at the start of the race. About 30 meters away from either side of the path were two concrete walls, separate from the bridge, and completely covered on every side in the purple goop. You would likely be eliminated if you touched it, meaning your only option was the center path. Peter could see Cementoss nearby, raising one hand in greeting while his other remained on the center path.
As Peter neared the previously straight concrete bridge, he understood the name of the obstacle. Cementoss was constantly creating angled platforms, pushing up from the ground and out to the side. If you were caught on one of them, you'd be launched off the path and into the goop-covered walls.
"That's actually pretty awesome. You came up with this sir? Nice!" Peter politely yelled at his teacher as he approached. He saw Cementoss smile before returning his attention to the path.
If he felt like it, Peter could have jumped off the cliff and swung past again. But he thought that would be a bit insulting to his teacher who worked so hard for this, so he bit the bullet and took the center path. He might have been nervous about this decision if it weren't for one thing; his spider sense. Every time he felt a concrete launcher about to rise in front of him, he dug his feet into the concrete to stop himself before smashing through whatever launchers Cementoss created. He continued this until he was about halfway across the bridge, Deciding he'd humored his teacher enough, Peter jumped off the side, shooting a web onto the bridge and landing underneath it before sprinting on the underside of the bridge.
"AND PETER PARKER HAS TAKEN THE EASIER ROUTE TO VICTORY! ALONG WITH THAT, IT APPEARS SEVERAL STUDENTS HAVE FINALLY CLEARED THE SECOND OBSTACLE AND ARE NOW ON THE THIRD! LEADING THEM ARE IZUKU MIDORIYA, SHOTO TODOROKI, AND KATSUKI BAKUGO!
Back at the stadium, the monitors showed that the 3 class A students, along with a few others had reached the rope-pillars. Some of the students had darts sticking out of their bodies, but they were too small to cause serious damage, so the students pressed on. While Peter obviously held the bulk of the audience's attention, some were focused on the others, interested to see how they got past the obstacles. Many were intrigued by Midoriya, who was covered in green lightning and running at nearly the same speed as Peter right before he blitzed into the zero pointer.
As for Peter, he had reached the end of the bridge, jumping off the underside onto the wall of the chasm and sprinting upwards. He reached the top and continued running forwards.
"PETER PARKER HAS REACHED THE FIFTH AND FINAL OBSTACLE! IT'S THE MINEFIELD!"
"Alright, I feel like whoever made this contest rigged it in my favor. Robots I'm strong enough to lift, darts I'm fast enough to avoid, platforms I'm precise enough to land on, chasms I can swing across, launchers I can feel coming, and now mines I can detect with the spider sense? Did somebody design this obstacle course specifically for me to dominate?"
Just as he predicted, Peter could sense all of the mines. He ran forward without losing any of his speed while managing to not activate a single mine. In no time at all he reached the other side, but he stopped. Turning back, he could see the places the mines had been buried. There were small patches of loose dirt where their positions were visible.
"Eh, screw it. I'm this far ahead, I may as well help them out a little."
Peter turned back and shot webs on top of several of the mines across the field. He left more than half of them so it wouldn't be too easy for the others, but he still covered a sizable amount of them.
"There, that should help. You're welcome guys." Peter turned back and once again began running towards the entrance
"HOW UNEXPECTED! IT WOULD SEEM OUR LEADER IN THIS RACE HAS STOPPED TO MAKE THE FINAL STEP EASIER FOR THE OTHERS! IT MAY HAVE SLOWED HIM DOWN, BUT WHO CARES?! AFTER ALL, PETER PARKER HAS NOW WOOOON!"
Right as Present Mic finished shouting, Peter ran through the tunnel into the stadium. The crowd roared at his arrival. It hurt his ears a bit to hear their shouting, but Peter smiled and waved anyway. Midnight approached him, smiling as she came closer.
"Great job Peter. Even the other leaders have just now reached the fourth obstacle. You've got plenty of time until everybody gets here, so you can head back to the waiting room if you'd like. I'll call you back when most of the students reach the end of the fourth obstacle."
"Alright. Thank you Ms. Midnight." As Peter walked out, he turned to see how the others were doing. The 3 leaders all had their own approach to Cementoss' obstacle. Midoriya simply powered up and smashed through every blocker in his way. Bakugo used his explosions to fly over them, and Todoroki, surprisingly, took a page out of Peter's book. He had used his ice to encase his own feet and was creating more ice in front of him as he traveled underneath the concrete bridge. A safe, fast way to travel, while encasing his feet in ice prevented him from falling.
"Not a bad strategy Todoroki. Nice job man." Peter silently congratulated the boy as he walked back to the waiting room.
When he arrived, he was surprised to see that somebody was there. It was the girl from before, waiting quietly at a table as she watched the monitor screen.
"You did a great job Peter. It was really fun watching you." She smiled at him, giving him another thumbs up.
"Um, thank you? Do I know y-" He stopped. Now that he was closer, he could clearly see it. The cat-like eyes were the same, and there were 4 sharp, fang-like teeth in her mouth.
"No. No, nonono, please no. Please tell me she didn't." Peter silently begged.
"...T-Toga?"
The girl stood up from her seat, walking towards Peter.
"Yep. Nice job figuring it out Peter. You always were a smart guy."
Pieces of her body began melting into grey slime, revealing Toga. Peter's mind went blank. No. This couldn't be happening. This was exactly where he didn't want her to be.
"Toga! Why are you here?! I told you it was dangerous!" The body continued melting away, revealing Toga's body. Her very...exposed body. Peter immediately turned away.
"Do you not have any clothes?!" He half-shouted at her.
"No, I do. They're around here somewhere. Why? Do I make you uncomfortable?" She teased him.
"YES! VERY! PLEASE PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON!"
Sighing, she relented. Peter could hear the rustling of fabric and after a minute or two she said she was finished. Peter turned back and saw her dressed in her usual outfit.
"Toga." He tried and failed to sound calm. "What. The actual hell. Are you doing here!?"
Toga's smile fell a little. She looked hurt.
"W-well, I thought you needed the help. You were so nervous and scared last time I saw you. I thought if I could be here to help then-"
"NO!" Peter shouted. "Toga, this is exactly where I didn't want you to be! Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?!" He checked the monitor and confirmed the others still hadn't reached the fifth obstacle. He then ducked his head out the door and saw nobody in the hallway. Turning back, Peter was about to continue yelling at Toga, but stopped. She looked destroyed, staring at the ground, ashamed.
"Damn it Peter, no! Even if she came to help you, this was still stupid. You cannot comfort her, you have to keep pushing. Keep pushing."
"...Shut up, me." Peter muttered, breathing deeply as he pushed a hand through his hair. "Toga." He said more gently. The vampire girl looked up at him. "I'm grateful to you. Really, I am. I know you know how dangerous this is, but you came anyway just to help me. Plus, without you, I probably would have passed out trying to give my speech. For real, thank you." Toga brightened a little.
"But, I don't understand. Why would you do this? There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands of pros here. If they find out you're here, there's no chance of you getting out. You'd be arrested and I wouldn't be able to help you. I'm good, but I'm not good enough to fight hundreds of pros. Please, leave before something happens. I don't want to go to the bar later today and tell everybody I wasn't able to save you." Peter pleaded with her while she only stared at him.
"Peter," She began. "This was my choice. I'm happy you want to keep me safe, but nobody makes my decisions for me. I'm here because I wanted to help you, because I felt like paying back some of the kindness you show all of us everyday. Don't bother asking me to leave because I won't. I came to support you, and that's what I'm going to do. I'm not leaving until this festival is over." She stated firmly.
Peter wanted to argue, to tell her to leave, to yell that she shouldn't be here. But he knew it wouldn't do any good. She wouldn't listen, and he had no way to force her to leave without drawing attention to himself.
"...Do you have a way to hide?"
"Of course." She reassured him. She held up a half empty vial of dark red liquid. "I deactivated my quirk early this time, but this much blood should last me another 3 hours or so."
"...You promise you'll be safe? You won't be found, you won't cause trouble, everything will be fine?" Peter checked again, extremely worried and scared.
"Yes Peter. I promise you I'll be fine."
Peter only sighed. He wanted to trust her, but he could only think of worst case scenarios. "Alright. Everybody's finishing, so I should head back out there. Stay safe." He said a final time before turning towards the door.
"Hey, wait!" He turned back just in time to be met with a tackle. Toga had charged towards him, hugging him.
"Remember, you're not allowed to lose. If you do, we'll kick your ass." She mumbled.
Peter was a bit surprised, but forced himself to smile.
"Don't worry Toga. I don't plan on losing." He hugged her back before releasing her, waving goodbye as he stepped out to begin the next round.
That was fun. I'm not sure why, but it's weirdly enjoyable writing/typing "blitzed." Seriously, try it. Pull out a pencil and a piece of paper and write "blitzed." It's way more satisfying than it should be. Anyway, now, as promised, I'll explain my ship.
Anybody who knows anything about Spider-Man knows that Peter is pretty much the most caring, friendly, trusting, understanding guy ever. The perfect example would be Norman Osborn. How many times has he betrayed Peter, gone back to being the Green Goblin, tried to kill Peter and his family/friends, and overall caused him to suffer, only for Peter to forgive him and try to help him every single time? There are literally dozens of other examples just like this where Peter refused to give up on people and instead helped them and supported them, seeing the good inside them and forgiving their mistakes.
Toga needs a person like him. A big part of who she is stems from how she was treated as a child, all because of her quirk. She's got a lot of trauma, and a lot of issues. Most people, even before they knew she was a villain, would likely fear her or avoid her after hearing about her quirk, because that's what everybody else in her life did. Peter wouldn't. He'd accept her, treat her as a friend, make her feel valued, respected, and loved, just like he's done for so many other villains.
In my opinion, Peter is the perfect match for Toga, simply because he's exactly the kind of person she needs. On top of that, they kind of have similar backgrounds in a sense. She was viewed as a freak because of her quirk, and a menace because she became a villain, and Peter was viewed as both for, let's be real here, literally just existing.
Anyway, I could talk about this all day, but everybody's got their own opinion. Some of you will agree with me, but I'm sure many of you won't. That's fine, to each their own. Next chapter you'll all see the special second round game that I've come up with.
As always, thank you for reading and remember to leave a review.
Aren signing off.