The Games

His lungs were on fire by the time he got to the place Phil had told him about. Izuku leaned against a tree as he gasped and wheezed for breath. It felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. It felt like it had taken forever, but he found it relatively quickly.

A stone house near the mountains, near a stream coming from said mountains. The area was littered with training dummies, wooden poles sticking out of the ground, and other homemade equipment. When he looked around, he could see what looked like carved-out grips on the walls to climb up to the cliffs.

Izuku wiped the sweat off his face and walked over to the house, hoping that this Zack guy was there. If he wasn't then he and the others were screwed.

Izuku took a deep breath and made his way towards the house, anxiety growing with each step. He hadn't even gotten the chance to properly catch his breath the first time, and now his throat was closing up at the prospect of who he was about to meet.

One of Master Aqua's friends from years ago. Someone she had befriended before disappearing…would he even remember her? Well…Phil did say they were pretty good friends, so maybe? Probably? Hopefully.

Izuku stood in front of the wooden door, it looked a little worn out. With dents and a few bent sections of it, one particular part at the bottom where someone would theoretically kick it.

Would this guy even like me? Just because I'm Master's student doesn't exactly give me a pass or anything. He could hate my guts right off the bat.

Izuku took a shaky breath and stared at the door a moment longer, before slapping his hands to his face.

You don't have time for this, just do it! Rip off the bandage! Whatever happens, happens.

Izuku cleared his throat before knocking on the door. "Hello, is anybody there? I'm looking for Zack?"

He waited for a moment, listening for any noise inside. He couldn't hear anything, was he even home? Maybe he was and was just ignoring him. Izuku couldn't exactly blame him, if he lived here alone, maybe he liked the solitude.

"Uh, Phil told me to come here. He said maybe you can help me?" Izuku raised his voice.

He waited, hoping to get some response. Much to his dismay, it seemed like this Zack guy wasn't there. Which was rather disappointing. He had come all this way for nothing, not to mention he really upset Donald back there. He was in for it when he got back, he could already hear the duck yelling at him.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Donald's gonna kill me. I had one job and I couldn't even-"

"Hey there."

Izuku shrieked at the hand appearing on his shoulder and jumped away from the stranger, turning around to face them.

There where he had been standing a moment ago was a man with spiky black hair with a tuft of hair in his face. His hand was still where it had been a second ago before Izuku jumped away.

He laughed and turned towards the teenager.

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you. You're a little jumpy aren't you?"

"Uh, y-yeah I guess? Sorry, you just kinda surprised me." He scratched at his face.

"I'd say I did a little more than surprise you." The man crossed his arms with a grin.

"Uh, right, I guess." Izuku nodded and looked him up and down. His attire looked a little different than what he would expect in this world. It looked more like a dark blue uniform with gray pauldrons resting on his shoulders. He couldn't help but notice the small scars peppering his bare arms and the X-shaped one on his face.

"You…wouldn't happen to be Zack, would you?"

He nodded. "Yup that would be me, Zack Fair, but feel free to call me Zack. How can I help you kid? It's not every day someone comes up the mountain looking for me."

Ah, that's right! Don't get sidetracked.

Izuku stood up a little straighter. "Ah, well you see, Phil sent me up here. He told me to look for you. Maybe you can help me?"

"Ah, let me guess, you asked him to train you and he refused. So he sent you up here to learn from me? Sounds about right. Wouldn't be the first time, certainly not gonna be the last." He nodded to himself.

"Not exactly…" Izuku said.

"Oh?"

Izuku shifted from foot to foot, making himself keep eye contact with the hero.

"Uh, well the thing is Phil kinda tested my friends and I. He said we've got potential, but wouldn't let us into the Games. He told us there were two ways to get in them, either get a pass…or a sponsorship."

"I see where you're going with this."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, and he sent me up here. Told me to talk it out with you."

Zack eyed him before sighing. "You just came up here to get a sponsorship? Phil doesn't usually send people up for that, but still."

The teen stepped forward. "It's not like I'm looking for glory or anything in the Games, I just have to get in so I can find my friend. We were separated a while ago, and I've finally found him, but I need to see him and bring him home."

"Your friend is in the Games?"

"Yeah, Phil said he trained him for a bit and then he was entered. Still, I'm worried about him. He's strong, yeah but…I don't want Todoroki getting hurt."

Zack smiled to himself. "That kinda reminds me of someone I used to know, funny enough she entered the Games to do the same thing. To try and find her friend."

Master…

"Typically, if I take anyone in I like to train them for at least a year or two before I allow them to enter into the Games. Just to make sure they'd survive." He glanced back at Izuku. "And you want me to just give you a sponsorship right off the bat? The Games are no joke, they will put you through hell. You get maybe a few minutes to recover from the last fight, but then the next one comes real quick. You usually get more time to recover near the finals and semifinals, but that's if you make it that far."

Fight after fight? It sounds like a more intense version of the Sports Festival…

"I have been training, it's not like I'm going in there with no idea how to fight."

"Right, mind if I ask how long you've been training?"

"Er, a little…under a year…" He felt his face turn red. Not even a full year's worth of training, but he was close. Really he was…something was better than nothing! Then again, compared to others entering the Games, how many years did they have on him? How much more experience?

"Not even a year? Kid, come on. Then again, Phil did send you up here. So I'm willing to believe you have some skill."

Izuku felt his hands clench into fists, digging his chewed-up nails into his palms. He screamed at himself to mention his Master, to mention Aqua. Would that be fair though? Would it only cheapen his own request? Using his Master's friendship with Zack to get in the Games?

Izuku opened his mouth but no words came out, not at first.

How was he supposed to say he knew her? Would Zack even believe him? Was he worried about her too in some way? He did only meet her once before she disappeared, would he want to know what happened to her? How has she been doing all this time?

"I'm willing to have a quick spar with you to see where you are. But-"

"She trained me." He finally managed to speak.

"Huh?"

"I-I know who you were talking about, the one who entered the Games to find her friend. I know her, I know Master Aqua."

Izuku kept his eyes to the ground, almost afraid to see the man's expression. He was silent, but Izuku could feel his stare.

"You know Aqua?"

It was barely a whisper, but he heard it.

He cleared his throat before asking again, louder this time.

"You know Aqua? You- We are talking about the same person, right? With the blue hair, and the pretty blue eyes and…right?"

Izuku nodded, he quickly steeled himself as he heard Zack approach. He grabbed his shoulders and gave him a slight jostle.

"You're not messing with me are you kid? Seriously, don't joke about something like that. I-Is she here somewhere? Is she in the city? Is she entering the Games? If she is, why didn't you-"

"S-She's missing!" Izuku cut him off and forced himself to look up. Much to his surprise Zack actually looked happy, excited, but also nervous. That quickly changed to worry when he registered Izuku's answer.

"What? What do you mean missing?"

"I mean…well she's missing."

"Well, yeah obviously! I mean how, how is she missing? What happened?" He shook Izuku again.

Izuku sighed once the shaking stopped. "Where I lived, monsters would come out every night and attack anything and anyone. She helped curb their numbers and keep people safe, every night for years. But one night she never came back, and then everything went wrong and we were all separated. I lost her and my friends and…yeah."

Zack was quiet. "Did she take on all those monsters by herself? Every night for all those years?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she did. She was the only one who could take care of them."

The hero laughed to himself. "Yeah, that sounds like her. You know she took on-"

"Phil told me she took on Hades and something called an Ice Titan. All on her own."

"Yup, she sure did. Even though that jerk Hades made it an unfair fight, she still won. Even after I tried to run in and help, she insisted on doing it on her own." He smiled at the thought of her. "Looking back on it, I think it was less of wanting to look weak in front of Hades, but more of her avenging me. I did ask her to do that, so that was on me."

"She avenged you?"

"Yeah…"

Zack pat his shoulder before stepping away, facing one of the cliffs he often climbed up. He felt his heart ache at the thought of her, she was there, and then she was gone. The thought of her always lurked in the back of his mind. Always training, always fighting, just to try to get as strong as Aqua. As strong as Terra.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you meet her?"

Izuku rubbed his arm. "Well, the first time I met her I was little. She saved me from a bunch of monsters. The second time she had saved me, again. After everything was said and done, she asked if I wanted to be her student. And…yeah. My powers were out of control, and she helped me with that."

"Right, and then…then she went missing?"

"Yeah, like I said, everyone ended up separated. I'm looking for her, just like all my other friends. I know she's out there, it's just a matter of tracking her down."

Zack nodded. "And one of your friends is in the Games."

"Yes."

"And you want to bring him home?"

"Yes."

Zack sighed and rubbed his eyes. He looked up to the heavens with a smile on his face.

Aqua goes missing, and her student runs around and ends up finding an old friend of hers. On top of that said student needs his help to find his own friend, who happens to be in the Games. It almost sounded like a cosmic joke or some sort, or maybe it was destiny. Fate had a funny way of making things happen a certain way.

Would Aqua want this? For her student to be entered in the Games with barely a year's training? She knew firsthand how intense they could be, would she have the confidence in him to succeed?

"It's Aqua, of course she would." He muttered.

"What?" Izuku asked, he paused when Zack held up a hand.

"Alright, I'll help you out. I can sponsor you."

"Wait, really? Tha-"

"But," he brought up a hand to unsheathe the sword on his back. "I'm not going to send you in just like that. You said Aqua trained you? Then prove it, show me you're capable of handling the Games, show me what Aqua's taught you!"

Izuku took a step back, he eyed the blade before summoning Indomitable Spirit. He held his Keyblade in a tight grip, bracing himself for the fight. If he wanted to get the others into the Games and find Todoroki, he had to beat Zack.

He moved a lot faster than Izuku thought he could, rushing forward and bringing his sword down.

Izuku brought up his weapon in time to block it and nearly stumbled back with the force of the swing. Zack was strong, really strong.

The hero grinned as he pressed forward with more force, forcing Izuku to take a step back lest he lose his balance.

"Come on kid, show me what you can do."

Izuku grit his teeth and began to push back, putting all his weight to push the man away from him before jumping back and raising his weapon.

"Blizzara!"

Zack sliced through the spell with ease, only a light frost coated the blade.

He can slice through my magic?

"So she taught you magic, alright then."

Zack closed the space again, but this time Izuku was expecting it. He liked to get up close and personal, despite the reach his sword offered him. Izuku brought up his Keyblade with as much force as he could, deflecting the blade giving him an opening. He was about to bring his weapon down when his own attack was blocked.

He recovered!

Izuku jumped back and narrowly avoided a slash from the sword, but Zack was quick to close the distance again. He refused to give Izuku any room to breathe.

Izuku blocked every blow that came down on him. He had to endure the harsh force that followed each one, he didn't have any time to conjure up a barrier!

You're going to run out of stamina, you can't stay on the defensive!

Izuku continually backed up, just to get some kind of space. Some room to breathe. Some room to think!

He managed to deflect another strike and sent a bolt of Thunder racing towards the hero, who was quick to dodge. There was some magic he wouldn't be willing to block, good.

Izuku took the opportunity to be the one to close the distance, going on the offensive and putting his all into the strikes. Zack blocked each one with ease, he was fast, but he could read Izuku's moves easily.

Zack dodged to the side and took Izuku by surprise, slamming his fist into his gut and sending him to the ground.

The Keyblade wielder was quick to roll back to his feet, ignoring the pain. He held up his weapon and stared Zack down.

"You still got some fight left in you kid?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not done yet!"

Zack grinned. "Good."

Izuku watched him close the distance again, waiting for it. Once Zack was close enough Izuku ducked down to avoid the inevitable swipe of the blade.

He always starts with that, and then…

He brought up his Keyblade to block a downward strike.

Now go!

Izuku brought up his fist for an uppercut that made Zack take a step back. He recovered in no time, even more eager to fight now. His attacks seemed to come even faster, but Izuku was able to keep up.

What Izuku lacked in strength he made up for in speed. It was a dance of blades, a sort of rhythm that they fell into. It was about finding the pattern of attacks, and reading what was to come next. While he couldn't beat him in brute strength, he could possibly outlast him, unless he was able to fire off some magic.

Though that came with the risk of hurting him.

Dodge, block, duck, strike! Block, duck, dodge, back up, now!

While most of his own attacks were blocked, the few times he was able to land a hit seemed to do nothing and were brushed off.

Move faster, you need to predict his moves, faster!

He tried to speed up his own attacks, sneaking them in whenever he saw an opening. Though they were blocked, it meant putting Zack on the defensive. It meant gaining ground!

His internal celebration didn't last long, however. He saw Zack raise his sword and bring it down. Izuku went to block but found his legs had been swiped out from under him. He hit the ground with a hard thud and barely reacted fast enough to deflect the next strike, only to lose his Keyblade in the process.

He rolled to the side as Zack swung down, cutting into the ground where his head had been. Before he could scramble to his feet a boot planted itself on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

Izuku flinched as the blade came down, only to feel nothing. He looked up to see Zack had stopped, his sword inched from Izuku's throat.

His blood pounded in his ears as he struggled to take one breath after the other, the weight on his chest made it difficult.

If I had ten yen for every time my legs got swiped out from under me by guys trying to help me by beating me up, I would only have twenty yen. It's not a lot, but it's happened twice now.

Zack was panting too but didn't seem as exhausted as the teen. He was smiling.

"Not bad kid, you're still a little green, but I can see what Phil meant when he said you had potential. Uh, no pun intended."

Zack stepped to the side and offered a hand, which Izuku gladly took. Once he got to his feet the hero patted his shoulder.

"You don't always brace yourself when an attack is coming, it's why you lost a lot of ground against me. You kept having to move back to try and steady yourself. And then you have a tendency to react too early, you see the attack coming and you immediately move to counteract it." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small potion.

"You're fast which makes up for your physical strength, which is good, but sometimes you're too fast. Every fight isn't always about being stronger or faster, sometimes you have to match your opponent's speed and find your openings there. You react too early, you give the enemy an opening."

Izuku took in what he said, not expecting the sudden rundown of the fight.

"Here, drink this." Zack handed him the potion. "You didn't show off a lot of your magic, but I didn't give you the time to do so. I can tell you've got a proficiency in it, you're relatively fast in casting."

"I can't cast as fast as Master though.." Izuku muttered, only to get a harsh flick to his head.

"Yeah, duh. You're still learning kid, don't put yourself down. Of course, you're not as fast as Aqua. You're barely one year into training, so don't mope about it. If you do, I'm gonna take back my sponsorship."

Izuku looked up at that. "Wait what? But…you beat me? I'm still getting the sponsorship?"

Zack stared at him before laughing. "Beat me? I never said you had to beat me, I just wanted to see what you could do. And I think you're fit to enter the Games."

Izuku grinned. "Really? Thank you! I-"

"Drink the potion, then we have to head down. The Games are bound to start soon and…hold on I don't think I ever got your name. I've just been calling you kid this whole time."

Izuku gulped down the sweet potion and sighed, feeling the bruises and scrapes from the fight disappear. He looked up at Zack.

"My name is Izuku Midoriya!"

Zack nodded. "Alright then Izuku, let's get you into the Games. Come on!" He took off running down the mountain. Izuku was quick to follow, excitement bubbling up in his chest.

-.-

Sora leaned against the doors while Donald paced around the courtyard. Muttering angrily to himself and trying his best to not rip out any feathers in frustration.

"Just go running off, breaking one of the only rules I gave you! Oh, he's in for it when he gets back."

"He's been gone for a while." Sora looked out at the path Izuku ran down. "Maybe we should go looking for him."

"He said he was getting something to get us in the Games, and then he just runs off without telling us where he's going! Irresponsible, reckless-" Donald squawked angrily and waved his arms around.

"I'm sure he's okay, but I gotta say I'm a little worried too." Goofy frowned. "But Donald's right, we don't know where he went. We might end up gettin' lost ourselves. And what if he comes back just as we leave?"

"That's true but…I'm kinda worried. I didn't think it would take this long." Sora frowned and looked at the path again. Hoping his friend would be back soon. It wasn't like Izuku to just run off randomly. When it happened in Wonderland, Sora had been the one to drag him off to see the flowers.

There had been two of them, they could watch each other's backs, but Izuku was on his own. Running off with hardly an explanation.

He's strong, Izuku's real strong. If something happened he would be able to take care of himself. Right?

Sora fiddled with his gloves at the thought of losing another friend. To have another just disappear to somewhere unknown.

It was scary.

Sora glanced at Donald and Goofy before looking back to the road.

Maybe I could go looking for him? Just real quick, maybe call out his name and see if he shows up. Yeah, that's good. I won't be too far.

Sora took another look at the adults before inching towards the stairs. Before he could get anywhere someone appeared in front of him.

"Well well well, if it isn't the goat's rejects."

Sora shouted in surprise and backed away from the man, quick to look him up and down. He was an imposing figure, easily towering over him with smoke billowing behind him like a flowing cape. The air around him was hot and thick, almost suffocating. He quickly ran to Donald and Goofy's side.

"Rejects?" Donald asked. "Who do you think you are?"

The stranger held up his hands. "Easy now ducky, I'm someone who wants to help. Believe me, I know how stubborn that old goat can be, and I know the look of wasted potential. It'd certainly be a shame for you to not get to participate."

"Ducky?" He spoke, outraged.

"Uh, if ya don't mind us askin', who are ya anyway?" Goofy asked.

"Call me a friend, call me whatever. Point is, I know exactly what you want. Or more importantly, what you need."

Sora was about to ask what he meant when he disappeared, small wisps of smoke fading where he once stood. He didn't know where the man had gone until he felt a hand on his shoulder, thin fingers kept a firm grip on him. Assuring he wouldn't move, he felt like he could choke on the smoke and the air itself.

"You wanna play in the Games, which is all fine and dandy but you need a little something first. Something like…." He hummed and held out a hand, surprising the teen with hot blue flames appearing in his free hand, a moment later a pass appeared. Completely intact, without a sign of the fire from before.

"A pass?" Sora reached out to take it before pausing. "Wait, really? For us?"

The man nodded and held it closer, prompting Sora to take it. "Yup, all yours kid. Can't wait to see ya in the Games. Be sure to prove that goat wrong, that you're good enough for this thing. I'm rooting for ya shorty." He patted his back and stepped away.

"Wait, you never told us your name!" Donald pointed at him.

"Doesn't matter, let's just say I'm an interested sponsor. I recommend you head inside, the Games oughta be starting soon." He waved before disappearing.

As soon as he was gone all the heat had dispersed, allowing the air to cool down. Sora took a deep breath and looked down at the piece of paper in his hands. It felt hot too, like it could scorch his fingertips.

"That was…nice." He mumbled. "He just gave us a pass, just like that."

"And that means we can enter the Games." Donald nodded.

"I dunno fellas, don't ya wonder where he got that pass?" Goofy asked.

"Well, uh, he said he's an interested sponsor, maybe sponsors have the passes to hand out?" Sora offered. He wasn't sure, but maybe that was the case? Maybe he had seen them training and was disappointed they weren't going to be participating. Maybe he just wanted to bend the rules a little for their sake.

Maybe it was just the kindness of a stranger?

"Let's take it to Phil." Donald said. "So we can get in the Games, if it's a fake then we know that guy was a jerk. If it's not, then we're in."

"But what about Izuku though?" Goofy reminded him.

"Yeah, Izuku ran off to get us a sponsor. Shouldn't we wait for him to show up?" Sora asked.

Just as he finished his question, they all heard trumpets sounding off and crowds cheering wildly.

"The Games are starting…"

"Izuku shouldn't have run off, maybe if he had been a little patient he could have been here to be with us when we got the pass."

"Now you're just being mean!" Sora frowned.

"Easy now fellas." Goofy stood in between them. "How about this, we take the pass to Phil to make sure it's real. If it is, we wait as long as we can for Izuku to come back, and when he does we can enter."

"But what if he doesn't show up?" Sora asked.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But I'm sure Izuku will show up just in time."

The Keyblade wielder looked unsure, he turned his attention back to the gates. Hoping that Izuku would run inside just right then. He was brought out of his thoughts when Donald took the pass from him and started making his way inside.

"Hey!"

"Let's get inside and show this to Phil. Then we can decide what to do."

Sora and Goofy followed after the magician as he ran into the vestibule. They slammed open the doors, making the satyr jump and drop his piece of chalk.

"Hey Phil, look what we got," Donald said as he walked over to him. He handed him the pass, Phil stared at him for a moment before grabbing it and looking it over.

"What the- how'd you get a hold of this?" He asked as he held it up to the light. It was no forgery, it was the real thing. The seal on the back glittered brightly.

"Uh, he said he was an interested sponsor, and then he disappeared," Sora explained.

Phil stared at him then back at the pass. "You've gotta be kidding me, a last-minute dropout? Well should have expected it, someone always flakes out just before the tournament starts." He muttered.

"It's real right? That means we can enter the Games?" Donald asked.

Phile checked over it one more time, and like the previous times, he found no fault in it. It was a genuine pass. "Well…I guess so. Alright, fine. Let's see…you all can go in the West bracket. That one's already starting, there's a bit of delay in the East."

"It's already starting?"

"Yeah, the preliminaries anyway. Hey, where's the green kid?"

"He just ran off." Donald shook his head. "Said something about finding a way to get into the Games."

Phil frowned. "And he's not back yet?"

"Nope." Sora shook his head. "Is there any way we can wait? Izuku is bound to come back. He just needs a little time to catch up, I'm sure he's heading back right now."

Phil shook his head. "You're all in the West bracket and they're starting, so you're already late. You either gotta head out now, or forfeit the spot you just got."

"What?"

"Then we have to go in." Donald looked at them.

"But Izuku is…"

"He should be allowed to watch from the sidelines, right?" Donald looked at Phil.

"Assuming he comes back without the sponsor I sent him to get, yeah."

"Ya sent him to get a sponsor?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, sorta like calling in a favor."

There was more cheering from outside, reverberating through the halls.

Phil sighed. "You gotta choose, in or out. You going or staying? Are you gonna use that pass or not?"

"We're going." Donald insisted before anyone else could object.

"But…" Sora looked at him.

Phil nodded. "All three of you are going in as a team right?"

"Yup!" Donald nodded.

"Actually…" Goofy spoke up. "I think I'm gonna wait here for Izuku to come back. You two can head in."

"What?" Donald asked.

"Izuku went to get us a way in, and then we're enterin' without him. If he came back to see we all left him behind it'd really hurt his feelin's."

"There are consequences to actions Goofy." Donald tapped his foot.

"And if he comes back with that sponsor, he can't enter alone. We said we were gonna look after the boys Donald. We made a promise to Yagi, and I sure don't wanna see him upset if he finds out we left one of 'em alone."

"Oh yeah, I think that'd really make him mad." Sora nodded.

Donald huffed. "Fine, then Sora and I will go in this bracket."

"A-yup. Think of it as a team exercise too. Maybe the two of ya can learn to work together."

Sora raised an eyebrow at the duck before turning his head. "Yeah, I guess."

"Alright then, let's get going." Donald headed down the corridor Phil pointed towards with Sora in tow.

"Oh, wait hold on you two!" Goofy quickly shrugged off the bag Izuku had given him earlier, the one Leon packed.

"What is it?"

Goofy rummaged through it to pull out a few ethers and a potion or two. Leaving plenty for his friends.

"Here, take this. Some extra supplies won't hurt."

Sora took the bag from Goofy and smiled. "Thanks, and hey, be sure to tell Izuku I said hi okay?"

"Will do."

"Good luck!" He called over his shoulder.

-.-

Izuku and Zack sprinted through the empty streets of Thebes and listened to the trumpets play from afar, and the wild cheers of the crowd.

"Oh no, they're already starting!" Izuku panted and tried to speed up.

"I think only one bracket is starting." Zack hopped over a cart. "I only heard one set of trumpets."

"So there's still a chance my friends and I can get in." He followed Zack up the hill, towards the vestibule.

"Yeah, don't worry kid. You'll get in." Zack huffed. "Damn, it's been a while since I've had to make this run. God, I forgot how exhausting it is."

"You did this before?" Izuku spotted the stairs.

"I entered the Games one year and ended up sleeping in." Zack laughed. "Not my proudest moment."

They made their way up the stairs and ran through the courtyard. The crowds became even louder the closer they got.

Sora and the others aren't here. They must be inside!

Zack ran ahead and slammed open the doors, surprising the Game master and the knight.

"Guess who's back!" He shouted, before doubling over and wheezing. That had taken all his breath just to yell that. "H-Hold on…give me a sec…"

"About time you got here," Phil rolled his eyes. "Took you two forever, what were you two doing? Galavanting around the mountains?"

"B-Beating me up." Izuku stammered as he struggled to catch his breath.

"What?" Goofy asked.

"I sent him to ya to get a sponsorship not a whooping!" Phil glared at Zack, then to the board where he quickly scribbled in some stuff.

"I just wanted to make sure he'd survive the Games. He'll be fine." Zack waved it off. "As soon as he catches his breath, you good Izuku?"

"This is the second time I've made that run within an hour…ugh." Izuku made himself stand up straight. "I'm fine."

"Sure hope so, since you'll be participating in the East bracket. The West bracket has already started."

"Really? We came in just in time then." Izuku wiped the sweat from his face. "Where are Sora and Donald, are they around here somewhere?" He asked.

Goofy shook his head.

"Somehow they got a hold of a pass, and used it to get in." Phil crossed his arms. "Those two are in the West, thought all three of them would head in but this one insisted on waiting for ya." Phil pointed at Goofy, who waved.

Zack glanced at him before looking down at Izuku. "Who's that supposed to be?"

"A friend, one of them. I had thought we would all enter the Games together. Sora and Donald already went in?" He asked.

"Yeah." Phil nodded. "They're in the middle of the preliminaries. Since they've gone in already you two can't join in as a last-minute team addition. So you'll head over to the East bracket and deal with the competitors there. You all are bound to fight each other again if you make it far enough."

"Right…" Izuku mumbled and looked down.

Zack sighed and ruffled his hair. "You'll be fine kid, at least you're not alone. You've got…uh what's your name?"

"Goofy."

"You've got Goofy with you. Not gonna lie, it makes me feel better you've got someone with you. Someone who can help cover your weaknesses. When Aqua entered the Games she had a lot more experience, she could get away with being a solo competitor." Zack smiled. "You're going to be fine."

Izuku looked at him, then at the long corridor that they had to pass through. Where the crowd was waiting, and the Heartless.

"Right." He nodded. "We should head out." He looked at Goofy who nodded back.

"Knock 'em dead kid!" Zack grinned. "I'll be watching from the back."

"Alright you two, go ahead. Once you're out there the East bracket officially starts." Phil said. "You ready?"

"Yup!" Goofy nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah…"

"Then get going!"

With that, the two walked into the dark corridor that seemed to stretch on forever, slowly walking towards the bright light of the arena.

Izuku steeled himself as they passed out of the dark halls inside and out into the sunlight. The arena was huge. The stands were all around, filled to the brim with people roaring and yelling for the Games to begin.

He felt his stomach sink, all these people would be watching him. Some would be cheering for him, others would root for his defeat.

As a hero, everybody would be watching you anyway. At the Sports Festival, everyone would be watching. Just ignore it, focus!

Izuku took a deep breath and summoned Indomitable Spirit while Goofy stood at the ready. The doors across from them were starting to open revealing beady yellow eyes inside.

"Are ya ready?" Goofy asked.

"As ready as I can be." He grit his teeth as Heartless began to crawl out of the doors.

Zack gave you this chance, now don't waste it!

-.-

Hades hummed to himself as he walked up to his seat and sat down to watch the ongoings of the Coliseum. From where he sat he could see everything. He saw his first champion cutting through the Heartless, he was bound to run into those Keyblade pipsqueaks.

As for his second one…

He glanced over as he felt a cool breeze suddenly blow by. One section of the arena was covered in ice. He had to admit, the kid was pretty impressive, and useful. He had no idea why he insisted on only using his ice when he had perfectly good fire to go along with it.

But hey, he didn't really care. All he did care about was that seething hatred in the kid's heart. A tiny seed of darkness that just needed a little push. It wasn't too hard to convince him to go along with Hades's plan. He was more of a contingency plan, but still. If the kid played his part, then the god would deal with that unsightly fire of his.

Hades peered down in another section of the Coliseum where one of the Keyblade brats happened to be. He looked over the team and realized there were only two of them. The spiky haired boy and the duck. He kept scanning over that section and found no trace of the other two. The green one and the goofy knight.

He had assumed the kid was in the Vestibule with the goat when he had given away the pass.

He scowled to himself.

"Pain, Panic!"

They appeared in an instant, jumping to attention and looking up at him.

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"How can we help sir?"

The god glared down at his minions. "Would you like to tell me why I don't see the other Keyblade brat and the King's other lackey? How come I only see two of them?"

The two flinched at the question before looking at each other, then looking back to Hades.

"Uh, well. You see…" Pain rocked back and forth on his heels.

"H-He uh…left?" Panic laughed nervously.

"What?"

Panic shoved the other imp forward.

"Uh, well he just kind of ran off." He shrugged.

"I thought I told you to keep an eye on them. If one of them runs off, that would mean that you should follow them!" He raised his voice.

"W-We tried to follow the green one! He just ran out, and then we couldn't keep up!"

Hades sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I wanted to take care of these pests in one go, and then you lose one of them. Do you at least know where he was heading?" He asked.

"Uh…" The two imps thought about it.

"He was heading towards the mountain." Pain answered. "At least it looked that way."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "The mountains? The mountains…what's up there again?" He muttered.

"Olympus?"

"Obviously! I mean what else is in the mountains." He snapped. "Olympus, that one minotaur…ah. I remember now."

A slow grin crept across his face, especially when he heard another section of the Coliseum go crazy over in the eastern section. The imps looked nervously between their master and the crowds far below.

"Well, it looks like I've got nothing to worry about. Didn't think I'd see that dunce again so soon, but it looks like he's given me exactly what I need. And with those two split up, it'll be easier to put them down. Certainly helps that I've got little Snowflake on the table."

He rubbed his hands together and leaned back.

"Alright you two, let's see what you can do."

-HoL-

I'd like to give a big thank you to KeeperofHounds for betaing this chapter for me! It means a lot!

Feel free to drop by in the Discord: /yFZPD5K