My Hero Academia: Marvelous Legacy

by Oan Glalie

The daughter of a living legend, a fangirl, a boy with unatural powers and a mysterious girl will soon be attending Japan's top hero school. What lies ahead of them is quite unknown at the moment, but they can discover it soon enough as they work on becoming heroes together alongside their new classmates and teachers... Their story has only just begun.

31. Squadrons Ready: Cavalry Battle, Begin!

How does it feel to fly?

Not like in a plane or any other vehicle. But rather, to fly on one's own.

To feel the wind as you go soaring in the air and momentarily feeling weightless and without tedders to the ground. Well, excluding the downsides, like having flies and what not hitting your face every once in a while, it should still feel nice. Almost as if it were the ultimate expression of freedom.

Well, in Izuku's case, he has felt something like that already more than once. It wasn't like actual flying, but a bit close to it from a certain point of view. With One for All, he could leap great distances in one go. For all intents and purposes, it really was like flying… slight problem.

Outside of the fact that he hurt himself every time he used his powers, he also didn't know how to actually stop. Or land properly. Or literally anything that wouldn't hurt. So something like basically flying as if he were an arrow shot out of a crossbow really didn't seem too good. Especially with the fact that he was already starting to lose altitude and close to start hitting the ground.

Yep, that was going to hurt a bit.

"Can't stop, can't stop, can't stop! No way to possibly slow down my speed and I'm about to hit the ground! Why don't I think things through more?! I shouldn't have let go of that piece of metal, should I" was all that was going over Izuku's head.

Still, he would at least try to not get too mangled this time around. The impulse of his jump was strong, sure. But hopefully it wouldn't be enough to cause him serious damage. So to at least try and avoid a big scratch on him, he contorted his body in a way that his back and mostly clothed areas of his body were the ones making contact with the floor. Soon enough, his back hit the ground with a loud THUD, Izuku rolled for a couple of meters before coming to a halt. Finally stopping face up, the green-haired boy tried to catch his breath.

Letting air in and out, sweat running down his face and his body being quite sore. It took some time for what had happened to register in his mind. But once it did, when his brain finally caught up and heard the roaring crown, he laid in awe at what he did.

He won.

He actually managed to win the race. He beat everyone else.

Parker, Kachan, Todoroki, Reyes, everyone. He got first place.

And as a smile started to be drawn in his tired and sore body, he heard what his mentor told him two weeks ago. And a bit tired, Izuku managed to take a glance at where he thought All Might would be and felt a sense of pride.

"I… I did it, All Might! I stood out…! I made my mark, right…?!" he thought, bringing his forearm to his face and cleaning both the sweat and the bits of tears that were forming.

He might need to work on being a bit less of a crybaby, though.

As he did, Annie came crossing the gates as well. Stopping to take a couple of deep breaths too, she may have pretty good endurance, but surprisingly, the race took a bit more of her than she thought it would. Probably due to all of the… road bumps she had to deal with. But after taking in air once or twice, she looked at where the boy laid and walked towards him.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises today…" Midoriya managed to hear Parker's voice. Lifting his arm away from his face, he saw her, standing in front of her and giving him a kind smile as she offered him a helping hand. "Don't get emotional now. Come on, the spotlight's on you."

The boy accepted the gesture. Nodding, he allowed the redhead to pull him up in one move and back on his feet. He did stumble a bit, but Annie helped him recover his footing. After he did, Izuku allowed to take in the atmosphere of the crowd chanting and praising him. And for a boy that wasn't exactly used to a lot of praises from strangers, having an entire stadium being in awe for what he did was… pretty nerve-wracking. Boy was he starting to glow pink a bit. Which grew more when he heard Annie chuckle at his demeanor.

"You know? If someone had told me a week ago that you would one-up everyone like you did, I might have thought they were trying to pull my leg." the girl said, having Izuku chuckle a bit at her words. "But now, look at you. Standing up for yourself, telling everyone you were going to win and pulling off all of… well, that. Seriously, you really meant all that talk of yours, didn't you?" she teased the boy a bit.

"Hehe… y-yeah. Guess I did."

"And that crazy jump of yours, man it really -" Annie suddenly stopped talking, her gaze looking at Izuku and then down to his feet as something clicked in. "Izuku… your legs…"

"Huh? What about my legs?" he asked, looking at them and then right as he did, it clicked.

They weren't broken.

He used All For One to pull his final burst in the race. The one that allowed him to win and yet, he was standing. More so, he managed to control the output so that it wouldn't hurt him.

"They're fine… I used my quirk without hurting my body!" he slowly started to realize as the duo then began to cheer for what happened.

"Yeah, you did it!"

"I did! I mean, it wasn't all of my power and my legs are a bit sore, but I did it!"

"Good on you buddy!" Annie congratulated, giving him a big pat on the back.

Unfortunately, she might have been a tad bit too excited and used more strength than need be. Add in the fact that Izuku was taken by surprise and that his feet were a bit wobbly and he was now in the ground face down all as Annie flinched.

"Ups… uh… sorry."

"... I t-think I'm going to stay here for a bit… ow…"

"Let me help you up again."

Meanwhile, after a bit of waiting, more and more students started to return to the stadium, each seemingly more tired than the last one. Or… well that's in theory. Because there was at least one student that was in a better condition than everyone else.

"Why… is it… that I'm always carrying… someone… else…" Kamala said, tired, somewhat beaten and with one shoe less than when she started, carrying Valerie on her back, who was practically as fresh as a lettuce by comparison to everyone else. "You can get off now."

"Um… s-sorry…" Valerie said as she got down from the inhuman.

"Is this going to become a thing now? Because it feels like it might become a thing." she said, while from the entrance, Robbie looked at them flabbergasted as to how they beat him again.

"How does this keep happening? Why am I losing to them in races of all things?!" he asked himself, as Hitoshi arrived next to him and out of breath.

"Serves… you… right…" was all he could say before falling face first to the ground.

Yeah, he should really start to reconsider the cardio thing.

In the meantime, more and more students started to arrive. Soon enough the stadium started to be filled more and more by the returning students. For example, both Todoroki and Bakugo were not exactly pleased with the outcome. At least Todoroki limited himself to just looking at the first and second place of the race. Bakugo on the other hand was cursing at the fact that he got beaten as badly as he was. Not even second place, or third or forth…? And for some reason, he had a shoe at hands. As for the rest of the students, for the most part, almost all of the Hero Course students were the ones to make it through. With the exception of Hatsume, who looked almost beaten and Hitoshi, who was still trying to make sure his heart wasn't about to burst, of course. The other members of their respective course either couldn't make it, or would arrive much, much later. And then, there were the Management Course students…

They didn't even make it past the entrance.

Not for lack of trying (although some of them might not have the physical stamina of even the average General or Support Course students ), but simply because they all stayed back to look at the other students. The Management course doesn't really get much out of the Sports Festival, so they rarely if ever move past the students' oath in the competition. They mostly focus on business strategies, simulations as sellers, etc, etc. Hell there were even some that straight up sell food and other items to the crowd in the stadium to earn some extra cash and working experience. And then, there was the once analyzing the performance of the students (mainly, the Hero Course) and making strategies of how he or she would develop in the labor sphere once they graduate. And right now, their main topic turns out to be none other than their first place, Izuku Midoriya.

"Going by appearances alone, he doesn't seem to be able to stand out too much in the current market. And with a limited knowledge of what his quirk could even be, I suggest approaching his brand by perhaps focusing on other aspects of his. Or maybe trying to go for a more artistic approach." a student of black hair and somewhat reddish whirlpool-like markings on his face told his classmates, a kid with round glasses and another kid with light brown hair shaped like a massive bump.

All the while, Kin looked calmly at the arena and at the hero course students he was close with.

"What do you think, Fukuda-kun? How would you approach the topic of Midoriya Izuku if you were to try and sell his assets?" one of his classmates asked, thinking he might be a bit distracted.

"I'm not exactly sure. Truth be, since I'm not particularly good I would have too much of a hard time even if I had a good idea of what his quirk could be." Kin replied to them.

"Then in that case, why don't you try to analyze the hero course students you started to hang out with a week ago?" his classmate of blonde hair asked, with many more jumping on board.

"The Americans? Well, I would say that some of them had a pretty strong start, though with that in mind it's questionable why none of them got first place." the student with glasses said.

"The girl with second place had far too many bumps on the road, so she might be a hard sell to many. Especially with both a pretty average look and another hard to follow quirk."

"The one with fire powers would definitely get a bit of an appeal. But honestly, with such lackluster performance, the best is to focus on a rough ruffian-like brand to make him a good sell. I see the other two girls as the best of the four in terms of looks, powers, performance…"

"Well, it might be true that they might not have lived up to the expectations this round. But believe me, they are special." Kin told his class. "I am sure, the next part of the Sports Festival is going to have the spotlight on them."

Yeah, they do this every year.

Back in the middle of the stadium, the winner of the race was being helped back up by the runner up. Izuku finally being able to once more recover his footing, although still having the redhead having a hold of him to make it easier on him. Dammit, the cameras better not focus too much on them right now. People were going to think weird things about the two, because God forbid two friends do something together without the entire world making a thousand plans for their imaginary honeymoon just because they talked to each other.

"Hey there, you good now?" Annie asked Izuku.

"Y-Yeah, I think I can stand now… hehe…"

"What's with the light chuckle? Did you think of a good pun? Can I hear it?"

"No it's just… I think that after so many months of not being able to use my powers well, now I actually managed to at least control it a bit…"

"Yeah, man you're on fire today, aren't you? And you're not even one of the ones with fire powers. Must feel nice for you right?" Annie asked, although quickly, his expression did grow a bit down. "Though it doesn't look like that now. Why's that?"

"No, it's…" Izuku wanted to dismiss it, but a quick look at Annie told him right away. He was going to tell her, there was no saying no to her. "Well… I just keep hearing how I'm apparently amazing, but honestly the only amazing thing about me was just my luck. I just did what I could and got lucky, that's all. Plus the real test is coming later anyway."

"... I take it you hit your head really hard on that fall."

"Huh?"

"Izuku, you won."

"But I-"

"None of that. Leave the self-loathing to my family, we're professionals like that… just don't ask why." Annie quipped, confusing Izuku in at least three different ways. "Buddy, you ripped a huge metal plate of a robot over twice your height, ran with it slashing robots with it and having to carry it over a massive chasm, good grace why does this school have a chasm? I mean who does that…? well, I could, and a lot of people now that- the point is you did that without using your powers! Are you telling me all that was just luck now?"

"Well, if not for the multiple stumbles you had and-"

"So I have terrible luck, so what? Big deal. Tell me something I don't already know. And what? Are you telling me that your whole blowing up to outpace everyone was just luck? I blew myself up seven times in a row just now and the only thing I got out of it was a headache and the knowledge of knowing what Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata tastes like… honestly it's not what I thought it would?"

"Still, it was practically a gamble… I didn't even knew what I was doing and-"

"Izuku, you won. Fair and square, there is no arguing that with anyone, much less with me. And if that was a gamble then that means you can actually think on your feet, that's a good thing!"

"But still…"

"And if it really was just luck at the end, there's nothing wrong with it." she quickly told him, placing her hand on his shoulder and looking at him with a smile that, despite being gentle in nature, felt as if it carried with it a feeling of melancholy. "Be grateful for it. Take it from me, sometimes it feels good when things are allowed to actually go your way."

"I… well, I guess when you put it that way, I guess it's fine." he said, as Annie nodded and then the two heard a familiar voice.

Turning around, they saw a very sweaty, very tired Uraraka, who looked like she had just arrived and was looking for the green-haired boy if her calling his nickname was anything to go by. She then looked at the pair and started to go towards them, but staggered momentarily when she saw the redhead by Izuku's side and happily waved at her to greet the brunette. Something that Annie noticed and found quite odd. But whatever was happening, Uraraka decided to ignore whatever was going on to walk to where they stood and talk to the boy.

"Deku-kun… congratulations on first place…! It stinks a bit… but you were amazing!" Uraraka tiredly said in-between breaths and making the boy blush at the fact that he was being praised again.

"See? What'd I tell you!" Annie chuckled, before looking at Uraraka. "Hey, you weren't bad either. Good job, up-"

"Um… y-yeah I… I guess we did good…" Uraraka interrupted Annie, still tired but for some reason the way she said it was… odd.

"Why did she suddenly start to act like that near me? Did I do something wrong?" she wondered, while Uraraka was still cheering at Izuku and while the redhead felt like maybe she should leave the two have a moment between them.

But she stopped when she saw Tenya, frozen in contemplation and looking like he was told his brother had an accident that she decided to go for a two in one was going to help him snap back to reality, while at the same time making herself feel better.

"My, my, if it isn't mister OX99 himself! Say, how come someone like you didn't get first place in a race? One would think that with a power like yours, this should be easy peasy!" she said jokingly, doing the trick of snapping him to reality which was followed by what anyone who knew them was already expecting.

The two of them got into an argument.

"Is there no end to your insufferable senseless yabbering?!"

"Hey, come on don't overreact. You still got into the top ten. That at least got to count for something."

"And here I thought that you would at least try and maintain even the slightest hints of professionalism for the Sports Festival! Yet I'm reminded once more that you are just incapable of taking anything serious!"

"Hey now, you don't get to tell me that today, glasses! I leaped over a giant robot, got almost frozen, almost fell down a man-made canyon and exploded seven times and I still got second place! What's your excuse! Dirt in your eyes?!"

"Your placing is but merely a fluke, of that I can be sure!"

"Care to repeat that?!"

"Um, g-guys, there are people watching. M-Maybe we should-" Izuku suddenly popped to try and ease the situation, to no immediate avail.

"Not my fault he's such a stick in the mud!/It is her being a reckless individual as always!" the two simultaneously said, pointing at each other and stopping after hearing what the other said about themselves. "Excuse me?!/ What was that?!"

So the duo got into an argument, because of course they would. No doubt making things awkward for most people near them. Most being the key word, because there were at least two students near them, that rather than being awkward, felt more flabbergasted and not in a positive manner. Suddenly being reminded of an entire week of them getting into arguments for the smallest things imaginable.

"By god… is that how we sounded like? Kamala, that's not how we sounded like, right?"

"What? No, we sounded mature and cool… or at least I hope…"

"On another note, why do you only have one shoe on?" Robbie asked, pointing at her shoeless foot.

"Long story." she replied, as suddenly they heard Annie calling Robbie.

"Hey, Skully McFire! You owe Izuku a large katsudon bowl and jumbo-size sundae!" she said, pointing at the boy who looked like he was trying to tell her to stop and making Uraraka pale a bit when she saw Reyes having a twitching eye as he looked at them.

"The hell?! Stop going around trying to make me buy food for everyone, web for brains!" he told her as he stomped their way and leaving Kamala alone.

Though she wouldn't be for long. Somehow, she got the feeling that someone was looking at her vicinity and thus, she turned around and saw the ash-blonde of class A. He at first was glaring at the group of Annie and Izuku. Clearly, still pretty livid ag the two that beat him in such a manner. But then, the object of his attention changed when he noticed Kamala standing there. Yet another of the infuriating foreigners and one that got ahead of him no less.

However what got his attention the most, was the fact that she was missing a shoe herself. And it just so happened that the missing shoe was a right one, just like the one he had with him at hand. Bakugo was surprisingly smart, probably among the smartest of his class. But it didn't take a straight A student to put two and two together and realize that the shoe that made the mine in front of him blow up and slow him down belonged to the girl with brown skin. And that, just ticked hike off even more than he already was.

"Um, hey there… need any-UGH!" Kamala yelped, being somewhat staggered when Bakugo walked right to her and in a way, shoved the shoe into her with a bit more force than normally.

"This is yours." Katsuki growled, all before angrily stomping away from the girl, who herself looked annoyed, with a tick on her eye.

Whatever, she thought. She was a mature girl, she wasn't going to fall on the level of some loudmouth kid with the attitude of a chainsaw and the charm of a bush of poison ivy. She was letting it slide, she was not going to be a professional and act like a grown up. She wasn't going to let it get to her, no sir, she was not going to let that happen.

"جھٹکا" the girl said in Urdu, before putting on her shoe and walking away.

… Well, at least she tried.

---

Somewhere in Hosu, Mayday sat restless.

She was with the rest of Idaten, preparing to help keep crime in check while the Sports Festival was occurring. Probably to some it would be a mostly irrelevant thing to do. What made it that U.A and even the Hero Association went out of their way to ask for an increase in security of nearby cities of Musutafu? Well, a handful of reasons actually.

After the U.S.J fiasco, a certain veil Japan had was torn down. The mighty U.A was the victim of an attack. One that severely injured at least two students, one teacher and that All Might and the rest of the hero faculty needing to step in and solve the situations. The once thought to be impenetrable U.A got infiltrated badly and that thought alone scared a lot of people. Such thing had never occurred in the history of the country, not even during the dark period of history in which the criminal underworld had such a grip in the country, chaos ran amok on a daily basis.

And the fear and uneasiness that caused on the populace was pretty bad as it was, combine the fact that the U.S.J fiasco made a lot of lowlives had a bit of a confident boost, the Sports Festival still going on despite concerns about security and the Hero Association apparently finding out something so serious that they double down on hunting the criminals that attached Japan's top school and it just formed the perfect storm for troubles.

And those were still just the tip of the iceberg.

At the moment, Idaten was having a quick meeting to quickly coordinate with their respective area to look after. They weren't the only agencies helping Musutafu, but they sure were among the biggest ones and most well organized. Sidekicks, patrollers, navigators and the rest of Idaten's support staff. They were currently in a parking lot near a small park nearby. Their buses, trucks and other vehicles at their disposal to grant aid to the field agents all arranged next to a big tent where they were going over the details of their assignments.

However, Mayday was still hardly paying attention. Not because of a lack of interest, far from it. But she had her mind focus more on her sister than anything else. Her phone, the smart one that she used in her daily life that is, was being lightly clinged in her hands. Her, just recently watching a Livestream of the Sports Festival preliminaries. But they went on a break after the race was over. So despite it being a bit hard, Mayday tried to listen to what Tensei was planning. It wasn't anything she didn't know already for the most part, he had given her a run down earlier, but still.

"-With that being said, we expect that for the most part it should be pretty tamed near the urban side of our section of the city, which is why for the most part the rookies will be the ones to look after those areas. Remember that it doesn't matter how small it looks, we are all heroes. We help those in need of help. Doesn't matter if it's either helping stop a thief, an old lady crossing the street, or simply someone asking for directions. Try and always have your coms on in case of emergencies. Our navigators in our temporary and mobile control centers will be in constant contact with you in case of needing help, and with our patrollers which will try and alert you in case of serious crimes happening near your assigned area. They will also give you suggestions or even orders on how to act. They could be on how to approach the situation or requesting back up. You will listen to them, is that clear?" Tensei told the group, despite his mostly calm and understanding nature for the most part, still being able to be serious and commanding if need be. "Good. Now, we're almost done with the briefing. There is one more thing we would like to discuss."

Just then, Tensei looked at his side, to where a man was. He looked a bit old. Definitely older than Tensei and probably older than even her was tall, having wrinkles that while minor, gave him an aura of a seasoned veteran in his field. Almost like a detective or grizzly cop from old crime and mystery movies. He was also tall, only being a bit shorter than Tensei by about an inch or two at most, while having black hair with a handful of gray hairs. He was Tsukaza Amachi, Idaten's head of intel and former reporter/private investigator/ominous old man that knew stuff. He reminded Mayday of a less grumpy Jameson combined with a bit of Clint Eastwood in Line of Fire for some reason. Or at least from the couple of times Mayday interacted with him.

He signaled for him to get the spotlight. Tsukaza nodded, preparing to talk to the others after clearing his throat.

"As I'm sure most of you know, there is a very dangerous criminal running around these days. And I'm not talking to the manchild and his 'League of Villains' crap. This one is specific. The infamous 'Hero Killer'."

Mayday had heard of the guy. Not too much, she was having too much on her plate with the evaluations and what not to pay that much attention to the news. But this one was so loud and concerning, Mayday would have heard of it even if she went out of her way to avoid the news. The infamous Hero Killer. There weren't too many specific details on him, only that he was a complete nutjob. One dangerous one that was responsible for a lot of hurt, one that went around targeting and killing heroes of the country. Whenever there was mention of him, the reaction of those around her would always go from anger to legit terrified. The latter coming mostly from a lot of rookies. They at times tried to hide their fear with bravado and declarations that they would get a shot of getting back at him after all the pain the guy caused, but no matter what, Mayday could always see past it, hell she used to be like that back on her rookie days. The guy was dangerous, no doubt. To the point that she heard word of the Hero Association specifically considering telling everyone else to fall back and have someone on the top ten hunt him down.

God bless that her mother was too busy the past days, that her father was on the other side of the globe fighting to try and keep New York from splitting in tiny pieces and that her sister was dealing with the Sports Festival. That meant that the chances of them knowing of him were small. Mayday wasn't too worried about herself. She knew she was good so she probably would be able to handle herself if she were to face the guy. But her family, even if they knew she could knock the guy with one flick of her finger, would be on the edge knowing that there was a serial killer that could potentially target her on the field and they could do little to nothing to help her. She didn't want them to have that on top of all that they already had on their plate.

"I'm sure most of you heard that after his last hit and run, he would be somewhere around the Yamanashi prefecture. Well, rumor has it, he made his way here at Hosu around two weeks or so ago." Tsukaza said and in a heartbeat, the atmosphere got colder. "I shouldn't remind you of it, but I'll do it anyway. This guy is dangerous. Has a body count of at least seventeen pro-heroes and around twenty three that he hurt so bad, they'll never be able to be who they used to be back in the day."

"From what Amachi-san managed to get, the probability of him being in our vicinity are too high to ignore. We know little to nothing of him. The victims that barely managed to survive can't remember most of their encounter with him after all the damage he did to them. We only know that he uses bladed weapons and is known for attacking when pro-heroes are isolated in quick hit-and-runs. Under any circumstances are you to look for him. If you end up finding him, call for backup immediately on all channels. He has caused far too much suffering, he's not going to cause more today, especially under our watch. Don't confront him on your own and if you do end up in a confrontation, do not underestimate him. Keep your guard up and hold your ground until reinforcements arrive. So long as we do that, there shouldn't be any issue." Isane, who also approached the two from the other side, informed the others. Her being in charge of the support staff and of making sure everything goes smoothly in the field. If Idaten had their guys and gals in the chairs, then Isane was no doubt the gal in charge of them all.

"With that out of the way, get ready. We're deploying in ten." Tensei finally finished.

Mostly everyone nodded and then stood up and went to their stations. The sidekicks and the navigators and patrollers all near their respective mobile headquarters. Having all been divided into squadrons. They would be in charge of looking after designated areas with both patrollers and navigators making sure they would support the sidekicks in any shape and form they could. However, there was a reason why only mostly nodded and that was because Mayday simply got up and walked away. She would be paired with Tensei for obvious reasons so there was no need to group together with the others. But she just looked off. Something that despite her mask covering her face, could still be seen by everyone else. And Tensei was not the exception. So after finishing with both Isane and Tsukaza, he headed to where she was and noticed that she had her personal phone out.

"Hey." she just said when he got to where she was. "Saw the Sports Festival. I know it's probably not the right time, but if it makes you feel better, the preliminaries just ended. And you will be happy to know that your brother apparently got into the top ten."

"Really? What spot did he get?"

"Ten." Mayday told him, her tone being a bit monotone, but at the same time trying to be humoristic and more like her expressive self. "I mean, that's still pretty high, but for people whose powers are being a car engine in human shape, I figured he should have ranked somewhere higher."

"Yeah, guess that's true. Honestly, kind of a bummer, but he's probably the one taking it the worst." Tensei said, although the truth is he was kind of baffled on how he only got to tenth place. "And… what about your sister?"

"Annie got second. Stumbled more than she should have, but if there's one constant in our family is that we always recover after stumbling and falling down. Honestly, by how things looked like, she would have had the first place if not for that and that green-haired classmate of hers pulling a last minute miracle out of the blue." Mayday said, although her tone was still pretty down.

"You know, I don't know how you do it back in America, but at least here whenever a friend or family member does good, we are usually pretty happy and proud of them." Tensei said as Mayday just sighed.

"I know, we too and I am, I really do… but I'm also worried."

"I take it your little matchmaking project didn't go as planned."

"Yeah, go ahead and tell me I told you so."

"I won't."

"Why? Because I already did it for you?"

"No, I wasn't going to say it." Tensei wholeheartedly and sincerely answered the older Parker sister, and even though she didn't say ir, that actually helped her mood a bit. "Look, we still have a couple of minutes before deployment. Why don't you get what you have off your chest, it'll do you no good out there. Did something happen?"

"Heh, I wish I could know what happened. I just know Annie is upset."

"Did she say something?"

---

At the Parker residence, far too early in the morning, Annie exits her room, already in her school uniform and bag at hand. It was around 6:30 A.M. Pretty early in the morning in comparison to most days for the girl.

The school informed the students that due to both the Sports Festival and the extra measurements of security, they were meant to arrive a bit earlier than normal. And since Annie has made a habit of being one of the first students of her class to get there (odd that so far she's the one Parker than arrives on time 8 out of 10 times) and that she indirectly roped Valerie into doing the same, she decided to get up earlier than expected.

On her way out of her room, she started to wonder whether or not to have breakfast or just buy something on the way at the train station. It was rather early and she wasn't an expert at the kitchen so she would take longer making herself something. Maybe just an espresso and a toast for the time being. But just then, she started to smell something nice. Like, something really, really nice. It confused her briefly until she suddenly got a reminder of something similar happening when a certain someone got her bike totally wrecked that she frowned.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw her sister. Making an oh so obvious apology breakfast for her.

"Oh, hey Annie. Didn't expect you up so early." she greeted, in the nicest, most happy-toned way she possibly could.

"... What are you doing? Shouldn't you be the one sleeping?" Annie asked, in a rather cold and dried tone that made Mayday flinch a bit. She was clearly still pretty moody from yesterday.

"Oh well, you know. Idaten was asked to help with the extra security at Hosu and I'm actually allowed to help out. So I decided to get up early and prepare. Plus I thought that might as well make breakfast today." she said, but was still victim of Annie's not so happy look at her, which made her chuckle a bit in nervousness. "Hey, stop looking at me like that. Come on, they're banana pancakes, your favorite. I even added some chocolate chips to boot."

Annie was still looking moody, but she decided to eat.

Mayday sighed in relief at that and continued to finish breakfast. Chances are that her mother would wake later, but she should still get everything set for when she does. Even if she snagged one or two to eat while doing so. Even if they weren't wheat cakes, her stomach was telling her to eat something.

Sometime afterwards, Annie finished her breakfast. Rather quick despite the fact that she got herself doubles. Which was her way of saying that she wanted to leave already. Otherwise, she would have gotten a handful more with her mom still asleep and with Mayday not only being willing to turn a blind eye, but also while trying to make up with her.

"I'm going now." Annie simply said, getting up and grabbing her stuff while wanting to walk to go out of the house.

"H-Hey, Annie. I was thinking, why don't I walk you at the very least to the train station? It'll be like old times, what do you say?"

"Tsk, I can walk on my own. I don't need you holding my hand to school." Annie retorted, rather sharply and in a manner that stung a bit to Mayday.

"I know, that's why I said it would be to the train station. Just let me finish some things and-"

"Valerie is probably already waiting for me and I don't want her to wait too long. I'm going."

"Oh come on, you can't actually still be angry about yesterday, can you? It really couldn't be that bad, could it?"

"Of course you would say that…" Annie just murmured.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, now stop making me be late, I'm leaving." Annie said, walking to the door with leaving the house in mind, and yet Mayday stopped her.

"Then why don't I swing you kids to school? Remember when you overslept when you were little and we-" the older sister tried to say, trying to reach for her sister's right shoulder when…

"Get off my back!" Annie snapped, turning to face her sister and almost slapping Mayday's hand away, genuinely shocking her. "Stop treating me like a little kid! Stop butting in my life! Stop being such an annoyance! Just stop it!"

Both sisters were always pretty close. Sure, they sometimes got into little scuffles here and there, but that's just how siblings are. Not like they were even that serious. But this time, well it was clear that Annie was definitely not in the mood. The two did have a bit of a temper at times, not surprising considering that their parents at their age were somewhat hot-headed themselves. Mayday didn't show it that much, her being the older of the two, she kind of had to keep it in check most of the time. Annie though, she was a bit more rash and hot-headed. So the fact that she decided to be quiet before blowing a fuse… she really didn't feel like talking.

"Ok, I overstepped whereI shouldn't. I made a mistake, Annie."

"Oh you think?! What gave it away!"

"Look, I… You've been having too much of a rough time since school started. I just wanted to help."

"And your idea of helping was shoving more problems my way!"

"I get it, that was dumb of me to do."

"Well, at least you got one thing right."

"It's just that with how things been going and what Tensei's brother tells him…"

"Oh great, now you're listening to the brother of that stick in the mud! Because of course you would!"

"Annie don't-"

"You know, you sure are getting a habit of making friends with the siblings of people I don't get along with! Hey, want me to ask if Katsuki and Tsuyu also have older siblings? Because I know you'll love to hear them complaining about me!" the younger sister snapped even louder than before, but a glance at the clock was more than enough to get her to stop. "I'm going now. Do whatever you want, so long as you leave me alone." she said, walking to the entrance of the house.

For a few seconds, Mayday stood there in silence. But just as she heard her sister was already in the front door putting her shoes on, she rushed to try and reach ehr again. Just as she arrived, she saw Annie getting up and just about to open the door. Just as she touched the handle, that Mayday tried to speak with her once again.

"I shouldn't have done that, I know but please I… Annie, I'm worried-" she tried to say, placing her hand on Annie's shoulder, only for her to turn and give Mayday the nastiest look she has ever seen from her.

"I don't need you worrying about me."

Afterwards, she jank herself off her sister's hold and walked out. Leaving May alone at the entrance.

---

"I screwed up, Tensei. I screwed up big time… god, I'm such an idiot…" Mayday lamented herself with such a down tone, it would be hard to tell that it was the oldest Parker sister the one speaking. "I screwed up so bad that my sister hates me now."

"Hey now, don't say that. Your sister doesn't hate you." he tried to comfort her.

"You don't understand Tensei, you've never seen her like that. Hell, I've never seen her like that either. The look on her face I… have you ever gotten into a fight with your little brother?"

"With Tenya? Mm, I don't think that's ever happened. He looks up to me so much that I don't think he would get mad at me now that I think about it."

"Why couldn't I have had a suck-up sibling too." Mayday murmured under her breath.

"Hey!" he said in an indignant manner.

"Sorry, I'm sorry it's just that… She's going through stuff since moving here and since the school year started she's been shoved into even more problems. Issues at school, a bunch of criminals attacking her and her classmates… The fact that two of them came from home… and aimed directly for her because of dad… I just… what was I thinking…" she said with a hint of sadness that made Tensei just forget about her previous comment.

"You were thinking of trying to help your sister when you felt she wasn't ok. Sure, maybe you could have done that better, but at the end of the day, you were just being an older sibling looking after your little sister. There's nothing wrong with that." he said, placing his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"... you think so?"

"Hey, in that regard, I'm like that with Tenya all the time. Annie isn't the only one going crazy over the Sports Festival. Tenya's been training almost none-stop for two weeks. Not that long ago, I had to drag him home to have breakfast, lunch and dinner. Honestly, I was this close to tying him like a pig to stop him from running circles around and resting a bit." he said, actually lifting Mayday's mood as she chuckled a bit. "Look, your sister was just having a not so great morning, that's all. Give her time and let her cool her head and calm down. Sometimes when we're having a bad time we say things that we don't actually mean. You'll see that soon enough she'll be her old self, ok?"

"... Yeah, I guess you're right. I've been there when I was her age… You think it's a puberty thing? I'm pretty sure it's a puberty thing. All the hormones making us do dumb stuff and say even dumber stuff." she said, trying to make a dumb joke to make herself (and even Tensei) feel better.

"And that goes for you too. You've been through your own fair share of things since you got here. Give yourself time to cool down and when you do, you can talk to your sister. Patrolling half of our share of the city will give help out."

"Yeah I guess… wait, half?" she asked, wondering if she heard right. "But aren't we patrolling the entire section together?"

"Well, we are. Just if we split up, we'll cover more ground, don't you think?"

"But I'm not supposed to act on my own, right? Like, are you even allowed to-"

"You heard Orca. I'm in charge, so take it as a test to show how good you are at the gig." he told her, Mayday remaining silent for a few seconds before smiling. He was doing that for her. "Well, I guess it's time to prepare. We're heading up soon."

"Got it…" she said, walking away for a bit before stopping.

"Something wrong?" asked Tensei.

"Nothing, I just wanted to say something…" Mayday said, turning around to face him. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For sticking up for me. For helping me out. You're right, being here has been an experience. And through it all, you've been there for me. Opening your doors when I got here, taking me in and doing what you can to get me through… So thanks, for everything. You're a really good friend."

"You're a good friend too, Mayday…" he replied, glad to see that her spirit was apparently a lot better. "You know? I was planning on taking the agency to go grab a bite after we're done here. Why don't you bring your family along?"

"Really? You sure?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun! Nice way to relax after today if you ask me. You could even have your sister's friends tag along. I'll see if I can have Tenya's friends come too. We did kinda promised them to come have dinner, didn't we?"

"Well, when you put it that way… sure, I'll call mom later. Let's do it!"

"And don't worry about my brother and your sister. I'll make sure Tenya doesn't antagonize Annie because he won the Sports Festival." Tensei said, a smirk drawn on his face as one was drawn on Mayday's as well.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Hey, my little bro is still competing in the Sports Festival. Of course I already know that he's winning the whole thing. But I'll make sure he'll congratulate Annie. Second place is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Alright buster, nice try, but if anyone is bringing the gold home today, that's Anna-May Parker and don't you forget it."

"If you say so."

The two just joked for the remainder of the time before they deployed. It was very cathartic for them. A few minutes later and the entirety of Idaten got moving. All of them prepared to do their job and, quite frankly, felt a lot better about themselves. They may have overheard a bit of the conversation between Spider-Girl and Ingenium. Not the whole details, but enough to see that the foreigner looked down. And especially enough to see that she had been cheered up and was back to her normal self. And most of all, they heard the part where Tensei promised to take them for dinner and their mouth watered at the thought of it. They were making sure the restaurant was one with grilled meat. They sure had pretty high spirits now…

Unfortunately, the day might be turning darker earlier than expected.

---

Midoriya Izuku

AMP

Bendy Girl

V

Todoroki Shoto

Bakugo Katsuki

Shiozaki Ibara

Reyes Roberto

Honenuki Juzo

Ida Tenya

Tokoyami Fumikage

Sero Hanta

Kirishima Ejiro

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Awase Yosetsu

Asui Tsuyu

Shoji Mezo

Sato Rikido

Uraraka Ochako

Yaoyorozu Momo

Mineta Minoru

Ashido Mina

Koda Koji

Jiro Kyoka

Kaibara Sen

Tsuburaba Kosei

Kaminari Denki

Bondo Kojiro

Yanagi Reiko

Kendo Itsuka

Shishida Jurota

Kuroiro Shihai

Kodai Yui

Rin Hiryu

Komori Kinoko

Kamakiri Togaru

Monoma Neito

Tsunotori Pony

Hagakure Toru

Fukidashi Manga

Hatsume Mei

Shinso Hitoshi

By now, the obstacle course has long been finished. The students were able to catch a breather just as the results finally came and a list of those who managed to pass to the second portion of the Sports Festival had been made. Like most years, nearly all of the students who passed were from the hero course, that one was a bit obvious. The event did favor those with the best physical condition and who could use their abilities the best. And from the entire school, the hero course students did have the natural advantage in that category by a large margin.

Though something that did surprise the audience, was that this year, not all of the students that made it to the second portion of the event were from the hero course. Sure, prior years also had a couple of either support or general course students, one year in particular a management student managed to weasel his way into the second round. But this year, they had four extra students in the hero course, so it was very interesting that a general course student and a support course student managed to get their way past the preliminaries.

Especially since one of the students out of the competition was a recommended student, no less.

"How the hell did you get booted on the preliminaries?" Robbie asked Tokage.

"I don't know! How the hell did I get booted in the preliminaries?!" she replied.

"Honestly, Tokage, these sorts of things happen because you're too laid back. Take things more seriously, you are a hero course student. A recommended one on top of it, you have to get your head in the game." Kendo continued.

"Ok, ok, I get it I was goofing off. Can I please have my walk of shame in peace now?"

"Young lady, that is no way to speak to us. You should be ashamed of yourself, we expected better of you." Kamala butted in, making Tokage give her a constipated look.

"These two I can understand, but why are you giving me a lecture now?!"

"Honestly, it's just so refreshing to see that I'm not the one being chewed for a chance. I couldn't help myself." Kamala quipped as Tokage groaned.

"As if I couldn't have fallen any lower." she murmured.

"Hup, hup, hup, speak up, little missy. Murmuring in front of people is very impolite."

"Huh?"

"And look at whoever you are addressing in the eyes. Don't be disrespectful."

"Wait, what?!"

"And stand straight or you're going to grow a lump. You were not raised as an animal to have that kind of posture."

"Hey, hey, hey! I already have one set of overbearing parents and family members, I don't need another one!" the green-haired girl exclaimed, as the trio of Kendo, Khan and Reyes all smirked with humor.

"Their vision is based on movement. If I stay still, they won't know I'm here." Shoda thought, standing next to the group and not wanting to be a victim of their disappointing parent routine since he also got booted.

On the plus side for class A, their eliminated classmates didn't have to deal with anyone like that.

"Don't you worry, Mashirao. We'll pull one big 'W' for you in the next round." Annie told the tailed kid of her class, trying to lift his spirit before he leaves the arena.

"Thanks, Parker-san. I appreciate the gesture." he replied, being a bit down for not making it to the next round. "Sorry that I couldn't accompany any of you to the next round. Kinda pathetic on my part, isn't it?"

"D-Don't say that. You tried your b-best and that's all that matters." Valerie told him as Annie continued.

"Yeah, don't over react. We still have two years in this school. Pretty sure you'll pull it off, next Sports Festival."

"In any way, good luck girls. Make sure to make it to the finals." Ojiro told them as he started to leave the stadium with the rest of the students that could qualify.

As for the other class A student that didn't make it. Aoyama was standing in a somewhat flamboyant pose, looking at the two Americans giving comforting words to Ojiro and wanting to have the same done to him. So he turned to Sato and Mezo, who were the closest classmates near him.

"Well, mes amis, I will not be able to accompany you to this event. It's time for me to say à plus tard for now and-"

"Oh sorry Aoyama, I didn't see you there."

"Did you say something?"

Yeah… it didn't exactly go as he expected.

"Alright, children! The top 42 gather around, we still have much to do today! For those that couldn't qualify, don't be discouraged! We still have plenty of games for you to enjoy to your heart's content!" Midnight informed the students, all while she was standing on a platform in the middle of the stadium with an holographic screen next to her. "But for now, onto our next nerve-wracking event! And what will it be this year? That is the question!"

"Nerve-wracking is right. I can feel my heart being on the brink of exploding." Shinso murmurs, now back to being able to stand without wanting to hurl.

"It's probably because of your bad shape."

"You're one to talk, Hatsume."

Thankfully for them, they wouldn't have to wait too long. The screen next to Midnight, which was going through all the options as if it were a spinning wheel, was starting to slow down. And when it finally did stop, Midnight was quick to announce it.

"Behold!" she exclaimed, pointing at the holographic screen, which read…

"Cavalry Battle? What the hell is that?" Robbie asked, while he and the rest of the western foreigners looked mostly confused as well.

"Is the school bringing horses now? Or… robot horses? I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they did either of it." Annie followed his comment.

"It's just a regular group game. Funny thing, it's usually played in regular schools during their Sports Festivals anyway." Hitoshi explained to his friends.

"Oh… well, then I guess it should have been a given then." Kamala said as Midnight kept on explaining.

"I'm sure you're all familiar with some of the rules, but just to be clear, I'll give you a refresher on them. You're allowed to form teams of either 2 to 4 members. With whom you want to join or how you'll organize yourself is entirely up to your liking." she explained, pressing a button and making an image appear on screen of All Might being carried by Thirteen, Snipe and Mic while wearing a headband. "Swipe the headband of the other riders while simultaneously guarding yours, however, there will be a catch. Each of you will be assigned points according to your placement in the last trial!"

"Huh? I-I don't get it." Val said.

"Oh, so that means that the value of the horse will change depending on who makes up the horse, right?" Uraraka said, clearing Valerie of her doubts while Mina nodded.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense!"

"Which one's the one giving the explanation here!?" Midnight scolded the trio, making Mina and Uraraka flinch while Valerie just cowered behind Annie. "But that is indeed true. Your points will start in five if you placed last and will increase another five the higher you placed in the race."

"Huh, so I guess in my case I would be worth 175 points." Robbie noted as Annie followed soon enough.

"While I would be a 205. And if just the two of us were to be a team, then that would mean that our headband alone will be worth 380 points."

"So that means the point is getting as many points as possible?" asked Kamala.

"Sounds like it. If we can have teams between 2 to 4 members with a total of 42 students, then that means there should be at least 10 teams minimum. Maybe around 12 teams even." Annie replied.

"And all will have different values depending on their members, which means the number of headbands they need might vary." Robbie noted, with both him and Annie having the same train of thought.

"And in the case of first place, then he'll be…"

"10 million points!" Midnight proclaimed from the top of her lungs.

For a brief moment, there was silence. An extremely heavy atmosphere that was so thick, even a scalpel could not cut through right away. And no one could truly understand that exact feeling other than Midoriya.

Right now, he stood sweating cold. A massive weight suddenly befalling in his shoulders. Whether it be luck, hard work, skill or a combination of all factors combined, he managed to secure the top spot and now, he knew exactly what it means to be in the top and truth is, it isn't an easy task. All those eyes glaring at him, different from highschool, as if he were a sheep, surrounded by starving wolves prepared to devour him.

… Well, with a few exceptions.

"What the heck kind of math is that?!" Annie rushed to the front with Robbie not that behind of her.

"5 times 42 equals 210! What did you multiply it with to get ten million!" Robbie also exclaimed.

"Now, let us continue!"

"Don't ignore us!"

On the bright side, at least Izuku wouldn't have to deal with those two wanting to shred him apart… probably.

"The Cavalry Battle will last a total of 15 minutes and as many of you pointed out, the total worth of a horse will be the accumulation of the points of all the members. The one to wear the headband will be the rider and it'll be your job to take as many as possible. The more headbands you have, the harder things will get, take that into consideration. And the most important part of our Cavalry Battle…" the teacher suddenly said in a manner that made everyone know that there would be another catch in the game. "If your team loses their headband or your horse gets crumbled down, you are still in the game!"

"T-The way she said it, is it not normal to play like that?" Valerie asked the two Japanese natives of her inner circle.

"Not really. Normally it's something like a battle royal and once your headband is off, you're eliminated and things go on, until there is just one horse left." Hatsume answered.

Meanwhile, they themselves weren't the only ones

"Damn, that would actually make this game even tougher than before." noted Kendo.

"How so" asked Kosei.

"In a normal game, taking a headband off the enemy means you now have one opponent less to worry about. But in this game, they'll still be in the game. And if any team loses one or all their headbands, then that means they'll be far more aggressive in their offensive out of desperation."

"There is no more dangerous beast than a cornered and desperate one."

"Good then. It wouldn't be fun otherwise."

"Kamakiri, you're a maniac."

"One final note!" Midningth said, recalling everyone's attention back. "Quirks are allowed, so give the crowd a fierce spectacle! Though of course within is still a game after all. If there is any malice intended at purposely breaking any horse apart that's an immediate red card and you're out of the game! Once the time's up, only a select few will pass onto the next stage! More specifically, only 16 of you will make it to the next round! Alright, that is all. You have 15 minutes to negotiate your team-ups. Choose wisely!"

Afterwhich, most of the students scrambled trying to think of a strategy of what to do. Most, being the key word. Because there were still a handful of students with enough of a cool and level head to try and be rational… Either that, or they were too busy being mad at something else.

"Ten millions points first place. What kind of… how does that even work?! How?! I'm now convinced that they definitely don't need a teachers license!"

"You two are over exaggerating this, you know?" Kamala told both Annie and Robbie.

"Are we?!"

"Yes, yes you are." Hatsume replied to Robbie, while looking at a piece of equipment she had at hand.

"It sure is more complicated than we first thought, right?" Kamala asked the group. "I mean, by how you guys explained it, they sure put more thought into what it's essentially a kids game, don't you think?"

"I-It is more intimidating than I thought it would after hearing it was a game. Especially because M-Midoriya is worth so many points. D-Do you think it has a reason to be like that?" the blue girl asked.

"Well, Kamakiri did say that more than helping in the whole hero gig, the Sports Festival was more about getting us to know the competitive aspect of graduating, so it's probably that."

"Yeah, though it could also be a means to make us think of the goal without losing perspective in a way." Annie gave her share. "Like, Miss Midnight did say that 16 of us will be the ones passing. That means there is no need to hoard all the headbands, just enough to get you ten millions are just there to mislead us and make everyone go right for it instead of thinking things through. Like a filter that makes us use our heads."

"T-Then another reason c-could be to see how good we do u-under stressful situations?"

"Val, I love you and all, you're a great friend and amazing cookie chef. But you get nervous at your own reflection." Annie said, making the blue girl blush.

"T-That mirror wasn't there before."

"But yeah, I guess that's also a valid point. Truth is, it could be a combination of all of them, or even another reason we haven't thought of."

"It could, yeah… either that, or the teachers just get a kick out of watching us suffer." Kamala said after Annie, as the four Americans stood quiet for a bit.

"... Why does it feel like that's the actual reason?" the four thought.

---

"Mm… it sure is quite the year. I guess coming here might have been a good thing after all." the number ten hero of Japan, Grand Orca said to himself, walking the halls of the stadium.

Just as he told the duo of Spider-Girl and Ingenium, he decided to give the Sports Festival a visit. The two sure were incredibly outstanding individuals (even if he wouldn't exactly tell that to Spider-Girl in person). Their wits, strengths, quick thinking. They had everything going for them to be among the best of the best of pro-heroes. Hardworking yet talented in their own in particular was always seen as a rising star in terms of how good he was. Whether it be charisma or efficiency when working, even if at times laid back. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise Orca if he one day got into the top ten. Hell, an argument could be made of him becoming part of the upper part of the top ten.

As for Spider-Girl, she was also exceptional… though he wouldn't say it outloud. She was young, sure. She was sometimes a bit brash and temperamental, sure. And maybe her attitude could get under people's skin and be annoying… most annoying. But, to say she wasn't anything but good, would be a grand and utter lie. For her age, she was already above most pros in terms of skill. He has never seen such young promising individual in Japan since Hawks. Though, thankfully, her attitude is far more tolerable than his. Sometimes it felt like he could do and learn a bit of humility. Good thing Spider-Girl had that in spares.

With individuals like them, he just had to go and see what their younger siblings and their generations had to offer. And so far, they're not that bad. Sure, there is still a lack of fines and ability compared to their siblings, but they weren't slouches as far as he was seeing. Could have done better, sure, but they were being quite the surprising lot for first years… Even if some could also do with learning even more humbleness.

"I swear, that speech is the epitome of red flags on such a young pro-hero student." he thought, when he suddenly saw someone in the hall. "Huh?"

"Mm?" the individual exclaimed, turning around and being surprised by Orca's presence. "Wait a minute… I know who you are. You're Japan's tenth ranked hero, right? Grand Orca?"

"Indeed, that's me. And you are…"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Huh… I heard rumor of you coming to Japan, but I never thought you would come."

"Well, me neither, but here we are. Must admit tho, experiencing the Sports Festival in person sure is different than watching it through a screen."

"Indeed, it gives a bit more of a personal perspective."

"That, you are correct, my friend."

"But I am curious. Why would someone like you be wandering the halls?"

"I felt like I needed to stretch my legs in the meantime of the children's break before the next event. What about you?"

"More or less the same. Walking around does help with someone's thoughts. Makes things clear and even refreshing."

"Sure does. Me and the rest did come to that assessment before I left our designated viewing box."

"Rest, you say?"

"I did."

"So it turns out, it was no rumor at all."

"It appears so… hey, would you like to join us in our designated area?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to interpose."

"You wouldn't, please I insist. We were told that we could do so if we desire."

"I… very well then, if you insist. I would not like to be disrespectful towards your offer. Is the view any good? Because the view of my seat isn't exactly stelar."

"I don't complain. Plus, it is very spacious."

"In that case, I believe my answer is obvious."

It wouldn't take long before both Orca and the other pro-hero got to the private viewing area of the later individual. One where other quite interesting and outstanding individuals resided for the time being.

---

"Hey, we should get together for the horse!"

"Guys, do you still have room for one more?"

"Alright people, gather around!"

That and more, was what was occurring in the 15 minute period before the Cavalry Battle. The teens went from left to right, forming teams and strategizing on what to do. For the most part, they stuck to their respective classrooms. Sure would be more manageable to work with people they already know and get along with than some stranger. And especially if they knew that person in particular was quite strong. As was the case of…

"Hey, pick me!"

"No, you would definitely be great pairing with me!"

"Perhaps the two of us could join forces."

The trio of Mina, Sato and Shoji all said, trying to get on Bakugo's good side.

He was a jerk, self-center and a lot of other not so great adjectives, sure. But one thing he was, was strong. Ranking number one of the practical entrance exam. Being one of the top students of the class. Add in the fact that he was in the top ten of the race, it was no surprise that Bakugo would have a gathering of his peers all around him, asking him to team up with them. And naturally, Bakugo reacted like he would.

"... Wait, who are you people again? And what did your quirks even do?"

"No way, are you serious?!" Mina said in shock. "We can understand not remembering who class B are, but your own classmates?"

To say that Bakugo Katsuki is self-centered would fall short.

"Yo, Bakugo, over here!" they suddenly heard, turning back and seeing Kirishima walking towards the ash-blonde. "Let's team-up! What do you say?!"

"... Oh right, you're the one with shitty hair."

"EXCUSE ME! IT'S KIRISHIMA AND OUR HAIR ARE ALMOST THE SAME THING!" the redhead snapped at Bakugo. "Well, whatever. Pretty sure you'll love to be the horse, right? Who better to take your explosions and keep on fighting, eh?"

"... Someone with guts?"

"How is this guy at the top of the class?" Kirishima thought. "Look, you want to go after Midoriya's ten million, right? With my hardening and your explosions, we'll be the horse that can't crumble. What do you say?" the boy told him and with that, a malicious smile was drawn on Bakugo's face.

Meanwhile the other students were still wondering about, looking for someone to team-up with. For example, Sero Hanta, who was walking by, apparently looking for a specific person. After a while he did manage to find who he was looking for. That someone being Annie Parker, who was with her group of friends talking and he himself grinned. Sure, by the numbers of the group, it could mean that she's already preparing to have a team. But technically, there were a total of six students, two more than the allowed for a horse, so chances are that they would split into two. Maybe he can get lucky and wiggle in Parker's horse. They're classmates and after their little talk in the morning he was sure they were friends already, right? Sure, Reyes of class B is also there, but he can tough it up to not get completely terrified by his presence… and if lucky he won't end up being on his team.

But just as he was about to approach the group,an evil presence approached him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"And where do you think you're going, Ducktape?" said none other than Bakugo, in such a threatening manner, he could have sworn to see literal hell fire around him.

"Um… I … wel, I was- WHOA!" Sero tried to say, but was pulled by Bakugo away."

"I have plans in mind and you're going to help me with them, got that?"

"But I was going to…"

At the end, Sero was trapped by Bakugo with no way out.

As for Annie and the others, they had Hitoshi and Mei (but mostly Hitoshi who was actually doing what was asked of him) clarify everything about the Cavalry Battle. Or apparently as it was called in japanese, kibasen.

"-And that's pretty much it I guess. Any questions?" asked Hitoshi to the group of foreigners.

"... so you're saying that if I'm the horse, I won't be able to kick anyone in the shin?" asked Robbie, getting elbow hit by Kamala… who immediately regretted because it actually hurt her more than it did him.

"Robbie's red flag strategies aside, I think I get the gist of things. Chances are that they'll be somewhat flexible due to the whole quirk thing, but I think I get the rules." Annie told the group. "Well, there are six of us, so it's not like we can all be one horse. So, how about we split into two? That way we can-"

"Oh I'm sorry I spaced out a little, are you guys done? Neat. Anyway I'm off now, see you later!" Hatsume suddenly said, confusing the group, which only grew when they saw that she actually started to walk away from them.

"Wow, wow, wow, wow and where do you think you're going?!" Kamala asked the girl.

"That's easy. I'm looking for that first place guy to team-up with and you're not allowed to come."

"Hold on a second, are you ditching us?!" asked Kamala as Mei thought about her answer.

"Mm… yeah."

"What? We took you in, accepted you as one of our own, we even paid for your food and this is how you're repaying us?" Robbie asked the pinked haired girl.

"Pretty much."

"... Goddamit Reyes, you're the suckiest judge of character in history!" Annie told Robbie.

"Wait, why is this suddenly on me?!"

"Why wouldn't it be on you?"

"Is there any reason why you're looking for that guy specifically?" Hitoshi asked the support course girl while the two hero course students were arguing.

"Obviously, to use his position! He'll make the best platform to show off my wonderful babies!"

"... Wait what?"

"As the first place of the obstacle course, he naturally already has the eyes of many for his feat! Add in the amount of points he has over his head and his current position and the amount of overwhelming exposure that I'll get from the big support companies will skyrocket!"

"So you're literally just using him like a billboard? Is that what I'm getting?"

"Bingo, Anna-May!"

"That's definitely… ok, wow I know you're in another course, but that sounds way too manipulative and messed up for a student of a school for superheroes." Annie replied.

"And here I thought web for brain's dad was the shady one." Robbie murmured to Kamala.

"Robbie, you're the last person in this group that gets to say that. Weren't you in, like an illegal race once?"

"... I really shouldn't have told you about that one."

"What do you mean that one?!"

"... Nothing."

"D-Do you really have to?" Valerie asked, approaching Mei. "I-I mean I know w-we didn't have that higher score and all, b-but we did get a pretty good placement that s-should make up for it, right?"

"No can do! My babies wouldn't be good with you! You would just get in the way!"

"Hey pinky, I know most of us don't actually have quirks, but-"

"No, that's not what I meant, you guys really wouldn't be able to help out." Mei cut her off, surprisingly with an even softer tone.

"Huh?"

"This is the best way for me to get the attention of support companies. This is the only thing I can get out of this festival. It's not like the hero course or even the general course." Hatsume said, but this time, her tone was surprisingly even more gentle than before and maybe even… caring? "My babies are meant to help other students from the hero course, but you don't even need them."

"Hey, don't say that. You do make pretty good stuff when they don't blow up… actually, ignore that last part, you make great stuff!" Annie tried to convince her, but Hatsume just shook her head.

"What I'm trying to say is that I actually do want to be with you, but I can't. If I do then I might miss my chance here." the support course student told the group, much to their legit shock. "Sure, if I team-up with you guys, then chances are that you could make up the attention of not being in first place. But it's just the fact that you guys… you are actually too good. I know it seems like I'm too focused on my stuff not to pay attention… but I do. My babies would just be irrelevant with you. The equivalent of having extra material on an already perfect piece of equipment. They wouldn't be able to stand out if you guys used them."

Hatsume wasn't exactly a people's kind of girl. She was bright and hardworking, sure, but she also had her flaws when it came to anything not lab-related. She didn't have the best surrounding awareness, nor the ability to read the room. She was absent-minded and easily distracted and always failed to notice whenever she made people feel uncomfortable. But the fact is that since meeting the group of foreigners, she has grown a bit. She was now a bit more focused, more behaved and now had a group of friends - she actually called them friends - that seemed to care for her. So the fact that she was giving them a kind smile instead of that of a maniac mad scientist? It said a lot.

"I want to pass to the last part of the Sports Festival to show even more of my babies. And maybe I could have that opportunity secured with you… but I miss showing them here and proving that they are useful. So let me do this on my own, ok? And I'll show you all the quality that is the work of Hatsume Mei!"

"... Well Sunny-Boy, you're the one that brought her with us. What do you say?" Annie asked Robbie with a smirk and replied with Robbie chuckling.

"She wants to show off, let her show off. We're all good guys, right? Wouldn't be ok if we hold her back." he told the redhead only to turn to the pink haired of the group. "You better make it to the next round and give a good show, got it?"

"Of course! My precious and cute little babies will blow their minds off!"

"Can you at least not call them babies while you're at it? You're still giving off way too many mixed messages."

"No can't do Khan!"

"Figures." Kamala just replied.

"If t-that's the case… good luck, Hatsume."

"No need! My babies will shine by merit, just you wait!"

"If you say so. Then I think that guy is over there." Shinso said, pointing at where indeed Midoriya was, talking with both what looked to be Uraraka and Ida. "Better hurry up, or someone else is going to get him before you do."

Mei nodded, grabbed a hold of her stuff and started to head off directly to where Izuku was. All while her friends looked at her.

"... Izuku is royally fucked, right?" asked Robbie.

"Gotta admit, I'm starting to feel bad for him. Should we see that as a red flag?"

"Don't worry stretchy. I have a jar back home that's going to get her name on it."

"I-I still think she was exaggerating. W-We're really not that special, r-right?" asked Valerie.

Though Shinso… he remained quiet. He could actually see her point. If those four actually got to be a horse, then they could very much be near unstoppable. He could actually picture it. Robbie's endurance and fire to keep people at bay, Kamala's stretching abilities to have a bigger reach and take others headbands, Valerie's portals for mobility and Annie's spider sense for incoming danger. They'll be a powerhouse with really no counter… while he was just there… being pretty much an extra piece like Mei said.

… Maybe he should.

"Well then, good luck you three. Kamala, let's go." Robbie said, suddenly and taking the others by surprise.

"Huh? What, is today walk away from your friends day?" asked Annie.

"We're five people now, still more than the allowed for a horse. You did say that we should split into two groups."

"I mean yeah I guess, but-"

"Oh I see. The little spider scared of the idea of me kicking your butt in the Cavalry Battle?" Robbie said, provoking Annie with a smirk that she answered in kind.

"Scared? Moi? No, no, no, I was just worried you would be out there without someone holding your hand, California."

"Oh my god, what is it with you today picking fights with everyone?!" Kamala asked.

"Oh come on, I'm joking." Robbie replied to his classmate. "You know, since Mei had that big speech about showing off and all, I thought we should do the same. Sounds interesting, right? How about this tho? Truce. We don't go after one another but we also stay out of each other's way. We meet in the next round."

"If that's your way of asking me to go easy on you, then fine. I will." Annie quipped. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Shoo, shoo, no peeking."

"Well, you heard the soulless ginger, Kamala, lets leave." said Robbie, taking a hold of Kamala and dragging her away.

"Wait, what? What the- hey what the hell just happened?!" she was saying as she was being dragged away, leaving Annie, Valerie and Hitoshi on their own.

"... I-I'm a little confused. What does this mean?" asked Valerie.

"It means, we don't need to beat our heads around. We have our war horse…" Annie was saying as she suddenly placed her hand on Shinso's shoulder. "And we have our rider too."

"Eh?! Me?! Why?"

"Well, you don't exactly have the best condition, so you're definitely not going to be the actual horse."

"Rude."

"And most of all, you know this game better than any of us. If anyone can get us through, then that's you!"

"That… y-yeah, that's true!" Valerie spoke, vouching for Shinso as well. "Y-You have the most knowledge on how to play. I-If any of us should be the rider, then t-that's you!"

"I… Well…" Hitoshi was trying to form words to speak up, but at the end, just let himself be carried by their optimism. "... If you say so, then I guess the only thing I can do is try."

"That's the spirit! Don't let the green puppet fool you. As Cap would say…"

"Trying's what it's all about." Valerie finished Annie's sentence.

Meanwhile back with Robbie and Kamala, they were finally on their own. Stopping to talk a bit, or at the very least, have Kamala chew on Robbie for being… well, for being Robbie.

"I'm telling you Robbie, somehow you're being completely childish and immature… Why the hell am I the one saying this?! Just like last week you couldn't stop bothering about being a kid and now you pull this crap and make me be the adult here?! Oh good, I'm cursing now, look what you made me do!"

"Saying hell and crap doesn't count as cursing, cursing, you know? More like baby talk if you only say it once each."

"Fuck you, Reyes!"

"Ok, now that is cursing."

"You know what, forget it. It doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me, nevermind it still bothers me, but whatever. I'm making you get me a super duper gyro with extra tzatziki after we're done today."

"Didn't you want those veggie burgers from that buffet place? Do they also have that there?"

"... Robbie, do you really want to try and pull that one on me right now?"

"Fair point. Ok, whatever. Let's get our head in the game. We're going to get through this and that's a fact."

"You bet we will!"

"Being just two is a bit of a hazle, but we can pull it off."

"Sure do…! Now do me a solid and lower yourself, ok? It'll make climbing easier."

"... wait, what?"

"I'm not going to be a taxi again."

As the two were talking, fellow class B student Kamakiri was watching from not that far and smiled at the prospect of fighting the two.

"Pony, let's team up. I have a plan."

"Do you?!" she asked excitedly and making Kamakiri she had a similar mentality.

The reality was, she just misheard him and thought he said cake.

---

"Hey, Eraser! Nap time's over, fifteen minutes have past! And look what we have here, a total of 13 horses lined up and prepared for battle!" Mic said, waking Aizawa from his nap and making him look with quite an analytic eye at the teams.

"It seems so. And some of them are quite the interesting line-up." he said while still being somewhat asleep as he looked at the field.

"Hey, stop squirming up there." Robbie told Kamala, who was sitting on top of his shoulders.

"I'll stop squirming when you stop shifting every thirty seconds. You're going to make me fall."

"Don't you dare. I'm not going to be that guy who had his horse fall because the rider couldn't stay put."

"And I won't be the rider that falls down face first because her horse couldn't hold still."

"Alright kids! Prepare your battle cries and get ready! This camp battle is about to begin!"

"You guys ready?" asked Shinso, while being carried by the Van Dyne/Parker duo.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Annie said, while being the back of the horse.

"Y-Yes." Valerie replied, her being the front.

"On my mark! Three…! Two…! One…! START!"

---

My Hero Academia: Legacy Bits! - Growing Support!

"Damn hero course students. Of course they got past the race." a general course student said.

"That guy was right, we were there only to make them look good."

"Well, on the bright side, four of them also didn't make it past the preliminaries. And one of the guys from class C did manage to make it to the next round."

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"Didn't say it would."

This was a yearly occurrence during the Sports Festival. Especially with the first years of the general support course. They would walk out of the arena, complaining about not making it past the preliminaries. And more specifically, about the hero course students that did manage to make it past the preliminaries. To them, that meant that for the most part, they stopped being even remotely close to having a level of relevance in the Sports Festival and instead just became another set of spectators. Grumpy spectators at that.

"Grrr! If I could get my hands on one of those hero course students I would-"

"Do what? Get folded in half?"

"Hey, I can still dream!"

"You can dream, but you shouldn't rave either."

"It just sucks. Those hero course students are always troublesome."

"And this time we get to deal with self-centered ones at that. I bet you this year's hero course is filled with glory hounds and arrogant divas."

"Hey, that's not true!" a female voice suddenly scolded them.

"Huh?"

Turning around, they saw who the person that said that was. A handful didn't recognise her that much, but her classmates sure did. She was from class 1-E, Kanami Narumi and she and she had a small frown on her face after hearing her fellow general course classmates' comments.

"You shouldn't say such mean things about the hero course students. One class was attacked and had their lives in danger. And I'm sure that they have a lot of good and friendly students there too."

"Come on, Narumi-chan, don't tell me you actually like those guys? One general course student hanging out with them was already enough, don't you think?"

"I'm just being objective. They really aren't all that bad."

"Then explain that Bakugo jerk."

"I said not all. And a lot of the hero course didn't like him either."

"Well, that's because-"

"Besides, I've met one of them and he's super nice. That's how I know they can't be all bad."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"R-Reyes-kun. The foreign student with black and white hair."

"That guy?!" they all shouted in legit confusion and even concern for their classmate.

"You can't be serious! I know you don't see well, but come on! He looks like such a thug that even the Yakuza would give him the right of passage."

"Yeah, I stand for what I said earlier about them being jerks. One of them almost dropped a giant robot on us! Right after freezing us!"

"But two hero course students helped us out. And Reyes was one of them." Narumi defended the two hero course students.

"W-Well, yeah but-"

"Plus he went ahead and got us all free of the ice from that other guy. He really didn't need to do that. He did that because he's nice."

"I mean… when you put it that way…"

"I can assure you that Reyes-kun is very friendly. Come on, you really can't tell how nice he is?" asked the shark-like girl.

Suddenly the image of Robbie Reyes flashed before their eyes. The way he both freed them from the ice and how he saved them from the falling robot. He honestly looked… really cool? Awe inducing even? Whatever the answer was, there were actually a handful of blushes on some of their faces.

"... Well, that thug look does suit him"

"I guess he looked cool with those chains."

"I actually heard a rumor that he has a car!"

"No way really!"

"Yeah and it's like some super race car at that!"

"Man that's so awesome!"

"Do you think we can get him to let us see it then?"

And just like that, their perspective made a 180° change that pleased Narumi. Just then, she suddenly heard a voice apparently calling for her and thus, she turned to the source of it. That being none other than a management course student known as Kin.

"Hi there, I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Huh? No, not at all. Um, sorry, do I know you?"

"Oh no, let me present myself. I'm Fukuda Kin of the management course. I'm also very good friends of Reyes-san as well."

"Really?!"

"Yeah and I can certified that you spoke the truth about him. And you see, I have a proposition that could cheer Reyes-san up."

"And what's that?" asked Narumi.

Kin then approached her and then whispered a few things to her ear. And whatever it was he said, it did managed to convince her.

"So? Would you like to join my proposition?"

"Yes!"

Meanwhile back at the stadium, Robbie suddenly had a shiver go down his spine.

"Brrr, did anyone felt that?" he asked the others near him.

"I didn't feel anything."

"Me neither."

"N-No."

"Whatever you say. Hey, does anyone have a screw?"

"By god, you really can't handle some cold, can you California?"

He really didn't get why he felt that. He only knew that whatever it was… he didn't like it.

---

I want you all to try and guess who Orca was talking to. Lets see if any of you can actually guess either their identity or one of the ones that he was talking about.