Chapter 26:

(Okay, so I finished the last chapter in basically a day, so I had enough time to try and work on this one. I hope you guys appreciate that. Anyways, enjoy the chapter)

Kirishima was actually buried from the ice, but broke free with his Quirk!

"I'M ALIVE!!!" He said, Present Mic even shouting how he has a hardcore debut!

"Todoroki, I can't believe you pulled something like that." Eijirou looked over and saw Sakai trying to the robot away from the students, and when he finally put it down, he continued running. "Yeah, even Sakai got a little reckless." He said, wondering why he stopped running to stop the robot.

He then saw Tetsutetsu immediately break free! "Class 1-A really is full a' jerks! I'll smash that ice guy and his little friend when I get my hands on 'em!" He said, steel shown out, "You know, anyone other than me would've been killed!"

Their rivalry was born to happen.

"Our Quirks are basically the same! How am I supposed to stand out now?" Eijiro asked, running.

"You copycat!" Tetsutetsu said, trying to get passed.

Katsuki launched himself above everyone else, "No way am I letting Todoroki beat me." He thought to himself, shooting himself to avoid the obstacles.

"I figured you'd try to blast through these things with your Quirk. I'm impressed." Sero said, using his Quirk to grapple, alongside Fumikage, using Dark Shadow's abilities. "I'll let you ride on my shadow. Let's land." He said, "Aye-aye!" Dark Shadow said.

It's become clear that Class 1-A has learned not to hesitate.

As almost every student from the class is using their Quirks to the best of their abilities to fend off the robots and to advance.

"They've seen what the real world is like." Aizawa said, "They've felt the fear of facing villains. Yet they fight on, trying to overcome that fear. They've grown. All of them, and they know they'll have to act quickly if they want to stay alive."

Izuku ran and dodged the robot's attack. "I can't rely on One For All this early in the match." He thought to himself, he then saw a piece of the robot that Shoto and Lucas knocked over.

He quickly grabbed it and carried it, "This thing won't let up. It must have me targeted. It's moving so quickly, which means I can't stop fast or avoid and attack!" He thought as he lifted up the broken of piece to use as both shield and sharp weapon.

"Run! Keep going!" Izuku thought, deciding to keep the scrap as a shield if he needs defense. He then saw the robots being shot down, he looked at where the firing was coming from. Yaoyorozu had used her Quirk to make a cannon. "She beat a Zero-Pointer so easily. No wonder she got in on recommendations." Izuku thought, impressed as he kept running ahead.

(With the teachers)

"You're better off dodgin' those big fellas most of the time," Snipe said, "But if you gotta take 'em down, they're just slow, dumb hunks a' metal, pretty easy to hit." Toshinori looked as Midoriya kept going. "Long as you land a smart shot, that is." Snipe concluded his analysis.

Toshinori remembered what he wanted Izuku to do, "I've asked so much of you, Young Midoriya. You don't have to come in first." He watched Izuku run, determiner. "Just make it to the next round." He thought and hoped.

(Back at the Obstacle Race)

"For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy, let's see how ya feel about the second one!" Hizashi said over the speakers, Ochaco, Mina and Tsuyu looked as there was a ton of cliffs they had to avoid. It was called "The Fall."

"When did they have time to build something like this?" Ochaco said, as Tsuyu walked up, "What are you doing? She asked her and Tsuyu jumped ahead onto a rope,

"Ribbit. This is my moment. Easy peasy." She said.

Mina and Ochaco noted that she was fast, and then heard an excited giggle. "Yes, finally. This is my chance to show off what I can do." A pink-haired girl said, excitedly. "My support items are gonna steal the spotlight from these wannabe heroes. Everyone! Observe what my brilliant gadgets can do!"

The girl point out that she prepped her gear with wire arrows and hover soles. "You're from Support!" Ochaco said, "Hey! How come you got to bring all that stuff?" Mina asked.

"Students in the Hero Course get all kinds of trainings for their Quirks. In order to keep things fair and give us a fighting chance, we're allowed to bring whatever gadgets and costumes we want so long as we developed them ourselves!" The girl explained, "Sit back and enjoy the show! For those of us in the Support Course, this is the perfect obstacle to show our ingenious ideas and creations to any companies out there who might wanna recruit us!" She launched her arrow out and it planted itself into a cliff, using the hover soles as a way to push herself forward.

Ochaco was impressed, whereas Mina was annoyed.

Ochaco snapped herself out of it and got her head back in the game, "I won't lose!" She said, running.

"Ugh, this is so unfair!" Mina shouted, still annoyed by that girl.

Hitoshi looked on and found this interesting, he gave a small, quiet "heh." as a response.

(With Shoto)

Shoto used his Quirk to slide faster on the rope, turning it into a rail. He saw Bakugo coming straight at him. "He's finally getting fired up. Took him long enough." Shoto thought to himself. He heard Katsuki shout: "You suck!"

Lucas used his psychokinesis to give himself a bit of a boost when he jump from cliff to rope. "Looks like Bakugo-san's gotten ahead of me." He saw Katsuki right over him. "Stay focused, you've gotta make it to the next round!" Lucas said to himself, jumping off from cliff to cliff.

Tenya saw everything else from a far distance, he had a bit of a ways to go.

"My older brother's probably watching this. I can't let him see me look foolish. I've got this!" He said, using his Quirk to grind on the rope and balance himself. Present Mic openly said, "Boy, does he look foolish!"

(With the audience)

"That dude in 1st place is so far ahead." One man noted, watching Shoto's performance. "His Quirk is really powerful, but it's his natural athletic talent and keen judgement keeping him in first place." Another man noted, the guy next to him smiled, "Oh I'm not surprised. Don't you know who his father is? The Flame Hero: Endeavor!" He said. The few audience members spoke amongst themselves. As Endeavor was second only to All Might. Everyone will be fighting to have Shoto as a sidekick for sure.

(Back with Izuku)

"The leader's putting distance between him and the students stuck at The Fall!" Present Mic said over the speakers, Izuku used the rope to get across, keeping the scrap from the robot on his back.

(Back with Shoto)

Shoto made it to the third obstacle. He saw what this one was as Present Mic explained, "And now: the last obstacle. Everyone had better read carefully. You're stepping onto a minefield!" He said, and warned to keep their eyes on the ground.

(Izuku made it passed The Fall)

"Someone's already made it to the final obstacle? Faster, I can do this!" He said, continuing on, even as everyone was moving passed him.

(Shoto as he deals with the final obstacle)

Shoto carefully stood between each spot where a mine was buried, "Very clever. Those in the lead are actually at a disadvantage here." He thought to himself, as those who stepped on a mine were sent flying into the air with pink smoke coming off each blast. "Guess it makes for good entertainment." Shoto thought to himself, before he heard the explosions of Katsuki, who was using his Quirk to make it passed the minefield. "Hahaha! It's over!" He said, grinning, he grunted as he moved passed. "Your declaration of war was to the wrong person!" He said, as he tried to strike Shoto. "And just like that a new student takes the lead! The media here is going crazy! There's nothing they love more than an upset!" Present Mic shouted, as the crowd went wild.

Lucas saw those two fighting. "Things'll get hectic!" Lucas then saw Tenya having trouble, as he ran through the minefield. "I haven't seen Izuku throughout the entire race. He has to make it, I know he will."

Speaking of which, Izuku realized that Shoto & Katsuki are really far ahead and he see the other students catching up.

"Crap. They're so far ahead. But…" He thought to himself, lifting up the scrap! "No…This isn't over yet!"

He looked more determined, "Thanks for the idea, Kacchan!" A huge explosion went off as everyone, including the two in the lead looked back.

Ochaco look up and saw Deku being launched into the air by the blast. Lucas smiled, "Incredible!" Present Mic said, "What just happened? Whatever the case, Class 1-A Izuku Midoriya is suddenly q B in hot pursuit of first place!" He had a fierce look on his face.

(A bit of context)

"I gotta think about this." Izuku thought to himself as he was digging out a few land mines with the scrap metal. "They're not that powerful, but they can turn into a huge pain if you detonate a bunch of them. You can't just rush through." He explained, "It's better to slow down and avoid them altogether. He saw a few other students trying to slowly make it past, further proving his point. That way you won't risk injuring yourself with one. He dug up more land mines as the race continued, "Even the ones who are good at jumping can't be too careless. And there are even more of them to watch for in the front. No one's going to move through this very quickly.

Izuku decided to use this to his advantage, Kyoka even looked over and saw what he was doing. "Todoroki and Bakugo are neck neck for the lead and knocking on the finish line!" Present Mic said as Izuku finished up the digging. He put a bunch of mines into one hole, "Thanks for the idea, Kacchan!" He said, prepping himself and the scrap, "Super explosive turbo speed!" Izuku shouted as the SUPER huge explosion went off.

Everyone looked over and we're completely shocked. Lucas smiled and shouted, "Let's go, Izuku!"

(Okay, we're all caught)

"…Whatever the case, Class 1-A Izuku Midoriya is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!" Present Mic said, but Izuku was already making it further passed the two in the lead. "Strike that! The lead is his!" Present Mic said.

"I flew over them just like I planned, but there was more force than I expected, and…" He thought to himself, "I didn't think about how I was gonna land!"

An explosion went off from behind Izuku, "Deku…What do you think you're doing, huh?!" Katsuki shouted, trying to catch up,

Shoto then created a path of ice for himself, he realized this would also help others out in this obstacle.

"But there's no time to worry about them!" He thought to himself, running ahead to reclaim the lead.

Toshinori was on the edge of his seat, he cheered on Midoriya, but realized anything could still happen here.

Lucas tried to run ahead, trying to jump carefully and then reached the ice path that Shoto made.

"Okay, I definitely have to make it to the next round!" Lucas said, taking this more seriously. He hoped Izuku would win, so he could congratulate him! But he also hoped he hasn't need to use his Quirk at all during this race.

Izuku felt that he was losing speed. "This is bad, they'll get ahead of me again. If I don't time this landing right, there's no way I'll be able to keep the lead." Izuku thought as he was landing close to Shoto & Katsuki. "I just…have to hold on and keep going. I have a chance here. I have to reach out and take it!" Izuku realized the only way to stay ahead was to take another leap, and grabbed the wire from the scrap and hit it against the ground. His plan was to take Shoto & Katsuki out of the running. "I can show the world who I am!" When the scrap metal hit the ground, it detonated the few mines that were there. Causing an explosion that pushed Izuku further ahead, he hit the ground rolling, but quickly recuperated and continued running.

"In a stunning move, Midoriya had blasted past his classmates from 1-A. I don't believe it—he cleared the minefield in an instant!" Present Mic said, genuinely impressed. Shoto & Katsuki quickly recovered and tried to hurry.

"Eraser Head, your students are amazing! What the heck are you teaching them?" Hizashi asked Aizawa, "This has nothing to do with me." He said, "Each of them is powered by their own drive to succeed." Hizashi then decided to call out that Eraser Head is a terrible teacher. "I'm what?" Aizawa asked.

"Who would've thought at the beginning of this race that the climax would be a non-stop mega-mix of surprises?!" Hizashi asked.

Ice pushed through the floor, explosions went off and running continued until the first place winner revealed himself

"The first to make it back to the stadium is the first place winner!" Hizashi said, as he revealed, "Izuku Midoriya is our champion!"

Izuku won the race, as the crowd went wild in cheer.

His mom was crying, incredibly proud of her son.

Death Arms and Kamui Woods realized he was the same kid who went and fought the sludge monster.

Someone else was watching, "It's that brat again." That someone was Shigaraki.

Izuku smiled a victorious smile and was crying real tears. He looked back at All Might, he gave him a smile of approval. Toshinori looked on and figured a lot of things, he chose Izuku because of his selflessness.

Although, he was worried that could also be a weakness. He took a breath and clapped his hands, realizing he had nothing to worry about.

Izuku did it! Right now, he showed who he is!

Although, Katsuki looked aggravated. He lost to Deku…again?!

Shoto was catching his breath as they went on.

Lucas ran up to his friend,

"You did it! Haha!" Lucas came up to his friend, Lucas then looked and saw that Izuku had no injuries. Lucas looked excited,

"You didn't need your Quirk for it, either! You were awesome, Izuku!" Izuku chuckled slightly, "Thanks, Lucas!" They fist bumped, although Izuku slightly hesitated. "Deku! That was amazing!" Ochaco said, out of breath and caught up. Lucas walked over and saw Todoroki taking the loss. Another thought crossed the boy's head, "Endeavor's watching this?" Lucas asked himself.

"I can't believe you got first place, I'm jealous!" She said, Izuku blushed and cover. "It's not like I had some big plan. I tried a few things worked out better than I could have hoped for." Izuku thought to himself, "Any of those gambles could've gone wrong. I was just lucky, that's all." He clenched his fist, "My real ability will be tested after this. What comes next?" He asked.

"The first game for the first-years is finally over. Now, let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?" Midnight said,

The standing came as followed:

1. Izuku Midoriya

2. Shoto Todoroki

3. Katsuki Bakugo

4. Ibara Shiozaki

5. Juno Honenuki

6. Tenya Iida

7. Lucas Sakai

8. Fumikage Tokoyami

9. Hanta Sero

10. Eijirou Kirishima

11. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

12. Mashirao Ojiro

13. Tsuyu Asui

14. Mezo Shoji

15. Rikido Sato

16. Ochaco Uraraka

17. Momo Yaoyorozu

18. Mina Ashido

19. Koji Koda

20. Kyoka Jiro

That was merely the top twenty, of course. The other 22 went varied across each class, Hitoshi, the pink haired girl from the Support Course, tons of students from 1-B, and the last spot went to Yuga Aoyama, who looked like he was cringing and embarrassed.

"Only the top 42 will advance to the next round, but don't be too down if you didn't make the cut!" Midnight explained that they prepared other opportunities for them to shine. Lucas covered his eyes once more as she spoke. The monitor's display started spinning, Midnight started asking what it will land on, until it landed on…

"Cavalry Battle? I'm terrible at those." Denki said, "Huh, it's not an individual event. I wonder how they'll split us up." Tsuyu said, inquisitive as always.

Cavalry Battles consist of teams of two-four people as they see fit, a leader stands atop one-three teammates. The leader will wear a headband and opposing teams goals are to take the headband and vice versa. But since this is Sports Festival, there is one difference:

"Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course." Midnight explained.

"I get it, a point-based system like the entrance exam. That seems pretty simple." Rikido mentioned.

"So, that means each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it." Ochaco mentioned, "Which only means…this stems trouble for Izuku." Lucas noted, as he was the winner of the obstacle course.

"Uh-huh." Mina said, agreed.

"Maybe you should shut up and let ME explain things to you!" Midnight shouted at the students speaking.

"A-Ah!" Lucas was started by the shouting, "The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom." Midnight explained, giving the example of 42nd place being worth only five point.

"And the point value assigned to the first place contestant is…10,000,000!"

Lucas and Izuku looked shocked.

Izuku felt and saw that everyone was staring at him, "In other words, if you take down his team, you'll win the Cavalry Game and take the lead yourself." The students concluded, stating Izuku down.

Lucas, on the other hand, put his hood down.

Whatever the case, the next game was starting. And the tension in the air was competitively fierce.

(Okay, so I finished this one up! I hope you guys liked the chapter, I know it's nothing too special this time. But I will say, that next chapter will be where things are tweaked slightly. It involves Lucas' spot in the Cavalry Battle. Anyways, stay strong and awesome! I hope you guys are loving like God loves you guys!)