Chapter Summary: The first event of the Sports Festival begins.
A/N: So this one took a bit to write. Partially because it's so long (about 11,000 words, last I checked) and also because I wanted to make sure I did this part right. I have been thinking about some of these ideas for a bit and being able to actually write them into existence was both cathartic and also a bit scary- as much as I love to imagine scenarios that differ from canon, it still feels risky sometimes. Still, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
The stadium had changed quite a bit since Toshinori had last been inside of it. In the many years that had passed since he had walked through the threshold as a first year, it had gone through countless renovations to withstand the ever growing capabilities that came with each generation. He thought the stadium had been grandiose when he had been a first year, but now, his memories seemed to falter in comparison to the many upgrades it had acquired.
'Nedzu and his predecessors sure like to keep things updated,' he noted silently. Toshinori's eyes scanned the interior of the viewing room he and his fellow teachers were seated in, the sleek surfaces not holding a trace of dust nor dirt. 'I imagine the custodial staff has their work cut out for them once the festival is over.'
Present Mic's voice rang out through the stadium as he rattled off the different first year classes. A smile spread across Toshinori's lips as Class 1-A and 1-B came out onto the fields and although he couldn't see them as well as he could up close, he could tell them apart by the colors of their hair and their height. Amidst 1-A's group, he saw young Midoriya's head of green hair in the center.
'Don't be nervous, my boy,' he thought. Even though he knew Midoriya likely couldn't see him or wouldn't even know where to look, he hoped that he felt his watchful gaze. 'You've gotten this far… I trust you to take it all the way.'
"So many people," Thirteen commented beside him. His eyes flitted towards her as she tilted her head curiously. "The stadium looks like it did when I was a third year."
Toshinori nodded in affirmation. "It sure is crowded… I wonder if they ran out of seats."
"Wouldn't be surprised," Vlad King piped up from behind them. He crossed his arms and leaned forward to rest on them. His gaze was contemplative, almost resigned. "After everything that's happened, everyone is probably curious to see how the competition will go with our first years."
A frown threatened to settle across Toshinori's lips. By "first years," he knew that Vlad King was really referring to 1-A; they were the ones who had landed in the public eye after the attack on the U.S.J., after all.
"How was your class this morning?" Toshinori asked softly. "Were they nervous?"
A small snort escaped Vlad King. "Of course they were. But they were also pretty pumped. Kendo had to stop Tetsutetsu from running laps around the classroom when we did roll call."
Toshinori chuckled. "That sounds like him."
"I sure hope he doesn't lose that energy in the competition," Thirteen drawled, "you don't want to burn yourself out too early in the festival. Learned that the hard way when I was a first year."
"You talking about when you accidentally overdid it on the obstacle course and wound up fainting when it was time for the one-on-one battles?" Vlad King replied, raising his brows.
Thirteen groaned. "Never gonna let me live that down, are you?"
Vlad King barked out a laugh. "Of course not!" He reached down and rubbed the top of their helmet. "We may be Pros now, but in my heart, you're still my little first year!"
"You were only one year above me!" Thirteen groused, ducking away from his hand.
Before Vlad King could reply, however, Ectoplasm hushed them. "Quiet now. Midnight's about to speak."
With a shared, sheepish look, Vlad King and Thirteen turned their attention back onto the field, and Toshinori followed suit. Even from afar, he could still make out the way Midnight swayed her hips as she walked up to the center of the stage with her whip in hand. Having worn a skin tight suit for the majority of his hero career, Toshinori couldn't help but wonder if the added accouterments gave her a level of discomfort.
"Now, the introductory speech!" Midnight announced. Her voice was crisp, which the microphone only amplified. When there was a murmur in the crowd, she snapped her whip and the noise softened. " Silence , everyone!"
'Well, that explains why they picked her to be the chief umpire,' he mused. The memory of her storming into Nedzu's office the day after the attack on the U.S.J. almost made him smile. 'She knows how to command an audience.'
"For the student pledge, we have," Midnight went on, pausing to raise her whip and point it into the crowd of students, "Katsuki Bakugou from Class 1-A!"
Toshinori watched as the students parted to allow Bakugou through. The boy's hands were tucked into his pocket and he slouched forward, his expression hidden from Toshinori's view. As he made his way up the stairs, a hand tapped on Toshinori's shoulder and he turned.
"Katsuki Bakugou, eh?" Vlad King murmured. His eyes trailed away from Toshinori to peer at the field. "Isn't that the hothead from 1-A's committee?"
"Vlad, don't be rude ," Thirteen hissed.
Vlad King pursed his lips. "I'm just saying… He didn't seem like the diplomatic type when he got into it with 1-B."
Although some part of Toshinori wanted to jump to Bakugou's defense, he couldn't ignore the anxious part of him. Ever since their talk in the hallway all those weeks ago, trying to navigate and understand the young boy's emotions had proven to be quite a task– as much as he saw a bit of himself within him, he knew very little about what was running through his head. The present was no exception.
'Come now, young Bakugou,' he prayed silently, 'don't squander this chance.'
Once Bakugou stepped up to the mic, the jumbotron shifted to show a live feed of his face. Gone was his signature scowl and in its place was a mask of neutrality that Toshinori was not used to seeing. Bakugou stared out into the now silent audience, his crimson eyes locked in silent contemplation. Then, he leaned towards the mic and opened his mouth.
"You know," he began, "when I grew up watching the Sports Festival, I always saw people making speeches about the same thing. Determination. Willpower. Stuff like that." His quiet scoff echoed into the mic. "Well, I'm not the type to talk about something so cheesy."
As the crowd let out murmurs, Toshinori felt his unease only grow. 'Oh, heavens, what is he about to say?'
"For the past few weeks, I've watched other kids from outside my class throw down the gauntlet," Bakugou went on. On the big screen, Toshinori could see him glower in near perfect detail. "They think that because we fought villains that we're something to overcome… And that in doing so, they'll have accomplished something. So, for everyone who thinks that, I'll tell you all the same thing I told all those extras who came up to our classroom the day we got back from school…"
Then, to Toshinori's surprise, Bakugou grabbed onto the microphone and slipped it off the stand. He turned to face the crowd of students that stood behind him, his gaze smoldering.
"Some of you are willing to settle ," he continued, his voice gruff. He said the last word like a curse. "But unlike you lot, I'm going to be fighting to get to the top. So unless you're going to do the same, you better not waste my time."
Slowly, the tension inside of Toshinori's chest began to fade away. He wasn't quite sure what he expected from the young boy's speech, but this certainly hadn't been an option he considered. Although it was perhaps a bit crasser and more impolite than he would have liked for him to be, he supposed he should take the victories where he could.
'It's not a traditional introductory speech,' he admitted silently. Still, the corners of his lips threatened to tug upwards nonetheless. 'But he's doing it… Perhaps he's starting to get his attitude in check after all.'
"Not that it matters anyway," Bakugou commented, causing Toshinori to go still, "because I'm going to win."
Almost instantly, a chorus of boos and shouts shot out from the group of students and the stands. Bakugou stared ahead blankly while they all sneered at him before turning on his heel and placing the microphone back onto the mic stand. Iida shot out from the group with his arm raised and brought it down in quick, rhythmic chops while shouting animatedly. Unbothered, Bakugou replied with something Toshinori could not hear and punctuated it with a big thumbs down.
"That boy just landed himself in hot water with that," Ectoplasm observed quietly.
"More like his entire class ," Thirteen maintained. They crossed their arms and leaned forward. "Regardless of how they felt about them, everyone had their eyes on 1-A. If they weren't thinking of going after them before, they just might now."
A small sigh escaped Toshinori. "I suppose it was too optimistic of me to think he would be more… delicate with his delivery."
Vlad King snorted. "Welcome to teaching teenagers, newbie. They always have a way of surprising you, for better or for worse."
A loud chiming sound brought their attention back to the field. With Bakugou back in the crowd amongst his peers, the jumbotron disconnected the live feed and brought up a brand new screen with text that read off, "First Game."
"Without further ado, it's time for us to get started!" Midnight announced. If she was bothered by Bakugou's speech, she gave no indication. "This is where many students drink their tears! The first fateful game of the festival is…"
Behind her, a hologram screen appeared, revealing a spinning graphic that was similar to a slot machine. Midnight struck a pose as loud fanfare began to play and she grinned excitedly. Once the music began to swell, the spinning stopped and a large text graphic popped onto the screen.
'An obstacle course,' Toshinori read silently. His brows furrowed a bit. 'I remember having to do one back when I was a second year… I wonder how they've updated it.'
"Ta-da!" Midnight declared. She brought her whip down in a vicious snap and placed it on her dropped hip. "All 11 classes will take part in this treacherous contest! The track is four kilometers around the very stadium we're standing in!" With her whip in hand, she gestured out to the crowd of students. "And because our school preaches freedom in everything we do, you are free to do as you please so long as you don't go off-course! So without further ado, contestants: take your places! "
With her final declaration, the crowd of students made their way over to the starting gate. Toshinori's eyes scanned the crowd until he landed on Midoriya's head of hair and he clasped his hands together. The boy had made incredible strides since he had begun his training, but even so, his confidence in himself wasn't always steady. If he got too in his head, then he might as well lose before he begins.
'You got this, my boy,' he prayed. Although he knew that there was no way Midoriya could read his thoughts, some part of him still hoped there was a way for him to hear him. 'Even if you don't believe in yourself… Just know that I do.'
Once the students gathered in front of the gate, a small hush fell over the crowd. Everyone's eyes were locked onto the bright green lights that shone at the top of the entrance and, with the dimming of the first light, everyone's posture shifted collectively. Toshinori pursed his lips as he watched Midoriya follow suit within the crowd and mentally willed him to remember not to push himself so soon– going all in at the beginning could prove to be just as troubling as not putting enough in. When the next light dimmed, the crowd began to rise in volume and Midoriya's shoulders hunched just a bit.
'Don't pay them any mind,' Toshinori thought. That was something he had to learn rather quickly when he had been competing all those years ago. 'You got here with hard work… Now make good use of it.'
Then, the final light at the gate finally dimmed, prompting Midnight to raise her hand into the air. "Begin!"
The students didn't need to be told twice. As soon as the word left her mouth, a flurry of movement overtook the crowd and the students came rushing into the narrow pathway. Even from afar, Toshinori could hear the many shouts coupled with the rapidfire footfalls as the students barreled past one another.
"And we're off to a racing start!" Present Mic's voice bellowed across the stadium. "How about some colorful commentary, Mummy Man?"
"How did you talk me into this?" a tired, yet familiar voice droned.
Toshinori blinked. 'Aizawa is in the commentator booth with Present Mic?'
Before he could dwell on that startling revelation, Present Mic's voice quickly occupied the speakers. "What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?"
"The doorway," came Aizawa's simple reply.
"Huh, would you look at that," Snipe commented, "he convinced him after all."
"Only took weeks of begging ," Thirteen added, "I guess Aizawa just got tired of hearing him ask."
Resisting the urge to smile at the thought of Present Mic badgering Aizawa, Toshinori brought his gaze back to the now empty field. All of the students were packed into the pathway like sardines and were moved as though they were a giant mass. Amidst the chaos, Midoriya's head of hair was nowhere to be seen.
'Did he get pulled under?' he thought. His fingers curled in worriedly. 'He's strong, sure, but he's still small… He could get trampled if he's not careful.'
Then, as if the universe was keen on making his worries grow, an all too familiar spread of ice burst forth from the walls. He brought his attention to the jumbotron within the stadium, which showed a live feed of the now ice-covered exit. On the ground level, several students were left stuck to the sheet of ice that enveloped the ground, their uniforms covered with a thin layer of frost. As the cold mist faded away, one student shot ahead of the fray.
"Young Todoroki," he murmured.
From behind him, Vlad King let out a whistle. "Man… He didn't waste any time, did he?"
Thirteen nodded. "I suppose he takes after his father in that regard."
A loud explosion served as the precursor to Bakugou's form flying out from the crowd of students. His face was painted into an angry grimace and he shouted something that his explosions quickly drowned out, sending him sailing through the air with ease. Yaoyorozu came next, her hand producing a long pole that allowed her to vault across the ice. Kirishima's expression was wild as he came tumbling out and he tucked and rolled across the ice, nearly slipping and falling in the process. Meanwhile, Aoyama flew through the air with his hands behind his head, as if he didn't have a single care in the world.
'They were ready for it this time,' Toshinori thought. The corner of his lips quirked upwards when he spotted Ojiro and Hagakure amongst the crowd of students who made it through. 'Good to see they're applying their experiences.'
His smile quickly faded into surprise when one final form broke through the crowd and jumped ahead of the group struggling to navigate their way across the ice. It wasn't the most graceful leap, but that wasn't what drew Toshinori's focus: it was the mop of green hair. He hardly processed what he was seeing before Midoriya's feet planted into the ice and quickly sprang up into the air with reckless abandon, bringing him up to the same height as his peers.
'He's directed One For All to his legs,' he realized. Fighting not to let his jaw fall slack with disbelief, he exhaled and brought a hand to his mouth. 'He's not super coordinated with it but…' He couldn't stop himself from smiling. 'He figured out how to use it in a way that works for him.'
"They've managed to get through the entrance," Ectoplasm drawled from behind him, breaking him out of his thoughts. A small hum escaped him. "Now comes the more challenging part."
Toshinori turned back to face him, his brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
Vlad King inhaled sharply and his eyes widened. "I'm guessing he means that ."
Before Toshinori could face forward to see what he was referring to, a loud, automated voice played aloud, causing him to go still: "Target acquired. Terminate them!"
'Wait,' Toshinori thought, familiarity creeping up his spine, 'that sounds like…'
Hoping he misheard, he turned back to the jumbotron and was forced to bury his hopes upon doing so. Just as he suspected, blocking the students' way were the very same robotic enemies that were used in the entrance exams. There were multiples of each type that took up formation at the threshold, with the Imperial and Victory models flanking the large tank that was the Venator model that was dead center of the frontline. However, his focus quickly drew up to the models that took up the rear and with it, iron spilled into his mouth.
"They brought out the Executor models?" Toshinori exclaimed. "Whose idea was that?"
Despite sharing his surprise, Vlad King let out a snort. "Who do you think , newbie?"
Almost instantly, Nedzu's face popped up in Toshinori's mind, devilish glint and all. The realization nearly made his shoulders sag with equal parts dread and resignation. Of course– he really should have seen this coming.
Toshinori's eyes trailed back down to the field of students, who were all collectively frozen with surprise. Midoriya, however, seemed to be the most shaken out of all of them, his eyes wide with a fear that Toshinori knew all too well. Although he hadn't been in the scoring room the day of the exam, he had seen for himself what came about from Midoriya's bout with just the one Executor model. He couldn't imagine what going up against several at once would do.
"Looks like we have some unexpected enemies!" Present Mic dictated. A huff of laughter echoed throughout the stadium. "I bet we're in for quite a treat here! A test of strength and cunning in order to overcome the robot inferno!"
In between his adrenaline pumping and his heart racing, Izuku could hardly think straight. Even with the fleet of robots before him, his eyes could only lock onto the row of behemoths, their long shadows creeping up beneath them and towards his classmates as a silent threat. It was almost as though the universe took his experience at the Entrance Exam and decided to turn it into a heightened nightmare just to toy with him.
'No,' he thought, trying to shake the thought away, 'I'm not the only one who faced off against these things… This is meant to test everyone to see how they've grown.'
His eyes trailed over to his classmates and he saw his own fear reflected in their eyes. Further down the line, he saw Uraraka standing beside Yaoyorozu and pursed his lips. She had been on the opposing end of the Executor model that fateful day, too– he could only guess what was running through her mind in the current moment.
The sound of metal shifting brought his attention back to the robots and Izuku's eyes widened upon seeing the Executor before him starting to move forward. Just as he was contemplating on what to do, however, an all-too familiar sound drew his focus back to the ground. A few yards ahead of him, there Todoroki stood in a circle of ice, his right hand poised to touch the ground.
"They obviously went to a lot of trouble," Todoroki observed, his fingertips glinting in the sunlight as the frost spread across his palm. Then, just as they drew close to the dirt, large chunks of ice began to burst out from it. "But I really wish they had prepared something a little more difficult ."
In a matter of moments, ice spread throughout the ground and Todoroki's form slid across it with an ease that had to have come from practice. Beneath his feet, the ice took on the form of a path and he glided across it, bringing his hand with him in a grand sweeping motion. Just as he drew close to the fleet of Executors, he stopped short and flung his hand up, bringing forth a glacier of ice that wrapped itself around the robot's oncoming limbs. The robot's attempts to move only lasted for the briefest of moments as the frost made its way up its mechanical body and within seconds, it went eerily still. Awestruck, Izuku stared as Todoroki straightened up his posture and let out a single, frosty breath.
'Holy crap,' he thought, unable to keep his lips from parting in surprise, 'I thought he wasn't holding back before, but now…'
Almost as soon as the robots became stagnant, Todoroki wasted no time in making his way through one of the Executors' frozen legs and his form quickly disappeared into the frosty mist. Behind him, Izuku heard people beginning to cheer about the threat being neutralized, which only made his brows furrow. Why would Todoroki do something that helped others in the competition? He had been very clear in his intentions prior to coming into the stadium, so a change of heart didn't seem likely. So what was the catch?
Thankfully, Izuku wasn't left wondering for long when the creak of metal brought his attention back up to the robots. Unfortunately, he was left gasping as the green behemoth began to tip forward and he glanced down at its feet to confirm his suspicions. Sure enough, they had been frozen while they were off their balance.
'Oh, no,' he thought, his eyes widening with terror as the ice began to break beneath the pressure, 'that thing must weigh hundreds of tons… If it falls on someone, then…'
Uraraka's fear-stricken face jumped to the forefront of his mind and before he could process it, his feet were pounding across the dirt. He distributed One For All's heat down to his legs and squatted so low his bottom almost touched the ground before springing upwards wildly. As soon as his feet left the ground, he cut off the flow and quickly redirected it up to his arm, praying that it was loaded up in time. Once he drew close to the robot's face, his traitorous mind flashed back to that day of the entrance exam, when he found himself sailing through the air in almost the exact same way. Back then, his anxiety and exhaustion from working himself ragged cleaning the beach had led to him losing control of his power and left him under Recovery Girl's care for his broken bones. He couldn't allow himself to repeat history, not when the entire world was watching.
'Don't let the egg explode,' he told himself, imagining it within his grasp, 'you've got this so long as you don't let it explode.'
Metal crumpled beneath his fist as soon as he made contact and just like that, the Executor's forward momentum was cut short. An involuntary smile spread across his lips as the robot went sailing backwards and Izuku breathed out a laugh that was both equal parts astonishment and relief. Before he could get too lost in his own euphoria, however, he was very swiftly reminded of gravity's effects and quickly braced himself by sending One For All down to his other arm. As the heat began to spread down from his bicep and creep all the way down to his palm, he prepared his body for the oncoming tumble and leaned into position while sailing through the air. Practicing a move he learned from learning parkour with Yagi, he fell into the standard safety roll with the ease of muscle memory just as he made contact with the now falling Executor. One For All softened the impact on his arms, allowing him to roll forward and make a swift landing. Still, he knew that his troubles weren't over yet and, with One For All still burning in his arms, he dug his fists into the metal and closed his eyes to brace for impact.
As soon as the Executor hit the ground, Izuku felt his entire body shake with it. He grit his teeth and weathered the tremors until the robot's body finally settled into the earth. Large clouds of dirt and debris kicked up from the rough landing and one of Izuku's hands slipped away from the metal to tug the collar of his gym shirt up to his lips to keep him from choking on it.
"What a showing!" Present Mic's voice broadcasted. "Shoto Todoroki has managed to gain an early lead, but his attempt to sabotage his competition was thwarted by Izuku Midoriya! Man, what a punch!"
At the reminder of his classmate, Izuku dared to peek his eyes open. In the midst of the now-settling dust, Todoroki's form had paused just a few yards from the Executor, his eyes wide with surprise. A frozen tidal wave of ice was held beneath his feet and Izuku wondered if it had been to avoid the falling grit teeth, he stood up from the robot's frame and tugged his shirt down from his mouth to speak clearly.
"That was a rotten move, Todoroki!" he shouted, his anger rising. "You could have gotten someone killed with that!"
Todoroki's eyes flashed dangerously, but Izuku wasn't deterred. He had been on the opposing end of unsportsmanlike behavior for pretty much his entire life, but none had ever come so close as to putting his or other people's lives at risk. As much as Kacchan liked to boast about killing his competition, his threats were always empty– even he knew when to draw the line.
As if on cue, a loud explosion caused Izuku to turn swiftly just in time to see Kacchan blasting himself through the air. Even from afar, he knew that he was grimacing, likely spewing hateful curses all the way up to one of the remaining Executors' heads. The Executor raised its large fist up and attempted to strike at him, but Kacchan proved to be too fast for its heavy movements, his explosions allowing him to dodge. With one final burst, Kacchan's form flew over the Executor's head and began to glide over the other side of it.
"Looks like going down low isn't Katsuki Bakugou's style, so he decided to take it sky-high!" Present Mic boasted. "Clever move!"
With the reminder that he was still in a race, Izuku tore his gaze away from Kacchan and transferred One For All down to his legs. He leaped off the fallen Executor and did another safety roll to soften his landing back onto the dirt. Once he was back up on his feet, he took off in a sprint, taking quick stock of his body. He was still in the early parts of the obstacle course and while he had done well to avoid breaking any bones, he knew that he couldn't tire himself out by using One For All too often. In the Sports Festival, they hardly left ample time in between the first two events, so he had to make sure he not only had enough energy to finish the obstacle course, but also whatever challenges they had in store once he was across the finish line.
'Miss Midnight said that the obstacle course was four kilometers around,' Izuku recalled, his eyes scanning his surroundings, 'and while I don't see any markers, we're definitely still in the first kilometer of the course. That means I'll have to be strategic.'
Movement darted past his peripheral and he turned in time to see an Imperial model make its way towards him. He ducked away from its stinger-shaped limb and tucked his middle finger beneath his thumb, allowing One For All to slip down to his hand.
"Smash!" he proclaimed, releasing his finger and sending out a wave of force into the Imperial. Upon making impact, the Imperial toppled backwards and crashed to the ground, its metal limbs struggling to move. Chunks of the shelling began to fall off, revealing the wires that lined the inner machinations.
'They're slow,' he observed silently, 'that means they can't change trajectory or block attacks as well… That's good to know.'
Just as he was about to turn around and take off again, a loud explosion made him jump with surprise. Izuku whipped around to see another one of the Executors come toppling over, its head alight with smoking flames. Another projectile went flying into the air and hit one of its brethren right in the eye. Just as another projectile sailed through the air, his eyes darted downwards to the ground level and from afar, his gaze locked onto Yaoyorozu. Her gym shirt was unzipped, revealing her sports bra, and beside her stood a large, smoking cannon.
'Holy crap,' Izuku thought, staring at the cannon in wonder, 'I knew she could make things with her Quirk, but I had no idea she could make things that big.'
With one final shot of the cannon, Izuku tracked the projectile's progress as it went flying into one of the remaining Executors. The headshot proved to be effective, sending the large model toppling over and crashing into its fellow models like dominoes. Unable to stop himself from smiling in astonishment, Izuku looked back at Yaoyorozu and nodded in approval.
"Nice shot, Class Rep!" he adulated, cupping his hand around his mouth to amplify his voice.
Yaoyorozu blinked and turned to meet his gaze, only for the corner of her lip to quirk up. "I could say the same to you, Class Secretary!"
With one final nod, Yaoyorozu abandoned her cannon and took off in a sprint, her open shirt flying behind her like a cape. Not wanting to fall behind, Izuku decided to follow suit and turned on heel to resume running. His attempt was stopped short, however, when his foot caught onto something, nearly causing him to topple over. Izuku let out an involuntary yelp and spread his arms out to try to maintain his balance. Once he was certain he wouldn't fall, he let out an exhale and stepped back to inspect what had tripped him. Halfway buried, a long, angular piece of green metal faced him, its metallic sheen dulled by the dirt.
'It must have fallen off of one of the models,' he realized. He crouched down to inspect it and brushed the dirt away with his hand, his brows furrowed with thought. 'It's hardly even dented that badly… I guess the shelling on those things are pretty strong.'
Then, something clicked within his mind. Back during the announcements, Midnight had made a point to emphasize that nothing was truly off-limits in the race– was that supposed to be a hint of sorts?
'If everything is fair game, then…' he thought, still inspecting the robot shelling before him.
Before he could let himself get too lost in thought, he grabbed a hold of the shelling and dug it out from the ground. He straightened up his posture and examined it, confirming that it was still in decent enough shape. Grabbing a hold of the wires still attached to it, he slung it over his shoulder and laid it across his back as though it were a makeshift shield.
'I'm still having trouble getting the timing for One For All down,' Izuku mused as he began to start running again. 'Whenever I have to move it to different areas of my body, I'm left open for an attack. But maybe this will offer me some protection in case I get targeted.'
Todoroki's steely gaze flashed to the forefront of his mind and he grit his teeth. If his classmate was really so keen on making him his enemy for the Sports Festival, then Izuku wasn't going to make it an easy task for him or anyone else coming his way, for that matter. With one final adjustment to the shelling, he took off in a sprint, his eyes locked onto the threshold for the next obstacle that awaited him and his peers.
"For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy," Present Mic announced, "let's see how you feel about the second one!"
Izuku's brows furrowed. 'Of course– that was just a warm-up by U.A.'s standards. Now we're going to be getting into it.'
In all his years of watching the Sports Festival, the only thing that had remained consistent was the rising of the stakes. Each coming generation of aspiring heroes only developed more and more powerful Quirks, so as result, U.A. had to up the ante during the festival if they were to actually challenge the student body. There was a reason why the Sports Festival had surpassed the Olympics in viewership, after all. So perhaps it shouldn't have surprised Izuku as much as it did when he finally caught sight of the second obstacle up close and personal.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ashido exclaimed, her dark eyes wide with shock. She took a step back from the edge and withdrew her hands to her chest. "Is this school trying to kill us or something?"
Some fearful part of Izuku was inclined to agree. He stared ahead at the dark pit below and swallowed thickly. Trying his best not to let his breakfast make an unfortunate return, he brought his gaze to the stone pillars that were dotted along the chasm, the only thing connecting them being singular strands of rope across each of them.
"If you take a spill, you're out!" Present Mic bellowed. "If you want to pass this test, you'll have to get creative! Or else, you'll just become a victim to: 'The Fall!' "
Anger and adrenaline were pumping their way through Katsuki's veins as he made his way over the next obstacle, his teeth grit in a deep grimace. Although some part of him recognized that it was risky to use his Quirk as much as he had in only the first round of the tournament, he didn't let up on his explosions, not even for a single second.
'I have to keep going,' he thought, ignoring the ache that had begun to snake its way up his forearms, 'I can't let up until I make it across the finish line.'
He wasn't sure how close his classmates were behind him and quite frankly, he didn't care. The last he saw, a good chunk of his peers hadn't even attempted crossing the treacherous ropes before them. It was a pity that some of them weren't able to pass over them like Katsuki could.
"Looks like Todoroki is still skating by easily!" proclaimed the loudmouth who taught his English class. "The leader of the pack remains undaunted!"
A growl rumbled out of Katsuki's throat at that. His eyes trailed down just in time to catch Icy-Hot as he crossed the last rope, leaving a trail of ice behind him. It not only provided him a quick way to pass through, but also actively made it harder for others to take the same route– a feat that both impressed and pissed Katsuki off to no end.
"You suck! " he cursed at his back. His next burst of explosions shot him over the last bit of the pit and he snarled through his teeth. "You better pray I don't catch up, you slippery bastard!"
Icy-Hot glanced over his shoulder at Katsuki, his expression impassive. It was that same unbothered look he had on his face back in the stadium, when he had made his stupid proclamation to Deku , of all people. Just the reminder of it made Katsuki's next explosion come out particularly more volatile.
"The leads continue to break ahead, while the rest of the competition is all bunched up!" the Loudmouth hollered. "Since our racers don't know how many will make it to the next round, they can only aim to make it to first place!"
Katsuki scoffed. Well, only one person could be in first place– and it sure as shit wasn't going to be any of those extras.
'That asshole is an idiot for making the nerd his enemy,' he thought, his insides practically boiling, 'he's about to learn real quick what a mistake that was.'
Then, his traitorous mind flashed back to when Deku had delivered that punch to the falling robot behemoth and his upper lip curled up involuntarily. He knew that the idiot's new Quirk had given him a power boost, but even Katsuki could see that he was still sloppy with it. He had jumped into the situation with the same reckless, blind abandon that he had during the sludge villain attack all those months ago, only that time, he had the power to back him up. Had he still been that Quirkless little nobody, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
Katsuki shook his head. Focus, he had to focus . He couldn't let Deku distract him, especially when he wasn't even the one to worry about. His eyes locked back onto Icy-Hot's red and white hair like a scope to a bulls-eye and he sent out another flurry of blasts to push him further into the air. He was getting so close, he could practically taste it.
"And now, we're finally approaching the final obstacle!" Loudmouth went on. "Everyone had better tread carefully– you're stepping onto a minefield!"
Just as Katsuki was contemplating on whether his teacher was being literal or metaphorical, his eyes trailed ahead to the start of the dirt pathway, where Icy-Hot stood. Although his back was turned towards Katsuki, there was clear apprehension in his body language. He tracked his competition's gaze over to the large sign that was posted up near the entrance and read the expressive text: "Danger: Mines!"
"If you look carefully, you can see where those little bombs are buried, so keep your eyes on the ground, folks!" Loudmouth warned. "But don't worry! They were designed for the games, so while they're loud and flashy, they're not all that powerful!" Then, a small giggle echoed in the sound system. "Just enough to make you wet your pants!"
"Get a hold of yourself," Sensei Aizawa huffed into the microphone, which nearly made Katsuki snort.
"Hey!" a voice called. Blinking, he glanced behind him to see Pinky running up in the midst of the crowd, her bright smile apparent even from afar. "We're at the last part of the course!"
"Shit," he cursed aloud, his eyes scanning over his classmates, "they got through that last one faster than I thought."
Then, as he combed over the entire group, he spotted a familiar head of green hair and grimaced. Although he wasn't near the front of the group by any means and, for some reason, hauling a large hunk of metal, Deku was still clearly in the race and not showing any signs of relenting. Because of course he was.
'He just doesn't know when to quit, does he?' he mused. It'd be almost funny if it weren't so infuriating. With a scoff, he turned away from the rest of the group and delivered another blast. 'We'll just have to see if he makes it to the next round or not.'
His gaze locked back onto Icy-Hot, who had slowed down significantly. While everyone else who had entered the minefield was trying to get through, some with more difficulty than others, the frontrunners were at more of a disadvantage than those behind them. A malicious grin spread across Katsuki's lips as he watched Icy-Hot tiptoe around the buried bombs and he chuckled as the realization sank in. As much Icy-Hot favored his ice, it wouldn't have been the most strategic move to use it in the minefield, as his competitors could use it to get across without issue. So his only option was to take it slow and steady.
'Too bad I'm not too keen on letting you get your way,' Katsuki thought, his smirk only spreading.
With just a couple more blasts, he went flying over the last little bit of distance between the two of them and laughed aloud. Icy-Hot turned just in time to meet Katsuki's gaze and his mismatched eyes widened, reflecting Katsuki's raised palm within his pupils.
"Bastard!" Katsuki bellowed, relishing in the sight of his enemy's shock. "Your declaration of war was to the wrong person! "
An explosion burst forth from his palm and Icy-Hot jumped back to dodge it. A frustrated growl escaped him and he delivered another blast towards his enemy, which provided the bonus of sending him ahead of his competitor.
"And just like that, Katsuki Bakugou takes the lead!" Loudmouth broadcasted. "The media here is going crazy! There's nothing they love more than an upset!"
Further enlivened, Katsuki held up both hands to deliver another burst, his lips pulled up into an almost manic grin. "You hear that, Icy-Hot? And here I thought you got in on recommendations! "
Icy-Hot's eyes narrowed to thin slits and he jumped away to dodge. Ice spread out from his foot as he landed, likely to keep the mines from detonating, and he quickly leaped forward back into the fray. Frost covered his palms as he swung towards Katsuki, who jerked his arm away to avoid the sub-zero attack.
"Looks like the rest of the competitors are beginning to get a bit desperate in trying to catch up!" Loudmouth proclaimed. "Can our two leaders duke it out and stay in the competition? My, what a nail-biter!"
"Just give up!" Katsuki snapped. Careful not to let his feet touch the ground, he blocked another attempt from Icy-Hot with his forearm. "I'm not letting you win, asshole!"
"Your threats may have gotten you somewhere back at your old school," Icy-Hot countered. Then, he managed to land his palm on Katsuki's arm and he squeezed it tightly. "But you're going to have to do better than that if you want to beat me ."
Katsuki hissed when the ice began to make its way across his skin and he used his free hand to grab Icy-Hot's wrist. He pressed his thumb down hard onto the bone and almost instantly, his assailant's grip loosened up. Still maintaining his grip, he prepared to send Icy-Hot's form into the dirt.
"I'll show you what a–" he began to say.
However, his words were robbed from him blind when a loud, thunderous explosion detonated. Blinking, both Katsuki and Icy-Hot turned in time to see an unmistakable cloud of pink smoke bloom from the ground.
"What's with that huge explosion in the back?!" Loudmouth questioned. "That's way more powerful than it should be!"
"What the…" Katsuki drawled. In his astonishment, he hardly acknowledged the fact that his hand let go of Icy-Hot. He stared at the sparkling, pink cloud and scanned the sheer scale of it, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Then, before he could attempt to voice his questions, something broke out from the top of the smoke.
"Incredible!" Loudmouth observed. "I don't know how, but it looks like Izuku Midoriya is in hot pursuit of first place through whatever means necessary!"
Heat burned in Katsuki's gut. 'You've got to be fucking kidding me.'
Together, both he and Icy-Hot turned in tandem to watch while Deku's form rocketed over their heads, the trails of pink smoke tracing his progress. His green hair blew wildly in the wind as he gripped his makeshift shield and came flying through air like a missile.
'That bastard…' Katsuki thought, his anger only growing, 'fucking copied me!'
"The lead is his!" Loudmouth cheered. "Looks like he wasn't too keen on fading into the background!"
Before Katsuki fully realized it, he had already begun making his way through the air. His hands sent out explosions faster than before and he grit his teeth, his breaths quick, yet heavy. Although fire had dwelled within Katsuki for as long as he could remember, he wasn't sure it had ever burned as hotly as it did in that moment.
"Like it or not, you can't stop me!" Deku's voice echoed in his head.
'You little…' Katsuki thought, his hands burning hotter with each passing moment.
"I had to fight to get into U.A., Kacchan… And I'm going to keep fighting until I become the Number One Hero!"
'Fucking…'
"You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same helpless, defenseless kid anymore!"
"ASSHOLE!" he screamed, unable to keep the word from ripping out of him. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?! "
He barely registered the fact that Icy-Hot was quick on the trail after him, his eyes still locked onto Deku's form. While the nerd had managed to shoot ahead with his little stunt, the laws of gravity had quickly taken effect, which caused him to start to dip closer to the ground. The chunk of metal slipped from his grasp and Deku yelped with wide eyes as he continued to fall.
'You're scared out of your mind,' Katsuki recognized. He had seen it so many times over the years– when he had been backed into a corner, when he saw a particularly frightening battle on the news or in person, or just when he was plain nervous. But while his terror could easily paralyze him, Katsuki knew that very same fear could make him act reckless and catch everyone by surprise. He had learned that back during the Heroes vs. Villains simulation.
"I said that I wasn't trying to compete with you," Deku's voice taunted him, "but now…"
As Deku began to dip forward, Katsuki locked onto his hands and blinked. He initially thought that his hands had lost their grip on the hunk of metal, but he realized that Deku had merely grabbed onto the thick wire attached to it. Realization struck him like lightning down his spine and he glanced down at the ground, where there were still dozens of undetonated mines.
'He's about to do it again,' he thought, his eyes widening, 'he's going to try to detonate them.'
His gaze trailed back up to his freckled face and there, he saw it– that same, burning look in his green eyes that had occupied Katsuki's vision just seconds before his defeat. And just like that, he was back in his hero suit, back in that hallway, back in that godforsaken simulation where the nerd's stupid proclamation had first begun to haunt him:
"I take back every bit of it!"
"No!" Katsuki bellowed.
He wasn't sure when he had grabbed onto Deku. He wasn't even entirely sure if he had meant to. However, once his eyes locked with Deku's, there was one thing he was sure about at that moment; he wasn't about to be bested again.
"Deku…" he growled, his grip tightening around his wrist. When the nerd released the cord with a yelp, Katsuki raised his free hand and grabbed a hold of the metal shelling. "Get the hell out of my way!"
Within a matter of seconds, Katsuki tossed the shelling behind him and sent it flying towards Icy-Hot while still holding Deku's wrist. His target paused on his path of ice, apparently having decided to forgo his fears of aiding his competitors, and blinked with shock upon seeing the projectile coming his way. A sickening level of satisfaction housed itself inside of Katsuki's chest when he caught the shelling within a wall of ice– perfect . He turned his attention back to Deku, who was staring at him with unfettered disbelief.
"You said you wanted to compete with me…" he reminded him. A deep-seated grimace spread across his lips and he let out a snarl. "Now you'll know how it feels to lose to me!"
Then, without warning, Katsuki sent Deku's prone form straight into the dirt, detonating the bombs. Used to the pushback that came from explosions, Katsuki allowed the waves of force to do their work before righting himself with blasts of his own. He glanced back to see Icy-Hot begin to slide around the barrier he created and couldn't stop himself from smiling at the look of shock and bewilderment that painted his expression just seconds before Deku's body hit him right in his mid-section, knocking them both into the metal shelling buried within the ice.
"The upsets just won't let up!" Loudmouth exclaimed. "In a stunning coordinated move, Katsuki Bakugou has managed to take out both of his opponents and clear the minefield! I don't believe it!"
"And that was your first mistake!" Katsuki snapped back at him. He wasn't sure if people could hear him or even if that stupid Loudmouth would actually respond, but he didn't care. He was sick and tired of people counting him out, of being shocked by his successes– from now on, they would know better. They all would.
"You'll have to work to get to where you want to be," the Grim Reaper's voice echoed in his head, "you're not ready to give up so soon now, are you?"
A small laugh huffed out of Katsuki's nose. 'Is this good enough of an answer for you, you sack of bones?'
Still, although he knew that he had delayed his opponents, his troubles had not disappeared– the race was still on and with Icy-Hot's path of ice, the rest of his competitors were sure to make good use of it and attempt to close the distance that separated them. His ears could hardly catch the sound of any movement over the trail of explosions that trailed after him, so he kept a watch out in his peripheral vision, searching for any hint of that icy mist that would signal him to Icy-Hot's arrival.
'If Deku knows what's good for him, he'll stay away,' Katsuki thought, his teeth grit so fiercely that his jaw began to ache. Then, a humorless snort escaped him. 'So odds are, he'll be running as fast as possible to catch up.'
"Who would have imagined at the beginning of this race that the climax would be a non-stop mega-mix of surprises?" Loudmouth questioned. As Katsuki made it past the entrance to the tunnel, the man's voice only grew louder beneath the stadium's sound system. "The first one to make it into the stadium will be our first place winner! The question is, just what will our competitors do to get there?!"
The next breath Katsuki let out was accompanied by fog, which made him grimace. 'Icy-Hot.'
"I know you're tough , but so is everyone who gets into U.A.," his mother's voice reverberated, her words from earlier that morning only making the fire inside his chest burn hotter. "Don't tell me you're not the least bit worried."
An involuntary growl rumbled so deeply within him that by the time he opened his mouth, it had turned into a near-feral scream. Clouded by the icy fog that poured out of his mouth, Katsuki focused as much as he could into his next few blasts. Although some part of him acknowledged the river of ice that flowed beneath his feet, his sights remained locked onto the bright light at the end of the hallway. Even if Icy-Hot was close on his trail, even if Deku had somehow managed to catch up to the two of them and had another insane trick up his sleeve, even if some way, somehow, someone had the chance to tear ahead of him, it didn't matter to him at that moment. Because no matter what anyone sent his way, it wouldn't change the outcome that he had spoken into existence before the games had begun.
'I'm not gonna lose today,' he thought, recalling what he had said to his mother back in the car. Then, as the first rays of sunlight began to make their way across his face, he felt the corners of his lips tug upwards into a smile. 'And now, everyone watching will get to see it for themselves.'
"Katsuki Bakugou is our champion!" Present Mic cheered.
Slowly, the breath that Mitsuki had found herself holding came sliding out of her, allowing her shoulders to slump forward with equal parts relief and rejoice. Her hands came together in a prayer position and she pressed them to her lips, which had begun to tug upwards into a smile. She just barely managed to savor the sight of Katsuki's smiling face on the conference room TV when a single blink left her vision blurry and she closed them to fight against the growing sting.
"He did it," she whispered, unable to stop the tremor from creeping into her voice. Despite herself, she let out a small huff of laughter. "That little turd did it ."
A hand landed on her shoulder and she glanced upward to see her assistant, Yuki, sharing a tearful smile of her own. Her gray eyes shone with unspoken emotion and she nodded in affirmation to Mitsuki. The gesture only made her eyes burn more and she let out a watery chuckle, bringing a finger up to her eye to flick away any oncoming tears.
"God, I'm such a mess ," she murmured, trying to ignore the way her voice shook, "I guess it's a good thing Katsuki can't see me… He'd never let me hear the end of it."
Yuki gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Don't worry… Your secret's safe with me."
"Kamui, look ," Death Arms commented, "it's that kid."
Curious, Shinji turned his attention away from Mt. Lady, who had surrounded herself with adoring fans vying for a photo. His irritation quickly faded away into surprise upon looking up at the screen and he let out a shuddering exhale.
"The kid from the sludge villain attack," Shinji drawled, unable to stop himself from smiling in astonishment, "would you look at that… looks like we're going to be seeing more of him."
Then, as another form broke through the entranceway, Death Arms arched a brow. "Hold up… Is that…?"
Although he didn't appear as scrawny as before, Shinji hadn't forgotten that freckled face– he found himself wondering about him now and again, typically whenever he saw kids his age doing stupid things. He stared at the screen as the boy came racing in after the proclaimed champion, turning the funny coincidence into something uncanny.
"Huh," Shinji said, raising both his brows beneath his mask, "what are the odds?"
Tears practically flooded from Inko's eyes while she gazed at the screen. " He did it! He made it to the next round!"
No longer held together by the tension that had entered her body since the beginning of the round, she fell against the couch cushions with a gasping breath. Inko closed her eyes and fought back a sob, clapping a hand over her mouth to smother the sound. As much as she trusted Izuku to do well in the competition, it didn't stop her from being consumed with worry, nor did it keep her mind from going to all the worst-case scenarios with each new threat the obstacle course sent his way. However, her boy had kept his word to her and had done his best– and really, what else could she have hoped for from him?
"My baby," she murmured, her cheeks growing wet with tears she didn't have the will to stop. Her hand slipped away from her mouth and she smiled up at the ceiling through blurry vision. "You're going to be the absolute death of me one of these days."
By the time Izuku's feet had made their way into the stadium, he found himself sagging forward with exhaustion. Although he had come to a stop, his heart continued to race and his breaths remained shallow, leaving him only able to stand and try to regain some sense of composure. His eyes fluttered to a close and he pressed his hands to his knees, clutching the fabric of his gym pants for purchase.
"Racers continue to cross the finish line one after the other!" Present Mic announced. "We'll go over the standings in a bit, so for now, just catch your breath!"
The reminder of the rankings brought a sinking feeling to Izuku's chest. Slowly, he dared to peek open his eyes and ahead of him, there stood Kacchan. His back was turned towards him, but even so, Izuku could see that he was recuperating from the race, his entire body moving with each breath he took.
'He didn't hold back at all,' he mused, his eyes trailing down to Kacchan's shaking hands, 'he really went all out…'
Despite how much his insides continued to burn, Izuku stood up straight and looked into the roaring crowd. Amidst the sounds of cheers and shouts, it was hard to see where to put his focus, the entire stadium practically overflowing with excitement and adrenaline. He scanned the stands until he spotted the upper sections and went still upon meeting the gaze of his mentor. Although he was far away, there was no mistaking that head of blond hair– nor the big, bright grin that he sent Izuku's way.
'He's… He's clapping,' he realized. His lips pulled up into a smile and he exhaled a disbelieving laugh. 'Does that mean he's proud of me?'
Tears began to make their way to his eyes and he swiftly brought a hand up to wipe them away– he couldn't cry, not on national television. He wasn't sure that Pros looked for that sort of thing at their hero agencies, anyhow.
"Deku!" called out a familiar voice. Blinking, he turned in time to see Uraraka come running up to him, her breaths loud and heavy. "That was amazing! "
Almost immediately, heat began to make his way to his cheeks– man, he was not used to getting positive attention. "O-Oh, thank you!"
"We made it to the next round," she huffed out, her cheeks abashed with exhaustion. Her hand clapped onto his shoulder for purchase and she slumped forward, her hair falling in front of her face like a veil. "I can't believe Bakugou got first… That butthole… "
Though the reminder that he had fallen short to Kacchan stung a bit, he couldn't stop himself from snorting at her remark. "I guess he wasn't joking during his speech, after all…"
He spared a glance over in his direction and his smile weakened. It had been a gamble to try to use the mines to jump to first place and unfortunately, it wound up not paying off as well as he would have liked. Kacchan had been able to predict his next move and swiftly disarmed him, then dispatched him and Todoroki all in one move. While the analytical part of him was deeply impressed, he couldn't deny just how disappointed he was to have been bested in the end.
'I just have to be more calculated,' Izuku thought. He looked down at his palm and frowned. 'One For All gave me a bit of an edge, but I'm not as coordinated with it as I'd like… I guess I'm lucky that those risks paid off as well as they did, despite everything.'
"Yaoyorozu!" Uraraka exclaimed, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts. He turned to see her rush over to their class rep, her expression bright. "You did amazing back there! I can't believe how quickly you took down those robots!"
While catching her breath, Yaoyorozu offered a smile to Uraraka. "Thanks… You did quite well, yourself." She straightened up and reached down to her zipper, locking the bottom into place to start zipping it up. "Though, I didn't place as high as I would like… I suppose I was a bit more underprepared than I thought."
"Are you kidding? " Izuku blurted out. He jerked his thumb back in the direction of the entrance. "You took down those Executors like it was nothing! When I went up against one of those things in the entrance exam, I wound up in Recovery Girl's office for hours ."
Yaoyorozu blinked. "You did? But you took that one down back there so easily ."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head with an anxious laugh. "Yeah, well, you gotta make mistakes before you learn from them first, I guess."
"That's an optimistic way of looking at things," commented Iida, whose voice nearly made Izuku jump with surprise. He whipped around to see his friend approaching, his expression a bit downcast. "Well done, Midoriya… I have to say, I'm quite impressed. You gave Bakugou and Todoroki a run for their money."
With everyone's eyes back on him, heat quickly made residence in Izuku's cheeks and he cast his gaze aside. "O-Oh, it was nothing! I-I just got lucky, is all…"
Before anyone else could speak, thankfully, the stadium was filled with the sound of a microphone whine, alerting them to an announcement. They all turned in tandem to see Midnight back on her platform and as she brought her microphone to her lips, the stadium quieted down.
"The first game for the first years is over, and what a game it was!" she proclaimed. Midnight slid her mask up from her face and flashed a bright smile to the crowd of students. "Now let's take a quick look at the standings, shall we?"
In a flash, the large hologram screen behind her produced a large graph. Each square held a student's name and photo by placing, starting off with Kacchan in first. Izuku blinked with surprise upon seeing his own name beneath his friend's and quickly glanced over at Todoroki.
"Todoroki came in third? " he murmured softly.
Almost as soon as he said that, Todoroki's eyes flitted towards him and he turned away swiftly, clapping a hand over his mouth. He pointedly didn't look in his direction, but even without doing so, he could feel his classmate's eyes boring into his back. His cheeks warmed up significantly and he slid his hand over his eyes. God, he really had a knack for embarrassing himself, didn't he?
"Sixth place…" Iida grumbled, drawing his attention away from his palm. He watched as the Deputy Rep slid his glasses up indignantly. "Shameful… I should have done better."
Izuku's gaze softened. He knew that Iida, like the rest of his classmates, had something to prove during the festival– falling short on expectations was never a good feeling, no matter who you were. Still, not wanting his friend to get too lost in his own misery, he gently prodded him. When his classmate's gaze met with his own, Izuku offered what he hoped to be a reassuring smile.
"I bet your brother is proud," he told him sincerely.
Iida blinked with surprise before his expression shifted to something more subdued. He returned Izuku's nod before turning away from him to face forward, which might have made Izuku feel guilty, were it not for the fact that his lips pulled up into the smallest of smiles. Taking a cue from Iida, he turned back to the front to examine the rest of the board, where he spotted Yaoyorozu in ninth place, Tsuyu in thirteenth, and Uraraka in sixteenth. Although they may not have been considered high rankings to each of their individual standards, seeing his friends and fellow class officers place as high as they did made Izuku's smile only grow.
"Only the top forty-two will advance to the next round," Midnight announced, "but don't be too discouraged if you didn't make the cut this time around! There's still plenty of opportunities to show your stuff!" She raised her whip up for emphasis. "Now the real fun is about to begin! The chance to fully move yourself into the limelight and give it your best!"
A light scoff brought Izuku's attention over towards Kacchan, who had tucked his hands back into pocket. He appeared just as unbothered as he did back on the stage when he gave the introductory speech, if not even more than before. If Izuku hadn't grown up with him and gotten used to his antics, he might have felt a tad annoyed at the sight.
"Let's see what we have in store for you next!" Midnight continued, drawing his focus back to the stage. She gave them all a teasing smile. "I already know what it is, of course– bet that makes the waiting all the more suspenseful, doesn't it?"
Then, Midnight snapped her whip downward and, as if on cue, the text on the screen appeared.
"A cavalry battle?" Kaminari blurted out. "Oh, man, I'm terrible at those!"
Tsuyu brought a hand to her lips in contemplation. "Not an individual challenge… I wonder how they'll split us up, ribbit ."
"Allow me to explain," Midnight went on, as if she heard Tsuyu's question. She turned to face the screen, which shifted to show a visual graphic with Yagi perched atop of Present Mic, Thirteen and, if Izuku were correct about the boots that peeked through at the bottom, Snipe. Just as he was wondering if his teachers had posed for that specific photo in preparation for the event, Midnight pointed up at the screen. "Participants will, on their own, form teams of two-four people each and get into the horse-and-rider position shown here! And while it's fundamentally the same as the playground game you've played before– snagging your opponents' headbands while guarding your own– there is one significant change… Each of you has been assigned points based off of your ranking on the last event!"
"Kind of like the entrance exam," Sato commented, "that sounds pretty simple."
"So each team's points are composed of each members' points!" Hagakure deduced.
A loud, pointed clear of the throat reverberated throughout the stadium. "I'd like to remind you all that I'm not explaining just for your sake, but also for the sake of the millions of people watching. So if I may finish –" Midnight cracked her whip sharply and immediately, everyone went silent. "Now, then… The point assignments go up by increments of five, starting at the bottom. For example, 42nd is worth five points, 41st is worth ten points…"
Then, behind her, the screen shifted to show the rankings once again, only that time, they were accompanied by the point values. Izuku scanned the board to go to his rank at second place, where his point value showed to be at 205. However, as he glanced up to look at Kacchan's, he went as stiff as a board.
'Wait a minute,' he thought, shaking his head. He blinked once, twice, three times, but regardless, the point value stayed the same. 'That… can't be right. Because then that means that–'
"And the point value assigned to the first place contestant is," Midnight drawled, raising up her whip to point at the screen, "ten million!"
Izuku gasped so loudly, he couldn't stop himself from slapping his hand over his mouth. He whipped around to face Kacchan and as he did so, found that everyone else had done the same. In the epicenter of the stares that ranged from incredulous to outright predatory, Kacchan stood still, his unbothered demeanor gone from sight. His crimson eyes were wide with equal parts shock and anger, his gaze boring through the crowd and seemingly staring off into nothing. While his hands remained in his pockets, Izuku could see from where he was standing that they were shaking– whether from rage or fear, he didn't know.
"That's right," Midnight affirmed, "it's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow those at the top!"
As the crowd of students began to murmur, a very heavy weight began to sink down to the pit Izuku's stomach. When he had first met All Might on that fateful day a year ago and learned of his injury, he began to get a glimpse of the burden that came with being the best. Training had only granted him further insight into the matter, when he would return home from the beach with aching bones and tired muscles. But very few knew what he did about the Symbol of Peace– that in and of itself was one of the burdens that came with the title.
'Anyone he teams up with is also going to be a target…' Izuku mused, the mere thought causing his brows to furrow. He couldn't help but feel a pang of empathy. 'He's going to be the last person anyone wants on their team.'
A/N:
Shoto: (as he's running away) Careful now... I froze them while they were off their balance... On *purpose.*
(continues running, then hears a loud impact and whips around to see the Executor falling towards him instead of his opponents)
Shoto: What the- (quickly rushes away with his ice to avoid being crushed and stops a few yards away after it lands) That... wasn't supposed to happen.
Izuku: (looks up from the now-fallen Executor, eyes burning)br /
Shoto: *Oh.*
("Dumb Ways To Die" starts to play)
(Meanwhile, in the commentator's booth after Izuku punched the Executor)
Present Mic: What a showing! Shoto Todoroki has managed to gain an early lead, but his attempt to sabotage his competition was thwarted by Izuku Midoriya! Man, what a punch!
Aizawa: (staring with wide eyes) I'll be damned... His egg isn't cooked yet after all.
Present Mic: (turns towards him) you say something, Eraser?
Aizawa: (shakes his head) It's... It's nothing.
(Meanwhile, in the faculty section of the stands)
Vlad King: Oh my GOD. Did you guys see that?!
Ectoplasm: (nods) It seems he's improved since the Entrance Exam...
Snipe: Damn, that kid can *punch.*
Toshinori: (Externally) He sure can.
Toshinori: (Internally) LET'S GOOOOOOOOO, YOUNG MIDORIYA
(Meanwhile, at Mitsuki's job)
Mitsuki: (staring at the screen in stunned silence before staring straight ahead into nothing) You know... Maybe it's a good thing that Izuku's Quirk came in as late as it did... I don't think our house would have survived he and Katsuki's play dates...
WHEW. Guys... This chapter. This chapter was a doozy to write. And while I'm sure you guys have some thoughts on the shake-up this causes within the AU, I do want to address some things that crossed my mind while writing and planning this.
1. As a rule of thumb, whenever I am planning a section of this fic, the first thing I do is re-watch/re-read the scenes I'm writing from the source material (both anime and manga, because I'm obsessive lol). The first time is just to re-familiarize myself with canon, and then every subsequent viewing/reading is to break it down and see what I could or should change in this AU due to prior changes. I go over a lot of different ideas and try to see what works the best for the future plans I have in this AU.
2. That being said, I noted back during the Entrance Exam arc that there were some complaints that I had decided to stick to Izuku flubbing his use of One For All during the exam. And I completely get where you guys are coming from- the boy had all that extra training and yet he still messed up. It's natural some of you got frustrated about that. However, I still firmly believe that moment felt too significant to change and I didn't feel right changing it. I saw this as an opportunity for Izuku to reclaim that bad experience, in a sense. He froze up that time. This time, he didn't, because like the rest of his classmates, he has learned not to hesitate.
3. "How did Izuku land that punch? When he was training with Gran Torino, before he unlocked Full Cowling, he struggled with getting One For All to different areas of his body." Yeah, I noted that, too. But the thing was, Izuku was practicing in much closer quarters during that arc in canon. I felt like the open area of the obstacle course felt like it granted him ample room and therefore, ample time for One For All to get from his legs to his fist in time for him to land the punch. But of course, he can't rely on that because he's not as fast with it (yet, anyway *wink, wink*), hence him grabbing the shelling as protection.
4. "Why did he still do the bomb trick?" While re-reading and re-watching that scene from canon, I noted that Izuku himself observed that even his classmates who are good at jumping had to be careful with the mines (and he looked to Tsuyu as an example). To me, I figured he wouldn't try using One For All in his legs, especially since he's still not super coordinated with it. So the mine trick remained, which I also felt like was a powerful moment so I kept it in the AU.
5. "Katsuki won first place? Really?" Listen. I thought long and hard about this decision prior to settling on it for this arc. Katsuki wasn't *kidding* when he said that he wasn't going to let Izuku catch him by surprise again. He holds a grudge like no other and he is deadset on proving himself to everyone watching. The only caveat for him is that now, he's landed himself in hot water. You think I was going to pass up a chance to humble him in one way or another? /lh
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to hearing what you guys think of this shake up because while I was nervous about it, I was also fairly excited abo