And here we are, the chapter that will open us up to the Sports Festival. I went through many revisions because I didn't want to just use the same events, but what I came up with is pretty fun, at least as much as my beta reader thought. It was also meant to be the chapter before the start of the Sports Festival, but trying to stretch the training montage was a fool's errand and just a dick move on my part.

Chapter 20: What's your Dream, Shinso?

"What do you think?" Izuku took great joy in seeing his friends flabbergasted-faced; who could blame them, as the estate was no joke? With the morning sun still high in the sky, one could see the entire place in its majesty or most of it was the many buildings dotted the landscape, some wooden, some brick and mortar, with spaces in-between for parks, playgrounds, sports fields and ponds. One could be forgiven for thinking that it was less a property for an eccentric billionaire and more a near-perfect recreation of a period in Japan that hasn't been seen in 400 years.

It wasn't just the buildings and the landscape; it was the people as well; with it being a Saturday morning, people were out in full force, playing, watching over children, fishing, swimming in the pools, flying kites or messing around with the cats that lived on the estate, dogs being banned. It made for one of the most confusing pictures out there.

"What do we? Where did this place come from?" Monoma asked, whipping his phone out and checking the maps, seeing that this enormous piece of land didn't appear.

"It's been here longer than any of us have been alive. I reckon our parents weren't even born when it was founded." Midoriya replied though he didn't know the details as he had never asked for them. Deciding that he could speak with an older resident later, he led them down the path towards their destination, with the guests still processing what they saw, including how open Izuku was with these people and how they were open with him. Kodai compared it to one of those gated community ads where everyone was sociable, but this wasn't an ad.

"There are a lot of people here. Is it a halfway home complex?" Kurorio asked, as he saw some folks helping move boxes in of what looked to be an apartment building.

"Yes and no. Plenty of residents live here permanently. I knew a few who never leave." Izuku replied that, as with the repairs done in Raxus, some folks had opted to return, and others wished to try and move somewhere better, which required house and job hunting, so they remained here in the meantime. Others asked to stay and were welcomed with open arms.

"That sounds rough," Shinso stated that he saw some kids playing with cheap toys, the type one could only find in bargain bins or charities, but they didn't seem to mind as they yelled out special moves and wondered why their guy was immune or dodged it.

"Not at all. The estate has everything one needs: accommodation, recreation, places to work and eat, and everything in between. All housed on a property around over 2km squared." Shiozaki and the rest blinked, as while their time at U.A. let them see that it was far more extensive than that, it was still an insane amount of land to be owned by one person. Who could fund the purchase of such a large piece of property? As they approached the dojo, a building that was as impressive as the rest of the place, Kuroiro noticed something in the distance, rubbing his eyes to make sure he didn't see things.

"Was it just me, or did I see a tiger in the distance?" He asked, pointing to where a full-grown tiger was just walking around, and people did not run in fear like they should, acting like it was just some alley cat.

When Izuku saw it, he only shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, the master must be out and about, or Ruby or Sapphire are just stretching their legs."

"Is that safe?" Monoma asked as he had heard plenty of stories of what tigers, even those raised by humans, could do when provoked.

"Of course, they're real sweethearts. You should see them playing with the younger members." This point was proven when they saw some kids walk up to the apex predator and start playing with it, one even climbing onto its back without issue as the tiger seemed to stop to entertain them.

"Midoriya!" Their attention went from the Siberian tiger playing with kids like a well-mannered house cat, to the old lady approaching them and just from her appearance, they could tell she'd been through hell as part of her scalp was hairless, thanks to a burn that extended as far as her nose, with her right eye, the eye in the path, being covered by a think pale gold eyepatch to match the colour of her greying hair. She approached them from the side, supporting her weight on an elaborate wooden cane.

"Granny Biscuit!" Izuku's eyes lit up as he jogged over, hugging the woman who returned the gesture in kind with a laugh. Breaking off, he took a step back. "It's good to see you out and about."

"Yeah, well, I can't let my bones get any more brittle by sitting inside. Besides, the weather's too good for that." It wasn't much, but they felt she would have been more active without her apparent injuries. There was a story there, but they didn't dare ask about the pain of coming off as rude.

Smiling at him, the old lady's eyes went over to the rest, her smile falling away as she appraised them with one good eye. Those from class B started to sweat a little under her intense gaze, which reminded them of Vlad King's. "Friends of yours?" she eventually asked.

"Yes, we came to train for the Sports Festival," Izuku replied, to which she snorted. It sounded bizarre to her, but U.A. did make a selling point of being the first for everything, and for the most part, it worked as she recalled when they became the first to hero heteromorph staff back when people still treated them like they were somehow inhuman or dangerous, then heteromorph students followed. Though it took them a while to allow quirkless students, she hadn't heard anything wrong about them yet, so she'll continue to trust them.

"Then I'll leave you to it, but remember that you promised to help around later," she stated as Biscuit continued. She had wanted to go for a nice walk by one of the ponds, perhaps watch the fish.

"I didn't see you later, Granny." Izuku waved her off, the old lady grunting as she waved at him over her shoulder. With that done, they finally made it to the dojo, the building seemingly so majestic and slightly threatening that it felt like it would sooner devour them. Midoriya felt none of them worry as he walked up the stairs, directing them inside.

"This place is huge," Kodai stated. The interior had a waiting room, with stairs and hallways leading further in, up to the higher levels or to the sides of the building. She didn't know that martial arts dojos got this big, and they certainly didn't show them like this in movies.

"What can I say? The master is a martial artist at heart." Midoriya explained with a smile that Shiozaki picked up as the way he looked. It was the same way she got whenever she thought of her priest.

"You speak fondly of her." She noted, with him turning to them.

"Of course! Without her, I wouldn't be the person I am today. She found and trained me ever since I was little." He missed how Kuroiro and Monoma blanched at that as they wondered what monster made him.

"Found? Like adopted?" Kodai leaned her head to the side, as now, when she thought about it, whenever they talked about their families, Midoriya either remained silent or spoke of his master.

"That's certainly one way to describe it! Now, the changing rooms are that way; they're marked, so unless you're trying to be a creep, you'll end up where you need to." Midoriya replied as he pointed towards the aforementioned changing rooms. Before pointing to where they'll be training, a smaller side room was generally reserved for private lessons but was free for the day. They all arrived after putting their stuff away a couple minutes later, finding him stretching to keep himself loose and flexible.

"Good, good. You'll all be here now. Are you ready to improve or die trying?" he asked them, a glint in his eye making them second-guess themselves.

"No?" Monoma raised his hand, but he merely laughed it off.

"Trick question!" And with that, Midoriya made them regret ever letting him lead their training.

"How the hell does he do it?" 2 hours later, the group rested, or more accurately, Midoriya was taking a sip of water while the rest were piles on the floor. Shiozaki was not spared, as the girl felt her arms and legs were jelly.

"My arms feel like lead," Kodai uttered, somehow deadpan, exhausted and furious at the same time.

"That was certainly an intensive workout." Shiozaki, with a heavy, laboured breath, agreed with it.

"I hate it." Shinso, the least athletic of them, had it worse as he lay face down on the floor, his words muffled by the mats covering the otherwise hardwood surface.

"Come on, guys! Where's your spirit? It's only the first day, and we still have over a week before the sports festival." Midoriya's statement made them want to jump him if they had the energy, but they could hold onto that as something to look forward to.

Despite his pitch-black skin, Kuroiro was covered in visible sweat. He didn't think he had ever been pushed to such an extent in his life, and yet their class rep, a choice he wondered if he'd survive at this rate, barely looked phased. Oh, sure, he was sweaty, and his breath was a little more notable than normal, but it was the same as anyone after a light joy. "How are you still standing there, fresh as a sweaty rose?"

"That's easy. I do this kind of thing every day without fail," Midoriya replied, making them swear off ever joining him on that. Though if they had known that what he was putting them through was a toned-down version of his actual exercise plan, they would have most likely cried, so he kept that detail to himself.

"Exercise nut," Kodai stated.

"What could compel you to push yourself so far?" Monoma asked him as he took a seat, his legs perfectly crossed.

"Because I have a dream, a goal that I want to reach," Midoriya replied, his smile different from the one he had just had, which was for encouragement. This one was earnest but also sad. "It's important to me, so if achieving it means a little pain and sweat, so be it." He reached for the scarf he had been wearing since they met up or, in Kuroiro and Shinso's cases, since he had all but dragged them from their beds.

Blinking away from memory lane, he seemed to recall something else. "Speaking of, I don't even know what your dreams are. So, while we rest, let's discuss that as I want to learn." He asked, and deciding they should take this pause for what it was worth, they answered. For Monoma, it was the desire to be a hero and to spite those who said he couldn't, thanks to his quirk. Kuroiro wished to defend himself from the shadows and clarify that villains were scared to retreat into the dark because he could be there.

Kodai was plainer, as she enjoyed watching heroes and thought that she could enjoy being in that position, while Shiozaki was what they had expected from the deeply religious girl, being entirely altruistic. But that left only one.

"Shinso?" Shiozaki asked, but she didn't force him into it, none of them. If he wished to keep it secret, he was free to do so.

"I'm not so sure about it. My reasoning isn't as selfless as yours," he said, keeping it vague as he had to make a choice here. Would he say what his quirk was and potentially get the same treatment he hated, or would he keep it secret?

"There is no judgment here, only open hearts and minds," Shiozaki replied, with the rest nodding. So, against what experience had taught him, Shinso opened up to them, if only a little.

"Ever since I was little, I saw heroes and how cool they were. People cheered when they walked by, and they helped people. But then my quirk developed." He started. My quirk, Brainwashing, allows me to control someone else to an extent."

"And let me guess, people told it was villainous?" Monoma asked him, and when he nodded, the blonde ticked. "Figures, people can be fools for the weirdest of reasons, plenty of quirks can be villainous if used that way, Shiozaki would be an absolute nightmare to deal with, but people don't act like it." Shiozaki didn't take offence for her part, as he wasn't saying she would; she could only do that, and people could treat her with respect but not others.

"I can shrink and enlarge anything so long as it's not living; there are a lot of ways that can be used to hurt people, pretty messed up ways at that." Kodai had thought about it, never with the intent or out of anger, but when you have a quirk, you tend to experiment and theorize what it can and can't do.

Shinso smiled, as this was…nice. To know that he wasn't weird for his treatment. "People at one point wouldn't even respond to me, afraid I'll brainwash them. So," Shinso hugged his legs to his chest, not as tired as he had been, but his limbs still felt like they were bags of water. "So I want to become a hero to prove them wrong, to show that I can and will become the kind of person people look forward to seeing and can save lives."

Looking up, he saw that they still had kind eyes towards him. While he could never tell with Kodai, she gave him a thumbs up instead. But one had gone a step further. "Are you crying?"

Wiping away his tears, Midoriya explained himself: "It's just such a compassionate story. How could I not?" He was like him, judged to be something because of his quirk status, yet he refused to be broken by it. If only they had meat before, he could have gotten him into life, and they could have trained together.

"You're being dramatic," Shinso told him with a deadpan.

"No, you are! That settles it," Jumping to his feet, he smirked at Shinso in a way that made him feel like he should perhaps run. "Shinso, I'm going to train your butt into the ground, so when you get back up, you'll be a splendid hero!"

"Wait, what? I didn't agree to this!"

And with that hellish start, they trained. Midoriya gave them the Sunday off to rest, but come Monday, they were back at it. School was still on, so they couldn't train in the mornings, but they could afterwards. They would meet after the last bell, take care of the estate, and train for two and a half hours, with Midoriya paying particular attention to Shinso, even singing the song 'Make a Man out of You' to motivate him.

It more pissed him off.

The residents didn't avoid them, but they didn't go out of their way to speak with them, so they didn't interact much with them, but they managed to learn more about them. Shiozaki was more than a little pleased at their gardening operation, asking for tips that she could use in her garden back home.

When they weren't training, they were speaking with students from the other courses as Vlad kept reminding them to try it, that it would benefit them, which they guessed must have had a purpose. Still, they didn't know what, and no matter what they asked, Vlad wouldn't reveal the reason. None of the teachers would, and instead, they would chuckle. That meant that at lunch, they would sit with others and get to know them. Midoriya saw that many of his classmates and those in their sister class seemed to favour support students, which made sense, but that felt like they were leaving a blind spot; after all, Vlad-sensei didn't advise them to form ties with just support.

Because of that, Midoriya tried to form a more balanced group, as by Wednesday, his table wasn't his friend group anymore, and aside from Shiozaki and Shinso, who remained, they picked up a support student by the name of Aoijin Kyūryū and a business student named Jikakamo Kingen. Both were well enough, Kyūryū being quite eager and grilled them a lot for details on their quirks. At the same time, Kingen was more laid back but didn't slack off either. He seemed to take on a management-like role, asking how they'll want to be advertised, coaching them with his admittedly little knowledge.

But the day soon came, and they hoped they were ready for it as the U.A. wouldn't wait. That morning, when they arrived, they were taken through a secondary entrance just for them and screened by the additional security in place, thanks to the USJ incident. Once on campus, they were escorted to the stadium, one that they wondered how they could miss with its size as they had seen soccer and baseball stadiums smaller than this. A behemoth like this could hold well over 80 thousand people, if not more, as it looked like a supersized version of the Japan National Stadium.

The sight of such a building only made Vlad's statement on how the Sports Festival had surpassed the Olympics in terms of popularity, as this would be the second grandest stage they could ever perform, outside being an active pro, of course. As the 2nd and 3rd years would go after them, they had been separated by class and directed to changing rooms. Said rooms didn't have separate changing areas for the gander, so they just waited for the girls to finish dressing into their P.E. uniforms before the boys went in.

"It would have been fun if we could wear our costumes," Tokage mentioned, looking over her uniform.

"It's to keep things fair since we're not the only ones competing," Honenuki replied, having a small drink before they got called up.

"That didn't stop my support students from asking for my measurements. I swear if they were just perving," The sharp-toothed girl added. Their time with their support students had been fun but also eye-opening, as she didn't think much could go into forming a proper partnership. Still, if both parties managed to make it to graduation, it would pay to have clients for them, and for Tokage, having support from people she knew and trusted would make starting out a little easier.

"I'm sure that it wasn't for any inappropriate intent, though I can't speak much on that front as they mainly focused on trying to think of support equipment I could use," Shishida stated. However, he was trying to distract himself from what was coming. Most of them were as regardless of what they said, people were nervous about competing as this wasn't like their middle school sports days; a comparison would be if there was no in-between playing for your local school in small in-house soccer matches and then finding yourself representing your country during the World Cup.

"Oh man, I'm nervous about the first round." Tsunotori was honest about that; she knew her relatives would be watching this despite the 14-hour time difference. Her older relatives even said they'll be taking tomorrow off so they could stay up late watching.

"We've been training for 2 weeks. I'm sure that whatever it is, we can handle it." Kaibara told her, with Kuroiro shivering as he recalled that training process.

"Kuroiro, are you good? You look like you've seen a ghost," Tsuburaba asked his classmate, who turned to him like he was about to tell him his mother had cancer.

"Never train with Midoriya. He's a madman who has unlimited energy." He warned him, getting a confused look from Tsuburaba before as if called by the mention of his name. Midoriya opened the door to their waiting room.

"Alright, people, look alive! They'll be starting any minute now," He told them as the students finished whatever last-minute preparations they had. As Midoriya stepped in to grab something, Monoma approached him.

"Midoriya," the blonde smirked, but there was an edge to it. I want you to know that you might be stronger than me, but I'm not going to just let you win." He warned him, as he knew that in a 1v1, he wouldn't last five minutes, but he had been training and thinking of ways to counter him and his tenet.

"Oh?" Midoriya's fake cat ears flicked while he met Monoma's declaration with a sly smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way. I want to win this, but I want to win it through the efforts and skills." Cats were prideful, but he wasn't driven solely by means. If he couldn't fight them on an even playing field, where they threw everything they had at him and more, it wouldn't help him achieve anything. More than that, he refused to allow his classmates to not give it 110%.

With that in mind, his eyes turned to the rest, any playfulness gone, in its place the hardened gaze of a panther. "So I expect all of you to bring your A-game and show the world that class 1-B isn't going to play second fiddle to anyone!" His war cry was met with yells of agreement and raised hands.

"Oh yeah, let's kick class A's ass!" Tetsutetsu yelled back as the group gathered to head out and make a name for themselves.

"Hey!" Present Mic's voice and image appeared on the big screen to the roar of the audience and fireworks going off overhead. "Pay attention, audience! Get our good sides, mass media!" He called out to them as the over 120 thousand spectators screamed, cheered and roared, all while the hundreds of cameras flashed from the booths set aside for representatives of media companies, big and small, while the over 24 cameras broadcasting the event sent live footage to anyone watching this in Japan, whether it was on their TVs, computers or phones.

Feeding the hype like a ringmaster, Present Mic continued, "It's time for your favourite time of year, a chance to watch the best of brightest that U.A. has to offer to compete to see who stands head and shoulders above them all, the U.A. Sports Festival!"

"Now, let's greet these mighty students in a way that only our wonderful audience can. Are you ready?!" He asked, with the crowd cheering somehow getting louder, much to the annoyance of his co-commentator for the events, Eraser, still wrapped up in bandages from the USJ. Still, even if he wasn't, the man wasn't the type to 'speak needlessly' as he would put it.

"The first to enter the stage they've already had the chance to cut their teeth and face real villains, ladies and gentlemen; it's hero course class 1A!" Present Mic directed the cameras towards the entrance, where class A walked out, heads held high to the eyes of over 100K people.

"They haven't gotten as much airtime, but this class is also full of talents, hero course class 1B!" Class Be followed them, just as determined as their sister class to leave their mark.

"Damn straight," Tetsutetsu stated as Izuku looked towards the crowds, and while it was far too vast to pick out faces from this distance, he knew that his master was watching. She had said she would the previous night.

"I'll make you proud, master. Just you watch." Looking forward, he locked eyes with Bakugo, who glared at him, to which he met with a hardened glare of his own, as this wasn't the time for it.

"Next up, we have the jacks of all trades, general course classes C, D and E!" Midoriya felt it was telling that the hero course was the star attraction before. Still, Present Mic grouping the general studies into a single group only cemented that, as Shinso might have had a good poker face. Still, his classmates were less skilled, or perhaps they didn't care as much as he heard from classmates that most students, in general, didn't even want to compete when they knew they were set up to fail.

"Following them, we have the gearheads and tech wizards, the support classes of F, G and H!" With this new group, Midoriya could pick out his support friend, Kyūryū who stuck out not just because of her shiny violet hair but because she was the only support student who put far more work into their appearance than was necessary, breaking the stereotype of her course being dirty mechanics or nerdy lab-coats as she walked like a boss, a confident smirk on her face.

"And last but certainly not least, the masters of the pen and directors of the play that is life, the business classes of I, J and K!" In contrast to Kyūryū, the only one who walked like a model, most business course students carried themselves like managers and executives, strong not in body but in intelligence and confidence. That wasn't the exception for Kingen, whose duck-billed face was passive but studied like a rock in a river while his red hair was held in a neat little ponytail.

When the last person stepped onto the field, Present Mic announced, "Give a hot Endeavour welcome for all these students, for U.A.'s first years have taken to the field!" The students walked up to a little stage set up, with a certain pro strutting onto it with as much sly confidence as a fox fused with a world-famous supermodel.

"And let us give a U.A. welcome to our empire for this year's first-year Sports Festival, the Rated-R hero, Midnight!" Present Mic introduced as the Sex-symbol heroine posed for the cameras, with Midoriya being pretty sure that he was hearing an increased number of clicks from cameras, not just the media but probably hundreds if not thousands of people in the stands.

"So sinful." Shiozaki raised her arm to hide her mouth.

"My parents are going to grill me so much for this." Kaibara groaned as they already gave him crap when they realized that Midnight taught there. The last thing he wanted was for his father to give him another 'talk' about growing up.

"Well, if she can wear that while on the clock, then it's not bad for TV, right?" Fukidashi asked, but his head displayed an insure question mark.

"Try telling that to all the parents' groups." Tokage joked as Midnight had seemed more than a little miffed with them and their changing the rules. Her first costume was banned, but she got back at them since her current one was the same colour as her skin.

"Quiet, everyone!" Midnight had replaced her standard whip with a fuzz-covered shortened cat whip. "Now, the student that will give the athletes' oath, Itsuko Kendo of class 1-A!"

"Big sis?" Someone in class 1-A asked as Kendo wordlessly started walking towards the stage.

"She did get the top score on the entrance exam." Someone else reminded them as a girl Midoriya vaguely knew from general sighed, narrowing her eyes at them.

"The hero course exam." She corrected this as Iida, the vice rep of class A, stepped in to apologize.

"Oh, apologies, we didn't mean to offend." As he did that, Midoriya noticed that even with the time given to intermingle, there was still a divide between class A and the rest, most likely thanks to Bakugo's attitude.

"This is some bullshit," Bakugo growled out, no doubt still pissed that he was 3rd on that exam and missed out on this chance.

"If it were you, number 3, we'd be forced to listen to you brag that you're the greatest for 2-3 minutes," Midoriya stated, to which Bakugo turned his ire to him. Still, he didn't even bother glancing his way as Kendo took to the stage. Midnight stepped aside to let the girl use the microphone set up for this.

"I'll keep this short so we can get into things." Kendo started her words and tone solid and unyielding, even with over 100 thousand people watching and the idea that millions more could do the same in other locations. "As the representative of this year's first years, I pledge that we'll give this all we have and compete with honour and pride. That we'll honour the spirit of U.A. and show the world that we are here!" She pumped her fist into the air, a gesture met by her classmates doing the same before class B followed in a wave that soon had the entire field geared up.

"Impressive. I wasn't wrong about her after all," Midoriya said to himself. Kendo proved to be quite an interesting person, from the look in her eyes to her choice of declaration. He knew that she might be the biggest obstacle from class A, probably the biggest for him there in general.

With the oath given, Midnight stepped forward to continue to explain things. "Now, let's begin with the first event, which many of you have come to know as the qualifier! Many students have been humbled and tasted tears in this event, but there'll be a twist this year!" Midnight smiled, as she could almost taste their confusion since U.A might change the events and even the rules, but they always followed the same formula.

"Over the last 2 weeks, you youthful students have been encouraged to mingle with your fellows from other courses. There was a reason for that!" She started as the screen changed to show a short video of figures with different class letters speaking with one another.

"This event, and the following one, won't be individual based, but team-centric! You'll have 5 minutes to partner up with teams of 5, no more, no less! When the time is over, you'll select who to represent you in the first event. The entire team can compete, but you only need one member to qualify for the rest to qualify!" Midnight explained.

"So that's why they asked her to spend time with them, so we could grow familiar with them and know what they could do." Midoriya realized.

"It also means that whatever events they have planned for us will depend on some level on how well we can work together." His fellow class rep, Kendo, added to that.

"Oh crap, that was a requirement? I barely spent time with anyone." The dunce from before, Midoriya, didn't know his name, but he was from class A and seemed nervous.

"The time starts now. Form your teams!" Midoriya snapped her whip, and the screen changed to show the clock. Students rushed about to find those they knew best as Midoriya turned to Shiozaki.

"Shiozaki, want to be in the same team?" He asked, as out of their classmates, they knew each other's operating style the best.

"That would be preferable." Shiozaki agreed with that sentiment. They had trained together as a group for a while, and his quirk could be a force multiplier to hers if combined.

"Great, now we just need," Midoriya started but was interrupted by a welcomed presence.

"We're already here!" Kyūryū cut him off, the girl standing with her arms on her waist, looking as great as ever. "Who else but class F's most talented student?"

"Same here, and besides, if they planned this, I have a feeling you'll need a good PR guy." Kingen smiled, undoubtedly having cooked up some ideas that they'd love her.

"Room for one more?" They turned to see Shinso approaching, and for one, he didn't look like he had missed three days of sleep, just one. "Better I team up with the biblical force and the crazed cat boy than against."

"Please don't refer to me in such a manner." Shiozaki sighed.

"Please keep referring to me like that." Midoriya giggled. And with that, their time was formed in a little under a minute, with many others either formed or halfway done. When the 5 minutes finished, the field, which had been split by class, was now split into the 5-man teams. When the time ran out, Midnight made the demand.

"Now that our 44 teams have been formed, which of you will represent them?" To answer her question, the teams sent out their most capable students, who were mainly hero students, which those in business and general were more than happy with as the Sports Festival was for them anyway. There were outliers in this; for one, Kendo's team sent her out with some pink-haired girl Kyūryū said was the crazy girl from class H. Midoriya's team was similar to when he stepped up, and so was Shinso, as it would be a great showing if he managed to provide quality for them.

With their teams stepping back, the field that was once 220 students fell to around 110 as some teams sent out just a single person while others sent 3. Midnight smiled at them in a fashion that may or may not have been appropriate. Still, attention quickly went to the big screen, where they saw a massive wheel turning before. Before it stopped, and from the portion it landed, a digital slip flew out and presented what was written on it.

'Obstacle course'

"Alright, those representing their teams will need to navigate the outer circumference of this stadium, about 4km! While you run this race, you'll be faced with challenges of all shapes and sizes!"

"Our school's selling point is freedom, so while on this race, you may use your wits, quirks, and gear however you please to come out on top; as long as you stay on the course, you have a black cheque!"

"But don't have too much fun. I see a lot of people who will compete, but only the first 32 will qualify, and that includes teams. So if one person makes it, you'll be good, but if more than one does, you're even better!"

"No wonder she didn't tell us that part before we sent out representatives; otherwise, wise teams would have stacked it to ensure that as few people made it to them as possible next event." Midoriya could appreciate that omission of truth.

"Either way, this is our chance to leave a mark," Shinso replied, eyeing the rest of the competition.

"So racers, to your stations!" Midnight announced.

And that is done, and my God, it was this late! When I said last week that assignments would come first, I assumed that I wouldn't be forced to wait this long to finish, but it took me much longer than normal to find a source for one, and you can imagine how strict lecturers get about correctly labelling sources.

Speaking of, usually, I'll say that the next chapter will be out next week. Still, not this time, as with assignments needing my attention, I can't have my grades slip- you understand. I'm forced to say that rather than April 12th as the next upload, I will push this to April 19th. It's not an idea, and I don't like it as much as I enjoy writing. This is my hobby, but it's a compromise I must make. I hope that you all stick with it through that time.

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