Well, I still feel like shit, and as I've asked myself many times in life, is it better to have a blocked nose that makes you wish you could clear it with a single sneeze or a runny nose that makes you blow through a box of tissues in an afternoon? Well, with the weekend coming, I hope I'll feel better by Monday. Oh, and I might need to drop Grammarly for a while since I'll be switching to the annual plan, but that'll take me a couple months to get the cash for it, as I thought I would be paying the quarter plan at a discount, but turns out that was just for the first payment.

As for this chapter, it was a little hard to write since the event is such a new thing to work with, but I appreciated the challenge and how I could test the characters. Also, I know that some people think that a transforming stadium might be a bit crazy. Still, knowing the shit Nezu can do to U.A. without anyone ever noticing, both in season 6 and in the manga, this would be easy for them.

Chapter 23: Chariot

With the buzz going off, every single mechanic horse roared to life as the chariots were off. Already, teams were jostling to secure points from others as they rammed into their sides, reaching for the flags that carried their numbers and defending them in equal measure. But for all the chaos between the teams with few points of their own, most focused on Kendo's chariot on that 5230 score.

"It's basically a battle for the 5K points!" Testutetsu yelled as he drove them closer to their target.

"Apologies, Kendo, Uraraka, Tsu, but we're coming for that flag!" Yaoyorozu said as she started to create something to use, leaving the other gadgets she added to their chariot for later.

"Is everyone coming for us?" Uraraka yelped as she saw the mass of students, quirk, and machines coming straight for them. Their chariot only kept its lead because she used her quirk on more than a few pieces, reducing its weight.

"(Kero) It makes sense, so we stick with the plan?" Their designated snatcher, Asui, asked Kendo, who kept a good eye on the students heading straight for them.

"Yeah, we stay on the defense! We just need to hold out!" She replied, only for a familiar explosion to go off; turning back, she saw that Bakugo had taken the perilous decision to blast himself right for them.

"Get back here, Man-Hands!" The perpetually angry blonde yelled as Kendo narrowed her eyes, pulling out one of the many remotes Hatsume had left for them.

"Get ready, ladies!" She told them that as Uraraka tapped the chariot, removing its gravity, they started to float off the ground, and their horses kept pulling them. With that done, Kendo pressed the button. From beneath the chariot, a jetpack roared to life, blasting them far out of Bakugo's angry assault as Sero had to grab him and get him back before he touched the ground. They found that even their horses were pulled off the ground with the lead chariot, but a trio of horses was nearly dragged across the track.

"What's this? Kendo's chariot takes to the skies! I thought this was a ground race. Since when did chariots fly?" Present Mic questioned as they continued to increase the distance between them and the rest.

"As the equipment was installed as designed by their support course teammate, it was permitted to be added to the chariot's design. The rules still apply. If even one of them touches the ground, they're all out," Eraser added.

"Dammit, that's the support course for you," Tetsutetsu growled as he tried to make them go faster.

"Our chariot still has the lightest frame and best suspension. We're not out of the race yet." Monoma, their defender, reminded him, though he suspected they'd need to start going after the rest.

"Yaomomo!" Jiro yelled as Yaomomo pulled out the finished product, a bunched-up net.

"I'm on it!" She replied as the heiress loaded the shot into the pre-fabricated cannon, took aim, and fired. Halfway to its target, the net charge unfolded.

Having seen Yaoyorozu use a similar move in the past, Kendo knew that trying to grab it was useless. Still, there was the side of it that carried the weights, which she could aim for as she enlarged her fist and pulled back a finger. The power of One for All started to rise closer to the surface as she called on it. 'One for All: Shroud 3%!' Her form began to glow with her familiar orange lighting-esque before she fired the concentrated shot of air, hitting the side weight of the net and throwing it off course as it crashed into the side of the track.

Seeing that the jetback was close to its limits, she commanded their chariot back to earth, where Uraraka returned most of the gravity. To prevent them from having a hard landing, Kendo pulled out another remote and pressed the button, activating the Hoover pads that Hatsume had taken from the boots she used during the first event. "And team Kendo denies the competition a chance to touch them as they return to earth with the rest of us. It must have been a great view up there!" Present Mic cheered as the audience followed his example.

"Great work, girls. Uraraka, keep up the good work. Tsu and I will keep watch for anyone else!" Kendo cheered her team on.

"You got it!" Uraraka replied as they commanded a sizable lead, both in points and in the distance.

"Damn it, come on, we need to push it!" Awase yelled as Shishida looked back at their opponents but noticed someone else.

"Wait, where'd our flag go?!" He asked, and the other two looked back in shock.

"Wait, what the hell?!" Awase yelled as Yanagi saw a familiar vine retreating back to the nature-themed chariot; in its grasp was their missing flag.

"Guys, Shiozaki snatched it!" She informed them as their points fell to 0 while team Midoriya's rose to 650. Team Kendo, being the furthest along, reached the corner first, with the crowd cheering and waving at them as they did so, all three keeping their attention on the race. Not even 30 seconds later, the rest were passing through as well, the melee having grown more chaotic as, with first place out of reach for most, they turned their attention on one another.

"Not even 2 minutes since it started, and it's already turned into a free-for-all!" Present Mic commented that top teams like Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo, Honenuki, Tokoyami, Tetsutetsu, and Yaoyorozu battled to knock the other out, defend their points, and try and secure more for themselves. Others tried to get into this but didn't have much chance as team Aoyama's chariot tried to sneak up on team Bakugo, with Mineta throwing balls onto the track to try and trip them up by ripping the wheels off them.

"This is my time to shine!" Mineta cheered as he kept up the barrage, forcing the chariots to break their melee and focus more on avoiding the purple mines that now decorated the track.

"Shit!" Shinso pulled the reigns as hard as he could, barely avoiding one.

"Dammit, Mineta! That should be illegal!" Sero yelled at his classmate.

"Can you freeze them?" Iida, the driver for his team, asked Todoroki, who frowned at the question.

"If I could touch them, that won't remove them as obstacles." He hated how this event was going, as it seemed designed to undermine his ice.

"What a time for touching the ground to be illegal." Honenuki lamented as he would just sink the balls, but he would need a conduit to touch the ground, something his team did not have.

"Midoriya?" Shiozaki asked as Shinso kept them from touching the mines and risking damage, their two flags hanging proudly from their pole.

"We avoid them. Even if I tried to swing them out of the way, they seemed glued to the floor." Midoriya replied, as their plan didn't require them to be too flashy; they could let class A exhaust themselves and then move in, a fundamental rule of any sparring match.

"Sorry about this." Yaoyorozu loaded the cannon on her cart with another shot, aiming for Aoyama's cart as Mineta kept the onslaught going. She fired a large cannonball at them when she had them in her sights. But instead of smashing their chariot to pieces, it burst, releasing powder into the air, which the chariot's occupants immediately breathed in and started coughing, their eyes watering.

"What the heck?!" Ojiro asked, unable to keep his eyes on the track because this powder was burning his eyes so much.

"Pepper spray bombs, how cruel!" Aoyama yelled back at Yaoyorozu's team as Mineta had to stop throwing balls to rub at his face. But it had the desired effect as the chariot started to slow down and wave side to side, giving Yaoyorozu's team a shot.

"You're up, Jiro!" She started as the shorter girl nodded, her earlobes stretching towards Aoyama's team.

"Got it!" She confirmed as she managed to weave through the confusion, with her earphone-like lodes snatching the flag off the back of the chariot right as Aoyama and Mineta turned. The boy tried to counter, but with his vision teary and blurred, his naval laser missed its mark. Jiro managed to return the stolen flag to her team and quickly hang it under the original.

"And any creep can tell you, pepper spray is one of the harshest ways a girl can reject you! Aoyama and co. have learned that the hard way and dropped to 0 points!" Present Mic commented. The leaderboards showed that the top four had remained mainly in the same place. Even tiny points were gained and lost. But it was the lower part that had the highest rate of change.

"Somehow, I suspect you know that feeling well." Eraser's comment was slightly more amusing, which caused Present Mic to choke a bit before he could reply.

"Oh, lookie here, someone got sass today." Present Mic noted his co-host, the heavily bandaged, pretended like he didn't see the unamused glare in his friend's eye. No, that was merely a trick of the light.

"Hand over those damn points, you extras!" Bakugo blasted himself towards another chariot, this one being Tokage's.

"Fukidashi!" The girl, whose hands were missing, yelled as her teammate turned to the threat and took a deep breath.

"Bounce!" Using his quirk, he created the sound effect for the comic action, which Bakugo crashed into and was sent flying back, once more saved by Sero, who guided him back to his horse. Close to them, Sato's team freaked out when they saw their flag was missing as Todoroki returned, having taken a somewhat risky gambit to stretch as far as he could, even creating a frail ice bridge to grab it, but he got it.

"I managed to get it!" He placed it above their original, and their points rose accordingly.

"And team Todoroki climbs to 2nd place with 730 points!" As Present Mic made that call, Midoriya and his team looked up at the screen and saw that they'd need 80 points just to tie for second, but he wasn't going to settle for that. Oh no, he was aiming for the gold. Team Kendo crossed the start line, finishing their first lap out of 4, still in the lead but with the rest hot on their heels as Midoriya's chariot found itself battling against team Tokoyami, whose defender's large webbed hands created a cocoon around their flag, which made snatching points impossible for Shiozaki. Still, they could defend their points thanks to his wood control, creating weapons and smacking at Dark shadow.

This, along with the rest of the fights breaking out, breaking off, and growing in scale, was eaten up by the audience, who cheered their heads off. Sections of the crowds cheered not so much for a single student but for entire teams identified by color. It would be strange if business course students weren't involved, as those affiliated with teams on the track were doing an exceptional job at hyping up their people.

The hundreds of cameramen and women who found themselves placed around the entire track were taking dozens of pictures a minute, giving both the present audience and those watching from home an unapparelled view of the competitors. "Oh, these students aren't holding anything back, but as we approach the end of the second lap, team Kendo's lead is coming under threat! So let's check out that leaderboard, shall we?"

Some were slightly surprised at the current standing when the boards were highlighted for the crowds. "Wait…is that right?"

"It can't be."

Not even the two teacher commentators were immune to the surprise as Eraser leaned closer. At the same time, Present Mic gave voice to their thoughts. "Wait a minute. I've heard of unexpected twists, but this is real out there."

1st Place: Team Kendo – 5230 Points

2nd Place: Team Tetsutetsu – 910 Points

3rd Place: Team Todoroki – 730 Points

4th Place: Team Midoriya – 650 Points

5th Place: Team Honenuki – 550 Points

6th Place: Team Tokoyami – 480 Points

7th Place: Team Yaoyorozu – 310 Points

8th Place: Team Bondo – 160 Points

9th Place: Team Shouda – 130 Points

8th Place: Team Bakugo – 110 Points

9th Place: Tie between Teams Sato; Kuroiro; Awase; Tokage; Mamanochi; Aoyama – 0 Points.

"It seems that classes A and B are contesting for the most spots in the top four, but somehow, Team Tetsutetsu came out of left field and managed to snatch Team Bakugo's flag, throwing them all the way down to 8th place!" he stated as the students on the field looked towards the now dead last of the point-bearing teams, with Team Tetsutetsu pulling back from where they snatched their newly acquired points.

"You class A students are too close-minded," Monoma told the team, and Bakugo looked furious at this upset.

"The hell you say to me, you piece of shit?!" He yelled at them. As Monoma exchanged words with Bakugo's team ahead of them, Midoriya and his team focused on trying to take on Kendo, who had remained near unchallenged the entire time, but they were gaining on her.

"Well, he's going to be busy," Midoriya noted, leaving Bakugo and Monoma to their devices.

"You think he can hold onto that?" Shinso asked him, only for the green-haired boy to chuckle at the idea. Make no mistake, he respected Monoma as a person and a hero student, but his style of thinking and fighting wasn't suited for taking on someone like Bakugo. Especially when Bakugo was pissed.

"Not when Bakugo is pissed. He'll keep coming till he wins or is eliminated." He stated as Shinso got them past Mineta's balls without issue. "He might have bitten off more than he could chew."

"I'm sorry; which of you went out of your way to antagonize Bakugo?" Shiozaki asked him.

"Counter, I know him better than anyone. I know what he'll do before he does and can plan for that. Plus, I have the right to fuck with him whenever I damn well please." Midoriya retorted that just because he wasn't throwing hands against Bakugo didn't mean he wasn't planning on getting him back for the years of bullying he put him through. Focusing on the main prize, team Kendo passed the line a second time, completing the 2nd lap with teams Midoriya and Todoroki hot on their tail.

"We have incoming!" Kendo called out when she saw the two approaching.

"We'll be taking that flag, Kendo," Midoriya yelled as they approached. However, they kept their distance from team Todoroki, having witnessed him freeze the chariots of others solid, resulting in 2 teams being forced to drop out.

"I'll have to be disappointed, Midoriya." The duel-haired boy told him, determined to prove himself after failing to take second in the last event. As they clashed, the two sides traded blows as Todoroki tried to go for one-touch finishers, freezing their chariot or wheel enough for damage to the frame to take its toll. But he found himself blocked by Midoriya shifting pieces of the wooden chariot into barriers before letting them detach from his chariot, partially frozen.

Those after them learned to watch for that, along with just chunks of ice, as Cementoss quickly cleared the track of such obstacles. Todoroki no doubt would have pushed the offensive, but with his two teammates not having suitable quirks for this, it was down to him against both Shiozaki and Midoriya, who struck with a co-ordinated assault, with Shiozaki's vines being the most dangerous as Iida and Furasu had to keep an eye out for those as when not making a pass for their flags, they threatened to damage their chariot and force out of the race.

Despite their fierce melee, their drivers kept them moving towards their most significant prize. "They're getting close!" Kendo pulled out a familiar remote.

"Uraraka!" She yelled, and the girl touched their chariot, reducing its gravity until there were just the three of them. With that done, Kendo pressed the button to light the jetpack again and put them in the lead, but their foes wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

"Oh no, you don't!" Midoriya called out as he turned from fending off Todoroki and made a spear out of wood from his chariot. The spear shot out like an arrow towards Kendo's ride, stretching itself but never losing as it crashed right into his target, piercing through the right side of the jetpack that had been jury-rigged to the bottom of Kendo's ride.

The force of the impact, combined with their chariot's lack of gravity, nearly sent the trio riding it to the ground as they struggled to maintain control. The jetpack let out another few pathetic puffs of hair before it ceased, and Midoriya retracted the wooden spear, which reformed into his chariot like it was never there. "Oh no, the jetpack!" Uraraka cried as she struggled to keep her balance as the chariot leaned on its side.

"Get us down, now!" Kendo yelled as she fired up One for All again and fired shots out to try and correct them. They got to a point where at least both wheels were facing the ground again, but they had paid dearly for it, as their already short lead had been reduced even further.

When Kendo pressed the bottom for the Hoover boots built into the base of the chariot, they only heard one of them start-up, which confused them till Kendo cursed out. "He got the hoover pads as well!" With just half their Hoover softener, when Uraraka returned gravity to the chariot, they crashed back to the track with a thud, the trio hearing how something on board cracked as Hatsume had made their chariot heavy but didn't focus too much on its suspension when she had both the jetpack and hoover boots installed for that, but with both gone, all

"What's this? Looks like Team Kendo didn't have a license to fly, and Team Midoriya made them suffer for it!" Present Mic roared.

"Look out, Kendo!" Asui called out as their chariot was bashed by two sides, with the former leads seeing that they were boxed in.

"And now, for the first time since the race started, team Kendo finds itself in a three-way battle for first place and the grand prize of 5K points!"

Kendo looked at the two sides, wondering which to remove first before Midoriya smiled and opened his mouth. "How nice for you to join us! Maybe you can hand over those points?"

"Not a chan-!" Uraraka's response was cut short as her eyes got foggy and her grip on the reigns lacked. Kendo immediately realized someone was off, but Midoriya hadn't displayed any kind of quirk like that before. Yet…wait, she saw Shinso smiling in the back.

Her realization came too late as Shinso spoke up, using his voice rather than an imitation of his teammate. "Steer into Todoroki." Uraraka couldn't fight the order as she was ordered, forcing them into a heavy side bash against Todoroki. Her knee had smashed into the guard of her chariot, knocking her free of Shinso's control.

"Wai-Uraraka, what are you doing?" Asui yelled as the two had to scramble to keep their balance. They now fought against Todoroki and Iida, who looked far from pleased with how they nearly drove them to crash.

"She's was Shinso's quirk!" Kendo yelled as Uraraka realized that as well, blushing at the fact she fell for that gambit, but then she saw a hint of green in the corner of her vision, which made her grasp.

"The points!" She yelled as the two teams looked and saw that the entire reason she chased after Kendo's chariot was gone. Shiozaki shamefully tied their freshly stolen points to their flag pole.

"Apologies for the deception. If it means anything, I was against the plan." Shiozaki had the dignity to at least apologize.

"We weren't, step on it, Shinso!" Midoriya cheered as he and Shinso shared a laugh as they pulled as far from them as they could and floored it, pushing their mechanical trio of horses to their limit to put as much distance between them and the rest as they could, crossing the finish line for the 2nd last time, completing the 3rd lap at the lead of the back in all respects.

"And in another upset, after grounding the leading team, team Midoriya secures first place and takes the undisputed lead!" Present Mic announced as the group lost it, seeing Midoriya's green chariot rocket to the top of the leaderboard with just a single lap left for anyone to contest that.

"Tricky ones, aren't they?" Iida stated that as they battled against team Kendo, who now joined the rest of the teams at the bottom, even team Bakugo managed to secure back their points.

"We need those points back, or else we'll lose!" Uraraka yelled back, as they didn't have time to waste. Kendo's mind moved a mile a minute to figure out a new attack plan.

"I know, Uraraka. Step on it, and everyone, no matter what doesn't reply to anything that team says; it could be Shinso messing with his voice to trick you." She told her teammates while having to make a choice to abandon the 5K flag since without their Hoover boots or jetpack, they wouldn't be able to catch up in time, but that didn't mean that they were out of pickings as a glance to their rear revealed plenty of targets.

Pulling back from the front, team Kendo chose to try their hand against the others while Todoroki's gaze remained firmly on what rode in front of them. "Keep up the attack!" Todoroki ordered, ripping a piece of their chariot off and slamming it into the ground. Ignoring how much this upsets his driver, his ice traveled through the piece toward team Midoriya, who countered by swerving to the side. At the same time, Midoriya and Shiozaki sent wood and vines at the ice, shattering most of it.

Todoroki's eyes narrowed in rage as Iida tried to make them move faster. "We need to close the distance!" Iida yelled back, thinking of a way they could get those points. It was risky, but if they could time it just right…maybe.

"And the 2nd to last corner, folks with our new board leader holding strong, but we can't forget the other competition, they might be back, but they're sure as heck not out! But I would say that team Kendo gave up the big cheese, didn't they?" Present Mic announced as the two leading chariots took that turn for the final time, the roar of their wheels being caught by the dozens of cameras recorded, along with the stampede levels of noise their feet of the 6 mechanical horses created.

"They decided that trying to catch a faster foe with such little time wasn't worth it, but that doesn't mean they can't go after others." Eraser offered a less impassionate explanation as Present Mic gave his co-commentator a thumbs up.

"Right you are, Eraser, my old buddy, and they prove you right by snatching not one but two different flags! Bumping them from a measly 0 to 90 points, but they'll need to keep fighting to make it to the finals!" The cameras caught team Kendo managing to pull a fast one on 2 different teams with Asui's tongue shooting out and grabbing a flag off Tokoyami's team's chariot, with Dark Shadow and Shoji's attempt to hold onto her tongue or the flag being rebuffed when Kendo's enlarged fist flicked a finger their way.

The same happened with Honenuki's as Tsunotori's horns tried to recapture the stolen flag. Still, another flick from Kendo smashed into the side of their cart, bending their wheel nearly out of shape and moving them much slower.

"Dammit, how the heck did she do that? She flicked her fingers, and that was that!" Kamakiri yelled as he worriedly looked at the damage and hoped it would last because if not, they were screwed.

"Dark Shadow?" Tokoyami asked his quirk.

"That hurt, but I'm still ready to go!" The sentient quirk replied, ready to make their class rep pay for that little stunt. Team Kendo didn't pay them much, though, as one was moving too slowly to catch up. The other had to separate from them. Otherwise, they crash into the remains of Todoroki's ice, appearing more on the track as he tries to trip up team Midoriya. No, they needed to keep trying to get more points. She refused to let herself or her friends lose here.

"Everyone, I have an idea, but we can only pull it off after the next turn. We'll get just one chance." Iida told his teammates, who looked at him funny momentarily before Todoroki decided to give him a chance; he more than earned that.

"What is it?"

"Todoroki, I'll need you to make an ice track for me, elevated off the ground. Hopefully, that won't get us disqualified." He reasoned that the ground didn't include stuff touching it; it would also give him a clear, straight path to ice on. He had to remember his training for moving on ice to ensure he didn't trip himself up.

"Iida, you're fast, but they'll see you coming, and what then?" Furasu asked him, especially since one of their targets had proven quickly. Even if their speedster was faster, there was no way he could get close without being spotted, and if he needed an ice path, that only limited the ways he could approach just one. If they moved out of the way, he was done.

"Not if I use my special move. I'll be too fast for them, I'll snatch the 5k and throw it back to you. If you cross the finish line before I touch the ground, we'll through." Iida explained what that special movie was, and how with it, his speed would be unrivalled by anyone there, even Kendo.

"Why didn't you try this before? You can just run back the ice track," Todoroki blinked, asking out of curiosity even as the final corner approached.

"My engines will stall after this; I'll be no good," Iida replied, his two teammates looking over the extremely risky plan. With their current points, they were still sure to make it to the finals, but they had been chasing that gold this entire time. It didn't seem right to give up now.

"Understood. Just give me the word, and I'll make your ice path." Todoroki replied, preparing to make that track for his classmate. It was high risk, but it was also high reward, and it would be a great way to show how capable he was with just his ice.

"Hmmmm, I'll ensure we're lined up as straight as possible." Furasu whined but ultimately agreed with him. U.A. was all about aiming high, so she'll do just that!

"Thank you." Iida smiled at them, relieved and grateful that they were taking this bet, but also feeling a significant burden settle on his shoulders. But just like his brother said, he didn't think about it like that, but as a reminder to always try because the first step to success was making an attempt.

"And we have made the final corner for the two lead cars. We're in the final stretch, folks. We'll soon have a chariot racing champion!" Once they cleared the corner, Iida lined them up with team Midoriya's chariot the best he could. The leading team did not bother to twist or turn as they dashed for the finish, no doubt already tasting victory.

"Now!" Iida yelled as Todoroki slammed the piece of their chariot into the ground. Channeling his ice through it, he created a thin platform a meter off the ground that raced right for team Midoriya. Strangely, it didn't hit them but went right past them.

"Torque Over—" With the ice still forming, Iida didn't dare give their targets time to think, time to wonder why Todoroki missed as he jumped onto the raised platform. Furasu quickly took over the driving position. The exhaust coming out of his exhausts roared to life—a bright red, then a brilliant blue, before shifting to a blinding blue momentarily as he shot forward like a human cannonball.

"We have-!" Shiozaki wasn't even able to finish the alarm when Iida raced past them, his hand snatching the 5k flag right off their flag pole to the shocked gasps of Midoriya, who barely saw him move as he rushed on by. It was like one moment he was still far behind; the next, he was in front of that.

"Recripoburst!" With little time left, Iida pulled a piece of metal from his pocket, another piece taken from their chariot, wrapped the flag around it, and tossed it back to his team. "Todoroki!"

"The flag!" Midoriya and Shiozaki tried to catch it via wooden hands and vines, but they were too slow as the projectile carrying their prize soared overhead. Todoroki barely caught it before it smacked him in the face. With the finish line approaching, he didn't waste time as he quickly hung it over their flagpole. Their position on the leaderboard immediately shot to the very top, dethroning team Midoriya in the same move.

"What, what, what was that?! Did you see what happened cause I sure didn't! If Iida has such insane speeds in those legs of his, why didn't he use it earlier?!" Present Mic yelled as Iida remained still but smiling as he cleared the way for his team.

"Still…on the ice…we're not out." Looking at the ice, he saw that it wasn't a smooth path; Todoroki had been able to make it jagged and uneven to help give him traction, something he did even without Iida asking; Iida didn't even know he was capable of that.

"Wh-what the heck was that?" Shinso asked, wondering when Iida had even moved.

"I don't know; I could barely see him move!" Midoriya replied, furious that someone else had managed to claim what they had rightfully stolen from Team Kendo. But at the same time, he felt an eager excitement to correct that.

"After all that work, just to lose it." Shinso focused on getting them across the line, as there was no time to try to get it back now.

"Perhaps it was the price for your deception earlier, you two," Shiozaki suggested as the two boys remained silent, one out of frustration that the gamble had been taken, the other because he wasn't so sure that Shiozaki was wrong. With that, they crossed the line for the final time, the buzzer going off as fireworks shot into the sky to mark their victory—at least half of it.

"And we have the first chariot to cross the finish, team Midoriya, with a final score of 650. Not bad, not bad at all! And following them is our winner for this event, team Todoroki, with a crazy score of 5960!" Present Mic announced as the leaderboard started to freeze, with team Todoroki taking first place as the two chariots were directed to slow down and park in the middle area of the track, which opened up for them.

"That was too dangerous." Hagakure breathed a sigh of relief as her team's chariot pulled up into the stop point. Others had already arrived with their non-rider teammates present, talking about how things went both on and off the track.

"I'm never doing that again." Furasu slumped against the side of her team's chariot, as that was more adrenaline than she was used to getting in an entire month.

"I don't know, it was pretty fun!" Ashido cheered, even if she had to deal with a douche of a team 'boss' who was still fuming that he wasn't able to get any way close to getting first place. Speaking on, Bakugo had jumped off and left as soon as he was able, as social interactions were stuff they learned pretty quick; he didn't like it if they weren't praising him, which none in class A had done since the second day of school. That is probably why he didn't know their names.

"Speak for yourselves. We weren't knocked out." Aoyama and Mineta looked defeated by that fact, having already been treated for the peppy spray bomb Yaooyorozu used on them.

"Sucks to be you." Jiro waved as she walked past them, feeling no shame for that attack.

"Did we get enough?" Uraraka asked as Hatsume ran around their chariot, inspecting its damage. They had done all that they could and worked to snatch points, but it hadn't been easy. With how focused they were and Present Mic paying more attention to the front-runners, they didn't even know their final score when they crossed the finish line.

"I hope we did." Kendo smiled at her, offering some relief to her teammates, who did more than she could have asked of them and really came in clutch near the end.

"We were so close!" Tetsutetsu was close to tears as Kaibara patted his back. Monoma was still testy about how Bakugo, after their one taunt, went after them like a rabid animal and nearly stole all their points, too.

"You think we got enough points?" Tsunotori asked as the two support students fussed over the damaged wheel for their chariot, one that looked like it could fall off at any second.

"I hope so. Kendo blindsided us near the end there, though." Honenuki replied as they left the chariot area to return to the track where others were waiting.

"We came first in the race but didn't have the most valued flag. What a half victory." Shinso stated that his teammates were standing close by as he sat on the side of the track.

Stretching his arms over his head, Midoriya wasn't upset about it, at least not anymore. "It's our fault. We should have suspected that class A would have some trump cards up their sleeves, the same as us."

"Alright, folks! Let's look at the 8 teams that made it through with the race complete!" Present Mic announced as the screen switched to show the final score and positions of the teams.

"With blinding speed and freezing cold ice, Team Todoroki is in first place with 5960 points! Take about overachievers!" Present Mic announced as their names were shown in gold. Meanwhile, on the field, Todoroki paid attention to Iida, who had only recently gained motor function in his legs.

"We only for that because of you, Iida. Thank you." Todoroki did something unexpected: they bowed to his classmate, which caught him and the rest of class A watching entirely off guard as while Todoroki was the loud, prideful that was Bakugo, he was the quiet type.

"Please, it was a team effort. If not for your support, my plan was sure to fail." Iida floundered as he tried to counter this, his arms chopping away like he was a robot.

"Our runners-up packed the power of nature and made good use of it; it's Team Midoriya with 650 points!" When the next set of names and pictures came up, they were in silver.

"Second place again? I hope this doesn't become a theme for us." Midoriya mused.

"I'm just happy we placed that high," Shinso replied as Present Mic moved on to the next team.

"In third place, we have explosive power and sleek and deadly acid power—team Bakugo with 630!" Team Bakugo's names were shown in bronze as Minda shook her head.

"That was too close." She stated as Sero shrugged.

"It's still not a bad run. We did pretty well," the tape user said as Kirishima gestured towards their other teammate.

"Tell that to Bakugo." Bakugo wasn't engaging with them; he was just off to the side, barely holding in his fury.

"Third? Third fucking again!? How the fuck did Deku beat me again?!" Despite how loud and vulgar he was, the students had started getting used to it and were ignoring it.

"4th Place with 490 points goes to Team Honenuki, who, even with a banged-up wheel, kept on going; talk about determined!" The names were in green, with the students merely waving when their team was called up. "5th Place goes to Team Tokoyami, who, a man of many arms and some help from the shadows, secured 430 points!"

"6th Place goes to Team Tetsutetsu, who had to fight a brutal battle against Team Bakugo near the end but managed to retain 390 points!" As Present Mic said, Kaibara asked Monoma not to pock that bear again since Bakugo had given them far too much trouble.

"7th Place goes to Team Kendo, who made one hell of a comeback and managed to secure 380 points!" Uraraka fell to her knees in relief, hearing they had barely made it.

"8th Place goes to Team Yaoyorozu, whose well-thought-out plans and defensive tactics kept them in the running the entire time. They finished the race with 310 points!" The heiress didn't look the least but pleased that she had just barely made the cut.

"These 8 teams will choose 2 members to advance to the finals!" Present Mic announced as the students started to leave the field.

"Now we'll be taking another hour's break to give our competitors time to relax, grab a bite to eat, and use the bathroom if needed; in the meantime, please enjoy the many games for the whole family to enjoy!" The voice hero stated before turning to his co-commentor.

"Hey, Eraser, what to get a sandwich or something?"

"I'm going to take a nap."

And with that, the chapter is over. Despite the head cold and fucked up nose situation, it was enjoyable to write this. There was a ton of stuff I wanted to put in, more focus on Kendo and Bakugo for one, but with the word limit as it was, if I tried to add more stuff, it felt…well, off, so it was cut. Again, the idea came from a meme showing anime girls in a Roman-style chariot race. Someone on my Discord server pointed out that motorized chariot racing is a thing, and I just had to use that concept.

Plus, it helped with the whole 'team-focused' approach I was taking here since even though 3 were riding it, ideally, it was a team effort to build it. It wasn't like the 2 not present weren't doing anything since they were acting as their team's hype-men, building that excitement in the ground. Either way, I hope you liked that chapter. If you did, please leave a comment. If you didn't, please leave a comment; just don't leave one that's nothing but negativity and hate, as I really can't glean any ways to improve from that stuff.

The next chapter will be uploaded on May 17th.

Special thanks to my Patrons(s):

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