"Regular speech,"
"Flashback speech,"
'Inner dialogue,'
'Phone Text Chat'
Izuku didn't have as much time as he would like to prepare for the sports festival, but that was mainly because of his stay in the hospital. But on the day between the sports festival and their impromptu meeting with Giran, Izuku and Himiko had trained twice as hard as they usually did.
His muscles had never ached so terribly, even after All Might's Aim to Pass American Dream Plan. Himiko was a slave driver compared to the pro. Izuku still had bruises from the places her plastic knife had hit.
Now here he was, shaking like a leaf next to Kacchan, all of the students from the other U.A. courses glaring daggers at them. Kacchan had been extremely mad when he heard he would have to give an opening speech… along with the other top scoring hero course candidate.
He had glared around at everyone, waiting for the offending person to step forward, but his anger reached a fever pitch when Izuku was the one to step up.
"This is some fucking bullshit," Kacchan growled, his snarling face very alarming for Izuku.
"Uh, K-Kacchan."
"Hah? The fuck you want, Deku!?"
"N-No, it's nothing," Izuku looked away and saw Himiko waving frantically from the class 1-A lineup, her arm nearly clipping the student to her right. He sheepishly waved back.
"Ah! Young love!" Midnight made a very lascivious noise, and Izuku blushed furiously," tell me young man, how far have you and your girlfriend gone?"
Izuku sputtered and went bright red," I-I h-h-have no idea w-w-what you mean!"
Midnight smiled all the larger, but she gave him a break and turned to the assembled students, "this is a bit unusual, but we'll have our two hero course representatives give their speeches to start off the festival!"
Izuku looked to Kacchan," uh, w-who goes f-first?"
"Me of course! You damn nerd!"
Izuku knew that would be a horrible idea, but no matter what order they went in, he was sure Kacchan would piss everyone off. So he tensed very tightly when the blond boy walked up the platform steps, and approached the microphone.
"I just wanna say, I'm gonna win."
All of the courses burst out into a cacophony of yelling voices, and thinly veiled threats against Kacchan's life.
'I knew it.' Izuku dropped his head into his hands, and suppressed the need to cry,' he just made this ten times harder for me.'
"Whatever," Kacchan gave a thumbs down at the crowd," just shut up and get out of my way, ya damn extras!"
And that was the final nail in the coffin, the crowd would be pissed no matter what Izuku said, and he was sure Kacchan had just painted a target on all of 1-A's backs.
'He probably wanted to do that.'
Izuku made his way to the platform, Kacchan's shoulder impacted his as they passed one another and he smirked," top that Deku!"
Izuku suppressed the instinct to shout in his face that he had no reason to want to one up the other boy, but he knew his old childhood friend wouldn't listen. If the crowd from the side of the platform was intimidating, it was nothing compared to having everyone glare at him after Kacchan's "speech".
'I bet he did that on purpose too.'
Izuku gulped looking out over the faces, he could see all of his classmates smiling piteously up at him having to follow Kacchan's little statement, but Himiko smiled wide, her fangs flashing in the sun. Her blushing red face, and fanged smile, brought a smile to Izuku's face.
"I-I am I-Izuku Midoriya, the joint h-hero course representative! A-And firstly I want to a-apologize for Kacch— I mean Katsuki's rude d-declaration. I-I know that everyone is on edge after the a-attack at U.S.J., but the sports festival is e-exactly what everyone n-needs to unwind after such an awful event. Class 1-A,as many of you know, was the focus of the attack, and many of us were hurt very badly; including myself. So please, let's have a great time!" Izuku's speech had started out very shaky and he had stuttered a lot, but his gaze had become sharp and focused at the end. It seemed to sap mostly everyone's anger, and turn it into a buzzing expectancy at the festival getting underway.
Izuku made his way down the platform and jumped slightly when all of class 1-A surrounded him.
"That was super cool!" Kaminari grinned at him.
"You were shacking like a leaf at the beginning, but you were all like 'Let's have a great time' ," Ashido jumped excitedly in place and her face became a facsimile of Izuku's as she mimicked him.
"I'm so glad you got everyone to stop being mad at us," Uraraka sighed in relief.
"I'll say, Bakugou went a little overboard," Mashirao laughed, looking back at the angry boy nervously.
"What the hell did you say? You damn useless tail bastard!" Kacchan shouted over the jostling crowd that was 1-A, his eyes screaming murder.
A familiar delicate hand slipped into Izuku's and he looked down at Himiko," you were really cool up there, Izu. I'm proud."
"T-Thanks, Himi-chan," Izuku smiled down at her, and scratched the back of his head with his free hand.
"Aaaaaaw," Ashido squealed holding her cheeks," you two are so cute!"
Izuku went red realizing he'd used Himiko's nickname in front of everyone.
Midnight's whip cracked from the stage, and she glared down at them all, the perfect image of a dominatrix," all of you back into formation, we still have the first event left to announce."
"Yes, ma'am!" Everyone yelled, clearly none of them keen to earn a possible lashing.
She smiled in delight at their immediate compliance," you all are so nice and obedient, I love it."
Izuku looked at the woman very confused, but she continued.
"Each year the events of the sports festival are selected at random! There are three stages to the sports festival. The first two are preliminaries consisting of randomly selected events, and the final is battle trials between all of the remaining contestants. So without further ado! Let's begin!" She motioned with her whip at the screen behind her, and a series of event titles spun on screen; until it finally landed on obstacle race. "There you have it everyone, the first event is an obstacle race! Head to your class locker rooms to prepare!"
Himiko bumped Izuku's shoulder as the class made their way to the locker room," this is gonna be fun. Huh, Izu?"
"Y-Yeah, but I think, maybe we should take it a little seriously." Izuku smiled at her," but you're really talented, so I doubt you'll have too much trouble."
Himiko put a finger on her chin in thought," mmm, I don't know about that. My quirk won't help me at all in an obstacle race. I don't think I'll use it during the festival if I can help it, at least I won't take blood from anyone."
Izuku frowned," huh? Why wouldn't you use your quirk?"
She stared at him as if he were stupid," Izu, people aren't as understanding as you are of quirks like mine."
"I-I know, but… how can anyone see how amazing you are, or how much your quirk doesn't define who you are as a person, if you don't show it? I know I don't have much room to talk, because I didn't grow up the way you did, but I want you to live free of any burdens. I know you see your quirk as a burden, but I want you to be able to use your ability as much as you want without having to worry about what someone will think."
Himiko stalled for a moment to think on that. She leaned lightly against the wall, twirling a strand of hair as the rest of the class went to prepare in the locker room. A few students passed the pair, and gave them curious glances before Himiko glared at them sending the students hurrying away.
"You might be right, but I don't think I'm ready just yet." Himiko whispered as the last of the students went out of sight, her hands playing with the hem of her sports jacket.
Izuku smiled down at her as he leaned against the wall next to her," I understand."
Himiko slid over to Izuku and pulled his hand into hers so that she could drag him into the locker room. The atmosphere inside was heavy with anticipation, and it seemed that everyone was on edge. Surprisingly, Todoroki was the one to break the heavy silence when he approached Izuku and Himiko, his glare putting the shorter boy on edge.
"I just want to say that, objectively, I'm stronger than you."
Izuku blinked,' what?'
"Y-Yeah, I suppose you're right, I-I mean I don't even have a proper handle on my quirk yet, and—"
"That being said, I'm going to beat you." Todoroki's serious expression took Izuku aback. Had he pissed the boy off sometime and not realized it? The boy turned his back on him without waiting for an answer and started to walk away, "That's all I wanted to say."
"H-Hold on, Todoroki!" The scarred boy stopped and looked at Izuku over his shoulder," I-I don't know why you're saying something like you're stronger than me. I thought it was plain to see, so there's no need to state the obvious."
"Hey, Midoriya, there's no need to be that way man!" Kirishima stood from his chair trying to ease the tension.
"No! This is exactly what we need. This is about making our entrance into the world of heroes, and at least for the time being, we are all competing against each other. But that being said, Todoroki, I'm going to give it my all, and I'll beat you!"
The gray eye Izuku could see from over the boys shoulder studied him closely, but after a second, he turned away without another word.
If the atmosphere of the locker room was tense before, it was no comparison to the feeling in the room after Todoroki's and Izuku's declarations. Although, Himiko didn't seem to notice as she clung happily to his arm.
"Uh, Himiko? Aren't you a little too relaxed?"
She smiled at him," nah! A dumb obstacle race is no problem compared to a knife fight, or taking out a bunch of gangsters."
Iida spewed a mouthful of water from the bottle he had been drinking from," k-knife fights? Gangsters? Toga-san! We knew Mr. Aizawa said you were transferred with some rehabilitation program in mind, but what sort of past do you have?!"
Himiko flinched, clearly not realizing just how loud she had been," ah, I kind of… well that is I—"
"Ah, she uh kind of ditched out of her school when she was still attending, and All Might and everyone at U.A. were wiling to take her in. As for the gangster and knife fight stuff. Himiko was in trouble when I met her again, and the police helped." Izuku stumbled through the hasty and poorly crafted half truth, feeling terrible he was basically lying to one of his new friends. But it was for Himiko's sake, so he would do anything.
"I see," Iida took in the information for a moment, before coming to a logical conclusion," so she left her studies behind, and became a vigilante. Is that correct?"
"Y-Yeah, it was something like that," Himiko didn't meet the boys eyes, but before the interaction could go on any longer, the intercom buzzed.
"Alright! Is everyone ready to rock?!" Present Mic called out over the loud speakers," it's time for our first-years to show us some of their moves!"
"You're to loud," the ragged voice of their home room teacher complained.
The intercom clicked off and Izuku frowned up at it," was that our call to go to the starting area?"
"I suppose so," Iida looked at the pair smiling," good luck to the both of you."
"O-Oh, you too!"
Their class walked back down the corridor toward the race's starting line. It seemed odd that the majority of the classes had been jammed into a tight corridor, and not all been put on equal footing at the start. But it made a certain kind of sense. Heroes don't always have favorable conditions when they participate in operations, so in a way, this small detail seemed to reflect that.
"Do you want to work together," Izuku looked down at Himiko who grinned back," I know I said we're all competing against each other, but I can't imagine competing against you."
"Of course Izu! I'm your partner, so no reason not to stick together!"
He smiled at her and crouched down," just like at the beach."
Himiko's feral grin spread over her face as she got his meaning.
"Alright everybody, put your best foot forward and get to running!" Present Mic called out, his voice booming and rattling everyone's teeth.
All of the students looked around confused at the impromptu shout, all except the students of class 1-A who all leapt into action. Todoroki froze everyone's feet to the ground, and shot forward above them on a path of ice that carried him through the trapped and annoyed students.
Izuku and Kacchan were the next to act. Kacchan shot forward, right on Todoroki's heels, as explosions propelled him forward. Izuku was right next to him, One for All crackling as eight percent allowed him to keep pace with the two, even with Himiko on his back. Tsuyu, Aoyama, Uraraka, Sero, and Mashirao all soared over the crowd of trapped, jostling people. Kirishima, Mina, Iida, Sato, and Shoji all immediately shattered the ice that had crept up their feet, allowing them to navigate through the still trapped students.
"The fuck?! This is a god damn race, Deku! Not a fucking date for you two assholes!" Kacchan screamed in impotent rage at the pair, his neck muscles bulging under the strain.
Izuku looked at Kacchan apologetically, but caught sight of Himiko's middle finger raised up toward the explosive boy; a feral grin on her face.
"Please don't antagonize him more than necessary." Izuku pled with his girlfriend, but she just laughed in response.
"But it's fun! Look at his face. He's absolutely pissed, and he's even madder that we're passing his ass!"
Himiko waved at the blonde boy as they pulled ahead, and suddenly a wave of falling steel rained down on them. Todoroki had frozen a robot Izuku recognized as a zero-pointer from the entrance exam , and left it just brittle enough that it was coming down on the few students that hadn't been stopped by his ice.
"Up the leg and onto the shoulder," Himiko commanded.
Izuku complied without thinking, his foot planting into the crumbling leg of the robot, letting him spring up and onto the metal monstrosities shoulder. With their path clear now, Izuku used the height advantage to shoot over the remaining zero-pointers so that they had caught up with Todoroki again.
"A flawless show of agility from Izuku Midoriya from class 1-A!" Present Mic called over the stadium speakers, his voice making Izuku's bones vibrate," he cleared those robots and Shoto Todoroki's traps in an instant! All while carrying a girl on his back! What a lady's man."
Todoroki glared at them, clearly surprised Izuku could keep up, even with an extra person on his back.
"You need to take this more seriously, Midoriya. Carrying that girl on your back is a pointless waste of energy." Todoroki's ice shot toward them, but just as it passed halfway between them, Himiko let fly a knife that impacted Todoroki's leg; throwing him off balance and sending him tumbling.
"Uh oh! Shoto Todoroki is taken out by Himiko Toga, a new addition to class 1-A! Looks like she's showing she can support her man just fine!" Present Mic continued," I hope their teamwork can help them through the next obstacle, The Fall!"
"H-Himiko! You can't throw knives at the other student!"
Izuku was about to stop and help the boy, but Himiko karate chopped his head," of course I didn't," she held up one of the knives, and he was relieved to see it was one of their plastic training ones.
"Oh thank god." Izuku continued forward, his momentum never stopping as he leapt between the platforms of the pitfall obstacle, its gorge like trenches so deep and wide that they made him sweat as he focused on each landing. "Sorry I doubted you."
"Nah, it's fine! I do have real knives on me, and I was thinking about stabbing him for saying us helping each other was pointless. Although, it's way funnier he had to immediately eat his words when I helped you," Himiko laughed, twirling a plastic knife in her hands as Izuku leapt from platform to platform.
"Whoa! The dynamic duo clear The Fall in record time, and now they're at the next obstacle! The Minefield!" Present Mic went into an explanation of the low intense concussive blasts the mines would release, relieving Izuku's worries at them both being blown to smithereens.
They had cleared the pitfall rather easily, but another excited shout from Present Mic drew their attention," what's this!? It looks like class 1-A's Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugou are no longer fighting one another, but focusing to overtake the pair in first place!"
Izuku looked over his shoulder to see the two boys hot on their heels, murder in Kacchan's eyes, and frosty determination coloring Todoroki's.
He upped the pace of his approach to the minefield. Izuku could feel Himiko's arms pulling at his shoulders frantically," Izu! The mines! You can't dodge them all, they get denser the farther in you get!"
Izuku grinned madly back at her, a crazy idea forming in his head," we aren't going to dodge them!"
"W-What!"
Izuku slammed his foot forcefully down on the first mine he approached, leaning forward to put the force of the blast on his body alone, and tensing his muscles to protect his body from the shock of the impact. They shot forward, Izuku's chest throbbing a bit, but compared to Himiko's kicks and blunted knife stabs, this pain was nothing.
In a single step he had used the force of the concussive blast to propel them forward, they had cleared a quarter of the field in an instant, and Izuku slammed his foot down into another mine.
"You bastard copycat!" Kacchan called after him.
Present Mic boomed over the loudspeakers in abject bewilderment," I can't believe it! Izuku Midoriya is using the mines as spring boards to boost his speed! He's propelling himself forward with explosions like his classmate Katsuki Bakugou! What the heck have you been teaching these kids, Eraserhead!"
For the first time since the race had started Mr. Aizawa, who was supposed to be announcing alongside Present Mic, spoke," this isn't the result of any teaching on my part, this is the cumulation of experiences through battles that they've been forced to endure. But Midoriya and Toga have by far the most practical battle experience of anyone here, so it's no surprise they're ahead of the pack."
Himiko laughed in Izuku's ear," you hear that, Izu?! We're experienced! Who're the problem children now?!"
Izuku panted with focus. He was tensing his every muscle after each explosion, the force of locking his muscles each time making his movements stiffer and stiffer. His shoes were in ruins and his feet felt like they would fall off at any moment, but he felt so excited. The minefield was almost gone now, and there was only a distance of maybe thirty yards between them and the finish line of the race. He could hear Kacchan screaming, letting off explosions, and the crackle of Todoroki's ice as the two started to gain on him.
"I think it's still us," Izuku laughed with her, his feet aching, and his heart pounding wildly.
"You bet we are!" Himiko whooped as one last explosion carried them free of the minefield.
"I'm gonna murder the both of you when I catch you!" Kacchan's explosions intensified, his screams of anger colored by obvious pain as he pushed his quirk harder for more speed.
Izuku was torn, on one hand he wanted to win the obstacle race with Himiko, but on the other he couldn't just let Kacchan blow his arms off just because he was mad.
"Himiko."
"What's up Izu? We gonna rub it in his face a lil more?" Himiko smiled at him from over his shoulder, but frowned when he didn't answer," what's the matter?"
"I know how Kacchan is. If I win this, he'll just get worse and worse, he'll even hurt himself just so I don't win," Izuku looked back at his childhood friend, and sure enough, he could see the skin on the palm of the boys hand cracking and bleeding.
"So what? From all the stuff you've told me about that jerk, he's treated you like garbage, worse than garbage! Not even half a year ago he beat you, called you names, and told you to kill yourself! He's a monster, and he doesn't deserve your concern."
Izuku stopped and crouched down to let Himiko off his back," I know, but… I can't just ignore someone when they're clearly hurting themselves. You go ahead and finish the race, I'll handle Kacchan."
Himiko sighed and smiled up at Izuku as he stood to face Kacchan," I know you can't, that's exactly why I love you so much. Just don't let him step all over you, or I'll have to gouge his eyes out."
Izuku laughed nervously, but went ramrod straight when she kissed him. It was one thing to kiss in private, but to have his girlfriend kiss him in front of a stadium full to the brim with civilians and pro heroes.
"What's this? Aww, It looks like the dynamic duo in the lead of this race are stalled at the finish line locking lips. Ya gotta love to see a hero couple!" Present Mic called over the loud speakers, making Izuku's face burn all the brighter.
"Love ya, Izu!" Himiko called back to him as she ran for the finish line's corridor, Todoroki ran past Izuku, but Kacchan stopped.
"You're dead nerd!"
"You really need to take an anger management course, or go to a therapist," Izuku ducked as one of Kacchan's fists sailed over his head.
"First place of the sports festival's obstacle race goes to class 1-A's newest addition; Himiko Toga! And closely behind her is Shoto Todoroki!" Present Mic's voice boomed.
"God damn it Deku! You fuck up everything! First you get into U.A. when you should've just stayed a fucking quirkless nobody, then you rub your stupid god damn quirk you've been hiding from me in my face, and then you have the fucking nerve to get the same score as me on the fucking entrance exam!"
"Is that what you think I did? Kacchan, contrary to your belief, my life does not revolve around you! You've known I've always wanted to be a hero, I didn't hide my quirk from you, and I can't help we got the same score on the exam!"
Kacchan stomped forward, grabbed a fistful of Izuku's sport jacket, and roared in his face," I don't give a damn about the shit you're spewing Deku! All you ever do is fuck with me, and rub it in my god damn face."
Izuku cringed at the volume," do you just not hear anything I ever say, or do you just ignore it?"
Kacchan swung at Izuku again, but this time when Izuku ducked the blow he punched the other boy on reflex; blood stained Kacchan's lip," oh my god! Kacchan, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"
An explosion to his face blinded Izuku, and another fist to the face sent him stumbling backward in shock.
"You did it now, Deku. I only planned on beating your ass like I usually do, but now I'm gonna fuckin put you in a hospital!"
'Fuck this!' Izuku tackled his childhood friend and planted a fist in his ribs.
"I think Himiko was right, the only way you're going to understand anything is if I beat it into you!"
"Fucking finally!" Kacchan slammed his head into Izuku's, making him stumble back. Kacchan stood, his snarling grin reminding Izuku of the way he used to look when he beat Izuku up.
Izuku let One for All spread through him as he jumped back at his childhood friend turned bully, his foot connecting with his face. But he was immediately enveloped in another explosion that scorched his chest, and allowed Kacchan to land his own blow to Izuku's ribs.
His chest stung, the blow made it difficult to draw breath without wincing, but Izuku continued his assault; spinning to draw momentum into a sideways kick. It was caught, however, and Kacchan used his own momentum to slam Izuku into the ground.
What followed was a series of punches, kicks, and cheap shots that could barely be called a fight as the pair fell to the ground. A fist to the face, a kick to the ribs, an elbow to the jaw, and another kick to the head all marked the single most brutal and uncoordinated fight Izuku had ever been in; followed only by his terrible fight with Nomu at U.S.J. If what had happened at U.S.J. could even be called a fight.
Now Izuku's back, side, chest and everywhere else ached, but he fought on; putting the boy in an arm bar. His leg muscles tensed and Izuku used the restraining hold so he could punch Kacchan in the stomach.
Air whooshed from the boys lungs and they both gasped for air as students started to pass them for the finish line.
"F-Finish t-this later?" Izuku gasped and winced, Present Mic announced each person who crossed the finish, while also narrating the pairs fight.
Kacchan scowled up at the clear sky overhead, but sighed irritably," fine."
They both stood to their feet and limped forward as fast as they could. While their fight had gone on for no less than a minute, they had barely both finished in twenty fifth and twenty sixth respectively. Kacchan scowled, holding his ribs in pain while Izuku did the same.
Himiko met Izuku with a look of worry that made the boy smile," so you just ended up fighting him, huh?"
"Y-Yeah," Izuku looked to the side ashamed," it kinda turned out like that."
Himiko turned his bruised face to her and smiled," hey, if you weren't going to do it, I was."
Izuku smiled back at her, but winced when his cheek throbbed at the flexing of his facial muscles.
Himiko's blush intensified and she leaned forward purring in his ear," I'm definitely going to cut him for hurting you, but I gotta say, I'm a little turned on by how beat up you are now. I think maybe when we get a little brake, we should find somewhere quiet and—"
"Well ladies and germs, I gotta say this was one of the more interesting first events of the U.A. Sports Festival I've ever seen! An explosive start, a sudden upset, love, and an old fashioned scrap fight, but all good things must come to an end!" Present Mic's voice helped cool the simmering heat in Izuku's face at his girlfriend's unfinished suggestion, but his embarrassment quickly turned to fear at hearing Midnight's explanation of the next event as the wheel spun to announce a cavalry battle.
"The second event is a cavalry battle! Each team may consist of at least two contestants; one rider and one horse, but you are allowed a maximum of four! Each student is given a point value and a team's value depending on where their members finished in preliminaries. The forty-second place finish is worth five points, with five points added to the point value with each cascading place. The first place finisher, however, is worth ten million!"
Izuku could feel himself shrink as all eyes fell on him and Himiko, the stares of each person making him feel as if he were back in Aldera Junior High again. He hadn't felt so small in a very long time, it made him shiver, but Himiko took his hand and gave him her fanged grin.
"We got this, Izu! Same as always!"
'How did I ever live without her?'
Midnight continued her breakdown of the rules," you kids gotta remember, hero work is about having all eyes on you, and no one has more eyes on them than the one at the top! That being said, individual point values are added together to reach each team's total. These point values are displayed via headbands. The goal of the game is to steal headbands in order to raise the team's score. Contestants are not allowed to make each other fall on purpose. Even if a team loses their headband or falls down, they can compete until the thirty-minute time limit is up. We will now allow the contestants a ten minute window to establish teams, remember, this is all about strategy, so make sure you make the best choice possible!"
"So, who should we get Izu? Or are we just runnin with you and me again?" Himiko bounced in excitement as she smiled up at him.
How she could be so excited when having so many people gunning for them, he had no idea.
"Well, we need maneuverability, but we have that with me. If you stay focused the entire time, I think with your situational awareness, our headband will be hard for anyone to take. But in terms of firepower, we're lacking a bit, so maybe we could get someone who could compensate. I would say Todoroki, but I have a feeling he wouldn't help us. Kacchan is out for… obvious reasons." The boy in question was glaring daggers at the pair as he assembled his own team," I think he's going to try extra hard to get our headbands anyway, so we'll have to keep an eye on his team."
Himiko bounced on the tips of her toes and held her hand up, as if she were trying to ask a teacher a question," what about the round cheek girl? She can make stuff weightless, I could have her use it on my knives, so I could throw them super fast!"
Izuku pondered that, gripping his chin with his thumb and index finger," that could work, but who should we fill the last spot with?"
Himiko stood next to Izuku and comically mimicked his thinking pose. Suddenly, Izuku caught a flash of someone he hadn't seen in a while, and went over to talk to him. It was pure luck the boy had just the quirk to run the ultimate offense and defense with.
A/N: So this is a bit of an odd author note for you guys who read and have questions you might want to ask. I am pleased to announce I've started a discord for exactly that! And the questions won't be restricted to just this story but all of my fics! I've affectionately named it The Beach House, so if you have any questions for me come and join! The link is on my profile on Archive of Our Own and my profile name is the same as on here, so check it out!