Disclaimer: Please no Guest Reviews or offers trying to ask if they can make comics out of my stories. I know a scam when I see one.
Since the Sports Festival included students from all four courses, divided by year, it was no surprise that Class 1-A was getting scouted for competition by the other first-year students.
"What's the big deal?!" Minoru complained.
"We're the ones who survived a villain attack, remember?" Katsuki gruffly pointed out before turning to the students blocking the way. "Oy, I know you extras think you can size us up, but our peers over in Class 1-B already got shown how dangerous a real villain attack is. We just got lucky the losers attacking us were a bunch of no-name low-life punks."
"So this is Class 1-A."
The one who spoke was a boy with spiky purple hair and dark circles under his eyes.
"I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass."
"Nah, that's just Kaachan," Mayumi said playfully. "Don't go singling out the rest of our class just because he can be a dick."
"OY!" Katsuki barked indignantly.
The young man shrugged. "I'm just disappointed to come here and find a bunch of ego-maniacs. You know, I wanted to be in the hero course. But like many of us here, I got forced to choose a different track. Such is life."
Katsuki just laughed derisively. "Just proves you were stupid enough not to notice the off switch on the robot villains!"
"Take a look at our class. You think someone like Mineta over there..." Morimoto said as he pointed to the dwarfish boy in question. "...Could crush a robot with a single blow? Or how about Jiro? And Hagakure? Or even Kouda? These guys aren't here cuz they can kick everyone's ass. They're here because they know what it takes to be a real hero."
"How about you? We know what your game is. You hope to use the Sports Festival to take someone's spot in the Hero Course." Ben concluded.
The young man smirked. "Guess I misjudged you. Name's Hitoshi Shinso. By the way...shouldn't Class 1-B also be making any declarations of war?"
"In most cases, we would," Le said as he came in, tailed by Kirby, Wankuro, and Akatani. "However, our classmates have started to understand that our peers in 1-A were just lucky they were fighting a bunch of no-name thugs."
"Just what did they do?" Hitoshi asked.
"The school called in the Sisters of Fate. They used their shared Quirk, Threads of Fate, to trap Class 1-B in an illusory fight with the Chaos Insurgency." Izuku explained.
"The only ones of us who were able to survive were myself, Wankuro, Akatani, Kirby, and another of our classmates, Itsuka Kendo," Le added. "Everyone else was taken down in just under ten minutes."
"We've had experience before we came here, so we had a bit better prep time." Wankuro chimed in.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
"I mostly acted as support..." Akatani muttered to himself.
"So...are you losers gonna stop trying to measure your collective dicks against ours?" Katsuki asked. "Or are you gonna haul your asses out of the way so we can get training for the Sports Festival?"
"Bakugou, I really wish you would use better language with our peers!" Tenya admonished.
"Yeah, man, you're gonna make everyone hate you at this right!" Denki added.
The class spent the next two weeks honing their physical abilities and Quirks, the teachers allowing them use of the simulation domes for this purpose. Kyoyuka threw darts with her ear jacks, Minoru used his sticky hairballs to practice wall climbing, Momo studied various chemical compositions, Ben went through strict meditation to balance his elements, Morimoto focused on broadening his mind on his shapeshifting, and so on.
Meanwhile, Akatani was nervous as he was with Izuku, Tsumi, Wankuro, Le, and Kirby at the local gym. Izuku seemed to notice that his identical twin had his left eye closed tightly.
"Why do you do that, Mikumo-Kun?"
"It helps me calm down. When I close my left eye, my right eye can give me a visual representation of people's Quirks."
"Oh, that's cool! What does my Quirk look like?"
"Your Quirk looks like a ball of green plasma that is adapting to whatever changes come into contact with it." Akatani explained. "Le's Quirk looks like an emerald that radiates some kind of chaotic power and is changing color rapidly. Wankuro's Quirk is a creature that looks like a wolf, then a minotaur, then a sea monster, and so forth, and Kirby's Quirk is a giant beautiful galaxy surrounding a golden star."
"And what's my Quirk look like to you?" Tsumi asked playfully.
"It...looks like some kind of demonic entity that wants to swallow my soul if I look at it the wrong way." Akatani nervously said.
"Ouch..." Tsumi winced. "But can you visualize your own Quirk?"
Akatani nodded. "Yeah, when I visualize my Quirk, it looks like a glowing white eye with many hands, orbited by a smaller eye with various types of matter swirling around it."
"Mikumo, you can trust the rest of us," Wankuro said kindly. "We're all friends here and we want to help you."
"Yeah, dragging me against my will to the gym doesn't seem like wanting to help."
"We know about what your Quirk really does."
Akatani flinched when he heard Izuku say that while Tsumi just innocently rocked on her feet while whistling.
"Tsumi is Principal Nedzu's daughter, she knows stuff," Le said. "And she was trusting enough to tell us all about your Quirk's real effects as well."
Akatani sighed. "Yeah, okay, I confess; I can do a lot of stuff with Quirks. I'm guessing you want me to use my Quirk to help with training?"
"Actually, we were wondering if you could help out a few of our classmates tomorrow," Izuku said. "Kaminari has been having trouble with controlling his electricity, Tooru wants to broaden what she can do with her Quirk beyond just invisibility, and Uraraka could use a little help with her nausea limit whenever she uses her Quirk."
Akatani looked unsure but the more he looked at Izuku's kind face, the more convinced he was before he sighed.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do."
With how much training everyone did, the Sports Festival arrived in no time. Already various booths were out with all kinds of foods and merch. Mount Lady tried to use her sexiness to get free takoyaki, only to get walloped in the back of the head by her boyfriend Baddo Kinzokiri AKA the Delinquent Hero: Metal Bat, a member of the S-Ranker Hero Team.
"Dumbass! What kind of self-respecting hero uses exploitation on a regular vendor?!"
"I'm just trying to get a leg up on Midnight! I need the practice!" She complained.
"Just pay attention to the actual competition. All eyes are gonna be on Class 1-A after the attack on the USJ, after all." Vigorshy said as he and Death Arms were also accompanying the couple. "This is their chance to prove their success wasn't just a fluke. We should be keeping an eye out for any potential heroes to let intern with us so they can learn to become real heroes."
To keep things as fair as possible, all participants had to wear their gym uniforms, and every student was allowed whatever support items they needed to make full use of their Quirks. As Izuku got his friends to the stadium, he noticed Shoto staying behind.
"Did you want to talk?"
Shoto nodded. "From an objective standpoint, I'm likely stronger than you. But you've got not only All-Might but Endo Hound in your corner helping you."
"To be fair, Endo Hound's shifted her focus to Uraraka. And you seem to have forgotten my dad is Regenizard." Izuku said. "Besides, aren't you the son of Endeavor? I'd say that gives you some impressive connections of your own."
Shoto clenched his fist, Izuku noticing the half-and-half boy was grimacing slightly but remained stoic.
"I intend to beat you, and I won't need my father's help to do it."
Izuku nodded. "If that's what you think, then fine. But I don't intend to lose either. Especially to someone who refuses to use their full power. I'm training every day to improve how much control I have over mine. You hold yourself back for reasons I can't even fathom. You saw Shinso a few weeks ago, right? Every student in the other courses is gunning for a chance at our spot in the Hero Course. If you don't give it everything you have...then you might as well have never come to UA."
Izuku then left Shoto by his lonesome, the boy growling furiously.
"No... I don't need it... I don't need to use HIS Quirk to win...!"
"WELCOME, SPORTS FANS! CAN I GET A PLUS ULTRA!?" Present Mic cheered from the announcer's booth.
The crows roared in reply and excitement, which made the Voice Hero grin in satisfaction.
"We're tuned in live to what may be the biggest UA Sports Festival ever! Our students are coming out to the big stage, so everybody be sure to show them your support!"
Class 1-A were the first ones out of the gate, led by Izuku.
Ben whistled. "Man, I didn't think there would be so many people out today."
"It does feel a bit daunting," Tenya admitted.
"Hopefully we can still give it our all before this large crowd," Mayumi said.
Once all the students from all four courses arrived on the field, Midnight showed up on the podium as the umpire for the first-year students.
"Settle down, everyone! It's time for the introductory speech!"
"Man, Midnight really has it going on!" Minoru said, giving a thumbs-up.
"That is my MOTHER." Ben hissed to the dwarfish boy.
"Wait, Midnight is your MOM?!" Tooru gawked.
Morimoto chuckled. "Yeah, me, Izuku, Katsuki, and Mayumi already knew that. Sorry if we didn't tell you."
Ben shrugged. "It's more of an adoptive relationship. My birth parents weren't the best people."
"Silence, everyone!" Midnight called out. "And for the student pledge, we have... Izuku Midoriya!"
Izuku gulped, a bit nervous about having to be the one to give the speech. However, most of the others in Class 1-A were relived it wasn't someone like Katsuki, who would no doubt just make some big boast about how he was going to win the festival.
"Knock 'em dead, Zuzu." Tsumi encouraged.
"Zuzu?" Izuku asked before sighing as he took a deep breath and made his way to the podium. "Um, is this thing on?"
Midnight gave Izuku an encouraging motherly smile and a pat on the head as he steeled himself before speaking into the mic.
"To all students, remember this... Being a hero is not an easy task. It's about more than a flashy Quirk, a cool costume, a strong personality, or an amazing name. It's about being there for the people, inspiring them, and giving them courage. Some of you are here hoping to move up to the hero course, and that's fine... So long as you understand what being a hero truly means. We all came here to impress the pro heroes, and to do that, we need to push ourselves and strive for the very top! In the words of All-Might, go beyond! Plus Ultra!"
The other classes looked at Midoriya dumbfounded, while Class 1-A smiled at each other, waiting for the big payoff. In an instant, the whole crowd of students was cheering in excitement.
Hitoshi was also smiling. "I was expecting some sort of condescending remark. But this kid's got me thinking... About why I really want to be a hero..."
As Izuku returned to his class, he was given a slap on the back by Rikidou and a playful hair ruffle from Ben while Katsuki snorted.
"Should have just told 'em you were gonna win this thing. That's what I would've done."
"And that's why Izuku did the pledge and not you," Mayumi smirked at the explosive blonde.
"Alright, with that settled, we'll be having two events to start, both chosen at random!" Midnight explained. "The first event will start right away. Event 1 is..."
The slot started rolling, everyone watching with anticipation before it finished landing on...
"OBSTACLE COURSE RACE!" Midnight announced. "This is a full participation race, the course is treacherous and stretches four kilometers around the outside of the stadium. The only rule in this race is that you are forbidden from leaving the racetrack. Beyond that, do whatever you feel you have to to reach the end. Contestants, take your places!"
The red starting gate had the lights turned on, and the students all stood at the ready.
"Right now I can use 25% of One For All's full power. This is where I start putting that to use." Izuku noted in his head. "Here and now... This is where I make my debut. I've come a long way from the Invincible Boy of the Playground. Now, I'll show them an invincible Hero."
"I was lucky to be blessed with friends who believed in me despite being Quirkless. And I am lucky to be alive to pursue my dreams now." Mayumi thought. "I won't lag behind!"
"Hehehehe, we're gonna have some fun with this thing." Ben smirked in his head. "Let's get this party started already!"
"I'm gonna show them what I'm made of!" Katsuki thought anxiously. "You better give it your all, Deku! That's what I'm doing too!"
"Let's give it our all and show our true sportsman spirit." Morimoto thought. "And above all else, let the chips fall where they may."
"Alright, time to show off and stir up a little chaos!" Tsumi giggled in her head.
The lights counted down until they all went out.
"BEGIN!"
The next chapter will start the Obstacle Course Race in earnest!
-END OF CHAPTER BIOS-
[AKATANI MIKUMO]
Quirk: Quirk Crafter
Quirk Description: Quirk Crafter allows Akatani to steal, give away, sense, and fuse Quirks. He can also take the parts of one Quirk and fuse them to another as well as temporarily amplify the effects of another person's Quirk by touching them. By closing his left eye, he can visualize another person's Quirk through his right eye. He can also use the Quirks he has taken or fused.
[OCHAKO URARAKA]
Quirk: Zero Gravity
Quirk Description: Zero Gravity allows Ochako to remove the gravity of anything she touches, making it weightless. This allows her to lift things that would normally be too heavy for a normal person to lift simply by negating their gravity. She can undo the effect by pressing her fingers together. Going past her current weight limit makes her nauseous but has helped give her a tolerance for motion sickness as a result.
[MAYUMI GOTO]
Object of Power: Gyrfalcon
OoP Description: Gyrfalcon is an Object of Power that takes the form of mechanical prosthetic limbs, eyes, and ears. The prosthetics have perfectly bonded to her, allowing her to control them fluidly as if they were regular limbs. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Light, Mayumi also has a special 'Buster Arm' feature that allows her to gain new firearm-like weapons from her arms based on Emitter Quirks she has scanned. After scanning Izuku's Reactive Adaptation and Morimoto's Morph, Mayumi can now shapeshift the rest of her prosthetics based on Transformation and Mutant-type Quirks she has scanned.
[TENYA IIDA]
Quirk: Engine
Quirk Description: Engine is a hereditary Quirk that runs in the Iida Family. Tenya's engines are in his calves, which grants him superhuman running speeds as well as enhanced kicking power. Furthermore, he can adapt to the situation at hand by switching between gears, similar to a car engine.