Chapter 23: Obstacle Race: Commence!
The day of the Sports Festival had arrived, and with it a wave of excitement that had washed over Japan itself.
~"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!"~
Present Mic's voice blasted from every speaker, allowing the entirety of the U.A. campus hear him.
~"Welcome to the first day of the 2179 U.A. Sports Festival, my personal favourite, the First-Year Stage, all these hotshots ready to make their rocking debut, doesn't it just make you want to yell-"~
~"Hisashi, no!"~
~"YAAAAHHHOOOOOOOO!"~
The whole of the U.A. campus winced in unison, their ears ringing.
~"Goddamnit, Hisashi! I think you've deafened me."~
~"Sorry, Eraser."~
~"You should be."~
~"Oh, look, the mics are still on."~
~"Then turn them off, Hisashi."~
~"Sure, sure, sure. What was it again…"~
~"You don't know how to do it, do you?"~
~"I'm sure I'll remember any second now, Eraser."~
The students of 1-A could practically see Aizawa pinching the bridge of his nose through the speakers.
~"You have a radio show, Hisashi, this is literally your job."~
~"Ah-ha! Here it is, told you I'd remem-"~
A massive queue trailed away from the main U.A. entrance, now repaired from the break-in, redesigned with multiple layers, an air gap between each of them.
"Urgh, this is taking too long, all the good seats in the press pit will be taken." Groaned a reporter, the same one who triggered the U.A. Barrier on the morning of the day it was destroyed.
"Kisha, would you give it a rest already." The cameraman at her side rolled his eyes. "They've literally just been attacked by villains, I think it's pretty expected that security checks might be a bit more thorough."
"Tch, what would you know, Enzai-"
"Enzan."
"-you're just a cameraman, I'm a reporter, it's my job to understand all this, to see the patterns no-one else does."
Enzan gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'stuck-up bitch'.
Kisha didn't hear him, too busy raving about how covering the event would be her big break, putting all eyes on her.
Enzan looked behind them in the cue, seeing at least another hundred reporter-cameraman duos.
Yeah, sure, all the attention, cause there's absolutely no-one else that might be covering the Sports Festival.
Death Arms groaned as he rolled his neck, feeling the satisfying pop.
"That's gross, you know that, right?"
The hero looked across to Mt. Lady, before shrugging without any other answer.
Mt. Lady rolled her eyes, going to sigh, until something caught her eye.
"Ooh, a takoyaki stand!"
The pro heroine rushed off, leaving Death Arms and Kamui Woods standing alone.
"We're supposed to be patrolling." Kamui sighed as he stopped beside his colleague. "Not sampling the food court."
"One box of your finest takoyaki, please." Mt. Lady entirely ignored her fellow pro hero. "Hold the seaweed."
"Coming right up, sweetheart." The vendor started on her order. "That'll be 500 yen."
Mt. Lady shuffled nervously, pressing an arm against her side and pulling at her collar. "O-Oh, I appear to have forgotten my wallet."
Steam practically shot from the vendor's nose and ears. "IT'S ON THE HOUSE!"
"THANKS!"
Mt. Lady accepted the box from the red-faced vendor.
"Have you no shame?" Kamui questioned, placing a 500 yen coin on the stand counter. "I'll pay."
The vendor tried forcing the coin back to the pro hero. "No, no, it's on the house, like I sai-"
"I insist." Kamui left no room for negotiation, forcing the vendor to accept the coin, imprinted with the beaming face of All Might.
Sighing, Kamui looked over to Mt. Lady, the blonde already eating her takoyaki.
"Want one?" Mt. Lady offered a loaded stick to her wooden comrade.
Kamui frowned under his helmet. "I'll pass, I've had this guy's takoyaki before, it's not very good."
"I'm standing right here!" The vendor cried indignantly. "I'm new to the game and the last thing I need is a pro hero slagging the product!"
Kamui rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry, you know what, I'll just never mention you or your takoyaki."
"Whatever, just get lost, you useless wooden prick! Mt. Lady, would you like a top-up."
"I'd love one!"
Kamui walked back to Death Arms, shaking his head.
"She's a lost cause, kid." Death Arms said. "She's only in it for the fame."
Kamui sighed. "I'd get it if it was for the money, like you, especially since you're from the pre-All Might era, where being a hero was more low profile, like a police officer. But, I guess I just saw something more than a fame-hunter in her, a future that could have been."
"You can't change her." Death Arms replied. "All you can do is nudge her in the right direction."
"I guess."
"What are you two droning on about now, please say not some ancient hero Death-y McBigArms over here looked up to as a kid again." Mt. Lady had rejoined them, continuing to eat her way through the takoyaki.
Death Arms shrugged. "Nothing like, just saying how weird it is to have this many heroes on duty this year."
"Yeah, they've pulled in heroes from all around the country, I even saw a couple from America." Kamui nodded along.
Mt. Lady shrugged. "Cool, now catch up, slowpokes!"
The blonde hero took off, rushing to catch up where they should have been if she hadn't taken a detour.
Kamui and Death Arms hurried after her, the latter grumbling loudly under his breath, more incoherent noises than actual words.
Izuku stretched, warming up his muscles for the day, using it as a chance to calm his frantic mind, eyes closed, allowing the chatter of his classmates to wash over him.
"Aww, I wish we could use our costumes for this." Ashido whined.
Ojiro replied. "Well, since the other courses don't have costumes it wouldn't be very fair, would it?"
"Eh, says the guy with a gi for a hero costume." Ashido retorted, lacking any sort of heat or bite.
A voice suddenly spoke, close to Izuku's ear. "Objectively, Midoriya, I think I'm stronger than you."
Izuku gave out a cry of shock, overbalancing mid-stretch and falling backwards.
Checking himself over, Izuku looked up to see Todoroki looking over him.
"Todoroki, I didn't hear you come over."
The heterochromic boy remained impassive. "No. You didn't."
Izuku resisted the urge to sigh.
Way to make this even more awkward, Todoroki.
Izuku pushed himself to his feet, brushing off his gym uniform, long sleeve tee under it, protecting him from accidentally copying another quirk.
"I think I'm stronger than you." Todoroki repeated himself, the same dull look in his eyes. "More competent as well."
The green-haired boy took a few seconds to compose himself, Todoroki's words had reminded him a little too much of the one's his middle school classmates would spit at him.
Then, Bakugo's words came back to him.
"How could you possibly know he has daddy issues?"
Bakugo shrugged. "He's the son of Endeavor who never uses his fire powers, what else is it going to be?"
"Maybe." Izuku looked up, straight at Todoroki. "But I'm certainly more versatile than you. Like Mr. Aizawa said, no hero is a one trick pony."
Izuku saw a small twinge of something flit across Todoroki's mismatched eyes, before he clamped down on it.
He really does hate his fire, I just thought he was trying to prove he wasn't Endeavor.
Todoroki shrugged. "All Might has an investment in you, doesn't he? It doesn't matter, I'll beat you either way."
Kaminari whistled as he leaned back in his chair. "Cool, the strongest kid in the class is making a declaration of war!"
Bakugo rolled his eyes, jamming a foot behind the blond's chair, stopping him from overbalancing. "What am I, chopped fucking liver?!"
Kaminari shrugged. "Eh."
"Glad we had this talk." Bakugo looked Kaminari dead in the eyes, before removing his foot.
"What are, oh shit!" Kaminari fell backwards, slamming into the floor.
Kirishima grabbed Todoroki's shoulder. "Hey, not cool, man. We're about to go out-"
Todoroki pushed Kirishima's hand off with more force than strictly necessary. "I'm not here to make friends, so I don't really care."
Kirishima gave more shouts of protest as Todoroki turned to walk away.
"Todoroki."
The teen turned his head to look back.
"If you want to beat me, Todoroki." Izuku had one gloved fist clenched, a fire in his eyes. "Then you'll have to come at me with everything you've got!"
Uraraka bounced in her seat, poking Bakugo as she did. "This is like a fated battle between men!"
Bakugo rolled his eyes and sighed. "Everything is a fated battle between men to you."
The speaker in the prep room crackled into life.
~"Class 1-A, please report to your assigned entrance tunnel, that is Class 1-A, time to report to your entrance tunnel."~
Izuku and Todoroki's interaction was forgotten, the members of Class 1-A gathering up their belongings and heading towards the assembly point.
Momo excused herself from Ashido and Jiro, heading towards Todoroki as he stowed away his satchel in a locker.
"Todoroki."
The teen glanced over his shoulder at her. "Yes?"
"You didn't need to do that." Momo spoke. "Izuku doesn't need you-"
"It's Izuku now, is it?" Todoroki's mismatched eyes grew dark.
Momo stopped herself from blushing. "Izuku is my friend, and so are you, I don't want my friends fighting."
"I have to." Todoroki replied dully.
"Why?"
"You know why my father trained me, to surpass All Might." Todoroki answered, looking at Izuku. "Before I do that, I have to defeat his son."
Momo's eyes widened.
All Might is Izuku's father? He couldn't be…
But then...
"I see, I'm glad you are well, All Might."
All Might only smiled wider. "Thank you, but don't mind me, it was Young Midoriya you were here to see, after all. Just pretend like I'm not here."
Just after the USJ attack, Izuku and All Might had been placed together in the infirmary, everyone's parents had been called to collect them.
Except Izuku's.
"Oh."
~"Ladies, Gentlemen, Everybody, clap your hands, the First Year Stage is about to begin! Aren't you excited Eraserhead!"~
~"I'm wondering how I let you convince me into agreeing to this."~
~"Aw, you know you love me really!"~
~"Who told you that lie?"~
~"You wound me! Ha! Anyway, on with the show! It's the U.A. Sports Festival, the once-a-year event where our delightful students mercilessly beat each other into the ground."~
~"Hizashi."~
~"First up we have Class 1-A, of the Heroics Course, the badasses who've already faced down villains and told them where to go."~
Izuku swallowed down his fear, walking out into the stadium, at the front of his class, Momo at his side.
~"Next up, it's 1-B, you may not have heard much about them so far, but be ready to get a shock!"~
Another class walked out onto the grass, many of them throwing dirty looks at 1-A. Izuku quickly found Monoma, stood beside 1-B's class representative, Itsuka Kendo, and waved.
Monoma frowned.
~"And now it's the General Education Course, a hotbed for the great minds of the future and plenty of underground heroes, like you, Eraserhead?"
~"I make no comment."~
~"It's Classes 1-C, 1-D and 1-E!"~
More students flooded into the stadium, all converging towards the platform at the center, the lavender-haired boy amongst them.
~"It's the terrifying, ahem, I mean, wonderful little geniuses from the Support Course, the Costume Design class, 1-F, and the two Support Gear classes, 1-G and 1-H!"~
Three classes entered the stadium, amongst 1-H stood Mikumo and Hatsume, the former in just his gym outfit, the latter laden with gadgets.
~"Last, by no means the least, the Business Department, 1-I, 1-J and 1-K. These brainboxes might not be directly competing in the events today, but their analysis of the competitors' quirks and potential public image aren't to be sniffed at!"~
The students of U.A.'s first year assembled in front of the raised platform, on it stood Midnight, in her hero costume, a massive screen behind her, lit up with the words 'First-Year Stage'.
"Line up, children!" Midnight cracked her whip. "It's time to begin!"
~"For today's festivitives we're going to be having a double whammy! The R-Rated Heroine, Midnight, will be the judge and proctor of the events, while the presenter will be the one, the only… ALL MIGHT!"~
The crowd lost it, cheering madly, jumping up and down in their seats.
"IT'S TIME FOR THE FIRST EVENT! WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
Dressed in his Golden Age costume, All Might landed on the platform, flexing, a gust of wind blowing over Midnight and the students, almost knocking the former off her feet.
Izuku winced as the volume of the crowd somehow managed to increase, the fervor rising at the sight of the No.1 Hero, in the flesh.
Turning his head, Izuku looked up at the private box reserved for Pro Heroes, he didn't need an enhanced sight quirk to see Endeavor seething at the appearance of All Might.
The green-haired boy added his own cheers to those of the spectators and his classmates. Izuku was happy, and very excited, that All Might, or Toshinori as the man insisted he called him, was able to present the first-year stage as originally planned.
Over the last two weeks he and Izuku had trained together every single day, the No.1 Hero was now noticeably less gaunt, leading to his hero time increasing to four hours, where it had plateaued.
Izuku had also gained more muscle, as well as an extra inch or two in height, his new diet giving him the energy his previous one hadn't.
The cheering began to die out, All Might was making it clear with his body language that he was ready to talk.
"As Present Mic has said, welcome to the First-Year Stage of the U.A. Sports Festival. I must say what an honour it is to be presenting it, ah, the memories of my own Sports Festival are among my most treasured. The day I first said-"
"I AM HERE!" The crowd yelled back at him in unison.
All Might beamed. "That I did, and now it's the turn of the next class to follow in the footsteps of myself and my compatriots! But first, the athlete's pledge will be delivered by 1-A's Katsuki Bakugo!"
The No.1 Hero gestured to where Bakugo stood, among the students.
"Him?"
"Must be because he got top in the Entrance Exam."
"The Heroics Entrance Exam."
"Come on up, Young Bakugo!"
Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Tch, I'm coming."
The explosive teen slouched towards the platform, and stopping at the microphone.
Izuku braced himself for whatever inflammatory speech Bakugo would spout. He had lobbied for himself and Kendo to give speeches as well as Class Representatives. It had been shot down, citing that they'd have to let the other nine Class Representatives give speeches as well.
Bakugo opened his mouth, and spoke.
"All men are not created equal. This was the reality I learned about society at the young age of four."
Izuku froze in shock at Bakugo's words, the same one that started the suicide note the green-haired boy had written three years ago.
"I learned it when I got a quirk, and my best friend didn't. All he wanted to be was a hero. I got the perfect hero quirk, and he got nothing. He was robbed of his chance."
Bakugo paused, the entire stadium was silent, no-one spoke.
"Basically, the world doesn't owe any of us shi-, anything. If you want something, you'll have to fight for it yourself, tooth and nail."
Even All Might watched the blonde teen with confusion.
"So, if you wanna stop me from taking first place, you'll have to come at me with everything you've got!"
Bakugo's normal twisted smile returned for his last statement, instead of the outrage Izuku had expected his fellow first-years were yelling back at Bakugo, telling him they'd beat him.
"Tch, prove it then!"
With that, Bakugo turned and slouched his way back to the rest of 1-A, stopping in between Uraraka and Kirishima.
"That was so manly, Bakugo!" Kirishima prodded him with his elbow.
"Whatever, Weird Hair! And stop poking me!" Bakugo growled, lacking its normal heat.
"My name's Kirishima, you know it!" The red-haired teen protested.
"Of course he does." Uraraka beamed, nodding her head. "He's just too aloof to use them. Isn't that right, Kacchan?"
Bakugo's eye twitched, wisps of smoke trailing from his palm.
Izuku watched on, an old, very familiar and very traitorous feeling rose in his stomach.
Jealousy.
He tried to squash it down, like he'd done for so many years, watching everyone crowd round Kacchan, and he was all alone.
And it was happening all over again, all of a sudden Uraraka had gone from disliking Bakugo with the rest of the class, bar Kirishima, to being the best of friends.
She could even call him Kacchan.
Now he'd actually had a taste of what having friends was like, Izuku couldn't push feelings away, they were clawing their way up his throat, like bile.
His breathing was beginning to quicken.
"Izuku?"
A hand rested on Izuku's shoulder, snapping him back to reality.
The crowd was beginning to move back towards the edge of the stadium, All Might was pulling a pose on the stage, the words 'OBSTACLE COURSE RACE' emblazoned on the screen behind him.
"Izuku?"
He followed the voice and the hand of his shoulder to find Momo, looking at him with worried eyes.
"Are you okay?"
Izuku almost went to reply that he was fine, when he stopped.
He wasn't.
"I just got reminded of something." Izuku answered. "I got distracted."
Momo didn't break eye contact. "Is it because Uraraka and Bakugo are friendly now?"
"How did you?"
"I'm good at guessing, call it intuition." Momo crackled a small, weak smile.
A warm feeling flooded through Izuku.
Momo spoke. "You're worried that everyone else is going to become Bakugo's friend and leave you behind, aren't you?"
Izuku hesistanted, before nodding. "I know I shouldn't, I know it's petty-"
"I never had friends, not before U.A., only acquaintances." Momo interrupted. "I know how that feels, too be so alone, like you could vanish any second and no-one would even notice."
Izuku nodded again, too choked up to speak.
"Then how about we make a pact, to be each other's friend." Momo held out her hand.
Izuku took it. "That sounds nice."
"It does."
The two set off for the edge of the stadium with the rest of the stragglers, Momo filling Izuku in on what he'd missed, their hands still held in the others.
Neither of them noticed the mismatched eyes watching them.
Izuku lined up at the start line, towards the back of the pack due to his panic attack. Momo was at his side, clearly doing some kind of breathing exercise to calm herself.
The green-haired boy looked back at the course ahead of him, there was no sign of the three obstacles they'd have to face. He knew he couldn't afford to use One For All this early on, hopefully not until the third-stage, the amount of damage Hyper Regeneration could heal wasn't infinite, there'd come a point where he couldn't heal any more injuries.
So, I'll just have to use my other quirks until then.
Izuku took a deep breath, crouching forward, ready to run.
~DING!~
~"START!"~
Everyone surged towards, immediately forming a crush that swallowed Izuku and Momo up.
At the front of the pack Todoroki broke free, ice forming from his right foot every time it touched the ground, freezing his competitors' feet in place.
~"Wow, wow, wow! Only a few seconds in and we've already seen the first flashy move. That's Shoto Todoroki, quirk - Half-Hot, Half-Cold. Capable of producing fire from his left side and ice from his right. Watch out, this guy's got options!"~
Izuku reached into his quirkspace, grasping for the correct quirks.
B - Fire Breath. S - Slingshot.
Over the last two days Izuku had completely overhauled his quirkspace, giving each quirk a rating, S, A, B, C, D, E and U. S-class denoted the most useful and versatile quirks, such as One For All, A to C-class created a scale of usefulness. D-class was for quirks he'd merged with others, purely for his own record, he'd even made a spreadsheet.
E-class for quirks that were very niche in application or too lethal for common use, while finally, U-class, was for unusable quirks such as mutant type.
Fire spewed from Izuku's lips, aimed in the direction of his frozen legs, melting them free. Crouching down, Slingshot pushed down on the ground, creating a small crater as Izuku rocketed into the air, above the crowd.
But he wasn't alone.
"You ain't getting ahead that easy, Half-'n'-Half!"
Bakugo shot through the sky, twin explosions maintaining his trajectory. Momo was close to Izuku, a metal shaft created from her wrist propelling her, Kirishima had used his Hardening to break the ice, Uraraka floating through the air for a few seconds before cancelling it, her skin slightly green.
The rest of Class 1-A had broken through as well, from Aoyama firing his Naval Laser in short bursts, to Ashido gliding on her acid, to Tokoyami being carried along by Dark Shadow.
They weren't the only ones, a smattering of students from various classes, such as 1-B's Monoma, running on a series of hard air projections, or the lavender-haired boy from GenEd being carried aloft by others from the Costume Design Department.
Turning his attention back to himself, Izuku called on his Strength and Speed quirks, at a medium setting to conserve energy.
Hitting the ground with both legs, saved from shattering by Shock Absorption, Izuku pushed off, moving at a rapid pace akin to Iida's third gear, his strength cracking the ice underfoot.
~"This is getting crazy, Todoroki's breezing his way through in first right now, but 1-A's Bakugo and Midoriya aren't far behind!"~
Izuku risked a glance over, Bakugo was firing his explosions every time he landed, yelling every time he did.
~"Looks like these little superstars have reached the First Barrier, and it's a sc-sc-scary one! Robo-Inferno!"~
Turning his focus back to run, Izuku watched in a mix of surprise and horror as ten Zero-Pointers loomed above them.
But he wouldn't falter.
A wave of ice shot out from in front of Todoroki, freezing three of the Zero-Pointers in place, worryingly off balance.
"So this is what the others faced in the Entrance Exam, pathetic." Todoroki sneered at the frozen Zero-Pointers as he ran through their legs.
"Look, we can run under too!" A girl with elephant tusks pointed after Todoroki.
Words tumbled from Izuku's lips. "Don't! Todoroki's frozen them off balance, they'll fall any second!"
They immediately proved Izuku right, crashing down on Kirishima and Tetsutetsu.
Izuku's feet began to move, he couldn't leave Tetsutetsu under the metal, he would need medical attention immediately, he was sure Kirishima would have hardened himself before he was crushed.
"What the hell, that could have killed someone if they didn't have a quirk like mine." Kirishima yelled in anger and disbelief as he ripped through the metal like wet paper, his skin hardened by his quirk.
Izuku breathed a small sigh of relief, his classmate was safe, he could focus entirely on finding Tetsutetsu.
"What the hell, that could have killed someone if they didn't have a quirk like mine." Tetsutetsu yelled in anger and disbelief as he ripped through the metal like wet paper, his skin hardened metal.
Both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu glared at each other, non-verbally accusing the other of copying them.
~"Looks like that Todoroki really is ruthless, breaking through the First Barrier and hindering the competition in one swift move!"~
Izuku watched as Bakugo blasted into the sky, clearly aiming to go over rather than under, with Sero, Tokoyami and Aoyama in hot pursuit.
~"Bakugo is storming way over breach, making a pathway for other members of 1-A!"~
Glancing over at Momo, Izuku blushed and immediately looked away, the dark-haired girl had opened her gym jacket to create a cannon.
I need to get past these Zero-Pointers, under isn't an option thanks to Todoroki, and I don't have enough propulsion to go over.
Then, I'll just have to go through!
Izuku touched a hand to his clothes, closing his eyes.
C - Water Body. C - Liquidise. A - Hydrokinesis.
"Parallel Circuit: Body of Neptune!"
The green-haired teen's body rippled, transforming entirely into clear liquid, Water Body's ability. His clothes quickly followed, thanks to Liquidise, a quirk similar to Shigaraki's, except any affected person or object would be returned to normal when deactivated, unharmed.
Finally, Izuku called on Hydrokinesis, using it to pull the water that made up his body at high speed, passing through the Zero-Pointers, shorting two of them out on his way.
Breaking clear of the First Barrier, Izuku returned his body to normal, landing safely in forward roll, uninjured once again thanks to Shock Absorption, and back onto his feet.
Izuku ran, Speed carrying him along, slowly but surely catching up with Todoroki, Bakugo and the rest of the front runners.
~"Wahoo! Looks like Todoroki has reached the Second Barrier! The Fall, rock pillars connected by rope, you better keep your balance cause if you fall into the chasm below, that's disqualification!"~
Todoroki didn't even break his stride, ice forming under his right foot, creating a bridge to a pillar a quarter of the way across, his left foot melting it as soon as he crossed it.
Izuku paused, Body of Neptune seemed like the best option, he could bypass the pillars entirely.
C - Water Body. C - Liquidi-
"Hey, the sky is dayglow yellow."
Izuku turned his head to see the lavender-haired boy standing behind him.
"What?"
And Izuku knew no more.
Izuku's eyes fluttered open, the light-filled void of his quirkspace greeting him.
"Yo, kid, you're awake!"
The green-haired boy sat bolt upright, catching sight of a bald man in combat uniform, an ammo-filled bandolier across his chest, goggles resting on his forehead.
"You're like Seven, aren't you?"
The bald man laughed, a deep, rumbling sound. "So that's what she called herself, then. I guess you can call me Five then, just keep the theme consistent."
"What happened, the last two times Seven appeared to me was when I was overclocking Quirksmith." Izuku pushed himself to his feet.
"Use that flashy water quirk of yours to send me to the other side of the fall."
"That purple brat brainwashed you, must be his quirk, using you to get ahead in his game." Five shrugged. "You're completely under his control."
"Then, jump into the fall and disqualify yourself."
Panic rose inside Izuku at the lavender-haired boy's words, his Liquidise and Hydrokinesis quirks activating, shining bright inside his quirkspace.
"I can't fall here, I promised All Might I'd show the world I was here." Izuku's panic increased as he felt his quirks deactivate, the lavender-haired boy must have made it to the other side.
His body began to walk forwards, feet dragging slightly, the part of Izuku's mind still in the physical world could see his classmates passing him, Mikumo using his repulsor boots to leap between pillars, Hatsume had some kind of hoverboots, allowing her to glide.
Izuku's foot reached out, and met nothing.
He was falling.
~"What's going on, the former front runner, 1-A's Midoriya has willingly walked into the drop, he's only got a few seconds before he hits the net, if he does he'll be disqualified."~
"I can't fail!" Izuku was desperately trying to move his body, but it was in vain. "But I can't move! Or use any of my quirks!"
Five laughed again. "I said you were completely under his control, not me."
"What?"
The bald man grinned, holding his hand out and clicking his fingers.
Izuku's fingers snapped.
Pain shot through him and broke him from the lavender-haired boy's brainwashing.
Izuku felt himself reach the apex of his recoil from Five using One For All, still well below surface level.
Izuku was still falling.
But now, he knew what he could do.
S - Slingshot.
Pressing all five fingertips of his uninjured hand to his chest, Izuku felt himself freeze in place, head to the sky, back pointing in the direction of the start line.
Attaching all four strands of Slingshot's telekinetic power to the rock wall behind him, lower than himself, Izuku pulled.
S - Rockhard.
Izuku's back turned to granite, only seconds before it slammed into the wall, almost driving the air from his lungs.
I'll only have one shot at this, I don't have time to try again if I'm aiming for the top spot!
Izuku gritted his teeth, ready to release Slingshot.
~"Looks like Midoriya will be disqualified, what a shame, I was rooting for the little listener."~
~"Pfft, I wouldn't count him out just yet, that kid is pretty much a genius, he's not to be underestimated."~
Izuku felt his cheeks warm, that was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said about him.
~"Haha, you're going soft, Eraserhead!"~
~"No I'm not, I just know potential when I see it."~
The green-haired teen smiled, angling himself and releasing Slingshot.
~"Seems like Midnight is about to call it, Midoriya is-"~
Izuku rocketed out of the chasm, flying high into the air, his green haired pressed flat against his scalp.
~"Holy hell, did someone fire that kid out of a cannon, looks like Midoriya is safe from disqualification, this kid's going to give me a heart attack at this rate!"~
~"You and me both, damn problem child, but he's in last place now, he'll have a hell of a time to catch back up."~
Izuku could hear the warmth in his teacher's voice, but he had more pressing matters to focus on.
Landing.
Or in this case, not.
E - Cluck Cluck. A - Wind Generation.
Cluck Cluck, one quirk Izuku had deemed largely limited in application, now he could see he was wrong.
Spreading his arms out, Izuku's body transformed, taking on the appearance of a chicken, wings replacing his arms. The downside of this quirk was exactly that, the appearance of a chicken, not the abilities.
But it would allow him to glide, with Wind Generation propelling him from his feet.
~"Todoroki and Bakugo are well underway with the third barrier, the Minefield. Watch your step, or you'll get blown sky high!"~
~"The mines are non-lethal, but they will sting if you're not careful."~
~"Yep, that they are, if you look carefully you can see where they are!"~
Izuku flared the tornadoes at his feet, pushing himself along faster. This obstacle was designed to slow the front runners down, to give those further back to catch up in dramatic style.
And he was going to do just that.
Deactivating Cluck Cluck and Wind Generation as he glided close to the ground, Izuku hit it running, a moderate boost from Speed allowing him to push past many of his competitors, moving up to around 180th place by Izuku's quick math.
~"Woah, Todoroki and Bakugo are still neck and neck as they exit the minefield, there's only fifty meters to the finish line, the two of them are fighting even as they run!"~
Izuku took a deep breath.
Conserving energy doesn't matter anymore, normally around the top 40 move on to the next round, if I want to reach that I'll have to go all out!
One For All…
"JET SET RUN!"
Green lightning surged around Izuku as he pulled on the full x9.2 multiplier of Speed, and applied One For All to the quirk.
His legs turned to a blur, passing through the minefield in less than a second, the mines he carelessly stepped on detonating long after he'd passed them.
Izuku gave one final push, his surroundings blurring as he reached the tunnel at the end, just as Todoroki and Bakugo crossed the finish line.
~"Second Place, it's Todo-, wait, it's Midoriya, when did he get there!"~
Izuku lost his footing as he slowed, bouncing across the grass as he slowly came to a halt, looking up at the cloudless sky above.
It's not first place, but I made it.
Izuku smiled.
Chapter 24: Call The Cavalry
Toshinori watched his protege lying on the grass, his chest heaving.
He was in the stands, with the Management Students, in his true form, conserving energy while Kayama refereed the first event.
Young Midoriya, Izuku, you had me worried there for a second. That speed, just for a millisecond, you surpassed my prime speed.
Toshinori smiled, brimming with pride, his gaze fond.
Ah, emotions, a luxury I can afford in this form.
In this form Toshinori didn't have to force himself to smile, but right now, he couldn't help but.
"Midoriya's stock is sure to shoot up."
Toshinori tilted his head, the management students were already analysing the marketability of the competitors.
"Are you sure, if anything, he's only going to be confusing pro heroes, and the spectators." Another student replied. "His quirk, first some kind of super-jump, then water transformation, then gravity manipulation and finally hyper-speed. That's four separate quirks. Oh yeah, and he turned into a chicken, with tornadoes for feet."
"Perhaps it's one quirk, he could have a gravity alteration quirk, the jump, the slingshot in the fall, the speed, it explains them." A third student chimed in.
"Then how do you explain the water thing he did at the first barrier?" The second student argued. "Not to mention the chicken thing."
"Then what about some matter manipulation quirk?"
"That makes less sense!"
"But the chicken-"
"I don't care about the chicken!"
"Damn, all this talk about chickens is making me hungry."
"SHUT UP!"
Toshinori stood, shaking his head with a smirk.
It was time for him to return.
He turned, heading back up to the teachers lounge, where he could transform and change without fear of his true form being discovered.
Toshinori stopped, turning his head to look at the three management students still debating Izuku's quirk. "Have you perhaps thought those four instances may be separate quirks?"
The No.1 Hero continued on, allowing the students to think over his advice.
"So a copy-type quirk then? Touch-based or vicinity-based"
"No, no, that teacher didn't mean a copy quirk, he was clearly suggesting some kind of adaptable quirk, changing to fit the needs of the holder."
Toshinori shook his head minutely.
I don't wish to play favourites, but, Young Izuku, your ability for analysis is far greater.
Izuku laid on the grass, his breath slowly returning to normal, his Speed quirk exhausted, likely for the rest of the day.
"Are you okay, Midoriya, kero?"
The green-haired boy raised his head to see Tsuyu and Mineta stood over him, Momo off to one side.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit winded."
Tsuyu nodded. "That's good."
Momo smiled at him, Izuku felt something flutter in his stomach.
"Yeah, if anyone from 1-A is gonna win it's gotta be you, with that crazy punch you did at the USJ." Mineta added.
Izuku shook his head. "N-No, it could be any of us, you as well. Your quirk's pretty versatile."
Mineta grumbled under his breath, clearly not convinced.
"Do not put yourself down, Mineta, when it comes to containment you have us all beat, even Sero, as your spheres are indestructible." Momo smiled at the purple-sphered boy.
Mineta shrugged.
"W-Where did you guys come?" Izuku asked, with a nervous smile, hoping it wouldn't come across as bragging.
"I was sixteen, Mineta was seventeenth." Tsuyu answered.
"Huh, you guys were one after each other."
Mineta nodded, regaining some of his usual cheer. "Yea, yea. We worked together, I stuck us back-to-back using my balls-"
"Spheres, kero."
"-and then Tsu used her froggy abilities to speed through the course while I threw more of my balls-"
"Still spheres, Min."
"-at other people, not any of us 1-Aers, though."
Izuku looked to Momo, mouthing at her.
Min?
Momo looked nonplussed, shrugging minutely.
Izuku took a deep breath, and pushed himself to his feet.
Just in time to see that all eyes were on him.
Later, Izuku would insist he didn't release a cry of shock and jump three feet into the air.
He had.
Calming slightly, Izuku saw predatory looks from his fellow competitors, Bakugo's attempt at feigning disinterest, Todoroki's freezing glare.
Momo's smile.
"Izuku?"
The green-haired boy realised he'd been staring, turning bright red and looking away.
"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable-"
"You didn't."
The words seemed to tumble out of Momo's mouth before she could think about them, a far cry from her usual composure.
Momo stared at the green-haired boy, a fluttering in her stomach.
This feeling, it's…
Oh my, I have a crush on Izuku.
"It was actually kind of nice." Momo smiled again, unable to stop herself from blushing at her realisation.
Izuku's own blush somehow managed to deepen, the fluttering in his chest increasing to a fever pitch.
This feeling, it's…
Oh god, I have a crush on Momo.
Izuku felt his heartbeat quicken, his palms so slick with sweat he was sure if he released an explosion he would blow himself up as well.
I just have to tell her, right? Yeah, I'll do it now!
"I-"
What if she rejects me?
Then at least you tried, kid.
Five?
In the flesh, or I guess vestige.
You're still here?
I mean, I guess so kid. By the way, you're keeping that lovely lady waiting.
You're right.
Izuku steeled himself. "Momo, I lik-"
"NEVER FEAR! I AM HERE, TO ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST EVENT!"
All Might landed on the platform, striking a pose as he did.
"HA-HA!"
The first-year students broke off their conversations, turning their attention to the No.1 Hero.
Izuku silently cursed his luck.
There's always another time, kid.
Izuku mentally shrugged.
I guess. Thanks, Five.
Any time, kid.
"IN FIRST PLACE, AS I KNOW PRESENT MIC MADE YOU ALL AWARE, IS 1-A KATSUKI BAKUGO!"
All Might's booming voice filled the stadium, drowning out a considerable amount of cheers and the very audible grinding of Endeavor's teeth.
The screen behind All Might changed to show a headshot of Bakugo, a large number one next to it.
"NEXT, WITH A SHOCKING, METEORIC RISE FROM 167TH PLACE AT THE LAST SECOND, IT'S IZUKU MIDORIYA, ALSO FROM 1-A."
More cheers, slightly less than those for Bakugo, not that Izuku noticed.
Five did.
"ROUNDING OUT 1-A DOMINATION OF THE PODIUM, IT'S SHOTO TODOROKI IN THIRD PLACE!"
Far more cheers sounded for Todoroki than they had for either Bakugo or himself.
It made sense, after all, as the son of Endeavor, Todoroki was far more of a known value.
"FOLLOWING HIM IS 1-B'S IBARA SHIOZAKI IN FOURTH, THEN JUZO HONENUKI, ALSO FROM 1-B!"
A girl with vines for hair and boy with a skull-like face waved to the crowd.
"IN SIXTH, ANOTHER UPSET, FROM THE SUPPORT COURSE, IT'S 1-H'S MIKUMO AKATANI! FOLLOWED BY 1-A'S MOMO YAOYOROZU IN SEVENTH!"
In a surprising show of confidence, Mikumo ignored the crowd, his jaw set, while Momo nodded once, acknowledging the crowd's cheers with poise.
"SUCH REFINED RESPONSES! IN EIGHTH AND NINTH, IT'S A 1-A SWEEP, FIRST TENYA IIDA, THEN IT'S FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI!"
Iida and Todoroki both acknowledged the crowd with a nod of their heads, similar to Momo. However, Dark Shadow's enthusiastic waving undercut Tokoyami's aura of mystery somewhat.
"COMPLETING OUR TOP TEN, IT'S NEITO MONOMA, FROM 1-B!"
Monoma looked up at the crowds, a smug smirk on his face.
"AND NOW, THE OTHER 54 STUDENTS WHO ALSO MADE IT THROUGH TO THE SECOND EVENT!" All Might have a beaming smile. "FEAR NOT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED THERE IS STILL A HOST OF ACTIVITIES LINED UP FOR YOU!"
Izuku frowned.
Sixty-four students made it to the second event, that's higher than I ever seen or heard of before!
The screen changed again, displaying the results from eleventh to sixty-four.
Mei Hatsume Hanta Sero Eijiro Kirishima Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu Mashirao Ojiro Tsuyu Asui Minoru Mineta Yosetsu Awase Mezo Shoji Rikido Sato Isshoni Reimitsu Hakeru Roenegi Ochako Uraraka Mina Ashido Koji Koda Kyoka Jiro Sen Kaibara Kosei Tsuburaba Denki Kaminari Kojiro Bondo Reiko Yanagi Hitoshi Shinso Renn Takarakuji Hikaru Chikyu Itsuka Kendo Jurota Shishida Shihai Kuroiro Yui Kodai Hiryu Rin Nirengeki Shoda Kinoko Komori Togaru Kamakiri Pony Tsunotori Toru Hagakure Setsuna Tokage Manga Fukidashi Yuga Aoyama Hineru Hagane Kamu Hitokuchi Reza Natsuka Kaze Tsunzaku Taro Yamada Nento Haishiro Aibori Kiba Hazumi Hazumu Ashi Mokusei Illia Armstrong Rensa Kinzoku Mina Sandoitsu Yaro Tamada Kaizan Kogo Keibi Hikari Denka Raimei Akeru UchuA mixture of cheers, groans and shouts from Izuku's year group reached his ears.
"NOW." Boomed All Might. "THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT MADE IT THROUGH TO THE SECOND ROUND SHOULD DEPART TO THE VIEWING AREA, ONE HAS BEEN ASSIGNED FOR EACH CLASS."
Murmurs rose from the students, those who hadn't made it into the second event beginning to shuffle towards the stands, when a conversation caught Izuku's attention.
"How the hell did that Akatani get sixth? I heard he was quirkless, guess it was just a rumor after all."
Izuku turned his head to see the speaker was a boy with shoulder length grey hair, a girl with a visor over her eyes, a horizontal bar glowing with blue light, standing next to him.
"Nah, I went to middle school with him, the shitstain is totally quirkless, convinced he's gonna be a hero. Probably had to play the whole crippled and disabled card just to get in."
To his credit the grey-haired boy looked disgusted by the vitriol the visor girl was spewing.
"Just because he's quirkless doesn't mean he's disabled!" The grey-haired boy barked. "How could you say such a thing?"
"You must be one of those QJWs, it must make you so popular to pretend not to be repulsed by those fucking retar-"
A hand rested on the visor girl's shoulder.
She jumped, and turned around to see Midnight stood behind her. With the dark look on her face and the whip in her hand she looked downright terrifying.
Midnight spoke quietly, but yet the students still heard every word she said.
"Natsuka, I won't stop you from competing, but once the Sports Festival is over we will be discussing your continued attendance at U.A., or lack thereof."
A chill ran down Natsuka's spine, barely able to stop herself from vomiting at the thought of being expelled from U.A., getting axed by such a prestigious school was like the black spot of academics.
"Oi, you can't talk to Reza like that!" A boy with orange hair barged his way towards where Natsuka and Midnight stood. "She actually deserves to be here instead of that worthless freak!"
Izuku hadn't felt himself move towards the orange-haired boy, fists clenched, until Momo's hand caught his wrist.
He calmed, he knew she was right, he just had to let Midnight handle it. She was the teacher after all.
His brain kindly reminded Izuku that every teacher he'd had before U.A. hadn't handled it.
They'd encouraged it.
"Enough, Haishiro, you're already on your final warning as it is." Midnight flared down at the two students, putting the metaphorical fear of god into them.
All Might coughed awkwardly, an attempt to break the tension.
It didn't work.
"So, moving on then, I suppose." All Might spoke lamely, before regaining his usual composure. "NEXT UP, THE SECOND EVENT OF THIS YEAR'S FIRST YEAR SPORTS FESTIVAL WILL BE-"
The screen showed an ever changing series of options, but suddenly stopping.
"-A CAVALRY BATTLE! WITH A TWIST!"
All Might struck a pose.
"HA-HA! AS EVER, THE SECOND EVENT WILL BE A TEAM BASED EXERCISE, IN GROUPS OF TWO, THREE OR FOUR THE STUDENTS WILL FORM THEMSELVES."
Murmurs spread through both the competitors and spectators.
"EVERY TEAM WILL HAVE A HEADBAND, TO BE WORN ANYWHERE ABOVE THE NECK, WITH THE POINTS VALUE BASED ON YOUR POSITION IN THE FIRST EVENT."
"AS SUCH, 64TH PLACE IS ASSIGNED 5 POINTS, 63TH HAS 10, 62TH HAS 15, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH UNTIL FIRST PLACE, THE TWIST IS, IT'S WORTH TEN MILLION POINTS."
Hungry eyes all turned to look at Bakugo, eying him up, evaluating him.
The blond-haired boy ignored the attention.
"ADDITIONAL RULES INCLUDE NO MOVES DELIBERATELY INTENDED TO KNOCK THE RIDER OR ONE OF THE HORSES DOWN AND RIDER'S FEET ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH THE GROUND!"
"YOU HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES TO FORM TEAMS AND STRATEGISE, BEGIN!"
Almost instantly three crowds formed, the largest around Bakugo, not surprising since he'd placed first, another around Todoroki, again not surprising since he was the son of the No.2 Hero.
To Izuku's horror, the last, and smallest, crowd was surrounding him.
"W-Why are you all here?" Izuku managed to choke out.
"Er, we wanna be on your team?" Mineta looked at the green-haired boy with confusion, standing with more members of 1-A.
Tsuyu, Hagakure, Shoji, Jiro, Sato, Koda and Ojiro to be exact.
Mikumo as well, his armor in storage mode next to him.
The rest of the crowd was made up of mainly GenEd students, as well as a couple from 1-B, Izuku was pretty sure their names were Rin and Shishido.
Looking to one side, Izuku saw the empty space where Momo had been standing.
"Oh."
Jiro rolled her eyes. "So, who are you going to pick?"
Izuku forced himself to concentrate. "R-Right, what's everyone's name and quirk, if y-you have one, I mean, i-it's totally fine if you don't, I didn't-"
"Izuku, it's fine." The black-haired boy shrugged. "Mikumo Akatani, Quirkless."
"Toru Hagakure, Invisibility!" The transparent girl chimed in. "It's pretty much as it sounds!"
The rest of the 1-A students introduced themselves, followed by the 1-B students, Hiryu Rin, Scales and Jurota Shishida, Beast.
The attention turned towards a girl with long silvery-white hair and a nervous expression, her violet eyes large and round.
"R-Right, I-I'm Isshoni Reimitsu, and, er, my quirk is Two Become One, I basically turn into a ghost and possess others."
Izuku's lit up with excitement at such an unusual quirk.
Reimitsu only looked more terrified than before.
"Can you possess anyone, or does it have to be willing? Does possession alter or empower their quirk in any way? If so, what effect does it have on people without a quirk or with an invisible quirk?"
Reimitsu stared at the green-haired boy with wide eyes, frozen.
"I think you broke her. She can possess unwilling people, but they can force her out if they try hard enough, and yeah, she enhances the possessee's quirk, dunno about what happens for quirkless people."
A dark-haired boy gently elbowed Reimitsu, his eyes glowing orange, making the girl snap out her trance and nod.
"I'm Hakeru Roenegi, by the way." The orange-eyed boy gave a small wave. "Quirk's Drain Vitailty, does what it says on the tin, I can make anyone I want in a five meter radius really tired, gives me the energy instead."
A muscular, blonde-haired girl next to Roenegi and Reimitsu struck a pose. "I'm Illia Armstrong! The Stretch-Body Hero-To-Be! Choose me, for I possess the technique that's been passed down in my family for generations!"
Awkward silence reigned.
A brown-haired boy cleared his throat. "Um, yeah, I'm Renn Takarakuji, quirk's Joker."
"Joker?" Jiro queried. "Can you turn into a clown or something?"
Takarakuji shook his head. "Nah, nothing like that, at least not yet I guess. Joker's random quirk, everyday I have a different quirk, the more common a quirk, the higher the chance of getting it I have, today I've got Giant Feet, a transformation-type, I can grow my feet tenfold."
Rin tilted his head. "That sound kinda like Kendo's quirk, except with your feet instead of hands, cool!"
Takarakuji shrugged. "I won't keep though and I mainly get pretty useless quirks, yesterday was Cat Whiskers. I tried out for the Hero Course, but, er, on the day I woke up quirkless."
"So some days you just don't get a quirk?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah, every five days or so."
Izuku frowned. "Every five days? Huh, your chance of gaining a quirk must be based in the population of Japan, twenty percent of people are quirkless, right?"
"Huh, I guess you're right." Takarakuji nodded his head. "Anyways, I've got a pretty good handle on this quirk I've got today, it's the first time I've had it, but Hikaru used his quirk on me so I know all about it."
All eyes turned to a white-haired boy stood next to Takarakuji, his eyes closed, he looked like he was asleep standing up.
"Hikaru?"
The boy opened his eyes. "Right, my name is Hikaru, just Hikaru, my quirk is Gaia's Light. It allows me to access a metaphysical library of all human knowledge that I can search using three keywords. Due to the nature of my quirk I can also channel my mind into another's body, I cannot possess then but I can transfer data directly into their mind, such as more efficient methods of using their quirks."
Everyone looked in disbelief at the veritable thesis Hikaru had just given on his quirk, except Izuku, who was bouncing up and down on his heels in excitement.
"That's an awesome quirk!" Izuku beamed.
Hikaru shrugged. "Perhaps, but it lacks any kind of combative element, I failed to receive enough rescue points from advising my fellow examinees to make it into the hero course, something I hope to rectify today."
Izuku nodded. "Well, good luck."
The final three students introduced themselves. Kamu Hitokuchi, his quirk was Maw, which allowed him to unhinge his jaw and bite through pretty much anything. Kaze Tsunzaku, her quirk was Air Eruption, which allowed her to fire weak pulses of air from her palms and the bottoms of her feet.
Rensa Kinzoku, her quirk was Chains, a Common-class, the same as one Izuku had copied from a USJ villain, allowing the holder to fire chains from their wrists, using the iron in their own body to make them.
At that moment both Ashido and Sero ran up to join them.
"Bakugo turned us down so we thought we see if you wanted us of your team, Midori!"
Hagakure bounced on the balls of her feet. "So, who are you gonna pick?"
Izuku paused, before a smile slowly crept on to his lips. "I have an idea."
Hagakure backed away slightly. "Oh no, that's the same smile that Mikumo does before one of his inventions blows up."
"TAKE YOUR POSITIONS, MY YOUNG FLEDGLINGS!"
All Might's voice filled the stadium, the crowd matching his volume with their cheers.
Izuku turned the headband over and raised it to his forehead, securing it in place with the velcro.
935 Points.
"You ready?"
The green-haired boy turned to look at Mikumo, decked out in his SHTR Armor, with the Booster Legs, nearly identical to the ones that Hatsume had used in the first event, and his default, strength boosting, gauntlets.
"Yeah, let's rock this, Midotani!" Hagakure struck a pose, also wearing a set of Booster Legs.
Reimitsu shuffled nervously.
"GET READY!"
Izuku nodded his head. "Right, let's do this."
Reimitsu uncertainty suddenly fell away, her body taking on the appearance of ink, before it faded away into a smudge.
Izuku took a deep breath as he felt a warm wave pass through his body, like turning the shower on a cold winter's morning.
And then it was gone.
Izuku blinked, he was in his quirkspace again, but this time, instead of Seven or Five, Reimitsu was standing in it, looking far calmer than he'd seen her in the fifteen minutes of knowing her.
"Wow, I've never seen a void that was actually black before, grey or silver, but never black." Reimitsu looked around in awe. "So many quirks."
Izuku frowned slightly. "I-If you don't mind me asking, you don't seem as…"
"As scared of my own shadow as before?" Reimitsu turned to face Izuku.
Pausing, Izuku settled on just nodding.
"It's because of my quirk, Two Becomes One, it's always active." Reimitsu shrugged. "If I'm not consciously focusing on keeping my body together I'll dissolve and possess the nearest person, and if they force me out the next nearest person, ad infinitum."
"That sounds tough."
"It is." Reimitsu sighed. "I have to wear a set of special bracelets that stop me from smudging just to sleep. I used to use them all the time, but my doctor decided I was using them as a crutch and that I just needed to 'toughen up and get a hold on my quirk'."
"He sounds awful."
"Absolutely, utter creep, especially with those goggles, you never know where he's looking." Reimitsu shivered at the thought.
Silence fell for a few seconds.
Izuku spoke. "So, are you possessing my body now?"
Reimitsu shook her head. "Not yet, I have to go through there."
Izuku turned, following where Reimitsu pointed, a white doorway sat in contrast to the black void.
"Just walk through it?"
"Pretty much, except I usually have to get past a less than willing possessee." Reimitsu answered. "I've never actually possessed someone willing before, but the longest I've managed to hold someone is about seven minutes."
Izuku nodded in understanding, before stepping aside. "Hm, you'll probably be able to hold on to me longer since I'm willing, though probably not infinitely, all quirks have their limits."
Reimitsu nodded, striding forward and through the doorway as the quirkspace dissolved in the same manner the white-haired had when she used her quirk.
Izuku finished blinking, his eyes shining violet.
"Woah!" Hagakure exclaimed. "Glowy eyes, cool!"
"Reimitsu?" Mikumo questioned. "Is that you?"
"What, it's me. Izuku."
Both Hagakure and Mikumo jumped as Izuku's voice came out of his mouth.
"Wait, Izuku? You're here too?"
Now Izuku's mouth was speaking in what was clearly Reimitsu's voice.
"Y-Yeah, it's strange, it feels like I'm not in control of my body, but I kinda am at the same time." Izuku spoke, waving his arm.
"This has never happened before." Reimitsu admitted. "It must be because it's willing."
"Two Becomes One!" Izuku exclaimed. "It's not about you possessing someone, it's about sharing two minds sharing control of one body!"
Reimitsu blinked Izuku's eyes, his mouth slightly hanging in shock. "I use my quirk on you and in like two minutes you've managed to completely redefine it."
"Y-Yeah, I guess."
"He has a habit of doing that." Mikumo shrugged, Hagakure nodding in agreement.
"MOUNT UP!"
Around the cavalry area each team began to form their horses and riders.
"The analysis will have to wait." Reimitsu stated resolutely. "We have competition to crush."
Hagkure leaned over to Mikumo, whispering. "Is it just me or has Reimitsu got really intense all of a sudden?"
Mikumo shrugged.
Team Midoriya quickly formed up, Hagakure taking the spot of front horse, so she could use her refraction move to blind other teams, while Mikumo went at the back, his suit would propel the hovering team along.
Finally, the amalgam of Izuku and Reimitsu took up the position of rider, their arms free to use Izuku's quirk, Reimitsu's providing him with a power boost.
But they weren't alone.
Instead of merely rejecting those he didn't want on his team, Izuku had matched them together into their optimal formations.
Team Tokoyami, with Takarakuji as the rear horse, Illia, as she'd insisted on being called, as the front horse, and Hikaru unconscious, stored inside Dark Shadow, free to use his quirk on whichever teammate needed his help.
Team Ashido, with Sato as front horse, both his quirk and size providing defensive and offensive power, and Ojiro and Sero as rear horses, their high mobility and short-range attack power covering Ashido's back.
Team Rin, with both Koda and Shishida as front horses, practically making them a siege weapon, and Jiro as the rear horse, her ear jacks ready to snatch headbands on the way through.
Team Roenegi, with Hitokuchi as front horse, his mouth able to bite or consume most physical attacks, such as Todoroki's ice, while Tsunzaku and Kinzoku were rear horses, the former using Air Eruption to blow opponents away, the latter with Chains to bind them.
Izuku raised his head, staring directly at Team Bakugo, Uraraka and Hatsume as his rear horses, both wearing Booster Legs, and Kirishima as his front horse.
"Reimitsu's right, we're going to crush this."
"START!"
Chaos descended, with almost every team going straight for Bakugo and the ten million point headband.
Well, the ten million, seven hundred and twenty point headband.
But with a number that large, no one really cared.
They were all aiming to steal it.
Except Team Midoriya, they had a different goal. To defend their own headband, which alone probably had enough points for them to progress to the final round, and then snatch the ten million points from whoever had it at the last second.
Team Ashido went for them first, Sero's tape shooting towards the headband secured around Izuku's forehead.
His mouth opened, orange fire spewing from it and burning Sero's tape.
Using his other hand, the dark-haired boy ripped his tape before the fire could spread back down to him.
"Those flames, they were hotter than normal, I can't only make them red!"
"It's the power boost from my quirk." Remitsu spoke with Izuku's mouth. "Although, it's a bit more potent than normal, must be because you're willing."
A wave of acid shot at Team Midoriya, fired from Ashido's arm.
Within Izuku's quirkspace Wind Generation lit up, a tornado firing from the green-haired boy's arm, scattering the acid and blowing it away.
Two more teams, one 1-B, the other GenEd, started to bear down.
"Mikumo, we need a speedy exit!" Izuku called.
"On it. ASPECT, initiate hover mode and backburner."
"As you wish, Pilot Yamikuro."
Both Mikumo and Hagakure's hover boots burst into life, lifting them half a foot off the ground as a metal plate retracted to reveal a large repulsor in the back of Mikumo's chest armor.
The repulsor shone orange as the team was rocketed forwards, vacating the area just as the 1-B team attacked.
"Damn it." Ashido sighed. "It wasn't the ten million, but Midori's headband still would have been a juicy catch!"
"I'll have to settle for yours then!"
Roots burst from the ground, wrapping around Sato, Sero and Ojiro's legs, trapping them in place.
A hand pulled the headband from Ashido.
The GenEd came to a halt, their rider smirking at the hero course students.
"To think you losers got into the hero course." The rider sneered, turning over the headband. "Nine four five, now that is a juicy catch, even more than greenie's."
Ashido stared at the rider in horror, it was like looking in a funhouse mirror.
Her face looked almost the same, purple instead of pink, her hair longer, braided down her back. Her eyes, the scelera black, the irises red.
"Mina Sandoitsu, pleased to meet you." The girl smiled. "I guess you could call me a better version of yourself."
Ashido bristled, forming acid along her arm and flicking it at her near-doppleganger.
Sandoitsu giggled, with a swish of her wrist the acid diverted its path, hitting the ground. "How pathetic. Is that really the best you can do?"
"Acid control! That must be her quirk!" Ojiro called. "Ashido, if you don't use your quirk, there's nothing she can control."
"Wrong!" Sandoitsu exclaimed, crossing her arms in the shape of an X. "Acid Control is just a taste of what I can do."
Holding out her hand, Sandoitsu created acid from her palm, before it rose into the air and took the form of a sphere, solidifying.
"I told you, A~shi~do." Sandoitsu smirked. "I'm the better version of you, even my quirk is more advanced than yours. Just acid secretion? How paltry."
Ashido growled, balling her fist.
Hizashi leant forwards in his chair.
"Oi, oi, oi! What's this? Looks like Team Sandoitsu's snagged Team Ashido's headband, Sandoitsu appears to be gloating."
Shota frowned, focusing his eyes on the screen, the feed showing Sandotisu manipulating the acid ball in multiple different shapes with her quirk.
He frowned, he recognised the girl, from the hero course exam test, she'd failed, just a few points shy, and ended up in GenEd.
But.
Back then, her quirk had been the same as Ashido's. Acid secretion, nothing more.
"Whoa, look at all these acid abilities this girl's showing, her quirk description I've got here really fails to describe it!" Hizashi hollered, a beaming smile on his face.
On the screen Sandoitsu spun Ashido's headband around her finger, faking a yawn.
Shota's eyes widened.
Her tongue was black.
Reaching out, Shota clicked the microphones off.
"Hey, what's that for?" Hizashi complained.
"Don't let on that I've gone." Shota stood.
With that, the underground hero was gone, the door slamming behind him.
Hizashi sighed. "I hate when he just runs off like this."
Shota sprinted down the corridor, heading towards the U.A. faculty box when Nedzu was.
Trigger.
He'd thought the drug was gone for good.
Clearly not.
Shota had to make it to Nedzu, only he had the authority to end the cavalry battle.
That had been decided as a part of the increased security. Shota couldn't ring the principal either, the hyper-intelligent rodent wouldn't be able to confirm it accept his words without his presence, and the general alarm would create too much chaos.
If he didn't do this carefully, without a blind panic, then someone was going to get hurt, that girl might be in control of herself at the moment, but it wasn't going to stay that way.
With Trigger the effects of the drug got more potent as the amount left in the body reduced, culminating a final burst of power that could prove highly lethal, both to bystanders and the user.
"Help, my sister, she's not breathing!"
Shota mentally cursed, he didn't have time for it, but he couldn't ignore it.
Bursting into the room, Shota found a young boy, around eight, holding a worryingly limp girl, a few years younger than him.
The underground hero rushed towards them, when he felt a sudden wave of something sickening wash over him.
Activating his quirk on the young boy and girl, Shota watched they dissolved into sludge-like liquid and then to nothing.
The door slammed shut, sealing Shota in the windowless room.
Charging at the door, Shota smashed into it, hoping to break it open.
He bounced off, it was reinforced, no doubt as a part of the increased security since the USJ attack.
"You stay in there, Eraserhead." A teenager's voice, male, echoed through the door. "I'll let you out once the second event is over, once the others have taken the detox drug, there'll be no sign of Trigger left in their systems."
The others. Their.
Shota repressed the urge to punch a wall.
There was more than one ticking time bomb in the stadium.
And there was nothing he could do about it.