Chapter Text
The two weeks of preparation went by in a flash. Izuku wasn't sure what the rest of the class did, but he spent his time building cardio, training his dodging skills with some robots throwing rubber balls at him, and refining his notes on heroes in his journal. He considered getting in some baton practice, but decided that without an actual opponent, that would be minimally helpful at best. All too soon, the day of the sports festival was upon them.
“You're going to do great, honey,” Inko told him on his way out the door that morning.
“Thanks Mom, love you.”
“I love you too, and I'll be recording the whole thing in HD.”
“Just remember,” he said with a hug. “I couldn't have done this without you. Today is going to be a victory for quirkless everywhere, no matter where I place.”
With that, he opened the door and, with a wave, set off for school.
The place was packed as Izuku made his way past the front gate. He snuck past the crowd of reporters, sticking to the edge walls as he snaked his way toward the stadium. Eventually, he made it to the changing rooms.
“Man, it's crazy out there,” Sutore said as he pulled up next to Izuku.
“Yeah, can't be surprised about that. We've overtaken the Olympics, after all.”
As he spoke, Izuku pulled off his school uniform and started stepping into his PE outfit. Sutore continued in a hushed tone.
“So how are you planning to deal with the disadvantage out there?”
“What disadvantage?” Izuku asked with a smile, opening the locker in front of him. Inside were his bracers and utility belt.
“You snuck those out?”
“Nope, we're allowed to use any gear we need today, so long as we sign some paperwork and remove anything dangerous. Costume's out, and so is the baton, but many support items are fine. I asked the Support class to leave my stuff here today for me.”
Sutore gave him a playful shove as he began dressing down. Izuku finished up redressing, putting on his belt and bracers. After making sure everything was secure, he put his backpack and school uniform away, closing the locker. Then he made his way to the waiting room adjacent to the current one.
Inside, nerves were high. Fortunately, so were spirits. Everyone was looking a little jumpy, but most of them wore none-too-forced smiles. Most of the class was seated, but a few people were either stretching along the sides, or standing and chatting with friends. Izuku was making his way over to talk to Tsu when he was stopped by a voice.
“Midoriya.”
Stopping in his tracks, Izuku turned to look at the speaker. Todoroki stepped forward, one hand in a pocket casually. Or was that supposed to be intimidating?
“What's up, Todoroki?”
“Objectively speaking, I'm stronger than you.”
“Weird flex, but okay,” Izuku replied, raising an eyebrow.
“But it would seem All Might has set his eye on you.”
Of course that incident in the cafeteria had caught attention....
“I'm not here to pry, but I want you to know. I'm going to beat you.”
There was a moment of silence as the room took in what had been declared.
“Is everyone just going to declare war on each other now?” Kaminari joked.
Kirishima, meanwhile, was trying to be diplomatic.
“Come on, man. We don't need to go picking fights right now. Calm it down.”
“We're not here to make friends,” Todoroki replied callously. “I'm being serious.”
With that, he turned and began to leave.
“We may not be here to make friends, but that doesn't mean you should forsake the idea,” Izuku called out. “And besides, if you're gonna declare yourself as my rival, I'd rather it be a friendly one. Helps us both grow that way.”
“Damn,” Kirishima said with a smile. “That was pretty manly of you.”
“And for the record,” Izuku continued after waving off Kirishima's praise. “I know you're stronger than me. You're stronger than a lot of people. But strength isn't all that wins in this world. Brains are important too. So is spirit, and cooperation. I hope you have more of those last two than your father, or else today might not go as well as you hope.”
Just as Todoroki seemed about to respond, Iida opened the door.
“It's time, everyone! We need to head to the field!”
Izuku smiled at his proposed rival, then patted him on the shoulder as he passed. The boy seemed stunned for a second or two, then shook himself and turned to follow suit. As the class made their way out toward the main field, Present Mic could be heard finishing up his introduction speech.
“...about to begin! Everybody, are you ready?”
As usual, the voice hero finished his lines with English.
“It's time for the first years to enter the stage!” he yelled.
Right on cue, the first of class 1A exited the hallway and into the sunlight. Cheers erupted as the crowd got a good look at them. A few of the class shied away from the attention a bit, but everyone kept moving. Izuku had to mind his heightened pulse, but everything was fine. The booming voice over the speakers somewhat drowned out the tension.
“The sports festival! The annual test of mettle for every fledgling hero! And this year, we have quite the unique attraction. You've doubtlessly heard about their run in with real villains by now: it's hero course class 1A!”
The crowd only seemed to grow louder at that declaration. Izuku took a deep breath to calm his nerves when he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. Sutore smiled down at him, clapping his friend on the back.
“Come on, man. You gotta get used to this sort of thing. This is what pro heroes deal with all the time, remember?”
Swallowing his nerves, Izuku replied.
“Yeah, you're right. Just part of the job.”
“Man,” Kirishima mused from off to the side. “Present Mic really went all in on the praise, didn't he? Kind of makes you nervous, huh Bakugo?”
“Nah, just fires me up,” the boy lied. The smile on his face was strained, and though he acted tough, Izuku knew that Kacchan was going through the same thing he was. But, much like himself, he was trying to hide it.
“And though they haven't gotten nearly as much screen time, this class has plenty of talent themselves! It's hero course 1B! Next, we have General Studies classes C, D, and E! We also have Support Courses F, G, and H! And last but not least, we have Business Courses I, J, and K! With that, all of UA's first year students are on the field!”
Once everyone had gathered in the center box of the stadium, the hero Midnight took her place on the stage up front. While Izuku normally admired her outfit for all the reasons a straight man should, in this setting it seemed rather...offputting. Her costume could best be described as dominatrix gear, with a red cloth mask over her eyes, black leather bodysuit conspicuously avoiding her breasts and stopping just past the crotch, thigh-high leather boots connected to a garter belt, handcuff bracelets, white lace bodysuit under everything, and a bedroom whip in hand. As she raised said whip toward the sky, Izuku was wrenched from his reverie, completely missing what she'd said. Fortunately, he realized he didn't need to have heard it as Kacchan made his way to the stage next to her.
“Wait, Bakugo's our representative?” Sutore asked incredulously.
“Makes sense,” Izuku pointed out. “He scored highest in the entrance exam.”
“Yeah, for hero course,” a girl muttered angrily nearby.
Well, it seems the fan base is out in force today, Izuku thought to himself sarcastically.
“She clearly hates us...” Sero whispered, mildly dejected.
“You should all know,” Kacchan said casually into the microphone. “My class is going to be on top.”
Grabbing the mic stand, Kacchan turned to look at the rest of his peers.
“Try to prove me wrong if you can,” he taunted with a wry smile. “But we're just going to go beyond. Plus Ultra, after all.”
With that, he placed the mic back, gave a quick bow to Midnight, and made his way back into the crowd. Izuku had to admit, that was clever. A direct challenge, stating his confidence with unwavering calm. He wasn't belittling anyone, simply raising his allies up. A bit callous, sure, but definitely fair. And based on the angry stares, his challenge had been taken. Class 1A was going to have a target on their backs, but that just drove them to do better. Besides, it's not like that wasn't already a probability.
Izuku gave his friend a high-five as he came to a stop next him.
“Well then,” Midnight called from the stage. “Let's get right to it, shall we?This first game is the qualifying round! Every year, many fall here. Now then, what will it be this year?”
Behind her, a large hologram appeared, with small sections spinning in individual colors like a slot machine. Suddenly, the display froze, showing the kanji and lettering for “obstacle race” along with a stick figure and a cone.
“Alright, all eleven classes will participate in this race. The course will be the circumference of this stadium: about four kilometers!”
Izuku felt a wolfish smile cross his face. A good jog before the real contest started sounded like just the right warmup.
“Our school sells itself on its freedom! So long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do!”
Izuku wondered if she'd reconsider that phrasing before long. But, then again, not his circus, not his monkeys.
“Now take your places, everyone!”
Almost as one, the entire crowd of students ran toward the starting gate, which threw up three green lights. Most fought to be at the front of the pack, but Izuku opted to stick toward the back.
“Not gonna join the front runners?” Sutore asked as he passed by on his way to the mosh pit.
“I'll catch up.”
“Suit yourself, bud.”
As Sutore made his way toward the large group, Kacchan stepped up next to Izuku.
“I think I'll hold back with you. Might just help me in the long run.”
“You just want in on my winning strategy, don't you?”
“Maybe a bit.”
As the crowd settled down, and people found their final start positions, the first green light went dark. Izuku took a deep breath.
Two lights down. He let out his breath, settling to a sprint position.
“START!” Midnight yelled in English.
Izuku and Kacchan both took off, and just as Izuku had suspected, the narrow corridor led to a bottle-neck, halting the entire crowd trying to force their way through. With a leap, Izuku made his way onto one of the horde's shoulders, using him as a stepping stone. He leapt from person to person, abusing every shoulder he could to stay above the rabble. Kacchan, however, got ahead of him due to the lack of need to land and slow down. Just as Izuku thought the people ahead of him were getting spread out, a great gust of freezing wind shot through the hallway. Izuku made one more leap, touched his thumb to his index finger, then whipped his arm high, grabbing the cable he'd produced. He felt the cable bite, then covered his face against the wall he'd stuck to until the cold passed.
Out ahead of the now frozen crowd ran Todoroki, freezing the ground beneath him as he went. Shortly behind him were Kacchan, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, and Aoyama. Each one had either broken or avoided the ice attempting to hold them in place. Izuku himself found that he was frozen to the wall, but with a swipe of his hand and the power of gravity, he broke free too. He landed directly on the back of a kid who was attempting to yank his foot free, then used him as a launch pad to clear the last of the stuck hopefuls.
“Naive, Todoroki!” Yaoyorozu yelled at the frontrunner.
“You're not clearing out that easy!” Kacchan growled.
As Izuku landed and whipped out more cable to assist his skating over all the ice, he realized a majority of his class had managed to overcome Todoroki's trap. Ojiro used his tail to launch himself clear of freezing, Tokoyami had Dark Shadow keep him clear, even Uraraka had somehow managed to avoid being frozen in place. With a smile, Izuku tethered one cable to the ground, pulling himself forward. He let go of that cable, then grabbed the other one, pulling himself again, and repeated that process to start catching up to the leaders.
Sutore was using a strategy similar to his friend's, but used his quirk to launch himself from wall to wall on his belly, ping-ponging his way directly to Todoroki. However, just as he was about to take the lead, a large metal claw dug into the dirt, blocking his way. It was only thanks to quick reaction that Sutore launched himself upright and clear of a second attack. As everyone stopped, Izuku recognized what their first real obstacle was: more of the robots from the entrance exam.
“Targets found,” one of them said threateningly. “Lots of them!”
Further back, a line of the zero-point giants loomed, waiting their turn for some prey.
“Seriously, the hero course had to fight these?” a General Studies student bemoaned nearby.
“Yup,” Izuku said coolly as he retracted his cables. “But this time, they're easier.”
With that, Izuku pulled out two black orbs, holding them in one hand.Just as he was about to throw them, an icy chill swept the area, freezing several large robots in place. Recognizing the opportunity, Izuku made a beeline for the gap between the tracks of the bot in front of him. Clearly, Todoroki had the same idea.
“He stopped them!” someone shouted.
“Between their legs, we can get through!” someone else followed.
“I wouldn't if I were you,” Todoroki yelled back. “I froze them while they were unbalanced. They'll fall over.”
As if on cue, the bots collapsed, nearly landing on the crowd of students. Izuku almost felt bad as he followed that up with his smoke bombs, creating a haze to hinder those who stumbled through the mess.
But, he thought to himself, that definitely cleared the field a bit so he could stretch his legs. Though maybe less than he'd initially hoped.
A series of explosions marked the approach of Kacchan, apparently opting to go over, rather than through, the obstacle. Sero followed suit, accompanied shortly by Tokoyami. There was a lot of commotion from behind the smoke, which Izuku assumed to be his other classmates using their abilities to make headway. However, he had to focus on the task at hand: catching and surpassing Todoroki. But for now, he would bide his time.
It wasn't long before the two reached the second obstacle: a huge pit. Thankfully, there were stone pillars every thirty feet or so, and each was connected by a rope. Looking down, Izuku couldn't even see the bottom. And with the edge walls spreading further than Izuku felt comfortable with, abusing them to skip this was out of the question.
Todoroki immediately began skating across the top of one of the ropes, using his ice to assist him. Izuku whipped out his cables once more, leaping into the void. He grabbed the cable in his right hand, swinging it toward the rope next to him. It tethered, and, using his momentum, he swung himself forward. He grabbed his left hand cable and swung that up to catch the rope once more just as he let go with his right hand. Repeating this process, he was able to swing along like he was on extended monkey bars. Overhead, Kacchan was flying his way past the obstacle, taking second from Izuku. He wasn't surprised, but it was still annoying that he had to lose speed like this. It was definitely faster than crawling under the ropes, but it wasn't ideal. He could actually hear several students catching up to and passing him.
As Izuku pulled himself up to the surface world again at the end of the pit, he looked around to gauge his position. At least a good twenty students had passed him, and as he started running, a couple more caught up. He really hoped the next obstacle would be something that could even the playing field. When he reached it, he almost laughed.
It was a minefield, with obvious circles of disturbed dirt showing where each one lay. And based on the students who set a couple off, they simply launched the unfortunate away from the epicenter, accented with a puff of pink smoke. Up ahead, Kacchan and Todoroki were battling it out for the top spot.
Doing a quick stretch, Izuku plotted his route through the field. He knew he could never keep up with the likes of Iida, who was attempting to outrun the explosions he set off, so he decided to do the next best thing: abuse the mechanics of the game.
“Here we go!” he yelled as he took his first step directly onto a mine. The force of the resulting blast launched him away, and since he placed himself forward of the explosion's center, it launched him forward through the air. He barely managed to right himself in the air in time to land on a second mine, launching him again. He kept focusing on orienting himself to be directly on the forward edge of a mine each time he landed, and with each blast he gained both speed and position. He also managed to pull out two more smoke bombs by the time he flew over the leaders, smiling down at them as he threw his payload directly at mines in front of each. With his momentum, Izuku managed to get in front of the blasts as they went off, which meant he was not only sent clear of the obstacle, but his competition was launched backwards. With one last twist to sail upright, followed by a roll as he landed, Izuku set back into his run. It only took a few seconds for him to realize that the end was ahead of him, by which time both Kacchan and Todoroki had recovered from his distraction. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Izuku lowered his position, and began to truly sprint. He may not have been as fast as Iida, but he knew he was faster in a full sprint than most of the class, even with quirks. The only problem was that he couldn't keep it up for nearly as long as them, so he had to hold back until the end. And as he came to a stop in the stadium again, he knew his plan had payed off. With some mild panting to catch his breath, Izuku watched as Todoroki and Kacchan finished only seconds behind him.
“Izuku Midoriya has made a huge splash!” Present Mic announced to the gathered crowd.
Damn right he had.