Chapter 8
Today was the day, the day Class 1-A had spent the past two weeks preparing themselves day and night for. The U.A. Sports Festival. It was early in the morning yet crowds were already pouring in to fill the stadium whether it was heroes, civilians, or the media. Inko and Hisashi had already dropped off Izuku and Hayato so the two were already in the locker rooms, getting ready with everyone else. The talk of the town was to keep their eyes on the first years, more specifically Class 1-A. Following the attack on U.S.J, there was doubt as to whether holding such a public event was a smart idea for U.A. But Principal Nezu along with the other faculty assured everyone that security was quintupled and no harm was to befall anyone that day.
"Are you guys ready?!" Eijiro asked as he slammed his fist into his hand.
"I wonder what's gonna happen in the first round." Mina said as she and Mashirao were stretching.
"It doesn't matter, we have to work with whatever cards they deal us." Fumikage said as he sat down calmly. The door then slammed open to reveal Tenya running into the room.
"Everyone! Are you ready?! We will be entering soon!" Tenya announced making everyone who was sitting down stand up. Izuku took a deep breath and prepared to head out before someone caught his attention.
"Midoriya." Shoto said as he walked up to him. This surprised everyone, especially Hayato, Katsuki, and Ochaco. "Looking at things objectively, I think I'm stronger than you."
"H-Huh? I'm uh...not sure how to respond to that."
"All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?" Shoto asked catching both of All Might's disciples off guard. "I'm not trying to pry about that. But I'm going to beat you." Shoto said as he gave Izuku an ice cold glare.
"Oh? Is the best in the class making a declaration of war?" Denki asked as Eijiro walked over to the two.
"Come on, why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? Everything's about to start." Eijiro said placing his hand on Shoto's shoulder. He responded by pushing his hand off and continued glaring at Izuku.
"We're not here to play at being friends. So why does it even matter?" Shoto asked before beginning to walk away.
"Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me, but it's clear you were better than me. You're more capable than anyone else and looking at it objectively...you are the superior person in every way." Izuku said before he stared at Shoto, with determination burning in his eyes. "I'm going to give everything I've got today."
"If that's what we're doing..." Hayato said as he walked over to where Hitoshi and Katsuki were both sitting. "Then I want both of you to bring it on." Hitoshi just smirked at this while Katsuki glared at him. He smirked and stood up, keeping his eyes locked onto him.
"I'm gonna crush you, and then I'll take down Deku and that icy-hot bastard."
"Then you better stay at the top." Hayato said walking past Katsuki.
"Hey!" Present Mic's voice echoed through the stadium making the audience erupt into cheers. "Pay attention, audience! Swarm, mass media! This year's high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the U.A. Sports Festival, is about to begin! Everybody, are you ready?! It's time for the students to enter the first-year stage!" Trumpets began to sound and the crowd and faculty watched intently as Class 1-A proudly walked into the middle of the arena with Hayato and Izuku leading the pack. "It's the huge battle where fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year! The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel, everyone give a big round of applause for hero course's Class 1-A!" Hisashi and Inko began to cheer loudly as they spotted the two, while on the other side of the stadium: Raito and Towa sat and immediately located their son. "They haven't been getting as much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Hero course's Class 1-B! Next up, general studies' classes C, D, and E! Support course's classes F, G, and H are here too! And finally, business course's classes I, J, and K! All of U.A.'s first years are here now!" The middle of the arena then filled up as the remaining first year students as the crowd began applauding louder.
"Time for the player pledge!" The majority of the male students and even the men in the crowd all fought blushes or controlling themselves as a woman wearing a skin tight white body suit under dominatrix clothing walked onto a metal stage with a whip in her hand.
"Uh, someone should talk to Ms. Midnight about what she's wearing." Eijiro said as both he and Denki were both blushing at the woman as well.
"That costume should come with a warning label."
"Is that really appropriate apparel for a High School event?" Fumikage asked making Hayato shake his head.
"Quiet! Representing the students is Katsuki Bakugo from Class 1-A!" Midnight announced making Katsuki begin to walk over to where she stood. Everyone in Class 1-A hesitantly watched as they knew what Katsuki was about to announce to everyone.
"I pledge...to be number one." Katsuki said plainly making everyone in Class 1-A sigh or scream.
"I KNEW HE'D DO THAT!" The crowd of student then erupted into boos or insults while Katsuki kept his back turned to them.
"Why are you doing something so disgraceful?!" Tenya asked angrily waving his arm at Katsuki.
"At least be a nice bouncy step for me to jump off of." Katsuki said as he walked down to rejoin the crowd.
"You see what he's doing, Izuku?" Hayato asked earning a nod from his best friend.
"He's driving himself into a corner." Katsuki walked past them and bumped shoulders with both of them. "But it's just like him to get everyone tangled in his mess."
"Now, let's get started right away! Every year, many drink their own tears here! Now, here's the first game!" Midnight announced as a screen appeared behind her, with a roulette spinning on it. "This year, it's..." The roulette stopped and revealed the first game of the festival. "The Obstacle Race! All eleven classes will participate. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium, about four kilometers!" The screen then showed the outside of the stadium and a circle with three different points highlighted as arrows went through them. "The selling point of our school is freedom, so as long as you stay on the course: it doesn't matter what you do!" A nearby gate opened and all the students crowded in front of it as they prepared themselves to run. Three green lights lit up above the gate and as quickly as they turned on, one light turned off. Then the other. The majority of the students took a deep breath as the last light was ready to turn off. "Start!" The last light went off and all hell broke loose as all the students tried forcing themselves through the small exit at once, shoving each other to make it through first.
"Okay, here's the play-by-play! Are you ready to do the commentary, Mummy Man?" Present Mic asked as he turned to see the still bandaged Aizawa sitting next to him.
"You're the one who forced me to come."
"Let's get started right away, Mummy Man! What should we pay attention to in the early stages?"
"This part right now."
Inside the exit, it was absolute carnage. Every student trying to force their way through separating all of Class 1-A. The next thing they all knew, a blast of cold air went through the exit and to the outside, freezing the majority of the students in place. Shoto then burst through as the ground behind him froze.
"If you can't handle that then there's no way you deserve to be a hero!" Shoto yelled before turning around to see Mashirao jumping, Katsuki propelling himself off the ground, and Momo creating a pole to vault over the ice.
"Hold up!" Katsuki yelled before two blurs rushed past them on the walls. The ones currently running minus for Shoto stopped running and watched in shock as they recognized the blurs.
"What's this?!" The crowd watched in amazement as the cameras focused and saw that Hayato and Izuku were running on the walls using their Quirks until they passed Shoto. The three stopped as the ground began to rumble and from it, the robot villains from the practical exam appeared with three zero-pointers towering over them. "The first obstacle is called Robo Infer-" Present Mic was cut off as the three leaders activated their Quirks.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" Hayato ran past the villains, Izuku used Full Cowling to punch through the legs of zero pointer, and Shoto froze another in place and ran past it. The zero pointers that both Izuku and Shoto attacked crashed into one another and into the ground, blocking off the path for the other students.
"The first ones through the first barrier are Shoto Todoroki, Hayato Kiryuu, and Izuku Midoriya from Class 1-A!" Present Mic announced making the crowd cheer, especially Inko while Hisashi looked at his son in shock. "But how will they fare against the second obstacle?!" All three arrived at the second obstacle and looked at the makeshift canyon with poles connecting around to the platforms leading to the other side.
"This isn't gonna slow me down!" Shoto jumped onto one of the poles and began to slide forward by creating ice under his right foot and making more behind him to push him.
"That goes for me too!" Izuku yelled as he activated Full Cowling and began to jump across to each platform as quickly as Shoto was making it to them too.
"Wait, you bastards!" Hayato took a step back and activated his Quirk before doing the same as Izuku until all three reached the other side. But when they turned around, Katsuki was hot on their tails in the air: firing explosion after explosion to boost himself.
"Damn it!" Katsuki yelled as he landed behind them and joined the three to fight for first.
"And now it's time for the last barrier, a minefield! It's set up so that you can tell where the mines are if you look carefully!" Present Mic announced as the four reached a long strip of land with raised clumps of dirt visible across every inch of it.
"This doesn't affect me!" Katsuki yelled as he jumped forward and used his explosions to soar through the air.
"Wait, Bakugo!" Shoto yelled as he froze the ground in front of him to make a walkway.
"I'm not gonna lose!" Izuku yelled as he used Full Cowling to jump across the ground, narrowly missing each mine.
"This isn't where I fall behind!" Hayato yelled as he ran through the minefield, even stepping on the mines, but narrowly avoiding the pink explosions that followed. The four quickly made their way through the last obstacle before feeling their powers reach their limits. They deactivated their Quirks once they were clear of the minefield and ran as fast as they could through the home stretch leading back to the stadium.
"These kids are insane! The other first years are barely past the second obstacle! What're you even teaching them, Eraser?!"
"I didn't do anything. They fired themselves up on their own." Aizawa said as he, while no one could see it happen, proudly watched his four students enter the hallway. "To be number one, it's all anyone wants. But my students shoot for the top by challenging one another."
"U.A. Sports Festival, first year stage! Who could've predicted how this turned out?! The first person back in the stadium is..." The crowd watched as out of the four shadows becoming more visible through the entrance, only one kept the lead before running back into the sunlight. "Izuku Midoriya!" The crowd erupted into cheers while Hisashi and Inko proudly hugged each other seeing their son had one the first event of the Sports Festival. Izuku turned to meet the gaze of his mentor and saw the pride and excitement in his eyes as Hayato patted his back. He turned around to see the results and saw that following him, Shoto had made it, then Hayato, and finally Katsuki.
"Damn it!" Katsuki yelled as he grabbed his forearm in pain.
"What was that power?" Shoto asked as he stopped to take a breath while a cold mist came off his right side. He looked at Izuku in shock before walking away.
"Now the remaining contestants are coming in one by one!"
"Deku!" Hayato and Izuku turned around to see Ochaco running up to them. "That was amazing! How can you two run on walls?!"
"Hayato thought about it and if we both go as fast as possible, we can run on the wall for a few seconds." Izuku explained hiding a blush from his friend but Hayato caught it and began to snicker. "Oh look, Yaoyorozu arrived." Hayato turned to see the entrance and covered his mouth in shock as Momo's shirt was open from the front while she trudged in. Izuku snickered as elbowed Hayato on the arm teasingly, only to be met with an elbow to the gut.
"The top 42 made it to the second round, don't worry if you didn't make it: we'll have more activities for you all to participate in later on. But now it's time to reveal the second event, the Cavalry Battle!" Midnight announced after the results showed that both Classes 1-A and 1-B had passed to the second round, along with two extras from the Support Course.
"No way..." Denki said exhausted from the first event.
"This Cavalry Battle will be point based, depending on the placement you got when you came in: you'll be awarded a set amount of points! And for coming in first place, Izuku Midoriya is worth ten million points!" Midnight announced freezing Izuku in place.
"Ten...million..?" Izuku felt all eyes turn to him as if he was injured prey against a pack of 41 predators.
"Each team is worth the points of its members, each player will be given a headband that must stay on their forehead or from the neck up. The headbands are easy to remove but the more you score, the harder it will be to manage them. If your team loses all their points or if your team falls, you're not out. But since it's still a cavalry battle, you'll get a red card for attacks that are trying to make people fall on purpose and immediately disqualified!" Midnight announced making the majority of the participants look at her in surprise. "You have fifteen minutes to build your teams. Start!"
"Izuku." Izuku turned to see Hayato smiling at him. "Let's do this."
"W-What?! Aren't you worried about winning?! We'll be the main targets!"
"Stop being such a spoil sport, if we team up: we'll have the chance to make it to the tournament without question. I'm worth 200 points for coming in third, everybody who knows what he can do, wants Bakugo because they know his Quirk has several purposes in a battle like this." Hayato said before looking around, seeing the majority of the people had already begun to form their teams. "With you as a rider and me as a horse, we'll be able to either avoid or steal other headbands."
"But shouldn't we also get THEM?" Izuku asked as he noticed Tenya and Ochaco nearby.
"Ochaco would be perfect, if she makes us lighter then it'll definitely help us out in the speed department. But I'm not so sure about Iida." Hayato said as he saw Tenya head over to where Shoto and Momo were. "Since the beginning we've been outshining him, especially me since I'm the only other speedster. If he wants to stand out, he'll want to avoid us otherwise he'd just feel like our shadow."
"I see..." Izuku said before Hayato waved Ochaco over.
"Ochaco! Come on, we want you on our team!"
"Really?!" Ochaco asked as she happily ran over to them.
"Really really." Hayato said as he happily placed a hand on her head. He didn't notice that Momo was watching and she quickly looked away to turn her attention to her team.
"But we need one more person, we need someone who can provide the power we're missing. Speed isn't enough, we need to be able to repel and go on the offensive when the situation calls for it." Izuku said before turning to his side, looking at Fumikage who was standing alone. "Tokoyami, will you join our team?"
"A team with the three of you? Sounds interesting." Fumikage said before nodding. "I accept."
"Start!" Midnight announced as the fifteen minutes were up and all eleven teams made their way to the team of Izuku, Ochaco, Fumikage, and Hayato.
"Tokoyami!" Izuku yelled as he turned the headbands inside out and put one around his forehead.
"You got it! Dark Shadow!" A bird-like purple mass came from Fumikage's chest and reached for the ground away from the teams, effortlessly pulling them closer.
'By using Uraraka's Quirk to make us float, it makes mobility easier for us.' Izuku said before the ground began to pull Dark Shadow in.
"Good luck getting away from that." A pale boy with beige hair and his teeth visible on his face said as Fumikage recalled Dark Shadow.
"Who needs luck?" Fumikage said as Dark Shadow reached for another part of the ground and pulled them towards it.
"Good job!" Ochaco said happily before seeing Shoto's team running towards them.
"Bogies at 3 o'clock!" Izuku yelled making Hayato roll his eyes.
"Yeah yeah. Ochaco!"
"Release!" Ochaco pressed her fingertips together before quickly touching everyone but Hayato again.
"Gotta run!" Hayato activated his Quirk and ran past Team Shoto, as Izuku ripped a headband off of Todoroki's neck.
"Got one!"
"But we got yours!" Izuku turned to see a blond haired boy and his team running towards them recognizing them from Class 1-B.
"That's what you think." Hayato smirked and strafed to the side, narrowly avoiding him grabbing one of the headbands across Izuku's neck.
"Curse my aged bladder." Sorahiko said as he walked out of the men's restroom. As he made his way back to the faculty area, where he was allowed to sit being a retired U.A. teacher, he noticed a familiar white haired woman making her way to the woman's restroom. "Towa?" Towa froze in place and turned to see her aged father, now smaller with age, who was looking at her in shock.
"Papa?"
"My sweet Towa...what are you doing here?" Sorahiko asked before they heard an explosion coming from the battle along with Katsuki's insults.
"The same you probably are, to see my son."
"Does he know you're here?" Sorahiko asked resting on his cane.
"No...Raito and I want to speak to him when we have the chance."
"You've seen what he can do?" Sorahiko asked earning a nod from his daughter.
"I never thought the Quirk I inherited from you combined with Raito's supercharge Quirk would combine into Super Speed." Towa said looking down a the ground.
"It wasn't mine, he has your mother's in him." Towa looked at him in surprise as he looked up at her and scratched his beard. "Raito and Kazuma could use their Quirks to supercharge their muscles, I use Jet to propel myself in the air, but your mother could travel at superhuman speeds because she had an insane metabolism. Hayato has a mix of your mother's and their Quirks to use his electrolytes to augment his abilities and his speed while keeping a normal human body." Sorahiko explained before looking at his daughter. "He's amazing, he has immense potential if he has even a bit of my Quirk within him. But, as to how he is...I'm afraid Kazuma left me in the dark about it."
"Kazuma told you about him?"
"Bah! I'm legally his new guardian, I'm not going to take in someone I don't know." Towa's eyes widened and her lip began to quiver hearing this. "But...know that my door will always be open to you if you want to see me or him. I can already tell that he has no hate for you, give him time to mourn Kazuma before you both try entering his life."
"Papa...are you sure?"
"You're my only child, why would I deny you such a thing when I can clearly see how much you feel like you made a mistake." Sorahiko said before beginning to walk away. "You should head back quickly, I think we're in for a rousing finale."
"Izuku...I can't go use my power anymore now." Hayato said as they only had two minutes remaining and still maintained their lead with only Fumikage's 180 points and Ochaco's 135 points being taken from them by Katsuki and Shoto's teams. Only four teams kept their points, the remaining eight wound up losing their points to the other teams except Team Midoriya.
"You did a good job playing keep away, we can't ask for anything more from you." Fumikage said before the four quickly dodged acid being shot by Mina on Team Bakugo. Suddenly a wall of ice formed on the side they jumped towards making Ochaco and Izuku hit their heads against it.
"Uraraka are you okay?!" Izuku asked as Ochaco rubbed her head in pain.
"My head hurts..."
"Sorry about that, but we're taking your ten million points now." Shoto said as his team of Tenya, Momo, and Denki rushed towards them.
"Dark Shadow!" Fumikage launched Dark Shadow away to escape but Denki chuckled and began to emit his electricity, making Dark Shadow return to him. "Damn it! With the light Kaminari gives off, Dark Shadow can't do anything!"
"Too bad your points are ours!" Katsuki yelled as he jumped towards them with tape wrapped around his abdomen.
"No way, they're ours!" The four turned around to see a gray haired boy that they recognized from Class 1-B heading towards them.
"Ochaco, let's throw Izuku in the air!" Hayato yelled shocking all of them, but Ochaco nodded and the two threw Izuku in the air, going higher and higher thanks to her Quirk.
"What are you doing?!" Izuku and Shoto yelled before Hayato swapped places with Fumikage, now leading the charge. They looked up to see Katsuki hot on Izuku's trail, ready to take all three remaining headbands in one go.
"Tokoyami, pull him in!"
"Dark Shadow!" Dark Shadow quickly grabbed Izuku and pulled him back on top of the three of them as Hayato took a deep breath.
"Too bad Kiryuu, I've been working on this for a while now. There's no one better to use it on." Tenya said as the exhaust ports on his calves fired up. "Hold on tight!" His three teammates held on as blue fire began firing from his exhaust ports. "RECIPRO BURST!" Team Todoroki shot past where Team Midoriya once stood and smiled as they looked at two headbands in Shoto's hands.
"Is that really the best you got?!" The four turned around in shock to see Hayato weakly smiling at them as Team Midoriya stood on the far side of the stadium. Izuku chuckled and flipped up his last headband, revealing it to be the ten million points they were fighting hard to keep.
"Too bad! It's mine!" The group looked up to see Katsuki was about to grab the headband from him.
"Time's up!" Present Mic announced as Katsuki had just barely touched the headband before being pulled back by Hanta.
"Damn it." Shoto said as he jumped off his teammates, glaring at Team Midoriya.
"Now, let's take a look at the top four teams right away! In first place, Team Midoriya!" The crowd erupted into cheers as Izuku proudly held up the ten million point headband. "In second place, Team Todoroki! In third place, Team Bakugo! In fourth place, Team Tetsutetsu!" Present Mic announced as the points for the teams were shown on the screen. "We'll be taking an hour break for lunch before we start the last event!"
"Good job out there today." Fumikage said as he, Ochaco, and Hayato all left the stadium to get food. "Your immense speed mixed with Uraraka's Zero Gravity...quite an amazing match indeed."
"You did a great job, I don't think Dark Shadow minded being a makeshift grappling gun, did he?" Hayato asked as he opened his sports drink bottle to drink some.
"I would've liked fighting instead!" Dark Shadow yelled as he appeared from Fumikage's abdomen.
"When you've got something as valuable as we did: you gotta play it safe." Ochaco said as she happily pet him.
"Kiryuu." The three turned to see Tenya walking over to them. "I had risked it all to beat you...and in the end, I still ended up outclassed by you." Tenya said as he pointed to his exhaust ports that were currently sputtering.
"If I didn't use everything I had left to get us away from you guys, you would've won for sure." Hayato said as he quickly finished his sports drink. "I don't think that I could even consider reaching that speed again today, even if it was only for a second: my body is gonna hurt tomorrow."
"Well then, let's go get some lunch to ease this tension." Ochaco happily suggested making the three nod. "Where's Deku?"
"Todoroki wanted to talk to him, he'll meet us there."
"So, what's up next after this?" Eijiro asked as he sat with Fumikage, Tenya, Ochaco, and Hayato to have lunch.
"After the first two qualifiers: the remaining 16 students fight in a tournament." Tenya said as he remembered who had passed. "That would be you, Ashido, Sero, and Bakugo. Our team of Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Todoroki, and myself of course. Midoriya, Tokoyami, Kiryuu, and Uraraka from their team. And from Class 1-B's team it would be Tetsutetsu, Awase, Honenuki, and Shiozaki."
"It's gonna be pretty exciting to watch, ribbit." Tsuyu said as she joined the group at their table.
"Gonna be pretty tough, honestly." Hayato said as he placed a spoonful of rice in his mouth.
"You're afraid of fighting Deku, aren't you?" Ochaco asked making Hayato shake his head.
"I'm not afraid of it, I'm worried about it. Izuku and I have been friends since we were four...when you put it into perspective, that's eleven years of friendship and brotherhood. I wanna win, so I won't hesitate or hold back against him."
"But, who's to say Midoriya will?" Fumikage spoke up earning a nod from the group. "Sometimes even the strongest bonds can overpower the will to win."
"We've just barely got the hang of his powers, I NEED him to fight me with everything he has so that he can keep learning to control it. Besides, Ochaco might want him to show off for her." Hayato said before continuing to eat, this time turning the topic of conversation to the girl sitting next to him.
"Wait what?!" Eijiro asked in disbelief before bursting into laughter.
"Ochaco likes Midoriya, ribbit."
"No way, you do?!" Eijiro asked making Ochaco bury her face in her hands. "Holy shit! You two should be a thing!"
"Who knows if they already are." Hayato said plainly. Ochaco slapped him in retaliation only for him to begin floating. "Ochaco!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Release!" Ochaco deactivated her Quirk only for Hayato to fall down and hit his back on the chair.
"Is this karma..?" Hayato asked as he stood up, holding his back in pain.
"Is speed healing one of the things your Quirk can do?" Ochaco asked holding her hands up.
"I wish..."
Chapter 9
"I'm going to win this, and I'll do it using my right side only." Shoto said before walking away from Izuku. The two had just had a conversation regarding their connection to the top two heroes in Japan at the moment. First, he assumed that Izuku was All Might's love child, but then he went on to explain the abusive childhood he had as the child of Endeavor. And how his hatred towards his father has been why he's only used his right side through the festival and even before. Izuku tried to convince him to use both sides but Shoto was adamant to using only his right side only to honor his mother and to spite his father.
"Todoroki..." Izuku called out before activating Full Cowling. "If we meet in this bracket, the moment you hold back against me by only using that right side: I'm going to knock you out."
"Cute threat, too bad it won't amount to much." Shoto said before leaving. Izuku sighed and decided to head to the cafeteria to meet up with his friends. Once he arrived, he was surprised to see how full it was. He spotted Hayato and Ochaco sitting nearby with Eijiro, Tsuyu, and Fumikage and quickly walked over to them.
"I'm back."
"We got you your lunch, Deku!" Ochaco happily said as she passed a plate of curry and rice over to him. He happily began to eat before noticing a teasing look from Eijiro and Hayato.
"What?"
"WE didn't get you lunch, SHE-" Hayato was cut off by Ochaco swiftly hitting his stomach. "First my back now my gut?! Are you trying to stop me from competing?!"
"Alright then! Now onto the afternoon activities, we have many recreational activities planned but first we have to decide the brackets for the tournament, where the sixteen competitors from the last competition will battle it out one-on-one to see who comes out on top!" Midnight announced as the first-years regrouped in the stadium after lunch. She pointed to the screen behind her and took out a red box, to which the sixteen winners of the last competition walked up to and pulled out flashing cards before numbers labeled from 1 to 8 appeared on them. "And this is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!" Midnight announced making the screen change to a bracket with the matches set up as:
Match 1: Midoriya vs Honenuki
Match 2: Awase vs Kiryuu
Match 3: Todoroki vs Sero
Match 4: Kaminari vs Shiozaki
Match 5: Iida vs Ashido
Match 6: Tokoyami vs Yaoyorozu
Match 7: Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu
Match 8: Uraraka vs Bakugo
"Are you serious?!" Eijiro and Tetsutetsu yelled as they noticed they were fighting each other.
"I'll give it my all." Fumikage said calmly while Momo gulped.
"Th-That's what I want!"
"I'll refrain from hurting you, Ashido." Tenya said looking at Mina.
"I'll kick your ass, Iida!" Mina said before noticing how silent Izuku and Hayato were.
"Deku?" Ochaco asked before she took another look at the bracket. Momo did the same and both girls took a step back as they realized the path the two boys were headed towards.
'If I win...I fight Hayato/Deku if he wins...' Both boys thought as they looked at each other.
"...Izuku?" Hayato said as he waited by Izuku's waiting room, right outside the door. The recreational activities had just finished and the sixteen competitors all took time to themselves to either clear their nerves or mentally prepare for the tournament while also letting their bodies rest.
"Yeah?" Izuku said as he stood behind the door, ready to open it any second.
"You saw what could happen, right...?"
"...yeah."
"What do you think's gonna happen...?"
"I...I don't know..."
"You better win this fight."
"I will. And you better win yours."
"I will. Good luck." Hayato said walking away from the door. As he left, Izuku walked outside as they called his name, signaling him that it was his time to leave to the battlefield. As he walked away, he stopped walking and turned around to call to his best friend.
"Hayato!"
"What?"
"You better cheer me on!" Hayato smiled at this and raised his hand.
"You bet! I'll make sure Ochaco does too!" Izuku smiled as Hayato turned the corner before leaving to the stadium again. He made his way through the hallway and to the arena, which now had a raised stage to resemble a martial arts arena with a bonfire on each corner.
"You ready, Midoriya?" Juzo asked as he gave Izuku a skeletal-like smile.
"Yes."
"In one corner, we have the freaky-looking guy from Class 1-B: Juzo Honenuki! In the other, we have the plain-looking kid from Class 1-A, Izuku Midoriya!" Present Mic announced making both boys sigh while Inko and Hisashi both began to cheer loudly for their son.
"You keep talking like that, Mic, and you're gonna be replaced by someone else." Aizawa said as the fires next to the boys died down. "Either force your opponent out of bounds, or immobilize them: that's all you need to do to win. You can also make them say they give up."
"We have Recovery Girl on standby but we will not allow any life threatening injuries! Heroes should only use their fists to stop villains!"
"I'll stop them if it gets dangerous." A cement block-like man said as he sat nearby on a chair he had made.
"Thank you, Cementoss! Now, begin!"
Almost immediately, Izuku activated Full Cowling and jumped towards Juzo who simply chuckled and stomped his foot on the ground: making it catch Izuku's legs to trap him in place. He then dove into the ground as if it were water and swam towards him, making Izuku struggle to pull his legs out from the trap.
"Izuku/Deku!" Hayato and Ochaco yelled from the stands as Juzo grabbed the boy by his leg, like a Shark that had just caught its prey. He then began to pull him towards the edge of the arena, making Izuku grit his teeth.
"I'm not losing so easily!" Izuku yelled as he pushed his powers to the max his body could take and pushed his hands towards the ground. The force behind the movement created a burst of wind that hit Juzo in the liquefied ground while also propelling himself into the air. He landed on the only part of ground that was unaffected by Juzo's Quirk and smiled as he came up to catch a breath of air. He jumped forward and grabbed the boy by the collar, pulling him out of the ground and towards the edge of the arena. "Sorry it had to be so quick, but I need to see him in the next round." Izuku said before he pushed Juzo in front of him and out of the arena.
"Juzo Honenuki is out of bounds! The winner is Izuku Midoriya!" Midnight announced as the crowd erupted into cheers, especially from his parents making Izuku smile.
"Maaan! It sucks that I lost, I thought my Softening would've beaten you for sure." Juzo said sitting up. Izuku extended his hand to him which he accepted in defeat.
"It would've if I hadn't thought of that move in the last moment, you Class 1-B guys must be pretty tough."
"We are! Maybe we can show you guys just how tough we can be one day." Juzo said as he flexed his bicep playfully with a smile.
"I look forward to it." Izuku said before shaking the boy's hand one more time.
"What amazing sportsmanship! Hayato Kiryuu and Yosetsu Awase, please come down to the arena!" Present Mic said as Izuku and Juzo left the arena. Following their departure, Hayato and a spiky black haired boy wearing a diamond patterned headband made their way up the arena. "First up, the foul-mouthed welder from Class 1-B: Yosetsu Awase! Next is the basic blur from Class 1-A: Hayato Kiryuu!"Present Mic announced as the two walked up to in front of each other and shook hands.
"Can I ask you for a favor, win or lose?" Yosetsu asked sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Uh, sure?" Hayato shrugged confused by the question.
"Can you tell your classmate that I think she's hot?" Hayato raised an eyebrow at this question before Yosetsu pointed to the stands where Class 1-A sat. "The one with the ponytail? That can make things from her body?"
"Make things from her-MOMO?!" Hayato asked as a light blush crept on his face. "You think Momo's hot?!"
"I mean, haven't you seen her?" Yosetsu asked making Hayato blush even more.
"W-Well yeah, but-"
"Start!"
Yosetsu took advantage of Hayato's daze to his favor to dash towards him. Hayato snapped out of it right as he was about to touch him and quickly ran past him.
'H-He thinks Momo's hot...' Hayato shook his head to snap out of it again only to see Yosetsu swing a punch at him. The punch connected making him stagger before he tackled the boy to the ground.
"All I gotta do is immobilize you, so if I can just weld you to the ground: I win!" Yosetsu said as he grabbed Hayato's wrist, ready to slam it on the floor.
"Sorry about this." Yosetsu turned his head only to be met with a hard punch to his cheek knocking him off. He staggered backwards as the blow had rattled him slightly while Hayato jumped to his feet. "I have to face him after this, I can't lose to you here." Hayato said before activating his Quirk and quickly delivering a swift kick to Yosetsu's gut, quickly knocking the air out of him. Yosetsu held his stomach before falling down onto his knees in pain.
"Kiryuu advances to the second round!" Midnight announced as she saw how Yosetsu was now unable to stand up. The crowd began cheering again, especially the Midoriyas and the Kiryuus, while Sorahiko sat next to All Might and the other faculty watching intently.
"Amazing, his speed is phenomenal." All Might said as Hayato helped Yosetsu off of the arena and to the exit.
"But, he's still too stiff. Something tripped him up, this fight could've been over the moment it started." Sorahiko said crossing his arms. He smirked as the shadow of his grandson left the exit. 'But, that's my boy.'
"You alright?" Hayato asked as he stood by the bathroom door while Yosetsu was currently vomiting inside.
"That was...so fast..." Yosetsu said in between retches.
"Sorry, I went overboard thinking of the next round." Hayato said before beginning to walk away.
"You're gonna do me that favor, right?" Yosetsu called out making Hayato gulp as his heart rate began to increase.
"Y-Yeah! You bet!" Hayato said before making his way to the Class 1-A seats. Once he was there, he looked around to see Izuku waving him over, with an empty seat next to him and Ochaco, before noticing Momo with an empty seat next to her as well. He hesitated to walk towards Izuku but still did it before sitting down next to them.
"That was awesome!" Ochaco said giving him a thumbs up while Izuku nodded.
"You won."
"So did you."
"I guess it's gonna be me and you in the next round, huh?"
"Don't hold back." Hayato said raising a fist making him nod again and do the same.
"I won't." The three jumped up as a wall of ice was raised in front of them, only to look down and see Hanta frozen near the bottom and Shoto standing in front of him with his left hand on him.
"Todoroki advances to the second round!"
"This was...Todoroki's...?" Izuku asked before the ice was quickly melted down to vapor by a red-haired man with what looked like a mask and beard made of fire. "Endeavor..." They watched Hanta be placed on a stretcher with a blanket over him while Shoto walked away, looking at his left hand disdainfully. They watched as Denki made his way to the arena as did a pale girl with green hair resembling vines.
"From Class 1-B, we have the wall of thorns: Ibara Shiozaki, versus the electric hotshot from Class 1-A: Denki Kaminari! Start!" Present Mic announced before Denki quickly covered himself in electricity.
"Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 Million Volts!" The electricity made its way to the ground before suddenly, a large amount of vines tore out of it and around him while Ibara stood with her back turned and a wall of vines behind her.
"Shiozaki advances to the second round!"
"Kaminari is eliminated almost instantly, what insane power!" Present Mic said while Denki was taken away by a stretcher as well while he held two thumbs up and a dumb look on his face.
"Next is Iida against Mina right?" Ochaco asked earning a nod from the two. The two students made their way into the arena while Hayato noticed Momo stand up to start heading down.
"Start!" He turned his attention back to the fight to see Mina using her acid to slide on the ground away from Tenya who was currently chasing her.
"Take this!" Mina spun around and threw splashes of her acid towards him. Tenya slid out of the way only to be met with a kick to the head from her. "Got you!" Iida took a few steps back as he regained his composure and studied his situation carefully.
'Ashido is playing a game of Cat and Mouse with me, but when I feel like I'm about to catch her: she swaps roles to make me avoid her only for her to hit me. I have to flip the script if I want to win this.' Tenya thought as he jumped backwards to avoid more of Mina's acid. He ducked as she went for another kick only to grab her other leg and spin her around. He let go once he knew he was close enough to see Mina go through the air and out of bounds.
"Ashido is out of bounds! Iida advances to the second round!" Midnight announced as she helped the girl up from where she landed. Mina rubbed her back sadly while Tenya bowed to her.
"Thank you for being a challenging opponent." Tenya said before both of them left the stadium only for Fumikage and Momo to take their places.
"Now next up is the silent samurai of Class 1-A: Fumikage Tokoyami! And his opponent is the girl who came in through recommendations and the queen of creation, Class 1-A's: Momo Yaoyorozu!" The two stood on opposite sides of the arena and Momo gulped as Fumikage calmly looked at her, determination burning in his eyes.
'If I make a quick shield to block his attacks, I'll have the time to make a weapon to attack him.' Momo thought before seeing Dark Shadow appear from his body.
"Start!"
Dark Shadow went straight for Momo while she made a small shield to cover her arm, she then held it up to block his attack only for Dark Shadow to knock it off her arm. She quickly created another one to block his next attack while the attacks forced her backwards.
'Soon, soon he'll have an opening!' Momo thought as the attacks kept slamming into her shield and pushing her backwards. Dark Shadow then returned to Fumikage's side making her smile. 'There!' She extended her left hand making a bo staff form in it and readied herself to charge.
"MOMO!" Hayato called out, leaning over the edge, catching the girl's attention before seeing Midnight point her whip at her.
"Yaoyorozu is out of bounds!" She dropped the staff as she heard the announcement and looked down to see that all the constant attacks had pushed her to where one leg was out of bounds. "Tokoyami advances to the next round." Momo dropped her shield and looked at Fumikage who calmly bowed to her and began to walk away.
"Tokoyami makes quick work of Yaoyorozu! Could Dark Shadow be the best Quirk of all time?!"
"You're damn right I am!"
"I...I lost..." Momo said to herself as she made her way out of the arena.
"Wow poor Yao-momo...Hayato you should maybe-" Ochaco and Izuku turned to their side to see what Hayato was doing only to see that he was missing from where he was standing before. "Hayato?"
"Where did he go?" Izuku asked quietly before hearing what sounded like someone running in the hallway.
"I actually lost so easily...I couldn't think and I lost..." Momo said quietly as she looked at the stairs leading to where her class was sitting. She bit her lower lip as she felt it begin to quiver and her eyes begin to water. She covered her eyes to stop her tears from falling while trying to hold back her sobs. "I'm so useless..."
"Momo..." She removed her hands and looked up to see Hayato standing at the top of the stairs, panting as if he had just been running.
"Kiryuu, good job on your win. I can't say I understand how it feels." Momo said turning around to hold back her sobs before feeling a slight gust of wind. She turned back around to see Hayato standing behind her, his expression changing from slight exhaustion to worry. "What are you even doing here? You and Midoriya aren't set to fight until after Bakugo and Uraraka do. You should go back to have a seat...you need your ener-" She stopped talking as Hayato pulled her in for a hug.
"Momo. I might not be as close to you as Jiro or the others...but I can see you're hurting." Hayato said making Momo's tears begin to flow even more and she returned the hug, tighter than he was holding her. "What happened?"
"I...I couldn't think right! I'm not like you or the others! I need a moment of peace to visualize what I'm going to do!" Momo yelled into Hayato's chest making him smile and rub the back of her head with his hand. "I could've had him! I could've won! But I'm just so useless in a fight!"
"Who said you were useless?" Hayato asked pulling them apart to look her in the eyes. "You are one of the most useful people I have ever met. Everybody has their limits, so why worry about what yours are?"
"But-"
"Momo, we aren't perfect. We're first year students, we're not pros. Why are you so worried about being this perfect hero so quickly?" Hayato asked as he placed both of his hands on her cheeks. "I made the mistake of thinking like that when the USJ Incident happened, I'm not the world's best speedster. I didn't have to think I could've done anything to prevent what happened that day, so why should you act like it's a bad thing you lost today?"
"I'm from a famous hero family, I grew up needing to know how to be at the top every time, only worrying about what I need..." Momo grabbed Hayato's right hand with hers. "...instead of worrying about what I want..."
"You don't need to be at the top already, you're already one of the best people in our class. One loss isn't the end of the world."
"But I'm-"
"-the most amazing person I have ever met. You're already heroic, insanely skilled, how smart you are is unparalleled. Everybody in the class shines in something, you shine everywhere. You don't need to win some tournament to prove that, you stand out already just by being you." Hayato said making Momo smile at him. "This loss is just a lesson you're gonna have to learn to think a little faster or to improvise."
"Why are you so..."
"So, what?
"Why are you so like this? Why did you come see me?"
"Iida and Ochaco told me that feel better message when my grandpa kicked the bucket was your idea. You found a way to make me feel better when I was feeling lower than I ever have before. You did that for me, when everybody else was trying their damn hardest to make me stop crying and hating the world." Hayato said making Momo blush and laugh quietly. "Thank you for that."
"Thank you for this, I guess I had a lapse in my confidence." Momo said before looking at Hayato in the eyes. "And I think I still have enough to do this." Momo said before wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling her face closer to his.
"Come on!" Eijiro yelled as he had every part of his body from the neck up toughened by his Quirk while Tetsutetsu was now completely made of metal. Tetsutetsu delivered a hard uppercut to his jaw only for Eijiro to respond and deliver a hard punch to the side of his head. He used his last bit of energy to deliver blow after blow to his head making Tetsutetsu take steps back every time while he took it full force. The crowd cheered on as Tetsutetsu began to feel his Quirk weaken until he took one last step back.
"Tetsutetsu is out of bounds! Kirishima advances to the second round!" Eijiro roared victoriously earning a positive response from the crowd while Tetsutetsu deactivated his Quirk, falling to his knees from fatigue.
"That was...a good match." Eijiro said extending a hand to him. Tetsutetsu grinned and grabbed his hand making Midnight swoon while Present Mic began to clap.
"And this passionate battle between two redundant Quirks has finally reached its end! Now up next is Ochaco Uraraka versus Katsuki Bakugo!" Present Mic announced making both Katsuki and Ochaco stand up from their waiting rooms and walk to the arena. When Ochaco did however, she looked to see Izuku waiting for her with a smile on his face.
"Deku?"
"I wanted to wish you good luck." Izuku said walking up to her. "Kacchan is gonna be a tough opponent. You want some advice?"
"No thanks. I think I know what to do." Ochaco said before beginning to walk away. She turned around to look at him one last time and gave him a bright smile. "You know, ever since day one I've been learning just how amazing you really are." Izuku blushed at this. "I'll do my best to win!"
"Good luck." Izuku said nodding to her. Ochaco continued leaving until she made her way to the arena where Katsuki stood waiting for her.
"First up is the master of zero gravity from Class 1-A: Ochaco Uraraka! And her opponent is the master of disaster from Class 1-A: Katsuki Bakugo!"
"I'm gonna take you down, round face." Katsuki said readying his hands.
"Bring it."
"Start!"
Hearing her signal, Ochaco immediately ran towards Katsuki with her body lowered. He growled and made a swiping motion making an explosion that sent her rolling backwards. The crowd flinched at this before she quickly got up and ran through the smoke towards him again.
"Don't underestimate me!" Katsuki yelled as the top of her P.E. Uniform appeared from the smoke in front of him. He made an explosion only to see that it was only her shirt and Ochaco was actually behind him wearing a black tank top.
"Got you!" Ochaco yelled as her hand was a second away from touching his back. He quickly swiped his left hand backwards and hit her with another explosion sending Ochaco flying again. She stood back up and began running the same way again only for Katsuki to respond with explosion after explosion, each time she stood back up to run at him. This continued for several minutes, making the crowd flinch every time he would connect an explosion.
"This is brutal..." A spectator said watching Ochaco fall to the floor, covered in dirt and scratches from the explosions.
"Should we let this keep happening, Eraser?" Present Mic said while Aizawa, Midnight, and Cementoss all stayed calm and watching intently as Ochaco stood back up again.
"You should stay down, Uraraka." Katsuki said as he felt his muscles begin to ache.
"Not until I win! Release!" Ochaco yelled as she pressed her fingertips together, revealing that all the debris that Katsuki had sent into the air from the explosions had all accumulated when she had touched them. It all began to fall down as if it was a meteor shower and she made one last break for Katsuki. The crowd began to cheer for her as everything looked like it had just flipped into her favor now. But then Katsuki raised his left hand and fired a colossal explosion, obliterating all of Ochaco's weapons at once while also creating such a strong gust of wind that it sent everyone watching, especially Ochaco, backwards. Once the dust settled all eyes were on Katsuki and Ochaco who was now struggling to stand up. "W-Why...? How could you do that?"
"We're on two different levels, I don't know what the hell Deku put you up to...but it's time to surrender, Uraraka." Katsuki said walking towards her. She stood up to continue fighting, but at that moment she felt her body finally give up on her and she began to fall forward. Luckily, he caught her in time and laid her on the ground for Midnight to walk over and check on her. She placed a hand on her forehead and then two fingers on her neck before nodding.
"Uraraka is out of commission. Bakugo advances to the second round." Midnight announced making the crowd roar with applause as he began to leave. Izuku stood up to go see Ochaco as a pair of robots came with a stretcher and took the girl away.
"Alright then! Now that the first round is over, we're gonna give our competitors a moment to regain their energy before we start with the first match of the second round!"Present Mic yelled making the crowd cheer. "And this is gonna be a doozy, these two have been best friends for eleven years. They've trained together and there is not one thing these two don't know about each other, so I hope you're ready for what could be the most exciting match of the day: Izuku Midoriya versus Hayato Kiryuu!"