The day of the festival had arrived. All eyes were on Class 1-A, the group of newcomers who survived the villain attack at USJ.
In the waiting room, everyone was getting ready and chatting a bit to calm their nerves. To one side, Todoroki waited patiently to issue his challenge.
He wanted to make his point clear to both Midoriya, the apparent useless but All Might's favorite, and Tetsumaru, the only student who faced a monster capable of hitting the Symbol of Peace and came out unscathed.
But a hint of irritation ran through him as he noticed the absence of both siblings.
—W-where are those two?! We're about to start!— Iida exclaimed with agitation.
The time to go out finally arrived, and Todoroki could only launch his challenge at Midoriya. At some point, the shinobi duo joined them, but it was already too late for Endeavor's son to make his move.
—Hey Mei, where were you?— Mina asked the kunoichi.
—Fufufu, it's a secret— she commented evasively.
—Are they here for the rising stars who bravely faced the Villain attack, aren't they!? From the Hero Department, Class 1-A!!— Present Mic exclaimed with his usual enthusiasm.
The roar of the crowd sent shivers down the backs of some students.
—W-w-why are there so many people?— Midoriya stammered.
—Alright, alright! I hope you play fair!— came the seductive voice of a woman, followed by the snap of a whip in the air.
Many people in the stands, particularly males, got excited at the presence of Midnight.
—Hm, this woman is really provocative— Mei commented through their bond.
—I guess so— Tetsumaru replied in a bored tone, which earned him a thumbs up from his other half.
—Representative Players! Terumi Tetsumaru, Class 1-A!— the heroine called out, which surprised Midoriya, as he wasn't aware that Tetsumaru had gotten first place in the entrance exam.
—Will you make a "Bakugo"? — Mei asked.
—No, crap. I'll just be cool and collected— Tetsumaru replied.
Standing before the other courses and with the cameras focused on him, Tetsumaru's black and gold eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. Partly because, in fact, he felt very few things, unless they were influenced by and related to Mei.
—Give it your best— he said before returning to his spot, which left the crowd quite disappointed by the boy's simplicity.
But it was all part of the plan.
—Alright, now let's move on to the first event!— Midnight said, lifting the spirits of the audience after Tetsumaru's anticlimax. Internally, she complained to the boy.
—You could at least put on a good show, damn it— she grumbled.
—The first round will be a nearly 4-kilometer race. Everyone to your places!— the woman announced with a crack of her whip in the air that made more than one pervert in the crowd stiffen.
—Well, that was certainly anticlimactic— Mei commented with a smile.
—But now no one will have high hopes for me. The next step is to play at an average level— Tetsumaru reminded her.
Once at the starting line, the announcement came to begin the obstacle course, where Tetsumaru and Mei let the others crowd the gates.
Although they didn't remember much of this part, they knew that Todoroki was going to freeze everyone, so they allowed it to happen and only afterwards, they mounted a platform of Satetsu that lifted them over the heads of the others.
Tetsumaru made sure to go fast, but not fast enough to come in first, or even second.
In the commentators' booth, Aizawa frowned. He had seen Terumi Mei's movement capacity and knew that she was, at least, as fast as Iida, and much more agile.
As for Tetsumaru, he was aware that the iron sand could carry him at great displacement speeds with practically instantaneous acceleration.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to evade the Nomu so successfully.
—What are those two playing at?— he wondered.
On the track, Todoroki and Bakugo noticed the same thing. Both were ahead of the Terumi siblings, but it seemed like those two were strolling through the park instead of competing.
Were they not taking them seriously?
—Is that the Tao Pai Pai stance?— he asked the Kunoichi with curiosity.
—Yes, but a prettier version— Mei clarified.
—Hmm, should I form a pillar, like a pillar of sand or something?— the shinobi wondered.
—Here come the obstacles!!— Present Mic said, and immediately the giant Robots that were worth 0 points in the entrance exam appeared.
Todoroki froze them, Bakugo blew them up, and Tetsumaru sent sand tendrils that sought to pierce their limbs like last time.
To his surprise, there weren't as many gaps as the previous version.
—Hm, it's as if they were remodeled to avoid my sand— the black-haired boy commented. He didn't care.
Instead of pouring sand in and damaging their joints, he slid with surprising agility between the machines, avoiding stomps and punches.
To conceal his ability to stick to surfaces with chakra, he wrapped sand around his feet, giving the impression that this was how he stayed grounded. He didn't do it for Mei, as she had already used that ability and it was common knowledge.
—Hm, wasn't that kid capable of playing cat and mouse with the Nomu? Why is he suddenly so slow?— Snipe asked his fellow UA teachers.
Thirteen watched Tetsumaru on the screens. She still felt bad about being saved by her own student. Worse yet, she had difficulty dealing with that Mist guy while Tetsumaru was facing a monster capable of rivaling All Might.
—Why are you holding back?— she thought with mixed feelings.
On the track, Tetsumaru and Mei reached the area of "THE FALL," which they crossed without difficulty on their Satetsu platform. Further ahead, they could see the backs of Bakugo and Todoroki.
—Third place then?— Mei asked through their bond.
—Nah, fourth works— Tetsumaru denied.
Both crossed the minefield just like everything else, calmly. At some point, Midoriya exploded one of the mines and propelled himself into the air, passing by the duo like a bullet.
Tetsumaru raised the platform higher, avoiding the second explosion that Midoriya caused between Bakugo and Todoroki, also passing that pair, behind the chosen one of this story.
Just before crossing the finish line, the platform stopped abruptly and formed steps. Like a gentleman, Tetsumaru held Mei's hand as she descended with a calm stride.
In the process, Todoroki and Bakugo passed, both giving them strange and offended looks that the pair ignored. Mei then crossed the line, followed by Tetsumaru.
—What am I seeing?! Tetsumaru and Mei of Class 1-A lost second and third place as if they didn't care!— Present Mic exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention to the pair.
Knowing they could be heard, Mei snorted as she took her other half's hand.
—A gentleman must be a gentleman at all times— she said with her chin held high as she dragged Tetsumaru along.
Her words made some young girls in the crowd squeal at the idea of a dreamlike teenage romance between two future heroes.
On the other hand, the UA teachers thought something different.
Weren't these two siblings? They look more like a couple!