Before A Game, One Must Be Ready...

Chapter 26 - Before A Game, One Must Be Ready...

The weekend was over, with it the time to prepare had also gone with it. Every student who was going to participate, with the exception of the kids in the business department, had put in as much effort as they could in that one last weekend. Some rested, believing that they were more than ready, these students would be surprised when the day came for them to perform against the rest of their competitors. Others chuckled at the thought of rest and pushed themselves to the point just below breakage, most of class 1-A fell into this category. Still others found a way to surpass those breaking points and use them to their advantage.

The first year students of UA were ready to give the performance of their lifetimes, ready to show off what they could do to everyone who was willing to watch. Those who would be watching were every single hero in Japan. Whether it be the top heroes or the bottom ones, it was always a chance for them to acquire a good intern. This particular batch of heroes-to-be had also gone through so much in the past few weeks so they were all watching at the edge of their seats.

Still, this was going to be a time for new rivalries to be born, the saving of a young hero's hope. Time for old ones to be ignited once again, rivalries that had long been forgotten. For friend to fight friend and show the world just how much heroes were capable of pushing each other to be better than they were. It was just what the country needed to be entertained till the next year, once again it was that time to see the best that heroics had to offer…

It would be a while before the competition would begin, a while before the show began. Many of the students were still sleeping, trying to gain as much energy as they could before the festival began. There were a few that chose to do away with that, believing that they could use this time to mentally prepare themselves in one way or another.

Izuku Midoriya was currently sitting in his room staring at his notes that were scattered all across the floor. The pages scattered before him were those that had originally made up his heroes notebooks over the years, now they each told their own story, the story of a different student. The festival itself would begin in about four hours, four hours that were quickly approaching, not even Izuku's speed could slow it down.

He had memorized the notes in front of him a week ago, but he was going over them once again to make sure that it was all saved to memory. There was a very small chance that they would be forgotten while in the middle of the festival, so small that the number was insignificant to course, his nerves couldn't have been worse, but most of that was because of the speech he would have to give as the highest scoring student in the entrance exam.

His hand trembled slightly, and the boys eyes darted from page to page. The different quirks flowed through his mind as he connected them with different individuals and the multiple ways that he would be able to deal with them. Some of them could easily be dealt with with a simple push out of the boundaries, but not all of them.

His mind halted slightly as he reached the files on three of his classmates; Shoto Todoroki, Katsuki Bakugou, and Ochako Uraraka. He could deal with them easily under ideal circumstances, but he knew that they knew this. Katsuki had known what he was capable of ever since the battle training when they had been paired together. From that he was certain that his former friend had figured out something as he always did.

The zero gravity girl simply needed to be taken out before she had the chance to lay a finger on him or else it could prove terrible for him. He could also rely on the sonic clap if he did come across her, but he feared injury if used to often. There was also the possibility that she would be able to use her quirk on herself and simply avoid coming back down.

Todoroki was more difficult though….he had been trained since he was a child, by Endeavor no less, a terrible person but no less of a hero. This combined with the immense power of his quirk made him a force to be reckoned with. Just from how easily he was able to deal with the battle training scenario was something that was frightening. He had been able to freeze over the entire location within seconds and had walked over to the bomb with nothing more than a vocal plea from those he was opposing.

The boy had the power and the training to be able to beat Izuku, but there was something that was holding him back. In all their training days, the ice-wielding student had only used one half of the power he had at his disposal, the other half, the fire, was unused. If Todoroki did use this other half of his power, it would be very difficult to defeat him, but Izuku knew that he would find a way around it like he usually did.

He picked up Todoroki's page one more time and looked at the rough sketch that he had made of the boy. It was odd, but this would be one of the students who most people would look for in the competition. He would be a favorite to win the whole thing, yet at times it almost seemed like he didn't care much for the attention.

Izuku sighed and picked up all the papers, putting them back into his notebook for later use. He's already eaten breakfast, but he would most likely be hungry before having to go to compete. Right now all he could do to prepare himself further was to try and relax, much help that was doing.

This is the big day, the day that I can finally prove to everyone that I'm not just some boy that got struck by lightning. I'm a speedster who's going to be a hero and help people. Today is the day that I make that statement.

Izuku Midoriya stepped out of his home two hours later. He wasn't sure of what he was going to do, but he needed to go somewhere, it was something of a feeling. Thus, without purpose and reason he began heading somewhere...he didn't know what was causing him to keep going forward, but he went anyway. One foot in front of the other just like he usually did when he got ready for school in the mornings.

He never truly paid attention to where he was going, he just knew that he was heading in the right direction. His legs and sense of direction hadn't failed him since he'd had them so he had no reason to doubt either of them. That's why he found it a bit odd when they led him directly to his former school, closed obviously, but it was still his old school.

The boy walked up to the gate around the complex and placed his hand on the lock that was keeping him out. Without further though he stepped through and was on the other side, the side of the school. He didn't really have to build up any speed for this attempt, he just willed himself to go to the other side and he went through. Once on the inside Izuku continued walking towards the main building, trying to figure out why exactly he had decided to go to his former school.

The school seemed so foreign to the young boy, the hallways, the classrooms, the isolated corners. Each of them had some sort of painful memory associated to them, each of them so real and so recent. This school had been a place of so much pain for him, but it had also given him one thing which he was forever grateful for…

Izuku calmly walked to his desired location, the one place that had been a safe haven for him during his time at the school. He stepped past some construction tape and took the room in front of him as a whole, its destruction and all. He'd been quite afraid of returning to the place that had sent him into a coma so he wasn't aware of the room's condition. Not that it was much of a room anymore more like a failed construction zone.

The room, as it was right now, looked to be completely in shambles. He knew that it had only been a few months that he'd been out of this school, but the construction should've been done long ago even if it was just for repairs. The boy looked down to his watch to check up on the time but it seemed to be going crazy as if the room itself was causing it to malfunction. Pulling out his cell-phone from his pocket he saw that the results were the same.

Izuku felt a little odd as well, almost as if he was being charged up like a battery. That's about as simply as he could put it without getting into any odd expressions. The room itself seemed to be that power source, the one that was feeding the power into him.

This is where it all started, in this very room. That's the indentation that was caused when my body was thrown against it. The severe burning must've been caused by the sudden discharge of energy. It's a bit funny to think that I went from quirkless to the fastest human alive simply because of a bolt of lightning. Maybe that's why the room feels like a charging station….

Kneeling down, Izuku touched his palm to the scorch marks on the ground, just to test it out. He felt the raw energy emanating from it from that very location, he wasn't quite sure why that was, but right now he didn't have the tools necessary for him to figure it out. Maybe after he was done for today he would be able to figure out what was going on here, if he wasn't to busy fixing up damaged body parts... He smiled to himself and walked out of the room, back under the yellow tape, and headed towards the outside of the building once more.

He felt as if a bit of the worry he had earlier was simply gone. Being in that room was something that was a bit enlightening for him. The speedster stepped out of the building and ran through the gate once more, phasing through it with the least amount of effort. His entire visit had consumed the better part of an hour, maybe it had been him simply wanting to be in that room for as long as possible.

The problem was that his visit hadn't been unseen. There had been a person who had followed him from a safe distance since the morning. They had even had the patience to stand outside the school for an hour as Izuku spent his time within it reminiscing about the past. But as Izuku left, this person had the opportunity to go within the grounds and find out what Izuku had been doing.

This individual made their way through the gate and into the building. They took their time as the biggest threat was gone for the time being, probably for the next few hours. He'd even told his roomates to record the festival for him while he was out so that he wouldn't miss a second of the green speedster's performance.

The school had no security whatsoever, making it the ideal location to break into without being seen. Izuku's ability to get in here without trouble was proof of just that. It was a shame really that no one was here to protect something so valuable and powerful. Well they didn't know just how valuable it was, not even the other speedster who had left a while back.

This person with a quirk continued walking through the school, occasionally poking their head into classrooms as flashes appeared in their mind. It was fascinating, just the experience of being here, in his same footsteps. Very few people could say that they had walked in the shoes of someone that they admired deeply, he could. He knew that it was all a game at the moment, but he wouldn't have helped if it weren't one.

Coming across the yellow tape, the intruder walked through it, not caring as it ripped and became useless. The room was as it had been a minute earlier, nothing seeming to be out of place. All the same destruction in here, all the same scorch marks where they had been just minutes earlier.

The individual knelt down just like the previous person who had entered the room, right next to the scorch marks. They knew what they were looking for so they didn't waste time figuring out where the power source was coming from. He pulled off the gloves that he had been wearing and placed both of his open palms on the floor, this was going to be fun.

"Oh my…." The energy was there, just as the Teacher had said it would be. Everything that the teacher had told him was true, now he just had to do what he had been told to do, that would be the tricky bit that would require a handful of hours. "Can't wait to meet you Izuku, I do have so many questions for you…."

With just minutes before they would be called to the stage the students of class 1-A were all sitting around the designated waiting room. None of them were really up to having a conversation at the moment, this could very well be their last time in the heroics department if they weren't shown to be skilled enough. They had to prove that they were worthy of remaining in class 1-A or else they would be placed elsewhere, somewhere less prestigious and desirable.

In a few minutes they would be called to present themselves before the world the heroics world to be precise. It wasn't a stretch to say that some of them were quite nervous because of this.

Bakugou was still angered by Deku one upping him in the entrance exams, he had always the top before the previously quirkless boy had come in. Due to that the green-haired speed demon would be giving the opening speech instead of him, something that he had been convinced that he would do. The explosive boy wouldn't have wanted to do it anyway, but it would have been better than Izuku doing it, better than a quirkless loser doing it.

Shinsou had worked quite a bit on developing some sort of fighting style since the start of the year, but he would still have to rely heavily on his quirk if push came to shove. His fighting capabilities were still non-existent compared to the rest of his classmates who had more combat oriented didn't also take into account his current condition physically. The headaches had gotten worse, making him wonder if he should even be here today, the answer was still yes. His brainwash quirk was recently giving him quite a difficult time adding to the pain when before it had been as unnoticeable as breathing.

Still other students had other things at stake in this competition. Momo had to prove to her mother that being a hero was worthwhile for her instead of giving up and doing as her mother wanted. It had been a debate that had been going on between the two of them since the start of her pursuit of the career.

Ochako had wanted to help her parents out since she was a child and this festival would be the first step to getting there. There wasn't any money involved, but there would be the recognition from the heroes and from there she would begin to climb and eventually be able to help all those that she loved.

Even Tenya wanted to prove to his brother that he was capable of following in the footsteps of his family. Being the youngest in his family with the same quirk he needed to show them that he was capable of bearing the surname of Iida. His brother had always brought him in to the agency when he was younger to inspire him to be better, and he couldn't let him down.

Yet there were others who had even more to prove during this Sports Festival. Shoto Todoroki was going to go out there while everyone knew that he was the son of the Number 2 hero, Endeavor. Many would be expecting to see flames that burned at hot as his father's. They would have to go home disappointed, he would not use his flames for anyone, especially not for his dad.

The door opened with a thud as Izuku opened it with too much haste. His PE uniform had just been put on a few seconds ago as he had arrived at the wrong time. He wasn't out of breath, but he was slightly flustered by all the eyes pointed in his direction. There was a bit of red on his face, but then confusion as a certain silent hero walked towards him.

The half-cold and half-hot hero stood directly in front of him and stared deep into his eyes with what Izuku believed to be boredom. He was always so expressionless so this was a bit of a surprise for the speedster. What came next was even more of a surprise for everyone.

"Midoriya, I don't know what your deal is for being in UA or what you hope to accomplish in this festival. Objectively speaking I believe that the quirk I possess is stronger in terms of sheer control and power. You seem to lack the control and I also don't know why you want to win here. For me it's to show my father that I don't need his power to win this festival that I will never use his power to win anything. Out of everyone here you seem to be the biggest threat, or at least the most recognisable. Even considering that you very much don't seem to have full control over your quirk. Thus I will beat you out there today with my mother's quirk... I just want you to know that." Todoroki spoke in a tone that indicated how much he believed what he was saying and left before Izuku had a chance to respond.

"What did half-and-half just say!" Bakugou spoke in a very angered tone but somehow was able to keep his tone below a full out yell. "How can Deku be better than me? He can't and I'm going to prove that today, you hear that Deku?"

Instead of responding, the speedster walked out of the room and began to head for the field as his class was called along with the other first years. What Todoroki had said to him made him think just a little bit about what he was going to say. He had believed what he was going to say, but now it was all up in the air.

"Just speak from the heart Izuku, these are heroes in the making and they'll react to almost anything, have it be bad or good." He spoke to himself quietly and saw the light opening up ahead...

To say that he was terrified was a very large understatement. When Izuku was called forth to speak for the first years his heart instantly sped up and his mind went blank. His previous confidence over the matter was gone and now he had to speak in front of everyone here as well as all the people who were watching back home.

His legs moved on their own as he tugged at the gym uniform. The microphone would be facing the students and his brain was trying to figure out what to say to them, anything would work at this time. He finally stopped directly in front of the mic and his mouth went dry. Thousands of eyes looked at him, directly at him, expecting him to speak. That's when he went into a dilation of time that was unexpected….

Alright, everyone is looking at you, but instead of it being a minute for them it's a second or two. Calm and speak, that's all you have to do. Besides you have friends and your mom out there who are cheering you on and hoping you succeed. Now give them a speech that they'll remember, or at least a few words.

He took another deep breath and came out of the time dilation, now he was more calm then he had been a few seconds previously. He smiled at everyone and cleared his throat. It was time for him to give the speech of the day…

"Hello everyone, hope that all of you are having a wonderful day….now today we are going to compete against each other and I just want to say that….I'm going to win…" There was screams from all the students in front of him, complaining about what had just been said, very clearly angered that he had said something so arrogant. "W-wait! What I mean is, that's what I believe, and that's what all of you should believe as well. Starting today, all of you should be able to picture yourselves as victorious whether it be against a villain or against a friend. You'll never be able to reach the peak if you can't at least picture yourself on top of it….thank you!" He finished and a roar of approval came from the audience of heroes.

"And won't you look at that, the kid has a heart of gold and a quirk to match it!" From the speakers placed around the arena Izuku was able to hear the exited voice of Present Mic as he began his job as an announcer accompanied by Aizawa. "And we are ready for our first event which is going to be the annual obstacle course around the stadium with different surprises than last time...we promise that we won't have those alligators again, they sure were a pain to get out of that pit last year!"

"Now a simple refresher for all of you newbies who have yet to witness this amazing event. The rules seem to be pretty simple, use your quirks to get around as fast as possible and you course there are a total of forty-two spots open for those who want to advance to the next even so we want all of you to aim for at least one of them. Number one would be the one that is most sought after but the rest aren't bad either. Now I don't want to say anything here, but if a race is going to be happening I want to put my money on Lightning Green. Just from the speed displayed by that kid I wouldn't be surprised if he came out in the top five of this event…" It looked like Present Mic had gone off on a bit of a rant and had lost his train of thought.

The students were quickly taken to the starting location when they heard the announcer begin again. They had hardly gotten a second to get adjusted to their new cramped environment when everything became chaotic and loud once more. "Now kiddies, may the best race horse win this. I got money on you greeny so don't disappoint me! I know I can't take sides but I can't help myself! Three, two, one... Begin!"

Thus the Sports festival had begun…