Chapter 10
Parking the A.A.A turned motorcycle some distance away from the School so as to not be seen -after all it was illegal for a minor to drive a motorbike even in this quirky society-, she entered the school. Already, scores of journalists were beginning to gather outside of the school and the police were struggling to hold them back. The Voice Hero Present Mic had been sent out in order to calm them down and welcome them to the Festival.
"Gather round people! It's time to once again see these High Schoolers that everyone here knows and loves, revel in their youth… It is time for the U.A Sports Festival!! Are you ready!?"
As fireworks went off in the distance and the doors finally opened the impatient reporters filled in the area, everybody wanting to be the first to write a catchy story. Along with them were some disgruntled Heroes who instead of being allowed to scout out the students, were forced to be security, much to their chagrin.
Inside the school in the various preparation rooms, rivalries had already ignited. And though most of the other classes of their year had declared <
As Ida, the Class Representative, opened the door to inform everybody that the event's about to begin, the so called second strongest of 1-A, Todoroki issued an open challenge to the number 1 Misaka Mikoto for her place and to the certainly weaker Midoryia clearly unhappy that his classmate was receiving attention from All Might. "I will beat you!" he said, and even after the harsh words he said to Midoryia, the boy didn't let himself feel down and after acknowledging his own weakness and remembering All Might's words, he responded to the challenge.
"I'm aiming for the top as well, with all I've got!!!"
As the first year students walked out, the crowd's excitement could be felt. All across Japan people had tuned in to watch the show and everybody was impatiently waiting for the events to start. Suddenly the loud voice of the announcer could be heard.
"It's U.A's Sports Festival! The once per year event where our students compete in a grand battle to find the top student of the year!"
It was Present Mic's voice, the Pro Hero having been chosen to commentate on the events like all other years.
"First up… you all know who I'm talking about! The first years of the Hero course who brushed off a villain attack! It's Class 1-A!!! And now here comes, Class 1-B and Class 1-C…"
By the time the announcement for the other Classes had started, most people had stopped paying attention to him and were instead observing the kids of 1-A, clearly far more interested in the kids that defeated Villains in their first fight ever.
In the meantime the R-Rated Hero Midnight had walked up to the stage that was set up in the middle of the stadium, ready to referee the event.
"This year, your Student Representative is… from Class 1-A Misaka Mikoto!"
She was not really surprised, as she had been informed beforehand and had time to prepare a short speech. She had thought about adding more fuel to fire of rivalry between the classes but had decided against that, instead giving a speech, that while it didn't directly antagonize the rest, screamed arrogance.
"Hello fellow students. As you all know we of Class 1-A have been chosen to go to the Heroics Course due to our abilities. It's only natural that you may feel cheated. However… if you are truly hoping to join our class you will have to win against my classmates, who are all members of 1-A due to their strength. Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe in your will? This is the time to go PLUS ULTRA!!"
As expected the talk had hyped up every student, who felt the fire of competition ignite within them and a need to prove their strength.
"Good! Now without any delay it's time to get the first event started! The first event for this year, the qualifiers where so many are sent home, is… this!"
In a holographic screen the event was revealed.
"An obstacle course…"
"Yes! A four kilometer lap around the stadium, filled with obstacles, raced by all members of all eleven classes and where everything is fair game!"
More than one hundred students had gathered in the narrow entrance. Misaka had taken care to position herself at the front rows, having recognized the first obstacle that was the starting gate. Inadvertently, everyone would be squeezed and lose precious time. She however had another way to pass this obstacle.
As the start lights went off and Midnights "START!!" shout was heard, she shot out. Attaching herself to the wall, she started running in earnest.
"That's so unfairrrrr…" Multiple complaints were heard about her movement but she paid them no heed. Suddenly she felt the temperature fall and ice starting to form. She was prepared though. Making a miniature version of her iron sand shield she positioned it in a semi-circle around her, completely destroying any incoming Ice.
"And what is this!! We already have the first contestants coming out. It's Misaka Mikoto, followed by Todoroki Shoto and some more students of 1-A. What do you think Mummy-Man. He is still not commentating, but it doesn't matter! Here comes the first true obstacle, Robo Inferno!!"
Multiple students had fallen for the trap, the sudden arrival of the Zero- Pointer robots from the exam taking them by surprise. 1-A also had an advantage at this round, having already faced the robots once again in their entrance exams.
Misaka knew that she needed to create a path for herself and only for herself. After all, this was a race, a competition. Carefully lifting a robot she ran through the opening, before launching it towards the others. It appeared as if she and Todoroki had the same idea, as they still found themselves going head to head. The race was on. She tuned out the announcer and the rest of the students and completely focused on the course.
Next were a number of platforms all apart from each other connected by a tightrope. As she began walking the tightrope a burst of ice froze the rope making her temporarily lose her balance. She still hadn't used her powers to attack someone, as she hoped to achieve a clean victory, and she had the same expectations from her classmates.
'What kind of Hero attacks the other Herows?! This is it! It's over for him now.'
Todoroki hadn't even managed to get far away from the first ropes when he felt all movement in his body stop. Try as he might, he couldn't control his body and couldn't activate his quirk. Naturally Misaka overtook him and as she looked at him, he felt humiliation, seeing her stick her tongue out to him like she was a five year old child.
'Ha, suck it Ice-man!' She had wanted to shout that, but she knew the boy was Endeavour's son and she didn't want to make the number 2 Hero mad, especially as a student. She had reached the end of the second obstacle, when the sound of explosions warned her of the arrival of Bakugo. She had let Todoroki move and had reached the third Area, the aptly named Minefield, where she'd have to watch her step, considering that she didn't want to reveal her other abilities, those not related to magnetism. She had built up a sizeable lead, but by the end of the first section of the obstacle course, Bakugo had caught up, with Todoroki in hot pursuit.
Meanwhile in the back Midoryia was nervously muttering, thinking about a way to win without activating his quirk and breaking the bones of his body. Seeing those who led, a brilliant idea came to his mind. Gathering a lot of the untouched bombs he put them all in a pile and jumped in them, along with his trusty metal plate he had taken from a robot.
A loud boom had alerted the top three about something happening far behind and if they hadn't heard that, the image of a flying Midoryia certainly did. He quickly took the lead and the three felt their positions at stake.
Bakugo started fervently using his quirk to fly in a way, Todoroki his in order to create a path and Misaka used her <
Midoryia's sled came to a sudden halt, all his speed zeroed by a magnetic pull from Misaka. That allowed the others to inherit the lead, but at the same time set him up for success, a pathway full of mines that were pushed aside by Misaka visible. However Misaka had already entered the final straight and again, Todoroki and Bakugo had found themselves paralyzed, only being able to move when Misaka was entering the stadium.
"And the first to enter the stadium is… none other than… Misaka Mikoto!! The top first year of this year manages to keep her position as leader. And next comes… Izuku Midoryia!! What have you been teaching those students Eraserhead?!"
"This not my work. Rather, they are all encouraging each other to do better, all on their own."
Slowly the remaining students trickled in, having finally finished the obstacle course.
The spectators were in uproar. For the first finishers to have finished so fast was almost unheard of, and many a discussion were happening about whose Hero's apprentices they would become, especially by the members of the Business Course, for whom it was in their blood and their only job in this tournament to run business simulation and hone their skills as salespeople.
"It's finally over. Let's check the results."
With the arrival of the final students, Midnight had climbed up to the concrete platform and with the opening of the holograph behind her, the race results popped up, their ranking decided by their overall finish time.
"The top 43 from this round will move on to the next trial, and without further ado… it's time to reveal the second trial! I'm sure the press corps and you, are dying in suspense to see the next one, which is this!!!"
"Cavalry battle…!" Murmurs could be heard, the planning for the battle having already began.
"And how exactly are we teaming up Miss Midnight?" A curious student of 1-A asked.
"Good question. Participants will team up in teams of two or four and get into a horse and rider position. The rules are exactly the same as the normal game, with one little exception… each one of you has been given points based on your ranking in the last event."
"We'll earn points like the entrance exam? Sounds simple." Another 1-A member interjected and another one followed. "So the point value of each team is the point sum of its members.
Having finally had enough, Midnight produced a cracking sound with her whip and restored order.
"SHUT UP!! I was just about to explain it! Anyway, you are correct! The 42nd student is worth five, the 41st is worth 10 and so on. The 1st one though is worth… Ten Million Points!!"
Everyone's attention turned to Misaka, sizing her up and aiming for her headband. She however kept up a cool front, as she placed supreme trust in her powers. She still didn't know whether she was the strongest in this world, but she had kept up with a Saint capable of destroying mountains. If she lost against some high school students who hadn't even fought against a serious opponent it would be shameful.
"This is the chance for a comeback. It's anyone's game!! This is… Plus Ultra!! The match will last 15 minutes. Any headbands you grab must be worn around the neck or higher. Most importantly though, even if your headband is taken or your formation broken… it's not over till it's over!"
The already experienced Class 1-A started thinking about what that meant, but the other classes were no slouches either and everyone was carefully planning, with most people trying to find a way to get the 1st place headband.
"Remember, Quirks are allowed, but attacking other teams with the intent of making them fall will reward you with a red card! You have 15 minutes. It's time to form your teams."
The 3rd and 4th, Todoroki and Bakugo respectively, were instantly swarmed by the members of their class. The top 2 however were avoided like the plague. Misaka, because she would be targeted, and Midoryia, because everybody had seen him break arms and legs when using his quirk.The other classes had already grouped up, and only some people had still not found a team, Misaka and Midoryia being two of those people. Seeing as she had no other choice, Misaka approached Midoryia in hopes of forming a team with him. By the time she had reached him, he had already found two other members, Uraraka and a girl from the support course, judging by all the machinery around her. Her proposal was happily accepted by Midoryia who was lacking a 4th member for his team.
At the last moment the final teams were finally formed.
"The 15 minutes are up! Time to get started."
The announcer finally made himself known again, as he started once again commentating on the event.
"The 12 teams are finally making their way through the stadium. Let me hear some noise for our students! And here comes the starting signal!"
In Misaka's team, Midoryia was the rider. The team was constructed in such a way that they were more maneuverable than everyone else. The reason for that was simple. Combined with Urarakas Zero Gravity Quirk, Mei's inventions and her own power, they could quickly navigate the concrete floor.
"Here we go!!
THREE!
TWO!
ONE! START!!"
The crowd was eager to see the student's fight again and they showed that by cheering them on. It was left unsaid though, that the crowd was surprised the Number 1 and Number 2 in the leader board had made a team together. The same held true for the students though. Seeing an opportunity to snatch the top 2's headbands they rushed towards them, hoping to catch them off-guard. And, while Misaka and the rest could dodge, it just wasn't her style. The first two teams to charge at them, when they found themselves close to them, they were paralyzed, not being able to move their bodies. However, even if they couldn't move, they could still utilize their quirks.
The ground beneath their group started to shift, effectively like moving sand, and suck them in. However through a combination of Uraraka's quirk and Hatsume's machines, so called babies, they flew through the air and got out of the sand. A headphone wire extended but was cut by a small, moving barrier of Iron Sand. Misaka had magnetically attached some Iron Sand from the previous Courses to her, not enough to weigh her down, but still enough to be able to use it for offense and defense.
"Well done Misaka, Hatsume, Uraraka." Izuku was thrilled to say the least. Their team composition was great, and if Misaka could stop any charging competitor, the win was already in their grasp."
"Barely two minutes have passed and the battlefield is already in a mess. Many headbands have already exchanged hands many times, some from the higher ranking students! Can you believe it!?"
In the middle of Present Mic's commentating, the number 1 team had found themselves in a precarious situation. Though Misaka had managed to stop the charging Shoji, they were stuck, Uraraka having stepped on some of Mineta's sticky balls. Thankfully, at the cost of the machinery itself they had managed to escape. They were slightly taken by surprise by the members inside Shoji, and Misaka had difficulty stopping them. It was only because of their "Mutation Quirks" that she had difficulty, their circulatory system unknown to her. She didn't want to accidentally hurt them or potentially kill them so she refrained from trying to control them. After all, her Blood Control was weak and relied on her control over magnetism. A wrong move and those she controlled would end up dead.
They were now up in the air. It was a vulnerable position and Bakugo was going to exploit it. He jumped, accelerating himself through explosions and quickly found himself on top of Team Izuku.
"Don't get so cocky now, bastards!!" With a swipe of his hand he stole the headband, netting himself a million points. However it was short lived. Misaka was sure they would try something like this, so she had coated the headband with some Iron Sand. Was it allowed? Probably not, but Midnight didn't seem to care.
"And Bakugo has lost the headband, after it mysteriously flew back to Midoryia's hand. And you have to ask yourself, what was Bakugo doing up there! It's surely not allowed."
The crowd was mesmerized, the fighting happening completely drawing them in, especially the Class 1-A kids, with their flashy moves.
"I think it's time to look at the point spread. How is the leaderboard after 7 minutes?"
As the leaderboard opened, uproar spread through the stadium.
"What's going on! Class 1-A is in a bad position right now! The top 6 is dominated by Class 1-B and what after Bakugo's unsuccessful attempt at Midoryia's headband he's fallen down. How did this happen?!"
Back in the playing field, the one who had taken Bakugo's headband was gloating, saying how they held back so they could study their reactions, their quirks and their character in general. The only thing the leader achieved through his gloating was one thing only. Making Bakugo mad.
"Oi, plan's changed. Before we go for Deku, I'm going to murder each one of them…!"
"Dear crowd, it looks like the match is over already. Only Midoryia's and Todoroki's teams represent class 1-A now. But what matters now is the 10 million point crown. Todoroki and Midoryia are currently facing each other, the two rivals ready to duke it out."
But they were not alone. Many teams saw an opportunity and ran toward them. However they were in for a surprise. Lightning surged from Kaminari, and almost everyone was knocked, MIdoryia's team being the only exception. In order to counteract the lightning, that although weak was still dangerous to the others, she created an ion sheath, effectively dispersing the electricity attack. Every other group was knocked out, not having any way to resist the electricity. Todoroki easily grabbed them and now he paid full focus to their team.
"Oh! Todoroki's team have taken out almost half of the teams and stolen their headbands. Can Midoryia's team resist their attacks?" Present Mic's commentating was exciting the crowd, who were eager to see the top 2 teams fight.
The commentating was tuned out by aforementioned teams, the battle more important to them.
"I'll launch a distraction!" Misaka grabbed the fried backpack and magnetically shot it towards' Todoroki. However, Yaoyorozu was ready and produced a concrete pole in order to bat away the projectile.
"Her Creation quirk will be a pain to deal with! Misaka, can you deflect Kaminari's electricity again?"
"Of course I can."
"That means that she will be the most dangerous here!"
Meanwhile fierce battles were taking place, especially between Monoma and Bakugo, the two freshly named rivals. Monoma though, let the others take his place at their request, telling him that he had enough points to be top 4 and not risk it.
Bakugo's eyes screamed bloody murder seeing Monoma's cocky and demeaning look.
The battle that had caught every pair of eyes in the stadium though, was now at a standstill.
"It's been 5 minutes and we are still at a standstill. What do you think Eraserhead?"
"Ah… well, Yaoyorozu is avoiding producing anything magnetic, but at the same time any attack that comes near Midoryia's team is deflected by Misaka's moving barrier. For some reason, Kaminari's electricity has been ineffective, depriving Todoroki's team of extra firepower. In this 1 minute that remains, something drastic has to happen."
Just as their teacher said that, Ida, with speed far too great for the naked eye to see, had allowed Todoroki to grab the headband. Misaka had seen the movement and tried to react, but it was all for naught. She was not able to attack him or control his blood before he was already quite away.
"Damn it… we have to take it back! This is our only option! Here we go!" Midoryia urged his team forwards. Misaka could not come up with a way to help with only magnetism and so she followed along.
"We're getting it back Deku, believe it!" Misaka was slightly annoyed at Uraraka's shouting, after all such words didn't magically make anyone stronger. Well except for Gunha, but he was another case. Midoryia didn't think the same though, and he was now more determined than ever.
With 20 seconds left, the rankings were all but guaranteed to stay the same.
Midoryia activated his quirk and some centimeters before he hit Todoroki, he swiped right and a gust of wind followed, throwing Todoroki off-balance and giving Midoryia the opportunity to grab a headband.
"I got it! I did it!" Midoryia shouted, satisfied with himself.
"With 17 seconds to go everything is up in the air! Who will come out on top? Midoryia's or Todoroki's team?" Present Mic was still commentating, the fight going on between the two teams clearly exciting him.
In the battleground, Midoryia, who was previously celebrating was now mad with himself.
"They tricked us! It's the wrong one." In his hands the 10 million headband he was expecting to have was instead a 70 score headband.
He was shook, but with 10 seconds to go it was all to play for.
"10" Leaving no time to waste, Midoryia's team started running towards Todoroki's, hoping to grab at least another headband or else they'd be out of the competition
"9"
"8"
"7"
"6"
"5" At around this point Bakugo had jumped over the ice arena Todoroki had created, frantically searching for the 10 million headband.
"4"
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Time's Up!!!" With the final announcement from Present Mic all the teams stopped their actions as he announced the results.
"In first place…Team Todoroki! Second place… Team Bakugo! In third, Team Tetsu… no wait… Whoa!! Team Shinso?! What a turnaround by Team Shinso!"
A pregnant pause ensued before he announced the fourth and last team.
"Ugh… I'm so sorry guys… really" Midoryia was apologizing to his team taking the blame for their failure. What he didn't expect was what he heard by Misaka. "While Todoroki was shaken by your attack I tried to get back the 10 million. I failed, but I got another one." As she said that she produced two headbands that she had taken by cutting the knots with Iron Sand and then attaching it to them and bringing them back to her, one saying 125 and another 420 for a team total score of 615.
"And finally in fourth… Team Midoryia!! These four teams will proceed to the finals!"
And while Midoryia was crying rivers of tears and the rest were celebrating, Misaka was unsatisfied with the outcome. Her limiting herself to only magnetism only meant that she limited her arsenal and didn't help anywhere. The police had still not figured her <
Still, now that it was time for the one on one tournament, she would not hold back and clear the field with speed unheard of.