But you have to remember that at this point, Peter has experience with using his powers in the way UA is training them in, that is, in practical settings. Before UA, most of the characters haven't even used their powers all that well, with the exception of Shotou, Momo and Tenya. Taking this into account, it's expected that Peter would be able to beat almost everyone unless it was at the scale of All Might or someone from the MCU/Marvel-verse.
Again. Not my point. I'm not arguing "It shouldn't have happened" I'm arguing that the emphasis on solely THIS (the ease of his victory) as opposed to say, Izuku's perspective on the race or Bakugo. Putting the eye and focus on Peter and solely Peter just shows, nothing but "Peter Rolfstomp gg scrubs" and that's *boring* its not an argument to it being impossible to occur. Its an argument as to the literary tool utilized which is to say, nothing but a gratuitous fanjob.
Again. Not my point. I'm not arguing "It shouldn't have happened" I'm arguing that the emphasis on solely THIS (the ease of his victory) as opposed to say, Izuku's perspective on the race or Bakugo. Putting the eye and focus on Peter and solely Peter just shows, nothing but "Peter Rolfstomp gg scrubs" and that's *boring* its not an argument to it being impossible to occur. Its an argument as to the literary tool utilized which is to say, nothing but a gratuitous fanjob.
Fair enough, I do understand that some people like to see the struggle of the characters but after the USJ incident and all events prior that happened to Peter, I'd say the poor child deserves a rest.
Again. Not my point. I'm not arguing "It shouldn't have happened" I'm arguing that the emphasis on solely THIS (the ease of his victory) as opposed to say, Izuku's perspective on the race or Bakugo. Putting the eye and focus on Peter and solely Peter just shows, nothing but "Peter Rolfstomp gg scrubs" and that's *boring* its not an argument to it being impossible to occur. Its an argument as to the literary tool utilized which is to say, nothing but a gratuitous fanjob.
Honestly, the thing is that we already see the MC's/Midoriya's struggle to win the race in the manga, anime, and whatever other fanfics. Instead of having the obstacle race as it's own 'test' to overcome, it instead acts as a springboard to build up Peter for upcoming moments or as recompense for prior events. We've seen Peter at one of his lowest points, against Nomu, so it's fine if we also see him at his high point winning this event with ease.
There's still the rest of the Tournament to go, and those could start breaking things down for Peter after this one built him up.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! How could this happen!? A single fucking second out of the gate and Parker was already in the lead? And if that wasn't bad enough, Icy-Hot couldn't even freeze the ground fast enough to stop the rest of the extras.
Katsuki grit his teeth, unleashing an explosion that propelled him to the front of the gate.
"I ain't letting you off that easy, Icy-Hot!"
But even as he said that he wasn't the only one taking the chance. The blonde saw Horn Girl take flight of all things over the little flash-freeze that Icy-Hot had started. The Red Blockhead jumped straight through and even the rich girl got ahead using a pole to propel herself forward. Even Elbow Guy, Fancy Pants, and the Bird even managed to avoid the crowd.
Huh, guess he gave Icy-Hot's little trick a little too much credit if almost every extra from his class got out of it.
The Bird and the Horn Girl from the other class flew over the stunned mob of students, and they were behind the ice user. Katsuki grinned, he could handle this. Just blast them aside, get to the emo, blast him sky-high, and then gun towards Parker!
Then he would wi-
A green blur flashed past him, kicking off the wall next to him and getting ahead at a sprint. It hung in the air for a moment before it landed in front of him and took off after Icy-Hot.
Unmistakably, a mop of green hair signaled it's arrival, green lightning trailing behind him.
No.
Katsuki almost tripped, eyes as wide as plates.
A pit formed in his stomach, his blood chilling as he saw Bird and Horn Girl zoom past him. What the hell was that? Where did that ability come from? A few weeks ago all Deku could do was break his stupid arm like glass in a single shot. Now his quirk... was doing this for him!? It didn't make any sense, you couldn't just upgrade your quirk on the fly! Not that fast! It was impossible! You had to figure it out, to practice with it! He couldn't push himself like this with that recoil!
Of all the people to overtake... It had to be him.
Yet Deku could just pull this shit out of his ass like he'd…
Was he holding back again back then!? Put up all that to mock him!?
ON NATIONAL TV TOO!?
NONONONONONONO!!!
Katsuki clenched his fist so hard that it felt like his explosive quirk would set off a warhead in his hand. Is this what he was going for? Every single event, when he thought it would be a good time to show off, he would just reveal another facet of his power that he'd just been hiding? Just to rub it in his face again?
That slimy, little Deku.
That fucking snake!
"HEY!" Katsuki roared, "WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, DEKU!? YOU FUCKEEEER!"
He let loose another explosion behind him, rocketing the boy closer to the front, past the extras and to his true targets.
He landed with his legs already in motion, pushing off like a sprinter just as he always practiced, arms behind him firing at Turbo Speed. The tell-all sound of machinery moving caused him to look away from those two, and onto the little display that the U.A. staff tried to pass off as an obstacle.
Even the old Zero Pointers wouldn't be a threat. But as Katsuki got closer, he could already see they were occupied with something else. Icy-Hot unleashed a wave of ice, turning a Zero Pointer into a popsicle. The metal creaked, a few of the extras yelling in excitement at the new opening that Icy-Hot ran towards.
Idiots, it was a false opening, one that would crush them the second that gravity took hold. Even so, Katsuki grit his teeth. These extras... Declaring wars? Getting ahead of him? Preaching bullshit of serving and mentors like some weakling! Lying about quirks. Wanting to be a hero. Hiding behind croc tears and a wimpy demeanor for over a goddamn decade to make him look like a dumbass! AGAIN AND AGAIN!
"Who the fuck do you think you are!?" Katsuki roared, red eyes blazing in fury.
He launched himself forward, through the dust cloud and the stupid Zero Pointer that dared to get in his way. Its red eyes blinked at him as he smashed into it. Katsuki put his palms flat against the machine's head, and his explosions tore through the pathetic piece of tin like it was made of wet cardboard. With barely a discernible effort, he rode the scrap pile to the ground, pushing himself forward with another blast when another explosion echoed throughout the clearing. He looked back, seeing some of the Zero Pointers get stunned and their heads smoking.
That sounded like a fucking cannon?! Who had a quirk that could do-
He shook his head, Katsuki needed to focus. He was in front, he could see Icy-Hot ahead, Deku behind him with Horn Girl...
This wasn't over, not by a long shot!
"Did you think those were going to stop me!?" he roared, the wind screaming in his ears.
The finish line already in his mind's eye, Katsuki flew onward, using his blasts to propel him after the quartet who were ahead of him, and the prize he aimed to take. Parker's spot in the totem pole.
(X)
Well, that was certainly something.
Shoto certainly expected such feats out of some of his class, they'd already proven themselves worthwhile in combat, but the stream of students that followed him after his opening salvo was somewhat disappointing. He didn't want to put on the ice too thick, speed was the goal in this scenario, but clearly, he needed to put more power in such a move next time. He didn't hold anything back when faced with the Zero Pointers. Couldn't afford to. Besides, they slowed a lot of the herd back there when he froze one with a glacier on purpose.
The obstacles that had bored him even so far back as the Recommendation Exam made him long for a test that was a little more threatening. Though, for his complaints, it did give him a chance to set an example for the old man.
In the back of his mind, the traitorous part of his brain commented on how he could simply jet over the mechs, setting himself down with his fire. Or use the fire to melt the robots to slow down the students behind him and focus entirely on Parker.
He dismissed those thoughts as quickly as they came.
Not a chance. Not here, especially not in front of all these people.
Not in front of the old man. He would rather die than give him the satisfaction.
For now, there was another problem that awaited him. He figured Parker to be someone who stuck to the rest of the group, cracking jokes, and bumbling like a fool to trip everyone up. Clearly, he was mistaken on more than one front. Shoto always assumed that the American's suit was what gave him such a notable increase in his abilities. Yes, the application test had him physically at the top, but Shoto didn't think the margin between them was this wide.
He growled to himself. He'd underestimated Parker, again.
Damnit, the old man was watching, and this was the showing he was giving? Glancing behind him, the rest of his peers were putting on a far better showing than him. Yaoyorozu was laying down support fire with a bazooka, bringing down another Zero Pointer. The main threats were little more than speedbumps to his fellow students.
Spectacular.
Shoto leaped as high as he could over a downed Three-Pointer, summoning an ice slide underneath himself. He could see Parker ahead, the dust evident of his speed. If he could get close, he could simply freeze his webbing or leg and bring him down.
Shoto felt his hair stand on end as he could feel someone gaining on him. He turned his head slightly, and saw that Midoriya was right behind him! Shoto's eyes widened. When did he get this fast?!
"DEKUUUU!" Bakugo came roaring in, firing off explosive blasts to catch the green haired boy off guard. Midoriya jumped away with a yelp, trying to avoid the explosions.
"BUT BE CAREFUL! THE NEXT OBSTACLE FOR PARKER IS THE FAAAALL! YOU HIT ROCK BOTTOM, YOU'RE OUT!" Came Present Mic's voice, and Shoto perked up as he focused on his run.
"He's already at the next obstacle!" Shoto thought aloud, and he conjured his ice, allowing him to surge down the path. The dust cloud was gone and the heterochromatic-eyed boy bared his teeth in frustration.
He couldn't afford to lose. Not like this!
(X)
"There," Momo kicked aside her howitzer as she felt a thud land behind her. "Done." She grabbed her motor-powered skateboard as the other students ran around the wreckage of the robots. Momo kicked herself mentally for getting caught in that mob, but seeing Peter jump through the entry gate was a masterstroke. He'd inspired her and her peers to leap on through!
She threw the skateboard to the ground and got on, speeding off as she felt the clamps tighten around her feet and sped through some surprised students who made way to avoid getting run over. "Make way!"
"Hey, what the hell!"
"Where did she get that?!"
"Is she in Support?!"
"That's cheating!" Momo smirked a little as she went on ahead.
"Hahahaha! I got you now, you Class-A thot!" Chortled some… purple haired ball kid who looked super short, zooming in as he pulled out… some purple balls from his head. "I'll just hitch a ride to the good life and take your spot! Only fair that you repay us all," He monologued. "Since all you and your stupid class have done is bring trouble on our school you-"
"TARGET ACQUIRED. DESTROY."
And a One Pointer Robot came from nowhere from the side and swung, hitting the kid.
"Waaaaaaaaaaah!" The punch from the robot sent the shorty flying. Momo had to duck as the loudmouth's tiny form soared out into the track. Guess he's not out ye-
"Eat this you creep!" A General Ed student who looked like a beige-coated red eyed cat girl spun around, bashing him with two flaming tails. He was launched once again into the air.
"That's for being in the girls' locker room!" Yelled another, the dark haired girl swatted at him with long and black fingernails, apparently having elongated like spears.
"Oooora!" A green haired girl fired out her arm, string attached to her from the forearm to elbow as it connected to the purple haired boy's cheek, sending him flying out of the track, into a tree and down to the ground.
"MINETA MINORU. RETIRE!" Said a Camera bot as Momo raced past some of her peers. She could hear the General Education students jeer at her and see… some girls give a thumbs-up.
"What a strange student…" Momo mused before her train of thought was cut off by Present Mic.
"HE'S STILL GOING! IS HE GONNA JUMP!?"
Momo perked up. "Peter-san?" Oh right, he was still far ahead. She had to catch up! The black haired beauty put more pressure on the gas and floored it.
(X)
Mineta Minoru twitched as he landed in the bushes, eyes downcast as he realized that he was the first one to be kicked out of the race. He raised his head...
Maybe Mom was right…
"I should have been a dentist…"
Or dad may have some internship openings… His newspaper was looking to hire new people…
Maybe he could get girls that way...
"HE DIIIIIIID!!!" Minoru's face met the dirt as he sighed upon hearing Present Mic's voice.
Damn that Class 1-A.
Just damn them.
(X)
The tires of her skateboard screeched as Momo maintained her momentum, the other contestants up ahead as she turned. Those few days practicing in that horse race track had definitely paid off! Todoroki was leading the pack, with Tokoyami and Tsunotori making fast progress, but behind them… Midoriya was dodging a rampaging Bakugo!
"Kacchan! We have a race to finish!"
"Go to hell, you snake! I'm making sure that you lose first!" Bakugo barked, swiping as he ran, Midoriya avoiding a blast. "After all this shit you've pulled, your word to me is dead! Dead!" Momo continued to drive, thinking over her options. Smirking, she began to put her quirk to work, her stomach glowing as the canister of a paintball gun emerged.
"Oh, no you don't!" Yelled a voice as Momo ducked a swipe, yelping as she maintained control on her motor-powered board. The black haired beauty looked behind her as she began to overtake the bickering Midoriya and Bakugo. Tokoyami's gaze was in her direction, sprinting as Dark Shadow was out, its glowing gold eyes on her as it sped forth.
"I won't let you stop us!" Tokoyami declared. "Dark Shadow, don't let her make anything!"
"Roger!" The Shadow Construct obeyed, and while Tokoyami lagged behind, the beast was able to pull Tokoyami up in big mighty leaps. While in the air, the fast shadow he had created zoomed in on Momo.
The girl growled, swerving to the side to avoid a strike as she managed to overtake them both. She put the pedal to the metal, gaining on Todoroki as she slowed down, reaching to her stomach to bring forth her conjured paintball gun with web-balls in the ammo container.
She aimed, but Todoroki seemed to notice as he stopped his ice surge forward, running as before as he looked back. He growled, and with a swipe of his arm, summoned a massive surge of ice. She fired a few shots, but she had to bail out now!
"Crap!" Momo had to toss the gun as she abandoned her trusty skateboard, but she was ready for this!
She conjured a bodyboard from her back, causing her shirt to be torn from the back and she was left in her sports bra. Momo grabbed it and turned, using it to skid off the ground to soften her landing. Momo yelped as she hung on, bouncing and skidding. She got up on her feet, staggering a little before breaking out into a run. She was behind Todoroki still, going around his ice wall. No time to pick up the paintball rifle, had to focus on the race!
"Back off birdbrain!" Yelled Bakugo behind her as she heard more explosions, looking back to see the blonde bomber stun Dark Shadow as he had overtaken him. He then went into Turbo Speed, blasting forth. "And stay in your lane, rich girl!" He roared, gaining on her before Midoriya sprinted past, brushing aside Bakugo. His red eyes surged with fury as he roared, going after the green haired boy who seemed as intent on catching up as he was.
Momo bit her inner cheek. Think. Conjuring another skateboard may take too much-
"HE'S BACK OUUUUUUT! THE SPIDER OF U.A. IS ON A TEAR! BAKUGO IS PUSHING AWAY TOKOYAMI AS HE TRAILS TODOROKI AND YAOYOROZU! MIDORIYA IS NIPPING AT THE BLONDE BOMBER'S HEELS! OHHHH HE DOESN'T LOOK HAPPY! OH, THERE COMES IIDA NOW! NOW CLASS 1-B'S TSUNOTORI IS ZOOMING IN!"
Momo's eyes widened as she glanced back. Sure enough, the dust cloud that was Iida was coming up quickly. She needed to slow him down. In raw speed, Iida would outpace anything that she could make. And behind him, Tsunotori was gaining as well, hugging the left side of the track like a racehorse while flying on her horns like a skateboard.
She was in her sports bra and pants, but this wouldn't get to her. Be like Midnight. Be proud and don't be ashamed of revealing too much. Her quirk needed as much skin as possible to be exposed anyway!
Momo conjured two flashbangs in her arms, catching them as she grabbed them. Earbuds formed in her ears. As she did, she sensed Midoriya and Bakugo to her right, fighting amongst themselves (well, one of them was). Tokoyami right behind her, given how Dark Shadow's...shadow... was obscuring the ground. And Tenya was about to pass her by on the left.
"PARKER IS APPROACHING THE MINEFIELD! HE ISN'T STOPPING AGAIN! WHAT WILL HE DO NOW?! WILL HE BE ABLE TO SEE THE MINES? OR BE SENT FLYING OUT OF THE RACE?!"
The reactions of her classmates upon hearing that Peter had gotten to the next obstacle made them perk up. That was her opening!
"How about this!"
She threw them up in the air and closed her eyes as the twin flashbangs detonated, stunning all involved as she went on ahead. The force of the twin flash grenades made her stagger, but it didn't stop her run. Dead ahead, she saw the obstacle that Present Mic spoke of earlier. The Fall.
"INCREDIBLE! PETER PARKER OF CLASS 1-A HAS BLOWN THIS RACE UP LIKE A LEDECKY! NO ONE HAS EVEN TOUCHED THE FALL YE-AH, THERE ARE SOME WHO JUST GOT THERE!
Todoroki had paused before jumping onto a cord, zooming down it with his ice. Momo felt a pit in her gut. This was gonna slow her down big time! Take the cords? No… Peter got across this obstacle no sweat. And he was approaching the end too! "Got to catch up!"
Which meant that he used his web shooters. A line to swing across! The black beauty began to get to work, her midsection glowing as she got to creating a new handy-dandy item.
(X)
"Damn, I need to get across!" Izuku said aloud as he jumped to the side, avoiding a blast from Kacchan. His childhood friend was frothing with anger as he aimed and swung at him, using his Turbo Speed to propel himself ahead of his old friend at every opportunity. Izuku bit his cheek, whenever he had a chance to pass Kacchan, he blocked him off like a race car.
He couldn't afford to lose here! Parker was already so far ahead! He knew that his friend was strong…
He never knew the divide between him and the American student was so wide! He needed to tell the world 'I Am Here'. As grateful as he was to Parker for helping him get one step closer to mastering One for All, he'd told Todoroki that he wasn't gonna hold back.
Then again… neither did Peter. Maybe that's what Izuku got for poking the bear.
They got to the edge of the Fall as Todoroki got to the next spire, running across the platform and riding his ice along a cord.
"AND PARKER HAS WON THE RACE! WHAT A FINISH! NOT SINCE ALL MIGHT HAS WALKED U.A.'s HALLS HAVE WE SEEN SUCH A FEAT IN TERMS OF SPEED AND TECHNIQUE! HE RAN LIKE A FORMULA RACE CAR. HE TOOK OFF LIKE A JET! I DON'T KNOW HOW HE DID IT BUT HE DID! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT YOUR STUDENT, ERASER?"
"He's already won?!" Izuku gasped. So there was only one more obstacle after this, the minefield!
"Goddamniiiiiit!" Kacchan roared as he blasted off, flying over the ravine. "I'll get you next time Deku! You hear me?!" He looked back as Izuku looked at the cords and gulped.
The spires were a good distance away. Maybe one leap while using One For All could work? No, he couldn't risk it. If he missed, he would fall and be out of the race!
"Slow and steady as Mom says." Izuku muttered, going to a cord and hanging from it as he began to make his way across. His muscles and lungs burned from the running, but this wasn't as bad as his training while cleaning up the beach. His training had paid off, and using One For All, his body glowed as he began to move faster.
"Here I go!" Tsunotori whooped as she flew across with her horns above him. He saw Dark Shadow extend across the abyss and pull Tokoyami to a spire. Izuku gritted his teeth, and he began to go down the cord faster, finally reaching the spire. He got up, taking a breather as he looked around. Todoroki was several spires ahead, and Kacchan was using his Explosion to launch himself forward, but the two seemed to be neck and neck.
"I see that you're copying me Midoriya-chan!" Yelled a voice as Izuku looked across to another platform as he got down to get across to the next platform. Tsuyu was there smiling as she walked the tightrope using her hands and feet. Unlike Izuku who had to hang upside down, she was still upright!
"Well, gotta make sure I make it across!" Izuku yelled back with a light grin. "You holding up? Asu-I mean, Tsuyu-san-whoa!" Izuku lost his grip before reclaiming it. He clammed up, hanging onto the tightrope.
"Good catch. And I'm doing good. You look great yourself! Hurry it up though! Others are getting to the beginning and will catch up!" She encouraged as she pitter-pattered across the tightrope. Izuku took a deep breath, body glowing with One For All as he began to skitter to the next platform. He got there and looked up, Tokoyami was ahead of him, and Todoroki and Kacchan were near the end!
"My older brother is watching me! I must look as proper as possible as a member of the Iida Family!" Iida yelled as Izuku turned, seeing the Class Secretary use his Engine to skid across the rope to the next spire. Arms out wide, and he… Was he T-Posing?
"HE LOOKS SO LAME!" Present Mic hollered and Izuku turned…
Other platforms were close by. If he could time it right… He'd get across with a leap! Izuku focused, conjuring his power as heat gathered in his body. He dashed forward and with one mighty leap, Izuku yelled as he landed on the next platform.
"Phew! Okay… That was faster than tightroping." Izuku turned ahead, seeing that Todoroki and Kacchan-
Were at the end!
"Here we go!" Izuku yelled as he ran, green lightning emitting from his body as he took a great leap, landing on a nearby platform. He grinned.
"I can do this!" He backed off, ready to jump before he noticed some mad cackling.
"WATCH OUT WORLD! BEHOLD YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR WHILE GAZING UPON MY BABIES!" Yelled a female voice as a pink haired girl reeled herself from one spire to the next using her own Support Gear, hookshots attached to some vest and… were those hoverboots?! She was laughing like a madwoman too! Right behind her, a massive tangle of green vines was on the move, moving from one spire to another like a slinky going down some stairs. What kind of quirk was that!? "NOTICE ME COMPANIEEEEES!"
"I made it throuuuuugh!" Yelled a voice as Izuku jumped to the next spire, and she saw a very flustered and scared Yaoyorozu swinging up by courtesy of a grappling hook! She had another one too in her free arm as she aimed, firing it at the end of The Fall?!
No time to get distracted. Time to catch up!
(X)
"WOOOHOOO! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Mt. Lady shrieked, pumping her arms.
Close by in the stands, Kamui Woods had to cover his ears. His fellow hero had her eyes glued to the screen along the stadium's vendor area, practically pushing civilians aside to see the boy, Parker, complete his race. Her excitement had been tame at first, a glance or two while they went on their patrols, but this was getting ridiculous.
"Just let her go," Death Arms said in resignation, "I don't think she'll be listening to us."
"She could at least take her job seriously," Shinji muttered.
Death Arms shrugged, "Sure, but think about it this way, she can't exactly wiggle out of anything else today now that you've got this to bring up."
Shinji perked up. The older hero had a point there. However, there was still something bugging him.
"That kid, Parker, his name ring a bell to you?"
"Sure does," Death Arms confirmed, "He was the vigilante that showed up during Mt. Lady's debut."
"The spider kid?" Shinji asked, befuddled. That kid swung right into an active villain takedown, crashing into Mt. Lady if he recalled things correctly. That wasn't all either. Shinji remembered personally bringing him to the police after he got knocked out. He also remembered putting Yu on guard duty for her little stunt that very same day.
"How'd he get into U.A?" Shinji asked.
Death Arms shrugged, "Don't know. Transfer from America from what I remember reading. The report was an oversight, you know how American heroes operate, 'jump in first' kinda mentality."
Shinji raised an eyebrow at the casualness of the comment, but he didn't argue. He simply watched as his partner continued to gush over, apparently, her ward's success.
"Still, kid's got a future ahead of him."
Shinji chuckled, "You might as well say that about all those Hero Course kids. See any that catch your eye?"
Death Arms nodded, pointing at the camera as it showed a blonde that was throwing explosions at his peers, knocking them back before they could overtake him.
"Kid looks like he's got some power."
"I'd worry more about the screaming," Shinji pointed out.
Again the large hero shrugged, "Can't win them all, and it gives us a place to start. What about you?"
Shinji hummed as the camera drifted over the students. The bird-headed student with his shadow was expertly dodging attacks as well as creating openings for himself. The kid that looked like a carbon copy of Ingenium looked like he had a smart head on his shoulders. If he was being perfectly honest, he could pick out something for each of them.
That being said…
"I'll wait till the second event to tell you."
Death Arms nodded, "All yours, but anyway we should be-" the big man stopped, glaring at the sight in front of him, "Mt. Lady, for the last time you can't take free samples!"
"But they're so good~!" she complained, bag full of pocky. "I forgot to eat breakfaaaaaast~"
Shinji rubbed his now aching forehead. This day couldn't end fast enough.
(X)
Incredible.
That was a word Aizawa tossed about in his head as Present Mic yelled color commentary to the crowd. Todoroki and Bakugo were neck and neck as they fired ice surges and explosive blasts at each other as they approached the minefield.
The USJ incident, while traumatic and something he would not wish upon anyone, had tempered his students in a crucible.
Midoriya, by hook or by crook, got that self-destructive quirk under control. He was able to keep pace with Bakugo and the others in his class at the start of the race, and even took out some robots. He could now save people, and with that head of his, he'd have a good and long hero career ahead of him.
Yaoyorozu's confidence and skill on the fly was nothing short of outstanding. Using her gear not to slow down her opponents but focusing on the race at hand allowed her to get ahead to the top ten spots, and she got to the other side courtesy of two grappling hookshots and a comfy medicine ball to land on to resume her chase. Aizawa had no words.
All of his students were doing well. Ashido was emulating Iida in sliding across the cords. Asui, Ojiro, Shoji, Tokoyami, and even Aoyama were traversing The Fall no problem. Uraraka was taking it slow and steady using her gravity jump.
And there were many in Vlad's class that were excelling, and Aizawa made note of two. The one that Parker was apparently friends with before getting to U.A, and the catholic girl.
"BAKUGO AND TODOROKI HAVE MADE IT TO THE MINEFIELD! TSUNOTORI AND IIDA ARE HOT ON THEIR TAILS! AHHH! MIDORIYA MADE IT ACROSS, PASSING OVER YAOYOROZU AND NOW HE'S GAINING ON THEM QUICK, FAST, AND IN A HURRY! YOUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN KILLING IT TODAY, MUMMYZAWA!"
Aizawa groaned.
"Don't call me that. Anyways, the ones in front have undergone a baptism by fire. They came prepared for this" Aizawa replied.
"YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN! HECK, YOU MAY JUST HAVE THE NEXT ALL MIGHT IN YOUR CLASS!" Aizawa's eyes went from the screens to the arena, seeing Parker cheering his fellow students on as he looked up at the screens.
A kind boy, reverting back to the bumbling joker the second that the danger was over.
His eyes panned over to the teachers' box, seeing Yagi in his thin form watching with some of the other teachers and they narrowed. Mic's words…
Once the Festival and his classes' internships were over, he was getting back to his investigation ASAP. Because if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, acts like a duck…
It ain't a damn mongoose.
His eyes went back to the screens, and Aizawa saw Bakugo and Todoroki making slow progress across the minefield, but it was Bakugo who was pulling ahead whenever Todoroki didn't fire any ice surges at him.
Parker's curbstomp victory had lit a fire under them, and now they were doing their damndest to fight for second place. The look on their faces, cold rage in Todoroki's, and white hot fury in the blonde's was evident. They were mad at the circumstances, and at themselves.
Parker was on top, and they were definitely gunning for him.
"HERE COMES TSUNOTORI NOW! SHE'S FLYING OVER THE MINEFIELD NO SWEAT!"
(X)
"I can do this!" Pony muttered as she flew down low, head aching as she had used her horns from the very beginning of the race. Seeing Peter jump over the stuck crowd got her the idea and it had definitely helped, as her using some General Ed students to hop over Todoroki's ice freeze paid handsome dividends. Shiozaki was doing really good, essentially making herself into a massive ball of vines and rolling across the track like an Indiana Jones boulder with a mind of its own.
She had to get past the explosive obstacles, then she could book it in a run. She was approaching Todoroki and Bakugo, who were fighting with each other for second place as Todoroki paid extra care to not step on any landmines while Bakugo simply used his blasts to keep him aloft as he swiped at the bicolor-haired boy. They were bickering too, and she could barely make out the words "war" and "me" in their tussle of words.
Present Mic's commentary made the two turn their heads, and Pony felt two pairs of eyes, one icy green and the other fiery red turn on her, making her blood freeze. Both of their teeth were bared.
"Get lost!/DIE!" They yelled, firing a combined explosive blast and ice surge right at her!
"Gah!" Pony mustered the willpower to veer to the side, head aching as she avoided their mutual assault. She was on two horns, that was her limit right now. She could use one of the horns on her head to retaliate… but that would make her teeter towards the ground.
"Fine… you wanna play rough…" Pony muttered in English. "I'll play ya!" She roared as she zoomed forth, rising high above on her two horns. She could see the racers behind her slow down. She saw the green haired kid, Yaoyorozu, Shiozaki, the crow-head boy approach the minefield.
Right now, to beat that exploding jerk and Endeavor's kid, she had to go beyond!
"Plus Ultra Texas Style!" And she kicked off her horns, using her hooves to aim them downwards, right in front of the two fighting boys.
The horns struck the darker mine patches, and the pink explosion engulfed them all, the force pushing her back as two more horns popped up on her head. "Alright!" She got back down, landing on her two new horns, and began to zoom towards the minefield exit.
"WHAT A MOVE BY CLASS 1-B'S PONY TSUNOTORI! SHE TOOK OUT TODOROKI AND BAKUGO FROM CLASS 1-A WITH TWO WELL-AIMED HORN STRIKES AND IS ABOUT TO LOCK UP SECOND PLACE! OH WAIT, HERE COMES THE CALVARY!" Present Mic yelled over the speakers, making the blonde perk up. Who was coming in fast over the minefield?
"Huh?!"
"Reciproooo Buuuuuurst!" Pony looked back, seeing the Iida boy take long strides, face contorted in concentration as he did his utmost to get through the minefield, pink explosions going off behind him. From the other side of the track, a cacophony of explosions occurred as Ibara rolled towards her!
Pony gasped, and got closer to the exit, only for a massive explosion to ring out from the beginning of the minefield!
"WHAT'S THIS?! SOMEONE'S SETTING OFF THE MINES ON PURPOSE-" Pony's heart fell the moment she saw the person gaining on her using the explosion.
Yaoyorozu had a face full of determination as she came in flying across the field, another motor-powered skateboard screaming as it rolled over the mines one by one, pink explosions behind her as if she was in an action movie with those pants and sports bra of her's, hair flailing wildly. Anyone that was close enough got a face full of detonations, knocking them aside as the black haired beauty pushed for the lead. She was also using the path having been tread by Bakugo and Todoroki, one that now featured fewer mines thanks to their combined efforts.
"YAOYOROZU IS GUNNING FOR FIRST IN THIS RACE!" Pony saw her pass by below her! "SCRATCH THAT! SHE'S TAKEN THE LEAD!" Pony grit her teeth, eyes alit in anger.
"No you don't!" 'This is my moment! Not yours!' The blonde growled as she conjured a horn, and sent it flying at the black haired girl. Pony had come this far. She wouldn't let her get another win!
Pony was flying forward as her control on her horns made her stagger, and as she got to the edge of the minefield she was teetering close to the ground as her third horn was aimed for the incoming Yaoyorozu. Beside her, the massive vine boulder of Ibara was rolling in, and to the side, Iida was charging forth, both of them utilizing the new road created by Yaoyorozu. Behind her, she could see Todoroki and Bakugo sprinting forth as they no longer cared about fighting each other…
"Sorry everyone!" Yaoyorozu saw her horn coming in, she propped herself up on the board…
"I'm gonna win!" She roared, and twisted her feet on the seat as she kicked it down to the ground and she sprung forward.
And her new skateboard exploded like a primed grenade as it collided against a mine!
Pony yelled as the pink dust overtook her, sending her flying through the opening in Ibara's vine boulder and into the girl herself. Ibara quickly lost control of her quirk and they rolled in a tumble.
Yaoyorozu was in front!
"YAOYOROZU HAS TAKEN THE LEAD! SHE'S IN THE HOME STRETCH NOW!"
(X)
Momo's lungs burned hotter than she ever thought they could.
Every step felt like a mile with her stomach churning in displeasure, the results of her quirk dragging her down. Her arms pumped, but she didn't let herself slow down. The end was so close, just a final push into the tunnel and out again and she'd be across the finish line!
Just a few more steps. Please, please let this work!
Without looking back, she threw her last creation, a single container of Parker's web fluid. It wasn't much, but she had nothing left. Maybe if she was lucky…
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?!"
Her luck held. For a second, she had the strength to smile. Caught Bakugo.
Momo dug in her heels, putting just a little more into this final push. It was so close, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel!
But the sound of thundering footsteps echoed in her ears. She closed her eyes. No, she was so close, but she pressed on, gunning it..
But it wasn't enough.
Momo felt herself tilt forward, and everything she had left went into one last jump, arms outstretched. One last chance to make it though! Time seemed to slow. She opened her eyes, hoping, pleading for nothing to be close.
Only to see the edge of a blonde horn edge forward from her left, and a roaring class secretary coming up fast on the right.
Time returned to normal, and Momo fell to the ground in a heap. On the plus side, she heard two other people hit the ground close to her. The three of them were close, too close. Pony was on her side on the ground, having lept cross using her horns, groaning while Iida was panting hard, hands on his knees.
Was it enough? Did she get close enough to take it?
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, WE HAVE A PHOTO FINISH FOR THE AGES!" Present Mic's voice roared from one of no doubt dozens of speakers all around the stadium, "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO GOT ACROSS I COULDN'T TELL BUT LET'S LOOK TO THE JUMBOTRON FOR THAT SWEET FRAME BY FRAME ACTION!"
Momo forced her neck to crane up. She had to see, she couldn't deal with anything less than concrete proof. Up there, on the mighty screen above, a picture-perfect recreation of the entrance streamed for all to see. She could see herself, drenched in sweat desperately trying to edge forward as much as she could.
Only, Pony's horns were just a little bit further than her fingers could reach.
Momo's face fell down to the unforgiving dirt. She clenched her hands, she hadn't fast enough.
"THERE YOU HAVE IT LADIES AND GENTS! AFTER THE CLOSEST SECOND PLACE RUN IN SPORTS FESTIVAL HISTORY! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! AFTER AN AMAZING COMEBACK PONY TSUNOTORI EDGES OUT FOR SECOND PLACE FOLLOWED BY YAOYOROZU MOMO AND IIDA TENYA! I'M ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT, WILL THIS MADNESS EVER END!?!" Present Mic howled as the crowd roared in approval, entertained and cheering for the prospects.
"Yeah, that's the point of a finish line," said Aizawa's drawl as it came through.
Momo could barely move. It took all she had left to look back up, feeling a shadow loom over her.
Where Parker was standing over her, a bottle of water in one hand and an orange in the other.
"Cutie?" he offered, grin on his face.
And despite herself, Momo could help but laugh, "I'd love one," she said.
"Well you're in luck, they've got a ton of them over by the stands," Parker said, handing over the offered food and helping her to her feet before turning to the lump of blonde hair close by.
"Pony, your horns can blow up too!?" he asked, helping his fellow american to her feet as well.
The blonde blushed a little at the proximity, something she tried to play off by scratching her head awkwardly.
"Ummm, not really… just aimed them towards a mine is all."
"Still, that was so awesome!" Parker finished, "How-how do you make them fly? Honestly Pony, your horns don't obey the laws of physics. Your power is so cool, you were flying in as if you were on a flying skateboard!" He turned back towards Momo. "And you were fantastic too, Momo! You got across The Fall using my move!"
Momo blushed, laughing a bit. "That so? Well… I had to get across as fast as possible somehow. The grappling hooks were my best option."
"Yeah and…" Peter looked down, seeing that Momo had lost her shirt and… was in her pants and shoes and sports bra. Dirt and dust covered her, along with a hot sheen of sweat. Parker bit his lip and looked away. "You gonna be alright being so-"
"GOOOOOOODDDDDAAAAAMMMIIIITTTT!!!!"
Momo, who was about to reassure Peter that her lack of a shirt was fine, turned around just in time to see a massive explosion rock the finish line. A frothing, livid Bakugo was staring at Midoriya who was panting in the area in front of him, hands on his knees. Todoroki came in right after with an ice surge, landing in a tumble as he panted, steam coming off of him as he defrosted. The bomber's bloodshot eyes snapped to Parker, who seemingly knew when Bakugo was going to look at him as he glanced back at the perfect time. Bakugo bore a hole in Parker's and her head with his sight, but Peter simply took a bite of an orange. The blonde tisked and moved away, frustrated and angry.
"He looks angry."
"That is quite the obvious statement Parker," Tokoyami pointed out, casually taking his place as he arrived.
"Parker-san!" Came Iida who marched over, hand clutching water bottle. "You did an exemplary job! For you to jump over the crowd and not to engage with the robots in the first obstacle, your judgement is truly admirable. As your Class Secretary I am proud to have you as my Representative, but I must admonish myself for not seeing such a thing sooner! For the teachers have-"
"He's gonna ramble for a while, ain't he?" Par… Peter muttered over towards Momo, to which the dark haired girl could only chuckle as a great mass of vines came surging in while Iida continued to toss out word salad.
"You can say that again. Let's wait for the others and cheer them on!" Peter beamed, nodding.
"You got it, let's try and help Midori up first though. Guy looks like he ran a marathon. Well, he technically did, sooo…" The two walked over together towards the panting boy.
Momo could see the simmering glare that Todoroki was sending there way as the boy was still crouching on the ground, slamming a fist into it before getting back up and storming towards the water bottle and orange tables.
(X)
Yagi Toshinori thought he would see a lot of things today. The Sports Festival was the perfect opportunity to strut your stuff as it were. He said as much to Young Midoriya before he started training and there was no doubt in his mind that everyone was showing their best.
Still, the American casually eating oranges in the middle of the field, sitting down and watching the other students was getting to be a bit much. He… didn't expect Parker to clear this event so fast.
He told Midoriya to tell the world that 'he was here'. Instead, he was lumped in the pack with the top ten finishers. But still…
He managed to properly utilize One for All in the field, even using it to avoid an angry Bakugo and use it to jump great distances. This was a far cry from where he was two weeks ago, where a single usage of One For All meant a visit with Recovery Girl.
Midoriya didn't shoot for the stars, but he landed on the moon. That was a great starting point, and Toshinori felt pride blossom inside him.
Still… Midoriya's path to become the next All Might. The next Symbol of Peace and Justice had hit a roadblock. An American brown haired one who was good friends with Midoriya as he was busy talking with him and his peers. Present Mic said it best, no one in U.A. history had finished the Obstacle Race faster than All Might. The next one to come close? Off by twenty seconds? Was Peter Parker.
The trek to climb got tougher, no doubt about it. Still… He didn't expect this from Parker. At all.
"I'll be damned," Toshinori muttered.
Next to him, Thirteen and Snipe nodded their agreement.
"Honestly, good for him," Snipe commented, "Aizawa's apparently been having trouble getting him to take something seriously."
"I guess," Toshinori shrugged.
The domed head of Thirteen glanced his way.
"Not happy with the first place winner there, Yagi?" the space-themed hero asked.
Toshinori grimaced, waving his hands placatingly, "No no no, I'm happy for him. He's my student after all."
Though, even as he said that, he had been hoping for a different result. The starting event could've been step one on Young Midoriya's quest forward. He was a good kid, so much so that he deserved the title as his successor, but he was a hero that wanted to save others. That core desire went completely against what the Sports Festival was about, in a competition sense at least. Bad as he was to admit his part in it, heroes nowadays depended on popular opinion to stay afloat and relevant in their new profession. It had gotten to the point that in events like this, those that sought to beat everyone else no matter the cost were the ones who normally succeeded.
Not the best though, but if it kept producing quality heroes, Toshinori wouldn't cry home about it.
"Doesn't look like he has to," Snipe commented, the gunslinger hero craning his neck upward, "Looks like Endeavor's hogging the disappointment all to himself."
Toshinori and Thirteen shifted their gaze to where the gunslinger was looking. Sure enough, Endeavor was seething, his fiery beard growing white hot to the point that the civilians around him were starting to get out of their seats, sweat pouring out of them just from being near him. He was biting his lip, and Toshinori could see red dripping from it. The guardrail that served as the Number Two hero's support actually melted in his hands as he pushed off, stalking away, leaving charred footprints in his wake.
"And I thought he was a hothead before," Thirteen muttered.
Understatement of the century where Toshinori was concerned. Endeavor looked like a man who had things he wanted to say and while Toshinori couldn't even dream of Endeavor hurting pedestrians and his students, there was nothing stopping him from having some choice words for the students participating. The hidden Number One hero glanced back at the finish line and spotted a certain head of red and white hair. The young hero in question was drenched in sweat from his sprint, but he still eyed the sidelines of the stands.
Toshinori felt an inkling of disappointment rise in him as well. Despite what Endeavor felt about the results, this was an important moment for his son that he should see.
"I'll talk to him in a minute," Toshinori promised.
"You sure you wanna wait?" Snipe asked, "No time like the present."
"Don't worry, it'll have my undivided attention in a moment. Gotta do something first."
He felt both the heroes next to him quirk up their eyebrows, but Toshinori paid them no mind. He simply stared at the finish line, where a green head of hair laced in lightning had come through shortly before Endeavor's son. His protege was standing up, panting, yet he looked around until he found Toshinori sitting there in the teacher's box, grinning.
And Toshinori met his stare with a bony smile and a thumbs-up.
His successor returned a shaky thumbs-up himself, only to get distracted as his peers began to talk to him, Iida and Parker specifically.
"Got a soft spot for Midoriya there, Yagi?" Snipe asked.
"Something like that, tell me the highlights when I get back."
"Will do," Thirteen said.
Toshinori waved the two heroes farewell, walking as casually as he could to the nearest bathroom. Not the best place to transform, but options were limited in an event as televised and populated as the Sports Festival. Protected by the stalls, the Number One hero powered up and immediately made his way to the stairwell. It wasn't hard to pick up Endeavor's trail, no one else was raising the temperature by forty degrees Celsius around him..
He caught him right at the edge of the third floor, and All Might put on his best smile.
"Hey there, Endeavor!" Toshinori declared.
The fire hero actually crushed the guardrail at his side. And if looks could kill, Toshinori would be having some tea with Nana right now.
"Not enjoying the festival?"
Enji huffed, "Got that through that thick skull of yours? Do me a favor and find some talkshow to waste your time on."
He turned away, but Toshinori wasn't going to let him go. He leaped in front of him, forcing the hero to stop as he leaned against the wall amicably. His former classmate didn't look amused, licking the cut on his lip, green eyes wanting to bore right through him.
"Oh come now Endeavor, don't be like that. It's been such a long time that I thought we could at least say hello."
Endeavor flinched at that. Guess he could still surprise the fiery hero after all these years.
"You actually have something to say then?"
"Speaking truthfully, I was hoping that I could ask you what's gotten you so hot under the collar. Never knew you for one to cause distractions during events like this, even if a professional like yourself takes your job seriously doing security. I was wondering if I could help. Is it family problems? Eat something that didn't agree with you?"
Enji stared at Toshinori for a long moment, the fire on his fist going white hot and making All Might internally beg for a swift breeze. His eye was twitching in barely constrained anger.
"That's what you're on about?"
"W-well," Toshinori said, hands up in surrender, "If it's nothing, I'm sorry for wasting your time."
"Now you're sorry?" Endeavor scoffed, "That's a first, as if making that copy of yours and bringing him here wasn't enough."
Toshinori flinched, was he talking about Young Midoriya? Copy? What in the world did he mean? Wait, did he know!?
The fiery hero turned back, fuming.
Toshinori felt his hand start to clench, but he let the hero go. This particular stairway was going to the breakroom for the rest of the security staff. Even so, it would probably be best for Young Midoriya and the rest if he watched from their waiting areas.
"Wait, hold on Endeavor!" He got to the bottom of the stairway, seeing the black and red hero sulk off.
"Get lost! I have a job to do!" He roared back, not even turning to face him as Toshinori recoiled a little. Endeavor marched away down the hallway.
"Oh dear, whatever pickle did I get myself into… still…" He began to walk up the stairs to use the restroom to change back.
Young Todoroki was already damaged. If his father had all that in mind…
What could he do?
He perked up at the sound of the fireworks. The race was over?
(X)
With a crack of her whip, Midnight swung her tool around as all the students were in the stadium. "It's finally over, let's check out the results! For the next event, the ones who will advance are the top 32! And they are!"
As one, the stadium looked to the jumbotron as the list began to file in, starting from the first place down. Shoto narrowed his eyes as he gripped his fists, biting his lower lip. The pictures panned over the top 32.
1: Peter Parker
2: Pony Tsunotori
3: Yaoyorozu Momo
4: Iida Tenya
5: Midoriya Izuku
6: Bakugo Katsuki
7: Todoroki Shoto
8: Shiozaki Ibara
9: Honenuki Juzo
10: Tokoyami Fumikage
11: Sero Hanta
12: Tokage Setsuna
13: Kirishima Eijiro
14: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
15: Ojiro Mashirao
16: Awase Yousei
17: Asui Tsuyu
18: Shoji Mezo
19: Sato Rikido
20: Uraraka Ochako
21: Ashido Mina
22: Hatsume Mei
23: Jirou Kyoka
24: Shinso Hitoshi
25: Shishida Jurota
26: Kuroiro Shihai
27: Kendo Itsuka
28: Monoma Neito
29: Kaminari Denki
30: Kaibara Sen
31: Kamakiri Togaru
32: Rin Hiryu
Parker was socializing with Yaoyorozu, Iida and Kirishima without a care in the world, and Tsunotori herself was getting swamped by her Class B peers for doing so well. Tokage in particular seemed overjoyed.
"The top 32 from this qualifying round will move on!" Midnight declared, "But if you didn't make it, don't worry, we've got another way for you to show your stuff. But for now, the main section really begins, the press is going to be jumping out of their seats with what we've got!"
The R-rated heroine gestured to the screen, where a dozen names and events flashed by faster than anyone could see. "Now then, whatever will our next event be? What could possibly top such an amazing photo climax~ and such a dominating performance from our First Year Phenom~" She teased, smirking widely.
Parker bit his lower lip, while Yaoyorozu looked nonplussed. She didn't seem fazed. Midoriya's face was beet-red though.
"We're on television, seriously?" Tokoyami sternly reminded her. Kaminari was grinning dumbly, as was Sero who laughed. Jirou rolled her eyes.
Shoto saw the screen pass by as he sipped on some water. Get on with it already.
The screen then slowed down, panning over Kingdom on a Hill… then Cavalry Battle…
Before settling on…
"New Event?" Shoto said aloud, and he wasn't alone as his fellow peers who weren't downtrodden over the results of what had happened began to discuss amongst themselves. Except for Bakugo, who looked ready to have an aneurysm.
"New Event?" Kamakiri muttered. "What gives? There's no title."
"Could it be a ruse?" Asui mused with a finger to her chin.
"Sensei!" Iida raised his hand, gaining Midnight's and subsequently the teacher's attention. "I must-"
"Silence!" Midnight cracked the whip, making the Class Secretary yelp. "Now, I'm sure you and the audience are wondering..." She smirked, licking her lips. "Whatever could this mean? What is 'New Event'? Well, it is a first for U.A. as well, for this event will be..." She held her hand out, blue eyes wide with hype. "The first to be held here at the Sports Festival! You all should be honored to take part!"
"Wait, this event is a first? Made this year?" Sero said aloud.
"That's so cool!" Kirishima added. Shoto narrowed his eyes.
What new event? Could they be throwing off people who had observed past Sports Festivals? If so, well… not like the old man's homework would have done any good, if he even bothered looking at it before he burned it in front of his face.
Man, that was such a good feeling.
"But first!" Midnight pointed at the student body. "I must ask for the students who finished outside the Top 32 to return to their designated seating areas in the stadium! You all performed well out there, and your time to shine will come after the Top 32 engage in the next event!" Shoto saw many of his grade, mostly the General Education and Support Course students take their leave, the General Ed classes giving the top 32 dirty looks as they left.
"It'll be okay Aoyama, you'll get 'em next time!" Ashido patted the back of her blonde foreign friend, who walked off, hands on his stomach and in dire need of the bathroom. "Koda-kun!" The dejected-looking dino boy perked up at the pinkette. "Can you help Aoyama here to the bathroom? I don't think he can get there on his own." The mute gentle giant nodded, and with purpose helped the Half-French out of the stadium. "And he's ready to blow too!" Koda looked mortified, and began to trot, practically picking up Aoyama and running towards the tunnels.
"I shouldn't have lasered myself over the minefield… oh lala…" He groaned as Koda assisted him. Shoto focused back on his fellow students, eyes on Parker.
Midoriya had gotten that quirk of his under control, but that wasn't all that had happened. It was Parker's… dominance.
He didn't need his gear. He was strong on his own. He was the closest thing to a pro this school has in it's halls.
He clenched his fist and bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood. He had intended to succeed with flying covers and show that old man that he didn't need his fire.
Yet Shoto didn't even finish in the top five. How could he be like All Might, his idol, if he wasn't the creme de la creme?
Damn it all…
He could feel the heat come off of Bakugo to the side, whose eyes were white with rage as he glared over at Parker and Midoriya, who were now talking with Uraraka and Asui too.
…
He shouldn't have called out Midoriya. He was a fool for focusing on him when the real obstacle in his path to the top was that damn joking clown.
Shoto took a deep breath and calmed himself. Don't be like Bakugo, he mentally repeated to himself.
This was only the first event, he would get back on top in the next one. Even with All Might having his eyes on Midoriya, after that performance, the Symbol of Peace would have to be blind and stupid to not notice Parker's potential.
"Alright then! Since we have calmed down, the first stage of the second event is…" Midnight licked her lips, everyone on the edge of their seats.
"Is…?" Shoto said aloud.
"An intermission with ice cream!" She yelled with the biggest grin, and the entire stadium gasped and groaned.
"What the hell, lady! Get on with it!" Bakugo roared at a higher octave then usual.
"Nooooo, she's into blue balls!" Sero wailed in despair.
"We need a break here, we just ran a marathon like our lives depended on it!" Hagakure jumped up and down. "Seriously… I thought I was gonna die back there… but Shiozaki-san cleared a huge path for me, as did Iida-kun!"
"Oh? I helped in assisting you?" The vine haired girl spoke out, hands interclasped. "I am pleased to be of service miss, for doing good deeds is what is expected of a hero, and I am fortunate that you were able to succeed.." Her voice was melodic and soft while Shoto focused back on Midnight as he saw the invisible girl and Shiozaki talk amongst themselves, some Class B students joining in. Hagakure was bouncy as usual, while Shiozaki seemed grounded.
"Now then," several robots began to roll out of the tunnels, carrying several large crates of sorts. "We will take a fifteen minute break, in that time be sure to use our concessions and the restroom. Oh, and one more thing Top 32." Midnight had the entire group of students' attention, Shoto perking up.
"Keep the Ice Cream sticks and don't destroy them. For they are pivotal for the next event!"
The Ice Cream Sticks? What for? This new event was setting up to be an odd one.
He could hear commercials playing on the jumbotron on top, with highlights of the race taking place. Most of them Parker's, with shades of Tsunotori, Yaoyorozu, the support girl, and bits and pieces of himself and Bakugo.
Mostly Parker, with the headline 'Most dominant performance since All Might'.
Inhale, exhale. Don't break the stick.
Shoto did his best to keep a calm face, keeping the boiling frustration within.
(X)
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Katsuki cursed under his breath as he gnashed at his ice cream, munching and chewing hard as his fist shook in rage.
He'd lost. He lost the race not only to Deku… but to some no-name foreigner Horn Girl, Four Eyes, Rich Bitch, and… fucking Parker!
If it hadn't been for Icy-Hot getting in his way, he would have blasted Parker skyhigh, or at least to the bottom of that goddamn ravine and out of the race.
His teeth grinded as he ate fast, ignoring his brain freeze as he sulked on his own, no other student coming near him as he fumed. Heads would roll, Bakugo Katsuki would make sure of that!
The next event better pit him against Deku though, just so he can blast that lying hypocrite's head off.
First Deku, no explanation needed.
Then Icy-Hot for being the annoying fucker that he is. He would have gotten second if not for him, and that still made Katsuki livid at the thought.
Then Rich Bitch. That skateboard of her's was what stunned him before. Then that god damn white goo of her's made slow down and not get second!
Fuck the idea of settling for silver medal still pisses him off!
And finally Parker, to finish off the walls in his way and cement his place at the top. Thinking back to that speech by Parker… They would be his sacrifices for that goal. He calmed, smirking as his red eyes simmered in a controlled malice. 'This ain't over... not by a long shot.'
He looked down, noticing something odd about his ice cream stick. "The hell is this?"
(X)
"Huh, free ice cream." Peter mused as the robots came in by him, Izuku, Ochako, Tenya, Momo, Mina, and Eijirou. The lids opened up, revealing ice cream bars galore! "Oh! I know these kinds, they have these at Walmart!" There was Cookies & Cream and Strawberry Shortcake!
"There's 32 in all, so one for each contestant!" The assistant robot chimed as everyone grabbed a bar and tore off the wrapper.
"I could use the food. All that creation probably took a good deal out of me." Momo mused as she began to munch on the bar. "The oranges and gatorade helped, but ice cream goes a long way for me too in regaining my lipids."
"Eat girl! You were going wild on those cuties earlier." Peter grinned ear to ear, and Momo seemed to bounce in joy at the praise. Mina didn't look as enthused.
"You're lucky! You get to eat whatever you want and not get fat!" The black eyed pinkette pouted as she munched on her's. "Not fair… Wish my acid used lipids too…"
"I wonder why the next event involves Ice Cream Sticks…" Ochako muttered as she began to eat at a fast pace.
"Well, it says it is new, so I'm sure we will know sooner than later." Eijoru answered before turning towards Peter. "Gotta say Ace! You killed it today!"
"Well, I did my best." Peter shrugged, laughing lightly. Izuku bit his lip.
"Yeah, no kidding... " He looked down at the ground. "I did so well too…"
"Your best is being modest. Didja hear what Present Mic said? Parker-kun had the best performance in the Obstacle Race since All Might!" Mina cheered, her black and gold eyes shining on Peter. "That's some crazy good company!" Peter blushed a bit. All he did was his best and…
Enjoyed himself a lot more than he had in awhile. A long while.
Izuku's shoulders seemed to slump some more as he ate at his ice cream bar.
"Cheer up Deku!" Ochako chirped. "You were so fast out of the gate too, bouncing on the walls like that!" She took one last bite of her ice cream bar, finishing it in a hurry. "You were like a ninja and-Agh!" She hung onto her head, face contorting in discomfort. "Brain freeeeeze…"
"Pacing oneself when indulging in ice cream is important." Momo stated, eating her's with her pinky outstretched. Mina stifled a giggle. The group seemed to laugh before Izuku pointed at Ochako's ice cream stick.
"Hey Uraraka… that ice cream stick of yours, it has a blue tip!" He pointed out, and the cute brunette perked up as everyone seemed to notice.
"Hey, why's mine red?" Said a voice and the group turned, seeing Kamikiri Togaru holding his up. His ice cream tip was red!
"You know the drill my precious kittens~" Midnight cooed, swaying her arm. "Finish your treats and let us see those cute sticks of yours!"
"Okay this is getting really out of hand here! There's children watching!" Yelled Tokoyami's voice from afar. The black haired minx didn't look amused.
"Silence, Puritan!"
Peter didn't care much, even if Midnight was facing away and her back was towards him an- Just finish the bar! 'You looked at Momo-san enough today as it is!' He thought to himself as he took a bite from his ice cream bar at the top. He swallowed his bit after chewing. His stick was red!
"I'm red!"
"Same here!" Izuku said aloud.
"I'm blue!" Eijiro shouted.
"Me too!" Mina joined in.
"I'm blue as well…" Tenya muttered, staring down at his stick as he looked at Momo, as did Peter.
Her stick was red.
"Alright! It seems everyone has finished their treats! A heartfelt thank you to those who had brain freeze to get the results faster." Midnight declared. "Now, to all who have red sticks, gather to my right. For blue, to my left! For the stage as been set…" She grinned darkly as all the students looked at their sticks, and then at each other.
"For the War of the Flags is about to begin!"
(X)
We've got a bit of a twist on our hands! Now I know a lot of people were probably hoping for the calvary battle, but that event just didn't sit right with Zaru and I so we threw in a little curve ball. How's it going to work?
Well, I got to have some reason to get you guys to read the next chapter.
Midoriya was really determined to embarrass Bakugo if that was his plan. Kinda makes you wonder what Bakugo did to deserve it... since the bullying must have occurred after Midoriya decided this plan.
Mineta Minoru twitched as he landed in the bushes, eyes downcast as he realized that he was the first one to be kicked out of the race. He raised his head...
Maybe Mom was right…
"I should have been a dentist…"
Or dad may have some internship openings… His newspaper was looking to hire new people…
Maybe he could get girls that way...
"HE DIIIIIIID!!!" Minoru's face met the dirt as he sighed upon hearing Present Mic's voice.
Once the Festival and his classes' internships were over, he was getting back to his investigation ASAP. Because if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, acts like a duck…
Eh I defended this in the past when Shimura said it and I won't complain now, but between you and me it always feels weird to read in an anime fandom because its just not a term that shows up in the characters vocabulary.
I'm just noticing that multiple people seem to be honing in the conclusion that All Might had a hand in Peter's 'quirk'. Which is both completely incorrect and potentially very dangerous for him.
...do Peter's spider powers count as a quirk to All for One?
I'm just noticing that multiple people seem to be honing in the conclusion that All Might had a hand in Peter's 'quirk'. Which is both completely incorrect and potentially very dangerous for him.
...do Peter's spider powers count as a quirk to All for One?
Question was raised and answered on space battles.
Spider isn't a quirk because it came from the radioactive spider bite so Peter is immune to AFO power manipulation.
This would probably cause AFO to freak out because the only quirk thats immune is OFA.
Let me look for the quote.
"War… of the Flags?" Izuku muttered to himself. Along with his peers and the stadium, gossip began to emerge on what such a title meant.
"Oh! Must be like Capture the Flag! I played that game back in Junior High!" Mina waved her hand, jumping on her feet.
"Hey I remember playing that game, but only on some online games myself." Sero stated as he looked around his group of peers.
"Likewise." Tokoyami muttered, looking down at his stick. "And it seems that those ice creams we ate determined our positioning."
"Most of you are correct, yes!" Midnight exclaimed as she pointed up to the board. "But, this is no ordinary Capture the Flag. It is a war between you all. The Red Kingdom versus the Blue Kingdom!" Some of the students were hyped at the statement, but Peter could see how some weren't as eager.
"Isn't it just easier to say teams?" Kirishima asked to himself. "Still, she's so active in her movements…" The brawler blushed, looking uneasy.
"Oh no, let her keep going." Denki elbowed the redhead as he grinned up at the stage.
"Now then! We will now explain the rules, but first, our cameras have located all of the contestants who will be on their respective teams!" The board split into two, with the bright words RED and BLUE on the right and left sides respectively. Sixteen squares appeared under each one, and the pictures were quickly filled in.
Peter glanced at his stick before checking out his peers. It was a perfect split of fifty/fifty. Then he looked up at the board and felt a smile spread over his face.
For the RED Team.
Peter Parker, Pony Tsunotori, Yaoyorozu Momo, Midoriya Izuku, Honenuki Juzo, Tokoyami Fumikage, Ojiro Mashirao, Awase Yousei, Asui Tsuyu, Shoji Mezo, Sato Rikido, Jirou Kyoka, Shinso Hitoshi, Shishida Jurota, Sen Kaibara, and Kamakiri Togaru.
"Looks like I'm with you guys," He looked at Momo and Izuku, then towards the nearby Tokoyami, before gazing afar at the Class B crowd. Pony was staring right back at him.
"And I'm with everyone else." Ochako pointed at the screen, specifically at the BLUE side, and Peter began to bite his lower lip.
"Holy crap, look at our team!" Mina exclaimed with wide eyes.
"I'm with him?!" Yelled Kirishima, and Peter heard a similar phrase from afar as he and the redhead turned towards the mass of Class B students, seeing Tetsutetsu look right back with widened eyes.
"So this is the makeup of our team... " Tenya mused, cupping his chin. Peter saw Izuku's head turn, and saw the reason why.
Bakugo was staring them down, having the biggest smirk on his face as his red eyes bore into them both. Todoroki was close by, eyes narrowed at them… or was it at Bakugo? They were close by and from their vantage point Todoroki was behind the blond bomber.
"Now then!" Midnight's voice cut through the gossip. "I must ask for all students, specifically in your assigned factions to gather and talk amongst each other! After that, proceed to the west and east tunnels please to leave the stadium floor!"
"Huh? Why's that?" Denki asked before Midnight cracked her whip.
"Silence and obey my commands!" She barked, and the blonde yelped out a "Yes Ma'am!" before going over to his team as they began to gather. Todoroki and Bakugo were walking with their hands in their pockets, the former expressionless, the latter with the devil's grin.
"Well, I suppose this is goodbye for now." Tenya stated as he looked over at Peter and Izuku. "Midoriya, Parker. I am honored to have you both as my peers but…" He paused, looking at them both with a determined expression. "I must live up to the expectations of my family and make my older brother proud. As the youngest of the Iida sons, it is my duty to do so. So I will aim to win, even if I must go through you both."
"Bring it on, Iida." Peter grinned, giving a fist. "May the best man win." Tenya blinked.
"What is this fist you're offering?"
"Man, you really are lacking in knowing about the bro-code." Kirishima rolled his eyes as he walked over, bumping Peter's fist. "I like ya tons Ace, but I ain't holding back!"
"Good luck to ya both!" Peter said before he turned his head, seeing Ochako stand before Izuku.
"Deku… I… I consider you to be a good friend, a great one even." The brunette girl paused, taking a deep breath as she stood before the nervous-looking green haired boy. She opened her eyes, now possessing a face similar to Iida's. She wasn't going to pull her punches. "But I have to win this for my family. I have to go beyond and ensure that they don't have to work another hard day in their lives. So I'm going for it with all I've got." She gulped, biting her lip. "So do the same, Deku!"
"U-Uh right!" Izuku coughed, regaining his composure. "I, I understand what you're going through and all." He noticed his fellow red teammates start to walk past him towards the tunnel. "But I won't give up either. We have dreams we need to fulfill after all." The girl gave him a determined smile, nodding as she walked off, Kirishima, Tenya, and Mina close behind.
"And then there was four…" Tokoyami uttered darkly.
"Enough dawdling, let's go to the other side and wait for Midnight-sensei's instructions." Momo patted Peter's shoulder, and the American nodded.
"Alrighty then, let's go." He began to walk across the stadium into the tunnel, Izuku, Momo and Tokoyami at his back as he joined his new teammates. Many familiar faces made him feel at ease as he got to the tunnel's entrance. Yet he felt many eyes on him as Pony walked up to him with a smile on her visage.
"Hey Peter." Peter returned her enthusiasm with a nod.
"Pony." He saw other students from Class B arrive. "And hello to you guys too!" There was Kamakiri in all his reptile glory, Shishida growling with his trademark beastial fury, and finally Honenuki Juzo with his lipless face and wide-slitted eyes.
Lots of heteromorphs here...
"Alright!" The R-Rated Hero's voice cut through the arena before they had a chance to say hi. "Before you all have a chance to confer with your fellow teammates, it's time that we change the field!" Midnight snapped her fingers.
Peter shivered, and over the roar of the crowd the stadium began to shake.
"What the hell is that?!" Shishida yelled.
"Is it an earthquake?!" Sato was looking around, panicking.
"No it's not. It's too… controlled!" Jirou had her earphone jacks in a wall as she listened in. "Shoji, you hear it too?"
The tall multi-armed boy shifted his arms into ears. "Yeah, it's only on here too. Which means…"
"Hey guys look!" Yelled Sen Kaibara, pointing into the field as everyone turned, gasping.
Way ahead of them, the grass field began to split in two, and then four before it began to sink deeper into the earth! It continued to rumble and shake, the platform Midnight was on slinking back towards the stadium wall and no longer being in the center. Then, from before the group a massive column of spires began to rise up in conjunction with giant boulders. The boulders and rocks were auburn and red, and far ahead, near the blue team's tunnel, were blue and steel gray buildings and warehouses!
"This is incredible! They even changed up the stadium!" Sato yelled.
"No kidding here!" Kamakiri added, in awe of the change of scenery.
"Now then!" A holographic projection appeared in front of the group as they stood by the tunnel's entrance, and a pair of robots rolled over while carrying a crate, one that was similar to the one that contained the ice cream from before. Midnight stood next to the projection. "I am addressing the Red and Blue Kingdoms now, and to the audience, I will now relay to you all the rules of this new event, The War of the Flags!
"As you may have surmised, the War of the Flags is essentially a far more complex version of Capture the Flag!" A map displaying the stadium appeared, with two halves on each side. One blue with the letter B in it, the other red with the letter R. "Two teams must collect points via one of two methods in order to attain victory!" Sixteen circles appeared within each half of the circle. "The first method is to obtain the 'Silver Flags'!" The robots in front of the group opened the crate, within were… five silver armbands with red highlights. And above them, a golden armband with a red highlight. "Each Silver Flag is worth twenty points!" A gauge appeared above the stadium circle, with the numbers going from Zero to 100 appearing, with increments of 20 rising. "You must capture the opposing team's Silver Flags and bring them back to the King's Ring!" Within each of the halves, a golden light popped up, with the various dots in the halves going back and forth. "Do so, and your team gets 20 points! The first team to 100 points," Some blue dots had blinking white lights after clashing in the red half, returning to the blue side and into the golden ring. "Wins the war!"
"So we have to wear an armband then?" Juzo mused. "And prevent the enemies from getting it, while protecting our own. Sounds simple enough!" The lipless boy grinned, then again, with no lips he looked like he was always grinning.
"There is a second method, keep listening." Tokoyami mused with crossed arms.
"The second method, involves the Gold Flag!" Several Red dots encroached into blue territory, assaulting the golden ring, and one dot was glowing gold as it retreated back to the red half of the field. "Players can choose to attack the King's Ring and take the King's Flag to return to their own King's Ring. Do so..." And the gauge, which had shrunk down, went from zero to 100 the moment the gold dot hit the red-gold circle. "And your team gets an automatic victory!"
"Wait, so what's stopping players from just ganging up on the golden ring? They could just rush us!" Yousei exclaimed.
"Not entirely." Momo mused, hand on her chin. "This is a war, meaning that we must employ battle tactics, whether they be for offense, or defense."
"Of course, no war last forever! And there will be a fifteen minute time limit for the contestants to muster as many points as possible! If the time limit expires and no team has reached 100, the team with the highest score wins!" Midnight explained some more, waving her whip-baton. "Of course, in case we have a tie…" She licked her lips, biting her lips in anticipation. "Then it is up to the Kings to stand proud, and fight for their kingdom's honor in a sudden deathmatch!"
"Can't you just say one-on-one and leave out the dramatics?" Juzo asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Of course, I mean more a match in tournament format." Midnight began to strut around, the two golden dots on each side coming forth as they met in the center of the split ring, duking it out. "It would follow tournament rules. The match will go on until a combatant is unable to continue or suffers a ringout, falls unconscious, or is disqualified. There, that explains the basic rules of this game. But wait, there's more!"
"Come on! Let's get on with it already! See blue flag, get flag, and protect our own! We get it!" Shishida complained, growling.
"Yeah, let us go at that ice punk for freezing my shoes!" Kamakiri hissed, his fingers elongating and sharpening into blades. "And that exploding asshole too who got me in the face back at the entry gate! I need to pay them back tenfold!"
"Now now little darlings~" Midnight cooed, finger to her lips, winking. "We're not even to the foreplay yet and you're all so eager. Patience please~"
"Graaaaaaaagh~!" Tokoyami roared in frustration.
"Now, as you can see, there are six total flags you must protect. Depending on placement in your races will determine who bears the silver flags and the King's Flags. Now then! Behold our rankings!" Midnight pointed upwards, as the two divided teams became one with the same ranking as before, but each member of the Top 32 had a red or blue outline. Peter perked up, seeing that he was at the top. The next closest Blue Team member was…
"The King of the Red Team will be Class 1-A's Peter Parker! While the King of the Blue Team is Class 1-A's Iida Tenya!" Both Peter and Tenya's icons became golden with either a red or a blue background.
"He gets to be king huh?" Kamakiri sneered, and Peter turned, seeing the lizard boy glower at him.
"He got first in the race, Togaru-san." Pony stepped in. "He deserves it." The taller bladed lizard didn't seem too pleased with his peer speaking up for Peter as he took a step forward, only for Izuku, Momo, Jirou and Tokoyami to stand at Peter's flanks. Shishida, Awase, and Sen backed up Togaru.
"Everyone calm down!" Juzo stepped up between the two groups. "I know we are in different classes, and Vlad-sensei wants us to be rivals with Class 1-A." The blonde rolled his eyes. "Lord knows how far Monoma has taken that mindset… But we can't afford to be at each other's throats. This is a team event!"
"You're siding with our foes, Honenuki?" Kamakiri hissed, before his slittered eyes settled on Momo. "Or is it that you Recommended's have some sort of boys' club I don't know about?"
"Quit it you guys, we're here to go onto the next event, not fight amongst ourselves." Asui stated as she walked up beside Juzo, the dark-greenette glancing between her peers. She didn't seem at all perturbed by the lizard boy's glare. "Besides, at the end of the day, we all want to be heroes, right?"
"That's correct, and even with all this, I have a feeling that our chemistry is probably better." Shoji said as he got the attention of everyone in the room.
"Why's that?" Sen asked, and one of Shoji's arms pointed across the stadium.
Where the group heard an explosive blast, and cursing galore. "They have a Bakugo."
"W-Well, Kacchan is really strong though… very strong." Izuku mused, biting his lower lip.
"Now then," Midnight's voice cut off the conversation. "I will go on to the assessment of the Silver Knights, bearers of these Flags! We determined those by ranking of Prime Numbers, so for those who aren't math-savvy, here are your silver knights on each team!" She waved her whip, and the icons representing the contestants began to glow. Peter immediately thought of the Prime Numbers in his head.
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 and 29.
"That means!" Peter looked at his classmates, and then at the holographic screen.
Red Team Silver Knights:
Pony Tsunotaori, Yaoyorozu Momo, Midoriya Izuku, Asui Tsuyu, and Sato Rikido.
"I'm a Silver Knight?!" Izuku yelped.
"Whoa, me too!" Sato added, eyes wide as he looked at the screen, skin not as pale white as Izuku's.
"How come Class 1-A gets more Silver-bearers?" Shishida grumbled.
"It's because of our placement." Momo explained, looking back at the disgruntled and beastial-looking young man. "Pony got second, myself third. Midoriya fifth. Asui seventeenth, and Sato nineteenth."
"Hey, look at the Blue Silver Knights!" Asui said, and the group turned, seeing several of the blue team members' names glow with silver hues.
"Hang on a second!" Ojiro raised his hand. "Bakugo got fourth, that's divisible by more than one!" Midnight, even hundreds of meters away seemed to have heard him as more muttering picked up amongst the crowd.
"Bakugo is a unique exception, as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th spots are all occupied by either Kings or Silver Knights. As Parker has the Number One spot and the golden flag, along with Jirou Kyoka and Kamikiri Togaru being on the red team courtesy of the ice cream sticks of fate, we opted that Bakugo be a fill-in for the number one slot needed to round out the Silver Knights." The R-Rated Hero explained as she went over the details. The holographic screen changed, with two halves shown. One in red, the other in blue. Peter and Tenya were the Kings, and their respective Silver Knights below them.
"So we gotta aim for the Silvers, get the armbands or risk going straight for the king," Momo went over to the crate, taking her armband and wrapping it around her arm. "While protecting ours."
"Which means it's better if the Silver Knights hang back in their respective zones." Jirou added in. "Leave the flag-taking to us."
"I noticed something." Spoke up a voice for the first time, and Shinso Hitoshi, the kid from General Ed walked forward, hands in his pockets. "Is it me, or are the Silver Knights and Kings… mainly the most destructive and mobile quirk users?" He drawled in a bored tone. Everyone perked up, and even Peter's head got to work.
Yeah… It was! Bakugo, Todoroki, himself, Izuku and Sato were very destructive, and Momo could be too depending on her creations. While Tsuyu, Pony, Sero, himself, Izuku, and even Bakugo were highly mobile!
"Say…" Izuku snapped his fingers, and Peter took a sharp intake of breath, feeling a chill run down his spine as he looked over at the green haired boy, biting his tongue. "You're right!"
"Indeed, our team makeups are so unique and diverse… oh the variety! So much to choose from~" Midnight swooned, hugging herself and pressing her arms against her breasts. Man… what a sight. Peter could hear Kaminari and Sero cheering far across the stadium. But the immediate sound of Tokoyami banging his head against the wall with an even angrier Dark Shadow was more prominent.
"Tch." Jirou scoffed. "Pervs."
"Now then! For the major rules!" Midnight waved her arm. "One last time. Anything goes in the arena, so long as you do not use lethal force or disobey a referee's commands! Joining me for this event and monitoring the War will be two of Class 1-A's faculty!" She waved her whip, and to either side of her rose platforms containing their two teachers. Cementoss stood to the right, while Ectoplasm was on her left. "Utilizing lethal force or disobedience of a command will result in immediate disqualification! And, one more thing." She smirked, licking her lips. "In the wars of fantasy and myth, they say the kings fight on the front lines in order to inspire the troops, well, this is no war of magic and wonder! This is a war for keeps! The Kings must stay behind their frontlines and place their faith in their soldiers!"
Peter felt a pit form in his gut. As Midnight had explained the event in detail, he felt confident that he could go around swinging and jumping while getting the armbands from the enemy team, or save any armbands for his own squad.
"For you see, the King of each team must remain within the King's Ring! If a King moves out of the ring via his own free will and not by an enemy, the entire team is disqualified!" Peter felt everyone's eyes on him as he bit his lip.
"Shit." He uttered, shaking his head.
"Well, there goes that option." Jirou rolled her eyes.
"We'll just have to do it ourselves." Sato's fist met his open palm.
"Don't be so hasty." Shoji corrected his muscular peer. "You're a Silver Knight, you have to remain here and hide from the enemy team."
"That's right, if Peter can't move beyond his ring, neither can Iida!" Pony spoke out. "That works for us too! You all saw how fast HE was!"
"Doesn't do anything about Todoroki and Bakugo though. They may be Silver Knights, but they're incredibly powerful, not to mention the fact that they may be out for blood." Asui pointed out. She turned towards the group of Izuku, Pony, Peter and Momo. Before Izuku could break out in a cold sweat, Pony stepped up.
"No matter, bring them on." The blonde girl said, her blue eyes alight with a fire. "I'll kick their butts again for sure."
"That's the spirit, Pony!" Shishida roared proudly. Tokoyami winced at the sudden outburst.
"However," Midnight's voice cut in again, and she smirked before the screen. "If a King's armband is taken by the enemy team, then the enemy foes hath awoken a sleeping giant, for a King in the War of the Flags is no slovenly idiot King, but a King of merit and power! The King will be able to reclaim their armband and, in addition, be able to fight with their troops in the battlefield to retrieve the enemy flags! Of course, to cover that problem, if a Silver Knight loses their armband but has it be recovered by an ally, that ally becomes the new Silver Knight and must protect their armband! But don't be fooled, it's not just the Knights that you have to worry about! Each of you will be graded according to your performance! Each act of heroism, cunning, and strategy will gain you favor in the eyes of the masses. Everyone has a chance to advance, win or lose. After all, heroes come from every corner of the world, but be warned, any act that could be considered villainous will only diminish your role. That means no backstabbing or excessive violence against your teammates! " The black haired woman sighed, wiping her brow. "Now that, was a mouthful. Quite... a mouthful." Midnight cooed, giggling seductively and biting her lip.
"Lalalalalalala!" Tokoyami had his ears covered and Dark Shadow was raving as his eye twitched.
"Oh, grow up and grow a pair already you wuss!" Kamakiri barked, glaring at him.
"Now, most hero situations call for sudden and random team-ups. Since the selection of field was decided at random," Midnight crossed her arms. "You will be allowed to enter your field of play and assess the battlefield. Points to defend. Ambush. Vital chokepoints and routes. Or even places to hide! You have ten minutes to form a plan of attack against the enemy team. The enemy has peers from your classes, as your allies have people you have never met or talked to in the hallways even!" She waved her baton as Peter looked back at his teammates, no, his comrades for his event as they looked to him. Momo, Izuku, Asui, and Sato had finished putting on their armbands. Peter walked over to the crate containing his golden armband. He took it, wrapping it around his arm and tightening the velcro.
"But now is the chance to forge camaraderie! The foes of yesterday become the allies of today! Your ten minutes," The robots containing the crates rolled away, and Cementoss and Ectoplasm stepped down into the divided field. "Start now! Prepare!" Above her, a timer began to count down from 10:00.
"Alright then everyone." Peter said, as he walked forth, his Silver Knights trailing behind him. Momo and Izuku to his right, Pony with Sato on his left, Tsuyu in their wake. "Let's do this!" The rest of his team, the ones who had the best chance to go into the opposing team's side and capture any flags, strode on forth.
The War of the Flags was about to begin.
(X)
For the first time in a while, Shouta wondered if the universe had it out for him. Because when he had proposed a change to the original strategy, he figured that Nezu would pull some strings and make it a more team-focused event than just a bunch of trainees slapping each other with their powers.
Leave it to the producers and the Board of Directors of this whole headache to turn it into a reality TV show.
Next to him, Present Mic was going over the events again for the radio listeners as well as spew hot air while the investors no doubt got their mandatory airtime shilling out whatever product chain supported the major heroes nowadays. He would get some flak later, but for now, the problem in front of him was far more interesting.
He could forgive the average viewer for thinking that the win would probably go to the Blue Team. Out of the two teams, they had the most raw firepower and straightforward fighters. Todoroki and Bakugo in particular were two of the most talented and highly destructive combatants in the entire school. Todoroki's ice quirk needed a few members of the Red Team on constant standby if they wanted to even move with the recommended student capable of simply freezing the entire enemy team's side with barely a touch of his hand, or coating the battlefield in ice. Anyone that wasn't caught was left vulnerable to Bakugo's blasts. For all the hot air that the boy was spouting, he was no pushover in terms of tactical flexibility. The boy had shown remarkable skill in close-quarters combat, and his range of destructive capability spoke for itself.
Then you wouldn't be mistaken for looking at the two brawlers next. Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, two boys with quirks so similar that many would be forgiven for thinking they were related in some way. Shouta didn't know the extent of their durability, but the two of them were the easy choices for a win as far as brawling was concerned.
And that wasn't even getting into the range of tactical options up their sleeves. Kaminari was a walking bomb, only needing to get close to an enemy group before taking out at least a few of the red team, though his position as a Knight limited him in that aspect. One max discharge and he'd be incapacitated. But in terms of stealth, the Blue Team had the overwhelming advantage. Kuroiro and Hagakure's quirks were practically made for situations like this. Plenty of dark corners and alleyways for them to use in surprising their opponents.
However, pretty much everything that he said, with the exception of the stealth category, could go to the Red Team as well. Midoriya finally got his head on straight and found a way to use his quirk that wasn't just shattering his limbs for single strikes. The mummified hero searched through the stands, but couldn't find one particularly irresponsible Symbol of Peace. Either way, Aizawa didn't know what Midoriya could do with his new powers, but given how the race turned out, he was at least as mobile and durable as his supposed-childhood friend.
The more he thought about it, every advantage that either team had over the other was simply negated. Bakugo and Todoroki were powerful and widely destructive, but plenty of students on the red team had shown the capability to break out of the ice or at least hold off Bakugo long enough to get a numbers advantage. If anyone wanted to talk about mobility, Shouta would simply point out that the two most mobile of the teams, Parker and Iida, were confined in their king rings. Tsunotori and Sero were the exceptions, but Tokoyami was no slouch in his ability to utilize his quirk for rapid movement as well. And as for stealth, both Shoji and Jirou had their ways to detect invisible targets, and that wasn't even getting started on Parker's seemingly precognitive reaction times. He and Sato could easily keep up with Kirishima and Tetsutetsu in a brawl as well. Hell, they would outright win with Parker's ability alone.
Even the support was countered, at least marginally. That Hatsume girl was getting quite the praise from Power Loader in his off time. The girl had a knack for creating a variety of support tools even with her seemingly simple quirk. She would at the very least have something to support the backlines just like Yaoyorozu would bolster hers.
To top it all off, anyone he hadn't thought about could simply turn the tables with a single good placement or a surprise use of their quirks. That General Ed boy… he would be a player in this, even if most would write him off and focus on the bigger threats like the two big guns of his class or the resident loudmouth of class 1-B. Monoma... that boy would thrive here with so many quirks to copy.
It would come down to how well they could plan within the time they got, and if they could keep certain personalities in check.
"ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'RE ABOUT TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED! THE BIGGEST NAMES FOR THE FIRST YEAR CLASS ARE ABOUT TO GO HEAD TO HEAD IN THE BIGGEST SLOBBERKNOCKER THIS SIDE OF JAPAN!"
"Is slobberknocker even a word?" Shouta grumbled.
But of course, Hizashi ignored him, "BUT THE VIEWERS HAVE TO KNOW, MY MAN AIZAWA, WHO DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO TAKE THIS? WHERE DOES THE NINJA MAN STAND?"
"Don't know, could go either way." Shouta said with a shrug.
"OH COME ON! YOU GOTTA HAVE SOMETHING FOR THE WONDERFUL VIEWERS AT HOME!" Mic complained, "COME ON, WHAT DO YOU GOT!?!"
Aizawa glanced at the two sides of the arena, the rocky landscape and the sprawling city. Too many variables, too many limitations.
Even so…
"I'll just say that if you're thinking this is going to be easy for one team, you've got another thing coming. Any hero worth their salt can tell that many of the quirks used by the contestants here can cancel each other out."
"HOW OMINOUS! BUT THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS, WE'VE GOT AN EVEN SPLIT FROM THE ERASER HERO HIMSELF! PERSONALLY I'M MORE OF A RED GUY BUT DON'T FORGET TO POST YOUR GUESSES ON OUR PAGE AND WE'LL GET RIGHT BACK TO YOU…"
Present Mic kept going on about the news site that was hosting this entire thing, so he ignored him and focused back on the two teams. There was another factor that he didn't mention. Class 1-A had previously used their powers in a live-fire situation, and as such among other factors, the relationship with Class 1-B was strenuous at best. There were exceptions, but that just proved the rule.
The team's biggest obstacles, would be one another, he was sure of it. It was the perfect opportunity for them to get over it though.
Huh, wonder if Vlad had a hand in that one?
"AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!"
Shouta sighed, of course they had a subscription page. What other useless thing would they have next? T-shirts?
(X)
"So… how do you guys want to play this?" Peter asked his fellow armband-wearing peers. They made their way to the King Ring within their allotted space. Thankfully, it was marked with some pretty shiny gold paint. The space itself was limited, about fifteen square yards, around the size and circumference of a house, then again they were on the roof of one of the buildings that Mr. Cementoss had made. Beside him was a giant bath-sized bowl of sorts with lasers inside. They must be for holding the captured flags. Thankfully, he was on top of a building, one of many that dotted the arena along with boulders and cliff faces down below on ground level.
What he wouldn't give to trade spaces with Momo. She would lock down this place with so many traps that he probably couldn't think of all the ways. Bomb every door and bunker down there or something like that. Sato was checking his remaining cubes of sugar, counting them out and grimacing at the number he ended up with. Asui simply leaped between the makeshift light-poles, her frog eyes glancing around every once in a while. Momo was the same, the looking around portion at least, not the leaping part. Finally, Midoriya was muttering up a storm as per normal, only breaking out of it when Peter asked his question.
"I think we should form a defence around the building and below us," Midoriya muttered, "Parker's band is the most valuable, so protecting that is our best bet."
"Won't work, Ribbit," Asui said from her pole, "I've got money on Todoroki and Bakugo rushing this place the second that the buzzer sounds. We can build things up as best we can, but you saw what Todoroki did to that Zero Pointer in the race, chances are he's going to make his first battle test feat look like nothing in comparison. He'd just make a big glacier and wreck the building."
Midoryia blanched, and the fellow knights nodded their heads in understanding. Except for Peter.
"I uh, actually don't know what he did," Peter admitted.
The five around him blinked.
"Oh right, you were way ahead," Sato explained as he turned towards his shorter classmate, "Basically, he turned the Zero Pointer into a snow-cone faster you could blink. Then made it fall down on top of Kirishima and a Class B guy."
Peter blinked once, then twice, "... Okay. Midoriya, I liked your plan at first, but now I don't, no offense."
"N-none taken," Midoriya stuttered.
"But what do we do now?" Pony asked, her peers from Class B behind her. "If we're not defending Peter here, are we just running around like chickens with our heads cut off?"
"Not the analogy that I would use," Momo muttered under her breath before she spoke up. "Regardless, I think it would be best if we spread out our flags as much as possible."
"Wouldn't that just leave us as easy pickings for the other team when they come through?" Sato points out.
"If they come through," Momo stressed, "I doubt that our teammates will simply let them pass when the judges will be evaluating their progress. The event is more than simply taking the bands after all."
Peter nodded, crossing his arms, "Then are we cool with everyone splitting up?"
"Not splitting up," Midoriya jumped in, looking between his teammates. "Teams."
Everyone glanced at the green haired boy, who broke out in a nervous sweat as he glanced down at the floor.
"Just hear me out, Yaoyorozu, do you have a-"
He was cut off as she handed him a permanent marker and a piece of paper.
"Thanks, now, this is what I'm thinking. Right now, with the luck of the placements, we have a good balance of mobility and power," he said, drawing on the paper.
After a few seconds, he got a makeshift drawing of the two sides of the arena, as well as the marked king circles. "With our quirks, I say we set up in four groups. Parker-san and Yaoyorozu-san stay within the king's circle, making as much as she can with her quirk." Izuku
"We've been over this Midoriya, Todoroki is just going to freeze everything," Asui said.
"Not if she's prepared," Izuku countered, "You two fought Todoroki before, all you have to do is avoid the initial ice salvo and you can counterattack! Then Yaoyorozu can retreat into the building to stall for time if need be."
"I can also make communicators," Momo offers, her skin already bubbling, revealing a set of walkie-talkies, "That way if I'm ambushed I can call for help." She began to distribute them, even Class B's group taking them.
"As another group we can protect Pony." Kamakiri stated, looking back at Sen, Shishida, and Awase. "She's our ace right now, and we have experience working together as classmates." He looked over to Juzo. "You gonna join in too, Honenuki?"
"I'm better off going for the flags. My quirk lets me swim in the earth after all." He pointed at himself. "And I can hinder any and all who get in my way."
"So you're on offense then." Peter stated, grabbing a walkie-talkie and handing it to the ash-blonde. "It's better that we all communicate." The lipless boy had a ghost of a grin as he pocketed the device.
"Sounds like a plan."
"So we all can call for help," Asui said, grabbing one of the walkie-talkies with her tongue.
"That's good for the two reps, but what about the rest of us?" Sato asked.
"I was getting to that," Midoriya said, drawing two other circles, one on each side of the King's Circle, "We hide out in these areas around here, close enough to assist if needed, but far enough away that we can serve as distractions to anyone looking to take Parker-san's band. Right now, I think I should be with Asui while Pony-san and Sato-san team up. That way, if any of us are found or need assistance, there's someone there that can make a quick escape."
Peter blinked. That was… really good. It was like a big game of tag, but with human lifelines instead of a safe zone.
"That's right, Asui and Pony are both super mobile, and you two are bruisers!" Juzo stated, clapping his hands. "Gotta say, you're smarter than you look!"
"That doesn't sound bad at all, let's do it!" Sato grinned, offering a thumbs-up.
Upon hearing such praise, Izuku jerked back, a nervous line of sweat running down his face.
"I just uh, thought of it while I was a kid. I threw a lot of ideas into my hero journals and city combat came up a lot so I-I remembered an idea I had," Midoriya stammered, "You guys don't have to agree to it!" he shouted, flailing his arms, "If you don't like it just say so! I understand."
Pony hummed a bit before she glanced at Sato who stared right back.
"How heavy are you?" she asked, matter of fact and sternly.
"Around 90 kg," Sato admitted.
Both Peter and Pony stared blankly at him.
"About 200 pounds," Momo clarified.
The Americans shot her a thankful look but Pony looked hesitant.
"I can work with it, so long as he doesn't move around too much," Pony commented.
"We'll still protect ya! Besides, we can't leave ya alone with this lumux!" Kamakiri declared. Sato looked offended.
"What did I do?!"
"Hang on, while I understand your feelings in wanting to help defend a Knight." Momo interjected. "It may be best if you take part in the attack."
"Huh? I get to be on offense?" Kamakiri asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Obviously." Shinso drawled, walking up to them. "Honenuki there may be a Recommended Student, but I doubt he can do all the heavy lifting. He'll need backup." Midoriya looked over a the purple haired boy.
"Wow… impressive. So we have various teams protecting our flags," Izuku looked at Pony and Sato, then at Asui. "A team to help with defense of the King's Ring." He turned towards Yaoyorozu, Shoji and Jirou. "And our attack squad." A group of Kamakiri, Shishida, Awase, Sen, Ojiro, and Tokoyami stood proud, with Juzo in front.
"Going by our capabilities, I think Tokoyami and Honenuki have the best chances as flag returners." Ojiro stated as he looked over his team. "They are the fastest ones outside of our knights." The ash-blonde nodded.
"Good eye," he turned towards the raven haired boy. "Let's do our best out there." Tokoyami nodded.
"Indeed. Let us revel in the darkness." Juzo blinked, looking back at Kamakiri and the others.
"Tch… he's like Kuroiro ain't he…" Sen muttered under his breath.
"Speaking of, Shihai might be able to counter him too…" Shishida whispered, causing the shadow user to perk up.
"What is this Kuroiro Shihai's quirk and how can he counter my ability?"
Momo finished making the walkie-talkies and passed them out as the Attack Squad got to work, talking strategy. Peter walked over to his fellow Knights.
"Guess this is the part where we say good luck?" Peter offered.
"Luck? Who says we need it?" Sato said confidently, flexing with a grin.
"Yeah, we all know, let's move Midoriya," Asui began leaping away.
"Yeah, we better…" Izuku started, only for his voice to trail off as he noticed Asui's tongue wrap around his waist. The boy looked at his classmates in surprise before being yanked away by a tongue that probably could lift a car, Izuku yelping as Asui began to hop with Izuku off the building and into the rocks and warehouses below. Peter added that to another thing around here that didn't obey the laws of physics to see Pony get on all fours, gesturing at Sato to get on.
Sato worriedly looked back at him, and Peter shrugged. The sugar giant tentatively took a seat on her back. To her credit, she didn't even buckle, only staring back at Peter after Sato got himself situated. Kamakiri and Shishida glared holes into Sato's head, making the muscular boy gulp.
"Call the second you're in trouble." Pony stated, patting her pocket where her communicator was.
Peter held up his walkie-talkie, "You'll be the first to know." He replied in his native tongue.
The girl smiled tentatively before taking a few careful steps.
"So, do I just sit back?" Sato asked as they prepared to leave.
"Kick me and I drop you." She growled, not happy to be in such a position as they leapt off the building to a nearby warehouse, using her horns to levitate downward, one horn on her hand, the other on her knee to float downward.
Peter's shoulders slumped as his friend carried the big man away. He saw Momo pour something over the drawing, covering it up only to look at the building to her left.
"Call when you need me," Peter offered again, waiting only for her to smile back before she trotted down the stairwell, the Attack Squad behind her.
"Parker." Shinso's voice spoke out, and Peter turned, seeing that the only remaining resident on the rooftop was the purple haired General Ed student. The fact that he made it here was incredible. "I'll handle getting a flag or two myself. Green over there didn't seem to delegate a role to me so…" He shrugged. Peter blushed.
"Oh, well, sorry… I don't know your abilities and you weren't in the Hero Course and, not that that's a bad thing and all-"
"Relax." Shinso said, "I have my own methods for grabbing a flag. All I need is to sneak in the other side unnoticed, and I have a feeling that I'll have a good chance." His eyes turned and Peter followed his gaze, seeing small explosions flare up in the distance, presumably where the other team had gathered. Bakugo must be arguing with his teammates. "They have a lot of power, but seems like fate rewarded me with a team possessing some brains."
"You sure that you can handle getting a flag solo? If you wanna be on defense or attack you can." Peter assured him, but Shinso shook his head.
"It's alright, I need to stand out in my own way. Not that many guys of the team seemed to notice me, and that in of itself is an advantage." Shinso walked towards the stairwell leading downward. "Do me a favor and don't get taken out" He smirked, looking back. "I've got some plans for this event, so do your best Peter Parker." And the baggy-eyed kid left, Peter quirking an eye. He knew Shinso that wanted to be in the Hero Course, so that maybe what he was going for.
"Uh… Good luck then!" Peter called out.
He didn't get an answer back, so he walked towards the edge of the building, sitting down on it as he felt the wind pass by, hearing the ambiance of the crowd and the overhead sounds of the jumbotron's commercials.
He felt a tick on the back of his neck, and he looked up to see a hovering robot with a camera in the center focus in on him. The crowd roared their approval, and Peter checked out the jumbotron.
There, for everyone to see was him, perched at the edge of a building. He threw out a peace sign and smiled.
The crowd promptly went wild.
It made him laugh. Every single voice looking out and cheering just for him sitting and for lack of a better word, posing on the edge of a building. It was all a little silly.
But before Peter could dwell on it, a blast echoed throughout the stadium. He squinted his eyes, and he swore he could see a small pillar of smoke erupt from the enemy side.
Looked like the Blue Team was getting along as well as it could with Bakugo on their team. He prayed that such discord would continue.
(X)
Shoto stared down at the armband in his hand. A rather simple thing, but he guessed that was the point. Wouldn't be too hard to take it off anyone, again, probably the point. Wrapping the band around his upper arm on his right side, he saw that Bakugo was doing much the same. The blonde had been smiling ever since the teams were announced. His look was disturbing to say the least, but Shoto paid it no mind.
A single target in the center of an enclosed space that he couldn't leave unless his band was taken. Parker was practically sitting there, waiting for an attack, daring him. Considering that Yaoyorozu was nearby, they would probably hold out in one of the buildings like they did in the training exercise.
They'd beaten him back then, but things would be different this time. He wouldn't just flash-freeze the building… he would destroy it with one giant glacier.
With his old man watching, there was no point in holding back. If someone got caught… it didn't matter. Even with the judges, only the knights truly mattered. If anyone wanted to take his, they were welcome to try. Shoto pulled the armband tight, rotating his shoulder a few times to make sure he had ease of movement.
Shoto glanced up at the speaker. Kendo Itsuka, the class representative of 1-B if he remembered correctly.
"Indeed Kendo-san," Iida said, adjusting his glasses, "I suggest forming a defensive perimeter. When the Red Team comes to attack us, we can utilize superior terrain and catch them-"
"FUCK THAT!"
Uraraka eeped as Bakugo blasted the rock he was sitting under to smithereens. His eyes had a bloodshot madness to them that Shoto knew all too well. The eyes of someone so frustrated that all logic was thrown out the window for a single, obsessive goal.
"I'm not waiting! That fucking Redshirt has sat too pretty for too long! His ass is mine, and I'm not waiting for anyone to come to me before I blast that brat to kingdom come." He gritted his teeth, baring them.
Shoto rolled his eyes, of course he would have his reasons for going after Parker, petty as they were. Not that he was in any state to throw stones. At the very least, Bakugo would serve as a good distraction.
"So you're just going to throw yourself against a dozen of our classmates and what? Walk out of there with all the armbands?" Kendo asked incredulously, crossing her arms.
"And what if I do?" Bakugo asked, turning to the orange haired girl. "I betcha I can." He smirked darkly at her.
To her credit, the rep of class 1-B didn't even flinch.
"And what if you get your ass laid flat on the concrete because you couldn't see a punch coming?" Kendo countered, "They get an armband, and we lose one of our knights and are down 20 points."
"I'd pay good money to see that," The lizard-like girl grumbled on the side, sitting on a rock with her chin cupped in her hands.
"What did you say!?" Bakugo roared at the girl. She only seemed to grin widely, knowing that she had struck a nerve.
His hand popped with explosions, but Tetsutetsu immediately stepped in between them. He crossed his arms, and his skin turned to metal as he puffed up his chest and stared Bakugo down.
"She said exactly what she wanted to say, got that?" Tetsutetsu growled, looking down at the blonde.
Bakugo's hands twitched, letting out another, far louder pop.
"You got something to say, you metal freak?" The metallic boy snarled and was about to retort before a voice cut him to the punch.
"No, but I'm sure I can speak for him."
Every head turned to the source of the interruption. The other blond boy with well-kept hair, all but strutting to the center of their little group. Bakugo glared at him, leading to the two blonds to stare one another down, one with a sneer and the other with a cocky little smirk.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Nothing much," the other blonde mentioned.
"Neito-kun," Kendo pressed, "This isn't the time. Planning. Now."
"Really?" the blonde named Neito asked, "I believe this is the perfect time. After all, we're trusting one of the most important things in this little tournament to him. And frankly, I don't trust him."
Bakugo gerked, "You think I'm gonna get taken out by a bunch of extras?" He growled, fists quivering.
"Yes, actually I do," Neito said, his smirk widening, "You intend to go straight for the King, Parker, right?"
The edges of Bakugo's mouth twitched, "Yes, did yah not hear what I said a few fucking seconds ago?"
Neito casually shrugged, a move that came as a surprise to Uraraka and the floating uniform that was Hagakure. He didn't show any fear or irritation at Bakugo's attitude and aggressiveness. He almost seemed to welcome it even.
"I understand, except that I heard through the grapevine that that particular king, Parker-san, he has you beaten in every category, hasn't he?"
Uraraka and Kirishima gasped at the declaration. Even Hatsume looked up from her project to give the conversation a once-over. Sero winced, and even Kendo looked at Neito like he was insane.
Bakugo… was deathly still, eyebrow twitching.
"Care to repeat that?"
"Easy now guys, we gotta plan here…" Kirishima tried to calm them down, feeling the temperature rise up in the clearing.
"Uhhh Monoma, I know you hate 1-A but… is this going a bit too far?" Setsuna asked. "We're supposed to be on a team here. You know, enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that?"
"That won't work here, Setsuna." Kurorio muttered, correcting her. "Not with him."
"What? It's a fact, isn't it?" Neito asked innocently. "I mean, you heard the people right? First Year Phenom? The Golden Boy?" His eyes flicked over to Kirishima. "Ace? And what of you? For someone who seems to be quite so angry at him, I bet you want to be the best. To aim for the top but the fact of the matter is..." His smirk broke out into a smug grin. "You couldn't even break into the top five!"
"Enough." Shoto hissed, standing up and conjuring an ice wall to come between the seething Bakugo and a surprised Monoma Neito. HE walked up, eyes glaring into them both. "Midnight said that this competition is more than just win or lose, and us yelling at each other won't do us any favors. I suggest you keep whatever superiority complexes you have to yourselves." He glowered before walking away.
"Todoroki-kun! Where are you going?" Uraraka called out, Shoto leaving with his hands in his pockets.
"I already have a plan. I'll end this game within a few minutes." He had his eyes on the target building, specifically at the top. There, where the Red Team's King was. Shoto looked back, seeing Tenya stand in his own Ring that was surrounded by a clearing of rocks and boulders with the laser bowl.
"You ain't gonna take his armband! I am, Icy-Hot!" Bakugo barked, departing after him despite the cries from Kendo and his other peers. Before long they were walking side by side, eyes forward.
"Unlike you I have fought him before, so if you don't want your flag to be taken like a fool..." Shoto turned his head, his grey eye boring a hole into Bakugo's head. "I suggest you help with finding and attacking the other Silver Knights, or at the very least help with defense."
"Go to hell, you two-faced bastard." Bakugo sneered. "I'll win my own way. Not yours, use that cute ice sculpting skill of yours and make a wall."
"That makes two of us." And with that said the two glowering teens continued to march through the hodgepodge mix of buildings and boulders, eyes set on the tower far ahead.
(X)
"Those two… I can't believe this!" Itsuka yelled, sighing before turning to Neito, her Deputy Representative and resident headache. "What is your problem!? Those are two of our Silver Knights and you made them go right into the frontlines when the bell starts!"
"Come on Kendo-chan, we both know that those two are better on offense than defense." Neito responded, smirking all the while. "They'll throw themselves against the enemy while our team collects the flags and and holds out." He turned towards Setsuna who waved. "I trust that you'll help with matters?"
"Oh yeah, leave it to me." She smirked. Kendo looked at the greenette who noticed her gaze and winked. True… Setsuna was very good at stealth, along with Hagakure they could infiltrate any part of the Blue Kingdom and find a Silver Knight. "Me and Hagakure-san can sneak around and find any flags. After that we can make a ruckus and those two hotheads will come running I bet."
"Are you sure that this is a good idea, leaving those two alone? They may get overwhelmed!" Hagakure waved her glove in concern. "Besides, if we get Parker-kun's flag, he gets involved in the battle!"
"As would I!" Iida declared. "Don't forget about me now!"
"I'm pretty sure that those two," Kuroiro muttered lightly. "Will be fine on their own. Monoma's right. Those two have a lot of power, but I doubt they can be reigned in."
"Still… I'm a bit concerned. They have Yaoyorozu on their team, and-" Uraraka was abruptly shoved to the side by Hatsume.
"HAVE NO FEAR MY TEAMMATES, BEHOLD!" She looked like she had just run a marathon, lugging a cart of sorts. "I MADE SOME EXTRA BABIES FOR JUST THIS OCCASION!" She opened the lid, revealing an assortment of devices and gadgets inside. "IN CASE I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH TO THE NEXT ROUND, I SPENT AN ALL NIGHTER ON THESE THE OTHER DAY, NYEHEHE~!" Sero flinched while Ashido stepped forward, inspecting some of the gear. Gloves, boots, vests and goggles galore!
"Did you get any sleep at all?" He asked, unsure of what to make of the Support Course girl who had run into the locker room to get her gear. As a member of the Support Course, she was able to use any gadgets she made during the Sports Festival in order to catch up with the Hero Course students. And there wasn't anything in the rules against dispersion of said gear in case of a team exercise…
"Nope!" Hatsume declared, showing off an assortment of gear. "Now put them on! I'll explain their functions and then we can get to work!"
"I'll explain our plan here, since Bakugo and Todoroki clearly want no part of this." Itsuka rolled her eyes. "We need to assault Parker's stronghold, at least enough to act as a diversion. Parker-san cannot leave his King's Ring at the top of the tower. That means we need a strike team in order to have his attention and their team's other defenders."
"Leave it to me! I wanna have a go at Ace myself." Kirishima raised his hand, as did Tetsutetsu. "Huh, why are you coming with?!"
"What, you think I'd let you hog that guy to yourself? Parker's an okay guy but I gotta beat him. He's in Class A!"
"I should go with him." Ashido patted Itsuka on the back, and the orangette was glad that the pinkette had a semblance of a brain. "I've known Kirishima-kun for a long time. Chemistry may go a long way for us!"
"I agree." Shihai uttered, standing up from his perch. "Kendo-san, let me stick to defense. The sun is getting higher in the sky." He looked up, eyes narrowed. "It'll be hard for me to use my shadows on offense. Plus we've worked together on those obstacle courses Vlad-sensei made for us."
"A smart ploy Shihai-kun." Neito drawled. "Then I'll assist with the offense as well. With any luck, Bakugo and Todoroki should be close enough for me to use my quirk."
"Is it just me though, or do we have little room for defense? We have a stealth team, a small group for attackers and defenders, and then we have Todoroki and Bakugo. We're gonna be stretched a little thin here." Sero said aloud in concern before Itsuka turned, her green eyes twinkling. She looked over at Uraraka, Ibara, and Kaminari.
"Our numbers are few, but I have a feeling that our defense is pretty stout. Uraraka, if you can use your Gravity quirk on the boulders to help block the various chokepoints or flank areas that would be helpful. Ibara-san." The vine haired girl who had remained silent and stoic perked up, ignorant of the way Kaminari was blushing near her. "Can I have you patrol the perimeter of the boulders around the King's Ring?"
"I am appalled at the idea of inflicting harm to another in the name of sport, but if I am to become a hero, I must do what is needed and not what I want," Ibara declared, hands interlocked. "I only hope that this game is not as combative as a war. War is truly a heinous and sad thing to witness, as our Lord must be grieving for us high in heaven. But if I must aid in the defense of our ring, then I will."
Kaminari and Sero sighed. "Wow… her voice is so…"
"Angelic…" The tape user finished, and Itsuka chuckled.
"Sero-kun, Kaminari-kun, you two are our remaining knights, what with Kirishima-kun leading the attack on Red Team's fortress." Itsuka put on a pair of hover soles that Hatsume provided. "We need you to hang back here in our zone, most importantly near the King's Ring so that myself, Ibara-san, Uraraka and Hatsume-san can come rescue you. Can you do that?"
"Wait, hang on." Kaminari looked at his black haired friend, grinning. "Are we in the care of three girls?"
"Two cute ones at that." Sero nodded, arms crossed and grinning. Kendo quirked an eyebrow, smirking in amusement. Setsuna seemed to share her enthusiasm.
"And who is the other? Chopped liver?" Uraraka didn't seem to care, and Kendo was glad that she didn't lose her temper like most girls in the various rom-com manga that she read from time to time.
Speaking of which, this week she was gonna binge-read that new manga by Hyu Araki! But first, gotta focus on the Festival...
"Heck no!" Kaminari roared, before waving his hands and bowing. "For it is she… and her divine grace and baritones blessed by the gods on high… Long may she reign~" He spoke in a lower, fragile and subdued tone. Kendi could just about see the light of heaven shining upon him.
Ibara could only tilt her head in confusion. "Hmm? There is only one God, I do not know what you speak of, Kaminari-san."
"I am not worthy~!" The blond electric user covered his eyes, being overly dramatic with an arm draped over his sight. Sero didn't seem all too affected.
"I like her too dude, but you miiiight be pushing it too hard." The long-armed tape user laughed.
"Nah, let the guy dream." Setsuna added. "Anyways, Hagakure-chan, let's get ready. Wanna go as a team?"
"Ah! Sure thing!" Hagakure waved, and the invisible girl began to walk away with Setsuna.
"We'll be back with some flags, we're going to hide somewhere close to the half-line." Setsuna waved. Itsuka turned towards her defense team as Tenya stood calmly in his Ring.
Uraraka, Ibara, Sero, Kaminari, Hatsume and Kuroiro.
She could work with this.
"Alright then." She turned, looking out towards the building that Peter Parker was sitting on. She thought that Parker was a decent guy, one she kinda wished was in her class. She could use a cooler head as a Deputy Representative. Neito-kun could be charismatic… whenever he wasn't making a fool of himself.
"Let's go show the pros what we've got! Iida-kun, leave the defense to us and have a seat!" Itsuka grinned.
"Very well, I am in your care!"
"One minute until the War begins!" And the Timer began to count down from 59 seconds as the orange haired martial artist licked her lips.
(X)
Why was there always a countdown? There weren't countdowns in real life. If heroes didn't show up in time, everything would go to hell, and Lord knows how many lives would be ruined. On second thought, considering the members of the Hero Course, it wasn't too far out there to expect that of them.
Shinso Hitoshi had a lot of thoughts on the current resident members of the hero course; and all of them boiled down to one word.
Special.
Every single one of them was seemingly born with a quirk perfectly suited to some kind of facet of mainline hero work. Big flashy powers that packed a punch, fast powers that would let them run straight into danger, even silent quirks that were perfect for getting in and out with every secret an enemy would want to hold on to.
He had to prove to the world that he was special too. How else could he make his dream of being a hero come true? If it meant ousting one of Parker's classmates to do so, so be it.
Or maybe a spot in Class B. He'd be fine with that too.
Not that he could complain about his current team. For all of the ego rumored to pour out of the Hero Course, the current team was workable. He was honestly expecting Parker to stick him on defense, or just tell him to hide. Instead, he let him go to the frontlines without even knowing his quirk. Pretty stupid when Hitoshi thought about it, way too trusting. But again, he could work with that. If he had enough faith in a General Ed kid like him to have come this far, what else could he do but to prove himself worthy? "Only fair I repay that faith in kind." He muttered under his breath as he exited the building. He made his way to the far edge of the arena, hugging whatever cover he could find until he could see the rocky edge of the blue team's field.
Except, he didn't stop there. There were plenty of boulders to serve as cover on the other side, options that he exploited instantly. After all, the ref never said anything about going over into enemy territory before the countdown started, it was just implied. Cunning and Strategy earned people recognition, right?
So who cares if someone got a little head start? Heroes were supposed to get everything they had on a villain before circumstances went from bad to worse. The crowd roared their approval, and Hitoshi glanced up to see Parker posing on the edge of his ring. The bigshot of the Hero Course gave a peace sign before the display turned back to its timer. He kept going, walking a bit further till he heard the faint sounds of voices. He peeked out of his corner as much as he dared, and saw a head of blonde and black hair nervously looking at the countdown.
Hitoshi couldn't help but grin. This was going to be way too easy.
(X)
As the final ten seconds counted down, the entire stadium seemed to hold its breath. No one moved, everyone stood ready. Kirishima clenched his fist, preemptively hardening himself as the final seconds ticked down. Next to him, Tetsutetsu of Class 1-B bared his teeth and entered his metal form. On his other side, Bakugo's eyes had a focus that most men would dream of having. His finger twitched, an explosion popping off. Behind him, Todoroki said nothing, his eyes twitching towards the stands for one reason or another.
Then the timer hit zero, Midnight's voice booming out. The alarm blared, with the crowd roaring as it did so.
"Let the War begin!"
And before she was even finished, Eijiro, Tetsutetsu, Todoroki and Bakugo were already moving. Bakugo took point, sprinting forward, but why was he holding back on the explosions?
"Why are you not blasting off there, Bakugo?" Eijiro asked.
"You think I'm an idiot?!" Bakugo screamed back as the team passed into the enemy field, "I'm only here to teach Redshirt a lesson, I'm not wasting any time fighting extras, that's what you're here for!"
Eijiro swore he heard Todoroki huff, and next to him, he noticed Tetsutetsu grit his teeth, "You know, if we weren't on the same team I'd kick your ass!"
"You'd try," Bakugo called back, his gaze firmly focused on the road ahead.
"How about we give it a try first!"
All four of them looked up just as two members of the Red Team leapt down from the buildings above. The green haired heteromorphic kid grinned as he came down right on top of Eijiro, his hand extending out into a sword. Eijiro threw his hands up, and saw sparks erupt on his hardened skin. Kamakiri Togaru snarled as he pushed Kirishima away and the redhead was on the defensive. Bursting through the wall of a building like some parody of the Kool-Aid Man, Sen thrust his drill hands straight at Tetsutetsu, forcing the boy to dodge or get pummeled.
"Sen! What the hell are-!"
"Dark Shadow!"
Bakugo stopped mid-motion, his eyes darting to the corner as the shadowy bird of Tokoyami's quirk reared out. He rushed forward to strike, but Todoroki threw an ice wall in front of him, forcing the bird construct to slam into it.
He screamed something else to Todoroki, but Kirishima couldn't tell what it was. Kamakiri's sword swept at his hair, probably trying to get him to dodge to the left. But Kirishima's quirk was made for situations like this!
He willed the hardening over his fingers and grasped the swords in each hand.
"Sorry bud, but you're not cutting this guy," Eijiro grinned, but it still used almost everything he had to keep the swords in place.
"Yeah, you're not half bad!" Kamakiri screamed, grinning back, a blade forming out of his forehead as he went in for a headbutt.
One that Kirishima met with his own. The two boys grappled in a deadlock, neither of them willing to give ground. The two never looked away, the battles of those around them irrelevant to their struggle. Only, Kamakiri wasn't as strong as he hoped. With the surprise over, Kirishima slowly bent the swords back, pushing against the reptilian blade user. He grinned when Kamakiri grit his teeth, trying and failing to hold his opponent back. Reeling back, Kirishima threw an enhanced headbutt, shattering the sword on the boy's head and sending him stumbling back, giving Kirishima plenty of space to throw a clean right hook at the boy's face.
"Grrraaaaaaaoooor!" Shishida Jurota charged forth, bursting through Todoroki's ice and jumping into the melee as Tetsutetsu parried blows from his classmate.
"Now this is real low!" Tetsutetsu yelled before backing off. Shishida pounded the ground he was on a moment ago before charging on all fours. A spray of acid onto the ground coated his hands, making him bark in pain and lose his footing, rolling to the ground in a heap.
"Take this!" Mina swung her hands, acid splashing out as she aimed. Eijiro and Kamakiri's deadlock was broken as the lizard boy had to fall back. Kirishima saw some acid leak and burn the ground!
"Mina, be careful!" He yelled, the pinkette blushing in mortification.
"Sorry! I'll aim b-"
"You're open!" Tokoyami came in, Dark Shadow striking Mina and sending her sprawling to the ground. Kirishima grit his teeth and charged against the raven headed boy, yelling as he leapt up. Tokoyami looked back, nonplussed.
"Look out copycat!" Yelled Tetsutetsu before Kirishima felt a punch impact his arm. The boy grunted as he was sent flying, Shishida recovering as he decked the redhead. Kirishima recovered, landing near Mina and helping her up.
"Shaaaaaaa~!" Kamakiri charged, swinging his blade hands until Tetsutetsu got in the way, parrying them with his steel arms and ducking a strike before the silverette punched his lizard peer in the face, launching him off his feet.
"You okay copycat?!" Tetsutetsu yelled, hands raised in a boxer's stance. Kirishima sharpened his skin as he saw Sen and Shishida approach. Mina was at his back.
"I'm fine! Hey, where's Bakugo and Todo-whoa!" Eijiro felt himself sinking! The ground felt like thick mud, yet it was consuming him like quicksand! Mina gasped beside him.
"WHAT A START! THE RED AND BLUE TEAMS HAVE BEGUN THEIR CLASH NEAR THE HALFWAY POINT! AND BLUE TEAM'S ADVANCE PARTY SEEMED TO HAVE SPLIT UP!" Present Mic yelled. Kirishima perked up.
"Bakugo, you jeeeeerk!" Eijiro yelled. Of course he would dump them and go off on his own. So where in the hell was Todoroki?! He saw a shadow loom overhead, and he looked up to see that Dark Shadow was gunning for his arm! Where his armband was! Kirishima swatted at the dark construct, but the monster simply held onto his arms and extended its neck, grabbing his armband by its beak!
"Return!" Tokoyami commanded as Dark Shadow reeled in its target and Kirishima felt his blood chill.
"Shit!"
"Oh no!" Mina exclaimed.
"Damnit… that's a dirty play Honenunki!" Tetsutetsu cursed.
"Get up to the ring now!" Kamakiri yelled as Tokoyami retreated, taking the armband into his hands as Dark Shadow helped him scale the building quickly.
"WHAT A MOVE BY THE REDS! THE ATTACKERS HAD A SILVER KNIGHT WITH THEM, AND THEY'RE PAYING THE PRICE! TOKOYAMI IS HEADING TOWARDS HIS RING WITH A FLAG!"
(X)
Juzo swam under the arena, holding his breath as he kept going forward. Using his Softening Quirk, he was able to neutralize the Blue assault group long enough for his Red teammates to get an opening. Kendo was foolish to have a Silver Knight not named Todoroki or Bakugo be a part of the strike force.
He came up for air, looking around to get a clue on his position. The ash-blonde saw some buildings and boulders around him. Juzo quickly glanced back, seeing his teammate Tokoyami climb up the building towards the King's Ring where Parker was.
He saw an exploding dart chasing after him, or more specifically where Parker was on the building!
He grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Guys, Bakugo's converging on Parker! He's ignoring Tokoyami! No sign of Todoroki anywhere either!" He whispered.
"Leave him to me!" It was Yaoyorozu's voice. "The counter measure is ready. Peter-san, I'll toss one up, you need to get to the center of the circle!"
"Right." Parker replied, sounding calm despite the rampaging Silver Knight gunning for him. Juzo smirked.
"Damn, wish I had ya in my class." He muttered before taking a deep breath, going back under. He has a job to do, and that was to win.
(X)
Shoto departed from the main group, wanting to get in position to assault Parker without getting caught up in the melee. They had the Red Team's attention, now he could commence his assault. He bent down, ice gathering below as it ruptured the earth.
He looked up, seeing Parker looking down from the ledge.
A shadow being cast over him made the Silver Knight pause, and charging down with a dive kick was Midoriya Izuku, covering in green lightning. Shoto jumped out of the way, seeing Midoriya strike the earth. His arm went to his band as he covered it in ice.
Right on time too, Asui's tongue smacked it and sent Shoto flying back a couple of meters. He landed on his feet, seeing Asui atop a lamppost. He narrowed his eyes, bending down and conjuring an ice pillar to push him away from a charging Midoriya. The poor boy jumped away, green lightning arcing out and licking against the wall of ice. He skidded to a stop on the ground, wincing from the impact. Shoto readied another blast, only to jump back as Asui flung a rock the size of his entire body straight at him. It cracked the ground in the space that he had been standing in just a moment ago. When he finally got his bearings, both of the enemy Silver Knights were rushing towards him. He glanced towards the tower, Shoto's gray and green eyes were alight with cold fury. He was fortunate that Midoriya was in his line of fire as he saw Parker looking down at the melee and the incoming Bakugo.
"Sorry…" Shoto hissed as ice surged all around him, and he could see the fear in Midoriya's eyes mid-charge. Asui's tongue lashed out, wrapping around him.
He let loose the torrent, and everything froze.
(X)
"There you are!" Bakugo roared as Peter looked up from the center of the King ring. He jumped back, avoiding the exploding berserker's flying kick and landing near the edge of the ring.
"Dumb move not going for Tokoyami." Peter stated, his hands shooting to his pockets as Bakugo landed while grinning darkly at the target of his ire.
"Who cares if your team gets some points?" Bakugo snarled. "We all know why I'm here for you Redshirt." He approached, hands outstretched as he took a step closer to the golden ring's center. "All alone, you and me." He grinned, aiming his hands at Peter. "I will be the one at the top!"
He stepped forward and blasted off, readying an explosion with one free hand!
"YOU GOT THAT!?"
Bakugo closed the distance faster than he'd ever flown before. But somehow, Peter bent back like he was in a limbo game, letting Bakugo sail over him. Fine for him, Bakugo just threw his palm in Peter's face, another explosion already erupting. Then Peter twisted, his hand a blur coming out of his pockets. Bakugo heard a click some something in the american's hand, then a white mass of powder covered him as he had his arms out to defend. Bakugo kept going, throwing out a hand to blast Parker.
But nothing happened.
"What the fuUUUUUUU-!" he screamed, the floor under him exploding. Peter blinked, smiling. Looks like it worked.
"I'm sorry, what was that you were saying?" Peter asked to no one in particular. Tokoyami finally emerged over the building's ledge, landing on his feet as he handed the silver armband to Dark Shadow. The beast flew in, and deposited the band into the bowl.
"WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! BAKUGO MADE IT TO THE KING'S RING OF THE RED TEAM BUT FELL INTO A TRAP!! TOKOYAMI HAS DEPOSITED A SILVER FLAG! THAT'S NOW 20 LOVE RED TEAAAM!" Present Mic yelled, and on the jumbotron the Red Team's bar went up by 20 points. Peter smirked as he looked over at Tokoyami.
"Mind getting Bakugo's flag? Can't really move from my circle here." He pointed into the hole below. "Momo can use some backup."
Wind rushed in Bakugo's ears. Goddamnit! He let his guard down and let that cocky bastard land a sneak attack on him.
Bakugo twisted in mid-air, tucking into a defensive roll in a... sandbox? White filled his vision as he coughed, standing up. It stung like a bitch, but he could still move. Bakugo felt gravity take him before he landed hard on his ass.
"Godfuckingdamnit!" Katsuki roared as he got up. He had landed in some white powdery sand in a sandbox for some dumb reason. It was the same stuff that Parker had thrown at him! He looked around, seeing a vacant space before him with only the stairwells and supports surrounding him. No windows or light were pouring in. Standing twenty feet away was Richgirl, paintball rifle in her arms.
That's right… she did that same trick to Icy-Hot during the Battle Trials! Fuck, he should have just stayed airborne!
"You'll pay for that!" Katsuki roared, glaring down the defiant girl as she aimed. He could close the distance but he-
Wasn't exploding. His red eyes widened as he looked down at his hands that were covered in white powder as he aimed behind him again. "What the?! That smell!"
Baby powder!
He felt a shot from Richgirl's weapon hit his shoulder and Katsuki yelped in pain, gritting his teeth as he ran for it, trying to get the white substance off of him. He dragged his palm against the wall jumping behind a pillar for some semblance of cover.
"There you are!" Dark Shadow's voice became deeper and more violent as Tokoyami landed in his previous position. This floor was partially cut off from the sunlight outside, and Katsuki felt fear grip his heart. He jumped, avoiding the shadow beast's claw strike. The Dark Shadow from before was the size of a large dog. Now it was as big as a horse, one with golden eyes that were even more demonic and features just as frightening. Katsuki raised his hands up in defense.
Only to get a projectile to his hand, making Katsuki yell in pain as he broke out in a run. He could hear the shadow beast give chase as he panted.
He had to get this white stuff off of him and get a better angle on these assholes! He kept running behind pillars, sprinting as much as possible while Dark Shadow gave chase and Richgirl fired when the opportunity presented itself. Katsuki could hear the whizzing of her pellets and he looked down, seeing a welt on his hand under the white powder that stopped him from utilizing his quirk.
Katuski gritted his teeth and kicked himself. Parker had fooled him! He'd lured him into a trap and he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
How could he have been so-
The entire building shook as both occupants in the room looked up.
"What was that!?" Bird yelled, his larger and more aggressive Dark Shadow growling beside him. The windows off to the side burst as ice spears surged forth, the force of the wind making all three jump away from the sudden danger. The entire side of the building was now covered in ice!
"It's Todoroki!" Richgirl yelled as Katsuki rolled across the ground, eyeing the stairwell. He scoffed and broke out into a sprint. If he could get there, he'd be able to rub this shit off, get to Parker, get his gold flag and fly back to Four-Eyes!
He had to win this!
(X)
Peter jumped back from the ledge as he looked back at the side of the building. The entire north side of the building was in the process of being consumed by a mountain-sized glacier. The entire arena and especially the audience was slack-jawed at the incredible display of power. There was no commentary even from Present Mic or Aizawa!
"Holy shit." He uttered as he saw Todoroki appear on top of the glacier.
Peter checked his web shooters and leapt back to the center of his ring, carefully avoiding the hole that Bakugo had fallen through. Midoriya and Asui were on that side of their field, with Pony and Sato on the south side. He took a deep breath.
He had to stay on the roof that was the extent of the King's Ring. If he moved out of bounds by accident, his team lost. If Todoroki pushed him out or took his golden armband, it was fine. But Bakugo was still below him, and them giving up the Gold Flag was something Peter didn't want to deal with, even if it meant he could join the battle.
He needed to attain victory as he heard the crunching and cracking of ice.
Todoroki began to slide down, pushing himself forth in a charge.
(X)
Honestly, not much to say about this chapter expect this:
I enjoy seeing anime stills or artwork in the middle of a story at pivotal moments, and that's one of my favorite stills of Todoroki to boot. The idea of a team-based Capture the Flag is great, but it's hard to juggle all the characters. Found myself scrolling back up several times to where the team members were listed.
Most people reading this will be anime-watchers, so won't be really too familiar with the Class B students except a few, so you might want to add a few more identifiers or commentary lines mentioning their teams.
If I were Momo, I'd have started making counterfeit bands for the knights to put on their other arms and legs, making it confusing and more time consuming which ones the other team should grab.
Ugh... and there are so many other little munchkin things you can do with these rules, too. I applaud Mind Control Lad, specifically. It's likely he's going to win them some big points, and was savvy enough to get a head-start on things. I honestly hope he ends up with a better showing than canon, he really deserves it.
Also, I feel for Iida here. He got the shit-end of the stick running a team with Bakugo and Todoroki on it, poor guy. Basically voids any level of strategy for to members of his team, which is a pretty big handicap for a match like this.
Wow, what a loaded update! So much content! I suspect it's not going to simply be the winning team going on to the next round, both for meta reasons and because of the comments about there being more to this than victory. Also, how does baby powder stop nitroglycerin? Unless it just absorbs sweat. Also, even without his quirk he wouldn't have been afraid of Dark Shadow.
"That's correct, and even with all this, I have a feeling that our chemistry is probably better." Shoji said as he got the attention of everyone in the room.
"Why's that?" Sen asked, and one of Shoji's arms pointed across the stadium.
Where the group heard an explosive blast, and cursing galore. "They have a Bakugo."
I enjoy seeing anime stills or artwork in the middle of a story at pivotal moments, and that's one of my favorite stills of Todoroki to boot. The idea of a team-based Capture the Flag is great, but it's hard to juggle all the characters. Found myself scrolling back up several times to where the team members were listed.
Most people reading this will be anime-watchers, so won't be really too familiar with the Class B students except a few, so you might want to add a few more identifiers or commentary lines mentioning their teams.
Wow, what a loaded update! So much content! I suspect it's not going to simply be the winning team going on to the next round, both for meta reasons and because of the comments about there being more to this than victory. Also, how does baby powder stop nitroglycerin? Unless it just absorbs sweat. Also, even without his quirk he wouldn't have been afraid of Dark Shadow.
