Chapter 15: Sports Festival, Part 1
"Relax, Green."
"I'm relaxed," Izuku claimed, even though it was a pretty blatant lie.
The time between their teacher announcing that the sports festival would still be taking place and the actual event itself had flown by, and now the members of Class 1-A were all gathered in one of the waiting rooms, where they would soon be called out into the stadium.
"If you were any more tightly wound, you'd snap like a guitar string," Jirou remarked, looking amused.
"I do hope you're not anxious because of what that student from the general studies course said the other day," Yaoyorozu said, frowning as she recalled the tired looking young man with the wild purple hair who'd proclaimed their class unimpressive. He'd been quick to point out the general course students like himself could be promoted to the hero course, and that the reverse could happen to hero students, depending upon their performance in the festival.
"If that's the case, you shouldn't be worried!" Uraraka piped up. "You and Yaomomo took down a villain who was supposed to be strong enough to beat All Might! They'd be crazy to demote either of you to general studies!"
"It's probably best we don't rest on our laurels, but I agree that the faculty would be extremely foolish to remove someone of your obvious potential from the hero track," Yaoyorozu said, causing Izuku to blush fiercely. "For my own part, I'm more worried about how Bakugo seemed to turn the other classes against us that day." She added, frowning at the memory of the blond boy's needlessly dismissive, aggressive response to the students from the other tracks appearing to gawk at them.
"Would you believe me if I said the thing I was most freaked out about is having to make a speech?" Izuku squeaked, with a weak, rueful smile.
Uraraka giggled.
"Never change, Green," Jirou said with a smirk.
Yaoyorozu looked like she was about to say something, but a new voice broke into their conversation. "Midoriya."
"Todoroki," Izuku said in mild surprise. "What is it?"
"Objectively speaking, it's difficult to say which one of is stronger," Todoroki said, voice as cool as the ice he often generated. "There's no debating your Quirk is more versatile, and you did beat me in the battle trial, but I still think I have you beaten on pure power."
Izuku frowned. "What is this about?"
"I want you to know that I will beat you today," Todoroki said.
"Whoa, a declaration of war from one of the strongest guys in the class to another?!" Kaminari exclaimed, looking half shocked and half excited.
"Bro, why pick a fight now? We're right about to go out there!" Kirishima scolded him.
"I don't care," was Todoroki's blunt reply. "I'm not pretending to be anyone's friend here."
Izuku looked evenly at the young man with the two toned hair. "I don't know why you felt the need to tell me you'd beat me," he said. "Everyone is aiming for the top here, including me, so I accept your challenge. But don't forget that all the other students, including the ones from other classes, are also looking to win. Everyone's looking to show the world that they're one of the next generation of heroes. Someone else might surprise you."
"…I see," Todoroki responded, before turning away.
"Okay, seriously, how can you be so afraid of making a speech, and then face down one of the strongest guys in class like it's nothing?!" Kaminari exclaimed, quickly getting a poke from one of Jirou's jacks as his only answer. "Ow!"
The door that lead out into the stadium opened then, ending any further conversation. Izuku and the other hero students strode out onto the field.
It was all Izuku could do not to recoil at the massive audience, the repeated bright pops of camera flashes, and the constant, low rumble of noise from the stands. He had watched the UA sports festival for years, including the recordings of several ones from before he'd even been born, but until now, he hadn't quite realized that he would one of the students on the field this time around, rather than just another spectator.
"This is crazy," he remarked to no one in particular as the audience went wild over the appearance of Class 1-A.
"Indeed," Iida agreed. "And we're expected to perform our best in front of so many people. I suppose it's just one more skill we'll need to learn, if we want to become pro heroes."
The sound of a whip cracking drew their attention to a small stage, where Midnight stood in her full hero costume. Izuku swallowed, doing his best not to ogle the R-Rated heroine. The last thing he needed was to be all hot and bothered (and flustered), in addition to everything else.
"Welcome, everyone, to the start of the sports festival for the first years!" she said, and she must've had a microphone hidden somewhere on her outfit, because her voice seemed to carry across the stadium. "We begin the festivities with a quick word from our student representative! Presenting the vice representative for Class 1-A, and the student who broke All Might's record in the entrance exam: Izuku Midoriya!"
Izuku could feel Kacchan's glare on his back, and he knew that if the blond boy's Quirk was heat vision rather than explosion, he probably would've been reduced to a pile of ash right there. However, he knew that even Kacchan wouldn't blow up and attack him on national television, not over something he'd known was coming. Especially when he would potentially get his chance at a sanctioned fight with Izuku later on.
The green haired young man took a deep breath as he walked toward Midnight's stage, rubbing his middle and ring finger together to feel the currently invisible power ring he wore.
No fear. "Hello," he began, then winced at the noise of feedback that followed before mercifully subsiding. The audience chuckled at the minor mishap. Somehow, Izuku managed to push forward. "A lot of people would argue that it's a bad idea to hold the festival like usual, after the villain attack at the USJ. And I can see where they're coming from."
A hush washed over the stadium, as the audience gazed at him in confusion.
"After all," Izuku continued, "the festival offers the villains a target, and even if they never had any ambitions to attack, it shows our Quirks to the entire world, which is information I know they didn't have last time. Things might've gone much worse if they'd known that, before the USJ."
He allowed a beat to pass before forging ahead.
"But what those people are failing to take into account is the nature of pro hero work," Izuku said. "We can't do the safe thing, and we can't avoid every risk! We can't let fear guide our actions! Instead, we need to show the world that we're ready to step up and become the next wave of society's protectors! To show everyone that we're here, and we won't be intimidated by even the worst villains! No fear! Plus ultra!"
"PLUS ULTRA!" the crowd and most of the assembled students roared in answer.
Izuku somehow managed not to jump a foot in the air at the thunderous response to his speech, instead taking the opportunity to scurry down from the stage to rejoin his classmates.
"You did very well, Midoriya," Yaoyorozu praised him. "I don't think I ever would've realized you don't like public speaking, if I hadn't known already."
"Th-thanks, Yaomomo," he said, cheeks coloring.
"And now, without any delay, let's get to our first event!" Midnight proclaimed, a massive screen behind her coming to life, showing a wheel with different events listed on it beginning to spin wildly before coming slowing and coming to a stop.
"Obstacle course race!" Midnight shouted. "A race around the stadium between every member of all eleven first year classes! And since our school is all about freedom in all things, anything is fair game so long as you don't go outside the course!"
As she spoke, a huge, mechanized gate began to open, pieces moving and shifting out of place in elaborate fashion.
"Racers, to your positions!" Midnight commanded as the first of a trio of lights above the starting line came on.
Izuku allowed himself a small smile, his fanboy heart squealing in glee beneath his determination to show what he could do. No matter what happened, this was so cool.
The second light came on.
He never would've believed he would actually get to participate in the UA sports festival someday, not really, let alone that he'd have a "Quirk" that would allow him to really compete.
The final light shone green.
"GO!" Midnight shouted.
The students stampeded forward, and the first obstacle became immediately obvious. The starting gate itself was too narrow. Scowling, Izuku summoned his protective aura, a halo of green light surrounding him, as he shoved his way forward.
Todoroki made his way through first. The moment he was free, the boy with the two toned hair unleashed his Quirk, ice appearing at his feet and then racing along the ground in all directions. Cries of surprise and dismay rang out as numerous other students were caught up in the wave of ice.
The other students of Class 1-A were not among them, however, overcoming the impromptu obstacle with their Quirks or just plain determination. For his own part, Izuku began to fly a few centimeters above the ground rather than run.
With Todoroki in the lead and the rest of the class hot on his heels, the path opened up to a much wider area.
Under other circumstances, Izuku might've thought that it was to finally allow enough room for all the contestants, but even if he'd had any reason to believe UA might choose to show them that small mercy, the looming forms of a good dozen zero-pointer robots, along with the smaller robots from the entrance exam, would've immediately relieved him of that idea.
"Every obstacle course needs obstacles!"Present Mic's voice boomed over the stadium loudspeakers, so powerful it carried out to the course outside. "Starting with…Robo Inferno!"
It was difficult to tell without seeing his face, but Izuku got the impression that Todoroki was distinctly unimpressed by the display.
Then the recommended student waved his arms, summoning a veritable tidal wave of ice, that immediately froze the zero-pointers in their tracks, preventing any assault before it could even begin.
"He stopped 'em! We can get through!" a Gen Ed student exclaimed jubilantly.
"Bad idea," Todoroki turned his gaze back toward his fellow contestants long enough to warn them, even as he charged ahead. "I froze them in pretty unstable positions."
Izuku scowled while Present Mic made a bad pun about Todoroki's behavior being ice cold. He knew that heroics could be a cutthroat industry, especially for new heroes who were just starting out and vying for recognition. Still, it was also a highly cooperativeindustry, too. When civilians were in danger, heroes had to work together. Izuku didn't like the idea of forgetting that part, even in a contest like this. He disliked the idea of this being everyone's first impression of Class 1-A almost as much.
His eyes began to glow as he poured willpower into his ring.
The pro heroes Godzillo and Mt. Lady appeared in the area, both clad in green from head to toe. Under Izuku's guidance, the two huge constructs marched forward and moved several of the unsteady zero-pointers out of the way, clearing a path for the other students.
Meanwhile, a trio of young heroes were outside the stadium, technically providing security. In actuality, they were mostly just milling about, enjoying the food carts and other stands that had popped up around the stadium grounds.
Someday they would realize that they were there more to be visible and help serve as a deterrent to any would-be attackers than to actively search for villains in the area, but today was not that day.
Deatharms was gazing down at a neat row of hero figurines when he noticed a flash of green from the corner of his eye. He turned to look in the direction of the stadium, then promptly did a double take.
"Mt. Lady, is that you?" he asked.
The size changing heroine had an armload full of merchandise at the moment, which she began to put down at the other pro hero's startled question, so she was a little slower than Kamui Woods at actually turning around.
"It's her and Godzillo," the wooden hero remarked.
"What are you two going on about?" the curvy heroine demanded, finally moving to look.
Her eyes widened at what she saw. A perfect duplicate of her own head in giant form was peeking above the stadium, along with that of Godzillo, both of them the color of pure jade.
"Wh-what?!" she stammered, rubbing her eyes.
"I heard that one of the first year students has a Quirk that allows him to create hard light 'constructs' of anything he wants," Kamui remarked. "Guess this must be his work."
"Huh," Deatharms grunted.
"What the hell?!" Mt. Lady shouted. "This is theft! Copyright infringement! That kid's using my likeness without the permission of me or my agency! I'm going to sue!"
The other two pro heroes traded a look.
"Wait, can she sue over something like this?" Kamui asked, feeling sure he'd never read about a situation quite like this one in his hero law, trademarks, and copyrights class.
Deatharms just shrugged. "Hell if I know."
Izuku grinned as he watched everyone rush toward the artificial canyon that he'd created by shoving the zero-pointers down, his fellow UA students scrambling to make use of the safe route.
Though "safe" was a relative term; while the zero-pointers were now reduced to giant piles of debris, the smaller 'bots were very much still active and eagerly rushing to attack the oncoming students. Izuku wasn't about to take out all the obstacles, of course.
Not that the smaller robots were much deterrent to the other members of Class 1-A. Bakugo was gleefully blasting his way through, a vicious smile stretching his face. Kirishima was simply charging his way through like an angry bull, his hardened body allowing him to take the brute force approach. Most of the rest of the class was following in their wake, using their own abilities to take out any robots that approached them.
Yaoyorozu wasn't among that group, however. The Creation user had rolled up her sleeves and was using tape generated from her hands to stick to the remains of the zero pointers, swinging herself through the canyon created by the wreckage with much greater skill and confidence than she'd displayed the first time she'd tried travelling that way, he noted with pride.
Though he soon noted something else: the small figure of Mineta was clinging to the back of her gym uniform shirt. He'd stuck a couple of his purple spheres to it and was holding onto them for dear life.
Izuku's mouth set into a scowl. He didn't care that the obstacle course race was explicitly a free for all, doing something like that was just plain unheroic, and that he was doing it to Yaoyorozu didn't exactly do anything to quell Izuku's irritation.
"Wah!" Mineta cried as a huge, glowing green hand plucked him off of the raven haired girl and unceremoniously sent him tumbling towards the ground.
He directed a betrayed look up at Izuku, who responded by glaring down at the smaller boy.
Yaoyorozu started, surprised by both the sound and the sudden absence of the diminutive boy's weight. She looked down at Mineta as he fell back to Earth, then up at Izuku.
She was smart, and Izuku could see on her face that she figured out what had happened almost immediately. Looking up, she gave him a smile and brief salute before continuing her journey through the pile of robots.
He tried to ignore the way the smile made his heart seem to skip a beat, then turned his attention back to the task at hand.
The remaining obstacles were a deep chasm that the contestants had to use tightropes to cross and a minefield.
In other words, it was not set up to stop a student who could fly.
Izuku took off at a comfortable cruising speed, quickly catching up to Todoroki. He and the scarred boy locked eyes for an instant before the Green Lantern rapidly accelerated, surging ahead of both Todoroki and the wave of ice the other student sent his way.
"It's obvious that the remaining obstacles aren't a problem for Midoriya!" Present Mic exclaimed as Izuku rapidly expanded the gap between himself and the now second place contestant.
"In retrospect, we probably should've taken his flying ability into account," Eraserhead grumbled, sounding like he'd rather be literally anywhere else than the announcer's booth.
"And it's not even close, folks!" Present Mic shouted as Izuku flew into the stadium. "Midoriya leaves his fellow students in the dust to easily claim first place! Looks like the fiercest fought battle will be for second place!"
Eraserhead made some kind of remark in reply about how the remaining students shouldn't let up despite the top prize having already been claimed, but Izuku barely heard them. He felt jittery after the tension and build-up to that first event and then getting a quick, easy win.
"Hey, Midoriya," Midnight called to him from her place on her little stage. He could tell from the tone of her voice that she had slipped out of her seductress persona for the moment. "You did great, kid. Just take a breath and sit tight. Enjoy the respite while you can get it."
"Thanks," he nodded.
Taking her advice, he took several slow, deep breathes, feeling some of the nervous tension leave him as he waited for the rest of the students to complete the race.
It wasn't too long before Todoroki arrived and claimed second place, with Kacchan hot on his heels. The ice user simply gave Izuku a stony glare before stomping off. The explosive blonde, on the other hand, looked like he was on the verge of either flying into a murderous rampage or bursting into angry tears, or possibly both at once. Izuku made a point of not catching his eye once he saw how distraught Kacchan was, not wanting to set him off.
After those two less than friendly faces, however, a beaming Yaoyorozu came sprinting into the stadium to claim fourth place.
"In the top five! Congratulations, Yaoyorozu!" Izuku said. "It's amazing how much better you've gotten at using your Quirk for mobility and speed!"
A faint dusting of red appeared on her cheeks. "I couldn't have done it without you helping me practice, not to mention you getting Mineta off of me."
Izuku felt his own face heat a bit. How can a girl this hot also be so cute?! He wondered, then felt a brief bolt of terror when he realized he wasn't sure if he'd said that aloud or not.
Thankfully, he'd managed to keep his mouth shut for once, judging by the lack of a reaction from the raven-haired girl.
"Congratulations yourself, by the way," she added, favoring him with another brilliant smile. "First place is no small achievement."
"Th-thanks," he managed, resisting the urge to point out that the course had clearly not been designed to stop someone with the ability to fly in mind. It helped that it was currently more difficult than usual to form words.
"Midoriya, that was awesome!" an exhausted looked Uraraka said as she staggered over to him, followed by a trembling Iida, who appeared to be in the midst of a personal crisis over failing to win a race despite his Quirk. "You too, Yaomomo! You were all 'zip!' and 'thwip!' and just swinging over everyone even better than Sero! I'm so jealous of you two! Your Quirks are both good for everything!"
Izuku turned so red he resembled a tomato, while a somewhat less flustered Yaoyorozu thanked her and praised the gravity girl for her own strong performance.
"Looks like it's finally over," Midnight announced to the arena once the final students had crossed the finish line a few minutes later. "Let's give our students a round of applause for their display of prowess and youthful vigor!"
"She really sticks with that persona right to the hilt, doesn't she?" Yaoyorozu remarked, sounding like she didn't exactly approve.
"She is a pro hero in the middle of an extremely public event," Izuku replied. "If there was ever a time to maintain the image she's crafted for herself, this is it."
"A fair point," the raven-haired girl allowed.
"The top 42 students from the qualifying round will move on!" Midnight continued. "Now, the main competition really begins! I hope all you young champions have the stamina to find your second wind because we move onto the next round now!"
"…though maybe she is laying it on a bit thick," Izuku admitted, getting an amused grin from Yaoyorozu.
"Is the anticipation of finding out what the next event is killing you?" Midnight did her best to milk the suspense. "Well, wait no more! The next round is…!"
The words "Cavalry Battle!" appeared on the screen behind her.
Midnight quickly explained the rules to both the students and the scores of spectators: the remaining contestants needed for form teams of two to four and get into a horse and rider position, with one person as the rider. Every team would have headbands worth a certain number of points, and the teams would have 15 minutes to try to claim as many of the headbands as they could.
The amount each team was worth depended on its members, and in turn, how much each member brought to the team was dependent upon how they'd done in the obstacle race. The person who'd come in 42nd place was worth five, the next person ten, and so on.
"But…our first place winner of the obstacle race is worth ten million points!" Midnight proclaimed, cracking her whip for emphasis.
Izuku's eyes widened as he felt everyone turn to look at them, their gazes suddenly predatory.
He swallowed, then sighed. Of course his victory had come with an immediate punishment.
"No fear," he whispered.
"Plus Ultra!" Midnight shouted.
Chapter 16: Sports Festival, Part 2
"Ten million points," All Might muttered to himself in the teacher's observation room, currently in his skinny form, as the students went nuts following Midnight's announcement of that little surprise. "Was it really necessary to put a target that large on the back of the first place winner from the race?" he asked Nezu.
The principal chuckled. "Why, All Might, I assumed you of all people would understand the kind of pressure that comes with achieving the pinnacle of professional heroics," he remarked. "Haven't you often felt like being the number one hero meant everyone had their knives out for you?"
"Villains certainly," All Might nodded. "And I'm not so naïve as to believe that there aren't scores of heroes who'd like to knock me off my perch and claim it for themselves. Still…this feels like training those children to view one another as the enemy."
"Personally, I agree," Thirteen said quietly. "Pro heroics can be very dog-eat-dog, but at the same time, teamwork between heroes is often essential, especially in times of crisis. I've always felt we should teach the students that first and gradually make them aware of how brutal and competitive this profession can be later."
"Sometime heroics is a dirty, mean job," Snipe disagreed. "I've never felt the need to hammer that home to the extent that Aizawa does, but I reckon we wouldn't be doing right by the students by hiding that from them until later on."
"Quite right," Nezu said. "And in its way, the cavalry battle illustrates this need for cooperation amidst cutthroat competition. No student, no matter how powerful, can advance past this event without at least one other by their side."
All Might frowned. "I suppose."
"Seems like it still don't sit right with you," Snipe commented.
The emaciated hero gave a grunt of agreement. "I can't deny anything you or the principal has said, but still, the way pros will compete fiercely with one another and channel so much energy into attaining fame and recognition, often for the sake of money, is something I've never liked about the field. I'm not sure it's good for UA to be reinforcing that in these future heroes."
"Your feelings are shared by many others, but so long as the system that dictates which heroes becomes wealthy and famous while others remain poor and fall into obscurity remains as it currently is, so too shall the field as a whole," Nezu countered. "We would be derelict in our duty as educators if we taught the students how to live in the world as we wish it to be, rather than the world as it truly is."
"Mm," All Might grunted, not wanting to get into a drawn out debate with the hyper intelligent rodent.
Mostly because he knew that any such conversation would quickly transform into Nezu giving a very long winded lecture.
Yet he still couldn't say he entirely agreed, even though Nezu made a good point.
But what kind of hero passively accepts the world as it is, instead of trying to make it a better place? He wondered.
Meanwhile, back on the field, Izuku's mind was going at a mile a minute as he did his best to assess the cavalry battle, and his unique place in it.
"Because of the ten million points, those of my teammates don't really matter, we'll start in first place and be the team everyone's gunning for regardless," he muttered to himself. "So I should try to team with people based purely on their abilities. Who would be best…?"
Of course, as much as he might've seemed to be going through the problem, he was still avoiding the main issue.
Who's going to want to team up with me when everyone's going to be gunning for my headband?!He wondered.
"Midoriya, would you be willing to team up with me?" a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Yaomomo? You really want to team up with me?!" he exclaimed, whirling around to face the taller girl, doing his best not to burst into tears. "Even though everyone will be after me?"
She smiled, but there was a dangerous edge to the expression. "Midoriya, we defeated the League's Nomu together. I had no doubt we can handle the other teams." She said matter-of-factly, hands planted on her hips.
Her confidence was surprisingly infectious. "Yeah!" he agreed, curling his right hand into a fist.
"Deku! Yaomomo! Team up with me!"
They turned to see Uraraka rushing toward them, smiling brightly.
Izuku really was about to cry at this point. "You're okay with that? Even though everyone will probably be after us?"
"Of course!" the brunette said. "You and Yaomomo are two of the strongest ones here, and you're definitely the smartest! You'll win for sure, and I want to be on the winning team! And…are you okay, Deku?""
"Just fine," he quickly assured her, wiping at his eyes.
"Welcome to the team, Uraraka," Yaoyorozu said, smiling warmly. "Now, for a fourth member—"
"Team up with me, Mr. First Place!" a girl with pink hair and elaborate goggles was suddenly right next to Izuku, shouting at him exuberantly.
Izuku let out a yelp and quickly backed up a step. "Whoa! Who are you?" he blurted out.
The girl raised her goggles, exposing yellow eyes with what looked like crosshairs, clearly a Quirk mutation of some sort, then leaned close to him, getting back into his personal space. "I'm Mei Hatsume, from the support course! My babies and I could be very useful to someone in your position, Mr. First Place!"
"Babies?" Yaoyorozu and Uraraka echoed.
"If we team up, my super cute babies and I will totally be in the spotlight! We'll be seen by all the industry big shots!" Hatsume continued, completely ignoring the two girls.
"Wait, wait, hang on," Izuku implored, holding his hands up and taking another step back, only for the slightly manic girl to take another step forward. "What are you talking about? What…babies?"
"The babies I've made since joining the support course, naturally!" Hatsume said, producing a small mountain of gadgets and equipment from seemingly nowhere. "I've got plenty of my babies right here!"
"Uh…" Izuku stammered, his face getting redder and redder as a result of this girl's relentless closeness.
"Excuse me," Yaoyorozu forcefully broke into the conversation. "I'll thank you to give my friend a bit of breathing room."
Hatsume blinked, looking at the taller girl like she'd only just realized she was there. "Huh? Who're you?"
"I'm Izuku's teammate and friend. We defeated a villain together at the USJ," Yaoyorozu said. "And while we appreciate your offer, I'm afraid that your services are not required." She added imperiously.
"Huh? But why?!" Hatsume demanded. "My babies—!"
"Midoriya's Quirk allows him to create hard light constructs of anything he can imagine, while mine allows me to make any object so long as I have the knowledge and the necessary fat stores," Yaoyorozu pressed forward. "Between the two of us, we can quickly and easily create any piece of equipment or gear we may need. Therefore, what you'd bring to the team, while formidable, is quite redundant."
"Mr. First Place, surely you see the value of my babies?" the inventor implored Izuku.
"Um, actually, Yaomomo makes a good point…" Izuku stammered.
Hatsume pouted. "Oh, fine! But don't blame me when you run into a situation where only a Hatsume Industries-brand baby would save you!" she exclaimed before stomping off.
Izuku was dumbstruck for a few seconds after the pink-haired girl retreated. "Well, that…happened," he spoke eventually before turning to Yaoyorozu. "Thank you," he said, a little embarrassed at how relieved he was that the human whirlwind Hatsume represented had departed.
"Any time, Midoriya," the raven haired girl smile, looking more than a little satisfied with herself.
"Wow, Yaomomo, you were very protective of Midoriya there," Uraraka remarked, looking like she was about to burst into laughter for some reason.
Yaoyorozu lifted her chin, a faint dusting of red appearing on her cheeks. "She was much too aggressive and was clearly making Midoriya uncomfortable," she replied, as though daring the petite brunette to question her motives. "Besides, I wasn't exaggerating when I said her inventions would be redundant."
"Of course," Uraraka agreed, still grinning.
The tall girl gave a slightly awkward cough. "Perhaps we should focus on finding a more useful fourth team member."
Thankfully, Uraraka was quick to agree, and the trio quickly set about the task before everyone else could team up. Izuku had high hopes of getting Iida to join, but to his surprise, the bespectacled boy refused, saying he wanted to challenge Izuku.
Yaoyorozu then suggested they ask Jirou to join them, but the punk girl had already formed a team with Hagakure, Sato, and Koda.
"I'm not sure anyone's left," Izuku said after a few more fruitless requests.
"And we're almost out of time," Uraraka added. "Maybe we should've let Hatsume join us after all."
"A four person team isn't automatically better than a three person team," Yaoyorozu said, clearly still keen to defend her decision to send the inventor packing. "I'm sure the three of us will be able to handle the event just fine. We should spend the last of our time strategizing."
"The plan I had in mind is pretty straightforward," Izuku said. "We just need to run away and avoid the other teams, since we win so long as we hang onto the points we'll start with. I can get us in the air even without Uraraka's help. That'll leave her free to defend against the people who can get at us up there."
"A sound plan," Yaoyorozu nodded. "However, I'd add that we should do everything we can to sow chaos on the ground. Every second the other teams are fighting with each other or struggling against obstacles is a second they're not coming after us. I think I have a few ideas on how to do that."
Izuku nodded. "Uraraka, do you have anything to add?" he asked.
"Um, yeah," the brunette said. "Since you can take us into the air, why don't you just lift a kilometer into the sky or something? That way nobody would be able to reach us and we could just wait it out until time's up."
Izuku shook his head. "I don't think that would be allowed."
Yaoyorozu was quick to agree. "Midnight did give Midoriya quite the pointed look when she mentioned how leaving the stadium was against the rules," she said. "I believe we'll be penalized if we go above the highest part of it."
"Oh, dang. I didn't notice that. Figures there's no easy mode," Uraraka grumbled.
"It would be a significant oversight on the school's part," Yaoyorozu said. "Though I'm still sure we can win this."
Uraraka nodded, apparently heartened by the raven-haired girl's confidence. "So, who's going to be the rider?"
"I think Yaomomo should be the rider," Izuku said immediately.
"Me?" the raven-haired girl put a hand to her chest, clearly surprised. "But you're the one bringing the most points to this team."
"Sure, but being part of the horse would impede your ability to use your Quirk, since you'd need to keep at least one arm on the rider. Uraraka can use hers just fine with one hand, and it's the same with me," he countered. "Plus, Uraraka and I are roughly the same height, while you're taller than either of us. So it would be kind of awkward for you to be the horse with one of us."
Also, he didn't want to be carried around by a pair of attractive girls like some kind of harem protagonist, though Izuku suspected it would be a bad idea to say so.
"Good point," Yaoyorozu conceded. "Very well, I'll be the rider."
"Students!" Midnight called, stretching provocatively as she spoke. "Your 15 minutes are up! Time to get started!"
"Looks like we figured that out just in time," Uraraka said.
Izuku nodded, clenching his right hand into a fist. "Let's do this."
"All right students, assume your horse-and-rider formations!" Midnight commanded, a seemingly invisible microphone helping the Rated-R Heroine's voice to carry to the further reaches of the stadium.
Izuku and Uraraka lifted Yaoyorozu onto their shoulders, the secretly Quirkless young man only now realizing the flaw in his insistence that the taller girl be their rider. Namely, that it meant he needed to keep a hand on one shapely thigh to keep her steady.
At least they didn't let us compete in our hero costumes, he mused, face reddening at the mere thought of touching her bare leg.
Trying to take his mind off of that and get his head in the game, Izuku took a moment to survey the other teams as they formed up.
Todoroki had assembled a group with Iida, Kaminari, and Tokoyami, with himself as the rider. The electricity user was on the left, with the bird-headed boy on the right, and Iida taking the lead.
Smart of him to put Iida in front, Izuku mused, knowing the young man with the engine Quirk represented the most speed and probably the most brute force of anyone on the team.
Meanwhile, Bakugo was acting as rider for his team, with Kirishima in front and Sero and Ashido to his left and right.
Kirishima's clearly where he is because he can withstand Kacchan's explosions, Izuku surmised. But the other two…they give him a lot of options.
He knew the explosive blonde far too well to hope that Kacchan had failed to have come up with any ideas about those options himself.
Izuku took a deep breath to steady himself, shaking his head and noticing that Hatsume had teamed up with a pair of students from Class 1-B, a blond girl with long horns and a green-haired boy with insectoid mandibles.
He hoped they didn't regret telling Hatsume they didn't need her on their team.
"Contestants! On your mark!" Midnight said, raising her whip. "Get set…! GO!" she swung her whip hard enough for it to make an audible crack sound.
Multiple teams immediately started to charge for them.
"This is a fight for the ten million and everyone knows it!" yelled a boy with silver hair and a tan substance of some kind surrounding his eyes, acting as rider for a team of 1-B students.
"We're coming for you, Yaomomo!" Hagakure proclaimed in a sweetly menacing singsong tone.
"Hmm, these aren't the teams I would've wagered on attacking us right off the bat like this," Yaoyorozu remarked, cool as a cucumber in the face of the other teams' charges. "Nevertheless, let's get out of here!"
"Going up," Izuku said, funneling his will into the ring.
Green light haloed all three members of their team, and then they lifted off the ground, soaring into the air and above the two teams that had attempted a direct assault of them. One girl with vines for hair attempted to use them to grab them, but the trio got out of range too quickly.
Yet not before Yaoyorozu decided to retaliate. Activating her Quirk, she created a series of what looked like Russian nesting dolls from her forearms, which cascaded downwards, exploding with loud pops before they reached the ground and causing the two opposing teams to rapidly retreat.
"…what's inside of those?" Izuku asked.
"Miniature firecrackers," Yaoyorozu answered. "Their bark is worse than their bite, I assure you."
"Woo-hoo!" Uraraka cried. "This is amazing! We're flying! And I'm not about to lose my breakfast!"
"And Team Yaoyorozu takes to the air to escape the initial assault!" Present Mic exclaimed. "Eraser, I didn't know Midoriya could do that with multiple people!"
"Neither did I," Aizawa grunted.
"Now the question is, can they just park themselves and their points up there the whole time? And will it keep them safe from the other teams?" Present Mic wondered.
"Not likely."
Unfortunately, the grumpy underground hero was very quickly proven right, as a series of loud pops heralded the approach of Kacchan. The volatile blonde had a strand of Sero's tape stuck to his shoulder and was propelling himself towards them at frighting speeds using his explosions.
"You're not going to get away from me, you stupid Deku!" he snarled, a fierce, malicious grin stretching his face.
Izuku flinched, even as reacted automatically. A strand of emerald light burst out from the ring, quickly taking the shape of an oversized boxing glove on a direct course with their attacker.
Kacchan immediately fired off several more explosions, altering his trajectory to allow him to avoid the counterattack. "Did you really think you could get me with that, you bastard?" he demanded.
Izuku didn't dare respond, but the answer was no, actually hitting Kacchan had never been his intent. Instead, he'd been trying to corral the explosion user into a certain direction.
It worked.
Uraraka, who Kacchan hadn't paid the least bit of attention to, thanks to how hyper focused he was on Izuku and acquiring the headband Yaoyorozu wore, reached out and pressed her palm against the front of his torso.
"Fuuuuck!" Kacchan howled as he suddenly went out of control, completely unaccustomed to propelling himself through the air with his explosions when he was weightless, launching himself much too powerfully in one direction and then the next before Sero reeled him in and returned him to the rest of his team.
"He's going to be relentless for the rest of this thing," Izuku remarked grimly.
"Perhaps not," Yaoyorozu replied. "Look." She pointed.
Izuku squinted, soon spotting a team of 1-B students with a blond boy as the rider managed to steal Kacchan's headband. The explosive student didn't notice at first, but the 1-B guy clearly couldn't resist the urge to rub his momentary victory in his opponent's face, and suddenly Team Bakugo was off in pursuit of their original headband.
"Never thought I'd see the day someone willingly picked a fight with a Kacchan," Izuku muttered to himself. More loudly, he said, "If they keep him busy this whole time, we may be able to cruise to a win for this event."
"Don't count on it, Midoriya!"
His head snapped to the side, eyes widening at what he saw.
Uraraka cursed. Izuku might've been shocked if he didn't share those sentiments exactly.
Todoroki was creating a massive ramp of ice to allow his team to get close to them, and Iida was powering them upwards at top speed, his engines blazing. Tokoyami's dark shadow was out, clawed hands opening and closing as though ready to grab their headband.
Izuku would later say he had no idea how he came up with what he did next, and he'd be telling the truth.
He shot out a beam of green light in the direction of the opposing team. Izuku saw them tense, clearly thinking he was trying to hit them and getting ready to dodge, but that wasn't his intention.
Instead, the emerald light extended Todoroki's already huge ramp. Unfortunately for Team Todoroki, it also made the angle of that ramp increase sharply until it was a vertical wall, then had it turn away from Team Yaoyorozu, taking a course back to the ground as it took on a once again sane gradient.
Iida let out something between a yelp and a cry of indignation, but the speed he'd propelled his team to meant that they were committed; any attempt to avoid the addition that Izuku had made to their course would mean crashing head first into a jade wall.
"Midoriya, that was amazing!" Uraraka exclaimed as the opposing team sped away from them.
"Brilliant!" Yaoyorozu said at the same time.
His face reddened, and he would've been a stammering mess if not for the knowledge that they weren't safe from Todoroki and his teammates just because they'd managed to fend off the initial assault.
"Thanks, but I'm not sure I can manage to pull something like that off again," he said. "Yaomomo, you mentioned you may have some tricks up your sleeve. Now's probably the time to use them!"
"Right!" she agreed, holding out her hands and activating her Quirk.
A thick grayish substance exploded out of her palms and went falling, soon splattering down on the ground.
"What is that?" Izuku asked, frowning in confusion.
Yaoyorozu smiled. "One of the members of 1-B has a Quirk called Cemedine that allows him to create an incredibly potent, adhesive substance, and he was kind enough to provide me a sample when I asked."
Izuku released a laugh. "Genius! The other teams can't try and get at us up here if they're glued to the spot!"
"Indeed," Yaoyorozu agreed, her smile taking on a dangerous edge to it. "Now, why don't you get us moving so I can get plenty of this over the battlefield? And feel free to join in."
"You got it!" Izuku grinned.
"Amazing!" Present Mic exclaimed. "Team Yaoyorozu narrowly fends off the attack from Team Todoroki, thanks to some quick thinking from Midoriya!"
"Hopefully, that'll teach Todoroki and his teammates about the dangers of a head-on frontal assault," Eraserhead grumbled into his microphone.
Most people probably assumed that the voice hero probably played up his reactions for the audience, Aizawa mused, but the awful, exhausting truth was that Hizashi actually was every bit as pumped as he appeared to be.
"And now Team Yaoyorozu's going full bombardier on the field! Is that glue she's dropping on the ground?" Mic said.
"Looks like it," Eraserhead replied. "Hopefully it's not just normal glue, though. Otherwise she's just wasting her resources."
"Are those duplicates of the mines from the obstacle race that Midoriya's littering the battlefield with now?!" Present Mic yelled.
Eraserhead winced, giving his old friend a dark look. "It appears so," he said.
"Incredible! If the other teams aren't stuck, they're dealing with explosions from the mines! Team Yaoyorozu has created total chaos on the field!" an unrepentant Present Mic practically screamed.
Eraserhead probably would've activated his Quirk and brought Mic back to human decibel levels by now, and damn the announcer job, if he wasn't still injured from the USJ.
"It's a logical strategy. So long as they retain their original headband, all they need to do is keep the other teams away from them until time runs out," Eraserhead replied, resisting the urge to reach up and massage his still bandaged head in an attempt to dispel the oncoming headache. "The only question is: can they keep it up until then? I doubt they have a backup plan in case they lose their points."
"Less than five minutes remain at this point,"Mic pointed out. "I like their odds!"
"You're not supposed to cheer for one team over the others," Eraserhead harrumphed.
Mic just laughed, before muting both their microphones. "I can understand how those two were able to take down that Nomu creature at the USJ," he remarked. "Seriously, Shota, what do you feed those kids?"
"I'm simultaneously insulted and flattered that you think I have anything to do with that," Aizawa replied, tone perfectly deadpan.
"Curses! We're completely stuck!" Iida exclaimed.
"Did you actually just shout 'Curses'? Unironically?" Kaminari asked, only to be totally ignored by the other three members of his team.
The four of them had managed to avoid the initial rain of glue, but when Midoriya had sent emerald caltrops hailing down upon the field, Iida had thrown his engines into high gear in an attempt to avoid them and had run right into one of the grayish puddles. To make matters worse, Yanagi from Team Kendo had managed to use her powers to rip the headband right off Todoroki's head shortly afterwards, leaving them with zero points.
Several of the teams were or at least had been stuck similarly. Team Mineta, Team Shinso, and Team Kodai were all completely immobilized and had lost their points to other teams who'd managed to swoop in and take advantage.
Bakugo's team had also gotten stuck in the glue, but Ashido had managed to dissolve it with her Quirk and free them, much to Team Monona's horror.
Scowling, Todoroki's leaned to the side as far as he dared and extended a hand. Ice formed on the ground, covering the glue that held them in place. Kaminari let out an indignant squawk as the frigid temperatures swept over his feet.
Ignoring the blond boy's annoyance, Todoroki made the ice melt with a wave of his hand. "Try now," he commanded his teammates.
Iida struggled fiercely to pull his feet free, while dark shadow assaulted the glue.
"No good, Fumi," the sentient Quirk reported to Tokoyami after a moment.
"If anything, the cold's made it even harder to escape!" Iida ground out, voice tight with frustration.
"Can you use your fire side to heat it up a bit?" Kaminari asked. "I bet it would melt if it gets hot!"
"I told you, I will not use my fire," Todoroki said, clenching his fist.
"Todoroki, it's not my place to tell you how to use your Quirk, but will you really allow all of us to be eliminated with you because you won't utilize that aspect of it at all?" Iida scolded him.
"Do you want to risk third degree burns to your feet?" Todoroki demanded, tone frosty.
It was a genuine concern, considering that he didn't practice using his fire, but even if it weren't an issue, he still wouldn't use that part of his Quirk. There was no reason to advertise that fact, however.
So they were stuck, and his vow to defeat Midoriya had failed before the third event of the festival. Todoroki set his jaw and pretended he didn't feel the glare of the number two hero upon him.
"Time's almost up, and most of the teams are either stuck in Yaomomo's glue or fighting with each other!" Uraraka said, grinning triumphantly.
"Careful," Yaoyorozu cautioned. "We haven't won yet."
The raven-haired girl's warning proved extremely timely, as a moment later, they heard the telltale sound of explosions getting closer and closer to them.
"Deku!" Kacchan snarled as he rocketed up towards them, hands enrobed in a constant stream of fire and smoke. "You're going down, you worthless shit!"
The explosive teen's meteoric rise ensured that Izuku didn't have the time to do anything clever. Instead, he projected a green bubble around his team.
Kacchan didn't slow down, merely holding out one hand so he could set off an explosion the moment he impacted the force sphere. He kept the other one behind him, firing off a continuous volley of explosions from it to keep pushing himself forward against Izuku's shield.
"Hold onto your hats, folks! Despite his team being securely in second place, Bakugo is making another attempt at snagging the ten million points from Team Yaoyorozu as time ticks down!" Present Mic exclaimed.
"It may not be necessary for his team, but Bakugo's drive to aim for the top is undeniable," Eraserhead remarked.
"Right you are, mummy man! But can the same be said for his attack?" Mic wondered aloud. "This clash is looking like the immovable object versus the unstoppable force!"
"No attack is unstoppable," Eraserhead grunted. "And no defense is immovable."
A Green Lantern ring, Izuku knew, could generate a protective barrier of incredible strength. When sufficient amounts of pure willpower were channeled into it by the wearer, it could shield someone from nuclear explosions or even planet-killing devastation.
The young hero student told himself this as Kacchan fired off blast after blast against the surface of the force bubble he'd created, screaming insults and profanity at him the entire time.
It worked, at first.
Then the smoke from the explosions cleared just long enough for Izuku and Kacchan to lock eyes.
The young Green Lantern gazed into the other student's red eyes brimming with fury and loathing, and he couldn't help but remember all the times that look he been followed by burning, searing pain and suffering. A spike of terror shot through him.
The force bubble cracked like glass. Kacchan released a wordless cry of triumph, redoubling his efforts.
Pushing the fear down, Izuku threw his will to the task of shoring up his defenses, preventing the shield from shattering immediately. Unfortunately, it didn't matter how hard he strained at this point; the sphere was compromised, and he couldn't fully fix it without a second or two to completely regenerate it from scratch. That was time Kacchan was not going to give him.
He could only delay the inevitable.
"Give up already, Deku!" Kacchan screamed. "I don't know how you've managed to cheat and fake your way this long, but it ends now! I'm putting you back in your place, you good for nothing shit!"
Izuku ignored him, focusing on doing everything he could to keep the force bubble from shattering for a little longer, seemingly pouring his very soul into it.
"What the fuck won't you give up?!" Kacchan demanded. "Just admit you can't keep this farce going forever, quit screwing with my original story, and leave UA to the people who deserve to be here! Accept that you'll never be a pro hero, you asshole!"
"No!" Izuku barked back. "I won't! And you can't force me!"
"Why?!" Kacchan snarled, and Izuku noted with surprise that there was real frustration in his voice, along with the familiar rage. "Why won't you give up on this? Why the hell won't you quit?"
Izuku's eyes blazed with green light as he met his attacker's angry red eyes. "I don't know how."
The still cracked force bubble darkened, becoming nearly opaque. Kacchan released a wordless cry of fury, trying to muster still more explosive force to throw against his foe.
A thunderously loud airhorn suddenly shook the air.
"TIME'S UP!" Midnight announced, using a megaphone to ensure that students couldn't fail to hear her.
"And there you have it, folks!" Present Mic announced. "Team Yaoyorozu succeeds at holding onto their ten million plus points for the entirety of the contest! How amazing is that?!"
"They made smart use of their powerful Quirks," Eraserhead agreed. "Though it was clear that if the event had gone on for any longer, Bakugo would've succeeded. They almost finished with zero points."
Present Mic laughed. "As they say, my grumpy friend, almost doesn't count! And speaking of Team Bakugo, they still finish a strong second and will proceed to the next event!"
Eraserhead grunted in agreement. "In third place is Team Tetsutetsu," he said. "They managed to avoid the glue that Team Yaoyorzu littered the field with, mainly because Tetsutestu was happy to tank the proximity mine constructs Midoriya made."
"And in fourth place is Team Kendo! That makes for an even split between Classes A and B,"Present Mic finished.
"Not what I was expecting, to be honest,"Eraserhead remarked.
"The members of the top four teams will proceed to our third and final event, and because Team Yaoyorozu had only three members, one member of the fifth place team, Team Rin, will also be able to proceed," Present Mic said. "The two of them had better put their heads together and decide which one of will advance!"
"They have an hour to decide," Eraserhead grunted. "There will be a lunch break before the third event commences."
"That's right! Feel free to hit the concession stands and grab some grub, ladies and gentlemen! We'll see you back here when the action resumes!" Mic said. "Say, Eraser, want to get some lunch?"
"I'm taking a nap," the underground hero said bluntly, already climbing into his sleeping bag.
"What?!"
Izuku was actually surprised when Kacchan quickly ceased his attack almost immediately after the end of the event was called, the volatile blond boy looking at him with a shellshocked expression.
With the sudden stop to the constant explosions, the relative silence was practically deafening.
Despite everything, Izuku felt the sudden impulse to apologize, though he immediately squelched it. He also wondered if he'd have to save Kacchan from plummeting to the ground and breaking several bones on impact.
Then the other student's expression twisted into a familiar scowl. "I'll kill you in the final round, Deku. Then everyone will see how worthless you really are," he growled, just as gravity reclaimed him and he went falling.
Uraraka blew a raspberry at him, which Izuku might've found funny if it didn't strike him as so suicidal. Fortunately, Kacchan chose that moment to fire off a few explosions to slow his fall and didn't hear.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku finally dismissed the badly damaged force sphere and slowly brought himself and his teammates down to the ground.
He exhaled heavily once his and Uraraka's feet made contact with the ground, not quite sighing. "That was…"
"Amazing!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed. The tall girl leaped down from their shoulders and practically threw herself at Izuku at once, wrapping him in an exuberant hug.
A tight exuberant hug. Izuku could practically feel steam shooting out of his ears as her body pressed up against his.
Thankfully for his ability to avoid passing out on national television, she quickly released him. "That was spectacular, Midoriya!" she gushed. "I thought Todoroki's team would get our headband for sure early on there, but you altering the ramp he made was brilliant! And your ability to withstand Bakugo's attack near the end was remarkable!"
Despite still being a bit dazed, Izuku smiled. Yaoyorozu was always so reserved, it was always really endearing when pure joy would bubble through her usual restraint like this.
"Me? What about your using glue to take out half the teams?" he asked.
"You were both really amazing, if you ask me," Uraraka said, smiling ruefully. "Compared to the two of you, I barely did anything."
"That's not true at all," Yaoyorozu said. "Your actions stopping Bakugo's first assault were essential."
Izuku nodded. "If any of the attempts at taking our points had been successful, we would've been in trouble," he agreed.
"Aw, you guys," Uraraka said, rubbing the back of her head and blushing.
Yaoyorozu smiled, her usual self-control reasserting itself. "As much as we could stand here congratulating each other for the next hour, I think it would be best if we got some lunch," she said. "After all that, I could certainly use a chance to build my reserves back up."
"Sounds good to me!" Uraraka cheered, and the three of them joined the rest of their class in heading toward one of the exits.
"Hey, you three," Jirou walked up to them. "Congratulations on your big win," she added, smiling a bit sadly, no doubt unhappy that she'd been eliminated.
"Thank you," Yaoyorozu replied, her two teammates echoing the sentiment. "I only wish you'd won along with us."
Jirou nodded. "I totally would've joined up with you, if I hadn't already agreed to be part of another team," she said. "Maybe next year."
"I wish to congratulate you as well!" Iida broke into the conversation, making his signature chopping motions. "Your performance was exemplary, as expected of a team with both our class rep and the vice rep!"
"Thanks, Iida," Izuku said. "It would've been great if you'd been with us, too."
The bespectacled young man nodded stiffly. "I wished to measure my strength against yours, and in that I suppose I succeeded," he remarked.
Izuku noticed Yaoyorozu give an almost imperceptible shake of her head and held back a smile, knowing by now that it was a sign of minor exasperation from the class rep. "I guess it's healthy to compete against everyone at some point," he said neutrally.
Uraraka made some remark to Iida, and the two began chatting back and forth. Izuku turned back to Yaoyorozu. "How did you wind up asking a 1-B student for a sample of the glue his Quirk makes?" he asked her.
"Oh, after the USJ, Midnight provided me with the names of a few students in that class to ask about that sort of thing," Yaoyorozu answered. "She said that since it had worked so well when I duplicated her Quirk, I should continue adding to my arsenal. Bondo's glue is actually a perfect substance for me to use, as it takes a moment for it actually become sticky after it's created, which means I can utilize it without penalty. Unlike most of the other Quirks I've duplicated so far, where my lack of an innate resistance to the substance I create acts as a handicap."
"That's amazing," Izuku said. "And…wait, you said Midnight pointed out more than one student to ask about their Quirk?"
Yaoyorozu smiled. "Indeed," she said. Before he could ask the obvious question, she added, "I do have to keep a surprise or two ready for the final round."
Izuku was briefly taken aback, then he laughed. Of course Yaoyorozu wouldn't use every new trick she had right off the bat if she could avoid it. She was much too smart for that. "Naturally," he agreed.
"Hey, has anyone seen Todoroki?" Asui asked.
Izuku blinked. Looking around, he realized that he couldn't spot the boy with the two-toned hair anywhere. "No, I wonder where he's gone?"
"Shoto," Endeavor rumbled, stalking through the halls of the stadium and toward his son.
The younger Todoroki had seriously considered sticking with the rest of his class, knowing he could put this confrontation off for at least a few hours. However, ultimately he'd decided to just get it over with.
"Father."
"Now do you see the foolishness of refusing to use your fire?" Endeavor demanded. "You could've won this whole tournament easily if you had. Instead you failed to even make it to the final round, like some forgettable weakling. You've disgraced me."
The number two hero's flame were on at full power, or at least as high as they ever got when he wasn't actively fighting someone. Shoto subtly used his own Quirk to cool himself down, not wanting his father to see him sweat.
Dimly it occurred to him that if he had such fine control of the other half of his Quirk, he probably could've melted that glue with ease like Kaminari had suggested, but he quashed the thought as soon as it appeared.
"It's a meaningless, unrealistic competition," he replied.
Not true for most of the hero students, really, but he was confident that his performance in the first round would win him some positive attention. Even if it didn't, being the number two hero's son did come with some benefits, loathe though he might've been to admit it.
"Don't be absurd," Endeavor spat. "The Sports Festivals are the best chance UA hero students have to build a reputation for themselves before beginning their careers. You've wasted an opportunity to start establishing yours so you could wallow in this stupid, adolescent rebellion. This isn't what I created you for."
Shoto's fists clenched. "I don't care about your plans," he said coldly. "I will become the number one hero, without your fire."
The flame hero's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Endeavor!" a jovial, booming voice suddenly echoed through the hallways, causing both father and son to tense and snap their heads to the side to view the source of it.
"You!" Endeavor exclaimed.
"It's been so long," All Might said, approaching them. The number one hero was wearing a dark suit that he looked on the verge of bursting out of at any moment. "I hope I haven't interrupted a moment between you and your son! Though I could certainly understand if you felt the urge to congratulate him on his impressive performance as soon as possible!" he added with a hearty laugh.
Shoto blinked, realizing with slowly dawning shock that All Might was serious. He really had no idea what he'd walked in on.
"What do you want, you great buffoon?" Endeavor growled.
If All Might registered the insult, he didn't show it. "I thought we could have some tea," he said. "It must've been ten years since last spoke! I figured we could catch up!"
Shoto took the opportunity to slink away as his father began to bicker with the number one hero.
All Might may not have intentionally saved him, but he'd take it anyway.