I had just made a huge promise to Hagino, and although I fully intended to follow through on it, there probably wasn’t much time until it started. It was always held in and around the same week every year, so I’ve got two to three weeks to train.
Well... not for the next day or so, as we are all required to relax after the disaster yesterday.
Still, there’s a good chance I’ll be up against my classmates in some form, so knowing how to beat them would probably be for the best. If I could get some fighting lessons from Ojiro, it would make taking some of them out a lot easier.
For the rest, either levelling the playing field, or some very specialised tactics would be required. Todoroki, for example, could be partially countered by not touching something he could freeze. Midori would tear himself apart as long as I reacted fast enough. Ida was fast but straight forward in his attacks, easy enough to deal with with some effort. Bakugo...
...is a problem. He has speed, mobility, power, and will gladly not hold back against anyone.
Though there is someone who might be able to help with that.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
“Everyone!! Morning home-room’s about to begin. To your seat!!” Ida says to the class.
“We’re sitting. You’re the only one up.” Sero comments.
“Morning.”
“You’re back already Aizawa Sensei?!!” people shouted as he walked in wrapped head to toe in bandages.
“Glad to see you doing well Sensei!!” Ida calls out.
“If you can call that ‘Doing well’…”
“My welfare isn’t important.” Aizawa announced
“Because your fight is far from over”
“Our fight?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“More Villains?!”
“UA’s Sports Festival is fast approaching!” he declared to the class.
“That’s totally ordinary!!”
“Come on! We just had that Villain attack. You sure about this?” someone asked, something we were all thinking
“It’s necessary. To demonstrate that UA’s Crisis Management Protocols are sound, that’s the thinking, apparently. Compared to past years, there’ll be five times the police presence. Anyhow, our sports festival is… the greatest opportunity you’ll get.”
“It’s not an event that can be cancelled over a few Villains.”
“Our sports festival is one of Japan’s Biggest Events! The Olympics were once the world’s* sports festival. The whole country would be whipped into a frenzy over them. But as you know, that tradition has shrunk in scale to a shell of its former self.”
“As far as Japan’s concerned, what’s taken the place of Olympics is… The UA Sports Festival!!”
“Naturally, you’ll gain valuable experience and popularity if you’re picked up by a big-name Hero. But your time is limited. Show the Pros what you’re made of here, and you’ll make futures for yourselves. This happens once a year… so you’ve got three chances.”
“If your hoping to become a Hero, this is an event you can’t miss!”
The class was all jumpy and exited for the day after that speech, but while they were discussing the event after lunch a huge crowd of people gathered outside the classroom. General studies kids, scoping out the competition.
Bakugo, of course, immediately make everyone our enemies.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Well, there is just over two weeks until the start of the festival, so two weeks to prepare our hardest for whatever the school throws at us. And, in my case, for everyone else.
Now... I could go spend the next two weeks mapping out move-sets and profiles for my classmates... or... I could just ask Midori.
It’s well known that he scribbles down everything he thinks may be of importance, which is absolutely everything. And with him being... ‘friends’ with Bakugo, he probably knows best how he moves, so I stopped him on the way out of UA and got a copy of some of the notes he was willing to share.
I decided to read through them between training sessions.
Speaking of which, I had ideas for 3 separate blocks, along with basic strength workouts. First was pushing my Quirk as far as I could to try improve its strength as support items would not be allowed, next was practicing any lessons I could squeeze out of Ojiro, and last was reflex control training, both to react fast enough to counter more difficult moves, but also to not overly react in dangerous situations. The last one will be swapped out to something else once the festival is over as I plan on keeping this going for my time in UA.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
For strengthening my Quirk, I first focussed on trying to see how much weight I could push it to move, if only slightly. A large container of water worked the best as I could keep increasing the weight with ease.
I also focused on increasing the range of influence or decreasing the rapid drop off of efficiency that currently limits my Quirk.
For Ojiro’s training sessions, he would mostly just teach me for an hour or two at a random dojo, and then I’d repeat the sessions alone as often as I could. It was a bit focused on using his Tail Quirk to jump around, but I could compensate by using my Quirk to boost my jumps.
He also help in getting the boost working more horizontally!
And the dangerous situation and reaction training I managed to work in to my other training sessions, using my Quirk for essentially heat seeking missiles to dodge and Ojiro’s beat downs doing wonders for both.
And most importantly, when there was just over a day left until the festival...
I slept.
Needed my body to be in the best condition possible if I was to win it all.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
It’s the day of the U.A. Sports Festival.
We were all gathered in a prep room just for 1-A, in our gym clothes.
“Is everyone good and ready?! The events about to begin!!” Ida called out
“Wish I coulda worn my costume.” Mina sighs
Ojiro explains that their not allowed in the interest of fairness. Overall nobody seems too worried about the life changing event they are taking part in.
“I will beat you.”
Todoroki stood still, confrounting Midoriya in frount of everyone.
“Ooh!! A declaration of war from the strongest in the class?!
Kirishima goes in to try defuse the situation, but Midoriya seems to fire back with his own solid determination.
“Im going for it too.”
“With everything I’ve got!”
You’ve got to admire him, just a few weeks ago he was a complete mess, no confidence or Heroic spirit in him. Now though? He was some one to look out for, the type of person who others choose to follow by example.
Sucks for them that I plan to win then.
We walk out as a group, all dramatic and stuff, to crowds of hundreds of thousands. And I know that Hagino is watching from the old tv with the rest of the orphanage. I plan to give him a good show.
“IT’S CLASS A!!” Present Mic announces our arrival.
The R-Rated Hero: Midnight walks onto the stage in front of us.
“Now for the Athlete’s Oath!!”
“Your student representative is… From class 1-A, Katsuki Bakugo!!”
“Whaa? It’s Kacchan?!” Midoriya yells.
“Must be because the placed first in the Entrance Exam.”
He walked up on stage, hads in his pockets.
“The Athlete’s Oath… Make no mistake about it*.”
“I’m Gonna Take First Place!!”
“You’ll all make great stepping stones, I’d say.” He did indeed say, while moving his hand across his neck.
The threat was understood.
“Don’t get cocky, Class A.” the crowd started to shout.
“You dirty bastard.”
“Over-confidant jerk!!”
“Now, Without any delay, let’s get this even started.”
“These are the qualifiers! It’s in this stage that so many are sent home crying every year!!”
“And the fateful first event this year is…”
“This!!”
The screen behind her lit up with 3 words.
Obstacle course race.
Present Mic chimed in for the viewers.
“It’s a race between every member of all eleven classes! The course is a four-kilometre lap around the stadium itself! Our school preaches freedom in all things! Heh heh heh… so as long as you don’t go off course, anything is fair game!”
“Racers, to your positions…”
The starting gate and corridor is way too small for everyone to fit at once, the first filter of the game.
“START!!”
So lets use them as a stepping stone.
I immediately climbed up and across the other contestants heads, the ceiling being more than tall enough for a move like this. It must have been intended as it seems like most of Class 1-A and I managed to make it to the front of the group, leading the way for the others. Todoroki had frozen some of the floor behind himself to create distance, but we were quick to catchup already knowing his tricks. I moved to the outer parts of the track, so there would be less of a focus on me.
As we round the first corner, the groups had thinned out a lot, with not too many people behind us. In front, we are greeted by a lot of small faux Villains, and a wall of 12 0-pointer titans.
Unsurprisingly, everyone comes to a stop as they take in the new overwhelming threat.
Not me though, I don’t even slow as I sprint straight towards them.
Any hesitation could cost me.
One of the general course students sees me.
“Wait! You’ll be crushed!!”
I turn back smirking as I feel the cameras focus on me.
“They’ll have to catch me first!” I shouted as I pushed my Quirk for as much speed as I could, just as I had trained for theses last two weeks.
Being slow would easily mean getting crushed by the titans, as a few near the back focused me down.
As I reached past the last of the 0-pointers, I felt a chill on the back of my neck. Looking back quickly, it seems Todoroki had frozen the center Titan. It was stuck in an unstable position, causing it to fall over.
On top of some other students it seemed, as Kirishima, and his double, burst out from the wreckage.
But class 1-A’s more mobile were quickly catching up with their Quirks.
The next area was a huge pit with pillars spread around the place, each connected by a rope. I paused for a moment, looking not for the shortest path, but the path with as many short ropes as possible, as I could jump a good portion of the way until the next platform.
Unfortunately, Todoroki and Bakugo had almost no trouble with this, Passing everyone by the time I got to the next area.
It was a huge, densely packed mine field. Each mine had a discoloured soil on top to make them visible if focused on, the further back you were the easier this would be as more and more mines were tripped. I was able to stay close to the leading two, as everyone was too focused not setting them off.
At least, until Midoriya launched himself forward using an explosion from a large amount of mines, passing them.
This caused both to put aside their differences to be first, Bakugo flying across the minefield unhindered, and Todoroki freezing them to skate after him, leaving a safe path for everyone else.
While normally that would be bad, I knew how to skate, the skill having dulled a bit as I was taught a good few years ago. This was more than made up for by being able to propel myself better than most of the other contestants.
The final tunnel back to the stadium was small but long, and the first few students exited back into the view of the audience in quick succession.
Midoriya first, cheered on by the masses.
Bakugo second and Todoroki third.
I ran out just seconds later, 7th place.
Not bad to start.
----------------------------------------
“The top 42 from this qualifying round will move on!!”
“But for those who placed lower, don’t worry! We’ve got another way for you to show your stuff!! And now the main section Really begins!! The Press Corp’s going to be jumping out of their seats, so give it all you’ve got!”
“Now, on to the second event!! I already know what it is, of course… Dying in suspense?! Next is…”
“This!!”
The screen behind her lit up with the words Calvary Battle this time.
“Participant’s will, on their own, form teams of two to four members each and get into a horse-and -rider formation! The rules are fundamentally the same as those of an ordinary calvary battle. Snag your opponents headbands while guarding your own – but with one exception… each of you has been assigned a point value based on your ranking in the last event!”
“So the point value of each team depends on its members!” Someone called out.
“Anyway, yes! And your individual point values start at five, at the bottom! So the student who took 42nd place is worth five points, 41st is worth ten, get it? But our first place participant is worth…”
“TEN MILLION POINTS!!”
“The higher-ranked students are the ones to aim for. This survival game is a chance for a comeback. It’s anyone’s game!!”
Midoriya is in big trouble with a bounty like that!!
Everyone started looking around to form groups, with them all ignoring Midoriya of course.
I was trying to find a group with most of them not really knowing my Quirk when a purple haired general studies kid walked up to me.
“Hey! Do you want to join my group?”
I had no reason not to, “Sure, what’s yo-“
----------------------------------------
-Third, team Tetsu… huh?!”
“Woah!! Team Shinso?!
What?
I was just talking to purple, and… it’s over?
Ojiro ran up to me, “Do you remember anything?”
“No” I replied, “And I’m guessing you don’t either.”
“It’s his Quirk, he can brainwash people.”
And with that, it went to lunch break.
...That was way to anti-climactic. But at least we scored high I guess.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------