Chapter 24: Sports Festival Arc

The day the students of U.A. have been waiting for has finally arrived. A chance for students to show the Pro Heroes their skill and hopefully catch their attention. This day is very important for a young Hero-in-training, after all, it sets up the rest of their career. Make a bad impression here, and your career could be off to a slow start later. Without a Hero in high standing as a reference and potential contact, you'll have to start from the bottom and forge your own connections as you go.

But for Izuku Midoriya, this day has so much more weight than he was prepared for…

(Flashback)

Izuku found All Might at Dagobah beach in his skinny form.

He slid to a stop next to All Might and started panting. He had ran here all the way from Kyoka's house without stopping for more than a minute at a time.

"Good to see that you're able to walk without help, Young Midoriya," All Might said without turning look at him. He's more focused on staring at the moon's reflection on the water that's uncharacteristically still.

A light gust of wind caressed their bodies as All Might turned to face Izuku, "It is true; I'm retiring soon."

"But, why? The world still needs All Might!"

"Maybe it does, but my time has expired. I'm down to the last few embers of One For All, which means I won't make it far past the Sports Festival. If I had to guess, I have enough power left to use One For All for 200 hours at the most," All Might responded.

"What if I gave it back to you?" Izuku asked, partially because he doesn't want All Might to retire and partially because he knows what the death of All Might means.

"It wouldn't work, my stomach can barely digest the food I eat. Regardless, even if I could take it back, I wouldn't. I gave you this power because I believed that you had the power to be an even better hero than I."

Izuku sputtered at All Might's praise, "But, but, but why me? You gave me this power when you barely knew anything about me!"

The wind picks up speed, creating a miniature sand tornado around the duo. It's almost like the world is trying to give them some form of privacy.

"You risked your life, and jail time for public vigilantism, to save Bakugo. Then you looked me dead in the eye and said you hated almost everything about him. I could tell that you meant that. Not many men would do what you did, especially when they aren't being paid to do it! So, I decided to trust my gut and make a judgement call. That's why I chose to put my faith and power in you," All Might explained while putting his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "I believe that you're the hero this country will need, and the hero that will beat All For One if I fail to find him in the next 30 or so days. That's why, during the Sports Festival, you need to make your debut and show the world that: You are here!"

"Okay, All Might, I'll do my best!" Izuku responded while clenching his fists.

Meanwhile Izuku's mind and heart was racing, "This, this wasn't the plan. This wasn't supposed to happen until 3rd year and I was trained more, I can barely control myself and he expects me to grab everybody's attention. He wants me to start cementing myself as the next symbol of peace in everybody's eyes. Even though I'm not sure I'm ready, I can't let All Might down! "

"He gave me his power, now, I have to inherit his will. I need to show the world that they can put their faith in me," Izuku thinks to himself from his spot in the corner of the waiting room.

He came here early and stuck himself to the wall furthest from the door. Aizawa was waiting for him in the room, he promptly told him to have his classmates walking down the tunnel by 11:45, then he left the room.

Over the course of an hour, the rest of Class 1-A filtered into the waiting room.

"I'm gonna do my best!" Ochaco yells, snapping Izuku from his musings.

Ochaco has a super serious expression on her face and a weird aura around her. She just feels off… and on edge.

A soft smile appears on Izuku's face as he maneuvers through the crowd around Ochaco.

Once he reaches her, Izuku rests his arm on her shoulder and sits his hand on top of Ochaco's head, " I know you'll do great, so relax for now. I've seen you train, and you have no reason to stress yourself out right before Showtime."

"Thanks Deku, that means a lot coming from you," Ochaco responds before pulling Izuku into a hug. The tension leaves her shoulders almost immediately, and Izuku hesitantly wraps his arms around her. Being extra careful not to squeeze or apply any pressure to her body.

Moments later, both of their faces turn bright red, both of them realizing at the same time that they're hugging in front of the entire class.

"That's our Class Rep, even when he's supposed to be competing against us he still tries to help his classmates," Sero says.

Kaminari walks up behind him and drags him away from the group and into the hallway.

"How can you stand to be around Izuku!" Kaminari whisper yells.

"What do you mean? Midoriya is a great person an-"

Kaminari cuts him off, "You don't get it!"

"Midoriya, Bakugo, we need to talk," Shoto states from his spot near the door.

"Shoto, What is it?"

"This better be good, Icy Hot."

"Objectively speaking, the 3 of us are the strongest students in our class. Today, I'm going to prove to the both of you and everyone else that I'm the strongest of us. That I'm number 1 here, " Shoto declares in a monotone voice before mentally adding, "without his power."

"We have a declaration of war from Shoto," Mina announces.

Kirishima speaks up, grabbing onto Bakugo's shoulder to prevent him from getting in Shoto's face, "hey, hey, hey, why are you picking fights all of a sudden?"

"We aren't here to play at being friends, so why does it matter who I pick a fight with?" Shoto asks coldly.

Izuku stares deep into Shoto's eyes and sees a tornado of emotions rampaging through them.

"Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking when you say that you're going to beat us… but if you think I'm going to lose easily you better think twice! Come at me with all of your power, because I'm coming at you, full force!" Izuku responds, subconsciously clenching his right fist.

"If you think you're number one, you're more delusional than Izuku. I'm the strongest here, and I'll prove it in our match. That is, if you even get that far… Ice King " Katsuki retorts.

"Tch," Shoto walks away.

Katsuki turns his head to stare at Izuku with one eye, "The same goes for you. We have a score to settle from our last fight, don't hold back, or I'll blow you out of the ring in the blink of an eye. This time there is no time limit, or teammates for you to depend on. It's just Me vs. You."

"He's… different from before, he said that without yelling or a hint of anger in his voice. This isn't the same Bakugo I knew before, I guess he took my words to heart. I can't believe I managed to get inside his head like that, " Izuku cerebrates. He responds with a determined look in his eyes, "Bring it on… Kacchan."

"I'll bring you everything I have, Deku."

(Somewhere in America)

[The festival is about to start!] A creature made of a black and white goo-like substance yells from his spot on a brown sofa that looks like it is going to fall apart any day now.

A tall man, with black hair shaped like Izuku's, pulls himself from inside the fridge with a huge platter of sandwiches and chocolate in his hands.

"Thanks for giving me the heads up," he responds.

[It's been a long time since you've seen Izuku, hasn't it, Hisashi?]

Hisashi sits down on the couch and sits the platter down on his lap, "Yes, I haven't been in Japan since he was 2 and it has been ages since we talked.…. I wonder if he still likes motorcycles. "

It's not like Hisashi wanted to ditch his family. He was in America handling some business when a villain attack caused the entire country to have a week long blackout. Naturally, the country closed its borders so that the villain couldn't escape by land, sea or air.

It took 13 years to find the villain, apparently he shapeshifted and hid on a farm in the middle of nowhere for 13 years. After being found, the villain was snatched up by a fog of black mist and was never seen again . At least, that's the story released to the public after the borders were opened. Then 2 months ago, a new villain appeared and jammed the signals of every phone in the country, preventing everybody from making phone calls. It took a month to figure out where he was, and another month to capture him. As a matter of fact, they hauled him off to jail less than 12 hours ago.

[I still can't believe Inko let you ride a motorcycle with a toddler on your lap,] The goo-like substance comments.

Hisashi snorts, "He was wearing you and a helmet; he was the safest person on that motorcycle. I'm more surprised that she rode with us, she hates bikes. I should visit them soon and I'm sure you want to see Salvation for yourself. Am I right, Justice?"

[Yes, and will you stop calling me 'Justice.' I keep telling you that 'Retribution' is way cooler!]

The duo sits in silence before a thought shoots through Hisashi's head, "Should I bring him a green leather jacket?"

(Somewhere in Japan)

We find the immediate family of Iida Tenya crowded around a TV.

"Sorry, Team. The Sports Festival is starting soon and my brother is participating for the first time. You'll have to patrol Hosu without me." Tensei says into his earpiece.

"We understand, Ingenium, be sure to tell Tenya that we're rooting for him!" Enigma responds.

(Back with The students)

"Before this Festival begins, the Class Rep of Class 1-A has something to say to his fellow students," Midnight says before pointing one of her fingers at Izuku.

Izuku idly notices that her nails aren't painted today, a rare sight.

"Izuku Midoriya, come on up!" She yells into a microphone.

The audience falls silent, eager to hear what the representative of a U.A. hero course will say.

"What do I do, what do I do, with all the training, the dimensional kidnapping, and the… other stuff, I haven't had time to make a proper speech!" Izuku mentally panics as he wades through the crowd of students, "What would Bakugo do?"

"I just wanna say, I'm gonna win."

"What am I thinking, why would I even think about doing what Bakugo would do?" Izuku scolds himself, "What would Aizawa do?"

"I don't really care what happens, let's just get this over with."

Izuku mentally smacks himself, "Not helpful, Aizawa. I know, All Might would do something like…"

"Show the world what you can do, you better be ready to go beyond, plus ultra!"

Izuku feels a warm hand latch onto his and he loses his train of panicked thought.

"Izuku relax, you have no reason to stress yourself out right before Showtime, right? I've seen how smart you are, you'll do great," Mina whispers in his ear.

"You're right," Izuku responds , "Thanks Mina."

"You're welcome, Izuku," Mina responds with a cheerful smile on her face.

"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this," Izuku chants to himself as he walks towards the podium.

Once he's up there, he looks back at Mina and shoots her a smile. He takes a deep breathe before looking up at the crowd.

Izuku begins talking into the microphone, doing his best to sound confident "We are UA students. Which means all of us have the potential to be great heroes. Even the ones with less flashy Quirks are worth your attention. We've trained hard to get here today, and we aren't going to waste this opportunity. So, sit back and watch as we show the Heroes judging us that in a couple years they better fear for their positions on the charts, and show all the civilians watching us that they can put their faith in us! You hear me guys? Today is the day we show the world what we can do, and what Plus Ultra really looks like!"

The response is almost deafening, between the cheering and clapping audience in front of him and the roaring crowd of students behind him, Izuku can't even tell which words are his thoughts and which ones are from the spectators.

"I hope nobody realizes that half of that speech is made of paraphrased lines from old All Might interviews and TV specials," Izuku thinks to himself as he takes his first step off the podium.

A flash of blond hair catches his attention, and Izuku's seething resentment surges back to the front of his mind like lake water surges to the center after an explosion. The warmth he was given by Ochaco's hug is replaced by an indescribable coldness, "Kaminari, there isn't a name yet for the hell I have planned for you. Rest assured though, you will be screaming."

As he's walking through the crowd, Ochaco hops onto his back, "That speech was pretty good, I don't think anyone even noticed your legs shaking,"

And just like that, the haze of anger is replaced by a tranquility most humans will never experience. Whether it's because Ochaco is on his back, or because she complimented him, only he can answer that question. Not that he ever will, out loud.

Then, his mind registers the second part of her sentence and he lights up like a Christmas tree.

"Crap, she saw that. Quick, brain, change the subject!" Izuku thinks as he tries to stop his face from inventing a new shade of red.

"Your grip is stronger than usual," Izuku comments.

It took awhile for the commotion to die down, but soon enough, Midnight was back on the podium to announce the next event.

A giant computer screen rises from the ground behind her. The screen cuts on and there are 3 events on screen. The names are on what appears to be a giant, digital roulette wheel. It starts spinning faster and faster. Soon it's going even faster than the naked eye could interpret.

Finally, after 3 minutes of nonstop rotating, it stops.

"The first event of Sports Festival is a 9-kilometer-long obstacle race, and the first 41 students to reach the finish line will move onto the second event!" Midnight announces.

Everyone is standing around, waiting for the next event to start.

Kyoka starts to walk towards Izuku, hoping to talk to him about why he's been avoiding her since he ran away from her house.

Izuku sees her walking towards him, then sees the question behind her eyes.

"Nope," he thinks as he looks around for an excuse to leave this situation. His eyes lock onto Mineta's crying form and he makes a beeline towards him. He doesn't look back, despite hearing Kyoka calling his name.

Izuku drops to one knee and puts his hands on Mineta's shoulders, "Mineta, why are you crying?"

Mineta wails, "I can't win a race! Just look at these legs, and my quirk can't help meeee. These stupid balls don't make me faster than anyone."

Izuku pauses, realizing that Mineta is 90% right, "You're right, you have the biggest disadvantage here. And you probably will in the next events too."

"You're not helping," Mineta mumbles.

Izuku shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his lips, "I was getting to that part. Just because you have a disadvantage, doesn't mean failure is guaranteed. It just means you have to try harder and think faster. You're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll figure out a way to turn your disadvantages into a powerful weapon."

"I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can!"

"No-"

Izuku cuts him off by thumping him on the head, "I can see that you don't believe in yourself, but after training with you for all this time, I believe in you. Since you can't believe in yourself, believe in me. Believe in the Izuku that believes in you."

Mineta bursts into tears and latches onto Izuku's neck, "You're the best Class rep ever! Even if your training is hell on Earth."

"I should be able to win this race, no problem," Tenya thinks as he gets in a running position. After all, he's Tenya Iida, the kid with a Quirk simply called "Engine."

The school speedster losing a speed based event, highly improbable.

Izuku is at the back of the crowd, he chose this spot because if worse comes to worse he could jump over the tunnel and start running. Allowing him to avoid a pileup, if Shoto does what Izuku thinks he will.

"Shoto will definitely try to freeze everyone in the tunnel to the floor, it's the smartest way to take an early lead. I predict that Bakugo will be the first one to get unstuck, his explosions will shatter the ice near his feet and crack all the ice on the floor, allowing everyone else to escape afterwards." He thinks as he crouches down,

"ON YOUR MARK! GET SET, GO GO GO!" Present Mic yells.

Tenya activates his Quirk as soon as Present Mic gives them the signal, allowing him to narrowly avoid the ice that was about to capture his legs.

"Damn it Tenya," Shoto thinks as he seals the exit of the tunnel with an ice wall. Moments later, the Ice wall is blown up by Bakugo.

"Don't screw with me, you bastard. Just who the hell do you think I am!" he yells as he soars through the air using explosions from his hands to keep him airborne and explosions from his feet to boost his speed.

"That's not fair, how do you beat someone in a race if that someone can fly!" Mineta bawls.

Momo pauses, lets out an uncharacteristically loud laugh, then says, "I have an idea."

She opens her shirt, her torso glows blue and a jet-black, jetpack pops out. She quickly buttons her shirt back up and straps the jetpack to her back.

"That's a load of bullshit!" Mineta yells as Momo starts to ascend.

Izuku walks up behind Mineta and grabs him by the back of his gym uniform. Right before Izuku throws him at Momo, he shouts, "Fly, you fool!"

Mineta screams until he smacks into Momo. He instinctively latches onto her neck as her movements become erratic and she spirals out of control.

"Get off!" Momo yells as they spin through the air with an erratic flight pattern.

"Not a chance!" Mineta retorts while clinging to her neck. "I'm not letting go until we cross that finish line, it doesn't matter what you make or how you try to maneuver and shake me off! Izuku believes in me, so I can't lose here!"

Izuku smiles as Mineta's words reach his ears. Although, he can't help but feel bad for Momo.

It's not that Izuku wants to sabotage Momo, he just wants to give Mineta the best chance to advance further. It'd be a shame if all of his hard work went to waste just because RNG chose a race and Mineta is the shortest teen in their school.

Izuku sighs and starts running, quickly outpacing his nearby peers.

"BAKUGO IS THE FIRST PERSON TO REACH THE FIRST OBSTACLE: ROBO INFERNO!" Present Mic announces.

"No, no, no, fuck this, I'm not fighting 3 of these things!" Katsuki yells as he dives under a giant flaming sword.

Tenya Iida dashes between the legs of another 0 pointer and leaps over the arm of another robot that was about to grab him.

"Where do they get the money for these things?!" Tenya mentally shouts as he strides away from the Robo Inferno.

Out of nowhere, white goop hits the back of his legs and clogs his engines.

Tenya utters a yelp as he tumbles to the ground and skids across it. He looks behind him and starts sweating at what he sees.

Standing at 25 meters tall, a skinny green robot, with lifeless black eyes, is aiming a white shotgun at him.

Tenya tries to moves his legs, but the white substance coating his legs and part of the race track isn't letting them move an inch. All he can do is wiggle and make the goop stretch a bit before it pulls him back to the ground.

Mei Hatsume tosses a rock at Tenya's head.

"Specs, use the hand."

"Oh, right, thanks," Tenya responds while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He wipes off the goop blocking his engines with his right hand.

When Mei had offered to make him a new right hand for a generous fee, with her teacher's permission, Tenya had been mildly concerned that she would give him something lethal. But to his surprise, all she did was make it stronger than his previous hand, and give it some other small features. One of those just so happened to be a feature that makes adhesives useless while his hand is touching them. When he asked why he needed that, she replied 'Oh, I don't know, maybe because that green guy with an awesome body is part Spider.'

"Don't thank me, I just don't want you to lose before you finish showing off what that hand can do. I wanna be able to proudly proclaim to the support companies that a future hero is already benefiting from my tech," Mei replies while waving him off.

The bulk of the competitors soon arrive at the Robo Inferno. Izuku could have been here sooner, but he didn't want to leave Ochaco at the mercy of Shoto's ice traps. He also wants to make sure Denki makes it to the last stage; he wants the chance to punch him without getting in trouble.

Mina has been running interference, splattering acid in front of Shoto to make him slow down and change directions. She also occasionally shoots him with acid that's only strong enough to be a minor irritant; preventing him from concentrating enough to just smack her away with an ice wave. At the same time, Fumikage has been having Dark Shadow impede the efforts of Gen Ed students that are trying to stand out.

After all, the first nails to stand up are the ones to be hammered down mercilessly.

He would have impeded the business course students too, but none of them are actually trying to win the race. They're all jotting down notes on the sidelines, only moving when the students in the other courses get too far away, or someone does something interesting with their quirk and a business student breaks from the main group to follow the student that caught their eye.

Izuku freezes as memories of the entrance exam rushes through his mind.

"Away!" he yells before leaping towards Ochaco and hooking his right arm behind her legs, "I choose life!".

"Izuku, what are you doing?" Ochaco asks as Izuku pushes off the ground much harder than before and the world around her becomes a blur.

"1 of these almost made you an Ochaco pancake, and made me break an arm, I don't want to see what 3 can do!" Izuku explains moments before he lands next to Mina.

Without saying a word, he scoops her up with his left arm and activates Full Cowling. Red marks spread across his body and green electricity arcs into the warm, Spring air.

"He who runs away and doesn't fight, lives to fight another day," Izuku states as he blitzes past all 3 robots, leaving behind a trail of green lightning.

"I thought the saying was 'He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day," Ochaco responds with a confused look on her face.

"I'm pretty sure Izuku's right," Mina replies, "his makes more sense."

"I found you, faker!" Kirishima yells as he tackles Tetsutetsu from behind.

Tetsutetsu manages to avoid being pinned under Kirishima's body and jumps back to a standing position

"Faker? I think you're the fake around here. You're comparing yourself to me…ha! You aren't even good enough to be my fake, " Tetsutetsu replies with a smirk tugging at his lips.

"I'll make you eat those words," Kirishima retorts as he gets back on his feet.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really! Anything you can do, I can do better" Kirishima responds, activating his Quirk just in time to minimize the damage from Tetsutetsu's headbutt.

"I can do anything better than you!" Tetsutetsu replies.

"Umm boys, the race!" Midnight interrupts.

The 2 students with very similar Quirks start running again, somehow managing to continue their verbal spar.

"No you can't!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't!"

"KATSUKI BAKUGO IS THE FIRST TO REACH OUR SECOND OBSTACLE! I AFFECTIONATELY CALL IT: I CAN BE YOUR HERO! The students must escort 2 members of H.U.C. to the fake medical station that's 2 kilometers away while they avoid the Robots blocking their paths. The students can do it one at a time, or carry multiple at once if they're feeling macho today! Keep in mind: if your civilian gets to the station more injured than they started, the hero in the medical tent will disqualify that save." Present Mic announces.

"Okay, maybe I'll have to thank Izuku. If I could only fly with my hands I'd have to run past robots and hope I don't get hit…. It still counts as thanking him if I only do it in my mind, right?" These are the thoughts bouncing through Katsuki's head as he slings an old man with a broken leg over his shoulder.

"Put all your faith in 'Katsu' I'll get you to safety in no time." (Katsu = Victorious)

"Alright, Hold on tight, 'Concorde' will get you to safety" Tenya tells the young woman in his arms. (Concorde is a supersonic jet. It'll make sense later, I promise)

Tenya may not be the one to carry on the Ingenium name, but just like all his hero relatives, he takes the mantle 'Turbo Hero.' In honor of the first Iida hero: 'Turbo'

He will save people as 'The Turbo Hero: Concorde!'

"Okay, this is far enough. No more giant robots," Izuku states as he sits Ochaco and Mina down.

"Thanks Midori" Mina replies before pulling him into a quick hug. The briefness of their contact leaves Izuku wanting to prolong it, to continue feeling her warmth, and leaves Mina wishing she could feel more of his muscled form through that shirt.

Izuku's face goes scarlet and he quickly walks towards 2 of the H.U.C. members.

"Fear not, civilians. Why, you ask? Because, I am here!" Izuku proclaims with a wide smile on his face.

"All Might says it better" an old man with silver hair deadpans.

Izuku's face starts to invent a new shade of red, then he just sighs, "Just get on my back already."

"Both of us?" a lady faking a limp questions.

"Yes, both of you," Izuku replies.

As Izuku is running towards the medical station, he sees Tenya and Katsuki racing back to where he came from.

He springs into the air, evading all of the robots below him.

"Bunny hops are an underrated strategy," Izuku thinks, as he lands, he immediately pushes himself into the air again.

Despite his previous setbacks, Izuku is first to finish the second task and get Recovery Girl's approval to continue the race.

In no time at all, Izuku is sprinting towards the 3rd task.

"IZUKU MIDORIYA CLEARS THE SECOND TASK!"

"Midoriya, I'm coming for you," Shoto thinks as he picks up his last civilian.

Since Izuku ran away with the main person stopping him from making his peers eat ice, Shoto was able to quickly close the gap between him and the people he called out.

Izuku splatters his webs onto 3 of the 4 starting ropes. That way, most of his competition will be stuck and unable to advance. If they do get free somehow, they'll most likely fall into the pit. He leaves 1 starting rope untouched because he wants to give Mina and Denki a way to get across.

This also has the side effect of creating a bottleneck as all the smart students fight to get onto the safe rope first.

He looks down into the pit, then looks at 2 pillars that are in the perfect position for one of his least used tricks: slingshot. He shoots a web string at each pillar then turns towards Midnight.

"So, how far down I go before I get disqualified?!" Izuku asks Midnight, yelling to make sure the wind doesn't carry his voice away from her ears.

"As long as you don't touch the net, you can go as far as you want," Midnight responds.

"Good," Izuku thinks as he slides down into the pit, stretching his webs like rubber bands as he does so.

(Much, much later)

There is a pileup at the ropes, several Gen Ed students took the bait and got stuck. Others are fighting to get onto the only usable rope.

Shoto got over by making a bridge of ice then shattering it. Bakugo just flew over the pit.

"Bakugo and Todoroki are the first to cross the pit and are now facing the Minefield! But where is Midoriya?!" Present Mic commentates.

"He's right here!" Izuku yells as he launches high into the sky, "This moment was a long time coming, I couldn't pass this up for anything!"

Izuku soars through the sky like a drunk eagle, spinning and tilting uncontrollably as wind smacks his face.

Despite his world twisting fast enough to disorient anything that doesn't have a computer for a brain, Izuku is perfectly fine.

Soon enough the gap between them is nonexistent and his target is in view: Bakugo's back. Now, all he has to do is time his shot just right, pull himself towards Bakugo and then use his back as a springboard. Boosting himself towards the finish line, and triggering several mines near Todoroki at the same time.

"Steady, steady, NOW," Izuku thinks as he fires a string of webbing at Bakugo's back. It attaches to his U.A. gym uniform and Izuku yanks on it with his left hand. Instead of pulling the web towards him, he pulls himself forward, his immense strength allowing him to throw himself towards Katsuki.

Izuku lands on Katsuki back and quips, "My…that was a pretty snazzy performance. It's almost too bad you're about to lose to me, Dandelion," before kicking off of his back and becoming airborne once again.

"You biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-" Katsuki yells before he slams into a mine near Shoto.

Boom!

Due to his proximity, Izuku is caught by the tail end of the explosion and sent hurtling higher into the air, just high enough to slam through the wood behind the finish sign.

"And Izuku Midoriya wins! Of course he did, I taught him everything he knows!" Present Mic announces.

"You gave him 1 lesson when he was 4," Aizawa clarifies.

"Killjoy, let me have this." Present Mic replies dejectedly.

"No."

Fumikage was the 16th student to cross the finish line, and after stopping to catch his breath, he immediately pulled Izuku into the nearby hallway/tunnel.

"Shut up and let me finish talking before you try to interrupt another apology." He says as soon as Izuku opens his mouth.

"First, I want to apologize. If I didn't give Denki that day off, he would have never been able to take Kyoka to that concert and resturant for a date. And you'd most likely be dating her right now instead of him. With all that said, I have to ask, why are you avoiding Kyoka?" Fumikage asks, "This can't just be about her choosing Denki, you're not that petty."

"Stop trying to apologize for the actions of other people, you played your Wingman role as well as you could," Izuku sighs, "But you're right. This isn't just about me not being good enough for love. I'm not talking to her because I want to hurt Denki physically and emotionally in a way that equals the mental turmoil he caused by opening some old wounds."

Izuku's hands start to tremble, "and I know, if I speak to her before then. She'll break down the walls I put around my heart without even trying, and then, and then I won't have the heart to do what I need to do."

"I don't yet have the words to soothe your aching soul, so I shall retreat for now and let the pain ebb away on its own…or let Mina fix it, whichever comes first," Fumikage replies before retreating into the shadows.

It took over an hour for the 41st student: Shinso, to cross the finish line.

"Alright, everyone is here now! The next event shall be announced shortly," Midnight starts, then licks her lips, "but I'll tell you this now so that I can watch the fear in your eyes for a little longer: by the end of the next event…only 20 of you will be moving on."

Izuku starts to analyze what Midnight just said, "What game are you playing? 20 people in the finals doesn't divide up perfectly for standard tournament brackets. Someone would end up not having a match later. Unless… Nezu wants a 3 person free for all."

(Omake: Iida family hero names/ the problem with hero families)

"Why Concorde?" Midnight asks, confusion barely hidden behind the curiosity in her voice.

Tenya groans into the palm of his hand, "Because all the good names have been taken by my relatives. My brother is Ingenium, so I can't take that name. We have a rule that there can only be one active Ingenium in each generation. I can't use 'Flash, Kid Flash, White Flash, Silver flash, or any other color adjective. I can't use 'Booster, Booster Gold, Booster silver, or any other color. Hermes, Mercury, and all other speed related myths have been taken. Sonic, Shadow, Quicksilver, Velocity, Trajectory, Impulse, Zoom, Burst, Zippy, Streak, Blur, etc. Those names are unavailable too. There's an Iida for every Car-related name. I don't wanna be a 'The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, either. If I wanted an original name, I'd have to use a language that nobody speaks here."

And that is the problem with hero families, good names become scarce. In fact: by the time Tenya has kids that can pick their hero name, all forms of transportation will have been used.

Quirk ideas that won't leave me alone:

Reinforcement: Izuku can analyze and improve any object that he touches.

Matter reconfiguration: Izuku can reshape anything he touches.

Slayer76: okay, I need help choosing between 3 options. I like all 3 equally, so picking 1 is hard.

Follow Canon and do a cavalry battle.

Do something different (Most likely involving a game of paintball, laser tag or nerf guns)

Skipping straight to the fights.