A Different Path

"Can you see him, dad?" Inko Midoriya frowned at one of the massive screens as she sat forward in their private box. The first-year students were stretched across the long course, clumps of them were gathered around the different obstacles that were scattered across various stages of the track, Izuku had quickly been lost in the thrum. "I've lost him."

"Don't worry Inko." In the seat next to her, Nariyoshi glanced over at his daughter in law, a fond twinkle in his eyes. "This is a marathon, not a sprint, he doesn't have to come in first during the preliminary rounds as long as he gets to the finals." Inko chewed on her nails anxiously as a tense silence slipped over the box again.

The two Midoriya's refocused on the track; so far the race had been dominated by Class 1-A, their experience at the USJ having taught them not to hesitate; the two front runners were Bakugo and Endeavour's youngest son.

However, the lead they'd built up in the early stages of the race seemed to have been nullified by the final obstacle, an expansive minefield. The two rivals had slowed to a crawl as they cautiously made their way forwards, unwilling to let their progress be lost by accidentally setting off a mine; behind them, other contestants had made it to the final obstacle and were beginning to make their way across it.

"Come on honey!" Inko murmured to herself as her eyes picked over each of the racer's faces. "Where are you?" Her question was immediately answered as a massive cloud of pink smoke exploded into the air at the start of the minefield, Nariyoshi smirked.

"What the heck?" The surprise was evident in Present Mic's amplified voice. "That was way more powerful than it was meant to be!" Inko's heart swelled as a blurred shape emerged from the top of the cloud.

"YES!" The two Midoriya's leapt from their seats as Izuku, teeth gritted with concentration and clinging onto a piece of scrap metal for dear life, hurtled through the air towards the finish line.

"Whatever the reason, Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya is in hot pursuit of first place!"

##

"Strike that! He's taken first place!" There was a loud scoff, the bitterness clear in the originator's voice, Tomura Shigaraki winced slightly as he glanced down at his right arm, it was strapped up tightly, a metal brace pressed to his skin, keeping the fingers rigid and in place as the nerves healed. He was dressed casually in dark jeans and a long-sleeved black t-shirt.

"So, that's his name huh? And the brat doesn't even have a Quirk." The Heir to Evil relaxed slightly as a pair of fingers walked along his shoulders.

"Poor Tomura." Isis cooed gently, one eye still on the screen that hung above the bar, Shigaraki had only returned that morning, to say the healer was happy to see him was an understatement. "Don't you worry, we'll kill that brat soon enough," Tomura smirked as he tore his eyes off Midoriya and turned to look at Isis.

"We'll have to wait and see on that."

"Wait and see?" Isis was a little taken aback. "But Tomura..."

"Yes, I know." The Heir to Evil's red eyes flashed as he glanced down at his newly reattached arm. "He cut off my arm, it wasn't at all, Heroic." The healer's eyes narrowed suspiciously as another massive bloom of pink smoke exploded into the air on the screen.

"You can't be serious?"

"Heroes and Villains are cut from the same cloth Isis," Tomura smirked as he gestured to the screen with his stiff hand. "Why'd you think we're watching this? To keep an eye on potential future rivals, and so we can do some talent scouting of our own." His red eyes lingered on the enraged Bakugo as he turned back to the screen.

Isis pouted as she fished a cigarette out of her pocket and slipped it between her lips, the filter quickly turned bright red as her lipstick smeared. Shigaraki's back went rigid as she sparked her Zippo. "What have I told you about that?" Isis smirked as she let a cloud of smoke billow from her mouth.

"Not to?" The healer took another long drag, wisps of smoke framing her face as her grey eyes glinted mischievously. Shigaraki huffed as he turned away from the television, his red eyes lingering on the cigarette.

"Exactly, I can't stand it when you smoke those things, they make you stink like Giran and they make your mouth taste like a god damn ashtray." Isis's smirk widened as she tapped ash into an empty glass.

"Never stopped you though." The healer exhaled right into Shigaraki's face, letting a long funnel of smoke waft around him. The Heir to Evil growled lowly in the back of his throat, his red eyes narrowing.

"Put that out." Isis's brows furrowed ever-so-slightly, then she smirked and leant forwards, quite deliberately, she reached forwards and stubbed the tobacco out on the back of Tomura's left arm. Shigaraki flinched away, his bandaged hand clumsily clutching the burn.

"Not what I meant!" Isis fluttered her eyelashes as she gently took his hand in between both of hers and raised it to her lips, the stubbed cigarette lying forgotten in a small puddle of spilt scotch.

"Oh, poor Tomura." The Heir to Evil resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the healer pressed her lips lightly to his knuckles, a soothing edge to her voice; the burn quickly disappeared. "I'm so sorry." Isis took Tomura's hand between hers and placed it against her cheek, her eyes closing as she leant into the imposed contact.

"You know I'm not going to kiss you until you get a tic tac right?" Isis smirked, her eyes still closed.

"I got menthols." Tomura's eyes narrowed momentarily.

"Fuck it." There was the sound of smashing glass as Tomura swept one hand across the bar, knocking the glasses and empty bottles aside before seizing Isis by the waist and lifting her off her stool and onto the bar. The healer giggled as she wrapped her legs around the Heir to Evil's waist and pulled him close, her lips snaking forwards to crash into his.

To one side, Kurogiri subtly rolled his eyes and refocused his attention on the screen. Isis was an invaluable member of the League, her ability to heal was beyond even her grandmother's and Tomura Shigaraki had relied on her gifts more than once, if only she weren't such a distraction.

"It seems I will have to keep an eye on the Festival."

##

"And the winner of the obstacle race is..." Present Mic's voice boomed around him as he charged through the tunnel that marked the end of the obstacle course, his footsteps echoing deafeningly off the tunnel walls. "Izuku Midoriya!" Izuku skidded to a halt as he emerged into the warm sunlight, he was greeted by a tidal wave of applause and cheers; the Quirkless Student smiled to himself as he braced his hands against his knees and took several deep breaths, he'd managed to win the first round without his support items.

"Not bad." He panted to himself as he straightened up. "For a Quirkless loser." His eyes picked through the crowd until they found his grandpa's private box, face splitting open in a grin, he took a step towards his family and raised a triumphant fist, His grandfather nodded, his face split open in a blinding grin. Izuku frowned, he could feel someone else's eyes on him in the crowd, he turned his head until he was staring at the teacher's box and was surprised to see the emaciated All Might looking back at him, an appreciative smile on his face.

Behind him, Bakugo growled threateningly in the back of his throat, his red eyes locked menacingly on the back of the Class Rep's head. Todoroki's face remained as neutral ever, only a slight hint of resentment burning in his mismatched eyes, their fathers had been rivals if Midoriya was anything like Salamander he could see why.

The arena was beginning to fill up as more of the participants finished the course, Bakugo and Todoroki had taken second and third place perspectively and a steady stream of contestants was beginning to pour in behind them. As expected the two Hero Course classes had dominated the race, though Izuku did note that Class 1-B mostly avoided using their Quirks, getting by with their physical abilities.

"Very clever." He muttered to himself as he shut his notebook. "You're holding back so your opponents won't have a chance to study your abilities and plan out a counter."

"Midoriya." The Class Rep turned to see Midnight sauntering towards him, an obvious sway in her hips as she held out his utility belt and grapples, the replica blade Power Loader had made him was hanging off her right shoulder. "You'll need these for the next event." The R Rated Hero licked her lips, a sadistic gleam in her eyes; Izuku gulped, he really didn't like the way she was looking at him right now.

"Thanks, Ms Midnight." He cleared his throat loudly as took the offered gear, hastily buckling on the belt and swinging the sword over his shoulder.

"Don't thank me yet." Izuku felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as she turned and walked away, she knew something he didn't. Before he had a chance to think of what it could be a voice called out from behind him.

"Deku!" Uraraka braced her hands on her knees and took several deep breaths. "That was amazing! You got first place!"

"Thanks, Uraraka." He smiled as he slipped on his left grapple. "But it wasn't that impressive, it was mostly just dumb luck." The Class Rep's eyes hardened as he secured his right grapple. "The real test comes now." The comforting weight of the belt on his waist and the grapples on his arms gave him a new sense of confidence, he had trained all his life to be able to match someone with a Quirk, now was the time to prove he could stand with the best of the best.

"How can you say that?" The brunette was gaping at him, an obvious look of disbelief in her eyes. "That move you pulled with the mines was awesome, I'd never have thought of that in a million years!" Izuku fidgeted uncomfortably in place, one hand rising to fiddle with the training sword's strap.

"Yeah, but it could easily have gone wrong."

"But it didn't!" Uraraka almost stamped her foot impatiently. "It worked and you got first place, don't beat ya-self up because it was a risky move!" Izuku glanced around them, her accent was slipping. "Just be proud that it worked out!" Izuku opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Midnight's booming voice.

"The first round for the first years is finally over! Those who came in the top forty-two will be progressing to the next round, for the rest of you that means this is the end of the Festival, please leave the stadium." There was an audible groan of relief from the General Studies, Support, and Business Students as they turned to leave, the Sports Festival was the Hero Course's time to shine, there was little to no point in them being there.

"Now who's ready for the next event?" The screens around the stadium began flashing with words again as the next game was picked out. "This is the time to really put yourselves in the limelight and show what you can do!" Izuku felt a jolt of nerves run through him as Midnight's eyes lingered on him just for a second, he really didn't like the look in her eyes. "And the game will be;" The Heroine paused, letting a dramatic tension build up as the screens began to slow down. "A cavalry battle!" Izuku paused, his eyebrow rising slightly, it was a much simpler event than he had been expecting, how did they plan on splitting up the teams?

"Allow me to explain, participants will choose teams of two up to four, in theory, this works just like a playground game, the objective?" Midnight licked her lips, the sadistic gleam in her eyes only intensifying. "To steal the other team's points!" There was a murmur of surprise amongst the students. "Each of you will be assigned a point total depending on what position you ranked in during the first round, the four teams with the most points at the end of ten minutes will advance to the finals, but before you run to form a team with the front runners, bear in mind that success has its downsides, the higher you came the more points you'll have, and the bigger the target on your back will be!"

A list of rankings appeared behind the Heroine, each student had a number next to their place in the first round, the Class Rep couldn't help but hold back a smile when he saw Aoyama's name at the very bottom of the list with a total of five points. "The points increase by five per ranking, so the third-place taker will have two-hundred points, the second will have two-hundred and five, and the winner will receive... Ten million points!" Izuku froze in place, his back going rigid; slowly, he turned his head to and fro to see all of the other forty-one contestants staring at him.

"So if we take down his team." Someone in the crowd muttered darkly. "We take first place for ourselves."

"That's right. It's a chance for those on the bottom to rise up and seize the glory for themselves!" Midnight's eyes found Izuku in the crowd again. "Best of luck~!"

##

"Ten... Ten Million points?!" Inko sat back in her seat, her eyes as wide as dinner plates as she stared down at the ring, the colour steadily draining out of her cheeks. "Oh, my poor baby!" Nariyoshi gently patted Inko's arm, his eyes still firmly set on the arena, the students had started to form groups and strategise.

"He'll have a target on his back when he becomes a Pro, an exercise like this may seem simple, but it reflects the world he'll find himself. Plenty of villains will want to make a name for themselves by killing the first Quirkless Hero."

"That doesn't make me feel better!" Inko groaned as she hid her face in her hands. "No one will want to be on a team with him if he's worth so much!" A row behind them, Parker coughed politely into his closed fist.

"I wouldn't worry about that Mrs Midoriya, it looks like he's doing just fine."

##

"Deku!" Izuku frowned as he train of thought derailed, cautiously, he turned on the spot to see Uraraka grinning at him. "Let's team up!"

"You...?" He paused and cleared his throat loudly. "You sure about that Uraraka? Everyone will be after my stupid ten million points." The brunette shrugged, a determined fire in her eyes.

"If we just run away, we won't have a problem right?" Izuku chuckled, some of his tension leaving him, despite the pointed glances he could still feel being shot their way.

"You're either seriously overestimating me, or underestimating everyone else, but I'm grateful." Uraraka frowned slightly.

"You gotta stop puttin' yourself down Deku, besides, it's better to team up with your friends right?" Right on queue, there came a call from behind them.

"Yo! Midoriya!" The two turned to see Kirishima swaggering towards them, a broad grin splitting his face in two. "Where do you want me?" Izuku blinked a few times as he stared at the faux redhead.

"You too Kirishima?" He glanced back and forth between his two friends, his eyes wide. "You guys know it's a better strategy to steal other team's points right? No one's going to care about keeping their own headband." Kirishima shrugged nonchalantly while Ochako rolled her eyes.

"But that won't be a problem for the man with a plan right?" The redhead raised his fist and activated his Quirk. "Let's go charging into battle together!"

"Oh, good! You still have room for one more!" All three of them turned to see a girl wearing a pair of odd goggles with bright pink hair standing before them, a silver suitcase clutched tightly in her hands.

"Um, yes, we do." Izuku ran a wary eye up and down this new pinkette. "And you are?"

"Mei Hatsume from the support course! There'll be plenty of big companies watching the Festival, and I'd like to use your current fame to my advantage!" The three Hero students exchanged bemused glances as Hatsume raised the suitcase and clicked it open. "The support course is allowed to use items we built ourselves, so I have plenty of babies to bring to the table!"

"Wait, did you bring a-?" Uraraka trailed off as Mei continued talking a mile a minute, eagerly pulling support items out of the suitcase and showing them to Izuku, the brunette glanced at Kirishima. "Oh, she doesn't care about us."

"Doesn't look like it." Hatsume had closed the suitcase, a proud grin on her face.

"My babies will win this for you, Ten Million, I promise they're better than the junk you're wearing now!" Kirishima and Uraraka flinched; the intrigued look in Izuku's eyes rapidly faded.

"Junk?" Hatsume waggled her head up and down, her eyes roaming over Midoriya's belt and grapples.

"Well, even junk has its uses." Kirishima hissed in a long breath through gritted teeth as Midoriya's eye twitched slightly, the redhead could swear he could hear a plate smashing in the distance. "I mean." All three of them did a double-take as Hatsume held up one of the Quirkless Student's explosive shurikens. Izuku frowned and patted his belt 'How did she get that?' "I'm amazed this stuff hasn't fallen apart already, total armature job! Was it all built in a garage somewhere?" The inventor scoffed as she turned to throw star over in her hands. "The soldering on this is a mess, who even made all this?"

"I did." There were a few awkward seconds of silence after Midoriya snatched back the throwing star and stuffed it into his belt, Hatsume frowned, her eyes narrowing under her goggles.

"You?"

"Yes." The Class Rep seemed to be making a great effort to keep his breaths regular. "And you're right, it was all built in a garage." Hatsume blinked under her goggles, one of her eyebrows rising up her forehead.

"Oh." There was a long, awkward pause as the pinkette rubbed the back of her head. "Well, it's not like I was lying, looks like Hero students are just all muscle huh?" Midoriya stared coldly back, Hatsume coughed into her fist. "I'll go now."

"You do that."

##

"Yaoyorozu." Momo turned on the spot to see Todoroki approaching her, Iida and Kaminari were following a step behind him. "Join me." The Heiress stroked her chin as she considered his offer, Todoroki was one of, if not the most powerful member of the class. Midoriya hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said their polychrome classmate likely had more potential than any of them, he had a keen tactical mind, a good handle on his impressive Quirk, and two hundred points. What kind of fool would refuse his request?

"I'm in." The son of Endeavour nodded, a slight hint of smugness glimmering in then depths of his otherwise blank eyes. "What's the plan?" Todoroki beckoned Iida and Kaminari forward, clearing his throat as the newly formed team huddled around him.

"I've selected you all as I believe we shall make the most effective team, Kaminari will be our left-wing, with his Quirk we won't have to worry about our opponents getting close and taking our points." The mismatched eyes turned from the smirking blonde to the Heiress. "Yaoyorozu, you'll be our right flank, you'll use your Quirk to insulate us from Kaminari's electricity and creating items to deal with anyone who gets too close. That leaves Iida." Todoroki turned to the speedster, his voice as monotone as ever. "You'll be the front horse," he shrugged; "that decision speaks for itself." Iida nodded, his chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"A sound strategy, and you'll be the rider, creating attacks of ice and fire?"

"Not quite." A hint of bitterness crept into Todoroki's voice as he turned his head slightly to gaze up into the stadium. "When I'm in battle, I never use my left side." The three other teammates exchanged puzzled glances, Momo cleared her throat.

"And our game plan will be?" The polychrome student tore his eyes off the stadium, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards momentarily.

"You have to ask? We'll steal enough points to guarantee our progression into the next round, then we'll take down Midoriya." Yaoyorozu's brows twitched inwards slightly as an uncomfortable feeling tugged at her gut, there had been a cruel edge to Todoroki's voice. "He'll be the main target, by the time we get to the second round he'll have burned through all his support items just trying to stay in the game. Without his toys, he'll be easy to defeat." Iida nodded slowly, his chin still between his thumb and forefinger.

"I see no flaws in your plan, though there isn't much honour in attacking someone after they've exhausted all their options to fight back, this is a game we must play for ourselves." Kaminari nodded, one hand rising to point a finger at the taller student.

"What he said, but with fewer words." Todoroki nodded to each of them in turn before turning to the Heiress.

"Yaoyorozu?" Momo frowned to herself, Todoroki's plan seemed sound enough, there was just one thing holding her back, a memory of their first day at UA; the Class Rep's voice echoed in her mind. 'Never underestimate me again.' She shook her head.

"It won't work." Her words hung in the air as her teammates stared at her, undeterred, she continued. "Everyone who's made the mistake of underestimating Midoriya has ended up eating their words." Her dark dark ponytail waggled back and forth as she shook her head again. "If you underestimate Midoriya you'll lose, and I'm here to win." There was a tense moment of silence as the Heiress turned her back on the rest of the now-dissolved team. "You'll have to find someone else." Todoroki's eyes narrowed as she watched Yaoyorozu walk away; Kaminari cleared his throat loudly.

"So, I guess we'll need a new right horse right?" The son of Endeavour didn't even look back at the blonde, his eyes roaming through the crowd.

"Kaminari, you're out."

"Ah, what?!"

"Without Yaoyorozu's Quirk to shield us, you'd fry us all with your electricity, I can't use you without her." Kaminari stared at the back of the polychrome student's head, his jaw ajar.

"Harsh." The blonde scowled to himself as he turned and slouched away, his hands buried in his pockets.

"Iida, go ask Tokoyami to join us, I have another idea." The brother of Ingenium took a hasty step away from the son of Endeavour, grateful he had not been dismissed too.

"O-oh, of course." Todoroki subtly rolled his eyes as the two strode away from each other, the reverence most of his classmates had for him was mostly because of his father's reputation, he'd barely done anything to earn it yet.

"You." The girl from the Support Course froze in mid-step, her briefcase still hugged tightly to her chest. "I saw you in the obstacle race, you're in the Support Course right?" The pinkette's grin would have unnerved him if he hadn't grown up with Endeavour for a father. She spun on her heel to face him.

"That's me, Mei Hatsume, me and my babies are at your service!" Hatsume chuckled evilly, Todoroki could have sworn he saw her eyes gleam through her goggles. "The son of Endeavour will draw a lot of eyes; eyes that will have to look at my babies to look at him!" Todoroki blinked, she was, direct.

"One question."

"Fire away!" The polychrome student didn't even flinch as Mei shoved her face in his.

"You wouldn't happen to have rollerblades, would you?" Mei's face fell as her brows began to knit together into a scowl.

"Rollerblades?" The Support Student stamped her foot indignantly. "I'm a genius inventor!"

"And so modest," Todoroki muttered under his breath, undeterred, Mei continued.

"I have rocket launchers, hover-boots, and a god damn jetpack; and you ask if I have rollerblades?!" Todoroki stared coolly back as Hatsume's face grew progressively redder.

"Well do you?" The pinkette scoffed indignantly.

"Well, yes." She melodramatically rolled her eyes behind her goggles as she folded her arms against her chest. "But they're rocket powered!" The polychrome student actually smiled.

"That'll work."

##

"Kirishima will be our front horse, with his Quirk he's the obvious choice, Uraraka, you'll be the back horse, focus on our manoeuvrability." Ochako and Eijiro nodded as Izuku slipped on a prototype mask, it was much bulkier than the one he wore with his costume, covering half his forehead and cheeks.

"Which makes you the rider." Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck as he patted his utility belt, a bashful look in his eyes.

"Most of my support items will work better if I am, plus I'll need a clear view of the field."

"Um, my Quirk might not be the best for manoeuvrability." Uraraka shyly cleared her throat. "I can make us float, but I can't steer us while we're in the air."

"I can use my grapples to move us around once you make us float." The Class Rep held up one of his arms. "With your Quirk weight won't be an issue, as long as we stay out of reach we should be fine."

"Um, hello?" All three of them turned on the spot, Yaoyorozu was stood before them, a sheepish smile spreading across her face. "You wouldn't happen to have room for one more would you?"

"Yaomomo?" Izuku spared Ochako a glance out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he could hear something beyond the surprise in her voice. "I thought you'd teamed up with Todoroki?"

"I had." The Heiress glanced back at the son of Endeavour, he had almost instantly managed to assemble a new team, she could see him talking with Iida, Tokoyami, and the girl from the Support Course. "But his plan won't work."

"Why?" Kirishima glanced around Yaoyorozu so he could get a look at the opposing team. "What is it?"

"He's coming after us, isn't he?" The dark-haired girl grimaced as she nodded, Izuku let out a long groan as he rolled his eyes. "What an original plan."

"He won't come after us at first, he plans to steal enough points to progress in the first half of the game, then he'll come after us once you've used up your support items." Izuku eyebrow twitched upwards ever-so-slightly, next to him, Uraraka stiffened slightly.

"Us?" Midoriya didn't seem to hear her.

"Not a bad plan, which begs the question." Momo subconsciously gulped as Midoriya set his intense gaze on her, his green eyes seeming to stare straight into her soul. "Why are you here with us? Why didn't you take him up on his offer? It probably would have worked." The Heiress fidgeted under the Class Rep's intense gaze. "Todoroki is a much safer bet than I am."

"The backbone of his plan is based on underestimating you, I've seen what happens to people who do that, I underestimated you the day we met, and you proved me wrong by getting the top entrance score." Momo twirled a stray lock of hair around two of her fingers, a nervous habit she seemed to be picking up from Jiro. "Sero assumed you would be easy to beat without a Quirk and he left combat training on a stretcher."

Momo cleared her throat and forced herself to meet the Class Rep's eyes. "Everyone downplays what you can do, even you, but I promised never to again." Izuku smiled slightly at the memory of their first day in class. "So I'm going to join you if you'll have me."

Ochako's hands closed into fists; a tight sensation she couldn't quite recognise had begun to squeeze at her chest as Izuku stepped forward and gingerly patted the Heiress on the arm, the action seemed very alien to him, more than a little uncertainty in the action. Momo glanced down as he quickly stuffed his hand back into his pocket, a small smile spreading across her face as she remembered how he'd flinched as she'd touched him in the USJ.

"Thank you, we'll be happy to have you." The Quirkless Student paused and thought for a moment, a smile beginning to light up his face. "In fact, you're just what we need."

##

A wave of roars and cheers tore through the UA stadium as the teams began to mount up, horses stepping into formation and locking arms so their riders could climb into place.

"Alright riders!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the din of the crowd. "I hope you're all happy with your teams! Because it's time to get this party started!" Midoriya's eyes narrowed and one hand reflexively gripped his utility belt as he climbed into the rider's position. "One last count down before the game begins!" At the head of the formation, Kirishima activated his Quirk, his snarl of determination slightly muffled by the gas mask Yaoyorozu had created for him.

"Let's go!" To his right, the Heiress herself let out a long breath as she slipped her own mask into place.

"One!"

"I believe in you, Midoriya."

"Two!" Uraraka's head had turned slightly to stare at Yaoyorozu, the dark-haired girl's reflection clearly visible in the lenses of her mask.

"You got this Deku, we can win this!" The Quirkless student let out a long breath as he slipped his mask into place.

"You're right, we got this!" The lenses of his mask snapped down as he placed a small respirator between his teeth and bit down.

"Three!" All four of them bent their knees slightly, feeling the eyes of the entire stadium drilling into them as all of the opposing teams turned towards them.

"Begin!" The sound of Midnight's flogger snapping cracked through the stadium as the R Rated Hero gleefully crowed into the microphone; there was a half-second of total silence and stillness, then all hell broke loose.

"GET HIM!" Bakugo bellowed from the top of his formation, Sato wincing slightly in the front horse position as the blonde screamed into his ear. Within seconds they were surrounded as all of the other teams surged towards them.

"Uh oh! Looks like Team Midoriya is in hot water right off the bat!" Izuku's eyes rolled under his mask as the Pro continued to commentate as if that wasn't obvious. "Wonder what they'll do?"

"What are we gonna do Midoriya?" The Class Rep smirked as he opened a compartment on his belt.

"That's simple, Kirishima." There was steel in his voice as he pulled two gas canisters out of the compartment. "We give them a good fight!" The Class Rep yanked the pins out of the canisters with his teeth and tossed both of them, thick plumes of smoke hissed from the containers as they bounced across the ground; in an instant, their team was completely engulfed in a thick shroud of smoke.

"What the hell?! One of the 1-B teams, the silver-haired Tetsutetsu as its rider screeched to a halt. "Where'd they go?!" The rider glowered into the gloom, his eyes screwing up against the irritating smoke as they tracked shapes in the gloom. "Ah, it's no good! Honenuki, use your Quirk!" The team's front horse gave a curt nod as he raised his foot and slammed it down, the ground ahead of them rippled, around them, unprepared teams gave a cry of surprise as they began to sink into the ground.

"Did we get them?" Juzo's eyes were watering heavily as he struggled to see through the Midoriya's smokescreen, whatever was in those canisters seriously stung.

"Close." The whole team rocked slightly as a mass of bodies charged past them, Tetsutetsu wobbled alarmingly in place as he felt something whip by them in the fog. "But no cigar!" The rider's head whipped back and forth, streaming eyes searching desperately in the gloom.

"After them!" The 1-B team quickly turned around, only to find there was no sign of the fleeing frontrunners. "Uh, where'd they go?"

##

"Where are they Jiro?!" Hagakure's headband waggling back and forth was the only indication of where the invisible girl's upper body was, her tracksuit top discarded to one side. In the front horse position; Jiro gritted her teeth as her audio jacks stabbed into the ground.

"Give me a second and I'll find out!" She hissed through gritted teeth, her eyes watering as whatever Midoriya had set off burned them. She could hear footsteps in the haze, it was just a case of picking through the teams until she found; there they were! "I've got them!" Her audio jacks yanked themselves out of the ground and shot forwards into the cloud.

##

"Midoriya!" The gas mask muffled Kirishima's voice slightly but the concern in his tone was still more than evident. The Class Rep nodded as he pulled open a compartment on his belt and retrieved a shuriken. He tossed it at the approaching audio jacks, his hand reaching down to tap a button on his belt as it embedded itself in the ground.

##

"Urgh!" Jiro's audio jacks retracted as the purplette's face contorted with pain, in the right horse position, Koda's face twisted with discomfort.

"Ugh?" Ojiro frowned as he glanced up at Hagakure, judging by the way the headband was facing he assumed she was staring back at him. "What's up with those two?" Ojiro's tail moved slowly back and forth as his eyes narrowed, he glanced around them.

"Can you hear that?" Toru paused and took a second to listen, her eyes widened with shock, in the distance, she could hear a faint high pitched ringing.

"That son of a bitch!" The invisible girl bawled as she thrashed her arms through the air. "We need to find whatever's making that noise and get after them!" Ojiro blinked a few times, then sweatdropped.

"Um, Hagakure, where'd your headband go?" The strip of material was gone.

"Oh for fucks sake!" There was a loud slapping sound as Toru slapped her forehead.

##

"Not bad Midoriya!" Yaoyorozu's eyes glinted with pride as she pulled her mask off; their team emerged from the cloud of smoke and back into the bright sun to a roar of applause from the crowd. "What was that? Some kind of sonic emitter?" The greenette nodded as he spat out his respirator and retracted the lenses of his mask.

"It isn't enough to hurt her, but she'll have one hell of a headache once this is over."

"Only a few minutes in and we've already got a frenzy down there!" Izuku couldn't help but roll his eyes as Present Mic continued to commentate. "Watch your headbands kids! Not everyone's gonna be after the ten million points after all!" The frontrunners quickly found themselves surrounded on all sides.

"Mwhahaha!" The four of them turned to see Shoji charging them, he had folded all but two of his arms back and was evidently carrying his entire team on his back. "This is too easy!" Mineta's voice echoed from the mass of limbs. "I'm a genius!"

"Is Mineta in there?" Uraraka took a relieved breath as she slipped her mask off, it had been really stuffy in there, the brunette took a bemused look at their approaching classmate before glancing across at the Heiress. "Is that even allowed?" Izuku shrugged as he tossed three shurikens, the throwing stars spun through the air, each striking and stopping one of Mineta's balls as they hurtled towards them.

"Questions for later!" Kirishima nodded appreciatively as Midoriya reached down and pulled his mask off for him. "What are we gonna go? We can't let ourselves get surrounded!" More teams had managed to find their way out of the fog and were beginning to close in on them; the Class Rep nodded as he pulled a metal sphere that was around the size of a tennis ball out of his belt.

"Then I'll make us an opening!" Teeth gritted, Midoriya tossed the sphere at Shoji, their opponent's eyes widened with recognition and he stumbled, trying to slow down; only for the sphere to bounce and strike him in the chest. There was a loud bang as a mass of green foam enveloped Shoji, quickly securing him in place, his arms poking out of the restraints. "There's our chance! Go!"

The frontrunners charged forwards, nimbly dodging around their immobilised classmate, each of the horses taking care where they put their feet down as more of Mineta's balls rained down around them. The hairs of the back of Izuku's neck stood up, the replica sword almost flew out of its sheath as he turned and slashed the carbon steel blade through the air, bringing it about just in time to bat away Asui's tongue.

"They have Asui in there too?!" Uraraka huffed as they picked up their speed slightly in an effort to get out of range. "Seriously, is that even allowed?!"

"Judges say yes!" The entire team groaned, they could all hear the smirk in Midnight's voice as it boomed over the speakers.

"Heads up!" Izuku's sharp green eyes tracked back and forth as he slid the sword back into its sheath, his head turning to look around the arena. "We aren't out of the woods yet!" There was a deafening bang to punctuate his point and a small shadow briefly passed overhead as Bakugo hurtled through the air towards them.

"Don't think you're safe! Even for a second Deku!" The Class Rep rolled his eyes as he held a hand out to Yaoyorozu.

"I never am when you're around Bakugo. Yaoyorozu, now!" The dark-haired girl nodded, she unzipped the front of her tracksuit for convenience's sake when the game had started, a sparkling light lit up her midriff as she began to form a creation.

"Here!" Midoriya nodded, a grateful smile spreading across his face as he took the beanbag gun she was offering him.

"Thank you, so very much, I've been waiting to do this for a long time now." The Class Rep's green eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he swung the gun around and took aim at the rapidly approaching blonde. "Dodge this!" He pulled the trigger. Bakugo's eyes widened and he thrust his arms out to correct his course, the beanbag soaring towards him, almost in slow motion.

Then all the wind was driven out of him as the weight crashed into his stomach, a mixture of spit and blood flew from his mouth as he hacked out a gut-churning sound that was halfway between a cough and a scream; his body going limp as he toppled towards the ground.

"Woah!" Present Mic's voice boomed across the arena as a length of Sero's tape wrapped around Bakugo's waist and pulled the blonde back to his team. "Bakugo lost his horses! Is that even legal?!"

"As long as his feet don't touch the ground he's safe!" Izuku swung the strap of the beanbag gun over his shoulder as the sounds of Midnight's flogger cracking echoed across the arena. "That's just the kind of loophole abuse I like to see!"

"Good job everyone." He glanced around them as they took off across the stadium again, a steady stream of opponents chasing after them. "We're almost at the halfway point, if we can keep this up we've got this!" The Class Rep punctuated his point by tossing two shurikens at an approaching 1-B team; their front horse, a short girl with blonde hair and large horns let out a sharp squeal as a large cloud of smoke enveloped them.

"We aren't out of the woods yet." Izuku glanced down at Momo, the Heiress's eyes were roaming over the stadium. "We still have Todoroki's team to deal with."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"We're at the seven-minute point, so far it's been non-stop action! Class 1-A is really putting on a show! You must be so proud Eraser!"

"They're not as inept as most first years." Midoriya blinked a few times, he'd almost forgotten Aizawa was helping out with the commentary, and it sounded like he'd just paid them a compliment.

"With the halfway point approaching, let's slap-up those scores and see who's where, as we head into the second half!" Izuku's team spared a glance at one of the screens that were dotted around the arena, their jaws dropped in unison. "What's this?!" They all heard Aizawa groan into his microphone as Present Mic's voiced echoed painfully loud off the stands, the spectators had fallen silent. "Other than Midoriya's team, 1-A isn't looking too hot!" Barring his and Todoroki's teams, all the 1-A scores were a simple zero, the second, third and fourth-place positions were taken by 1-B teams.

"Class B threw the first round so they could make a dramatic comeback in the second!" Izuku's eyes lit up as he searched amongst the teams, Bakugo had turned his formation around and was now barrelling towards a quickly fleeing 1-B team.

"They must have planned this as a class." Kirishima huffed as they ran, their pack of pursuers beginning to thin as the losing teams scrambled to get some points back. "They must be really taking this whole class rivalry thing seriously!"

"You can say that again," Ochako muttered her chest rising and falling heavily, they hadn't had a chance to catch their breath since the game began, such was the fate of the pursued.

"This is good for us." Izuku sighed with relief as he pulled more shurikens out of his belt. "With everyone focused on 1-B, we'll only have Todoroki to deal with." Right on Queue, there was a thunder of footfalls and they were forced to come to a grinding halt as Iida whizzed by them, cutting them off, in the second that followed; Izuku was forced to practically bend over backwards as he swerved to avoid Dark Shadow as the spectre lunged for his headband. "Too close," Izuku muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing as he glared across the ring.

"Ooh! Looks like the son of Endeavour has decided it's time to step into the fray!" The frontrunners stared down their opponents, the commentary all but silent to them in the heat of the moment.

Iida stood as the opposing front horse, the engines in his legs purring softly as he bent his knees, ready to dash again; behind him on his right and left sides stood Tokoyami and the pinkette from the support course., their classmate was wearing a pair of rollerblades that looked like they had thrusters on the back while the support course student wore a pair of hover boots and some kind of tactical harness, there were two heavy-looking pods mounted on her shoulders.

"Well, it's not like we didn't know this was coming," Kirishima muttered quietly to himself, Izuku let out a long breath as he locked eyes with their rider, the temperature seemed to dropped slightly as the two legacies stared each other down.

"I'll be taking that headband now, Midoriya." A small cloud of mist hung around Todoroki's mouth as he spoke; he already had a few headbands hanging around his neck.

"He's really got it in for ya, huh Deku?" Izuku's eyebrow twitched upwards slightly, he resisted the urge to glance down at Uraraka, one slip and they'd all be in trouble.

"No idea why." The Class Rep shook his head as he forced himself to stop thinking about what his polychrome classmate had said about their fathers, now wasn't the time. "Stay alert everyone, it isn't just Todoroki." At least half a dozen other teams were trying to close in on both of them, both classes having put aside their feud in order to chase after the frontrunners. Todoroki glanced briefly down at his two back horses.

"Now." Tokoyami bowed his head sagely as Dark Shadow poked his head out, a mischievous glint in its eyes; Hatsume grinned from ear to ear as the pods on her shoulders hissed open; the grin only seemed to widen as half a dozen miniature rockets tore into the air.

The frontrunners flinched, Kirishima pushed a little more into his Quirk as they waited for the rockets to come for them, but instead, they arced backwards and banked towards the other approaching teams.

"Damn Support Course!" Kirishima hissed as the rockets struck the ground, huge plumes of hot pink smoke rose into the air to mark the impact points and in an instant, all the other teams had been lost in the haze.

"Now Dark Shadow." Tokoyami's voice was almost as neutral as Todoroki's as the spectre that resided within him lurched away from the team and into the fog, a second later several loud bangs and thuds began to echo out of the gloom, accompanied by sudden harsh cries.

"Hatsume." Todoroki didn't even glance down as he held out a hand, the support student scrambled with her harness for a moment before she held out a small metal cylinder.

"Collapsible Bo-staff, as ordered!" Their polychrome opponent eyes never left Midoriya's as he flicked the cylinder, extending it to its full length just as Dark Shadow reappeared at Tokoyami's side.

"You're good to go Ice-Man!" The spectre held up a thumbs-up as ice began to spread across the staff.

"My apologies." Todoroki raised his voice slightly, finally breaking eye contact with Midoriya to take a momentary glance over his shoulder. "But this is the only way." He struck the ground with the frozen rod, a massive wave of ice ran across the arena, the massive amount of wind its momentum generated blowing away the now fading smoke.

Behind their approaching opponents, all the other teams who had made a move on the frontrunners stood trapped in a thick layer of ice, to add insult to injury, the son of Endeavour appeared to have helped himself to a few of their headbands while they were at it.

"Run!" Izuku swung the beanbag gun Yaoyorozu had created off his shoulder, hastily taking aim as Iida charged forwards, Hatsume's support gear allowing him to run full out as the back horses didn't have to match his pace.

"They're too fast!" Yaoyorozu glanced over her shoulder as they made a hasty retreat. "And we're running out of arena!"

"I know!" Izuku's eyes narrowed as he pressed the stock of the bean bag gun into his shoulder and squeezed the trigger, the projectile made flew straight at Todoroki's head, only for Dark Shadow to lung forward and smack it out of the air. "Dammit!" The Class Rep tossed the gun aside, it would be useless with Dark Shadow there to block anything he threw at them.

"We might be in trouble." There was noticeable anxiety in the Vice Rep's voice as their formation came to a sudden halt at the edge of the arena, Todoroki had sent two waves of ice to cut off any other escape routes, they had no choice but to face the incoming team head-on; as they watched, the son of Endeavour threw up a massive ice wall, cutting them off and cleanly dividing the area into two halves.

"I'll say." Uraraka glanced up at Deku. "What's the plan Deku?" Their rider growled through gritted teeth.

"We can't touch Todoroki with Dark Shadow covering them like that, that and the combination of Hatsume's support items and Iida's speed means they have the edge on us in mobility, that and if Todoroki gets a good shot in we're done!"

"Ugh?" Kirishima glanced back over his shoulder up at his friend. "So what is the plan?"

"For now we keep our distance, we need to stay on Todoroki's left side, he won't be able to use his ice without freezing Iida if we do." The Quirkless Student glanced down. "Yaoyorozu? Can you make flares?" The Heiress frowned to herself for a second, why would he want flares? Then her eyes widened, he smiled as she got it. "Exactly. Can you?"

"Yes, it won't be a problem."

"Good, launch them if Hatsume fires any more missiles, they should confuse their targeting software, Uraraka, stand by with your Quirk." The brunette nodded, a determined fire burning in her eyes. "Everyone, be ready to jump when I say."

"But what about Dark Shadow?" Kirishima couldn't quite keep his voice clear as he gulped, the spectre had stretched around to talk to Todoroki.

"Working on that!" Izuku racked his brains, what did he know about Dark Shadow? It was versatile, incredibly strong and didn't appear to have any weaknesses, then his eyes widened slightly behind his mask, he remembered during combat training Asui had lured Bakugo into a completely dark room where Tokoyami had been ready for him, had the darkness been just to confuse Bakugo, or had it had another use? "I think I have an idea." He pulled a handful of flash bangs from his belt, his eyes flitting to glance down at Yaoyorozu. "Do you know how to create firecrackers? And I'm going to need you to make us all earplugs."

##

Todoroki huffed as he glared icily across the field, Midoriya's formation stared defiantly back, constantly readjusting themselves so they stayed on his left side. From this position his ice attacks were useless, good thing he'd prepared for that eventuality.

"Tokoyami."

"I'm the one doin' all the work!" Dark Shadow huffed as it stuck its nose up in the air, its spectral arms crossing over its chest. Todoroki subtly rolled his eyes, his gaze still set on Midoriya.

"Fine, Dark Shadow, would you kindly retrieve his headband?" The Spectre puffed its chest out as it smirked, Tokoyami rolled his eyes.

"You got it!" The shadow lunged forward, streaking across the frosty ground as it flew towards Midoriya; an inky black hand thrust out, swirling fingers grasping at the Class Rep's headband. Suddenly the entire opposing team clamped their eyes shut as Midoriya's fist swung downwards, something flying out of his hand; Dark Shadow recoiled as blinding flash of light burned at it.

"Dark Shadow!" Todoroki's eyes widened ever-so-slightly, that was the first time he'd heard genuine concern in Tokoyami's voice, the Spectre turned and darted back towards them, large tears brimming in its eyes and a distinct tremble in its bottom lip.

"Can't!" Dark Shadow mumbled as it slipped back inside Tokoyami. "Too bright!" The avian student blinked bemusedly, his mouth hanging open with astonishment.

"How? How could he have known Dark Shadow's sensitivity to light? The only person I told was Koda, he comes across as a man of few words." Above him, Todoroki shook his head fiercely, a deafening bang had accompanied the flash and an ear-splitting ringing had sprung to life in his ears.

"Midoriya probably figured it out, the bastard's been playing off everyone's weaknesses since this started." The son of Endeavour glanced up at one of the screens, they were running out of time. "We need to get that headband, Hatsume, give them a distraction."

The Support Student giggled as the pods on her shoulders hissed open and a new batch of miniature missiles prepared to launch. "Once the gas has blinded them we'll run in and take the ten million points." He glanced over his shoulder and up into the stands. 'And then I'll have done this without his Quirk, that'll give the bastard something to think about.'

There was a loud hiss as four more rockets shot into the air, spinning around each-other as their heat sensors locked onto Midoriya's team. Todoroki allowed himself a slight smirk, it quickly turned into a scowl as Midoriya raised both his hands, two bright red pistols with almost comically wide barrels in each hand.

"Everyone!" Iida barked as he clamped his eyes shut tightly. "Close your eyes now!" Todoroki capitulated as second too late; a searing light burned his retinas as Midoriya fired two flares at the ice walls on either side of him, his eyes were open just long enough to see Hatsume's missiles bank away from the frontrunners and veer off towards the glacial walls.

"Would you look at that, sports fans!" Present Mic's voice managed to drown out the explosions as the crowd roared once again. "Despite being cornered and severely outgunned; team Midoriya has managed to play a successful game of keep away from team Todoroki!" The polychrome student snorted indignantly as he tried to blink away the massive white spots that flashed across his vision thanks to Midoriya's flares. "This is not how I would have expected this to go five minutes ago! This is turning out to be the most nail-biting first-year festival in years!"

"Everyone!" Todoroki shook his head and turned his head so he was looking down at Iida. "We have less than sixty seconds left, I'm going to do something that will make me useless to you, but it'll be worth it!" Todoroki frowned as he glanced down at Tokoyami, the avian student shrugged.

"What are you going to do?" Iida's glasses flashed as they caught the light, he bent his knees, a high pitched whining beginning to seep from the engines in his legs.

"Just make sure you get that headband!"

##

"Uraraka, get ready to activate your Quirk, Kirishima, prepare to jump on my word!" Izuku barked orders as the tell-tale whine of an engine starting up began to echo across the arena towards them, Iida had bent his knees, a determined fire in his eyes. "Yaoyorozu, be ready with those firecrackers." The formation dipped slightly as Kirishima crouched slightly as he prepared to jump, a tense silence slipped over them as they waited, the seconds seemingly to turning into ours as they dragged by, Uraraka glanced up at Midoriya, an anxious look in her eyes.

"Deku?"

"Wait for it." The brunette shot the Heiress a sideways glance as the whine of Iida's engines began to intensify.

"Midoriya?" Izuku kept his narrowed eyes locked on Iida, Momo cleared her throat quietly. "Midoriya?"

"Wait for it!"

"TOROQE OVER!"

"Anytime now man!" Kirishima's knees were beginning to tremble slightly.

"Wait for it!"

"RECIPRO-!"

"NOW!"

##

"-BURST!" Todoroki's entire formation jolted as a burst of pure force erupted from Iida's legs, sending them flying towards the edge of the ring and hurtling towards Midoriya's trapped team; but in the seconds the polychrome student's hand flew out to grab for the ten million point headband the entire opposing team rocketed into the air as Uraraka activated her Quirk and Kirishima pushed them off the ground. Without friction to slow them down, Midoriya's team shot into the air, flying cleanly out of his reach.

"Dark Shadow!" The spectre poked its head out and sniffled as it stared up at the polychrome student.

"But he has bright lights!"

"NOW!" The spectre leapt to attention, flying after their opponents; only to recoil once again as Yaoyorozu began to rain lit bundles of firecrackers down on them, the blinding flashes sending Dark Shadow hurtling back into Tokoyami, whimpering all the while, the avian student shook his head as he rolled his eyes.

"Useless bird."

##

"Good work everyone!" Izuku fired his grapples at the ground, the bolts dug into the arena floor and the lines went taught as they were secured in place. "Uraraka, deactivate your Quirk in three," the formation shot towards the ground as Deku reeled in the lines. "Two." A few feet from the ground Midoriya detached the lines. "Now!" Ochako let out a quiet sigh as she released her Quirk and let them drop the last few feet to the ground. "Is everyone alright?" The Class Rep took a second to turn and look at each of them as they took off again, his sharp green eyes running over each of them as they ran.

"I'm good!" Kirishima grinned, not quite hiding his breathlessness. "Did you see the look on Iida's face back there?" The faux redhead chuckled. "Priceless."

"We're doing fine back here." Momo glanced over her shoulder at Todoroki's rapidly shrinking team, Iida's engines seemed to have stalled. "I think we might be in the clear!" Uraraka rolled her eyes, her gaze still firmly set forwards.

"Don't say that! You'll jinx it!" Right on queue, there was a massive bang and a huge section of the ice wall Todoroki had thrown up to divide the arena had been blown apart, a huge plume of smoke and steam hissing into the air from the newly made hole. Then the vapours parted and Bakugo's team hurtled through the gap, the blonde had a fist full of headbands knotted around his neck and an almost feral look in his eyes. Sato stood as his front horse while Mina and Sero were on his flanks.

"THOUGHT YOU'D ESCAPED ME DEKU?!" Midoriya groaned as he Bakugo lunged into the air once again. "I'LL BE TAKING THAT-!"

"And that's the game!" Bakugo stalled mid-jump, his eyes widening with horror as the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. "Despite being hunted every step of the way, Team Midoriya managed to keep their paws on the ten million points all the way to victory!" The blonde let himself drop to the ground, a look of pure frustration and rage creeping over his face. "The winners of the cavalry battle by a landslide is Team Midoriya!"

"Ah fuck me." Bakugo rolled his eyes as he turned his back on his 'team'. "We almost had him!" Raccoon Eyes was shaking her head, both her clenched fists held melodramatically in the air.

"It wasn't that close!" Bakugo felt his blood begin to boil as Stupid Hair called across to Raccoon Eyes, he looked more than a little pleased with himself as his formation broke apart.

"Deku!" The blonde glowered as his fists clenched, somehow that weakling had managed to outscore him at every turn, it was beginning to piss him off! Midoriya glanced over his shoulder as he pulled his mask off, the Class Rep rolled his eyes and turned away the moment he saw Bakugo glaring at him.

"Deku!" Midoriya's face lit up with a grin as Uraraka excitedly rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "We-" the brunette cut herself off as Yaoyorozu flung her arms around Izuku and pulled him into a tight hug that went on a second too long, the Heiress's face was radiant with a blinding grin.

"You did it!" Izuku locked up for a moment as the dark-haired girl hugged him, then he relaxed slightly and gingerly returned the gesture. "I knew you could do it!"

"That made one of us."

"With the game over, let's take a look at the rankings, shall we?" The two immediately broke apart as Present Mic's voice boomed back across the arena; the various screens were displaying the names of the four top-scoring teams, their team stood in first with a healthy ten million point lead, while Bakugo's team had managed to claw their way back to second place; Izuku paused and frowned at the screen, in third place was, team Shinso? He glanced around the ring until he noticed the purplette from the General Studies course slouch away from a very dazed looking Kaminari, the blonde was stood with Aoyama and one of the 1-B students. Todoroki's team had managed to scrape into fourth place, the headbands Todoroki had taken before going after them ensuring their progression.

"I can't believe we made it." Momo shook her head slightly, a relieved smile spreading across her face.

"Now comes the hard part," Izuku muttered to himself darkly, more than aware of a few sets of eyes drilling into him.

##

"He did it!" In the Midoriya families booth; Parker subtly lifted his feet off the ground as Inko's tears began to form puddles, Bulwark smiled fondly, his eyes still on the ring, the smile spread into a full-blown grin as the Yaoyorozu girl threw her arms around his grandson.

##

"He won? Again?" Kurogiri couldn't help but be at least a little surprised as Tomura Shigaraki tore himself away from Isis and raised his head to stare incredulously at the TV; the healer was laid out across the bar, her brown hair strewn across the polished surface, she was surrounded by piles of ash that had once been her clothes. Kurogiri did note the look of annoyance that flashed over her flushed face as she wrapped her arms around Shigaraki's bare back and tried to pull him back down; he didn't move. "Just how good is this kid?"

The Heir to Evil let out a surprised grunt as Isis raised her head and gently took his left earlobe between her teeth. "Hang on, just a sec-" Shigaraki's jaw clenched as Isis dug her teeth into his ear and began to pull, there was a moment of sharp agony as the flesh began to tear, then it came away. Bright crimson blood began to pour down the side of his head, dripping off his jaw and onto the healers face, she giggled as she spat the earlobe out and ran her tongue along her lips, caking them in his blood. "What the fuck?!" Tomura hissed as he gingerly pressed two fingers to his ruined ear.

"That's what you get for keeping an eye on the TV!" Tomura's eyes bulged as he examined his bloody fingers.

"My fucking ear!"

"Oh, does it hurt?" Isis's chest rose and fell heavily as she gazed fixedly up at the Heir to Evil. "Come here, I'll kiss it better."

"You know, you're a real psychotic bitch?" Isis cocked an eyebrow as his red eyes met her grey ones, then her eyes widened momentarily as Shigaraki gripped her throat, his pinky finger hanging just above her skin. "You're lucky I like that."

##

"That was a real nail-biting round, huh sports fans? But now we have our final sixteen!" The arena broke out in hysterics as the names of the top sixteen players were displayed around the arena. "And don't worry if you didn't make the cut and need to work off that frustration! We're gonna take an hour for lunch, and when we get back we'll break down what we've got planned for the final round!"

"Hey!" Yaoyorozu frowned as she turned away from one the screens, a slight weight in her chest as she stared at her own name on the list, Kirishima was strolling towards her, one hand raised, Uraraka followed a step behind him, the brunette wasn't quite meeting her eyes. "Team lunch! To celebrate!" Momo smiled broadly as she glanced around them.

"That sounds like a plan." Her smile slipped slightly. "Where did Midoriya go?" Uraraka frowned and turned on the spot, picking through the crowd of students as they shuffled off the field.

"And where's Todoroki?"

##

"Well, you brought me here, what now?" Izuku folded his arms against his chest and leaned back against the wall he had his back to and set Todoroki with a cold stare. The polychrome student stared back silently, his expression cold and unchanging as he leaned against the wall on his side of the side corridor that led to the faculty entrance. "All cold intimidation huh?" Todoroki's eyebrow twitched upwards slightly. "Makes a change, Bakugo would probably be threatening me right now." Todoroki didn't react, his gaze continuing to drill into Midoriya, the Quirkless Student groaned in the back of his throat as he unfolded his arms. "I don't have time for this."

"You bemuse me, Izuku Midoriya." Izuku paused and leaned back against the wall, his eyes narrowing slightly as Todoroki finally began to speak. "We're alike in many ways, yet opposite in others. We're both the legacies of esteemed Pro Heroes, but I was bred for my powerful Quirk," Todoroki glanced down at his left hand. "While you have none at all. Ironically, one of our differences is the root of one of our similarities, we both grew up isolated, me because of my Quirk and you because you're Quirkless." He closed his left hand into a fist before turning his head back to Midoriya. "Both of our childhoods were sacrificed in the name of preparing to be a Pro, but while mine was taken without my consent, you willing gave yours."

"Yeah? And your point is?" Todoroki was unmoved by the iciness in the Class Rep's voice.

"That I know what you've given in the name of heroism, and so do the others, that's why they elected you the Class Representative, why you had no trouble finding a strong team even with that ten million point target on your head. Our classmates respect your strength even though you don't have a Quirk, Yaoyorozu even abandoned an optimal formation to join you in the cavalry battle."

Todoroki paused, a curious glint coming to life in his stony eyes, he tilted his head to the right side slightly. "That reminds me, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now." Izuku shrugged as he leaned back against the wall. "Are you and Yaoyorozu betrothed or something?" Izuku locked up, the blood draining from his face as his jaw dropped; Todoroki stared back blankly, his gaze as intense as ever. "Well, are you?"

"Wha-?" Izuku trailed off as he tried to process what he'd just heard, he cleared his throat loudly and shook his head a few times before taking a deep breath and trying again. "Are we what?"

"Betrothed, it isn't too strange a thing to ask, people, like to pretend arranged marriages aren't around as much these days, but they're still kicking about." Todoroki's eyebrow rose slightly up his forehead as he continued to stare at Midoriya. "That wasn't an answer. Are you?"

"No!" Izuku immediately shook his head. "No, we are not!" He stopped shaking his head and took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. "Why would you even think that in the first place?" Todoroki shrugged, his mismatched eyes still hadn't left Midoriya's.

"I heard from Ashido that you two met at one of her parent's galas before either of you had applied for UA, given both your families prominence and resources it seemed like a logical place to plan a match." Izuku frowned, still not quite able to believe what was going on.

"I guess? But come on, if the Yaoyorozus were going to marry off their daughter; it wouldn't be to the Quirkless son of some dead Pro." The Class Rep shrugged, his arms still crossed across his chest. "My family has money yeah, but not that kind of money, and other than the fact he's dead no one really talks about Salamander any more. So it's not even like I'm a prestige enough legacy to be a suitable match for Momo Yaoyorozu."

"Stranger things have happened." Todoroki's tone was still completely neutral, his monotone words not quite matching the intensity in his eyes. "I've seen the look in her eyes when Bakugo insults you, and how she doesn't seem to like it when you and Uraraka seem a bit too close, you should have seen how passionate she was when she warned me not to underestimate you." The son of Endeavour shrugged, "Looks like she was right." Izuku shook his head.

"She's just being friendly, and I made her promise never to underestimate me again, she seems to be a woman of her word." Midoriya shook his head bemusedly. "Why would you even jump to that conclusion anyway Todoroki?" The polychrome student's gaze somehow seemed to intensify.

"Have you ever heard of, Quirk marriages?" Izuku felt his stomach drop, he couldn't help the horrified but not at all surprised look that flashed across his face momentarily. "I see."

"That's why you have two powers in one Quirk." Todoroki glanced down at his hands.

"You know who my father is, the Number Two Hero; Endeavour." The son of Endeavour closed his left hand and made a fist. "I got my left side from him, but my right? That comes from my mother." He let out a long sigh, the years of bitterness he carried clear in his voice. "My old man has lofty goals, he plans to take down All Might, but he's never been able to muster up the strength to do it himself, so he used the wealth and influence to buy my mothers family and arrange a marriage so he could get her Quirk."

Izuku took a few shallow breaths, his heart thudding in his chest, no wonder Todoroki had been so quick to assume he and Yaoyorozu had been paired off, but there was a gnawing doubt in the back of his mind he couldn't quite ignore, how could his father have been friends with someone who'd do that?

"He forced her to have children until she gave birth to one that possessed both their Quirks in one body." Todoroki's eyes closed momentarily as he closed his right fist, frost spreading across his skin. "Now he's raising me to destroy All Might and take the number one spot, it's so frustrating! I refuse to be a tool for that bastard!"

"Is she alright?" Todoroki's eyes swivelled back up to stare at Midoriya, a flash of resentment going off in the mismatched irises. "Did he at least leave her in peace after he'd gotten what he wanted?"

"No." Izuku felt his heart sink, Todoroki's voice had somehow managed to grow colder. "The years of his abuse took a toll on her, in every memory I have her, she's crying." The polychrome student paused, his eyes flitting down to glance at his left hand again. "I remember, she called my left side monstrous, before she poured boiling water on my face." Izuku's eyes widened, he couldn't help but stare at the large burn that took up almost half of his classmate's face.

"That's why I picked a fight with you Midoriya, your father was Endeavour's friend and rival, true, Salamander never managed to surpass my father, but he never made it easy on him, he was always a step behind Endeavour, keeping him on his toes." A new look seemed to spring to life in Shoto's eyes, his hand closed into a fist. "That's why I'm going to toss you aside like your nothing using my right side, I'll show that bastard that I don't need his Quirk to surpass a rival, I'll show him I reject his power, then take first place without using it." Midoriya's fists clenched sharply, his head bowing slightly so his hair cast a shadow over his eyes.

Todoroki paused, an ever so brief look of regret flashing across his face. "Truthfully, I have nothing against you personally Midoriya, I like the others respect your strength and if it didn't have to be this way I'm sure you would have done well in this competition." The son of Endeavour shrugged, his cold demeanour returning. "But this is just something I have to do." He turned to leave, only for a hand to clamp around his shoulder, Todoroki couldn't help but wince, the steely grip bringing back more than a few unpleasant memories; his head spun around to glare at Midoriya. "What do you-?" He was cut off as he was shoved back against the wall, a slight grunt of surprise escaping him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" It was Todoroki's turn to lock up, the polychrome student's eyes widened as he stared at Midoriya, the greenette's eyes were burning. "You think you can win with just half your strength?!" Todoroki blinked a few times, still stunned by the sudden role reversal. "Do you have any idea how insulting that is?!" Midoriya's voice rose, every syllable trembling with pure rage. "We're all giving our all to be here! We're all trying our hardest to make our dreams a reality! Giving our all and going beyond!" The Quirkless student pointed at himself indignantly. "Do you think I ever go into a fight at anything less than a hundred and ten percent? Do you think Bakugo ever gives anything but his all?" Midoriya shook his head, his fists still clenched and trembling as he glowered at the son of Endeavour. "You're right, our lives have been similar, but they've been different enough that I can't know what you've been through, rejecting your father is fine, but you don't have the right to be here if you won't use your full power!" The Class Rep finally paused to take a steadying breath, eventually, he shook his head, a long sigh hissing between his lips. "If you keep fighting like that, one day you'll lose, be it today, tomorrow or the next, it will happen."

"We'll see." Todoroki's voice had returned to its usual monotone drone. "I'll see you out there, son of Salamander." Izuku let a long, shaky breath out through his nose as he watched Todoroki stride away, then he shook his head and walked away in the opposite direction, he'd take the long way to the cafeteria, he needed to think. Around the first bend in the corridor, Bakugo scoffed bitterly as he turned to leave.

"Icy-Hot bastard, your declaration of war, was to the wrong person."

##

"I'm telling you, dude, it could work!" Izuku was immediately on edge the moment he stepped into the cafeteria, his head immediately moved to find the source of the voice, despite his growling stomach. His eyes settled on Kaminari and Mineta, the purplette had his back to him. "I already checked, there are spare uniforms, and as long as we act confident they'll have no reason to think that we're lying!" The Class Rep rolled his eyes as he spun on his heel and walked towards them. Kaminari's eyes were gleaming as he considered Mineta's words.

"Well, I for one certainly wouldn't mind seeing Jiro in one of those..." The blonde trailed off, his words dying in his throat as he stared over Mineta's head at Midoriya. "Oh, hi Midoriya!" Mineta immediately spun around to face the Class Rep, his face with contorting as he fought to hold off panic.

"We-"

"No." The two exchanged a confused glance as Midoriya pinched his sinuses and sighed tiredly.

"Um, no what?" Kaminari chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"No, you're not going through with whatever prank you guys have come with." Izuku rolled his eyes as he rubbed his temples. "I have enough going on today without having to catch flack from Aizawa for letting you two pull off something stupid!"

"But-!"

"NO!" There was a tense second of silence, then Kaminari nodded sheepishly.

"Alright dude, we'll back off."

"What?" Mineta stamped his foot, his voice more than a little indignant. "I won't!" The purplette openly began to salivate as he stared across the cafeteria at the tables the American cheerleaders UA had hired for the festival were sat at. "This could be my only chance to-" Midoriya rolled his eyes as he leaned down and jabbed a finger into the soft flesh behind the pervert's ear; Mineta's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed.

"What-?" Kaminari trailed off, then gulped loudly and took a deep breath." What did you do to him?"

"He's just knocked out." He set the blonde with a steely glare. "I've got my eye on you." Kaminari raised two hands, a slight quake in them.

"Don't worry dude, I won't do anything." Izuku nodded, at least that was one less thing to worry about.

"Good, now I can eat." The Quirkless Student let out a long groan as he made his way to the back of the lunch line, trying to ignore all the odd looks he was getting.

##

"Welcome back Sports Fans!" The arena broke out into hysterics once again as the first-year students returned to the field. "I hope you're hyped because it's almost time for the final round!" The roar of the crowd's applause somehow managed to grow louder as excitement rushed through the spectators. "But first! We've prepared some fun side games! So don't be too down if you didn't make it through Students!" There was a slight groan from the crowd and the applause started to die down. "More on that later, for now, I'll explain the final round!" The screens across the arena flickered as they displayed an empty tournament bracket. "Our students will be battling it out one on one!"

Izuku couldn't help but smirk slightly at that, the first years always fought in a tournament, given how early it was in the year there weren't many other options that let them show off their Quirks to the best of their abilities granted how limited a time they'd had to train.

"Um, excuse me?" The whole arena frowned as the 1-B student that had made it into the finals in Shinso's teams stepped forward, "I'm Nirengeki Shoda, from Class 1-B." Shoda bowed his head slightly, his fists clenching loosely. "I'd like to withdraw from the tournament." There was a shocked gasp, especially from the 1-B students, he'd been the only member of 1-B to make it to the finals. "I don't feel like I've earned my place, I don't even remember the cavalry battle, we only won because of the General Studies guy's Quirk, it would go against the values of the Festival for me to participate." Up on the podium, Midnight grinned, her tongue snaking out to run itself over her top list.

"That's an incredibly naïve attitude, Young man! I like it!" The R Rated Heroine cracked her whip loudly. "Shoda is out! I guess we'll have to move up Kendo from the fifth-place team." A massive hand rose over the crowd.

"If it's all the same to you Ms. Midnight." A girl with teal eyes and red hair called out as her hand shrunk back down to their regular side. "I think my whole class would be happier if Tetsutetsu advanced instead." She glanced around her at the other 1-B students. "Right?" There was a collective murmur of approval from the 1-B students. Tetsutetsu looked like he was about to burst into a fit of manly tears.

"You guys!"

"Then that's settled!" Midnight cracked her whip again. "With that change to the bracket, we can finally get started and randomly determine the bracket!" The screens shook slightly, then names began to appear. Izuku felt his heart drop as he stared up at the screen; he was first, and his opponent, the Class Rep turned to stare across the arena, only to be met with a pair of mismatched eyes as they stared back, was Todoroki.

"Deku..." Uraraka murmured softly next to him. "What are you gonna do?" The son of Salamander's hands closed into tight fists.

"Simple, I'm gonna win."

Authors Note: Hey, sorry this one actually took a month, July ended up being a really busy month, plus the cavalry battle was a pain in the ass to write.

You may have noticed I switched the rating to M, I feel like it gives me more freedom to ramp up the action, and the gore, and potentially other things, we'll see.

Leave a review with your thoughts, did you like the alternate cavalry battle teams? I figured since this is an alternate universe I should shake things up.

Join me next time for Deku VS Todoroki.

So, until we meet again

Regards

Nighttrek