Chapter 42: The Split in the Festival

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Line Break

(Previously)

“I pledge…” Midoriya started, locking eyes with Aoyama, Uraraka, Iida, Jiro, Todoroki, and Bakugo. Each had something different to their expression. “To compete fairly, to respect my opponents and the rules by giving this my very best. To live up to the ideals of sportsmanship and U.A's motto so, what I want to say is,”

He tapped into just a little of Seijū Genrin’s prideful nature as he performed a ‘come here’ gesture. “I’m aiming for the top, try and stop me.”

His declaration, one made as he eyed up Todoroki, only infuriated Bakugo, confused the rest of the hero course, and made enemies of the entire courses who started screaming about how cocky he was being and how he would no doubt be the first the lose. Still, he ignored them as he walked off the stage, eyeing up each of his friends; all returned his look with either the confidence to take him up on his offer or the determination not to let him just take victory without a fight.

Line Break

Having said what he had to, Midoriya left the stage to rejoin his classmates and friends, ignoring how the other courses were still yelling at him. He knew how it came off, and in most situations, he would never have done something so bold, but…

He couldn't afford to take this half-seriously. This wasn't just a festival; it was a showcase to the world what he, his classmates, and every other student on the field would bring when their time came to claim it. As a hero student, as a protector and avenger of the scorned, forgotten, and scarred, he had to give it all he had and then some, and part of that was by aiming for the top, settling for nothing else.

Aoyama seemed to understand that, patting his shoulder with a knowing smile on his sparkly face. Jiro bumped his other side, grinning but looking away from him. Yeah, they still needed to wait until after the festival to come clean about their new relationship, as it wouldn't be fair to put that thought into their classmates' heads when they should focus on this.

“Now, folks, before we begin things, we gotta a little surprise for you and our many willing and able contestants! U.A. always puts on a show, but that's a fact of life, baby. We decided to go back to our roots with this one!” Present Mic took things from there, drawing attention to himself and his fellow commentators.

Supercharge excitedly clapped her hands. “Yup, yup, yuppie! The festival has always been pretty solo, which makes sense-don't it? There's only room on the throne for one and all, but that can get predictable and boring! And besides, plenty of people out there get more done as part of a team; even our dear number one has worked with people in the past.”

“So we wanted to incorporate that into this year’s events, and this year, it will be a team-centric event.” Inversal took over from there, lifting his hand to show four raised fingers. “They'll be 4 teams. They'll be the Mighty Golds, Burnings Sunsets, Swift Blacks, and finally, but not least of which, the Stylish Sapphires.”

As he listed them, the screen changed to show the symbols for each of them. For the Golds, it was a bright lightning bolt atop a hammer. For the Burning Sunsets is a burning sunset with the shadow of a horse galloping in the middle.  For the Blacks, a black background with a white-winged boot. Lastly, for the Saphires, it was the gem surrounded by three white rings.

“Wait, if I’m not mistaken, wouldn’t that be….” Midoriya started.

"The colors of the top four heroes." Tokage finished, as the blacks were the biggest giveaway. Sure, she knew her Greek myth, but how many people did as well? They'll take one look and think of Hawks with that. Putting Stylish in that last team made it clear it was Jeanist if the color wasn't obvious enough.

“And just like any proper Sports festival, we went through the liberty of assigning students to their teams by a randomizer; the only condition was that each team was to have 10 hero students, no more, no less.” Midnight handled that part, eyeing up the hero students who looked at each other, wondering who would end up on which team.

“It wouldn't be all that fun if one squad had all the recognized heavy hitters, but don't go thinking that they'll be the only ones to watch out for! U.A. only accepts the best, and I can bet my costume that each student lives up to that ideal!” Supercharge explained, which managed to get some excitement out of the general studies students.

“What an odd change.” A brunette in the audience mused, a slight frown on her face as her dark blue eyes took in the field. She was Akemi Alessia, a first-year student at Seiai Academy's hero division.

Her friend, a woman with short maroon hair and green eyes, nodded. "No kidding. Isn't this about making their hero students look good for agency offers? Do they intend for agencies to recruit groups?” Ishizuka Franceska, also a first-year and hero student at Seiai, asked.

The shortest of their group didn’t think so. "Maybe it has something to do with the USJ incident, though this being the takeaway still feels…off like there's something we're missing." Motoi Rose, a woman with short dark blue hair and light green eyes, suggested. Like the rest, she was in Seiai’s hero course.

‘Is this about…?’ Saiko, however, knew more than the rest, but she couldn't just tell them now, could she? To her, perhaps he was getting the idea of them working together into their heads early. It wasn't as if they could handle the unseen threats, but from how Izuku talked about the USJ, they could certainly help. She could see Nezu having realized them as well.

Alas, she'll speculate later. Right now, she was meant to be having a relaxing day of entertainment. "We'll just have to see, ladies. Be sure to watch them carefully; this information will come in useful."

Nagato Motoko, a plump young maiden with pink hair styled into two large buns and perpetual closed eyes, opened one of them to look Saiko's way. "And this has nothing to do with your boyfriend declaring war on the entire field."

“Nothing of the sort.” Saiko lied as easily as she breathed, and if the rest of her group didn’t buy it, they didn’t call her out for it.

“This is going to…different.” Back on the field, Ojiro commented on the situation.

"Hey, I'm ready for any challenge they throw at us; a real man never backs down! I'm hoping I'm placed into Burning Sunsets!" Kirishima hardly seemed to care; the same was true with Tetsutetsu.

“Hell yeah, we’ll show them what it means to be made from steel! It’s gotta be Stylish Sapphires.” His arms shifted to steel as he smashed his fists, sounding like two hammers clashing.

"You two realize how little those two things fit you, right?” Yanagi asked.

"I don't think they care," Asui added as Yaoyorozu turned towards Todoroki, who looked agitated.

“You have any idea for the change, Todoroki?” She asked her fellow recommendation student.

“Does it matter?” Todoroki rudely turned on her, more focused on the fact there was a team based on his father than her question.

“n-No, I suppose it doesn’t.” Yaoyorozu, caught off guard by his dismissiveness, decided that it wasn't worth it to try to continue conversing. She was saved from having to excuse herself as the screens changed again, showing a slot machine-type wheel spinning so fast you couldn't see what it was.

“Now, before we get to the rest, let’s divide our young, passionate heroes into their four teams, starting with those that will represent the Mighty Golds!" Midnight was announced as the slot machine, loaded with names, spun for a moment before it released the names to the audience.

Midoriya, Izuku

Tsunotori, Pony

Kirishima, Eijiro

Kaminari, Denki

Sero, Hanta

Shoda, Nirengeki

Tokoyami, Fumikage

Kodai, Yui

Bondo, Kojiro

Awase, Yosetsu

“Oh man, I missed out on the Sunsets…” Kirishima tearfully clenched his fist.

Tokoyami wasn’t disappointed; he was confused. He didn't fit in with such a bright connotation as All Might. "What a…peculiar choice for my, but it was assigned by machine." It didn’t matter in the end; it was merely a means to increase audience interest.

“Oh man, I bet being on All Might’s team’s gotta mean more pressure.” Sero nervously added as thousands of people were already cheering for them in the stands.

"Well, as far as spreads go, it's not a bad group. We have people who cover just about everything we might encounter." Shoda noted that he was happy that his team had two powerhouses in it in the forms of Tokoyami and Midoriya, but also close-ranged fighters like Kirishima and Kamakiri, while he and the rest could fill in gaps. If they were lucky, whoever they got from the general and support would only enhance that.

“Moving on, we have those who will be representing the Burning Sunsets!" Midnight continued as the slot machine restarted. The already selected names were removed from it by a cute digital Nezu who waved at them before dashing off the screen. Again, they waited before it presented the names that it had selected.

Asui, Tsuyu

Kendo, Itsuka

Ojiro, Mashirao

Jiro, Kyoka

Kuroiro, Shihai

Hagakure, Toru

Yaoyorozu, Momo

Shoji, Mezo

Tetsutetsu, Tetsutetsu

Kaibara, Sen

“I didn’t get into my team either.” Tetsutetsu cried just like Kirishima had done.

"Is it that big a deal? It's not as if we will be treated differently for it." Shoji asked him.

"Ojiro, we're on the same team, isn't that great?" Hagakure approached Ojiro, holding his arm and pressing it to her chest. Ojiro figured that she was just being her bubbly self, but he couldn't stop thinking about how his bicep was pressed into her chest.

"Oh yeah, it'll make things a little easier, though truth be told, I'm just happy I wouldn't have to fight you." He was a little red face as he looked away, and lucky for him, Hagakure didn't see it.

“Right back at yeh.” She replied.

"I wonder. They say they're wearing the colors, so will we be given a change in uniform?" Kuroiro asked. While he wasn't against the idea, he did think it would be a challenge for his quirk if he had to wear something as bright as red.

"It seems that both of us will be on the same team, which makes it easy to plan then as we know what our classmates can do." Kendo rubbed the back of her, directing her statement towards Yaoyorozu.

"Quite so." The heiress nodded. She was grateful she had someone like Kendo on her team; it meant one less variable to worry about when it came time for it.

“That was a nice spread if I do say so myself, but let’s see whose coming up to bat for the Swift Blacks.” Midnight flashed a wink and air kiss to the cameras, pulling attention off her momentarily as the slot machine worked its magic one last time."

Yanagi, Reiko

Ashido, Mina

Shishida, Jurota

Komori, Kinoko

Tsuburaba, Kosei

Honenuki, Juzo

Monoma, Neito

Mineta, Minoru

Shiozaki, Ibara

Todoroki, Shoto

Ashido groaned, slumping even as she remained on her feet. “Oh man, we got the team with the perv.”

“Hey, I’m right here!” Mineta yelled at her, only to feel a threatening presence to his rear.

"We're aware, and while we're to work together, you're to keep any inappropriate comments and your hands to yourself." Shiozaki's vine hair slithered about like seaweed in the water, which, along with how blank her face was, terrified him into compliance.

“While we don’t have power like the first team, someone like Monoma is something of an equalizer regardless," Shishida commented, though with people like Honenuki and Shiozaki on their team, they would excel in area denial, which would make it easier for Todoroki to serve as their cannon.

"That's correct, my friend, and since I know everyone else's quirk, I know which I should go for to maximize our chances." Monoma laughed.

“And last but not least, we have those who will wear the blue for Stylish Sapphires." Midnight declared as the slot machine didn't start up. Instead, the digitized Nezu walked onto the screen, opened it up, and pulled out the remaining balls with names on them.

Koda, Koji

Aoyama, Yuga

Uraraka, Ochaco

Bakugo, Katsuki

Kamakiri, Togaru

Tokage, Setsuna

Rin, Hiryu

Iida, Tenya

Sato, Rikido

Fukidashi, Manga

Iida frowned when he saw what he had expected once he didn’t see his name drawn in that 3rd group. "We might have gotten the best draw regarding raw battle power, but…" Uraraka, while still learning the finer details of her quirk's newly discovered powers, was a solid member to have. Aoyama even more so, and on a bright sunny day like this, he could be something of a reliable fighter, but Bakugo…

He wasn't the only one who had their misgivings as everyone turned to eye up Bakugo, which only angered the short-tempered blonde. "Not to be that guy, but would I team, you know…function with Bakugo?" Fukidashi asked, recalling the last time Bakugo had been allowed to let loose.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Bakugo barked at him, but his angry response did little to calm their concerns.

"No, no, it's a fair question. This is a team thing, so we don't need any loose…explosives." Tokage pointed at him, to which Bakugo growled as he was getting sick of this. It was bad enough that he was banned from actual hero training till bandages said otherwise; not everyone was treating him like trash? The worst part was that he couldn't just ditch them and prove himself the best. He, of course, could, but he had a feeling that it would go against whatever bullshit rules they had.

“Lovely, we’re off to a good start.” Aoyama rolled his eyes at how the rest were handling things, to which his fellow foreign student, Rin, sighed.

"I'm just hoping we get people who won't set him off. It would be embarrassing if this is what sank us." The Chinese man said a quick silent prayer, hoping for good fortune, as they didn't even know what sort of events waited for them.

Line break

With the slots for the hero course handled, it wasn't with nearly as much fanfare that the rest of the students were split into the four teams; those that seemed the most excited by this was the support course, who either carried or rushed back inside to grab some of their items and tools they had brought with them, as some in his class complained, Midoriya remained silent as he recalled that they were allowed to use support items as long as they made them, a means to show off their talents to spectating support companies.

However, there were exceptions to that as one such student approached them, not looking particularly eager to be there or be the one to instigate the conversation.

“Hi…I’m Furasu Maina, I'll be on your team." Furasu, a woman with a build she would describe as average, from her body to her dark brown hair styled into a low ponytail, the only thing that set her apart was her headband with two bluebells on it, the left having a flat screw head and the right having a screwdriver head.

Tsunotori easily compensated for Furasu’s lack of excitement as she happily shook her hand. “Hiya, Furasu! I'm Tsunotori, but you can call me Pony. I'm happy to meet you."

Furasu jolted out of shock at how forward Tsunotori was being. “B-but that’s so-!”

"Don't think too hard about it; she's an American," Bondo told the girl before she could work herself up.

“You say that like it’s an insult.” Tsunotori turned to the taller student, narrowing her eyes at him as he looked away. As small as she might be, one didn't mess with Tsunotori. As that happened, another student approached them, and if she could be called average, he very much could not.

He was tall, far above average, with a large chin and dark hair styled into a pompadour that looked close to how his chin was shaped. If they had to be honest, he had a slightly relaxed intimidation to him. Put him in leather and a couple of tats, and he could pass for a hardened biker.

He presented his hand to them. “Agoyamato Tsutsutaka.”

Shoda accepted it despite being one of the shorter members of their newly formed team. "Shoda Nirengeki, I hope we don't have any issues."

"Likewise," Agoyamato stated. Teams having been settled, robots came out carrying their gear for the event, allowing the students to pick between wearing a color-coded jacket or headband. Kirishima picked for their team, declaring that the headband was manlier and deciding that it would be best if they presented a unified front; all 230 Mighty Gold members picked the bright yellow headbands, which they were allowed to tie to any part of their bodies, as long as it was visible.

Some, like Awase, wore it as intended, while others, like Sero, wore it around their necks. Others went Kirishima's route and wore it like a belt, while Midoriya tied his around his shoulder. Other teams didn't pick just one, taking whatever they wished.

“Now that we got our teams and they got their colors remember not to lose them, as you'll be penalized! Moving on, we have the first stage!” Midnight declared, drawing all attention back onto her. “As happy as I am to see a field of young, eager youths, we can't have all of you stick around for long; only those with the greatest strength in body, will, and character can hope to pass through this first event!”

“And this year, that gauntlet will be…” Having been refilled with new balls by Digi-Nezu, the digital slot machine started spinning, everyone watching and wondering what it would be. While guesses still formed in people's heads, it finally landed on an option. “The obstacle race!”

“A race?” Tsunotori asked.

“Everyone is to participate in this. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium, about 4 kilometers!” Midnight explained, showing off a rough outline of the track outside the stadium.

“About?” Furasu peeped, as that sounded crazy! Only those in great shape or in the hero course could handle that!

Tokoyami also wasn’t looking forward to this, but if they were allowed to use their quirks, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue, though it certainly favored those with speed—that was, if it was just a race. "That does seem like a long track, but it can just be a foot race. Where's the obstacle?"

“I was getting to that; don't interrupt!” Midnight snapped her whip, apparently having heard them talking. With both apologizing, she fell back into a joyous, media-savvy mood. "Our school's selling point is freedom, and this race will be no exception! As long as you stay on course, you can do what you wish to succeed!”

Yet, she gave the same sort of smile, which was why she was the bane of so many parent rights groups, but it only raised the hairs on the backs of the student’s necks. “However, don't think it'll be a walk in part as all around the track, you'll find many traps and barriers you'll need to navigate, so think hard, work harder, and you'll do just fine!”

It wasn't lost on them or the spectators that she was vague about what traps and barriers they'd find. “Now, our ready racers, take your places!”

As the rest moved towards the starting line highlighted for them, Midoriya tapped on Furasu’s shoulder. “Hey, Furasu.” She jumped at the touch.

“Y-yes?” She asked.

“You’re in support, right?” He asked, having heard her mention it to Bondo and Tsunotori earlier.

“I am, class 1-G.” She nodded, even presenting a briefcase with some of the things she had made, though it wasn't anywhere close to what the insane gearhead from class 1-H managed to cook up. She and the rest thought that girl lived and breathed support and would probably sleep in the lab if allowed…

Oh, who was she kidding? That lunatic wouldn’t even sleep, just down energy drinks and protein bars and work for days at a time. She probably already did.

Pulling her from her depressing thoughts of comparing herself to someone else, Midoriya asked something. “Would you happen to have something we can use for this? It’s a team effort, right?”

She pursed her lips but didn't open her case as she wasn't totally confident in it. "I have something, but I wasn't able to get a full charge for it. The battery keeps short-circuiting, so…" Hearing that, Midoriya’s eye turned to Kaminari and then back to her, an idea forming in his head.

“What is it?”

Line Break

Moving towards the entrance, Midoriya had them organize into a small unit; Furasu and a couple of her support classmates were in the center, and Kaminari was with them. To the front, Kirishima stood right behind him, and Midoriya stood ready to support him and the rest. For the rest, he could convince others to form their flanks and rear as their plan needed the support to focus on their task while they protected them from whatever the course and the other teams could throw at them.

They noticed that some others had also paired up, but it didn't seem like most had the idea to strategize this early. Also, Kirishima pointed out that the entrance to the track might have seemed large from afar, but up close, it was narrow, and when it was meant to be used by over 900 students of all shapes and sizes, it was sure to turn into a nightmare to get through. Tokoyami suggested that it was intentional, the first barrier to the course, so they'll need to move carefully.

Of course, they weren't the only ones to figure that out. Midoriya looked around them, and whenever he saw one of his classmates, he saw it in their eyes. He planned to win this, now as part of a team, but there was so much they didn't know. What were the obstacles? What were the abilities and weaknesses of the rest of the students outside the hero course? What events lay beyond this?

So many questions and too few answers.

Once more, Seijū Genrin manifested, but this time, in human form. "Hey, focus on what you know and what you can do. You got yourself a pretty good team, so make you take the gold; it'll be fun to rub it into that stupid overgrown chicken's face.”

"Sometimes I wonder if you're just bantering or you just don't like her," Midoriya muttered, to which his quirk just laughed before she vanished.

“You say something, Midoriya?” Furasu asked, having no idea about him or his situation. Kirishima looked back in concern, already having an idea of what it was about, though he wouldn't have heard it as he hadn't packed his contacts.

“Nothing.” Midoriya brushed it off and instead focused on the line of green lights above the exit. As they shut off, serving as the countdown, he prepared himself for what would come. No matter what, he would protect his teammates, and they'd all make it across the finish.

“Start!” Midnight announced, with hundreds not waiting a moment longer as they rushed towards the entrance.

“And look at 'em go, anything to add to that, you two?” Present Mic asked his co-commentators?

“They certainly have the right idea, but they’re going about it all wrong," Inversal stated as the horde of students slammed into the passage. Those at the very front were the lucky ones, as they could run without worry, but those behind? They bottlenecked it, and with each person trying to force their way through, it slowed it more, leading to plenty of yelling, cursing, and elbows thrown.

“Yup! They're treating it like they're trying to buy tickets to an Idol performance before they run out. All that does is slow down the servers.” Supercharge nodded, happy to see that some had not bum-rushed it, and kept her gaze on them to see what they were plotting.

"Everyone, get ready," Todoroki said to the couple dozen students who stuck behind his team. A moment later, he activated his quirk, sending a blast of arctic cold wind through the passage. Along with it, ice flowed like water, freezing everything from the floor to the ceiling, trapping hundreds thanks to ice climbing up all the way to their ankles.

“Owww, that the-!”

“I can’t move!”

“What the hell, he just froze all of us!”

Todoroki didn't pay them any mind as he ran straight through without issue. At the same time, his teammates centered around Shiozaki and Monoma, who copied her quirk and helped the rest of their team through the human wall he had left. “And it looks like the Stylish Sapphires are pulling an early lead thanks to the decisive work on Todoroki of the hero course!” Present Mic called out as on the leaderboard; those leading were dominated by those from Sapphire.

But just as they seemed to be taking the top 50 spots, a group from the Might Golds also started racing up it. Those frozen and trying to break out in the tunnel heard ice shattering like glass. It wasn't coming from around them, but above, so they looked up to see what could be one of the strangest things they'd ever seen.

“Let’s freaking go!” Kirishima, fully hardened, acted as a human battering ram as he was attached by Sero’s tape to the hover cart’s front.

As for his team, hanging out for real life, riding along the ceiling on a fancy-looking hover cart that Kodai had enlarged to increase its carry capacity from just 4 to 20. Still, they had packed close to 30, so they had to keep hold of it and each other so as not to fall. Powering the poor support item's motor was Kaminari, who, along with the motor, was being boasted by Midoriya, who had shifted to his base form, Faunalution mode.

“On the roof?”

“How they even doing that?”

Furasu kept her attention on the intricate parts, which, while bigger, weren't built for such a workload. “Hold on, this isn’t made for so many people!” she yelled.

"It's a good thing I'm here." Kaminari laughed, as he loved not needing to fry his brain. Just one-tenth of his max, and the motor could explode.

“It’s a good thing both of you are here.” Shoda pointed out that without Midoriya keeping the motor's strength well above what should destroy it, they'd be dead in the water. The magnetic hoover cart could cruise along the roof of the passage because of the steel used to construct the stadium. As long as it was in a building, Furasu’s prototype could transverse it, which made for quick recovery of people in emergencies.

“We’re not the only ones getting through!” Tsunotori called out as she pointed below where Yaoyorozu had made Shoji brace knuckles. Along with Kirishima and Kendo, Shoji was smashing through the ice, leaving a rapidly growing path for the rest of their team to take.

For Bakugo and Uraraka's team, Aoyama was melting through the ice along with Fukidashi, who created the sound effect of 'sizzle,' which melted the ice, letting them get through. They could have moved faster, but Bakugo…

"Get back here, you half and half bastard!" He shot off after Todoroki after a second thought. Midoriya and his team didn’t have to think about that, not when the exit was fast approaching. When they breached it, they immediately started losing speed as they fell.

“Flip!” Everyone swung their weight to the right, turning the craft on its side just enough that when they landed, it wasn't a complete wipeout as they deployed wheels, though it was a hard landing all the same. “How is it?” Shoda called out as Furasa freaked out over the massive dent, one which was followed by a small explosion as internal parts just broke, leading to a drop in speed.

"It's damaged; we don't have much time left!" She called back as she worked to try and repair the damage as they moved, but it was slow going with how little space she had to work with and the lack of proper tools, only having what she could pack into a tool belt.

Todoroki looked to their rear and saw those 3 teams making their way through. The smashed and melted ice only made it easier for more to follow, allowing the bottleneck to start to clear slowly. "It wasn't as affected as I hope it'll be."

"No point whining now; we're still in the lead and should work to keep that." Shinso, one of his teammates told him as he struggled to keep pace with how fast those in the hero course could run, seemingly without breaking a sweat.

“Emo’s right,” Shinso repeated Ashido's statement in confusion as the pink-skinned girl used her quirk to skate along. “Come on, people, let’s huff it!”

With the Might Gold’s front team, their hoover craft finally broke down, leading to them having to pull over. “Dang it, it’s broken! I’m sorry, guys!” Furasu bowed to them, but they wrote it off.

"It's fine. It lasted as long as we could hope when we were overloading it." Sero noted that the thing could have, should have, failed earlier, but it at least helped them gain a lead over the rest. Now, they just needed to worry about helping their teammates catch up.

"Pretty durable design for something meant for just 3 people," Tsunotori told her as she got back up.

“Do we keep formation?” Kaminari asked, as his role was kinda done for the moment.

"Yes. Support, please keep it up, and we'll keep the heat off you." Midoriya replied, keeping things in order as the group of largely general students followed.

“You got it, man.” One of the support students gave a thumbs up as Dark Shadow formed, picking some of them up so they wouldn't slow them down. Agoyamato handled carrying their chief mechanic, Furasu, who was left red-faced as she was carried like a bride in the taller, stronger man's arms who, for his part, just ignored it as he kept pace with his teammates.

As they lost second place to Yaoyorozu’s team, up ahead, Ashido got ahead of Todoroki and nearly paid for it as she ground just caved it.

“Holy-! What the hell, did the floor just collapse?!” She yelled out as she fell over on her butt.

“It’s not just that spot, the entire track…” Komori weakly pointed to the track ahead as it just…imploded, large tracks of it vanishing as if they were never there while the rest transformed before their eyes, revealing itself to be an elaborate obstacle course made up of dozens upon dozens of paths marked with ropes, walls, slim bridges, steep stairs, and slopes while robots stood ready to knock them off into what looked to be the largest ball pit in existence that lay several meters below.

Knowing that it wasn't just the students who were left stunned by their little present, Present Mic laughed as he introduced this portion of the track. “And it looks like our students have reached the first obstacle, which I like to call the jungle!”

"This is insane. What do they think is some sort of game show?" Tsuburaba asked as he looked over the place that couldn't see any single path that led to the end, just to interconnected islands and rooms that could lead down another path, the end so far to the other side he couldn't possibly figure out which path was the shortest.

“Before anyone learns the hard way, remember that they’re traps in that part, as there are in the rest of them.” Inversal’s warning stopped Todoroki from trying it as dozens of turrets popped out, either to the sides or directly in front of paths. “Also, paintball turrets, every time you get tagged, adds 5 seconds to your time because this is still a race, so good luck.”

“Don't worry; they won't target your face. We don't want to blind anyone!” Supercharge added.

“How do we know that they can aim that well?” Mineta yelled.

Reaching the same point in the race, Asui looked over the spot. "(Kero) This is going to be hard." She supposed she could jump through, but it would still leave others out. Maybe she used her tongue, but those turrets would need to be handled first…

"Do we split up, try taking it solo, and meet back up at the other side?" Further back, Rin asked his team what they'd do when they arrived.

"Seems like the best play; moving as a group won't help us here. Besides, Uraraka, Bakugo, and Tokage would have an easier time getting through." Aoyama replied, though Bakugo had long since left them to handle things themselves, and while they shared a team, he wouldn’t mind if he got tagged a couple times for it.

“I can take a couple of us with.” Tokage offered. She wasn't the strongest, but she could carry a good amount of weight when she broke up into separate pieces. If she kept her grip, she could take at least two others with her.

“Same here.” Uraraka was the same, as this wouldn't be like the entrance exam. In fact, she could probably render them all weightless, and with the other's quirks and Hatsume's support items, they could probably clear this part the fastest. Rising that point to the rest, Hatsume, who had proven to be….eccentric, started to laugh like a mad scientist, pulling out another one of her 'babies’.

“Oh, I have a baby that’ll work great here!" Her laughter did little to lower their concerns, but Uraraka was sure she wouldn't have been allowed something dangerous….

Seeing others arriving, their only saving grace was that they were just as cautious about this as they were, but Monoma wasn't sure how long that would last. “Todoroki, can you make thin sheets of ice that Yanagi can use as shields?”

"They can't be too heavy; otherwise, they'll pass my limit." Yanagi reminded them that she excelled at control, but she wasn't big on weight limits. That reminder only made Todoroki frown.

“Then you’ll have to shape them as I can’t make something that.” He told them, to which Tsuburaba said he could make do with his solid air. However, it couldn't be carried as well, and Yanagi had tried using her quirk on it with limited success. The best they could do was have him defend a mall section of a single flank.

“Kuroiro, head on head, and take out the guns," Yaoyorozu instructed their shadowy member. While it would be a challenge, she could see him getting to at least one-third of the guns.

“Is that legal?” Kuroiro asked as he didn't want to get disqualified over this.

“Midnight didn’t say we couldn’t break them," Kendo stated. As even when Inversal gave them the info about getting shot, he and the rest said nothing about destroying parts of the track.

"I got it, but you'll need to be quick as soon as we clear a route." Kuroiro nodded before he vanished into the shadows and zipped into the zone to help clear a path for them.

"Oh man, this looks intense," Sero stated as they reached the first obstacle.

“Do they expect only the hero students to make it through?” Agoyamato asked. He knew he was in fairly good shape and that he took care of himself, but there was a difference between having a semi-healthy diet and exercising twice a week and…whatever the hell this was.

"Don't panic. We're not facing this alone, but we need to move fast, or else the other teams get too far ahead." Midoriya, used to such courses in the danger room, spoke up as he looked over the area, trying to spot the best paths. They were not the fastest, as those had to be the ones with the most traps but the most stable and, more importantly, the ones they could sabotage to stop others from following.

Seeing that form, he turned towards Sero. "Sero, you'll make a path for us, and we'll use that. Kodai can enlarge and then shrink it to keep others from using it." He told them both, to which they looked at one another, wondering if that was a good idea, but Kodai could always shrink the tape as soon as they were done with it.

"Tsunotori, you'll with Tokoyami. Dark Shadow will harass those around us." Midoriya handed orders to the two, Dark Shadow pocking out to give a thumbs-up as Tsunotori nodded. That done, he turned to the other two. Bondo and Kamakiri act as the rear guard."

Blocking off, destroying, or just making routes inaccessible would be the name of the game for this. Others might be faster through other routes, but many of them were visible and not designed for groups to use at once, such as the many rope bridges.

“And the rest of us?” Kaminari asked.

“Same as before, we’re protecting the support students.” Midoriya wasn't sure what lay next, but it would be great if they kept their on the field safe and close.

“Actually,” Furasu pulled out a large device from her backpack, looking like a cross between a plasma ball, a motor, and a projector. "I have something that might help us here; it'll mean we don't need to worry about the paintballs."

Line Break

Forming up, this time, it was Midoriya, who had swapped from his base form to his ice form, who took the lead as he would need to see where they were going. Kirishima was slightly to his right, ready to jump in. In the middle of the group, they had a couple of people carrying the strange device that Furasu supplied, it being carried by a couple of Sero's tape fastened into a hammock carried by four, double what was needed, but they wanted redundancy.

One other change was that Sero stood to his left.  “Let’s go!” Midoriya, retaining his base form, called out.

“Right!” Sero shot out his tap across the way to the small tower; once it latched, Kodai touched the line, expanding it from a single strange big enough for someone to tightrope to a large path. Sero made sure it was as tight as possible so it didn't give and make them uneasy when they jumped into it. Seeing this drew attention from others as this group had seemingly forfeited that while most were plotting, creating countermeasures and barriers, or waiting for members sent in ahead to handle their parts of the job.

“Hol up, hol up! What are they doing?” Supercharge asked as she couldn't have envisioned someone being that bullheaded.

“They're cutting through the course as a group—not a bad play, but don't they remember the paintballs? They'll be slaughtered!” Present Mic called out. They had been lucky so far. Their path put them out of sight of the first set of guns, but it led them right into the middle of the lines of fire for others. They'll be nowhere to run.

“What are they thinking?” Uraraka asked.

“Dark Shadow’s out, you think he’s defending?” Honenuki asked.

“From all angles? There’s no way!” Kendo called back right as Midoriya’s group crossed the path, Kodai shrinking it, leaving it near useless to any teams that weren’t all exceptional at keeping their balance.

“Intruder alert, intruder alert!” 11 turrets turned towards them, laser sights lining up with all of them. “Show 'em how we say hello, girls!” The machines seem gleeful at this chance to get some revenge on the students for all the mechs they break every year, and without a moment's pause, they all fired on them, but a strange thing happened.

Despite the dozens of paintballs coming at them from all directions, instead of lighting Midoriya's squad a colorful mess, all of them smacked into a translucent yellow dome that surrounded them, exploding on contact, with not a drop of paint getting inside no matter how much the guns loaded on them/

“What the?” Ojiro’s jaw dropped.

“None are hitting them? But how?” Sato asked. Inside the dome, Kirishima let out a sigh of relief, and Kaminari just laughed.

“This is genius, a portable shield generator.” Midoriya praised as the small device activated as soon as they reached their target, though it was incredibly loud as its projection system’s cooking fans worked overtime to maintain it, which was something Midoriya was helping with this part again, using Icy Wind to blow cool air around them, it made things chilly, but it helped keep the projector cool enough that it didn't burn out as Kaminari acted as the power source.

“Please mind it, it’s still delicate!” Furasu reminded them.

“No worries, I haven’t blown my phone charging it since I was 14.” Kamianri gave a proud thumbs up.

"This isn't like a phone; its wiring is much more complex. It was never meant to be in direct combat because of that!" She shot back as Shoda reminded them to keep moving. Sero fired off another line. Kodai made it large enough, and they took off.

“No worries, we’ll be sure to make sure it’s not touched.” Awase, one of the carriers, told her before he heard a commotion to their rears. “What’s happening?” He couldn’t turn around without rocking their only shield.

"Keep back; this is our path!" Tsunotori yelled as she fired off horns at pieces of Tokage. At the same time, Dark Shadow protected them from Rin's scales and even a cannon blast from Yaoyorozu.

Clearly, that one wasn't messing around.

“Bondo, we're across," Agoyamato called, to which Bondo nodded. They didn't release their path, but Bondo did cover it with his quirk while Tsunotori directed her harms to shoot through it, creating a bunch of cuts and holes that would make it dangerous for anyone else.

“What would you look at that? Looks like we got a full squad of the Mighty Golds in first place, and it's a lead that's only increasing!” Present's Mic commentary might have been uplifted, but Midoriya saw that they weren't anywhere done with this obstacle or this race

Line Break

After so long, I'm back! Oh, that feels great to say. I got just about every upload done last week, but of course, this one was the outlier, as I was just pressed for time. But this week was different, as I could start this Sunday evening and get it down by Monday afternoon. To make up for the fact that I was gone for a while there, I made it 7K words long—that's 40% more content.

However, I'm gonna have to do the same for More than You Think come Friday as I wasn't able to get anything for it done either, and I really don't want to test the patience of readers more than I need to. Now, onto this chapter; while I had all that time off, I do admit that there were some…writer's block issues with this as I didn't want to just redo the festival as is, nor did I want to take what I did in another story where I did make changes.