The stands were packed. The crowd cheered, cameras captured every detail, and heroes of all ages commented on the participants. Some whispered discreet bets, while others simply watched with interest. The energy in the stadium was electric, every face reflecting the excitement of the day.
Amid all the commotion, Bob struggled forward, carrying two enormous buckets of popcorn. He apologized to everyone he had to weave around, dodging legs and gently nudging those blocking his path, all while trying to reach Helen, Violet, Tony, and little Jack-Jack.
"Excuse me! Sorry, just passing through!" he called out, trying not to spill a single kernel.
Finally, he reached the group and handed a bucket to Helen.
"Here you go, sweetheart," he said with a smile.
In his other hand, Bob passed the second bucket to Tony Rydinger, standing next to Violet.
"And for you, kid. Share it with Violet, okay?"
Bob settled into the seat between Helen and Tony, casually draping his arm over the boy's shoulder.
"So, champ, how's the exchange program in Japan going? Are your studies going well?"
The boy grinned, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Great! I'm learning a lot, and I don't regret coming to the support course here in Japan at all."
Bob chuckled and gave the boy a light punch on the shoulder. The boy smiled in return, pretending it didn't hurt.
"That's what I like to hear! Well done!"
Helen looked at him with a proud smile.
"I'm sure you and Violet will make an amazing team in the future… and not just in a hero sense, you know?"
Violet blushed deeply, hiding her face behind Tony.
"Mom! Don't say stuff like that in front of everyone!"
Helen just laughed softly, teasing her daughter.
Bob glanced around, taking in the sheer number of people in the stadium—it was far larger than Violet's school sports festival.
"Well… this is really a crowd. Way bigger than the All-American Hero Festival, no doubt about it."
Meanwhile, Jack-Jack clapped his little hands excitedly next to Helen.
"When is All Might going to show up?!"
Helen leaned in, trying to contain her son's excitement, smiling gently.
"Patience, little one… he'll appear later."
Jack-Jack continued bouncing in place, satisfied with the answer, even if it was a tiny white lie—no one really knew if the Symbol of Peace would actually appear.
Meanwhile, the family's eyes scanned the arena below, searching for Dash among the students. Helen finally spotted the boy near another student who had just finished giving a speech—it seemed they were good friends.
Bob smiled, satisfied.
"It's good to see him making friends with strong guys early on. That's important for his future as a hero."
Violet watched the boy next to her brother closely.
"Being the representative of the hero course isn't about being strong… it's about being the one with the most potential."
Bob let out a contented sigh, smiling at the family, happy to be there with everyone together, surrounded by the lively chaos of the festival.
----------------------------------------
Midnight cracked her whip through the air, the sharp snap echoing across the entire arena and instantly silencing both students and spectators.
"Alright! Without further ado… let us begin the very first event of the U.A. Sports Festival!"
The crowd reacted at once, the murmur swelling with anticipation.
"This event is only the qualifying round," Midnight continued, a razor-sharp smile curling her lips. "This is where many dreams come to an end before they even begin. Some of you will be going home today crying like babies!"
Tension settled over the students like an invisible weight.
The massive screen above the stadium lit up, dozens of words spinning rapidly, flashing one after another. The mechanical hum of the roulette heightened the anxiety with every passing second.
Then it stopped.
OBSTACLE COURSE RACE.
Kirishima blinked in confusion, scratching the back of his neck.
"Huh? Wait… doesn't that sound kinda… too normal?"
Dash, on the other hand, broke into a wide grin when he saw the title appear in English just below.
"Obstacle Course?!" He practically bounced in place. "Oh yeah! This is gonna be way too easy! Man, racing is literally my thing!"
He snapped his fingers, already slipping into a competitive mindset.
"If it's just running and jumping over a few obstacles, I'll finish this in milliseconds!"
Ryo, who had been watching the screen closely, cut through the blond's enthusiasm without even changing his tone.
"Hey. Don't get ahead of yourself."
Dash turned toward him, confused.
"Huh?"
"If it were a normal obstacle race…" Ryo continued, eyes narrowing, "it wouldn't be at U.A. They wouldn't do something that simple."
Dash's smile faltered for just a moment—only for his eyes to gleam even brighter, the grin returning wider than before, brimming with anticipation and adrenaline.
Soon after, all the students were instructed to line up before the enormous exit gate, forming ranks behind the starting line. A sea of students stretched across the entire width of the arena.
Midnight walked to the side of the field, her whip resting casually on her shoulder.
"Racers… are you ready?"
Above them, the starting signal lights began to activate.
Red.
Midoriya felt sweat trickle down his temple. His heart pounded far too hard in his chest.
I have to give this everything I've got…
His mind flashed back to the USJ. To the image of All Might, injured. To Nezu's voice asking for discretion.
The world's greatest hero… missing an arm.
"I know he couldn't say anything to me. Couldn't encourage me…"
Yellow.
Midoriya clenched his fist.
"But I feel like he'd want me to show the world—"
"The power of his successor."
"The next Symbol of Peace."
Green.
"GO!"
The gate burst open with a thunderous crash.
Hundreds of students launched forward at once, the race erupting into absolute chaos—footsteps, dust, and raw determination colliding.
And for Midoriya, one single thought rang louder than the roar of the crowd:
"I have… I have to win this festival at all costs!"
Everyone surged en masse toward the starting tunnel, a merciless human avalanche pushing forward. Midoriya was quickly swallowed by the crowd, his feet barely touching the ground as he was carried along by the relentless tide of bodies.
"And we can already see chaos breaking out right at the starting tunnel!" Present Mic's voice boomed through the loudspeakers. "The students are completely packed together! This has turned into a full-blown human traffic jam!"
Inside the narrow tunnel, dozens of students shoved against one another—staggered footsteps, elbows colliding, heavy breathing everywhere. It was a claustrophobic hell.
When the first few finally caught sight of the light at the exit, a collective relief spread through the crowd, almost tangible.
And then—
The ground froze.
A thick layer of ice spread in the blink of an eye, trapping feet, knocking students over, and ripping startled screams from their throats.
"HEY?!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
Todoroki advanced calmly through the chaos he had created, his steps steady atop the pristine ice. He was the first to exit the now completely clogged tunnel, curses and desperate complaints echoing behind him.
"Sorry, my bad," he said flatly, without even glancing back.
But before he could put more distance between them—
"DON'T EVEN THINK I'LL LET YOU GET AHEAD, HALF-AND-HALF!"
A shrill voice cut through the air, followed by deafening explosions.
Bakugo burst through the ice with sheer brute force, using the blasts from his palms to propel himself forward. Right behind him, several Class 1-A students managed to break through the frozen barrier—some sliding, some leaping, others simply forcing their way through.
Todoroki shot a quick glance over his shoulder.
"Tch… too many of them made it through," he muttered.
As he ran, mentally reassessing the situation, he felt a quick tap on his shoulder.
Todoroki's eyes widened for a split second. He turned his head—
Nothing.
"Didn't expect you to play dirty, huh?"
The voice came from the other side.
Todoroki spun around and saw Dash running backward right beside him, hands laced behind his head as if out for a casual stroll. The blond flashed a wide grin.
"Hello there."
Without hesitation, Todoroki unleashed a wave of ice toward him.
But Dash was already gone.
"Relax, man!" the voice rang out from another angle. "You're being too cold with me!"
The blond winked, still smiling, then leaned forward and shot ahead at blistering speed, leaving Todoroki behind in mere seconds.
Dash tore through the curve, practically slicing the air apart, and slammed straight into a cluster of exam robots. They barely had time to react before being obliterated by a golden blur that ripped through them.
"Hahaha!" Dash laughed, exhilarated. "This festival's gonna be a piece of cake!"
But the smile on his face froze when he saw the obstacle ahead.
Massive shadows loomed above him. Dozens of colossal robots advanced slowly, each one unmistakable.
"…You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered.
Zero Pointers.
"They brought these guys too?!" Dash's eyes widened as he slightly reduced speed. "Okay, so how the hell am I supposed to get past th—"
A green blur shot past him like a bullet.
"Huh?!"
It was Ryo.
His body surged forward at high speed using Inner Transition, but something was different. Green electrical sparks coiled around his limbs, crackling violently through the air.
Ryo locked his gaze onto the Zero Pointers ahead and clenched his right fist.
"Get out of my way!"
The punch landed.
A brutal explosion of compressed air tore through the field, annihilating five of the robots at once. Their titanic bodies shattered, debris raining down from the sky as Ryo kept running—charging straight through the corridor carved open by the impact without losing a single step.
Dash stood still for half a second, mouth hanging open.
Then he grinned.
"Heh…" His eyes gleamed. "Now this is where things really start heating up!"
Dash shot forward right after Ryo, the wind slicing against his face as the blond quickly closed the distance between them. Within moments, he was already running alongside the boy with hollow green eyes.
"You've gotten faster since the last time," the blond commented, a competitive smile forming on his face even as he kept a moderate pace.
Ryo kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, the wind cutting against his face.
"I trained a lot these past few weeks," he replied simply.
As he moved forward, his mind briefly drifted to the intense training sessions and the private lessons with Thirteen, all after that special room was finally completed.
Dash tilted his head, watching the green sparks that slithered around the boy's body beside him.
"And those sparks there? Part of the new package too?"
"Maybe," Ryo replied, without taking his eyes off the path.
Before Dash could press further, something ahead caught his attention. The competitive smile vanished for a moment.
The second obstacle loomed before them.
The Fall.
A colossal chasm split the arena floor open, deep enough to make one's stomach churn just by looking at it. Stone platforms jutted out irregularly, connected by thick ropes stretched from one side to the other, swaying gently in the wind.
Dash frowned.
Ryo noticed immediately.
"Nervous?" he asked, shooting him a quick glance. "I thought you were fast."
The blond grimaced.
"Being fast is one thing. Having balance is another, okay?"
Ryo let out a half-smile.
"Too bad," he said. "Then I'll go first."
Before Dash could retort, Ryo drew even more from Inner Transition. The green sparks intensified, electrical discharges racing across his body as his speed surged abruptly. In an instant, he passed the blond.
"Hey—!" Dash barely had time to react.
Ryo reached the edge of the chasm and, without hesitation, jumped.
The force of the takeoff shattered part of the edge. Ryo simply soared over the abyss, crossing the entire chasm in a single, powerful leap.
"See you at the finish line!" Ryo shouted, already descending on the other side.
He landed hard, rolled once, and immediately resumed running, disappearing down the track.
Dash reached the edge moments later, skidding to a stop. His eyes were wide.
"You've gotta be kidding me…" he muttered.
He looked down at the thick ropes, slowly swaying over the void. He swallowed, took a deep breath, and sighed.
"Calm down… just run across the ropes and try not to fall…"
Without further delay, Dash took off.
The moment his foot touched the first rope, his body adjusted on pure instinct. Step after step, he moved far faster than someone who, seconds earlier, had been afraid of falling into the abyss below. He leapt from platform to platform with precision, using his speed and a bit of luck to avoid any misstep.
Within seconds, he was already on the other side.
He looked back at the chasm he had crossed, blinking a few times.
"…that was way easier than I thought."
A confident smile returned to his face.
The next instant, Dash burst forward again, accelerating to catch up to Ryo—his heart pounding, not with fear, but with excitement.
----------------------------------------
The deafening roar of the crowd grew louder with every passing second, waves of screams and applause echoing throughout the arena as the competitors advanced along the course.
High above the stands, Present Mic was practically leaning over the railing of the commentary booth, his amplified voice blasting through the loudspeakers.
"YOOOOO~! We've got one student straight-up IGNORING the second obstacle and another clearing it in SECONDS! DID YOU SEE THAT?! An INSANE JUMP and a HIGH-SPEED CROSSING!" he laughed excitedly, nearly out of breath.
The cameras quickly cut to the trail of destruction left behind—a true graveyard of giant robotic bodies, the brutal aftermath of Ryo's passage. Several students were now reaching the area, weaving around still-smoking debris before facing the ravine.
Todoroki was the first among them. Without wasting a second, he froze the ropes and platforms, creating a smooth surface that he slid across, rapidly advancing over the abyss.
But he wasn't alone.
"TODOROKI!!" Bakugo appeared right behind him, intensifying the explosions in his hands to propel himself even further forward. "Since there's no way to catch up to those two idiots up front, I'll at least lock in third place!"
Todoroki frowned before speeding up, the two immediately entering a fierce battle for position. Side by side, they exchanged hostile glares as they moved from platform to platform, neither willing to give up even an inch.
Then something—or rather, someone—passed them.
A green blur crossed their field of vision, running through the ravine as if the ground itself didn't exist. Faint streams of electricity coursed over the boy's body, wrapping him in an unstable glow.
"What—?!" Bakugo's eyes went wide.
"Midoriya…?" Todoroki murmured, genuinely surprised.
Midoriya surged forward at high speed, a grin plastered across his face as his body finally seemed able to keep up with the power he wielded.
In the VIP room, All Might leaned forward abruptly, eyes wide. Beside him, Nezu watched in silence, intrigued.
"That is…"
"One For All — Full Cowling!"
"5%!"
Midoriya announced it mentally as he ran, feeling the energy flow evenly through his entire body—without the crushing pain from before. His smile widened even further.
As he advanced, his mind briefly drifted back to that conversation he'd had with Ryo that day.
The two of them talking about quirks, casually exchanging ideas, until Ryo had dropped that simple sentence that completely changed Midoriya's view of One For All.
"If your body can't handle using 100% of your quirk's potential… why not just use a little?"
Those words had sparked an epiphany.
Instead of releasing everything at a single point, he would only use a small percentage of the power he could properly handle.
He adapted the new approach.
He controlled it…
And now… he was reaping the results.
"Thank you, Takeda…!" Midoriya thought, his smile growing wider as he speed-up further.
Bakugo's expression twisted the instant he realized Midoriya had just overtaken him.
"DEKU…!" he snarled through clenched teeth, sparks exploding involuntarily from his palms. His wounded pride turned into pure driving fury.
Beside him, Todoroki adjusted his stance, his gaze sharpening like a blade. Without saying a word, he slammed his foot into the ground, spreading ice forward and forming a smooth, continuous ramp. He skated over the frozen surface, gaining speed with every glide.
The three were now running side by side.
The wind cut against their faces, the ground trembled beneath their feet, and the crowd sounded like a single, constant roar. Midoriya, wrapped in greenish electricity, kept his breathing steady, feeling One For All flow through his entire body. On the left, Bakugo surged forward in explosive bursts, each detonation launching him like a human projectile. On the right, Todoroki slid across the ice, subtly shifting his body through the curves, minimizing friction to the extreme.
Then they saw it.
The third obstacle appeared ahead.
The Minefield… or what was left of it.
"Huh?!" Midoriya's eyes widened.
Where dozens of mines once waited to explode, there was now a straight path forcibly cleared. The ground was scorched, cracked, littered with craters and lingering smoke — a clear trail of already-triggered explosions.
"Looks like those two cleared the way for us," Todoroki said, still focused on trying to pass the two classmates right on his tail.
Without hesitation, the three charged forward.
They sprinted.
Every step was a contest. One gained half a body length, another reclaimed it by inches. Midoriya used the constant output of Full Cowling to maintain speed. Bakugo alternated strides with small, controlled explosions, gaining sharp bursts of acceleration. Todoroki adjusted the track beneath his feet in real time, sliding with precision.
"MOVE!" Bakugo shouted, brushing past Midoriya.
"No…!" Midoriya pushed his body harder, feeling his muscles respond.
The three crossed the minefield like three projectiles, nearly shoulder to shoulder, before diving into the finishing tunnel.
The confined space amplified the sound of footsteps and ragged breathing.
Midoriya managed to take the lead for an instant.
"What?!" Bakugo's eyes went wide in disbelief.
The space narrowed as they entered the tunnel. The crowd's noise was muffled, replaced by footsteps, breathing, and the echo of explosions.
Todoroki didn't hesitate, seizing the opportunity to freeze the narrow tunnel.
Ice spread across the walls and floor, trying to lock Midoriya's legs in place. But the boy reacted on instinct — he jumped at the very last second before his legs could freeze, feeling the cold scrape the sole of his foot, and when he landed, he slid across the ice, using it to his advantage.
The exit light grew rapidly closer.
That was when Bakugo screamed.
"DIE!!"
A colossal explosion detonated behind him, launching his body like a missile at the very last second.
And the result was decided in the blink of an eye.
3rd place – Katsuki Bakugo; 4th place – Izuku Midoriya; 5th place – Shoto Todoroki.
Bakugo landed a few meters ahead, panting, teeth clenched — but with a wild grin on his face.
"Eat my dust, crybabies!"
Todoroki stopped shortly after, breathing deeply. His eyes turned to Bakugo, brow furrowed, clearly dissatisfied.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue and looked away.
Midoriya stumbled a few steps forward and braced his hands on his knees, breathing hard. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his body exhausted… but the smile was still there, sincere and proud.
"Fourth place…" he murmured, with no real frustration in his voice.
Then he lifted his head, remembering something.
"Speaking of positions… who came in first? Takeda or Dash?"
The answer came immediately.
A few meters ahead, Dash was celebrating shamelessly, laughing out loud as he threw an arm over Ryo Takeda's shoulder.
"Man, you're pretty damn fast," the blond foreigner said, grinning from ear to ear. "But I'm faster."
Ryo just grunted, clearly not enjoying his friend's teasing.
"Don't get so full of yourself…" he replied flatly.
When he turned, his eyes met Midoriya's, who was still catching his breath. For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then Ryo raised his hand and gave a firm thumbs-up.
"Good job."
Midoriya smiled back, silently thanking Ryo for the huge help he had given him.
The Sports Festival was only just beginning.
----------------------------------------
(A/N: Your wait is over, and I'm finally back with updates! I'd like to thank everyone who supported me and helped me pay for my internet plan—it's hard to stay afloat when the government forces you to work for a minimum wage that barely sustains you. Anyway, it wasn't my plan to post this chapter so soon, especially since I wanted to make it exclusive for the members over on that funny P site. But since everyone was at least expecting some kind of update, I decided to post this one so no one would be left in limbo. That said, I'll be away from posting here for about three days to sort things out on that funny site. I hope you all understand.)