AN: So first things first APRIL FOOLS!

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So yes, now that obligatory nonsense is out of the way. How you all doing? Here I am back again with another chapter. And it is an actual chapter, I'm not one of these fanfic writers that trolls people for the sake of it. Being a reader myself, I know how annoying that is.

But anyway, hope you enjoy, and please leave a review etc. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to PM me.

Another thing while I am at it, is this. I am a part of a discord group, there's tons of others there, plenty of writers, admittedly mainly PJO, but other stuff too, including a growing number of MHA writers. Feel free to pop along and say hi, I'm always happy to chat about the stuff I am writing. So if you fancy it please do to join by sticking this: discord .gg / ueJFynDNGG into discord, with no spaces, or using the link on my bio.

Thanks for reading and please do leave a review, that or feel free to PM, I am usually much better at answering those!

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia.

( - )

(Last Time)

Snarling at that, Bakugo spared him one last hateful glare before he turned and walked away. "You die in the final Deku, get ready for it."

"Prick," Izuku muttered, his gaze following Bakugo and Monoma as they left, even as he became aware of the rest of the General Education students dispersing or breaking off, all save for the scraggly, messy purple haired kid, who spared him one last curious look, before he too turned and left.

"Well, that was suitably dramatic." Mina said into the silence that followed.

"So, arcade?" Kaminari added.

"Yeah sure, why not." Izuku muttered.

( - )

Chapter 15

( - )

(With Izuku)

It was time; the day the rest of his class had spent the last week or so excitedly looking forward too, and the day he had been dreading, part excited about, had finally arrived.

Today was the day of the U.A. Sports Festival.

It was odd in a way, how such an innocuous sounding event could leave a person with such mixed feelings; then again despite its name, the U.A. Sports Festival was more than just a school based event, it was an event of national importance. The entire event would be livestreamed to the whole of Japan, and perhaps even further for the hard-core cape geeks living internationally.

He and his classmates would soon be household names, or at least for a few weeks before society's collective attention moved on to the next big thing, or fad. But even so they would, for a time, be famous.

More than that, the display they put on today would have big ramifications for their future careers as heroes.

The Sports Festival was as much a showcase of their abilities and a performance on the national stage, as it was a competition.

It was an event where they would be showing off what they were made of, and what they could do to both the populace at large, and also to the Pro Heroes watching, those who would possibly be their future mentors and colleagues.

For Izuku, it was an event, however, today would be the day that he would be revealing to the world just who he was, and what his dreams were.

He could already imagine the aftermath when the news spread to the population at large that the infamous Titan of Musutafu, the walking calamity, was not only out of his correctional facility, but was instead trying to be a hero.

His heart sank at that thought, but only for a moment before he raised both hands and clapped them to his cheeks, hard.

The sound of his hands smacking his cheeks and the momentary flare of pain he felt brought him back to reality, even as it stopped him from spiralling into a pit of anxiety and angst.

He wasn't going to be that guy any more. He was done with his pity party, he was done punishing himself for what happened back then. Furthermore, he had been through years of therapy, and he had dedicated himself to his training, he was in control.

What had happened back then had been a mistake, one he had made in the past, and that was just it, it was in the past!

He wouldn't let it get him down now, nor would he allow it to ruin this day for him or his classmates.

He was done being mopey and broody.

He was done trying to hide.

Today was indeed the day.

It was the day he would announce himself to the world.

It was the day he would show them he was in control of himself, show them his Quirk could be used for more than just destruction.

Today was the day he would tell the naysayers and his own anxiety to fuck off.

He was here.

He was fallible, yes.

But he was at his core, he knew, a good person.

He was at U.A. to be a hero, to save lives, and that was just what he would do.

He had friends now, friends that looked past the stories and rumours they had heard about him, friends that saw him for him and liked him for it.

This event would be televised to the rest of Japan, and just like his friends, he would use this as a platform for his future career as the greatest hero the country had ever seen!

Looking up into the bathroom mirror at that thought, he scowled at his reflection.

His cheeks were red, and there was a slight dribble of blood trickling down from where he had bitten his lip, but that wasn't what he focused on. Instead, he stared into his own eyes, and witnessed for himself the resolve within them.

Today was the day of the Sports Festival.

Today was the day he would tell the world he was here!

( - )

Stepping out of the bathroom a few minutes later and back into the Class 1A changing room, the boy's side, his cheeks no longer pink and his lip no longer bleeding, Izuku took a moment to tug uncomfortably at the collar of his blue U.A. jumpsuit, even as he looked around at his tensely waiting classmates.

"Hey Midoriya," Kaminari grinned as he looked up at him. The blonde, electric wielding teen looked nervous. From what he could see, he was making small talk in an attempt to settle those nerves. "I was wondering where you'd wandered off to."

Giving the blonde teen a small smile, Izuku wandered over to where his school uniform was hanging up and sat down.

"Man… I can't believe they made us wear the school gym kits. I really wanted to wear my costume," Sato loudly complained as Izuku sat down beside him. The larger teen also looked nervous, and seemed to be using the same coping mechanism as Kaminari. "How are we supposed to stand out if we're all wearing the same stuff?"

"I suppose it's being done to keep things fair," Sero shrugged, zipping up his blue U.A. top and sending Sato a crooked grin as he did so. Unlike the others, Sero had cut the sleeves of his tracksuit off, leaving his arms up past the elbow bare. "I mean if you think about it, the other classes, you know general, business and support, they don't have costumes and support gear and stuff, so everyone wearing the same thing kind of levels the playing field I guess."

"Uh huh," Sato grumbled, glancing around at all the others now, his gaze lingering on Tokoyami's bird-like head, and Shoji's giant, multi-armed form, before glancing back at Sero and his blocky elbows. "But that's kind of bullshit. We all have different Quirks, don't we? So things will never really be completely fair, especially since loads of you guys have flashy Quirks, or distinctive appearances. All I've got is heightened strength, without my costume I'll probably just fade into the background compared to the rest of you."

"Yeah, I hear that," Kaminari sighed from the other side of the room, sinking into his seat forlornly as he too started looking round at his classmates. His control over electricity was flashy, but only in large amounts. Unfortunately when it came to using large amounts, his Quirk had the downside of frying his brain, which reduced him to a bumbling idiotic state.

"Having a distinctive appearance isn't always a good thing," Shoji replied dryly, his gaze shifting to Sato, even as he flexed his six webbed arms. "It makes you stand out, but that's not always good. Try walking down the street and watching as children cry at the sight of you, or as their parents pull them across the other side of the road when they see you coming…"

"Oh, Shoji, man, sorry, I didn't mean it like..." Sato backtracked, waving his hands in front of him. "You know what I meant, I wasn't trying to be insensitive or anything."

"It's fine," Shoji said shortly. His gaze lingering on Sato for a moment, before he turned away and started tying up his boots.

"Ah, now I feel like a dick," Sato muttered, his voice barely audible.

"Hey, no need to get mopey!" Kirishima piped up, slapping his hands together loudly to get the attention of the rest of the class. "We're Class 1A, we don't need cheap gimmicks or costumes to stand out. All we need to do is go out there, kick some arse and show everyone how manly we are!"

"He has a point," Sero nodded. "Today is a competition, it's about showing off what we can do, it's not a fashion show."

Several people glanced over at Aoyama at that comment, only to see the blonde boy not listening, as he instead struck poses for himself in the mirror.

"Which is a shame, because do you remember how tight some of the girl's costumes are? Even now I can remember it, and then there are the Class 1B girls, some of them were pretty hot, you know?" Kaminari cut in, a lecherous grin on his face.

"That's enough Kaminari, that's our classmates and our future colleagues you're talking about. Be respectful!" Iida cut in, a scowl on his face as he stood up and forced his way into the conversation. "And Sero is absolutely right, this is a competition. We will all have a chance to show the pro heroes watching what we can do. A hero is more than a fancy costume, or a pretty face. Being a hero is an ideal, it is a way of life, and this competition gives us the chance to show the world how we exemplify all the traits associated with being a hero!"

"Yeah, but that'd be easier if I was able to wear my costume." Sato grumbled.

"What, you want to look like a big banana on national television?" Kaminari grinned.

Sato scowled, "Not cool, man."

"This is all pointless." Todoroki suddenly interrupted, his mismatched eyes surveying the rest of the room disinterestedly. "This competition is made to show off the power of our Quirks. Costumes can be easily changed; designers, stylists, PR representatives, support crews and managers can change the aesthetics of your appearance with ease, and coaches can teach you how to act and perform in public. All of that is malleable, and unimportant in the grand scheme of things, especially since we're only in our first year."

"So, what are you saying?" Tokoyami asked, his avian eyes boring into Todoroki curiously.

"I'm saying that the only thing that matters here today is the power of our Quirks," Todoroki said bluntly, his gaze shifting onto Izuku. "Power, skill and the will to be a hero, that is what matters, that is what every one watching today is looking for. Everything else is immaterial."

"Well, who pissed in his coffee this morning," Kaminari muttered to Shoji.

"Midoriya." Todoroki continued, his attention now fully on Izuku, which in turn brought the attention of the rest of his classmates onto him too.

Turning to look at the son of Endeavour, Izuku pushed himself to his feet to face him.

He wasn't going to just sit there and look up at the boy, nor would he allow himself to be browbeaten by him.

He'd never interacted with Todoroki before, or at least not one on one. The other teen had helped him out during the U.S.J. debacle, but had otherwise given him the cold shoulder. Then again, as far as he could see, the ice wielding had been pretty cold and distant with the entire class, even with Toru and Mina, perhaps the two most energetic and gregarious members of Class 1A.

Standing, Izuku quickly became aware of the sudden silence that spread through the changing room.

He could understand why too, arguably the two of them were the most powerful, and arguably the most famous, or in his case infamous, students in the class. Out of all the first years, the two of them would be the ones who would inevitably garner the most recognition and attention today. Izuku for his past, and Todoroki for his family connections.

"What?" Izuku replied just as bluntly, steadily meeting Todoroki's cold gaze.

"Looking at things objectively, you and I are the strongest people in this room," Todoroki stated coldly, apparently not caring about the rest of the class clearly listening to their conversation, as he instead took a step forward, bringing him within arm's reach of Izuku.

Meeting his gaze head on, Izuku idly noticed that he was taller than the other teen, and had more muscle mass too.

"What of it?" Izuku replied, his mind momentarily lingering on what he had just been thinking about in the bathroom. He wouldn't back down, he would face his problems head on, and from what he could see, Todoroki was intending to become a problem.

Until now Todoroki had barely said a word to anyone in the class, which of course begged the question, why was he doing so now, just before the start of the Sports Festival.

Was this supposed to be a psych-out of some kind?

"I don't care about the strength of your Quirk, or its reputation. It means nothing to me." Todoroki continued, his mismatched eyes boring into Izuku's green eyes. "You're little more than a stepping stone for me. I am going to beat you today. I'm going to crush you and show the world that I am your better, that I can do what not even my father could do, and take you down single handedly."

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the challenge.

From around him, he could see and hear the other occupants in the room stirring and reacting to Todoroki's bold statement.

"Well shit, I didn't see that coming," Kaminari muttered, looking back and forth between Izuku and Todoroki.

The tension in the room had skyrocketed.

Some of the other students present looked uneasy at this sudden declaration, others, however, a small minority, looked excited.

"Hey come on man, why are you trying to pick a fight now of all times? We're about to begin the Festival!" Sero interjected, standing up and trying to push his way between the two of them.

"I dunno, it sounds pretty manly to me!" Kirishima shot back, a wide grin on his face.

"I think everyone needs to calm down and remember we're classmates, let's not let things get too antagonistic!" Iida added quickly.

"Who's falling out? This is just what men do, we challenge each other," Kirishima replied, "And as far as I'm concerned, count me in. I will beat you all!"

"Yeah, I'll get in on this," Sato grinned, surging to his feet.

"How juvenile," Tokoyami muttered, shaking his head.

Ignoring his classmates for the moment, Izuku continued to meet Todoroki's gaze for another few seconds before finally speaking. "You can try, but be warned. I will go all out if I need to. You're not the only one that wants to win. You're not the only one that wants to show what he's got and make a statement to everyone watching."

Todoroki narrowed his eyes, but didn't otherwise reply.

Instead, he held his gaze for a few more seconds, then turned away.

"Is it me, or have things suddenly gotten a little tense?" Sero muttered, breaking the silence that followed.

"Yeah," Sato replied, coughing into his hand awkwardly. "Anyway, changing the subject, I wonder what the first round is going to be this year; the anticipation of not knowing is the worst. Do any of you know?"

"Dunno, it changes every year." Sero shrugged.

"That's part of what makes it so exciting." Kirishima grinned.

"Whatever the challenge ahead is, it doesn't matter. No matter what it is, we will need to dig deep and face the oncoming darkness with all our steely resolve." Tokoyami added, his eyes closed and arms folded.

"If you cut away all his edginess, he's right. No matter what it is, we'll just have to adapt and show that we can handle whatever comes our way." Kaminari cut in, his foot nervously tapping on the floor.

"Well, whatever it is, we're about to find out soon." Iida spoke up, his gaze on the clock overhead. "Because it's time to head out."

( - )

Stepping out of the changing rooms at the allotted time, Izuku and the rest of the boys of Class 1A quickly joined up with their female classmates as they too stepped out of their own changing rooms opposite.

Neither side made much in the way of small talk, however, as they met up. Instead, they moved as one down the large tunnel, the tension intensifying as they walked, even as the distant roar of the crowd got louder and louder with each step.

They were walking down their assigned tunnel and into one of U.A.'s three massive stadiums, each of which Izuku knew from past reading, were capable of seating over seventy-five thousand spectators, and from what he could hear as he walked, the stadium was at full capacity.

Glancing around at the rest of his classmates, he could see they were all nervous.

For all that the rest of his class was excited about what was to come and confident in their own abilities, they were also still teens at their core, and so prone to nerves.

Walking in the middle of his class, shoulder to shoulder with Yui and Kirishima, and with Mina, Sero and Toru walking behind him, and Kaminari and Momo ahead of him, Izuku could feel his heart already starting to thunder in his chest as they got closer and closer to the end of the tunnel.

The light at the end of the tunnel was literally getting closer with every step they took.

Taking a deep breath as they reached the entrance to the stadium, Izuku closed his eyes as they stepped out into the vast sports field within, even as a wall of sound hit him as the roars, cries and screams of the tens of thousands of excited spectators washed over him, and the attention of at least a dozen live-streaming cameras zoomed in on the class as they entered the field.

"And here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for! Here they come, you may have seen them on the news recently, the next generation of heroes and some of the greatest hero prospects in the land, the Hero Course's Class 1A!

At Present Mic's words, for who else but him would be MC-ing this event but him, the crowd seemed to roar and cheer, if possible, even louder than before.

Walking onto the field alongside his classmates, Izuku could do little more than stare around in wonder at the packed stands, the flashing of cameras and the flying banners overhead as the watching crowd of mainly civilians, but also some Pro Heroes, clapped and cheered for them.

It was all so over the top, so flamboyant, so excessive for what should just be a simple school event.

"Oh wow, there's so many people." Ururaka muttered nervously from her place within the group. She was standing beside Iida and Togeike.

"Just smile and wave, girls, smile and wave." Mina replied, a bright smile on her face as she stepped out in front and started to wave and blow kisses to the fans. Some of the other, more extroverted members of their class, including Aoyama, Sato, Toru and Kaminari, doing the same

"It's just so loud." Jiro muttered, as they made it to their designated place on the field.

Glancing back at her, he could see she was cupping the extendable ear jacks that formed from her earlobes, in her hands, muffling the excessive noise input for her extra sensory appendages.

"Just bear with it," Izuku replied, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead as he fought the urge to hide behind Shoji. He didn't like crowds at the best of times, this though was ridiculous.

"And here they are, the rest of U.A.'s heroes in the making, and the equally talented and tenacious Hero Course's Class 1B!" Present Mic continued, his new announcement causing another upsurge in roars and cheers as the other hero class, Class 1B, came out of a different tunnel, their hands raised as they too were bombarded by the cheers of the crowd, even as they trundled over to their designated waiting point on the field.

Turning to watch them as they walked past, Izuku caught Bakugo's red eyed glare. The spikey ash-blonde mouthing "just you wait" to him as he passed.

From around Bakugo, he could see the other members of Class 1B throwing dark challenging looks at his entire class too - Monoma especially sprouted a sly grin as he eyed them up and down - even as they settled into their position and Present Mic continued to call in the rest of the classes.

From what he could see, Class 1B were here to win, and none of the class's members were all that bothered about crushing Class 1A under their feet if it came to it. They weren't here to make friends, or form bonds. They were here to make the best showing of themselves, even if that came at the cost of humiliating Class 1A.

The unspoken animosity between the two classes was practically palpable.

"And following up our Hero Course Students are classes 1C, 1D, and 1E, all of whom are students in U.A.'s prestigious General Education course!" Present Mic continued, his co-present Aizawa, mumbling something afterwards, not that his words were heard due to all the din in the stadium.

At Present Mic's words, Izuku glanced over and watched as a much larger group of students walked onto the field now. The group of General Education students was an odd mix, some of them looked excited and positively raring to go, others looked bored or unenthusiastic; like they thought this whole event was just a big waste of time. From within their midst, though, Izuku could see Mineta and the other tired looking purple haired boy who made his declaration of war the other day leading the pack.

"His name is Shinso," Togeike, Mineta's replacement for their class, spoke up, as she too looked over and saw Shinso glaring over at them from his place at the head of the collective General Education course group. "And you should all watch out for his Quirk. I've never seen him use it in person, so I don't know exactly how it works, but I've heard of what it does. If he can get you to speak to him, he can brainwash you."

"Should you really be telling us that?" Ojiro asked quietly from beside Togeike, his words still audible to the rest of the class all the same, or at least to those who were not prancing round soaking in the adulation of the crowd.

"I didn't know him for long, but long enough to know that he's not a pleasant person. He's bitter and cynical, and full of jealousy. Like quite a few of the people in the General Education course, he hates the Hero Course because they succeeded where he failed. But unlike the rest of them that let it go and got on with their lives, he held a grudge. He also has no problem using other people to get ahead." Togeike replied, her dark eyes fixed on the oblivious Shinso. "There's a lot of hurt and anger in him, and I'm worried about what he can and will do to get ahead. I know I don't know any of you that well, but I don't want you getting hurt or humiliated after falling prey to his Quirk."

"Thanks," Ururaka said with a smile. "And none of us know each other all that well yet. We've got the next three years to do that."

Togeike gave Ururaka a smile at her words, even as the rest of the class listening in mumbled their thanks or said similar words to her.

She might have been late to the class, a replacement for the student that Aizawa had chosen to make an example of, but she was still no less a part of their class.

"Next, from U.A.'s advanced and world famous Support Course, are classes 1F, 1G and 1H!"

More students walked out at that call, only these students, unlike the rest, noticeably carried gadgetry and equipment with them, some even now playing around and fine-tuning their equipment as they walked.

"So, what were you saying before about a level playing field?" Sato asked Sero, his voice as dry as the Sahara.

"Well, shit," Sero muttered.

"That hardly seems fair," Kaminari grumbled truculently as he stopped waving and instead went to join the rest of his classmates.

"Well, their whole course is based on making equipment, I guess showing it off is the equivalent to us showing off our Quirks." Momo spoke up reasonably.

"Oui, besides Hero Course students were allowed to apply to use equipment in the Festival if they needed it," Aoyama suddenly flounced into the conversation, idly flicking a piece of non-existent dust off of the gleaming belt he had around his waist.

That belt, Izuku knew, was a necessity for the flamboyant blonde, as it allowed him to more finely control his navel laserbeams.

"Wait, what?" Jiro snapped, her attention fully on Aoyama. "Since when?"

Jiro was one of the few other members of the class that used equipment to amplify, or better use, their Quirk.

"Since I asked monsieur Aizawa," Aoyama tittered.

"Well, thanks for telling us," Jiro grumbled, her brow furrowing as she dwelled on what could have been.

"Come now, what is done is done. We should not be fighting amongst each other, especially not now with the first event so close." Ibara cut in smoothly, her soft and gentle voice cutting through the growing irritation like a hot knife through butter.

"Well said," Iida acknowledged.

Tuning them out, Izuku tore his gaze off of the eclectic looking Support Course and instead looked to the final tunnel as Present Mic announced the arrival of the Business Course classes.

"And of course, last but certainly not least, hailing from U.A.'s world renown Business Course we have classes 1I, 1J and 1K!"

At those words, Izuku looked over as the Business Course classes walked over to their allotted area. None of them looked all that impressive, and some of them he noticed were carrying clipboards or notepads. More than that, they were talking and debating amongst each other as they walked, all but oblivious to the goings-on around them as they instead dwelled within their own little worlds.

Shaking his head at that thought, Izuku tore his gaze away from his soon-to-be competitors and instead looked to the centre of the stadium where he could see two of their teachers standing on a large, raised cement platform waiting for the students to finish assembling and for Present Mic to silence the crowd.

The Pro Hero Midnight, their Art History and World History Professor, was one of the two. With Midnight certainly looking the part of a hero, and an R-rated one at that. She was tall with long, dark purplish blue hair that trailed down her back. Accentuating her sensual form she wore a skintight olive coloured jumpsuit over a corset, and to finish off the outfit she had a red eye-mask over her sky blue eyes, and a black, leather riding crop in one of her hands.

The other person standing beside Midnight, and looking much less dazzling than the R-Rated Heroine, was Cementoss, their Modern Literature teacher, who with a blocky build, drab clothing and grey skin, seemed to fade into the background, as opposed to standing out like Midnight.

"Alright, are we all assembled!" Midnight shouted out, attracting the assembled student's attention as she smacked her riding crop into the ground to emphasise her words.

"So hot…" Kaminari muttered.

Ignoring Kaminari and the mumbling, disapproving or otherwise, of those around him as they muttered about her provocative costume, the necessity of her carrying a whip, or just how impressive, imposing and/ or hot she was, Izuku instead focused on what Midnight was saying.

"Now, once we've all settled down I'd like to instead of having one of our cute little students give the traditional Student Pledge this year, alternatively dedicate this year's Sports Festival to the memory of the Rescue Hero, Thirteen. A former alumna of U.A. and a brave, noble and tireless soul who fought and died to protect her students." Midnight said seriously, her voice loud and ringing out in the now respectfully quiet stadium.

The break from procedure seemed to have caught some of those watching by surprise, but others seemed to take it in stride as they lowered their heads in respectfully, as the cameras panned in and Midnight was shown in all her glory on the massive television screens overhead.

"Thirteen was a hero, a shining star that stood strong and tall against the forces of villainy. She idealised everything that heroism should represent. She was kind and generous beyond measure, and above all selfless. Not only that, but she was one of those few truly good, decent people that put the safety and wellbeing of others before herself."

"Where others would run away or back down, she would stand strong, grit her teeth and get to saving people. Where others gave up, she would not, instead she would reignite the fire of hope inside of all those around her and inspire other heroes to do as she did, to follow her lead, and to put others first before themselves."

"She was a true hero, a dedicated teacher, and a beloved friend. Her loss is a great one, one that will ring through hero society as it shows that darkness still lingers at the edges of our society, and that there are still those lurking in the shadows, depraved, weak willed and cowardly enough to target innocent children. Thirteen stood against that darkness, and fought back with all that she had."

"She will not be forgotten, her legacy will be the lives of all those she saved through her long and storied career. So here with me now, take a moment to think of the fallen Rescue Hero: Thirteen and her bravery, her heroism. For this Sports Festival will be held in her honour, and with that in mind, let all here today follow her lead and go beyond, in everything they do. Plus Ultra!"

"PLUS ULTRA!

The rest of the stadium roared back.

Bowing his head, Izuku took a moment to think back on Thirteen, even as he added his own voice to the crowd. "Plus Ultra."

( - )

"All right everyone!" Midnight announced, a strained smile back on her face after her sombre, heartfelt speech. "We shall now use the wheel to determine our first event!"

The crowd roared their enthusiasm in response, some still shouting the words "Plus Ultra" as they did so.

In response to Midnight's words, a large holographic wheel appeared behind her, and on all the other large television screens dotted around the vast stadium complex.

There were a number of different events on the wheel, and a large arrow in the dead centre.

"Time to spin the wheel!" Midnight continued, and on cue, the wheel began to spin wildly, until it finally came to a rest with the arrow pointing down on the chosen activity. "Remember, everyone, this will be the only time we use the wheel this year. As the second event has already been specifically chosen, and as for the third event… Well, as we all know, that will be a no holds barred tournament. The first event, however, will be what we use to narrow down the contestants, and this year that event will be an obstacle race!"

Blinking in surprise at the chosen event, Izuku ignored the muttering of his classmates as he instead looked up at the screen as the wheel disappeared, and new graphics took its place, graphics explaining the upcoming obstacle race.

"Now then!" Midnight continued loudly. "As the title might imply, you will be taking part in a race involving all the classes within your year. The race will be four kilometres in length, and will take you around the stadium outside of the vendor grounds on a special track. On that track you'll find many obstacles which you must overcome. Anything goes, as long as you remain inside the racetrack."

Hearing that, Izuku glanced sideways and caught sight of Bakugo looking over at him darkly from where the rest of Class 1B was standing. His old friend turned enemy looked very serious right now. No longer was he the blow hard bully Izuku remembered him to be. Instead, he was a teen, nearly a grown man, and one that had obviously worked hard to get to where he was. Izuku knew he'd need to take the very real threat that was Bakugo, seriously. His Quirk had been impressive when they had been kids, he dreaded to think how much Bakugo had developed in the years since then.

"Oh, and just to emphasise there will be no lethal moves allowed, or moves which could cause permanent physical harm. That should go without saying. Also, if you get knocked off the course, or use excessive force against a fellow student, you're disqualified. So now it's all been explained, students take your places by the front gate!" Midnight pressed on, pointing out over to the side of the field where they could see a massive gate with a tunnel going through it leading out of the stadium. The gate notably had three bright red lights overhead, signalling that it was not time to go yet.

Seeing the lights and joining his classmates as they moved in that direction, a part of Izuku began to ponder on just how random that spinning wheel was if they already had everything set up?

"Alright then," Midnight shouted, ignoring the roaring of the crowd as she held her riding crop up above her head. "On your marks!"

The first red light faded.

Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

This was it, this was when he made his debut to the rest of the country.

"Get set!"

The second red light faded.

There was only one left.

From around him, Izuku could feel the mass of humanity pressing in all around him.

Ignoring them, Izuku pushed to the front and bent down, his hands on the ground as he got into a good sprinting position.

He took a deep breath.

The riding crop fell.

Green light.

"Go!"

( - )

AN: So what did you all think?

I'll admit this chapter didn't entirely go to plan as I was aiming to get the first event done in this chapter. But unfortunately I got too focused on the character stuff and by the time I finished it was already longer than I had planned, so I choose here as a good point to cut it.

Next chapter will be the first event and aftermath, the one after that will be the second event, then there with be two chapters for the aftermath, a break and the third event. So four chapters in total after this for the Sports Festival, and there will be some big character stuff happening, and some exciting action, so you've got that to look forward to. The second event will be non-canon but instead something different that I want to play around with. The match ups in the third will also be different, as the classes are now different, and because of knock on events from the second event.

Either way hope you're not disappointed, as I too wanted to get stuck in properly this chapter. Unfortunately I enjoyed playing around with Midoriya's improve mindset and growing confidence and independence, and with the general character interactions within the class. The downside of which is juggling a very big cast, which isn't always the easiest.

So next chapter we have the race, where things hot up, action happens, people gun for Midoriya and the changes from canon begin to happen, knock-ons from past events.

Either way I am looking forward to writing more of this. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it, or continue to do so. If not then please tell what you didn't like, or what you thought could have been done better? Please leave a review, comment etc. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to PM me.

Also I am on a discord with a load of other writers, so if you fancy popping over to ask questions or offer suggestions about this story, or any of my other ones, or to find new authors you might not have come across yet, please feel free to use the link in my bio.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.

Greed720.