Chapter 15- Much needed training (And Then Fun!)
As the school week concluded, although it did not deter anyone on their determination to train towards the Sports Festival that will be coming up in weeks' time. Everyone, in all the classes at UA are working on various aspects of themselves, whether it be their stamina, endurance, strength or whether even their tactical expertise; no one wants to give less than their best when the day comes around. That could be said about a certain green haired boy, who knows a little something about pressure and wanting to prove something others and himself.
Izuku was on a mission to do his best at the Sports Festival, siting as a chance to be the next "All Might", and though he was not feeling great about that comment, he nevertheless wanted to show everyone that he was more than capable to being a hero. If he wanted to be a hero, he knew that he had to get a handle on his powers or at least stop hurting himself while using it. He has done it before at the USJ attack but…that was more out of concern than it was about focusing. So he realized that he would need some help in power and control. He would have gone to All Might, but he didn't want to bother him, seeing that he already had his own problems with maintaining his remaining One For All at the moment.
Izuku did however get the help of 3 interesting girls at his school, in his class. He doesn't know much about them, only that they are transfer students from another country, it would seem. That would explain their uncharacteristic attitudes unlike most. The first time he had seen them was on the news, to do with a villain attack on one of the Pro heroes, Midnight. He actually had the pleasant surprise to be rescued by them months ago, which was a shock to him; being that they broke the laws on quirk usage without a licence.
After a series of events and bumping in to certain influences now in his life, he has managed to get to a certain point in his life that allows him to achieve his childhood dream…that said, it may still be hard.
-Midnight's House-
It was Saturday morning and the girls have woken up to start their training for the Sports Festival. They already informed and asked Ms Nemuri about a boy coming over to train with them, after the initial reaction of her poking about their potential "love lives", the girls made it clear that it was Buttercup's "love life" involved; and that's how the comedy show started with the ravenette trying to debunk those lies. When everything was settled, Nemuri happily agreed for them to host him, though she won't be around, as she had errands to run and a patrol later.
The girls were left alone to put up a plan, or rather Blossom was, before their guest were to arrive; they informed him ahead of time him, that they will start at around 7.30 a.m.
A few minutes passed and a couple of knocks could be heard from the front door. Guessing it might be Izuku, Bubbles took the liberty to answer the door, and as soon as she did so, she was greeted with a familiar nervous smile. Izuku was standing at the door, wearing a sleeveless green hoodie, black knee length workout shorts and a pair of red and white sneakers; a small fanny pack over his shoulders.
"Good morning Bubbles." He addressed with a bow. He saw that she was wearing black yoga pants with shorts over them and a blue yoga tank top.
Bubbles smiled. "Good morning Izuku. You know you don't have to bow to me. We are friends after all."
Izuku was a little embarrassed, taken aback. "F-friends?"
Bubbles just gave a small giggle. "Yeah of course, anyway come on in, the others are waiting in the gym." She took his arm and dragged inside, closing the door behind them."
As Izuku was walking down the area, he could not help but be a little nervous being in a pro hero's house. He deduced some time ago that the girls were living under Ms Midnight, the last names were his first give away and the fact that he saw Midnight ride with the girls to the hospital after the USJ attack; his theories were proven after asking them in person some time ago when they had a chat.
Izuku was brought out of his thoughts, as one of his hosts made a stop and he realized that they were in a gym at the back of the house, next to it were the spacious grounds. He admired the equipment they had around.
Buttercup and Blossom were there. Blossom was on the mat meditating. Her hair was kept in a loose messy bun, wearing a red T, red sweatpants and pink sports sandals. Her body emitted a pink glow that went over to cover some dumbbells as they were lifted above her head. Buttercup was wearing her neon green-yellow sports bra and shorts, barefooted, wearing combat gloves; she was practicing some punches on a punching bag.
"Hey girls. Izuku is here." Bubbles announced, trying to get her sister's attentions. That did it, as each girl stopped what they were doing and came over.
Blossom started. "Good morning Izuku. Nice you came."
Izuku nodded. "Glad to be here. I am thankful for the help."
Buttercup rounded behind the greenette. "Well then, let's hit it." Smacking the boys back as she gave a smile.
They went to the center of the room to warm up; each doing their own individual stretches. After it was deemed fit that they were loosened up a bit, they begun the training.
"Alright everyone." Blossom clapped. "Now, the Sports Festival is only a few weeks away and we want to be ready for whatever happens. Now, let's do some strength, endurance and stamina training, then we can move on to power training. Sound good?" She inquired of them.
"No problem Boss."
"Got it red."
"Yeah, sounds great."
Nodding at that. "Okay we will start this out with some…strength training." She groaned, knowing what was going to happen. Buttercup gave a sly smirk at that. "Buttercup will lead us on the strength part." That was followed by an evil chuckle that honestly made Izuku's blood curl.
"Alright ladies…" Emerald eyes alight with mischief. "…let's do this."
For the next hour or so they were all subjected to Buttercup's boot camp. The exercises that followed were a series of calf raises, lunges, squats, tricep dips, pushups, weight lifts, planks, leg raises and dead lifts (emphasis on the dead part, as those were no joke.). Buttercup by far was the most competitive person you would meet, being that she also doesn't give any slack to her own sisters when they do train together. By the time they were done, within two and a half hours, they were panting and some were drenched in sweat.
Wiping a touch of sweat from her face. "Alright chumps, how you doing?" She asked.
Blossom was bent over, trying to take in as much air as she could, while sending death glares at her raven haired sister.
Bubbles was on her butt trying to steady her heart after that.
Izuku was sprawled on the floor, waiting for the sweet embrace of death to finally take him. 'What did I get myself in to?'
After a short 30 minute break, the guys moved on to power training/combat, to better work on their abilities and see where to improve.
Ducking from a weak attempt at a punch. "Pretty weak shot dude." The punches kept coming, with Buttercup blocking each one, not giving Izuku an inch.
The drill was simple. They would each fight each other, with no powers at the moment and basically perform another warm up. The girls first started out with fighting each other, and then Izuku would fight one of them.
"Nice try green bean." Buttercup blocks Izuku's punch, moving to attempt to give a high kick he witnessed Bubbles do a while ago, for which she easily dodged it.
When it was Izuku's turn, he chose to fight with Buttercup, as more of a challenge to him, he thought. The fight was very informative, even though Izuku was ways behind her abilities, he could see some areas of improvement; with helpful critique.
Buttercup, feigning a strike, crouch down to give a high kick that sent Izuku flying a few feet on to the ground; sprawled out in defeat.
"I hope I didn't break any bones." Buttercup calmly said, as she made her way over the defeated boy. She could see his dazed look, stretched out her hand, "You alive there green bean?"
Izuku groaned, sitting up to take a hold of her hand, "I think my bruises have bruises." That made Buttercup stifle a laugh. "Oh come on string bean. Your form is pretty shitty but I see you still remembered what I showed you months ago." That made him smile at the memory of the first time they ever met.
Giving him a slight shove. "Eh, may not be professional, but totally not horrible." Getting him out of his mind. Izuku just gave a less than thrilled smile.
Bubbles piped in. "Hey guys, how about you two move on to power training. I think that would be best." A fine idea, that no one had any problem with.
"Don't worry Izuku, Buttercup has always been a tough/rough fighter, even when we were younger." Blossom said, sitting in a meditation form, lifting Bubbles in the air, much to her joy. "Weeeeee!" Bubbles exclaimed. "Yeah! She is usually the one who fights hard, doesn't help that she likes MMAAA..!" Joyfully performing aerial routines and flips.
"Whoa! That's so awesome." Izuku, finally dusted himself, he was admiring the way they had control and effort on their abilities. Buttercup at this point went inside to get everyone water.
Blossom nodded. "It's just about control and focus."
"And a lot of fun!" She did a couple more spins, before being gently let down. "Hey Izuku, you said you wanted to train with us, what specifically are you having problems with, your powers?"
Izuku awkwardly nodded. "Yeah, just trying to get a better handle on it."
"Well you did say that your quirk causes you to get hurt. You gain immense strength from what I have seen but you wind up breaking your bones." Blossom, though trying to give off a neutral expression, could not help showing a bit of uneasiness at the double edge sword characteristics of the boy's power.
Izuku nodded, "Yeah, since I did not learn how to use it early, on the count I was a late bloomer. It has not been easy to say the least." A nervous smile followed. He didn't like to lie but knew he couldn't reveal his secret.
"Well I understand, but Buttercup told us that you had a trainer a while back, didn't this trainer ever give you some pointers or even tell you how to use your quirk?" Bubbles asked.
He couldn't help but remember the All Might's advice, 'Always clench your butt cheeks before you yell SMASH!' Easy to say that it was not the most understandable point of advice yet. He gave a nervous chuckle, "Well my couch helped me to build-up my body to best suit my quirk. Not much on how to use it, I'm just learning it on my own." Rubbing his right arm absently.
Bubbles and Blossom could not help but feel a little relation to how his story sounded familiar. But chose to brush that thought aside, but another thought did cross the red heads mind.
"Izuku. From what I saw initially, you seem to build up your strength in to a specific limb before you attack, am I right?" She inquired thoughtfully.
Initially caught off guard, "Yeah I do…" He answered honestly.
Blossom hummed. "Your quirk is an emitter type, as it stockpiles power and enhances one's physical abilities. From what I gathered at the quirk assessment test, you directed all that power in to at first your arm but then in to your fingers, leaving it damaged from the strain you placed on it."
Izuku was awed at her deduction but nevertheless answered with an sheepish "yes", still finding that day more or less draining. "So what Bloss?" Bubbles curiously asked, sitting on the ground.
Blossom thoughtfully said. "I think his quirk's traits are not so different from a certain sister's own quirk, if I may say." Before she could go on, Buttercup, as if on cue, came over; holding four water bottles, then proceeded to toss everyone their own water bottle.
Taking a stand next to Bubbles. "Soooo, what are we talking about?" Nonchalantly asking, as she took a big gulp of her water.
Bubbles replied. "Blossom was just trying to get a better understanding of Izuku's quirk." Taking a sip of her water.
She nodded. "Yeah, I was about to suggest to Izuku to do what you did when you needed to control yours." That got Buttercup's head to turn so fast at that, you could swear you felt a breeze forming. "What?!" Credit to her subtleness, she whisper screamed while Izuku didn't notice.
Blossom signalled with her eyes as she conveyed, "Nothing too detailed, I meant how you were able to control some bursts of quirk." The hints were well received, for Buttercup calmed down, albeit not before she gave a glare at her sister.
At that moment, Izuku suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah! I remember you were about to tell As-Tsu and I about your quirk, but we were interrupted by the attack." Blossom turned her stare now at the raven haired girl, as if to say 'what did you say?', but Buttercup quickly shut it down with a stare of her own that said 'nothing red'. Continuing, "If you don't mind, what is it? It seems really interesting, how did you learn to control it?" Izuku finally asked quite enthusiastically.
The girls sweat dropped at their peer's enthusiasm, but Buttercup rolled her eyes. "First of all, take it down a notch buddy. Secondly, my quirk allows me to create and use plasma energy." As to make a point, lifted her hand and formed a ball of plasma energy, much to the awe of her quirk analyst classmate.
Blossom further went on with the explanation. "She can also use it to boost her own strength and abilities such like yours (well not exactly but why say) and that's why I suggested her as an example." She finished.
With rolled eyes, "Well thank you teacher Blossom", Bubbles teasingly said, taking another sip of her drink much to Buttercup's amusement.
"That's really impressive." Izuku now gave a thoughtful expression. "That could also explain your strength and the tolerance to the heat given off by Bakugo quirk, siting that plasma is a hotter source than fire and your quirk could have secondary characteristics that makes you resistant or simply immune to heat. But could that be really possible? Imagine the effects it could have, especially if true invulnerability, could be a great match up against other fire user quirks. Could it be a match up against Endeavor, but it would also depend of how high the temperature a person could stand, maybe hotter than the sun-umm!" Izuku's ramblings were cut off when Buttercup shoved his water bottle in to his mouth.
"Geez man. Didn't we already talk about your word vomiting? Eish." Buttercup sighed.
"He makes Blossom's speeches seem like an anecdote." Bubbles mockingly said.
"Hey!" Blossom said in her defensive, but secretly could not argue on her classmates excessive words.
They all laughed at that, which made Izuku, who initially felt a bit embarrassed, realize that they were only teasing, laugh as well.
"So red, what are you getting at?" Buttercup done, asked her sister.
"Well. What I was getting at, was that can't Izuku transfer the energy all over his body, initially distributing the power equally, as to lessen the potential damage that it could lead to your body? I have a thought that like any emitter quirk like yourself, or anyone who is starting off learning their abilities, they need to start slow, and letting it flow in and around the body on command continuously." Blossom explained.
She could see the realization growing his head, so she went to use an example. "It's like a circuit diagram, if you may. Where your quirk is the battery, a power source and we have bulbs that represent certain areas of your body and switches that allow the current to move freely through the wires attached. Now, you seem to allow your quirk to activate or switch on to a certain bulb, thereby allowing light to shine, but in turn, it can cause strain on the one bulb, due to the sudden influx of power, and short term use; doing that will end up damaging the bulb a.k.a your limbs. Now, I believe allowing the free flow of current through all the bulbs, will allow for a better power usage and control." Blossom concluded her explanation.
For a minute, Izuku was thinking at the example given to him by Blossom, the concept was not above his head. He could admit that he was using 100% cowl whenever he activated his quirk, in doing so without training it and only to one limb; winding it up with broken bones. The idea seemed so simple, that he felt ashamed that he didn't think of it sooner. Granted, I didn't wield this power for very long, but…ugh. If his power was the battery, then he must allow the 'currents' to pass freely through all the bulbs of his body.
Izuku closed his eyes and made an attempt to activate his quirk, this time, differently. 'Allow the currents to pass through, let's allow all the switches on.'
After a few minutes, there was a round of whoa, as the girls were dazzled but what they were witnessing.
Izuku was activating his powers, allowing the energy to flow throughout his body and not just to one area at a time. Instead of summoning One For All, he directed it to spread throughout his body, letting the little bit of the power flow in at a time. Red vein like energy surge, wrapped around areas of his body, legs, arms and face, as teal coloured lightning danced around him; a smell of ozone was in the air. When done he felt happy that it worked, but he also felt tired. Before he hit the ground, a soft but firm hand caught his arm, laying him gently on the ground to rest.
Soon panic was heard. "Izuku, are you okay? Are you sick? Was it your powers? Did it cause too much strain? Are you-" A swift chop to the head silenced the worryful PPG.
"Relax Bubbles, Izuku must just be tired from that quirk use. Also a combination of Buttercup's training session." Blossom said bluntly, while Bubbles tended to her sore head, compliments of an annoyed Buttercup.
Izuku easily steadied his head and noticed he was in someone's arms; he looked on to see a familiar scowling look that turned to stare back at him with a slight hint of worry. He gave what seemed to be a whisper, "Buttercup?..." A small smile on his lips, that no one seem to pay mind to.
Buttercup sighed with a small smile that quickly turned neutral. "Alright green bean, time for everyone to take another break." Looking at her sister's for any objections, there was none.
They were all inside, sitting at the kitchen to have some juice and sandwiches the girls help make with Nemuri some hours ago for lunch. When Izuku came to not so long ago, he objected to not being a bother, that he will eat later, but the girls, with added heat from Buttercup insisted that it was no problem. They all ate in silence, and when done, Blossom wanted to go and meditate some more, while Bubbles opted to take a quick nap. She didn't miss a chance to make a comment that went along the lines of, "Enjoy lunch you two lovebirds." With a quit giggle that followed.
The blue PPG immediately turned around the corner, missed being hit by a green blast that left a small sized hole in the wall; left by a ticked off Buttercup. Izuku obliviously didn't catch that but was suddenly surprised by the sound and sight of the wall being destroyed; he chose to ignore it, not wanting to be dragged in to a sisters dispute. They two sat in silence eating, when Buttercup noticed Izuku's facial expression.
"Hey green bean, you have been smiling this whole time we have been eating. What? Are the sandwiches that good?" Buttercup joked, but was interested in the guy's recent good mood.
"Oh." The green haired boy didn't realize his emotions were on his sleeve so easily. Rubbing the back his head, embarrassed, "It's nothing. I'm-I'm just happy that I got some training from you guys, and even though it was only the first day of training, I learned a great deal. I just wanted to say thanks for helping." He gave a happy smile.
Seeing the joy on her classmates face, she couldn't help but give a small smile of her own. "Hey, it's no problem green bean." That turned in to a sadistic smirk. "Besides, we still have 2 more weeks remaining and now that you can partially use your powers, I won't go easy on you anymore." A menacing laugh escaped her lips.
Izuku hearing that, still held his smile, but only had one thought racing through his mind at that. 'I'm dead!'
Izuku could honestly say that the advice he gotten from Blossom was invaluable in his training. He learned to use One For All. More specifically, he learned to further distribute the flow of power throughout his body, like currents through his body. The hard part was him trying to move, but with some much needed 'incentive' from Buttercup, he was able to become mobile while his quirk was on. Granted, he could only manage to use about 9% cowl at the moment, but he was happy nonetheless at the results of it. He was also working some fighting styles to best suit his power.
In that short amount of time, Izuku jotted down some ideas in his notebook that might come in handy later in his own fighting style. In the timespan of the training with the girls, he noticed their small individual fighting styles that seem to work well with their characters. Blossom's style was more involving self-discipline, reading and redirecting a person's attack. She is as agile as her sisters but not very proficient in hand to hand. Buttercup has a more MMA type of style, with more strength to her powers than her sisters. Bubbles style is keener towards acrobatics, rhythm , flexibility and kicks; much like capoeira.
Buttercup gave him the idea to incorporate not just fists but legs too, to not just be an imitation of his hero. Glad that she didn't mean more to what she said.
Izuku knew that he had to do his absolute best this Sports Festival, not just for himself but…
"I don't care about you're worthless quirk. I will beat you no matter what! And those 3 freaks you call friends of yours! I am going to be the number one hero and I won't allow some fucking extras to get in my way! So enjoy your win, because it won't last."
…also to show a friend of his that he has some competition on his tail, and he won't back down either.
It was 5 days before the Sports Festival started and of course the girls were getting as ready as can be. They whole event has been highly talked about and people were going all out, after all, UA's particular was the most well-regarded Festival out of the other Hero Schools' Sports Festivals. That morning, the Blossom and Buttercup were taking a well sought out break when Nemuri came in with some very exciting news.
"Girls! Girls! I have some great news for you all!" Nemuri dressed in normal clothes came in very excited.
The girls for a quick second were on high alert for any trouble, but quickly relaxed at the woman's excited, albeit crazy form.
"What's going on Ms Nemuri?" Blossom asked, if only to satiate her curiosity.
Nemuri smiled as she presented them with a flyer. They took the flyer and what was written on it was indeed something to be excited over. Tomorrow, Musutafu was hosting a beach market/fair in celebration of the approaching Sports Festival. Vendors everywhere were to sell various kinds of things: special merch, street food, handmade goods, and many other things; no doubt it was going to a busy place with a lot of people coming to check it out. But what caught the girl's eyes was-
"BEACH!" They all said in unison.
Nemuri nodded, "Yes girls, at the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. They say that some selfless humanitarian cleaned it up, restoring it to its once beauty and they decided to use as the fair location. But don't worry, they will make sure not to let it get polluted again."
"Alright! I can't wait to go to the beach again!" Bubbles giddily exclaimed.
"There are prizes, foods and a whole lot of other cool stuff. Most importantly, it's…A FREAKING BEACH!" Buttercup matched her sister's energy, being one of the rare times. You know it's exciting.
"Honestly, this brings back some fond memo-" Blossom mentally cursed herself at that thought. That sudden slip up caused the atmosphere to change significantly.
Nemuri noticing the sudden change, wanted to inquire. "Girls, what's the matter? What's with the sudden change in mood?"
"It's just that, we use to love the beach back when we were home. Even when we were unfortunate to get sun burn, it was fun, but…" Bubbles drawled.
"We just suddenly missed home, that's all." Blossom looked apologetic at causing it.
Buttercup didn't say anything, but Nemuri could see her was nothing more than her suppressing her sadness with the feeling being homesick.
Nemuri, with a sympathetic smile, walked over to sit with the girls. "Girls, it's not wrong to miss home. I can understand that all your memories are back home but you have each other; no matter what, you stick together. And like Nezu said, he will help you find a way home, it's just a little tricky. Besides, don't let the sadness take over your days, I think going to the fair tomorrow can reignite some old memories and you can make new ones along the way." Looking at them with soothing eyes.
The girls mauled over the idea. They have been here for close to a year and although they miss home, they can't continue to be sad for long; sooner or later they will get home, but until then, they have a goals to obtain; one to be heroes here and the other, take down HIM. They also know that feeling down will not change anything but ruin their mood, so there is only one thing to do.
"Well, what do you say girls?" Nemuri asked hopefully.
They looked at each other and knew their collective opinions once again.
Blossom spoke. "Well I can speak for everyone when we agree…"
"LET'S HAVE A BEACH DAY!"
-Dagobah Municipal Beach Park-
The next day around 12:00 noon, the girls arrived at the beach fair. The place was filled with tents and vendors, activity booths and whatnot. It was all too mesmerizing and filled with laughter and joy; it looked like half the city was at that fair. To mark the celebration of the day, everyone dressed up; being summer was just around the corner, they all dressed accordingly.
When the PPG's arrived, they were dressed for the season. Bubbles was wearing a light blue spaghetti strap summer dress with sunflowers adorned on it, sandal strap shoes and had her hair down. Buttercup was wearing white shorts, a dark green t-shirt, yellow sneakers and olive green framed sunglasses. Blossom was wearing a red off shoulder top, reasoning it would get too hot, a tawny-orange midi skirt, sandal straps, a wool cardigan sweater for later on and a sunhat. She also opted to let her hair down, with Bubbles making a few suggestions, with two small braids holding the hair back and tied with her ribbon. Midnight was in a navy blue romper, with red accents and gladiator sandals, paired with burgundy sunglasses and a matching purse; hair pulled back in a ponytail.
The girls were in awe at the sites and they wasted no time to hit the fair.
As soon as they got inside, Bubbles raced straight for the tents, browsing in awe at the products. One particular tent she stopped by had custom made jewellery.
"Hello, little lady! Interested in buying a UA charm bracelet?" The vendor chirped, "We have a special deal! Buy one; get three more at the additional price of one!"
Bubbles squealed before taking out her bunny themed purse, and taking out some cash.
"Yes please!" She exclaimed.
After taking the money, the lady gave her a round mahogany box with the bracelets inside.
"Thank you for the business! Come again!" She said happily.
Bubbles then ran towards her sisters and Midnight, who were browsing another tent.
"Look, look, look! I got us some UA themed charm bracelets! Aren't they cool?" Bubbles remarked as she opened the box.
Midnight touched that she bought one for her, happily took one and wore it there and then. "It's lovely dear, thank you."
The others soon followed, thanking her as well.
As they walked along, Buttercup rolled her eyes as she stuck her hands into her short pockets, not finding anything yet that caught her eyes. That is until she caught a certain scent in the air, Buttercup was entranced. "What smells so good?" Buttercup pointed out.
Before Blossom could respond, Buttercup sped to the source of the delectable smell, with her nose as the leader. The others quickly followed the raven haired girl, until they found her at a nice looking food vendor's tent.
"WOW! THESE ARE GOOD!" Buttercup was busy stuffing her face with two bags full of Takoyaki. She retuned back to her group, who gave her a look.
"What?" With a mouth full of her delights. They merely just burst out giggling at the way Buttercup looked right now, she didn't care, rolling her eyes, she continued to eat her food.
As the day went on, the girls got to try many games and activities as well as crossed paths with certain people from school, and let's just some of them, they were not happy to see. They also managed to try other foods and buy certain items that included, but wasn't limited to: a Nezu plushie (guess who bought that), a Midnight themed choker, some Sports Festival themed shirts, a Thirteen puffer jacket, a limited edition trading cards of Heroes, and many MANY sticks of dango.
The girls were having fun so much. And what's better was that they got to enjoy a little piece of their childhood memories, even if it was not in the same world, they were happy that they were still together; more so happy that they have a wonderful people looking after them. So, they were able to be carefree and joyful as they bought stuff from tents, played some games, and danced to live music.
Soon, the girls had to leave for the day, as the sun was coming down and more people were coming for the nightly festivities. The girls wanted to do one more thing before they had to go, to which after Midnight heard, was more than happy to accept.
As the golden sun rays danced over the light blue waters of the beach, the four ladies could not help but admire the sunset in all its beauty. The girls wanted to at least watch the sun fall, capturing it with digital pictures and mental ones, to always keep close to their hearts. Midnight left to buy one or two things, telling them the plan of meeting at the exit in 30 minutes; everyone agreed.
A few minutes of silence passed, before someone spoke up.
"Hey guys. What do you think HIM is doing right now?" Bubbles asked blankly.
It should have racked some fear, but after the day they had, they were just too exhausted.
"At the moment, he could be plotting any stupid plan against us Bubs." Buttercup said with a shrug.
"Not so sure Bubbles." Blossom gave her own reply.
Another moment of silence came, before Bubbles asked another question.
"Are you guys nervous about the Sports Festival?" Turning her head to look at their faces.
"Honestly Bubbles, the event is not what I am worried about. More about what comes after." Blossom answers blankly.
Buttercup playfully scoffs, "You always seem to think five steps in to the future, huh red?"
Shrugging with a smirk. "That's why I'm the leader."
"We know! You never stop letting us know that." Giving an eye roll. Followed by another round of laughter, till it quickly died down.
"But seriously Bubbles, we won't really know what to expect at the Sports Festival, the events or its outcomes." Blossom honestly said.
"Yeah trust me, I tried getting it out Ms Nemuri." Buttercup said it as if it's something to be proud of.
"Buttercup!" The other said in unison.
For which Buttercup just laughed at their faces. "Oh what? I just wanted to know if there was any fighting in it." They then joined in the laughter again.
"Oh well, I just wished we knew what to expect that day." Bubbles said not so glumly but with a thoughtful look.
"We could always travel forward in ti-"
"Nope." Bubbles wasted no time in shutting down that idea.
"Besides, we're the Powerpuff Girls. Expecting the unexpected is what we do, and I don't think it will end anytime soon girls." Blossom said with a fond smile.
"Of course." Bubbles sighed. "It comes with the job."
"Ugh! Okay ladies, I think this whole share your feelings session has been swell and dandy but I want to hit the shower as soon as possible. So let's haul ass." Buttercup proposed, standing up from the sand.
Blossom groaned. "Fine fine Buttercup. We might all need a shower. But can't you say it without the sailor's mouth?" Crossing her arms under her chest.
Buttercup shrugged. "Hey I'm Buttercup, it comes with the package." She started walking, with two sisters behind her.
"Give it up Blossom. She will always be our Buttercup, for better or…mainly worse." That made Blossom smile as she walked hand in hand with her little sister back to the meet up point.
By the time they left, they were given memories that would follow them forever.
Chapter 16- The Day of The Sports Festival!
It was the morning of the festival and if the fireworks weren't already a dead giveaway, then you had to open your ears to the excited people making their through festival fair outside in order to reach the stadium where the games would be held.
Many people were wondering who were going to shine at this year's festival. Some people were talking about the 3rd years, seeing as this would be the final moments to show what they were made of. But majority were giving their votes on Class 1-A. The class has been on everybody's lips, ever since their close encounter with the villain attack at USJ and surviving it; everybody has been readily wondering what could these class of powerful youngsters bring to this year's festival. Even heroes of all types and ranks are keeping an eye out for potential sidekicks at this Sports Festival.
"Quite a large turnout it seems." Mt. Lady said between bites of her free meal.
"You can't be surprised at how everyone is excited for the Festival." Death Arms said.
"No. But more about how we are placed as security for this, instead of being inside." Mt. Lady grumbled.
"Quit whining. After what happened at USJ, many other Pro Heroes are being called for guard duty to." Kamui Woods shot back.
"Oh like you are so happy to be here to, instead of inside as well." Mt. Lady argued.
In the stadium, each class was placed in their own special rooms, as a means change and prepare for the upcoming battles.
"Oh man... I really wanted to wear my costume," Mina complained as the whole class was in their designated waiting room. Everyone was wearing the standard U.A. gym uniform for the festival.
"It's to keep things fair, Mina," Momo reminded her pink classmate. "The other classes don't have costumes, so gym uniforms level the playing field, so to speak. Not counting each individual's advantage from their Quirk."
"Geez! I wonder what the first round is gonna be this year?" Kaminari grumbled aloud as he paced the room, hating the suspense. "The anticipation of not knowing is the worst."
"It doesn't matter what comes. We must face down whatever the organizers have set up to challenge us." Tokoyami replied with his eyes closed and arms crossed.
"He's right, we have to show that we can handle whatever comes our way like real Heroes." Shoji agreed with Tokoyami as he sat at one of the tables.
The girls were casually sitting down. Bubbles was busy chatting with Koda, while Buttercup, Izuku, Iida and Uraraka were talking about whatever; they were all brought to a momentary pause when the door opened.
"Hey everyone, it's time we get going! We'll be entering the stadium soon." Blossom entered through the door, bringing everybody's attention to her announcement. One by one the class stood up and prepared to head out to the field. It was time to prove their worth as future Heroes. The girls were excited to get out there, but where stopped in their tracks, Todoroki approached Izuku, but the girls seem to feel his gaze on them as well.
"Midoriya." The red and white haired teen spoke up. Izuku turned to look at his classmate while everyone else watched the scene that was about to occur.
"What's up, Todoroki?" Izuku questioned as he looked at the ice and fire user. He never really got around to talking to him, maybe because the guy was seen as a loner and didn't really hang out with any of his classmates.
"As it stands at the moment, I know I will beat you, whether you have All Might by your side or your little fan club behind you, backing you up." He's gaze momentarily lands on the 2 girls behind him as he said that last statement; for which the said "fan club" were not amused to hear it. "I don't care what I saw at the USJ attack, I know I am made to win and you can just give up now." He bluntly stated, making everyone in the room pause at the tense atmosphere that.
Izuku was momentarily taken aback by those words. Bakugo furrowed at the perceived slight and looked half a second away from yelling at Todoroki.
"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you trying to pick a fight now of all times? We're about to begin the Festival!" Kirishima tried to ease the tension that was building in the room.
"We're not here to make friends, but to win and show our best before the Pro's and if none of you are going to take this seriously, then I advise that you all back out of the competition now then make a fool of yourselves out there." Todoroki's voice rose, emphasizing his point across the room.
Bubbles was a little taken aback by her classmate's own declaration of war, Blossom, at the door, only narrowed her eyes at the boys threat; while Buttercup was having none of it.
She was marching up to the guys, about to give him a piece of her mind, "Look here candy cane boy! If it's-", until she was held back by a firm hand on her shoulder. She turned to see whose hand it belong to and it was Izuku.
Izuku took back his hand and with a determined look, spoke up. "I welcome the competition, Todoroki." Izuku exhaled, not losing his determined look. "But just remember what you said before about underestimating your opponent." For a second, you could see the teen's eyes twitch. "We are facing off with all the other courses, aiming for the top with everything they got, but don't count this class out so soon."
The tension eased down, it may not have completely disappeared, but Izuku's little words of encouragement help give some people the calm and confidence they needed. Bakugo just tsk'd at the green boy, deducing it was nothing more than some weak ass way of boosting his own self, 'Pathetic.'
"That was so manly, Midoriya!" Kirishima fist pumped excitedly. There was a wide smile on the redhead's face. Todoroki paid no more mind to the teen in front of him, as he left through the door, he gave a short but cold glare at the red head; which was totally reciprocated by her own chilling glare. \
Izuku took a deep breath in and out, as if letting out all the fear and confidence he had at that moment of whatever it was. But before he could look back and see the reactions of the three girls.
"Deku come on, before we are late!" Pulling the frazzled boy along and out the door. Blossom seeing the two leaving, she was left behind with her two sisters; walking over to gauge their moods.
"That guy has some issues." Bubbles sighed.
"I don't care if that wannabe candy cane has issues. I am just about ready to clobber our so called classmates." Buttercup grumbled.
"Easy there Buttercup. I understand how you feel and-"
"And you're going to say that we shouldn't rock any boats or cause too much attention on to us and-" Now Blossom's turn to interrupt her.
"If you gave me a chance to finish I was going to say, -and we should show him that we are serious. Let's show all of them that we are heroes and that is not going to change, neither in Townsville nor here. Right girls?" Her eyes showed a level of determination and strength.
The two other sisters looked at each other with their determined smiles and stared back at their leader.
"RIGHT!"
"Good. Cause I have a little plan instored."
-Festival Stadium-
"HEEEEEEEY!" Present Mic shouted from the announcer's booth, causing the crowd to cheer loudly. "Make some noise, sports fans! Get those cameras prepped media hordes! This year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in Sports Festival History, guaranteed! I've only got one question before we start this show! Are you ready?! Let me hear you make some noise as our students make their way to the big stage!"
It's not an exaggeration to say that everyone and their mum's were watching through the screen, anticipating the walkout of the individual classes.
"Why am I even here?" Aizawa grumbled from his seat next to Present Mic. He was fully healed now, thanks to the early healing he'd gotten from Recovery Girl and his student Buttercup; but Recovery Girl was pissed at his weak-ass gratitude and signed him up to be Present Mic's co-host.
"Time to welcome our students to the field!" Mic announced loudly as the First Years began to emerge from the tunnel and onto the field. "Let's introduce our first group, who are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a villain attack! The dazzling students lighting up your TVs with solid gold skills! The HERO COURSE OF CLASS-1A!
The crowd exploded into cheers as Class 1-A appeared.
"Whoa…There sure are m-many people here." Izuku said, trying and failing not to sound so nervous.
"I hope we're still able to give our best performance even though all these eyes are watching us. I suppose it's just another aspect of being a hero we all have to get use too." Iida spoke, assessing the situation.
Bubbles was busy thinking to herself in the moment. "What's up Bubs? Are you nervous in front of the crowd?" Buttercup asked teasingly, as she nudged her. Bubbles shook her head. "No, it's just, Present Mic made a mistake. Bakugo was not at the USJ attack, so why is he getting the spotlight as well?" She said so innocently, but that made Buttercup laugh out loud.
Kirishima was one of the few who heard that and so did Bakugo. "Hey man…you know she didn't mean it to be offensive, right?" Trying to diffuse any sign of his emerging temper.
Much to his relief and shock, Bakugo did not react, merely just gave a sinister smile as he marched on. 'Who cares what that weak extra thinks, this is where I will show everyone I came to win.'
"Next up, though they may not have had a lot of screen time! But they are also here to show their stuff! Welcome Class 1-B everyone!" Class-1B marched in to the arena, though they did not get a wow introduction, they were still holding their heads high.
"Next up we have the General Studies Classes 1-C, 1-D and 1-E! Watch out Hero Course! Some of them are aiming to take your place in one of those forty seats!" Present Mic hyped up the crowd while warning the hero course of their competition. Izuku and the others briefly noticed a few of the Gen Ed students who confronted them a while back.
"Some of our Hero Course students could benefit from following their example on grades." Aizawa spoke dully and a few of the Hero Course students from both classes flinched slightly.
"Now we have our talented students that produce the Gear that gets things done! Support Course Classes 1-F, 1-G and 1-H!" Mic shouted as the Support Course students, some of them decked out in their own self-made Gear, walked onto the field.
"And last, but certainly not least, the ones who learn the ins and outs of our economy and how to market the Heroes and their causes! Business Course Classes 1-I, 1-J, and 1-K!" Present Mic declared loudly as the crowd's energy kept building. The Business Course students smiled and chuckled at the Pro's statements. He wasn't wrong though. Any Pro that hoped to go independent in the Main Stream of the Hero industry needed to have good Marketing and Representation.
"Pfft, what are we, some sort extras to make the hero students look better?" A familiar brunette girl from the General Studies Course mentioned just loud enough for Izuku and some of the others in 1-A to catch.
With all of the first years gathered in the middle of the field, a loud crack caught their attention. From up on the stage appeared Midnight in all her voluptuous glory.
"It's time for the Opening Speech!" Midnight announced into the microphone with a grin. She gave a quick search to see her three "kids" were in the group.
Almost every man in the audience grinned or smiled at the beautiful Pro. While her girls were ready to smack the said males over their heads.
"Please welcome this year's chief umpire for the First Year Tournament, the R-Rated Hero, Midnight!" Present Mic presented to the cheers of the crowd, especially the male section.
"What about the Principal?" One of the attendees asked another.
"He's always at the Third Year stage, every year!" The guy next to him answered back, not taking his eyes off Midnight. "The other stadiums don't know what they're missing!"
"Someone might want to talk to Miss Midnight about what she's wearing," Kirishima mentioned with his cheeks slightly red. Midnight's Costume was basically a modified Dominatrix outfit after all.
"Yeah, that costume should definitely come with a warning label." Kaminari agreed even though he hadn't taken his eyes off the Pro since she appeared. Teenage hormones were a powerful thing!
"Is that really appropriate apparel for a High School Sports Festival?" Tokoyami questioned as Midnight prepared to start the Festival properly. He was glad that his physiology allowed him to hide his own blushing at their teacher.
"Silence, everyone!" Midnight, with a stern face yelled, whipping the air to get everyone's attention. It then took on a subtle proud expression, "For the Student Pledge, we have Blossom Kayama of Class 1-A!"
Every eye turned to the long haired teenager. Blossom had a feeling that this was probably because she had scored the highest during the Hero Course Entrance Exam. She quickly turned to spot her sisters, where one gave an encouraging smile while the other smirked, mouthed out "nerd"; safe to say, what else could she have expected.
As she headed over to the microphone, Midnight gave her a gentle nod of support and an encouraging smile of her own.
She looked over the crowd, and begun. "I am honoured to stand before all of you, representing not just my class but all my fellow First Year students." That got some mixed cheers and reactions from the audience as some Pro Heroes seem to recognize her. "I would like to take the opportunity to agree with Present Mic. That indeed we are all here to do our best but it doesn't mean that I or any of my classmates will back down so easily. We earned our spots in the Entrance Exam, and if you want to take them from us; then we accept the challenge! I look forward to the competition and I advise you all to do your best."
With that, Blossom gave a short bow, as she walked off the stage to the sound of cheers and applause. But some were not looking in to applauding for a Class 1-A hero fake. Midnight just smiled at the girls words, knowing full well that neither her or her sisters were going to disappoint this day, she was then squealing and hugging herself from the 'youthful passion' as she called it.
"What a Pledge! No one can say that she is not going to show any less than what she announced folks!" Present Mic blasted out through the speakers. "With that pledge of war, we now know that things are about to get fired up at this year's Sports Festival!"
"Must you act so dramatic? And get your foot off the desk." Aizawa admonished Mic, whose boot was literally on the desk as the blonde man nearly jumped on top of the furniture in his excitement.
"Time to discover the first game of the Sports Festival!" Midnight cried out as a display lit up behind her and began spinning through options. "This is when our students start experiencing the pain for the first time! This year's first event is…"
Everyone waited in baited breath, as they awaited the first challenge of the festival.
"An Obstacle Race!" Midnight cracked her whip while giving a somewhat sadistic smile.
"Here we go!" Present Mic yelled loudly while all the students looked on at their first event.
"Before we begin we'll give out the rules for this event!" Midnight informed the students with her microphone. "The course will be one full lap around this stadium! The total length is four kilometers! I don't want to restrain anyone at least in this game..." Midnight gave a sadistic look as she licked her lips. "You have to run the entire course. Going out of bounds by leaving the track is strictly prohibited! You must face each obstacle in order or you'll be deemed as having gone out of bounds and be disqualified!" The Pro cracked her whip towards the First Years. "You are free to do whatever your heart's desires!"
"Now, then, take your places, everyone!" Midnight yelled, making the crowd cheer as the first event was about to begin. The students began to move to the tunnel that marked the starting line.
'This is it, my showcase. I have to show the world who I am.' Izuku thought to himself as he was getting himself psyched. 'Today, I show the world, that I am…here.'
The countdown lights turned on, two red lights and one green waiting to start the race.
"Are you ready? The Obstacle Race is about to begin!" Mic hollered through the speakers.
The first red light went out on the countdown. The Obstacle Race was a go!
"START!" Both Midnight and Mic yelled at the same time.
In an instant, every student rushed forward.
"OKAY! Let's check out the action! Are you ready to give commentary, Eraser?" Present Mic asked Aizawa with his normal, energetic personality.
"I'm still not sure why I have to be up here in the first place." Aizawa drawled out.
"We'll get started right away, Eraser! What should the crowd pay attention to in the first few minutes of the race?" Mic continued as if Aizawa hadn't just complained about having to be co-announcer.
"The doorway," Aizawa commented as he watched all of the First Years rush into the narrow tunnel.
Inside the tunnel, yelling and shouting began as the participants were squeezed together. Trying to run through the tunnel at the same time was proving impossible. It was far too narrow for all of them to pass through at once and many realized that it had been designed this way on purpose. This was clearly a test of ingenuity to see how they'd get through and take a lead in the race.
A sudden drop in temperature made the majority of the students start shivering. The floor was covered in a sheet of ice and most of the First Years' shoes froze over, sticking them in place. Several dozen calls of alarm, or outright accusations of cheating, rang out as Todoroki ran past the immobilized students.
"Sorry, but I have to win this race." Todoroki stated while leaving a trail of ice right behind him. It would make it hard for those that freed themselves to walk, much less run, to try and catch up.
"You think you can get ahead of me so easily, you icy-hot bastard?!" Bakugo roared as he was already in the air with his explosions firing to keep him airborne.
"Nice try, Todoroki!" Kirishima yelled out as he leapt forward in a long jump to clear the spreading ice before it could entrap him.
"That was naïve, Todoroki." Momo commented as she produced a long pole from her palm and used it to vault herself over the ice trap.
"Your ice can't stop my sparkle!" Aoyama stated while firing his laser and being carried through the air by the force his unique energy generated.
"Hey, that was close!" Mina shouted as her special shoes secreted her acid onto the ice. The liquid dissolved the ice and made small, clear patches on the track where Mina stepped.
It seemed as though many students have found their way through the hybrid quirk users trap, some being from the other classes. "More people dodged that than I expected. Especially those from other classes." Todoroki noted as he continued to run. The Hybrid Quirk user refocused on the track ahead of him before blinking in shock.
A large metallic fist slammed into the ground, of where Todoroki, a few moments was standing, before he quickly dodged the surprise attack.
"Target acquired!" The mechanical voices of dozens and dozens of robots rang out as a horde of One Pointers from the Entrance Exam tore through the walls that had been set up to outline the track. With a rumble and huge plumes of dirt and dust, eight Zero Pointers rose from their hiding places among the forest surrounding the track. In no time at all the entire track was blocked off by a wall of robots.
"Are those the robots from the entrance exam?" Izuku nervously looked at the same exact robots that he had a trouble beating before.
"Ooh, enemies have shown up out of nowhere! We're in for a treat here! It's a test of strength and cunning, the Robo Inferno!" Present Mic announced while the robots locked onto the students.
"Are those the Zero Point villains from the practical test?!" Kaminari skidded to a halt, along with the majority of the First Years.
"The Hero Course had to fight those?!" Someone questioned from the crowd of students.
"This is what they meant by obstacles?!" Another student demanded as she stared up at the towering robots.
"There's too many! We can't get through!" A different student cried out at what they perceived to be an impassable barrier.
"So, this is what the other students faced in their Entrance Exams?" Todoroki commented as he sized up the massive machines.
"Where did the school even get the funding for these things?" Momo wondered as she looked at all the robots.
As the robot made the first move to attack. Frost started to accumulate in Todoroki's right hand, "They obviously went through a lot of trouble, but I wish they'd have prepared something a little more difficult", and placing it down, spread across the ground. "Especially since my dear old dad is watching." He stated with a mocking tone at the end.
The ground froze in a large area surrounding Todoroki and he swiped his right arm upwards, sending a blast of ice and frost at three of the Zero Pointers just as the massive machines began their attack. The robots stood no chance as the ice encased their metal bodies and they froze over. With an exhale of frosted breath he ran between the frozen behemoth's legs as he chased after Izuku.
"Look, he stopped them!" A student called out.
"We can get through between the legs!" Another claimed loudly.
"Careful now if I were you," Todoroki warned the group at large. "I froze them while they were off balance." He informed in a monotone as the three Zero Pointers started to tilt over. The majority of the students ran backwards to clear the area as the frozen giants slammed into the ground. "On purpose," His final words to the rest of the students went unheard in the racket as he rushed ahead.
"That's Todoroki from Class 1-A pulling ahead to an early lead with a devastating display! AMAZING! This what we came here to see listeners!" Mic roared as he stood up from his seat at another display of incredible Quirk use from the First Year students.
"His attack was both offensive and defensive. A surprisingly rational and strategic move to ensure his own progress." Aizawa commented as he watched Todoroki take the lead.
"No wonder he was let in through recommendation! He's never even fought those robots before! Extinguished by his chart-topping moves!" Mic was almost hopping up and down as he commentated.
From the dust settling, more robots emerged, making their way over to the students. Many were still frozen in fear, most being that they never even faced anything like this and were completely at a loss to what to do.
They slowly approached Izuku, red lights flashing as Izuku was contemplating what to do. 'I have to get passed these robots, while looking out for other obstacles.' Thinking about that, he suddenly had a flashback of when he faced one of those robots in the Entrance Exams, where he petrified in place by the fear he had. 'I could show what I can do now, but it's too soon to demonstrate, besides, the amount I got is not nearly as enough.' Time was running out and Izuku was at a loss. 'What do I do?'
One of the pointer robots went on the offense, lifting their mechanical arm in the air, they were about to attack the green haired teen. Just when Izuku was about to take his own offensive strike, the robot's arm froze mid-air.
'What?' Izuku looked confused at the turn of events, before the said robot, now covered in a pink glow, hovered over the ground and in to the air, its body was now being crumpled, as if it was a can being crushed in a garbage truck; falling down to the ground, in pieces. Everyone wondered what happened, until three figures walked along the path.
"Not so glad to be fighting those things again." An annoyed female called, walking over with her glowing hands out.
"I still find them better than dealing with Dynamo." A cheery but equally serious voice came out as well.
"Whatever you whiners. It just means more target practice for me." Another voice said, slamming fist in to her hand.
Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles were standing beside each other, unafraid and looking determined.
"Whoa audience! It seems that we might see more action just yet!" Mic announced, sounding just as curious at what was to happen.
"Okay girls. Plan: Delta Fireworks!" At that order, many were confused at what the red head was talking about, they went in to formation.
"Alright! Time to really show them!" Buttercup exclaimed with a sly smirk, getting in to position.
"I love the firework plan. Let's go!"
Bubbles whole body seemed to be covered in a blue aura that seemed to be vibrating all around her. Hands extended apart, she manifested small bubble like spheres around herself. "Go Buttercup!" She hollered, launching all her Bubble spheres in to the sky. People wondered what she doing, till a green blur appeared in the air, in the path of where the round projectiles were launched. "Batter up, red!" She sent a supercharged ionic punch that hit all the balls now covered in green energy, right at Blossom.
Despite everyone telling her to get out of the way, she ignored the voices, concentrating on her part. Both her hands lit up with a glow of pink, initially stopping the superfast spheres on the spot, before pulling them in between her palms; causing these over a dozen bubbles to merge in the middle of her hands. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, she focused on her task. The orb that was now basically the size of a football, changed from a bright pink, in to a multi-coloured ball of energy. She opened her eyes, locked on to her target, "Fire!" She released the orb, launched it with considerable strength.
The energy ball was shot in to the air above the pointer robots, leaving many people to think she missed. Until the orb broke apart, sending multi-coloured beams of light raining down on to the robots, destroying a couple of the Zero pointers and some of the numbered ones. What was left after the dust and smoke settled, were some piles of broken robot parts and gawked expressions on everyone's faces. For a few moments, everyone was quiet, not knowing what happened or what to say, until-
"OH MY PLUS ULTRA! FOLKS, WE JUST WITNESSED SOMETHING WILD!" Mic shouted in shock, almost using his quirk. "It looks as though the three girls from class 1-a: Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles Kayama have banded together, early in the race to combine their powers to display a very unique and potent combo move right before our eyes!" Everyone in the audience was taken aback by the display of power and teamwork by the three girls.
"Not really surprising. Given their quirk is initially called Chemical-X." That got a lot of muttering and confusion from the audience, with a groan, Aizawa reluctantly continued, "Not much I can say about their powers early in the competition. For that, you will all have to watch the whole race carefully." He dryly said, left dealing with an intrigued childish co-worker announcer and a growing headache.
"Hey! Someone's trapped underneath!" That made most whirl their heads towards the girls, as if their to blame them for the cause of that; which was so not true.
As if to prove them wrong, there from the ice covered robot wreckage, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu emerged from the said wreckage with their quirks activated.
"(I'm alive! Todoroki, that Bastard!) (That Class A really is filled with bastards!)" Both emerging from the wreckage, unscathed and looking pissed. "If it hadn't been me, someone would've died!" They both said in unison, then looking at each other, in shock and annoyance to find that they have almost the same quirks. While others were still reeling from the combo attack, the two boys ran onwards, seemingly arguing with each other; without knowing what had happened.
"Race ya, slow pokes!" Buttercup cried, racing forward, leaving her sisters behind.
"Hey! Not fair!" Bubbles shouted after her sister, breaking in to a run.
Blossom wanted to roll her eyes at them but realized she couldn't waste any more time and just ran in to the path of the remaining robot pointers.
Everyone snapped out of it. Someone telling the others that they shouldn't be fazed by those girls tricks and they should do what they did and work together, even for a short time to get through the robots. At that, explosions were sent off, with Bakugo taking to the skies, flying over one Zero pointer robot. "Damn that Todoroki! Damn those extras! I WON'T LET THEM BEAT ME!" That short declaration of his goal, followed by Sero and Tokoyami on his tail, copying his idea of going over the pointer robots with their quirks.
-Announcer's Booth-
"As expected, most of the group that has gone ahead are from Class A." Snipe noted.
"The other students aren't bad either. The ones from General Studies, who have a chance to get into the Hero Course, especially." Toshinori mentioned as he watched the race. "But there's a clear difference in training."
"The Hero Courses aren't given anytime to just stand around." Aizawa stated as the students of Class 1-A and Class 1-B tore apart any robot that stood in their way.
Momo created a full-sized, functional cannon and blasted a Zero Pointer's head into scrap with a well-placed shot. Mina dissolved the head of any robot that got near her. Kaminari simply had to touch them and release his Quirk for a second or two to fry the robots. Iida could simply kick most of them aside without much trouble. Kyouka could destroy two robots at the same time with her jacks and the immense vibrations they sent into the robots.
Bubbles saw fit to dodge and avoid the robots, not wanting to waste time. Buttercup took the opportunity to knock out any robot that was in her way with her fists; though that caused her to be a bit distracted. Blossom simply used her ice breath to either freeze her robot opponents or to simply make ice ramps, essentially using them for momentum to jump over the robots; she knew enough about those bots, to know they wouldn't exactly follow her but deal with the others. Izuku, with his quick wit and strength, picked a piece of the destroyed robot armour and used it as a shield as well as a tool to destroy the robots; effectively holding his own in the race.
"It is clearer to see that each of them are not taking this as lightly as they each did in the entrance exams. But I will say that there are some who despite all they went through, view this as nothing." Snipe said calculative.
As the challengers were racing through explosions and chaos, Mic's booming voice came through the speakers.
"For those of you who thought that the last obstacle was easy! Let's see how you feel about the next one!" Present Mic held his right hand to his head with a wide grin on his face.
The next obstacle the Pro Hero was referring to seemed to be a bottomless pit. Tall stone platforms were spaced out across the large canyon, but the platforms were so far apart from each other that only a select few Quirks would have any hope of jumping between them. In between the platforms were long, thick ropes that moved slightly in the breeze. They weren't even close to approaching stable footing.
"If they take a spill, they're out! If they want to pass this test, they'll have to get creative! It's The Fall!" Mic announced as many glanced over the massive chasm and the tons of rocky platforms that spanned the width of the obstacle.
Some were scared of how they would cross such a deep plummet. Three people took the initiative.
Taking a crouching position, Tsu jumped and landed on the tight rope, crawling over the fall. "This is my moment, easy peasy. Kero." Leaving everyone in awe.
Bubbles showed up, not too long and bounced from pillar to pillars having fun and showing her athletic skills. No one seemed to pay any mind to a larger individual following suit but at slower pace.
"Yes! Finally! This is my chance to show what I can do! My Support Items are going to steal the spotlight from these wannabe Heroes!" A pink-haired girl with thick dreadlocks snickered as she approached the edge. The young lady was decked out in Support Gear from head to toe! "Everyone! Observe what my brilliant gadgets can do! These are my Wire Arrows and Hover Soles!"
"You're from Support!" Ochako couldn't stop herself from exclaiming the obvious.
"Hey! Why'd you get to bring all of that stuff?" Mina -who had just arrived- pointed at the decked out girl.
"Hero Course students get all kinds of special training! So to keep things fair and to give us a fighting chance, we can bring whatever Gear we want! We just have to make it ourselves!" The pinkette grinned brightly at the two girls. "Now watch and be amazed!" With that, the Support Course student launched a cable across the chasm to a platform. Her boots activated and lifted her off the ground with powerful, concentrated fans. "I hope all the Support Companies are watching!" With that, she launched off the edge and swung through the chasm. When she reeled herself upwards with her wire, her boots kicked up their propulsion and rocketed her into the air! In one shot the Support Course girl had crossed half the obstacle!
"I won't lose!" Ochako declared as she crouched down and activated her Quirk on herself. With a powerful leap forward
"That's so unfair!" Mina huffed as she picked a rope and started crossing too.
On the opposite side of The Fall, Bubbles was currently in the lead, she looked behind her to see Todoroki crackling ice skating after her, while Bakugo gaining ground; seemingly on her tail. The ash-blonde was cursing as he forced his Quirk to keep going. His arms were starting to hurt and his palms felt numb, as if they were asleep. The kickback of his Quirk was slowly building up.
"Damn it!" Bakugo growled, noticing the other one of Deku's fan club. "Get out of my way YOU SHOW OFF! DIE!" With that, he went on the attack to knock out Bubbles with a close face explosion. The moment she landed after a bounce, Bakugo was mere feet away from setting an explosion at her. 'Not gonna happen meanie.' She thought to herself, about to dodge it.
But fortunately and unfortunately for Bubbles, she did a backflip in to the air, over Bakugo and his attack, landing on his back, and using him as leverage, propelling herself backwards by accident. When she did that, it caused her to lose her place but caused Bakugo's flight balance to be off and stumbled on to a pillar ground. He didn't stay down for long and after some choice words, continued on with blasting through the race.
"It seems that one of the Kayama girls has lost her lead after perfectly evading a surprise attack from Bakugo, effectively giving him the lead; may not been wise but a move done with great finesse and technique! The number of people that will make it through the first round hasn't been revealed, so no one can relax yet! Keep going, students!" Mic encouraged the First Years.
As Bakugo and Todoroki crossed the second obstacle, they were surprised to see Buttercup land down on the ground in front of them. She set off, running to the next challenge, and before Mic could explain the obstacle, like the hot head she was, set off a mine trap that blasted her off to the side. Although she was unscathed, she was very disoriented.
"Whoops! That is why we wait for the announcer to speak ladies and gentlemen! Looks like Buttercup stumbled on to the third and final obstacle of the race! You might want to watch your step, contestants, because here we have a MINEFIELD!"
At this, Buttercup groaned in surprise and annoyance. "Minefield? Sheesh, are they freaking kidding me?" She muttered.
As the other contestants were trickling, they heard the warning from Mic's announcement. So each one tried to carefully move across the field, but those who were unfortunate, set off a couple of mines on their way. At that moment, Izuku came in. Buttercup also saw both her sisters coming in as well. Bubbles and Blossom wasted no time, with Bubbles sending out a sound wave on to the field, before she confidently ran, not setting any of the mines off. Blossom released her ice breath, creating a path where she could run on. Buttercup didn't want to fall behind, so she shook of the dizziness and sprinted after everyone.
Todoroki and Bakugo saw the girls catching up and kicked in their own speed. Buttercup took this opportunity to fly, leaving her sisters behind and catching up to the two guys. Bakugo started to release explosives, making himself fly as well, with Todoroki creating his own ice path, to skate over.
"I WON'T LET YOU WIN, BITCH!"
"You will not pass me."
They were clearing majority of the minefield, when a large explosion went off. The three looked back to witness something that surprised them. Up in the air was Izuku, riding on a piece of the robot as he flew over the three.
"Midoriya." Todoroki acknowledged him.
"DEKU!" Bakugo growled.
"Izuku." Buttercup smirked.
Izuku was just about to lose speed, landing almost in between the three. With quick thinking, Midoriya holds onto the piece of armor and flips over, stepping onto Todoroki and Bakugou's backs. 'If I can't take back the lead, then I can't let them get ahead of me!' Izuku thought, as he slams the armour piece into the ground between the two, causing an explosion and launching himself forward.
"Ngh!" Midoriya lands and continues running forward. But to his shock, Buttercup also seems to be right behind him.
She turned to look at him, "Bring it on Green Bean!" Smirking as she raced past by a few inches.
"Folks, in a great turn of events, Midoriya who had lost speed, used the piece of armour to essentially block the other two competitors behind him! But just as he was gaining the lead, Buttercup Kayama caught up to him and they seem to be in a foot race, where said girl is passing him!" Mic exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement at the turn.
Bakugo and Todoroki escaped the smoke and were running pissed.
While those two were trying to catch up to Izuku. Izuku was trying to catch up to Buttercup as he could see a very wide distance between them. 'No! I can't lose! Not after the training, I will show them who I AM!' At that moment, his entire body was covered in electricity as he activated his quirk. Buttercup even being a good distance away, could still hear the all too familiar sound coming from her back. 'Alright, bring it.'
'One For All! 7% full cowl!' Mentally activating his quirk, his speed picked up and in a split second, surpassing his normal speed and that of Buttercup. But she wouldn't give up that easily, especially if the competition is getting good.
Izuku couldn't dare think of losing, not now. Knowing that, he did something stupid. '10% One For All!' Finally rocketing passed Buttercup who for a split second didn't react, but she didn't back down. They were both neck and neck, until they both entered the stadium. As they crossed the line, they both skidded to a stop.
Panting from the exertion, Izuku unclenched his fist. His heart was beating rapidly, like it was about to burst, tiredness settled in to his body. Trying his hardest to steady his breathing as sweat fell down his face; basically drenching it. There was just silence in the air, he then opened his eyes. Around him, Izuku could see people in the stands staring at him in shock. Even some of the Pro Heroes looked like they were thrown for a loop. For the first time at the Sports Festival, the stadium was dead silent.
But that was soon broken by Present Mic, as he announced something that made both Izuku and Buttercup do a double take.
"And our winner of the Obstacle Race is…BUTTERCUP KAYAMA!"