The crowd leaned forward as one.
Thousands of spectators held their breath, eyes locked onto the towering stone pillars and the yawning abyss beneath them.
This stage—The Fall—had ended countless runs in previous years. Students slipped. Hands lost their grip. Legs gave out. Some barely scraped by, others vanished into the pit below in panicked flails.
"OUR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE HAS MADE IT TO THE SECOND STAGE!" Present Mic shouted, excitement crackling through his voice. "LET'S SEE HOW HE'LL FARE AGAINST THIS ONE—"
He never finished the sentence. Izuku bent his knees. The stone beneath his feet fractured.
With a deafening crack, the pillar splintered outward as he launched himself forward like a living projectile.
Wind screamed around him as he shot upward and outward, soaring high above the entire obstacle section. His body cut cleanly through the air, shadow passing over ropes, pillars, and the void below in a single arc.
The audience gasped in unison.
Then—
He landed.
One foot touched down on the far side. Then the other. Not even a pause. It was as casual as stepping off a curb. For a moment, the stadium didn't make a sound.
Then it exploded.
Screams. Cheers. Shocked laughter. People leapt from their seats, hands gripping railings as cameras struggled to keep up.
"…O-Oh," Present Mic said weakly, adjusting his mic as his voice faltered. "W-Well then! Let's, uh… look back at the rest of the classes as they finally reach the second stage!"
He leaned closer to the mic, lowering his voice, sweat beading on his forehead.
'Is there anything this kid can't do…?' he muttered, jaw tight as he watched Izuku already jogging away—without a single misstep, without so much as a glance back.
Behind him, the reality hit hard.
Most of the other students hadn't even reached the ropes yet.
Some stared at the gap with wide eyes. Others swallowed hard, legs trembling. A few had already slipped, dangling desperately as classmates scrambled to help.
Izuku didn't look back.
He kept moving.
The terrain shifted once more as he reached the third and final challenge.
The Minefield.
The course opened into a wide, barren stretch of dusty ground, deceptively calm. No visible traps. No obvious hazards. Just cracked earth and scattered debris.
But everyone knew the truth.
Beneath the surface, mines were buried in dense clusters—pressure-sensitive, motion-triggered, some explosive enough to launch students meters into the air. A single wrong step meant disaster.
Izuku slowed at the edge of the minefield, crouching slightly as his eyes swept across the deceptively calm terrain. Dust lay undisturbed. No markings. No hints. Just an open stretch of ground waiting to punish a single mistake.
His expression sharpened—not with fear, but curiosity.
'Jumping would be cliché,' he thought. 'Already did that. So… what now?'
His ears twitched subtly.
'Let's use that super hearing of mine.'
Ever since he'd broken past his limits, it wasn't just strength and speed that had grown. His senses had followed—refined, sharpened, pushed beyond anything resembling human norms. Sounds most people would never notice stood out to him like flares in the dark.
He focused.
At first, there was only wind.
Then—
Beep.
Faint. Almost imperceptible.
Then another. And another.
To Izuku, the minefield lit up inside his mind. Each hidden charge revealed itself through its tiny mechanical hums and warning ticks, forming a clear map—like stars outlining a constellation only he could see. Safe zones appeared between them, narrow but perfectly navigable.
Above him, the commentary booth buzzed.
"He's now in the minefield!" Present Mic shouted, voice rising with anticipation. "He looks hesitant! Is this his first real obstacle?!"
Izuku smirked.
Without another second of pause, he pushed off into a sprint.
"And he's RUNNING forward without a care!" Present Mic yelled, disbelief bleeding into awe. "WHAT is this kid thinking?!"
The audience gasped as Izuku's figure blurred into motion.
At first, it looked like suicide. Then people noticed. He wasn't triggering anything.
Every step landed perfectly—footfalls threading impossibly tight gaps between buried explosives. His movements were smooth, rhythmic, almost graceful. To the crowd, it looked like luck stacked on luck.
To Izuku, it was as simple as following a line.
One step. Two. Ten. Thirty.
In seconds, he burst out of the minefield entirely—dust kicking up behind him as he cleared the final stretch without a single explosion.
He slowed to a jog.
Then to a walk.
And finally, he stepped back into the stadium with an easy, relaxed smile.
For half a heartbeat—
Silence.
Then the stadium detonated with sound.
Cheers thundered. Feet stomped. Voices screamed his name in waves that rolled through the stands. Chants rose spontaneously, banners shaking, cameras scrambling to keep him centered in frame.
'Ezzy,' Izuku thought, hands slipping into his pockets.
"THE FIRST PERSON TO MAKE IT BACK TO THE STADIUM IS—UNSURPRISINGLY—IZUKU MIDORIYA!!" Present Mic bellowed at full volume. "THAT WASN'T AN OBSTACLE COURSE—THAT WAS A MORNING RUN!"
The camera zoomed in on Izuku as the crowd completely lost it. Some spectators were standing on their seats. Others stared open-mouthed, watching a teenager treat U.A.'s legendary course like a warm-up jog.
Minutes later, the ground rumbled again.
Students began pouring out of the course in ones and twos—scraped, exhausted, relieved.
The second to emerge was Todoroki, frost still clinging to his boots and shoulders. His breathing was steady, posture controlled, but his eyes burned with quiet determination as they flicked briefly toward Izuku.
Right after him—
BOOOOM!
Katsuki blasted into the stadium in a fiery explosion, landing hard with smoke curling off his palms. His face twisted instantly when he realized he wasn't first.
"Tch…!" he snarled.
Midnight stepped forward, heels clicking sharply against the stone as she raised the mic, a dangerous smile playing on her lips.
"Well, that's it for the first event!" she announced. "And here are the results. Only 42 of you have qualified for the next round!"
Groans. Cheers. Relief. Despair.
She paused deliberately, letting the tension coil tight—
"The top three are…
1️⃣First place: Izuku Midoriya.
2️⃣Second place: Shoto Todoroki.
3️⃣Third place: Katsuki Bakugo."
The stadium went absolutely feral.
Spotlights snapped onto the massive screen above, the three names blazing in bold letters. Applause roared like a storm.
Some students who didn't qualify collapsed to their knees in disbelief. Others who made it through laughed shakily, barely believing their luck.
Izuku stood tall and relaxed among the qualifiers, green hair catching the light as the roar washed over him.
Midnight's smile widened.
"Now then," she purred, "let's continue on to the second event!"
And just like that—
The Sports Festival was only getting started.
TO BE CONTINUED