30 Chapter 29
"What the hell is that...?"
"Are you freaking kidding me...?"
"Lucky bastard..."
Though most of the contestants were focused on the gate in front of them, patiently awaiting the starting countdown, those stuck at the back of the group, who were already annoyed, couldn't help feeling even more annoyed after witnessing Izuku's, Ochaco's, and Tsuyu's 'lovey-dovey' display.
Since Tsuyu was the smaller of the two, not that it mattered too much with Ochaco's Zero Gravity Quirk, Izuku was cradling her in a princess carry while Ochaco floated behind him, her blushing face next to his and her arms wrapped around his neck and chest. She had made herself functionally weightless, but Izuku could still feel her admittedly sizeable breasts pressing into his shoulders as he focused intently on the three lights above the gate.
"This is way more embarrassing than I expected..." muttered Ochaco. However, despite her words, her hold on Izuku strengthed, the result of the lights above the gate glowing green before slowly disappearing as a countdown.
Though Ochaco was already doing precisely that, Izuku said, "Hold on tighter..." as he leaned forward slightly, increasing the amount of energy being channeled through his body. He wouldn't be able to take off like a rocket as he originally planned, but he could gradually ramp up his speed until not even Ida could hope to compete.
As the final light blinked out, Izuku quickly closed the distance he had created between himself and the people at the back of the pack, picking up just enough speed so that when he kicked off against the ground, he leaped over the clumping students. At that exact same moment, Ochaco used her power to make him weightless, allowing them to effectively fly through the corridor while most students could only look up at them with envy. The operative word being 'most.'
While Todoroki created an ice field, using it to trip up other students and accelerate forward, a certain ashen-haired blonde borrowed a page from Izuku's book, propelling himself through the air using the explosions from his palms as he bellowed, "You scheming bastard! Don't think I'll stand by and allow you to keep showing off...!"
Though he recognized the voice as Bakugo, Izuku didn't bother to look back, muttering, "Release your Quirk and then reapply it to yourself. I'm going to speed up..." in a voice only Tsuyu and Ochaco could hear.
Obeying Izuku's instructions, Ochaco pressed the pads of her fingers together, canceling her Quirk before reapplying it to herself before they landed. The frozen terrain allowed them to keep their forward momentum, but Izuku wasn't satisfied with just skating along. The moment he landed, he channeled the energy of One-for-All through his soles, fracturing the ground beneath him as he propelled himself forward with blinding speed. He made sure to limit himself so that Ochaco didn't lose her hold on him, but it was still fast enough to leave most sports cars in the dust.
"What...!?"
Though he was able to propel himself using his ice, Todoroki's physical parameters weren't much higher than a 'peak' human's. Thus, the moment Izuku overtook him, there was little the heterochromatic, red, and white-haired youth could do but stare in awe as the gap between him and Izuku became unbridgeable in an instant.
Liberating Todoroki from his stupor, Bakugo quickly caught up to him, shouting, "Get out of my way, you icy bastard...!"
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Reaching the point in the course where the path opened up quite a bit, Izuku's eyes narrowed as more than a dozen 0-Pointers, accompanied by an assortment of 1, 2, and 3-Point Villain bots, appeared to obstruct their path. If he were alone, Izuku would have capitalized on the opportunity to get his vengeance against the 0-Pointer he was powerless against during the Entrance Exam. Instead, he kicked against the ground with explosive strength, doubling his speed to nearly 100m/s for a brief moment.
Barely managing to hold on, Ochaco closed her eyes and screamed, "I don't think I can hold on for much longer...!!!" at the top of her lungs. Fortunately, Tsuyu was able to hear this, prompting her to use her long, strong, and incredibly elastic tongue to wrap around Ochaco's body.
After passing beneath the 0-Pointers in an instant, Izuku gradually reduced his speed to a more comfortable level, saying, "Sorry about that, Ochaco-san. Fortunately, it looks like the next obstacle was tailor-made for our combination of Quirks..."
Tentatively opening her eyes, Ochaco's body tensed when she saw them approaching a massive pit with rocky platforms linked together by ropes.
"What the heck!? How was UA able to prepare something like this on such short notice!?" exclaimed Ochaco.
Envisioning a blonde-haired, cat-themed Heroine, Izuku remarked, "With the power of Quirks, anything is possible. Speaking of which, you should probably reduce mine and Tsuyu-chan's weights..."
Instead of slowing down, Izuku began ramping up his speed once again. This time, however, the acceleration was markedly more gradual, making things much easier for Ochaco as she used her right hand to pat Tsuyu's head.
"Kero..."
With Tsuyu's weight disappearing, Izuku abruptly sped up before leaping into the air, controlling his strength to ensure he didn't jump too high. The simulated canyon was about 200m across, but with Ochaco making him weightless at the pinnacle of his arc, they were able to clear it in a single bound.
Though it took less than three seconds to clear the canyon, Izuku had enough time to think ("I should look into methods to awaken my other Quirks. Float would be incredible once I master maneuvering through the air with shockwaves...")
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With the final obstacle being a minefield they could simply fly over, no one was surprised when Izuku's group took First Place in the Obstacle Race. There was a bit of contention about who should be the 'true' First Place, but as Izuku had literally carried them through the event, neither Ochaco nor Tsuyu contested the title. As for Second, Tsuyu yielded it to Ochaco since her Quirk was what allowed them to overcome most of the obstacles. The only things she did were curl up in Izuku's arms and use her tongue like a safety harness.
Arriving a few minutes after Izuku's group, crossing the finish line at nearly the same time as Todoroki, Bakugo glowered at the former but didn't say anything. Instead, he stuck his hands in his pockets and moved off to the side, clearly in a bad mood but not wanting to make too much of a scene...
Though he noticed Bakugo's actions, Izuku didn't pay him too much mind. He had used One-for-All to amplify his power by twenty and thirty times during the Obstacle Race, so he was taking a break to recuperate his lost Vit. More accurately, he was chatting with Ochaco and Tsuyu at the water station until Todoroki approached him to say, "You've gotten faster..." with his usual, borderline expressionless face and tone.
Raising his brows, Izuku asked, "As opposed to what? Getting slower? Did you think I just played around these past few weeks...?"
Leaving Izuku a little speechless, Todoroki gave an affirming nod, stating, "That's what it seemed like to me. I heard from the others that you spent most of your time doing basic training at the gym and loitering around the Support Department's Development Studio. Was that some kind of ploy to get us to lower our guards...?"
Adopting a slightly annoyed look, Izuku asked, "If it were, would there be any merit in me telling you?"
Shaking his head, Todoroki replied, "I suppose not. Either way, First Place in this year's Sports Festival is bound to be mine. I wish you luck securing Second..."
Finished with what he had to say, Todoroki turned around and walked away with a resolute look on his face. If Izuku was the original, he might have attempted to stop him. Instead, he just shook his head, waiting for the icy-hot youth to get out of listening distance before continuing his conversation with Ochaco and Tsuyu. They were currently speculating what the second event would be based on information from past Sports Festivals. Tsuyu, somewhat surprisingly, landed on the right answer from the beginning, but, despite knowing this, Izuku still agreed that if one of them were correct, the other two would have to obey one request issued by the winner...
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By the end of the Obstacle Race, forty-seven students had qualified for the second round. Most, unsurprisingly, originated from the Hero Course, but there were a few outliers from the General and Support Courses. This included a salmon-haired inventress, who, after spotting Izuku, bolted over to him, exclaiming, "How come you never told me you were so fast!? Wait, now that I think about it, you never did tell me what your Quirk was, did you?"
Before Izuku could respond, Ochaco, with a somewhat guarded look on her face, asked, "Who's this girl, Izuku-kun? The two of you seem pretty familiar with one another..."
Answering in Izuku's stead, Mei puffed out her chest, emphasized by the harness she was wearing, declaring, "I'm Mei Hatsume! Izuku-kun and I make babies together when he isn't busy with classes or training!"
"..."
Though he expected Mei's response, Izuku was still left speechless. As for Ochaco and Tsuyu, they both looked toward him with narrowed eyes, the latter questioning, "Don't you think it's a little too early for things like that, Izuku-chan?" in a judgmental tone.
Adopting a deadpan expression, Izuku asked, "Just what do you think of me?" before clarifying, "The 'babies' Mei is referring to are her inventions. I sponsor her with materials, and the two of us share a workstation in the Support Department's Development Studio..."
Providing Izuku some relief, Mei nodded in affirmation, stating, "That's right. And since they're babies that Izuku helped me build, that makes him the Father of Invention and me the Mother. Pretty awesome, right?"
Realizing they had misjudged the situation, Tsuyu hung her head slightly and muttered, "Sorry, Izuku-chan..." while Ochaco just stared at Mei as if she were a strange, unidentified organism.
Shaking his head, Izuku said, "It's fine. I'm not the type to take misund-"
Interrupting Izuku's response, Midnight, standing atop the same stage as before, shouted, "Students who triumphed during the preliminaries, stand before me! I will now be explaining the rules for the second event...!"
With everyone shuffling over in response to Midnight's instructions, Izuku adopted a wry smile and suggested, "Let's make our way over. And good luck with your predictions."
"Hmmm~?"
Hearing Izuku mention predictions, Mei moved closer to him, standing well within his personal space as they walked along, asking, "What's this about a prediction? Did the three of you make a bet?"
Nodding his head, Izuku was about to explain the terms of their bet when Ochaco abruptly grabbed his hand, pulling him along as she shouted, "We don't have time for this! We need to hurry up and join the others...!"
With Ochaco utilizing her Quirk to 'force' his compliance, Izuku blinked several times in surprise as he thought, ("Was she always this prone to jealousy? Or did I overdo it when I pulled some strings to get her family a government contract...?")
With Ochaco refusing the phone he tried to gift her at the last moment, Izuku made good on his promise to 'uncover' the reason for her inability to upgrade her flip phone. It turned out her parents, or, more accurately, the construction company they owned, had been saddled with debt after a workplace accident resulted in them being sued for negligence. Izuku lacked the means to pay off their nearly ¥300,000,000 debt, but he was able to convince Nezu to pull some strings to secure them some work. Izuku hadn't told Ochaco any of this, but he wouldn't be surprised if she had figured it out when her parents told her the good news...after all, it occurred only three days after she rejected his offer...
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(A/N: MC got the zoomies.)
