Chapter 37: Sports Festival Arc (2)

Chapter 37: Sports Festival Arc (2)

~Third POV~

[UA High School, Stadium, Japan]

Everything has been set for the racers as Midnight spoke out loud in an excited tone, "Racers, to your positions…"

While everyone was prepared, the back was a different story. The people in the back gave Ren and Ochaco odd glances and glints of jealousy.

Ochaco was seen carried like a princess in Ren's arms, muttering with her face blushing red in an embarrassed tone, "This is way more embarrassing than I expected…. Can you tell me again how you convinced me to do this?"

However, Ren readied himself as he spoke in a confident tone, holding her tighter, much to the gravity girl's embarrassment, "Easy. You make sure I stay weightless as I carry you to victory, showing your Quirk off to the Pros in rescue missions. That if there is any obstacle too much for you to handle on your own, you can leave the heavy lifting to me flying past them if need be portal there."

Recalling that Ren needed her to make him weightless, he'll handle the difficult challenges ahead, showcasing their teamwork. And probably one of the only few students that teamed up in the competition in the first round compared to going solo.

*DING*

The dinging in the lights above and a shout from Midnight began the obstacle race, "START!!"

*VUMMM*

Activating his [Attract and Repel], a halo ring appeared behind his back and his feet as he spoke in a serious tone, getting Ochaco's attention, "Hold on tight. I promise you I will get a second place soon enough."

*SWOOOOSH*

Not a second later, Ochaco used [Zero Gravity] on Ren, making him weightless as he propelled himself forward, seemingly flying. With this, the two closed the distance they had between them and the people flying over the clumping students.

*Crackle*

*Crackle*

While flying above, shooting themselves away, both noticed Shoto freezing the floor in ice, moving ahead of the group. Ochaco, seeing this, immediately felt glad for teaming up and not positioning herself in front of the students who had to deal with Todoroki's icy path groaning at his tactics.

"Yowch!!"

"I'm all frozen!! Can't move!!"

"So cold!!"

"That bastard!!"

It was at that moment Present Mic began his commentary with Eraser Head in an enthusiastic tone, "Eraser Head!! Are you ready for our live coverage and commentary?!"

Aizawa groaned in a tired tone, rolling his eyes, "Not voluntarily…"

Shoto noticed that a few of the students other than his class managed to maneuver his ice attacks, but then he was overshadowed. He looked up, eyes widening, seeing while most students looked up at them with envy.

*KABOOOM*

However, they weren't the only ones as Bakugo, with his [Explosion] Quirk, propelled himself through the air using the explosions from his palms, yelling at him, "You scheming bastard! Don't think I'll stand by and allow you to keep showing off…!"

*VUMMM*

With a side-eyed glance, Ren looked at Bakugo. But using his [Transparent World], viewed Mineta about to attach onto Momo. Being annoyed, he used [Wormhole] underneath the little man, sending him back to the start.

However, doing so, Neito noticed that keeping a wary distance, seeing Ren with him clicking his teeth in a neutral tone, 'So he can use portals from afar or by a glance, huh? I wonder what will happen if I copy his [All in One], huh?'

*VUMMM*

Returning his attention to Bakugo he slyly grinned as he summoned more halo rings as he uttered acting confused, "Huh? Sorry did you say something?"

*SWOOOOSH*

Shooting forward ahead with Ochaco in his arms, Todoroki's eyes widened, seeing Ren overtake the students with his mouth agape, genuinely stunned, "What…?!"

*KABOOOM*

However, he got out of his stupor with Bakugo closing in on him, shouting out loud, "Get out of my way, you icy hot bastard!! That thief's ass is mine to kick!!"

/////

[UA High School, Stadium, Japan]

Flying away from Shoto and Bakugo Ochaco quickly alerted Ren ahead of them of the 0-Pointers ahead along with a few Villain Bots in an alarmed tone, "Ah! Ren look out!! We are heading straight towards the Villain Bots!"

Shifting his gaze at them he smirked with a sly grin as he responded in a chill tone, "No worries. Leave this to me."

*Swirl*

Using [Wormhole], he opened a path as they entered through, completely avoiding the Villain Bots and exiting a few feet away from the course. Surpassing through the Villain Bots Present, Mic smirks, commenting on the scene, "The current leaders of the pack are overwhelmingly from Class A!! But they're about to meet up the second barrier of the obstacle course! Fall, and you're out! You gotta crawl across if you wanna make it!! This is the fall!"

Reaching the next obstacle, their eyes landed on the approaching massive pit with rocky platforms linked together by ropes as Ochaco exclaimed, "What the heck?! How is UA able to prepare something like this on short notice?!"

Ren couldn't help but shrug as they harmlessly flew above The Fall in a rather disappointed tone thus far making a meta jab at the end, "With the power of Quirks and Money, anything is possible, Ochaco-chan. But this is kind of disappointing. I was expecting something more… I mean the last course can't be a landmine field right?"

Present Mic, hearing that jab, had whistled innocently as they both appeared flying above a landmine field, with Ochaco asking in a surprised tone, "Whoa, it really is a landmine field! Hey Ren, do you have a Quirk to tell the future?"

Denying such a claim, Ren surprised her by his words as he bluntly answered her question, eyes widening, "No, I don't…. at least not yet. I did hear that the Nighteye Agency has Nighteye with him. Planning to get a copy of that sounds useful. But that's beside the point, infinity girl."

*Tmp*

Both soon crossed the finishing line as Ochaco pressed her fingers together, deactivating her [Gravity Zero] Quirk. This results in Midnight announcing the results in an excited tone of the Obstacle Race with the two entering the stadium, "The one who made it back to the stadium first is… Ren Yuki! Followed by second place Ochaco Uraraka! What excellent teamwork you two!! But soon the other Racers are coming in!!"

Gaining the attention, some of the Pro Heroes commented about the duo earning their right in first and second place. However, some Pro Heroes thought otherwise with some criticism of their actions.

"Those two are certainly an interesting pair…"

"Yeah, that kid can use multiple Quirks. He seems versatile."

"The girl with [Zero Gravity] has potential…"

"Yeah, and the kid with a space Quirk is hard to find these days."

"To be fair, it seemed like the guy carried her through this…"

"But it was because of her Quirk to easily bypass the obstacles…"

"The kid could've portal here in the end. But having a cute girl in his arms? Respect."

"True but how would we know what he can do? Power ain't everything ya know."

"While this is a competition, teamwork is also needed in this line of work."

"Right. Having the basics of communication and cooperation is vital."

"Having either of them in rescues could prove vital in disaster scenarios if trained properly or guided."

The heroes began to evaluate the duo's work, with Ochaco listening, blushing, a bit embarrassed of this outcome. But she is glad she did team up with so many heroes interested in recruiting her in the future for her hero career.

Ren was also so excited seeing that showing his worth and willingness to provide teamwork have caught a few pros' attention. They didn't wait long after his group was Shoto, and Bakugo arrived with the bomb boy growling at them but moved off to the side, thinking of this loss.

With Ren talking with Ochcao Shoto took that moment to talk to Ren in his usual stoic tone looking at him, "You've gotten stronger…"

Raising an eyebrow confused about what Shoto wanted Ren asked bluntly with his head tilted, "As opposed to what? Getting weaker? Did you think I was playing around the past few weeks?"

Contrary to what he was expecting, Shoto nodded his head, leaving Ren speechless of his reasoning with an affirmed nod in a stoic tone, "Actually, yes. I heard from others you spent most of your time training your Quirks, doing basic exercises, flirting, and loitering around the Support Gear Department. Was that some kind of ploy to get us to lower our guards?"

Ren opened his mouth before slowly closing it. He considered what Shoto said before ultimately responding in a defeated tone, "I… Wow. I can't exactly deny those claims that's a first. But returning to your question, meh."

Shoto raised an eyebrow, asking in a confused tone, "Meh? What do you mean?"

Shrugging his shoulders Ren bluntly responded in a neutral tone what he meant, "I mean meh. You guessed it right but to lower your guards? Not really but I'm a very hard worker when I need be. But being weaker? Not a chance in hell for the almighty grind."

Striking a smug grin, Shoto simply nodded, turning to leave as he spoke his parting words to Ren in a stoic tone, "I see. My bad, then, but I'll be the one to win."

Walking away, Ochaco asked Ren in a concerned tone about Shoto actions, worried for her friend, "Uh… are you gonna be fine, Ren-san? It sounds like Todoroki-san has it out for you…?"

Turning his head to her, he nodded his head but shrugged all the same, considering everyone is after each other in a blunt tone, "True. But that could be said about everyone here at the Sports Festival, though. I just think Prince Zuko is acting a bit like a tsundere, though…"

Ochaco almost choked hearing such blunt words directed at Shoto. She quickly thought of the idea of Shoto acting like a tsundere, pausing, realizing, 'Now that he mentions it… he does act like a tsundere!!!'

Soon enough, the 42 students finally made it to the finish line. With everyone present, Midnight began to announce the next course in an excited tone, "The top 42 from this qualifying round will move on!! But for those who placed lower, don't worry! We've got another way for you to show your stuff!! And now the main selection really begins! The press corp's going to be jumping out of their seats, so give it all you've got!"

*BUZZZ*

A hologram screen appeared as Midnight began to announce the next event to happen in the Sports Festival in an excited tone, "Now on to the second event!! I already know what it is, of course… dying in suspense?! Next up is… This!! Cavalry battle!"

Tsuyu tilts her head, asking in a curious tone, "So we're teaming up, but how exactly?"

Midnight then began to explain the rules of the Cavalry Battle in an upbeat tone as the hologram showed All Might, No.13, Present Mic, and Snipe, "Participants will on their own form teams of 2 to 4 members each and get into a horse and rider formation! The rules are fundamentally the same as those of an ordinary cavalry battle – snag your opponent's headbands while guarding your own but with one exception… each of you has been assigned a point value based on your ranking in the last event!"

Toga muttered out loud, her head tilting right next to Itsuka and Kinoko in a curious tone of the format, "We'll earn points in the entrance exam? Sounds simple."

Denki nods, agreeing with her words, pondering to himself out loud, "So the point value of each team depends on its members!"

*CRACK*

Midnight shouted out loud angrily, getting interrupted as she proceeded to the point system in an annoyed tone, "I'm about to explain it, so just shut up already!! Anyway, yes! And your individual point values start at five at the bottom! So, the student who took 42nd place is worth 5 points, and 41st is worth 10, get it? But…"

Her eyes soon dart towards Ren as she grins widely, announcing the first-place winner point number, causing all to turn at him, "… Our first-place participant is worth… 10,000,000 points! The higher-ranked students are the ones to aim for… the survival game is a chance for a comeback. It's anyone's game!!"

*WHOOOSH*

Everyone turned to Ren as he looked at them, changing mentally in his mind into these shadowy greedy figures in his head as he grinned at them with a thought in mind, ignoring their stares and becoming more concerned with the points given to him in an offended tone, '10,000,000 pts? I'm offended…!!! I'm at least double that worth, damn it! Make it 1 billion! I know I'm worth that much!'