Chapter 11 Deku: The Telekinetic Hero by sremiehzla

The Sports Festival Begins

"Everyone, finish whatever preparations you must!" Momo called out to the 1-A prep room. "We'll be going out soon!"

"You're in a good mood Yaomomo," Mina pointed out. "You excited too?"

"Of course I am," the Creation user said. "This'll be our next big step in becoming heroes, after all."

"I wish we could've used our hero costumes," Mezo sighed, uncomfortably shifting his large shoulders under his PE uniform's torn sleeves.

"It's not allowed, for fairness," Mashirao sighed, before looking down at his tail, which had also torn through his uniform. "I get what you mean though."

Izuku was pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists nervously. He was as nervous as anyone else there, maybe even more so. He rested his hand on his chest and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. He looked around at his classmates. Everyone was socializing, trying to calm down, and giving each other pep talks. Even Katsuki was talking with Rikido and Denki which was odd for him to see.

"Midoriya."

Izuku looked over and saw Shoto approaching him with one hand in his pocket. "Todoroki? What is it?" He felt multiple sets of eyes land on him and the recommendation student.

"You're pretty strong," Shoto said, shifting on his feet. "Capable, I mean."

"Uh... Thanks?"

"But objectively speaking, I'm better," he said, looking up into Izuku's eyes. "All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?" Izuku's eyes widened, and he tried for some excuse but none came. Shoto looked into his eyes for a moment before continuing, "I'm not going to pry about that, but... just know that I'm going to beat you."

"A-Are... you sure about that?" Izuku grinned, finally finding his voice.

"What's that?" Denki turned to the two students who were staring each other down. "A declaration of war from the strongest guy in class?"

Eijiro grabbed Shoto's shoulder. "What the hell is up man?! Don't pick a fight just when we're about to go out there!"

"Shitty Hair," Katsuki growled as he walked up to the group. "There isn't a damn thing wrong with picking a fight. The only thing out of place here is the fact that he's challenging the wrong fucking guy. Deku, Icy Hot... I'll beat both of you and win this whole damn thing!"

"You can try, Kacchan," Izuku grinned.

"C'mon, seriously guys!" Eijiro exclaimed in exasperation.

"Whatever," Shoto sighed, turning and walking away.

"Deku, you'd better make it to the finals so I can crush you 1 on 1," Katsuki grumbled before scoffing and walking away. When he got back to his group, the ashy blonde hit Denki upside the head.

"Ouch! What was that for, Bakugo?!" he shouted, grabbing his head.

"For saying Icy Hot was the strongest guy in class, you fucking moron!"

"YYYEEEEEAAAAHHH!" Present Mic's voice echoed down 1-A's entrance tunnel, prompting the students to assemble. "LET'S GET THIS YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL UNDERWAY! The one time of the year when you get to see U.A.'s talented students brawl it out for glory! For the first years, we are definitely starting with the most anticipated class! They already faced villains this year and came out on top! You know who I mean everyone! LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR 1-A OF THE HERO COURSE!"

Class 1-A walked out of the tunnel and into the stadium. The blinding sun beat down on them, and it took their eyes a few seconds to adjust. The seats above them were packed, and most of the students began to realize that their popularity would be much more intimidating in reality than from behind a screen.

"Woah, what a crowd," Izuku marveled.

"Of course, we're expected to perform our best in front of all these spectators," Tenya said, nodding his head. "Yet another way U.A. is training us to be top notch heroes!"

"Man, I think they're giving us too much credit," Eijiro said excitedly. "But we won't let it get to us, right Bakugo?"

"It just pumps me up," Katsuki grinned darkly.

"And then class 1-B, also from the hero course!" Present Mic yelled over the stadium.

"Damnit, why are we playing second fiddle?!" the silver-haired teen complained loudly. "We passed the same damn entrance exam!"

"Tetsutetsu, save it for the competition," a boy with short blond hair said calmly from beside him. "We can show them then, eh?"

"Right, Monoma!" Tetsutetsu grinned, slamming his first into his palm. "Can't wait to show em what we're made of!"

"Next are classes 1-C, 1-D, and 1-E of general studies!" Present Mic announced. "Then 1-F, 1-G, and 1-H of the business course!"

The students finally finished lining up, and assembled in front of a small stage, upon which stood the referee for the first years' sports festival.

She cracked the whip loudly, before yelling, "It's time for the athlete's oath!"

"T-That's the R-rated heroine, Midnight," Izuku sighed uncomfortably.

"Is she even allowed to be on a high school campus?" Fumikage asked.

Multiple people were talking along the same lines, and Midnight cracked her whip to shut them up. "Pipe down kids! The student representative for the first years is Izuku Midoriya!"

"It's Deku?!" Katsuki and Ochako exclaimed in unison, and Izuku smiled sheepishly at them before beginning to walk up to the stage.

"Must be because he placed first in the entrance exam," Hanta mused, prompting Katsuki to mumble something about Rescue Points being bullshit.

"The hero course exam, that is," a girl from general studies corrected him.

"She's right," Hitoshi sighed.

Izuku had prepared for this. He'd done his research and prepared his oath, basing it roughly on the old Olympic athlete's oath. He still felt nervous, but he decided to just close his eyes and pretend he was alone in his bedroom as he recited it. He stepped up to the microphone, took a deep breath, then began, "I swear, in the name of all of these students, to put forward my best effort to compete fairly in this festival. May the best student win!" He bowed stiffly, was met with applause, then made his way back to his class.

"O-Oh my God," he said shakily, breathing heavily and clutching at his rapidly beating heart. "T-That was nerve-racking!"

"You did great Deku!" Ochako gushed. "All sportsmanlike and stuff!"

"You shoulda just said you were determined to win," Katsuki scoffed. "That's what I'd have done."

"I'm glad you didn't say that," Eijiro laughed. "That would've just made everyone hate us more!"

"Without delay, let's find out what the first event is!" Midnight pointed up at a screen.

"Why is everything 'without delay' here?" Ochako sighed.

The screen started scrolling through different events, like a randomization wheel.

"These will be the qualifiers! This is where the majority of you will be sent home crying! And the first event... iiiiiissss...!"

"This isn't without delay," Kyoka said. "She's totally stalling!"

"THIS!" Midnight announced as the words 'OBSTACLE RACE' appeared on the screen.

'An obstacle race..?' Izuku thought, beginning to ponder strategy.

The portion of the stadium's wall that the students were closest to began opening up, forming an archway to the outside.

"It's a race between every first-year student of U.A.!" Midnight shouted over the group of students. "It's a four-kilometer course around the stadium! As you students may know, this school preaches freedom... in all things! Ehehe... Ahem, that means that, as long as you follow the course we laid out, any move is fair game! Everyone, get into position!"

"A-Already?!" Ochako exclaimed. "I-It's really without delay!"

Izuku looked over at her as he heard her voice, and his brain made the realization. "Uraraka, come here!" he called to her.

She made her way over through the crowd of people that was still shifting as they fought to get the head start. "What's up Deku?" she asked.

"As soon as Midnight says 'go', make both of us weightless."

"ON YOUR MARKS!" Midnight called.

"Why?" Ochako tilted her head.

"She said that anything is fair game," he said.

"GET SEEEETTTT!"

"That means that teamwork is allowed," he continued. "And nobody can beat our teamwork in a race."

Ochako's eyes widened in realization.

"GOOOOO!"

Ochako pressed her hand onto Izuku's shoulder, then made herself weightless as well. As they floated above the frantic mass of students, Ochako hesitantly grabbed Izuku by his arm. She wasn't familiar with the feeling of moving so fast, and wasn't sure what to expect.

"Ready?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, smiling at him. "Let's win, Deku!"

Izuku grabbed the two of them with his Quirk, enveloping them in a shared bright green glow, before firing forwards. They flew over the heads of the rest of the participants who were getting stuck in the starting gate, and they flew over Shoto, and the rest of the students who were out of the gate with him. When Izuku saw the giant faux villains from the entrance exam, he brought them up and over the mechanical monstrosities.

"WHAT'S THIS?!" Present Mic exclaimed. "I haven't even started commentating, but these two are already past the first– no, second obstacle!"

Ochako peaked from her eyelids for a moment and looked down over a seemingly bottomless cavern as they went over. She quickly closed her eyes again after that, starting to feel nauseous just from the sight. Or maybe that was just from using her Quirk on herself... Either way, she gripped Izuku's arm a little more tightly.

Izuku was a little uncomfortable with Ochako holding his arm, especially since he knew they were on national television. He understood why she was, though he couldn't shake the thought that it really wasn't necessary. He looked down as they passed over a large flat area of dirt, before looking up and realizing that they were already approaching the end of the race.

"I don't believe it!" Present Mic shouted. "These two finished the race so quickly that we didn't even have time to pull up their files! But we don't need to if we want to know who got first–THE FIRST YEARS' REPRESENTATIVE IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

"The other one is Ochako Uraraka, and both are in my class," Aizawa muttered from next to him the commentary booth.

"Thanks, Mummy Man!" Present Mic exclaimed.

"Uraraka," Izuku said as he set them down on the grass. "You can release your Quirk now."

"E-Eh?" She opened an eye, then quickly let go of his arm. Pressing her finger pads together, she whispered "Release!" before letting out a huge exhale.

"We won Uraraka!" Izuku said, looking up at the thundering crowd.

"Yeah..." Ochako sighed.

"Uraraka, are you okay?" he asked, noticing her labored breathing.

After taking a deep breath, Ochako straightened her posture and smiled, "Yeah, all good! Just some nausea from using my Quirk on myself."

"Does using your Quirk on yourself really affect you that much?" he asked with wide eyes. "Sorry, I could've gone a little faster."

"No no, it's fine," she said quickly. "Really, it wasn't too bad!

Present Mic was swapping between screaming about Izuku and Ochako, and Shoto, who was apparently doing something amazing against the large robots. "But we have the footage from the high speed camera! Let's see that finish one more time!"

Izuku and Ochako looked up at the screen where the footage of them crossing the finish line was being played in super slow motion. Ochako thought Izuku looked really cool. His eyes were set forward and a determined look was on his face. Then there she was, holding onto his arm for dear life and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Geez, I wish they wouldn't play it over and over," Izuku chuckled uncomfortably.

"Y-Yeah..." Ochako nodded.

Pretty soon, Present Mic reluctantly moved on from their record time and returned to the race that was still underway. Izuku and Ochako sat in the shade against the stadium's wall and watched as Shoto crossed over the large ravine they had seen. Katsuki followed right behind him, letting loose countless explosions as he propelled himself forward, and then the rest of the students began crossing. The camera followed the two front-runners as they reached the minefield. Katsuki caught up to Shoto and tried to hit him with an explosion, then the two began scuffling.

"Kacchan is just slowing both of them down," Izuku muttered. "This way, someone else could possibly overtake them both... Not that anyone else seems close enough to take advantage of it. But still, in any other situation it would be inefficient. Heroes should always keep their priorities straight, so doing something like this instead of pursuing the objective probably lowers his chances of getting a lot of offers for internships despite his impressive Quirk..."

"D-Deku?" Ochako giggled, shocking him out of his muttering spree. "You're muttering again."

"S-Sorry," he said quickly, blushing a little bit and looking away in shame.

"I don't really mind," she said. "Just wanted to let ya know."

"IN THIRD PLACE," Present Mic shouted, getting Izuku's and Ochako's attention again, "KATSUKI BAKUGO! FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY SHOTO TODOROKI!"

"Kacchan beat him, huh?" Izuku smiled. "Good for hi–"

"DEEEKKUUUU!" Katsuki yelled as he panted and made his way over to the pair. "You fucking cheater! Using Round Face's Quirk instead of just your own power!"

"Midnight said that anything was fair game," Izuku shrugged. "I don't see how teamwork would fall outside of that–hng!"

Katsuki grabbed Izuku by the collar of his shirt, and Ochako protested, "Bakugo, let him go!"

"Shut up!" he growled at her, before looking back to Izuku. "You didn't win this with your own power, so I won't acknowledge it Deku! You haven't gotten another win on me yet!" He let Izuku go, and as he walked away he added, "I'll win the next damn round."

"Sure thing," Izuku chuckled nervously as he pulled at his shirt to get a wrinkle out of it.

"Deku, are you alright?" Ochako asked, stepping a little closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he smiled at her. "That's just Kacchan being Kacchan."

The other students began making their way into the stadium, almost all of them out of breath. Izuku and Ochako were both surprised to see Tenya come in as late as he did. He walked up to them then leaned down on his knees, panting.

"Iida, you alright?" Ochako asked.

"I... I can't believe I lost a race of all things... with my Quirk..." he exhaled. "It's clear I have some progress to make."

"He's fine," Izuku chuckled.

"It looks like all of the students have finished!" Midnight announced after a few more minutes. "Let's check the results!"

The rankings popped up on the screen above them. Izuku and Ochako were first and second respectively, followed by Katsuki in third, Shoto in fourth, someone from 1-B named Ibara in fifth, then the rest following. Izuku was particularly surprised by the fact that Minoru made a better time than many hero course students. He finished in eighteenth place, just behind Mina.

"Only the top 42 will move on from this event!" she continued. "Don't worry if you didn't qualify, we have other ways for you to get some spotlight. Now, this is where the media folks start bouncing in their seats with excitement, so give it your all! It's time for the next event!"

The screen began scrolling through the names of different events once again, but it was taking longer this time to reveal what the second round would actually be.

"I already know what it is, of course," Midnight teased. "What, are you dying of suspense? Well, next up is... THIS!"

The words 'CAVALRY BATTLE' popped up on the screen. Students began whispering to each other, contemplating what exactly it would entail.

"You participants will form up in teams of your choosing with two to four people per team. The rules are simple: take other groups' headbands while protecting your own! But there's one special condition here: each of you have been assigned a point value based on your performance in the first event!"

"So we'll earn points like in the entrance exam?" Rikido asked. "Sounds simple enough."

"Ooh! And the point values will be determined by the members of each team!" Toru said excitedly.

An irritated Midnight cracked her whip and shouted, "Just shut up, I'm about to explain it! Geez. Anyway, yeah, your point values will be added up as a team. And the individual scores will go up from the bottom scorer. Forty-second place has five points, forty-first place gets ten points, and the pattern continues upward. But there's one little exception... The first place student is worth TEN MILLION POINTS!"

"Uh... t-t-ten... m-million?" Izuku stuttered, eyes widening as every other student turned their gazes on him.

Midnight let out a chuckle, "So the idea is that the students that performed well last round will be at a disadvantage... This game is a little chance for payback!" She let it sit in the air for a bit before continuing, "Anyways, this thing will be 15 minutes long! The 'rider' of your group will wear the headband, which displays your team's total point value. The objective is to take as many points from other teams as possible, and enemy headbands you get must be worn around your neck or higher. And don't worry if you lose your own, because that isn't a disqualification. Quirks are allowed, so it goes without saying that this'll get a bit vicious, but maliciously attacking another group with the intent of toppling them is a disqualification! It's also a disqualification if your rider hits the ground! Alright everyone... You have 15 minutes to organize into teams for headband distribution!"

The students began rapidly rushing around, talking to other students about team combinations, while Izuku was on the verge of a mini panic attack. 'Who's going to want to be with me if I have so many points?! Getting the ten million point headband will be an instant win for any of the other teams, so we'll have a huge target on our backs! I'd love to be with Uraraka, but she'd be better off forming another team. Her headband has a high enough score to give her team an advantage while not being a huge target like mine, so that's probably a safer bet for her–'

"Deku, you're muttering," Ochako chuckled.

"Uwah! Sorry," he squeaked, before realizing that Ochako was still standing with him. "Uraraka, why are you standing here? Shouldn't you be finding a team?"

"O-Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed, waving her arms and backing up. "I-I just thought we'd be on a team, s-sorry for assuming things–"

"You'd want to be on my team even with my huge point value?!" Izuku exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, of course!" Ochako said, smiling widely. "We already have enough points to win, so we just need to run, right?"

"But everyone's gonna be after us," Izuku said.

"But our Quirks work so well together that that won't matter, y'know? Besides, even if it was more difficult," she said as a blindingly bright aura seemed to appear around her, "I'd rather team up with a friend, any time!"

Midoriya felt something in his chest tighten, his breath hitched, and his face contorted into a squeezed mess.

"W-What happened to your face?!" Ochako laughed. "You got so ugly all of a sudden!"

"You're just so bright that I can't look at you," Izuku sighed, shaking his head before looking back at her. "But I was actually hoping to team up with you anyways. Do you think you can use your Quirk on me for the full fifteen minutes?"

"Maybe under other circumstances," she sighed, scratching her head. "But since I used my Quirk on myself earlier, I'm already kinda tuckered out."

"Alright, then I can't just fly around the whole time, so we should run away until you're recovered... I know just the person to give us some more maneuverability!"

Ochako followed Izuku as the green haired boy looked around borderline frantically. But soon enough, the pair found Tenya Iida, and Izuku explained the plan to both of them.

"An impressive plan, as expected of you, Midoriya," Tenya nodded. "But I'm sorry, I can't accompany you. Ever since the entrance exam, you've repeatedly proven yourself to be better than me. I value you as a friend, but that is also the reason that I cannot follow you now. I see you as a rival as much as Bakugo and Todoroki do, so I'll also challenge you." He walked over to Shoto's team, which also consisted of Momo and Denki.

"Iida..." Ochako sighed quietly.

'Right... This is no time for loyalty between friends,' Izuku thought.'This is the time to think about survivability. Or self-improvement I guess, in Iida's case. Everyone has to do what they need to in order to become great heroes.'

"Deku, what're you mumbling about?" Ochako asked. "Coming up with a plan?"

"Not really yet," he sighed. "We need at least one other member... If we just have a little bit more mobility, it'll compensate for the amount of time you can use your Quirk."

"But who–?"

"Midoriya, Ochako," Tsuyu croaked as she approached them. "Mind if I join you? Kero."

"Tsuyu!" Ochako cried and hugged her friend.

"A-Asui, really?" Izuku smiled widely.

"Call me Tsuyu," she reminded him, seemingly ignoring Ochako's embrace. "You guys have a target on your backs, but with your Quirks that doesn't matter, kero. I think this is the best way into the next round for me."

"That's actually just what we needed," Izuku said. "Uraraka can't use her Quirk the whole time, so having some more mobility is good."

"Glad to help, kero," she said, her tongue lazily hanging out. "Do you think we need someone else?"

"Well..." Izuku tapped his chin. "I don't know if it's necessary, bu–"

"WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT THE TOP TWO FINISHERS WOULD BE TOGETHER ON A TEAM?!" a loud voice suddenly screamed from behind the three students, startling both Izuku and Ochako. They turned and saw a pink haired girl with large round goggles just before she jumped forward and grabbed Izuku's shirt. "TEAM WITH ME MR. FIRST PLACE!"

"U-Um, you're a bit close," he chuckled nervously, leaning away from the girl. "Who are you?"

"Mei Hatsume, support course!" she answered as she took a step back. "Listen, I know we don't know each other very well, but teaming up can be mutually beneficial for us!"

"You're being really straightforward about this," Izuku observed.

"Being with you guys guarantees that I'll get some spotlight!" she said excitedly, pumping her arms and encroaching on both Izuku's and Ochako's personal spaces. "And being in the spotlight guarantees that industry higher-ups will be able to see my super cute babies in action! And then it's guaranteed that they'll take notice!"

"Wait, cute babies..? Industry..? What are you–?" Ochako started to ask before Mei turned on Izuku and forced him back, still rambling rapidly. "Ah, she's more interested in him."

"She seems to have a very one-track mind, kero," Tsuyu added with a nod.

"In the support course, we make a ton of equipment for heroes to use," Mei continued, before dumping out a bunch of support devices. Nobody knew where she dumped then out from. "I've got plenty of my babies here, so you'll definitely be able to make use of some of them!"

Izuku picked up what appeared to be a jetpack, before his eyes widened and began sparkling. "Could this be based off of the pack that Air Jet uses?!"

"Yup!" she grinned. "And I made a few of my own modifications too!"

"Wow, I love that hero!" he exclaimed. "His hero agency was even in my neighborhood. Before he moved, at least."

"They're getting along well," Tsuyu said offhandedly.

"Yeah," Ochako nodded. 'They got friendly pretty fast.'

"Alright," Izuku said, standing up. "We should be able to effectively evade for the whole time. The more skilled teams will probably wait to catch us off guard, so we should save Uraraka's Quirk for the second half. Except Kacchan, but he's one out of so many teams here. We can use some of Hatsume's support equipment–

"Babies," she corrected him.

"Sorry. We can use her babies to help the three of us keep up with Asui's ag–"

"Call me Tsuyu, kero."

"S-Sorry," he sighed. "Anyway, Hatsume's babies and Tsuyu's natural agility will give us the ability to evade the other teams at first until Uraraka is confident in her ability to keep me afloat the rest of the time."

"Can she float you though?" Tsuyu asked. "Would that be a disqualification?"

"Midnight Sensei only said that it'd be a disqualification if the rider hits the ground," Izuku recalled. "So this strategy should work."

"Your fifteen minutes are up!" Midnight called from the stage, stretching her arms. "We'll send employees around to get your team scores."

"Well, your plan doesn't give my babies as much spotlight as I was expecting," Mei sighed. "But it's a good plan and I'll have more time to show off in the next round."

"Yeah, you're really good at making plans Deku," Ochako agreed, mainly smiling at Izuku but occasionally glancing at Mei.

"Hey Eraser, wake up," Present Mic said, nudging the bandaged hero beside him. "All 12 teams have assembled, and it's time to start! ARE YOU READY?!"

"Please, shut up Mic," Aizawa groaned. "But... Some of those teams are interesting."

Izuku stood on top of their horse. Tsuyu was hunched forward in the front, holding her hands back for Izuku to stand on. Ochako was on his left flank, holding his ankle and foot to steady and support him along with Tsuyu, and Mei was on his right flank doing the same. Izuku was wearing the jetpack, while Ochako and Mei each had a single thruster boot on their outside legs.

Izuku wrapped the headband around his head, labeled '10,000,560', and looked down at his teammates. "Are you guys ready?"

"You bet Deku!" Ochako cheered.

"My babies are always ready!" Mei said loudly.

"Kero," Tsuyu offered with a nod.

"Uraraka, try not to use your Quirk at all until I fly," he said, to which she nodded. He sighed, "Fifteen minutes... Let's do it!"

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" Present Mic announced. "Got your strategies down pat? Too bad if you don't, because it's time to get this thing underway! Here's the countdown to the Cavalry Battle Royale! Three... Two... One... START!"

As soon as the starting bell sounded, multiple teams made a beeline for Izuku's team. Of the first two that he saw heading from the front, one was headed by a black-haired Class B student with a second headband below his score one, while the other didn't have a rider that Izuku could see. That must've been Toru.

"They're coming right away," Tsuyu croaked. "What should we do, Midoriya?"

"We gotta go!" Izuku replied. "Uraraka, Hatsume, get ready with the boots when Asui jumps!"

"Yeah!" Ochako nodded and smiled.

"Yes!" Mei exclaimed. "Let's show off my babies!"

"Call me– Wait, the floor!" Tsuyu exclaimed, trying to move her legs.

"Ah, we're sinking!" Ochako said.

"My babies won't work if they're imbedded in the ground!" Mei shrieked.

Izuku's eyes followed the seemingly fluid ground to the feet of the Class B rider's front member, who must also have been from class B.

"It's that guy's Quirk," Izuku said, reaching from the jetpack's trigger. "Hold onto me, so you don't get torn away!"

He felt all of them tighten their hands around his legs, and he also grabbed them with his telekinesis for extra support. He pressed the button and the jetpack ejected force straight down, pulling the students from the sludgy ground and launching them into the air.

"Woah, that had a lot of force!" Izuku exclaimed, before looking down and seeing Kyoka's earphone jacks speeding at them from Toru's team. "Asui! Can you handle Jiro's jacks with your tongue?"

"Kero!" she said before grabbing the earphone jacks with her tongue and throwing them down. "And call me Tsuyu."

"Thanks, Tsuyu!" he grinned. "I was just focusing on mobility, but having some defense is also important! Thanks a lot!"

"Kero."

"Hatsume, we're landing!" Ochako said. "Activate the boots!"

Izuku used his telekinesis to slow their descent, and the boots were able to stop them from landing roughly by letting out a jet of air.

"Aren't my babies just the cutest?!" Mei asked animatedly. "I made them to be cute!"

"Yeah, your babies are great Hatsume!" he said, smiling back at her. "They're really helping with our mobility!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" she said, jumping up and down slightly.

"They only worked that good with his telekinesis," Ochako muttered, looking away. "They're not all that great..."

Suddenly, the ground next to Team Izuku cracked and opened as vines erupted, forming a wall. One of the vines shot towards Izuku's head, but he ducked and pushed it away with his Quirk.

"Everyone, get away!" Izuku shouted down to his team.

"Wait, my boot is stuck in something!" Ochako exclaimed.

Izuku looked down and saw that Ochako's boot was on top of a purple sphere. "That looks like–" he started, before realizing that the wall of vines was leaning down towards them. "Everybody hold on!"

He grabbed his team again with his telekinesis and reactivated the jetpack, firing them away just in time to avoid getting wrapped up by the vines. Unfortunately, the purple ball ripped the boot apart.

"MY BABY!" Mei shrieked.

"Sorry Hatsume, but we needed to escape," Izuku said.

"You didn't escape shit!" Katsuki shouted as he launched over Izuku's group. He propelled himself straight at them, and Izuku was about to throw him off-course with his telekinesis when the vines reached up and wrapped around the blonde. "What the fuck?!"

"Hey, is a rider allowed to leave their horse formation?!" a voice asked somewhere in the distance.

"It doesn't matter, as long as the rider doesn't hit the ground!" Midnight called.

One of the vines wrapped itself around Katsuki's headband and ripped it off, before rapidly pulling back. Izuku's eyes followed the vine to a girl who had the vines as hair. They stood up in a large bulb type shape on her head, which was strange because she placed 5th in the obstacle race and Izuku was sure her hair was down. It was also strange because the silver-haired student from 1-B was holding the hair/vines up from behind. Neither of them were wearing a headband, so he could only assume that they had a rider inside of her hair. This thought was only further supported by the fact that Katsuki's headband was pulled inside of the mass of vines.

Meanwhile, the vines that were ensnaring Katsuki threw him off to the side, only for him to be caught by Sero's tape and brought back to his group, which consisted of the Explosion and Tape users of course, Mina, and Eijiro. As Izuku landed, he saw something snap in Katsuki's expression. The blonde said something to his team, before they began chasing down the two Class B students and their mysterious rider.

"Alright Deku," Ochako said up to Izuku. "I think I'm good to use my Quirk for the rest of this round."

"Aww, we gotta stop showing off my babies?" Mei sighed.

"Let's not waste any unnecessary time, kero," Tsuyu said. "Or else we might regret it."

"Alright Uraraka," Izuku smiled down at her. "Make me weightless."

She touched her five fingers to his leg, and he gave Mei her backpack before he lifted off into the air and went high up.

"So... Did we just win?" Mei asked.

"Maybe," Ochako said, before glaring at Mei. "I hope you didn't just jinx it though."

"Those kinds of things aren't real, Ochako," Tsuyu said with a kero.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

"That makes things troublesome," they heard Shoto sigh from nearby them. "He's too fast when he's weightless... I don't suppose we could force Uraraka to release her Quirk?"

"I suppose we could," Momo responded, looking towards Uraraka and her companions.

"We're about halfway through!" Present Mic announced over the field. "Just to let you know!"

"Tsuyu, Hatsume, let's run!" Ochako yelled as Shoto's team began to move towards them rapidly.

"Grab onto me!" Mei said with a smile as she strapped the jetpack around herself. "Let's use my baby to get out of here!" Once Ochako and Tsuyu wrapped their arms around Mei, she clicked the button. But instead of activating like it had before, it just sparked and fizzled. Looking back at it and still smiling, the support course student mused aloud, "Did it short circuit? Or did I just forget to refuel it all the way..?"

Ochako looked over at the other team and saw that they were almost upon them, before yelling, "TSUYU JUMP!"

The frog girl did as requested and leapt away, heading in the opposite direction as Shoto's team. They landed a good distance away with assistance from Mei's one boot, and Ochako saw their classmates discuss for a moment before heading off in a different direction. They must've been after easier prey.

"Safe," Ochako sighed as she let go of the other girls.

"For now, kero," Tsuyu said. "Even if we don't have the headband, we can't let our guards down."

"Right," she sighed again, before looking up in the sky to find their rider floating too high up to clearly make out.

"Where's Midoriya?" she heard someone ask from her left.

Turning, she started to say, "I don't–" before freezing.

Her mind felt hazy. Her body was unresponsive. She couldn't speak or hear anything. Until she heard a voice speak, clearly breaking through the otherwise deafening silence.

"Uraraka, release your Quirk."

Tsuyu shook Ochako's shoulder a moment later, releasing her from the haze, and informed her, "Don't answer anything Shinso says, kero. It's how he activates his Mind Control."

The gears and cogs in Ochako's head began turning once again and she remembered where she was and what she was doing. She remembered what Hitoshi had asked her to do. And when she looked down at her hands, she realized Tsuyu had shaken her awake too late.