Chapter 45: To the Finish and What Lays Beyond.

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Chapter 45: To the Finish and What Lays Beyond.

“Oh, oh, Oh! I can already tell some of your viewers at home have got to be confused about this. Well, allow me to explain!" Present Mic laughed as he could see how the students looked around, aware of how U.A. did things, keeping them from rushing ahead.

“This is the second final obstacle of the first event, and what better way to handle such obstacles than to have a relay race?"

“A what?” Midoriya asked.

"This next part will be a 4-man 1,600m relay, but there's a catch. Unlike in a regular relay, you can fight against the other runners, starting right now! Once you get to the start, you pick whose gonna head to reach the mark, and that person has to reach it; only when the last person gets to the mark can you start!"

“Then that means-!” Aoyama stated, only to be interrupted by an explosion, the cause being familiar.

"I'm heading to the final one; you losers get to the rest!" Bakugo was already gone before his teammates could yell at him.

“Fuck that guy, but he’s got the right idea!” Kamakiri groaned, as he supposed this helped them as it meant they didn't need to worry about Bakugo's ego making him difficult if he had been told to go, but that still left 3 spots they needed to fill and fast, the other two teams would be there soon.

"He says that each person doesn't need to cover 400m," Rin noted. Yes, the rest of the course was longer, but this would be up to just 4 people, all while handling others trying to attack them.

"I'll take the third relay point; I'll leave you guys to decide who's going to be the first two!" Tokage separated into several pieces and flew towards the third starting point, as their relay points had been clearly marked.

With the Golds, they had been right behind the leaders and heard the announcement; like everyone, they had conversed on their plans as they arrived. "I can totally handle the first part!" Tsunotori declared.

As Tsunotori raced to take the starting position, Tokoyami turned to the rest. "Then I can handle the second relay. I'm not the fastest, but it will be prudent to keep others from attacking our team." With that and approval from his team, he took off.

“If there’s a way, I can use it.” Sero gave a peace sign as he raced off, catching up with Tokoyami.

Having arrived as the others were already setting up, the front runners looked like they were about to take off. Monoma pursed his lips and looked over the scene. "Todoroki, as much as your ice can slow down the rest, it'll be best if you're our final horse. I'll be the second last, so I have access to your quirk for the longest time."

Todoroki would have done this himself if he could have, but this wasn't how things had been designed, and there was no point in wasting time arguing. “That’s fine with me.”

Having lagged behind thanks to Uraraka and Iida clearing that second obstacle, the Sunsets were racing to make up for lost time as the whistle was blown. Supercharge announced that Uraraka's team had already started with Hatsume as their first runner. "(Kero) We don't have a bad spread on our team; I'll be well suited for this," Tsu called out, hopping on all fours.

"Same as me; Yaoyorozu can probably handle the last bit with a scooter or something," Ojiro replied, as with his tail, he could cover a greater distance with each stride.

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“Not as impressive as before without anything to hook onto,” Hatsume pouted. She had been satisfied with her presentations, at least for the moment, but the team voted that she and her hover boots handled the first 400ms.

Easy enough, but she couldn't take back her wire arrows. She hadn't designed them with thrusters for in-flight trajectory adjustment so they could fire crazy far and hook into solid ground. She would get on that when this was over, but that was for baby-making time; now was presentation time!

"You're not gonna win, science girl!" Tsunotori chased after her, riding on two of her horns while she kept using another 2 to try and attack Hatsume.

“Damn, they’re so far ahead already.” Kaibara, further back, tried to catch up, using his quirk to glide across the track.

And there was that. She had to worry about horns fired from that…she didn’t recall her name, only that she was confused by the fact people called her an equine when that family didn't have a single specimen with horns; maybe they were confusing it with the Cervidae family, but that wasn't the point…hehe, point, that was a little funny. Maybe she should create a support item for horned heroes. Oh, that was a great idea; she could talk to what her name is after this!

Hatsume easily dodged Tsunotori’s attacks using her early warning gear and countered with her net capture pistol, which she hadn't been able to showcase before. She was taking this chance to correct that injustice!

Tsunotori yelped as she narrowly dodged being caught in it, looking back at Hatsume, who didn't even seem invested, like this was a game! "You'll pay for that; we’re taking the win here!” Tsunotori called out, trying to nail Hatsume. Still, the support student's gear was making that difficult. With no set lanes they had to stay in, she could dodge however she wanted.

"I have future clients to win, so sorry about denying you that win!" Hatsume, if she could, would have bowed out by now so she could write and draw up plans for new babies or upgrades to the ones she already had. Still, she had been told many times to take others' feelings into consideration. So, she really couldn't screw the team over by quitting or not doing her best.

Besides, angry people didn’t make for good future clients. Her parents taught her that when she was 14!

Further back, at the start, Mineta shot the girls in his team, at least those who hadn't left to get ready, a wink. "Wish me luck, ladies,"

"Just get going, Mineta. We're dead last as is!" Tsuburaba yelled as Mineta grabbed one of his head balls and tossed it before jumping after it. As he had explained and shown several times, he didn't stick to it but bounced as he repeated this, launching himself forward as if he had miniature trampolines, which helped him cover the distance much faster than if he had tried to run.

Once he had taken off, the side of the track opened to the remaining students, catching them off guard as a 2-pointer appeared. Thinking they were about to have a fight, the hero students were about to attack when the robot’s head opened up…and a white flag was raised from it?

“What is this?” Kirishima asked, releasing his quirk.

“Well, since you humans won’t be handling this last part, you can take this route to the finish and wait for the rest to arrive.” The 2-pointer explained, pointing towards the up-to-now hidden path that had trolleys for them to ride on.

"Doesn't that defeat the rest of this if we're relying on just 4 people per team?" Kendo asked, as this felt too good to be true. What, was it some sort of test to find out who would take the easy route and penalize them?

“Classic human tendencies, insistent on inefficiencies. Would you want them to wait for all of you to arrive once the 1.6km has been completed?” Uraraka was mildly annoyed by how smug the bot was, but she couldn't deny that it wasn't a bad idea. With how many people there were and how many were trickling in from the other 2 obstacles, they could be here a while otherwise.

“Good point.” Shishida was the first to voice this as they walked off to take this gifted ride back to the stadium, most wishing those they left behind good luck in completing this and taking victory for their teams.

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“And I’m here…what's your name? You can handle it from here!" Hatsume declared as she arrived at the relay point, the first of the first runners to do so.

"Wha-how could-My name is Iida! I'm a teammate of yours; how could you forget?" Iida asked her, as they had been using one another's names this entire time, and the commentators also used them, why Hatsume was struggling-"We'll discuss this later. Farewell!" That was for later; he had to do his part to win this for his team.

Racing off, he was in his element with this part of the race. Yes, they could fight one another, but with such distance between him and the others, there wasn’t anything the rest could do. His speed didn’t go unnoticed. “And our speedster’s got his time to shine here! We all saw what those legs could do in the first two events, but now he’s got the perfect chance to make a name for himself!” Supercharge remarked as Iida was covering the distance at speeds that one would need a motorized scooter for, and he hardly seemed winded.

“It's an ideal position to be in as if he was running with the others, Iida would need to worry about attacks; it would be foolish not to take this chance to increase that advantage because now, it'll take something out of left-field to counter," Inversal stated that Tsunotori, having already reached second, had tapped out and allowed Tokoyami to get involved. However, as he wasn't as fast as her, even if Iida slowed down, he wouldn't catch up.

“Dark Shadow, keep an eye on Ashido. She’s the most likely to try and attack.” Tokoyami grunted out, running as fast as he could, which wasn’t the best as he knew.

“Already on it, keep your acid to yourself, Pinkie.” Dark Shadow replied as his quirk turned towards Ashido, who was gaining on them and sliding along the track thanks to her acid.

“Like I’ll need to attack you when I can,” She made a move to attack, but when Dark Shadow came down to attack, with a cheeky smile, she jumped over its lunge and made a break for it, now in 2nd place. “Leave you in the dust!”

“Dark Shadow!” Tokoyami wouldn't let her take his spot, not when Tsunotori worked so hard to get it.

As the two fought, Ojiro tried to sneak past. “I’ll leave the fighting to you all!” Only to get absorbed into their fight when Ashido threw some acid at him, the jello-like substance missing him as he bent out of the way.

“A three-way battle has broken out for second place. How exciting!” Present Mic laughed as the crowds ate it up. Yes, Iida and his team were in the lead, but this was much more entertaining.

“For second is right, Iida’s managed to make it to his relay point without issue. Impressive.” Inversal still highlighted that part as Iida cleared the 400s and tagged it in Tokage.

“Thanks to the massive head start, Iida. I’ll be sure to make great use of it!” Tokage didn't waste time and was already off, splitting into several pieces once more and racing towards Bakugo. Did she like that sentence? Not in the slightest, but the ass was their last leg, and not even his ego could ruin things for them now.

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“It seems like this will be a race for second place.” A woman of average height with short black hair and dark blue eyes noted. She was another of Intelli's classmates.

"There is still a chance that either Tokage or Bakugo lost their advantage," Motoi noted, though that was hard to believe when Ashido was pulling ahead; with Tokage already on the move, Monoma would need to do something big to catch up, not to mention what Asui and Sero would need.

“Doubtful,” both girls turned towards Intelli. The intelligent woman focused on the cameras, which showcased the final group, those who would run the final stretch. Bakugo has shown…questionable characteristics, but none that would prove to be fatal in this case. If his teammate can reach him, he'll just need to move at a good pace and claim victory."

"I would have expected more faith in your boyfriend," Nagato noted, to which Intelli scoffed.

"Faith built on nothing is not faith; it's delusion. He's capable, I would say he's one of the most capable here, but to claim victory, he'll need everything to line up to his benefit." Of course, if anyone could pull that off, she would believe he could, but…well, it wouldn't be worth the hassle, not when the entire world was watching.

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“It’s yo-!" Tokage reached Bakugo's position, and the moment he could move, he took off with an explosive start, which sent a couple of Tokage’s pieces flying. Coughing through the smoke of his launch, she glared at his shrinking figure. “Asshole didn’t even wait for me to finish!”

“Dammit, we don’t have time for this!” Monoma cursed, having been trying to slow down Sero and Asui with ice walls, called out, turning to continue the face. However, he had to bite the bullet and accept that this was now for second place, as even if he reached Todoroki right now, the guy would be running with a handicap.

In his wake, his opponents had varying degrees of trouble keeping up. “(Kero)…” Asui moaned as all the ice was getting to her, turning her quirk into a weakness as she struggled to stay awake, which slowed her down considerably.

“Man, that’s just a bad hand, isn’t it? Don’t worry, Asui, you got this!” Sero was the opposite, using the ice as leverage to swing ahead.

Those three who had remained at the final relay point each had thoughts about things as they watched their teammates approaching, Monoma in the lead with Sero a close second. "We should have planned for this outcome; now we're sure to fall behind." Yaoyorozu sighed, as this was a repeat of the USJ.

"It's not your fault; these things happen," Midoriya told her; competing they might be, there was no reason not to be cordial. “Still, we should make sure that Asui knows that as she’s not the emotional type, but it’s good to be reminded now and again that failure isn’t the end.” Lord knew he needed it a few times from Aoyama.

"Yes, that would be the most prudent task after ensuring she's probably warmed up." Yaoyorozu smiled as she turned towards Todoroki, who had remained silent. “Todoroki, could you help us with that?” The boy didn't reply; he didn't even pay them any attention, which seemed off.

“Todoroki, did you hear her?” Midoriya asked, wondering if he was just in the zone. But he ignored them still. Right before Yaoyorozu would have pressed, Monoma arrived, having ridden a blast of ice from his feet.

“Get going!” Todoroki was off before Monoma finished his sentence, using a similar idea to Monoma but with much greater skill and speed.

"That was…telling," Midoriya noted while Yaoyorozu frowned, as this wasn't the first time Todoroki had been so distant and averse to socializing.

Well, that was something that they'll need to address later. Right now, he could see Sero about to make it, so he turned to wish Yaoyorozu some good luck. “Well, I’ll see you at the finish line, Yaoyorozu.”

“Please, call me, Yaomomo. It seems like Ashido wants that to be something between friends, and it’s not a bad choice.” She replied, smiling as the encounter with Todoroki faded.

Midoriya didn't respond with words, but he did smile and nod as Sero swung by, tapping his shoulder as he did so. With that done, Midoriya's body was instantly coated in flames as he changed modes, and just like their quirk orientation, most of it flowed toward his legs.

“Flame Charge!” With supercharged muscles, Midoriya took off. They were around him, warming him as he ran like a cheetah, pushing himself to move even faster as he closed the distance towards Todoroki. They, along with the rest, heard the announcement that Bakugo had made it out of the relay and was now in the last 1000m stretch, but that seemed insignificant now.

It made them work even harder as Midoriya gained on Todoroki. The fire and ice user's glare sharpened, and ice and frost formed along his right side as he turned around and swung his right arm toward Midoriya. The gesture sent a colossal blast of frost and snow towards Midoriya, blanketing the field in a tall, bulky ice hill.

The commentators reacted in shock, declaring that such would surely slow down his enemies or asking why he had not used it sooner.

The teachers wondered how Midoriya and Yaoyorozu planned to handle this. They could strike at it directly or perhaps try to evade it like Sero had done to Monoma's attacks.

Inko was silent, but her clenched hands gave away her worry as this was something that you didn’t see every day, not from the living anyway. She would worry that U.A. was too lenient about their festival but recalled the rest of the first event and how they had gone beyond what they needed.

The students who rode on a trolley back to the stadium were mainly stunned that Todoroki could and would use something that extreme. The ice was taller than an average house and seemed thick enough to hide a small van in if you pleased.

Yaoyorozu, now riding an electric scooter, frowned as she looked towards the target. Still, while she would have panicked or perhaps gone into planning mode for something to get over it, a flash of heat up ahead told her it wouldn't be necessary.

Picking up speed and heat, Midoriya jumped towards the massive wall of ice; opening his mouth wide, he created a large set of jaws, each tooth forged from bright orange flames.

“Fire Fang!" Biting down on the ice, it only lasted a few seconds before it melted, his fiery teeth piercing through, taking a bite of the ice. With a weak point, Midoriya dived into him before pull let loose a flash of fire around himself. On the other side of the ice, he came blasting out in flames and steam, untouched by the ice, to the shock of the entire world.

Todoroki looked back just in time to see it: flames at his back, his body coated in bright orange flames, a color he knew well. But it was the eyes that were different. They were bright, filled with life but also a determination that wouldn't be denied.

Landing, Midoriya took off right for him, shifting to run on all fours, flames coating his arms as he did so, shifting shape till Midoriya resembled a bunny made of flames, racing across the track. It was moments before he caught up with Todoroki, who tried to strike again.

“Ember!" Midoriya breathed out a thick cloud of embers, shrouding him in further heat, one which he coated Todoroki when he leaped over him, leading him to cough as he inhaled some of it and felt an uncomfortable pinch as the embers burnt his mouth and throat a little, nothing extreme but it enough of a distraction that he didn't shift in time to avoid what came next, that being Midoriya using his head as a launching pad to send himself flying, knocking Todoroki into his butt.

“And just like that, in a stunning show of fire and flame, Midoriya, the apparent bunny rabbit, takes 2nd place!” Present Mic yelled out as Todoroki went down with Midoriya not looking back.

“I had a pet rabbity once, and let me tell you, it's not fun to get kicked in the face.” Supercharge joked as Todoroki wiped the dirt from Midoriya's shoes off his face and got up. Now, he was angry as he took off, propelling himself along with a jet of ice. Still, it seemed that no matter how fast he made himself, Midoriya remained out of reach. Todoroki was able to feel the warmth he gave off but did not get close enough to snuff it out.

They crossed the end line for the relay but still had to finish the last stretch; for Todoroki, all of it fell away. He didn't hear his breath; he could hardly feel his beating heart or the chill from his ice. All he saw was the heat; all he felt was warmth. It was all familiar; it was all blood-boilingly familiar. Why did he have to use fire? Why rely on flames when he knew Midoriya could access other quirks? Was it only because it was the best suited, or was it to spite him?

He didn't know, and that only enraged him more. Another pulse of heat, and it seemed like Midoriya slowed down. 'That's right, he might be able to use quirks like tools, but he doesn't have the tolerance of someone born with it; he's been using that other ability for most of the event to boast his teammates; he has to be low on stamina, about to burn out.'

Todoroki just had to get close enough to trip him up and freeze him, not completely. If he could get him up to his knees, Midoriya might not have enough in the tank to instantly break out, not like he did with that flashy move earlier.

With that in mind, his eyes focused on Midoriya, watching his every move as he started slowing, the flames around his feet fading as his charge lost steam…or so he thought.

Leaping into the air, Midoriya tucked his head forward, flipping it for style points, but he was really flipping so that he could aim his hands, held like guns, towards Todoroki. His tunnel vision, ironically enough, prevented him from noticing that Midoriya might have been growing exhausted. Still, he wasn't losing power, but he was redirecting it as two bright balls of flames formed at the tips of his two index and middle fingers.

"Will-O-Wisp!" Midoriya sent out two blistering hot fireballs toward Todoroki, the first aimed just ahead and the second just behind him. Midoriya had only had a moment to aim, and his aim proved true. The two fireballs crashed into the ice to Todoroki's rear and the ground before him, exploding on impact.

The result was that Todoroki was thrown for a loop, losing traction and buffeted by two opposing sides by a hot blast wave. He went down even harder than before while Midoriya rode the blast wave, completing his front flip and landing on his feet before falling into a crouch. Flames engulfed his lips once more as he blasted off, leaving a trail of smoke and cinders in his wake.

Such a bold move couldn't go unnoticed, or more accurately, untouched by the awe of the viewing masses. Midoriya managed to slow down his opposition in a single move without losing momentum but gaining it. Many in the audience questioned how a student would know how to do that. For the pros, that question was all the more prevalent. He hadn't looked back or slowed down, and despite how bad it looked, he held back enough that Todoroki had more scars than the burns.

That wasn't something a student, a first year at that, would know and certainly not a first try. That was taught, practiced, and learned. They would buy Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, or Iida, managing such with their wealthy backgrounds, so what gives?

Endeavour had an idea of how, but for now, he kept it to himself and focused on his masterpiece, though the boy wasn't proving to be as exceptional as he should have been. If he had used his flames, he could have easily countered that attack and lost no momentum, but he didn't, and he was suffering from it, lying out in the dirt like some fool.

“My foolish son, perhaps this will be the wake-up call you needed.” Endeavour crossed his arms as Todoroki picked himself up, looking worse than before. He spotted Midoriya far off in the distance, well over halfway to the stadium once more. To his back, he could hear Yaoyorozu approaching.

It took a moment for it to sink in. When it did, Todoroki got pissed as he took off, his control slipping as ice formed in his wake, pillars and jagged spikes covered the track, forcing Yaoyorozu to slow down and navigate through it, but it was for naught.

“And our second place goes to the Mighty Golds!”

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It's Sunday as I start this, and I got a couple of things. The first was what I call an early Birthday present from my sister, that being a drawing tablet, which I'm going to take time to properly learn to use, as by God, is it different from pencil and paper. The second thing is that I was able to watch the latest episodes of Apothecary Diaries, Dub Fire Force, and a few more of 100 Girlfriends, so yeah, I had some entertainment.

Though watching FF again only reminds me that Obi is just that guy and compels me to want to write a story with a quirkless fire-fighter Izuku, as you can't tell me Izuku wouldn't be Obi's biggest fan, especially if it public knowledge the captain of company 8 is non-powered, and yet could face Benimaru without letting fear stop him, and has defeated Infernals and White Clads in combat.