Chapter 42: Sports Festival (4) (Patreon)

“Woohooo!!!” Izuku yelled gleefully as he slid down a giant slide after going down one of the pitfalls that littered the entire Hazard Maze. It reminded him of the slide down to the Bed of Bullshit, which was the best part of the entire run back whenever he died.

Right behind him, Katsuki was also sliding, although the smirk on his face showed that he enjoyed the rush. Adrenaline pumping through their veins, the two of them zoomed past the area, other students that were just within earshot hearing their yells of joy.

It didn’t take long before their sudden descent came to an end, and if they followed Izuku’s suggestion to the letter, the finish line was right at the first floor of this entire multi-level maze.

“That was fun! I wanna go again!” Izuku still had stars in his eyes as he looked at the giant slide. He had half a mind to scale it again, but a palm on his shoulder made itself known.

“We still need to finish.” Katsuki said with pursed lips. “I thought you wanted to fight, huh?”

“... Oh, right.” Izuku snapped his fingers, thoughts about scaling the slide all but forgotten. “Huh… What floor are we on, anyway?”

“Probably the second?” Katsuki grumbled, hands in his pockets with a hunched back. “Didn’t really see much.”

“Yeah… Sliding down a slide does things to people.” Izuku shrugged while Katsuki looked at him with a confused face, not that he asked anymore questions. With their conversation dying the same way the dodos did, the two let their feet do the walking, eyes alert as they scanned the area for any nefarious trap.

It was Izuku’s brainchild, of course there were gonna be traps when you least expect it. Like say, that obvious looking pressure trap that Katsuki was about to step in. Fortunately, the ash blond saw it and stepped to the side, only to step into a hidden pressure plate that caused something above to rumble.

The two of them looked up and saw a boulder made of paper mache falling towards them. Katsuki looked at Izuku for a brief moment, his unamused expression telling the white-haired teen everything he needed to know what the ash blond was currently feeling.

“Why? Just why?” Izuku’s grin was all the response he got. Katsuki groaned then pointed his arm up at the falling boulder. The moment it neared, he let off a giant explosion that blew the entire thing to pieces, bits of paper mache debris scattering around the area. All the while Katsuki’s eyes never left Izuku, prompting him to whistle innocently.

“Anyway, we should go. Don’t want to get disqualified at the first event.” Izuku took the first step and Katsuki followed, albeit with a few grumbles here and there.

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Momo panted as she trudged onward, the tiny midget on her back weighing her down. Meanwhile, Mineta was being as much of a dick as he could, fully taking advantage of Momo as he sat pretty. That didn’t mean he didn’t get his fair share of getting slammed with either paper mache boulders or Sticky gel.

Truth be told, Momo made sure that he got as much punishment because he was hitching a ride on her back. Paper Mache boulder? She turned around. Sticky gel? She turned around. Pitfalls? She made sure that she was sliding on her back.

She normally wasn’t a vengeful girl, but Mineta was making her question whether she valued the win, or her desire for vengeance… Eh, she still wanted to win, so Mineta got to live… For now…

Once the Sports Festival is done and over, she’ll have to get the girls together and band against the midget. Possibly involving the teachers and hopefully, the principal. She wanted to see how the midget would wiggle his way out when in hot water with most of the staff of the academy. It’ll at least make him think twice before doing this again.

Fortunately, she managed to find a stick to use for walking, because for some reason, some of the levels in this entire Maze had biomes. Some levels had futuristic looks with metal platforms and steaming pipes, and the level right now resembled a literal swamp.

It was a nice stick. It was thick, long, and robust enough that it could support her weight, and no, she doesn’t mean it about something Mineta would get excited over. It could also whack some of the obstacles away without breaking, and also Mineta if he did something she didn’t like. Now she knew why boys liked sticks. Even those old enough to be her father liked sticks, much more so if it was the same as the one she had on hand right now.

The glory of sticks aside, Momo spied another pitfall, one that her instincts were telling her was another shortcut to the next level. There were stairs, but who in their right mind would choose the stairs rather than a slide when going down? She knew she would like it, reliving the days when she was but a wee child, but Mineta probably had enough trauma about slides. Not that she wouldn’t let him experience it again.

She didn’t know she was a vindictive girl, but Mineta could bring out the worst in people.

“Uh… Hey… You aren’t going down one of them again… right…?” She couldn’t see his face, but Momo could imagine how it looked right now. Probably a mix of pleading and crying. Well, he better ready himself, Momo isn't done with him yet. “Hey! Wait! No! No no no no no! Stop!”

“You can just detach yourself, you know?” Momo glared at the midget on her back, but seeing that he wasn’t letting go anytime soon, perhaps it was time for another slide session.

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“Oh, hey. Would you look at that?” Izuku grinned as he looked at the very blatant finish line painted in black and white. It was also check patterned, just for the sake of authenticity.

“That isn’t another false finish line, is it?” Katsuki glared at the flag waving around in the air. He also glared at the giant banner that said “FINISH” in all caps. Not going to lie, Izuku didn’t expect them to even put this in the event, but they probably thought it was funny.

“I dunno.” Izuku shrugged his shoulders. “The ones organizing didn’t tell me anything, just that my suggestions would be taken into consideration.”

“...” Izuku knew that Katsuki wanted to say something. Quite possibly derogatory, but from what he’s seen in the ash blond, he wanted to be as far away from his old persona as possible. That said, he wasn’t scared to be that kind of person again with people other than him, albeit a bit toned down. He didn’t know how to feel about that, but at least his old friend was maturing.

“Anyway, let’s just go? If it isn’t the real finish line, well, what’s another pitfall gonna do to us?” Katsuki looked at him like he was a fucking maniac. But seeing that they really had no other options, the two continued forward and the moment their feet stepped on the line, the ground beneath their feet broke and they were sent falling once more. And again, for the umpteenth time of the day, Katsuki glared at Izuku like this was all his fault.

To be fair, it was his fault, but he didn’t talk about a false finish line. That was just a tad mean, and a very great idea. Why didn’t he think of it before?

As they were falling, the two decided that gravity wasn’t their friend and started slowing their descent, Katsuki using his explosions to counteract gravity and Izuku using his hands to grab at the nearby wall. If blood splattered all over the rocks, he didn’t mind. In fact, it gave the rocks more character.

The pain? Why care about the pain when it was just temporary. His fingers would grow back, it always does.

The two ground to a halt when Katsuki managed to hang upon a small outcrop of rocks, fingers barely hanging on. Izuku meanwhile had managed to carve himself a foothold with his fingers at the cost of his broken bones.

Katsuki looked at Izuku’s hand and immediately grew alarmed, however the easygoing smile found on his face made it turn from concern to annoyance.

“So, how’s it hanging?” Izuku’s grin did nothing to erase the scowl on Katsuki’s lips, the ash blond deciding to climb in perpetual silence. Izuku followed his lead and started climbing, paying no heed to his bleeding digits.

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“Are you sure this should be on live television?” Hizashi turned the mic off as he eyed the spectacle happening before them. Said spectacle being the pitfall trap where both Izuku and Katsuki fell after falling(ha!) for the same fake finish line trap. If that wasn’t enough, this was the third time, so the view of Izuku’s mangled fingers was repeated on live television three times now. 

“Well, we are going to have them beat the shit out of each other in the third event, so why not?” Aizawa shrugged his shoulders, eyes closed as he tried to get some shut eye. “Besides, do you think any other hero battles covered by the media aren't bloody, if not, more so that what we are showing them right now?”

“... Point, but allow me my counter-argument: They’re just brats.” Aizawa had to give Hizashi props for that. Most of the hero battles covered by the media mostly showed pro heroes, and if they were instrumental in taking down the villain or just being there for the better of society, even the sidekicks get their screen time.

And if they managed to push some kind of agenda, all the more better. No wonder the rat hated the HPSC, what with them being the head of all that is heroes. Then again, there was Re-Destro and his ever growing empire. He didn’t know why Nezu was leaving him be with the possibility for it to upend Japan’s entire society, but he guessed that the rat thought anything is better than the current system they had right now.

“Allow me another counter-argument: Their internships are in two months.” Hizashi raised a finger, mouth open to respond, only to bring it back down with a thoughtful look on his face. “Why question the morality of having kids be beaten bloody and near unconscious, when in the near future, their jobs are going to get even more harrowing than this? Remember Oboro?”

“Ah… Shit… Yeah…” Hizashi turned somber and Aizawa had to resist dredging up even more memories that were hard to swallow, even now years later after that fateful incident. “Don’t know how the brats are going to cope if one of them bites the dust.”

“That’s why we’re here, to ensure that they will be ready when it’s their turn to take the mantle.” Aizawa sighed as he closed his eyes once more. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be casting? I doubt the audience would love it if there isn’t a play-by-play from one of the best MC heroes?”

“... I hate you…” Hizashi grumbled good-naturedly, the man putting on a bombastic smile before flicking the microphone switch on. “WHAT’S UP MY FAVORITE VIEWERS!? NOW THAT BOTH ME AND MY COLLEAGUE HAVE HAD OUR MANDATED BREAK, WE’RE BACK TO GIVE YOU GUYS THE EPIC RUNDOWN, YA ALL FEELING ME!?”

The crowd roared again, the giant screens all over the stadium still showing the students all going through various tribulations and trials. At this point, it’s already been about two hours since the start of the event, and most of the students, particularly from the general courses, all but gave up, their exhausted bodies littering the various levels of the Hazard Maze, save for some. Two of the most prominent being Toga Himiko, Nezu’s pet project, and 

The hero students, however, were still going strong, with none of them tapping out even with the most direst of situations. One of the best watches of the event was Midoriya and Bakugo, one of which had the straight man energy, and the other, the jokester. That being said, the moment they saw Midoriya’s hand mangled and bleeding like a fountain, voices of concern were quick to rise from the masses.

A brief explanation of how his Quirk worked – even though they had proof that Izuku was Quirkless – and the masses were quick to lap it up, their concerned faces letting up as they watched with renewed gusto. Maybe this was the reason Roman gladiator fights always got a full crowd. It was greatly depressing, knowing that even with the advances in technology and morals, humans will still be humans, craving violence like there was no tomorrow. Why else would their world’s history be rife with bloody wars?

Sighing, Aizawa palmed his face as the memories of his old friend were dredged up from his mind, the scars still digging deep into his chest even to this day. Just imagining one of his students going through the same pain made him shudder.

Groaning, Aizawa laid his forehead on the table, Hizashi paying him no mind as he continued casting the entire event with a smile on his face, albeit a bit dimmed due to the reminder of their long lost friend that wouldn’t get to experience the life of a hero.

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Izuku and Katsuki stared at another finish line, this time colored differently from the others. It still had the same checked pattern style, but instead of a black and white color scheme, this had a very colorful, very painful to the eyes color scheme. The more Izuku looked at it, the more he found it an affront to all that is natural, the colors clashing with one another creating an amalgamation of different shades that can and will make a natural person throw up just glancing at it.

“The fuck? Who the hell decided to color it this way? Bastards, old hag’s gonna throw a fit.” Katsuki grumbled as he turned away from the disturbing scene in front of him.

“Old hag? You mean Mitsuki?” Izuku hummed as he tried to remember details and tidbits of the ash blond’s mother. Fingers snapping, his mouth formed an ‘o’ when he recalled a woman who swore like a drunk sailor on a good day. “I remember now! She was a… graphic designer, right?”

“Fashion model. Old man’s the fashion designer.” Katsuki side-eyed Izuku. “You think that’s the real finish line this time?”

“I still don’t know.” Izuku’s grin didn’t send as many shivers as it did earlier down Katsuki’s spine. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

Again, with no other option, both Izuku and Katsuki walked forward. They still expected to be fucked in the ass by another trap, but when they stepped on the finish line, both their feet stepping in synchrony, a loud fanfare rang across the entire area as confetti popped out from everywhere.

“Congratulations you two for being the first to reach the finish line!” Midnight was the person who greeted them, a sultry grin on her face as she licked her lips. “Rest your feet now, the next event is going to start the moment we get the first 40 finishers.”

“... Okay then.” Izuku shrugged and proceeded to do an Izuku, laying on his back spread eagle on one of the platforms while closing his eyes. Midnight looked at him curiously, but otherwise didn’t do anything to stop him.

Izuku didn’t really need rest, but closing his eyes just felt… Good…

Katsuki, meanwhile, grumbled for a bit and took a spot nearby, eyes closing as well as he tried to catch z’s. Izuku didn’t blame him, the whole event was tiring for normal people. He just cheated by being plain inexhaustible.

Now, all he had to do was play the waiting game. He wondered what the second event would be. No doubt, it would be fun like the Hazard Maze… He wondered if his suggestions for the second event were also taken into consideration, and knowing the rat, he would probably love to use it just to mess with the students.

Oh, now he was getting all excited again. He couldn’t wait.