The Sports Festival had finally begun… yet I still couldn't process what Haga—no, Toru—did to me. I haven't felt that way since… Kana.
I wonder how she's doing now.
The Sports Festival had three rounds.
First Round — Team Battle (5-man teams):
Each team started with five badges. The goal was to steal badges from other teams.
To advance, a team needed at least seven badges by the end of the round—only the winning teams moved on.
There was an additional rule:
Any team that finished in the top 16 would give each member +10 individual points, which would carry over into later rounds.
That meant performing well here was crucial, both for survival and for gaining a head start in the individual matches.
Second round: a trap-filled 5 km individual race.
Third round: one-on-one combat for the top sixteen students.
Unfortunately… my entire team was made of women. Except me.
Uraraka. Momo. Itsuki Kendo from 1-B. Toru. And me.
I was glad most were from my class, but Toru…
I couldn't even look in her direction properly now.
"...So, what's the plan, Midoriya-kun?" Momo asked.
"Plan?" I blinked.
"Don't tell me you don't have one. I thought you'd be better than that, Midoriya-kun," Momo said with a pointed tone.
That tone… she sounds like my boss… I grimaced internally.
"Give me a second, Momo."
I thought for a moment.
"Got it. Momo, Creation—can you make a car?"
"A car? I can, but it'll strain me a bit, Midoriya-kun."
"It's fine. I've got a strategy."
After I explained it—
"That's impressive… as expected of Midoriya-kun, UA's top scorer," Momo said.
"It's a solid plan, Midoriya-kun," Itsuki added.
"You're really smart, Deku-kun!" Uraraka beamed.
"Hehe." I smirked.
"Wow! That's amazing, Izuku-kun!" Toru said cheerfully.
I didn't respond—just glanced her way. Not because I wanted to look cool…
but because I was scared of what I'd do if I took her seriously.
Maybe I really am a pervert…
"Deku?" Itsuki asked.
"It's Midoriya-kun's nickname. Bakugo-kun always calls him that," Momo explained.
"It's been my nickname since I was a kid," I added. "You can call me that too, if you want."
"Deku-kun… I kinda like it," Toru said softly.
---
First Round
"Is that… a car?"
"Yeah, looks like it."
"Is that even allowed?!"
Present Mic's voice boomed, "Okay! You know the rules! The first round begins now! You've got one hour—GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!!"
As the buzzer sounded, our car shot forward—me driving, Uraraka and Itsuki guarding the backseat where Momo sat holding all our badges.
Man… it's been a while since I last drove a car. Feels good.
We zipped past a team and quietly stole two badges—Toru slipping in invisibly like a ghost.
As I thought… most teams carry one badge per person. Strong teams like Kacchan's or Shoto's stack theirs on one member.
But with all ours on Momo, protecting her is everything. High risk, high reward… if she drops them, we're screwed.
We need as many badges as possible before anyone figures out my strategy.
Slowly but surely, we gathered 13 badges.
And then—Kacchan's team came into view. His lineup: Kirishima, Ashido, Tsuyu, Jiro… and him.
"Guys, we're going to Kacchan's team," I said, steering toward them.
"I can see your lame strategy, Deku," Bakugo growled, already grabbing Toru's invisible hand the moment she reached out.
Shit—I forgot. Kacchan's battle IQ is insane. Even smarter than canon me—the 'nerd.'
Why am I getting so annoyed—
"Uraraka, take the wheel! I'll be right back!"
"E-Eh? I don't know how—!"
"No time! Take it!"
I let go. She grabbed the wheel with a yelp.
Full Cowl… 15%.
"Let her go, Kacchan."
"Hah? Give me two badges. Fair trade, right? Since you tried to steal from me."
"…Fine."
I tossed him two of the badges we'd taken earlier.
"Heh. Take your girl back," Bakugo said, releasing Toru.
I caught her—bridal style.
"I'll be waiting in the finals, nerd. Don't lose before then. I'll crush you myself." Bakugo barked before storming off.
Damn… he got me good.
"U-Um… Izuku-kun…" Toru's voice trembled.
"Ah—sorry, Toru…"
"You finally talked to me… I thought you hated me… after what I did…" she said, sounding like she might cry.
"…Toru. I can't reciprocate your feelings. Not right now.
I swear I'll think about it after we finish high school."
"…Okay. Thank you, Izuku-kun. But if you cheat on me… I'll kill you."
"…Kill…?" I asked slowly.
"Ah! Forget I said that!" she squeaked.
How the hell am I supposed to forget that!?
Danger Sense suddenly flared violently.
My team's car—now out of control—rammed straight toward us.
"Deku-kun, watch out!!" Uraraka screamed.
Shit—I can't dodge—!
Suddenly, black tendrils erupted from my back, lifting me and Toru into the air while another tendril stopped the car dead.
"…Blackwhip? I awakened Blackwhip!?"
"W-What was that, Midoriya-kun? Do you… have two quirks?" Momo asked, startled.
I can't tell them about One For All.
"I—I don't know!" I lied.
"It might just be a new application of your quirk, Deku-kun," Uraraka suggested quickly.
"Yeah… maybe you're right."
Nice save, Uraraka…
"I don't think so," Momo murmured. "Midoriya-kun's a physical powerhouse, not an emitter type…"
She's sharp. Too sharp.
"We'll talk about it later," I cut in. "We've got 10 badges. We need to catch up to Kacchan's team."
"You're right, Midoriya-kun. Later," Momo agreed.
The car was totaled, so we continued on foot.
By the end, we'd gathered 48 badges.
Damn… time's up. I hope we made top 16…
"Banjo-san… I couldn't activate Blackwhip again."
"That was desperation, kid. Don't think you can use it freely yet,your 10 years too early to master my quirk." Banjo warned.
The scoreboard lit up:
Bakugo Team – 108
Shoto Team – 101
…
…
Izuku Team – 48
Shinso Team – 28
We barely made it to top 16.
"If not for Bakugo-kun, we'd have ranked higher," Itsuki muttered.
"Yeah… since our strategy collapsed, we got lucky. But—" I said, turning to them, "—don't get discouraged. We still have two more rounds. We can still make the finals.Since we're in top 16..we'll get additional 10 points each"
Their expressions brightened.
The second round was about to begin…