An obstacle race as the first challenge huh...

You swallowed the lump in your throat, a bit nervous of what was to come. It was true that you were as prepared as humanly possible. Your physical strength alone had increased exponentially, and your knowledge of every viable circuit that could be available to you was cemented in your brain. It's just that this was a free for all. There's no telling what could possibly happen.

"(Y/n) you're fine. You trained for this." Todoroki offered upon seeing your nervous expression.

"I know I know." You chuckled, intertwining your own fingers as if trying to hold on to something. "I can't help it I guess."

The UA students began to head towards the stadium entrance in order to line up for the race. Todoroki lagged a bit behind with you. Your mind wandered to the possible scenarios you would encounter. Unbeknownst to you, your grip tightened to the point that your knuckles turned white.

"(Y/n)." He softly spoke, reaching over to separate your hands. "Calm down, I'm here with you."

WHAAFJDGJSOFJGBWYWUCHOAKEBCVKEOQKCJFIEOZKFNOSKEB-

His hand was warm, comforting, exactly how you expected it to be. Todoroki didn't intertwine his fingers with yours, rather he just held your hand up as you walked along, as if you were a princess to be escorted.

"You have pretty hands. There's no reason to bruise them." He casually said.

WhAt KINd of TEst iS tHIs!?

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale?" You questioned. "Perhaps you're feeling a bit nauseous?"

MORE LIKE MY SOUL'S LEAVING MY BODY!

You furrowed your brows and pulled away. It wasn't angrily, more so out of hesitance. Todoroki was blissfully unaware of how he was reducing you to a puddle internally.

"I'm alright. My nerves will melt away when we start..." You muttered, averting your gaze forward and away from the boy.

"I see..." Todoroki twisted and betrayed him. He looked disappointed at the sudden lack of contact. "If you insist."

Don't make that face.

You had peaked over briefly at just the wrong moment.

You're only confusing me more.

- - -

"So let's get cracking!" Midnight eagerly announced as the students readied themselves at the starting line. "On your marks..."

Here we go...

"Get set..."

You inhaled deeply and focused your attention forwards towards the gate. The buzzer went off.

"STAAAAAAART!"

Let's do this!

You lunged forward the moment you were given the chance. There were some who were faster, some who were slower. Over the past few weeks, you had trained your body. It appeared to pay off as you came out near the front while everyone crammed into the tunnel.

Geez this first tunnel is already an obstacle?!

You thrashed about in an attempt to free yourself from your fixed position. Not a moment later, you felt a sudden chill creep up your ankles. It was Todoroki's ice now encasing the ground and holding a majority of the students' hostage. A few of your classmates managed to evade or tear their way out of it already; Bakugou, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, even Mineta.

Crap! I'm already falling behind everyone!

Yanking your feet, you eventually managed to free yourself along with many others. You sprinted with all your might in an attempt to catch up with the main group in front. It was a rough start to say there least, but it was nothing compared to the first real obstacle.

No way...

It was the robots from the entrance exam. You halted at the clearing as many others had.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kirishima groaned.

I could deactivate their electrical current like I did in the entrance exam... But with something this size, I won't have the mental capacity to do much else after that-

Todoroki stepped forward.

"Honestly." He scoffed, hand becoming coated in ice as it lowered towards the ground. "I was hoping that they would prepare something better..."

What's he...?!

Ice coated the ground around the boy. The obstacle began reaching down towards him, its appendage nearing Todoroki at an alarming rate.

"My damn old man is watching..."

Eh?

You were just barely close enough to hear him. There was no time to process the snippet of information. Todoroki's hand sweeper forward, a massive cascade of ice following suit. It encased the machine in a mere second, rendering it as useless as a statue. The UA students erupted into a sea of awe upon observing the spectacle. Todoroki didn't waste another moment before sprinting forward under the mechanical beast.

"Now's our chance, we can go under!" A student called out from the back.

No... It's off balanced...

The robot slowly began to tilt.

But still!

Despite the other students' sudden halt, you ran forward anyways.

"(Y/N) WAIT! YOU'LL GET HURT!" Izuku called out.

The iced machinery picked up the pace and hurdled towards the earth. Despite the cries of your friend, you continued.

MOVE LEGS, YOU CAN MAKE IT! FEAR DON'T STOP ME NOW!

And it didn't. As if instinctively, your quirk activated causing your pace to remain consistent and your mind to be focused.

You felt no fear, no hesitation.

Just barely, you slid under the crumbling machine as it crashed behind you.

"WHAT'S THIS?!" Present Mic yelled over the intercom. "CLASS 1-A's (Y/N) MAKING IT THROUGH BY THE SKIN ON HER KNEES?! SHE'S NOW IN SECOND PLACE BEHIND TODOROKI!"

Alright! I made it!

You kept running the moment you were able to stand. Todoroki glanced back briefly, a subtle smirk emerging from his lips.

THAT'S UNFAIR, HOW DARE HE SMIRK At ME LIKE TH-

"OUTTA THE WAY YOU DAMN EXTRA!" Bakugou had already maneuvered his way over the obstacle followed closely by Sero and Tokoyami.

Crap! They already made it over!

"Hey hey! The first barrier's a piece of cake?!" Present Mic announced. "Then what about the second?!" You ran the fastest you possibly could, only halting when you came to the second obstacle.

What the-?!

"If you fall, you're out! If you don't wanna fall, then crawl!" He loudly exclaimed. "It's 'The Fall'!"

There's not much I can do for this one other than crawl...

After taking a deep breath you latched onto the first rope and slowly began making your way across. There were a few students who passed you in the process as their quirks were better suited for this kind of thing. By the time you made it to the other side, you were around the 20th position.

Dammit, I'm losing so much time!

By this point in the race, your stamina was starting to exhaust. There was still one more obstacle, a mind-field. You paused at the edge of it.

I won't be able to make it across quickly. Think (y/n)! There's gotta be a better way to do this!

Your eyes shifted around before falling on Izuku carrying a large sheet of metal.

That's it!

"Izuku!" You called out, the boy glanced over towards you. "I have an idea! Hear me out!"

"Eh?! What is it?! We have to hurry (y/n)!"

You answered his hesitance by digging your fingers into the dirt carefully.

"Don't touch them, you may set it off!"

"Trust me! These bombs most likely use an exothermic chemical reaction to create high-pressure shockwaves." Your fingers felt the cold metal surface. You activated your quirk instantly. "Which means I just need to stop the interaction of chemicals within them!" Pulling it from the ground, you started a pile in front of you. "This is my plan. It will work if we use the metal sheet you grabbed. What do you say?!"

Izuku knew immediately what you were getting at. He nodded and joined you in digging up a few of the mines, purposely digging beneath them with the panel as to avoid any pressure sensors on the top. Only half a minute passed and you had a sizable pile.

"All right! Ready Izuku?!" You exclaimed.

"Y-Yes!" He clutched the metal panel close to himself and lined up for the jump. "How are you getting on?!"

You climb up onto his back and wrapped your arms around his neck.

"Like this! LET'S DO THIS!"

"S-SO CLOSE!" The poor blushing bean froze up from the sudden contact.

"What?! NOW'S NOT THE TIME IZUKU! JUMP FIRST, THINK LATER!"

"RIGHT!"

Not a moment later, the boy threw himself forward onto the pile you had accumulated together, causing a massive eruption from the back of the crowd.

"There's a huge explosion at the back?! What's with that force?!" Present Mic yelled. You clutched onto the boy tightly, unable to see what was before you through the thick smoke. Eventually, the two of you emerged. "Was it an accident or did they do it on purpose?! Class A's Midoriya and (y/n) are in hot pursuit with that blast!"

YEP, WE'RE TOTALLY GONNA DIE! IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO AT LEAST HAVE A BOYFRIEND BEFORE I DIED!

Todoroki and Bakugou averted their attention back towards the blast, noticing who exactly had caused all the ruckus. They were unable to act as you and Midoriya sored over the students below and eventually them.

"Actually, THEY'VE TAKEN THE LEAD!!!" Present Mic exclaimed.

"T-There's too much force!" You cried out against Izukus' shoulders.

"I didn't think about how we were going to land!" He added in a panicked fashion as your momentum drifted downwards.

"DEKU! DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO GET AHEAD OF ME!" Bakugou growled as he blasted his way towards the two of you.

"AHHHH IZUKU, ANGRY HEDGEHOG COMING IN AT 6 'O CLOCK!"

Todoroki scoffed and sent out a path of ice before him in order to catch up as well.

You were losing speed. Todoroki and Bakugou had caught up in no time.

"(Y/N), HOLD ON TIGHT!" Izuku commanded.

"Eh?! R-RIGHT!" You nodded and tightened your grip around him.

Izuku flipped, planting his feet directly on the backs of your two classmates. He swung the metal sheet over and against the ground with staggering force.

WHAT?! IZUKU YOU'RE FUCKING NUTS!!!

BOOM.

Another explosion fired from beneath you, sending the two of you hurtling forward and against the dirt. Your momentum didn't stop there. The moment you released the boy and rolled up to your feet, you continued forward in a full sprint beside Izuku.

THIS IS IT, I CAN WIN!

You glanced over at your comrade with a smile, not slowing down for a moment. He grinned back.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE TO YOU (Y/N)!" He challenged.

"SAME HERE!" You panted for air but still managed to retort. "PLUS ULTRA!"

"ERASERHEAD, YOUR CLASS IS AMAZING!" Present Mic continued the hype.

Todorki and Bakugou began to gain on the two of you.

"I didn't do anything..." Aizawa mumbled. "They got each other fired up on their own."

You heard the roar of the stadium as you ran with all your might down the final hallway.

ALMOST THERE!

The light of the exit grew closer and closer.

JUST A LITTLE MORE!

"Right now, the first person back in the stadium is that man..." Present Mic started. "IZUKU MIDORIYA HAS MADE A HUGE SPLASH!"

Ahhhh well, second place is awesome too.

The crowd grew louder upon the end, applauding in your friends' victory as you followed directly after him. After safely crossing the finish line, you nearly fell over out of sheer exhaustion. Sweat beaded down your forehead, your breathing was heavy, your muscles were screaming. You had given it your all.

"(Y/n)!" Izuku called over. You lifted your head from your dying state. "I'M SORRY I RAN AHEAD OF YOU, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN LESS SELFISH AND-"

"Hooold up!" You grinned, cutting him off. "You won Izuku, and you truly deserved it. Never regret giving it your all!" You held your fist up to him. His mouth fell open a bit before smiling and returning the fist bump.

The last of the students made their way out of the tunnel and across the finish line.

"Now, take a look at the results!" Midnight announced. The ranking of the obstacle race appeared over the screen

Izuku first, me second, Todorki third, and...

You glanced over at a visibly furious Bakugou.

...Bakugou fourth... He looks like he's about to kill someone...

"(Y/n)." Todorki approached you.

"Oh, what is it Todo?"

"I applaud you for placing second in the race." He started. "However, that strategy was dangerous and reckless." You laughed a bit at his sentiment, wiping the dirt from your cheek.

"Well, that kinda comes with the job description-"

"I'm serious."

His shift in tone caught you off guard, but you didn't waver. To an extent, you couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed that he kept such close tabs on you. I mean, you were in the hero program for a reason. Not only that, but the constant care kept making you think that maybe there was something more.

"So am I." You smiled before turning to gather by the podium for the next event.

"I appreciate the concern but it's unnecessary. You don't need to worry about me."