And the first event has come to an end. Harper just barely manages to squeeze into the next round, and now, it's time for our students to pair up. But who's gonna whose partners? You'll find out shortly. And, we got a glimpse at one of our other international schools top students. Trini from Queen's Strong, or the England school if you got confused, will make her presence known in the future. Just as the other top student from the Russian school will as well. My, will this festival be incredible. So many great moments, from the second half of the race to just the first match of the big bracket. It's gonna blow you all away. Now, let's get right back into the action! Enjoy!

-POV: Harper-

"And the first event has officially come to an end!!! All 120 students gave it their all, but as we said before, only the top 60 will advance to the second round!!" Present Mic announced as the crowd cheered with him. 

"That's right, Mic. Each and every one of these students poured their heart and soul into the first race and showed us what they can do. But only the toughest, quickest, and strongest have moved on! And I cannot wait to see what our remaining competitors can do!" All Might spoke as I was sitting on the ground in the middle of the arena along with all the other students who were still in the game. About half of my class my was still here, plus a handful of class 2 members. There was a bunch of U.A students still going, plus a bunch of Russian and British students as well. There was a good mix of all of us. 

"Made it in by the skin of your teeth, eh? Nice job." Phobos said to me as he walked over to me and helped me stand up. 

"You have no idea how relieved I was to hear I just made it in. But at the same time, I was so frightened when I heard I got 55th place. Where'd you end up?" I asked him as he scratched the back of his head. 

"Well, i'm no Josh, but I ended up making 12th place, 3rd best in our class." Phobos explained to me. 

"Damn, nice work, buddy! Making me look like an amateur!" I said as I gave him a little nudge on the arm. 

"Josh actually ended up getting first, which wasn't really surprising considering how far ahead he got at the start. Lisa finished just ahead of me, getting 9th place, I think?" He explained to me as I was less impressed about that. Didn't really care much about Lisa or how well she did. 

"Did you really have to tell me about her? She's my arch-nemesis, don't tell me that." I said to Phobos as he just laughed a bit. 

"Sorry, figured you wouldn't mind. Anyways, i'm gonna go talk to some of our other classmates and maybe some class 2 students. See ya in the next event!" Phobos said as he went off to find other students. But what he said struck me curious. 

"He said he'd see me in the next event, but he didn't offer if we wanted to team up? Does he already have someone planned to be his partner?" I thought as Present Mic came back on the jumbo screen again. 

"Let's take a quick look at who to keep an eye on during the next event! Here's the top 5 from round 1! Finishing in first place, from Persevering Heights academy, Josh Masterson expertly blew through all obstacles to make it an easy victory! Following closely behind in second and third place was U.A sports festival champion, top student, and favourite to win this tournament, Tenshonoma Cryshiki and classmate Kyoka Jiro! After them, in fourth place, the top student of Gregorvsky Alpha, Sergei Bolochov destroyed the course in a display of raw power!! And then just behind him, the speed demon with engines in his calves, also from U.A, it's Tenya Iida!!" Present Mic explained as all five students were displayed on the screen. 

"It's all people who got an early head start at the beginning.... I wonder if the result will be the same during the next part of the race?" I questioned. 

"Hurry it up, Mic. Let's just get to the next round. Students, pair up with someone, we don't care who." Eraser Head said into his microphone as all 60 students began frantically running around trying to find someone to team up with. 

"That's right! The second event, which is another race, is in pairs! Teams can both run on foot or have one carry the other to the finish! However, both members must cross the finish line in order for it to count as a finish! And you may not team up with another pair as a team of four! So think hard and pick those partners wisely!" All Might explained as I also began to search for my partner. I tried looking for my classmates as it'd be easiest to communicate and work together with them, but every time some of them came into my sights, they'd already paired up. 

"Come on..... there must be someone left who I can pair up with..... Phobos already has someone, and so does Aqua, she's with Stella. Who the heck is left?" I questioned as I felt someone grab me by my hips and then lift me up onto their shoulders. 

"Finally found you, stretchy girl." Josh said to me as I was honestly surprised he wanted me to be his partner. 

"Wait, are you picking me to pair up with you? Wouldn't it be better if, you know, you picked someone who had a better finish than me?" I asked as he started to walk around with me still on his shoulders. 

"Well, despite the fact that neither of us can fly, our powers actually work well together. You make up for the lack of reach I have, while I make up for the speed and power that you may be lacking. I figured it made the most sense for us to pair up." Josh told me as I looked down and saw his arms and parts of his training uniform were burnt a pit. 

"Hey, how'd you get through the fire wall during the first event anyway? Your quirk would've helped you get over it." I asked him as he laughed a bit. 

"Well, if I couldn't go up, then there was only one way for me to advance. I just sprinted through the fire. Got a few burns here and there but I was quick enough so it wouldn't do any lasting damage to me." Josh explained as I was literally in awe. He freakin' ran through a thick wall of FIRE!! Not just anyone can do that!!

"Um..... alright, then..... So, what's our plan of attack when we begin?" I asked Josh. 

"You can just sit tight on my shoulders. You're gonna be our main form of offense and defense since i'll be doing all the running. Use your stretchy arms and make sure no one gets close to us." Josh told me as I gave him a stern nod. 

"Alright!!! Time's up!! All teams have been made and it's time we get this second round underway!!" Let me here ya, sports festival fans!!! Are you all ready!?" Mic shouted to the crowd as they all responded with an enormous "YEAH!!!!"

"Sounds like they are, Mic, and so are we! Competitors, take your positions!" All Might said as all pairs lined up on a thick red line. 

"Like before, this race will go around the outside of the stadium, but the course has been changed! New obstacles are now in place that you'll all have to overcome! And remember, only the top 16 students will advance to the final round, meaning the first 8 pairs to cross the finish line in this stadium will win!" Mic announced as the countdown began on the big screen. 

"3...... 2..... 1.......... BEGIN!!!!" The crowd counted down with it as everyone took off for the exit gate once again. And I nearly fell off Josh immediately because he was so freakin' fast! He took off at like 20mph instantly and we took an early lead. 

"Team Josh and Harper are blazing ahead of the rest of the competition!! But what's this!? Two teams are beginning to catch up already!! Team Cry and Jiro and team Phobos and Lisa are approaching them!!" Mic announced as I looked behind us. Cry was using his portals so he and Jiro could just teleport ahead a few meters at a time. And it came as a huge shock to me that Phobos teamed up with Lisa of all people. She was sitting on top of his shoulders while Phobos was launching them forward with his flames. 

"We're not taking second place again! We're passing you two no matter what!" Cry shouted to us as we all entered and ran through the exit gate. And, as Cry and Jiro came up from our left, he made a portal in front of them and a second at the end of the tunnel. They both went through and Josh pivoted with his left foot and jumped in after them. All four of us came out the other side, now outside the stadium and began running around it, making our way towards the first obstacle. 

"Hey, their still behind us! They must've followed!" We heard Jiro said to Cry as he looked behind. 

"Gotta make some distance quick! We'll have to jump faster through them!" Cry said as he made another portal in front of them. They both ran through and he instantly began to close is. 

"Hold on tight, Harper!" Josh said as he began to run even faster, probably going near 35mph as we jumped through what was left of the portal. We successfully came out the other side and we were right above Cry and Jiro. 

"Think we lost them?" Cry asked Jiro as Josh landed his right foot on Cry's left shoulder. He then kicked off and we pulled ahead of them by a few feet. 

"Nope! We're still here!!! We ain't losing to nobody!" I shouted to them as they began to look frustrated. 

"Harper and Josh maintain their lead over the favourites!! But how will they fair as they reach the first obstacle!? It's the mystery field!!" Present Mic announced as we came to what looked like a plain dirt field. 

"There's clearly something up with the ground. No way it's normal." Josh said as he slowed down so we could be more careful. 

"*Ribbit* Coming through!!" We heard someone shout as we looked behind us. Cry and Jiro, as well as Phobos and Lisa were still there, but another team was coming up behind us. It was the Iida boy from U.A, plus another girl on his shoulders also wearing the U.A training uniform. 

"Tenya Iida and Tsuyu Asui are rocketing their way towards the lead position! It's looking like they might take first away from our front runners!!" All Might shouted as they soared past us thanks to Iida's quirk. 

"Sorry but all's fair in this festival! We'll see you all at the finish li-" Iida tried to say as the ground beneath where they stepped suddenly opened up into a hole. They fell in and that told us that this field was filled with a bunch of unnoticeable traps.

"Josh, slow down some more. We've gotta go slow and steady through here." I told him as he slowed to about 10mph. Meanwhile, Cry and Phobos' teams used their quirks to fly over the field. 

"Too bad none of you can fly! Next time, do the smart thing and partner with someone who can!" Lisa shouted to us as my frustration was now starting to grow. 

"And what if we hitch a ride, huh!? Care to give us a hand!?" I shouted as I tightened my grip around Josh with my legs and then extended my right arm up to Lisa and Phobos. I reached Lisa and wrapped my arm around her waist. Phobos' momentum was enough to lift me and Josh off the ground, allowing us to hover above the field and its traps. 

"Get off of me, you cretin!" Lisa shouted as she tried to remove my arm from her waist. 

"Sorry, just too some advice from you! If we can't fly, then we just find someone who can! And I don't think Phobos there really minds!" I said as I saw Phobos give me a quick salute. 

"What!? How dare you!? We have a deal, remember!? You help me, no one else, and I let you win in the bracket if we face each other!" Lisa shouted as she started hitting Phobos repeatedly in the head. 

"You know I can drop you, right? I'd suggest you stop that or I will not hesitate to flip you off of me." Phobos said to her as she stopped. He brought us over the rest of the trapped field and then I unraveled my arm from Lisa, retracting it so me and Josh could continue running. 

"Alright, back on my own two feet! Hold on, Harper, we've gotta catch up to Cry and Jiro! They got ahead of us back there!" Josh said as he kicked himself into overdrive. I could barely hand onto him as the wind in my face was threatening to push me off his shoulders. He was easily going almost 50mph, which begged the question, HOW MUCH SPRINT TRAINING DID HE DO LAST WEEK!?

"The students are making their ways through the first trap fairly easily. Most just use their ability to fly to just go over it, but then there's the ones who can't fly. They're having a tougher time but they seem to be doing fine for the time being. God, how did I get sucked into this again?" Eraser Head announced as suddenly, a loud explosion occurred behind us. 

"What the heck was that!?" Josh asked as he turned and began running backwards at the same speed. We saw a huge cloud of smoke and soaring out of it was that Bakugo boy from U.A and the other boy with the red spiky hair, also from U.A. Bakugo had a grip on the other boys arm and he was using his other arm to unleash explosions which was sending them flying forward and eventually over us.

"Outta our way, losers!" Bakugo shouted to us as they landed on the ground about 20 feet ahead of us before taking off again. 

"Sorry, forgive him!!! He's just kinda like this all the time!!" The red haired boy shouted to us as Josh turned us back around so we'd run forward again. 

"Looks like the competitors are coming to the second obstacle!! The rock wall!! Over 200ft high with no easy way up! If you can't fly then this may b take a while for you to pass!!" Mic announced as me and Josh arrived at the wall. Cry's team, Phobos, and Bakugo's team all used their quirks to get over the wall by flying or launching themselves. 

"Just like in rescue training! Let's do this!" Josh said as he literally dug his fingers into the rock wall and began to climb like he was on a ladder. 

"We can't spend too much time on this! Here, let me help!" I said as I extended both of my arms out until I reached the top of the wall. As we climbed, I slowly retracted my arms, pulling us up at the same time we would climb higher, increasing our speed. 

"Would ya look at that!? Neither of them are capable of flight but they are utterly demolishing this obstacle!! Team Josh and Harper cannot be slowed down!!" All Might announced as we already reached the summit of the wall. 

"Now, how exactly do we get down!?" I said as Josh stepped up to the edge of the wall on the other side. 

"You may not like it." He said to me as fear sprouted inside me. I quickly grasped onto his hair tightly as he leaped off the wall. I screamed as we crashed towards the ground, but as we neared it, Josh reached out to the wall and grabbed onto a small ledge, stopping us for the moment. He then let go and we dropped the remaining 40ft to the ground. He landed like it was no problem at all. 

"Don't ever do that again, you hear me!?" I said as I still gripped his hair in fear. 

"Ow! Hey, i'm sorry, okay!? But we didn't have any time to discuss! We had to jump down so we didn't fall out of the top 8!" Josh said as we took off running again.

"Our front runners have reached the halfway point of this race!!! Who's impressed you the most so far, Eraser Head!?" Present Mic asked the hero. 

"It doesn't say much if you just fly over everything. It might as well be cheating, but it's unfortunately legal in this competition. So, with that said, Josh and Harper, and then Sergei and Alexi from Gregorvsky Alpha are the most impressive." Eraser Head spoke. 

"I agree with you there, Eraser Head, but even some of these teams flying look mighty impressive to me. Cry and Jiro have become a nigh-unstoppable force thanks to their superb versatility. And the newcomers from Persevering Heights, Phobos and Lisa, they're using Phobos' ability to generate flames to literally rocket themselves through any and all obstacles. It kinda reminds me of a certain number one hero." All Might spoke as I clicked in that he meant the hero, Endeavor. 

"Our top 4 teams certainly are looking mighty impressive, but remember, the top 8 teams advance! How's the next leading 4 looking!?" Mic asked. 

"Trini and Wallace of Queen's Strong are holding onto 5th place currently, and they're followed closely by Sergei and Alexi! In 7th, from U.A, we have the unique pairing of Kendo and Todoroki! And right behind them, also from U.A, we have Uraraka and young Midoriya!" All Might said.

"Just ignore him, Harper! The only people we have to worry about are the ones in front of us! As long as they're all the ones ahead of us, we know we're in the clear!" Josh said as we could see we were nearing the third obstacle. 

"Looks like they've made it to their third challenge. Let's see how they get past the gorge. Students who can fly, at least try during this obstacle. Don't make it boring for the rest of us." Eraser Head announced but everyone ahead of us just started flying over the gorge. Me and Josh stopped at its edge and this thing was easily over 100ft across. But in between the two sides were a few rock pillars. 

"Before you take off running and jumping, please, just let me prepare, alright?" I said to Josh as he laughed a bit and gave me a nod. I hunched my body over so I could grip onto his shoulders better and when I was ready, I closed my eyes as fear grew in me again. 

"Okay, go!" I shouted as Josh took off. He leaped over the edge, jumping an easy 30ft and landing perfectly on one of the pillars. I opened my eyes after I stopped screaming from fear and I saw we weren't falling. I let out a sigh of relief but then Josh immediately jumped over to the next pillar, and then the next, and then the next until we landed on the last one before the other side. 

"Only one more to go! You still holding on?" Josh asked me as my body was shaking. I wasn't the best with heights, and Josh was certainly not helping me here at all. 

"J-J-Just g-get us o-over to the o-o-other s-s-s-side!" I said to him as he started laughing. He then backed up so he could have more room to sprint forward. But pillar was not wide on  the top. It was maybe 10ft in diameter at best. 

"It's a little far but we should make it! Hang on!" Josh said as he ran straight for the edge and jumped with all his might. We were trying to clear what appeared to be a 25ft gap and it looked like we would make it. And, we did. Josh landed on the other side with both feet but everything crumbled away when the ground beneath our feet literally crumbled away, making us fall down the gorge. 

"Harper, you're up!" Josh shouted as I extended out my arms and reached up for a part of the edge that didn't fall apart. I managed to grab onto it and thankfully, it didn't break up. I stopped us from falling and swung us over to the edge of the cliff. Josh dug his fingers into the wall like before and we climbed our way to safety and back into this race. But two teams had managed to pass us. Team Sergei and Alexi and team Trini and Wallace. The two international teams managed to get quite far ahead as we could see they were making it to the last obstacle already. 

"Damn it, we're falling behind! We've gotta hurry, we're in 6th now!" Josh said as he bolted forward. Meanwhile, the 7th place team was catching up as well. Todoroki and Kendo were coming up on us as Todoroki was making them slide across the ground as he made a floor of ice. 

"You two aren't bad for some first years. Might be better than us when it was our first time." Kendo said to us. 

"Thanks, you U.A guys aren't bad either. You're resilient, that's for sure. And resourceful." I said to them as they both nodded. 

"But there's one obstacle even beyond this race that everyone, even the top students of the other schools have to worry about." Todoroki said to us. 

"And what's that?" Josh asked as they both looked forward. 

"Cry." They both said simultaneously. 

"His quirk is unmatched. I'm not even sure All Might could've beaten it when he was still a hero. Not a lot can beat him. You just have to overpower him if you can, but that's assuming he doesn't already have a way to shut you down." Todoroki explained to us. 

"It's that overpowered? Does he even have any weaknesses?" I asked as Kendo gave me a nod and then held one finger up. 

"Only one, but it's not easy to exploit. He can only create objects and generate things through non-organic materials. Meaning his diamond arm is like an engine to him. It's what allows him to create thing through his body. Destroy that arm and you severely lessen his ability to create and generate. But that's assuming you have the power to destroy a diamond, the hardest mineral on the planet." Kendo explained to us as we came to the final obstacle. 

"Folks, it looks like our competitors have reached their final challenge!! While obstacles before relied on speed and strength, this one will test your minds!!! This hero quiz will test your minds! Answer three questions correctly and you can advance! Get one wrong and you've gotta start over! And if you thought you could fly over, then think again! We've made an electrified wall so no one's getting around this one! It's answer or stop racing! Who will be first to make it past this challenge!?" Present Mic announced as me and Josh stopped at a door with a screen and keypad on it. 

"Your first question: Who is the current number 5 ranked hero in the world?" The voice from the screen asked. 

"The number 5? Let's see..... it was Edgeshot before but he's number 4 now.... god damn it, I can't remember who number 5 is!" Josh said in frustration as I got off his shoulder and started inputting a name into the keypad. 

"Mirko is the answer. She's the Rabbit hero." I said as I inputted the answer. 

"Correct! Question 2: The former number one hero, All Might had 2 ultimate moves. Besides the United States of Smash, what is the name of his other ultimate attack?" The screen asked us. This one was a bit tougher since All Might generally didn't have to use his strongest attacks. 

"I'm blanking on this one too. Harper, you got any idea?" Josh asked me. 

"I know it starts with a C, but I can't remember which state it's named after. Colorado..... no, that's not it.... was it Carolina....? No, that's not it either...... Wait! I got it! It's California!" I said as I inputted the answer. 

"That's correct! Question 3: Who is the current number 1 ranked hero in the United States!?" The screen asked us as both me and Josh inputted the answer. 

"Captain Celebrity!" We both said as our screen flashed green and our door opened up. 

"WOOHOO!!!!" We both cheered as Josh put me back on his shoulders and took off for the gate back into the stadium. We couldn't see anyone else around us, but when I looked behind I could see a few more doors had opened at the last obstacle, meaning we weren't first to get through. 

"I don't know if we were quick enough! There's definitely teams ahead of us, but we may still be in the running for the top 8! Just go full speed, Josh!" I shouted as he bolted ahead and into the gate. We steamrolled our way through the tunnel until we crossed the finish line. We heard the crowd cheering as our two names came up on the jumbo screen, along with our placement. 

"And team Harper and Josh make it into 5th place!! They move on to the third and final round of the International Sports Festival!!!" Present Mic roared with excitement as Josh collapsed to his knees. I got off his shoulders and sat down next to him. He was drenched in sweat, no doubt from all the running he did with all my extra weight on him. 

"I owe you one and then some, buddy. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for your awesome quirk and bod." I said as I gave him a little nudge with my right elbow. 

"Thanks..... just glad.... we made.... the top 8...." Josh said as he leaned back and laid on the ground now. 

"And arriving in 6th place is team Sergei and Alexi! Followed by team Trini and Wallace in 7th!!! Only one spot remains, folks! Who will be our final team to make it to the finals!?" Mic announced as I stood up and then helped Josh to his feet. Everyone who was finished and was advancing was standing in the middle of the arena. We walked over to them all and then waited to see who the last team would be. 

"Nice to see both of you made it as well. I was hoping it wouldn't just be me and the book worm here from our school in the finals." Phobos said as he gave us some fist bumps. Meanwhile, I looked over his shoulder and saw Lisa giving him a deathly glare behind his back. 

"How'd the rest of the race go with her anyway? She seemed pretty mad at you before for giving us a lift." I asked Phobos as he scratched the back of his head. 

"Jeez, she nearly gave me a concussion. She kept on hitting me more after you guys let go." He told us as me and Josh laughed. 

"And that does it!!! The final 8th place team has crossed the line!!! And what a surprise it is!!" All Might announced as everyone turned to see which pair would complete the final 16. 

"It was pretty close, but despite team Midoriya and Uraraka holding onto that 8th place spot for most of the race, they began to fall apart during the third obstacle, letting the team behind them catch up! And they were barely quicker to pass them in the fourth and final challenge, giving them the lead and the right to take the final spot in the final round! Everyone give a hand for team Amelia and Colson!!" Present Mic announced as everyone from our school, besides Lisa, grew huge smiles to see two more of us make it through. 

"Yes!! Awesome!!" Me, Josh, and Phobos cheered as Amelia and Colson came running over to give us some high fives. 

"You have no idea how close it was back there. Our last question was so tough! Who was the number one hero before All Might? But he's been it for so long that it was nearly impossible to remember! But, I luckily had a partner who did remember, right buddy!?" Amelia told us as she shook up Colson's hair. 

"To all remaining competitors still racing, you may stop now! The top 16 has been complete! We have our big bracket now!!!" All Might announced as we could see the followers in the race come walking in through the gate. They all looked so down and sad. They were so close to victory that they could practically taste it. 

"Everyone, please turn your attention to the big screen! Let's take a look at the results from the second race!!" Present Mic said as the leaderboard appeared. Cry and Jiro came in first, followed by Bakugo and the boy with the red hair who we found out was named Kirishima. After them in third was Phobos and Lisa, then Todoroki and Kendo, followed by me and Josh. 6th was Sergei and Alexi in sixth, Trini and Wallace in seventh, and finally Amelia and Colson in 8th. 

"Now normally, seedings would be assigned to each student and that would determine who would face who in the bracket. But, to keep things as fair as possible, we're going to randomize everyone! No one will know who they'll be fighting until we reveal the bracket in just a few short moments! Mic, hit it!" All Might said as all 16 names on the leaderboard began to swap themselves around until the bracket appeared. All names reappeared and revealed who everyone would be facing first. 

This was the start of the hardest part. The part where we'd all have to fight one another. I already had a tough opponent for the first round. And others had it even worse. But one fight in particular, I was actually worried about. The very first one in the bracket. 

Match 1: Phobos vs. Todoroki

Match 2: Sergei vs. Wallace

Match 3: Trini vs. Alexi

Match 4: Josh vs. Kendo

Match 5: Lisa vs. Cry

Match 6: Jiro vs. Harper

Match 7: Bakugo vs. Colson

Match 8: Kirishima vs. Amelia