Izuku's aura slowed down and suddenly began to flow like water. The stream of distorted air rippled as Izuku disappeared.

Appearing over the crowd shuffling violently through the tunnel, Izuku became weightless and hovered over them.

'It worked! With a sudden shift from weightless to a few tons, and then back, I can successfully stop myself in midair so my brain doesn't rattle.' Izuku thought flipping upside down and observing the others.

'What is Midoriya doing? Can he fly now?!' Jiro wondered in shock.

Suddenly, her shoes were frozen over, as was nearly everyone else's as Todoroki leapt from the crowd with mist surrounding his boots.

However, Katsuki, Yaoyorozu, Ochaco, Aoyama, Ojiro, Mineta, Tokoyami, Mina, and Kirishima leapt over the frost with ease, predicting his move, or just having a simple solution to escape.

Izuku smiled at his classmates, and saw everyone else was trying slip and slide down the frost path he created.

With a white lash of air, Izuku disappeared.

Izuku slid against the frost with a smirk, gliding past his friends and towards Todoroki, before turning around with finesse and disappearing again.

Izuku rolled forward past Todoroki and into a sprint, taking off much quicker with his low weight.

Todoroki clicked his tongue and began sliding on his ice as Katsuki burst forward with his explosions.

The Big Three were already neck and neck, but a sudden laser landed in front of the three.

Izuku increased his weight as he blew through the blast before him, accidentally tackling a Three-Pointer of the First Obstacle.

Izuku slid on his stomach as everyone else stopped in shock, specifically the General, Support, and Business Courses, seeing as most never took the exam.

"Obstacles have appeared! The first barrier is, the ROBO INFERNO!" Present Mic announced.

Izuku stood up with a wince and looked behind him to see he shot straight through the three-pointer.

'Imagine if I knew what I was doing back then.' He mused to himself.

However, looking back, he noticed that seven Zero-Pointers had made their appearance, and he squinted his eyes in annoyance.

'They really thought this was oka—OW!" Izuku shouted, being knocked out of his thoughts when Katsuki leapt off his back and into the air.

Todoroki flew past him on his ice, making Izuku remember he was in the race.

Katsuki blasted himself over and out of the way of the slow moving swipes of the Zero-Pointers, while Todoroki swiped his right hand up, a gale of frigid wind crystallizing five out of the seven with just one attack.

Todoroki dashed off after Katsuki, and Izuku ignored the massive robots and flew past them.

'They handled them with ease?!' The rest of the student body screamed in disbelief.

Izuku glided across the ground just ahead of Todoroki, but behind Katsuki. His method of speed was slower than he used to be, but it no longer ran the risk of flying into undesirable locations, or... brain damage...

Izuku's teleportation and flight maneuvers caught All Might and Nana's attention, making them intrigued about his training over the two weeks.

The Big Three arrived at the second obstacle, a massive pit with pillars in between with only ropes to connect them. Balance was key, and falling disqualified you immediately.

"Hey, hey! The first barrier was a piece of cake, huh? Hope you all are some high fliers, cause next up is THE FALL! One tumble down there and you're out!" Present Mic announced.

Todoroki was quick to dash onto a rope, freezing a foothold before letting the creating of his ice slid him along. Katsuki was quick to simply use his explosions to leap over each platform and get to the other side.

Izuku tucked his knees in close, before a lash of white aura blew in the wind with his disappearance.

However, no one saw him reappear...

Todoroki and Katsuki made it to the last obstacle, completely leaving every other student in the dust. Class A wasn't too far behind, but with less mobility against their odds, they lagged behind more than expected.

"And now, our contestants have arrived at the final barrier! The reality here is that it's a minefield! If you look carefully, it's set up so that you can tell where the mines are!" Present Mic announced.

"By the by, these mines are for games, so while not that powerful, they'll be sure to make you piss yourself..." He added with a sinister grin.

Todoroki clicked his tongue seeing that others were catching up because he didn't have a means to traverse the mines without leaving a free path for the rest.

However, Todoroki's abilities would be put to the test when Katsuki suddenly lunged forward and swung his right at him. Todoroki parried Katsuki's blast and swat his arm away with his own right, coating his forearm in ice.

"Woah, woah! Rejoice, mass media! The development you all know and love is happening before your eyes! First and Second are in a heated battle!" Present Mic shouted, getting a kick out of the crowd.

With their scuffle underway, the other students slowly caught up, already taking their shot at the minefield with a bit of difficulty.

When Class A looked ahead, the realized seeing their fight that a variable was missing.

'Where the hell did Midoriya go?' Ochaco wondered, trying use her Quirk to time leaps over the mines.

Her question was soon answered in the form of assistance, and a massive pink explosion at the start of the minefield. Since she was midair, she too was flung further across the field, but with the unsuspecting push, she crashed into a mine.

'I'M GONNA KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!' Ochaco shouted as she was sent backwards anyway.

"HOLY MOLY! A ginormous explosion in the back! Just how many mines did they step o— WAIT! WHAT'S THIS?" Present Mic shouted in disbelief.

"IT'S OUR MISSING CONTESTANT IZUKU MIDORIYA COMING BACK WITH AN EXPLOSIVE PLAY! HE FLYING FORWARD IN AN ATTEMPT AT FIRST PLACE!" Present Mic yelled.

After over shooting "The Fall" from still adjusting to his technique, Izuku copied the idea of the Original Midoriya, and used the explosion to catch back up.

Soaring overhead with pink smoke around him, Izuku smiled brightly seeing that it worked as well as he remembered, overtaking Todoroki and Katsuki.

"Actually, HE'S TAKEN THE LEAD!" Present Mic revealed, making the crowd roar seeing his 'comeback.'

Izuku was about to crash from the speed, but with a skyward kick, he saved himself and began gliding above the mines by just a hair, turning on his back to increase his stability.

Hearing a boom, he heard Katsuki yell as he closed in. Todoroki wasn't far behind with ice under his boot propelling him forward, leaving a free path for those incoming as well.

"The two formerly in the lead have put aside their differences for a common enemy! With Midoriya in the lead, they're gunning for him now!" Present Mic shouted.

Katsuki roared and lunged at Izuku, but he teleported above his attack and kicked his arm away. Todoroki leapt forward off his ice and tried to punch him, but Izuku flipped to his side and continued to glide from the momentum the explosions gave him.

Katsuki charged an explosion, appearing ahead of Izuku with a glare, and Todoroki conjured flames in both hands as he threw his arms back, using them as propellers to slide even faster down his ice, overtaking Izuku as well.

Izuku realized his momentum had plummeted, and decided he'd use his head.

Literally.

Izuku flipped forward as he finally hit the ground, before the explosion of landing on a mine set off an array in proximity. With another smokey, pink blast, Izuku rolled forward like a ball at speeds surpassing his two rivals.

"WHAT'S THIS?! Midoriya has created his own SP*N DASH! IS THAT ALLOWED?!" Present Mic panicked.

A black and white ball spun forward and past the two's legs, clearing the minefield just before they could.

Izuku hopped out his ball, before vaulting forward back into a sprint. His weightless frame trucking ahead of Todoroki and Katsuki.

"With these dramatic developments and possible copyright infringement, THE FIRST STUDENT BACK IN THE STADIUM IS..."

The crowd watched the three rush into the tunnel leading to the stadium, a mix of explosions and cracks from ice being heard, stray streams of fire and smoke leaving the end.

However, Izuku Midoriya slid out first and spun on his heels to turn his back to crowd as he stood up with his newfound finesse.

"IZUKU MIDORIYA WINS!" Present Mic announced, making the crowd scream at the intense neck-and-neck battle.

Katsuki slid by second with his fist against the ground, before Todoroki ended his ice slide with a hop, placing his hands in his pockets.

Confetti rained down as Izuku dropped his pose and watching the highlights on the big screen as other contestants began to pour in, smiling at his feat.

•

Tomura watched on her phone, sipping boba tea with a smirk at his dramatic finish and sliding pose.

"Even when he's cool, it's still so corny." She commented, a blonde girl and a black haired man standing behind her, observing as well.

"Woah. That's the guy? The strongest in the Hero Course?" Toga asked, curious of his ability.

"He looks like small fry, but his Quirk is a force to be reckoned with. He nearly took out a Nomu in one punch." Tomura explained.

"Any weaknesses?" Dabi asked, hands in his pockets.

"Augmentation Quirks. Literally. They apparently damage his body more than physical pain. Like your flames for example. Nearly two times as effective to the normal person." Tomura replied.

"So, then it's just disabling that speed of his. Shouldn't be hard with your Curse Infliction." Dabi shrugged.

"Indeed. I'm his direct counter." Tomura smirked, making Toga cringe.

"You look way to fond of him. It's weird." Toga scoffed, "It can't be his looks. The guy's as plain as it gets."

"He's just easy to toy with. And besides, we're fated to clash. It's only right I find some admiration in his developments. I too will get stronger in the pursuit of my goal." Tomura's expression turned serious, and her crossed eyes sharpened.

'I'll have to inform him of my own developments later.' Tomura thought, the three returning to the broadcast.

•

"You son of a bitch! I almost lost because of you! You think it was funny?!" Ochaco was putting Izuku in a chokehold for hitting her into a mine, and Tsu watched.

"That's... not... my fault!" Izuku wheezed, failed attempts at prying her arm off at base power. "Tsu... help!"

"No can do. You hit me too with that stunt. Knock his lights out." Tsu said coldly, walking away.

"Wha?! My Green Sister in Arms?! This betrayal won't go unpunished—" Ochaco gave him a noogie, before shoving him away.

"You're lucky the first blast pushed me forward." Ochaco sighed, before patting his back.

"That was some show you put on. Real graceful ending, hot stuff." Ochaco laughed, the nickname making Izuku shocked.

"Th-Thanks." Izuku smiled, before the two looked towards the main stage where Midnight awaited everyone's attention. It didn't take long for every contestant to get back, regardless of if they qualified or not.

"The first game of the first-year stage is now over. And now, here are the results!" Midnight gestured to the Jumbotron.

A slideshow began, starting with Izuku's portrait and his ranking at first place. It then went on to Katsuki, then Todoroki, and so on and so forth.

"The Top 42 made it through to the next round. It's unfortunate, but don't worry if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine." Midnight licked her lips, and then continued, "The real competition begins now! The press cavalry'll be all over it!"

Katsuki stopped beside Izuku scowling at the screen as it began spinning for the next game.

"Now then, here is the second game. I already know what it is, but what could it be? What could it be~?" She cooed, holding her cheek.

"I gave a hint earlier, and here it is!" The screen stopped on Cavalry Battle, and Izuku smirked seeing that he was on the right path.

"Cavalry Battle? Ugh, I'm no good at those." Kaminari dejectedly sighed.

"Allow me to explain," Midnight began, the board beginning to display stick-figured instructions. "The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different... is that every individual has a point value based on the qualifier's rankings."

"So basically, every team has their own point value based on who's on the team." Ochaco muttered.

"That's right! And the points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom. But, the point value assigned to first place is..." Midnight crossed her arms before looking at Izuku.

"Ten Million Points!"

Izuku straightened his expression feeling the wrathful stares of his peers, all gunning for the Ten Million so they could stand above the rest. He was a stepping stool in their eyes.

"That's right... it's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top!"

Izuku suddenly scoffed, clenching his fist tightly.

"They can try."