"This is the qualifying round. This is what separates the doers from the dreamers! And the first event is... AN OBSTACLE COURSE RACE!".  

An obstacle course race? At Nemuri's words, a gap opened up between the stands, showing a long corridor. "This is a 4km race around the outside of the stadium. It's a race between all eleven classes! Our school preaches freedom. So as long as you stay on the course and don't kill anyone, you're ok to go crazy!" Midnight explained the rules to the race. I could feel the excitement building up in me as I waited in anticipation for the race to begin. "Racers to your mark!" Auntie Nemuri yelled, raising her whip in the air. I shook out my limbs slightly in preparation. I looked around and saw Kacchan rubbing his hands together to generate sweat and Kyoka stretching quickly. I got into a running position and stared at the opening. Auntie Nemuri shouted "Start!" as she bought her whip down with a crack, initiating the race.

The word had barely left her mouth when roughly 200 kids tried to run through the thin passage. I hated how I was being squeezed between absolute strangers. I could feel the panic building up in my chest, but I couldn't let it get to me. I had to do well in the race otherwise I wouldn't get into the next round, and if I didn't get into the next round I couldn't win for my mum and prove I was strong. "This must be the first obstacle." I muttered to myself as I was shoved into Kendo from 1B. Seeing as I was going to get nowhere in human form, I thought it would be best to just transform, and that's exactly what I did. It was hard to jump in such a dense crowd but I managed it, and whilst I was in midair, I transformed into a falcon and flew above the heads of the struggling hoards of teenagers. 

It was much harder to fly through the tunnel than you would think. Multiple times people's hands nearly swatted me out of the air as people shoved and elbowed there way through the bustling crowd of students who were trying in vain to reach the light at the end. Just as I was reaching the end of the tunnel, the temperature suddenly dropped. I glanced behind me and saw that ice was creeping up the walls of the tunnel. People gasped in shock as their feet were frozen to the ground. It was clearly the work of Todoroki. I was glad that I had managed to get off of the ground before he decided to pull that move, if I had been on the ground then I may have had to transform into a person, and I was hoping to save that for the later events. Todoroki came gliding out of the tunnel, the look of determination in his eyes was deadly. He looked like he was on a mission to kill. "Don't think I'm letting you get away Icyhot bastard!" Kacchan shouted as he blasted his way out of the ice and started flying forward. A lot more people had gotten out of the ice than I expected. Quite a few people in my class were sprinting after Todoroki along with a few from 1B. I decided to land and transform back into a human, I felt like if I flew the whole course I would be cheating. I should have prioritised my victory over good sportsmanship. As soon as I was fully human again, I set off running after Todoroki. I was in second place, which was good but I had told Todoroki I was going to beat him, so I needed to get into first place. 

I was just about to overtake Todoroki when I felt my gut tighten in warning. On impulse, I transformed into a fly, narrowly avoiding being punched by one of the robots from the entrance exam. I transformed back into a human and continued running, now aware of the fact that there were several faux villains in my way, I formed a split second plan in my head. As I ran I transformed into a fox, they weren't the most powerful animals but they were small and agile and I could easily wind my way through the robots without engaging them. If I fought them I would be wasting time, all that mattered was me finishing the race in first place. 

I had just managed to avoid another robot when I bumped into something soft. I looked up and saw Todoroki, but he wasn't looking at me, he was staring up at a gigantic 0 pointer which was blocking the way. "Every obstacle course needs obstacles! This is the first barrier! UA's ROBO INFERNO!" Papa's slightly distorted voice shouted over the speaker system. 'Why are there so many of them?' I thought to myself bitterly. I counted at least 10 of those mountains of metal. I didn't realise, but I had transformed back into a human, apparently startling Todoroki. "Wha- When did you get there?" he scowled at me. I shrugged and took a step away from him, I was so close I could feel his breath fanning across my face. "I wish they had prepared something a bit more challenging. Especially since dear old dad is watching." he hissed under his breath. I gave him 'the look'. You know when you side-eye someone in disgust but not really in disgust. I don't know how to explain it, I just gave him 'the look'. 

Yet again, the temperature of the surrounding area suddenly decreased, making goosebumps pop up on my skin. I looked down at Todoroki and saw his hand was covered in ice, he was about to do something big. I didn't particularly want to become a popsicle and by the looks of it, I was going to be one if I didn't do something. There was no time to escape. So I did the first thing that came to my head, even if I knew Todoroki would probably kill me later. 

Hitching a ride as a caterpillar in Todoroki's hair was a smart idea in the long run. I got past the robots, I didn't have to do anything for a while and Todoroki's hair smelt really nice. The downside at the time was that Todoroki's head was two drastically different temperatures. The white side of his hair was cold whilst the red side was warm. I wanted to shift so that I would only be on the warm side, but I was scared that Todoroki would feel me moving about, so I settled with half of my body being warm and the other half being extremely cold. I heard a commotion coming from behind us as others tried to get past the robots, but I couldn't look back to see what was happening since Todoroki just kept running, never once looking back. I wasn't completely sure when I was going to get off of his head, I considered just staying until he got close to the end and then surprising him. It seemed like a great plan. "Stupid old man. Bet he's having a field day watching me. Stupid geezer. Not gonna use his stupid quirk no matter what." Todoroki kept mumbling obscenities and insults towards his dad, which really annoyed me as I was trying to relax and all his mutterings interrupted. At least I knew how Kacchan felt having to listen to me all day. 

"So maybe the first barrier was just a tad too easy! Let's make it a bit harder then. Fall and your out, the only way across are those cable wires! This is ... The Fall!"  Papa's voice boomed over the speakers as Todoroki came to the edge of what looked to be a ravine which had wires spanning across it. Random islands (I guess you could call them that) were dotted around the ravine, connecting the wires to one another. I was going to get off and fly across the ominous pit of darkness, but Todoroki was moving before I could jump off. Todoroki placed his right foot on one of the cables and coated it with ice before he unbelievably started sliding along it with only one foot. If I had hands I would have been clinging to Todoroki's hair as tight as possible, it was heart-poundingly terrifying riding on his head as he slid across something barely 5cm thick. I wanted desperately to jump from his head and transform into a bird, but my fear of not knowing what resided in the inky blackness kept me firmly rooted to Todoroki's head.  "It looks like more competitors are getting to The Fall! Will Todoroki be able to keep the lead position?" Papa shouted through the speaker system. I could hear the excitement in his voice. I wondered if anybody knew I was on Todoroki's head, somebody had to have noticed, right? 

We had just reached the end of the obstacle and my heart was returning to its usual speed when I heard the familiar popping of Kacchan's explosions. I chanced a little movement to see how far away Kacchan was, he was still a bit away, but he was sure to catch up soon. Todoroki paid no heed to Kacchan getting nearer, he just continued to run until he came across a wide stretch of the path which had dark circles peppered all over it. "What's this? Our leader has reached the final obstacle! A MINEFIELD! Don't worry about anyone being injured though, the mines are just flashy!" Papa commentated. Todoroki took his time with the minefield, taking careful, calculated steps so that he didn't accidentally blow up one of the many mines which were buried under the earth's surface. By the time we had made it halfway, other students were starting to catch up, I knew I was going to have to ditch Todoroki soon. But I was really comfortable, I had managed to shift to his warm side, and I really didn't want to leave his head until it was absolutely necessary. I was snapped out of my imagination when I heard the consistent pops which I knew so well. It was Kacchan. "Haha. This shit won't stop me!" Kacchan yelled as he caught up to Todoroki, using his explosions to propel himself over all of the mines. "You better take your declaration of war seriously asshat!" Kacchan barked just as he overtook Todoroki. I watched as they fought, nimbly avoiding the mines. It was rather impressive. The amazing athletic abilities of the two boys aside, I needed to get away from the two of them. I was very small and I was worried Kacchan's explosions might kill me. 

I wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible, Todoroki needn't know that I had been perched atop his head for practically the entire race. I decided that one of the best animals to transform into would be a butterfly, nobody should notice if a butterfly just happened to fly by. However, my luck was shit. As soon as I took off and began to flutter my way towards the end of the minefield, I heard Kacchan bark in laughter. "I was wondering where you got to, Izuku!". If I had visible eyes, they would have widened comedically. I didn't expect Kacchan to realise. Todoroki squinted at me as if he expected to see my face on a butterfly's body. I didn't have time to hover there, I needed to get to the end of the course. "What a twist of events! It turns out Midoriya had been hitching a ride on Todoroki for a long time, who knows how long he has been there!" Papa screamed. Since I had been discovered, might as well go all out. I transformed mid-air into a peregrine falcon before screeching and flying away as fast as I could. I couldn't lose. 

I didn't pay attention to what was going on behind me, I just focused on speeding away from the two boys and getting first place. I could smell the caramel in the air and feel it getting colder as I flew away, indicating that they were trying to catch up with me. They wouldn't be able to though, the peregrine falcon was one of the fastest birds in the world, it was highly unlikely that either one of them would be able to gain enough speed to overtake me.

 The last stretch of the race was exhilarating. I was flying at breakneck speeds with two (rather handsome) boys on my tail feathers. I saw the opening to the stadium and sped up even more. I was going to win. I was going to make my mum proud.

I zoomed over the finishing line so fast that the picture which I later received just showed me as a small blur. "The winner of the obstacle course is none other than Izuku Midoriya!" Papa screeched over the cheers of the audience. I landed on the floor of the stadium and beamed a bright smile. I had done it! I had come first! I was making my mum proud and proving Hisashi wrong, I wasn't weak. Todoroki and Kacchan crossed the finishing line at practically the same time, however, Kacchan was awarded 3rd place whilst Todoroki achieved 2nd. I gave Kacchan a thumbs up in congratulations which he replied to by flipping me off. Typical Kacchan. 

I was too busy watching people crossing the finishing line to realise Todoroki had come to stand next to me. I didn't realise he was there until he spoke, causing me to jump in surprise. "I don't think you deserve first place." he murmured just loud enough for me to hear. I turned around to face him with a slight frown on my face. "I'm sure a lot of people believe that Todoroki, but the fact of the matter is that I did come first and would have been perfectly capable of coming first even if I didn't hitch a ride on your head." I sassed crossing my arms over my chest and looking up at him with defiant eyes,  "It's called fighting smart and having a strategy. I saved my energy for when it really mattered.". The look on Todoroki's face could only be described as pissed. He was clearly annoyed that I had used him and he didn't realise, but I could have sworn I saw a grudging acceptance in his eyes. He knew that in order to get to the top, sometimes you have to fight a bit dirty. I was a very competitive person when the situation called for it. I felt brave at that moment, maybe I was still riding off of the adrenaline from the race. I stood on my tiptoes and leaned in until there was barely any space between my face and Todoroki's, "I hope you remember your challenge Todoroki-kun, cuz I'm going to beat you. And when I do, your gonna be eating your words." my voice was low and had a very subtle flirtatious undertone. I glared directly into Todoroki's eyes, not backing down. Neither one of us was willing to back down, so we ended up having a staring contest. Me glaring into his eyes and him looking very flustered. Finally, Todoroki looked away and stepped back, his entire face rosy. "Y-yes. Umm... I mean no? No... I won't be eating my words. I will win. Yeah. I'm... I'm going to leave now." Todoroki stuttered over his words, it was amusing to watch such a stoic person act so flustered. I barely even did anything. 

How would you feel if this was Todobakudeku? It's mainly just an idea at the moment, but this way people who want tododeku technically still get it and I don't have to drive myself crazy thinking about how much a power couple todobaku is. If I did do Todobakudeku, it would start as tododeku, so does that influence your opinion on it at all? I think by now you can tell I can never make my mind up about ships, it was a bad idea to even do a ship. But it's already set up so we're gonna power through! 

Getting away from that topic, should I keep Izuku's hero name the same? Is there really any reason for me to keep it the same? I have no idea what his hero name should be and I'm writing the chapter where they need to decide their hero names so I'm not sure what to do. I'm not good at making decisions. I'm really bad at making decisions. 

Anyway, thank you for reading Chapter 31 of Occurrence and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.