Chapter 60 - [58] Target Acquired
I leaned against the stadium wall, watching the steady stream of students crossing the finish line. Each arrival sparked fresh cheers from the crowd, though none quite matched the volume that had greeted the top three finishers.
"And there's Yaoyorozu, taking tenth place!" Present Mic's announcement drew my attention to the finish line.
Momo jogged through, her ponytail swaying with each step. Despite the challenging course, she looked composed—though a slight tremor in her hands betrayed her fatigue. Her eyes scanned the gathering of finished students until they found mine. A small smile formed on her lips as she made her way over.
"Congratulations on your victory." She brushed a stray hair from her face. "Your performance was exceptional."
"Thanks. Tenth place is impressive too." I straightened from my slouch.
"Those combat moves you showed us during training came in handy." Her expression darkened slightly. "Especially when dealing with... certain individuals."
"What do you mean by—"
"IZU!"
A familiar blur of blonde hair launched itself at me. I caught Camie, her momentum spinning us half around before I steadied us both.
"Fam, that was straight fire!" She beamed down at me, arms still locked around my neck. "The way you styled on that giant robot? Peak content."
"You made it through okay?"
"Facts. Placed Fifteenth." She finally let go, bouncing on her toes. "But yo, you gotta meet this girl. She totally slays." Camie grabbed my wrist, turning to wave at someone in the crowd. "Mei! Over here!"
A girl with pink hair emerged from the mass of students. Her eyes—marked with distinct yellow crosshairs—locked onto me with unnerving intensity. Grease stains decorated her face and gym uniform.
"You're the one who dented the zero-pointer's armor plating!" She closed the distance between us in three rapid steps. "I've been studying the structural weaknesses in those models for weeks but nobody's been able to generate enough localized force to—" Her hands flew through the air as she spoke, sketching invisible diagrams. "The angular velocity required for that kind of impact suggests enhanced muscular density but your movement patterns indicate minimal mass which means—"
"The force multiplication came from rotational acceleration combined with precise targeting of structural weak points," I finished. "Though the denting was more a side effect of maintaining stable contact points during the ascent. The armor's actually quite impressive—I noticed at least three distinct layers of composite materials."
Mei's eyes widened. Her grin stretched impossibly larger.
"Oh, you're perfect." She seized my hands. "You have to let me scan you. For science! Your body is exactly what I've been looking for!"
"For what?"
"For making babies!"
"The hell!?"
"Inventions!" She pulled a device from one of her many pockets. "Like this portable tensile strength analyzer! Just hold still while I—"
"Mei." I caught her wrist gently before she could attach whatever that was to my arm. "Maybe we should start with names? I'm Izuku Midoriya."
She blinked, then laughed. "Right! Social protocols! I'm Mei Hatsume, future support company CEO and genius inventor!" She didn't try to pull away from my grip. "Now can I please analyze your muscle density? The readings would be invaluable for my hydraulic assist system designs!"
"Perhaps after the festival?" I released her wrist. "I'd be happy to help test your equipment, but we should probably focus on the next event for now."
"Promise?" Her crosshair eyes bored into mine.
"Promise."
Camie cleared her throat. "Hate to interrupt this totally adorable tech-nerd moment, but looks like our class is gathering."
She was right. Most of 1-A had clustered near one of the stadium's support pillars. I counted heads as we walked over. Almost everyone had made it through...
"And sliding into forty-second place," Present Mic announced, "Minoru Mineta! That's our last qualifier, folks!"
"No way," Momo muttered beside me. Her shoulders tensed. "After what he—" She caught herself, forcing a neutral expression.
I filed that reaction away for later investigation. Something had happened on that course, and I intended to find out what.
For now though, I focused on my classmates. Despite their varying finishing positions, most seemed in good spirits. Even Bakugo's scowl held more determination than genuine anger.
We'd all made it through. Now came the real challenge.
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"The next event will begin shortly!" Midnight's voice carried across the stadium. "For those who passed, make your way to center stage!"
I headed toward the center stage with Camie, Mei, and Momo flanking me. The stadium buzzed with energy, the crowd's roar forming a constant backdrop as qualified students streamed toward the arena's center.
"Excuse me," a voice squeaked from somewhere around my elbow. "Coming through!"
I glanced down to see Mineta pushing his way through the crowd, his purple hair bobbing between taller students. The small hero-in-training darted past me, but not before shooting a nervous look at Momo, who had stiffened beside me.
"Hey, Midoriya!"
I turned to find Hagakure's school uniform bouncing toward us. The sleeves waved enthusiastically in the air.
"Congratulations on first place!" Her gloves clapped together. "That was amazing!"
"Thanks. How did you do?"
"Twenty-seventh place!" Pride radiated from her invisible form. "Nobody saw me coming—literally!"
"What was your strategy?" I asked, genuinely curious. Her quirk offered unique advantages in this kind of competition.
The empty space where her face would be tilted slightly. "I stripped down to just my shoes in the tunnel. Hid my clothes behind some other students."
Camie snickered. "Bold move."
"Then I just ran!" Hagakure continued.
"Smart," I nodded. "Using your quirk's full potential."
"I almost got caught during the minefield part though," she admitted. "Had to be super careful where I stepped. But I made it!"
"Good job." I smiled. "I'm glad your hard work paid off."
"Thanks!" Her body twisted back and forth. "I've been practicing stealth movement like you suggested during training. It really helped!"
Jiro approached our growing circle, her earphone jacks twirling absently. "Nice job out there, Prez." She nodded toward me. "Though did you have to make the rest of us look so bad?"
"Sorry about that," I said. "You did well too. What place?"
"Twenty-eighth." She shrugged. "Could've been worse."
"Yo!" Manga bounded over, his speech-bubble head displaying an exclamation mark. "That was totally PLUS ULTRA!" The mark changed to a series of action lines as he mimed my movements from the race. "When you took down that robot? BAM! POW! Everyone was like WHAAAAT?!"
"Thanks," I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "How'd you place?"
"Twenty-second!" His face showed a bright '22' for emphasis. "Used my quirk to blast through the obstacles! BOOM! WHOOSH! CRASH!"
The animated conversation continued around me, but I noticed Momo had grown quiet, her eyes occasionally darting toward Mineta, who stood on the other side of our gathering. Her shoulders remained tense, her usual composed demeanor slightly fractured.
I reached out, taking her hand gently.
"Come here a second," I said softly, pulling her slightly away from the group.
Confusion crossed her features. "What is it?"
"You don't have to talk," I said, keeping my voice low. "Just nod or shake your head." I studied her face carefully. "Did something happen with Mineta during the race?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Did he try to touch you?"
A hesitant nod.
My jaw tightened. "Do you want me to handle it?"
She shook her head firmly. "No need." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I handled it myself. That kick you taught us came in handy."
"Good." Pride replaced my anger. "Where'd you get him?"
"Let's just say he won't be sitting comfortably for a while." A small, satisfied smile tugged at her lips.
"Ha! Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Her expression softened. "I can handle these situations, Midoriya. I need to be strong enough to..." She paused, looking away briefly before meeting my eyes again. "To be worthy of standing by your side. I can't keep relying on you."
The unexpected admission caught me off guard. "Yaoyorozu, you don't need to prove anything—"
"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE!" Midnight's voice boomed through the stadium, cutting our conversation short. She stood on the central platform, her costume glinting under the sunlight. "Gather round for the announcement of our second event!"
Momo pulled away, her usual composed expression sliding back into place. "We should join the others."
I nodded, reluctantly letting the moment pass. We rejoined our classmates as the remaining qualified students assembled around the stage.
"Congratulations to all who advanced!" Midnight cracked her whip for emphasis. "Now, let's see what fate has in store for you next!"
The giant screen behind her lit up, displaying a rapidly spinning wheel of event options. The crowd roared as it slowed, finally stopping on:
"THE FORTRESS CHALLENGE!" Midnight announced, her voice dripping with excitement.
Murmurs rippled through the gathered students. This was new—I'd studied previous Sports Festivals extensively, and this event had never appeared before.
"A fresh challenge for a fresh generation of heroes!" Midnight explained. "Here's how it works: 42nd place is worth 5 points and each higher place gets 5 more points. You'll form teams of three to five members. Each team will build and defend their own fortress while attempting to capture other teams' flags!"
The screen changed to display a diagram of small fortress structures.
"Each team will receive a base fortress structure and materials to customize it. Your team's combined points from the obstacle race will be your flag's value—with the team leader's points counting double!"
Her eyes found mine, a predatory smile spreading across her face. "Which means whoever teams up with first-place Midoriya will be guarding a flag worth well over ten million points!"
Every eye in the stadium turned toward me. The sudden attention sent a cold rush down my spine. This wasn't just about making me a target—it was about testing how I'd handle the pressure.
But pressure is for tires.
"Teams will have ten minutes to construct their fortresses, then forty-five minutes for the battle phase! The top four teams will advance all members to the final tournament!"
"Damn," Jiro muttered beside me. "Talk about painting a target on someone's back."
"They're not even trying to be subtle about it," Camie agreed, sliding closer to me.
Midnight continued explaining the rules, but the details faded into background noise as I assessed the situation. This event would require careful team selection. I needed members whose quirks complemented each other, who could work well under pressure, and who wouldn't crack when targeted.
"You have fifteen minutes to form your teams!" Midnight announced. "Starting now!"