Chapter 20 - Sports Festival - End of Obstacle Course [2]

After watching Hiroto run away, Present Mic shook out of his stupified state and continued with his commentary, "W-Well! It seems that Moriyama cleared the second obstacle already with such ease, keeping him in the lead! Let's see how the others will fare?"

The display changed to the other contestants, showing them slowly progressing over the chasm by either using their quirks or slowly climbing across the ropes connecting each of the pillars.

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Hiroto was already at the next and last obstacle, which was a minefield all laid across an open field.

"Now, we've arrived at the final barrier in record time! The reality is, that it's a minefield!" Present Mic shouted out. "Let's see if Moriyama will be able to get past the last obstacle and obtain first place before the others catch up to him!!"

Looking over the minefield, Hiroto was thinking to himself, 'I could just jump over and be done with it, but where's the fun in that?' Looking behind him, he saw Todoroki followed by Katsuki, who finally caught up to him.

They looked at Hiroto for a moment and then charged forward through the minefield without saying a word.

"What is this?! Moriyama has decided to stay back and not proceed?! Todoroki and Bakugo from class 1-A are now neck and neck for 1st place, as they both try to rush through the minefield!" Present Mic shouting, getting up from his seat.

Aizawa next to him narrowed his eyes and muttered, "What is he doing?"

Soon, more and more people were attempting to cross the minefield, causing explosions to sound out all over the field.

"What are you doing, waiting here? Don't you want to win?" Mina asked him as she finally got up, out of breath.

Hiroto looked at her for a moment, then turned to the minefield and gave a slightly devious grin. Then, he said, "You might want to sit back for this part."

From the stands, Hiroto's mother took out a pair of binoculars from out of nowhere and closely observed Mina. In her other hand, was a notepad, prime and ready for writing.

"Uhm, dear? What are you doing?" Hiroto's father asked his wife.

"Shoo, don't disturb me." His mother shooed his father and ignored him.

Taking his advice, Mina moved back, as Hiroto then sprinted forward. However, he did not run in a straight line, in fact, he started to run over all of the mines in the field, blowing them up and knocking other people nearby away.

"W-What is he doing?! He's intentionally running over all of the mines! But, he's still able to run over them and be perfectly fine! His speed is incredible!!" Present Mic shouted, getting more heated up.

Many of the students shouted out as they were blown away, and from the front Todoroki and Katsuki were still racing against each other, neck, and neck for 1st place.

That is, until they heard a familiar voice from behind. "Boom."

Like a blur, Hiroto rushed past the two of them, stepping on the mines all around Todoroki and Katsuki in the process, blowing them away.

"Argh! You bastard! I'm gonna get you for that!!" Katsuki shouted as he then rushed forward, along with Todoroki behind him.

"Whoaa!!! Isn't this a major turn of events?! With one sprint, Moriyama had successfully stopped everyone's progress, and easily bypassed the rest of the competition, 'Blowing' the competition away!! Hahaha! The press is gonna eat that up!" Present Mic exclaimed, causing the crowd to get even more rowdier.

Hiroto merely just casually jogged back into the stadium, crossing the finish line and achieving 1st place as confetti was fired off all around him.

"There you have it, folks!! Our winner for the obstacle course is Hiroto Moriyama of class 1-A, allowing him to obtain 1st place!!" Present Mic shouted out, with the crowd cheering with extreme fervor over Hiroto's performance and his display at the minefield.

Moments later, both Katsuki and Todoroki crossed the finish line, totally exhausted beyond belief.

"Now, they're finishing one after another!" Present Mic announced.

Standing off to the side, Hiroto looked extremely composed, with not a single shred of sweat on his body, showcasing how relaxed he is.

From within the stands, a man sturdily-built man with short crimson hair was staring at Todoroki, then towards Hiroto, not saying anything, but was deep in thought.

After Katsuki and Todoroki finished, then came Izuku, somehow achieving 4th place, followed by the rest.

Katsuki walked up to Hiroto and shouted, "What the hell was that about?!"

"What? I was just running towards the finish line." Hiroto said casually.

"Tsk, just you wait, I'm going to get 1st in the next event, and leave you in the dust!" Katsuki scowled and walked away. Hiroto only shrugged, not worrying about anything.

From within the stands, All Might was looking at Hiroto and talking on his phone. "So, what do you think?"

From the other side of the phone call, a woman with dark skin and red eyes grinned widely, and said, "We'll see."

Hanging up the phone, All Might look at Hiroto for a moment before muttering, "Knowing your personality, this will be the best option for you, young Moriyama."

......

Eijiro walked up to Hiroto along with Mina and Momo and said, "Dude, not cool." He was also one of the people who were caught up in Hiroto's 'sprint'.

"Oh, stop complaining. You were lucky and got flung forward by the blast, instead of backwards." Mina rebuked him, causing him to whistle and look away.

Momo then asked Hiroto, "Why did you wait and then run over the mines like that? You could've easily just bypassed it all, considering how you jumped over that chasm from before."

Hiroto scratched his cheek in a contemplative look, and said, "I felt like it?"

Momo sighed and shook her head, giving up.

From inside of a lounge, the pro Heroes were discussing the outcome of the event, taking special notice of the boy who easily achieved 1st place.

"From what we've seen, that boy has a lot of potential and we haven't even seen the extent of his abilities." Kamui Woods, the No. 7 pro Hero, said.

Across from him, Death Arms nodded his head and said, "He managed to knock over all the students at the start by just stomping the ground. After that, he easily defeated that robot with a single punch. Followed by him jumping over that giant chasm and running across the minefield."

Mt. Lady buŧŧed into the conversation and said, "You know, I recognize that kid from somewhere. I can't really remember where, but I swear that I saw him before, especially that head. Argh! It's so frustrating!"

Death Arms and Kamui Woods only shook their head, thinking that she was up to one of her antics once again.

Taking the stage once more, Midnight addressed the crowd. "The first game of the first-year stage is finally over! Now, take a look at the results!"

A display then appeared, showing Hiroto being in 1st place, followed by Todoroki, Katsuki, and Izuku.

"The top 42 has made it through to the next round. It's unfortunate, but don't worry even if you didn't make it! We've prepared other chances for you to shine." Midnight said, ŀɨċkɨnġ her lips.

"The real competition begins next! The press will be all over it, so give it your all and don't look bad! Now then, here is the second game." Midnight said, directing everyone's view to the large board behind her, as the words appeared on it.

"A Cavalry Battle!"

"A Cavalry Battle… I'm bad at those…" Kaminari said.

Hiroto was thinking to himself, 'I'll have to work with people this time, but who will it be?'

Midnight then went on to explain the rules of the Cavalry Battle, and how people were allowed to use their quirks. There was also the added point system ȧssigned to people, based on their results from the last game.

"And the point value ȧssigned to first place is… ten million!" Midnight shouted.

Hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to Hiroto, who was, at this moment, zoned out.

"In other words, if you take down the first place players team…"

"We can get ten million points."

The people around Hiroto started to get into a heated discussion, while Hiroto himself paid them no attention.

'Since it's a team battle, we might be able to stand a chance against him.' Some of the students from class 1-A thought to themselves.

"Those who reach the top merely encounter fresh new hardships. And the kids who have enrolled here will hear it countless times: Plus Ultra!" Pointing towards Hiroto, Midnight continued. "Hiroto Moriyama, who placed first in the qualifier, is worth ten million points!"

"Now, you have 15 minutes to build your teams. Start!!" Midnight announced, resulting in the students clamoring over each other to get the best students in their teams.

Surprisingly, around Hiroto, almost everyone in class 1-A wanted to be partnered with him.

"Hey, Hiroto, team up with me!"

"Moriyama, you should pick me!"

"No no, pick me!"

Hiroto massaged his forehead and said, "Look, are you sure you guys want to be on my team? You'll be a target."

His classmates looked at each other and Mina said, "If you're the one on top, I doubt anyone is going to be able to steal the points from you."

Hiroto sighed and said, "I already know who I want for my time, and I only need one person."

Walking past everyone, he stood in front of Hagakure and said, "So, do you want to join my team? It will only be us two though."

Hagakure thought for a moment, then said, "Sure, why not. But, are you sure you only want me on your team?"

"Yeah, listen to my plan," Hiroto said, as the two walked a distance away from everyone.