𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏᶦ

XII

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The obstacle race was a 4-kilometre race around the entire stadium. It began instantly, there was no starting point other than the crowd they were in. The first obstacle was a narrow tunnel that most students just got stuck in and Todoroki didn't make it any easier for them by freezing everyone in place. Aeri and Jungwon solved the issue immediately by avoiding the ice and teleporting ahead of the crowd and in front of a seething Todoroki. Aeri didn't bother looking back, she was here to win, but she could hear the telltale sounds of a few of her classmates running far behind her and Jungwon.

The twins high-fived before they teleported again, reaching the second obstacle far before anyone else.

"The Moon twins have reached our second obstacle!" Present Mic announced. "How will they fare against our giant robots? Or will they skip out on the fight altogether and leave the other students to deal with them?"

Aeri glanced at Jungwon and then the first robot and charged forwards, freeing her swords from their sheaths. She teleported above its metal head. Jungwon did the same with the second robot. They knew what they were going to do without the need for communication—They were going to create more obstacles for the oncoming students to guarantee their win.

She slammed her blades into the crevice between the robot's body and its head and used her strength to pry it off its shoulders. The head popped free and fell downwards with an echoing thud. The wires inside sparked for a moment before the giant metal body tilted forward and fell to the ground, creating a giant wall that would slow down a bunch of students for sure. Jugwon's robot fell moments later, a second wall forming. They teleported along the path ahead and began running towards the third obstacle just as Todoroki's figure stopped before the robots.

"How will the rest of the students fare against the wall the twins made?" Present Mic yelled and Aeri felt smug. She continued running effortlessly with Jungwon at her side until Present Mic yelled once more. "Todoroki has frozen the whole second obstacle! What an extraordinary show of power!"

"That means he isn't that far behind us, keep your guard up." She said to Jungwon as she strapped her swords. She heard explosions not too far behind her and saw that Bakugou was right behind Todoroki, practically breathing down his neck as they ran after the twins. She could see the third obstacle coming up and grabbed Jungwon's arm, teleporting them both so they were right in front of it.

"Ever walked a tightrope before?" Aeri asked, stifling a laugh when she saw her brother's face; he was afraid of heights. The ropes extended farther than 200 metres which meant they couldn't just teleport over it. She rolled her eyes when he just stood there gaping and secured her daggers to make sure none of them would come loose and fall to the bottom of the canyon. "See you on the other side brother!" She called, walking backwards on one of the ropes. "Don't worry, there's an airbag to cushion your fall!"

She decided to give the audience a show by cartwheeling across the rope as if she wasn't phased by the fall before she ultimately decided to cause some trouble for her competition. A mischievous smirk overtook her features as she created a shuriken. She looked back to find Jungwon on the rope beside hers, his face pale as he walked across it carefully, refusing to look anywhere but forward. She drew her wrist back and flung her shuriken to her other side. She would never sabotage her own brother, but she had no problem sabotaging anyone else. The shuriken cut through a few of the ropes before it dropped down below.

"Aeri has cut the ropes! It seems her plan is to thin out the competition! And did you see her dancing across that rope? That girl has some serious balance!" Present Mic screamed, equal parts impressed and shocked. "But here come some other competitors! It seems like the majority of your class is in the lead, Mr Aizawa!"

"Yes, they've grown a lot since the villain attack." She heard her father's monotonous voice reply.

She looked back to see Todoroki and Bakugou approaching the ropes. Bakugou thought fast and boosted himself up with his explosions, flying above the ropes and catching up to her quickly. Her rope wobbled and she turned to see that Todoroki was freezing it to try to slow her down. She ran across to the end and swiftly cut the rope just as Todoroki was about to take a step onto it. Jungwon teleported to her from his rope and they began to run once more. They knew that it wasn't just Todoroki and Bakugou catching up to them, but Midoriya, Uraraka and a support course student too.

The twins were sprinting to the next obstacle, there was still some distance between them and the others but it wasn't enough for Aeri. She refused to teleport forward, wanting to feel the thrumming of the adrenaline in her veins as she experienced real competition. They reached the minefield and looked at each other, nodding. Aeri created four shurikens and flung them out in intervals to determine where the mines were, then she teleported to the safe spaces. Jungwon did the same and soon the twins were separated from the others by a thick wall of smoke, making it impossible for them to follow their path.

They smiled in anticipation as the end of the last obstacle came closer but became frustrated when they saw someone fly up above them. For the first time in the race, they had been overtaken and it was by Midoriya of all people. Not Todoroki or Bakugou who had been on their tails the whole time. Aeri scowled and grabbed her brother, teleporting ahead. But Midoriya used the same trick again, slamming a plate of metal into the mines to blast himself forward.

"It seems like for the first time in the race, we have a new lead runner! Midoriya Izuku is blasting ahead of the twins, but they're hot on his tail and who knows what other tricks they have up their sleeves!"

Aeri knew that Midoriya could never outrun them. They were blessed with enhanced speed plus had years of endurance running under their belts. It was over for Midoriya as soon as they were off this minefield.

The final obstacle of the course came to an end and they were running on the normal path once more. Aeri broke into a sprint and overtook the green-haired boy who was stumbling after landing, Jungwon was at her side. She could hear his frustrated shout as he ditched the metal plate he'd been lugging around all competition, throwing it backwards in an attempt to stall Todoroki who was behind him, in a constant battle with Bakugou.

The finish line was near and Aeri pushed her legs to move faster, She and Jungwon practically became a blur as they launched themselves forward and over the finish line. Midoriya crossed it 20 seconds later and then Todoroki and Bakugou a second apart. Aeri pushed her hair back from her face and tried to steady her heart rate with deep breaths as Jungwon rid himself of his jacket.

"In joint first place, we have the twins! Second place goes to Midoriya, Third is Todoroki and fourth is Bakugou!"

The five of them waited for the over competitors to arrive and out of nearly 200 first-year students, only 39 more did. Only 44 students had made it through the obstacle course, thinning out the competition exponentially.

Aeri looked up to the stands where the pro heroes watched and caught two heads of white hair looking down at them smiling—her older brothers. First place was the only option for her, if she'd even got second place, then those smiles would've been disappointed frowns. She redirected her attention away from them, not wanting them to know how desperate she was for their approval.

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