As soon as the green lights came on, the students charged forward, pushing at each other to get through the exit. Himiko peeked behind her to see most of the business class and general education at the back. They weren't pushing at the line like the others in the hero classes and support classes.
She hoped the duct tape could hold the blood bags through the festival. Although if they didn't, it would be so fun to see a media clip of her dripping in her favorite people's blood. If that happens, she wants a print of it for her room!
Natsuo's blood should give her the amount of frost she needed to make the ground slippery for the people behind her. And give her enough ice to skate through the ropes like Shoto did before. All she cared about was making use of the blood from her loved family for the longest she could for two reasons.
One reason was that she can showcase how well her quirk works for future opportunities. And then the second reason is because of the poor side effect of being naked when she runs out of blood that allows her to transform.
Himiko doesn't want to flash her entire family, everyone in Japan and anyone watching the Sports Festival broadcast around the world. She could leave that to her upperclassman, Togata.
She ran past some of her classmates as she could hear complaints and loud yells from behind her as students called out to each other harshly. Himiko activated Natsuo's blood inside her veins, feeling her body shift to her more athletic brother's body before a layer of frost erupted from her footsteps.
A wave of panicked shouts and loud thuds rang through the air as she rushed away with glided steps. Himiko glanced behind to see some of the students regain their footing as others clumsily fell back down when they attempted to stand up on the thin layer of ice.
Her friend, Akatsuka, was keeping her balance despite the waviness in their steps. But Himiko assumes it was more likely because of the tight hold she had on her hand.
She frowned as she placed a hand over the blood bags hidden inside her shirt that got shifted from the transformation to her brother's broader form. Okay, they were still holding on to her skin. Good.
Himiko was tempted to use Tenko's blood at first when she was choosing whose blood to use before she realized how risky it would be to use it. It was a dangerous decision to make especially when she had no gloves to prevent any accidental 'permanent disqualifications' of other contestants.
But she was glad she chose Natsuo since she wanted to show off her brother. Hehe. Maybe she can even embarrass him a bit of the girl he's dating is watching.
Himiko smiled as she kept running, sliding on the frosted dirt road. She glanced back to see her classmate, Risu, sliding on her stomach through the frosted floor with a huge smile.
The regular foot race ended quickly once her view was obscured with robots waiting for them in the middle of the road. Their heavy metal bodies towered over them with their shadows darkening the area around them. If Himiko didn't recognize them already from the entrance dam she took a year ago, she can realize that it's the exact same robots her brother's faced off not too long ago.
Present Mic crackled through the speakers, "First barrier! Welcome, second-year students, to the Robo-Inferno!"
Himiko looked up with white hair flopping down in her eyesight. Huh, blast from the past. Is the one and off switches still located in the same places?
She never got to answer that question before a support course students launched a mini rocket right into the chest of the robot, making pieces of the innards and protective plates shatter then fall to the ground.
Himiko jumped out of the way with Akatsuka yelling behind her after barely dodging a piece of inner pipe colliding into the ground. She hurriedly picked up a piece of metal just like her younger brother did. His method is genius, but she only hoped she gets to the minefield quickly before anyone else got the same idea as her. Well, more like the same idea as her little brother.
Himiko rushed forward with Akatsuka stumbling as she followed after her. "Midoriya-Chan, wait up! Woah!" Akatsuka yelled, reaching out to stabilize herself on Himiko's shoulder. "I almost slipped."
"That's on me," Himiko said, realizing that her brother's voice was replying instead. Yet it sounded weird like he was doing an impression of her acting cutesy in response to her friend. "Come on! We have to hurry!"
Himiko grabbed onto her friend, smiling at her friend's shocked expression as she led them through the obstacle course road. Their fangs glinted in the sunlight like a teeth whitening commercial as they crossed the dirt. Himiko frosted the road behind them for any other participant getting close.
"Is that a robot plate?" Akatsuka asked as another student fell with a thud on the frosty dirt. Her eyes widened, "Oh, are you doing the flying thing?"
"I'm thinking about it. I'll see when I get there." Himiko furrowed her brows, peeking up at the frosty white hair of her brother's eyebrows. Wow, Natsuo had long eyelashes. Maybe she can convince him to let her put some mascara on him. Ooh, the glitter mascara she got for her last birthday would be perfect!
Right as Himiko started to think about an icy blue graphic liner look, she ended up right at the second obstacle. A few students that got a headstart were already halfway through the obstacle.
"Does this look familiar to you? It should!" Present Mic announced for the new crowd of students. His voice came out clear somewhere beyond the trees and the sky above them. Where were the speakers?! "It's the fall! If you fall, you're out."
The second obstacle was just as crazy as the time she saw it on television. Towering peak standing in the midst of a dark valley with ropes tied between each rocky tower.
Akatsuka frowned as she surveyed the area, her eyes following the track of the ropes with an uneasy expression. "Damn."
Himiko would be lying if she said she had no problem crawling across the ropes or skating across it like Shoto.
The truth was Himiko was slowly making her way across the ropes while trying to keep her eyes off the gaping abyss underneath her. The one thing that distracted her was a support course student with luscious lips calling on a small ship made in the likeness of her face. Is that the long ass eyelashes girl's younger sister?
Her gaze was primarily focused on the face ship that slowly floated across the deep valley with the support course student laughing wholeheartedly like a villainess in an otome game. The last thing she remembered from the terrifying rope crawl was Akatsuka pulling her up on the other side.
Then, they were off running again. Himiko threw blasts of frost right when students tried to pass them, making them stumble or fall.
It didn't take long for the final obstacle to show up in their sights.
"The last barrier is the minefield!" Present Mic shouted over the speakers. Again, where are the speakers? Is there a drone above them? There should be since she knows she saw aerial views when the first year students were out here for their obstacle course.
There were at least three explosions of pinks and...blue? Did they run out of pink smoke bombs? It looks like a typical gender reveal party now!
"The field is absolutely packed with landmines even more than the first round. But don't worry, the explosions won't cause any harm to you. If anything, the pink and blue could possibly stain your uniform, but it comes out clean in the wash!" Present Mic reassured the students. His announcement was accompanied with two explosions of blue with three students jumping back from the blast. "The explosions are mostly here just to make a great spectacle for the viewers watching!"
"Of course it is," Himiko said as she knelt down on the ground. She immediately trot to work on digging up the bombs as carefully as she could to avoid setting off the dye bombs.
"Ah. It looks like some people already had the idea." Akatsuka commented, pointing out the small craters. Himiko watched her finger when she spotted one student attempting to throw themselves on it and immediately launching up in the air right at the treetop before falling back down. "But it doesn't look like they are having an easy time."
"Because they aren't doing it right," Himiko said. There were a lot of steps that Izuku took to keep the headstart he needed from the bombs. "Go ahead and start making your way through, this might take a while."
Akatsuka hesitated, looking between her digging and the line of students tip-toeing their way through the minefield. "I better meet you on the other side."
"I'll be there first," Himiko promised, digging out mines with long drags of the piece of robot plating she had in her hands. She kept using Natsuo's frosty quirk to slow down students and make them slip into mines or the bushes off the course's road.
She didn't know how much time had passed as she heard multiple mines set off with students yelping or laughing ahead of her. But finally, she had over twelve mines set in a pile in front of her for the perfect launch. She needed to act quickly before some jerk jumped on it before her.
Himiko acted quickly by walking backwards while positioning the piece of robot right in front of her chest. With a short yell, she ran at the pile with her heart in her throat and her brother's voice coming out of her like a comforting presence.
Then she was airborne.
The television made it seem like her brother was flying like a bird soaring over the land. But now that she was experiencing it, it just felt like she was falling with style. It was a slow glide towards the very end of the minefield where a majority of students were all clumped together. She could assume the reason was because of the higher number of bumps in the road which meant way more mines were planted.
And the populated mine area was quickly coming closer and closer. Wow, the road was really close now
Himiko gritted her teeth and braced for impact again as she thought back to what her brother did. She went through two students, partly landing on them as the piece landed on the mine covered ground.
Boom!
And... Now she's back in the air. That's great. Not so great for the students she partly landed on since they were caught up in the blast. Hopefully, they are alright.
Himiko fell back down to the ground, hurriedly tumbling off onto the ground. She got back up, feeling a pain in her legs that she knew was probably going to be bruised. Either way, she kept running, thankful that Natsuo's long legs gave her a boost.
Himiko could hear Akatsuka calling out behind her as they both ran towards the end. Only a few other students were in front of them. Which means they would both make it in!
They raced towards the finish line with Present Mic's commentary over the speaker. Himiko passed into the bright lights with her—well her brother's face on the television screen.
"And that's Midoriya Himiko and Akatsuka Ayame for 10th and 11th place!" Present Mic announced.
Himiko and Ayame rushed to the side as more students piled in. It wasn't long until they reached the limit of students for the ones who will pass onto the next stage.
"And, without further ado, the next round will be..." Snipe trailer off, raising a hand towards the main screen of the stadium to show a circle of choices. A slow turn on the screen resulted in a mix of color before the wheel slowed. Snipe laughed at the choice depicted with several balls of rainbow colors over the black lettering. "A paintball battle!"
Himiko turned to her friend, "Do you want to be on my team?"
"How dare you. I was about to ask you that." Ayame held a hand to her chest. Then a spark appeared in her eyes. "Do we get to choose our own colors?"
"Teams must have three or four students and each team gets their own color of paintballs." Snipe called out to the students. "First come, first serve!"
"I want red," Himiko and Ayame said in unison. Ayame gasped while Himiko laughed at their shared action. Himiko pointed at her friend with a grin. "Jinx!"
Ayame returned her grin before dragging her away to find the other two students for their team.