Often times I have the thought: Did the desire to succeed, to overcome, to come out on top in the face of challenges, come naturally to me, or was it just a reaction to my survival instincts? Would I prioritize survival over winning? Would my idea of success be different if survival was the ultimate reward for losing? Or would I win even in that scenario? Or would my defination of success change at that point? As I contemplate these questions, I am reminded of the intricate nature of human drive. While I explore these musings, I strive to unravel the mystery of the human experience, seeking comprehension through the search for solutions.
I understood one thing: the survival of my essence hinged upon fulfilling the mission for which I had been thrust into this world. The notion of infusing a competitive spirit into the pliable framework of my character crossed my mind. It would be a nice touch I suppose but that would be a consideration for another time.
For now adrenaline was rushing to my feet. Countless cheers could be heard from all directions of the far reaching stadium. Being the center of something was what I disliked however my situation was an ironical one from the start, so there was no helping it. Around me everyone was overflowing with emotions. Some of excitement, while others of anxiety. I am sure everyone had a gameplan.
As the announcement from Midnight-sensei reverberated throughout the stadium I analyzed the data. The preliminaries of the would be a test of both physical and mental strength. The 4-kilometer course around the promised to be a grueling challenge for all participants.
As the race commenced, a surge of energy compelled my surrounding contendors towards the door. However, their collective movement was hindered by the first obstacle—a narrow corridor leading to the exit. The confined space quickly filled with determined participants, creating a chaotic bottleneck that impeded their progress.
Analyzing the situation, I acknowledged the inefficiency of the crowded corridor, hence I found it fruitless to even move from the starting line. The struggle to navigate through the confined space added an unexpected layer of complexity to the race, setting the tone for the challenges that lay ahead.
"OOOOhhhhh....what's this????Why isn't the participant moving from his place? Does he like....get that the race has begun???? WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGG BOIIIIIIII????"
Mic-sensei's voice was shrill as it emenated from the microphone. Everyone's eyes were on me for that moment. However what was my reaction? The simple thing was to wait. All I had to do was wait for the quirks to be activated. For one, it's obvious either Bakugou or Todoroki will activate their quirks to escape the bottleneck.Whichever one of them does start using their quirk, I will simply leach off them.
Both of their quirks were quite useful in this situation. They could take a defensive or an offensive approach. However given the intel I had on their personalities, they were the definite ones to use their quirks the earliest in this situation. While I had doubts about the other participants activating their quirks just yet, these two I was entirely certain. Their competitive spirit was unrivalled.
"Hah!!! This reminds me of my daily train travel. All those sweaty armpits and all that overcrowding!!! JUST LOVE IT!!!"
It seems someone was enjoying this at least.
Crackle
After the sound of the ice forming reached my ears, my feet shot off. Not wasting another second I rushed towards the corridor. Hundreds of eyes saw my movement, leaving behind a trail of dust. My orbs focused themselves on the now freezing crowd infront of me. Quirk users like Ashido Mina, were completely neutralised in their earlier tactics. However Momo, Todoroki and Bakugou all had enough ideas to break through this ice.
I had timed it such that the moment I stepped on the ice, it had completely solidified stopping the threat of the ice spreading it's icy claws on my legs hindering my movement. I couldn't lose momentum no matter what. The more I relaxed my feet, the easier it became to glide across the ice covered track. However it was becoming quite annoying trying to swerve through the many contendors littering the path. One mistake and it would break my path leading me to lose on time. I knew very well, if that happened it would give the others enough time to get a lead on me and those stuck on the ice, enough time to get themselves out of the ice. However, I wasn't someone with normal reflexes.
My legs danced, gliding across as my body followed along. My impassive face matched the nonchalant movements I was doing every second.
"Woahhhhh!!! What's that ladies and gentlemen???When did this become an ice skating olymics??? Goddaammmm the boi's got movess for daysssss!!!Look at the way he is dodging!!! Holy shit, how is he even coordinating??"
Mic sensei's voice reached my ears, it seems he was doing a good job bringing the attention towards me. I knew his attitude,the more crazier my plans seemed the easier it was for the audience to notice me.
A few of the contendors fell over from the hypothermia setting in, I slammed my leg over the ice as I reached closer to them and flipped over them. Doing a simple jump would slow me down as it would require me to rest my feet on the ground. However a flip solved that problem my continuing the extreme momentum I had gained by forming a curve over the falled contendors.Upon landing I pushed off with another strong kick, this time pulling my body forward and arching myself to move forward instead of upward. I could feel the cold wind shooting off my sides, my breath left off a cold white smoke to the side of my cheeks as I heard a familiar voice.
"Sorry Ayanokouji, ribbit"
It was quite like Tsuyu to be level headed in such situations where most are simply working on instinct. She tried to balance both trying to come out on top and to hinder other competitors. A tongue shot at me from a distance, however it was quite slow. She definately has to improve her speed. I dodged it quite easily but I wasn't going to let this interruption go without a warning.
I let my hand curve to the right and grab the now retreating tongue upon missing me and twisted it around my hand. Not wasting a second I grabbed a shard of ice and stabbed it inside her tongue brutally. Blood spewed out of the tongue as Tsuyu screamed in agony. It must have hurt her quite a bit.
"Sorry as well, Tsuyu Asui"
My voice resembled the ice, cold and lacking of any empathy. She crossed my path and she paid. I am sure she will be alright later, but right now her pain was quite prominent. This will ease any further contendors trying to slow me down. My legs kept sliding until the icy trail came to a halt.
"Wow!!! That shit was brutal as hell, what do you feed your students Aizawa??However, we have reached one of the first obstacles everyone. So keep your eyes peeled!!!"
Oddly it seems everyone had stopped, and it seems only 5 of them had made it so far. I turned around to see many still rushing towards us. Most were from Class A and B, which meant, at least for now the hero course was definately being the better of the entire bunch. It was obvious but I had expected to see something different.However, it seems my stratergy had worked out quite well.
The ground beneath me shook quite a bit as dust flew through the arena. While I was used to such scenarios, I couldn't say that about the others. I could see large behemoths shrouded in dust.
Large robots huh, that's just boring. These giant hunks of metal, as per what I have encountered earlier, are too slow and their movements are too predictable. Yes, their numbers were quite a lot, however it wasn't something to fret over.
I couldn't wait for the dust to settle or even for all the robots to appear. I sprang on my feet yet again going through the dust. Since, no one other than me had entered the feild of view of the robots yet, I became the prime target. About 10 of them mobbed around me causing a chokehold on the path. This would prevent anyone from getting through unless they could leap over these robots or had shattered a few of them.
I had successfully blocked the path, however now I had to seal it off. I had to create some sort of domino effect. Since these robots have an architecture which makes them immobile once they fall, I can use it to my advantange. Not just that, I had something else in mind. This action would kill two birds with one stone. However it depended entirely on my technique and perfect timing.
I grabbed onto the hinge of the knee of a robot and climbed it with a leap. My legs twisted and landed over the shoulders of the robot as I held my breath. I had to calculate the movements of all the ten robots, I had to focus.
The one at 12 o clock will move 30 degrees left, in order to face me. The one at 9 o clock would cover a radius of 3 meters with it's right leg. The 7 o clock one will lift it's arm and aim at me. The 4 o clock will fire within 8 seconds given it's activation time. The issue was the robots at 6 o clock and 5 o clock. Their paths wouldn't intersect if I didn't crash my robot on the shoulder of the one at 6 o clock. So the pattern would be 6....5...4....7....12.....and so on.
3...
2..
1.
I smashed my hand into the metal head of the robot I was standing on. It would take about 1.2 seconds to fall over. It gave me enough time to start sliding down the back of the robot. I heard the robot at 4 o clock blast off it's missiles at the crashing 5 o clock and 6 o clock robots.
I felt my legs back on the ground as I started running forward. I didn't need to look back, It was pointless. In 2 seconds another crash will occur, between the 12 o clock and 2 o clock robots.
2..
1.
CRASHHH
Next crash in 3 seconds
3...
2..
1
CRASHHHHHHHHHH
I could easily dodge and move around the incoming attacks by the other robots given that now they were less of a threat given their dwindled numbers.
"What's going on???? How did this happen? I couldn't see shit through these clouds!!!!"
"Stop yapping and concentrate. It seems a student somehow caused the robots to start falling over each other causing a chain. Given the proximity it must have taken quite a bit of calculation to pull it off."
As I escaped the robot mayhem the cameras focused on me. It helped me divert attention from what was about to happen. Since most of the 10 robots that had toppled over were still functioning, but just that they couldn't get up, their feild of view was limited to the sky. Hence whenever the other contendors would try to jump over them or such. The missiles would be targeted at them as well.
BOOOM
"WHO THE HELL MADE THESE METAL SHITHEADSSSSS!!!!!! ARGHHH MY ASSSS!!!! IT BURNSSSS"
Bakugou's screams were loud enough to be heard over the blasts, quite fascinating.
BOOOM
"My vines! Have mercy my lord!! They are burning!"
BOOOOMMM
"I can't deal with this, I will freeze everything over."
I felt a chill suddenly, it seems Todoroki had used his quirk already. If I had to think, he probably freezed the robots which fell down. It's unfortunate that a part of my plan seized to exist. But the freezing over would make it exceedingly challenging for those without a quirk that helps them fly or jump over at this point. The ice and the metal barrier added a layer of unprecedented difficulty along with the incoming robots.
My legs carried me however the robots didn't stop coming. I couldn't damage them anymore, if I did then It would indirectly help the other contendors. All I could do was avoid them. I was confident I was faster in terms of just speed, except Tenya Iida. However, it wasn't enough, Todoroki was becoming an annoyance and the other contendors were also going to catch up sooner or later.
A fist surged towards me from the left, but I sidestepped with ease, barely breaking my stride. Simultaneously, a leg descended from above, aiming to thwart my advance, yet I effortlessly evaded its reach.
Anticipating the imminent danger, I preemptively shifted to the left, narrowly dodging a laser beam that sliced through the air mere inches from my position. Each movement was executed with precision, a testament to years of honed intuition and tactical prowess.
There were quite a few threats, however It was still managable and nothing compared to the white room. The hundreds of inflowing commands still manage to remind me of the stark difference in the real world and my own world. Whenver an overwhelming amount of actions have to be carried out, my sense of time slows down. This had been inculcated into my 4 year old skull well enough to be performed intuitively.
"HOLYYYYY SMOKESSSSSS!!! That was truly something different. We have never ever seen any sequel like thisss!!!! That's the hype I am talking abouttttt!!!!! THE NEXT OBSTACLE IS READY FOR DISPLAYY HAVEEE FUNNNNNNNN!!!!"
Upon Mic sensei's warning I paused for a few seconds. A canyon, too wide and too deep, impossible to maneuveur presented itself. I noticed a thin tightrope and without wasting any time I started crossing it. Any hesitation is unacceptable.
As I ventured onto the tightrope, suspended over the vast expanse of the canyon, I couldn't help but draw parallels to the rigorous training I endured in the white room. The canyon, like the endless void of the white room, seemed to stretch on infinitely, its depths shrouded in mystery and danger.
Every step I took felt like a delicate dance, akin to the meticulous maneuvers I practiced under the watchful eye of my instructors. Just as in the white room, there was no room for error here. Each movement had to be precise, calculated, or risk plunging into the abyss below.
The wind whispered past me, a constant reminder of the ever-present threat of failure. But I remained composed, drawing upon the discipline instilled in me during my time in the white room. There was no room for doubt or hesitation, only the unwavering focus on the task at hand.
With each step forward, I felt a sense of familiarity wash over me. The sensation of walking on the tightrope mirrored the feeling of navigating the complex challenges presented in the white room. Both required a cool head, a steady hand, and an unwavering resolve to succeed.
My peers had arrived the moment I had stepped off the tightrope.
"WOAHHHH!!! LOOK AT THATTTT....our young student was like that a circus performer. Aizawa do you train your students for circus shows too? YOU WOULD MAKE THE PERFFECCCTTTT CLO-"
"Utter another word, and I will make sure I break the microphone."
Their constant bickering was definately entertaining to the audience.
I sighed deeply as I looked forward at the dug feild, which from the looks of it are...
"THAT'S RIGHT!! MINE FEILD!! LADIES AND GENTLEMENNNNN!!!!!"
Hmm, I checked to see Todoroki still in second place, closely followed by Momo who somehow remained unscathed in the robot incident.
I thought a bit, about which method to use?Which of the 18 different solutions to the problem infront of me that I have simulated be used in this case?What is the best way to draw immense attention even in the last strech of the race?
Questions swirled my mind as I tried racking my brain for the thing I hated most, standing out. But it had to be done after all, it is all in the name of future peace. I calmed my thoughts, I had about 47 seconds lead at this point. I didn't need to fret whatsover.
I took a pebble from the ground and shot it at the mine feild.
Hmm, nothing at all.
I took off my shoe and threw it this time, with added force and momentum.
BOOOMMMMMMM
BOOOOOMMMMM
BOOOOMMMMMMM
Well, that's easy,
I saw my now smouldering shoe as the pink snow covered the area.
I took up the rubble and debris and threw them again this time faster and harder over a larger area
BOOOMMMMMM
BOOOOMMMMMMM
BOOOOOOMMM
It took me a while to actually carry out the detonations. And by the time I reached halfway through the mine feild, the others had arrived. I had infact made the whole area easier for them, If they all took the path I did, they wouldn't have to take any of the damage or the efforts.
As expected, most just rushed straight at me
"I am going to end you, Ayanokouji." Todorki's gutteral roar and drive to win was quite admirable as he rushed at me with an icy wrist.
Sigh, why do we have to do it when we are surrounded by mines.
I didn't want to do this but okay.
A few more had rushed me with equal vigour, all ready to plow right through me and win the race.
Just perfect, the more the crowding the better.
His fist shot straight at me, which even an amaetur could block if they stayed calm. While yes, his ice is indeed a fear factor to some, but it wouldn't matter if it didnt meet my face.
I leaned forward and grabbed his arm and twisted my body and anchored his entire weight over my shoulder and slammed him into the mines next to me.
The explosion shot the entire mob, including me straight into the air. It was obvious many wouldn't be able to recover quick enough from the straight impact. But that wasn't my case. I didn't feel the pain....
No, that's wrong.
I didn't consider pain worthwhile enough to pay attention to it. My brain had essentially made it equivalent to white noise.
I started to fall down headfirst into the ground. My intial plan was to take the impact and then use the bruised bodies of the fallen contendors as weight to set off the other mines.
But, I could hear something different from my earlier predictions.
Midoriya Izuku was rushing at me with his jaws open and a metal chunk belted underneath him
"AAHHHHHHAAHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
In that split second, rather 89 miliseconds before impact with Midoriya to be precise. I corrected my miscalculation. My mind was faster than the circumstance before me. I braced myself as I was falling and cushioned my blow with Midoriya midair.
I was shot infront at unprecedented speeds as he fell down between Todoroki and Bakugou.
I crashed straight past the finish line and stopped my fall by rolling headfirst.
I got up and dusted myself and looked at the camera, with the same nonchalant expression I generally carry. This wasn't a victory, it was just a step towards success.
I mouthed a word and turned away from the camera.
"S-H-I-G-A-R-A-K-I"
"ANNDDDDDDD AYANOKOUJI KIYOTAKAAAA PLACESSSS FIRSSSSTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!! AN INCREDIBLE SHOWWWWW!!!!!! FOLLOWED BY MIDORIYA AND TODOROKI IN A TIEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! AND BAKUGOU CLOSING IN THIRDDDD!!!!"