Shinobu Kou was no quitter.

That was one thing she was sure of. Once she set her mind to something, she'd accomplish it no matter what. Some might call her stubborn, but Kou liked to think of it as a good thing. It's how she got this far, after all.

So that's why when that bastard from 1-A so cockily stated- AGAIN , might she add-that he was going to win this tournament in front of live television, she could only laugh. The boo's and groans at Bakugou's crass words echoed in the stadium, every class even more pissed off at the hero course.

"What a fucking asshole," Itsuka exclaimed in disbelief, "I can't believe they have someone like that representing our school! Uh, Shinobu? Are you okay?"

The girl in question was darkly chuckling, an evil look on her face and the aura around her teeming with killing intent. She'd been training hard for the past two weeks, barely sleeping and honestly neglecting quite a bit of school work. She'd even taken the past week off work to hone her talents, wanting nothing more but to completely obliterate everyone in the tournament, especially a certain pomeranian-looking delinquent.

"It's just going to make crushing him into pieces that much more satisfying." she growled, already cracking her knuckles and making her way to the starting line for their upcoming race.

"Hell yeah!" Tetsutetsu yelled, slapping her on the back hard. If she wasn't so fired up it probably would've hurt, but Kou had her eyes on the prize. "Let's show those 1-A fuckers who the real heroes are!"

"Shut up! I can't hear Present Mic you idiots!" an unnamed person yelled from the back of the crowd, an embarrassed Tetsutetsu blushing slightly.

Before she knew it, the race had started, dozens of students trying to run through the tunnel leading into the obstacle course. It was pretty claustrophobic, but luckily Kou managed to make it to the front lines before the pushing and shoving started.

Halfway through the tunnel however, one of the students powered through using his quirk, covering the floor in ice and trapping various other participants. Kou was just fast enough to dodge the blow, slipping and sliding slightly.

"God Dammit! What the fuck?" she screamed, mad at the dirty tricks people were using not even one minute into the race. She'd be damned if she was going to be left behind now.

Ignoring the fact that she was gliding more than running, Kou sped up, weaving her way around the other racers and finally making it out of the tunnel; there were about 4 people in front of her at this point.

Looking up at the giant robots in front of her, she recalled the entrance exam she'd taken just a couple months back. These were the zero pointers she'd seen back then. Seeing as they were already frozen and looking like they were about to tip over, Kou made her Nen stronger, pushing it outwards even more and throwing her arms back.

She made a throwing motion towards the robots, part of her Aura sticking to the mechanical arm. Using that as a vantage point, she jumped forward, the robot acting as a temporary landing strip and pushing off to get even further along the race. It promptly tipped over and fell, an ear-piercing crash heard behind her. Kou couldn't be bothered though, she was in second place at the moment and she needed to catch up quickly.

Realistically, she knew this race wasn't important. Her class had been discussing strategies, and to her knowledge as long as you were in the top 30 it didn't matter. All you had to do was make it to the next round. Kou knew this was a waste of energy, but she'd be damned if she didn't prove herself, even now.

Kou's quirk wasn't strong. Everyone had an aura-she could even see it sometimes, if a person was strong enough-she just happened to be able to control it better. Again, she'd had no formal training so really she had no idea what she was doing half the time. Of course, Daisuke had helped her when she was a kid, but he didn't know too much either.

In short, Kou could use her aura (which she called Nen) at will. She could enforce it to protect against the brunt of physical attacks, and conceal her presence (sort of); she could even incapacitate people with it if she was angry enough. Her "main" skill however, was something she called Bungee Gum; stupid name, she knows. She could change her aura to imitate the properties of both rubber and gum, sticking to things, being stretchy, pulling things back. That's how she'd attached herself to the robot in the first place.

Kou's quirk didn't make her strong, or fast, or even give her good defense. Honestly, the only thing it was good for was stealing things and playing dodgeball. She had to learn to use it to her advantage over the years however, and if having a sticky aura was all she was given she was going to do her damned best with what she had.

Well, she did have a few more tricks up her sleeve but that wasn't too important now.

Quickly approaching what looked like a raveen, Kou slowed her speed. It seemed like she'd have to cross these ropes to get to the other side. Weighing her options, she decided slowly climbing across the ropes would do nothing to help her win. Ignoring the natural fear of falling to her death, Kou quickly jumped off the edge, bouncing on the rope and using her quirk to stick to it.

This is something she has definitely not done before, but with the others behind her quickly approaching she threw caution to the wind and continued her stick-and-bounce routine. She was head-to-head with the ice boy, who was sliding across the rope with ease.

Finally making it to the end, the angry blond who had previously been behind her blasted through, completely ignoring her and yelling slurs and insults at the half-and-half classmate of his.

Somehow this pissed Kou off even more. She was literally ahead of him (well not anymore), and he still didn't acknowledge her? She'd be damned if she let him stay ahead.

Picking up the pace, Kou ignored the burning in her lungs as she pushed past the fatigue and made it to the next obstacle: a minefield. Being the third person to enter, she saw how stepping on certain spots triggered a huge explosion, throwing whoever was unlucky enough to step on it off course.

Easy enough. You could just use your fucking eyes and you'd be fine. Luckily the girl was quick on her feet, jumping past the mines with ease and catching up to the two boys, who seemed to be throwing explosions and ice at each other like a bunch of barbarians. So much for a clean race, huh?

At this point, she was almost neck and neck with the two, planning to use her bungee gum to propel herself forward while pushing them back. However, her plan was interrupted by some frantic yelling and the feeling of something above her head.

Seeing a green-haired boy on what looked like a broken-off piece of the zero pointer smashing to the ground with enough force to trigger an explosion, Kou barely had time to process it before she changed her plan.

Kou dove towards the boy, latching her Nen onto the robot. Not even a second later, Kou felt herself-and the boy, who was now screaming at the feeling of the girl on his back-being projected towards the finish line by the force of the mine explosion.

The two of them yelled in panic, gaining way too much momentum to be safe. Finally making it to the finish line, the two slid into the other side of the arena. Kou was about to be relieved at her smooth landing before they'd caught onto a rock and ended up flipping over and accidentally tackling the guy to the ground.

"Fuck!" she yelled, rubbing her forehead as it smacked into the back of his head. Promptly pushing herself away and on her knees, Kou groaned in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Midoriya was crying with tears of joy. He'd gotten first place! And there was a pretty girl that had been hanging onto him! Speaking of which-

"Hey, are you okay?" the green haired boy paused his moment of glory to look behind him, the girl slowly getting up and dusting off her uniform. "Sorry about that, haha."

The brunette glared at him, a red mark appearing on her forehead. "Why the hell wouldn't I be okay?"

Her aggression took Midoriya back a bit, scrambling to his knees and muttering more apologies.

"Shut up!" she yelled, annoyed, "Look, you didn't hurt me okay? If anything, you got me to second place."

Izuku smiled at that, before she started barking again, "Not that I needed your help! I was about to get first place before you came flying in on your stupid board."

Kou had gotten second place, but she was a bit upset. It had totally looked like she'd just gotten the win because of that stupid brocolli head! She was just acting fast, seeing that she would've been blown away had she not jumped on that board with him.

Meanwhile, Midoriya looked at the girl angrily yelling at him. She was quite short, definitely a full head shorter than him. She had wavy, messy looking shoulder length brown hair tied in a ponytail, and dark brown eyes that matched. Her personality totally did not match her appearance. Actually, it was kind of cut-

"DEKU!!!" A familiar angry voice called from behind him, "COME BACK HERE! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

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The next battle took place shortly after. Kou had quickly been whisked away by the few classmates who made it to the second round, congratulating her on her "win".

Whatever. She'd decided she was going to ignore the feeling of disappointment in her stomach since she could just make up for it during the second match, which happened to be a cavalry battle.

Basically, they'd divide into teams of four and fight for the bands on each other's heads. Each person's band was given a point value based on their place in the last game, giving Kou 210 points. Somehow this had given the broccoli-headed kid earlier 10 million points, making him both a target and someone to avoid.

All her classmates were quickly approaching her, asking her to join their team. Namely, Itsuka's, Monoma's, or Tetsu's. Kou weighed her options. She could definitely win this thing; her quirk was weirdly suited for this so she didn't really care who she ended up with.

"Uh, um, Shinobu-san!" a high pitched voice called out to her, Kou turning her head to find the unfamiliar source. It was the green haired guy from earlier. Glaring, she marched her way over, ready to tell him off for talking to her again.

"What is it?" she asked, making her annoyance apparent. She almost felt bad for how nervous he looked, scratching the back of his head.

"W-well, I was wondering if you wanted to join my team?" he asked, smiling weakly.

She scoffed, "Isn't everyone out to get you? What the hell makes you think I'd want to team up with you?"

Midoriya almost squeaked at her harsh words, her resemblance to a certain one of his childhood friends uncanny. "Since we were first and second place, I just thought- well I-"

"Fine."

"W-what?" he asked, surprised she'd agreed so quickly. "Really?"

Kou sighed, rubbing between her brows with her fingers. "My classmates won't stop pestering me about joining them and I don't want to choose." she admitted sheepishly, "and besides, this is my chance to prove myself!"

The green haired hero smiled, relieved that she hadn't gotten even more angry. Maybe she wasn't so bad?

"But don't think I need you to win!" she huffed, crossing her arms, "If anything, my quirk is best suited for this!"

Midoriya perked up at this, wondering what exactly her quirk was. She seemed to be able to stick to things, that much he'd seen from when she'd propelled herself off the zero pointer and launched herself onto his back at the finish line-

"Uh Deku," he heard Ochako gently call to him, "maybe we should let her talk?"

He blushed, realizing he'd been rambling on outloud. "S-sorry..."

The brunette looked at his team; a round faced girl, a bird headed somber looking boy, and the green haired nerd who'd invited her. "What the hell kind of team is this? These are the people you chose to help you?" Kou asked incredulously.

Seeing the looks of offence on his teammates' faces, Midoriya was quick to jump their defense. "They're really strong! Ochako-chan can make things float away just by touching them, and Tokoyami-kun has a really powerful quirk called dark shadow-"

"What's your quirk?" Kou asked, realizing she hadn't seen him use it at all during the first round.

"O-oh, uh, well I'm not too sure how to-" he nervously babbled, not wanting to reveal his hidden power.

"You know what? That's fine. We only have 5 minutes left to plan a strategy and we're wasting time with your stuttering." Kou interrupted, wanting to get to the point, "My quirk is called Nen. I can basically control my aura at will. See?"

Kou quickly activated her quirk, a white glow emitting from her hand. The three looked at her in curiosity. "Anyways, I can use it to mimic the properties of rubber and gum, making it sticky and elastic. That means if I touch one of our opponent's headbands-"

"You can snatch it from them easily!" Midoriya finished, amazed at how well suited her quirk was for this challenge.

"Yup," she agreed, adding in, "and if someone steals one of our badges I can easily get it back. So don't worry, we're definitely making it to the next round."

"That's so cool Shinobu-san!" Uraraka exclaimed, smiling and jumping up and down slightly, "Thanks for joining our team!"

"So which one of you is going to be on top?" the bird headed team member asked, finally speaking for the first time. "Me and Uraraka-san are in the back for defense purposes, so it's between Midoriya-san and Shinobu-san."

The two looked at each other for a second, before Kou shrugged. "I think I should be on top. It would be easier to snatch the other team's bandanas that way."

"Good idea!" Midoriya agreed, "We'll support you! Plus ultra!"

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Kou had severely underestimated how much of a bloodbath this round would be. The second Present Mic yelled 'START!' the teams were at each other's throats, and it seemed like no matter what there was always at least 2 teams after them.

Earlier, Midoriya had insisted that they focus on keeping their bands, as they didn't need anymore to win. The rest of them agreed quickly, not wanting the additional stress of stealing another team's bandana.

Dodging the other teams however, was a bit harder. Of course they had Kou's bungee gum to fall back on if their bandana got stolen, but it was still a good idea to steer clear of the teams as much as possible.

With the ice boy from earlier hot on their tails, it wasn't so simple. He seemed determined to steal their 10 million points, but Kou wasn't going to let it go that easily. She was not losing this round; and she definitely wasn't going to let her teammates down after so confidently reassuring them.

With only one minute left on the clock, her team had dodged almost all attacks, but the heterochromatic boy- named Todoroki apparently-was relentless.

"What the hell is this guy's problem? Isn't he second place right now?" Kou asked, voice shaking from the vibrations of her teammates running while holding her up.

"Todoroki-san is determined to get first place!" Midoriya said from under her, "I think we need to fight him head on!"

"What?" the three other team members screamed, confused.

Somehow using his strength to turn them around to face the enemy, Kou was faced with the glare of Todoroki. "Fuck it. Try getting our bandana, you bastard!" she challenged, activating her Nen to protect her.

He lunged towards them, making a grab at her head where the 10 million point band rested. Before she could activate her bungee gum, however, he'd already frozen her team in place and snatched it away.

"TIME'S UP!" Present Mic's voice boomed through the speakers, the disappointed cries from the other teams (including her own) heard through his scream.

"It's okay, Shinobu-san," Midoriya reassured, though the sadness was still evident in his tone. "We tried our best."

"WINNER IS...TEAM SHINOBU!!" Present Mic announced, much to the surprise of everyone in the stadium.

"What?" one of Todoroki's teammates exclaimed, confused. "We just took their 10 million points!"

Kou laughed, jumping off and landing on the ground. "Why don't you look at it again?"

Suddenly all eyes were on the bandana in question, looking at it to see...210 points?

"What? How?" Midoriya blubbered, gears turning in his head.

Kou smiled, turning towards her teammates and untying Midoriya's bandana from her neck where it was hidden. "That's another thing I can do with my quirk. I call it Texture Surprise.

"I can use my aura to change the texture of any fabric to my liking; I made my bandana look like yours from the start. Guess the other team was stupid enough to fall for my trick."

Turning back around to smile smugly at the losing team, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself as Uraraka and Deku rocked her back and forth and basked in their victory.

Kou was moving onto the final round: one on one fights. One step closer to first place. One step closer to beating that blond headed bastard.

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A/N: Only two more chapters for the Sports Festival! I'm speeding through season 2 for the good shit (aka romance ahaha). Thanks for reading! Leave a like or comment if you'd like!