44 – Galatians 6:4
Galatians 6:4
But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
They were first brought to a running track where Shota had set up a camera robot to measure their times.
"First we're going to measure you speed. Two at a time," he told them.
Ida and Tsuyu went up first.
“On your mark… Get set…” the camera said before imitating the sound of a starting pistol.
Ida used the engines in his legs to burst through the course leaving Tsuyu who was hopping at high speed in the dust.
"3.04 seconds," the camera announced as soon as he passed it.
“Well, he's like a fish in water. It'll be worth seeing what others do,” Shota said standing to the side of the track unperturbed by the dust Ida had kicked up.
Tsuyu managed to complete it just a few seconds later than Ida.
"5.58 seconds," the camera announced.
Still a pretty good score. Her quirk was pretty good because it enhanced multiple parts of her body including her legs which was what helped her achieve a decent result.
The girls excitedly welcomed Tsuyu back and congratulated her trying to cheer her up in case she was depressed by being beside Ida who blew her out of the water on this event. She didn't seem very affected though. She had always been portrayed as a rather unflappable individual.
Next up were Ochaco and James himself.
"Hi I'm Busujima James. We haven't had a chance to be introduced yet," he said with a charming smile.
"I... uhm.. I'm Uraraka Ochaco, B-busijima-san," she responded nervously. It seemed maybe she wasn't as unaffected by him as he though and she had just been distracted by Izuku.
"Oh don't be like that. Just call me James," he insisted.
She nodded. "O-okay. Th-then you can call me Ochaco too," she said with a shy smile.
"Oh it would be my pleasure," he said with a wink and smile.
"Good luck by the way, I'm sure you'll do great," he encouraged her.
"Uhn... thanks. You too," she said nodding seriously.
Ochaco tapped all pieces of her clothing to remove gravity's effect on them using her quirk. He couldn't imagine it helped a lot, at best it might cut off a fraction of a second, but every little bit was something he guessed.
“Lighten up my clothes and shoes…” Ochaco she mumbled to herself.
James simply smiled at her. There was nothing to do for him and he wasn't too concerned.
“Get set…” the camera robot said.
*bang*
As soon as it went off James simply did what to him was equivalent to a fast jog, but it left Ochaco in the dust. He made sure to at least act like he was putting in effort though. Nobody liked someone that didn't take things they felt were important serious after all.
James sped past the camera.
"3.11 seconds" it announced.
He had intentionally held back enough to allow Ida's time to beat his own. Being great at everything would already make him look good without needing to come in first place in each of the categories. The only category he believed he wouldn't be able to come in first if he actually put in effort was the ball throw and that was due to Ochaco's ridiculous infinite score she would get for that.
It took Ochaco over twice as long to cross the finish line
"7.15 seconds," the camera said.
She was left bent over gasping from exhaustion a healthy blush colouring her cheeks.
"You did great!" he said shamelessly smiling at her though it could easily have been taken as sarcasm after his own results. Thankfully she seemed to take it positively and returned his smile.
"Thanks. I just hope I'm not last," she said her smile turning nervous thinking about Shota's threat.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. I know you'll be fine," he reassured her. It seemed his confidence in her was rubbing off as her smile became genuine again.
As they were walking off the track they passed Yuga and Mina who were up next.
Ochaco was walking a lot closer to him than she had on the way towards the track. It seemed she was already warming up to him.
The others congratulated him on his score. Momo even used the opportunity to hug him tightly pressing him into her well developed cleavage.
“Everyone, you're not being creative enough,” Yuga said taking a strange starting position with his back facing the track.
“On your mark…” the camera robot said.
“I’ll show you what it's like…” Yuga said.
“Get set…” the camera robot continued.
*BANG*
“…to be allowed to use your Quirk!” Yuga yelled while using his navel laser to propel himself over the running track before falling onto the ground halfway through when his laser ran out.
He ended up having to wait for a moment to fire off his laser again and make it across the finish line. Unfortunately due to this he actually managed to pass the finish line the same time as Mina who didn't even use a quirk and just ran like a regular person. What a waste.
"5.51 seconds" the camera said.
They both got the same time.
“If I shoot for more than a second, I get a stomachache,” Yuga said proudly stunning everyone. Why was he proud when he didn't even manage to beat someone who just ran?
James could only shake his head in exasperation. He couldn't claim he lacked in pride, but at least he made sure he was worthy of expressing it when he did. This was just embarrassing for everyone.
“Looking at the upper limit of your Quirks and the room for growth in each result, it becomes clear what you can and can't do,” Shota said taking the opportunity to explain his goals.
Himiko and Momo actually went up at the same time.
Himiko transformed into a copy of him, he was the only blood she tended to consume after all. James was thankful they were given gym clothes that weren't the skirt and blouse for girls that the regular school clothes were or this would be a little embarrassing for him.
Through his guidance she had managed to awaken her quirk enough to were she could replicate at least a portion of his abilities though it seemed to only be the physical aspects of it so far. This was more than enough for this event though as they were all physical tests.
Momo on the other hand prepared by creating a massive high strength rubber band and a pair of roller skates. She fastened the rubber band using a pair of hooks and started stretching it.
“On your mark… get set…” the camera said.
*BANG*
Himiko flew past the camera almost as fast as James himself had though she seemed quite a bit more exhausted than he did. She was only able to replicate part of his strength, but not the amount of strength his quirk had stockpiled over years of growth and by consuming the souls he had neither of which could be replicated.
"3.23 seconds" it announced.
Moments later Momo flew by on her roller skates.
"3.49 seconds" it announced.
To reward them for their efforts gave them both a hug and kiss when they returned.
Next up were Izuku and Katsuki.
Katsuki seemed fired up, but Izuku was quite the opposite as he seemed to get more nervous as the events proceeded. James even noticed him muttering to himself.
“On your mark... Get set…” the camera robot said.
*BANG*
“Explosive speed!” Katsuki yelled creating a series of explosions from his hands to propel himself forward along the track.
"4.13 seconds" the camera announced.
In comparison Izuku seemed rather miserable running as hard as he could.
"7.02 seconds" the camera announced.
The disappointment was obvious from Izuku's expression.
In this at least both him and Katsuki were matched as the latter was also unhappy about his score. He was probably comparing it to the 4 people that had already beat his score and this test wasn't even over yet and he already looked like he was about to explode.
“When I use both hands, the force disperses…” Katsuki mumbled analysing his shortcomings.
The rest performed quite average as most of them didn't have quirks that helped them run faster. The only exceptions were Rikido and Fumikage. The former who could boost his physique and the latter had his shadow for assistance. Unfortunately for Fumikage who's quirk made him weak to sunlight out on this track outside in the middle of the day under the glaring sun was probably the worst situation for him.
Their next test was testing their grip strength. James continued his strategy of matching around or just below the top performer and Himiko kept transforming into him since that form outperformed her regular one in every way.
He looked at her ass and tits. Well... almost every way.
The number one in this test was actually Momo though. Just imagine giving her a test where all she has to do is create some very simple mechanisms to maximise her mechanical advantage. It didn't even take her much effort to blow everyone else out of the water.