Chapter XIX: Interlude I
The First Event of the Sports Festival was coming to a close, with more than fifty students already in the arena. After the excitement of the race, the crowd was thirsting for more. Who could blame them? They had been given a rare spectacle of quirks and fighting. There were few other events were quirks could be used in such a manner and never to such grand scale. Additionally, the grand finale had been quite the thrill by itself. However, now that the other students were arriving, the crowd was starting to lose interest on the people below and instead discussed the amazing show they had witnessed and speculated on the next Event.
"That was close for Bakugo" Someone pointed out "like real close…"
"I can't wait for the Second Event! Who do you think he'll team up with?" A Pro-Hero asked a fellow spectator.
"I hope he teams up with Endeavour's son and the fox dude. Those three against the rest would be epic!"
Rumi, on her part, could only sit there and glare at the holographic screens, arms folded. She hated having such keen ears in such a situation and she sure hated being stuck to a seat, unable to partake in the action. This time, however, what was supposed to be entertaining and fun felt off. Sports Festivals had never felt so wrong before. They had always been exciting and a thrill to watch. Now… now that Fox Boy was down there up against the likes of Bakugo, Rumi was infuriated. On each side, her siblings seemed equally dismayed.
"Why did he get first place?" Haku muttered with a pout.
"He deserves last place… that ass" Hana added.
"That's real life for you" Rumi sighed, shaking her head.
She eyed the students below, or rather a particular Fox Boy who was walking towards his classmates. Rumi didn't know how to feel about Fox Boy's last performance. On the one hand, she hated seeing Fox Boy earn any other position than first place. The fact he had squandered the opportunity grated on her nerves. Just who would give up the first place even if it was for just one event? Bakugo didn't deserve the first place in anything. On the other hand, she couldn't be pissed off at Fox Boy. It was a split second decision and, by the looks of it, it must have been something serious to go from potential first-place to nineteenth.
You know Fox Boy, Rumi told herself, he must have had a good reason.
And yet, she couldn't help but feel a pang of indignation. However, the despondent look on Fox Boy, his slumped shoulders and dropped ears changed Rumi's feelings. Suddenly, it was like a knot had been tied in her gut. It all felt so unlike her, it rubbed her the wrong way.
He must be beating himself over getting nineteenth place, Rumi realized. Yeah… that sounds like Fox Boy.
She wasn't sure how she could tell, or if she was correct. However, one thing was sure: Fox Boy needed of some Rabbit Girl. Maybe a good punch would get that lazy bum back on track before he started overthinking things and got all depressed. Rumi was not about to let Fox Boy wallow in self-pity. He had a Second Event to win, after all.
Izuku sighed as he re-joined his fellow classmates. Most were either sitting or just lying flat on the ground. However, even those standing were panting and breathing hard, wet with perspiration. It had been an intense race for all of them, between outrunning and fending off their opponent. In any case, they seemed to have been drawn together, all of Class 1-A. There were two exceptions: Bakugo and Todoroki. Admittedly, no one minded the former's absence.
"That… was… awful" Kaminari wheezed.
"Kill… me… now" Mineta whispered, lying on the ground and with his head bleeding from quirk overuse.
"I can't – believe – I made it" Toru sighed, sitting on the ground and trying to catch her breath.
"Izuku, what happened near the end?" Iida asked as he approached his friend. "You were close to obtaining the First Place, were you not?"
The Fox Boy grimaced, awkwardly scratching his head and with his eyes downcast. All heads turned towards him, looks of confusion and surprise written all over their faces.
"Yeah! You were ahead, weren't you?" Ochaco said. "But there was that girl you helped…"
"Really? You were going to be first?" Kirishima asked, frowning. "But then…" he seemed utterly bewildered by that.
"I remember seeing an explosion from afar and then…" Iida trailed off and grimaced. "I must apologize, Izuku". The boy in question blinked at the bespectacled boy. "I should have offered assistance! But I…"
He clenched his fists and looked down, but otherwise Iida trailed off. His face was marred with something akin to shame, and jealousy.
"I am sorry too" Ochaco grimly chimed in. "I- I saw you helping that girl but…" she averted her eyes "…I-I really wanted to win and…"
"It's fine, guys" Izuku said with a faint smile. However, it was rather clear from his dragging tails and lowered ears that Izuku wasn't exactly happy with the situation.
"No! It is not" Iida exclaimed. He looked truly ashamed. "I should have offered assistance! We- I allowed my desire for victory cloud my better judgement..." he averted his gaze, adding under his breath "…again".
"Seriously Iida, it's alright" Izuku weakly said. "You should be happy, you made it third!"
"Yeah man! That's awesome!" Kaminari said with a grin.
"Go Class Rep!" Ashido cheerful exclaimed.
But Iida would not be convinced or dissuaded from his opinion.
"You could have gotten ahead if you hadn't helped us" Ochaco mumbled towards Izuku, averting her eyes. "Like at the third obstacle…"
"I couldn't just let you fall" Izuku replied, frowning. It was like they were asking him to just ignore his friends. "Much less because Bakugo" he added.
"Seriously, bro, you were super manly!" Kirishima said.
He patted Izuku on the back, much to the Fox Boy's befuddlement.
"Yeah! You helped us at the start of the race" Jiro said, moving over to nudge the Fox Boy. "Seriously, we wouldn't have made it otherwise".
"Yeah! Yeah! We were all like 'oh no, we are sinking' and then you were like 'roar, not today', but then we were all like 'we won't leave you behind', and you were like 'go, leave me behind'" Ochaco excitedly retold with a dramatic and exaggerated flair. "And then you were almost first!"
The class shared a good laugh at Ochaco's boisterous and strange storytelling. Izuku blushed, flustered by the attention and praises. It hadn't been such a big deal, had it? Besides, he had pretty much screwed up in the end, right?
"You are a good little man!" Sato said with a weirdly dumb tone, before slamming a hand on Fox Boy's hand, sending him flying forward. "Oops…" Sato mumbled, only to smile like an idiot. "Sato is sorry!"
"I think you overdid it with the sugar, big guy" Jiro warily looked at the muscular classmate.
Not that anyone could blame Sato. In fact, many of the suffered from quirk overuse. Class 1-A laughed as poor Izuku was helped back on his feet by his friends. It was nice to have a moment of levity.
"We all made it" Yaoyorozu noticed, surprised. "We all made it to the top forty."
"What happened to Class 1-B? They are down by half" Ashido noticed.
Izuku and the others looked at the small group of equally exhausted students not far from theirs. The smug blond from the beginning was angry about something, ranting at a ginger haired girl, while the rest seemed too tired to care. The class, as Ashido pointed out, was lacking in numbers.
"So what happened?" Ochaco asked Izuku. "With the Hatsume girl. She was puking really bad when I went past you".
"Indeed, I recall an explosion and a scream" Yaoyorozu, just as curious, hummed.
"Oh, well she… ehm… her jet-pack might have – ehm – malfunctioned. One moment she was flying straight towards the arena, the next instant she was flying skywards. Then she was shooting to the ground and screaming and I…" Izuku retold. "Her Jet-Pack was about to explode and – well…" Izuku paused, eyes downcast and head dropping. His ears and tails dropped too. "I just acted, I guess".
"You just acted? Dude, that's some weird reflexes" Jiro chuckled.
"You shouldn't have bothered, man. It is not like she was going to die, was she?" Kaminari confidently said. "Right?" He wearily looked at Izuku and Iida "It wasn't that bad… was it?"
"Yeah, Recovery Girl can heal pretty much anything" Hanta added.
"While I do not wish to doubt U.A. facilities and safety protocols, from a distance it did look like…" Yaoyorozu grimly said, trailing off.
"Like she was about to go splat on the ground – and that was before her jet-pack exploded" Ojiro concluded. He sent a nod of approval towards Izuku. "You saved her life".
"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad!" Mineta exclaimed with a nervous pale face. "I mean, I know Aizawa told us that things could get rough and all and that people have died in U.A. and- and…" the more he talked, the paler he got. "Oh" was all he could said with morbid realization.
"If it is any consolation, Midoriya, such acts of heroism are in of itself a prize no race can equal" Tokoyami said.
"But why did you stick around her after you had saved her from the fall and her own gear?" Tsuyu inquired.
"Yeah, you kind of helped her to the finish line" Ochaco said, only to grimace "not that I couldn't sympathize. I know how it feels to be puking that badly..."
"I was kind of worried for her" Izuku sighed, shaking his head. "When she just… well… vomited I feared she might need help and… I just wanted to get her to Recovery Girl as quickly as possible" Izuku stammered, blushing, while looking at the ground.
"That's so sweet!" Toru exclaimed, strangely revitalized.
"Oh, what's this? Rescuing damsels in distress already? Go Midori!" Cooed Ashido.
"Would you look at that? Midoriya is quite the ladies' man" Jiro teased with a smirk.
Izuku blushed and spluttered incoherently much to the class' amusement. Unbeknownst to them, Ochaco stared at Izuku, a pained look on her face.
"Alright listeners!" Present Mic's voice resounded as more and more students trotted into the stadium. "It is time to announce the next event before we hit the Lunch Break. The first forty arrivals, approach the referee!" Present Mic announced.
The crowd fell silent and they patiently watched. The screens had stopped projecting scenes and instead only displayed the school's logo. Begrudgingly, Class 1-A marched towards Midnight. As the other arrivals walked toward her, Izuku noticed that the Hitoshi guy and a few from the other Departments had made it, including the female Aizawa lookalike. It was admittedly hard to tell which student was from which department. Apparently, Class 1-B would move to the next event with half its number.
"What a warm-up, huh?" Midnight purred with delight. "It is time to announce the Second Event before we take a much needed break. Alright, everyone, the Second Event of the Freshmen Sports Festival will be…" she slashed the ground with her whip, and the screens changed, revealing a title and a weird image "…Hold the Flag!"
Silence. The crowd raised an eyebrow at the screens, trying to make sense of the image displayed, while the students scratched their heads, dumbfounded.
"Huh?" The students chorused.
They had never heard of such a game or event before. Izuku, though, did recall an event with a similar name… it was hard, however, to remember such fine details when he was in his nine-tailed form. He glanced at the audience, or rather the holographic screens. There, Izuku found a depiction of Midnight standing behind Pro-Heroes and fellow teachers Snipe, Eraserhead and Present Mic, while she held some kind of red flag.
"Oh, it's rather simple" Midnight said with a smirk. "First, you'll all divide in teams of four – no exceptions. Three teammates will be the Flag Defenders while the fourth teammate will be the Flag Bearer. Your objective?" She pulled out a red triangular flag of sorts from her costume, although it looked more of a handkerchief than a flag. "To make your Flag Bearer have this little thing stuck on his or her body".
Midnight stamped the handkerchief to her chest and somehow remained stuck on one end. Izuku noticed a strange golden button on the sticking end. Perhaps it was a unique adhesive. On the screens, next to the image of the teachers, a number popped up and started increasing. After a few seconds, Izuku realized it was a timer of sorts.
"It doesn't matter if it is stuck on your clothes or your skin" Midnight carried on, demonstrating by sticking the flag to her face and then back to her chest. Izuku tilted his head, amazed. Just what was the adhesive used for such an object? "Once the Flag Bearer has stuck the Flag to his body, the team will start gaining points until it is removed".
Izuku found the rule simple enough, until he realized the myriad of quirks and opponents he would be up against. It came as a terrible realization that whoever got the flag would probably be overwhelmed soon after. Nine teams against one at all times… Izuku wished he was on the stands, enjoying the show, than actually trying to fend off so many opponents just to move onto the next event.
"The four teams who have the highest score will move on to the Third and Final Event" Midnight said. "Now, for rules: your team will only gain time when the flag is stuck to the Bearer and the Bearer alone. However, nothing stops the Defenders from keeping the flag if needed, even sticking it on their bodies. You are free to play whatever strategy you please but remember: your team's time only starts ticking when the flag is stuck to the Bearer's body".
"What if the flag accidentally falls off?" Iida asked, raising a hand. "Does the timer stop or does it continue until another team picks it up?"
"Don't worry. It won't fall" Midnight promised with a wink. "One thing I should add, the longer you have the flag, the more multipliers of points you get. If the flag is destroyed, the destroyer's team will be penalized with point deductions and a new flag will be thrown in at random".
"How much can we harm our opponents?" Of course Bakugo had to ask that. Wait, where had he come from?
"I would appreciate it if you avoided maiming each other but other than that, you can use your fists, feet and quirks to fight. Please, do avoid biting" Midnight grunted. "That being said, if you do go overboard…" she gave Bakugo a dangerous smirk "…you WILL get expelled".
Bakugo scowled at that.
"Other than that, you are free to use your quirks as you please. You may even fight teams without the flag or, if you so want, you can team-up with another team" Midnight declared. "You've got the entire Lunch Break plus an extra ten minutes to pick a team. If you aren't part of a team by that time, you'll be randomly teamed up. In other words: use the lunch break wisely and choose carefully…"
"What is the time limit?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"The Second Event has two rounds of fifteen minutes with five minute break in the middle, just like in previous years" Midnight replied with a smile. "Any other questions? No? Then, it's time for lunch!"
At that the audience stood up at once, leisurely departing all while going over the First Event. The screens kept replaying specific scenes or events that transpired. Izuku, curious, glanced up at the holographic screens. To his chagrin, one face seemed to be common theme between them all: Bakugo.
There was a scene of Bakugo taking down a steam-spewing boy, followed by three other students at the first Obstacle. There were scenes of him single-handedly beating the crap out of another trio at the Tunnel.
Izuku grimaced, feeling terrible. It was almost like he was depressed. But why? Why was he so despondent? Because he had allowed Bakugo to take first place? Or was it the fact that this year the Sports Festival didn't feel all that fun? He had seen similar things previous years and enjoyed it all… but why was it that it troubled him so much?
"I can't believe he's the favourite" Ochaco grunted.
Izuku blinked, broken out of his thoughts. Just as he was about to ask her what she meant, he glanced at the screens, and much to his consternation found a last minute poll with different faces and popularity percentages. If the last minute poll was anything to go by, 63% spectators believed Bakugo would be the winner with the majority of the remainder rooting for Todoroki. The third most popular, with 3%, was Iida. As much as he hated to think about it, Izuku got the feeling Todoroki and Iida were between the favorites because of their hero relatives more so than their own performance.
"Hey, look!" Ochaco exclaimed with a grin. "You are between the favorites!"
Izuku turned back at the screens. To his surprise, 0.85% of the spectators had shared their belief that he could win the Sports Festival, putting him right after Yaoyorozu's 1.25%. He was thoroughly overwhelmed and humbled by that, and utterly disbelieving. That many people believed in him?
"Wow… that's…" Izuku said. He stared at the screens, awed.
"That's amazing!" Ochaco said, only to pout. "I wish I was there…"
Izuku wasn't sure what to say.
"Let's go" Izuku said with a weak smile.
Izuku blinked. Except for Iida, everyone had already walked away. Ochaco and Izuku looked at their friend, baffled by the fact Iida was halfway through a stretching session.
"Does nobody see the need of stretching after such rigorous exercise?!" An indignant Iida exclaimed.
That's Iida for you, mentally chuckled Izuku.
"Come on, Iida, can't you do that while we get something to eat?" Ochaco grumbled, a hand on her rumbling stomach. "I'm starving!"
"We have more than enough time to stretch and then proceed to the nearest food stand!" Iida indignantly harrumphed as he changed leg to stretch.
"How long is the break, exactly? Two hours?" Ochaco hummed, thoughtful.
"I guess they need to give time for people to enjoy the concession stands outside and change the arena" Izuku pointed out. He looked around. "I never understood how they managed to change the arena so quickly".
Then again, U.A. did have an army of robots at their disposal as well as many Pro-Heroes with oddly convenient quirks for construction. UA sure had the means to go all out on whatever they wanted.
"Oh yeah, the stands!" Ochaco squealed with delight. "Come on, Iida! You can stretch as we go!"
"Fine" Iida grumbled in surrender.
Together the three walked towards the stadium's inner corridors. As Izuku's eyes unconsciously swept around the emptying arena and back towards the finish line, he was surprised to see students still arriving. The scene, much to Izuku's consternation, only made a knot form in his gut. Those looks of defeat, resignation, despair… it gnawed on Izuku's heart. So many of them had such amazing quirks and talent… and yet, they would have to resign themselves to a life outside their dreams and aspirations, at least in U.A. Izuku wanted to believe they could still make it as heroes somewhere else, although he wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking on his part.
I could have been like them, Izuku morosely realized.
From the corner of his eyes Izuku spotted Hitoshi Shinso. Or rather, he noticed how the Indigo-haired boy was staring at him. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Shinso looked… well… it was hard to describe the weird boy's expression. He still had that weird vibes, but there was something akin to confusion on his face. To Izuku, it looked like Hitoshi was studying him like some kind of infuriating puzzle.
Seriously, what did I do to get his attention? Izuku wondered.
"Alright, we should talk strategy!" Iida proclaimed.
"Huh?" Izuku and Ochaco chorused, equally baffled.
"For the second event, of course" Iida said. He raised an eyebrow at them. "We will require a fourth teammate, will we not? And we need to decide who the Flag Bearer should be".
"Ah right, that" Izuku nodded. "So… we are going to be on the same team?"
"Yeah!" Ochaco said with a grin and waved an excited fist. "Nothing can withstand the power of friendship. Hurrah!"
Iida and Izuku sweatdropped at her proclamation.
"I do share Ochaco's sentiment on the matter… somewhat" Iida solemnly said. He placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder, all while karate-chopping the air with the other. "It would be an honor to fight alongside friends".
"Power of friendship for the win!" Ochaco exclaimed with a childish grin.
"Guys…" Izuku murmured, taken aback.
Even if he knew that he had a friendly relationship with Ochaco and Iida, the entire scenario felt so alien to Izuku. Not even one month together, after all, could erase a lifetime of isolation and loneliness. Izuku wasn't sure how to feel about it. One thing was sure: It felt good to have friends.
"So Izuku should be the Flag guy" Ochaco said, oblivious to Izuku's tearful face.
"Agreed. He is the most agile. Between his forms and their abilities, Izuku is the best suited for the task at hand" Iida hummed. "The issue, however, will be our fourth teammate…"
"Well, we've got mobility with you, Tenya, and Ochaco can move anyone out of the way, so we don't require anyone with strength" Izuku commented.
"Right, Izuku is the priest of the team, I am the guardian and Iida is the assassin…" Ochaco hummed, thoughtful.
"We are not a role-playing game party!" Iida angrily said, karate-chopping the air. "You should be taking this with the utmost seriousness! Our livelihoods depend on the success in this event".
"Party pooper" Ochaco mumbled with a pout.
"Additionally, I am not the assassin of this party- I mean, team!" An indignant Iida exclaimed. "If anything, I would definitely be the knight or-"
"We need a damage-dealer!" Ochaco interrupted with sudden realization. "Like a barbarian, or maybe a ranger! Uh, maybe a mage…"
Izuku found it hilarious how Ochaco summarized strategizing to some kind of videogame. This was not the first time he had heard her do that, actually. Still, she did have a point. They needed someone that could fend off their opponents. While Iida could definitely outrun anyone and Ochaco could use her quirk to remove potential attackers, they needed some offensive power on their team.
The trio made it to the changing room and, after taking out some money from their bags in their lockers, they walked out of the stadium and right onto the busy outdoors. Bathing under the sun and clear skies, they were washed over by the sound of a boisterous and busy sea of costumers and concession stands. The air was filled with laughter and chatter, as well as the delicious smell of dozens of food stands of all kinds. Any talk of strategy died down at the sweet aroma of food. That and a pair of people nearly jumping on Izuku.
From a side and popping out of nowhere, Izuku was immediately assaulted by a pair of furry blurs. Ochaco and Iida, dumbfounded, blinked at the two children blocking their path. Their rabbit ears, though, made them frown. Could they be related to Rumi?
"Fox boy!" Hana and Haku exclaimed with wide grins, excitedly bouncing up and down.
"You were so cool!" Haku said. Before Izuku could react, the boy was behind him, poking at his tails. "Your tails are pretty awesome!"
"How many people can you turn into?" Hana begged, jumping equally high as her brother and with stars in her eyes.
Iida and Ochaco winced as a certain someone appeared behind the two children, growling with the utmost exasperation. SMACK. SMACK. Haku and Hana glared as none other than their sister kept her fists ready to smack them again. She in turn gave them a glare of her own.
"You two, behave! You can't go running away like that" Rumi exclaimed, before turning towards Izuku. In the meantime, her two siblings pulled out their tongues at her in defiance.
Izuku, though, averted his eyes, tails and ears dropping.
"Oy, what's with that look?" Rumi huffed. "You did great, Fox Boy! You made it to the next event!"
"I'm sorry…" Izuku sighed. "I should-" SMACK. Izuku winced, and caressed his head.
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Fox Boy!" Rumi said with a grin. "You gave your best out there, right?"
"Yeah but-" Izuku started saying.
"No buts. Did you give your all?" Rumi asked.
"Ehm… yeah?" Izuku, unsure, said. Rumi raised an eyebrow – and a warning fist. "I mean, yes, I did my best" Izuku amended with more confidence.
"Then what the hell are you sorry about? What? That you didn't make it first? That the bastard got first place instead? Pffft" Rumi huffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Who cares, Fox Boy?" She nudged him, giving him a playful smile. "You did great so don't you dare drop your arms now, am I clear?"
"Sir, yes sir" Izuku replied with a toothy grin.
"Atta boy" Rumi chuckled. She looked at Iida and Ochaco. "You did great too. Congrats on the third place, Robot Boy, and nice moves, Infinity Girl".
Ochaco grinned, cheeks colored after the praise.
"Much appreciated" Iida solemnly responded. "I am disappointed, however, that I could not behave as the hero I strive to be, differently from Izuku".
"Wow, listen how he talks! He really is a robot boy!" Haku commented, poking at Iida's calf.
"Is he a cyborg or some kind of android?" Hana innocently asked, poking at Iida's other calf.
"D-do not – hey! Stop it! Cease that in this instant!" Iida spluttered as he tried to shoo the rabbit children. Sadly, Hana and Haku proved to be persistent.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Ochaco asked. She sent a sympathetic look towards Iida who was growing more exasperated by the second.
"Nah, let the brats have some fun" Rumi said, although by the looks of it she was amused by her siblings' antics, or perhaps she just enjoyed Iida's exaggerated arm flailing and indignant lecturing.
The rabbit girl turned towards Izuku. Even though he kept smiling, she could tell something else troubled him.
"Lighten up, Fox Boy" Rumi chuckled, nudging him. "There's another event to win!"
Izuku tried to beam up, but it seemed he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Maybe we could get something to eat?" Ochaco tentatively asked.
Suddenly, there was a loud rumble, almost like a beached whale begging for help. Izuku and company frowned, following the sound towards it source. Five pair of eyes slowly turned towards a blushing Ochaco.
"S-sorry… I might be a bit hungry" she mumbled, offering an apologetic lopsided smile.
"Then let us jump to the fray!" Rumi exclaimed, facing the many stands spread around stadium's grounds. "Alright, you had your fun with Robot Boy" she added, pulling her two siblings off Iida by their rabbit ears.
Together, the group braved towards the various concession stands. There were a wide variety of them, more so than what they remembered from earlier that morning. There were stands that sold all sorts of food: from ice-cream to hamburgers. The mixed aroma soon made everyone's stomachs grumble and their mouths water. Aside from food, there were many stands with products and merchanize, including a computer game vendor, and even others that were of U.A. students themselves. Of course, dozens of concession stands offered Hero Merchandize.
The Support and Management Department senior students showed off what they had been up to, showcasing gear or interesting publicity studies they had come up with. The Management Department even got their own stands of refreshments. Of course, Haku and Hana couldn't just stand still for too long and would try to run away repeatedly – much to Rumi's perpetual consternation.
There were a handful of concession stands that surprised Izuku and classmates. For example, it was hard to believe there were stands from other Hero Schools, including Shiketsu High School. According to Rumi, other Hero High Schools scouted for anyone who had useful quirks but hadn't made it to U.A. Hero Department.
There was, however, one thing that caught Izuku's attention and it had nothing to do with the stands: Izuku had never been around so many Pro-Heroes. He had seen his fair share of hero fights and a few Pro-Heroes up close, but to actually walk past them and be surrounded by such a number… it felt surreal. Good thing Rumi was there, or he might have been too tempted to pester a few Pro-Heroes for autographs. Had he been in his Zero-Tailed form, Izuku doubted he would have remained conscious.
They were stopped by people a couple of times. Most were Pro-Heroes that would recognize Tenya and politely ask about his brother or praise his performance. The rest were spectators of all backgrounds wanting to congratulate them. Even though they had been less than ten people who offered their praises, the three students from 1-A gathered an interesting shade of red around their faces. As expected, it played much to the amusement of the Usagiyama's siblings. Even a couple of representatives from Hero agencies popped up to show their interest on the three freshmen (although Izuku was sure they wouldn't be the first or last to be offered the same words by those agencies).
The Sports Festival, they quickly discovered, attracted people from industries outside heroes. A couple of chemical businesses had their own stands offering special scholarships to important institutions to anyone with particular set of quirks. If that wasn't enough, many representatives of universities or businesses were chasing after particular students. A chemical business hounded a flustered Ashido regarding her quirk's capabilities while poor Yaoyorozu was surrounded by various people begging her to accept incredible scholarships in the world's most prestigious universities by many well-known companies.
"Have you considered a future in construction or transport, young lady?" A man from a stand said to a blushing Ochaco. "That quirk of yours will make you win the big bucks!"
"N-no thanks!" Ochaco nervously replied. Once they were far away, she added "I doubt I could earn as much as a Pro-Hero, right?"
"I don't know, Infinity girl. If you ever want to retire from Hero Work, you could always work at the docks to move heavy stuff" teased Rumi.
"The Pro-Hero industry is kind of saturated" Izuku pointed out. "So you could have a side job, right?"
"Uh, like work during the day and be a hero by night?" Ochaco excitedly wondered with a grin.
Just as the group finally decided to finally pick a food stand, they were approached by a rather large individual. Ochaco and the Usagiyama children shuddered while Iida stared on with apprehension. Izuku and Rumi, on their part, were rather curious. Taking the entire space between the stands, her pitch-black almost skeletal spider legs carefully moved forward. It was odd to see a Pro-Hero like Arachne awkwardly (if not outright nervously) looking around while clad in her skin-tight black costume. She seemed nervous, wringing her long black-clawed hands and obsessively brushing strands of silver hair back.
"Ah-ha, students!" A voice squeaked next to Arachne.
It was only then that the group realized Arachne had been walking next to a petite squirrel-woman in a suit. Barely taller than Mineta, she appeared to have been hidden behind Arachne's spider legs. With a huge fluffy brown tail and squirrel ears, her two massive upper incisors gleamed well past her lower lips like a pearl dagger.
"You three did extremely well!" The squirrel-woman chirped with a smile. "Especially you, fox friend. The versatility of your quirk truly speaks for itself. You know, if you-"
Six scarlet red eyes bore onto Izuku, and Arachne's pale face lit up with recognition. When she spoke, her voice was surprisingly tender and soothing, almost motherly in tone.
"Haia, please" Arachne interrupted with a strained smile. She turned to the students "I'm sorry about her. She-"
"Well excuse me if I am trying to do my job!" Harrumphed the squirrel-woman. "We need to recruit pro-heroes, and the best way-"
"-does not involve pressuring teenagers to intern in our agency" Arachne stated. She turned towards Izuku. "Midoriya right?" Arachne said with her soft voice.
"That would be me" Izuku said with a smile. He tilted his head, baffled. "Did you need anything?"
"Not quite, we were merely…" Arachne sent an annoyed look at her rodent companion "…scouting. I did want to speak to you, though".
"Really?" Izuku asked.
Needless to say, he was shocked by that. A Pro-Hero, wanting to talk to him? True, Arachne wasn't exactly on the top of the hero ranking, being mostly an active Pro in Hiroshima. Still, it was humbling to say the least.
"I just wanted to say that that last save of yours was truly impressive" She offered a gentle nod and a tender smile formed on her pale visage.
"You mean when I helped Hatsume?" Izuku asked.
"Yes. I was afraid no one would be able to assist her in time and, I must say, it speaks volumes about you. I do remember you saving your girlfriend there as well" Arachne said, pointing at Ochaco. The Spider woman offered a coy smile. "It is nice to see people who put their fellow people before a race".
"Thanks!" Izuku said with a grin, tails wagging. Oh Holy All Might in the sky, a Pro-Hero just complimented me!
"Hey, Fox Boy, you never told me you started dating Infinity Girl!" Rumi dramatically exclaimed while pointing at a blushing Ochaco. Rabbit Girl leaned towards Izuku, her smirking lips reaching a tad too close to Izuku's face. "And here I thought we got something going on…" she sultrily purred.
Izuku's face lit up and his body went rigid. His tails, however, were strongly wagging behind him.
"She is so jealous" Hana whispered a bit too loudly to Haku.
"Definitely" Haku replied.
Rumi glared down at her siblings, who were barely fighting a fit of giggles at her expense.
"So remember us, alright fox friend? If you need to intern anywhere, remember the Spider-Hero: Arachne!" Cheerfully exclaimed the squirrel woman. Arachne, on her part, face-palmed. "The Iron Agency in Hiroshima is looking for all the talent we can get. Being one of the Pro-Hero agencies with the largest number of animal mutant quirks, I am sure you will be able to learn and improve with us!"
"Haia…" sighed Arachne, exasperated.
"Mai, let me do my job!" The squirrel-girl insisted.
Arachne grimaced with a despondent face.
"Let us go…" she murmured. She started to turn around, only to pause. Looking back at Izuku, she offered a kind smile and an awkward thumbs up. "We'll be rooting for you". She sent an apologetic smile at Iida and Ochaco.
Then Arachne unceremoniously turned around and carried on, leaving an indignant squirrel-lady behind.
"Oy, Mai!" Haia angrily squeaked at the spider-woman.
The group didn't speak until the massive spider-woman was gone. Only then did they dare break the silence.
"Well, that was rude" Iida harrumphed.
"Don't take it personally, Robot Boy, but she's from one of the places with the biggest concentration of animal mutant quirks so she might have her biases" Rumi said with a smirk.
"Izuku… Izuku?" Ochaco asked, poking at a frozen fox boy.
"Sis, did you kiss your boyfriend? Because he is broken again" Haku commented, joining in the poking.
"Does he do that a lot?" Hana wondered with a smile, also poking at Izuku.
"Oy, Fox Boy!" Rumi exclaimed, only to pause. Izuku obliviously stood there, staring where Arachne and her rodent partner had disappeared. Was it her or were there stars on his eyes?
"A Pro-Hero said she is rooting for me" Izuku said with a dumb grin.
Haku and Hana laughed at that. Ochaco and Iida, on their part, grinned and shook their heads.
"You sure can be a silly fanboy" Rumi huffed, but grinned nonetheless. "Don't let that get to your head, Fox Boy".
The five of them froze at the sound of a roaring stomach. Once again, all heads turned to a blushing Ochaco.
"Can we find somewhere to eat, please?" Ochaco begged.
In the end, they decided on a ramen stand. Admittedly, it was the only empty stand and had the most affordable prices. Unfortunately, a lot of stands were really milking the Sports Festival for what it was worth. The Hero merchandize, Izuku noticed, had exorbitant prices. As much of a fanboy as he was, Izuku was not about to throw his money for such expensive pictures or toys even if they were signed by top Pro-Heroes.
In any case, they shared a tranquil meal, seated on the stools against the counter. At first, they didn't talk, a tad too tired and hungry. However, as they got comfortable, they quickly remembered they had to go back to business.
"We need to find a fourth teammate" Iida reminded them. "I've been thinking and I believe that we will have the highest rate of success if we recruit Todoroki or Yaoyorozu".
"Todoroki could be a good choice, but I don't see him without a team of his own already. Yaoyorozu's quirk is versatile enough for offence as much as defense… but like Todoroki I think she already has a team. I was thinking more about Ojiro or Mineta" Izuku replied. "Having someone who can move around quickly or someone who can literally stick opponents could be helpful".
"Mineta?" Ochaco cringed, mouth full of ramen. She swallowed, only to add "why not Shoji or Sero? Maybe Asui?"
"I say you go for the big guns: the sugar-strengthening quirk and the rock-guy. They are tough" Rumi said with a grin.
"Sato and Koda? While they are both the physically strongest with Shoji, they are slow and offer little in matter of crowd control" Izuku rebutted. He frowned. "What about… someone outside our class?"
"You mean like General Studies?" Ochaco wondered.
"That isn't a bad idea, in principle" Iida tentatively stated. "While I am not against extending an offer to a fellow student from outside our class, it would place us at a disadvantage".
"Robot Boy is right. Anyone outside your class is an unknown" Rumi said.
"Hey guys!"
The group turned around, only to find a ginger-haired and teal-eyed girl. Next to her, looking ashamed and apologetic, was a furry bespectacled teenager. There was something oddly familiar about him.
"Oy, I recognize you!" Rumi said. "You're the guy that tried to kill Fox Boy!"
The furry boy winced at that, looking distraught. He readjusted his glasses and, hesitantly, nodded.
"Rabbit Girl" Izuku admonished.
"Oy, you can't just forgive people who try to kill you!" Rumi exclaimed.
"No, but at least I'd like to hear what they've got to say" Izuku stated. He turned towards the furry boy. "I'm sure you didn't mean to".
"I am sorry about my actions" the boy said, bowing with the utmost respect. "I have no idea what took over me but… I know it could have ended badly and for that I wanted to apologize".
"I know my word won't mean much but trust me, Jurota here isn't someone who just goes berserk" the girl said. "I'm Itsuka Kendo, Class 1-B representative. I kind of wanted to apologize as well, at least in the name of my class".
"What for?" Ochaco wondered, confused.
"For Neito's little trick at the start of the race" Kendo sighed, despondent. "He really shouldn't have".
"Tell that guy that if I ever see him I'll punch him to kingdom come" Rumi growled.
"And rightfully so" Kendo grunted. "Unfortunately, that's Neito for you. He is a bit… competitive".
"She is being rather kind towards our classmate. She actually means unsure and suffering from a superiority complex" the furry guy, Jurota, said. He looked at Izuku. "Again, I must apologize. It was never within any realm of thought to injury you in any capacity-"
"Then why were you all rabid?" Haku asked.
"Yeah, you were like some mad dog or something" Hana added.
"I am not certain…" Jurota Shishida said, frowning and looking down at his furry hands. The motion was strangely familiar to Izuku. In fact, the fox boy could only sympathize with him. "It was as some kind of blind rage…"
"Like Primal Fear" Izuku said.
"Exactly" Jurota nodded. "For a moment… it was like my quirk had taken over in some kind of Primal rage".
"I can relate" Izuku softly said. He grimaced at the thought of someone having to go through that. "Thanks guys and don't worry. I doubt anyone in Class 1-A will hold a grudge. I make no promises about Rabbit Girl, though" he sent a smirk towards a huffing Rumi. "It was part of the games after all, wasn't it?" He tried to give a reassuring smile, but it came off as forced.
"I don't know… the games don't feel like fun when you play them" Itsuka gravely stated "I worry that someone will get injured out there…" she grimaced, glancing towards Izuku's sharp claws "…or worse".
"With Bakugo around that is a given" Ochaco grunted. "I hope we can eliminate him this event".
"He will be quite the fearsome opponent on the Third Event" Iida conceded.
"No kidding" Rumi said.
"Don't worry. You have our word Class 1-B will do its best to bring that Bakugo down" Itsuka said with vehemence.
"Oh right, he did beat the crap out of a quarter of your class, didn't he?" Rumi remembered.
"And we will repay his kindness" Itsuka solemnly stated.
"As Class Representative, I apologize for Bakugo" Iida said, nodding respectfully. "I doubt he will feel any shame or guilt for his actions".
"It's amazing the kind of people that make it to the Hero Department" Itsuka sighed with exasperation. "I thought being a hero meant more but..." she trailed off, shaking her head. She looked at them and offered a warm smile. "In any case, that was all. See you around guys".
"Once again, I am sorry. I promise it won't happen again" Jurota hummed, bowing again.
And with that, they duo left Izuku and companion to enjoy their meal.
The meal was entertaining enough, with Hana and Haku doing their best to be the center of attention and constantly annoy their sister. However, before long they were once again walking around and enjoying the myriad of stands. They tried a couple of games here and there, even bought some ice-cream.
Just when they thought they were having a great time, they came across Bakugo, or rather a small crowd of people surrounding the explosive teen. Pro-Heroes, representatives of Hero Agencies and God-knows who else surrounded the boy. It was strange to see Bakugo play it off with a rather cool and friendly demeanour. It reminded Izuku back to when they were in Middle School and everyone was vying for Bakugo's attention.
The Usagiyamas, as expected, scowled and their mood soured, while Ochaco and Iida remained disgruntled. Izuku, for his part, tried to lead the group as far away from the crowd as possible. That was until Bakugo walked away, almost towards them, and to unnoticed familiar faces. Izuku was surprised he hadn't spotted Mina Ashido and her friends hanging out by a concession stand filled with Pro-Hero Endeavour merchandize.
Without his followers, Bakugo dropped his friendly persona as he approached the pink-skinned girl. Kirishima was the first to spot him, quickly nudging Jiro and Kirishima. Finally, when Mina turned towards Bakugo, the blond was already standing, arms folded and with a constipated look.
"Well, well, well, what can we do for you, oh-so-mighty Bakugo from the heavens above!" Mina dramatically proclaimed much to the amusement of her friends.
"I…" Bakugo said, only to scowl. He took a deep breath and sighed. It seemed whatever he wanted to say, it was taking a lot of effort. "I want to team-up with you".
Izuku and his own group, rooted in place in order to eavesdrop on the conversation, were immediately floored by what they had heard. Mina and her group were also taken aback. Ashido, being her usual self, recovered quickly enough.
"Why would we, mere pathetic mortals, ever want to team up with you?" Mina asked, sharing amused faces with Kirishima, Kaminari and Jiro.
Bakugo seemed ready to blow a casket. However, with great reluctance, he stayed relatively calm. He even offered a friendly face.
"Because you want to win?" Bakugo said. "Look, I don't like you, you don't like me, but we both want to win, right? We all want to make it to the Third Event. My quirk plus yours will guarantee the other extras bite the dust. I know it. You know it".
"Let me think about it…" Mina theatrically said, only to look thoughtful in an exaggerated manner. She didn't take long to come up with something. "Nah, I think we mere mortals can do without you, your Highness".
"Oh please" Bakugo scoffed. "What? It will be the four of you?"
For some reason he gave a derisive look towards Jiro, who scowled back. If Bakugo was trying to garner their support, he sure was failing, and admirably so.
"Yep" Mina said with a smirk, stepping in between Bakugo and Jiro. "What is the problem, Bakugo? Nobody wants to the honour of being part of your team?" she sarcastically said "I wonder why."
Mina's friends chuckled at Bakugo's expense, who gritted his teeth.
"Get real man. You treat us like – how do you call us? - extras and now you need us? Sorry man, you reap what you sow" Kaminari chuckled.
"Yeah, you aren't very manly, y'know?" Kirishima added with a shrug. "Guess we extras will have to do without you".
Bakugo gritted his teeth and balled his hands, but didn't yell a thing. Instead he remained surprisingly subdued, although his irritation was seeping into his tone.
"Oh, for fuck's sake! You know I can win us the second event with my quirk. Why the fuck are you so fucking difficult? Don't you want to fucking win this?" Bakugo growled through his teeth.
"See, that's why we don't want to team-up with you" Mina, amused, pointed out.
"Well… fuck you guys!" Bakugo spat, only to turn around and stomp away.
"Can you believe that guy?" Jiro huffed.
Bakugo stopped as he came across Izuku and company. His eyes wandered off towards Rumi and her siblings, who angrily glared at the explosive teen. Said teenager scowled back with recognition.
"Out of my way, Deku" Bakugo spat as he stomped past Izuku.
Izuku bared his sharp teeth, ears pinned against his head. He didn't attack, though, and merely squinted at the explosive teenager. His tails kept Haku and Hana protectively behind him, all while grabbing Rumi's hand. Even though she didn't look like she was about to jump on Bakugo, he was not about to risk it.
"What a jerk" Hana huffed.
"Guys, we need to find a teammate" Ochaco said with a grimace. "If everyone else teams up…"
"We will end up with Bakugo in our team" Iida finished.
Although Izuku knew that Bakugo could pretty much guarantee victory, Izuku would rather lose than be on the same team as him. He was certain his friends felt the same way. Was it petty? Perhaps. But it was, in the end, their choice.
"Let us go back" Iida proposed. "Perhaps we'll find some other competitor or fellow classmate on our way".
On the way back to the stadium, Izuku and his group debated on their potential fourth teammate, when suddenly, just as they were about to enter the stadium, a certain pink-haired girl got the jump on them. Or rather, she jumped on a certain Fox Boy.
"Hey, guys! I've been looking all over for you!" The pink-haired girl happily exclaimed.
Had she been hiding somewhere in waiting? Izuku wanted to believe otherwise. At the moment, though, he was kind of put off by Hatsume's proximity. He was furiously blushing at the girl who was pretty much leaned over him. It did not help she insisted on keeping her face awfully close to his.
"What do you say about we team-up? My gear, your quirks, our victory? Huh? Huh?" She seat, getting even closer to Izuku with a maniacal grin.
This girl is insane, isn't she? Izuku thought.
"Hold your horses, girl" Rumi chuckled while forcibly prying Hatsume away from Izuku. "If you wanna bed Fox Boy you should first ask him out, you know?"
"Uh, so you already have a girlfriend?" Hatsume said with a grin. She gave Rumi a very intrusive and shameless onceover. "Not bad, Fox Boy" She said, sending a mischievous smile towards Izuku.
An eye of Rumi uncontrollably twitched as her face kept a forced and strained smile.
"I like her already" Haku whispered towards a giggling Hana.
"I am Mei Hatsume, the next greatest inventor! It is a pleasure to meet you all and yada-yada-yada" Mei huffed as if it was a chore to introduce herself, all while enthusiastically shaking Izuku's hand. The poor boy felt his arm being pulled out of its socket.
"So, what do you say about a team-up, huh?" Hatsume said, eyes never leaving Izuku. "You, me, my babies: it will be flawless victory!"
"Eh…" was Izuku managed to say. He frowned, unsure.
"Oh, come on, please, please, please!" Hatsume pleaded with wide puppy eyes.
Izuku turned towards Iida and Ochaco, who looked rather sceptical. Or rather, they looked like they were still processing the entire encounter.
"I can give you all super amazing babies to fight!" Hatsume said, pointing at the massive metallic chest on the ground. Had that been there all along? She opened it, revealing a large array of gear, and stepped aside for her would-be teammates to check it out. "I've got a running enhancing equipment, jet-boots…"
"Wow, that's so cool!" Haku and Hana gasped, staring at all the support gear. This was, after all, the first time they were that close to anything of the kind.
"Oh no, you little terrors!" Rumi hastily exclaimed, pulling her two siblings by their rabbit ears and away from Hatsume's creations. "The last thing I need is for you to get your hands on hero gear".
"Oh, come Sis!" Haku whined.
"Just the Jet-Boots!" Hana begged.
"You are trouble enough with our quirk without throwing Support gear into the mix!" Rumi exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Izuku and his teammates pondered on Hatsume and her gear.
"Do you think it is a good idea?" Iida wondered, eyeing the equipment.
"It isn't like we've got much of a choice right now" Izuku said. "We don't know if the rest of the guys have teamed up already".
"Maybe we could... perhaps… I don't know… set our differences aside and-" Iida tentatively proposed.
"No" Izuku, Ochaco and Rumi chorused.
"I didn't think so" Iida sighed. "Then we might as well accept her aid. Her equipment could provide advantageous" he either what looked like some kind of rough exo-skeleton. His eyes then wandered around. "If we can survive the team-up, that is".
"Uh, right, my quirk! It's called Zoom. It allows me to zoom in on anything at 5 kilometres!" Mei exclaimed. "But forget about my quirk. Look at my babies!" She turned to a side, allowing for Izuku to check her gadgets.
Izuku had to admit, Hatsume looked like she had made quite the number and variety of gadgets.
"You made all of these… in one month?" Iida asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Hatsume harrumphed. "It is fun to make super cute babies!"
"It sure is, isn't it Fox Boy?" Rumi laughed while nudging a blushing Izuku. The Fox Boy in question spluttered incoherently at that.
"Get a room you two!" Haku booed.
"I say you keep away from her" Rumi whispered to Izuku. She glanced at the chest full of equipment. "It could all go off as her Jet-Pack".
"Oh, is Sis jealous of –? ouch, ouch, ouch!" Haku was saying, before Rumi pinched his rabbit ear.
"What was that, oh brother of mine?" Rumi innocently asked all while sadistically smiling at her young sibling. "What about you, oh sister of mine, anything to say?"
Hana, on her part, vehemently shook her head, momentarily terrified of her sister.
"Maybe we should consider it" Iida said, addressing his teammates.
"Do we have anyone else to join us?" Ochaco asked.
The three exchanged unsure faces. Ochaco then shrugged, followed by a reluctant nod from Iida. Izuku wasn't sure since when he was the de facto leader of their team.
"Alright, you can join our team" Izuku said, only to immediately regret it.
"YEAH!" Hatsume squealed, jumping on Izuku and burying his face in her bosom. "I knew you would come around when you checked on my babies!"
"Do you have no shame?!" Iida gasped.
Ochaco, on her part, averted her eyes, scarlet-faced. Rumi, meanwhile, looked ready to murder Hatsume right then and there. Haku and Hana, on their part, were laughing their rabbit butts off. Meanwhile, Izuku tried prying the Support student as he quickly discovered he could barely breathe.
The time of the second event was fast approaching. Within the confines of the stadium, the competitors gathered, already split in teams. Albeit their impatience and nervousness, there was only one thing to do: wait. The path to the arena, which had probably gone through last-minute surprise modifications for the Second Event, was closed, forcing the forty competitors to remain by the corridor, on their own.
"Where is Aizawa?" Ashido asked, confused.
"I saw him running away an hour ago. It looked urgent, ribbit" commented Asui.
"The same happened to our homeroom teacher" someone from 1-B said.
"I hope it's nothing serious…" Toru grumbled.
With nothing better to do, Izuku studied his teammates. With some kind of running exo-skeleton, Iida looked rather imposing. He did look fierce and intense already with that demeanour of his, but that was kind of expected. Ochaco kept adjusting her large metallic bracers. Allegedly, they could shoot off grappling hooks. However, it was hard not to mistrust a piece of gear that kept shooting sparks. Hatsume, on her part, had her Jet-Boots and some kind of modified water-gun that looked more like a sniper rifle. Unfortunately for Izuku, there was nothing that he could use.
"Hey, Koda, what's with the animals?" Kaminari asked an uneasy Koda.
Izuku turned towards their classmate, only to notice the falcon on the boy's shoulder and a massive fluffy hound sitting next to him.
"They are Hero Companions, sort of like support gear" Sato said while Koda nodded. "He wasn't allowed to use them on the first event".
Izuku doubted they would have made much of a difference. Then again, he didn't like the idea of using animals as Support equipment, even if other heroes did use animals as tools. There was something just wrong about it.
"And where, may I ask, did you obtain such a falcon?" Tokoyami asked, exchanging pointed glares with said bird.
"Aizawa got it for him" Ojiro replied, once again while Koda nodded. "I had no idea there was an entire animal breeding industry for hero companions".
"I'm more surprised the school actually paid for it" Sato added.
"Neat" Jiro commented, amazed by the predator bird. "Maybe you'll get a grizzly companion bear".
"Yeah, like Pro-Heroes Rexxar and Wojtek!" Kirishima exclaimed.
"Who's a good doggie? You are a good doggie!" Toru cooed as she rubbed the hound's belly. By the looks of it, the dog was enjoying the ministrations.
"You should be careful with him" Yaoyorozu commented offhandedly. "My family has an entire pack of those hounds for security and they can allegedly rip a man's arm off".
"Eep!" Toru squeaked, jumping away from the hound.
"Oh, I wish we had our own gear" whined Mineta, sending a jealous look towards Izuku's team.
However, any other conversation died down as Present Mic's voice inundated the corridor.
"Alright, it is time to begin!" Present Mic announced.
The door to the arena opened and the students marched out, hearts drumming on their chests.
"Welcome everyone to Hell!" Midnight cackled maniacally as the students entered the arena.
The crowd cheered all while the competitors realized that things had changed. While they had expected the stadium to be given a new look fitting the Second Event's overseer, they hadn't expected such a change. They warily studied the modified arena. How had they manage to change so much in just a couple of hours? Still, Hell was an apt name for the arena's theme.
With boulders, a couple burned trees, ashes everywhere, a few ongoing fires here and there, and a couple of pits, it looked like the entire place was a forest that had barely endured a huge fire. Tall pillars of flame surrounded the arena, covering everything under a faint orange glow. Everyone could only wonder just what kind of hero had been invited to appear for the Second Event.
"Are you ready for the Second Event?" Midnight called, addressing the crowd.
As expected, the audience cheered.
"Then let us waste no time. Allow me to present, as his first time in the Sports Festival, our honorary guest. Please everyone give a round of applause to-" Midnight said with a grin.
From one of the stadium's exits, a massive figure slowly stomped out. Izuku, and the rest, stared in disbelief.
"-the one, the only, the fiercest hero of all of Japan-" Midnight carried on, much to the crowd's mounting excitement.
Todoroki clenched his fists while the other students kept staring at the newcomer.
"-the Flame Hero: Endeavor!"
The stadium shook with the roar from the cheering crowd. The students all faltered, shocked by the turn of events. The Number Two Hero would precede the event? They could see him and yet they could not believe it. What was he doing there?!
Almost two metres tall and with a muscular frame that could almost rival All Might, Endeavour was a fearsome hero. The metal pauldrons, the fire around his face and body, as well as the mere frame of the guy was terrifying to look at. This was not an awe-inspiring Pro-Hero. This was an intimidating entity. More importantly, however, was the fact that Endeavour rarely, if ever, bothered with such frivolous things as the Sports Festival. Why had that changed?
In perfect unison, everyone glanced at Todoroki, who glared at his father with venom. If there was a reason Endeavour had chosen to finally show up it could very well have to do with his son, couldn't it? Endeavour, in turn, offered a smile as he stomped over to Midnight. He stiffly, and begrudgingly, waved at the crowd, but it seemed he couldn't care less about the people. His attention was entirely on his son. Izuku noticed that different from him, said boy seemed far from pleased. By the looks of it, there was something bad going on between father and son, and Izuku wasn't sure he felt comfortable by just imagining it.
"Hello everyone!" Endeavour said with a smirk. His intense gaze, however, was fixed on Todoroki.
Midnight gave the event's so-called flag to Endeavor before turning to the gathered students. Hanging from her waist, Izuku spotted what probably were spare flags.
"Competitors, have you formed teams? Divide yourself into your teams. Whoever is your Flag Bearer, raise your hand!" Midnight said.
Izuku raised his hand as his team walked away from the others across the hellish-looking arena. He was not surprised that nearly the entirety of Class 1-A and all those of Class 1-B had already formed teams. There was also a team from the other departments, one made by an odd quartet. Izuku recognized them as the ones that had fought his classmates during the race: there was a tall guy with floating gems who kept posing and speaking in Italian, a black-haired girl whose face looked like a Comedy theatre mask, a petite girl with spikes for hair and, last but not least, a cyan-skinned girl with extremely long and flowing dark blue hair.
Midnight quickly typed down the names on a small hand-held device. As she did, a large holographic screen spread on the surrounding walls of the arena. By its position, it was meant for the competitors instead of the audience to see. There, Izuku saw his name pop-up, followed by those of the other Flag Bearers. Beneath their names and in far smaller text, Izuku managed to make out the name of the so-called Flag Defenders of each team. To the left of his name, Izuku noticed a large zero, similar to the other teams, accompanied by an equally large "X1".
Right, so that we can tell how we are doing during the events, Izuku realized. I bet the x1 is the multiplier.
As it so happened, only eight students were left to be teamed up. Between them, Izuku spotted a seething Bakugo. Mina and others kept sending silly faces to the ever furious explosive teen, almost mocking him. It seemed Bakugo's behaviour had returned to bite him in the back.
"Very well, the rest of you shall be randomly sorted" Midnight decided. "You have seven minutes to decide who will be the Flag Bearer".
With a touch of her hand-held device, the two final teams popped into view. Up in the audience, a murmur was slowly growing into loud chatter as the people speculated on the outcome of the Second Event.
"I'll be my team's Flag Bearer" Bakugo said.
"Hold on, we didn't-" the female Aizawa-lookalike said, only to be silenced by a glare from the explosive teen.
"Fine by me" Hitoshi added.
Their fourth teammate so happened to be some kind of chubby guy with bushy black hair. He shrugged like he didn't mind, even though he looked extremely agitated. Without another word, Bakugo's name appeared as the Flag Bearer of his team. The other team took their time to deliberate. In the end, it didn't take long before all teams were ready and set. It was time to start.
"Bakugo, since you made it first on the First Event, your team will begin with the flag! Step forward!" Midnight decided. "The rest of the teams, spread apart. You will begin with all the teammates together".
Bakugo didn't smirk or scowl. Instead, he marched towards Midnight, unable to contain his amazement. Even Bakugo could be humble at times. Then again, in the presence of Endeavor, it was hard not to. The guy sure was scary – and powerful. Meanwhile, the rest of the teams hastily studied the arena.
There were various advantageous spots, like the boulders, to hide behind or hold their ground. Others, like the ground nearest the pits and trees, could spell disaster if not used properly. Izuku found the cushioned ashen ground a welcome addition, but it still felt weird to fight on such a landscape. In any case, the teams all hurried to be far apart from each other before they turned towards Bakugo.
"You are already on your way to being a top Hero, kid. Maybe you could intern in my agency" Endeavor proclaimed with a smirk as he handed over the flag to Bakugo. "Before that, though, let us see what you are really made of".
Bakugo, in turn, confidently smirked. He turned around and joined his team at the very center of the arena. Hitoshi, the Aizawa lookalike and a cotton-haired chubby boy, all with grim faces, looked at the other teams. In turn, the other teams leaned forward, ready to race towards the flag. By the glares, many were looking forward to getting the flag from Bakugo.
"Ready guys?" Izuku asked his team.
Iida, Ochaco and Hatsume all gave thumbs up.
Everyone remained still. With Bakugo's team at the centre and the other teams dispersed across the battlefield, the air grew tense. The crowd watched with bated breaths. The teams glanced at each other. Izuku locked eyes with Itsuka, who surprisingly nodded at the Fox Boy, and then at his fellow classmates, all who gave their own thumbs up at him. It seemed that even though they were teams apart, they all had one thing that united them all: the desire to bring Bakugo down once and for all.
"Are we ready? Then let the Second Event of the Sports Festival begin!" Midnight declared, her whip slashing at the ground.