Chapter 2: The Big Event
Mr. Aizawa should still be in the hospital, Kira thought. So who would be leading their short homeroom session? All Might? The Principal? Or maybe Vlad King, the homeroom teacher from the class next door?
Kira was walking from the doorway into the classroom, head lowered in thought, when suddenly, a hand clamped down on his shoulder from behind.
"Mr. Aizawa!"
The students, who had just sat down, once again shot to their feet in unison, their voices filled with surprise.
Is Mr. Aizawa better already? Kira wondered as he turned his head. What he saw was the same sight from the hospital—one arm in a cast, his face still wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
Shota Aizawa was dressed in his usual tracksuit, his signature capture weapon coiled like a scarf around his neck. It looked like some kind of film had been removed from around his eye sockets, revealing bloodshot eyes that screamed of sleep deprivation.
Kira asked cautiously, "Mr. Aizawa, are you sure you're okay to be here with those injuries?" He's so dedicated, Kira thought. Just yesterday he needed me to push him in a wheelchair...
"Don't worry. I can basically see again," Aizawa said flatly. He removed his arm from Kira's shoulder and walked past him toward the teacher's podium. "Yoshikage Kira, you're late for morning class. That's one demerit. Go get two buckets of water and stand in the hallway for this period."
And here I was thinking I'd gotten away with it... Since yesterday was an unexpected day off, Kira didn't have his school bag. Amidst the sympathetic and pitying glances of his classmates, he walked helplessly to the back of the classroom, picked up two empty buckets, and headed to the school's washroom to fill them with water.
In the Hero Course, while rules weren't always strictly enforced, being late or leaving early was considered a cardinal sin. As a "Pro Hero," you could have less-than-perfect grades, but you absolutely had to have the right attitude.
Yoshikage Kira stood in the hallway, his arms held straight out to his sides with the buckets hanging from his hands. Thanks to Mr. Aizawa deliberately leaving the classroom door open, he could stand just outside and listen to the announcement.
Punishments like this weren't uncommon in Class 1-A. With the constant threat of emergencies, tardiness was bound to happen. While other teachers might let it slide with a laugh, Mr. Aizawa never did. He had a specific set of penalties: eating in class meant doing a ten-minute handstand against the wall afterward; falling asleep meant doing fifty frog-hops around the classroom... Katsuki Bakugo and Eijiro Kirishima were frequently sent out for this kind of "physical training," which Aizawa euphemistically called "building student physique."
But this wasn't Aizawa singling students out because he disliked them; it was about instilling discipline. He allowed the use of Quirks during punishment. For a penalty like holding water buckets, someone like Uraraka could simply use her "Zero Gravity" Quirk and hold them effortlessly for the entire period. Mineta, after sticking his adhesive grapes to his clothes, could probably fall asleep hanging upside down...
No one was exempt from this rule, not even Aizawa himself. If he was late to his own class, he'd be seen holding buckets while using his capture weapon to manipulate the chalk and teach the lesson. He treated himself and his students with the same standard, which was probably why everyone was willing to follow his lead.
"I imagine most of you think that with the villains brought to justice, you can just relax and take it easy from now on," Aizawa's voice drifted into the hall. "Some of you might even be feeling smug about your achievements, thinking you're the best among your peers."
His gaze swept across the room, and he saw the smiles fade from everyone's faces at his opening words. A grin formed under his bandages. He then raised his voice. "That's right. You are the best among your peers!"
"MR. AIZAWA!" The students slammed their desks and cheered.
Even out in the hallway, Yoshikage Kira couldn't help but be affected by the classic bait-and-switch, letting out a wry laugh. He really gave us a scare...
"However, the fight isn't over yet." Aizawa held up a hand, silencing the excited students. "The U.A. Sports Festival is coming up."
At his words, the passion in the room was instantly reignited. "Finally, a real school event!"
Listening to Aizawa's fragmented explanation amidst the noise, and combining it with the research he'd done before, Kira understood the reason for announcing the Sports Festival now.
As one of the most famous hero academies, U.A.'s Sports Festival—an event that showcased its students' strength and Quirks—had become a national craze. People would flock to the venue or watch on TV to see the stars of tomorrow. In modern Japan, the Olympic Games, which once captivated the entire nation, had been replaced in significance by the U.A. Sports Festival.
On that day, top Pro Heroes from all over the country would come to spectate and scout for exceptional talent. If a promising prospect was found, multiple hero agencies would compete to recruit them. For students in the Hero Course, this was an unmissable opportunity—one of only three chances for those aspiring to become heroes.
This year, in order to erase the negative impact of the USJ attack and to express U.A.'s unwavering resolve against evil, the security for the festival would be five times greater than usual. If any villains dared to show up, they wouldn't be leaving.
Aizawa's announcement was brief, lasting only about ten minutes.
As Mr. Aizawa left the classroom, Kira was about to ask if he was feeling alright, but he noticed that his teacher's eyes under the bandages seemed unfocused. He heard Aizawa mutter, "If that old battle-axe hadn't been so annoying, I never would've left the hospital... Oh, Kira, you're still here."
Seeing Aizawa's gaze shift to him, Kira instinctively turned his head, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
"Yo, Kira, good mornin'! So you're the late one today, huh!"
The first period was English. As Present Mic's energetic greeting rang out, Kira gave a helpless nod in response.
Mic had worked with Shota Aizawa for many years and was well aware of his methods for handling students, so he wasn't the least bit surprised. He clapped Kira on the shoulder and walked into the classroom.
To be honest, Kira wanted to close the door and tune out Mic's English lesson entirely.
In his youth, Present Mic had worked as a sidekick in America for a time, and his English was fluent. The problem was his habit of constantly peppering his speech with loud, random English phrases. For someone who, in a past life as a corporate drone, was used to traditional English pronunciation, it was incredibly grating. Besides, everything he was teaching was material Kira had learned long ago.
The one praiseworthy thing was that Mic liked to listen to English songs, often starting to blast them from his large speaker mid-lecture. Unfortunately, since his speaker was primarily designed to emit noise at enemies, using it for music resulted in completely blown-out audio. It didn't, however, stop Kira from enjoying the music.
After Present Mic's class was over, Kira immediately went to the washroom, dumped the water, and brought the two empty buckets back to the classroom.
He rubbed his numb wrists. Although he had been using a steady breathing rhythm to release Hamon and treat his physical fatigue, the nerve strain couldn't be erased. The feeling of exhaustion remained.
No matter what, he thought as he walked back to his seat, I can't be late again.