Chapter 35: The Sports Festival Is Finally Here
A week passed in a flash. All the students of Class 1-A had been training hard in their own ways, all for the sake of making a brilliant showing at the Sports Festival.
Their homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa, had created a personalized training plan for each of them to efficiently improve their overall abilities. He was only responsible for getting them to the training grounds; what they actually did there was up to each individual student to decide.
During this time, a tense atmosphere filled the classroom. Even Minoru Mineta had gotten serious about his daily training. Although he was still at the bottom of the class, his performance had improved by a huge margin.
Bakugo, who usually spent his time after class leaning back in his chair and listening to Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida's conversations while occasionally throwing in a few taunts, had been different these past few days. The moment class ended, he would immediately collapse onto his desk to sleep, looking completely exhausted.
According to an anonymous red-haired source, after finishing his regular training every night, Bakugo would go to the school's training grounds by himself to practice with his Quirk, not returning home until very late.
The red-haired young man had heard this from Bakugo's mother when he had visited their house one day. Since then, he had been sticking to Bakugo like glue, training alongside him. He proudly declared that the sweat they shed was a badge of manliness.
And then, the day of the Sports Festival arrived.
"This security check is way too complicated..." the reporter, Satomi Ishihara, sighed, looking at the long line in front of her. "It feels just like queueing for a comic con..."
A week before the festival, anyone who had applied for an entry pass on the U.A. official website was granted permission. On the day of the event, after their information was verified, they could enter for free. The number of spectators was limited to ten thousand. Satomi and her partners had prepared well in advance and had successfully obtained their tickets.
"Haha, well, you can't blame them. U.A. was just attacked by villains, after all. It's understandable that they'd be a little stricter," the cameraman said with a laugh. "Besides, there are still people who are against holding the Sports Festival this year."
In the current hero-centric society, many traditional sporting events had gradually been phased out. Even baseball, which had once been the national sport, was often a one-sided affair due to the massive physical disparities between players, making it unexciting to watch. After holding on for a few years, even the national high school championships had been discontinued.
Although the official line was that the U.A. Sports Festival could rival world-class sporting events, that was a huge exaggeration. It was a program that only people in this country watched. However, it was still far more popular than the old baseball championships had been. One could tell just from the numerous red banners fluttering in front of the U.A. main gate.
"Welcome to U.A. High School." After a beep, a robotic voice sounded, and a mechanical arm extended, offering a card.
"Thank you." Satomi Ishihara took her ID, picked up a pamphlet at the front, and followed the crowd inside.
The cameraman, walking in behind her, instantly brightened up. "This is my first time here. I never realized the scale was this massive."
Just inside the school gate, they were greeted by two rows of stalls lining the road. These were booths run by the Department of Management students, who had applied for them through the Student Council. They had their own competition: a contest to see who could achieve the highest revenue during the Sports Festival. After deducting costs, the winner would get priority selection for an internship at a famous agency.
Satomi Ishihara turned her head, a fanatical smile on her face. "Every year, the U.A. Sports Festival gets attention from all corners of society. In previous years, the third-years were always the main attraction. Their rich combat experience and do-or-die determination always made the crowd go wild!"
"Haha..." the cameraman said with a dry laugh. "You really are into this stuff..."
The reporter spun the microphone in her hand triumphantly. "Of course! Isn't doing our homework a required course for us reporters? Attention equals a massive boost in ratings! We're definitely going to get a big scoop this time!"
"So, are we heading to the third-year stadium?"
Satomi Ishihara shook her head. "In previous years, the third-years would have been the stars, no question. But this year, we have the ones who fought against real villains—the nationally-acclaimed Class 1-A!"
"Not only does Class 1-A have All Might, but they also have Endeavor's son, and..." She suddenly broke into a silly grin. "Kira-kun will be competing too! I have to get a shot of him in all his heroic glory on the field!"
As she spoke, she swung her arm and started to walk toward the stadium, but she was quickly grabbed by the collar by her senior colleague, who was holding the sound boom. "Ishihara, where are you going? Don't we still have to interview the audience members?"
"Damn it! Kira-kun, you have to wait for me!"
After grinding her teeth for a moment, Satomi Ishihara's body stiffly turned around. She flashed a perfect smile at her senior. "Of course. I'll get right on that."
"Camera, follow her." Seeing Ishihara walk toward the crowd, the senior immediately gave the order and followed after her with the boom mic.
Leaving the trio of reporters to their work, let's turn our attention to the Student Council Secretary. At this moment, she was in the commentary booth of the first-year stadium, barking out a constant stream of orders into a walkie-talkie.
"What? The path to the stadium is too crowded? Tell those Management students to move their stalls back two meters onto the grass. Yes, tell them it's my order."
"The sponsor's water at the entrance has run out? Why are you asking me? Hurry up and get more from the warehouse."
"A camera was broken by some brat? Forget about the damn kid for now. Get his name and have Ueno take a look at it. After the festival is over, I'm sending his family a lawyer's letter in the school's name."
"What's that? You're saying there's a red-haired hedgehog with a white towel tied around his head who's refusing to follow instructions and has left a member of the disciplinary committee flushed and unable to act?"
"Then impound his stall and confiscate his cookware. The reason? Can't you think of a reason yourself? Tell him he's endangering the health of his customers by using gutter oil. If that doesn't work, just say he put aphrodisiacs in the food."
"You say he knows me? Of course I know he knows me. Tell him the order came from me. If he has a problem with it, he can come find me."
Sitting in front of her, Present Mic watched the non-stop stream of commands coming from Erina Nakiri. His eye twitched as he whispered to Shota Aizawa, "The Student Council Secretary is way too competent. The first time we did this, we were running around like headless chickens. If only we'd had such a capable commander back then..."
"Seriously, I can't believe she's only a second-year. And her decisiveness is honestly a little terrifying..."
"Is there a problem, Present Mic-sensei?" Erina, having just issued another directive, overheard her name and asked with a smile.
"Sorry! No problems here!"
As Mic turned to answer Erina, he accidentally hit a button in front of him. A loud screech of feedback blasted through the entire stadium. He frantically flicked the switch back.
"...Present Mic-sensei?"
Looking at Erina's "kind" smile, Mic shuddered. It was as if he were looking at an angel with devil wings.
"Secretary Nakiri, I am so, so sorry!"
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