Chapter 37: Todoroki's Declaration
Class 1-A Waiting Room.
"There are so many people outside!" Iida and Hagakure said, having just come back in.
"Just now, I ran into a little kid," Hagakure said excitedly. "He was being questioned by a member of the disciplinary committee about something, and then he saw me... and immediately burst into tears! He was a pretty chubby kid, but he was so timid!"
Kirishima laughed. "Hagakure-chan, to be fair, even I'm not afraid of horror movies, but I'd still be startled if I suddenly saw you..."
Uraraka gave a wry smile. "I hope that doesn't cause any psychological trauma for the poor kid..."
"Class Rep, water." Iida walked over and handed a bottle of water to Kira. He and Hagakure had just been to the warehouse to pick up the bottled water provided by the event sponsors.
"Mm, thanks." Kira took it, then turned to Kirishima. "Was Bakugo training yesterday too? Or was he just too excited to sleep, like a kid on a field trip? How is he still sleeping now?"
The Sports Festival gates opened for spectators at 9 a.m., with the events officially starting at 10. When they had arrived at the waiting room around 8, Bakugo had immediately slumped onto a table to catch up on sleep. It was now 9:30, and they were about to head out, but Bakugo still hadn't woken up.
"Shut up. I'm conserving my energy!" Bakugo suddenly shot up, his face a mask of annoyance. "Like hell I'd be too excited about the Sports Festival to sleep!"
"If you say so," Kira said with a shrug.
"Kira, why can't we wear our hero costumes? Wouldn't that get us more attention from the Pro Heroes?" Mina Ashido asked.
Bakugo, his mood soured from being woken up, snapped, "Bug-eyes, you want to show off your terrible taste to the entire country!?"
"Bakugo, how can you say that!" Iida scolded Bakugo for being too blunt, then turned to explain to Mina. "For the sake of fairness, we're not allowed to wear our hero costumes at the Sports Festival."
Kira stood up. "That's right. However, the Support Course students are allowed to wear the equipment they designed themselves. While it's a bit unfair to the General Studies students, it can't be helped. This is the best balance the school could achieve."
"Wow, you know so much, Kira! As expected of the Class Rep!"
"No." Kira sighed and pointed to a stack of thin blue booklets on the table. "This is the rulebook and liability waiver that the school distributed to everyone, which required a personal signature. I remember handing it to you after class yesterday, and you turned it in this morning. Did you not read any of it? It's all explained in there."
"Hehe." Mina Ashido scratched her head, trying to play it cute. "There were too many words, so I just flipped to the last page and signed it!"
Kira picked up a rulebook and tapped it against his hand. "Then what are you waiting for? The Student Council hasn't come to collect them yet. Shouldn't you read it now? Or are you just going to wait until the event starts and go in blind, hoping someone will be kind enough to explain the rules to you?"
"I'll read it right now!" Mina instantly snatched the book from Kira's hand, sat down, and began to read.
Well, who knows how much she'll actually absorb...
A little while later, Kira heard a knock at the door. "Class 1-A, get ready! It's almost time for you to head out!"
He checked his watch and stood up. "Alright everyone, it's time to go."
"Yeah! I can't wait!"
As the others stood up and headed for the door, Shoto Todoroki, who had been sitting silently in a corner, walked up to Kira and spoke in a low voice.
"Although you won the last match, objectively speaking, I am the stronger one."
In the previous combat simulation, Kira and Hagakure's team had defeated Todoroki and Shoji's. But that victory had been the result of a sneak attack. In a head-to-head fight, the outcome was uncertain.
Todoroki had been wanting a rematch ever since, but he and Kira had never crossed paths in any of the major battles since. At the USJ, they had been separated, and Kira had passed out during the fight with the enemy leader. During the incident with All Might's disguise, Kira hadn't even been there, and Todoroki had been relegated to the role of a hostage, swung around like a handbag.
But the Sports Festival was a battlefield where he and Kira could finally fight head-on. Although the matches were random, the final sixteen-person tournament—the main event of the festival—was a series of 1v1, no-holds-barred battles. In Todoroki's mind, it was inevitable that he and Kira would meet in the final round.
"If we don't run into each other in the preliminary rounds, then in the final tournament, I will defeat you." Todoroki had made his declaration of war.
To be honest, Kira had no intention of having a showdown with Todoroki, but if they did happen to face each other, he wouldn't hold back.
"Alright. I'll be waiting," Kira replied with a smile.
Kirishima slung an arm over Todoroki's shoulder. "Hey, hey, what's with the sudden intensity? We're about to go on..." he said with a dry laugh.
Todoroki shrugged his arm off. "I have no intention of playing nice with you all. What I choose to do is my own business," he said coolly.
"Hey, Half-and-Half, what's that supposed to mean!? What's this crap about 'meeting in the finals'? You really think you're going to make it that far!?" Bakugo said, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I don't give a damn who I face in the tournament, but the final winner... will be me!"
"Kacchan..."
Midoriya stood up, about to say something, but Bakugo locked his eyes on him. "You seem to be having a good time at U.A., Deku," he said, his voice laced with aggression. "I don't care where you got that power from, but this time, I'm going to show you the real gap between our strengths!"
"Kacchan, I don't know why you're saying this to me. Objectively, I know that most people in our class aren't as strong as you, but..." Midoriya's body was no longer trembling. He stood up straight and clenched his fists. "But everyone, including the students from the other courses, is aiming for first place... I can't afford to lose to anyone! I'm going to give it my all and aim for the top!"
"...Is that so?" Bakugo was silent for a moment, then turned and walked towards the door. "I hope you're not just full of hot air."
"HEEEEY! GET READY TO MAKE SOME NOISE, AUDIENCE! AND PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR THE MEDIA HORDE! THIS YEAR, YOUR FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS EXPLOSION, THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL, IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! ARE YOU READY!?"
Present Mic's head appeared on the large screen. He seemed to be reveling in the massive crowd. Hearing their cheers, he laughed and roared, "UP NEXT—FIRST-YEAR STAGE! LET'S WELCOME THE STUDENTS!"
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