Two days of mourning and recovery was all we got. When the front gates of U.A. finally reopened, the media was swarming like vultures. Every reporter wanted a piece of the "Class that stood against Villains," but I kept my head down, hoodie pulled up, and skated through the crowd on a thin layer of zero-gravity.
Inside the classroom of 1-A, the atmosphere was thick with a mix of trauma and newfound adrenaline.
"Everyone! Morning homeroom is about to begin! To your seats!" Iida shouted, though he was already sitting down.
I slumped into my desk, resting my chin on my palm. Ochaco looked over at me, her eyes scanning my face for any signs of the "death" she'd witnessed at the plaza. I just gave her a lazy wink.
"Morning, sis. You look like you've seen a ghost. I'm right here, mostly in one piece."
"I know, I know," she whispered, turning back as the door slid open.
The room went silent. Aizawa walked in, looking more like a high-budget horror movie prop than a teacher. He was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, his arms in heavy slings.
"Sensei! You're back too soon!" the class yelled in unison.
"My welfare is irrelevant," Aizawa's muffled voice came from behind the gauze. "More importantly, the fight isn't over."
Bakugo leaned forward, a predatory grin on his face. "Don't tell me... the villains are back?"
"The U.A. Sports Festival is nearing," Aizawa deadpanned.
The class erupted. "THAT'S SO NORMAL!"
"Wait, Sensei," Kaminari raised a hand. "Is it really okay to have a festival right after a villain attack? Won't they just target us again?"
"On the contrary," Aizawa said, his one visible eye narrowing. "By holding the event, the school is demonstrating that its crisis management system is solid. Security will be five times stronger than usual. This is the event where the entire country—and pro heroes—will be watching you. It's a chance you can't afford to miss."
He turned his gaze toward me. Even through the bandages, I felt the weight of his expectations.
"Especially for those of you who showed... unexpected growth at the USJ. This is where you prove that your power is consistent, not just a fluke of survival."
Once the bell rang for lunch, the "Sports Festival fever" hit the hallways. Students from the General Education and Support courses were already crowding our door, scouting the "famous" Class 1-A.
I was trying to sneak out to the cafeteria when a familiar wall of ice-cold energy blocked my path.
Shoto Todoroki.
He wasn't looking at Midoriya this time. He was looking at me.
"Uraraka Kanata," Todoroki said, his voice as flat as a frozen lake. "At the Plaza, I saw the crater you left. You pinned a creature that All Might struggled to finish."
"I got lucky," I said, putting my hands in my pockets and trying to move past him. "I'm a very good 'pinned-under-heavy-objects' specialist."
Todoroki didn't move. "Midoriya has some kind of connection to All Might. But you... your power felt different. It didn't feel like a Hero's Quirk. It felt like something heavy. Something oppressive."
I stopped walking. The air between us chilled. I could feel the Cursed Energy in my gut swirling, reacting to the challenge. "Is there a point to this, Shoto? I'm hungry."
"My father is Endeavor," he continued, ignoring my jab. "I will win this festival using only my right side to prove a point. But to do that, I have to beat everyone. Including the 'First Place' student who can rewrite gravity."
"I'm not my sister," I said, my voice dropping an octave, losing its lazy edge. "She plays fair. She plays nice. If you come at me with that half-hearted 'I'm only using half my power' attitude, I'm going to drop the weight of a mountain on you. And you won't like how that feels."
Todoroki's eyes flickered with a spark of genuine interest—or maybe it was irritation. He stepped aside, allowing me to pass.
"We'll see at the stadium," he said.
I walked toward the cafeteria, Ochaco and Deku trailing behind me, both of them looking like they'd just witnessed a declaration of war.
"Man," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "I really should have just stayed in bed. Now I have the 'Ice Prince' wanting a piece of me, too."
"Kanata, that was intense!" Midoriya squeaked, his notebook already out. "You basically told Todoroki-kun that you're going all out!"
"No, Deku," I sighed. "I told him I'm too lazy to deal with people who don't take things seriously. If I have to fight, I'm ending it fast. I've got a reputation for being 'Awakened' now. Might as well act the part."
But deep down, I was thinking about the Reversal. Using it at the USJ had nearly fried my brain. I needed to refine it. If I was going to win the festival without ending up in a coma, I needed to master the Cursed Technique Reversal: Gravity until it was as natural as breathing.
'Training starts tonight,' I thought. 'Sorry, pillows. Our long-term relationship is on a break.'