Bulla fired off several beams as Pan darted around in a circular formation, narrowly avoiding each shot. As Bulla narrowed her eyes and aimed her finger carefully, Pan passed by and Bulla raised her other arm behind her, firing off a large blast that broke apart the ground beneath Pan and forcing her into the air.
Bulla blasted off, hot in pursuit of her rival. As she threw a fist forward, Pan raised her leg and absorbed the blow into her knee before raising her other knee to Bulla's temple. While Bulla raised her arms defensively, Pan allowed her blow to slip by, using her momentum to spin around and slam her ankle into Bulla's arms, knocking them out of their defensive state before slamming her foot into Bulla's gut.
As she hurled back towards the ground, Bulla managed to unleash blasts from her hands to cactch herself, slowing her descent. The two Saiyans smiled, Pan floating triumphantly in the air, ready to accept any challenge. Bulla took a step forward and lowered her posture, aiming her hands to the ground. "CHARGE!" Bulla yelled as she allowed her Ki to build, firing it off towards the ground without letting herself budge.
"Alright! Bring it on, Bulla!" Pan taunted from above.
"CHAARGE!" Bulla yelled even louder as the Ki blasts fired off even stronger. As Pan allowed herself to sink through the air, Bulla looked up to her target. "SPECIAL MOVE!: GALAXY CHASER!" This time, Bulla's blue Ki began to emit a purple light, firing even more powerfully than before. "RELEASE!" As if in an instant, Bulla blasted off, flying past a surprised Pan before spinning around and aiming one hand to the sky. "REVERSE CHASER: SHOOTING STAR!" With a devastating blast, Bulla flew back towards the Earth, and Pan managed to turn around just in time to raise her arms. Bulla landed a devastating blow, breaking through Pan's defenses and sending her to the ground in a crater.
"Hey! Don't be so rough, you two!" Iwase called out angrily, stomping outside. Bulla descended to the ground and stood over her friend.
"Ow ow ow! Man, that's a crazy strong move!" Pan complained as she picked herself up, causing a large wave of dirt to fall off of her. "How come I haven't seen that one yet?!"
"I'm full of surprises." Bulla said with a smile as she took Pan's hand and helped her out of the crater. "Just wait until the Sports Festival."
"Pan, that looked nasty! Are you okay?" Iwase called out as the two picked themselves out of the crater.
"I'm fine, Ms. Iwase. I'm pretty dirty, though!" Pan responded.
"Well, you two go shower off. It's been a week-and-a-half and you two have been fighting nonstop!" Iwase told them with a worried expression on her face.
"Not fighting, Ms. Iwase!" Pan told her. "Training! If we want to beat Tetsutetsu, Shiozaki, Todoroki, and Bakugo, we need to push ourselves!" She explained.
"And this whole thing will be live on television! Honestly, I still don't know about Todoroki, even after our training. I haven't seen it in action, but apparently he can use powerful combinations of fire and ice. I can't blast away at his ice forever." Bulla continued.
"Yeah, yeah, you girls and your competitors and rivals. Just get inside and go clean up!" Iwase told them as the two complied with a smile. "If I had to bet that anybody would leave this place and achieve greatness, it'd definitely be you two." She told herself with a smile. As she watched the two girls make their way to the door, she reached into one of the two pockets on her white apron and pulled out a large half-heart-shaped locket. Opening it up, she found herself moved, seeing the torn photo of her best friend that was meant to be joined with its other half. The young girl with long golden hair and determined golden eyes smiled wide, and Iwase's young arm was just barely visible holding her friend's waist. "They remind me of us, Raea." Iwase put the locket back into her pocket before pulling the chain attached to it out, hooking it to the lace of her apron before happily making her way inside.
Two weeks had passed since the Sports Festival was announced. With the doors of UA filled to the brim, following the filling of UA High's stadium, Class 1A waited patiently in their designated waiting room. While Ashido complained about having to wear their PE uniforms, Bulla sat in the corner and meditated quietly, making her best attempt to filter out her classmate's constant chatter.
Having recorded what time she began, she allowed the constant ticking of Sandayo's borrowed watch to echo throughout her mind, tracking the precise time. As the final ticks dragged on, Bulla opened her eyes. "Alright, everyone," she said, pulling herself to her feet, "get ready. It's time to get started."
As everyone began to calm themselves down, Midoriya's name caused everyone to look over. "Oh, hey Todoroki... What's up?"
"I think it's very clear to see that I'm stronger than you." Todoroki said coldly. "I don't know what is about you, but despite that, All Might is in your corner, guiding you." Midoriya's face filled with shock as Bulla took a step closer. "I'm not going to pry, but just understand that I'm going to beat you."
"Woah... What's with all these declarations of war lately...?" Kaminari said, leaning back in his chair.
"Todoroki." Bulla said suddenly, stepping in front of Midoriya. "I don't know why you're singling out Midoriya, but don't forget about the rest of us." Her eyes narrowed, looking up to the much taller boy. "I don't think Midoriya is who you want to worry about, to be honest. No offense, of course, Midoriya. I'd love for you to surprise everyone." Bulla told her friend before turning back to Todoroki. "I met your father, you know. I came to check on you after the villain attack, and frankly, you're just as cold as he is."
"Be that as it may, we're not friends. We're not here to make friends. We're here to win, and hopefully you'll understand that when you're looking at me from the bottom." Todoroki told her as he turned around, brushing past Kirishima before leaving the room.
Turning around, Bulla placed a hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "Hey, don't fret over that. Just do your best, Midoriya! I'm excited to see what kind of power you've been hiding all this time!" Bulla told him with a smile.
"R-Right!" He said as he tried to steal his nerves. "Actually... He's right." He suddenly said as his head hung low, surprising several of his classmates. "We all want to win, and our goal is to win, and stand out doing so. "We've been outed from the start, by every other class. Everyone outside of these walls are our enemies, and if we all want the top spot, then the moment we all step out there, we also become enemies." Midoriya's head finally rose, his eyes full of determination. "Don't write me off, just yet, Class Rep. I want to win this, and I'll do everything I can to make that happen!"
With a smile, Bulla nodded. It's nice to finally see him standing up. I haven't really seen him do much since that softball throw. "Alright, then. Class 1A, let's show them what we're made of!" Bulla raised her fist to the sky, riling her class's spirits.
"YEAH!" Everyone cried out, raising their fists in unison as they left the room behind and eagerly stepped towards the beginning of the Sports Festival.
"Hey!" Present Mic sounded as the large screens in the arena powered on. "Make some noise, all you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes! This year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in Sports Festival history, guaranteed!" He said excitedly. "I've only got one question before we start this show: Are you ready?!" As per cue, the students of UA High began to file out of their tunnels, emerging proudly onto the field. "Let me hear ya scream as our students make their way to the main stage!"
With the music beginning to play prominently, all eyes watched as the students finally emerged. "This first group is no stranger to the spotlight! You know them from withstanding a villain attack - the dazzling students lighting up your TVs with solid-gold skills! The Hero Course students of Class 1A!"
Looking around, Bulla's eyes stopped on a group of very familiar people. "Hey, Brief! Son! Up here!" Iwase called out as the entirety of the orphans from Ruimi Orphanage waved their arms together. Bulla waved back, wishing that Pan was out there to see the same thing.
"They haven't been getting nearly as much screentime, but this next group is still chock full of talent! Welcome Hero Course Class 1B!" Present Mic announced as Pan's class emerged from their tunnel. Pan looked over to Class 1A, and she met Bulla's eyes with a smile as Bulla pointed into the stands, directing her to their adoring crowd calling their names. "Next up; General Studies Classes C, D, and E! Support Classes F, G, and H! And finally; Business Classes I, J, and K!" He finished announcing as the crowd went wild. "Give it up for all of UA's first-year contestants!"
"Now, for the introductory speech!" A woman yelled as she raised a whip to the sky. As the classes lined up neatly, Bulla slammed her palm into her face as the boys began to stare at the R-Rated Hero: Midnight.
"Come on - is that kind of outfit really appropriate?!" Bulla growled to herself.
"And for the student pledge, we have Katsuki Bakugo!" Midnight announced, whipping her arm to the side.
Bulla's eyes widened as Bakugo stepped out of the class formation and climbed the steps onto the stage, looking down onto his class. Bulla could have sworn their eyes met when he spoke. "I just wanna say... If you belong here right now, make it known. You got here, and now have to believe you have what it takes to stay. Regardless, don't forget that I'm going to win." He briefly said before stepping down. As Bulla slammed her palm to her face once more, and peeked through her fingers. Bakugo's face was also in his palm as he returned to his spot in the formation.
"That wasn't like Kacchan... I wonder what's going on in his head..." Midoriya said as he turned around to watch his old friend. The student's gathered around were confused, unsure of whether to accept his former statement, or hate his latter statement.
"Right, then. Without further ado, it's time for us to get started!" Midnight announced as the screen on the walls of the arena read 'First Game' in orange.
"I guess we're getting right into it, then." Bulla said quietly as Midnight continued to talk.
"I'm nervous... What's this first round going to be?" Kirishima followed.
"This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival!" As Midnight raised her whip, a large board seemed to manifest out of nowhere, rolling a gamble-style of slot. "What could it be?" After spinning for a few seconds, the blurred image suddenly froze, revealing the title 'Obstacle Course' in blue.
Clenching her fists, Bulla felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. She began to smile uncontrollably, and she looked to the board once again. Alright! Let's do this!