The day of the Sports Festival arrived, and I trained my ass off this entire week! I've gotten better with Mode Four, but I think I'll mostly use it as a just in case. Instead of going through that obstacle course race, we went straight to the stadium. We sat up in the bleachers, like last year, every Pro Hero was there it seemed! My eyes were fixed to the screen as I saw Sota go through the obstacle course. My leg was tapping the floor beneath me, I wasn't sure if I was nervous or excited.

"Come on, Sota..." I muttered to myself.

He's definitely improved, he's zipping through that course! My eyes went from the screen to the entrance to the arena, I didn't care if Sota rushed through there first, all I cared about was if he made it through into the tournament. One person came through, from his class, Selina Kageyama. Her Quirk's called "Bouncy Ball." It's quite an interesting Quirk! Then, Sota flew through the arena entrance!

"YEAH! LET'S GO! ATTA BOY SOTA!" I shouted.

"Go where, Alyx?" Shoto asked me

I looked at him and laughed, "No, no! It's just a phrase to say if you're happy or excited!"

"Ah, so if my father dies-" Shoto tried to say.

Deku interrupted him, "NO! THAT'S NOT HOW YOU USE IT!"

[30 minutes Later...]

We sat through the headband event, to me, it's probably the most boring part of the Festival. I didn't really like it when I did it last year, I could tell most of these First-Years felt the same. Sota's moving on to the tournament part! I was super excited to finally get to see him fight for real! The only time I've ever seen him fight was during our joint training sessions. Sota was first up, he looked pretty nervous, and as white as a ghost! I guess I could see why, he was going up against Nisaki Yotomo. The kid's got as much intensity as Bakugo but is as calm and collected as Shinso. He's definitely a tough opponent, that's for sure. He'd give me a run for my money I'd imagine! His Quirks are "Fire Lance" & "Death Stare", which Death Stare might be the one thing Sota should be worried about!

"Alright, folks! This'll be the first bout of the tournament! Let's get it started!" Present Mic announced.

An air horn sounded and ink flowed down Sota's arms. He was in complete concentration, he surrounded himself in his ink. Nisaki readied a Fire Lance and kept direct eye contact with Sota, if he managed to make eye to eye contact with Sota, this fight was over! Sota purposely covered his eyes with his ink, then created that giant squid! He slammed the tentacle down onto Nisaki, but he pierced it with his Fire Lance! The entire ink construct was set ablaze, Sota then emerged through the flames with a phoenix!

"Huh, he really did take after you somewhat, didn't he?" Jiro said to me.

"I guess so, I kinda like his style! I've never seen him legitimately fight though, but I'm liking what I'm seeing from him." I responded.

Sota crashed into Nisaki with that ink phoenix! Nisaki grabbed his arm, it seemed to have made Sota lose focus, and he looked Nisaki dead in the eyes! His eyes shifted into a bright yellow, then back into the regular honey-gold color. Sota stood there for a moment, then punched Nisaki in the face before he fell over on the ground.

"Here's your winner folks! NIIIIIIIIISAKI YOTOMOOOOOOO!" Present Mic shouted.

Nisaki left the arena, and Sota was still unconscious. I looked over at Ms. Midnight, I nodded my head and she gave me a thumbs up. I got up from my seat and jumped down to the arena floor. Everyone in the stadium was still roaring from the match that went on, they must've been talking about Nisaki. I got to Sota and knelt down beside him.

Sota slowly regained consciousness, "L-Leonidus... Sir...?"

"You did amazing, Sota! Color me impressed, kid." I told him.

"But... I barely did anything." He lamented.

"Sota, what are you talkin' about? You stepped into this arena with one of the strongest kids in your class, and you didn't runaway, you kept fighting! It doesn't matter if you win, all that matters is if you've got the courage to confront whatever's in front of you. You've made me proud, Sota." I smiled.

Sota started to tear up, "T-Thank you, Leonidus!"

I helped him up to the stands, I sat back down next to Momo and Shoji. The first-year's tournament matchups seemed really exciting! Getting to see all of their Quirks in action got me pumped even more for our tournament! I wonder who I'd be fighting against first?

[1 Hour Later...]

"Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen! Next up, is our Second-Year tournament! We'll be starting off with a tag team preliminary match, then we'll move on to the singles matches! On the screen above me, we've randomly generated the teams our students will be in!" Midnight informed us.

I looked at the screen, there were so many things running through my head, who would I be partnered up with? I saw my name, then looked down at the name of my partner. My heart immediately sunk; this was gonna be a looooong match, good grief...