After a day and a half off school, UA was back in action. After what happened to Aizawa, nobody expected him to return so soon, and so when Class 1-A were gathered in their classroom, they couldn't help but wonder who would be their replacement teacher in the meantime.
"Imagine if we got All-Might? That would be so cool!" Kaminari exclaimed. His feet were kicked up onto his desk, and he was twirling a pencil between his fingers.
"All-Might is an incredible hero, but I don't think he's a very good teacher, ribbit," Tsuyu commented. Her eyes were glued to the door though, betraying her similar curiosity to see who it would end up being.
"Nah, I reckon it'll be Present Mic!" Kirishima called out. Everyone turned to look at him, and he wore this kind of proud face, like he was claiming pre-emptive victory, as if he knew something they all didn't. "He and Aizawa seem like close friends, I've even seen them arriving at school together. Aizawa doesn't seem like the kind of person to entrust his class to just anyone, does he?"
"Hmph, I guess you do have a brain, huh Shitty Hair?" Bakugou scowled.
Akiko could swear they saw Kirishima fumble a bit at that. He had certainly been stealing glances at Bakugou last week. Akiko hadn't gotten anything close to a good impression of Bakugou, but Kirishima seemed overwhelmingly positive. Hopefully Kirishima's personality would rub off on Bakugou a bit, which would be good for everyone. Maybe Bakugou would get less shouty.
The door slid open, and everyone turned back to the front of the classroom, completely silent. They looked up to see Present Mic walk in and take his place at the front of the classroom.
"Good morning, little listeners!" Present Mic exclaimed. "As you may know, your beloved sensei has been quite gravely injured, and is taking a couple weeks off to recover. In the meantime, I'll be covering his classes, which means you can call me Yamada! Now, before we get into the thick of it, I have an announcement to make!"
"Is it true that you and Aizawa are secretly married?" Ashido called out, grinning almost conspiratorially.
Ida chopped an arm rigidly towards Ashido. "Ashido, you shouldn't speculate like—"
"I mean it's not really a secret," Yamada declared nonchalantly, and laughed. "Anyway—"
"Wait," Ashido seemed stunned. "I was just kidding, but actually?"
"Yes, now—"
"So you're not just friends?" Ochaco jumped in enthusiastically.
"I see why he calls you all problem children. Anyway, yes, your homeroom teacher and I are married, and whilst it's not a secret at UA, it's not public information either due to my husband's work as an Underground Hero. With that aside, let's get back to that announcement, little listeners. As some of you may know, the UA annual Sports Festival will be taking place in three weeks. For those who aren't familiar with the Sports Festival, it is an exciting opportunity for you listeners to kickstart your hero careers! There will be scouts and Pro Heroes from many agencies either in attendance or watching on national live television, all looking for new heroes to recruit. Keep in mind, you'll have a week of internships the week following the Festival, and securing an internship with an agency then will pay off big time!
"So, your sensei has asked me to spend the next three weeks dedicating additional time to the development of your quirks and physical skills. Given the events of two days ago, we thought it beneficial to replace as much of what you would have learned at USJ as possible. As soon as the homeroom period is over, we'll be heading down to the gym for a Hero First Aid course! Now then, since I'll be with you for a few weeks, I'd like you all to go around and each tell me a fun fact about yourselves!"
There was a collective groan from the entire class.
For Shinso Hitoshi, lunch was an interesting experience that day. He had been sitting with his friends and minding his own business when Kaminari abruptly walked up to him and asked if they could speak privately. Hitoshi was confused, but didn't see any reason to decline. So he excused himself, got up, and followed Kaminari into a hallway just outside the cafeteria.
"Hey, are you into guys?" Kaminari asked all of a sudden.
Hitoshi scratched the side of his head. "Um, yeah, why?"
He realised where this was going just a little too slow.
"Look, I'm not one to pine, I just go for it, so I wanted to tell you that I think you're hot! Do you wanna go out sometime?"
For a moment, Hitoshi just stared at Kaminari. That had really come out of nowhere. Though, now that he thought about it, Hitoshi could recall Kaminari looking at him and just smiling every now and then. And right now, Kaminari didn't look nervous at all. Somehow, he was confidently grinning the whole way through, as if he wasn't even slightly worried he would get turned down.
Hitoshi turned him down. Or at least, he tried to. "Look, I'm really flattered, but—"
"Give it some thought! I'm free any time this weekend, alright?" Kaminari said, and tried to walk off.
Hitoshi did the only thing he could think of, and grabbed the blonde's arm. "No, what I mean to say is that I'm not on the market."
Kaminari's face crumpled, just a little bit. "Oh."
"Yeah, me and Akiko are together. Better luck next time, I guess?" Hitoshi offered, and then started to wonder if maybe that was the wrong thing to say, even though Kaminari walked off with a "thanks, I guess", a smile and a wave.
When Hitoshi returned to his food, Akiko shot him a quizzical look.
"What was that all about?"
"I just… got asked out?" Hitoshi revealed.
"Oh," Akiko responded, hoping that the small hint of jealousy that cropped up wasn't obvious.
"I told him no, of course!" Hitoshi added in quickly. "I mean, I have a partner."
Akiko let out a sigh of relief that was perhaps a bit too audible.
"…I have a partner," Hitoshi repeated, smiling giddily.
…
At the end of the day, when Class 1-A tried to leave, they found the entire corridor crowded with students.
"What business do you have with Class 1-A?" Ida demanded, marching up to the door.
"They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival," Bakugou suggested, walking straight towards them with no intention of stopping. "There's no point in doing stuff like that, you know? Out of my way, extras!"
While Bakugou was busy staring down the braver students who hadn't already scattered, a white-haired student who somehow resembled Kirishima emerged, yelling. "Oi, oi! I'm from Class 1-B next door! I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear about it! But don't get so full of yourselves, it's gonna be embarrassing when you make a fool of yourself at the sports festival!"
The yelling newcomer got carried away by the departing crowd, and that was the end of that. Or so Class 1-A thought, but there was one person still standing outside the classroom when the rest of the crowd had dispersed. He had neatly cropped blonde hair, and icy blue eyes that somehow looked haughty . And he was looking down his nose at Class 1-A.
"I, Monoma Neito, declare war on Class 1-A. You lot all think you're just better than us from 1-B, but in the Sports Festival, I shall show the world how wrong you are! You'd better not forge—"
A giant hand appeared out of nowhere and whacked Monoma on the head, knocking him unconscious pretty much straight away. The hand belonged to a girl with long orange hair, who emerged to pick up Monoma's unconscious body and throw it over her shoulder.
"Sorry about that, you guys! Monoma gets like this sometimes, but it doesn't reflect the views of the rest of us! Best of luck with your training, and we'll see you out on the field in three weeks!"
The girl disappeared and took Monoma with her, without so much as giving her name.
The first week of classes with Present Mic went by pretty quickly, and felt more or less uneventful, even if Hero Training classes became more frequent and more intense. With Mic's relaxed attitude, it was almost easy to let loose and take training efforts down a notch, but the looming pressure of the Sports Festival easily compensated. Everyone wanted to win, to get their name out into the world and have their best possible Hero Debut.
But any expectations of a monotonous rhythm of unassuming morning lessons and driven afternoon training sessions were shattered on the first day of the second week. The homeroom session went by quickly, lulling Class 1-A into a false sense of security. The expectation was that first period would be a typical English class with Yamada.
So when Mic wrote up 'Heroics & The Public Image' on the blackboard, people began exchanging confused glances.
"This is a lesson usually taught in third year," Yamada began. "However, your sensei has been grumbling for the past week about how illogical that is, and I happen to agree. I know all of you are excited for the world to see what you're capable of at the Sports Festival, which is why it's time you start thinking about what kind of public image you want to have. Now, can someone tell me what kind of image Sho- Aizawa presents to the public as a hero?"
To absolutely nobody's surprise, Izuku eagerly shot his hand up into the air. Mic invited him to speak. "Well, Aizawa doesn't actually have very much of a public image as Eraserhead. Since he's an Underground Hero, he typically works in the shadows. It's actually really hard to find much footage of him in action!"
Mic nodded, and gave Izuku a thumbs up before writing the words 'Underground Hero' on the board. "Very good, Midoriya. So, we could say that one category of heroes is the Underground Hero - ones who don't look for attention and instead work quietly. They often thrive off the lack of available knowledge about them, which helps them work undercover or deal with cases that require more stealth and secrecy. Could someone else give me another example of a type of hero?"
Several hands were raised into the air at varying speeds.
"How about you, Kirishima?"
The redhead grinned, his sharp teeth on full display. "The strong, tough types who are always there to help people in need, never backing down from a challenge. I guess you could call them Reassuring Heroes? Like Crimson Riot, and All Might! Oh, and Ingenium, too!"
Akiko couldn't help but notice Ida perk up at hearing his older brother's hero name. It was true, Ingenium was definitely one of those kinds of heroes.
"Excellent, Kirishima. And I agree, we can certainly call them Reassuring Heroes. For these types of heroes, public image is incredibly important - by increasing how well-known they are, these heroes are able to reach more people and effectively become more reassuring of the public's safety. Can any of my little listeners give me another type?"
Hands went up again. "Kaminari?"
"Cool-type heroes!" Kaminari shot finger guns around the classroom, and Akiko rolled their eyes. They couldn't shake the feeling that Kaminari was always compensating for something. "These are the heroes who set trends, and bring joy to others by giving them exciting ways to live their lives! Like… Hawks and Best Jeanist! And… you?"
"How could you, little listener?" Mic pouted. "Only mentioning the one and only Present Mic as an afterthought? So cruel! But yes, these 'Cool-type' heroes are certainly very important trend-setters! We bring smiles to people's faces in our own ways. Give me another type!"
Hitoshi gave Akiko a cheeky grin, and raised his hand.
"Yes, Shinsou?"
"Well, I think one of the most important types of heroes are the Social Revolutionaries. People like Midnight, who stand up for what they believe is right despite any reactionary responses," Hitoshi explained with a measured pace. "Quite frankly, without heroes like Midnight, society would have far more villains on our hands because these heroes stand up for the downtrodden."
Mic nodded, noticeably not disagreeing. "That's definitely true, little listener. These Social Revolutionary Heroes probably have some of the toughest career paths, because they often face backlash from their actions, recieve less funding and aren't viewed as positively in the public eye."
Yamada finished writing up the mentioned hero types on the board. "There are many more ways we could break down the kinds of public images heroes can have, but this will do for today. Now, does anyone know why Aizawa wanted me to discuss this with you today?"
Akiko raised their hand. This question was something they had already been thinking about for the past week, anyway. "You kind of said a bit of it at the start of the class, but it's because of the Sports Festival. A handful of us will go on to make names for ourselves at this event, and the public will begin to speculate on what kinds of heroes we'll end up as when we graduate. Since the event will be on national television, footage is gonna circulate of the exciting moments, so the way we present ourselves could really have a lasting impact."
"That's right. For the rest of the lesson, I want you to pick a hero and see if you can find recordings and other information about their public debuts. Think about how those debuts have influenced their public standing today, and by tomorrow morning I want each of you to hand in a brief report on your findings. Without further ado, time to get to work!"
Akiko's group of friends decided to have lunch outside that day, away from all the noise. Once everyone had a tray of food matched to their quirk-based nutritional needs, the five of them found a spot to sit that was half in the shade and half in the sun - specifically for Izuku, who particularly loved soaking in the sun's warmth.
"So," Akiko started between bites, wanting to get the conversation going. "What kind of heroes do y'all wanna be?"
Izuku beamed as though he'd been preparing to answer that question since the day he was born. "I'm gonna be just like All Might! I'll bring a smile to everyone's faces, and help anyone in need."
"Damn right, Small Might," Akiko teased.
"Small Might?" Shouto asked, looking at Akiko with a slight tilt in his head that indicated his confusion.
"Well, Izuku's small, and his costume looks kinda like All Might, and he practically worships the dude. So… Small Might!" Akiko grinned, and poked a tongue out towards Izuku.
Izuku groaned. "I'm gonna be stuck with that name forever, aren't I?"
Shouto looked thoughtful, with a finger to his chin. "It suits you, actually."
Izuku's cheeks grew just a little bit pink.
"I would also like to be a hero like All Might. I want to make people feel safe." Shouto nodded, as though satisfied with his own answer. He then glanced towards Hitoshi, as though deciding that it was the perpetually tired teen's turn next.
Hitoshi yawned. "Before the school year started, I wanted to train myself enough to become a successful underground hero. But.. all my life I was told that I could never be a hero, and I'd probably end up as a villain eventually, all because of my quirk. This one," Hitoshi poked Akiko's cheek, "was the first person to ever say otherwise. How many people get told their quirks are somehow inherently villainous and end up becoming villains because of the discrimination they face? I'll definitely end up being a bit like Midnight and openly go against the grain of the public opinion where needed, because I'm going to show the world that even with my so called 'villainous quirk' I can be a hero. I can do a lot more for that in the limelight than as an underground hero, so I guess that's my plan."
"Damn right!" Akiko shuffled closer and leaned on Hitoshi's shoulder. Ochaco was also nodding vigorously along to every word he had said.
Akiko had just finished eating, so they decided to go next. "I'm in the same category as Toshi, but for another reason. It's pretty simple, actually. Capitalism fucking sucks, and it's ruining society, and making heroics attractive for the income and fame. And I get it, you do what you gotta do to survive under capitalism, but I'm gonna reject all of that. I don't need sponsorship to be a hero, so I'll plant myself in whatever space is neglected by heroes and call the rest out for that neglect. I'm gonna be a thorn in the Hero Commission's side one day! But for now, I'm gonna play nice so they think I'm just some earnest up-and-comer."
It was Ochaco's turn to go next, but she was rather quiet. After a minute of silent thought, she finally spoke. "I… I enrolled in UA so I could become a hero and make money to give my parents a comfortable life. They work so hard, but their business has been falling through for a while now and they're really struggling to make ends meet. But they're such good people, and they deserve better than what the world has handed them. And that will always be my primary reason for going into heroics - but if I can also help create a more just society that can help other families like mine as well… I'm gonna do that too! I want to be a Rescue Hero like Thirteen, and they're definitely the reassuring type. But… I feel like I'll end up facing a bit of controversy along the way, so I guess we'll just have to see what happens!"
"Hell yeah, girl!" Akiko clapped Ochaco on the back. "Damn, you got some muscle going under that uniform! You been working out?"
Ochaco went red, and just nodded. They all laughed.
Three weeks passed, and the Sports Festival had finally arrived. Aizawa was apparently now recovered, and had advised everyone to come to school an hour early, just to get in ahead of the crowds. Even with the increases in security at UA, the Sports Festival was open to the public, to show the nation that they wouldn't be cowed by this so-called 'League of Villains'.
Rather than meet in their classroom, 1-A had been given instructions to come dressed in their gym gear and meet in a designated waiting room at the facility where the Sports Festival was being held. Tensions were a little higher than usual - after all, this event was seen as a place for individuals to shine and gain clout for themselves, and so for most, the notion of teamwork was scrapped.
Akiko and Hitoshi had spoken about this, of course. They had no intentions of actively obstructing any of their classmates. But more importantly, they decided to work together. The duo had the same overall goal at the festival, and so they would work together. Get noticed together. Get scouted together. And then eventually, they would apply for an internship together. The reasoning had nothing to do with their affections for one another, although their closeness certainly made such collaboration easier.
After half an hour of waiting, an announcement came through on the PA system, calling all first year students to come out into the stadium. Even along the corridor leading into the open stadium, Akiko could already hear the booming voice of Present Mic.
"The UA Sports Festival! The huge battle where fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year! Anyway, these are the guys, right? The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel: Hero Course, Class 1-A!"
The size and auditory volume of the crowd was massive, but Akiko had come prepared with ear plugs that someone from the Support Course had made for them, modified to block out the background noise. They would still hear what went on around them, without being completely worn out from sensory processing alone. Normally, those outside the Support Course weren't allowed to bring any support gear with them for the Sports Festival, but Akiko had managed to get an exemption.
Walking alongside Hitoshi and Izuku, Akiko could see that Izuku's nerves were crashing in on him. They put a hand on his shoulder. "You got this, okay? Didn't you up your limit to 8% last week?"
Izuku relaxed, and rolled his shoulders back. "Thanks, Akiko. Good luck out there, yeah?"
"They haven't been getting much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Hero Course, Class 1-B! And next up, General Studies Classes C, D and E! Support Course, Classes F, G and H are here too! And finally the Business Course, Classes I, J, and K! All of the first years are now here!"
All of the students from the first year gathered in the centre of the giant stadium, where the chief umpire and Pro Hero Midnight was waiting for them. The moment Akiko recognised Midnight, their whole demeanour shifted, growing intensely excited. Midnight was a controversial hero for several reasons. The most obvious was her dominatrix-themed outfit - it was revealing and what some would describe as "lewd", and honestly showed her confidence and comfort in her body. For that alone, it was surprising that she was allowed to take such an important and visible role in this high school event. But more importantly, unless Akiko could garner the attention of the author of Margin of Error , Midnight was the hero that they wanted to intern with next week.
Out of the corner of their eye, Akiko noticed a short boy with a grape-like hairstyle openly drooling while looking at Midnight, and resolved to show him no mercy during the festival's challenges.
"Quiet, everyone!" Midnight shouted into a microphone, slashing her red tassel through the air. "Fukuhara Akiko from Hero Class 1-A, please come up to the podium!"
Akiko's heart skipped a beat. As they walked, they scanned their brain for any shred of reasoning for why they had been called. Was it because of their score in the entrance exam? Once they had climbed up the podium, Akiko stepped over to Midnight. "Um, excuse me but what exactly am I doing up here? Nobody told me this would happen."
Midnight sighed, and whispered back to Akiko before handing them her microphone. "Of course Aizawa forgot. This is your chance to make a speech to your fellow students, wish them well and all that. Just give everyone in the audience something to get excited about, okay?"
Akiko grinned. This was a perfect opportunity to get the attention of the mysterious author of Margin of Error - whoever they were, chances are they might be watching today's events. They stepped up to the mic, closed their eyes, and focused on what they wanted to say. "Today is an opportunity for every student here to show the world what they're capable of. Regardless of who you are or what course you're in, what kind of quirk you have, your wealth or upbringing, everyone here has a goal they want to achieve. I hope that none of these goals, and none of us, will be lost or forgotten whether you get through to the final rounds or have to tap out in round one. So, give it your best shot, everyone!"
The crowd cheered. As Akiko returned to Hitoshi's side, a giant display above the audience turned on, displaying the words "First Game".
"Now, let's get started right away," Midnight called out, picking the microphone up once again. "The first game is what you'd call a qualifier! Every year, many students drink their tears here! Now, here is the fateful first game!"
A giant holographic screen popped up behind Midnight, and a reel began spinning on the screen. When it stopped, it landed on a display that read "Obstacle Race".
"All eleven classes will participate in this race," Midnight continued. "The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium — about four kilometres. This school's selling point is freedom - as such, it doesn't matter what you do as long as you stay on the course! Now, take your places everyone!"
All the participants were directed towards an exit from the stadium, since the obstacle course had been set outside, with cameras for the audience to watch through. Akiko noticed that the exit was particularly narrow - there was going to be a stampede, no questions about it. They could afford to wait for some of the masses to clear out; not only would they be able to catch up, they didn't even need to finish at the front of the pack. This was just the first round, and they didn't want to give away too much of their abilities to other competitors outside of Class 1-A.
"You ready?" Akiko asked, turning to Hitoshi. When he gave his nod of confirmation, Akiko put her arms out behind their back, and he climbed on. Over the last three weeks, they had worked hard to improve their physical strength alongside their quirk, and they could comfortably support his weight without buckling.
There were three green lights over the entrance to the obstacle course, and as soon as they all dimmed out, the race would officially start. Akiko did their best to tune out Present Mic's commentary in the background, so they could focus fully on the race. This was their first opportunity to, alongside Hitoshi, show all the onlookers what they were capable of.
The lights all turned off, and people started running. Akiko and Hitoshi waited. Once the crowd had thinned out, they got going too. As soon as they'd passed through the narrow corridor, the path widened - which meant that it was time to pick up the pace with their quirk. Akiko began travelling in quirk-augmented leaps over the heads of the other competitors, continuing to do so until they reached the first obstacle. The sight that greeted them induced a wave of nostalgia - the robots from the Entrance Exam.
Some were already defeated, laying in pieces due to explosions that were most likely Bakugou's work, or impaled with giant shards of Todoroki's ice. Others had various different damages, and Akiko guessed that about half of the original number remained. With enough students already engaging the robots in combat, it wasn't particularly challenging for Akiko to avoid the robots and keep running. The next obstacle consisted of a series of stone pillars separated by huge, deep gaps and connected by tightropes, all mimicking the dangers of a barely traversable canyon.
"I can make the jumps, but it would drain a lot of my energy that we'll need later, so it'd be better if we can find a way to make it easier. Do you wanna recruit some help?" Akiko turned their head to speak to Hitoshi, who was still securely positioned on their back.
"Yeah, can do. We just need to find the right person."
The duo scouted out the various competitors figuring out how to cross the bridge, until they saw a guy from the support course wearing what looked like a jet pack. The participants from the support course were typically the only ones allowed to bring additional weapons or tools, provided that they built them by themselves. Akiko dashed over to the guy, and Hitoshi got to work.
"Hey there, that's a pretty cool jetpack you have!" Hitoshi praised, mostly sincere.
"Thanks," the guy responded, "but you can't have it!"
And then, Hitoshi activated his quirk. "Actually, I'd like you to give that to us, please."
And so he did. Hitoshi put on the jetpack, and grabbed onto Akiko more tightly. With the press of a button, they began to fly. When they had almost reached the end of the canyon, the jetpack began to fizzle out, since they had to use more fuel and propulsion to carry the weight of both of them. As they fell, Akiko activated their quirk to push them the last bit across the canyon. Hitoshi discarded the jetpack, and Akiko set off once again.
On their way to the final obstacle, Akiko spotted Yaoyorozu… with something, no, someone clinging to her back, using a bunch of adhesive balls that must have been from his quirk as handholds. It was the kid they had spotted earlier disgustingly drooling at Midnight. They nudged Hitoshi, and pointed to draw his attention to the issue. Akiko put an extra boost into their steps, and got closer to Yaoyorozu and the perverted freeloader.
"Hey, kid!" Hitoshi called out to him. Both Yaoyorozu and the boy turned to face Hitoshi.
"What? I'm not interested in men, so go away!" The kid flapped his hand dismissively.
"Let go of Yaoyorozu. Now," Hitoshi commanded. The boy dropped off Yaoyorozu's back, but unfortunately the adhesive balls did not. As retribution, Akiko picked the boy up and used their quirk to practically punt him far back across the canyon. "Sorry about that, Yaoyorozu. See you at the end?"
Yaoyorozu gave an appreciative nod, and Akiko dashed off. Just a little further and they saw the final obstacle. Having arrived, they were especially glad that the duo had agreed to hold back at the start; competitors ahead of them were being blown up by landmines that released almost comical pink smoke. From the many small craters in the ground, it looked like a great deal of the land mines had already been triggered, which made things substantially easier. What also helped a great deal was Akiko's agility training.
As Akiko bounced across the minefield, they were careful to ensure that they stepped on the already detonated mines, grateful for the path that had been cleared. Once they had crossed the minefield, the giant stadium of the Sports Festival came back into view - it was the final stretch. With a last big push, they leapt across the last bit of the obstacle course, through a narrow corridor and finished the race, back in the stadium.