Chapter Seventeen - Declaration of War
The rest of the week was plagued by intense media attention following the assault on USJ. However, the public was not made aware of the incident within the main U.A school building, only that the Hero from the USA, known as Paper Mache, had perished while on Hero duty.
Many questioned the ability of U.A and its Hero staff, who allowed a student to be injured under their watch.
"We've received word that the student, Ameyoshi Shirui of Class 1-A, is expected to make a slow but full recovery," the news reported on TV said, "The girl expresses no regrets after a bad facial injury that will likely remove her from classes for the year, stating that she would help her classmates again if she had to—"
Click. The TV turned off and Izuku lowered the remote, setting it on the table. He sat there in contemplation, gazing down at his hands.
So many more eyes are going to be on the school now, Izuku thought. This is great for me to try and join the Hero class, but… I also feel way more nervous now!
Over the following days, Izuku had completed the devices for Class 1-B on time, with the help of his friends, despite the Principal insisting that he didn't have to. It felt good to have the students appreciate the creations, but he made sure to tell them he couldn't have done it alone.
Soon after, Mei had pointed out that Izuku could regret that later when they face them in the Sports Festival, but Izuku had waved that thought away.
"We're in the Support class, we should never regret helping the Heroes," Izuku had retorted.
Izuku desperately wanted to go see All Might, knowing he had been injured during the assault, but he figured the Hero would have a lot going on and might not have the time. Thus he focused more on improving his abilities, so he could show All Might in the near future.
The experience of making the devices for 1-B had also given Izuku more ideas. During his spare time, he was often reading and studying things such as electrical engineering and circuitry so he could make better and more efficient equipment.
If I have to face off against people with Quirks, then I should be as reliable as someone with a Quirk!
The work drained Izuku unfortunately, who kept nodding off in class for a few days before finally getting a lecture from Power Loader to not kill himself with work. Mei, naturally, laughed at how the tides had turned, making sure to tell Izuku to get enough sleep.
Whenever Izuku had a moment, he approached the burner that they used to melt down scrap metals in the workshop. He took out the small container with the scraps from the Paper Mache letter, looking at it for a moment, before opening it and pouring the paper inside, watching the scraps get incinerated in a second.
The letter had made it clear that the letter should be destroyed once the information had reached Izuku. Thus he finally figured out the best place to dispose of it without a trace.
Izuku put his hands together and did a quick bow towards the machine, as a quick farewell to the man's legacy before returning to the others for their Support lesson.
At the end of the week, when the wounds inflicted on U.A were still healing, Power Loader surprised the students with an announcement.
"The U.A Sports Festival is set to go down as usual in two weeks time," their teacher explained.
"What? Even though villains just attacked us?! That's crazy," Shiro exclaimed.
Power Loader shrugged. "Apparently it's to show that we've got it all under control. Either way, this is good news for us in the Support class, because the festival is primetime for showing what we can do. Now, does anyone not know of the Sports Festival?"
A couple of hands were raised. Izuku knew all about the event, having watched it for many years, dreaming of the day that he too could enter. Mei as well had been preparing for the time when she could show all of the investors just what she's capable of.
"There will be a series of events between all the classes: Support, Hero, Business, and General Studies," Power Loader began to explain, "You won't know the events until the day of, so you must be prepared for anything. That being said, you can bring devices you've created, as long as you get them approved beforehand— Yuki?"
Yuki stood as his raised hand was acknowledged. "From what I understand, the Hero classes usually take all of the glory in the festival," he stated. "How are we meant to change that this year?"
Power Loader smirked slightly. "Normally I might not care as much, besides getting more funding by us doing good… But this year's a bit different."
Their teacher pointed towards Izuku, who blinked and looked around, confused. Everyone turned to look at him.
"Midoriya, you really want to join the Hero class, right?"
Izuku gulped and nodded slowly, feeling uneasy under everyone's gaze. He could see Mei snickering to his right at his embarrassment.
"Is there anyone here who thinks Midoriya can't do it? This is your time to speak up," Power Loader asked, looking out at his students.
Nobody objected, to Izuku's surprise. He looked around at his peers, everyone seeming content and not worried at all. This made him smile a bit.
"Well, then I have a task for you all, to help Midoriya achieve his goal," Power Loader continued. "How many of you felt hopeless and powerless when the class got attacked? Do you think you all took heroic steps towards stopping them?"
An air of discomfort filled the air. Everyone looked away, feeling a burning shame as they remembered the events that had transpired.
Izuku was surprised by their reaction, but he quickly understood. He had felt powerless during the encounter, but the others must've felt even worse, unable to help their classmates when they really needed it.
Power Loader nodded at the awkwardness, his theory being confirmed.
"You aren't in the Hero class, you're destined for greatness in another way," he told them. "I can see the potential you all have… But Midoriya wishes to reach his greatness via the Hero course, so aren't we obliged, as the Support course, to help him?"
Mei shot up out of her seat and raised a fist. "Of course! I believe in Izuku!"
More chimes of support echoed out from the others, getting Izuku more and more flustered. Power Loader chuckled and pointed towards Izuku.
"You hear that, Midoriya? Don't let us down, you'll become the living proof that Class 1-H is the greatest!"
The pressure was on now, and Izuku felt both happy and frightened by what the support of his classmates would bring to him.
This will really be it then… If I fail them at the Sports Festival, then I could never become a Hero!
When leaving class at the end of the day, Izuku noticed a commotion coming from a big crowd standing in front of the Class 1-A doorway. Curious, he headed over and tried to look through the many heads to see what was happening.
Kacchan!
There, standing in the doorway, was Bakugo, looking sternly at a tall boy with wild purple hair at the front of the group.
"There's quite a number of people enrolled into General Studies and other courses because they didn't make it into the Hero course, did you know that?"
Bakugo scowled a bit as the boy in front of him spoke.
"The school has left those of us a chance— Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the Hero Course," the boy continued.
A-Are all of these students here for that same reason then? Izuku looked at the expressions on everyone's faces, gulping. I didn't even consider that I wasn't the only one…
"...And it seems they may even transfer people out."
This made the students of 1-A tense up, except for Bakugo of course who didn't yield.
"Scouting out the enemy? Hm… I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the Hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you—"
"This is a declaration of war."
So bold! Izuku was just as surprised as the students of 1-A appeared by this. For a moment, Bakugo and the boy stared each other down.
"Hey hey—!" A familiar loud and obtrusive voice sounded out, and Izuku turned to see Tetsutetsu approaching the crowd. He saw Izuku and stopped. "Oh! Midoriya! I never got to give my regards for the punching enhancers! Thanks!"
The boy's loud obnoxious voice made everyone turn and look their way. Bakugo spotted him, his expression turning sour, as Izuku gasped and began to panic a bit.
"Even a Support student has eyes for the Hero class?" The boy eyed Izuku, his calm demeanor very overwhelming.
"How could you—"
"I can tell by the messy uniform. You guys certainly work harder than the Hero students, I'd say," the boy commented.
Tetsutetsu and Bakugo both got pissed off by that comment. Izuku wasn't sure what to do, now caught in the ire of several people.
I-I've gotta stop wandering into where I don't belong-
Izuku stopped that thought, surprised by it. He looked down at his uniform, noticing some of the scuffs from the work they had been doing in Support class.
Where I don't belong? But isn't this what I wanted? To be right here?
Looking back up, he saw that Bakugo and Tetsutetsu were now exchanging heated words, while everyone else watched on awkwardly.
"So this is the Hero class, the stars of the school," the purple-haired boy spoke in a melancholic tone, shaking his head. "Truly a disappointment."
Izuku knew what he had to do. This was where he wanted to be, in the midst of this conflict. He needed to show that he could play in their league, that he was somebody to look out for.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku began his rebuttal.
"Actually, I think the Hero classes are amazing."
Hearing this, Bakugo and Tetsutetsu stopped to look at him quizzically, while the purple haired boy eyed him.
Izuku clenched his fists tightly to fight the nerves of so many unfamiliar eyes on him before continuing, "They made it when many others couldn't. They really are the best of us, but that doesn't mean everyone else is worthless!"
"Hey, nerd, shut the hell up! It definitely means everyone else is trash," Bakugo shouted.
Izuku gulped and tried not to waiver. "I-I will get into the Hero class, I believe it... But I would never talk badly about the ones already there!"
This caused some discussion amongst the crowd. Bakugo scoffed and began to push his way through the crowd, who eventually parted for him because of his intense aura of anger. Izuku let out a sigh of relief, thankful Bakugo had spared him anymore retorts.
Tetsutetsu's hand slammed down onto Izuku's shoulder hard, making him jump a bit.
"Well said! But though you respect them, we won't lose to 1-A ever! We'll give em' hell," Tetsutetsu exclaimed, giving Izuku a thumbs up before trudging away seemingly in anger as well.
I can never tell if he's angry or not…
"Bold words, but can you actually put them into action?"
Izuku turned to see the boy who had declared war on the Hero classes gazing down at him with his uninterested expression.
"I-I do, I have to," Izuku replied. "Everyone's counting on me."
"Hm…" The boy eyed Izuku for a moment, before walking past him. As he passed, his parting words lingered in Izuku's ear:
"The name's Shinso. I hope you keep that same energy in the festival, Midoriya."
Something made Izuku not want to respond. There was a mysterious aura about Shinso that made his hair stand up, whether it was his unreadable expression or something else…
Then something clicked.
He knew my name already?!
Two weeks. This was all the time they had to prepare for the U.A Sports Festival.
Izuku had always kept up with a physical training regime after school, often doing exercises and running for at least an hour once he got home. However, that was only half the battle he'd have to face, so he knew he needed to train his mind even harder.
Mei was busy with her own preparations, locking herself in the school's or her own workshop every day after school to ready her inventions. Izuku understood this, deciding to really challenge himself to come up with solutions to his problems by himself.
Problem #1: Overcoming his own shortcomings.
Without a Quirk, Izuku had no real advantage over anyone else. If there was an event that required speed, strength, or agility, he would he outclassed by many. Since it was a Sports Festival, those kinds of events were basically guaranteed.
His solution could've been easy— Upgrading his Flow would help his speed and maneuverability, but what if it got banged up or completely destroyed?
Izuku jotted down many ideas before coming up with a satisfactory workaround.
Problem #2: Working with others.
From watching the festival for years, Izuku recalled there were sometimes events requiring teamwork. If a team couldn't work together, they'd fall into shambles and fail quickly.
Izuku needed to prove his worth, and the only way to do that was to place highly in the Sports Festival, but he could start by showing everyone he can also work in a team setting.
That's it! Yeah… that'll work!
He jotted down several ideas and concepts into his journal before nodding to himself triumphantly.
Problem #3: Facing powerful Quirks.
Izuku knew that facing off against Bakugo was basically guaranteed, whether early on or later. He believed his childhood friend could easily take the entire festival by storm, and crushing Izuku would he high on the boy's agenda.
But it's not just Kacchan… There's others I need to worry about!
A flash of Shinso popped up in Izuku's head. He shook the image away.
Quirks really are amazing, so I need to be ready for everything!
As he jotted notes regarding different types of Quirks and their counters, his eyes slowly began to waiver from tiredness. Finally, he was forced to set his pencil down and stretch, letting out a big yawn.
I've got a lot of work to do, he thought as he stood from his desk chair, turning the lamp off.
Everyone…. I'll show you what I've got!
To Be Continued
Next Chapter: Harder Work and Cooler Babies