The Sports Festival is officially here, and I am PUMPED! Thanks for reading along so far, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy xo
Chapter Twenty-Three: Enter First Years!
"Everyone, are you ready?! We'll be entering soon!"
Iida burst into the room with a dramatic slam of the door. The students of 1-A were crowded into a large locker room adjacent to the Sports Stadium, just moments away from finally competing in the U.A. Sports Festival. Tables and chairs were centered in the room, but Koharu was thrumming with such a nervous energy that there was no way she could stay seated.
There was no more time left for worrying. There was no time left to think about training, or about the need to grow stronger after experiencing the villain attack at USJ. There was no time to think about Shouta's defeat or All Might's emaciated form. There was certainly no time to think about Aoi or her strings. Her fear of the future was shoved into a box, taped neatly shut, and pushed firmly to the side to be dealt with later.
The Sports Festival was here, and Koharu was ready to kick some ass.
"I can't believe it's finally here," Koharu said as her feet bounced beneath her. "I am so fucking pumped for this!"
Iida jerked forward, his arm outstretched towards his Deputy. "Koharu, it is improper for a class representative to use such expletives—"
"So fucking pumped!" Koharu enthusiastically repeated herself as she turned her body pointedly away from the sputtering Iida. "Let's do our best!"
"Let's do our best!" Uraraka chanted back with a pump of her fist into the air. Koharu rewarded her with a quick fist-bump as the girls grinned at each other.
Mina approached the small group, a skip in her step. "Hey, we doing our best over here? What do you guys think the first event will be?"
"I hope it's a battle royale, and we all just wail on each other until the buzzer sounds!" answered Koharu with a few well-mimed punches to the air.
Mina pointedly placed a hand on top of Koharu's head before drawing it straight to her chest, highlighting the height difference between them. Her pink lips pulled into a wide grin as Koharu's cheeks puffed with indignation, and with a giggle she teased, "I don't know about that… it's not very heroic to punch below the belt, and I'm not sure you could reach any higher, Haru."
"Stop calling me that, damn it!"
"I don't believe that such an event would be appropriate for a high school sports festival," commented Iida as he adjusted his glasses, interrupting the two girls before a squabble could break out. The gleam of his glasses suddenly hid his eyes. "Perhaps instead a falling building?"
Koharu's cheeks turned a bright red as Mina 'ooh'd and Uraraka giggled. "Is it 'Gang-Up-On-Koharu Day' and I just didn't get the memo?"
Uraraka reached out to lightly pat Koharu on the shoulder. "We're sorry. You've just been acting so strange lately that it's nice to see you in high spirits again!"
"I haven't been acting weird," whined the deflated Koharu in response. "People prepare for things differently."
An arm suddenly dropped on her head. Koharu looked up to see that Kirishima was resting his elbow atop her purple locks, a smug look on his face. "It's because of her Quirk," he announced, easily continuing even as Koharu shoved him off of her. "You guys don't get it because she hasn't used her Quirk on you before, but Koharu has to know about people's Quirks in order to switch them, right?"
"Right! That makes sense!" replied Mina as she and Uraraka nodded along with wide eyes. "That's why you were asking everyone such weird questions! You were getting to know our Quirks!"
"However, that doesn't tell us why you were so fixated on such a specific scenario," Iida pointed out. "If you were truly aiming to prepare yourself, shouldn't you have been asking a broad range of questions?"
Koharu puffed out her cheeks as she considered how to answer his question without giving away her true intentions. She blew it out with a huff. "I've got good reflexes, but I'm not very strong," she said, eliciting a snort from Kirishima beside her. "If I want strength, I need to get it from other people. If I want someone to start spewing acid or floating into the nether-sphere, I know where to find you guys."
With a pout, Uraraka said, "That seems like a simplification of things…"
"I know you're more than just a flotation device, Uraraka," blandly comforted Koharu as she patted Uraraka's arm. "That's just what I think would happen, is all."
"Midoriya." An unexpected voice cut through the room, effectively silencing all conversations. Todoroki had approached Midoriya, one of his hands shoved casually into his pants pocket despite the serious tone.
The mood in the room had shifted. Todoroki wasn't one for starting conversations, and something about the way he stood before Midoriya screamed conflict. Maybe it was the set of his shoulders, or the subtle clenching of his hand into a fist at his side— either way, the room stood at attention.
Koharu felt her eyes widen. "I feel like we missed some— "
"Shh!" Uraraka smacked lightly at Koharu's arm, intent on watching the two boys.
"Is it like another fated battle between men or—"
Uraraka clamped a hand over Koharu's mouth this time, a ferocious look on her round face. Behind her palm, Koharu snickered and followed her line of attention.
"All things considered, I think I'm stronger than you," said Todoroki.
"Huh?" Midoriya said with a flinch. He looked downwards. "Y-yeah…"
Todoroki continued, his voice level. "But… All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he? I'm not trying to pry about that… but I'm going to beat you."
Koharu bit down against her bottom lip as she contemplated Todoroki's words. So she hadn't been the only one to notice the connection between All Might and Midoriya, even if she had been handed a puzzle piece the others hadn't been privy to. She wondered— of course, she wondered— what their connection meant, and of course, she wasn't alone in that.
But there wasn't time for that now. That box was already buried.
"Oh? Is the best in class making a declaration of war?" Kaminari interrupted, leaning backwards from his seat to ogle the two teens.
Kirishima strode forward, always the first to diffuse a potential scuffle. "Hey, hey!" He called as he placed a hand against Todoroki's shoulder. "Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?"
Todoroki shoved Kirishima's hand off with a quick shrug. "We're not here to play at being friends," he said. He turned to walk away. "So what does it matter?"
"Todoroki," spoke Midoriya. His gaze was downcast, fists tight at his sides. His words halted Todoroki, who turned his gaze over his shoulder to face the boy. "I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me, but of course you're better than me. I think you're more capable than most people, looking at it objectively…"
Kirishima reached out towards his green-eyed friend, a sympathetic smile on his face as he said, "C'mon Midoriya, you shouldn't talk so negatively—"
"But," said Midoriya, continuing as though Kirishima hadn't interrupted at all. "Everyone— even the students from the other courses— everyone is aiming for the top with everything they've got! I can't afford to fall behind."
She saw determination flash through Midoriya's eyes as he finally raised his head, straightening to his full height. He seemed larger than before, bolder, as he rose to the challenge handed to him by his classmate. "I'll be going for it with everything I have, too."
Koharu felt her breath catch in her throat.
Oh.
"Midoriya," she heard herself say. Two dozen faces whirled towards her. All the air left the room in a swoop. She focused on his eyes, bright like emeralds. When Koharu's lips parted into a toothy grin, he smiled back like he couldn't help it.
She cupped her hands around her mouth as she shouted across the room, "I can't wait to kick your ass too!"
"Stop going around challenging people, idiot!"
Knees curled tight to her chest, Aoi leaned closer to the laptop at her feet. Her stream of the U.A. Sports Festival wasn't exactly legal, per say, but there was no way she would be allowed to watch such a thing on the family television. She had feigned a stomach ache in order to retreat to her bedroom to watch the event in secrecy. It had earned her her brother's scorn, but it would be worth it.
"Hey!" Pro-Hero Present Mic appeared on the screen, throwing open his arms with a greeting. The camera panned over the screaming audience, showcasing the stadium packed with fans. "Pay attention, audience! Swarm, mass media! This year's high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the U.A. Sports Festival is about to begin! Everybody, are you ready?!"
"Yes," whispered Aoi. Beside her, Pesu yawned and curled a little closer to her feet. Even if his hero would be competing, he didn't care about the festival.
"It's time for the students to enter the first-year stage!"
The camera switched to focus on a large entryway into the stadium as the first students began to come forward. Unfamiliar faces streamed through until Koharu's distinct purple hair finally joined at the end of the group.
"These are the guys, right?" said Present Mic, his voice cutting clearly over the uproarious stadium. "The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! Hero course, Class 1-A, right?!"
Aoi lurched forward, scrambling closer to the laptop. Pesu yipped in shock as Aoi screeched, "No way! That was her class?!"
More students began to pour into the arena, but Aoi didn't care about them. Present Mic's revelation had sent Aoi's head spinning. Koharu's class had been involved in the villain attack on U.A..
She smashed her face against her mattress and whined. "Why am I such a moron?"
"Time for the player pledge!"
Midnight stood before the first years atop an elevated platform, her whip in one hand while the other rested on her hip. The crowd fell into a hush with a flick of Midnight's wrist, the sound of her whip echoing through the stadium. A microphone amplified her voice as she commanded, "Quiet, everyone!"
"Representing the first-year students is Katuski Bakugou of Class 1-A!"
Koharu snorted loudly. A hand quickly rose to cover her laugh as Bakugou side-eyed her with distaste, but Koharu's shoulders still shook with mirth. If their confrontation with the students in the hallway was any indication, Bakugou was about to go up there and act like an absolute asshole.
She loved it.
"What?" gasped Midoriya. "It's Kacchan?"
"I guess he did finish first in the entrance exam," Sero acknowledged.
Somewhere to their left, a girl pointedly huffed. "Maybe in the hero course," she snidely corrected.
"R-Right," Midoriya quickly stammered, looking nervous from the girl's interruption.
Sero dropped his head. "It's obvious she hates us…"
"Someone sounds bitter," sing-songed Koharu. She met the girl's glare with a grin. "It's rude to eavesdrop."
"Shut up, Koharu— you'll make them hate us even more!" hissed Kaminari from behind her as he and Kirishima prodded her back.
"Let them," she dismissed with a wave.
Bakugou approached the stage with his hands in his pockets. For all she knew him as a fiery man, in that moment he seemed calm— composed in the face of thousands. She wondered if it was a front, or if Bakugou was just secretly a cool-headed guy.
"I pledge that I'll be number one."
Pfft.
Koharu laughed as the crowd around her erupted into jeers, students from every course rallying in their mutual hatred for the blond in that moment. Koharu seemed to be alone in her admiration, her laughter lost to the booing around her.
Iida stepped forward, his arm chopping downwards repeatedly. "Why are you doing something so disgraceful?!"
Bakugou turned to face his peers, nonchalant in the face of their wrath. He finished with a thumbs-down. "At least become a nice bouncy step for me to jump off of."
chapter end
Todoroki: "This isn't U.A.'s Best Friend Race, bitch!"
Wondering who called Koharu an idiot in the first scene? Let your heart decide :)
Fahdza— wb! Midoriya and Bakugou are my boooooys so I'm glad you enjoyed their scenes :)
Emocean— wb! To me, Bakugou seems like a cat that only spares you the time of day when he realizes you've been off petting other cats. He's a grump like that and I love him.
BitchBetterHaveMyHoney— wb! Your review really brightened my day— Koharu is absolute waifu material.
M—wb! I'm happy you're enjoying class interactions, because there will be a lot of it. One of the reasons I love BNHA so much is because of the love is gives to side characters, and I don't want to drop that here.
Teletraan— wb! I'm glad to see you back! I haven't seen Steven Universe but Google tells me that fusing involves synchronized dancing… only time will tell if that is also true for Koharu but damn, it's a tempting visual.
Otakugirl1996—wb! Your review made me really happy. Thank you!
winddemon199— I'm glad you think so! Thanks for your review!