Their Hero Academia – Chapter 93: Festival Day
After dinner had wound down, Toshi and the others started to head to their rooms. Dad and Mom were lingering back to talk to Insomniac and a few other Heroes. In spite of the change in the competition with the addition of SSZ, he was still feeling confident about their chances. Between the four of them, they had a good amount of mobility, utility, and power.
They'd need all of that and a little luck, too. He had seen firsthand how powerful Tatsuma's dragon power and Shinji's wind control were. The two of them alone were going to make Shiketsu a formidable adversary. They didn't even know the Quirks of any of the other students competing.
Wait, scratch that. Mineta apparently knew that Spencer guy. And he knew…
"Hey Toshi," a voice he knew all too well interrupted his thoughts, all but purring. How one person saying his name could make all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, he didn't know. But she was good at that.
Nozomi.
The girl with the light brown, nearly white, hair was standing in front of the elevator. She had her arms folded but otherwise seemed relaxed. It was clear she'd been waiting for them. She was tall for a girl and muscular like a runner. Not as powerfully built as Katsumi, Tatsuma, or even himself, but Toshi already knew from experience that she wasn't to be trifled with.
"Friend of yours, Midoriya?" Haimawari asked. His friend was at least nice enough not to mention how he'd gone red at the sight of her back in the ballroom.
A smile tugged at her lips. "We're old friends," she said coyly, before drawing in a breath.
Toshi, given some time to build up speed for gravity bounces, was relatively quick and his reflexes were good. Haimawari at full tilt was fast. His girlfriend, Sora, and her brother, Tensei, were really fast. And over long distances, he was willing to bet on any of them being able to outpace Nozomi. But over short distances? Nozomi was incredibly fast.
Before Toshi knew it, his back slammed into the wall behind him. Not hard, but suddenly enough to be jarring. Nozomi was looming over him, one arm extended with her palm flat on the wall. He hadn't even seen her move. He'd barely even felt her other hand on his chest instigating the shove, or heard the shrill whistle that accompanied her Quirk. One moment he'd been in the middle of the hallway, the next he was here. This close, he could see some of the small holes on her hand and wrist that made up the physical aspect of her Quirk. He knew there were lots more elsewhere on her body, especially concentrated on her arms, hands, legs, and feet. He let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, watching as Nozomi's ponytail fell, having trailed behind her in her wake.
"Noz… Nozomi!" he cried out, swallowing hard as his brain tried to cope with her proximity. He'd gotten a lot better about close physical contact from women since he'd started dating Sora, and her lack of personal space, but this was really close. Really awkward too. Especially since Nozomi definitely wasn't Sora.
The sound of a cell phone camera going off distracted him from his uncomfortableness for all of a second. "Daaaaang, Midoriya!" Mineta said, scrutinizing the picture she'd just taken. "So that's what you're into! And two-timing your girlfriend while you're at it!"
He thought he heard Kocho whisper something that sounded like 'wish that were me'.
"Mineta!" Toshi wailed, trying to sink back into the wall. Sadly, it remained as solid as ever. What he wouldn't have given for Uncle Mirio's Quirk right now. "It– It's not what it looks like!"
Nozomi's head went back as she laughed. It wasn't the cackle that Katsumi did when she won, or the 'mad scientist' yowling Sora and her brother got from their mom. It was genuine, happy. "Same Toshi as always, give or take some more muscle." But she did take a step back, finally taking her hand off his chest with only a slight stroke of her fingers.
Toshi sucked in a breath to try and calm his racing heart. He'd known Nozomi for a long time. Her getting a rise out of him was practically a running joke by this point. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pant legs, noting her watching him with a smile. "Everyone, this is Nozomi Torino. Nozomi, this is Isamu Haimawari, Mika Mineta, and Koharu Kocho."
"Oh I know about Mineta already," Nozomi said, standing up straight as Toshi had mentioned her family name. "Ushimaru told me about her, and so did Cow Lady, during guest lectures. She was very proud of your second place win at the UA Sports Festival."
"Well, shucks," Mineta said, scuffing a hoof on the floor. Was she blushing? Mika could blush?
"Wait, Torino? As in Gran Torino?" Haimawari asked.
"You know him?" Nozomi asked, genuinely surprised.
"When I interned with Deku, he pranked us in what he told us was 'the Gran Torino tradition.'" Haimawari rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm pretty sure it took ten years off my life. I thought he was dead."
"Mine too," Kocho added.
That got her attention. "He chose you two?" Nozomi asked, her eyes honing in on them as her expression went still. Nope, Toshi didn't like where this was going. "That's interesting." A pause. "Anyway, yes, Gran Torino is my great-uncle. I'm proud to be carrying on his legacy. I'm doing all I can to be worthy of the legacy of the one who taught All Might." She gave Toshi a pointed look.
Mineta looked between him and Nozomi. "So, you two used to date or something?"
Toshi's heart rate instantly doubled as Nozomi laughed again. No, he'd had a lot of crushes over the years. There'd been his favorite babysitter, 'Aunt' Eri. And Nejire Togata. Even Izumi at one point. But not Nozomi. He'd been much too busy being terrified of her intensity.
She didn't have Katsumi's temper, but Nozomi made the other girl look relaxed by comparison.
"Guess I'll take that as a 'no'." Mineta looked Nozomi over for a moment, her chin resting in her palm with her index and pointer fingers tapping the side of her cheek. "You were at the U.A. entrance exam, weren't you?" she asked. "I remember somebody moving crazy fast now, and that whistling. Always kind of wondered what happened, since I never spotted anybody with that kinda Quirk in any of the Hero classes."
Nozomi nodded at that. "I was there." She had already been standing up straight, but now one might even say she was preening slightly; her shoulders were back, chin up, and chest out. "I took first place. U.A. was ready to enroll me in the Hero Course, but I decided I had more to learn from SSZ. Headmaster Goodman made a very compelling argument."
She gave Toshi and the others an appraising look. "Still, I thought I should say hi to a childhood friend. I look forward to seeing you all on the battlefield tomorrow. Expect no mercy." She focused on Toshi for a long moment, then seemed to relax, and brought her hands up. She pushed up the corners of her mouth with her index fingers into an almost goofily intense grin, but it seemed sincere. "Bye, Toshi." The same tone of voice that had haunted him for years.
She left after that, heading for the stairwell, ponytail swishing behind her.
It was Mineta who broke the silence. "Okay, that was hilarious, but I gotta go introduce the new boyfriend to the old boyfriend." She gave Kocho a wink as she pressed the button for the elevator. "Don't bother waiting up."
"Mineta," Toshi said,sliding into his role as Class Representative, "the rules definitely don't allow that…" He could feel the headache starting already as he watched her step inside. She'd behaved herself so far, but…
"Relax," Mineta said, waving a hand dismissively as the doors closed. "There's a chance I'm joking."
"So," Isamu said, as he and Midoirya rode the elevator up to their floor, "that was, ah, awkward." He gave Midoriya a sympathetic smile. He was all about the awkward moments. Usually self-caused, by way of foot in mouth disease.
"It was," Midoriya agreed. There was a hesitancy in his voice, as though he was wanting to say more. "Listen.." he began.
The elevator dinged as they arrived at their floor and the hallway was full of other competitors, either hanging out and talking or on their way to their own rooms. "Hang on," he said, looking around at the crowd. "Better if I tell you in our room."
Once they were back in the room, Midoriya made sure that the door was locked and headed for the far wall, as far away from the door as possible. He even drew the curtains closed. Curious, Isamu followed.
"Nozomi knows," Midoriya said quietly, but with purpose.
"Knows what?" Isamu asked, echoing the intensity. What could she possibly know that had Midoriya so rattled? Except for…
She was the great niece of Gran Torino.
Who had trained Deku.
Who had trained All Might.
Who had beaten the stuffing out of Tamaki Togata not long before his death.
All three of whom shared a power that was a secret known only to a select number of people. People which included him, since a tiny fraction of it had been shared with him, in order to protect him from the madness which had infected I-Island.
Midoriya held up one finger, then four, then spread his hands in an expansive gesture.
"Oh," Isamu said, quietly.
"Great Grandpa Torino told her about it, before he died," Midoriya said. "He said he wanted to…" His voice went gravelly, "Make sure somebody who could think with their head instead of their gut knew about it."
"Oh," Isamu said again.
"She takes that very seriously," Midoriya added. "It's one of the reasons she's so intense. And why she's determined to be the best she can."
"Oh," Isamu said, a third time. He was still playing mental catch-up here. He'd only been in on the most important secret in the entire world for a few months. There were definitely no rules for this kind of thing.
"She doesn't know about Tamaki though," Midoriya said. "She might suspect, but hasn't said anything. Honestly, I think part of the reason she's gone all out like that is to impress Dad enough for him to pass it on to her."
Isamu mentally replayed the way Torino had looked him and Kocho over. His heart started thudding in his chest. No. No way. It was an impossibly insane line of thinking. Right?
Impossibly insane like the rest of his life.
"She," he began slowly, "she doesn't think I have it, does she?" Isamu had only held the power for an hour at most. It had felt like every inch of him had been super-charged. It had been so much. He greatly preferred his own Quirk, however less it was compared to that.
But he'd seen the way Torino had been able to take Midoriya by surprise. Midoriya was one of the best trained people in the class, even before accounting for their mutual training. He was a fantastic fighter, manipulating his gravity like crazy and bouncing off any available surface (He was going to ignore the fact that he'd beaten Midoriya at the Sports Festival.). And Torino had been able to catch him totally off guard.
If she came gunning for him… what chance did he stand?
"Pretty sure she doesn't," Midoriya said. A guilty look crossed his face. "Well… fifty percent sure. She's probably definitely going to be watching you to make sure and rule you out. And Kocho too, for that matter. If she's seen footage from the incident, she might be able to tell when you got a 'taste' of it. She's sharp, and that power is a huge part of her life."
Isamu stared at his friend for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed. It was a great, shaking laugh that made his eyes water and left his chest hurting when he finally stopped. He wiped away a tear. Midoriya was staring at him, wide-eyed.
"It just keeps getting better, doesn't it?" Isamu asked wearily.
"It's certainly gotten a lot more complicated," Midoriya agreed. "But if we wanted an easy life… we wouldn't be training to be Heroes."
"Right." Isamu replied. Because what else could he say?
There were a lot of formalities to sit through. A general overview of the events for the following day, a brief announcement of the names of the competitors from each participating school and their notable achievements thus far (nothing about their respective Quirks however), and thanks given to a few corporate sponsors who were helping with the renovations of the facility that had been necessary for the accelerated timeline.
Once all that was out of the way, and most of the students had been ushered off towards their rooms, the administrators and other adults were free to socialize for a cocktail hour. Steven Goodman, the Headmaster of SSZ, made his rounds of the room, shaking all the hands that needed to be shook, paying lip service to the bureaucrats and suits in attendance, and giving a polite nod of acknowledgement to those in attendance who actually had worked in the field. Ultimately, he was able to get away from the building. His Quirk, 'Insomniac' (He was the first recorded holder of it so he decided it worked as well as anything for his Hero alias.), amplified pretty much everything a 'normal' human could do, and that augmentation increased the longer he was awake. It had been a long day with an early start, so even without being able to fly, a combination of sprints and bounding strides let him travel in a straight line with truly impressive speed. The seventy pounds of canine alongside him kept the same pace, with less apparent effort. Within half an hour, he had covered about half the distance to UA. Just as one of the small handful of people with his utmost respect had requested.
Brushing off a bit of road dust from his suit, and ruffling Golden Girl's fur as she laid down by the restaurant's signpost, he slid open the door and lowered his head a bit as he entered. It was a quiet, out of the way, neighborhood joint that nobody but locals would ever look twice at. Steven gave a brief nod in response to the greeting from the cook, the only employee there, before sighting the large man at the end of the counter. He let out a breath, and cleared his throat. "You know, after Nezu passed, I heard that some damn fool from America said you were the best man for the job." He grinned, advancing on the retired Hero just as old as him, even if the Japanese man didn't look it these days.
All Might grinned, rising to meet him. "Steven, you son of a bitch!" The grin turned to a smirk with an echo of youthful cockiness as he saw the other man's hand swinging in to grasp his. His muscles tensed up and he took a firm step forward as he met his friend. The impact between the two of them was resounding, sending the noren, the curtain above the counter, fluttering. Yagi may have burned out the power of his Quirk decades ago, but his stature and the rejuvenation he'd received had still left him a physically powerful man, even into his older years. "Oh, up early today were you?" He tightened his jaw as the two of them were left arm-wrestling without the benefit of a table.
Steven grinned in return, the muscles in his arm straining against the suit he was wearing, as the two of them enjoyed the tension against each other for a bit. "We don't all get the special treatment from Doc Clock, Toshi. I do what I can. You've got a lot of nerve looking so well." This far into the day, he was steadily overpowering the blonde man, but his friend hadn't tapped out yet.
"You've got a lot of nerve being here!" Toshinori chuckled in response, reaching out to pat the other man's shoulder. "Alright, alright. Enough of that. You bust those sleeves off and you'll ruin the atmosphere of this place." The two relented, exchanging a brief hug and then sitting at the nearest table as Toshinori rolled his shoulder and stretched out the arm he'd been using. "So?"
"'So'?"
"So why the change in position? You've made it clear for years how you felt about the Sports Festivals, let alone Nationals. I appreciate the heads up about SSZ, even if I had to keep a lid on it."
Steven exhaled. "Getting old means picking your battles. The Founders wanted this to happen. I don't know who else they were plotting with, or trying to show up, but they've still got enough pull to hit SSZ financially. I'm not going to make my students suffer for my pride. I should have seen it coming as soon as word started leaking out about the National Festival being reestablished." He shook his head at himself, ordering a beer and a bowl of ramen. "How are Inko and the kid's family? Heard nothing but the best about his work out of Might Tower."
Toshinori took the hint and moved on to the small-talk, ordering a katsudon and drinking the water he already had at his seat. "We're as happy as always, and Izuku's career and family are thriving. That's his oldest with the kids from my school."
Steven nodded. "Yeah, I know about 'little' Toshinori. You know you and Izuku could have sent him to me, at least for a tryout. Boy's got potential, and a good heart. Lord do we ever need more of those out in the world..."
Toshinori laughed and shook his head. "High praise, and I'll be sure to pass that on to him. And you're on the short list of people I'd trust to watch out for my grandson. But there wasn't going to be any dissuading Young Toshi from going anywhere other than U.A. It's practically a family tradition at this point. My youngest grandchild, Mako, is already planning on going some day."
A frown crossed his face. "And it's not that I don't trust your school. But I'd much rather have Toshi here in Japan, where we can all keep an eye on him. The tabloids have called him 'Hero Royalty' and they're really not far off. There were close calls, when he was younger, like a lot of his friend's children. It just works out better for everyone like that."
He smiled. "But you're not wrong. That boy's going to be something amazing someday."
"Spencer, this is Shinji Yoarashi. Shinji, this is Spencer Ushimaru." Mika looked between her old friend and her new boyfriend. She hadn't seen Spencer in person in years, though they sent each other messages online occasionally, and Granny happily shared stories about him. He'd grown up, all right. Not quite as tall or broad as Shinji, but close, and still plenty easy on the eyes.
The two eyed each other warily for a moment, like a pair of tomcats who'd stumbled across each other one night. Neither wanting to back down or show any sign of weakness, but neither one was looking for a fight unless the other one started it. Her eyes darted back and forth between them.
"Any friend of Mimi's a friend of mine," Spencer said finally, smiling broadly. He grinned and stuck out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, pardner."
Shinji grinned broadly, taking and shaking Spencer's hand. Any tension or need for manly posturing had quickly deflated and so neither tried to crush the other's hand. Instead, there was simply mutual respect.
"I can't believe you're here, Spencer!" Mika bubbled, hooves kicking lazily through the air as she sat down on one of the beds in the room. Spencer's roommate had already left voluntarily, saying something about "unverifiable mischief." Normally, she'd be all over hearing more about that, but right now, she was catching up with an old friend. "Two boyfriends in one place! Anime would have a field day with this one."
"Now, was this before or after Monoma?" Shinji asked. His Shiketsu uniform shirt was tight across his chest. One good deep breath and he'd probably split a few seams.
"Before," Mika said. "Spencer's family lives near Granny's ranch, and we 'dated' when we met at summer camp. We were really just childhood friends. 'Boyfriend and girlfriend' the way little kids are. No dramatic promises to marry each other or anything like that like something Anime would read."
Spencer gave a low whistle. "Beginning to wish we had, Mimi," he said. "Because, pardon my rudeness, but you sure grew up, in all directions." He grinned and gave her a playful wink.
That got a laugh from her. "Noticed, did you?"
"It was one of the first things I noticed," Shinji volunteered. "Along with your boldness."
Now, it was Spencer's turn to laugh. "Yeah, just 'bout the only thing Mimi's afraid of is her granny. Smart move if you ask me. Everyone from cousins to cattle who's ever set foot on the ranch knows you don't cross that lady."
"She sounds like a formidable woman. I'll have to be on my best behavior if I ever meet her." Shinji turned to look at Spencer. "I must ask though… 'Mimi?'"
Spencer shrugged. "Nothin' special. Just a nickname from one little kid to another." Shinji nodded in response.
They talked for a while, catching up on old memories from Granny's farm in America, as well as the latest gossip about her innumerable cousins. Shinji listened politely, occasionally asking questions, and sharing stories of his own.
Finally, neither she nor Shinji could ignore the repeated buzzing of their phones any longer. Midoriya and Tatsuma had been texting them repeatedly, trying to instill some form of discipline.
"Well," Mika said, "probably should get to bed. And remember, I don't want either of you going easy on me tomorrow, no matter how hot you think I am."
"Of course not!" Shinji declared. "I shall give the contest all of my passionate effort!" He pumped his fist for emphasis.
"One bull to another, wouldn't dream of it, Mimi," Spencer assured her, tipping his cowboy hat and winking.
"Good."
The protesters were still there the next morning. Most of the crowd had dissipated by the time they'd gone to bed the night before, but some had still been there. Isamu really hoped that the long haulers had gone home and gotten some sleep, or at least taken a bathroom break. He wasn't necessarily opposed to the protests–some of them had a very legitimate point–but he also wasn't sure this was the best venue for their message. Unless it had more to do with how many eyes were on the Festival rather than the Festival itself? Granted, he didn't want to think about how many taxpayer dollars were being spent on this.
He shook his head and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. They'd sent a few Heroes and security guards to escort the competitors and other VIPs from the hotel to the competition arena, so he wasn't worried about anyone doing anything extreme, but the sheer noise from the protesters and their shouted slogans was a lot.
Midoriya was walking next to him, Mineta and Kocho behind them, and the Shiketsu group ahead of them, with security and a couple Heroes in-between.
"Hey, look!" one of the protestors called out. "It's Deku's kid! You think he really had to earn his place here? You think he's ever had to really work for anything?!"
Midoriya frowned, but didn't visibly react much further. "Trust me," he said to Isamu, "I've heard way worse. Did you know there's people who call me the 'Prince of Heroes'? Crazy stuff." he laughed, ruefully. Probably still remembering their own conversation about privilege from before.
"Crazy, young man?" The crowd almost seemed to part as a small, lean man walked down the middle. He was dressed modestly, wearing a pair of blocky glasses. For all the world he was very nondescript, only a shock of red hair caused him to stand out amongst the crowd. "Yes, I can hardly imagine why people would believe the son of the country's top Hero would have any kind of special benefits that would set him apart from the average citizen." He adjusted his glasses, but maintained his judgemental stare. "Crazy indeed."
Ahead of them, Tatsuma had stopped walking.
Midoriya's eyes widened for a moment, before his composure snapped back into place. "I'm not denying I've had certain advantages, sir, never have. But that title's a bit much. I've never tried to claim I'm better or more special than anyone else. I work hard in training, just like my classmates here. If you'll excuse me…"
"You don't walk away when Mister Sugiura is talking to you! The hell you think you are!?"
That was when a foul odor drifted through the air, causing many of the protestors to cover their noses. Dressed in a formal suit, a young man, probably in his late twenties, walked over. The odor was rancid, and clearly coming from him. Hadn't they seen him at the pre-festival dinner, with the security company?
"Oh go to Hell!" He snarled at the protestors. "I'm trying to help you people!" He angrily grabbed a bottle from one of his pockets, spraying himself. The odor died down, but only a little.
"Mister Kagawa, your support has always been appreciated, but-" The red-haired man began to say before the younger man interrupted him.
"You got time to go throw yourselves at each other in a bit of bloodsport, but you don't have time to talk to the public you're supposed to one day serve, eh?" Kagawa challenged with a sneer. "Sounds pretty princely to me. What do the Americans say? Walks like a duck, sounds like a duck?"
Isamu winced, and not just from the smell. This was starting to get pretty dicey. If it escalated, if they had to defend themselves, it would be a public relations nightmare, no matter who the aggressors were. He could practically see Midoriya weighing his options behind his eyes. Their security escort was eyeing the whole thing warily, a hand resting on their radio.
"Keep it moving," another security guard said.
"I'm sorry," Midoriya said, still keeping his tone even and diplomatic. But there was an anxious edge there now. "Got to keep things moving."
"Yeah!" a voice piped up from behind them. Mineta. Of course. If ever there was anyone who didn't have any trouble speaking her mind… "You're made it pretty well known you don't like him. He doesn't have to stand here and take it!"
The security guard sighed wearily. "Can we please move it along, kids?"
Kagawa turned on the guard. "My father pays your salary! They can go when I say so!" He sprayed himself again, becoming visibly irritated along with angry. His gaze turned on Mineta. "Oh look at you. Blessed with good genes that didn't betray you. I'm the public you're going to protect and serve someday, girl! He damn well does have to stand there and-!"
Suddenly there was an abrupt sneeze.
"Oh, dear me!" A familiar, accented voice piped up. Rubbing his beak and making his way through the crowd, was Gordon Bennett, the owl-man who'd been their last interviewer. "I wonder how far away one has to be to be talking about you."
Kagawa started to yell. "You're interrupting me, too!? Gaijin, you have a lot of nerve-!"
Bennett pressed a talon to Kagawa's mouth. "Shh, shh. You're being rowdy." His beak seemed to twist like a human nose for a second as he seemed to register the smell, but then stopped. His talon slipped from Kagawa's mouth to his whole hand, resting on his shoulder. "Mr. Kagawa, I appreciate your family's contribution to this event, truly, and I realize I am a humble guest in your country."
"Remove your hand-!"
"However I should inform you of the substantial footage I have of your little rant and if you do not let these young people go about their business then I have no compunction about embarrassing you and your associates in this little "demonstration'," Bennett explained calmly, his beak turning into its "almost smile."
Kagawa's face turned crimson. He seemed about to say more, until a look from the red-haired man caused him to visibly deflate.
"That will not be necessary," he said with obvious venom in his tone, then snarled and walked past them. The contempt in his face as he looked at the students was palpable.
After a moment, Bennett broke the silence: "Oi, oi. Well that was an ordeal." He chuckles a bit, taking his glasses off and cleaning them. "You lot all right?"
"We're fine, Mister Bennett," Midoriya said. "But thank you. That was… awkward."
"I'm definitely going to need to pay attention when we get to public relations in our Heroics class," Isamu said. "I don't know how you kept your cool like that Midoriya."
"Oh yeah," Kocho agreed. "My knees were shaking as it was, and they weren't even talking to me."
The guard was making more 'move it along' gestures.
"Eh, not my best day," Midoriya admitted. "But plenty of time to practice. C'mon. Let's go."
Jun Sugiura barely held his anger in check as the Hero students began to walk. It didn't help that that idiot, Kagawa, had stolen his thunder. If the spoiled twit wasn't helping to fund their cause, Sugiura would have had nothing to do with him. It didn't help that there were others like Kagawa that preferred a more direct approach that would get them nowhere. Sugiura's eyes turned back to the students, a familiar rage welling up. The miserable whelp had dismissed him. Ignored him.
"Still a miserable old man I see. Letting privileged rich brats speak for your witch hunt now? "
The voice came from his left, Sugiura turned to face it. Standing there was Chie Tatsuma.
"Shogo Kagawa has been a victim of this society just as many of the ADE's members have." He stared at the young girl with a look combining disgust and disappointment. "Which you should appreciate."
Tatsuma stared back at the man. She was actually taller than him, certainly more muscular.
"You're the last person to remind me of how much Hero Society has wronged o-my family," she responded, seeming to stutter a bit.
He narrowed his eyes. "Oh is that how it is now, you little ingrate? Your mother decides I'm a "bad influence" and you just go along-"
Tatsuma sped forward and got in his face, standing over him, the smoke coming from her nose.
"I suggest you don't finish that sentence." Tatsuma's voice was cold, deadly.
Sugiura was visibly shaking from rage. His veins nearly popping, his muscles shifting, almost growing.
"Go ahead. Do it, old man. Give me a reason." She snarled at him.
"Miserable…" He growled a bit, he had physically grown even taller and bigger than her, but one look from Tatsuma and he shrank back to normal size. "This scheme of yours won't work, girl. Fixing Hero Society from within. They will simply convert you to their ways."
Tatsuma stared at him a moment, finally calming down herself. "Maybe, but better than being a hate monger like you." She turned and started walking away from him. "By the way, stay away from Mom. She's finally comfortable being out among people again. She's going to see friends she hasn't seen in years. Do NOT ruin it for her."
Sugiura gives a disgusted sniff. "I have nothing to say to her regardless."
Tatsuma just kept walking. "Good talk, Dad."
"Helloooooooooo Hero Fans! This is Present Mic, welcoming you to the first National Sports Festival in decades! We're here today to celebrate young Heroes all over the country and have them strut their stuff on the national stage! And in the stands, we've got Pro-Heroes, reporters, and a whole bunch of very special civilians all eager to see what they can do!"
"And I'm Mount Lady, joining Mic in the broadcast booth. I guess they wanted to make sure they had a big star to kick this off! And speaking of kicking things off, here come the young Heroes now!"
"Everyone ready?" Midoriya asked. He pulled up his mask and adjusted his short white cape. With the eyes of the country on the National Sports Festival, they'd been asked to wear their costumes rather than their school gym uniforms or anything like that. They had, however, been issued armbands that indicated their school on it in bold, easy to spot kanji.
"Ready," Haimawari replied. He reached up and pushed a button on his helmet and the faceplate and side parts snapped into place with a small mechanical whirl. Between the jacket, helmet, and padding, Koharu thought he looked like some kind of super-biker. It was a bit of a contrast with the anxious and unassuming boy she'd come to know.
"Aye, aye, captain," Mineta said, tossing off a sharp salute. Koharu still wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to get a costume that was basically "sexy cowgirl" approved. Her expression changed, going from playful to serious in an instant. "I'm ready," she added. "Let's show everybody what we're made of."
Koharu gave her gloves a tug, then made sure her flight goggles and respirator were secure. It wouldn't do to have them come off during the competition. She still wished they'd been able to come up with some additional protection for her wings. They weren't paper thin or anything like that, and were relatively resistant to tearing, but she was more than aware they made her a very big target when at full extension. She'd learned plenty about protecting them since joining the Hero Course, but she still worried. "Ready," she agreed. "Nervous, but ready."
"You'll do great, Kocho," Midoriya said, and smiled. If people had ever wanted a dictionary perfect picture of a "bright smile", all they'd have to do was look at Midoriya. He truly was as genuine as they came, in a way very few people were. With the way he tried to inspire everyone around him, it was easy to see that he was Deku's son. And for just a moment, she believed him.
"You're heading out first," the HPSC worker, a poodle-headed woman, said. "Just head to the U.A. podium. Can't miss it. And remember to make it look good."
"Right!" they all said, almost at the exact same time. The four of them exchanged a glance and threw their fists in the air. "Plus Ultra!"
"And first out of the gate is U.A.!" Present Mic announced. "Toshinori Midoriya, Koharu Kocho, Mika Mineta, and first place finisher, Isamu Haimawari!"
Haimawari threw himself forward, sliding along the ground at rapid speed. Mineta fired a small volley of purple spheres from her horns, letting them land on the ground before them. She galloped forward, hooves thundering, then jumped and bounced off the first of the balls, bounce-stepping off each in turn until she had reached the U.A. podium. Midoriya made it in one gravity adjusted leap. And Koharu flapped her wings for all she was worth, pushing herself through the air with quick, rapid flaps. She landed on the podium just ahead of Mineta, with Midoriya and Haimawari having already beaten them there.
"Everyone knows U.A. is a contender for top school in the country," Mount Lady added, "with alumni including All Might, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Deku, Shoto, Ground Zero, and multiple Ingeniums. But don't count the other schools out. Because here comes Shiketsu!"
Another gate opened and the students of Shiketsu emerged, all of them wearing the peaked hat with their school's logo on it. "And here we have Victor Miyahara, Makoto Oribe, Shinji Yoarashi, and their first place finisher, Chie Tatsuma!" Mic announced.
Yoarashi was at the front of their pack, whipping through the air on winds he conjured himself, his costume very similar to his father's, though minus the cape and less ostentatious overall. That was a bit of a surprise; Koharu wouldn't have thought he had such restraint.. There was a mixed-race boy, taking long steps as he stretched out his legs and body. His costume was simple, a leotard in Shiketsu colors, that left his arms and legs bare. Another girl was running to keep up, but not apparently using her Quirk, with a costume in traditional Shiketsu style, but set in a trio of colors: red, pink, and blue. A visor hung underneath her Shiketsu hat. And at the back of the pack was Tatsuma, her costume greatly resembling her mother's, a crimson chinese dress, though she wore tights under it and had added a golden dragon mask. Tatsuma was also not using her Quirk. In fact, she was not running at all, but was instead just walking unhurriedly but purposefully. Apparently her participation only extended so far.
"Now, Shiketsu is generally considered to be the nearest comparable school to U.A.," Mout Lady continued, "And they count heroes like Gale Force, Shishikross, and Fat Gum among their graduates. I know they're looking to continue that rivalry with U.A. and show them up!"
"I guess they're a little sore about coming in second!" Present Mic laughed. "Sorry, I got carried away with school pride there."
"And next up," Mount Lady went on, "we have Seijin High School!" The next gate opened, revealing… nothing? "That's odd. Are they running late?"
Mount Lady was answered by a small explosion and a puff of colored smoke on the Seijin podium. It dissipated in moments, revealing the four competitors on their platform. All of them were dressed head to toe in ninja gear, leaving only their eyes exposed. There were three males, one in red, one in blue, one in green, and a female in purple. All of them stuck poses that reminded Koharu of something from an ancient Sentai show from pre-Quirk days.
"Well," Present Mic said, "that might get the award for most dramatic entrance of the day! Not surprising for a school that still practices the ninja arts! But we'll have to see if they've got the substance to back up their style!"
Mount Lady laughed at that. "And representing Seijin are Teruma Morishige in green, Ken Arima in blue, Michi Masuda in purple, and first place finisher Hachiro Enomoto in red!"
The next gate opened, revealing the students of Seiai Academy, in their matching uniforms in white and black, with white hats and pink bows. They all marched out as one, in perfectly practiced lockstep. One of them was waving to the crowd with pink, glowing tentacles that she manifested.
Most of them weren't using their Quirk, Koharu noticed. Smart. It wasn't an advantage that would last long, of course, once the action started, but even a few seconds of surprise would no doubt help them. Three of the four girls were lacking in mutations. One was tall and blonde, one shorter with dark hair, and a third was of average height with white hair. The fourth had blue skin and red hair.
"And there are the girls of Seiai Academy," Mount Lady said. "Dignified as always. But it will take more than dignity to pull off a victory in this competition! One thing's for sure though, these girls are much more than pretty faces! Seiai's Sports Festival is a grueling, three day affair. Only the best make it through it!"
"Right you are," Present Mic replied, "which makes Tamako Uno, Yumako Yamauchi, Ran Suko, and especially first place winner Kazashi Shiroma, ladies to watch out for!"
"I do love a girl in uniform," Mineta said, licking her lips. "Wonder if any of them are single?"
"Eyes on the prize, Mineta," Midoriya chastised.
"What do you think I'm doing?"
Ketsubusu took the field next. There was a dark-haired boy in a red bodysuit with yellow boots, trunks, and gloves. The chest, arms, and legs all had yellow stripes on them, ending in triangular arrow pointers. As he ran out, he pointed ahead of him and the dust and dirt on the ground seemed to be pushed out of the way. Next to him was a girl all in black, with a featureless white mask, save for two slits for her eyes. There was a third boy, this one dressed like a samurai in bronze and black. He gave his sword a few slashes through the air, setting up a wave of energy each time. And finally, there was a fourth boy, with a shock of red hair, and dressed like an old timey circus strongman. He was flexing as he walked out, seeming to grow more massive each time.
"And now, Ketsubusu!" Present Mic announced. "Power, talent, skill, these kids have it all! I'm talking them up because Ms. Joke threatened to put me in a headlock if I didn't! And if you think she's joking… she's not!"
"Moving on from that," Mount Lady said, wisely deciding not to pursue that particular topic, "we have Kin Okimoto with the muscles, our sword slinger is Shamon Fujita, the lady in black is Risako Hayakawa, and the arrow-pointing first place finisher is Akemi Fuse!"
"All threats to my safety aside, Ketsubusu is a great school! Their second years consistently have a great passing rate at the licensing exams. Let's see if their first years can follow in that same spirit!"
The second to the last of the gates opened and the Isamu Academy students emerged. There was a boy, with leopard print pants and an open vest like the head of a lion. He shifted as he ran, taking on various animal attributes. After him was a girl with dark-blue boots, gloves, and a leotard, along with heavy shoulderpads, accented by fishnet stockings and sleeves. Whatever her Quirk was, she wasn't using it. The third was another girl, red-haired, with pointed ears, and a long, snake-like lower body, all shimmering red scales. She wore a yellow tunic, emblazoned with a snake-insignia, and red, scale-patterned gloves. The snake girl slithered along at rapid speed. And finally, there was a green-haired girl in a black and gray costume, with heavily reinforced gauntlets. She blasted herself into the air using some kind of energy beams from her hands.
"And not to be confused with our U.A. competitor, we have Isamu Academy!" Present Mic announced. "We've got Masashi Tomita, Naoko Yoneda, Kayda Tsuchinoko, and their first place finisher, the blasting Kurva Oye!"
"I'll have to be honest with you, Mic," Mount Lady said, "I'd never even heard of this school before today. But I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do!"
"Never count an underdog out, Lady," Mic replied. "The stories I could tell you about some of the U.A. Sports Festivals… You never know what's going to happen!"
And then came SSZ.
The Torino girl was first, dressed in gray and yellow, with big, clunky boots and gloves. There were multiple ventilation points across her uniform, all of which looked like they were venting air. She was moving in erratic circles around the rest of her team, never touching the ground, and constantly changing the angle of her flight. Koharu thought she was a pretty good flier herself; she had the Iida twins beat in maneuverability hands down, but Torino was… something else. Behind her was the boy Mineta had called Spencer, charging towards the podium, looking very much like the answer to the question 'What if All Might played American football?', with a bull's head logo on his 'jersey.' Koharu hadn't thought that was a question that actually needed answering, but such was the life she lived now. The air in front of him was shimmering, like there was a force field there or something. His barefooted steps were powerful and forceful, as though he was making every footfall as strong as it could be. Behind him was the dark-skinned girl, whose name Koharu didn't know. She seemed composed and focused as she kept pace with the others, but only from the waist up, as her lower body was now a roiling mass of water, cresting like a wave. Not the clear waters of the ocean at day, but twilight, purple colors. Koharu had read the term "wine dark sea" in foreign literature before, and felt like it was applicable now. It was a far cry from the careful, cane-aided navigation she'd displayed before. And behind her was…
"You're all seeing this too, right?" Haimawari asked. His helmet pieces had snapped open and he was rubbing his eyes. "It's not just me?"
"No," Midoriya said. "Because if I admit to seeing it, then I've finally gone crazy."
"Well, at least we know he won't hurt us," Mineta said.
"That cannot possibly be what it looks like," Koharu said. It just… couldn't!
At the back of the SSZ group, looming over them at half again their average height, in purple with green speckles, was Quirky the Quirkasaurus. A cartoon dinosaur from a preschooler's cartoon that had been running for decades. It was all about how everyone was special and everyone should try to get along with everyone else. It was sugary and fluffy enough to make your teeth rot (Well, it would, if she had teeth.). But it was popular. Tons of kids had grown up on it, herself included.
"Hyuck! Hi everybody!" Quirky said, waving with both of his stubby hands.
Just when she thought she was going crazy, Quirky transformed, becoming the last SSZ student, the dark-skinned male, wearing a dark bodysuit, with a forest green, web-pattern embroidered poncho with a hood. He spread his arms with a flourish, soaking up the mixture of laughter, cheers, and even the odd boo.
"And SSZ takes the field!" Present Mic announced. "I think everybody was expecting them to make a big show, but I definitely wasn't expecting that!"
"We'd like to take a moment to mention that SSZ has nothing comparable to the Sports Festivals of the other schools," Mount Lady explained. "However, we have been assured these are the top students for their year. And the school has an extremely competitive internal ranking system for appointment to their student council, where students can challenge each other for position. We're very honored to have them here, but they've got a lot to prove if they think they can challenge our homegrown heroes!"
"Right you are!" Mic replied. "...Please don't tell Nemuri I said you were right about something. She'll never forgive me. But representing SSZ, we have Konan Amani, Awa Amani, Satoshi Ushimaru, and their top ranked fighter, Nozomi Torino!"
"Satoshi?" Koharu asked, looking at Mineta. "You said his name was Spencer."
Mineta rolled her eyes. "Boy 'went native' in a big way. Plus, you really think a bunch of kids in Texas are going to learn to say 'Satoshi'? Self-defense mechanism."
"And those are your competitors! And now, our ringside representative will tell you all about our first event!"
Standing at the U.A. podium, Isamu was only now beginning to get a feel for the size of the audience in attendance. There were smaller sections under school banners, meant for the chaperones and parents of the competitors, and several fully filled press sections at different points. There were, what he assumed to be, VIP boxes. And then there were all the other people. He could spot plenty of costumes, so he knew that there had to be a number of Pro-Heroes there, but there also looked to be a lot of civilians. Probably people with connections or who had called in favors or who were maybe just lucky enough to have gotten tickets.
That was a lot of people. It was the Sports Festival all over again, only bigger.
The Sports Festival that he had somehow won. No. That was his old doubts talking. The Sports Festival that he had won. Everyone had been giving their all. To dismiss his win as luck or chance was making light of them.
He was going to give his all here too.
"Oh!" Midoriya exclaimed, eyes widening with excitement. "I wondered who they'd get to referee this! That's the Green Dagger!"
Isamu followed Midoriya's pointing finger to a central stage, where a Hero in green and white, with a golden chestplate, stood. Currently the Number Forty Hero, if he was remembering right. He was supposed to be a superb martial artist, who could boost his physicality for short bursts. He had a reputation for being a bit of a jerk to other Heroes that he didn't think were up to his standards, but he was also known for his flashy takedowns. Popular did not always translate to nice.
"Welcome, everyone!" the Green Dagger shouted. "Welcome to the new National Sports Festival! The young Heroes here today are already the peak of their school's first years! But now, we're going to find out which school is the best of the best! And for our first event…"
He snapped his fingers and the giant screen behind him flashed to life. It showed seven flags, each with the logo of one of the competing schools on it. "Capture the flag!" He snapped his fingers again and the podiums began to move.
"Whoa!" Mineta shouted. "They ought to give a girl some warning!" She teetered unsteadily on her hooves at the sudden motion and ended up leaning on Midoriya for support. "Hey, watch the hands, Midoriya! My boobs are up here." Midoriya turned incandescent red.
Isamu, for his part, was using his Quirk to adhere his feet to the platform so he didn't fall over. The podium continued to move until it had reached the far end of the stadium, and he could see the others were spread equidistant around it. It looked like Shiketsu had ended up somewhere in the middle, while SSZ was at the opposite end.
Around the stadium, different pillars began to rise up out of the ground, with no pattern to them that he could detect. There were other structures too, square buildings of various heights, fences, what even looked like tunnels. Walls were popping up around the podiums too, leaving only one gap right in front… assuming you couldn't fly, leap incredibly high, or wall cling.
And behind them, rising out of the podium, were four identical U.A. flags, the poles of which were about three-fourths as tall as a man. Next to them, slots were opening, each looking like it could take another flag.
"Now," the Green Dagger explained, "this is not an elimination round. Instead, this round will be used for sorting and scoring for the next. Each team has four flags and the goal is to acquire as many of the opposing team's flags as possible. Any use of Quirks is fair game, but you are not allowed to cause undue injury to your fellow competitors or do anything to the flags themselves while they're in your base.. Thirty minutes to retrieve as many flags as possible and store them in the slots in your base. Otherwise… anything goes! We'll give everyone five minutes to prepare and then begin!"
Simple enough, Isamu thought. With twenty-eight competitors, it could very quickly turn into quite the free-for-all.
"Dang," Mineta said. "No offense to anybody, but I sure wish Todoroki was here. Can you imagine what her ice walls would do?"
"Well," Midoriya said, "you're not wrong, but she's not. So it's up to us to represent the school."
"They're going to come for us first, aren't they?" Isamu asked. Midoriya's comment about representing UA had reminded him of the stories he'd heard from the others about the U.A. Crush at the Provisional Licensing Exam. He could only imagine something similar happening here.
"Probably," Midoriya admitted.
"Do we have a plan?" Kocho asked.
"Maybe," Midoriya said. His mouth set itself in a line, then he nodded. "We've got one of the most mobile groups here. So what we're going to do is…"
The Green Dagger's voice rang out. "And… GO!"
They'd set their defenses about as well as they could. Kocho had sealed the entryway to their 'base' with her String Shot and Mineta had filled just about every available space with her sticky balls. It covered enough of the interior that anyone who breached it would have difficulty moving around. Isamu could fly–at least for short spurts–and so could Kocho. Combined with Midoriya's gravity jumps and air jets and Mineta's ability to bounce off her own spheres, they could fairly easily avoid getting stuck themselves.
The plan for now was pretty simple. Mineta was going to stay as base guard, at least to begin with. And once they'd driven back the initial U.A. Crush, Isamu and Midoriya would try to acquire flags, and Kocho would keep airborne and both support defense and assist whoever needed it.
"Ready?" Midoriya asked.
"Ready," Isamu said.
"Ready," Kocho agreed. She flapped her wings, floating a few inches off the ground.
"You can count on me," Mineta said. "Anybody who gets through here is going to have to deal with me. And you all know I'm a lot to deal with."
"Jokes later," Midoriya said. But he was smiling when he said it. "Let's do this thing!"
Isamu unleashed a burst of power and launched himself up and over the ramparts, followed by Midoriya and Kocho. While Kocho stayed in the air, he landed outside beside Midoriya. He quickly looked to see who the nearest targets were: Seijin and Ketsubusu. Okay. They just had to…
"Where's the attack?" he asked. He retracted the visor on his helmet, just in case there was something he was missing from his peripheral vision. "There was supposed to be an attack."
"There," Midoriya said, pointing downfield, towards SSZ's base. Isamu let his faceplate snap back down, letting the scanners there do some of the work. They were mostly short range, to prevent collisions when sliding, but at the speeds he could travel, some long-range was necessary to alert him to upcoming obstacles. It tagged several human bodies at a distance.
"Guess we're not the big target," Isamu said. "Everybody wants to be the one to take down the surprise contenders." Risky move. Especially since no one was getting eliminated in this stage of the competition. Maybe they just felt they had something to prove. There were a couple moving towards them, but the vast majority were heading in the other direction.
A thunderous impact split the air, echoing through the stadium.
"Okay," Midoriya said. "New plan. Haimawari and I will hit what we can. Kocho, stay flexible. There are still too many unknowns."
"Got it," Kocho said. Her aerial vantage point gave her an excellent look at their immediate neighbors. "Only one person I can see at the Seijin base. Two at Ketsubusu."
Midoriya looked at him and nodded, pointing towards Seijin. With bursts of their Quirk, they launched themselves into the air, landing on the base's wall. Midoriya was probably doing some trick with his gravity to not fall, and Isamu was able to adhere with his own Quirk. Below, the only guardian he could see was the purple ninja. She was looking towards the entrance, not up. Seijin had dropped a ton of caltrops over the ground, but that shouldn't be a problem for them, right? Class B's Kuroiro and Monoma had already given him enough experience with caltrops for the year, at the training camp.
"Get a flag. Two if the risk is low enough," Isamu told Midoriya. "I'll distract her."
Midoriya nodded. "On your signal."
The Seijin ninja girl was now looking around carefully. They had maybe a moment at best before she spotted them. He brought up a hand, charging up a pulse of energy. "Go!" he shouted, firing off a series of low power but rapid-fire bursts. Next to him, Midoriya leapt into the air.
The blasts struck the ground in front of and around the ninja, each no stronger than a punch he might throw. But they were flashy and noisy and kept her eyes on him. She backflipped out of the way and drew something from behind her back. A boomerang! It began to glow before she threw it and seemed to follow the movements of her hands.
Isamu launched himself, sliding along the top of the wall. The boomerang sailed close and he fired a burst of power, briefly lifting himself into the air so it passed under him. But as soon as he did, the boomerang came back, smacking into his face. He let out a cry of alarm as he started to fall, using another repulsion pulse to clear the ground of caltrops and slow his fall before he hit.
Behind the girl, Midoriya landed, grabbing one of their flags. His landing had been nearly silent, thanks to fast manipulation of his gravity. Guess he was playing the distraction then.
"Okay," Isamu said, getting back up to his feet. "That's a point to you, for sure. But it'll take more than that to put me down."
"You've got speed," the purple ninja said. "And a little skill. But not enough to handle our ninja arts."
She pulled a new weapon, this one some kind of chain sickle. It glowed green, just like the boomerang had. And it moved more like an extension of her body as she attacked with it. Had to be her Quirk. Some kind of object control, maybe?
Isamu dodged her first strike, using quick bursts of power to launch himself this way and that. His repulsion field kept any caltrops from hurting him, thankfully.
"Got it!" Midoriya called out, pulling one of the flags out of the podium. "Let's go!" He jumped into the air again.
The ninja girl swung her weapon around, grabbing his leg and pulling him back down. "You'll not find me so easily evaded, U.A.!"
KA-POW! Which was when Isamu nailed her with a more moderately powerful burst. One shot, center of mass. The bolt sent her flying, weapon dropping from her hand. She performed a midair flip, landing in a handstand and jumping to her feet.
But it was enough time for him and Midoriya to launch themselves back up over the wall.
"Well," Isamu said. "That was fun."
Midoriya just laughed. "I don't think we've seen fun just yet…"