I HAVE RETURNED! After a long time, A New Pencil returns to the desk!
Underline is for English this time!
Italics is either thoughts, a flashback, or a song/poem.
I do not own Kingdom Hearts, My Hero Academia, OMORI, Final Fantasy, or any of its characters. They all belong to their respective companies.
Chapter 19: Sports Festival: Let the Games Begin!
This is where the fun begins…
But enjoy it while you can.
(Play: KH 1.5 HD Remix OST - Road to a Hero)
Today was the day.
Sora looked at Inko's calendar from where he lay on the couch, smiling before he jumped out of the bed. Two weeks had passed since Cloud's little "lesson," and Sora hadn't heard a peep from him or Tifa since. Perhaps they were keeping a low profile so that people wouldn't have to worry too much about him.
But now wasn't the time to think about that. Today was the day of the Sports Festival, and he was more than ready to get started with it. Within half an hour, he and Izuku were clothed in their U.A. uniforms, ready to go, with Inko at the door to see them off.
"Sora. Izuku," Inko began, "Please be careful out there"
"Okay, Mom." Izuku replied.
"Aye aye, Auntie Inko," Sora saluted. Ever since Shimizu had been taken to the hospital, she had made sure Sora was okay physically and mentally. He'd be forever grateful to her for taking him in while his mom recovered and their house investigated. He'd even shown her a couple of recipes from the Bistro, as well as learning some new ones from her.
"I'll record the whole Festival in HD." Inko declared, "Do your best, you two."
The two nodded with a smile, before Sora suddenly went in for a hug. Inko was surprised as Sora whispered, "Thank you so much."
She paused slightly, but she returned the hug twice as hard, knowing exactly why he was doing this. Izuku joined the group hug in hopes of comforting his friend, and after they headed out, there was a spring in Sora's step as he and Izuku got out of the train.
(Play: MHA OST - U.A. Session)
They had arrived very, very early because Izuku had wanted to show Sora what the Sports Festival was (The former still couldn't believe Sora didn't know about it because of him being an islander). Izuku went on ahead, wanting to prep for the events ahead, while Sora wandered about to see what the festival had in store. There were food stands, merchandise of popular Pro Heroes, and the works.
Seeing all this almost reminded Sora of the festival he attended back in the Kingdom of Corona. Almost. The sounds of people laughing and moving around to the beat was a magic of it's very own, and seeing it not being displayed here was a bit off for him. He then heard some people muttering to one another, even glancing to him as he passed by. Mostly girls.
Did it have something to do with his outfit?
Sora brushed the thought out of his mind as he listened to the gossip.
"I can't wait to see the 3rd years in action! Not only do they have the most experience, this is also their last chance to see what they can do."
"Nah, I'm more excited for the powerful first-years! It's gonna be amazing!"
"Hey, did you know the son of Endeavor is part of the group of first-years?"
"The No. 2 Hero? No way! The stands for the first-years are gonna be packed!"
Sora couldn't stop himself from grinning. Seems like Class 1-A was getting the recognition it needed. However, he wasn't planning on stealing the spotlight anytime at all. It has to be the other students. One person stealing the spotlight would be like how Superman carried the whole of the Justice League at the end of that movie he watched with his friends all those months ago.
He then noticed a couple of Pro Heroes at a sweets stand, with the female of the trio staring at the sweets with mouth agape. Sora recognized them as the ones who were there for his interrogation months before.
"I'll take one order to-go please." she requested.
"Whoa…" the baker said in awe, "Mount Lady, is that you?"
"Oh, and hold the salt, will you?" she added, ignoring the remark.
"O-okay." he said, wiping his forehead and adjusting his suit as he prepped the food, before adding, "That will be fifteen hundred yen, m'am."
She paused for a moment, looking up, before her eyes widened in shock, "Oh… oops. I think I left my wallet in another costume."
(Play: KH 3 OST - Happy Hair Day)
Suddenly, the amount requested was placed on the stand. Mount Lady and the baker looked over to where it originated, and that was none other than Sora.
"Here we go. 1500 yen." he asked, "That should cover for her, right?"
"Well uh, yes, young man," the baker replied, handing the sweets over to Mt. Lady and taking the cash, "Anything for you?"
"Not now." Sora said, "But thanks for the offer. Have a good day." He waved before walking away.
"Hey, now," one of the Pros began, "You pay for her food and we don't even get to say thanks."
"You don't need to." Sora grinned, turning around and walking back to them.
"Hey… you're the kid that got arrested months before when those monsters first showed up." the second Pro realized as he got closer. Sora scratched his head and averted his gaze down.
"Heh heh… yeah… Sorry about that." Sora said, "I didn't really mean to cause any trouble back there."
"I understand. Those monsters were tough. Anybody would have used their Quirks against those things in a panic." said the Pro, "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Kamui Woods."
"Death Arms," The other Pro raised an arm in greeting.
"And I'm-"
"Mt. Lady, right?" Sora beat her to the punch.
"Already know me, don't you?" she noted, "Are you one of my fans?"
"Uh…" Sora shook his head, "No. I only heard the baker call you that, so I made the assumption that it was your Hero name. I'm Sora by the way. Sora Nakajima."
"Aww, phooey." she sighed as she seemed to shrink down, and not because of her Quirk.
"Huh?! I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings like that." Sora apologized, waving his hands in front of him.
Mt. Lady only giggled, "It's alright, dear. I was only teasing."
"Huh? Oh…" Sora looked down, before laughing uneasily with a hand behind his head.
"I see you're in much better condition than last time we saw one another." Death Arms commented on Sora's look, "You even made a headline at U.S.J. for being crippled."
"I don't really care for that, though. I'm just glad my classmates are safe. The teachers here are real life savers." Sora smiled, "That's their job as a Hero, right?"
"Indeed. It's good that they are doing it well, is that correct?"
"Definitely," Sora nodded. It seems that these guys didn't get much information on the Heartless yet, considering they were still called monsters. "Are you guys here to watch the Festival?"
"No. Death Arms and I are on security duty here," Kamui clarified, "She's here to watch the festival, but only to see the first years."
"She is?" Sora looked back to her and pumped his chest, "If that's the case, I'll make sure to do you proud, Mt. Lady."
"Aww, you're so sweet." she said, giving Sora a hug, "I would eat you up right now, but then I wouldn't be able to enjoy the sweets you've bought for me."
Sora couldn't really do or say much, mainly because his face was in her chest as she hugged him. He knew very well that if not Kairi, then surely his mother would kill him or try killing Mt. Lady several times over if either of them saw him like this. He tried to hide his embarrassment with a muffled chuckle and a weak pat to her back. Thankfully, Death Arms was able to see his predicament to save him from dying due to lack of oxygen.
"Now, now, Lady, I think the kid's had enough." he replied, "You're getting close to suffocating him."
"Oh?" She then looked down to where Sora was, the boy seemed to not make any sounds. She quickly released him and gave him air to breathe. "Well, now, aren't you quite the gentleman? Normally boys your age would try and smother me at this point."
"Would they?" Sora asked, looking at the heroine. She had the hair, the body, and the eyes, no doubt about it, but boys Sora's age would do something like that to a woman older than them? How odd… but not out of the realm of possibility.
"I'm sorry if boys are doing that to you, Mt. Lady." Sora bowed, "You really shouldn't have to go through stuff like that, especially when you're a Pro Hero just trying to do your job."
"Aww, stop it. You're gonna making me blush." Mt. Lady teased him, "There aren't many boys like you here in the world."
"I wish there was." Sora sighed, before putting his hands behind his head, "Guess that means I'll just keep being me."
"That's a good thing to get behind," Death Arms nodded, "I'll be rooting for you, kid."
"You've got my cheer, too." Mt. Lady added, holding up a sweet roll.
"And mine." Kamui Woods finished, "Good luck out there, Nakajima."
"Thanks. I'm gonna head out to prep for the events. And guys," Sora added before he turned towards the stadium, "Just call me Sora."
The Pro blinked, before nodding, "Alright, Sora."
As the Keyblade Wielder walked away, Kamui Woods looked over to Mount Lady, seeing her not eating her sweets and staring at where Sora had been.
"Are you full already?" he asked, "You haven't even taken a bite,"
"I know… it's just…" she started, before pausing.
"Just…?" Kamui Woods asked.
"Is it that bad he's making my heart melt more than the sweets I have in my mouth?"
"Ohhh, no. No, no, no, no," Woods stopped her right then and there, "Please don't go farther than what you're thinking right now."
"Yep. Don't need another Midnight." Death Arms added.
"Hey! It's not my fault he's such a pure bean!"
Sora walked down the corridor towards Class A's waiting room, eager for today, before suddenly, he heard a yelp around the corner. Quickly, Sora ran over to where the yelp came from, and came across a familiar face.
"Pony?" Sora said in English. Sure enough, there was his friend from Class 1-B, on the floor, apparently having tripped over a fallen book.
"Ow…" she muttered, before looking up to Sora, "Oh! Sora! Hey there!"
"Hey yourself," he responded, "Need a hand?"
"Yeah. Probably."
Sora grabbed her hand and helped her up on her feet.
"Thanks again, Sora." she replied.
"No problem. Now we're even." Sora smiled.
"Huh? For what?"
"Remember when I called you back at U.S.J.?" Sora asked.
"Oh yeah. I bumped into that weird guy with spiky hair like yours. You know him?" Pony asked.
"Uh-huh. He's an old friend." Sora explained, "Thanks to him, Tifa, and All Might, we were able to get out of there safely. But he'd never have gotten there like he did if it wasn't for you. So thanks."
Well, calling Cloud an old friend would be stretching the truth a lot. In the past, he seemed to just tolerate Sora, looking more irritated than happy when he saw him. But who knows. Maybe things were different now that the two of them were stuck here.
"Sora? Is that you?"
Another familiar voice caused Sora and Pony to look back, and this time, it was Zinnia who had come along, as well as another orange-haired girl with a ponytail to her side, a girl with vine-like hair, another girl with a lizard-like face, and the Tetsutetsu dude who barged in on their class several weeks ago.
"Oh! Hey Zinnia." Sora waved, "What are you guys doing over here?"
"Getting to our waiting room. But I didn't notice that Pony tripped," came the reply as Zinnia went over to check on Pony, "I'm sorry about that, by the way."
"It's fine, Hanabi. Least we bumped into Sora again." Pony grinned.
"Hanabi?" Sora looked confused, before saying, "Oh! Hanabi's your first name, huh?"
"That's right," she said without looking at him.
Sora noticed the other four students watching them interact, and switched to Japanese, "Hey, Tetstutetsu. Long time no see."
"Same with you, Sora." he gave him a thumbs up, "You doing well?"
"Pretty much. And these guys are…" Sora looked over to the unnamed young women that were with Tetsutetsu.
"My classmates from 1-B, just like Zinnia-san and Tsunotori-san." he gestured to the others.
"I'm Itsuka Kendo. Class rep for 1-B. Those two are Setsuna Tokage and Ibara Shiozaki." the orange-haired girl bowed her head, before pointing to the other two girls. "Nice to finally meet you, Nakajima-san,"
"Likewise, Itsuka." Sora grinned, "And nice to finally meet you, Ibara and Setsuna."
Ibara bowed her head as well, "Indeed. It's an honor to meet the other student who has taken down a mighty foe."
Sora looked confused, before remembering, "Oh yeah. You're talking about the Entrance Exam, right?"
"Tsunotori-san told us what happened. Or at least, what she saw happen."
"I see…" Sora sighed. He didn't have much of a choice for the possessed 0-Pointer; it was either taking it out personally, or letting it run rampant until help arrived, and the latter choice was the worst one possible with the fact it was controlled by a Heartless. At least he had taken it down before it could do serious damage… though using an Attraction like Mountain Coaster might have been too much.
He was so focused on that thought he barely noticed Setsuna walking up to him with a mischievous grin on her face. When he snapped out of his thoughts, he only just noticed her examining him. He backed away a bit in surprise due to how close she was to him.
"Uhh… is there something you wanna ask me?" he asked Tokage. She still had that little grin on her face as she examined him.
"I have to say, they make them real nice where you come from, eh?" she smirked.
"What are you talking about? My clothes?" Sora asked, confused. It was the most likely answer, given people had been staring at him more often than not compared to the other clothing he wore, minus his "Hero Costume" outfit and the outfit from his second journey. Where was she going with this conversation?
Tetsutetsu looked surprised by his response, and covered his mouth in a poor attempt to hide his laughter while Kendo merely sighed. Pony looked just as confused as Sora was, most likely because she couldn't fully understand what Setsuna was talking about as she was speaking Japanese.
"Tokage! What are you trying to do?!"
(Play: MHA OST - U.A. Corridors)
All of them turned to see a familiar face with platinum blond hair walk up to them. Sora grinned, recognizing who it was, "Oh! Heya, Neito!"
Neito seemingly ignored him as he walked up to Setsuna, "Are you trying to do what I think you're doing?"
"Doing what?" she asked innocently, though that little grin of hers was still there.
"You know exactly what I mean!"
Tokage merely chuckled, "Come on, Monoma! I'm just messing around!"
Sora tilted his head confused. Was she teasing him like Mount Lady was doing a while back?
"Ah, that's right. Nakajima is here isn't he?" Monoma looked over to him, "I'm sorry. I didn't quite see you there."
Sora looked over to Neito, "It's fine. I was just meeting your classmates here. They're a pretty nice bunch."
"I quite agree," Neito nodded, "Look well, Nakajima. You are looking at the aces of Class 1-B. We've heard quite a bit about you, you see."
"Uh… about what?" Sora wondered aloud.
"How you, like our dear Zinnia, are an extra student like her," Neito clarified, "And further yet, both of you turn out to have similar powers," Hanabi looked away at those words, and Sora took note of that, as Monoma continued, "Though you appear to have the edge with that little roller coaster you pulled out with your Quirk during the Entrance Exam."
"I didn't have much of a choice." Sora replied, "It was either letting it run wild and potentially kill students like Pony and Denki, or take it down to prevent it from doing so."
"Say what you want, Nakajima." he scoffed, "You'd be surprised how fast word spreads about you and your little 'endeavor'. There's even word that you're actually a lot stronger than you claim to be."
Sora tensed up at that.
"Well, I don't believe it! I refuse to believe it until I see it for myself!" he shouted. Sora stared at him dumbfoundedly, before he closed his eyes and relaxed. For a second, he thought Neito was going to bring up the U.S.J. Incident and that he had been the one to vanquish the giant Heartless there, not the staff. Thank the stars he didn't. He didn't want to take the credit for all of what happened; the staff did their part in protecting the students.
"Well, whoever's saying that is clearly over exaggerating," Sora agreed, "But that doesn't mean I'm a weak link in my class. Each one of us is strong in their own right, and just like your class, we all have what it takes to become true heroes."
"On that, I would agree, but keep this in mind, 'Ace of 1-A.'" Neito declared, "Just because you were the only other person to beat that 0-Pointer doesn't mean you'll be at the top forever! Your position is only temporary, and soon, someone else will take that spot as the best of the best from you! Perhaps even a student of 1-B!" He laughed at the very thought.
"'Ace of 1-A?' Where did you get that nickname from?" Sora asked, offended by the statement. Just because he was strong doesn't make him the best in his class. His other classmates could do most things better than he could. Izuku and Momo were smarter than he was. Katsuki was arguably a match for him with how aggressive his fighting style was, and Mashirao had the upper hand when it came to hand-to-hand. It was so odd. Neito was a lot more polite the last time they bumped into one another. Why was he so different this time around?
Pony seemed confused with what was going on, so it was clear her Japanese wasn't as good as Sora's. Hanabi went over to whisper what was going on in English to give her more context. Tetsutetsu looked to Ibara, who merely shook her head at Monoma.
"He just really has it out for your class since the U.S.J. incident. Jealous due to the popularity you've been getting." Setsuna whispered to him, "Don't mind him."
"Well, I will mind if he starts bad-mouthing my friends." he muttered back through his teeth.
"Yes! Soon, very soon, Nakajima!" Monoma continued ranting with a deranged grin, "A student from 1-B will rise and take your place, and utterly destr-!"
(Silence)
Before he could say anything more, a loud thwack was heard. Monoma suddenly slouched, the mad glint in his eyes fading as he sunk into unconsciousness right in front of Sora and Setsuna, falling flat on his face. When the Key Bearer looked up, he saw that an annoyed Itsuka was there with a lowered hand.
(Resume: MHA OST - U.A. Corridors)
"Now that's Class B's resident big sis on the job," Tokage grinned.
"That was her?" Sora thought aloud, "Wow…"
"Someone's gotta do it." Kendo admitted, "Specially with this guy trying to claw at you and your classmates. I'm sorry for that, by the way,"
"It's fine." Sora reassured her, "I can understand your 'bad boy' situation."
"It was that jerk who called us 'extras,' right?" Tetsutetsu growled, slamming his fists together, "He's so gonna regret that when I get my hands on him next time,"
"At least save it for the field, kay Tetsutetsu?" Itsuka asked him, and he sighed, nodding, "Besides, we should be focused on having fun at this Festival, dontcha think?"
"Of course! I'm excited, aren't you guys?" Sora asked.
Pony grinned in response, "Yeah! Today's gonna be fucking awesome!"
(Silence, or if you want, Play: DJ Record Break Sound Effect)
Sora stopped cold at that response, his face turning from one of excitedness, to one of shock. Pony didn't seem to be the kind of person to say a swear word. By the look on Kendo and Shiozaki's faces, they knew that better than he did.
(Play: MHA OST - Among Kosei)
"P-Pony!" Itsuka stammered.
"Heavens above! Where did you hear such a horrid word?" Ibara wondered aghast.
"Uh…" Hanabi just stared at her friend, "I guess she's a bit excited?"
Sora swore he could've heard someone snort below him. While her friends stared at her, Pony's smile faltered at their looks.
"Oh… did I say something wrong?" she asked.
Sora switched to English, "Well, Pony… I don't know if that was the proper time to say that."
"What?" she also switched back to her native language, "But I was told that it was a good thing to say to start off today!"
Sora looked to Hanabi, who shook her head frantically with arms raised, but Itsuka's eyes narrowed. To Sora's surprise, she also began to speak English, though with a different accent than Pony and Momo, "Pony… who was the person who told you that?"
"Neito!"
At the mention of said person's name, six pairs of eyes looked down to where the unconscious figure was. Two seconds later, Sora saw Itsuka hoist Monoma onto her shoulder, putting her free hand on her hip.
"I think we've wasted enough time here, then." she began, "We should get going if we wanna prep for the Sports Festival."
"Uh… okay?" Sora replied, confused.
"Again, I'm sorry about Monoma, Nakajima-san." Kendo smiled at him, "I hope we can be friends once the Festival is said and done. Good rivals can also make good friends, too, after all."
"Yeah." At the mention of that, Sora lost that confused look and grinned, "I can agree with that. Good luck out there, 'Aces of 1-B'."
"Ditto, 1-A, man. Minus the jerk," Tetsutetsu returned the smile, before all six of the Class B members, with Itsuka carrying their unconscious seventh classmate, hurried off to get to their waiting room, while Sora raced over to his class's own.
"Nakajima really does seem like a good kid, huh?" Tetsutetsu asked his classmates as they headed over to the waiting room, "Makes me think that not all of 1-A's bad."
"Well, that Bakugo kid didn't give off a very good first impression," Setsuna agreed, "Least from what you told us, Nakajima seems to be a lot nicer to everybody compared to him, especially to that kid who declared war on his class."
"If he makes it to the finals, he's definitely got my cheer." the silver-haired boy noted, "But he'll have to get past all of us first."
"Then let's make sure he gets the challenge of a lifetime." Hanabi grinned.
"Say…" Setsuna looked over to Kendo, "What's gonna happen to Monoma?"
Kendo turned and smiled at her.
"Ahh... got it." Tokage nodded.
(Silence)
Meanwhile, Sora walked and managed to find the waiting room where his classmates were waiting in, and found himself face-to-face with Nezu when he went to the door.
"Ah! Hello, Sora." Nezu said in English, "Just in time. I was just looking for you."
"You… were?" Sora cocked his head.
"Indeed," he nodded, "I wanted to ask if I could borrow your phone while you participated in the events."
"...What?" Sora asked dumbfounded, "But… why?"
"There were some parts of your story that I don't fully recall, so I was hoping to copy what it was I needed from your phone so I could remember."
Sora nodded in understanding after that response, handing his Gummiphone over to him, "Okay, then. Copy what you need, Nezu."
"Thank you so much, Sora." said the principal, "Once the festivities are complete, I'll be sure to return it to you just the way you had it."
"Thanks, Nezu."
"Oh, and one more thing." Nezu added, "Detective Naomasa wanted to speak to you regarding your mysterious doppelganger."
Sora tensed up and his eyes averted to the ground, head lowering as if being scolded, "Really?"
"He knows you're not at fault, and your mother even told him that it wasn't you." Nezu reassured him, "But he wants to hear what you have to say about it, regardless."
"Oh…" Sora sighed, "Can it wait?"
"I will do what I can," Nezu told him, "I know it must be hard for you to talk about this, especially if the suspect looks like you, so I'll make sure he talks to you about it sometime after the festival if I can persuade him to."
Sora thanked him before walking into the room. As he entered, he was asked over 5 times where the heck he had been, and he said that he had been sidetracked on his way here.
"And… are you gonna go out wearing that?" Izuku asked, staring at Sora's outfit.
"Huh? Oh right." Sora nodded, taking his clothes off.
"Waitwaitwaitwait, you're doing it now?!" Kyoka shouted as she saw him take off his clothing, quickly closing her eyes and covering them with her hands.
That drew the attention of everyone present, and they stared at Sora as he took off his jacket. He seemed not to hear Kyoka's words as he continued on to take his pants off. Then his white shirt, and his watch. When he finished taking off his clothing, he revealed that he had his gym outfit right under his casual outfit the whole time.
"...You could've just started by telling us that." Denki sighed.
"Heh heh. Sorry." Sora said with a grin, picking his clothes up and making them disappear in a couple of sparkles.
"HEYA!" a familiar voice boomed from the loudspeakers outside, "Make some noise, ya rabbid sports fans. Get those cameras out for the big hordes! This year we plan to bring you some of the hottest performances in Sports Festival History guaranteed! Before we start, though, I only have one question for you… ARE YOU READY?"
Sora grinned upon hearing Present Mic hyping up the crowd. He looked around at his classmates. Some were fidgeting their fingers and biting their teeths, others were on the balls of their feet and eyes ablaze with a special fire. Some were taking deep breaths, like Izuku and Ochaco, and others were just being themselves, like Mina and Aoyama. He turned to note Katsuki was eyeing him dangerously, and surprisingly, Shoto had a similar look on him. Sora looked at them with a raised brow, before sighing and looking out to the exit.
(Play: MHA OST - Damn Cowardly School)
"Lemme hear you SCREAM, as our students make our way back to the main stage!" Present Mic called out, "Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the U.A. Sports Festival, where up and coming Heroes leave everything on the field and fight for the chance to achieve full-time fame and celebrity! The first group is no stranger to the spotlight! You know them to have survived a two-wave villain attack. The dazzling students lined up your TV's with solid gold skills! The Hero Course students of Class 1-A!"
The crowd roared in excitement, and Sora casually waved to the crowd with a grin on his face.
"I-I didn't think there'd be so many people out here…" Izuku muttered nervously.
"Present Mic sure talked us up a lot. Almost makes me nervous." Eijiro commented, looking over to Katsuki, "How're you feeling, man?"
"I'm not worried," Katsuki smirked, "All this cheering makes me want to win this thing even more."
"How about you, Sora?" Mezo asked, seeing Sora waving casually to the crowd, "You must be used to this considering how calm you look."
"Well, I have been around big crowds before," Sora admitted.
"Was their attention on you?" Toru asked.
"Not all the time. This is different, however," Sora replied, "Though it kinda feels a bit crazy, it's refreshing, especially with all that happened."
He knew his mother wasn't in the crowd, but if his last visit to her meant anything, she and Hero were going to watch it together in the hospital, along with other patients that would pass by their room. Not to mention that maybe Mari, Sunny, and the others would also be watching from wherever they were.
Even if I don't go all out, I'll make sure we can put on a good show, guys! Sora thought to them as he looked to the sky in determination.
"They may have not gotten as much screen time, but this class still has a chock full of talent up their sleeves! Welcome Hero Course Class 1-B!" Present Mic announced, presenting the class Sora had just bumped into to the stage, with Tetsutetsu leading the charge.
"Next up, General Courses C, D, and E!" Mic continued as said students of that course appeared, along with the purple-haired student who had declared war on 1-A, looking the same as ever.
"Support Classes F, G, and H," Present Mic added as those classes, with Mei leading the charge, came in looking determined and ready to rock.
"And finally, Business Classes I, J, and K!" Mic finished, "Ladies and Gentleman, give it up for all of U.A.'s First Year Contestants!"
(Silence)
The crowd roared, louder this time, as all the gathered students walked over to where Midnight was. Getting closer to her now, Sora could see why she was called the "R-Rated Heroine". Almost every boy present had their head rotated towards her position. Mineta gave a thumbs up, Shoto wasn't reacting, and Sora placed his hands behind his head again.
"Silence, everyone!" Midnight declared, "And for the student pledge, Katsuki Bakugo from Class 1-A!"
Oh stars, Sora thought. This wouldn't end well.
Katsuki then walked up to the stage, and simply declared, "Just so you know, I'm going to win."
Sora sighed. With just one sentence, he made everyone participating riled up and glare daggers at him in the process. He was sowing the seeds to his own defeat in more ways than one. Heck, they were even booing him for what he said.
"What disrespect! How can you be like that?!" Tenya protested, "You're supposed to represent us!"
"It's not my fault the rest of you are just stepping stones for my victory." Bakugo responded, giving him a thumbs down.
"Oh, I'm so gonna crush that overconfident jerk!" Tetsutetsu growled, "It's gonna be so satisfying to knock him down to size for once in his life!"
Sora could've sworn he heard a loud snort from the bleachers, and could only suspect who it was.
"Especially you." Katsuki's words, which were now directed at him, made Sora look back to the boy talking, and everyone present started to stare at him. "I'll beat your ass so bad, you'll never look down on me again."
I don't look down on you. You're the one who's doing that to others, Sora thought. Regardless, he responded out loud while staring up at him eye to eye, "Fine. You want to butt heads with me, then save it for the events of the festival. And leave the other students and our classmates out of this. Your petty grudge on me shouldn't be extended to them."
With that, he spoke no more, looking back towards Midnight, leaving Katsuki to stare back at him with a twitching eye, before stomping down from the podium. With the explosive kid's declaration of war to Sora done, it was time for the first event to begin.
(Play: MHA OST - We Are Fu#king Superstar)
"Now, without further ado, let's get started, everybody!" Midnight called out, "This is where you begin to feel the pain! The first event of the Sports Festival!" As she says that, a slot appears behind her and begins to spin without pause.
Finally, it stopped on "Obstacle Course."
"Ta-da~!" Midnight finished, "All 11 classes will be participating in this treacherous contest! The track is four kilometers out of the stadium!"
She licked her lips as she continued, "I don't wish to restrain anybody, at least in this game. So as long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do whatever your heart desires!"
(Silence)
The crowd cheered again as Midnight ordered the students present to take their places. The students eventually found themselves at a gate four kilometers away from the stadium. Some looked at one another, smiling or laughing to hide their real feelings. Others stared ahead, adjusting their shoes, their bodies, or their Quirks.
(Play: KH DDD OST - Storm Diver)
"Three!" Midnight began. The first light lit up. In the Midoriya Residence, Inko watched as the clock winded down for the start of the event, hands clasped together and her whole body shaking.
"Two!" The second light glowed. In a classroom, Sunny, Kel, Aubrey, and Basil were watching from the screen alongside their classmates. "This is gonna be good." Kel grinned.
"One!" The third one blinked. In a hospital room, Shimizu, Mari, and Hero were watching from the TV in the corner of the room. "Go get 'em, sweetie." Sora's mother smiled from her bed.
"BEGIN!"
As soon as the horn blew, everyone scrambled past the gate through the hall.
"And we're off to a racing start, boys and girls!" Present Mic commented from the booth, "How about some commentary, Mummy man?"
"How did you even convince me to do this?" Aizawa muttered next to him.
Mic ignored him and said, "Where do you think we should focus our attention to in the early stages of this race?"
"The doorway."
The hall itself was crowded with students that were pushing and shoving one another as they tried to press forward. Sora didn't mind. With a leap, he began to kick off the walls using Flowmotion, and Asui was close behind as she crawled on the walls after him. Down below, ice began to cover the floor, causing many students to slip in surprise or get caught by the ice. As he landed on the wall, Sora's pupils dilated upon seeing an ice spike close to the exit, before using his Airstep technique to blitz towards it from his position, spinning around it before leaping into the air, using a Superslide to blitz out of there towards Shoto, who was the source of the ice now covering the doorway. He landed just feet away before taking off in a sprint after him.
"Nice trick, Todoroki-san!" a voice called out. Sora and Shoto turned around to see that several others had managed to escape the latter's attack. Bakugo was haring after them with a look of murder on his face. Yuga and Momo had also escaped, the former using his laser while the latter created a metal rod to pole vault her way over the wall of ice. To Sora's surprise, Eijiro and Tsu had also jumped out just before the ice got to them.
"I won't let you get away that easily!" Bakugo roared, soaring towards the two in front, "You Icy-Hot bastard!"
Sora noticed Ojiro and Tokoyami following right after Eijiro and Tsu. "You've frozen me once before, Todoroki. It won't happen again," Mashirao declared.
"I didn't expect that many people to dodge that." Shoto admitted as Sora came next to him. More and more people were escaping from Shoto's icy prison, including the purple haired boy who had declared war on Class A.
"You're probably the most popular kid in our class, Shoto." Sora responded with a sheepish grin, "That should definitely turn some heads your way,"
Endeavor's son let out an annoyed grunt at Sora's response as the two continued to sprint hastily.
"Whoa baby! Todoroki tried to trap some of our contestants with ice, but some of them won't be going down easy and have avoided his attack! Now he and Nakajima are neck and neck in this early step of the race, folks!" Mic announced, "But there are a lot of students tailing behind them as well! What a whopping first few minutes this is, boys and girls!"
As Sora and Shoto began sprinting, they heard a voice from above, "You think you're so smart, Todoroki, but now I've outsmarted you! Get ready for my special attack!"
The duo turned to see Mineta right above them, aiming a sticky ball at them. However, before any of them could do anything, the small man of Class A was sent flying away by a large metal hand.
(Play: KH 3 OST - Robot Overdrive)
"Target acquired." a robotic voice declared, "Terminate them."
Sora recognized them. It was the Zero Pointers that had been in the Entrance Exam. Sora and Shoto were surprised to see that there were seven blocking their path, forcing them to slow their pace down.
"Oooh! Enemies showing up out of nowhere!" Mic grinned, "I bet we're in for a treat here now! All of these tests have brought these bad boys here. It's a Robo Inferno, baby!"
"So this is what you faced in the Entrance Exams." Shoto noted.
"They're tough, but not invincible," Sora summoned his weapon.
As a Zero Pointer tried to attack the two, Shoto responded quickly with a massive burst of ice, trapping it. "They obviously went through a lot of trouble, but I wish they added something harder." Shoto then added with a scowl, "Especially since my dear old dad is watching."
Sora took notice of the scowl, but stopped as soon as he saw Shoto's ice get the other Zero Pointers, causing them to topple down as Shoto sprinted past them. He looked back and saw that Eijiro was about to get crushed by a falling Zero Pointer. Reacting fast, Sora skidded to a halt, changed direction, and pushed Eijiro out of the way just in time to save him as the frozen Zero Pointer crushed him instead.
"Class 1-A's Todoroki is pulling ahead with a devastating display! He's made Nakajima fall behind!" Mic continued to shout, "He's so amazing, it's almost unfair! Any thoughts, Mr. Mummy?"
"That attack was both offensive and defensive." Aizawa commented.
"It's no wonder he was on recommendations!" Mic replied, "He's never faced the Robo Inferno before, but they are apparently no match for his jaw-dropping moves! The First Years are already off to a rocking start, and it's only Round 1! Talk about a cruel obstacle course, ladies and gentleman!"
Meanwhile, back on the field, Eijiro looked over to where Sora was, only finding himself seeing a frozen, toppled-over robot instead.
"Sora!" he called out. Immediately after that, a yellow blur burst out from the Zero-Pointer, revealing itself to be the Keyblade wielder, with his gym outfit now in a different color scheme. His burst out of the Zero Pointer left a hole near its shoulder blade.
"Whew! That was close!" Sora grinned at Kirishima.
Sora then heard the sound of ripping metal nearby, and he turned just in time to see another blur, this time silver in color, rise from another Zero Pointer
"Tetsutetsu?!" Sora looked surprised, "You got caught in it too?!"
"Yeah!" the silver teen replied, "If I was anybody else, I probably would've died!"
"Eijiro would've survived too," Sora commented, "You two have pretty similar Quirks."
"Seriously?!" Eijiro shouted, "And here I was trying to stand out!"
"You damn copycat!" Tetsutetsu roared as he chased after Eijiro.
Sora sighed good-naturedly at the mirror match in front of him, before using Flowmotion to race through the track.
He heard explosions from ahead, which signified that Katsuki had passed him while he had been kissing the dirt. Quick to react, he raced past Kyoka to take out the other lesser bots that were in his path as he sprinted to catch the top racers.
The sounds of engines behind him meant Tenya was just behind him as he raced towards the top with Flowmotion. He could see Shoto and Katsuki way ahead of him, and the commotion behind him almost made him want to turn back to see how his companions were doing. He gave in to that decision and looked back as he raced towards the top two that were ahead.
Sure enough, Tenya was keeping pace behind him as he kicked away a robot. In the distance, he could see a bot get wasted by a cannonball Sora assumed came from Momo. Electricity signaled Kaminari doing his magic, and bots floating in the air meant Ochaco was also still in the race. Surprisingly, Sora saw Hanabi, dodging and weaving through the robots' attacks. How strange that she wasn't using her Quirk yet, but her agility was something to take note of. There was still no sign of Izuku. He only hoped his friend was holding on here, and he couldn't turn back now.
Right now, he had people to catch.
(Play: KH 3 OST - Hero's Fanfare)
Sora immediately turned around to run ahead, finding himself face-to-face with the literal definition of the Underworld. As he was about to take a couple of steps back to try and scale the whole thing, he heard laughter behind him.
"Hah hah!" Sora found that Mei was next to him, and she was decked out in equipment, "Finally, this is my chance to show what I can do! My gadgets are going to steal the spotlights from these wannabe Heroes." she looked up at a nearby camera, "Everyone! Observe what my brilliant gadgets can do! Wire Arrow and Hover Shoes!"
"Okay… that's a lot of stuff, Mei." Sora commented.
"Oh… Look at that. It's my rival's test monkey." Hatsume glanced at him, "Now you'll see who's the better builder!"
"What?!" Mina stared at her, having just arrived, "How come you're all equipped with that stuff?"
"Students in the Hero Course get all kinds of combat training due to their Quirks!" Hatsume grinned, "So in order for us to have a fighting chance, we've got permission to use whatever gadgets or costumes we want in the Games! Just as long as we make them ourselves." She strode forward, "So sit back and enjoy the show, people!"
She fired a wire towards a rock, before using her boots to blast herself forward, "For us Support Course students, this is the perfect obstacle to show off our gadgets and our ideas to any company who'd want to hire us!" She laughed, "I sure hope employers are watching! These super-cute babies are sure to make a splash!"
As she continued to laugh like a woman possessed, Sora used the wire she left to his advantage, and with a dash of Flowmotion, he was already sliding after her, grinding on the wire with the blue aura around him.
As he raced after Mei, he noticed Shoto getting close to the other side, but Katsuki was also catching up to him. Sora's pupils began to dilate as he targeted the rock Shoto was aiming for.
"Todoroki may be scaling this obstacle easily," Mic announced, "But there are two other contenders that are catching up fairly quickly!"
"You suck, dammit!" Katsuki shouted to Shoto.
"Rude!" a voice called out, and Katsuki turned to see Sora soaring through the air towards them covered in the blue aura.
"Hah! Don't think for a second I've forgotten about you, Spiky!" Bakugo snarled as he raced after Shoto.
Sora could hear a lot of sounds, ranging from feet, screaming, and wind rushing, and he knew that his other classmates were trying their best to run through the obstacle and pass the finish line. He was confident in their abilities, so he chose this time not to look back, once again neck and neck with Todoroki after Airstepping to the rock Shoto was aiming for. His Second Form had already dissipated during his chase over the pit.
(Silence)
The next thing he knew, he and Shoto were right in front of a minefield, making them pause in their stride. Sora tested the waters by casting a simple Fire spell, causing several mines to blow in front of him.
Slowly, he and Shoto began to trod over the minefield to ensure they wouldn't be sent flying by an unexpected mine. They heard yelling as their fellows behind them got sent flying into the air by the mines.
(Play: KH 1.5 Remix OST - Monstrous Monstro)
A series of familiar explosions signaled Katsuki flying right over the duo with a grin. "It's over, bastards!" he called out, turning to face them. He then eyed Shoto, "Your declaration of war was to the wrong person, Icy-Hot!"
As he began his assault towards Todoroki, Sora aimed for Bakugo, since he was the closest and his explosions could spell trouble considering they were in a minefield. Shoto targeted Sora since he was the biggest threat in the vicinity, while Katsuki continued to go after Shoto, trying to blast him to no avail. Despite their best efforts, none of them could land a decisive blow on the other, despite maintaining their lead.
Suddenly, the sound of a large explosion caught their attention, and they turned from their little scuffle to see a familiar face clinging to a piece of metal, grim determination plastered over his face.
And… was that green lightning… sparking from his body?
"What's this all of a sudden?" Present Mic gawked, "Whatever's going on, Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!"
(Play: MHA OST - HERO A)
Whoa… did not see that coming. Sora thought, surprised yet happy to see that Izuku wasn't out of the game just yet. If he's made it this far, the least I can do is help him out a bit.
Turning to face Katsuki and Shoto, Sora engulfed his left hand in flames, before shouting, "Burn away!", firing a Fira spell into a landmine between all three of them, propelling himself into the air with the force of his spell and over the explosion that sent his two opponents away as he grabbed hold of the other side of the metal plate Izuku was clinging to.
"Scratch that, folks!" Mic shouted, "Looks like Nakajima is sharing the lead with Midoriya in this wild race!"
Bakugo quickly righted himself back up as he glared at Sora, "Spiky bastard! That won't slow me down!"
"Then try this on for size!" Sora retorted, liquid surrounding him until it reached the tip of the Kingdom Key.
A small glob of water was released from his weapon to try and douse Katsuki, but he used his Quirk to dodge over it, where it hit the mines and propelled him further towards them. From the corner of his eye, Sora could see Todoroki making headway as well, using ice to propel himself forward.
With the two gaining on them, Sora made a choice that was both crazy and decisive.
"Keep going, Izuku. Don't look back." he told his friend, before propelling himself towards the oncoming duo, casting Fire twice to set off the mines in front of them to push them back.
"Yikes! We've got ourselves a twist, ladies and gentleman!" Mic commented, "Second place is pulling back to keep the other two off Midoriya. I guess that's what happens when you share a common enemy! But this race is far from being finished!"
As Mic finished, Izuku, with the green lightning still flashing over him, did one final slam with the metal plate he was gripping, setting off the mines and allowing himself to get propelled straight towards the finish line. However, this also meant that Shoto, Sora, and Bakugo were knocked back by the chain of explosions, Sora farther back, seeing several people, including a familiar orange-haired girl, pass him as he flew backwards, before he tumbled and regained his footing. Just as he was about to continue, he noticed somebody familiar slowing down due to some sort of weight.
"Oh. Are you o-?" Sora was about to ask, when he saw what was causing the person, who turned out to be Momo, to slow down. An entranced Mineta was clinging onto the back of her gym top with his sticky balls. Sora paused, before grabbing the perv.
"Hold still. You can thank me later," he said with a sigh as he flung a still-distracted Minoru, and Momo's top, off and away, exposing her sports bra. Quickly, Sora took off his own gym top, put it on top of her, before lifting her off her feet and racing through the minefield using Flowmotion before she had a chance to object. When they got close to the finish line, Sora put her down, adjusted the top so as to cover her body and her sports bra without zipping it up, before racing towards the finish line without using his Flowmotion.
To say that Yaoyorozu was surprised was an understatement. Multiple questions were ringing through her mind after what Sora just pulled, but she quickly remembered she was still in a race, and when she did, she immediately began to sprint after him.
(Play: KH 3 OST - Crossing the Finish Line - Kingdom Hearts III version-)
Sora then finally made it to the finish line, with Yaoyorozu right behind him. He stopped to take a breather, looking around at the other people before waiting for everybody else. He noticed Ochaco, who had come in right after Momo, running up to Izuku with an exhausted grin and get in close, saying something inaudible. Even if he couldn't make out what Ochaco was saying it, still made him smile at both of his friends. Interestingly, the green electricity was gone from Midoriya's body, so Sora would have to ask him about it later. When all was said and done, the results came in.
1st: Izuku Midoriya
2nd: Shoto Todoroki
3rd: Katsuki Bakugo
4th: Hanabi Zinnia
5th: Ibara Shiozaki
6th: Juzo Honenuki
7th: Tenya Iida
8th: Fumikage Tokoyami
9th: Hanta Sero
10th: Eijiro Kirishima
11th: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
12th: Mashirao Ojiro
13th: Yotetsu Awase
14th: Tsuyu Asui
15th: Mezo Shoji
16th: Rikido Sato
17th: Sora Nakajima
18th: Momo Yaoyorozu
19th: Ochaco Uraraka
20th: Mina Ashido
21st: Koji Koda
22nd: Kyoka Jiro
23rd: Sen Kaibara
24th: Kosei Tsuburaba
25th: Denki Kaminari
26th: Koji Bondo
27th: Reiki Yanagi
28th: Hitoshi Shinso
29th: Itsuka Kendo
30th: Jutora Shishida
31st: Shihai Kuroriro
32nd: Yui Kodai
33rd: Hiryu Rin
34th: Niregeki Shoda
35th: Kiniko Komori
36th: Togaru Kamakiri
37th: Neito Monoma
38th: Pony Tsunotori
39th: Toru Hagakure
40th: Setsuna Tokage
41st: Mei Hatsume
42nd: Yuga Aoyama
The results were now in, and with that, the second round could begin.
And that's a wrap, ladies and gents! Chapter 19 starts off with a dive into the Sports Festival and the Obstacle Course!
As you have noticed, not only was Sora able to pass into the Calvary Battle, but Hanabi's managed to find her way in it too, and with shocking success! That means there was another person other than Mineta that I've kicked out of the canon results! Can you guess who?
Onto Reviews!
ZeroOrHero: Don't worry about that, Zero. I'll make Sora clarify that later to his pals. Rematch? Wait and see. Pervert getting what he deserves? Depends. Class 1-A discovering Sora's crush? Definitely, and eventually.
KingNice92: Thank you!
Gamelover41592: Glad you enjoyed both of them!
blueassassin996: There's nothing wrong with feeling that way. I literally made those scenes to make it funny and well-deserved. With a douse of Final Fantasy 7 love, of course.
Guest: Thanks! As for Tifa's Hero name, to be honest, I couldn't think of any other Hero Name for her, and Seventh Heaven didn't sing well with her. Starshower is one of her moves in FF7 Remake, so I used that due to it being as close a Hero Name I could find that's connected to her. Stay safe out there!
Shadowmwape: Well, if I wanted to, it would be nice to have Roxas and Xion as Echoes, if possible. Riku would also be a nice addition.
Cujo: First off, slow down on the suggestions, Cujo. As much as I appreciate them, too many at once will just make my brain a mess, and I've already got a mostly solid layout for the story already, so like I told Captain Imaginat all the way back in Chapter 3, don't expect everything you want to be in this story. I CANNOT satisfy everyone. And going to those suggestions in question, I already had it planned that Shimizu will have a fierce side to her (though not mama-bear like).
Jaded671: Indeed. Sakurai definitely delivered that day.
The OC Maniac: Hold the phone... THAT day was your birthday?! Geez, that must've been a wild early birthday present last year then! I'm super glad you enjoyed this chapter and the Final Fantasy love in it, OC!
keybladelight: Like I told Cujo, slow down on the suggestions. And Shimizu may become friends with other MHA parents. Who knows.
MK: Well, that depends. The Darkness in Chapter 13 wasn't necessarily needed, as Wolf said in his review, and that's a big screwup on my end. Either way, you're right about one thing: Cloud's still got it.
lzyhllw: Don't worry. I got it covered.
Breeden22: I'm glad you enjoy this story, Breeden!
What are your thoughts for this chapter? If you enjoyed it, I'm really happy that you did. If not, I apologize for not meeting expectations.
One final thing. Please, please, PLEASE tell me if you have gripes with how the story is written, whether it be from structure, organization, execution, etc. It won't change much about what I have planned for the story, but I would like to use that critique to better my writing in the future with other stories (so long as it's actually good and valid critique). As much as the critique's gonna hurt, it's not gonna be the end of the world for me. Most damage it'll do is to my pride and confidence (the latter I have very little, especially since this is my very first story which definitely has a ton of little holes in the paper.), but regardless, I would love to hear about your thoughts on the chapter, whether they be positive or negative, on the story itself and how it stands out as a whole.
Apologies for the rant. I just really need to say this and get it off my chest before I keep going with this story.
Now, it's time to put the pencil down for the day and head out.
Thanks to reading my story, guys, and until our paths cross again!
(Silence)