The Symbol of Peace and Justice
Chapter 13 – Ready to Rumble
Gohan grumbled to himself as he skimmed through the hastily-written palm cards he'd composed the night before, silently cursing whoever came up with the bright idea to have a class representative give a speech before the festival. All it did was put unneeded pressure on the poor sod unfortunate enough to be chosen for such an honour – in this case, him.
He doubted any students cared about such a thing; they'd probably be too preoccupied stressing out over the competition. He didn't think the spectators cared too much either. They bought tickets to watch the next generation of heroes compete against one another in contests of skill and strength, not to see some nervous kid give a lame speech. Those tickets were probably super expensive too, given that U.A.'s sports festival was an insanely popular event.
"I'm telling you, Donkey Kong would crush Mario to death!" Kirishima shouted.
"And I'm telling you, Mario would goomba stomp Donkey Kong's furry ass into the ground!" Sato argued back.
"Guys, please, you're both wrong!" Sero interjected. "The fact of the matter is, Yoshi would eat them both!"
While Sato and Kirishima protested profusely, Ashido chimed in with her own opinion. "I agree with Sero!"
"See? Majority rules!" Sero chirped.
"I call bullshit!" Sato cried, with Kirishima voicing his support. "If you want to go by majority rules, you have to ask everyone to give their opinion! Son! Who do you think would win?"
Gohan let out a weary sigh and flung his palm cards into the temporary locker he'd been assigned. He wasn't going to get any revision done with this lot screaming up a storm in their inane quest to figure out which Nintendo mascot was stronger. Shutting the door, he turned around and was greeted with expectant gazes from Sato, Kirishima, Sero, Ashido, Tsuyu and, strangely enough, Aoyama. Everyone else was sitting at a table and minding their own business, but he did catch a few eyes shift his way.
Scrunching his face in thought, he briefly pondered his answer. "Well, I think the clear advantage goes to-"
Before he could finish, the door of the waiting room swung open and Yaoyorozu strolled in, looking as cool, and calm, and collected as ever. She also managed to exude her usual elegance, despite her markedly casual attire of the standard U.A. tracksuit, which was mandatory for the sports festival. "I hope you're all finished getting ready. It's our turn to head out," she announced.
"Fucking finally!" Bakugo roared as he sprang to his feet. "I was starting to lose my mind with all the shit these shitheads were spewing!"
"Liar!" Kirishima accused loudly. "You were just as invested in the discussion as the rest of us! Don't think I've forgotten about that time you nearly torched the arcade machine after I whooped you in Smash!"
Several students snickered at the sight of Bakugo steaming up like a boiling kettle, but before the volatile blond could blow his top, Todoroki caught the class' attention with one simple word.
"Son."
Gohan froze, not expecting to hear his name get called, but regained his composure quickly enough and faced the ice user with the same frosty indifference he was being afforded. "Todoroki."
The heterochromic boy walked right up to him and gave him a blank, straight-faced stare. "It pains me to say it, but right now you're a good deal stronger than me," he admitted, causing Gohan's eyes to widen in surprise. "However, don't take that as an admission of defeat. I have something to fight for… something to prove… and until I do, I won't lose to you. Or anyone else."
Sato snorted.
"Ooh, spicy! The class' number two is declaring war on the class' number one!" Kaminari quipped.
"My bet's on Gohan," Tsuyu croaked.
"Mine too!" Ojiro added.
"Oi, Todoroki, now isn't the time to be picking fights," Kirishima scolded, his earlier jovialness forgotten as he approached the pair.
Todoroki opened his mouth to speak, but Gohan raised a hand to stop him. "It's okay, Kirishima, really," he said, hoping to placate his red-haired friend. When he received a momentary stare and sigh in return, he smiled and turned back to the ice user. "I accept your challenge, Todoroki. Give it all you've got."
Todoroki's response was to nod his head and turn around, then head for the door. A few seconds later, once the brief bout of excitement had died down, the rest of the class followed suit. Gohan didn't move straight away, opting instead to cast a curious eye over his peers as they exited the room, hoping his message would reach them as well.
After he joined them in the hallway, it was a short walk to the tunnel that led into the stadium hosting the sports festival. The passage itself was quite narrow, only being wide enough to fit three average-sized people. It also provided the perfect opportunity for the more juvenile among them to engage in acts of roughhousery should they wish to try and assert dominance, or other macho crap like that.
Naturally, Bakugo took full advantage of this chance and shoulder-barged Kirishima into the marble-edged wall. The redhead yelped in surprise, but quickly recovered and shoved Bakugo right back, a shark-toothed grin on his lips. Behind them, Jiro huffed in annoyance and rolled her eyes.
As the light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter, so too did the roar of the crowd get louder. However, the booming voice of the ever-boisterous Present Mic, unsurprisingly appointed emcee for this event, was several decibels higher, and his enthusiasm far more palpable. "To the thousands in attendance, and the millions watching at home, I bid you welcome to the U.A. sports festival!" he bellowed to raucous applause. "Pay attention, audience! Swarm, mass media! For this will be an event unlike any other – that, I wholeheartedly, unreservedly, undisputedly promise you!"
The crowd let out another ear-splitting cheer, one so thunderous that the very foundations of the stadium seemed to shake.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gohan noticed Koda start trembling. He wanted to say something to reassure the rock-headed boy, knowing full well how horrible stage fright could be, but he didn't think it was his place to do so. Ever since the U.S.J. debacle, he'd gotten the feeling that Koda was purposely going out of his way to avoid him.
Fortunately, Tokoyami was there to give Koda a few gentle pats on the back, after which the rock-headed boy appeared to calm down. Gohan smiled inwardly at that; Tokoyami was a good guy.
When the tunnel's exit was just within reach, Present Mic began speaking again. "And now, stepping into the spotlight is one of the most prodigious crops of students we've had in years! Ladies and gentlemen of Japan- nay, the world… please welcome, from the hero course… Class 1-A!"
Like a scene straight out of a feelgood sports movie, the group's emergence from the tunnel was greeted by a blaring cacophony of fireworks, and spurred on by the rumbling roar of the gigantic crowd. As they approached the centre of the stadium, harsh rays of bright sunlight pelted them from the sky, the symbolism of which wasn't lost on Gohan.
"W-w-wow! There su-sure are a l-lot of people here, huh?" Midoriya stammered, a few beads of sweat visible on his forehead.
"We should consider this another part of our training," Iida declared sternly, looking decidedly unphased. "Will we be able to give our best performances while being watched by so many people, or will we crumble under the pressure?"
One person who certainly wasn't feeling the heat was Aoyama. In a sharp contrast to everyone else, he seemed to actively bask in the adulation from the crowd, going so far as to wave spiritedly and blow them kisses. "Thank you! Thank you! I'll be giving out autographed pictures of myself after the festival, so don't leave too early!" he sang.
"They can't hear you, Aoyama," Tsuyu stated bluntly, bursting the flamboyant boy's bubble. "Even if they could, and actually wanted your autographed picture – which I doubt – they wouldn't be able to get it because the increased security would prevent them from getting too close to you."
Aoyama's face fell with each word, leaving him looking like his world had fallen apart. Sero and Kaminari chuckled at the sight, but were quickly shushed by Ashido, who walked over to comfort the dejected blond.
"Nervous?" Sato whispered to Gohan.
The demi-Saiyan stayed silent, but he figured his refusal to fully acknowledge the crowd gave away his answer. He'd known for weeks that the sports festival would propel him into the public eye as Son Gohan, and he was sure he'd come to terms with it. But, now that the moment was finally upon him, he couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive. After all, he'd spent the past six years doing his absolute best to stay under the radar, and now he was about to cast off his safety net and announce himself to the world.
"Up next we have a similarly talented group of students! Also from the hero course, I present to you… Class 1-B!" Present Mic announced, with said class receiving a slightly more muted round of applause. "After that, general studies classes C, D and E! Then the support course students, from classes F, G and H! And finally, the last of our first-years, from the business course, classes I, J and K!"
Gohan was brought out of his self-reflective state by a chorus of wolf-whistling from his peers, which he instantly attributed to Midnight's emergence from a tunnel opposite the ones they entered from. Clearly revelling in the effect she and her dominatrix-esque outfit had on the more dirty-minded students, the 18+ Only Hero sashayed towards the small podium that had been erected on that side of the stadium.
"I heard from my uncle she's the chief referee for the first-years this year!" a male voice Gohan didn't know called out excitedly.
"Really?! Well in that case, maybe I'll do something naughty on purpose so she can-" another male voice half-snorted, half-giggled, "- so she can discipline me!"
"Hell yeah, dude!" an ear-grating female voice whooped.
"Silence!" Midnight demanded, cracking the air with a small black whip. When she achieved the desired result, she continued. "Now, I'd like to call up the student representative, Son Gohan from Class 1-A, to give us a few words!"
Gohan resisted the urge to wince when the people around him swivelled their heads in his direction, their wide, curious eyes boring into him. Calming his features, he inhaled through the nose and exhaled through the mouth, then approached Midnight with what he hoped was a confident gait that masked his nervousness.
"Typical," Sero huffed.
"As expected," Tokoyami added.
"Phooey! It should've been me up there!" Aoyama protested.
"What kind of parents name their kid Gohan?" a random female asked.
"I heard that guy killed it at the entrance exam," an unknown male voice called out.
Another male snorted. "Seriously? But he looks like such a dweeb!"
"Bet he could still kick your ass, Sea Bass!" a third male taunted.
"I like his hair," another female remarked.
Gohan fought down a blush and shut out any further voices, keen to get this over with as soon as possible. When he reached the podium, Midnight gave him a sultry wink and beckoned for him to take centre stage.
This time he was unable to stop his cheeks from reddening, but nonetheless did as she asked and situated himself smack in the middle of the podium. Turning towards his peers, he cleared his throat and gave them a light wave. "Hi!"
Pure silence was his response. His classmates' expressions were unreadable, save for Sato who was making stupid faces. The other classes seemed mostly disinterested in what he had to say, but Gohan did catch a few people sizing him up. If their cocky grins were anything to go by, they thought he was easy pickings.
Letting out a forced chuckle, he scratched the back of his head and felt a drop of sweat roll down his temple. "Umm… no matter what happens today, remember, you got accepted into U.A. for a reason," he began.
At that, the looks of disinterest suddenly morphed into blank, confused expressions. He licked his lips and opened his mouth to continue, but no words came out. Immediately realising he'd forgotten his lines, his eyes bulged in panic and he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "A-and whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"
A few agonising seconds of stunned silence later, several snickers rang out through the crowd, followed by a round of unintelligible murmuring. Recognising he had lost his audience, and grimacing inwardly at his complete failure of a speech, Gohan swallowed thickly and decided to end this shitshow to spare himself from further embarrassment. "Do your best, everyone!" he finished with as strong a voice as he could muster, punctuating his statement with a shaky thumbs up.
Unwilling to see what response he'd get this time, he stared at the ground and trudged off the podium. A few more snickers reached his ears, but there was also some polite, muted applause – no doubt out of pity. The crowd was whooping boisterously though, probably because they'd finally get to see some action.
As he took his place back among his classmates, Gohan lifted his head and steeled his features. What happened with the speech happened; there was no use dwelling on it any further. The best course of action now was to look ahead and do his best in the rest of the festival… to a reasonable degree, of course.
"Alright! With that out of the way, we can finally move on to the first event of the day!" Midnight announced, receiving a thunderous round of applause that made Gohan's plaudits seem like muffled whispers in comparison.
"Good speech," the familiar voice of Sato exclaimed over the noise. "You really pulled off the generic anime protagonist look. I especially liked that thumbs up you gave at the end."
Gohan's face flushed. "Shut up."
"I'm serious, man, that was really inspiring," Sato said, widening his eyes for emphasis. "I might even get a motivational poster of your exact words to hang on my wall, just in case I ever start doubting myself."
"I'm touched," Gohan grumbled.
"As you should be," Sato chirped, clapping him on the back.
"This year's sports festival will be made up of three rounds of escalating difficulty, with the number of competitors dropping each time!" Midnight continued, a teasing, almost bloodthirsty smirk breaking out on her face. "However, just because this is the first round, don't you dare expect to have an easy ride! Plenty of fine folk end up choking on their tears at this stage every year, and I don't expect this year to be any different!
"Ladies and gentlemen, your first round will be…" She paused for dramatic effect, then cracked the air with her whip, causing a large holographic display to phase into existence behind her. "An Obstacle Race!"
Before anyone could contemplate what the obstacle course had in store for them, Midnight launched into an explanation. "All eleven classes will participate in this race. The course will span the outer circumference of this stadium – about four kilometres in total." At that, the holographic display changed to show an image of the stadium, accompanied by a stick figure running along the race track around it.
When the display shifted to show the U.A. logo, Midnight turned to the students and gave them a devilish grin. "Our school prides itself on the freedom afforded to our students… as long as you stay on the course, you're free to do whatever you want!" The crowd roared in approval at this revelation, and the R-Rated Hero seemed to briefly bask in their adulation before pointing her whip at the tunnel that led to the track. "Please make your way to the starting line in an orderly fashion! The race will begin in exactly three minutes, so you can use that time to warm up, try and psych out your competition, or say your prayers – because you're going to need all the help you can get!"
Unsurprisingly, the mass of students made a mad dash for the starting line, pushing, prodding, shoving and swearing at each other as they fought like rabbits to secure an advantageous position.
"Well, that's my cue to leave," Sato announced, cracking his neck and knuckles. "I'm going to try and force my way to the front of that big ass crowd. You can already tell there's gonna be a massive traffic jam in that tunnel, and I'd rather not get stuck in it."
"Good luck," Gohan offered, receiving a confident smirk in return. As he watched his best friend dive into the rowdy rabble of students, he calmly positioned himself at the back of the group and started doing a few light stretches.
"You must be pretty confident in your speed to not even try to push to the front of the line," an oddly familiar female voice remarked.
Gohan froze mid-stretch and shifted his head to the right, where an attractive, ginger-haired girl was grinning at him while doing some warmups of her own. "Something like that," he mumbled sheepishly, figuring it would be stupid to lie. The girl simply chuckled in response, and it was only then that his eyes widened in recognition. "Hey, I remember you!"
"Yeah, you gave me your jacket during the entrance exam," she confirmed with a bright smile. "I never got to properly thank you for that."
"No problem. Glad I could help," Gohan replied, feeling far more at ease now that he wasn't talking to a complete stranger.
"Let me know if you want it back," she added. "I took it home and washed it, and it's been sitting in my wardrobe ever since."
Gohan couldn't help but smile. That was awfully kind of her. "It's fine, you can keep it. It looked nice on you."
The girl cracked a grin. "Is that so? Because everyone I showed it to thought it was hideous." When his face fell at the revelation, she let out a melodic laugh. "Don't worry, I quite liked it. Not my ideal shade of green, but not a bad colour by any means. Pretty comfy, too."
Gohan felt his spirits lift back up, and breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. "I know, right?"
The girl chuckled. "Anyway, I never officially introduced myself. I'm Kendo Itsuka, Class 1-B's president and unofficial den mother to that pack of lunatics."
"Son Gohan… but you already knew that," he responded in kind. "Oh, I'm also Class 1-A's vice president, but I doubt you knew that."
"Correct on both counts," Kendo noted with a chuckle. "Can't say I'm surprised you got the high score in the entrance exam. You were incredible out there."
"Heh, yeah…" Gohan trailed off sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"Come to papa!" a shrill, childlike voice screeched, instantly catching the pair's attention.
The next thing Gohan saw was a purple-haired midget launching himself threateningly at Kendo's back. Acting on pure instinct, he flung out his right hand and grabbed the human projectile by the hair… or rather, what he thought was hair.
Before he could process what exactly he was holding, the midget let out a high-pitched cry. "Waaaahh! Let go of me!"
"Wh-whoa, calm down!" Gohan stammered, wincing at the loud volume. His discomfort was magnified even further by the odd, sticky, and altogether unnatural texture of the ball-shaped hair in his hand. Wait… ball-shaped hair? "I know you! I helped you out in the entrance exam!"
"Let go of me! Let go of me!" the midget continued wailing, drawing the gaze of a few nearby students. "This is a violation of my basic human rights!"
"You forfeited your basic human rights the moment you exited the womb, you little twerp!" Kendo spat venomously. "Son, meet Mineta Minoru, Class 1-B's resident pervert and degenerate."
Gohan narrowed his eyes at the squirming boy, finally comprehending his intentions. "Well that's not cool."
Mineta stopped wriggling and crossed his arms. "You'd never understand my struggles," he huffed indignantly.
"I guess I owe you another thanks," Kendo said, giving Gohan a kind smile. "I don't even want to imagine what kind of twisted plan this freak had in mind."
"Ahh, no problem," Gohan replied, before turning his attention back to Mineta and frowning. "Seriously, don't be doing that kind of stuff. You're at a school for heroes."
"Midnight-sensei teaches here, and she's like the biggest pervert out there," Mineta retorted gruffly.
"Midnight-sensei never tries to molest her peers," Kendo accused icily, eliciting a grimace out of the midget and making him cower. "Now deactivate your Quirk and scram."
"Oh yeah, the balls on your head are really sticky," Gohan remembered, thinking back to entrance exam when Mineta was using them to slow down the robots chasing after him. "That's a nifty Quirk you've got there. A bit unconventional, but a lot of potential."
The pervert seemed to preen at the praise, and Gohan could've sworn he saw an odd glint in his eyes. It was unsettling, and that feeling was only punctuated by the fact that Mineta didn't deactivate his Quirk.
Gohan furrowed his brow, not liking the sensation of gluey, almost rubbery hair on his palm. He'd long since stopped being squeamish about things, but this just felt gross. He turned to Kendo with a frown. "Do I have to wait for this stuff to dissolve or something? Because it's not coming off."
"Not that I'm aware of," Kendo answered, pursing her lips. She glared at Mineta. "What's your problem now? Why aren't you letting go?"
"Because this is the best thing that's happened to me all day! It's even better than those soiled panties I found in an alley this morning!" Mineta exclaimed gleefully. Before Gohan could voice his confusion – and disgust – the little pervert's eyes met his own. "You're super strong, right? Well, if I stay attached to you, then you'll have no choice but to carry me all the way to the finish line! It's genius!"
Gohan's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?! That wasn't what I- what?!" Stunned, he looked over at Kendo, who wore an equally alarmed expression. Panicking, he shook his hand up and down in an attempt to dislodge his unwanted passenger, but Mineta clung on like superglue. Was this really happening?
"This is a new low even for you, Mineta! Let go of him!" Kendo scolded, grabbing one of the midget's arms and trying to yank him off.
Unfortunately, this endeavour also proved futile, and Mineta's triumphant, almost maniacal cackles rang out through the area, causing numerous confused heads to turn their way. Gohan's face brightened in embarrassment at the unwanted attention.
"On your marks…" Midnight began.
Gohan's eyes bulged. For a brief moment he contemplated ripping his hand away by force, but instantly decided against it. It wasn't that he didn't think he was strong enough – he was pretty confident he was – he just didn't want to seriously injure Mineta in the process. He had no idea how the pervert's Quirk worked, and he'd rather not risk hurting him.
"Get set..."
As a last resort, Gohan shot one final, pleading look at Mineta, but the dastardly midget didn't budge. The demi-Saiyan sighed in resignation. 'Shit.'
"Go!"
As though a bomb had gone off, the competitors exploded into action, with some having the audacity to let out booming war cries. Gohan didn't join them, and to his surprise, neither did Kendo.
However, he could tell she was at odds with herself, as her eyes kept snapping to the tunnel, then back at him, then back to the tunnel. Eventually, they settled on him, but her deep, teal orbs already told him her decision.
"I'm sorry, Son, I really wish I could help, but I have to look out for myself here," she apologised with a small bow of the head, before narrowing her eyes ominously at Mineta. "We'll discuss this later."
"Lalalalala, can't hear you! I've already won!" Mineta sang, his smug smile never leaving his face.
Kendo shot the devious little pervert one final glare, then sprinted down the tunnel, which had almost cleared out.
Meanwhile, Gohan remained rooted to the spot, shocked at the misfortune that had befallen him. He didn't hold anything against Kendo; she was 100% correct in wanting to look out for herself. Heck, the mere fact that she didn't immediately abandon him was admirable enough on its own, and an act of kindness he wouldn't forget anytime soon.
"Giddy-up, horsey! They're getting away!" Mineta chanted.
Clenching his free fist, Gohan scowled at the infuriating little pervert. This really was happening. "Fine, have it your way," he seethed. "You better not throw up on me."
Mineta's grin dipped. "Throw u-"
Before the midget could finish his sentence, Gohan shot like a rocket through the tunnel and towards the others, a single stomp of his foot cracking a thick sheet of ice that had spawned along the ground – Todoroki's work, no doubt. By breaking the ice, he ended up freeing the captive competitors, which seemed to include everyone other than his classmates – something that made his lip quirk.
Pleased to see they could handle themselves, Gohan pressed on, ignoring the startled shrieks of his peers as he passed them by. He limited his speed to being just a fraction faster than Iida at full throttle, since he didn't want to literally blow everyone away, or heaven forbid, have people start comparing him to the Blur. Shuddering at the thought, he set his sights on Todoroki, who was unsurprisingly leading the pack, and quickly closed in on the ice user.
However, before he could surge past his classmate, Gohan screeched to a grinding halt as three giant robots descended from the sky and landed in front of the students, their thumping metallic feet digging into the hard dirt and shooting up a cloud of dust. They were subsequently joined by multiple other robots of a similar build, who jumped out from behind the trees bordering the race track. By the time they had finished spawning, there were enough of them to make up a small army.
Gohan immediately recognised these robots as zero-pointers, much like the one he had totalled at the entrance exams. His competitors had also reached that conclusion, with many expressing shock and fear at the metallic behemoths. Even Mineta was trembling in his grasp.
"I present to you the first barrier… Robo Inferno!" Present Mic announced giddily over a loudspeaker.
Gohan steeled his features and darted forward, seamlessly weaving through the legs of the zero-pointers. A few of them tried to squash him with their feet and fists, but he was too quick for their sluggish attempts, and breached the barrier within seconds, leaving both the robots and his competitors in the dust.
"Woo! Take that, you bastards!" Mineta squealed gleefully, exhibiting no signs of his earlier distress.
Gohan pursed his lips in disapproval. Damn freeloader. He accelerated slightly, and was pleased to hear Mineta gasp and shut his mouth.
"And Class 1-A's Son Gohan swiftly takes a resounding lead, displaying some impressive agility despite carrying an unwanted passenger in the form of Class 1-B's Mineta Minoru, to get past the Robo Inferno without even getting a scratch!" Present Mic called out. "Fun fact: speed isn't the only thing he has in his repertoire, as he completely annihilated one of these bad boys during the entrance exam!"
Gohan grimaced as the crowd whooped in adulation. That was just peachy. Now he had an even bigger target on his back. Just because he was okay with taking part in the sports festival, that didn't mean he wanted to show the world his destructive capabilities.
Suppressing his annoyance at Present Mic's flair for the dramatic, Gohan continued running for a few more seconds, until the track gave way to a massive chasm, from which protruded a plethora of differently-shaped pillars. Each pillar was connected by a dangerously thin rope, and said ropes were the only path across. It was quite the spectacle.
"Say hello to 'The Fall', Son!" Present Mic hollered. "You'd better watch your step, because if you fall down, YOU ARE OUTTA HERE!"
"Holy crap! I can't see the bottom!" Mineta stammered.
Gohan peered over the edge and was met with pitch blackness, confirming Mineta's observation. "You're right. Kinda scary, don't you think?"
"N-n-no! Of course not!" the pervert protested, his audible gulp contradicting his claim. "H-how do you plan on getting across?"
Gohan's expression hardened. "Like this!" Without warning, he bent his knees and leapt over to the first pillar. It was a smooth jump, but that didn't stop Mineta from letting out a shrill screech that had the demi-Saiyan wincing. "Hey, stop that! What the hell's your problem?"
"You're insane! The ropes are clearly there for people to crawl across, not jump across!" Mineta wailed.
"Tough luck!" Gohan growled, starting to get genuinely irritated. It didn't help that his ears were still ringing. "If you don't like my methods, you can let go and try and cross this thing on your own!"
When Mineta responded with a feeble whimper, but still didn't deactivate his Quirk, Gohan scoffed and leapt onto the next pillar, then continued that pattern across the chasm, all the while ignoring his unwanted passenger's yelps and gasps. In no time at all, he had reached the other side, and was free to continue farther down the track.
"Son clears the second obstacle with ease!" Present Mic commented boisterously. "Can anyone catch up to him now?! Just what have you been feeding this boy, Eraser Head?!"
"A proper education… not that you'd know anything about that," Class 1-A's homeroom teacher answered gruffly.
Present Mic's gasp of surprise was amplified through his microphone, eliciting a chorus of laughter from the crowd. "Did you spontaneously fall asleep in a refrigerator? Because that was way too cold!" he howled.
"You only have yourself to blame for dragging me into this booth against my will," Aizawa grumbled.
Gohan snorted at Present Mic's lame joke. As annoying as the man's overzealousness could be at times, the demi-Saiyan couldn't help but commend his ability to work a crowd and drum up enthusiasm, regardless of how corny his humour was. It was nice, having people like that in a society where heroes fighting villains was the norm. The world could always use more positivity.
Gohan was broken from his musing when the path ahead of him broadened out and led into a gigantic open space a good deal larger than a rugby pitch. At the very end of the field, where the regular running track resumed, were two huge billboards identifying this obstacle as 'DANGER MINES'. Both billboards were overlayed with a cartoonish image of a gaping pink skull, presumably for added effect.
"Let's see how you fare against the next obstacle, Son!" Present Mic challenged. "You're clearly quick on your feet, but are you quick enough to cross an actual minefield without getting blasted? Disclaimer: the mines aren't lethal, but they're loud and flashy enough to make you pee your pants!"
Gohan's eyes widened, then narrowed ominously at Mineta. "Don't you dare…"
The little pervert gaped, visibly affronted. "How dare you? Pissing myself on national TV would kill all my street cred! I'd rather die!" he screeched.
"You can't kill what doesn't exist!" Gohan fired back automatically.
Mineta's jaw dropped, followed by his shoulder sagging dejectedly. "You didn't have to be so blunt," he sniffled.
Gohan averted his gaze from the downcast boy and observed the minefield, where the mines themselves were visible as dark clumps in the brown dirt. A small part of him felt bad about the verbal jab he'd just unloaded, but it wasn't completely unfounded, since Mineta was being an ass. Plus, he didn't appreciate being used.
After mapping out a suitable path, Gohan entered the minefield, maintaining the same speed he'd used thus far. It was quite easy to cross this latest obstacle without setting off any bombs, especially since he wasn't under pressure from his competitors. All it required was a calm head and calculated, non-jerky movements. Mineta still moaned and whimpered, but his protests weren't as loud as before, and as such were easy to ignore.
"Cool and collected as you'd like, Son casually crosses the minefield!" Present Mic declared as the demi-Saiyan re-entered the regular running track. "I know you guys were hoping for something a lot flashier, but rest assured, there will be plenty of fireworks to go around when the chasing pack catches up! After all, every place in this race counts, not just first and second! Yeah!"
While the crowd cheered enthusiastically at the prospect of schoolchildren being blown up by landmines, Gohan was booking it through the tunnel that led into the stadium and subsequently the finish line, which he crossed with aplomb.
"First place goes to Class 1-A's Son Gohan, who blew away his competition with the most dominant display we've seen in decades!" Present Mic roared to thunderous applause. "And second place goes to Class 1-B's Mineta Minoru, by virtue of attaching himself to Son and mooching off his success! Not a very heroic thing to do, but a crafty display nonetheless!"
The cheers for Mineta were a lot more subdued, and a few boos could be heard among the applause. The little pervert didn't seem to mind though, as he finally deactivated his Quirk and dropped to his knees, shaking and shivering as if he'd just run a marathon. "Th-that was exhausting!" he wheezed.
"But you didn't do anything," Gohan grumbled, kneeling down to wipe his hand on the grass and almost gagging as he did so. His palm was laced with gross, sticky sweat, and he could feel tiny tufts of hair sticking to his skin. It was downright disgusting.
"Hey, I could've died out there, so cut me some slack!" Mineta retorted, pointing an accusatory finger at Gohan, who could only roll his eyes.
"Yeah, well, whose fault is that?" he spat.
"Yours, obviously!"
Gohan let out a weary sigh and lifted his hand from the grass, displeased to see that that he had only succeeded in smearing dirt across his palm. To make matters worse, he could still make out thin strands of dark purple hair mixed in with the dirt. It was enough reason to grimace. Clenching his fist and resolving to clean his hand as soon as possible, he rose to his feet and let the roar of the crowd wash over him.
The sound was deafening.
Casting his gaze around the stadium, Gohan took in the mass of jubilant spectators in attendance. He couldn't make out any individual figures; everyone blended together in a mix of red and white and green… but the atmosphere was electric, and the message clear.
He didn't know who had come to watch the sports festival. He didn't know their professions, what kind of lives they lived, or whether they were upstanding members of society. He didn't know if they cared about the next generation of heroes, or just wanted to curb their adrenaline rush by watching talented children compete against each other in what was essentially a mini Olympics.
All he knew was this: these people, at least in this moment, lived vicariously through him and his peers – and were loving every minute of it.
It gave further credence to his hilariously half-baked speech from earlier, where he proclaimed that everyone who got into U.A. did so for a reason, and should always take comfort in that knowledge. He and his peers were the envy of men, women and children all around the country, and they shouldn't take the opportunity they'd been given for granted.
With that thought in mind, Gohan turned to Mineta and gave the freeloading pervert a stern glare. "You know, Mineta, you're never going to improve as a hero if you keep relying on others to do your work for you," he scolded.
Mineta snorted. "What are you, my mother? I know that. This was just a one-off."
"Hey, I'm just trying to give you some advice," Gohan responded, unperturbed. "You're only at U.A. for three years. I'd hate for you to get complacent and not take advantage of everything this place has to offer."
Mineta crossed his arms with a huff and averted his gaze, but didn't verbalise a reply. Seeing as he wasn't being cussed out or insulted, Gohan took the pervert's silence as a positive sign and turned his attention to one of the two giant monitors on opposite sides of the stadium, which were broadcasting the rest of the race.
The first thing he saw was Todoroki and Bakugo – the unsurprising frontrunners for third place – tussling with each other as they raced through the minefield. Behind them, the rest of the chasing pack scrambled to catch up, although their situation was a lot more frantic and far more chaotic. Just as Present Mic promised, the bombs littering the field were finally playing their part, detonating sporadically when triggered and sending hapless students rocketing into the air in plumes of thick, pink smoke.
Then, without any warning, an enormous explosion that dwarfed all that came before it blared through the loudspeakers, along with a tidal wave of pink smoke that completely covered the monitor.
While the audience in the stands reacted with awestruck glee, Gohan ignored the mild ringing in his ears and kept his eyes locked on the screen, immensely curious as to what on earth happened. A mere second later, the monitor switched to another camera angle, and his jaw dropped at the sight.
Flying high above the minefield, riding a destroyed zero-pointer part of all things, was the familiar figure of Midoriya Izuku. After putting two and two together, Gohan's jaw closed back up, and his mouth morphed into an excited grin. That was an ingenious move on his green-haired friend's part.
"Class 1-A's Midoriya takes the lead!" Present Mic screamed into his microphone, evidently as pumped up as the spectators. "His bold, reckless, but unquestionably flashy gamble has paid off, leaving him well on course to finish third!"
Unsurprisingly, neither Todoroki nor Bakugo were willing to accept being overtaken, and put their skirmish on hold to chase after Midoriya; the former sliding down an ice path of his own making, and the latter propelling himself through the air with his explosions. Now that they were going full-throttle, their speed was nothing to scoff at.
When Midoriya's downward trajectory became evident, Gohan pursed his lips. Unless he had something else up his sleeve, he'd end up crashing into the ground at the exact moment Todoroki and Bakugo overtook him, and by the time he'd recovered, they'd be long gone.
Fortunately, Midoriya didn't disappoint. In an astounding act of agility, he managed to flip himself in the air, slam his makeshift means of transportation on the ground, and use the resulting explosion to propel himself further forward, all the while leaving Todoroki and Bakugo in the literal dust.
"Midoriya has done it! By God, he has done it!" Present Mic hollered. "He hasn't just cleared the minefield in an instant, he's also block- wait, Todoroki and Bakugo aren't out of it yet! Ladies and gentlemen, they are still in the race! BY GOD, THEY ARE STILL IN THE RACE!"
Gohan was equally as stunned as Present Mic. While he was well aware of Midoriya's immense potential, he had overlooked two of the class' other powerhouses in Todoroki and Bakugo. He knew they were strong, and with fantastic Quirks to boot, but he had no idea they possessed such resilience. Todoroki's words from earlier hinted at him possessing such a quality, but seeing it in action was another story entirely.
"Eraser Head, your class is next level! Seriously, what in the world have you been teaching them?!" Present Mic bellowed.
"Nothing," Aizawa answered calmly. "This is just the fruit of the fires they light in each other."
Although it wasn't Aizawa's intention, in that fleeting moment, Gohan felt a queasiness well up in the pit of his stomach. Being talked about in the same breath as Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugo just didn't sit right with him.
Before he could delve deeper into the rabbit hole that was his mind, Midoriya burst through the tunnel, followed closely Todoroki and Bakugo.
"Third, fourth and fifth place go to Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shoto and Bakugo Katsuki respectively –all three belonging to the exceedingly exemplary Class 1-A.!" Present Mic declared.
Gohan decided to give the trio a wide berth, as both Midoriya and Todoroki looked like they needed some time alone with their thoughts. As for Bakugo… well, he was an asshole, pure and simple. Besides, the bad-tempered bastard looked right at home furiously booting the stadium wall, so much so that it would be a crying shame to interrupt his fun.
A short while later, other students started trickling through the tunnel, and before too long, all the competitors had finished the obstacle course. Gohan didn't know if any poor soul had been squished by the 'Robo Inferno', fallen victim to 'The Fall', or blown to smithereens by the 'Danger Mines', but since Present Mic wasn't making a big deal out of it, he assumed everyone was fine.
Midnight made her way back to the podium and smiled at the students. "And so ends the first round of the first-year stage! Here are the results!" she announced, cracking her whip and causing another, much larger holographic display to materialise. "Only the top forty-two can go through to the next round, so if your name is on the screen, congratulations – you pass! If not, then don't fret! There will be other chances for you to show your quality!"
Gohan's countenance was stern as he scanned through the names, but after seeing all his classmates had made it through, he breathed a sigh of relief. Aoyama had cut it real close, landing in the final qualifying spot, but all that mattered was a passing grade. Sato did quite well for himself though, finishing eleventh overall, and even Kendo had gone through despite her slow start, placing thirtieth.
"That said, I feel it prudent to warn our lucky forty-two winners that the real competition starts now!" Midnight added exuberantly, her smile twisting into a dangerous smirk. "Oh, believe me, the press will be all over this, so you'd better give it your all!"
A second whip crack later, the hologram returned to its usual size and started spinning like a slot machine. A few audible gulps were heard, and the tension in the atmosphere was far more noticeable than before the first event.
"Excited? Nervous? Scared? You should be all those things, because the second event of the day is… a Cavalry Battle!" Midnight revealed.
Gohan nodded in understanding. That sounded like a reasonable enough way to further weed out the competition, but given how much Midnight was hyping it up, there had to be some insane stipulation attached.
"Let me explain," Midnight continued, the display morphing to show a somewhat comical image of Thirteen and Present Mic acting as the cavalry for a beaming, yellow-suited All Might. "The participants can form teams of two to four people as they wish. It's basically the same as a regular cavalry battle, but the one thing that's different is, based on the results of the last round, each person has been assigned a point value."
The screen then flickered and reverted to its previous size, once again depicting the forty-two people who had progressed from the first round, but with one notable difference: each name had a blank spot beside it, and said blank spots were slowly filling up with numbers, starting from the lowest.
"The points assigned go up by five starting from the bottom, so the forty-second place gets five points, the forty-first gets ten points, and so on and so forth! But… the point value assigned to first place is… ten million!" Midnight declared.
A resounding gasp rang out through the stadium, and Gohan flinched when the weight of almost a hundred greedy eyes locked on to him. However, the feeling was fleeting, and quickly gave way to a fierce surge of competitiveness he rarely ever exhibited; like a coiled viper ready to strike, his dark eyes narrowed in warning.
If these guys wanted a piece of him, they were out of luck.
"Is what I would have said if the race had gone as expected!" Midnight proclaimed teasingly, causing the sudden spell of ferocity within the demi-Saiyan to dissipate. "The reality of the situation is, two competitors crossed the finish line at roughly the same time, circumstances notwithstanding!"
"What?!" Mineta screeched from somewhere among the group, his horrified voice accompanied by another round of gasps.
"So, in light of this new development, we have decided to revise our original plan! Instead of the ten million points going to one person, it will now be split between the top two, for a total of five million each! How's that for a curveball?" Midnight quipped, cracking her whip for added effect.
Unable to restrain himself, Gohan let out a cross between a snort and a chuckle, the last embers of his earlier fire well and truly extinguished. He couldn't even bring himself to care about the odd looks he was getting from people who were regarding him as game to be hunted mere moments before. The non-existent threat they posed to him was way less newsworthy than Mineta receiving his comeuppance.
"That's right, boys and girls! It's survival of the fittest, with a chance for those at the bottom to climb to the top, and those at the top to collapse under the pressure! Just like in real life!" Midnight elaborated with a knowing smirk.
"Now, listen up as I explain the rules of the cavalry battle! The time limit is fifteen minutes. Each team is worth the total of its members' points, and the rider – the standard bearer, you could say – will wear a headband with that point total proudly displayed.
"The aim of the game is to collect as many points as possible by stealing other teams' headbands before the time runs out. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up, so the more you steal, the harder it will be to keep a hold of them. To further spice up the competition, the headbands will be made out of Velcro, which allows for easier yanking."
Midnight took a deep breath, then bared her teeth in a taunting grin. "It'll be a tough fight from beginning to end, and Quirk use will be allowed, but we aren't entirely merciless! Even if you lose your headband or fall off your horse, you're only out for good when time runs out! That means no quitting midway through, unless you want to end up on my list!"
"What if I want to end up on your list, Midnight-sensei?" a seedy-sounding male asked.
"Be silent when I'm speaking, swine!" the R-Rated Hero spat, savagely cracking the air with her whip. "Now, this is still a cavalry battle at the end of the day, so don't you dare think you can get away with being naughty! If you maliciously attack another group without any intention of stealing their headband, you'll receive a red card and be disqualified on the spot!"
A couple of people grumbled in displeasure at that stipulation, including one notoriously volatile blond.
"You have exactly fifteen minutes to form your teams, and you may start… NOW!" Midnight finally finished.
Not needing to be told twice, most students sprang into action and went about negotiating their team-ups. Before Gohan could do the same, a large hand clapped him on the shoulder, accompanied by a familiar voice that brought a smile to his face.
"Hello, friend."
Thrilled to finally see a friendly face, Gohan turned around and raised an eyebrow in Sato's direction. "You sure you want to join me? Everyone's going to be gunning for my headband."
"I think we'll manage," Sato remarked, a confident smirk spreading across his lips. "Besides, it's not like this is our first rodeo."
Gohan's eyes widened a fraction at the reminder, instantly recalling the rather memorable cavalry battle Sato had roped him into competing in a few years ago, against a trio of foreign exchange students who their middle school was hosting at the time.
Given how inherently dodgy their school was, and how reclusive and standoffish these guys were, Sato was convinced they were involved in some shady underground business. Thus, in all his Agatha Christie-esque wisdom, he took it upon himself to beg Gohan to join his team for the cavalry battle during the school's annual sports day, just in case the foreigners tried anything 'suspicious'.
Loath as he was to want to stand out, Gohan didn't participate in school sporting events unless they were compulsory, but since he knew Sato would never let him hear the end of it had he refused, he reluctantly agreed to take part. Their team ultimately ended up winning the cavalry battle, and the student exchange program ended shortly afterwards.
The whole thing was one of the more bizarre footnotes in his mostly mundane time at middle school.
"Welcome aboard then," Gohan confirmed with a chuckle, offering his left hand for a shake.
Smirk widening, Sato moved his arm, but didn't accept the handshake. Instead, he tilted his wrist upwards and half-opened his palm. "Cobra Kai…"
Gohan blinked. That wasn't what he was expecting. "Really, man? In front of all these people?" he asked quietly, his eyes shifting from side to side.
"Cobra Kai…" Sato repeated, his own eyes narrowing.
"Bro, seriously, I can count at least seven people watching us," Gohan observed, hoping the trepidation leaking from his tone was enough to dissuade the tall teenager.
"Cobra Kai…"
Gohan sighed half-heartedly and wanted to wince, but the unwavering conviction in Sato's face was too much to resist. Feeling the corner of his lip quirk against his will, he let out a light chuckle, then clasped his hand against his best friend's with a loud smack. "Never dies!"
"Damn straight!" Sato whooped.
The moment their palms parted, a panting Mineta ran up to them, sweat dripping off him in droves. "Son! Please! You've gotta let me join you! These guys are going to eat me alive!" he wept, pointing behind him.
Gohan followed the path of the pervert's finger and did indeed see several people grinning dangerously in his direction, as though they were the predators and he was their prey. A couple even sent him curt, creepy waves.
"Oh, hey, you're that guy with the super sticky hair," Sato realised, curiosity evident in his voice. "I overheard a couple of girls talking about how much they wanted to castrate you. Also, wow, you're way shorter than I thought you'd be."
"Sh-shut up, you big-lipped ogre! At least I don't have to bow my head to walk through a doorway!" Mineta retorted.
"Six-foot plus, kid! Six-foot plus!" Sato boasted proudly, puffing out his chest.
Gohan didn't understand the reference, but it seemed to have wounded Mineta deeply, as the pervert's anxious expression morphed into one of pure despair.
Sato didn't dwell on his triumph, and instead launched into a question. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask… is it just the hair on your head that's sticky, or does that stickiness apply to your pubes and underarm hair, too?"
Mineta opened his mouth to respond, but Gohan was quick to pounce. "Stop! Don't answer that question! We won't want to know!" he exclaimed in panic.
"But he asked-"
"I don't care!" Gohan interrupted brusquely. "There are some questions in this world that are better off left unanswered, and that is one of them."
"Fine! But let me join your team!" Mineta pleaded.
Gohan exhaled a weary sigh. "Sorry, Mineta, but I'd rather not. You've dug yourself into this hole, and you have to dig yourself out of it. Remember what I told you earlier? You won't learn anything if you keep relying on others to do your work for you."
Mineta winced at the rejection, his eyes brimming with tears of desperation "Hey, big guy, please make him change his mind!" he begged Sato, going so far as to get on his knees and join his hands in prayer. "I'll answer whatever questions you have! Just please, please don't leave me on my own!"
"If Son says you're out, then you're out," Sato replied with a shrug.
"B-b-but I'll die!" Mineta wept.
"Tough shit. Maybe you should've thought of that before you decided to use Son's strength for your own gain. Only I can do that," Sato stated, pointing at himself for emphasis.
"Good luck, Mineta," Gohan offered, gently patting the midget on the shoulder. "You're going to need it."
Mineta gave them both one last look of anguish, then turned around and bolted off. When the pervert disappeared from view, Gohan gave Sato a look of disgust. "What the hell is the matter with you?"
"What the hell is the matter with all of us?" Sato fired back, unperturbed and unrepentant.
Gohan moved to make a retort, but shut his mouth when he realised it wasn't worth it. All he could do instead was wearily rub his temples. "Let's just go see who teamed up with who," he muttered. "I seriously doubt anyone else is going to want to team up with us, so we might as well scout out the competition."
"Not like we need to, but fine," Sato complied with a snort.
As expected, people gave the pair a wide berth as they walked. However, there were a few overenthusiastic individuals who decided their mind was worth speaking.
"You're dead meat, Son!"
"Your ass is grass, and I'm the lawnmower!"
"I got your body bag right here, nerd!"
"Geez, you'd think we were back in middle school with all these chumps around," Sato commented.
Gohan shrugged, so unbothered by the tame attempts at trash talk he didn't even register who was lobbing threats his way. After all the crap he'd dealt with in his life, verbal barbs bounced off him like pebbles against a suit of armour.
The first thing that caught Gohan's eye was that multiple people were swarming around Bakugo, most of them from his own class. They probably thought the blond's loud, flashy Quirk was ideal for this kind of scenario. His lip curled into a faint frown when he saw Ashido approach Bakugo and ask if they could team up. He understood the need to secure a strong team, but surely she could do better than that jerk. Like Todoroki, for example.
Speaking of said ice user, Gohan noticed him and Yaoyorozu walking together out of the corner of his eye. They were soon joined by Iida and Kaminari, and after a brief discussion, the four of them decided to stick together. Quite a formidable group, he had to admit.
"Son! Sato! Over here!" the familiar voice of Midoriya called.
His frown curving up into a small smile, Gohan walked over to the green-haired boy, who was standing alongside Uraraka, looking a bit nervous. "Hey, Midoriya. Nice going with that obstacle course," he praised.
Midoriya's cheeks flushed. "Th-thank you, Son. I don't know if I could've done that without your training."
"Oh, I think you would've done just fine," Gohan remarked honestly, drawing a smile out of Uraraka. "I'm guessing you guys are teaming up for this?"
"Yep!" the pink-cheeked girl chirped. "No one else wants to team up with Deku because they see him as a rival, but I don't care about any of that stuff."
"Funny. No one wants to team up with Son because they see him as a target," Sato remarked with a chuckle.
"Y-you guys could t-team with us!" Midoriya suggested. When Gohan and Sato looked at him in surprise, he shyly averted his gaze and kicked the ground. "Th-that's if you w-want to, of course! You d-don't have to if you don't want to…"
"I'd like that," Gohan exclaimed, unable to stop a grin from spreading across his face. "That is, if you don't mind having a five-million-point target on your back."
"I don't mind!" Midoriya answered immediately. "I've seen what you can do, Son, and I don't think anyone here holds a candle to you."
"Smart man," Sato commended, much to Gohan's embarrassment.
"Ehh? You guys sound super confident," Uraraka observed, eyeing the three males curiously. "I mean, I don't mind the five-million-point target either, but you're making it seem like it's guaranteed we'll go through because of Son."
"Pretty much," Sato confirmed.
"Y-yeah, what he said," Midoriya stammered. "You've only seen some of our training, Uraraka, but trust me when I say that you have nothing to worry about."
When Uraraka turned to him with a raised eyebrow, Gohan couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle and scratch the back of his head, his cheeks tinting against his will. "What they said…"
Uraraka blinked twice, then shrugged and adopted her usual cherubic grin. "If you say so. I trust you guys."
Gohan opened his mouth to express his gratitude, but before he could get a word in, a head of pink hair with bizarre, crosshair-shaped goggles popped up in front of his own. "Hey! First-place guy! Team up with- whoa!"
Startled at the sudden invasion of his personal space, Gohan instinctively clenched his left fist and drilled it towards the intruder. However, a split second before it penetrated its target, his eyes registered who was in front of him, and his lightning-fast fist screeched to an abrupt halt a centimetre away from the strange girl's mouth, the sinews in his wrist straining from the forced friction.
Eyes bulging in horror, Gohan leapt back in shock. "Crap! Sorry! My reflexes just-"
Hey, don't sweat it!" she interrupted, barking out a boisterous laugh "I should be the one apologising for spooking you like that! Man, that was quick! You're the real deal!"
"Wh-what were you doing?" Uraraka stammered in a rare bout of shock, a hand over her heaving chest.
"Hoping to join Son Gohan's team, but it looks like he doesn't have any spots left. Lame," the pink-haired girl huffed in a confident, somewhat boyish voice. If she was even remotely affected by her near-death experience, it wasn't registering on her features.
"Sorry. You just missed out," Gohan mumbled, reluctant to look her in the goggles.
"Bah, it's fine! I have other ways of showing off my super cute babies!" the girl chirped.
"Your… babies?" Gohan repeated, confused. He turned to his classmates, but they looked equally as puzzled. Well, Midoriya's face looked a shade more red than usual, but that was probably due to embarrassment at the implications, or disbelief at the how a potential disaster was averted at the last second.
"Yep! The name's Hatsume Mei, from the support course!" the girl announced, as though speaking to a large crowd. "Remember it, cause soon enough it's gonna be emblazoned on hero gear all over the world! Later!"
With that, she swivelled around and skated away on what looked like a bulky pair of rocket boots.
"O…kay. Bye," Gohan responded, waving at her retreating figure.
"She was weird," Midoriya commented once Hatsume was out of earshot.
"She was hot!" Sato stated emphatically, drawing three pairs of unamused eyes his way. He shrugged. "What? We were all thinking it!"
"I wasn't thinking it," Uraraka muttered, before turning to Midoriya with an odd, uncharacteristically intimidating expression. "And Deku wasn't either. Right, Deku?"
"Huh? What? N-no, of c-course not!" Midoriya stammered, raising his trembling hands in a placating gesture. "I-I wasn't! Really! I wasn't!"
Gohan pursed his lips, figuring it might be best to change the subject. "For what it's worth, I apologise for Sato's lack of tact," he remarked, shooting Midoriya and Uraraka a sheepish smile. "You see, he grew up on American action movies and violent video games, so he really doesn't know any better."
"Ahh, that explains it," Uraraka acknowledged, nodding sagely. Fortunately, she seemed to have gotten over her sudden fit of… whatever the hell that was.
Sato crossed his burly arms over his chest. "I regret nothing!" he huffed, receiving two chuckles in response.
"S-so, should we maybe discuss battle plans?" Midoriya inquired, still looking a bit shaken.
"I propose we stick Son as the rider and let him do all the work," Sato suggested.
"But that's not fair!" Uraraka protested. "We're a team! We should be working together!"
"And we will be," Sato replied calmly. "Us three will be the cavalry, and Son will be the rider who fends off the swarms of people that are going to attack us. That's teamwork. Right, Midoriya?"
The green-haired boy went rigid at being called out so suddenly. "Umm… kind of?" he offered weakly.
Uraraka was still frowning, so Gohan thought it prudent to chime in. "Sato may have jumped the gun a bit, Uraraka," he began, receiving a glare from his best friend that he promptly ignored. "It's not like I'll be doing all the work on my own. I'll still be relying on you guys to be my eyes and ears, as well as cover my blind spots. Also, if you find yourself in a position to steal another team's headband, feel free to do so."
Uraraka sighed. "I'm sorry for being like this. I just…" She swallowed thickly and clenched her fists. "I just don't want to be carried through the sports festival by someone who's much stronger than me! I want to show my parents, and all the pro heroes who are watching, that I have what I takes to be a hero too! That I can make a living off this job and make enough money to give my parents the life they deserve! And I can't… I can't do that I'm just a passenger along for the ride!"
The three males' eyes went wide, rendered speechless at the frank and honest admission. Gohan didn't know what was going through their minds right now, but his spirits sank like an anchor. He hadn't dwelled on it up until now, as the sports festival had gone smoothly for the most part, but this kind of crap was the reason he was so hesitant to take part in the first place.
A sweet, extraordinarily kind girl like Uraraka didn't deserve to feel like a third-rate hero just because his very existence broke the laws of physics. Aizawa did have a point in saying he'd be sending the wrong message to his classmates by refusing to take part, but what about the other side of the equation? Wouldn't taking part and embarrassing them on national television be just as bad?
Was there even a right choice to begin with, or was he screwed either way?
Midoriya gulped in obvious nervousness, but mustered the courage to walk over to the girl, who was wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Uraraka…"
Gohan felt a surge of pride for his green-haired friend, and let out a shaky sigh of his own. "I understand how you feel, Uraraka, and I'm sorry for making you feel that way," he admitted. "Believe me, it was never my intention to belittle you, or anyone else. I sure as hell don't want to hog all the glory for myself. My main goal right now is to help my team reach the next round, and if that means taking the shine away from my teammates… then it is what it is. But please don't be sad. No matter what happens in the cavalry battle, you'll still get a chance to prove yourself. Unless this year's sports festival breaks tradition for some reason, the next round will be a series of one-on-one fights."
"Like any good tournament arc," Sato mused in his infinite wisdom.
Gohan snorted. "Right. Anyway, my point is, once we pass this round, you'll be able to show your parents, and all the pro heroes watching, exactly how capable you are. And I have no doubt you're going to blow them away."
Uraraka's warm, brown irises locked on to his onyx ones, and after a few tense seconds, her lip quirked in a positive direction. It was a miniscule movement, but it was undeniably there, and that was all that mattered. "Thank you for that, Son. I knew there'd be more opportunities than just the cavalry battle. I was just being sill-"
"You weren't being silly," Gohan cut in, smiling fondly at the girl. "You have the right attitude, Uraraka, and I respect you for that. Certainly more than this freeloader over here," he added, pointing a thumb at Sato, who flipped him the bird in return.
Uraraka chuckled. "I appreciate that, Son. It means a lot."
Gohan grinned. "Glad to hear it!"
"Ten minutes have passed!" Midnight suddenly announced, catching the competitors' attention. "If you have formed your team, come up to the podium and I will hand you your headband!"
"Alright, let's do this!" Uraraka exclaimed excitedly, beckoning her teammates to follow her.
Gohan's heart warmed at the sight. Seeing Uraraka with anything other than a big, bright, beaming smile just didn't feel right.
"Thank you," Midoriya whispered in his ear as they trailed after the girl.
"No problem," Gohan replied in kind.
When their turn came to step on the podium, Midnight took a few seconds to assess them with her curious, sky-blue eyes. "That's a good team you've got yourself there, Son," she commented, scribbling their point total onto a white headband and handing it to them. "I'm expecting great things from you lot, so don't let me down."
"We won't, Midnight-sensei," Gohan declared, accepting the offered item and tying it around his forehead. In the periphery of his vision, he could see his teammates sporting equally confident expressions.
The R-Rated Hero winked, then shooed them off the stage.
"There are two minutes left, so we might as well set up now," Sato suggested.
"I agree," Uraraka added.
Gohan nodded in agreement. "Let's do it."
The group found an empty spot near the corner on the competition state and got to work setting up a simple, straightforward formation that took advantage of their respective builds. Sato, being the giant he was, would be leading from the front, with Gohan sitting on his shoulders. Midoriya and Uraraka, who were much shorter, would be situated on the left and right side respectively, with each of them grabbing one of Gohan's feet. It wasn't rocket science, nor was there any elaborate strategy behind devising such a formation. It just made the most sense.
While they were waiting for the final minute to run down, Sato tilted his head up and smirked at Gohan. "Just like old times, eh, Son?"
Midoriya's brow quirked. "You guys have done this before?"
"It's a really long, really weird story, so please don't ask," Gohan explained, rolling his eyes at how Sato puffed out his chest in pride. "Maybe I'll tell you some other time, if you remind me."
"I'll be sure to do that," Midoriya replied with a light chuckle.
"Hey, why is your right hand in your pocket?" Uraraka inquired.
Gohan grimaced. "Now that is something you don't want to know. Trust me."
Uraraka was a bit taken aback, but shrugged in affirmation. "If you say so."
With fifteen seconds still to go, Gohan decided to do one final scan of the competition, just to see where his classmates had ended up.
Bakugo rode atop Sero, Ashido and Kirishima, forming a team that had a hell of a lot of firepower.
Todoroki was the standard bearer for a team consisting of Iida, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari – a powerful combination of offense, defence and speed.
Aoyama, Koda and Jiro played the part of the horse for Hagakure, who also happened to be topless. Gohan blushed and hurriedly averted his gaze; even though Hagakure was invisible and he couldn't see a speck of skin, it was the principle of the matter that made him uncomfortable.
Shoji cut an imposing figure standing by himself, but the way his webbed arms bulged behind him made it clear he was hiding people inside the makeshift cocoon. Since he couldn't spot Tsuyu and Tokoyami anywhere, Gohan assumed they were Shoji's teammates.
Ojiro had landed on the same team as Hatsume Mei, alongside a chubby boy with light blue hair. They were acting as the cavalry for a disinterested-looking boy with messy purple hair.
"I hope you're ready, kids, because the final countdown starts now!" Present Mic's voice boomed over a loudspeaker, the raucous spectators cheering thunderously in kind. "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!"
AN: Sorry this took so long to get out. Aside from all the usual crap I had to deal with, I ended up breaking my fingers playing basketball, which made writing exceedingly difficult for a while. Also, if you're getting random update notifications when I don't actually update, please understand that it's not my intention to deceive you. When I write I frequently look through previous chapters so that I can maintain consistency with the story, and if I see a typo or similar error in them that I've overlooked, I'll fix it. I have no idea why that sends out an email that I've updated. That's some really shitty site design, and I'm positive it hasn't always been like that.
Anyway, long author's note incoming, so beware.
But, before I get into the more serious stuff, I'd like to give a massive thanks and shout out to athinachann at Instagram, who's responsible for the fantastic piece of fan art that's currently being used as this story's cover photo. The fact that there are people out there willing to put time and effort into creating original artwork for my work means more to me than I could possible describe in words. If anyone else would like to send me fan art, please feel free to do so. I'll compile them all into an album of some sort and post the link, as well as credit you at the end of the following chapter.
Moving on, since I've received some reviews about it, I'd like to address the romance in this story. No, Gohan will not have a harem of women, nor will he be a playboy hooking up with girls left, right and centre. That would be doing a grave disservice to his character, and personally, I don't like harems to begin with. I have nothing against people who write or enjoy them, but they're just not for me. I find them to be grossly unrealistic and extremely difficult to do right. Gohan and Momo is still the endgame pairing. How they're going to get to that point, however, remains to be seen.
All I'll say is that I haven't even begun to develop their relationship in that way. There haven't been any scenes that put the spotlight on Momo, like with Mina last chapter, nor have there been any scenes where she's truly been open with her feelings, like with Tsuyu a few chapters ago. We're still at the beginning stage, where the only thing between them is the crush Gohan has on her. That's all. I'm in no rush; there's still A LOT of story to get though, and I want to depict a natural, realistic high school dynamic between Gohan, his friends and his classmates. While this story is primarily an adventure/friendship fic (if I could select a third genre, it'd be humour), I'm not going to half-ass the romance aspect. These things take time. If you've stuck with me for this long, please be patient and have faith that I'll do it justice.
I've also received a few requests to change to other characters' POVs every now and then, or do interlude chapters. As much as I understand where you're coming from, that's unfortunately not going to happen. Aside from that small section at the start of chapter 1, this has been Gohan's story, and will continue being Gohan's story all the way through to the end. That was a conscious decision on my part.
Even though it means you, as readers, will be getting far less background information than you would from an omniscient narrator, I feel that a limited third-person perspective will result in a far more personal, far more grounded story. The point of writing the story this way is to make you feel what Gohan feels – to make you experience the exact same things he does, because you're seeing his journey through his eyes only. If I suddenly switched to someone else's POV after all this time, it would be incredibly jarring, and you'd definitely feel it. It'd also kill off a lot of the mystery I'm trying to convey. I'm sorry if this disappoints you, but I hope you can understand my reasoning.
Anyway, that wraps up the more serious stuff I had to say. I know a lot of people were looking forward to this chapter, so I hope it lived up to expectations. Writing a grossly overpowered main character in a tournament arc doesn't always make for the most compelling reading, but I tried my best to make this chapter entertaining. It didn't have too much action, but that was always going to be the case, since the obstacle course is far less chaotic than the cavalry battle and 1v1 fights. If you have the time, I'd love to know what you thought.
As for the rest of the sports festival, I've already planned out exactly what's going to happen. It's just a matter of writing it all down… which is the hardest part. Feel free to leave your own predictions, though; I'm really curious to see if anyone can get theirs right.
Lastly, I'd like to give another thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone who's favourited, followed and reviewed thus far. Your continued support has been my biggest source of motivation, and never fails to brighten my day, so please keep it coming.
Until next time!
