AN: So it's not been too long this time, which is good. Especially since this is my first chapter of 2022, so yay to that! Either way I'm back, and here is chapter 14, hope you enjoy, and please leave a review etc. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to PM me.

Another thing while I am at it, is this. I am a part of a discord group, there's tonnes of others there, plenty of writers, admittedly mainly PJO, but other stuff too. Feel free to pop along and say hi, I'm always happy to chat about the stuff I am writing. So if you fancy it please do to join by sticking this: discord .gg / ueJFynDNGG into discord, with no spaces, or using the link on my bio.

Thanks for reading and please do leave a review, that or feel free to PM, I am usually much better at answering those!

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia.

( - )

(Last Time)

"Of course, joining a famous Hero Agency will get you more experience and popularity. Time is limited. If you expect to go Pro, then the path to your future will open up at this event. One chance a year… A total of just three chances during your school career. No aspiring Heroes can afford to miss this event! If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations! The Sports Festival is a global event. The entire world will be watching you. So, don't screw it up!" Aizawa exclaimed, piling on the pressure now as he gazed around at his students.

"Yes, sir!" The class shouted in response.

"Good, now homeroom is dismissed."

( - )

Chapter 14

( - )

(With Izuku)

Striding purposefully towards the staffroom, Izuku couldn't help but feel slightly self conscious as he moved past a large group of older, third year students.

U.A. was a big place, far bigger than it appeared on the surface. For all that it was touted to be one of the greatest and most prestigious Hero Academies in Japan, the number of actual Hero Course students that walked its immense, oversized corridors was actually quite small in proportion to the rest of the school's population.

Less than five percent of the students at U.A. were Hero Course students, or in the Heroics Support Course. Instead, the majority of students that attended the Academy fell within either the General Education Course, which boosted the highest number of U.A. students, or in the more selective Business Courses. These courses were far more normal than the Hero Course, even if they were still just as competitive, and had a distinctly hero-ish slant to some of the subjects they covered. Turns out, U.A. wasn't just famous for its Hero Programme, but also for the other courses they ran.

Still, walking through the bustling school corridors now, far outside of the contained sections of the school he usually stuck to -those sections being the ones where the Hero Course homerooms, classrooms and cafeteria were all located, as well as both the internal and external Hero Course facilities- he was once again reminded of just how big U.A. as a facility and place of learning actually was, and also just how populated it was too.

The corridors were practically flooded with hundreds of unfamiliar kids, kids ranging from fifteen, his age, to seventeen and eighteen. Many of them were taller than him, or looked distinctly more mature as they bustled around in their U.A. uniforms clutching book bags, or holding phones, while chatting to the other students around them.

It was a far cry from the far more quiet areas of the school he was used to.

It made him uncomfortable.

He wasn't good with people at the best of times.

Nor was he that fond of being physically touched by those he didn't know, or by people who hadn't had his express permission.

He was also mildly claustrophobic.

All of which was a side effect of spending the majority of his life so far in a juvenile detention centre getting poked and prodded by doctors like some kind of lab rat, as they not only tried to teach him to control his Quirk, but to develop it too.

It wasn't exactly conducive to making him a normal, well rounded human being.

Never did he understand that more, then right now, as hundreds of teens flowed around him, occasionally knocking him with their shoulders, bags or arms by accidents as he tried to fight against the oncoming flow of students.

Gritting his teeth, and keeping his head and eyes down, Izuku fought the urge to lash out as he felt another person shoulder him, even as another group of students walking by him on the other side burst out into a round of raucous, obnoxious laughter.

It felt like he was drowning in a tide of humanity.

Clenching his hands into fists so hard they started to hurt, Izuku kept his head down as he drew on the enhanced strength his Quirk gave him in his base form, even as he squared his shoulders and started to barge his way through the milling crowd. Keeping his gaze resolutely on the floor, even as he heard some of the students around him cursing or shouting as he walked through clusters of spotty teenage boys, and parted covens of cackling teenage girls.

He hated the position he was in.

At the same time, though, he needed to bear with it as the teacher's staffroom was now in sight.

Keeping his temper in check, Izuku allowed the angry shouts and insults from the students he barged past to roll off his back as he instead pressed forward, his shoulders squared and his jaw clenched.

To an outside observer, he probably looked like some meathead thug trying to act tough as he deliberately barged through friendship groups.

A facade if ever there was one.

Fortunately, it did the job and allowed him to quickly reach his destination, whereupon he knocked on the oversized door, a stable of U.A.'s architecture, and waited, pushing down his anxiety, even as he felt the crowd of students continued to march past him.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait at the door long before someone answered his knock, that someone being the Pro Hero, and one of his teachers, Present Mic. "Yo, yo, yo, what's all this then? How can I help you little dude?"

Blinking at the eccentric blonde haired hero's odd form of address, Izuku looked up and locked eyes with him. His stomach was still roiling inside as he mentally steadied himself before speaking. "I'm here to see Mr Aizawa. Is he in?"

"Oh, old doom and gloom?" Present Mic asked, pulling down his golden sunglasses for a moment, revealing curious blue eyes, as he looked Izuku up and down for a moment, before grinning. "I take it you're one of his rugrats then? No, let me guess, it's Midoriya isn't it, Izuku Midoriya?"

Izuku could feel his stomach sink slightly as the overly enthusiastic teacher recognised him. There could be only one thing he was well known for, and it wasn't his grades. Still, he had expected this much. Most likely, his presence was something that Principal Nezu had discussed with the entire staff before he was even enrolled here.

"Yeah, I remember you from the entrance exam, you did a pretty damn flashy job. It was cool!" Present Mic pressed on with a much wider grin now, flashing a thumbs up even as he stepped aside and looked back into the staff room. "Yo Aizawa, one of your kids is here to see you! Wake up and come say hi!"

Izuku blinked in surprise, both at Present Mic's response to him, and also at the friendly, almost teasing way he spoke to his colleague, the grumpy and ever serious, Eraserhead. It was not only unprofessional, it was bizarre, especially considering how straightlaced and intense Aizawa was.

Still, despite his confusion, he gave Present Mic a slight bow and his thanks. "Err, thank you, sir."

"Not a problem, little man. I always have time for my listeners!" Present Mic grinned, flashing a smile with a few too many teeth, even as he reached out and ruffled Izuku's hair, before with another grin he sidestepped an unamused, tired looking Aizawa and sidled back into the staffroom.

"What is it, Midoriya? I presume you have a good reason for disturbing my rest?" Aizawa asked bluntly, his tone bored and his expression emotionless as he crossed his bandaged arms, leant against the door frame wearily and gazed down at him. He still looked a mess after what happened at the U.S.J., if anything close up, he looked worse than he had in class.

"Er, yes sir, I do." Izuku replied, steeling himself as he stood a little straighter and met Aziawa's gaze head on. From behind him, he could both feel and hear the corridor quieting down as the flood of students slowly died down as the students moved away to wherever they were planning to spend their lunch break. "I, I was hoping to speak with you about the sports festival."

"Oh?" Aizawa said, his gaze still bored.

"Yes," Izuku nodded, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth as he pondered over how best to express what he wanted to say.

"Well, I'm waiting." Aizawa said impatiently.

Izuku felt a flash of irritation at the man's tone. He didn't snap though, instead he took a deep breath and pressed on with what he wanted to say. "I don't want to take part in the sports festival, so I wanted your permission to skip it."

There he had said it. He had said what had been on his mind, ever since Aizawa had announced the tournament earlier that day.

"Oh, and why would you not want to take part?" Aziawa asked tonelessly, the only sign of his surprise being a slight widening of his tired, bloodshot eyes.

"I don't think it would be very fair if I were to take part, sir." Izuku said simply. He had thought about how best to phrase his desire on his walk here after class had let out for lunch.

"I never took you for being arrogant, Midoriya, lacking in confidence, yes, anxious over your past, certainly, but never arrogant." Aizawa shot back bluntly, his gaze boring into Izuku. "Do you truly think so little of your classmates that you don't think they would stand a chance against your Quirk? Are you truly so arrogant that you don't think they'll even be able to challenge you?"

"T-That's not what I meant at all, I'm not saying this because I'm arrogant." Izuku said, waving his hands in denial. "I think a lot of my classmates, and I would never dismiss their abilities like that. What I'm saying has nothing to do with them."

"What did you mean then?" Aizawa pressed.

"It's just that, with my history, people would instantly know who I am." Izuku replied softly.

"Almost certainly yes. People have very long memories when it comes to calamities like what happened at Mustafa. Just as they remember the greatest of heroes, even from generations before they were born, so to do they remember the most monstrous of villains. People like that, and incidents like Mustafa. Things like what happened there, they tend to leave an indelible mark on a country, city, population's history, and scar the memories of those who witnessed it first hand." Aizawa said bluntly, his arms still crossed.

"So you understand why I don't want to take part then?" Izuku asked hopefully, once again trying to broach the topic of him avoiding participation in the festival. "I don't want to be a distraction, I don't want to take the spotlight away from my classmates, I don-"

"You don't want to be noticed." Aizawa interrupted, his eyes narrowing. "What you say sounds very noble on the surface, Midoriya. But I'm guessing the main reason why you don't want to take part, is that you don't want people knowing you're at the school, and trying to be a hero. You're scared of what people will say and do."

"I-" Izuku tried, before trailing off. He wasn't sure what to say in response to Aizawa's brutal, yet factual statement. That was the main reason. He was a coward, and he dreaded what the reaction to his being here would be. He had created a comfortable life for himself at the school, had found his niche, and dare he say it, he had made friends too. He didn't want to lose any of that, not now he had finally found a place where he could be happy.

"People already know, Midoriya." Aziawa said simply, his gaze softening slightly as he shifted his position.

"W-What, what do you mean? How?" Izuku asked, before wincing as he realised how stupid he sounded. Students talked to their parents, and enough of them had probably recognised him, especially after Bakugo's rant, for it to spread throughout the school and beyond to the friends and families of the students. Similarly, the villains from the attack on the U.S.J., enough of them had seen him in his Titan form that it would be a matter of public record that he was there.

"I see you've worked it out." Aziawa said dryly.

"What happens now?" Izuku asked quietly, his heart sinking.

"We carry on as before," Aziawa replied bluntly. "Little has truly changed. Word of your attendance was bound to get out sooner or later, the Principal accepted you into U.A. fully knowing that that would be the case. Simply put, you continue your education, and continue your training. Only now, there will be more scrutiny on you, and upon U.A. as a whole. Your actions, both the good and bad, will be reflected onto U.A. If you lose control and have another murderous temper tantrum, you will stain U.A.'s reputation for generations to come. If you succeed and prove the naysayers wrong, however, by becoming a hero, then that will only add to the school's reputation and prove to society that anyone, regardless of their start in life or their Quirk, can be a hero."

Izuku stared down at his feet as he took Aziawa's words in, his heart thundering in his chest as he avoided eye contact for a few moments, before with a deep breath, he squared his jaw and looked up at his teacher again.

"I have to compete, don't I?" Izuku said quietly. If he avoided the Sports Festival, it would have people asking questions, and jumping to the conclusion that he wasn't competing due to him being unstable. The spotlight wouldn't just be on him, it would be on the entirety of U.A.

The Principal had made a massive gamble allowing him to enrol, one that could very easily backfire. A part of him was heartened by the Principals' show of faith. Another part of him, however, the more cynical side of him, was angered by the blatant manipulation.

"You don't have to. You could attend and then sandbag in the first round and get eliminated. It would be a simple way to avoid too much exposure, and show people you're not all that competent." Aziawa said softly, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Izuku's face. His bandaged face hid his expression, making it all but impossible for Izuku to read what he was thinking.

Hearing the words though, Izuku internally cringed.

It was an easy way out, but just the thought of acting in bad faith like that, especially when all his classmates were doing their all, and trying their absolute best, it filled him with disgust.

"Of course, if you did that, you would probably lose your place in the Hero Course to someone more worthy of the position. Maybe that Mineta boy, I've heard he's been training hard to get back into the Hero Course. You'd also make a pretty big statement by not using your Quirk to its fullest. Just how it would be interpreted, however, I don't know. Could be that they see it as a sign of maturity and control, the fact you don't use it. Or they could think you are a coward, someone too scared of your own ability to use it, even when in a controlled environment. Either way, it would get people talking."

Izuku grimaced. He had watched hero television in his flat, and had seen how vacuous and two faced the media was when it came to reporting on both heroes and villains, and the shenanigans they got into, both in public and in their personal lives. It was a reflection of the people of today, really, and their general attitude towards the commercialised age of heroism in which they now lived. The only thing people liked more than raising a hero up, was tearing one down, and he wasn't even a hero, or at least not yet.

"In the end, it all comes down to one question, Midoriya." Aziawa pressed on, a hint of fire entering his normally bored, placid voice. "Do you still want to be a hero? And if so, what kind of hero do you want to be?"

Locking eyes with Aziawa, Izuku already knew his answer.

( - )

(Sometime later)

The rest of the school day went by slowly following his eventful, and difficult, talk with Aziawa. For Izuku, part of the reason why the hours seemed to drag by, was because he spent much of the time deep in thought. With him only making token conversation with his classmates, all of whom were still excited about the upcoming Sports Festival, and even then he only spoke when directly spoken too.

Whether any of his friends and classmates noticed he was being quieter than he normally was, he wasn't sure. Yui, he knew, had certainly given him a curious look, before going on to say nothing, as she instead tuned back into the lesson, all of which was pretty normal as far as the quiet girl went.

Other than her, the rest of his friends and classmates had just continued on as normal, laughing and boasting about their upcoming feats in the Festival when they could, but otherwise just doing classwork and enjoying their school life.

Izuku tried to do the same, if only so he could stop his treacherous mind from ruminating over his conversation with Aizawa, and all the things he wished he had said, and things he wished he had kept to himself. He had even started to second guess himself, and the decision he had come to at the conclusion of the conversation. Which, considering how uncertain he still was, was not a good thing.

Unfortunately, class did nothing to take his mind off of things. The classes they had had today were the mundane normal type, focussing on mathematics, geography and history. They were pretty dull really, especially considering he already knew most of what they were learning thanks to his comprehensive education at Asphodel. That, and the normal classes just felt boring and pointless after their encounter with the villains at U.S.J. just over a week or so ago. Learning about quadratic equations and trigonometry just felt so senseless after their brush with true villainy, and their first experience of what they would be facing out there, in the real world.

Eventually, however, and thankfully, the classes did end with the ringing of the end of lesson bell. This in turn provoked a sudden rush as the final bell rang and the students all stood up en masse in an excited swarm, all of them packing their books in their bags and slinging them over their shoulder, even as they chatted and slowly but surely began to migrate their way towards the door.

Standing up slowly, Izuku took his time packing his books, his gaze roving over his fellow students as he waited for the crowds to thin.

He wasn't in much of a conversational mood at the moment.

He wanted space and time right now, he didn't want to be dragged into any conversations or debates over the upcoming Sports Festival.

"Hey Midoriya, are you coming?" Kirishima suddenly called out from the crowd, his words jarring Izuku and making him flinch as he looked up in surprise.

"W-What?" Izuku said.

"Yeah, we were thinking of heading to the arcade, you know the one near the train station, you want to come?" Kaminari tagged on enthusiastically.

"Urgh, arcades. Do we have to go there? They just stink of BO and are filled with smelly, gross, sweaty boys." Toru complained. If he had been able to see her, Izuku imagined he would have seen her sticking tongue out in disgust after she finished speaking.

"Nah, the arcade is great! I love the dance dance revolution machine, it's old school, but still so cool!" Mina grinned, throwing her arm around the invisible girl's shoulder.

"There is a good café next door too. It's got a good vibe, chilled music, they make pretty good coffee and cake as well." Jiro chipped in casually, leaning against the desk as she glanced over towards the others.

"Cake you say?" Toru asked, suddenly interested.

"I could go for something sweet right now," Rikido Sato jumped in, a large grin on his face as Shoji followed along behind him. "Mind if me and Shoji come with?"

"Yeah sure, whatever," Jiro shrugged, before looking over at Momo. "Yo, Yamomo, you want to come with us too? We're going for tea, coffee, cake and arcade games if you fancy it?"

"Oh, well I've never been to an arcade before, but well, if everyone else is going, why not. I'll just have to ring and let my driver know." Momo stammered a response, a hint of pink spreading across her cheeks as she smiled.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, group trip!" Krisihima shouted. "Midoriya, are you up for it?"

"I-" Izuku began, withholding a grimace as he saw several eager faces turn to look in his direction.

A part of him wanted to go, as it might be a good way to unwind. Another part of him, however, wanted to say no, so he could instead slink off back to his apartment and brood in peace. Which is to say, he didn't know what he would say in response to Kirishima's invitation.

Fortunately, before he could accept, or come up with some sort of excuse to enable his antisocial desires, he was distracted by Ururaka shouting.

"Whoa, what's this all about?! T-There are so many people!" Uraraka said loudly in surprise, drawing the attention of the rest of the room as they turned to look at where she was standing, by the now open door of their homeroom, before crowding around her to see what had got her attention.

Grudgingly following the crowd, Izuku quickly discovered what the issue was.

There was a mass of other students, all of them looking around their age, filling up the corridor outside their classroom and blocking their way out of the room.

Peering over Uraraka's shoulder, Izuku could barely even count exactly how many there were. Though taking a quick approximation, if he had to say a number, then there must have been at least twenty standing in a scrum around the door.

"Explain yourselves! Why are you blocking our path?!" Iida burst in, his hand chopping at the air as if to emphasise the point he was trying to make.

"We can't even get out, jeez," Jiro muttered, eyeing the other students curiously.

"What do you think they want?" Toru asked nervously.

"Probably just here to check me out," Mina laughed, striking a pose like one might see a catwalk model do, even as Toru and Jiro snorted with laughter.

"Nah, I reckon they're here to scope out the competition. They must want to check out the class who fought villains at U.S.J. the other day. I mean, think about it, we're the biggest, manliest challenge they're going to face at the Sports Festival." Kriishma interrupted, a fierce grin on his face as he hardened his hand and thrust it in the air in challenge. "Well bring it on, I say! Let the manliest man win!"

"You do know some of us are girls, don't you?" Jiro asked sarcastically.

Mina emphasised the point, by cuffing Kirishima around the back of the head and then crossing her arms, Toru, Uruaka and Jiro on either side of her. "Yeah!"

"That still does not explain why they are here, blocking our paths, though!" Iida burst out indignantly, as he attempted to steer the conversation back around to the matter at hand.

Sticking to the back of the crowd of 1A students, Izuku walked to stand beside Yui as he watched the ongoing confrontation.

From what he could see, the crowd of other students were getting antsy, either because of Mina and Jiro's dismissiveness, Kirishima's over enthusiastic response, or Iida's bossiness. Whatever it was, the crowd didn't look to be dispersing anytime soon, in fact he could see it shifting as two individuals pushed their way through and made it to the front.

They both had purple hair.

One of them, the one with a gaunt, pale face, dark shadows under his eyes and messy purple hair, he didn't recognise.

The other one however, who was short, and whose hair seemed to consist of purple globes, he did vaguely remember.

It was Mineta, a former 1A classmate, or at least he had been for a single day before Aizawa had demoted him back down to General Education to make a point. It had been the very student that Aziawa had mentioned in passing just hours ago. The one that was apparently training hard to prove his worth, and get back into the Hero Crouse.

"Oh, that's quite simple," Mineta said as he shoved his way to the front, drawing all eyes on him. His nasally voice, diminutive height and distinct hairstyle made him stand out as he glared up at all of them.

"Oh, it's the little guy," Mina said, her brow furrowing. "What was his name again?"

"It's Mineta, right?" Ojiro spoke up, his arms crossed as he eyed the scowling shorter boy curiously.

The rest of the class looked just as curious, even as the shorter boy's scowl seemed to intensify at not being instantly remembered.

"Minoru Mineta!" Mineta confirmed with a scowl, pointing his thumb up at himself. "You remember me, I was one of you, or at least until I was unfairly kicked off of the Hero Course after that bullshit Quirk test!"

"Oh, don't worry Mineta, it's just another example of the bias that is so prevalent here in U.A.. Those with strong, heroic Quirks are favoured over those with more niche abilities. It's typically shortsighted and retrogressive. Especially considering the range of heroes out there in the world." The other, taller, purple haired boy said, his bored gaze roving over Class 1A. A distinctly unimpressed look on his bored, tired looking face. "I have to say, I'm kind of disappointed. For all the hype about your class, you don't look particularly strong or powerful, just arrogant really."

From around him, Izuku could see his classmates react. Some of them immediately scowled and went on the offensive, verbally calling out the arrogant newcomers. Others just shrugged his comments off, dismissing it as petty jealousy, or as a potential rival trying to psyche his opponents out.

He, however, said and did nothing, instead he just continued to watch and listen, his gaze shifting over the crowd of students. A lot of those gathered he remembered passing or seeing in the halls when he was attending mundane classes. All the first years were grouped in the same part of the building. They were all first years, but most of them were from the General Education Course, which meant that a good portion of them had probably tried and failed at entering the Hero Course, only to fall back on the still good, but not quite as prestigious General Education Course as a backup.

"Still," the messy haired boy continued. "It is true that we came here to check out the so-called stars of U.A's first years… to, as you say, scope out the competition. Mineta has told us a lot about you, and the things we've heard, well I suppose… I was expecting more..."

"You're not so hot looking yourself, scarecrow." Jiro shot back.

The boy's bored eyes shifted onto Jiro at that comment, narrowing slightly as he started to size her up, before his gaze dismissed her as he instead looked over the rest of the class, seemingly searching for someone.

"Turns out there's a lot of kids who wound up on the General Education Course or on one of the other courses because they failed to get into the heroics one. Did you know that?" The boy pressed on, ignoring Jiro's previous comment as he did so.

"It does make sense," Momo confirmed softly. "There's only forty available spots in both classes 1A and 1B, everyone knows that, and considering thousands of people compete for those forty spots, it would only make sense for there to be a lot who fail to make the grade."

"That, or we were just too manly for them to handle!" Kirishiima laughed, fist pumping the air.

"The competition was harsh, and hard won. In the end, only forty could achieve victory, and we twenty were among that number that stood victorious that day." Tokoyami said in his usual over the top manner. "Many were those who were cast into the darkness and despair, but that does not mean it was their end, for even during the darkest of nights, there will eventually be a dawn."

Several students, including some of those from Class 1A gave Tokoyami odd looks at his statement.

Others however, the angrier and more resentful looking students in the crowd, instead glared. Momo, Tokoyami and Kirishima's words were not all that insensitive, nor could Izuku sense any malice in them. Despite that, however, he could still see some among the crowd of students at the doorway scowling or rearing back in anger at what had just been said.

"Bitch," Mineta audibly muttered.

Izuku instinctively scowled as his sharp hearing picked up the mutter, as did too several of his classmates.

Before anyone could say anything, though, the other boy continued to speak as if nothing had happened.

"Did you know that based on the results of the Sports Festival, students in the other courses can be transferred into the Hero Course? Togeiku is an example of that." Several people glanced at the nervous dark haired girl within Class 1A's number at that comment. "After Mineta was unfairly kicked from the Hero Course, as the one of the next highest scoring students still at U.A. she was given the opportunity to move up" The other teen pressed on, his gaze momentarily shifting to Mineta for a second, before moving back to Class 1A. "And the reverse is also possible. If, no when, some of you don't make a good showing in the Festival, well then you're out, which will leave your spaces open for one of us to step into. So yes, we are here to scope out the competition, but as for me… I also came with a declaration of war."

"So basically, you guys should start learning the General Education Course timetable, because we're going to be taking your places on the Hero Course." Mineta grinned.

A silence followed that statement.

Internally, Izuku felt anger begin to bubble up within him at the presumptuousness and arrogance the purple haired kid displayed.

Any previous nervousness or awkwardness was being burned away by irritation.

His classmates deserved to be in this school. He had seen them train, and had seen how hard they worked. He had witnessed first hand the results of that training too, and all their years of effort they'd put into training their bodies, minds and Quirks before even coming to U.A., during the U.S.J. attack.

They had all earned their places here, and had done nothing to warrant this ambush by the other first years.

It kind of pissed him off.

He could respect a challenge, and he knew U.A. was highly competitive.

It was part of what made it so prestigious.

But this was taking things a bit too far.

Before anything else could be said, however, the growing tension between the two groups was shattered by the arrival of another familiar face.

"Oi! Get the fuck out of the way, losers!" Katsuki Bakugo snapped as he shoved his way through the crowd of students, his red eyes roving over the crowd of 1A students before shifting and locking unerringly on to Izuku as he physically shoved the taller, purple haired boy out of the way and knocked Mineta over.

Behind him, Izuku could see the other blonde, Monoma following along behind Bakugo with a smirk, and several other Class 1B students, including an angry looking grey haired boy, and a scowling brown haired boy.

"Aww, not this guy again," Kaminari groaned.

"Fuck off," Bakugo spat back. "And what's all this shit about declaring war? Take your edgy bullshit back to gradeschool you fucking loser. You all failed to get into the Hero Course because you are failures. You're weak. You're just prey in a world full of predators, so piss off!"

To emphasise his point, Bakugo raised his hands and created a number of small explosions, making some of the closer General Education students back off, with nervous expressions on their faces.

"Scurry away like the rats you are!" Bakugo growled, giving the hangers on one last look before he fixed his attention back on the other hero class, or more particularly on Izuku.

"Deku you fucking coward! We're finally going to have it out, me and you, in the Sports Festival, monster. Don't you fucking dare pussy out, because I'll be waiting for you, you jumped up shit! I've got ten years of payback to dish out, and I'm going to enjoy every second of it!" Bakugo snarled, his face going red, and his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

The grey haired boy behind him grabbed his shoulder and held him back, as if he were worried that the explosion user was about to lunge forward and attack Izuku in the corridors. "Stay cool, man, like how you normally are. Don't let him get under your skin, big man, save it for the Festival."

"Well put my friend," Monoma spoke up, brushing aside the scowling purple haired boy, as he walked to stand beside Bakugo and patted the ash coloured haired boy on the shoulder as he did so.

From where he was standing, Izuku could see a nasty gleam enter blonde's his gaze as he surveyed Class 1A, before he too homed in on him.

"Yet more Hero Course students, you're just as arrogant as the rest, pushing people around and threatening them, and because what, because you have a cool, flashy Quirk?" The purple haired boy spat.

"Oh, what, you're still here." Monoma said dismissively, a look of distaste flashing across his face as he looked at the General Education Course student. "Please go away, I'm not here for a bottom feeder like you. No, I'm here for you!" The blonde continued, his finger pointing past the rest of 1A and at Izuku.

In response Mina and Kirishima stepped in the path of the finger, even as Yui suddenly, and inexplicably grabbed his hand. Following their classmates' lead; Kaminari, Shoji, Sato, Sero, Uraraka, Momo and Toru did the same, presenting a united front, even as several more Class 1B students shoved their way through the now confused and disorganised General Education students.

"Well, if you want him, then you'll need to go through us." Momo said, her arms folding.

"Yeah, go Yamomo, represent!" Mina cheered.

"Yeah, you tell them! U.A. has no place for bullies!" Toru added.

Monoma snarled at the response, his lip curling upwards. "Aww, isn't that cute. The big bad titan needs to be protected by little girls. How cute."

At his words, a murmur went through the assembled crowd, with a number of them now looking at Izuku with a mixture of shock and fear.

The gaunt, purple haired boy's expression seemed to intensify as his dull eyes bored holes into the side of Izuku head.

"Hey, come on, let's head back to class." The brown haired, Class 1B student said, tugging at Monoma's blazer.

"Yeah, we've seen them." The grey haired kid nodded. "And that's all we came here to do. To check out the competition and give them our own warning."

"Oh, and what warning is that?" Todoroki asked icily, stepping around from the side of the 1A class, not even glancing at Izuku or his fellow classmates, instead his dual coloured eyes surveyed the Class 1B students.

"That it'll be Class 1B winning the Festival, not you 1A posers." Monoma sneered, allowing himself to be dragged away as he did so. "So get ready to lose, all of you."

"Hn," Todoroki snorted dismissively.

"Hey, Deku." Bakugo snarled, holding his ground for a moment as the grey haired kid tried to drag him away too. "I meant what I said. I want you to make it into the final, because then you'll be up against me, and I'll prove to the entire world just what a cowardly, snivelling monster you always were, and when we do fight, these pathetic losers will not be there to shield you from me."

Feeling the anger flood through him, Izuku squared his shoulders, and pushed past his classmates. "You're nothing, Bakugo, you always were."

Snarling at that, Bakugo spared him one last hateful glare before he turned and walked away. "You die in the final Deku, get ready for it."

"Prick," Izuku muttered, his gaze following Bakugo and Monoma as they left, even as he became aware of the rest of the General Education students dispersing or breaking off, all save for the scraggly, messy purple haired kid, who spared him one last curious look, before he too turned and left.

"Well, that was suitably dramatic." Mina said into the silence that followed.

"So, arcade?" Kaminari added.

"Yeah sure, why not." Izuku muttered.

( - )

AN: And so there we are, not quite action heavy but more character development, and setting things up based, still important though, and interesting to write, and hopefully, interesting to read.

Next chapter will kick off the Sports Festival, which should be good fun as it is not going to be the same as the canon festival, after all this one is held in Thirteen's memory, RIP, and as such things have been adjusted to reflect that. That said there will still be plenty of action. People will be gunning for Izuku and Class 1A, and people will be kicking off. Things will be suitably dramatic, especially when this version of Izuku announces himself to the world. I'm sure it'll be interesting to see how the many varied groups and person, as well as the general public will react to what happens!

Either way I am looking forward to writing more of this. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it, or continue to do so. If not then please tell what you didn't like, or what you thought could have been done better? Please leave a review, comment etc. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to PM me.

Also I am on a discord with a load of other writers, so if you fancy popping over to ask questions or offer suggestions about this story, or any of my other ones, or to find new authors you might not have come across yet, please feel free to use the link in my bio.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.

Greed720.