A/N: Surprise everybody. With how things are looking, I'm going to change my update schedule for this fic to twice a month for the time being. This chapter will start off the Sports Festival arc. Hope you all enjoy it.
A week had gone by since the incident at HSI. It had been a trying time for the three first year hero classes. But in the end, they had managed to pull through and save the day. Ever since then, Class 1-C had been surprised at how much Sienna Yamagori's attitude had changed. She had said she would start putting serious effort into teaching them, but it was still a shock to them at the difference. She showed up to hero training classes when she didn't need to, gave some of them feedback on what they needed to improve on, and was altogether a lot more helpful.
As the bell for homeroom rang, the students sat down as Yamagroi entered the room. She walked over to her desk and addressed the class. "Alright everyone, listen up. I'm sure you're all aware of this already, but the U.A. Sports Festival is coming up."
"Of course." Hyde said with a grin. "Like anyone would forget about that."
The other students nodded in agreement. It was rare to find anyone that hadn't heard of the U.A. Sports Festival. It was a yearly event where students competed against each other, separated by grade, and aimed for glory. The entire country tended to watch it, much like the Olympics had been for them in the past before it became a shadow of its former glory.
"Is the school really ok with holding it though?" Sakura asked. "After all, there was a villain attack at the USJ recently, not to mention what happened during the field trip."
"The school believes holding the event despite that will show its rock solid crisis management system." Yamagori explained. "Besides, it's a major event throughout Japan. It'll take more than what's happened for them to cancel it." She looked at each of her students. "It's a once a year event, where you have a chance to show the country what you can do. If you're planning to catch the eye of some well-known hero agencies, there's no better place for it than this."
Each of the students had expressions made up of determination, excitement, or both in some cases. They all knew the point their teacher was trying to get across. They needed to do well in this if they wanted a good chance at securing their futures as big time pro heroes.
"I told you all before that I expect you all to be the best class among the first years, didn't I?" Yamagori said. "Well now's your time to show Class A and B what you're made of. I won't settle for anything less than first place, got it?"
"Yes ma'am!" the entirety of Class 1-C said together.
"Good." the woman said. "In that case, don't slack off on preparations."
With that, the school day went on as usual. However, once lunchtime came around, the only topic of conversation going around the room was the Sports Festival. The class left the room in groups, each one talking about their excitement for the event or what they were planning to do in order to prepare.
"I hope the events aren't too hard. We're not allowed to wear our costumes, right?" Sakura said. "If I don't have any plantlife near me, my Quirk will be useless."
"Sadly that tends to be the case for those whose Quirks can't be used in any location." Fiona admitted. "It'll be tough for me too if there isn't any water around."
"I will try to keep my dazzling presence from taking up too much of the spotlight." Merci said.
Nene rolled her eyes at Merci's statement. "You're in the same boat as them, Merci. You need a flower to use your Quirk and you can't bring any with you."
"What?! This cannot be?!"
"It can and it is. If it's not part of your body then you can't bring it with you." Marcus told him.
Merci held his head low as he and the others continued walking. As they made their way to the cafeteria, they noticed a large number of students gathered in the hallway near the room for Class 1-A. It was crowded with students to the point that it was impossible to pass.
"The hell's going on over there?" Shiro questioned.
Daiki looked at the sign hanging above the door. "Class 1-A. I get it."
"They're trying to scope out the competition for the Sports Festival." Sarah said.
"Then why is everyone gathered here?" Jill asked. "There's three hero classes after all."
"It's because of the USJ attack." Dan realized. "Class A's in the spotlight since they fought off villains."
Hyde scoffed at the claim. "Big deal. We fought villains too when we were attacked at the field trip."
"Ha! You think that's really the same?!" a voice said from the room. The crowd made way as a boy with ash-blonde spiky hair walked out. He looked at Hyde with a smug grin. "From what I heard, your teacher was the one that did all the hard work. You probably just followed her around like dogs on a leash."
"What was that?" Hyde glared.
"Did you even fight any villains on your own? Well?" the boy said. "Don't go acting like you're in my league, losers. You're all just stepping stones on my path to being the number one hero."
"Bakugo, you can't just go acting so rude to people!" another boy from Class 1-A called out, this one a black haired boy with glasses. "You're going to set a bad image for the class!"
"Big deal. The end goal is the same either way." Bakugo said. "Win and stand above everyone else. That's all that matters. What others think won't matter in the end."
"You won't be talking so tough once I take first place." Hyde challenged.
"Don't make me laugh." Bakugo said as he walked past Hyde and the others. "When everything's said and done, you'll see the difference between you and me."
The glasses-wearing boy rushed out of the room, waving an arm at Bakugo. "What did I just say?!" He sighed as he turned his gaze to Class 1-C. "I apologize for my classmate's rudeness. I can assure you that not all of us hold the same beliefs as him. My name is Tenya Iida."
"It's alright. We know what it's like to have a hotheaded classmate." Dan said, glancing slightly at Hyde.
"Hmph. I don't see why everyone's getting worked up." Shinobu said. He walked past his classmates and walked on ahead. "That fool was loud mouthed, but there was one thing he said that was true. The only thing that matters in the end is winning. Everyone else is unimportant."
"Hey! Don't go writing the rest of us off so easily!" a boy in the crowd with a steel-like body yelled. "Seems it's not just Class A, but also Class C that has cocky jerks!"
"The loud mouthed ones like you tend to be the first to lose." Shinobu said nonchalantly. "Instead of talking the talk, focus on walking the walk instead."
The crowd made way for Shinobu as he walked past them. Alicia brought her hand to her face. "Great. Now everyone's going to hate us too."
"Seems we'll have our work cut out for us." Satoshi said.
The rest of the students gradually began making their way down to the cafeteria for lunch. Tensions were high after the conversation in the hallway. But one thing was true for each member of Class 1-C. Their minds were all set on showing the world what they could do.
Yamagori leaned back in the break room as she drank a can of soda, relaxing with the lunch break she had. She was soon accompanied by the homeroom teachers for Class 1-A and 1-B as they walked into the room.
"You sure seem to be in a good mood, Yamagori." Vlad said. "I would think you'd be nervous with the Sports Festival right around the corner."
"Nervous? As if." Yamagori said with a smirk. "My students are ready for this. Perhaps it's you two that are feeling nervous."
"My class will be fine. Provided they prepare accordingly." Aizawa said as he took a seat. "In the end, it's up to them to show off their skills and catch the eyes of hero agencies."
"Yup. It's out of our hands from this point on." Yamagori said in agreement. "If they want to be pros, they can't miss this chance."
Vlad took a seat with the other two teachers. "It's more than the chance at a good internship on the line, though. You both know the other side to the festival of course."
Yamagori knew exactly what Vlad was referring to. Depending on the results of the Sports Festival, there was a chance that some students in other courses would be transferred into the hero course. Similarly, there was also a chance that some would be transferred out. It rarely ever happened, but the chance always existed every year.
"Class C is going to be at the top. So they won't let their dreams of being heroes end in a pathetic way like that." Yamagori told them.
Aizawa looked at the female teacher. "You've changed."
"Hm?"
"Before, you barely seemed to care at all about your class. But now you're saying you have full confidence in them."
"I agree." Vlad added.
Yamagori showed a small grin. "Yeah, well… maybe they just reminded me of my old self." She took another sip of her soda. "Just try not to complain too much when my students show your classes up."
"Heh, careful Medusa. You might be in for a surprise with how the festival turns out." Vlad smirked.
Class 1-C sat together at the lunch table, still discussing the upcoming Sports Festival. The topics varied from what past year events had been like to what some might be doing to prepare but it was all about the festival.
"I should probably work on improving my body." Sakura mentioned as she thought about things. "There's no guarantee I'll be able to use my Quirk in all of the events."
"I guess it's the school's way of making students learn to adapt to environments that may not be suited for their Quirks." Jill said. "Still though, we don't necessarily have to finish in the top spots as long as we can show off our skills to the pros."
"Each event will be a chance. And we're going to have to seize them." Marcus said, taking a bit of his food.
Discussions went on amongst the students. A few of them talked about training together so they could help each other improve. As they talked, they were interrupted by a newcomer's voice.
"Well if it isn't Class C."
Several heads at the table turned as a boy with blonde hair walked up to them. Hyde narrowed his eyes at the student. "Do we know you?"
"Ah, where are my manners? I'm Neito Monoma of Class 1-B." the boy said, introducing himself. He leaned in and whispered to make sure prying ears wouldn't overhear him. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to listen to a little suggestion I have."
"And what would that be?" Nene asked.
"We both know that Class A has gotten a lot of attention due to the villain attack at USJ. Our two classes have instead gotten ignored by the general public as if we don't even exist." Monoma said. "So I suggest an alliance. We could work together in the Sports Festival and crush those Class A losers like the worms they are."
"And what makes you think we need your help to beat Class A?" Hyde asked. "I know I can take them down all on my own."
"Relying on others is pointless." Shinobu said. "This isn't a team competition. It's everyone for themselves. If you can't handle things on your own, then you're just weak."
Monoma twitched slightly, clearly holding himself back a little. "I see some of you have gotten a bit of a big head with the HSI incident. But let's be honest, it was your teacher that did all the hard work, right? The news didn't cover you all that much from what I saw."
"Monoma, was it?" Hikari said. "Let's get something clear. It's true Miss Yamagori was the one who fought the villain's leader. But we still did our fair share to help there."
"On top of that, it doesn't matter to us whether or not we got highlighted. We know our skills are real." Dan added. "And we plan to win without using any cheap tricks like ganging up on a single group."
"You hear that? Maybe your class just isn't up to the cut." Hyde smirked. "Though I guess it's only natural to be nervous with someone like me to deal with."
Monoma's expression changed from an innocent smile to a face devoid of any sanity. A mad grin came to him. "I see. I was hoping to give you all a chance at sharing the glory, but it seems you're all too stupid to realize the smart thing to do. So we'll just have to crush you and Class A ourselves."
'Geez, talk about a tone shift.' Alicia thought to herself.
Monoma walked away from the table, laughing to himself as if he was a villain rather than a hero. Most of Class C were a little off put by the craziness emanating from him.
"Yikes, I feel kind of bad for his class. Having to deal with a guy like him must be tough." Lilina said.
"It doesn't matter. It'll all come down to who's the best in the end." Shinobu said as he continued to eat. "The fact that he felt help was needed only proves he's not confident in his ability."
"Still, it looks like we'll have to stay on our toes. Class B might be after us now too." Shiro mentioned.
With that, Class 1-C went back to eating their lunch. If the day so far had proven anything for them, it was that things were going to be eventful at the Sports Festival. And they'd all need to do their best to be prepared for it.
The days leading up to the U.A. Sports Festival went by in the blink of an eye. The students of Class 1-C each trained hard in their own separate ways in preparation for it. Some worked on improving their Quirks through control or power. Others focussed instead on improving their physical abilities. It was a grueling process for each of them, but they each did it without complaint. It was like their teacher had told them. If they wanted to become pros, then they couldn't miss this chance to catch the eyes of hero agencies.
And just like that, before they knew it, the day of the Sports Festival finally arrived.
