Disclaimer: Horikoshi Kouhei has all rights to My Hero Academia! You know, I'm running out of ways to phrase these disclaimers. Can we just skip this part?

- Chapter 6 -

Ready, Set

…Fuck.

'I think I'm lost.'

In her defense, there were three different stadiums, each with interconnecting buildings and corridors which (mind you) looked exactly the same. She had changed into her gym uniform at home, not keen on using the locker rooms at UA where a bunch of other people could see her naked. The security had ushered her through the back door without really telling her where the hell she was supposed to go. Though she could hardly blame them when over a dozen reporters were camping outside, ready to storm into the premises.

Megumi had wandered around aimlessly, trying to find a familiar face or a teacher or anything in the hopes of asking them where 1-A's prep room was supposed to be. Weren't there like, supposed to be signs and stuff around here? She had made sure to come earlier than the specified time so that she could mentally prepare herself for the competitive atmosphere. Unfortunately there would be nothing to compete against if she didn't hurry up and find that goddamned prep room.

She could see outside through the glass panels on the walls of some of the corridors. People were starting to fill up the seats in the stadium, cameramen setting up their equipment and getting ready to air the Sports Festival on live. It made Megumi shiver, thinking that literally thousands- no, perhaps the entire country would be watching. Except for a select few, like her asshole parents who were wholly uninterested in the entire event. She scoffed at the idea of them just sitting around in their respective dungeons, too busy making other people's lives miserable to care.

Her steps came to an abrupt halt when someone rounded the corner with an excited skip to their step, not looking where they were going. Megumi avoided the collision by stepping aside immediately, moving so fast she almost fell on her face due to whiplash. Soft hands grasped her wrists to steady her, a bashful giggle informing her that her assailant was in fact female. She steadied her on her feet and Megumi physically felt the energy radiating off of her in waves. "So sorry! It's just, today's such a big day! I can hardly contain myself."

Wide and curious eyes checked her out from top to bottom. Meanwhile, Megumi noted with a jolt that the girl before her had royal blue irises with white pupils- similar to Megumi's own, minus the teal color and slit pupils. Flustered, she struggled to remember where she had seen that long periwinkle hair and impish grin before. 'She looks so familiar… wait. She might just be my savior!'

Megumi let out a chuckle of her own. "It's no problem at all- the Sports Festival has me pretty jumpy as well. Thanks for catching me or I might have needed Recovery Girl before I even got to fight." She then confessed, with her cheeks burning from the shame of having to admit it, "Actually, I'm a bit lost. Would you happen to know where the prep rooms for first years are located?"

The girl blinked, before a bright smile lit up her face. She captured Megumi's hands in her own smaller ones, swinging them up and down enthusiastically. She was a lot shorter than Megumi- then again, Megumi was pretty tall for a girl her age at 172cm.

She tried her best not to break out in a nervous sweat. 'I don't know what's going on right now, but wow she's like a puppy.' Royal blue eyes were transfixed on her in interest. "Oh my, you're a first year! Man, you must be so much more excited than I am! I remember my first Sports Festival, it was so nerve-racking having to fight in front of so many people and competing against so many of my friends! Kyaa, don't worry, it's gonna be so great and so exciting and so much fun!"

'…Fun? Well, that's one way to look at it.' Megumi laughed awkwardly. "Yes. Um, about what I was asking you before…"

She gasped and ceased swinging their hands around. "Ah, sorry again! I get distracted really easily." She giggled, letting go of Megumi's hands. Megumi flexed them in an effort to get some feeling back into them. Her grip was strong for such a small girl. "You must have mistakenly entered through the wrong entrance! I guess the security was too swamped to inform you. This is the Third-Year stage: the First-Year stage is right that way, up the stairs, through corridor F-15, leading to building A…"

Megumi committed the description to her memory, bowing in gratitude. "Thank you so much. I'm really bad with directions, you just saved my life."

A slap on the back almost sent her lurching forward, but she kept her balance. "Oh you! No need to thank me. Good luck at the Sports Festival!"

Smiling back with equal optimism (albeit a lot more tuned down), Megumi waved a hand in farewell as she started moving down the hallway. "Good luck to you as well! If I could watch the Third-Years, I'd gladly cheer for you."

She watched the blonde run toward her destination, disappearing down the hallway. A face morphed through the wall beside her, looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Toying with first years, Nejire? Tsk tsk."

She pouted. "I wasn't toying with her, Mirio. Where is Tamaki?"

"Ah, you know. Here and there. Possibly inside a closet riding out his anxiety- the usual. But you're changing the subject."

Nejire was positively beaming. "Really, I was just pointing out some directions to her. Why didn't you tell me we have such cute underclassmen this year?"

Megumi slid open the doors to 1-A's prep room- only to startle and shut them back closed as soon as she saw a pair of heterochromatic eyes owlishly blinking back at her.

She ended up not entering the room until a few others started arriving. She hoped she didn't garner too many strange looks sitting on the floor next to the prep room's door in a lotus position, desperately trying to meditate herself into a calm state of mind. As soon as Ashido and Asui nudged her awake (because of course she had fallen asleep slouching forward), she entered the room with them. Still, she couldn't shake off the restlessness tugging at her heart. Her energy writhed and curled in distress and she fought hard to placate it, lest it ended up manifesting her chains spontaneously. That was especially difficult, considering the stubborn headache that just would not go away.

Cracking her skull open just to see what was inside that made it ache so damn bad was a dangerously tempting idea.

However, she knew that she wasn't the only one experiencing the nervous jitters. Uraraka had been pacing around for a while, only stopping once Asui approached her, offering her a bottle of water in case she was feeling queasy. Mineta was writing the kanji for numbers on one of his palms as if counting down their eventual doom. Ashido sat at a table together with Yaoyorozu, Ojiro and Tokoyami, Kirishima occasionally chiming in to participate in their conversation.

Koda and Shoji were farther in the back, most likely discussing how they could utilize their quirks during the Festival. Sato and Kaminari were having a heated discussion about something so amazingly superficial that she couldn't understand a single word coming out of their mouths. Midoriya was standing off to the side near the entrance, taking deep breaths and probably psyching himself up with a heroic inner monologue. The only two people who didn't seem fazed by the atmosphere in the least were Bakugou and Todoroki.

Megumi herself decided to dedicate the rest of her waiting time to stretching out her limbs and working out some cricks in her neck. 'Mr. Casual Overachiever and Mr. Delinquent Nerd don't even look like they care. To be fair, why should they? Todoroki is the type to lose on purpose just to spite Endeavour. And Bakugou's head is so far up his ass that the thought of losing doesn't even cross his mind.'

Ashido called her name from where she was sitting with the others. "Ne, Megumi. Don't you wish we coulda worn our costumes too?"

"They're not allowed in the interest of fairness," Ojiro stated noncommittally.

Megumi shrugged her shoulders. She didn't really care either way. "On the bright side, you can show off your quirk without having to worry about what kinda impression your costume gives off."

Yaoyorozu slumped slightly in her seat. "That's true." She mumbled ruefully.

Just then Iida came barreling into the room, his whole body vibrating in impatience. His booming voice could've shattered windows, quite honestly. "Is everyone good and ready? The event's about to begin!"

Megumi swallowed the knot in her throat, shakily straightening up. Even the headache pounding away at her brain couldn't overpower the excitement she was feeling. She wasn't sure about the fun part or whatever else the third year girl from before had mentioned- all she knew was this was going to be an opportunity for her to prove to herself that becoming a hero was not something out of her reach. That she was so close, closer than she had ever been as Colby. It was time to test her own resolve.

Her lips curled at the thought of slanted grey eyes looking down on her in contempt, red lips slanted upwards in the imitation of a smile. A shitty imitation. Barely passable. A sneer formed on her face at the thought. 'You're gonna need more than that second-rate theatre act to lure me into your traps. I'm not your convenient little toy anymore. I know exactly what you are.'

From the corner of her eye she saw Todoroki stand up from his spot and walk over to Midoriya. Megumi couldn't help but admire how the freckled boy didn't shrink away. She knew first-hand how intimidating Todoroki could be (especially when he literally gave you the cold shoulder). Their conversation started out as mere whispers, but eventually grew loud enough to attract attention.

"I will beat you." Todoroki declared.

She shook her head and scoffed, continuing to do her stretches as her fellow classmates started whispering and muttering to each other in surprise. Bakugou had a sour expression. No doubt about it, he had been listening in on their conversation ever since All Might's name was mentioned. 'Pff he looks like he sucked on a lemon. Oh wait he always looks like that.'

Kirishima walked up to them, trying to diffuse the situation. "Hey man, why pick a fight now? We're about to go on…"

Todoroki shrugged off the redhead with an aggressive shake of his arm. Megumi frowned. Kirishima was one of the few people who had taken her new behavior in stride and treated her with genuine goodwill. She didn't like seeing him get dismissed in such a hostile manner. "I really don't care. I'm not pretending to be anyone's friend here."

Several eyes zoomed in on her. For what? To gauge her reaction? She threw up her hands in a 'I have nothing to do with this' gesture, her face the picture of innocence. 'I mean, ouch? Kinda? Not like we were friends in the first place.'

"Everyone… even the kids from other courses are aiming for the top. And I'm- well, let me say this. I'm not gonna fall behind." Midoriya countered. Megumi held back from whistling at the chilling glare Todoroki was shooting at him. "I'm going for it too. With everything I've got!"

"…Right."

She would've really loved observing everyone's reactions and all, but the deafening voice coming from outside signaled for them to come out to the stadium. "Gather around, media! It's time once again to see the high schoolers you know and love revel in their youth…! It's UA's Sports Festival- Everybody — Are you ready?!"

A loud chorus of YEEEEAAAAHHH shook the ground.

Megumi's breath stuttered as they all started walking outside collectively. Her heart wildly thumping against her ribcage and the blood rushing to her ears were making her lightheaded. 'Oh my god. This is actually happening. That sounded like a few thousand people out there- fuck. Don't think about it. Keep it cool.'

Yuka stuck out her tongue in concentration, one finger on her metal ring as she peeped through the keyhole.

She could see the key slowly moving to the door towards her. She focused on steadily dragging it closer- floating closer and closer until it eventually dipped low and slipped from under the door to her feet. Squealing in delight, Yuka picked up the key and promptly opened the door to the room before shutting it back closed again.

Grabbing the remote from where it was placed on her brother's nightstand, she turned on the TV and searched for the right channel.

'Onii-chan is at prep school. Mother and Father are at work. Nanny thinks I'm sleeping.' A victorious smirk formed on her lips. The TV's screen flickered once more, before her finger ceased assaulting the arrow button on the remote. There it was. The Sports Festival stream!

A close-up of the participating classes came on. Yuka leaned forward, blue eyes locked on the screen.

She walked right behind everyone else, her eyes squinting at the bright sunlight. They widened in awe at the sight that greeted her.

The stadium was enormous.

The amount of reporters and pro heroes filling up the First-Year stage's seats was just insane. There were separate sections in the audience that were empty for students to sit and watch the fights later. If she happened to look to her right or left, people from other departments and classes were also entering the stadium. They were mere ants in comparison to the sheer size of the whole arena.

Present Mic's deafening voice echoed through the clearing, "It's UA's Sports Festival! The one time each year, when our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle! First up… you know who I'm talking about… the miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villain attack with their steely willpower…!"

And just like that, the excitement in her stomach turned into dread. 'No… tell me you're not doing this to us Sensei…'

"The First-Years of the hero course…!"

Who was she kidding? No amount of praying was gonna stop that man from further antagonizing the other classes and mounting shitloads of expectations on class 1-A.

"IT'S CLASS A!"

The audience exploded in cheers and applause. Any enthusiasm Megumi might have been feeling before had shriveled up and died. She could feel the glares aimed at their backs. Especially with how the other classes were introduced in comparison to 1-A.

Kirishima laughed nervously. "Wow, they're really praising us to the sky. I'm getting nervous now... you, Bakugou?"

The latter looked pleased, grinning like a demon. "Nope, just gets me pumped up."

"Following class B, it's classes C, D and E of General Studies! And here come the support courses, F, G and H! And the business course…"

Yikes. He was really doing them dirty.

Massaging her temples in annoyance, she decided that there was not much she could do about that. Present Mic was only doing his job, giving the media what they wanted. Their class had been at the center of controversy ever since the USJ Incident and no good reporter worth their salt would pass up a chance to write an article on that. That didn't mean it wasn't annoying. The crowd was obviously playing favorites. As Colby, she had known very well how vexing it had been when teachers had favorites.

Her eyes snapped open when a sudden thought entered her mind. If this is what they were going through as First-Years at a Sports Festival, how did pro heroes deal with the general public? She couldn't even imagine the immense pressure put on them, especially the top heroes who were constantly competing for first place.

She looked at the ground, eyebrows furrowed. 'Being a hero… Is it really that easy?'

The sudden spike of energy in her gut made her cringe. She could feel it bubbling up underneath her skin, begging to be let out. But she couldn't, not yet. Ashido looked up in concern at the strangled noise she made. "You good?"

Megumi shook her head in a 'yes' motion ever so slowly. The pinkette didn't probe much further, though that was largely attributed to the fact that Midnight had strutted onto the stage before them with a whip in one hand. "Now for the athlete's oath!"

Tokoyami would've most likely been raising an eyebrow if he hadn't been a bird. "R-rated? Should she really be teaching at a high school?"

"Silence!" Midnight made a show of whipping at the air, the sound resounding throughout the stadium. "My tenure is perfectly on the level! Now, your student representative is," Huh, wait, Megumi could've sworn she was forgetting something. "from class 1-A, Bakugou Katsuki!"

…Well.

Maybe she should get used to the second-hand embarrassment she felt whenever Bakugou so much as opened his mouth. If it was going to be such a frequent occurrence then she might as well resign herself to it.

She could feel the rest of class 1-A radiate the same existential pain as she did watching the blonde boy climb up that stage.

"I'm gonna place first."

Wow. Really now.

"Aw man, I knew he was gonna!" Kirishima lamented.

Bakugou sneered down at them. "You'll all make fantastic stepping stones, I'm sure."

'You know what? I'm not even gonna bother.' She only hoped that they could get on with the event soon so this whole debacle could be forgotten. Her quirk was buzzing along to the heated atmosphere and she wasn't sure if she could restrain it any longer. Ever since she had started training her chains her quirk had become weirdly energetic. Sometimes she wondered whether she was just a glorified babysitter and not a hero apprentice. She also already knew that there would be an obstacle race, so that might have attributed to the liveliness of her quirk. But she had to bide her time until the right moment presented itself for her to use her chains, else she'd tire out far earlier than she had planned.

She flexed her hands, subtly moving closer to the front of the crowd.

"Onto the preliminaries as they're called! Lot's of fine folk end up choking on their tears here every year. And this year's first round of destiny is…!"

'Obstacle Race' popped up in huge letters on a big holographic screen. Megumi tapped her foot on the ground impatiently, shifting from side to side. 'Get on with it! Ugh I hate theatrics.'

"…This!"

Huge gates opened up in the wall right in front of them. She rolled her shoulders back, warming up.

"It's a race between all 11 classes! The course makes a nearly 4km ring around this stadium."

The buzzing in her ears drowned out everything, background noise fading into nothingness. The only thing she focused on was her own heartbeat, steady and strong.

"We always sing about our freedom on campus, fufufu… meaning you're free to do anything, anything, so long as you remain within the course!"

Her pupils dilated, knees bending ever so unnoticeably. 'Anything? Huh.'

"So let's get cracking… on your marks…"

She licked her lips and clenched her teeth. Her quirk goaded her on, roaring at her to go.

The light turned green.

"STAAAAAAAART!"

Her feet kicked her off the ground as she shot forward like a charging bull.

A/N:

Welcome back. Thank you very much for favoriting and following. :)

I love your reviews and I read them all at least twice. XD

So it's time for the Sports Festival. To be very honest, it's not my favorite arc. I hope I can write the fighting scenes properly. Also, some of you guys really want to see Monoma haha. I promise he'll come on- eventually. I thought that I could include the obstacle race and the rest of the festival in one single chapter, but I thought wrong. Hopefully next chapter I can get on with it properly! Seriously, I was so disappointed once I realized the length of this chapter cuz I wanted to include so much more. Expect more action after this.

Fun fact, I had to look up how the Sports Festival even works cuz I had no idea that there were different stages for the first, second and third years respectively. And that's how the Nejire scene got conceived.

I see that you guys have questions and... well, all in due time. They will be answered. ;)

See you all next week! Time for me to write the rest of the Sports festival.