It's lunchtime in Class 1A, and despite his sudden introduction, the brand new transfer student, Son Goku, was quickly summoned back to the faculty offices to fill out some more, additional paperwork…
"A brand new classmate, the sports festival, and the chance to get scouted out?!" Kirishima balled his fists, absolutely stoked. "This has got me so freaking pumped!"
"Even after what we just went through…" Sato shook his head, amazed by his classmate's pure enthusiasm. Gifted with a quirk powered through sweets and other delectables, Sato had a muscular build with rather full lips and brown, spiky hair.
Kirishima laughed wildly. "If we show our stuff here, that's one big step towards going pro!" His friends—Sero, Tokoyami, and Sato—all nodded their heads in agreement.
Meanwhile, Midoriya watched the enthusiastic, audible group, completely dumbfounded. "Everyone's so excited…" He muttered, stunned.
"And you aren't?" Suddenly, Iida appeared from behind his preoccupied friend, giving him an unintentional fright. "This is our chance to add our names to the ranks of heroes. Of course we're in high spirits!" He reflexively tense up, giving off the impression that he was… constipated…
"You got a funny was of showing it, Iida. Weird." Presently eating lunch with her friends, Tsu commentated on the matter, but got no response from the intense class representative. Tsu was a short girl with a frog-like appearance, complementing the long, dark sea-green hair which she had tied in a bow on her back. She also has very wide eyes with pure black irises and distinctive, lower eyelashes.
"Yeah, I get that! But…" Midoriya, rather red-faced, tried to rebuttal.
"Deku. Iida…" Suddenly, someone approached the two friends, quickly gaining both of their attention. "At this sports festival… let's do our best!" It was Uraraka. The girl wore an expression akin to that of a battle hardened war veteran, and coincidentally looked ready to kill.
"Whah?! What happened to your face, Uraraka?!" The unexpected change in character for the normally sweet girl was actually quite the shocker to everyone who'd been affiliated with the almost always, bubbly cinnamon bun of a girl.
"What the…? You're not looking very Uraraka, Uraraka." Spoke Mina, who'd been eating this whole time with Tsu and another classmate, Hagakure. Mina had a unique pink-colored skin tone thanks to her acid quirk. Her strange yet charming eyes were pitch black say the yellow irises, and she had unruly, short pink hair with yellow horns protruding from her head.
"Everyone! I'm gonna crush this!" Uraraka, suddenly, took center stage of the class, raising her balled fist into the air with an unshakable determination!
"Yeah, but talk about inconsistent characterization!" Kirishima, regardless of the oddity, cheered her on. Everyone else, too, began raising their fists into the air, feeling the young girl's motivation head-on.
Come to think of it, as Deku cheered his friend, he began to think, I've never asked Uraraka…
A few minutes later, as the trio of friends—Deku, Uraraka, and Iida—walked downstairs together to the school cafeteria…
"Money…?!" Deku exclaimed, surprised after asking Uraraka the question that had been lingering on his mind. "You wanna be a Hero for the money?!"
"Ultimately," blushing a deep red from a feeling of self-consciousness, Uraraka adorably squeezed her facial cheeks, "yeah. Sorry. I know it seems base… and really embarrassing, considering Iida's noble motivations and all."
"But why?!" The energetic class representative, Iida, flailed his arms around in a series of robotic motions. "There's really nothing wrong with seeking a more comfortable lifestyle!"
"Yeah… just a little unexpected…" Deku nodded, agreeing with Iida.
"Don't mention that to anyone, okay…?" She continued to rustle her hair, fidgeting her brown bangs like a nervous child. "My family runs a construction company, but business is bad, and we're poorer than poor."
"Construction?" Midoriya frowned, thinking. "If you got permission to use it, wouldn't your quirk help cut costs, Uraraka?"
She nodded, suddenly beaming like her usual self. "Right?! That's what I said to dad way back then, but…" The mood dampened again as memories of her past resurfaced, back to when she was but a normal, young kid…
"You wanna work for the family?!" Uraraka's father spoke aloud, genuinely surprised by his cute little daughter's declaration.
A young Uraraka, no more than seven, looked up at her father with teary eyes. "Yeah! When I grow up I wanna help mommy and daddy!"
Her father smiled, like always, and gently pat his daughter's head. "That's real kind of ya, Ochako, but what'd be even sweeter is my baby girl making her own dreams come true… and when that day comes," he laughed as he moved to embrace his little girl in heartfelt hug, "you can take us on vacation to Hawaii!"
Uraraka faced Deku and Iida. Gone was their embarrassed, saddened classmate; now stood a girl embodied with courage and unshakable determination. "So I'm gonna be a Hero. I'll make that money… so that my mom and dad can have easier lives."
The two boys were awestruck by their classmate's assertive conviction.
"Uraraka, bravo!" Yelled Iida, while simultaneously making weird motions with his arms again.
So she doesn't just idolize heroes. She's thinking of the practical as well… Deku quietly thought to himself, completely amazed.
"Ohh! Midoriya, kid." Suddenly, a loud voice called Deku out, sending a jolt of unexpected surprise throughout the three, standing friends. "Found you!" It was All Might in his transformed, on the job state. In his "muscle form", All Might took the physical appearance of a huge man with an equally muscular and ridiculously well-defined physique. Comically peeking from behind the corner, he slowly revealed a bagged item in his hand… a traditional bento…
"Wanna… eat lunch with me?"
"Like a schoolgirl!" Uraraka couldn't help blurting out, completely shocked.
"Oh, sure…" Deku nodded, wondering what All Might needed. What's this about…?
And just like that, taking up on the Pro Hero's offer, Deku left with All Might to eat lunch, leaving his other classmates, Uraraka and Iida, to their own devices. Deciding to not go hungry themselves, the two friends made their way downstairs to the school cafeteria. While standing in line, they continued talking…
"I wonder what he wants with Deku." Uraraka wondered out loud.
Iida thought for a moment, then said: "I heard Midoriya dashed in to help when All Might was attacked. Maybe it's about that?" He continued moving his arms. "And like Asui mentioned, they have similar super-strength." He referred back to when the class had their first training practice, a two-on-two between students pretending to be heroes and villains.
"Oh!" Uraraka nodded in agreement. "S'gotta be it!"
"Yeah! Perhaps All Might has even taken a liking to him. I really wouldn't be surprised if that were the case!" Iida laughed, unaware of a concealed eavesdropper… bearing red hair and an identically colored facial scar…
Meanwhile, inside a break room…
"Just fifty minutes?!" Screamed Deku, hoping that he'd simply misheard the update from his mentor. All Might, returned to his normal figure, sighed as he gently poured himself a little green tea from a red colored thermos. The two sat alone, separated by an old coffee table, with All Might occupying the single couch in the room, while Deku politely took the wooden stool.
"Yes… my time limit's getting shorter by the day. As of now, I can barely maintain my muscle from for an hour." He explained, then pushed an extra cup of tea towards the boy.
"It's that bad…" He quivered, getting emotional again. "Sorr—"
"Don't apologize!" All Might shouted, accidentally spitting up a little blood from his mouth in the process. "We're so alike, you and I." He lazily wiped at the mess coming from his mouth, a side effect of his weakening quirk. "I really want to talk to you about a few things. Let's begin with the upcoming Sports Festival." He nodded his head. "You can't regulate One For All, right? So what do we do?"
"Ah…" Deku was at a complete loss of words upon realizing the weight behind the inquiry. He began to think back to the USJ incident, and how he'd been so reckless and nearly killed by the masked villain, Shigaraki. "But there was one time…! When I attacked that brain villain, there was no kickback."
"Ah! You did mention that!" All Might exclaimed, remembering. "So what was different?"
"…I used it against someone else for the first time." It wasn't an easy thing for Deku to admit, but in that moment of desperation, when he intended harm the monster fighting All Might, the damage usually caused by One For All had seemingly dissipated…
"Umm… Sounds like you managed to pump the breaks without even knowing it." The Pro Hero took a light sip from his drink, then smiled, satisfied. "In any case, that's genuine progress. I'm glad to hear it," though he kept the smile, the next words he said were rather daunting for his successor, "because in all honesty, the time I've got left as the Symbol of Peace… is quickly running out."
Deku froze. Inside, it felt like an unforgiving gale had violently blown out the flame that'd lived deep in his heart. Those words, coming from his hero, were not easy to hear. "Right…" Lacking an appetite, he looked down and simply stared in silence at the cup of tea he had yet to touch.
All Might continued: "And among those with villainous intent… there are some who've started to realize that." He grit his teeth, still smiling. "I granted you my power… so that you could succeed me! The Sports Festival… it's an event the whole Country'll be watching! And that means just one thing for us!"
Deku immediately shot back up, giving the Pro Hero his complete, undivided attention. He trembled, not out of fear, as the greatest hero, his very own teacher, relayed his true feelings.
"You, the next All Might… the fledgling symbol…"
At that exact moment, everything froze.
"I need you to tell the world… 'I am here!'"
"Huh…? But isn't he already… here…?" Suddenly, just above them, a voice interrupted the two.
Slowly, Deku looked up… and paled in expression. "…W-When d-d-did you…?!"
Hanging by his brown monkey tail from the ceiling ventilation system, Son Goku, Deku's newest classmate, gave the young man a confused look, but quickly shifted over to a big smile. "Yo!" With quiet agility, he dropped down from the ceiling, landing perfectly onto the far left of the couch, right next to All Might. "Sorry, I was practicing my chi concealment. I was supposed to write on some papers… but that was really boring and hard, so I just followed you guys around. That was way more fun, heh heh heh!" He childishly giggled.
"Ah, perfect timing! As expected of the Old Hermit's rigorous training. I can only imagine how much milk you've had to carry, ha!" All Might chuckled, then turned back to Deku. "Young Midoriya, this here is Son Goku, a recent disciple of one of my old masters."
"A disciple of one of your old mentors?!" Deku gasped, utterly amazed. "No way!"
"Aye." He nodded. "Before I explain… like usual, this stays between us two… or three rather." All Might pointed to the monkey boy sitting beside him. "With the Villains cowardly targeting our school, now that it's become apparent that I'm not the same hero as I was, a few years ago, I've decided to add an extra layer of security and challenge for you guys in class 1A!"
He thought for a moment, then blurted: "…That would mean… Goku's the security…?!" Deku exclaimed, slowly piecing the puzzle together. There was certainly something off about the boy, but not in a malicious or strange matter… he just seemed that incredibly strong…
"Yes, exactly! Goku's a growing student, just like you, but his potential is unreasonably high… he even placed second in the World Martial Arts tournament a year or two ago. With my old master's permission, I've requested that Goku transfer here. He might not look like it, but his presence here will certainly keep U.A. safer."
"A-Amazing…" Deku glanced over at Goku, shocked at what he was hearing.
"I was told there's gonna be a bunch of strong guys, and now I'm super excited!" The monkey boy nodded, visually animated. "It's gonna be so much fun!"
"Yes, you two will be entering the Sports Festival, together. Do you both know how it works?"
"Yeah! Of course!" Deku nodded, thinking to himself once again. Tell them… "I am here"…? But how do I manage to pull that off…? Especially now that I have even more competition…?!
Goku shook his head, understandably so. "Is it like the World Martial Arts Tournament?"
"Perhaps." All Might shrugged, eyeing Deku.
His successor nodded, thus beginning to explain the upcoming event to Goku. "The members of the support course, business course, general studies, and hero course are all thrown together. We're grouped by grade level, and we compete in a series of preliminary competitions… the winners of those move on to the main event. It's like a round-robin tournament for each grade level."
"Exactly!" All Might shouted, triumphantly. Suddenly, he pointed to Deku, saying: "It's your chance to gain mass appeal for yourself!" He then pointed to Goku. "And you'll be able to meet and engage with new people, just like you wanted!"
"Awesome!" Goku's eyes sparkled with unyielding excitement as he balled his fists and vigorously nodded his head up and down.
"Huh…" Midoriya, on the other hand, was unsure.
"'HUH', HE SAYS!" All Might flailed backwards and fell off the couch, next to a rather perplexed Goku.
"Are you alright…?" Goku asked, honestly, but soon found himself being drowned out by his own fellow classmate, Midoriya…
"No… right… I get what you're saying. I'm just honestly not sure if I can deal with this after what we just went through (mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter) I'm kind of lacking motivation to stand out at the event, given that All Might is already my mentor (mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter) as I am now, it wouldn't even occur to me to make as big showing. Just like with the strength tests. (mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter, mutter)."
Even Goku, amazingly, was at a complete loss for words.
"There's no one more dedicated to the world of nonsense than you, kid!" All Might shouted, still laying on the floor like a slug.
"World of nonsense…?" Somehow that managed to snap Midoriya out of his nonsensical trace.
All Might let out an exasperated sigh, then sat up, facing the young, indecisive man. "That slight difference between those who always aim for the top and those who don't… it'll come to matter in a big way once you emerge into society. I can understand how you're feeling. I won't force you. But… just don't forget that drive you felt when cleaning the beach, Young Midoriya…"
Deku, and later Goku, returned to class after finishing the private talk with All Might; and for the remainder of the day, Deku continued to think over what All Might told him during lunch, and how this was his golden opportunity to make himself known during the festival. Then, after school, that very same day, back in Class 1A…
Uraraka stood before the doorway, frozen stiff from the unexpected shock. "Whoaa…" Outside their classroom, chatting loudly amongst themselves, stood a sea of rival students, everyone from 1B to the business courses…
Without question: a declaration of war.
"What's going on?!" Deku and Iida joined her side. Everyone else from Class 1A walked over to get a look at the present crowd as well.
Mineta was so pale he looked like he'd seen a ghost. "No way out! What're they here for?!"
"Scoping out the competition, duh, Small Fry." Pushing the flabbergasted Mineta out of the way, Bakugou forced his way to the front of the class, eyeing down the visiting students in a narcissistic sort of manner. "Cuz we're the kids who survived a villian attack. Makes sense they'd want a look before the Sports Festival."
"Wow… and this is him on a good day." Sighed Deku, unsurprised by Bakugou's vanity.
"Hey, hey, is that guy real strong? Is he?!" Goku, their newest classmate, walked up to Deku and the others, looking up at his classmates with an expression gleaming with both genuine curiosity and excitement. "I can't wait to see how he fights!"
"You're a rather odd fella, aren't you?" Suddenly, a beautiful girl with flashy crimson hair and red emerald eyes frowned, approaching the group while keeping her fiery attention focused solely on the young monkey boy. "Goku, was it? What exactly is your quirk, due tell?"
"Oh, Stella-san!" Deku smiled, trying to be polite. Stella Vermillion, an overseas student hailing as the second princess of the Vermillion Empire, nodded in return, but kept looking at Goku, awaiting a response. Like Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, she was accepted into U.A. without a need to take the opening practical. She was an immensely powerful quirk user, and had been a vital fighter in the USJ accident a couple of days ago.
"Hmm…?" Goku turned his head upwards to face the princess. Despite being the same age as most of his classmates, he'd yet gone through the changes into adolescence, ultimately remaining similar in size to when he was ten years old. He was far stronger than his younger self, immensely so, but nobody here knew that. "Have we met before?" He suddenly asked.
"Huh?" She responded, a bit taken back. "N-No, we most definitely haven't. My Father never let me see or talk to men when I was younger. I've really only started that here, in Japan."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He smiled, placing his arms behind his neck like they were some sort of headrest. "You kinda remind me of someone I used to know. She had really pretty hair like yours, and a really tough personality to go with it too, ha ha ha!"
A deep blush flushed over her porcelain, white face, causing the hot-headed princess to suddenly raise an arm and jump back from embarrassment. "P-P-P-Pretty?! W-W-W-What are you saying?!" She suddenly began to twiddle with her fingers, stammering every new word coming from her mouth. "T-Telling an unmarried princess she's beautiful so easily… t-that's why commoners are so…" She began to cutely mubble, burning a red hot from both ears.
["Woah."] Class 1A, collectively, gasped, totally stunned. Nobody thought they'd see the day that someone caused the insanely powerful, tough Vermillion Princess to fluster.
"Hey, assholes, you hear me?" Ignoring his fellow classmates, Bakugou continued doing what he did best: antagonizing the rival students. "There's no point, though. Move aside, cannon fodder."
"Can we please not resort to calling those we don't even know 'cannon fodder'?!" Iida shouted back at Bakugou, to no realistic prevail. Their explosive classmate had a temper that could scare a rattlesnake shitless.
Suddenly, amongst the outside hallway crowd, a low voice responded back: "It's true, we came to get a look, but you sure are modest. Are all the kids in the hero course like this one?"
"HUH?!" A large vein bulged from the corner of Bakugou's forehead.
["Oh, no…"] His classmates shuttered in a mix of unease and embarrassment.
Stepping ahead of the accumulated crowd, a young man with messy, dark purple hair, stared down Bakugou and the other students of Class 1A with a pair of tired, triangular purple eyes. He was relatively tall in comparison to other students presently surrounding him, and he seemed to have a stoic personality to add; the kind that Bakugou tended to hate bitterly.
"Gotta say," he shrugged, while rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm a little disillusioned if this is what you're offering." There was something unnervingly calculative with the manner of which he spoke. "Those of us who didn't make the hero course are stuck in general studies and the other tracks."
Suddenly, it felt like he was looking at Deku, specifically. "There're quite a few of us. Did you know that? Depending on the results of this sports festival… they might consider transferring us to the hero course. I understand the reverse is also possible for you…"
Instantly, Deku felt a cold shiver shoot up his spine.
"Scoping out the competition? For a general studies kid like me, this'll be the perfect chance to knock you off your pedestals. Case-in-point, consider this a declaration of war."
["This guy too. So daring!"] The same exact thought ran through Deku, Uraraka, and Iida's minds.
"Fine," shocking everyone, Goku, visibly from out of nowhere, suddenly appeared before the purple haired student, looking up at him in a determined manner. No one, Stella and Deku included, saw the boy move from his last place to the current position.
H-He's fast! Deku mentally exclaimed, trying to wrap his head around the developing scene.
Goku looked up at the student, breaking into a great big grin. "Give us all ya got!" Finishing his simple claim, Goku raised up an arm for a fist bump. "So let's go all out, when the time's right!"
Before the tired looking student could respond to Goku's challenge, another character jumped up from the amassed crowd, yelling out at class 1A. He had long, pushed back gray hair, and thick pale eyelashes that encompassed his eyes. Like Kirishima, he also had razor-sharp teeth.
"Hey, I'm from class 1B, next door! Heard you guys fought some villains, wanted to find out more, but all I'm seeing is this arrogant bastard!" By process of elimination, that would mean Bakugou. "You better not make fools of the hero course at this thing!"
["…"] Everyone froze, overly anxious of what would happen next.
Suddenly, Bakugou grasped Goku by his tail—unknowingly using his greatest weakness against him—and shoved the monkey boy aside with relative ease, before then proceeding to uncaringly push his way through the outside crowd.
"Wait, you jerk. What're you doing to us? Thanks to you we've got a whole mob of haters now!" Kirishima yelled, annoyed by Bakugou's antics.
Barely turning his head around, Bakugou scowled. "I don't give a crap…"
["WHAAA?!"] His classmates, justifiably, lamented in return.
"I'm heading for the top." He scoffed, completely unmoved. "Why should I care?"
"TCH…! So straightforward and manly." Despite Bakugou's usual attitude, Kirishima quivered with great admiration and respect for his tough-as-nails classmate.
"The top… he's not wrong." Tokoyami additionally commentated. He was a young man with a bird-shaped head that included a yellow beak and red eyes. Despite those traits, his body had a normal human shape. Additionally, he also wore red band wrapped around his neck.
"Don't let him play you! All he's doing is winning us enemies!" Kaminari shouted, completely opposed to his friends' shared sentiment.
Midoriya, however, quietly though over Bakugou's words…
I'm… such an idiot…
So I'm gonna be a hero. I'll make that money… so that my mom and dad can have easier lives…
It's admiration for my brother that's inspired my own desire to become a hero…
But your time is limited. The slight difference… it'll come to matter in a big way once you all emerge into society…
So let's go all out… when the time's right…!
That drive you felt… when cleaning up the beach…
I've gotta give this my all…!
"Hey, you okay, Goku?" Deku snapped back into reality to see his friends talking with a rather pale-looking monkey boy.
"Oh, I'm good. Really, ha ha ha!" He smile never disappeared. "My tail's kinda sensitive, that's all!"
"Mind me asking, but returning to that inquiry of Stella-san's, what is your quirk?" Off topic, Iida asked the young man, curious.
His response, caused everyone to suddenly freeze again.
"…Huh? Quirk? What's that?"
Oh, Goku, you dolt, how could you forget what quirks are in a quirk-fueled society?! Well, is it really too much asking? Only two weeks away from the U.A. Sports Festival, things are getting heated up for this cast of new characters… but who'll be the one to take first place?! The adventure continues, next time on "Gotta Heed The Call Of Magic Dragon Balls!"