Hey, did you know that Maluch updated?
Huh? Bull. That guy doesn't upload jack anymore!
No I swear, check it out!
Okay, okay. Hey, guess what? I'm not dead! What?! An update...?!
So let's be really for a moment here, yes, I lost complete interest in writing this project, and I was just doing me: enjoying life, school, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Here's where the good news comes in. I'm back, excited to continue this story, and will actually be uploading weekly!
That's right, you heard me right, weekly! But, it'll be up to you guys. Comment/private message me if you want Monday or Wednesday updates. I can only do one or the other, so please let me know, c'mon son! Also, this chapter's probably full of spelling and grammatical errors cause I didn't bother checking over it all. If you spot any, feel free to let me know.
Thanks, as always, for everyone's support, and go watch Dragon Ball Super: Broly
The film was awesome! Okay, enough crap, let's get to it!
Kuoh, Japan. The early morning right before the events of the highly anticipated U.A. Sports Festival…
A trickle of bright, warm sunlight managed to squeeze itself past the slanted, indoor blinds, revealing the contents of a well-kept bedroom. Just before a stationed alarm clock, set above an expensive bed frame, could erupt into its usual, scheduled buzz, a snowy hand quickly reached up, from under the dark covers, and stopped the device just in time.
Slowly, the covers slipped off as a beautiful girl sat herself up, now fully awake. She exhaled a gentle, soft yawn, as she rolled off the comfortable mattress. Rias Gremory, popular Kuoh Academy student and President of the Occult Research Club, begins her day rather early, as do most devils.
After brushing her teeth and taking a quick shower, she then moved on to her early morning studies. Club and peerage activities normally took up the majority of her afternoons, so Rias promptly readjusted her schedule around. After trying it out, Rias realized that the calming morning simply provided the perfect environment for studying.
Taking a moment to first stretch out, she then took a seat at her desk and began to work. An hour or two passed, and after completing all her school assignments, roughly by seven, she got dressed and ate breakfast. Everyday, practically, she wore the Kuoh Academy girls' school uniform and pair of brown dress shoes over comfy white crew-length socks.
Without exception, Rias was a gorgeous young woman gifted with pale, white skin; bright blue eyes like the sky; and a buxom, curvaceous figure. Long, beautiful crimson hair reached all the way down to her sensual thighs, while a single hair strand, or crest, stuck out from the top of her peak. Thanks to her natural beauty, Rias never felt the need to keep up appearances. The young devil firmly believed that what really truly mattered came from inside, mainly one's individuality.
Finally ready to go, Rias quickly picked up her travel bag and departed from the apartment. Downstairs, right outside her accommodation, a friendly group, her peerage, immediately greeted her. There was Akeno, her oldest friend and trusted Queen; Kiba, her appointed Knight; and Koneko, a tough, little Rook who took crap from no one. Like Rias, everyone else was dressed in the school uniform as well.
"Guys, I thought we all agreed to meet at the station." She made a face, but quickly chuckled the whole thing off, realizing there was no point to arguing. Today they were off from school, so there was some leniency. Everyone in Rias's peerage was cordially invited down to the underworld to celebrate Sirzechs's birthday, and to watch the famed U.A. Sports Festival.
"Maybe," Akeno smiled," but I decided that it would've been better for us all to wait for our master, and considering how long you took to get ready anyways… I'd say that was the right case of judgment." She finished her sentence with a sly wink.
"Please, don't be so overdramatic." Rias teased back, then turned towards her two other peerage members, Kiba and Koneko. "Did you two agree to this?" She asked.
"I wasn't going to argue with the Vice-president." Kiba smiled, while using one of his free hands to take his master's baggage. As the only male in the group, momentarily, he presently carried the majority of everyone's stuff for the trip.
"Waiting at a train station alone sucks anyways." Koneko respond, predictably.
"Well, you're certainly not wrong." Rias smiled before leaning down to hug her little kohai in a tight, sisterly embrace. "C'mon now," she stood back up, "we can't afford to miss our train."
Standing together, outside the terminal pick-up, Bulma and the rest of our heroes, and old acquaintances, have finally made it to Musutafu airport, patiently awaiting a certain old hermit to finish up his business…
At the edge of the busy street—standing and doing nothing of especial interest—everyone watched the busy traffic fly on by, while waiting on Master Roshi to eventually return. Suddenly, another yellow taxi drove by, prompting an irked Oolong to loudly groan his current displeasure. "He's soooo slow. How long's he intend to stay in the bathroom?"
"Crap, are we gonna lose our seats for the school festival?" Whined Yamcha as he turned to face his girlfriend, Bulma. Also right besides him, both Puar and Oolong looked up at the genius girl with equally optimistic expressions. Meanwhile, Launch and the Turtle continued to keep watch over the passing traffic.
Bulma glanced over her watch, then let out a dramatic sigh. "No, but it'll be harder to get in if we continue wasting anymore precious time." Their seating at the stadium to watch Goku and his school were reserved, but to get into the festival itself was going to be one hot mess.
"Heeeeeey, sorry for the wait!" Suddenly, galloping through the terminal automatic doorways with a big happy grin, Master Roshi waved to the others, while loudly yelling for all of the public to hear. "That turd just wouldn't come out!"
"God you said that so loud…" Bulma reddened with embarrassment. Master Roshi might have been one of the strongest fighters to walk the earth, but that did very little to excuse his childish attitude. The old master had zero shame, and everyone, asides Goku, knew it.
Quickly brushing off the sudden ludicrous situation, no thanks in part to the old man's jarring antics, Bulma waved a pair of incoming taxis, hoping they'd stop. Luckily, both yellow vehicles came to a sudden halt, and the front driver rolled down his window. "Yes ma'am?" He lifted up his ball cap in greetings. "Where can I take you all, today?"
"Sorry for the trouble," Bulma immediately leaned into the window, "but please take us to the U.A. festival grounds as fast as you can!"
"Sure thing," he nodded as people began to pile into his car, "I'll try my best."
As Bulma and the others race to the U.A. Sports Festival… meanwhile, in the dimensional pocket known to many as the Underworld, several familiar faces greet one another again, right before the start of the human sports event…
Amongst the many attentive butlers and maids, a silver-haired woman with ruby eyes—known famously amongst the devils as the Strongest Queen and the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation—stood out and smiled as Rias and the others departed from their carriage, which brought them from the main train station. "Welcome back, Lady Gremory. Once again, you've arrived early." She turned to face the rest of the peerage. "It's good to see everyone again, welcome back to the main Gremory Estate."
"It's good to see you too, Grayfia-sama." Rias politely greeted her sister-in-law, as the other peerage members, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko, bowed their heads in respect.
"Yes, it's been some time since our last visit." Akeno lifted her head. "Thank you, as always, for taking great care of my mother."
"It seems everyone had a safe trip, good." The standing attendees moved to the side, and Grayfia motioned towards a massive, looming structure, past the gardens. Following the pathway ahead would lead to a towering castle, Rias's home. "If you'd please follow me, everyone's patiently waiting inside for the start of the event."
"Wow, wealth really doesn't put it lightly…" Kiba blinked as he glanced around the environment. He had visited the main Gremory estate once, back when he was first adopted into Rias's peerage. To him, it felt as though the place had only gotten larger.
Following the maid's orders, Rias and the others walked together through the front garden. Green, well-kept foliage overflowed the surroundings in which the group traveled as they neared another smooth-stone pathway, drawing towards the large gateway, up ahead. All around, beautiful patches of rose and yellow tulip bloomed as if it was summer, custom fountains and park benches added to the decorated, natural scenery, and a stream of colorful birds flew by.
Onward, they soon reached the great, elegant structure; it was a massive castle that lay out like some sort of oversized mansion. As if predicting their approach, the group was greeted by the slow opening of two colossal gates in the entranceway, revealing everything inside. The first hallway, architecturally, was split; it was half Greco inspired, no thanks in part to the artwork covering the right side of the walls, and half Art Deco. Butlers and maids, on either side, bowed as Rias and her friends walked by.
"Big Sister Rias!" A high-pitched, excited voice echoed from the end of the hallway, belonging to a young child. His striking crimson hair, like that of Rias's, ruffled up and down as he rushed straight into her arms. "Welcome home!"
"I'm home, Millicas!" Rias smiled as she cuddled the sweet little boy. "You've grown much bigger since I've last visited!" The small boy, Millicas Gremory, was next-in-line to the Gremory Clan after Rias.
At the doorway exiting the hall, Grayfia waved for the group to continue walking. "Everyone, please enter." Gallantly, she opened the door to reveal a massive living space, which Millicas immediately rushed into, shouting.
"Big Sister Rias has come home!" Millicas yelled as he jumped into the arms of yet another woman, waiting inside for Rias and the others.
"Now, now. Such poor behavior." She smiled as she caressed his soft, red hair. "You should know better, Millicas." She looked up to see Rias and the others. "Rias, I'm glad to see you again." Venelana Gremory looked strikingly similar to her daughter, Rias, yet had shorter, flaxen hair and violet eyes much like the other natural born members of the Bael Clan. Due to her lineage and biology, she physically appeared around the same age as both her young daughter and older son.
"It has been a long time, Lady Venelana." Akeno bowed, smiling. "Is my mother doing well?"
"Oh, Akeno, she's splendid as always," Venelana chuckled, "she's currently with the others in the showroom." Several years ago, a young monkey child, answering to the name Son Goku, used the unlimited power of the mighty dragon, Shenron, to bring Akeno's mother back to life. Afterwards, Shuri took up the role as one of the head Gremory maids, alongside Grayfia.
Although Shuri and Akeno desperately wanted to meet the young boy once again, he'd seemingly disappeared. Sirzechs even took it upon himself to search for the young boy, but Master Roshi, the boy's late teacher, informed him and the others that Goku had gone on and adventure all on his own, searching for the Four-Star Ball.
"I am glad you all look well," Venelana nodded to both Kiba and Koneko, "it has been some time." She then turned to her daughter. "Rias, please show everyone to the showroom. Your brother's been quite ecstatic about this, 'U.A. Sports Festival.' I'm sure he'll be quite happy that you've come home for his birthday."
"Ah, he's so annoying sometimes…" Rias sighed as she and the others began to make their way to yet another section of the massive house; meanwhile, Venelana, Grayfia, and Millicas followed, trailing not too far behind.
"Here it is." Soon, they reached their destination, and Rias opened the doors to enter first.
The showroom was far more 'homey', unlike the Gremory's gargantuan theatre, and more in line with a comfortable, royal living room. Inside, Sirzechs and his father, Zeoticus, sat together at the side, discussing the upcoming human sports festival. To their right, Shuri politely chatted with Sona and Tsubaki, who'd arrived just a tad bit earlier than Rias and the others.
"Ah, you've made it!" Sirzechs and Zeoticus stood to greet their guests and family. Meanwhile, Shuri made her way to Akeno. The two immediately embraced each other in a tight hug.
"My little, Akeno." She gently stroked her daughter's hair. Akeno was now around the same height as her mother, if not just a tiny wedge taller.
"Mother," she held on tight, "I'm so glad to see you're doing well."
"Oh," Suddenly, Zeoticus whimpered fake tears, "if only my lovely, little daughter would act so affectionately to her poor, sad father as well!"
"I completely understand your wish. What a terrible debacle this has become!" Sirzechs nodded, while pretending to hold back tears like his father. "She's become so rebellious at her age! Isn't it awful?!"
"W-What are you two saying?!" Rias cried out, embarrassed by her family's antics.
"Dear…"
"Sirzechs…"
Both men paled, turning even whiter than their natural skin tones, and slowly turned to face the ominous voices. Both their wives glared at them with piercing expressions akin to sharpened daggers, a sign that immediately told them that they ought to act more dignified, otherwise suffer the terrifying wrath of their spouses.
"Ah, yes… well, now that everybody is finally here," Sirzechs motioned to the lavish settees surrounding them, dearly hoping to change the subject so his wife wouldn't give him a punishment later, "let's get this party started!"
"It seems some things never change, huh?" Sona smiled as she greeted Rias. The two friends were the best of rivals, and had equally strange family members.
"Yes… I find that more apparent, everyday." Rias sighed back, but smiled nevertheless. Family was family, no matter how crazy or wacky they could sometimes get.
"Kiba, Koneko, would you two like to sit with me?" Tsubaki pat the empty space besides her on a nearby couch.
"We appreciate it." Rias's knight politely nodded.
"Thanks." Koneko followed suit, and the two shared the seating with Sona's Queen.
"I'm still surprised that this is how your brother wanted to spend his birthday." Sona spoke as she, Rias, and Akeno found a place to sit together.
"He's always had a soft spot for human heroes and martial arts," Rias shrugged, "don't ask me."
"Oh my, yet you love Japanese culture the point of obsession, Rias." Akeno laughed.
"Oh, Akeno!" Rias pouted, reddening from the claim. "You're exaggerating things!"
"Hey," Millicas piped up, sitting between his father and grandfather, "it's finally starting! I can't wait to see the Pro Heroes!"
A magical screen manifested in the air, revealing a massive stadium, overrun with crowds on elevated fans. Without warning, suddenly, an ecstatic voice shrieked from the large display, one of the two chosen announcers for the U.A. Sports Festival, the human Pro Hero known as Present Mic. "It's the U.A.'s Sports Festival! The one time each year when our fledgling heroes compete in a ruthless grand battle!" His shrill voice echoed throughout the ears of the attentive devils like a pair of kitchen knives sharpening roughly against each other.
"Oh, wow, his voice is just insufferable!" Rias groaned in displeasure, a shared sentiment amongst her friends and family, asides from her older brother, who'd instead gotten quite visibly excited.
"Perhaps," he smiled like a child wooed by a grand-sized toyshop, "but Present Mic is quite the popular hero in the human world. Him coming on, now, also means the festival is about to start. It's really quite astonishing how incredible some of these humans, especially the super-powered children, are."
Rias, Akeno, and Sona, alike, shared a dubious look with Grayfia, Shuri, and Venelana, sitting just across the room, but ultimately gave up the ghost and returned their central focus to the display up above. The dense, overpopulated crowds, on-screen, loudly shouted with an almost frivolous, nonsensical cry of excitement—at least to a devil—following the Pro Hero's introduction.
"Wow, they're really getting into this…" Kiba awed, surprised that a single human event could generate such feverish enthusiasm.
"What a pain…" Sighed Koneko, who wasn't exactly too thrilled by the screaming coming from the projection above.
"First up," the announcer, Present Mic, continued on, "you know who I'm talkin' about! The Miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villian attack with their steely willpower! The First-years of the Hero Course!"
Suddenly, time abruptly froze, as the student participants walked out into the light.
"It's Class 1-A!"
Just a few minutes before… back at the U.A. Stadium, walking in the tunnels leading towards the center stage… with the whole of the world watching… our heroes nervously get ready to take center stage in the crowded stadium, ready to proudly exclaim and finally tell the world that "I am here!"
The grey concrete tunnel echoed with the sounds of footsteps and thumping heartbeats as the first-years of Class 1-A drew closer and closer to the designated endpoint. Up ahead, they could hear the loud, shouting cries of an ecstatic, heavily populated stadium. This was finally it, their very first chance at a spot in the limelight.
"You're not nervous at all, are you?" Midoriya awkwardly chuckled, glancing down besides at the lively monkey boy, Son Goku. Others walking among the crowd of students included the straightforward Iida, the head class representative; Uraraka, the bubbly gravity wielder; Mina; Tsu; and a surprisingly curious Stella, the flaming princes herself.
There wasn't much known about the mysterious transfer student, but Midoriya and the other's could tell that this wasn't just any normal boy. There was something different, unnatural about him, and that was saying quite a lot when everyone in the world practically had super-powers. Goku looked up at him, smiled and then laughed, clearly unbothered by the upcoming tournament.
In fact, he seemed to be the one the most excited about this tournament, out of them all. "Not really! I just love competing against strong opponents!"
"What a manly spirit!" Uraraka vigorously nodded, overhearing the two's conversation.
"He's even more pumped for this than us." Tsu croaked.
Just up ahead, suddenly, the students could hear the fans' exhilarating screams increase by volume ten-fold, echoing from the entrance of the tunnel. "The students are coming out! It's the first-years! Go get em', guys!" They heard one loud yell, over the others.
Midoriya furrowed his brow, reminiscing over the important words from his teacher and mentor, All Might… "I need you to tell the world… 'I am here!'"
"Got it, All Might." He whispered to himself.
Ahead, the screeching of Present Mic carried on. "The Miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villian attack with their steely willpower! The First-years of the Hero Course!"
There was a flash of bright light as they exited the tunnel, finally seeing the crowd that'd been awaiting them.
"It's Class 1-A!"
["YEAHHHH! WOOOOO! GOOOO, HEROES!"] The surrounding fans literally burst into a wave of uncontrollable excitement, jumping out of their seats and waving makeshift banners, as the class finally made their way out the tunnel and into the view of the public. The massive stadium was booked, filled to the brim with bystanders from all over the globe, each more than ready for the event of a lifetime.
An explosive display of fireworks, a beautiful, vivid assortment of colors, erupted and cracked high above the sky. The stadium itself was a massive oval-shaped, open structure with three packed floors and several overhead screens, each displaying a constant, live feed of the festival. The inner space, where some games of the festival would take place, was a large, flat square of solid concrete, surrounded by well-presented grass.
"Whoaaaa… what a crowd…" Midoriya shook like a leaf, and nervously commentated as he glanced up at the surrounding assembly of intense fans.
"Wowy!" Goku exclaimed, completely blown away by the sheer size of the attending crowd. Leisurely, he began jumping up and down like an overhyped four year old. "Gramps sure wasn't kiddin', whatta amazin' place!" He glanced around at the surrounding arena. "Crazy…!" His black eyes widened, flashing with anticipation.
"It's quite amazing," Iida agreed with his jumpy classmate, while analyzing the multitude of fans. "We're expected to put on the best performance we can in front of so many spectators! I suppose this is merely one more necessary skill if we hope to become heroes."
"They're really giving us too much credit…" Kirishima glanced around as well, understandably nervous like his other 1-A classmates. "But we won't let it shake us, right, Bakugo…?" He looked over to his tough, blonde classmate.
"Nope. Just gets me pumped up." The explosive student brought his lips back into a sharp, devilish grin, proving he was just as bloodthirsty as they had all originally feared.
"He's really quite full of himself, isn't he?" Stella approached at the side, quietly murmuring to Uraraka.
"Huh?!" Uraraka, suddenly, jumped back in surprise. "S-Stella-san, you're talking to me?!"
"W-What?!" The crimson princess blushed and shouted back. "I-Is that so wrong?! I might be royalty, yes, but that doesn't… mean… I can have… friends…too…" She quickly turned quiet in embarrassment as two literal puffs of smoke escaped her red ears.
"Wow, even the princess gets embarrassed, huh." Tsu joined in the two's conversation, and stuck out her tongue. "Did Son Goku give you a little extra courage, Stella-chan?"
"W-W-Whatever are you saying?!" Suddenly, Stella loudly stammered, then blushed even further and grasped onto her cheeks, unsure of how to respond again. "I'm just admittedly intrigued with his quirk abilities, that's all…"
"I am as well, truthfully." Tsu nodded. "He said his quirk is "tail", so it'll be interesting to see what he can do…" The girls turned to look over at Goku, standing with both Midoriya and Iida. Genuinely, everyone just wanted to see what the kid was capable of.
Suddenly, Present Mic began shouting into the microphone again, stirring up the already crazed audience even further. "Following Class B, it's Classes C, D, and E of General Studies…!" As he continued, more students began piling into the stadium, the opposition that Class 1-A would be competing against today. "And here come the Support Course Classes, F, G, an H! And the Business Course…"
Several more groups of students emerged from the opposite gateways, circled around the stadium. Joining Class 1-A, selected individuals shot their rivals some rather threatening looks. "We're just here to make the others look good." One of the Support students muttered to a female classmate standing besides him, as they both glanced over at everyone in Class 1-A with sharp, irritated eyes.
"Hard to get motivated…" She responded, crossing both arms together in obvious displeasure. It was true that the odds weren't exactly in their favor, especially since the head class of First-years were the best of the absolute best, and boasted real-life experience against actual dangerous villains.
Quietly listening in on his classmates, a young man with messy, dark purple hair, slowly glanced over at the other group of students from Class 1-A, focusing mainly on two specific individuals… Midoriya Izuku and Son Goku…
It was time for the games to begin…!
As he suddenly appeared on the display above, unexpectedly, the boy that they so desperately sought to one day meet again… joy and shock couldn't even come close to describing the feelings resonating, stirring deep within many of the devils sitting together… perhaps it was just a simple array of emotions that were built up until now… but never mind that… because…
Four years passed, and Son Goku was finally back!
"N-No way… I-I can't believe…" Rias stood, transfixed to the screen right before her. A light trickle of tears quietly began to form at the ends of her shiny, blue eyes. Her head felt heavy, and an intense, warm feeling began to forcefully surge within her beating heart, causing it to continually increase and increase in its pace.
On screen, it was like looking at a page taken out of the past. He'd hardly changed in the three years that he was gone, training and adventuring. Unlike Rias, Akeno, and Sona, respectfully, the young boy had kept his immensely youthful appearance and stature; and although he'd gone through no physical changes, besides his muscles becoming more pronounced, he did show a slightly noticeable increase in height.
His distinctive, natural hairstyle remained the same: three bangs hanging to the right of his forehead and two bangs hanging to the left. Instead of wearing the blue GI that some of the devils remembered, he wore the school gym uniform: a blue tracksuit with thick white lines over the upper body and legs, which form the letters UA. Most nostalgically of all, however, was the long brown prehensile tail that swung back and forth from his backside.
His laughing smile was as childish and heroic as they remembered.
"I-Is it really him…?" Suddenly, a soft whisper escaped Akeno's lips, just before she practically collapsed onto the floor.
"A-Akeno?!" Kiba, shocked, nearly leapt from his seat to help his comrade up, but was suddenly struck by the shared expressions by most, if not all, in the room: complete and utter disbelief. He turned back to the screen. "Who's that…?"
"Rias, Akeno, Sona?" Venelana made her way to the girls out of concern as well. "What's wrong, you three?" She'd never seen them react in such a way before.
Sirzechs, utterly dumbstruck, suddenly stood up and let out a pleased chuckle. "He's barely changed… amazing, and that old fart never told me he was a U.A. Student!"
"Son, who's that boy?" Zeoticus, just as bewildered as his wife, immediately pried at Sirzechs for context. Asides from a few, nearly everyone in the room had a combined look of sadness, joy, and wonder plastered over their expressions.
"Goku," suddenly, the soothing voice of a relieved woman answered the query, "his name is Son Goku." Shuri sniffled, trying to hold herself together, and wiped a tear away from her eye. "The boy that me and my Akeno owe to everything…"
Back at the stadium, squeezing their way through the dense crowds…
"I swear I'll sock ya one, creep!" An aggravated, tough-as-nails blonde dame, Launch, screamed at the crowd as Yamcha tried his hardest to hold back her back from threatening any and all nearby passerby; while not far off, Bulma and the others continued to make their way upstairs to the floor holding their reserved seating. "Get yer stinkin' paws off me, Yamcha!" She glared back at the terrified warrior. Alas, the hot-blooded blonde didn't seem to be in the mood for sneezing anytime soon, and currently embodied the very phrasing of a bull in a china shop.
"Hey, a little help here, guys?!" Yamcha shouted back at his friends with a desperate plea.
"Nah, too old. Ask the pig instead." Master Roshi fixed his glasses, while continuing to ignore the distressed warrior. He had other businesses to attend to, mainly ogling as many pretty women as possible.
"Huh?!" Oolong panicked as he overheard the old man's suggestion. "And just how exactly are you expecting little ol' me to do something about that crazy girl?!"
"What'd you call me, piggy?!" Launch managed to pulled away from Yamcha's grasp, now turning her attention towards the small, equally terrified pig-like humanoid.
Bulma sighed, ignoring the commotion behind her; she was just glad to finally be here at the stadium. The group had finally managed to reach the festival and squeeze inside the stadium; thanks in part to a hasty ride, credits to an incredibly determined cab driver. She was just super excited to see her young best friend, Goku, in action again.
"You certainly do tease your friends quite a lot, Master Roshi." Suddenly, a deep voice answered from above, causing the group, collectively, to glance up at the top of the concrete staircase. He was a bald muscular man of an about-average height, gifted with a third eye centered in his forehead. He wore a Hanfu-style robe with loose pants and boots. "It's good to see you guys." He bowed, smiling.
"Hey, Tien!" Blowing past Bulma, Launch shot straight up the stairs to greet the proud warrior. "How long've you been waiting up there, you weirdo?!" She greeted him with a swift, cheeky nudge at the side. "Where's the weird doll guy?" She glanced around for Tien's noticeably absent best friend, Chiaotzu.
"He wishes you all well, but he's decided to continue his spiritual training, and opted out of this event." Both Tien and Chiaotzu were former, devoted students to the Crane School, yet discarded their old ways after learning of their master's cruelty.
"That so?" Yamcha laughed. "You guys are crazy dedicated to training, you know?" The two friends politely shook hands.
"It's good to see you too, Tien." Master Roshi nodded as he greeted the three-eyed warrior. "Curious to see how Goku's drastically improved since you two last met?"
"Hmm, perhaps." He nodded in obvious agreement.
"First up," the announcer, Present Mic, suddenly began speaking over the stadium intercom, "you know who I'm talkin' about! The Miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villian attack with their steely willpower! The First-years of the Hero Course!"
"We've gotta go!" Bulma grabbed Yamcha by the arm. "C'mon, guys, we've got to get to those seats, otherwise we'll miss Goku and the beginning of the festival!"
After searching for their seats among the other attendees, Bulma and the others finally found a place to sit down and watch the upcoming sports festival games. They had a clear sight of the stadium center, and were presently looking for Goku…
"Ohhh!" Suddenly, Master Roshi abruptly jumped from his seat, hollering in the stands like the old pervert he was. "Get a glimpse of the striking beauty down there, He-He!" He pointed below, down at the students and the introducing referee.
Below, a female instructor took to the center platform, overlooking the participants.
WHKRAK! The loud, sharp crack of a whip, suddenly, silenced the thrilled crowds. Standing before the first-years, her flogger-style weapon twirling in hand, a beautiful Pro Hero brushed aside her hair before loudly addressing the many students before her. "Now for the athlete's oath!"
Chief Referee for the first-year students, the Pro Hero was quite the curvaceous woman with vivid, sky blue eyes and long, abundant spiky black hair resembling a pine tree; and her hero costume mimicked that of a traditional dominatrix. A custom, black leather breast-less leotard strapped over her white bodysuit, which emphasized her voluptuous breasts, athletic body, and shapely legs. She also had a small, custom mask outlining her eyes, a handcuff on each wrist, and a utility belt around her hips.
"OOH! The first-year's ref this time is the R-Rated Hero, Midnight!" Back above, one of the crowd members shouted out loud in blissful, perverted joy.
"What about the principle?" Yamcha took notice of the comment before asking Bulma, sitting besides him. To keep things from getting out of hand, Master Roshi sat in between the wolf warrior and Tien, while the two girls sat at the opposites ends of both guys. Puar, Oolong, and the Turtle sat together on the other side of Bulma, especially since they were all still deftly afraid of the blonde Launch.
Bulma quickly checked over the catalogue she'd collected earlier from the front stalls. "Says here," she pointed for him, "that he's always assigned to the third-year stage." She looked down at the students gathered below… looking…
"Guys," her eyes lit up in excitement, "there he is!"
Back amongst the students, Tokoyami, a young man with a bird-shaped head, whispered among his classmates. "R-Rated? Should she really be in a high school?" Everyone in Class 1-A was instructed to stand together, as was the same for the other classes.
"Shut it." Mineta, the famed pervert amongst all of U.A., quickly interjected.
"Pipe down!" Midnight cracked her whip again, threateningly. "Your student representative is…"
Everyone in Class 1-A suddenly held, waiting with collective, bated breath…
"From class 1-A, Katsuki Bakugou!" Everyone, collectively, felt a cold shiver ripple up their spines. The choice couldn't have been worse.
"Whaaa? It's Kacchan?!" Deku exclaimed, immediately alarmed.
"Must be because he placed first in the entrance exam." Yaoyorozu whispered to Deku in response. "Me, Todoroki, Stella, and Goku got in through official recommendations, so that must be it."
"The Hero Course Entrance Exam, you mean." Someone from another class sarcastically commentated, making themselves be heard.
"T-Too many words." Goku rubbed at his forehead after overhearing the dry irony.
Slowly, without a hit of duty, Bakugou stepped on up to the podium, suddenly facing the crowd surrounding him without even the slightest hint of expression or genuine care, as if the whole thing were just one unnecessary, redundant bother. "The Athlete's oath…" He slid his hands into his pockets and exhaled, perhaps giving it some thought.
Everyone waited, and the crowd stayed completely silent…
"Make no mistake about it." He suddenly shouted, breaking the anticipated silence and cutting loose. "I'm gonna take first place, assholes!"
["BOOOO!"] A loud, shared cry of disdain echoed across the stadium from both student and spectator alike.
"Don't get cocky, Class A!" Someone angrily shouted.
"Why must you show contempt for the dignity of this event?!" Even Iida could be heard bellowing over the other upset students.
"You dirty bastard!"
The vocal criticism continued as Bakugou made his way back down from the podium. "You'll all make great stepping stones, I'd say." He squinted his eyes, then threatened everyone with a flick of a thumb across his throat.
"Overconfident jerk! I'll be the one to crush him!"
Confidence…? No… Deku lowered his head, thinking rationally. The old Kacchan… he definitely would've been smiling as he said that… He continued to watch as his old childhood classmate passed him by. He'd pushing himself. Telling himself he can't lose. Not anymore, at least…
Goku watched Bakugou pass as well, then looked up at Deku. "Hey, so what's the history between you two?"
"Huh?" Deku was surprised by the question. "Oh, nothing really… yeah." He nodded, hoping the young man would drop the thought.
"Oh, yeah…?" Goku blinked, confused as always.
"Now, without any delay," Midnight announced, quieting the restless students and crowds alike, "let's get the first event started." She smiled, gorgeously, then used her whip to direct everyone's attention to the screen above. "These are the qualifiers! It's in this stage that so many are sent home crying every year!"
BZZZZ! The screen above began to flash through images like a slot machine. "And the fateful first event this year is… this!"
TING! The screen stopped, revealing in bold lettering: OBSTACLE COURSE RACE.
"An obstacle course…!" Deku's eyes widened with genuine surprise.
"What's 'obstacle' mean?" Goku asked aloud, truthfully wondering if it was some sort of wild fruit. "I wonder if it's something edible…"
CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! Suddenly—behind the students—the massive electronic, steel barriers leading to the course gateway slowly began to open, revealing the entranceway where the first event was soon to be taking place.
"It's a race between every member of all eleven classes! The course is a four-kilometer lap around the stadium itself!" Midnight chuckled as she continued to explain the rules. "Our school preaches freedom in all things! HEH HEH HEH… So as long as you don't go off the course, anything is fair game!"
Without instruction, the students quickly diverged to the steel tunnel way, readying themselves at the starting line. ["YEAHHH!"] The crowd cheered with excitement.
"Racers to your positions…"
Ding! The light system above the archway turned red. The hundreds of students ready to race, suddenly, tensed. This was it…
Deku arched his back, ready to explode into a mad sprint. In his mind, the words of All Might echoed back and forth through his anxious cranial. "I need you to tell the world 'I am here!'"
Realistically speaking, I still can't regulate it to a reasonable extent.
Ding!
That's why… I have to overcome it.
Ding!
So… watch me!
With the whole world watching… both mortal and supernatural…
[START!]
The U.A. Sports Festival had officially begun!
["YAHHH!"] It was a madcap dash though the naturally cramp tunnel as everyone suddenly collided into each other like a white cue ball hurtling into the rest of the set, forcefully pushing past and though each other, and into the course ahead.
"The starting gate's too narrow!"
"…!" Some students began to preemptively panic.
Ah, Deku suddenly realized, the starting gate itself is…
"The first filter." Someone finished his thought as a stream of cold, rigid ice came blowing by, past everyone: Todoroki. CRACKLE! The talented quirk user transformed the very ground beneath him into a personal ice ring, covering the ground over with his frosty ice.
"Yowch! I'm frozen all over! I can't move!"
"So cold!"
"That bastard!"
"Too easy, Todoroki!" Suddenly a confident voice boomed over the cries of pain. The ice-user glanced back to suddenly see his real competition, his class.
"I ain't letting you get ahead that easy, Half 'n' half!" BOOM! Bakugou screamed, maniacally, as he, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and many others, used their quirks to draw near. This wouldn't be an easy match, no way.
"I expected it from our class," Todoroki camly set his breath at a rhythm as he continued to skate forward, "but more made it past than I thought would…"
Alongside Mineta, Deku sprinted for dear life, trying to at least keep up with his more experienced classmates. Suddenly, out of random instinct, he glanced back to check up on the other surrounding or approaching opposition, only to see…
Goku, all the way back at the very beginning of the race; haven't even yet crossed the starting line. The young boy looked, from afar, and happily waved at Deku.
"What?!" Deku couldn't believe his eyes, but continued running.
The stadium was in an uproar, shocked that the random Class 1-A student hadn't even yet started the race. Goku continued to stare off in the distance, focusing on the students gaining ahead of him, while smiling. "I can't wait to see what they're made of…"
"Y-Young man!" Midnight called out, equally shocked too. "The race has already started! Please start or you'll be disqualified!"
"I know!" Goku yelled back, then suddenly closed his eyes. "But I think it's time I had a little fun." Meticulously, with soft, mild movements, the monkey boy started to hop up-and-down, from one foot to the other, back-and-forth, all while jumping mid air. Warming up his muscles, he stretched and moved his small arms, slowed his breathing, all while keeping his eyes closed the whole time.
Suddenly, he stopped and reopened his eyes. "HEH." SWISH! Suddenly, shocking all present, the boy disappeared into thin air…
Back in the heart of the race, Mineta started to close in. "Good thinking, staying two steps behind Todoroki. Now it's my turn!" He shouted while spamming the strange purple balls from his head. "How about a taste of my killer—"
WHAM! A metal appendage smashed into the small pervert, sending him flying into the side of the course.
"Mineta!" Deku exclaimed, hoping his classmate wasn't accidently killed by the surprise attack.
"Multiple targets acquired…!" A massive beast of a robot, responsible for knocking away Mineta, sized up the students before it.
["The Faux villains from the entrance exam?!"] Everyone screamed, utterly shocked.
KLANG! "Every obstacle course needs obstacles!" Laughed Present Mic though the hidden, surrounding speakers. "Starting with the first barrier: Robot Inferno!"
Ahead of the group, Todoroki came to a complete stop as he glanced up at the towering behemoths before him. Massive, colossal machines—taller than a city—stopped the students, with every intention of not letting them pass.
"It's the zero-pointers from the exam!"
"Seriously? The Hero Course kids fought those?!"
"Too many. There's no way past!"
"So," Todoroki, fearlessly stared down the monstrous machines high above, "these are the faux villains they used for everyone else's test?"
"Where'd they find the money for these…?" Yaoyorozu couldn't imagine it.
"Doesn't matter." Suddenly, frost built around Todoroki as he revved his powers. "Although I kinda wish they'd prepared something a little more threatening…" He drew back his arm, ready to let loose hell. "Especially because dear old Dad is watching—"
"ALL RIGHT!"
KRAH-BLOOM! Suddenly, the massive robot erupted into a fiery display of detonations as it was shredded into a thousand pieces. Launching out of the fire, something hurled straight through another robot with the same indescribable force of speed and velocity. The second robot was instantly destroyed, if not quicker than the first one, as something leapt away from the ruined contraption and right towards another one.
Laughing as he tore into the steel like it was butter, Son Goku, the recent transfer student, looked over at the other machines and grinned with absolute joy. "You all look pretty dumb," he threatened the robots, "but that's all okay with me!"