The Sports Festival

AKA the chapter where I try to explain as many things as possible before the sports festival arc starts, as well as get in some ship fuel. Also, this first half may feel a little dull, and that's mostly because it's going to be used as a transition for the next mini-arc between now and the sports festival.

"Riolu!" Izuku said, rushing into Recovery Girls office as soon as he got to school. The pokemon was sitting at the edge of the bed, facing towards the wall. At the sound of Izuku's voice, Riolu turned around, and his expression lightened as soon as he saw Izuku.

Riolu rushed forwards, as if he were going to tackle Izuku, but was promptly stopped by a smack on the top of the head by Recovery Girl's cane, "He still has a broken arm, you know. Your trainer isn't as easy to heal as you are." Izuku just bent down, cradling his injured arm.

"It's nice to see you, buddy!" Izuku said, patting his pokemon on the head. Izuku felt just that much safer being able to be with his partner again, even if he was in a pokeball most of the time. Realistically, he was safe most of the time anyways, at least relatively speaking, as Mew had been there since the USJ event, and hadn't left.

Well, saying it hadn't left was probably wrong. Mew tended to randomly wander off, but it always eventually came back around. Right now was one of those times. Who knew what the pink pokemon was getting into.

Izuku thanked Recovery Girl and recalled Riolu to his ball before heading to class. There was a lot that was on his mind as he walked to the 1-a classroom. First off, who would be teaching class today, because it certainly wasn't going to be Mister Aizawa. Secondly, there was the training regimen he'd promised to adapt for Ochako earlier that morning. Surely that wouldn't be much of a problem, so he wasn't that worried. Lastly, though, was all of the confusing things that was going on with Mew and One for All.

Izuku had wondered if Mew had been somehow related to the strange ability, but it seems he was proven wrong by All Might's ignorance on the topic. Something was up with Mew, and he'd have to get to the bottom of it. Then, there'd been his realization that morning.

Mew was the first pokemon outside of Riolu that he'd been able to touch without going into a panicked episode. It was a huge step, to say the least. Part of it was probably due to his familiarity with Mew by now, that knowledge in the back of his mind that Mew wouldn't hurt him. The only bad part of the situation is that he couldn't tell anyone about his progress without exposing Mew.

That wasn't where the complications stopped, though. No, far from it. He still had to figure out what he was going to say to Tsuyu and Mineta if they asked, and he was sure that Tsuyu at the very least would approach him. Mineta didn't seem like he was interested in anything more than his perverted fantasies.

He also had to come up with an explanation for what to say to Uraraka and Todoroki, if they asked about what was going on with Izuku's injury. They also probably saw first hand the green sparks that had been cackling off of Riolu. That in itself would probably be an problem, since All Might didn't seem to emit energy when he and Lucario used One for All.

Izuku finally made it to the classroom, pushing the hulking door open with his good arm.

"Hey Midoriya!" Kirishima said from across the room. A few other murmurs of greeting were heard from the rest of the room, and for some reason it made Izuku's mind jump. Everything was so...normal, especially after yesterday's events. Nobody else even had any injuries besides himself, from the look of it.

Izuku looked around the class, looking over everyone just to be sure they were all okay like he thought. When his eyes met Uraraka's, she immediately turned away, looking at the wall. Izuku tilted his head.

Odd he thought, before shaking the thought and heading to his seat.

"I wonder who's going to teach today!" Kaminari said, "It can't be Mister Aizawa."

"Probably the principal. I've heard he steps in when teachers need it." Kirishima suggested. Suddenly, the bell rang and everyone headed directly to their seats . When someone walked in the door, nobody was expecting to see a mummy.

Or, rather, nobody was expecting to see their teacher walk into the room, covered head to toe in bandages. The entire room sat in stunned silence as Aizawa walked in, taking up a spot at the front of the room.

At least he has a strong sense of duty

"We have a few announcements to go over this morning," Aizawa's muffled voice came, completely ignoring the elephant in the room, "I'm sure all of you know that the Yuuei Sports Festival is coming up."

Murmurs spread through the room, Izuku couldn't believe that that he'd forgotten about the sports festival. It was understandable, considering what all had been going on throughout the last few days, but Izuku had watched every single sports festival from when he was born.

"Things will be continuing as normal. The school cannot show weakness to a single villain attack, so events will continue as planned. Two weeks from now marks the first day of events. I recommend that you all prepare to the best of your ability, as many

Two weeks Izuku thought, Two weeks to train.

The entire class burst out into loud yelling almost immediately.

"I'm going to train so much!" Kirishima yelled, "Let the manliest win!"

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Izuku searched around the room for Uraraka. It wasn't long before he found her and…

Wow, that looks intense. If Izuku didn't know any better, he'd say that she was emitting pure intensity. Izuku could see the determination in her eyes. She punched her fist into the air, grumbling in a deep voice, "Plus ultra!"

"Wow...Uraraka looks fired up." Izuku heard Iida say. Izuku turned to look at his friend. Izuku just nodded.

"She's really getting into it, not that that's a bad thing." Izuku said. Uraraka had just gone up to another group of people, barging her way in and yellin 'Plus Ultra' again. Izuku snickered at her ridiculousness, I suppose I could ask her another time.

As if to seal the deal, the bell to go to the next class rang. With a sigh, Izuku picked up his bag, heading to the door. Looking up, Izuku wasn't met with a open space like he'd been expecting. Instead, there was a massive crowd of people blocking the door.

"Huh?" Izuku blurted out. At the forefront of the group was a boy with dark purple hair. He had sinking bags under his eyes, and in general just looked tired, "Can I help you?"

The boy didn't say anything, just looking Izuku up and down. Izuku tilted his head, "Why are you all here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" An angry voice said, "They're scoping out the competition."

Bakugo pushed his way to the front of the group, a scowl on his face, "It's not like it matters anyways. I'm going to win, no matter what these extras do. Now, get the hell out of my way."

The group of students just looked at Bakugo, some frowning at him, some just looking at him in confusion. Still, the crowd parted, letting the blonde boy through.

"Sorry abou-"

"Tch, makes sense that the hero course would be full of themselves. Apparently fighting off some little villains makes you the top dogs." The purple haired boy interrupted Izuku's apology.

Izuku normally wasn't an angry person. Yet, when the boy said that, something clicked inside of Izuku. It was like someone flipped a switch on his emotions.

"Excuse me?" Izuku said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. The boy just met Izuku's eyes, before sighing.

"Based on how the general course students do at the sports festival, they might be considered for transfer into the hero course. I came here to make a declaration. I'll show you that you're not that much better than the rest of us by taking your place in the hero course." The boy turned to walk away.

"We didn't ask to get attacked by villains, you know." Izuku said. The boy stopped walking.

"What?"

Izuku kept his head, "You said that we act like we're better than all of you because what happened at the USJ. Did anyone ever actually say that? We didn't ask to get attacked by villains. Or was it just all an excuse to make you feel better about being an asshole?"

Izuku didn't wait to see his response. He just started to walk away, following the path Bakugo had taken. He didn't know why that boy made him so angry, but Izuku needed some time to cool down.

The rest of the school hours went on as normal. The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and everyone started to clear out, heading home. Izuku's day, however, was far from over.

"Midoriya, a word." Aizawa said, motioning for Izuku as he was about to leave. Izuku stopped in his tracks, turning to his bandaged teacher.

Aizawa cleared his throat before speaking, "I wanted to give you an update on the situation you brought to the school's attention a couple of weeks ago."

Situation? What sit- Izuku realized.

"The one with Eri?" Izuku asked, instantly perking up. Any information he could get on the situation he would take, "Did they find her? Is she okay? What-"

"Calm down, Midoriya." Aizawa cut him off. Izuku closed his mouth. After a long pause, Aizawa continued, "There has been a lead on the entire situation. Long story short, there's a hero agency in the area that is investigating it. If you do well enough in the sports festival, you may be able to get an invitation to work with them afterwards. You might want to look into that. That is all."

Izuku gulped, nodding. He knew he needed to get that invitation, no matter what. He needed to fulfill his promise.

"Mister Aizawa?" Izuku said as he turned to leave, "What hero agency is it?"

Aizawa didn't answer immediately. Izuku wondered if perhaps the hero had fallen asleep again, so he turned around. Aizawa just looked back at him, and he seemed to be pondering something. He seemed to make a decision, because he shifted.

"The hero is Sir Nighteye." The name sounded familiar, but Izuku couldn't put his finger on it.

Izuku thanked Aizawa and left the classroom, only to be met with another familiar face.

"Young Midoriya, you asked if we could meet today?" All Might was in his powered-up form, Lucario standing next to him.

"Y-yeah!" Izuku said, nodding, "Though, we might want to meet somewhere a little more private." All Might nodded knowingly, leading the way down the hallway.

As soon as they made it into the teacher's lounge, All Might disappeared with a puff of smoke, transforming into his normal form. He let out a sigh of relief, "It's been harder and harder to maintain that form."

Izuku immediately felt his mood darken. He was the reason that All Might was having problems. All Might seemed to notice the dark expression Izuku wore.

"Don't worry about me, Young Midoriya." All Might said. Izuku just let out a sigh. It was hard not to blame himself, at least a little, for All Might's weakening. They sat in silence for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak first.

"So," Izuku finally said, "The sports festival is coming up."

All Might let out a hearty laugh, "Ah yes, I remember. It seemed easy to forget about with all the recent events, has it not?" Izuku nodded in agreement.

Izuku let out a breath, deciding not to hold back anymore. He couldn't take the awkward tension in the air, "I'm worried about it. Not only because it's such a high-stakes event, but also because I don't want to accidentally do something wrong."

"What could you do wrong?"

"I don't have control over One for All yet. If I use it, I'm worried that I might end up exposing the secret. Yet, if I don't use it, I won't be able to do as well as I possibly could have." Izuku let out in a single breath. He looked down at his feet, "I don't know what to do."

Suddenly, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see All Might smiling back at him, "We have two weeks to train for the festival, do we not?"

Izuku tilted his head, "Train for...you mean train me? Isn't that like...showing favoritism or something?"

All Might boomed with laughter, "Let's just say...when I'm like this," he gestured to his body, "I'm not All Might the teacher, the professional hero. I'm All Might the eighth holder of One for All. Not only is it my duty to see you along as you grow into a young hero, but it is also my wish as your mentor."

Izuku didn't know why he was so surprised. It all made sense, but for some reason, he couldn't wrap his hand around it all.

"Does after school at the training grounds sound alright by you?"

Izuku gulped, "Umm...yeah that works."

All Might nodded, "Good. The sports festival is an opportunity unlike any other. It's your first chance to get your name out there, and nobody should be holding back. It's your opportunity to tell the world 'I am here'."

"I am here." Izuku echoed. If he didn't feel the pressure before, he surely did now.

"Plus, we can't have you blowing yourself up every time you and Riolu try to use One for All." All Might laughed.

"There was one more thing," Izuku said, the idea coming to mind just before he left, "Do you know a hero that goes by the name of Sir Nighteye?"

All Might's expression immediately darkened, and Izuku knew instantly that he'd brought back some memories that the older hero would have rather not been brought back up.

"I know him, yes, why do you ask?" All Might said, tone flat. Izuku couldn't read what he was thinking very well.

"Well, it's just that...well, his agency is the one that is investigating the situation with Eri, so I was hoping to do well at the festival so that I can go work with them and help get Eri back." Izuku said. All Might's dark expression lightened, but Izuku saw his lips purse.

"All the more reason to do well, eh?" He said finally. Izuku tilted his head.

"Do you know him?" Izuku asked. He could tell that All Might knew very well who the hero was, he just wasn't saying anything.

All Might let out a sigh, standing up from the couch, "That is a story for another time. For now, how about you head on home and get some rest?"

Izuku knew he wasn't going to get anything more out of his mentor, not when he was like this. Giving in, Izuku nodded. He at least got one thing out of the way for today, now only two more things to go.

Izuku made it home on one of the late trains, and his mother instantly threw her arms around him when he stepped in the door, "Izuku! You didn't tell me when that you wouldn't be on the first train back today!" she chastised him, "I was worried you might be hurt!"

Whoops Izuku thought, "Nope, I'm all good. Just had a few things to take care of after school is all. Speaking of, I the sports festival is coming up, so I'll be taking the late bus back home some days." His mother nodded in acknowledgement.

Izuku wasn't surprised to see Mew waiting for him in his room. Riolu, on the other hand, eyed the pink pokemon with caution.

"Riolu, it's fine. Mew's been around since yesterday, and practically hasn't left." Izuku assured his partner. Then, he got an excited feeling in his heart, "In fact, look at this!"

Izuku tentatively reached forwards and patted Mew on the top of its head, "I can touch it, look!"

Riolu had a smug expression on his face, and Izuku could tell, even if he played it off as being indifferent, he was proud. Izuku smiled, before crashing into his computer chair.

Adapting his training program from All Might wasn't that difficult. He lowered the intensity slightly, as he doubted Uraraka would be going for the same type of improvement that he had to go for. He removed all of the workouts that usually happened during meals and homework, and replaced all of the 'beach time' with less-vigorous strength training.

When he finally had his finished product, he printed off the file, and got out his phone to text Uraraka.

Ochako was cooking herself dinner when her phone buzzed.

"Clefairy, could you grab that for me?" Ochako asked, still tossing the ingredients to her stir fry. The pink little pokemon hopped off of the couch and went over, grabbing Ochako's phone and waddling over with it.

"Thank you!" She said, grabbing her phone and checking the messages.

'I got your training program done, where do you want to meet to pick it up?' Izuku's message read. Ochako let out a sigh. Of course he made it on the first day. It seemed like something he'd do.

She dried off her hands and picked up her phone to respond.

'Tomorrow morning in the same place?' She typed back, and just before she hit send, she reconsidered. The park was pretty far away from both of their apartments, so it didn't really make sense to meet there.

'The station we usually meet at to go to school at the same time as the park this morning?' Ochako typed back instead.

The reply was instant.

'Sure.'

Ochako put her phone down and went back to cooking. Even such a simple interaction with Izuku, over the phone no less, was a struggle. Every time she talked to him, her heart fluttered, and she hated it.

She didn't have time for romance, and it wasn't like he'd want her back anyways. Even so, the heart didn't listen to the mind. Every time she talked to him, her heart fluttered, and she didn't want to be anywhere else, doing anything else.

By now she'd accepted it. She'd fallen for Izuku, and she'd fallen hard. The problem was, her heart and her mind didn't agree. Her heart wanted her to pursue Izuku, to pursue what would make her happy.

Her mind, on the other hand, knew what was best. In general, it was dangerous for heroes to get into relationships. Being in a relationship meant that each of them could be used as leverage by any villain, and tended to end up bad in the long run. Not only that, but she also knew they didn't have time to focus on anything but training and becoming heroes.

Even still, she couldn't help but let her heart take over every time Izuku was around. She was able to keep her poker face and stay calm most of the time, but she wasn't sure that it would stay like that. She could already feel it getting harder and harder, ever since she accepted her feelings.

With a sigh, Ochako turned back to her dinner, not wanting to burn it. It was a distraction from the real problem, but it was a necessary one.

Izuku woke up bright and early the next morning, just like normal. He got up and ready as fast as he could without waking his mother up, and headed out, stack of papers in hand. Mew didn't wake up this time, but Riolu accompanied him on the run, just like normal.

Izuku headed down to the station that Uraraka agreed to meet at. He sat down at a bench, waiting for his friend to arrive.

"Deku!" he heard a voice call. Izuku wheeled around, searching for the origin of the familiar voice. He turned to see Uraraka, running towards him…

Only for his entire mind to go blank. Uraraka was walking towards him, smiling and waving. That wouldn't be a problem, except for what she was wearing. It was simple, but that was the problem.

She was wearing what seemed to be a thin crop top over a sports bra, one that cut off with just enough room to show off her stomach. His eyes drifted downwards and he caught sight of her shorts, almost dying all over again. Shorts that were far shorter than they had any right to be. He hadn't seen such a large quantity of thigh in one spot.

"U-U-uhhh…" Izuku tried to greet her back, but the words wouldn't come out.

has stopped working

"Hey Deku!" Uraraka said again, coming to a stop next to him.

Izuku just looked at her again, his mind blank. He wasn't touching any pokemon was he? No, that wasn't right. He just wasn't used to...so much skin.

"Y-Yeah I-I'm okay! I'm okay!" he stuttered out. Uraraka tilted her head, putting a finger to her lips.

"You look really red, are you okay?" She asked. Izuku vigorously nodded, bringing up his on good hand defensively.

"I'm okay!" In his panic, he hadn't realized his water bottle was in his hand, and when he'd thrown his hands up, the water bottle had gone with it, sailing from his hand. It landed on the ground a few meters away, spilling onto the concrete.

Whoops Izuku thought, scrambling to pick up the mess. Unfortunately, almost all of his water had spilled out.

"Well that'll be fun." Izuku saidm standing back up and turning around. He forced himself to keep his composure as he looked at Uraraka this time. Izuku heard a snort from somewhere, and when he looked down, he saw that it originated from Riolu. He had an extremely smug look on his face.

Izuku shot him a glare, as if to say, oh cut it out. Riolu's response was just to start lightly laughing.

"Do you have any more water?" Uraraka asked. Izuku just shook his head, sighing. Uraraka hummed, "Well, good thing I brought extra!"

Izuku gulped, "Let's get started, shall we?" Maybe running would get his mind off of...well, if he thought about it again, he might just implode.

Running, like normal, let Izuku take his mind off of things. Not only the...thighs, but also everything that had gone on recently. Running was a way for him to get out of his own mind, only having to focus on the constant pounding of his feet on the ground.

He ran the route he'd mapped out that morning. They mostly stuck to main roads, Izuku not wanting to go to back alleys if he could avoid it, and weaved up and down the town. The run ended at the same park that they'd ended at last time, as it was a good area to cool down. They could sit under the tree and re-hydrate, talking about…

Why am I thinking about that part? Izuku shook his head, clearing his thoughts. They finally made it to the park, slowing their pace.

"Ugh!" Uraraka groaned, collapsing onto the ground and leaning up against the tree, "I'm beat!"

"It's not good to stop moving right away, you know, you could get cramps." Izuku noted. Uraraka just frowned.

"I don't care at this point. I just need to rest…" She patted the ground next to her, "Come sit with me."

With a sigh, Izuku obliged, plopping himself down on the ground right next to the tree. A little ways away, Riolu had taken a seat, lounging on the grass. Uraraka's Togekiss was perched in the tree, and Clefairy was leaning up against the tree on the other side of Uraraka, looking just as tired as her trainer. Eevee was nowhere to be found.

Izuku looked around for the little pokemon, forcing his eyes to glaze over Uraraka's outfit yet again. He eventually spotted the pokemon, marching across the field towards the group.

"She's not gonna be very happy. She's probably angry we made her sweat." Uraraka mumbled, and Izuku laughed. "She's such a brat."

To their surprise, Eevee didn't walk to them right away. It got about halfway there, then it veered off to the side. Eevee walked over to where Riolu was staring at the sky, sitting down on the grass next to him.

"That's odd." Izuku muttered. Uraraka hummed in agreement.

"I think Eevee's wanted to thank Riolu for saving her at the USJ." Uraraka said. The two didn't seem to be doing anything in particular, but Riolu had sat up, which was a start. At least he wasn't being a brat today.

Though, if Eevee is anything like how Uraraka described, they might be a good fit. Izuku couldn't help but think. They could be brats together.

Eventually, Eevee stood back up, and looked like she was about to head back over. Just before she walked away, however, the pokemon turned around, dragging her fluffy tail under Riolu's chin, before winking and walking away.

"Huh?" Izuku said, confused as to what had just happened.

"Eevee!" Uraraka squeaked out, her voice high pitched. Izuku looked over, and saw that her face was burning a bright pink. The pokemon just looked at her trainer, a smug expression on her face.

What just happened? Izuku thought, completely dumbfounded by the entire situation. He shook his head, deciding to forget about it.

"W-well, I think it's time to head back so that we can get to class." Uraraka said, standing up abruptly. Izuku pushed himself to his feet as well, but he suddenly felt a little sad. Part of him knew he needed to go to class, but the other part of him wanted to stay longer.

Even if he got unreasonably flustered by Uraraka's attire, he still wanted to sit around and enjoy more time with his friend. Now that he thought about it, it had been that way for a little while now. He just felt a little happier whenever he was with her.

It was like being around her made him feel more at ease, like nothing could go wrong. She truly was his best friend, wasn't she? He didn't know anyone that he'd rather spend his free time with.

They got ready to head back, and as he and Riolu were about to leave, Izuku looked over his shoulder.

"Uraraka?" He called out, not knowing where he was going with this ridiculous idea. Uraraka turned around, and Izuku gulped.

"I-I think that outfit looks really good on you." He said, his face going bright pink.

Uraraka jumped back as if she'd been scared by his statement, "T-thanks! S-see you at school!" She squeaked, before turning heel and speed walking away.