Chapter 4:

A pained groan left Yuu's lips as his shirtless body rolled off of the worst futon he'd ever had the displeasure to sleep on and onto the cold, hard, and rather foul ground. The fact that said futon was currently residing on a cheap rug on top of concrete didn't matter in the slightest, the futon would've been awful enough to turn into ashes no matter what surface happened to bear its weight. Honestly, he wasn't sure what he expected when he made the conscious decision to crash at Izumi's comfort-forsaken house. Given the condition of the rest of her home, he really should have seen it coming that her sleeping arrangements would be pathetic too… he blamed the alcohol for his lack of judgement.

The night had continued on, Yuu and Izumi both had continued to drink, and he just… didn't leave. To his surprise, he never saw Giran actually exit the building, but he assumed there was another exit rather than jumping straight to teleportation as a quirk; more often than not in life, the simple answer was the correct one, after all. The more alcohol the two… companions? Associates? Friends? Whatever he and Izumi were, the more they drank, the more they talked. The topics ranged from stupid mistakes they'd made and the regrets they had, to the existence of god and what the spontaneous spread of quirks said about the physical world. Despite her blunt way with words, Izumi had proven herself to be nothing short of an excellent conversationalist that he'd been happy to talk to. Yuu had woken up from his coma only nine days prior, but he nevertheless found himself truly enjoying the night talking to a girl who he wouldn't have even dreamed of associating with back when he was nothing more than a conceited high-school kid with an ego the size of Everest. Izumi proved herself to be a complicated woman with a unique perspective on… just about everything. No matter what topic it was, she had an opinion on it. Another example of how books couldn't be judged by their covers. Even being able to read the girl's mind, Yuu's initial impression of Izumi couldn't have been further off-base.

Yuu made a brief effort to rise to his feet, but he promptly gave up when the piercing headache of a hangover made itself known harder than a hitter against a fastball. Still a goddamn lightweight… He noted, neither happy nor upset with that fact that his system handled alcohol so poorly. The ability to get drunk on less was a boon to anyone looking to drink on a budget or get wasted quickly but being unable to drink more than he currently could without suffering a hang-over was simply annoying. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't yet found an ability that allowed him to get rid of the debilitating aftereffects of alcohol. Maybe if he carefully applied one of his healing abilities it would get the job done, but, as one might expect, whenever he had a hangover, he wasn't in a good position to wield his abilities with any degree of finesse.

Though it took an exhaustive amount of effort, he eventually managed to reach the couch via a combined mixture of crawling and stumbling. Not the most dignified sight, undoubtedly, but it got him off the concrete and onto a surface that, while not soft, did not cause him active pain to sit upon. With that arduous and unforgiving task finally complete, it was the work of only a moment to grab one of the many empty beer bottles off the so-called table and conjure some water within it. Yuu had seen for himself that Izumi's filtration system worked just fine, but not only was that on a side of the room he was not willing to try and reach, but he also just didn't trust anything in her home to not be at least half-way broken. Cold, clean water passing past his parched lips allowed him to the opportunity to look around the run-down room with clarity for the first time since waking. It was still early if the ambient light from the windows was any sort of judge. The sun had begun to rise but was nowhere near its zenith, which was in line with the amount of sleep he generally got each night, even after staying up so late. The entire place was somehow in even worse condition than we'd arrived the day before. Glass bottles covered every flat surface, two pizza boxes sat forgotten in the corner, and discarded clothes lay scattered upon the floor.

Yuu wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about the fact that he ended up fucking the first girl that he spent any real time with since exiting his coma. When he'd left his hotel that morning, all he'd meant to do was establish a few contacts in the city and get the ball rolling on his new ID, but when the alcohol started flowing and his inhibitions fell to the wayside, he had eagerly obliged Izumi when she straddled his lap and crashed her lips into his. What followed was nothing more than a natural progression from two drunk people with inflamed desires and loose morals.

Sex wasn't a foreign concept to Yuu. Before he was ever targeted by the Hoshinoumi student council, he'd leveraged his faux test scores, natural good looks, and insincere charisma into getting anything he wanted from the girls at his school. Lust had never been an unfamiliar desire of his, and back then, he hadn't shied away from it, if anything, he'd indulged himself. God, he'd been such a piece of shit. The blackmail his future friends held over his head forced him to turn over a new leaf, which helped him turn into an objectively better person, but even if he'd resolved to not be a manipulative bastard, natural craving for sexual gratification never left him completely. After his confession to Nao, he'd intended to take no one else into his bed. Nao had been rather blatant in her assertion that they'd only become lovers after he cleansed the world of abilities, but even then, he'd wanted to honor the feelings of his heart and not pursue sex with other woman simply to slake his lust upon them. As was the case with everything else in his life, he should have known he would fail.

Despite the infamy of the red-light districts in certain nations and the frequency in which Yuu had to travel through them, it wasn't until he went to Britain, of all places, almost two years after he'd first left Japan, that he eventually lost control. The non-stop theft of abilities had left his mental state frail on good days, on the bad ones he was barely even himself. Mental acuity was a daily battle with him. On the days when he stole no abilities, sanity was his, he recognized himself as Yuu Otosaka, he remembered his life, his family, and why he'd undertaken his mission. Even then, as time went on, he found himself more… unstable. Quick to anger, slow to calm, perpetually on edge, alert to anything his frayed mind deemed wrong. On the days when he went on a spree, stealing abilities left and right, his mind simply wasn't equipped to process them all. Yuu Otosaka ceased to exist, and only the unhinged, utterly insane, hedonistic, but strangely driven One-Eyed Reaper was left in his wake. It was strange, having memories of the actions he took after the fact even though, at the time, he wouldn't have recognized himself in the mirror. Yuu remembered the way he'd sauntered into the club without the bouncer even knowing he was there, the abilities he'd used to toy with the bartender's mind and convince them that yes, he was of legal age to order alcohol. The lies that had dripped off his tongue when he made a pass at the cute brunette with curly hair and a sultry smile. The utter satisfaction he felt when he took her back to a hotel room he had never paid for, threw her onto the bed, and broke the promise he'd made to himself. It wouldn't be the last time.

Yuu's faults were many in number, but self-deception did not rank among them. Even when his mind was fractured, he knew that the actions he took were ultimately still his own. The simple fact that he always hunted down ability users irrespective of whatever mental state he was in said as much, clear as day. No matter what pithy excuse he liked to tell himself, he cast off the emotions of his heart and settled for base lust as soon as it was convenient. Back then, he'd hated himself for that fact, another regret to toss onto the pile that was his life.

As Yuu sat on the filthy couch and gazed upon the naked body of the girl whose last name he didn't even know, it was odd that the deprecation and disgust he expected to feel for himself simply… didn't exist. Nine days. Only nine days had passed since he learned that the girl he'd loved had passed from the world. Nine goddamn days and he was already moving on as if it was nothing. Was that a good thing? Or was he turning back into the selfish person he was in the past? A part of him thought that it was downright healthy to not be eternally attached to the memory of a girl who was already dead… the other part of him looked upon how quick he was to walk away from his emotions with nothing but derision. Whichever answer was right or wrong, good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, at that moment, he wasn't sure, regardless, it was the way he felt. Feelings, above all else, couldn't be forced.

The rest of the morning passed with Yuu in a contemplative mood that led to zero answers. The shower in Izumi's place, if he could call it that, was little more than a shower-head coupled with a drain in the floor. Somehow, the water wasn't ice cold, and that was a victory in his book. Cold baths had been a common occurrence during his years of travel, but he'd never gotten used to them, even with an ability to regulate temperature, cold water was still uniquely unpleasant. Tepid liquid cascading down his back was infinitely more preferable than shivering under a shower that was barely warmer than ice. The shampoo and body wash he decided to borrow smelled of coconut, which, now that he thought about it, was the same scent that lingered on Izumi underneath the pervasive smell of cheap booze and cigarette smoke.

When Yuu eventually exited the bath, a scrap of a towel wrapped around his waist, he hadn't expected to see Izumi walking around in nothing but his shirt with a lit cigarette dangling from her lips. She was standing at the counter, making a pot of tea. In spite of her horrendous living conditions, it was clear she at least enjoyed some creature comforts in life.

"Morning," Yuu greeted, moving towards his strewn about clothes.

Izumi looked at him blankly, taking a long drag. "You woke me up," she accused, her voice empty of all inflection.

Primarily occupied with pulling on his pants, the best Yuu could offer her was an askew glance. "Aren't we hitting the point when most people wake up?" Even as he asked the question, he was already searching for either of their phones, having learned the previous evening that there wasn't a single clock elsewhere in the entire building.

"Don't know, don't care, I'm still fucking tired, and you woke me up."

"It's already 10 a.m.…" It was Yuu's turn to sound utterly unsympathetic as he offered her own phone back to her, unsurprised when her limb stretched across the room to take it from his hand. "Didn't you say the event starts at 1 p.m.? You should be thanking me, any later and you'd be late."

Izumi appeared genuinely surprised, her lips forming a small 'o' as she checked the time herself. "Fuck… that's way too early." That was the moment that Yuu accepted that Izumi was in no way, shape, or form, a morning person. Potentially not even a daylight person, but at the very least she disagreed with the hours immediately following the sun's rise. "You still planning on joining me?"

"Yeah," Yuu grunted as he stuffed his feet into his boots. "Just have a few errands to run beforehand, I'll meet you at the ticket-gate by half-past noon." A quick run for some cash and a jaunt back to his room for a change of clothes was on his list of priorities. He quite liked his coat, but it was admittedly more conspicuous than he had any desire to be at that moment. The advent of abilities had given rise to more unique outfits and fashion trends than he was used to, but a thick coat with multiple layers in summer still wasn't particularly common. "Can I have my shirt back, or are you planning to keep it?"

"Hm?" Izumi looked down, apparently forgetting what it was she'd thrown on upon waking. "Oh, yeah. Here." Yuu was treated to a downright delectable sight as the girl shamelessly tossed him the only article of clothing that had covered her body before her hand snaked forward to snag the underwear he'd pulled off from her the previous night.

"See you there," Yuu said, waving as he unlatched the heavy door to step back in the shitty alley. A noise that sounded somewhere between a grunt and a hum was his only reply as the door slammed close behind him.

Yuu wasn't surprised, but he was rather pleased that Izumi was the type of girl to not feel the need to have needlessly awkward conversations about how they'd slept together. Even the ones that had ended in perfectly pleasant ways, they simply weren't enjoyable. Small mercies that she was as emotionally deadened as he was unstable.

The journey back to his hotel room was uneventful. Yuu was tempted to make use of his abilities to speed through the city and avoid using the trains, but Izumi's critiques of society had merit in at least one respect: It was illegal to use abilities in public without a hero license. The process for acquiring said license wasn't simple, by any means. The most common method was going through the high school hero programs, but there were programs that weren't age dependent. The problem was they were all multi-year commitments with lots of oversight and evaluations. Once you earned your license, it was practically carte blanche freedom to use your ability, but to even get to that point was unrealistic for most people. Yuu might be able to fake his way through one of those programs, but the sheer time investment just wasn't worth it. Besides, he couldn't think of anything more embarrassing than designing a costume and a goddamn hero name for the public to know him by. The modern world's sensibilities didn't match his at all, especially when underneath the comic book sheen, the world was just as fucked up as it used to be. It used to be that he only found child soldiers in the war-torn regions of the world, now, they were on Japan's streets, but the world called them 'heroes-in-training.'

All over the radio and TV people talked about three things, the upcoming Sports Festival, the famous class of first-years who had been attacked and subsequently defended themselves against villains, and the Hero Killer, Stain. An event that was practically a celebration of everything modern heroes stood for, and a nameless individual with an unknown ability who targeted professional heroes with ruthless determination. In spite of the fact that he was going to attend the Sports Festival in which the students who had already risked their lives would be competing, he found himself more intrigued by infamous serial killer. Everyone was questioning what his motives could possibly be since he notably didn't kill everyone he encountered. Of the 41 separate professional heroes he'd victimized, half of them were simply left crippled rather than dead. The survivors spoke of nothing but his speed, skill, and utter hatred for them, who he referred to as "fakes."

So far, only one hero had managed to go up against him and escape without injuries, "Mirko" was her hero-name, and she was the current number seven hero in Japan. Pure coincidence and fortunate timing was the sole reason she had encountered the serial killer. According to the testimony she provided after the fact, the renowned Rabbit Hero hadn't even been on the clock at the time, she'd simply been on her way home after catching a late bite to eat when she'd heard the screams echoing from a nearby warehouse. When she finally caught up to the source, there he was, the Hero Killer, standing over the mutilated body of a pro hero most of the world had tragically already forgotten the name of. Above all else, Mirko stressed that the Hero Killer was fast. Whether that was the result of a speed ability or just raw physical capabilities was undetermined, but Mirko hadn't hesitated in stating that most other pros wouldn't stand a chance against him. Of course, because it was coming from the cocky and self-assured woman that she was, she'd punctuated her warning with a derisive comment on how she didn't need to team up with anyone else to stay safe, following up her inflammatory remark with a challenge that his 'bitch-ass can come after her anytime he wants to try.' In a lot of ways, she reminded him of Izumi.

"I don't know what you're so worried about," Yuu allowed his attention to be drawn towards the rather loud, tall man with his hair slicked back who was talking to his companion a few feet away. "It's in his name, 'Hero Killer,' as in he kills heroes. Civilians like us don't have to be worried about him at all."

The aforementioned companion, a forgettable man in a suit were it not for his shock of pink hair, looked affronted. "How can you be so cavalier? Heroes risk their lives every day, and that psychopath is targeting them. With a mindset like that, who knows where he'll turn his sights next?"

Japan really had changed if average people were so willing to engage in debate in the middle of a crowded train. Yuu remembered the days when even talking on the cell-phone in such a space was frowned upon. Regardless, he didn't have enough insight into the Hero Killer to form an opinion of his own. Who knew what drove the man to commit his acts of violence? As someone who had engaged in his fair share of bloodshed, for all he knew, the two shared ideals with one another… Yuu still thought he was likely little more than a delusional fool, though. Individual heroes were a symptom of the pervasive problems in Japan, not the cause.

"Oh, please. The odds of us being killed by a serial killer are slim to none. We're more likely to have our office crushed by Mount Lady than run into that guy in a dark alley."

Pink Hair, as Yuu had affectionately named him, was indignant as his jaw dropped. "Mount Lady is a great hero!"

"Hah," the instigator of this exchange, Yuu named him Slick, scoffed. "She's a walking insurance claim. The only reason she's popular is that every time she takes to the streets, everyone gets a free view of her ass."

"Now you're insulting her because she has a tight costume? All Might does too, where's your indignation about him showing off his body?"

"All Might actually helps people, that's the difference," Slick waved off the objection without a moment's pause, his hands rising into the air as he stretched. "As soon as All Might starts accidentally toppling buildings with every fight, I'll criticize him too."

"You're being unfair to her," Pink Hair murmured, turning away with a huff. "You're just choosing to ignore that even through their faults, heroes risk their lives all the time."

Yuu didn't agree or disagree with either of the two men, but he found himself at least respecting Pink Hair's stance more than Slick's. Paycheck, fame, and popularity aside, if heroes really were putting their lives on the line to save innocents, they deserved at least a modicum of respect from the people that needed their assistance. Slick's grievances may be legitimate, but they rang hollow given that the man was unwilling to do anything but bitch about the conditions of his society rather than try and change them. Without action or conviction, the critiques he espoused were nothing more than petty complaints.

Sick and tired of their prattling, Yuu turned towards the two men but addressed Slick with a glare. "Oi, you two are being loud. Shut up." Confrontation was one thing he had never shied away from.

"Mind your own business, asshole!" Slick rounded on Yuu with his face twisted with anger. "We aren't bothering anybody, so back off!"

Over the years, Yuu had learned that most people were distinctly uncomfortable when he confronted them. The effect of his lone eye combined with his natural confidence that Giran had commented on just made the average person nervous. The ability he'd stolen during his time in Russia that allowed him to project an intimidating aura towards anyone he wished simply meant he was all the more effective when he wanted to scare people.

From the perspective of the onlookers who muttered and watched in anticipation at the prospect of entertaining drama, all they saw was Yuu push off from the pole he'd been idly leaning against before the rude and abrasive man with slicked back hair, who had taken a step toward the scarred teen, collapsed backward into the empty seat. Sweat beaded on his brow as his eyes were wide with fear. He sunk further into his seat, his gaze dotting from side to side almost as if he sought a way to flee but was unwilling to get even a single step closer to the one who approached him. Upon reaching the man, Yuu bent forward and gripped the front of his shirt with only a single hand, channeling a strength ability he'd plundered to hoist the man upwards so that the two were eye-level. The terror emanating off Slick was palpable as he trembled in Yuu's grasp.

"I told you to shut. Up." The words were barely a whisper upon his lips. With a negligent movement of his hand, he thrust the man back into his seat and returned to his prior place against the pole, deactivating the abilities and letting the silence that had overtaken the train-car wash over him. Slick was practically catatonic, curled into himself in the seat, casting furtive, fearful glances at Yuu, the ability wasn't active, but the memories of its effects remained.

Pink Hair, previously too stunned to even offer a word in edgewise, came to his senses and turned towards Yuu, a hint of anger in his eyes. "Did you use your quirk on him!?"

"No."

"Liar!" Pink Hair accused; his hand outstretched towards the camera that sat in the corner of the train-car. "I'm reporting this to the police!"

Yuu shrugged, utterly unconcerned with the threat. Given the number of actual crimes that took place, a confrontation devoid of violence with no visual sign of ability usage likely wouldn't even merit a single report being filed. Still, in the off-chance that the grievance was taken seriously, he had no desire to be hounded by police. "You will not report me to the police." The words flowed from his tongue like the songs of a siren. The moment they reached Pink Hair's ears; he was ensnared. A verbal command that would seep into the depths of his psyche, compelling him to obey and insidiously making him believe it was the right choice to do so. The efficacy of such an ability over a long period of time had yet to be confirmed by Yuu, but he was reasonably certain it would last. While it was possible to resist the commands, the simpler they were, the more likely they were to be obeyed. The subtle distinctions of telling him not to take an action as opposed to taking one made it all the more poignant.

The gods of fate smiled down upon Yuu since his stop was the next one following his confrontation. Nervous glances and whispered words followed him as he made his exit, but no one seemed as if they were wary of his very existence. I was rash, he mused, following the signs to make his exit from the underground sprawl. The streets themselves weren't lined with cameras, but it should have been obvious to him that a publicly operated subway would have better security. Maintaining a low profile came with its advantages, but that one little incident was enough for him to assume it wouldn't last forever. A quick temper had been his constant companion for years. Whatever trials and tribulations arose from it, he'd just have to deal with. Besides, he wasn't confident that international agencies wouldn't eventually come knocking at his door in the middle of the night because of what he'd done in the Thar Desert. The conglomerate that had bankrolled that facility had connections. If they were determined to find him, they likely would sooner or later. Yuu couldn't help the smile that graced his lips. Let them come. Individual heroes and civilians may not deserve his ire, but if anyone tried to hunt him down, he would not hesitate to use the full breadth of his powers.

OoooOoooO

Not a single cloud dotted the sky as Yuu walked under the blazing sun in his approach to the enormous stadium and the array of tents, carts, and stands that blanketed the area in front of it. The popularity of the U.A. Sports Festival really was incredible. Everywhere he looked people were hawking their wares. Fried food that practically dripped flavor infused grease, packages of sweets that would make any self-respecting dentist recoil in fear, drinks of all varieties, including alcoholic beverages; anything that was consumable could be found for only a bit of cash. Other stands weren't peddling food, instead they offered various hero memorabilia. Shirts that had colors and designs for every hero with a fan-base, most notably All Might; lookalike masks that were exact replicas of those worn by so many heroes, even some that matched the flaming facial hair of Endeavor; pins with various designs, quotes, and depictions of hundreds of different heroes; random paraphernalia such as backpacks, phone cases, anything and everything that a fan might be willing to purchase could be found. There were even various jerseys that apparently matched the uniforms that the U.A. students would be competing in.

Yuu had decided to throw on a black, graphic tank-top that he'd purchased in India and a pair of dark-wash jeans, an outfit that allowed him to not stand out at all alongside his date for the day who was dressed a bit more modestly than when he had met her, but only a bit. Izumi had chosen to don a different pair of shorts that barely reached her thighs, a low-cut tank-top that left a sizable portion of her midriff exposed, and some strap sandals that wrapped up past her ankle. More than a few passing eyes lingered on the girl as the two of them walked past.

"Let's grab drinks and some food and head to our seats," Izumi said, leading the way as her eyes scanned the signs advertising what each stand was selling. "Too many fucking people milling about here and I want to sit, but I want booze first." Yuu could relate to that sentiment more than he cared to admit. The hangover he'd endured that morning had never quite faded away, but hair of the dog was as good of a cure as anything else.

"You looking for something specific?" Yuu asked, following after her without much care as to the details. When it came to drinks, he wasn't that particular.

"There!" Izumi declared happily as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the throng. The smile that lit up her features was better described as a predator grin than anything else, but as far as he could tell, it was genuine. "I knew these would be somewhere, just had to find it."

Yuu cast his gaze over the stand and saw absolutely nothing special about it in the slightest. "What makes this stand special?"

"Just the brewery that runs it," Izumi remarked, pulling them both into the small line before releasing his limb from her hold. "They're this tiny ass place based out of Hokkaido. You can order their shit, but it's expensive as fuck to ship, so I don't do it often. They usually have a presence at festivals like this, though."

"That so?" Yuu had already started to read the chalk sign displaying the different drinks available for purchase. "Any recommendations?"

Izumi nodded instantly. "Their signature lager, it's by far the best."

After they secured themselves two orders of the supposed incredible beer, an order of yakisoba for Izumi, and some takoyaki for Yuu, an old favorite even if the memories associated with it were a little disturbed, the duo began the rather long journey to claim their seats. While Izumi had suspected the seats would be, in her words, 'ass,' Yuu had decided to make use of the one resource at his disposal and shell out for the best seats that were available, irrespective of their price-point. They were still seats being sold at the ticket-gate, so it wasn't like he was expecting a VIP box, but he was rather pleased with what he got.

As the two were walking, Yuu's attention kept being drawn to the dozens upon dozens of heroes he saw walking about in their full hero regalia. "Are they here as security?" Yuu asked his companion, inclining his head towards a large man with white hair walking around with absurd yellow and black metal bracers on his wrist.

Izumi followed his gaze, her eyes hardening in contempt. "Yep," she replied, popping the 'p.' "Fucking heroes, they take private security gigs like this all the time to add extra zeros onto their bank account balance, all the while pretending they're just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts."

"I should have guessed that U.A. was a private school," Yuu murmured, tracking the professional hero as they ambled away out of the corner of his vision. There was way too much money in these facilities for it to be entirely state funded.

"The Hero Public Safety Commission has to answer to the Japanese government and international law, but they're still not an agency under the Japanese government," Izumi supplied helpfully, "not that I would trust them even if they were… and don't even get me started on the World Heroes Association! Those fucking pricks are little better than an international police force."

The WHA was one of the first things Yuu had learned about after it was vaguely referenced in the memories of the Head of Security from the lab. An off-shoot of the United Confederation, it essentially acted as the global hero commission, while also fulfilling a role as the United Confederation's strong arm in international politics. It was made up of representatives who were appointed by every participating nation, but the unique association had gained a reputation for being a bit more independent than many of the individual nations would have preferred. As Izumi had said, they frequently acted as the police for the rest of the world, but as was often the case with international conflict, they seemed to turn a blind eye depending on who was involved. Anyone with enough capital on their side seemed to get more leeway than their less fortunate counterparts. Corruption at its finest. Yuu had grown cynical during his time abroad. Back then, his entire world had only extended as far as Japan's borders. In comparison to the horrors that existed elsewhere, he'd grown up in a safe environment, a peaceful one. Once the pitfalls of having an ability were introduced to his life, naturally there was more danger, but it still paled in comparison to the nightmares he would see in the far-flung regions of the world where the strong made the rules, and the weak were made to suffer. The memories of wading through desecrated warzones were ones he'd just as soon forget forever.

Yuu supposed he couldn't fault U.A. for using pro heroes for their security. More subtle methods would have undoubtedly sufficed, but not even the most brazen of villains would dare attack when there were so many pros on the premises. In this instance, they were more of a deterrent than anything else. Besides, in the wake of the attack that he'd heard so much about, a display of power and strength went a long way in assuaging the public's concerns. Yuu wouldn't be surprised if all the heroes working the event were former alumni of U.A. specifically. Nothing spoke better of U.A.'s qualifications as an institution like reminding the world of how capable their graduates were.

The announcer for the event, a pro hero by the name of Present Mic, had launched into his opening remarks in preparation for the event's beginning. Not having much interest in the man's efforts to hype up the crowd, Yuu allowed his gaze to wonder to arena where the students would be doing battle. The large, circular area was lined with a green turf, and in the center, there was a red, square surface that reminded Yuu of the cinder and clay material track and field courses were made of. Though the stadium was open air, there were numerous digital screens placed all around for viewers to catch the action. Scattered throughout the stands and even floating in the sky via unmanned drones, Yuu could see dozens upon dozens of cameras strategically placed to capture everything from every angle.

"ALLLLLLLLLLLL RIHHHHHHHHHHHHT, ladies and gentlemen! It's time to pay attention, cause the moment you've ALLLLLLLLL been waiting for has finally ARRIVED!" Present Mic's literal mic must have gotten turned up a bit so he could kick everything off with the way his voice boomed throughout the stadium. It was certainly effective, though, the crowd roared to life, hollering, and stamping their feet, hands raised aloft to the sky. "This year's high school rode of adolescence at you all loooooooooove, THE U! A! SPORTS! FESTIVAL! IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! ARE YOU READYYYYYYYYYYYY?!"

The surge of energy that swept across the crowd had even Izumi leaping to her feet, shouting indiscernible words that joined in the cacophony to create a cheer that he could feel in his bones. In spite of the pain he felt whenever he thought about his current circumstances in life; in spite of the mixed anger and confusion he felt toward the world around him; at that moment, a smile crept onto Yuu's face as the exuberance of the crowd and joyful atmosphere seeped into him. Was it wrong for him to enjoy such an event? The nights he spent alone with his mind slowly breaking said yes, but the memory he had of Ayumi's pure smile, Shunsuke's hope for the world, and Nao's simple desire to live as a human, said no.

"It's time for the competitors to enter the stage! Make some noise for THE U.A. FIRRRRRRST YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRSSSSSSS!"

Perfectly on cue, the moment they were announced, students of all shapes and sizes began walking through the shadow covered entryways and onto the arena floor as fireworks launched into the air and the crowd roared in applause. Yuu couldn't help but active the enhanced vision ability he had to study the young students as if he were right in front of them. All of these kids were the same age as Yuu and the rest of the student council when they spent their school days urging ability users around Japan to hide their powers from the world. The determined lock of their jaws, the nervous yet eager anticipation in their eyes. The Hoshinoumi Student Council hadn't had an audience to show off for; he and his friends had stepped into every new situation unsure of how it would end. These kids, though on this day they were set to compete in a safe environment free from true danger or fear of death, the whole reason they trained, the blood, sweat, and tears they poured into their skills and abilities was because they too sought to step into the world and put their lives on the line. Their circumstances could not have been more different, and there wasn't a chance in hell he would ever be one of them, but deep down, Yuu felt a strange sense of kinship with young heroes-in-training all the same.

"Today, during the U.A. Sports Festival, these fledgling heroes will engage in huge battles to sharpen their swords and strengthen their shields against one another!" Present Mic's voice could barely be heard over the noise of countless fans as they cheered. On the screens, various displays showing all of the names and classes of the competing students were presented, but it would be a lie to say that most people didn't have their eyes firmly fixed on the already famous group of first-years. "And there they are, folks, the miraculous young stars who already overcame life-threatening challenges and emerged stronger for it! Give it up for CLASS! ONE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

If the crowd could be described as loud before, after that declaration, they were positively deafening. Most of Japan loved heroes, and these kids had proved themselves as the stand-outs of the next generation. They had the misfortune of being targeted by villains, but because of it, their names were known all over the country. The entire country's sense of values was warped beyond recognition from what he once knew. From what he'd seen, U.A. had come under some critique for the attack, but most of the sensationalist's spreads were just high-light features on the students themselves. Even weeks after the attack had taken place, Yuu had seen articles and reports going through the class roster name by name, talking about each and every student and their respective accomplishments with accompanying blurbs related to their history and their abilities. U.A. had limited the access the media had to the school itself, but some of the students must have realized the value that media attention had for their careers and talked to the press anyway – a brilliant move from the perspective of someone looking to make a career as a crime-fighting celebrity.

"Though they haven't been getting as much air-time, this class also has some remarkable talent! Let's hear it for CLASS! ONE! B~!" The energetic announcer tried, but it was almost painfully obvious how few people cared for the exploits of the other hero course class, a fact that even the students recognized if their furrowed brows and inept attempts to appear not frustrated were any sort of judge. Yuu found the notion that Class 1-B was somehow disadvantaged because of the good fortune that had befallen them to not be targeted by a psychopathic mob of killers positively absurd. A lot of his home country may have looked familiar at a glance, but he truly was in a strange land with customs that were foreign to him.

There were some additional announcements introducing the students who were in the general studies, business, and support courses, but Yuu barely paid them any mind. The entire concept of the hero-school offering courses that were unrelated to hero work sounded odd, but if the name of U.A. carried weight even beyond its hero course, he supposed it made sense. Regardless, those students who weren't in the hero course were likely just on the field as fodder. Yuu had learned first-hand the value of experience and training even back when he was on the Hoshinoumi Student Council. Familiarity with using one's ability in a setting meant to simulate dangerous experiences built confidence and skill in spades, and from everything he'd heard, U.A. reserved such coursework for their hero classes alone.

"Alriiiiiight! With introductions out of the way, we're going to pass things off to the professional hero and teacher who will be refereeing today's events! Everybody, please give your full and undivided attention to the R-Rated Hero, MIDNIGHT!"

A large, metallic podium had been erected in the center of the arena where a tall, curvaceous woman with long, dark purple hair that reached down to her waist, stood with a flogging-whip raised in the air, and a hand placed dramatically on her hip. Her hero costume was both scandalous and audacious in ways he had not yet encountered since his return to consciousness. A breastless, black leather leotard was worn over a skin-tight body-suit that was barely indistinguishable in color from flesh. Her black, thigh-high garter stockings attached to a red and gold utility belt that wrapped around her waist. When coupled with the severed handcuffs that decorated each wrist, her costume wasn't just evocative of sex, it was practically a monument to carnal pleasure. All around the stadium, men and women alike had their eyes glued to the outline of her body. Yuu couldn't help but laugh at one of the main faces for the event being a woman whose very title would have prevented her from any and all association with the high school in a traditional society. His own sense of morals in regard to sexual topics had always been a bit more libertine than most others he knew, so it wasn't like he objected to the societal changes that permitted this woman from attaining her position, but it was both an amusing and rather titillating sight to behold.

"Oh, this bitch again," Izumi said from beside Yuu, the smile on her features in discordance with her caustic words.

"Not a fan of Midnight?" Yuu asked the girl, somewhat surprised as he had expected his date for the day to at least appreciate how brazen the 18+ hero was.

Izumi leaned into to speak directly into his ear, a necessity as the crowd still hadn't quieted down despite the hero's call for silence. "I'm not a fan of any hero, but," her smile widened, "I do like that Midnight at least says 'fuck it' to some societal standards. And that outfit isn't half as revealing as her old one was."

Yuu chuckled lightly, his attention turning back to the array of students below as a spiky-haired blonde by the name of Katsuki Bakugo separated himself from the rest of the pack. The kid with the highest score on the entrance exam, and also one of the students who had been enjoying the limelight following the attack on the USJ facility. Bakugo's presence in the media had been vulgar, brash, but undeniably raw. Everyone in the world could see the kid was a hot-head, but people also saw that he had passion. This was only exacerbated when it was discovered that this wasn't his first time being the victim of a villain attack. A year prior, long before Yuu had woken up, the kid was attacked by a heteromorphic sludge villain, and was forced to fend for himself for quite a while until All Might arrived to save the day. Even back then, people heralded the kid's bravery, a fact that was only highlighted in the face of him becoming one of the top prospects at U.A. Plus, half of Japan latched onto the absolute disgust he displayed toward the infamous League of Villains for daring to send 'those weak-ass bitches' after what he declared was the 'strongest class in UA history.' The kid clearly hadn't yet gone through any training on how to conduct himself in an interview, but his brazen and unfiltered approach left viewers frothing at the mouth for more media content. Yuu thought his comments on the rest of Class 1-A were probably just made to inflate his own status, but the impact it had on behalf of his classmates couldn't be overlooked. Anger issues he may have in spade, but the kid was already turning heads all over the nation.

Bakugo stepped up to the microphone looking bored to the world. The slight slouch of his back, the way he had his hands stuffed into his pockets, despite speaking to a crowd of thousands and a televised audience of millions more, the nonchalance he displayed was downright impressive. One hand reached out to snag the microphone as he tilted his neck upwards, almost as if he was looking down on someone. "I pledge…" He only paused for a second, but the entire audience held their breath. "That I'm going to be number one."

Yuu couldn't help but laugh, some of the crowd alongside Izumi joining him in his amusement even as many others jeered and decried the braggadocios statement, including the rest of the first-year students. To be 'number one' in modern day Japan meant something entirely different than it did anywhere else. There was one Japanese hero whose name Yuu heard even when he was in the middle of India: All Might. That man was an icon like no other. A hero who had single-handedly built an era of relative stability in the tumultuous nation. Internationally renowned as an unbeatable, unassailable power-house of strength, speed, and virtuous morals. All Might wasn't just the number one hero on some leaderboard, he epitomized what it meant to truly be number one. Katsuki Bakugo's words could easily be construed as referring to the Sports Festival itself, but there was no question as to the deeper implication. The simple fact that he made such a statement by hijacking the student pledge was brash to a frankly absurd degree. Yuu kind of loved the audacious stunt.

"This school is just a steppingstone for me, and I'm not going to lose to anyone." He turned back to look at his classmates, the bored expression never leaving his face even as he withstood their non-stop castigations. "There's no point in jumping off your heads if you're all stuck at the bottom. So, you all better push yourselves. Get strong. Climb as high as your pathetic efforts will take you… Just remember, I'm the only one who will reach the summit."

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Author's Note: I've been really low on sleep thanks to work as I wrote this chapter, so if it's even more rough than the others, I apologize since it probably needs a fair bit of editing (train scene especially, but I wanted to leave it in cause reasons). I know it's a trend of mine to make such comments, but still, they're generally true. In terms of story content I'm rather fond of it though, so yeah, enjoy the chapter. Or don't. Whatever. It's your choice.
OH! I have to shout-out the fanfiction "My Hero School Adventure is All Wrong, As Expected" by storybookknight because not only is it my personal favorite MHA fanfic out there, but that author's take on the MHA world has seeped into my psyche as much as the canon manga, and has by extension really influenced this fic. I would highly recommend checking it out in the off-chance you haven't done so.
Anyway, that's all from me. Until next time. Cheers.