Hello again everybody, and thank you for waiting! So very sorry about the wait, but I'm almost done with A-school and that means a lot of studying.
Sucks but hey, as they say in the Navy, embrace the suck.
Anyway, on to reviews!
BenTurner1: Thank you for your first review! And I hope what you're about to read exceeds your expectations!
Solbandgus: I have a couple of ideas of how to represent Boba, not sure about Din yet. No wait, now I do!
Crimson422Typhoon: Hello there, I see this is your first review, thank you! And you bet it will!
AK632612: Yeah I understand, I tend to use songs by Samuel Kim, he does really good work.
Some kind of fan 22: Ooh, get ready for tea to spill. (I suck at memes, is that how you use it?) Also thanks for reviewing!
Wolves567: Good to see you again, also their armor is already phase 2 since it wasn't made by Kaminoans there's no need to have phase 1 because of the problems that came with it, such as fitting. The paint we'll get into soon, and you'll have to wait for that fight.
To the first guest that reviewed: Thank you, although please use an account so that I can have a name.
Benjaminmaibaum05: They're sneaky.
FFWhale: Ooh, so much I want to show but I have to write it out. I actually started this before that reveal. So it's going to be that much more impactful.
Kilo8: I was using OpenOffice, now I'm using Google Docs, autosave is a lifesaver. Thanks for the review and recommendation!
UnlawfulGentleman: Man, I always love your reviews, because you offer so much perspective and ideas! Probably no Stormtroopers but I want to expand further into the different classes for different situations! I hope you enjoy this chapter, my friend.
R0gueMess1ah: Thank you for the review, and I aim to make sure that my readers feel that emotional impact.
Blaze1992: You'll have to read further to find out!
AnimeFan13579: Okay…I in no way even came close to considering that, but now that you've brought it up, I just might do it. No clue at all how I'll fit it in but thank you.
2nd guest: Come at me with your name coward. Protip, capitalize the g, dumbass.
Damon Phillips: That's my goal, thank you for your review!
JSDS62: Thank you very much, and don't worry Rex will get his name soon. Right now he's still 7567 though.
WellThen: Thank you for your support!
R0gueMess1ah(Again!): Here you go! Suffer! For a little bit anyway.
Maniacalharp747: I had to look that up honestly, and I still don't know much about it. I mean, I guess it would be interesting, a hive mind thing, but I definitely wouldn't be able to do the character justice since, as far as I can see, she is an important character in the Destiny universe.
Warvillage: Well I'm glad that I was able to bring something to life for you, at the same time, however, if you have an idea, write it down. It's actually what inspired me to write this story, I didn't want somebody else to write it before me. Call me selfish if you will, but if you want something, go for it! And share it with me while you're at it!
DimensionPoint: Well who knows? Perhaps this is 1 out of 100 more!
Again, thanks to all who reviewed for the first time, even if I didn't mention it specifically in your reply.
We've hit in total almost 25k views, 108 reviews, 404 favorites, and 471 followers!
You all make me so happy.
I'll try not to let the next chapter take a month. Thanks again.
LEGION: THE SPORTS FESTIVAL
"Balance is found in the one who faces his guilt."
The class was utterly surprised at the mob of students that appeared at their door.
"Uh, who are all you guys?"
The students were perplexed and more than wary. A few had even subconsciously taken battle stances. Izuku looked around the classroom, he noticed that Kyoka's ear jacks were twitching, and Kirishima's sleeves looked tighter around his arms, Sero had his elbow faced forward, not that it would do much under the blazer.
'They're all subconsciously reacting, this crowd…isn't good for them.'
"What business do you have with Class A!" Tenya asked, his arm chopping wildly, the boy had fortunately recovered quickly from overtaxing his engines to the point of blowing them out. Izuku had, once he heard of Tenya's injury, all but ordered for Tenya to go into the bacta pod, the miraculous device helping heal his legs and give him the energy needed for Recovery Girl to use her quirk.
His brother, Ingenium, had pulled Izuku to the side after the funeral to thank him alongside Tenya's parents.
He had simply nodded and left, saying that it was what friends did.
"We can't get out!" Mineta cried as he absentmindedly scratched his head, slightly tugging at the balls.
Izuku stood up.
He paused as Bakugo started walking towards the door.
"They're checking out the competition, grape stain." Mineta choked at the remark but held his tongue as Izuku glanced at him, shaking his head.
"We're the ones that made it out of the villain attack. Testing the waters for the Sports Festival,
He said as he stopped right in front of the other students, "There's no point."
He smirked.
"So get the hell out of my way, extras."
The students gasped and Tenya immediately reprimanded him, telling him to stop calling people extras just because he didn't know them.
Izuku merely sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, already fed up with Bakugo's crap.
'He's going to make an enemy for all of us if he keeps this up.'
Then they heard a new voice.
"I came to see what the famous Class A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant." A new guy walked through the crowd and made his way to the front. He looked tired, extremely so, and had a wild mane of purple hair.
'Exactly as I thought.'
"Sorry about him, he's an idiot," Izuku interrupted as Bakugo growled. Izuku merely glared at him and the boy huffed.
"Anyway, I'm 1-A's president, what can I help you with?"
The other teen raised a brow.
"And here I thought that all of the class was like him," the rest of the class quickly shook their heads in denial and Bakugo growled again, the teen raised his arm behind his head and looked at Izuku's equally dead eyes.
"There are quite a few people who enrolled into general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know that?"
Izuku closed his eyes and nodded. "I imagined so, and?"
"'And', he asks? Hmph, the school's given us a chance, if we do well enough in the Sports Festival we can get transferred into the hero course, of course, that means that they'd have to transfer people out."
At that the class as a whole tensed, some of them getting closer to one another. A few even glaring.
"Checking out the competition," He quoted, "I'm here to tell you that even if you are hero course students if you're not careful, I'll swoop right in, and take your place."
He dropped his arm and stared at them all.
"I came with a declaration of war."
Many of the students found him extremely bold.
Izuku merely snorted, a slight chuckle coming out of his mouth.
The act surprised them all.
"Is this, how the rest of you feel?" He asked with a sweep of his hand, gesturing at all of them, the students around the purple-haired boy, all of whom had been inspired by his words, started to mutter and nod vigorously.
Izuku chuckled again and snarled.
"Get out of our way, we have no time to deal with children."
The students gasped and some started to curse him, meanwhile, 1-A started to ask why he would say something like that. Izuku and the other boy glared at each other.
Even Bakugo was shocked at the declaration.
"HEY, HEY!" Another voice cried out.
This time another boy with silver hair and the strangest eyebrows barged in through the crowd.
"I'M FROM CLASS B NEXT DOOR! I HEARD YOU FOUGHT VILLAINS AND CAME TO HEAR ABOUT IT! DON'T GET SO FULL OF YOURSELVES! ESPECIALLY YOU! GREEN MOP!"
Izuku glared at the new boy that interrupted and was about to speak when even another voice interrupted.
"Now, now, Tetsutetsu-kun, there's no need to antagonize our rivals this early on."
Something about the new kid's voice immediately grated on Izuku's already frayed nerves.
"After all, we'll have plenty of time to prove Class B's superiority during the Sports Festival." The new boy was blond with dark eyes full of mischief and arrogance.
'What now…'
"Although, I am surprised to hear that Class A's president to be such a foul person, especially after what we heard from our own beloved president Kendo."
He walked closer to the group, the crowd parting for him slightly as he extended his hands dramatically.
'Is he serious?'
"I'd recognize that face however, after all, we see it so often now, even under all those helmets. Couldn't help yourself, could you? Offering your clones as security forces to the school, why, I'd be surprised if they even let you participate in the Festival, it might be considered a…conflict of interest."
Izuku narrowed his eyes, the guy was annoying, but he made a good point. He'd have to talk to Nezu or All Might about it.
"Of course, it's also hard to not recognize that face, after all, we see it every morning when we walk through the main entrance at that memorial, can't forget the news too, what was his name again? Jango?"
Izuku stiffened and the rest of the class sucked in a breath at the boy's audacity.
Izuku cracked his neck and his hands turned to fists.
"You better choose your next words carefully." He whispered.
"I'm just saying, why would UA go through all the trouble? A memorial? A funeral? All for what? Just some random clone?"
SLAM!
The boy went flying down the hallway, blood gushing out his nose, the crowd of students immediately panicked and spread out as Class A stood frozen.
"Say that again!" Izuku snarled, One For All already surging through his body in a storm of frenzied sparks and bolts.
"You bastard!" The other teen from Class B immediately turned to metal and tried to strike Izuku with a right haymaker.
Izuku caught it with his left hand, swept the boy's legs, and dropped his right fist into the boy's chest, spiking him into the ground out of breath.
"SAY THAT AGAIN ABOUT MY BROTHER! SEE WHAT HAPPENS!" The boy was completely disoriented as Izuku grabbed his blazer only for a multitude of hands to grab him and pull him back, Izuku immediately tried to shake them off but Shoji yelled at him to calm down.
"Midoriya! Jango wouldn't want this! Remember what he said to you, raatin aliit!"
Izuku froze at the reminder and turned toward Shoji.
"How do you-"
"Alright, what's going on here!" The crowd turned towards the arriving teachers, with a small squad of clones behind them.
Aizawa and Vlad King.
The latter's eyes were already red.
"Vlad-sensei, this brute attacked me!"
"Yeah, I did! Like I said, insult my brother one more time and see what happens!"
The squad started to disperse the students, and one helped out Tetsutetsu with the bruise, he tried to shake the clone's help off but stumbled. The punch had practically shattered his iron armor, and he wouldn't let himself show it but he was shaken. Finally, the clone gave him a bacta patch, told him to put it on his chest, and then make his way to the nurse.
During the commotion, the rest of Class B had also filled out into the hallway, a few tending to the boy, another clone handed them a smaller bacta patch for his nose, after the boy tried swiping at him.
Aizawa sighed before walking forward. Izuku already knew he was in trouble and followed.
He paused however and turned back to the crowd.
"You want to know why I called you children?"
"Midoriya," Aizawa warned.
"No, sensei! They weren't there, they need to hear this! All of you! Came to us for some childish declaration of war! You didn't even realize that my class was about ready to attack you, not because you were inferior or something like that, but because you idiots surrounded them and left them with no way out, JUST LIKE THE USJ!" He roared.
"All of you! Came here because you wanted to see what life could have been right? Well, guess what? NONE OF YOU, DESERVE TO BE HEROES! NOT LIKE MY CLASS! NOT UNTIL YOU FIND YOURSELF SURROUNDED BY BLOOD AND TEARS AND PAIN! MY FRIENDS! FOUGHT FOR THEIR LIVES IN A PLACE THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE! DO YOU THINK WE TAKE PRIDE IN THAT? THAT WE WERE FORCED TO FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES!?"
He started to move forward and most of the crowd backed away, except for the first boy who was frozen on the spot.
"MY FRIEND WAS ALMOST CRIPPLED FOR LIFE AS HE PUSHED HIS QUIRK TO THE MAXIMUM JUST TO GET HELP! A TEACHER! A HERO! HAD HER BACK TORN TO PIECES! AIZAWA-SENSEI IS STILL IN CASTS, AND LOOK AT HIM NOW!" Izuku yelled as he motioned to the frozen man behind him.
"MY BROTHERS DIED!" At this, his voice cracked and hot tears of rage poured down his cheeks.
"OVER 1,000 OF MY BROTHERS, GONE! I CAN'T BRING THEM BACK! YOU MAY THINK THAT THEY'RE JUST CLONES, THAT JANGO WAS JUST A CLONE!" Izuku pointed at the blonde boy who was petrified on his knees.
Izuku panted as he finally started to run out of energy, a few noticed the specks of blood going down his hand and dripping to the floor his head had fallen and a few tears dropped onto the floor.
"But he wasn't…he was my brother, a part of my family. I would trade anything in the world to have him back. But I can't…so now I ask. Are you ready for that?" His question pierced through all of them as he looked up and faced them again.
"Because if the USJ taught us anything, it's that Hero work isn't about glory, or money, or fame, or being Number One, or any of that!"
Bakugo narrowed his eyes.
"It's about the ones back home, the people we want to come back home to."
Kyoka hugged herself as she thought of her parents.
"It's about the legacies, and responsibilities, and duties that we support on our shoulders."
Tenya thought of his family, especially his older brother.
"It's about supporting our loved ones."
Ochako blushed as she remembered the conversation that she, Tenya, and Izuku had earlier about their reasons for becoming heroes, after the funeral.
"It's about the people who fight by our side, who fall by our side. The people that we save and fail. To. Save."
Aizawa closed his eyes in remembrance.
Yuga closed his in shame.
"You cry about unfairness because you didn't make it in. Well, guess what? Natural disasters, villain attacks, injustice, crime, the world's unfair. That's how it works, here at UA, it's our job to learn to fight that unfairness as heroes. So either you step up to the plate or leave right here, right now."
Aizawa's eyes opened in slight shock as he heard his speech being used.
"So if you're willing to pay the price, show me, show us, at the Sports Festival. Plus Ultra Style."
The crowd was completely silent. Izuku was already face-to-face with the purple-headed boy.
"But if you're not, then get out our way. Because I for one, refuse to let more children die," Izuku finished as he left without another word.
Aizawa stayed there for just a moment, glanced at his class and then at the students, and uttered one phrase.
"Go to lunch."
"...Now, we understand you're in the process of grief, and as such, we'll only be giving you detention, but Young Midoriya, you must understand that assaulting your classmates outside of sanctioned exercises is forbidden for a reason." Nezu finished as he sipped his tea. His beady eyes stared at Izuku with regret in them.
The teen simply stared at the ground in a mix of shame and anger, refusing to meet his eyes.
All Might and Aizawa were off to the side, staring at him in concern.
"I understand sir, it…it won't happen again."
Nezu sighed, "I, understand at least part of how you feel Young Midoriya, Jango was somebody I considered a friend and a fellow sentient being. His loss is heavy, but there was nothing you could have done-"
"You're wrong," Izuku whispered.
They stayed quiet for a moment, and then All Might sighed and rested a hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"You're thinking about it, aren't you? What you could have done, what you should have done, all the what-ifs…"
Izuku gulped deeply and was shaking.
"Y-yes."
"Izuku, I know how you feel-"
"I could have dematerialized him!" Izuku cut in as he started to glare at his own hand. "I can summon and dismiss my clones! Take them back to the safety of the Mindscape! But I froze! My mind went blank and I-I" He started to choke and hunched in on himself, his body shaking with wretched sobs.
The teachers let him be for a moment as they thought about what to say.
All Might sat on his haunches and stared at Izuku's form in understanding.
"Have I?...Ever told you about the day I lost my master?"
Izuku paused and looked up at him, Nezu raised an eyebrow and Aizawa's eyes widened slightly in shock, not expecting to know a bit more about the Symbol of Peace.
"What?"
"Like you, I didn't have the power I have today when I was young, and my prospects for being a hero were small, to say the least."
Nezu snorted slightly, that was an understatement if anything, with how worse society was back then.
"But one day, I met a heroine who took me under her wing and helped me fulfill my dream of becoming a Pillar for the people to rely on so that they could smile without fear. She helped me gain the power that I have today."
'One For All…'
"What happened to her?"
"The same villain that dealt this wound to me, took her from me all those years ago. I defeated him, once and for all, but it did nothing for the loss I still felt," All Might said as he took a deep breath and admitted something he had only admitted once.
"I loved her as if she were my mother."
Aizawa now felt that he shouldn't have stayed for this conversation. It felt far too personal for his tastes.
Izuku was filled with feelings of understanding and empathy, and oddly enough in some part at the back of his mind, a brief spark of affection.
All Might knew, and more than likely so did Aizawa-sensei, and all the other teachers.
They all knew how he felt.
The uselessness, the fear, the anger…
The hatred.
"Did you hate him? The villain that did that?"
"With all my being, hatred is merely an emotion, a powerful one that can affect us and even give us strength, but it blinds us. That is what led me to get this wound. I was blind to my hatred, and paid the cost."
Izuku gulped as paid closer attention to All Might's emaciated form.
"You hate Shigaraki, that's fine, that only means that you're human. But you cannot let your emotions control you. That…only leads to suffering.
Izuku stayed silent but nodded.
"Come on, let's get you some lunch."
Walking together, All Might had buffed up since he was heading to teach his next class.
"Vlad King will take care of his students, let them know that it was, and is, highly inappropriate to disparage Jango's memory like that."
"...Thank you, All Might."
They stopped at a junction in the hallway.
"Look, Izuku, I just want you to know that," He gulped, remembering the words that Inko had told him while they were in the hospital, he'd yet to confront Izuku about it however, it was still…too soon. "I'm here for you, my boy. I always will be."
Izuku slightly teared up and nodded, hugging the man, Izuku relished the feeling of having an older male figure that he could look up to.
After a bit, they parted, and All Might grabbed his shoulder.
"Come by my office after school, I'd like to talk to you about the Sports Festival, it's an important event, and you need to make your mark."
"Sure thing, b-All Might," Izuku said, walking towards the cafeteria, Lunch Rush had already been notified and had something prepped for him.
Neither of the two noticed the mismatched eyes that had been staring at them.
Todoroki narrowed them and he remained deep in thought.
Izuku and All Might were sitting across from each other, talking about various things before they got to the root of the matter.
"Now, about the Sports Festival, you already know that this is one of the most important events in Japan, and it's your turn to make your mark! People are already hearing about the security forces, but now it's up to you!"
"I understand, as your successor, this is my first impression to the world."
"Exactly! Izuku, I want you to do your best! I want you to win! I want you to declare to the world that YOU are here!"
Izuku felt the responsibility weigh heavily on his shoulders and nodded.
"I'm going to do my best, All Might! For you, for mom, for everybody who's ever believed in me! The vod'e!"
He paused and swallowed thickly.
"For Jango…"
All Might smiled sadly at him. The man was also dealing with his internal guilt over not being there that day.
"I…I know that it's hard, Izuku. For the longest time after my master died, I was angry and full of so many emotions that I was lost. People say that we follow the Five Stages of Grief in order, but sometimes, it's not that simple."
"Does it get easier?"
"...Yes…one day, you'll realize that the pain's not as sharp, more bittersweet. As you surround yourself with loved ones, you'll fondly remember those that have gone. You mourn for them of course, but you feel joy for their memory. That they were a part of your life."
Izuku closed his eyes and thought to himself.
That sounded like something very beautiful, something that he hoped to one day reach, but right now. His heart was still in turmoil.
But still, something special like that deserved a name.
"Aay'han."
"What was that?"
"Something for Nezu's dictionary…aay'han, the bittersweet perfect moment of mourning and joy."
"Aayehan?"
"Close, ah-ye-haan, aay'han."
"Aay'han."
They stayed silent for a moment longer, simply drinking tea.
"Can you tell me about her?"
"Of course."
And for the rest of the afternoon, Izuku learned about Nana Shimura, and Toshinori learned about Jango Midoriya.
Soon enough the day of the Sports Festival arrived, and thousands upon thousands of spectators were filling the stands. Fireworks exploded over the UA campus. At the gates themselves, reporters and other civilians complained at the wait lines but were quickly moved along by the clones that dotted the grounds.
"Tickets please, then place your bags on the scanner." A clone directed as the family grabbed their stuff and put it on a conveyor belt, another clone was working on an x-ray machine and quickly scanned the bags, soon enough the family was let through and picked up their stuff, but the first clone noticed something on his terminal and asked them to halt.
"Is there something wrong, sir?"
"No no, but my terminal just got a notice, you're the Asui family right?"
The father, who appeared very similar to a bullfrog smiled and nodded, the rest of his family, who all had frog traits were also a bit confused but also nodded.
"Great, just stand over here, will you? I'll call an escort for you, we've got special seats for your family."
The family was surprised, but nodded and waited patiently, soon enough another clone came by and led them towards another part of the stadium. They slightly overheard some complaints about the special treatment they were given, but the clone merely told them to move along.
Ganma was at first, a bit off-put by how many clones he could see patrolling the campus, but it made sense after what Tsu told him, and he could never think bad about the clones, after all, they had saved his princess.
"What's your name, sir?"
"Ah, uh, I don't really got a name yet sir. Us clones start with numbers, and we try and find our own identities and name ourselves."
"Oh…" Ganma was struck speechless, Tsu sure wasn't kidding when she said that the clones were unique, not only as individuals but as a group.
"Do you by chance know which one of you saved my daughter? Carried her up the stairs of the USJ?"
"I wish I could say, I was in the middle of the fighting against the…abomination."
"We heard that many of your brothers lost their lives," Beru said placing her hand on his shoulder. "And Tsu explained to us what that means, none of them can come back, right?"
They stopped a bit in one of the halls, already near the VIP section.
"Yeah…I should be happy, they died as warriors, and we finally managed to kill that thing, I executed it myself, taking the last shot, or shots as it were. But…"
Beru pulled the clone into a hug, surprising him.
"I think that all of you are children, and have been exposed to far too much for your age. You may be clones, but if what I've gathered from Tsu and talking with you is right, you're still people, and none of you have killed before, even if it was an abomination, that still carries scars."
She grabbed his helmet, and with his permission took it off, gasping softly as his face was exposed.
"Just a boy." She murmured. The clone would have taken offense were it any other person, but she reminded him of Inko.
They stayed like that for a bit, and the clone simply relaxed, not crying, he didn't feel the need to, but relaxed.
"You carry a heavy burden, don't you?"
"Yes…"
"But a necessary one."
After a bit longer, she let go and smiled sweetly at him, and 782 smiled back. Ganma then came and pat his shoulder while the smaller ones hugged his waist.
"We might not be able to find the one that saved our princess, but we all thank you for what you and your brothers did for us."
The clone nodded gratefully and put his helmet back on, soon enough they found themselves in the VIP section where other families of Class A were, a gift from Nezu after everything that had happened at the USJ.
"Here we are…thank you." He turned away and walked a step forward but then turned back.
"You know, I didn't get a chance to meet your mother at the funeral, who is she?"
"Ah, the All-Mother (All-Mother?) is right there, with the green hair, Midoriya Frigga." The clone looked to be holding back a chuckle.
'Odd name for a Japanese but okay.'
The clone looked to be holding back a chuckle again, but she couldn't tell with the helmet on though. He quickly gave a jaunty salute, waved goodbye to her children, and left.
As he walked down the hall, he was waved down by a few other clones who had also been escorts.
"Hey, 782! You good?"
"Yeah, I'm feelin great."
He joined their patrol and they made their way down to the main gates.
"By the way, call me Hevy."
"Sure thing, Hevy."
"Excuse me, Midoriya Frigga?"
"OH MY GOODNESS NOT YOU TOO!" The lithe green-haired woman said as she held her face in her hands, the slightest tinges of red from embarrassment leaking out. The blond, almost skeletal man next to her started guffawing and coughed up blood. It made them freak out a bit but he waved them off and said that he had a condition.
"I'm…sorry?"
"No, no…it's not your fault. It's those blasted boys!" She gave an indignant shout as she then leaned over the handrail and glared at three clones who were below them, the three started to laugh uproariously before scurrying away.
"I know your names! Get back here, Waxer! Boil! MAYHEM!"
Their laughter echoed back and she merely grumbled as the man next to her continued to chuckle.
"Ugh, sorry about that, you see, my boys thought that it'd be funny if they gave me a nickname, so they started calling me the All-Mother, then one of them got into the idea of doing actual research and now tell everybody they come across that my name's Frigga. The goddess of Norse mythology."
Beru started to lightly chuckle, idly noticing her children playing with the other children in the room.
Midoriya sighed before nudging the man next to her, her husband perhaps?
"I'm Midoriya Inko, and this is Toshinori Yagi, a family friend."
"A pleasure to meet you both, I'm Beru and this is Ganma."
"Oh right, the Asui's, it's so good to finally meet you, I-"
And as they got to know each other, Beru noticed three things.
The first, Midoriya Inko was a strong woman, extremely necessary for someone who reportedly now had thousands of kids.
Beru appreciated what they did but still shuddered at the thought.
Second, she was still heavily grieving, which made sense because she had also lost a lot of her kids, according to the memorial by the main entrance anyway, all of them would never get the chance to know her. Except for one, Jango. Tsu had told her about Izuku and Jango and the brotherhood that they had, she could only imagine how hard it must be for Inko. She couldn't even fathom losing one of her kids.
She almost did.
And third, Midoriya Inko was so very, very proud of her sons.
Well, that and she detected a hint of something between her and Yagi, but decided to let it be for now.
Izuku had hoped to start this day brightly, but recently nightmares had been plaguing his sleep, haunting him with images of what had happened and what didn't.
Although fortunately this last one, had…stopped rather suddenly.
Oh well, small mercies.
He rose out of his bed, early in the morning, and went out to the main hall where they had their own, private memorial for Jango.
He kneeled, and bowing his head uttered a small prayer.
"Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, Jango, Vod'e."
He absentmindedly felt his mother kneel next to him, and utter the same prayer, and they simply stayed like that for a time until the sun started to rise and they had to prepare for the Sports Festival.
Once they were ready, they headed outside to where Toshinori was with his pickup and made their way towards UA. The roads were starting to get clogged as more and more cars headed up towards the campus.
Fortunately, UA hiring the clones helped organize things a lot better, with clones serving at security checkpoints, traffic direction, patrols and even helping guests.
Seeing Toshinori's pickup, one of the clones motioned them to a special parking spot for staff and VIP guests, soon enough the group would find themselves at their seats, and Izuku would kiss his mother goodbye and give a quick hug to Toshinori.
They were the first ones there, and so were alone.
After a moment of silence, Inko slyly grinned at the older man who was looking fondly into the distance to where Izuku disappeared.
"You make a good father."
BLERGH!
Inko giggled as Toshinori stuttered and tried to stave off his embarrassment.
"It's fine, Toshinori, "She said as she lightly held onto his arm. "We already talked about this, you're good for him."
Toshinori sighed deeply and nodded, the last of the red fading from him as he and Inko stared out into the stadium.
"Ohoho! What's this Inko? You didn't tell me you had a new boyfriend!"
Inko merely facepalmed, the both of them turning red.
"Sigh…Hello, Mitsuki."
Way to ruin the moment.
Turning she happily greeted her friend while expertly deflecting any questions with the grace of somebody who had been friends with the woman for decades.
Toshinori and Masaru merely stood by, the former watching in awe and the latter in amusement.
Inko finally managed to wear Mitsuki down a bit and properly introduced him while dispelling any misconceptions.
Still didn't get rid of Mitsuki's teasing.
As the rest of the families arrived and wasn't it annoying to be called Frigga almost 15 times, once she found those three she would make them pay.
'I'm so glad that Izuku and Jango weren't nearly into pranks as those three.' She thought, ignoring the small pang in her heart.
She watched as the thousands of people entered the stadium and took special pride in being able to pick out her boys from the crowd.
Granted, there were wearing white armor, but it was still the thought that counts. Seeing them like this, however, was a bit awe-inspiring, regardless of how many people filled the stadium, there was still a scattered sea of white among them.
Her boy had come so far.
Her attention was brought to the enormous screen where Present Mic suddenly appeared.
"HEY!"
The audience started cheering.
"PAY ATTENTION, AUDIENCE! SWARM, MASS MEDIA! THIS YEAR'S HIGH SCHOOL RODEO OF ADOLESCENCE THAT YOU ALL LOVE, THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL, IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! ARE YOU READY?!"
The crowd roared as they all paid attention to the entrance on the stage grounds.
"IT'S TIME FOR THE STUDENTS TO ENTER THE FIRST-YEAR STAGE!"
As the music began, all of them eagerly waiting for the students to come out, Inko paid special attention to seeing her son.
As the students took their first steps into the stage, Inko noticed one, horrible thing.
"Oh no…"
"What is it, Inko?" She heard Mitsuki ask as she felt Toshinori stiffen.
"Izuku's angry…" She whispered.
Something had happened.
Earlier
Izuku had actually managed to take a slight nap, having gotten there before anybody, soon enough his other classmates had filed in, and although Tenya had wanted to wake Izuku up, he'd been convinced to let him rest a bit more.
Once it hit about a half-hour before the Sports Festival began, Ochako roused him from his sleep and he started to do his stretches.
Idly he heard Ashido complain about not being able to use their costumes before Ojiro spoke about fairness and some of the others wondering about the first round.
Then Tenya burst in and announced that they would be leaving soon.
"Midoriya."
Izuku turned toward the voice and found himself face to face with Todoroki.
"Todoroki, how can I help you?"
Staying silent for a moment, Todoroki responded.
"Objectively, I think I'm stronger than you."
Izuku merely stared at him, slightly confused.
"But…All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he?"
Izuku grit his teeth slightly but listened.
"I'm not trying to pry into that…but I'm going to beat you."
Izuku's eyes narrowed, and he breathed deeply, controlling his anger.
"Oh? Are the best in the class declaring war on each other?" Kaminari said with a grin. Kirishima however, had gotten up and tried to calm Todoroki and Izuku, the latter certainly looking angrier.
"Hey, what's up with that? Picking fights right before the Festival starts."
"We're not here to make friends. So what does it matter?" Todoroki said while walking away.
He only made it a few steps before Izuku's voice called out to him.
"You know, you've got a lot of balls to say that. In front of everybody who has been working so hard to be here…, especially for somebody who refuses to use their full power."
Todoroki froze.
"Yeah, my clones told me what you did, about how you refused to use your full power because of some asinine vow."
The room started to get cooler.
"But let me tell you this, Todoroki. You better come at me with your full power, or I will break you, and I'll send you back to Endeavour in pieces."
The room went chilly as Todoroki glared back at Izuku.
"You-"
"As I said, I refuse to let more people die."
Izuku walked forward but stopped at the door.
"Whether by a villain's hand, or yours."
'That wasn't the best way I could have handled that.' Izuku thought with a slight hint of remorse but at the moment he was too angry at Todoroki to even think about apologizing at the moment.
Actually, he'd been angry a lot lately.
'All Might said that it's natural to be angry, but this just feels too much.'
As if his anger was consuming him.
He breathed in deeply and focused. Trying to calm himself as much as he could.
Nope, not working.
Probably just needed to burn it off.
As they reached the stage, Present Mic's voice rang out into the sky.
"AND NOW INTRODUCING, THE STARS WHO OVERCAME VILLAINS WITH THEIR HEARTS OF STEEL! HERO COURSE, CLASS 1-A! YEAH!"
Izuku stepped forward head held high as he moved forward, perhaps once, he would have quailed at the sight of thousands, but after everything, he found it…cool.
'I wish you were here to see this vod.'
"So many people…"
"Will we be able to give our best performance, surrounded by so many?" Tenya contemplated.
"We will have to, ner vod."
Tenya nodded and lightly patted Izuku's shoulder. The two had become closer after Izuku had let him into the bacta pod, and Tenya was excited to show what his newly healed engines could do.
"I guess this is just another aspect of hero life they're training us on."
Izuku heard Kirishima also comment about the crowd with Bakugo, the latter only saying that he was being pumped up by it.
Not wanting to focus on him, especially after what he'd heard from his brothers, Izuku continued walking.
"THESE GUYS HAVEN'T HAD MUCH TIME IN THE SPOTLIGHT, BUT THEY'RE STILL FULL OF TALENT, HERO COURSE, CLASS-B!"
"NEXT UP, GENERAL STUDIES, C, D, E!"
"SUPPORT COURSES F, G, AND H ARE HERE, TOO!"
"AND BUSINESS COURSES, CLASSES I, J, AND K!"
A slight scuffle was heard from the microphone before it turned off for a brief moment, turning on once more.
"LET'S NOT FORGET THOUGH, THAT CLASSES C-K REPRESENT THE FUTURE BACKBONE OF BOTH HERO AND GENERAL SOCIETY!"
"Well, at least they said something nice about us, didn't put so much focus on the hero course."
"Eh, I still feel like we're only here to make them look better."
Up in the announcer box, Present Mic was gesturing wildly at Aizawa while next to them were Nezu and surprisingly enough Cody.
While Nezu would be at the Third Year festival, concerns had been awoken and he felt that he needed to address them.
"You see sir, it's just as important to consider everybody else, Sports Festival is not just about the heroes, we also have to consider the classes that take apprenticeships, internships at businesses, and tech companies."
"Yeah yeah, I get ya."
Aizawa snorted at the chastisement that Hizashi was getting from the clone who just moments earlier had stopped the mike to remind Mic that the other courses deserved attention.
'Man, that rhyme was horrible. It almost sounded like a pun'
He felt like Ms. Joke.
He shuddered in horror.
Turning his attention back to the stadium he noticed that Mic was about to start.
"WE'RE ABOUT TO KICK THINGS OFF BUT FIRST! A FEW WORDS FROM OUR PRINCIPAL!"
"Thank you, Present Mic. Hello everyone! Am I a dog, a mouse, a bear? Who knows? But the important thing is that I am Principal Nezu. I know that this is unusual, but with these extenuating circumstances I thought it important to speak about our security measures."
Nezu took a moment to look at Cody.
"As you can see, we've done our utmost best to ensure that nothing such as the USJ happens again. However, should we find ourselves in any situation, even non-villain related please pay attention to the men in white armor around you? They are the Vod'e, UA's security force, for those of you in the know, yes, they are provided by one of the students, however, to prevent any allegations of cheating they will not participate in the Sports Festival. Speaking on their behalf is Marshall Commander Cody."
Said Cody glared at the principal because this was not planned at all. Nevertheless, he just went with it.
"Good morning everyone, I'm Marshall Commander Cody of the Vod'e like Principal Nezu said if in case of emergency, listen to the Vod'e and they'll guide you safely and securely as the heroes deal with any existing threat. If you need help, such as lost children or the like, also feel free to ask. We're here to serve and protect, and also cheer on our brother." He added at the last second.
Izuku slightly flushed at the attention now on him and tried to ignore the teasing grins from his friends.
"Thank you, Principal Nezu and Marshall Commander Cody! Now, onto the Player Pledge!" The umpire announced, in this case, Midnight.
Immediately almost half the crowd started to cheer at her appearance, many of them with partners delivering swift retribution.
A few of the students even commented on her state of dress, wondering if it was appropriate for a school.
Midnight barked at them to be quiet, slightly peeved at the insinuation. She only teased, not seduced students!
Still, whipping her riding crop she called forward the pledger.
"Representing the students is Midoriya Izuku from Class 1-A!"
Izuku was startled but should have expected it, he did come first.
'Jango should be here with me.'
"It's Izuku, I mean it makes sense."
"He did make it first in the entrance exam."
"In the hero course."
"Nah, I heard he got top scores for the regular exam too."
"Of course, it's Class A."
"Isn't he the guy that yelled at us?"
"He's scary."
"He was kinda right though. I mean…according to the memorial a lot of his clones died."
"So? He can just make more."
"That's not what he said, once they die, they die."
"But still, they're clones, that's like saying Ectoplasm cares if his clones die, he uses them as bait!"
Izuku grit his teeth as his temper started to fray but paid no mind to their words.
He took a deep breath and exhaled.
"About two weeks ago, our school was invaded."
The muttering stopped.
"My class was attacked by villains, were hurt and almost killed by them. Then we were saved by the Vod'e, and I was forced to stand by as over one thousand of my brothers died."
The silence was deafening.
"My brother, Jango. Should be here today. The world may see them as clones, but they were my family. He was my family. It was because of them, however, because of their sacrifice, that 19 other families did not have to suffer what mine did."
Izuku's eyes had been looking at nothing, but then he turned straight to the camera.
"You tried to go after All Might, and when that failed you went after us. You failed," Izuku snarled as he glared at the camera.
"But I will let you know right now, that even on the day that All Might retires, the Symbol of Peace will not fall, because on that day you will know!" Izuku raised his fist.
"That I am here."
Izuku lowered his fist.
"Today is merely the beginning. For all of you who challenge my Class and me, I hope you bring it your all, fight with everything you have! And even if you fail know that you gave it your all! Show to the world that you deserve to be here!" Izuku yelled as he pointed at the students in front of him.
"Show that you are here." Izuku clenched his fist and brought it in front of him.
"Show that by Going Beyond:"
"PLUS ULTRA!" The entire stadium roared with Izuku as he raised his fist again.
He then walked off as the crowd began to cheer even more excited for the upcoming events.
Some of the students looked at him curiously, not expecting that from a hero course student. Many more felt the desire to take him up on his challenge and show what they were made of.
Toshinori grinned wildly, this, this was even better than he imagined. Izuku was not only declaring himself as the successor to the Symbol of Peace but also challenged his fellow students to meet him at the top.
"He's really come a long way, hasn't he, Toshi?"
"Yes, he has, Inko."
'You'd be so proud of him, Master.'
The ashen remains of a cup fell to the ground, drops of liquid falling into them.
Shigaraki glared hatefully at the screen in front of him, already his temper rising as he scratched his neck.
'This kid…is baiting me!'
Shigaraki then realized that this was no miniboss. But another player, albeit one that was lower level than he. The game was now in two-player mode.
And he was quickly rising in stats.
"Looks like we have a race in completing our quests." He ground out.
"To destroy the Symbol of Peace, or become it."
Shigaraki smiled horrifically.
"Game on."
As Shigaraki continued to watch, All For One was pleasantly surprised, the cup was the only thing that had been destroyed. Usually, it'd be the table and chair by now, and perhaps the tv.
'Izuku Midoriya, one day we will meet. And I must certainly thank you for…inspiring my successor.' He said as he moved a piece forward, not taking anything.
He chuckled.
"Now, let's get started right away!" Midnight exclaimed with a sadistic smile as she started.
A few of the students commented about the fast pace of things, but ultimately put it up to U.A.'s specialty.
"Every year, many drink their tears here!"
"Them or you?" A clone muttered from the stands. It just so happened that he said that next to a hero who started to chuckle at that.
One with seafoam green hair and an orange bandanna.
Aizawa felt immediate doom for some reason.
"Now the fateful first game!" On cue, an enormous board appeared, rapidly spinning challenges.
"This year it's!"
Everybody leaned forward as they awaited the result.
Izuku stared at the spinning board with apprehension but was feeling confident and motivated by his own speech, he hoped that the other students understood that while he may have been harsh the other day, he only wanted them to understand the truth of being a hero.
Just a little ways off, Todoroki glared balefully at Izuku's back, the area around him slightly cooler.
He knew a challenge when he heard it.
But he tried oh so desperately, to shove the guilt that was eating away at his heart down.
The board finished spinning.
"An obstacle race!"
I know, I know, cliffhanger. But I want a bit of time to plan things out, I want this race to be different than canon. Originally, I wanted an entirely new challenge, but couldn't come up with anything. Be prepared for different obstacles, however!
Again, thank you, and please continue reviewing! I'll try and make it so that it's not so long till the next update, but I comp within the next month so…it'll be hard. Brightside is that I get a break after!