Ch 6: Sports Festival Prelude
*THWACK THWACK THWACK*
Lee worked furiously on the striking post in the backyard of the dojo, flowing through forms and throwing elbows and fists as the sun beat down on his bare back. Rivulets of sweat ran down his back and chest, sloping over hard-earned muscle and scars as he worked on the old post, faded and marked the same as Lee's body.
He imagined a villain, one of the many 1-A described facing down in USJ before All Might arrived to save the day. He countered, parried, ducked, responded, and kept going. It wasn't enough. There were many villains that day in USJ, not just one or two or even three. It was very youthful of the 1-A students to show such courage and go on to defeat a few villains themselves, but Lee knew they held an inherent advantage that he lacked. He needed to work even harder because the same thought stayed in his mind, keeping him up every day since the incident.
What if it was 1-B? What if he, Pony, Itsuka, and even Tetsutetsu were in that situation? They didn't have a speedster to run and get help. What if Vlad-sensei got as injured as Aizawa-sensei? What could Lee have done in that situation?
The stories some of them told. The spiky red-haired one bragged to Tetsu about how many villains he defeated, describing how he and his classmates banded together to save each other. Ochako, the girl who stepped off the bus first in pink, didn't make it sound so braggadocious but terrifying, especially the 'leaders' of the villain incursion.
One who wore hands as a mask, one who could teleport wherever he wanted, and that bird-like monster that exchanged blows with All Might– even injured the number one hero.
Lee grunted as he punched again and again. The number one hero in the entire world was injured by some monster. Lee knew being a hero was dangerous, but there were bad guys out there who could injure the number one hero. And if Lee wanted to become a hero, those were the kinds of villains he'd face one day. He needed to be better, stronger, faster. He needed to be more!
Lee spun into a sidekick and– WHAM! CRACK! Thud!
Lee blinked a few times rapidly before refocusing on what had just happened. There, he broke the post and knocked it a few feet away, wood splinters all over the ground. He stared at the broken body of the wood post and imagined it as Aizawa-sensei, how Mina described the terrible sight of his broken, unconscious body. He saw blood and bones, he saw defeat, he saw…
"Lee!"
Lee jumped, blinking the mirage away, and turned to find his sensei frowning on the patio. Instantly, Lee was embarrassed. He'd broken another training post.
"My sincerest apologies, Gai-sensei!" Lee bowed. "I will clean this up right away."
Where was the broom, by the way?
"No need," Gai-sensei gestured for Lee to come inside. "I think it's time you take a break, Lee. Take a shower, then meet me on the mat. We have something to discuss."
The shower wasn't as calming as Lee hoped it'd be. How could it be with Gai-sensei's ominous words echoing in his head? What could his sensei want to talk about? Did he see him break the post? They were expensive and no doubt not easy to replace. Or was it about school? His grades were alright. Had sensei gotten a call from one of the teachers about something? The possibilities of what it could be ran through his head until Lee sat in front of his sensei on the training mats inside the dojo.
Gai-sensei had yet to arrive, but Lee didn't doubt he'd arrive soon. In the meantime, he refused to let his mind wander; instead, he focused on what he could see. He spotted the trophy case filled with monuments to his and Gai-sensei's martial arts success in the circuit. His sensei was a very decorated fighter with enough gold in the case to drop any jaw, though Gai-sensei never drew much attention to them. Gloves were hung up on the wall as martial arts belts and pictures from the past and present.
Lee spotted one of him and his sensei the night he received his admissions message; they were smiling as hard as they could. There was another picture of Gai-sensei when he was younger, bruised but smiling with a trophy raised in victory. Instead of raising it just by himself, sensei held it up with another boy who looked to be his age with spiky silver hair and pale skin.
'An old friend' is how Gai-sensei described the silver-haired boy. Lee didn't know where or who the boy was, but he guessed he must've been some sort of rival to his sensei when he was younger if them holding the trophy while sporting matching bruises was any indication.
There were other pictures of people Gai-sensei knew or encountered before he settled down and opened his dojo. Lee didn't know every detail of his sensei's childhood, but from what he knew, it was one filled with fighting all over Japan. Gai-sensei earned the nickname 'the Blue Beast' for a reason.
A door slid open, and Gai-sensei entered the main room, where he sat before Lee. His sensei wore his green gi and black belt while Lee matched him. A plain, long, rectangular wooden box was in his sensei's hands.
Sensei didn't say a word, only extended the box for Lee to take. Lee grabbed the box from his sensei and opened it, only to gasp at what he found inside.
Sitting on a plush bed of velvety fabric were sleek green and gold nunchaku, with gold engravings of a tiger and elephant on either handle. Lee pulled them out of the box reverently, distantly wondering where his sensei got these from, and inspected them all over. On the bottom of the handles were two words, one on each, reading: Green Beast.
"Green beast?" Lee whispered aloud. "Sensei, who is the Green Beast? Is that where you had these made?"
Guy-sensei smiled coyly, reached into his gi, and pulled out his pair of nunchaku. They were black and blue, scratched but not too deeply, and weathered where Lee guessed they'd been handled for years. The similar engravings were easy to notice, too. Lee gaped at what they said.
"Blue Beast," Lee read aloud, and he could feel dots begin to connect for him.
"Back in my day, my father gifted me my own set of nunchaku with an engraving. Mine, as you can see, says 'Blue Beast.'He gave me the name after I started storming the martial arts tournaments, winning and dominating the competition. Seeing how far you've come, it was time for me to gift you your own pair. The name meant a lot to me," Guy-sensei continued. "but for you, with the path you're taking, it might become something more."
It took Lee a moment to connect the dots with what his sensei had told him. Guy-sensei had given him something Lee couldn't believe. "You want me to…"
"No," Guy-sensei was quick to shut that notion down. "It is your choice, as it has always been, Lee, but what has happened at your school frightened me, Lee. I couldn't help but ponder how the world has changed. More and more people are born with quirks, more and more set out to become heroes, and more and more, for whatever reason, decide to break the law and become villains.
It is a dangerous world you are growing up in, Lee, and even if you do not take the name, I'd like you to take these for protection and perhaps help you on your journey of becoming a splendid hero," Guy-sensei said, eyes soft as the smile on his face.
Lee ran a thumb over the name again - his name again - trying to memorize how they felt and what they looked like. Guy-sensei's words struck a note in him, and Lee pulled strength from the nunchaku. He didn't need to voice his worries to his sensei; he just seemed to know. This was more, this…Yes, Lee would use these to become an even better hero.
Green Beast. He'd make that a name that mean something to people. It'd become a name innocent hoped for, and one evil-doers feared—the Green Beast.
"I'd be honored to take the name Guy-sensei," Lee told his mentor. "I'll become The Hardwork Hero, The Green Beast!"
Guy-sensei's eyes started watering, and Lee instantly felt his own start doing the same thing. Soon, he felt his own start running down his cheeks.
Familiar arms wrapped around him, and Lee wrapped his own around tightly. He held his sensei close as he cried, hearing his sensei's own between breaths.
"Guy-sensei?" He asked him, wondering why his mentor was crying.
"Lee," Guy-sensei answered, and it clicked. What Lee had said, taking on the name Green Beast, had moved him to youthful tears. "Your flames of youth shine so brilliantly; how could I not shed these righteous tears. You've grown so much, so fast. I–I am so proud of you, Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!" Lee cried back, overjoyed. "I swear to work even harder than before. I will make the name Green Beast mean something to the world. I swear it!"
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
Guy-sensei abruptly pulled them apart, eyes red from crying and snot dribbling down his nose like a waterfall, but Lee didn't even care. He probably looked worse! His sensei's dark brown eyes traced over him like he was burning the image of Lee into his brain forever.
"The Hardwork Hero: Green Beast," He said in the proudest tone ever. "Now that's a hero I can root for."
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"Good morning, class," Vlad-sensei greeted as he walked into the 1-B classroom.
"Good morning, sensei," they greeted back cheerfully.
"What's on the agenda for today, sensei?" Shishida asked, eager to hear about what they were doing.
"Today, I have an announcement for you all," he began but didn't say anything to follow up. The anticipation built and built until it burst.
"Well, don't leave us waiting!" Setsuna cried. "The anticipation is killing me slowly, argh, bleh," she mimed choking and laying out across her desk.
"What you all will be preparing for is the U.A. Sports Festival," the Pro Hero announced to the class.
"The sports festival!" Tetsu cried out exuberantly. "Aw yeah!"
"Wow, so soon, sensei?" Itsuka was concerned. "After everything that's happened, is it the best decision?"
"The administration has decided to move forward with the Sports Festival due to its importance and popularity. U.A.'s Sports Festival is one of the most-watched and attended events in the entire world," Sensei explained, and Itsuka nodded at that.
Yui raised her hand and said, "The Sports Festival is how we get noticed by the pros and join agencies to become sidekicks."
"Correct, Yui," Vlad began. "The Sports Festival is important because it introduces you to the wider world. They get to see how the next generation of heroes is shaping up. Once, before Quirks became so abundant, people from all over would tune into the Olympics, but now it's this," he told them, its weight all settling down onto them all. "The Sports Festival is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for aspiring heroes like yourselves that shouldn't be squandered."
"Whoa," Nirengeki gasped.
"That's kind of intense," Kinoko muttered lowly.
"I know each of you has your personal goals and dreams, and, speaking from my experience, the Sports Festival is another big step you will take in accomplishing them. Getting into the U.A. is one thing; this is another. So, that means to train hard for it and prepare as much as you think you should," He told them.
"Do you have any suggestions on what we should focus on?" Hiryu asked.
Vlad hmmd before answering. "Quirk control, power, and endurance if possible. Physical training is aimed at the same. Now is not the time to create something new, but for finishing or mastering a technique.
Speaking from experience again, your mentality going into the festival also makes all the difference," he told them. "The Sports Festival is still a competition; you won't be the only ones participating. All the other courses at U.A. will be too."
"That means 1-A," Tetsu said, punching his fist into his palm. He grinned, baring his sharp teeth. "I'm ready to show everyone what I got!"
"The perfect chance to show them that they aren't the only class worth being talked about," Monoma added. "After all, I'm much more impressive."
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Tsuburaba exclaimed as he stepped out of class. "The Sports Festival. Man, I've dreamed of this day for so long. I can't believe it's happening, and I will be in it."
"I know, right!" Yosetsu added. "It's going to be crazyyyy."
"I need to start training," Lee thought aloud. "I'm going to bring my absolute best."
"Well, if you're bringing your A-game," Kamakiri said. "Then, I am, too."
"You all know what the deal is, so I won't bother explaining much else," Vlad interrupted before anyone else could speak out. "The festival is two weeks from today, so train as hard as possible. Class dismissed."
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Lee became too curious for his own good once the day ended. U.A. had denied today a half-day to allow their students more time to prepare for the Sports Festival. Where he should be heading home like Pony and the others did, he wandered over to 1-A's classroom because he was too curious about the competition.
Judging by the crowd gathered outside the door, he wasn't the only one who thought so.
He was a little late, though, as now he was in the back. He didn't care enough to shove his way through to see, so he'd listen and wait. Maybe he'd see one or some right here, but he heard about some of them from Mina or just general talk.
1-A was in the spotlight after the USJ incident. A group of first years defeating real villains, holding them off long enough for help to arrive, was all the news was about for the last couple of weeks.
Endeavor's son was there; he heard them talk about him. Had both his mother's and father's Quirks, they said, but Mina talked about ice a lot, so perhaps he used the ice more so than fire? Lee could work around ice and fire, but he needed to figure out how good the teen was.
Lee wasn't going off rumors and speculation of strength. Mina liked to gossip when they talked, so it was mostly about who liked who and how some of her classmates acted. No, Todoroki Shouto would have to prove his strength to him.
He'd met most of them or been at least introduced to them after USJ, and a few made his brain itch, that itch that told you that there was something different about that person. It was the part of him that lived and breathed martial arts and combat. The part that got his blood pumping and excited at the prospect of a challenge.
Lee was ready to redeem himself after losing to Tetsutetsu, and the Sports Festival was just the place.
Oh, wait, he blinked back to reality. The crowd was dispersing. Darn, did he miss his chance? Lee looked around the moving heads but didn't know what he was looking for. What was he going to do? Ask them what their Quirks were. Lee wasn't diving into that, so he just stopped and sighed. He really wasted his time here.
Soon, the crowd was mostly gone, and Lee looked up, ready to leave, and found himself locking eyes with a messy green-haired, freckled boy.
Lee's brain gave an itch, and he listened.
He quickly assessed the guy, but nothing stood out about him. No visible sign of a Quirk, but that green hair was specific to something Mina told him about a green-haired classmate of hers with a Quirk much like All Might's. Was he the one that Lee couldn't meet due to the severity of his injuries from USJ? Like Aizawa-sensei?
Something that scratched at his brain and demanded he take notice. Obviously, the green-haired teen thought the same because his eyes hadn't even moved from Lee's own. No, he must've felt it, too—a potential challenge.
Well, what was he standing around for? He might introduce himself. Lee straightened his shoulders and stood tall as he approached the other boy. He closed the distance in quick steps and held a hand out.
"Rock Lee, Class 1-B. May I have your name?" Lee asked him pleasantly.
The green-haired boy jolted like he was returning from his thoughts before shaking Lee's hand. They gripped hands, and Lee almost smiled at how the teen didn't even flinch at how firmly Lee shook his hand.
"Izuku Midoriya, Class 1-A," Midoriya greeted back, curiosity mixed with some wariness as if he expected Lee to say something strange.
He didn't. "Nice to meet you, Midoriya," Lee greeted, just because he was in the spirit of competition. "Something tells me you're one to watch out for, so I hope you grow your flames of youth to great heights for the festival!"
"Grow my…what?"
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(End Chapter)
A/N: We move.