AN: What's good, everyone?! Sorry for the long wait. The chapter needed to sit in the oven for a little more to get it just right because I always seem to underestimate just how long these chapters get, no matter how much fat I trim off. Sentences in bold represent people speaking into microphones.
Please enjoy the chapter!
Opening Song:
"Vandalize" by One Ok Rock
The Age was 1992, a good thirty-one years ago.
Cheerful shouting and applause rained down upon fifteen-year-old Toshinori Yagi, the young man who would eventually go on to become All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Justice, as he raised his left fist up in the air. His deep blue eyes reddened and tears spilled down the sides of his cheeks as the current Number 1 Pro Hero lifted up a shining Gold Medal and placed it over his neck. Toshinori stared at his young face reflected off of the medal.
The Hero who awarded him with the medal was none other than his adoptive mother and mentor – The Midnight Hero: Moonlight Might, Son Gine…
"Congratulations, Toshi," she said with a tearful smile. "I always knew you could do it. I'm so damn proud of you!"
"Thank you," Toshi sobbed and surged forward to hug his mentor; his mother. "Thank you so much for believing in me. I couldn't have done it without you."
The crowd cheered even more and fireworks set off, illuminating the evening sky.
"You earned this, Toshinori," Gine said, and proud tears spilled down her cheeks as she hugged the boy tightly. "Now the world knows your name. Now it knows that you are here! Now, it's time to go beyond."
"Toshiiii!" Goku cried out, running towards him with his arms open wide. Toshi laughed and caught the giggling tailed child and swung him up, setting him up on his shoulder.
"Toshi! You looked so cool!" Goku squealed. "When I grow up, I wanna be a strong, cool hero just like you!"
"And you will be," Gine said to him, pinching Goku's chubby cheeks. "If you always keep that smile on your face, there's nothing you can't accomplish!"
Toshinori brought Goku and Gine into a tight hug.
"I love you," Toshi sobbed with a huge smile on his face. "I love you both so much!"
…
Toshinori stared at the three medals which he was to present to the top three winners of the Sports Festival, and this time, a much older face stared back at him in the gold's reflection.
That was a good memory… The lessons that Gine had left him with were lessons that he had to pass on to Young Midoriya and Gohan, too. But today, it was time for the boys to put everything they'd learned up until now to good use, without his help. But in his heart of hearts, Toshi had the feeling that he'd see the two boys standing in that same spot he had stood in so many years ago, waiting to receive their medals.
If only he could be so lucky…
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT– THE SPORTS FESTIVAL I - JET SET RUN!
There was a palpable nervousness in the air as the class filed into the waiting room to wait for the start of the sports festival.
"Darn it!" Toru huffed, pulling up a chair and plopping down on it.
"What's wrong?" Ojiro asked.
"I had a cute new invisibility cloak tailored just for the Sports Fest," Toru whined, her floating armbands waving around in the air. "And then it turns out that I'm not allowed to wear it. We're all gonna wear these tacky blue gym uniforms."
"Well, I think they're just trying to make it fair for everyone," Ojiro offered. "Besides, why the heck do you need an invisibility cloak if you're already invisible!"
"Because!" Toru exploded. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not exactly a fan of running around naked, especially when there are cameras around!"
"I don't really see what the difference is, but I get ya," Ojiro said.
"Besides, Melissa gets to use a support item!"
"Yeah," Melissa said sheepishly, polishing her Power Pole. "That's because I'm Quirkless, though. So Mister Aizawa said it was okay for me to bring one item. This should be enough."
"Uh... oh yeah…"
There was a soft rap on the door and it opened. A blue haired young man poked his head through.
"Heya, gang!" Tensei Iida waved at the teens, scanning the room quickly.
As soon as Mina and Toru saw him, they gasped.
"Holy crap!" Mina sighed dreamily, placing her hands under her chin. "Who is this dreamy hot guy?!"
"Tensei!" Tenya shot up from his chair. "You made it!"
"Told ya I would!" Tensei smiled. "I wouldn't miss this for the world, little bro! The whole family's here, too. But I was wondering if Mister Aizawa was around. I haven't seen him in ages and I wanted to stop by to say hi."
"Oh, Mister Aizawa isn't here," Tenya told him. "He's actually working the commentary box. But if you stick around, I'm sure you'll catch him!"
"I bet I will. Okay," Tensei said, winking at his brother. "We'll be rooting for you, Tenya! Do your best!"
"I will!" Tenya bowed. "Thank you for honoring me with your presence!"
"Holy crap, Toru! I think I found my future husband!" Mina shrieked.
"Get in line, sister! I saw him first!" Toru responded.
"You two are hopeless," Videl sighed and Kyoka shook her head.
Gohan entered the room to join his classmates, with Ojiro walking in behind him.
"Hey, look who went and sprouted new powers!" Mina said, pointing at Gohan's tail.
"Yeah," Gohan laughed, wrapping his tail around his waist. "Still getting used to it, but Ojiro's helping me get a good handle on it."
"Welcome to the mutant club, Class Rep," one of Shoji's arms reached out to say.
"That makes so much sense, Gohan," Koda said. "This entire time, your anivoice signature sounded like an Ape's. Now we know why!"
"Is it because we're all apes?" Melissa asked.
"It's because he's a monster," Shoto Todoroki said, coldly, and the entire room froze.
"Todoroki!" Momo gasped. "What's gotten into you?!"
Gohan stopped to stare at Shoto, unsure of why the quiet boy was being unusually hostile today.
"Haven't any of you figured it out yet?" Shoto continued, stepping up to Gohan. "He's a Saiyan, just like Endeavor. That monster that turned the tide on the League of Villains at the USJ – that's Gohan's true power. A legendary Oozaru, a creature that knows nothing but destruction. A monster."
"Shut up, Todoroki! You don't know the first thing-" Ochaco started but the room suddenly became colder as Todoroki took one step forward, cutting her off.
"From an objective standpoint, it's safe to say you're stronger than me, Gohan. I can acknowledge your prowess, and your potential. We've fought side by side. However, the time for camaraderie has passed."
Gohan shook his head.
"Shoto, where is this coming from? I'm not your enemy," he insisted. "We're friends-"
"We are not friends," Shoto said with an icy point of finality. "You represent everything I loathe about myself. You… Endeavor… Nappa… you lot are all the same – a heartless race of savages. You are strong – but know this: I will beat you, Saiyan."
"Shoto…" Gohan whispered, feelings his words cut into him as the temperature in the room continued to plummet.
"Todoroki, that's enough!" Momo shouted uncharacteristically. This seemed to knock Shoto back to his senses and the freezing effect stopped. He blinked several times before glaring back at Gohan. Without another word, Shoto walked past him towards door.
"Todoroki, wait a sec," Gohan called after him. Shoto stopped and faced him one last time. "I don't know what's going on with you, or why you think you have to tell me that you'll beat me."
"This isn't a team effort-" Shoto started to say.
"Just hear me out," Gohan continued. "I don't know much about Saiyans, but from what I've read, their history is written in blood. But you wanna know something I've learned from my Grandpa, who happened to be a Saiyan, too? A true warrior makes his own fate, and he bares his fangs against destiny!"
Shoto continued listening to him in silence.
"Somewhere out there," Gohan said, looking at his hands and unfurling his tail. "There are Saiyan hybrids like you and me and our siblings, who need to know that they aren't bound to that same bloody history. That the word Saiyan doesn't have to mean Monster. We can pave the way with our examples, you and me, Todoroki. We can do this together!"
Gohan reached out to him. Shoto's eyes widened, then just when Gohan thought he had won him over, they narrowed.
"You are a fool. I'm going to crush you." Shoto said, turning back and leaving the waiting room.
Gohan sighed and closed his eyes.
"Tch, don't listen to that weirdo," Ochaco said.
"Shoto's right," Izuku said, catching everyone by surprise.
He shot his hands up and his eyes widened.
"Ah! Not about the xenophobic, racist remarks, but about the other thing!" He quickly clarified. "Don't you see? The other courses will be coming at us with everything they've got. We're all gonna have to fight if we want to stand out. We all have to aim for the top, even if it means taking each other down!"
A silence fell over the classroom as they mulled over Izuku's words.
Suddenly, the intercom blared to life, making some of the students jump up in surprise.
"Attention, all Class Representatives. Please present yourselves to the auditorium for a brief meeting with the teachers." Nezu's voice announced.
"Alright, guess that's us, Tenya," Gohan said and Iida nodded. "We'll be back soon!"
"Stay out of trouble," Tenya commanded everyone.
"Bring me back some chips!" Mina shouted.
"Two for me, please!" Sato chimed in.
"What do I look like, a butler?" Iida shot back.
"PLEEEEEASE!"
"Oh, fine!" Iida relented. "We'll bring back some snacks."
With that, the mood lifted, somewhat. Still, Shoto's words continued to buzz inside Gohan's head as he made his way to the auditorium with Iida.
What on earth had gotten into him? Had seeing him in his Oozaru form triggered some sort of terrible memory for him or something? Gohan made himself a mental note to talk to him after the games were over and Shoto had had a chance to cool down.
At the conference room, the twenty-two representatives were given some basic information about how the tournament would go.
First, Gohan would give the Student pledge, a short inspiring message meant to kick the festival off. After that, the classes would face off in two randomly picked events that would determine who would participate in the final tournament. However, before the final tournament would begin, the Junior League of the Martial Arts tournament would be allowed to have its turn.
The rest of the meeting dealt with cleaning assignments, safety rules and other boring things that Gohan quickly lost interest in. He took out a piece of paper and scribbled something positive to say for his Student pledge. After finishing, his mind and his sight began to wonder over to the other tables filled with class representatives.
As his attention returned to the Principal Nezu at the stage, his eyes landed on a beautiful, well-built girl with fiery orange hair that fell messily over her bright green eyes. Whatever hair didn't frame her light-skinned face was pulled back to the right side of her head in a ponytail. At first, Gohan blinked. There was definitely something familiar about this girl… but what could it be? He had definitely seen her before… but where?
One of the students sitting next to the redhead, a short, chubby white-haired boy with a large round head, caught Gohan staring at her and elbowed the redhead's arm, pointing at Gohan with an insinuating wag of his eyebrows and a teasing smile.
The redhead looked up at him questioningly and her friend whispered something into her ear that made her laugh and cover her mouth. Now the entire table had turned to look at Gohan. That's when it suddenly hit him. He knew exactly who she was.
It was her – the girl from the apartment building that burned down in Namek City. She was Valese's big sister. Gohan hadn't seen her since he had rescued little Valese from the Fire Villain's attack several months ago.
Gohan froze as the fiery redhead's emerald green eyes searched through the sea of faces and finally landed on him. She gasped and shot him an excited smile. As soon as the meeting was over, she jumped up from her seat quickly and made her way towards him. Gohan pretended not to see her and tried to leave with Tenya, but was blocked by several students who were walking up the stairs. He had no choice but to wait for the girl to reach him.
Wait a minute! He suddenly realized. Aside from Mister Popo and Valese, she was the only other person that saw my face in that apartment building without the Namekian Scarf on. That means she knows that I'm the Dragon of Namek! Oh crap, this is bad!
He tried squeezing into the crowd, but they crowd had stopped, waiting for the exit to open up. There was nowhere for him to go.
"Tenya," Gohan said. "Go on ahead and get everyone ready. I'm gonna need a few minutes."
"Sure thing, Class Rep," Iida said, nodding. "Don't be late!"
"You got it," Gohan responded as Iida climbed up the steps towards the exit.
"Hey, Gohan!" The girl squealed excitedly as she reached him, holding her fists up to her chin happily. "Wow! What are the chances?! I didn't think I'd ever be seeing you again."
"Hmm? I'm sorry, have we met before?" Gohan asked with a nervous laugh, hoping that he could still bluff his way out of here, but the girl only laughed.
"Oh yeah right!" she said with a wink. "It's me, Itsuka Kendo! Valese Kendo's big sis from Namek, remember?" She leaned in with a smirk, and took Gohan's wrists, pulling him to a discreet distance so that nobody else could hear them.
"Look, I get that you might be nervous, but you don't have to worry," she said. "Your secret's safe with me. After all, you're the Dragon of Namek! You're the Hero that we need right now. Not only that, you're the brave man who saved my little sister's life. So how could I not help you out in return?"
She gave him a grateful smile, leaning slightly to the right with a fist on her hip.
Hearing her words warmed Gohan's heart. The events of that fateful, fiery night still weighed heavily on his shoulders, and even though he had been able to bury those negative feelings, they still echoed from within.
That terrifying, sickening feeling of not being there to save everyone…
But hearing Kendo's words of encouragement was like a bath of fresh, cold water. Sobering and soothing at the same time. She was proof that he had saved a life, several in fact! And that his actions did make a difference.
"Thank you," Gohan whispered back. Those two words sounded so hollow and unfulfilling, but it's all that Gohan could muster at the moment. The dark pit in his chest created by Todoroki's words finally lifted, letting a bright light in. Gohan gave her a smile and Kendo returned it.
"So," Gohan said, turning to follow Kendo as they made their way back to their respective waiting rooms. "How is Valese? Honestly, I've been meaning to see her again, but I just haven't had time."
"Right?" Itsuka nodded, holding her hands behind her back. "It's been one thing after the other in this school, huh? My sister's…. well, she thinks about you a lot. It's helping her get through the trauma of what happened that night. Her recovery's steady, but slow. She's hanging in there." Her voice and gaze lowered.
Gohan shot her a concerned look.
"Why? What's wrong with her?"
Itsuka sighed.
"She's suffering from really bad trauma," she confessed, holding her elbows. "She gets nightmares all the time and she has trouble going places by herself, especially in the dark. It's gotten to the point where I even have to help bathe her and help her change clothes because she's afraid of going into her own closet alone. The therapy is helping a lot, but she's still got a long way to go."
Kendo smiled sadly.
"But she always thinks about you. She won't stop asking when's the next time she'll see her onii-san again."
"Yeah? I'd like to go see her again, if that's okay," Gohan said. "Back when I found her in the middle of the fire, she told me she's never had ice cream before, so I promised I'd take her to go get some."
"Oh no!" Itsuka laughed.
"Why? What's so funny?" Gohan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, Valese is actually lactose intolerant and that's why she's never had ice cream before. But if you really want to be her hero, Valese loves sorbets that are sold on the side of the Namek City Promenade."
Itsuka interlaced her hands behind her head and tilted her head to the side. "Would you… like to come with us? My treat! She'd love to see you again and besides, it's the least I can do to thank the guy that saved my little sister's life. You'll love the street food there."
"Heck yeah!" Gohan cheered. "Nothing beats free food!"
"Aaaaaand maybe afterwards we can walk around the Promenade?" Itsuka insinuated with a grin. "Thanks to the Dragon, it's becoming safer to walk around town at night. Oh, I know! There's a beautiful boardwalk by the carnival grounds that I used to take Valese to when she was a toddler. Maybe we can check it out, if you're interested…"
"Sure, it sounds like fun!" Gohan said.
Itsuka's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Awesome! Are you on Line? Give me your phone number and I'll text you the details."
"Okay," Gohan said, taking his phone out and exchanging his contact information. His phone vibrated as Kendo texted him her phone number.
"Great!" she said, putting her cell phone away. "I'm looking forward to it! Ah, I can't believe you're actually here! You don't know how happy it makes me to see you!"
…
When Izuku returned from the bathroom, he found Ochaco poking her head outside of the door, looking down the hallway. Seeing that the incoming footsteps were Izuku's, Ochaco blew out a sigh and her face fell.
"Hey, Ochaco. What's up? Looking for Gohan?" Izuku asked, buttoning the top part of his gym clothes.
"Yeah, he's super late!" She said, glancing up at the clock inside the waiting room. "Mina said she saw him hanging out in the halls with some girl from Class B, but Principal Nezu is almost done with his welcoming speech, so if he doesn't hurry up, he's gonna miss the walk…"
Izuku stared at her with an amused, teasing grin.
"What?" Ochaco asked.
"Nothing, sorry," Izuku apologized. "Just the way you're always worried about him – it's cute."
"Huh?" Ochaco gasped. "I uh…"
"MISTER DEKU!" A child's voice called out excitedly behind them. "MISTER DEKUUU!"
Izuku and Ochaco turned to see a child running towards them, wearing a sleeveless white changshan shirt, adorned with red accents and golden buttons, along with a pair of dark green athletic jogging pants and red tai chi boots. A dark green cape flapped behind him, attached to his collar by a threaded red rope.
The spiky black hair and his wide innocent eyes were unmistakable.
"Goten! Hiiii!" Ochaco called out happily as the child reached them. She dropped down to one knee to receive the child into a tight hug. Goten pressed his cheek against Ochaco's, giggling. Ochaco ruffled his hair. "Love your costume! It's your big day, huh? I'm so excited to watch you compete!"
"Yeah, me too!" Goten shouted, pulling back from the hug and holding his hands behind his back. Chi-Chi appeared behind Goten, wearing a deep blue dress. Her long hair was split into two long bangs that draped down the edges of her face, and the rest was tied into a bun and her classic bangs framed the top of her eyes.
"Miss Chi-Chi!" Ochaco said, standing back up. "It's so good to see you made it, too!"
Chi-Chi blew out a sigh of relief and ran a hand across her bangs.
"Yeah," she said, with a tired frown. "We finally made it past all nine of the security lines. But I made it, as promised. So who's this amazing person you wanted me to meet?"
"Oh!" Ochaco blushed and scratched her neck. "Umm, well… He's actually not here yet. He had to go to some meeting for Class Reps and he hasn't gotten back yet."
"Huh?" Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why the heck do you want to introduce Miss Chi-Chi to Go- Ow!"
Ochaco shoved her elbow into Izuku's side, hard, and he yelped in surprise.
"What was that for?!" he whispered in pain.
"It's. A. Secret!" She hissed back through her clenched teeth.
"Ohhhh," Izuku replied.
The two teens smiled and laughed it off as Chi-Chi stared at them, confused.
"Sooo, the Class Rep, huh?" Chi-Chi mused, crossing her arms and shooting Ochaco a knowing grin. "Girl's aiming for the top already! Well, I can't wait to meet the lucky guy."
"Ew," Goten shivered dramatically, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "Kissy stuff…"
"Say, Goten!" Izuku said, turning to the little guy. "Great costume! Green's my favorite color, too. Are they going to let you wear it at the tournament?"
Goten nodded happily, showing him a toothy grin.
"That's right," Chi-Chi said, ruffling her child's spiky bangs. "The teachers wanted to encourage the children to come up with their very own mock hero identities to give the Tournament a more heroic theme. Goten? Wanna tell Izuku your hero name?"
Goten's cheeks puffed up and flushed pink, suddenly shy at being put on the spot, but he nodded. He reached behind his neck and pulled the cloth hood attached to the cape. It was a simple green hood that fell down to his cheekbones, covering the top of his head. His large, innocent eyes poked out of simple red outlined holes. Two long rabbit ears poked up from the top of his head.
The boy's costume had been clearly inspired by Midoriya's original green costume that he had worn when he and Ochaco had rescued them from that Marketplace so long ago.
Izuku and Ochaco slapped their hands over their mouths to keep themselves from cringing from the sheer cuteness of it all.
"I am here!" Goten shouted happily, puffing up his chest and placing his fists on his hips. "I am the Smiling Mini Hero – Mighty Mask!"
"That's so cool!" Izuku squealed with fanboyish delight.
"Oh! Just so adorable!" Ochaco agreed.
"Up until a few days ago, Goten wanted to wear his All Might costume, buuuut it looks like there's another hero he's looking up to these days," Chi-Chi said, giving Izuku a wink.
"Yeah, I can relate to that," Izuku said, blushing from Chi-Chi's insinuation. "When I was a little boy, all of my hero names were inspired by All Might, too. Mighty Mask is such a great name! Much better than than Captain All Might, Mighty Man or Super All Might, anyway. So All Might's your favorite hero, too?"
"Yes he is! All Might is the greatest hero in the whole universe!" Goten said, jumping up and throwing his hands in the air, making everyone giggle at the child's sweet innocence.
"He sure is! Hey, I've got an idea! Do you wanna meet him?" Izuku asked.
Goten's eyes widened and his mouth dropped, as if it took his brain an extra second to register what he had just heard.
"Would I?!" He shrieked, bouncing up and down with his hands balled into fists. "YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! I wanna meet Mister All Might!"
"Okay," Izuku laughed, placing his hands on the kid's shoulders to calm him from bouncing. "If you promise me that you'll try your absolute hardest at the tournament, then I'll introduce you to him. Deal?"
"Deal! Don't worry, Mister Deku!" Goten cheered. "I'm gonna make you so proud!"
"I know you will, Goten," Izuku said.
Ochaco nodded enthusiastically.
"And we're gonna do our best, too," she promised. "So let's all go beyond!"
"PLUUUUS ULTRA!" The three said in unison, bumping their fists together.
Chi-Chi stared at her child as the pint-sized hero bumped fists with the two students that were almost twice his age. It was comical at first, but the more she observed the utter glee in Goten's face, the more convinced she was that she had made the right decision in allowing Goten to follow this path.
This was a place where he could belong – a home and a purpose.
Goten would be in good hands here, and one day he would have a shining future as a Pro Hero.
The question now was, was she prepared to face All Might again after all of these years? The last time they had met face to face was the day she buried her husband, after All Might had persuaded him to help him stop the villain who ultimately kidnapped Gohan and killed Goku.
But with the clarity afforded to her by the passing of time, Chi-Chi had begun to see Toshinori Yagi in a different light now.
After all, he was the man who practically raised Goku as his adopted older brother. He clearly loved him, and had been racked with guilt for having an indirect hand in getting him killed. But all of that was in the past now. With Master Roshi's help and with her new life in Martial Arts, Chi-Chi was finally starting to find the inner peace she needed to accept what had happened, and begin the process of forgiving.
"I think meeting All Might is a great idea. For now, though, we should hurry and get you to your waiting room, Goten," Chi-Chi said, giving the child a gentle nudge on his arm. "We don't want to keep your coaches waiting."
"Okay mom. Good luck, everyone!" Goten said happily, waving one last time at the class.
"Buh-bye cutie!" Mina squeaked.
"Good luck, you two," Chi-Chi told Ochaco and Izuku. She reached up and brushed Ochaco's cheek in a warm, maternal manner. Ochaco smiled and reached up to squeeze the back of Chi-Chi's hand.
"Be careful out there, okay sweetheart?" Chi-Chi told her.
"Mhm," Ochaco nodded. She glanced back to the entrance of the tunnel, but Gohan was still nowhere in sight. Darn it, she sighed, feeling the opportunity for an early reunion slipping away. I was really hoping he'd be back by now, but I guess he's still with that girl…
"Is something wrong?" Chi-Chi asked, noticing Ochaco's nervous fidgeting. Ochaco smiled and shook her head.
"Mmh, it's nothing," she laughed. "I just really wanted to introduce you to him, but it can wait."
"Ohh, I see," Chi-Chi said. "Well, if it really means that much to you, I'll stick around. Just come find me after the games are over."
"Great, thanks! You're the best!" Ochaco said, jumping forward to hug Chi-Chi.
Chi-Chi laughed and returned the hug.
"Okay, you've got this! Do your best out there!" Chi-Chi said.
With that, she took Goten's hand and the two walked down the hall and rounded the corner.
"That little boy really looks up to you, doesn't he, Deku?" Melissa commented with a bright smile.
"Yeah, he really does. He reminds me so much of how I used to be when I was his age," Izuku said, smiling to himself. He looked back up at Melissa with a determined grin. "Which is all the more reason for me to give it my best."
"Aww," Melissa cooed. "Deku, that is so precious!"
Behind them, Videl turned to face the students next to her. She folded her arms over the white T-shirt she was going to be wearing to the competition, which was several sizes too large for her and reached down to her lower thighs.
"Hey, is it just me," she mentioned to Kirishima, Mina and Jiro, "or does that little kid's cheeky, carefree smile seem awfully familiar to any of you?"
"Yeah, come to think of it," Jiro said slowly, rubbing her chin. "He does look very familiar…"
"Man," Kirishima hummed. "I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like we've seen that big dopey smile somewhere before…"
"Okay everyone," Iida said, getting everyone's attention. "We're about to be called out for the walk. Everyone gather around the entrance of the tunnel and wait for their signal to walk towards the stage!"
The class obeyed the Vice Rep and exited the tiny waiting room, filling the entrance. Class B and several other classes were spilling out of their respective waiting rooms as well.
The echoing rap of running footsteps rang out from behind the class and they turned to see Gohan jogging up behind them, buttoning up his blue gym jacket. The long, twin tails of the white Hachimaki bounced against his shoulder blades. His tail swayed behind him, curling down at the tip.
"Gohan! There you are," Ochaco said as Gohan slowed to a brisk walk, joining the class at the entrance of the tunnel. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna be with us for the walk."
"Yeah," Mina said, crossing her arms and pouting her lips. "I almost thought that little Miss Ponytail over there had sunken her razor sharp teeth into ya, Class Rep."
"Little Miss Ponytail just wanted to come wish Class 1A good luck," Kendo said, towering behind Mina, arms crossed, tapping her foot. Mina and Toru jumped into each other's arms. Itsuka dropped her scowl with a lighthearted laugh.
"S-Sorry!" Mina apologized.
"Don't worry, ladies, no offense taken," Kendo snorted, shooting the girls a friendly smile. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm not here to sabotage your Class Rep or anybody in your class, for that matter. It's really the opposite, actually."
She winked at Gohan.
"Make us all proud, Gohan-chan! You got this!" Kendo said, and a mischievous sparkle shined out of her emerald eyes.
Gohan-chan?! Ochaco's eyes glazed over with jealous rage. Who the heck is she?
"I don't care about class rivalries," Kendo said. "I'll be cheering for you all the way!"
"T-Thanks, Itsuka!" Gohan replied. "I'll be, uh, cheering for you, too."
"Ahh, a girl could only hope to be so lucky," Itsuka teased. She gave the class a final wave and left to join her class. "Okay, enough of that! Good luck everyone!"
"Man, she's so hot," Kirishima moaned, absentmindedly.
"Yeah," Kaminari agreed. "She can, like, step on my face, I guess."
"You pig," Jiro said, cringing with disgust. She retracted the earphone jack she had been using as an impromptu lie detector. "She wasn't lying though. She really doesn't have any ill will towards us. And she is definitely into Class Rep Son."
"Hang on a minute! Let's not get the wrong idea here," Gohan quickly jumped in, turning to Ochaco, waving his arms out in front of him. "Itsuka's a friend, that's all."
Ochaco crossed her arms.
"I didn't say anything," she said smirking at him, making Gohan squirm. "You're allowed to be friends with whoever you want."
"I know, I just…" Gohan cleared his throat and his face flushed red. "I just don't want you to get the wrong idea, that's all."
"AAAAALRIGHT!" Present Mic shouted into the speakers. "It's time to get this whole party rollin', yo! Are ya readyyyyyy?!"
The crowd responded with thunderous roar that shook the stadium. Intense music and fireworks added to the exciting vibe, and Ochaco passed a hand over her stomach to keep herself from collapsing with nerves.
Something warm and soft pressed against her other hand.
Ochaco glanced down to see Gohan taking her hand in his, and wrapping his fingers in between hers.
"Hey," Gohan whispered with a smile. "We've got this!"
A couple of the girls from their class gasped and squealed at the tender display of affection. Ochaco herself felt a wave of courage course through her stemming from his firm grip on her hand, and she planted her feet firmly on the ground and gave Gohan a determined nod.
"I'm gonna do my best, Gohan!" Ochaco promised. "And by the way, when we're done… I have a special surprise for you."
"Yeah?" Gohan asked. "What is it?"
"Ohh, you'll see! It's a special early birthday present, just for you."
"Heh – niiice," Kaminari said to himself with a perverted grin, but Tsu slapped him with her tongue before he could utter another word.
"Whoa!" Gohan gasped. "How did you know that my birthday was coming up?"
"Oh, you'll see," Ochaco repeated, chuckling to herself mischievously.
Gohan smiled and nodded at her.
"Okay," he said. "I can't wait to see it, then."
A loud knocking sound burst out of the speakers, mixed with the sound of feedback from a microphone. The many television screens placed around the stadium as well as the official broadcast to homes across the world blazed to life with a magnified picture of Present Mic's perfect white teeth.
"I SAID – WHAT'S GOOD, YA'LL?!" Present Mic shouted, his voice reverberating across the stadium, provoking an ear-shattering roar from the more than 250,000 attendees. "AAAAALRIGHT! That's more like it! It's time to get this party rollin', yo! Welcome, one and all, to this year's UA High Sports Festival, for our First Year Classes! I'm your host, Present Mic, comin' to ya live from the commentators' box! Here to help me provide some killer live commentary, we've got the mummy-man himself, the hero of sunshine and laughter, the Golden Compass of Class 1A, please welcome the one and only ERASERRRRHEADDDDDD-UH!"
Aizawa leaned back on his chair, closing his eyes in an effort to tune out the deafening roar of the crowd.
"How on earth did I ever let you talk me into this?" He groaned, his voice muffled by the bandages.
"And that's not all – we have a special treat for you, Sports Fans!" the DJ Hero continued happily. "Apart from the school's competitions, we're also hosting the Junior League of the Martial Arts Tournament. So, joining us as our special guest commentator for this year's events is the legendary Seven Time World Tournament Champion himself, flying in all the way from Orange Star City, it's the hairy King of Afros and handlebar mustaches – MISTER HEEERCUUUUULE SATAN!"
"AWWWW YEAHHHH!" Hercule burst through the doors, wearing his signature burgundy martial arts gi, white pants and shin-length laced boots. The giant golden medallion with his face embossed on it bounced wildly around his exposed, hairy chest. The studio lights gleamed brightly off of the polished gold championship belt strapped to his waist. The white cape he wore and his large round curly afro hairstyle swayed with his wild movements as he ran up towards the large window and poked his entire upper body out. "YEAHHHH!"
"Hey, get back in here, you clown!" Aizawa scolded, but Hercule was lost in the ecstasy of the moment. He held up two fingers on each hand, waving them around as the crowd cheered wildly. An entire section of supporters was wearing paper masks with Mr. Satan's face on it and waved around flags and signs with messages of support for the Martial Arts Hero.
"Mister Satan! Mister Satan!" They chanted.
Among the assembled students, Rikido Sato, Eijiro Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu pumped their fists in the air, joining the chants for the seven-times champ. Videl stared at her boyfriend with a cringing blush as Kirishima shouted happily, pointing up at the manly hero.
"OOOOHYEAH! We've got a rockin' crowd this mornin'!" Hercule said, picking up his round microphone and plopping down on the chair beside Aizawa. Aizawa grumbled in pain as Hercule's champion belt poked at his bandaged arm. "Are you folks ready to see some heart-poundin', hair-raisin', cardiac-arrested grandma droppin' sports events, or what?!"
The crowd roared with excitement.
"How are we all going to fit in here-" Aizawa started to complain. "The studio isn't big enough for all three of us-"
"This one's gonna be one for the books, folks!" Mic shouted, pressing against Aizawa. "I can feel it!"
"So put your hands together and give yourselves a huge stinkin' round of applause!" Hercule nodded, pressing against Aizawa from his side.
"Coming here was a mistake," Aizawa sighed in defeat, squished between the two men.
"WELCOME TO THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!" Hercule and Mic shouted in unison.
"We have a full day of challenging and fun sports activities that will be sure to knock your socks off, so without further ado – let's meet our classes! Give it up for HERO COURSE CLASS 1A!"
"That's us!" Ochaco said, excitedly.
"Let's win this, you guys!" Gohan said with an upbeat smile, squeezing her hand in his and glancing back at his classmates.
"We're with you, Class Rep!" Ojiro hollered.
"Hell yeah, man!" Kirishima added, pumping both fists in the air. Even Videl smiled and gave him a thrilled smirk.
"Ditto!" Melissa cheered, clasping the strap of her Power Pole tightly.
"Let's do our best, Gohan!" Izuku shouted, and Koda nodded with a timid nod.
"Everyone stay safe out there – ribbit!" Tsu said.
"Time to shine, ladies and germs!" Toru said, bouncing excitedly. "We're gonna be on national TV!"
"No doubt you'll make an impression too, Jambrain!" Jiro teased Kaminari, who gave off a frustrated whimper. But then she playfully jabbed an elbow against his arm.
"Kidding! Good luck," she said with a smile.
"Thanks! You too!" Kaminari gasped and returned a blushing smile.
Mina shot the two teens a suspicious glance, rubbing her chin, which made Jiro instantly regret saying that out loud.
Momo started walking over to Todoroki to give him some words of encouragement, but Shoto's sulking scowl made her reconsider it. She stood from afar and watched sadly as Shoto and Bakugo both glared angrily at Gohan.
"Alright Class 1A," Iida ordered, waving his arms up and down. "Let's go!"
Ochaco squeezed Gohan's hand one more time and they exchanged a quick determined nod, before they slipped their hands away from each other discreetly. As Class 1A walked out of the tunnel and into the sunbathed stadium, it shook and reverberated with rambunctious applause.
The twenty students from Class 1A spilled out from the tunnel and were greeted by a tremendous wave of light and applause. Izuku gulped, trying his hardest to keep himself from becoming overwhelmed by the sheer intensity from the crowd.
Gohan glanced around at his classmates behind him. Videl was waving confidently at her numerous fans, who started chanting her name in support. In a VIP box to the far left, David Shield and his assistant, Samuel Gero stood up and clapped. They were surrounded by five students from the I-Academy who had made the trip to support Melissa.
"Papa, Sam! Look, Deku. Everyone came!" Melissa squealed giddily, waving at her father. David nodded at her with a smirk and Sam gave her a thumbs up while her former classmates cheered for her.
"Whoa! Are those the Famous Five?!" Izuku howled with fanboyish delight.
Melissa giggled and nodded.
"Wow, you know about them?" She asked.
"Do I?!" Izuku bounced giddily. "They're the most gifted students from I-Academy! Their support tech is legendary and some insiders think they may even give Capsule Corporation a run for their money some day."
"Heh, well since you're such a big fan, I'll introduce you to them," Melissa offered with a smile.
"You mean it?!" Izuku continued to freak out, much to Melissa's amusement and Bakugo's discomfort. "You can do that?"
"Yeah!" Melissa sang. "Considering I used to be one of them!"
"Melissa!" Izuku said, staring at her. "I didn't know that! That's be so cool!"
"Pipe down, you damn nerds," Bakugo barked.
Shoto kept his gaze forward, ignoring the glowing emerald, dissecting gaze of his father.
Vegeta watched him from his VIP box, arms crossed. A stern, stone-faced expression was etched across the Saiyan Lord's face, cold and calculating – the same expression that Shoto had come to loathe so much. Burnin and Nappa were also there, proudly watching as the youngest Todoroki made his way to the stage with his classmates.
"Class 1A, headed by Eraserhead himself, has already brushed against villains and are sure to be the top contenders for the win!" Mic shouted as the students arrived at the elevated stage at the center of the stadium field.
"Uh, yeah! You can say that again!" Hercule commented. "Of course they're the prime contenders for the gold. They have my sweet little Videl in their corner, after all!"
"You're supposed to be unbiased, you guys," Aizawa reminded his colleagues, casting a grumpy glance to each of them.
Behind Class 1A, the remaining students coming down the tunnel shot them a concentrated wave of furious glares.
"Oh boy," Mina said with a nervous chuckle. "I think your Dad just poured gas on the flames, V!"
"Ugh!" Videl rubbed her temples, blushing. "Tell me about it! Sorry about that, you guys."
"Are ya kidding? This is great!" Kirishima told the girls. "We've got Mister Satan on our corner. There's no way we can lose!"
Videl smirked up at her boyfriend.
"You know what? You're right, Red," she said. "The other classes wanted war, didn't they? Let's give 'em hell! What do you say, Bakudork?!"
Bakugo huffed, but delivered a hungry smile.
"Yeah, I'm not worried," he scoffed. "Bring them on. It just makes me want to win this thing even more."
At the head of the group, Gohan took a glance around, taking the enormous crowd in and waving nervously. From where he was standing, he could recognize a few familiar faces; heroes that he had grown up looking up to, like Tienshenhan, Number Seventeen and Eighteen, Ingenium, Mirko and hundreds more. Even the newbies, like Hawks, Mount Lady and Kamui Woods were present.
Everybody was here, in this surreal moment, gathering to witness the fledgling heroes.
Gohan wasn't used to being out in the spotlight like this. He was Namek's faceless defender, after all. But today, the world would know him, not as the shadowy Dragon of Namek, but rather, as Son Gohan, Class Representative of 1A.
It was time to show the world what kind of hero he was.
"Next up!" Mic continued. "They haven't gotten nearly as much screentime, but this next group is still chock-full of talent! Welcome Hero Course Class 1-B!"
The students of the second hero class emerged from the tunnel, headed by Class Rep Itsuka Kendo and Tetsutetsu, and followed by their eighteen classmates.
Gohan hadn't had the opportunity to get to know any of them, but the Sports Festival offered him the chance to get to see what new and exciting powers the other half of UA's First Year Hero course had to offer. His eyes crossed paths with Itsuka's, who shot him a sweet wink and gave him a short wave.
Gohan smiled and waved back.
As they waited for the other classes to join them at the center of the field, by the elevated stage, Ochaco glanced around the family section to see if Chi-Chi had taken her seat, but there was no sign of her. To be fair, though, people were still flowing in through the gates, slowed by the several extra layers of security inspections. Surely, she would be getting here any minute now.
Izuku didn't need to look for his mother. She was up on the Capsule Corp's VIP box with Miss Bulma and some of her coworkers. He had already caught up with her before the event started. Inko had brought the ancient family video-camera, that she absolutely refused to get rid of, to record the entire event. From here, he could see her up in the VIP box, waving enthusiastically at him from behind the camera mounted on a tripod. He grinned and waved back.
No matter how far he went, or where his journey took him, his mom would always be his number one fan. This was for her.
As Izuku's eyes traveled down the sea of fans, he caught sight of a hero sitting at the bottom row, staring at him. Izuku froze and glanced over twice. The powerfully built, muscular woman was absolutely gorgeous. Her kind eyes, silky black hair tied in a spiraling bun and her enchanting smile radiated regal beauty. Noticing that she had caught Izuku's attention, she giggled and lifted up a yellow-gloved hand to wave slowly at him.
Izuku gulped and knelt down to tighten his shoelaces. He discreetly glanced back up at the box. Sure enough, the beautiful woman was still watching him.
Okay, she's definitely staring at me! Izuku panicked.
"H-Hi!" Izuku squeaked, lifting up a hand and waving it nervously. The Heroine smiled and sat back on her chair, crossing a leg over her knee. She interlaced her gloved fingers and placed them on top of her crossed knee.
Izuku felt a wave of heat shoot up his neck. Flustered, he tore his gaze away from her.
"Deku?" Melissa asked, raising her eyebrow at him.
"Are you okay?" Ochaco asked him, concerned. "Your face looks so gross."
"Huh? Uh, yeah… I'm fine!" Izuku said, unbuttoning the top of his jacket to release some of the built up heat. "Just a little nervous, that's all."
"NEXT UP – General Studies Classes C, D and E!" Mic continued as a slew of more average looking students followed behind Class B. Shinso was among the first, and his dull eyes scanned the gathered students like a hawk. His classmates, however, were less than thrilled at the prospect of having to engage the Hero courses in a sports competition that would ultimately lead to a Martial Arts tournament.
"Why are we even here?" One of them murmured, with a dejected slump of his head.
"Just to make the Hero course look better," another responded. "I can't wait for this to be over,"
"And we got Support Classes F, G and H!" Hercule chimed in. "Come on out, nerds!"
Izuku saw Mei Hatsume and Fu leading the group. To his surprise, the support course were actually allowed to wear their support items into the competition. Mei was wearing various different items attached to a harness on her body and a strange helmet with goggles, while Fu carried a black belt with pockets full of capsules. A short sword was sheathed against his lower back.
The Famous Five cheered wildly for the support classes.
"Hey Fu!" Melissa called out, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Looking great!"
"Back at ya, gorgeous!" Fu winked. "Can't wait to show you my gadgets…"
"Ah, perfect!" Mei swooned dramatically. "Capsule Corporation and I-Island in one setting – it's a dream come true! I can't wait to show off my babies."
"Uh, okay. Have fun, geeks," Hercule mocked. "What, did UA run out of tests or somethin'? Hold on, I think my microphone needs fixin'. Don't break your glasses okay? Like any of these nerds stand a chan-YEOW!"
Aizawa reached over and smacked Hercule over the head with his bandaged cast.
"Enough, already," he said, coldly. "This contest is for everyone!"
Fu's fist tightened at the taunt, but he masked his anger with a charming smile. Up ahead, Gohan was talking with two of his classmates. With his hands tucked in his pockets, Fu could feel the handle of his blade pressing up against his forearm. There he was again – the Dragon of Namek. So close within reach… If he could only find one moment alone, his mission would be complete.
Suddenly Gohan's head snapped up and he turned to stare directly at Fu, his eyebrows narrowing and his brown tail unfurling from his waist.
Shit! Fu thought, waving at Gohan with a disarming smile. Gohan stared at him, unamused, but the short brown-haired girl pulled on his arm and he eventually looked away. Fu slowly released a tense breath of air. Could Saiyans be telepaths, or have some danger-sensing ability? That tail… the way it unwound when Gohan looked up at him… could it somehow be related to this ability? Fu made a mental note to investigate further later.
This is going to be a lot harder than I thought…
"AAAND Finally," Mic said. "The business courses, I, J and K! Give it up for all of UA's First Year Contestants!"
The crowd went wild as all of UA's First Year classes grouped into one massive body, with all 220 students now gathered and facing the platform at the center of the stage.
The gorgeous R-Rated Hero: Midnight, came out from the opposite tunnel to meet the students. Many of the males in the audience as well as the student body gawked and ogled lecherously at the curvaceous hero as she stepped up to the stage microphone, raising a red threaded flogger whip.
Chi-Chi, who had finally made it to her seat, was less then impressed.
"Seriously?" She said angrily, taking a sip from her lemonade. "This is a High School event, and my little boy is watching, for goodness sake! Put some pants on, lady! Ugh!"
From the corner of her eyes, she saw a red-eyed blonde sneaking her way towards her.
"Chi-Chi," Mitsuki Bakugo called out to her, squatting so she wouldn't block anyone's view. "Hey, Chi-Chi! What are you doing sitting down here in the peanut gallery? Come join us up at the Capsule Corp box."
"Hey, Mits!" Chi-Chi responded. "Thanks, but I can see just fine from here. Besides, the event's already started!"
"Yeah, but these seats blow! Come on! Did I mention, they're serving alcohol up at the VIP Box? Not to mention there's a couple of really cute rich young corpo guys up there just waiting to get picked up by a pair of bombshell MILFs!" Mitsuki insisted, waving her eyebrows suggestively and wagging her finger from Chi-Chi to herself.
"Seriously, Mits?!" Chi-Chi responded with a furious, hushed whisper. "Aren't you married? Have some self-respect. Besides, the ceremony's already started!"
"C'mon, Chi-Chi! Live a little! Besides, you're not missing anything. That student pledge is some boring old school ritual." Mitsuki insisted, tugging on Chi-Chi's arm. "Once the real fun begins, you're gonna have a much better view from up there!"
"And now, for your pleasure and mine," Midnight said, licking her lips seductively. Her high heels clicked as she turned and her scourge whip whistled as it lashed out to point at Gohan. "We'd like to invite the Class Representative from Class 1A, to come up to the stage to deliver the student pledge."
"Come on, sister! Move it or lose it!" Mitsuki hissed, yanking on Chi-Chi's arm.
"Oh, alright! I'm going, I'm going!" Chi-Chi relented as she noticed more than a couple of irritated glances from those sitting around her. Picking up her purse and her drink, she followed Mitsuki up the stairs towards the VIP box where Bulma and the others were waiting, completely missing Gohan as he made his way to the platform.
Feeling everyone's gaze descending down on him, Gohan drew in a deep breath and reached into his pocket for his speech and prepared himself, walking up to the microphone. For a moment, the chatter subsided around him and Gohan cleared his throat, giving miss Midnight a warm smile.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Son Gohan. It's such an honor to be up here today," he said, and his voice echoed throughout the stadium. "You know, if I had to highlight one thing that I've learned in my first few months as a First Year, it's that all of us here at UA High are so incredibly different, aren't we? I mean, we all have different backgrounds, different experiences, different Quirks. But one thing we do have in common, the one thing that unites us, is a dream – the dream of becoming a Hero…"
A series of gasps and murmurs cut Gohan off and he looked up from his speech to see Katsuki Bakugo stalking up the stairs towards him, hands in his pockets, a fierce glare in his red eyes. He stepped right up to Gohan until he was only a couple of feet away from him, staring at Gohan with a murderous flare in his deep red irises. Gohan's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say a word, nor did he back down from the sandy blonde's glare.
"Bakugo!" Midnight shouted, whipping around . "What do you think you're doing? Get down from there, or there'll be hell to pay!"
"Yeah, yeah. Look, I just wanna say," Bakugo said, lifting a finger and pointing it in Gohan's face. The microphone picked up his voice and sent it rippling across the stadium. "I'm going to beat you, you damned Ricebowl."
That statement elicited more gasps and indignant murmurs from the crowd and the pool of students below.
"Bakugo, are you insane?!" Iida yelled from below. "This is a televised international event. How dare you tarnish our school's reputation like that?!"
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Kendo shouted, pushing her way to the front of the group. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? Show some respect, asshole!"
"You've been holding back all of this time," Bakugo continued, ignoring the comments. "But I know what you are, now; what you're really capable of. I noticed that new monkey tail of yours. I've also seen your fancy Dragon Fist move, which means that you've been mocking us all by hiding it this entire time. Either way, I want you to know that it seriously pisses me off."
Gohan's teeth gritted and his hands balled into fists, crumpling the speech in his hand, but he remained silent.
"When the time comes, and trust me, it's coming, you damned nerd, I want you to use it. Use your Dragon Fist on me. I want the entire world to know that I beat you at your best!" Bakugo drew within inches to Gohan's nose with a vicious sneer. "Because if you don't, I swear I'm gonna make you regret it!"
Gohan resisted the urge to step up to Bakugo's taunt, but after seeing how quickly the cameras panned to him for his reaction, he took a deep breath and reigned in his emotions, opting to quietly stare at Bakugo instead.
Up in the Namekian VIP box, Piccolo nodded approvingly, sitting back on his chair. Right now, Gohan represented the entire Dragon Clan, and he had to conduct himself with the dignity and honor that it entailed. Not to mention, there were children who were surely watching the competition with their parents, as well as the kids who would be fighting in the Junior League later on. Gohan had to set a good example for them.
Sure, a part of Piccolo yearned for Gohan to stand up and give Bakugo the fight he was asking for, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in the boy's control and composure. That easily frightened little boy he knew from so long ago was maturing into a calm, composed warrior before his own eyes.
But one thing that Bakugo said was correct – the time for those fated rivals to meet was coming, and it was coming fast.
Then Gohan would teach Bakugo a lesson he would never forget. Piccolo was sure of it.
"Whoaaaa-hohohoho! Mmmm! Somebody call Lunch Rush on the double!" Hercule howled, snatching up his microphone and sniffing loudly and dramatically into it as Bakugo turned on his heel and made his way back down to the pool of students. "Because somebody's already cookin' up some beef! Can ya smell it?! Talk about a little ringside drama! Ah, I just simply live for this stuff, Mic!"
"And I'm sure fans of both contestants are eating this up, too! The Sports Festival hasn't even started and we're already seeing the beginning of a pretty sweet rivalry, Herc," Mic responded. "Only time will tell if Bakugo can back up all of that trash talk, but if you ask me, Son is not the hornet's nest you wanna stir up."
Gohan watched Bakugo until he disappeared into the crowd of students. As Iida and his classmates pounced on him with angry shouting that the blonde shrugged off anyway, Gohan recalled what Bakugo had said the last time they'd had this kind of encounter.
"You won't beat me again! I'm just getting started! You got that?! I'm gonna be the Number One Pro, no matter what it takes!" Bakugo had sworn that day, just after the Combat Trials. His demeanor had changed so much. Before, Bakugo would laugh as he insulted his classmates, treating everyone around him as a joke. Now, though, he returned to his spot among the crowd with a quiet glare.
This time, Bakugo was serious. But then again, Gohan was, too.
Dragon Fist? Gohan smirked. Nah, I'm not gonna need that to beat you, Bakugo.
"So as you can see, we're all pretty fired up and ready to go," Gohan said into the microphone, turning to face Midnight with an apologetic smile. "Please forgive my classmate's outburst. Let me just wish every one of our contestants good luck, especially to the Junior League, which we'll see a little later on, and invite everyone else to sit back and enjoy the games. Thank you so much, and again, welcome to the Sports Festival."
With that, Gohan nodded at Midnight and walked back down the steps, stuffing the crumpled speech into his pant's pocket. Bakugo didn't need to pull off this little stunt. Gohan was determined to give it his best, regardless. This just made him all the more motivated to do so.
"Hey," Ochaco said as Gohan arrived next to her. His face was composed, but she could see his hands balled up into trembling fists in his pants' pockets. "Don't worry about him."
"It's okay, Ochaco," Gohan said, releasing a breath. "I'm not."
Kendo glanced over at her with a confident smile.
"Why would he be? Bakugo's an insect compared to Gohan. Gohan's gonna eat him alive – you watch!" she said.
"Alright then," Midnight said. "It's time for us to get started! This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival – what could it be?!"
"Sheesh, UA doesn't believe in letting us catch a breath, huh?" Uraraka said.
The giant TV monitors all around the stadium changed into a casino-styled menu and a random assortment of events began to scroll around quickly. Midnight waved her whip around and the menu stopped at the Obstacle Race.
"Tada!" Midnight sang. "All eleven classes will participate in this treacherous contest! The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium. I don't wanna restrain anyone, at least not in this game. As long as you don't leave the course, your free to do whatever your heart desires!"
The crowd went wild once again and the red gates at the entrance of the gym was reopened. Three green lights affixed to the top of the gates would signal the start of the competition.
"Hey," Itsuka said, nudging Gohan playfully with her elbow. "Go easy on us, okay Gohan-chan?"
"Ha! Okay, but didn't you just hear Bakugo threaten me if I didn't go all out?" Gohan laughed.
"Yeah right, you just focus on winning first place, and leave that idiot to me. I'll karate chop his ass and keep you safe, babe," Itsuka laughed back, placing a hand on Gohan's arm.
"Heh. My hero," Gohan laughed, rolling his eyes.
Ochaco watched the entire exchange with a sinking new feeling in her chest. Sure, she was anxious for the games to begin, and of course she was nervous because later on she would have to fight someone, but no… this was a different type of feeling that she'd never felt before.
Ugh! Gotta snap outta this and focus! Ochaco thought, shaking her head to free herself from her jealous thoughts. I'll win and be just like Gohan…
Bakugo shoved his way past Gohan to the front of the starting line, and Gohan once again held himself back from saying anything. He stepped up to the laser starting line and a moment of silence fell over the entire group, waiting in anticipation as the first light blazed to life.
This is it, Gohan thought to himself. My journey has led me to this moment. It's do or die time!
The second of the three green lights flashed on, adding to the tension among the students. Behind him, Izuku smacked his cheeks, watching for that third light to switch on…
There! The third and final light flashed on and all of the students leaped forward into a dead sprint, diving for the tunnel, but a freezing blue wave of ice plowed through the group, freezing everyone to the ground.
"So this is the first obstacle," Shoto said, running easily through the crowd of students and emerging out of the gates in first place. "Hmph."
But a handful of students had anticipated the move, to Shoto's chagrin. Bakugo, Gohan, Ochaco and Ojiro, the class flyers, emerged from the tunnel in full flight. Momo and Melissa also emerged, catapulting themselves forward on poles.
"Nice trick, Todoroki!" Momo called out, catapulting up and away from the ice.
"Yeah, but you won't freeze us so easily this time!" Melissa shouted.
"You're not taking that lead that easily!" Bakugo taunted, setting off explosions that propelled him across the sky.
Back at the entrance, Itsuka's fists quadrupled in size and she slammed them against the ice, freeing herself, Midoriya and several others. Together they got ahead of the unfortunate students, mostly from the General studies course, who had no way of getting free.
Izuku and Itsuka leaped onto the treacherous, icy terrain, fighting to keep their footing. Beside them, Mina leaped out, screaming as she tried to keep her balance, releasing acid to skate over the ice. Hagakure clung onto her piggyback style, holding on for dear life.
Shoto glanced over his shoulder and scowled. Clearly, he had not expected so many people to dodge his attack, especially those from the non hero classes. A handful of his classmates were also gaining on him. Okay then, try this one on for size!
Shoto leaped up and spun around. As his body turned to face behind him, he swung out his right hand, unleashing three massive pillars that flew back in Gohan's direction in an attempt to box him in, but Gohan lifted up his hands and shot off several basic ki blasts that collided with the pillars and exploded.
Others weren't so lucky.
The pillars struck a few students from Class B and wrapped around them, effectively freezing them in place from their neck down.
"Tch!" Todoroki hissed, seeing that his attack hadn't even slowed Gohan down. Suddenly, an energy blast shot out towards him and missed, narrowly.
Todoroki looked up to see a fleet of mechanized bots swarming in towards them.
From behind, Izuku recognized the robots.
"Crap! It's the point bots from the entrance exam!" He shouted.
The bots landed in a line between the students and the next obstacle, priming their weapons to fire.
"Target acquired," the lead bot said, it's red eye zooming in on Shoto. "Terminate them!"
"WHAAA?! What's this?!" Mic shouted in feigned shock. "It's the attack of killer robots! I bet we're in for a treat here, folks! A true test of strength and cunning – it's a Robo Inferno!"
Gohan plowed through the bots easily, the same way he had easily dispatched them during the entrance exam, but what came next made him stop dead in his tracks.
Three zero-point bots, those building sized monstrosities that almost flattened Gohan's friends in the Entrance Exam emerged from the ground below.
Three of them?! Gohan thought, scanning the area ahead. If I use Kaioken, I can easily avoid them. But then…
Gohan glanced around to see his friends close behind. Melissa and Izuku were running side by side with Tsu and Ochaco was flying straight towards him. Everyone else slid to a stop.
"Seriously?!" A girl from the support class screamed. "We designed those things to be unbeatable! How the heck are we supposed to fight against that?!"
"At least you've got support items!" A business course student whined. "What about the rest of us who just wanted to get good grades?!"
Gohan glanced around, racking his brain for ideas.
Shoto looked up at one of the gargantuan bots and scoffed with contempt.
"So this is what the other students faced in the entrance exams," she said, reaching his right arm forward. "They obviously went through a lot of trouble, but I wish they would've prepared something a little more difficult! Especially since my dear old Dad is watching."
The closest Zero pointer shot an arm towards Shoto, intent on crushing him. But Shoto knelt down and placed his hand on the ground. The ground began to quake and open, bursting with a gigantic ice wave that exploded around Todoroki.
"Heaven Piercing Ice Wall" Todoroki shouted. "TIMES TWO!"
Todoroki's attack shot up and completely engulfed all of the Zero Pointers, freezing them all in place.
"Whoa," Gohan whispered, amazed at the tremendous display of power.
"Holy shit! Did you guys see that?!" Kirishima called out. "That's insane! No wonder he got in through recommendation!"
Shoto held his hand steadily until he was sure the last of the bots had been frozen, before releasing his grip on the ice. His warm breath escaped his lips in a hot puff of steam. With that, he took off running again, disappearing beneath the frozen feet of the Zero pointers and disappearing into the frosty fog.
"Dude, he stopped the robots!" Sato shouted, pointing at the frozen bots.
"There – between their legs! We can get through!"
"Thanks, Todoroki!"
As two smaller bots swarmed towards Gohan, he shot forward, grabbing one by it's arm and swinging it directly on top of the other, destroying them both.
Okay Gohan thought to himself. Very impressive, Todoroki. Let's step it up a notch!
Gohan's white aura flickered and dissipated, and the gathered energy around him exploded into a violent scarlet wave.
"KAIOKEN!" Gohan shouted, unleashing the power of Goku's Quirk. The red tinge washed over his skin, hair and clothes, and he shot forward, transforming into a scarlet blur that practically vanished and reappeared directly next to Todoroki.
"Todoroki, that was an awesome move!" Gohan said, falling into step with him. Shoto glanced up in surprise, but his expression fell to one of annoyance. "You even helped carve a way for the others to get through."
Shoto scoffed and glanced up at him with a smirk.
"Is that what you think I did?" he asked. "Fool. I'm targeting your weakness, Gohan."
"Yeah, I would too," Gohan responded. "Unfortunately for you, my tail's well protected by a layer of ki. A little defensive energy shield I call the Dragon Scale."
"I wasn't talking about your tail, Gohan," Todoroki muttered. "I told you, this isn't a team effort. And I told you that I'm not your friend."
The scarlet energy vanished from Gohan's body and he stopped in midair, turning back towards the frozen Zero Pointers.
"Your friends should be careful," Shoto taunted, never stopping as he surged forward. "I froze those bots while they were off their balance – on purpose! How much weight do you think Uraraka can nullify with four of those behemoths falling on her?"
Gohan didn't even think twice. He stopped dead in mid-flight and surged back towards the Zero bots just as they began to fall forward on top of the students. Ochaco flew up to the closest bot and caught it with Zero Gravity.
After months of training, she had become much more efficient with her Quirk and as she caught the falling bot, it began to slow, but not stop. Ochaco bared her teeth and pushed with all of her might. Suddenly, Gohan appeared directly beside her and slammed his shoulder against it, helping her keep the metal monster from toppling over the students.
"Ojiro!" Gohan called as the tailed Crane student flew past him. "Give us a hand, please!"
But Ojiro shrugged and shook his head.
"Sorry, Gohan," he said, flying up and over the frozen bots. "Don't you know what a race is?"
The other students looked up to see Gohan and Ochaco holding the robot up. The second and third zero pointer fell on top of the first one, sending them closer to the ground, but Gohan pushed back.
"Kaioken Times Two!" He shouted, pushing back with all of his might. He glanced down at the students who were still watching them, frozen in place, clearly afraid to go underneath the giant metal legs.
"Come on!" Gohan shouted. "This way! GO!"
"Hurry!" Ochaco called down.
"Gohan! How can we help?" Izuku and Melissa called, but Gohan shook his head. "Just get everyone to the other side!"
"Whoa! That's just cold!" Hercule commented as the spectators watched Todoroki pull ahead. "In an attack that doubles as offensive and defensive, Todoroki successfully springs a trap on the rest of the pack, like a true alpha!"
"Very cunning move, indeed, my friends!" Mic added. "A true sign of a worthy leader of the pack, don't you think, Eraserhead?"
Aizawa scoffed, glancing at the two screens in front of him. The first feed showed Todoroki pulling well ahead of everyone else, while the second video showed Gohan and Ochaco holding back the Zero Pointers.
"While one pulls ahead to the front of the pack, the other stays behind to lead the way. So tell me, gentlemen," Aizawa glanced at his companions. "Who truly is the leader here?"
"You are so wise!" Mic cried into his microphone.
Finally, once the last of the students had made it under the feet of the Zero Pointers, Gohan glanced up at Ochaco.
Nobody else was coming to save them. In fact, the only figures moving in towards them were the smaller point bots. They would be swarmed in a manner of seconds. Gohan crossed his gaze with Ochaco, who was struggling to hold up the weight of the Zero Pointers.
"Ochaco, do you trust me?" Gohan shouted.
"You know…" Ochaco said, closing her eyes. "That I do!"
"On three, you close your eyes and release your Quirk, alright?" Gohan shouted. "I've got an idea!"
"Alright!" Ochaco shouted back without a moment's hesitation.
"Okay… One… Two…." Gohan waited until the last of the swarming bots were underneath the shadow of the Zero Pointers.
"THREE!" Gohan shouted, letting go of the Zero pointer and flying towards Ochaco, catching her in his arms.
"Release!" Ochaco shouted.
"KAIOKEN… TIMES FOUUUUUUR!"
The scarlet light engulfed them both and the two students disappeared just as the smaller bots arrived where they had been floating just a moment earlier. The three Zero bots careened forward, collapsing on the dozens of smaller bots and crushing them.
Izuku glanced back as soon as he felt the gigantic tremor of impact.
"Gohan!" He shouted desperately.
In the next instant, Gohan and Ochaco appeared right next to him on the ground. The scarlet aura dissipated, and Gohan moaned as his muscles returned to their base form.
He extended a hand to help Ochaco up to her feet and as he stood up, the zero pointers exploded behind him, incinerating the area in a giant fireball that highlighted Gohan's silhouette for the TV screens around the arena. For a moment, all that the screen showed was the black outline of Gohan's muscular body and the twin tails of the hachimaki swaying wildly with the wind.
Ochaco's eyes widened as she stared at the figure standing above her like a true hero.
With that, the crowd went absolutely wild. Even the students who had crossed underneath the robot's feet were cheering and chanting for Gohan and Ochaco's heroic act.
"YES!" All Might jumped from his seat with arms raised. "THAT'S IT! THAT'S MY BOY, GOHAN! SHOW THEM HOW IT'S DONE! Son-style!"
"Heh," Nail said with a proud beaming smirk. "Showoff."
Piccolo nodded in approval.
"You can do it, kid. You can win! Show them all what you're made of!"
"WAHOOOOO!" Mic celebrated, hugging Aizawa, who groaned in pain. "What a spectacular show, everybody! Amazing save by Class 1A's very own Class Rep, a true leader in my book. See, I told ya so, Herc!"
"Sure did, brother!" Hercule said happily. "But that's only the first hurdle – now they've gotta contend with the Iron Gauntlet! What exciting heroism will we see next?!"
"Heads up, everyone!" Kirishima shouted as dozens of smaller bots poured out towards them in battle formations. "We've got alotta company!"
Gohan, Izuku, Melissa, Tsu and Ochaco planted their feet firmly, ready for the next round.
"Bring it," Gohan said with a smirk.
Ending Song:
"Child – error-," by My First Story
A/N: And we're done! Thanks so much for checking out this latest chapter. I hope it was to your liking, and it only gets better from here! I hope you liked the Cameo appearance of the great Mighty Mask! As well as the Hero Name I chose for Son Gine - Moonlight Might. Originally it was Crescent Might, to keep the "Might" and moon theme, but then I remembered that Saiyan's power comes from the full moon. So that was my thinking behind that.
Let me know what you think about this chapter!
And now, Here's the preview:
After several more challenging tests in the obstacle course, it looks like Gohan's not the only one with brand new rivals – Ochaco gets one, too! The first forty-two students that finished the obstacle course advance to the next round - a vicious Cavalry Battle where strategy, more than brawn, will win the day.
Izuku keeps daydreaming about some beautiful hero watching over him, and Fu comes forward with an interesting proposition for Gohan… What could it be?
Next time:
Chapter Thirty-Nine – The Cavalry Strategy
Don't miss it! Go beyond – PLUUUUS ULTRAAAA!
Now for the Review Responses: (because of number of reviews we received last chapter, I'll avoid posting the entire question and just stick the answer next to your Author Name. That way it doesn't turn this 11k word document into a 20k one! Lmao
Thanks for understanding:)
ArguableReader: Thanks so much for your two reviews! That's a powerful quote there from Doctor Who, and it highlights a very basic truth – you do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do. Loved it. I agree, Z-fighter Chi-Chi makes much more sense than the stereotypical mom who expects good grades, no matter the cost. This way, she can help her boys achieve their dreams and her own potential as well. Great points all around. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
JustinCase: Yesss, I'm taking the time to sorta flesh out the other characters' stories with my own depressive twist, but I'm glad you liked it! Don't worry, all is not lost for our dual-haired icyhot boy. And regarding Goten… yeah, you'll see soon! Thanks for your reviews as always!
X3runner: My man! As always, you hit the nail on the head regarding Shoto's strategy. And regarding the redhead, well, now she has revealed herself to be none other than Miss Itsuka Kendo! Although Miss Piiza would have been FANTASTIC! Especially if she runs into Hercule… that would be awkward since Piccolo is her main man now lmao Thanks for your review, as always!
Chico: Chico! Thanks for your review, buddy! I'm so glad that you're liking the story. Regarding your question about Zalama… let me just say "Yes" and add that in fact… Gohan is not the only Porunga around… DUN DUN DUUUN! Little teaser for things to come, my friend haha
The hachimaki is a simple nod to Kid Gohan's design for when he fought the Saiyans on earth, which was one of my favorite designs second only to SS2 Gohan. I loved his long hair and the hachimaki he wore. It's very… Namekian, you know?
And it's a good assessment on the nature of heroes and villains, actually! I hope to add a little more polarity to the villains, hopefully make them a little more interesting. Primarily Stain… We'll see, soon! Thanks for your continued support as always my friend!
Guest: Thanks! I always loved that dynamic between the siblings! And I kinda draw from my relationship with my little brother too. So thank you I'm glad you liked it and hope you'll check out the rest of the chapters!
Hmm: Hiya! Speaking of emotional reunions, Chi-Chi and Gohan won't be the only ones! There's another emotional meeting about to happen, and it's been getting teased for a little while… hehe
I swear I haven't forgotten about that promised Gohan x Fuyumi fic! It's definitely still in the works, and I can't wait for you to read it! Also, you won't have to wait much longer, since I'm almost done with the first chapter! I hope you're ready for the emotional rollercoaster! Hehe Thanks for your review!
Luna B: Hi there! Well, let me just say welcome to the fold of Fanfic writers, first of all! I will definitely check out your story as soon as I get a little time! To answer your questions, yes, there are martial arts techniques that don't require Quirks, similar to All Might's Muscle Form. I'll explain in greater detail during the next arc, which is the internships. Sorry for the confusion! But I'm glad you're enjoying the story up until now!
By the time you read this message, a lot of your answers regarding Gohan's quirklessness will have been answered. Thank you so much for your support! And once again, welcome to FFN!
SugarBearGummy: Heyyy bro! When you read this message in about ten years, just know that I really appreciate your review and I can't wait to work together on a project in the future! Good luck in all of your goals, bro!
That's it for Review Responses! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all in the next chapter! See ya!