"I'll be waiting for Jarvis-san and Watson-san to come by. Lisa-chan and Gabe will be watching the event with them." Yu, in her hero costume and accompanied by the American redhead from L.A and the younger Reyes brother, told Robbie.
"Yeah, got it." he replied.
It was finally the morning of the U.A Sports Festival. And the group was currently in the parking lot, with many and many more cars arriving by the second. Thankfully for them, they had a reserved spot for them. Yu, as the pro-hero, Mount Lady was asked alongside others to help the school as extra security for the event. So after dropping the kids, she was meant to meet with Kamui and Death Arms to begin their rounds.
"Ok then, I guess I'm off. Got to be at homeroom before the event starts. See ya guys later." Robbie told them, as he started to walk away, but before he could get far…
"Robbie…" Lisa called, making Robbie stop and turned to her.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"... I uh…do your best. I'm rooting for you!" she told him as Gabe nodded.
"Robbie, you're going to win!" he said, drawing a smile on Robbie's face.
"Well, with that kind of support, how can I lose? Thanks." Robbie said, thanking them all and preparing to finally take his leave. But before that, he still needed to do something, so he looked at his younger brother, and opened his mouth to speak. "Hey Gabe, keep your eyes open. Because I'm bringing the gold home."
"Uh-Hu!" The small child nodded with joy as Robbie nodded back before walking away and towards his homeroom.
On the way there, he actually saw Kamala standing in the entrance of the school's parking lot. Well, that was odd, he thought. She wasn't exactly known for getting up early in the morning like that. Honestly, it was even more of a surprise since Robbie and company arrived even earlier on than even he normally did. So, he just walked up to her to greet the inhuman.
"Hey, you're up early." he told her.
"Hehe, yeah… I uh… I kind of had a hard time sleeping. Ended up waking up early in the morning and just came here when I saw that I wouldn't be able to get back to shutting my eyes." she replied.
"I take it you're nervous?"
"Pfft, what would I have to be nervous about? I mean… It's not like I'm about to enter a grander than life event that could define a student's life. One that'll be attended by hundreds of thousands of expectators, including important guests, national celebrities and that will also be broadcast all across the country and parts of the world… Hehe…" Kamala awkwardly chuckled.
Yeah, she was not in the right mindspace at the moment. Could anyone blame her, though? Yes, of course she would be nervous. He's nervous himself. Just because he had some stoic face and had a decent grasp on his emotions, that didn't mean he wasn't freaking out to a certain level. The only difference between the two of them was that he forced himself to keep his emotions in line. Very few times did he let them get the better of him. And Kamala didn't have to do that to herself. At least as far as he knew, she had no true necessity to. So, in an attempt to try and help her up, he decided to think like her. And the best he could come up with was…
"Hey Kamala, is Ms. Aikawa coming?"
"No, you know how demanding her work can be. Plus, she promised my parents to record the event."
"And what about your folks back home?"
"If Ms. Aikawa is recording the event, it is obvious that they'll be seeing the recording. I mean, come on. Like, just because they said that they would watch the Sports Festival, it doesn't mean that they'll do it live. There's a 13 hour difference between us, they should be asleep by now."
"Yeah, I guess that's true. By the way…"
"By the way…?" Kamala repeated seeing how Robbie suddenly stopped talking and before she knew it, he taped her shoulder.
"You're it."
"Huh?"
"Race you to the classroom. The last one pays for the other one's food." he said before sprinting away.
Kamala stood there for a bit. Was Robbie being laid back? Since when is the enforcer of class B laid ba… oh… he was trying to make her feel better. Honestly, she would have expected him to try it in any other different manner. But then again, if her chuckling was any indication, then his goofy idea was actually working.
"Hey, no fair! Get back here, you cheater!" she laughed as she chased after Robbie.
If anyone was paying for someone's food, then that'll be Robbie paying hers.
"Hey! Hey! How you doing, my lovely public!" Present Mic said through a… Well, not a microphone. He was actually connected to the speaker of the arena via his collar. "I can see that some of you are already pretty restless, eh?! Well not to worry, because the U.A Sports Festival will finally begin in just a couple more minutes! In the meantime, get comfortable, grab a snack and get ready! Because this year's batch of future heroes-in-the-making are sure to leave you all speechless! Say, anything else that you would want to add, my dear mummy-looking friend?" he asked Aizawa, who sat on the seat next to Mic in the first year's commentator box… or whatever it was called.
"How do you keep managing to drag me into these messes?" was the only thing that he replied.
As for the public, they were all very hyped. The Sports Festival is divided into the three different years, with all the courses respectively. The school was more than wealthy enough to have their stadium be large enough to be divided into three different sections for each year each. And due to the fact that not only is it their last chance, but also the fact that they are the most experienced and thus, have a bigger opportunity to show off all that they've learn and that could actually put on a proper show in a sense, the third year was usually the ones that get the most attention.
However, this year was different. This year, the first-year students had the eyes of the world on them. Class A in particular, due to the fact that those kids went on to fight and survive an actual honest to god villain attack on their first week alone. That did cause a bit of concern and some critiques if they should even hold the event now and if regaining the public's good grace was truly that important. They replied that they moved heaven and earth to ensure the safety of the children this year, as well as other stuff to ease their worries. And truth is, the media loved it regardless. Controversy equals high-ratings to them anyway.
That and hearing of the fact that the youngest child of Japan's number 2 hero was among the class 1-A students, also boosted the excitement of wanting to see the first year over the others. No doubt a lot of pros would fight for him to join them in their internships.
But none of that mattered at the moment. Right now, waiting at the entrance of the V.I.P area of the arena, stood Mary Jane Watson-Parker, with her child in arms, waiting for some expected company. Company that came in the form of good ol' Jarvis, accompanied by Nadia as well as the California girl Lisa, who was pushing Gabe's wheelchair.
"Mary Jane, I do hope we didn't have you wait too long." Jarvis said, approaching the mother of the Parker family.
"Oh, there's no need to apologize, Jarvis. I haven't been here for that long. Plus, time's relative anyway. Especially when you're focusing on your thoughts." the adult redhead woman replied.
"I believe that's some mantra belonging to Master Parker, or would I be mistaken?"
"More so an excuse that he could never get people to buy." Mary Jane said, before greeting the other children. "Hi Nadia, hi Gabe, it's very nice to see you kids again." she told them, who then greeted back at her. "And I take it you're Lisa, right? Robbie's friend?" MJ asked the younger redhead of the group.
"Oh, y-yes, I'm Lisa. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Parker… um… Watson…? Is uh… is there-?"
"You can just call me Mary Jane if you want, I really don't mind. Also, you don't need to be so nervous. Relax, ok?" she told the girl.
"Oh, ok." she replied as MJ nodded.
"Very well then, why don't we enter and take our seats? Nadia, why don't you relieve young Miss Lisa and wheel master Gabe inside?" Jarvis suddenly said, making MJ realize he probably had something in mind.
"Ok, come on Gabe. Let's get the best seats where we can see Valerie and Robbie better." the young genius said as she started to wheel the young Reyes to their seats.
"Robbie's winning for sure!"
"As if, Valerie has… ok yeah, I can't even finish that sentence with a straight face "
"Hey, Lisa?"
"Huh?"
"Would you be a dear and hold little Benjy for a bit? I think I've done too well of a job feeding the little guy and my arms need some stretching." the adult redhead said, surprising the girl just a bit.
"Are you sure it's ok?" the girl asked.
"Yeah, just look. He already seems to like you." she said, as she presented her son, who laughed happily as the girl nodded.
"Ok then, I'll do it." she said, taking the infant Parker child in her arms. "I'll go on ahead with the others. Excuse us." and then, as she voiced what she was going to do, Lisa headed to where Nadia and Gabe were, leaving the two adults alone.
"I don't see master Shinso's parents nearby. Will they be arriving later?" asked the butler.
"Murasaki got sick on Saturday and was told not to leave her house until further notice. As for Takuya, there were some issues at the office, so he had to leave early, from what I heard."
"Oh my, that does not sound pleasant."
"Don't worry. A friend of hers actually went ahead to keep her company. Only bad thing is that poor Hitoshi won't have them cheering for him here."
"No, but they'll cheer for him wherever he is. The young lad knows it and he knows that we'll support him as well." the old butler told the redheaded woman, who nodded at that. "MJ, if it's not rude to intrude, is there something bothering you?" he asked as the woman sighed.
"It's… I guess that Annie didn't seem to be in the right space of mind yesterday. I'm concerned about her, that's all I'm saying. Moving here is obviously affecting her the most."
"I see… for what it's worth, I'm sorry to hear that. If there's anything you require, I assure you I'll do everything in my power to grant any aid that is required." the man said, making the woman smile.
"Thanks Jarvis. It means a lot." MJ told him as the man nodded. "Come on, we can talk about this later. The kids are probably waiting for us,"
"Very well. Speaking off, I take it you've already got into contact with master Peter to discuss the matter at hand, right? Or you'll do afterwards? This seems to be a talk you two would be involved in."
"Oh yeah, it's tricky to call each other when the other's awake, but trust me, we'll make it work… Hehe, funny thing actually. Toshi actually asked me for Peter's phone number." MJ said, surprising Jarvis a bit as they began walking towards where the kids were.
"Is that so, and why's that?"
"Something along the lines of him getting re-acquaintance with him again. Though it is mostly to ask him how to be an actual teacher. Teacher of the year, Toshi is not."
Meanwhile in another part of the arena, more specifically in the waiting rooms where the students converge waiting for the Sports Festival to begin, was Annie and her classmates. They got to their respective homerooms when they got to school, still wearing their school uniforms. After a bit of wait, they then headed to change to their P.E uniforms before meeting once more in their class waiting room.
As per usual, Annie and Valerie changed separately, but this time around something different happened. The always headfirst redhead that always had something to say at any given moment was completely silent for the most part. It wasn't the typical, 'she's just minding her own business' kind of silence. It was just a complete absence of her voice. She was completely shut to an unnerving degree that spooked even Valerie. And she had a reason for it.
Her previous meeting with Shoto Todoroki was not exactly one she could classify as pleasant, or even toleravel. As a matter of fact, on that very moment, she would have rather have Bakugo in front of her than the ice-fire user. That's how much she hated it. Thankfully she now had time to cool her head, but looking at him still made her tick the wrong way even if just by a bit. So she decided to just not say anything at all unless it was required.
She looked back at what had transpired across the two weeks that they had. The first week wasn't that bad, but I still had some headaches. Outside of the obvious fallout of the villain attack, there was that stupid declaration of war that till this day she couldn't fathom. The repremation that Snipe gave her for not handing her web-shooter was also a thing. She believed herself deserving of it for not doing it, but she couldn't bear to give it away just like that. Even now that she didn't have it in hand took some effort on her part. They couldn't even use their costumes because that gave them an unfair advantage over the rest. The hero course had proper quirk usage training, so gear that gave them an extra leg so to speak would just be overkill, which is why she opted to leave it home.
And her sister popping out of nowhere to embarrass her in front of the school to scold her for some stuff that happened in and out of class did not help at all. And that was before her mother gave her another one the following day after All Might showed up at her house. Uraraka acting odd for some reason around her, followed by some of the other girls like Kyoka and Toru acting with a bit of animosity towards the redhead out of nowhere. Annie still doesn't know why that happened. And with all the staying up to try and see what her father was up to? No wonder her mind was in a not so great state that it regressed to the point of having her frozen with Dark Shadow popping out just to say hello.
With her mind racing with over a dozen thoughts per second, she failed to notice the concerned look that her blue bestie had plaster on her face. One that was then followed by Masahirao, Momo the one time she turned to see her and Midoriya, who was wondering if he could do something to help ease her mind a bit.
He's been far too focused on All Might's words to him and what the Sports Festival was meant to mean. He himself was still unsure of it to a degree and part of him believed that maybe Parker felt a bit similar in that regard. At least that's if her comments were anything to go by. At first he thought that maybe it was just because she was a foreigner. After all, it would make sense why she would have a hard time grasping why it would be a big deal. Surely he would be the same if their roles were reversed, but now… that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. And it wasn't like it was a case similar to Mineta's case. He was just nervous that they would still do the festival after the villain attack and even to a degree he understands it. But Parker seemed different. Maybe it was just him though.
Still, she was obviously not doing so well and he wanted to think of a way to help her. However he couldn't think of anything… or at least. Not until he saw Sero and he remembered something.
"Duh, I really wanted to go there and use my costume." Mina said, not that happy to be using her P.E uniform.
"I guess it makes sense. They want to keep things fair and us using our costumes would be an unfair advantage." replied Ojiro, as Midoriya decided to approach Hanta.
"Uh, what is it, Midoriya?" he asked as the green-haired boy whispered something to him. "HUH?! COME ON, DON'T-!" he was about to say, but stopped when he saw that Annie was apparently staring into nothing.
Midoriya nodded at him and, although a bit nervous, he walked towards where the girl was. Leaning on one of the walls of the room with her arms crossed and a bit of a frown. Next to her, the redhead's inseparable best friend, Valerie, who stood straight next to her. Sero tried to call her name, but it seemed like Parker didn't hear him. He tried a couple of times and she still didn't reply until…
"Parker!" Sero said, a bit louder this time around.
The trick seemingly did the job, because Annie snapped back to reality. As if someone snapped their fingers in front of her and made her wake up. She staggered a bit and then saw the responsible for that being Hanta of course.
"Oh, hi Hanta. Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Um… well.. you see I was wondering…" he was trying to say, confusing the girl.
"Huh? Is this about me helping you with math?" she asked him.
"N-No! No, I'm not… ok I'm not doing that well in math… or english… or, ok I'm not doing that well in-"
"I mean, I probably won't be that busy anymore so-"
"Actually… " Sero interrupted the girl. "I'm… there's this one thing that I want to do. Someone that I admire has this cool move that I don't know how to do. And I was thinking that maybe I could ask you for help?" the boy asked Annie, who just looked at him.
Something about how he asked it… it sounded true. It felt sincere. But for some reason, she had a small feeling inside of her. Like there was maybe more to it. And then for a moment, she recalled Shoto Todoroki and their previous interaction. It felt…
No, she shouldn't hold it against Sero. Just because Shoto annoyed her, doesn't make it ok to dump her frustrations on someone else. Especially Sero, who's always been pretty nice with her.
"I… I guess it wouldn't hurt, would it?" she said, making the boy actually have a… shine in his eyes? Well, that was definitely new. "And what, pray tell, is that move of yours that you need my help?" she said, in a manner that felt so much like her and her antics, that she could see Valerie relax and leave that worried look.
"Oh, it's a pretty cool move, trust me."
"Oh, I know it has to be. After all, you wouldn't come to me if it weren't now would you?" Annie joked, making the boy chuckle.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right on that one." he said, making the girl grin a bit.
God she needed that. All the worry, all the dumps the world was seemingly taking in her life and the concerns she was having. A good honest conversation with someone outside of her circle felt pretty cathartique. She already knew there would be people ready to support her, but to now know that there was more than she first knew felt relieving to her. So much so, that she didn't comment on Tenya dashing into the room and loudly shout:
"EVERYONE, GET READY! WE'RE ABOUT TO ENTER STAGE IN JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES!" the class rep informed.
"Welp, I guess that's our cue." Annie said.
"Yeah, I'll be over there for a bit. Anyway I know it's pretty early on and all, but good luck."
"Thanks… sometimes a little extra of it would be nice." Annie said, murmuring the last bit once as the boy left. "... You know, I'm supposed to be the one giving you a proud look after you did something good. You're totally ruining our schtick." Annie told Valerie, who looked more at ease at the moment.
"S-Sorry, it's just that i-its good to see you like this." the blue girl replied.
"I don't know, I've always thought that it was good to see me in general." Annie said, as the two chuckle some more.
It really was good to have those moments… which of course, meant that something had to happen to stop them for the time being. And that something was when she looked at Izuku. At first it didn't seem like much. Just Izuku looking nervous while Minoru (who was standing next to him) started to… count…? Name…? She didn't know what he was doing, he just started to kinda tap at the palm of his hand as if he were texting something while murmuring something while guiding his hand to his mouth as if he suddenly took a pill or a piece of candy before eating it. It was probably a Japan thing, it's always a Japan thing.
But what suddenly made her mood go back to what it was before was, of course, Shoto. Who else could it be? He looked like he was approaching Izuku and if both her past experience with him and that feeling that she had in her gut were any indication, then she was going to not let him do as he pleased. So, she suddenly got off the wall she was leaning on and walked towards the boy, much to the wonder of Valerie.
"Hey, mean-green! Ready for the big day?" Annie said, placing her arm around Izuku in a friendly manner.
A bit too forward with people by Japan's standards? Maybe, and especially when the person in question is an awkward shy boy with self-confidence issues. But to Izuku's credit, he wasn't the stuttering mess that he normally was most of the time. Ok, there was a definitely bright blush in his face, but at least he wasn't stuttering.
And for some reason, said blush went completely unnoticed by the natural red-head of the class. Because somehow, she was very slow and dense in that regard.
"Oh, yeah, I guess. Mostly nervous, though." the boy replied, as Todoroki tried to approach them, something Annie saw coming and thus, decided to keep going.
"Say, Hanta just asked me to help him with this move of his that he has problems pulling off. Why don't you join in the workout meeting?I mean, I know I said I probably suck at teaching compared with my sis and dad, but hey? It won't hurt now, will it?"
"Midoriya…" Todoroki called, making the boy try to turn to meet the other boy, only for Annie to get in the middle and keep on talking.
"Anyway, would you believe it if I told you that I'm finally done with that personal project of mine?"
"Midoriya…" Todoroki repeated, making Izuku wonder what was happening when he saw that Annie still kept on ignoring him and kept on talking.
"Yeah, now I can move on to make a pair of web-shooters of my own."
"Midoriya…"
"That one I already have a bunch of ideas, so it shouldn't take me as long as the other stuff to pull off."
"Midori-"
"Hey, would you mind? We're in the middle of a conversation here." Annie interrupted Shoto mid-sentence, finally turning just to acknowledge him and told him off. Something that felt out of nowhere to nearly all of them.
"This doesn't concern you, Parker." Shoto told her.
"It does when someone tries to harass my friends." Annie answered, making a lot of the class confused and for Denki to make a comment on the situation.
"Look at that. The two strongest of the class are at each other." he said, making Bakugo growl a bit as Kirishima got up and approached the two of them.
"Hey, come on guys. We're about to go up, don't start fights, would you?" he said, placing a hand on each of his classmates shoulders, as Shoto smacked it away from him while Annie frowned.
"We're not here to make friends. We're here to reach the top knowing only one of us will make it."
"You should listen to Ejiro. And on that note, let me be the first to tell you that you don't speak for everyone. And you definitely don't speak for me. Because what I want to be and what you want are completely separate things that have nothing in common." Annie told him.
"Parker-san, m-maybe you shouldn't-"
"And how is that?" Todoroki asked, interrupting Midoriya as the green-haired boy and the (none-natural) redhead boy looked at each other with an uneasy look.
"You want to win this thing and reach the top. I, on the other hand, want to become a hero."
"Are you implying that I don't?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I think." Annie said quickly. No stops. No hesitations. Straight to the point and confusing everyone with that comment. "I don't have the desire to win the Sports Festival. I don't have to win it to be a hero, so for all I care you can have the top spot if you want. So that little declaration of war of yours? I reject it. And I refuse to acknowledge it."
There was still that feeling of confusion in the heads of the class at her words. Feeling of confusion that would soon be replaced by a chill running down most of their spines when they saw Todoroki's face. It looked completely filled with anger, with a certain glare directed at the girl. Some even thought that the boy had used his quirk because for a moment, they felt the temperature of the room drop by a couple of degrees. It was quite unnatural to see a boy who normally has such a neutral expression on his face to emote such strong emotion all of the sudden. Some would even consider it unnerving too. Almost as unnerving as Annie's previous silence. Well, at least despite that, Tenya was about to reprimand the two of them for making a scene all of the sudden and just minutes before the Sports Festival, but he stopped when he saw Izuku literally raising his hand as if he wanted to ask for permission to speak.
"Um… c-could I say something…?" he asked, making everyone turn to him.
Annie saw his somewhat uneasy look and, afterwards, calmed herself down and looked a bit down all of the sudden. Damm it, she thought. She was too caught up in defending the boy that it started to look like she was ignoring what he had to say.
"Sorry…" she said, stepping to the side and allowing for Izuku and Shoto to be face to face.
"Um, T-Todoroki-kun? Was there something you wanted to say?" he asked, as Shoto took a look at Parker, as to tell her not to speak, while she just looked away.
"From an objective point of view, I'm better than you." he just bluntly said, making the boy stagger a bit at the comment while the others just didn't even know where that was coming from.
"Oh um… y-yeah, I guess that's true…" he admitted, making Annie look at him.
"And despite that, you still managed to get the attention of someone like All Might." he said once more, making Izuku look confused and Annie clenching her fists.
Dammit again, she forgot to tell him that. If only she wasn't too focused feeling bad for herself, she could have given him a heads up. But no, she had to be too self-center for the day, didn't she?
"I'm not about to pry into it. But I still want you to know that today I'll beat you… Both of you." he said, directing the last one to not only Izuku, but Annie as well.
"Geez, Parker was up to something with this one, wasn't she?" Kyoka admitted to the girls nearby. No wonder she was so defensive.
"I… yeah, I guess you're right, you are stronger than me by most measurements. Actually, o-objectively speaking… I can't keep up with most of the class…" Izuku said, as both Valerie and Kirishima tried to cheer the boy up.
"D-Don't say that, y-you're definitely s-someone more than capable like e-everyone here."
"Yeah, man don't take it personally-"
"But…!" Midoriya suddenly spoke, his voice being more firm this time around. "... Our classmates are aiming for the number one spot and so are the other classes. They're giving it their all. And well… what I want to say is that, I'm not falling behind…" he said, raising his head to meet Shoto's gaze and with a determined look, he told him… "I'm also aiming for the top spot and I'm the one winning today!"
"... right." was the only thing that Shoto replied.
"Alright, we've wasted too much time with this! Everyone get ready and put on your game faces! We're leaving now!" Tenya said as everyone got up from where they were sitting and started to walk towards the exit and towards the corridor that would take them to the stadium.
But just before Izuku could make a move as well, he felt someone placing their hand on his shoulder. When he looked back, she saw that the one that did it was Parker.
"So… you're the one winning today, huh? I guess I'm also one of your targets to beat too?" she asked, making Izuku realize what he just said and truth is… he was wondering what took over for him to say that… in front of the two strongest of his class no less.
"N-No, t-that's not what I meant- well, I guess I did mean it, b-but I mean, I, well-" Izuku tried to say, as Annie giggled.
"Hey, it's ok I don't mind. I'm flattered actually. And hey, you managed to stand up for yourself! Granted, it was after I did that for you and you let the guy talk down on you for a bit. But hey, that's a start right? Good for you!" Annie told him.
"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right. Though, I think I need some work in that area."
"I mean… yeah. But we can work on that later." Annie said as Midoriya nodded. Just then, he didn't know why, hell Annie still had that smile of hers plastered on her face and her grip on his shoulder was exactly the same but… he could feel the aura around her be a bit… intimidating… she was releasing a lot of pressure… "We're also going to go over what the word discreet means, got it?" she asked.
Wow… she really was releasing a lot of pressure.
"Um… y-yeah… I-I'll do better next time." he nervously said, though he meant it, he really should be more careful.
"Also…" the redhead said, a bit calmer and her presence feeling far more gentle than before. "... I uh… I saw you talking with Hanta before he came to me… Um, thanks. I really need it." she said, her expression being equally more gentle as her tone and understanding what she meant, Midoriya nodded.
"What are friends for?"
"Ok, no need to rip me off, alright?" she said, making the two chuckle a bit. "We should get moving. Wouldn't want Tenya to be all over our case for sticking around, would we?" she said as Midoriya nodded once more.
Afterwhich, the boy walked out of the room. Annie was about to do the same, but felt something, like a feeling in the gut that someone was watching her. She turned around and realized that Valerie was still there. Looking at her with a concerned expression on her face. Seriously Parker, what's with you pulling all this stuff all of the sudden? She asked herself.
"I uh… s-sorry. Guess the lack of sleep got me good, right…? Hehe.." Annie awkwardly laughed, trying to ease the mood.
"Annie… are you sure you're ok?" the concerned blue girl asked, giving her a puppy look that made Annie feel worse than she already was… though she wouldn't tell her despite Annie feeling like she knew that already too.
"Yeah I… you know, it's just stage nerve. Sports Festival and all, right?" she tried to say in order to make her feel more at ease. "Hey uh… w-we should probably get a move on. You know what Tenya can be like."
"Um… o-ok?" Valerie said, not feeling sure of her friend's reply to her question.
The two then started to walk and catch up with the others, all with that lingering feeling inside of them that told the girls that not everything was alright.
.
"Please?" Awase asked Robbie.
"No." he replied.
"Pretty please?"
"No!"
"Why not?! It's only one extra person!"
"Have you met her?! I know for a fact that I'm losing all of my savings today with just her alone!" Robbie complained, as Kamala just grinned as widely as the Cheshire cat.
"Oh, I can't wait till after classes! I heard that the place we're going to has the best veggie-burgers in town!" Kamala told the boy, who groaned at the thought.
"PFF, is it me or it sounds like they're-"
"Toakge, keep quiet." Robbie and Kamala suddenly said, hearing what their classmate was about to say despite her whispering it… and while being on the other side of the room, no less.
Yes, the Sports Festival was about to start and class 1-B was just as excited as they were nervous. They were already at their waiting room, counting the minutes till it was time to get to the arena. Suffice to say that their nerves were to the brim, so they tried to distract their minds the best they could. For example, Robbie and Kamala, talking about how not only did Robbie lose a race to the inhuman, but also having him questioning why he thought that betting food against the girl that thinks with her stomach was ever a good idea.
The others were also trying to ease their worries as well. For example Ibara, who looked to be praying in silence while Jurota tried to take a small nap. From Reiko making small objects float, to Kosei shooting them down with his quirk. Jeez, it looked like even Tetsutetsu was shaking a bit, making the others worry… for about three seconds before they took their pity and concern away.
"Guys, I… I… AAAAHG! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I WANT TO SHOW THOSE PROS WATCHING US WHAT A MANLY HERO SHOULD LOOK!" he shouted to the four… walls of the room.
"It's going to be a bit hard, right? I mean, we're not just competing with each other, but the other classes too? Impressing people will be really hard for me." Kinoko said, as Yui looked between Tokage and Sen and approached the boy.
"Is there someone you want to impress?" she suddenly said, taking some aback at the fact that she rarely talked before the boy thought about the question.
He then imagined himself on the first spot with multiple golden medals and trophies. Flashes from the cameras illuminated him as they threw flowers at him. But most of all to him, was the fact that to the side and looking up to him, was a certain blue girl of class 1-A, gazing at him with admiration as the images of hearts floated around her as she did.
… yeah, there was an obvious blush on his face. Which was noted by Yui and Tokage, who looked at each other and nodded with an approving thumbs up. Teasing the boy indirectly was pretty funny to them.
"Speaking of the other classes, I wonder how is Anna-May going to do?" Pony said a bit low.
"Mm… I think Midoriya is going to be a trainwreck. He's the kind of guy that gets easily nervous." Robbie mentioned.
"Well, I think Mina would be fine with stuff like this."
"You mean the pink one that hates me?"
"Come on, Robbie. Why would she hate you?" Kamala asked.
"I don't know, what do you tell her? Because everytime I catch a glance of her looking my way she frowns and looks indignant." said Robbie, just as Kamakiri approached the two of them. "Mm? Want something man?"
"I just wanted to tell you something." the bug-like student told the two Americans. "I acknowledge you both."
"Huh?" the two replied, while a few of their classmates. looked their way.
"I'm the kind of guy that enjoys a good fight and especially against strong opponents. Truth is, I recognise that our class has no shortage of strong people and I recognise them as well. But the two of you? I recognise as some of the strongest."
"Am I the only one that feels this is coming out of nowhere?" murmured Kamala to the California boy.
"So we're strong. So what?" wondered Robbie.
"I recognise you as some of the strongest, but not the strongest." he said, making Bondo look at Tetsutetsu.
"I think this was because you called Robbie the strongest."
"Wait, I caused that?!"
"You see…" Togaru kept going. "The Sports Festival? There's more to it. It's not just to help us make ourselves known to the other pros. It's not even helping that much when it comes to knowing how to be a proper pro-hero. It's meant to mostly show us the kind of competition we will be dealing with once we graduate. Monoma may be always going on about us competing with class A, but today we're also competing with one another. All of us are rivals now and I'm aiming for the top spot. Today, we'll decide who's the strongest one. And next to that Bakugo loudmouth, you two are the ones I want to fight the most." he said, grinning a bit with that last comment.
"Hey now, come on. Don't pick fights, we're all friends, we shou-" Kamala tried to intervene, before Robbie interrupted her.
"You're on."
"ROBBIE!"
"What? Friendly competition never hurt no one."
"Yes it has! Example? Just two weeks ago you and Annie made your faces smash potatoes!"
"I fail to see the issue." Robbie told her, making her drag her hands over her face as Robbie addressed their classmate. "You know? I tend to see a lot of competitions like a race. There's a goal and I want to try and get there first. So I take your challenge. Let's see who crosses the finish line first." he told him as the boy nodded.
"You better give it your all."
"Same goes to you and everyone else. But… no hard feelings, right? Let's try and have fun while we're at it, ok?" the boy of hellish powers said, as Kendo suddenly came through the door.
"Alright, gang! We're good to go! Let's show them what we're made of!" the big sis of the class said as the entire class started to get ready.
Nervous or not, they all got up and started to walk towards the door and to the hallway that would take them to the arena. As Robbie was about to leave, he looked at Kamala, frowning at him.
"What?"
"What was that for?"
"Oh come on, it's just a friendly competition. You know, like a race game or UNO… but without the take fours and blue shells."
"Look, I'm just-"
"Look Kamala, calm down. You'll do fine. Trust me." he said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, who sighed and tried to calm down.
"... I'm getting extra dessert to get back at you."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say… By the way, aren't you forgetting something?" said Robbie, signaling to her face and making a lightbulb turn on Kamala's head.
"Oh, yeah you're right!" she said, pulling a blue bandana-like mask from her pocket colored blue and putting it on. "So? How do I look?"
"You look like you were desperate and ripped the sleeve of a jacket."
"Come on. The sooner we do this, the sooner I'll take that first place trophy." she said, walking by as Robbie had a smug on his face.
"You?" he asked as Kamala turned back and grin.
"Friendly competition, right? No hard feelings." she said as the two chuckled and walked by.
"Alright people! The U.A Sports Festival is here! Live, where the best heroes-in-the-making all aim for one another in their way to reach the very top! Let's hear it, you all!" Present Mic said from his commentator's boot as the entire stadium rumbled in excitement. "Now then, let's not kid ourselves! We all know what you're all here for! The miracle youngsters who had their spirit tested by fire against real villains and endured past it! Presenting to you, freshly from our very own Hero Course… CLASS 1-A, LET THEM KNOW HOW MUCH YOU'VE LOOKED FORWARD FOR THEM!" the hero said, as the entire crowd got wild as the 22 students of the class that survived the villain attack presented themselves on stage.
And to say that they were overwhelmed… was completely true.
"Who-hoa… S-S-So many people are here…" a nervous Izuku said as he shook while walking.
"Just part of what it means to be a hero. Can you act while the world sets its eyes on you?" Ida told the boy.
"Huh, they're really praising us, aren't they? Hey, Bakugo, aren't you getting a chill down your spine?" asked Kirishima to the ash-blonde, who smirked wickedly.
"If you're getting stage fright, get back and see how the real deal shows them who's boss." he replied.
Meanwhile Annie was looking all around the arena. It was… big. Very, very big. She's only ever been to one like them before and that was back home whenever she and her family went to see a baseball game with the Mets. But back then, she always was part of the crowd, not the one the crowd looked over. Hell, not even her soccer games from back in middle school could prepare for this. Was this what her parents and sister had to deal with?
"Yeah, I'm definitely a twenty on the nervous-meter." she thought when she suddenly thought of something.
She was extremely nervous, hell who wouldn't be? Thousands of eyes were all watching you and that was just the stadium alone. This was being transmitted all over the country, through parts of the world and she was nervous. So if she was like that? Then how would Valerie hang? Not good, she could tell. Annie immediately looked back to see her friend. Scared, the color of her face draining little by little as she shook and belittled herself. Her pace became slower and slower and Annie was sure in no time, Valerie would start to get left behind. She knew what she had to do.
"Hey, Valerie…" she called her, making the girl snap to reality and to look at the redhead. "Um… I'm a bit nervous and truth is, I'm a bit spooked too. So I was wondering… would you hold my hand for a bit?" she asked her, presenting her hand to the blue girl.
Valerie knew what she was doing. She could tell right away and she couldn't help but to be ever more thankful to be by the redhead's side. So she nodded, smiled, and while awkwardly moving, took the hand of her friend, who smiled back. Yeah… this was nice.
"But it's not just them who you should look at! They may not have fought real villains, but their class is full of untold promise! Here comes class 1-B!" Mic said, as the other hero course class came by.
"Seriously? He gives a hyped description about how awesome class 1-A is, but just gives the bare minimum for the rest of us?" Kamala wondered.
"I get that the media would go crazy, but come on. You'd think that the school would do better." Robbie followed as Monoma smiled and was ready to make a comment…
That was until he saw that Kendo was looking at him, which made him decide that he would keep it to himself for a bit.
"Now then, the other courses! General Course, classes C, D, E! Support Course, classes F, G, H! Management Course, classes I, J, K!"
Afterwards, each of their respective classes from the respective courses came to the field. From the Support Course walking very optimistic, with Hatsume wearing… stuff outside of just her P.E uniform. The Management Course, looking very average or with little presence compared to the others. To lastly, the General Studies Course, looking for the most part, looked kinda bummed down.
"Man, they only have us here to make the hero course that much better." one of the General Studies Course students said, with another one agreeing with him.
"We're practically extras to them." she said, with Shinso hearing while ahead of them.
Sure, he felt the same. It was pretty obvious that that's how they were seen. And while he wanted to agree with them… he decided for something different this time around.
"If you keep thinking that, then that's how it will be." he simply said, confusing the other two.
"Is it just me, or has Shinso-kun been different for a bit?" the girl asked.
"Who knows, maybe spending that much time with Hero Course students fried his mind." the other one replied.
Soon enough, the entirety of the first year students of U.A were now assembled in the middle of the arena. Before them a stage where the referee ... who was… she… it was Midnight, the referee was Midnight.
Yeah, it was safe to say that a lot of male and even some female members of the audience suddenly felt a tad bit too excited at the fact that the R rated Hero was assigned to the first year. Normally the principal would be occupied with being with the third years, but this made up for a lot of people… Though there were a few that felt like someone like her shouldn't be allowed to be within a five miles radius of children, let alone as an actual teacher for children, especially with what she was wearing. There would definitely be a decent amount of complaints towards her from certain parents.
She was somehow outdoing Emma Frost in wearing an inappropriate wardrobe in front of children. How is that even possible?
"I'm definitely going to hear about this later, aren't I?" both Annie and Robbie thought at the same time, knowing that there were people watching that would have a word or two about this.
"Whatever video my parents are watching, I'm editing it before pressing send." Kamala thought, knowing that if her family and friends saw this… yeah, it was better not to think about it.
"Why?!" Valerie thought, covering her face with a bright blush.
It was already hard enough as it was to go through classes with her as it is. Having to do an event in front of thousands of people and more so watching from T.V was worse.
"Alright children, it is time for the students' oath!" the teacher said while she- oh goodie she had a whip with her, because of course she would. Worst part was that it was the kind that shouldn't leave someone's bedroom at that.
"Would someone please give me a five thousand word essay on how someone like her ended up as a highschool teacher while dressing like that for work? Do teachers' licenses work differently here?" Annie asked.
"I'll do you one better, do they even have teachers' license here?" Robbie said, managing to hear what the (natural) redhead of class 1-A said.
"QUIET DOWN YOU!" Midnight shouted at them, though they were far from the only ones voicing their comments if Denki, Kirishima and Tokoyami were any indication. "Now for the students' oath. This year's student representative will be… Bakugo Katsuki, from class 1-A!" the teacher said, signaling at the ash-blonde while making some question the decision.
"What's that thing that my sister always says? The hits just keep coming?" Annie said with a flat expression, knowing full well that this could just end up badly.
"But why him?" Kamala wondered out loud.
"It probably has to do with him placing first in the entrance exam." Sero said, only for a General Studies Course student to voice their opinion at that statement.
"Tsk, the hero course entrance exam, you mean."
"And just the practical one at that." Hitoshi suddenly said after his classmate, taking Sero aback.
"Um… sorry, I guess?" he replied a bit confused as Kamala suddenly spoke again.
"Wait, then why aren't you the one giving the speech? You two only had a 1 point difference in the practical exam and I heard that you got the top grade in the written portion of the entire grade in general." Kamala asked Annie, who just chuckled awkwardly as quite a lot of eyes suddenly fell over her.
"Hehe… I could do without the unwanted attention, stretchy." she said in between awkward chuckles as Bakugo got to the top of the podium.
Once upon it, the ash-blonde was recognized by most. Of course, the fact that he had the top score in the practical exam was an obvious give away, but it was more than that. Some pro-heroes were already recognizing him from the famous incident involving a sludge villain a year or so ago. Some of the students also had that incident click on them when they saw the boy, but most of them remembered him from something else.
That something was from back when most of the General Studies students declared war on class 1-A. He was… well, admittedly the General Studies Course could not claim the moral high ground, but that didn't take away from the fact that Bakugo was a bit of a colossal ass that day. And his classmate knew that perfectly. Which is why as the boy of explosive quirk stood there, the rest of 1-A had only one thing in mind…
Please, don't say something dumb. Please, don't say something dumb. Please, don't say something dumb.
"Sensei…" he began, stopping for enough to make people wonder what his words would be until… "I'm going to place first, that's all."
… He said something dumb.
"Go to hell, you class A bastard!"
"Don't get too full of yourself!
"Cocky asshole!"
Those and many more were the words that everyone directed towards Bakugo… and class A wasn't entirely absent from doing such either.
"Hey doofus! Every cliche bully of old movies called! They want their attitude back!" Annie mocked her classmate, who just replied by glaring at her.
"Why do you insist on acting with such foul and disgraceful mannerisms!?" Tenya shouted at him as Valerie decided to try and talk with the boy.
"B-B-Bakugo, d-don't you think it w-would be better if you say something nice?" she politely asked him and got as much as everyone would expect.
"Nah, I said what I said. The least you could do is be nice stepping stones for me." Bakugo replied, giving everyone a thumbs down, which promptly caused for everyone to continue on chanting bloody murder to the ash-blonde.
"THAT OVERCONFIDENT BASTARD! I'M GONNA CRUSH HIM THE MOMENT I GET MY HANDS ON HIM!" Tetsutetsu angrily shouted after hearing Bakugo's words.
"Not before I get to him. Let's see if he can stand tall and proud after I break his legs." the bug-like student of class B said as Kamala sighed.
"Really guys? Look, just because that guy is a jerk doesn't mean that we should lo-"
"I'm knocking his teeth first." Robbie said much in agreement with his other classmates.
"DON'T ENCOURAGE THEM!" Kamala scolded him.
Meanwhile back with class 1-A, they weren't exactly thrilled by what Bakugo did. He was their representative for the speech and if most of the other classes already hated them because of Bakugo, this definitely made their situation worse. As he walked back towards the group he bumped into Izuku, obviously on purpose knowing him. And while someone like Annie would take offense to that and voice it as well, Midoriya had someone else in mind.
"Tsk, can't the guy get off his high horse for just five seconds? Seriously he's got to have the biggest ego of anyone I've ever met and that's saying a lot. Talk about being overconfident to the point of absurdity." Annie said, though Izuku disagreed.
"I don't think that was overconfidence, Parker-san." the green haired boy said.
"Huh?"
"I've known Kachan for a long time and I can tell you that if he were being overconfident, he would have shouted it out the top of his lungs while smirking all the way. What he's doing right now, is cornering himself." he explained as Annie took a good look at the ash-blonde and frowned a bit.
"Well, he could at least have the decency of not dragging us with him." the American redhead replied as Izuku sighed.
"That's Kachan for you."
"Issues man. You have issues." Sero suddenly popped in and said and before they could recover, Midnight kept on going with the event.
"Now! With that out of the way, let's keep the excitement going!" she spoke, taking some of the students aback.
"Wait, so soon?!" Kinoko of class B said nervously.
"This may be the preliminaries, but that doesn't stop many from choking here every year! And for today's first round our lovely activity will be…!" the teacher said, signaling at a larger screen behind her. The text box in the middle moving as if it were part of a wheel that had just been spun until finally, after what many felt for ages… "This!" she continued, showcasing that the first round will be an obstacle race.
"You jinxed it. I don't know how, but you jinxed it." Kamala told Robbie, who not that long ago was going all about how this event was a race.
"I don't have any regrets in doing so." he replied as the gates that would lead to the track started to open up.
"This will be an all-out race between the 11 classes! We here at U.A have always taken pride in the freedom that our campus allows us and this 4 km race is what that's all about! You're all allowed to act as you believe it to be accordingly so long as you remain within the course! Now then, let's get you all on your marks!"
On her command, everyone started to gather in front of the entrance. On the top of the rim of said gates, were three bright green lights turned on. Looking at them, they felt the eyes of the world set upon them, the nerves showing even in spite of the determined look they had on their faces. The first light turned off.
Their awareness of what it meant to win or lose washed over most of them. The idea of being transferred. The idea of losing their seats in their respective courses. The fact that their performance could dictate the future of their careers and so much more. The second light turned off.
And amongst all of it, the green-haired boy had his mind racing already. For him, there was even more on stage. He had a duty to fulfill. A promise to his mentor and hero. He had to scream a message for the world to see and that message was that he was there. He could not faio. He refused to fail. He will end up telling the world one thing today and that will be 'I am here'.
"All Might… watch me!" Izuku thought
Finally, the third light turned off.
"START!" Midnight shouted, signaling to the students to begin as they all ram towards the entrance.
Meanwhile the crowd went wild. They're excitement was clear signs of just how much they were looking forward to the big event. Teachers, heroes and some special guests, they all had their eyes on the children and had high expectations on what they would bring to the table. And so, Present Mic decided to hype them all even more with some good 'ol commentary.
"And off they go! Any comment you would like to give, mister Mummy Man?"
"Why am I here again?"
"The little rascals are off to a big start! But as mentioned before, many tend to slip off during the preliminaries! What would be a good thing for them to pay attention to?"
"For starters… the door."
"Eh?"
Yeah, the students were all trying to get past the gate alone, which was so crowded that it looked like the New York subway on a busy day. Literally most couldn't even get past the initial entrance, let alone the gates proper.
"Hey, watch it!"
"Make way!"
"Ow someone stepped on me!"
"Hey, careful!"
"Watch those hands!"
"Sorry!"
Yeah, it looked like the New York subway, no doubt about that. But while near everyone was struggling to advance even so much as an inch, some were having a far easier time. A certain girl for instance, already felt right at home with the nature of what was happening before her eyes. And truth is, she could already get past them all with ease. Years of experience surviving as a mere civilian in the city that never sleeps prepared her for the trial ahead and despite that, she desired to make things even easier… by running on the ceiling.
"Well, if this ain't a walk in the park, I don't know what it is!" Annie thought to herself, as she passed by every student below her cramped inside of the tunnel, which they themselves were not exactly glad to see.
"Hey, that's against the rules, right!?" Kaminari said when he saw his classmate passing them as if she were just taking a stroll.
"It's a legitimate strategy!" the girl replied as most still complained.
"Yeah, that's just like her." Shinso said while looking at his friend and while he should be a bit annoyed at the fact that she was flexing on the entire grade, he couldn't help but to chuckle. Of course she would do that.
And speaking of her, the redhead reached the end of the tunnel, jumping off the calling and landing gracefully on the floor outside of the tunnel and into the track proper. She then started to keep her pace and rushed to the front. Getting a decent sized attention from the crowd who all went wild.
"And we have our very first student to get to the track! None other than the Hype Girl of Class 1-A!" Present Mic said, only to then notice movement coming from the gate once more. "What's this? It looks like she's got company already!"
And it was true, because from the gate in a probably less elegant and more cartoonish manner compared to the redhead, came the Pakistani girl of class 1-B, Kamala Khan. Who with the help of her inhuman gifts, managed to make her way through the sea of students behind them.
"And it's the Fangirl of Class 1-B, why of course! Those two are foreigner students that earned their seats here at U.A and are already making their presence known! Any comment to add, mister Mummy Man?!"
"They had the advantage on this occasion. Their respective abilities would obviously grant them an easier passage through. Still, this is just the first filter, so it's far from being impressive."
"And there you have it folks. Straight from our resident Mummy Man!"
"Call me Mummy Man again and I'll spice your coffee." U.A's Mummy Man said as both Annie and Kamala started to get a decent advantage over the others.
"You're not the only one that knows how to use public transportation, Annie!" Kamala said, she herself has had her own shenanigans in crowded busses and train stations so as to not be able to manage through a crowd like that.
"My, you sure seem to be pretty into winning this race, aren't you stretchy?" Annie smirked as Kamala smirked back.
"Well duh! If I get first place here, Robbie will pay for extra dessert!"
"I NEVER AGREED TO THAT!" the voice of Robbie could be heard from behind back with the crowd.
"Oh, so food is on the table now? You wouldn't mind if I were to join in on the bet, would you?"
"I'M NOT PAYING FOR TWO PAIR OF GLUTTONS!"
The two girls heard the boy's voice and giggled. Sure, what he said might be taken as offensive to some, but they were too busy having fun messing with him to even care about that fact. And while the two managed to be the ones to get past the first filter, and an entire stadium watched over them with ever-rising expectations, MJ looked from above in the V.I.P section.
Honestly, she wasn't expecting to be in that sort of place. While she herself was the one more at ease with the glamor way of life compared to her husband, being in such a location while reminding herself that it was all a school activity for her teenage daughter was certainly odd. Plus, looking to the side of others that were in the same section was a bit of a whiplash for a bit. There were a lot of important people there, or what looked to be important. Some heroes she believed, politicians, a celebrity or two there. Hell, she even managed to recognize one as a sort of model from back in her day. All this for a bunch of kids?
Maybe it was the mother in her, it was most certainly the case. But she couldn't help but to wonder if Annie and her friends would even be ok with all of it. She was just a kid and the whole world was looming over to look at every little thing that they did. Most would certainly not be able to keep up with that kind of pressure. Mayday herself sometimes stumbled with having a large crowd around her when there was no action as Spider-Girl and while she and Peter could already do that in their sleep, they kind of forced themselves to do that. And after what's been going on in their lives, Annie was not in the best headspace no matter how hard she tried to put up the act.
But then, she saw her again. Even from where she was, she could see her clearly. That smile on her face, that relaxed yet determined posture. That look of unapologetic fun and youthful enthusiasm that was so on brand with Annie above all of them. It reminded her of when she was younger and they saw her at a soccer game.
"God Peter, I wish you could be here." MJ thought while smiling, because even if it were just starting… "Look at our little girl go."
Meanwhile back on the track, Annie could feel her spider sense rang. Warning her that something was coming her way and that she should… jump? Before she could question that's all about, she leaped high into the air, taking Kamala aback who not only saw her just jump like that out of nowhere, but also feeling a bit cold.
Next thing that happened, the tunnel of the entrance expelled a large hit of cold air that freezed everyone who touched the ground in place and that reached even where Kamala was. Making her stick to the ground as the one person responsible managed to already get past while she was processing what just happened.
"You bastard!"
"C-Can't move!"
"Frostbite! F-F-Frostbite in the legs!"
The students left behind all complained as Shoto Todoroki was already out to match Annie. Who upon landing (and almost slipping due to the ice floor), started to resume her pace. Much to the inhuman's dismay.
"Hey, next time a heads up would be nice!" Kamala shouted.
"I jumped three stories high out of the blue, what more did you want me to do?!"
"That's not how a heads up works?!" Kamala complained as the screams of a lot of students could be heard. "Huh?"
"Why you…YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASY, YOU ICY-HOT BASTARD!" Bakugo shouted, while using his explosions to propel himself in the air all while the rest of class 1-A were using their abilities to get past Shoto's obstacle.
From Tokoyami using Dark Shadow, to most just jumping out of the way just in time and currently walking on the ice as best as they could, all without falling down. Even Valerie managed to evade the attack. She managed to teleport just in time and while she was having a hard time walking on ice without falling down, she was not going to give up that easily. Meanwhile back on the tunnel, a lot of students not belonging to the hero course were cursing at the recommendation student.
The damn bastard froze most of them in place and the ones that didn't, couldn't get past the wall of sucked students. Shinso was one of them and he just gritted his teeth. Damn those hero course students and their annoying powers. It was already something infuriating, but after all his friends did to try and improve his condition and be unable to show the labors of his efforts? He thought about using his quirk. With it, he should be able to at least get past the tunnel. Maybe even get him a bit farther.
However before he could do so, a surge of flames covered the floor all of the sudden. They weren't that big and only enough to either melt or weaken the ice keeping them in place. Looking up, Shinso didn't have to try and guess who did it. He knew who could do just that.
Roberto Reyes of class 1-B.
"Tsk, did that guy think a cheap trick like that would work on me?" he complained, flames covering his right hand as his eye glowed, all while the wind brushed across him.
Even if he didn't intend it, he was really showing up and there were a lot of girls flustering right about now.
"Looks like your trick freed all the competition, Reyes-san." Kojiro said, looking how pretty much everyone trapped by ice was now able to move.
"Meh, whatever. This is a race, what kind of race would it be if half the competitors couldn't get past the start?" he asked, not really bothered by the fact that he technically helped his opponents.
Normally, he wouldn't mind having one less racer to deal with, but this wasn't exactly like those races. If he ended up helping someone by his actions, whatever.
"Huh?" one of the general studies just said out loud.
"You lot had the guts to declare war on the hero course. You better actually try and live up to it if you actually meant what you said." Robbie told them before running off. "Consider this a one-time gift from me." he told them before rushing away.
"... Dammit! Now we're in debt to another of those hero course jerks!" one complained, as Shinso suddenly went past him. "Huh?!"
"Hey, wait up!"
"Don't just take off out of the blue like that, Shinso-kun!"
"Heh?! What's this?! It seems like one of class B's students suddenly came to the other courses aid?! Who could have seen that coming?! This race is only just starting and we've gotten development after development!"
"What is that kid even doing?"
Meanwhile, Shoto looked back and cursed a bit. More students that he expected managed to get past his first obstacle. But now, pretty much everyone was now freed of them. He frowned and glared a bit at Reyes, who was starting to catch up to the rest of class A already. Of course the guy with those wretched flames managed to overcome his trap. But Shot didn't had that much time to think, for he saw another class A student rushing in quicker than expected.
Surprisingly, it was none other than Minoru Mineta of all people. He was throwing those sticky balls of his to the floor and then jumping on top of them before jumping away and repeating the process over and over. Normally, those things were sticky enough to, well, stick to objects and people and not let go. Or at least that's how most people saw it. However, it was also shown that he himself was an exception to that rule. Not only did he not stick to them, but he could actually bounce off them. The class even saw him use that on the first day to get the top score in hobo teach Aizawa's quirk assessment test. Beating even Annie in that test.
Speaking of which, Annie had to admit that for all the flaws Mienta had as a person as far as she knew, he was surprisingly good. Like, more than people would expect. He was actually one of the class smart kids and for the looks of it, he actually knew how to use his quirk to his advantage. He was surprisingly athletic for his size (even if he was still in the short end… pun semi intended).
"Huh, guess there might actually be a good reason he's in the hero course after all." Annie murmured as she saw Mineta jump towards where Shot was while laughing like a maniac.
"HAHAHA! TODOROKI, YOU FOOL! FOR ALL YOUR HIGH AND MIGHTY ATTITUDE I HAVE FINALLY OUTSMARTED YOU" Mineta told the boy while still mid air and about to do something. "NOW, GET READY FOR MY ULTIMATE ATTACK! GRAPE-" he was saying, before being interrupted by a robot smacking away.
… Wait, what?
"GAAAAAH!"
MINETA-KUN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
"WHAT PART OF THAT LOOKS ALRIGHT?!"
Both Annie and Izuku said, after they witnessed their classmate rolling away after being hit by a surprise adversary. However, while being a surprise, we're not unknown to them. They were the faux villains of the entrance exam. The same ones that they all took on already months ago.
"Well, we did say it was an obstacle race, right?! So why don't we get started with our first proper obstacle of the day! Robo Inferno!"
And as the teacher said that, all the students stopped in their tracks. There were a large number of those faux villains. There were first pointers, second pointers, there were three pointers even. But the biggest and meanest surprise of them all was the last set of robots. A large (in more than one way) number of zero pointers of all enemies.
"Eh?! Those are the zero pointers of the entrance exam!"
"No kidding, the hero course had to fight those guys!"
"What even is this?!"
"Damn, those things again." Shinso complained. He was far away when the zero pointers of his area showed up, but even he could feel the presence it had. And now that he had a large number right in front of him…
What the hell does he even do?
"Where does the school get this sort of budget?"
"I know right?!" Kamala followed Momo's comment, shocking Annie.
"Eh?! Wait a minute, how come talking about the amount of money the school throws is only an insensitive topic when I'm the one doing it?!" she voiced her opinion as Shoto looked at the mechanical foes.
Meanwhile back with the crowd, a lot of people were surprised at the severity of the first obstacle. Sure U.A was known for these stunts, but they were still amazed that they went for giant robots in the first round. And as for the V.I.P area, Lisia, she couldn't help but to almost have her heart stop when she saw the mechanical behemoths. Robbie… he had to fight those things?
"... Huh…" was the only thing both Jarvis and MJ said.
"What do you mean just 'huh'?! Why do you sound more amused than anything else?!" the girl wondered.
"Huh… this is what the others had to deal with. Would have preferred it if they'd gone for something better." Shoto said, kneeling and placing his hand in the ground as one of the zero pointers was about to throw a hit at him. "Because that father of mine is watching this."
As he said that, his very hand started to cover in ice. The cold was so intense, it looked like sublimation of dry ice. After just less than a second, he threw it upwards in an arching maner. Generating such cold that not only did he create an incredible amount of ice rising from the ground, it started to cover the colossal robot so fast that in just a couple of seconds, it encased it in ice.
Everyone stood in awe at the power of the class A student. Back during the entrance exam, they were told not to engage those behemoths for a reason. Only three students even dared to even challenge those before and even then, it was a last ditch effort. Yet Shoto took them right off the bat. Yet their awe was forced to stop when they saw that the boy decided to keep on going. Realizing that he cleared a path right below where he froze the zero pointer, they all tried to go there as well. Some were a bit more confident than they would have, remembering how the class B student basically freed them, a few were thinking this was the same scenario. However, Annie's sixth sense, Robbie's ever cautions eyes of a born mechanic and Valerie and Kamala just knowing that things couldn't be that easy, knew that the boy of fire and ice would not be that nice to them.
"Wait, it's not safe!" Annie called out, stopping a few, but not all.
"You should listen to her. The position it's frozen in is very unstable…" Shoto managed to tell them as the robot's joints started to crack. "Which by the way, was on purpose."
As he said that, the zero pointer fell to the ground. Pushing ost behind and blocking the path once more.
"What's this?! Class 1-A's Todoroki Shoto completely sabotaged every other student! What a COLD move!" Present Mic commented, making Aizawa sighed at the comment. Not only a bad pun, but an obvious bad pun too? "And with that amazing display, he has become the leader of the pack! Unless things change, this will be quite unfair in my opinion!"
And as he did and the students were faced with the large number of robots in front of them, Izuku himself started to try and think of a way to overcome the obstacle before him. He couldn't let this stop him. He wasn't letting All Might down, he wasn't going to let his friends and all those that support him down by being so pathetic… but most of all, he was not going to let himself down.
Months ago, when faced with the very same roadblock, he couldn't even move. He could not dare so much as to fight and would instead opt to run away from danger. But now, it was different. Now, it had to be different. Now…
"What now?" he wondered, an expression rather nervous… yet determined to going past the ills before him.
My Hero Academia:Legacy Bits! - Helping Hand!
"U-Ugh, i-it would be easier if there w-were an elevator here!" a girl complained.
It was right before lunch and for a change, a few classes had been finished earlier at U.A. Normally, some of the students would be heading to the cafeteria and some of them did. However, there was one student that wasn't able to do so at the moment. She was a girl named Kanami Narumi. A student of the General Course belonging to class E of the first year. She was a little short compared to the average height of a girl in Japan. Not by much, but about like two or so centimeters. She wore a pair of glasses, her sight not being that bad, but she had a small case of nearsightedness (or myopia as most people knew it). It wasn't that bad, but she still had a headache every now and then when she tried to read something that was a bit far for long periods of time and if the words were either too small or written in a manner that just made everything too bloory. She had long white hair, which was mostly tied by a ponytail while the front had her with a pair of bangs to the side while her forehead was covered by her fringe. She also had other characteristics outside the white hair that set her apart.
For starters, behind her glasses, her eyes were a bright red with her sclera being a bit of a yellowish color. She had sharp, almost shark teeth (which thankfully for her, were just the one row and still not that animal-like), while having some roguish skin. It was mainly only a few parts of her face, like her cheeks and
especially her hands that were visible. Speaking of, her hands were almost a bit scaly in the back of them and a bit in the forearm. It looked almost like the skin of a barracuda actually, only with them also being white as well. Combine her looks with her somewhat awkward demeanor, she had trouble socializing.
Right now, she was taking some materials and other stuff to a storage room, but it would be a bit more manageable if she could even see in front of her. But considering that she was almost a walking mountain of supplies. And worse was the fact that she had to get up the stairs to who knows what floor.
"I-I think… I think I'm almost there… J-Just a few more ste-" Kanami was trying to say, almost reaching the final step of the stairs, but unfortunately for her, she didn't step well and lost her balance. "Wow nononono-!" the girl exclaimed, almost about to fall backwards while the stuff she was carrying we're almost pushed forward.
She was about to brace for impact, until suddenly, she stopped. Kanami had her eyes closed for a bit, but when she felt the impact of the fall or the supplies hitting the ground, she started to slowly open them. Once she did, she saw a boy of black hair with a white stripe and two eyes of different color each. He looked way too much like a thug, like the kind you wouldn't want to see in the middle of the night… and even in the middle of the day.
But she was too busy blushing to even have that in mind. The boy was holding her from the arm, making sure she wouldn't fall while somehow catching the rest of the supplies on the other hand and… were those chains? Again, she was too busy blushing to pay any attention. After all, she was for sure aware that they were resembling those scenes of romance manga where the male lead was helping up the protagonist.
"Hey, you ok?" the boy suddenly asked, his voice being a bit rough and with small signs of an accent, making her snap back to reality enough to answer.
"Oh… um, y-yeah. Thank you." she replied while stuttering a bit.
Afterwards, the boy pulled her to solid ground. With just one motion, she had her in front of him, a bit closer than she would expect, since if not for her catching herself, would have been almost crashing into his chest in a manner that made hew skin turn a bit pink.
"Hey, what's with all this stuff?" he asked, obviously referring to the supplies he was still carrying with one hand (jeez, was the guy strong).
"Oh, they were for class. They needed someone to return them, so I was told to do so."
"By yourself? Shouldn't this be something that at least another person should help out?"
"W-Well, they were a bit busy and-"
"Tsk, lazy dicks couldn't even bother with lifting a finger?" the boy murmured, though it didn't help in the idea of him being a thug with the kind of vocabulary he used to describe her classmates. "Well, since I'm here, might as well do what those guys should have done in the first place. Where do you want this, anyway?"
"Huh?"
"All this junk. Do we return them here, or do we still have to climb up?" he asked, and as he did, the girl noticed the boy's uniform and saw that his shoulder piece only had one pebble.
"A hero course student?"
"Heyz you still there?" the boy asked.
"Oh um, y-yeah. It's still a couple of floors above."
"Figures. Well, lead the way." the boy said as he and started to move, prompting the girl to do the same.
It didn't take long for them to get to where they had to drop the supplies. All the way long, the boy carried the supplies all by himself. Kanami felt a bit guilty and tried to take some of the extra weight, but he didn't mind. He told her that she deserved the break after carrying most by herself all the way up. After finishing the errand, the girl thanked the boy, who told her it was no big deal. As he did, his phone rang and he pulled it out to see that it was a text.
Kendo: So, are you ok over there? because you're taking an awful long time for a quick bathroom break
Kendo: should I get Recovery Girl?
"Guess that's my cue to leave. Hey, I'm heading for the principal's office. Wanna have me tell him about this or…?"
"N-No! No, I wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble!" Kanami told him nervously.
"Your call. But take it from me, don't let people just take advantage of you."
"Uh? No, no one's doing that, honest."
"If you say so. Well, anyway, I'm off." the boy said, about to finally leave, but the girl stopped him.
"W-Wait, I uh… I d-don't think… since you helped me, I was wondering if I could know your name…?" she asked him.
"Robbie Reyes. Call me whatever you want, I really don't mind. And you?"
"Um, I-I'm Narumi Kanami." the girl replied.
"Nice meeting you, Narumi. Now, I do need to get back. Wouldn't want that class rep of mine to start thinking weird stuff. One redhead with weird stuff in mind is already too much of a hazel as it is." he said as he started to walk away.
Well, that was a bit surprising. She heard that most of the time the Hero Course was a bunch of lousy self-centered lot. She always reasoned that those ideas had to do with the natural resentment most of the General Studies Course students had towards the Hero Course, but maybe there was a bit of truth? After all, she did hear about that one student that screamed at a lot of students that they were a bunch of 'extras'.
Maybe she got lucky this was one of the nice ones. Even if he did look like-
"By the way…" Kanami suddenly heard his voice again.
Looking up, she saw the boy, turning slightly as he looked at her. And maybe it was due to the lighting of the room. But he looked really, really cool for some reason.
"If you ever need help again, just ask. Take care." he said, waving a final goodbye at her while smirking in a way that made her face suddenly feel a bit warmer.
… Nevermind, she met the coolest and nicest of the bunch.
Welp, after an entire month, there's a new update. Now I'm not sure how many remember, but I did say that I had something in mind for the Sports Festival and for starters, there's the fact that I decided to make my own cover for it. Eh, how do you like it? It's probably not that much, but it was something I had in mind for a while. Now for the second one, I decided that I'll be translating the story in Spanish. Like, I did say once that anyone that felt like wanting to was freed to do so, so long as they gave a heads up so that harassment would not occur, but I decided to do it by myself. Mostly because it's not just a translation per say, but a… I guess better written version might be a bit accurate. As in, obviously a lot of mistakes I made when writing the story would be fix and all, along with some other things that would make it more consistent I guess. I guess it would be easier to understand once they're out. So if you're a Spanish-speaker reader, or want to practice Spanish or have a better time understanding Spanish rather than English, well, there's that.
But the most important announcement I had to make was… I'm changing the name. Henceforth, the name of the story will now change to "My Hero Academia: Marvelous Legacy".
Now if you're wondering as to why's that, well, there's a couple of reasons.
For starters, there's a lot of stories involving the Legacy name. Like, some are just called Legacy, are variations of it and so on and so one. Not just in MHA, but in general. Actually, I think that this one some of you will know by now, but there's actually already another My Hero Academia: Legacy fanfiction already. It was written by AnoNomusOneShot. Now before anyone wants to say anything, no this is not people complaining or anything nor calling each other for reaping the other with names. Like I said, using the Legacy title it's pretty common and there's little to no possibility that either was aware of the other one. Like, my story does predates his (or hers) by months and me thinking of the name goes as far as, I think, November of the two years ago. But that was mentioned in an author's notes of another story of mine and my MHA stories are all crossovers with Marvel, so there's a chance that he never even saw that someone already came up with the name. Truth is, I only learned of him due to the fact that I searched for mine on google to see if it would pop out and saw his.
I never read it as a whole, just bits here and there, I think I might do so later to see what's it about. But yeah, I'm changing it so that the story could feel a bit more… I guess so that it can stand out a bit more? You know, so that the title could feel a bit more original and all. But truth is, those are all nitpicks at most, not worth me doing something like changing the name. So why am I doing it?
… Because I'm a god damn idiot, that's why.
Here's the thing, literal months ago, like when I was still working on the U.S.J arc I think, I suddenly realized something. The name Marvelous Legacy was so perfect that I wondered why the hell did it took me around almost a year to realize how perfect it was. Scratch that, it took me longer than a year to realize how perfect it was. And I can't fadom the fact that I didn't start with it.
It's not like the adjective never crossed my mind; I've had it in mind since forever when I decided to use Annie as a main character. Hell, she's straight up called Marvelous when she's given her results of the entrance exam and I'm still going to use it in the future, so why did it take me so long to notice it? Imma be honest, I'm kind of mad at myself for taking so long to do so. And when I did, I couldn't just change it out of the blue like that. It had to do it in a special occasion. I first thought of a moment in where to do it, but that's so far away that the wait would legit eat me away. So instead, I decided to wait till the beginning of the Sports Festival because that should be special enough, right? I mean, I've been building it up with extra content instead of doing what most do and jump straight to it after being done with the U.S.J arc. Meanwhile, I would use the sister series (Which were already being planned by then) as a way to compensate for it to me. You know, one is Marvels of the World and the other one is Legacies of the world and the two together would end up being a nod at the title of the main one being Marvelous Legacy (my god I'm such a dumbass).
So yeah, tantrum aside, apologies that it took this long to upload. I was rather busy with a lot of stuff. Plus, I'm also planning on really, REALLY get back to my Dex Holdder story too. Seriously, I can't keep ignoring that one. Like every time I want to get back to it, suddenly I had to keep busy doing something else. So if it takes me a while to upload this story again. Either it's because I' making up the loss time with the Pokémon story… or I'm busy doing something else.
Well, that's it for today, happy late Halloween to those that celebrate it, and meanwhile I'm also celebrating eating with the death for two days straight. To those that know, know.
See ya.