My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 30: Tense Rivalries
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
"Are you proud of yourself, beast?" Talos insulted Bloodmoon in their hideout. "All of the lower level villains we contacted for potential enlistment have turned us down because they're afraid of becoming your next meal."
"Oh, shut it, machine," Bloodmoon snarled. "They weren't that delicious anyway. If things had gone according to plan, I would've feasted on the son of Endeavor." He licked his lips sadistically, thinking of how Shoto Todoroki would've tasted had he gotten the chance to eat him.
"Why did we recruit this animal?" Talos questioned. "He has been nothing but a hindrance to our plans."
"Are you saying the USJ Attack was a failure because of me?" Bloodmoon growled. "It failed because that black fog couldn't keep ONE student inside. That was his fault, not mine."
"Alright, enough!" Black Queen silenced. "I understand your frustration, but now is not the time for bickering among ourselves. There is no arguing that we were dealt a massive blow at the USJ, but now is the time to find allies, not make enemies."
Unfortunately, finding allies had become rather difficult for the League of Villains. Their failure at the USJ Attack made them look like incompetent failures; would any self-respecting villain want to ally with a group who were easily beaten by a bunch of students and teachers? As of right now, they were just worthless failures not worth associating with. If they were to have any hope of gaining recognition and potential allies, they needed to prove that they were indeed a competent group. They'd need to do something that would attract attention, show the world how dangerous they were.
Black Queen had been thinking about what to do, but with limited resources, her options were few. With Nomu gone, most of their former associates arrested and their failure well known across Japan, she was left with limited choices. They could perhaps go after a top Pro Hero, but having gone up against All Might and failed to kill him, killing any other top Pro Hero would feel like merely covering up their failure rather than a true accomplishment.
"I'll go check on my brother," Black Queen spoke. "You two play nice." She then left the bar area and walked to Tomura's room, hoping he'd be up to something productive rather than just continuing to sulk over how his plans had failed.
Seika Shigaraki had warned him what would happen at the USJ, but he didn't listen. He had gone in with a half-baked plan and expected to win while relying heavily on Nomu. His failure had left the League humiliated, despite their actions having led to U.A.'s management being called into question by the public.
"Mistress Seika," Kurogiri addressed, appearing from Tomura's room.
"Kurogiri," she responded. "I trust my brother is doing something other than sulking."
"Please do not be so hard on Master Tomura," he requested. "He understands the weight of the failure at the USJ. But the failure ultimately falls on me; I failed to prevent a student from getting out and U.A. was alerted because of it."
"Stop covering for his actions, Kurogiri," Black Queen demanded. "He won't grow if you and Master are constantly coddling him. Now if you'll excuse me." She walked past Kurogiri and into Tomura's room, where he quietly sat in front of a TV. Much to Seika's surprise, it was the U.A. Sports Festival, having recently completed the Cavalry Battle and showing the results of the event.
"What're you doing, Tomura?" she asked.
"Scouting out talent," he answered. "A few of them are really standing out."
"You're scouting out talent in the U.A. Students?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Tomura, I don't know if your brain is as good as your brawn, but we recently just tried to kill them."
"You're so mean, sis," Tomura shot back. "Many of these students believe in the illusions of Hero Society: I'm willing to bet that if they were shown the truth, they'd rebel against it. There's one that stands out." Tomura pointed to the picture of a young man with ash blonde hair and red eyes named Katsuki Bakugo.
"Why would he join us?" Seika asked.
"Take a look," Tomura answered as he rewound back to the start of the Festival, where Bakugo stood on the podium.
"I just want to say I'm going to win."
From the condescending remark to the Obstacle Course to the Cavalry Battle, Seika watched Bakugo's aggression and violent behavior unfold. He was behaving more like a violent delinquent rather than a hero…as a matter of fact, he behaved more like a villain rather than a hero. He was arrogant, selfish, unkind and dismissive of everyone around him, acting as though they were far beneath him, causing Seika to frown.
"I hate people like him," she growled. "Brats who think they're entitled to whatever they want just because of their Quirks. Even if we could convert him, what makes you think he'd willingly take orders from us?"
"We'll figure it out," Tomura replied. "But there's several more." Tomura pointed out the names Fumikage Tokoyami, Hinote Onkyo, and Kaze Yonaka.
"I think you're looking for help in the wrong place, Tomura," Seika replied. "But luckily, we've got people scouting out help for us. If some of these students could be convinced to join our side…I'll have Kurogiri do a background check on them, see which ones could work. Just don't mess up again, Tomura."
He lowly groaned in response. Seika wouldn't let down Tomura's failure to kill All Might at the USJ, leading to their 'army' being defeated and the Nomu being captured. As she had stated several times, he had grossly underestimated the U.A. students and now, among villain-kind, the League of Villains were a laughingstock. As much as Tomura didn't want to admit it, Seika was right; had he not underestimated the U.A. Students, none of this would've happened.
Now they were having trouble recruiting more members, partially because they were nervous about working with a cannibalistic werewolf. Word had gotten around about several mooks being found half-eaten at the USJ, courtesy of Bloodmoon's lust for human flesh.
Then again, he could try asking his master for more Nomu. They wouldn't be as strong as the one who fought All Might, but at least they'd swell the League's numbers. Even then, it'd take time before they had enough to truly pose a threat. They had very few options open to them and all of them would take time.
"This is such crap," Tomura snarled. "If we had killed All Might, if we had won-"
"Well, you didn't," Seika responded. "If you had listened to me and waited, then we wouldn't be the laughingstock of villainy right now."
"Stop acting like this is solely my fault," Tomura growled. "Where were you when I attacked the USJ? What did you do to help us win?"
"I was looking for talent to recruit," Seika said. "Now we need a way to prove that we're worth joining and we can't do that if we look like absolute failures." She silently scoffed before walking off.
"I'm off to see Giran; hopefully, he'll have some good news for us."
After she left his room, Tomura's eyes returned to the screen. Any of those students could be potential candidates to join the League of Villains, but the two that stood out the most were Katsuki Bakugo and Fumikage Tokoyami. However, as Seika Shigaraki questioned, could they be persuaded to join the League of Villains? Could they be converted to their side?
Instead of staying in the cafeteria to eat, Bakugo took his lunch and went outside, rudely dismissing anyone who tried to talk to him. He found a space among the trees that provided shade and a great place to sit.
Nothing was going the way he had hoped. When he went onto the stage and claimed he would win, he knew that he had raised the stakes for himself. He had purposely put himself in a position where failure couldn't be treated as an option, not that he ever did. But in this case, failure meant looking like a fool in front of Pro Heroes. How would it appear to them if he lost after he had claimed he would win?
What made it even worse was that Deku was the one who kept getting 1st Place, having done so during both the Obstacle Course AND the Cavalry Battle. To rub salt in the wound, he had won without using his Quirk even once. Bakugo's blood boiled at the thought of Deku having won without using his Quirk while he struggled to win using his.
However, it made sense: everyone knew Deku couldn't use his Quirk without injuring himself. Every time he had used it, he had broken his bones and crippled himself. If this kept up, it'd only be a matter of time before Deku wound up expelled as Aizawa threatened to do so.
On top of all that, Todoroki had named Deku as his rival during the Sports Festival instead of him. He firmly believed that if anyone deserved to be Todoroki's rival, it was him. What hurt is that when Bakugo told him that he had chosen the wrong rival, Todoroki's response implied that he didn't see Bakugo as a worthy choice. It angered the Explosion user to see the strongest student in their class choose Deku over him.
"That stupid damn nerd," Bakugo growled. "I won't be made a fool, not by him. If he thinks he can fool everyone, he's wrong. I don't know how he got that Quirk, but when I do, I'll expose him for the fraud he is. Coming to U.A….the privilege was meant to be MINE and MINE ALONE!"
Bakugo held onto the thought that he was the only one from their old school worthy of enrolling in U.A.; the rest were just extras who weren't worth remembering. The worst of them was Deku, the boy he had bullied, torn down, did whatever he could to convince him that he wasn't worthy of becoming a Hero. He hated how Deku always wanted to be a Hero, despite lacking a Quirk…or pretending to lack one.
Bakugo was broken out of his thoughts when he heard shouting from further inside the forest. He put down his lunch where bugs wouldn't get to it and went to go find out what it was. Only after walking several meters did Bakugo see the same Quirkless swordsman training in a clearing, constantly sheathing his blade and then pulling out to unleash a flurry of attacks.
"What the hell are you doing?" Bakugo questioned Furaya. The swordsman sheathed his sword and looked at Bakugo with his usual stone-faced expression.
"I'm training," he responded. "I have very tough battles ahead of me and I must remain sharp."
"What makes you think you'll win?" Bakugo questioned, crossing his arms. "I don't know what reality you live in, but in this reality, Quirkless cannot become heroes."
"I've heard that before," Furaya stated. "You're not intimidating me by saying such things."
Yet again, Bakugo was angry that Furaya wasn't intimidated by him. He showed no fear, no hesitance, no timidity, nothing of the sort; his threats and bullying simply fell on deaf ears. This prompted him to unleash an explosion right in front of Furaya out of rage.
"Who do you think you are, you Quirkless reject!?" he barked. "You think you can disrespect me and I'll just forget about it!? I haven't forgotten the way you humiliated me in front of those extras!"
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have condescended to everyone," Furaya stated.
"Shut up!" Bakugo barked. "And don't even think of telling me what to do!"
"I wasn't. Now leave me so I can train for the Tournament."
"I told you not to tell me what to do!" Bakugo repeated.
Furaya was just trying to train, but the Explosion user was interrupting him and obstructing his progress despite him paying little attention. All Bakugo was doing was wasting both their time just so he could shout at the Quirkless swordsman. It's not as though he was telling him anything he hadn't heard before. He had heard it a thousand times over; one cannot be a hero without a Quirk, his Quirkless status made him useless, he was being delusional, he had no chance of becoming a Pro Hero. He had heard it so many times in his life that it had lost its intended demeaning effect on him; now he just considered it an annoyance just like Bakugo.
"I won't be talked down to by a Quirkless like you!" Bakugo accused.
"You do realize you're constantly talking down to others and saying they're so far beneath you," Furaya responded. "Telling me that makes you sound very hypocritical."
"What the hell did you say!?" Bakugo roared as he grabbed Furaya's collar. "First, you humiliate me and now you talk down to me!? Who do you think you are, you damn extra!?"
"I am Hayata Furaya," he spoke, forcing Bakugo's hand off his collar. "And you're wasting both of our time by shouting and cursing at me."
Bakugo's blood continued to boil at the Quirkless not showing any fear towards him. If this had been Deku, one time would've been more than enough to make him cower in fear. He thought the same would work on Furaya, but clearly that wasn't the case. The lack of reaction from the falcon-themed swordsman only made Bakugo angrier.
"I've run into people like you before," the swordsman told Bakugo. "Narrow-minded fools who cannot think beyond their small point of view. It's people like you who remind me why I must succeed."
"How the hell would you ever succeed? Without your boots and your sword, you'd be just another worthless nobody!"
"True," Furaya acknowledged. "Without my boots and my sword, I would be a burden." Just as Bakugo was about to brag, the swordsman spoke again.
"But what are you without your ability to create explosions? Just a boy with extreme anger issues who thinks the world revolves around him."
That last statement caused Bakugo to be rendered silent. Furaya was ultimately right; without his ability to secrete nitroglycerin and create explosions, Bakugo believed he would have no potential of becoming a Pro Hero. He wouldn't be able to do the things he did without his Quirk, one of the things he had always been praised for growing up. Everyone always viewed his Quirk is the strongest and flashiest, making them fawn over him as though he were a celebrity.
After years of training, Bakugo had turned his Quirk into a powerful combat-oriented power. He had learned how to use Explosion offensively, defensively and speedily, making him a force to be reckoned with. He was all too aware of this fact, which fed his ego and sense of superiority over others. Without his Quirk…he believed he was no better than Deku: a worthless nobody.
"You…you bastard!" Bakugo barked, creating another explosion in front of the swordsman. "I told you, I won't be talked down to by some Quirkless wannabe! I'll beat you in the Tournament and prove once and for all that you don't belong here! I may not be Number One now, but I will be one day and I'll make sure Quirkless rejects like you are never allowed near our Hero Schools! You got that, you damn extra!?"
"You're wasting my time," Furaya responded. He sheathed Falcon's Talon and started to walk off away from the clearing to find another training area. The Explosion user bared his teeth and prepared to attack him, but before he could even light a spark, he once again felt Furaya's blade against his throat.
"I need to train and you are getting in the way, Bakugo," he told him sternly. "And you do realize you could be disqualified for attacking a combatant outside an authorized fight?" He retracted Falcon's Talon and sheathed it.
"But I'd rather fight you in the Tournament…and then we'll see if your conviction is as strong as your words." He then left the area, leaving Bakugo all by himself.
He couldn't disregard how quickly Furaya had drawn his sword before Bakugo could even light a spark in his palm. He was very skilled with that katana, that was for sure…but in the end, Bakugo was determined to beat him and prove himself as U.A.'s strongest fighter. Once he had beaten the Quirkless, he'd prove that he had no place in the Hero Course or in U.A. at all…or any Hero School.
"Congratulationsssss on getting to the Finalssss!" Kiyama congratulated Takeo in the cafeteria. "It'ssssss alssssso nicccce…Ssssstupid lisssssp!"
"It's fine, Kiyama," Takeo assured. "Unfortunately, Satoshi won't be joining the Tournament. His contacts were fried by Onkyo's sound attack and Kaminari's electricity."
"Contacts?" Ojiro asked.
"Yes," Takeo confirmed. "Satoshi…is blind. He needs the contacts to see."
Takeo thought of how bummed Satoshi was that he was unable to partake in the Tournament, considered the highlight of the Sports Festival. This was his chance to show off and gain the attention of Support Companies, but with his contacts fried and him being unable to repair them in less than an hour, his chances had drastically decreased. However, since several of Takeo's weapons were made by Satoshi and he had recently added upgrades to Lion Saber and his Wire Gauntlets, he could let the Support Companies know that he deserved the credit.
"He was really upset when he couldn't take part in the Tournament," Takeo brought up. "I think I could help get him some attention by giving him credit for the weapons he made me."
"Aww~" Kiyama responded. "You're such a good friend." She reached behind the back of his head and scratched it. As she did, much to her surprise, she earned a purr from her friend as she scratched his head. After several seconds, Takeo caught on, his eyes widened in shock and he shooed her hand away.
"Stop that!" he barked annoyingly. The people around the table simply looked at Raionhato with surprise at him purring when Kiyama scratched his head. Takeo looked around with an annoyed glare before returning to his meal.
"What was that purr?" Hagakure asked, accompanied with Yaoyorozu, Jiro and Ashido, who had heard the purr. Before Takeo could protest, Kiyama used her tail to cover his mouth and smirked.
"Raionhato loves head scratches. That purr was from him."
"No, it wasn't!" Takeo denied, pushing Nagami's tail from his mouth.
"I'm pretty sure you did," Tokoyami replied, earning an annoyed glare from Raionhato that was silently telling him to shut up.
"It's not true," Raionhato denied. Yukine, who was sitting several chairs away from the swordsman, quietly got up as he continued to deny his purring. She smirked as she quietly got up to him and scratched the back of his head, once again causing him to purr for a few seconds before he caught on and shooed Yukine's hands away. The girls looked at him as if he was a cute kitten at the pet store, finding his purr adorable.
"Aw, you do like it~" Jiro teased.
"I do not!" Takeo denied. "It's just some stupid reflex. I hate head scratches!" He saw Sato trying to scratch his head, but he smacked it away.
"Stop!" he barked, his tone filled with annoyance.
"Come on now, leave him alone," Yaoyorozu insisted…despite finding the purrs adorable herself.
"What? No!" Ashido whined. "I want to scratch his head and hear him purr!"
"Thanks a lot, Kiyama," Raionhato groaned. She just had to scratch his head, now all the girls wanted to hear his purrs…which were just a reflex and DEFINITELY not a sign that he enjoyed the head scratches. Yaoyorozu and Tsuyu kept speaking out against continuing to scratch Takeo's head, but the rest of the girls protested it and stated their desire to do so.
"Can we eat our meals in peace please?" Zankoku questioned. "We've only got about forty minutes before the Tournament starts and I don't want to do it on an empty stomach."
"Thank you, Zankoku," Raionhato replied. Since there were no more chairs left at their table, the girls who were standing had to go look for another one…but not before Ashido scratched Takeo's head and earned some purrs from him before he pushed her hand away.
"So cute," Yaomomo thought when she heard Takeo's purrs yet again by Ashido. A part of her was tempted to go over and scratch Takeo's head, but she had protested this earlier and doing it would cause the other girls to disregard her. She had to suppress the urge to do so, despite finding Takeo's purrs very cute and adorable.
"Yaoyorozu, Jiro," Kaminari addressed with Shiruku by his side. The two girls stopped while the rest of them went on ahead to sit down.
"Yes, what is it?" Yaomomo replied.
"Did you get the notice?" Shiruku questioned before pointing to a group of girls in cheerleader uniforms. "The females in the Hero Course classes are supposed to be doing a cheerleading battle this afternoon. It's mandatory."
"HUH!?" Jiro gasped in shock.
"Are you certain?" Yaoyorozu asked. "I didn't receive any notice about a cheerleading battle. Wouldn't Mr. Aizawa have informed us himself beforehand?"
"I thought he did, but maybe he forgot to tell you," Shiruku responded. "But you'll get in trouble if you don't participate, so you might to get ready soon."
"Yeah," Kaminari agreed. "Sorry about the short notice."
"Well…okay," Yaomomo replied. "I'll get the girls ready after lunch." Yaomomo and Jiro then walked away to join their classmates at one of the tables while Shiruku and Kaminari went off to get their own lunches.
"Think they bought it?" Kaminari asked Shiruku.
"Of course they did," Shiruku replied. "Yaomomo's not going to disobey Mr. Aizawa; if she thinks it's mandatory, she'll do it. I can already imagine seeing the girls in their cheerleading outfits. After this, we should try to get them into swimsuits."
Kaze Yonaka sat on a tree branch, having teleported away after his team failed to win at the Cavalry Battle. What was worse, Raionhato's team was moving forward since they had scored 2nd Place. He hated the feeling that he and his team lost while his enemy's team had moved forward. But he partially blamed himself due to the drawbacks of his Quirk, Shadow Flash; if he teleported people with him, it'd tire him out faster depending on how many were with him.
"I lost Yoruge because of you, you scum," Kaze growled, his hands tightening into fists. "If you think I'll ever forgive you-"
He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a weak thump. Much to his surprise, he looked down from the branch and saw Setsuna Tokage with her head against a tree trunk. Rather than radiating with confident and optimistic energy, she appeared gloomy and defeated. He leapt down from the branch and to the ground, giving him away to Tokage.
"Yonaka!" she gasped. "Where did you come from?"
"I was on the branch up there," he responded. "What're you doing here? You look very…defeated." She sighed heavily before she sat down against the tree trunk.
"I failed," she responded. "My team and I were utterly helpless after Todoroki froze us." She shook her head in frustration before burying her face in her arms.
"I looked so freaking lame," she sniffled. "I'm a student who got in on recommendation and I couldn't even win the stupid Cavalry Battle. My dad worked hard to help me get in and…" She let out a low yell of frustration before she was rendered quiet and sat there silently.
Tokage felt terrible after having lost during the Cavalry Battle against Class 1-A. She had always prided herself on her intelligence, beauty and skills and believed she'd help her team get 1st Place in the event. Instead, her team had been caught in Todoroki's trap, first attacked by Kaminari's electricity and then trapped by Todoroki's ice. They were unable to break free in time to reach victory and ended up losing as a result.
Knowing her parents, especially her Dad, had watched the event, she couldn't help but feel she let him down. He had worked hard to help her get in on recommendation and she felt she had earned it through her hard work and intelligence. She wanted to make her father proud, but after losing the Cavalry Battle in such a manner, after being unable to help her team score any points, she felt she had disappointed herself and her father.
Kaze sat down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder, hoping to offer some comfort. Setsuna didn't react and instead kept her head buried in her arms. He wished he knew what to say to cheer her up, but he didn't know the words that would help. However, he still wished to show some form of comfort, so he extended his arm to wrap around her shoulders. This time, Setsuna reached out her right arm to hold onto Kaze while pressing her face into his chest.
"Thanks, Yonaka," she spoke. "I really appreciate this."
"You're welcome," he replied as she stayed close to him.
Just by sitting there and offering some comfort, Yonaka was helping his classmate with her struggle. At the same time, she was also providing her own comfort by breaking him away from his angered thoughts of Raionhato. Both of them were struggling with their feelings of frustration and sadness at having lost the Cavalry Battle, but unexpectedly, they were there to comfort each other.
"Apologies for the intrusion," the voice of Ibara Shiozaki addressed the two of them. "The Tournament will be starting soon; we'll need to head back to the stadium."
"We'll be there soon," Yonaka responded.
"I understand," she replied. "Oh, and Yonaka: thank you for saving my life during the Obstacle Course. You and Raionhato both displayed selfless courage in that moment, so I believe you will be both one day be great heroes." Yonaka would've taken that as a compliment had she not mentioned Raionhato, despite him saving Okami as he had saved Shiozaki.
"Thank you," he responded. "We'll be there soon." Shiozaki politely bowed her head and left the two of them alone.
"Sunstorm, you know how she feels about you," Recovery Girl told the U.A. Science Teacher. Sunstorm had gone down to Recovery Girl's temporary office in the stadium, hoping his daughter would be there. Unfortunately, she had already healed up Todoroki's arm from Zankoku's poison and left to go get lunch.
"Recovery Girl, I want to reconcile with my daughter," Sunstorm stated. "She's the only family I have left."
"Then you shouldn't have neglected her after your wife died," Recovery Girl responded. "Do you not understand the emotional damage you caused to her? How abandoned she felt after Tsukikara died? You cannot just expect her to want to meet you all of a sudden and think it'll all go away in a single year."
"I know that-"
"No, you don't," Recovery Girl interrupted. "Himari needed someone to be there for her and you weren't there, Razor Shell was. Right now, she doesn't want you in her life; all your current persistence is doing is making her upset and angry. If you want to reconcile with her, that she needs to do it when she's ready, not when you ask her to."
"You're speaking as though it's all my fault," Sunstorm replied. "Tsukikara was having an affair with a man behind my back and she was going to take Himari and leave me. We both messed up, not just me."
Recovery Girl was silent rather than responding. He did have a point that Tsukikara deserved some of the blame since she had an affair with a man behind his back, but she couldn't help but feel that this was Sunstorm trying to take some pressure off himself.
"Even if that's true, that doesn't take some of the blame off you, Sunstorm. And honestly, it feels rather low of you to try and blame your wife for what happened. I disagree with her actions, but do you honestly believe that she took Himari so she could watch her die?"
"No, that's not what I meant!"
"But it implies it! Now please, I have to make sure my clinic is ready for the Tournament. I need you to leave." Sunstorm tried to protest, but Recovery Girl remained adamant and demanded him to leave the clinic.
As he left, Sunstorm silently berated himself for his poor choice of words. He made it sound as though he was blaming Tsukikara for Himari's emotional distress and taking pressure off himself. That wasn't his intent, but it came across that way, much to his self-hatred.
He genuinely wanted to reach out to his daughter and atone for his past misdeeds, for neglecting her when she needed him the most. Unfortunately, Himari didn't return the sentiment; she wanted nothing to do with him and turned him away every time. Razor Shell and Recovery Girl both agreed that his persistence now was only causing more strain in their already broken relationship, but if he didn't reach out to Himari, how could he ever reconcile with her?
"Sulking again?" a deep voice taunted him. Sunstorm's defeated expression quickly changed to one of contempt and controlled anger. He turned around to see the #2 Hero of Japan, the Flame Hero, Endeavor.
"Endeavor," Sunstorm spoke lowly. "I'm surprised to see you here. I'm certain you have two more children to drive to suicide."
"I'm here to ensure that my Shoto fulfills his duty," Endeavor shot back. "He acted disgracefully in the last battle. Had he used his flames, he could've gained 1st Place, but instead, he barely passed. This rebellious phase of his must end if he's to accomplish-"
"Shoto is NOT your toy, Endeavor," Sunstorm interrupted very sharply. "This isn't his duty you're going on about, it's YOUR EGO. Maybe he would use his flames if you hadn't made his life a living hell."
"I trained him to surpass that brainless fool, All Might-"
"At least he's not a heartless bastard who throws his children away like trash, drove his son to suicide and his wife to insanity!"
Endeavor stared down Sunstorm, but the Sun Hero firmly stood his ground against the #2 Hero. His eyes, filled with hatred and anger, met Sunstorm's as the two stared each other down.
"Everything I did was for Shoto's benefit. And you better watch yourself: you remember what happened the last time you tried to get involved in my business?"
"I was trying to save your wife and children from your cruelty. You honestly believe that everything you did was 'for Shoto's benefit'? You must love lying to yourself so you can pretend you did nothing wrong. But then again, you don't have the conscience to realize that, do you? You don't even care about the damage you caused, did you?" Endeavor smirked arrogantly.
"Who are you to lecture? Your wife is dead and you neglected your daughter in the wake of her death. Now she wants nothing to do with you. Don't lecture about my shortcomings when you won't even recognize your own."
"Don't you dare act as if we're the same! I would never drive a child to suicide like you did to Toya. And at least I acknowledge my wrongdoings; all you do is pretend everything you've done was for Shoto's benefit. And to think I supported you becoming the #1 Hero."
The tension between Sunstorm and Endeavor grew since the Sun Hero was one of the few who knew the truth behind Endeavor's family. He had thrown his eldest son, Toya, away like trash, which drove him to suicide. His cruel mistreatment of his family drove his wife, Rei, to suffer an emotional breakdown and had to be taken to a mental hospital. He didn't consider Shoto his son, only a tool for his own vanity and pride and willingly disregarded his happiness because the Flame Hero's ego needed satisfaction.
"One day, I hope the world finds out about what you did," Sunstorm spoke. "One day, Japan will know of how cruel you were towards your family, how truly depraved you are…and when you're stripped of everything you sacrificed your family for, I'll look down on you and say 'I told you'."
"Are you saying you're going to try and repeat what you did years ago?" Endeavor questioned in a rather threatening tone. "Don't forget; I have more than enough resources to shut you down. Get involved in my business again where you don't belong and I'll make sure your hero career is over. Now get out of my way." He shoved Sunstorm aside and walked down the hall.
If there was ever anyone who was a hero in name only, it was Enji Todoroki, the Flame Hero: Endeavor. Sunstorm knew the cruelty he had put his family through, but with immense resources at his disposal, Endeavor could crush any scandalous story about him as easily as boiling water. He had tried before years ago, but failed and the #2 Hero threatened to destroy his career if he did so again.
"You really should not pick fights with Endeavor," Nezu told the Sun Hero. "He has the power to make trouble for us here at U.A. Provoking him may encourage him to take action against our school."
"With all due respect, Principal Nezu, that man is a heartless bastard," Sunstorm responded. "Razor Shell and I have told you of what he did to his family. He has no right to be here."
"You did tell me, but Endeavor is a very powerful hero," Nezu brought up. "Without any form of solid evidence against him, there's nothing we can do. He'd shut down any attempt in a day."
"So…we just let him off the hook?"
"For now, yes. So please restrain yourself around Endeavor; we cannot afford to make an enemy of him."
Sunstorm hated that Nezu was right, that there was nothing they could do about Endeavor's cruelty towards his family. As the #2 Hero, he had nearly limitless resources at his disposal and would cover up any scandal in a short amount of time. He was too powerful to challenge without irrefutable proof; accusations without solid evidence would do nothing but make U.A. appear as incompetent.
"I understand your anger towards Endeavor, but you are also a teacher of U.A. High School," Nezu replied. "It is your shared responsibility to ensure this school's welfare and reputation; your responsibility to this school must come before any personal grudges, regardless of reasons."
"Yes, sir," Sunstorm responded.
"Good, now let us return to our seats. The Tournament will be starting soon."
When the students returned to the stadium after the hour had elapsed, they were greeted by a very surprising sight: the girls of Class 1-A were clad in cheerleader uniforms, holding up poms-poms. To their own confusion, they were the only ones wearing cheerleader outfits.
"Looks like Class 1-A is going full-on fanservice!" Present Mic announced, much to the girls' embarrassment. From a ways off, Kaminari and Shiruku smirked at each other and gave a thumbs-up; their plan had worked and the girls had been fooled into wearing cheerleader outfits.
"B-but what about the cheerleader event, Mr. Aizawa!?" Yukine asked.
"Cheerleader event?" Aizawa replied. "There's no cheerleader event. Who told you this?"
"You perverts!" Yaomomo shouted angrily. "You tricked us!? You're going to regret this!"
All the students glared at Kaminari and Shiruku for tricking the girls into wearing cheerleader outfits. Most of the girls felt very embarrassed by being tricked into doing this, especially Yaomomo since she had convinced the other girls to join in.
"Seriously, guys?" Raionhato questioned. "Are you seriously-" He stopped suddenly, looking at the girls. Some of them thought he was checking Yaomomo, but that was dismissed when he started counting his fingers and then counting the number of girls wearing cheerleader uniforms.
"Where's Kiyama?" Raionhato asked. Sato and Ojiro also noticed the snake girl's absence.
"They said they couldn't get a cheerleader outfit for her," Yukine responded, clearly gesturing to Kaminari and Shiruku.
Looking over at the corner of the stadium, Kiyama was wrapped in a ball, an aura of depression emitting from her. Raionhato, Ojiro and Sato glared deathly at Kaminari and Shiruku, silently questioning why Kiyama wasn't involved in the cheerleading prank they pulled.
"It was Shiruku's idea!" Kaminari claimed, pointing to Shiruku.
"You went along with it, dumbbell!" Shiruku spoke. "Don't act like you're-" By now, Raionhato, Ojiro and Sato's glares had turned dark with immense rage at what they did.
"Uh, guys-" Kaminari tried to talk.
"YOU SCUMBAGS!" Raionhato, Ojiro and Sato shouted. Right after that, the three of them started beating up Kaminari and Shiruku while everyone either looked on with shock or some sense of satisfaction.
"Those stupid jerks!" Jiro groaned. "Tricking us like this and excluding Kiyama."
"Well, at least they're getting their just desserts," Yukine replied. "But I honestly thought at first, Raionhato was checking you out, Yaomomo."
"S-stop your teasing, Yukine," Yaomomo demanded, her face turning red at the idea of Takeo checking her out in a cheerleader outfit. However, a part of her felt that she wouldn't mind it if he did admire the way she looked in the outfit. Maybe it was because she had gotten to know him a bit, maybe because she knew he wasn't one to take advantage of women…or maybe it was because he was currently beating down Kaminari and Shiruku alongside Ojiro and Sato.
"Guyssss," Kiyama spoke up. "It'sssss okay. I…I kind of don't have a body for a cheerleader outfit, you know."
"Well," Hagakure spoke up. "We're already here and I really like these outfits so…how about we just roll with it!?"
"Are you crazy!?" Jiro gasped.
"Silence, everyone!" Midnight announced. "Raionhato, Sato, Ojiro, stop beating them up!" The three friends reluctantly stopped beating up Kaminari and Shiruku in revenge for hurting Kiyama's feelings.
"Thanks," Shiruku slurred...before getting another punch from Takeo.
"Anyway, we unfortunately have a dropout from the Battle Tournament: Satoshi Gijutsu of Team Zankoku. Due to an injury he sustained during the Cavalry Battle, he has withdrawn from the Tournament. Since Team Shinso was 5th Place, it's been decided that Hitoshi Shinso will take Gijutsu's place in the Tournament."
Raionhato looked over to see the young man who'd take his best friend's place and recognized him as one of the General Studies students who was in the crowd that day. He didn't know what his Quirk was, but considering General Studies students didn't receive the combat training Hero Course students did, it was very likely that his combat skill was minimal. But he wasn't about to rule out the possibility of him being a strong fighter, not after seeing Hayata Furaya fight.
"The Tournament Bracket has been decided! Please look at the screen and see who you'll be up against!"
The sixteen students moving forward looked up at the screen to see who they'd be up against first. The bracket showed eight different matches starting from left to right: Midoriya vs. Shinso, Todoroki vs. Sero, Kirishima vs. Zankoku, Iida vs. Furaya, Yaoyorozu vs. Tokoyami, Raionhato vs. Ashido, Okami vs. Kaminari and Bakugo vs. Uraraka.
"Who the hell's Uraraka?" Bakugo asked, earning a shocked reaction from Uraraka.
"I hate you so much, Bakugo," Raionhato growled under his breath, trying to suppress his desire to say something offensive to Bakugo. He had told Yaomomo that he would make an effort to stop being so antagonistic towards Bakugo and he intended to keep that promise as best as possible, especially since she had told him his behavior towards the Explosion user disturbed her.
"I…I'm not like him," Takeo spoke quietly under his breath once again.
"But before the Tournament begins, we'll need to get the stage ready! In the meantime, we'll have a number of activities for the students, whether you passed or failed. Once the stage is ready, the Tournament will begin."
"Are you Iida?" Furaya asked the Class Representative of 1-A.
"I am," he replied. "I take it you're my opponent."
"Don't hold back against me," Furaya requested. "Come at me with everything you have."
Furaya wanted to ensure that his opponents did not hold back against him simply because he was Quirkless. His promise could not be kept to himself if he won because his opponents went easy on him. Only an undisputable victory would ensure his way into the Hero Course. Only by proving his strength and skill for all to see would he earn the place that he had been wrongfully denied.
As for Raionhato, instead of taking part in the activities, he decided to head on up into the bleachers and meet someone he recognized.
"Uncle Nobu..." he thought to himself as he ran into the hallway.