When Mandalay pulled back, she blushed, "I couldn't have done it without Shoto," Izuku said, pointing to his friend. Before Rei or Fuyumi could say anything, Mandalay kissed Shoto, sending class 1-A into further chaos. Mandalay then thanked Himiko by kissing her; Ragoll and Pixie Bob bestowed kisses upon Izuku and Shoto, and Tiger just rubbed their noses together as they all thanked him for killing Muscular. The class was in a total state of chaos. None more so than Tenya, who had stumbled back and leaned against a wall. Itsuka was ready to punch the heroines for just kissing Izuku like that.
Shoto was red-faced as Rei pulled him behind her. Then, she began to chastise the Pussycats for just kissing the students. While that was happening, a young boy came out of the crowd towards Izuku. He was young, about Eri's age, with short spikey black hair, about as tall as Mineta. He wore a short-sleeved collared button-down shirt, dark shores, black boots, and a red hat with two golden spiked-shaped horns on the front.
Izuku knelt down to eye level with the boy. The class noticed the kid, and everyone went silent. "Did you kill him? Did you kill Muscular?"
"Yes, I did," Izuku said.
"He killed my parents," tears formed in the corner of the kid's eyes; he tried to wipe them away. "I hated him; I hated him so much. I was so mad at them, at my parents for dying, for going off and leaving me. They chose to be a hero rather than be with me. Why did you kill him?"
"He was a monster," Izuku said softly, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Your parents didn't choose to be heroes over being with you. They choose to be heroes because of you." The boy looked at Izuku wide-eyed. "I have a daughter," Izuku pointed to Eri. "I don't want to be a hero to not be with her. I want to be a hero so she doesn't have to. So I can make the world better for her and other children like you. Your parents loved you, they still love you. They did not go out that day looking for death, but if they had run, then Muscular would have killed more people that day, leaving more children alone. I killed Muscular because he was a monster and had to be stopped. Not only to save my life but the lives of those in my class."
"I want them back," the boy said, breaking down. "I just want them back."
"I know you do," Izuku hugged him gently. "But they are with you, in your heart and in your head. They are watching you. They love you so much, who is taking care of you?" The boy pointed to Mandalay, who was crying. "She loves you so much, I bet she misses them just as much as you do. All she wants is what is best for you."
Mandalay knelt by them and placed her hand on the boy's back, "I do love you Kota, I love you so much. He is right. I miss them so much. I just want to do my best for you and them. I know I can't replace them, I would never try, none of us would." The rest of the Pussycats were now around them. "But if you let us, we promise to be here for you, to help, love, and support you!"
Kota pulled back from Izuku and looked at Mandalay, "Don't leave me," Kota sobbed, "I am sorry I was so mean, I was so angry…" Kota fell into Mandalay's arms. "I am sorry, Aunty, I am so sorry."
Izuku moved back as Mandalay wrapped Kota into a tight embrace then the other Pussycats joined in they were all crying and hugging the young boy. Himiko took Izuku's hand as she hugged his side. Some of the class were wiping away tears at the scene. Rei was surprised when Shoto hugged her; he hugged her so tightly that she almost thought something was wrong. Instead, she heard him whispering that he was sorry and how much he loved her. Rei turned around and just hugged her son.
Once everything calmed down, Mandalay took several deep breaths, "We are not just here to give you thanks, and we wanted to present you with the bounty for bringing Muscular to justice."
"Bounty?" Izuku said.
"Villains have bounties, especially big ones like Muscular. It denotes a certain amount of danger that is taken when you go after a big-time villain," Mandalay said. "It is paid out the hero or whoever brought the villain to justice. We wanted to see that you received it; we can do that with some help from Nezu."
"I want to split it with Shoto," Izuku said quickly.
"No," Shoto said, stepping away from Rei and Fuyumi. "I want you to have it all."
"But Shoto…" Izuku began to protest.
"I did what you asked because I trust you, and this will go further for you and your family," Shoto said. "It will help you be able to take care of Eri. I never thought I would be free of Endeavor, and with your help, that happened. I never thought I would find the strength to reconnect with my mother, and thanks to you and your family, I saw my path to doing that. We may not be blood, but you, Himiko, and Eri are my family. Let me do this."
"Then, if you do this, you have to promise to be Eri's godfather," Izuku said. "If something happens to Himiko and me, you must promise to keep her safe. That is what a brother would do."
"I would be honored, Izuku," Shoto said with a bow. "Give it all to him," he said to Mandalay.
"Izuku Midoriya, on behalf of the Hero Commission and the Wild Pussycats, we hereby give you the full bounty for bringing the rank S villain Muscular to Justice," Mandalay hit a button on her phone. Izuku opened his phone and may have fallen if it hadn't been for Himiko holding him.
Izuku just turned his phone to Himiko, and she went pale. Itsuka came over to Izuku and said, "Are you okay? How much was it?"
"1.5 billion yen," Izuku said. The class erupted again.
Tenya shook his head, "No, this isn't right; how is this even possible. This isn't supposed to happen." Tenya walked off without anyone noticing. "They are not supposed to be rewarded, not with kisses, praise, or financially. They are killers, monsters, they don't belong here. They don't belong here."
"Sorry for kissing you?" Rag Doll whispered.
"Don't be, I liked it," Izuku said, getting a bit of color back in his cheeks.
"I did too," HImiko said with a wink.
Eri walked over to Kota, "It is better knowing that the monster is gone." Kota nodded, wiping his eyes. "Do you want to play?" Eri smiled at him before she took his hand. "Daddy, we will go play outside with my ball."
"Okay, sweetie, just stay in front," Himiko responded. Kota stopped and looked to Mandalay for permission. With a nod of her head, he followed Eri outside.
"Do non-heroes normally get the bounties?" Denki asked Tiger.
"No, not normally, but Nezu was able to secure it for them, and we would have insisted," Tiger said. "Muscular was our monster; knowing that he is dealt with will finally allow Kota to heal. That is worth triple that bounty."
"WE brought food and drinks for everyone," Pixie Bob called out, earning a cheer from the class as it turned into an impromptu celebration. This wave of letting go washed through the class; after the USJ and the fight in the hallway, it was nice to sit down and cut loose. All the students took turns taking pictures with Wild Pussycats and asking the heroes questions. The party was in full swing as Izuku found his way outside with Mandalay, watching Eri and Kota playing in the grass.
"I read your file," Mandalay said. "What you and your family have gone through to reach this point is amazing."
"We shouldn't be here," Izuku said. "It wasn't supposed to happen, not for us. But here we are, and I am not about to let it go."
"You shouldn't have to have done what you did to get here," Mandalay said. "As grateful as I am for you killing Muscular, but that shouldn't have been your job."
"I wanted him dead," Izuku said. "He would come through the Pit every now and then. I watched him murder people in the arena, then heard him kill others in his room. He nearly killed HImiko; if it wasn't for Eri's quirk, she would have been dead. He killed children that way. He didn't deserve to live. I swore if I ever got the chance, I would wipe him off the face of the earth."
"I didn't…" Mandalay said before stopping. "It takes a toll on you."
"Yes, even the monsters take a toll, but you don't feel bad about them; they don't come to you in your dreams," Izuku said. "I often wonder about the price you pay for taking another's life; if there is an afterlife, will I be able to be with my family there, or am I condemning myself to be forever apart from them."
"And if you are condemning yourself?" Mandalay said.
"Better me than them," Izuku responded. "If it protects my family and those I care about, then I will pay the price so they can be in the sun."
"You shouldn't have to," Mandalay said after a moment, "I shouldn't be thanking you for killing him, but thank you, Izuku, thank you so much. You gave me Kota."
"You're welcome, Mandalay," Izuku said with a smile. "By the way, that was a good kiss earlier."
"Why thank you," Mandalay said with a blush. "Not my best, I was a bit emotional."
"I would like to see what your best is then," Izuku looked over at the heroine, making her blush.
"Oh, little kitten, I could make you howl," Mandalay responded, fighting back her blush.
"I love a good howl, so does Himi," Izuku smirked.
"Is that the truth?" Izuku nodded. "I will keep that in mind, maybe when we have more time."
"I look forward to it," Izuku said, looking back at the two kids playing. "if you want, even without the howling, feel free to bring Kota back to play with Eri; I think it will be good for him. She understands some of what he is going through."
"I will do that," Mandalay leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
Before the Pussycats left for the night and bestowed all kinds of merchandise upon the Midoriyas, Eri ensured they got phone numbers so she and Kota could talk. It was a bit late, but the students had work to do before bed; they all stood in the common room to work together like they had done the last time before a yawn from Eri signaled it was time for them to go to the cottage.
Itsuka smiled when Izuku pulled her out of the way and gave her a kiss. "Is it right that I felt jealous seeing them kiss you, but it was also interesting?" Itsuka whispered.
"I understand," Izuku said. "Are you still okay with this?"
"Yes," Itsuka said. "You are married to Himiko, I understand what is going on. It is just new, that is all."
"Good, Itsuka, I really like you, I think you are beautiful," Izuku said, kissing her again.
"Me or the pussycats," Itsuka whispered. "If you had to choose?"
"I choose you," Izuku whispered back. With a smile, he went to collect Eri, who was getting her hugs from the Todorokis', Momo, Toru, and others. Mina and Himi emerged from a room, Mina blushing some.
Izuku caught Momo's hand before they left, "I know this is a bit sudden, but would you be willing to introduce us to someone who could help us invest this money?"
Momo smiled. "I would love to Izuku. Get some rest." Momo squeezed his hand.
"Thank you, Momo," Izuku said, following his family out of the dorm.
The Day After
The class noticed the presence of Ectoplasm clones outside the dorms, along the route to class, and in the hallway between the two heroic classes. The two classes were staring at each other, wondering if things would pop off again. Izuku and Himiko were surprised to find Nemi waiting for them to escort them and Eri to daycare and then to class.
"How much trouble are we in?" Izuku smirked.
"Some but not a lot, the others are to blame," Nemi said. "I am here just to make sure someone doesn't do something stupid, and you put them in the medical ward. And to see my unicorn. How was your day?"
"Great," Eri said, climbing into Nemi's arms. "I made a new friend. His name is Kota, and he doesn't have to worry about his monster anymore."
Class 1-B
Vlad King entered this class at the bell's ringing and took his place at the front. "Never in all my years of being a teacher have I been so disappointed in my class," Vlad began. "The only reason most of you are still here is because Nezu didn't let me pull an Aizawa and demote the lot of you down to general studies or expel some of our outright." The class took a collective deep breath. "How in the world did you think it was a good idea to go to your sister's class along with general studies and pick a fight with class 1-A."
"Sir, they are hogging all the attention; they are glory seekers, signal boosters, and word came down that members of that class are murders?" Neito said, jumping to his feet. "Not to mention cowards for trying to cancel the Sports Festival so they wouldn't lose their seats and it would be only their names known for internships."
"Hogging attention, Cowards, claiming all the internship offers," Vlad said in disbelief. "Murder's who told you that?"
"We heard it from someone in general studies," Tetsu said.
"I should expel the lot of you," Vlad said. "I should drag all of you to a training ground and subject you to what they had to endure, but I would be arrested for it. Your sister class are not cowards, glory hogs, or signal boosters; they were not trying to cancel the sports festival; they are survivors. Survivors of such a horrific event that it is doubtful that you will ever have to suffer something close in your hero career. And should you do, I pray that you can emerge alive and find the strength to carry on."
The lights dimmed, and the halo projector descended; the room was filled with an image of the USJ. "This is class 1-A stepping off the bus in front of the USJ before the incident." 1-B saw their sister class all dressed, smiling, laughing, and looking excited. "This is 1-A exiting the USJ." They saw students stumbling out, in tears, covered in blood, clothing torn, paramedics rushing students out on gurneys and speeding away, blood soaking the sheets. There were no smiles; they watched as some students fell to the ground and sobbed. "Glad to see they are glory hogs," Vlad said.
"Now let's go inside," Vlad said. "What you are about to see is real. This is what happened, not what we think, but actual footage of what happened inside the USJ. "This is the leader of the attack on the USJ. His name is Shigaraki, the mist villain is Kuorgiri, and the creature is only known as a Nomu. After their appearance, Kurogiri attacked students who had been ordered to retreat while their Homeroom teacher went into battle to try and buy them some time."
Class 1-B watched as the battle played out; the camera changed when Kurogiri teleported the students to different areas. They saw Himiko land in a cave surrounded by three would-be assailants. The footage was dark, but it was clear through the audio what their intentions were. The video paused, and the villains were displayed with a litany of chargers. It played out across every zone; class 1-B watched as their sister class fought for their lives, watching as villains clawed at their clothing, boys and girls. Each villain's record was shown, a long list of crimes and charges. The entire class was silent, watching the horror play out before their eyes; in full sound and living color, they heard all the screams of anger, pain, and terror. Muscular filled the screen, but his list of crimes was so long that it took over the entire screen. Rank S villain. Murder, Rape, Necrophilia, Molestation, the list went on and on. They watched as he battled with Izuku across the zone and saw that he had killed other villains before he emerged for fun. They gasped at the final fight in the plaza, watching Koda lose his leg. Watching a Mezo lose limbs, Momo skewered, Aizawa broken, and every injury suffered was shown in detail as Class 1-A fought desperately to live.
Vlad went to Kinoko, "That girl you attacked, Ochaco Uraraka; here are the injuries she suffered during the attack." He did the same to every one of his students, the student they attacked, and what that student had suffered to be there in the hall that day to suffer the attack of 1-B."
"He killed that villain in custody!" Neito shouted. "Murder!"
"Really?" Vlad says. "Touch Setsuana arm, or you are expelled!"
"What!" Nieto said.
"Too late," Vlad said. "That attack was in movement when the faculty arrived."
"But he didn't know who he was dealing with?" Tetsu countered.
"Yes, he did," Vlad said. "He knew exactly who and what Muscular was. He knew that if Muscular got a hold of him or any of his classmates, he would kill them and then fuck the corpse. Or maybe just fuck them to death as he tears them apart. That young man had to see that happen; he had to see it nearly claim the life of someone he loves. Now tell me, Tetsutetsu, what would you do knowing all that and seeing that man come for your mother. Any of you tell me that in a fraction of a second, when fighting for your life or the life of anyone in this room, you could stop your attack after all that happened."
"Those are your glory hogs, your signal boosters, your cowards," Vlad said as the lights came up. "And you decided to go over to them and spout your bullshit. Do you understand the trauma they are going through, that if it wasn't for a miracle, we would announce how members of 1-A were dead and attending funeral services? Yet all you care about is how they are getting all the attention. Tell me if nearly dying and being violated is worth that attention. Is it worth a bunch of self-righteous idiots walking over and yelling at you for daring to survive? Would you be happier if they were dead? Then their chairs would be open? Yeah, they are getting attention, but hey, they're dead. Why do you care?" Vlad stared at his class. "We are not worried about what you will do them when you encounter them at the Sports Festival. We are worried about what they will do to you."
"Setsuna, Niren, Reiko, Ibarra, and Manga, you will all follow me; the rest of you, for your participation in the fight, will serve two weeks' dentation with a mark also being recorded in your files," Vlad said. "You are to sit quietly until I return."
Vlad led the five students down the hall to class 1-A; he knocked and heard Aizawa tell him to enter. When they came in, 1-A immediately bristled, seeing members of 1-b in their class. Vlad had his students line up behind him. He bowed to 1-A. "I know that my words in this matter mean very little, but I want to say that I am ashamed of my students' actions yesterday, and they are being severely reprimanded for their actions. I have brought these five students here with me as they had no part in the attack and were doing all they could to stop it from happening." Vlad stepped back, and they all bowed deeply.
"Sir, may I?" Setsuna said. Vlad nodded, and Setsuna stepped forward. "My name is Setsuna Tokage, and I am very sorry that we could not do more to calm the idiots with whom we share a class. We were all aware of the tragic and horrific events you all had to endure. We are very sorry we were unable to prevent this event from occurring. I know that right now, us being able to be friends or even acquaintances is tainted by these events, but I hope that in time, we can find a way to be exactly that."
The students of 1-B bowed and left the room. Class 1-B was sent separately to the cafeteria to retrieve their lunch to eat in class. They spent the rest of the day going over the USJ attack, memorizing each of the villain's offenses.
Fuyumi
The rapping at her door startled her awake; she looked at her phone, which read 4 a.m. She stumbled out of bed, nearly tripping on the sheets, and threw open the door, not sure if she was about to unleash hell or heaven upon whoever was on the other side.
The last thing she expected was to see Izuku Midoriya standing there dressed for a run; Izuku raised an eyebrow as he looked her over. "Not what I would recommend for a run, but very nice to see first thing in the morning."
Fuyumi was confused for half a second when the dawning realization of what she wearing crept into her mind. Fuyumi was standing at the door in a nightshirt; it was loose and hung off her shoulder, it came down to the top of her thighs just past her butt bedhead, and the fabric was not the thickest in the world. Fuyumi swore she went red from her toes to the top of her head; she closed the door most of the way and jumped behind it. "I…Izuku, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Fuyumi managed to spit out.
"Fine, as far as I am concerned," she could hear the teasing in his voice. "You said you wanted to go running with me."
Fuyumi wanted to say otherwise, but she had said that after that morning, she had encountered him while on her run; but with all the craziness of the USJ and the aftermath, she had forgotten all about it. "Um, not today," Fuyumi stuttered, "Tomorrow."
"Okay, see you tomorrow," Izuku laughed.
Fuyumi closed the door and put her hands over her thumping heart; she walked over and looked out the window, and she could see him exit the dorms and begin stretching. Fuyumi didn't know why, but she watched him until he started his jog.
Training
Izuku was up early daily for his run, hitting the gym before and after class. When asked, his answer was simple: "The Sports Festival." It wasn't long till Itsuka was out there with him; it allowed her to spend more time with him and get much-needed training for the Sports Festival. After working out with All-Might, she could keep up with him reasonably well. Then came the sparing, as that took on a life of its own, and others were soon cleared to join, but it was becoming a larger group. Itsuka and he would still find a moment to spar alone and become engulfed in its intensity. Two hot and sweaty people were attracted to each other, and wrestling on top of each other lent a different excitement.
Everyone was focused on the upcoming sports festival, and some didn't know how far they would go, but the encounter outside the classroom was their fuel. As more of the class was cleared more joined in the workouts.
After dinner one night in the dorms, Izuku kissed Himi and Eri goodnight before he grabbed his duffel bag.
"Where is he going?" Mina asked, curious, looking at the time.
"He is training," Himi smirked. "He gets like this when a big fight is going on, and he wants to do well at the sports festival for Eri."
"But what kind of training will he do at night?" Momo pressed. "We already went to the gym. Did we do sparing and quirk training?"
"Fight," Himiko said.
"More sparing?" Mineta asked, confused.
"No fighting, he talked with Aizawa. I think he is going to fight with some of the faculty, Ectoplasm," Himiko tapped her chin.
"So sparing?" Mineta said.
"When you spar, there are rules. You are not trying to hurt your opponent; you don't go all out, protective gear, etc. In a fight, there are no rules, full contact, anything goes," Himiko said.
"He is going to go fight Ectoplasm?" Itsuka said, handing Eri her water cup; Himiko nodded. "Holy hell."
"That is my man," Himiko smiled, looking towards the doors. "If you make it to any one-on-one battle with him, don't take it lightly or hold back. He won't kill you or anything, but if he has to break something, he will."
"Even you?" Mina said, shocked.
"Probably not, but I won't compete in the third round. I want to stay more underground, and with my quirk flashing across the screen, that is not the best idea," Himiko said.
"Kind of crazy, cool, and hot all rolled into one," Kyoka said. "What it is?" she blushed. "Night, everyone!"
Sure enough, when they saw Izuku the next morning, he had a black eye and some visible bruises; he didn't say anything about it, so neither did they. It was like that several times a week, and those who knew got a good smile seeing Aizawa sporting a black eye as well.
Izuku was preparing for sparing; he had just finished wrapping his hands. As he looked up, he saw Denki standing there. "What's up, Denki?"
"Can you teach me how to fight?" Denki said nervously. "My quirk is inaccurate, but I am working on it. Other than my big shot, I am a one-pump chump. At the USJ, that made me a liability. I don't want to be a liability."
"Okay, once we start, if you quit, then we are done," Izuku said. "When I tell you to stop, you stop. When I say to push, you push. If you are good with that, then I will train you; it will be painful, and I will not be nice. The only training I ever did was in the Pit."
"I understand," Denki said. "I will not let you down."
"It is not me you will be letting down but yourself," Izuku said. "Now sit and let me wrap up your hands so you don't mess them up too bad."
Denki was sore in places he didn't know he had, but he didn't stop; he was up and ready to run when Izuku hit the gym and followed all the instructions that Izuku gave him. During training, Izuku even worked with him on moves other energy/lightning users had used in the Pit. Eijiro soon joined them along with Mezo.
It was just a week before the Festival when the news broke.
Breaking News
For the rest of the week, it was the same with Ectoplasm there to keep the two classes separate. Tenya was at a loss for days; the Wild Pussycats thanking and kissing the Midoriya were insane to him. Then he heard of the reward that Izuku was given for murdering Muscular, and he was at a complete loss. This world had gone mad, it had to have, he was the last sane man on the planet. There had to be some villain's quirk at work; somehow, he was immune to it. Watching the class rally and lean on each other was one thing, but seeing these bonds forming with the Midoriya was something else. He swore he saw Itsuka Kendo holding Izuku's hand at one point, but when he looked again, no such activity was happening.
How a murder was being celebrated and rewarded was beyond him; his attempt at getting the student body to rise up had backfired, but at least the rumors of his evils were still persisting. He needed to turn up the heat and get this sorted right, and after class, he made another call to Ms. Kizuki. "Hello, I just wanted to see if you had any follow-up questions, Ms. Kizuki…"
The Friday before the sports festival, the story ran,How Can U.A. Condone Murdering Students Walking Their Halls
This reporter has learned from several anonymous reports that there are students who stand accused of murder walking the halls of the first-year hero course, and no action is being taken to remove them or keep the rest of the student body safe. In the aftermath of the attack suffered on the U.A. campus, confirmed reports that several villains were killed by the 1-A Hero Course, with even one villain being killed while already in custody, which can only be condoned as a cold and malicious act.
It is very concerning that this has not been addressed by the Faculty of U.A., leaving concerned students with nothing to do but walk the hall in fear. One student said it was terrifying to see this student walk the halls with an air of being untouchable.
Another student reported that this is not the first time this murder has struck in this fashion, that they had killed before, and they were confident this student would kill again. An unconfirmed report has even stated that the murderer in question has been financially compensated for their horrific actions. To try and verify these claims, I have contacted the U.A. several times with no response.
As the death toll from that attack is climbing to over twenty and the number of those crippled even higher, where does the accountability of the U.A. come into play. Are they teaching the next generation of heroes, or are they training cold, heartless killers who will stop at nothing? We need answers; the student body of the U.A. deserves to feel safe in their own halls, and justice must be served for all. This is an outrage, and the truth needs to be revealed.
This reporter will not stop till the truth of the attack on the U.A. is revealed for all. A cover-up is happening in the U.A. What are they trying to hide?
Now, here is what we know…
Tenya looked over the article and took a deep breath. It was a drastic step, but he had to save U.A. He had to save his class; they needed a hero to step up and show them the way. He is that hero.
Sho:Tenya, did you see this article? Is this all true?
Tenya: Every word of it Sho. It is so wrong.
Sho:Can you tell me who it is?
Tenya:Just because we are close, I want you to be safe. Izuku Midoriya.
Neito
Neito looked around his room at Tetsu, Togaru, and Shihai, "Look, guys, I told you shit didn't add up."
"I don't know, Neito," Tetsu said, rubbing his head. "We all saw the footage; we know what went down. This just sounds like a bunch of bull."
"Look, man, they didn't need to kill all those villains, and they crippled a bunch more, "Shihai said. "They went through some shit, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be held accountable."
"Exactly," Nieto said. "If we don't stand up for what is right, who will. Doing what is right is not always the popular or cool thing to do, Tetsu. Sometimes people will get angry with you for doing it, but that is what heroes do."
"I think we are off the mark," Tetsu said. "How would we even go about this and not get our class in deeper trouble or get ourselves expelled. How do we even know this stuff is right?"
"I know someone who is getting it straight from 1-A, and how we beat them we use teamwork," Nieto said. "We get the rest of the class to just work together; we band together and do our best; maybe we trip up some 1-A along the way. They may have all the hype, but we can steal it if they don't make the final round!"
U.A Sports Festival
Finally, the Sports Festival arrived. Class 1-A sat in the waiting room, filled with nervous energy. Tenya had hoped that breaking the news story would bring down some sort of heat. Still, all he heard was the others rallying behind the Midoriyas and trying to ferret out who was talking to the press. Fortunately, their focus was on 1-B.
Momo led them to the lineup, andas they did so, they were joined by 1-B. The air between the two classes was ripe with tension, andthere were plenty of sideways glances. As the festival kicked off, they heard Midnight welcoming the fans and those watching on Television. The Hero classes entered to the most applause, andIzuku listened to the cheering get less and less as the other courses were introduced.
"To give our student address, please welcome Momo Yaoyorozu of Class 1-A President." Midnight called out. Momo took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage before the world.
"Hello and welcome to the U.A.'s first-year sports festival," Momo said with a beaming smile; the crowd broke into a cheer.
"She is freaking natural up there," Mina said.
"No kidding, I would be nervous as hell," Mineta added.
"As I am sure many of you are wondering, I am the only daughter of Gao and Chi Yaoyorozu of the Yaoyorozu corporation; now that you know that the next thing you are wondering is what is she doing on that stage as a member of the hero course at U.A. Shouldn't she be living in some big house learning business to take over the family company," Momo said scanning the crowd.
"I stand here today because, like many of you, I would look at the Television and see a world of heroes play out on the screen. Watch as good did battle with evil, right vs. wrong; it all played out before my eyes. I would dream of being there one day, of being a hero that brought hope and peace to people, inspiring other little boys and girls to dream that same dream," Momo paused. "Then I received my quirk, and I knew in my heart that if I worked hard enough, trained hard, I could find my way to this very spot on this very day."
Momo looked around at the crowd, "But of course I could, right? I have a very versatile quirk, money, and the resources to get the trained to be here right now. There are those among you who will hear that and dismiss the hard work that I put in, saying that it was my name and family that got me to this spot. To this very spot on this day."
"I have come to see that those here with me did the same thing; they put in the work, worked hard, studied hard, and made their way to this very spot on this very day,"Momo continued. "They didn't have my advantages. They didn't have my support. Some had none. Some had to overcome such hardships that I believe it was an act of the divine that they are here today in this very spot. I have seen levels of dedication to this collective dream of ours that have raised my heart and lifted my spirit. Knowing the adversity that each and every one overcame. When those outside of them would tell them they were foolish andnot good enough, they overcame it; they made it! We made it to the U.A. to the hero course, andnothing can take that away. And I learned something essential, that the world is not black and white, that there are grey, pink, green, red, and all the colors that make up this world. I also learned there is evil."
"Evil came for us; they tried to take everything away from us; when the villains attacked the USJ, they came for our dignity, blood, and our very lives,"Momo looked at the cameras. "One week, two heroic classes, and we had to fight for our lives. Out of that, we survived; we didn't win. We survived; I had to look and watch as members of my class, who 24 hours earlier were dreaming of being heroes, clung to life as U.A. Medical worked their own miracle to save them. I had to see people I consider friends wrap themselves in blankets to not expose themselves, watch them break, watch them bleed. Just so we could be here on this spot, on this day."
"We didn't crow about victory, we didn't say look at us, we went to sleep haunted and broken, wondering if there would be an empty seat or an empty bed because one of our classmates didn't make it,"Momo paused, her voice was right with passion, and now there was a tinge of anger. "Our reward was to called cowards, murderers, signal boosters, and more. Our rewards are nightmares, fear of being alone, flinching from an imaginary shadow, being too scared to get out of bed, and having our actions called out by people who weren't there, who had no idea of what we had to do to survive. To be on this very spot, on this very day."
"What I and others did get was family, not the family we are born with but the family that you get when you survive something like this,"Momo looked at 1-A. "Brothers and sisters who supported each other when the shadows got too dark. When the media and the ignorant called us horrible names. When others would stare at us and whisper where they thought we couldn't hear them. It fueled us; it drove us to be on this very spot, on this very day."
"Now I want you to look at us,"Momo said, staring at the crowd. "See us for who we are; we are class 1-A of the U.A. hero course. We survived, we lived, and we came out stronger together. When you look at us, remember that everyone worked hard to be here; everyone gave all they could just to be here at this very spot on this very day. Those who came for us at the USJ, those who call for us in the media, and those who talk behind our backs, WE ARE HERE! WE WILL NOT RUN, WE WILL NOT COWER, NOR WILL WE HIDE. BY TEARS, SWEAT, AND BLOOD WE ARE HERE ON THIS SPOT! ON THIS DAY! NOTHING WILL TEAR ME FROM MY FAMILY; NOTHING WILL BREAK THESE BONDS. I AM MOMO YAOYOROZU, CLASS PRESIDENT OF 1-A. WELCOME TO THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL!"
Momo stepped back and bowed before walking off stage; the crowd erupted into cheers. "Such passion," Midnight called out with a broad smile. "Nothing less for me to say, but everyone, take your position for the Obstacle Race!"