Oh, wow. I am so sorry, everyone; I did not expect to be gone for so long. A number of things happened in the past month (both good and bad), and it got a little overwhelming. Thankfully, I am through the worst of it, and I am happy to be back and able to upload again.
That being said, while I was hoping to increase the frequency of my uploads to make up for it. I can't promise it as things at home, while stable, are still changing, so please bear with me in the coming months.
That being said, if there is anyone who deserves thanks and an extra shoutout, it's my young brother. (At his request, he will be referred to here as Mangobro.) Mangobro managed to salvage my work when my old PC decided to shit itself to death. (This included a hard drive failure...that had all of my most recent work on it.) While I do make back-ups (including Cloud saves.) I had gotten a little too confident and failed to make a recent backup on either.
Mangobro quickly stepped in and salvaged it without much issue. Now, I have made a point of making both digital and physical backups on a daily basis. So, yeah, if there is anyone you guys should thank, it's my younger brother, who came in clutch and saved my ass a massive headache.
Alright, it's time to get down to business.
So, for new readers, I'm going to have to provide some context for this chapter.
In the previous versions, Alexander Springfield was an Original Character of minor significance. However, several of my older readers fell in love with this bastard. (This was completely unintentional because he was never supposed to have any fundamental role beyond my initial plans.)
My way of using named OCs is to follow at least two of the following criteria to warrant their existence in my stories.
One: Help advance the story without taking the spotlight from Canonical Characters.
Two: Assist development or open a window for Canon Characters.
Three: To showcase the world-building and differences from canon.
Four: To fulfill a role that canon characters cannot fill (Due to either causing possible plot holes or because it would be out of character for them to do so, AU be damned.)
Alexander Springfield is a character who ended up fulfilling all of these terms.
(Although in the story's first version, he was only planned for two of these terms. Namely, parts 3 and 4.)
However, as the story progressed, Alex began delighting several of my previous readers and me as a writer. As I said before, he wasn't supposed to be a mainstay and had been planned to be written out late in Arc II. However, as opportunities arose, I began to consider this character for longer-term use.
Now, for people who are pretty concerned about OCs.
You might be surprised how often I've gotten reviews in the previous versions of this story that shared how much they enjoyed this character, even from people who usually hate OCs. So, I simply ask for a chance to prove to you why this strange character, who was once only planned to be used briefly, got a life of his own in this story and beyond.
He is the star of a non-canon spin-off, In Another World With My Smartphone: The Lost Hero. He will be one of the main characters in a canon spin-off, My Hero Academia: The Shields of Spring.
(The prologue of which should premier shortly after this is uploaded.)
I decided that while Shield of Springs will not be required reading when it crosses over with Fafnir Knight, it is important to make sure we're not completely lost in the mix.
So, I have decided to include these special "companion" chapters.
These chapters are to avoid possible issues when it comes time for these stories to eventually mix for the endgame. These special chapters are essential enough to the main Fafnir storyline that they will be included directly in the main story.
However, these chapters will only appear as needed and might not appear in every arc. They will only appear when I deem it completely necessary to help explain things that might seem like plot holes or things that seemed too convenient but may be occurring in the other storyline.
(Trust me; this will make more sense with some of my planned arcs in the future. I'm just doing this now to make it easier for readers who don't want to read the spin-offs.)
My Hero Academia Untold: The Knights of Fafnir
x
My Hero Academia Untold: The Shields of Spring
Companion Chapter I: Another Way
The following chapter takes place shortly after Izuku began cleaning up Dagobah Beach...
Melissa Shield awaited in frustration as she waited for her team to finish their latest experiment and head out to the Multi-Purpose Room Four. She had been keeping tabs on the big event on her phone while the adults set up the watch party in their section's biggest multi-purpose rooms. It took everything possible for her not to start tapping her foot out of anxiety.
"The opening ceremony for the UA second-years is about to finish up! Hurry up, guys!" Melissa called out as she waited by the doorway. As the section leader of the room, she had to be the last one out to secure the door, meaning she couldn't leave until everyone else was out.
"The first event for the first years was over an hour after the ceremony!" A young man with white-and-green hair called out in a bored voice as he reviewed the experiment's data. "Just let me know when the race starts! They want us to have EDWIN out of Beta by next month!"
"Senku!(*1)"
"Don't mind him, Meli," a blond girl with tanned skin and violet eyes said with a smirk. "You know his attention span for anything other than our projects is as short as his."
"True...but I don't want to miss a second of the festival, Quitterie," Melissa retorted with a long sigh before becoming terse at the boy genius.
"It's OK, Meli, I've got the perfect solution to our problem," Quitterie said with a confident glance. "Senku! So help me, Shinohara! I will kick your ass in next week if you make us miss the Festival! And don't even think about turning to stone to hide your scrawny ass from my boot! I've got Taiju and Yuzuriha on speed dial!"
"You'd really go that low, Quitterie?" Senku responded with a whine and a roll of his red eyes.
"Damn straight!"
"Damn it..." said Senku as he gritted his teeth, followed by a sigh in surrender. "What is with up these gorilla women?"
"What was that shrimp?!" Quitterie instantly shot back as she got a hint of what the typically stony lad had said under his breath.
"I said, OK!" Senku quickly answered back lest he got himself into deeper shit and started making backups of all of the data. Once he was finished, he clicked on a microphone next to the PC and began speaking into it. "We're done, Zack. Festival's about to begin."
"Thanks, Quitterie," said Melissa as the two girls high-fived each other.
"You know I got your back, girl," Quitterie followed up as she double-checked that her station was cleared and inspection-ready. "Besides, I'm a little hyped for the Festival too, you know? There are a lot of cute boys in this year's group!"
"Quitterie..."
"What? It's true! Remember that Tin-tin-looking blond with the abs you could grate cheese with? You know, the one who kept losing his clothes every few minutes! Oh Lord have mercy, you bet your sweet ass I got that shit saved!"
"Oh my Horikoshi," Melissa facepalmed to hide her blush. "Quitterie! What about Zack?"
"Oh, come on!" Quitterie frowned as Melissa brought up her childhood friend/long-time crush. "That plank has yet to ask me out! So I'm still single and ready to mingle, so I'm still allowed to look."
"Hey guys, is everything alright?!"
Melissa and Quitterie turned around to find a tall, handsome, blond young man with baby-blue eyes who had gone ahead of them to help make the food for the watch party.
"Just waiting for Senku and Zack to finish up," Melissa answered as she double-checked the time. "What's the status of the party?"
"Food's done, almost everyone there, and the opening ceremony just ended!" Charce answered promptly. "We have maybe fifteen minutes tops before the first event begins!"
"Well, Senku?!" Quitterie quickly shot up as she turned around to ensure the genius was on task.
"We're almost done!" Senku snapped back in annoyance. "You damn well know EDWIN needs time to shut down correctly. Or do you want Zack to end up a vegetable?"
"Ugh!"
"Is everyone waiting for us, Charce?" Melissa followed up with their blond friend.
"I'm afraid he, Mr. Ishigami, and Mr. Urashima are all running late as well," Charce retorted after taking a moment. "They got caught up in a last-minute meeting with those DoD reps and the council to meet with those military officers in charge of the Mithril Project. While Tessa will be running late since she's running the tests for the Tuatha de Danaan."
"Damn. We got one more year before we all head out for Officer Candidate School," Quitterie interjected as she folded her arms. "You think we'll be this busy once we're official?"
"Definitely," Melissa followed up with a sigh. She saw Mithril as a chance to go beyond a Support Gear Engineer and cross into a newer form of Professional Heroism. The best part? Quirks were a non-factor in the program; entry was supposed to be purely on merit, as proven by her invitation to become a commissioned officer. "EDWIN; Tuatha de Danaan; MARV; and the 9th Gen NASF-Prototypes? We're all in for the long run."
"Considering the animal program, I can't wait to start," Charce commented with a shy smile. "Rumor has it that they're even bringing a specialist from Japan to help us! I just wish the contract wasn't so long."
"It is a long-term commitment," Melissa said as she remembered the details of the contract they all signed. "But considering all of the benefits and incentives, I can understand why they want their investment to last."
As if on cue, the door to the testing chamber opened, and out stepped a tall young man with short, snow-white hair and sharp, ice-blue eyes, which were complemented by silver-framed wire-trim glasses.
"How was the data?" Zack Walker questioned as he quickly removed his test vest for the experiment.
"All good," Senku answered with a lazy thumbs up. "Data backup is done."
"EDWIN is now offline, Melissa," said Zack as he turned his attention back to their section leader. "We can head out now. I just hope that this one will be more eventful than the first-year class Festival started strong but really petered out after the second event."
"Finally!" said Melissa as she quickly motioned everyone out of the room so she could input the room's security system. "I doubt it will be boring. This year's group was the crazy first-years from last year's Sports Festival."
"Oh yeah, the first-years completely stole the show last year!" Charce commented fondly. "But now they have a whole year of experience under their belts!"
"You make it sound like they're younger than us, Charce!" Quitterie questioned with a raised eyebrow. "They're actually a grade ahead of us!"
"So they're 11th graders?" Charce asked with a couple blinks, surprised by that fact.
"The Japanese equivalent, yes," Zack interjected as he fixed his glasses.
"Huh, I didn't know that..."
"Alright!" Melissa exclaimed as the security system went active. "It's time to huff it! We don't want to miss the first event!"
-Meanwhile, back in Japan
"Alright, Katsudon? Check. Quirk Journal with last year's first-year class? Check. Phone fully charged? Check, and the live stream is a go," Izuku finished listing off all of the vital necessities needed to watch this year's Sports Festival for the current second-year students.
Once upon a time, watching the Sports Festival was a long-time Midoriya family tradition. Hisashi, Inko, and Izuku often watched together every year with excitement. Hisashi and Inko tended to watch out of nostalgia, though the former also used it to keep an eye on potential interns/work studies students to apprentice. Izuku, however, had the chance to spend more time with his parents and also used the opportunity to learn about the day he would compete in the Festival.
Unfortunately, the tradition couldn't stick after Hisashi's passing. Inko, more often than not, needed to work during the big event while Izuku was still watching. This was a far more clinical and analytical process, hopefully giving him an edge in future competitions. Now that he would be All Might's successor, he needed to stand out further from the crowd and show what he was made of.
That being said, it wasn't all negative.
A couple years back, Izuku had found a streaming site that partnered with UA that not only live-streamed the Festival but featured everything from Pro-Hero commentaries, chances for limited-time merch, vtuber collabs, and a form of not-gambling because it's not real money, but you can sure as hell make real money out of it, based on outcomes of the Festival. Izuku had developed quite the reputation with his online alias, Deku, a long-discarded nickname that Katsuki had made up before Hisashi made him stop.
That being said, the Deku persona was well regarded for his highly accurate analysis and play-by-play commentary on how Quirks could be used. Izuku even managed to make some pocket money in the form of tips when other users made bets using his advice. Hell, it was noted that bookies would even adjust the odds based on the initial judgments made by the Deku persona.
"I just hope that this one will be more exciting," Izuku muttered to himself as he typed the same message in the live chat and was agreed by the others. The Sports Festival for this year's first-year class started strong yesterday but quickly petered out by the second event. The range of Quirks was vast, but none of the students of that year's group seemed all that into the Festival itself.
As Izuku began digging into his meal, the chat lit up with excitement as the Second-year ceremony ended with last year's first-place winner giving the Festival's opening pledge and moving to start the first match. There were plenty of funny comments and jokes to be made, but a few comments made the boy frown. It happened every year, but you always had a few mean-spirited individuals who tended to focus on memes and trolling rather than actually having anything worthwhile to say.
Hero-Hiro-09120257: Think that fatass from last year is going to make an appearance again?
Roro-Kun78660: Fatass?
Hero-Hiro-09120257: The American! The one who fell into the pit like a rock!
Hero-Hiro-09120257: *Image sent* -A GIF image of a young, over-weight Caucasian boy with brown hair falling into a pit of last year's first round-
Don-Masu978: Oh shit! I forgot about that kid! LOL! Damn, I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard!
Kira-Kira-boo23: Kid got roasted here and back in America for months! *Image sent* -Several translated news articles with titles like National Embarrassment, Failure to Launch, Why Americans Should Avoid Trying to Attend UA, and From Wanna-be Hero to Absolute Zero.
Kira-Kira-boo23: Hopefully he learned his lesson and went back home to where he belongs!
Don-Masu978: With any luck he swam back to lose the weight. Damn I'd pay to see that shit.
That-Ninja-230: Confirmed from a friend who's in the Business Course the American is still attending UA and should be competing today. The Bookies actually have a wide range of bets solely based on him.
Don-Masu978: Sweet, can't wait for the new wave of memes.
Roro-Kun-78: Who would retarded enough to bet on him except how hard he'll fail again?
That Ninja-230: There are also odds for failure, but the gaps are much smaller.
Hero-Hiro09120257: I think I briefly saw him when the camera was panning on the students. But I could be wrong since the camera scrolled by too quickly.
Izuku looked away from the chat to focus on the live stream; the first round of the Festival should start any second now. As much as he wanted to say something in defense of the lone American, but it would only likely just make them double down. And since he wasn't mod, the most he could do was just refuse to respond to their requests for his analysis.
'I'll never understand how people could be this blatant with their discrimination,' Izuku pondered with a long frown as he watched and noticed the comments get worse.
He didn't really know anything about the American outside of mostly cruel memes. However, there were a couple things he could surmise with some simple clues. For example, he knew the International UA transfer examinations were notoriously difficult, with a passing rate of only 10%... worldwide...and that was just to earn the right to take the entrance exam here in Japan! So he was likely either very intelligent or just a really hard worker when it came to studying.
BANG!
BOOM!
The signal for the festival's first event started to chime from his laptop's speakers, making Izuku focus on the screen just in time to see a literal sonic boom blast out of the entrance. In a matter of seconds, both Izuku and Present Mic, the latter serving as the festival's lead announcer, quickly noticed that one student had suddenly appeared with a solid lead while a number of disoriented students began pouring out of the entranceway.
'WHAT WAS THAT!?' Izuku excitedly grabbed his notebook and began to find the page of the second-year students who might have been able to pull such a stunt with their Quirk. Only to find nothing, no one in the Hero Course this year had a speed or sound-based Quirk. As the cameras panned toward the student in the lead, Izuku couldn't help but smile as the chat lit up in disbelief. As the camera zoomed on a familiar, albeit much skinnier version of the Caucasian face that served many a meme last year, a name and class position appeared to inform the audience of who was responsible for this stunning opening upset.
Alexander Johnathan Springfield(*2), Class 2-C, General Studies Course, Liaison Student.
"No one warned me about the amount of paperwork I would face when I joined the field grades," sighed the recently promoted Major Roy Mustang as he finished another form in a seemingly endless pile of paperwork that needed review and signatures. Between his official transfer from the United States Army into the new Special Service branch known as Mithril. Roy was starting to regret ever joining the program despite the fast track to promotion the opportunity presented him.
"Every advantage has its tax, sir," responded his trusted adjutant, Riza Hawkeye, flatly as she dealt with her paperwork on the desk beside his. Though Roy suspected she was hiding a smirk. "Paperwork seems like quite the low cost for the rank of Major at your age. Keep it up; you might even make full Colonel in a few years."
"This isn't paperwork, Lieutenant," Roy groaned as he continued to work on getting the rest of his original unit to join him here on I-Island from the mainland. Yet, the I-Island strict regulations required all of this excessive work, national security be damned. "This is torture..."
"Ah, yes, a war crime indeed," Riza responded with dry sarcasm as she fixed up the forms for her to complete. "We should inform the International Criminal Court at the Hague immediately."
Roy sighed as he suppressed a smirk.
It wasn't often the rather strict Riza Hawkeye would actually crack a joke, but it helped that they were alone. However, before the Major could respond, a gentle rapping at the door. Without even waiting for an answer, the door opened to reveal Roy's best friend and Executive Officer, Captain Maes Hughes poking his head from the door.
"Heya, Roy!" Maes greeted with a broad, bearded grin. "Still slaving the day away, I see!"
"Hughes..." Roy said with another sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. With their transfer to Mithril, though they maintained an organization like the military, which included ranks and uniforms, they were technically no longer US military members. Hence, the permitted acceptance of looser standards in discipline and regulation, something that Maes took full advantage of by actually growing out his beard.
"You all look pretty stressed out, ya been getting enough sleep?" said Maes after checking his watch without regard to Roy's frustration.
"I've bee-"
"Riza, you made sure that Roy is getting enough sleep, right?" Maes interrupted despite already knowing the answer.
"I try, sir," Riza responded casually, much to Roy's chagrin. "However, the Major proves to be quite stubborn."
"Well, that explains things," Maes continued with a frown as he looked around the empty, gloomy room that was already set to handle the new administrative staff that would be occupying this office in the coming weeks. Stepping into the room, the young captain knew he needed to save his long-time friend from the grips of this fiendish chore.
"Alright, Roy. You know most of this work isn't even due until next month, so there's no point in forcing it further. Come on, let Hawkeye have the rest of the night off, and come watch the UA Sports festival with some of the members of the Island's council in MPR Four. It's actually been quite interesting this time around!"
"The UA Sports Festival?" Roy questioned with a raised eyebrow at the man's suggestion.
While the UA Sports Festival was famous and readily available to watch the live stream. Hardly anyone outside Japan actually watched it(*3). Instead, most of the world preferred the internationally recognized World Quirk Games (*3) established to sub-plant the Olympics after World War III. Of course, the Olympics and other regular non-quirk sports still existed despite not being as popular anymore; that being said, they still have dedicated fanbases. Roy, for example, was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys Football Team and kept an eye on them each season...much to his continued disappointment.
"Why the hell would we watch that?"
"It's a surprise!" Maes answered with his famously unbridled enthusiasm. "But I will say that social media is lighting up like crazy! Plus, they set up the place with some decent grub."
Roy looked at his long stack of paperwork, then the time, then to Maes, then to Riza, and then finally back to the sheet in front of him that was still only halfway done. Despite wanting to get a step ahead, he knew his best friend had a point. Burning out this quickly instead of pacing himself was a recipe for disaster.
"Alright," said Roy as he got up to his feet. "I could go for a drink. Lieutenant, you have the rest of the day off."
"Thank you, sir," said Riza as she quickly rose to her feet and exited, though she paused to give Maes a nod before leaving the room.
Once Maes was sure Riza was out of earshot, the man got right to work.
"So when are you going to put a ring on that finger and make an honest woman out of her?" Maes questioned with a goofy grin.
"We're not having this conversation again, Maes," Roy answered as he quickly passed his friend to make his way to the Multi-Purpose Room, where this watch party was being held.
"I'm just saying that it will do you good to have someone like her being able to better reign you in," Maes continued casually as he followed his friend. "It's not like she doesn't do it already."
"Then why don't you marry her instead?" Roy responded sarcastically. "See if Gracia is willing to accept a mistress."
"Sarcasm is unbecoming for the future President," Maes followed up with a cheeky grin.
"Watch what you say out loud," Roy hissed as he quickly checked his surroundings. Thankfully, no one was around in this stretch of the journey. "The last thing I need is for General Clemens or one of his cronies to find out about my future plans."
"Don't worry about that idiot," Maes responded with a much more serious tone. "The Butcher of Villavicencio is still trying to cozy up to the other I-Island council members. But I'm pretty sure they all have his number."
Roy's hand began to flex automatically upon hearing the name of the once-beautiful city.
"How he escaped court martial for that nightmare, I will never understand," Roy said quietly as the two turned into a jointing corridor that led them directly to their destination.
"My money is on a combination of friends in high places and the fact that the Confederacy pinned it on the Empire," Maes listed off casually with a wave of his hand. Both were veterans of the US task force meant to keep the peace in the neutral land after the last war between the Central American Empire and the South American Confederacy. Unfortunately, General Clemens was ambitious and sought to look good for the top brass. "The transfer to Mithril was likely his best chance to keep off the radar for now. It's not like anyone else wanted the job. Just be glad we're under General Grumman's command instead of his."
"He is the one who convinced me to transfer with him," Roy admitted with a sigh. Despite the man's age, Grumman could be described as a crafty fox with a silver tongue. Sharp as a tack with the strangest sense of morbid humor, a man not to be trifled with.
"Alongside his granddaughter," Maes added with a waggle of his eyebrows as they reached the door to the fourth Multi-Purpose Room of this section.
"Goddamn it, Maes," said Roy as he grit his teeth as he pinched the bridge of his nose again.
"Kidding, kidding!" Maes quickly responded as he opened the door for his friend.
The sounds of cheers and roars instantly filled their ears, making the two war veterans recoil out of instinct. It was out of sheer discipline that stopped the Major from lighting the room on fire with his Quirk. Meanwhile, Maes quickly replaced the throwing knife back into its hidden sheath that was strapped on the small of his back as he nervously fixed his glasses with his other hand. Once the two caught their breaths, they gingerly stepped inside, being careful not to disturb anyone else. That being said, they quickly caught the attention of the adults hanging in the back of the room.
"Ah, Major Mustang, Captain Hughes; glad you can join us for the party!" A tall, lanky man with white hair that ended in black tips and red eyes greeted them warmly. Roy quickly recognized him as Byakuya Ishigami, the leading head of the 9th Gen NASF-Prototypes and I-Island's Space program. "Can I get you two gentlemen a drink?"
"Beer me, boss," Maes quickly answered with a smirk, while Roy was a bit more reserved regarding the choice of beverage.
"A coke for me, please."
"Good choices," Byakuya followed up as he handed the men their canned drinks before he cracked open one of his own. "I'm just surprised to see you here! The second event just ended, and boy, was it close!"
"Is the Springfield kid still in?" Maes quickly asked before looking at the highlights that were playing on the screen.
"Yep," Byakuya answered before taking a deep drink from his beer can. "But you can tell he made some enemies because they were after him something fierce! Seriously, he made one hell of a comeback after his disaster last year!"
'Springfield kid?' Roy pondered as he turned his attention to the highlights that began listing those who made it to the last leg of the tournament. The lone Caucasian face stood out quickly among the Japanese faces, yet the strange part was that despite not watching the UA Sports Festival last year. That face did look familiar. He just wasn't sure from where. It finally clicked after a few more highlights that showed the comparison from last year's performance. 'Holy crap...I remember him...he's the kid that the tabloids went nuts over last year! Damn...he's actually shaped up.'
While Maes and Byakuya continued their conversation. Roy focused squarely on the boy who had seemingly beat all the odds to get to his current point in life. While he had found that the tabloids and other news reports had been unnecessarily cruel to the lad, he had to agree that he felt that the boy's drive to go to UA just to prove a point had been painfully misguided and foolish. It would have been much easier for him to have just attended the Pro-Hero school back in the States. That said, it looked like the kid might ultimately get the last laugh...and he had to respect that.
'I'll keep an eye on him,' Roy pondered as his eyes drifted to several of the young men and women in the room who would join Mithril next year when they graduate early from school. There was a reason the US government had decided to establish Mithril's sea-based operations on I-Island after all. 'I could always use someone like him to help raise my stock.'
"I think he's coming to...I'll keep you posted, Meems."
Alexander Springfield groaned as he stirred awake with a cough, still in a lot of pain. His whole body ached, his eyes stung and burned, and his eyelids struggled to open up. It made sense, given how much he had pushed himself today.
"Whe-re am I?" Alex slurred, having felt like he had been rammed by a truck at full speed, only he didn't benefit from being Isekai'd to a fantasy world. His breathing was labored and painful even while lying down due to the bruising around his face and throat.
"Easy, buddy, I got you!"
"Yagam—ow shit!" Alex hissed as his vision was still trying to focus. He struggled to sit up with his good left arm while the right was currently bound up in a stiff sling.
"Hey, easy there, big guy!"
"Yagami, that's you, right?" Alex questioned as his eyes got to work on focusing on his friend's face from the General Studies Course,
"The one and only," Taichi Yagami said with a grin. He was a tall, well-built young man with a forest of wild brown hair, usually accompanied by a pair of goggles.
"Just relax; your arm was already fractured after the first round. But I'm pretty sure it's broken now, even after Recovery Girl worked her magic on you. And considering how the fight with Shouji(*4) went, I'd say you got off easy, Spring. Still, you put up one hell of a fight before you got taken down."
"I...I lost?" Alex asked with a clear, disheartened tone in his voice.
"Yeah...sorry, dude," Taichi responded with an apologetic tone and bittersweet smile. "But hey, you should see how social media has been blowing up about you! In a good way this time!"
"How long have I been here?" Alex croaked out as he looked around the small room. Once, he saw the snack cart and some bright, colorful signage nearby. He realized they were in one of the break rooms for Hero Course.
"It's been a couple of hours," Taichi answered calmly as he handed Alex a bottle filled with ice-cold water. "The last match finished about twenty minutes ago."
"So I haven't missed the closing ceremonies?" Alex questioned after taking a deep gulp of the refreshing water that brought relief to his previously parched throat that, until then, had gone by unnoticed.
"Nope," Taichi answered with a wave of his hand. "You're still good. So just relax for the time being and focus on recovering."
"Alright," Alex sighed as he slowly eased back into the cot, relieved that he hadn't missed arguably the most essential part of the Festival. "So...how did Shouji get me?"
"You don't remember?" Taichi questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"The last thing I can clearly remember was the match starting," Alex responded with a blank stare at the ceiling. "After that...it's just a haze...and pain..."
"Shouji did choke you out until you turned blue, so you might have some brain damage," Taichi followed up with a slight chuckle as he crossed his arms. "Honestly, I thought you had him for a second until he pulled a fast one and got you in his Grapple Lock Move. I knew it was over then, but you still kept fighting him until you passed out."
"Sounds about right," Alex retorted with a sudden grin. "I've been caught in Shouji's full body lock before...I thought I had developed a counter for it...but it sounds like it didn't work out like I thought it would."
"Then why didn't you just give up, Spring?" Taichi questioned with a raised eyebrow. "It seems kind of dumb to keep the match going if you knew it was over. Why make Shouji knock you out?"
"Can't..."
"Can't or won't?
"Both," Alex followed up with a frown. "I worked too damn hard to get where I am. If I had to lose, fine. But I'd rather die than just surrender; I'll go out of this world the same way I came in. Kicking, screaming, and preferably covered in someone else's blood."
"I have ever told you how insane you sound at times?"
"At least three times a week," Alex promptly answered without hesitation.
"Yeah...math checks out," Taichi said with a nod after mulling over Alex's response.
The American grinned as if somewhere in the young man's head was a constant manic mixture of stupidity and intelligence, stubbornness and determination, ego and pride, self-confidence and vanity. It was one of the many reasons Alex preferred to be finished off.
'I worked too hard to just give up like that; I was going to fight until the bitter end...' Alex rubbed his neck at the pain, now fully awake and awaiting his fate.
"Nervous?"
"Shit yeah," Alex admitted as he took a moment to look at his trembling hands.
"Even though you did so much better this time?"
"That hurdle wasn't even high to begin with," Alex answered with a long frown. He had managed to go far for a General Ed student, especially when compared to last year. When he failed to get past the first part of the Festival. He had fallen into that damn pit with the ropes after he misjudged his Quirk's jumping ability and poor health at the time. It was the second time he had failed to make it into the UA Hero course after failing the practical entrance exam.
"Well, all of the training paid off," Taichi tried to reassure his friend.
"Not until I'm in the Hero Course," Alex retorted stiffly, as he wouldn't take it easy. His failure and humiliation from last year's Festival had only fueled his continued commitment to join the Hero Course. It had forced the American to double down on his training with everything he had to achieve his desired promotion. He had worked himself to the bone until the end of the last school year. Alex applied again after one very grueling trial by fire proctored by Eraserhead. He had achieved his first goal; becoming a Liaison Student for the Hero Course. His true goal was to go even further beyond and make it into the Hero Course proper.
"But come on! At this rate, you're a shoo-in for the open spot!"
"Sakuraba has been a Liaison longer than I have," Alex answered calmly as he closed his eyes for a moment.
When it seemed like fortune had smiled on him as one of the hero course students had dropped out for personal reasons before the year had even started. With an open spot and his position as a liaison, he was ever closer to his true goal of being a proper Hero Course student. However, rather than automatically promoting one of the two Liaisons. The UA staff decided to wait until the festival to determine who would get the spot.
"Sakuraba didn't make it to the third event, let alone place in the top eight," The brunette reassured his friend.
"I...I know," Alex responded with a dry sob. It got to the point that he couldn't hold back, and the tears of frustration started to run down his face, burning his very skin. Overall, he had placed higher in this year's sports festival than his rival and fellow Liaison for Hero Course, Sarutobi Sakuraba. But the doubts that plagued his heart and mind for the past year wouldn't allow him any peace. Sarutobi had been in the running for much longer and was without question favored to take the treasured spot by almost everyone in Class 2-A and 2-B. The more Alex thought about the actions that got him here, the more doubts began forming in his mind, remnants of the naysayers from here and back home. The foreigner lay there thinking over every little bit of his latest bout of the Sports Festival he had been.
"But until I hear those words saying that I'm in the Hero Course, my efforts are only worth what I've earned to this point."
"I suppose that's fair," Taichi admitted with a frustrated sigh.
"I just..." Alex continued after another sniff. "I just can't put all my hopes on this...if I don't make it this time...everything I've worked for...would have been for nothing."
Alex had dreamed of being a Pro-hero for countless years, especially after seeing all the great deeds people could do with their powers. However, he wanted to be a Pro-Hero, which was a cut above the rest in the US. One way to do that was to attend UA, the most famous school in the world for the pro-hero scene. The world that the World's Symbol of Peace had attended in his youth. The school students in the US all talked about somehow attending despite the reality of their situation.
This American had resolved to make this simple pipe dream into reality.
His parents had wanted him to stay in the US and attend the hero courses, but he refused. Determined to break the mold and show everyone it was possible under the right circumstances, thankfully, between his hard work and the good fortune of having a generous cousin who happened to work and live north of Tōkyō. He had been privileged to take that one-in-a-million chance by taking the American-Japanese Hero-Exchange Student program exam.
Years of forward thinking and study had prepared him to learn the language with courses provided by one of the state colleges he happened to live nearby. It took several exhausting exams over several months. Yet, it ended with Alex arriving in the Land of the Rising Sun after earning the privilege of taking the UA entrance exam. However, he only managed to get into the General Studies course. He feared that if he didn't get the Hero Course spot now. Then, it would be too late to gain any Pro-hero experience by his third year in the academy.
"Springfield, you awake yet!?" Barked out the rough voice of the Pro-Hero and school counselor, Hound Dog.
"Sir!" Both Alex and Taichi hopped to their feet in surprise and stood to attention out of habit. Alex nearly yelled out in pain as his body wasn't ready for the sudden moment. Instead, he simply sucked it up and quickly dried his tears with the sleeve of his good arm.
"I'm up, sir!" Alex finally responded after collecting himself.
"Then head out to the field with the rest of the third-round competitors. The closing ceremonies for the Second Year Students are about to begin! And Yagami, get back to the stands with the rest of General Studies!"
"Yes, sir!" Both boys answered in unison.
Alex managed to respond without a hint of stuttering, breaking, or sobbing in his voice. He was glad he hadn't missed the ceremony and could stand tall with everyone who had managed to get this far. Yet...on the other hand, it left his fate more ambiguous, which only compounded his ever-growing anxiety. His family and friends back home had been watching on a live stream, while his cousin Lucy should be at the stands right now.
Waiting for him to make an appearance after his defeat.
'This is it...The moment of truth.' Alex thought to himself, inhaling as deeply as he could, the pain be damned.
Alex felt Taichi's hand on his shoulder again, making him turn his head to face him.
"You got this, man," Taichi said softly. "No matter what happens. You have a lot of us on your corner cheering you on."
"Thanks, dude," Alex answered as he wiped a tear from his cheek with his good hand. And with that, he moved with his lead-heavy legs, making his way back to the stadium with the determination of a man possessed, ignoring every ache, pain, sore, and bruise. He would be able to rest soon; he just needed to get this over with before he could.
Upon arriving at the field, he saw that the ring had been fixed, and the stands filled with cheering fans as the sixteen who made it to the third round filed in various states of recovery. The platforms had already been raised for the four who occupied the first, second, and third places, respectively.
"Oh yeah! My good listeners! We are here to start the award ceremony with this year's pro-hero guests and fellow UA alumni! Give it up for the Flame Hero: Endeavor!" Present Mic's voice spoke out from the speakers.
Alex and the rest of the students in the field turned to see the fiery hero appear from the eastern entrance of the ring alongside his sidekicks, who held the boxes that contained the medals reserved for the top three placements. The crowd roared excitedly upon seeing Endeavor reach the center of the ring. Endeavor paused once he got there, waiting for Cementoss to make a stairway toward each of the three platforms to go where the winners stood.
As he did, Present Mic began with the side announcements.
"While our good ol' Cementoss finishes up the stage for Endeavor, we have a bit of added recognition from the general studies and business course. The votes are in: the most entertaining match goes to Mirio Tōgata versus Yusei Kodo! I say, the censoring team is going to have a field day editing that fight!"
The blond boy who placed first began to laugh, along with many others in the stands and watching from home.
"Up next, we have the crowd favorite, Nejire Hadou!"
The blue-haired girl waved from her third-place spot next to Mezou. Alex slowly began to drown out the rest of the side announcements. He was a little drowsy thanks to the possible concussion while still being kept awake by his aching body. It was a little difficult to focus as the man continued to drone on and on, at least until the final side announcement, the one that would change his life forever.
"And now, we have one last special announcement to make! But first, we want to show everyone this special video that was kindly put together by the General Studies Course."
The crowd went silent as their attention was directed to the screens surrounding the stadium, allowing Alex to wake up and look at the screen. It displayed footage from last year's Sports Festival and hopeful-sounding music beating through. It was footage of the first event of the Festival.
The great race, and soon enough, the camera began to follow one particular student.
The camera zoomed in to a familiar face –albeit significantly chubbier, with brown hair and bright blue eyes racing with his face in a panic. It was Alex from last year on screen. The present-day Alex stood there with his face suddenly flushed in a deep shade of red, seeing this and knowing what would happen next. The crowd laughed as a young man had made it to the "The Fall" section of the race. The American cringed as he watched his younger self fall into it after a quick blue flash, failing to grab onto the ledge.
Alex bit his lip, trying to keep a stoic face amid the waves of laughter.
'Was this all just embarrass me?' The American grimly thought, feeling like this had been made just to mock him.
"This is Alexander Springfield, a General Studies student and foreign guest of UA,"The narrator began. Alex quickly sobered up, recognizing that voice; it belonged to one Mimi Tachikawa, Taichi's girlfriend and Business Course Liaison for Class 2-B. "He's a bit silly and maybe a bit more forward than we're normally used to, but he's a good, hard-working guy."
The video continued, showing a montage of Alex training hard last year, from exercising to fighting training to experimenting with support gear. The scene changed again, showing the boy beaming as the camera panned on the scale he stood on to show how much weight he had lost. It was followed up by a before-and-after photo taken four months after he had lost over fifty pounds.
The scene that followed that one showed the now slimmer Alex participating in joint lessons with the Hero Course. The next scene was when Alex was going to enter Site Omega training grounds alone, as it would serve as the final exam for Eraserhead to gain the Liaison position. The final scene showed the day Principal Nezu and his homeroom teacher announced his promotion to Liaison for the Hero Course during the second half of his second semester.
"He may have failed in his first Sports Festival, but that didn't stop him from trying. If anything, it made him far more determined to make it into the Hero Course."
Alex's face continued to burn, but now he felt uplifted by happier thoughts. The video soon concluded, finishing with two still pictures; the first was of him with his General Studies homeroom class; the second was with the Classes 1-A and 1-B joint photograph with him as a Liaison.
"And recognition for the most improvement made from last year's festival is Alexander Springfield," Present Mic announced once the video ended.
The crowds went from laughing to applauding him now. The poor boy didn't know what to do but awkwardly waved with his good arm nervously while maintaining a shy smile.
"But dear listeners, it doesn't just end there! As some of you may have noticed, recently, we had a spot open up in the Hero Course..."
Alex suddenly froze, taking a sharp breath as he heard those words. His heart began holding out for that hope—the hope to achieve one of his longest-held dreams, which he had carried for years.
"And after today's performance, a unanimous decision was made during the break while we set the stage for the award ceremony! I've officially gotten the OK from Principal Nezu himself! Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce and welcome our newest addition to the Hero Course: Alexander Springfield; welcome aboard to your Hero Academia!"
The crowd cheered and whooped as Alex stood still, his brain trying to process those words. At that moment, he wasn't even sure if he had heard him correctly. No way, it just happened, right? He was dreaming; yeah, that's right, it was just a dream.
He was still lying unconscious on that cot with his damaged brain making all of this up.
"YOU DID IT, MAN!"
"YOU'RE ONE OF US NOW!"
"CONGRATULATIONS, SPRINGFIELD!"
Alex was snapped out of his thought as he faced his fellow competitors, who all began cheering and congratulating him. Only then did his eyes start to burn again, but this time, they were tears of joy that had sprung and began pouring uncontrollably down his face.
'This isn't a dream. This is real; this is actually happening...I did it...I finally did it...'
Alex began letting out a nearly uncontrollable wheezing laugh as those happy tears continued to flow. His heavy legs finally gave in as he fell to his knees. He had done it; after all the blood, sweat, and tears he had shed for all these years, it had finally paid off. There were no words to describe his joy, so he settled to cry and laugh right then and there to enjoy his victory.
As of today, he was officially a Hero Course student at last.
Meanwhile, back in the US...
"Give the young man a hand, ladies and gentlemen!"
'He really did it,' Yun-Hua Lu watched in awe of the young man on her laptop screen in the dead of night. The wallflower of The Rhode Island Institute of Heroics, UA's biggest rival in the United States, watched history being made in amazement. This boy who, until a few hours ago, had been the laughing stock of not just the US or Japan but anyone who followed major Pro-Hero events around the world. Now, he was being hailed the comeback kid of the century who hadn't allowed all of the cruelty to weigh him down.
'Unlike me...' Yun-Hua pondered as she lowered her eyes in shame. Though she was a proud student of RIIH, she was in the Support Department instead of the General Studies Department, where she would have liked to have enrolled in the music program. Instead, her wants were overruled all because of her mother's meddling to keep her away from any kind of spotlight.
As the sole unwanted daughter of the famous singer Lucy Lum, Yun-Hua had inherited her mother's beauty, Quirk, and love for singing, instead of being proud that the singer's gifts would continue to live in her daughter. The singer only saw her lone daughter, sired by now scorned lover as a threat. A threat who would one day replace her from the spotlight she craved alone, unaware of the true competitor that was reaching the charts of the American music scene.
'I love singing...' Yun-Hua thought as she yawned before flinching in pain. Her hands were still stiffly wrapped in bandages after an accident caused by testing some new pieces of support gear. While happy to help and had a slight knack for engineering, which had qualified her for the Support Course here, it wasn't what she wanted to do in life. 'If Alex could follow his dream despite all of the challenges he faced...maybe I can do the same?'
Yun-Hua smiled at the thought.
To finally have the courage to stand up to her mother and seek her own path to do what she truly wanted in life. As the young woman closed her laptop, she looked at the poster of her mother's upcoming competition and her personal hero. The modern country singer Lilian Weinberg has been rising in popularity since her debut last year with her hit song, One Small Step.
'Isn't that all of the greats start? With one small step?' Yun-Hua pondered as she settled into bed and slowly drifted into sleep. 'Maybe...I should...start as well.'
Author's Commentary
*1: Borrowed characters: except the canon MHA characters, plus Daigo Urashima and Alexander Springfield, who were created by yours truly. Every other named character comes from either an anime or a video game. (I mentioned before that while it seems I am good at making OCs. The process is a real pain in the ass. I have decided to remedy this situation by borrowing characters from other series that I like.)
Senku, Taiju, Yuzuriha, Lillian Weinburg, and Senku's father are from Dr. Stone.
Zack, Charce, Quitterie, and Yun-Hua Lu are from Astra Lost in Space.
Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes, Riza Hawkeye, and a couple others are from Full Metal Alchemist.
Tessa, short for Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa, and her unique submarine, the Tuatha de Danaan, are from Full Metal Panic.
General Clemens is from Ace Combat 7 (From Alicorn DLC missions)
Taichi Yagami and Mimi Tachikawa are from Digimon...(Come at me, Taiora fans. I'm a Michi shipper until I die.)
2* Alexander Johnathan Springfield. There is something special about any author who finds success when making an original character that people like. Contrary to some critics of Alex, Alex isn't a self-insert. While he does have some aspects of me, it is no less the same as, say, a character like Kai Doumeki, another OC, who has aspects that come from me. I believe there is a saying about how every character an author makes has a tiny piece of them within.
Character Details.
Birthday 4/1
Age: 17(In this Chapter )/18(Arc II and beyond)
Hair color: dark brown
Eye color: Bright blue (Eyes have a natural glow; a passive side-effect of his Quirk.)
Height: 5'11
Quirk: Blink. Can lock on to a target within his eyesight and flash toward that spot when he blinks.
I have been asked if his Quirk was based on Tracer from Overwatch. However, my answer is no; instead, his Quirk was inspired by a similar ability of the same name from the video game series Dishonored. So, if you've ever played that game and used that ability, it is the same, only based on eyesight.
3* Extra world-building: As much as I like the canon story. I completely laughed at the idea that the UA Sports Festival somehow sub-planted things such as the Football (Soccer) World Cup or the Olympics. It's moronic, no matter how you try to slice it. So, I decided to expand on sports in a world with quirks instead. This still allows for traditional non-quirk sports to exist and continue while expanding on how Quirks could be used in recreation.
4*Mezou Shouji: Yes, new readers, you read that correctly.
Older readers knew this already. Like every change from canon so far, I believe when dealing with an Alternate Universe, I believe you have to do far more than simply give Izuku a Quirk.
I aged Mezou up to make him a third-year student, so he will not be attending UA as a 1-A student but as a 3-A. I like Shouji's character and find him very underrated. Here, I have a unique way to make him stand out by having him be alongside Mirio, Tamaki, and Nejire and acting as a senior student for 1-A. Mind you that he will not be the only character being replaced.
Two characters in Class 1-A and two characters in Class 1-B will be changed up and given different roles for a fresh breath of air. Their replacements will be a combination of one canon character and one OC each for both 1-A and 1-B.
This decision was partly inspired by the story Torchbearer, in which Mezou was given a more significant role by being part of that story's Dekusquad. Instead of copying that decision, I made Mezou a senior student, as it fits his personality and maturity.
On that final note, No, I will not be replacing Minoru Mineta.
Mineta has a role to play in this story. I have no intention of removing him, period.
Regarding the canon version, you can say that I am neutral towards the character, and I found that there are things to like and dislike about him. However, I find that a lot of the fandom takes the Mineta hate to a very disturbing turn. (They often use him as a strawman, etc.)
I'm not saying you can't dislike him. There are plenty of valid reasons to dislike the character, but my argument is that so many authors. Especially in AUs, they often ignore any chance of fixing up the character instead of removing him from existence or using him in the worst ways to set up an easy Hitoshi Shinsou transfer.
Yeah, no, not this author.
My goal isn't to bash, but to improve. I wanted to challenge myself to make Mineta a better character than his canon counterpart while keeping him within character. A tall order, but damn it, I mean it. This isn't a jab at any other authors who do this. But I think that other authors lose a massive amount of opportunity to do something new and try to improve on a character. I would instead do this, then go the lazy route of condemning him with no chance to improve.
I hope that other people see my plans with Mineta. They would think more carefully about doing something similar to him instead of simply replacing Mineta in their story or making him a punching bag.
(I got OCs like Alex to be punching bags for me instead.)
Well, that's all for now!
Until next time, as always,
with love,
ZX
