Once More (My Hero Academia)

15: Sports Festival Begins!

"Wha... What's going on?" Uraraka's voice drifted from the classroom door as she opened it, and the sound of chattering attracted the class's attention to the door.

The entire hallway was filled with a crowd of students, blocking the classroom door.

"We can't get out... What are they here for?" Mineta said.

"Scoping out the competition, duh," Bakugo walked straight to the door, "since we survived a villain attack."

Bakugo halted right in front of the crowd.

"Move aside, cannon fodder."

Both students inside and outside the classroom gasped at Bakugo's audacity.

"Here he goes again..." Izuku muttered.

Then, there was a small, humorless laugh, and a tall figure stepped out from the sea of students toward Bakugo.

Izuku couldn't help but smile at the familiar figure he hasn't seen since he came back.

Shinso.

"Are all the hero students like this?" Shinso raised an eyebrow, gaze unfaltering despite Bakugo's glare, "Gotta say, I'm kinda disillusioned."

Shinso glanced at Izuku, "And you, you got first for the entrance exam, right? Consider this the time that you hero course students get knocked off your pedestals."

"A declaration of war, huh..." Bakugo said calmly, then suddenly started shoving his way out into the hallway, ignoring the shouts of surprise from other students.

"Dude, wait! You just gave us a whole mob of haters!" Kaminari screeched.

"Oh really?" Bakugo looked back, "well, I don't give a damn."

He met Izuku's gaze for a split second, "I'm heading for the top, anyway."

•••

Two weeks later.

The prep room buzzed with excitement and nervousness. The students of class 1-A just finished warming up, and they sat around in the room talking about what was about to come.

Izuku took a deep breath. For the first time, Izuku tried to forget about his mission. He'd have to admit, it might be a bit selfish, but today was the day that he would show the world he was here.

The sound of someone calling his name attracted his attention, and Izuku found himself face-to-face with Todoroki.

"Todoroki? What is it?"

"...All Might's got his eyes on you, hasn't he? " Todoroki said, "I won't pry. But, although you are capable, I will beat you today."

Izuku nodded, "You're very strong, Todoroki. But keep this in mind... everyone's aiming for the top. So I'm going for it with everything I got. The question is...will you?"

Izuku walked past Todoroki, patting his left shoulder.

Todoroki visibly tensed, but his expression was nonetheless composed.

"Right," Todoroki muttered almost inaudibly, "everyone's aiming for the top. Especially that old man."

•••

"WELCOME TO THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!!" Present Mic's voice boomed from every possible corner of the huge stadium, "FIRST UP, WE KNOW 'EM, WE'VE HEARD 'EM, THE RISING STARS WHO BRUSHED OFF A VILLAIN ATTACK WITH STEELY WILLPOWER -- HERO COURSE, CLASS 1-A!"

Applause thundered in the stadium as the class walked out toward the center.

Following class 1-A were the other classes of the hero course, the general studies course, support course, and the business course. The students gathered in the center, where Midnight was standing on the referee podium.