A Heroes Gateway

Chapter 23: The Underestimated Class

"We conquered our ordeal and survived. You say we're weak, but as far as I know, we're strong, far stronger than you. A person who has the audacity to come to our class and insult us for a situation that we did not wish nor want, where we almost could've been killed!" Izuku shouted angrily, letting out all of his pent-up aggression and hatred for what happened at U.S.J. Memories would often play in his mind where he watched all his friends get hurt. Their bloodied bodies and unconscious faces still linger in the back of his mind. Not to mention his teacher, Aizawa, protected him from Shigaraki's hand even though he was being pummeled to death by that Nomu.

Izuku pursed his lips as his glare became more deathly as he turned his attention to the rest of the crowd as they cowered and took a few steps back.

"Now, for the rest of you, you can underestimate us all you want, but know that you will regret not taking us seriously. We will prove to all of you that we're not weak, nor are we a bunch of pushovers that will cower behind insulting meaningless words. We will show you all that we're strong at the sports festival. There, you will know just how strong and capable we all are!" Izuku declared as the crowd started to gulp nervously as they shivered from the intense aura that he was giving off.

To them, it was a frightening and dangerous aura, but to Class-1A, it was an empowering and inspirational one. One that makes them want to do their very best and drive themselves forward towards the peak of their goals. They had all had wide-eyed awed expressions as they could faintly see the shining golden glow of Izuku's figure standing in front of them.

"Now that I'm finished here, I want to go home. Same for the rest of my class. Would you all be kind enough to let us through?" Izuku emphasized his last remaining words as the crowd started to disappear. The blonde boy only gritted his teeth before following the rest and leaving.

"Okay, they're gone now. Let's all leave and catch the-" Izuku turned and saw that his classmates had their mouths open, and their eyes widened with shock. "What's wrong?" Kirishima and Kaminari immediately placed their arms on his shoulders and squished him in a tight cuddle.

"Dude, that was so manly how you said that!" Kirishima said as Kaminari nodded his head.

"Yeah, you looked so cool!" Kaminari added.

"You really stood for us, Izukun." Yaomomo said as Jiro nodded her head and gave the boy a compliment as well.

The class soon started to shower him with compliments about how he defended their class from that boy and the rest of the crowd. Izuku felt embarrassed but grateful at the same time as he couldn't help but smile widely at his classmates. He just said what needed to be said and that they didn't deserve to be looked down upon by other people just because of the U.S.J. incident. Plus, he knew that he wasn't just being bias but actually thought highly of his classmates. He's been with them in all their heroics classes and has seen just how strong and capable they are.

They soon decided to leave, as they all left together and began their separate ways when they reached the school gates. Mei had been waiting for Izuku and Katsuki at the gate as she told them that they were really late and complained about how long she stood there for. She asked the two what took them so long as they both sighed and began to tell her what happened until they reached Izuku's house.

"Wow, what an idiot. And he said that right in all your faces?" Mei questioned as she took a spoonful of ice cream from a carton while watching a movie with the two boys in Izuku's room.

"Yeah, that dimwit was talking smack about us! That dumb bitch, I'm gonna kick his ass at the Sports Festival!" Katsuki angrily growled while stuffing his face with ice cream.

"Oh, are you also going to participate, Mei?" Izuku asked, as he was surprised when the girl shook his head no. He was confused since he thought she would be because a lot of businessmen would be there and it would be a good opportunity for her to showcase her inventions.

"You see, Izuku, I'll be instead demonstrating my newest baby in a private presentation room to a bunch of famous support gear hero companies and inventors!" Mei excitingly revealed as Izuku gasped and congratulated her. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be presenting my warp pad, an upgraded version of my warp gloves that I've been working on."

"Oh, I see. I wish you the best of luck then, Mei!" Izuku told the girl as she widely grinned and gave him a huge thumbs up.

"Well, since I knew that you were both planning on training for the sports festival, I made some weights for you to put on while you're training." Mei told them as the two paid attention to her as she took out a pair of weights that were to be attached to the feet, arms, and chest. "I hope they'll help you two!" She then gave it to them, and they realized how heavy it was.

"What the fuck are these made out of?!" Katsuki asked, as he struggled a bit to hold them with how heavy they were.

The girl only laughed loudly, like some psycho, as Katsuki would put it, as their night continued on.

For the next few days, Class 1A began their preparations for the upcoming Sports Festival. They're all working hard to improve themselves and their abilities as much as possible with the intention of winning the whole tournament. They couldn't risk missing a single day of no training since they all have a lot to prove after being underestimated and deemed weak by people because of what happened at U.S.J. and their current class condition. They couldn't let Izuku's defending words become meaningless, so they would give it their all and show them who they truly are.

This is the same for the transferee candidates as well. The three of them are working just as hard as Class-1A to prove themselves to be good enough to become part of the hero course and become future heroes. They even train alongside Class-1A, who assist them as much as they can. The three were starting to build lasting relationships with the class as it felt like they were already part of them.

During these days, Izuku and Katsuki started to train with Mei's weights as they found them to be extremely difficult to move with since they were incredibly heavy. But nonetheless, they wore them while they sparred with one another. They would always go to Takoba Beach to train, along with Mei, who watched them and acted as their referee. The two would battle like their lives depended on it with every match since they were actually fighting for their lives since the loser of the day would become Mei's guinea pig for her trial runs with her new invention.

They were terrified of becoming her lab rats because they had no idea what they would become after each experiment.

And just like that, two weeks have passed, and it is now time for the long awaited Sports Festival to begin.