After the incident you were given one day off while the school handled the issue, so with this opportunity you were in your backyard stretching to warm up before your training. You realised that you needed to improve your offensive strategy if you wanted to fight against villains, or even self defense. It was a given that you were good with rescue thanks to your quirk but you also needed to strengthen your physical power and strength. So to help with this, you and your dad rummaged through your brother's room again and eventually found a small notebook with martial arts notes and a few combat notes he used with his quirk. You spent the night before rewriting and editing your brother's work to fit your quirk and added a few that your dad suggested to create a small combat handbook you could even carry in your pocket.
Placing the said handbook on the ground you opened it to the first few pages, reading it and picking up the wooden staff you use to practice. "You can do this, deep breaths and a firm hold. Put pressure onto every swing and make sure it has a hard impact." you said to yourself as you swung the wooden staff in your hands hitting the air quickly feeling the air change upon impact.
This went on for a while and with each swing of the staff you could feel your hands starting to burn from the friction of the wood rubbing on your palms, you decided to ignore this and kept going. Your mother peeked at you through the window in the kitchen letting out a sigh, "That girl, I swear. Just like her brother. She should be resting after what happened yesterday."
You spent a good 3 hours training, taking short breaks in between until your parents finally called you in for lunch. Dragging your feet to the table you sat down at your usual seat, licking your lips at the sight of all the food in front of you. "Perfect! A delicious meal right after training, I can rest for an hour after this and continue. Thanks mom!"
She nodded, "Don't overwork yourself. You'll end up sore and your hands will start to blister."
Oh how you wished you listened to your mother because she was always right, it was now evening and you were about to go to bed after spending the rest of your day training. Your hands were extremely red and anything you touched would cause it to burn, so you wrapped your hand in bandages for the time being and reminded yourself to buy hand cream on the way home from school tomorrow. You looked through your phone's notifications one more time before turning it off and going to sleep, "I hope we won't have to do anything tiring in school at least until next week."
☁︎
You got to school fairly early, meeting Midoriya along the way and seeing Bakugou already at the classroom when you arrived. After that your classmates started to enter and eventually everyone was seated at their desks chatting to those seated near them. Looking down at your bandaged hands you adjusted it a bit, making sure it doesn't come undone. "Should have gotten the other kind of bandages we had at home, it would have been a better fit." you frowned to yourself.
Hearing in on your classmate's conversations you were able to pick up that they were talking about the incident that got on the news, even you and your class getting some screentime too. Iida opened the door to the classroom, running inside and making his way to the teacher's desk. "Attention! Homeroom class is about to begin! Everyone stop talking and take your seats." he announced loudly.
Kirishima raised his eyebrow, "Uh, we're all sitting." Sero nodded, "Yeah, You're the only one standing."
Iida went back to his desk defeatedly, "Dang it!". Uraraka smiled, "Don''t sweat it!" she reassured her classmate coolly. Mina leant back on her seat, facing Tsuyu and nearly falling over if it weren't for the green-haired girl catching the chair. "Hey, Tsu. Who do ya think's gonna teach class today?"
"No idea. Mr. Aizawa's still in the hospital- recovering from his injuries." she replied. The door slid open revealing a very bandaged up Aizawa, "Morning, class." he greeted with hsi words muffled by the bandages. The class was taken aback that their teacher still managed to get to class even despite his injuried, "Mr. Aizawa, what are you doing here?" they all yelled.
Denki gasped, "Whoa! What a pro." as Aizawa slowly walked to the teacher's table at the front of the classroom dragging his legs. Iida raised his hand, "Mr. Aizawa. I'm glad you're okay." Uraraka covered her mouth with her hand, "You call that 'okay'?"
Once he finally got to the front he stood tall, his arms wrapped tightly. "My well being is irrelevant. What's more important is that your fight isn't over yet." you and your classmates grew anxious hearing this, thinking it was related to the incident.
"The UA Sports Festival is about to start." his eyes peeked through the slits of the bandages, staring at the class. Kirishima grinned, "Yes! Let's go kick some ass!" Denki was quick to calm down Kirishima by putting his hand on his face and pushing him aside, "Wait a second."
"Is it really such a good idea to hold the sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Jiro asks Aizawa. Ojiro chimes in, "They could attack once we're all in the same place."
"Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus they're beefing up security compared to past years. This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains." Aizawa replied letting out a tired sigh.
"Uh, I'm sorry, but why not?" Mineta inquires confusedly, Midoriya turns around in his seat to answer Mineta. "Huh? Mineta, don't you know how important this competition is?"
"Of course I do! I just don't wanna get murdered." he whispered to Midoriya.
"Our sports festival is one of the most watched events in the entire world. In the past, everyone obsessed over the Olympic games. But then Quirks started appearing. Now, the Olympics have been drastically reduced in terms of scale and viewership. For anyone who cares about competition, there's only one tournament that matters. The UA Sports Festival." Aizawa continued explaining as the class grew more excited.
Yaoyorozu nodded making a fist, "That's right! And top heroes everywhere will be watching. This is where you get scouted." Mineta sighed, "Sure, unless you're dead."
"She's right. After graduating, a lot of people join pro agencies as a sidekick." Denki said, giving a thumbs up. "Yeah, but that's as far as some people go. They miss their chance to go indie and stay eternal sidekicks." Jiro looked at Denki, "Actually, that's probably where you're headed. You're kinda dumb."
Aizawa interrupted, "It's true that joining a famous hero agency can garner you greater experience and popularity. That's why the festival matters. If you wanna go pro one day, then this event could open the path for you. One chance a year. Three chances in a lifetime. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival. That means you better not slack off on your training."
"Yes, sir!" you shouted in unison with your classmates, "Class is dismissed." he said before walking outside of the classroom to most probably rest elsewhere. Standing from your seat you stretched your arms above your head letting out a yawn, "Man I just said I didn't want to do any physical work this week, my hands hurt like hell."
You walked over to Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya waving at them. "This is gonna be nuts! Everyone's so excited." Midoriya said. "Well, yeah, of course we are!" Iida stood up from his seat, "We enrolled at this school with the sole aim to become heroes. So naturally, we're all getting fired up." he said making hand gestures and moving his hips.
"Wow, Iida. Those are some interesting moves. Ribbit." Tsuyu said whilst holding her lunchbox alongside Mina. You sat on top of Iida's desk kicking your legs back and forth, "You have to be excited, too, right, Midoriya?" you asked.
Midoriya thought for a moment, balling his hands into fists. "Well, yeah, of course I am! And also nervous." was his reply. Uraraka walked over with an intimidating aura around her and a serious face, "Deku, Iida, Shirakumo! Let's do our best in the sports festival."
"Uraraka, what happened to your face?" Midoriya took a step back, afraid of his friend's serious face. Mina stepped in with her arm on your shoulder using you to support her, "Seriously, what's up? You're normally, like, the most laid back girl ever."
Mineta who was beside Tsuyu decided to comment, "PMS?" only for him to be slapped by Tsuyu's tongue. Uraraka put her foot down, fistpumping into the air. "Everyone! I'm gonna do my best!"
"Yeah!" you and your friends joined along. She turned around where Sato, Kirishima, Tokoyami, and Sero were doing it once again. "I said, I'm gonna do my best!"
They were hesitant for a moment but joined her anyway. "You okay? You kinda look like you're losin' it." Kirishima asked, concerned with Uraraka's behaviour. Once that was done and over with you decided to head to the cafeteria, you hurried to your desk and grabbed your cat-shaped wallet that sat on top of it before catching up with your friends outside.
"Why are your hands wrapped up, (Y/N)?" Iida asks. You hold your hands up to him wiggling your fingers, "I was training with a wooden staff yesterday and didn't have any gloves on so I got some blisters. No biggie really I just gotta buy some ointment and I should be good." Iida nodded at your explanation, "I see."
"Hey, Uraraka?" Midoriya called for Uraraka's attention, making her turn around. "What's up?"
"Why did you decide to come to UA? What made you wanna be a pro hero?" he asked. She scratched the back of her head looking off to the side guiltily, "Oh. Well, Because... of the money."
Midoriya stopped in his tracks gasping in shock, "Uh‐‐ For the money? You wanna be a hero so you can get rich?"
"If we're cutting to the chase, then, yeah. I'm sorry if it sounds greedy. You two have such admirable motivations. I hope you don't think less of me now." she cupped her cheeks with her hands. Iida shook his head, "Not at all! Your goal is to support your wellbeing, which is a perfectly admirable ambition to have."
Midoriya nods, "Mm‐hm. It's just kinda surprising." and you give her a thumbs up. "You have the most realistic reason too! It's not bad for joining because you wanna help out your family, you're just looking out for them."
Uraraka sighs, "Well, you see, my family owns a construction company, but we haven't gotten any work lately, so we're flat broke. Anyway, this isn't really something I usually tell other people, but..."
Iida puts his finger on his chin, "Construction, eh?" Midoriya's eyebrows raised as he got an idea, "If she got licensed, I bet she could use her Quirk to bring costs down a lot." You commented too, "And they could sell their heavy‐lifting equipment. She could float everything!"
Uraraka made finger-guns, jumping in her spot to face you. "I know, right? I've been telling Dad that since I was a kid! But he always said that I shouldn't worry about it so much and do what makes me happy. So I'm gonna become a pro. I'll sign with a good agency and make plenty of money. Then I'll be able to let my parents have an easy life!"
"That's beautiful! So noble! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" Iida started clapping making Uraraka laugh. All of a sudden you heard the loud laugh of All Might who appeared out of nowhere, "Young Midoriya is here!"
"Whoa, All Might! What are you doing here?" Midoriya asks. All Might shows the lunchbox that looks tiny in his hands, "Lunch! Ya wanna eat with me? Whaddaya say?" Midoriya looks at Iida who nods at him before running over to All Might, "Sure thing!"
Finally going to the cafeteria you were able to stand in line to buy your long awaited lunch. "I wonder what he wanted with Deku." Uraraka looks at you and Iida with a smile. "I heard that when All Might was attacked by villains during the USJ incident, Midoriya tried to stop them himself. Perhaps that's what this is about." Iida made a hand gesture. Uraraka made her hand into a fist, placing it on top of her other hand, "Oh, yeah!"
"Also, remember what Asui said on the bus? Since their Quirks are so similar to each other, it's possible that All Might's taken a liking to him." Iida goes on. Nodding you also decided to put in your thoughts, "Izuku has always been a big fan of All Might since forever, it's so surprise he would jump to any chance to talk to him or hang out with him. How lucky!" Uraraka nods eagerly.
"Still, when did All Might get so close with Midoriya? Even back then, he's always trying to say or whisper something to All Might. What is up with those two?" you furrowed your eyebrows, thinking deeply. There was something suspicious going on and you were curious to find out.