AFTER CLASS
As the rest of the class pack their things up, Izuku can be seen in his seat deep in thought. The sports festival is coming closer and he just unlocked another ability/abilities after the USJ incident.
He was thinking of training his newly gained ability when the thought of what All Might had offered him came in his mind.
FLASHBACK
"I-i'm sorry, All Might. Can you repeat what you just said? I think I just heard you offer your quirk to me.." Izuku said as he cleaned his ear. He could've swore he just just heard the Number 1 Hero offered him to inherit the man's quirk.
All Might just sighed. "You heard me right, Young Midoriya." he said as he looked at the greenette who is looking even shocked.
"Why me? Why do you chose me?" Izuku said as he lower his head. Not really getting the point of this whole conversation
"Back in the Entrance Exams, I saw you run after the Zero Pointer to save Young Uraraka even if it doesn't benefit you. And in USJ, you let your classmates and sensei escape as you hold of the villains. Just by looking at those actions, I can really tell that you are worthy to inherit my strength." he paused to look at Izuku who was looking at him now before he continued.
"It's the power to transfer power and the name of that vaunted ability to which I've been entrusted is none other that One For All."
'One For All' Izuku repeated in a whisper.
"Yes, young Midoriya. A quirk passed down from generation to generation. In doing so brave hearts with unwavering calls to save lives can burnish this might." All Might paused to look at the boy then continued. "So young Midoriya, would you accept my quirk to save lives?" he asked the now deep in thought boy.
Izuku thought about how it would help him gain extra power. It will make him a lot stronger, and in addition to his current quirk, it'll make him unstoppable. Just thinking about it made him smirk, but quickly removed the smirk when he remembered how Alex entrusted him with the Blacklight.
Alex believed in him with the power of the Blacklight Virus now turned quirk. He remembered how he trained his ass off to master his quirk and after what happened in USJ he have new abilities to master thanks to James.
And inheriting One For All, a lot more training is needed. Not that his complaining but looking at what All Might had just told him, if he were to accept the quirk, he would have his hands full. He would practically be like All Might...
Would he even want to be like All Might? Would he even want to inherit One For All?
After thinking about it in a few more moments, he nodded to himself and raised his head to meet All Might's gaze. He looked at the man's eyes with pure determination.
"That's is a great offer, All Might. It would be an honor to inherit the quirk of the Symbol of Peace himself." he paused when he saw All Might smile. Izuku sighed and continued. "But I'm sorry, I can't accept your quirk."
As he said that All Might's smile faded and a look of sadness and confusion showed in his face. It didn't felt right to Izuku to see All Might rejected.
"You see, I just got my quirk not even a year ago. There is still a lot of things and abilities that I need to learn and master. If I get your quirk, no one would know what will happen to my body I both quirks are in me. I hope you understand." he paused to breathe and quickly continued. "And I think there are others who you might know would be more worthy than I am.."
Izuku stood up from his seat and bowed to the hero and slowly began walking towards the door. Before he opened the door, he looked back to All Might's direction.
"I'm sorry for wasting your time. But if you had offered me back when I was still quirkless, I wouldn't hesitate in accepting you quirk." he said as he opens the door and exited the room not noticing a All Might's eyes widen in the word "quirkless".
"Thank you for hearing me out young Midoriya, and thanks to you I knew exactly who my new successor would be." All Might whispered to himself as he took out his phone and called an old friend he hadn't talk in a long time.
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END OF FLASHBACK
Izuku began packing his stuff to his backpack as he sighed remembering All Might's sad face. It made him felt bad. He was invited to eat with the hero and even got offered the quirk of the Number 1 Hero. But just ended up rejecting the offer and wasting the man's time.
He had a reason to reject the man, but it didn't really made him felt better.
"WHAT THE HECK!!!?" Izuku was snapped out of his trance when he heard Ochako's voice in the exit of the classroom. There he saw the what caused the girl's reaction.
In the exit, he saw a mob of students looking at their class and talking to each other. They were blocking the way and it kind of caused a hard time for their class.
As the Class President, he took his backpack and went to the exit to confront the crowd.
"Excuse me? Can you kindly move aside? You guys are blocking the exit and we all had a long day we need to go home and rest." Izuku said as kindly as he can. Seeing that the crowd didn't move, he asked again. "And not to sound rude, why are you crowding the exit? What do you need?"
As soon as Izuku finished that question Bakugo walked past him, bumping into him. "They're obviously scoping out competition, idiot." the ash-blonde said in his "calm" voice. "They wanna see the people who came through the villain ambush. They're checking us out before the big battle, asshole." said Bakugo who continued walking.
Izuku had to stop the urge to kick the guy in the head. Also it wasn't just them, Class 1B was also there..
"It's pointless to try, so why don't you just fuck off, ya goddamn mob!" Bakugo said to the crowd which made Izuku pinch the bridge of his nose. The blonde had to make Class 1A look bad.
As Iida reprimanded Bakugo for his disrespectful comment, a voice echoed in the crowd.
"I came to see what you kids are made off, true, but I didn't think you'd be this arrogant." said the voice. Izuku looked to see a tall boy with messy, indigo-colored hair that flared out in large tuff around his head and had bags under his eyes, making him look similar to Aizawa-sensei.
"Are all the kids enrolled at the Heroics Department like this?" the tall boy asked, Izuku just gave him a shake of his head and mouthed "just him" while pointing at Bakugo who looked pissed off. The tall boy saw Izuku's response and nodded slightly.
"There's lots of kids who wind up in the General Education Department or other departments because they failed the heroics." he paused and looked at Bakugo's constipated faces. "And based on the results of the Sports Festival, people can be even come under review to be transferred to heroic. And the reverse is also a possible outcome." that caught Izuku's attention.
If this guy could do great in the Sports Festival, he would be transferred to the Hero Course. And by looking at the guy, he gives of an aura that reminds Izuku of Aizawa. A hero that fights quirkless.
"Scoping out the competition? If nothing else, a General Ed kid like me is thinking 'Hey, why don't I try pulling the rug out from under those heroics kids while they're on their high horses?'" he smirked at us and continued. "Consider this a Declaration of War."
Izuku smirked at the boy's courage. He had a lot of balls to step up and declare war to the hero course. Before the angry pomeranian could strangle the Gen Ed kid and Tetsutetsu could voice his thoughts, Izuku stepped forward in front of the sleep deprived looking teen.
"While I would love to accept your declaration of war, I would instead root for you and all the other kids to do your bests in the Sports Festival." Izuku's statement caught some confusion in the crowd even his own class. Seeing the confusion, he simply smile and pointed at the seat behind Bakugo which was his old seat before he moved to the seat in front of Momo after Mineta's expulsion. (A/N: I forgot to mention this after Chapter 6, it probably slip my mind.)
"You see, Class 1A is low on 1 student because of the recent expulsion in the first day of class." this made a certain grape-haired boy that is blended in the crowd flinch and the other students perk up.
"So that means, one of you did well in the Sports Festival the possibility of getting in the Hero Course is high. As Class President of Class 1A, I wish you all good luck in the incoming Sports Festival." Izuku bowed to the crowd and smiled. The crowd seems to like Izuku's statement and slowly dispersed.
Before leaving, the tall boy smiled at Izuku and nodded at Izuku who returned the nod. As the crowd left the classroom, the class admired Izuku's way of calming the situation before it could even turn out badly. Bakugo just left the classroom growling at Izuku for stepping in.
Izuku left the classroom with Ochako, Iida and Tsu before going in separate ways in the train station. He had thought about the Sports Festival. He always watched the Sports Festival and was always amazed on the quirks that were showed in the event. He became nervous and excited at the same time. The Sports Festival was an event that would let him let loose in using his quirk.
Needless to say, he was ready for the Sports Festival and he know that he would kick ass. Only time would tell how.
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DAY OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL
At the entrance of UA, another crowd of reporters are lined up to enter the premises. The same reporter who attempted to enter the gates stood there boredly.
"The security at the entrance is taking forever.." she annoyingly said another reporter who just wore a deadpan look at the woman.
"It's because they're being extremely rigorous after the villain attack. Lots of folks are voicing super critical thoughts toward the event this year." he said to the woman who made a complete 180 in her emotions. From bored/annoyed to enthusiastic.
"AWESOME!! CONTREVERSY = RATINGS, MAN! AND THIS YEAR, ALL EYES WILL BE ON CLASS 1A." the woman said as she pump her fist in the air making the man sweatdrop on her sudden change of emotions and completely forgetting Class 1B was also attacked.
As the reporters enter the building, after an hour people who will watch the event began to arrive the campus. So does the pro heroes who will watch to scout the for the internships and will act as security, attempting to stop any attack that would happen.
In the waiting room of Class 1A, conversations arise as others sat on their seats, either excited, nervous or bored. Izuku did a bit of stretching and looked at the clock and nodded to himself. He walk towards his class.
"Alright, everyone. Are your preparations complete? Be ready, we're set to go to the stadium any time now. Do what you need to do, go to the restroom or do some stretching." he said to his classmates who just nodded at him. Iida, Kirishima, Sato, Ojiro and Shoji did some stretching while Sero and Kaminari went to the restroom. The rest just sat and talked to each other.
"Damn, I really wanted to wear my costume today." Mina said while pouting making Izuku chuckle at the childish behavior of one of his harem-- I mean classmate.
"We aren't allowed to wear our costumes to even the playing field for the other classes." Ojiro said mid-stretch.
As this was happening Todoroki began walking toward Izuku who resting his head on the wall with his eyes closed.
"Midoriya.." said the bi-color haired boy as he stood 6 feet aways from him. Izuku opened his eyes to look at Todoroki.
"What is it, Todoroki? Do you you need anything?" said the greenette who looked at the heterochromia boy with a raised eyebrow. Bakugo who was just sitting in the corner of the room noticed this and looked at the two boys with a blank expression.
"On an objective basis, let's say you are stronger than me." Todoroki said completely ignoring Izuku's question, said boy just gave him a confused look which can be read as a "I-know-I'm-stronger-than-you-but-what's-the-point-of-this-conversation" look.
"You've managed to get All Might's eyes on you, right? I feel no pry into that, but..." he paused and looked at the greenette with narrowed eyes and continued. "I'm going to beat you."
Kaminari who just entered the room and heard most of the conversation spoke up. "Oho!? What's this? A declaration of war from the second strongest kid in class to the strongest!!?" this statement made Bakugo's blank expression morph into a dark look as he glared daggers at the two said strongest in the class.
Izuku had his head slightly tilted down with his hair shadowing his eyes. Looking at this, Kirishima walked toward Todoroki and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What's with this aggression all of a sudden!? Don't spring this on him right before---" he was cut off when his hand was shook off by white/red haired teen.
"I'm not here to play nice and make friends. But whatever." he said as he walked away. Before he could go far Izuku began to talk.
"I have no idea on what you want from me and telling me that you're going to beat me." Izuku said making the Todoroki look back at him who still had his hair blocking his eyes. "All I can say is you chose the wrong person to declare war against. Look around, Todoroki. Everyone in this room had probably trained their quirks and bodies. And everyone here wants to reach the top." this caused the whole class to look at the two teens with determination in their eyes.
"And to answer your declaration of war..." Izuku slowly raised his head and channeled Blacklight to his eyes. Todoroki was his emerald eyes shift into dark crimson, comparable to Aizawa's eyes when using a quirk. "I accept, but you need to come at me with EVERYTHING you got. Because I won't lose to a person who uses a half of their power." Todoroki swore he saw a spark in Izuku's eyes as he said those words and Bakugo gritted his teeth.
After a minute of stare down, Class 1A had been called to the stadium. With a last look on Todoroki, Izuku deactivated his quirk and told his class to go to the stadium.
At the end of the tunnel of the stadium, Present Mic's voice echoed.
"THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!! WHERE THE HERO WORLD'S INCHOATE LITTLE ZYGOTES AIM FOR EACH OTHER'S THROATS -- AND THE TOP!! OUR GRAND YEARLY MELEE!!!" the crowd raised in cheers. "AND LET ME GUESS, ALL YOU FOLKS CAME TO SEE THEM RIGHT?? THE FRESHLY FORMED STARS THAT SHRUGGED OFF A MASS VILLAIN ASSAULT WITH WILLS OF STEEL!" the crowd once again go in cheers.
"FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEROICS FRESHMAN CLASS, YOU'RE HERE FOR CLASS 1A AND CLASS 1B, RIGHT!??" the crowd popped out in cheers as Class 1A has been mentioned and quickly lessen in the mention of Class 1B.
Said classes tensed and flinched in the amount of people in the stadium. Izuku awed in disbelief in the amount of onlookers that attended this year. It wasn't this many last year he watch in TV.
As Present Mic announced the other classes the cheers slowly lessen and it annoyed the other students.
"Now, now, fair play!!" A voice and a sound of a whip or whatever that sound was had caught Izuku's attention. On a pedestal, there standing the R-Rated Hero: Midnight. The crowd began to talk to themselves.
"Hey, check it out! If it isn't the R-Rated Hero: Midnight! She's the chief referee for the freshman stage this year!"
"Where's the principal?"
"As usual, he's overseeing the senior stage."
"Wait, did you say "R-Rated Hero"? Even though this is a high school? Is that really okay?" Tokoyami voiced out his concern.
"SILENCE. MY TENURE HERE IS PERFECTLY ON THE LEVEL!!" Midnight childishly/annoyingly exclaimed as she strike her whip, making the students quiet down. "NOW, PLAYER REP!!!" she said as she looked at our green-haired protagonist.
"IZUKU MIDORIYA OF 1A!!" said teen flinched a little, surprised for being called out and quickly made his way to the pedestal.
"WHAT!? WHY THE HECK IS DEKU THE REPRESENTATIVE?" Bakugo yelled causing Jiro and Shoji to flinch on his loud voice.
"Well, he did placed first in the Entrance Exam, remember?" Sero pointed out not really making the blonde any calmer.
"Yeah, the Heroics Entrance Exam." said a Gen Ed student sarcastically.
Izuku stood in front of the mic and took a deep breathe as he look at the crowd and the students lined up.
"Sensei, I pledge to do my best..." he paused and sighed one more time before continuing. "For the majority of my life, I was quirkless. For the majority of my life, I had been bullied, laughed at and beaten up just for not having a quirk." this caused the crowd to gasp and silence shrouded the stadium. Inko who was watching in their house began crying and asking for forgiveness for not knowing.
"All of that I had experience for 10 years. And to a point where one of my bullies told me to "take a swan dive off of a rooftop"." that caused the crowd to gasp once more and Bakugo flinched which didn't went unnoticed by Momo and Jiro.
"Tempted as I was to do just that, someone believed in me, someone told me that I can be a hero. That I can be a hero if I wanted to be. The day he believed in me is the same day I got my quirk." Izuku smile, half truth being spilled. He thought about Alex and how he believed in him.
"That's why I made a vow to be the greatest hero that I can be." he paused and looked at all the students. "That's why it doesn't matter what course you are in, be Heroics, General Education, Support or Business. If you believe in yourself, YOU CAN ALL BE HEROES. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, LIKE HOW I BELIEVE IN ALL OF YOU!! THERE IS A SPOT VACANT IN THE HERO COURSE. SO IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT, THEN GO BEYOND PLUS.."
"ULTRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" the students and crowd said in unison as Izuku smiled at them and went down the pedestal, passing Bakugo who was still shaking for some reason.
"THAT WAS SO MANLY!!!" yelled Kirishima and Tetsutetsu in unison as they shed "manly" tears. Midnight looked at Izuku and smiled internally at the boy's strong will and presence.
"ALL RIGHT, WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY!! WE CAN DIRECTLY ONTO OUR FIRST EVENT!" the hero said as the screen behind her lit up.
"ONTO THE "PRELIMINARIES" AS THEY CALLED IT! LOTS OF FINE FOLKS CHOKING ON THEIR TEARS HERE EVERY YEAR!! AND THIS YEAR'S FIRST ROUND OF DESTINY IS..." she continued. "THIS!!"
"She's actually not being all that brisk, is she?" Jiro dead panned as the screen showed the words "OBSTACLE RACE".
"An obstacle race..." Izuku said looking at the screen as the gates opened.
"It's a race between all 11 classes! The course makes a nearly 4 km ring around this stadium! We always sing about our freedom on campus, fufufufu..." Midnight said as the students began to shift on their places to face the opened gate. "Well, this is what it's all about! You're free to do anything, anything as long as you remain with in the course!"
"So let's get cracking... On your marks..." she said as the lights on the top of the gate shift from red to yellow...
All Class 1A students began to show a look of determination. Izuku began channeling his quirk on his feet. 'This is it!! For Alex!! For mom!! and most importantly.. For myself!!' Izuku thought to himself as he readied to run to the next chapter-- I mean to the gates. THE GATESSS!!!
As the lights shift to green, horns were heard as Midnight's voice echoed in the whole stadium.
"STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART!!!"
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THAT'S A WRAP!!!
HOW'D YOU LIKE THE CHAPTER SO FAR?? LIKE, LOVE, OR LOVE??
Nothing much to say about this chapter. I just thought that Izuku's speech is cringey, I don't know but maybe it's just me..
NEXT CHAPTER.. Chapter 14. Run, Catch and Win. probably the day after Christmas and the next is a day before New Year, PST.
Have a good day and Happy Holidays!