The crowd stopped cheering for me after my attack on Midnight, which was probably a good thing considering it seemed to be the noise that caused me to attack her.
I stared down at Bakugo, whose expression had changed from surprise to eagerness.
"Finally, you showed the real you! Now, prepare to die!" He shouted.
I ran towards him on all fours and leapt at him, only to be blown back by his explosion. He was serious now, the explosion burnt away some of my arm.
My arm started to heal over slowly as I charged again. I didn't have much cognitive function in that form, so I wasn't able to make up strategies or to reason for myself.
I was just a lean, green fighting machine. He easily dodged me and blasted my back, then came in to punch me. That was his second mistake.
I didn't even flinch at his punch, and I turned around to face him. Before he could get away, I punched him in the chest. He was sent flying backwards, so far so that he was off the platform.
All Might had finally caught up, pushing himself to get to the stage. He was recovering from using his strong form earlier, so was weaker than usual. He tackled me to the floor, wrapping his arms around me.
"Young Alex! Relax, calm down, snap out of it! Please, I don't want to do this by force! Wake up!"
I hissed at him and grunted, fighting against him. I eventually started pushing myself to my feet, with him wrapping his arms around me from the back.
I managed to pry his arms off me as I snarled at him angrily, and he suddenly let go so that he could go on the offensive and go for a punch.
I decided to also go with a punch, and we both pulled back and shot our arms forward at the same time. Our fists connected as he shouted "Detroit Smash!"
My arm was blown off entirely and I staggered back in pain as I fearfully stared at my slowly regenerating stump.
"I'm sorry, Young Alex, I hope it grows back quickly."
I was infuriated, and was about to charge at him again before Bakugo let off an explosion behind me again. I fell forwards and looked at him, he was standing hunched over as he held his arm. My one punch had injured him pretty bad.
Midnight got up, with some scrapes and bruises on her body. She let out her mist, and after it reached me, I slowly started stumbling around before collapsing. The cheering from the crowd came back as I morphed back into a human, albeit unconscious.
Later, I woke up in Recovery Girl's office. Again. I gasped and shot upright in my bed, hooked up to intravenous again.
"No... Please no... Did I actually..."
Recovery Girl was there, looking at some paperwork on her desk and talking to Mr Aizawa. They both looked over at me.
"I'm afraid so." She said.
"Is everyone alright?"
"No thanks to you." Mr Aizawa said.
His tone was icier than usual, chilling me to my bones. I was feeling only negative emotions, fear, self-hatred, embarrassment.
I asked them what happened, and they recounted the events I just wrote about.
"Recovery Girl and I were talking, and we believe some form of punishment is in order."
I lowered my head a little in shame and nodded, "I think that's fair. What's my punishment?"
What he said next surprised me, "We decided that you've already received it."
I looked up at him, confused. "I'm... I'm sorry?"
He explained, "Your antics out there today scared a lot of people, including the pro hero agencies. You'll find it hard to get into an agency after that outburst, and one of your upcoming assignments will be to find a hero agency to go to for some experience and training."
I gulped and nodded. "I understand. Thank you for your leniency. It won't happen again. I'll learn to suppress my anger and control my quirk."
Recovery Girl shook her head, "Don't suppress it. It's suppressing it that's caused it to come out in bursts like this. You have to find a way to let it out non-destructively."
"Alright... I'll try... Is the festival over?"
They both nodded, and were about to tell me who won, but then I heard the same herd of footsteps that I did last time, but this time it was much louder. Was everyone coming, like last time?
I hid myself under the covers and turned my whole body away from the door, not wanting to talk to anyone.
The door was opened quickly, and sure enough, everyone from my class was there. Not only that, my class 1-B friends were there, too! I kept the covers tightly pulled over my head as Midoriya shouted, "Alex-kun! Are you alright?"
"Why do people keep asking that? I'm the one who hurt people, not vice versa..." I said from under the covers.
"But your arm -" Uraraka started before I cut her off.
"My arm is fine." I poked my arm out from under the cover, it had almost fully regenerated at this point, my fingers just looking a little deformed as they regrew slowly.
"Why are you hiding under the covers, Alex-chan?" Tsu asked.
I turned my head part way and replied, "Because I'm ashamed. I did exactly what I wasn't supposed to do, the one thing. I had to be subdued like a child throwing a temper tantrum. And this all happened in front of the whole country."
Iida was the first to try to encourage me by declaring, "There is one good thing you have learnt about your quirk though! You're still prone to anaesthetics of sorts, and can be easily taken out of your battle form to reduce risks. Perhaps you could incorporate this into your hero costume?"
I hadn't even thought about that. Maybe there was a silver lining after all. But it didn't stop there. Surprisingly the next comment was from Kaminari.
"And also your arm has almost healed itself! Unless Recovery Girl healed you, then that means you can take a lot of damage and be fine after some rest!"
Recovery Girl then confirmed she didn't use her healing on me as she was thinking the same thing.
I finally came out from under the covers and sat up. There were no visible injuries whatsoever apart from my still healing arm.
I smiled weakly at them, "Thanks everyone... You're all too kind..."
I then noticed Bakugo standing near the back. As much as it pained me to do so, I looked over at him and apologised profusely.
"Bakugo! Please accept my sincere apology for taking out my rage on you. I don't expect forgiveness, but please -" he then interrupted me.
"Shut up and stop apologising, you damn nerd. I wanted you to fight me with everything you got and you did, so stop saying sorry. I beat you, you're still weak, stop blowing your own horn by thinking you're so strong that you can't be stopped."
He had a point. Even though he was blunt and straight to the point, he always seemed to be right. I wasn't an unstoppable force. I could be beaten. And if that was the case, could that mean there was still hope for me to be allowed to join a hero agency?
I smirked and decided to mess with Bakugo, "Ah well, I went easy on you."
"Fight me any time any day, I'll kill you!" He shouted, causing the others to laugh.
I smiled and it occurred to me I had no idea who'd won. "Who won the tournament actually?"
Todoroki told me it was Bakugo. "See?! I fought that half and half bastard with ease, I kicked his ass! And I'll kick yours next time we cross paths, you hear me?"
Tetsutetsu laughed, "He really does have a screwy way of saying things, doesn't he?"
Despite the way things had ended for me in the tournament, the day had been a good learning experience.
I was given the all clear and the line was taken out of my arm, the skin healing over, and I got up to leave with my friends. Shortly after, my fingers finished up healing.
Mina, Ibara, Koda, and Sero watched intrigued as the tips of my fingers and my fingernails grew back.
"Wow! That's so cool!" Mina exclaimed ecstatically.
As we walked back I told everyone about my beach plan, and we all exchanged numbers. Jirou laughed at the fact I didn't have many numbers on my phone beforehand.
"Just your dad, Tsu, and those class 1-B kids, huh? I wonder why Tsu is the only one in our class whose number you had beforehand."
I shrugged, "It'll remain a mystery. Perhaps she's just cooler than you, who knows?"
She punched my arm playfully as her earphone jacks bounced around slightly. We passed the stadium on the grounds and I saw the destruction I'd caused to the platform Midnight was on and to the floor of the battle stage itself.
"Damn, I did that before I was stopped?"
Sato replied, "Yeah, you really trashed the place in just a few swings! It was awesome and terrifying at the same time!"
A few of the others glared at him angrily and he tried to take back his comment by adding, "I-In a cool way, of course!"
"Like how it's cool, that you're gonna have diabetes in a few years?" Ojiro said.
Sato didn't reply to that. The class 1-B students were confused.
"Has your quirk got something to do with sugar?" Ibara asked.
Sato nodded and explained about his sugar rush quirk, adding, "But despite that, I do try to keep a balanced diet, Ojiro." He shot daggers at him.
"I just feel bad for Tokoyami! He didn't get a fair fight at all!" Hagakure commented, as Yaoyorozu revealed to me that he was pitted against Bakugo.
"It's fine, I got third place overall, that is an honourable position. I'm happy with how I performed." He said.
That was one reason I liked Tokoyami, his humility. He strived for the top but didn't complain when he couldn't reach it, satisfied with the outcome. If he wasn't satisfied, he'd just try harder next time.
We all parted ways and went home to rest after an exciting albeit exhausting day. After I got home, I checked my messages and realised I'd received one from Tetsutetsu that I hadn't read.
Tetsutetsu: Hey! Are you alright?! What happened?!
It was a message from just after my transformation while fighting Bakugo. I texted him back.
Alex: Yo, sorry I missed your message.
He replied within a few moments, he must've lived a bit closer to the school than me.
Tetsutetsu: All good, glad you're ok!
Tetsutetsu: You mind if I invite my classmates to the beach, too? Or would that be too much?
Alex: I don't see a problem with it. The beach is more than big enough for forty people.
Tetsutetsu: Great! I'll ask them later. Have you met Pony Tsunotori?
Alex: No, why?
Tetsutetsu: She's an exchange student, she speaks English and she's pretty cute, you two would get along!
Alex: Thanks, point her out to me when we meet up next and I'll go talk to her. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to in English.
I made a text group for the beach party and invited everyone from my class who said they could make it, and my class 1-B friends. I gave Tetsutetsu administrative powers so he could add his classmates, too.
I had dinner as my dad relaxed in the living room watching television. I retired to my room and relaxed a bit, deciding that I didn't need any more training.
After a bit of relaxing, I fell asleep fairly early, only to have a night terror and getting up at six the next morning. I did my normal routine, exercising, jogging, eating, showering, with the inclusion of texting some of my friends before going to school.
I started using my teleportation more, trying to train it better, and teleported all the way to school. That was around fifty teleports, with minimal impact on my body.
If I had done that a year ago I'd be done for the day. I'd grown a lot stronger, but still not strong enough. Not just physically stronger though. I needed better mental stability.
The school day went pretty normal. I talked to some of my classmates who told each other about being recognised on the street after the Sports Festival.
"Did anyone recognise you, Alex?" Yaoyorozu asked.
I scratched the back of my head, "No one will have seen me because I was training my quirk, I teleported all the way here... I'll walk on the way back and tell you. Though they'll probably run away from me."
They tried to convince me otherwise but I didn't believe people would like me. The rest of the day went completely uninterrupted. Nothing unique, just spent some time with friends between classes.
The next day in class, Mr Aizawa came in, unwrapped from his bandages as he was fully healed now from his injuries. We were all excited with the news he had to tell us.
"Today you will all be formulating your hero names."
Everyone cheered, eager to come up with names for themselves. He continued,"This is due to the fact that your next assignment is to join a pro hero agency for the week for field training. Every year after the Sports Festival several pro hero agencies will nominate students they've seen perform well.
Usually it's quite balanced between all the students, however this year most of the attention is focused on Bakugo and Todoroki. You two will get your pick of the litter. The rest of you will get to submit applications to a list of agencies we will supply."
Midnight came in, and I sank into my seat a little. She was going to be the one helping us with our hero names. Everyone had fifteen minutes to come up with a name they wanted.
This was going to be easy for me, considering I already knew what I wanted my name to be. The fifteen minutes dragged on ages as I instantly wrote down the name I wanted.
Afterwards, we were all to go up to the desk and proudly tell the class our chosen names. One of the first up was Aoyama, who very proudly pronounced,
"Sparkling Hero: I cannot stop twinkling!"
Everyone stared blankly at him as Midnight kindly suggested, "Perhaps take out the I and abbreviate cannot to can't. Can't Stop Twinkling. Has a better ring to it, right?"
He agreed and confirmed that name. Can't Stop Twinkling. I giggled to myself quietly. Mina went up and initially chose Alien Queen, which I thought was epic. Unfortunately, Midnight didn't see the appeal and denied the name.
Such a shame, I loved that name. Her new name sucked, changing it simply to Pinky. Uraraka chose Uravity which was a pretty decent name, splicing her name with the word gravity.
I won't bother listing every single name, since you all know them anyway. However I did notice that Tsu came up with her name pretty quickly too.
She had also chosen a name a long time ago. Froppy. Seemed a little odd to me, but she liked it and that's all that mattered.
Afterwards it was finally my turn. I went up to the desk with my card in hand, facing inwards to my chest so no one could get a sneak peak.
I stood behind the desk and flipped the card around. I looked to the side, avoiding eye contact with everyone so I couldn't see what I assumed would be judging eyes.
"Alakan. ( アラカン ) I don't know why, but I've always liked this name. It's like a two point zero version of my own name, and it's a full on name instead of a title which I like, too. It's silly, I know..."
"It's not silly at all! I think it's adorable and suits you well." Midnight pinched my cheek and shook me gently. "And in Japanese, it's pronounced Arakan, which means worthy one, or hero, so I think it works perfectly!"
Iida and Midoriya seemed to struggle with names as they were actually the last two. I thought it was strange how Todoroki and Iida went with their real names.
But then Midoriya chose his name: Deku. Everyone was unsure about it first, but his reasoning was so wholesome, he chose it because of something that Uraraka had told him a while back.
Those two really needed to just go out already. With that out of the way, I wondered what the other classes had chosen for their own hero names.
After we were all finished, Mr Aizawa gave everyone who wasn't nominated by an agency a list of workplaces to choose from. He didn't give me one though.
"Uhm, Mr Aizawa... Why don't I have a list? Was I...?"
He nodded, "You got a nomination. I'm as surprised as you are. You were nominated by the Ryukyu Agency."
My eyes widened and sparkled brighter than Aoyama's armour. "Ryukyu's Agency?! The transforming hero? For real? When can I start?"
"Tomorrow, until the end of the week."
I was beaming and really excited to meet Ryukyu in person. This was going to be a good week, and a little unexpected, too.
{A/N: Hey guys! Hope the wait wasn't too much for you. New schedule is gonna help me sit back a bit instead of frantically typing whatever comes to mind at midnight in bed lol. And yes, I know I'm introducing Ryukyu pretty early, but you'll see why ;) See you Monday!}