Izuku Midoriya
The Sports Festival is today! At first, I was scared about not being able to go but I was cleared and given permission to sit in the stands! Mom is coming too! Mr. Kanbaki is staying closer now but he doesn't sit next to me or bother me too much. It was hard convincing my doctors to let me go but I want to get notes on all the students of UA and I definitely want to cheer for Kacchan! Mom was also reluctant to let me go but she eventually gave in on the condition that she came with.
"You dressed yet?" Mom cracked my door but she didn't look inside, probably because she didn't know if I was dressed or not, "We have to leave in a little bit to make it on time." She said while closing the door.
"Oh um I'm ready," I said even though I know she can't hear me anymore. I looked down at my All Might shirt. It's not the most fashionable thing I guess but it's my favorite shirt. Plus it's my lucky shirt! So Kacchan should win if I'm wearing it.
I followed mom to the living room where she checked her phone and sighed, "Well, Yagi isn't going to join us. He says he got called into work because of the Sports Festival." Even as she spoke I could tell she was upset. Mr. Yagi seems to be canceling a lot more these past few weeks, I don't think I've seen him since I woke up.
"Maybe we'll see him there?" As I said that I knew there was little chance of it, especially if he was working. I hope he and mom aren't secretly fighting-adults usually hide when they're arguing, I noticed that with Mr. and Mrs. Bakugo.
Mom shrugged, "Maybe. Come on Izuku, we'd better hurry if we want to catch the opening." She was forcing herself to be happy and I decided not to press her about it, instead following her out of the door. We rarely use our car since fuel costs so much but today was a special case!
The ride wasn't that long but traffic sucked, especially as we got closer to UA. The festival is so popular! It's no surprise that people were flocking here...but mom and I get closer parking because I'm a student and Mr. Yagi even managed to research us a spot! We found our parking spot after navigating parking.
Mom unbuckled the second she turned the car off and checked her phone, "We should hurry." She said, "Mr. Kanbaki knows where we'll be sitting so we should get some food and head over there."
"Okay!" Mom smiled and I grabbed her hand, "Come on! I know where the best food stands are set up!" I had gotten a look at the map for stands before we left and knew exactly where the doughnuts I wanted were.
Mom seems to have forgotten Mr. Yagi by now and laughed with me, that's good. We hurried to pay for the doughnuts and then some drinks, "We got a seat close to the arena." Mom told me as she took the lead in the stands, "Students got priority seating."
"That's nice," I said, it's weird how mom knows exactly where to go. Man, it's super loud and crowded but at least the heat isn't that bad. I expected it to be blisteringly hot but there's a nice breeze going and the stadium is open enough that it isn't trapping heat, I should be okay.
"I hope nobody gets hurt," Mom said as she sat down. I sat beside her and we looked at the arena, "They end these festivals with a tournament-style fight, right?" She asked and I nodded excitedly.
"But they have pro-heroes to watch it," I told her and pointed to the small stage where Midnight stood, "They're supposed to stop students from getting too hurt. Plus Recovery Girl is on stand by! I'm sure everybody will be fine."
Mom hummed quietly and went silent, I took that chance to listen in to the people around us. The crowd was turning into a mess of words but I heard somebody talking about Todoroki, "I hear Endeavor's son is in the first year group-"
I didn't catch what they said after that but it rubbed me the wrong way, were people here just because of Todoroki's father? Or even the USJ attack? That must be a stressful expectation to live up to, I hope Todoroki isn't pressured to be perfect. Maybe I can talk to him? Everybody must be feeling pressured though.
"Hello hello hello!" Oh, the announcement! I looked at the screen projected over the arena and saw Present mic speaking, "Welcome to the UA Sports Festival! Where up and coming heroes fight for the chance to achieve worldwide fame and celebrity!" The crowd began cheering so loud that I missed a few words Present Mic had said, "-This group is no stranger to the spotlight! You know them from withstanding a villain attack! Give it up for the dazzling hero course students of Class 1A!"
I looked back down to the arena to see Class 1A walking onto the field. The crowd got so loud I think my ear popped! I stood up and started cheering for Kacchan but my voice was probably lost in all the noise, I hope he at least felt my spirit! It feels bad to cheer for only Kacchan when the others are my friends too but I'm sure they understand.
Present Mic began to introduce the other classes but I didn't want to scream my voice out, I did cheer when I saw Shinso though! I hope he can get far in the festival and show the school that he deserves to be in the hero course too!
"Now the introductory speech!" Midnight shouted, gathering the crowd's attention. All of the first-year classes had gathered around her stage, "For the student pledge we have Katsuki Bakugo!" She announced.
Mom had to restrain me from shouting encouragement to him, "Let him speak then you can cheer." She said quickly while holding my arm. It kind of hurt but she was right, I shouldn't take the attention off of him.
Kacchan walked forward with his hands in his pocket, the way he walks is something Mrs. Bakugo yells at him for. He...I don't know, always kicks his legs out? It's weird, "I just wanna say..." His voice was so loud! And because it's so quiet with everybody listening, it echoed everywhere, "I'm gonna win."
Oh no...
Instantly the crowd began booing, I don't know what he said but Kacchan made a thumbs down motion to the other classes. How callous can he be?! I thought he'd have a little bit of respect for his classmates...
~~~~
The day was really long, especially after the drama Kacchan caused. He came in second for the race, second for the cavalry battle, but managed to snag first in the tournament! That means he's won! Todoroki came second and Iida came third.
I'm sad Shinso lost in the first round of the tournament but maybe he's shown off all he needs to? After a few minutes of awkward intermission, Midnight began speaking near the podiums, "Now it's time for the awards ceremony! And there's only one person worthy of distributing the awards!" I heard a familiar laugh and looked up to see All Might!
"Oh my God mom it's All Might!" I shouted and I wasn't the only one excited! The entire crowd began to cheer for him too! "All Might's up there, mom!" Mom clapped a little bit but she didn't cheer like I did, she was never a huge pro hero fan.
"I am here!" All Might shouted as he jumped from the top of the arena, he landed next to Midnight and laughed once more. It was then I realized Iida wasn't in the third-place spot, Tokoyami was. Where's Iida? Actually the more I look at them the weirder the line up is, why is Kacchan tied up?
Midnight picked up a box and held it towards All Might, "Now that you're here why don't you start the presentation, All Might?" She asked. All Might happily took the box and headed to the winners.
"Young Tokoyami, congratulations," He placed the medal over Tokoyami's head somehow and continued, "You showed great strength out there." His praise reminded me how hard Tokoyami fought, his quirk is scary! Tokoyami said something and All Might responded by hugging him. They spoke to each other while hugging but it wasn't broadcast and soon All Might stepped away. There was no explanation for why Tokoyami replaced Iida and that's what confused me the most, did something happen?
He moved on, "Young Todoroki, congratulations." He put the medal over his head and I noticed how sad Todoroki looked. Was it just because he lost? I doubt it, Todoroki isn't the type to be a sore loser. The two of them spoke for a moment and All Might ended their conversation with a hug, it looked like a tight hug. I bet Todoroki needed it.
"And now," He said as he stepped away from Todoroki, "Young Bakugo!" He paused as he realized Kacchan had been restrained, "Well...you did what you said you'd do! You're true to your word!"
Kacchan started fighting and yelling but he's too far away for me to hear it, probably something about not liking how his match with Todoroki had gone. All Might tried to salvage the situation with a speech, "I-In a world where we are constantly compared to one another, you keep your eyes on the top spot! Very few can say the same. Please accept this medal, even if you consider it a scar. So you will never forget this day."
Kacchan began yelling again and so All Might forced the medal onto him like he was a child, "Here they are!" All Might said as he turned to the camera, "The winner of this year's Sports Festival! But listen closely, any of you first-years could have ended up standing on these podiums. Think about what you've done today. You've challenged each other, learned, and climbed even closer towards your goal of being pros! I think our next generation of heroes is proving to be our most promising yet! So I have one more thing to say, I want to hear everybody yell it with me! You know what it is!"
I quickly punched my fist in the air and yelled as loud as I could with him, "Plus ultra!" He seemed happy with the results and Midnight took that as her turn to begin closing up the festival.
I wanted to leave to find Kacchan but I got stuck behind the crowd which sucked. Kacchan promised to meet me in the hallway outside of the waiting rooms and mom gave me permission to go, the anticipation of seeing him made me start bouncing. Crowds are such a hassle but I inched along with it until I found a spot to squeeze through, I got through it and then took off towards the waiting rooms.
I ran as fast as I could and found the hallway Kacchan meant, when I saw him I ran so fast I tripped! "Fucking Deku." He mumbled and pulled me up, I could tell he was looking at my choker as he lifted me up, "So fucking clumsy."
"Sorry," I tried to laugh it off but he rolled his eyes. I looked him up and down before frowning, "Where's the medal? You won! You won first too!" I was proud of him, it takes a lot of work to win first!
"Oh, that stupid thing?" He put his hand in his pocket and pulled the gold out, "I don't want it. I didn't prove I was the best, I only proved I could beat some extra at half his strength. Here." He shoved the medal into my chest and I took it as he let go, "Have it. I don't care."
"A-Are you sure?!" I looked at the medal, it was engraved with UA and it was so shiny! But how could I take this? I didn't win, "You won the festival! That's really hard to do, you should accept it."
"No," Kacchan growled and I gulped, he was mad! "I don't want it. I promised..." He huffed and put his hands in his pocket, "I promised I'd do something when I proved I was the best but then that Half n Half bastard made it so I didn't prove I was better than him. Now I can't...do that thing."
"What-"
"-Don't fucking ask," He growled again and I squeezed the medal to keep from flinching at the tone of voice, "Ugh can your mom give me a ride? I just want to get home and go to sleep, this shit was so tiring."
"Yeah of course!" Kacchan isn't acting like he usually does. He's not sad or even mad, is he disappointed? Only Kacchan could be disappointed after winning the Sports Festival. Oh well, if I press it now he won't tell me. I should remember to ask him later.