Chapter 41: To Stand Under Pressure

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Line Break

After the two finished, or more accurately, after Kyoka was left too weak to stand, Izuku scooped them up and snuck them to the men's showers so that they could clean up before hurrying back to clean the danger room before anyone saw what they did. On the way out, they did run into Aoyama, who acted like nothing was wrong but smiled and whispered that he made sure the security footage of their 'training' was erased. Midoriya left shocked and humiliated when he recalled that the danger room had security feeds! Kyoka was worse as she didn't want her first time recorded like amateur porn.

After they thanked their French friend for convincing J.E.N.N.Y that the footage wasn't worth keeping, the rest of the time leading up to the festival went normally, well with Kyoka needing a day off training as she was still sore from it, which their friends just took as Midoriya training her too hard, much to their relief.

When the day of the festival finally arrived, Midoriya was up bright and early, the excitement getting him out of bed before his alarm could go off, with Aoyama being the same as he spotted his friend in the kitchen, still in pajamas as he finished making his breakfast, his plate being 4 thick cricket flour pancakes which Izuku could see Yuga added a healthy helping of sunflower seeds to the batter, a small bowl of Greek yogurt and a bowl of apple slices and berries.

Midoriya also saw that his friend had made him breakfast. "You've been up for a while," Midoriya smiled as he sat, picking up his fork and knife as he looked at his Rabbit and Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs, three slices of toasted baguette, and a cup of orange juice.

Yuga smirked as he nursed his cup of coffee, brewed just the way his mother's favorite café back in Lyon made it. "Izuku, my good man, I struggled to get a full 8 hours of sleep, but alas, my excitement over claiming gold trumped my desire to get proper beauty sleep."

“Like you need more of that; I'm surprised that you haven't managed to get a girl back here yet," Izuku stated.

"That is not a matter of skill but of desire. Unlike a certain someone, I've been focused quite hard on our training." Yuga shot back, making Izuku blush as he turned to his food. Yuga took the discussion as they ate in silence. When he finished, he let his roommate shower first as he cleaned up the kitchen, which they both did in record time.

Getting dressed for the day, Izuku's mom went off with a good luck message from his mother, who promised she'd attend to cheer him on. The sentiment widened his smile as he met up with Yuga at the door.

"Morning," Ojiro called as he was locking up their apartment, Hagakure bouncing in place as she conversed with Tetsutetsu.

“Morning, are you all excited?” Midoriya asked as he locked their door, allowing the group to head downstairs to the bus stop.

“Of course! This will be our time to show the world what we’re made of.” Hagakure cheered, making the others laugh at how extroverted she could be. You didn't need to see her face to know how eager she was.

“And make those bitch-ass villains see that their little attack only made us more determined to become the best heroes we can.” Kamakiri cracked his neck as he was still pissed about that entire day, but he wouldn’t let it shake him, not villains, not quirk spirits, not anything.

"Well, that is why the school's still going through with it, but I do wonder if that's all there is to it," Midoriya noted.

“What do you mean?” Kamakiri asked as the rest turned to him as well.

Midoriya shook his head. “Nothing, I’m just getting lost in my thoughts.” He didn't want to needlessly worry them over something that could be nothing. Besides, U.A. might be known for how out there they could be, but they would never take things too far.

“Are they yours or…?” Ojiro stated but didn’t finish as they were out in public.

"They're mine; the others don't always tend to have conversations with me. They could be talking now, and I wouldn't know unless I checked." Midoriya answered, keeping it vague enough that others wouldn’t know the truth without context.

“Isn’t that like that whole experiment with the dead cat in the box?” Hagakure asked as she remembered hearing about that in science class, though she hadn't been paying much attention, something she could get away with as most times, as long as she acted like it, her teachers couldn't see it.

Midoriya paused and thought about it, cupping his chin before letting out a little laugh. “I’ve never thought about it like that, so maybe.”

Line Break

As it was such a busy day, and people tended to arrive hours early to be the first in line and first to enter, U.A. directed most of the crowds towards their main entrance. At the same time, students and staff were allowed entry onto campus grounds through another, smaller entry point. Some tried to sneak through or get interviews from the students if they were part of the press, but they were quickly identified and escorted off.

This was a fact a certain journalist knew well, as she was often tasked with covering youth heroics. She was lucky she hadn't been banned when she admittedly got too pushy with some second years. So when she received her pass for the day, she thanked the heavens and ensured she followed all the rules.

She just thought that they would be in by now!

Really, she could hear and see the fireworks being shot off into the sky, but only from outside the gate. Despite arriving 2 hours early, which required waking up 3 hours early, mind you, she was still stuck out here as the school moved at a snail's pace, checking everyone's persons, identification, and anything they were carrying. She scratched at her clean, professional-styled dark brown hair and looked towards her cameraman in disbelief.

"They're taking forever! What was the point of issuing press passes if they will be this thorough when we arrive?" She asked the man, who shrugged it off. Sure, he had to get up early for this, but at least it was only something he had to do once a year. His friends regularly stayed up late and woke up early chasing stories.

"They were just attacked by villains, which happened after someone let a bunch of us in. Of course, they'll be super strict with security." The cameraman reminded her, though he looked slightly uncomfortable when he recalled something else. "I'm more surprised they still went through with the festival this year. Rumour is that the USJ attack was a lot more gruesome than the authorities reported, with a monster of all things present."

She waved that off. "Save the baseless rumors for the 10 PM gossip slot; if U.A. wants to go on as normal, I say let 'em. Controversy means higher ratings! And this year, it's the freshmen hero class that are the ones to watch. Fending off villains so soon into their school career, you just know they'll be a cut above the rest."

“Weren’t these the same kids that kept dodging your questions?” her cameraman asked, causing the woman to stumble as she recalled that little fun time.

"I say, let's bury the hatchet,” she stated. But if I can cover one of them failing and blow that up on the 6PM slot…well, it wouldn't be false reporting, now would it?"

“You can be ruthless, you know that?” her cameraman deadpanned, and she laughed, tapping the NHA armband she proudly wore on her left arm.

“I wouldn’t be the field reporter for this if I wasn’t. Besides, don’t act like you haven’t willingly followed me into some sticky situations for the best shot.” She shot back as being a journalist was far from easy, and one needed to be ready and able to chase the stories, even with danger and pissed-off people around every corner.

"True on both fronts." The man adjusted his cap as he saw their checkpoint; others were already on the school grounds, not just the media and representatives of agencies there to scout but also regular folk numbering in the hundreds if not thousands.

Many of them didn't immediately enter one of the 3 stadiums U.A. purpose-built for their 3 years but remained around the main school buildings or around the arenas where dozens of stalls selling all kinds of wares had set up, most being for food and drink while others sound hero accessories from Endeavour masks, Mirko key-chains, All Might shirts, etc. if it could be made to resemble a top hero. It was on sale, doubly so if that hero graduated from these halls.

He continued, hoping to snatch up something to take home. "Making it out of a legit villain attack will surely affect the public interest. Typically, it’s the 3rd years that get most of the spotlight, being the most trained of the bunch and this being the last chance to see them in action before they graduate."

His colleague snickered as she could think of another reason so many eyes would be on the first years. "Well, I heard that one of the students in the first year is Endeavour's son."

"Wait, really? No wonder that managed that; we'll set up shop fast to get some great shots of him." Oh, there was that excitement she loved to see out of him.

Line Break

Inside the grounds, the groups in attendance were heroes, with a trio of them led to one stand by their shortest member, who, in an instant, could become their largest. “One order of Takoyaki, please.”

The man manning the grill looked up when he heard the order, saw it was the young up-and-comer Mt. Lady, and beamed at her. "Oh, Mt. Lady? I can't believe I'm meeting you. You know you saved my friend's life the other day."

Mt. Lady nodded automatically. She didn’t dislike that he was grateful, but when you save at least one person a day, those sentiments of gratitude kinda lost some of their punch. And more to the point, she was hungry. "Oh, it was just a part of my job; otherwise, I wouldn't be Mt. Lady, would I? Now, could I please have my order? No green seaweed."

“Coming right up! That’ll be 500 yen.” He quickly picked the ones she would like and placed them into a box, Kamui Woods noting how Lady froze. He held back the groan when he realized what it meant.

Lady put on the soft, demure, pretty lady act. "Oh…You see, I don't have that much on me; could I have a discount?" Death Arms didn’t bother hiding his exasperation as Mt.Lady worked her charm on the poor stall vendor, who fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

“That’s hot! It’s free!” The vendor changed the prize without a second thought.

“Thanks a bunch!” Mt. Lady dropped the act like a hot potato, giving the vendor a thumbs-up like a mother with two kids who had just secured a deal on a family-sized chicken pack.

"You are shameless," Kamui Woods told her as if he were wondering about her character, not for the first time.

Having collected her order, they made their way off, keeping an eye out for anything out of the norm. “I had also hoped to get some scouting done, but we might have the time.” Kamui walked with his arms crossed.

Death Arms shrugged his frankly, massive shoulders. "Can't be helped; we were asked to work security. We can watch the events later." He might have worked in the area, but he often chose to patrol the city during the festival and watch the events afterward, so this wasn't as big a change for him.

Mt. Lady happily ate her food, sticking a toothpick into one Takoyaki ball and plopping it in her mouth. As she savored its flavor, she couldn't help but wonder about something. “Still, they gotta be just a little spooked, wouldn’t you say? They invited pros from all over the country for this.” She stated that she knew this attracted plenty of pros and that she was still a rookie with this being her first, but there seemed to be more costumes around them than she would think.

Death Arms also noticed an increase in the number of heroes, and his brow creased in thought. “It’s the sensible concession when they decided to go through with this despite that villain attack. If I were on their board, I would have aired on the side of caution.”

Kamui Woods interjected. "Surely you could have been convinced otherwise. I admit that an attack by dastardly villains would have been surprising. Still, by all accounts, they were repulsed, and most of them arrested."

“That’s not why I would be against it,” the veteran of their group said, looking around, seeing that most were preoccupied. He kept his voice just loud enough for the two to hear. “I heard that one of the villains was like our ice friend.”

Both their eyes narrowed, as that could only mean one thing. “Another one? On school grounds?” Mt. Lady asked. Ever since they failed to stop that strange villain, one that needed Endeavour and some vigilante calling themselves 'Caretaker' to defeat, they had been looking into other cases with similar weirdness. They found several over the last couple of years alone.

But what was strange was that in all of them, they were sure that some vigilante managed to handle the issue, capture the villain, and escape without being identified.

“Then how did they handle it?” Kamui Woods asked the million-yen question, as none recalled anything about a vigilante also breaking into school grounds.

"No clue; all I know is through whispers and after-hours talks. What I would bet my next pay cheque on is that whatever happened, the school knows more than we do and seems pretty confident that they can handle it." Death Arms looked up towards the H-shaped towers that made up U.A.’s main building.

Mt. Lady frowned. "Let's hope this isn't a case of them getting too big for their boots.”

Line Break

Inside the stadium bowels that would host the first-year students, the different courses had each been assigned wait rooms with men's and women's changing rooms attached. This allowed the assembled student body to change into their P.E. clothing, which Ashido did not like and made known.

"It's to keep everything fair, remember? Some of us have support items with her gear." Ojiro reminded her as he did some warm-up stretches.

“What about me?” Hagakure asked, to which the tailed boy awkwardly laughed; lucky for him, Jiro was more than happy to say it

"I'm pretty sure there're laws against having a nude girl running around when this is being aired in the middle of the morning and afternoon.” She smirked, as everyone had picked up on her happy mood these last few weeks, but she's been cagey about it, just saying she got a good workout in, which helped with her confidence.

Toru stomped her foot at that. "But it's not like anyone can see anything! Besides, we're heroes; of course, we have an advantage over them just by being here."

"She's not wrong; sure, some of them are gunning for us, but it's an uphill battle for them—not us," Kaibara reminded them as they recalled how the other courses eyed them up that day.

“Still, we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be influenced by arrogance. We should take this challenge with the seriousness and humility that it requires.” Shiozaki sat with her hands held in prayer, her head bent forward as she mentally recited hymns.

"Right, and we must also remember that the Sports Festival is primarily for the hero course, so whatever challenges the teachers will have for us won't be easy and could, in fact, be designed to trip us up while giving the other courses better chances." Shishida agreed with her on that front.

“That sounds like something Aizawa-sensei would do.” Iida frowned, but he couldn't deny that it would better prepare them for the rigors and trials that come from being a pro-hero.

"Oh man, that just makes me all the more nervous, especially as we have no clue what the first event will be, " Sato said as he started to sweat a bit.

Tokoyami crossed his arms. He, too, was worried, but not to the same extent as his classmate. “Regardless of what may come, we have no choice but to face it head-on."

“Right.” Shoji nodded as the door opened, and Kendo returned from the meet-up to which the class reps had been called.

"Everyone, get ready. They'll be calling us to the field soon." She announced, with Midoriya getting up along with Aoyama and Mineta at their side, signing their names onto his palm and swallowing them to try and stem his nerves.

“In through the nose,” Midoriya said, taking a deep breath. His head pulled back before he learned it forward, exhaling through his mouth. “Out through the mouth.” He repeated it a couple more times before he reached for his belt.

“Midoriya.” Midoriya turned when he heard his name being called, seeing that it was a surprising person.

“Todoroki, is there something you need?” He was curious to know what Todoroki wished to speak about, and now, of all times, as while he wouldn't say they were hostile, Todoroki wasn't close to anyone in class.

Todoroki’s face didn’t shift as he answered with a blunt assessment. "Looking at it objectively, I think I'm stronger than you, with perhaps Aoyama, Uraraka, Tokoyami, and Bakugo having comparable power to my ice."

“That…makes sense.” Midoriya conceded, though he was slightly insulted by it, but Todoroki wasn't done.

The ice user's eye went down to Midoriya's belt buckle. While some assumed one thing about his gaze, Midoriya, and others knew what he was really looking at. Returning to looking the shorter man in the eye, he continued. "However, in terms of versatility, your quirk is leagues above the rest of us, and it's a toolset that will only keep growing should you keep doing what you do."

Midoriya's frown grew as he explained all this and how he viewed the fact that he had so many quirks as is. He didn't see this as a game or some means to strengthen. Each person needed a hero, who needed just one person to help and didn't get it. They were robbed of justice in life and could only get the bitter hollowness of seeing it posthumously.

Again, Todoroki continued before things could be taken the wrong way. "I won't talk down the life you, Aoyama, and others have chosen, not when you're doing such an admirable thing, but I will say this." He stepped forward, his height all the more apparent than Midoriya’s. “I’m going to defeat you. You can use any one of those powers of yours, but I will claim victory against you and everyone else.”

“What the? Why are two of our best declaring war on each other? We already have others gunning for us.” Fukidashi asked as Kirishima got up.

"Hey, this isn't the right time for this; why are you picking fights, Todoroki? It's not your style." Kirishima asked Todoroki, putting a hand on his shoulder only for the white and red-haired boy to brush him off.

"We're not here to make friends; I'm just making my stance clear, " Todoroki said as he turned to make his way onto the field.

"My, how rude!" Aoyama commented, smiling, though his eyes were narrowed at how disrespectful Todoroki was toward his friend.

Midoriya would have left things lay. It was probably the sensible move, but it just didn't fit him, so he had to speak up. "Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking or why you picked me out of everyone, so I'll just take your words at face value," Midoriya started, with Todoroki pausing and turning to look at him over his shoulder. "I already knew you have a higher power output than me and better control over your ice than I do."

“Like you said, out of our class of already competent and capable people, you rank a cut above the rest.” Midoriya continued, gesturing towards the entire class filled with people who had almost twice as long as Yuga and him. He had to train with their quirks, an even shorter time for him as he started gaining other abilities years after he got his first.

"Midoriya, you shouldn't talk like that, man; you're still one-" Kirishima started, but Aoyama stopped him, shaking his head as he figured his friend had a point.

Midoriya proved that as he marched up to Todoroki, staring the taller boy in the eye. He pointed towards the door, towards what lay behold it for them.

“The other courses are coming for us with everything they got. The people out there are expecting to see what their future heroes can do. Even the villains are probably watching us to try and figure out ways to better fight us. That is a lot of pressure, and we're still here. Each of us still chose to wake up today and fight even with all that pressing on us." He opened his arms, encompassing the entire class as everyone, from Mineta to Tokage, all stood here; that was something that some might not have done.

“It was never about power, or skill, or versatility." He gestured first towards Todoroki, then towards Shiozaki, and lastly, himself. "It was about the heart, our desires to overcome; it was why we worked so hard to get into U.A. and are still working to be the best. It's the same for you, me, and everyone else. So, you didn't need to declare war on me,"

His arms fell, not from lack of guard but because he was wound up and hyper-alert. “Because it was an all-out war from when we put on these uniforms, so don't think I'll roll over and let you win. You want my best? You'll get it, and you'll lose."

Todoroki was silent for a moment, digested that before he nodded, his gaze narrowing at the challenge. “Good, I won’t achieve my goals if you don’t put up a fight.”

Midoriya's words might have been his way of affirming his resolve, but they strengthened the resolve of everyone present. Yes, they were under a lot of pressure. This could be the day that they see themselves forced out of the hero course or make fools of themselves that no agency wants to work with them. And yet, they all came.

Sato felt his nerves calm, Mineta felt emboldened by them, Kendo and Yaoyorozu both nodded in agreement, Iida smiled as he clenched his fist, and Kirishima and Tetsutetsu either smacked their chest with a fist or punched their palm, both activating their quirks. Uraraka breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, she struggled with OFA, but she still had a chance and wouldn't squander it.

All around, the mood seemed to shift as the hero course could stand just a little taller, all of which had. Jiro gave Midoriya a fond smile as even when he hyped himself up, he couldn't help doing the same for others.

But not all were hyped by this, as Bakugo kept it to himself how much he hated seeing those two exchange declarations of war as if they only saw one another as someone worth defeating when he sat right there. The worst part was that a part of him couldn't disagree. Both were far above the extras he'd spent his entire life around and no matter how much he hated them, he couldn't ignore that they were strong.

So he'll have to prove them wrong. They can have that little USJ claim, and he'll show them and the entire world that he was destined to be number one, and no amount of genes or lab-made quirks would change that.

Line Break

“Hey, adoring fans!" Present Mic's voice and image appeared on the big screen to the roar of the audience and fireworks going off overhead. The voice hero was shown in full HD on the massive screen for the over 100 thousand people in the stands cheering for him and the coming event.

Waving towards the crowds, or more accurately, towards the unique ring set aside for the hundreds of cameras and photographers. “Get our good sides, mass media!" Those media personnel, representing local and international media groups, were responsible for broadcasting the events to Japan and the world.

For many in Japan, the U.A. Sports festival had replaced the once venerable Olympics in terms of public interest as the ancient sporting event that came once every 4 years had long fallen out of favor with quirks compromising much of the games of old and heroes becoming such an internationally loved career. However, it wasn’t just Japan that tuned in for this as millions from across the world did the same to scout for talent as pros and support students alike could be offered employment abroad, much like how, for a time, All Might worked in the US, and Captain Celebrity worked in Japan.

Because of such factors, the previous year’s games drew in a peak live viewership of well over 38 million people, with tens of millions more watching it after the fact, and now, all signs pointed towards this year's games drawing over 40 million people, but the excitement had been especially high this year with most analyst leading up to the games predicting that they could draw in over 50 million. A massive boost for the student's prospects, but it also meant that tens of millions more for the U.A. were earned through advertisements and other sponsors.

Present Mic would have known all that as he gave the people a show as the ringmaster of it all. "It's time for your favorite time of year, a chance to watch the best of brightest that the U.A. has to offer to compete to see who stands head and shoulders above them all, the U.A. Sports Festival!”

“I'm your commentator for this event. Clap your hands for the one and only Present Mic!" Present Mic introduced himself to the roar of his small but dedicated fanbase. Soaking it in, he directed the cameras within the commentator's book toward the others he was with.

“But as great as I am, I can't cover such an amazing performance by myself, so I'm joined by my co-hosts. Say hello to the media queen with a booming streaming channel, Supercharge!” Present Mic called out as the woman flashed a peace sign to the audience. The events were even broadcast over her streaming channel, which already had thousands, mainly younger viewers, watching.

“Hi!” She smiled.

“And to my left is the perceptive and mellow lover of some good music, Inversal!” Present Mic directed things to the other side, and Shinji chuckled as he nodded along with it.

Snapping his fingers, he winked towards the cameras. “Happy to be here.”

“And with the gang assembled, let’s kick things off with a bang for our first-year sports festival! Are you ready? " he asked, with the crowd cheering somehow getting louder. Banners with course letters or even names were waved, most of which were the more recognizable names of Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Iida. But a small number were for other students, being flown by friends and family who managed to get tickets.

In one of the skyboxes, Inko watched the events along with the Aoyama, who had made sure to make time in their busy schedules for this. Intelli was also watching in the stands, as U.A.'s sports festival was a public holiday where even other hero schools didn't have classes, allowing her to attend and bring the group of friends she'd made in her time at Seiai. Lastly, the teachers watched things from a smaller viewing box, All Might, out of his hero form. He couldn't cheer for his successor, but he would surely send all the goodwill he could to young Uraraka through other means.

With fireworks still going off overhead, coloring the clear blue skies in all manner of hues, Present Mic and his fellow announcers continued to hype things up. "This is always a fun time to see. We're about to witness a real battle of skills, wit, and some good ole luck from these baby heroes," Inversal noted as his fellow commentator laughed.

“But they always manage to make things entertaining, so don't take your eyes off them, or you'll miss something important. Count on it!” Supercharge stated.

“They've already made their mark on the world by going up against a baptism of fire and coming out stronger for it—it's the hero course!” Present Mic called out as the hero course watched into the pitch to the audience's cheers and the flash of what had to be thousands of cameras.

"There's more people here than I thought." Midoriya stuttered out as Aoyama wrapped an arm around him.

“Come now, my friend, where that spirit from earlier is. Heroes are but the show's stars, so of course, all eyes will be on us.” Aoyama smiled as he waved towards the crowds, looking for any cuties he could impress.

"Hey, if your parents are watching, how would you see them in such a huge crowd?" Uraraka asked.

“I'm not sure, but I know my parents weren't able to make it, but they should be able to watch things as they happen," IIda replied.

“Next up, the masters of the pen and directors of the play that is life, the business classes of B, C, D, and E!" With their classes called out, the business students took to the field with a similar sense of purpose to their hero course counterparts. Though Jiro could tell from how they were breathing and muttering amongst themselves that they weren't nearly as excited as the hero course, they just hid it well.

“Following them, we have the gearheads and tech wizards, the support classes of F, G, H, I, J, and K!" As those in the hero class paused and looked in surprise as the massive group of support students took to the field, more than doubling the number of students on the field, Midoriya noted that plenty seemed excited to be there. Some were already wearing some support items, which confused him. Weren't those banned?

“And last but certainly not least, we have the jacks of all trades, general course classes of L through X!" As the 12 classes made their way into the field, once more adding more than double the current number of students to the field, Aoyama noticed that many seemed to understand that the Sports Festival was a hero course-centric performance with many general students looking far from happy to be there, no doubt most wouldn't have competed if it wasn't mandatory.

As the last of them made it onto the large green pitch, all eyes went towards a certain pro who strutted onto the stage with the confidence and sex appeal of a supermodel mixed with a stripper, as no one swung their hips like that on accident. Midnight commanded their attention and raised the arousal of many, both the students and the millions who watched the events in the stands or from wherever they might be. Not even those in the hero course were immune, as while they had seen her every day, she could still cause plenty of them to blush and look away while adjusting their collars.

Inversal and Supercharge both crackled at the sight of their students acting so mesmerized by the sex icon that was their co-worker, one that they knew relished drawing such a reaction out of people, with Supercharge being the one to introduce she who needed no introduction.

"And serving as the umpire for this year's first-year games, warmly welcome the Rated-R heroine: Midnight." At her name, the woman posed for the thousands of cameras as people from all walks of life, men and women, from teens to the middle-aged, and even some older folk gave enthusiastic applause for her. Jiro's brow twitched as she could hear increased clicks from cameras. She had a feeling that searches related to their tall buxom would skyrocket.

“Do these people have no shame?” Shiozaki asked, looking towards the crowds in disgust at how openly horny many were acting to Midnight’s presence. Her teacher was only making it worse by leaning into it.

"Is it that surprising, though? Midnight's sure to bring in eyeballs, almost as much as if they got All Might to handle this." Sero responded that he wouldn't pretend he didn't have a higher chance of watching stuff cause they had sexy ladies in it.

Having taken to the small stand, Midnight whipped out her cat o' nine. "Representing the students will be Midoriya Izuku of the hero course!" With that statement, everyone turned to Midoriya, who remained stiff but internally was screaming why he picked? Why not one of the class reps or one of the more recognizable faces?

The others wondered the same thing as he forced himself to stiffly march forward. "Any clue why they picked him? He really doesn't look like he wants to do this." Tetsutetsu asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, he scored the highest in the entrance exam, so they probably want to put him front and center," Ojiro noted as Midoriya continued to march like he was heading for the gallows.

“The highest of the hero course exam, you mean?” Someone from the general course corrected, her face being a mix of annoyance and boredom.

“Of course, our apologies!” Iida bowed towards them.

“We really don’t have friends among them, do we?” Honenuki noted as it wasn’t just the one, but it looked like most of general were eying them like something they scrapped off their shoe, or meat to be snatched up.

"It's partly Bakugo's fault; he made us look bad." Kaminari reminded them as Midoriya made it to the top of the stage, where Midnight had taken a step back to allow him the space to use the microphone. Looking out towards the gathered students, numbering close to 1000 people, was hard enough, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands in the stands and the untold millions watching this in other locations.

Midoriya felt he would panic under such scrutiny, but he felt Seijū Genrin manifest and rub against his leg. “You got this, Izuku. Just take a breath and say what you need to.” She encouraged him before she vanished back into the realm in his head.

Izuku did as she suggested and felt some of his anxiety fade away, not all of it, but enough that he could focus on just a few select faces in the crowd of students and pretend everyone else was just statues and dolls.

At least, with the entire stadium silent and waiting on him, he spoke. “I pledge…” Midoriya started, locking eyes with Aoyama, Uraraka, Iida, Jiro, Todoroki, and Bakugo. Each had something different to their expression. “To compete fairly, to respect my opponents and the rules by giving this my very best. To live up to the ideals of sportsmanship and U.A's motto so, what I want to say is,”

He tapped into just a little of Seijū Genrin’s prideful nature as he performed a ‘come here’ gesture. “I’m aiming for the top, try and stop me.”

His declaration, one made as he eyed up Todoroki, only infuriated Bakugo, confused the rest of the hero course, and made enemies of the entire courses who started screaming about how cocky he was being and how he would no doubt be the first the lose. Still, he ignored them as he walked off the stage, eyeing up each of his friends, all returned his look with either the confidence to take him up on his offer or the determination not to let him just take victory without a fight.

Line Break

I didn't have power for most of this last Sunday and Monday. The excuse they gave was that there was a 'minor' issue at the substation, which took them the WHOLE of Sunday to fix. I joked with my roommate that they were dragging their feet and fixing it like putting a single line of tape over a bucket's gaping hole was 'sealing' it. And I was right as it was not even midday the following day, and power cuts AGAIN. And these assholes have the gall to act surprised when more people switch to solar power; you can't be this unreliable on a local and national level and expect people to still trust you to do the bare minimum!

So, I bum-rushed the first part of this before my computer's battery got too low on Sunday. Then, I tried it again today,, and I was able to finish this around Monday afternoon. Though my computer's charge is super low, I will be stretched thin with three assignments due this week. Naturally, they take priority, so if chapters for my other stories are late, I apologize in advance.

With the chapter itself, there were problems, as they always are, when you have an original idea for taking something, but I wouldn't say they slowed me down, nor were a bother to do. Really, I could have got this done faster if I wasn't worried that my computer would die on me.