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[Sports Festival Incoming]
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| The next day |
…
-Shaaa-
The classroom door slid open as usual.
It was still early, so only a few students had arrived so far, like Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Midoriya, who were usually the most punctual. Those more energetic, like Kirishima and Bakugo, had already arrived too, along with Jiro, Tsuyu, Shoji, and a handful of others who happened to get here early as well.
As the sound of the door opening reached them, those more talkative and bored out of their minds turned to see who it was. Hoping they could have someone to talk to while they waited for class to start.
Instead, they were in for a surprise.
"Eh?!"
Kirishima's eyes widened like platters at the familiar figure standing calmly in the doorway.
"Taka?! You're early?" he asked, eyes blinking repeatedly as if not believing it.
"For real?" Jiro's head snapped toward the door, jaw-dropping.
"This is unprecedented, kero," Tsuyu added.
Taka just stared at them with a deadpan expression.
"I woke up a bit earlier," he said as he passed by their spots, before then heading straight for his seat.
"Ah—" Kirishima looked like he wanted to talk a bit more, but in Taka's tone, even if barely a shade different, something felt heavier.
Like an actual seriousness, unlike what Taka usually showed.
And it wasn't just him who noticed.
As Taka sat down, even Yaoyorozu hesitated to greet him, letting him simply drop into his seat and cross his arms in silence like always.
Midoriya, on the other hand, felt more nervous than usual, feeling the oddness in Taka's attitude.
'It must be—that.'
Right away, many of them connected the shift with yesterday's leaked footage of him fighting the Nomu and the public reaction that came from it.
—And as they did, the air in the classroom shifted too, with many recalling the graphic images of their seemingly serene classmate fighting the Nomu with brutal precision, slicing through limbs again and again.
Back then, at the USJ, the class had been pretty far from the fight. That distance, plus the speed of the battle, and the stress and adrenaline running through their bodies at that moment, had dulled the shock of their classmate's actions severely.
But the video that leaked out the other day had no such interferences aside from blurring the most gory images.
When they saw it, there was nothing blocking the real ferocity behind that fight anymore.
They all knew hero work could get bloody—accidents, villain brutality, life-or-death battles… it was part of the job. But they were still kids, inexperienced both in battle and in situations like that in general. Seeing their classmate, someone they saw every day, fighting with that level of ferocity was jarring to say the least.
—Still, none of them felt the right to criticize Taka, nor to judge him. Not when, at the moment of truth, they just stood back, unable to do anything. All while he took care of everything.
Even tactically, what he'd done was necessary. The Nomu regenerated, and it absorbed normal impacts like nothing. A more ethical fight, for the sake of protecting their eyes, wouldn't have worked.
And yet, no one in there could erase their unease fully.
The room fell into an awkward silence, the tension building around the person at the center of it… who kept his eyes closed and waited quietly for class to start.
At least, until—
"Oi, Takahashi. You're not seriously worrying over what those TV guys said, are you?"
Taka opened one eye and turned.
Jiro stood beside his desk, arms crossed and expression wry.
"People like that love to hear themselves talk," she said. "Their opinions aren't worth much. You saved all of us, what's so bad about that?"
Kirishima snapped out of his daze, leaning forward with renewed energy. "Y-yeah! Don't mind them, bro! You saved our asses back there—that's what really matters, right? If anyone feels something's bad with that, then screw 'em!"
After a beat of silence, another person joined in.
"It was scary… But you did what you had to. If you hadn't, who knows what could have happened to us, or the teachers." Tsuyu added from the other side of the room.
A few nods came from some of the students nearby, agreeing with her and joining in to reassure their classmate.
Jiro smiled faintly at the support before turning toward Taka again with a triumphant look.
The person in question remained silent for a moment, eyes drifting over the three of them and some of the other classmates.
They all looked so proud.
"I appreciate the support." Taka suddenly said, before looking at them with a deadpan, "But what are you all talking about?"
"Eh?" all three blurted out at once.
Another wave of awkward silence washed over the room.
"Wait, didn't you see all that stuff those TV experts said?" Kirishima asked, genuinely confused.
Taka gave a faint nod.
"And didn't it bother you?" Kirishima prodded.
Taka raised an eyebrow, scoffing before relaxing in his seat once more. "Fools can talk all they want. It won't change that I will one day stand at the top, whether they like it or not."
Kirishima's face scrunched as a single tear left his eyes, fist clenching in excitement. "So manly… damn it."
At the same time, several of the classmates who had been minding their own business shifted their attention toward Taka, brows tightening as he declared—so casually—that he'd be the number one.
Bakugo clicked his tongue. Todoroki shot him an irritated glance. Midoriya shuddered.
Others simply sweatdropped at the sheer, unshakeable confidence.
Still… they couldn't deny the effect it had on them. That level of certainty—shrugging off criticism, glaring at the future head-on—was something they all wished they had. Especially in a field where that kind of mindset wasn't optional.
With the air in the classroom lightening upon seeing their classmate remain strong and… uh, confident as always, minutes passed while they waited for homeroom to start.
More classmates trickled in. Some nearly toppled over at the sight of Taka already in his seat, while others didn't even notice.
Eventually, the bell rang, declaring the start of class.
And yet, their teacher still hadn't shown up.
"I wonder who's gonna teach us now," Uraraka murmured. "Aizawa-sensei got really hurt the other day…"
"Maybe All Might?" Tsuyu offered, prompting several hopeful nods.
"What about Midnight?" Kaminari offered another suggestion with a wide smile.
Many of the male students there gave slow, barely detectable nods. The girls, on the other hand, just glared at him with a deadpan expression, causing Kaminari to shrink in his spot.
-Shaaa-
Their guesses died immediately when the door slid open.
In walked a completely bandaged but familiar figure, voice muffled and flat.
"Morning."
"Aizawa-sensei?!" the class shouted upon seeing their teacher enter in that state.
To be wrapped up like a mummy and still show up to teach… just how serious was he about his job?!
Aizawa's gaze swept over them—lingering on Taka for a second longer—before he stepped fully inside.
"Are you alright, sensei?!" Iida asked in alarm.
"I'm fine," Aizawa said, with the tone of someone ending the topic permanently. His eyes sharpened. "Instead of worrying about me, worry about yourselves."
The class stiffened.
'What did we do?! Why does he sound mad?!'
Aizawa didn't drag it out.
"The Sports Festival is nearing."
"...!" The class gasped in shock.
"It was just a normal school activity…!" Kirishima and several others trembled with excitement.
—At least, until Jiro raised her hand.
"Is it really okay to hold the festival so soon? I mean, villains broke in just a few days ago." She asked, looking unsure about the whole thing.
Ojiro, sitting across her, nodded. "What if they attack again?"
Aizawa didn't even blink. "U.A. wants to demonstrate that our crisis response is solid, so security will be increased fivefold compared to past years to make sure nothing happens at all… And besides, the Sports Festival is far too important to cancel over some measly villains."
Everyone gulped.
That hadn't felt like some 'measly' villains as he painted it.
But deep inside, they couldn't refute his words.
No one needed a reminder of what the Sports Festival meant for U.A. and the students. As future heroes in training, impressing pro agencies was essential—and this event was the biggest stage they had to do that.
Aizawa then proceeded to give them a debrief on the whole event. Date, the number of pro heroes to expect, and some of the organizations that would broadcast the whole thing. All so they could get in their heads just how important the approaching event was.
Huffing satisfied once he saw them all looking pretty nervous, he decided to give them a break from the information dump. "You only get three chances, once each year, to show the pros what you're made of. If you plan to become heroes, then your future starts here. Act rationally, and prepare thoroughly."
His gaze flicked to Taka again.
"I'm repeating it one more time just in case any of you were absent-minded. You have two weeks to polish yourselves; if you're rational, make the most of it… That's all, class dismissed."
Aizawa then picked up his things and left, leaving behind a dumbstruck class.
Only for that baffled silence to flip into an eruption of excited chatter in the classroom.
But as everyone got up to chat about the whole thing, unable to contain their excitement, Taka didn't join in. His eyes stayed fixed on the board, more focused than on any other day.
…
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| Lunch Period |
…
"You guys, I asked Cementoss how we're supposed to have time to prepare for the Sports Festival when we'll be drowning in classes until then," Sato said, lifting a finger factually. "Turns out, during Hero Basic Training, they'll let us use the whole hour to train at Ground Beta."
Everyone around the table perked up at that, utensils stopping.
"That huge fake-city?" Kaminari asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jiro massaged one of her earlobes in thought. "I guess Quirks will be allowed then."
Sato nodded, "So… what do you think? Should we step up our training sessions and use our Quirks?"
To his surprise, though, the moment he suggested that, no one looked thrilled.
"I mean, it sounds exciting," Kirishima admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But realistically? If Taka uses his Quirk, it's gonna be an instant game over. We won't even get to fight back."
Jiro nodded flatly. "Yeah. Plus, we're already pretty solid when it comes to teamwork. The Sports Festival is mostly solo stuff anyway, so I kinda want to train my Quirk on my own."
"Same," Mina sighed, slumping a little. "It'd be fun, but I need to work on other things too."
Suddenly, Taka set his utensils down, finally lifting his gaze from the spicy curry he had just finished demolishing.
"Maybe one-on-one matches would suit you guys better," he suggested calmly.
"Against you?" Jiro deadpanned.
Taka shrugged. "Against me, against each other. Either works. There's always an event where students get pitted against one another at the festival. That kind of training fits the format."
Everyone fell silent, the idea rolling around in their heads.
Regardless of their hesitation, Taka stood, picking up his tray.
"Either way, there's no Hero Basic Training today, so think it over."
And with that, he walked off.
A quiet moment lingered at the table.
"He seems a little more talkative today… or am I imagining things?" Mina said, scratching her head.
"No, he definitely spoke more than usual," Kirishima agreed, eyebrow raised as he watched Taka's back disappear around a corner.
Jiro let out a light breath. "He talks more than he looks like he does. I guess he just opened up a bit today."
"You and him sure talk a lot, huh?" Mina asked, leaning forward with a mischievous grin.
"W–what's that supposed to mean?" Jiro sputtered.
While his friends kept chatting, Taka walked out of the cafeteria, letting the voices fade behind him as he moved down the quiet hallways of U.A., giving his thoughts free space to run.
"Two weeks, huh?" He exhaled slowly.
He'd miscalculated by a whole week—thought he had three, but no, just two.
That… significantly cut down the time he had to whip his classmates into shape.
And that wasn't counting the other thing occupying his attention right now.
"It's gonna be a busy couple of weeks…" he muttered, brows drawing together.
Nothing he couldn't handle, though.
At worst, he'd send a clone to school in his stead.
He'd prefer not to, though. They behaved rather questionably, and letting them close to his aura farming spot was a big no-no, unless desperate times called for desperate measures.
So, with the problem of probably being overwhelmed with things to do in the next couple of weeks resolved, Taka focused on the next problem.
'How am I supposed to get everyone else to join the training?' He sighed again, this one long and drained.
He'd barely spoken to most of the class. Naturally, that was coming back to bite him in the ass.
'Consequences consequences. They are fucking everywhere.' He groaned inwardly, massaging his face in exhaustion.
A brief silence followed in which Taka mused over the problem, trying to find a way to get everyone to accept becoming his pupils.
"Maybe I can just get Mina and the others to invite them… surely they can do so, they actually talk to the others, unlike me." He muttered.
Worst case, he'd crawl out of his edgy shell and invite people himself.
Or send a clone to do so.
'That seems better.'
Taka snorted.
—Click—
Just then, as he passed the teachers' lounge, the door slid open, and two figures stepped out at the exact moment he walked by.
Curious, he turned his head—and froze.
And so did the other two.
"Y-young Takahashi, good to see you here!"
"T-Takahashi-san…!"
Midoriya and All Might, walking out of a room together, probably having eaten together.
'Man, these two are terrible at hiding their secret.'
His eyebrow twitched. He stared at them flatly, eyes moving between teacher and student with the driest deadpan imaginable.
Still, he resisted the urge to comment on their nonexistent acting skills and instead gave them a curt, polite nod.
He was fully prepared to move past them, pretend he'd seen nothing, and let them continue failing at subtlety.
But just as he took a step—
"A-ah! Young Takahashi, could you stay for a second?" All Might called, making Taka stop mid-stride like someone had pressed pause on him.
"Eh?" Midoriya glanced between them, confused and even a little anxious.
He stayed there for a bit, apparently thinking this was something he had to hear or something.
But with a gentle push from All Might and a forced cough, the kid was dismissed and forced to walk away.
'To even shoo away your successor…'
Now, Taka couldn't help but feel genuinely curious.
Just what did his future errand boy want with him?
…
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-To Be Continued...-
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(A/N: Short chapter today, because I'm evil, and because I apparently had creative block at the time I wrote this.
Did you guys watch the One Piece live-action's second season? I liked it a lot. For some reason, Chopper's backstory always manages to make my disinsetized self cry a little. Which is good, I guess. I'd say I'm becoming indifferent to plenty of stuff.)