"So how's it like, champ?" Mina grinned at him as they walked through the crowd together. Sukuna grunted, not knowing what to say.
"Underwhelming."
Mina laughed. "Well what did you expect? The crowd chanting your name or something?"
"On second thought, nevermind. The way it ended was good enough."
"And our class won the Best Stall Award too! Like how did we even do it? We were just winging the whole thing." Mina commented, remembering Momo's embarrassed expression as she stepped forward to claim the trophy under Sukuna's request(peer pressure).
"Everyone cooperated, offered ideas and did well with their designated roles. I'm not surprised we won." Sukuna commended his friends. Mina nodded in agreement.
"But I'm still bummed out ya know!" She pouted at him. "I was all prepared for a proper fight, and then you kicked me out just like that! I'm not that fragile okay?! I can hold my own." Mina scolded. Sukuna didn't say anything, because it was true.
He stopped, turning to face her, taking off the medal and gently placing it around her neck. Mina stared at him wide eyed.
"Wh-why?" She managed to get out.
"It looks better on you anyway." Was his reason.
"What? Are you saying that I'm your number one or something?" Mina couldn't help but tease. Sukuna just stared at her.
"Something like that..." He muttered after a while, to which Mina smiled sweetly at him.
"Thank you..." He continued, shocking her with his words. Sukuna? Showing gratitude to someone? The world must be ending.
"For being in my life, Mina." He quickly added, shocking her further. What happened to him all of a sudden?
"You were there when I didn't have anyone to call a friend, you were there when I had no idea how to communicate. You guided me to where I am now, and for that I am eternally grateful for your existence."
"Sukuna... Hnngh!" Mina's lips puckered up, as she started sniffing, her eyes suddenly becoming wet.
"Was that too sudden? I apologize..." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling awkward. Mina shook her head.
"No... I'm fine..." Mina rubbed her eyes before smiling at him.
"You're the sweetest, you know that? Hihi~ C'mon let's take some pics together."
...
"Oh cheer up already you big baby! Second place is very impressive!" Mitsuki patted her sulking son's back.
" Tch... whatever..."
...
"Not to sound like a narcissist, but I totally expected this." Izuku muttered, finding himself surrounded by people, his fans to be specific, comprised of middle aged men, some girls and children. It's only been two days after the Sports Festival, and the heat still hasn't died down.
"We should've walked to school together, huh?" Sukuna muttered to Mina on his right, also standing beside Izuku while they were all being surrounded by their respective fans.
"Ugh, sorry. I'm taken." Mina rejected a perverted fan asking her out, wrapping her arm around Sukuna. This only caused many people to gasp in surprise and more questions to rise.
"I thought we were still 'working it out'?" Sukuna raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well scratch that, situationships are a bore." Mina smiled, leaning her head onto his shoulder.
And that's how they started dating.
"Bruh, help a guy out here." Izuku deadpanned at them, finding himself swarmed by even more people. Sukuna glanced at him and shrugged.
"Meh. You seem to be doing just fine."
"I really should've punched you harder during our fight."
...
"Yo sensei! Happy to see you walking again!" Denki waved at Aizawa as their teacher walked into the classroom. Aizawa only nodded at Denki as he stood in front of the whiteboard.
"That wheelchair was definitely a hassle, good riddance to it. Anyways, for today's class, you all will be creating your pro hero names." Aizawa declaring. He wasn't surprised when he saw the whole class erupting into cheers.
"The pros were watching you all fight for a reason, and that is because this is related to the pro hero draft picks I mentioned the other day. In actuality, the draft only begin in earnest in the second and third years after students have gained experience and can become immediate assets to the pros." He took a breath before continuing.
"In other words, for them to extend offers to first years like you shows that they are interested in your future potential. Though these offers are often cancelled if that interest dies down by graduation. So I expect all 21 of you to never ever slack off." He ordered, with them nodding in compliance, not planning to do so anyways. The thrill of the Sports Festival, showcasing their abilities, earning recognition and opportunities to achieve their dreams, they want more of that.
"I'm glad to say that every one of you has received offers from various pros. With your performance outside of the main tournament, including the side competitions and running the stalls, the pros have taken a liking to Class 1-A. Though if you look here, some may have more offers than the others." He pointed at the names that ranked high on the list, with Sukuna of course ranking first, with Bakugo not far behind, then with Izuku, Todoroki, Iida, Denki, Momo, Mina and Kirishima.
"That's a lot of offers you have there, Todoroki." Momo, sitting beside him, commented with a small laugh. The half and half man had a little more over than 4000 offers, having actually exceeded Bakugo's amount even though he was eliminated early
"Don't bother. A lot of that is just because of my father, they're most probably just jumping on the fact that I'm his son which leads them to not focusing on my actual skills and what I can bring to the table." Todoroki replied swiftly, clearly dissatisfied.
"I'm sure some of them didn't hop on that silly bandwagon." Momo suggested, ever the optimist. Todoroki only shrugged.
"Though the numbers may differ, that doesn't make your worth any less, because someone out there really analyzed you and thought your skillset would be crucial, that's what you all should focus on, which leads to announce that effective immediately, class 1-A will be participating in an internship with the pros." He smirked, noticing that the class was staring at him with a level of seriousness he only saw in some seniors.
'Good, at least they know how serious this opportunity is.' He mused before continuing his speech.
"You've all dipped your toes in the world of the pros sooner than we planned, but I think experiencing the activities of the pros firsthand will prove to be more fruitful training than before."
'So that's the point of us creating our names today.' Izuku thought to himself, already thinking of what name he was good with. But then, someone slid open the door and entered unannounced.
"While those hero names are still temporary, if you're not serious about it, you'll have hell to pay later!" She smirked at the class as she walked up to Aizawa.
"Don't you know how to knock, Nemuri? I wasn't done talking to them." He glared at her a little. Midnight only stuck her tongue out at him.
"Oopsies!"
"This woman..." He palmed his face, trying to regain composure. Midnight laughed at Aizawa before continuing off.
"The reason for what I said before is because a lot of hero names used by students become recognized by society, and they end up becoming professional hero names. So I am here!..." She did her best All Might impression.
"To make sure that your names are appropriate. Let's start shall we?!" She declared, as Aizawa began handing out small whiteboards and marker pens to each student.
'Not a bad voice impression, though she needs to make her voice a little louder. And it would be an even greater impression if she mimicked All Might's face.' Izuku thought, snapping out of it as Aizawa placed the board and pen on his desk.
" When you give yourself a name, you get a more concrete image of what you want to be like in the future, and with it you can get closer to it. It's all down to that old phrase, 'Names and natures do often agree.' Like All Might, for example." Aizawa stated, as Izuku stared.
'A name huh...'
"Fifteen minutes! Then you have to present them!" Midnight declared.
They have to present them too? Just great.
To be continued...
(I'm not sure if I want Izuku to have Deku as his pro hero name though, but I think I might keep it, but have a deeper meaning for it than just it being him reclaiming an insult and turned it into fuel, having an insecurity converted into resolve.)