Chapter 39: Sports Festival (1) (Patreon)

Time passed in the blink of an eye. The weeks had gone by with nothing important happening, other than Iida somehow making a fool of himself while managing to drag Himi into his foolishness. It was quite a sight, with Iida trying to pry Himi off of Izuku’s body as she clung to him like a koala. Said scenario happened during lunch, within the cafeteria.

Iida’s reason was because PDA wasn’t allowed in the school. Himi didn’t care and stuck her tongue out at the blue-haired teen. Izuku just let it all happen, amused at the showing the two were giving. Needless to say, it didn’t end well for the both of them. Him included, because he just let it happen.

Nothing bad, though, just Nezu tearing into him, Himi, and Iida about public disturbances and excessive PDA. One good thing that happened after that was that Himi was less clingy during school. That said, she became even more clingy in the apartment, but he’d take that than Himi glomping him for the whole lunch break in school.

It was a bit hard to eat with Himi doing everything in her power to spoon feed him every step of the way.

Izuku smiled, silent as he browsed through the locker after remembering the memory. His hands rummaged through the container for his shirt piled underneath a bunch of other things that caught his fancy. There was a bobblehead of All Might, a plushy Principal Nezu, shorts, more shirts, and finally, his gym uniform.

Grabbing the gym uniform, he once again stripped to his underwear to don the fabric, not caring for the gazes staring at him as he did so. Thankfully for his classmates' sanity, they were in the boy's locker room, and as a rule of thumb, what happens in the boy's locker room stays in the boy's locker room.

That being said, Mineta was once again being the pervy little shit he was, and boy was that a discovery for Izuku when his classmates, mostly of the female variety, all dunked on him for sexually harassing them. Then he thought back to the times he stripped in front of them without any sort of shame. Was that counted sexual harassment?

Izuku asked that question to his other male classmates, and most of them said yes. Care to guess the one who said otherwise? Yep, the purple midget. Izuku had a blast punting the living daylights out of him for trying to deceive him. He had his fill with Gwynevere, thank you very much.

“Midoriya.” Izuku’s ears perked up when he heard the resident frosty teen come up behind him. Turning around, he was met with an expressionless face with eyes so deep in focus, it was a miracle he didn’t go cross-eyed. “Objectively speaking. You are the strongest in our class.”

The rest of the males in the locker room stopped what they were doing and bore witness to the intensifying debacle before them.

“Okay? You wanna say something?” Izuku tilted his head as Todoroki took a step forward, his nose inches away from Izuku’s.

“I will defeat you with only my ice.” Todoroki growled and Izuku could feel the determination bubbling deep within. “I promise you that.”

Izuku tilted his head to the other side, mouth formed in an exaggerated frown as he hummed with his arms crossed. “Well, okay. But what makes you think you can do that when you can’t even do it during our battle trials?”

“That was a miscalculation on my part.” Todoroki snarled, for the first time showing the frustration he held deep within that stoic facade. “I will not underestimate you again.”

“Tch, good luck with that, half-and-half.” Katsuki was quick to butt in, making Izuku smile at the bravado coming from the ash blond teen. “Izuku’ll just fucking kill ya if you don’t go all out.”

“... Hmph.” Todoroki clicked his heels and turned, his back facing both Katsuki and Izuku as he walked away and out of the locker room.

“Alright, that was weird. Anybody else feel that in the air?” The rest of the students who were finally done changing all shrugged their shoulders. Obviously, they were confused, Izuku as well, but he chalked that up to Todoroki being Todoroki. “Oh well, should we go?”

His classmates nodded, grim determination setting in as they prepared themselves mentally for the trials ahead.

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A few hours earlier…

Izuku stopped right in front of the gates to U.A. High School, eyes wide as he observed the countless people mingling about doing their own thing. There were civilians, cops, and heroes all interacting with one another. Some of the heroes gave the passerby’s autographs and sometimes helped guide them towards somewhere they wanted to go.

That bothered him none. What bothered him was the mind-boggling amount of people mucking about the area. Already, just standing outside of the gate where it was somewhat manageable with the lesser amount of people was beginning to suffocate him.

A hand gripped against his and Izuku looked at the source. Himi was looking at him, concern tinged within her eyes. Her hold tightened and Izuku felt the rising instincts to kill and maim subside, heart slowly calming down.

“Thanks, Himi.” Izuku tightened his grip back and he could feel Himi’s mood rise sharply.

“Just feed me later, ‘kay? Zuzu~” Himi leaned in closer, her mouth practically touching Izuku’s ears. She blew and Izuku felt his neck shiver.

“Yep. Just don’t do that again.” Izuku frowned but he could tell that Himi was going to do it again when she got the chance. “Anyway, the Sports Festival is gonna start soon, so let’s hurry.”

“Aww… I wanted to spend more time with you, Zuzu~” Himi puckered her lips, but Izuku pushed her away, eliciting a pout from the blond girl.

“Sorry, but Nezu’ll have our hides if we’re late.” At the mention of the rat, Himi frowned, then sighed.

“Fine.” Himi pouted again, before she perked up, a beaming smile on her face. “Zuzu, meet you in the fights later?”

“You looking forward to that too?” Izuku smirked and Himi’s only response was an excited nod. “Then, good luck. I’ll have fun fighting you again.”

Himi’s smile turned to a frown for a moment. “Should we ask Principal Nezu to give us knives? You know, fight like the first time we met?”

“Not going to lie, that sounds like a wonderful idea.” Izuku’s smirk grew, only to be replaced by a dejected sigh. “I doubt Nezu would allow it, though. You know how the rat is with his school and the regulations.”

“Tch, pussies.” Himi crossed her arms with an annoyed look on her face. “It would’ve been the best fight in my life…”

“Let’s save that for the future.” Izuku grabbed Himi’s shoulder and proceeded to drag her towards the front door, making sure to avoid the other busybodies that plagued the streets. They passed through countless visitors, some cops trying to regulate traffic, and heroes on patrols defending the venue.

It wasn’t long before they finally reached the front door of the school, a place where visitors weren’t allowed because they had a separate venue for where the Sports Festival would be held. Also, it served as the only safe place where students could breathe a sigh of relief after going through the trenches of sweat and smells called the human body.

“Ah! Midoriya! You finally arrived!” Iida was the first to greet him the moment both Izuku and Himi entered the front doors. “Good day to you as well, Toga.”

“Ugh, why is four-eyes here?” Iida winced at Himi’s words. “Go away four-eyes. We don’t need you here.”

“... Is she still mad at me?” Iida asked Izuku, who shrugged and practically placed Himi in front of him, practically making the blond and blue-haired teen go face to face.

“Fight, fight, fight, fight.” Izuku chanted underneath his breath, something Himi was able to hear due to them being next to each other. A smile floated up her face, her body language eager to please the man behind her.

“What are you three doing here?” All of a sudden, the wind was knocked out of their sails when Aizawa arrived, a none-too-pleased look on his face. “The Sports Festival is about to start. Hurry up and get to your designated locker rooms to prepare.”

Deflating, Himi leaned back against Izuku, her hand snaking up his back and onto his cheek. Her hand was swatted away by Aizawa not too long after.

“And please, for the sanity of everyone here, stop displaying your affections in public.” Aizawa sighed and crankily made his way back further in the school. “It’s irritating.”

And with that, Aizawa vanished, leaving behind Iida who nodded at his words of wisdom, Himi sticking her tongue out at the man, and Izuku with nothing but a smile on his lips. 

“You heard Aizawa.” Iida pushed his glasses up with a serious face. “Come now, class representative, the others are already well on their way with their preparations. Toga, I advise you to do the same. The Sports Festival is bound to commence at any moment.”

Himi pouted, but a quick pat to the head was enough to put her frown all the way around. “Himi, I’ll see you later. Can’t fight me if you aren’t even participating.”

She giggled before glomping Izuku, causing Iida to make a gagging noise. It was sometimes fun to tease the bespectacled teen, but now was not the time. So, with a heavy heart, Izuku pried Himi away and offered her his arm.

She frowned for a second, but ultimately conceded. That said, she immediately sank her fangs into the offered appendage, making sure to lap all of the blood that oozed from out of the two puncture holes she made on his skin.

Once again, Iida made a gagging sound, but they paid him no mind. Once she was done feeding, she gave Izuku a smile and waved him goodbye, all the while swaying her hips as she strutted down the hallway.

“I… Uh…” Iida coughed into his palm. “Midoriya, let us make haste. It would be a mark on our otherwise perfect record to be late to an event such as this.”

“Yes, let’s.” Izuku grinned and followed Iida towards the boy’s locker room for class 1-A.

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“Are you excited, Midori?” Ashido asked Izuku as they marched through the dimly lit passageway. The whole class was separated into two lines, and as a twist of luck, the pink-themed menace managed to land a spot right behind him.

“Eh, you could say that.” Izuku shrugged, his eyes side-glancing the ravenette beside him. For some reason, she was… nervous, so to speak. He could feel it in the aura that clung to her like a blanket. “Yaoyorozu, you feeling okay?”

“Huh? Ah, yes… I am perfectly fine.” Yaoyorozu waved the concern with a well-practiced smile. Izuku frowned, he may not be as socially adept as most of his classmates, but he could spot a lie when he sees one.

He still wouldn’t do anything, however. Not unless she absolutely needed it.

“Yaomomo, cheer up!” Ashido was quick to hover around the heiress, her jovial nature bringing a small smile up Yaoyorozu’s face. “You remember what I told you in the locker room earlier?”

A faint cry was heard from behind reminiscent of a grape head menace.

“That we… er… girls can kick butt…?” Clearly, the heiress had trouble saying the words out loud, much more so if there was a swear within a single sentence. Ashido, meanwhile, just patted the back of the heiress, rather harshly at that. It elicited a tiny yelp while her bountiful mammaries jiggled in the air.

“Come on, you can do better than that!” Ashido slung her arm around Yaoyorozu, her smile all but infectious. “You’re our vice-rep! Actually, scratch that, you are our unofficial class rep, since I’m pretty sure Midori has the social skills of a baked potato… No offense.”

“None taken.” Izuku moaned once more at the fact that he was given this responsibility. He wanted to abdicate, give the position to someone more suitable like either Yaoyorozu or Iida, but Aizawa said no, and Nezu said no.

He couldn’t argue much after that.

“So, why are you moping about, girl?” The light at the end of the tunnel could finally be seen after walking for who knows how many minutes. “You are Yaoyorozu fucking Momo! Who’s the girl who outsmarted our classmates so hard, they were the only ones who surrendered in the battle trials?”

“Can you please not bring that up?” Sato raised his head, a light blush tinging his cheeks. “It was kind of an embarrassing point in my life.”

“Eh, you’ll grow out of it. Shoji already did.” Said teen waved his tentacle arms in the air. “Anyway, where was I? Oh right, Bakugo, who was the one who came up with your plan during the battle trials.”

“Ponytail.” Katsuki harrumphed and Izuku blinked. Did he just hear that right? Did Katsuki actually admit to somebody actually taking the reins? The blond really did grow, still doesn’t change the fact that Katsuki was still hesitant on interacting with him. Understandable, really, seeing as how the guilt weighed him down so much, it was a wonder the ash blond’s heart didn’t give out from the anxiety.

Then again, it was Katsuki… He’ll live, hopefully long enough to amend all that he’s done during his younger years.

“See?” Ashido clasped Yaoyorozu’s shoulders with a massive grin. “Even Katsuki admits you’re good, and he probably hates everyone here.”

“Shut up, disco disaster! I’ll fucking kill ya!” Thankfully, Katsuki was held back by Kirishima. He was being a bro, as usual. Ashido ignored him, briefly sending a wink towards the redhead, and focused back on Yaoyorozu.

“Anyway, like I was saying before pomeranian started barking.” The quip got most of the class laughing while Katsuki fumed in place, body unable to budge due to Kirishima doing his best to lock him down. “You’ll do great. Just believe in yourself, like all of us believe in you.”

Yaoyorozu looked at the faces of every single one of her classmates. Most of them sent her warm smiles, the exception being Katsuki with his permanent scowl and Todoroki’s indifference. Her eyes moistened for a bit, before a determined smile floated up her lips.

“Yeah, you are most certainly right, Ashido.” The ravenette gave Ashido a hug, causing the acid-girl to hug back. “Truly, thank you.”

“No prob!” Ashido’s grin was back in full force. “By the way, call me Mina. Us girls have to stick together.”

As the two girls’ embrace ended, Izuku couldn’t help but smile. He made a mental note that Ashido was good at cheering people up. Yaoyorozu certainly looked much better after all that, but he could still see the darkness hidden underneath.

He just hoped it didn’t take too much to rip it open.

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“WHAT’S UP LADIES AND GENTS! BOYS AND GIRLS OF ALL AGES! ARE Y’ALL READY FOR THE START OF THE U.A. HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FESTIVAL!?” The crowd roared and Shota was pretty sure his eardrums were damaged… again… “GOOD! ANYWAY, ANYTHING TO SAY BEFORE WE INTRODUCE OUR LOVELY, LOVELY CONTESTANTS, AIZAWA?”

“I wish you would shut up.” Shota’s scalding glare didn’t affect the blond DJ hero by even a bit.

“HA! GOOD ONE AIZAWA! ANYWAY, WHAT MR. GRUMPY PANTS HERE MEANT TO SAY WAS-”

“I literally meant it.” Shota sighed; voice drowned out by Hizashi’s explosive commentary. Why did he agree to do this again? Oh, right. Sleeping privileges and Nezu’s promise of a brand-new sleeping bag. Damn that rat for being a sneaky little shit.

He grabbed the cup of coffee on the table and sipped on it, fully intending to let the caffeine run through his veins so he could endure the entire day with Hizashi. Don’t get him wrong, he loved the man like a brother, but damn if his mouth isn’t an engine running at full tilt all day every day.

“AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE CONTESTAAAAAAAAAAANTTSSSS!” Hizashi smacked on the table, causing his cup of coffee to slosh around dangerously. Fortunately, it didn’t spill, otherwise, one of them would be sporting a burn, and the other a bruise. “FROM OUT OF TUNNEL 1 COMES THE FIRST YEARS HERO CLASS! GIVE IT UP FOR CLASS 1-A AND 1-B!”

Shota looked at the procession of students slowly filtering out of the dark tunnel, their movements stiff and rigid. He smirked, not so fun being the center of attention now, is it? That being said, it was odd seeing Midoriya actually anxious for once. He may hide it, but there was no mistake that the white-haired teen was jumpy.

Was it the crowd? It was most definitely the crowd.

Kan’s class was the same as his, all nervous and anxious. Hell, he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that one of them might just freeze in place during the first obstacle. And his class? Well, if they did that, then there was going to be… an awarding ceremony.

“NOW, THEY MAY NOT BE THE HERO CLASS, BUT DON’T RULE THEM OUT JUST YET. THEY’RE THE DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL EDUCATION! CLASS 1-C, D, AND E! A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!” The crowd clapped, but not as intensely during the entrance of both his and Kan’s classes. “NEXT UP, THE BACKBONE OF THE HEROES ON THE FIELD, THEIR SUPPLIER AND CARETAKER, LET US WELCOME THE DEPARTMENT OF SUPPORT! CLASS 1-F, G, AND H!”

The support classes were the next to emerge from the tunnel and frankly, Shota knew they were going to drop out early. The first round of the Sports Festival was mostly the testing ground of some of their inventions, after all. In the off chance that they were able to advance, the second and third rounds were basically more testing grounds for more of their support items.

Shota wanted to see some interesting things. It was high time he got an upgrade to his gear.

“AND FINALLY, ALL DRESSED IN SUITS AND TIGHT LOOKING SLACKS, DON’T LET THEIR LOOKS FOOL YOU, THEY’RE JUST AS DEADLY AS ANY HERO IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, THEY’RE THE DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT! CLASS 1-I, J, AND K!” And lo and behold, just as Hizashi said, they were literally dressed in suits and slacks that looked tight on the hips. Yeah, just like the years before, they planned to drop out the moment the first round began. Shota wondered why Nezu always included them, but knowing the first round was always used to weed out the majority, the more bodies, the more chaos.

Oh well, at the very least, this was going to be a good year.

“NOW THEN! AS FOR OUR STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE, THE HIGHEST SCORER OF THE ENTRANCE EXAM! MIDORIYA IZUKU! TAKE THE STAGE!”

On second thought, this was going to be a disaster…

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A/N: This chapter delay was brought to you by ear infection, dog bite, and food allergies... fuck my life, man...