Aftermath of USJ

" I've found you."

It was a mirth whisper by their ears. Sora reared her head, her heart throbbing rapidly. I didn't hear them approaching!

As they looked over their shoulders, they glimpsed a man with 2 pairs of extremely black eyes, fangs protruding from his mouth and 4 palps coming out of his back. He was held upside down by a hardly visible thin thread.

" Wha-"

Before Tokoyami could speak, the person behind them sputtered a mass of thick gross white gel that pinned him and Koda to the wall, gagging them at the same time. They struggled against it but little they could do. The person then shifted his attention to Sora flying overhead, having managed to avoid his trap when she flew up.

" Oya... Seems I've messed one."

She flicked her eyes at Tokoyami for a moment and then back at her opponent before she sped away from them, her wings flapping hard against the wind as she squeezed herself in between buildings.

" Fast I see."

Her eyes widened when the grey head spider-like man was catching up with her. It seemed he could shoot silk threads from his pedipalps and he was using them to swing from one building to another. "Running away. You're abandoning your friends already?"

Sora exited the side alleys and flew over the main street.

" There she is!"

" Go after her!"

She ground her teeth as the villains followed after her.

" You're not running away!" With a large swing, he threw himself over her body, his sharp palps clutching tightly to her they cut deep into her skin. She jolted around, trying to buck him off her back, however, it was to little effect.

" Just one bite and we will be over!" She screamed in agony, feeling his sharp teeth tearing through her shoulder.

It's no use...

She thought back at Tokoyami and Koda whom she had left behind.

This is not an opponent I can face the way i'm now...

She thrust upwards, whirling around with great speed the spider was knocked away from her due to the force. He used a thread to pull himself back towards a building and clung on to it. " What's with that just now! Her speed and strength increased!"

" Your Quirk must be a bless."

You're wrong, Kaminari-kun...

She thought as she flew down in front of her attacker, panting heavily for air. The utterly black eyes widened when they saw her form. " You... What..."

It's not...

Her arms were covered in grey feathers, her nails grew to claws, and the right half of her face had feathers jutting out of it.

I hate it...

" What... Are you..."

A lightning bolt illuminated the silhouette of the girl, staring thirstily at the villain, the white of her eyes now black as she leered down at him like some predator.

I hate using my Quirk, but...

" I've lured them so far from Tokoyami-kun and Koda-kun... Now I need to take care of them..."

The feathers growing out of her body were getting longer and thicker while her wings changed shade from snowy white to stormy grey, matching the clouded sky.

" They had trusted me..."

She lunged at the man, slamming his head back on the wall. He screamed in pain, trying to escape her grasp but he couldn't do so against her strength. Her red eyes were glowing as if thirsty for blood as she pushed his head further.

" In order to protect them... No matter what form-"

Her eyes widened when her eyes fell on her reflection on the glass and she recalled a memory.

Her father and grandmother staring down with their faces bearing apprehension and fear before they were blurred away by tears.

" Papa... Grandma..."

She called out with a husky voice, choking on her own words.

" What... am I?"

No..!

She let go of him, backing as far as possible with her body quivering.

" Capture her now!" A net was thrown at her, restricting her wings and making her drop to the ground.

" This one is troublesome!"

" Take care of her first!"

Sora bit on her lip as she hugged herself, she couldn't do it... Even when her friends were endangered... She couldn't bring herself to do it...

A tear ran down her cheek at the thought of her failing them. " I'm sorry..."

" Dark Shadow!"

The silhouette of darkness came at the villains surrounding her, pushing them backward. Koda quickly hauled her on his shoulder, still wrapped in the net before rushing back to where Tokoyami was hiding.

Sora was thankful he didn't look at her back then. It took a while and a great deal of trying to calm down for her face and eyes to go back to normal before she could take off the net and face both boys again once they were far from their pursuers.

" Guys... I'm sorry... I..."

" You protected us." Tokoyami stated offhandedly. " If you didn't fly away back at that moment and lure them away, the villains could have found us while we were bound by that substance. You figured I would be able to break free with Dark Shadow's help so you tried to give me time."

" Even though..."

Koda placed a hand on her shoulder, making her snap towards him. He gave her a wide genuine smile. Seeing it, Sora's eyes glazed over with tears before she hunched over, trying to wipe her tears but they wouldn't stop.

I... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't...

Koda gently rubbed her back to comfort her while Tokoyami looked up at the sky when the ground shook slightly beneath them. " There it goes again."

His words managed to pull her of her wailings. " There are these loud rumblings and crashes from earlier. Just what could be happening outside?"

" Hurry up!"

They were alarmed at the footsteps getting closer.

" ... We must get away." She said pulling herself together and twisting back on her feet, sprinting down the side paths along her two friends.

________________

" Asui-san! Mineta-san!" The mentioned two whirled their heads from Midoriya and the other three, who rushed to help All Might, to see a tired Yuu rushing towards them on top of a white fox.

" Whaaa! What's that!" Mineta's first reaction was freaking out.

" Call me Tsuyu-chan." Said the frog girl calmly.

Yuu panted before glancing back at Bakugo as he stopped the fog villain while Todoroki helped get All Might out of the giant monster's grip.

" Thanks to Whisper we came here in time..."

" Yeah! It's all thanks to me!"

" Either way, Bakugo told me... one way or another..." He sweated recalling the blond yelling at him. " ... To get those nearby to safety..."

" More like he told us to take care of the extras so he can show himself." Whisper huffed.

" His decision was rational. I'm the only one able to get as many people out with my speed." Kyubi pipped in.

Yuu looked back at the man they were holding and he felt his heart sinking. " Is that..."

Asui's glance softened as she looked back at the man. " Aizawa-sensei was badly hurt..."

" Hurry up and put him on!" Kyubi lowered herself to allow them to do so. " We'll get him away first! You two hurry up to the entrance as well!"

" Wait! But I-"

Asui gagged Mineta's mouth as he started pouncing up in exasperation. " Please, take care of our teacher."

With that, Kyubi sprinted back to the entrance. " Asui!" The short boy shot at her once their mean of escape was getting further.

" Seijin-chan is barely holding it together." She said looking after the fox. " Let's not tire him more."

The nine-tailed fox climbed the stairs and landed nimbly in front of Urarka and the rest, startling them for a moment. It was Uraraka who snapped the first, realizing who she was holding on her back. " Aizawa-sensei!"

" Let's help him down!" Sato told her as Kyubi lowered herself.

" Please, he seems to have sustained major injuries."

They helped him down and Shoji cradled him carefully on his back, wrapping his tentacles around him to support his body.

" Yuu...You alright? Can you go?"

The boy was barely awake. " We need to get Asui-san and Mineta-san... Also we need to find where is Sor-"

He lost balance and slipped off Kyubi's back, landing in Sato's hands. " Safe." He breathed out as he laid the purple head down while his fox was nothing but whisps of blue flames by then seeing as she could no more keep her physical body.

" He really is reckless." Whisper sighed before looking back at his classmates. " He will be out for a while. Tsk, what should I do with someone like you."

________________

They had to embark into battle again, but thankfully these villains weren't any trouble. " I think other than that spider we faced, the others are weak." Tokoyami said holding up one of them by his collar, his eyes were blank white as he was knocked cold and a few lumps could be seen on his head.

Suddenly, a vigorous quake made them lose balance for a moment and look around. " Wh-What was this vibration?"

The shock was louder and harder than any of the rest. " What could it be?"

Thud

Both boys looked over their shoulders to find their classmate laying motionlessly on the ground. " Shirogane!"

Tokoyami threw the villains away and hurried to the girl. Upon inspection, she seemed to have a fever but Koda pointed at a bite mark on her shoulder. " This is bad... Koda, we must hide."

The boy nodded as he pulled Sora on his back and they rushed to find a hideout.

________________

Drip Drip

The next time she came to, she found herself laying in the infirmary. She tried figuring her surrounding, but all she was able to see were the white curtains and a chunk of the wall tainted orange by the rays of the setting sun. She glimpsed an IV tube inserted into her arm.

Drip

She tried hard to remember what had happened and how she ended up there.

They were in USJ. Villains attacked. She got thrown into the windstorm zone. Fought some guys and then... Nothing... What happened after that? It was blank.

Drip

" Figured you would come to any moment now." The curtains were tugged away, revealing the smiling face of a certain nurse.

" Recovery... Girl..."

The woman studied her carefully. " How are you feeling?"

" Dizzy..." She tried to lift her hand to her head but she couldn't muster the strength even to do that. " What... Happened to me..."

" Seems you were poisoned by one of the villains."

" Poisoned...?" Her eyes went as wide as they could be back then as she recalled the person with the spider Quirk.

" It's alright. The antidote had produced the wanted effect. However, I can't let you out today. I will have you staying here for the night."

The girl closed her eyes and nodded. She didn't think she could take the journey home in that situation.

" Also, your friends were insisting on seeing you. I managed to shoo away some of them, but a few are still standing firm in their places. What do you think?"

" Please let them in." She would appreciate seeing her friends sound and safe now.

As soon as Recovery Girl opened the door, five people came in.

" Sora!"

" Sora-chan!"

" Shirogane-kun!"

The first faces she glimpsed were those of Iida, Uraraka and of course, Yuu. Trailing after them were Tokoyami and Koda.

" I told you to go get some rest!" Recovery Girl pointed at the purple head angrily. " You were just discharged!"

" Heh! Yuu? Discharged!? What happened?"

" He overused his energy again and fainted." Whisper shook his head tiredly.

" Anyway, Shirogane-kun, you feeling alright? Nothing wrong with your body?"

" I'm fine, Iida-kun. Just a bit tired that's all."

" Thanks to your Quirk, your resistance to the poison was strong to delay its effect." Recovery Girl mentioned.

" Really, you're lucky, Sora-chan!"

" As I thought, your Quirk is awesome!"

" Tokoyami-kun, Koda-kun..." She looked at the two at the very back. " ... I'm sorry, I ended up being a burden."

" Don't say that." Tokoyami said while Koda shook his head with a smile. " You helped us first. Besides, it wasn't long after you fainted that Present Mic came to our rescue."

" I see."

Yuu's face dropped down. Once again, he couldn't do much for his friend. As she fought a strong villain and struggled on her own, he just fainted after fending against weak ones. His fists balled in frustration at how little he could do for her.

Sora blinked as though remembering something. " That's right, what about the rest? Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen-sensei?"

Their faces bore a crestfallen air at that. " The rest of the class save Midorya-kun and you are unharmed. Both Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen-sensei were seriously hurt. Don't worry, the doctors said they will be fine. All Might Sensei suffered major injuries as well, he is being treated by Recovery Girl along Midorya-kun." Iida stated.

" Eh! All Might was there?"

" Yeah, he fought against the monster and blew him away."

" Alright folks!" Recovery Girl flourished her syringe around. " I've allowed you to see her! Now you should give her some time to rest!"

With that, they withdrew from there with a wave and goodbye. Yuu lingered back, staring down at his feet. " I'm sorry Sora..."

" There is nothing for you to apologize for." She smiled at him. " I'm just glad you're fine."

He glanced over at her and breathed heavily. " I'll inform aunt Yui of the situation. You rest well."

" You too."

And the purple head left the infirmary.

" Well, I have two other patients in the other room so I'll be going back and forth. If you need anything just press the button next to the bedstand."

Sora nodded before the old won trudged out of the room. Red eyes wandered back to the ceiling, recalling what had happened that day.

" In order to protect them... No matter what form-"

She placed her arm over her eyes. Stupid. I'm stupid. Why can't I get over it?

She inhaled deeply, trying to quell all of her feelings, the fear, anger, disappointment... " I have to get stronger."...

________________

Sora had to wait for Recovery Girl to make all kinds of checks before she was appeased enough to let her head home. Sora couldn't blame her since her Quirk can't help much with healing poisoned cases.

After changing back to her school uniform and fetching her backpack, the girl left the infirmary with a deep bow for the old woman.

As she walked the long of the school hallways, she could find it was deserted. It's expected after yesterday's incident. They would need to improve their security and investigate further.

Coming to the school entrance, she came face to face with Yuu as he was heading in. " Sora! They let you out! You okay?!"

" It's alright Yuu." She smiled brightly at him. " Recovery Girl made sure I'm 1000% healthy before letting me out."

She blinked at him as she realized something. " Why are you here? Classes should be suspended right?"

" Recovery Girl said you would probably be discharged today so Yuu came to accompany you home." Whisper said.

" Oh, sorry for the trouble." She stroked the back of her head with an apologetic smile.

" Don't mention it. Let's head back, aunt Yui was beyond worried."

" Oh man." Sora gulped. " I won't hear the end of it from her." As they made it back to the station, Sora thought about the events of the previous day.

That was what pros were dealing with. That was the meaning of an actual villain attack. That will be her everyday life at a certain point. She... No, all of them had experienced firsthand, how the true grapple between evil and good is.

In order to be able to stand against villains, all of them needed to get stronger...

________________

On their way to school, all they could hear was the topic of the League of Villains' attack on UA. Either broadcasted on large TVs, or people just talking about it as they swiped through the news on their phones.

Walking through the street and enticing looks from passersby because of their uniforms made Yuu lower his head even more.

" Grandma was furious." Sora sighed, her head lolling to the side tiredly. " She said I should have been careful. But she wasn't that angry after all. Guess she figured there was little to be done."

" Yuu's parents on the other hand never bothered to ask about it." Whisper folded his arms. " How ignoring."

" They probably don't think I would get caught in any of that." He stated, his eyes dropping further.

She gave him a sympathizing look before patting his shoulder, a smile spreading through her face. " Let's do our best so we could get stronger, together."

The boy returned her smile and nodded.

________________

In the class, Hagakure was complaining about not being able to stand in the class pictures shown on the news.

" Heh? There were pictures of the class?" Sora blinked.

Uraraka reared her head back at her with an apologetic smile. " Well, you, Seijin-kun and Deku-kun couldn't make it to the screenshots because you were rushed to the hospital ward."

" How vexing!" Whisper grunted.

" But man, all the channels made a big deal out of it." Kaminari leaned on his chair with a broad smile.

" I was surprised." Said Kirishima.

" Can you blame them?" Jiro piped in. " The hero course that keeps pumping out pro heroes was attacked."

" It's all UA could do to prevent Media from huddling in from of the entrance again..." Yuu looked at his desk.

" Who knows what would've happened if the teachers hadn't come when they did." Sero leaned on his.

" Stop it Sero!" Mineta shouted, swiveling in his chair with tears welling up in his eyes. " Just thinking about it's making me wet myself-"

" Shut up! Be quiet scum!" No one knew why Bakugo was irked.

The conversation then drifted to All Might's fight. Hearing all sorts of things from those who witnessed it made Sora envy them. She wished she could see the number one Hero in a fight up close.

The clock ticked as the time for homeroom closed. Iida came in running at them. " Everyone! Morning homeroom is about to start! Stop talking and take your seats!" He extended his arms in an ordering manner.

" We're already in our seats."

" You're the only one who's not."

Iida plopped down on his chair in irritation, making Koda jolt in fear at the face he was making. " Shoot!"

" Don't mind." Said Uraraka with a smile.

" Tsuyu-chan, who's..." Mina reared for the green head, tipping her chair and almost falling if it wasn't for Asui upholding her. "... Gonna teach homeroom today?"

Asui held a finger to her jawbone. " Well, Aizawa-sensei's supposed to be in the hospital recovering from his injuries... Ribbit?"

The door slid open and much to everyone's shock, their teacher stood by the door, bandages covering his face and both his arms were in plaster casts and held up by slings.

" Morning."

" Aizawa-sensei! You're back too soon!"

" He is here! In that situation!" Whisper's eyes shot out of their sockets and in the direction of the man.

" You're too much of a pro!" Kaminari fretted at his sight.

" Sensei, so you're all right?" Iida shot his hand in the air.

" From the way he's tottering to his desk..." Sora sweated.

" Can you really call that ' all right'?" Uraraka worried.

" My well-being doesn't matter."

Of course it does. They argued inwardly.

" More importantly, the fight is not over yet."

" Fight?" Bakugo looked like he wanted one.

" Don't tell me..." Midoriya slightly panicked.

" The villains again...?!" Mineta quavered in his chair.

Through his bandages, Aizawa's eyes peeked slightly at them. " The UA sports festival is drawing near."

" The sports festival! That's a super normal school event!"

" Wait a minute !" Kaminari interjected, all worried.

" Is it okay to have a sports festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?" Jiro questioned.

Half of the class seemed to agree with her. Well, it was a valid point.

" Apparently, they think of it as UA showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years." His eyes stared at them, a sign that what he was about to say was of high importance. "Above all, our sports festival is a huge chance. It's not an event to be canceled because of a few villains."

Yuu blinked. " Huge chance...?"

Mineta disagreed. " But that's a good reason, isn't it? It's just a festival of sports."

" Huh? Mineta-kun, you've never seen the UA sports festival?" Midoriya asked.

" Of course I have. That's not what I meant!"

" Our sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events. In the past, the Olympics were called a festival of sports, and the whole country was crazy about them. As you know, with reduction in scale and population, they're now a shell of their former glory. And now, for Japan, what has taken the place of those Olympics is the UA sports festival!"

" Hee!" Sora's eyes widened at the revelation. " I knew it was awesome and all but to actually rival the past Olympics! That's even cooler!"

" Hold on..." Yuu realized something. "... Will there be media this year?"

" Of course. After all the top heroes around the country will be watching. For scouting purposes!" Yaoyorozu was rather excited about the idea herself, even if she tried not to show it.

" I know." Said Mineta.

Yuu sulked in his chair. I've hoped for too much...

" After we graduate, it's typical to join a pro agency as a sidekick." Kaminari explained.

" A lot of people miss their chance to become independent after that and become eternal sidekicks though." Jiro looked back at the blond." Kaminari, I feel like you'd be one of them. Since you're dumb." Kaminari twitched at how straightforward she said that.

Aizawa continued explaining more about how joining a good agency can pave the path to becoming a hero. For that matter, UA's sports festival must not be missed on. " If you understand that, then don't slack off on your preparations!"

" Yes, sir!"

Sora balled her hands on the desk, more determined than ever. I need to work harder.

" You heard that Yuu! I'm gonna prepare the perfect training menu for you!" Whisper was all fired up, and that seemed to worry the purple head.

" Homeroom is dismissed."

________________

As the bell chimed for the Lunch Break, everyone in the class lingered to discuss more about the topic of the sports festival. Most of them couldn't wait any longer for it to come, like Kirishima and Hagakure. Some of them were talking about how their Quirks could be easily spotted and wanted by pros.

" Everyone's so into it." Midorya stated.

" It's like Tokoyami-kun said, we shouldn't let this chance slip through our fingers. Not every day you will get to show the whole of Japan what you're capable of." Sora brought up her fists.

Yuu gulped. " The whole of Japan... I... I'll try my best..."

" Aren't you like them?" Iida asked. " We have enrolled here to become heroes, of course we would get fired up!" He said swaying his waist left and right.

" Is that some kind of dance?" Whisper's eyebrow quirked in confusion at what the blunette was doing.

" Iida-chan, you have a unique way of getting fired up." Asui pointed while on her way to have lunch with Ashido. " It's weird."

Iida pointed at Midorya. " Midoriya-kun, you don't feel the same?"

" Of course I do. But something's..."

They were cut off by Uraraka. " Deku-kun, everyone..."

All five of them reared their heads at the brunette. " Let's do our best at the sports festival." Her face almost rivaled that of Bakugo right then.

" Uraraka-san, your face...! It's..."

" What a daring aura she has...!" Sora's sweated.

" Uraraka-san... Is all fired up too..." Yuu took a step back.

" It seems she had just finished eating something sour for me." Whisper blinked.

" What's the matter?" Ashido peeked over their heads. " You don't look carefree at all, even though that's what your name means."

Sora sighed. " Mina-chan... You really..."

Mineta was about to say something but Asui slapped him hard with her tongue.

The brunette stomped on the ground and thrust her fist up. " Everyone, I'm gonna do my best!"

" Yeah!" They all encouraged her either diligently like Iida, or confused at her character swing like Midoriya.

She turned over to the rest of the class as though about to murder someone. " I'm gonna do my best!" She shouted again as they cheered her on, neither of them getting what was happening.

" What's up with her?" Sora tilted her head, slightly confused.

________________

On their way to the Eatery, Midoriya turned to the brunette.

" Uraraka-san."

"Yes?"

" Why did you decide to come to UA and become a pro hero?"

Uraraka's face flushed and she spluttered, not expecting the question. " Huh? Um... Because..."

Midoriya came to a halt as he heard her reason. " For money?! You want to become a hero for money?"

The girl was rubbing her head vigorously while evading their eyes. " To boil it down simply, yes..."

She tweaked her body, waving her hand at them. " Sorry it's such an unwholesome reason." She cradled her face in embarrassment. " You two have such admirable motivation, it's embarrassing..."

" Why? How is having a goal to support your livelihood not admirable?" Iida asked, wholeheartedly flailing his hands.

" Right. But it's unexpected." Midoriya pointed.

Uraraka sighed as she elaborated. " My family owns a construction company." She ran her hands through her hair as though to calm her nerves. " But we haven't gotten any work at all, so we're flat broke. This isn't really something to tell other people, though..."

All four of them thought about her words.

" Construction..." Iida thought.

" With her Quirk, if she gets licensed, then it'd bring costs way down, right?"

" Oh! That's true!" Sora blinked.

" She could make any raw material float. They wouldn't need any heavy equipment." Explained Iida.

" It would make their business go smooth..." Commented Yuu.

" Right?" She pointed at them, all her nervousness fading in a blink. " That's what I told Dad when I was little!"

Her face fell down as she pointed away. " But... They would rather want me to achieve my dreams."

Sora's eyes slightly widened when she saw her bunching the fabric of her skirt as she held it tight. " I'll definitely become a hero and make money, and let my parents take it easy."

All of them were taken back by her resolution. Sora smiled gently at her. She is just like Yumei. " You're a hero, Ochaco-chan."

" Sora-chan..."

" Someone told me, that heroes aren't just those who dive into dangerous fights and save thousands of people." Her smile softened as she recalled the smile of a certain person as he repeated those words over and over for her. " Heroes are those who help whenever they could. Even taking the hand of a lost child is heroism. Ochaco-chan too, be proud of your motivation. That's enough reason to be a hero, and such a noble one too."

" Sora..."

" Sora-chan, thanks."

Loud clapping resounded through the hall, making everyone look back at Iida as he shouted 'bravo'. Uraraka seemed surprised by her classmate's reaction, she thought for sure she would disdain her motivation. But both Iida and Sora made her smile, though Iida's cheering was quite loud for her.

They were cut off by a familiar loud laugh and they swiveled at its source. " Young Midoriya is here!" All Might was pointing at them from another hallway.

" All Might, what's the matter?"

" Lunch! Wanna eat it together?" He held what seemed like a lunchbox wrapped in a blue cloth.

Seeing him like that, Uraraka tried to stifle her laughter but couldn't. Sora scratched her jaw with a sweat drop while Yuu blinked. " He is acting in a way that doesn't suit his bulky build." Whisper sighed. " Even the number one is a weirdo."

" Whisper!" Yuu was distraught by the ghost's way of talking to the number one hero. Thankfully All Might waved it with a wave.

" It's fine, it's fine. Then, how about it?" He turned back to Midoriya who swapped looks with them as if asking for permission. Iida bobbed his head and the freckled boy run off to the teacher.

" I'd love to."

They continued on, filing in the line of Lunch Rush's eatery.

" I wonder what he wanted with Deku-kun?" Uraraka asked.

" He seemed... Like he wanted to discuss something." Yuu pointed.

" I heard that when All Might was attacked by villains during the USJ incident, he rushed out alone to help. Perhaps it's about that?" Iida told her.

"Oh yeah!" She hit her punch on her palm as she recalled that.

" Hold on... All on his own!? Midoriya-kun seems to be quite the rational person who prefers to think ahead, it's hard to imagine him doing such a reckless thing!" Sora exclaimed, moving one step ahead after Yuu.

" Can't agree less, Shirogane-kun." Said Iida.

" But... Is it me? Or does All Might seem to be close to Midoriya-san?" Questioned Yuu.

" True. I mean, you wouldn't probably ask a student to join you for launch if you need to discuss something with them?" Whisper tapped his chin.

" Remember what Asui said on the bus?" Iida held out his hands.

" Your Quirk is like All Might's."

" The boundless power they both have are similar too, so maybe All Might has taken a liking to him because of that. He's amazing."

Uraraka kept making approving noises at the blunette. But none of them noticed the boy staring back at them from the corner of his eye.

________________

3:20 pm

The clock ticked as Uraraka gaped her mouth at the crowd standing outside their classroom. The rest of them behind her not less surprised. " Wh-What's going on?"

" Why are they huddling here?" Yuu asked, feeling uneasy at the many eyes studying every move of them.

" What businesses do you have with class A?" Iida, being the class rep, asked them quietly.

" We can't get out!" Mineta cried flailing his fist in the air. " What'd you come here for anyway?"

" Scouting out the enemy, small fry." Sora and Yuu made way for Bakugo as he headed for the door. " They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival."

He passed a shaking Mineta who was pointing at his back, unable to believe that Bakugo was able to say two successive words without shouting or blowing something apart.

" That's Kacchan in neutral." Said Midoriya.

" But... Why us?..." Yuu shrank back, trying not to stand out.

" Remember, class 1A went against villains in USJ and survived. That would make them the most riveting class." Whisper murmured.

Bakugo came face to face with the other students, studying them. " There's no point in doing stuff like that. Out of my way, extras!"

" Stop calling people 'extras' just because you don't know them!" They all shuddered while Iida told him off with his usual chopping motion.

" I came to see what the famous Class A was like." A voice sounded from the very back of the throng before a raven-haired head could be seen over the rest approaching them. " But you seem pretty arrogant. Are all students in the hero course like this?" A boy with rather half closed violet eyes jostled his way to the very front. Bakugo glared down at him in discontent while the rest shook their heads in denial.

" Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned." He rubbed the back of his neck. " There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know?"

Sora thought back to her friend Yumei who didn't manage the test because of her Quirk. Of course not many people would be able to take that test meant for fighting type Quirks.

" The school has left those of us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course. And it seems the opposite is true too."

They all stiffened at those words. Yuu for once had goosebumps running down his spine. " They would... Transfer people out..."

" Scouting out the enemy?" He cast them a challenging glare. "I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away I'll sweep your feet out from under you. I came with a declaration of war."

This person's bold too!

He stood there, he and Bakugo embarking into a staring contest.

" Hey, hey!" A new voice cried out. They turned back to see a messy grey-haired boy with jagged teeth and black eyes lined with thick jagged tan-colored eyelashes stomping his way through the crowd. " I'm from Class B next door! I heard you fought against villains so I came to hear 'bout it! Don't get so full of yourself!"

Another bold person! They were too stunned to react.

" If you bark too much, it'll be embarrassing for you durin' the real fight!"

Bakugo ignored him and walked on. " You ignorin' me, bastard?!" The boy cried after him as Bakugo brushed past the purple head.

" Wait a minute, Bakugo ! What're you gonna do about all this?" Kirishima cried. " It's your fault that everyone's hating on us!"

" It doesn't matter." The blond looked over his shoulder.

" Huh?!"

" It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top."

Sora and Yuu's eyes widened as he said that. They stared at his back as he forced his way out.

" Damnit, you bastard!" The boy from class B was vexed.

Some of them seemed to agree with Bakugo's words. He reminded them again of the reason they were there in the first place.

Rise to the top... Needless to say, Sora and Yuu took those words to heart and were intending to do so.

________________

The festival was two weeks away. For both of them it wasn't near enough. While grappling with their courses, Yuu and Sora doubled their training time, Bakugo's words ringing in their ears.

Rise to the top...

Yui would worriedly watch her grandchild spending hours after hours in their small dojo, pushing her limit and training.

I need to get there, so I can find out what happened to him.

Yuu shed tears as he was obliged to run till early in the morning through half the city, Whisper shouting after him, prodding him forward.

I can't help anyone like this. His mind replayed all the times he failed to do anything at all for his childhood friend. I need to rise up high.

That of course without mentioning their increasing training in UA. Sora had mostly joined Uraraka and Ashido, trying to improve her maneuvers midair and push further her time limit, either by avoiding Uraraka's debris or setting herself as a target for Ashido and Aoyama.

Whisper made Yuu join Iida in his laps around the school ground. Needless to say, the blunette would finish around 30 to 40 laps before Yuu could finish his. And even by then, he would be as good as dead.

The countdown for the sports festival had already begun...