Over the next month I ran triple shifts, training with All Might from 5 to 7, then school from 8 till late in the afternoon, and finally evolving my SCP quirk into a pseudo nen ability, little by little.
It was something I had realized sometime back that my control over my quirk had stalled at 90k books at a time or so.
Any more control would require alterations to my brain that would leave me more chimp than man.
And so came the choice, if the mountain won't come to Mohammad...
Now, I couldn't alter the past of the quirk, but that was all it was. A ban on changing the past, to prevent time paradoxes.
It came almost as an epiphany. I can't change the past, but I can evolve the future of the quirk!
Slowly over the course of the month, my anomalous energy began to resemble Nen more and more, though anything other than the hatsu like skills that came with it originally, yet evaded me.
All in due time of course. For now, I took in the chatter of the throngs of people crowding the stadium as we walked out, to cheers.
In the seats a ways from me, I saw my father setting up his camera. As my eyes came to rest upon him, he too spotted me, waving his hands, sporting a big smile.
I waved back, smiling awkwardly, not knowing how to react.
Since that day at the hospital, he had been trying his best to be a good father.
He called regularly, made time for me on weekends, and in general tried to recover from the wounds that my choices had made from him, even going so far as to see a therapist about his PTSD and Workaholic tendencies.
If it had been anyone else, this would have made for an excellent redemption arc.
Unfortunately for him, he was but a means to an end for me. To be used as needed and then discarded on a soon-to-be-dead world.
Suddenly, my attention was pulled back to the field as Present Mic's came over the speakers.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Pay attention audience! Swarm, mass media!" Present Mic's voice echoed across the field.
"This year's rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the UA sports festival is about to begin. Everybody are you ready?"
"It's time for the students to enter the first year stage. Anyways, these are the guys, right? The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! Hero course, classes 1A and 1B!"
Marching music began to play, confetti popped into the air, as we walked out onto the field to mass cheering.
Woooh! This feels awesome! More so than I expected.
"There are so many people!" Deku said, surprised at witnessing the grandeur first hand.
"Will we be able to give our best performance being watched by so many people? Is this also part of the training required to be a hero?" Iida wondered.
"Man! He's going overboard with that praise. I'm getting nervous." Kirishima said.
Mic continued.
"Next up, general studies classes C, D and E!"
"Support course classes F, G and H are here too!"
"And business course classes I, J and K!"
"All of UA's first years are here now!"
As the classes settled onto the field in clean lines, Midnight walked onto the podium, wearing a paper thin, skintight bodysuit, lined in bondage fashion.
"It's time for the player pledge!" She said.
"What is miss Midnight wearing?" Kirishima asked blushing.
"That's an R-rated hero for you!" Kaminari gulped.
"Is it okay for her to be at a high school despite being R-rated?" Tokoyami asked.
"Quiet everyone! Representing the students is Yuji Matsumoto from class 1A." She announced.
"Why is it Matsun?" Deku asked.
"He did place first in the exam." Momo said.
"First in the hero course that is, tch!" A brown haired girl from the general studies course snarked.
Ignoring them I walked onto the podium.
"What do I have to say?" I asked.
"Anything, really. It's up to you." She said.
"Anything?" I asked.
"To my knowledge, yes."
I smiled in a most sinister fashion.
"Alright then."
I took hold of the mic.
Time to walk the tightrope. I have to get my point across, make an impression and get at least a couple of pro heroes to agree to let me intern at their place. Not mention get media attention. So something bombastic. Something sensational. Something...me.
"Ahem." I intoned, clearing my throat.
"This is a momentous occasion, the UA sports festival; an opportunity that comes around only thrice in the school career of any UA student.
And as first years, I understand that this day holds an even greater significance to us. This is a chance to do something that will be near impossible to do again, a chance to make a first impression!
As they say, there are no second chances to make a first impression.
To that end, I also know that some among you will do anything to bring about exactly that, at any cost, by hook or by crook.
And I get it, I really do.
We've grown up in an era of peace, listening to tales of giants the likes of whom we could never hope to match.
Heroes straight out of legend, shining beacons of hope and goodness.
As their era comes to a close, they will leave us big shoes to fill, ones that the lot of us will be eager to fill as well.
But in this moment let me ask you to remember why you came here. Why you all chose to be heroes.
It wasn't so you could fight to the breaking point, at the price of an arm and a leg, to gain an upper hand in ball tossing or three legged races.
You came here to become heroes so you could help people!
And trust me on this, you will be of no help to anyone if you cripple yourself here and today.
So take this as a humble request from me.
Take care of yourselves, do your very best, but do so within reason.
And most importantly, have fun doing it.
After all, a world without fun isn't a world worth saving!
Thank you for listening to me.
And remember. Don't have a good day, have a great day, all of you!" I finished, walking off the podium gracefully.
There was silence for a moment, as the audience looked taken by surprise.
Then, there were cheers, and the speakers buzzed to life again, blaring theme appropriate music.
"A great speech if I've heard any! Let's have a round of applause for Matsumoto Yuji." Present Mic announced.
Returning to my post, I thumbed through the 80k or so new books that had joined my ranks, gauging the audience reaction.
That purposeful last couple of lines had the desired effect on their intended target.
An intrigued smile grew on Nighteye's face, as he stroked his chin, considering whether to extend me an internship or not.
On the other hand, Mirko's reaction was all but obvious, so much so that I didn't even need to open her book to know it.
All that talk about safety and responsibility was a tad too wholesome for her tastes.
Knowing her, it would be safe to say her pussy was drier than the fucking Sahara right about now.
Though, I had ready plans to remedy that, sooner than later.
The debacle with Bakugo made me aware of the shortcomings of my fighting style and I was, finally, motivated to make some major updates to it.
And for that, I needed data, specifically on how geniuses behaved, how they thought, how they felt.
I wanted to be able to deconstruct their minds like a watch.
In fact, it was in service of this very goal that I had spent every free moment over the last month observing the only other resident genius on campus, Mei Hatsume, bribing my way into her heart via delicious bentos and occasional cuddles.
The side effect of getting some action on the side wasn't half bad either.
The only problem was how I'd break this news to Himiko, if I even did at all!
The problem of having a yandere girlfriend is that you can't ever stop having one!
But again, a matter for another time.
For now, it was time to begin the sports festival!
soooo....no hatsume x mc romance chapter, but if you guys want, I can make a hatsume mei interlude later.
also two timing mc~ how scandalous. and evil.
anyways, thanks for watching, and donate your powerstones.
bye!