MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"Dam that Mirko." Tatsuo grumbled as he staggered down the stairs of Alfonzo's apartment with fatigue written all over his face. "How the hell was she not totally exhausted by the time we finally finished fighting last night?"
"That's because she's a stamina monster." Alfonzo's voice sounded in reply from the direction of the kitchen. "Anyway, she must have really worn you out, huh? It's already two in the afternoon."
Slowly making his way down the stairs, Tatsuo's exhausted expression evaporated as soon as he heard Alfonzo's reply to his grumbling. Then, as if his fatigue did not affect him at all, he sprinted down the rest of the stairs and entered the kitchen where Alfonzo was flipping a sandwich in a skillet.
"And who the hell's fault do you think that is?" Tatsuo asked angrily.
"Oh, it's definitely my fault." Alfonzo replied without turning to look at Tatsuo. "Yeah, and I'm sorry about that. I really didn't think it through. Because of that, my expensive squat machine got totally destroyed. I'll have to source materials for a new one."
"Fuck you and your squat machine!" Tatsuo shouted. "I should have never had to fight that crazy rabbit in the first place."
"I can admit to that, too." Alfonzo said as he scooped the sandwich onto a plate. He then continued as he turned around. "So, I'll definitely find a way to make it up to you. Let's just not start a prank war, okay? I really don't want that smoke while we're on a mission."
Instead of responding, Tatsuo only stared at Alfonzo with flames in his eyes.
"Come on, Tatsuo let's just find a way to bury the hatchet." Alfonzo said as he held out the plate with a smile on his face. "I even made your favorite sandwich... Grilled cheese and roast beef... Seasoned just the way you like."
Tatsuo continued to glare at Alfonzo. However, Alfonzo noticed the way Tatsuo's eyes flicked towards the plate every so often. And that let him know that he could sign a truce if he made one more push.
{BGM: "ODD FUTURE" -- UVERworld}
However, before Alfonzo could make that final push, Tatsuo's smartphone rang.
Wasting no time, Tatsuo picked it up. Looking at the Caller ID, Tatsuo was surprised to see an unknown number on the display.
"Huh? Who is this?" Tatsuo asked in a confused tone.
"Probably just a spam call." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Someone calling about your extended car warranty or wanting to buy your house. You know, that kind of annoying shit."
Nodding in response while thinking about all the times he had to listen to Mai complain about how many spam calls she had to answer for his mother, Sumire, Tatsuo unconsciously curled the corners of his lips, somewhat missing his, still, new, at least to him, family and all their quirks.
'*Sigh* There are still at least a few months before we can go home.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'And I've noticed, every time I go on one of these [Missions], I miss home more and more. Never thought I'd ever say that.'
A moment later, the images of Sumire, Mai, Kasumi, Tio, and Ayane that passed through his head were abruptly replaced by the image of a slender, beautiful, black-haired, red-eye girl.
'On top of that, I wonder what Yakumo-Chan will choose.' Tatsuo continued to think to himself as he pressed the answer button on his smartphone. 'I hope she doesn't start distancing herself from me after what I said to her. *Sigh* I didn't even really get to talk to her after the concert thanks to DOATEC's attack.'
"Hello. Soramoto speaking." Tatsuo said into the phone.
{"Finally! I finally found you!"} An excited, somewhat familiar, female voice shouted from the other side of the phone. {"I thought Soramoto was a pretty unique name. But there are more in Japan than I expected. Do you have any idea how long it took to call nearly all of them to find you!?"}
The volume of the voice coming through the phone was so loud that Tatsuo instinctively pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it with annoyance. However, when he heard the following words, his expression turned from one filled with annoyance to a dumbfounded one.
Even Alfonzo could not help looking at Tatsuo with barely concealed amusement.
{"Now that I've found you, let's talk about making babies together!"}
As soon as Tatsuo and Alfonzo heard that last line, they both knew exactly who had just called. The image of a girl with pink dreadlocks, greenish-yellow eyes, and pupils shaped like reticles who was easily excited about Support Items popped up in both of their heads at the same time, causing them to turn and look at each other simultaneously.
And when Tatsuo, wearing a helpless expression on his face, saw Alfonzo's playful smirk, he knew there was a long round of teasing in his future.
"So, already making plans to be a father, huh?" Alfonzo asked playfully.
Tatsuo's response was to roll his eyes, turn his head, and bring the smartphone back to his ear.
"Hatsume-San... You know school opens again tomorrow, right?" Tatsuo asked in a weary tone. "You could have just come to find me at school tomorrow. There was no need to call every Soramoto you found."
{"Actually, I only called all the Soramoto Tatsuo's I found."} The girl on the other end of the phone, Hatsume Mei, said cheerfully. {"So, it wasn't as bad as it seems. But more importantly, Let's make some babies! I already have a few concept designs. I just need to get some hands on data to see if they're actually possible."}
Meanwhile, Tatsuo took a seat at the kitchen table while listening to Mei rant about the "babies" she wanted to create with him. At the same time, Alfonzo, with that same infuriating smirk on his face brought the plated grilled cheese with roast beef sandwich to the table before putting it down in front of Tatsuo.
"By the way, I'm really good at naming 'babies.'" Alfonzo said in a faux-serious tone. "So, if you need a name for your bundle of joy, you can always come to me, okay?"
Alfonzo ended his teasing by patting Tatsuo on the shoulder like a caring older sibling. And Tatsuo, who was still stewing over the way Alfonzo threw Rumi at him the night before only stared at him with malice in his eyes. He then looked Alfonzo in the eyes and mouthed the words: "I'm gonna kill you" before picking up the sandwich and biting into it fiercely.
You can't let a good grilled cheese and roast beef sandwich go to waste, after all.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo, after seeing this, could not help but laugh hardily as he walked away from the table and started making his way up the stairs to his workshop. However, when he got halfway there, he came to a sudden stop as he remembered something.
*Smack!*
"Damn it... I was trying to get him to forgive me for last night." Alfonzo said to himself as he slapped his thigh. "But there's no way that didn't just make things worse. He's definitely planning his revenge."
A moment later, Alfonzo, after taking a moment to think about how Tatsuo might try to get his revenge, shrugged his shoulders and his smile returned.
"Eh, whatever." Alfonzo said cheerfully as he continued walking towards his workshop. "That shit was funny as fuck."
The rest of the day went by peacefully with Alfonzo working in his workshop while Tatsuo chatted with Mei. Later that evening, the two headed up to the gym to train for the evening after Tatsuo made dinner.
The next morning, all the students of U.A. returned to school. And it was no surprise that the biggest topic on all the students' lips was the Villain attack during the rescue training class at the USJ three days ago.
So, it came as no surprise that whenever students of Class 1-A, the class who was caught up in the incident, walked by, they heard the other students whispering about them.
"*Sigh* I really don't like the way everyone is looking at us." Sakura, walking alongside Tatsuo and Akatsuki through the halls of U.A., said quietly.
"Yeah, it's kind of unpleasant." Akatsuki added. "But there's nothing to worry about. It's not like they're gonna do anything. They're just curious about the students who had to fight Villains."
"I know." Sakura replied with a small nod.
"But why doesn't this bother you, Tatsuo-Kun?" Akatsuki asked curiously.
"Because people are always looking at me." Tatsuo said nonchalantly. "I mean, when you're famous and good looking, it kinda comes with the territory."
"Right." Akatsuki replied in a deadpan tone.
"Anyway, let's just get to the classroom." Tatsuo said as he laid a hand on one of each girls' shoulders. "There's no point in dealing with the uncomfortable feeling if you don't have to."
A moment later, Tatsuo activated his [Quirk] to [Blink] to Class 1-A. However, just before the trio vanished from the spot, the sound of running footsteps sounded through the hallway.
"Wait~~~~~! Don't go~~~~~!" A familiar female voice shouted, perfectly sounding the part of an abandoned lover, as she ran down the hallway. "Our babies~~~~~! We still have to talk about our babies~~~~~!"
Knowing who that voice belonged to, Tatsuo could not help smiling wryly as a murderous aura flared up right next to him. Without even looking, Tatsuo knew that aura belonged to Sakura. And when he heard Akatsuki laughing uproariously on his other side, his wry smile only deepened just before he, Akatsuki, and Sakura vanished from the hallway.
Meanwhile, the shouting young woman, Mei, skidded to a stop in the place where Tatsuo once stood. She then stomped her foot petulantly before stomping away and heading towards her own classroom in the Support Department.
"I don't know why you're getting so upset, Sakura." Tatsuo said as he opened the classroom door. "You know exactly what she's talking about when she says 'babies'."
"I know." Sakura said while pouting. "Still, it's hard to listen to another girl talking about having babies with you."
"You know, if it were a boy yelling about having babies with a girl, I would find it distasteful." Akatsuki said as she stepped into Class 1-A. "In fact, even when it's a girl, I don't find it too good. But seeing the way that you react is hilarious, Tatsuo-Kun."
Once again, Tatsuo could only smile wryly as he ushered Sakura through the door before following the two girls into the classroom. After that, things went as they usually did. They greeted and chatted with classmates until Shota showed up for the beginning of homeroom.
"Alright, I've got an announcement to make.' Shota said as soon as the bell rang. Then, once he was sure he had everyone's attention, he continued. "Foundational Heroics Class will be cancelled for a while."
"Huh?" Most of the class exclaimed in confusion.
"For the next few weeks, you'll have time to train yourselves." Shota continued while completely ignoring the class's confusion. "And you had better put that time to good use. It's crucial for your futures as Heroes."
Hearing the last sentence, the class quieted down. Though, the looks in their eyes made it clear they were taking this announcement much more seriously now.
"I'm sure you're all aware of one of U.A.'s biggest events." Shota said, sounding more and more tired with every word. "That's right, the U.A. Sports Festival is right around the corner. And there will be a lot of Heroes watching. Meaning, if you do well, you might gain interest from them."
Thanks to the syllabus the students received at the beginning of the term, all the students knew exactly what Shota was getting at when he mentioned getting attention from the Pro Heroes during the U.A. Sports Festival. Because sometime after the sports festival, the students would spend a week working with the Heroes who chose them during an internship period.
And because they knew what Shota meant, the calm intensity that had been building during Shota's announcement quickly devolved into excited cheers and discussions. However, Shota did not let that mood build for too long, as he cut it off at the proverbial knees and continued the homeroom.
"During the time leading up to the Sports Festival, training facilities will be available to students." Shota continued once the class settled down. "However, you'll have to apply through your class reps."
"Of course." Tatsuo said, sounding as if he really wished he could give back the position of class representative.
"We will do our best to meet all of the students' needs." Momo said in a tone filled with responsibility.
"Yeah, yeah, what she said." Tatsuo added while waving dismissively.
Naturally, Tatsuo's reaction led to Akatsuki laughing at him once again. But since he had already gotten used to Akatsuki finding enjoyment from his misfortune, he simply ignored it.
After that, Shota said a few more things before the bell rang for the first period. From there, the morning went by like it usually did. However, there was an added level of suppressed excitement in all the classrooms.
Until the afternoon classes came, that is.
During the afternoons, students from all departments and all years began training relentlessly to improve themselves so they could stand out during the Sports Festival. Meanwhile, the class reps from each class had to balance training with coordinating with the school's faculty to get everyone's training facility requests scheduled as fairly as possible.
Like that, the first day of U.A. Sports Festival preparations came to an end and everyone returned to their classes to get ready to head home for the day.
"Hmm..." Tatsuo, who was packing his school supplies into his bag, hummed as he raised his head.
"What's wrong, Soramoto-Kun?" Momo asked after noticing Tatsuo's movement.
"There are a bunch of people gathering outside our classroom." Tatsuo replied nonchalantly.
"Really?" Izuku asked in a somewhat nervous tone. "But why?"
"Probably scoping out the competition." Katsuki said as he stood up from his desk. "It's useless, though. Extras will always be extras."
"Bakugo-Kun will always be Bakugo-Kun." Mina said while shaking her head. "By his own definition, he would only be an extra, too. I mean, it's not like he can beat Tatsu-Kun, right?"
*Crackle!* *Crackle!*
"What did you say?" Katsuki asked angrily as he spun around to stare down Mina.
"Eek!" Mina shrieked playfully as she shot up and ran behind Tatsuo. "Tatsu-Kun, save me! Bakugo-Kun is gonna blow me up!"
"*Sigh* Please stop provoking Bakugo." Tatsuo said as he finished packing his bag. "I'd rather not have to find another classroom to study in when he blows it up over something stupid."
"Screw you!" Bakugo shouted in response while Mina giggled at his expense.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo made his way over to the classroom door. At first, he could only sense the group of people outside the door with his [Quirk]. However, as he got closer, he could hear the murmuring that made it through the door. Then, when he finally arrived in front of the door, he opened it without hesitation.
Immediately upon seeing Tatsuo, the murmuring in the hallway ended as the group of U.A. students from other classes in the first year stared at Tatsuo with emotions ranging from curiosity, to infatuation, to outright hostility. Meanwhile, Tatsuo let his eyes scan the crowd calmly.
"Okay, I can guess why most of you are here." Tatsuo said, addressing the crowd. "Most of you are just here to see what the competition looks like. Especially since Class 1-A has been in the spotlight after fending off the Villain attack at the USJ. Then, there are some of you who see Class 1-A as enemies. And lastly, there's my fan club... Which I'm not even sure why it exists."
"That's a load of bull." Akatsuki, who had arrived behind Tatsuo with Sakura, muttered. "You always talk about how good-looking you are. So, you know exactly why you have a fan club."
"Well, let's talk about those things one by one." Tatsuo continued after shooting an exasperated glare at Akatsuki. "First, yes. We have been in the spotlight. And I can understand why that makes some of you envious. But think about this. Do you really wanna fight Villains before even being fully trained yet? I mean, seriously. It's not like it was a walk in the park for most of us. Villain encounters are stressful as hell."
Hearing that, a lot of those who fell into the category of being jealous of all the attention Class 1-A was getting put on contemplative expressions. Because they had never thought about it that way.
"Second, checking out the competition is fine." Tatsuo continued. "But wouldn't spending this time improving yourselves do more to help during the Sports Festival than checking us out? Especially since you can't see us using our [Quirks] at a time like this?"
Another group of the gathered students stopped to think about what Tatsuo said after hearing that, as well. It was true. Although they mostly knew about the [Quirks] of the students with the highest scores from the Entrance Exam, they would not be able to get much more than the names of their [Quirks] without seeing them in action. And without more information, they would not be able to gameplan but so much.
"And lastly, about my fan club." Tatsuo said with a shrug. "There's not much I can say about that other than you should train more. Idolizing me from afar is good enough."
*Squeal~~~~~~~~~!*
Tatsuo's last sentence made quite a few of the girls in the crowd squeal in excitement while a large number of boys who were jealous of Tatsuo's popularity with the opposite sex gritted their teeth while vowing to themselves that they would make sure that Tatsuo suffered during the Sports Festival.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo reached back and pulled Akatsuki and Sakura to his sides before placing his hands on their shoulders.
"Oh, and one more thing Tatsuo said as he activated his [Quirk]. "Like I said, you guys should train hard."
Reaching that point, Tatsuo glanced over his shoulder at his classmates, making it clear he was talking to everyone, not just the people who were gathered outside the classroom.
"I don't want the Sports Festival to be too boring." Tatsuo continued with a smirk. "Standing alone at the top gets old, ya know?"
Then, as that sentence floated in the air, Tatsuo, Akatsuki, and Sakura vanished from the doorway as Tatsuo [Blinked] away, leaving everyone present at a loss for words for a few seconds.
*Boom!*
A moment later, a small explosion sounded, snapping everyone out of their dazes. Then, when they looked in the direction the explosion came from, they saw Katsuki, smoke curling from his palms, fuming in anger.
"Damn that pretty boy bastard!" Katsuki shouted angrily, as Tatsuo's gaze into the classroom lingered on him for a moment longer than everyone else. "I'll show him to look down on me. Now, get out of the way, Extras. I've got shit to do!"
With that, Katsuki stormed out of the classroom, his hands still crackling with small explosions.
At the same time, the crowd, intimidated by Katsuki's furious expression, made a path for him to leave. Then, after a few moments, the crowd dispersed with various expressions on their faces. And shortly after that, the rest of Class 1-A left the classroom and headed home, as well.