MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"Tomorrow's the Sports Festival." Akatsuki said with a smile. "Are you two ready?"
Time passed quickly after Tatsuo sent Rumi on a trip to Okinawa. And just as Alfonzo said, she was ungodly pissed off at Tatsuo for that little stunt. Even so, she never again tried to force him to fight her. Because she was not there when Tatsuo came back.
Meaning, she did not see just how exhausted he was after the round trip. Because of that, she had no idea just how far away he could send her if he got annoyed with her pestering.
Unfortunately, that meant that after she made it back, Alfonzo returned to being her target for a good fight. And although Alfonzo could run away if he so chose, he knew that, were he to do so, Rumi would just follow him and continue to pester him until he gave in.
Like that, the time before the U.A. Sports Festival passed quickly and uneventfully for most of the students of U.A. And tonight was the final day before the festival began. And the four members of the [Dimensional Chat] were gathered at the Static Shock Hero Agency having dinner together and discussing the upcoming event.
"Yes, I'm ready." Sakura replied to Akatsuki's question with a nod. "I'm not sure how I'll do, though."
"You probably don't have anything to worry about." Alfonzo said with a smile. "No matter what anyone says, you're pretty strong. On top of that, you've been trained as a Magus. So, you'll do just fine."
"Yeah, I doubt there are too many people in this world, let alone the school that can even put up a fight against you. So, there's nothing to worry about."
"Do you count yourself as one of the people who can put up a fight?" Akatsuki asked with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Naturally." Tatsuo replied. "But even for me, it wouldn't be easy to beat Sakura in a one on one."
"That's not true." Sakura said, an embarrassed blush coloring her cheeks. "Tatsuo-Kun is stronger than me for sure."
"I saw that coming." Alfonzo said, a mischievous smile spreading across his face, as well. "Falling for the guy who saved you from a life of torment tends to make people think that way, after all."
"You just better not give up without trying." Akatsuki said pointedly. "I don't think Tatsuo-Kun would like that."
"Akatsuki's right." Tatsuo replied while nodding solemnly. "If we have to fight each other during the festival, you should go all-out. Like I said the other day, I don't want this thing to be too boring."
Sakura's embarrassed blush immediately transformed into a conflicted expression. On one hand, she did not want to disappoint Tatsuo, who was looking forward to fighting her for real if they faced each other during the festival. On the other, the thought of possibly hurting Tatsuo if she went all out was making her stomach hurt.
"I... Understand..." Sakura finally said after a few moments. "I'll... do my... best."
Hearing that, Tatsuo smiled. He then reached over and stroked Sakura's violet hair, causing the young woman to lower her head and smile shyly.
At the same time, both Alfonzo and Akatsuki had the same thought when they saw this scene.
'She's too easy.'
However, while Akatsuki was smiling happily at seeing Sakura get the kind of attention she wanted from Tatsuo, Alfonzo's mischievous smile only widened as he shot a quick glance at Akatsuki before returning his gaze to Tatsuo.
"So, are you saying that Akatsuki won't be a challenge for you during the festival, T?" Alfonzo asked, his tone failing completely to hide his amusement.
"Probably not." Akatsuki replied before Tatsuo could. "All my attacks are physical. No spatial elements at all. So, he could just phase through them all."
"If I were going to use my ability to phase through attacks, that would be true." Tatsuo replied. "But honestly, this will be too easy as it is. So, I'm gonna seal that ability away."
"Really?" Akatsuki asked, her eyes wide in surprise. "Then, I'll have a better chance than I expected."
"Everyone will." Alfonzo replied. He then shook his head as he continued. "Still, your stealth won't be as much help as it usually would be against someone like him."
"I know." Akatsuki acknowledged with a nod. "Plus, he's much better trained when it comes to melee combat, too. So, winning will be difficult, if not impossible."
"Well, we'll just have to see." Tatsuo said with a shrug. "There's no point in talking about it when we don't know exactly what events will be participating in."
"It will probably be the same as the ones in the manga and anime." Alfonzo said while waving dismissively. "Most things have been like that if we didn't step in preemptively. This will probably be the same."
"I feel like you just raised a flag." Tatsuo pointed out.
"Maybe..." Alfonzo replied uncaringly. "But like a character from one of my favorite fan fics once said, 'Murphy was a bitch ass little bitch and his law can suck my entire right nut'."
While Tatsuo burst into uncontrollable laughter after hearing that, Akatsuki and Sakura looked at Alfonzo skeptically. Meanwhile, as soon as Alfonzo realized what he said, combined with the looks Akatsuki and Sakura were shooting his way, he began to panic internally.
'Ah! Damn it... I spoke without thinking first...' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Yeah, if that didn't give away the fact that I'm a reincarnater, then nothing will. *Sigh* Has being away from Lici for so long made me start taking on her qualities because I miss her?'
"Do they even have fan fiction on Earth Land?" Akatsuki asked with an eyebrow raised.
"On top of that, Murphy's law... isn't that kind of an Earth thing?" Sakura added in an inquisitive tone.
Hearing Akatsuki's and Sakura's questions, Tatsuo forcibly ended his laughter. Then, he glanced at Alfonzo, who looked a little helpless. And although he had yet to get him back for setting Rumi on him, he decided to lend him a hand.
"Akatsuki, did you forget?" Tatsuo asked with a grin on his face. "Alfonzo, Lici, James, and I went to Violet's world to help with the Wyvern Nest a few months before this quest. And as it just so happened, Alfonzo got into reading fan fics during the long plane rides. In fact, whenever he wasn't fighting wyverns or cooking, all his time was spent reading those things. And the one he read the most had that line in it."
"Really?" Akatsuki asked, her tone still skeptical. Though, it had lessened quite a bit with Tatsuo's explanation.
"Does that mean you read it, too, Tatsuo-Kun?" Sakura asked, deciding that she would find a way to read it if Tatsuo read it, too, and happened to like it.
"Yeah... It was pretty funny." Tatsuo replied. "But if you don't know the source material, it probably isn't as good."
"I see." Sakura said with a nod. "Then, I'll have to ask Minami-San to send me a copy through the [Chat] someday."
While Alfonzo shot Tatsuo a grateful glance and Tatsuo seemingly ignored it, Akatsuki, though most of her skepticism had vanished, was still doubtful about Tatsuo's story. Even if the doubt was slight. The only thing was, she could not figure out what Tatsuo and Alfonzo could have been hiding.
Then, there was Sakura. And she, no longer concerned about Alfonzo's slip of the tongue was only concerned with getting closer to Tatsuo by reading a book, a fan fiction, that he liked.
The rest of the night went by peacefully. Not long after the conversation, Tatsuo escorted Akatsuki and Sakura back to their houses before returning to the apartment and turning in for the night.
The next day, instead of heading to their homeroom classrooms, all the first-year students of U.A. gathered in the Sports Festival stadium. And each class had their own waiting room so that they could walk out together when they were called by the staff.
"Man, this is gonna be so manly!" Eijiro shouted excitedly.
"Yeah, but I'm kinda nervous." Toru said, her tone echoing her words.
"I can understand why." Akatsuki replied. "I mean, it's gonna be kinda hard to stand out if no one can see your face, isn't it?"
"Ahh~~~~~!" Toru screamed after a few moments of silence. "I didn't even think about that. I was only concerned with performing well. But how is anyone gonna know who I am if they can't see me?"
"That's exactly why they'll know who you are." Sakura said while smiling soothingly at Toru. "It's what makes you stand out the most."
After saying that, though Sakura was not sure if she was right, she felt as though Toru was staring at her with gratitude.
"Toru's not the only one whose nervous, though." Momo said. "I'm sure we're all battling nerves at least a little bit."
Hearing that, most of the class nodded in agreement. Naturally, there were some exceptions, though. Among them was Tatsuo, Shota, and…
"Speak for yourself." Katsuki said in his usual abrasive tone. "Don't lump me in with all you extras."
Katsuki then turned to look at Tatsuo, who was sitting with Sakura, looking as relaxed as can be.
"And I'm definitely gonna beat you today, you pretty boy bastard." Katsuki said as small explosions crackled in his palms. "Today, you'll see that I'm this class's true number one."
"Do your best, Bakugo!" Tatsuo cheered in an overly energetic tone while giving Katsuki a big thumbs up and a radiant smile that caused his teeth to shine. "I believe in you! Let your youth burn brightly!"
Immediately, the entire waiting room fell silent as the entire class turned to stare blankly at Tatsuo because of his over the top encouragement. And that silence made the sound of Katsuki's teeth grinding, and the explosions in his palms that were growing in power stand out that much more.
"Dude… What. the hell. Was that?" Denki asked with a twitching eyebrow.
That question reflected the thoughts in most of the class's hearts.
"Yes… Even the darkness in my soul recoiled after hearing that." Fumikage said in an awkward tone.
The only exception to the cringe everyone felt was Izuku. Seeing the smile on Tatsuo's face when he gave Katsuki those words of encouragement made him excited. Because Tatsuo's smile reminded him of the way All Might smiled whenever he saved the day. And as someone who aspires to give people the same level of comfort, he found Tatsuo's actions quite endearing.
Meanwhile, Shoto completely ignored the awkward atmosphere. Instead, he stood up and walked directly to the spot in front of Tatsuo and looked down at him with his usual aloof expression.
"I'm going to defeat you today." Shoto said bluntly.
"Not if you only show me half of what you got." Tatsuo replied just as bluntly. "If you want any chance of winning, you'd better be ready to light the fire on your other half. Otherwise, you're going to bore me more than Bakugo usually does."
"Screw you!" Katsuki shouted indignantly.
"I don't need to use HIS power to defeat you." Shoto said, the irritation clear in his voice.
"If you're thinking like that, then you've already lost." Tatsuo said while shaking his head in disappointment. "But since you're thinking that way, why don't you yank out all the red hair on your head and that turquoise eye, too. Because according to the way you put it, those should have come from HIM, too, right?"
In response, Shoto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"Look, dude, I don't know what happened to you." Tatsuo said, lying as easily as he breathed. "But either limit yourself all the way or make that power yours all the way. Just stop this halfway shit."
Shoto opened his mouth to respond. Yet, no words came out. Then, a few moments later, just as Shoto came up with a retort, the door to the waiting room opened and a staff member asked the students to make their way out to the field for the opening ceremony.
As soon as the call to assemble was given, Tatsuo glanced at Shoto one last time before standing up, stepping past him, and heading for the exit. The other students, after looking at Shoto with concern, fell in line after Tatsuo with Katsuki shooting a disdainful glare in Shoto's direction. Because despite how much he found Tatsuo annoying, he did agree with him when it came to Shoto acting so high and mighty without using his full strength.
Meanwhile, Shoto stood in place. His expression was unreadable as he stared at the spot where Tatsuo had been sitting until just a moment ago. The words Tatsuo said constantly replaying in his mind.
"Either... limit myself all the way or..." Shoto muttered to himself as he slowly raised his left hand to his left eye. "Make this power mine all the way..."
Reaching that point, Shoto's fingers began to curl, appearing as if he might just take Tatsuo's suggestion seriously and tear out his own left eye. Yet, before he did anything he would regret, he exhaled a deep breath and dropped his hand to his side.
Then, without a word, Shoto turned around and walked out of the waiting room, only the slight trembling of his fingers showing the faintest indication of the turmoil he was going through at that moment.
It did not take Shoto long to catch up with the rest of the class. Then, all of Class 1-A reached a tunnel leading to the stadium's field. And just as they were about to step out into the sunlight, they heard a voice they had grown familiar with during English class.
{"Now, introducing the group of kids you've been waiting for!"} Yamada Hizashi, aka Present Mic, announced, his already loud voice amplified by the stadium's speaker system. {"They were ambushed by a group of villains and came out completely unscathed! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you... Class 1-A~~~~~~!"
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~!*
With Hizashi's introduction, two things happened simultaneously. First, the crowd went absolutely wild with emotions ranging from excitement to curiosity. And second, Class 1-A, led by Tatsuo, stepped onto the field.
On a side note, as soon as Tatsuo's absurdly handsome face appeared, many women of all ages began to swoon like love struck schoolgirls.
{"Next, we have the class who wants to prove that 1-A isn't the only class worth paying attention to!"} Hizashi continued once Class 1-A was lined up in their proper place. {"Now, let's welcome Class 1-B to the stadium~~~~~!"}
Just like Class 1-A, Class 1-B, led by Kendo Itsuka entered the stadium as soon as Hizashi's introduction ended. And just as Hizashi said, there was an obviously competitive glint shining in most of the students' eyes.
There was also one student, a young man with a chip on his shoulder, blond hair, blue eyes, and a height of about 5'7" who stared more intensely than the rest of Class 1-B. And when he looked at Tatsuo, the intensity grew exponentially.
Nearly a month ago, the blond young man, Monoma Neito, was among the crowd of students who had gathered outside of Class 1-A. Back then, he had every intention of stirring up trouble and letting them know that they were nothing special just because they fought a group of villains.
But before he could even get a word out, Tatsuo showed up, mesmerized the crowd, said whatever he wanted to say, and disappeared without giving anyone a chance to speak.
Just the thought of that day made Neito grit his teeth. Every time he thought about it, he felt as if he had been preparing for a unified title fight. Then, after weighing in, his opponent told him he had no chance of winning and left. And even worse than that, the judges agreed and gave his opponent the victory by unanimous decision.
The classes from the General Studies, Support, and Management Departments were introduced one by one shortly afterwards. Finally, when all eleven first-year classes were in position, Hizashi introduced the MC for the sports festival.
Tatsuo noticed Mei among the Support Class students. Though, it really was not hard to notice her. Especially when she was staring at him with laser focus as she entered the stadium while mouthing the word "babies" over and over again with a level of intensity that even made him uncomfortable.
{"Now, let's introduce the one who will be leading today's festivities."} Hizashi said, his loud voice quickly gaining the crowd's attention once again. {"You all know her. She's the Hero History teacher at U.A. She's also known as the R-Rated Hero. Ladies and Gentlemen, let's give it up for the R-Rated Hero: Midnight~~~~~"}
*Click!* *Click!* *Click!*
Despite Present Mic's loud introduction, the sound of high heels clicking against the cement floor of one of the stadium's entrances rang clearly, echoing through the stadium. And with those sounds, the sound of the introductions was somehow relegated to just another form of background noise.
Even so, they did all catch the one crucial piece of information that Hizashi spoke aloud, the name of the owner of those high heels, the R-Rated Hero: Midnight.
And just as the introduction ended, the Heroine, Midnight, aka Kayama Nemuri, made her appearance, drawing all of the eyes, especially those of the males present, to the entrance closest to the stage that had been set up on the field.
Nemuri was a gorgeous woman standing at 5'9" with a curvaceous figure, long, spiky, layered, dark-purple hair, slanted sky blue eyes, and long eyelashes wearing a breastless, black leather leotard, that looked remarkably like a dominatrix's outfit, over a flesh colored body suit, black, thigh-high garter stockings that were attached to a burgundy and gold utility belt, and black, high-heeled knee boots while carrying a whip in her right hand and a microphone in her left hand.
Eventually making her way to the stage, Nemuri stood dead center, her head swiveling from side to side to take in the gazes of the audience. All the while, she wore a cheerful and, somehow at the same time, sultry smile that stole people's breaths away. She then raised the microphone in her hand and addressed the crowd for the first time.
"Okay, everyone." Nemuri purred into the microphone. "Today isn't about me. Instead…"
Reaching that point, Nemuri waved towards the assembled students with the arm holding the whip.
"… it's about these lovely, lovely students." Nemuri continued.
*Crack!*
"So, without further ado, let's hear it for our first-year Hero hopefuls!" Nemuri said as the sound of her whip cracking against the stage echoed loudly through the stadium.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~!*