CHAPTER TEN

Two Days Later

      After a sudden holiday due to the USJ attacks, class 1-A was finally back at U.A. Groups of students talked amongst themselves, discussing the attacks as well as the news reports that had emerged because of it. While Natsume joined in on the conversation, Megumi kept quiet. Talking about this essentially meant relieving the incident and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that at present. Especially after the weird nightmares she had been having.

      Then Iida ran in through the door, making movements similar to a robot's. "Everyone! The morning homeroom is about to start! Quiet down and take your seats!"

     But, everyone was already sitting. Megumi snickered at the expression on Iida's face.

     "We're already sitting," Kirishima said.

     "Yeah, you're the only one who is standing," Sero added.

      Grumbling, Iida sat down in his seat. And though she was trying to be comforting, there was still an amused smile on Uraraka's face.

      "I wonder who's teaching class today?" Mina asked, her voice echoing through the class.

      "Who knows?" Tsuyu replied. "Mr. Aizawa is still in the hospital because of his injuries."

      Then, the door opened and in walked Aizawa-sensei, dressed just like a mummy. His face was covered in bandages and both his hands were still in a cast. "Morning."

      "Aizawa-sensei, you're back so soon!" The class exclaimed.

      Iida raised his hand in the air. "Sensei, are you okay?"

      Both Megumi and Uraraka had similar, slightly horrified expressions at the way their teacher currently looked "He doesn't look okay. At All," The two said in unison.

      Aizawa-sensei made his way to the podium in the center of the class. "My well-being is not of concern right now. More importantly, the battle isn't over yet."

      Worried murmurs broke out through the class. Natsume raised his hand, saying out loud. "Another battle?"

      Mineta looked like he was going to cry, while Bakugo looked strangely curious and Midoriya looked afraid. Megumi covered her face. They wouldn't have to fight more villains, would they? That would be too much, especially after USJ.

      "The U.A. Sports Festival is drawing near."

       At their teacher's words, the whole class (except the quiet ones) broke out into cheers, relieved that they were finally getting to do a normal school activity. Kirishima and Natsume cheered the loudest, both fist-pumping the air in their excitement. But Kirishima was stopped by Kaminari and Natsume when Jiro asked the much-needed question.

      "Is it really a good idea to hold the Sports Festival right after the villain attack?"

       Ojiro looked at Aizawa-sensei. "What if they attacked us again?"

      'The sports festival, huh?' Megumi silently thought, crossing her arms on her desk. 'Didn't mom and dad both win this thing when they were at U.A? But really? Is it good to hold this thing after the villain attack? I don't see the merits of it all.'

      "By going through this event," Aizawa-sensei started to explain. "We want to prove that U.A.'s crisis management system is outstanding. Security will be five times stronger this year. Above all, our sports festival is a big chance. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains.

      "But why not?" Mineta suddenly asked.

      Midoriya turned around to face him. "Mineta-kun, have you never seen the UA sports festival?"

      Seeing the Sports Festival was a whole event. When she had been just a mere spectator, she had watched it along with Natsume. Both had seen the then U.A. students give their all in various kinds of events. It was an important part of their lives, plus it was also important for another reason. And this event's scale was much larger than the Olympics; pretty much the whole country would be watching the U.A. students. This time, it would be Megumi and her class' turn to be a part of it.

      Aizawa-sensei explained the very same thing.

      "He's right," Yaoyorozu said. "This is where you get scouted by the top heroes of the country."

      "She's right," Kaminari said with a thumbs-up. "After graduating, a lot of people join pro agencies as a sidekick."

      "Of course," Aizawa-sensei continued. "Being in a popular hero agency will provide more experience and popularity. Time is limited. Once a year, a total of just three chances, No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival!"

      In unison, the class said. "Yes, sir!"

      Lunchtime came soon enough, and once more, everyone was talking about the sports festival. Megumi and Natsume stood up as they walked towards where Iida and Midoriya were standing with each other.

      "You better do you best, Gumi-Gumi," Natsume said with a grin. "Don't want the pros to miss out on your awesomeness."

      "I don't know if you are being sarcastic right now," Megumi answered. "But of course, I'm gonna give my best. You better not back down either."

      Just as they joined, Uraraka also joined the group. Megumi turned towards her, "Uraraka, are you also-" She trailed off, seeing the very fired-up look on the cheery girl's face. Uraraka looked like she was ready to beat every single person and win the sports festival.

      "Your face...Uraraka...!" Midoriya stuttered out.

      "Uraraka-san, are you okay?" Natsume asked, staring at her in concern.

      "Everyone!" Uraraka stated, hopping out of her desk, as she stood in front of their small group. "I'm gonna do my best!"

      'This is confusing,' Megumi thought as she cheered for Uraraka alongside the rest of their group. 'But I like her spirit.'

       Uraraka turned towards another group, doing the same thing, but the cheers from them sounded a little confused. But everyone cheered her on. Maybe they should all take a cue from her.

      "Ready to kick some ass?" Natsume suddenly whispered into her ear.

       Megumi nodded with the slightest grin. "You bet."

      'Sports Festival, here we go.'

      Megumi had just finished putting all her books in her backpack, when sounds of commotion reached her ears. She put on her backpack and stepped towards the door. Passing by Natsume's desk, she tapped on it to get his attention.

     "Let's go check this out," She pointed towards the door.

     "What's even happening right now?" Natsume asked as he stared towards the entrance of the class.

      As they walked towards the door, Megumi realised that it was the other classes who had gathered in front of the entrance, blocking the way out for students of 1-A.

     "Do you all have some sort of business with our class?" Iida asked, formal and totally like what a class representative should be.

      Mineta was the complete opposite. "We can't get out!" He yelled. "What are you even here for?!"

      Behind Natsume, Bakugo spoke out as he walked to the door. "They're scouting out the competition, you scum. We're the ones who made it out of a villain attack."

     "There's no need to do that. Now move it, extras."

      "You can't just go around being so rude to people and calling them extras!" Iida yelled.

      Megumi facepalmed. She had the slightest feeling that the other classes would really hate them after what Bakugo said. Did that angry pomeranian not know how to be nice? (Oh, who was she kidding? Bakugo would only ever be nice if hell froze over...so never.)

      "I came to see what the famous class 1-A was like," A boy with messy purple hair and dark circles under his eyes, made his way to the front of the crowd. "But you're pretty arrogant. Are all people in the Hero course like this? There are a lot of students who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they couldn't get into the Hero course. But the school has given us a chance. Depending on the festival results, they'll consider transferring us to the Hero course. The reverse is possible too."

      Megumi and Natsume simultaneously recoiled. Transferred out of the Hero course? Oh hell no. If that happened to Megumi, she would never live it down. Not with both her parents being sports festival winners. There were some high expectations on her.

     Megumi turned her attention back to the purple haired boy.

      "Scouting out the enemy?" The boy was saying. "As for me, even if you're in the Hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll pull the rug from beneath your feet. Consider this a declaration of war."

      'Yikes,' Megumi thought. 'This guy is pretty damn bold for saying that.'

      The staredown between the purple-haired boy and Bakugo was interrupted by a loud voice, breaking the tension (or adding it to it).

      "I'm from class B next door!" A silver haired boy spoke loudly. "I heard you fought with villains so I came to hear about it, but you're getting way ahead of yourself!"

     Bakugo chose to ignore him and started walking away, even though the boy continued to yell after him.

     Kirishima suddenly yelled after him. "Hold on, Bakugo! What are you going to do? It's your fault that we're getting hate."

     "It doesn't matter."

      "Huh?!"

      "As long as you get to the top, it doesn't matter." And then Bakugo left the room, walking through the crowd that was now staring after him.

     But holy shit, his words resonated with Megumi and much more than she had expected. Rising to the top and winning was all that mattered in the sports festival. Even more so for Megumi who hoped she would live up to the expectations she had for herself and the expectations her parents' wins had set up for her.

      Bear the burden of these expectations, aim for the top and win the sports festival. That was going to be her ultimate goal.

     Another big step was about to begin.

And we are finally starting off with the Sports Festival arc!! I am so excited to write this and I have got a lot of cool stuff planned for this! This was a filler chapter so it's kinda short, but I can promise you the next few chapters are going to be longer and more action-packed. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

On a more important note; please check out the following carrd link. this is a more newer link so it has recent issues (in the past two weeks or so) included as always as other issues that have been going on for a while. Please go through this and sign petitions and do what you can to help.

https://issueshappening.carrd.co/