Chapter 151 - CH 121: THE FESTIVAL BEGINS

CLASS 1-A waiting room

The room had nothing special. It was just a very large room with tables, chairs, and lockers.

"Sigh, I wanted to wear my costume."

Mina complained as she looked at the blue and white standard uniform UA students wore when doing sports.

Frankly, it wasn't bad, but she really wanted to show off in her costume.

"I wonder what the first round's gonna be?"

"No matter what comes, we have no choice but to deal with it."

The other students were discussing in the room. The tension was rather high, but they were prepared. It was then that *BANG*, the door suddenly opened

"Everyone!!!, Are you ready? We will be entering soon."

The one who opened the door was Izuku. As the second representative of the class, he was giving the schedule to follow, even though he didn't know what the events would be.

The moment he said so, the tension in the room rose to a new peak. It was then,

"Midoriya."

Izuku, who was about to ask for the whereabouts of Kuroha, stopped after his name was called. He turned and faced the boy who did so. It was rather easy to recognize him. After all, he was ranked on the same level as him, Bakugo and Inasa. Kuroha didn't count.

"What is it Todoroki? I am a little bit in a hurry."

He wasn't being rude. But, Kuroha was not only the representative of class 1-A but he was also the first in all of class 1, all departments added. Thanks to his theoretical and practical result he stood at the absolute peak. Such things had never happened, so the school wanted him to make a speech for the opening.

The room fell in silence as they observed the oncoming discussion,

"Looking at it objectively, I think I'm stronger than you."

Todoroki didn't beat around the bush and directly said his piece

"Huh?"

Izuku was a little taken aback before his expression sharpened.

'Is he looking down on me?'

The current Izuku wasn't the old one. He would never cower in front of anyone. Well, except Milienia. But that was beside the point,

"What do you want to say?"

"Nothing much. I am not trying to insult you. I just want you to know that...Be it your or Hayate, I will beat you and I will win."

His expression was serious. This immediately calmed Izuku who was growing angry. Todoroki wasn't looking down on him nor was he saying this with arrogance. He was simply making a declaration of war.

"Tsk!"

Inasa, who had previously stood in a corner with his eyes closed, got up and looked at Todoroki with contempt. He wasn't the only one, Bakugo also stood up with a very angry expression.

The smell of gunpowder floated in the air. 

"Guys, you should calm down a little."

Kirishima tried to defuse the situation before it became worse, but it was then that,

"Oh? It seems like you are rather confident."

The moment this voice was heard, everyone turned toward the door. There, Kuroha could be seen standing with his hands in his pocket. His long white hair wasn't tied in the usual ponytail. This gave him a rather wild look.

After getting the attention of everyone. He began to speak,

"Okay guys. I don't like talking much so I will be direct. Todoroki might have come on too strong, but he has the correct mindset. This isn't a friendly competition. Right here, right now, you guys are fighting for your future as heroes. Everyone here is your enemy. Try to not forget that. Now, enough noise. Things are about to get serious."

After saying his pieces, he didn't wait for anyone to answer and simply left. The other fell silent before all rising.

The atmosphere was currently far more somber than at the start. Because what Kuroha said was absolutely the truth. They were fighting for their own future. Friendship was not something to be considered for the time being.

Still, two people had a very different feeling. Momo and Izuku. After all, those two were perhaps the only ones to notice the nuance in Kuroha's words.

---

Kuroha was walking alone in the corridors as he used an elastic to tie his hair. 

'Man, I never thought that I would feel so tired one day.'

Physically he was already at his peak. No matter how tired he was, he just needed a few seconds to go back to his maximum.

'Having a quasi-immortal body is really useful.'

But, his body wasn't all mighty. It couldn't save him from mental fatigue. After all,

'Yesterday was truly a wild night.'

He never knew he could go so wild. Despite his nearly perfect memory, some parts of the night were still blurry in his head.

'Thankfully it was with Mirko.'

He shuddered at the thought of going so wild with Momo or Himiko. It would totally break them. After all, rather than s.e.x, what happened between him and Mirko was more like a fight for dominance between two wild beasts.

"And I won."

"Who did you win against?"

Kuroha stopped before releasing a sigh, was he so tired that he didn't feel the heartbeat of someone sneak behind him.

He turned and was surprised by who he saw,

"Ayakahime Gin."

"Hello!! My name is rather long. Why don't you just call me Ayaka? I will also call you Kuroha?"

Kuroha looked at the girl who was giving him such a beautiful smile in silence. This time though, he didn't feel the powerful coercion trying to control him.

"This doesn't bother me. So, Ayaka? Do you have a particular subject to talk about?"

"Hum…"

She put a finger under her chin as she muttered, 

"Not really, it was just that I was a little curious. The two of us never had the occasion to really discuss."

"I see."

"Also, I was a little curious about the future head of the Yaoyorozu family."

Kuroha eyes narrowed a little,

"I have heard that the original fiance was your brother?"

Ayaka shook her head,

"Not exactly. Onii-sama was just one candidate. Of course, before your appearance, he was the candidate with the highest chance. It's a little sad for him."

"And...What does it have to do with me?"

The atmosphere immediately froze. Ayaka's expression became emotionless for a short time before a jovial smile formed once again. It was so fast that most people would have missed it, but for Kuroha, people wearing masks was nothing new.

"Sorry, you're right, this has absolutely nothing to do with you. It's my onii-sama's fault for not being able to attract Momo-san."

Kuroha nodded without forcing the issue and began to walk away.

"Bye-bye Kuroha, I will cheer for you from the stands."

The only answer was silence.

Once he left her view, the smile on her face completely vanished. What replaced it was a completely placid expression. She was neither angry nor sad. All in all, she simply didn't care. Then, a smile formed on her lips

"I wonder how the fight between him and Onii-sama will go. Well, not that it really matters in the end."

---

"HEY!!! PAY ATTENTION AUDIENCE, SWARM MASS MEDIA. This year's high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love, the U.A sports festival is about to begin!! Everybody, ARE YOU READY?!!"

In the stade, people were going crazy as Present mic appeared on the screen and began his speech.

"Now, it's time for the first year stage!!!"

What followed was a presentation of all the classes from class A to K.  

All the students slowly entered the field under the ovations and screams of the audience. It was like they were superstars. Though, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to consider them as such.

In the center of the stage, standing on a podium, Midnight was bathing under the flashes as she waited for all the students to gather. Once it was done, she raised her whip with a large smile,

"Time for the player pledge."

Most of the students blushed as they admired Midnight in her hero costume. The only one to be a little indifferent was Kuroha. Midnight didn't care about all the stares she received as she continued to speak,

"Representing the students of the first year. Hayate Kuroha!"

All the stares previously on her directly fell on Kuroha. Still, he didn't feel heavier because of them.

As he walked, he could hear the murmurs of people. But once again he didn't care and slowly walked until he reached the top of the podium and stop in front of the micro.

Since he was given the information that he will have to make an appearance, he wondered what he should say. What he should do. But, the moment he heard Todoroki's declaration, he already understood what he should say to stimulate them all.

He held the mic and closed his eyes.

----

The stade fell in a strange silence. It was like the simple act of closing his eyes had affected everyone. 

When he finally opened them. Kuroha made a simple but short speech. But, it was like pouring oil on fire. After all, his words were extremely arrogant for most students.

"I will be honest with you. This whole festival will be a waste of time. None of you will be able to get first place. Why, you may ask?... Because I am here."