I, Kendo and Tokoyami were sitting in the area assigned for participants while we looked on as thirty-nine students fought in a battle royale.
When everyone had woken up after I defeated them, many of my classmates were angry. The students from other classes were absolutely livid. I was certainly amused when many of them acted like a mild version Katsuki, if that was ever possible. When Iida asked me why I had done so, I only had one reply, "Don't blame me, you all wanted to defeat me and show how capable you all were. I just showed you what exactly you are up against."
As I walked out of the preparation room, I looked at Todoroki and asked, "That wasn't even my full strength, just a gist of it. Do you still think you could defeat me with half of your powers?"
I looked at everyone as they levelled their glares upon me and said, "This annual event is meant for us to show our country that we are capable of being its protectors. All you have to do is show them the full extent of your abilities. If any of you hold back while fighting me, I promise to defeat you in a humiliating way, without using my quirk at all."
As the battle royale commenced, Kendo turned towards me and asked, "Why did you do it?"
I raised an eyebrow in question.
She blushed and elaborated, "I mean if you hadn't defeated them all at once then so many of the first years wouldn't have been this hostile towards you. I heard many of them cursing you. I had to try my best to pacify my classmates from making a scene."
I turned back to the battle and just as five participants were eliminated by Katsuki's relentless blasts. I sighed and began, "I wasn't planning to do it. Their attitude just triggered my anger. Take your class for example. They've been mouthing off everyone from my class just because of our encounter with villains. I won't say all of your classmates, but some have been very vocal about it. We survived a villain attack, instead of being relieved that no one died, they are being jealous that we gained publicity."
I took a deep breath as I saw Todoroki use his ice to push students out of the ring. Some had banded together to try and eliminate the stronger opponents, but Katsuki and Todoroki weren't phased by any of it. I continued, "The general ed. students think that we are arrogant pieces of shits, while they are just salty that they didn't make it into the hero course. Instead of being such assholes, they should be focusing on showing the school that they have what it takes to be a hero..."
Only twenty-three students were remaining, " ...Then there are my own classmates. None of them wanted to be on my team, saying they wanted to defeat me as I appeared to be the strongest and wanted to prove that they were better. Why does it even matter if a hero is stronger or more popular than the other? It doesn't affect their job in any way. Their attitude rubbed on me the wrong way and I just, let go of my control over my quirk."
We sat in silence as we watched the last few remaining students duke it out in the ring. Only four more were left to be eliminated.
Kendo was about to ask some more questions but was interrupted by the signal that marked the end of battle royale. A student from 1-B had blasted Aoyama out of the ring. Did he have a similar quirk as Katsuki? I looked at Katsuki and saw him throwing a tantrum, cursing at the said student from 1-B. I was curious about the boy's quirk but refrained from asking Kendo about it.
Present Mic began, "Did you see that Eraser!! That was an epic Battle Royale!! Let's give a 'YEAH' to all the winners!!"
The crowd cheered on as Present Mic continued, "We'll proceed to the afternoon portion of this festival after a one-hour lunch break! See you then!!"
As I stood up and stretched by joints till they made popping sounds, I looked at Kendo and asked, "Tokoyami and I are going to the dining hall, wanna join us?"
She blushed again and shook her head while saying, "I'll join my friends for lunch. They might need some cheering up after losing in the battle royale. And I have to keep Monoma in check."
Although she muttered the last part, I still heard it. Monoma? Perhaps he was the boy who had been the most vocal from 1-B. I just smiled and nodded in response. My eyes lingered on her back as she walked away. She was a caring person and she'd make a good hero, or heroine, in her case that is.
I sat with my classmates for lunch and even though some of them were miffed by my recent actions, most of them were behaving normally. Though Katsuki's glares were more intense than usual and Todoroki's eyes were colder than usual.
As the one hour break ended, Present Mic began, "Before we get the final event, I've got good news for all those out of the running! Since this is a sports festival, we've prepared a recreational activity for all the participants! We even shipped in cheerleaders from America to get you pumped up!"
Before he could continue, an... interesting sight beheld itself in front of us. All the girls from my class were dressed in cheerleading uniforms, looking quite embarrassed.
They wore mini skirts and short, sleeveless blouses that showed their toned abdomens and legs. It was certainly a sight to behold. Although I didn't let it show on my face, I was enjoying the recreational activity quite a bit.
Present Mic was a little shocked, "Hm? What's this? Class 1-A? Why?!"
Aizawa-sensei murmured into the microphone, "... What're they doing?"
Yoyorozu raised her arm and waved it angrily, "Mineta! Kaminari! You tricked us?!"
I looked at the culprits as they gave each other a thumbs up. I silently agreed, it was a job well done. Although I did sympathise with the girls. The guys shouldn't have tricked them like that. It was certainly a very embarrassing situation for them.
As they were being indignant and brooding, Hagakure decided to accept it and join the celebrations. Soon the rest of the girls were dragged into it.
Present Mic continued, "Hope everyone enjoys this recreational competition! Once that's over, we're on to the final event! Between the sixteen finalists, we'll have a formal tournament!! A series of one-on-one battles!!"
The final event, I looked around and saw that everyone was focused. I smirked, 'I'm gonna enjoy this event. I hope they put up a good fight.'