The Clawed Heroes: Season Three (MHA X Wolverine)

Chapter Seventeen - The Cultural Festival

After days of practice and anticipation, the Cultural Festival was finally here. As all of UA's classes prepared for their performances, Principal Nezu made an announcement from the stage.

Nezu: Good morning students and faculty members of UA High! It is my greatest honor to present you this year's Cultural Festival!

As Principal Nezu addressed the crowd, X-23 and the rest of Class 1-A was preparing for their performance. As X-23 was tuning her guitar, she looked out from behind the curtains and looked at the crowd. A sense of nervousness fell on X-23.

X-23: Hhm....

As X-23 continues to tune her guitar, she was approached by Kirishima.

Kirishima: How are you feeling, Laura?

X-23: A little nervous, Eijiro.

Kirishima: You've got nothing to worry about, Laura! You got this! We got this!

X-23 smiled as she continued to tune her guitar. After a moment, the crowd began cheering.

Nezu: To start off this great day is a musical performance from Class 1-A!

The crowd cheered as Kyoka Jiro took center stage with her Bass. Jiro took a deep breath as she looked around the crowd. X-23 looked around at the crowd for a bit before glancing over to Kirishima who was part of the staging crew. As the two locked eyes for a moment, X-23 couldn't help but smile.

Jiro: My....my name is Kyoka Jiro of Class 1-A! This song is dedicated to all Heroes past, present and future! We can all be Heroes!

As Jiro addressed the crowd, the curtains open up showing the music band and the dancers in position. As the crowd begins cheering. Then the lights go out. In that darkness, Bakugo yells out for the performance to begin and generating an explosion as he starts playing the drums to which X-23, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Tokoyami and Jiro begin playing their instruments following suite and the dance team begin the performance. The audience is surprised by the flashy introduction, as Jiro thanks them for being there before she starts singing.

X-23: (So far, so good....)

X-23 smirked as she played the guitar. Everyone is pumped with Class 1-A's singing and dancing. Even those students who showed up simply to criticize them are unable to hide their enjoyment and start cheering and dancing with everyone else. During all this, Gabby watched the performance with awe in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, Gaby felt joy.  At the given time, Midoriya throws Aoyama into the air, who uses his Quirk Navel Laser to fill the room with light effects to the audience's delight, being picked up by Ojiro to continue dancing. Then Izuku leaves the stage to prepare Yuga to be the mirror ball and maneuver him during the finale. As the finale was fast approaching, X-23 walked to the center of the stage and began playing a fast paced and emotional solo. Kirishima watched this with tears in his eyes.

Kirishima: YOU GOT THIS, LAURA! WOO!

When X-23 finished her solo, the attention was directed back onto Jiro who sang. As Jiro sang the last verse of the song, her voice soared through the audience. This was the moment where Eri smiled the biggest smile in her life. Wolverine watched with a smile on his face as the girl who had never known true joy smiled. The shadow of Overhaul was lifted. At the same time, X-23 played a power chord which matched Jiro's voice. When the performance is about to end, Todoroki and Sero combine their Quirk to create garlands of ice, while Yaoyorozu uses her Quirk to shoot confetti to create a dazzling end to their performance. Class 1-A begin launching some of them into the air, making it all the more spectacular, and Ochaco uses her Quirk to get some of the audience to join in on the fun. As X-23 floated in the air, she smiled. She never thought that he would feel so alive and free. The show ends with applause and a great ovation from the audience. Some time later, X-23 and Kirishima hug each other backstage. 

Kirishima: That was amazing! You totally rocked, Laura!

X-23: You didn't do so badly yourself, Eijiro.

X-23 smiled as she hugged Kirishima. Suddenly, Gabby approached the group, specifically Jiro. Wolverine was standing behind her.

Gabby: H...hello.

Jiro: Hey, Gabby! Did you like the show?

Eri: I love it! It was amazing!

Without warning, Gabby hugged Jiro, prompting a warm reaction from the rest of Class 1-A. Jiro smiled as she hugged Gabby. Class 1-A's performance managed to get Gabby to smile. For Jiro and the rest of Class 1-A, this was a victory.

Gabby: Can you.....can you teach me to play? Like you?

Jiro was taken aback by this.

Jiro: O....of course!

With that, the rest of Class 1-A left the backstage to enjoyed all the other displays and performances from the rest of the UA classes. As the Cultural Festival ended, Morbius and Yaoyorozu were walking back to the Dorms. 

X-23: So the Cultural Festival is over. Did you enjoy it?

Kirishima: It was awesome! I had a blast!

X-23: I saw you and Bakugo having that competition. 

Kirishima: Nothing like a friendly competition to get the blood flowing! 

As they walked, they were stopped by Wolverine. Wolverine smiled as he finished his cigar.

Wolverine: Nice job out there, kids. 

X-23: Thanks, Dad. 

Wolverine: Enjoy this time for as long as you can. In this line of work, you never know long you got until it all goes to hell. 

With that piece of advice, X-23 and Kirishima made their way back to the Dorms. The UA Cultural Festival was a success. All classes continue to have fun and enjoy the events and attractions of the festival. When the Cultural Festival was over, everyone went back to the UA Dorms. But as this celebration ended, a dark plan was underway.