All For One, One For All | My Hero Academia FanFiction

Chapter 20: Sports Festival - Intermission

Midnight congratulated the final participants that would be advancing to the final event as the audience of people clapped for them as we do the same. Before the Final Event, we had a one-hour break to eat and recharge our batteries.

Nothing like the good old Lunch Rush Cafeteria to our rescue.

I sat down with Juzo getting my serving of food, but there was a problem. My body had felt weird since the Cavalry Battle. I felt a lot weaker than usual, and the lunch tray also felt a lot heavier.

"You good?" Juzo said picking up his chopsticks.

"Kinda," I said doing the same, "I think I might've gone a bit overboard."

"So, the guy has limits," he said pointing with his utensil, "Interesting."

"Yeah yeah. Laugh it up," embarrassed I start to shove food in my mouth, "I'm only human too you know."

Juzo gets a good laugh out, "Hehe. I never said you weren't."

"Ah! You guys are having fun without me again," Setsuna's voice immerged from behind me.

"I thought you were with..." I pause as I only see her head as she grins at me, "...the girls..."

"I was but you guys seemed to be having fun, so I wanted to join," the other half of her body came holding her tray as they reattach, "so what did I miss?"

Juzo and I stare at her and look at our food as we shake our heads.

"I think I lost my appetite," Juzo said.

"I... think I had enough," I said following his lead.

"Hey!"

I told Setsuna about the fatigue I was feeling after the Cavalry Battle and how Juzo was being supportive like the good friend he was. Setsuna asked if I was okay with a worried face, that kind of caught me off guard, so I assured her I was fine. Juzo also said he was feeling a bit off as Setsuna threw a piece of rice at him as they started to playfully bicker. I happened to be in the middle of their little food fight, so I got caught up in the collateral damage.

When our break was finished, we went back to the stadium to see cheerleaders from America and... the girls of class A? There was probably some kind of misunderstanding going on because none of them looked happy about being in cheerleading outfits. Setsuna covered our eyes and told us to just walk forward to where Midnight was. Present Mic started the announcement as we all gather.

"Between the sixteen members of the four winning teams we'll have a formal tournament!" he shouts getting everyone excited, "A series of one-on-one battles!"

I then heard one of the biggest uproars I heard today at the stadium. Nothing like a good fight to fire up the mood. It was a shame I wasn't able to participle this year, but it'll be fun watching Shoda, the sole member of class B, cheering him on from the sidelines.

As we were about to start, someone raises their hand.

"Um... Excuse me." A guy with a tail said, "I'd... like to drop out."

There were sudden gasps that could be heard as they asked him his reason for withdrawing. Ungrudgingly, he explained how he remembered almost nothing during the Cavalry Battle until the tail end. Midoriya tries to reason with, his classmate Ojiro, but he ultimately declines because of his pride.

"I would like to withdraw as well!" 'Shoda suddenly says, "I don't remember anything either and this is a skilled contest. Plus, doesn't it defeat the point letting someone who did nothing advancing?"

"Shoda..." Tetsutetsu said with watery eyes, "That was so manly!"

The decision was up to the coordinator, Midnight, to determine whether they could withdraw or that. She had a somewhat serious face as she accepted their request saying she liked it. With Ojiro and Shoda's withdrawal, Kendo's team was the runner up for filling in. But the unexpected part happened when Kendo said something none of us was expecting.

Kendo claimed her team was mostly immobilized during the whole battle.

"They were giving it their all to keep what they had until the very end," Kendo said, "Team Tetsutetsu, I mean."

"Y-You guys!" Tetsutetsu said in tears, "Thank you!"

"Are you sure about this Kendo?" Juzo asks, "This could be a good opportunity for you."

"We're not colluding or anything," she sighs, "It just feels right, you know?"

"You better not lose!" Komori said.

"Make class B proud," Yanagi said.

•••

Midnight gives us a bit of time to make our decision on who to enter the tournament.

"So, whose gonna participate?" Setsuna asks.

"Hmm... I'm okay to not take part," Juzo said.

"I can sit this one out too," I said.

"Then it's settled then," Kendo said, "Shiozaki and Tetsutet-"

"Excuse me," Shiozaki said interrupting Kendo, "I have a request."

"What is it?" Kendo asks.

"I would like for Marcus to participate in my stead," Shiozaki proposes.

"Eh?" Komori said.

"Are you sure?" Yanagi asks.

"As much as I would like to participate, I would like for class B to have a chance to be in the spotlight but there are only a few of us," Shiozaki states, "So I think Marcus would be the best fit for the task."

"Quirk imitation is interesting," Yanagi said as everyone nods.

"Wait a moment guys," Juzo said gaining their attention, "Let's ask the guy first."

"We should make sure he's okay with it first," Setsuna said.

Juzo and Setsuna was clearly worried about me after I told them about the fatigue I was feeling. It was true that I was tired, but Shiozaki's words delivered straight to my heart, and I didn't want to disappoint the class.

"It's fine guys. Thanks for your concern," I said as I approached Shiozaki, "Can I take you up on your request?"

"Geez," Kendo said with a smile, "Our class is just full of sweethearts, isn't it?"

We inform Midnight about our contestants, and she adds them to a lot. We were setup in brackets and my opponent was someone called "Kaminari". With that, there was an interval and recreational events were taking place before the tournament. Participants that competed were also allowed to join or take the time to relax.

Since I was tired, I went straight to my waiting room to get some rest. I wanted to win this not only for myself, but also for my classmates. I took off my jacket and used it as a pillow and feel asleep moments later.