When the Stars Align

Chapter 35: Sports Festival (Part 1)

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- Morning of the Sports Festival -

The energy in the room was surprisingly stagnant- a vast contrast to the usual fuss that seemed to follow your classmates around wherever they went.

You'd been sitting inside the 1-A prep room for the past hour now, watching it grow full every so often with uncharacteristically jittery students. Even now, with the room filled to the brim with all twenty one of you, nary a conversation was held, each individual trying to fend off whatever last minute nerves they held before the main event could even truly began.

You could understand their sudden anxiety, if only because you could feel the slight tremors of nerves sliding up your back as well.

You were never one for attention seeking to begin with; the Commission had always been an organization that thrived off their privacy and all the work you'd done over the years had been monitored by your handlers while under the radar. Now, however, you found yourself just moments away from having to perform in front of a crowd of not just your coworkers, but of other Hero's and the general public.

And, while Bakugous words still rang true of this essentially being just another day for you, you were sure you'd still receive some backlash if you didn't place well enough in the festival.

All in all, yes, you'd begun to feel just a bit anxious as the minutes ticked by, especially when no one seemed interested in mellowing out the mood while in wait.

Not even sitting next to Yaoyorozu helped alleviate the small tension you had, the teen having made you a seat with her Quirk even when you'd told her it wasn't necessary. It didn't feel right to bother her when she seemed lost in thought, no doubt hyping herself up while ignoring the distant hum in the room.

You internally shrugged. It wouldn't do you well to make yourself worry anymore than you already were. For now, all you had to do was wait for the class to be called for the event, the muffled cheering of the awaiting crowd calling out like a siren song you couldn't avoid.

Behind you, a small beeping went off, making Iida stand rigid from his seat by the door. Chopping at the air with fluid motions of his hand, he called to the lot of you, letting out a hearty, "Is everybody good and ready?! The event's about to begin!!"

Grunting in kind, the class began to shuffle in place, some standing to stretch one last time while there was still a chance to. Even the most quiet ones in class had something to say before starting, with Shouji going so far as to lament the fact costumes couldn't be worn for the festival.

In a way, you couldn't agree more, having had to go through the grueling process of getting some of your costumes gear accepted for today. You'd only been cleared to take half of your water capsules to use when needed, having heard an earful from Aizawa to not rely on them so heavily when competing today.

You hadn't planned to use them all, of course, though you weren't sure just how plentiful the water sources would be today. It was a 'just in case' measure, really; though, after that verbal lashing, you weren't sure if you wanted to bring them or not anymore.

(You wouldn't let the paperwork go to waste, however, patting lightly at your pocket to make sure they still remained on your person.)

Just as everyone made to stand from their seats and make their way to the rooms door, a voice cut through the thick atmosphere, calling out to one individual in particular.

"Midoriya."

Todoroki stood in front of the freckled male, garnering everyone's attention at the sudden soft outburst, enough so that no one made to get up as they stared in interest. It wasn't often that the dual hair colored teen spoke to anyone outside of class exercises when needed, so whatever he had to say had to be important, right?