Constellations | BNHA

Chapter 16

During the weeks before the Sports Festival, Yuna had trained constantly. It had been boarding on unhealthy when her mom had to limit how much she could train before it got too out of hand. But even with that, Yuna had felt she had gotten stronger. Her pain tolerance had been upped after the USJ and now she felt she would be able to keep using her quirk for longer before she got tired or passed out.

Now, it was the day of the festival and Yuna was sitting in a waiting room with her classmates. Her nerves finally got to her for one of the first times since the festival was announced.

"Everyone, get your game faces on!" Iida exclaimed, bursting into the room. "We're entering the arena soon."

Yuna took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat.

"Midoriya," Todoroki said suddenly, gaining Yuna's attention. He was standing in front of Midoriya, who seemed slightly nervous.

"Hey, Todoroki, what's up?" Midoriya questioned.

"From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly obvious that I'm stronger than you," Todoroki declared, slightly shocking Yuna.

"Um, yeah..." Midoriya replied.

"However," Todoroki continued, "you've got All Might in your corner helping you out."

Yuna narrowed her eyes on Midoriya. She had kind of noticed that All Might had taken a liking to Midoriya, but never thought much of it. But now that she did, it seemed slightly odd. Midoriya had been obsessed with All Might pretty much his whole life, and All Might giving him personal help was like something that only happens in tv shows. People rarely get that lucky.

"I'm not here to pry, about what's what's going on between you two," Todoroki stated, snapping Yuna out of her thoughts. "But know that I will beat you."

Why is this reminding me of the rivalry between All Might and Endeavor? Yuna questioned herself as the two boys stared at each other.

"What's with all these declarations of war lately?" Kaminari questioned, pulling Yuna's attention toward him and Kirishima, who was standing up.

"Yeah, what's the deal?" Kirishima said, walking up to Midoriya and Todoroki. "Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started."

"We're not here to be friends," Todoroki snapped. He turned and started walking away
"Don't forget this isn't a team effort."

"Wait a sec, Todoroki," Midoriya spoke up, causing Todoroki to stop. "I don't know what's going through your head, or why you think you'd need to tell me that you'll beat me. And yeah, of course you're better than me. In fact, you probably have way more potential than anyone in the hero course. That's why you got in so easily."

"Midoriya, maybe you're being a little bit hard on yourself, and us," Kirishima said.

"No, he's right you guys. All the other courses are coming for us with everything they've got. We're all gonna have to fight to stand out." Midoriya looked up at Todoroki with a determined face, something Yuna had never really seen before. "And I'll be aiming for the top too."

Todoroki glared at Moridiya, "Fine."

Yuna looked down at the table and clenched her fists. I'll be aiming for the top too.

* * *

"Hey, hey! Make some noise, you rabid sports fans! Get those cameras prepped, media hordes!" Present Mic shouted, causing the crowd that was in the stadium to start cheering. "This year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in Sports Festival history! I've only got one question before we start this show. Are you ready?"

As Present Mic continued hyping up the crowd, Yuna walked with the rest of her class onto the field. The crowd got even lower as she stepped out onto the field.

"First onto the field is a group that's no stranger to the stoplight! Known for withstanding a villain attack, the dazzling students lighting up your TVs with solid-gold skills. The hero course students of class 1-A!"

Yuna glanced around at the stands as she walked toward the middle of the field with her classmates. A sudden fear came over her as she thought that she caught a glimpse of Miori. But when she squinted her eyes, she was sure she had just imagined it. The thought had entirely left her when Present Mic introduced the other students to the crowd. Hero course 1-B; general course classes C, D, and E; support classes F, G, and H; then finally, business course classes I, J, and K. Yuna had noticed a few of the students that had crowed around her classroom doors the day the Sports Festival was announced. Just saying they were glaring at class 1-A was an understatement. Some of them looked like they wanted to see them dead.

"Now, the introductory speech!" The R-rated hero Midnight announced as the students gathered in front of the small stage that was in the middle of the field. "For the student pledge, we have Katsuki Bakugo!"

Yuna's glanced over at Bakugo. Why him? Is it because he came in first in the entrance exam? Yuna silently questioned as she watched Bakugo walk up to the stage and to the microphone.

"I just wanna say," Bakugo started into the mic. "I'm gonna win."

The entire crowd of students erupted into booing. Everyone screamed at how overconfident he was. Yuna glared at him as he stepped down from the stage. Bakugo somehow noticed her and shot her a glare back, causing her to tense. He hadn't said anything to her, but she could hear a younger Bakugo's voice in the back of her head telling her how useless and weak she was.

"Without further ado," Midnight started again, getting the students to quiet, "it's time for us to get started! This is where you begin feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival!" Midnight waved her whip and a screen appeared behind her. A blur of events went by until it stopped on one, Obstacle Race. "Ta-da!"

"An obstacle race?" Yuna muttered, narrowing her eyes at the screen.

"All 11 classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is four kilometers around the stadium." Midnight explained as the screen behind her chanced to show graphics of what she was saying. "I don't wanna restrain anyone, at least not in this game. So as long as you don't leave the course, you can do whatever your heart desires. Now then, take your places contestants."

Yuna followed the crowd of students over to the starting line. She didn't even attempt to push her way to the front of the large crowd. She glanced at the tunnel they would all have to go through then at the crowd in front of her. There was no way they would all be able to get through, it would be just like when the alarms went off during lunch the day her class had picked out a class rep.

Yuna's mind raced for a way to get around the crowd - to get over the crowd - as the countdown started. Just as the second light went out, an idea popped into Yuna's head. It would be difficult, but she could make it work.

The last light went out and Midnight's voice sounded through the stadium.

"Begin!"