Chapter 43

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The sports festival was nothing less than spectacular. Crowds pushed through the front gate of the towering school walls. The same school walls that firmly kept intruders and anybody else beside students and staff from entering were rendered useless now as giggling children and excited boys made their way through.

Colorful balloons floating into the air as music blared, vendors yelled, and people cheered. The day was sunny and bright. If I wasn't here on such a mission, I might have been distracted and pulled in by the festival's scenery.

"I don't like this, Jikan," Dabi murmured to me, adjusting his mask higher onto his face. "There's a lot of people here and..." Somebody bumped his shoulder and he stumbled into me. I caught him by the shoulders and hoisted him upright, back onto his crutches. "Hey! Watch it!" he yelled at no one in particular.

"It's alright. Once the competition starts, everybody else will be sitting in the colosseum and we'll have plenty of space to roam around and look for Recovery Girl," I plan, keeping my voice low. "She's gotta be nearby in case a student gets injured or something goes wrong. For now, act normal. There's cops everywhere."

The U.A. sports festival was the perfect place for something to go wrong, so police strolled the perimeters, their eyes scanning over the crowds. I abruptly looked away as I felt my eyes linger on them too long, turning to look up at U.A.'s main building. It was large and covered in windows which made it sparkle in the daylight. The school was made of two large buildings, and then a smaller building half their size connecting the two in between. On the smaller section a large sign reading "U.A." hung.

That was only the main building. The rest of the campus was full of training areas and other facilities used to hone the abilities of those aspiring to become heroes when they are older. Every time I see the campus it makes me jealous. If only I had a quirk suited for fighting, not for convenience.

A voice came over the intercoms, echoing around the grounds causing the crowds to tilt their heads up slightly, listening to the speaker. "The U.A. sports festival competition is about to start! Please report to the colosseum if you would like to join in on the festivities and watch!" Several people cheered, and the crowds shifted direction to the colosseum.

I leaned into Dabi, whispering into his ear. He twitched slightly, but I chose to ignore it. "Recovery girl will most likely be where all the fighting is. Let's head to the colosseum and watch the competition for a bit until somebody gets hurt. Then we can follow them to her," I say. Slowly, Dabi nods, looking away from me. I frowned but continued walking anyway.

Dabi hobbles after me as we make our way to the colosseum. He looks hot in his head to toe black outfit as the spring shifting summer sun baked down on us. I opened my mouth to ask if he was alright, but he looked too focused just trying to walk upright with his crutches, so I continued walking as well, still keeping a close eye on him as we did so.

Eventually, we found our seats. We had a perfect view of the playing field in this massive colosseum. News reporters and cameras circled around the main grassy area, as the pro heroes up in the higher levels in the stands consulted with their sidekicks.

Heroes come here every year to scout out students for their internship programs. The better you did in the festival, the more offers you got. This festival was a big deal for students.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to this year's U.A. Sports Festival!" a man's voice sounded as cheers erupted all around the colosseum. The announcer in question was a pro hero, and U.A. teacher, Present Mic. His quirk allowed his voice to be amplified in different ways which could either hurt his opponents, or allow a giant colosseum to hear him just like this.

I glanced upwards to see him in a commentary booth, his spiked, slick yellow hair, orange sunglasses, and headphones easy to spot.

"For our first round of events we have our first year classes. Please welcome your favorite U.A. students!" Present Mic practically screamed. The crowd erupted in a roar, colors of their shirts and custom made signs shimmering among the hundreds. The environment carried an energy that coursed through my veins. I was excited.

Just then a gate opened, and several lines of students filtered through an opening in the stone wall of the colosseum onto the grassy field. "Here they are—the first years! We have a lot of talented students lined up for you all this year, folks! Such as Aida Kitsui! Her quirk; a sticky string that can be shot from her wrists, tangling her opponents and allowing her to travel with ease!"

A red haired girl flew out from the line up of students, the mentioned white string spraying from her wrist, latching onto a wall and allowing her to swing past the audience. As she swung by Dabi and I in a flash of red, I saw an alluring smile dancing across her face, a gust of wind rushing past me.

"We also have Kirakira Guro! A talented young hero trained in the art of distraction. His quirk; glow! It allows him to cause any part of his body to glow with an intense light." A boy walked out from the students and into the center of the stadium. As if on cue, the rest of the students shielded his eyes as Guro-san's body glowed an intense light that showed over the crowd. Several people flinched away, me included. When the glowing subsided, a short boy with buzzed blonde hair and blue eyes smiled insidiously before joining the other students again.

The crowd clapped as Present Mic's voice boomed again. "And let us not forget, the first year student that entered U.A. the top of his class—Tenko Shimura! Quirk... decay." I drew in a sharp breath, sinking into my seat, half expecting that to shield me from his view. I was invisible among the crowds, but that didn't stop me from feeling absolutely naked.

Dabi narrowed his eyes on me. "What's wrong?" he asked, quietly.

"Nothing," I whispered through gritted teeth, my eyes trained on the students below.

I watched as several students shifted uncomfortably in their lines, taking several steps out of the way for someone coming through. It was hard to spot him, since all the students were wearing matching blue gym uniforms, but as more students began to move out of the way, it was easy to spot the source of the commotion.

There he was. Tenko. Piercing blood-red eyes and all. He was Shigaraki but not. His obvious anger wasn't wild or crazed anymore, but relaxed and controlled, bubbling underneath the surface of his yellowed skin. As he stepped out from the students his eyes scanned the crowd. He stood there still, and eerily unmoving. The colosseum went silent.

Then, with a loud boom, a giant stone slab fell towards him out of nowhere. Several people screeched as it hurtled towards him, but I wasn't worried. Routinely, Tenko slipped off All for One's gifted white gloves, and raised his hands in the air. The cement turned to dust, the particles left shimmering in the sun as they fell all around them.

"Holy crap," Dabi whispered, and I looked over to see him leaning on the edge of his seat, eyes wide.

Several gasps from the crowd, then all at once, screaming. Some horrified, some boisterous, some aggressively encouraging. My eyes returned to Tenko. Tenko stood there, silent, his eyes sweeping over the crowd again. His eyes... They saw me. I knew they did. They lingered on me for several moments as my breath quickened, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. My hands gripped the arms of my chairs as his red gaze bore into me before casually moving onward.

I had to have imagined it. I had to.

What was he thinking when he saw me? He looked angry. He looked hurt. I felt guilty. I felt so so—...

"Jikan!" I felt a firm hand on my shoulder and saw Dabi looking at me with a concerned face. Only then had I realized I was hyperventilating. His gaze softened as I looked over at him and my breathing slowed. "Did his quirk really scare you that much? He's far away, he can't hurt you from here."

And yet, I feel like I have just been stabbed in the heart.

"As expected of our number one student. Ladies and Gentlemen, again, Tenko Shimura with his decay quirk!" Present Mic reiterated as Tenko returned among the ranks.

I heard a man in front of me lean over to talk to their friend sitting next to them. "Good thing that kid's not a villain. His quirk is totally suited for killing. He would make a great villain." I couldn't help but scowl.

"The first level of the competition is coming up soon," Dabi says, redirecting my attention. "Somebody's sure to get injured with that Shimura-san on the field. We'll slip away and follow them straight to Recovery Girl." He then looks down at me, his twinkling eyes indicating he's smiling through the mask. "Jikan, you really didn't need to do all this for me but I'm glad you did. Thanks for everything you do."

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