As Izuku once more stepped through the gates of Yuei, he looked around for any obvious signs of heightened security following the week of the school being closed.
No obvious changes had been made to the entrance from what he could see, other than a new door, nor could he see any obvious changes to the school itself.
He wasn't sure how to feel about that. Part of him would probably have felt better if the new changes made it easy to see that security had been upped from where it had been.
The side of Izuku that told him to analyze everything he ever encountered, told him that the new improvements were probably made specifically so that people wouldn't easily be able to tell what the changes were.
Around him, the rest of the school was entering, seemingly with no care in the world.
A couple of his classmates, tons of people he didn't know, a girl with messy dark green hair and sharp teeth who he instantly recognized as one of the girls who had laughed at him the last time he was at the entrance.
She didn't turn to look in his direction, but he felt his cheeks ever so slightly begin to burn from the memory.
He ignored those memories, just like he pointedly did not think about the incident with the chocolate milkshake from yesterday.
Right now, school was the only thing he wanted to think about.
---
-Ah, the prodigal asshole returns.-
Izuku didn't reply, instead focusing on the person Venom was talking about.
Aizawa, their assigned homeroom teacher had seen better days. He hadn't actually seen him since he and Mina had been teleported away, and the sight of the man sharply hammered into him how lucky he was to have a healing factor.
Unlike Izuku who had pretty much recovered completely from having his chest caved in, Aizawa had(According to Uraraka) had one arm completely broken, the skin on his elbow disintegrated, and his face smashed into concrete, every single injury of which he was heavily bandaged.
Both of his arms were in slings, though Izuku could tell that the way he moved them as he walked into the classroom was different in each, probably a result of the different kinds of damage he had suffered in each arm.
His head was so tightly bandaged that the only openings were two slits where his eyes were, and the top of his head where his long black mane flowed down over his bandage covered head.
Said black mane, also seemed way cleaner and less ragged than Izuku had ever seen it, suggesting someone had cleaned it while he was recovering.
All in all, he looked like he was about to fall over at any moment, and the way he moved as he walked suggested heavy pain with each step.
All in all, it made Izuku feel really bad looking at him, knowing he hadn't been strong enough to prevent what had happened to him.
It was a stupid thought of course, given he had had enough to deal with just surviving against Rhino, but it didn't change how he felt.
Several of his classmates greeted their sensei with worry, asked him if he was all right.
Aizawa though didn't seem to be in the mood for such sympathy, given his tone was the same unenthusiastic monotone he almost always used when talking to the class.
"Don't concern yourself with me…"
He paused before continuing, as he looked out over his class.
"...After all… The battle hasn't ended for you guys yet…"
Izuku tensed immediately at those words, and he wasn't the only one. Most of the class was immediately at edge, and half of them looked towards the window, as if afraid someone was about to burst in through the glass.
Behind Izuku, the purple haired Dwarf Mineta, exclaimed in absolute terror "More Villains?".
Aizawa let the tense situation hang in the air for about 10 seconds before he continued.
"Yuei's sports festival is approaching Boys and Girls…"
The tenseness burst like a popped balloon.
Even Izuku partook as everyone suddenly let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot this was a school." Kaminari let out while chuckling.
Shoji, the tallest student in the class, who Venom had once compared to a mixture between Lexington and Kakashi(Whoever they were) raised a hand.
"Are you sure about this? I mean, right after a villain attack and all?"
Aizawa did not show any more than his usual enthusiasm as he answered.
"It's a necessity. To prove that the school's new security measures and protocols are sound… Or that's the thinking anyway."
Izuku could feel a pang of frustration from Aizawa as he talked about the last part. He got the distinct feeling Aizawa might not agree with those who thought like that.
"In any case, compared to previous events, there will be five times the police presence of previous years, and there will be many times more pro heroes there than usual… And anyhow, our sports festival is still gonna be the best chance any of you guys are gonna get to lay the groundworks for your careers."
Aizawa's eyes suddenly got a narrow look to them as he looked from one end of the room to the other.
"Anyhow, it isn't an event that can be canceled over a few Villains."
Holy shit. Izuku hadn't even considered the fact the sports festival was coming up. The whole invasion and the aftermath had completely driven it out of his head.
"That is all well and good, but we have a question. What the hell is Yuei's sports festival?"
Izuku hadn't even noticed Venom forming on his shoulder, but once again, he completely froze as everyone's eyes turned towards him, or rather the head of black liquid that was sprouting from his shoulder.
Aizawa just stared at Venom, seemingly internally debating whether to answer the question, given how you'd have to have lived under a rock not to know about Yuei's sports festival.
Or on the moon, as was the case here.
Finally, after a bit of internal debate, he sighed.
"After the rise of quirks, the old world of professional sports, in particular the Olympics, sharply reduced in popularity. More mundane sports simply don't have the kind of draw that it once had, in this new world of super-powered individuals."
"In the old days, the Olympics would always whip up the entire world, and especially the country hosting them, into a massive frenzy. Today, however, that job generally goes to super-powered contests. And given the only people who are allowed to use their quirks as they see fit are heroes… That generally means school tournaments."
"For Japan, that means that the government sponsors the highest-ranking school in the country, for a 3-day tournament, each day dedicated to one year's set of students. For the moment, that means us here at Yuei. As far as Japan is concerned, this tournament is the replacement for the Olympics of old."
"The pros will be watching us right?" Momo interjected, from two seats behind Izuku.
"They'll be there as scouts."
"Yeah!" Kaminari replied cheerfully, hands behind his head, in a relaxed pose.
"They'll be looking to hire us as sidekicks after we graduate after all. That's how it's done!"
To his side, Jirou, the girl with the long earlobes with horrible sonic powers continued that train of thought.
"And a lot of those Sidekicks will never manage to go solo. That's you Kaminari."
Kaminari got an annoyed and angry look at that ribbing, but Aizawa interjected before he could reply.
"All of that is correct. The Yuei sports festival is one of your biggest advantages compared to students from other schools. You'll be putting yourself out there for all the country to see. Every pro worth their salt will be watching the tournament, and yes, they will be scouting for potential sidekicks."
"If you manage to impress them, and make them take you in, you'll have both a good starting position for your careers, and you'll be getting valuable experience. If you manage to get picked up by a really popular hero, the better your springboard will be for when you graduate."
"That said… You have a very limited time here. This event takes place once a year, so you'll get three chances for this. Show the pros what you're made of and make something of yourselves."
...
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