Narration POV
A week had passed.
A stadium.
In the stands, the crowds roar, young or old, man or woman, all of them were excited, for the sports festival had begun! The anticipation was electric, crackling through the air like lightning. Vendors moved through the aisles selling merchandise, particularly there was one yelling.
"Buttscratcher, buttscratcher, get your buttscratcher here! Burscatcher!"
A man in the stand raised his hand, yelling back.
"Buttscratcher!"
The man walked over handing over the buttscratcher and saying.
"Buttscratcher."
The man grabbed the buttscratcher and handing him a bill, replying back, "Buttscratcher."
The vendor nodded his head towards the man and began yelling once more.
"Buttscratcher!"
Another man far away and stood up, yelling...
Ok we can move to another person yelling.
Present Mic's voice reverberated across the stadium, no matter the roaring of the crowds his voice could be heard. His energy was infectious as always, even over the buttscratcher vendor. On the screens he emoted towards the crowd.
"The U.A. Sports Festival! The huge battle where fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year! This is it, folks! The moment we've all been waiting for!" His voice crescendoed as he continued. "Anyway these are the guys, right!? The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel!"
The crowd's response was deafening. Parents pointed excitedly at the screens, professional heroes in the VIP sections leaned forward with interest, and talent scouts frantically scribbled notes in their notebooks. These were the ones who had garnered all of their attention for several reasons.
Of course because they had faced villains but also because there were several students who stood out of the rest of course those two were.
Shoto Todoroki, son of the number two pro hero Endeavor.
And Arthur Pendragon, the previous number 1 vigilante of Japan.
"Hero course, Class 1A!!!"
Twenty students walked across one of the gates, they all wore the same dark blue U.A. tracksuit, designed by Nezu himself and made with fabric which could withstand quite the explosive quirks.
The students weirdly enough didn't look worried at first glance, they all stepped forward with apparent confidence. However as they walked and the true scale of the crowd became apparent, their reactions began to change.
"Seriously isn't this too many people," Izuku said, without stammering for once, though he started to look nervous as his green eyes swept across the massive stadium. The sheer number of faces staring down at them was overwhelming, easily fifty thousand people, maybe more.
"Yes, will we be able to showcase our best with these many people watching?" Iida asked, his typically rigid posture becoming even more formal as a coping mechanism. He looked like a robot with rust.
"I'm getting pumped," Kirishima said, his sharp-toothed grin widening as he looked up at the crowd. Unlike his classmates, the attention seemed to energize him rather than intimidate him. "This is so manly!"
Arthur however said nothing, his face seemingly calm but something only three people noticed said otherwise, he was gripping Excalibur's hilt tightly.
The noise of the crowd was almost overwhelming to his enhanced hearing, a constant roar that he had to actively filter out to maintain his composure. Toru, walking beside him, was one of the three who could tell, he was quite nervous.
Present Mic continued with his introductions, his voice somehow growing even more energetic.
"They haven't been getting as much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Don't sleep on these rising stars! Hero Course Class 1B!!!"
Out of another gate, class 1B walked out with their own brand of determination. Tetsutetsu was glaring daggers towards Arthur. Kendo noticed this and gave him a warning look, which made him squirm back like a puppy that got bullied. Aside from that weird interaction, all of them were composed and ready.
Out of the four remaining gates, more students walked out as Present Mic announced them with equal enthusiasm.
"Next up general studies! Class C, D and E!! Support classes F, G and H are here too! And finally business courses classes I, J and K!! All of U.A.'s first years are here now!!"
The crowd roared once more, the sound echoing off the stadium walls and creating a thunderous symphony of excitement, though if you focused you could hear someone yell buttscratcher.
Arthur had to resist the urge to cover his ears as the noise hit him in waves.
All the first year students, nearly three hundred in total, gathered at the flat square at the center of the stadium. They formed a massive group, shoulder to shoulder.
They stood facing a small platform, where Midnight-sensei walked on with her never ending confidence, once she got to the top she raised one of her feather fans into the air. The crowd quietened if only for a moment, allowing Midnight to be heard.
"Time for the player pledge!!" Her voice carried across the stadium, the microphone making her voice reverberate.
However she wasn't alone on the stage as, behind her, clung to her back something unexpected happened. Poking out his mouse-like head was none other than Principal Nezu himself, looking surprisingly comfortable perched on the R-Rated Hero's shoulders.
Which also dug his face into Midnight's microphone and yelled with his squeaky voice, which made more than a few people on the stands say awww.
"Representing the students is Bakugo Katsuki from class 1A, who earned first place in the entrance exam!"
Arthur looked as Bakugo walked towards the stadium, hands in his pockets, his spiky blonde hair, even spikier if that was possible. Arthur prayed to God that Bakugo would control himself and not say something that would make the entire school hate Class 1A. His enhanced senses also heard murmured comments from other students, particularly from the general course students.
"Tsk, he only got first place in the hero course."
"What's so special about that?"
"Bet he thinks he's hot stuff."
However the comments died out quickly enough. Just in time to hear whatever Bakugo was going to say. Arthur held his breath, hoping against hope that his explosive classmate would keep things civil.
"I pledge," Bakugo began, his voice surprisingly calm, which actually calmed Arthur too. Maybe Bakugo had learned some restraint after all. "To be number 1."
Arthur sighed in relief, that wasn't a bad pledge at all. It was confident but not insulting. At least that was what he thought. However, he couldn't have been more wrong about how it would be received.
All students of class 1A paled simultaneously, as if they'd just watched their social standing crumble before their eyes. Meanwhile, all the other students began yelling towards Bakugo with renewed fury.
"Don't be so full of yourselves Class A!"
"You sludge bastard!"
"Who do you think you are?!"
"Arrogant heroic classes!"
Arthur looked around in confusion, the hostility washing over him like a tide. He whispered towards Kaminari, who was seemingly about to cry from embarrassment.
"Was it that bad?"
"Arthur he basically said he was going to beat everyone," Kaminari whispered back, his voice strained.
"I mean, yeah," Arthur replied, genuinely confused. "Isn't that the point of this, to win? Sure he could have said it in a better manner but does everyone have to get this riled up?"
Kaminari didn't answer, instead he pointed towards Iida who had walked to the front of their group. And with those robotic movements he was known for, began waving one of his arms up and down in distress.
"Why are you being so disgraceful!" Iida called out, his voice carrying his genuine mortification.
Guess it really did garner that kind of reaction, Arthur thought ruefully.
Bakugo didn't mind the hostile crowd at all. Instead, he turned and looked directly at Arthur, his voice maintaining that same unnervingly calm tone.
"You're all going to be stepping stones for me to bounce off of."
If anything, this made the situation worse. The crowd's boos grew louder, and Arthur could actually tell for once.
"How overconfident can you get-" Tetsutetsu began, his metal skin starting to activate again, but before he could finish his outburst, Kendo appeared behind him and delivered a light but effective karate chop to his head.
"Don't act like that, you already went ballistic last time," she scolded.
"He said he wouldn't snitch," Tetsutetsu protested, rubbing his head, as he glared towards Arthur. Which made the person in question look slightly away.
"He didn't, now be quiet and concentrate on the festival," Kendo replied firmly.
Tetsutetsu quietened down, but his glare remained fixed on Arthur.
Bakugo jumped off the platform.
Nezu and Midnight looked at each other, a moment of silent communication passing between them, before shrugging their shoulders at the same time.
The principal's expression was unreadable, though Arthur thought he detected a hint of amusement in his beady eyes. Midnight brought the microphone back to her lips and spoke up, her voice cutting through the lingering tension.
"Now let's get started right away! The first game is what you'd call a qualifier!"
The anticipation in the stadium grew once more as she continued. She brought the microphone to Nezu who was now fully sitting on her shoulder his legs dangling and hitting her bosom, the principal's squeaky voice filled the stadium.
"Every year many drink their tears here, and I happily drink with them!" His cheerful delivery of such ominous words sent a chill through the student body.
Both Nezu and Midnight spoke into the microphone at once, their voices harmonizing in an almost theatrical way.
"Now here is the first fateful game! This year it's..."
A massive holographic screen materialized behind them, dominating the backdrop of the stage. A digital slot machine appeared in the center, its reels spinning rapidly through various challenges and obstacles.
The tension was unbearable as students watched their fate being decided by chance. The reels spun faster and faster, Arthur saw all of them, his enhanced sight solely making him more nervous as he watched each option fly by, until finally slowing down with a satisfying electronic ding that echoed throughout the stadium.
Both Nezu and Midnight yelled into the microphone with showmanship which had obviosuly been practiced.
"This!!"
They both turned dramatically toward the holographic screen, which now displayed the selected challenge in bold, glowing letters.
"An obstacle race!"
The hologram shifted and expanded, showing a detailed 3D map of the course that would challenge the students.
"All 11 classes will participate in this race," Midnight continued, her voice taking still as theatrical as she pointed with her fans to the hologram. "The course will be the outer circumference of this area, about 4 kilometers!"
"Our school's selling point is freedom!" Nezu added, his small form somehow commanding despite his size.
Both Midnight and Nezu's atmosphere suddenly grew eerily serious as they leaned into the microphone, their voices dropping to an almost threatening whisper that somehow still carried to every corner of the stadium.
"As long as you stay on the course, it doesn't matter what you do."
The implications hung heavy in the air. No rules, everything was fair game. Well almost everything you couldn't go killing your classmates.
However that wasn't the end of it, as Nezu suddenly began to laugh, the sound starting as a chuckle but quickly escalating into something almost manic.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
The laugh echoed through the stadium, causing several students to take involuntary steps backward. It was the laugh of someone who genuinely enjoyed watching others struggle against impossible odds.
However he immediately composed himself as if nothing had happened, releasing a polite cough into the microphone.
His expression returned to its usual pleasant demeanor so quickly that some students wondered if they'd imagined the momentary glimpse of his true nature. Midnight coughed as well, a signal that it was time to move on, and she spoke once more, this time by herself.
"Now take your places everyone!"
A/N: My fault for the late chapter. Kind of got held up cause I talked way too much on discord today, plus college is starting again pretty fucking soon (I wanna kill myself lol).
Either way, this chapter wasn't much, if anything, there are a few differences in how people react because of Arthur's existence but that's pretty much it. Oh, the buttscratcher may have gone on for too long, I had to end it abruptly cause I had almost 200 more words of that joke/reference.
Either way I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Send those stones, ladies and gents.
Thx for reading.
Author out.