Unwated expectations

Under the guidance of the Hero Public Safety Commission, Keigo Takami was trained from a young age to be a hero. As a result of their tutoring, he could handle different situations and missions with little difficulty, and regardless of what it may be, he could follow through with whatever orders the commission gave him, and now he was the number three hero. But even he wasn't expecting, to be assigned to supervise a teenage girl. However odd, he still followed through with the order and now here he was walking around her home.

Going from the living room to the kitchen, glancing down the short hallway with the three doors to the bathroom and bedrooms. All the while he felt those sharp emerald eyes watching him cautiously as he looked around as if owning the home.

"Who is this kid exactly?" Keigo asked, flipping through the portfolio eyes glazed with little interest. "Sakura Haruno?"

"She's someone without any record of existence. Her name is the only true identification we had for her. She was found injured and brought to the hospital without prior information about the event. Looked like she had been left for dead,"

Golden eyes scrolled down the form, to the quirk listing. "Two quirks wow, healing and super strength?"

"An assumption until recently when there was an attack at the USJ facility and records have listed a third quirk being able to clone."

"Ah, so you think she's hiding her real quirk,"

"It's a possibility or it's just a further evolution of her quirk,"

Keigo looked up at the president of the HPSC, and the severe-looking agent who always seemed to have a permanent frown on her face. "She's also been responsible for taking down a high-class villain; saving people from a building fire, and a few minor rescues and captures of purse-snatchers."

They didn't seem to want to hide anything from him with this girl. She supposedly ran away when child services wanted to take her into custody, and then she had been living normally until a video went viral of her defeating a villain. Then the commission offered to let her live on her own, if she attended U.A's hero course otherwise they'd be taking her in for training.

Hawks shrugged his shoulders, "I don't get why you want me to watch her. Sounds like you've got a good set up already,"

"We thought so too, until the USJ incident. She went up against a villain meant to defeat All Might himself without receiving injury, then she reveals to have another ability supposedly a third quirk. And despite extending our resources, we have yet to discover any trace of her past, no sightings at all, and no one who shares the name Haruno. More importantly, she's already under suspicion and it's become worse due to this League of villains attack. A theory currently in place is that there may have been someone on the inside helping them,"

"And if this theory solidifies, she's probably going to become suspect number one," Hawks said carelessly.

"There are too many unknowns when it comes to this girl. On the other hand, a front-line healer isn't easy to come by. So we want you to determine whether or not this girl will prove to be an asset or a threat. With your abilities Hawks, you should be able to find out anything she's hiding. That's why we picked you for this job,"

"You should liven up this place, get some furniture. There's no way for a guest to sit down and kick back comfortably while you host,"

"Ever think that was intended?" Sakura remarked. Digging her fingers into her arm as Hawks trailed his hands across her kitchen counter, looking at her sad little cup in the sink, there were so few dishes that even as a bit of a slob it was difficult to tell with how little Sakura kept in the house.

She always took out the trash, because she didn't want the place smelling like empty takeout containers and their contents. She wasn't an optimist about cleaning but she certainly couldn't endure an unhygienic environment. She did work as a medic. What she especially didn't like was the way this so-called hero was invading the space that was promised to be her own and telling her how she should correct it.

"You're a real bookworm," Keigo commented, his feathers flying around to gather some of the books she had stacked. Some of them were medical textbooks, others were physics about dimensions and string theory. The history of quirks and so on. And the occasional guilty pleasure that was actually-

Sakura's face became blue when Keigo held up a romance book, that wasn't as age-appropriate as she assumed when she got it.

"Are you planning on finishing the trilogy?"

"LEAVE ALREADY!" Sakura grabbed the book with little resistance.

"This is a home inspection which you agreed to,"

"If you hadn't threatened to make your presence known to the entire neighborhood, I wouldn't have let you in," Sakura snapped.

She had been intent on just leaving the door locked, keeping the windows shut and the sheets covering them drawn closed (which was the first thing he commented on when he walked in) but then he pointed out that if the number three hero was spotted in the residential area at her house, it would probably become a story and she'd be the highlight.

"Yeah, I was only thirty percent serious,"

Sakura huffed, creases of frowns forming against her forehead. The commission really outdid themselves this time. She was another level of incensed with this man. And him plucking at her patience wasn't helping. If it wasn't for the fact that he was sent by the commission she would have already shoved her fist in his face.

"As the number three hero, don't you have your hands full? Why did you agree to become my supervisor?"

Keigo smirked, "As a first-year student in one of the most prominent high schools in the country training to be a hero and who has been allowed to live on her own, what are you doing breaking curfew to make purchases on the black market?"

So he already knew. This was bad; if he knew then that meant the commission-

"I didn't tell the suits and ties anything. On official record, this is our first meeting,"

"If only it could be the last," Sakura was careful now. If he went into the spare room, he'd find a makeshift lab and study.

"Now, now, I'm doing you a favor, aren't I? And I won't ask what you purchased so long as you can promise me that it's not anything that could detonate or you know something along those lines,"

They were all ingredients for non-lethal poisons, and solider pills "It wasn't anything like that,"

He seemed to accept her reply but Sakura wondered why he wasn't prying when he had followed her. She wanted to realize what his end goal was, especially because the commission was involved.

Again Keigo looked to her living room space, "Seriously get a sofa in here, will you? It's not nice for guests to come in and have to sit on the floor,"

"I don't send out invitations to let people know where I live,"

"How responsible of you. Usually, teenagers want a house to themselves so they can party-

"I don't," Sakura deadpanned before he could make any more comments.

Keigo turned around abruptly, stepping over to Sakura quickly and entering a space that was barely a hair away from popping her bubble. "Look kid, the commission just wants to up security around you because of the USJ attack. You probably really ticked off that villain that escaped and there's one that can warp into places. Get what I'm saying?"

He was being logical or at least attempting to make his reasoning sound that way but Sakura knew there was more to this. If she was wrong then it was simply overanalyzing things but that couldn't harm her. What could was making the mistake to fall into thoughtlessly trusting this hero. He talked quickly and he barely gave a chance for her to understand what he was thinking. That itself made her skeptical but she didn't want to show it.

"I guess, though sending a hero is going overboard,"

"Ah don't worry," Keigo waved, "I'm just gonna be doing the routine check-ins and fly by when I get the chance. As you said, I'm pretty busy as the number three hero,"

Sakura crossed her arms, "It would've made more sense to have me stay with my supervisor,"

"Oh?" Keigo grinned widely, "Is that an invitation?"

"Observation," Sakura hissed back. "Just how much longer are you planning on staying?"

"Alright, I can take a hint," The winged man started walking towards her door, Sakura eagerly following behind, careful not to run into his wings. She practically held the door open for him.

"Oh and good luck at the Sports Festival tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing your performance,"

Somehow she detected sarcasm in his voice but held out, giving a reply was likely going to keep him here longer. "Thanks,"

Hawks took off into the sky quickly, the gust of air hit Sakura with a dirt cloud getting mixed in with her wet hair, warranting another bath but she didn't care. He was gone.

'For nothing,'

The U.A Festival finally arrived, on the day the school was filled with people, lining up at the gate and crowding the campus grounds. After the USJ incident security was stronger than previous years, with a full bag check and scan. Once inside, signs were directed to the different stadiums for the first second, and third years. Food stands and stalls marking the pathway up to it. Even the media was there, ready to cover the event from every camera angle possible. For extra security measures, the school called in heroes to guard the area in case of another villain attack.

Everyone was told to wear their gym uniforms, some of her classmates complained they wanted their costumes but it was apparently meant to keep things fair between classes. People were crowding the entrance, eager to get to the stadiums. Sitting the tables placed in the waiting room, some of the students began confessing their anxiousness for the event either verbally or through gestures.

'And they were all so excited at the start,' This was an important event that would be exposing them as the future heroes of the country, so it couldn't be faulted. She had just entered after talking with Shouta who told her to go and inform her class as the representative that they needed to go out now.

"Alright everyone, it's time to enter the arena!" Sakura exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Let's get going,"

Sakura thought that everyone was going to get out of the door without incident, but it was then that Shouto called out to Izuku and the class turned them into the center of attention.

"Midoriya,"

"Todoroki, what is it?" Izuku asked when Shouto was standing in front of him. The times they had spoken could be counted on one hand and probably didn't even cover all fingers. It's probably what made this interaction more intriguing to observe.

As usual, Shouto didn't waste time with small talk, "Objectively speaking, I think I'm stronger than you,"

Izuku, with his timid nature, seemed shocked but didn't argue against him. "Y-Yeah…."

'What is he doing?' Sakura wondered. It was hardly the time to try and get a rise out of anyone when they were just about to enter the arena.

"However; All Might's got his eye on you doesn't he?" When would Shouto have figured something like that out? Sakura didn't know and she didn't ask either, the atmosphere wouldn't allow it.

"I'm not trying to pry about that. But I'm going to beat you,"

Denki chided in, "A declaration of war from the strongest in class,"

Sakura wasn't sure why she had stepped in, but she was already between the two. "Okay, listen we're going out there in less than two minutes. It's hardly the time to be dishing out declarations of war,"

Shouto scoffed lightly, turning around, "We're not here to play at being friends. So what does it matter?"

From her experiences, when people had that look in their eyes, Sakura knew by now that there was little that could be said to sway them. Shouto was no exception to this rule. For whatever reason he was instigating a challenge to Izuku, he wouldn't reveal it to whoever he considered to be an outsider. This was personal.

He hadn't gotten to the door before Izuku called to him, "Todoroki. I don't know why you felt the need to tell me you'll beat me, but of course, you're better than me. I think you're more capable than most people. Looking at it objectively…."

Eijiro chided in, with a wry smile trying to dismount the tension. "Midoriya, you probably shouldn't talk so negatively…..

"But everyone-" Izuku clenched his fists, staring at his feet, "The students from the other courses are aiming for the top with everything they've got! I can't afford to fall behind. I'll be going for it with everything I have too,"

'Some things are the same no matter where you go,' Sakura sighed. She knew the Sports Festival was important, but it seemed to hold the same degree of significance to an aspiring hero as the Chuunin exams would to a gennin. Made her a little disappointed that she couldn't share the determination as the rest of them.

Then a thought occurred, something that would make this a bit more enjoyable for her.

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The audience cheering was deafening as was Hizashi's voice when he introduced the classes entering the arena one by one. It brought Sakura back to the stadium in Konoha where the finals for the chuunin exams were held. Only she had been in the stands while Naruto and Sasuke were out in the field. Hizashi didn't fail to mention class 1A overcoming the villain's attack or 1B who were also a branch of the hero course. The general studies and support classes were rather glossed over and the students didn't have that same determined stride as Sakura's classmates.

'They just want to get this over with,' Sakura caught sight of Hitoshi walking with his class. He was the only one with his shoulders straight.

All the first-year classes A to K gathered at the small stand near the center of the field where Nemuri, aka Midnight, stood. Some might argue the R-rated hero wasn't in the most appropriate attire but a majority of the males present weren't complaining. The leather ribbons of her crop whipped through the air.

"Quiet everyone! Representing the first-year students is Sakura Haruno from class 1-A,"

That was another thing she wasn't looking forward to when Sakura was told that she would have to give the athlete's oath. She had protested, but that as usual had little effect on the U.A faculty. While she may have scored the highest for the practical exams, Sakura pointed that her written tests weren't anything special but still it was insisted. Didn't seem fair considering she had to represent the other courses as well who had nothing to do with the hero course.

Although after her training with Hitoshi and the declarations of war and watching her classmate's determination as they prepared for this day, she decided to relent and at the same time retaliate with her position. Her back turned to the classes, she peered up at the audience, speaking into the microphone.

"I pledge…that you should all keep your eyes on every student behind me, so you don't waste your time being here," Whatever chatters that had been going on in the stands went completely deaf. Her classmate's jaws went slack as well.

I pledge to have a positive attitude and accept responsibility for my participation by

following this code of ethics: To demonstrate good sportsmanship. Be a good sport and play fair

Put winning and losing in perspective. Will not engage in any unsportsmanlike conduct. Never question an official.

It wasn't a hard list to learn but still, Sakura had decided to forgo everything and she knew that some of her teachers were probably going to let her have it at the end of the day. It wasn't like she didn't speak truthfully.

'Hopefully, that gets everyone moving,' Sakura thought, glancing at Hitoshi. He wasn't the only one who was going to be giving it everything and she wanted to make that clear to everyone. Especially the student's who had given up before things started.

"Now let's begin right away!" Nemuri announced, "The first game is what you'd call a qualifier. Every year many drink their tears here! And the fateful first even this year is…" The flat screens plastered along the arena showed Obstacle Race in bold letters. This was going to be their means of filtering out students. Already one of the giant gates to the stadium were opening, giving the obvious path for them to take.

"The course will be the outer circumference of the stadium. Our school's selling point is freedom! As long as you don't go off course, it doesn't matter what you do!"

'Freedom?' Sakura scoffed softly.

It looked like they were going to be turning the students into obstacles themselves as well. Sakura stared at the narrow pathway leading outside. Many had already gathered near the front and were preparing to run as soon as the lights above the gateway turned off.

'Can just feel the tension,' Sakura chuckled. She stood far behind, not wanting to get caught up in the wave that was about to form, instead choosing to take a calmer route. She was also trying to look around for Hitoshi. She spotted him little ways in front but not deep into the crowd.

It was a good thing too because as soon as the first round started everyone rushed in at once. And of course, became compressed in the narrow pathway. Did none of them think of this after the incident during lunch in the cafeteria?

The commentators consisted of Hizashi and somehow Shouta; who was going to be giving the audience the play by play.

'It's too narrow in there,' Sakura watched as students began to slow while they were at the entrance still. Very few students were staying behind. The only way to avoid being flooded was either to outrun the wave or stay behind it. Sakura chose the latter. Her nature and teachings led her more to observing than rushing ahead without thinking.

A rush of cold wind hit her, as the crowd in front stopped moving. No, they were struggling to do so. Had to admit, she wasn't expecting Shouto to already act by freezing the ground, preventing most of the students from even seeing the finish line.

'Oh well,' Sakura stepped forward, once she was at the entrance, blocked off with the students stuck with ice, joining the ground. She jumped onto one of the walls and started running, chakra keeping her perfectly attached as she crossed the first filter avoiding the icy ground and crowd all together.

When she hit the light again, most of her classmates were already up ahead, along with a few others, mostly class B. Shouto had taken the lead quickly. He wasn't just talk. Sakura was sure that if he had completely frozen the Nomu back at the USJ, they probably would've had an easier time dealing with the other villains.

The ground where Shouto had once stood was covered in ice, ensuring for a difficult tread, especially for those who didn't know how to ice skate. He seemed determined to keep everyone from reaching the goal, all the while showcasing his abilities to the heroes. Up in the air, was Katsuki, using his explosions to keep himself from treading the ice all together.

'Everyone just goes all out here,' Sakura sighed.

Then she finally caught sight of Hitoshi again. His hair easy to spot, especially when he was lifted above the ground by a group of students carrying him carefully across the frozen path. When she was close enough, as expected, she found them all dazed.

"Really? You had to use your brainwashing now?"

"Whatever it takes to get to the next round," Hitoshi stated.

"Oi," Sakura slapped her forehead.

"You sure are taking your time," Sakura was just gliding along to keep up with Hitoshi. She glanced behind her at the other students that were catching up and passing, some deliberately pulling back.

"What are you talking about? The floor is ice, do you want me to slip?" Sakura asked jokingly. Hitoshi knew that something like this would hardly slow down the pinkette. She had made her thoughts about the festival clear to him, so it made sense that she wasn't putting in an effort with her participation. "I admire my classmate's determination to be on the top, but they haven't been paying much attention to anything around them,"

Eyes were observing them from every angle, it was hard to miss. They had to showcase their talent and ability but this was just the first round. Showing off at top form from the start wasn't a habit engraved into her.

"Do you think it matters that much?"

"Maybe not in this situation," Sakura admitted. After all, this was nothing more than one big game.

Students clustered into a crowd once more, shortly following the path set in the obstacle course, as they were blocked off with a hoard of robots. The ones from the entrance exams. Including the zero-pointers.

Hizashi referred to it as the Robot Inferno.

Ahead of the pack was Shouto and he wasn't willing to slow down any time it seemed. As soon as a robot attempted to get him in their grasp, he released a wave of frost that froze the giant hunk of metal. All with a swipe of his hand. The same device that had applicants in the entrance exam running with terror. Despite only facing them for the first time, the two-toned boy was fearless.

"He stopped them!"

"We can get through!"

Shouto called back, overhearing the students, "I wouldn't. I froze them when they were unbalanced."

The robot tumbled over, pieces breaking with the ice, toppli0ng forward, causing a gust of wind and dust to engulf the crowd. Sakura was watching further ahead but understood what was happening as the ground shook.

'Smart'

While he may have slowed down the zero-pointers, there were still the smaller robots coming towards the group of students. It was the trigger to start moving again, most of her classmates were making it ahead. Some like Katsuki, Hanta, and Fumikage went overhead of the robots with their quirks, while the rest plowed ahead taking down the faux villains. And everyone else followed. Showing off their quirks as they cleared the path for themselves.

"Your class sure are fearless," commented Hitoshi watching from the back with the pinkette. Finally decided to leave behind his 'carriage' when the path was no longer ice.

"They had a brush-up with real villains. It's made an impact,"

When the obstacle in front of you isn't worse than what you've already faced and survived, then the fear is taken. That's what she's experienced in her battles. The villains may have been simple foot soldiers, but they were still determined to kill anyone in their way. And that experience of having to fight with your life on the line is what aids you in the future.

Explosions went off as the robots were hit, falling to clear the path completely of the zero-pointers. Momo had created a canon with her quirk to bring down the robots, all with one attack each.

'Wow, now I get why she got in on recommendations,'

With her classmates doing the work to clear the path, Sakura finally started moving again, sticking close with Hitoshi.

Everyone seemed to predict that there would be another obstacle in the way and didn't attempt to slow or prevent their competition from advancing with them through this race, only on getting to the next round. Thus making it an easy run to get to the next obstacle.

"Hey, Hey! The first barrier a piece of cake? Then how about the second one? It's the Fall!"

Hizashi's commentary wasn't much obliged for the students who were running the course, Shouto remained ahead of the group, while others just arrived at the edge of what was the beginning of bridges of tight ropes connecting paths to the other side with big drops. The bottom couldn't be seen, and if anyone fell they would plummet into the darkness, though there was a safety net waiting for them all along the bottom.

At least they hoped so.

As it was, while the hero course wasn't allowed their costumes or special gear, it was different for the other courses. A girl from the support course was practically flying through the air using some contraption she had designed herself to pull ahead of the other students who were observing the long drop, breaking into a nervous sweat.

"That's pretty impressive," Observed Hitoshi.

"Yeah, support course has a lot of eccentrics too I see," Sakura smiled. Many students were on the tight rope, though it was quite sturdy and thick to walk across that didn't seem to lessen their distress of falling.

The pinkette held out her hand to Hitoshi, "Well?"

"You think it'll be that easy to get across?" Hitoshi asked, but there was no doubt in his eyes when he clasped her hand, letting her pull him towards the beginning of the line.

"Guess you'll just have to trust me,"

Despite the heavy wind and shifting base that was just a thick rope, Sakura kept steady as she practically ran across the tight ropes on the edge of her feet while acting as a stand for Hitoshi to keep from falling. The boy stumbled to keep up with her pace, but Sakura wasn't deterred as they went.

She laughed watching her friend's face shift uncomfortably as she kept her back faced from the front, "Don't be so nervous,"

"Keep your eyes open at least,"

"Hey, I'm taking my time here to give you a hand. Wouldn't want to fall behind right? Or would you like me to pick you up and jump over with you?"

"This is fine!"

He couldn't help breathe a sigh in relief when they finally reached the end of the second obstacle. There were quite a few students ahead of them and coming to what Hizashi was calling the final obstacle.

"Still getting your feet?"

"I'm fine," Hitoshi stood straight, "Let's pick up the pace. We should at least try to be in the top thirty,"

"Don't worry, we will," Sakura promised.

It didn't take long before they finally arrived at the final barrier. The second obstacle hardly slowed anyone down compared to the next. A seemingly barren field of dirt, with minefields laying just below the surface. Dark patches of dirt marked the warning for where the mines were located. Although they would go off, they weren't powerful enough to be considered fatal.

All of the students were treading lightly; well most. In the front Katsuki had caught up to Shouto and the two were trying to ward each other off while avoiding the mines beneath their feet. And already a few students were flying as they stepped on the mines.

"Wow," Sakura whistled, turning back to Hitoshi, "Follow my footsteps and you'll be fine,"

It wasn't too difficult to spot the mines in front of her, while watching everyone move onwards, chuckling a little when someone would step on a landmine. She remembered when Naruto had been dragged into a minefield by a dog he had to walk when they were gennin. That's what he got for choosing the biggest one. Though she had no interest in the Sports Festival, this was entertaining to watch for different reasons.

Tenya was trying to outrun the mines, but the impact was still taking him off balance, Katsuki and Shouto were battling to maintain first place. The ground was always rattling with the explosions going off. Sakura thought about just walking along the fence to get across even if it was barbed wire, she could do it, but she decided against that idea. It was better to have more people ahead of you to find out where the mines were and if someone set one-off, it just meant one less to worry about. So she wasn't rushing. By the time they reached the end, everyone was going to be out of breath.

If she was doing this on her own, Sakura knew she would've been finished a long time ago.

'Well, this isn't so bad,'

If her friends were doing this obstacle course, they'd all probably get into fights with one another and trip each other up. Especially Naruto. He always managed to get everyone to turn on him in challenges. If the chuunin exams were any evidence to that.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Hitoshi.

"Oh," Sakura touched her cheek, "I didn't realize…..I was just thinking-nothing, let's keep going."

It was like a shriek among whispers, as an explosion set off in the field, causing a storm of debris higher than any other of the mines. From the cloud of dust, riding on the kinetic energy produced, holding onto a piece of the robot from the first obstacle like a board was Izuku. He bypassed all the other students, nearing the front where Katsuki and Shouto were.

The explosion caught everyone off guard that they had to pause to watch the spectacle.

Sakura's jaw dropped, smiling, "That's out of the box,"

While Izuku managed to get ahead, this turned Shouto and Katsuki's attention away from each other and back to the goal. The finish line. Katsuki riding on his explosions while Shouto created a path of ice, leaving it behind for the rest in the back to follow he rushed forward.

Just as Izuku was close to landing in between Katsuki and Shouto, about to be overtaken again, he slammed down the robot's piece and set off the land mines to fly forward and at the same time, push them back.

"They've really got each other fired up,"

"They're not the only ones," Hitoshi observed, looking around as people began to rush towards the ice path Shouto created to get back in the race. It was barely a minute later the winner of the first round was announced.

Izuku Midoriya. No doubt Shouto and Katsuki were going to follow shortly, meanwhile, the rest of them were yet to get off the minefield.

'Not bad,'

"Should we get going as well?"

"Yeah, let's move quick," said Hitoshi. He almost regretted that when the pinkette wrapped an arm around his waist and jumped. She jumped high and far. Over the heads of her classmates and the other students who were too busy to notice. Landing just on the end of the minefield.

"That quick enough?" she smirked.

Hitoshi stumbled slightly when she let go, "If you could do that-

"It's not fun to reveal every card in your hand," Sakura teased. "I'll go on ahead from here, don't take too long to catch up,"

If it wasn't for the dust cloud, Hitoshi wouldn't have known that the pinkette was there in the first place.

'You were so serious about helping me you slowed down that much?'

When Sakura reached the end of the tunnel leading back into the stadium, there was still confetti falling and the playback of the performance that had recently taken place playing on the large screens surrounding the outline of the stadium. Izuku, Katsuki, and Shouto were trying to catch the breath they lost in the race.

The other students started pouring in across the finish line, including Hitoshi who came up at about eleventh place. It wasn't bad, considering his current athletic prowess. Many of the others must have caught up using Shouto's ice path.

"The first game of the first year stage is finally over,"

Sakura couldn't help wondering, what the second round would be.