Chapter 11

"Last school day before the Sports Festival, my boy," All-Might says. "How do you feel?"

There are a few too many answers to that question for Izuku to pick just one. In the end, his brain is so cluttered with adjectives that his mouth jumps the gun, and what comes out is "Hungry, mostly."

It's not his fault All-Might decided to pull him aside for a conversation right when class let out for lunch, but here they are.

Before Izuku has the chance to get embarrassed, All-Might gives a good-natured chuckle that puts him at ease. "I think I walked into that one," he says. "Don't worry, I won't keep you long."

Izuku tries again. "I'm… nervous, I guess? I'm trying to prepare myself, but I'm also trying not to think about it too hard."

"Don't avoid the thought too much, my boy," All-Might tells him. "That's a good way to get overwhelmed when you come face to face with it."

Pursing his lips, Izuku makes a noncommittal noise and tries to ignore the ice-cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. It's usually easier to ignore; most fear is. But when he thinks too long about the coming Sports Festival, it grips him like cold claws.

"I've seen you in training," All-Might continues. "You're getting faster, and your reaction time is improving."

There's a warm note in All-Might's voice as he says this, and it melts some of the ice in Izuku's veins. In spite of himself, he looks up and brightens when he sees that his teacher's ever-present smile has a hint of approval in it. "I've been practicing," he says, before he has the chance to think better of it.

"Oh?" All-Might sounds interested, and Izuku could kick himself because now he has to elaborate. Not far, Ms. Shimura pauses in the midst of drifting around keeping a lookout to offer up an encouraging grin and a thumbs-up, which is nice of her but not very helpful.

"One of my mom's friends used to be a yoga teacher," Izuku says. "She knows some fitness people, and I've been getting self-defense advice." He glances at Ms. Shimura with just a brief flicker of his eyes. "I figure I'm, um, already pretty strong, even without One For All, so if I just. Apply it." Lies are easy if he includes enough truth in them.

All-Might's grin widens. "Excellent idea." For a split second he looked almost sheepish. "I ought to have thought of that sooner—well, in any case, it seems to be working."

Nearby, Ms. Shimura's smile fades, and she shifts uncomfortably to a different stance. Izuku blinks at her, hoping he's conveying his concern to her without catching All-Might's attention.

"This is good," All-Might goes on, unaware. "Come to think of it, I've been neglecting basic hand-to-hand with you." His brow furrows thoughtfully. "Hmm. I've been hesitant, because of the strength difference between us, especially since you're still strengthening yourself to use One For All. Still, I'll have to remedy that. I'll be in the audience during the festival—I'll see where you are, how you can improve, and shift my training strategies accordingly."

Izuku shifts from foot to foot, cringing slightly at the stab of guilt he feels to his gut. He could have asked All-Might for help with this earlier. But instead, he's been so caught up in the excitement that he's left his own teacher in the dark, purely by accident. He'll just have to make it up to him by doing well in the Festival.

A thought occurs to him then. "How much time do you have?" he asks. "You said your time limit went down after what happened at the USJ."

"Not to worry," All-Might assures him. "I've been keeping to the teacher's lounge for that reason—I only stepped out to discuss the sports festival with you one last time."

"It's still fifty minutes, right?" Izuku can't help but press the subject. "It went down so fast—"

Ms. Shimura reappears at his side. "The Todoroki kid's coming," she warns, and Izuku's mouth snaps shut on instinct as he turns in the direction she's just come from.

Sure enough, his classmate rounds the corner a moment later, pausing in mid-step when he catches sight of them. His eyes snap up, and—Izuku is somewhat embarrassed that he's only just noticed Todoroki's eyes. They're mismatched; the one on the right is dark brown, almost black, and the one on the left is pale blue. How has he never noticed that before?

...Probably because Todoroki has literally never talked to him before. Not that that's a surprise; as far as Izuku can tell, Todoroki doesn't really talk to anyone.

"Afternoon, young Todoroki," All-Might greets him. Izuku, still feeling jitters after Todoroki came so close to overhearing, manages a nervous smile and a wave.

Todoroki's flat expression never changes—for all that he rarely looks in Todoroki's direction, Izuku has never seen him with any other—and he offers a polite nod in return before moving past them.

"He's gone," Ms. Shimura remarks, and Izuku blurts out one of the thoughts at the forefront of his mind.

"He's the one to beat, isn't he," he says. It's not a question.

"Don't focus too much on just one of your classmates, my boy," All-Might reminds him. "Every student in your grade will be competing, after all. You have plenty of competition to beat."

That certainly doesn't help his jitters. Izuku takes a deep breath and blinks hard, hoping to ward them off.

"Now's not the time to get shy, young Midoriya." All-Might claps his shoulder lightly. Time limits aside, it's still enough to rock Izuku on his feet. "Unless you don't feel ready?"

No, he doesn't feel ready. If he had months to prepare, he wouldn't feel ready. He has a quirk he can't control and an army's worth of classmates looking to crush the competition. And yet…

"I'm doing everything I can to prepare," he murmurs, half to himself. "I don't think there's anything else I can do, aside from what I'm already doing."

"Then there's no point in being nervous, now is there?" All-Might says. "Try trusting yourself, Midoriya."

Izuku takes another deep breath, and lets it out.

"Guess I'll have to."

The day of the festival arrives. Izuku wakes that morning to the feeling of Rei tickling his nose, and stumbles his way through getting dressed, eating breakfast, and a hug from Mom.

"I'll be watching on TV," she whispers in his ear. "Good luck, sweetheart."

"Thanks Mom," he murmurs back, and he's out the door after that. He's surprised when Rei doesn't follow him immediately, but not worried. He'll be late if he doesn't get going, and she'll catch up. She always does.

He makes his way to school in a mental fog. A fog is better than raw nerves and growing panic—just a calm, muted buzz as he goes along. Not for the first time, he wishes his mother could have come, but security is tight and the live seats are more for talent scouts than parents. Besides, she gets just as nervy and panicky as he does; if this festival is going to involve what Izuku thinks it will, then it's probably a good thing that she'll be at home.

It would be nice to have Rei along for a distraction. What's taking her so long?

He reaches the stadium, and his eyes slide up and further up. The facility is huge, and crowds are forming as spectators and pro heroes looking to scout out promising students gather near the entrances. Izuku gives them a wide berth, and heads for the much quieter student entrance. He braces himself, hoping against hope that he won't run into any of the kids from 1-B, or that one Gen Ed student. What was his name? Shinsou, that was it.

All-Might was right; there are a lot of people to beat in this competition.

A shiver runs through him. He stops, surprised. What was that shiver for? Is he afraid? Nervous?

No. Well, yes. He is, of course he is. It's impossible not to be. And yet…

He's excited.

"Hey, Midoriya!"

"Deku!"

The fog in his head begins to lift when he hears Kirishima and Uraraka's voices. His classmates are coming in from a different direction, waving for his attention, and he jogs to meet them.

Uraraka's grinning, but it's not her usual cheerful smile. She's grinning like she's ready to punch someone in the teeth. "You ready for today, Deku?" she asks.

He tries to match her smile, but he's not sure his face was built for an expression like that. (Even though, apparently, he can smile like he's about to eat a baby.) "Ready as I'll ever be."

"I am so pumped!" Kirishima fist-pumps for emphasis. "I was born ready. Bring it!"

Izuku finds himself laughing, and some of the nervous knots in the pit of his stomach loosen. It's hard to be anything but comfortable around Kirishima. "Does this make us rivals for the day?"

"Whatever!" Uraraka punches the air. "You can be rivals and friends at the same time!"

"I… guess so…" Izuku's not really an authority on having friends, so he can't comment.

"Man, Uraraka, you're really psyched for this," Kirishima laughs. "How do you feel, Midoriya?"

"Uh, well, I guess I'm—"

Izuku doesn't get to finish that sentence, thanks to a high-pitched, trilling wail that cuts him off before he gets another word out. His first thought is ghost, which would be embarrassing because from his friends' point of view he's just lost his train of thought mid-sentence. But it's not a ghost, because Kirishima's looking around in confusion, and Uraraka looks startled. She glances over his shoulder, and her eyes go a little wider. Izuku follows her gaze, and his mouth drops open.

Rei has finally caught up with him. She's trotting up to the student entrance, her bare feet not quite touching the ground. At her heels, collar tag jingling, Mika trots along and lets out another bubbly meow of a greeting. The moment she's close enough, she practically tackles Izuku's ankles.

"Mika, what—" Izuku bends down and scoops her off the ground. She headbutts his chin and purrs loudly. "Why?" He directs this question with a brief glance at Rei.

She wanted to come, Rei signs, with an unrepentant smile.

"Midoriya, is that your cat?" Kirishima asks. He sounds like he's trying not to laugh.

Izuku gives them both a helpless look over the purring cat in his arms. "I don't—she must've slipped out and followed me."

"She's so cute!" Uraraka coos. She reaches out, and Mika stretches her head forward and meets her halfway for a scratch behind the ears. "What's her name again?"

"I-it's Mika." He doesn't need this. He was already nervous, and he doesn't need this. He has to compete in the festival. What on earth is he supposed to do with her while he's busy? By now, it's too late to take her back home.

"Hi there, Mika!" Kirishima reaches out to pet her. "Look at you, aren't you a sweetheart? Oh—her eye. You've got a little battle scar there, don't you?"

"We'd better head in," Uraraka says, still twirling her finger around Mika's ear.

"What am I gonna do?" Izuku isn't quite panicking, but he's definitely at a loss here. "I can't take her in to the festival, I have to compete, and—"

"I bet she'd be okay in the waiting room," Kirishima says. "Also, there's time to check on her between events. You know. If you get that far."

"Thanks," Izuku says dryly.

"Let's just go in," Uraraka suggests. "Figure it out as we go. Unless you want to call your mom, or try and take her back home."

"Can't," Izuku sighs. "It's too far, and my mom doesn't have a car."

"Tough luck," Kirishima says. "Well, like Uraraka said, let's go in and see what happens. Maybe somebody can watch her for you. Recovery Girl, maybe?"

"I don't know if she'd want a cat around where she deals with patients." Izuku frets, while Mika purrs away without a care in the world.

"I bet if you asked Kouda, he could tell her to stay in the waiting room and behave herself," Uraraka points out. "It's probably not as bad as you think, Deku."

"It's usually worse." Reluctantly, Izuku follows them in, though not before shooting Rei a glare. He can't believe his bad luck. He's spent the past two weeks avoiding his impending anxiety wall, and now he's going to crash straight into thanks to his cat.

Luckily, the student entrance is a lot quieter than the main one, so they don't meet a lot of people on the way in. Living people, that is. There are plenty of ghosts for Izuku to look at as he walks through the hallways.

...More than he would have expected, to be honest.

There are dozens of them, of all shapes and sizes and ages, men and women and children alike, constantly on the move, talking amongst themselves in low tones. A few pairs of blank white eyes turn to look at him as he passes, watching them all. Some of them drift closer, only to shy away when Rei growls.

It takes him a few minutes of walking and watching to figure out what's wrong. It's not just that there are a lot of them—they're restless. They're constantly flitting about, milling around in the hallways, all of them on edge. It makes them look more numerous than they really are.

They're almost to the Class 1-A waiting room when he catches sight of a familiar face. Mrs. Kitayama spots him from down the hall and reappears at his side. "Oh, Midoriya, we've been looking for you."

"We?" Izuku asks softly.

Uraraka glances at him. "Did you say something, Deku?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

"Narita and me," Mrs. Kitayama says. "We wanted to give you a quick heads-up." This time Izuku simply cocks his head instead of answering out loud. "We've been here since early, because of Eraserhead, and it wasn't this bad then. But something's happened. It might be another soul who arrived here, though I'm not sure who. Or where, for that matter." She pauses, fretting. "Whoever it is, they're in a bit of a temper. It's enough to make the rest of us nervous."

Izuku's eyebrows rise. It's not uncommon; strictly speaking, the only thing that can hurt a ghost is another ghost. And when they lose their tempers, they tend to lash out at whoever or whatever happens to be within reach. It's enough to make other ghosts avoid them.

In a place this size, though… the angry one's either close by, or just really, really angry.

Great, he thinks, as Rei growls softly beside him. One more thing to worry about.

He walks into the waiting room with his one-eyed cat trotting happily at his heels, and finds most of his class already there…

…along with Aizawa.

Izuku stops dead, letting the door swing shut behind him. His teacher glances at him, does a double-take, and lowers his attention to the cat currently twining herself around Izuku's ankles, all without saying a word.

Izuku wonders desperately why the floor hasn't opened up and swallowed him yet.

"I can explain," he says.

"That your cat, Midoriya?" Aizawa asks, stepping closer for a better look. His face is still swathed in bandages from the USJ incident, but it doesn't make him any less intimidating.

Izuku is abruptly aware of every pair of eyes in the room, because they're all pointing straight at him. "Uh, y-yeah, but, I swear I didn't bring her on purpose. She must've slipped out and followed me here, and by the time I noticed, I was already outside and it was too late to take her back… so…" His voice trails off.

"Aren't you pretty." Hagakure's voice makes him jump; he hadn't even noticed her come up. Now she's crouching in front of Mika and… petting her, Izuku assumes. It's a little hard to tell when Izuku can only see the position of her clothes. "Midoriya, what's her name?"

"Uh, Mika, but—"

"Hi there, little Mika." Hagakure's thoroughly charmed, and some of the other kids are coming closer.

Ashido pops in, one hand braced on Hagakure's shoulder. "Ooh ooh, let me pet her next!"

The look that Aizawa gives him is nothing short of long-suffering, and Izuku kind of wants to die, just a little. Rei, Uraraka, and Kirishima certainly aren't helping by laughing at him.

"Oh you poor thing!" Ashido pipes up again, cooing to Mika as she gives the cat a scratch under the chin. "Midoriya, what happened to her eye?"

"I don't really know." Izuku fidgets. "She was like that when I found her? And she was in the shelter for a while, and no one adopted her, so I just…"

This brings a chorus of "aaawww"s from the girls, plus a few of the boys.

"No wonder she loves you so much!" Uraraka adds, and Izuku covers his face with both hands.

A heavy, world-weary sigh forces him to look up again, just in time to see Aizawa stoop, hook one hand under his cat, and scoop her up in a loose, one-armed cradle. She's immediately enamored with his scarf, batting at it and trying into crawl into the folds. Aizawa shifts her away and, with practiced ease, settles her more comfortably against his chest. He reaches into his pocket, rustles something, pulls out a cat treat, and feeds it to her.

A memory comes to Izuku then, of a conversation he'd once had with All-Might. Aizawa fosters shelter cats.

"The first event starts in less than twenty minutes," Aizawa says flatly. "There won't be much of a break before the second event, but there will be between—" Mika interrupts him with the purriest, most musical meow Izuku has ever heard from her. Before Aizawa has the chance to continue, Mika slowly reaches up and, right in front of the entire class, gently boops him on the nose with her paw.

Izuku realizes in that moment that his cat is a giant suck-up.

"—between the second and third," Aizawa finishes, as if that didn't just happen. "You can collect your cat then."

Somehow Izuku finds his voice. "What would I do with her during the third event?" he asks cautiously.

Aizawa gives him a very unimpressed look. "You should probably worry about making it that far first, Midoriya."

"Right." The floor draws Izuku's gaze again, and before he can recover, Aizawa is already walking out the door with Mika comfortable and purring in his arms.

Laughter ripples throughout the rest of the class. Izuku sways a little on his feet and wonders how much a medically-induced coma goes for these days.

"See?" Uraraka gives him a hearty pat on the shoulder. She's still giggling at him, just a little. "I told you it'd work out!"

"Uraraka," Izuku says faintly.

"Yeah, Deku?"

"Please launch me into the sun."

Uraraka only laughs harder.

Miraculously, his classmates return to talking amongst themselves and making final preparations for the festival. Everyone is dressed for gym class; since all departments will be participating, and not just Heroics, hero costumes and gear are banned from the events. Gradually, the minutes tick by, and the last of Class 1-A trickles in. Izuku drifts to the edge of the room for one last word with Rei.

Remember, just watch from the sidelines, he tells her, hoping that his signing looks like nervous hand-wringing to any casual observer.

Rei pouts. Why?

It's not real fighting, Izuku says. It's like the entrance exam. It's a contest. You don't have to protect me.

What if the bully grabs you?

It'll be fine, he insists, frowning as he signs. If I do fight him it would just be a sparring match. I'm not in danger, so you don't have to guard me.

Rei scowls darkly at him. If the bully tries to hurt you, I'll scare him off.

It's going to be okay, he says. Just watch, and cheer me on.

Fine, she says, disgruntled. But if I see something I don't like, I'm going to stop it, no matter what you say. It's probably the best he's going to get out of her.

"Midoriya."

Izuku doesn't actually recognize the voice addressing him until he turns around and finds himself looking at a familiar scarred face with mismatched eyes. Somewhere in his brain, his fight-or-flight instincts give him a polite little mental nudge. "Uh, what is it, Todoroki?" It's a little difficult to talk when his throat tightens on instinct, so he has to force the words out. It's not his fault; Yuuei is miles better than his previous schools, and it's wonderful to have friends, but when classmates with uncomfortably powerful quirks notice that he exists, it usually doesn't end well for him.

The first thing Todoroki Shouto ever says to him, besides his name, is "Objectively, I think I'm above you in terms of practical strength."

For a moment, Izuku can only stare at him blankly, as if Todoroki just spoke to him in Welsh or something. When he finds his voice, he can only stammer defensively. "Well, I don't know, I mean, I think I've been… yeah. Yeah you're probably right."

"You've managed to get All-Might's eyes on you, right?" Todoroki says.

Izuku chokes on the air he's breathing, and tries to disguise it as clearing his throat. He can feel Rei clutching at the hem of his gym shirt.

"I'm not going to pry," Todoroki continues. His eyes never leave Izuku's, but for the life of him Izuku can't read a single thing from him. No anger, no animosity, not even that much determination. He's just… cold. Everything about him is cold, from his eyes to his face to his voice as he finishes what he means to say. "But I'm going to beat you."

Izuku feels his stomach drop.

"Whoa-ho!" Kaminari calls over from one of the tables. "Did the strongest kid in class just throw down the gauntlet?"

Izuku would like to sink into the floor again. Even as Kirishima comes to his defense, he can't help the dread that churns in his stomach.

"What's with you, man?" Kirishima is saying, nudging Todoroki's shoulder none too gently. "You can't just spring this on him right before we go out. Not cool."

"I'm not here to play nice or make friends, but whatever," Todoroki says flatly.

"Is this because I elbowed you by accident that one time?" Izuku blurts. "Because I said I was sorry."

Todoroki gives him a withering look. "No."

"Oh. Okay. Uh. Good." For a split second, Izuku is tongue-tied. All his anxieties are crashing in like a wave—after two weeks of keeping his worries at bay, a boy who has never spoken to him and barely looked at him since the start of school has managed to drag him face-first right through them. It really isn't fair. What does Todoroki have against him?

At that moment, Rei pushes forward. Still clutching the hem of Izuku's shirt, she scowls up at Todoroki, sticks out her tongue, and blows the loudest, wettest raspberry that Izuku has ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Izuku blinks, and suddenly he doesn't have to worry about possibly getting his teeth kicked in by Todoroki, because he's too busy trying not to laugh or look like he might be about to laugh. He bites his lip to keep from grinning as Rei—his own personal invisible cheerleader—pulls rude faces and ruder signs at Todoroki.

He feels, at least for the moment, that he's been jarred into a better headspace. He's still nervous, still worried, but—calmer.

"I don't know what this is about," he says at length, tearing his eyes away from Rei and back to Todoroki's face. "I don't really know you, or what your problem is with me, but I guess that doesn't really matter, because it's not like I can do anything about it. All I can do is maybe fight you. Maybe."

"Little pessimistic there, Midoriya," Kirishima mutters.

Izuku shrugs. "That's what I was going to do anyway. So if you're going to come at me with all your strength, then I hope you're ready for the same." And then Izuku tries something. He releases his lower lip from his teeth, digs deep into all his worries and misgivings and constant lingering fear, tilts his head a little, and smiles at Todoroki. "So I guess we'll see who's stronger, won't we?"

There's a chorus of "oohhhhh" from some of the others, including but not limited to Kirishima, Uraraka, Sero, and Kaminari. For a split second, the cold expression on Todoroki's face seems to waver.

"I'm definitely seeing it," Izuku hears Uraraka mutter to Tsuyu. "Baby-eating smile. That was kind of awesome."

Tsuyu grins. "Right?"

There's no time to talk after that. Their cue comes to make their way outside, and Izuku ends up near the head of the pack with Iida as they step out into the sunlight in a packed stadium. His heart pounds in his chest, but it's not fear, and it's not nerves.

For the first time in his life, he's surrounded by people who aren't just gleefully waiting for him to fail. They want to beat him, yes. They all want to win and that means beating him, among other things. But they're not looking down on him, mocking him as the weak one—they're eye to eye, and they see him as a rival and a threat. They see him not as someone to beat up, but someone to beat.

His mother is watching from home, his teacher—his idol—is watching from the faculty seats, and his best friend will be watching from the sidelines.

He's never felt like this before.

It's definitely something he could get used to.