"Ryuga! You were cutting it too close, man!"
"Haha, sorry, sorry. I was accompanying my siblings around the area and lost track of time."
Hiro said as he bumped fists with Kirishima.
"Ohh! They're here? We have got to meet them later!"
Hiro felt a soft and springy sensation on his back as Mina placed her head on his shoulder. A strand of her pink hair tickled his right cheek, making him subconsciously numb that part of his body with his Quirk.
"They'd be happy to hear their Alien oneesan would meet them, then. Karla, especially. She'd been dying to meet you when she saw you have similar pink skin."
"Alien oneesan? Where did that come from?"
"That's what they started saying when they saw your pic."
"Alien oneesan, huh?" Mina smirked. "Those kids have a pretty good taste."
"Ryugamine, can I ask something?"
Just as Hiro was about to respond to Mina, a calm voice interrupted from the side. There, Todoroki stood, an uncharacteristically serious look in his eyes.
The voices in the room suddenly toned down a notch. The students of 1A pricked up their ears, curious what the usually tight-lipped hotcold classmate of theirs wanted to say.
"Sure. What's up?"
"Do you really want to be a hero?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I do."
"I see… In that case, can I assume you just look down on everyone?"
The room suddenly went quiet. Hiro's brow furrowed in confusion, but Todoroki continued before he could reply.
"You do the bare minimum during combat class. Although I didn't come to the weekend training, I heard you focused more on helping others train instead of on yourself. And now, leisurely playing around before the sports festival- that's because, in your eyes, you don't take us as threats at all, do you?"
"I mean, yeah, but-"
"Prep time is over, students! Go gather in the hall and wait for my signal!"
Hiro inwardly groaned as Present Mic's voice rang out from the speakers in the room. What the hell? Was the blond DJ hero eavesdropping and decided to interrupt at the worst possible moment?
He looked around, and sure enough, his unfinished answer caused his surrounding classmates to look at him with a strange gaze. Uncharacteristically though, Bakugo just clenched his fist and didn't confront him.
"Let me be clear, whatever you guys are thinking right now, that is not what I meant. Anyways, let's go gather in the hall first. I'll explain later."
"It's fine, Hiro-kun. I know you're definitely not that kind of person. Everyone, please line up!"
Momo comforted in a low voice as she passed by, before shouting out the last sentence to the entire class. His other classmates said similar words of reassurance, though from their shifty gazes, it was clear some of Todoroki's words resonated with them.
Hiro just shook his head and walked out alongside everyone. He'll remember this. If he gets matched against Todoroki later, he'd definitely repay him for the trouble he caused.
—
"Welcome, mass media! Once again, we're about to watch our resident high schoolers duke it out with one another! It's the UA Sports Festival- are you ready?!!"
"WWOOOHHHHHH!"
Present Mic grinned, satisfied at the overwhelming reaction. This was why he loved the Sports Festival. It's the one of the few days of the year that he can thoroughly let loose his DJ spirit.
"And now, let's welcome our students! First up, I'm sure you already know them. The rising stars who thwarted a villain attack. The first year Hero Course! Class A!!!"
The crowd erupted into frenzied cheers as Hiro and the others walked out into the field. Some among them, like Midoriya and Koda, trembled as countless gazes fell on their class.
"W-we have to participate in this atmosphere!?"
"Hmm, it's good practice for public hero activities in the future."
Iida replied to Midoriya as he adjusted his glasses.
Next up to exit the tunnel were Class B, then the General course, the Support course, and then the Business course. Unlike class 1A, they didn't receive the same level of enthusiasm- only the symbolic applause from the audience.
"Man, we're just here to make the others look good."
A student from the General course mumbled, his eyes looking in envy at 1A's direction.
"Yeah. It's hard to get motivated like that."
"We're both in the Hero Course. Just because they were attacked by villains and we were not-!"
"Quiet!"
A loud crack echoed through the air. The students paused, and turned to see Midnight in her hero costume walking over with a whip in her hand.
"It's now time for the student representative to give the opening speech. Ryugamine Hiro from class 1-A, please take the stage."
"Ryugamine? Why him? Was it because he placed first in the entrance exam?"
"The hero course entrance exam you mean."
As he walked over to the podium, Hiro glanced at the guy who said the last sentence, and saw that he was from the General course.
In UA, General course students have the opportunity to shift to the Hero course if they show enough potential. It was why, in the past few days, some of them came to scout their class- to see whether they can pull the weaker ones down and replace them in this sports festival.
"Good morning, teachers, audience members, and fellow students. I am Hiro Ryugamine, UA's first year class representative."
Facing a stadium packed to the brim with people, Hiro had a calm smile as he greeted. His voice was strong and steady, without a hint of nervousness or doubt.
"Before standing here, I had already prepared a script to say to everyone. However, something my classmate said before we went up made me discard that."
Hiro looked over at class 1A, some of whom began to squirm, before locking gazes with Todoroki.
"He said that I look down on everyone in this event- that I don't see any of my fellow students here as a threat. And to be honest? He's right."
"Ohhhh!!"
The audience members, who were just impatiently waiting for the main program to start, suddenly boiled over. Some of them loved the trash talk, while others frowned at the arrogant demeanour of UA's first year number 1 student.
Meanwhile, the guys from other classes, and even some of in 1A, were now glaring at Hiro as if they couldn't wait to blast his head apart.
Hiro seemed oblivious to all this. He just stood there with a serene look in his eyes, and continued speaking when the noise began to die down.
"Now, before I explain why, let me tell everyone something about myself. First of, I grew up in an orphanage. From when I was 2 years old until now, I have been staying there."
The noise in the crowd further subsided. Some of the audience members, especially the women, stared at the white haired boy on the podium, a hint of pity and concern in their eyes.
"Hiro-kun's an orphan?"
"Hmm. He told us he was the eldest in the orphanage."
"No wonder. He always did give off a big brotherly vibe."
Uraraka murmured. Then, as if remembering something, her cheeks blushed as she stared at Hiro.
"So what if he's an orphan? That doesn't give him the right to insult us."
A student in the General course grumbled. However, he was surprised to see Hiro suddenly glance at his direction from afar- as if the white-haired boy had heard him.
"I didn't say this to gain anyone's pity, nor do I think I deserve any. I said this to make a point."
"Many of you may not know, but the most important criteria to being adopted is to have a powerful Quirk. And from what I said earlier, I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this."
"My Quirk is not strong. Those who came to adopt don't even take a second glance at me after seeing it. Even my teachers, classmates, and some children in the orphanage think the same. So when I told them I want to become a hero, you can just imagine their reaction."
Hiro briefly chuckled. However, no one laughed back. All eyes were now focused on him, eager to hear what happened next. If his Quirk was so weak, then how could he be the one standing there?
"I was told that I can't. That it was impossible for me to become one. That I should focus more on becoming something else. But…I ignored them."
Hiro's voice turned deeper and powerful. His eyes slightly narrowed as he enunciated.
"I trained my body, researched ways to utilize my Quirk, and studied martial arts videos online- everyday for the past 10 years. Even when it hurts. Even when no one believes me. And even when they laugh at me- I didn't stop. Because I knew what I wanted to be."
"And now, here I am. At the prestigious UA high school that I always dreamed of attending, representing my fellow first year students."
Hiro was forced to stop as the audience suddenly burst into applause. Among them, he even saw some wiping away tears at the corner of their eyes.
He inwardly chuckled. As expected, a zero-to-hero story is always something the crowd loves to eat up. Now, he just needs to tie it all together.
"Earlier, I said I don't view anyone here as a threat."
The applause gradually died down. Hiro's gaze turned to the hero course students, then to the general course, the support course, and finally the business course.
"And why should I? Just like me, you all came to UA to pursue your dreams. Instead of hindering each other in this sports festival, I prefer that everyone be able to showcase what they can do instead."
Hiro smiled, and his tone turned gentler.
"Please remember, this event is just one of the many opportunities we have ahead of us. It's important, yes, but don't forget why you participated in the first place."
"In this life, it's us who determine what we want ourselves to become. Not our genetics, nor society, and most especially not the result of some sports festival. That's all. Good luck to everyone."
Amidst the applause, Hiro walked down the podium. Different from the hostile looks he received when he came up, on his way to 1A, he instead received approving and friendly looks.
He smiled and nodded back at the ones who greeted him, causing some of the girls in that direction to blush and hide behind their friends.
Unbeknownst to Hiro, after today, the school will have a new fan club dedicated to him.
A/N: You can access advanced chapters on patreon.com/Ked2002