MHA: GAMER PATH

Chapter 135: UA School Festival Arc (8)

~Third POV~

[UA Highschool, Festival Grounds, Japan]

An excited Eri talked a mile a minute while Ren Yuki, Sir Nighteye, and Mirio Togata nodded encouragingly, "First, that one lady flew up in the air like FWOOOSH, all pretty-like! And then that one lady had a giant face that was the same as her face! And the other one broke all that wood with her hand like KRAK KRAK KRAK! And then, and then …"

Ren had had quite a day already. He'd foiled a U.A. infiltration plan by Gentle Criminal a self-styled "gentleman scoundrel" who was prone to uploading videos of his capers on the internet with the help of his partner in crime, La Brava with his words waiting on their answer.

After stopping the villain, the boy had still made it back in time to join class A's live performance, a showstopper who had put a smile back on Eri's face. Now that the beauty pageant was over, everyone was splitting up to enjoy the sights and sounds of the festival as he sent his clones to enjoy himself of the festival.

Ren, Nighteye, and Togata had promised to spend the day with Eri, and joining them were Ochaco Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, and chaperone Shota Aizawa, all of whom had joined the coalition to rescue Eri in the first place. Everyone present knew how much pain Eri had endured before they'd plucked her from her circumstances, so a simple smile from the small girl was enough to warm their hearts.

And there was plenty more fun in-store as Nightete asked Eri spreading out the festival pamphlet curiously, "Where would you like to go next, Eri?"

Dozens of themed stalls and attractions dotted the user-friendly map, prompting Eri to squint and furrow her brow muttering cutely, "Too many choices…"

Hearing this, Togata said with an excited grin, answering Eri's concern, "No prob! We'll just start walking, and if something catches your eye, give me a shout!"

Eri said with a nod, "Uh-huh."

Ren, extending his hand to her, said in a calm tone concerned for her, "Here, Eri. Grab my hand so you don't get lost out here."

Given the hustle and bustle in the lane populated by food stalls, it was a legitimate concern, but Eri only stared at Ren's hand. Eri reached out and grabbed his hand with both of hers as she smiled happily, "Umu."

Ren felt like his heart had stopped from the cuteness overload. But he regained his composure quickly as he smiled happily and drew another smile from Eri, "Oh, you super cute, Eri-chan."

Seeing the cuteness from Eri, Togata then asked cheekily, wanting to join the fun, "And, what? My hand's just gotta be all lonely over here on its own?"

Eri yelped grabbing Togata's hand and beaming at him, "No way!"

The two boys locked eyes and said "Heave ho!"

They lifted Eri into the air as they started walking. Eri cried out as she was bounced along, thrilled to be hand in hand with her two favorite heroes worldwide, "Wheee!"

Ochaco remarked cutely watching the trio from behind, "Aww, they look like a family!"

Tsuyu nodded her head as she bluntly said, tilting her head, "Like two older brothers? And their much younger sister? Ribbit."

Walking alongside the two girls, Aizawa's expression relaxed ever so slightly. It had been an uphill battle to hold the School Festival at all this year.

If UA were attacked again during the big event, society would lose even more faith in heroes' faith, which was already on shaky ground in light of the Kamino Nightmare Incident. And if people perceived those heroes lacked the stopping power they'd once held, villains would run rampant, and society would devolve into chaos.

Sensing this danger, law enforcement officials had strongly recommended that the U.A. skip its festival this year, but Principal Nezu had argued that now, more than ever, the students had to believe in a bright future.

Even with that hurdle out of the way, it hadn't been a given that Eri could attend, but Aizawa had secured permission for this special guest once the school had been officially assigned as her guardian for the time being.

It was the adults' job to protect the kids and their future, and Eri's smile reaffirmed that thought in Aizawa's mind. For both its newest pint-sized resident and the student body at large, the U.A. had to be a bastion of safety and hope.

"Ooh, crepes!"

"What's crehpz?"

Ochaco's cry of joy upon spotting a crepe stall made a confused Eri whip around as she explained to her, "You're in for a treat, Eri! A crepe is like a really, really thin pancake loaded up with fresh cream and topped with fruit! It's the fanciest, heavenliest dessert around!"

Eri, practically with stars in her eyes, said, "Crehpz sounds yummy!"

Tsuyu then suggested approaching the stall, "Why don't we get some, then?"

The menu of plastic sample items displayed standard toppings like banana, peach, tangerine, and chocolate, but Eri stared and timidly asked, "Is there … one with apples …?"

Sadly, there wasn't. However, Togata, trying to cheer up the crestfallen girl, said in a hype tone, "Don't worry! We're still gonna find you a candy apple later!"

Ren twitched hearing that. But Eri said innocently, "Okay!"

The remainder of the candy apple brought another smile to Eri's face. As she deliberated over crepe choices, Togata made a declaration, "Let me guess which one you'll choose, Eri! This time… it's gotta be peach! Peach, for sure!"

But his choice was immediately shot down by Eri, "No. Tangerine."

Togata tried to pick another but then asked if Eri had a grudge against peaches curiously at her, "That was my next guess! Hang on—you got something against peaches or what?"

After much deliberation of her own, Ochaco chose chocolate, and Tsuyu went for a banana. They allowed Eri to nibble with her eyes closed in pure joy, "So sweet and yummy…"

Everyone felt their hearts grow a few sizes again. Still eating their crepes, the gang entered the school.

A live stand-up event caught Togata's eye, and amid all the hubbub, Sir Nighteye saw something that got his attention too, speaking curiously, "A hero quiz competition … And the prize is a board signed by all the pro hero teachers at UA?"

The event was put together by some other class, and surely enough, the grand prize was a board covered in hero autographs, starting with All Might himself. Even Aizawa had signed as Eraser Head.

Ren even noticed Izuku as he waved his hand greeting him, "Yo! Midoriya!"

Izuku turned around to see Ren with his group greeting each other, "Oh! Ren and you guys! Didn't expect to see you guys here."

Both were discussing with each other as Aizawa said stoically, "It's just some autographs."

Hearing his comment made the stunned Midoriya's jaw drop as they said with an indignant snort, ever the hero fanboy, "'Just autographs'? You take that back, Sensei! This is a rare, one-of-a-kind collectible featuring autographs from both All Might and Erasure Hero: Eraser Head, who rarely shows his face! And look—Present Mic, Vlad King, Midnight, Thirteen, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, Snipe, Power Loader, and Recovery Girl! Why, I've never even seen an autograph collection like this in Heroes Monthly!"

Aizawa replied, deftly deflecting Midoriya's enthusiasm, "Uh-huh. Sure."

But curiously though, he looked confused as he thought to himself, 'But I show my face to him every day of the week.'

To Midoriya, there was some sort of subtle, nuanced difference between Aizawa Sensei, the homeroom teacher, and Eraser Head, the hero, whether the man himself understood it or not.

However, it was when Nighteye eyed Izuku, seeing his inner fanboy greeting him professionally in a stoic tone, "I see you are a cultured young man. But can you win and get that All Might autograph? They're still accepting entrants for the quiz?"

Questioning his hero fanboy knowledge, Izuku gazed at Nighteye with a curt nod, declaring in a determined tone, "Cultured? I'll show you, good sir. Just watch as I take that prize home."

Witnessing the scene, everyone was curious as Ren had an amused expression, "Oh? This might be something worth watching."

With Izuku's fanboy knowledge of heroes being questioned, he marched up to the registry desk, got in line with the other entrants, and took a seat at a desk with a quick-draw buzzer button on it.

"Izuku! Go for the gold!"

"You've got this, Midoriya. Ribbit!"

"Go, big young broccoli boy!"

The student serving as quizmaster emerged to cheers from the audience. Once the excitement died down, the quiz began as the quizmaster said, "Question one! Kamui Woods is a rising young star of the hero world. During his debut, what did he—"

*Ding-ding*

Midoriya's button lit up with a 'ding-ding' as he said immediately, "He captured a gang of bank robbers with his [Preemptive Binding Lacquered Chain Prison]!"

The quizmaster nodded his head in agreement as he moved on to the second question, "Midoriya of class 1-A, you are correct! Moving on, question two! Flame Hero: Endeavor's favorite food is—"

*Ding-ding*

The buzzer was hit by Midoriya again as he said confidentially, "Kuzumochi!"

The quizmaster declared excitedly, "Correct again!"

The other contestants hadn't stood a chance against Midoriya's encyclopedic knowledge and lightning-fast reflexes, and the crowd erupted in cheers as the quizmaster continued with series of questions after questions with Midoriya answering them all.

"Question eight! What does Present Mic call the devoted listeners of his show, Put Your Hands Up Radio?"

*Ding-ding*

"Mic-ies!"

"Question fourteen! Just after her debut, the commercial that sent Mt. Lady's popularity skyrocketing was for—"

*Ding-ding*

"Lady Hair shampoo and conditioner! And the tagline was 'For beautiful, shiny hair.'"

"Question twenty-five! In Laundry Hero: Wash's commercial, what does he—"

*Ding-ding*

"'Washashashasha!' And he says it five times total!"

Heading straight for victory, the unrivaled Midoriya was giving off an unusual aura. With bloodshot eyes and a tinge of bloodlust in his voice, he sat stone still except to slap the buzzer (for every single question, without fail) with laser precision and focus.

The audience couldn't help but shudder in mild horror. Togata, with a straight face, as he shielded Eri's eyes from the ghastly sight, said nervously with a bead of sweat, "Not exactly a good role model…"

Ren nodded his head, agreeing, somewhat scared for the first time seeing Izuku like this shuttered, "Damn… his overkilling the other contestants with his encyclopedia…"

But it was when they reached the final question as the quizmaster said, "And our final question! All Mi—"

*Ding-ding*

An eerie tension fell over the audience. Midoriya had barely let the quizmaster start the question before digging in, and when he answered, he did so slowly, with a deadly serious expression on his face, "Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds."

The audience was confused by the cryptic answer to the unasked question. The quizmaster gulped as he explained nervously, "The question was, 'All Might's legendary debut video clip was how long, exactly?' And … yes! Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds is correct! Our undisputed winner is Midoriya, of class 1-A!"

Midoriya yelped proudly, transforming instantly from a bloodthirsty quiz demon back into his usual chipper self as he accepted the autograph board, "Woo, I did it!"

Ren, for his part, despite all his skills, couldn't help but ask dumbfounded, "How'd you know … just from 'All Mi—'?"

However, Tsuyu spoke up, stating the obvious, seemingly a bit repulsed by Izuku's fanaticism on heroes, "Clearly, the fanboy god walks among us, Ribbit."

While nearly everyone seemed a little repulsed by Midoriya's fanaticism, Eri gazed up at her champion in admiration and said, "That was so cool."

The boy returned her smile with an awkward one of his own. Nighteye, on the other hand, had a sly grin seeing Izuku's extensive knowledge as he thought curiously, 'That boy… I want him in my Agency. It would be a waste for such knowledge to go to waste, and as a fellow All Might fanboy, I'll see if he's willing to hand over that signature. If he is, I don't want him, and if he doesn't, he's in.'

/////

[UA Highschool, Festival Grounds, Japan]

At that moment, Kyoka Jiro, Momo Yaoyorozu, and one of Ren Yuki's clones were buying commemorative Cementoss tumblers. They were planning to meet up with Mina Ashido and some others later, but while that group was traversing class C's haunted house, the three of them were browsing the lane with the food carts and stalls.

As the three browsed around, Jiro saw the stands smirking as she commented, "They did a great job making these drink holders!"

They nodded as Ren remarked in an impressed tone, agreeing, "Yeah. They seem to be well made."

Momo followed up on his words as she remarked in an optimistic tone glancing around and seeing plenty of other students holding the tumblers, "And they appear to be selling quite well."

The group started sipping through the straws and realized that the tumblers were prefilled with coconut water Momo asked, confused, "Coconut? What's the connection between Cementoss Sensei and coconuts?"

Jiro shrugged her shoulders as she replied, "None that I can tell."

Ren, shrugging and holding their drinks with the drink carrier, commented bluntly, "Maybe it's Cementoss-sensei's favorite, perhaps?"

They all shrugged as the slightly sweet drink brought smiles to their faces. Looking for a spot to relax and drink, they wove through the crowd and sat on some nearby stairs.

As they watched the milling crowds, all three of them suddenly felt totally at ease, to the extent that they would've turned incredulous had someone reminded them that they'd put on a live musical spectacular just that morning.

Their first real breather all day. At that moment, it hit Jiro that their big performance was really over and done with. She stretched her back and let out a sigh as she said, "I was kinda worried I couldn't pull it off, at first … But I'm glad I went through with it."

Seeing Jiro looking so relieved put a grin on Ren's and Momo's faces, but his expression quickly clouded over as he said suddenly, "I was … a bit disappointed."

Jiro then asked shocked by his declaration along with Momo, "What? Why?"

Hearing his words, Ren rubbed the back of his head, explaining himself in an embarrassed tone, "Well … I would have loved to see you singing from the front row, Jiro."

"Huhh?"

Both girls said in confusion evident on their faces. A visibly embarrassed Jiro scowled, and her [Earphone Jack] earlobes fidgeted as if confused. But calmed down lightly as he grinned, saying in a proud tone, "And yet you were still a sight to behold up there in the spotlight, even if I could only view you from behind… So yes, it was all very worthwhile that I wanted to see you up close."

His words caused Class A's blushing rock goddess to use one shoulder to nudge Momo, who, still smiling, leaned in, muttering in an embarrassed tone, "Cut it out, you… stupid, perverted jerk, but… t-thanks…"

Ren smiled lightly with a cheeky grin. This caused Jiro to blush more as Momo bluntly said, placing a hand over her, "No worries, Jiro-san. We'll be happy to welcome you to the family."

This caused Jiro's face to beat red hearing such words… although her heart beat faster leaning to the idea…

/////

A/N: Hey guys, here's an early chapter for today. On a side note, I'm finally writing the third part of the MHA Movie World Heroes Mission Arc on Ch. 170!