Mister Aizawa walked along the corridors, turning a corner briskly. He still had some time before the awards ceremony; Present Mic was merciful enough not to bother him any further once their commentary job was over. Still, time was quickly running out, and he had to make this trip count.
Darkness greeted the teacher as he opened the door to the deserted staff room. There was no time to do a thorough analysis, but the nagging feeling would not go away if he did not verify his suspicions now.
His fingers closed around a sheet of plastic, and he pulled out a file labelled ‘Felix Pagonis’.
Aizawa flipped open the student record, reading through every line and column carefully. Apparently, ‘Carpe Omnia High’ was Felix’s high school back in Greece, and he was a first year student there as well. There were no other details listed in the record other than his score in the recommendation admissions test as well as his reference, who was the famous hero, ‘Pankration’.
The teacher kept the file, releasing a drawn out sigh. Felix’s rapid movements during the school festival were eerily similar to the creature in the footage of Cementoss’ presentation, but everything on his record seemed clean enough.
Moreover, the timing did not add up if Felix actually passed the admissions tests. Strong as his gut feeling might be, there simply was not enough evidence to insinuate that Felix was that very same extra-terrestrial.
“Shota, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the stadium grounds?”
Aizawa turned to Principal Nezu, who had managed to enter the room silently enough to avoid his notice.
“It’s nothing much. Just…” Aizawa’s voice trailed away. “I’ve been wondering, Principal. How did Felix Pagonis get recommended into this school?”
“Why, he’s a brilliant student who has the potential to be a great hero, of course.” Nezu climbed onto the table. “Do you have a problem with it?”
“Not… at the moment.” Aizawa chose his words carefully. “He was assigned to my class before I had time to screen him, so I’m naturally curious about who he is. That’s all.”
Nezu peeked at the student record as well.
“As you can see here, his record is clean. There’s nothing to worry about,” Nezu said cheerily. “Like I said, he’s a brilliant student who has the potential to be a great hero.”
The Principal closed the file and kept it in the drawer.
Aizawa caught a flicker of pink flashing in his eyes for a brief moment, but it quickly vanished as though it was a mere trick of the light. He took out his eye drops and dripped the solution in his eyes again. His injuries from the USJ attack were really making him see things.
“Now Shota, I believe you have an award ceremony to attend.”
~ ~ ~
Bakugo muttered to himself, kicking his feet in irritation while he walked along the corridor. The awards ceremony was about to begin, but he sure as hell was not going to accept the medal. There was no way he deserved it, not without a rematch with that idiot Pagonis.
Why did he choose to beat Todoroki and that damn nerd, Deku, but not me?
The frustration within him was growing like a balloon being pumped up at a children’s party. Small sparks crackled from his palms as his veins lit up with anger once again.
Damn it, is that bastard actually looking down on me? He thinks I’m some kind of extra now, doesn’t he?!
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“...Yes, it’s already over. I hope the information I’ve provided is plenty enough for now.”
That voice…
Bakugo stopped in his tracks right outside the bathroom door. He wanted more than anything to barge in and confront Pagonis for indirectly forfeiting the match. But it was rude to interrupt a call, so he had to settle with waiting outside impatiently for the call to end. The boy pressed his ear to the door, listening intently for the end of Felix’s conversation.
“I still don’t understand your obsession with Izuku,” Felix’s voice continued. “If you want the Symbol Of Peace gone, I can directly kill All Might for you. Why go through all this trouble for his protégé who hasn’t even matured yet?”
Bakugo’s eyes widened in shock. That was all he needed to hear.
“You traitor!” He kicked open the door, aiming his hand at the figure. The lights went out immediately, and he had to physically restrain himself from accidentally blowing up the entire washroom.
Bakugo tilted his head as the washroom door slammed shut behind him. He was fighting blind now, but he kept his arm up cautiously. Like hell he would let some pathetic darkness stop him from apprehending that bastard traitor. Sparks danced around his fingertips.
A slight breeze rushed past the back of his neck, and he swung around immediately. Bakugo smirked. Pagonis always favoured attacking from the back; anyone would’ve been able to deduce that by now.
“That won’t work on me twice, asshole!” Bakugo’s hand collided with something solid, and he set off a full powered explosion in what he assumed was Felix’s face.
The blast lit up the room as though the lights had come back on, and Bakugo caught a glimpse of a hand grabbing his wrist. His eyes rolled back as a foreign presence invaded his mind, snuffing out his consciousness.
And as his body fell limply to the ground, the last thing he saw were two points of pink.
~ ~ ~
“All of the first-year events for this year’s U.A. sports festival have been completed,” Midnight announced in a chirpy voice, as though nothing had just happened. “And now, we will begin the award ceremony!”
Izuku shot a concerned look over to his classmates, who pretended not to notice it. He turned to Ochaco instead.
“Are they really not going to address why the awards ceremony was randomly postponed for an hour?” he asked.
“Well, they did say it was due to unforeseen circumstances,” Ochaco replied nonchalantly. “The main event is already over, so I suppose the audience would be more understanding.”
The expression on Izuku’s face did not change. Ever since the League of Villains invaded the USJ so brazenly, there was always a chance that they may attack U.A. High again. He could just be paranoid, but he could not shake off the nagging feeling within him that they are still out there, waiting for their moment to strike.
“It’s time to award the medals! The presentation of the medals will, of course, be by this man! Our very own hero, All Might!”
“It’s All Might!” Izuku broke into a wide smile as his idol’s presence washed away his worries.
All Might received the medals from Midnight, and began hanging them on Tokoyami, Felix, and Bakugo. Although Tokoyami and Felix were receiving their medals happily, a dazed look was hanging on Bakugo’s face, almost as though his mind was elsewhere.
Izuku felt an uncomfortable shift from behind him, before a hand tapped his shoulder. He turned around along with the rest of his class.
“I’m sorry, my classmates. But I feel that I shouldn’t withhold this information from you,” Momo said, looking alarmingly distressed. “The reason why the ceremony was postponed was because they found Bakugo unconscious in the washroom prior to the ceremony.”
Some classmates covered their mouths in shock.
“Unfortunately, he had no memory of what happened when he woke up. He claims to have been struck by a dizzy spell right after using the washroom.”
Izuku furrowed his eyebrows. Bakugo never had a history of fainting spells, nor did he exert himself to that point of exhaustion during the sports festival. Why would he collapse for no reason?
“Our teachers have no choice but to believe that he passed out due to exhaustion based on his testimony. The washroom he collapsed in was also at the camera’s blindspot, so no one even saw him enter.” The distraught on Momo’s face intensified. “Mister Aizawa told me not to spread the news prematurely to avoid public hysteria. But as the Vice Class Rep, I felt it was my duty to at least let you guys know.”
“Thank you, Yaomomo,” Tsu said as Class 1A comforted her. “Don’t worry, we won’t spread this to anyone outside our class.”
Izuku glanced at the sports festival winners stepping down from the podium as All Might rallied the crowd for a victory cheer. At last, the sports festival had reached its triumphant conclusion.
But for some reason, it felt like his troubles were just beginning.