Chapter 104: UA Sports Festival Begins

Once all the students were safely inside the training dimension, time passed quickly. It wasn’t until a week into the session that Ochaco Uraraka rushed toward Gray, her face pale with panic.

"Gray-sensei!" she yelled as hard as her lungs would allow. "Please hurry! Something happened to Deku-kun!"

Hearing the sheer urgency in her voice, Gray didn’t waste a single second. He sprinted, launched into the air, and flew at his fastest speed toward their training grounds. He arrived almost instantly and finally saw the chaos unfolding. Izuku knelt painfully on the concrete, clutching his right hand. A chaotic tangle of black, energy-like whips was violently bursting out of his skin, lashing out and tearing up the surrounding ground.

Thankfully, Gray quickly scanned the perimeter and saw that no one else had been injured. But realizing that the previous users of One For All had already begun to manifest their quirks gave him a headache. This was happening way too soon compared to the canon timeline. He knew that pushing Izuku to become stronger always carried a chance that the quirks would awaken early, but he honestly hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly.

Letting out a sigh, Gray calmly began approaching the groaning teenager. A few stray black whips lashed out aggressively toward him, but Gray swatted them out of the air with his bare hands like annoying flies. He kept a steady pace, closing the distance until he stood just a few inches from the suffering boy.

"Izuku, calm down," he told the boy, his voice firm. "You need to get a hold of this power before you actually injure your classmates or yourself."

"I-I can’t!" Izuku groaned through gritted teeth as he tried to pull the wild power back in.

Gray didn’t actually have a specific power to suppress someone else’s energy like that. Realizing what he needed, he instantly vanished from his spot. A few seconds later, he materialized right back in the clearing, carrying a highly disoriented Shota Aizawa by his side. Gray hadn’t even bothered to explain the situation; he had simply grabbed Eraser Head by his capture scarf and rocketed him straight over.

"Wha-What just happened?!" Aizawa stammered, shaking his head to clear the whiplash.

Gray simply pointed down at Izuku, who was still violently struggling on the torn training space. "Can you erase his quirk real quick? He lost control."

Aizawa finally got a clear look at the thrashing black tendrils, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell is that?!" he demanded. But before he could wait for an answer, he swiftly activated his erasure quirk, his hair lifting into the air as his eyes glowed a piercing red.

The moment his gaze locked onto the teenager, the violent black whips instantly receded back into Izuku’s arm. The sudden release of pressure sent the boy collapsing flat onto the ground, breathing heavily as the dust settled around him.

Aizawa immediately turned his gaze toward Gray, demanding an explanation.

"Later," Gray said simply, cutting him off before walking over to the panting teenager. "Hey there, buddy. You good?"

"Yeah... yeah, I think so," Izuku panted, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. He inspected his trembling right arm, bewildered by what had just occurred. He had just experienced a vivid hallucination of a bunch of random, shadowy people, and then his quirk had activated entirely on its own; only this time, those bizarre, powerful whips had manifested alongside. ’What is going on with my body?’ he thought frantically.

Seeing that the noise had naturally attracted the attention of almost all the nearby students, the first thing Gray did was step in and herd the crowd away. With a few stern words, he hushed the snooping teenagers and sent them back toward the dormitories to keep rumors from spreading.

Once the training ground was clear of onlookers, Aizawa finally deactivated his quirk, half-expecting the black tendrils to violently burst out again. When he saw that Izuku’s power remained perfectly dormant, the underground hero muttered an exhausted curse under his breath. Turning on his heel, he walked back toward the faculty area, rubbing his eyelids.

Once Izuku got his bearings back, Gray approached him with a casual smirk and smacked him on the back. "Who would have thought, huh?" Gray laughed. "You went from being Quirkless to suddenly juggling a bunch of them."

Izuku looked up, his eyes widening in confusion. "Wait... Gray-sensei, do you actually know what’s happening to me?"

"Yeah," Gray nodded, crossing his arms. "But it’s probably not my call to let you in on the deeper history of your power. The moment we leave this training dimension, go seek out All Might immediately." Gray let out a short sigh. "It’s a shame the one weekend that guy chooses to stay behind in the real world, this happens. Talk about great timing."

"Is it... something bad?" Izuku asked, staring down at his palms with a vulnerable look.

"No," Gray said, shaking his head reassuringly. "If anything, it’s going to help you immensely for your upcoming battles... well, maybe." ’Though I really do wonder what will happen to his quirk if I eventually get rid of All For One,’ Gray mused silently to himself. ’Would One For All vanish, or would he keep it completely?’

Finally standing up to his full height, Gray looked down at Izuku with a serious expression. "Try not to force your output too much for the rest of this session, okay? But don’t worry, I will speak with Aizawa and ask him to keep a close eye on you just in case it ever happens again."

Before Gray could fly away and resume his own training, he paused and turned around one last time. "I’m not saying what happened here was a bad thing, but you should try doing some meditation while you rest. It might come in handy for figuring out the source of what’s happening to you."

Izuku continued training under Aizawa’s close supervision, and after a few days, the atmosphere inside the training dimension returned to normal. Following Gray’s advice, Izuku diligently started meditating at the end of each training session, trying to connect with the source of that strange power. Gray kept pushing his own limits, and Mirko did the same. In the simulated world, they went on casual dates here and there, but they spent most of their time either hanging out with Eri or sparring with each other.

Mirko had already beaten a few standard Nomus, but the High-End variations and the specific USJ Nomu designed to kill All Might were still a bit out of her league for now. Whenever she clashed with a High-End Nomu, she walked away with notable damage. She could technically beat them one-on-one depending on the terrain, but the moment she tried to take on a few of them at the same time, she didn’t stand a chance.

Eventually, days turned into weeks, and the final stretch of the training dimension officially ended. The students, teachers, and Mirko cleared out of the gym floor one by one. Keeping his promise, Izuku immediately went to seek out All Might before heading home for the weekend.

Gray headed straight back to his quarters to rest, carrying a happy Eri in his arms. Thanks to the therapy sessions with Hannibal, Eri was becoming significantly more outgoing and seemed to get better with each passing day; Gray couldn’t be happier.

By midnight, Gray opened the system interface. He had accumulated enough gold to buy his next upgrade. Without wasting a second, he pulled up the shop, clicked Buy, and watched his passive income surge before finally closing his eyes to sleep. Knowing the UA Sports Festival was happening in just a few hours, Gray set an alarm to make sure he woke up early enough to cook breakfast and get Eri ready for the big day.

Gray woke to the buzz of his alarm. He got up, took a quick shower, and headed straight to the kitchen to start breakfast. Before he finished cooking, he walked over to Eri’s room to wake her up.

"Eri, wake up," he said gently, giving her shoulder a light shake. "Breakfast is almost ready."

"Okay," Eri murmured softly as she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Do you want to shower before or after breakfast?" Gray asked her.

"Mmm... before."

"Okay, once you’re done with your shower, breakfast should be ready."

Once Eri finished showering and eating her portion, the two finally left the dormitory. The massive stadium where the UA Sports Festival was being held was a couple hundred feet away, so they decided to walk. Gray could easily have flown them there almost instantly, but doing so would have messed up Eri’s freshly brushed hair. Besides, it wasn’t just the two of them going today; Mirko was joining them too. Walking to the main campus gates, they met up with the Rabbit Hero and headed toward the stadium together.

The surrounding city was filled with movement. The stadium was built inside the UA school grounds because the space was so massive, and thanks to Cementoss, his quirk was probably one reason this school was as good as it was. Endless crowds buzzed with excitement about the upcoming event, their energy suggesting people were arguably more excited about this festival than the actual Olympics.

Along the way, quite a few people pointed excitedly at Mirko, though most were too intimidated by her presence to actually approach them. A few brave onlookers took out their phones and snapped pictures from a distance. Seeing the sudden wave of public attention Mirko was getting, Gray couldn’t help but smile.

Eventually, the trio arrived at the roaring stadium. Because they had left early, the first event wasn’t scheduled to start for another hour. They had plenty of time to bypass the main crowds, navigate the VIP sections, find their reserved seats, and get comfortable before the hero course kids officially started the competition.

After sitting down, Mirko leaned back and started up some small talk. "Who do you think will win it all?"

"Hmmm..." Gray thought about it for a second, scanning the empty field below. "It really depends on how the specific events play out, but I think the top spots will be a battle between Izuku, Bakugo, Todoroki, and my personal dark horse, Yaoyorozu."

"Hmmm," Mirko hummed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Nobody from Class B?"

"Honestly?" Gray sighed, leaning back on his own seat. "They definitely have some strong contenders over there, but I doubt they will make it all the way to the finals. Although, who knows? The way they’ve been grinding in the training dimension, maybe someone will give us a surprise today."

Within minutes, the seats all around the massive stadium started filling up incredibly fast. Just as 10:00 AM was about to hit, the digital monitors all around the arena and the stadium speakers roared to life.

"HEY!" Present Mic yelled enthusiastically from his high commentator podium. "This year’s high school rodeo of adolescence that you all love...the UA Sports Festival is about to begin! Everybody, are you ready?!"

The crowd instantly went completely mental, unleashing a massive, deafening wave of noise that echoed across the entire facility. Thankfully, Gray had anticipated the crowd’s energy beforehand. He reached into his pocket and handed Eri a pair of noise-canceling headphones to keep her from getting overwhelmed by the sudden volume. Looking down at his side, Gray saw Eri looking back up at him with a massive smile, her eyes wide as she grew increasingly excited for the show to start.

Present Mic continued booming over the speakers, "It’s time for the students to enter the first-year stage!"

Students started flooding the open field, and Gray looked down to see the familiar faces from Class 1-A and 1-B walking out alongside the kids from the support and general studies departments. While Present Mic kept hyping up the stadium, the students marched toward the center and fell into formation. Once they all settled, Midnight stepped up to take the podium as the chief referee.

"Everyone, quiet~!" she called out, raising her riding crop and smacking it sharply to the side. "Representing the first-year students is Katsuki Bakugo from Class 1-A!"

’Her hero outfit is insane...’ Gray thought, keeping his face neutral as Mirko sat right next to him. ’She seems to be a bigger danger to the kids than any villain, and this is her after the commission made her change the original design...’ Gray shook his head slightly as Bakugo aggressively stomped up the stairs to take the stand.

Gray already knew what was coming, so he reached into his inventory, pulled out a video camera, and started recording.

"I pledge," Bakugo started, his voice flat and arrogant, "That I’ll be number one."

The students from Class 1-A instantly looked horrified, while the remaining classes exploded into a chaotic fuss of boos and insults. Gray laughed, lowered the camera, and put it away. ’So it begins.’