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rewrittenmha · 3 months ago

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UA Sports Festival Arc

I've been waiting to get my hands on this arc (this is a long one so be prepared).

Despite the USJ incident, the Sports Festival is still going on. However, Aizawa, Midnight, and Present Mic vehemently protest against broadcasting it nationally. They remind Nezu that the school is very clearly being targeted and that exposing the weaknesses of their students- especially their first years- is not a good idea. Nezu acknowledges their concerns and agrees, but tells them that the HPSC has demanded that the Sports Festival goes on as planned. That the country needs to be reassured that UA- and the hero world- is as strong as ever.

(Me trying to make UA a competent school be like-)

All Might stays quiet during the discussion, but internally realizes that security concerns never even crossed his mind. He wonders why that is and why his younger colleagues seemed to recognize that while he didn't. He's starting to realize that there's a lot that goes on around him that he fails to recognize.

(Deconstructing All Might's toxic ideals around heroism is a very important part of the story as they're usually perpetuated through him. He's the poster boy of toxic hero society even if that isn't his intention and he doesn't realize it. Changing All Might's way of thinking- especially because of the affect is has on Izuku- is very crucial)

In the days preparing for the Sports Festival, Izuku notices how focused Uraraka is. She's been quiet, scribbling in her notebook and not being as talkative. When he asks about it, she admits to him and Iida that she needs to succeed at UA and feels like she's behind compared to the two of them. Her parents have struggled financially all her life and becoming a hero is her only chance to do right by them. She knows that it isn't a selfless, noble goal but it's been important to her all her life.

Iida assures her that wanting to provide for her parents is a noble end goal. Izuku agrees, but begins to think about his own mother. He had always had everything he needed, but Izuku knew they didn't have much money to spare. Inko had wanted to move to get him out of Aldera due to the bullying she knew about, but it just wasn't possible. His father refused to send more money from America and she could only do so much on a seamstress' salary.

He never wanted to be a hero for monetary gain, but he would like to make his mom's life a little easier, if he could.

Lunch with All Might goes about the same (it's so wholesome). The one difference is that All Might asks Izuku about his relationship with Bakugou. Izuku wasn't expecting that question and stumbles over his words, answering that they're childhood friends. But when All Might points out that Bakugou seems to be very aggressive towards him, Izuku replies with, "That's just how Kacchan is."

All Might's concerns are not alleviated by this.

The school day ends with 1A being confronted by the other classes. Bakugou is being his usual self, but Uraraka- who has found herself growing more and more annoyed with his attitude- tells him to stop being such a jerk. This stuns Izuku, who has never seen Bakugou being called out directly. But before he can process what's happening, Iida agrees, reprimanding him for his unsportsmanlike and pretentious behavior. Yaoyorozu chimes in that his actions reflect on the rest of the class and calling people "extras" is childish and not befitting a hero.

(Izuku.exe has stopped working)

Bakugou is about to rage at the three of them. Kirishima, however, brings up that while Bakugou's attitude sucks, it's unmanly for the other classes to gawk at and gossip about them. The kid in the front of the crowd- a general department student- scoffs and says that he has the chance to take one of their places in the hero course. He declares war on their class and tells them to watch their backs.

(Oh Shinsou, as pleasant as ever)

A class 1B student is also there, remarking on how unimpressive 1A appears to be. He warns 1A not to embarrass them during the Sports Festival since the audience is mostly going to be looking at them.

(Monoma being a bastard as usual)

The first event of the Sports Festival and everything leading up to it goes relatively the same. Todoroki confronts Izuku in the locker room and Izuku maintains that he'll try his best. Because Bakugou came in first during the Entrance Exam, he confidently and seriously declares that he'll win, which continues to make 1A a target.

Izuku wins with Todoroki and Bakugou coming in second and third. I'm keeping this because it's one of the best moments of the Sports Festival (the only thing I'm changing is Mineta on Yaoyorozu's back). And it sets up the Third Event well. I don't feel the need to change the Cavalry Battle that much either. I thought about having Monoma's team win instead of Shinsou's, but decided against it.

I'm also having Yaoyorozu confirm with Midnight before listening to Kaminari and Mineta about the cheerleading uniforms. She tells them that no, of course that's not a requirement for the female participants. Yaoyorozu, silently furious, scolds Kaminari and Mineta and tells them that she's reproting them to Aizawa.

Battle Tournament: Round 1

Round one basically goes the same. Except, I do have a few minor changes and one big change.

Izuku Midoriya vs Hitoshi Shinsou: I was going to change this fight, but then I realized that the OFA users snapping Izuku out of Shinsou's control was the first contact he made with the OFA users. And that's preeettty important. So I'm only changing it slightly.

Instead of OFA breaking Izuku's finger, a voice intervened before Izuku can snap at Shinsou. It's a woman's voice, reminding him of what Ojiro said and warning him not to lose his head.

She tells him that his quick thinking and ability to stay calm under pressure is one of his most valuable abilities. She tells him that keeping a level head in every situation is important. So Izuku, despite being upset as Shinsou's taunting of Ojiro, easily knocks him out of the ring.

(Nana gets scolded by the other users for intervening so soon. But she shrugs and defends that he was doing so well and just needed a little nudge in the right direction. Izuku reminds her so much of Toshinori- who she misses immeasurably- that it's hard not to get attached)

Izuku is snapped at by Shinsou, who accuses Izuku of having it easy because of his quirk. He assumes that Izuku had it easy his whole life and doesn't know what it's like to be outcast and labeled.

Izuku, who understands more than Shinsou could ever know, simply smiles. It's both kind and heartbreaking, which shocks Shinsou to his core. Izuku thanks Shinsou for the fight and tells him he can't wait to see him in the hero course one day.

Shinsou doesn't know why, but he gets the feeling that Midoriya does understand. But he doesn't know how that could be possible.

Momo Yaoyorozu vs Fumikage Tokoyami: This fight doesn't change much, but I thought I would get into Yaoyorozu's head a little here. Her entire life, she was the smart one. The one with the plan. She thought that she could face anything as long as she was smart and careful. It had worked all her life. It impressed her teachers, it made her parents proud. How could it not?

But for some reason, it never occurred to her that sometimes, she wouldn't have time for a plan. She was completely thrown off by Tokoyami's relentless assault. He didn't give her time to think or process, just kept dealing blow after blow that she couldn't counter in time.

Yaoyorozu was forced out of the ring. And she had never felt the sting of failure until that moment.

Ochako Uraraka vs Katsuki Bakugou: Uraraka has... a plan.

She distracts Bakugou as best she can. Using the smoke from his explosions, she attempts to attack him from all angles, diverting his attention from her real attack. She knows that it's risky and even a little foolish, but she has to try.

All this time, she's watched her classmates push themselves and give their all. That's something she's never done in her life. She can't be left behind, she has people counting on her. She has to succeed.

But much to her dismay, Bakugou figured out her plan. He blows up every bit of rock she had sent into the air, crushing any hopes of victory with it. Uraraka falls to the ground in dismay, fighting off tears. She's exhausted and hopeless and knows that she's going to lose. So why bother? She can't beat Bakugou.

She's been on the ground for too long. Midnight starts counting down.

5... 4...

Bakugou advances, telling her that she knew she would lose and that she should have quit earlier. He stands right in front of her, ready to deal the final blow and ring her out.

3... 2...

But something about his words make Uraraka angry. She's seen how he talks down to people. She's seen how he treats everyone as below him. She's seen how he targets Izuku who never fights back or defends himself. And she knows he's been looking down on her this whole fight.

And she's sick of it.

In a fit of rage, Uraraka's arm shoots out and she grabs Bakugou's ankle. Making him weightless, she flips him over her shoulder and towards the edge of the ring. Bakugou, completely thrown off since he assumed she was defeated, falls to the ground.

Ochako Uraraka wins.

This was so, so satisfying to write this y'all don't even know. I told you guys that Uraraka's underdog story was coming. Idk what Aizawa's on about, but trying to say that Bakugou didn't look down on her was BULLSHIT. He literally told her she should have given up. So I thought, what better way to have her beat him than to use his own arrogance against him?

Every other round one fight stays the same.

Humiliated and angry, Bakugou confronts Izuku after the fight. He, through tears, accuses Izuku of telling Uraraka to fake him out and is upset that Izuku would use his weakness against him. But Izuku firmly tells him that Uraraka refused any help from him and that she won completely on her own. Bakugou doesn't believe him and tries to attack him, only for Iida to intervene and tell him to back off.

Izuku, who's never had someone stand up for him against Bakugou, is extremely touched, but also guilty when Bakugou runs away. He hadn't wanted to upset him, but he was telling the truth. He'd had nothing to do with Uraraka's victory.

And he wasn't going to stop himself from being happy for her.

Battle Tournament, Round 2:

Izuku Midoriya vs Shoto Todoroki: This fight goes relatively the same. The only thing I would change is that Izuku tells Shoto he's free to be his own hero and that what Endeavor wants doesn't matter. He encourages Shoto to reclaim his fire for himself. That's essentially what he does say in canon, but apparently Izuku haters need everything spelled out for them (eyeroll).

He loses this round, but he's not upset by it. He's just glad he could help Todoroki.

Toshinori is both proud and incredulous. Proud because Izuku helped his classmate. Incredulous because it had cost him his win. Nevertheless, Young Midoriya has impressed him greatly. This calls for a treat after the Sports Festival!

Ochako Uraraka vs Eijiro Kirishima: You know, at first I thought that Kirishima would be the winner of this fight. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Uraraka could easily win. Kirishima can't fight without touching her, which immediately gives her the advantage.

It's hard to touch Kirishima with all give of her fingers due to his quirk and attempts to rush her out of the ring, but Uraraka isn't giving up. She's determined to push herself as much as she can. Grabbing hold of his jagged flesh, she makes him weightless and kicks him square in his chest. This is enough to push him out of the ring.

Because she actually likes Kirishima, Uraraka apologizes profusely. But Kirishima is completely impressed and admires her manliness. Uraraka isn't sure how to take that, but thanks him anyway.

All the other fights stay the same.

Battle Tournament: Round 3

Ochako Uraraka vs Fumikage Tokoyami: Unfortunately, Uraraka is unable to effect Dark Shadow with her quirk. It's solid, but it seems to be able to regulate its own mass with negates her quirk's functionality.

However, she doesn't allow the fight to end quickly. She holds off against Tokoyami, dodging his attacks and targeting his body. She's able to kick his feet out from under him and gain the upper hand for a split second.

(Yaoyorozu watches enviously from the audience. How could Uraraka do that and not her? What was she missing?)

But while she did that, she momentarily forgot about Dark Shadow. It wraps around her and while she struggles futilely, it gently places her outside of the ring. Uraraka was disappointed to lose after coming so far, but she was met with an admiring smile from Izuku as she joins him in the audience. He commends her for getting so far and tells her she did a really good job. Uraraka blushes and compliments his performance back.

They sit back and watch together as Iida loses to Todoroki. He joins them in the stands as they offer apologies, but Iida waves them off with a smile. His phone rings and he goes to answer it.

Izuku and Uraraka don't see him again for the rest of the event.

Battle Tournament: Round 3

Shoto Todoroki vs Fumikage Tokoyami: Even though Todoroki doesn't feel the same disdain towards his left side, he still hesitates to use his fire. It still came from Endeavor, no matter how much he wishes he could reclaim it as his own like Izuku advised him to.

He thinks that maybe someday he could manage to use it without seeing it as what drove him mother away. But for now, he's unable to stand bringing the heat to his palm. It burns, even though it realistically shouldn't.

Tokoyami is thankful that Todoroki doesn't use his fire. If he had, then he might have negated Dark Shadow resulting in his victory. But because Shoto is exhausted from his earlier display of power against Sero, it gives Tokoyami the upper hand. He's able to maneuver Dark Shadow around Todoroki's defenses of ice and slam it into him.

Todoroki gets knocked away and falls outside the ring. He collapses from the emotional and physical toll and passes out.

Fumikage Tokoyami has won the Sports Festival.

FINAL RESULTS:

1st Place - Fumikage Tokoyami

2nd Place - Shoto Todoroki

3rd Place - Ochako Uraraka & Tenya Iida

All Might hands out the medals to the winners, though Iida is suspiciously absent. Izuku is happy for his friends, though he wishes he could have performed a little better. But he's cheered up by a call to his mom, who's simultaneously worried about and proud of him.

Izuku knows his mom loves him and knows that she would do anything for him. But to hear those words from her in support of his dream... It breaks something in him. He starts crying, thanking her and quickly hanging up.

He's so glad to hear those words from his mother, but he can't help but wish he had gotten those words of encouragement from her sooner.

Notes:

Of course it's right after I say I was struggling with this arc that it all comes to me. Idk, rewriting Hawks got me motivated

I seriously debated having Uraraka beat Bakugou. I wondered if it was even possible at this point. But the more I thought about it, the more I realize she didn't have to overpower him. Bakugou's biggest weakness is his ego. All she had to do was target that. My original plan was to have Bakugou lose to Todoroki but you know what? Fuck that, this is Uraraka's underdog story

So the thing with Izuku vs Shinsou. I did think that OFA breaking his fingers out of nowhere was... dumb. Like, it just came out of nowhere to get Izuku out of that situation. I think the OFA users gently guiding him throughout the story before revealing themselves makes a lot more sense. Also, I love Nana

I actually do think Tokoyami could have beaten Todoroki at this point. Tokoyami had relatively easy fights before this. He only lost to Bakugou in canon because Bakugou had an inherent advantage. Todoroki not using his fire + him using all his energy against Sero and Izuku means that the fight was in Tokoyami's favor

I intentionally didn't give Iida a lot of focus because all of his major characterization is being saved for Stain

There was no glazing from Aizawa or booing from the heroes in the Uraraka vs Bakugou fight. Both were dumb and plot manipulation in canon

#mha rewrite #bnha critical #mha critical #anti bakugou katsuki #anti endeavor #ochako uraraka deserves better #ua sports festival #sports festival arc #long post

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