"Kaminari! You guys were amazing out there!!"

  "What's the name of that song?!"

  "Wow, I 't believe I have two celebrity cssmates! I'm totally getting an autograph!"

  "And group photos! Then we use them to impress the cute girls!"

  Ahem, needless to say, that st ent came from Mia, the ever-"resourceful" grape boy.

  "Hahahahaha!"

  Still buzzing from the performance, Kaminari ughed heartily. He'd just finished his first major show, and the thrill was still c through him. He realized he truly loved being on stage.

  "Yeah… this is it. I'm on the right path."

  That thought solidified his itment to his dream, strengthening his fiden his goal of being a superstar Hero.

  Nearby, Kyoka was surrounded by a cluster of her female cssmates, all chattiedly. She seemed just as pleased with how the performance had gone, a small smile breaking through her usual cool demeanor.

  "Kaminari."

  Suddenly, Todoroki's calm, serious voice cut through the chatter in the room. Kaminari turo find Todoroki standing right in front of him, his expression colder than usual.

  "Hm? What's up?" Kaminari asked, slightly surprised.

  Todoroki's gaze was intense as he said, "This time, I'm not holding back. I'll show you the differeween us in a real petition of strength."

  "The final winner… will be me."

  The room fell silent, the weight of Todoroki's words hanging in the air. But Kaminari only smirked, crossing his arms aing Todoroki's icy stare with his own fident smile.

  "Alright then."

  "Although, to be ho, I think it's still a little early for you…"

  "But I, Kaminari Denki, will be waiting for you at the top."

  With that, Kaminari's voice grew louder, his staronger. Uhe stunned gazes of his cssmates, he issued his own challeo Todoroki.

  "Surpass my lightning!"

  "Surpass me, Todoroki!"

  Todoroki's face darke Kaminari's words. What was that supposed to mean? He'd e here to challenge Kaminari, but somehow it felt like he was the one being challenged!

  Kaminari's words stirred something inside him—anger, pride, and a fierce determination. Frost started to form on his right side as he ched his fists, a remihat this Sports Festival would be his ce to prove himself. Words don't matter here, he reminded himself. Only as.

  "Stop it, Todoroki!"

  Midoriya, notig the tension, stepped forward, pg a hand on Todoroki's arm. "Calm down, you guys. We're about to start."

  Smack!

  But Todoroki shrugged Midoriya's hand off, looking at him with an icy gre. "I don't know why, but I 't ignore you. I don't o know the details… but today, you're also someone I'm determio defeat."

  "Don't uimate me."

  Midoriya's eyes widened briefly, but then his expression turned resolute. "I know you're strohan me. Holy, except for Kaminari, most of our cssmates probably don't stand a ce against you."

  Bakugo's face immediately twisted in annoya that ent, but Midoriya didn't notid tinued.

  "Subjectively and objectively, you're one of the best here," Midoriya aowledged. "But everyone—all of us, including students from other csses, came here to fight for the top spot!"

  Gone was the hesitant boy of yesterday. Now, Midoriya's gaze was sharp, his resolve clear as he looked straight into Todoroki's intense eyes.

  "So! I'll give it everything I've got to fight for first pce!"

  This tense exge between Kaminari, Todoroki, and Midoriya quickly made the three of them the ter of attention. The rest of Css 1-A watched in silence, sensing the brewing rivalry. The atmosphere was charged, like a p ready to explode.

  Bakugo, standing nearby, ched his fists, veins pulsing on his forearms as he gred at the three with pure fury.

  "Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi… so what, I'm just a side character now?!"

  "You three… just wait! I'll crush every single one of you!"

  "The top spot is MINE!"

  ---

  Meanwhile, outside iadium, the Hero Sports Festival was about to kick off. The fiant ss around the arena suddenly cut to Present Mic.

  "Alright, people, are you READY?!"

  His voied through the speakers, sending another wave of cheers throughout the stands. The crowd had been waiting eagerly for this moment, and audiences across Japan, glued to their TVs, leaned in with excitement.

  "And for all the media out there—"

  "This year, it's the thing you love most, high schoolers unleashed, peting with everything they've got!"

  "The Hero Sports Festival has officially begun! EVERYBODY—ARE YOU READY?!"

  Present Mic's boundless enthusiasm whipped the already electrified crowd into a frenzy, the cheers so loud they seemed to shake the very stadium.

  "First-year testants, ENTER!"

  The music around the venue shifted, the school anthem of U.A. High bring triumphantly as the first-year students stepped out onto the field.

  Step. Step.

  Kaminari, Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki were the first to emerge, leading Css 1-A into the stadium.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Fireworks erupted above them, filling the sky with color as the crowd roared even louder. Even though it was still daytime, the spectacle only added to the already intense energy in the air.

  "The geion of heroes is here, about to face a gau of fierce challehe ultimate showdown of the year!"

  "Everyone in this stadium is looking forward to these students!"

  "And this first group, Css 1-A of the Hero Course! The miracle css that survived a vilin attack with grit aermination!"

  Present Mic's words lit another fire in the crowd, turning all eyes to Css 1-A. Kaminari and Kyoka, fresh from their performance, were showered with cheers and appuse. Many of the spectators were younger kids, elementary and middle school students, who had e with their families and were now screaming their names.

  As Css 1-A stepped out, the rest of the Hero Course csses followed, along with students from General Studies, Support, and Business Courses. Some of them grumbled quietly to themselves. They didn't like being in the shadow of Css 1-A's reputation. In particur, the students of Hero Course Css 1-B felt annoyed.

  To them, Css 1-A wasn't special. They'd only gotten attention because they were in the wrong pce at the wrong time and just happeo enter vilins.

  If they'd been there, they thought, they would have ha just as well.

  But what these students didn't realize was that Css 1-A hadn't been lucky to survive the vilin attack. They'd beeed, pushed to their limits, fag life ah.

  ---

  "The petitors will now take the oath!"

  At that moment, Midnight, standing on a raised ptform in a daring, form-fitting outfit, raised a microphone and announced, "petitor representative, Css 1-A's Kaminari Denki!"

  The crowd erupted once more, and Kaminari's fident smile rojected onto the giant ss.

  None of Css 1-A was surprised by the choice. Kaminari had ranked first irance exams, after all. But Bakugo's face twisted in irritation, his fists g even tighter.

  "Why does that lightning jerk always get the spotlight?! Just wait till I blow you out of my way!"

  Uhe gaze of a huhousand people, Kaminari slowly walked onto the ptform and stood beside Midnight and Present Mic.

  He took a deep breath, a spark of inspiration hitting him. This is my ake an impression.

  He leaned into the microphone, his voice calm yet carrying across the stadium.

  "Please remember my name and the way I look standing here… because I, Kaminari Denki, will be the one g the !"

  ******

  T/N: I've ge a bit in Chp 60 and 61 where Kaminari was shown killing vilins. I totally uand the pints because it didn't feel realistic for UA to overlook something like that. The inal author didn't address it again, almost like it didn't happen, so I've revised it so that Kaminari just knocks them unscious instead of killing them. Feel free to re-read it if you'd like. Thanks.